http://www.timeslive.co.za
JAMA MAJOLA | 04 December, 2011 02:33
An explosive
row has erupted between the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ),
Saudi Arabian
mineral and jewellery dealer Sulaim Al Othaim and local tycoon
David Butau
over a controversial $450-million deal designed to rescue
government from
bankruptcy at the height of the economic meltdown.
The dispute over the
2006 deal has been running for five years but has now
exploded into the
public domain as Al Othaim and Butau demand payment from
the RBZ, which is
refusing to pay up, saying it was not implemented as
originally
agreed.
There have also been allegations of fraud and betrayal.
In
terms of the agreement, Al Othaim was supposed to buy gold from the RBZ
for
its factories in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The company is involved in
wholesale distribution of jewellery, precious stones and watches. There was
also a plan to create a strategic partnership between Al Othaim, which also
owns shopping malls, retail outlets and colleges, and the RBZ's subsidiary
Aurex Jewellery.
Al Othaim was supposed to provide the RBZ with a
multi-draw letter of credit
for the delivery of 200000 ounces of gold, a
cash deposit for 315000 ounces
and a bank guarantee for $150-million. The
Central Bank was supposed to
supply 515000 ounces of gold within nine to 12
months at London Metal
Exchange-fixed prices and at a 34% discount. In
total, the deal was valued
at $450-million.
Butau was involved as
facilitator through Dande Capital Holdings where he is
executive chairman.
SA's Rand Merchant Bank was to provide structured
finance, including
handling cash deposits and cash guarantees.
Local bank CBZ, together with
its clients, Dande Capital, played a
facilitation role and was to be paid
for that.
It was agreed that any disputes would be dealt with in
accordance with the
laws of the UK, Switzerland and Netherlands, not
Zimbabwe or Saudi Arabia.
Some parties involved in the deal now claim it was
"a scandal wholly
prejudicial to government". Documents show there are
allegations of fraud
and siphoning-off of gold proceeds.
"The
unfortunate thing about this deal is that in effect it amounted to
direct
fraud through under-pricing of gold deliveries by the RBZ to Al
Othaim. The
extent of prejudice was 34% of the gold parcel delivered. How
can a precious
metal like gold be sold at 34% discount when we all know gold
is just as
good as hard currency," says one of the documents seen by the
Sunday
Times.
"Besides, there was an impression created that President Robert
Mugabe had
authorised the deal when he had not. How would the president
allow gold to
be sold at 34% discount? In the end total gold delivered
amounted to
$5.072-million and applying the 34% discount, there was a total
prejudice of
$1.6-million."
To exacerbate the situation, Butau has
been demanding $1.5-million from the
RBZ in "facilitation fees".
In a
letter dated February 16 to RBZ governor Gideon Gono, Butau demanded
$800000. The RBZ paid him $200 000.
However, in another letter dated
November 2, Butau demanded his balance of
$1.3-million, threatening legal
action to recover the money.
The RBZ is also in another dispute with Al
Othaim over a $1.6-million debt.
But on Friday Gono's office hit back,
saying those claiming fraud and
demanding payments were misrepresenting
facts and had hidden agendas
"bordering on extortion and
rent-seeking".
"The governor is aware that life without money is hard
these days and times
are difficult. This is made worse by the fact that
Christmas is around the
corner," Gono's spokesman Alson Mfiri said.
"Unfortunately, the RBZ does not
play the role of Father Christmas as some
of these demands suggest through
ridiculous claims.
"Several letters
of demand have been written to the bank, laced with threats
and loaded with
political overtones, but the governor will not entertain
such frivolous
claims. All those aggrieved must approach the courts for
remedies," Mfiri
said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
03/12/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
AN ADVISER to central bank chief, Gideon Gono is suing The
Standard
newspaper for US$5 million after the weekly accused him of raping
his
12-year-old niece.
In a report published last week The Standard
claimed Dr Munyaradzi Kereke –
who has accused reporters at the publication
of soliciting bribes from
him -- was trying to conceal the incident which
allegedly took place at his
Harare home last year.
However, Kereke denies
the allegations in papers now before the High Court.
Citing Standard
Press, Munn Marketing, the paper’s editor, Nevanji Madanhire
and the writer
of the article, Kereke said the allegations were defamatory
and inspired by
malice.
“The said statements, publications and words in the context of
the articles
are wrongful and defamatory in that they were intended and were
understood
by the readers of the newspaper, nationally and internationally,
to mean
that; the plaintiff is abusing his office and position in society to
suppress the alleged rape case and is, therefore, not a law-abiding citizen
and he can do anything to subvert the course of justice, including
influencing the police and the Attorney-General,” Kereke said.
“The
plaintiff is a threat and danger to society and, pointedly, a dangerous
homicidal criminal who can use firearms to threaten and subdue any pressure
from his victims or victim’s allies.”
In its report, The Standard
claimed that although the alleged assault was
reported at Highlands police
station and witness statements recorded from
the victim in November last
year, no progress had been made in bringing the
matter to court.
The
girl’s lawyer was also said to have written to the Officer-in-Charge of
Borrowdale Police Station expressing concern over the apparent delays in
prosecuting the case.
“We note with concern that you do not seem to
want to take any action in
this matter and we are by copy of this letter
requesting the Attorney
General to advise us if nothing will be done so that
we can apply for a
right to do private prosecution if the Attorney General
declines to
prosecute the rape case,” Charles Warara said in the letter
written in
January this year.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Everson Mushava, Staff Writer
Sunday, 04 December 2011
10:44
HARARE - The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a
full-scale
investigation into the operations of the Zimbabwe Open University
(Zou)
following leads provided by a leaked document to the commission
alleging
gross financial mismanagement and corruption.
Zou is a
state-owned long distance learning centre with an enrolment of over
19 000
students drawn from every district of the country.
By numbers, it is the
largest university in the country.
A report dated October 4 this year
addressed to the anti-corruption
commission and copied to President Robert
Mugabe’s office, the higher
education ministry and the Zimbabwe Council of
Higher Education, exposes
gross financial abuses and corruption at the
institution.
Anti Corruption Commission chairman Stanford Chirindo
confirmed receiving
the report which details corruption at the institution
since 2006.
“I can confirm that I received the report, record No
RR02/10/11 and
investigations are in progress,” Chirindo told the Daily News
on Sunday.
According to the document, a copy of which is in the hands of
the Daily News
on Sunday, Zou is alleged to have fleeced the Ministry of
Higher Education
of over $700 000 which was meant to pay employees’ medical
aid insurance.
According to a source, the university received $150 000 every
month from
January to July this year to cover medical
insurance.
However, about $50 000 was used every month for the medical
insurance with
the $100 000 unaccounted for.
There were also claims
that senior management at the institution signed huge
sums of money saying
they were going for contact leave which they never
fulfilled.
The
institution was prejudiced of thousands of dollars in the scam which
sucked
in Vice Chancellor (VC) Primrose Kurasha.
“In January 2010, she (Kurasha)
took $27 000 apparently for a contact leave,
notwithstanding the fact that
there were many questions about her
entitlement to such a huge sum of money.
The point is, 10 months down the
line she has not gone for a contact leave,”
read the report.
Contact leave is a university to university academic
exchange programme
designed to help staff share experiences and challenges
in their profession.
The report further claims that the VC forced Zou
staffers to pay $95 000 as
shortfall to a local medical aid insurer (name
provided) for the airlifting
of her husband to get medical treatment in
South Africa last year.
In 2010, the report stated that $38 000 went
missing under some mysterious
circumstances.
“When external auditors
came, in April 2011, in order to cover up the
missing amount, the finance
director instructed some of her staff to use
dummy vouchers which cancelled
voucher numbers of aborted trips. As a
result, the external auditors failed
to pick out the missing money,” read
part of the report.
The
financial director, Perpertual Masvikeni Ndekwere is alleged to have
fleeced
Zou of $6 000 in false claims.
In August this year, Zou was allegedly
fleeced when human resources director
Benjamin Mafunga allegedly ordered a
new employer of an ex-Zou worker who
left the university’s employ without
giving adequate notice, to pay a fine
of $3 150 in his personal
account.
Another letter written to the ministry on November 15, also
alleges the
financial director, together with the registrar at the
institution, claimed
$1 700 each to go on contact leave to the University of
South Africa (Unisa)
but they only went to South Africa for three days as a
cover-up.
In 2009, the institution, on a 50-50 joint venture with a
private company,
established Zou-Online, which also employed Zou officials
as directors.
The officials ended up getting double pay as they were
earning as much as $7
000 a month at the new venture
Students were
required to pay $50 per semester for Zou Online and when it
was disbanded in
2010, $65 000 and three vehicles went missing, according to
an audit
report.
Zou workers told the Daily News on Sunday that they were dismayed
by the
manner in which the university’s affairs were being
run.
“Several workers who have been dismissed have won their cases at the
labour
court and Zou has kept on appealing against the judgements, some of
them
already quantified.
“These workers are suffering right now. They
have ‘unfairly’ lost their jobs
and they are not compensated. Imagine the
situation?” said one disgruntled
worker.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Everson Mushava, Staff
Writer
Sunday, 04 December 2011 08:51
HARARE - Zimbabwe Open
University (Zou) which is battling corruption, has
lost $5 000 in legal
battles with a worker who was dismissed over an
envelope worth 20
cents.
The costly matter in which an ex-Zou worker is fighting his
dismissal over
an envelope has dragged on since 2006.
Zou has so far
spend over $5 000 in legal fees trying to fight off a legal
case against its
ex-employee who is arguing that his dismissal was
unprocedural.
In
2009 an arbitrator ordered that the institution to either compensate the
worker or reinstate him but Zou has appealed against the ruling.
The
worker who was dismissed for an envelope is diabetic and is struggling
to
survive, relying on hand-outs from former workmates at Zou.
In 2006, Zou
hired retired High Court judge H. B Hwacha to conduct an
internal
disciplinary hearing but after looking into the matter, Hwacha
refused to
preside over it saying it was a trivial issue which did not
warrant such an
elaborate process.
Zou later hired a prosecutor to preside over the
matter which was later sent
to the labour court.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Pindai Dube
Sunday, 04 December 2011
11:45
BULAWAYO - Bulawayo Airport Road has been refurbished, night
clubs, bottle
stores, restaurants, butcheries, fuel garages and street
vendors have piled
their stocks in preparation for the big annual
feast.
It’s a rare sight but a sure sign that something big is on its way
to
Bulawayo.
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party is set to hold
its annual conference
in the city this week and it has been getting a
spruce-up.
For the next coming five days a boom in business is expected
in Bulawayo
which is usually quiet, as more than 6 000 Zanu PF delegates
from all
corners of the country will descend on the city.
An
uncharacteristic buzz has already engulfed the city.
A musical gala has
also been set for Saturday the last day of the meeting at
White City stadium
in Pelandaba high density suburb. Some of the country’s
top musicians are
expected to grace the occasion.
All hotels and lodges in and around
Bulawayo are already fully booked for
the duration of the former ruling
party’s meeting.
“We are fully booked my friend for the next six days, we
have no single room
for you until after the Zanu PF conference, if you want
accommodation check
with us next week,” a staff member at one of Bulawayo’s
biggest hotel told
this reporter.
When the Daily News on Sunday
visited Zimbabwe International Trade Fair
(ZITF) grounds on Friday afternoon
workers were seen putting final touches
on Hall Four where the party’s
conference will be held.
Security has also been tightened at all the
entrances to the ZITF grounds
with party flags and President Robert Mugabe’s
posters plastered at every
corner.
Back in the city centre, Sydney
Mangena a manager at one of Bulawayo’s top
class restaurants was busy
receiving his last stock from his suppliers in
preparation for the big
event.
“We are expecting big business, this will be our time to make
money. During
the MDC congress in April we had a boom in sales and we expect
that to
happen again,” said Mangena.
Popular nightclubs in the city
centre have also been renovated and were
putting their final touches on
Friday.
Ladies of the night are also lining up for business.
“We can’t
wait for the event, this is time for real business, our prices
will also be
higher because of the big guys who don’t hesitate to splash
money will be in
town,” said a commercial sex worker who identified herself
as
Sinikiwe.
The lead up to the conference has also courted
controversy.
Deputy Mayor of Bulawayo Amen Mpofu is said to have clashed
with city Mayor
Patrick Thaba-Moyo over the decision to resurface roads that
will be used by
President Mugabe when he rolls into town.
One such
road is the Bulawayo Airport road.
Mpofu described as unfortunate a move
by the local authority to prioritise
the refurbishment of roads to be used
by Mugabe and other Zanu-PF delegates
during the party’s
conference.
The Bulawayo City Council has been busy refurbishing Airport
Road and Robert
Mugabe Way which leads to the ZITF.
It is the same
route that Mugabe uses whenever he comes to the city on other
engagements
such as the ZITF.
The local authority has also been fixing street lights,
robots and road
markings on the respective roads.
The Daily News on
Sunday could not establish whether the Zimbabwe National
Road Authority
(Zinara) had financed the project.
Responding to inquiries by Daily News
on Sunday on how much the local
authority had budgeted for the sprucing up
of the road networks leading to
Zanu PF’s conference venue, the deputy Mayor
said the money should have been
used to upgrade other city roads that don’t
even have tar and are full of
pot holes.
“There is no need for the
council to be doing that and prioritising only
that road when other roads
that are used by residents on a daily basis are
in urgent need of
attention.
“It is unfortunate that the council is doing so to please
Zanu-PF people who
are coming here for a few days yet ignoring other roads
that need urgent
attention. As a resident, it feels like city residents who
foot the council’s
bills are not important compared to delegates attending
the conference,”
Mpofu said in interview.
Bulawayo Mayor, Thaba-Moyo
could not be reached for comment.
This is the second time in a year that
council has been jerked into
refurbishing Airport Road and Mugabe Way to
ensure potholed-free route for
the President, his large entourage and
supporters.
In April prior to the annual ZITF, Zinara directed the
Bulawayo City Council
to quickly resurface the road to be used by Mugabe
when he visited the city
and released $300 000 for the project.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
ZOLI MANGENA | 04
December, 2011 02:33
Zanu-PF is stuck with President Robert Mugabe. The
party is set to endorse
the ailing 87-year-old as its candidate in the
elections next year or in
2013 against the will of most of its senior
members.
The party's annual conference starts on Tuesday and runs until
Saturday in
Bulawayo - the hotbed of opposition to Mugabe's repressive
31-year rule.
Zanu-PF's controversial succession issue - which is not on
the official
agenda - is likely to dominate discussions on the sidelines of
the event.
There is consensus among senior party officials that Mugabe
must retire
before the next elections, but fear of the unknown has prevented
them from
tackling the issue head-on.
Zanu-PF leaders had an
opportunity to deal with the matter on Wednesday in
their decision-making
politburo meeting - where important issues are
discussed and resolved - but
no one dared to challenge Mugabe.
Mugabe emerged unscathed and will be
given a ringing endorsement at the
conference as the party's presidential
candidate.
However, senior party officials say Mugabe's triumph at the
conference will
be a "pyrrhic" victory, as the same officials who endorse
him will not
campaign for him as they did during the 2008
elections.
After Mugabe was endorsed in 2007, senior party officials,
mainly from the
faction led by the late retired army commander, general
Solomon Mujuru,
resorted to what is called bhora mudondo (literally kicking
the ball into
the jungle to disrupt play).
"The reality is most
people want the president to retire but no one has the
courage to break the
ice on that issue," a senior politburo member said.
"So he is going to be
endorsed at conference but then it doesn't help
because the same people will
not go out after that to campaign for him. It
would be like the story of
King Pyrrhus indeed, registering a victory which
is as costly as
defeat."
After addressing his central committee on Thursday, the day
following the
politburo meeting, Mugabe said the Bulawayo conference would
be "critical"
as it would be the last gathering for Zanu-PF before the
crucial elections.
Mugabe views the next elections as a do-or-die affair,
because it will be
his last electoral battle given his age and ill-health.
"It is a critical
meeting that we should prepare for adequately since it is
the last
conference before we go for general elections," he
said.
"The forthcoming conference more or less has the same status as our
five-year congress."
According to the Zanu-PF constitution, one of
the powers and functions of
the conference is to declare the president of
the party elected at congress
as the party's candidate.
In between
regular congresses the change of a presidential candidate can
only be done
at an extraordinary congress. Six weeks' notice is required to
convene such
a congress.
Because Mugabe was duly elected at the party's 2009 congress,
he remains
Zanu-PF's presidential candidate until the next scheduled
congress in 2014,
unless an extraordinary congress is convened to remove
him.
But for now senior party officials say they are stuck with Mugabe,
whom they
fear will be a liability during the next elections.
The
elevation of the Bulawayo conference to a near-congress status allows
Zanu-PF to tinker with its leadership issues.
Most senior officials
wanted it to be changed to full a congress so that
they could push for
leadership changes, but that bid was resisted by Mugabe
and his
loyalists.
The politburo on Wednesday finalised the agenda for the
conference which
include indigenisation and empowerment, land and the
economy.
Mugabe is set to officially open the conference on Thursday and
issues will
then be debated on Friday and Saturday. Parties from the region
to be
represented at the conference include Frelimo from Mozambique,
Angola's
MPLA, Namibia's Swapo, Zambia's almost defunct Unip, Chama
Chamapinduzi of
Tanzania and the ANC from South Africa.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
by 18 hours 54 minutes ago
ZAMBIA
President, Michael Sata will not attend Zanu PF’s national conference
starting in Bulawayo on Wednesday, it has emerged.
Sata, elected
Zambia President in September, was expected to be the high
profile guest at
the conference which will, among other things, endorse
President Robert
Mugabe as Zanu PF’s candidate for polls due early next
year.
However,
Sata confirmed he would not attend the conference during a meeting
held
Saturday with Mugabe on the Zambia side of the Victoria Falls resort.
Foreign
Affairs Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Sata would now be
represented
at the ‘highest level’.
“It was basically a bilateral exchange of views
which also happened to be
the two leaders’ first meeting since Sata took
over as President,”
Mumbengegwi said of Saturday’s meeting.
“It was a
very good meeting where the leaders discussed a number of issues
of mutual
interest but I cannot go into detail.”
Meanwhile, Zanu PF national
commissar and information Minister, Webster
Shamu said the four-day event
would confirm Mugabe as the party’s candidate
for next year’s
elections.
“We are going to reaffirm the position of our last congress in
Mutare where
President Mugabe was confirmed as the party’s sole candidate in
any election
between the last congress and the next,” Shamu
said.
“The provinces have since affirmed that position at their
respective
inter-district meetings and we intend to focus our debate on
other pressing
matters such as indigenisation.”
Party chairman, Simon
Khaya Moyo said the conference would also launch
preparations for the
elections demanded by Mugabe to replace the coalition
government.
“We
will chart methods on how to move fast in mobilising everyone with
particular focus on young and female voters. This is a very key constituency
that should be given the utmost priority,” Moyo said.
“We are not
only interested in their vote, but also to have them play a
significant part
in the country’s economy through our programmes such as the
Land Reform
Exercise and indigenisation.”
Some 6000 delegates are expected to attend the
conference, party officials
said.
President Mugabe and his Zambian
counterpart, Mr Michael Sata, on Saturday
held their first meeting since the
latter was sworn into office in September
with the two leaders discussing
various issues of mutual interest.
The two-hour meeting was held at the
Royal Livingstone resort in the
southern border town but details on the
deliberations were not immediately
available yesterday as the two leaders
did not have a post-meeting media
briefing.
The meeting came a day
after Mr Sata hosted a luncheon for former United
States president Mr George
W. Bush and his wife who were in Lusaka to launch
a campaign to fight
cancer.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who attended the
meeting,
could not divulge details but said the engagement had been very
congenial.
"It was basically a bilateral exchange of views which also
happened to be
the two leaders' first meeting since Mr Sata took over as
president.
"It was a very good meeting where the leaders discussed a
number of issues
of mutual interest but I cannot go into detail," said
Mumbengegwi.
He, however, revealed that Mr Sata had confirmed that he would
be
represented at the highest level during the Zanu-PF Annual National
People's
Conference which kicks off in Bulawayo this week.
Before
meeting Mr Sata, Robert Mugabe had addressed delegates to the
Zimbabwe Local
Government Association (Zilga) annual conference held across
the Zambezi
River in Victoria Falls.
Zilga is the representative body of all the
country's local authorities and
came into existence in February 2010
following the merger of the then Urban
Councils' Association of Zimbabwe
(Ucaz) and the Association of Rural
District Councils (ARDC).
In his
speech, Mugabe urged local government leaders in both urban and rural
areas
to prioritise service delivery to the people who voted them into
office
instead of expending their energy fighting for personal benefits and
allowances.
"I am not saying councillors should not get appropriate
allowances; far from
it. They should, however, strive to ensure that they
provide good service to
citizens," said Mugabe.
He bemoaned the poor
service delivery in the country's urban centres,
particularly Harare and
Chitungwiza, adding that despite limited resources,
Bulawayo appeared to be
better managed than the capital city.
"Zvino kana tichiona mabin ane
mirwi ne- mirwi yemarara tsvina yave kuita
makomo kumisika vekanzuru vanenge
vakamirira kuti Hurumende iuye kuzotakura
marara? Zvinonyadzisa. (When we
see mounds of garbage forming little
mountains at market places, will the
local authorities be waiting for
central Government to collect the refuse?
It is shameful.)
"We want clean cities. Bulawayo is much cleaner and
better organised than
Harare. I recently visited Chitungwiza when some
Chinese eye specialists
came in and there was garbage and potholes
everywhere. This does not attract
tourists.
"Don't kill our cities,
please. Don't kill our country," said Mugabe.
He urged city councils to
draw lessons on good urban planning from places
such as Singapore, Malaysia
and China, adding that there was a need to put
effort into beautifying the
country's cities by upgrading infrastructure and
planting trees.
"I
wonder if the local government people in Harare have ever thought of
planting trees to beautify the city. The trees we have, the jacarandas, were
planted by settlers. If you go east to places like Singapore, Malaysia and
China, there is careful urban planning," said Mugabe.
He said the
Zilga conference always afforded him the opportunity to interact
with the
local government fratenity, adding that it also provided a platform
for
various partners, including Government ministries and departments, to
engage
in healthy and lively interaction.
"Government therefore appreciates the key
‘enabler role' that the local
government sector plays in national
development by providing trunk
infrastructure such as roads, health centres,
water and sanitation
facilities.
"In addition to facilitating
activities of other sectors, local authorities
are expected to assist
Central Government translate the national vision into
concrete deliverables
to our people.
"It is therefore critical that local authority programmes,
as informed by
the Millennium Development Goals and guided by Central
Government, should
always seek to address development challenges such as
poverty, gender
inequality, hunger and disease," said Mugabe.
Mugabe said
Zimbabwe had posted commendable achievements in various spheres
in the first
two decades of independence particularly in education, health,
sanitation,
food security and rural development.
These development gains had,
however, been suddenly reversed following the
imposition of illegal
sanctions against Zimbabwe by Western countries who
were protesting against
the successful Land Reform Programme.
He said contrary to assertions in
the Western and local private media that
the sanctions targeted only him and
other senior Government officials, they
had actually brought untold
suffering to the vulnerable segments of the
population.
"While the
local government sector has not been spared of the crippling
impact of the
sanctions, to our credit and to the annoyance of our
detractors, the
sanctions have not broken our resolve and determination to
continue our
thunderous and revolutionary march towards the realisation of
the cardinal
goals of the liberation struggle."
Apart from land reforms, the other
critical goal of the struggle was to
economically empower the majority black
population which had been
marginalised in colonial days. Mugabe said the
Government had embarked on a
robust indigenisation drive that was meant to
empower people through the
Community Share Ownership Trusts
scheme.
This would lead to communities deriving optimum benefits from the
exploitation of natural resources found within their respective
areas.
Mugabe said the indigenisation drive was neither a joke nor an
election
gimmick as claimed in some sections of the media.
"They
think we are that idiotic. We have got the land in the hands of our
people
and we now want the economy in the hands of our people. Hazvisi
zvemahumbwe
izvi (This is not child's play)," said Mugabe.
He called on the country's
citizens to unite behind the goal of developing
the nation and urged
supporters of the different political parties to desist
from
violence.
"Let us work, all of us, for a Zimbabwe which we all can enjoy from
Plumtree
right up to Mutare and Chipinge. Let us be true owners of our
country."
The Zilga conference was also attended by Cabinet ministers
Ignatius Chombo,
Saviour Kasukuwere, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, provincial
governors and guests
from Ghana, Togo and Botswana.
The Masvingo
Mayor, Alderman Femias Chakabuda, presented Mugabe with a
gift - a wooden
carved kudu - on behalf of Zilga.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
04/12/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has told local authorities to
concentrate on service
delivery instead of spending their time fighting for
personal benefits and
allowances.
Mugabe told a meeting of the
Zimbabwe Local Government Association (Zilga)
in Victoria Falls on Saturday
that he was concerned about the deplorable
state of service delivery in the
country’s towns and cities.
“I am not saying councillors should not get
appropriate allowances; far from
it. They should, however, strive to ensure
that they provide good service to
citizens,” Mugabe said.
Citing
Harare and Chitungwiza, Mugabe said garbage was going uncollected in
most
towns with little being done to improve other infrastructure such as
roads.
“We want clean cities. Bulawayo is much cleaner and better
organised than
Harare. I recently visited Chitungwiza when some Chinese eye
specialists
came in and there was garbage and potholes everywhere. This does
not attract
tourists.
"Don't kill our cities, please. Don't kill our
country," he said.
He challenged local authorities to do more to improve
the country’s cities,
adding they could draw lessons on good urban planning
from places such as
Singapore, Malaysia and China.
"I wonder if the
local government people in Harare have ever thought of
planting trees to
beautify the city. The trees we have, the jacarandas, were
planted by
settlers. If you go east to places like Singapore, Malaysia and
China, there
is careful urban planning," Mugabe said.
Harare also faces a water supply
crisis with nearly 250 cases of typhoid
have been treated being treated in
the city last month.
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
recently warned in a statement
that collapsed water and sanitation
facilities would cause "more suffering
and deaths" as annual rains
begin.
Nearly 250 cases of the waterborne disease typhoid have been treated
in
Harare this month.
The commission urged the government declare the
water shortages a national
disaster adding emergency funds were needed in
areas where people take
contaminated water from drains and shallow,
makeshift wells.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, December 03, 2011—Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara said last
Thursday government should no longer
look at Chinese as comrades but
businesspeople who are interested in
expanding their markets.
China has been embraced as all- weather friends
after Zimbabwe looked East
in 2004 when the western world tightened its
screws on Zimbabwe citing human
rights violations and governance
deficiencies.
Addressing mining sector stakeholders, Mutambara said:
“Chinese are no
longer comrades but coming as business people and sometimes
more shrewder
than the Americans but let us not fight them,” Mutambara
said.
Mutambara said Zimbabwe should embrace more foreign investors other
than
looking only to the east adding “the more the merrier”.
He said
government should be smarter in its dealngs with the Chinese.
China has
been engaged in barter deals with Zimbabwe providing money in
exchange for
commodities.
The Chinese are financing the building of a Defence College
in return for
mining diamonds in Marange.
Mutambara said the fact
that China has been bailing out countries shows that
it is a big player in
the world which cannot be ignored.
China has adopted a governance neutral
approach to investment and aid on the
continent at a time the west is
preaching about governance and human rights
issue, Beijing has adopted a
neutral approach thereby expanding its
footprint on the
continent.
Statistics show that China’s foreign direct investment (FDI)
in Africa has
increased yearly by an average of 46% over the last
decade.
The stock stood at US$7, 80 billion in 2008 compared to US$ 56
million in
1996.
During the first three quarters of 2009, Chinese FDI
flows into Africa
amounted to $875 million, posting an increase of almost
80% year-on-year.
This has made China a major trading partner for Africa
and it now absorbs
about 10 % of the continent’s exports.
In 2008, the
total bilateral trade amounted to US$114 billion of which US$52
billion
consisted of exports by Africa to China and US$62 billion of imports
by
Africa from China.
http://www.radiovop.com
Charity Mukwambo,
Plumtree, December 0 4, 2011-Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai on Saturday
attacked the leader of the smaller faction of the
MDC, Welshman Ncube for
pursuing personal vendettas against him.
Addressing thousands of his
MDC-T supporters in the border town of Plumtree,
Tsvangirai said Ncube and
his party should focus on bread and batter issues
rather than tongue lash
him at their party’s rallies.
“Zvinobatsireiko kuramba uchingoti
Tsvangirai, Tsvangirai every day. How can
you practice politics of
personalities? We want politics of issues,” said
the Prime Minister
referring to Ncube’s recent attacks on him.
The Prime Minister said his
party is the only political party in the country
which takes people’s
concerns seriously and has managed to unite all the
ethnic groups in the
country.
“Look at what we have done in the inclusive government. When the
inclusive
government was formed in 2009, our national budget was $US1
billion but the
budget has grown to $US4 billion. Our inflation now is the
lowest in the
world. Next year we are also going to launch the Health
Transition Fund
which will allow pregnant women and children to access
health services free
of charge in government health
institutions”.
Tsvangirai also revealed that all the three principals in
the inclusive
government have agreed to find a mechanism which will allow
Zimbabweans in
the Diaspora especially those in South Africa and Botswana to
vote during
the next elections which the Prime Minister hinted might be held
next year.
The Premier also castigated the indigenisation
programme.
“Jobs are not created by taking over Paul’s firm and give it
to Peter. We
have to increase the size of the cake. We need to have an
enabling
environment which attracts investment from both inside and outside
the
country. This is where we differ with Zanu-PF,” he said.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Gift Phiri, Senior Writer
Sunday, 04 December 2011
10:39
HARARE - In a spell-binding case, two suspended senior Central
Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) operatives have dragged the dreaded spy
agency to court,
demanding re-instatement on the basis that there is no law
in Zimbabwe
governing the operations of the organisation.
The
extremely rare case is likely to re-ignite national debate around the
security sector, as well as the desperate need for reforms in these shadowy
and much abused structures.
CIO chief administration officer David
Nyabando and chief transport officer
Ricky Manwere were suspended in 1998
from the spy agency over a Z$17 million
fraud that they allegedly
committed.
The CIO alleges that Nyabando and Manwere defrauded the state
of cash that
was supposed to be used for building “safe houses”.
On
their part, the two officers insist that they built the safe houses but
were
pushed out of the spy agency in controversial circumstances.
Nyabando and
Manwere were jointly charged with Lovemore Mukandi, the former
deputy
director-general of the CIO — who was arrested at the airport in
September
this year after his deportation from Canada.
Mukandi has since been freed
by the courts.
Mukandi and his boss, Shadreck Chipanga, former Zanu PF MP
for Makoni East,
were dismissed from the spy agency in 1999.
They
were replaced by the current director-general Happyton Bonyongwe and
Retired
Brigadier Elisha Muzonzini, respectively.
Bonyongwe is the first
respondent in this case.
Following their suspension on October 6, 1998,
the spy agency failed to call
the officers for a hearing.
The two
officers approached the High Court in 2005 seeking a declaratory
order that
their suspension from duty was unlawful, null and void and that
the
inordinately long time it had taken authorities to hear their case
breached
provisions of section 18(9) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which
states
that: “Every person is entitled to be afforded a fair hearing within
a
reasonable time.”
They also want to be re-instated to their posts and be
paid all salaries and
benefits due to them with effect from the date of
suspension.
The CIO served the two officers with a convening order on
December 25, 2005
stating that a board of inquiry had been set up to look
into their
allegations.
The two officers turned up with their lawyer
Albert Nyikadzino of Musunga
and Associates.
But the hearing never
took place.
The two officers’ lawyer subsequently wrote to the CIO bosses
again on June
9, 2006 to seek clarity on the matter and was advised that the
disciplinary
hearing would now take place on July 6, 2006.
At that
hearing, Nyikadzino stated that it was unconstitutional for the two
to be
charged for misconduct in terms of the Public Service (Disciplinary)
Regulations “because Section 14(e) of the Public Service Act, Chapter 16:04
specifically excludes members of the CIO from the Public Service,” the High
Court papers say.
The papers also state that Section 113 (10) of the
Act clearly states that
members of the CIO are not part of the Public
Service and cannot be
disciplined under any law in Zimbabwe.
The CIO
board of inquiry, headed by the director of administration,
disagreed and
postponed the hearing so that the two officers could make an
application to
the Supreme Court to ascertain if that was the correct
position at
law.
The Supreme Court, sitting as a constitutional court, concurred that the
CIO
was not regulated by any Zimbabwean law.
“It is, therefore, clear
beyond any doubt that the applicants, being members
of the CIO, were not
part of the Public Service and were not governed by the
Act and the
Regulations,” says the October 15, 2007 Supreme Court
ruling.
“Accordingly, the disciplinary procedure set out in the
regulations did not
apply to them. Consequently, the board set up by the
CIO, purportedly in
terms of the regulations was not covered by the
expression ‘other
adjudicating authority established by law’ in Section
18(9) of the
Constitution, as it was not set up in terms of any law
governing the members
of the CIO.”
The officers’ lawyer then wrote to
the Civil Division of the Attorney
General’s Office stating that the effect
of the Supreme Court ruling was
that the operatives were still in the employ
of the spy agency and were
supposed to be paid all their salaries and
allowances from the date of the
suspension.
Despite the unequivocal
position at law, the CIO again advised on January
12, 2009 that there was to
be another disciplinary board of inquiry that had
been scheduled for
Chaminuka Building on February 5, 2009.
The CIO officers’ lawyer wrote
back stating it was practically impossible
for Nyabando and Manwere to be
dragged before a disciplinary board of
inquiry which is illegally
constituted.
The two CIO officers then simultaneously turned to the
courts again seeking
to interdict the spy agency from convening the board of
inquiry.
On October 26, 2010, the two officers approached the High Court
seeking a
final draft order to be re-instated, saying their suspension was
null and
void and that the CIO was not entitled to hold any inquiry into the
alleged
acts of misconduct.
The CIO director-general, Bonyongwe,
delegated his deputy Mernard Muzariri,
now late, to sign the opposing
affidavit.
The officers’ lawyers then threatened in a letter to the Civil
Division of
the AG’s Office that the CIO affidavit created a basis for
filing criminal
charges against what they said was “forging or
misrepresentation of the
affidavit”.
The AG’s office wrote to the CIO
on 13 December, 2010, to pursue an out of
court settlement.
Instead
of pursuing an out of court settlement as advised by the government
lawyers,
the CIO filed a second set of opposing papers in the High Court,
this time
the deponent being Muzariri.
But again the papers did not bear Muzariri’s
signature.
The CIO was again advised on January 27 this year, that the
papers they had
lodged had “forged signatures” as well.
The CIO waited
until Muzariri died.
After Muzariri died, they filed an application to
say they were seeking
condonation to allow them time to file a third set of
opposing papers.
http://www.radiovop.com
Nompumelelo Moyo, Bulawayo, December
04, 2011 - The Welshman Ncube led
Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC)
Priscilla Musihairabwi Mushonga last
Friday fired a barrage on deputy
speaker of parliament Nomalanga Khumalo and
other MPs that support
her.
On Friday Khumalo, two other MPs and two senators allegedly defected
from
the MDC led by Ncube to join a splinter MDC led by Deputy Prime
Minister
Arthur Mutambara.
Mutambara’s formation announced that
Tsholotsho South MP Maxwell Dube,
Gwanda North’s Zinti Mnkandla, Umzingwane
senator Khembo Dube and Lupane
Senator Dalumuzi Khumalo have joined
them.
On Thursday More than 20 MPs walked out of Parliament in protest
over the
alleged expulsion of Khumalo from her party.
The MPs walked
out while Ncube was moving a motion that the National Incomes
and Pricing
Commission Bill be restored on the Order Paper after it could
not be debated
in the previous session of Parliament.
The irate Zanu-PF and MDC-T MPs
refused to listen to Ncube’s submissions
and interjected, calling him a
“party-less president who had no members in
his party as he had fired
several of them”.
Speaking at a public dialogue meeting organized by
Bulawayo Agenda,
Musihairabwi Mushonga came out guns blazing and did not
mince her words as
she insisted that party cadres must stick by the party’s
value system at all
times.
“If we sit here and say you belong to a
political party, then we must agree
that you have to do things according to
the party’s value system. How do you
explain that a member of a political
party, elected on that party’s ticket,
stands up and insults its (party)
president?
“I don’t care if you are a woman, you are gay or you are
transgender, the
point is that you have to stick with your party’s rules,”
she said.
Condemning the walk out on Thursday, Musihairabwi Mushonga said
she was
disappointed that most of those MPs that walked out of Ncube are
from
Matabeleland.
“Today, because the (MDC -T) and Zanu- PF held hands
and jeered, it is good.
Let us stick to that even tomorrow,” she said.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
Saturday, 03 December 2011
00:00
Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
CALEDONIA Mining Corporation has
scoffed at Government's economic
empowerment drive, branding indigenisation
regulations a political gimmick
to lure votes for Zanu-PF.
The
Canadian firm's remarks come at a time when President Mugabe has told
foreign companies that are not comfortable with the black empowerment drive
to leave the country.
The Toronto and London-listed gold mining company
which owns Blanket Mine in
Gwanda was this week quoted by Mining Weekly as
vowing not to cede 51
percent stake as prescribed by law.
Caledonia chief
executive officer Mr Stefan Hayden said his company did not
intend to
finalise a sale of its shares to locals until the run-up to
elections.
Mr
Hayden said the policy was "a political football game at the moment".
"If
Zanu-PF plays the indigenisation card now, then, come the elections,
there
is nothing left to play," he was quoted as saying.
Mr Hayden said
negotiations on his company's indigenisation plan "will
continue until
before the elections".
Caledonia looks forward to producing at least 40
000 ounces of gold next
year.
Zanu-PF yesterday advised the firm to
comply with the law, saying the
indigenisation programme was
unstoppable.
"All companies are expected to comply with the
indigenisation law. We are
not politicking.
"We are empowering our people
and this has been demonstrated by the
Chegutu-Mhondoro-Ngezi-Zvimba and Unki
Mine Community Share Ownership
Trusts," said Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare
Gumbo.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu refused to
comment on
thematter yesterday, referring all questions to Youth
Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere.
Caledonia has always been on a collision course with
Government.
Its mining licence was briefly cancelled mid this year after the
company
failed to submit an acceptable indigenisation plan.
Mr Hayden
flew into the country following the cancellation of the licence
and engaged
Minister Kasukuwere.
Government lifted the cancellation after the firm
pledged to provide a
revised economic empowerment plan compliant with the
Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Act.
Launching the Tongogara
Community Share Ownership Trust at Anglo-American
Corporation-owned Unki
Mine recently, President Mugabe said of defiant
companies: "This (black
economic empowerment) is our policy. We do not hide
it. We want empowerment
for our people. Vanenge vasingade, we say go now, if
not yesterday."
http://www.timeslive.co.za
HENDRICKS CHIZHANJE | 03 December, 2011
17:05
Zimbabwe's debt-ridden national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, plunged
deeper into
crisis after a South African company seized one of its planes
over an
outstanding debt.
Air Zimbabwe's Boeing 737-500, one of the
airline's short-haul planes, was
impounded at OR Tambo International Airport
just after landing from Harare
on Friday.
The aircraft, the only
operational aircraft for Air Zimbabwe after all of
its planes were grounded
last week, was scheduled to return to Harare and
pick up passengers flying
to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.
However, officials from Bid Air Services
detained the plane and parked a
lorry behind the aircraft to block
it.
Bid Air demanded payment of $500000 for ground-handling services,
which Air
Zimbabwe had neglected to pay.
An Air Zimbabwe
representative, based at the national airline's offices at
OR Tambo , and an
engineer who had flown to Johannesburg transferred
passengers to the
departure lounge and personally picked up baggage from the
plane after Bid
Air Services declined to provide the service.
President Robert Mugabe was
scheduled to fly to Victoria Falls yesterday to
open a conference organised
by the Zimbabwe Local Government Association.
Officials at Air Zimbabwe
were desperately trying to negotiate with Bid Air
Services for the release
of the company's only operational plane, so as not
to embarrass
Mugabe.
The airplane was later released and returned to Harare after Bid
Air agreed
give Air Zimbabwe until Tuesday to pay.
Neither Air
Zimbabwe acting CEO Innocent Mavhunga nor board chairman
Jonathan Kadzura
were available for comment on Friday.
The Sunday Times heard on Friday
that Air Zimbabwe again suspended
international flights as all of the
airline's long-haul aircraft were
grounded, owing to shortages of spares for
repairs.
The suspension of the flights resulted in the cancellation of
the
Harare-China Friday night flight and the Harare-London flight scheduled
for
today.
Last month Air Zimbabwe, which only resumed flights in
September after a
strike, suspended its international flights due to a fuel
shortage.
With the
sun setting as early as 4 pm and our unusually warm autumn weather giving way to
winter, we at the Vigil need everything we can get to cheer us up as we stand
out in the cold. One of the posters in the Embassy window did the trick. Part of
the ‘Wonders of Zimbabwe’ tourist promotion campaign, it read ‘Wonder what our
cultural ceremonies are like?’ We couldn’t help but think of Tsvangirai’s on-off
wedding.
But a
canvass of opinion among Vigil supporters showed that the affair was more than a
laughing matter. People were alarmed that Tsvangirai appears to have walked
blindly into a Zanu PF trap and has become a laughing stock. There were nods of
agreement when someone said ‘Angagotonga seyi nyika ari mumagumbeze?’ (How can
he rule the country when he’s always in bed?)
Although
there is respect for the Prime Minister’s heroic work leading the MDC for the
past twelve years, it was felt that he should – as the saying goes – consider
his position. Zanu PF has been paralysed by its inability to renew its
leadership. The MDC should not make the same mistake. We believe there is no
shortage of talent in the MDC and, with elections unlikely in the foreseeable
future, there would be time for a new leader to make his mark.
But
somehow we doubt Tsvangirai will make way. One of the Prime Minister’s
characteristics was suggested in another poster in the Embassy’s advertising
campaign: ‘Wonder what an elephant’s skin feels like?’ . .
.
Other
points
· Thanks to
Abdul Conteh from the Gambia who spent the afternoon (in the Embassy doorway)
restringing and tuning our drums with great skill. The resultant sound was a
revelation. It attracted a member of the anti-bankers protest group which has
been camping outside St Paul’s Cathedral, who joined in the dancing and said she
wished we could go drumming at St Paul’s.
· The Vigil
was joined by an activist from the DRC carrying a placard reading ‘Stop the rape
in the DRC’. He said he supported us because Mugabe supported President Kabila.
‘He is a killer like Mugabe,’ he said.
· Vigil
co-ordinator Dumi Tutani was interviewed this week on ‘Beyond Protest, by
Tererai Karimakwenda of SW Radio Africa. To listen to the interview, check: http://www.swradioafrica.2bctnd.net/11_11/bp251111.mp3.
· Representatives of the Vigil were invited to attend an event in
London this week to launch a new book on Zimbabwe ‘Catastrophe – what went wrong
in Zimbabwe?’ The author, Richard Bourne, is senior research fellow at the
Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London University. He said he followed our
activities through reading the Vigil diary. As for the book, Professor Stephen
Chan, an authority on Zimbabwe, said ‘there will not be a better account of
Zimbabwe for some time to come’.
· Vigil
supporters were reminded of a special event at the Vigil on Saturday
10th December. We are to be joined by the Zimbabwe Europe Network to
mark UN International Human Rights Day. Two speakers from Zimbabwe civil
society will be coming: Gideon Shoko, Deputy
Secretary General, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, and Fadzai Muparutsa of
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website.
FOR THE
RECORD: 64 signed the
register.
EVENTS AND
NOTICES:
·
The Restoration of
Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s
partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil
to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s
mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through
membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in
Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other
website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents the
views and opinions of ROHR.
·
ZBN News.
The
Vigil management team wishes to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not
responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that
they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no
control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN News.
·
The Zim Vigil
band
(Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our
Vigil)’ to raise awareness through music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video
check: http://ourvigil.notlong.com. To watch other
Zim Vigil band protest songs, check: http://Shungurudza.notlong.com and http://blooddiamonds.notlong.com.
·
Human Rights Day at
the Zimbabwe Vigil. Saturday
10th December from 2 – 6 pm outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, London. We
will be joined by the Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN) who will be bringing
two speakers from Zimbabwe civil society: Gideon Shoko, Deputy
Secretary General, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, and Fadzai Muparutsa of
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe.
·
ROHR Manchester
Meetings. Saturday
10th December (committee meeting from 11 am – 1 pm, general meeting
from 2 – 5 pm). Venue: The Salvation
Army Citadel, 71 Grosvenor Road, Manchester M13 9UB. Contact; Delina
Tafadzwa Mutyambizi 07775313637, Chamunorwa Chihota 07799446404, Panyika
Karimanzira 07551062161, Artwell Pfende 07886839353.
·
ROHR Manchester
Vigil. Saturday
31st December from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Cathedral Gardens, Manchester City Centre
(subject to change to Piccadilly Gardens). Contact; Delina Tafadzwa
Mutyambizi 07775313637, Chamunorwa Chihota 07799446404, Panyika Karimanzira
07551062161, Artwell Pfende 07886839353.
·
Vigil Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.
·
Vigil Myspace
page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil.
·
‘Through the
Darkness’, Judith Todd’s
acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe. To receive a copy by post in the UK
please email confirmation of your order and postal address to
ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and send a cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to
Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA. All
proceeds go to the Budiriro Trust which provides bursaries to needy A Level
students in Zimbabwe.
Vigil
co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe.
http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
