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From Sapa, 29 January
Cosatu will go to Zim despite warning
By Moffet Mofokeng
The Congress of SA Trade Unions has vowed to visit Zimbabwe next week despite a warning from that country's envoy urging it not to travel to Harare. "There are no legitimate grounds for the Zimbabwean government to deny Cosatu its democratic right to meet and talk to comrades in the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions," Cosatu's spokesperson Patrick Craven said on Saturday. "We are confident that we have the backing of our alliance partners," he said.On Friday, Simon Moyo, Zimbabwe's envoy to South Africa, warned Cosatu to stop meddling in his country's internal affairs. He said reports that the African National Congress had changed its mind about Cosatu's planned fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe and was supportive of it were contrary to what they had learned from South Africa's ruling party. On Thursday, the alliance secretariat - the SA Communist party, the ANC, the SA National Civic Organisation and Cosatu - said the South African federation's planned visit formed part of efforts to create space for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. But, on Friday, Moyo said in a statement: "Zimbabwe is not for sale. "Zimbabwe is currently too busy with preparations for the March elections, which will be conducted within the SADC (Southern African Development Community) principles and guidelines on elections. "These SADC protocols were crafted for all SADC member states and the notion being projected that they apply to Zimbabwe only must be dismissed with the contempt it deserves," he said. Independent analyst Aubrey Matshiqi said he was certain Cosatu has the support of the ANC, but was unsure if that support was qualified. He said the Zimbabwean government has been consistent in its rejection of Cosatu's fact-finding mission. "They do not want Cosatu," Matshiqi told Sapa. The ANC could not be reached for comment.
From The Sunday Times (UK), 30 January
SADC turns up the heat on Mugabe
Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders are racing against time to ensure that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe holds a free and fair parliamentary election in March. Diplomatic sources said this week that SADC leaders were engaged in behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to pressure Mugabe to allow a genuine election to take place. They said President Thabo Mbeki was working hard with SADC chairman Paul Berenger of Mauritius to ensure Zimbabwe complies with the regional bloc’s election guidelines before the crucial poll. An undisputed election is regarded by many Southern African leaders as a priority in the battle to resolve Zimbabwe’s long-running political and economic crisis. An SADC delegation of lawyers from South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia - which constitutes the organ that monitors elections - is due to arrive in Harare to assess whether Zimbabwe is complying with the election guidelines. All SADC leaders adopted principles governing democratic elections in the region in August. The community’s protocol requires member states to hold regular, free and fair elections. Zimbabwe’s elections in 2000 and 2002 were marred by accusations of electoral fraud, vote-rigging, violence and intimidation. While Zimbabwe contends it is complying with the SADC guidelines - through a purportedly independent electoral commission - the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the reforms are piecemeal and cosmetic. Director-General in Mbeki’s office the Rev Frank Chikane this week met MDC leaders to discuss the election. The MDC also met Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad. Mbeki himself has held several meetings with Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC as well as Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF, in a bid to establish consensus on election rules.
Comment from the Financial Mail (SA), 21 January
ANC makes slight turn of the screw
Surprisingly blunt comments by the secretary-general of SA's ruling ANC party, Kgalema Motlanthe, on the need for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to level the playing field ahead of the parliamentary elections in March, have given the opposition a boost. But no more than that. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), still to announce whether it will contest the poll, insists it will do so only if the government fully implements the Southern African Development Community (SADC) electoral guidelines. Mugabe's government says it has already done so, but MDC justice spokesman David Coltart disagrees. The March poll, he says, will be run not by an independent electoral commission as stipulated by the SADC, but by Mugabe-appointed registrar-general Tobaiwa Mudede. This, says Coltart, means Zimbabwe will hold "by far the most uneven elections in the region".
The SADC principles include freedom of association, equal opportunity for all parties to access the state media, impartial electoral institutions, voter education, an independent judiciary and the right of candidates to challenge results in the courts. Virtually none of these conditions applies in Zimbabwe . Legal challenges are allowed, but those launched by the MDC after the 2000 election have still not been resolved. The MDC is unhappy too with the delimitation of constituencies, whereby two urban seats (opposition strongholds) have been merged with rural constituencies - and this in a country with a very high rate of urbanisation. The voters roll "is a shambles" and years out of date, says National Constituency Association president Lovemore Maduku. The roll shows 5,65m people out of a total population of 11,4m will be allowed to vote - an improbably high ratio of almost 50%. But expatriate Zimbabweans will not be - though government itself claims there are as many as 3,3m living abroad. This suggests that the number of voters will be around 3m, with the 5,65m voters roll providing ample opportunity for electoral fraud.
Nor does the opposition have any faith in Mugabe's promise to crack down on violence. In the run-up to last weekend's primary elections held by Zanu PF, there were violent clashes between rival groups and there have also been claims of fraud and even the burning of votes by one candidate. The SADC troika - the presidents of SA, Botswana and Lesotho - are scheduled to visit Harare soon to ascertain whether the government has levelled the playing field as promised. Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said Cosatu welcomed the ANC statement as it "closes the gap between partners in the tripartite alliance on the question of Zimbabwe, and enhances the possibility of creating the conditions for free and fair elections there in March". Cosatu said it has written to Zimbabwe labour minister Paul Mangwana about the fact-finding mission "that we intend to resend to Zimbabwe ". However, Mangwana last Saturday told a local newspaper Cosatu would meet the same fate it did last October if it entered the country. Cosatu said it is looking at "possible actions, including a blockade of the border".
In Zimbabwe, anyone outside Zanu says the electoral climate is no fairer than in the 2000 parliamentary and 2002 presidential elections, which led to Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth and the withdrawal of foreign aid by the West. The troika may manage to feed off such crumbs as the promise to use translucent ballot boxes, the restriction of polling to a single day, and official claims that the electoral commission is independent. Opposition activists and NGOs hope the troika will build on Motlanthe's remarks, demanding that elections be delayed until mid year so observer teams and institutions are in place not just a few days before polling . There is little chance of the government agreeing , especially at a time of rampant inflation, economic decline and a struggle for power in a ruling party that has sidelined cabinet ministers, senior politicians and office-bearers. Party insiders claim the arrest of a member of parliament and senior party officials on charges of allegedly spying for SA have more to do with the war in the party than with national security. Yet, if the past is any guide there is little chance than the troika will take Mugabe on. The SADC has always backed down . It is hard to see why it should be any different this time - unless the ANC's rebuke really does mark a sea change in Pretoria's attitude towards Zanu PF.
From Business Day (SA), 29 January
Zimbabwe spy suspects appeal for leniency
Harare - Three senior members from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ruling party have urged a court to be lenient while trying them for allegedly selling "state secrets" overseas, a daily said. Ambassador-designate to Mozambique, Godfrey Dzvairo, former top bank official Tendai Matambanadzo and Tendai Marchi appeared before a Harare court yesterday and launched "mitigation submissions," the state-run Herald said. The three were convicted on their first appearance in court in December 24 when they pleaded guilty. But they did an about-turn and then pleaded not guilty, arguing that their confessions were obtained under duress - which was rejected by the magistrate. State prosecutor Morgan Nemadire said: "The accused persons are making their mitigation submissions and will be back in court on Thursday for the continual of the submssions." The scandal erupted when an alleged South African spy was nabbed by Zimbabwe Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives at Victoria Falls and under questioning revealed the names of his collaborators within the governing Zanu PF. Six senior Zanu PF members including a member of parliament are accused of taking part in the spy ring that was allegedly providing South African President Thabo Mbeki's government with information on the party's affairs. Philip Chiyangwa, a provincial Zanu PF chairman and former Zimbabwe consul-general in South Africa, was arrested in December on charges of selling state secrets. Yesterday, the court remanded him in custody until February 11. The flamboyant Chiyangwa "appeared to have lost considerable weight" in detention, The Herald said. The trial started on Thursday. If convicted, the men face up to 20 years in jail and a hefty fine, or both. Zimbabwe is also holding the alleged South African intelligence agent, whom media reports describe as a white male. The sixth person allegedly connected to the affair, Zimbabwean diplomat Erasmus Moyo, reportedly escaped while being moved from Geneva to Harare.
From News24 (SA), 29 January
Hospital fighting for life
Harare - Zimbabwe has given Z$100bn, while well-wishers chipped in another Z$230m to rescue the country's second-largest hospital, a daily said on Saturday. The emergency funds for Harare Central Hospital came in the wake of media reports this week that the country's main health facility for low- and middle-income groups was on the brink of collapse, the state-run Herald said. The Herald, in an exposé on Wednesday entitled "Harare Hospital in intensive care," said lifts at the 1 428-bed facility were not functioning. Laboratory and dialysis machines were out of order while other equipment was only partially working. Sinks and toilets were blocked and babies were being delivered in extremely unhygienic conditions. "There is nothing as bad as failing to go to another floor in time to collect oxygen for a dying patient because the elevators are down," a nurse was quoted as saying on Saturday. "And it hurts when you finally come back minutes later only to find the patient dead," she added.
The Herald on Saturday said the government had extended a Z$100-bn "lifeline" for the facility along with supplementary funds raised by a group calling themselves Friends of Harare Hospital. Hospital medical superintendent Chris Tapfumaneyi told the daily that the main priority now would be to refurbish and re-equip the maternity ward and the psychiatric unit, which had almost closed. "We are working out the logistics of procuring equipment which costs less than Z$300m, for anything above that we have to go through the State Procurement Board to float tenders on our behalf," he said. Zimbabwe's public health sector has been severely hit by a brain drain partly stemming from low salaries and poor work conditions and shortages of drugs and equipment. Harare Central Hospital was built in 1954 to serve the country's black majority during British colonial rule, which formally ended in 1980. It is now the country's second largest hospital and cheaper than the biggest, the Parirenyatwa hospital, also located in Harare.
From IPS, 19 January
Journalists shrug off government's media straitjacket
Tafi Murinzi
Bulawayo - Media rights watchdogs have long criticised the conditions under which journalists in Zimbabwe operate. Since the start of the year, however, the circumstances of the country's media have become bleaker still. Earlier this month, President Robert Mugabe signed into law amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). This law, passed in March 2002, requires journalists to obtain accreditation from a government-appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC) - something widely viewed as an attempt by authorities to clamp down on the activities of the independent press. In terms of the latest amendments to AIPPA, reporters who are caught working without accreditation may be imprisoned for up to two years. Newspapers and publishers are also required to register with the MIC. The tightening of media restrictions appears to have been greeted with a certain amount of sang-froid in Zimbabwe. "There has emerged a culture of acceptance of the repressive nature of the media law, and people don't make too much of a fuss about it anymore," says Takura Zhangazha of the Zimbabwean chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa. "Everybody wants to do their business in as quiet a way as possible and not draw attention from the MIC." Other reporters have simply decided to disregard the amendments. "For me accreditation's one thing I said I'm not going to bother about," a freelancer told IPS, noting that - if nothing else - registration is prohibitively expensive. Reporters who work for foreign media have to pay the MIC fees of about 800 United States dollars. Adds the freelancer, "One needs to look at what's going on with Jonathan (Moyo). If he goes, things might improve."
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo has become the nemesis of reporters in Zimbabwe since 2000, when the ruling Zanu PF party won parliamentary elections that were characterised by intimidation and violence, much of this directed against the opposition. Considered one of the driving forces behind efforts to gag foreign reporters and the privately-owned media in Zimbabwe - both highly critical of the Mugabe administration - the pugnacious Moyo now seems on the verge of losing his position as government's chief apologist. Along with several other members of Zanu PF, he has been excluded from running in parliamentary elections that are scheduled to be held by the end of March. This came after Moyo bypassed party procedures by holding an un-sanctioned meeting to select candidates for key posts in Zanu PF. Vincent Kahiya, editor of The Zimbabwe Independent - one of three privately-owned weeklies - is less optimistic about the consequences of Moyo's possible demise. "It's not like the departure of Moyo would see the government repealing or amending the laws," he says. "The laws will stay on the statute books as long as they are useful to the ruling order." A magistrate's court recently dropped charges against Kahiya and three staffers who had been accused of defaming the president and his government. The case arose out of a report carried by The Zimbabwe Independent early last year which alleged that Mugabe had commandeered a plane from the state airline to travel to Switzerland, where he attended an international summit.
In one of the latest spats between the MIC and Zimbabwe's media, a new weekly fell foul of the commission this month after publishing only one issue. According to the MIC, The Weekly Times misrepresented its editorial policy in order to get an operating licence. The commission claimed that while the paper had undertaken to concentrate on "developmental issues" and "general news", it ultimately showed itself to be "political commentary through and through". The Weekly Times was given a week to explain why its licence should not be suspended or revoked. Moves to restrict the activities of journalists have drawn criticism abroad. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher noted that the AIPPA amendments are inconsistent with election guidelines adopted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August last year. Zimbabwe is a member of SADC. "The steps raise serious doubts about whether the government is committed to holding free and fair parliamentary elections in March," Boucher said recently during a press briefing in the American capital, Washington.
In the wake of the violence and human rights abuse that preceded the 2000 parliamentary and 2002 presidential polls, the U.S. joined the European Union in imposing sanctions on Mugabe and other key members of government. The SADC electoral code, agreed on during a summit of regional leaders in Mauritius, stipulates that all political parties should have access to state media during election campaigns, and that they should be allowed to operate in a climate free of violence and intimidation. The code also requires polls to be managed by impartial institutions. While SADC has yet to issue its verdict on the latest media restrictions to be implemented in Zimbabwe, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa noted this week that Harare's treatment of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was not in line with regional standards. This appeared to constitute a departure from the ANC's previous position: the party has generally refrained from criticising Zimbabwe's government, saying political upheaval in the country can best be dealt with through low-key, diplomatic interventions.
Since the start of 2000, Zimbabwe has also witnessed occupations of white-owned farms by veterans of the country's war of independence and other pro-government militants. These occupations were initially described as a bid to correct racial imbalances in land ownership that had their roots in colonialism. However, certain political observers have claimed that Zanu PF orchestrated the farm invasions to gain support ahead of parliamentary elections in 2000, when it faced its first credible challenge from an opposition party - the MDC. Political uncertainty and disturbances in the agricultural sector, combined with a costly involvement in the Congolese civil war, have sparked economic decline in Zimbabwe. Inflation hovers in the triple digits, while unemployment in the country is rife.
| DIPLOMATIC DESPATCHES: ‘Come to Zimbabwe’ By Balan Moses Jan 30: New Sunday Times | |
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The meeting was not attended by executive mayors of the cities, most of whom are members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Local authorities that spoke to The Standard last week said the 70 percent increment that government directed would lead to the collapse of operations of most local councils in the country.
Some of the local authorities had proposed budget increments of more than 200 percent and were surprised when these were slashed by 130 %
Already local authorities such as Harare, Chitungwiza and Mutare are struggling to contain burst sewerage and water pipes and payment for refuse collection in the high-density suburbs.
Raw human waste flows in most streets of high-density areas such as Sakubva in Mutare, Mbare in Harare and Chipadze in Bindura, signalling the near collapse of amenities in most local authorities.
The President of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), Fani Phiri, said Chombo's directive was going to make the operations of local authorities "extremely difficult".
He said that most local councils would not be able to pay their workers, buy water purification chemicals, maintain roads and provide other services as well as pursuing new developmental projects. "I don't know how we are going to survive," said Phiri, who is also the Mayor of Kadoma.
He said local authorities were likely to have confrontations with their workers as the authorities would not be able to afford salariy increases of 210% that were awarded to civil servants this year.
Former Harare councillor for Mt Pleasant, Christopher Mushonga, said the government would have to subsidise most of the local authorities. "I am definite that if government does not assist local authorities by giving them subsidies they will all collapse," Mushonga said.
Last year Harare had a budget of $1,1 trillion.
Former chairman of the finance committee in the Harare City Council, Last Maingahama, blasted Chombo for announcing a blanket percentage increment. "Different situations call for different approaches"he said.
Under normal circumstances, the Harare City Council budget should have been announced in November last year to allow residents time to object before its implementation in January.
The government last week reversed parking and other vehicle licence fees that had been effected by a commission that is running Harare.
Chairman of the Commission running the city, Sekesai Makwavarara, and the spokesperson of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), Mike Davies, were not immediately available for comment yesterday.
But Bulawayo Executive Mayor, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, said the increment directed by Chombo would make it "a tall task" to run affairs of local authorities.
Bulawayo had proposed an increment of 150 percent in the first six months and another 100 percent in the second half of the year. "Judging by the high percentages we had proposed, it shows that it would be very hard to efficiently run the council," said Ndabeni-Ncube.
Chitungwiza Mayor Misheck Shoko said the government would have to subsidise local councils because the 70 percent was not sustainable. "Chitungwiza will definitely collapse unless the government subsidises services. Common sense will tell you that you can't increase rates by only 70 percent and survive under the current economic environment," Shoko said.
Chitungwiza, he said, had proposed a budget of about $387 billion for the year 2005. "They said our budget of $387 billion was too high and residents would not be able to pay the rates," Shoko said.
Mutare Mayor, Misheck Kagurabadza, last week said the city was facing a serious financial crisis, which had compromised the delivery of service.
Kudzai Mumbengegwi, Mutare's treasurer, refused to comment while Chombo could not be reached for a comment yesterday.
Human rights activist and Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel addressed the UN with a heart rending account and plea to the world to ensure that evil is never allowed to prosper again.
It made me ashamed that our President likened himself to Hitler who was responsible for this greatest atrocity ever committed. As he continued with his speech I became sick that I was a Zimbabwean, a people who cannot stand up to a dictatorship that kills and tortures its citizens. I became revolted at the Zanu PF cadres, police and civil servants who carry out the wishes of a leadership that employs evil ways to stay in power.
It is up to everyone of us to stand up to evil, whether we are Zimbabwean or not, and whether we are Zanu PF or not. to make the world a better place.
A McCormick
Greendale
Harare
The BBC Southern Africa correspondent says the Zimbabwe government will not welcome the ANC's change of tack.
South Africa is seen as a key player in attempts to resolve Zimbabwe's problems and some have called for it to stop supplying subsidised electricity to put pressure on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.
The BBC's Barnaby Phillips says several ANC ministers have been publicly supportive of Mugabe, whereas Cosatu has criticised human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was formed by trade unions and correspondents say Cosatu feels union solidarity with the MDC.
Zimbabwean ministers have said that the Cosatu team would not be welcome.
But before getting ANC backing for this week's trip Cosatu dropped meetings with civil society leaders, disappointing Zimbabwean human rights activists.
Two MDC MPs were arrested last week after holding political meetings.
The MDC says this shows the government is not serious about holding free and fair parliamentary elections which are expected in March.
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party denies rigging two previous elections.
Mugabe has appointed what he says is an independent electoral commission to oversee the poll - a key part of new regional electoral guidelines, which Zimbabwe says it will respect. - BBC News.
Depositors have expressed their unwillingness to experiment once again with their hard earned resources by entrusting the new cartel. They say ZABG's reputation would be undermined by the lack of confidence in the banking system.
"At first I had an account with Trust and it was closed and I then opted for Royal and it folded again. So it will be unwise for me to associate again with the institutions that failed me before," declared a resident of Chitungwiza, adding: "They say once beaten, twice shy."
Some economic analysts and bankers shared the same sentiments with depositors.
"People are flocking to remove whatever is left of their money in some banks and they are still considering opening accounts with stable ones," said one banker.
Peter Robinson of Zimconsult said no sane person would commit his money with ZABG.
"The experience of last year is banks that constitute ZABG went to the walls and were badly managed. So one has to choose reputable banks and nobody will walk into their offices," vowed Robinson.
"It is not going to attract a lot of deposits except from the government," said John Robertson of Robertson Economic Information Services.
"I was raised by my mother, who was separated from my father from my birth, and who was very close in the early sixties and mid-seventies to the family of the late Reverend Sithole (Ndabaningi) who was at the time the president of ZANU," Moyo wrote in a CV compiled on Tuesday, December 28, 2004.
Under personal details in his CV, Moyo says: "My father is late. He was killed in 1985 in Tsholotsho in a tragic encounter with elements of the Zimbabwe National Army who took his life during Zimbabwe's post independence dark period, generally referred to as the 'Gukurahundi Era'. At the time he was a councillor in Tsholotsho Rural District Council."
Moyo's father is not named in the CV. But inquiries in Tsholotsho among councillors and politicians have established that among the thousands of unarmed civilians butchered by 5 Brigade, a councillor known as Job (Jobe) Ndlovu was murdered by the North Korean trained soldiers and it could not be ascertained if he was Moyo's father.
The CV says Moyo attended two primary schools in Bulawayo, Pelandaba Seventh Day Adventist from 1965 to 1968 and Magwegwe Primary, 1969 to 1970.
He attended Mpopoma High School from 1971 to 1972, before leaving for Zambia in 1973 and later Tanzania in 1976 before leaving to complete his secondary education in California, USA in 1978.
His family connections to the late Ndabaningi Sithole enabled him to travel to Zambia, Tanzania and subsequently, the USA.
In the CV, he says he has never supported any other party.
"I grew up in Zanu PF politics. I have not known any other politics and as a matter of fact, I have never been part of or associated with any opposition party in post independence Zimbabwe. My father was an active Zapu cadre and community leader."
Moyo also reveals how he was brought into Zanu PF."In March 2000, I was asked by the late Cde Moven Mahachi to organise and co-ordinate the Zanu PF election campaign for the 2000 parliamentary elections. My appointment was approved by the Politburo and I was given a contract by the party to work full time on its election campaign."
Mahachi died on 26 May 2001.
Zanu PF national chairman, John Nkomo told the ruling party's mouth piece, The Voice, that Moyo's CV was an attempt to "recreate" himself.
"It (CV) is nothing but a pack of lies and no one can take it seriously. It clearly shows that the man was at pains in trying to doctor his profile to meet the criteria set out by the party," Nkomo told The Voice.
The ruling party old guard seems annoyed by Moyo's apparent arrogance in his CV.
For example, where referees or people who can vouch for him are supposed to be listed, Moyo wrote: "Furnished upon request."
The Standard understands that the party's old guard was enraged by the fact that most of the people that Moyo claims to have worked with were all dead and can therefore not verify this version of his history.
Among the dead are his unidentified father; Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole; Moven Mahachi; Eddison Shirihuru; and Tirivafi Kangai, whose name he spells as Tirivavi.
Moyo also takes responsibility for spearheading the crafting of the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act. But Moyo recently complained that he was being attacked for being the "architect" of the draconian pieces legislation when his parliamentary and cabinet colleagues were co-authors of the laws.
He also takes credit for initiating the Zifa Unity Cup, musical galas and coining and popularising the phrases 'Third Chimurenga' and 'fast track'.
And in the case of the Mugabe's sister, if the President were in Parliament, they would constitute the largest group of family members to be in the house.
Sabina was not challenged in primary elections to choose the Zanu PF representative for Zvimba South Constituency, the home of the Mugabes, and is expected to retain the seat, which is in a ruling party stronghold in Mashonaland West.
Although Makonde Constituency had been reserved for women under the Zanu PF quota system, the decision was reversed to pave the way for the President's nephew, Leo, to claim the right to represent the ruling party in the March parliamentary elections.
Leo won the elections after beating two female aspirants, Angela Shamhu and Betty Biri, while Douglas Mombeshora was another contestant.
The constituency also attracted some controversy following skirmishes between Leo Mugabe's supporters and those of to journalist-turned-politician, Kindness Paradza.
Paradza, his supporters and (Leo) Mugabe's followers were arrested while he was not. Paradza's arrest became the basis for barring him from contesting in the Makonde primary elections.
All aspiring Zanu PF MPs with pending court cases were barred from the primaries.
In the recently created Manyame Constituency, Norton Town Council chairwoman, Bybit Tsomondo was set to lock horns with President Mugabe's other nephew, Zhuwao.
Tsomondo, a Zanu PF Central Committee member was later reported to have "withdrawn" from the race.
This meant that out of the 13 constituencies in Mashonaland West province only one would be represented by a woman. This is despite the fact that the ruling Zanu PF made a commitment that a third of all positions in the party should be reserved for women.
Sabina and her two sons could also make history in the event that they are appointed cabinet ministers.
Acting Mashonaland West provincial chairman, John Mafa, denied that Zhuwao and Leo were favoured because of their connections.
Eight former senior players - Streak, Grant Flower, Raymond Price, Stuart Carlisle, Andy Blignaut, Trevor Gripper, Craig Wishart, Neil Ferreira - met the committee of Addington Chinake, Jackie du Preeze, and George Makings mid-day yesterday where they presented their conditions for a possible return to international cricket. A ninth player, Gary Brent sent his apologies as he was attending to urgent personal matters.
One of the players, Carlisle, told StandardSport soon after the meeting, they had "positive" discussions with the arbitrators but would not go further as conditions surrounding the talks do not allow them to talk to the Press.
Carlisle said late yesterday: "The rebels feel positive about the talks we held today with the ad-hoc committee. It all now depends on the ZC's response, and if it is positive as well, things will certainly move forward. We will meet the ad-hoc committee again in two weeks time and meanwhile, we will be taking part in the national league to keep in shape."
StandardSport understands the ad-hoc committee is scheduled to meet ZC officials on Wednesday, before engaging the players again in a fortnight. The reason for the two-week break, it is understood, is because a member of the ad-hoc committee will be out of the country on other business.
The white, former first team regulars, fell-out with the then Zimbabwe Cricket Union in June last year, after expressing displeasure at alleged racial bias in the selection of the national team. Previous efforts - including those by the International Cricket Council - to find a solution to the dispute failed, but the SRC, after a probe into the saga that has made international headlines, decided to set up the three-member committee.
Zimbabwe has since fielded an inexperienced team led by 21-year-old skipper Tatenda Taibu, which is currently fighting for dear life in Bangladesh to salvage a tour that has turned on its head, after showing early promise. Zimbabwe lost the Test series 1-0 against the hosts, and are currently locked 2-2 in the five-day, One Day Internationals, and need a win tomorrow at Dhaka's intimidating Bangabondho Stadium to take away the series 3-2.
Mudenge's most prophetic and public declaration of the likes of Walter Muzembi as young leaders who would take a united province and nation forward into the new millennium turned out to be a political "dead cat bounce" in the seemingly elusive process of constructing a sustainable political truce in Masvingo.
Forces external to Masvingo province and with an agenda antithetical to the political interests of Zimbabwe in general and the people of Masvingo in particular, found fertile ground on which to re-organise and finance the re-emergence of the Zvobgo faction under the leadership of Dzikamai Mavhaire, Josiah Tungamirai, Muzembi, Eddison Zvobgo (jnr) and others.
Masvingo province delivered an emphatic vote of confidence in the Mudenge-Hungwe-Mahofa axis in the key constituencies of Masvingo Central, Masvingo North, Chivi North, Gutu South and Zaka East. In Masvingo Central, Mavhaire's attempt at political resurrection was stopped by Shylet Uyoyo, a little known but vibrant woman and former campaign manager of the now suspended provincial party chairman, Daniel Shumba.
A new entrant and energetic high-school teacher, Enita Maziriri, walloped incumbent MP for Chivi North, Samuel Mumbengegwi. Tinos Rusere fought off a challenge from Major Mudavanhu in Zaka East, while Mahofa romped home unopposed in Gutu South, all signifying a telling testimony of the people of Masvingo that phantoms constructed, handled and funded by outsiders will not be granted any space in shaping and directing local politics.
The outcome of elections in Masvingo is a microcosm of the general feeling among voters country-wide that legitimate leadership comes from "them" and is not imposed by a supposedly infallible Presidium and its cheerleaders with very little, if any appreciation of the essential principles that underpin nation building.
While many congratulate the Mudenge-Hungwe-Mahofa axis for a well-deserved and legitimate show of confidence in their leadership by the people of Masvingo, one prays that they will not lose sight of the need to remain guided by the needs and interests of their provincial constituency and harmonise them with the call for national unity as the country braces itself for the crucial anti-colonial March 2005 elections.
There is hope that their hand of reconciliation remains extended to those both within and outside Masvingo , who today stand defeated but are still part of their provincial and national family.
Tirivanhu Ndambakuwa
Masvingo
But just as the leaders began to pour into the outpost, word leaked out, as all secret things have a habit of doing. The panic triggered was of tsunami proportions. There was great gnashing of teeth and wailing and many started spilling the beans. Freedonia was shocked by the extent of the disclosures, although no one seemed to offer hard evidence on what the Kalahari outpost's gathering agenda and resolutions were.
Freedonians' usually over-fertile imagination worked itself to stratospheric levels with multitudinous versions that only the KGB, MI5, MI6, FBI, CIA and BOSS put together could manufacture.
The Don of Freedonia's revolution was "amused" by the enthusiastic efforts of his lieutenants. But others claiming closer study of how the Don operates, said the term "amused" was the understatement of the decade. He kept everyone guessing on what his next move would be. But one thing for certain was that he was no longer his jovial self. He was a typical revolutionary.
One tries to second-guess Freedonia's leaders at their own risk.
In the second decade of Freedonia's revolution, there was a condition that ravaged the nation. In its wake, new lexicon was created to describe the cause of the decimation of its population. The terms "long" and "short" became common prefixes in describing the terminal condition. Not a single family in Freedonia was left unscathed by the condition. But Freedonia's Inspector-General of health dismissed the condition as a "media event".
It was only much later that one or two of the leaders of Freedonia agreed in public what it was that claimed the lives of their relatives.
But it was not difficult to see why; nearly all of the revolutionary leadership of Freedonia maintained several mistresses. Cynics said this was a taste acquired from exile, where a steady traffic of female recruits catered for their lasciviousness.
In moving pictures Freedonians were frequently shown one memorable scene about the brave fighters with the following script:
Female recruit: "Commander, I want to be with you."
Commander: "No, that is not military, there is no scope for love…"
Many described this as a quicksand of untruth and misstatements about what went on in the camps during their freedom struggle. When a female former Freedonian fighter chronicled her experiences on film and in book form, she was vehemently denounced as an agent of the oppressors bent on demeaning the struggle for Freedonia's liberation.
What happened in the camps took a new form when Freedonia gained its independence. Pageants were organized and their virtues extolled. Out of these came an annual virginity test - of course, only for female Freedonians. As with this and other pageants, they were heavily patronized by Freedonia's revolutionary leadership.
The leadership showered the graduates of these "tests" with prizes and quickly took them in as their mistresses. Those who continued to denounce the condition with prefixes and described as a "media event" considered these girls "safe targets".
Pageants and galas became the opium of the people. Galas, it was argued, were part of a national security brief, because they helped citizens to remain awake all the time and therefore vigilant against enemies of Freedonia.
But just when they thought they could live with pageants and galas happily ever after, serene Freedonia was troubled by news that a little nation across many vast stretches of water was planning to send back unpatriotic elements that had fled Freedonia's peace and tranquility.
oWe are unable to publish the Over The Top column this week due to circumstances beyond our control. It will be back next week.
As a result, they resorted to zero tillage and the use of untreated seed. What these farmers in Mashonaland will only be able to produce this season will be enough for their subsistence because zero tillage has limitations on the size of land and scale to which it can be practised, while untreated seed could have disastrous consequences, especially where there are no chemicals to help treat the crops against pests.
Lack of tillage, seeds and chemicals will conspire to reduce agricultural productivity, a development which will result in a negative impact on crop and food production.
The government says it is providing inputs to the resettled farmers, but reports from the countryside suggest that the majority are not the immediate beneficiaries of these input support schemes intended to raise the level of production.
An example cited by the resettled farmers was that where tillage tractors were available, they needed $350 000 a hectare for hiring the tractors. With little or no access to the government support schemes, the farmers will grow barely enough for their own families. This limits their contribution to national agricultural production.
But the government should know by now - after its experience from the first few years of the land reform programme - that poor planning and inadequate finance will mean the country could experience yet another poor season, all as a result of human bungling, and not weather conditions.
In fact, some of the timing of the government's actions is most perplexing. On Friday, it published under Lot 10 and Lot 161 a list of about 450 properties for preliminary acquisition for the purposes of resettlement.
At the same time there are reports of families in Mashonaland West and Central as well as in Masvingo, who are being evicted from land they were resettled on five years ago, in order to make way for others.
The issue is not about who should be resettled where, but it is the timing that is most unfortunate. Evictions at this time of the year mean the settlers will not be able to start operations afresh, because it is too late in the season and also because they will not have the resources to buy inputs. They, of course, would need to be resettled elsewhere before they can start to attempt to overcome their misfortunes.
The tragedy is that the affected families will require state assistance until about March 2006. Yet, the cost to the government - or the taxpayer - would have been reduced if the families were allowed time for their crops to mature and be harvested before being forced to move off the land. Lack of planning and insensitivity by the government feature prominently in most of the bungling and evictions. It is as if the government is determined to make a failure of the whole exercise. Just what the rush is all about is beyond comprehension.
For example, in the scheme in the lowveld, where officers in the army will benefit under the land reform programme, there is a rush to allocate them land on what are sugar cane fields being run by companies. Proper planning would have counselled establishing the new farmers alongside the existing estates and thus boost the production of sugar.
Under the present plan, the government would appear to seek to destroy first in order to reconstruct. That is going to prove costly, in terms of lost exports, and in the long term it could be difficult to find new markets. Secondly, disruptions to agricultural activities, which impact on production will force the country to import, at a time when foreign exchange resources in general are not sufficient for all requirements.
The government needs to learn that there is more to be gained by properly planning what it does instead of its crisis management approach, because this is setting back the agricultural sector and is costly not just financially, but in terms of job losses and closures of industries that are dependent on agriculture.
It is time the government thought about the suffering it is causing and the increase in the levels of malnutrition that are a direct result of families rendered indigent because of unplanned evictions.
Much effort has been spent on vindictive approaches that have devastated the basis of this country's economy. It is time to put a stop to all this and start getting things right. We should build on what is already there and not appear to prove to the world just how incompetent we can be.
This country has always been self-sufficient in food production. Not all the people who have made this country a world class producer have left. The skills and knowledge of those who have remained - whether workers or extension officers - should be harnessed in a quest to step up levels of productivity. Anything less is a betrayal of the hopes and aspirations of the people of this country. Zimbabwe is capable of achieving much more than the pathetic production levels it is posting.
We must then ask ourselves, whose interests all this bungling and lack of planning is serving.
As luck would have it, Woodpecker walked into the Reserve Bank auditorium on Wednesday afternoon to hear Governor Gideon Gono read his monetary policy review - just at the same time as Tsholotsho's finest - and could observe, from close quarters, how the Tsholotsho debacle has physically jolted the formerly powerful but soon-to-be ex-Minister.
Lo and behold, everyone who saw Jona that afternoon must have been amazed at how the former boastful and robust Minister has been reduced to a seemingly humble individual.
He meekly stood in the queue as everyone else and waited his turn to be led to his seat, perhaps the last time he shall attend Gono's popular monetary reviews (or enjoy the snacks served after) as a government minister.
And to add insult to injury, Moyo's favourite media organisation, Zimbabwe Broadcast Holdings (which colleagues here prefer to call Dead BC) received a paltry $110 million while most government agencies got a billion or more from the generous central bank Governor.
And as a taste of things to come, Moyo sat (far, far from the high table) but just close to another loser - Industry and International Trade Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi - while the real winner from the bruising December Zanu PF primary battles, party chairman John Nkomo, was neatly ensconced next to Gono at the top table.
(Somewhere with the "povo" of business and industry was another yesteryear highflier, Joseph "Chinos" Chinotimba.)
In fact, the way Nkomo was seated at the high table, he could easily look down at the chastened Moyo as if to say "how the mighty have fallen".
Dead BC
SO Dead BC now wants to be on DStv, which must indeed be the joke of the year!
One of the main stories in the boring Herald on Friday was this "scoop" that ZTV will from February 1 be featured in the pay per view satellite TV station, DStv.
"Residents of Beitbridge and Plumtree, among others, who had opted for DStv because they could not pick the local signals, would now be able to watch ZTV," cooed Puffy's Herald. Really?
The reason why Zimbabweans - including those in Beitbridge and Plumtree - who can afford to, are paying a fortune every month to watch DStv in the comfort of their homes is because they want to escape from the daily trash that is beamed by Dead BC every day!
Ordinary Zimbabweans know that the TV news on Dead BC is amateurish, poorly presented and frivolous. That's why they tune in into DStv to watch BBC, CNN, SABC Africa, Sky TV and many other great channels.
Howlers
IN journalism parlance they are called "howlers", headlines and captions that - once - exposed - send every sub-editor searching straight for the bottle. Here are some of the best from last year:
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
(no, really?)
Crack Found on Governor's Daughter
(imagine that!)
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
(now that's taking things a bit far!)
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
(not if I wipe thoroughly!)
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
(what a guy!)
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
(good-for-nothin' lazy so-and-sos!)
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
(see if that works any better than a fair trial!)
War Dims Hope for Peace
(I can see where it might have that effect!)
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
(you think?!)
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
(who would have thought!)
Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
(they may be on to something!)
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
(you mean there's something stronger than duct tape?!)
Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
(he probably IS the battery charge!)
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
(weren't they fat enough?!)
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft (That's what he gets for eating those beans!)
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
(Tastes like chicken?)
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
(Chainsaw massacre all over again!)
Hospitals are Sued by Seven Foot Doctors
(Boy, are they tall!)
And the winner is ... Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead (Can you believe it?)