http://www.voanews.com
By
Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
31 December
2008
Zimbabwean State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa has declared
in court
documents that agents of Harare's security apparatus carried out
the seizure
of opposition and civil society activists, lawyers defending the
currently
jailed activists said on Wednesday.
The lawyers said Mutasa
signed an affidavit to the effect that the seizures
or abductions as they
have been characterized by the Movement for Democratic
Change, dozens of
whose members were abducted in recent months, were
officially
sanctioned.
Zimbabwe Peace Project Director Jestina Mukoko and more than
30 MDC
activists are now in police hands facing charges they plotted to
train
militants in Botswana intending to mount a coup against the government
of
President Robert Mugabe. They were seized from their homes as of October,
then were recently handed over to the police and charged.
MDC founder
and prime minister designate Morgan Tsvangirai issued an
ultimatum Dec. 19
demanding a halt to the abductions and the release of all
abducted persons
failing which his party's national council would deliberate
terminating the
power-sharing process which was launched Sept. 15 with a
political accord
but which quickly became stalled.
Attorneys for the detained activists
earlier asked the high court to order
police to name the persons who handed
over the missing activists. The
lawyers said Mutasa in his affidavit refused
to divulge those names citing
national security concerns.
Alec
Muchadehama, one of the defenders in the group case, told reporter
Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that a motion for bail will
be
heard on Friday.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=9365
December 31, 2008
By Our
Correspondent
BOSTON, MA - Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has
dismissed as false a
report broadcast by the state-controlled broadcaster
ZBC News on the
activities of the organization, which recently undertook an
assessment of
Zimbabwe's collapsed health care system.
"Yesterday,
ZBC News falsely reported the exposure of 'four bogus physicians
for human
rights' and falsely accused PHR of aiding the opposition," stated
PHR's
chief executive officer Frank Donaghue in a statement issued to the
Zimbabwe
Times.
"PHR is an independent, nonpartisan organization and does not
support or act
on behalf of any political party in Zimbabwe or elsewhere. We
came to
Zimbabwe for the sole purpose of assessing the country's health
system,
which even the government has acknowledged as a legitimate reason
for being
there.
ZBC reported on Tuesday that four bogus physicians
for human rights had been
exposed and alleged that Physicians for Human
Rights was aiding the
opposition in Zimbabwe. In terms of the Westminster
parliamentary system of
government, modeled after the Parliament of the
United Kingdom, on which the
parliamentary system of Zimbabwe is based,
President Robert Mugabe's former
ruling Zanu-PF party is now technically the
opposition party in Zimbabwe.
The party now has fewer seats in the House
of Assembly than the Movement for
Democratic Change, which won the
parliamentary election held in March 2008
by a slim majority. The outcome of
the parliamentary election was announced
after a suspiciously long delay,
amid charges that the election result was
manipulated. The result of a
presidential election held on the same day,
March 29, was withheld from
publication for a total of five weeks, further
fuelling speculation that the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had doctored the
results in favour of Zanu-PF,
which lost both the parliamentary and the
presidential
elections.
Donaghue said the PHR team comprised four individuals from the
United States
and South Africa - including two physicians who are experts in
public
health.
"We examined how the cholera epidemic is a symptom of
a collapsed health
system and decayed sanitary infrastructure, especially in
urban areas that
house the poor. In keeping with our mission, members of our
team met with a
range of ordinary citizens as well as practitioners in
Harare and rural
Zimbabwe who are working on sanitation, maternal health
care, HIV/AIDS
prevention and treatment, the nutrition and food crisis and
other issues of
public health.
"Our purpose was not to engage in
political activity, but to offer an
objective assessment of the serious and
systemic public health issues faced
by the people of Zimbabwe. The team has
safely returned home. PHR's report
will be forthcoming."
Based in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, PHR mobilizes the health professions to
advance
the health and dignity of all people by protecting human rights. As
a
founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR shared
the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
http://www.voanews.com
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
31
December 2008
Though designated since September as Zimbabwean prime
minister, opposition
Movement for Democratic Change founder Morgan
Tsvangirai on Wednesday
formally declined an invitation by President Robert
Mugabe to be sworn into
that office, a party spokesman
said.
Tsvangirai had not been expected to accept the invitation proffered
by Mr.
Mugabe, who has been trying for months to launch a national unity
government
but whose ZANU-PF party has been deadlocked over the same period
with
Tsvangirai's MDC formation. The rival MDC formation of Arthur Mutambara
is
more favorable to joining such a government.
Mr. Mugabe sent the
formal invitation to Tsvangirai recently in the context
of an urgent call by
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, chairman of
the Southern African
Development Community, for Zimbabwe's political leaders
to establish the
unity government contemplated under a Sept. 15
power-sharing agreement to
address an acute humanitarian crisis.
A cholera epidemic has claimed more
than 1,550 lives in recent months, and
hunger looms in early 2009 for many
Zimbabweans given the scarcity and high
cost of food in the country and the
limited resources presently available to
the World Food Program and other
agencies.
Spokesman Nelson Chamisa of Tsvangirai's MDC formation told
reporter
Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that it is not for Mr.
Mugabe
to invite the MDC formation to join a government as that government
is to be
jointly constituted under the pact.
ZANU-PF Chief
Parliamentary Whip Joram Gumbo accused the MDC of failing to
respect the
intent of the power-sharing agreement, and of seeking to bypass
the judicial
process in demanding the release of MDC activists jailed on
charges they
plotted a coup.
Source: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Date: 31 Dec 2008
U.S. AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
Note: The last fact sheet was dated December 19, 2008.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Since the outbreak began in August 2008, cholera has spread to all of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces and 53 of Zimbabwe's 62 districts. On December 26, the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) reported cholera cases in Matabeleland North Province, previously the only province without any reported cases. To date, the highest caseloads have been reported in Harare, Beitbridge, Makonde, and Chegutu districts, with a recent surge in the number of reported cases in Manicaland Province.
As of December 30, cholera had caused more than 1,550 deaths, with nearly 31,000 cases reported, according to WHO. The reported figures represent an approximate doubling of both cases and deaths during the past three weeks. Currently, the U.N. health cluster is planning based on a worst-case scenario of 60,000 cases nationwide.
On December 16, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Katherine S. Dhanani declared a disaster due to the effects of the cholera outbreak. As part of ongoing response efforts, USAID/OFDA activated a five-person Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) on December 10 to evaluate response effectiveness, conduct field assessments, participate in U.N. cluster meetings, and identify humanitarian needs and gaps for the cholera outbreak.
In WHO's second epidemiological report on Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak, dated December 20, the organization reported that cholera deaths outside cholera treatment centers (CTCs) and cholera treatment units (CTUs) from December 14 to December 20 ranged from 22 percent to 48 percent of total cholera deaths, depending on the province. The figures indicate significant difficulties in providing cholera-affected populations sufficient access to treatment.
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE |
SOURCE | |
Total Reported Cholera Cases in Zimbabwe |
30,938 |
WHO – December 30, 2008 |
Total Reported Cholera Deaths in Zimbabwe |
1,551 |
WHO – December 30, 2008 |
Reported Cholera Case Fatality Rate(CFR) in Zimbabwe |
5.0 percent |
WHO – December 30, 2008 |
USAID/OFDA Assistance to Zimbabwe - $6,800,000
Total USAID Humanitarian
Assistance to Zimbabwe for the Cholera Outbreak - $6,800,000
CURRENT SITUATION
According to USAID/DART staff and relief agencies, a breakdown in water and sanitation infrastructure due to lack of maintenance has exacerbated Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak, and the nation's collapsed health system is unable to respond adequately. The current cholera crisis is compounded by a dire country-wide food security situation, raising serious malnutrition concerns. On December 3, the Government of Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) requested international assistance to respond to the cholera outbreak.
The USAID/DART public health advisor and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) advisor report that the cholera outbreak was likely caused by contamination of the main water supply in high-density urban areas. The outbreak spread via population movement and traditional funeral practices, including washing corpses. The outbreak is characterized by widespread geographic occurrence, with periodic spikes in caseload numbers in high-density urban and peri-urban areas for two to five days, when most cholera deaths occur.
USAID/DART staff note that the high mortality rates reported during the outbreak's early phase underscore the need for an early warning and rapid response system. On December 30, the USAID/DART program officer met with WHO personnel working to establish WHO's cholera command-and-control center to clarify proposed early warning and rapid response activities.
According to WHO, the outbreak has affected border areas of neighboring countries, with confirmed cholera cases reported in Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and South Africa, primarily among Zimbabwe nationals.
http://africatoday.eh7.co.uk/cgi-bin/public.cgi?sub=news&action=one&cat=73&id=1567
12/30/08, Bunmi Akpata-Ohohe
Veteran
Zimbabwean playwright Cont Mhlanga has won the inaugural ArtVenture
Freedom
to Create Prize in London. The dramatic piece for which Mhlanga won
the $50,
000 Prize is a politically charged satire christened, "The Good
President",
(no prize for guessing who The Good President is). "The Good
President"
portrays a fictional account of a brutal and callous African
dictator, who
has been in power for 27 years - closely mirroring the latest
upheavals in
his home country - Zimbabwe. Accepting the award via a
pre-recorded video
interview in Harare, having been banned from leaving his
country by the
Mugabe regime, Mhlanga said theatre was the only tool that
amplified the
people's voice in Zimbabwe, adding that, the award was for all
the artists
who risked their safety by working with him. ArtVenture Freedom
to Create
Prize is an international prize which recognises artists who use
their
talents to promote empathy and understanding and confront
discrimination and
oppression.
ArtVenture Freedom to Create Prize states: "In all societies,
the
development of the arts has been a sign of culture and light. Yet not
all
governments provide citizens with the 'freedom to create' needed to
foster
innovation, commerce and prosperity. Some governments harass and
impoverish
their citizens, steal resources, stifle entrepreneurship and
undermine human
ingenuity and hope. In these societies, art can play an
important role in
giving a voice to those who are denied opportunity and
resources."
http://www.herald.co.zw
Herald Reporter
THE Zimbabwe School
Examinations Council is inviting trained Ordinary and
Advanced Level
examination markers to report for the marking session of the
November 2008
exams that is expected to start next week in centres across
the
country.
In a statement to the markers posted at the council's regional
offices,
Zimsec director Mr Happy Ndanga said Zimsec would soon release
rates for
marking of the papers sat as part of the "O" and "A" Level
examinations.
"Both Ordinary and Advanced Level markers must check at
their venues on
January 2.
''Transport fares will be at Zimsec
regional offices or reimbursed at the
marking venues upon arrival. Script
marking rates will be availed through
the council's regional
offices.
"Zimsec will also provide transport for markers on the
Gwanda-Bulawayo-Harare route, Bulawayo-Gweru-Masvingo-Mutare route,
Mutare-Harare route and Masvingo-Harare route. There will be no fare
reimbursements on routes where buses will be provided," he
said.
However, it remains to be seen whether the markers would take up
the offer
after they reportedly refused to mark the June 2008 examinations,
whose
results are still to be released.
The October-November Grade
Seven results, which are usually released at the
beginning of December, are
yet to be compiled over an alleged payment
dispute that also resulted in
delays in the start to the October-November
2008 public
examinations.
Most of the markers did not turn because of what they
deemed a paltry 50
cents a script, resulting in delays in commencement of
marking.
Zimsec has set aside 13 institutions as marking centres for last
year's
public examinations. These include Belvedere Teachers' College,
Bulawayo
Polytechnic, Mutare Teachers' College, United College of Education,
Gweru
Technical College and Kwekwe Technical College.
http://www.herald.co.zw
HR.
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has warned of the
dangers of using fuel coupons
as currency.
In a statement yesterday,
RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono (pictured below) said
issuers of coupons, which
are relatively easy to counterfeit, are currently
holding large stocks of
coupons and not all had the fuel to back the coupons
issued.
He said
it had come to the central bank's attention that some traders and
service
providers were demanding coupons as an alternative means of payment
for
their goods and services, chief among them institutions like schools,
security companies, legal firms and auctioneers.
The deals are
described as barter arrangements, which are legal, but the RBZ
is worried
that some people are giving coupons a higher status than they
deserve.
"In terms of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, Chapter
22:15, fuel coupons
are not legal tender and hence are not a formal means of
effecting payment
in any transaction.
"Members of the of the public
are advised to resort to using of the official
currency in settling their
day-to-day transactions, foreign currency in
special cases covered by the
RBZ dispensations such as Foliwars and Felipros
and Felicocs.
"Unlike
the official currency, in this case the Zimbabwe dollar, and also
other
recognised foreign currencies, fuel coupons are generated from various
sources, rendering it difficult to distinguish their authenticity through
security features such as the watermark, Zimbabwe Bird, metal thread, etc,"
he said.
He said preliminary investigations into the quantity of
coupons held by the
issuers had revealed alarming discrepancies, to a point
where some of the
coupon holders approaching the respective garages for fuel
have been turned
away as the issuers were not authentic.
"The rate at
which they are printed, and the growing number of dishonoured
coupons, makes
the whole process susceptible to fraudsters that will result
in the public
holding fuel coupons without value," he said. - HR.
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=WORLD&ID=565430267239858444
Shashank
Bengali
December 31, 2008 1:17 PM
McClatchy
Newspapers
(MCT)
NAIROBI, Kenya - How bad was it for Africa in
2008? The highlight of the
year for most of the continent just might've been
the election of a
half-Kenyan to lead a nation thousands of miles
away.
President-elect Barack Obama's triumph in the U.S. raised Africa's
hopes -
no small feat in a year that saw rigged elections in Kenya and
Zimbabwe,
virtually no progress toward ending the mass suffering in Darfur,
political
and social upheaval in South Africa and - just when you thought
some places
had hit bottom - even more chaos and bloodshed in Congo and
Somalia.
Throughout Africa, 2008 was a year to forget. For all the hope
embodied in
the arrival of a new year, and of Obama himself, however, 2009
brings no
obvious solutions for any of Africa's most intractable
problems.
Asked what should be Obama's and the world's priorities for the
continent in
2009, Francois Grignon, a veteran analyst and now Africa
director for the
International Crisis Group research agency,
sighed.
''The whole of Africa, really, remains at the top of the list,''
he said.
The reversals are especially disheartening to Africans
because the continent
had been moving steadily, if unspectacularly, toward
peace and stability
during the past decade. Wars are on the wane, the
African Union has asserted
itself as a regional diplomatic and peacekeeping
force, economies are
growing and some countries can boast of a nascent
middle class.
Experts, however, said that 2008 was marked by missed
chances to find
durable solutions in the continent's trouble
spots.
It started in Kenya, where weeks of pressure from the U.S. and
other nations
following a disputed election forced President Mwai Kibaki to
share power
with his political opposition. The arrangement ended two months
of
ethnically driven violence in the once-stable nation.
Once world
attention faded, however, the new government failed to bring
anyone
responsible for the attacks - including police officers and some
political
elites - to justice. Deep-seated grievances over land and economic
inequities remained unresolved and are likely to boil over in the next
election, if not earlier, Grignon said.
''It's not like because of
the crisis . . . the Kenyan political system has
collapsed. But there is
unfinished business,'' Grignon said, adding that,
''It was a whole year of
wasted opportunities.
''In 2009 we have to try to get some more positive
results. Otherwise, we
have a number of situations that could
unravel.''
In Somalia, the headline-grabbing raids by offshore pirates
and the less
flashy - though no less noteworthy - gains of Islamist
insurgents on land
epitomized the total failure of a U.N.-backed interim
government, despite
the muscle of thousands of Ethiopian troops occupying
the country.
Against all odds, Somalis have hope. Dec. 29 brought the
resignation of the
reviled warlord-turned-president Abdullahi Yusuf, who
U.S. officials and
many Somalis had blamed for blocking a fledgling peace
process. If Somalia's
ever-fractious political leaders can shore up their
government by winning
the support of moderate Islamists, a country that's
been in freefall since
1991 might see a better 2009.
''The
resignation of Abdullahi Yusuf and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops
from
Somalia provide a window of hope,'' said John Prendergast, co-chair of
the
Enough Project, an anti-genocide advocacy group.
In Congo, President
Joseph Kabila - barely two years removed from the first
free election in his
country's history - faced a formidable threat in
Laurent Nkunda, a renegade
army general whose well-trained guerrillas seized
chunks of the mineral-rich
east in September and October.
The onslaught revived fears of a new,
multinational war in central Africa,
especially after a U.N. report in
December documented links between Nkunda,
an ethnic Tutsi, and the Tutsi-led
government in neighboring Rwanda, another
one of Africa's supposedly stable
nations.
Although Congo remains on a knife's edge, Nkunda halted his
advance in order
to negotiate with Kabila, which some analysts said was
emblematic of a trend
toward resolving conflicts diplomatically rather than
by the gun.
''Even though there has been violence, it has been
universally condemned and
political parties have worked harder than they
used to have done to find
political solutions rather than settling their
differences in the bush,''
said Tom Cargill, an Africa expert at the Chatham
House, a British policy
research organization.
It's harder to find
anything good to say about Zimbabwe. President Robert
Mugabe, one of
Africa's longest serving leaders, unleashed a campaign of
devastating
violence against political opponents to win re-election. He's
rejected
worldwide calls for his resignation while a cholera epidemic rages
through
his country.
A power-sharing arrangement between Mugabe and his opponents
has been ''an
abject failure,'' Prendergast said, because outside countries
are unable to
stop a man who seems determined to keep his almost
three-decade grip no
matter the cost.
The world had more leverage,
but was no more successful, in Sudan, where
2008 saw no movement toward a
peace deal in the western Darfur region and no
change in the miserable lives
of nearly 3 million people living in refugee
camps there. A U.N.-led peace
process launched at the end of 2007 in Libya
fell apart almost immediately,
and the International Criminal Court's
decision to charge Sudanese President
Omar al Bashir with genocide in Darfur
seemed only to embolden Bashir, whose
Arab and African allies soon came to
his defense.
Worse, a hard-won
2005 peace agreement that ended a separate, and far
deadlier 21-year civil
war between northern and southern Sudan continued to
miss critical deadlines
as analysts warned that it could fall apart
altogether.
''(The year)
2008 was marked by a crushing international failure to deal
with Africa's
biggest crises,'' Prendergast said. ''Much more must be done
in 2009 to
arrest the mounting death tolls on our watch.''