The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE - The
Zimbabwe government, currently reeling under financial
problems, has decided
to reduce the size of the army by about 40 percent.
Reliable sources within
the army have said the army, which currently stands
at 35,000 members, will
be reduced to 25 000 soldiers as the government
tries to win back the
sympathy of the donor community which has abandoned it
mainly as a result of
its financial indiscipline.
Targeted for retirement are those above the age
of 45, the disabled, those
with a history of ill health and those who have
been with the army for more
than 20 years.
Meanwhile the ZNA has deployed
in Zimbabwe's second largest game park,
Gonarezhou, to fight armed poachers
who have intensified their poaching
activities there, endangering the Great
Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
Most of the poachers, believed to be from
neighbouring Mozambique, are
mostly after elephant and rhino whose horns
have a lucrative market in Asia.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
BY GIFT
PHIRI
HARARE - There is surreptitious gun-running between Zimbabwe and two
regional allies, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
military officials said this week.
Sources revealed Zimbabwe was
importing and massing an assortment of guns at
army bases around the country
in a pre-emptive strike against planned
opposition protests.
Namibia and
DRC are helping Zimbabwe circumvent an international arms
embargo to buy
huge quantities of guns and bullets aimed at fortifying
President Mugabe's
rule and crush any protests against plans by the
82-year-old leader to
postpone the presidential ballot.
The arms embargo was imposed three years
ago by the EU and the United States
on President Robert Mugabe's government
because of its appalling human
rights record.
Military sources said most
of the guns have been arriving secretly at Suri
Suri airbase in Chegutu
before being distributed to other military bases.
The bulk of the weapons
have arrived from the DRC in that country's military
cargo plane. The
weapons consist of a significant portion of French-made
guns, most of which,
top government sources say, will be distributed to war
veterans who are set
to form the new reserve force as government moves to
purge the army and only
retain "loyal" soldiers. Defence Minister Sydney
Sekeramayi was unavailable
for comment.
The French Embassy in Harare denied that France was selling arms
to Zimbabwe
and said it had no knowledge of the arrival of French arms in
the country.
Embassy staff confirmed France sold arms to several African
countries, which
could in turn re-sell them to other countries.
The first
secretary at the Namibian High Commission in Harare, said he had
no
knowledge of Namibia helping Zimbabwe to bust the arms embargo while the
DRC's ambassador to Zimbabwe Mawampanga Mwanananga could not be reached for
comment.
Authoritative military sources said the army would be training
and arming
war veterans who would soon form part of a reserve force being
mooted by the
Joint Operation Command. This exercise is understood to be the
exclusive
prerogative of a board of top war veterans appointed by President
Mugabe
recently. Members include retired army commanders Solomon Mujuru,
Vitalis
(Gava) Zvinavashe and Dumiso Dabengwa.
The Zimbabwean heard that
a number of bases were being established for the
war veterans throughout
Zimbabwe, particularly in those areas without army
camps.
The main
objective would be to make it impossible for the opposition to
campaign in
rural areas and to pre-empt any opposition protests against the
planned
election merger.
The Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association (ZNWVA)
provincial chairman
Elphas Chitera told a press briefing that war veterans
had fully thrown
their weight behind the "harmonization of elections."
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE - Embattled
national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, has suspended four staff
members over
allegations of smuggling hundreds of cartons of cigarettes into
Europe.
The cigarettes, mostly Pacific Blue have a ready market in
Europe,
especially in the UK. Sources within Air Zimbabwe said the illegal
export of
cigarettes has been going on for a very long time and that those
involved
were selling the cigarettes at 100 times their cost in Zimbabwe,
thereby
making huge profits, given the forex parity distortions in
Zimbabwe.
The smuggling was unearthed when bags containing the cigarettes
misconnected
in Frankfurt and were send back to Harare where it was
discovered the bags
contained large quantities of cigarettes.
Billions
looted from govt coffers
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government, notoriously known
for its kleptocracy and
fiscal profligacy, exceeded the prescribed domestic
borrowing limit during
the last financial year by Z$72,8 billion without
Parliamentary approval as
is required by law.
The startling revelations
are contained in a report prepared by the
Comptroller and Auditor-General
(C&AG), Mildred Chiri, who has expressed
concern at the continued
increase in public debt which stood at
Z$51,607,189,700 last year.
The
report has been presented to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee
headed
by opposition leader Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
Public debt stood at
only Z$1,666,607,091 at independence in 1980.
Meanwhile, government lost
billions through fraud. Most of the fraudulent
activities occurred in the
Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs and Labour
and Social Welfare.
The
C&AG has also presented a report detailing the looting of $2 billion
from the Social Dimensions Fund (SDF). The report is conspicuously silent on
the beneficiary of the looted funds. This has now formed part of a
corruption probe by the Public Accounts committee.
The Labour and Social
Welfare permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka was on Monday
hauled before
Misihairabwi-Mushonga's committee to give some answers along
with the SDF
director Sydney Mhishi.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE -
The Zimbabwe National Students' Union (ZINASU) said this week it
was
mobilising members to launch protests "very soon" against the hike in
tertiary education fees and the continued victimisation of students by the
government because of their political affiliation.
Washington Katema,
national president of ZINASU, the umbrella union for
Zimbabwean students,
said a meeting held by the movement recently in
Bulawayo had overwhelmingly
approved a resolution backing the protests,
dubbed the Save Our Education,
Save Our Future campaign.
ZINASU's decision comes in the wake of the
government's decision to ban
college meetings and introduce a series of
hikes in fees and levies. The
fiery student leader said his constituents
believed the measures were meant
to punish some members for their declared
support for the labour-backed
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The
party enjoys a large following among students at colleges, where it has
established branches.
Katema said: "The country is on fire. How can
students pay more than
Z$700,000 in tuition and accommodation fees in state
owned universities and
colleges when most of the students are sons and
daughters of poor peasants
and civil servants who are also living way below
the poverty datum line?
Students, like all other citizens of Zimbabwe, have
endured enough pain and
the endurance bowl is now spilling over."
He said
efforts by the students' movement to have their payouts reviewed
this year
had been rejected by the government, and instead some additional
levies had
been introduced. Katema said the government had gone further to
ban students
from holding meetings at their colleges while in some
institutions students
were no longer allowed to stay in the institutions
because these were now
considered MDC bases.
He cited the example of the Harare Polytechic College,
where several
students' residential flats were kept locked while students
were forced to
find their own accommodation.
The Zimbabwean heard that
anti-riot police were this week closely monitoring
students at Belvedere
Teachers' College in Harare and in Masvingo Teachers'
College where the mood
among students was reported to be tense ahead of the
protests.
ZINASU has
a membership of more than 50,000 students in about 40 of the
country's
institutions of high learning.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
By ITAI DZAMARA
MUTARE - A recent trip to the
eastern border city of Mutare revealed how
people can scrounge for anything,
and allow the worst kinds of decadence
when pushed to the wall.
The city
has assumed a new face. Unprecedented numbers of commercial sex
workers,
visitors, ranging from rich locals, to Chinese, South Africans and
Indians,
and the latest models of cars are now in evidence. Added to all
these is an
unusually heavy presence of police officers, both in uniform and
plain
clothes.
Over all this is a sea of cash - local currency plus major foreign
currency
denominations.
"We have permanently settled here and business is
good," said Thandiwe Dube,
a commercial sex worker who spoke to The
Zimbabwean. "Of course, we can't
avoid battles with the police but we know
our ways around them.. Ya-a you
either pay them or offer them sex for both
protection and release when
arrested."
But why the new face for
Mutare?
The locals, just like any other Zimbabweans hard-pressed by the
unprecedented economic hardships caused by Mugabe's insatiable lust for
power, have left no stone unturned in scrounging for survival.
In doing
so, they discovered some diamond deposits in Marange community last
year,
It turned out to be real! They were real diamonds, and so hungry
villagers
took off to an occupation they had never dreamt of -
mining.
The first grams were prepared and some clever and alert business
people in
town bought them for peanuts.
Soon, like a whirlwind, news
spread and, starting with those from the
surrounding communities, people
descended on the diamond deposits. In no
time it was everyone from
everywhere and the reality of man's hunger for
money struck
Mutare.
Visitors from Harare and later outside the country, of all races and
religions suddenly inundated the Mutare highway and money started changing
hands big time.
"At first we were really cheated by those who initially
came to buy the
diamonds because they paid us as little as Z$5000 for 50
grams of diamond.
But with more and more people coming, things improved
drastically such that
I can even make up to $1 million per day," said Wisdom
Gore, a korokoza
(miner), who claims to have been among the first group to
discover the
diamond reserves.
Hundreds of the miners joined in.
Unemployed youths and other enterprising
individuals made themselves
marketing executives, buying the mineral from
miners and selling
them.
Not to be outdone were other Mutare residents, who rushed into
establishing
fly-by-the-night catering companies operating from under a
tree, shebeens
and accommodation facilities.
Most lodges and restaurants
are dominated by commercial sex workers, who
book them in advance as an easy
way of getting to clients.
Unavoidably, the Mugabe regime was going to
discover this development in
Mutare and respond. The ubiquitous Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor
Gideon Gono expectedly called on the korokozas to
be stopped and the mining
to be done by the state to raise desperately
needed foreign currency.
The trigger-happy, yet also very corruption-prone
Zimbabwe Republic Police
(ZRP) descended on Mutare in huge numbers. "We have
been here for several
months now and actually have shifts to operate and
patrol the area," said a
police officer speaking on condition of anonymity.
With an air of
apprehension he added, "Yes we have also made money. Some of
us have dared
enough to use the authority we have to get the diamonds and
sell to visitors
whilst the easier way is of course getting bribes from
everyone left, right
and centre, the miners, middle man or buyers."
This
writer established that it has become a standard to most people,
including
commercial sex workers, that police officers should be bribed by a
minimum
of $50,000 once they catch someone and threaten to arrest.
That
notwithstanding, quite a number of people have been arrested and
arraigned
before the courts, where the story is more or less the same.
Public
prosecutors, and the equally poorly paid Magistrates shall also have
fond
memories of their time of fortune in Mutare during the diamond
era.
Capitalising on people's lack of knowledge as well as their desire to be
released and go out to make more money, authorities at the courts are taking
bribes for granting of bail, acquittal and other things.
"I was arrested
after being found with $10 million and 100 grams of diamond.
I paid the
public prosecutor $200 000 and gave him another $300 000 he
claimed was for
the Magistrate so that I could be granted bail," said a
dealer, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
"Right now I am working with guys at the courts who
say they can make the
papers disappear and kill the case. Obviously they
need money," he added.
In addition to the deployment of the police and RBZ
officials, the troubled
Zanu (PF) leader has appointed a task force led by
minister of mines Amos
Midzi to come up with ways in which the State can
take over from the hungry
peasants and mine the diamond.
Midzi has
recently said plans would start soon for work to commence in a
"legal and
planned way".
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
CHIKOMBEDZI
- About 45 villagers from Chikombedzi communal lands under Chief
Sengwe have
been swept away by the flooding Limpopo River whilst attempting
to cross the
crocodile-infested river to South Africa.
According to two survivors who
spoke to CAJ News 45 were men and five were
women.
There was no immediate
police report from the local police, but officers at
the nearby Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) base confirmed the death
of 40
people.
"Our investigations have showed that at least 40 villagers might have
been
washed away by the Limpopo River. These people cannot be traced. Police
are
doing their work, but we have our own investigations," said one CIO
operative.
One of the survivors, Tsikani Tshitshlangu, said she and
others were
attempting to illegally cross Limpopo River to look for
employment in the
commercial farms of South Africa when they were swept
away.
The latest death toll comes a week after two men from Gezani village
under
chief Sengwe drowned in the same river whilst attempting to illegal
cross to
South Africa to look for employment. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
BY SAVIOUS
KWINIKA
MAKHADO - More than 2 800 economic refugees from Zimbabwe, who on
Saturday
illegally crossed the Limpopo River in a spirited attempt to escape
poverty
and economic meltdown, were arrested at Makhado (formerly Louis
Trichard)
some 140 kilometres south of Musina, CAJ News
witnessed.
According to a South African Police Services Chief Superintendent
at the
road block erected at Makhado, illegal immigrants would be deported
this
week.
The chief superintendent, who refused to be identified, told
CAJ News that
every bus that passed through Makhado had one or two
border-jumpers while
haulage trucks, private vehicles and minibuses were
full of illegal
immigrants flocking into South Africa.
"By close of
business today (Saturday), we had arrested well over 2 800 and
we believe
the figure might go up as more and more people are trickling in,"
said the
officer.
Zimbabwean security forces, especially the Support Unit, could be
seen at
Beit Bridge weeding out fellow citizens without passports and
current visas
before sending them back home.
"We are leaving no stone
unturned in our endeavours to curb illegal border
jumping. These people
vave kushoresa nyika (they are causing the country to
be despised). The
government does not tolerate a situation whereby people
leave their country
and develop others," said one Zimbabwean police
officer. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
BULAWAYO - Prices continue to soar at an
alarming rate. Just this week the
following increases have been
announced:
National Parks charges for locals have increased. Entrance is $3
000 for
adults and $500 per car. Accommodation for one bed-roomed lodge is
$60 000
and a Chalet is $30 000. Fees for non-residents remain the same.
Entrance to
Victoria Falls Rain Forrest is $5 000. The Natural History
Museum entry
charge is now $4 000.
With effect from 24 January, postal
costs are as follows: Local $400; RSA
Surface up to 20g $1,300; Airmail up
to 10g $1,500. UK Surface up to 20g
$1,600; Airmail up to 10g $2,000. Rest
of world: Surface up to 20g $1,800;
Airmail up to 10g $2,000. For local
letters this is a 300% increase.
The price of beer has been increased by
approximately 50%: Quarts from
$2,000 - $3,000; Pints $1,000 - $1,500; 300ml
soft drinks $800 - $1,200.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings has increased
licensing fees: Radio from
$20 - $50,000; TV $650 - $150,000; Motorists $500
- $200,000.
The National Bakers Association has published figures showing
that with the
recently permitted 300%+ increase in the, price of flour from
millers, the
break-even figure for a loaf of bread is now $1,158. Allowing a
20% margin,
the wholesale price should now be $1,448 and the retail price
$1,593.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE -
Cellular Network providers have defended their huge increases in
tariffs
coupled with many operational problems as results of government's
bungling
of the economy.
Managers from Econet, Net One and Telecel rapped government's
bad economic
policies in their presentations to the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on
Post and Telecommunications.
Sources privy to the meeting
told The Zimbabwean that the representatives of
network providers called on
the committee to lobby the parliament for
special foreign currency
facilities.
The thriving parallel market has seen cellular lines selling at
highly-inflated amounts of up to $200 000, compared to $20 000 charged by
the providers.
Chairman of the committee, Leo Mugabe is reported to have
responded by
saying his committee would make submissions to parliament and
have the
matters considered in the house. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
Stop this systematic stripping of our
assets
THE Combined Harare Residents' Association (CHRA) is intensifying its
rates
boycott campaign after it emerged that this campaign could realise
positive
results within three or four months.
According to informed
sources in the Municipality, the City of Harare
received 40 percent of total
revenue from water. At least 1 800 municipal
employees have been transferred
to ZINWA without their consent. This amounts
to a quarter of the total
number of City workers.
This was done despite the fact that the City of
Harare or any local
authority is empowered under Part X111 of the Urban
Councils' Act (Chapter
29:15) to (i) provide and maintain a supply of water
within or outside the
its area.
Now that the City of Harare is left with
only 60 percent of revenue,
residents can safely decide not to pay their
rates and still live without
any fears from the municipality. There is no
immediate legal recourse except
to make empty threats. Going to the courts
will obviously take ages to
conclude and that would be a drain on the
coffers of the municipality.
Residents are fully aware of the systematic
stripping of our assets by way
of ministerial and government directives. You
may remember that the City
used to be in charge of its electricity until
1997 when the government gave
directives to the effect that the supply of
electricity should be ceded to
the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
(ZESA).
The municipality owned the Harare Power Station but it was wholly
taken over
by the national power utility. No money was given to the City for
its
infrastructure. Residents lost out as arbitrary decisions were made
without
their input as key stakeholders.
Then the City was making a lot
of money through electricity charges. The
question is: who stands to gain in
these opaque transfers of residents/
ratepayers assets?
The municipality
has now lost its water infrastructure to ZINWA, again
through directives
from the government. That to us is abuse of power.
Surely, the water
authority should have managed to buy its own fleet of
vehicles than to
take-over 100 vehicles purchased by ratepayers' money.
All this is happening
in the absence of a legally binding Memorandum of
Understanding to allow for
the official takeover of infrastructure, the
administration, supply and
billing of water.
The key principle in such relationships is that the service
provider must
constantly interface with the consumer to enhance the quality
of service. It
is common cause that the business of local government in a
city of Harare's
status is interlinked and the services are mostly
subsidised, making rates
more affordable.
ZINWA does not interface with
residents at any broader scale. That also
explains why the Minister of Water
Resources and Infrastructure Development,
Munacho Mutezo always has to issue
statements on behalf of ZINWA instead of
the water authority's public
relations department. It also shows that the
government has put water at the
top of the list in terms of revenue
generation.
Given the economic
situation residents are forced to prioritise what to pay
at the end of every
month. They obviously start with the service that is
most likely to be
discontinued if it is not paid for in time. Our experience
is that
telephone, electricity, water, and medical aid bills top the list
and are
always immediately honoured.
Without residents' paying their rentals, CHRA
foresees a further collapse in
service provision and a repeat of last year's
workers' upheavals. The Harare
Municipality Workers' Union (HMWU) should
prepare itself for a tough battle
with the Makwavarara-led commission due to
non-availability of salaries at
the end of every month. This funding
situation, from our considered
calculations, will be negatively affected
within the next three or four
months. For how long should the Harare
Municipal workers continue to
languish in poverty while their leadership
live in exaggerated flamboyance/
luxury?
For details and comments please
contact us on mobiles: 091 249 430, 091 924
151, 011 862 012, 011 443 578,
011 612 860 or Email: chrainfo@zol.co.zw, or
visit our
Website: www.chra.co.zw
Doctors' conditions intolerable
An
estimated 60,000 people have died unnecessarily since doctors and other
health personnel went on strike in Zimbabwe. This figure is three times the
number of people killed during the Gukurahundi massacres.
Let there be no
mistake that the latest deaths, together of course with
those of
Gukurahundi, can be placed squarely at Zanu (PF)'s door.
The Mugabe regime
has shown that it is callous with people's lives by not
negotiating
seriously to end the doctors' strike.
The fact that our doctors have, for a
long time, functioned under almost
impossible conditions - with no drugs or
other supplies, broken equipment,
insufficient nursing staff, etc - while
earning salaries far below the
poverty datum line, is commendable.
For
the government to continue to insult them by offering salary increases
still
below the PDL, while forking out millions, in foreign currency, to buy
fancy
planes for the president and luxurious vehicles for his acolytes, is
incomprehensible, unjustifiable and utterly irresponsible.
It is all too
evident that the government does not appreciate, in any way,
the many
sacrifices made by those in its employ - specifically medical
personnel and
teachers - who are so vital to the functioning of any society.
There have
been reports of more than 10,000 policemen resigning because of
poor
salaries, as well as an exodus of impoverished soldiers.
The salary
increases, which the army and police have routinely been awarded
on the eve
of threatened mass protests in the past, have been swallowed up
by
government's public enemy number one - inflation.
Against this enemy no guns,
tanks or other Chinese armaments, nor hordes of
zealous war veterans, can
provide any defence.
It seems the only language the Mugabe regime understands
is that of mass
action.
The Progressive Teachers Union has given notice
of a go-slow and if their
modest demands are not met, the teachers plan a
full-blown strike next week.
We commend them, as well as the doctors, nurses
and other medical
practitioners, for standing up for what they deserve -
despite the bullying
tactics to which they have been subject for so long.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE -
Zimbabwe's umbrella trade union body, the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions
(ZCTU), says wage talks in the Tripartite Negotiating Forum
(TNF) have
broken down and it will now seek to ballot its members on strike
action when
the General Council meets on Saturday.
With the MDC also mobilizing member on
possible strikes, ZCTU's campaign has
raised the prospect of civil unrest
that analysts say is likely to further
worsen President Robert Mugabe's
crisis of legitimacy.
"ZCTU views the TNF talks as having collapsed. The ZCTU
is in the process of
discussing a ballot on strike action and this issue
will be top on our
agenda when the General Council meets on Saturday. People
are facing immense
hardships," ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe
said.
ZCTU is seeking a raise that will peg the minimum wage at par with the
Poverty Datum Line (PDL), which currently stands at Z$350,000. The union is
also seeking reviews in transport and housing allowances. It has staged
temporary stoppages to press its demands.
Employers, including the
government employment agency the Public Service
Commission, are opposed to
the setting of the PDL threshold presumably
because it is unsustainable due
to the harsh economic conditions prevailing
in industry.
While admitting
that salaries of workers in the private sector were
deplorable, Employers
Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) president Mike Bimha
said the positions of
the two sides were separated widely and employers
needed time to consider
their options.
ZCTU has been staging a series of warning strikes mainly in
Harare and
Bulawayo.
In September, police broke a ZCTU protest for better
wages and HIV drugs and
later ransacked it's head office searching for
alleged subversive material.
Police also frisked the offices ostensibly to
search for "evidence" linking
union leaders with reported embezzlement of
funds at Chester House, the ZCTU
head office in central Harare. Arrested
labour leaders were gruesomely
tortured while in police
custody.
Government has warned that it will not allow the labour body to
cause chaos
and make the country ungovernable through street protests,
charging any
planned campaign of civil disobedience will be ruthlessly
quashed. But the
ZCTU was likely to stage a stayaway, instead of "street
jambanja," according
to sources close to the labour body.
Chibebe urged
state security forces to respect the right of citizens to
express themselves
freely.
"Everyone including the security agents are facing difficulties in
paying
school fees, transport costs, rent and rates which are pegged at
astronomical levels in addition to the soaring prices of basic commodities,"
Chibebe said. "I appeal to the police and army officials to restrain from
intimidating, harassing and arresting fellow workers during demonstrations
for better pay."
The government recently awarded a 300 percent salary
increase to civil
servants but employees still take home less than $100,000
a month.
Government says negotiations on the prices and incomes stabilization
protocol are still being pursued. Labour minister Nicholas Goche said the
discussions had reached "an advanced stage" but the remedy to the challenges
facing labour rested on increased production.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
BY ITAI
DZAMARA
HARARE - There have been over 60 000 deaths in the country's health
institutions-most of which could have been prevented - during the six-week
doctors' strike The Zimbabwean has learnt.
Opposition leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai has described it as a humanitarian
disaster created by President
Robert Mugabe and his government.
Doctors have been protesting against poor
salaries, which were as low as
Z$56 000 when the Poverty Datum Line is close
to $400 000 per month, since
late last year. Information obtained this week
shows that whilst government
took its usual arrogant stance and
procrastinated, most of the deaths
recorded during the period could have
been prevented had there been doctors
to attend to the patients.
Senior
medical practitioners told this paper that surveys just completed
show that
some 60 000 deaths have been recorded at the country's major
hospitals since
the strike began. This was confirmed by sources in the
ministry of
health.
"The death toll has reached 60 000, and the most unfortunate thing is
that
most of these people's lives could have been prevented with doctors
attending to the patients," a member of the Zimbabwe Medical Association
said.
"But as doctors we say how can we continue with this stupid Zanu
(PF) way of
rewarding chiefs whilst we earn peanuts. Besides, we can't
expect much in a
situation of acute shortages of drugs at the hospitals, all
for which this
arrogant government seems not to care."
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
- Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly,
was
arrested and detained at his Harare residence last week. He was released
following two hours of interrogation at Harare Central police
station.
His arrest came a few days after heavily armed police arrested seven
leaders
of the Christian Alliance in Kadoma.
Madhuku told the police that
there was no need for any organization to seek
police clearance in order to
hold a public demonstration.
The NCA has said it is determined to sacrifice
'life and limb' to secure a
people-driven constitution for Zimbabwe.
"We
reaffirm our commitment to fight this tyranny to the bitter end and
express
our profound solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. The only way to
have a
democratic future is through fearless and consistent struggle and no
amount
of repression or brutality will stand in the way of our resolve to
have a
new democratic constitution," says the organisation's spokesman,
Tapera
Kapuya.
The police insisted to Madhuku that the NCA was obliged to apply for
police
permission to demonstrate prior to any action being taken. Maduku
maintained
that there was no need to seek such clearance, particularly from
a partisan
police force that had clearly declared its alignment to the
ruling party.
"The NCA took the opportunity to express disappointment at the
way in which
the police reacted to the demonstrations. One of the NCA
members was badly
tortured by the police last week and she is still
recovering in hospital,"
said the NCA in a statement.
"For as long as the
police behave like government puppets, they will not get
the respect that
they are crying for from the NCA. We don't believe in
asking for permission
to demonstrate for a new constitution. The police
expect too much from the
NCA if they expect its members to comply with
draconian laws to which we are
totally opposed.
"We will continue to engage the government through street
protests and we
don't recognize laws that undermine our basic freedoms of
association and
expression," said the statement. Solidarity or support
messages can be
extended to Dr Madhuku on +263 11 608 692 or email:
chairperson@ncazimbabwe.org -
Staff reporter
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE - The
commission running the capital is seeking a speedy promulgation
of stringent
anti-pollution by-laws and the imposition of hefty fines
against individuals
and industrial polluters in order to protect the city's
environs, water
sources and sewerage treatment works.
The move comes amid efforts by the city
commission to enforce strict
anti-litter laws by imposing hefty fines on
anyone throwing rubbish in
undesignated places. The Harare commission
believes this will restore the
capital's "sunshine city" status.
In a
report seen by The Zimbabwean, council is also worried that it has not
been
able to stop pollution over the years because of the small fines
imposed on
the offenders by the courts.
The council has agreed that polluters should be
liable to a Z$5 million fine
plus Z$500,000 for every day the pollution
continued.
It has also agreed that all factories, old and new, should have
pre-treatment facilities to bring their effluent to standards laid down
under the Urban Councils Act. Currently polluters are paying a maximum fine
of Z$5,000, a figure most are comfortable with, and they would rather
continue polluting and paying fines than putting in place abatement plants
which cost much more.
Recently raw sewerage was flowing into Lake
Chivero, Harare's main source of
drinking water. And at Porta Farm this
week, television footage showed raw
sewerage flowing into people's
homes.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE - The
looming Cabinet reshuffle has long been overdue, analysts said
this week,
citing the appalling performance of some of the players in
President Robert
Mugabe's Development Cabinet.
Political analysts said Mugabe should move to
trim his bloated government,
which the fiscus is frantically battling to
sustain. Experts said while
reshuffling his cabinet may improve Mugabe's
sagging popularity, they
pointed out that this may create new problems,
which Mugabe may find
insurmountable.
"Because he has run out of people
to choose from, he is finding it extremely
difficult to replace the current
crop," University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Dr
John Makumbe told The Zimbabwean.
"Besides, most of the people in Zanu (PF)
are sick anyway. He is facing a
difficult period. He has made statements in
the past insinuating that there
could be a cabinet reshuffle soon. But then
he forgets. He is old. As a
matter of fact, he spends most of his time
sleeping. All that time you think
he is working hard, he will actually be
sleeping."
Independent economic
consultant John Robertson said Mugabe was likely to
maintain the status quo
because he wanted loyalty.
Kuwadzana Member of Parliament Nelson Chamisa said
Mugabe was afraid of
worsening divisions already existing within his party.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) is yet to receive its Z$293
million budgetary
allocation for 2007 sources at the consumer watchdog said.
CCZ is funded by
government and was promised $293 million, $116 million more
than the amount
it requested under the 2007 National Budget, but these funds
have not been
released.
The consumer protection body is presently operating on a shoestring
budget
and continues to scrounge from leftovers of the $19 million advance
it
received from government last year.
Last year CCZ had to request for a
supplementary allocation after the $7, 7
million it had been given had run
out in midstream.
Financial constraints could see CCZ fail to undertake its
activities planned
in line with proposals by Consumers International to
which national consumer
bodies are affiliated. "We have limitations.
Availability of funds
determines our ability to reach out, the staff we work
with and the
infrastructure.
"Finance also determines how many times we
go on television and the space we
can buy in the newspapers. "As things
stand, we only rely on journalists to
publish stories on us as we cannot
afford to pay for airtime or space in
newspapers," CCZ Roseline Siyachitema
was quoted saying..
CCZ is regarded as a non-profit making organisation and
this makes it
difficult for the consumer body to come up with ways of
raising funds to
supplement the government grants. Siyachitema indicated
that government was
the most interested stakeholder with regard to
consumers' right and by
virtue of that had taken the burden to fund CCZ's
activities.
The delays in the disbursement of the funds notwithstanding,
Siyachitema
said CCZ was grateful for the role played by government in
supporting
consumer protection.
CCZ is one of the only three consumer
bodies in Africa that receive funding
from government, the others
being in Mauritius and Ethiopia.
She said the consumer council understood
government's dilemma in providing
funds as many other critical areas also
yearned for support. Although
financial constraints are the biggest
inhibiting factor to success of the
consumer body's undertakings, it has on
many occasions simply been dismissed
as a toothless bulldog.
Siyachitema
said CCZ also does not have the legal standing to prosecute and
this was
another reason people think it is not effective. CCZ will this year
lobby
government for a national consumer policy. South Africa and Malawi
already
have such policies in place and this will also require a lot of
funds.
The consumer body will also set up focus desks in strategic places
in the
communities to enhance consumers' access to its services. - Business
reporter
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
'The People's Charter brings focus to the non-violent
struggle for a
socially just Zimbabwe'
During 2006, Women and Men of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA) conducted
countrywide consultations on social
justice, which led to the birth of the
People's Charter. In 284
consultations, approximately 10,000 Zimbabweans
opened their hearts and
minds to the activists, sharing with them their
dreams for a new
Zimbabwe.
Towards the end of 2006, thousands of Zimbabweans joined in Charter
launch
events in Bulawayo and Harare. In Bulawayo, as men, women and babies
peacefully set out their demands for social justice, police officers
viciously assaulted the group, including grandmothers and babies, resulting
in the spilling of blood at Mhlahlandlela Government complex. Despite this
brutality, members of WOZA and MOZA announce to both friend and foe alike
that they will not betray the hopes and desires that Zimbabweans have
expressed through the People's Charter. In 2007 the streets will continue to
echo with voices demanding social justice. The people have spoken and will
continue to speak out until their dream of a new Zimbabwe is realised.
As
we continue with the non-violent struggle in 2007, those on the frontline
need more than ever the solidarity of Zimbabweans and friends in the
Diaspora. We also call on all organisations both inside and outside Zimbabwe
to join hands with us to respect the wishes of Zimbabweans by endorsing the
Charter and becoming 'People's Charter Champions'. We therefore call on all
individuals and organisations committed to a democratic and free Zimbabwe
and a socially just Africa to undertake the following:
1.Read and
understand the People's Charter
2.Send the Charter to any Zimbabwean or
friend of Zimbabwe and ask them to
read it and distribute it
widely.
3.Mobilise Zimbabweans to conduct their own People's Charter launch
events.
We wish to challenge Zimbabweans that if Muzarabane and Kezi can be
planning
to launch the Charter then so can Zimbabweans in Pretoria, Gabarone
or
London. The target of these peaceful launch events can be any political
leader - be they ruling party or opposition - councillor or senator. Even
the local Zimbabwean ambassador needs to be pressurised to receive the
Charter and relay it to Harare. We are willing to assist in planning and
mobilising for these events.
4.Co-opt any and all politicians to sign and
endorse the People's Charter
and promise to raise it in their Parliament.
WOZA and MOZA also wish to
announce that no politician is a sacred cow -
they will all be visited and
made to hear our voices, as we demand social
justice. We will also not be
fobbed off by being told that 'liberation
comrades' are sacrosanct - they
more than most know what promises were made
during the liberation war and
they will be the first to be held
accountable.
5.Obtain as many signatures as possible committing people to
become People's
Charter Champions. The world over there are too few people
genuinely
championing social economic and cultural rights of the poor and
underprivileged.
We remind members of the armed forces of Zimbabwe that
they are our children
and we love them enough to discipline them with our
tough love. In 2007 it
will no longer be acceptable to beat mothers and
babies saying you were only
following orders. Self-interest may feed your
family for a day but we want
your family to eat what they choose and when
they choose to eat. Freedom
does not belong to a small group but should be
enjoyed by every one - they
must join us in demanding the promises of the
liberation war.
People's Charter Endorsement
I, the undersigned, hereby
declare my endorsement for the People's Charter
launched by Zimbabweans and
delivered to Parliament on 12 December 2006. We
join Zimbabweans in calling
upon all leaders in Zimbabwe to end their
selfish bickering and focus their
energy on delivering what the people want.
The people have spoken and we
will help amplify their voices as they face
daily hardship, poverty and
tyranny. Actions speak louder than
words!
Name:
Organisation:
Signature:
Date:
The Zimbabwean
When the
chaotic land reform programme started in 2000, government made what
appeared
to be a very sensible decision amongst its bundling. That decision
was that
all seed growing farms would be classified as agrobusinesses and
would
therefore not be invaded and taken over.
However, like many decisions made by
a beleaguered regime, who was there to
ensure that those farmers growing
seed for the nation were spared? These
farms were also invaded with the same
reckless abandon that has become the
hallmark of Zanu (PF).
The end
result was that the country lost the expertise required to grow seed
from
embryo to foundation to commercial. This accounts for the annual
shortage of
seed in the country. While it might appear as if there is enough
maize seed
since it is available in shelves, the cost is so high that many
farmers only
buy what they require to grow their own food!
It will take many years before
we again produce enough seeds for this
country.
As an example, John Berry
was a potato seed producer in Kwe Kwe and he
supplied seed potatoes in the
whole midlands. He was evicted; now farmers
have nowhere to buy seed
potatoes. As a matter of fact, the bulk of his
customers were black
farmers.
We hear that government wants to reopen CSC facilities in Marondera
that
were EU approved but closed because of shortage of slaughter stock. It
is
instructive to mention that world class facilities were in Masvingo,
Marondera, Chinhoyi, Kadoma, Gweru and of course, Harare and Bulawayo. The
CSC has virtually closed all these except Bulawayo and Harare where they
hardly have economic cattle throughput.
Minister Didymus Mutasa is
alleged to have said that government will take
over all farms from the
paltry remaining white farmers. He is quoted as
having said 'only those
lucky ones will remain'. Some of these remaining
white farmers are beef
producers. We know that during the land invasion,
once a farmer had to go,
he had no option but to sell his herd. Millions of
cattle were sent to
slaughter, including pregnant cows.
The new law now makes it illegal to
remain in a listed farm. All farms were
listed in May 2005. In terms of the
constitution, all farms ever listed are
now state land.
It is a fact that
almost all the new farmers have no cattle. They need
cattle. There is so
much grazing land all over the country. Many new farmers
have been given
loans or facilities to buy heifers but have failed to do so
because of
shortages.
Does it not make sense that the few remaining farmers are allowed
to keep
their farms and produce beef cattle, which will be available to new
farmers
so that we can begin to re-build the national herd?
Those white
farmers, most of whom must go by the end of this month have only
one course
of action; send all their cattle, including those pregnant, to
the slaughter
market.
Is there anything else functioning that this government has no will,
desire
and capacity to destroy? What is there that is still working and will
be
spared?
Zimbabwe is like a bed-ridden patient who is so ill she cannot
turn herself.
The result is bedsores that need to be cleaned and treated.
But to clean the
bedsores, the patient need to turned. We in MDC want to
turn and treat the
patient but Zanu (PF) refuses. The patient will not heal.
It is that simple
As we face another election next year, let the suffering
patients of this
country be turned for a better life. - Renson Gasela,
Secretary for Lands &
Agriculture, MDC (Tsvangirai)
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - We are deeply
concerned about the deteriorating situation in the
public health system.
This is a direct result of the impasse between the
government and the
striking junior doctors. Nurses in all government
hospitals have now joined
the strike in solidarity with their colleagues.
Our thoughts and sympathies
lie with the patients whose lives are exposed to
real danger.
The
minister responsible for health, David Parirenyatwa has the temerity and
arrogance to take leave and go abroad in the midst of such a crisis. Such
contemptuous bungling in decision-making should not be tolerated.
We
demand that the minister responsible comes back home immediately to deal
with this crisis, failure of which he should admit that he has failed and
resign.
As a party, the MDC will continue to advocate the observance of
the people's
Health Rights and provision for a minimum platform of health
rights in the
constitution and law. We firmly believe that there is need to
fulfil the
state's obligation to providing sound health services, equitably
distributed
and with adequate drugs and well- resourced staff. As a party we
will
provide and encourage leadership across the political, public and
private
divide and community sectors to face the realities and challenges of
the
HIV/AIDS pandemic with a view to addressing the crisis in a holistic and
informed manner for the betterment of present and future generations.
We
call upon the people of Zimbabwe to reject the myopic and dysfunctional
manner in which the current government has handled matters of the nation's
health. It is clear that unless and until this government begins to respect
the people's health rights, disease and death will be permanent guests in
Zimbabwean households.
The nation deserves better - Our present and
future needs to be secured. -
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Deputy
Secretary General, MDC (Mutambara)
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
HARARE - A headman
in Bindura has been denying the burial of an alleged
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) supporter on political grounds for 27
days since the death of
the woman.
Noreen Kanemanyanga has resorted to seeking assistance from the
Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai after
being denied the right to bury Chipo, her daughter who died
on January 5.
MDC spokesperson, Neslon Chamisa blasted the abuse of power by
the
traditional leader. "This is a clear case of human rights abuse and
crimes
against humanity. Even the right to be decently buried is being
denied in
this country," he said. "But as a party we are making all efforts
to ensure
that the deceased is buried in her village."
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
BY JOEL
SCHMIDT
BULAWAYO - "Does the world know what is happening here?" asks a young
man
pushing a cart down the deserted streets of Bulawayo. "Or have they
forgotten us?"
It is a question I can't answer. How do I explain that
most New Yorkers who
agonize over subway delays and gas prices don't fully
understand a world
where survival is an ongoing battle? New Yorkers worry
about which
kindergarten will accept their unborn children. In Zimbabwe they
worry about
how they will feed and protect another child.
The statistics
are shocking. Nearly every third child in Zimbabwe is an
orphan. One in
eight children will die before age five. Average life
expectancy is the
lowest in the world.
The rural poor are eating field mice.
Authoritarian
President Robert Mugabe's land-confiscation policies have
impoverished the
country to the point that even ox-drawn ambulances are a
luxury. US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called Zimbabwe an
'outpost of
tyranny.' It is a place where human rights are systematically
ignored and
trampled. The result is suffering and sacrifice beyond belief.
As an American
born and bred in New York City, I was appalled to learn of
the depth of the
suffering. As a citizen of the world I resolved to see it
with my own eyes
so that I could help improve their plight.
I arrived in a country with an
official annual inflation rate in excess of
1,000 percent. Prices rise
weekly, sometimes hourly. Infants are sold on the
capital city streets for
the equivalent of US$30. Unsold infants are dumped
in drains and
sewers.
How does one survive in these conditions? "You make a plan," I was
told.
This is the answer you will get if you ask a lodge owner in a town
where
tourism is virtually unheard of. It is what you will hear from a
Coca-Cola
distributor in a country that has no gasoline or fuel. From the
taxicab
driver, to the donkey-cart owner; from the rafting guide to the
impoverished
villager, they all "make a plan" to survive.
I realized we
all "make a plan," when a street peddler offered me hand-made
trinkets in
exchange for my shoes and clothing. Whether we live in New York
or Zimbabwe
and whether we're trying to navigate rush hour traffic or
survive another
day, we all make plans to move our lives forward.
More crucially, I realized
the urgent need for the developed world to pause
and contemplate the
resilience of the Zimbabwean people. It is our duty to
integrate their
awesome power of determination into our own lives, and our
responsibility to
deploy that will to better their lot.
It is an obligation we cannot forsake.
We must "make a plan" today.
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's first significant vote since
taking up the
non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council is
not only a blow
to the oppressed people of Burma but a hazardous indicator
to the masses of
Zimbabwe who are under the same authoritarian, repressive
type of
government.
The Council recently tabled a resolution urging
Burma's military government
to release all political prisoners, speed up
progress towards democracy and
stop attacks towards ethnic minorities. It
voted nine to three in favour -
South Africa was amongst the three states
that voted against such three
noble resolutions. The resolution failed
because of Russia and China's veto
powers.
Burma is ruled by a military
junta - the only difference is that the
Zimbabwean government is not a
proclaimed military junta. The military junta
in Harare prefers to subject
itself to farcical elections, whereas the Burma
mafia discards election
results.
This is the dictatorial military government that South Africa chose
to
partner with against the oppressed masses of that country and it should
send
clear signals on how she is likely to react when it comes to
Zimbabwe.
The military Junta's policies have led to the displacement of up to
a
million people. A few of the displaced have managed to escape to Thailand
and other neighbouring countries where they live in limbo and are forced to
work for peanuts. This is similar to the Harare government, which has forced
millions of its beloved citizens into exile where they are reeling in
unfathomable murky waters of poverty. Operation Murambatsvina carried at the
behest of secruocrats is a classic example that saw the displacement of more
than 700 000 citizens.
The military junta is so ruthless that opposition
members of the National
League for Democracy are being tortured, arbitrarily
arrested, jailed and
women are victims of rape. These are the day-to-day
retributions that
Movement for Democratic Change leaders and supporters face
in Zimbabwe. We
must realise that, despite being part of the global village
and the Southern
African community of nations, we are on our own - Zamchiya
Phillan,
pres1zamchiya@yahoo.com
The Zimbabwean
(01-02-07)
BY GIFT
PHIRI
HARARE - Zimbabwe's cash-strapped government is scouting for a long
haul jet
and two helicopters to ferry President Robert Mugabe, senior
ministers and
members of the First Family.
Authoritative sources said
government wanted to get an Airbus 320 as Mugabe
was unhappy with his ageing
trademark white helicopter and the two
accompanying military escort
helicopters, which he is said not to like any
more because of its short haul
nature and intermittent breakdowns.
The purchase of the Airbus 320 is
reportedly being delayed due to concerns
by security chiefs that bringing in
civilian pilots and crew would put the
safety of Mugabe at risk. Mugabe's
spokesman George Charamba was not
available for comment as he was said to be
at the African Union summit in
Addis Ababa.
The Zimbabwean heard that the
Ministry of Defence had been in touch with top
executives from the European
consortium Airbus Industrie requesting
quotations for the Airbus 320. Airbus
Industries CEO Louis Gallois had not
responded to an e-mail sent to his
office by the time of going to print.
It remains unclear if the presidential
aircraft is covered under the
military embargo imposed on Harare by the EU,
or how the purchase would be
classified.
It is understood that the
aircraft, which is for the "exclusive use" of
President Mugabe might
occasionally be leased out to the national airline,
Air Zimbabwe, which is
currently experiencing a shortage of aircraft
following the depletion of its
Boeing 707 and 767 fleet.