http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Local, Politics
THERE is
an urgent need to enact a Diamond Act to curb massive looting of
gems by the
country’s political elite, Transparency International-Zimbabwe
(TI-Z) has
said.
REPORT BY OUR STAFF
Preliminary findings of the study by
TI-Z titled, State of Corruption in the
Mining Sector — The Case of Gold,
Diamond and Platinum Mining in Kwekwe,
Gwanda, Marange and Mhondoro-Ngezi,
noted that some areas where there is
illegal gold or diamond mining were not
raided by the police because they
were “protected” by influential
politicians.
“The absence of a Diamond Act has promoted a free-for-all
scenario in
diamond trade where the power elites have literally acted in a
liassez faire
fashion to enrich themselves from diamond mining,” the study
said.
The findings have been released at a time when there has been a lot
of
acrimony within the inclusive government and protest by civil society
over
the lack of transparency on how the country’s diamond revenues were
being
used.
Finance minister Tendai Biti has in the past accused
senior Zanu PF
officials and members of the security forces of looting
diamonds from
Marange fields with little sale proceeds trickling into
Treasury.
However, Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Obert Mpofu
has
previously attributed the lack of transparency to attempts by the
European
Union and United States to stifle the trading of Zimbabwe’s
diamonds.
The study said politicians were influencing the awarding of
diamond mining
contracts for companies extracting gems in
Marange.
“Currently there is no transparent and accountable process in
which
concessions to mine diamonds in Zimbabwe are awarded,” reads the
study.
“Basing on evidence prevailing on the ground, the study found out
that all
the companies that have been given mining rights to mine diamonds
in
Zimbabwe are those with close links to senior politicians in government
and
the military.”
It says failure by diamonds mining firms to remit
their contributions
directly to the Ministry of Finance further created a
veil of secrecy
already shrouding diamond mining in the country.
The
study said while there has been little remittances to Treasury, “the
unexplained accumulation of wealth by senior government ministers and the
top military brass with close links to diamond mining in Marange is a clear
indication of abuse of position, authority and influence for self-enrichment
at the expense of the majority who have to make with poorly equipped
hospitals, clinics and schools”.
The paper notes that power elites
prejudiced the country of revenues that
were supposed to ensure that
schools, hospitals and clinics and roads were
maintained.
The TI-Z
study says senior politicians had formed syndicates with police
officers and
illegal gold panners to engage in organised corruption at
Sherwood Block in
Kwekwe.
As a result, the gold that is mined there was not sold to the
central bank.
“So entrenched is the corruption that whenever there are
impending raids,
the gold panners seem to be well-informed of the raids,
their timing and how
they will be carried out,” says the study. “This
clearly shows that the
politicians in cohort with the police as well as the
illegal miners are
working to deprive the country of gold and attendant
revenues which should
contribute to the national fiscus.”
The TI-Z
study recommends the broadening of players involved in the granting
of
mining rights and mining deals to ensure transparency and
accountability.
Recommendation
The study also recommended that all
government officials including
politicians and bureaucrats should be made to
compulsorily declare their
wealth upon taking office.
“Such a measure
can be buttressed by a name and shame policy where those
public officials
who acquire wealth through the abuse of office are named
and shamed in
public without fear or favour,” says the study.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Local, Politics
ZANU PF
bigwigs, fearing losing primary elections to their juniors, are
pushing for
the party to reserve certain constituencies for them to elbow
out rivals, it
has emerged.
REPORT BY PATRICE MAKOVA
But as the jostling for
seats ahead of national polls intensifies, some of
the bigwigs themselves
may fall by the wayside as they are now under
investigation for
corruption.
This also comes at a time when reports have emerged that
jostling for the
late Vice-President John Nkomo’s post has begun.
Sources
in the party said bigwigs among the politburo members and Cabinet
ministers,
feared embarrassment at the hands of much junior members.
They were now
lobbying President Robert Mugabe, through Zanu PF secretary
for
administration Didymus Mutasa, to reserve six seats in each province for
the
veterans.
“Many politburo members are afraid of losing primary elections
and thus do
not want to be contested,” said a politburo member. “They have
asked the
party to reserve a certain number of House of Assembly and
senatorial seats
for them. It appears they are getting a sympathetic ear
from Mutasa.”
Another politburo member said Mugabe, who turns 89 next
month, has so far
indicated that all officials should be
contested.
However, the official said Mugabe could shift his position as
there were
prospects that he would be surrounded by mostly new faces unless
he shielded
some of his top lieutenants from competition.
Mugabe
himself has already been endorsed as Zanu PF’s presidential candidate
in
elections which are expected later this year.
But the official said
although some party bigwigs could be shielded from
competition, others would
not be spared and would face arrest before the
elections.
“All those
linked to corruption have automatically disqualified themselves
from the
primary elections. Judging from Mugabe’s tone at the Wednesday
politburo
meeting, we are going to see a few arrests including that of one
or two
cabinet ministers,” said the politburo member.
The Standard understands a
crack police investigating team from Harare
yesterday swooped on Manicaland
to investigate five top officials alleged to
have extorted nearly US$1
million from diamond mining companies in the
province. A senior Zanu PF
official confirmed the development.
The official said arrests of suspects
were now imminent after Mugabe
referred the case to the police. Police
spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner
Charity Charamba yesterday said she was
yet to be furnished with information
about the investigations.
The
suspects include provincial chairman, Mike Madiro, ousted youth
chairperson
Tawanda Mukodza and three others.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo could not
be reached for comment
yesterday.
Meanwhile, all is not well in Zanu
PF after the death of Nkomo amid reports
that jostling for his position has
already begun hardly a week after he was
buried.
It has emerged two
different factions would today hold conflicting events in
Bulawayo. Some
politburo, national council and other senior party members
were saying they
would be at Nkomo’s Worringham home in honour of the late
VP.
Zanu PF
secretary for Education, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu yesterday confirmed that
the
political leadership in Bulawayo had heard that some senior party
members
would be holding a rally at Stanley Square which was organised
without their
knowledge and approval.
He said Zanu PF leadership would boycott the
rally.
“We are however shocked to hear that the rally is going ahead,
something we
feel is disrespectful and is an insult to us and our culture
which prohibits
merry-making soon after a burial. We are not attending that
rally,” he said.
Ndlovu said the Zanu PF national commissar Webster Shamu had
been requested
to cancel the rally.
“We heard that Shamu, Obert Mpofu
[Mines minister] and Saviour Kasukuwere
[Indigenisation minster] are coming
to the rally,” said Ndlovu.”
“We feel this is an early campaign for the
succession of Nkomo while the
whole of Bulawayo is still mourning,” he
said.
“We are wondering what they are rushing for? We just buried our VP and
people are already running around with rallies. They are coming all the way
to rule here in Bulawayo when we the local leadership are
here.”
Kasukuwere yesterday said the fact that Nkomo was recently buried
should not
be a problem.
“Who did you speak to from Bulawayo? I do not
know anything about the
cancellation,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Local, Politics
VICTORIA
FALLS Mayor Nkosilathi Jiyane yesterday said he was joining Zanu
PF, as he
felt disrespected in the MDC-T.
REPORT BY BY NDUDUZO
TSHUMA
Speaking at a rally organised by Mines and Mining Development
minister,
Obert Mpofu at Sizinda Secondary School in Victoria Falls, Jiyane
said he
felt “warm” among Zanu PF leaders as they were orderly and
respectful.
“I got into council as a young man and worked with Enoch
Sibanda and Josphat
Spulila Mpofu [both Zanu PF] who taught me good
leadership qualities,” said
Jiyane.
“I was voted into council three
times because people saw something good in
me. The leadership in Zanu PF is
organised, they taught me good leadership.
The future is in Zanu PF. When I
was at MDC-T they did not respect or show
any pride that they had a mayor in
Victoria Falls, they did not respect me
maybe because of my young
age.
“I told them to remain with their party. I feel at home in Zanu PF
and warm
because of the love given to me,” said Jiyane who was appointed
into the
Hwange Colliery Company Limited Board by Mpofu in
2011.
Jiyane was immediately welcomed and given a scarf by Matabeleland
North Zanu
PF vice-chairman, Reeds Dube and a cap by central committee
member Fati
Mpofu.
Jiyane quit the MDC-T citing persecution by party
leaders and interference
in his job.
Since quitting the party, Jiyane
had found an ally in Local Government
minister, Ignatius Chombo, fuelling
speculation that he would join soon Zanu
PF.
Last June seven MDC-T
youths were jailed on allegations of assaulting the
mayor.
MDC-T
spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora could not be reached for comment
yesterday as
he was not answering his mobile phone.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Local
THE mysterious
blast in Chitungwiza last week once again raised the question
whether
Zimbabweans are enslaved by superstition and witchcraft.
REPORT BY NQABA
MATSHAZI
Five people, including a traditional healer and a businessman,
died in the
blast.
Before the police had made any headway in their
investigations, several
theories were already gaining traction.
The
most popular being that the blast was caused by “lightning” created by
the
traditional healer.
The other theory was that the slain businessman was
trying to get rid of a
goblin, while another said he wanted a potion to make
him more successful.
But while the full story is still to be told, the
way Zimbabweans were quick
to blame the blast on a supernatural act is cause
for concern.
There are indications that the blast could have been caused
by an anti-tank
mine.
Catholic priest Oskar Wermter argues that
superstitions and witchcraft are a
form of “escapism” for people who cannot
explain their circumstances.
“It is a matter of looking for a scapegoat
and blaming other people for one’s
failures,” the clergyman said.
There
are several such cases where people fall back on superstition.
Another
story that caught the imagination of many was the underwear-raiding
goblin
of Gokwe. The goblin was reported to have been stealing women’s
underwear
while they slept and dumped the garments at a secluded area near
the
village.
But the most popular superstition should be “ngozi” known as
avenging
spirits, particularly for a person who dies in unclear
circumstances.
Traditionalists believe that to appease the avenging
spirits one should pay
restitution or sacrifice a beast otherwise they will
never know peace.
The most high-profile case was probably that of
Midlands Governor Jason
Machaya, where he had to pay a hefty penalty to
appease a man whose son had
been beaten to death by the governor’s son and
three others.
Tavenga Chokuda, the father of the dead man demanded a
young woman, US$15
000 in cash and 70 head of cattle before he could bury
his son.
The son’s remains spent two years in the
mortuary.
Chokuda warned that if his demands were not met, his son’s
vengeful spirit
would haunt his killers and their families.
Fearing the
supernatural ve-ngeance, Machaya coughed-up.
Strangely, most of those
convicted for the murder died in prison in bizarre
circumstances.
But
opinion is divided among ordinary Zimbabweans on superstition and
witchcraft.
A number said their Christian beliefs meant that the only
supernatural
things they believed were miracles from God.
“There is
nothing like witchcraft,” said Memory Shumba, who described
herself as a
devout Pentecostal. “People just make up stories and only God
can have such
powers.”
Zibusiso Moyo, a student at the National University of Science
and
Technology said witchcraft could not be explained scientifically, making
it
hardly plausible.
Cultural activists back spiritual
beliefs
Another high-profile case of superstition was that of mermaids
that were
said to be “blocking” the pumping of water at a dam in Gokwe and
Mutare last
year.
Water Resources Development and Management
minister, Samuel Sipepa-Nkomo
later told a parliamentary committee that
workers had abandoned their
stations vowing not to return unless the
mermaids were appeased.
Sipepa-Nkomo suggested that a troupe of
traditional healers and leaders
should be dispatched to the dam to perform
rituals to appease the edgy
mermaids.
The minister’s theory seemed to
have the backing of several cultural
activists including Peter Zwide
Khumalo, a descendant of King Lobengula, who
said mermaids played a central
role in spiritual beliefs.
“As a custodian of the tradition I have no
doubt,” traditional leader chief
Edison Chihota said of mermaids. “For
anyone to dispute this is also
disputing him or herself.”
But were
the engineers not just blaming it on mermaids after having failed
to do a
job they were trained to do?
‘Witchcraft real cannot be wished
away’
Tinotenda Shumba said witchcraft was real and could not be wished
away.
“Even those who believe in God cannot explain miracles, in the same
way that
witchcraft is inexplicable,” she said. “But witchcraft and
superstition are
part of us and we cannot wish them away.”
People
from all walks of life are trooping to Emmanuel Makandiwa’s United
Family
International and Uebert Angel’s Spirit Embassy where the two claim
to have
supernatural powers to heal the seek and create instant wealth for
the
poor.
Surprisingly, they still ask the poor to contribute tithes to their
churches.
Wermter said witchcraft and superstition were an easy
refrain, once one has
a problem he or she blames it on the most unpopular
person in the community.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Community
News
INFORMAL traders have reacted angrily to plans by the Harare City
Council to
get rid of vendors and illegal structures in the city saying the
move would
destroy the livelihoods of several thousands of
people.
REPORT BY CHRISTOPHER MAHOVE
The Harare City Council
recently announced that it was going to get rid of
vendors and pull down
illegal structures to keep the city clean and prevent
the outbreak of
diseases.
Vendors who sell wares and food almost everywhere in the city
have in the
past been blamed for the outbreak of diseases such as typhoid
and cholera.
But vendors who spoke to Standardcommunity last week said
banning vending in
the city would condemn them into destitution as it would
destroy their
source of livelihood, making them incapable of sustaining
their families.
A vendor, who only identified herself as Mai Lorraine and
operates in Harare’s
central business district, said council was not being
considerate as vending
was sustaining a number of families in the
city.
She said apart from vending being a source of livelihood to many
people,
vendors also contributed significantly to council revenue in the
form of
rentals.
“Most of the people who rent houses in Harare are in
the informal sector and
are therefore, contributing the bulk of the revenue
to the city, yet they
want to harass us,” she said. “They are not only
driving us into poverty,
but they are also negatively affecting their
revenue collection.”
The council collects rentals from vendors who
operate in designated places
both in the CBD and suburban areas.
Another
vendor, Albert Mukwati said council was starting a “war” it would
never win
as a lot of people in Harare were surviving on informal trading.
With an
80% unemployment rate in the country, the majority of Zimbabweans
have
resorted to informal trading for a living.
“Council must not try to start
a war by harassing us and preventing us from
fending for our families
because they will not win it,” he said. “People
will have nowhere to go and
will obviously react; and authorities would then
think that people are
pushing a political agenda, when in fact, it is a
bread and butter
issue.”
Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Association (ZCIEA)
secretary general
Lisborn Malaya said the city fathers were being
inconsiderate to the plight
of the traders.
He said most of people
were forced into illegal vending because of the
scarcity of jobs in the
country.
Malaya said the move was not different from the 2005 Operation
Murambatsvina, which left over 250 000 people’s homes and property destroyed
while over 700 000 people were internally displaced.
“It is quite a
strong declaration whose effects will be the same as that of
Murambatsvina,”
said Malaya. “We are actually on our way to engage council
on the matter. We
want to find out what their problem is. If it is about
littering and the
environment, then they must provide designated areas where
there will be
enough facilities.”
He added: “The effect is that they will increase
poverty instead of reducing
it. If they go ahead, they will be taking away
the vendors’ only source of
livelihood. Most of these people are widows and
single mothers and this will
have ripple effects as they have children to
look after.”
Malaya said the council should stop harassing vendors and
other informal
traders if they did not have a fallback plan.
“They
should give them [vendors] jobs or create an environment where they
[informal traders] will be regularised. They [council officials] are doing
this because they have jobs; they have houses and food on their table,” he
said.
Council is the regulating authority—Mutizwa
Harare
City’s environment committee chairman, Stewart Mutizwa said the
decision was
reached because of genuine fear of an outbreak of diseases
associated with
rain such as cholera and typhoid.
“We would not want council to be in the
same predicament as in 2008 where we
lost nearly 4 000 lives because of
cholera,” he said. “All the food handlers
must be properly
certified.
“We are encouraging people to use our offices and apply for
whatever they
want to do and our offices will allocate designated places to
those people.”
Mutizwa said there was need to limit and regulate the
number of vendors
operating in the city.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Community News
MUTARE —
At least 25 families that were displaced from their homes by
government’s
Operation Murambatsvina over eight years ago were offered
decent
accommodation by a charitable organisation last week.
REPORT BY CLAYTON
MASEKESA
The families that have been staying in a run-down bar since the
displacement
were rescued by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) which
constructed
2-roomed houses for each family.
Following the demolition
of their houses in 2005, Mutare City Council
accommodated the families in
one of its properties, Mushando Bar in Sakubva
high-density
suburb.
But there had been fears of an outbreak of diseases as the
families were
sharing a single toilet which also doubled as a
bathroom.
City Town Clerk, Obert Muzawazi said the council availed land
for
residential stands for the displaced persons while the NRC funded the
constructing of the houses.
Muzawazi said the families went through
untold hardships for nearly nine
years that they had been living in the
dilapidated bar.
“The residents of Mushando bar have been living in
squatter-like, refugee
conditions,” he said. “Vulnerable groups, such as
women and children, were
exposed to abuse and poor health and social
conditions.”
He added: “As council, we are indebted to NRC for a clear
show of kindness
towards less fortunate members of the society.”
NRC
has been active in Zimbabwe since 2010, providing protection and
humanitarian assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and
returnees.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Community
News
An innovative Shamva student has invented a solar cooker made from
cardboard
boxes and aluminium.
REPORT BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
Noel Mubaina (30), who graduated with a diploma in advanced
project
management at DAPP Frontline Institute in Shamva last week, said the
idea
was motivated by the desire to help people in the face of regular power
cuts.
Mubaina, who exhibited the solar cooker at the graduation
ceremony, said the
cooker was environmentally-friendly and did not
contribute to global
warming.
“This country has serious electricity
problems and there is need for
alternative solutions like the solar cooker,”
he said. “Again the other
thing is the world is under fire from global
warming and the cooker can do
much to curb the phenomenon since it does not
emit gases into the
atmosphere.”
Mubaina said the solar cooker can
produce heat of between 82 and 121 degrees
celsius.
The cardboard box
is covered by an aluminium foil which absorbs and reflects
sun rays to a
black pot.
“The pot is covered in plastic to prevent the heat from
escaping,” he said.
When cooking, one is not allowed to stir as heat
would escape.
“The cooker can only be used to cook meat, beans, eggs and
other types of
relish, but it’s not for sadza as one is not allowed to open
the lid for
heat will escape,” he said. “Most food cooks at or below 82
degrees Celsius.
It takes an average of two hours to cook meat or
rice.
The time taken to cook varies depending on the amount of sun, wind,
thickness of pot and quantity of water or food.
Speaking at the ceremony,
Indian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jeitendra Tripathi
hailed the institution for
producing graduates concerned with tackling
global warming.
“Man-made
global warming and climate change is one of the major issues that
we need to
face, adapt and mitigate,” he said. “As evidenced by the
exhibition, it is
crystal clear that the graduating students that have
acquired the
much-needed skills that will enable them to fight global
warming.”
More than 30 students drawn from different countries
obtained diplomas in
advanced project management at Frontline Institute, a
college run by the
Development Aid from People to People (DAPP), a
subsidiary of Humana People
to People.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Business
TOBACCO Industry and
Marketing Board (TIMB) says tobacco growers should
comply with the
legislated planting dates to prevent the spread of diseases.
REPORT BY
MOSES CHIBAYA
The caution comes amid indication that some growers,
especially new farmers,
were failing to destroy their stocks after
harvesting.
TIMB chief executive officer, Andrew Matibiri said according
to the Plant
Pests and Diseases (Tobacco) regulations 1979, tobacco plants
in the land
should be destroyed before May 15 each year.
Apart from
that, tobacco seed may not be sown before June 1 each year and it
may not be
planted into the land before September 1 annually.
Farmers are encouraged
to end transplanting by the first week of December
and destruction of
seedbeds must be achieved by December 31.
Matibiri said farmers that are
not conforming to the legislated dates risked
being fined.
“Farmers
that are not complying will be charged a fine of US$100 per every
hectare of
stalks not destroyed. We are educating farmers on the importance
of abiding
by the legislated dates,” he said.
Gibson Mhaka, an experienced tobacco
grower at Hunter’s Lodge in Karoi, said
action must be taken against tobacco
growers that failed to abide by the
regulated dates.
“TIMB must
punish farmers that are failing to respect these dates. We are
now
encountering an outbreak of diseases which we can avoid. It is the duty
of
every farmer to protect our industry. I want to encourage all the farmers
to
report to TIMB farmers that are not following the dates,” Mhaka
said.
According to experts, aphids are the main transmitter of diseases,
especially bushy-top and the potato virus Y (PVY).
Early planting,
adherence to legislated dates for sowing tobacco seed,
planting seedlings
out in the land, destroying used seedbeds and tobacco
stalks are recommended
as the most effective management options farmers can
adopt against the aphid
and diseases.
Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe’s largest exports accounting for
a third of all
foreign currency earnings, along with gold and
minerals.
Almost 99% of the crop was exported to 69 different countries.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in
Business
SAFARI operators have sought the help of Youth Development,
Indigenisation
and Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere after the
Zimbabwe Parks and
Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) withdrew hunting
rights from
indigenous operators and gave them to South African
agents.
REPORT BY NDAMU SANDU
On December 31 2011, ZPWMA withdrew
licences for concessions that were being
run by indigenous operators after
the expiry of the licences saying they had
a new strategy of sweating the
assets.
According to a Parks board resolution of a meeting held in April
2011 “all
expired leases must revert to the authority where they will be
managed under
a different business model”.
“We have since received
corroborated evidence that ZPWMA, which falls under
the Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources Management, has handed
over the three
concession Area namely Matetsi Unit 2, Charara Safari Area
and Makuti Safari
Area to South Africa operators, Katzke Safaris and John
Nel,” Safari
Operators Association of Zimbabwe (SOAZ) chairman Emmanuel
Fundira wrote to
Kasukuwere in a January 10 letter.
“If ZPWMA required an agent rather
than a concession holder, I am sure a
pool of existing operators could have
been able to facilitate such a role
and also that a tendering process should
have taken place, other than opting
to use foreign operators.”
The
letter was copied to Environment and Natural Resources Management
minister
Francis Nhema and chief secretary to President and Cabinet, Misheck
Sibanda.
Charara Safari Area is now being run by Edmond Mkaratigwa’s
Bauna Safaris
effective January 1. The company was allocated the concession
by ZPWMA.
Chararara, Matetsi Unit 2 and Makuti Safari Area were
previously run by
Paradzai Zimondi, Mike Chidziva and Emmanuel Fundira
respectively.
SOAZ said the actions by ZPWMA were not only deplorable
“but in fact lack
transparency and are against the ethos ofindigenisation
and economic
empowerment” adding that the move had weakened the economic
base of
indigenous people, enriching foreigners with local
resources.
SOAZ said it was “very concer-ned about this type of behaviour
and believe
that your office needs to investigate the issue and apply
corrective
measures accordingly”.
Nhema referred all questions to the
authority’s acting director-general,
Edson Chidziya.
In written
responses, the authority said the three concessions in question
were not run
by South African operators as alleged, but were being operated
by the
Zimbabwe Parks and Management Authority as strategic business units.
“The
Authority appointed a marketing agent for the three (3) concessions as
is
the norm in the tourism industry. The marketing side is being done by
foreign agents which is also the norm in the tourism industry,” it
said.
It said, to be competitive in the industry, one had to depend on
marketing
agents in source markets “for the purposes of marketing and
selling tourism
safaris”.
“For hunting safaris, these are sold two or
three years in advance by agents
in source markets that have direct access
and command the respect of the
client base. Foreign clients want to deal
with reputable agents whom they
have interacted with before as they entrust
their hardearned money as
deposits for the hunts with these people,” it
said.
The authority said that tourism entities or companies did not work
with one
agent but several agents who were willing to bring business and
under the
arrangements the marketing sales agent did not have any control or
rights to
the business of the company except to market and bring in clients
for which
they are paid a commission.
“In the selection process, both
local and foreign agents are considered and
at present, we have applications
from both local and international
companies,” the authority said, adding
that the South Africa, agent was
appointed because of their reputation in
the hunting industry and because
they had already been doing business with
Zimbabwe hunting operators.
The authority said the wildlife industry was
one of the most indigenised
sectors and Parks had no intention of reversing
the Indigenisation Policy.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Opinion
All
indications point to a possible general election this year, especially
with
the coalition government principals finding common ground on the
constitutional draft. The stage has thus been set for possibly the most
important general election in the life of independent Zimbabwe. The poll, if
its outcome is conclusive and accepted, is set to liberate this promising
country from more than a decade-long period of political and socio-economic
stagnation.
Sunday Opinion by Mziwandile Ndlovu
This poll will
be different from recent polls in a number of ways. First,
because the
dominant players in the politics of the country are all
currently in a unity
government. None of them has the luxury of blaming the
current state of
affairs on a governing party. This is particularly true for
the MDC
formations whose major campaign fodder has been the ruinous manner
in which
Zanu PF has governed the country.
The former opposition movements have
not come out unscathed in the court of
public opinion regarding how they
have fared in the inclusive government.
The sentiment that they have leaped
onto and have become comfortable on the
gravy train is fast gaining traction
on the streets, buses and bottle
stores. The MDC-T, in particular, has taken
serious flak from the corrupt
exploits of their local government
functionaries. Both MDCs need to work
overtime to convince Zimbabweans why
they should form the next government.
Of note also, has been the pleasing
shift of national debate to policy
issues, especially signified by the
MDC-T’s ambitious JUICE economic
blueprint. The last couple of months have
seen this policy being extensively
critiqued, particularly in comparison
with Zanu PF’s empowerment and
indigenisation policy. It has been a while,
particularly at election time,
since parties have gone at each other on
policy issues. It appears that we
are on the verge of a positive shift in
our political culture. The MDC
formation led by Welshman Ncube, that has yet
to produce an economic plan of
its own, is hard-pressed to do
so.
Zanu PF, which over the years has endured plummeting popularity
ratings, is
enjoying sharing some of this bad publicity with their MDC
counterparts. The
party has also ensured that it does not go to sleep but
has been using its
time in the inclusive government to redeem itself. They
have consistently
pushed their indigenisation drive and have won significant
victories that
include forcing some huge corporates to cede 51% ownership to
locals.
Though faced with considerable opposition, Zanu PF’s
redistributive agenda
has been gaining some currency in the circles of some
young ambitious
entrepreneurs and professionals who are building fortunes
and this is likely
to influence how they vote.
Candidate selection is
also set to be very interesting this time around.
MDC-T, who have the
highest number of parliamentary seats, have particularly
been accused of
having poor MPs. This is largely expected to change as the
party has been
recruiting highly respected individuals to beef up the party
ahead of
elections. It is rumoured that many civil society leaders will
formally join
the party’s ranks and contest for seats.
Not to be outdone, Zanu PF has
its own crop of Young Turks and professionals
agitating for constituencies
and an opportunity to lead the party’s renewal
.
Of note, has also
been the energy and zeal with which Welshman Ncube’s MDC
has been
campaigning. The party, largely viewed as smaller and less popular
than the
MDC-T, has been in the villages and towns across the country almost
every
week canvassing for support. Ncube also scored a significant victory
in
getting Sadc to recognise him as a principal. He has also been breathing
fire chasing other principals around Harare in a bold attempt to include
himself in the principals’ meetings. While some analysts have said the party
will get a few more seats as a reward for their campaigns and also
capitalise on the electorate’s disillusionment with both MDC-T and Zanu PF,
it remains to be seen how the “party of villagers” will fare.
Perhaps
most significant is the fact that people are unlikely to vote with
their
stomachs this time around. With something in their tummies, people are
likely to be more discerning of who they entrust with fulfilling their
aspirations. Sanctions/restrictive measures are also unlikely to have any
noticeable effect on the polls as their usefulness has largely dissipated
and are largely compounded by Zanu PF’s new surge of confidence driven by
their new found wealth in the Chiadzwa diamonds, which they largely view as
their prime sanctions-busting tool. Even MDC leaders with foresight like
MDC-T’s Tendai Biti have begun to publicly lobby for the removal of
sanctions as they are not having their desired effect. Whichever way you
look at the impending polls, they make for a mouth-watering, soapie-style
plot. Let the games begin.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in
Opinion
Years since its inception, the Land Reform and Resettlement
Programme (LRRP)
has been fraught with irregularities, inconsistencies and
mired so deep in
corrupt practices, many have simply forgotten why it was
ever implemented.
Sadly, its very essence has been diminished as greedy
individuals mostly in
high offices jostle to acquire as many chunks of land
as they can grab for
no good reason except to flex their puny political or
economic muscle.
Opinion by Phyllis Mbanje
It is not only the
administration of the process that is at fault, but the
state of the
acquired farms is an embarrassment to all who know the real
purpose of land
reform. Most of the farms that have been taken over are in a
pathetic
state.
The LRRP has exposed several weaknesses in the actual
administration of the
programme and as Justice Bharat Patel rightly pointed
out early this week,
the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement has a
mammoth task of putting
its house in order. As the custodian of the
programme, the ministry is
supposed to set up transparent structures that
will ensure that the process
is orderly and fair.
Justice Patel was
handing a landmark ruling in which he ordered Zanu PF MP
for Seke, Phineas
Chihota, to give back a farm he had unprocedurally grabbed
from one Florence
Sigudu. The latter had been allocated part of Denby Farm
in Seke by the
minister in 2005 but a Provincial Lands Committee chaired by
Chihota took a
decision to dispossess Sigudu of her farm on very flimsy
grounds. In a
wanton display of abuse of office, the MP took the farm to
consolidate it
with his own adjoining one.
In his hard-hitting ruling, Justice Patel
noted with concern how the
minister was flouting procedures with no legal
ground at all. He explained
that although the popularised offer letters
stated that the offer may be
cancelled or withdrawn, the minister could only
exercise powers stipulated
by the statute. He cannot withdraw the offer in
the absence of an explicit
statutory power to that effect. Justice Patel
also said the Agricultural
Land Resettlement Act which the offer letter is
said to be based on does not
contemplate the allocation of land for
settlement through offer letters,
either on their own or as precursors to
formal leases. The Act does not
entitle the minister or any other authority
to cancel offer letters or
terminate rights conferred.
It is those
weaknesses in the current administration of the land reform
programme that
are being fronted as excuses to grab land from the weak.
A clear,
transparent, accountable allocation process that is also open to
judicial
scrutiny is one way of bringing normality to the chaotic situation.
It will
also protect the poor and defenceless section of the community who
obviously
are not privileged to seek pricy legal advice in the event that
their farms
are taken by the powerful. The rampant land grabbing has ceased
to be about
black people taking from the white “colonialists” but about
powerful black
people taking from their weaker brethren.
While administrative issues
remain key in addressing the current stand-off,
those who have land should
really put it to good use instead of turning
farms into wastelands
It
is however, not all doom and gloom because a few of these farmers have
actually maintained the flourishing farms and in some cases superseded the
previous owners. There is a new breed of upcoming young black farmers who
know exactly what to do with the pieces of land. This breed just might
redeem an otherwise aimless exercise that smacks of agendas other than their
intended purpose.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Opinion
If most of those
that have stuck to conventional farming methods are to be
honest, they will
tell you that, for some time now, things have not been
going so
well.
Column by Chipo Masara
Some farmers I talked to recently
were on the brink of giving up farming
altogether, dismissing it as a trade
that’s no longer viable.
It would seem only tobacco farmers can claim to
have been fully rewarded for
their efforts, but that is mainly because
tobacco is one crop which can
thrive even under the most unfavourable of
conditions.
This is unlike crops such as maize, which will only thrive
when all the
necessary components are favourable. But because the conditions
necessary
for most crops to grow, such as sufficient rainfall and fertile
soils, are
no longer in place, that makes production of some crops
futile.
In spite of much effort by farmers, the government and other
stakeholders to
revive the agricultural sector, there has been a continuous
trend of reaping
very low yields.
The downward trend farming in
Zimbabwe has taken has left many households
facing acute hunger. Many people
now depend on the government and donors for
food aid and in the instances
when the help does not come forth, many
starve.
But agriculture,
which once thrived in Zimbabwe and ensured every household’s
food security
status, remains the primary answer to the starvation.
That’s why it is
about time farmers adapted new tried and tested farming
methods that are
guaranteed to bring favourable results.
The answer is in conservation
farming!
Conservation farming is any system of farming that helps in soil
and water
conservation by reducing erosion, runoff and overall improving
conditions
for plant growth.
New methods of farming will increase
yields
Conservation farming includes a number of components and practices
such as
zero tillage, contour and stubble farming, alley cropping, crop
rotation and
trap cropping, among many others.
Zero tillage (no
tillage) involves planting crops directly into land which
is protected by a
mulch using minimum or no tillage techniques. The mulch,
which many ignorant
farmers still go to pains to clear off, has been proven
to offer many an
advantage, among them preventing the rate of soil erosion
and water runoff,
and improving the soil’s fertility.
Contour farming and strip cropping
involves planting across the slope,
following the contours of the land,
breaking the field into alternating
bands of row crops or small
grains.
Farming in the contours has been observed to create small ridges
that help
slow runoff water.
Stubble mulching is the type of farming
that involves placing the stubble or
crop residue on the land as surface
cover during a fallow period. Stubble
mulching helps prevent erosion from
wind and water and helps conserve the
soil’s moisture.
Alley cropping is
one type of farming I would personally vouch for as I saw
first-hand during
a media tour hosted by the Forestry Commission late last
year how it is
doing wonders for one farmer in the Chivhu district, which is
often
characterised by very little rainfall and very high temperatures.
The
method involves planting rows of trees at wide spacing with a companion
crop
grown in the alleyway, between the rows of trees. It is a good method
used
to enhance and diversify farm products, reduce surface water runoff and
erosion, improve nutrient utilisation, reduce wind erosion as well as
improving wildlife habitat.
Crop rotation is a practice of growing a
series of dissimilar types of crops
in the same area in sequential seasons.
A good rotation plan has been seen
to largely reduce pests and diseases on
crops.
Because planting the same type of crop at the same piece of land
on a
continual basis has been proven to serve only to tire the soils and
render
them less productive, crop rotation is ideal.
Integrated pest
management (IPM) involves the gathering of comprehensive
information on pest
traits, the information of which is used to manage pest
damage in a manner
friendly to people and to the environment.
And lastly is trap cropping,
which involves planting a trap crop which
attracts agricultural pests away
from nearby crops. Trap crops can be
planted around the circumference of the
field.
I believe in order for agriculture to once again play a pivotal
role in the
country’s economy and to ensure food security for every
household, every
farmer needs to let go of conventional farming methods and
take on
conservation farming.
For feedback, email cmasara@standard.co.zw
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Opinion
On January 22, a
historic meeting organised by the Humanitarian Information
Facilitation
Centre (HIFC) which drew together 50 brave and true gladiators
for wetland
conservation, comprising representatives from humanitarian,
water security
and environmental organisations, wetland experts,
hydrologists and
geologists, journalists and concerned citizens, has
resulted in the
immediate formation of the Wetlands Survival Forum. The
delegates resolved
to educate the public as a matter of dire urgency on the
wetlands crisis and
its extremely serious implications for all of us, and to
put pressure on
policy and law makers at highest levels, to put an end, once
and for all, to
all proposed and actual development and other destructive
human activities
on the wetlands that remain.
Column by Rosie Mitchell
Last year,
the issue of the on-going and rapidly escalating loss of wetlands
nationwide, and especially, in the capital, to illegal human activities in
the form of cultivation, dumping and construction, received greater media
attention. More and more people are waking up to the real facts of the
matter: The wetlands are our lifeline to water. They are right at the head
of the hydrological sequence through which ultimately water comes out of our
taps, boreholes or wells, and we capital dwellers are right at the top of
this natural, and if left well alone, perfectly functioning water system,
because of the position of our city at the top of the watershed. As a
result, almost 7 million people depend on the conservation of the wetlands
found in and around Harare. But these are systemically and rapidly being
destroyed by unscrupulous developers whose motivation is money and who do
not care about the longer term consequences for everyone!
The meeting
on January 22 which started with informative presentations by Dr
Chris
Magadza, expert hydrologist and pre-eminent wetlands champion, and
Alleta
Nyahuye, representing the Environmental Management Agency, led to
fruitful
discussions around the many issues, which at heart, are
humanitarian. While
wetland conservation obviously has importance
environmentally, beyond the
hydrological processes they support to
sustaining biodiversity and
preventing the extinction of species which
survive only in such areas,
fundamentally, the wetlands crisis from the
human perspective is about water
supply. Already, water security is a
burning concern across our country,
especially in Harare and Bulawayo, in
both of which cities, there simply is
no longer enough water for the
populations now living there. This shortage
can be laid in no small part at
the door of wetland destruction, the
wetlands underpinning the very
foundation of our ultimate water supply.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Editorial
It is very
unlikely that the five people that President Robert Mugabe said
should be
investigated by the police over extorting money from diamond
miners in the
name of Zanu PF and converting the money to their own use are
the only ones
in the party to have used the practice to enrich themselves.
Editorial
Comment
The practice has been known since Independence with individuals
in the party
approaching businesspeople in different locations for
“donations” to the
party whenever there has been a Zanu PF function. This
widespread use of
blackmail has targeted not only white and Asian
businesspeople and generally
foreigners but also successful black
entrepreneurs who have had to part with
huge amounts of money because of the
vulnerability of their business
operations, be it farming, mining, retail or
whatever sector.
Zanu PF functionaries have sought “protection fees” from
these entrepreneurs
promising they would not be affected by party policies
such as
indigenisation. The extortion has thrived because there has not been
an
accounting system in place to curtail it. Anyone can claim to be an
emissary
of the party and bigwigs in the party are known to have “mujibhas”
all over
the places running their errands. This explains their newly
acquired wealth.
As recently as last year questions were raised as to the
source of the money
used to build the folly that was used for the party’s
annual people’s
conference in Gweru. Many suspected the money could have
been extorted from
foreign businesspeople on the pretext of protection or
the award of mining
contracts. Much of it may never have been accounted
for.
Whatever the case may be, the Manicaland episode is just a tip of
the
iceberg. Provincial chairman Mike Madiro is hardly a “big fish” in Zanu
PF.
He might have a case to answer and might even be sacrificed for the sake
of
scoring a political point, but this kind of corruption goes to the very
core
of the former ruling party.
When push comes to shove, Madiro
might choose to go alone but the nation won’t
be fooled by Zanu PF’s
political chicanery.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
January 27, 2013 in Editorial
Very few people
in Zimbabwe have come across the term penis captivus, but
almost everyone
has come across the word runyoka. The two expressions
describe the same
condition namely, “a rare occurrence in heterosexual
intercourse when the
muscles in the vagina clamp down on the penis much more
firmly than usual,
making it impossible for the penis to withdraw from the
vagina.”
(Wikipedia)
From the Editor’s desk by Nevanji Madanhire
The
condition was reported in the British Medical Journal in 1979 by Dr F
Kräupl
Taylor. He concluded that the condition existed but “almost all the
cases
mentioned in medical publications and in textbooks are based on
hearsay and
rumour”. His conclusion of the existence of the condition was
however based
on two papers published by two 19th century German
gynaecologists who had
personally dealt with cases of the condition.
Kräupl Taylor concluded the
cases by two gynaecologists left in him “no
doubt about the reality of this
unusual symptom” but continued to say the
condition however, “is so rare
that it is often regarded nowadays as no more
than a prurient
myth”.
One of the gynaecologists described how his patient who had always
had
intercourse normally with his partner narrated the
experience:
“He reported that just at the moment when he thought
intercourse, which had
been quite normal till then, had come to an end, he
suddenly felt that he,
or rather his glans [organ], was held back deep in
the vagina, tightly
gripped and imprisoned, while his whole penis was in the
vagina. All
attempts at withdrawal failed. When he forced the attempts, he
caused severe
pain to himself and his wife. Bathed in perspiration through
agitation,
alarm and his failure to free himself, he was finally forced to
resign
himself to waiting in patience. He could not say how many minutes
this
lasted, his imprisonment seemed endless. Then — the hindrance vanished
on
its own; he was free.”
Perhaps it is the rarity of the condition
that has spurned all the myths
around penis captivus in Zimbabwe linking it
to black magic. What is very
interesting is Dr Kräupl Taylor’s observation
that most reports are based on
hearsay and rumour. We have head a handful
cases reported in Harare but no
one has ever confirmed that he or she
personally witnessed the occurrence.
News about it is almost always second
hand as in, “My neighbour told me he
had been told by a friend who had
personally seen it.”
Zimbabweans believe that a husband can lock his wife
using black magic in
such a way that if she has sexual intercourse with
another man they won’t be
able to separate. Street lingo in Zimbabwe calls
this “durawalling”.
Durawall was originally a trade name for a locally-made
precast concrete
wall but now has become a generic name for all perimeter
walls. Almost
everyone in Zimbabwe believes in “durawalling” which scares
the daylights
out of all men inclined towards adultery, yet it may in fact
be “no more
than a prurient myth”.
Zimbabweans are such a
superstitious lot that any rare occurrence is quickly
explained as black
magic. That black magic exists cannot be dismissed
entirely; it is practised
right across the globe whether it’s in western
capitals, in the jungles of
the Barbados (voodoo) or in sangoma dens in
South Africa, but it has not had
the same petrifying effect on the whole
national psyche as it has in
Zimbabwe.
In a world of nanotechnology; in which science has gone so far
to explain
all sorts of phenomena, in an information age in which people
communicate in
real time like magic across impossible distances, Zimbabweans
think that
snakes can rob banks. Any successful businessman is looked at
with suspicion
as someone who owns some supernatural object he uses to steal
money from
banks. Not only that, but some people go about masquerading as
prophets who
can make automated teller machines spew wads of notes of the
greenback at
the command of a prayer! Recently we have had rumours about
buses and vans
that talk and grinding mills that ask their operators to give
them a rest.
This means the omnibus that brought you to church today may not
have been
running on an engine but on the back of some superhuman life
called a
tokoloshe.
Last week the country was bound in a spell by a
bomb that went off in
Chitungwiza. The story was too juicy to attribute it
to a simple bomb: the
scene of the incident was the residence of a
n’anga/sangoma/witchdoctor, the
dramatis personae were the n’anga himself
and a businessman in the transport
sector, the climax was the demise of both
and a few others who constituted
collateral damage. The conclusion was that
the businessman was consulting
the n’anga so he could either, through black
magic, enhance his business or
was trying to dispose of a troublesome charm
or was trying to destroy a
rival. The explosion was the result of either the
charm refusing to be
destroyed, or the rival was too powerful magic-wise to
be destroyed, etc.
The complication of the whole episode was a supine
authority (the police)
that would not release a preliminary report of
findings; and a complicity
Press that fed the speculation, rumour and
hearsay that reigned supreme for
a whole week.
Even when the 24-year-old
man at the centre of the whole episode turned out
to be a simple crook who
masqueraded as a prophet at night and sorcerer
during the day conning people
of their hard-earned money, people remained
enthralled by the power of the
explosion which they concluded was unnatural.
But why is the Zimbabwean
mind so superstitious? A simple explanation would
be the all-pervasive
poverty engulfing the nation. Why is this explanation
valid? Most, if not
all the stories fuelling the belief in supernatural
phenomena are to do with
hunting for money. People follow churches in
pursuit of riches; they also
consult n’angas in pursuit of the same. This
proves true the adage, “Money
is the root of all evil.”
What has happened to good old-fashioned hard
work? Money can only be
acquired through an individual’s enterprise and hard
work. There cannot be
shortcuts; any attempts to acquire wealth through
magic or criminality
usually have a bad ending as happened in the
Chitungwiza case where it is
now known with certainty the victims were
handling a bomb, trying to extract
something from it.
But at what
point in time is Zimbabwe going to make the transition from the
belief in
witchcraft to science, which switch most of the world has already
made?
