Zanu-PF rewrites Zim's 'careless' draft constitution

http://mg.co.za

HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Feb 23 2012 12:47

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe's party said on Thursday it was pushing
for a raft of changes to a draft constitution, meant to pave the way to new
elections to replace a rocky power-sharing regime.

"Of the six chapters we have reviewed, we have made a lot of changes because
we have discovered that the drafters had ignored what we instructed them to
do and 70% of their content was of their own invention," Paul Mangwana,
Mugabe's point man on the Constitution, said in the Herald newspaper.

"We have evidence that they were careless with their job and we had no
option than to make plenty of changes," he said in the paper, which normally
reflects the views of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

The paper has published what it said was a draft of the Constitution, which
included a two-term limit for president. That would prevent Mugabe from
running again, since he has been in power since 1980.

Mangwana said the party also wanted a clause to protect Mugabe's land
reforms, which resettled black people on thousands of white-owned farms a
decade ago.

'Totally incorrect'
Zimbabwe's three-year-old unity accord, which put Mugabe with his rival
Morgan Tsvangirai in a power-sharing government, requires a new constitution
with democratic reforms before holding new elections.

Jessie Majome, who represents Tsvangirai's party on the drafting committee,
refuted Mangwana's claims as "totally incorrect".

"First of all we don't have a draft except for the leaks of confidential
work-in-progress by people who are causing unnecessary confusion,
pandemonium and acrimony," Majome said.

"The draft goes through several runs and at the moment there is nothing to
get excited about."

"We should allow the process to progress without interference. We should not
be drafting in the public arena. This leaking is meant to influence the
process and it's totally out of line."

Work on the Constitution has run in fits and starts, hindered by attacks on
meetings by supporters' of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

Mugabe has pushed for new elections this year, but the constitution-drafting
commission says a referendum on the charter could not be held before August,
meaning that elections would likely not take place until next year. -- AFP

Clause locking Mugabe out of polls scrapped

http://www.nation.co.ke

By KITSEPILE NYATHI NATION Correspondent
Posted  Thursday, February 23  2012 at  19:00

HARARE

A parliamentary committee leading Zimbabwe’s constitution making has been
forced to drop a number of provisions, including one that would have locked
President Robert Mugabe out of future polls.

A representative of Mugabe’s Zanu PF party in the Constitution Select
Committee, Paul Munyaradzi Mangwana, said they had made a raft of changes to
the draft supreme law.

He said this was done after realising that 70 per cent of the information
used by the drafters was not part of the people’s views obtained from a 2009
outreach programme.

Mangwana said they had reviewed six of the 18 chapters of the first draft,
including the one dealing with presidential term limits.

Another contentious clause sought to bar candidates above 70 years of age
from participating in future polls and was seen as targeted at President
Mugabe who turned 88 on Tuesday. (READ: Law bars Mugabe from Zimbabwe polls)

“Of the six chapters we have reviewed, we have made a lot of changes because
we have discovered that the drafters had ignored what we instructed them to
do and 70 per cent of their content was of their own invention,” Mangwana
told The Herald newspaper.

“We have evidence that they were careless with their job and we had no
option but to make many changes.”

He also accused the drafters of trying to sneak in a clause that would have
legalised homosexuality and dual citizenship.

President Mugabe’s coalition partners, however, dismissed the claims, saying
the draft constitution was not yet ready.

MDC Distances Itself From Draft Constitution Rumours

23 February 2012-02-23

MDC has advised Zimbabweans not to take allegations emanating from the so-called public media that the Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) has overhauled the draft constitution seriously.

COPAC spokesperson, Hon. Jessie Majome said Zimbabweans are well-informed to the extent that they are able to define a constitution that represents their interests. She said the misleading reports are a result of ZANU (PF)’s strategy to gag the constitution-making process, manipulate public discourse and misinform the people thereby, causing mayhem.

“Drafting of the constitution is a process and not an event. ZANU (PF) through The Herald should not highjack a process in which they are not the only stakeholders. The Herald has neither business, authority, mandate nor understanding to publish, analyse or comment on any document purported to be a draft constitution. The failed political party is attempting to drive the constitution-making process from The Herald. The Select Committee is the only legal entity able to present the draft,” said Hon. Majome.

Responding to allegations that clauses to do with presidential term, dual citizenship, homosexuality, land reform and devolution of power had been altered, Hon. Majome said whoever was leaking information has lost it and received a backlash as the public likes the draft constitution. She said,

“There is nothing spectacular about a particular clause or section in the draft. The drafting of the constitution is a confidential process and is out of order to present an issue to the media or public. The process must be private until finished. The Herald is undermining the process and pushing the ZANU (PF) agenda.”

Hon. Majome said ZANU (PF) is terrified with the process, thereby trying to discredit it. It even wants to monopolise debate surrounding the constitution through The Herald. She challenged the publisher to stop pre-emptying debate forthwith and refrain from maintaining a stronghold on public media.

The spokesperson also urged ZANU (PF) and the public media to let COPAC do its work without hinderance.

The people’s struggle for real change – Let’s finish it!

--
MDC Information & Publicity Department

Energy Minister insists “chefs” will be disconnected over unpaid bills

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
23 February 2012

Senior politicians who do not pay their electricity bills will be treated
like any other consumer and be disconnected, the Energy and Power
Development Minister Elton Mangoma has said.

Last week Mangoma told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and
Energy that some cabinet members, MPs and senior civil servants were
refusing to pay money owed to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
(ZESA). One unnamed official owed as much as $100,000.

Mangoma told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that disconnections had already
started and were being applied equally to all those who fail to pay ZESA.
But he would not be drawn on naming exactly which politicians had already
been disconnected or how much they owed.

“I will not say this one was disconnected or that one will be disconnected.
That’s not my business. Whatever we say is the policy is being applied to
everyone,” the Minister said.

Mangoma made the comments following complaints by the Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA), who told SW Radio Africa that their members
were being disconnected while “chefs” who owed more still had electricity.

Mangoma admitted this had been true, saying: “There had been some people,
whatever category and however chosen I wouldn’t know, who were not being
treated the same as others. A consumer is a consumer and they must be
treated equally.”

ZESA is implementing a new policy, which requires 25 percent of outstanding
bills to be paid to avoid disconnection or before power is reconnected. The
balance is to be paid in agreed amounts for a period of no more than six
months.

Mangoma explained that this initiative aims to make it easier for customers,
because ZESA employees were at times just switching off power without first
notifying people. “We want to mold and change that culture in order to give
customers recourse,” he added.

ZESA is owed $450 million in outstanding bills and Mangoma said the money is
needed to make repairs, buy spares and service a debt of over $80 million,
owed to the Cahora Bassa dam project in Mozambique.

The Minister said Zesa’s infrastructure had been neglected for years and a
huge debt had been allowed to accumulate.

Air Zimbabwe vanishes from the skies indefinitely

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
23 February 2012

Air Zimbabwe flights will continue to be off the radar after the airline
indefinitely suspended its operations.

The troubled airline vanished from the skies late last year following a
series of strikes by its workers, including pilots protesting non-payment of
their salaries and allowances.

Workers from the national carrier have not received salaries since September
2011 and are owed over US$35 million. Acting CEO Innocent Mavhunga,
confirmed to the state media on Thursday the indefinite suspension of all
flights, blaming it on cash flow problems.

‘We failed to resume flights as planned on Monday as we still have
challenges relating to payment of salaries. Part of our workers did not
report for duty. We are now grounded indefinitely,’ Mavhunga said.

There are reports management are to blame for the latest debacle after
consulting pilots only, and not all the other workers, when they announced
plans to resume flights on Monday. A member of the National Air Workers
Union said they only read about the resumption of flights in the newspapers.

The ongoing crisis comes as a new airline has started operating into the
country. Emirates made its maiden voyage to Harare early this month. The
airline flies between Harare, Lusaka and Dubai five times a week.

Air Zimbabwe’s future now looks uncertain, as a new local airline has been
granted a licence by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe. Sol Air is
expected to service the Harare to Bulawayo and Harare to Victoria Falls
routes.

Public prosecutor arrested at courts

http://dailynews.co.zw/

By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Thursday, 23 February 2012 09:32

HARARE - A public prosecutor was yesterday allegedly caught red-handed
taking bribes from accused people by officers from the Anti-Corruption
Commission (ACC).

Moffat Makuvatsine was arrested yesterday morning at the Harare Magistrates’
Courts for soliciting for a $500 bribe from the wife of an accused person
who is in custody, an ACC official told the Daily News.

“We received a tip-off from the wife who was going to pay the bribe and we
trapped him,” the official said.

“He put up a strong fight against our investigators resisting to be
arrested. Some of our investigators were injured trying to pin him down.”

Chris Mutangadura, a senior official from the attorney general’s office
confirmed the arrest.

“I can confirm that a prosecutor was arrested today but I’m not sure of the
circumstances surrounding his arrest,” said Mutangadura.

Makuvatsine was yesterday evening said to be detained at Highlands Police
Station.

ACC chairman Stanford Chirinda could neither deny nor confirm the arrest but
said the commission is not going to hesitate arresting suspects.

“There are no sacred cows. If anyone is found on the wrong side of the law,
we will not hesitate to do our job,” he said.

The Anti-Corruption Commission was established under the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) to investigate cases of corruption in both the public and
private sectors and to combat corruption and abuse of power.

Moreover, it was meant to promote honesty, financial discipline and
transparency in the public and private sectors and to give tips to the
police to investigate cases of suspected corruption.

Biti's Predictions A Pie in The Sky: Hawkins

http://www.radiovop.com/

Bulawayo, February 23, 2012- Zimbabwe’s inflation rate is set to return to
double digits by year-end pushed up by varying rising costs, according to a
research paper by a University of Zimbabwe (UZ) economic analyst, Professor
Tony Hawkins.

Hawkins said predictions by Finance Minister, Tendai Biti that the country’s
inflation rate currently at 4.3% will close 2012 at below 5% are a pie in
the sky, arguing that the latter’s protectionist policies will eventually
drive up inflation.

“The 25% import surcharge and a number of import duty increases will have
knock-on effects on prices, while the 35% increase in government spending
will increase aggregate demand at least twice as fast as aggregate supply
increases.

“Unfortunately the recent lurch towards protectionism – Biti’s 25% import
surcharge - will push up costs and prices, protect the inefficient and fuel
inflation. Accordingly inflation is likely to be significantly higher than
the 5% projected in the budget, possibly returning to double figures before
the end of 2012,” Hawkins noted.

Hawkins also dispelled Biti’s predictions that the country’s economy will
grow by between 7.8%-9% this year, noting that utmost the economy will grow
by only 5% because of the tight liquidity conditions and domestic political
tensions.

“To expect that without convincing there will be sufficient investment to
sustain 8% growth is pie-in-the-sky. More likely in 2012 is below trend
growth (4% to 5% at best) because of the reportedly-low level of
agricultural plantings, the uncertain global economy, tight market liquidity
conditions and domestic political tensions,” Hawkins indicated

“As capacity utilisation increases – in industry and in finance – so the
recovery trajectory will flatten out, especially given the two binding
constraints on expansion – electricity supply and long-term capital.”

Economic experts have already warned that failure to introduce policies
aimed at increasing cash inflows within the economy will hinder efforts to
consolidate economic gains.

Biti hits back at Mugabe

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Gift Phiri, Senior Writer
Thursday, 23 February 2012 12:00

HARARE - Zimbabwe's underperforming farmers have received over $2 billion
since the formation of the coalition government in 2009, laying bare claims
by President Robert Mugabe that Finance minister Tendai Biti is deliberately
starving newly resettled farmers.

The farmers, who received large swathes of land under the controversial land
reform programme, include many of Mugabe’s ministers, military and police
commanders, intelligence officers and Zanu PF officials.

Biti said the over $2 billion pumped into agriculture in the past three
years excluded millions of dollars worth of freebies that included fuel,
tractors, and other farming implements dished out during the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s runaway days before the formation of the coalition
government.

Mugabe last week heaped blame on Biti to justify the poor performance of new
farmers, many who have abandoned farming operations to leave the country
fighting a perennial food deficit.

But Biti yesterday rubbished Mugabe’s accusations that he was deliberately
withholding state loans to farmers from Zanu PF who seized white-owned
commercial farms under a land reform project described by critics as
haphazard and often violent.

Mugabe says the mass eviction of white farmers to resettle blacks was
necessary to address colonial imbalances, although most beneficiaries have
little to show for the free windfalls they have been getting from
government.

Biti said he had actually scaled up funding for agriculture from $18,9
million in 2009 to $615 million in 2011.

“In addition to direct budget support amounting to about $615 million
between 2009 and 2011, the private sector and international partners have
also been supporting agriculture, making total support to the sector of more
than US$1,9 billion during the same period,” Biti said.

Agriculture contributes an average 15 percent to GDP but could be doing more
if resettled farmers worked harder, according to Biti.

“The growing support to agriculture also reflects government’s commitment to
implement and fulfil obligations with regards to meeting the stipulated
funding threshold under the Maputo Declaration of 2003 on Agriculture and
Food Security which Zimbabwe is signatory to.”

The Maputo Declaration requires that expenditure on land, agriculture and
water must be at least 10 percent of the budget.

Mugabe, who turned 88 on Tuesday, told state-run media in a birthday
interview that Biti was not making policies that were economically
beneficial to the agriculture-based economy.

“Farmers are always ready, raring to go,” Mugabe said.

“But we fail them. They do not have inputs, even where they have the money.
Just imagine — they could not get fertiliser for two reasons: fertiliser was
scarce and where it was available, they did not have money to purchase it.
Why?"

Because their money was locked up in deliveries of maize and wheat that have
not been paid for by the minister of Finance.

“You have maize that was grown last year that was paid for partially. All
the wheat of last year has not been paid for.”

But Biti insisted that Zimbabwe’s slow recovery from a decade of severe
economic meltdown was a direct result of Mugabe’s refusal to implement
reforms envisaged under the power-sharing Global Political Agreement.

The minister said government was cash-strapped, with 260 000 civil servants
gobbling 70 percent of the national budget, leaving very little cash to
bankroll agriculture.

He said payment for grain deliveries made to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
towards the Government’s Strategic Grain Reserve will be disbursed this week
after he accessed cash from the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights accounts.

“As of February 17, 2012, farmers are owed a total of $30,5 million against
2011 grain deliveries to the GMB as follows: $24,935 million for 2011 maize
and small grains; and $5,557 million for 2011 wheat deliveries,” he said.

“Treasury has instituted measures to liquidate the above grain payment
obligation to farmers. These will take the combination of direct budget
disbursement to the GMB for payment to farmers as well as utilisation of
some of the GMB grain sales realisations.”

"Biti said he was allocating $20 million from the $110 million withdrawn
from the IMF'’s SDR account to bankroll the outstanding GMB payments. Mugabe
had accused Biti of “just sitting on the SDR”.

“With regards to the fiscus, resources amounting to US$20 million (from the
IMF SDR account) announced in my press statement of January 25, 2012 towards
support to agriculture will be disbursed this week towards payment of
farmers’ deliveries to the GMB,” Biti said.

Biti said he would settle the balance of $10,5 million, by raising
additional resources through GMB grain sales to millers out of the
Government’s Strategic Grain Reserve holding.

“Out of negotiations with grain millers, GMB will sell 140 000 tons of maize
to millers at a price of $275 per ton,” Biti said.

“This is also on condition that the millers will maintain the current market
price of mealie meal. As a result, this enables us to realise $38,5 million
that is enough to liquidate the balance of $10,5 million for grain
deliveries. This will leave a balance of about $28 million, which will be
utilised to liquidate other obligations to seed and fertiliser companies.”

He said to ensure accountability of these resources, the GMB will be
directed to deposit all the proceeds realised into its CBZ account and make
the necessary arrangements for farmers to be paid.

“Furthermore, the GMB will be required to update Treasury on the utilisation
of the funds on a weekly basis,” he said.

Government obligations to seed houses currently stand at $27,7 million for
maize and small grains seed delivered for the 2011/2012 Summer Crop.

Of this, $5,2 million was due in December 2011, $4,8 million in March 2012
and $17,8 million in May 2012.

Biti insisted that he has been prioritising the agriculture sector through
various support initiatives and programmes, rejecting Mugabe’s accusations
as “electioneering”.

He said key support programmes include the provision of Research and
Extension Services, including training and availing of relevant information
to farmers; crop input pack schemes for vulnerable groups; subsidised inputs
such as seed and fertiliser; guaranteeing a market for farmers through
purchasing of grain for the Strategic Grain Reserve; livestock development
programmes; and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure among other
support initiatives.

Zanu PF Strong-arm Citizens to Attend Its Rallies: ZESN

http://www.radiovop.com/i

Harare, February 23, 2012 – President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF which is
feared for unleashing violence to its opponents is forcing people to attend
its political meetings as well as to buy party cards, the Zimbabwe Elections
Support Network has revealed.

In a 15 page report titled “Respect for human rights and implications for
free and fair elections consolidated ballot report update 2011”, ZESN said
political tolerance is still very low in Zimbabwe as the country prepares to
hold elections to end the coalition government formed by Mugabe and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The pressure group said it deployed 210 “long term” observers in 2011 to
monitor different constituencies from April to December the same year and
that “1800 questionnaires were collected and analysed using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).”

“33% of reports revealed that people were forced to attend Zanu PF meetings.
27% of reports showed that citizens were forced to buy Zanu PF party cards,”
ZESN said.

“Asked if people were able to exercise their right to free expression, 64 %
of reports show that citizens were unable to express themselves freely.”

“The political landscape of Zimbabwe was such that citizens were not able to
express themselves even through wearing their party regalia. 53 % of reports
show that citizens are not free to wear party regalia unless it is Zanu PF,”
the pressure group said.
ZESN said parties such as the Movement for Democratic Change formations
including the civic society have been banned by police from holding
political rallies or meetings while Zanu PF holds meetings unhindered.

“To bring finality to the Zimbabwean crisis, there is need for an election
that ushers in a legitimate government chosen by the people. Elections are
meant to provide citizens with real and genuine opportunities to make
choices,” ZESN said.

“Let the citizens speak through the ballot.”

Zimbabwe which held disputed polls in 2008 marred by violence blamed on Zanu
PF supporters will hold fresh elections after a new constitution has been
adopted.

Mugabe has said he wants elections this year while Tsvangirai has said
reforms must be implemented in the electoral, security and broadcast media
sectors to have free and fair elections.

Government urged to prioritise human development goals

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
23 February 2012

Zimbabwe’s government is being urged to prioritise its human development
goals, after the country was ranked near the bottom of an international
development report last year.

The 2011 Human Development Report, launched by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) late last year, lists Zimbabwe at 173 out of
187 countries. It is also listed among the 45 nations ranked under the ‘Low’
human development title.

The highest in the HDI Report for 2011 is Norway, followed by Australia, The
Netherlands and the US. At the bottom of the list is the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (187). Zimbabwe meanwhile is ranked lower than countries like
Sudan and Afghanistan, while even Libya, which is still recovering from the
revolution that ousted Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is listed at number 63 under
the ‘High’ human development ranking.

The HDI report links human development with global sustainability, arguing
that such sustainability “can be most fairly and effectively achieved by
addressing health, education, income, and gender disparities”

“Despite the human development progress of recent years, income distribution
has worsened, grave gender imbalances still persist, and accelerating
environmental destruction puts a ‘double burden of deprivation’ on the
poorest households and communities,” the report says.

The MDC-T’s Bulawayo East MP, Tabitha Khumalo, said that the basic rights of
Zimbabwe’s public are not being addressed, calling the country’s ranking
“totally unacceptable.” She said in Zimbabwe’s particular case, with its
wealth of natural resources, there should be no excuse to rank so low on the
scale of human development.

“It is sad that any country should be so low on such a scale in this day and
age, but Zimbabwe, which has such wonderful natural resources like diamonds,
it is just unacceptable,” Khumalo said.

Khumalo was speaking just hours after visiting with homeless people in her
constituency, calling the conditions “appalling.”

“They have no running water, no food, terrible health, and not even the
means to get to free clinics. It is so sad that people face such a plight
when we could harness our natural wealth and develop our country,” Khumalo
said.

When asked about the government’s priorities in terms of human development,
Khumalo said that the priority must be “the needs of the majority, not the
wants of the few.”

She added that development, even in terms of the most basic needs, could be
easily catered for with money from Zimbabwe’s diamond industry.

“This could be solved with government accessing funds from Chiadzwa, These
resources must be tapped into and prioritised for the country’s
 development,” Khumalo said.

See  http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Summary.pdf

Mwale remains free 12 years after brutal murders

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
23 February 2012

A member of the Central Intelligence Organisation implicated in the gruesome
murder of two MDC activists 12 years ago has still not been prosecuted
despite a High Court judge having recommended he be brought to book.

Joseph Mwale and his fellow accomplice, war vet Kainos ‘Kitsiyatota’
Zimunya, were identified as having petrol bombed a vehicle driven by
Tichaona Chiminya and Talent Mabika. Both activists were campaigning in
Buhera for MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai in the run up to parliamentary
elections in 2000.

According to witness testimonies a convoy of two MDC vehicles was stopped by
a mob of ZANU PF militants. Two men armed with AK47 rifles and others
bearing iron bars emerged from the ZANU PF car. Mwale and Zimunya started to
attack the MDC vehicle with iron bars forcing the MDC youths at the back of
the truck to flee. Chiminya and Ms Mabika were trapped in one of the
vehicles.

Sanderson Makombe who survived the ambush told SW Radio Africa that he
escaped into the bush and watched as Mwale and Zimunya threw petrol into the
car and set it alight. Vastly outnumbered and faced with thugs armed with
AK47’s he watched helplessly as his colleagues Mabika and Chiminya got out
of the car and ran ‘across the fields burning like balls of flames.’

When the mob left Makombe ran to Chiminya who was already dead, but Mabika
was still alive and shouting out the names of her attackers. She was to die
later in hospital. Makombe said there was a police vehicle “parked a few
metres down the road and they actually witnessed everything that was
happening.”

Makombe said the police came to where they were and instructed them to put
the bodies in the back of the truck. “So the task was for us to lift our
colleagues, you know, with our own bare hands, they were still burning, you
know. Talent was still screaming, she was not dead yet, she had been badly
burnt.”

In 2006 SW Radio Africa reported how police were too scared to enforce a
written order from the Attorney General’s office to arrest Mwale. Then High
Court Judge James Devitte ordered Mwale be brought to trial for the murders.
Efforts by former Manicaland prosecutor Levison Chikafu, to bring Mwale to
justice, were also frustrated.

In September 2006 Chikafu wrote to the then police chief in Manicaland
Province saying: “The accused faces a charge of murder which was committed
in the year 2000. The docket was referred to your office with instructions
that you arrest Joseph Mwale and bring him for initial remand.”

The docket disappeared from the police station and Chikafu was himself
arrested on charges of ‘corruption and soliciting bribes from suspects’.

Instead of Mwale being brought to justice he was promoted within the CIO and
enjoys high level protection from the Mugabe regime.

Reports at the time suggested he was put in charge of the President’s Office
for Manicaland Province and lavished with several posh cars for his use.
That promotion came to the fore when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
recently toured the diamond fields in Marange. SW Radio Africa reported how
Mwale was part of the security entourage during the tour last Thursday.

On Thursday SW Radio Africa spoke to Adella Chiminya, who is Tichaona
Chiminya’s widow and she spoke of her horror at reading our story on Mwale
being in Marange during the PM’s tour.

Adella said it was clear ‘provocation’ from ZANU PF and an attempt to show
that ‘nothing will happen to Mwale’. She however said: ‘I am now a Christian
and vengeance belongs to God. He (Mwale) will get his just desserts one
 day.”

Meanwhile an official in the PM’s office has told SW Radio Africa they were
not aware Mwale was part of the security entourage during the tour. “It was
pointed out to us at the end of the tour that Mwale was there and we got our
guys to take pictures of him.”

Detained farmer faces third weekend behind bars

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
23 February 2012

A former farmer who was arrested for fighting to remain in his Vumba home
now faces a third weekend behind bars, after his bail hearing was once again
postponed on Thursday.

74 year old Peter Hingeston was arrested almost two weeks ago after failing
to appear in court, in connection with the legal battle over his rights to
his property.

His absence from court was on medical grounds, but instead of being fined or
reprimanded as is usually expected under these circumstances, Hingeston was
thrown behind bars.

Hingeston’s stay in custody has been drawn out for almost two weeks, with
repeated delays to his bail hearings. Last Friday, after a week behind bars,
his bail was postponed because the police ‘mislaid’ his case documents.

On Tuesday efforts to have him released were once again delayed when the
hearing was postponed to Thursday, with no reasons given for this decision.
The hearing has now been postponed once again, this time to next week
Monday, meaning Hingeston will stay in custody for a third weekend.

Meanwhile his trial for prosecution under the Gazetted Land (Consequential
Provisions) Act for his alleged illegal occupation of his retirement home in
the Vumba Mountains is due to start on Friday.

Hingeston was forced off his Lowveld sugar cane farm in the mid 2000s and
‘retired’ to a house and plot of land in Vumba. But it’s believed that a top
police official wants that property and for the last four years Hingeston
has been fighting to stay there.

Charles Taffs, the President of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), told SW
Radio Africa this week that ‘the game’ being played to keep Hingeston behind
bars is an attempt to force him to hand over his land.

Teachers Target July For improved Salaries

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, February 23, 2012 - THE Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), the
country’s largest teachers’ labour body, has asked its negotiators with the
coalition government over salary increments to push for a significant salary
increment by July 2012.

Last week civil servants representatives under the Apex Council – the
negotiating umbrella body of all public workers except the armed forces –
held a meeting with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in desperate attempts
to force the government to increase their low salaries.

However, they came out of the meeting empty-handed as the PM told them that
the government had no money to bank-roll any salary increments.

Instead PM Tsvangirai assured them that he would raise the issue of salaries
with his Cabinet colleagues.

In a circular to members dated 16 February 2012, a day after their
representatives met with the PM, ZIMTA chief executive officer Sifiso
Ndlovu, said the consultative meeting with the premier was effective in as
far as presenting the public service workers appeal to his office as well as
gaining his support on the issues.

“However, as this was not a negotiating forum no commitments were obtained,
save for promises to lend support by the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, ZIMTA
will urge members of Apex to stoke the salary brazier for positive results
by July 2012,” Ndlovu wrote to members.

He further told members that the APEX council nonetheless informed the PM
that the 2012 budget was exclusionary as it gave little thought to
government workers’ needs.

“Government negotiators seemed not to have been mandated to advance any
government position. Apex Council also observed that governmentwas long on
rhetoric regarding non-monetary awards, which to date had not been auctioned
and where an attempt to implement some of the recommendations was made,
government had done so with little impact in improving conditions of
service,” reads part of a document handed to the PM.

In his response the PM is said to have been receptive and accommodative and
ultimately committed himself to present the issues to the Cabinet Task Force
on Salaries and Conditions of Service.

He allegedly reiterated the government position on its lack of capacity to
meet workers demands due to the alleged under performanceof the economy.

Civil servants want the least paid to get US$538 a month against the present
monthly salary of US$250. They are also demanding better housing and
transport allowances.

In his birthday interview with the state media, President Robert Mugabe also
stated that the coalition government has no financial wherewithal to fund
salary increments. But the civil servants are pinning their hopes on
proceeds from diamond sales.

According to Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, the country has the potential of
generating at least US$2 billion annually from the sale of Marange diamonds.

‘Public Protector’s office invisible’

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Thursday, 23 February 2012 14:08

HARARE - Zimbabwe Public Protector’s office previously known as the
Ombudsman is not as visible as it should, a situation which leaves citizens
without a channel through which they can register their complaints against
the executive, deputy minister of Justice Obert Gutu has said.

The office which was established by the coalition government is tasked with
investigating cases of administrative malpractices and alleged contravention
of the Declaration of Rights by members of the defence forces, police,
government departments and the prison service.

Bridget Chanetsa is currently running the office, which is often accused of
being far from the reality on the ground.

Gutu told the Daily News that very few people are aware of the existence of
the office of the public protector.

“Very few people are actually aware of the fact that we have a Public
Protector. The Public Protector has somehow retreated into a shell and this
is of course not healthy for the promotion of human rights,” Gutu said.

“I cannot even remember the last time the Public Protector presented a
report before the Parliament of Zimbabwe. One wonders therefore, whether the
office has played any meaningful role in the democratisation of the country
since it was created,” he said.

The Public Protector is expected by law to present a report before
Parliament every year which according to Gutu has been done only once since
its establishment in 2009.

Gutu said it is the responsibility of the Public Protector to ensure that
her office works citing the example of the office of the Public Protector in
South Africa whose investigations recently led to the suspension of a
cabinet minister and the country’s police commissioner general, Bheki Cele
over maladministration charges.

“I am actually reminded of the excellent work that Advocate Thuli Madonsela,
the South African Public Protector, is doing in fighting corruption and
human rights abuses in her country,” Gutu said.

Efforts to get a comment from Chanetsa were fruitless as she was said to be
out of office.

MDC members drag cops to court

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Pindai Dube
Thursday, 23 February 2012 14:06

BULAWAYO - Eight MDC members who say they were assaulted by police in Nkayi,
Matabeleland North province in December last year, are now dragging the
implicated police officers to court on their individual capacities, seeking
compensation.

There was chaos at Nkayi Growth Point on December 26 when a group of heavily
armed police officers in anti-riot gear allegedly went on the rampage
beating up residents, in revenge after one of their colleagues — a constable
Gumpo was assaulted at Mbali Night Club at the business centre.

However, eight MDC Nkayi members who are the victims say they are now suing
more than five junior police officers who assaulted them.

These MDC members are Limukani Moyo, Nkazimulo Ncube, Polite Khumalo, Lyton
Bhebhe, Sibusisiwe Moyo, Clement Tshuma, Khumbulani Dube and Mlindeli
Maseko.

Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, MDC Matabeleland North provincial
chairman Sengezo Tshabangu said they are already engaging the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to deal with the case.

He said some of the members sustained permanent injuries due to police
beatings.

“We are suing these police officers in their individual capacities for
brutalising our members. They should pay for abusing their authority,” said
Tshabangu.

“We have compiled names of these officers and we are also engaging ZLHR to
deal with the case. It’s high time police brutality was stopped.”

Nkayi district is now regarded as a “hot spot” for the two MDC formations
and human rights activists as police have blocked several meetings in recent
months.

Recently, police in the district raided the homestead of deputy Foreign
Affairs minister Robson Makula of  MDC faction after banning the party’s two
rallies which were scheduled to take place in the district.

In October last year, Nkayi police also disrupted Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai rally at Nesigwe Business  Centre despite a High Court order
allowing the rally to go ahead.

After the disruption of his rally, an angry Tsvangirai said he did not need
police clearances to hold meetings because he has the same powers as
President Robert Mugabe whose rallies are allowed by the same security
agents without clearance.

Co-Home Affairs minister, Theresa Makone, who is also an MDC member,
recently said she will approach Mugabe and police commissioner-general
Augustine Chihuri over the partisan conduct of the police especially those
in Matabeleland North province.

CDF: MP held, more arrests expected

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

22/02/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

AN MP appeared in court on Tuesday to answer criminal abuse of duty charges
and at least three others face arrest after failing to account for grants
made under the Constituency Development Fund.

St Mary's MP Marvellous Khumalo (MDC-T) was arrested on Monday after
Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga called in
the police.

Khumalo, 36, is accused of converting part of a US$50,000 grant to his own
use.

He was remanded to March 7 on US$300 bail. No plea was entered.

Detectives are also expected to quiz at least three other legislators -
Peter Chanetsa (Zanu PF, Hurungwe North), Franco Ndambakuwa (Zanu PF,
Magunje) and Cleopas Machacha (MDC-T, Kariba) after they all failed to
account for US$50,000 each they received from the fund to support
development projects in their constituencies.

Machacha has however denied the allegations insisting: “I was one of the
first people who submitted returns to the ministry. I went to the shop where
I bought my hardware and asked them for cash register receipts.

“They couldn’t produce them and they gave me duplicates. But the issue is
the chief auditor Mudzungairi said my receipts were not tallying and would
not accept the duplicates.”

Matinenga, who was asked by Finance Minister Tendai Biti to look into the
abuse of the fund, last week said 10 legislators — six from Zanu PF and four
from then MDC-T — had failed to submit returns proving that they used their
2012 CDF funds for developmental projects.

“Out of the 65 internal audits done, satisfactory responses have not been
received from four constituencies — St Mary’s, Hurungwe North, Magunje and
Kariba — and these matters have been handed over to the appropriate
authorities for their information and, where appropriate, further
investigation,” he said.
He also warned that MPs who failed to account for the money would not be
considered for the next allocation.

Khumalo arrived at the Harare Magistrates' Court accompanied by his lawyer,
Emmanuel Samudombe, and CID detectives.

Prosecutor David Magwegwe read him four charges: one count of criminal abuse
of duty as a public officer and three counts of theft.

The court heard that Treasuery moved US$50,000 in three batches between
November 12, 2010, and December 30, 2010, into an account held with the
Metropolitan Bank, opened in the name of the St Mary’s CDF committee.

On January 2 last year, Khumalo reportedly used the funds to buy a Bedford
lorry registration number 538-649 M from United Tyre Services without the
knowledge of both the constituency committee and the national management
committee.
Investigations revealed that Khumalo was hiring out the truck for personal
gain.

On the other count of theft, the State alleges that between November 2010
and February last year, Khumalo made councillors to sign blank withdrawal
slips and made various withdrawals amounting to US$5,000 from the
constituency’s CDF account.
He converted the money to his personal use.

The offence came to light following an audit by the Ministry of
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs.

After the discovery of the offence, Khumalo is said to have tendered a
quotation from Madedale Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, purporting that a payment of
US$5,000 had been made for the sinking of a borehole in his constituency.

The said company disowned the transaction and investigations revealed that
the borehole had been sunk by a non-governmental organisation called Germany
Agro Action.

It is further alleged that Khumalo withdrew US$20, 705 on the pretext that
it was for drain cleaning in six wards in the constituency.

Five councillors got their shares of US$3,000 apiece to use in their wards
but Khumalo kept US$3,000 which was meant for Councillor Adam Puzo of Ward
One who was absent on the day.
He allegedly converted the money to his own use.

The audit established that Khumalo had fabricated cash payment vouchers with
forged signatures, address and a false identity number, purporting Puzo had
received the money.
On another date, Khumalo, the State alleges, gave Councillor Darlington Nota
US$3,000 for drain cleaning in his ward.

He then manufactured cash payment vouchers with forged signatures, address
and a false identity number purporting that Nota had received US$3,850 yet
in actual fact he had given him US$3 000.
He pocketed the difference, it is alleged.

(additional reporting Herald)

Enemy Number 1: Youth unemployment

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Gone are the days when inflation used to be labeled the “number one enemy”.
Unemployment is now not only the “number one enemy,” but an aggressive
terrorist, anxious to blow up our macroeconomic tower.
22.02.1206:55am
by Chief Sub-Editor UK

Unemployment, according to its broad definition, refers to the population
age fifteen years and above, who during the seven day reference period did
not work and had no job or business to go back to, but who were available
for work (ZIMSTAT, 2006). A lower unemployment rate is regarded as one of
the key macroeconomic fundamentals.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Services, in 2009, estimated that
structural unemployment was 85 percent. Youths aged 15–24 years accounted
for 62.1 percent in 1994, 65 percent in 1999, 67.5 percent in 2002 and 59.6
percent in 2004 (Kanyenze, 2009).The graph below shows the unemployment rate
between 1998 and 2004 (when the last official figure was recorded).

Every year Zimbabwe is creating thousands of potential employees through its
universities, colleges, vocational and training centers. We had a surplus of
bonded nurses in 2011 and the Government is currently looking at exporting
some of the nurses abroad.

What really is the government doing to create adequate jobs for the young
people entering the job market every year? Young people who have spent 18
years of their lifetime going to school in the hope of finding a good job to
improve their livelihoods, are now selling recharge cards and newspapers at
road intersections in town.

Many are seen hanging around all day, where some will end up abusing drugs
or forming crime gangs. Due to persistent unemployment, some youths have
suffered melancholy and distress and ended up committing suicide. Young
female graduates have been left particularly vulnerable and desperate – and
some have resorted to prostitution.

The current youth empowerment programmes are just not enough to do the
trick. Some youths may not be entrepreneurial enough to succeed in
business – all they need is a job, to practice what they have learnt at
college – as accountants, economists, nurses, engineers and the like. We
cannot all be entrepreneurs, at the end of the day, some are just meant to
be professionals.

Employers have been arguing that the current labour laws favor jobless
growth, whereby labour is replaced by capital. According to employers; the
labour laws are inflexible, as they make it difficult for them to fire
employees. Hiring is even more difficult. According to the Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries’ 2011 Manufacturing Sector Survey, wages and salaries on
average constitute 25% of total expenses, and even as high as 60% for some
companies. This scenario is not good for job creation prospects.

Government, as a policy maker, has a responsibility to come up with a job
creation policy. The Millennium Development Goal 8 on global partnerships
makes reference to the need to develop and implement strategies that give
young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work.

The policy should be crafted in consultation with the youths, to ensure that
their views are taken on board. Addressing a business gathering recently, US
President, Barack Obama, said “Ask yourself what you can do to help create a
job, and your country will help you every way it can to help you succeed.”
Our government should have that kind of attitude.

Youths are tired of the government’s failure to solve their real issues. For
suicides they get counseling, for crimes they are punished by the law, for
prostitution they are given condoms. Government should make it a matter of
policy that every company should employ at least one college or university
graduate in every department, for at least one year; earning a minimum wage.

Doing so will ensure that virtually all unemployed graduates get swallowed
in the private and public sectors. To complement such a policy, there would
be a need to scrap attachment from degree programmes, since the objectives
of attachment can still be achieved during formal employment.

The social contract, which has been gathering dust, should be now
reactivated. The current environment is much more conducive to work,
compared to the environment under which it was signed. Inflation is no
longer running away, and we no longer have price distortions, as market
forces are now operating at full throttle.

Government should also put in place safeguards that protect local companies
that have been unfairly forced to close or downsize and retrench employees
due to competition from imports. In granting that protection, they will have
to ensure that it is compatible with the country’s commitments to regional
and international organizations such as SADC, COMESA and WTO.

Most importantly, protection should be only granted to companies that have a
concrete plan to create jobs and be able to adequately and competitively
service the local market.

Government should also say no to hiring from outside the country. Many
foreign companies are bringing in employees from outside the country to do
jobs that can done by local people. We have many people who are currently
unemployed but are qualified to work with same level of competence as
foreigners. - cmachadu@ovi.com

Hospital defies govt over free TB meds

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Hospitals across the country have been refusing to implement the government
policy to provide free tuberculosis medication, putting patients at serious
risk.
20.02.1207:45am
by Talent Bhachi

Dr. Charles Sandy, deputy director of AIDS and tuberculosis programmes at
the Ministry of Health and Child welfare, said the failure by the government
to ‘shepherd’ its policy was to blame.

“Provincial health offices should supervise how the hospitals are doing.
Hospitals are taking advantage of the loopholes,” said Doctor Sandy.

He warned the hospitals not to ignore the government policy as it
compromised patients’ treatment.
Patients at risk

“The hospitals should stop charging fees on treatment that should be free.
Although there are no fines for the transgressors, the government will soon
step in to deal with hospitals who continue to disregard policy directives,”
he said.

Mission hospitals in remote areas have been criticized for charging
tuberculosis patients consultation fees.

“Hospitals such as Mashoko Hospital, St Albert and Silveira Mission have
been charging consultation fees on what is supposed to be free treatment,”
said Sandy. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child
Welfare, the disease is claiming more than 83 000 people annually, with two
thirds of patients not receiving treatment. Zimbabwe’s current infection
rate is about 47 000 per year.
Fighting TB

To fight TB, Dr. Charles Sandy said his Health Ministry department was
decentralizing care, especially in rural communities, and distributing
motorcycles to rural health staff.

Tuberculosis is a major public heath problem. Zimbabwe is ranked 17th on the
list of 22 high-burden TB countries in the world. According to the World
Health Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Control Report 2009, Zimbabwe had
an estimated 71,961 new TB cases in 2007, with an estimated incidence rate
of 539 cases per 100,000 population.

The number of new reported TB cases in Zimbabwe declined 2.6 percent between
2006 and 2007.

However, the DOTS (the internationally recommended strategy for TB control)
case detection rate declined from 46 percent in 2002 to 27 percent in 2007.
The treatment success rate also declined from 71 percent in 2001 to 60
percent in 2006. These declines reflect the deteriorating socio-political
context, which has a direct impact on health service delivery in Zimbabwe.

Scandal of the unwanted nurses

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

23/02/2012 00:00:00
    by Nokholo Mhluzani

THE government announced recently that it does not have the capacity to hire
and remunerate 2,000 state registered nurses who were issued with their
diplomas in 2010 and 2011.

This assertion, which amounts to an acceptance by the government that it is
abdicating its duties, is in bad taste especially in view of the fact that
it is premised on the spurious excuse that the government has no resources
to pay nurses.

The move paves way for nurses – trained with tax payer dollars – to seek
greener pastures in neighbouring countries, putting at risk the lives of
Zimbabweans who are left with ill-equipped and under-manned hospitals.

Previously, the government would withhold diplomas for nurses who completed
their training so that they could be bonded to local health institutions for
at least three years. This, of course, is necessary, not least because the
government met the full cost of the nurses’ training.

The recent move to release these nurses before they have done their time
clearly strikes me as an easy exit for a government which has developed a
penchant for running away from its responsibilities (remember the teachers’
incentives). It is also a perpetuation of the old syndrome where patients
are left to suffer because there are no nurses to attend to them, and the
results have been very glaring considering infant, child and maternal
mortality rates in the country.

At a time when HIV/AIDS has stretched our health sector, the government
needs to find a way of harnessing all the resources at its disposal to
develop the sector. This involves getting more nurses on the job, not taking
them away!

In its insincerity, the government wants Zimbabweans to believe that it
cannot continue bonding nurses, who have played a pivotal role in as far as
reducing the health crisis is concerned, because of lack of resources. This
cannot be the case because Zimbabweans are aware of the diamonds being
looted at Marange and the leakages that have become the order of the day in
most of Zimbabwe’s border posts.

While money is available to pay Members of Parliament, senators and
councillors who are ill-equipped for governance tasks (judging from the
little that the GNU has done), it is tantamount to betrayal for the
government to claim inadequacy of funds to save lives.

The Public Service Commission conducted an audit in January 2011 which
revealed that there are between 45,000 and 70,000 “ghost workers” on the
government payroll. These people who could not be traced impact heavily on
the state’s already dry coffers. The government, through the Public Service
Commission, should ensure that these people are removed from the payroll as
the salaries accorded to them could benefit hospitals that do not have
adequate nursing staff.

The flimsy resources argument fails to hold any water especially in view of
the fact that Zimbabweans are aware that police station walls across the
country are awash with advertisements of vacancy notices in the security
forces. Clearly, if there are resources to continue recruiting for the army
and the police why should the government fail to allocate resources to an
essential sector like health?

The Zimbabwean government is indicating left and turning right in its
purported fight against brain drain. History is replete with statements of
complaint about the brain drain and the many steps that the government is
taking to avert it. Its actions on the nurses indicate that the brain drain
argument is superficial and a political excuse for failure to provide
essential services.

Our nurses, trained at public expense, will now move on to benefit countries
like Botswana, South Africa and Namibia where they will not only be
appreciated but also paid handsomely. The government invests a lot into the
development of nurses’ skills but instead of making use of the nurses so
that they plough back into the state coffers through tax and also assist in
improving service delivery, we are closing the door on them.

The importance that the government should attach to the revival of the
health sector cannot be over emphasised. The contribution of nurses towards
achieving that should not be overlooked. The expectation is that for the
government, it should be business as usual. Efforts should be made to ensure
that the money leakages in our economy are blocked, so that resources can be
channelled to essential sectors such as health and the lives of the people
of Zimbabwe improved.

In addition to that, alternative means of resourcing key sectors, like
public-private partnerships, should be employed to augment available funds.
Otherwise even major referral hospitals will be reduced to clinics, and
ineffective ones at that.

Nokholo Mhluzani is the Information Officer at Bulawayo Progressive
Residents Association (BPRA). She writes in her personal capacity. She can
be contacted on finkymhl@gmail.com

Mugabe's former teacher claims to be the world's oldest man at 115-years-old (and the secret to his long life is being nice to the dictator!)

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk

 

By Stewart Maclean

Last updated at 6:50 PM on 23rd February 2012

 

The world’s oldest man is a Zimbabwean teacher who claims he is 115 years old and taught the country’s president Robert Mugabe as a young schoolboy, it has been claimed.

Oscar Munyoro Katsukunya claims he was born in 1897 in Kutama, around 30 miles west of the capital Harare.

This would make him 115 years old – matching the undisputed oldest age reached by Christian Mortensen from the U.S., who lived for 115 years and 252 days before his death in 1998.

The claim is particularly surprising considering the low average life expectancy in Zimbabwe. At just 47 years, it is one of the lowest in the world because of the country's poverty - due to its crumbling economy, deaths from Aids and almost non-existent healthcare.

Centenarian? Oscar Munyoro Katsukunya claims he was born in 1897

Birthday celebrations: Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe turned 88 this week

The retired teacher, who now moves around with the use of a wheelchair, claimed on state television he vividly remembers teaching Mugabe in 1931 at a primary school in Zvimba, where the future President grew up.

Mr Katsykunya claims he was 34 years old at this time and Mugabe aged just seven.

The frail pensioner spoke in an interview with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation to recount his memories of the future president.

The ZBC reported: 'Born in 1897, Mr Katsukunya says the story of his life saw him train as a teacher at Kutama and was then posted to Murombedzi which is within Zvimba district as part of his teaching practice.

'Telling his story with difficulty now because of advanced age, he remembers vividly that the Robert Mugabe he taught at Sub A was an intelligent young boy.'

The programme was broadcast as part of a series of programmes on the station to mark Mugabe’s 88th birthday on Tuesday.

Mr Katsukunya claimed he was invited two times to meet Mugabe after he was elected head of state when Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980 when the President ‘requested for his teacher’.

However Mr Katsukunya admitted his birth date would be difficult to prove.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN 1897

In the year Oscar Munyoro Katsukunya claims he was born...

• Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee marking 60 years on the throne
• The first taxis appeared on London's streets
• Bram Stoker's Dracula was first published, along with books by Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham
• Oscar Wilde was released from jail
• Greek army retreats in Greco-Turkish War
  

The station reported that the colonial era government rarely issued birth certificates to black Africans and added that most nineteenth century births took place unrecorded in homesteads or huts.

The government-controlled network added that those birth certificates which were issued were usually done so several years after a child was born and that the exact date of birth was estimated by members of their family.

If Mr Katsunkunya's claim is correct, the centenarian was born less than a decade after the country of Rhodesia was founded by British colonialist Cecil Rhodes in 1888.

The territory remained under British control until it was granted independence and renamed Zimbabwe in 1980.

The frail pensioner's son told of his pride at his father's achievements.
Emmanuel Katsukunya, 62, said: 'I think he is a legend and hero in his own right. After all, he taught a head of state.'

ZBC reported the elder Katsukunya ‘wishes he could meet his student again one day before destiny catches up with him.'

The title of the world's oldest man is currently held by Japanese centenarian Jiroemon Kimura.

Step back in time: Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee procession passes the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London on 22nd June 1897, the year Mr Katsukunya claims he was born

The former postman's date of birth has been verified as April 19 1987, making him 114 years and 309 days old.

Mr Kimura assumed the title last year following the death of American Walter Breuning, who was born on September 21 1896 and lived to the age of 114 years, 205 days.

The world's current verified oldest person is American Besse Cooper, from Monroe, Georgia.

The retired teacher's birth date has been verified as August 26 1896, making her 115 years and 180 days old.

 

Only more targeted sanctions will make Mugabe reform

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 23/02/12

In view of Robert Mugabe’s reluctance to reform ahead of elections, the only
remaining effective option is for more targeted sanctions on him and his
inner circle.

More restrictive measures by the EU and the United States are urgently
needed on Mugabe and his allies, to prevent the country from sliding into an
unstable kleptocracy.

The basis for that observation is three-fold - Mugabe’s moves to amend the
draft constitution unilaterally; his threat to disown S.A.’s President Jacob
Zuma as the mediator and his push for elections regardless of key reforms.

It is clear that Mugabe is trying to transform the draft constitution into a
Zanu-pf election manifesto in the run-up to a referendum and elections. That
will be resisted and will have potential for greater instability.

The dictator is diverting attention from the real issues which are his poor
human rights record, bad governance, flouting of the rule of law, abuse of
presidential powers and making a mockery of the justice system for as long
as he lives.

Mugabe’s recent threat to disown Zuma as the mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis
for demanding key reforms before elections should not be dismissed as hot
air because he has thrived on high profile political controversy for the
greater part of his rule.

Hopes that Zuma would be tougher with Mugabe were flawed and wishful
thinking because they overlooked the mutual interests of the ANC and Zanu-pf
in the post-colonial discourse in terms of their real and imagined enemies
in Zimbabwe and beyond.

It is important to note that an equitable and transparent land
redistribution programme with fair compensation supported by donor countries
remains unfinished business in Zimbabwe, and no shortcuts through
constitutional clauses can override that reality.

As Mugabe’s age advances and his health deteriorates (based on the
mysterious 10 long haul flights to the Far East in one year),  his
well-provided-for inner circle is increasingly anxious about the prospects
of indictment to the Hague.

Not only will history judge Mugabe as a ‘people’s oppressor’ but also as
‘Africa’s most uncharitable bully’, in the wake of his attacks on other
countries calling them fronts of the West.

The people of Zimbabwe inevitably need help of Western countries in
safeguarding the unsteady peace in the country. Pretending otherwise would
be self-deception.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Court Watch 3/2012 of 23rd February [Belated Convictions for Political Violence]