Zim Online
Friday 19 January 2007
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government
this week ordered 15 of the few white
farmers remaining in the country to
vacate their properties, despite
announcing earlier this month that it was
in fact calling back expelled
farmers to help resuscitate the collapsed
agricultural sector.
The largely white-representative white Commercial
Farmers Union (CFU) said
the government - whose land reform programme is
well-known for chaos,
violence and policy flip-flops - had in fact stepped
up displacement of
farmers with the latest eviction notices bringing to
about 80 the number of
farmers ordered to leave in the past five
months.
Between 400 and 600 white farmers remain on land out of the about
4 000 who
were farming in Zimbabwe before the controversial land
redistribution
exercise began seven years ago.
CFU spokeswoman Emily
Crookes told ZimOnline: "There has been an increase in
the issuing of
eviction notices and the majority are in Chiredzi (sugarcane
growing region
in south-eastern Zimbabwe)."
The eviction notices issued to farmers this
week are dated December 20, 2006
and recipients are ordered to surrender
their properties "within 45 days
from the 20th of December."
Under
the government's land seizure laws once the government formally
notifies a
farmer of its intention to acquire his land he/she immediately
loses all
rights to that property which automatically becomes state land.
But the
government's latest move to grab more land from white farmers is
coming
barely two weeks after Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa published a
notice in
state-owned newspapers saying his department would offer land to
"former
(white) farm owners who are genuine farmers who desire to continue
farming
in this country."
The government, which at one time vowed never to return
land it seized from
whites, last November also gave land to about half a
dozen whites who were
part of a group of about 100 black farmers who were
given 99-year farm
leases by the state.
Mutasa, who is also Minister
of State Security, was not immediately
available to take questions on the
matter.
Zimbabwe, also grappling with its worst ever economic crisis, has
since 2000
relied on food imports and handouts from international food
agencies mainly
due to failure by new black farmers to maintain production
on former white
farms.
Poor performance in the mainstay agricultural
sector has also had far
reaching consequences as hundreds of thousands have
lost jobs while the
manufacturing sector, starved of inputs from the sector,
is operating below
30 percent capacity. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 19 January
2007
HARARE - Plans by the opposition to mobilize
Zimbabweans to block President
Robert Mugabe's bid to extend his
decades-long rule could be met with
overwhelming brutality from a government
determined to hang onto power at
any and whatever cost, analysts said on
Thursday.
Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the main faction of the splintered
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), this week announced that his party
will organise
popular resistance against moves by Mugabe and his ruling ZANU
PF party to
postpone presidential elections to 2010, two years after the
expiry of the
veteran ruler's current term.
"Tsvangirai is echoing
the feeling among most Zimbabweans that Mugabe has
become a liability to the
nation," said John Makumbe, a political science
lecturer at the University
of Zimbabwe (UZ).
"He will also find support on his campaign of
resistance but I doubt whether
there are many people out there who are
willing to cross the line and
confront the regime head on because Mugabe has
a history of using brutal
tactics to crush dissent," he
added.
Analysts say Mugabe's plan to extend his rule will further hurt
the country's
sinking economy.
Critics blame his controversial and
often politically-driven policies, such
as the mass seizure of land from
white commercial farms to resettle blacks,
for plunging Zimbabwe's once
vibrant economy.
The economic crisis is shown in four-digit inflation,
which is the highest
in the world, rising poverty and unemployment levels
and shortages of
foreign currency, fuel and food.
Both factions of
the splintered MDC and civic groups in Zimbabwe have
condemned the ZANU PF
plans, saying the country could not afford to have
Mugabe at the helm for
two more years.
Tsvangirai refused to discuss details on the plans but
MDC insiders said the
opposition party would lead a series of street
protests and industrial
strikes in the coming months.
Tsvangirai, who
cut his political teeth during his days as a trade unionist
fighting for
workers' rights, said the MDC would push to have presidential
elections in
2008 but under a new and democratic constitution, adding
Zimbabweans had
suffered enough under Mugabe's rule.
Analysts said the opposition was
likely to be supported by disillusioned
ZANU PF supporters but warned that
these were unlikely to join in any street
protests.
"I have no doubt
there are many people in ZANU PF who do not subscribe to
the harmonisation
project (that will see presidential and parliamentary
polls held in 2010).
But they would only go as far as giving their
blessings and tacit support to
any action that seeks to reverse that plan,"
said Eldred Masunungure,
chairman of the UZ political science department.
"(Mass protests) will be
met with the might of Mugabe's security forces and
any person who takes
lightly the threat of the force that will be unleashed
will only do that at
their own peril. This government is fighting to survive
and will do
everything possible to remain in power," Masunungure added.
Analysts said
only a united opposition could challenge Mugabe's grip on
power more,
pointing to the MDC's split into two rival factions since
October 2004 over
tactics to confront the country's sole ruler since 1980.
The Zimbabwe
government has in the past warned the MDC against staging
street protests
with Mugabe saying last August that soldiers will pull the
trigger on
demonstrators.
Critics say Zimbabwe's once promising economy has been
savaged by years of
mismanagement, putting thousands of workers into
desperate working
conditions that have led to strikes this year, including
by state doctors
and nurses who have boycotted work since last
month.
Political analysts say more strikes may be in the cards, with or
without the
MDC's leadership, as average workers grow angry over the
hemorrhaging
economy.
Tsvangirai, who charges that Mugabe robbed his
party of victory in two
parliamentary polls and a presidential vote held in
the last seven years,
said the MDC would work with other civic and political
groups under a "Save
Zimbabwe Campaign".
"The groundswell of
political and economic discontent is so great that I
would suggest 90
percent of adults have bottled up anger which can explode
any time,"
Masunungure said. "It might not ordinarily need the leadership of
the
opposition but will be a spontaneous sudden burst that will be
unpredictable
in its nature," he said.
Mugabe, who turns 83 next month, blames the
country's economic crisis on the
West, which he accuses of being driven by
former colonial power Britain to
sabotage the economy over his nationalist
policies, including the land
seizures.
He has accused the MDC of
being a puppet of Britain and the United States,
and vows to resist any
efforts to oust his government. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 19 January 2007
HARARE -
Zimbabwe's ambassador to China, Christopher Mutsvangwa, says
President
Robert Mugabe's powerful spokesperson George Charamba is
spearheading a
dirty campaign to have him expelled from the diplomatic
service, ZimOnline
has learnt.
In a confidential eight-page letter to vice presidents Joice
Mujuru and
Joseph Msika, a copy of which ZimOnline has, Mutsvangwa says
Charamba and
deputy secretary in the foreign affairs ministry Godfrey
Magwenzi, were
working to tarnish and belittle his achievements in a bid to
kick him out of
his ambassadorial post.
Mutsvangwa says Charamba, who
is also the Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Information, was using
his powerful influence at state-owned
media to rubbish him and his
achievements.
"While the hate mongering Charamba may not control what
Ambassador
Mutsvangwa says, he definitely has power of both electronic and
print media
that would carry the story. He also has executive oversight over
the
editorial content of his media outlets," said Mutsvangwa.
The
letter headlined: "Get Ambassador Mutsvangwa Out of Beijing At all
Costs:
The Story of Six Months of Extraordinary Diplomacy by Zimbabwe's
Bureaucracy
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2006," also accused
Charamba of
"mendacious plotting" in an attempt to soil his reputation.
The
ambassador accused Charamba of planting stories in the state-owned
Herald
newspaper refuting deals he allegedly arranged with the Chinese
government
last year.
Last December, Mutsvangwa was quoted in The Herald saying
Beijing had
pledged to extend a US$2 billion loan facility towards
Zimbabwe's economic
recovery. He also said the Chinese were willing to
inject US$3 billion into
the resuscitation of state-power company Zimbabwe
Iron and Steel Company
(ZISCOSTEEL).
Officials from Beijing however
refuted the claims that there were any plans
for China to assist the Harare
government or ZISCOSTEEL in reports carried
by the international Press and
reprinted by the Herald, in an
uncharacteristic move by the paper that shuns
news deemed unpalatable to the
government.
Sources at the information
ministry said Mujuru last week summoned Charamba
to her offices to explain
the concerns raised by Mutsvangwa.
Mujuru and Charamba were both not
available for comment on the matter last
night.
The Zimbabwe
government has increasingly looked towards China and other
Asian nations for
help over the past six years after the West imposed
sanctions on Harare in
protest over Mugabe's human rights record and failure
to uphold
democracy.
But political analysts and observers say Harare is still to
reap any
meaningful benefits from its close relationship with China and the
Asian
states. -ZimOnline
From The Cape Times (SA), 18 January
Riding the seesaw of Zanu PF's corrupt land
grab
The story of Zimbabwe's white farmers' survival/eviction, now in
its seventh
year, confuses even those following it carefully. So, here's a
road map for
those still interested but befuddled by the twists and turns,
new laws,
evictions etc, which destroyed Africa's most productive farming
sector and
wrecked Zimbabwe's economy. Key to understanding Zimbabwe's
farcical "land
reform" are two important words: offer letter. An offer
letter, sometimes
even if it is a forgery (and many are), changes the lives
of people
overnight. An offer letter is written on an official government of
Zimbabwe
letterhead addressed to a named black person that offers them a
white-owned
farm signed by lands minister Didymus Mutasa. But more on offer
letters
later.
Before February 2000, commercial agriculture
produced 40% of foreign
currency every year. Domestically white farmers
produced all wheat and seed
for all crops, and soya for cooking oil.
Zimbabwe's relative wealth and
stability depended on export crops: tobacco,
flowers, cattle and soya,
coffee and tea, which brought in US dollars like
clockwork. As most crops
were irrigated, they were relatively immune to
drought. Up to two-thirds of
maize for domestic needs was largely produced
by small-scale, or communal
farmers. All formerly white-owned agricultural
land, no matter who is on it,
(except some black farmers who bought land,
such as finance minister Simba
Makoni, or Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono)
now belongs to the state. The
following statistics are not set in stone;
they change weekly, as farmers
are regularly thrown off the land, and may
return a week or two later.
Full-time farmers: From about 4
000-plus full-time white commercial
farmers in 2000, there are now only
about 30 left farming as they were then.
That means they have all their
original land holding, and infrastructure,
live in their original homesteads
and employ the workers they always did,
who live, marry, bring up their
children and die on those farms. This group,
and tycoon John Bredenkmap is
one, survived intact, not because they are
necessarily paying off Zanu PF.
Each story is different. Their land belongs
to the state and they could be
forced off any time.
Full time, but on reduced land
holdings: There are about 300 who live
on and farm a portion of their
original land holding, usually no more than a
third of what they used in
2000, perhaps 450ha, which includes non-arable
land. Ranchers in drier areas
have more land but probably only 10% of what
they possessed when they
exported beef to the EU and South Africa. As a
sector, dairy farmers
survived best because the Dairy Marketing Board told
politicians that their
children would have no milk if all dairies were taken
over.
Then there are another about 400 or so white farmers who live in towns
but have varying degrees of contact with their old farms, or are renting
bits and pieces of land from anyone, including "new" black farmers. They run
very reduced operations, sometimes as little as 10ha of tobacco, from a
distance and keep a low profile. Some do nothing on their former farms,
which are vacant, but pay a few workers to try and maintain some of the
infrastructure.
Harassment of all farmers in the above category
is ongoing. If a politician
or a brigadier, or a High Court judge or a
police captain decides he wants a
particular farm, sometimes for a relative,
or because he has ruined the
first one, he launches attacks. Sometimes the
aspirant "new" farmer has an
"offer letter," from Mutasa, and sometimes they
don't. Or sometimes the
letter is a forgery. Travelling 'jambanja'
(violence) groups are hired to
stage frightening demonstrations outside
homesteads to try and force farmers
off. Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa
is one of those who ruined the first
farm he took near Marondera, 60km
south-east of Harare, so he abandoned it
and chased off a farmer on another,
better equipped farm.
Last February, some war veterans, and a small
group of Zanu PF politicians,
decided Zimbabwe needed some key white farmers
back on the land to grow
export crops to blunt the forex shortage. The story
broke internationally
ahead of the government announcement (which was not
the reason the brakes
were put on) and that decision evaporated. Mutasa,
brought back from
retirement by Mugabe, is even more chaotic than his
predecessor. Instead of
allowing white farmers back, Mutasa signed scads of
offer letters,
sometimes, by his own admission, without reading them first.
Some offer
letters were for his relatives or people from his home area, some
were for
those well connected to the ongoing battle of who will succeed
Mugabe.
Then, long-promised 99-year leases emerged late in 2006, and
about 700 white
farmers applied, mostly through the Commercial Farmers'
Union, although some
did it on their own. A month ago, about 30 or so were
successful, either
with "offer letters," or leases for state land which can
be cancelled with a
month's notice and may not be used as security at banks.
Among this group
were a handful who had been away from their land for a
couple of years and
could return "home". Last month Mugabe signed the final
land law, which
plugged the last loopholes farmers used to stop a round of
eviction notices
delivered late last year to scores of farmers in Group 2. A
couple of
farmers went to court admitting they lived and worked state land,
but
pleaded that there was no good reason for their eviction. They won, so
Mugabe needed one more law to make evictions automatic. Now any white farmer
without one of Mutasa's offer letters, or a lease, has to get off in 45 days
if he is only living in his homestead. There are a few, who fall into this
group, who cannot afford rent in town or who prefer living in the bush. For
the others, with crops in the ground, they will have 90 days, as in theory
they will be allowed to harvest their crops.
The government
announced on January 11 that the deadline would be to March
31 for tobacco
and paprika farmers, to July 31 for maize and seed maize to
August 31. So,
starting February 3 another round of evictions of white
farmers is due. Will
they all just walk away? Probably not. They are pretty
tough now as they
have endured seven years of unimaginable heartache under
constant threat of
losing their homes and jobs. Many of them are involved,
on a daily basis,
tutoring "new" farmers, or lending them equipment, so they
have local
support, even from the war veterans used by Mugabe to begin
pushing white
farmers off in 2000. So, what will happen when most of them
remain beyond
the deadline is anybody's guess. More violence?
Some who are
struggling financially or who are exhausted from seven years of
pressure
will just walk away, not least because they are terribly tired. Out
of sight
of all this will be the farm workers' tragedy. They will get a
retrenchment
package from their employer when he goes and it will be
destroyed by
inflation in days. They will then be unemployed, or massively
underpaid by
the "new" farmer, so won't stay long. Many will either come to
South Africa,
others will turn to gold panning. In seven years not even 300,
mostly old
farmers, out of the original 4 000 plus, have agreed to accept
compensation
of a maximum of 15% of the value of the improvements on the
land, such as
barns, fencing, homes, etc. Most of this group took the
government's offer
of terms - 25% deposit with the rest payable in five
years. They have never
received a cent of the 75% they are still owed. Those
who insisted on
payment of the full amount immediately had to give a hefty
discount of more
than 40% on the value decided by the government. The
remainder, living in
Zimbabwe's towns, or in New York, Durban, Melbourne,
London, Wellington,
Nigeria, Zambia, etc, ignore appeals inviting them to
the lands ministry to
discuss payment of compensation.
iafrica.com
Thu, 18 Jan
2007
Zimbabwean authorities will block protests planned by the opposition
against
President Robert Mugabe's bid to extend his nearly 27-year rule, a
senior
minister was quoted as saying Thursday.
"They have a programme
of protests all the time," Security Minister Didymus
Mutasa told the
privately-owned Financial Gazette weekly.
"Although I don't know what
they intend to achieve, I want to warn them that
I myself will be part and
parcel of those who will be stopping them from
protesting."
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai,
whose Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) has split in two, on Wednesday
announced he will
lead a mass campaign against plans to extend Mugabe's rule
by another two
years.
Tsvangirai did not elaborate, merely saying his
party would use all legal
means "to stop Mugabe from becoming life president
and from tinkering with
the constitution in order to perpetuate his rule to
2010."
Once a formidable force posing the stiffest challenge to Mugabe's
stranglehold on power, the MDC is now a shadow of its former self after
splitting in two following a row on whether to contest senate polls in
2005.
The main beneficiary of the fallout has been Mugabe, who remains
entrenched
in power despite an economic meltdown which has seen inflation
soar beyond
the 1000-percent mark and unemployment touch 80
percent.
Mutasa's warning came just three months after police arrested
scores of
protesters during demonstrations called by the main labour union
against the
skyrocketing cost of living and high levels of taxation which
are eroding
real incomes.
The 82-year-old leader's term was set to
expire in 2008, 28 years after he
first assumed power with Zimbabwe's
independence from Britain, but Mugabe
has indicated he has no intention of
stepping down.
AFP
Swiss Info
January 18, 2007 - 7:39 PM
Ruedi Lüthy, a Swiss doctor who cares for HIV/Aids
patients in Zimbabwe, tells swissinfo about being voted "2007 European of the
Year" by Reader's Digest magazine.
Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey
presented Lüthy with his award at Zurich University on
Thursday.
Calmy-Rey said Lüthy "demonstrated without tiring what is
possible in the most desperate situations and how things that are necessary for
survival can be done".
After 20 years combating the HIV/Aids pandemic in
Switzerland, during which time he founded the Zurich Lighthouse hospice for
terminally ill patients, Lüthy moved to Zimbabwe in 2003 to set up a clinic that
has helped more than 1,300 people suffering from HIV/Aids.
The
65-year-old Zurich professor of infectious diseases was nominated by 20 European
Reader's Digest editors.
swissinfo: How does it feel to be named
European of the Year 2007 by Reader's Digest?
Ruedi Lüthy: It's
an honour, but initially I didn't quite understand why I had received a European
award as a Swiss who lives in Zimbabwe. It's quite an unusual
combination.
It's also an incredible honour to be receiving the award
from Micheline Calmy-Rey, especially as she is foreign minister and has a very
special connection with the humanitarian work of our team in
Harare.
swissinfo: What was the motivation behind your decision
to leave Switzerland to work in Zimbabwe?
R.L.: It was a fairly
logical choice as HIV is ravaging developing nations, especially in sub-Saharan
Africa.
Although huge progress has been made since 1996 via triple
combination therapy, which almost gives Aids patients "normal" life expectancy,
this has not happened in developing countries, where prevention efforts have
failed to gain government attention and HIV has exploded.
When I realised
that we had achieved what we needed to do in Europe and the United States, I
decided to turn somewhere else.
swissinfo: Why did you choose
Zimbabwe in particular?
R.L.: It was accidental. In 2002 I met
a doctor from Zimbabwe at an Aids conference who wanted advice on how to carry
out a clinical study using multivitamins and aspirins.
My feeling was
that it was unethical, but she told me they were the only things available. Two
months later I went to look for myself and saw that the situation was far worse
than I had imagined, although I'd been to Africa several times
before.
swissinfo: What kind of project does your foundation
Swiss Aids Care International support in Zimbabwe?
R.L.: Our
project in Harare is a very simple one: we have set up a free outpatient clinic
for HIV patients who are too poor to afford
healthcare.
swissinfo: What is your view on the HIV/Aids pandemic
seen from the perspective of a developing country, such as Zimbabwe?
R.L.: It's devastating – a humanitarian catastrophe. I don't
think I have words to properly describe it.
There are more than one
million orphans living in Zimbabwe who have lost their parents to HIV and grow
up under very difficult conditions, without schooling, food or proper shelter.
And the situation is aggravated by Zimbabwe's political isolation.
At the
moment it's difficult to see much hope as the economy is really sliding, with
inflation averaging 100 per cent and 80 per cent unemployment; everything is
disintegrating, especially schools and public transport.
And as in
neighbouring countries South Africa or Mozambique where HIV is just as
prevalent, it's destroying at least one if not two
generations.
swissinfo: Despite the gloomy picture you paint, are
there any glimmers of hope as a result of your work?
R.L.: The
immediate effects of antiretroviral therapy are incredible. Some people,
especially those not too familiar with medicine, consider the effects to be
miraculous. They feel they have been given a second life; that is the hope that
keeps us all going. Without that it would be a really traumatising experience
that no one would be able to bear for long.
swissinfo-interview: Simon
Bradley
By Tererai Karimakwenda
18
January 2007
Residents at the Hopley Farm squatter camp were shocked
recently when police
arrested twp men who buried their friend, after waiting
more than 10 days
for the police to respond. Dzimbabwe Chimbwa, a legal
practitioner with the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights who is representing
them, told us that an
ailing resident died at Hopley on December 22 after
failing to get any
medical attention. The police were notified immediately
but failed to issue
a death certificate. Chimbwa said his clients waited
more than 10 days while
the body of their deceased friend lay unattended in
a hut. When they decided
to bury him the corpse had already started to
decompose. The police then
took action by arresting the pair, and they have
indicated they will be
taking the case to court.
Although no specific
charges have been filed, Chimbwa said the police will
most likely attempt to
charge them with conducting a burial without
permission or documents from
the proper authority. This despite the fact
that police at Waterfalls and at
Hatcliffe were notified many days before
the burial. It is now up to the
police to notify the lawyer of their next
move.
There was more bad
news for residents at Hopley, who are reported to be
living in squalor. The
Financial Gazette newspaper reported this week that
the illegal commission
running the city of Harare has turned down an offer
by the United Nations to
fund the building of more temporary housing for
them. The report said more
homeless people have been turning up at Hopley
since the rainy season
started. It is not clear why the commission led by
Sekesai Makwavarara would
decline such an offer when residents are living in
plastic shacks that are
easily blown apart by heavy rain. But they did
accept assistance building
new schools and clinics. Observers and human
rights activists believe the
government has been punishing these people who
were displaced by the
so-called "cleanup operation" Murambatsvina, because
they are seen as
supporters of the opposition MDC.
Chimbwa said the accommodation at
Hopley is not up to any standard. He told
us there are no proper sanitation
facilities and no clean running water.
Overcrowding has become a serious
problem as more homeless families arrive.
Chimbwa estimates there are a few
thousand people living in the very small
area.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Lance Guma
18
January 2007
Zimbabwean born writer John Holloway, author of the book
'Saving Africa'
says the crisis in Zimbabwe is a mirror that reflects in
general what has
gone wrong on the African continent. Holloway says much of
Africa is,
'anarchic, corrupt, tyrannical and above all poor,' and that the
big
challenge for all it's people is to replace poverty with wealth. He
argues
this is only possible if African countries have their house in order
by
having a, 'representative government, a literate electorate and strong
institutions.' He uses his book to show how dictators like Robert Mugabe
have thrived, 'in a spiral of decay and corruption,' that has left ordinary
citizens poorer than forty years ago.
He describes Mugabe as, 'a
brilliant villain from the start, a master
manipulator, who destroyed or
circumvented every obstacle in his path to
acquiring and retaining power
while still retaining the halo of a freedom
fighter and liberator of the
oppressed.' He points to what he sees as an
unacknowledged phenomenon, that
'the white man is only acceptable as a
permanent presence on the continent
if he is politically and economically
insignificant.' He uses the book to
show how Mugabe started endorsing farm
invasions only when he felt the white
farmers were now supporting the
opposition.
Of concern to freedom
loving Zimbabweans is the fact that Holloway does not
see how Mugabe will be
removed from power at the moment, given the state of
the opposition. He
argues the task facing any new government in Zimbabwe
will be enormous and
that radical policy shifts will have to be implemented
if prosperity is to
return. The respect for property rights is going to be
key in building
confidence in the economy and encouraging any investor,
local or foreign,
after Mugabe leaves office. He said the Zimbabwean
diaspora has a great role
to play in developing the country, but that
Zimbabweans outside the country
needed to develop a focus in that direction
to make it work.
Turning
to Africa in general he said attempts to help the continent with aid
have
failed and that, 'a trillion dollars since 1960 have not made a
detectable
difference to the life of the ordinary African.' He believes the
continent
has enough resources to shape its destiny but that the culture
surrounding
its 'survival mechanisms' needs to change and put people first,
over
leaders.
NB: The full interview with John Holloway will be broadcast on
Behind the
Headlines next week Thursday.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
By Violet Gonda
18 January
2007
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network has added its voice to the
controversial debate on the harmonisation of elections in Zimbabwe. The
electoral body said the constitutional mandate should be respected and
presidential elections should be held next year as scheduled. Last month the
ruling ZANU PF party announced plans to move presidential elections from
2008 to 2010, so they can be held simultaneously with parliamentary
elections. There was an outcry from opposition and civic groups who see this
as a ploy to extend Robert Mugabe's term in office.
ZESN chairperson
Dr Reginald Matchaba Hove told SW Radio Africa that in
principle there is
nothing wrong with harmonisation, but his organisation is
opposed to any
'harmonisation' that would see the delaying of presidential
elections. He
said: "Our view was that there should be harmonisation that
should be done
in 2008. Extending the presidential term without going
through an electoral
process, deprives the people of Zimbabwe from giving
their leaders a fresh
mandate."
It appears there is general consensus that elections should be
held at the
same time but there are major differences on when they should be
held. Some
analysts agree that the polls should be combined but say they
should be
extended from 2008 to 2010, not only to give people time to
prepare but that
the harmonisation process needs to be accompanied by
serious reforms.
The flawed electoral process has been a major complaint
for the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, since the parliamentary
election in 2000 and
subsequent elections thereafter. Experts have in the
past called for
fundamental changes to the electoral system to bring about a
more equitable
and level playing field. But they say this is being hampered
by a clear lack
of political will from the Mugabe regime.
When asked
if there is enough time to hold the elections next year Dr
Matchaba Hobe
responded by saying this is something that all stakeholders
should be
agitating for. He said: "It is important that pressure be brought
to bear on
all forces, that the people of Zimbabwe would want to see a new
constitution
and a level playing field that would allow for competition that
is free and
fair in 2008."
ZESN says it will be holding a series of public awareness
meetings so that
people are aware of what is at stake.
SW Radio
Africa Zimbabwe news
New Zimbabwe
By
Staff Reporter
Last updated: 01/19/2007 04:23:59
THE United States embassy
in Harare Wednesday denied state media reports
that ambassador Christopher
Dell met both factions of Zimbabwe's opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change.
The embassy said at the time of the alleged meeting, the envoy
was in
Washington.
The official Herald newspaper, in its Wednesday's
edition claimed that Dell
had summoned officials from the two rival camps
including the leaders of the
two factions -- Arthur Mutambara and Morgan
Tsvangirai -- before ordering
them to unite with promises of monetary
gains.
Both factions of the MDC have already dismissed the report as a
fabrication.
The US embassy's public officer in Harare Paul Engelstad
said no such
meeting ever took place.
He said: "The story in the
Herald newspaper alleging a meeting on 9 January
between US ambassador
Christopher Dell and representatives of the Movement
for Democratic Change
(MDC) is false.
"Neither ambassador Dell, who was not in Harare on
that date, nor any other
United States of America Embassy official attended
the alleged meeting
referred to in the story."
MDC secretary general
Welshman Ncube, also Wednesday, dismissed the story as
a
fabrication.
He said: "It does not have an iota of truth."
Ncube,
who is also one of the leading opposition figures said to have
attended
the meeting insisted the report was a "delusional creation of
the state
agents who run the Herald."
New Zimbabwe
By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 01/19/2007 04:40:14
THE
Zimbabwe government has defied recommendations by a Parliamentary
Committee
and the Auditor General and transferred water distribution and
sewerage
reticulation from local authorities to a government body, raising
fresh
fears over water pollution.
The Minister of State for Water Resources and
Infrastructure Development
Munacho Mutezo Tuesday took local journalists on a
tour of Harare's sewerage
treatment works and declared that the assets have
been handed to the
Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa).
The
move is in defiance of a recommendation made last year by the
Portfolio
Committee on Local government that Zinwa should leave the water
issue to
local
authorities.
Before the compilation of the report
suspended Harare town clerk Nomutsa
Chideya told the committee that Vice
President Joice Mujuru, a former water
minister, was the strength behind the
moves that saw Cabinet passing a
directive to that effect in 2005.
To
support the local government committee's recommendation, a recent
report
submitted to the Public Accounts committee by the Auditor General
Mildred
Chiri said Zinwa has no capacity to provide people with clean
water.
The report said in part: "My audit revealed that Zinwa was failing
to
provide undisrupted water supply and water of the right quality to its
customers in small towns, growth points and institutional
customers."
In a press statement this week, Zinwa public relations
manager Marjorie
Munyonga said the tour by journalists was meant to "give
media practitioners
an insight into the state of the infrastructure Zinwa is
taking over from
the City of
Harare."
The country's biggest sewage
plant broke down last week, sending tons of raw
effluent into a major river
and polluting the water supply of the capital,
say city
authorities.
Harare's Firle sewage plant has been down since last week
and requires at
least Z$20bn (US$80m) to fix a huge burden for a country
already in the grip
of its worst economic crisis in decades.
Zinwa
officials said half of the raw sewage from Harare -- a city of at
least 1.5
million -- was now discharged into a river that flowed into the
capital's
main water reservoir.
Harare's sewage crisis is the latest symptom of an
economic crisis, which
has left the country close to collapse and many key
infrastructure
facilities from roads to power plants badly in need of
upgrade or repair.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate of 1
281% and unemployment
had surged to about 80% under an economic crisis many
critics blamed on
President Robert Mugabe's government.
By Tichaona Sibanda
18 January
2007
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has reinstated the
majority of
workers who were suspended from duty last week for allegedly
walking out on
strike, demanding higher pay and better working
conditions.
About 135 workers were suspended following the industrial
action. The
general-secretary of the ZESA technical employees association
Thomas
Masvingwe told Newsreel from Harare on Thursday that almost all have
been
reinstated except 10 whom the management blame for leading the
strike.
Masvingwe said the charges against their members were baseless,
unfounded
and malicious and vehemently denies accusations that the workers
deliberately sabotaged the supply of power in the capital. Most of those
suspended were being accused of allegedly switching off electricity in parts
of Harare's central business district during last week's standoff. But
Masvingwe blames the utility's antiquated equipment for the loss of power in
the capital last week.
'What the ZESA management board has done is to
reinstate the employees but
with conditions attached. We have asked our
members to bring the letters so
that we could study them and see if they are
in line with the law. If not we
will take up the issue with management,'
Masvingwe said.
The disgruntled ZESA workers have been demanding a 1500
percent salary
increase and a minimum basic salary of over Z$80 000 for the
least paid
employees. These employees on A1 salary grade are currently
earning Z$23 000
per month. A source told us most employees on the A1 to D2
salary grades
were barely getting enough to cover living costs due to the
country's huge
level of inflation.
A standoff between management and
employees during salary negotiations ended
in acrimony when ZESA inflamed
the situation by accusing some of its
employees of disconnecting power
supplies to some consumers in the city
centre, bringing business to a
halt.
Masvingwe reiterated that cascading power outages in Harare and the
rest of
the country underscore what energy experts have been warning about
for
years, that the system will eventually go at any time. He said years of
neglected investment in the vast and antiquated network that moves
electricity around the country, combined with steadily growing power needs,
have left the nation's electricity grid vulnerable to disruptions.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Billboard.com
January 18, 2007, 11:05 AM ET
Mitchell
Peters, L.A.
The last time Dispatch stood in front of thousands of
concertgoers was
three years ago at a free farewell concert in Boston. But
the jam-friendly
trio obviously hasn't lost its live following since
throwing in the towel.
After announcing earlier this month that it
would reunite to help
raise money for humanitarian efforts in Zimbabwe,
Dispatch quickly sold out
two summer gigs at New York's Madison Square
Garden through exclusive
presales on its MySpace.com page. Because of
overwhelming demand, the trio
added a third night, which goes on sale to the
public on Jan. 20. The
"Dispatch: Zimbabwe" concerts are scheduled for July
13-15.
"It seemed like if we got Dispatch back together, we could
raise some
real money," group member Chad Urmston tells Billboard.com. "We
agreed to do
it only if it was going to be a 100% benefit."
Urmston, who briefly lived in Zimbabwe after high school, says the
band will
take the next six months to decide which specific organizations it
will
donate the proceeds to, which could include a visit to the African
country.
"It's not a story your hear about every day on the
news," he explains,
"So we're excited to bring it into the limelight a
little bit and hopefully
raise enough money to help a country that's on the
brink of mass
starvation." In addition, a small portion of the concert
earnings will be
dispersed to various domestic causes that each band member
has supported
over the years.
Dispatch's history dates back
to the mid-'90s, when college buddies
Urmston, Brad Corrigan and Pete
Francis self-released their first album,
"Silent Steeples," on Bomber
Records. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the
band's hest-selling album is
2001's "Gut the Van," which has moved 128,000
units in the United States.
But it wasn't until the 2004 live CD/DVD "All
Points Bulletin" that Dispatch
debuted on The Billboard 200.
During its eight-year existence,
Dispatch released six albums and
built a solid fanbase through crisscrossing
the United States and selling
out such venues as New York's Roseland
Ballroom, San Francisco's Fillmore
and Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club. The
advent of Napster helped spread the
word, which the band didn't mind one
bit. "It was good for us," Urmston
says. "Whatever we lost in CD sales, we
gained way more in the listenership
overall."
The trio
officially broke up in 2001 after deciding to pursue
different musical
avenues, according to Urmston, who now fronts Boston-based
State Radio.
Asked if more shows will be scheduled or if any recording could
transpire,
he says, "No, this is all that's on the docket right now. Brad,
Pete and I
all have new projects and everyone is pretty busy ... I think
this is good
for now."
Zim Online
Friday 19 January
2007
Reviewed By Abel Chapatarongo
HARARE - This
is the first novel by Zimbabwean journalist, Grace Mutandwa.
What makes
Whose Daughter My Child? unique is its treatment of the AIDS
crisis in
Zimbabwe from a psychoanalytical standpoint.
With almost zero dialogue
between characters, the writer weaves a simple
story highlighting the fears
and apprehensions of a woman infected with HIV.
It is a riveting story of
betrayal in the age of AIDS.
The writer also seeks to provide insight
into what goes on in the mind of an
HIV-infected individual as the
protagonist, aptly named Taurai (Speak out)
in the local Shona language,
articulates her own anxieties and fears.
The reality of death is a
constant in this novel.
Like Charles Mungoshi's 1983 Shona novel,
Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura?,
Mutandwa experiments with a style in which the
author takes the role of the
omniscient narrator.
What makes the
novella unique is its simple style of 14 chapter topics with
each chapter
being a letter to a specific individual connected with the
narrator's
unfolding story of tragedy.
The short letters are characterised by
intense bitterness and anger. Writing
these letters appears to be a form of
catharsis on the part of the main
character.
But beyond these matters
of style, Mutandwa raises serious issues on the
AIDS pandemic which is
mowing down about 3 000 people every week in
Zimbabwe.
She
interrogates the conflict between tradition and modernity and the
attendant
cultural practices on the traditional role of the "African woman".
"Was
it not drilled into my head that it was fine for men to continue sowing
their wild oats well into middle age, while wives held tenaciously to
troubled marital unions for the sake of the children and the family name?"
(Page 76)
What Mutandwa is querying here is the traditional teaching
that the African
woman should never desert her husband even if he is to
stray from the
straight and narrow.
She seems to be querying to what
extent a woman should remain faithful to
her marriage vows in the face of
open infidelity by her husband - to the
detriment of her
health.
Although Taurai blames tradition for her misfortune, she also
blames herself
for ceding her power of decision-making to others and for not
taking
responsibility for her own health and happiness.
Though the
novel is no "feminist text," it has a certain freshness in its
treatment of
matters that have for centuries imprisoned African women.
Zim Online
Friday 19 January 2007
HARARE - It is
exactly seven years and four months since the MDC was
launched amid great
expectation and anticipation. The movement was formed to
achieve and attain
peaceful and democratic constitutional change in Zimbabwe
that would have
been a precondition for the restructuring and reconstruction
of our national
economy. That agenda still remains on the table. We are
aware that the year
is full of political opportunities for the resolution of
the Zimbabwean
crisis. It is a watershed year.
The tragedy we face today stems
from the fact that Zanu PF and Mugabe
have completed their project to turn
Zimbabwe into a totalitarian state. The
militarization of the state is now
common knowledge; the regime has declared
war onto the people; life no
longer has any meaning, given the unbearable
cost of living, a runaway Aids
pandemic and an unacceptable rise in the
number of orphans and the
vulnerable.
Every hour, Zimbabwe's crisis of governance is
deepening. Zanu PF and
Robert Mugabe have no answers to the problems the
nation is facing.
Thousands of Zimbabwean children have dropped out of
school this year
because the fees are too high. Workers have been exposed to
a form of
slavery as their wages are way below the poverty datum line and
transport
costs are several times higher than average earnings. Students at
our
tertiary colleges and in our schools are in desperate circumstances. Our
parents in the rural areas are handcuffed by unprecedented
poverty.
We are guided by an urgent call to save our country and
immediately
embark on a comprehensive programme of national integration,
national
healing and national reconstruction. Using a divisive and corrupt
patronage
system, Mugabe and Zanu PF have severely narrowed the people's
access to
opportunities and to the national cake.
The patronage
system, based on assumptions of personal loyalty to
Mugabe and traditional
blood lines, has created serious mistrust and
perceptions of exclusion among
various ethnic groups and turned Zimbabweans
into separate groups,
suspicious of each other's motives, especially in
government. From
Matabeleland, right through Masvingo and Manicaland,
Zimbabweans - across
the political, ethnic and racial divide -- strongly
feel a sense of
exclusion from the natural benefits of their birthright. We
wish to deal
with this fragmentation and build a nation based on unity,
fairness,
compassion, solidarity and inclusiveness.
As stated above, now more
than ever before, we need to resolve the
national crisis. It is within this
context that the national executive and
the national council met on Friday
13 January 2007 to craft a solid agenda
that will guide our movement in the
murky waters of 2007. Central to our
strategic thinking was Zanu PF's
project of making a life President out of
Robert Mugabe by pushing the
Presidential elections to 2010.
The national council acknowledged
that the project and obsession of
power retention legally and extra-legally
needs to be resisted. In this
regard, the national council resolved that we
would engage in a campaign
that will ensure that the Zanu PF project
collapses and that the agenda for
democracy and change should be pursued
vigorously. We resolved we will vote
in 2008 but under a new people-driven
Constitution. This demand shall be a
rallying call for our activities in
2007. The demand is a mere restatement
of our ROADMAP. Under our ROADMAP,
the only way to resolve the political
crisis is through the crafting of a
new, people-driven Constitution leading
to a genuine free and fair election
after a period of confidence-building, a
healing period which should see the
repeal of repressive laws such as POSA
and AIPPA and the dismantling of Zanu
PF's parallel structures of power such
as the militia.
The
execution of the above campaign will demand a united and popular
front for
its successful implementation. Our synergies and chemistry with
our civic
and political friends and partners in the Save Zimbabwe Campaign
ought to be
strengthened. We endorsed the resolution of our partners in
civil society
under the Save Zimbabwe campaign and agreed to combine efforts
to resolve
the national crisis through a democratic vote in 2008, under a
new
Constitution. The main component of our plan for 2008 is the agenda of a
public expression of our rejection of the extension of the status
quo.
I know that the regime shall employ desperate tactics to
silence
Zimbabweans who are against Mugabe's extension of his rule to 2010.
The
regime shall confront all of us in the forlorn hope of imposing its will
onto the people. We must be ready for it.
Our call for
elections in 2008 must be clearly understood. We are
against elections under
the current electoral conditions, which breed
pre-determined outcomes. Our
call for elections in 2008 is out of the
realization that the national
crisis can not be extended by another day. The
people have had enough. The
party will have to get ready for the
Presidential election in 2008. This
will be the central agenda in 2007
including the revamping of our structures
and strategies.
The execution of our programme in 2007 will demand
strong and visible
international relations activities. Indeed, it is time
that the Zimbabwean
question became the key focus of attention in SADC, the
African Union and
the United Nations. Our international relations
department, together with
our partners in the Save Zimbabwe Campaign will in
2007 execute a vigorous
international relations campaign that articulates
the national crisis and
our Roadmap. We call on the international community
to be in solidarity with
the people of Zimbabwe.
The party in
2007 will engage in a more robust policy campaign. On the
policy front, the
New Zimbabwe campaign is intended to provide solutions and
answers to the
Zimbabwe crisis once democratic change is attained. In this
regard, our
party secretaries are almost completing the updating of our
policies on
health, land, mining, integration and local government to
mention but a few.
Only yesterday, our new Zimbabwe Lecture series was
launched in Harare amid
unprecedented enthusiasm and interest from a broad
spectrum of Zimbabweans.
The Lecture series will continue to discuss
pertinent national issues and
the party will publish the same as a book.
The MDC national
executive and the national council reaffirmed that
only a public expression
of that national sentiment shall force Mugabe and
Zanu PF to realize the
power of the people. People power shall be our
salvation. The MDC shall work
hard to harness that national feeling in 2007
and save Zimbabwe from further
damage.
Zimbabweans are a peace loving people. That they have
painfully
avoided resorting to mayhem, chaos or arms of war to resolve the
Zimbabwean
crisis demonstrates their faith in an orderly political
transition and a
sovereign right to change. The people are informed by a
universal behaviour
currency that steers democratic change through people
power.
Th time to act s now. We vowed to pursue the struggle, in
line with
our Congress mandate, by mobilizing the people to stop Mugabe from
becoming
a life president and from tinkering with the Constitution in order
to
perpetuate his rule to 2010. I call upon all Zimbabweans across the
class,
racial and ethnic divide to close ranks and take it upon themselves
to save
Zimbabwe. I call upon business, labour, students, the informal
sector, the
church and all those in the Diaspora to join us in our quest to
end tyranny
and to bring about a new Zimbabwe. Now is the time to
act.
I thank you.
Morgan Tsvangirai
President.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
18 January
2007
The Movement for Democratic Change faction led by Morgan
Tsvangirai has
started a lecture series it hopes will promote and expanded
and elevated
national dialogue, said the Zimbabwe opposition party's
founding president,
Morgan Tsvangirai.
The first event in the New
Zimbabwe Lecture Series featured prominent
economists John Robertson and
Peter Robinson on Tuesday, Tsvangirai said.
Future discussions will look at
the national constitution, the land issue,
health, arts and
governance.
He said his opposition grouping hopes Zimbabweans from all
walks of life -
and of all political persuasions - will join in the dialogue
around the
lecture series.
Tsvangirai told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
the results of the first lecture in the
series were promising.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
18
January 2007
Zimbabwe Local Government Minister Ignatius
Chombo has warned politicians
against interfering with municipal
authorities, saying this undermines city
operations.
Speaking
Wednesday night in Highfield, Harare, Chombo said some senior
politicians
from the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change have involved themselves so far as to supervise council
employees.
Chombo's statement comes not long after a conciliatory
statement from
officials of the ruling party in Harare province. The ZANU-PF
provincial
body had been critical of the Harare Commission and its chairman,
Sekesai
Makwavarara, demanding she resign.
But the Harare provincial
party committee more recently came out and
supported her reappointment,
saying it intended to give Makwavarara time to
deliver results. So Chombo's
broadside against interfering politicians was
somewhat
surprising.
Harare North member of parliament Trudy Stevenson told
reporter Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that when it comes
to interfering
with local councils Chombo is the worst offender of all and
should himself
stop his meddling.
Chombo is accused of having
masterminded the removal in 2004 of Harare's
last elected mayor, Elias
Mudzuri, who is now organizing secretary of the
Movement for Democratic
Change faction led by MDC founding president Morgan
Tsvangirai.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
18
January 2007
A boycott of classes by Zimbabwean university
students in protest of tuition
fee hikes of up to 2,000% has spread to
Midlands University and Gweru
Polytechnic from the institutions in Bulawayo
where the boycott was first
launched this week.
Zimbabwe National
Students Union Coordinator, Washington Katema said the
action will continue
despite the arrest of 10 student leaders Wednesday. The
activists, who
included ZINASU President Promise Mkwananzi, were released
Thursday
morning.
Katema told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that a
meeting scheduled Thursday with Higher Education Minister
Stan Mudenge had
been put off, which he said reflected Harare's lack of
concern with the
plight of students.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
18 January
2007
With Zimbabwe's public hospital system thrown into
disarray by striking
doctors and nurses, Harare has announced that it will
fund hospital
pharmaceutical costs through a direct tax on workers rather
than through the
Ministry of Health budget.
Sources in the National
Social Security Authority said Harare is planning to
roll out a new national
health insurance scheme like the existing National
Pension Scheme into which
all workers will be obliged to pay. NSSA sources
said workers would be
required to contribute 5% of their salaries, which
employers will be obliged
to match.
The Social Security Authority is expected to take charge of
purchasing
medicines and other equipment need by the public hospital system,
leaving
the government to cover the salaries of doctors, nurses and other
hospital
staff, government sources said.
The NSSA board is studying
the proposal before it goes to the ministries of
labor and health. The
cabinet will review the proposal and issue a directive
to be posted in April
in the official gazette for implementation in July.
Sources said no benefits
would be paid out for the first three months so
that capital could
accumulate in the fund.
NSSA Acting Manager Amod Takawira refused to
discuss the new fund. Organized
labor has already expressed its vehement
opposition to the proposal.
Secretary General Wellington Chibebe of the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
workers will resist the move, calling the
pharmaceutical fund proposal a
"national fraud in the making."
NSSA
has come under fire from parliament and the ZCTU for a lack of
accountability. The Social Security Authority made audited accounts and
reports available for 1998-2000 available only in 2004. The agency has had
an acting manager for six years.
The NSSA has also come under fire
from workers for paying pensioners the
miniscule sum of Z$12,900 a month -
about US$3 - while 12-month inflation is
some 1,180%
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
18 January
2007
Junior and senior hospital residents on strike for
nearly a month in
Zimbabwe's public hospitals said Thursday that they have
yet to receive
official letters of dismissal though a top official said
those who failed to
work Wednesday would be dismissed.
The Ministry
of Health distributed a memo on Tuesday saying striking doctors
would be
considered dismissed if they did not return to work on Wednesday.
Junior
residents went on strike Dec. 21 and were later joined by senior
hospital
residents.
Hospital Doctors Association President Kudakwashe Nyamutukwa
told reporter
Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that it was
in the
government's interest to pursue negotiations with the doctors, as it
cannot
fire all 350 striking physicians.
Deputy Health Minister Edwin
Muguti said earlier this week that there was no
room for further
negotiations because Harare has put a sweetened offer on
the table. But the
government has refused to reveal even to the doctors the
terms of the offer,
saying that the increase in pay will be evidenced in
their next month's pay
slip.
Labor lawyer John Mawire said there is room for further talks
between the
two parties to the dispute because the strike by doctors is
affecting the
entire country.
IFEX
Date: 18 January 2007
Source: Media Institute
of Southern Africa (MISA)
(MISA/IFEX) - The Media and Information
Commission (MIC) has summoned
journalist Nunurai Jena to appear before it
for a hearing over an expired
accreditation card allegedly issued to him "in
error" by the
state-controlled media body.
Ironically, the MIC's
notice of intention to cancel the expired
accreditation card comes at a time
when Jena is suing the Commission for
defamation, arising from accusations
made by its chairperson, Dr Tafataona
Mahoso, against Jena. The matter is
pending before the High Court.
In a parallel process, the MIC has since
notified Jena of its intention to
delete his name from the roll of
journalists on the basis that the
accreditation card he holds was issued "in
error or through fraud".
In a letter dated 14 December 2006, some 17 days
before the expiration of
the card issued to Jena for the 2006 accreditation
year, the MIC summoned
him to appear for a hearing at the MIC offices on 1
February 2007.
The 2006 accreditations expired on 31 December 2006 and
journalists are
currently renewing their annual accreditations for 2007 as
required under
the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act.
"If you intend to challenge the Commission's intention to make such
a
deletion, you should indicate this in writing within seven working days,
after which you may be deemed to have been deleted," said the MIC in its
notice to Jena.
The MIC's machinations are widely viewed as designed
to refuse Jena
accreditation for the year 2007.
In a story published
in the government-controlled weekly "The Sunday Mail"
on 2 October 2006, the
MIC accused the leadership of the Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists (ZUJ) of
peddling anti-government propaganda to "entice" foreign
donor agencies to
fund its activities. Jena, who is the chairman of ZUJ
Chinhoyi branch, was
singled out as one of the top ZUJ officials spreading
"malicious reports"
about alleged human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Jena's lawyers have since
responded to the MIC, notifying the Commission
that they will still
challenge the deletion of his name from the "roll of
journalists".
"We hereby notify you of our client's intention to
challenge the
Commission's intention to make such a deletion, or any order
adverse to his
interests, as it appears our client seems to be a victim of
circumstances
who is being persecuted for having challenged and sued your
chairman for
defamatory writings, which matter is pending before the High
Court," said
Media Lawyers Network member Tapiwa Muchineripi, who is
representing the
Chinhoyi-based freelance journalist.
Having duly
accredited Jena for the 2006 calendar year, the MIC says it now
wants to
delete his name because, among other issues: he retrospectively
failed to
renew his accreditation by 31 December 2005, because he submitted
his form
18 days after the expiry date; he failed to include required
photographs in
his applications dated 10 December 2004 and 18 January 2006;
and the
application form was neither signed nor stamped by the mass media
service
which he listed as either his employer or buyer of his stories.
The MIC
says the accreditation card in dispute was issued on the basis of a
recommendation, but before the application was approved, signed and stamped,
and that the officer who made the recommendation has since been dismissed
for "various acts of misconduct".
In addition, the MIC is demanding
that Jena furnish them with documentation
of his journalistic activities,
local and foreign buyers of his stories and
print-outs of the accounts into
which he deposited his earnings from
journalistic activities for the years
2005 and 2006.
MORE INFORMATION:
For further information,
contact Zoé Titus, Programme Specialist, Media
Freedom Monitoring, MISA,
Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61
232 975, fax: +264 61 248
016, e-mail: research@misa.org, Internet:
http://www.misa.org
Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
JAG
Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410. If you are in trouble
or
need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to
help!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1 - Ben Freeth
Dear JAG
With the "Gazzetted land
[consequential provisions] act" and its 45 days
having started on the 20
Decemeber 2006 [and another uncomforatable ride at
the end of it] there is a
test case currently in the supreme court [SC
124/06] which we hope to have
heard very soon.
Very briefly, we are challenging 3 aspects of what
is happening to us on the
land:
1. We are challenging amendment number
17 to the Constitution which takes
away our right to protection of the law by
saying that all land with a
section 5 is now state land as of September 2005
and that we can not apply
to any court to argue this fact.
2. We are
challenging the fact that they are not complying with the law
regarding
compensation. Taking something from someone without paying for it
is
theft.
3. Lastly we are challenging the issue of racial discrimination in
the land
programme which is very obvious to anyone who cares to look at the
facts.
We are keen that any judge that may be a beneficiary of land [and
therefor
have a vested interest in the case] be asked to recuse himself or
herself.
To this end we would ask that anybody who knows of any judge on any
farm get
the information to Jag without delay preferably with conact details
of the
owner. This is an urgent matter for a case which will set precedents
for
everyone in the international courts should it fail in Zimbabwe. It is
in
all of our interests to get this information together.
Many
thanks in advance for your assistance.
Ben
Freeth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
2 - Mary-Jane Muller
DearJAG
I have been asked by a friend
overseas to try and find the present
whereabouts of Mike and Claire Cullinan,
as they have not been in touch.
They are ex-farmers who I believe were
evicted from their farm If you have
any information on this couple, please
would you let me know.
Mary-Jane Muller
(ex-Silver Oak Farm,
Beatrice)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
3
Dear JAG
I dont get this. Presidential elections are
supposed to be held in 2008,
parliamentary elections in 2010. For so called
cost reasons, they will be
held together in 2010, which is clear. But why do
they have to be held
together in 2010 and not 2008? Why not bring the whole
thing forward to
2008? Under the present circumstances inflation will be
even more by 2010
which will make the whole thing more expensive anyway, so
where do they save
?!?
'Baffled by
Zimconomics'
UK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
4 - Suzannah Chemirmir
Dear JAG
I have read with great
interest, articles about the heart-wrenching plight
of white farmers kicked
off their farms in Zimbabwe.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to
Kenya to any of these families.
My family owns a nice small farm with a
lovely farm house in the Rift valley
province of Kenya. The farm has been
sitting idle for many years because my
mother is ailing and is not able to
operate it. i and most of my siblings
have lived in the USA for almost 3
decades and the 2 that are left in kenya
just do not have the time nor the
desire to work the farm.
We would love to lease (long-term) this farm to
any of these displaced
white Zimbabwean farmers.
I am attaching a
flyer that you can forward to any interested party.
Any assistance will
be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Susan Chemirmir
Texas,
USA
972-898-2493 (cell)
Flyer:
LARGE SCALE FARM AVAILABLE
LONG TERM LEASE
January 2007
INVITATION
Welcome to individuals
or companies interested in taking up lease for
agricultural
land.
LOCATION
2-½ hour drive; from Nairobi in the world famous Rift
Valley, Lenginet is a
30-minute drive from Nakuru, home of flamingoes and
along the tourist
circuit to lake Bogoria hot
springs.
TOPOGRAPHY
One Hundred and forty (140) acres, arable flat
land, well suited for
floriculture, horticulture or any other export oriental
agriculture
activity, that may require irrigation. The farm has a permanent
river
frontage.
FARM DEVELOPMENT
Located on the farm is a 5 bed
roomed old English farmhouse with 2 kitchens,
2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms and
dining room. The house can accommodate 2
families if need be. There is also
an adjoining 2 bedroom, 1 living room
guesthouse.
There are 2
underground water reservoirs, supplementing piped water to the
main house.
There is a three-phase electricity supply suited for both
domestic and
industrial - heavy machinery power supply.
There are 2 sites already
mapped as potential underground (bore hole) water
source.
Other
developments include barns, stores, carport for 4 cars and servants
housing
units.
The farm is immediately available for occupation on long-term
lease
contract, 10+ years, with the option to renew.
Interested
parties may contact either of the undersigned.
DR. DAVID K.
CHEMIRMIR
SUSAN CHEMIRMIR
P.O. Box 14703,
6400 Independence
Pkwy
Nairobi, Post Code 00800
#4701 Kenya
Plano, Texas 75023,
USA
PHONE: +254 20 272 2046
Cell: 972-898-2493
Cell: + 254 722 715
417
schemirmir@hotmail.com
E
MAIL: dchemirmir@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
4 - Cathy Buckle
Dear JAG
Sitting in a glass on my desk are
five Flame Lilies. The water they are
standing in was milky and murky and had
a brown sediment when it came out
of the tap this week. The flowers are
exquisite with frilled, scarlet petals
edged in yellow and spear shaped
leaves tipped with thin curling tendrils.
Flame Lilies are synonymous with
Christmas and New Year in Zimbabwe and this
year they are almost the only
thing bringing colour and cheer to our
deteriorating situation.
This
New Year most Zimbabweans are not saying Happy New Year they are
instead
shaking their heads and asking : how much longer, is there any hope?
Just a
week into 2007 and everyone is reeling at the massive price increases
of
everything.
Despite all the government pronouncements and promises of an
"economic
turnaround," Father Christmas did not deliver this elusive gift.
Before
Christmas a loaf of bread was 295 dollars, now it is 850 dollars -
the
bakers say its still not enough to cover their costs and more rises
are
imminent.. (Add three zeroes to get the real price!) Petrol, which
continues
to be mostly non existent, has apparently increased from 2200 to
3000
dollars a litre and transport costs are said to have gone up by 60%.
Since
the government announced new price controls and began arresting
businessmen
before Christmas, almost all
basic essentials have
disappeared from the shelves. It is now virtually
impossible to find sugar,
flour, milk, margarine, cooking oil or maize meal
in supermarkets. In one
large wholesaler this week there were three great
long aisles just filled
from floor to ceiling with salt. Fine salt, coarse
salt, bulk salt - you name
it, there it was, just salt. All the oil, flour,
sugar and maize meal
normally stacked there, had completely disappeared -
turned to salt.
I
stood next to a young teenage girl looking at the school writing
exercise
books piled on one shelf. When children go back to school in a few
days time
they have to provide their own writing books. Most senior school
children
need 15 exercise books and they are now just over 1000 dollars each.
The
girl next to me picked up a pack of ten books, turned it over, looked at
me,
shook her head and said 'eeeish' - and put the books back on the shelf.
'I
don't have enough' she whispered and walked away.
It is tragic to
see bright young teenagers struggling to stay in school like
this. They know
that if they can't, it won't be long before they are forced
into vegetable
vending, begging and prostitution because there are very few
jobs for
qualified people and no jobs for school drop outs.
School fees for this
girl were three thousand dollars last term in a rural
government school. This
term her fees are fifteen thousand dollars. That
cost is the tip of the
iceberg. Her exercise books will cost another fifteen
thousand dollars and
the plain soft black tennis shoes she can get away with
wearing are fourteen
thousand dollars.
This first week of 2007 it is hard to see how the
systems can hold together
for very much longer. Water is close to collapse,
electricity workers are
striking for 1000% pay rises and junior doctors have
been striking for over
a fortnight. I close with a quote from a letter from a
friend which is
appropriate for us all at the start of the EIGHTH year of
Zimbabwe's
decline: "Will we be able to look our children in the eye one day
in the
future and say truthfully 'we did our best' for Zimbabwe?" I hope so.
Until
next week, thanks for reading, love cathy.
Copyright cathy
buckle 6th January 2007
http://africantears.netfirms.com
My
books: "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available from:
orders@africanbookcentre.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of
the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 18/01/2007)
LARGE SCALE FARM AVAILABLE LONG TERM
LEASE
January 2007
INVITATION
Welcome to individuals or
companies interested in taking up lease for
agricultural
land.
LOCATION
2-½ hour drive; from Nairobi in the world famous Rift
Valley, Lenginet is a
30-minute drive from Nakuru, home of flamingoes and
along the tourist
circuit to lake Bogoria hot
springs.
TOPOGRAPHY
One Hundred and forty (140) acres, arable flat
land, well suited for
floriculture, horticulture or any other export oriental
agriculture
activity, that may require irrigation. The farm has a permanent
river
frontage.
FARM DEVELOPMENT
Located on the farm is a 5 bed
roomed old English farmhouse with 2 kitchens,
2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms and
dining room. The house can accommodate 2
families if need be. There is also
an adjoining 2 bedroom, 1 living room
guesthouse.
There are 2
underground water reservoirs, supplementing piped water to the
main house.
There is a three-phase electricity supply suited for both
domestic and
industrial - heavy machinery power supply.
There are 2 sites already
mapped as potential underground (bore hole) water
source. Other developments
include barns, stores, carport for 4 cars and
servants housing
units.
The farm is immediately available for occupation on long-term
lease
contract, 10+ years, with the option to renew.
Interested
parties may contact either of the undersigned.
DR. DAVID K.
CHEMIRMIR SUSAN
CHEMIRMIR
P.O. Box
14703,
6400 Independence Pkwy
Nairobi, Post Code
00800 #4701
Kenya
Plano, Texas
75023, USA
PHONE: +254 20 272 2046
Cell:
972-898-2493
Cell: + 254 722 715 417
schemirmir@hotmail.com
E MAIL: dchemirmir@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 18/01/07)
Two positions to be filled. However we would require
that they would be
able to learn both fields, to enable back up for each
other:-
Post Title: Receptionist/Debtors
Controller
Responsibilities: Front Office Management, Receptionist,
Accounts
Queries, Dealing with Clients, Debtors, Invoicing, Receipting,
Handling
Cash, Banking, General Secretarial Duties, Debt
Collections
Post Title: Wages Clerk/Debtors
Assistant
Responsibilities: Wages for 65 employees, Debtors -
Entering
Invoices/Receipts, Vat Returns, NEC, NSSA etc Returns, Handling
Petty Cash,
Cash Book Knowledge, Internet/Email.
Computer literacy in
Pastel Version 8 and Belina Payroll System. Previous
experience in these
fields would be advantageous. Only basic fields
covered, it entails various
other duties.
Personality Traits: Efficient, hard working, pleasant,
must be
self-motivated to be-able to perform duties without constant
supervision,
honest and trustworthy.
Dress Code:
Smart.
Salary: Salary / Package to be
discussed.
Please contact:
Multi-Link (Pvt) Ltd
P O Box HG
659
Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Tel. 737688, 705021, 708310. Fax
733844
e-mail: multilink@mweb.co.zw
---------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
REQUIRED
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 18/01/07)
I am a Diesel Mechanic with 12 years experience. I am
looking for a
position as a Workshop Manager /Fleet Manager or any position
in a related
industry. I have been running my own business in Mozambique for
the last two
years but wish to return home.
For further information
and CV please contact the following:-
Riaan Ferreira at mtemwa@zol.co.zw
Contactable on +258
823864815 until end of January
2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 18 January 2007)