COSATU boss wanted border closed immediately Mon 7 February
2005 HARARE - Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) secretary
general Zwelinzima Vavi wanted to immediately blockade Zimbabwe's lifeline
Beitbridge border post with South Africa last Friday but only stepped back
on advice from his Zimbabwean counterparts.
Vavi wanted to
order immediate action after receiving reports that Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders who were meeting with COSATU leaders in the
South African town of Musina were being tracked by Zimbabwe government
agents and could be arrested on arrival in Harare.
The labour
leaders were meeting in Musina after Vavi and other COSATU leaders were
earlier in the week deported from Zimbabwe where they had gone to meet the
ZCTU to discuss labour issues and to assess whether conditions for a free
election in March exist in the country.
ZCTU deputy secretary
general Colleen Gwiyo yesterday told ZimOnline that the Zimbabwean
delegation told COSATU not to act until regional labour unions met and
decided on measures to take against President Robert Mugabe and his
government for violating labour and human rights.
Gwiyo said:
"Because of suspicion that we were being followed (by Harare's agents)
COSATU immediately threatened to close the border and Vavi was prepared to
do it immediately but we said the Southern Africa Trade Union Co-ordination
Council (SATUCC) has to meet and make a decision (on action against
Harare)."
SATUCC is the representative body for trade unions in the
region. It has previously threatened to mobilise workers in the region to
blockade Zimbabwe's borders to protest repression and human rights
violations by the Harare administration.
In a joint statement
after their meeting last Thursday, COSATU and ZCTU said conditions in
Zimbabwe were not conducive for a democratic election in March and called
for the postponement of the poll warning that political tension in the
country could break into civil war. - ZimOnline
Jonathan Moyo courts journalists with Z$11 million
donation Mon 7 February 2005 BULAWAYO - Out of favour information
minister and government propaganda chief, Jonathan Moyo, at the weekend
donated a computer, a printer and a television set worth about Z$11 million
for use by journalists working for both state and privately-owned media
here.
The gifts, which took many journalists by surprise, were
handed over to the journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club in the city
centre.
Ironically, at the height of his power in the last three
years, Moyo caused much untold pain to journalists. He crafted the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act under which hundreds of
independent journalists have been arrested while three newspapers, including
the country's biggest and only non-government owned daily, the Daily News,
were closed.
Several journalists at government-owned papers and
the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings lost their jobs after disagreeing with
Moyo.
But the information minister appears to have mellowed since
falling out with President Robert Mugabe last year after he attempted to
block the appointment of Joyce Mujuru as ZANU PF and Zimbabwe's second
vice-president.
"Moyo is simply trying to canvass for support from
the media to help him fight for his political survival. His donation is
welcome, but no one can be as blind as to fail to read between the lines,"
remarked one journalist. - ZimOnline
Black, Ullyet pull out of Davis Cup tie Mon 7 February
2005 HARARE - Zimbabwe's bid to reclaim its position as one of Africa's
strongest tennis teams has suffered a major setback after top players, Wayne
Black and Kevin Ullyet, disclosed they will not take part in next month's
Davis Cup Euro-Africa Zone Group One tie against Serbia and Montenegro in
Belgrade
To worsen the situation for Zimbabwe, non-playing
captain, Greig Rodger is also out of the crucial tie on a break from the
game this year to attend to pressing personal and business commitments. The
tie in Belgrade is scheduled for March 4-6.
Black and Ullyet,
who last week won the prestigious Australian Open in the men's doubles
competition, pulled out of the Belgrade tour as they will be taking part in
tournaments in Indiana Wells and Miami.
Tennis Zimbabwe (TZ) Press
officer, Tanyaradzwa Chinamo confirmed the news yesterday. As a result of
the withdrawal of the current top doubles players in the world, TZ officials
could not announce a team to Belgrade at the weekend as had been
scheduled.
In the absence if its most experienced players, Zimbabwe
will have to do with junior players like Genius Chidzikwe, Gwinyai Tongoona,
Zibusiso Ncube and Gwinyai Chingoka among others. Zimbabwe Open champion,
Pfungwa Mahefu, who is currently based in the United States, might also be
called up for duty.
The last time Black and Ullyet withdrew
from the team, Zimbabwe were thrashed 0-5 by Israel in Tel Aviv in a
Euro-Africa Zone Group One tie in 2003 to expose the country's over
dependency on a few individual players.
Chinamo said: "It is going
to be difficult playing away from home with inexperienced players. But we
have no option because the tie has to be fulfilled and in any case, I think
the young boys have gained enough experience to hold their won against any
opponents."
If Zimbabwe loses in Belgrade, they will play the
losers of the other first round match between Great Britain and Israel in a
relegation play off. - ZimOnline
Lack of match fitness delays return of rebel cricketers Mon
7 February 2005 HARARE - Zimbabwe's rebel white cricket players will not be
included in the squad to tour South Africa next month because they still
lack match fitness, ZimOnline learnt yesterday.
It also emerged
yesterday that the white cricketers and Zimbabwe Cricket have agreed to end
their dispute amicably although there were still a "few loose ends" to be
ironed out before the players could resume their romance with the national
team.
ZC was desperate to see the rebel players led by former
captain Heath Streak return to the national team ahead of the South Africa
tour after the current squad of inexperienced juniors was trounced by
minnows, Bangladesh, in a Test series and One Day Internationals last
month.
The cricket-governing body wanted to avoid similar
embarrassment at the hands of the more polished South Africans next
month.
Zimbabwe coach Phil Simmons publicly admitted last week that
he wanted the white players back in the team telling the Press that Zimbabwe
lost to Bangladesh not because of technical incompetence but because of
inexperience.
"Every coach would love to have those experienced
(white) players in the squad but unfortunately they will not have reached
the level of fitness required. We will have to do with the players we have
and hopefully improve against South Africa," Simmons said.
The
white players stopped playing for Zimbabwe after a racism-tinged dispute
with the ZC over selection policy. - ZimOnline
Members of Zimbabwe's Zanu(PF) were attacked by a group of
opposition supporters in their offices in Johannesburg today, the party's
district chairperson, said. Bigvai Gumede, chairperson of Zanu-PF's
Johannesburg branch said about 17 people wearing Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) T-shirts broke into their meeting room and started throwing
furniture around and pulling down posters of Zimbabwean president Robert
Mugabe.
"They started beating us up. They told us why do you support the
president (Mugabe)?" Gumede said.
No one was seriously injured, and
the vandals soon ran away. Amanda Roestoff, the Johannesburg police
spokesperson, said police would investigate the incident.
Tension
runs high between the two parties in the run-up to elections on March 31,
which the MDC claims will not be free and fair. The Congress of South
African Trade Unions recently challenged the country on its repressive
politics by trying to send a delegation to Zimbabwe. The delegation was
refused entry at Harare airport, and put back on the plane to
Johannesburg. - Sapa
Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president's ruling Zanu(PF)
party, expelled a top official charged with selling state secrets to foreign
agents, state radio reported today. Phillip Chiyangwa was chairperson of
Mashonaland West province, in northwest Zimbabwe, but members of his
provincial executive today unanimously passed a no-confidence vote in his
leadership for "bringing the name of the party into
disrepute".
Chiyangwa, who is in custody and denies charges of selling
secrets, was charged last December alongside three others for breaching the
Official Secrets Act and could face a jail term of up to 20 years under
sections of the law. "The vote of no confidence was as a result of pending
cases against comrade Chiyangwa resulting in his failure to carry out his
duties as provincial chairperson," state radio reported.
The
flamboyant businessman, who is also a Zanu(PF) legislator, was arrested in
January 2004 on charges he had interfered with a fraud probe and threatened
a policeman investigating the case. He was later cleared of the charges,
which his lawyers said were linked to feuding within the ruling party over
who should succeed Mugabe, expected to retire in 2008. Chiyangwa was last
month barred from standing in internal party elections to choose a candidate
for next month's parliamentary polls together with three ministers as the
succession row continued. - Reuters
Harare - The government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
has given pay increases of up to 1 400% to the war veteran's militia,
ex-political prisoners and to traditional chiefs, reports in the capital
Harare said on Sunday.
The increases are being awarded less than two
months ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for March 31, and
immediately drew accusations that Mugabe was paying off key political groups
with a critical role in the Zanu-PF election strategy of intimidation of
voters.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2000 and presidential
ballot in 2002, war veterans led a country-wide reign of terror against the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and are considered
responsible for most of the murders of about 300 people in the
campaigns.
People 'can not be bought'
Chiefs and their hierarchy
of village headmen are accused of using their powerful influence over
impoverished rural communities to force people to vote for Mugabe's
Zanu-PF.
Mugabe in the state-controlled Sunday Mail accused the MDC of
soliciting Western finance "which will then be used to buy
votes".
"But we say, Zimbabwe is not for sale. Our people cannot be
bought.
"Government has banned the MDC from receiving funding from
abroad."
Social welfare minister Paul Mangwana confirmed the pay increase
and indicated it would rise fifteen-fold.
In 1997, Mugabe ordered the
unbudgeted payment of pensions to about 60 000 members of the guerilla war
veterans movement.
Economists say the massive chunk of state funds paid
out set off an economic crisis that has effectively wrecked the
economy.
"The comrades will be happy with the pension increments,
including burial allowances, health care and school fees," said Andrew
Ndlovu, a senior official in the war veterans movement.
The massive
increase also follows seething discontent among war veterans after Mugabe
suspended its popular leader from the party amid a purge of dissidents among
a large cross-section of the party's senior leadership.
Window on Africa - Is Mbeki 'doing a Zimbabwe' in Ivory
Coast to hit at neo-colonialism? February 7, 2005
By
Peter Fabricius
Is Thabo Mbeki "doing a Zimbabwe" in the Ivory
Coast? This question seems to be exercising many minds right now. Mbeki is
deeply engaged in a complex peace process in the West African
country.
In December he persuaded the government of President
Laurent Gbagbo and his rebel foes to lay down arms and to return to the
government of national unity. It had collapsed a few months before in an
outbreak of vicious fighting which cost many lives, including those of nine
French soldiers in a force that has been keeping the Ivorian enemies
apart.
Mbeki also pulled off a considerable feat in convincing
Gbagbo to support legislation to restore the Ivorian nationality of many of
his political opponents, including Alassane Outtara who would probably beat
him in a free and fair presidential election.
But since then
things have not being going too well. Gbagbo insists that he must submit the
legislation to a national referendum. His opponents suspect this is a ruse
to sabotage the legislation.
It is Mbeki's apparent failure to deal
firmly with Gbagbo over this evident bad faith, that has stirred doubts
among some in the rebel headquarters in Bouake, in Paris and in South
Africa, that he might be "doing a Zimbabwe" in the Ivory Coast.
By that they mean: favouring the incumbent president Gbagbo, as he appears
to favour the incumbent president Mugabe, against his MDC political
opponents. Last month Mbeki participated in a summit of the African Union
Peace and Security Council in Gabon.
The summit okayed Ggagbo's
proposed referendum under certain conditions. Mbeki and his peers did not
simply reject the idea out of hand, because they did not believe Gbagbo
would instruct his party to support the citizenship legislation in
parliament - and then oppose it in a referendum. That would be
"illogical".
But Ivorians who know Gbagbo well believe he is
perfectly capable of such duplicity - as indeed is Mugabe. It may well have
been this apparently rather naive trust in Gbagbo's good faith, that
prompted French President Jacques Chirac to take an oblique swipe at Mbeki's
mediation in Dakar on Wednesday.
Chirac suggested the
mediation was foundering because Mbeki did not understand West Africans.
"West Africa is West Africa. It has its own characteristics. You have to
know it well. I very much hope that President Mbeki, whose work we support,
will now immerse himself in West Africa so as to understand its psychology
and soul," he said.
Mbeki, the Africanist, will probably not be
deeply impressed by a French president telling him he does not understand
the soul of any part of Africa. But behind Chirac's remarks may well lurk a
suspicion that France is Mbeki's real target in Ivory Coast.
Though the French force there saved Ggagbo's skin in 2002 when it stopped
the rebels overrunning Abidjan, the French, trying to be neutral, also saved
the rebels when Gbagbo's army attacked them last year. France retaliated,
practically wiping out his tiny airforce.
As a result Gbagbo is now
branding the rebels as a front for France's "neo-colonial" ambitions in the
country. Some SABC reports on Mbeki's mediation have taken the same line and
so, according to some media reports, have people in Mbeki's
office.
They suggest that Mbeki's main purpose is to rid the Ivory
Coast of the French colonials and that if Gbagbo is to be the instrument, so
be it. That all sounds a lot like supporting Mugabe's fight against British
neo-colonialism.
Mbeki's spokesman Bheki Khumalo insists that
is all nonsense and that his boss fully appreciates the important role
France is playing in the Ivory Coast. But Chirac's remarks in Dakar suggest
the French, at least, are not convinced.
By Staff
Reporter Last updated: 02/07/2005 06:44:13 SOUTH African police have
questioned four Zimbabweans - three of them members of that country's
intelligence - for allegedly trying to spy on a meeting between unionists of
both countries in Musina last week.
Ronel Otto, the Limpopo police
spokesperson, said she could confirm that the four - three members of
Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation and one civilian - were allowed
to go back to their country after being questioned.
"They came over the
border legally, with passports. They were not arrested, they were questioned
and freed to go without any action being taken against them," she
said.
The four were apparently "arrested" while trying enter the lodge
where the meeting between the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the
Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) took place.
The unionists
had arranged the meeting after Zimbabwe turned away a Cosatu delegation at
Harare's International Airport on Wednesday.
On Thursday, members from
both unions travelled to Musina, South Africa, to discuss the way
forward.
Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu's general secretary, said he heard that
members of Zimbabwe's CIO were arrested while trying to spy on the meeting.
But, he said: "I cannot confirm or deny that."
Tummi Golding, the
police's spokesperson on crime intelligence, said: "So far this matter is
under severe investigation. We can't comment on it."
Otto, when asked
about the four and the circumstances in which they got to be questioned, she
said: "I don't know much about them."
She said she could not even confirm
whether they were spying on the Cosatu-ZCTU meeting - Reuters
By
Agencies Last updated: 02/07/2005 02:13:52 ANTI-APARTHEID icon Archbishop
Desmond Tutu criticised Zimbabwe for "making a mockery" of African democracy
and urged regional leaders to scold contemporaries who fail to foster
justice and freedom.
Tutu last year hit out at "kowtowing" in South
Africa's ruling ANC party, including over President's Thabo Mbeki's policy
of quiet diplomacy toward its neighbour Zimbabwe, sparking a fiery public
debate between the two men.
The archbishop told South Africa's Sunday
Independent newspaper that Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe was making a mockery of
African attempts to improve governance and defend democracy as the continent
tries to secure more aid from rich countries.
"We have a
responsibility. People should see that we do really care about things like
freedom, justice ... the basic freedoms for which we have fought," he was
quoted as saying.
"We have to say, places like Zimbabwe make almost a
mockery of our saying that we are committed to these things and makes it
difficult for those who are our friends."
The diminutive cleric said
Zimbabwe was a "huge blot on the record" of the world's poorest continent.
He was speaking ahead of this weekend's G7 meeting of rich nations, aimed at
finding new ways of helping Africa tackle poverty and extending billions of
extra dollars in aid.
Critics blame Mugabe for a political and economic
crisis that has ruined the once prosperous southern African country and say
elections in 2000 and 2002 were rigged. Zimbabweans go to the polls again in
March. Mugabe last year called Tutu "an angry, evil and embittered little
bishop".
South Africa is Zimbabwe's most important trading partner and
has been criticised for its "softly softly" approach toward a key regional
ally. In recent weeks South Africa stepped up emphasis on the March vote as
a test for the troubled democracy.
Long a thorn in the side of South
Africa's former white regime, Tutu said his recent caustic exchange with
Mbeki -- during which the president accused him of resorting to "empty
rhetoric" -- had made him "sad for his country".
Stressing that he did
not want to reopen that debate, Tutu said the ANC could do little to "really
affect me or affect those of us who were privileged to have participated" in
freeing South Africa from white rule.
Without directly pointing the
finger at Mbeki or the ANC, Tutu said firmer action was crucial on HIV/AIDS,
which affects more South Africans than in any other country and has been a
source of contention due to long delays in rolling out life-saving treatment
to million infected.
"I hope we can also really get serious about AIDS
and... stop what appears to be playing games. We know we can save the lives
of many people and we know we can improve the quality of life of many
people. For goodness sake, let's!" - Reuters
S.Africa opposition party to visit Zimbabwe ahead of
poll
Mon February 7, 2005 8:24 AM GMT+02:00 JOHANNESBURG
(Reuters) - South Africa's main opposition party will send a team to
neighbouring Zimbabwe this month to investigate the minimum conditions
required to ensure a fair election there, the Democratic Alliance said on
Sunday.
The DA said in a statement President Robert Mugabe's party
had made a fair election in March "almost impossible" because the Zimbabwe
government was using food supplies as a political weapon, intimidating
voters, persecuting the opposition, restricting the media and controlling
the voting process.
The traditionally white party said it would
"send a delegation to Zimbabwe in order to form a view as to whether a free
and fair election, perhaps at a later date, is likely and what minimum
conditions are necessary to make it possible".
The announcement
came after a team from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
last week embarked on a similar trip but were denied entry in Harare by a
defiant government who said they were visitors with a hostile
agenda.
It was not immediately clear whether Zimbabwe would agree
to the visit and the government's spokesman was not available for comment on
Sunday.
Mugabe's government has been accused of rigging past
elections and opposition leaders say limited reforms ahead of March 31
parliamentary polls -- seen as a crucial test of democracy there -- favour
his ruling ZANU-PF.
Political analysts say the March 31
elections are almost certain to return Mugabe's party to power, prolonging a
political and economic crisis that has ruined the once prosperous
country.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has resisted calls for
a tough line over allegations of political repression in Zimbabwe, pursuing
his controversial approach of quiet diplomacy with the key regional
ally.
The Democratic Alliance consolidated its position as the
official opposition in elections last year but is still dwarfed by the
African National Congress, which won an overwhelming two-thirds
majority.
The team would aim to visit Harare and other parts of the
country in the next two weeks assuming all goes to plan, DA federal chairman
Joe Seremane told Reuters.
Mugabe says the opposition is a
serving the interests of former colonial power Britain and other Western
countries who want to topple him over his seizures of white-owned farms from
blacks.
Gono plays spin doctor as economic management
fails
By Own correspondent
Official economic outlook is
set to be reversed after the election
The hopes of business
that the Zimbabwe authorities would see sense and devalue the country's
overweight dollar were dashed last week when Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
governor Gideon Gono left the auction rate unchanged.
However, because Gono in effect abolished the Z$824/US$ official exchange
rate - announcing that exporters would now get the auction rate (Z$5
925/US$) for all their export earnings - exporters are marginally better
off.
Some exporters are even in a better position. Gold miners
will get an effective gold price of US$708/oz for their exports (65% more
than the world price).
Tobacco exporters, however, who have
also been awarded an enhanced subsidy, say they need more. They have called
for an exchange rate of around Z$9 000/US$, compared with the Z$7 500,
including the subsidy, offered by the Reserve Bank.
All
other exporters have been left to make do with the auction rate of Z$5 925,
which, after adjustment for inflation, means they are getting about half as
much for every US dollar of exports as they got in March 2003. Small wonder
then that the parallel market exchange rate is around Z$8 500-Z$9 000 and
that in last Thursday's auction the central bank managed to provide only 13%
of the US$82m in foreign currency bids by the private sector.
Platinum exporters, dominated by SA's Implats, that thought they had
negotiated a workable tax and foreign exchange regime will have to operate
four different foreign-currency accounts subject to RBZ supervision. How
Gono reconciles this official micro management of export earnings with his
call for increased foreign investment is unclear.
Then
there is the governor's call for a system of "command agriculture", whereby
new farmers who received land in President Robert Mugabe's land reform
programme will be "bound through performance contracts to produce minimum
targeted output of specific crops". More micromanagement from the
bank.
Gono remains upbeat about inflation, predicting the
average rate will fall to 85% this year from 350% in 2004 and end 2005 at
around 30%. In a year in which global exports are forecast to increase only
1%, the governor is predicting a 55% surge in Zimbabwe's exports, and he is
confident the economy will grow at 3,5%-5% this year, despite the mounting
evidence of a poor agricultural season. Indeed, even Gono had to back-pedal
on earlier government claims of a 165m kg tobacco crop in 2005, saying it
was likely to be 100m kg - a 50% increase on 2004.
Gono's
statement is riddled with contradictions, including the estimate that money
supply actually fell by 20% in December 2004 and that this coincided with
both a stock market boom - share prices have doubled over the past eight
weeks - and a fall in interest rates.
Gono announced an
ambitious plan to lend Z$10 trillion (about US$1,6bn) to parastatals and
local authorities over the next 18 months. The amount is four times the
domestic debt of Z$2,8 trillion and four times domestic
savings.
Where will it come from? Gono says he is going to
borrow it, but economists and bankers have been quick to point out that to
borrow such an amount, he will have to print it first, which will scupper
his optimistic inflation targets.
A further stark
contradiction is between the governor's inflation targets and those of the
ministry of finance. The ministry expects inflation of about 250% in 2005
compared with Gono's 85%. Assuming Gono is right, the budget deficit will be
more than 20% of GDP - and the governor will have to borrow not Z$14,5
trillion as now envisaged, but double that amount.
Because he
managed to easily beat his 2004 inflation targets, Gono is on something of a
high. But last week's statement suggests he is overreaching himself, setting
targets that will be much harder to meet. Cynics - and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - say Gono's January 26 razzmatazz was
all about the forthcoming elections, not the economy. Once the poll is out
of the way, they predict, the governor will be singing from a different hymn
sheet.
Gono's statement, said the MDC, had little to do with
stabilising the economy. "Rather, it was a statement misleading the country
into believing that the economy was on the mend," the MDC
said.
The irony of all this is that, unlike the MDC, many in
the business community really believe Gono, who, at least to date, has won
the propaganda war. But his own numbers suggest this will not last.
Clemence
Manyukwe Senior Reporter issue date :2005-Feb-07
CENTRAL Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) officers and the police allegedly quizzed Justice
Lawrence Kamocha's clerk over circumstances surrounding the release from
remand prison of businessman James Makamba last year, a day after the judge
ruled he be freed. The former Zanu PF Mashonaland Central chairman was
arrested on February 9 last year and released six months later (on August
24), after Kamocha quashed five charges of foreign currency externalisation,
he was facing. Sources in the judiciary said State agents, who allegedly said
Makamba should not have been freed, quizzed the clerk at length. Last
Friday, Justice Kamocha confirmed that agents took away his clerk on August
25 in the morning, and released him two-and-a-half hours later. "On 25 August
2004 at about 9.00am three officers, who identified themselves as members of
CIO/CID visited my clerk, saying that they wanted to interview him about
Makamba's case. They took him to CID headquarters where they said their
superior wanted to interview him," said Kamocha. However, the High Court
judge said he could not furnish The Daily Mirror with the contents of the
interview, saying he was not the one who had been interviewed. "The
officers who claimed to be CIO/CID interviewed my clerk. I never even saw
them myself, as they ended at my clerk's office - without coming to my
chambers," added Kamocha. Kamocha's clerk said he did not want to talk to
the press. Three weeks ago, Judge President Paddington Garwe asked for
questions in writing, but had not responded by the time of going to print
last night. Last Thursday, Garwe had told The Daily Mirror he would look into
the matter. Contacted for comment the next day, Garwe's secretary said
the judge had not yet responded. The Minister of State Security, Nicholas
Goche, said on Saturday: "Why do you ask me about history? Don't try to come
up with a funny headline. Ask the people who questioned him." However,
Kamocha defended his judgment that set aside a ruling by regional magistrate
Virginia Sithole, saying, "It was above aboard." Sithole had dismissed an
application for discharge by Makamba at the end of the State case. "The
judgment of the trial court dismissing the application for a discharge be
and is hereby set aside, there be an order that the applicant (Makamba) be
discharged and that he be and is hereby found not guilty and acquitted on
all five counts," said Justice Kamocha at the time. "It seems clear to me
that at the close of the State case, there was no evidence to show that
accused committed the crimes he was charged with or any other offences which
may be competent verdicts," he added.
BARELY a week after outspoken St Mary's
legislator Job Sikhala won the ticket to represent the MDC in the March
parliamentary polls, a "rebel" group has emerged in the volatile
constituency challenging his victory in the primary election. The group,
made up of St Mary's district chairman Boniface Manyonganise, organising
secretary Denford Muchenje, treasurer Tendai Akiti and a councillor
Masikwata, have vowed to confront party leader Morgan Tsvangirai over
Sikhala's election, claiming that the primary polls were
flawed. Manyonganise's group insisted that if Sikhala's victory is not
nullified they would quit the MDC and oppose the party during the March 31
parliamentary elections. The group accused party secretary-general
Welshman Ncube and his deputy Gift Chimanikire, of manipulating the polls in
favour of Sikhala, who defied all odds in the primary elections when he
convincingly defeated his rival, Lovemore Mutamba, by nearly 100
votes. Mutamba is the incumbent deputy mayor of Chitungwiza. "We have
tried to seek audience with the leadership, but they are not willing to
entertain us. We left Zanu PF for the MDC thinking it is a democratic party
but it seems they are not willing to implement that democracy. We are now
left with two options - to either resign or form another formidable
opposition party," said Manyonganise. The disgruntled group also claimed that
a number of councillors and party supporters were threatening to ditch the
MDC, alleging that Sikhala stole the election from Mutamba. The
discontented group vowed that they would de-campaign the candid, former
student leader Sikhala, nicknamed "Wiwa", after the Ogoni civil rights
leader Ken Saro-Wiwa who was executed by late dictator General Sane Abaca
because of his militant stance. "We cannot work for someone who was not
chosen according to the constitution. We will definitely work for his
downfall," a Councillor Masikwata said. The rebels argued that the
individuals tasked to verify the constituency's party structures were
biased. "We are the ones that were supposed to have come out with the list of
those that were supposed to participate and we alerted Chimanikire last
Sunday, but he insisted that the elections were supposed to continue,"
Akiti said. The group said they would meet tomorrow and decide on a date to
see Tsvangirai. Yesterday, Chimanikire scoffed at the threat by the
rebels to de-campaign Sikhala, saying everything concerning the St Mary's
primary elections was done above board. He said: "There is no doubt that
Sikhala is popular in that constituency and anyone threatening to
de-campaign him will face an uphill task on the ground. He is the people's
choice. I conducted those elections and I am satisfied that Sikhala
won." He said the rebels' complaints came too late as the whole issue
pertaining to St Mary's has been dealt with and Sikhala was confirmed
candidate for the constituency by the national council. Chimanikire said
the disgruntlement by the group was a matter of sour grapes as they
supported Mutamba, the losing candidate, adding that Manyonganise did not
take part in the verification exercise because the party suspended him for
his unbecoming behaviour in St Mary's. Sikhala yesterday said of his
adversaries: "They are dogs and reptiles that have gone Yankee. They are
just a group of riff-ruffs and garden boys. "I am not worried of what they
say as I am focused on overthrowing the dictatorship - they should be
reminded that we formed the MDC."
Phillip Chidavaenzi
Features Editor issue date :2005-Feb-07
IT has never been in doubt -
despite all the public and self-ingratiating posturing - that the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would participate in the March 31
polls, set to serve as a barometer of the following it still commands within
the discerning electorate. Now that the party, which still insists that
Zimbabwe has yet to fully implement the Sadc guidelines and principles
governing democratic elections, has decided to be party to the elections
"under protest" after what it described as mounting pressure from its
supporters, should bow out with grace should the odds be stacked against
them. At a press conference in Harare soon after the party's national council
meeting last week, party spokesperson, Paul Themba-Nyathi, said: "The (MDC)
council noted various resolutions from our 12 provinces, hundreds of party
structures, from our supporters and friends and from our pro-democracy
partners mandating the MDC to lift the 26 August suspension, in spite of the
hostile political environment in the country today. It is with a heavy heart
that the national council has resolved that the MDC will participate in the
forthcoming elections." Political observers argue that by virtue of
agreeing to take part in the election, the party is endorsing the electoral
process and should not backtrack later should Zanu PF emerge victorious and
allege the elections had not been free and fair. Lovemore Madhuku,
chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) - who believes that
Zanu PF will win the election - said: "If the MDC agrees to participate in
this election, then they should not complain because that would be an act of
foolishness." The participation, he observed, bordered on legitimising the
"flawed" electoral process and added that that the major challenge was to
overhaul the entire constitutional framework governing elections, which he
said did not allow for a level political playing field that Sadc was trying
to create through its guidelines. The MDC could have been left with
little choice. It probably considered which was the 'lesser evil' between
participating - thereby endorsing the process - and boycotting, which could
have courted the ire of their supporters and bankrollers. Themba-Nyathi
said: "This is a decision based primarily on the demands of our people, the
working class of Zimbabwe who wish to exercise their hard fought and
inalienable right of voting and still make a statement against the tyranny
of this criminal Sate." He added that they had noted the "participation is
therefore a strategic decision to recognise our internal democracy and
sacrosanctity of nationhood and the right to vote. We will participate under
protest." Another political observer and UZ lecturer, Heneri Dzinotyiwei,
noted that the MDC's decision to participate would leave in a precarious
position, and they would probably cry foul and use their "participation
under process" as a defence. He said: "They (MDC) are saying their
earlier reservations about the country's electoral system are still valid
whatever the results of the election. If they win they will say we would
have won by a higher margin. If they lose they will make more noise and
start reminding the nation that they participated under protest after
all." Although the MDC expressed disappointment at what it said was the
failure by Sadc to ensure the enforcement of the election guidelines in
Zimbabwe, political analysts said it was high time the party ceased playing
to the gallery and seek an internal engagement. "They are embarrassing
themselves. The region is there to create a facilitatory environment for
each member State to solve its own problems. They must appreciate the little
help they are receiving from the region as it is not the role of Sadc to go
into Zimbabwe and say do this or that. If they want to receive more from
Sadc then they must learn to be thankful," said Dzinotyiwei. Another
political analyst, Eldred Masunungure said "participating under protest" did
not mean anything. "Its totally meaningless unless if they are saying they
are going to participate partially like what most small parties do by
choosing to either contest in the urban or rural areas. Participation is
participation," Masunungure said. He observed that it was "a diplomatic"
attempt to justify the dilemma in which they found themselves trapped and
were "trying to mollify those that would be disappointed by their
decision." Participation is still going to present a nightmare to the MDC -
the biggest opposition to Zanu PF monopoly on power since 1980 - as the
question would remain: why did they participate an election they knew they
would never win owing to what they described as "an uneven and unequal"
electoral field? "More than ever, the electoral playing field remains uneven
and unequal. Rule of law concerns have not been addressed. The media
remains muzzled. Free assembly is proscribed by the Public Order and
Security Act. The recently appointed Electoral Commission is yet to prove
its independence," Themba-Nyathi mourned. Since the MDC had decided to
participate the election, they should be in a position to give answers to
the question: If they win the election, would they accept the result? What
if they lose?
WHILE the MDC has held
primaries and confirmed 90 percent of its candidates for the watershed March
31 general polls, controversy continue to dog the intra-party elections in
Harare's Budiriro suburb. Disgruntled supporters yesterday demonstrated
against the alleged imposition by the opposition's top leadership of
incumbent MP Gilbert Shoko to represent the party in the
constituency. College Gonye, the secretary for youths in Budiriro
district, told The Daily Mirror yesterday that the MDC leadership betrayed
them when they confirmed Shoko as the party's candidate for Budiriro. "We
had agreed with the leadership that there was going to be a rerun of primary
elections in Budiriro and we were shocked to learn from the press that the
national council had endorsed Shoko as the candidate for Budiriro," Gonye
said. Budiriro MDC information and publicity officer Tranos Mubaiwa, echoed
Gonye's sentiments: "We are demonstrating against the imposition of a
candidate by the leadership of the party. We only read it in the press that
Shoko had already been confirmed as the candidate against our will. There is
something wrong with our party's top six." A district party secretary in
the area, Peter Chikwati, yesterday said they planned to meet party
president Morgan Tsvangirai over the issue this week. "Our next step is to
meet Tsvangirai early this week for a lasting solution. The Budiriro case
started on June 22 last year and was handled by different protocols of the
party. "We never bothered to present it to the press as we felt it was an
in-house issue. Even up to now, we still believe it's in-house but the
party seem to respond urgently to matters that would have been presented
through the press," said Chikwati. He claimed that their case was
presented to the national council but was ignored, hence their decision to
expose the shortcomings in the press. This is not the first time MDC
supporters in Budiriro have demanded a rerun of primary elections there. A
furore later degenerated into fistfights when Shoko was initially confirmed
candidate for Budiriro late last month. The MDC Harare province spokesperson,
Last Maengahama then acknowledged that the constituency was rife with
problems. He said the concerned individuals appealed to the national council
for recourse but had lost the plea. Welshman Ncube, the MDC secretary-general
on Friday said the council rejected the appeal by party supporters in
Budiriro against the candidacy of Shoko.
Constantine
Chimakure Assistant News Editor issue date :2005-Feb-07
HAVING cut her
teeth in politics in the late 1970s, Florence Zano Chideya feels she is now
ready to be a legislator - fighting to reclaim Harare's status as the
sunshine city.
Chideya, who was nominated Zanu PF candidate for Harare
Central for the March 31 parliamentary polls, says her ambition to become a
Member of Parliament was borne out of the desire to contribute to the
capital's socio-development. "I shall seek to play a central, catalytic
role by building a sense of community among the residents of the
constituency through proactive interaction with leaders of such interest
groups as the churches, schools, clubs, associations and tertiary
institutions, among others," adds Chideya. Apart from that Chideya - the
managing director of African Adventures Travel Agency - says she would
establish relevant programmes and projects designed to improve the lives of
the people, with possible assistance from the corporate sector. She says
she would actively encourage the promotion of wealth-creation by
spearheading the development of small- and medium-scale enterprises in a
systematic way. But what are her chances of winning the parliamentary
polls, given the background that the MDC drew most of its support in urban
areas and that currently Harare Central constituency is in the hands of the
opposition? "My chances of winning are very good," Chideya says, confidently.
"We have got our own approach to appeal to voters. We are working very
hard." Chideya, married to former Zimbabwe ambassador to Sweden and High
Commissioner to Britain and Ireland, Ngoni Chideya, says her only worry was
voter apathy. "The only problem might be voter apathy, but we are going
to approach each and every voter in the constituency to exercise his or her
right to vote," explains Chideya, a mother of two. She says she is not
afraid of taking any party in the parliamentary polls head-on and claimed
that some members of opposition parties were defecting to Zanu PF because
the party "has a fabulous history". Chideya is a British-trained state
registered nurse, and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration
from the State University of New York, Buffalo in the United States (1976)
and also have a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration from the
University of Zimbabwe (1991). On media reports that three aspiring Zanu PF
candidates - William Nhara, Fenias Fundira and a Musarurwa - were forced to
stand down and pave way for her nomination, the jovial Chideya declined to
comment and referred all questions to the party's provincial chairperson,
Amos Midzi. "What I know is that I followed the party procedure. I think
that question can be answered better by my chairman," she says. However,
The Daily Mirror is reliably informed that her three rivals failed to meet
Zanu PF's election guidelines and were disqualified to run in the party's
primaries by Harare's provincial co-ordinating committee, chaired by Midzi,
leaving her to stand unopposed. Said Chideya: "As one who lives and works in
the central business district, the heart of Harare, there are some
challenges which I intend to address when elected into Parliament, among
them is the flight of businesses to suburbia." She adds that she would
address the shrinking capital base resulting in rising unemployment,
particularly among the youth, uncontrolled ever-escalating rentals and
utility costs making it difficult for the new entrepreneurs to establish
themselves, the plight of street families and the HIV and Aids
scourge. The Bulawayo-born Chideya served as the first Zanu PF secretary for
the former Mashonaland East Province, which is now Harare in 1978. A year
later she acted as the chairperson of the province, until she joined the
civil service soon after independence in 1980. She worked at the
University of Zimbabwe's Student Health Service between 1978 and 1980,
before moving to the then ministry of health and later ministry of industry
and technology between 1980 and 1991 when her husband was appointed
ambassador to Sweden. "During our stay in Sweden and later Britain, we
sourced a lot of resources to prop up our health delivery and education
system. As a result of my background in health, I sourced health materials,
while my husband as an educationist sourced books," Chideya says with
nostalgia. Apart from being a businesswoman, Chideya is also into charity and
seats on boards of a number of charitable organisations. Among them are:
Trustee President's Fund, chairperson of Lotto Charity Disbursement
Committee, board member of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, life
member of the Jairos Jiri Association, life member St Giles Rehabilitation
Centre, board member Children's Performing Arts Workshop and member, Harare
chapter of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC). While abroad
she participated in a number of organisations, including chairperson of the
diplomatic spouses' group in Sweden, president of the Association of Wives
of African Heads of Mission and member of the International Committee of the
Red Cross (UK). "I actively sourced support for many Zimbabwean charities
whilst abroad on diplomatic assignment," she recalls confidently.
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development have attacked the Law
Society of Zimbabwe for a constitutional challenge it mounted against the
Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Act. Under the
Act, lawyers are compelled to report on their client's "suspicious
information," especially on large cash transactions, collect information
from them and other sources and pass it onto the government even without
their knowledge or approval. Last month, the legal practitioners' body
lodged the constitutional application with Supreme Court opposing the act on
grounds that it turns them into " state agents" and " whistleblowers". "The
recording, reporting and disclosure requirements conscript legal
practitioners to act as state agents, contrary to their client's interests.
They do so by requiring lawyers to collect information that may not be
required for the representation of the client.it is not necessary to turn
lawyers into whistle blowers," read part of their affidavit. However, in
separate notices of opposition filed by the RBZ and the finance ministry,
the former said the society application was " confounding", while the later
said the LSZ "was shooting itself in the foot." In his opposing affidavit,
Jean Maguranyanga the central bank's company secretary said: " It is my
humble submission that it is nothing short of confounding that an august
body such as the applicant should declare that there is no money laundering
in this country when it is so flagrant that it would slap one in the face.
Availing more money to law enforcement agents as the applicant suggests
would be trying to cure and not to prevent the disease." He added that
although section 11 of the Zimbabwe Constitution grants fundamental rights
to individuals, these rights have certain checks and balances. On the other
side, Willard Manungo, the permanent secretary in the ministry of finance
said: " By alleging that the Act tends to make legal practitioners whistle
blowers the Law Society is literally shooting itself in the foot. Requiring
someone to be a whistleblower does not infringe that person's right to a
fair trial." He added that the argument given by the lawyers that
lawyer-client privilege and confidentiality would be violated was not
true. "For instant bankers are bound under the common law to maintain
customer confidentiality pertaining to any transaction going through the
customer's account, or the state of the account, can they also not argue
that they should be spared from their obligations under this act? This may
render the whole Act useless," added Manungo. The Supreme Court is yet to
set the date to hear the case.
Cattle rustlers have become daring in Murehwa District in
Mashonaland East Province, stealing a total of more than 18 beasts last
month. Most of the cattle were stolen from Marowa village and reportedly
taken to Shamva where it is suspected that there could be a ready market for
the beasts. Assistant Inspector Whisper Bondai said the police were
working tirelessly throughout the country to make sure that all culprits are
brought to book. "The problem of cattle rustling is all over in the country,
but the police are making efforts to make sure that all the culprits are
brought to book," Bondai said. Cases of cattle rustling were also rampant
in Chipinge district. Police in Chipinge said most of the stolen cattle were
driven into Mozambique where they were sold. Police deputy officer
commanding Chipinge district, Superintendent Isaac Muchaonyerwa said
villages along the border now have anti-stock theft groups that patrol along
the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border. "The police will make sure that the rustlers
are dealt with accordingly," Muchaonyerwa said. Cases of cattle rustling
have increased throughout the country, with statistics showing that 13 000
beasts were stolen in 2004. Police has since launched several initiatives to
curb stock theft, leading to the recovery of about 1 000 beasts last
December. The operations were targeting butcheries and abattoirs, which
provide a ready market for stolen cattle.