African Union fails to elect new chairman

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
30 January 2012

African leaders attending the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa were
on Monday forced to postpone voting for a new Chairman of the continental
grouping, after three rounds failed to determine a clear winner.

Jean Ping of Gabon, chairman of the AU Commission since 2008, was vying for
a second term against South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma, who would have become the first woman to head the AU
Commission.

This summit is the first since the death of Libya’s former dictator Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi, who was one of the original founders and an influential
force on the continent for decades. And even in death, Gaddafi is said to
have influenced proceedings.

There was speculation that Ping lost some votes because he did not fully
support mediation by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma and the ceasefire
plan backed by the African Union in Libya. The Gabonese leader supported
NATO and the former Libyan rebels.

Other reports said Monday’s voting split the organisation into ‘anglophone’
versus ‘francophone’ blocs. But in the end, Dlamini-Zuma withdrew her
candidacy and forced a fourth round. However, Ping failed to secure the two
thirds majority required.

Finally it was decided that the deputy chairman, Erastus Mwencha of Kenya,
will take the role of acting chairman until the next round of voting,
scheduled to take place at the next AU summit in Malawi in July.

The African leaders from over 50 countries are meeting in the new AU
headquarters, which was officially opened on Saturday and was financed and
built by China, at a cost of US$200 million.

Robert Mugabe, who is in Addis Ababa for the summit, is believed to be
lobbying support for early elections in Zimbabwe, without implementing the
reforms he agreed to in the Global Political Agreement, creating the
coalition government.

Strike continues ahead of fresh wage talks

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
30 January 2012

The nationwide strike by Zimbabwe’s civil servants continued on Monday,
ahead of fresh salary negotiations set to take place on Tuesday.

The public sectors workers downed tools last week over the ongoing refusal
by the government to increase their monthly wages, which currently sits at
about US$250. The workers want a minimum monthly salary of US$538, but the
talks broke down last Wednesday when just a seven dollar a month increase
was offered.

The workers, represented by their unions will once again meet for talks on
Tuesday, where it is hoped a more reasonable offer will be made to end the
industrial action.

Takavafira Zhou, President of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ) told SW Radio Africa on Monday that so far, the government has proved
‘insincere’ in not offering more money.

“Politicians are all earning money. There are diamonds and gold being
discovered and yet we are offered what can only be described as an insult
and highest level of madness,” Zhou said.

He added: “I think the essence of all of this is that the government is not
putting education first.”

The PTUZ leader insists that the strike has mainly been damaging for the
education sector because the majority of teachers on the government pay roll
have joined the strike. The action was meant to encompass all sectors of the
public service, but Zhou explained that many workers have not “heeded the
call.”

“Some workers are making money in government departments that are corrupt.
The people who are suffering, like teachers, are the ones who have joined
the strike,” Zhou said.

Controversy As Govt Shields Sata's Embassy From Creditor

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, January 30, 2012 - Zimbabwe’s coalition government has been accused
of aiding and abetting foreign governments to disregard court judgments
after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the Zambian embassy from a
lawsuit mounted against the embassy by Econet Wireless.

Econet recently reported the Zambian embassy  to the government for
breaching diplomatic etiquette by failing to settle a telecommunication
services bill amounting to $6 597.10. Econet, which
is now resorting to litigation to recover huge debts owed by defaulting
customers, petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking to recover the
bill owed by the Zambian embassy.

This follows the Zambian embassy’s failure to pay the telecommunications
bill since 2010 despite being ordered to settle the debt by the high court.

But in response to the telecoms operator’s request for assistance to recoup
its debt, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Econet that their debtor is
protected by diplomatic immunity, which forbids the seizure of the embassy’s
assets.

“Please be advised that the embassy (chancery) enjoys absolute immunity and
attaching its property in execution of a judgment order is in breach of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations (1961). The ministry urges the
interested parties to seek a resolution following diplomatic channels,”
reads part of a letter written to Econet’s lawyers Mtetwa and Nyambirai
Legal Practitioners by a representative of Joey Bimha, the ministry’s
permanent secretary only identified as V Chikomba.

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations of 1961 is an international
treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent
countries. It specifies the privileges of a
diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their function without
fear of coercion or harassment by the host country and this forms the legal
basis for diplomatic immunity.

Last week Zambian President Michael Sata branded Movement for Democratic
Change leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai a “stooge” and vowed that
the former opposition leader who trounced Zanu (PF) PF leader President
Robert Mugabe in the 2008 presidential elections will not stop the former
freedom fighter from holding elections this year.

However, Econet’s lawyers maintain that the Zambian embassy does not enjoy
absolute immunity as the debt arose from a commercial transaction.

“The claim by Econet is neither a threat to the dignity of the government of
Zambia nor an interference with the government’s sovereign function. It is
the high court’s position that both the governments of Zambia and Angola
should honour their obligations just like other individuals who have entered
into similar agreements with Econet. As you have indicated that the deputy
sheriff is not allowed to make an attachment, please assist us recover these
debts using your
diplomatic channels,” said the lawyers.

Besides, Zambia, Econet has also hauled to court the Sudanese and Angolan
embassy to court seeking to recover debts. Prominent personalities such as
Chiefs’ Council president, Fortune Charumbira
and top Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe official Millicent Mombeshora have also
been dragged to court by Econet over telecommunication debts which were
mainly accrued during the height of the country’s agonising economic crisis.

Zim crops failing after Mugabe's land 'reforms'

http://www.iol.co.za

January 30 2012 at 11:59am
By JAN RAATH

.

Harare - Zimbabweans in 2011consumed some 1.67 million hectolitres of beer,
the highest ever sales.

But as beer drinking soared, the output from the country's farms sank to its
worst since independence in 1980 (bar 2008 when inflation hit 500 billion
percent.)

It seems the nation of once hard-working peasant farmers are now spending
their money in the pub instead of ploughing it into farming as they used to,
according to Charlie Taffs, head of one of the country's farmers' unions.
“That is an indication of a consumption-driven society,” he said.

In 2000 President Robert Mugabe launched a campaign of violent expropriation
against the country's 4 000-strong white farming community, in the name of a
revolutionary land reform programme that he claimed was to restore to black
peasant farmers the land seized from them by white colonial governments half
a century ago.

But even audits by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party confirm that the large and highly
productive spreads of the white farmers have been taken over largely by
politicians, judges, top policemen, generals and editors of state newspapers
loyal to Mugabe - widely dubbed “weekend farmers.”

Agricultural output has largely collapsed and the country that was renowned
as “Africa's breadbasket” has become hit by shortages and hunger.

The government's statistical office reports that for the summer rain season
in November, 1.2 million hectares of land was planted with maize, the
national staple.

That should have been almost enough to produce the 1.8 million tons
Zimbabweans eat annually.

But instead - in a tragic repetition of every year since 2000 - the
agriculture ministry managed to deliver seed and supplies only when the
rains were already well underway. It has long been established by Zimbabwean
agronomists that maize planted after December 31 will not bear ripen.

Taffs and other unions are warning that no more than 700 000 tons can be
expected when this year's crop is harvested - 1.1 million tones short of
demand.

It will have to be met from costly imports. UNICEF, the United Nations
children's agency, is already warning that 3.5 million children across the
country will need to get emergency rations.

This season, the provision of cheap seed and fertilizer was renamed “the
presidential inputs programme” - turning a routine central government-funded
operation into an electoral gimmick to persuade farmers to vote for the
87-year-old Mugabe in elections expected sometime in the next 15 months.

“It was an unmitigated disaster,” said Taffs. Farmers were only able to
begin collecting their inputs on New Year's day, when the rainy season was
half over. Peasant farmers watched as political heavyweights pushed their
way to the front of the queues at rural depots and loaded up their trucks.
Even urban minibuses were allowed to collect seeds and fertilizer.

They were seen selling the same subsidized fertilizer at the bus ranks in
Harare a few hours later, at double the price they had got it for, reported
the state-controlled daily Herald newspaper. Most peasant farmers went home
with little or nothing.

“Every year it has failed,” Taffs said. “There is no accountability for the
people who get the inputs. People can do what they like.”

But across the Zambezi River in neighbouring Zambia there is an astonishing
reversal of roles between the two countries. For decades until Mugabe's land
grab in 2000, Zimbabwean farmers were producing surpluses that fed Zambians,
whose own agriculture system was moribund.

Then in 2008, then Zambian president Rupiah Banda adopted new policies.
Peasant farmers were sold cheap inputs, but they were delivered by
September, in good time for farmers to prepare for the rains. Farmers were
also closely monitored to ensure they produced crops, and then paid for the
fertilizer and seed after they had sold their harvest. If they failed, they
were disqualified from inputs the next season.

The result was phenomenal. Last year Zambian farmers produced a record
surplus of 1.6 million tons - all of it exported to Zimbabwe. “There was
full accountability,” said Taffs. “The programme has come to an end now, but
they have been given a lift up, and it worked.”

In Zimbabwe, Mugabe's political farmers sold the inputs they were provided,
and bought beer instead. - Sapa-dpa

MDC-T seethes over meddlesome Chiwenga

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

30/01/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

THE MDC-T has reacted angrily to reports army chief, Lieutenant General
Constantine Chiwenga regularly summons Zanu PF Copac representatives for
briefings on the constitutional reform process.

MDC-T spokesperson and Copac co-chair, Douglas Mwonzora told Radio VOP that
Chiwenga last week summoned Zanu PF officials Paul Mangwana and Walter
Chidhakwa for a briefing on progress in the drafting of the new
constitution.

“We have been advised that the commander of the army has been inviting
members of Copac from Zanu PF to update him on the constitution making
process,” Mwonzora said.

“We think this is a very, very serious thing when the commander of the army
wants to know about what is happening in the constitution.

“This is clear interfering with the process by the military. That is of
worry to us."
The country’s service chiefs are said to be fiercely loyal to President
Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party.

Mugabe, 88 this year, is pushing for new polls and has publicly expressed
frustration with the stop-start constitutional reform process, a key
requirement before elections can be held under the Global Political
Agreement (GPA).

Zanu PF insiders are understood to be concerned that his advanced age and
rumoured ill-health could work against Mugabe if elections are not held as
soon as possible.

However, Mwonzora said Chiwenga -- who is also said to be angling to succeed
Mugabe -- was abusing his authority by interfering with the constitutional
reforms.
“Chiwenga is not the Prime Minister of this country.  He is not the
President either,” he said.

“If he wants to know anything about the constitution making process, he must
get things officially from the tripartite management system.

“The army and Zanu PF are one. That is why we have always insisted on
security sector reform. The involvement of the army directly or indirectly
is of concern to us.”

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights director, Irene Petras – who is also a
member of civic society bodies helping with the constitutional reforms -- 
added that service chiefs had no business meddling with the process.

"I can’t see how a national process which involves Zimbabweans who are
having diverse opinions and arguing robustly about what should go into a
constitution should involve the army," she said.

Magistrate dismisses request by Mujuru family

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
30 January 2012

Harare magistrate Walter Chikwanha on Monday dismissed an application by the
family of the late army general Solomon Mujuru, who want an independent
examination by a foreign based pathologist.

An official inquest is being held to determine the circumstances around
Mujuru’s death in a farmhouse fire last August. Last week, Thakor Kewada, a
lawyer representing the Mujuru family, filed a court application to allow a
pathologist to travel to Zimbabwe, to examine all the evidence gathered so
far.

Kewada argued that the request was inspired by past experiences, where
results from more than one pathologist ‘usually differed.’ The magistrate
however dismissed the request saying the application was ‘premature’ because
the evidence from the local pathologists had not been put before the court
yet.

The inquest has so far raised more questions than answers. The Mujuru family
remain doubtful that the remains they buried were indeed those of the late
general. Mujuru was buried without the family having confirmed the DNA
results, which could have proved beyond doubt that the remains were his.

Mujuru’s daughter Kumbirai Rungano Mujuru said: “The DNA tests results have
not been disclosed to the family. On August 24 last year, my blood samples
were taken by Dr Fusire and were referred to Police General Headquarters.”

“They said they wanted to match them with my father’s DNA, but I was never
told the results. I didn’t know the body was my father’s. Maybe the police
knew who it was and as family we just accepted it was my father’s remains
and we buried him,” she told the court on Friday.

Making things worse is that statements given by the witnesses who have
testified so far are mostly contradictory. This is why the family now want
independent and foreign pathologists to come and sift through the evidence.
There is also a strong suggestion Mujuru’s remains could be exhumed to
facilitate more tests.

ZANU PF intensifies intimidation in Mbare

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
30 January 2012

A human rights activist in Mbare has explained how ZANU PF is ratcheting up
the intimidation in the area, after spending a weekend behind bars.

Sten Zvorwadza, the spokesperson for the Restoration of Human Rights
Zimbabwe (ROHR) was arrested on Saturday after trying to report intimidation
by known local ZANU PF leaders.

He told SW Radio Africa on Monday that the ZANU PF members, Clifford
Mazarura and Clever Ntabende had tried to prevent him from working on
Saturday, saying that only ZANU PF has the right to work in the area.

“I negotiated with them to go to the police station and get this sorted out,
thinking I would have some police support. But instead, a ZANU PF aligned
police inspector instructed the younger police officers to arrest me,”
Zvorwadza said, adding: “I was just shocked and I couldn’t believe what was
happening.”

Zvorwadza explained how both his legal team and a delegation from the
government’s JOMIC grouping were denied access to him during his detention.
He described being kept in filthy, cramped cells while also being denied
food and water.

The ROHR member was finally taken to court on Monday morning. He explained
how he had to be escorted to the court under fully armed police guard.

“There were so many ZANU PF youth militia trying to bar me from getting to
court and they were calling for my head,” Zvorwadza said.

He explained that he was finally released on bail after being charged with
posing a ‘threat to future violence,’ and he will be back in court in
February.

‘Zanu PF scared of elections’

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Everson Mushava and Chengetai Zvauya
Monday, 30 January 2012 11:57

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC says Zanu PF is terribly
frightened of free and fair elections, hence clamouring for an early poll
while they derail reforms to guarantee the same elections.

MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said Zanu PF was “indicating left and
turning right at the same time” in their call for an early poll while acting
against the necessary reforms to free and fair elections.

Mwonzora’s claims came a few days after a Zanu PF politburo member and
serial political flip-flopper, Jonathan Moyo said elections were inevitable
this year proposing May as the period Zimbabwe would likely go for polls.

Zanu PF resolved at its December 12th people’s conference in Bulawayo last
year that elections would be held in 2012, with or without reforms.

Moyo recently accused the MDC of derailing polls by calling for reforms,
likening the act as someone who fails to attend to a sick person until the
hospital is fully constructed.

But the MDC through Mwonzora disagreed. “As MDC, elections will only be held
upon fulfilment of the conditions to free and fair elections.

“This will be after the completion of the constitutional making-process and
democratisation of state institutions,” he said.

He added: “Reforms are necessary to avoid a mould of the June 2008 debacle.

“The call for an early poll by Zanu PF is just empty bravado; Zanu PF is
scared of free and fair elections.”

In 2008, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of a presidential run-off
citing state-sponsored violence against his party supporters.

He claims that 200 of his supporters were murdered and thousands displaced.

This was after Tsvangirai had posted a first ever victory against President
Robert Mugabe since independence, but without enough numbers to carry him to
State House, forcing a presidential run-off.

Mwonzora said it boggles the mind why Zanu PF was vehemently calling for
early elections while on the ground they were doing everything within their
means to derail reforms.

“Jonathan Moyo is just looking for relevance which he is desperately failing
to get. He is not the person to determine when elections will be held in
Zimbabwe,” said Mwonzora.

Kurauone Chihwayi, spokesperson for the smaller MDC formation led by
Welshman Ncube said: “The Global Political Agreement (GPA) states that we
are supposed to work together and no party has the right to call for
elections alone.

“The GPA is a Sadc-initiated political solution to the Zimbabwean political
crisis which gave birth to the coalition government between President Mugabe
and the two MDC formations."

“We are partners to the GPA and this call by Zanu PF is null and void as it
is premature to talk of elections when there are many things that still need
to be fulfilled."

“There is a lot of unfinished political business that needs to be done
before any political party can talk about elections in Zimbabwe. Even the
ordinary citizens know that the environment is not yet conducive for a free
and fair poll,” Chihwayi said.

New charges for air travellers

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

30/01/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

INTERNATIONAL travellers will be charged a $15 levy as the Civil Aviation
Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) looks to raise US$400 million for
infrastructure development.

The country’s cash-strapped government has been struggling to rehabilitate
the country’s airports forcing CAAZ to introduce an Aviation Infrastructure
Development Fund levy.
However, tourism officials immediately warned that the new charges could hit
visitor numbers to the country.

Domestic passengers will pay US$5 while international travellers will be
charged US$15 more beginning this Wednesday. CAAZ already collects US$10 and
US$25 airport passenger fees per domestic and international flight.
Transport Minister, Nicholas Goche confirmed the new charges in the
Government Gazette last Friday.

"All airlines shall levy Infrastructure Development Fund fee on both the
domestic and international tickets issued on and after 1st February 2012,
pilots of non-scheduled and private flights shall collect the fees from
their non exempt passengers and pay at the airport payment office before
departure," read the notice of the new charges.
CAAZ chief executive David Chawota welcomed the development.

"This is an issue of starting a programme that will turnaround our
infrastructure. We have a programme that should run for 10 years and are
expecting to raise US$400 million that will cater for the infrastructure,"
Chawota told the state-run Herald newspaper.

"We want to rehabilitate infrastructure and that cannot be done by the
current revenue, we require a special fund for that and the projects will be
implemented in consultation with all stakeholders."
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority boss, Karikoga Kaseka warned that the new charges
could adversely impact the sector.

"It's an added expense on travellers, although we were consulted by CAAZ, we
did not object but any expense will reduce the number of travellers," Kaseke
said.

However CAAZ insisted that tourists would not visit the country if key
infrastructure such as airports were not revamped.

"The bottom line is that they won't have tourists if there is no
infrastructure,” Chiwota said.

“We can go and scream but everybody has been seeing the infrastructure going
down and this fund will not disturb tourism but will bring more tourists.

Mugabe To Compete With Dairibord

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, January 30, 2012 - President Robert Mugabe’s family has ventured
into commercial milk production and will next month launch a new milk
product called Alpha.

The First family recently completed the setting up of a dairy processing
plant where production of Alpha milk products will be processed from milk
sourced from First lady Grace Mugabe’s farm, Gushungo Dairy Estate located
in Mazowe, about 10km north of Harare.

Dairy industry sources said Alpha milk could soon be accessed from
supermarket shelves beginning next month.

The Mugabe’s join other milk processors such as Dairibord, Dendairy, Dorking
and Kefalos.

In 2009, Mugabe’s aides rattled multinational food giant Nestlé, to the
extent of shutting its Harare factory after being harassed by the
octogenarian leader’s loyalists, who included ministers, Saviour Kasukuwere
and Joseph Made after it stopped receiving milk supplies from Gushungo Dairy
Estates. But the food manufacturer later resumed operations after a top
government official reassured the firm on the safety of its staff and
operations.

Last year, Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister
Kasukuwere vetoed Nestlé’s empowerment proposal to comply with the
government’s indigenisation regulations, which compel foreign-owned
enterprises to put a 51 percent stake in the hands of indigenous investors
or government entities.

This was after the Swiss firm submitted a proposal of how the multinational
firm planned to indigenise its shareholding under the new Indigenisation and
Empowerment Act.

The proposal entailed disposing of 25 percent equity through Nestlé Zimbabwe
Pension Fund and an Employee Share Ownership Trust.

Businessman Chamba to run for President

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Chengetai Zvauya, Senior Writer
Monday, 30 January 2012 10:07

HARARE - Businessman Raymond Chamba is the latest man to declare his
intention to run for President in the forthcoming elections expected this
year or 2013.

Chamba, who will run as an independent, is a former staunch Zanu PF
supporter. He told the Daily News that his decision to abandon Zanu PF was
as a result of frustration from some senior party officials who did not want
to see him rise through the ranks to a top post.

The businessman says he has the political stamina to challenge Zanu PF
leader President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, among other
aspiring candidates claiming to be Presidential material.

He joins a host of political actors among them MDC leaders Welshman Ncube
and Arthur Mutambara, Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa and Mavambo-Kusile
party’s Simba Makoni.

“I am running on an independent ticket to enunciate the promotion and
cultivation of a grand all-inclusive national vision rather focus on the
false, contrived differences among us as Zimbabweans.

“It is a response to those true patriots who for much too long have hoped
for a strong nation founded on the commonality of our hopes for progress and
prosperity rather than bound by a common fear,” said Chamba.

He said Zimbabwe’s economic progress has been hampered by endless political
squabbles and only a change in government would restore the country’s
economic status.

“Our people need investment but that can only come when our politics rises
beyond petty squabbling and individualised primitive accumulation.
Development is a construct of law and order. We need to extricate ourselves
from a deep profound culture of fear and mutual suspicion.

“The people in Zimbabwe today are afraid of government while government in
turn is afraid of the people. In such a scenario where fear and uncertainty
reigns supreme, no development takes place.

“We are not going to develop on the strict confines of nebulous ideological
smokes and mirrors, if not fragile egos over things like denied shopping
privileges. Let us open up our country sincerely for development founded on
transparent political discourse,” said Chamba.

Chamba , 41, a holder of doctorate degree in Business Finance  was educated
in USA  and grew up in the city of Chitungwiza  before heading  to the USA
for his university education and returned home  four years ago.

Chamba became publicly known in 2008 as a Zimbabwean businessman when he
teamed up with the Reserve Bank in the Basic Commodities Supply Side
Intervention Programme (Bacossi).

He was later arrested together with former radio and television personality
Tichafa Matambanadzo for failing to supply the food hampers under Bacossi
after taking payment before he was acquitted by the courts.

He is also facing allegations of raping a female nurse and the matter is
still before the courts.

But Chamba said his brush with the law was the work of political enemies.

“ These problems started when some people realised that I was a threat and
they manufactured all these factious stories and I am glad the truth is
coming out as some of the charges were dropped,’’ said Chamba.

Chamba said of the 15 counts of rape he faces, only one remains after others
were dropped.

Zim threatens to seize mines, without compensation

http://www.miningweekly.com/

By: Oscar Nkala
30th January 2012

HARARE (miningweekly.com) – Zimbabwean Youth Development, Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere says the government “will
not pay anything” to the mining companies it intends to seize for failing to
comply with the country's controversial indigenisation programme.

Addressing a feedback meeting on the progress of the indigenisation
programme and community share schemes in the southern gold mining town of
Gwanda on Friday, Kasukuwere said the government has contingency plans to
seize all foreign-owned mining companies, which have not complied with the
indigenisation policy.

"Because the mineral deposits in this country are 100% ours, the government
will not pay anything to mining companies we take over under the
indigenisation policy. These deposits are our natural heritage, yet these
[foreign-owned] mining companies have been benefitting from them for years
without developing the communities they operate in. The resource value of
our minerals is greater than the investments they have made in extracting
them," Kasukuwere said in his keynote address to the meeting.

He further emphasised the need for foreign-owned mining companies to comply
with the indigenisation policy saying failure to do so would lead to those
companies losing their businesses.

"We want to be very clear on this issue. The minerals belong to our people
as a God-given gift. We give permission to investors who want to do mining
here and those who do not want to comply with our laws can take their
equipment and go. The government will not hesitate to declare a 100%
takeover of those companies that are taking too long to comply."

For the first time since its controversial launch in May last year,
Kasukuwere defined the political intentions behind the programme, saying it
would be imprudent for foreign-owned miners to resist the indigenisation
drive.

"Zanu PF has a policy of putting people first and that [indigenisation] is a
major focus of all our programmes. This will no doubt make the party more
acceptable to the people."

The statement seems to lend credence to opinions long held by economic
commentators who view the indigenisation programme as a vote-catching tactic
for Zanu PF ahead of the crucial elections set to mark the end of country's
fragile coalition government.

Led by President Robert Mugabe, the party insists elections will be held
later this year, with or without a new national Constitution, despite stiff
opposition from Movement for Democratic Change factions and civil society
groups.

In its ‘January 2012 Monthly Report for Zimbabwe’, the African Development
Bank also warned that uncertainty around the implementation of the
indigenisation programme in the mining industry would most likely impede the
sector's capacity to lead the country's economic recovery throughout 2012.

In terms of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, all
foreign-owned companies with an asset value of $500 000 and above are
required to surrender 51% of their shares to locals by May 2015. However,
few companies have complied while many in the mining sector are still
negotiating with the government after their share scheme proposals were
rejected as inadequate.

EU visits 'neglected' Matabeleland region

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

The EU Delegation to Zimbabwe is visiting the city of Bulawayo and the
Matebeleland region following reports eminating from the region that it is
underdeveloped and marginalized.
30.01.1211:00am
by Wallace Mawire

The visit which began today will end on 2 February.According to the EU
communications department, the delegation intends to engage with local
economic,social and political actors to assert publicly and clearly its
commitment to the development of the region as well as to seek insights and
ideas for the future prospects of engagement in Matebeleland.

The visit is coming at a time when the country's opposition political
parties, civil society and pressure groups have agreed on the need for a new
constitution to guarantee proportional representation and devolution of
power.

Groups in Matebeleland say political power and resource allocation decisions
were controlled in Harare, making it difficult for accountability and fair
distribution of resources.

"The delegation will engage in dialogue with local partners on a number of
topical issues during public round tables.lt will also monitor the impact
and results of the many ongoing interventions supported in Matebeleland
through visits to various projects in and around Bulawayo," the EU said.

Some of the activities to be conducted during the tour will include a
courtesy call to the Governor and Mayor of Bulawayo,field visit to health
and education facilities in Bulawayo town,round table on priority actions to
improve access to basic services in Matebeleland,field visit to projects
supporting basic service delivery to disadvantaged communities and a round
table on private sector development in the region.

Other activities will include a field visit to FAO food security projects
and a round table on migration issues.Another round table will also focus on
food security in Matebeleland and its development priorities.

I'm not scared: Tsvangirai

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Tendai Kamhungira, Court Writer
Monday, 30 January 2012 12:00

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says he remains unshaken over
threats to have him arrested ahead of possible elections this year, arguing
that these are mere political machinations plotted by politicians who are
afraid to face him at the ballot.

The MDC strongly believes some senior government officials and service
chiefs are maliciously pushing for Tsvangirai’s arrest accusing him and
Hebson Makuvise, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Germany, of embezzling $1,5
million in 2009.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson told the Daily News yesterday
that the premier came to know about his “arrest” in the newspapers but was
not shaken by the move.

“He is reading about the so-called planned arrest in the newspapers.

This is obvious politics, his conscience is clear and he remains unshaken.

“He is not worried about these threats and continues to work as the country’s
Prime Minister and also as leader of the MDC,” said Tamborinyoka.

He added that Tsvangirai has not been interviewed or interrogated by the
police or anyone over the issue.

Tamborinyoka said the purported fraud was just an imagination of those
plotting the PM’s downfall.

The intended arrest follows a similar pattern in which active MDC members
have been arrested and detained throughout the country without trial.

The MDC has accused Zanu PF of using the police to arrest its members to
destabilise its structures.

MDC youth president Solomon Madzore and a number of the party’s supporters
have been languishing I’m not scared: PM
in remand prison for months on end, while being denied bail.

As the country approaches elections, political parties fear a crackdown on
Zanu PF opponents will escalate and that their main target at the moment was
Tsvangirai who poses the greatest challenge to Mugabe.

The plot to arrest Tsvangirai emanates from alleged funds the PM is accused
of misusing which are said to have been released by the RBZ to renovate a
house government bought for him.

Tsvangirai is accused of having been paid twice, by the RBZ and Treasury for
the same project.

The push to arrest Tsvangirai is reportedly being orchestrated by top
security officials and a senior RBZ official.

Another official close to Tsvangirai said: “I talked to the PM who professed
ignorance on the fraud. Actually as we speak, the government is building a
house for the PM in Harare. So why would the PM have asked for a loan from
the same government that is building him a house?”

After the formation of the inclusive government in February 2009, Tsvangirai
was expected to move to State House or Zimbabwe House but Mugabe seemed to
have fought against such moves. Mugabe has moved out of Zimbabwe House to
his privately-owned home in Borrowdale, hence the expectation that the PM
would move into either.

Another top Tsvangirai official said the plot against the Prime Minister
seemed to be thickening on the horizon as other personalities fighting for
positions in their various spheres including at the RBZ were trying to bring
in the PM’s name.

There are plots within the RBZ to topple RBZ Governor Gideon Gono and
Tsvangirai’s issue is being used by senior RBZ officials to bootlick Mugabe
in the hope of taking over the top central bank post if Gono gets the boot.

“There are certain personalities fighting their wars using the PM’s name. It
is not fair because they are producing fake documents which allege the PM as
fraudulent. There is a dossier with all sorts of fabricated accusations
against the PM and we are aware of that circulating document,” said another
Tsvangirai aide.

However, officials in Zanu PF and securocrats are said to be divided over
the intended arrest.

“There is a school of thought to the effect that an arrest now would make
the PM even more popular. It might collapse the inclusive government. Others
are of the opinion that the arrest should be made as soon as they create
enough evidence to pin him."

“We have intelligence that there are plans, but when, how and where this
would take place is everyone’s guess,” said a minister from the MDC.

Government criticised as doctors report 800 typhoid cases

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
30 January 2012

The coalition government has been criticised for lacking urgency in dealing
with the country’s health problems, following an increase in the number of
reported cases of the typhoid disease.

Although no deaths were reported this month, the Zimbabwe Association of
Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) on Sunday said the number of reported
typhoid cases had reached 800, mostly in the Kuwadzana high density area.

In a statement released this week, the doctors criticised the coalition
government for failing to provide clean water and to deal with burst sewers
and a neglected infrastructure. The group said heavy rains had not improved
the quality of water in most townships.

Mfundo Mlilo of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) said the
city of Harare was also to blame, as they were cutting off water supplies
for families that fail to pay their bills, at a crucial time when disease is
looming.

“To cut off water at a time like this when typhoid threatens is a problem.
We expect them to provide water services until the problem is resolved. They
can wait,” Mlilo explained. He added that the situation “could run out of
control” if not properly managed.

CHRA agreed with Doctors for Human Rights that most cases were in Kuwadzana,
but Mlilo said some very isolated cases had been reported in Warren Park and
Budiriro.

The residents’ group also took samples of water from Kuwadzana last week
that are still being analysed. Mlilo said a survey by CHRA, conducted last
Wednesday and Thursday in Kuwadzana, showed that one in four households had
been treated for typhoid, or showed signs of dysentery.

As fears of a cholera outbreak intensified, the state run media on Saturday
warned hotels, restaurants and outdoor food vendors to maintain standard
health and hygiene practices or risk closure. An estimated 4000 people died
during the last outbreak of cholera in 2009.

The Health Services director Dr. Prosper Chonzi is quoted as saying: “We can
have cholera anytime. The environment is conducive for the outbreak. We need
to be proactive and play our part.”

Dr. Chonzi warned that no-one was safe from typhoid as the disease could be
spread by people moving from area to another. He added that the bacteria
could already have spread to areas outside Harare, including Chitungwiza and
Epworth.

“Food businesses and those that handle raw foodstuffs like fruits,
unprocessed foods and butcheries face closure. We will have to certify food
handlers. They should be screened for TB and general cleanliness,” Dr Chonzi
said.

Typhoid stalks Harare

http://www.irinnews.org/

 

Photo: IRIN

Broken water and sanitation infrastructure is being blamed for the outbreak of typhoid in the Zimbabwean capital Harare. In this 2007 file photograph raw sewage flows into the street. In 2008 a year-long cholera epidemic began.

HARARE, 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Over the past few weeks some 900 residents of the Zimbabwean capital Harare have been diagnosed with typhoid, and about 60 have been admitted to hospital, say health authorities.

“Initially, we were focusing on Dzivarasekwa high density suburb as being the source of the disease outbreak but we are now receiving patients from different high density suburbs in Harare such as Kuwadzana and Warren Park,” Harare’s health director, Propser Chonzi, told IRIN.

There have been no confirmed fatalities from the disease, although senior health officials, who declined to be identified, told IRIN they were investigating the cause of some deaths at hospitals.

Chonzi said about 20 tuberculosis (TB) patients had been relocated from the 144-bed Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital on the outskirts of Harare to another infectious diseases institution, the Wilkins Hospital in central Harare, to make way for typhoid victims.

According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), typhoid “usually occurs where water supplies serving large populations are contaminated by faecal matter.” The disease is “characterized by the sudden onset of sustained fever, severe headache, nausea, abdominal pains, loss of appetite, constipation or sometimes diarrhoea. The illness can last for several weeks and even months,” it says.

Recent heavy rain in Harare is expected to compound the problem: Broken drains and water pipes have forced people to dig shallow wells, which are easily contaminated by human faeces.

Read more

Growing risk of waterborne diseases in rural areas

Is another cholera epidemic on the way?

Floods leave Angolan returnees stranded

“I can bet my last dollar there is typhoid in Chitungwiza and Epworth [Harare commuter towns]. The hygienic levels there are not good,” said Chonzi in a recent interview with the daily The Herald newspaper.

Furthermore, Chonzi said street food had been tested and found to be contaminated with Salmonella typhi, the bacteria which causes typhoid.

“We all need to change our habits if this [typhoid] outbreak is to be contained. We need to work on improving on cleanliness such as washing hands and avoiding dirty open air vending sites,” he said.

However, fish vendors, threatened with arrest by municipal police, have changed tactics and are selling their wares at night.

Cholera fears

Conditions which allow typhoid to flourish also provide favourable conditions for the waterborne disease cholera. Zimbabwe’s year-long cholera epidemic in 2008-09 killed more than 4,000 people and infected nearly 100,000 others.

“We can have cholera any time. The environment is conducive for the outbreak. We need to be proactive and play our part,” Chonzi warned in the same newspaper interview.

The Harare Residents Trust (HRT), an NGO campaigning for better municipal service delivery, said the spread of waterborne disease was due to the authorities’ failure to collect refuse, the erratic provision of water services, and the practice of pumping raw sewage into one of the main reservoirs supplying “drinking” water to Harare.

“The city must guarantee adequate clean water supplies to avoid the 2008 cholera outbreak,” HRT’s Precious Shumba told IRIN.

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

We Ignore Environmental Issues At Our Own Peril

http://www.herald.co.zw

By Jeffrey Gogo, 30 January 2012

I LISTENED with shock as Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr
Karikoga Kaseke scoffed at a question on the construction of a hotel on
wetlands on public television late last year. ". . . who cares whether the
land is wet or not? These are Chinese we are talking about . . . they can
build anything, anywhere on earth . . .," Mr Kaseke retorted while
responding to a question on why the ZTA had granted a licence to a Chinese
firm to construct a five-star hotel on wetlands next to the National Sports
Stadium in Harare.

The question was, in fact, seeking answers on why the ZTA had allowed
infrastructure development in a protected conservation area, which plans had
also been condemned by the Environmental Management Agency.

I was concerned with what I heard. Coming from a public leader, I had to be.
Those concerned with proper environmental governance will be concerned.

Clearly, such reckless statements exhibit a poor understanding and
appreciation of the importance of wetlands to the environment, and human
beings.

Now if public leaders fail to understand the importance of the environment,
how can they be trusted to lead our children, and the youth in preserving
and managing the same?

Wetlands are important in times of drought, providing food production cover,
just as well-managed ecosystems are crucial in creating climate
change-resilient communities. Environment Minister Francis Nhema has
persistently laboured for the protection of wetlands across Zimbabwe, which
are now being destroyed by the ZTA, as they are key components for a healthy
ecosystem.

The wetlands story is just one example of the utmost lack of respect for the
environment in Zimbabwe.

Recently the Harare and Chitungwiza municipalities were fined US$14 000 each
for water pollution. Of course, the fines are a pittance compared to the
cost of managing environmental degradation, and other downstream effects
caused by the discharge of raw sewage and other pollutants into surrounding
river systems.

We have a situation where Harare and Chitungwiza involuntarily combine
forces to discharge sewage into Manyame and Mukuvisi rivers, which both feed
into Lake Chivero, Harare's main water source.

People now drink tap water, treated by the two municipalities, at their own
risk.

The water is visibly dirty and unsafe. We are not surprised at all that
Harare has been plagued by cholera, typhoid, and lately shigala, all deadly
water-borne diseases.

Lives have been lost, as a result. Moreover, the cost of treatment and
containing the spread of diseases is too high for a struggling city council
and its overpaid executives.

It is not just the ordinary human being that has been at the receiving end
of polluted waterways. Marine life has suffered too. Dead fish frequently
washed up at the shores of Lake Chivero while other fish species are at risk
of disappearing.

Is this the future we want as a country, where there is no future at all?
Instead of promoting the destruction of ecosystems, the ZTA must encourage
green hospitality, a concept encompassing sustainable development in the
hospitality and tourism industries.

Such strategies will ensure that development in this sector is carried out
in a manner that minimises damage to the environment.

From structural design, say in the instance of a hotel, the entire product
must be able satisfy environmental considerations.

The concept of green hospitality would require a thorough discussion of its
own another day, but to limit the impact of climate change on the poor and
their communities, every economic and political agent must play their role,
big or small.

It is vitally important that large-scale polluters like the Harare and
Chitungwiza city councils are kept in close check, and any action injurious
to the environment punished by deterrent fines.

People also need to be encouraged to look after their environment in a
responsible manner, knowing that failure to do so will result in nature also
failing to look after them.

The widespread effects of climate change such as extreme weather conditions
and increased frequency of droughts are sufficient signposts showing that
nature is capable of getting angry, very angry with devastating results if
treated badly.

In these times of difficulty, Zimbabwe requires its public leaders to be
highly alert to environmental needs and always to be promoting proper and
prudent management of mother earth and its resources to ensure continuation
of the human race.

After all, developing countries are always first on the receiving end in
terms of climate change. It is up to us to limit the damage thereof.

God is faithful.

Managing a State after it has been destroyed by a Neutron Bomb

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Mankind has engineered many dreadful weapons. A Hydrogen Bomb that was
tested and resulted in such a massive reaction that it was hurriedly canned
as being unmanageable. The Atomic Bomb that was dropped on Japan and
literally flattened two large cities in seconds with hundreds of thousands
of casualties and then the Neutron Bomb that is designed to destroy life but
not buildings and infrastructure.
30.01.1207:05am
by Eddie Cross

This nasty piece of work is exploded (like many other weapons of this
nature) not on impact on the ground, but in the air. It then radiates
neutrons downwards and kills every living thing, leaving only bricks and
mortar and concrete behind. Zanu PF rule in the 28 years that they governed
Zimbabwe and especially in the Gono era up to 2008; was in effect a form of
neutron bomb. They destroyed everything that this country had built up over
a century of hard work and enterprise.

When we woke up in February 2009, after the bomb had been dropped on us, we
had nothing left. Our bank accounts were empty, our shops empty, our
factories and farms silent and our jobs destroyed – but we still had our
physical infrastructure and beautiful cities and homes, our wide roads and
dams and our people – the remnant that had elected to stay and see the
attack through, about 60 per cent of those who should have been here had
Zanu PF not taken power in 1980. 7 million people were casualties – three
million deaths and 4 million now refugees in other countries.

Sound stark, too dramatic? Not at all, that is exactly what happened and
when we went into the Transitional Government to try and pick up the pieces
and tried to get things back together again, it was just as if we were like
the German people emerging from their cellars the morning after a massive
allied bombing raid. Squinting their eyes in the sunshine and gawking at the
destruction, only in our case we had been hit by a weapon that destroyed the
economy and not the buildings.

On the morning after the Zanu Holocaust our total cash reserves were 60 US
cents per capita. In our first month in Government we collected in taxes
from all sources, $20 million dollars and out of that meager sum we paid our
Civil Servants, MP’s, Ministers, Judges $50 each and we were grateful. To
make that payment, Tendai Biti had to ask the leading companies in the
private sector to lend him the cash because when payday came, even though
the taxes were starting to arrive, we did not have the cash, our Reserve
Bank was $1,3 billion dollars in the red and totally broke and our banks
could not make any sort of contribution.

It took Germany a decade before they were really able to feed their people
properly, get their smashed industries opened and infrastructure repaired.
To help them do that, the United States mounted the largest aid programme
the world had ever seen under the Marshal Plan. The same exercise was
carried out in Japan after Hiroshima by another US General who found himself
acting as a Governor.

We did not have the same support. The leading western Nations had formed the
“Fishmonger Group” of countries (the G8 minus Russia, no help from China)
and they put up nearly a billion dollars in aid – half of it to feed 7
million people while we were trying to find our feet. There was no budget
support, no World Bank loans, no balance of payments support from the IMF;
we were very much on our own.

In those circumstances I think Tendai Biti has done an extraordinary job. He
has not missed one payroll. Ask any businessman and he will tell you that
meeting the payroll is one of the cardinal responsibilities of management
and the toughest call. On the 25th of the month, every month, you have to
have the cash in the bank to pay your employees. In his case 250 000 men and
women, many of whom were part of the neutron bomb attack and responsible for
the devastation, many were ghost workers on an inflated and politically
corrupted payroll and more that 65 000 were in the armed forces and security
services – all committed to supporting the failed Zanu PF regime. Yet he
has, faithfully and without discrimination, paid them all, on time at the
end of every month and making sure that at least 60 per cent of all his
funds are committed to this purpose.

It is in this context that the demand by the Civil Service (spurred on by
Zanu PF who have no responsibilities for the financial affairs of the
country except to being responsible for their destruction) for salaries that
are double what they are today, is simply irresponsible. The reality is that
the cost of our payroll for the Civil Service has risen from $12,5 million
per month in 2009, to $200 million a month, an increase of 16 times in the
past three years. This has been made possible by a Ministry of Finance,
under Tendai’s leadership, that has rebuilt the tax system so that this year
it is expected to yield an astonishing $4 billion – not far short of the
total GDP of the country under the last year of Zanu PF control.

Out in the private sector, things are not so good. The Reserve Bank, under
leadership that we have not been allowed to get rid of, remains a ruin – not
physically, but operationally, totally discredited, mistrusted and
financially broken. The commercial banks are in dire straits – the
indigenous banks who have tried to respond to demands and have funded new
farmers, are stressed and right now everyone is fearful of failures. The
internationally controlled banks are sound, but under political pressure
from the Zanu PF regime that pulled the trigger on the neutron bomb that
wiped out their local reserves, to support the failing banks.

Out in the wider economy, every institution, every industry that remains
under the control and supervision of the Zanu PF, remains a ruin. Air
Zimbabwe, after 80 years of outstanding service is bankrupt and grounded.
The railways, once the employer of 30 000 workers and moving millions of
tonnes of product on a monthly basis, is barely able to run 8 trains a day
and carry 10 per cent of its capacity. The mining industry, despite record
world prices and demand, huge resources and global interest in investment,
is riddled with corruption, political interference and bullying and State
inspired and controlled criminal activity.

The armed forces remain feared and destructive. Supporting the suppression
of all basic human rights and using force and intimidation to try and coerce
the people into supporting a failed regime. In the ongoing struggle they are
prepared to undermine and corrupt the whole democratic process to protect
their interests and hold on to what power they have left under the GPA.
Agriculture remains a shattered shell, unable to even supply one quarter of
what we need and holding millions of people down in abject poverty.

African Union where U?

When will Africa become truly African?
Addis Ababa, Zimbabwe is burning, where is Africa?
Where is the spirit of Emperor Halie Selassie, Ndugu Mwalimu Nyerere, Kwame
Nkrumah, Mzee Jomo Kenyata, Seku Toure and Gamel Abdel Nasser? Zimbabweans
must know the cloud that does not bear water, Zimbabwe is burning. What
happened to the charter of freedom, equality, justice and peace. Who signed
the charter for Zimbabwe? Africa will never be Africa without Zimbabwe, the
Tea Pot that all Africans drink from, Zimbabwe, Zimba remangwe.
Jacob Zuma  where are you, Abdoulaye Wade, do you hear me? South Africa is
to Jacob Zuma, Malawi is to Bingu Wamudarika, Zambia is to Michael Sata,
Mozambique is to Armando Guebuza, Tanzani is to Banjamin Mkapa,  Kenya is to
Mwai Kibaki and  Mugabe is to Mugabe. Africa where are you. People crying,
people dying, people shot, people hungry, people running, Africa where are
you? The 18th AU summit do you hear me? When will Africa start solving its
own problems with Pan-Africanism pride. Zimbabwe is burning, the last
dictator standing, frail and fragile, people dying, people hungry. Africa
where are your eyes, ears and sovereignty? Elections, what elections without
freedom, freedom what freedom without a voice, Addis Ababa do you hear me?

Elliot Pfebve