http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 January 2010 21:35
THE Movement for Democratic
Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
has declared a "political
logjam" in the inter-party talks and will refer
the matter to South African
President Jacob Zuma.
The party's spokesperson Nelson Chamisa
yesterday said they had "come to the
end of our patience and the death of
magnanimity" over Zanu PF's reluctance
to conclude negotiations on
outstanding issues.
"As MDC-T, we cannot accept any further delay or
procrastination in the
interest of the people of Zimbabwe who have been
subjected to uncertainty
and unnecessary anxiety over talks about talks,"
Chamisa said.
"We have guarantors to this agreement, and the logical
conclusion is for
them to help us unlock this political logjam," Chamisa
said.
Chamisa's comments followed Friday's meeting of the party's
standing
committee to assess progress on the implementation of the Global
Political
Agreement (GPA).
At the meeting, MDC-T lead negotiator
Tendai Biti reportedly briefed senior
party members of the lack of progress
in the talks.
"The preliminary report we have received is not
encouraging. It seems we are
where we were in February last year," said a
senior member of the MDC-T.
The official however said the meeting
resolved to seek Zuma's intervention
after endorsement of that resolution by
the party's National Executive and
National Council.
The
negotiators briefly met on Wednesday, but adjourned the talks to
February
8.
Sources said Wednesday's meeting was all about "politicking and
bickering"
on all outstanding but particularly on the issue of
sanctions.
Although the official position is that the negotiations
could not proceed
because one of the Zanu PF negotiators, Nicholas Goche was
not present,
sources said the major problem was the "unusually intransigent
attitude on
the part of Zanu PF".
"At the last meeting, the Zanu
PF negotiators were co-operative and willing
to make concessions, but on
Wednesday the attitude had changed for the
worse.
"They said
whatever resolutions would be made should take into cognisance
resolutions
of the party's congress in December."
Zanu PF negotiators Patrick
Chinamasa and Goche could not be reached for
comment.
It is
however understood a number of items on the agenda have been cleared,
and
the negotiators were trying to revive discussion on the contentious
issues
of appointments of senior government officials.
At the last meeting,
the negotiators came up with different proposals on the
outstanding issues,
and last week's meeting was meant to find common ground.
But it left them
further apart.
Among other things, the Zanu PF congress resolved that
"there should be no
movement on the concerns of the MDC formations without
corresponding and
simultaneous redress of Zanu PF's concerns such as the
illegal Western
sanctions".
The congress also resolved that "the
Zanu PF negotiators should not
countenance any introduction or inclusion in
the ongoing inter-party
dialogue of provisions agreements, which seek to
reverse or undermine
the gains of the liberation struggle".
The
MDC-T blames the impasse on Zanu PF's failure to implement in full the
GPA
it signed with the two MDC formations in September 2008.
The party
also objects to President Robert Mugabe's unilateral
re-appointment of
central bank governor Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana as
Attorney-General.
Other sticky issues include the appointment of
governors and the refusal by
Mugabe to swear in MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett
as deputy Agriculture
Minister.
On the other hand, Zanu PF has
insisted that the MDC must call for the
removal of targeted sanctions
imposed on Mugabe's inner circle before it
addresses the other outstanding
issues.
But the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mark Canning on Friday
said: "As the
Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, made clear in Parliament on
January 19,
the most important factor influencing the United Kingdom's views
on lifting
EU restrictive measures will be evidence of actual change and
reform on the
ground in Zimbabwe."
"These are not MDC-T
measures."
Canning was clarifying an earlier statement by Miliband
who was quoted as
saying his country would be guided by what the MDC-T
recommends when it
comes to lifting of sanctions.
EU imposed
sanctions 203 key Zanu PF figures allegedly involved in human
rights abuses
before the GNU, 40 companies associated with these individuals
and their
sources of finance.
Analysts say the MDC-T's appeal to Zuma might be
dented by Tsvangirai's
comments that the South African President cannot push
for elections in
Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai said elections would only
be defined by the GPA.
This was after Zuma had suggested that
Zimbabwe hold elections next year.
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE AND
VUSUMUZI SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 January 2010
20:26
ZANU PF officials in Mashonaland West province have reportedly
taken their
factional fights to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), where they
are
reportedly hounding out a provincial official because of his links with
ousted provincial chairperson John Mafa.
Sources in the province
confirmed last week that the party’s deputy
provincial secretary, Tendai
Chatsauka, who is a manager at the GMB in
Chegutu, is currently under
pressure to either quit the position or transfer
to the head office in
Harare.
The suspicions gathered steam last week when Chatsauka went “on
leave”.
After failing to deal with them at party forums, it is
understood Chatsauka
resorted to his role at the GMB to “fix” provincial
party heavyweights,
among them Media and Information Minister Webster Shamu,
Local Government
Minister Ignatious Chombo and Senate President Edna
Madzongwe.
“For example, just recently Chatsauka was pressured to
release a consignment
of 60 tonnes of fertilizer to one minister, but he
refused to release it,
saying that would affect the allocation to other
farmers as the supplies are
currently limited,” said the source.
It
is understood senior party officials in the province did not take lightly
to
Chatsauka’s refusal, saying he was now using his role at the GMB to
undermine senior party leaders.
They are said to have immediately
recommended Chatsauka’s ouster from the
parastatal or a transfer to the head
office in Harare as a way of clipping
his wings.
On Friday Shamu
dismissed the claims that he and other senior officials were
trying to push
Chatsauka out of GMB in Chegutu.
He said the claims about officials
ordering huge consignments of fertiliser
were also
“preposterous”.
“I have never ordered fertiliser from GMB Chegutu, my
farm is registered
under Norton, which is where I also make my deliveries,”
Shamu said.
Shamu said it was also impossible for any of the senior
officials in the
province to influence Chatsauka’s transfer.
“I
do not run GMB, it does not fall under my portfolio. That’s preposterous,
it’s ridiculous.
“My track record is quite open, go and check
with the GMB. In fact, for this
year I haven’t bought any
fertiliser.”
But the sources said in most cases -- the chefs did not
come in person to
buy fertiliser, but send known emissaries. “They send
their people, usually
constituency officers and some councilors to do the
orders for them,” said
the source.
On the simmering tensions in
the provincial leadership, Chatsauka said there
were “just a few individuals
who want to divide us”.
“As a province we are united. Right now our
drive is to preach the gospel of
constitution. There are just a few
individuals with personal interests who
want to divide the party. According
to the constitution, our chairman is
still Cde Mafa,” he said.
Some
officials at GMB Chegutu suspected Chatsauka had already been pushed
out
after he stopped reporting for duty.
But in an interview, Chatsauka
said he was on leave.
“I am on leave as from January 19 and I will be
back at work on February
19,” Chatsauka told The
Standard.
Moving Chatsauka to the head office in Harare will
effectively clip his
wings in the province, a move which might force him to
resign from the
position of deputy secretary.
“It is a clever way of
handling the tribal politics,” said the source.
“Already, it is clear
that all the officials who have been dismissed are
Karangas, and Chatsauka
is a Manyika.
“The province took a position before the congress last
year that Karangas
would not rule in Mash West, and it seems that also
applies to Manyikas.”
BY VUSUMUZI SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010 15:25
LESS than
500 metres from a small dam that is nearly full to capacity, a
maize crop
has its leaves wilting in the scorching late morning heat. A
narrow, dusty
and bumpy road that snakes to commercial farms a few
kilometres away
separates the sun baked maize field from the lush green crop
of a nearby
tobacco farm.
In reality, the road also separates the haves in the
commercial farms and
the poor villagers of Kavhara in Nyazura in Manicaland
who are surviving on
food rations from aid organisations.
The
villagers have run out of food from last season and are heading for
another
disastrous season as their crop is showing serious signs of moisture
stress.
Most of them did not plant this season because there was
not enough seed and
fertiliser in the shops.
Even if the inputs
had been available, the majority would not have been able
to buy them as
they were still battling to access multiple currencies
following the
dollarisation of the economy early last year.
In most cases planted
seeds never germinated due to poor rains.
"It last rained here some
days before Christmas and we are just waiting,"
said Susan Mukwasha
(29).
"But our hopes are fast fading as some of the crops will not
recover even if
we get rains today."
Mukwasha said although
Kavhara and nearby villages were surrounded by
commercial farms, they have
been experiencing food crises because farmers
prefer to grow tobacco, a high
value crop.
Gift Kawere of the same village appealed to charitable
organisations to
increase food aid in the affected areas.
"I
don't know where I will get food for my family because my crop is already
a
write-off," said the 34-year-old father of three as he tried to repair a
broken wooden chair.
Some families in the area only have one
proper meal a day, said Kawere.
This, he said, has affected the health
status of children and the sick that
need a balanced diet.
When
The Standard arrived at Kavhara, some of the villagers had just
received
food aid from GOAL, a humanitarian organisation that assists
disadvantaged
families.
With smiles all over their faces, scores of villagers
pushed wheelbarrows
and scotch-carts laden with food as they headed back to
their homes.
Some waved cheerfully to each and every passing vehicle
evidently delighted
at their good fortune.
"At least we are going
to have a decent meal today," chortled one woman, a
bag of maize balanced on
her head.
Each villager was given a 10 kg bag of maize, a bottle of
cooking oil and a
kilogramme of beans.
However, not all villagers
were able to access the food.
Only "the poorest of the poor"
did.
GOAL, which started work in Zimbabwe in 2002, also provides food
assistance
to the poor in Nyanga, Guruve, Karoi, Chimanimani and
Buhera.
For the past two years, Nyazura near Rusape and the
surrounding areas have
been experiencing serious food
shortages.
In 2008, several families survived on wild fruits after
running out of food.
Agricultural experts have already forecast a
disastrous season because of
erratic rains and poor planning by
government.
Other provinces affected by poor rainfall patterns
include Masvingo,
Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands.
BY
CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
15:22
GWERU - Two Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) workers are
languishing in
remand prison after they were arrested for allegedly trying
to force a
senior police officer to pay toll gate fees. Benias Chikweya and
Esnath
Manda were arrested on Wednesday and will only appear in court on
Monday
because the police reportedly want "to fix them".
The case
has drawn the interest of the Midlands chapter of the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR), which says police are abusing their
powers.
Chikweya and Manda were on duty at the Tree Top toll gate,
about 10 km
outside Gweru on January 12 when they demanded toll fees from
Senior
Assistant Inspector Pondo.
Pondo was driving a Toyota
Hilux truck with civilian number plates and was
ordered to pay US$1. He
refused to pay and it was then that the Zimra
officials realised he was a
senior police officer.
ZLHR provincial chairperson, Brian Dube said
Pondo told the officers that he
could not pay because Finance Minister,
Tendai Biti had not given the police
money in his budget.
Dube
said the officers explained that everyone driving a vehicle with
civilian
registration numbers was required to pay the toll fees.
The
explanation did not go down well with Pondo and Chikweya and Manda were
subsequently arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID)'s Law
and Order section. They are being charged with undermining the authority of
the President, Section 33(a)(111).
The allegations are that
Chikweya told Pondo that President Robert Mugabe
was old and people now
wanted young people in leadership like Morgan
Tsvangirai.
But
Dube said the allegations were concocted by Pondo to fix the
officers.
He said the police refused to take the two to court last
Thursday even after
their papers had been prepared. "They know that the
allegations are flimsy
and we view this as an attempt to punish the two, "
he said.
The two are being held at Gweru Central police cells. Police
spokesperson
Superintendent Phiri said he was not at work.
BY
RUTENDO MAWERE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010 15:16
MUTARE -
The newly co-opted Zanu PF Manicaland chairman, Mike Madiro has
extended an
olive branch to the party's secretary for administration Didymus
Mutasa
after their alleged fallout in 2004. Madiro bounced back as the party's
provincial chairman after the provincial co-ordination committee unanimously
agreed to co-opt him onto the provincial executive.
Madiro had
been in the political wilderness after his suspension from the
party for
taking part in the infamous Tsholotsho meeting on November 18,
2004.
But some senior Zanu PF members claimed that Madiro and
Mutasa could not see
eye to eye after Madiro allegedly grabbed a microphone
from Mutasa during a
heated meeting in Mutare during the build up to the
2004 Zanu PF congress.
Sources claimed Madiro's actions humiliated
Mutasa in front of other party
members.
But soon after his
co-option last week Madiro took the opportunity to extend
an olive branch to
Mutasa claiming that he had nothing against the senior
politburo
member.
Addressing the party's provincial co-ordination committee
after his
co-option Madiro said: "I have heard many people saying I have
something
against Cde Mutasa. I don't have anything against him. I have
worked with
him for more than 18 years and know Cde Mutasa better. Our
working
relationship has been cordial.
"The incident, when some
people claimed that I grabbed a microphone from Cde
Mutasa, was far from
being confrontational. It was at a meeting before the
national congress and
it was a heated meeting and when Cde Mutasa tried to
address participants at
the meeting there was commotion and his efforts to
quell the commotion were
fruitless. I rushed to where he was and grabbed the
microphone so that I
could quell the commotion.
"I did not want to humiliate Cde Mutasa
but I wanted to save him from the
heckling and commotion. But I later heard
some people saying I had
humiliated Cde Mutasa."
Mutasa who was
also part of the meeting did not respond but remained seated
and stony-faced
after Madiro's address.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
15:08
NATIONAL Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chairman Lovemore Madhuku
was
vilified as a spoiler when he mobilised opposition to a new
constitution-making process led by politicians. But following the latest
false start to the historic process the veteran campaigner is having the
last laugh.
Last week the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee
(Copac) had to suspend
the deployment of outreach teams on the back of a
plethora of problems
centred on political disagreements.
Zanu PF
is reportedly against the consultations because it wants the
so-called
Kariba Draft to be imposed on Zimbabweans.
The NCA says the problems
that have led to the suspension of the programme
were bound to surface in a
process led by political parties.
Mudock Chivasa, the lobby group’s
spokesperson, said the process had now
become another gravy train for
politicians.
“We have been told that MPs renting out their vehicles
will be paid US$1 for
every kilometre, which is much more expensive than the
$0,60 being charged
by car hire agencies in Harare,” he said.
“In
fact, it has emerged that on average, MPs will be pocketing between $250
and
$350 a day and this means that an average of $20 000 will be used for
each
vehicle.”
Chivasa said it would have been much cheaper for the
government to buy new
cars for the programme, saying money spent on hiring
just one car could buy
three vehicles.
“As NCA, we view the move
by the MPs as a clear testimony that government
officials are using this
dubious constitutional reform process as a platform
to raise money for
personal survival.”
Chivasa said the daily allowances for outreach
teams were also evidence the
governing parties were doing everything to open
up opportunities for their
followers.
The outreach programme was
initially supposed to involve about 600 people.
But the number has
ballooned to nearly a thousand after Zanu PF officials
and war veterans
allegedly turned up uninvited.
Copac co-chairman, Douglas Mwonzora
said most of the gate-crashers wanted to
use the programme to get free
accommodation, food and allowances.
“How can they even propose to
offer allowances of $40 a day in a country
where we have civil servants
earning a paltry $155 a month,” Chivasa said.
“We are disappointed
that there are even some civic groups embracing such
practices even after a
series of meetings and workshops we held before this
process took
off.
“All this money-spinning which is happening now is part of the
reasons why
we advocated for an independent commission to run this process
because we
know that with such a body, we would not have all these problems
about
rapporteuring as it will be composed of people with a single interest
of
representing their various constituencies and not there for
money.”
The NCA’s criticism comes at a time when the organisation
appeared to be
taking steps to re-engage Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC-T).
MDC-T and the NCA had a
major fallout on the direction of the
constitution-making process, with the
lobby challenging the role of
politicians.
“We had a meeting with
Tsvangirai in his capacity as MDC-T president and
were in agreement on
issues of democracy, employment-creation and providing
a reliable health
delivery system among others,” Chivasa said.
“But as NCA, we
maintained our stance on the constitution.
“If you look at what is
happening now, you will realise that government is
adamant to continue with
this process with a selfish motive of generating
unjustifiable money through
allowances and other avenues related to it.”
But Zanu PF Copac
co-chair Paul Mangwana said there was “nothing wrong” with
government’s
spending on the process.
“We engaged CMED to hire 260 cars which are
not more than three years old
and on realising that MPs recently got new
cars which are indeed less than
three years old, we agreed that out of the
total required, 60 cars can be
hired from the MPs through CMED,” Mangwana
said.
He said people should desist from thinking that MPs’ cars were
a public
resource as they were bought using loans that the legislators will
have to
repay.
“On the issue of allowances, I would like to
remind people that the
constitution-making process is not a civil service
programme.
“The United Nations is financing the programme and we are
only paying per
diems based on international rates.
“If anyone is
worried about teachers and civil servants’ salaries, they
should go and ask
(Finance Minister) Tendai Biti why he is underpaying
them.”
But
political analysts said while the hiring of MPs’ cars may be
justifiable, it
would seem insensitive for government to pay huge allowances
while most
civil servants were earning meagre salaries.
“The excuse that the
money is from the UN is irrelevant,” said University of
Zimbabwe political
science lecturer Professor Eldred Masunungure.
“This is money being
used for a national purpose through a government
institution which is
parliament.
“Government should allocate resources in a manner that
takes cognisance of
what is happening in other sectors so that the people
driving the process
are not seen as riding on a gravy train compared to the
suffering majority.”
However, Masunungure said there was nothing
wrong with MPs loaning out their
personal cars and being
compensated.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
15:06
CO-MINISTER of Home Affairs Giles Mutsekwa says he will this week
meet
senior police officers in Harare over the partisan nature of the police
handling the dispute between the Anglican Church of the Province of Central
Africa (ACPCA) and a break-away faction led by an ex-communicated bishop.
The break-away group led by Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, who was expelled from
the church in 2007, has been locking out parishioners from the ACPCA led by
Bishop Chad Gandiya despite a High Court ruling ordering the two to share
church facilities at different times of the day.
Mutsekwa said he
was concerned about the continued violation of the court
ruling by the
break-away group led by known Zanu PF apologist Kunonga.
"We are
aware and concerned about what is happening," said Mutsekwa.
"I will
be meeting with the Officer Commanding Harare Province to find out
why this
is still happening and also give him a directive to stop
it."
Disgruntled members last week accused the police of openly
supporting the
Kunonga faction, whose members have, on several occasions,
disregarded court
rulings with shocking impunity.
A High Court
ruling by Judge President Rita Makarau in 2008 ordered the two
church
factions to share the premises.
The two groups are supposed to share
the premises with the Kunonga-led group
taking the morning slot, while the
Central African province take the session
starting after
mid-morning.
But supporters of Kunonga continue to lock out
parishioners who are members
of the Anglican Province of Central Africa led
by Gandiya.
The Diocesan Registrar for the CPCA Michael Chingore said
the minister must
"put his foot down" to ensure that the police respect the
High Court ruling
as well as the rule of law.
Chingore said
supporters of Kunonga were working in cahoots with the police
to prevent
ACPCA parishioners from freely worshipping in their churches.
This is
not the first time that Mutsekwa and his counterpart Kembo Mohadi
have
intervened in the Anglican dispute.
In April last year, the two
factions had a meeting with the two ministers of
Home Affairs and it was
agreed that they share the worshipping time slots.
However, Kunonga's
supporters have neither respected resolutions of the
meeting nor court
rulings.
"Remember, I issued a statement after our meeting last year
but it appears
nothing changed much so we will be meeting again next week
(this week),"
admitted Mutsekwa.
Mohadi and Kunonga could not be
reached for comment.
A parishioner at St Elizabeth's Church in
Belvedere, Harare, described the
disruptions in the Anglican Church as "the
work of the devil".
She said this after they were locked outside the
church and foul-smelling
manure spread out in an area they were scheduled to
worship a fortnight ago.
Worshippers continue to be locked out in
other parishes around Harare.
Kunonga was ex-communicated after he
attempted to unilaterally withdraw the
Diocese of Harare from the Central
African Province.
The province includes churches from Zambia,
Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010 15:02
MUTARE - To
the people of Chiadzwa about 100 km south west of Mutare in
Manicaland,
diamonds have become yet another curse. Having for years
struggled to eke
out a living under very difficult conditions as the area is
one of the most
arid in the province, the discovery of diamonds was expected
to improve
their lives.
But the precious stones have brought with them untold
suffering and a
plethora of problems.
For the past five years the
villagers have not experienced peace as at the
height the illegal diamond
mining in 2008 more than 35 000 people descended
on the
area.
Following moves by government to start formal mining in the
area, some
families will be relocated to Arda Transau in the Odzi farming
area.
However, some still insist they are not farmers and they don't
need to be
resettled in prime farming as they demand a stake in the
lucrative diamond
mining.
Two companies, Mbada Diamond Mining and
Canadile Miners have injected a
combined initial US$150 million development
capital.
The two companies hold claims of 1 000 ha each, while two
special grants are
still under negotiations. Two more investors are expected
to start mining
diamonds soon.
A British Company, African
Consolidated Resources which was granted the
right to exploit the mineral
disputes ownership of the diamond fields by
Mbada and Canadile and is
contesting the matter. Last year the High Court
ruled in favour of
ACR.
The companies have also put on the table $10 million for
re-location of the
families.
This reporter recently visited the
garrisoned area for an insight into the
diamond mining
activities.
Villagers are living in fear as the security services
personnel have
embarked on an operation that covers searching villages.
Villagers found
with inordinate amounts of cash often find themselves in
trouble.
They have to explain how they came about the money because of
suspicion that
they are involved in extra legal trading in the precious
stones.
Most of the villagers I spoke to said they had money ahead of
the first
school term of this year.
The presence of the police
and army in the area still scares the locals, who
claim to have seen illegal
miners being beaten up with some dying as a
result of the
assaults.
The sight of five ash-covered people during our approach to
the mining area
brought to the fore the reality of what is still happening
in the area.
The five people it later emerged were captured illegal
panners who found the
allure of the precious stones
irresistible.
They looked ghostly and their pace an exercise in slow
motion. It was scary,
a scene out of ghoulish movies.
In
interviews, it emerged that they were arrested while panning. They were
frog-marched to an area known as paGomo where the police and soldiers are
camped.
The ashes they were coated in, they explained, signalled
to the other
security personnel in the area that the police and army had
already "dealt"
with them and to other officers along the way that they had
their just
desserts and should be allowed right of passage out of the
area.
"We were thoroughly beaten up. Our feet are sore. I don't know
how we will
make it to the Mutare-Masvingo highway for our journey back to
Chipinge.
"I have no money and we are hungry. If we are caught
talking to you it could
mean more trouble for us," said one of the illegal
panners as he walked away
with the aid of a stick.
A few
kilometres after the Odzi Bridge along the Hot Springs-Chiadzwa road
we
found two women, one of them in her 70s and looking frail.
They had
been discharged from Mutare Provincial Hospital, and because there
is no
public transport to Chiadzwa, the women had to walk the 20km stretch.
For
the past year public transport has not been allowed into the Chiadzwa
diamond area.
Villagers travel by bus from Mutare up to
Bambazonke and walk the remaining
distance of more than 30
km.
But disembarking from the transport at Hot Springs along the
Mutare-Masvingo
highway there is a saving as they only walk 25 km to the
diamond mining
area.
More than 50 buses used to ply the route
particularly at the height of the
illegal diamond dealing but Chiadzwa is
no-go zone where movement in and out
is controlled by the
police.
Only heavily guarded trucks carrying diamond ore to the
Canadile processing
plant off the Odzi River could be seen along the Hot
Springs-Chiadzwa road.
"I wonder why our gods have cursed us this
way," said one villager who
refused identification. What sin did the people
of Chiadzwa commit to
warrant all this?" he said referring to the general
problems brought about
by the discovery of diamonds.
"We need
public transport just like any other people and even if the
government says
the area is protected something should be done to ease our
transport
problems. Some people say the government is punishing us for
voting MDC-T
during the 2008 elections. We are not the only people who voted
for the
MDC-T in the whole province."
MP Shuah Mudiwa (MDC-T) defeated Zanu
PF's Chris Mushohwe to represent the
area.
Chiadzwa villagers who
face relocation have vowed to resist the move until
they receive full
compensation.
Some have valued their properties at more than U$100 000 while
village
elders have also made it clear to the government that they want a
share of
the diamonds.
But even the most apparently impregnable
of places can develop leaks.
Chiadzwa diamonds are still being smuggled out
and find their way to
Mozambique.
As we were driving back from
Chiadzwa via Wengezi Business Centre, one man
approaches us and brazenly
offers the "stuff" -proof that diamonds are still
finding their way out of
Chiadzwa.
BY JOHN MAKURA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
13:38
ZIMBABWEANS living with HIV and Aids want the new constitution to
guarantee
their right to treatment and are demanding adequate representation
during
the outreach programme. The calls came as the country gears for a
consultation process that will culminate in a new supreme law for the
country in less than a year.
Tabona Shoko, the director of the
Zimbabwe National Network of People Living
with HIV and Aids (ZNNP+), said
it was crucial for their members to be
"actively and meaningfully" engaged
throughout the process.
He said this will ensure that the rights of
people living with the disease
such as the right to treatment were enshrined
in the constitution.
Only 180 000 out of 1.7 million Zimbabweans
living with HIV have access to
the life prolonging anti-retroviral
drugs.
Shoko said this was partly because the current constitution
does not
recognise access to treatment as an enforceable
right.
"This is our only chance as people living with HIV to ensure
that our rights
are clearly stated in the constitution so that we are able
to hold those in
government accountable," he said.
"People living
with HIV and Aids should therefore be represented and
meaningfully engaged
at every level of the consultation process."
He was speaking at a
consultative meeting organised by the Southern Africa
Aids Information
Dissemination Service (SafAids) to map out how people
living with Aids can
effectively participate in the constitution-making
process.
Among
the many issues that the ZNNP+ wants in the new constitution are
clauses
that make access to treatment an "enforceable right".
The network
wants the right to health to be broadly defined "as encompassing
the
provision of adequate and quality care, free anti-retroviral drugs and
transparency in the administration of health resources".
ZNNP+ is
also pushing for prisoners with HIV to have access to prevention
services,
care and treatment.
The network's spokesperson, Tonderai Chiduku
said: "Because people living
with HIV and Aids in Zimbabwe continue to face
grave challenges in accessing
treatment, social services, basic health care,
education and socio economic
rights, it is important to highlight the need
for an expanded Bill of Rights
in the new constitution.
"This
should have provisions on non-discrimination and equal protection of
the law
that apply expressly to the rights of people living with HIV."
Liah
Mudavu, the ZNNP+ Masvingo vice-chairperson for the province said it
was
government's responsibility to provide health services and life-saving
ARVs
to those who needed them.
"Many people living with HIV are failing to
access ARVs and other drugs and
medicines so I expect the new constitution
to make it clear whose
responsibility it is to provide treatment," she
said.
"I expect those behind the constitution-making process to make
it known to
as many people as possible so that every one can play their
part," Mudavu
said.
"They have the right to know what is
happening and what a constitution is
all about and how they can play their
part so that it is not only for those
who are
well-educated."
"They must go deep down to find out what people want
because those in the
remote areas are the ones who are affected by lack of
access to health.
"There is no alternative treatment in rural
areas."
Midlands' provincial co-coordinator Rosa Mazimbe wants the
new constitution
to protect the right of children living with HIV as many of
them were being
discriminated against by society and in
schools.
BY BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010 13:36
THE HIV and Aids
pandemic has negatively impacted on farming communities in
Zimbabwe leaving
children, the elderly and single parents overburdened with
the
responsibility of growing food. However, the Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO) says by practising conservation agriculture, a way of
farming that conserves soil fertility and helps retain moisture resulting
in improved and sustainable production, many of these families may be able
to escape the vicious cycle.
Key practices of conservation
farming include planting without tilling the
soil using planting basins
(makomba), which among many other things reduces
the destruction of the soil
structure.
In addition to this it saves time, energy and money as
farmers without
draught power do not have to hire tillage.
Other
conservation practices include mulching (covering the soil with fodder
remains) and mixing and rotating crops.
In a recently released
report titled Farming for the Future: a Guide to
Conservation Agricultural",
the Zimbabwe Conservation Agriculture Task Force
and FAO said HIV and Aids
had decimated farming communities for the past 20
years.
The
report says once breadwinners or productive members of the family died
those
remaining were left trapped in a cycle of food insecurity, unable to
feed
themselves.
"Many of the most productive members of families have
died or fallen ill,
leaving children and the elderly who would normally
depend on these adults
to take responsibility for farming and sick
relatives.
"This double burden starts a cycle of food insecurity and
loss of income,"
reads the report.
"Much time may be spent by
women, girl children and the elderly looking
after the sick which they would
normally spend on farming activities.
"As a result these household
members can only cultivate smaller plots and
grow a smaller range of
crops.unable to grow enough to feed themselves and
beset by medical bills
and funeral expenses desperate families are forced to
sell what they
have."
The report also says conservation agriculture can help
overcome families
burdened by HIV and Aids because it is less demanding than
the traditional
methods of farming.
Some of the advantages of
conservation agriculture include: labour for land
preparation can be spread
out over time, improved household food security
can be achieved through
increased yields, improved nutrition through
diversification of crops and
increased household through sales of surplus.
"Once started
conservation agriculture becomes less labour intensive,
allowing the sick,
the elderly, the disabled and children to practice it
without having to
worry about sources or means of labour," noted the report.
But
Agritex project officer Sepo Marongwe recently told journalists it will
take
a while for conservation agriculture to be accepted by many farmers
because
it challenges conventional methods of farming that have been
practised since
time immemorial.
"For many years farmers in Zimbabwe have been taught
that ploughing is
essential for crop production because it makes soil soft
and enables roots
to penetrate easily when in fact the opposite is true so
changing mindsets
is what this new concept is all about and we have had huge
successes with
the farmers we are working with," Marongwe
said.
BY BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 January 2010 22:06
THE
embattled leader of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe (PAOZ),
Bishop
Trevor Manhanga, has ridiculed his critics who say he is running the
fellowship like a political project. Some members of the fellowship have
over the last few weeks expressed concern over Manhanga's conduct and
challenged him to step down.
Manhanga's opponents say his decision to
invite Zanu PF officials including
Professor Jonathan Moyo and Reserve Bank
governor, Dr Gideon Gono to
officiate at church events was the "last
straw".
"We are basically saying we are sick and tired of Bishop
Manhanga and his
associates," said Deacon Lyses Prada, a former church
secretary at Upper
Room Ministries (URM), one of the biggest assemblies
under the PAOZ.
"The problem is that he does not want anyone with a
different mind.
"This is the reason why he went into conflict with
his predecessor Emmanuel
Bawa, because he had different
ideas."
But Manhanga said he could not just step down as he was
elected by the
fellowship and there were constitutional provisions for
leadership renewal.
His sixth term expires next year.
He said the
claims that he was personalising the PAOZ were "malicious".
"It would
be good for you to check the credentials of those who have brought
this
story to you.What is their pedigree? What have they done in the
ministry?
"Both I and the National Executive Council (NEC) have
nothing to hide but I
wonder about those who have an axe to grind," Manhanga
said.
So serious is the fallout between Manhanga and members of the church
that at
some point last year he was temporarily banned from preaching at
URM.
In February 2009, the URM Council of Elders met at their Senior
Pastor Berry
Dambaza's office and raised concerns about "too much
interference" allegedly
from Manhanga.
Minutes of the meeting
indicate that "reckless utterances from the Bishop
(Manhanga) . . . has
disturbed many of our members even up to date".
"The leadership then felt it
was not prudent for Presiding Bishop T Manhanga
to come and preach at the
church on March 8, 2009 considering that some of
his reckless statements are
still fresh in people's minds.
"The church already has casualties as
a result of his statements, so it will
not do us good to invite
him."
The statements were made at a conference where Manhanga
allegedly praised
the army for its intervention in Chiadzwa, despite general
concern among the
congregation that the army's actions had caused the
suffering of ordinary
people.
Manhanga however says the stories
were "cooked up".
Pastors who were allegedly muscled out include
Bawa, Leo Mupanduki, Dickson
Changara and Mbiri
Mapimhidze.
Lawrence Berejena, who is an activist and is said to be
close to the axed
clerics, allegedly failed to get his credentials renewed
for 2010.
Manhanga confirmed the pastors had left, but denied pushing
any of them out
of the fellowship.
He said they had not renewed
Berejena's credentials "due to his failure to
comply with a directive of the
NEC".
He said some of them "have ordained themselves as
Bishops".
"How do they operate? What constitution do they follow? How
do they run
their financial affairs?
"What is their tenure as
'Bishops' of their organisations? Who ordained
them? What is their
constituency? Let us then see if they can stand up to
such scrutiny,"
Manhanga said.
But Bawa said Manhanga is the one who should undergo
that "scrutiny".
"He took over from me as a Bishop, he should also
state who ordained him,"
said Bawa, who left the PAOZ in 2008 and withdrew
his Waterfalls Christian
Assembly from the PAOZ, renaming it Immanuel Chapel
Ministries.
Mupanduki launched a new church, House of Shekinah, in
Budiriro last Sunday.
Berejena, who has been pastoring at the Rugare
Assembly in Harare, confirmed
his credentials had not been renewed, saying
he suspected this was
"politically motivated".
Paradza said
people were leaving the fellowship in numbers to join other
Pentecostal
churches not affiliated to the PAOZ.
But Manhanga maintained that the
"fellowship is currently undergoing
unprecedented growth".
"If
that is not the will of God then I don't know what is. I have no
political
ambitions just a desire to fulfill my calling as a servant of the
Lord to
the church and my nation," Manhanga said.
Paradza also alleged that
in 2008, URM leaders agreed to purchase new land
and construct a 3 000-seat
church building so that the church could move out
of its current premises
along Rezende Street in Harare. He alleges Manhanga
blocked this, saying
they should add more storeys to the current building.
Manhanga
dismissed the allegation as "totally untrue".
BY VUSUMUZI SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 January 2010 21:42
MEMBERS of the Zimbabwe
Media Commission (ZMC) have no idea how they are
going to operate because
they have not been formally informed of their
appointment, making it
impossible for them to start formal engagements.
The ZMC members
were named in December last year, and expectations were very
high that the
commissioners would immediately start working on reforms for
the media
industry.
But one month after the commissioners were named, they are
still in the
dark.
Godfrey Majonga, who was named ZMC
chairperson, was not immediately
available for comment
yesterday.
But Christopher Mutsvangwa, who made it into the
commission on a Zanu PF
ticket, on Friday confirmed they were still to
receive their letters of
appointment.
When Mutsvangwa's name
featured among the commissioners, critics were quick
to point out that he
would fight to protect Zanu PF's control of the state
media.
But
the former envoy to China said he would "try and do as honest a job as I
can, based on my intelligence".
A legal expert said if the
commissioners had not received their letters of
appointment, they should
approach the responsible minister or the President's
Office for
clarification.
"I believe that the ZMC is dragging its heels. I
understand that the members
of ZMC have been in communication with each
other and are taking the
attitude that in the absence of official
appointment they have no
obligations. I suggest that given the public
announcement of the members of
the ZMC they have an obligation to
communicate with the Minister and obtain
written confirmation from him of
their appointment. They can also seek
confirmation from the President's
office. To not do this is an abrogation of
duty," the lawyer
said.
"The Chairman has the power to convene special meetings and so
does not have
to await anything to call a meeting. So the ZMC should have
met early on and
agreed on regulations to be promulgated with new fees.
Furthermore, if the
ZMC could not actually obtain confirmation of their
appointment early on
then all the Commissioners should have issued a joint
statement exposing
this and describing their efforts to obtain clarification
from the Minister.
"I think the apathy displayed so far indicates
that the ZMC may not lead to
a freer media environment. The Commissioners
may well frustrate each other's
efforts."
On Friday, journalists
gathered at the Quill Club in Harare to debate the
way forward, and explore
alternatives for reforming the country's media
sector.
Zimbabwe
Journalists for Human Rights secretary general, Dumisani Muleya
argued that
the ZMC's coming in would make no difference.
He said the body was likely to
pursue the interests of the political parties
that formed it.
"We
do not need this sort of structure," Muleya said. "This is a body that
is by
all means very political and partisan.
"What is most poisonous about
it is that it did not come out of sector-wide
consultations. It is clear the
ZMC was set up as a tool for politicians to
control the
media.
"We have no reason to believe that we can get proper media
reforms from the
current set up."
Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe national chairperson,
Loughty Dube, said the ZMC was
likely to maintain the status quo regarding
the operations of the public
media.
Media houses are also still in the dark on issues of
registration, as it has
since emerged that registration fees are still
pegged in Zimbabwe dollars.
Applications for registration have to be
accompanied by the prescribed fees.
Chairman of the Zimbabwe National
Editors' Forum Iden Wetherell said he was
one of the many people who were
willing to give the ZMC a chance but he had
changed his mind because of
Mutsvangwa's "arrogance and ignorance" on
Friday.
BY BERTHA
SHOKO AND VUSUMUZI SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 January 2010 21:51
BULAWAYO - The
government is pressing ahead with the takeover of the
Matabeleland Zambezi
Water Project (MZWP) and will be renaming it to reflect
its national status,
Water Resources Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo said on
Friday. Nkomo who came
under harsh criticism from various quarters in
Matabeleland after he
announced the takeover late last year said he had also
appointed consultants
to lead public consultations on how to proceed with
project and mobilisation
of funds.
The project, which was first mooted in 1912, will now be
known as the
National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project
(NMZWP).
Former Bulawayo council spokesperson and prominent
historian, Pathisa Nyathi
is one of the consultants that have been appointed
by the ministry.
NMZWP will involve the laying of a pipeline from the
Zambezi and the
construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, which will be used
as a reservoir
for dams to supply water to Bulawayo.
The
government estimates that US$1.1 billion will be required to fund the
project that is touted as the lasting solution to Matabeleland's perennial
water problems.
However, Sipepa Nkomo's move to nationalise the
project is facing opposition
from opposition Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa who
chairs the Matabeleland
Zambezi Water Trust and several politicians from the
region.
In December, Vice-President John Nkomo said the announcement
of the takeover
was "mere rhetoric".
Dabengwa says the minister
never consulted them before he made the
announcement.
But Sipepa
Nkomo said government made a decision to take over the project as
far back
as 2004 and last year's announcement was just a reaffirmation of a
cabinet
resolution.
He said Dabengwa's board had since been informed that the
Zimbabwe National
Water Authority would now be responsible for the project
and the trust's
account would soon be audited by an international
firm.
Stakeholders who attended the meeting said the name change was
evidence
enough that the project had been hijacked.
BY
NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 January 2010 22:00
A
continent-wide campaign to support Haiti's reconstruction and development
was launched in South Africa on Friday. The "Africa for Haiti" campaign in
partnership with Haitian civil society organisations will identify areas in
which it can assist.
It also hopes to provide Africans from all
walks of life an opportunity to
demonstrate their collective solidarity and
support for the people of Haiti,
in a move that will unite Africans in
compassion and giving.
The campaign has the support of churches,
business and civil society leaders
among them Graca Machel, newspaper
publisher Trevor Ncube and businessperson
Reuel Khoza, Archbishops Desmond
Tutu, Njongonkulu Ndungane, Malusi
Mpumlwana and Thabo
Makgoba.
Addressing the Press Conference at the Nelson Mandela
Foundation offices in
Houghton, Johannesburg, Machel said the "Africa for
Haiti" campaign focuses
its efforts on reconstruction in
Haiti.
"The objective of this campaign is not to provide immediate
relief but
rather to contribute toward the medium to long-term
reconstruction of
communities in Haiti. As a result, it is estimated that
fund-raising for
this campaign may continue for six months," Machel
said.
"The campaign also aims to unite individuals, NGOs and
corporates across
Africa behind this cause by disseminating information and
enlisting support
from their extensive networks."
Archbishop
Emeritus Tutu said: "We were supported wonderfully by the
international
community when we struggled against the vicious policy of
apartheid. Today
the people of Haiti, struck twice by the earthquake, are in
a worse
predicament than we were . . . I welcome the initiative by Graca
Machel and
others. It deserves our whole hearted and very generous
support."
Appealing to Africans from all walks of life to take the
campaign as a call
to action, Archbishop Ndungane said citizens of Africa
should identify with
and feel for the people of Haiti. "As Africa, we have
been recipients of
help in our time of need and we appreciate how this can
alleviate desperate
situations."
The Anglican Archbishop of Cape
Town Makgoba said it was time for Africa to
stand in solidarity with the
people of Haiti by offering them assistance.
"We urge our political leaders
not to be slow in joining the tide of
compassion in response to this
disaster . . . especially in the challenging
times of reconstruction that
lie ahead. Therefore we look to the African
Union Summit (at the end of this
month) to express what it means truly to be
'Africans for Haiti'."
By
Our Staff
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010 11:25
WASHINGTON
- World Bank Group President Robert B Zoellick on Tuesday starts
an
eight-day, three-nation Africa visit to help focus the attention of
African
governments, development partners and private investors on seizing
the
opportunity for renewed momentum in economic growth and overcoming
poverty.
Although hit by the global food, fuel and financial crises,
African
governments have persisted in strengthening their economic policies
as they
pursue development, or rebuild after conflict.
Zoellick
will head first to Sierra Leone before travelling to Cote d'Ivoire
and then
Ethiopia for the African Union (AU) summit. Ahead of the trip,
Zoellick
noted that many sub-Saharan African countries had enjoyed a decade
or more
of solid growth before the crisis and it was important to preserve
and
expand on these gains by drawing investment to high growth areas.
"I
am visiting Africa to learn about how its people have coped with the
global
economic crisis and to see how the World Bank Group can work with
them to
improve prospects for economic growth and expanded opportunity. Much
of
Africa has a solid record of economic growth, including in some of Africa's
fragile states, and it has the potential to be another pole of growth for
the world economy," Zoellick said.
Zoellick said that a
combination of policy and institutional reforms and
external resources are
urgently needed to help build capacity, generate
economic opportunities in
fragile states, and lay the foundation for
stability and overcoming
poverty.
He also called for policies and investments that would expand
Africa's share
of global and intra-African trade by fostering regional
integration and
building crucial infrastructure in energy, transport and
irrigation needed
to promote agriculture, manufacturing and
industrialization on the continent
and for helping countries adapt to
climate change.
At a working breakfast forum on the sidelines of the
AU summit, which
Zoellick is hosting jointly with African Development Bank
President Donald
Kaberuka, several African leaders will discuss the
transformative impact
that information and communications technologies
(ICTs) can have on the
continent.
"The skeptics wondered whether
Africa was ready for a revolution in
telecommunications. But African
entrepreneurs, with the help of supportive
government policies, changed the
facts on the ground," said Zoellick.
Acknowledging that private
sector participation will continue to be key to
take Africa to the next
level of high-speed connectivity and to create jobs,
the forum is expected
to urge African leaders to further lift barriers to
private sector
investment in the sector. It is also expected to encourage
African leaders
and the private sector to take advantage of ICTs to advance
agriculture,
education and health sectors, and to similarly realise the
considerable
promise of other sectors.
During his trip, Zoellick will visit
energy, agriculture and fishery
projects that have benefited from World Bank
support. He will hold working
sessions with representatives of other donor
agencies; discuss ways of
boosting World Bank support to governmental and
civil society organisations
promoting peace, transparency, accountability,
and good governance.
In fiscal 2009, the World Bank Group, which
supports Africa mainly through
the International Development Association
(IDA) and International Finance
Corporation (IFC), committed a record $58.8
billion worldwide in loans,
grants, equity investments, and guarantees, a 54
percent increase over 2008.
IDA, which provides grants and low-interest
loans to the world's 79 poorest
countries, half of which are in Africa,
committed $7.8 billion to
sub-Saharan African countries, a 36 percent
increase over the year before.
The Bank's private sector arm, IFC, which
provides investments and advisory
services to build the private sector in
developing countries, has seen its
commitments in Africa grow from $445
million in 2005 to $1.82 billion in
2009.
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
14:58
VIOLENCE as a political tool has a long history in Zimbabwe. It was
very
much used by the settler colonial regime, which won the 1890s war
through
the use of guns and dynamite. Black people then only had bows and
arrows and
limited access to fire arms.
From the 1890s onwards, state
violence was commonly used, with beatings and
torture being normal
procedures used by the Police and the Army. Killings
were also routinely
carried out, usually by CIO agents. Dozens of
nationalist leaders were
killed.
When Zapu faced an internal rebellion in 1963, leading to the
formation of
Zanu, both parties indulged in violence as a political tool. It
was common
to beat up people who allegedly belonged to the "other"
party.
Ordinary people reacted by carrying party cards of both parties,
producing
the "right" one depending on which group of youths accosted
them.
Usually the "right" party was identifiable by the language used by
the
youths, either IsiNdebele or Shona. Orgies where houses of Zanu or Zapu
activists were burnt to the ground followed.
The Smith regime
invented itself as the "peace keeper", although it also
routinely burnt
houses of one or the other nationalist party in order to
fuel anger,
disunity and revenge.
When the liberation struggle began there were
many attempts made by African
nationalists to fight for their rights through
peaceful means.
Little was achieved until armed struggle became a reality
in the 1970s. This
entailed the organised use of violence by the liberation
forces against
soldiers and representatives of the settler colonial
regime.
Freedom fighters firmly believed they were fighting a just war
against
racist based oppression.
"Representatives" of the settler
colonial regime included blacks who
supported the regime.
Fast
forward to 2000, twenty years after Independence was won. The first
twenty
years of Independence was marked by the policies of "socialism" and
"reconciliation".
White farmers were allowed to retain some 13
million hectares of prime farm
land. However "socialism" was dumped in 1992
in favour of Economic
Structural Adjustment.
"Reconciliation" was
dumped in 1999, when white farmers came out in full
support of the Movement
for Democratic Change, MDC, led by Morgan
Tsvangirai.
White farmers
who had enthusiastically supported Zanu PF now supported the
MDC equally
enthusiastically.
Whilst MDC was originally rooted in the trade union
movement, it soon began
to enjoy the advantages of funding, as well as the
organisational and
propaganda skills of the white farmers.
Zanu PF
had had a similar history of strong support from communal farmers as
well as
strong support from rich white farmers up until 1999. White farmers
played
an important role in providing boreholes for Mai Sally Mugabe's bid
to help
children during her lifetime.
Zanu PF reacted by utilising violence
and force to take over more of the
white farms, recruiting some tens of
thousands of youths to assist a few
thousand war veterans.
Twelve
white farmers and 36 black MDC supporters were killed in 2000. Since
2008
the number of MDC supporters violated, beaten and tortured comes to
tens of
thousands.
Thousands of houses were burnt, cattle and small livestock
taken, and crops
and food stores destroyed. The number killed is over 200.
MDC militia
reacted by fighting back with violence too. This violent
strategy "worked",
in that President Mugabe was re-elected without any
"opposition" in June
2008.
The question Zimbabwe must face fairly
and squarely is whether the use of
violence as a political tool should
continue. . We now know that the Zanu PF
Government utilised some 13 000
youths who were illegally employed and paid
as "civil servants" but were
actually a paid youth militia in 2008.
Their task was to beat up
"enemies" of Zanu PF. They were also tasked to
kill members of the MDC
militia. That is another question: should every
political party in Zimbabwe
also have a militia? And should the two youth
militias face each other in
battle?
The question Zimbabwe faces today is whether the problems we
face can be
solved by violence. Perhaps the answer is in how we analyse
these problems.
The problems we face include poverty, unemployment
and corruption. More
violence is unlikely to solve these fundamental
problems. No matter how
many people you kill, you will not conquer poverty.
No matter how many
youths you employ into militias, you will not be able to
solve the problem
of unemployment.
BY FAY CHUNG
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
14:54
I was a boy of 14 when I had my first encounter with George
Orwell's novel.
I was in the second year of secondary school.
I
thought it was a beautiful and fascinating book. I still do. A copy has a
privileged position on the bookshelf - it sits there, alongside Franz
Fanon's
The Wretched of the Earth, my other favourite.
It may
have been written more than half a century ago but as with all great
works
of art, it is timeless. It is still relevant now as it was then and I
am
certain it will continue to be. I like to think only a few, if any, who
have
read it, have not been captivated by the allegory.
At the time, in
1989, my appreciation of dynamics and intricacies of
Zimbabwean politics was
fairly limited. I was a small boy in Mashonaland.
The mood was euphoric and
everyone was happy, or so it seemed.
Even though I cannot claim to have
been privileged, it is fair to say that
my world view alongside others in
the community was limited by the mirage of
stability and freedom.
But
reading Animal Farm alongside the history lessons on the Russian
Revolution,
on whose foundations the allegory is apparently constructed,
made perfect
sense to us.
Animal Farm is a book that means many things to many
people. For me, the
theme that has always stuck out is the phenomenon of
corruption in high
office.
The book provides poignant lessons to
those who, after leading the struggle
for emancipation and freedom assume
political office.
It's about how people change; how the metamorphosis of
the politician takes
place and how sadly, even in the midst of all the
descent into hell, the
ordinary people continue to believe, gullibly so, in
the goodness and wisdom
of their leaders. For wise leaders, it's about what
not to do when you
assume a position of authority and proximity to
privilege.
The allegory recounts the story of how animals rebelled
against the
oppressive humans running a farm. So when Farmer Jones is
ejected, the
animals take over under the leadership of the pigs, Snowball
and Napoleon.
At first everything seems to go well, guided by the Seven
Commandments of
Animalism, top of which states that all animals are equal.
Over time,
however, a power struggle ensues between Napoleon and Snowball,
with
Napoleon triumphing through clandestine means.
With the
passage of time, Napoleon basks in the comfort of power. The
temptations are
too great to resist. Through a private security team of dogs
that he had
trained since they were puppies, he terrorises other animals.
The
pigs assume an elevated position on the farm. They begin to indulge in
luxury - manipulating the rules, even amending them to suit their newly
acquired tastes. So the commandment "all animals are equal" becomes "all
animals are equal but some are more equal than others". Things change very
quickly, courtesy of the temptations of luxury.
And when the pigs
discover Farmer Jones' Whiskey, the commandment that "No
animal shall drink
alcohol" is amended to read "No animal shall drink
alcohol to excess",
enabling the pigs to imbibe the beautiful waters.
The pigs gradually
discover that sharing the barn with others for
accommodation is not quite
comfortable and certainly not in keeping with
their station, so they move
into Farmer Jones' old farmhouse and take up the
comforts of the
beds.
They even learn to walk on two legs, instead of four, like
other animals.
Yet in all this, many of the animals remain faithful,
believing stridently
in the wisdom of their leaders.
One of my
favourite characters, probably mainly because I pity him so much
is Boxer,
the horse.
He is the strongest of them all and works the hardest. But
poor Boxer is
also the most gullible of them all. Even when all animals
pledge to work
hard, his primary maxim is "I will work harder". And even as
Napoleon
manipulates the system and becomes autocratic, Boxer adopts the
maxim,
"Napoleon is always right!"
Then of course there is the
flock of sheep, pitifully gullible, too. At the
time of the rebellion they
bleated the chorus, "Four legs good, two legs
bad", in reference to the
difference between animals and oppressive humans.
Yet by the time the
pigs had changed and convinced them it was right to walk
on two legs, they
sang, "Fours legs good, two legs better!" They understood
little of what was
happening but they remained a loyal choir for the pigs,
drowning out any
voice of dissent.
I often think of Animal Farm and how this allegory
has been played out in
real life in many countries around the world. I think
of Zimbabwe and how at
independence, the common theme was how everyone was
free and equal before
the law.
I took the opportunity over the
holiday to read Edgar Tekere's autobiography
entitled, A Life of Struggle.
Like all autobiographies it has its
limitations as an historical source,
chief of which is that it overly
glorifies the hunter. It lives to the old
saying that until the animals have
their chance to tell their own stories,
the story will always glorify the
hunter, who of course, tells the
story.
But it does provide many insights - the most relevant here
being how the
leadership of the independence struggle engaged in private
and, it has to be
said, obscene accumulation of wealth, using the privilege
of political
office.
This was despite the Leadership Code adopted by
Zanu PF, under whose terms
such private accumulation of wealth was
discouraged. Here the Leadership
Code is the equivalent of the Seven
Commandments of Animalism in Animal
Farm - a statement of aspiration that
its makers find hard to live up to.
But the story of what happened
after independence is not new. Neither is it
the key subject here. It is
what happens now; perhaps more to the point,
what is happening now in
Zimbabwe.
The country is experiencing a period of gradual
transformation. The new
Inclusive Government, which celebrates a year in
office in a few weeks'
time, has provided a platform for those formerly in
opposition, namely the
two MDC parties, to assume leadership
positions.
These men and women stand in the midst of great temptations.
Already
allegations and counter-allegations of corruption abound. It may,
indeed be
the work of detractors, but then you expect Squealer to say just
that.
Tekere asked in his book how it was that some of his
colleagues, with whom
he had spent many years in the bush, had become so
wealthy so soon after
independence.
He recounts how, some of his
colleagues had failed to resist the lure of
luxury and had consequently
become corrupted. Indeed, the Willowgate Scandal
in 1988-89 - involving the
unlawful trade of motor vehicles - remains one of
the most iconic examples
of the scourge of corruption that engulfed the new
leadership. A lot worse
has happened since then.
Like Boxer, the people will continue to work
harder hoping to chart a better
future. Like Benjamin, they may read the
signs but Squealer will always have
the tongue to explain it
away.
Like the animals on the farm, the ordinary people, tortured and
tormented
for so long, will continue to believe, even if gullibly so even if
like the
pigs, the leaders seek the life of luxury - drinking whiskey and
constructing the most expensive and luxurious accommodation in keeping with
their new found station.
The sheep will continue to sing the
chorus.
I hope we do not again have a repeat of Animal Farm. I hope
there is
resistance to the hand of corruption. I hope sincerely it is not
true that
some believe yava nguva yeduwo yekudya (it's our turn to eat).
Then again it's
only a hope - perhaps the horse has already
bolted!
Alex Magaisa is based at, Kent Law School, the University of
Kent and can
be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
14:39
ONE of the most frustrating things on returning from the end of
year break
and to the promise of a new year is being saddled with
unrelenting power
cuts. Last year there was an attempt at scheduled
load-shedding even though
that proved challenging, but the first few weeks
of the first month of 2010
have demonstrated the power utility's propensity
to generate thumb-suck
bills than improved power supplies to
consumers.
It's difficult to believe there is any system at all. Blaming
the inflated
charges on computer errors and wrong billing programmes does
not wash any
longer.
There is no semblance of rationality in the
size of bills consumers are
receiving. Consumers - and there are
increasingly more of them - are
spending more time without electricity and
this ought to be reflected in a
reduction in the amounts they are
billed.
There are daily power cuts all round while there are some
areas that have
been without electricity for several months.
There is
no semblance of even load-shedding, yet with all the promises of
the
inclusive government and the stability it has brought there should be
signs
of improved energy supplies especially after refurbishments undertaken
last
year at both Hwange and Kariba power stations.
This was after the
investment by Nampower of Namibia to beef up power
generation at Hwange.
Consumers regrettably see nothing but deterioration in
power supply from
last year.
There is an urgent need therefore for an energy Indaba,
specifically to
identify immediate, mid- and long-term energy generating
approaches. The
arrangements with Nampower and now with Botswana appear to
be the immediate
recourse.
There is foreign funding available which
the local power utility does not
have and refurbishment of the power
stations will meet the needs of external
partners while bringing to an end
the trauma to which Zimbabwean consumers
are being
subjected.
Neighbours Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa are
building new power
stations while Zimbabwe is still talking about discussing
what to do and
where.
Zimbabwe has developed a knack of being long on
talking but woefully short
on implementation. Its so-called preparations for
the 2010 Fifa World Cup
are a case in point barely five months to go before
the world soccer
showpiece.
Clearly there is need to explore
possibilities of partners with expertise in
energy development, who can move
in rapidly and address the uncertainty over
reliable electricity
supplies.
In the meantime Zimbabwe needs to get its act
together.
A fortnight ago there were worrying signals that appear to have
been driven
more by a quest for instant popularity or worse still based on
bad advice.
The Minister of Energy and Power Development suggested
that Zimbabwe's
obligation to supply Namibia with electricity could be
disregarded at the
drop of a hat even though there is an agreement in place
with Nampower whose
investment in Hwange Power Station was on the basis it
would be guaranteed
regular energy supplies.
Botswana, which is
negotiating refurbishment of the Bulawayo power station
in exchange for
power supplies, would have been worried by the Minister's
pronouncements. If
anything the Minister's statements demonstrated the
dearth of ideas on
meeting Zimbabwe's energy requirements.
Finding funding partners and
external expertise in upgrading power
generation at the country's existing
but grossly under-utilised power
stations is easily the best approach in
restoring capacity generation in the
shortest possible
time.
Electricity along with water is critical to new investment.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 23 January 2010
14:34
IN situations of soil erosion, water always flows along the same
path and
erodes it more, unless preventative measures are taken. It would
appear that
as far as failure to plan for each agricultural season over the
past 10
years or so is concerned; it is like an eroded field which needs to
be
repaired by providing the necessary contours.
It is a fact
that agriculture anchors the economy of this country. Basic raw
materials
for industry come largely from agriculture.
Mining is also key to the
economy of Zimbabwe. The difference between mining
and agriculture is that
agriculture is rain-based and it is seasonal whereas
mining can and is
carried out continuously throughout the year. Once you
miss a week in
agriculture, you have lost it.
For example, the best period to plant
wheat in Zimbabwe in is between May 1
and 15. Those planting after this
period will not get the maximum yield with
the proper protein and gluten in
their wheat. Timing is therefore crucial in
agriculture.
I
believe that when the government changed the financial year from July/
June
each year, to January/December, there may not have been sufficient
interrogation of why the Rhodesian government had that financial year. It
will be recalled that this change was done about eight or so years
ago.
Our rain season is between November and April. It follows
therefore that the
planning for each agricultural season has to be done well
before November.
The local production of fertilisers used to be done
throughout the year; not
just between November and January.
Local
fertiliser companies used to be allocated foreign currency in such a
way
that they would produce basal fertilisers first; and by mid-year a lot
would
have been manufactured. As farmers would have started delivering their
produce to the market in April, on their return trips, they would carry
inputs for the following year.
In short, manufacturers of
fertilisers, agri-chemicals, farmers' unions and
government would meet from
say February each year, even while that seasons'
crop was still young, to
plan for the following season.
These plans would be put in the government
budget which would be debated and
passed by parliament before end of June
each year.
Whatever money was for agricultural support would therefore be
in the budget
and used before the start of that season. At the same time, by
the second
half of the year input manufacturers, especially fertiliser ones,
would have
started distributing top dressing fertiliser.
One
thing that the government has been consistent on has been the annual
failure
to ensure farmers have inputs in time.
In August last year, Zimbabwe was
provided with US$510 million special
drawing rights by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Minister of Finance ruled that the money could
only be spent through the
government budgetary process. Technically, this
was correct because
government expenditures must be approved by parliament.
So the minister had
to allocate the money through the budget.
This
budget was effective from January 1, 2010. As a result, imports of top
dressing fertilisers are still being done. Fortunately for the government,
there is no rain, so those few farmers who are receiving the fertiliser
cannot apply it because of moisture stress.
I need to mention
here that those farmers who borrowed and got vouchers or
cheques payable to
GMB, had to mortgage their houses to get the loans.
A lot of those
farmers got compound D and seed but now, those fortunate to
have rains are
desperate for top dressing fertiliser. The fertilisers and
seed were sold at
commercial prices. The loans are for payment in June,
2010. The yields for
the lucky ones are going to be very low. How are the
farmers going to
pay?
It is quite clear that the financial year is not in sync with
the
agriculture season. It is easy to lay all the blame to the Minister of
Finance but in all fairness, the blame is with the government as a whole.
There is this thing that is called supplementary budget. Surely, one could
have been suggested in Cabinet to address the time difference for the
release of funds. Why did it have to wait until January?
Is the
fertiliser being imported for this season or next season? We know
that we
have to grow crops every year, yet we are never prepared for it.
I
know that it would be unrealistic to ask government to consider going back
to the previous financial year arrangement. What I recommend to government
is that there be a continuous two-year plan for
agriculture.
Government should initiate discussions now with all the
stakeholders in
agriculture to plan for the 2010/2011 season.
The
plans must be concluded before end of March: for example those who are
in
irrigated tobacco need to have done their plans by then. A supplementary
budget would need to be considered to enable industry to be ready to provide
inputs well before November, say by September.
The supplementary
budget would carter for the 2010/2011 season while next
year's budget would
then be for 2011/2012 season.
If we do not do something along these
lines, we will, as a country, continue
to fail to plan for our
food.
BY RENSON GASELA