http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
09
July 2012
For the first time in Zimbabwe’s history the new constitution
will allow
dual citizenship, a situation that could be capitalized on by
people living
in the Diaspora, to push for their right to vote in the next
polls.
Three years ago the Supreme Court barred the country’s exiled
community from
voting in the general election because of an Electoral Act
that prohibited
such a move.
At the time a group of Zimbabwean
exiles, the Diaspora Vote Action Group,
had petitioned the Supreme Court
asking it to reverse a government policy
that barred exiles from casting
their votes.
Under the country’s electoral laws only citizens outside
their home
constituencies on official national duty can cast postal votes, a
requirement critics say has disenfranchised more than three million
Zimbabweans living abroad.
But a chapter in the new constitution to
be released soon stipulates that
every Zimbabwean citizen by birth should
retain his or her citizenship, even
if that person acquires foreign
citizenship.
But constitutional law expert Dr Alex Magaisa explained that
Zimbabweans in
the Diaspora would only be able to vote if the Electoral Act
is amended to
conform to the new supreme law of the country.
‘This is
why the Supreme Court voted against allowing people in the Diaspora
to vote
because it was not contained in the constitution of Zimbabwe. But
now the
new charter will allow dual citizenship and as such, the electoral
laws need
to be amended to conform to the new law,’ Magaisa said.
MDC-T spokesman
Douglas Mwonzora said a new Electoral Bill will be tabled in
parliament and
legislators from both sides will be able to debate it and
recommend changes
to the Act.
‘As a party we will push for changes in the Electoral Act to
allow
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to vote. By allowing dual citizenship,
what that
means is that if you are Zimbabwean by birth and have acquired
British
citizenship, you will still have the same rights as people who are
permanently based in Zimbabwe.
‘But as we speak, there are electoral
laws that stop people in exile from
voting. You will get laws that say you
must be domiciled or resident in
Zimbabwe for a year before voting, and must
provide proof of residence when
registering to vote,’ Mwonzora
added.
Dewa Mavhinga, a lawyer and pro-democracy activist, waded in and
said the
Diaspora participation in the next election is still murky and what
was
needed was clarification from the government on the process of putting
in
place a mechanism for logistics and registration of voters.
‘A
good example is that of prisoners, who are citizens but do not have the
right to vote, so are those under 18years. So the right to vote is not equal
to citizenship. Laws have to be amended,’ Mavhinga said.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
TAWANDA KAROMBO | 09 July, 2012
00:04
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party have given
up on a
bid for early elections this year, in line with a SADC resolution to
delay
polls until a number of reforms have been made.
The turnaround
allows the party to quell growing fissures and disenchantment
in its ranks
over a divisive race to succeed Mugabe.
The Zimbabwean leader had
previously repeatedly called for elections this
year, a move that Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change and civic
society groups have fiercely resisted.
President Jacob Zuma, the SA
Development Community mediator for Zimbabwe, is
expected to visit Harare
soon to map the way for elections next year.
His visit has been delayed
by the failure of the parties in Zimbabwe's
fragile coalition government to
finalise a new constitution, which the SADC
regards as a pre-requisite for a
credible election.
Zimbabwe Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric
Matinenga said Zuma's visit,
which will start negotiations expected to lead
to fresh polls next year, was
"dependent on the [finalisation of the]
constitution". He said "good
progress" had been made.
The
parliamentary select committee drafting the new constitution said
yesterday
that the draft had been finalised and invited bids for the
printing of the
document.
The final draft will be handed to Mugabe and Tsvangirai this
month.
"Things have stalled on the constitution but once it is given to
the
principals, Zuma will come and broker the way forward for elections,"
said a
government official.
The SADC has also resolved that
Zimbabwe's political parties must finalise
security issues, ensure
recognition of human rights, and make electoral and
media reforms before the
voting.
Zanu-PF has emerged crippled and unprepared for elections this
year.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/
Monday, 09 July 2012 16:50 Editor
News
The financially-beleaguered Air Zimbabwe on Saturday dispatched an
“almost
empty” Boeing 767 to South Africa to pick up President Robert Mugabe
as he
flew back from a “routine medical check-up” in
Singapore.
Impeccable sources told our correspondent yesterday that the
Boeing 767 —
with a capacity for 205 passengers — left Harare on Saturday
around 4am for
Waterkloof Airforce Base Airport in Gauteng with about 10
cabin crew members
to airlift Mugabe, his wife Grace and about 15 aides and
security details.
Mugabe left Zimbabwe on Monday last week using the same
“empty” Boeing 767.
He flew into South Africa from where he then boarded a
commercial flight to
Singapore.
The sources said the two trips had
bled the struggling national airline,
which has ceased regional and
international flights due to a myriad of
problems, mainly to do with cash
flow.
Mugabe, government ministers and senior government officials have
over the
years been accused of flying around the world using AirZim without
paying
the airline — an accusation the President and State have adamantly
denied.
The Boeing 767 requires at least 20 000 litres of Jet A1 fuel for
a return
trip to South Africa.
“The plane left Harare with about 10
cabin crew members at around 4am on
Saturday for Waterkloof Airport to pick
up the President,” one of the
sources said.
“It was back home around
10am. The two trips were costly to AirZim. The
costs included things like
fuel, landing rights and airspace. The plane
required about 40 000 litres of
fuel at a cost of about 60c a litre.”
This makes the cost of the fuel
alone $24 000.
Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba yesterday confirmed
that AirZim
uplifted the President from South Africa, but denied that the
airline was
being abused.
He said the President’s Office had
chartered the plane.
He said it was not the President’s Office’s business
to choose a Boeing 767
to pick up Mugabe and his entourage.
“We don’t
allocate planes, we charter them for the President and AirZim
decides what
to give us,” Charamba said.
Efforts to get a comment from AirZim chief
executive officer Innocent
Mavhunga yesterday were in vain as he was not
answering his phone. He did
not respond to a text message sent on his mobile
number.
AirZim, which resumes domestic flights this week after suspending
them last
week to give way to mandatory modifications, is struggling to
raise over $40
million owed to workers and faces a ban from using
international airports
and airspaces of other countries if it fails to meet
a three-month
International Air Transport Association deadline to comply
with global
safety standards.
The national airline suspended
international flights indefinitely in
February after one of its planes was
impounded in the UK over a $1,2 million
debt accumulated by the airline over
a long period.
A week later, AirZim suspended its flights to South Africa
to avoid having
its planes seized over a $500 000 debt owed to a South
African supplier -
Newsday
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
09 July
2012
Zimbabwe’s main teachers’ union has demanded that the proceeds of
diamond
sales be spent on their members’ wages, saying there are no more
excuses for
the government not to compensate its civil
service.
Teachers and other government workers last week Wednesday issued
an
ultimatum to the government, insisting that they will launch a
‘crippling’
strike if their demands for higher pay and better working
conditions are not
met.
This is the latest strike threat issued to
the unity government, which has
repeatedly stated that there is no money for
a significant wage increase.
But as Takavafira Zhou, the President of the
Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe (PTUZ) argued on Monday, the
discovery of wealthy diamond deposits
in Marange should be changing this
situation.
Zhou told SW Radio Africa that the country’s vast mineral
resources,
particularly the Chiadzwa diamond fields, “are not being
harnessed by the
government for the benefit of Zimbabwe or civil servants.”
He said they are
losing patience with the government line that there is no
money for wage
increases.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti last year
pegged the 2012 national budget on
what he expected would be a welcome cash
injection from the local diamond
trade. Biti said he had been promised
US$600 million from diamond sales by
the Mines Ministry, with most of the
money allocated to various
infrastructure development projects.
But
half-way through the financial year, the Prime Minister has said that
only
US$25 million of diamond money has been remitted to treasury. Morgan
Tsvangirai told Cabinet last month that funds received to date had been very
disappointing and far short of budgetary estimates.
Biti has now also
admitted that one of the main mining firms in the Chiadzwa
fields, the
Chinese owned Anjin mine, is not remitting anything to the
treasury, despite
making a serious profit. In an interview with The
Independent newspaper
recently, Biti said nothing was coming from the
company, “not even a single
cent.”
This is despite the Anjin mine being started on the understanding that
it
was a joint venture with the state and the treasury would be getting 50%
of
the profits. It has since emerged that the government does not hold any
shares in the lucrative business, and instead there are two army linked
groups working with the Chinese.
The PTUZ’s Zhou said Monday that the
salaries of teachers and other civil
servants, as well as the country’s
economy, was being held hostage by what
he called “economic bandits,” saying
that only ZANU PF and its associates
were benefiting from Zimbabwe’s mineral
wealth.
“If the minerals, particularly the diamonds, were only being
tapped into by
ZANU PF and the proceeds went to the Treasury, then Zimbabwe
could be
saved,” Zhou said.
He explained that the morale among the
nation’s teachers was at an all time
low, with serious knock on effects for
school children.
“There is no meaningful teaching taking place and
teachers can’t even afford
to send their own children to the schools where
they teach. So we will see
what government says in two weeks, but we are
tired of the hide and seek
game they are playing,” Zhou said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
08/07/2012 00:00:00
by Roman
Moyo
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has invited bids for
its entire
shareholding in Homelink Private Limited as it continues to
dispose of
assets not related to its core functions.
Homelink was set
up in 2004 to facilitate property development and
investment for Zimbabweans
in the Diaspora.
KM Financial Solutions (Pvt) Ltd have been appointed
financial advisors for
the disposal and individuals and corporate investors
have up to July 16 to
indicate firm interest.
“Consistent with the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15) which
requires that the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe disposes of its assets not
related to its core functions,
the Reserve Bank hereby notifies the public
that it intends to re-tender the
disposal of its 100 per cent shareholding
in Homelink (Pvt) Ltd,” the RBZ
said in a statement.
“Preference will be given to bidders that offer
competitive prices and
commit to settling immediately upon winning the
bid.”
The central bank has put several of its investments held through
the Finance
Trust of Zimbabwe up for sale as it bids to reduce its own debts
said to be
more than one billion dollars.
A deal was recently
concluded for the sale of the bank’s 57 per cent
interest in Tractive
Holdings to Zimplow for about US$9.7 million.
Cairns Holdings, another
listed entity, recently indicated that negotiations
were also at an advanced
state for the RBZ to exit the group in which it
holds a majority 63.3 per
cent shareholding.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By
Tichaona Sibanda
09 July 2012
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has
been briefed on how war vets leader
Jabulani Sibanda is terrorising
villagers in Zaka, Masvingo province, ahead
of the next harmonized
elections. The Prime Minister was in Zaka visiting
Constituency Development
Fund projects
The war vets has been in and out of Masvingo on a ZANU PF
campaign
programme, dubbed “Operation Kubudirana Pachena”.
The Daily
News reported on Monday that Sibanda has been threatening MDC-T
supporters
with death if they continue supporting the party. All four
parliamentary
constituencies in Zaka fall under the MDC-T.
The paper added that Sibanda
has since left Masvingo, although he
religiously pays a visit to the
province to indoctrinate the grassroots in
ZANU PF
propaganda.
Tsvangirai’s spokesperson said his boss was taking complaints
from villagers
seriously, adding the Premier received reports that the
community was now
living in fear following the recent visit by
Sibanda.
Tsvangirai told the villagers to desist from violence and live
in harmony
and appealed to all political parties to live and deal with each
other in
harmony, irrespective of their political ideologies.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Gift Phiri and Wendy Muperi
Monday, 09
July 2012 11:20
HARARE - The Zimbabwean army is disillusioned and
will not support the
generals’ threat to ensure President Robert Mugabe
clings to power if he
loses the forthcoming presidential election, according
to a former colonel
and a government minister.
Giles Mutsekwa,
secretary for defence in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC, yesterday
blasted a recent claim by Martin Chedondo, Zimbabwe’s Defence
Forces Chief
of Staff, that the military would not recognise any leader who
did not
participate in the war.
The claim was designed specifically to unsettle
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, the leader of the mainstream MDC, who is
expected to square off
with Mugabe in a watershed forthcoming
election.
Mutsekwa said his comments were personal except for the few
generals who
have openly declared their allegiance, Mutsekwa said the entire
defence
workforce did not buy into the coup plot.
“My phone got so
busy soon after Chedondo addressed the troops in Mutoko,”
Mutsekwa told the
Daily News.
“They were dissociating themselves from his statements. The
troops said if
he had given them the chance to speak, they would have told
him how
unprofessional he was. What you can deduce from this is that, these
generals
do not have the following of the army, they are mere personal
statements and
people should never construe them as collective.”
Army
spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Alphias Makotore and Colonel Overson
Mugwisi
both refused to immediately comment on the revelations, and asked
the Daily
News to put questions in writing saying they wanted to consult
before
responding.
Chedondo told 3 000 soldiers from 2 Brigade undergoing a
battlefield
training exercise in Mutoko in June that all soldiers should
support Zanu
PF.
The chief of staff and a few other elite officers
have benefited hugely from
Mugabe’s patronage, but at the level of colonel
and brigadier and below, the
support dwindles, according to
Mutsekwa.
In the last elections, held in 2008, a number of constituencies
with large
military garrisons voted against Mugabe.
Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, secretary-general of Welshman Ncube’s MDC,
said
threats by the security chiefs to subvert the will of the people will
leave
them exposed.
She said what the generals were saying was not a true
reflection of the
attitude of the entire army personnel.
Mutsekwa
said the heads of the army and security forces, the vital cog in an
elaborate strategy that has kept Mugabe, 88, in power after Tsvangirai
handed the former guerrilla leader his biggest defeat four years ago, are
assured their services will not be terminated, and the change in the regime
will only be in the State’s superstructure not the bureaucracy and the
securocracy.
“Unlike what some press statements say that MDC and
defence forces are
categorically at loggerheads, we have always been very
clear from the start
the MDC wants to change the political administration,
which is Zanu PF,
through the ballot,” Mutsekwa said.
“Because we
have never had an axe to grind with the security forces, after
the next
elections, we will adopt the structure hook, stock and barrel.
Those who
feel they can’t serve under the MDC dispensation, we will
certainly give
them a healthy golden handshake,” he said.
Analysts say Mugabe is banking
on these commanders to fight next year’s
elections amid complaints by the
MDC that already, there have been troop
deployments to rural
areas.
There are also mounting concerns that Mugabe’s political forces
were
regrouping and re-strategising to pummel the population into submission
through violence, the MDC says.
There are suggestions of a split in
the top echelons of the security forces,
but there is nothing on the ground
to suggest that.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Written by Ndakaziva Majaka, Staff Writer
Monday, 09
July 2012 12:56
HARARE - Government is partnering Chinese company
Avik International to
start construction of the long awaited Kunzvi Dam,
Water minister Samuel
Sipepa Nkomo has revealed.
Kunzvi Dam
will augment Harare and its satellite towns’ water supply.
Without
providing finer details on the joint venture, Nkomo said the new
company
will partner other private contractors engaged last year.
“We have roped
in Avik International to speed up the overdue construction of
Kunzvi Dam as
necessitated by the water deficiency in the capital. We expect
the
completion of the dam to alleviate pressure on the existing sources,” he
said.
The project is estimated to cost at least $370 million, of
which $70 million
is for the construction of the dam and the other $300
million for pump
stations, reservoirs, water treatment works, conveyance and
connections to
the existing city of Harare network.
Plans to
construct Kunzvi Dam, which when complete will carry 158,4 million
cubic
metres and produce 250 000 cubic metres of water daily, were
mooted 30
years ago but have been hampered by inadequate funding.
Avik will join
firms such as Locan Holdings, Swede Water Limited, Okada
Group from Nigeria
and Vince Group of France and government in constructing
the
dam.
Bigen Africa Consulting Engineers, BKS Group and Dycon from South
Africa are
the technical partners.
The engineering and financial
advisory team consists of Zimbabwe’s CBZ Bank,
Brian Colquhoun, SDP Africa,
Deloitte and Finesse Financial Services.
Located 67km north east of
Harare near Juru Growth Point, Kunzvi Dam will be
getting supply from
Nyaguwi River.
The Kunzvi Dam and waterworks will not only be on an
entirely different
river system to the Manyame River, the present source of
all city water, but
will be on the opposite side of the city to the main
Manyame dams.
With the Kunzvi works operational, city water managers will
have more than
700 000 cubic metres a day to supply consumers, with the main
pipelines
entering the city to the south-west and north-east.
This
will allow both better supplies and easier supplies, since the double
entry
points should reduce the amount of intermediate pumping required to
reach
any suburb.
Doping
tests ... Zimbabwe qualified for JWRT finals after winning the 2011 CAR Under 19
trophy
09/07/2012 00:00:00 | |
by Sports Reporter | |
|
AS MANY as half of Zimbabwe’s Under 20 rugby stars who participated in the Junior World Rugby Trophy finals in Utah, the United States, last month have tested positive to banned substances, it has been claimed.
The Young Sables lost all three group matches against Japan, Georgia and Canada before winning a face-saving seventh and eighth play-off with winless Russia.
Now it has emerged that the International Rugby Board’s anti-doping team which conducted random tests at the tournament is preparing charges against as many as 13 players from the 26-man squad.
Zimbabwe Rugby Union general manager Sifiso Made said they were awaiting further information from the International Rugby Board which has its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.
Dominic Rumbles, the IRB’s head of communications, told New Zimbabwe.com by e-mail that rugby’s governing body had adopted a tough regime of doping tests to crack down on cheats in the game.
“You will be aware that the IRB as a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, operates a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs cheats in sport and undertakes an extensive annual programme of education and testing equating to over 5,000 tests,” he said.
“An extensive testing programme was undertaken at the recent IRB JWRT in Salt Lake City. It would be inappropriate to discuss the outcomes of such testing programmes prior to any results being received.
“In the event of a positive result, the IRB would not comment until parties are notified and final hearings into any such matter are concluded.”
Sources told New Zimbabwe.com that the Zimbabwe Rugby Union had become aware that several players were using banned substances during the Cottco Schools Rugby Festival held at Prince Edward School in Harare, but did little to take corrective measures.
A source said: “They conducted a workshop to enlighten school children on the dangers using performance enhancing drugs, but no disciplinary action was taken.”
Now the problem has come back to haunt the ZRU spectacularly with the affected players facing certain bans – potentially ending some promising careers.
18 Jun 2012: Japan39 - 36 Zimbabwe (Murray Rugby
Park Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah22 Jun
22 June 2012: Georgia 43 - 7
Zimbabwe (Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah)
26 June 2012:
Canada 66 - 45 Zimbabwe (Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah)
30
June 2012: Russia 10 - 22 Zimbabwe (Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City,
Utah)
Bright Chivandire 01/03/1969 Head
Coach
Colleen De Jong13/01/1963 Team Manager
Godwin Murambiwa 31/12/1967
Assistant Coach
Gary Hewitt 08/06/1980 Assistant Coach
Margie Gibson
04/01/1961 Physiotherapist
Austin Jeans 04/10/1961 Team Doctor
Tyran Fagan 25/04/1992 Harlequins, KZN
(Prop)
Kuda Makuvire 07/06/1993 Old Georgians (Prop)
Ian Muza 21/01/1992
Durban Collegians (Prop)
Thabani Ndaba 03/06/1993 Prince Edward School
(Prop)
Daleroy Sibanda 24/02/1992 Pennsylvania University (Prop)
Andries
Van Heerden 24/07/1993 Old Georgians (Hooker)
Matthew Lawson 28/09/1993 Old
Georgians (Lock)
Graham Logan 31/05/1992 SB Valke (Lock)
Michael Sinclair
06/07/1992 Pretoria University (Lock)
Joshua Smallbones 05/02/1993 Old
Georgians (Lock)
Tonderai Chigumbura 11/05/1992 Old Georgians
(Flanker)
Tawanda Chowe 03/04/1993 Old Hararians (Flanker)
Daniel Rorke
28/08/1993 Old Georgians (Flanker)
Tapiwa Tsomondo 05/05/1993 Old Hararians
(Number 8)
Dylan Coetzee 30/11/1992 Old Hararians (Scrumhalf)
Michael
MacIntosh 16/11/1992 Pretoria University (Scrumhalf)
Robert Sargeant
27/01/1993 Harlequins, KZN (Scrumhalf)
James Forrester 09/06/1993 North
Walsham (Flyhalf)
Sean Linfield 24/06/1992 Harlequins, KZN (Flyhalf)
Taku
Chieza 16/05/1993 Harlequins, KZN (Centre)
Richard Morkel 05/04/1992 Pretoria
University (Centre)
Mclean Muhambi 27/12/1992 Zvishavane (Centre)
Joshua
Broomberg 12/09/1993 Pretoria (Wing)
Justin Coles 03/02/1992 Old Georgians
(Wing)
Brian Ndudzo 06/01/1993 Oranjemund (Wing)
Victor Mushoriwa
01/08/1992 Old Hararians (Fullback)
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
09
July 2012
Education, Sport and Culture Minister David Coltart has urged
Zimbabweans
not to focus too much on quantity and instead look at the
quality of the
athletes who will represent the country at the Olympic Games
in London this
month.
Coltart was reacting to weekend reports that
Zimbabwe will be fielding the
“smallest and probably weakest sporting team
to ever compete” in the games.
Only seven athletes including swimmer Kirsty
Coventry have qualified.
Joining Coventry will be marathon runners
Cuthbert Nyasango, Wirimayi
Zhuwawo, triathlete Chris Felgate, rowers Jamie
Frazer McKenzie and Micheen
Thornycroft. Although sprinter and strong medal
hopeful Ngoni Makusha
qualified, an unfortunate injury ruled him out of the
games.
As Coltart explained the reason for this small number, “is mainly
dictated
to us by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As you know
they set
qualifying times and athletes have to meet those times, otherwise
they are
not accepted to the Olympics. So unfortunately we have these seven
or so,”
who have qualified.
“Its not necessarily (quantity) the
nation should be looking at. Think back
to the 2008 Olympics, Zimbabwe also
had a very small team but we came away
with way more medals than South
Africa who went with a team of over 200 and
so we shouldn’t really be
looking at the quantity, we need to look at
quality,” he said.
Asked
whether government was responsible for the deterioration in sporting
standards Coltart said:
“There is no doubt that education and sport
in the last two decades has been
under-funded and tied into that is the
collapse of the economy in the last
10 to 12 years. That’s has meant some of
our best athletes have left the
country or their talent has not been
identified and nurtured.”
He said because of this crisis Zimbabwe did not
have as many athletes going
through its system and excelling, as was the
case in the past.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Tendai Kamhungira,
Senior Court Writer
Monday, 09 July 2012 10:27
HARARE - Harare
magistrate Don Ndirowei is set to rule this week on an
application for
discharge by Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (Zinasu)
activists who were
arrested outside the courtroom demanding the release of
social activist
Munyaradzi Gwisai and five others.
The students who are from different
universities are Francis Mufambi, 21,
Tinashe Mutyaso, 25, Jorum Chikwadze,
21, Tinashe Chisaira, 24, Pride
Mukono, 22 and Tryvine Mukoseri
23.
Magistrate Ndirowei on Thursday advised the six students that a
ruling on
their application for discharge at the close of the state’s case
would be
ready on July 11.
The students are facing disorderly conduct
charges as defined in Section 41b
of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.
According to state papers, the students
gathered outside Harare Magistrates’
Court on March 21 this year, together
with 30 others who are still at large.
It is alleged they did this in
solidarity with Gwisai and his accomplices
who were being sentenced on
conspiracy to commit public violence charges.
The court heard the
students were singing obscene songs while chanting
slogans.
It is
alleged the students threw flyers which called for the freedom of the
social
activists.
“The continued persecution of these innocent comrades has now
become
intolerable. The incrimination of basic freedoms of assembly and the
right
to hold opinion of choice is regrettable and should not be allowed
anymore,”
read part of the flyers, according to state papers.
The
flyers, it is alleged, further read: “The sons and daughters of Zimbabwe
deserve their freedom, freedom now, freedom in our life time.”
The
students were rounded up by police and arrested.
Two witnesses Clement
Nyambiya and Ali Mugovera testified in the case before
prosecutor Nyikadzino
Machingura closed the state case on June 18.
The students’ lawyer Obey
Shava then made an application for discharge of
his clients.
Last Updated on Monday, 09 July 2012 15:31 Written by Ntando Sibanda - ZDDT Reporter Monday, 09 July 2012 15:21
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Being one of the oldest and most prominent learning institutions for people living with mental challenges in Bulawayo, Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre has become, not only a home, but a “safe heaven” for this marginalised group of people.
The institution, which was formally
established in 1963, is a result of community efforts of parents of children
living with disabilities. It commenced with only 12 children, after their
parents felt these special children needed a facility and environment that would
enable them to fully express themselves and therefore achieve the highest
possible personal growth.
Situated in the suburb of Kumalo, the facility
was well built and equipped with most of the necessary requirements. However,
there has been deterioration due to prolonged use and lack of refurbishment,
which is a direct result of the unavailability of funds. The lack of financial
resources is due to the economic meltdown that ravaged the country,
incapacitating the relevant Government Departments to render meaningful
assistance to such institutions.
However, the centre recently received
donations from Government, through the Office of the Governor, as it is
registered with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. It also managed to
acquire a gas cooker to assist in the campus kitchen. Previously, the staff were
using firewood to compliment the erratic power cuts. The facility is also in the
process of devising means to begin utilising the recently repaired electric
cookers.
Pic: Lunchtime at the school’s dining
hall
The school campus is a labyrinth of classrooms, offices and
boarding hostels that were built at the time of its inception. These buildings
have however succumbed to the elements and are in dire need of a facelift and
refurbishment.
The increased charges for the utilities, such as rates and
power, are proving to be a major set-back to the operations of the institution
as they gulp the lion’s share of the meagre revenue the school manages to
collect from tuition fees of the children.
Currently, there are 72
students, 64 of whom are residing at the school premises. There is gender
balance in enrolment as about half of the students are females.
The
facility is also in need of a mini-bus to assist in ferrying the students and
staff to various destinations. Under normal circumstances, the school would be
embarking on numerous educational tours to enable the students to learn from
practical examples of normal life and to help them be at ease with their
surroundings, hence capacitating them to absorb their lessons much more easily.
Pic: Some of the wares produced a the centre’s carpentry
workshop
However, these tours can no longer be part of the learning
process due to the lack of proper and sufficient transport means. The
institution only boasts of one minibus, the condition of which has severely
deteriorated. The centre is actively appealing for a donation of another minibus
or a bus.
The institution offers the normal national primary school
curriculum to its students and was recently awarded the Grade 7 Examination
Centre status by the Ministry of Education. However, the students are accorded
the opportunity to complete the curriculum at their own pace to allow for a deep
understanding of their studies.
“We have a basic curriculum, which is
being taught to all primary schools nationwide. We recently received a Grade 7
Examination Centre status. It is however important to note that we do not sit
for these examinations every year as our pupils learn at different paces. We
only have examinations when we feel we have students who are ready for that. For
instance, we have not had any such examination in the past two years,” said
Reverend Andrew Bafana, the Superintendent.
The Centre, which was named
after the then governor of Southern Rhodesia, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, also offers
life skills training to adults living with challenges. There are some pupils
here enrolled who do not have any known relations.
Some of these were
enrolled through the Department of Social Welfare. Having turned 18, they were
automatically disqualified to benefit from the Government committal grant, but
the institution could not discharge them only to suffer in the street. The
Centre engages in skills training programmes for all adult residents/students.
These include carpentry, fashion and fabrics, laundry and gardening.
Pic: Rev Bafana gives
a hand at the centre’s garden
“There are those who have been here, and will be here,
for the rest of their lives. They look at the institution as their only home.
Most of these people will not be able to pick up employment. They are involved
in our skills training and we would love to expose them to the outside world.
We are currently working on enrolling some of them at places like
Ehlekweni Training Centre, whose programmes we hope will enrich their training.
Three have already been identified for this. This is set to boost their
self-esteem, as it will show them that their disabilities are not a hindrance in
exhibiting their talents and prospering in their field of work” he
said.
The centre is a member of Zimcare Trust.
Rev Bafana said if
the institution had the resources; it would integrate these by acquiring outside
accommodation for some of its adult members. This will be to teach and allow
them the chance to feel and experience all the responsibilities that come with
adulthood. He said this development would enable them to realise their full
potential as individuals.
“Our vision is that if they go to these outside
institutions and do well, within their (own) parameters, we can then recommend
their employment in their own homes, which will allow them an income of their
own and further allow for positive integration. In the long run, we may say the
institution must have houses outside, so that our people may run them but with
some supervision,” said Rev Bafana, who is a clergyman of the Anglican
Church.
IF you would like to assist this noble institution please
get in touch: pr@zddt.org
http://www.espncricinfo.com
ESPNcricinfo staff
July 9,
2012
Tatenda Taibu, the Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman, has
announced his
retirement, stating that he wants to focus on working for the
church. Taibu
played 28 Tests and 150 ODIs for Zimbabwe and has quit aged
only 29, usually
a cricketer's prime.
The decision comes as even more
of a surprise as, earlier in the day, he was
named in Zimbabwe's provisional
squad for September's World Twenty20. It
ends an 11-year international
career, during which he became the youngest
Test captain in history. A
finger injury kept him out of top-flight cricket
since the tour of New
Zealand early this year.
"I just feel that my true calling now lies in
doing the Lord's work," Taibu
said, "and although I am fortunate and proud
to have played for my country,
the time has come for me to put my entire
focus on that part of my life."
Since making his debut at the age of 18
in 2001, Taibu was an automatic pick
for Zimbabwe, except for the times when
he clashed with his country's
cricket board. He had stepped down as captain
and quit the national side
back in 2005 following threats against his
family. Taibu moved to South
Africa in 2006 with the intention of going
through the four-year
qualification process to be eligible for international
cricket for them.
However, he reappeared for Zimbabwe in 2007.
One of
the highlights of his career was his Man-of-the-Match performance in
2005
against Bangladesh, when he made 85* and 153 to help Zimbabwe draw the
Test.
His only other Test victory was against Bangladesh last year, when
Zimbabwe
returned to the format after a six-year exile. Taibu's outspoken
nature was
highlighted before that match as he slammed the board for not
doing enough
to promote cricket in the country.
He was picked while still in his teens
as a potential long-term successor as
wicketkeeper-batsman to Andy Flower,
and while he didn't reach the heights
Flower did, he forged a solid career.
He finishes as the country's
fourth-highest run-getter in ODIs, and only
Flower has effected more
dismissals than him as a one-day wicketkeeper for
Zimbabwe.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/
09 July 2012
Vince Musewe
says the challenges facing the country can be reduced to two
words: self
interest
Zimbabwe's political instability exaggerated: The challenges we
face in
Zimbabwe can really be reduced to just two words: self
interest.
I think our local newspapers here in Zimbabwe should all have
the same
health warning required for tobacco products that sounds as
follows; Danger:
reading this newspaper and accepting everything you read
blindly is harmful
to your health.
I was quite astounded last week to
read that a leader of one of the
political parties here was quoted warning
Zimbabweans of the violence that
will inevitably come as we get closer to
the elections next year. In my
view, that is downright irresponsible in the
case of the leader and
downright sensational in the case of the newspaper.
When our newspapers
dramatise issues and continually give prominence to the
worst case scenarios
when it comes to political developments it is
inevitable that Zimbabweans in
general will begin to expect the worst and
live up to that expectation. The
saying that "be careful what you wish for
in case you get it" surely
applies.
It is important for my patient
readers to note that at no point am I saying
that Zimbabwe does not have
some severe political and governance problems
nor am I downplaying the
adversity that most are currently facing on the
economic front. However,
when a divergence of opinions are reported as
"fights" and loud arguments
as "war" surely that only serves to create an
environment where readers will
involuntarily begin to expect the worst
outcomes and thereby ignore those
things that may confirm otherwise. I can
understand now why politicians
world over continue to cry for balanced
reporting. Unfortunately sensational
reporting can actually be the source of
instability.
For those of us
who want to create a future in Zimbabwe, it is quite
important that we
deliberately attempt to create a positive attitude about
the future and this
will hopefully become contagious with time. However one
cannot be naïve to
the difficulties we are facing nor is one endorsing the
misdemeanours of
those currently in power.
In my opinion, the challenges we face in
Zimbabwe can really be reduced to
just two words: self interest.
I
think that those who want to hold onto the past are a few terribly
frightened men who really have not been doing things by the book and face
economic and political loss if things were to change. Their reaction is to
take all they can now and try and stall any change. There are also those who
clearly understand that their thinking will not fit within a new democratic
space and will therefore be rendered irrelevant and powerless in any new
power structure, these are many. These are not a threat for they are known
to quickly change their allegiance when the tide turns.
There are
those who have tasted power in the GNU and must carve for
themselves a place
in the future and remain lukewarm to accelerated change
and thus afford
themselves more time to consolidate their interests. These
are our worst
enemies dressed in sheep's clothing.
More worrying are those who have
been disenfranchised who are outside the
country and wish Zimbabwe the worst
no matter what. These unfortunately
include powerful forces that control the
international flow of capital and
hold the key to future economic progress.
These are mainly whites and hate
Mugabe to the core and are most unlikely to
change that view. Unfortunately
they matter when it comes to the economic
revival of Zimbabwe.
They are those who seek change at any cost and might
not have calculated or
contemplated what the alternative will be. These
count the majority and they
anxiously wait for the vote. While they are
those convinced that any
political change in Zimbabwe is an imperialist plot
and are diehards
ZANU(PF). These to me are not many but their numbers are at
times
conveniently enlarged. I conjecture that the truth shall set them
free.
Finally there are some of us who want a absolute overhaul of the
system now
but are quite worried of what may take its place.
As a
result, like in any emerging democracy, we have a cocktail of all these
multiple dispositions that we must accommodate and unfortunately they have a
final effect of slowing down progress. In the old days such differences were
sorted out through wars but man has become more civilised and we must bear
the pain of some sort of negotiated gradual change. There is nothing wrong
with that. In fact I would rather have a government of national unity than a
polarised political environment that is likely to be unstable. The caveat
being that we must get better management of the country's resources and also
get rid of the deadwood. The international community need to understand that
sanctions have ceased to serve any constructive purpose but to stifle growth
and reduce the economic opportunity space for the ordinary
Zimbabwean.
In my opinion the parties to our GNU do not have an easy task
at all but I
think it is clear in everyone minds that free and fair
elections, the
scariest solution to those resistant to change, are really
the only lasting
"solution" or are they?
Why I ask is because it is
most likely that Zimbabweans will vote to protest
against ZANU(PF) and not
necessarily to endorse the MDC. This is an
inevitable consequence of our
history given that political activism in
Zimbabwe was constrained and
therefore allowing only a few contestants to
power. A precedent to this is
the fact that we sit today with the same
debility throughout Africa where
those who deposed the colonialist have not
necessarily been our best.
Although the MDC may then have power, it may not
necessarily lead to
Zimbabwe achieving its optimal potential because the
party is gaining
legitimacy from being the challenger to ZANU(PF) and not
necessarily for its
competence in governing. That, we still have to see.
I estimate that we
will only begin to experience true democracy after the
first term of
government of the MDC because during that first term, I expect
more
political parties to emerge as they take advantage of a free political
environment with the potential of increasing the gene pool of political
participants and leadership.
In the mean time the challenge is; how
do we balance competing interest
without throwing the baby out with the bath
water? How do we resolve the
competing interest of many to get Zimbabwe on
the optimal economic
trajectory? How do get Zimbabweans themselves at least
begin to talk
positive about their country and their own future?
On
that issue I have applied my mind and request my readers to be patient
for
my next instalment: Moving Zimbabwe forward despite the politics.
Vince
Musewe is an independent economist currently in Harare and you may
contact
him on vtmusewe@gmail.com
http://focus.rw/
Monday, July 9th,
2012
Edward Ojulu.
In Zimbabwe, there is a minister for
Empowerment. His name is Saviour
Kasukuwere—a man often described as a
rising star in President Robert Mugabe’s
ruling ZANU-PF party by western
media.
So misleading is the name of this ministry that one might think
that
Kasukuwere’s docket is to economically empower rural women, youth and
physically impaired persons by initiating programs and promoting policies
for social inclusion and equity in the use of public resources.
But
in Zimbabwe, ‘empowerment’ appears to have a completely different
meaning
and as such, Kasukuwere’s job has nothing to do with enabling poor
national
to improve their lives. Instead, Zimbabwe’s ‘rising star’ is his
party’s
grabbing arm.
Last week, he stunned the world (including members of his
own party) when he
announced a deadline for foreign-owned banks and
privately-owned schools to
handover majority ownership to black
Zimbabweans.
Kasukuwere, is said to have already forced mining companies
like Rio Tinto
and Impala Platinum , the world’s second-largest platinum
miner, to turn
over majority stakes in their local units to black
Zimbabweans who are
by-and-large the already wealthy embers of the ruling
party.
But the idea of asking Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Barclays Bank
Plc and
South Africa’s Standard Bank and Nebank to cede 59% of their local
business
to ZANU-PF stalwarts has shocked even some of Mugabe’s strongest
allies such
as the central bank governor, Gideon Gono.
The worry with
what is happening in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe is not just
about a rogue
regime that is pursuing an agenda “devoid of detail and
rationality,” as
Gono described the move on banks, but likelihood that the
vice could spread
to many more African countries ruled by men nursing
life-presidency
ambitions. And they are many.
Once African rulers realize that they have
lost legitimacy and no longer
have anything positive to do for their
countries, they resort to the old
colonial tactic of divide-and-rule. And
once they run out of that option to,
the last resort to start pursuing a
populist agenda that often seeks to
blame outsiders ( and in Africa’s case
colonialists) for all the social and
economic problems in the
country.
So they start telling uneducated youth in villages and slums
that they are
poor because foreigners own all the mines, commercial banks,
schools,
hospitals and good residential houses.
Yet the dictator will
not tell their often gullible audience where the
billions of dollars these
foreign-owned companies pay in taxes end up. But
very often, this money that
should be used to improve the living conditions
of the poor by investing in
more social infrastructure is spent by ‘first
ladies’ in expensive shopping
sprees and educating their children in the
very western countries they
vilify at home!
I would understand when a government, like that of
Mugabe, seeks to
redistribute land by asking those who own big chunks (often
acquired
illegally) to give up some and hand it to landless
blacks.
However, it is incomprehensible that in this era when every
country is
trying very hard to make the local regulatory environment
conducive to
private business so as to attract more investors, another man
is
confiscating private schools, hospitals, banks and shops.
I do not
know how handing over a majority stake in the local business of
British-owned Barclays Bank Plc to black people is going to help a rural
peasant in Zimbabwe to have access to clean water, enough food or put
medicines to rural hospitals. But I know that such moves will certainly
weaken the financial sector and hurt the struggling economy further. This
will result into further loss of jobs as the economy takes a
nosedive.
On the other hand, you risk losing out completely in the
competition for the
dwindling foreign direct investments—the single sure
creator of jobs and tax
revenue.
Rather than sticking with
politicians with no more ideas to take the
continent to the next level of
development, African people need to wake up
and hold such bulls by their
horns together with their cheer leaders.
It is now clear to me that free
enterprise and life-presidency do not mix.
And as ordinary people, we it is
within our powers to choose between the
two—that is the path to death
(life-presidency) and the road to prosperity
(free enterprise).
July 9th, 2012
This sad story has been circulated by the Justice for Children Trust:
Children continue to commit serious offences such as murder, rape and robbery. Experience has linked the commission of offences with poverty, orphan hood and idleness. Justice for Children continues to assist children who come into contact with the law with legal representation and it is clear that without focusing on the root causes, the circumstances which children face will continue driving them into committing offences.
In one case, a 15 year old was arrested by Police on a charge of murder after striking a 20 year old man with a brick on the stomach and the head resulting in his death. He was remanded in custody at Guruve Magistrates Court since May 2012. The juvenile was called by the deceased at his house to question him on the allegations that the juvenile had called him a thief. This had not pleased the deceased who started assaulting the juvenile several times on the head and back. The juvenile pleaded with the deceased to let him go which he refused and continued the assault.
The juvenile finally freed himself and started running away with the deceased in pursuit. The juvenile then picked a brick and hit the deceased on the stomach hoping it would deter him but he continued with the pursuit. The juvenile then picked another brick and hit the deceased on the head, which resulted in his death. The matter was reported to the police and the juvenile was arrested and detained.
The Department of Social Services notified the organization of the juvenile. With the assistance of Guruve Probation Officer and Officer in Charge, the organization interviewed the child at Guruve Prison and was able to meet the grandparents. Both the prison official and the police were keen to assist so that the child is out of prison. The organization made an application for bail pending trial with the High Court and the juvenile was released in the custody of his uncle. This is one case which shows that children are finding themselves behind bars due to circumstances they find themselves in.
The manner in which this offence was committed does not show any form of premeditation. The child was being assaulted and wanted to save himself from the assault. The juvenile is an orphan who had been staying with his grandfather.
The juvenile had stopped going to school after grade 7 because his grandfather could not afford to pay school fees for him. When a child stops going to school, it opens gates to so many adventures. This idleness causes children to be more susceptible to offences hence it is important for children to be in school to avoid commission of offences. This calls for the Government to revive the Social Services which would see orphans being assisted so as to avoid or reduce the vulnerability.
Children by nature do not have the propensity to commit offences, let us focus on what causes children to commit the offence.
BILL WATCH 30/2012
[9th July 2012]
Both Houses of Parliament resume sittings on Tuesday 10th
July
Last
Few Sittings of this Session
Parliament’s sitting calendar was extended to put in extra July
sittings this week and next week to
accommodate:
·
the
Mid-Term Financial Statement by Finance Minister Tendai Biti – and any Amended
Estimates of Expenditure and Appropriation Amendment Bill necessitated by the
Statement, and
·
passing
two urgent major Bills - the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission Bill. This will mean
there will be some progress to report to the
SADC
Facilitator on compliance with the GPA Roadmap to Elections.
The
sittings of the next two weeks will be the last of the present Parliamentary
session. Both Houses will then adjourn,
and the President will gazette a proclamation “proroguing” Parliament [ending
the present session by suspending sittings] and announcing the opening day of
the next session.
President
to Open New Session Later this Month
The
ceremonial opening of the Fifth Session of Zimbabwe’s Seventh Parliament is
planned to be on Tuesday 24th July.
Coming
Up in the House of Assembly
Bills The
House is expected to concentrate on the Human Rights Commission Bill and the
Electoral Amendment Bill. Cabinet last
week resolved that the Bills should proceed when Parliament resumes, as both
Bills were approved by Cabinet before they were introduced. Parliament is expected to comply. Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick
Chinamasa is the responsible Minister for both Bills:
·
Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission Bill The Bill has been on the Order Paper for a
long time. It was introduced on 2011. The Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC]
returned a non-adverse report conditional on certain changes being made by the
Minister. On the strength of the
Minister’s assurance that this would be done, the Bill had its Second
Reading. The Minister’s proposed changes
were tabled and have been on the Order Paper since 31st August 2011. The next step is the Committee Stage, during
which amendments tabled months ago by the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs,
to meet the PLC’s conditions, and any other amendments coming from the House
will be debated and voted on. [Bill
and proposed Committee Stage amendments available from veritas@mango.zw]
Comment:
It is high time the Bill was passed, even if it is falls short of the ideal, if
only to put an end to the present ridiculous situation, in which the Human
Rights Commission, for want of an enabling Act, has not been operational in
spite of the fact that its members have been in office for over two years, since
being sworn in by the President in March 2010.
·
Electoral
Amendment Bill This had its First Reading 26th July
2011. An Adverse Report from PLC was
announced on the 27th March this year, but is still to be presented and debated,
so it is not yet published. Although
agreed by Cabinet before being sent to the House last year, progress on the Bill
had been stalled because of later objections by MDC-T to the principle of
polling-station based voters rolls, prompted by fear of intimidation and
reprisals. The Bill was discussed again
in Cabinet last week, resulting in MDC-T saying it will now support the Bill,
albeit with reservations. It should
therefore go through this session. [Bill
available from veritas@mango.zw]
Other
Bills on the Order Paper:
·
National Incomes and
Pricing Commission Amendment Bill
·
Older Persons
Bill
·
Mr Gonese’s Private
Member’s Bill to repeal section 121(3) of Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Act
·
Hon Matimba’s Private
Member's Urban Councils Amendment Bill, proceedings on which are suspended
pending the Supreme Court’s decision on Minister Chombo’s application to stop
the Bill as unconstitutional.
Minister
of Finance’s Mid-Year Financial Statement and Revised Budget On
Thursday afternoon, 12th July, Minister Biti will present his Mid-Year Financial
Statement. As the Minister has already
said downward revision of expenditure is essential, he will also have to
introduce amended Estimates of Expenditure for 2012 and an Appropriation
Amendment Bill.
Motions on the Order Paper
include motions on:
·
alleged
corruption at the
Reserve Bank;
·
the need for
Portfolio Committees to hold Ministers to their obligation to respond to
committee reports;
·
the viability of the
Hwange Colliery Company;
·
the withdrawal of the
existing Indigenisation Regulations, a motion proposed long before this month’s
GN 280/2012 gazetting new indigenisation
rules for financial institutions and most other sectors of the
economy.
Questions There
are 23 written questions on the
Order Paper for Wednesday.
Coming
Up in the Senate
Bills
Any
Bills passed by the House of Assembly will be immediately transmitted to the
Senate. If the Minister brings in an
Appropriation Amendment Bill in the House, that will also go to the Senate, but
the Senate will have no power to amend it – its powers regarding Money Bills are
limited to recommending changes for the consideration of the House of Assembly.
Public
Order and Security Amendment Bill This is expected to be left unattended to, so
it will lapse at the end of the Session
[see more
below].
PLC
Adverse Reports on Statutory Instruments
Parliamentary
Legal Committee chairman Shepherd Mushonga explained the PLC’s six adverse
reports to the Senate before it adjourned on the 21st June, so Senators have had
time to consider the reports and prepare their contributions to the further
debate on the reports scheduled for the coming week. As all the reports concern local authority
by-laws approved by the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban
Development and vetted by law officers in the Attorney-General’s Office
before they were gazetted, there may also be contributions to the debate from
the Minister and from the Attorney-General, if they disagree with the PLC’s views. [At
the conclusion of the debate Senators will vote for or against resolutions to
adopt the PLC reports, and if they
vote to adopt the reports, the President will be obliged by the Constitution to
repeal or amend the offending SIs unless the House, within 21 sitting days,
decides they should remain in force.]
Motions
There
will be time for the Senate to deal with motions while it waits for Bills to
come across from the House, including:
Approval
of Palermo Protocol
to permit the Government to accede to the Protocol [see
Bill Watch 27/2012 of 18th June for details of this Protocol, which has already
been approved by the House of Assembly]
Approval
of African Charter of Democracy, Elections and Governance [see
Bill Watch 27/2012 for details].
Other
motions on: Public Service ghost workers; remuneration of
teachers; the International Women’s Conference on Women and Technology, held in
Bangalore, India, in February 2012; the Conference of the African Parliamentary
Union [APU] held in Khartoum, Sudan; a report on the indigenisation and
empowerment policy by the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and
Empowerment [available from
veritas@mango.zw]; a
report on access to clean water in Masvingo and Bulawayo by the Thematic
Committee on Gender and Development [available from
veritas@mango.zw].
Unfinished
Business Lapses at End of Session
If
Bills, Motions, Questions or any other items on the Order Paper in either Houses
have not been dealt with by the end of this Parliamentary Session, they will
lapse – but can be revived in the next Session.
POSA
Amendment Bill Likely to Lapse Again
MDC-T
Chief Whip Innocent Gonese has said that he is not in a position to press to a
vote his motion to revive his Private Member’s Public Order and Security
Amendment Bill in the Senate, given ZANU-PF Senators opposition and Minister
Chinamasa’s attitude that amending POSA is a matter for the GPA
negotiators. This means the motion is
likely to lapse, unpassed, at the end of the present Session.
Note:
One of the issues in the Roadmap to Elections of July 2011 was freedom of association and freedom of assembly. There was no definite agreement reached on
POSA. MDC-T wanted an agreement to amend
POSA so as to tighten it against police discretion and abuse and to bring it in
line with commitments within the GPA and the Constitution. MDC N wanted a review of POSA in light of the
current abuse by police. ZANU-PF merely
said “we need to know the nature of the proposed amendments before we
comment. The current POSA was amended in
2007 by all political parties through negotiation and provides a sound legal
framework for regulating meetings and assemblies.”
Mr
Gonese’s Bill has highlighted very real concerns about police actions under
POSA. It is hoped that the Bill has
already served as an incentive for the government itself to introduce an
acceptable Government Bill to amend POSA, and, with the SADC facilitation team
urging action on the Roadmap, that this will
be expedited. [Copy
of Roadmap available from veritas@mango.zw]
Government Gazette of 6th July
[NOT available from Veritas]
Statutory Instruments
Changes to Harare City Council and Goromonzi Rural District Council
areas
Two Presidential proclamations make related changes to the contiguous
areas under the jurisdiction of the Harare City Council [SI 119/2012 –
Proclamation 1/2012] and the Goromonzi Rural District Council [SI
120/2012 – Proclamation 2/2012] with effect from 6th July. The proclamations do not explain which area
has lost land and which has gained.
Government Financial Statements
Published
with the Gazette of 6th July is the Consolidated Statement of Financial
Performance for April 2012.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information supplied