Zimbabwe agrees to Kimberley Process monitor for Chiadzwa diamonds

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Feb 17, 2010, 11:38 GMT

Harare - A key step has been made toward Zimbabwe exporting its diamonds
from the controversial Chiadzwa claims as authorities said Wednesday they
had accepted the nomination of a prominent South African figure as monitor
on behalf of an international trade watchdog.

Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted in the state-run Herald
newspaper as saying the government had accepted Abbey Chikane, the head of
the South African Diamond Board and a former chairman of the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme (KP) as monitor for the eastern diamond fields.

A meeting of the KP, made up of diamond-producing countries, representatives
of the world diamond trade and civil society bodies in November had ruled
that Chiadzwa diamonds could only be exported after being certified by a
KP-appointed monitor.

The KP laid down the condition after the organization received reports of
brutal military control over the fields and rampant exploitation and
smuggling from the alluvial find, estimated by experts to be the biggest in
a century.

The appointment of a monitor was blocked for four months by disputes between
KP and Harare over the names put forward by both sides.

Chikane is also a director of the World Diamond Council, which has been
highly critical of Zimbabwe's lack of transparency in Chiadzwa, and accused
the KP of not being firm in its dealings with Zimbabwe.

In terms of a 'joint work plan' set out by the KP at the November meeting,
the monitor is to have 'full and unhindered access' to all aspects of
Chiadzwa output, the report said.

Analysts saw however that Zimbabwe still falls short of meeting its
obligations under the work plan, including the withdrawal of the military
from the site, and unchecked smuggling.

There are also questions over two South African-based companies that have
been awarded licenses to mine the diamonds in a joint venture with the
state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.

The companies were given the go-ahead to dig for gems despite a court order
declaring that the claim belongs to London-listed African Consolidated
Resources.

Minister urges dialogue on empowerment laws

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Brian Chiwara Wednesday 17 February 2010

HARARE - Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister Walter Muzembi on Tuesday urged Harare
coalition partners to engage constructively on the country's controversial
empowerment laws announced last week compelling foreign-owned firms to cede
controlling stake to locals.

The new set of empowerment regulations have sent foreign-owned firms into
panic with threats of imprisonment for foreign shareholders (or presumably
their local representatives) who fail to sell 51 percent stake to indigenous
Zimbabweans within the next five years.

The announcement of the regulations by Indigenisation Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere triggered an uproar from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC
party which said such policies were supposed to be negotiated under the
terms of a September 2008 power-sharing agreement that set up the country's
unity government.

But Muzembi, aware of the damage publication of the regulations has done to
his efforts to lure investors back to Zimbabwe's tourism sector, appealed
for further engagement among all stakeholders to come up with an agreed
policy.

"Whilst we are aware of the ongoing debate around the investment legislation
for Zimbabwe, we believe that all that might actually be required is further
engagement on the part of stakeholders," Muzembi told delegates to the
Tourism Investment Conference that opened in Harare yesterday.

"We are confident that clarification on certain aspects of the legislation,
explaining areas of apparent contradiction and insensitivity to valid
concerns of some stakeholders, will bring about consensus," said Muzembi.

"Happily, 80 percent of the tourism sector is already in indigenous hands
and therefore it has scope for greater external shareholding, as well as for
other innovative models that can give comfort to the external investor, than
might be the case in other sectors. But for us, the ability and willingness
to engage is key."

Zimbabwe seeks to use the conference - which has attracted 1 000 delegates
from across the world, including the World Tourism Organisation, the
Regional Tourist Organisation of Southern Africa, and tourism ministers from
African countries including Ghana, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon - to
drum up foreign investment inflows for the tourism industry.

The troubled southern African country's tourism image has suffered from
intense bad publicity since President Robert Mugabe embarked on his violent
farm seizures in 2000 displacing white commercial farmers and replacing them
with landless blacks.

Tourist arrivals plunged from 2,5 million in 2007 to 1,9 million in 2008.

Zimbabwe's business leaders - no doubt driven by a desire to avoid the chaos
that befell agriculture - are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to
forestall the threatened company seizures.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president Kumbirai Katsande last
week said business would lobby the government over the new regulations that
Kasukuwere said will be come effective on March 1.

Under the empowerment regulations foreign-owned businesses operating in
Zimbabwe will be forced to sell a majority stake to locals by March 2015.

The regulations are seen as a potentially fatal blow to efforts to woo
foreign investors to help rebuild the country's economy shattered by 10
years of political turmoil and acute recession. - ZimOnline

‘Harare to get water once every three days’

http://www.herald.co.zw

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Herald Reporters

HARARE and surrounding towns will experience erratic water supplies with
most suburbs getting supplies at least once in three days, a senior
municipal official has said.

Large swathes of the city, Chitungwiza, Norton and Ruwa have had
intermittent water supplies over the past week and the situation will not
improve in the near future because there are no solutions in sight, Harare
Town Clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi said on Monday.

Dr Mahachi and the director of water Engineer Christopher Zvobgo said this
during a tour of Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant by the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Urban and Rural Development and the
Thematic Committee on Gender and Development. The Parliamentary committee is
chaired by Chimanimani West House of Asse-mbly representative Mrs Lynette
Karenyi (MDC-T), while Mrs Enna Chitsa (MDC-T), the Senator for Masotsha
Ndlovu, chairs the Thematic Committee on Gender and Development.

Dr Mahachi said Morton Jaffray and Prince Edward Water Treatment Plants’
combined pumping capacity was 60 percent per day and 40 percent of the
pumped water was lost to leakage.

"At the moment there is no answer to the water challenges but there have
been some improvements in the supplies since we took over from Zinwa. Morton
Jaffray and Prince Edward Water Treatment Plants’ combined capacity stand at
705 megalitres per day against a demand of over 1 000 megalitres for Greater
Harare.

"Zinwa used to pump a combined capacity of 390 megalitres per day but it’s
now 600 megalitres per day. Morton Jaffray pumps 530 megalitres against a
capacity of 614 while Prince Edward has 70 megalitres out of a capacity of
90 megalitres per day. If we try to pump at full capacity at Prince Edward
we are afraid we will drain Harava Dam," Dr Mahachi said.

He said council had received US$3,6 million in the 2010 National Budget and
had used it to renovate pipes and equipment, which saw them reclaiming 50
megalitres. Eng Zvobgo added: "Even if we renovate everything and we pump
water at 100 percent, water rationing will continue for some time because
our total capacity cannot match demand. Water is life therefore, we have to
make sure everyone gets it and at the moment the only way to address that
challenge is rationing the water. People should at least get water once
every three days. We need a new water source because the sources that we
currently have cannot meet demand for the whole of Greater Harare," Eng
Zvobgo said.

He bemoaned the lack of follow-up by policymakers; saying if Kunzvi and
Musami dams had been completed water challenges would have been addressed.

Morton Jaffray senior superintendent Mr Paul Chabata said the water was
clean.

"Raw water from Lake Chivero is highly polluted and to make it clean we are
using at least eight chemicals to purify it. The water we are pumping meets
World Health Organisation standards and our quality control personnel are
always checking the water to make sure people do not get contaminated water.
We can boldly say we are happy with the quality of the water," he said.

Dr Mahachi said the city council was using about US$2 million per month for
the eight chemicals, some of which are imported.

"City of Harare is footing 60 percent of the chemicals bill while 40 percent
is from UNICEF at least until the end of the year."

Harare recently received a US$150 million loan from China’s Exim Bank to
improve water infrastructure but Water Resources Minister Samuel Sipepa
Nkomo says about US$250 million is needed.

Yesterday, residents of Crowborough and Kuwadzana said they had not had
running water for the past three days and were relying on unprotected
sources in Cold Comfort.

Residents said there were few boreholes in Crowborough meaning they had to
walk about three kilometres to find water.

"It is much wiser that the council restore service early in our area because
of the lack of safe water sources in our neighbourhood. We fear cholera,"
said Joice Mabhunu.

Enoch Saruchera added: "The situation is bad and we are being forced to
fetch water from unsafe sources. The municipality should address the problem
early. They are saying there is a problem with the pipe that supplies
Crowborough with water but three days is too long a period to repair a
pipe."

Another resident, Tatenda Mbona, said, "Council is charging a lot for water
and they are quick to disconnect their services if the bills are not settled
on time. If the speed they used in disconnecting their services was the same
effort they would put in restoring services to us we would not have problems
with that."

Mugabe defends local takeover of Zimbabwean firms

http://af.reuters.com

Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:13pm GMT

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe defended on Wednesday
his government's drive to transfer majority control of foreign-owned firms
to local blacks, saying wise investors would continue to put money into the
country.

Minister of Indigenisation and Empowerment Saviour Kasukuwere, a Mugabe ally
in Zimbabwe's fractious unity government, told foreign firms last week to
present plans on how they would transfer 51 percent shareholdings to local
blacks within 45 days from March 1.

Mugabe rejected suggestions that implementation of an indigenisation law
passed in 2007 would frighten off foreign investors, saying they could still
hold large stakes in local companies.

"Forty-nine percent is a hell lot of equity, it is only the foolish ones who
will say so," he told reporters. "Wise ones will take it up."

By contrast, Mugabe's political rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said
last week that the regulations were null and void because they had been
published without being reviewed by him or the cabinet.

Analysts say the dispute shows rising tension in the year-old coalition
government, which has failed to attract much-needed foreign aid and
investment due to frequent wrangles over reforms.

This week the European Union extended sanctions on Zimbabwe for another 12
months, citing a lack of progress in fulfilling the power-sharing pact.

Mugabe earlier told an international tourism investment conference, hosted
by his government, that foreign investors should partner African states to
develop the sector.

The veteran leader, who turns 86 on Sunday, slammed the EU's decision to
extend the sanctions, which he says are meant to punish him for his seizure
of white commercial farms to resettle landless blacks.

"We know their attitude, they don't want anyone, any country in the
developing world, to make any meaningful developmental strides," Mugabe
said.

"That attitude is more pronounced even in regard to Zimbabwe. When they make
those noises, it is because they lost that which they occupied illegally,
which is now in our possession," he said referring to his land seizure
drive.

Mugabe said Zimbabwe was co-operating with the Kimberley Process -- a
certification scheme set up to monitor diamond trades following wars
financed by the gems -- to reform diamond mining at its Marange diamond
fields.

However, he added: "We are trying to play it their way, that is following
the Kimberley Process, but we can do it otherwise and we can sell our own
diamonds elsewhere."

Cost of living up by 10%

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Paul Ndlovu
Wednesday, 17 February 2010 06:48
HARARE - As industry struggles to recover, the high cost of locally
producing goods has pushed the cost of living up by 10 per cent and the
breadbasket by 3 per cent, according to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
(CCZ).
Rosemary Siyachitema, the executive director of CCZ, said the cost of food
increased in January this year compared to December last year. CCZ said the
total breadbasket for January 2010 cost US$520,53 compared to US$488,11 for
December 2009.
Siyachitema attributed the increase to the festive season and the
anticipation that teachers' salaries would be put up. The disorder in the
utilities institutions, such as the long periods of electricity load
shedding, has lead to confusion of bills and ridiculously high charges that
has pushed the cost of living high.
"There is a need for capacity utilisation to be upgraded so that
manufacturers have inputs that will enable production to improve. Due to
small capacity unity cost of their goods it becomes high thus it leads to
high cost of living," she said.
Prices are still high compared to the regional prices. Imported products
dominate the local market, as the local industry is still under-producing.
There is a national crisis when it comes to producing. The local producers
cannot meet demand.

National healing elusive, as torture bases re-emerge

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Radio VOP
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 11:56
HARARE - The signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) by Zanu (PF)
and two formations of the MDC last February not only brought hope but relief
to many Zimbabweans who had been living in fear of their lives due to
political violence. (Pictured: Robert Mugabe & Morgan Tsvangirai)
The three political parties quickly set up a national healing ministry,
headed by top officials from the three parties, to spearhead a national
healing process and promote re-building of the country hit by political
strife and economic decline for a decade. These were Ministers John Nkomo
(Zanu (PF)) (now Vice President), Gibson Sibanda (MDC-M) and Sekai Holland.
A year later, Zimbabweans are becoming disillusioned, as healing appears
elusive.
Civil Society organisations fear another escalation of political violence if
the new unity government does not reform the uniformed forces and state
security departments.
"With the increasingly polarized political landscape, a resurgence of is
institutionalized human rights violations, particularly in regard to
harassment of  human rights activists and  increased use of repressive
legislation are expected. And if Zimbabwe is not to return to the pre-June
2008 era, there is an urgent need for institutional reforms," warns the
Civil Society Monitoring Mechanisation (CISOMM).
CISOMM is a grouping of civil society organisations independently monitoring
and evaluating the performance of the inclusive government.
"The conduct of the Police, Army and Prison officials has remained in breach
of the spirit of the Inclusive Government intended to reform these and
inculcate a culture of respect for human rights. At the same time these
institutions have not yet received any of the human rights training that was
also a requirement of the GPA," it says.
"This is disappointing, given the shared responsibility of the Ministry of
Home Affairs by MDC and Zanu (PF) Ministers. Training curriculum for the
uniformed forces should be urgently revised, with the inclusion of experts
from the civil society and implementation to be monitored. This will bring
an immediate halt to political violence and intimidation and harassment of
political activists, lawyers and journalists. This will also see an
increased respect for the freedoms of assembly and association by
uninterrupted political rallies, meetings, and workshops of all kinds."

Unaware of healing
A recent survey has shown that most rural Zimbabweans are unaware of the
healing process. The survey conducted in all the country's 10 provinces by
the Mass Public Opinion Institute, said 65 percent of the rural population
interviewed said they had never heard of the National Healing Organ and its
responsibilities.
They said they had no clue about the programme. It also came out in the
report that 62 percent of f Zanu (PF) supporters wanted perpetrators of
political violence to be given an amnesty, while 59 percent of MDC
supporters demanded an immediate arrest of the perpetrators of the June 2008
political violence.
"We are surprised that the programme of national healing is talked of in
hotels, leaving out the rural areas where the victims are. The other problem
is that some of the people who were appointed to spearhead the programme are
politicians who were the initiators of political violence. To them it makes
no sense to denounce political violence. We must remember that political
violence is always initiated by politicians who mobilise people for their
political gains and its difficult for the same people to de-campaign the
act, says an observer, Bernard Kwangwari.
"This responsibility was supposed to be given to the churches as they are
known for praying for peace not some of these politicians who are
 murderers," commented Sheila Kamangira, another observer.

Torture bases
There have been reports that torture bases have been set up in Nyanga North,
Makoni, Chegutu farms, and Gokwe Gumunyu. These are said to be manned by
armed personnel and youth militia. Some villagers have been threatened with
death if they refuse to support the Kariba Draft when the constitution
making teams visit them to solicit their ideas.
CISOMM says it is concerned at the re-emergency of militia controlled
torture bases in rural areas ahead of the country's constitution making
process, harassment of human rights activists, journalists and the few
remaining white commercial  farmers.
Fresh fears have gripped Zimbabwe's media fraternity following the arrest of
distributors of The Zimbabwean ******, an independent newspaper published in
the United Kingdom but widely distributed across Zimbabwe.
The director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe
chapter, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, said the arrests betrayed the inclusive
government's lack of commitment to open up media space.
"We have to bear it in mind that this incident comes just a few weeks after
journalist Stanley Kwenda fled the country after receiving death threats,
and the brief detention of another journalist, Adrison Manyere," says
Ngwenya.

Cholera kills 9 in Zimbabwe

http://www.afriquejet.com

 

Health officials in Zimbabwe said Wednesday cholera had killed nine people
in the southern district of Mwenezi, and that it appeared to be spreading to
neighbouring regions.

Provincial medical director Robert Mudyiradima said medical teams had been
dispatched to the district and surrounding areas to contain the disease.

He said a further eight cases of cholera were under treatment in Mwenezi,
and there were signs the disease was spreading.

"We are doing all that we can to make sure that the situation is under
control and at the moment we have been disinfecting several wells in areas
affected by the outbreak," he said.

Last year, cholera killed more than 4,000 people and infected over 100,000
others in an outbreak which drew the attention of the whole world.

The latest outbreak is suspected to have been caused by drinking dirty water
from unprotected sources.

Harare - Pana 17/02/2010

Tollgates net US$7m in 4 months

Controversial ... Tollgates unpopular with Zimbabwe motorists

17/02/2010 00:00:00
	by Lebo Nkatazo

 

CONTROVERSIAL tollgates on Zimbabwe's major roads are earning the government US$1,7 million every month, Transport Minister Nicholas Goche told parliament on Wednesday.

Goche revealed close to US$7 million was raised in the first four months of the toll gates being introduced.

The minister told MPs the money was being used to repair roads and buy rain-coats for police officers helping with security at the tollgates.

Goche said: "For the period from 18 August 2008 to 31st December 2009, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authourity (Zimra) collected a total of US$6,746,496 on the 22 tollgate sites.

"After a 10 percent deduction for Zimra's administration fees, US$2 million was disbursed to eight provinces for the maintenance of regional, primary and a limited secondary road network."

The minister said US$280,000 had been invested in the resurfacing of the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway, while US$500,000 had been allocated for the resurfacing of the Harare-Norton road, starting from the Kuwadzana round-about and stretching to the old Snake Park.

Works are in progress, Goche said.

The money for road-works is being channelled through the state-owned Zimbabwe National Road Authority (ZINARA).

The tollgates have beeing criticised by motorists who say they have not seen the benefits, with most of the country's roads in a poor state of repair.

Obama dispatches US politicians to Harare

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=27375

February 16, 2010

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - President Barack Obama of the United States of America will this
week dispatch a five-member delegation of US congressmen led by
Representative Gregory Meeks.

Meeks to assess progress in Zimbabwe's inclusive government which turned one
year old last week.

"A five-member congressional delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives
will visit Zimbabwe February 18th 2010 to assess progress in the
implementation of the Global Political Agreement, economic reforms and visit
U.S. funded humanitarian assistance projects," Tim Gerhardson, Public
Affairs Officer at the US embassy said in a statement Tuesday.

While in Zimbabwe on Thursday, said Gerhardson, the delegation will meet
with senior government officials from the major political parties and
leaders from non-governmental organizations.

Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York, will be accompanied by
Representatives Melvin Watt (Democrat, North Carolina), André Carson
(Democrat, Indiana) and Jack Kingston (Republican, Georgia).

This will be the second visit to Zimbabwe in six months for Congressmen
Meeks, Watt and Kingston.

In September last year, Meeks led a five-member delegation that met with
President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Speaker of the
House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo and the tri-partite chairs of the
Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution.

The delegation would be the third high level delegation since the onset of
Zimbabwe's diplomatic stand-off with the US nine years ago.

The first high level visit was that of US congressman Donald Payne in July
last year.

Payne chairs the US Congress' House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Sub-Committee on Africa and Global Health.

He was allegedly involved in the crafting of the controversial Zimbabwe
Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) in 2001-2002.

Little however is expected to come out of Thursday's visit by the American
delegation as parties to Zimbabwe's coalition government have refused to
compromise on their positions while trading accusations for the slow
implantation of the GPA.

President Mugabe's Zanu PF has refused to make further concessions to the
GPA saying the MDC should first influence the lifting of western imposed
sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The visit is also likely to be met with hardening attitudes from Zanu-PF
whose hopes of seeing the sanctions go were dashed by a European Union
declaration this week that sanctions must continue until Zimbabweans
complied with the GPA.

The EU on Monday extended sanctions on Zimbabwe for another 12 months,
citing a lack of progress in implementing the power-sharing accord signed by
Zanu-PF and the two MDC parties in September 2008.

Journo wrongfully arrested in Zim

http://www.iol.co.za

    February 17 2010 at 10:19AM

Harare - Zimbabwe's security agencies are thwarting attempts to boost
tourism to the cash-strapped country during the World Cup in neighbouring
South Africa, a government minister complained.

Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi told journalists he was "extremely
concerned" after a Mexican journalist, who had been specially accredited by
authorities to make a documentary on tourist sites in southern Zimbabwe, was
wrongfully arrested.

Mexico is one of the 32 teams participating in the tournament.

The documentary aims to show Mexicans how and where to travel in Zimbabwe
between their side's matches.

"We approve a journalist from Mexico to go and film in (the town of)
Masvingo and he was arrested," he said.

"The same journalist with my driver, my car, and a government letter, was
arrested."

Masvingo is famous for an ancient stone city and a society that flourished
there about 800 years ago, known as Great Zimbabwe.

"We cannot attract tourists if we do not look at our law and order," said
Mzembi, who is from President Robert Mugabe's half of the country's year-old
power-sharing government.

The coalition administration between Mugabe and former opposition leader,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, is charged with abolishing draconian laws
that have severely restricted media freedom for the last decade, when
Mugabe's Zanu-PF governed alone.

While the regulations have been relaxed and a number of previously banned
media outlets, such as the BBC, have been allowed to report in Zimbabwe over
the past year, police harassment of journalists is still widespread.

Mzembi did not name the Mexican journalist, and calls to the Mexican embassy
went unanswered. The journalist was released after the minister's
intervention.

"He has understood that we are in transition, and we have said it will not
happen again," Mzembi said. - Sapa-dpa

 

Mugabe finally appoints five MDC ambassadors

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
17 February 2010

Five new ambassadors and high commissioners from the MDC were on Wednesday
officially appointed by Robert Mugabe, to represent Zimbabwe in different
countries.

The three women and two men received their letters of credential from Robert
Mugabe when they took the oath of allegiance and the oath of secrecy,
administered at State House on Wednesday. The new envoys will serve a
minimum four years on tour of duty at their stations. All five completed a
three months diplomatic training course in Harare in October last year.

A letter of credential is an official document conveying the credentials of
a diplomatic envoy to a foreign government. The envoys are Hebson Makuvise
who goes to Germany, Hilda Suka-Mafudze (Sudan), Jacqueline Nomhla Zwambila
(Australia), Mabed Khumbulani (Nigeria) (all from MDC-T) and MDC-M's Trudy
Stevenson, who will take up her post in Senegal.

This is the first time since Independence 30 years ago that ambassadors
outside ZANU PF circles have been appointed by Mugabe. The appointments were
made possible by the signing of the Global Political Agreement that gave
birth to the inclusive government. The three principals to the GPA, Mugabe,
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, agreed that the MDC formations
nominate five ambassadors-designates for posting to Zimbabwean missions
abroad.

One of the new ambassadors, Trudy Stevenson, told SW Radio Africa that at
times she had felt 'dispirited and demoralised' by the long time it has
taken Mugabe to finally appoint them as ambassadors. The five new envoys
were nominated by their parties in August last year and it has taken Mugabe
six months to present them with their' letters of credence'.

Ambassador Stevenson said as the only white envoy among the five, she was
particularly honoured to be representing the country in Senegal, a French
speaking country. She speaks fluent French and will fly to Dakar next week
Wednesday.

'This shows that white people still have a major role to play in the
rebuilding of Zimbabwe. I'm also particularly pleased that I will be able to
rebuild the good relations that existed between Senegal and Zimbabwe before
2002 when we closed down our embassy in Dakar due to financial constraints.
Being a French speaker, I think I will find it easy to start normalising
relations between the two countries,' Stevenson said.

Makuvise, the new envoy to Berlin in Germany, expressed appreciation to the
three principals in the inclusive government and pledged to live up to the
task.

The former MDC-T chief representative to London, who takes up his posting in
early March, said he will strive to work hard to woo more investors into
Zimbabwe and create a market for Zimbabwean goods in Germany.

Zwambila, the new ambassador to Australia, was due to fly out of Harare on
Wednesday evening for Canberra to take up her posting. Envoys to Sudan and
Nigeria will be leaving Harare next week.

Drug dealers on Zim diamond boards: MP

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Sebastian Nyamangambiri Wednesday 17 February 2010

HARARE - Some members of the boards of two firms mining diamonds at Zimbabwe's
controversial Marange diamond field were once illegal drug and diamond
dealers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone, a
parliamentarian has said.

Members of Parliament's special committee on energy and mines also accused
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu of illegally appointing members to the board of
one of the two mining firms formed last year to exploit diamonds deposits at
Marange in the east of the country.

The government-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) last
year partnered little known Grandwell of South Africa to form Mbada
Investments which is mining diamonds at the Marange field that is also known
as Chiadzwa.

The ZMDC also partnered another little known South African firm Core Mining
and Minerals in a joint-venture operation trading as Canadile Miners to
exploit the Marange deposits.

Kimberley Process

The joint ventures were formed as part of measures to bring mining of
diamonds at Marange in line with standards stipulated by world diamond
industry watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP).

However in an example of how operations at Marange remain at best murky and
shadowy despite KP pressure for transparency, legislator for Bikita East
constituency Edmore Marima accused ZMDC of failure to diligently vet people
before forming partnerships with them to mine the Marange diamonds.

Marima, from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party, said some members
of boards of Mbada and Canadile were "drug dealers and diamond dealers in
DRC and Sierra Leone."

The legislator did not give names of the board members that he claimed
trafficked drugs and diamonds in the two countries that have over the years
seen war and strife in part fuelled by their vast diamond resources that
rebels mined to fund conflict.

ZMDC acting chairwoman Gloria Mawarire denied that there were former illegal
drug and diamond dealers on the board of the two firms. She said research by
ZMDC did not yield any information to suggest that members of the Mbada and
Canadile boards once pushed illegal drugs and diamonds.

Mawarire and Deputy Mines Minister Murisi Zwizwai appeared before the
parliamentary committee on Monday. Mpofu is expected to come before the same
committee next week.

Illegal appointments

Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, an MP from President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF Party
quizzed Mawarire why Mpofu appointed three people to sit on the board of
Mbada, including the chairman of the board, when the law does not permit him
to do so.

The ZMDC chairwoman said she was powerless to stop the appointments. "I was
a mere recipient of the letter (announcing the board appointments by Mpofu).
It is unfair to ask me to respond to that. Maybe it was a matter of the
minister misinterpreting the Act," Mawarire said.

Under the law, Mpofu can appoint the chairperson and deputy of the ZMDC
board but has no authority to name people to sit on boards of joint venture
companies formed by the state mining corporation and other entities.

Committee chairman Edward Chindori-Chininga quizzed Mawarire why former
Airforce of Zimbabwe helicopter pilot Robert Mhlanga -- who has interests in
Grandwell -- was named by Mpofu to represent the ZMDC on the Mbada board as
chairman.

"When he is on the Mbada board .. whose interests will he be representing,
will he be representing himself or the ZMDC," asked Chindori-Chininga.

In response Mawarire at first said the ZMDC informed Mpofu about the
"irregular or uncomfortable" situation of having Mhlanga representing the
state firm on the Mbada board.

Helicopter pilot

But she later claimed ignorance, saying at the time Mbada was formed and its
board appointed the ZMDC did not know that Mhlanga was part of a company
called Lipam which teamed-up with another firm called New Reclamation to
form Grandwell.

According to diamond.net, Mhlanga was Zimbabwe's first black helicopter
pilot and worked as a courier for Mugabe's late first wife, Sally.

Mhlanga is said to have made a fortune through various projects in Africa
and was active in the DRC's diamond trade when Zimbabwean troops fought
there.

The Mbada chairman is known to have close ties with Zimbabwe's military
establishment that is accused of accused of stealing millions of dollars
worth of diamonds from Marange and offloading them onto the foreign black
market for precious stones.

Mhlanga was a key witness in an attempt to frame then-opposition leader
Tsvangirai for treason in 2003, testifying that he had contact with an
Israeli spy who claimed he was hired by the MDC leader to kill Mugabe.

Tsvangirai, who was cleared of treason by the courts, later became Zimbabwe's
Prime Minister after forming a power-sharing government with Mugabe last
February.

Zwizwai told the parliamentary committee that one of the people appointed to
the Mbada board by Mpofu was in fact the mines minister's personal
assistant. Zwizwai, who told the committee he preferred appearing before it
in the presence of the Mpofu, also said the mines minister had no legal
authority to appoint people to the Mbada board.

Scrap metal

The deputy mines minister said Mpofu never consulted him on issues regarding
the Marange diamond claims and denied ever taking bribes from firms seeking
permission to mine diamonds.

The parliamentary committee is expected to quiz Mpofu about the apparently
illegal board appointments on his orders to the ZMDC directing the
corporation to form joint ventures with no other firm except Grandwell and
Canadile.

The two firms are not known names in the diamond industry with for example
Grandwell known to have been involved in scrap metal dealing in South Africa
before they came to mine diamonds at Marange.

Marange is one of the world's most controversial diamond fields with reports
that soldiers sent to guard the claims after the government took over the
field in October 2006 from a British firm that owned the deposits committed
gross human rights abuses against illegal miners who had descended on the
field.

Human rights groups have been pushing for a ban on Zimbabwean diamonds but
last November, the country escaped a KP ban with the global body giving
Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with its
regulations. - ZimOnline.

EU is insincere: ZANU PF

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Own Correspondent Wednesday 17 February 2010

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party has accused the European
Union (EU) of insincerity after the bloc extended sanctions on the veteran
leader and his top officials citing lack of progress in implementing the
September 2008 global political agreement (GPA).

The EU which imposed sanctions against Mugabe eight years ago as punishment
for failure to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law on Monday
extended the targeted sanctions for another 12 months.

"The EU is insincere, we as ZANU PF support the GPA and we have done our
part to fulfil it," ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said, adding; "We support
the coalition agreement. The EU is not being sincere and honest, but we don't
pay a lot of attention to what they say, we will rally our people to
understand the problems of sanctions."

The GPA is the power-sharing agreement signed by Mugabe and former
opposition leader and now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the behest of
southern African leaders and which last February gave birth to the Harare
coalition government.

The EU, however, lifted sanctions on some individuals and companies,
including Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company and the Industrial Development
Corporation of Zimbabwe saying there was no longer any reason to keep them
on the list.

More than 200 individuals and 40 companies with ties to Mugabe's ZANU POF
party are now targeted because of their suspected links to human rights
abuses.

The West blames the veteran leader's policies such as his haphazard and
often violent land reform that has destroyed commercial agriculture, for the
collapse of the southern African nation's economy.

But Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole ruler since independence from Britain in 1980
blames his country's problems on the sanctions that he says are meant to
remove him from power for seizing white-owned farms for landless blacks.

Mugabe's unity government with Tsvangirai has succeeded in stabilising
Zimbabwe's economy but has made no real progress in implementing political
reforms and ending human rights abuses.

Incessant bickering between the former foes over how to equally share
executive power, the appointment of senior government officials and the
removal of Western sanctions threaten to cripple the government and render
it ineffective in the long run. - ZimOnline

Demystifying 'Sanctions'

UNHCR's help for displaced Zimbabweans produces tangible results

17 Feb 2010 16:33:41 GMT
Source: UNHCR

MUTARE, Zimbabwe, February 17 (UNHCR) - The 16-year-old girl was elated as
she held up a document that will open up a whole new world of opportunity
and have an impact on the rest of her life.

After waiting for hours outside a government registry office in the eastern
Zimbabwe town of Mutare, Florence Nawengo had just been given a birth
certificate, which will enable her to get an all-important national identity
card.

Until that moment, she was at risk of becoming one of an estimated 12
million stateless people around the world. They do not possess a nationality
nor enjoy its legal benefits. This often leaves them unable to do the basic
things most people take for granted, such as registering the birth of a
child, travelling, going to school, accessing health care, opening a bank
account or owning property.

And Florence might still be facing these challenges but for a UNHCR
programme to support internally displaced people (IDP), many of whom lacked
important documentation, in the eastern Zimbabwe province of Manicaland.

This programme, implemented by local aid group, Christian Care, was set up
last August to assist Zimbabweans uprooted from their homes. It helped some
220 people in Manicaland last year and UNHCR is expanding the programme to
cover the whole country this year.

Florence and her mother were displaced as a result of slum clearance in 2005
and now live in a large former bar owned by the municipality in Mutare.
UNHCR and Christian Care are helping the more than 100 displaced people who
are sheltering there.

"Many of these people have lost their identity documents or had them stolen
during displacement. They cannot afford the cost of replacing them,"
explained Jane Madzivaidze, a legal officer with Christian Care. "Through
our mobile legal clinics, we advise them of their right to obtain birth
certificates and identity documents and let them know that we can help cover
the cost with funds provided by UNHCR."

Florence never had a birth certificate in the first place. Her Zimbabwean
parents separated soon after she was born and her mother never went to
register her birth because, under the law, the father must be present and
show his ID card.

The lack of a birth certificate did not have a major impact on Florence's
early life, but from the age of 16 onwards it becomes an issue in Zimbabwe,
where people need to have a national identity card as proof of citizenship.
UNHCR experts said that people without a birth certificate and/or national
ID card were at risk of statelessness, particularly if they are of foreign
origin.

Florence realized that to pursue a higher education, and more particularly
to sit final exams at secondary school, she needed to have a national
identity card, and to get this she would have to present a birth
certificate.

Things were looking bleak until the UNHCR programme for IDPs was launched in
Manicaland. "When Christian Care came to explain to me that I could get a
birth certificate under my mother's name, as long we brought a witness to my
birth, I was filled with hope," Florence recalled. "I had longed to get a
birth certificate so that I could continue with my education, but I didn't
have the money and I did not know where to find my father. Here is my
chance, I thought."

Christian Care was able to fast-track her application through the registry
office while UNHCR covered the US$4.50 cost of obtaining her birth
certificate. She was told to return later to pick up her national ID card.
The cost might seem small, but to many displaced Zimbabweans it is a
fortune.

Florence has a more positive future - and a big grin across her face. "Now I
can go to school," the excited teenager cried.

By Tina Ghelli in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

Chiyangwa named in Zimbabwe Tourism Authority US$33 000 debt

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=13517

By Gerald Chateta

Published: February 17, 2010

Harare  - Flamboyant businessman, Phillip Chiyangwa has been named in a debt
payment probe in which the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) failed to pay
$33 000 it owes to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). The debt was
incured when the broadcaster live-screened the Miss Tourism 2008.

An investigation by ZimEye has revealed that ZTA was reluctant to settle the
two year old bill as it had been instructed not to by one of ZBC's
creditors, Phillip Chiyangwa who it says is owed hundreds of American
dollars by the state broadcaster.

"We have referred ZBC to Mr. Chiyangwa who is owed by the state broadcaster,
and they are not willing to approach him. Mr Chiyangwa has ordered us not to
pay the amount till ZBC settles his bill," said the official.

Chiyangwa (pictured) who recently appeared on a BBC documentary displaying
his wealth is a private business partner of ZTA's chief, Karikoga Kaseke.

ZBC generates revenue through radio and television listeners and viewers'
license fees as well as adverts from corporate world.

The state's propaganda machinery has failed to attract advertisers due to
poor programming which has resulted in viewers shunning its services to
alternative satellite radio and television channels.

According to the ZTA source ZBC was supposed to convert Chiyangwa's debt
into advertising air time.

Leaders of Striking Zimbabwean Civil Servants Take Bearings in Harare Meeting

http://www1.voanews.com

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe President Takavafira Zhou told VOA
that unions and other representative organizations meeting in Harare agreed
their target is the state employer, not any single political party

Jonga Kandemiiri & Arthur Chigoriwa | Washington 16 February 2010

Unions and other organizations representing Zimbabwe's striking civil
servants met in Harare on Tuesday to evaluate the industrial action by
public employees called on February 5 to back demands for salary increases.

Sources said the meeting also took up the issue of political partisanship
that was threatening to derail the strike following charges that some
organizations representing civil servants were aligning with political
parties.

Civil servants are demanding an entry salary of US$630 a month, but the
government says it cannot afford to effect such an increase.

Reached by VOA, the government's chief representative in the talks, Youth
Ministry Permanent Secretary Prince Mupazviriho, said that as a civil
servant he could not discuss the current state of labor discussions.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe President Takavafira Zhou told VOA
Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that participants in the meeting agreed
that their target is the state employer, not any single political party.

VOA Studio 7 correspondent Arthur Chigoriwa reported from Chinhoyi, the
capital of Mashonaland West province, that civil servants there have vowed
to continue with their strike until the government agrees to give them
living wages, but that some divisions within the movement have appeared.

Oh, please shut up AGO, you embarrass Welsh

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by John Makumbe
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 11:36

One of Zimbabwe's Deputy Prime Ministers, Arthur Mutambara (pictured), has
been bad-mouthing both this nation and its popular Prime Minister, Morgan
Tsvangirai. This article is a rebuttal to Mutambara's vituperations as
published in the Zanu (PF) mouthpiece, the Herald of Saturday 13 February
2010.
Mutambara castigated the PM for referring to the targeted sanctions as
restrictive measures, and claimed that this country is under full sanctions.
If that is the case, how then is it possible to do trade with both the UK
and the EU as has recently been disclosed in the media? Mutambara is
obviously doing his best to demonstrate that he is a much better bootlicker
for Mugabe than all of his underlings in Zanu (PF) put together.
Mutambara is likely to be of the opinion that Mugabe is still the old
kingmaker that he used to be several years ago. He fails to realize that the
geriatric is clearly washed out like a used tea bag. Thank God, no one in
the West bothers to pay any real attention to Mutambara. Whether they are
sanctions or restrictive measures, they must stay firmly in place until
Mugabe and Zanu (PF) behave themselves properly in the political arena.
"Yes, we have challenges in the GPA but we are having a new dispensation.
What is the man talking about? These are not challenges but serious
problems. There is no new dispensation compared to what was obtaining in
2008 Ago. A new dispensation is not defined by the simple fact that you and
a few others are now part and parcel of the Mugabe regime. What Zimbabwe
needs is regime change, and that has not yet been realized.
Mr. DPM, with due respect, with reference to the British Foreign secretary's
recent comments about asking the MDC-T view on the removal of sanctions,
Mutambara was understandably livid. Milliband did not indicate that the
British government would also ask AGO's tiny MDC-M about the issue. Our
honourable DPM fails to appreciate that the British government would need to
ask the majority political party in the GNU, the party that won the
presidential election of 2008. And all along I thought the good Professor
understood such simple politics.
The DPM's praise and worship of China and Mugabe's look east policy are
probably the best indicators to date of Mutambara's desperation to become
one of Mugabe's quislings. The DPM fails to appreciate the damage that China
and Chinese cheap goods have wrought on our economy. Our textile industry
has literally collapsed in the face of cheap and poor standard clothes from
China. Yet the Professor thinks that we need to attract investors from the
West as well as get close to the Chinese in order to be prosperous.
How many Chinese investors have ever bothered to visit Zimbabwe since the
formation of the GNU? Is it not true that the Chinese are only interested in
selling us guns and ammunition so we can kill each other more effectively?
Is it not true, Prof. that the Chinese are good at building us stadia, which
are the least productive structures any country can ever spend money on. In
doing so, the Chinese prefer to send their own people rather than employ any
of ours.
In the end, AGO admitted that the Chinese were still communists and not
democrats. Then he goes on to state some of the most vicious statements any
civic leader in this country will love with a passion. The best ones
include: "When you are successful, no one thinks about your democracy or
lack of it"; "In terms of economic dynamics, seek the kingdom of prosperity
and democracy will follow"; and the clincher, "At times democracy, human
rights, etc. are not necessary."
And all along I thought Robert Mugabe was bad news for this nation. Wait
till AGO ascends to the throne. May God help us all.

When the Birthday Boy Is a Ruthless Dictator