Reuters
Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:13 PM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe
is facing a shortage of about half the amount of
maize needed to feed its
people, a U.S. agency said in a bulletin that
raised fears of widespread
famine in the southern African nation.
In its latest bulletin, the U.S.
Famine Early Warning Systems Network
(FEWSNET), said Zimbabwe did not have
enough foreign exchange to afford
significant maize imports and that its
planned imports would only cover a
fraction of the deficit.
Zimbabwe
requires 1.8 million tonnes of maize annually.
"Planned imports only
cover 60 percent of the assessed gap of 850,000 MT,
and by the end of
December 2006, only 28 percent of these planned imports
had been delivered,"
FEWSNET said.
"It remains doubtful that Zimbabwe will be able to meet
import goals," the
agency added.
Food shortages are one of the
sharpest signs of a deepening economic crisis
widely blamed on President
Robert Mugabe's policies. Zimbabwe has also
experienced shortages of fuel,
chronic unemployment and inflation above
1,200 percent.
Food
shortages have been common in Zimbabwe since 2001, when Mugabe's
government
ramped up a programme to seize land from white farmers and
redistribute it
to landless blacks. Agricultural production has fallen
sharply since
then.
Critics say those who benefited from land redistribution have been
largely
ill-equipped to farm, leaving what was once southern Africa's
breadbasket
struggling to feed itself.
Mugabe's government has said
it contracted with suppliers to import 565,000
tonnes of maize this year
from South Africa and Zambia.
But FEWSNET said higher prices in South
Africa -- a major supplier of white
maize to Zimbabwe -- and foreign
currency shortages would affect Harare's
ability to import
supplies.
Zimbabwe's government says farmers produced 1.8 million tonnes
of maize
during the 2005/6 agriculture season and delivered 540,000 tonnes
to the
state Grain Marketing Board -- the sole buyer and seller of
maize.
Agriculture, once Zimbabwe's top foreign-currency earner, accounts
for 18.5
percent of the country's GDP and is the backbone for its major
employers in
the cattle, timber, grain and horticulture sectors.
"As
the hunger season progresses through January and February, local prices
are
expected to start rising and this will limit food access for the most
vulnerable households," FEWSNET said.
Reuters
Fri
Jan 26, 2007 5:22 PM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - A leading Zimbabwean
politician warned journalists on
Friday against forming an independent media
council without the approval of
the government, which has closed newspapers
and arrested reporters.
Leo Mugabe, a nephew of President Robert Mugabe
and a member of his ruling
ZANU-PF party, told about 200 journalists at a
meeting to launch the council
that they should avoid confrontation with the
authorities.
The government introduced tough media laws five years ago
imposing state
permits on local reporters and barring foreign journalists
from working
permanently in the country.
The voluntary media council
is a bid to supervise and maintain professional
and ethical conduct among
journalists in the face of government charges that
the media is
unprofessional.
The southern African country's largest privately owned
newspaper, the Daily
news, and its sister Sunday paper, and two weeklies
were forced to close
after failing to comply with the stringent provisions
of the law, while
dozens of reporters have been arrested on charges of
violating the
regulations.
"As the (parliamentary) portfolio
committee on transport and communications,
we support the idea of a
voluntary media council ... but it should be within
the confines of the law,
so that you do not have a structure that runs
parallel to the media and
information commission," said Leo Mugabe.
"What we should work on are
amendments to AIPPA (Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act) so
that this animal you want to create can be
accommodated therein," he
said.
"There should be no conflict in the process."
Matthew
Takaona, head of the journalists' union and chairman of the steering
committee pushing for the media council, had said it would be launched after
outstanding constitutional and structural issues have been
addressed.
Iden Wetherell, chairman of the Zimbabwe editors' forum,
insisted
journalists should not be intimidated by Leo Mugabe and should
close ranks.
"We are eager to broaden participation and engage our
colleagues in the
state media ... as long as we agree on elementary things,
such as the
respect for freedom of expression and they should not celebrate
the arrest
of fellow journalists," he said.
By Violet Gonda
26
January 2007
The entire leadership of the Christian Alliance and some
journalists were
arrested at a Church meeting in Kadoma on Friday. The
Alliance is the group
that brought together a coalition of opposition,
civic, churches, labour and
student bodies under the Save Zimbabwe Campaign,
to help resolve the crisis
in Zimbabwe.
Pastor Lawrence Berejena told
us that armed riot police came to the Church,
where at least 1000 people had
gathered to pray for Zimbabwe, and arrested
at least 10 people. Those
arrested include; Reverend Motsi, Pastor Magaya,
Pastor Chiponda, Pastor
Gokova, Pius Wakatama (spokesperson for the
Alliance), a photojournalist and
several people who were filming the event.
The Pastor said people are
really suffering and the church is trying to
encourage and motivate them but
"you get these black boots guys, the riots,
surrounding the church with
these weapons."
It's reported that the prayer gathering also combined a
meeting to elect
provincial committees and to launch the Christian Alliance
in Mashonaland
West. Church leaders came from areas like Sanyati, Mhondoro,
Chegutu and
parts of Midlands. The church is said to have been full to
capacity forcing
some people to sit outside. Pastor Berejena said there were
many people from
the mainline churches but also from other denominations
such as the Zimbabwe
Assemblies of God, Family of God and Church of
Christ.
He said they did not need permission to pray especially as the
gathering was
in a church. Pastor Berejena added: "I don't know where you
are, when people
are getting involved in church business besides Sundays, do
they seek
permission to go into Church to worship God? And to send words of
encouragement to people do you seek permission for that? We are not in a
council hall or a government hall, we are in a Church. A
Church!"
Despite the arrests of their leaders the congregation continued
with their
prayer meeting. "We are continuing with excitement, feeling
hotter than
before. We are enjoying the meeting." And he walked back into
the Church
where SW Radio Africa could hear people singing and
ululating.
Unfortunately Pastor Lawrence Berejena was also arrested, later in
the
afternoon.
Kadoma police refused to talk to us but we did manage
to talk to Reverand
Motsi in detention. He confirmed that he was at the
police station but was
not allowed to give out any more
information.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Tererai Karimakwenda
26 January
2007
Prices in Zimbabwe are increasing everyday and stories about the
economy and
the key players who determine economic policy are dominating the
headlines.
"Government reviews economic vision." "Gono delays monetary
review," "TV
licenses up 2500%," "Sugar price not sweet enough for
producers" and
"Parallel market rates go wild." It's all about the economy
these days. And
very few people care what the technical jargon means. They
are concerned
with surviving while the dollar just keeps losing
value.
Inflation keeps rising and it is currently at an all time high of
1,281.1%.
Doctors are on strike demanding more money. Nurses joined in this
week and
teachers said they are walking out on Monday. Water tariffs
increased by
1000% and government approved sugar price hikes this week. And
there is
more!
The Herald reported Thursday that authorities have
upped radio and TV
licences by 2,500 %. This means radio licenses now cost
Z$50,000 a year, up
from Z$20. The cost of a television licence went up from
Z$650 to Z$150,000.
A car-radio licence now costs Z$200,000, up from
Z$500.
To put this in perspective, junior doctors went on strike because they
were
earning just Z$56,000 a month.
Itai Zimunya of The Crisis
Zimbabwe Coalition said people are completely fed
up with the economy and
politics that are dominating their lives. He said
the recent price hikes
have been shocking and people are saying the whole
situation is a mockery.
He said the striking junior doctors, nurses and
teachers have the right
idea. Street action invites violence and brutality
from government - so
Zimunya believes all Zimbabweans should just withdraw
their
services.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Zim Online
Saturday 27 January 2007
HARARE -
The body of an opposition activist remains in a mortuary in Bindura
town,
60km north of Harare, almost three weeks after she died because the
traditional head of her village says he will not allow opposition supporters
to be buried in his area.
Officials at the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party
headquarters in Harare yesterday said they
were assisting to have the late
Chipo Kanemanyanga buried at an alternative
cemetery near Chipadze suburb in
Bindura town.
Kanemanyanga, who was
one of the few known activists of the MDC from the
Bindura area - a
traditional no-go area for opposition supporters - died on
the 5th of
January this year. She was 27 years old and died after failing to
recover
from injuries she sustained when ruling ZANU PF activists severely
beat her
up about five years ago.
"We are doing all we can to help her family and
relatives bury her," said
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamissa. "But this even
confirms that all cruelty,
violence and political intolerance cannot be
located anywhere else except on
the doorstep of ZANU PF which has now
coerced traditional leaders and
headmen into its structures," added
Chamisa.
Kanemanyanga's mother, Noreen, said as well as approaching the
MDC for help,
she had also sought legal assistance from the Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human
Rights (ZLHR) especially because ZANU PF officials in Bindura were
allegedly
threatening to also bar her from burying her daughter in the
town.
A ZLHR official David Hofisi confirmed that the organisation was
working on
the matter.
"I have failed to bury my daughter for almost
a month because of heartless
officials from the ruling party who do not
respect other people's right to
belong to a party of their choice," a
sobbing Noreen told ZimOnline.
She said she was also struggling to raise
the Z$680 000 that morticians were
demanding as fees for looking after the
body of her daughter for the past
weeks.
According to Noreen, she
initially sought assistance from the police to bury
her daughter but they
refused to intervene saying the matter was "political".
However, police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said the matter had not been
brought to the
attention of the law enforcement agency.
Efforts to contact the headman,
Matthias Chinyane, who is a senior ZANU PF
official, were fruitless
yesterday.
Headmen and chiefs have been widely been used by ZANU PF to
intimidate
perceived MDC supporters and to deny them food aid as punishment
for backing
the opposition party.
ZANU PF thugs have reportedly
killed several MDC supporters since 2000 when
the opposition narrowly lost
to the ruling party in a poll widely condemned
by local and international
observers as undemocratic and unfair.
The European Union, United States,
Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia
have imposed targeted visa and
financial sanctions against President Robert
Mugabe and top officials of his
government as punishment for violating human
rights, stealing elections,
failure to uphold democracy and the rule of law.
Mugabe denies the
charges levelled by the West against his government and
instead says
sanctions are meant to punish him and his lieutenants for
seizing land from
white farmers for redistribution to landless blacks.
The Kanemanyanga
family lives in Manhenga, a rural business centre situated
15 kilometres
south of Bindura town, the provincial capital of Mashonaland
Central
province. - ZimOnline
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Husband and wife former guerrilla team bid to become Zimbabwe's First
Family.
By Hativagone Mushonga in Harare (AR No. 91, 26
Jan-07)
Soon after independence, Solomon Mujuru is said to have told a
group of his
fellow Zezuru clansmen at the plush and former whites-only
Harare Club, "I
didn't fight the liberation war to end up a poor
man."
Mujuru was at the time a very powerful man. In the 1970s, when
Zimbabwe was
called Rhodesia and was white-ruled, he had been commander -
under the
wartime pseudonym of Rex Nhongo - of the Zimbabwe African National
Union,
ZANU, guerrilla liberation army with bases in Mozambique.
In
1978, he had quelled an internal revolt aimed at toppling ZANU's
political
leader, Robert Mugabe, thus making himself indispensable.
When Rhodesia
became Zimbabwe at independence in 1980, Prime Minister Mugabe
appointed
Mujuru head of the national army.
Mujuru resigned his army post in 1990
to devote himself full time to
business. Today he is one of Zimbabwe's
wealthiest businessman.
In 2004, his wife Joice, a rank outsider in the
fight to succeed Mugabe as
state president, beat the shrewd former national
intelligence chief, Rural
Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, to become
Mugabe's vice president.
To many in ZANU - which became the
ZANU-Patriotic Front, or ZANU PF, at
independence - Joice Mujuru, deserved
the seat as she was one of the most
senior members of the revolutionary
party, after her husband, the retired
army commander. As a woman guerilla
fighter, she acquired a legendary
reputation and also the nom de guerre
Teurai Ropa (Spillblood).
Joice Mujuru had also earned her stripes by
having at one time served in the
powerful post of defence minister after the
death of the previous incumbent,
Moven Mahachi, in a car accident in 2001.
She was the youngest government
minister at the age of 25 when Zimbabwe
attained independence in 1980 and
has been in government ever
since.
If she manages to outwit Mnangagwa - back in the succession race
to succeed
Mugabe, who turns 83 in February - and goes on to beat the
opposition
political parties, the Mujurus will become Zimbabwe's First
Family.
Joice Mujuru was born into a peasant family in the Mount Darwin
area of
northeastern Zimbabwe and dropped out of school in 1974 at the age
of 18 to
join the liberation struggle. During the war against Ian Smith's
white
minority government, she claims to have shot down and destroyed
single-handedly a Rhodesian Air Force helicopter with an AK-47 rifle she
picked up from a dying guerilla fighter. The veracity of this claim has
never been proved.
She rose through the guerrilla ranks to become a
commander.
Although Mujuru had a limited education when independence
came, she studied
while serving as a junior minister in the first Mugabe
administration. She
has since obtained a degree at a local
university.
After being appointed in 2004 one of Zimbabwe's two vice
presidents, the
51-year-old is in a strong position to take over as national
leader after
the death, retirement or downfall of Mugabe. The other vice
president,
Joseph Msika, has said he intends quitting politics when Mugabe
retires.
However, Joice Mujuru still has to fight the challenge of
Mnangagwa, who
also
has strong backing among the party heavyweights,
provincial leaders and
security officials.
Both Mujurus have
excellent war credentials. But who are they now and what
kind of a First
Family will they be for Zimbabwe if Joice Mujuru wins the
next presidential
election either in 2008, as scheduled, or in 2010 if
Mugabe loyalists manage
to secure a postponement?
The vice president has the advantage of a
powerful and an influential
husband, whose wartime name Nhongo is Shona for
"billy goat", fabled in
local lore for sexual prowess and hardheadedness. It
was Nhongo/Mujuru who
implored guerillas, most of whom had never met Mugabe,
to accept him as
their leader after his predecessor, Herbert Chitepo, was
assassinated by
opponents in Zambia in 1974.
Despite his resignation
from the army and its top post, Solomon Mujuru,
remains one of the most
powerful men in Zimbabwe - and one of the most
feared: he knows the
movement's innermost secrets.
He has been the force behind his wife's
rise to power. He initiated a
corruption inquiry into arms, ammunitions and
consumer goods deals struck by
Mnangagwa with the former Congo regime of
Laurent Kabila in exchange for
preferential trade in diamonds, cobalt and
timber.
The corruption inquiry severely damaged Mnangagwa's ambition to
become head
of state. But he overcame the setback, partly because of his
powerful
intelligence links and not least because corruption is deeply
embedded
throughout the Mugabe administration.
The Mujurus themselves
have been dogged by corruption allegations which
threaten their prospects of
achieving supreme power.
Joice Mujuru has been sucked into one of
Zimbabwe's biggest economic
scandals since independence, the Zisco affair.
She has been named in an
official report claiming that she and other
government ministers were
involved in the alleged looting and asset
stripping of the state-run
Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company,
Zisco.
Dubbed "Steelgate", the tentacles of the Zisco affair has spread
wider with
every passing day.
Zisco is the largest steel plant in
Africa outside South Africa. Based at
Redcliff, just outside the Zimbabwe
Midlands city of Kwekwe, steel
production at the troubled plant has
collapsed from 14,200 tonnes a month
two years ago to less than 1,000 tonnes
now. Zimbabwe has been unable to
attract the minimum foreign investment of
400 million US dollars needed to
rehabilitate the increasingly derelict
plant. Meanwhile, numerous methods
have been allegedly used by top
politicians to loot its remaining assets.
These have included claims that
large amounts of foreign exchange have been
allocated to top government
officials and their associates who said they
were doing business on behalf
of the company. Further allegations of abuse
of company credit cards,
bloated management fees and directors' expenses as
well as false claims for
air fares, hotel bills, purchases and entertainment
are said to have
contributed to catastrophic losses.
Mugabe's official spokesperson,
George Charamba, speaking to the state-owned
Herald daily newspaper,
recently denied any looting of Zisco by government
officials.
Two
years before Mugabe launched his own notorious and chaotic so-called
land
reform programme in 2000 - when ZANU PF loyalists armed with axes and
pangas
invaded white-owned farms across the country, slaughtering cattle,
breaking
into farmhouses and occasionally killing farmers - Solomon Mujuru
became the
subject of the first prosecution for illegal seizure of a farm
and its
assets.
His seizure of Guy Watson-Smith's 3,500-acre farm south of Harare
and his
enrichment by selling off farm equipment originally purchased by
Watson-Smith at a cost of 80 million dollars was ruled illegal by the
Zimbabwe Supreme Court.
Ignoring court decisions it does not like has
become one of the trademarks
of the Mugabe government. Mujuru is still on
the farm while Watson-Smith,
now trying to rebuild his family's life in
France, continues forlornly and
unsuccessfully to try to sue
Mujuru.
The retired general has also been accused recently of illegally
seizing the
lucrative River Ranch diamond mine in southern Zimbabwe. In a
court battle,
Mujuru has been accused of "unlawfully and forcibly" taking
over the mine.
With such allegations hanging over him and his wife, it is
a sad statement
on the condition of modern Zimbabwe that Solomon and Joice
remain front
runners in the bitter struggle to succeed Robert Mugabe and
become the
nation's new First Family.
Hativagone Mushonga is the
pseudonym of an IWPR contributor in Zimbabwe.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
ZANU PF enraged by book that casts president as reluctant leader
of
independence struggle.
By Josphat Nyenyai in Harare (AR No. 91, 26
Jan-07)
Veteran nationalist Edgar Tekere has broken one of the most
sacred
conventions of African liberation doctrine by publishing a book which
openly
questions the official story of how Robert Mugabe rose to lead his
country's
main guerrilla movement before becoming independent Zimbabwe's
first black
prime minister and then state president.
Tekere's newly
published autobiography, A Life Time of Struggle, puts Mugabe
at the outer
periphery, rather than the centre, of the liberation struggle
waged by black
nationalists in the 1970s to end white minority rule.
Mugabe is cast by
Tekere - former secretary-general of Zimbabwe's ruling
ZANU PF party - as a
reluctant leader of the independence struggle who was
thrust into the top
position merely by accident of history.
Tekere's revisionism has caused
uproar within ZANU PF. There are cries for
Tekere's dismissal from the party
and a leading Harare bookstore wholly
owned by the government has refused to
stock his book, which has become an
instant bestseller.
At the 1964
launch conference in Gweru - in the central part of the
country - of the
then Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANU, the Reverend
Ndabaningi Sithole
was elected president. A distinguished Catholic
schoolteacher, Leopold
Takawira, was elected vice president. The ZANU
executive was quickly
arrested and imprisoned for the next ten years, but
one member, Herbert
Chitepo, managed to flee abroad, becoming the
leader-in-exile of the
movement.
A second-tier leader, Secretary-General Mugabe, and a
third-tier leader,
Deputy Secretary for Youth Tekere, then aged just 27,
were also imprisoned.
Mugabe became leader only by default, argues
Tekere, after Takawira died in
prison; Chitepo was assassinated in Zambia
(after internal struggles within
exiled ZANU factions turned bloody); and
Sithole was toppled from the
leadership while still in
prison.
Although official accounts of the nationalist struggle make
Mugabe its
kingpin, Tekere writes that during the difficult formative years
in the late
1950s of the black nationalist resistance, Mugabe was teaching
outside the
country in Ghana. When the precursor of ZANU, the National
Democratic Party,
was launched in 1960 Mugabe still had not returned
home.
When Mugabe did return, he was told that despite his considerable
academic
achievements it would be difficult to incorporate him into the top
leadership because he was single.
To overcome the problem, the ZANU
leadership arranged a marriage for him
with a woman named Abigail Kurangwa,
who, says Tekere, "agreed to marry
Mugabe, and eventually fell in love with
him. Mugabe appeared to
reciprocate, and his family
liked
Abigail".
The fact that Mugabe had agreed to an arranged
marriage showed what Tekere
argues was a clear trait - deference to his
leaders and what the author also
argues was a lack of personal
vision.
In 1961, when other leaders of the short-lived National
Democratic Party
rejected Joshua Nkomo as leader, because of his love of
luxury living, and
tabled a motion to get rid of him, the motion "was
countered by none other
than Mugabe."
Tekere writes that Mugabe was
even reluctant to agree to the sacking of
Sithole by ZANU leaders while
still imprisoned in Kwekwe Prison. He
abstained from the vote.
Tekere
says even Mugabe's historic decision to flee across the border with
Tekere
into Mozambique - after their release from imprisonment in 1975 - was
not
voluntary one on Mugabe's part. Tekere's flight with Mugabe followed the
assassination of Chitepo: ZANU had to move its external bases from President
Kenneth Kaunda's Zambia which had arrested the entire external ZANU
leadership in the aftermath of the killing.
But who was to take over
the leadership in Mozambique?
Tekere writes, "I had always been committed
to the armed struggle, and,
moreover, as the leader of the youth I was the
obvious choice. But I was a
junior member in terms of the party structures,
so there was need for a very
senior Party cadre to accompany
me.
"Ndabaningi Sithole had been sacked, Leopold Takawira the vice
president had
died in detention and the secretary general was Robert Mugabe.
Thus it was
that Mugabe went with me into exile. It was made clear that he
was not going
as president of the party, but he had the authority to speak
on behalf of
ZANU."
But when Mugabe then agreed that ZANU should be
absorbed into Bishop Abel
Muzorewa's short-lived United African National
Council, Tekere writes, "My
first disagreement with Mugabe took place then
[on their clandestine journey
from Rhodesia to Mozambique]. We were
discussing what we would do when we
met the other [exiled ZANU] recruits,
and Mugabe was adamant that we should
tell them that we were in the UANC
[United African National Council],
according to the Lusaka Accords [an
agreement designed to unify all the
Zimbabwean movements and
factions].
"This made me extremely angry, and I said: 'What a treacherous
mind you
have! We are here by decision of ZANU. I am not part of the UANC.
You are a
betrayer. I am going to report back to those who sent us here
about your
betrayal.'
"After that I made sure that he did not meet
any recruits when I was not
there too, in case he began to talk about the
UANC."
The theme of Mugabe as a betrayer of the armed struggle runs
throughout the
book. After the Chimoio Massacre of November 1977, in which
more than one
thousand people were killed in a Rhodesian Armed Forces raid
on a ZANU camp
in Mozambique, Tekere gave a report on the killings to
Mugabe, who was in
Maputo, Mozambique's capital by the Indian Ocean. Tekere
writes, "Two thirds
of our dead were women. He [Mugabe] said to me, 'You
know what, I'm
beginning to wonder whether this is worthwhile, with all
these people
dying.' But I replied that we must go on to the end. His remark
aroused in
me a mixture of anger and disgust."
This was the time when
Mozambique President Samora Machel is reported to
have said of Mugabe, "I
respect Mugabe, but he does not measure up to this
scale of military
operation and planning. He does not belong as a soldier."
When Tekere
later told the ZANU commander Josiah Tongogara - later to die in
Mozambique
in a car crash and be replaced by Mugabe loyalist Rex Nhongo -
about this
and not to trust Mugabe with details of their discussions, Tekere
says
Tongogara told him, "Now you have heard it for yourself! You are the
one who
brought a sell-out here! Look how many of the people have been
killed! I
told you not to bring him here, but you only believe what I said
now because
Machel told you!"
Tekere writes, "Some time later, I brought the subject
up again with
Tongogara: 'Are you saying I brought a sell-out?' This time
the two of us
analysed the situation and realised that we were both equally
apprehensive
that Mugabe might let us down. After this we began to isolate
out dependable
commanders, and tried to discover how many of us were still
committed to the
war. But this filled us with sadness."
Machel put
Mugabe "virtually under house arrest" in the aftermath of the
Chimoio
massacre. "Security at the house [where Mugabe was kept] was
uncomfortably
tight", Tekere writes. The house arrest was ostensibly for
Mugabe's safety,
but the fact that Machel never discussed it with him
personally suggests
there was another reason.
Tekere says Mugabe did not share his enthusiasm
for committing to war. While
Tekere went straight into military training on
arrival in Mozambique, Mugabe
showed no interest and never became a fighter.
Explaining to Mugabe why it
was necessary for him to learn how to use a gun,
Tekere recounted to
Zimbabwe's future head of state how King Hussein of
Jordan had had to kill
five ambushers after his guard and driver had been
killed. "I then taught
him to handle weapons and to keep them always within
reach," said Tekere.
"Yes, up to that time, he had not learnt how to use a
weapon.
"There are other examples of his lack of appetite for war. Mugabe
was the
Commander-In-Chief of the Zanla [the acronym of ZANU's guerrilla
army]
forces, yet he had no uniform. This became obvious to us when the time
came
to inspect graves, following the Chimoio attack. Here he was,
surrounded by
the rest of us dressed in our military attire, wearing a suit.
It was most
incongruous.
"He was really a civilian bureaucrat. He
would sit in his office, waiting to
receive military briefings from me, and
never took the initiative himself
unless pushed. He did not know how to
salute. I always remember Ndabaningi
Sithole's words during the detention
years. He said: 'You want Mugabe to be
your leader? Mugabe is a good civil
administrator.'"
Tekere writes that Mugabe was eventually chosen as
ZANU's leader-in-exile
because he was a middleman between competing
factions, not because he showed
leadership qualities.
At a function
in Harare to launch the book, Tekere said Mugabe now regarded
himself as a
king who had single-handedly delivered the country from white
rule -
although the truth was that he had had to be persuaded to join the
nationalist cause wholeheartedly. "I am more ZANU PF than Mugabe," said
Tekere. "I have heard ..predictions that 2007 would be a better year for
this country. No, it cannot be. It is going to be worse as long as we
continue with the slogan 'Pamberi navaMugabe' [Long Live Mugabe]. Mugabe has
become a liability to the people of Zimbabwe."
In the book, Tekere
concludes, "Robert Mugabe is right at the centre of the
nation's problems;
in my view 90 % of the blame should go to him, and 10 %
to those who have
uncritically huddled over him over the years."
ZANU PF has gone into
overdrive trying to discredit Tekere's book, which,
although highly
self-centred, gives new and interesting insights into the
personality of
Mugabe and the role he played in the armed struggle. Although
it fails to
provide any new insights into the deaths of Chitepo and
Tongogara, the book
will inevitably open up a new debate about the man who
has been Zimbabwe's
only leader since independence from Britain in 1980.
Of the demands being
made for his expulsion from ZANU PF, Tekere has
replied, "If they do, that
will further show that there is no democracy and
freedom of speech in ZANU
PF. The book contains my personal opinions about
the war. So why will I be
punished for my opinions?"
"A Lifetime of Struggle" is published by Sapes
Books in Harare
Josphat Nyenyai is the pseudonym of an IWPR contributor
in Zimbabwe
VOA
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
26 January
2007
Political temperatures are rising in Harare on the back of a
deepening
economic crisis and a controversial proposal from the ruling
ZANU-PF party
of President Robert Mugabe to put off the presidential
election due next
year until 2010.
Zimbabwe has been hit by a wave of
strikes since the turn of the year, with
an action launched five weeks ago
by hospital doctors and nurses crippling
the health system and other public
employees including teachers threatening
to follow their lead.
The
faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by MDC
founding
president Morgan Tsvangirai has declared that it considers the 2008
presidential campaign under way and will organize protests if the vote is
put off.
The Tsvangirai MDC branch was organizing in Kuwadzana last
week and will be
rallying supporters in Glen View on Sunday, heading next to
Matabeleland.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions general council meets
on Saturday and
ZCTU Secretary General Wellington Chibebe hints it is likely
to call
protests.
The government has warned it will deal harshly with
protests. Home Affairs
Minister Kembo Mohadi was quoted as stating at the
first graduation parade
by police cadets this year that Harare is expanding
the police force to
50,000 members. The army is recruiting too in
anticipation of increased
clashes with opposition forces.
Political
analyst and former information minister Jonathan Moyo has warned
that the
economy is the biggest threat to President Mugabe's
incumbency.
Nairobi-based political analyst Brian Kagoro, also African
regional policy
and advocacy manager for U.K.-based ActionAid, told reporter
Blessing Zulu
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that President Mugabe has
failed to resolve
the national crisis and that even some ruling party
members lack confidence
in his leadership.
Steven Price
January 26,
2007
The election of a new Zimbabwe Cricket board earlier this month and
the
reappointment of Peter Chingoka as its chairman was expected to end much
of
the internal rancour within the game.
But a report in The
Zimbabwean quotes one stakeholder as saying there are
plans afoot to "make
cricket ungovernable for Chingoka".
Chingoka's continued presence at the
helm of the board has not been welcomed
by everyone, although ZC has
effectively eliminated its most vociferous
critics over the last year. Even
within those brought in as replacements,
there appears to be unease about
Chingoka's role. His re-election came
exactly a year after here were
widespread moves to remove him from office.
"It's the same story of
rigging and manipulation of structures that enabled
Chingoka to bounce
back," someone described as a veteran cricket
administrator told the
paper.
And one of the new provincial heads was equally defiant. "It has
become an
embarrassment that we seem to imply a serious lack of capable
people in this
country," he said. "We are mobilising for serious measures
that make
Chingoka realise he is not wanted. Cricket belongs to the
grassroots and we
shall make it ungovernable, for Chingoka to go."
©
Cricinfo
Mineweb
By: Frank Jomo
Posted: '26-JAN-07 10:00' GMT © Mineweb
1997-2006
BLANTYRE (Mineweb.com) --The World Diamond Council has
backtracked on its
earlier condemnation of River Ranch Diamond Mine, leading
to suspicion and
doubt about the authenticity of its original source of
information.
In December last year, council chairman Mr Eli Izhakoff
wrote to the
European Union, which is the chair of the Kimberly Process,
alerting it to
warn all diamond importing countries to inspect their parcels
originating
from Southern Africa to make sure that they did not contain
Zimbabwean
production.
The WDC took the action following reports that
rough diamonds from Zimbabwe's
kimberlite River Ranch Mine n ear Beitbridge
and alluvial diamonds from
Marange were possibly being smuggled illegally
into South Africa for
official export with validation of the Kimberley
Process Certification
Scheme (KPCS).
The alert -- which effectively
meant blacklisting of Zimbabwe's diamonds --
was issued without any prior
investigation to assess the true situation on
the ground in
Zimbabwe.
River Ranch, through its legal consultant Retired Justice
George Smith, then
wrote to the WDC expressing dismay at the council's lack
of professionalism
by taking as fact the allegations that the mining
establishment had smuggled
diamonds into South Africa.
However, in a
letter responding to River Ranch's complaints, Mr Izhakoff has
now climbed
down, saying the council had at no time stated that the company
was involved
in smuggling.
'The WDC does not, nor has it ever, taken a position that
River Ranch
Diamond Mine is itself in any way involved in such
activity.
"No factual conclusion or assertions were offered in the
letter," wrote Mr
Izhakoff, referring to the letter that he had written to
the EU.
Government also took a swipe at the council for taking a
"political stance"
against Zimbabwe by accepting as true the rumours that
rough diamonds from
the country were being smuggled to South Africa without
first investigating
and establishing the facts on the
ground.
Speaking after touring River Ranch Mine last month, Minister of
Mines and
Mining Development Ambassador Amos Midzi described the lack of
professionalism by the WDC as "pure madness which must be stopped before it
gets out of hand".
"We are aware that some of them have been looking
for a reason to isolate
Zimbabwe and now they think they have found
one.
"As Zimbabwe, we abide by the law and we are a legitimate member of
the
Kimberly Process. At the recent meeting in Botswana, we invited the
Kimberly
Process president to come down to Zimbabwe to inspect for
themselves and
look at our records which are impeccable," he said. The
minister added that
the Government had taken stringent measures against the
illegal mining of
alluvial diamonds in Marange.
In his letter, the
WDC chairman goes further to praise the Zimbabwean
Government for the
measures it has taken to contain the illegal mining in
Manicaland.
"The WDC is pleased to learn that the Government of
Zimbabwe acted promptly
to address these concerns within the KPCS
mechanism.
"I also take note of the submission of the Zimbabwe
authorities to the
Kimberley Process working group on monitoring. These
steps are appropriate
and very encouraging
"I expect the KP chair
(EU) will, in due course, report on its findings and
I look forward to any
remaining uncertainties being resolved to the
satisfaction of all parties
concerned," added Mr Izhakoff.
River Ranch authorities have always
strongly denied allegations of smuggling
diamonds out of the country, saying
that they have not exported any diamonds
since they resumed production in
June last year; and when they eventually do
export, it would be done legally
in full compliance with the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme
(KPCS).
Addressing a Press conference last month, Justice Smith said that
it was
clear that the allegations meant to tarnish their name were being
fabricated
by their rivals at Bubye Minerals with whom they have been
embroiled in a
legal wrangle over a special grant for the past two
years.
At the beginning of last month, the High Court ruled that River
Ranch was
the rightful owner of the special grant, dismissing Bubye's
application to
have the rights ceded to them and stop the former from
conducting any mining
operations at the site.
Bubye has since
appealed against the judgment to the Supreme Court.
River Ranch has since
laid criminal charges against Bubye Minerals directors
Michael and Adele
Farquhar for gross asset striping at the mine and
externalisation of foreign
exchanage.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
26 January
2007
Zimbabwe's state-controlled fixed-line phone company
Tel-One has doubled
worker wages in response to 1,205% inflation, calling
this a holding action
pending approval by its board of new salary
negotiations with
telecommunications workers union.
But the union has
accused Tel-One of using a tactic it employed last year
when, the union
says, eventually refused to negotiate higher wages for the
fourth
quarter.
Tel-One workers want wages to take into account the poverty line
set each
month by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe. The council's most
recent survey
set the monthly cost of food and other essentials for a family
of six at
Z$352,000, or US$85 at the parallel market exchange rate that
applies to
most daily transactions.
Most Tel-One workers are making
about Z$64,000 (US$15), not including the
100% increase which is to go into
effect next month.
Many workers at the phone company are especially
aggrieved because their pay
for December was in some cases entirely consumed
by surging health care
deductions. The company offered to lend workers a
month's salary at a low
interest rate.
In 2004 the company fired more
than 1,000 employees who went on strike.
Communications and Allied
Services Workers Union of Zimbabwe President
Lovemore Matombo, also
president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions,
told reporter Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Tel-One
management is not
taking talks seriously and is counting on fear of layoffs
to keep workers in
line.
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
26 January
2007
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network and its partners
have agreed to move
ahead with preparations for a presidential election in
2008 despite proposal
by the ruling party to postpone the ballot until 2010
when the next general
election is due.
Proponents of the election
change in the ranks of the ZANU-PF party of
President Robert Mugabe say the
"harmonization" of the presidential and
general elections will save the
country money and improve the electoral
process. But opposition and civil
society critics say it is a scheme to
extend Mr. Mugabe's term for two
years.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network founder and chairman Reginald
Matchaba-Hove told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that as there is no provision under the constitution as it stands for
ZANU-PF's proposal, his group is working on the assumption the presidential
vote will take place in 2008.
By Lance Guma
26 January 2007
Tennis legend Martina
Navratilova will take part in a tournament over the
weekend to raise US$100
000 for the Mother of Peace AIDs orphanage in
Mutoko. The tournament set for
Florida in the United States is under the
theme, 'Tearing Down Walls and
Building Hope.' Tickets for the event are
already sold out. Navratilova is
going to assist the orphanage run by Jean
Cornneck, affectionately known as
Mamma Jean. The home looks after 200
children whose parents died of HIV/AIDs
related illnesses.
Rev. Cindi Love who leads the Metropolitan Community
Church in its worldwide
outreach programmes said the orphanage was a model
for recovery efforts
because it was a 'self-sustaining community.' Love is a
friend of
Navratilova and was instrumental in convincing the tennis star to
support
the orphanage. Love's son Joshua has also worked with Mamma Jean in
the past
and knew about the project.
Navratilova is said to have been
enthusiastic about supporting the home
because it was, 'small, manageable,
focused and empowering,' but the
economic turmoil in the country is said to
have severely affected its
operations. Rev. Love however expressed concern
the Mugabe regime might try
to block the donation adding, '"we have to
hand-carry this money to them to
make sure they get it. Mugabe will not
allow any of Gates Foundation money
or other funds targeted for AIDS relief
to come in. The dictator does not
want these people to live." She told
journalists that she will travel to
Zimbabwe in late March to hand over the
money.
The orphanage has a garden, bakery and a dam in which fish are
bred to
provide food for the children and surrounding villagers. The home
trades
commodities it produces for those it cannot. Rev. Love stressed the
point
that because Zimbabwe had barred foreign media from the country, other
parts
of Africa more open to the media had more access to AIDS relief
efforts.
This she says is the reason for getting a high profile celebrity
like
Navratilova to help out.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
IOL
Basildon
Peta
January 26 2007 at 09:13AM
Zimbabweans will now
begin learning Chinese after the first group of
15 Chinese volunteers
arrived in Harare this week to start teaching
Zimbabweans how to speak the
seemingly very complicated language.
The Zimbabwe government
announced in 2005 that it intended Zimbabweans
would learn to write and
speak Chinese fluently to facilitate interaction
with China and enhance
President Mugabe's "Look East policy".
A Chinese language desk has
since been established at the University
of Zimbabwe (UZ) with help from the
Chinese government.
The 15 Chinese will now run the Chinese
language desk at the UZ and
work at various institutions across the country
for at least a year.
Their main task will be to teach
the Chinese language, but they would
also help Zimbabweans understand what
the State-controlled Herald described
as "Chinese medical diagnosis and
technology of pasture husbandry".
"The Chinese youth volunteers
will be attached to various institutions
in the country for a year on a
youth exchange programme that is meant to
cement ties between China and
Africa," said Minister of Youth Development
and Employment Creation Ambrose
Mutinhiri.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Yuan Nansheng said
Zimbabwe was the
first African country to receive the volunteers under an
exchange programme
for the whole of Africa. He said this showed the
importance China bestowed
on Zimbabwe.
Four of the volunteers,
who are Chinese language tutors, will be
attached to the University of
Zimbabwe to teach the Chinese language "to
ease the language barrier between
China and Zimbabwe".
One volunteer, an expert in acupuncture, will
be attached to the
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to train Zimbabwean
professionals in
Chinese medicine.
This article was
originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on
January 26, 2007
Staff writer
26 January
2007
Cara Black can claim family bragging rights after winning her
fifth grand
slam title on Friday. The top Zimbabwe tennis player teamed up
with South
African Liezel Huber to beat Taiwanese pair Chuang Chia-jung and
Chan
Yung-jan 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 in the Australian Open women's doubles
final.
Media reports from Australia said it was the 27-year-old Black's
fifth grand
slam doubles triumph, taking her past the four major titles won
by brother
Wayne. Elder brother Byron Black also won the French Open men's
doubles
crown back in 1994. The victory in Melbourne held extra significance
for
Black, who has recently married Brett Stephens, the former fitness coach
for
Pete Sampras and Mark Philippoussis.
'It's really nice to have my
mother-in-law and my brother and sister-in-law
and all of the family here,'
said Black. 'It has really been an awesome two
weeks.'
Black also
paid tribute to her late father and first coach Don, who taught
her and her
brothers the finer points of doubles play on grass courts in the
backyard of
the family home.
'He always encouraged us to come into the net, to be
aggressive players and
to mix up our game a lot. There was a certain drill
we used to do on a wall,
like a fast volley drill, we'd try and hit a
hundred volleys as quick as we
could and he would time us. I think that
definitely helped all of our
reflexes,' she said
Black was broken
when serving for the match in the 12th game of the second
set, but the
experience of the African pair came to the fore in the final
set against the
young Taiwanese pairing.
Black and Huber had also combined to win the
2005 Wimbledon title and the
South African pledged they would now target all
four majors in 2007.
Chuang and Chan were playing only their third tournament
together after
entering the tournament as wildcards.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 18/01/2007)
LARGE SCALE FARM AVAILABLE LONG TERM
LEASE
January 2007
INVITATION
Welcome to individuals or companies
interested in taking up lease for
agricultural land.
LOCATION
2-½
hour drive; from Nairobi in the world famous Rift Valley, Lenginet is
a
30-minute drive from Nakuru, home of flamingoes and along the
tourist
circuit to lake Bogoria hot springs.
TOPOGRAPHY
One Hundred
and forty (140) acres, arable flat land, well suited for
floriculture,
horticulture or any other export oriental agriculture
activity, that may
require irrigation. The farm has a permanent river
frontage.
FARM
DEVELOPMENT
Located on the farm is a 5 bed roomed old English farmhouse
with 2 kitchens,
2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms and dining room. The house can
accommodate 2
families if need be. There is also an adjoining 2 bedroom, 1
living room
guesthouse.
There are 2 underground water reservoirs,
supplementing piped water to the
main house. There is a three-phase
electricity supply suited for both
domestic and industrial - heavy machinery
power supply.
There are 2 sites already mapped as potential underground
(bore hole) water
source. Other developments include barns, stores, carport
for 4 cars and
servants housing units.
The farm is immediately
available for occupation on long-term lease
contract, 10+ years, with the
option to renew.
Interested parties may contact either of the
undersigned.
DR. DAVID K.
CHEMIRMIR SUSAN
CHEMIRMIR
P.O. Box
14703,
6400 Independence Pkwy
Nairobi, Post Code
00800 #4701
Kenya
Plano, Texas
75023, USA
PHONE: +254 20 272 2046
Cell:
972-898-2493
Cell: + 254 722 715 417
schemirmir@hotmail.com
E MAIL: dchemirmir@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 18/01/07)
Two positions to be filled. However we would require
that they would be
able to learn both fields, to enable back up for each
other:-
Post Title: Receptionist/Debtors
Controller
Responsibilities: Front Office Management, Receptionist,
Accounts
Queries, Dealing with Clients, Debtors, Invoicing, Receipting,
Handling
Cash, Banking, General Secretarial Duties, Debt
Collections
Post Title: Wages Clerk/Debtors
Assistant
Responsibilities: Wages for 65 employees, Debtors -
Entering
Invoices/Receipts, Vat Returns, NEC, NSSA etc Returns, handling
Petty Cash,
Cash Book Knowledge, Internet/Email.
Computer literacy in
Pastel Version 8 and Belina Payroll System. Previous
experience in these
fields would be advantageous. Only basic fields
covered, it entails various
other duties.
Personality Traits: Efficient, hard working, pleasant,
must be
self-motivated to be-able to perform duties without constant
supervision,
honest and trustworthy.
Dress Code:
Smart.
Salary: Salary / Package to be
discussed.
Please contact:
Multi-Link (Pvt) Ltd
P O Box HG
659
Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Tel. 737688, 705021, 708310. Fax
733844
e-mail: multilink@mweb.co.zw
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
A vacancy needs to be filled at
Peterhouse:
Estate Manager (January 2007)
Responsibilities
include;
Maintenance of sports fields, swimming pools and sporting
facilities
Overseeing water supply and borehole upkeep
Controlling lawn
mowers, tractors and equipment usage
Managing a forestry plantation and
estate gardens
Usage and maintenance of generators
Managing a small labour
force
Please send a detailed CV with 3 references and application
to:
The Rector, Peterhouse, P/Bag 3741, Marondera
Or fax to: 079 -
24200, or e-mail to: peterrec@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
Sales Agents/Representatives for our
company:
Company: Alfa P/L
Business: Calendars; diaries
and corporate gifts
Job Title: Sales Representative
Reporting
to: Branch Manager/Sales Co-Ordinator
Package: To be
discussed
Environment: Female
This post will be ideal for mature
responsible ladies with drivers licence
and own car. Previous selling
experience will be an advantage. Please
contact Anthea Reeler on 776772; 011
604 151, alternatively, please email CV
to alfahre@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
The following positions are immediately available
within our organisation.
Bookkeeper / Accountant
Qualifications not
absolutely necessary but experience vital as must be
competent, professional
and confidential.
Personal Assistant
Reporting to the General
Manager, a highly competent and professional PA is
required. Must have
computer experience in Word and Excel.
Vehicle Sales
Person
Responsible for all vehicle sales hence knowledge of vehicles and
good,
administrative skills required.
Workshop Manager
Responsible
for maintenance and running of company vehicles/transport and
construction
fleet. Must be able to manage general workshop requirements
and
staff.
Please forward C.V.s and contactable references to
email address :
auctions@yoafrica.com
For further
information please contact / refer to Glynis Wiley on :
751904/5/6 - 751498 -
751343
ABC Auctions
Hatfield House
Seke Road
Telephone 263 4
751904/906
Fax 263 4
751904/906
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
Position available at a leading Guest House in
Somerset West, Cape Province,
RSA for a young Zimbabwean male or female
kitchen breakfast chef.
Please respond directly to email address : info@ivoryheights.co.za with
all
relevant CV, reference, work experience
details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
A VACANCY EXISTS FOR A COUPLE TO MANAGE A
CARAVAN
PARK AND SMALL HARBOUR AT LAKE CHIVERO, HARARE.
REQUIRED
SKILLS:
GENERAL MANAGEMENT CHORES WITH A LABOUR FORCE OF 9
WORKERS
MAINTENANCE OF SHOWERS, TOILETS, OUT HOUSES
MAINTAINING WATER AND
ELECTRICAL RETICULATION SYSTEMS ALREADY IN PLACE.
LIASING WITH CARAVANNERS
AND GUESTS
TAKING CARE OF THE PARK GARDENS.
OVERSEEING GENERAL HARBOUR
CLEARING AND MAINTENANCE
RUNNING A SMALL SHOP INCLUDING DAILY STOCK
CHECKS,
ORDERING SUPPLIES AND BANKING TAKINGS.
A HOUSE AND VEHICLE IS
PROVIDED WITH REASONALBLE RENUMERATION.
THIS POSITION WOULD SUIT A RETIRED
FARMING COUPLE WHO ARE NOT
AFRAID OF WORK. DRIVING LICENCE ESSENTIAL.
THE
PARK IS QUIET DURING THE WEEK.
THE SHOP OPENS ALL WEEK AND SERVICES MEMBERS,
STAFF AND NATIONAL PARK
EMPLOYEES.
CONTACT THE ADVERTISER WITH CV AT
nella@comone.co.zw
OR phone
04-305721/2 (work) or 091200030
(anytime)
----------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
MORNINGS ONLY PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE MD REQUIRED TO
COMMENCE IMMEDIATELY.
Mature and experienced person, capable of working
without supervision,
shorthand advantageous, reasonable computer literacy and
accurate typing
skills essential.
Please apply in writing to with a
copy of your CV, to :
General Manager,
P.O. Box
2432,
Harare.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
REQUIRED
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 18/01/07)
I am a Diesel Mechanic with 12 years experience. I am
looking for a
position as a Workshop Manager /Fleet Manager or any position
in a related
industry. I have been running my own business in Mozambique for
the last two
years but wish to return home.
For further information
and CV please contact the following:-
Riaan Ferreira at mtemwa@zol.co.zw
Contactable on +258
823864815 until end of January
2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 25/01/07)
Mature Lady aged 32
Position sought
: credit control/debt collector
Experience : 10+
years
QualificationS : Bookkeeping and accounts, SAAA
(former
ZAAT) 2ND PART
Computer packages : sage 2000, Accpac,
chameleon, windows, excell
& powerpoint
For more information call
091745939
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 25 January 2007)
Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
JAG
Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410. If you are in trouble
or
need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to
help!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
Message from Sarah Mannell, H.M. Consul, British Embassy
The British
Embassy is currently updating it's database of British Nationals
Resident in
Zimbabwe and looking for additional consular correspondents.
Some of you
may have already received a letter or an email from the Embassy
informing you
of my arrival at the Embassy and asking you to update your
registration
details. However I wanted to send this message out as I am
aware that many
British Nationals in Zimbabwe have not received the letter
and therefore may
not be registered with us. I have been at the Embassy for
just five months
and am keen that I get to know the British community a bit
better. One of the
ways I am trying to do this is by transferring our
existing database of
British nationals resident in Zimbabwe who are
registered with the Embassy on
to some new software which is being rolled
out by the Foreign Office in
London. I want to reassure you that the
software roll out and subsequent
update of the database is being done by a
number of British Embassies across
the world and is not aimed solely at
British Nationals living in Zimbabwe -
although it is perhaps more important
to us that the database is as accurate
as possible than to some of our other
Embassies around the world.
Many
of you will have previously completed one of our registration forms but
a
sample test has shown us that some of the information for our registrants
is
now out of date. A number of British nationals have moved house or
left
Zimbabwe since the last database update was completed in 2003. The
new
software also includes some additional fields for which we can't
transfer
data from the old registration forms. I would therefore ask for
your
patience and understanding in completing the registration form again.
I
attach the form below and would be grateful if you could return it to us
by
the end of January. You can send it to us:
* by email to Registrations.Harare@fco.gov.uk
*
by post to
Sarah Mannell,
British Embassy Harare,
Corner
House,
Samora Machel/Leopold Takawira Street,
Harare
* by delivering
it in person to the above address;
* by fax to 04 774 605
All
details held on our database are held in confidence and not shared with
the
Zimbabwean Government. The Embassy is also looking for some new
consular
correspondents particulalry in areas outside of the large suburban
centres.
The role of a correspondent is a voluntary role and in summary
is:
a) to keep the Embassy in touch with matters affecting the interest
of
British citizens who reside in your area and to assist us in
maintaining
contact with them both in normal times and times of crisis;
b)
to inform the Consular Section of the Embassy if you hear that any
British
citizen in your area is in difficulty and needs official help;
c) to assist
the Embassy in maintaining an up-to-date list of British
residents in your
area.
If anyone is interested in taking on this role we would be very
interested
to hear from them.
Finally I know that many of you have
endured a great deal to stay on the
farms and that we are potentially
entering another very difficult time. I
would be grateful to hear of any
incidents affecting British farmers and
will try my best to provide all
possible consular assistance if you contact
me.
Many
thanks,
Sarah
<<20060921 registration form.doc>>
Sarah
Mannell
H.M. Consul
British Embassy Harare
E: Registrations.Harare@fco.gov.uk
www.britishembassy.gov.uk/zimbabwe
The
Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds and uses data for purposes
notified to
the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998
(which may be
consulted at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk).
Such
personal data may be disclosed to other UK Government Departments and
public
authorities.
I understand from sources in the Raffingora area that Chombo has taken
the
entire fertilizer stocks of the local GMB to his own farm leaving
the
smaller growers and farmers without fertilizer at all. Perhaps you
might
follow this up locally in the district.
-----------
Hopes that the Monetary Policy Statement might be delivered this week by
Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono have apparently faded completely and it
now appears that the targeted, but yet to be confirmed date will be between
Monday January 29 and Wednesday January 31. The important decisions on
devaluation and the future exchange rate management procedures are believed
to be among the more contentious issues, but the internal debate is probably
equally heated in other areas that involve the tightening or removal of
controls.