International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: February 5,
2007
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Zimbabwe's national security
minister has told
the country's last remaining white farmers that they will
be jailed if they
refuse to abide by a deadline that passed Saturday for
them to leave their
farms.
The official Chronicle newspaper on Monday
reported that Didymus Mutasa said
that police would be "unleashed" to deal
with white farmers who ignored the
eviction notice.
"Those farmers
who do not comply with the orders to vacate the land will be
dealt with
severely," said the minister, known to be close to President
Robert
Mugabe.
Farming officials said there were no immediate reports of arrests
but they
feared the worst.
The chairman of farming pressure group
Justice for Agriculture, John
Worsley-Worswick, said that white farmers were
feeling "very exposed and
very vulnerable."
There were around
4,500 white commercial farmers in Zimbabwe in 2000, when
Mugabe launched a
program of land seizures that has seen agricultural
production
plummet.
Now only around 400 white farmers remain - and at least 150 of them
were
handed eviction letters in December giving them just 45 days to leave
their
land to make way for new black farmers.
Farming groups like the
Commercial Farmers Union and Justice for Agriculture
had told their members
to stay on their land and risk arrest.
"There's ongoing pressure,"
Worsley-Worswick said by telephone from Harare.
"We are expecting arrests as
farmers go back today."
Mutasa said security officials would this week
check on white farmers.
"It's the duty of police to see to it that those
who don't abide by the laws
are incarcerated," the minister was quoted as
saying by the Bulawayo based
newspaper.
Farmers were given a glimmer
of hope last month when Ngoni Masoka, a senior
official from the Lands
Ministry, said they would be allowed to stay on to
harvest crops they had
planted "without any disruption in that process."
Once known as the
breadbasket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe has seen its
status reduced to an
importer of its staple maize crop since land reforms
were
launched.
Mugabe says land reform was necessary to correct colonial-era
imbalances in
ownership. The longtime Zimbabwean leader blames the
more-than-40-percent
drop in production on repeated drought and Western
sanctions.
But critics say many of the new black farmers were allocated
farms on the
basis of political patronage rather than agricultural
expertise, and lack
the dedication and financial resources to make a success
of farming.
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
05 February 2007
12:09
Zimbabwe's white commercial farmers expressed relief on
Monday
after the government made good on its pledge to allow them to harvest
their
crops before evicting them.
President Robert
Mugabe's government had given white farmers,
and an unspecified number of
black people illegally occupying farms, until
February 3 to vacate their
land. It later said it would allow them to stay
on until the harvest in late
August.
Emily Crookes, communications manager of the
Commercial Farmers'
Union, said the deadline passed without
incident.
"We have had instances in the past when the
government has not
honoured their promises and farmers were anxious over
this deadline, despite
an assurance that they could harvest. We are pleased
...," she said, adding
that more than 100 white farmers faced
eviction.
"We have not been made aware of any eviction; it
has been
quiet."
Zimbabwe's government said in early
January it would issue
eviction orders and prosecute former white commercial
farmers and new black
farmers occupying land illegally.
Mugabe says the government's land-redistribution programme aims
to equitably
distribute prime farmland, 75% of which was occupied by the 4
500 white
farmers.
But critics say much of the land has ended up in the
hands of
government and ruling party officials.
They
blame the policy for destroying commercial agriculture in
the country, a
former regional breadbasket that has increasingly found it
difficult to feed
itself and is in the grips of an economic crisis.
Zimbabwe's
Gazetted Land Act, which was passed last month, gave
the white farmers and
illegal black land occupiers up to 90 days to vacate
land acquired by the
state. Those who fail to move could face up to two
years in
jail.
In 2005, Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party used its
majority in
Parliament to amend the constitution, nationalising all
agricultural land
and barring white farmers from challenging farm seizures
in court.
Thousands of former white commercial farmers have
lost their
land under reforms to redistribute land to black people. Critics
say the
reforms have damaged commercial agriculture and worsened a deep
economic
recession.
Only 500 white commercial farmers
still own their land out of an
original 4 500 in the year 2000. --
Reuters
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
05 February 2007
24 commercial farmers in Chiredzi, who
were given 45-day eviction notices
last month, were told to vacate their
properties on Saturday. The deadline
passed peacefully as the majority
heeded advice from farmers' organisations
and went away for the weekend. But
one unfortunate farmer was forced to pack
his belongings and leave
immediately.
According to the president of the Commercial Farmers Union,
Trevor Gifford,
the eviction in Chiredzi was supervised by a local lands
official. Keeping
the names involved anonymous, Gifford said the lands
officer decided what
the white farmer should leave behind and what he could
take. It is not clear
just how physical the forced eviction had
been.
Gifford also revealed that the majority of farmers who received
notices in
Chiredzi are protected by bilateral trade agreements which the
Zimbabwe
authorities are ignoring. The other fact being ignored is that
eviction
notices can only be issued by a court of law. Chiredzi farmer Gerry
Whitehead told us last week that even eviction orders signed by the minister
in charge of land reform, Didymus Mutasa, are not legally
binding.
The CFU estimates that only about 10% of the remaining farmers
around the
country are still farming. They've invested a lot of money
planting their
crops and are not close to harvesting, and so would lose it
all.
Meanwhile the Zimonline news site reports that a former white
commercial
farmer fled his home in Chiredzi last week after a senior Zanu PF
legislator
Titus Maluleke hired armed soldiers to forcibly remove him from
the
farmhouse. The report said soldiers in full military gear stormed the
property and gave Mr. Labat 48 hours to leave.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Yahoo News
Mon
Feb 5, 11:02 AM ET
HARARE (AFP) - Teachers across Zimbabwe have begun an
indefinite industrial
action to press for better salaries and better working
conditions.
Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the radical
Progressive Teachers
Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), threatened to bring schooling
to a halt if his
members' wage demands were not met by the cash-strapped
government.
"Indeed the strike started today and it will soon gather momentum
countrywide and there will be a complete breakdown.... We are demanding a
salary increase, housing and transport allowances," Majongwe told AFP on
Monday.
He said the teachers are staging sit-ins in staff
rooms.
A teacher at Dudzai Primary school in Chitungwiza, the country's
biggest
township near the capital Harare, told AFP that all classes had been
halted
by the action.
"Teachers are just lazing in their staff rooms.
None is teaching at all from
Monday," the teacher said on condition of
anonymity.
Reports from Bulawayo, the country's second-biggest city,
indicated that
both primary and secondary teachers downed their tools on
Monday.
"All over Bulawayo teachers are determined not to teach until
their demands
are met.... It's a full-throttle industrial action as there
has not been any
contact with pupils," high school teacher Brightmore
Mbanjwa told AFP by
telephone.
"I am happy with the response for the
sit-in.... The teachers are in no mood
for negotiation but simply want what
is due to them," said Mbanjwa, who
represents the PTUZ in
Bulawayo.
Mbanjwa said similar reports of sit-ins were received by their
union.
"We are actually happy with the national response to the sit-in.
Anybody who
underestimates the situation is in for a rude awakening," he
said.
The teachers are demanding a salary hike of 540,000 Zimbabwe
dollars (2,160
US dollars) up from 84,000.
They are also demanding
housing allowances of 150,000 Zimbabwe dollars from
42,000 dollars and
100,000 dollars transport allowance, up from 56,000
dollars.
The
biggest lobby group, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZTA) earlier
said it
wants better salaries and working condition which are in "tandem
with
inflation rates and the poverty datum line" but has not joined the
sit-down.
"Consulations with government are going on... we know
teachers are
frustrated," ZTA's chief executive officer Peter Mabande told
AFP.
Zimbabwe is in the throes of a severe recession characterised by
four-digit
inflation, massive unemployment and chronic shortages of basic
foodstuffs.
Zim Online
Tuesday 06 February 2007
HARARE
- The Zimbabwe government on Monday deployed feared state security
agents at
schools in urban areas as teachers embarked on a full-fledged
strike to
press for better salaries and working conditions, ZimOnline has
learnt.
The strike by teachers was however said to have kicked off on
a slow note in
most schools as state agents intimidated teachers to push
them not to engage
in the crippling job boycott.
Raymond Majongwe,
the secretary general of the militant Progressive Teachers
Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ), which called the strike told ZimOnline yesterday
that the union was
happy with the support they received yesterday.
"We are encouraged by
what happened today. Teachers were not teaching
especially at high schools
visited by our staff but the problem is that the
Central Intelligence
Organisation (state security agents) operatives are
visiting schools in a
clear sign of intimidation," said Majongwe.
"We are talking about 75
percent success rate and we are confident by
tomorrow (Tuesday) the success
of the strike will be there for all to see,"
he added.
Majongwe said
the PTUZ saluted all teachers who took part in the three-day
go-slow last
week.
"This is despite serious systematic threats against the PTUZ
leadership and
some of our members," he added.
Zimbabwe's teachers
are among the lowest paid civil servants with most
teachers earning slightly
about Z$150 000 a month, an amount way below the
poverty datum line which
currently stands at Z$334 000 a month.
The teachers are demanding
salaries of Z$540 000 a month and transport and
housing allowances of Z$100
000 and $150 000 each respectively. They also
want the government to exempt
them from paying school fees for their own
children.
"The government
does not understand the language of negotiations. Putting
faith in
negotiations will not yield desirable results. Fellow organisations
pretending to be negotiating are abusing teachers," said
Majongwe.
Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere said the teachers' strike
was
politically motivated and state agents were on the ground to monitor the
situation.
"We had reports that Majongwe intended to use violence to
force teachers to
join his strike. The security personnel were there (at
schools) simply to
monitor these and get on the ground reports from
headmasters.
"The situation is normal according to the reports we have
collected. The
people who are organising this strike are known government
enemies who are
funded by outside forces. We will not give in to their
demands and I urge
teachers to ignore Majongwe and his gang," said
Chigwedere.
Strikes by teachers and university lecturers over low pay and
working
conditions are common in Zimbabwe which is in its seventh year of a
bitter
economic recession most critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's
policies. - ZimOnline
The Raw Story
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Monday February 5,
2007
Harare- Zimbabwe police Monday briefly questioned a senior official
of the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) on the first day of a
planned
teachers' strike, the union's president said. Raymond Majongwe, the
secretary general of the PTUZ, was questioned at Harare Central Police
Station about the strike and later released, said union president Takavafira
Zhou.
"They (police) couldn't find any case against him. He's not
broken any law
in Zimbabwe," Zhou told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a
telephone interview
from the southern city of Masvingo.
It was not
immediately possible to verify whether and how widely Monday's
strike call
had been heeded.
The PTUZ is a minor teachers union, with just 17,000
members out of a
Zimbabwe's 123,000-strong teaching force.
The union
wants a wage hike from the current basic salary of 84,000 Zimbabwe
dollars a
month to 540,000 dollars, worth less than 100 US on the
widely-used parallel
market.
The PTUZ has urged all teachers, including those who are members
of the
state-aligned ZIMTA, to heed the strike call.
"We hope we can
resolve this crisis in a week," said Zhou.
Majongwe described current
teachers salaries as "an embarrassment."
Teachers, like most Zimbabwean
professionals, are experiencing consequences
of one of the country's worst
economic meltdown, marked by inflation of more
than 1,200 percent,
spiralling prices, and shortages of basic food items
like cooking oil, bread
and maize meal.
The ongoing strike by teachers is after public hospitals
in the capital
Harare and the southern city of Bulawayo were crippled by a
strike by junior
doctors.
The strike, which some nurses have joined,
is now into its seventh week.
© 2006 dpa German Press Agency
The Herald
(Harare)
February 5, 2007
Posted to the web February 5,
2007
Harare
THE Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe has
launched an anti-graft
scheme dubbed "Tip-offs Anonymous", in a bid to curb
corruption practices
which are rampant in the bank.
Through Tip-offs
Anonymous stakeholders of Agribank: clients, suppliers,
employees and
members of the public can report unethical and dishonest
behaviour within
Agribank in a safe and confidential manner.
Tip-offs Anonymous is
designed to fight unethical business practices within
Agribank and its
partners as well as promote honesty.
"At Agribank we are committed to
upholding the highest standards of ethics
and integrity in our business
operations," said Agribank in a statement.
Agribank added that it was
part of its corporate governance initiative to
strengthen a culture of
transparency by subscribing to Tip-offs Anonymous.
The plan is part of an
audit firm, Deloitte, which runs an independent
professionally managed
ethics and fraud hotline.
Before the advent of Tip-offs Anonymous,
Agribank relied on emails, faxes,
freeposts and toll-free lines to encourage
members of the public to report
any unethical behaviour by its
staff.
The scheme, according to the bank, will go a long way in curbing
corruption
and is urging other companies to follow suit.
The
Government, through the Ministry of Finance, is the majority shareholder
in
Agribank with a 70 percent stake and has mandated the bank's directors to
implement workable initiatives to boost its viability.
Last year the
bank, which began life as the Agricultural Finance
Corporation, paid a $38,5
million dividend to Government after it posted its
biggest profit
ever.
The bank has in recent years embarked on an aggressive marketing
drive,
which has seen it opening up new branches in the major farming
areas.
From SW Radio Africa, 2 February
By Violet Gonda
There
were food disturbances in Rusape's ward 15, Manicaland province
resulting in
at least 8 MDC members being detained on Friday. More than
1,000 people had
gathered at St Teresa Secondary School to collect much
needed food. But a
teacher, Lawrence Rusinamwana, told us that many people
were being
discriminated against because they were opposition members. He
said police
rounded up MDC members during the distribution of maize, even
though they
had actually paid for it. This is not the first time that the
distribution
of maize has caused disturbances in this area. Rusinamwana said
just before
the New Year the MDC in the province had purchased food on
behalf of more
than seven hundred people who were in desperate need. This
group of people
in Ward 15 had contributed money to buy the maize meal. But
according to
Rusinamwana the Zanu PF councillor refused to approve the
necessary
documents needed by the GMB. It was only after the MDC reported
the matter
to the village headman and the District Administrator that the
councillor
was forced to sign the documents. But despite having all this,
officials
still refused to give the opposition supporters any food. It later
emerged
that local Zanu PF district officials were secretly giving the
mealie meal
to their own supporters. On Tuesday a batch of food arrived and
was secretly
distributed to Zanu PF supporters during the night. This
angered villagers
who had paid money but got no food, because they were
perceived to be
opposition members. On Thursday the disgruntled villagers
stopped a truck
belonging to a Zanu PF businessman and raided the food it
was carrying. More
food arrived at St Teresa Friday and there was mayhem as
hungry people tried
to access it. But Zanu PF district officials allegedly
called in the police
and started pointing out MDC officials who were at the
centre. These
targeted officials were arrested by police, and observers
claim they were
assaulted while in custody.
From The Daily Mirror, 5 February
Oswelled Ureke, Chief Reporter
The illegal sale of
diamonds and other precious minerals, which police had
successfully
eradicated in rural areas, has found roots in Harare's central
business
district (CBD). Sale of diamonds, commonly referred to as mangoda,
has
become so prevalent that some people commute from their homes into the
CBD
merely to engage in these transactions, sometimes under the noses of the
police. The rough diamonds on average sell at around $100 000 a gramme, but
can fetch as much as $500 000 when sold to enterprising individuals who are
understood to enjoy a lucrative market in South Africa. The diamonds are
usually classified as industrial, jewellery and glass. It is the jewellery
that fetches the highest amount. A nouvea rich class has emerged from this
illicit trade since diamonds were discovered in Marange, Manicaland, late
last year. Some people publicly boast in drinking places of how easily they
have found this manna. Suddenly, the peasants from Marange and Buhera, where
more diamonds have also been 'discovered', can confidently prance along the
streets of the capital and take the working class of the city on memorable
drinking binges.
So high is the demand for mangoda that wherever
one goes, it is not uncommon
to be asked whether one has or can buy the
precious gems. Some cunning
opportunists have taken advantage of this demand
and duped some people into
buying common riverbed pebbles. The havens of the
illicit diamond deals in
Harare are the infamous Fourth Street Roadport
terminus and Ximex Mall.
Downtown drinking holes are also infested with
diamond dealers. The Daily
Mirror recently bumped into a diamond transaction
in a lavatory at one of
the downtown pubs where one fellow was showing a
potential buyer his bank of
diamonds contained in a matchstick box. "The
diamonds are everywhere in
town. If you go to those places notorious for the
trade of foreign currency
and mobile phones, you will find diamonds. Besides
being sold for high sums
of money, the diamonds can also be exchanged for
other valuables such as
mobile phones and other fancy electronic gadgets.
The transactions also
include foreign currency," an observer who refused to
be named said.
The diamonds appear to have provided an easy
money-spinning avenue for some
Zimbabwean workers who have found the going
tough at their workplaces. With
transport costs, basic commodity prices and
poor earnings all combining to
characterise many a poor worker in the
country, the temptation to walk out
of the office for a few hours and come
back richer, has been too sweet to
resist. To that end, some diamond dealers
conveniently move around with the
wealth in their pockets, happily going
about their ill-rewarding office
chores while waiting for that time of the
day when they can transact and
smile all the way to the bank. But police
spokesperson Inspector Jessie
Banda said they had not received reports of
illegal diamond dealings in the
capital city. Banda said of the 20 000
people arrested so far in the police
operation Chikorokoza Chapera/
Isitsheketsha sipelile, none was in Harare.
"What we know is Manicaland. I
wouldn't know for a fact whether it is
happening in Mutare, but in business
centres around Chiadzwa, that is where
the trade in diamonds is most
common," Banda said. She said it was not
possible for the diamonds to find
their way back onto the market once in
police's hands because they were
confiscated and used as exhibits in court.
The trade in precious minerals
such as diamonds and in some cases, emeralds
has been a topical issue in the
country since last year. Despite Banda's
statements, the Harare Magistrates'
Court has since the beginning of the
year handled several cases in which
most of the accused persons have pleaded
guilty to contravening the Precious
Stones Act. Most of the convicts, who
got away with fines, were arrested in
the city centre. There have been
accusations that some senior politicians
were fuelling the spread of the
illicit trade.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 5, 2007
Posted to the web February 5,
2007
Harare
PARLIAMENT will this week begin an investigation into
the reduced production
of cooking oil by local companies, with some having
ceased operations
altogether.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Industry and International Trade Cde
Enock Porusingazi said in an interview
the purpose of the probe was to
ascertain difficulties constraining the
industry.
"The committee
will this week start investigations into the shortage of
cooking oil. This
is aimed at finding challenges facing producers of the
commodity and
measures to boost output," he said.
Cde Porusingazi said the committee
would be visiting premises of producers
to assess the situation on the
ground.
"The committee will visit all the major cooking oil companies to
find out
factors leading to the drop in cooking oil supplies. Other factors
such as
capacity utilisation, shortages of raw materials and viability will
be
considered as well," he said.
The committee is expected to submit
its findings to the Ministry of Industry
and International Trade and other
Government departments.
"Whatever shall be obtained in terms of the probe
will be forwarded to the
relevant Government authorities," he
said.
Cde Porusingazi, however, pointed out that while there was a
shortage of
commodities such as cooking oil in shops, the same items had
flooded the
illegal parallel market.
"The committee is concerned
about the black market trade of cooking oil.
Even though we are aware of
problems facing the producers, our
investigations are focused at assisting
the relevant Government authorities
with workable measures to boost
productivity," he said.
While there is a shortage of locally produced
cooking oil, imported brands
are readily available in some retail
outlets.
"The committee is against hoarding of the product and, in line
with our
investigations, we will try to find out on the quantities being
produced by
the manufacturers as well as quantities in stock," he
said.
Cde Porusingazi said preliminary investigations had revealed that
several
cooking oil manufacturing companies were beset by shortages of raw
materials
such as soya and cotton seed.
"There is also the need to
ensure that Zimbabwe can produce adequate raw
materials for cooking oil," he
said.
"We are actually disturbed by allegations that some companies are
stopping
production of basic commodities in anticipation of price
adjustments."
The committee, he said, wanted to find lasting solutions to
problems facing
manufacturers of basic commodities.
"We are planning
to get at all their problems so as to come up with a
win-win solution. The
Government and the private sector should play a
crucial role in enhancing
productivity to revive the economy," he said.
Cde Porusingazi said
availability of basic commodities in adequate
quantities in the formal
markets would significantly ease inflationary
pressures.
The Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe has put in place measures aimed at reducing
inflation from
the current annual rate of 1 280 percent to 450 percent by
December.
Cde Porusingazi said there was a need to increase farming
output to unlock
raw material supply for the agro-processing industries.
The Herald (Harare)
February
3, 2007
Posted to the web February 4, 2007
Thupeyo Muleya And
Kudakwashe Mabasha
Harare
ZIMBABWEANS are spending an estimated US$440
000 importing an average of 80
used vehicles a day from Japan, Singapore,
the United Kingdom, Dubai and the
United States, despite the chronic foreign
currency shortages besetting the
country.
So brisk is the business
that some foreign car dealers are now advertising
their latest brands of
vehicles in the local press.
The used car industry has become the
fastest growing business sector in the
country with Harare's central
business district and its environs now dotted
with secondhand vehicle
garages.
As a result, the Government is understood to be now
contemplating charging
duty on all imported luxury vehicles in foreign
currency.
Most car dealers are specialising in all categories of vehicles
ranging from
top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Land Cruiser, Hammer and
other SUVs
to the small Nissan Marchi.
While the country's vehicle
assembly plants such as Willowvale Mazda Motor
Industries and Quest Motor
Corporation are struggling to import kits to
assemble passenger or
commercial vehicles, available statistics show that
the Beitbridge Border
Post alone is handling an average of between 1 200 and
1 500 imported used
vehicles every month.
This has resulted in serious congestion at various
vehicle registry offices
resulting in a backlog of over three to four weeks
to get a vehicle issued
with a registration book and new number
plates.
Yesterday, Harare City Council director of urban planning
services Mr
Psychology Chiwanga confirmed that there was an overwhelming
demand for land
for car sales.
Mr Chiwanga said council was leasing
out land to 15 car shops and currently
processing 12 applications for land
reserved for future use in and around
Harare.
"We have since
allocated land reserved for future use temporarily to car
dealing shops.
These include freeways, parking lots and road sides," he
said. Mr Chiwanga
said due to overwhelming demand, other companies like the
National Railways
of Zimbabwe had leased out some of their reserve land to
car sales shops, in
contravention of city by-laws.
"We have no control over the issuing of
such licences but we have since
written to NRZ, asking them to regularise
the issue," he said.
According to one clearing agent, the cars are going
for about US$3 000 and
above and when they enter Zimbabwe they attract a
customs importation duty
of about $1,5 million.
The clearing agent
said on average some companies were shipping in between
eight and 14
vehicles at any given time.
"Most of these cars are being purchased at
SRP Shipping and Car Junction,
all in Durban, South Africa, while some are
being purchased directly from
the United Kingdom, the US, Dubai and Japan,"
said the agent.
Although no official comment could be obtained from the
Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority, internal sources said vehicle imports increased
late in October
last year due to speculation on the outcome of the Reserve
Bank of
Zimbabwe's 2006 year-end Monetary Policy Statement.
A senior
Zimra official said the authority has since devised ways of
reducing
pressure on the evaluation department.
"We started feeling the pressure
late in October last year as people
panicked and were speculating on the new
RBZ monetary policy. However, we
have since geared up for the influx," said
the official.
Investigations by The Herald revealed that some cars were
being bought using
free funds while others with forex from the black
market.
Car dealers usually peg their prices using the prevailing black
market rate
of the United States dollar equivalent.
"The US dollar
determines everything and how people get this foreign
currency determines
how the prices will be pegged," said Mr Vincent
Siyawanyanya, director of
Motor Plan Car Sales.
This industry, he said, was thriving more on
speculation just like the
parallel market for foreign exchange.
If
one car is sold, the cash goes to buy forex or some fixed assets, he
said.
"It's either people are buying houses or forex. People in the
industry are
gambling -- they sell a car today and tomorrow they buy a house
and when the
market is right they go buy a car again."
He added that
the industry was fraught with distortions where secondhand
cars were not
priced fairly, with a car being sold at a higher price than
its real market
value.
"For example a 1997 twin cab Mazda SDX is going for something like
$50
million while its real value is around $30 million," he said.
The
car sales business appears to be an offshoot of the forex parallel
market as
forex dealers try to clean up their dirty money by venturing into
a legal
fast money-spinning venture.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 3, 2007
Posted to the web February 4,
2007
Victoria Ruzvidzo
Bulawayo
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe
Governor Dr Gideon Gono has challenged those in
positions of authority, who
have failed to deliver in their respective
spheres, to pave way for people
who are serious about economic recovery,
stressing that the economy could ill
afford non-performers at this juncture.
Responding to concerns raised by
captains of industry, political leaders and
academics here on the ability of
some stakeholders in Government and the
private sector to play their roles
effectively in stabilising the economy,
Dr Gono said it was time that the
economy moved with movers.
This view was also expressed by most of
the 450 participants at a breakfast
seminar held in the city during which the
central bank sought to interact
with the Bulawayo community following the
presentation of the 2006 year-end
Monetary Policy Statement in Harare on
Wednesday.
"All we are saying is that those with jobs to do must do them
and those who
can't do them should do the honourable thing and
quit.
"There comes a time in the life of a nation when each and every
member of
the country should look at himself or herself in the mirror to say
'Who am
I, What are the values I stand for, what is going wrong, what is
going
right?' That time has come, if not long overdue," said Dr
Gono.
His sentiments were also echoed by the Minister of Industry
and
International Trade, Cde Obert Mpofu, who challenged Zimbabweans to
move
away from their selfish tendencies and embrace the spirit of
togetherness as
enunciated by Dr Gono in his presentation.
He said the
Zanu-PF Politburo had also fully endorsed the Monetary
Policy
Statement.
"We cannot let an economy die because of
individuals. We are all responsible
for the success or failure of this
economy. Dr Gono has been blamed as an
individual and not as an institution
for a lot of things in which we should
all be blamed.
"We need to
adopt the strategy that if I am an impediment to this economy,
then something
should be done to me in a manner that people will know that
something has
been done to me," said Cde Mpofu.
Zanu-PF Politburo member and chairman
of the Zambezi Water Project Cde
Dumiso Dabengwa was also in
agreement.
"I think we have allowed ourselves to go down so much so that
we now see
indiscipline everywhere in our country. Lawlessness has become the
order of
the day yet we need all of us to play our role to make things work,"
he
said.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Resident Minister Cde Cain Mathema,
Matabeleland South
Governor Cde Angeline Masuku, Matabeleland North Governor
Cde Thokozile
Mathuthu and other political leaders concurred that Zimbabwe
needed
committed people keen to achieve results.
Deliberations and
contributions during the question and answer session with
Dr Gono showed that
captains of industry and commerce from Bulawayo had also
embraced the latest
Monetary Policy Statement and expressed commitment to
see it
work.
Representatives from the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce
Bulawayo
chapter said Dr Gono had highlighted challenges that needed to be
confronted
head-on, saying only those that were benefiting from the current
state of
affairs would put spanners in the works.
"Let us deal with
those that seem to be benefiting from the crisis," said Mr
Sibanda of the
ZNCC.
Prominent businessman Mr Delma Lupepe said it was important that
everyone
participated in creating a conducive environment for businesses to
operate
viably.
"If that happens we will not be at your (Dr Gono's)
doorstep asking for
foreign currency but we will be able to give back to the
economy as is the
case in tithing (where Christians give 10 percent of their
earnings to
God)," he said.
Economic analyst Mr Eric Bloch said Dr
Gono had presented a "remarkable"
Monetary Policy Statement that would bind
all the stakeholders together.
He stressed that a social contract would
not be an end in itself but would
create the right platform from which the
economy would take off.
Academics said Dr Gono had scored highly in his
endeavour to get the economy
right, but said all stakeholders would need to
do their bit.
Zimbabwe was not a lost cause but it exuded immense
potential to get back on
a growth path.
Entitled "Taking the Bull by
the Horns: Roadmap to our rapid disinflation
Programme, Macro-economic
Stability and Prosperity for all Zimbabweans", Dr
Gono's statement stressed
the need for a social contract that would discard
selfish tendencies for a
more concerted effort by all stakeholders to ensure
economic
regeneration.
He did not devalue the Zimbabwe dollar as had been
widely expected. The move
has been given thumps up by a cross-section of
Zimbabweans although
exporters feel let down.
Yesterday Dr Gono said
he was unfazed by those who criticised him for not
devaluing the local unit,
stressing that he had chosen other instruments at
his disposal such as moral
suasion and educating the nation on the realities
that had proved costly to
the economy.
This, he did with the backing of the Presidium. He had
also consulted at
least 80 percent of the Cabinet and most of the country's
districts, among
other stakeholders.
"I came to the realisation that
it did not matter the extent to which I
could go as was being expected by
certain sectors to devalue. I said yes,
the viability of our exporters is
important but there are also other
considerations.
"Time had come for
everybody to come to the table."
Zimbabwe needed not concentrate on
external factors such as sanctions but
could achieve better results through
self-introspe-ction.
"Yes, I am aware of all the exogenous factors
militating against us but as
they say, charity begins at home so why
concentrate on the exogenous
factors?"
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Chenjerai Chitsaru
A YOUNG man who had scrimped,
saved and slaved earned his reward when he
bought his first car. It wasn't a
Brabus or an S600, but he was elated: it
was a Japanese car, with speed and
comfort, and a 2000cc engine.
Then, when the fuel shortage hit the
country, he found himself facing a
momentous choice: get his fuel the hard
way, joining the never-ending
queues, or make arrangements with someone very
well-connected - for a small
fee.
The decision was made for him. One
day, he left the car at home and decided
to take the bus into the city.
Dressed in his office garb - pinstripe suit,
black patent leather shoes,
blue shirt and blue tie, he boarded the ZUPCO
bus.
He found a seat on
the aisle, sat down contentedly, until a rough,
drink-sodden voice blared at
him: "Sit three-three! The next bus will be an
hour getting here. Sit
three-three!"
The seat made for two became quite uncomfortable as three
people - one of
them a man in a tight-fitting suit with tons of fat
cascading down his
stomach like molasses- tried to sit
comfortably.
By the time he arrived at the office, two buttons on his
jacket had popped
off and his suit looked, generally, as if it had been
swallowed by a
slavering hyena which had then disgorged it in
disgust.
So, he opted for an "arrangement" for his fuel. It still works
for him,
although he confesses to feeling queasy about turning into a minor
thief.
Trace his misfortune and you are bound to identify two parastatals
as the
key culprits: NOCZIM and ZUPCO.
In the background of both
parastatals are tales of woe rivalling the Enron
scandal. People working for
the two parastatals, at the highest level, were
either cited for
embezzlement or plain, good old- fashioned theft, or were
suspended from
their high-paying jobs for performing duties which could be
slotted into a
file, by their bosses, writ in large letters: DIRTY, THIEVING
PIGS.
Years ago, the managing director of a parastatal told friends,
in the
strictest confidence, that a cabinet minister had asked him to give
his
relative a job - or else.
Most of his friends told him to tell the
man to go jump into Lake Kariba,
or - as he was always airborne - the
Pacific Ocean, the deepest in the
world.
He did and is now working
for a private corporation, with a smaller car and
a smaller pay packet. "But
my children and my wife say I am a saint,
although we celebrate birthdays,
not at the Crown Plaza, but at Mushandira
Pamwe - in Highfield, in case you
are interested."
Why most people suspect the parastatals are a huge
albatross around the
government's neck may not be strictly related to the
corruption which reeks
from them like the pungent smell of a rotting corpse
in a mortuary whose
freezing system has given up and cannot be replaced
because of the foreign
currency crisis.
It could simply be that most
people suspect it is the parastatals which are
going to make the task of
"turning around the economy of the country" into
the proverbial equivalent
of a dog chasing its own tail.
What is even more frightening is that the
government, which seems to have
given up trying to regularize its relations
with any country or institution
that could conceivably ameliorate its
economic woes, has given up all hope
and is, essentially, shooting in the
dark.
The parastatals have been cited repeatedly as the government's
prime money
guzzlers. The number of them which have performed to
expectations are very
few and very far between.
I think we can
discount the much-photographed ceremonies staged by the
government and ZUPCO
during which the bus company hands over to the
government a kingsize cheque
as part of its dividend of the spoils or as
payment for a government loan to
the bus company.
There is something sourly artificial about these
ceremonies. You get the
distinct impression that someone is trying to create
the picture of a very
successful parastatal living up to the expectations of
the taxpayer.
But the taxpayer, who uses the buses and knows how
unreliable they are,
apart from how expensive they are to ride in, is not
fooled one bit.
The government has too many parastatals for anybody's
comfort. The only
reason they seem to exist is either to bolster the ruling
Zanu PF's
adherence to its old-fashioned but long discredited socialist
policies or as
milk cows for both the party and other fringe organizations
linked to the
party.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is
the latest parastatal to
prove that the government has failed to appreciate
why it should abandon its
Stone Age socialist policies.
At its
formation, ZINWA lacked both the expertise and the resources to do
the
assignment for which it was created - to take over and supervise water
supplies on a national scale.
Today, its record of success
is.watery.
As usual, the government insists it is not ZINWA's fault that
it has so far
failed to make an impact on the water supply situation in the
country.
Doggedly, the government is forcing ZINWA down people's throats and
almost
drowning them; if you take the example of Bulawayo, you cannot help
but
suspect that its intentions towards the city council are entirely
dishonourable.
Harare, run by this Zanu PF poodle called the
commission, has had a flood of
water problems since ZINWA took over its
administration from the city
council. But the government's decision to
maintain its tight grip on Harare
is perfectly understandable,
politically.
For the capital city, the seat of government, where State
House and Zimbabwe
House are located, to be controlled by the opposition is
entirely scandalous
from the ruling party's point of view.
A decision to
twin Harare with London, for instance, would not sit right
with the
President; the Lord Mayor of London might have to be invited to the
ceremony
in Harare and - who knows - Tony Blair himself might decide to show
up for
the ceremony, as a guest, just to be awkward.
Under Sekesai Makwavarara's
Ignatius Chombo-influenced tutelage, the
likelihood of that happening would
be as remote as President Robert Mugabe
being invited to officiate at Madam
Tussaud's gallery for the unveiling of a
wax bust of Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Parastatals are not inherently evil instruments of a
government to control
the economy by proxy. They can be used for the good of
the country, if the
government is not driven by ulterior motives.
In
reality, it cannot be disputed that the government has no business
dabbling
in business. Its most important levers are not designed to make
decisions
unrelated to wooing the voters.
In hard-nosed business terms, all
decisions must be related either to
profits or to expansion and the
provision of goods which the buyers find
desirable and almost irresistible.
There are no populist options, such as
are to be found in a political
platform before an election.
Unfortunately to Zimbabwe, Zanu PF is
blundering in a trough of unpopularity
from which it may not save itself
unless it abandons all pretence at being
adept at using sleight-of-hand to
hoodwink both the people and foreign
investors.
The majority of the
people know that the government has failed to turn
around the economy.
Gideon Gono's last monetary review statement showed how
he has run out of
new ideas to revive the economy.
He passed the buck, very deftly, to the
so-called stakeholders. Everyone has
been playing this game for quite a
while now since the crisis occurred in
2000.
The people have been blamed
for the electricity cuts and the water crisis.
The parastatals themselves
cry for increases in tariffs, if they are to stay
afloat. Yet the people's
demands for pay increases are scoffed at by the
government, whose faith in
the parastatals must be motivared by
self-interest.
If the albatross
eventually sabotages the government and the parastatals,
that would be
poetic justice of sorts. Victory for the down-trodden would be
celebrated
worldwide.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 5, 2007
Posted to the web February 5,
2007
Harare
THE Environmental Management Agency has fined four
local companies a total
of more than $225 million for polluting the
environment, as it clamps down
on offenders.
Petrol Zimline -- a
subsidiary of the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe --
was slapped with the
highest fine of $117 503 500 for the leakage of 300 000
litres of petrol
from a pipeline which contaminated a two-kilometre-long
stretch in Epworth
last year.
The company only became aware of the spillage when some
Epworth residents
carrying containers were observed flocking the area daily
and digging up to
siphon the fuel.
The army had to be called in to
guard that section of the pipeline.
However, two men managed to sneak
past the guards but suffocated from
inhalation of fumes in a three-metre
deep pit they had dug to steal the
petrol.
A soldier also died while
trying to rescue the pair.
EMA spokesman Mr Phillip Manyaza on Friday
confirmed that Petrol Zimline had
been served with an order outlining how
the spillage had contaminated the
environment and endangered human
life.
"We have fined the company for the spillage that has negatively
impacted on
both the environment and lives of people," Mr Manyaza said in an
interview.
Under the Environmental Management Act, the agency is mandated
to monitor
companies' operations, enforce regulations and impose penalties
against
those found to be in breach of the regulations.
Zimbabwe
Phosphate Company was fined $98 888 480 for illegally discharging
effluent
at Venterburg Farm in Epworth.
"They have written us seeking
clarification of the charges and we have since
responded," Mr Manyaza
said.
Astra Bulawayo recently paid $9 946 000 for illegally dumping waste
in a
game sanctuary.
"Apart from paying the fine, we ordered Astra to
clean up the waste and dump
it at a designated area," said Mr
Manyaza.
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Retired
Major Edward
Mbewe said despite numerous awareness campaigns on the need to
ensure a
safe, healthy and beautiful environment, a considerable section of
society
was still to appreciate the benefits of maintaining and helping
manage
various ecosystems.
He said this was demonstrated by the fact
that large firms were often the
culprits as far as dumping waste in game
areas without any regard to the
dangers and economic loss posed by such
actions.
"It's just like at your own home -- you do not throw litter
everywhere but
in a place created for that purpose. I do not see any good
reason why
companies or people should think it proper to dump waste at any
place," Rtd
Maj Mbewe said.
The Zimbabwe Institute of Public
Administration and Management was also
ordered to pay a fine of $1 300 000
for discharging effluent into a small
dam in Msasa.
Mr Manyaza said
the EMA was also battling to bring to book a South
Africa-based transport
company whose truck spilled concentrated sulphuric
acid in Gweru late last
year. He said they had since written to the company
informing it that it was
liable to pay a US$89 658 fine.
"We have so far established the name of
the company, which is DSRB South
Africa. The truck, which was on its way to
Zambia, spilled a large quantity
of sulphuric acid which cracked up the tar
and also completely destroyed
vegetation in a large area close to the main
road," Mr Manyaza said.
He said companies should start auditing their
operations regularly to avoid
disasters that would not only affect the
environment but also pose danger to
humans.
Last year, EMA launched a
campaign against litterbugs in Harare and
undertook to take the blitz to
other urban centres.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 5, 2007
Posted to the web February 5,
2007
Harare
WILL the proposed social contract finally achieve what
the Tripartite
Negotiating Forum has failed to do in the past six
years?
Announcing his monetary policy statement last week Dr Gideon Gono
proposed a
11-month economic recovery strategy which is expected to start
with the
securing a binding social contract this month.
The
social contract will see prices, wages, salaries, interest rates and
tariffs
being frozen for an initial period of four months.
Dr Gono says
experiences in other countries show that the social contract
has immense
benefits in stabilising inflation and eventually achieving
economic
recovery.
The social contract has been used with varying degrees of
success in other
countries such as Malaysia, Barbados and
Australia.
South Africa has the National Economic Development and Labour
Council
(Nedlac) where government meets regularly with business, labour and
community groupings to discuss and try to reach consensus on issues of
social and economic policy.
Zimbabwe could take a leaf from the South
African experience. But this
requires that the three main partners ---
business, Government and
labour --- make firm commitments to agreed
positions. Attempts through the
TNF have been tried and failed begging the
question: Will it sail through
this time?
Although there are slight
differences between the TNF and the social
contract, commentators say the
former should be the starting point of the
social contract.
They said
it was unfortunate that petty political and economic differences
had been
allowed to derail efforts to find long-term solutions to the
country's
problems.
Deliverables have been set and all that is left is action. But
for anyone to
act, be it business, Government or labour, the first
prerequisite is a
willingness to act.
For a social contract to have
impact, it will require the social partners to
act in good faith by
upholding the principles of the contract.
The willingness to engage in
dialogue has apparently been lacking from TNF,
and it will take more than
just moral suasion from the central bank to
instill political will in all
stakeholders.
Cases in the past where labour representative ZCTU has
pulled out citing
differences with the Government and business refusing to
sign protocols, is
a clear sign of the failure by in whom Zimbabweans have
vested the power to
shape the country's destination.
Lack of trust
among stakeholders has been the greatest letdown in TNF that
can only be
achieved by creating an environment of trust and social
partnership.
Business, labour and economic commentators concurred
with Dr Gono that the
country can no longer afford to continue on this
path.
The immediate past president of the Employers' Confederation of
Zimbabwe, Mr
Mike Bimha, said there was nothing to stop the country from
coming up with a
working social contract if it is to realise its economic
potential.
He said it was imperative to put ideas into action as the
concept of a
social contract had been mooted on a number of occasions but
nothing
concrete had materialised.
"The social contract is quite
feasible if three parties to the contract are
willing to commit themselves
to the binding principles.
"Parties to such forums should understand
their duties and obligations and
should be driven by a common interest
despite their different backgrounds.
If we are not careful, even this call
by Dr Gono for a social contract will
also come to nought," said Mr
Bimha.
He said people should not look at the Prices and Incomes
Commission as the
heart and of the social contract as there are many other
critical elements.
Zimbabwe Leather Shoe and Allied Workers' Union
secretary-general Mr Isidore
Zindoga said his union had strongly advocated
for a social contract and had
maintained that position for a long
time.
"A social contract can be a very useful tool to allow the
Government,
business and labour to map the way forward knowing what other
social
partners expect of them as opposed to the current situation where
prices,
bank rates and exchange rates go up overnight without
warning.
"Social contracts are more relevant to us in the Third World
because we rely
on foreign investment and aid. Even developed countries have
some form of
social partnership," Mr Zindoga said.
With a social
contract Zimbabwe can be able to present a unified image to
other countries
and serious investors across the globe, he said.
ZINASU Press Release
ZINASU
held an urgent NEC meeting today. It was noted that the government
has
failed to uphold the Universal Declaration on Human Rights chapter 26
(1)
which clearly stipulates that 'everyone has a right to education'. The
fees
being charged in all the colleges in Zimbabwe are a clear insult on our
parents; most of them are poor peasant farmers and civil servants who are
leaving way below the poverty datum line.
The government of the day
is determined to see that there is no future for
Zimbabwe. Dear Zimbabweans,
we are the future. The government is in
unbridled violation of the UNESCO
stipulation that the government must
allocate 26% of the national budget to
the education sector. The pertinent
review of data from the research
conducted by ZINASU reveals that more than
31.5% students has since dropped
out of college since 10 February 2006 when
the government introduced the new
evil fee structure. Mindful of the above,
ZINASU N.E.C resolutions are as
follows,
- Demand an immediate reversal of the fees hike, and giving
the
government up to 13 February 2007.
- Rallying around the clarion
call of Save our Education; Save our Future
Campaign, ZINASU shall embark on
an indefinite class boycott from 14
February 2007.
- The students
will vote for the presidential elections in 2008 and not
2010.
- We
support the industrial action by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions,
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Doctors and Nurses though are hearts
are with the suffering patients.
- We are going to hold the
government responsible for any loss of lives
during the current industrial
action.
- ZINASU to form a separate union for medical students targeting
the
medical students, student nurses and paramedics students.
- Demand
a new and people driven constitution now.
Struggle is our birthright
and we shall continue defending academic freedoms
in
Zimbabwe
Aluta Continua; Victoria Acerta
Little by little,
freedom will come
For and on behalf of the students in
Zimbabwe
Promise Mkwananzi
President
Gideon Chitanga
Vice
President
Beloved Chiweshe
Secretary General
--
Zimbabwe
National Students Union
21 Wembly Road, Eastlea, Harare, Zimbabwe,
0026391301231/ 002634788135
zinasu@gmail.com
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 5th February 2007
People who live in more benign climates cannot know anything about
our
critical dependence on a few short months of rain for our very
survival.
Right now as I write at my desk, the sky outside is a terrifying
blue.
Yesterday was the same; in fact we have had little or no rain for
nearly two
months. The veld is starting to look as it does in winter -
during months
when we normally expect our wettest period of the
year.
Our rivers have not run this year and our supply dams are all
falling
rapidly, two are already dry and two have enough in them for another
4 or 5
months, leaving us with one dam for our total needs and that is
unlikely to
last the year unless we get late rains. Today's weather forecast
is for dry
weather for at least another week. I have already flattened the
vegetable
garden and was thinking this morning that we may have to allow the
citrus
trees to die. Most of the rest of the garden is already brown and
scorched.
On top of everything else this is particularly tough for us who
love our
gardens and are willing to spend money and time to seeing that the
roses are
just right and that the lawn is fed and trimmed. Still, if you
live in a
semi arid region of the globe you must expect this sort of thing
to happen
from time to time. I well recall 1992 when we had no rain at all
in many
parts of the country. Vast estates of citrus and sugar died and
Bulawayo was
on an emergency supply basis, even using water drawn from an
aquifer some
kilometers to the north. We had interests in a ranch at that
time and I do
not think there was a blade of grass within 200 kilometers of
the ranch
homestead.
Water is more critical to life than most things
and when you have it, it is
unappreciated - when you are short of it then
you realize its importance. So
it was with interest that I listened to the
reports of the study group on
climate warming this past week. The news was
not good - at last the
scientists have agreed that global warming is for
real, that it is, in part,
man made and then went on to say
(disconcertingly) that no matter what we do
about emissions, it is here to
stay and cannot be reversed in the short term
(100 years or so).
The
projections are difficult to read and interpret but they generally agree
that the drier regions of the world will be drier and the wetter regions
wetter!! So today, I sit in drought stricken Matabeleland and watch pictures
of much of Indonesia under water. I also saw this morning a warning from the
Mozambique government to the effect that people must move away from the
lower Zambezi river where flooding was expected. The report stated that this
was because they had opened all the gates at Cahora Bassa, releasing 3500
cubic metres of water per second into the river below the wall and the dam
has continued to rise. They attributed this to heavy rains in Zambia, the
Congo and Malawi.
So if this report is true - what can we expect and
how do we manage the
predicted outcomes? Well first of all we must all
recognise that poverty
makes every situation worse. Poor people cannot
defend themselves from the
effects of changes in their environment and are
also environment dependent.
Peasant farmers live constantly with the threat
of starvation and
deprivation. This is why they are so easily manipulated by
wayward
governments like our own.
Secondly we must accept that large
areas of our country are going to be
unsuitable for human habitation -
certainly on the basis of normal agronomic
practice. We will have to ensure
that people who depend on agriculture for
their livelihood are located in
regions where the rainfall and soils types
allow such activity to take
place. In the arid regions of Zimbabwe where we
get less than 350 mls of
rainfall a year, we should look at systems that
will protect these fragile
environments and facilitate some sort of decent
economic returns. Tourism
and wild life suggests themselves to me in this
respect and even then, we
must provide for water and a fodder bank for the
tough times when it simply
does not rain.
For the Cities like Bulawayo, we have got to take a long
hard look at our
needs and the resources available. When I was growing up in
the Esigodini
Valley south of Bulawayo I can recall a stream that never
ceased to flow -
all year round. We did some irrigation from that stream and
ran a small
dairy and pig farm. Today that stream never flows and the farm I
was raised
on, is derelict. We simply have to use our water resources
better. I am told
that 40 per cent of the raw water sent to the City from
our dams is lost in
a myriad of leaking pipes and burst water mains. We pump
water up a 1000
metres head and over 35 kilometers and then spend millions
cleaning it up
and making it potable and then we send it down our pipes and
flush it away
into the catchments of the Zambezi river that does not really
need our
largesse.
We need to do what other major cities do all over
the world, capture that
waste water and clean it up and send it back to our
purification plants. We
need to build more dams and to practice conservation
in all its different
aspects. There was a time when this country was the
most advanced in Africa,
perhaps in the arid third world as well, in the
field of land and water
conservation. It is no longer discussed as a
priority and our leaders show
little understanding of it as an issue, but
this is life and death stuff for
those of us who live in arid parts of
Africa.
We need to take a leaf out of Israel's short history as a
country. They have
turned desert into watered plains and they have done it
on a resource base
that was nothing like as rich as our own. Every person
who lives in that
country or who works on a farm, knows that water is life
and that it is
everyone's responsibility to look after it when it falls from
the sky or
comes out of the end of a pipe.
But one thing is for sure,
a Zimbabwe that is undemocratic, does not respect
the rule of law or
property rights and impoverishes its people by draining
its wealth into the
pockets and bank accounts of the few who are politically
connected, simply
cannot handle yet another calamity such as drought and
global warming. Our
people will be faced with only two alternatives if this
rogue regime is not
removed soon - flee or stay and be impoverished and die
an early
death.
Just this week some 40 soldiers at Nkomo Barracks outside Harare
shot their
horses and then fled with their guns. I have not heard if they
have been
caught, but I doubt it. Where have they gone? I suggest South
Africa where
they will use their training and their weapons to make a living
- at the
expense of every South African. Are these issues linked? Of course
they are,
it is our political masters who are failing to make the connection
and one
day they will be blindsided by a crisis that will be of their own
making.
From cricinfo, 4 February
Martin
Williamson
We live in an age where news is instant. We accept and
expect that we can
follow sporting events in almost real time wherever they
are played. We also
almost always assume that major games will be available
on TV, albeit
increasingly often behind a subscription wall. Sport needs the
oxygen of
publicity to be taken seriously. In Harare today, there was a full
ODI
taking place between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. While it might not have
had
the appeal of other major one-dayers, it was still, according to the
ICC's
own rankings, a game between two Full Member countries who are ranked
in the
world's top ten. And yet for long periods the match was played out in
virtual secrecy. There was no television coverage, no media updates, no live
scores. The only people who knew what was happening were the few hundred
die-hards inside Harare Sports Club.
Cricinfo was -
understandably - inundated with complaints. However, as with
all other major
media outlets, we were powerless to do anything. We had
tried to send
journalists to Zimbabwe to cover the matches but had come up
against the
brick wall of Zimbabwe's notorious Information Ministry. Not
only do they
insist on vetting anyone who wants to report from the country,
but they
demand a US$600 fee for issuing accreditation. This is extortion
which is
almost unknown anywhere else, and the primary aim is to deter
anyone from
wanting to travel. It is worth remembering that the media inside
Zimbabwe is
almost all under the control of the state. The second option was
to send
someone from inside the country. Not as easy as it sounds, as many
reporters
have had their accreditation withdrawn, travelling is now made
hard by
crippling fuel shortages, while others are just plain scared.
The
fallback was television. As late as last Wednesday, there was no
guaranteed
TV coverage. A source inside the production company said that
they had been
told that as Zimbabwe Cricket could not guarantee payments
needed to make
this happen, there would be no broadcast. Last-minute
negotiations resolved
this, but too late for anything to be sold outside
Zimbabwe (although there
are hopes that the remaining three matches might be
sold abroad). Come
today, the millions of Bangladesh supporters round the
world turned to the
web to follow the game. The only problem was that even
inside Zimbabwe there
was no coverage. Without any explanation, local TV
turned to religious
programmes and a quiz show where the quizmaster got more
questions wrong
than the contestants. ZTV did not answer the telephones and
nor could anyone
from the board be raised. Finally, local coverage
spluttered into life in
the afternoon.
Clearly, Zimbabwe has major problems, the vast
majority far more pressing
than the lack of television coverage of a game
which, judging by the dismal
turnout, few local people care about anyway.
But the ZC board receives
millions of dollars from the ICC every year. For
that it manages not to play
any Test cricket, not to run any domestic
first-class or one-day
competitions, and to pay its players in an utterly
worthless local currency.
Is it too much to ask that it actually gets its
act together and manages to
offer what little product it has to a wider
audience? And what of the ICC?
Issues were flagged with it about TV coverage
early last week, and we were
assured all was in hand. It is the guardian of
the world game, and recent
media deals have shown it is hardly short of a
dollar or two. It has a
responsibility to ensure that the game is not
presented in such a poor
light. Starved of publicity in a world where there
is fierce competition,
cricket could soon become an
irrelevance.
The ICC's track record in Zimbabwe is there for all to
see and critics are
quick to lambaste it for what they claim are its
constant turning of a blind
eye to a swathe of accusations made against the
way the board operates. Too
often, the excuse of things being "beyond our
remit" is trotted out. While
what happened today was not in any way the
ICC's fault, it was,
nevertheless, a disgrace and the ICC owes it to fans
around the world -
especially the millions of Bangladesh fans - to take
action to ensure it
does not happen again, and to find out how such a mess
occurred. And if ZC
cannot even manage to sort this fundamental issue out,
can it really be said
to be fit for purpose?
The Citizen
PRETORIA -
Charges against one of the nine men accused of plotting to
overthrow the
government of Equatorial Guinea were dropped in the Pretoria
Regional Court
on Monday.
Maitre Ruakuluka appeared briefly with his eight co-accused. The
other eight
are: Raymond Stanley Archer, Victor Dracula, Louis du Preez,
Errol Harris,
Mazanga Kashama, Neves Tomas Matias, Simon Morris Witherspoon
and Hendrick
Jacobus Hamman.
State Advocate Torie Pretorius withdrew the
case against Ruakuluka,
apparently because he was to turn State
witness.
"That is only an speculation, but it is fair speculation," Pretorius
told
reporters afterwards.
The eight others are charged with contravening
the Regulation of Foreign
Military Assistance Act.
They were part of a
group of 61 who returned to South Africa in 2005 after
spending more than a
year in a Zimbabwean prison for violating that country's
immigration,
aviation, firearms and security laws.
The charges related to an alleged plot
to topple Equatorial Guinea's
longtime dictator, President Teodoro Obiang
Nguema.
The men were among a group of 70 arrested in March 2004 when they
landed at
Harare International Airport, allegedly to refuel and pick up
military
equipment.
Zimbabwean authorities said they were on their way to
join other suspected
mercenaries arrested in Equatorial Guinea at about the
same time.
Their trial is set down for three weeks and Pretorius told the
court that
there are more than 100 State witnesses.
They however asked
for a postponement till Tuesday to see if they can not
come to an agreement
with the defence teams on certain aspects of the trial.
"I hope to call only
a dozen or so witnesses," Pretorius told the court,
adding that it depended
on the defence teams.
The trial continues on Tuesday. - Sapa.
Zim Online
Tuesday 06 February
2007
By Pfudzai Chibgowa
HARARE - Eight-year old
Kudzai Makundembe and her four friends from the
neighbourhood wipe off dust
from their little bare feet as they enter the
family lounge.
Soon,
the little boys are engrossed in thrilling action on the television
set as
wrestlers pummel each other into submission.
"Just watch how Michael Sena
recovers from that whack," shouts one of the
boys, excitement quickly
getting the better of the innocent boys.
At the end of the hour-long show
that is full of roars, snarls and laughter,
the boys troop out of the
Makundembe family home to engage in animated
arguments over their favourite
fighters.
Each Sunday afternoon, the boys in the neighbourhood have made
it a point to
come to the Makundembe family home to watch their favourite
sporting channel
on the free-to-air satellite channel.
The Makundembe
family is among an increasing number of Zimbabweans, fed up
with propaganda
churned out on the state-controlled national television, who
have turned to
free-to-air digital satellite decoders.
Although the decoders cost a
fortune in view of Zimbabwe's parlous economic
state, the gadgets are fast
becoming popular among residents.
Zimbabweans are turning to digital
television to escape the drudgery and
monotony of repeated programming on
Zimbabwe Television.
An attempt at Pockets Hill, the Zimbabwe Television
headquarters in Harare,
to instill "cultural values" through programmes
glorifying Zimbabwe's
ancient past, has seen offended viewers and
advertisers leading to most of
them fleeing the station in
droves.
Zimbabwean viewers say they cannot stand the "cultural chaff"
churned out by
the television state.
"There has been brisk business
in selling these gadgets for over a year
now," says Lydia Matsweru, a
saleslady at one of the electrical shops
stocking free-to air
decoders.
"We also sell on behalf of cross-border traders. They bring in
their
decoders and we charge a nominal commission when the set is
sold."
Two weeks ago, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), the
company that
runs the state television and radio stations, pushed up annual
licence fees
for owning a television set.
The licence fee rose from
Z$650 to $150 000 per year.
"I would rather invest in a free-to-air
decoder than pay such high fees,"
said Lazarus Teremai, a teacher who says
he will have to save half his
salary for two months to pay the licence for
his TV.
Temerai says with a free-to-air decoder, he can have the luxury
of watching
at least three foreign channels in South Africa and
Botswana.
Other Zimbabweans, also fed up with the propaganda on national
television,
have relied on relatives and friends based outside the country
to pay for
their monthly subscriptions for the digital satellite television
(Dstv).
A foreign currency crunch gripping Zimbabwe is forcing most
people to opt
for the free-to-air decoders.
Zimbabweans who are
living in remote border areas are also relying on
foreign radio stations
because the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Station does not
have the capacity to
broadcast to these far-flung areas.
But the Harare authorities, who have
maintained a tight grip on information
dissemination over the past seven
years, appear not too happy with this
scenario where Zimbabweans listen and
watch foreign radio and television
stations.
"Our people are
compelled to listen to broadcasts from Zambia, and at the
same time are
required to pay licences from which they do not benefit,"
complained
Kariba's ruling ZANU PF legislator, Shumbayaonda Chandengenda.
"They are
susceptible to hostile foreign propaganda which we cannot counter
because
local radio and television services do not reach them," he added.
But for
most people in the cities, the majority of them staunch opposition
Movement
for Democratic Change supporters, the free-to-air decoders appear
the only
way to escape the boring programming of the state media body. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 06 February 2007
By
Nqobizitha Nkomo
BULAWAYO - Zimbabwean doctors on Monday said they will
press on with a
seven-week strike after a meeting called by the Health
Services Board to
address their concerns ended in stalemate.
The
Ministry of Health has over the past two months failed to coax the
doctors
back to work resulting in the matter being referred to the Health
Services
Board for adjudication.
A doctors' representative, Amon Sivese, who was
part of the delegation that
attended the meeting, told ZimOnline yesterday
that there was no agreement
on most of the issues raised by the striking
doctors.
"The meeting with the Health Services Board failed to achieve
the desired
results as we did not agree on anything. The members of the
board said they
did not have any more powers to deal with the matter and
they have now
referred everything to higher authorities," said
¯Sivese.
Zimbabwean doctors downed their tools last December demanding
salaries of
Z$5 million each per month and allowances to buy
cars.
Last month, the government awarded the doctors a 300 percent salary
increment that the doctors rejected. The Harare authorities later followed
that up with a further 300 percent salary hike that was also turned
down.
"The issue of major priority that was high on our list is the issue
of
transport and the government has not addressed that. When it comes to
other
issues like salaries, we were never consulted on why we were demanding
the
salaries that we are demanding," said ¯Sivese.
The doctors'
strike has had disastrous results in state hospitals as many
patients were
dying of diseases that could otherwise be treated if the
doctors were at
work.
The doctors' strike only highlights the rot in Zimbabwe's public
health
delivery system, once among the best in Africa but has virtually
crumbled
due to under-funding and mismanagement. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
05
February 2007
Lecturers and staff at the University of Zimbabwe
decided Monday to put off
a strike they had called last week until Friday to
allow parliament's
education committee to look into their grievances, a
spokesman for the
academics said Monday.
But an official of the union
representing lecturers at Bulawayo's National
University of Science and
Technology, Midlands State University, and
Chinhoyi University of Technology
said those teachers would continue a
strike begun last week.
James
Mhlaule, president of the Association of University Teachers at the
University of Zimbabwe, told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7
for Zimbabwe that his executive committee agreed to give the parliamentary
committee on education time to look into lecturers' grievances before
embarking on work stoppage.
In the beleaguered health care sector,
nurses at Parirenyatwa and Harare
hospitals in the capital were said to be
trickling back to work. But
striking doctors remained out of the wards.
Sources said doctor
representatives met today with health services board
members who promised to
brief the office of President Robert Mugabe.
VOA
By Ndimyake Mwakalyelye
Washington, DC
05
February 2007
Although European Union sanctions against top
Zimbabwean officials seemed
likely to be renewed, Reuters reported, citing
unnamed diplomatic sources,
one Africa expert says there is likely to be
much discussion among European
partners as to whether sanctions have worked
and whether other approaches
must be pursued.
EU member states are
divided over the sanctions, with hardliners such as
Britain calling for
maintenance of the travel and financial sanctions on
ministers, ruling party
brass and associates of President Robert Mugabe. But
France, Spain and
Portugal want to include Harare officials in summits like
the one France is
holding this month with its African partners, and an
EU-Africa Summit
planned later this year.
The last attempt to organize an EU-Africa Summit
in 2003 ended in failure
because African states said they would not
participate if Zimbabwe was
excluded. Europeans taking a softer line say
they hope that progress can be
made on resolving the Zimbabwe political and
economic crisis in the context
of such forums.
Reuters quoted EU
Commission sources saying nothing has changed to warrant
lifting sanctions.
Zimbabwe ruling ZANU-PF party spokesman Nathan
Shamuyarira told the news
service Britain is "pursuing a colonial practice,
repression of other
nations."
For perspective on the imbroglio, reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyelye
of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe spoke with Africa Confidential newsletter
editor
Patrick Smith, who said countries like France and Portugal "believe
that
sanctions haven't worked and that some other means must be taken to
promote
political change" in Zimbabwe.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu, Carole Gombakomba and Irwin
Chifera
Harare and Washington
05 February
2007
A faction of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for
Democratic Change led by
Morgan Tsvangirai has announced that it will launch
its 2008 presidential
campaign in a few weeks despite a move by the ruling
party to put the ballot
off until 2010.
The spokesman for President
Robert Mugabe's governing ZANU-PF said meanwhile
that the party would decide
on the timing of the election next month
following consultation with its
provincial branches and the Zimbabwean
people.
Chairman Isaac Matongo
of Tsvangirai's MDC faction told supporters at the
weekend that his party
will officially launch its 2008 presidential
election campaign on February
18 at the Zimbabwe Grounds stadium in
Highfield, a southern
suburb.
Harare correspondent Irwin Chifera of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
was
present at the weekend rally and reported on Matongo's
announcement.
Elsewhere, Zimbabwe Election Support Network has held
consultative meetings
in cities and towns around the country to solicit
public views on the
"harmonization" of elections proposed by ZANU-PF which
would extend Mr.
Mugabe's term.
Meetings in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru
and Mutare have drawn thousands of
people, according to ZESN organizers who
say the group is going ahead with
preparations for presidential elections
next year in accordance with the
constitution as it stands.
The
opposition and civil society groups are calling for a referendum on the
question of changing election dates, but the ruling party to date has shown
no inclination to seek a popular mandate for what many consider to be a
self-serving move.
ZESN Program Manager Tsungai Kokerai, in charge of
research and advocacy at
the respected election-monitoring group, told
reporter Carole Gombakomba
that once it has gathered public input, the
organization will report on
public sentiment.
Meanwhile, sources
close to the ruling party said support for"harmonization"
is weak within
ZANU-PF even though President Mugabe is pushing hard in its
favor.
Eight out of 10 ZANU-PF provincial organizations backed the
proposal when it
was presented at the ruling party's annual conference in
December. But it is
customary for such resolutions at ZANU-PF annual
meetings to receive
unanimous support, so the conference referred the matter
to the party
politburo and central committee.
ZANU-PF is expected to
decide next month if it will seek a constitutional
amendment to change the
election schedule. Party insiders report that a
discussion of the matter
last Wednesday by the politburo, the party's top
decision-making body, was
heated.
Backers of Vice President Joyce Mujuru opposed extending the
president's
term while those aligned with rival presidential aspirant
Emmerson Mnangagwa
supported it. The sources said no consensus could be
reached and the matter
was deferred.
ZANU-PF spokesman Nathan
Shamuyarira told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
the ruling party's top decision-making body would
revisit the issue next
month after consultations with provincial officials
and
members.
National Constitutional Assembly Chairman Lovemore Madhuku said
his group
would keep resisting "harmonization" and calling for a major
overhaul of the
constitution.