Price controls feared as Mugabe fires finance chief

Financial Times

By Tony Hawkins in Harare

Published: February 8 2007 02:00 | Last updated: February 8 2007 02:00

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe fired Herbert Murerwa, his finance
minister, and demoted Joseph Made, the agriculture minister, yesterday.

No reason was given for the changes but it appears Dr Murerwa has been
dismissed for pursuing economic policies Mr Mugabe has dismissed as
"bookish" and for failing to co-operate closely enough with Gideon Gono, the
central bank governor.

Shortly after last November's budget, Mr Mugabe took the unusual step of
criticising publicly the long-standing finance minister for failing to spend
enough money.

This appeared an unfair criticism since total government spending last year
exceeded 70 per cent of gross domestic product, and the budget deficit for
the year was a record 44 per cent of GDP.

Mr Murerwa himself was understood to be relieved at his dismissal.

Last week, he pointedly disassociated himself from the central bank's
monetary policy statement which announced a four-month prices and income
freeze to take effect on March 1 by failing to attend a presentation by Mr
Gono, a Mugabe favourite.

He is replaced by Mr Samuel Mumbengegwi, who after being demoted in a
previous reshuffle by the president from his post as minister for industry
and international trade has been rehabilitated in the very senior post of
finance minister.

The appointment will be unpopular with the private sector where he is
remembered as a keen advocate of state intervention and specifically of
price controls. His appointment but days ahead of the announcement of the
January inflation figure, which is expected to exceed 1,400 per cent, is
seen as a precursor of Draconian controls on prices and incomes.

In its monthly inflation report yesterday, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
said the cost of living for a family of six rose 87 per cent in the month of
January, driven by higher food prices and school fees.

The creation of yet another ministry - agricultural engineering and
mechanisation - to accommodate Mr Made, underlines the government's refusal
to acknowledge the need for the deep spending cuts recommended by the
International Monetary Fund.

Businesspeople were disappointed at the narrow scope of the reshuffle but
opposition politicians showed little interest. A member of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change said: "Like previous Mugabe reshuffles, it
was a matter of reshuffling dead wood in the hope it might do less harm."

Analysts expect little change to policy except that the price controls Mr
Murerwa opposed will be resuscitated and strengthened.

The dazed and tired boxer who won't quit

New Zimbabwe

By Dr Alex T. Magaisa
Last updated: 02/08/2007 14:43:11
READING through Governor Gideon Gono's latest Monetary Policy Statement
conjured up the image of a boxer, who, having been floored repeatedly by a
series of hard punches, struggles to his feet, only managing to beat the
referee's count by a whisker.

Dazed, tired and visibly confused, the boxer casts hesitant looks at his
corner as if to ask them to throw in the towel but tries hard nonetheless,
to put up a show of determination. He nods repeatedly when the referee asks
if he is ready to continue, peering through half-closed eyes, wiping of
sweat and blood.

The boxer knows it's all over but convinces himself that he is fine and
persists with his show of resistance, throwing wild punches in every
direction, hoping somehow to catch the opponent.

It is, at once, admirable and painful; admirable, for the visible show of
determination but also a painful spectacle, watching a man committing folly
knowing fully well, the futility of the exercise. It seems to me, that
Governor Gono, like the beleaguered boxer, is casting those resigned looks
to his corner, though, like every warrior in the ring, he cannot be seen to
succumb of his own volition. He therefore has to put up a show of defiant
optimism, knowing all the while that the game is up. More than once in the
last three years, the Governor has risen from the floor, to present a show
of determination. Words, words and more words, but to no avail.

Arthur Mutambara and Tendai Biti have both provided eloquent critiques of
the Governor's latest attempt at presenting the Monetary Policy Statement,
which in substance, was no more than a political statement. It is the
political significance of his speech that is of interest in this article.

The Governor has not in the past presented such a damning verdict on the
state of the economy and in particular, he has not shown readiness to admit,
at least publicly, that the economic problems are results of the on-going
political problems and cannot therefore be solved in isolation. In the past,
he appeared to be willing to only play along with the ruling party official
line, that the problems of the country are largely results of evil external
machinations. If in the past he has recognised the domestic shortcomings, he
has done so without express detail and then only when blame was being
allocated to others.

The fact that the Governor has made this political statement, at this
critical time, only a year prior to a Presidential election, is indicative
firstly, of his own coming to terms with reality, which he must have known
but shied away from all along and secondly, of the dynamics of the balance
of power in the ruling establishment. There is an admission here, some would
argue, that the fire-fighting strategies of the past three years have failed
and that what is required is a complete overhaul, a restart to the building
process, now that the structure has literally fallen apart.

The significance of Governor Gono's speech lies in its symbolism, coming as
it did, only a fortnight after another important speech by Justice Makarau,
the Judge President, whose efforts I applauded in these pages, only a few
weeks ago. In that article, I compared favourably the speech of Justice
Makarau, the legal gatekeeper, as against the events at the RBZ (which
Governor Gono heads), the financial gatekeeper, during the furore about the
purchase of a luxurious automobile for the Governor.

It is a small step but certainly one in the right direction, that the
Governor, has, like Justice Makarau made public his thoughts about the
political problems that have eroded not only the economic but social
foundations of the nation. It is to be hoped that this small step will be
followed by further acknowledgement of errors made in the recent past;
errors that can still be corrected. The symbolism is that, within the space
of two weeks, at least two key officials serving key state institutions have
publicly pronounced, what every man and woman in the street has been saying
for the past few years. Every process of rehabilitation and change begins
with acknowledging and accepting reality.

There is one other subtle question, arising from the suggestion that, given
his position and the visible support which his office has enjoyed from
higher offices in recent years, that surely, Governor Gono could not have
just spoken as he did, literally acknowledging failure, without the approval
or consent of those higher offices. The Governor has not been publicly
admonished for making such admissions, which must surely add credence to the
view that his speech was not an unpleasant surprise to the higher offices of
the nation. If it was known that he would say what he said, what message can
be gleaned from the speech? Governor Gono calls for the resolution of the
political problem; he calls for political maturity. He even suggests that
Zanu PF cannot solve this problem on its own. But to whom is this message
addressed? Is it to the battling factions in Zanu PF or is it directed at
the opposition forces, to find a way out of this together? If so, how?
Governor Gono, and those who speak through his speech, are probably
realising that bridges burned in the last few years, now need to be rebuilt.

When Friends Desert Us

They said it was necessary to look East, from where the sun rises. We even
had our own Operation Sunrise. It was expected therefore, that those from
the East would reciprocate. It should come as an unpleasant surprise
therefore, that Mr Hu Jintao, the President of China, supposedly our supreme
friend, decided to go everywhere else in Africa , except our dear country.
No amount of spin can obscure the fact that China has effectively snubbed
the country.

The symbolism of a Presidential visit is important especially when friends
in high places are few. It is ironic that this apparent snub by China, comes
at a time when the European Union has just renewed its regime of targeted
sanctions against members of the Zimbabwe government and ruling party. That
surely must drive home very forcefully, the extent of Zimbabwe's isolation.
Even our dear friends seem to be too embarrassed to be seen publicly in our
company.

It is worth noting here that the main purpose of President Hu Jintao's visit
to Africa is to strengthen economic ties through boosting trade and
investment opportunities. The one country in Africa that desperately needs
that support and investment is Zimbabwe, yet China has not considered it
worthwhile to demonstrate publicly its commitment.

Instead China has visited South Africa, its major trading partner in Africa;
Namibia, which like Zimbabwe, has valuable mineral resources but has the
advantage of political and economic stability and growing international
goodwill; Zambia, which has the copper that China sorely needs for its
growing energy and manufacturing industry needs; the Sudan, which, despite
having a very sore spot in Darfur, nonetheless boasts of huge oil reserves,
of which China is the main consumer. President Jintao is also going to
Mozambique, another neighbour, enjoying political stability and economic
growth. In short, the Chinese president is visiting four of our neighbours,
who are quietly moving on, in most cases via human capital derived from
Zimbabwe.

Which reminds me of the Shona proverb, which says that, "nhamo youmwe
hairegererwi sadza", meaning that life must go on, regardless of problems
afflicting another, which is exactly what our neighbours are doing. You
would have thought that a small country supposedly waging an heroic battle
would receive the solidarity of its friends. Yet, South Africa, Zambia,
Mozambique and our most vocal cheerleader in recent times, Namibia are
silently chewing the benefits, while Zimbabwe descends into the abyss. This
episode must provide bitter but welcome lessons about the dynamics of
international relations and hopefully we can learn play the game better. But
on another note, could this snub be seen as a message from our Chinese
friends, indicating displeasure and discomfort at the political and economic
situation in the country?

But something else caught my attention - which depicts the problem of
spending funds on unnecessary prestige projects, a problem that I discussed
at length in last week's article. Media reports suggest that China will
provide an interest free loan to the Sudan for purposes of constructing a
Presidential Palace. One only has to cast an eye at the sorry situation
obtaining in the Darfur region of the Sudan, to understand the magnitude of
the problem of misplaced priorities. China wants oil to boost production and
its economy but is willing to fund the building of a Presidential palace in
the land of the suffering.

Cabinet reshuffle

Yet another cabinet reshuffle but nothing really, in terms of change. There
is little reason to get excited. It is disappointing that a country that is
27 years into independence, still does not have room for a new generation of
leaders, with the ideas and energy to take the country into the future. One
way to look at cabinet reshuffles is simply that they are political
mechanisms at the leader's disposal, designed not to create any real changes
but to harness the support and loyalty of the ministers who benefit from the
system, by demonstrating that the leader has power and keeping their
positions insecure.

Martin Meredith says in The State of Africa, that "ministers [are] regularly
rotated and reshuffled to keep them off-balance and to prevent them from
becoming a threat".

They become vociferous praise-singers who do not tell the leader the truth
and those that do are either re-assigned to Mickey-Mouse ministries or
removed completely. In the company of sycophants, it is not surprising that
the leader often loses all sense of reality, as they try to move him as far
as possible, away from the truth.

But even accepting the futility of the whole exercise, how is a man, who
allegedly apportioned blame for the shortage of fertiliser to a poor monkey
that supposedly interfered with the power lines leading to the
malfunctioning of a transformer; the same man who predicted a bumper harvest
on the basis of an aerial view of crop fields; how is he considered fit and
proper to lead a ministry responsible for agricultural engineering and
mechanisation?

Dr Magaisa can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk

Inflation is Now Illegal

The Daily Reckoning

Extract...

Posted by Bill Bonner on Feb 8th, 2007
Poor Zimbabwe. "The big problem about Zimbabwe," said a political analyst
who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, "is that the one thing
you can't rig is the economy. When it fails, it fails. And you can have
unpredictable effects."

What could happen in Harare is a revolution or a military coup. People are
getting sick of inflation rates over 1,000%. Last month, inflation hit a new
high, at over 1,200%. People complain that bus fares take up their entire
salaries. Food is becoming scarce (farmers get fuel at a preferentially low
price. then sell it on the black market for 10 times as much). Teachers, and
even doctors and nurses are on strike. And the police are threatening to
riot.

But leave it to the politicians and economists to come up with a solution.
The Central Bank of Zimbabwe announced this week that henceforth inflation
would be illegal. Anyone who raises prices will be arrested.

Chinese aid to Africa may do more harm than good

Mail and Guardian

      08 February 2007 07:46

            Britain has warned China that its offer of billions of dollars
in unconditional aid and cheap loans to African governments risks driving
back into debt countries that have only just benefited from debt relief, and
undermines efforts to create democratic and accountable administrations.

            The International Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, on a visit
to Malawi, told the Guardian that Britain has already made its concerns
known to Beijing but that it is planning to "ratchet up" the level of
representation on the issue.

            But Benn also criticised the World Bank for tying financial
support to African countries to ideologically driven economic policies such
as privatisation.

            His warning comes as the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, completes
a 12-day tour of African countries in which he handed out hundreds of
millions of dollars in investment, loans and aid. Beijing has promised
$5-billion in soft loans and grants to African states in the coming years as
China increases trade with the continent.

            Benn said the Chinese money could do more harm than good. "If
countries are borrowing to the extent that their debt becomes unsustainable
then that undermines all the work that has been done in trying to tackle
unsustainable debt. The issue for debt is not debt per se, it's can you
afford it?" he said.

            "The other issue is governance because in the end China, with
all its increasing stake in Africa, has just the same interest as the rest
of the world -- and the people of Africa -- have in good governance. We need
to talk more to China about how we can work together because we both have
the same interests, which are the development of Africa as a continent."

            Benn said China's failure to match the conditions placed on aid
by countries such as Britain -- including evidence of good governance,
respect for human rights and spending directed to alleviate poverty -- could
set back progress toward democratic administrations.

            "Building accountability and responsiveness is in the end how
these countries are going to develop," he said.

            Benn added that one of the problems in raising these concerns
with China was who to raise them with. "It's not always easy to know whose
door to knock on, who's in charge of this," he said.

            China bills its involvement as a "strategic partnership with
Africa, featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win
cooperation". It is a message tailored to suggest that China will not demand
democratic reforms, good governance and anti-corruption drives as a
condition for aid and trade.

            Instead China says it "respects African countries' independent
choice of the road of development". Critics say that is a way of justifying
doing business with abusive regimes such as in Zimbabwe and Sudan.

            Zimbabwe is in negotiations with China over a $2-billion loan to
prop up its collapsing economy under the burden of inflation running at
about 1 000%. Western governments, banks and international financial
institutions have cut off support.

            Hu has announced hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trade,
investment and aid to African countries during his tour. Cameroon alone
received $100-million in grants and loans, although the terms were not
immediately made public.

            Benn's concerns echo those voiced by the president of the World
Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, who last year described China's lending policies in
Africa as "a problem" that risked driving African countries back into the
debt trap.

            But Benn had his own criticisms of the World Bank and other
lenders that tie financial support to ideological economic policies such as
privatisation.

            "It's not right and proper in my view to say that you've got to
open up your trade in return for our development assistance or for
ideological reasons we think you should privatise these industries. We
stopped that," he said.

            Britain dropped such requirements six years ago but still ties
aid to a proven commitment to reduce poverty, such as increased spending on
health and education, the upholding of human rights and evidence of good
governance, such as fighting corruption.

            "For me that's the right kind of conditionality and I've been
having discussions with the World Bank to try and persuade them to follow
suit and we've made some progress," said Benn. - Guardian Unlimited ©
Guardian News and Media Limited 2006

Fraud charges hang over new Air Zimbabwe boss

New Zimbabwe

By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 02/08/2007 14:09:35
PETER Chikumba, the former Air Namibia CEO sacked after corruption
allegations is the new chief executive officer for Air Zimbabwe.

Captain Oscar Madombwe held the position in an acting capacity.

Zimbabwe's Transport Minister Chris Mushowe announced the new appointment
late Wednesday.

Chikumba, a Zimbabwean national, quit as CEO of Air Namibia after he was
suspended on fraud allegations. He opted to resign, and airline officials
did not pursue the charges.

Ironically, Chikumba was known to pray before meetings with senior Air
Namibia managers, "asking God to help him and his team to rid Air Namibia of
fraud and corruption".

In Namibia, Chikumba -- who also worked as the International Air Transport
Association's regional director for Africa -- faced accusations of fiddling
with his work permit to secure its extension. He used the work permit to
obtain a new contract with Air Namibia.

Other allegations related to the irregular issuing of flight tickets,
unauthorised night flights, claims of huge losses incurred in Gambia and
foggy transactions in the acquisition of parts for Air Namibia's Fokker
F.28.

The Gambian losses related to an arrangement entered between Air Namibia and
the bankrupt Gambia International Airlines for a joint venture, and Chikumba
was posted to Gambia to head the operation. Air Namibia pulled out of the
venture after posting massive losses.

With over 30 years aviation experience, few can match Chikumba's CV in the
industry. But questions will be asked how a man who was never cleared of
fraud charges in Namibia can take over at crisis-hit Air Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's central bank has recommended to the government to dispose of its
interest in Air Zimbabwe, which is wholly state-owned, in order to raise
much needed foreign currency to kick-start the economy.

The Zimbabwean government has talked about plans to privatise dozens of
state firms, but analysts claim it holds onto the unprofitable enterprises
as part of a political patronage programme.

Air Zimbabwe has huge debts and has been hit by declining standards.
Regional and domestic flights are routinely cancelled due to constant
breakdowns, the shortage of fuel and in cases, because Air Zimbabwe has
failed to pay landing fees.

Chikumba has not spoken after his appointment, but he is known to be
critical of African airlines, which he says are "not being run as commercial
enterprises but as national status symbols".

"Many countries in Africa need air services, not airlines," he once said.
"Airlines are heavily capital intensive and are expensive to run."

Chikumba has also been an advocate for market-driven pricing, urging that
"airlines must drive their costs down and the market must determine
pricing."

But in an inflationary environment like Zimbabwe where inflation is close to
1 300%, he faces a tough battle to keep ticket prices stable.

Broadly, Chikumba has urged African airlines to aim for "truly global
enterprises" and "eliminate national ownership limits".

He said: "Let airlines do like other industries do, access international
capital markets and create truly global enterprises. Airlines should be free
to merge and approach the international finance markets for capital.

"Globalisation must eliminate national ownership limits where they represent
an obstacle to development. Certain states may wish to keep a golden share
to make sure their national interests are taken into account."

Mugabe, officials loot US$20million

The Zimbabwean

(08-02-07)
BY ITAI DZAMARA
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe and his officials have been breaching
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) regulations by not returning funds issued
each time they travel official business. Since 1980 it is estimated they
have prejudiced the state by up to US$20 million.
Successive Reserve Bank governors, including Gideon Gono, have failed to
stop this form of looting.
RBZ officials said the allowances were issued to cover possible emergencies,
such as a coup, that may prevent the officials from returning home. The
amount was separate from the general travel business allowance.
Investigations by The Zimbabwean have revealed that a number of senior RBZ
employees were tortured by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and
subsequently dismissed during the 1990s after they had compiled statistics
showing figures of what Mugabe and other officials owed the bank in
un-surrendered funds.
The document, a copy of which is in our possession, threatened to bring the
matter into the open. One of the architects of the protest, who spoke to
this paper on condition of anonymity, said he and his colleagues were
arrested by the CIO and tortured before being dismissed with stern warnings.
"The president and other senior government officials have not been returning
funds from the Contingency Account number 020-12500 since 1980," reads part
of the document. "We have compiled the statistics and believe that these
funds must be recovered from the individuals who should have surrendered
them on their return. The amount owed to the bank by the president and other
government officials is about US$8 million and must be recovered by the
bank."
Efforts to obtain comment from former RBZ governors, Kombo Moyana and
Leonard Tsumba were not successful.
However, a former deputy director revealed in confidence that his boss had
tried to address the issue but "the CIO informed him clearly that he had to
leave the issue as it was".
Gono has allowed the system to continue, sources at the central bank said.
Efforts over the past two weeks to obtain comment from him have not yielded
anything, despite repeated apologies and promises by his personal assistant
that he would respond to the formal list of questions sent to him as
requested.
A former minister in Mugabe's government also confirmed the looting of funds
from the Contingency Account. "That is true and anyone who has been there
(in government) has benefited. That is why everyone wants to travel on state
business," he said.

Unions reject Gono's social contract

The Zimbabwean

BY GIFT PHIRI, STAFF REPORTER
HARARE - Zimbabwe is gearing up for the imposition of price controls "on all
commodities, goods and services, produced wholly or substantially". Price
and wage restraint is part of a social contract the Reserve Bank hopes will
be adopted by labour unions and employers.
It is part of a new populist strategy RBZ governor Gideon Gono hopes will
enable President Robert Mugabe to win back the support of millions of
Zimbabweans reeling from a deepening economic crisis many blame on the
octagenarian's 27-year rule.
Since the announcement of the monetary policy statement by Gono last week
Wednesday, in which the social contract was announced, some aspects of the
plan are already in place and others are taking shape.
Interest rates have been so set that the yield on money market instruments
is at least 45 percentage points below the inflation rate of 1,281 percent.
Bank lending rates are also hugely negative and the government is trying to
finance its growing domestic debt by issuing five-year government loan stock
at an interest rate of about 500 per cent - or less than half the inflation
rate.
The social contract that Gono hopes will save Zimbabwe's crisis-torn economy
includes doubling minimum pay for urban employees, while imposing price
controls on basic items. These include the staple food, maize meal, cooking
oil, bread, flour, milk, meat and paraffin. Bus fares, rents and water
charges are also listed for a form of "price restraint".
Despite these populist measures, the trade unions have rejected the
contract, while employers make little secret of their opposition to a plan
they say cannot work.
The government's part of the bargain is to cut inflation to three digit
figures within the time-frame of the accord, or by June, to cut the budget
deficit, and to "continually introduce tax incentives - especially for
exports - and boost disposable incomes".
Political analysts describe the social contract as part of the government's
wider plan to mollify a restive nation angered by a deepening economic
crisis. Few believe the ploy will work.

War vets demand benefits

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - Zimbabwe's liberation war fighters, who in 1998 were awarded lump
sum gratuities of Z$50,000 and monthly pensions after arm-twisting the
government, are now pushing for more benefits which they say they are
entitled to.
Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association (ZNWVA) provincial chairman
Elphas Chitera told a meeting of the ex-guerillas in the capital last week
that liberations war fighters should agitate for more benefits and better
pensions in light of hyperinflation, which they said had eroded into their
incomes.
Chitera also told his colleagues that ex-combatants are also entitled to
free education and health, land and interest free loans. He criticised the
government for making false promises, saying the above benefits were only on
paper and nothing else is being done to effect them.

'New' farmers abandon land

The Zimbabwean

(08-02-07)
"Mugabe has betrayed us"
HARARE - Thousands of new farmers who grabbed white-owned farms in Zimbabwe
in the biggest mass occupation of recent times are leaving their stolen land
and walking home.
They feel betrayed by Robert Mugabe, the faltering, 82-year-old President
whose government lured the urban poor into the countryside with pledges that
they would share not only lands once known as the breadbasket of Africa, but
also food and petrol that would be essential to survive while they fed the
nation.
The supplies have not arrived amid a fuel crisis so severe that commuters
have been involved in fistfights at petrol stations. Other who took up work
on grabbed farms cannot cope with their meager incomes. They told a
Parliamentary portfolio committee last week that the $8,500 they were
earning monthly was grossly insufficient.  More than 250,000 farm workers
countrywide are on go-slow right now.
When the land rush began in 2000, prompted by Mugabe's cynical attempt to
distract attention from the country's economic woes and from his own failure
to win a constitutional referendum that would have extended his rule by a
decade, up to 70,000 people stepped onto state-sponsored buses that ferried
them to the farm gates.
That was the last State aid many hapless squatters saw.
General Agriculture Plantations Workers Union of Zimbabwe organising
secretary Edward Dzeka told The Zimbabwean that the new farmers who grabbed
white-owned farms were paying farm workers "peanuts."
"Farm workers are not monkeys who live on peanuts," said Dzeka. At Cremer
Farm in Chegutu, a farming and mining town 100kms due west of Harare, farm
workers had downed their tools demanding better pay. They are currently
earning $8,320. They want their salaries increased to only $24,000.
During the 2005/2006 agricultural season, as many as 2,000 of the 3,500
white-owned farms were under occupation, but last week, according to
confidential official estimates, the number of squatters was down to 58,000
on 1,400 farms.
There is a pattern here that is unnerving Mugabe's Development Cabinet, if
not the increasingly detached president himself. Most of the farms still
occupied are in Mashonaland, his tribal stronghold between Harare, the
capital, and the northern borders towards Zambia.
But towards the borders with Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique, local
people are crossing the border in droves while many have abandoned their
farms and are going into gold panning and smuggling.

ZESA wants 300% tariff hike

The Zimbabwean

(08-02-07)
HARARE - The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) board has resolved
to hike tariffs by about 300% in the face of serious viability problems and
a debt of over Z$500 billion.
Sources in the board said the increase proposal had been submitted to
government for approval, and it was hoped the changes would come into effect
next month.
The chairman, Christopher Chetsanga, said an increase was possible anytime:
"We have been charging sub-economic rates and that has affected us a lot. So
an increase in tariffs is one of the ways to solve the crisis."
The country faces a total blackout anytime due to low production at local
power plants and a potential switch-off by international suppliers. - Own
correspondent

ZESA board begs govt not to sell

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - The board and management of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (ZESA) have requested a meeting with Cabinet to discuss the
implications of splitting Hwange power plant and offering more than half of
it to a Malaysian company, YTL Corporation.
The ZESA board and management, which admitted a fortnight ago that it was in
debt to an excess of Z$105 billion, feels the deal does not make economic
sense if implemented in present form.
The ZESA board and management met in Harare last week to discuss how best to
convince President Robert Mugabe and his cabinet that the Z$10,2 trillion
Hwange deal would not benefit ordinary Zimbabweans in the long term if
implemented in the way Malaysians are suggesting.
A ZESA board meeting chaired by the chairman, Professor Christopher
Chetsanga, resolved to request a no-holds barred meeting with Mugabe and his
cabinet so that they could weigh the advantages and disadvantages of going
ahead with the sale of 51 percent of Hwange to YTL Corporation.
The Affirmative Action Group has also spoken strongly against the YTL/Hwange
deal and warned the government not to sell strategic installations to
foreigners as this would cost the country dearly in future.
YTL Corporation was awarded the Hwange shares without going to tender, and
Mugabe defended his government's action saying it was done in the spirit of
South-South co-operation.
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono last week said Zimbabwe stands to earn
US$3 billion from the sale of its loss-making parastatals. - Business
reporter

ZBH under fire

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - The state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), is reported
to be facing a serious cash flow problem in the face of competition from
satellite television, and has hiked its television licence fees to a
shocking $150,000 per annum.
The huge hike in licence fees has drawn howls of protests from viewers who
feel the fee is too hefty considering ZBH's shoddy programming. Besides,
this is even way above the average income of a professional at ZBH.
Acting Information minister Paul Mangwana also slammed ZBH's programming
during a workshop attended by journalists in Midlands last week, saying the
national broadcaster would lose more viewers if it continued dishing out its
half-baked programmes.
Just last month the national broadcaster paid its workers almost six days
late amid reports the cash squeeze at the institution was deepening.
According to our sources, ZBH owes the Income Tax Department millions in
taxes deducted from its employees but not forwarded to the department. The
corporation also owes Old Mutual, an insurance company, in pension
contributions.
Both the Department of Taxes and Old Mutual are said to have taken tough
measures to recover their money, thereby plunging the corporation into
deeper financial crisis. The situation is said to be so bad that ZBH is
reportedly mulling selling all its apartments in the capital city Harare, as
well as those in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, in a desperate attempt to
raise money. And last week taps were dry at the national broadcaster's
Pockets Hills Studios amid reports water authority ZINWA had cut off water
supplies over late payment.
The national broadcaster is also said to be considering retrenching 300
workers in a restructuring exercise. The exercise, reportedly instigated by
the unbundling of ZBH's  strategic business units, has already claimed the
scalp of Newsnet co-editor-in-chief Chris Chivinge. The new CEO Henry
Muradzikwa's turnaround efforts are said to be frustrated by Information
ministry perm sec George Charamba, who is reportedly refusing to implement
his recommendations. Muradzikwa could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, a Newsnet TV provincial bureau chief is facing rape charges.
Newsnet's Masvingo bureau chief Nathaniel Mlambo was last week dragged into
police custody on rape charges.

NRZ facing collapse

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - Hardly two weeks after revelations of serious viability problems at
the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) were revealed and raised
serious fears of a total blackout, it has emerged that another state-run
institution, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) also faces a possible
stop of operations.
The Zimbabwean is in possession of financial statements from the national
railway operator revealing that it is carrying a debt in excess of Z$300
billion, which is at risk of being cancelled by both local and regional
partners.
NRZ had, as of the end of last year, "tried in vain to implement
recapitalisation and viability enhancement programmes without success making
it difficult to clear the budget deficit of about $300 billion" according to
a document obtained from internal sources.
The Zanu (PF) administration's economic policies have been cited as the
causes of NRZ's problems, which are highlighted as "operating at huge loses
as a result of charging below-market fares and fees for any other services
whilst at the same time carrying a cumbersome salary and wages obligation".
A senior source in the NRZ finance department said the debt situation has
been gradually worsening over the past couple of years because the
government increasingly failed to inject funds into the institution as it
used to do in the past.
He added that some of the creditors from the private sector were up in arms
with NRZ over the continuously ballooning debts. - Own correspondent

UNHCR condemns Zim

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - The United Nations Human Rights Committee has strongly criticised
the Zimbabwe government in a review of the country's appalling human rights
record.
The committee, which focussed on gender discrimination, one-party dominance
and excessive use of force, expressed concern that the lack of widespread
and credible political pluralism threatens the enjoyment of democracy.
"Zimbabwe is a country with a serious democratic deficit," said the report
drafted by a committee of human rights commissioners.
The committee, a panel of 18 legal experts which reviews nations' compliance
with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is worried
that the ruling Zanu (PF) party receives a disproportionate part of public
funds and holds almost two thirds of the 150 parliamentary seats and Senate.
The Zimbabwe government was particularly taken to task over what the
committee called "recent reports of excessive use of force by the police"
and the army during peaceful labour demonstrations in September last year
which elicited a brutal and unprovoked crackdown from riot police and youth
militia.
The committee also asked for an independent investigation into reports of
excessive use of force by government agencies in Matabeleland and the
Midlands provinces mostly inhabited by the country's roughly two million
minority Ndebele tribe.

Unicef's plans for "A generation of orphans"

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) plans to pump almost
US$14 million into Zimbabwe in a desperate attempt to alleviate the
suffering of women and children caused by the failed economic policies of
the Mugabe regime and massive corruption.
The organisation's Humanitarian Action report for 2007 says the overall goal
of its next five-year Country Programme is to promote the right of every
Zimbabwean child to equitable access to good quality services, including
health, water, sanitation and hygiene, basic education, and protection. The
programme places orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS at
its centre.
The report says gender-based violence is one of the key challenges in the
current humanitarian situation. "Families affected by 'Operation
Murambatsvina' were exposed to sexual exploitation and abuse as they tried
to access basic humanitarian aid. The vulnerability of internally displaced
persons was compounded by factors such as inadequate social protection
mechanisms in the new settlements and acute decline in opportunities for
livelihoods."
Key statistics highlighted in the report include the following:
-Zimbabwe is one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV epidemic, with an
adult seroprevalence rate estimated at 20.1 per cent.
-An estimated 1.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in 2005.
-More than half of all new infections occur among young people, especially
girls.
-Life expectancy has dropped from 61 years during the early 1990s to 34
years at the end of 2005, creating a generation of orphans.
-75% of the estimated 1.4 million orphans in Zimbabwe in 2005 have been
orphaned by AIDS.
-In 2007 alone, 130,000 children will lose one or both parents, and orphans
will account for 25 per cent of children.
-The maternal mortality ratio increased from 283 deaths per 100,000 live
births in 1995 to 1,100 per 100,000 live births in 2004.
-The proportion of children who had not received any vaccination increased
from 12 per cent in 1999 to 21 per cent in 2006.
-29.4 per cent of under-five children are stunted.
-Acute malnutrition has remained relatively static at around 6 per cent
since 1999.
-In rural areas, 17,068 communal water supply facilities (24 per cent) are
currently not functioning.
-This means a daily shortage of safe water supply for some 2.5 million
people.
-Zimbabwe continues to experience cholera epidemics that have affected 27
rural districts and Harare city between November 2005 and June 2006, with a
total of 1,034 cases and 70 deaths reported.
-The textbook/pupil ratio is 1:8 for 2 million primary school-aged children
and 1:16 for 1.5 million secondary schoolchildren aged 13-18 years.
- Only 42 per cent of pupils pass their grade 7 exams.
Unicef says its health sector activities, including immunization, supply of
mosquito nets, health worker training and nutrition education, will improve
the lives of 2 million children and women in Zimbabwe.
Water projects, such as the rehabilitation of water points, emergency
assistance with epidemics, construction of latrines and provision of
chemicals, are expected to reach four million people.
The education programme will rehabilitate 50 satellite schools at temporary
and new settlements arising from population movements and provide cash
grants with a focus on girls and disabled children.
Unicef aims to tackle the domestic violence problem through advocacy and
social mobilization for the implementation of the new Domestic Violence Act
at district and community level, developing the capacity of the police and
judiciary to ensure victim-friendly services and establishing child
protection committees at district levels.

No forex for food imports

The Zimbabwean

(08-02-07)
HARARE - Zimbabwe, once a regional breadbasket, is facing chronic food
shortages due to a deepening shortages of hard currency needed to import
more than 850,000 metric tonnes of grain.
The latest report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, or FEWSNET,
painted a gloomy outlook of a nation desperately short on food. The report
said the food security would worsen markedly unless the country could
urgently raise the desperately needed hard currency to bankroll food
imports.
Preliminary reports from the crop and food supply assessment indicate that
raising hard currency in the country's current dire economic situation will
be "enormously challenging." The organization said the impact of shortages
has been exacerbated by the Grain Marketing Board state monopoly's limited
capacity to distribute throughout the country the amount of grain that is
available.
"Planned imports only cover 60 percent of the assessed gap of 850,000 MT,
and by the end of December 2006, only 28 percent of these planned imports
had been delivered," FEWSNET said. "It remains doubtful that Zimbabwe will
be able to meet import goals," the agency added.
Nonetheless, FEWSNET said the availability of maize meal, a Zimbabwean
staple, had improved, especially in southern Zimbabwe, where local grain
production shortfalls must be met with purchases from other regions.
But, "The ever-increasing cost of food and cost of living are making market
purchase to fill food gaps prohibitive," FEWSNET said. "Local maize prices
are highly correlated to local food security: areas that were assessed to
have the highest concentration of food- insecure people recorded the highest
open market grain prices" last month.
The US-based organization painted a gloomy picture for the next agriculture
season, owing to severe shortages of key inputs such as fuel and fertilizer.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has
appealed to donors for US$215 million for humanitarian aid for Zimbabwe,
predicting a deeper crisis in 2007.
"To avert a humanitarian crisis and potential famine, maize imports and the
required financing must be sourced and secured without delay," it said. -
Staff reporter

Constitution now fatally flawed

The Zimbabwean

(08-02-07)

Zanu (PF) needs only 46 of 120 contested seats to have majority in
Parliament

BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - Zimbabwe's 17-times amended constitution is arguably the most
despotic and undemocratic constitution in Africa and gives President Robert
Mugabe excessive powers that place him above the law itself, political
analysts said this week.
They spoke amid a growing clamour by political and civic groups to trash the
ceasefire document that was agreed by Mugabe's Zanu party and Ian Smith's
regime at Lancaster House in 1979.
Analysts said to a large extent, Zimbabwe's constitution was drafted by the
British administration who brokered the cease-fire which ended the war
between the Rhodesian government and black Zimbabweans who were fighting for
their independence.
It was obviously not a constitution by the people and certainly needed to be
amended in many ways, they said.
Unfortunately, the 17 amendments, which were later made to the constitution
made it even worse than it had been when Zimbabwe became independent in
1980. The amendments were done without the participation of the people, and
most of the changes were designed to give more power to the President.
The changes have made President Mugabe virtually unanswerable to anyone. As
executive president, he is the head of state, head of government,
commander-in-chief of the armed forces, chancellor of all state universities
and patron of this and that. He appoints High Court and Supreme Court
judges, police commissioners, army commanders, and permanent secretaries of
all government ministries without any obligation to listen to the public,
the judiciary or Public Service Commission.
He appoints commissions of inquiry and is not obliged to make the findings
public. Just recently Mugabe covered up a scandal at the giant steel works
at Redcliff, Ziscosteel after massive looting by his top lieutenants,
including his two, second secretaries, Joice Mujuru and Joseph Msika.
One of the most notorious changes made to the constitution was the creation
of the Political Parties Finance Act, which entitles the ruling party to
millions of public funds a year. The funding is dependent on the
opposition's proportional representation in Parliament. With the opposition
MDC with 42 of the 150 seats, this means almost two thirds of public funds
meant for Parliament goes to the governing Zanu (PF) party. Zanu Ndonga and
Professor Jonathan Moyo each get 1/150th of the fund.
The other notorious amendment to the constitution gave the president the
power to appoint 30 non-constituency MPs on top of the 120 elected ones.
This would give the ruling party an unfair advantage over other political
parties in the event of viable opposition in Parliament since those 30
non-constituency MPs chosen by the president would obviously be members of
the ruling party. This means the ruling party will need only 46 of the 120
contested seats to have a majority in Parliament.
Mugabe also appoints members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. For the
above reasons, the opposition MDC threatened to boycott the March 2005
legislative election.  Tendai Biti a constitutional lawyer and also MDC
secretary general said the Presidential Powers Act is a draconian piece of
legislation, which Mugabe has unashamedly used to benefit his political
party. He cited the shifting of the deadlines for submission of nomination
papers in elections to accommodate members of the ruling party, Zanu (PF).
Under the Presidential Powers Act, Mugabe can dissolve Parliament and rule
by decree if Parliament wanted him out office by passing a vote of no
confidence.
Another constitutional law expert, Professor Welshman Ncube, said the
unlimited powers vested in Mugabe made nonsense of trying to distinguish
between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary as Mugabe is under no
obligation to obey the Legislature and the Judiciary.
"Both the Legislature and the Judiciary can be bullied into submission
through the excessive powers the president wields," Ncube said.
Mugabe in 2005 used his powers to take away the rights of whites whose land
has been designated for acquisition from any form of legal recourse.
He also invoked his powers to search and seize currency from hapless traders
and ordinary people.
The above facts and many others too numerous to mention explain why Mugabe
is so hostile to anyone who talks about the need for a new constitution.
Masvingo Senator  Dzikamai Mavhaire, who was co-opted into the Politburo
last week, once moved a motion in Parliament calling for a review of the
constitution and the limiting of the presidential term. He was suspended
from the ruling party indefinitely, and only made a come back last year.
Perhaps he should not have been specific about his feelings on
constitutional changes, because it is the bit on calling for the limiting of
the presidential term of office, which stirred the hornet's nest. Since
Mavhaire's unceremonious suspension from the governing party, other Zanu
(PF) MPs are scared stiff to even discuss anything to do with the
constitution, lest the axe also falls on them.
However, civil society has also stepped up its pressure on government to
have the constitution changed. The National Constitution Assembly, a
coalition of human rights organisations, trade unions, Christian
organisations, business organisations and political parties has been
spearheading constitutional reform and says holding elections under the
current constitution is a waste of time. The NCA has staged a series of
demonstrations to press for its demands. The NCA says it also opposed to
President Mugabe's plan to postpone presidential elections, scheduled for
March 2008 to 2010 under the pretext of harmonization. Charismatic NCA
chairman Dr Lovemore Madhuku said: "The aim of the assembly is to create an
awareness among the people through debate on the need for a new constitution
and to contribute to a democratic change that will lay the foundation for a
transparent and accountable government."

The Zimbabwean Editorial

Strength in diversity
The Zanu (PF) politburo has resolved to sack the veteran nationalist leader
Edgar Tekere.  Most of those leading the charge were not there when Tekere
and others got together in Enos Nkala's Highfield home to form the party in
the early sixties.
Most of them did not even support Zanu in its formative years. Tekere was
jailed, along with Mugabe and others, for many years for his support and
activities on behalf of Zanu.  He suffered for many years and then fled with
Mugabe to Mozambique from where he joined others in leading the struggle.
His liberation credentials are impeccable. No amount of sacking from a
moribund party can take that away from him. He is a hero who has decided to
enrich our history with his memories of his own role and that of others in
the struggle for independence.
Some may dispute his version of history. Others may interpret events
differently. Memories fade. But to sack him from the party he played a key
role in founding is despicable.
This is proof enough, if ever any was needed, that Zanu (PF) is intolerant -
and as such deserves to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Therein lies Zimbabwe's fundamental problem - a total lack of tolerance of
any dissenting viewpoints.
If we are ever to move forward, Zimbabweans as a people have to learn that
we can agree to disagree, and still be patriotic Zimbabweans with the best
interests of our country at heart.
If the only lesson we learn from our suffering is to live and let live, it
may have all been worth it. Let us learn this lesson well, teach it to our
children, bind it on our foreheads, talk about it as we walk along. Let us
never forget it - none of us has a monopoly of wisdom. There is strength in
diversity. Unity does not mean uniformity.

Zim drivers are colour blind

The Zimbabwean

If you come and visit us here in Zimbabwe, don't for one minute think that
the rules of the road apply to anyone at all... Except possibly yourself.
The Zimbabwean public has a colour problem ....red, green and orange all
mean "go" it would appear. We call our traffic lights robots, yes, like
those mechanical things that walk around with stiff legs.  It causes much
mirth with visitors, but they lose their sense of humour when they see most
people take absolutely no notice of reds and oranges.
Now, be cautioned and take my advice, do not think that green means your
right of passage, treat every robot as a stop street and proceed with
caution.
During power cuts, do not under any circumstance think that we treat our
non- functioning traffic lights as a four way stop (as they do in the rest
of the civilised world)
Oh no sirree, if the robot is not working, the law of the jungle that takes
over. The biggest, fiercest, oldest beast in the jungle wins - and it's the
fastest car to the middle.
Another bit of advice....be like everyone else in Zimbabwe and totally
ignore the pedestrian crossings. If you do the courteous thing and stop for
a pedestrian...the fellow in the next lane will take no notice and wipe out
the poor unsuspecting pedus.
The zebra stripes are illegible at any rate, they are usually on a bend or
on the brow of a hill, with no warning signs or lights, and the paint is so
faint you are highly unlikely to be able to see them.
Also you waste a lot of time trying to gently shoo a pedestrian to cross in
front of you, 'cos believe me, he ain't gonna trust you. No ways will he
believe that you are not going to put your foot flat the moment he steps on
that first white line.
Vehicle road-worthiness is another interesting aspect of Zimbabwean driving.
Who on earth would expect one to have either headlights or tail
lights...don't be silly, lights are for sissies.
Make sure you peer hard into the dark and suss the road out carefully before
crossing, as those cars without lights always come out at night, as there
are no police at night to catch them of course.
Mind you, it would appear that the police and the city council are doing
their best these days to elevate us from the status of being the wild west
of southern Africa thank goodness. Much muttering is being heard from errant
citizens who have had their cars clamped in no parking areas.
The Mayoress of Duncan Road and the musical Mayor of Townsend Road were both
seen recently trotting down to the revenue hall, to pay fines and release
their automobiles.

Letter from America

The Zimbabwean

Gono - a recent convert to common sense?
BY STANFORD MUKASA
Like a recent convert to common sense, Gono has now put his finger on the
real problem afflicting Zimbabwe - a crisis of governance.
The chickens are now coming home to roost. Gono took a swipe at Zanu (PF)
bigwigs when he, ironically using the state-owned media, ridiculed Mugabe's
propaganda refrain that sanctions and imperialists were the cause of the
country's problems.
Gono appeared to be sympathetic to the masses when he talked about the
spiralling cost of living - indeed his words were ample justification for
the wildcat strikes around the country.
Here is Mugabe's personal banker, apparently bent on betraying his chief and
the party. But was Gono genuine? Had he truly been converted?
There are two possibilities.
The first is simply that Gono is experiencing a rude awakening and realizes
he is on a wild goose chase. He now realizes he is running in circles and
very close behind his boss, the madman from Ngomahuru who, as the late
Edison Zvobgo used to refer to Mugabe, had been given a baton to pass on but
ran into the mountains where he is still running wildly.
The second and more likely possibility is that he, like other disgruntled
party officials, is playing to the public gallery.
These could be his opening shots in a bid to enter the presidential race
next year, notwithstanding the fact that Mugabe has said he will not step
down until 2010.
But more important, Gono knows that Zanu no longer enjoys the support of the
majority of people.
He also knows that, while his name keeps coming up in conversations as a
dark horse that could be pulled, like a magician's rabbit, at the last
minute to replace Mugabe, he will face a formidable opposition from the
factions within Zanu (PF).
People will not soon forget the agony of the Gono-imposed life of bearers'
cheques and economic policies that caused most people enormous hardships.
Gono may have sounded like he was trying to punish the top money traders
especially in Zanu (PF). But in reality he has viciously, and with utmost
deliberation, economically depressed Zimbabweans
Zimbabweans are also aware how Gono has accumulated considerable personal
wealth and a lifestyle beyond most of our dreams. It is reported that he is
building a 200-bedroom mansion, now travels in a mini convoy and has been
taking or plans to take flying lessons with the possibility of buying his
own private jet.
Whether these reports are true or not they are doing their rounds with
sufficient credibility to tarnish Gono's political image.
Some officials in the international community now see Gono as the hope for a
new political order that will combine at its leadership helm the moderates
in Zanu (PF) and members of the opposition movement. This idea has been
discussed for several years now. It forms the framework, at least from the
international community's perspective, for a resolution of the crisis of
governance in Zimbabwe.
But Gono is only repeating what the opposition movement has been saying for
years. The only difference is that Gono can say what he wants live on State
TV and radio and get away with it, whereas opposition members are denied the
right to use the public airwaves to express the very same criticism of
Mugabe's disastrous policies.
How does one explain this criticism by Gono while he is sitting next to
Mugabe at the gravy table? Self-interest and grand-standing are the obvious
answers.
Sadly, Zimbabweans will have to enter into some working alliance with these
disgruntled Zanu (PF) elements, as they can be useful in the struggle for
the restoration of democracy and the rule of law. But Zimbabweans must be on
guard at all times that they do not mortgage their basic human and political
rights and freedom to a new breed of oppressors.
For this reason, Zimbabwean civil society must maintain a vanguard movement
that will ensure that their civil institutions like the trade unions, women,
youth and student organizations are intact and viable in the post-Mugabe
era.
Part of the program for emancipation by the civil society should be to
strengthen and institutionalize its vanguard movement.
It was this vanguard movement that was mobilized very effectively against
attempts to rig the elections by the deposed former dictator of the
Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, in 1986.
Members of the vanguard movement organized themselves into vigilant groups
who slept at polling stations and, despite the threats from Marcos'
soldiers, linked hands and literally protected the ballot boxes from being
interfered with.

Officer cadets quit over pay

The Zimbabwean

(08-02-07)
HARARE - Scores of newly recruited officer cadets at the elite Gweru-based
Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA) have quit or are contemplating quitting in a
row over poor pay, military officials have admitted.
Scores of troops from the 500-strong second lieutenant training infantry
walked out months before completing their training. They said they were paid
less than Z$100,000 a month.
"They said they were not happy with their terms and conditions and they
didn't obey the instructions of their commanding officers," a senior
official from the ZMA administration in Gweru, told The Zimbabwean.
"Lieutenant General Phillip Sibanda has appointed a board of inquiry from
the academy's commandant to look into this issue. Usually if troops refuse
to follow orders, the authorities have no choice but to declare that they
are no longer soldiers in the ZMA battalion. I understand they are
consulting with the commander-in-chief (Mugabe)."
The Zimbabwean heard that Mugabe had been fully briefed about the near
mutiny at the Gweru infantry, and was hurriedly reviewing pay scales of all
the security forces as a result of the mass resignations.
Some of the protesting security forces were said to be held in detention
barracks awaiting court martial. Army spokesman Simon Tsatsa was not
available for comment.
Plans by the Zimbabwe National Army to demobilize junior troops and form a
conscript reserve force of war veterans have also raised a storm of protest.
Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba has reacted angrily to media reports
suggesting growing unrest in the elite Presidential Guard over poor
salaries. - Staff reporter

Cops incompetent - nurse's lawyer

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - Four nurses accused of forcing colleagues to go on strike appeared
in court this week and have been remanded in custody. The four, Zororo
Kawondera (36), Beaven Zisengwe (28), Owen Jinya (27) and Clement Manqee
(25) were not asked to plead to contravening POSA when they were hauled
before magistrate Brighton Pabwe.Defence lawyers, Charles Kwaramba of Mbidzo
Muchadehama and Makoni and Walter Bherebhende of Mavhunga and Associates
immediately made an application for refusal of remand, saying the four did
not commit any offence.
In his argument Kwaramba said police showed a high degree of incompetence in
this matter as CID Law and Order was a specialised section in the force, and
should know better on these matters.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has deplored the arrest of the four
nurses saying the police were overzealousness in dealing with the matter.
"What is more irking is the fact that government dithers in addressing
concerns raised by striking doctors and nurses and instead dwells on trivial
issues such as arresting innocent people," ZCTU secretary general Wellington
Chibebe said. - Own correspondent

ZEF to fight for justice for women

The Zimbabwean

JOHANNESBURG - The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum plans to petition the African
Commission on Human and Peoples Rights for justice for women fleeing
political persecution in Zimbabwe.
"We have already taken three cases to ACHPR and we are looking for other
avenues to seek international justice," ZEF Executive Director, Gabriel
Shumba, recently told a Women's Rights Workshop.
In partnership with the Canadian-based International Centre for Human Rights
and Democratic Development, ZEF has documented atrocities against women by
the Mugabe regime.
 "We hold the government of Zimbabwe vicariously liable for the perpetration
of violations through its agents - members of the Zanu (PF) state security
machinery such as the CIO, the army intelligence department and youth
militia, commonly known as the green bombers," said Shumba.
Further complaints will be shortly placed before the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Torture.
Several recent reports chronicle and expose the abuse of Zimbabwean women at
home and in South Africa. A report commissioned by Crisis Coalition last
year revealed that Zimbabwean women escaping from Mugabe's atrocities were
vulnerable to sexual abuse by South Africa Police.
Witwatersrand University and Zimbabwe Torture Victims Project also released
damning reports on how police were abusing Zimbabwe women coming to South
Africa. - Own correspondent

We need to wake up, stand up, speak out

The Zimbabwean

BY SIHLANGU TSHUMA
"Too heavenly minded, you of no earthly good," are the lyrics of an old
country song. It makes reference to Christians who are absorbed by the
thought of the "Sweet by and by", while turning a blind eye to the realities
about them. They pretend they hear no evil and see no evil. It is not a
secret that Christians are the largest religious group in Zimbabwe.
Christians both devoted and syncretic claim a 75% slice of the population.
This props the church on a vantage platform and gives it a pre-eminence that
Zanu (PF) would have to kill to achieve. The potency of the Christian body
has is undeniable, yet its force lies dormant behind the pulpits. Our
silence is not only deafening but lethal. It affords the despotic Mugabe and
his cronies a false feeling of exoneration.
It is not my intention to denigrate the covert service of selfless Christian
men and women who pray and labour where the Government has gone AWOL. I pay
tribute to many unsung heroes who look after the AIDS orphans and perform a
manifold of humanitarian acts. These men and women go about their altruistic
errands quietly with no pay, hoping that the one who sees in secret will
reward them on that latter day. They do their best to keep clear of the
politics of the day, while the masters of tyranny do their best to trash the
nation. How long shall these dedicated individuals shall be made to clean
someone else's mess?
Christians have always clung to the cliché, politics is a dirty game. But
when ambulances are requiring people to provide their own fuel, it ceases to
be a game. When the parents watch their beloved son bleeding to the point of
death with the hospital refusing to do anything without the admission fee it
transcends the realm of politics.
The Zimbabwean situation is now a moral issue. Hubert H. Humphrey says " the
moral test of the government is how that government treats those in the dawn
of life, the children; those in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those
in the shadows of life, the sick and the needy." Our Christian folk need to
wake up and smell the stench of death in the air and stand up to this
self-indulgent government.
We ought to have read the lips of Christ when He prayed, "Father I pray that
you do not take them from this world; but keep them safe." Although He had
earlier promised to come back and take them to His paradise home, he
nevertheless was pragmatic about the time frame of the whole process. Christ
knew that His followers would have to occupy the earth for some time. He
however had deep concerns about their safety while they remained with so
many tyrants around them. But He also expected them to be influential when
he likened them to salt. Most celebrated biblical characters were statesmen
who influenced the course of history. Therefore while we are still on earth
we need to utilise the influence that has been entrusted to us.
A generation is fast disappearing while "good people" fold their hands and
watch. Let us be warned that if we do nothing we are guilty of sins of
omission. Christianity is a fully spiritual and a practical religion. Christ
saved people from their spiritual challenges as well as their physical
circumstances. No sensible Zimbabwean can suggest blood-letting as a
solution. Christians can do it without the might of the sword or gun.
I cringe at the thought of the subsequent generation asking, "what did the
church do?" The people will lament like Ian Smith, "We were never beaten by
our enemies, but we were betrayed by our friends." I want to be there when
history books shall be written about how the church stopped the oppressor in
his tracks.
It is not by chance that Christians form three quarters of the Zimbabwean
population. We can liberate Zimbabwe, because the masses can subdue any
establishment.
I draw much inspiration from Christians who stood up to be counted. William
Wiberforce, MartinLuther King, Jr., Bishop Desmond Tutu, just to name a few.
Pius Ncube will not do it alone.

What this dying world could use is a willing Man of God
Who dares to go against the grain and works without applause;
A man who'll raise the shield of Faith, protecting what is pure;
Whose love is tough and gentle; a man whose word is sure.
God doesn't need an Orator who knows what just to say;
He doesn't need authorities to reason Him away;
He doesn't need an army to guarantee a win;
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honour once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.

Work starts on Kaukonde prison

The Zimbabwean

BY ITAI DZAMARA
MUDZI - Zanu (PF) penchant for power and populist tendencies has been
highlighted by Mashonaland East Governor, Ray Kaukonde's latest move "to
bring development to the people" by building a prison at his rural home.
The Zimbabwean has established that Kaukonde - who is increasingly getting
involved in succession manouevres in the ruling party as one of the chief
funders for the Mujuru faction - has already started constructing a prison
at his home in Nyamande Village of Mudzi.
Bewildered villagers said the governor had announced late last year that as
part of bringing development to the people, he would construct the prison.
"He made the announcement at one of the meetings but most of us thought it
was a joke," said villager Givemore Jeche.
"However, it didn't take long before work commenced and it became real that
the prison was indeed on the way. We are all shocked by him deciding to
spend a lot of money on such a project when people are suffering from a lack
of basic commodities such as food."
Kaukonde confirmed the prison project when contacted for comment but
declined to divulge more details regarding the funding and whether it was a
government or personal initiative.
An official at the Mudzi District Office, who declined to reveal her
identity, told this reporter by telephone that they were aware of the prison
project but said it was a personal venture of Kaukonde's.
Another villager was also very sceptical about Kaukonde's intentions and
raised  fears for a sinister plot.
"He must be planning to have an easy way of getting free labour for his
farm. When he started talking about the prison project last year he would
repeatedly complain about many thieves he said were stealing his riches and
said they needed to be brought to book," he said.
Kaukonde took over a commercial farm about 20 kilometres outside Harare on
the Nyamapanda highway during the government sponsored land grab. Pajero
RaRubi Farm specializes in maize and soya bean production. He also runs a
bus company as well as chain of supermarkets, in addition to holding shares
in a number of blue chip companies such as Dahmer, the bus assembling
company.
The prison will have a ground floor and an underground dungeon and is said
to have the capacity to hold up to 1000 people.