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New video exposes murderous
role of ZANU PF MP
New video implicates
Newten Kachepa as an inciter of violence
By Lance Guma
10 July 2012
A shocking new video supplied to SW Radio Africa
has exposed the murderous role of ZANU PF’s MP for Mudzi North, Newten Kachepa
(also known as Milton in other reports).
Despite the formation of a coalition government
in February 2009 the MP was filmed this year warning MDC-T supporters that ZANU
PF doesn’t just ‘kill’ but ‘destroys’ those who provoke it by supporting
‘sell-outs’ in the opposition.
A headman who also gave his testimony in the
video says Kachepa boasted to him during a meeting that he had killed MDC-T
activists known as Muronde, Tambo, the son of an official called Mweza and
another activist in Ward 2.
The headman said Kachepa told him: “All these
four people were killed by me. The only one left is you (he said pointing at the
headman). He said ‘You are the only one left and I am yet to kill you. You are
easy to kill.”
The video dated 20 April 2012 and which we have
also posted to video sharing website You Tube, clearly captures Kachepa inciting
violence at Dendera Business Centre in Mudzi.
Speaking in Shona he tells the crowd: “Don’t be
taken away by things to do with sell outs (MDC-T). If you do sell out things, I
am telling you, you will cry.” He proceeds to warn them: “You should stop
provoking the spirits of the dead heroes. That’s why there was chaos in
2008.”
Kachepa was referring to the violence that
preceded the June 2008 presidential run-off. After MDC-T leader Morgan
Tsvangirai won the first round of the March 2008 presidential election, state
security chiefs loyal to a defeated Mugabe launched a retribution campaign
killing over 500 people and maiming tens of thousands.
“We should not support something that will make
us suffer and lose our human aspects at the end,” Kachepa lectured the crowd.
“When we talk about the nation, we talk about death. I am with you here because
of the issue of death. You say ZANU PF kills. It doesn’t kill. If you provoke
it, it destroys,” he warned them.
Several days after Kachepa’s speech in which he
was inciting violence, a group of over 300 ZANU PF supporters advanced on a
gathering of some 70 MDC-T supporters who were having a rally at Chimukoko
Business Centre. The skirmishes resulted in the death of MDC-T official Cephas
Magura.
According to the testimony of a young boy
herding cattle at the time, Magura was hit with a stone by the ZANU PF gang, who
continued to assault him as he lay on the ground. He was then dragged to the
roadside and left for dead. Seven other MDC-T activists were injured and treated
at the Avenues Clinic in Harare.
Two ZANU PF MPs, Kachepa (Mudzi North) and
Acquilina Katsande (Mudzi West), were implicated in this and many other
incidents in the area. Several witnesses saw Kachepa’s pick up truck and
Katsande’s Mazda T3500 truck being used to ferry the ZANU PF youths, who later
attacked Magura.
Energy
workers threaten national blackout over salary dispute
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex
Bell
10 July 2012
Workers from Zimbabwe’s energy sector have
threatened to pull the plug on
the country’s power supply by Thursday, if
their demands in an ongoing
salary dispute are not met.
The Zimbabwe
Energy Workers’ Union (ZEWU) on Monday issued a 72-hour
ultimatum to the
national power provider ZESA and other private players, to
either meet their
demands or face a nationwide strike. The workers want the
salary increase
that was meant to be awarded to them after a legal dispute
in
June.
ZEWU president Angeline Chitambo told journalists in Harare on
Monday that
the Union grouping had resolved to embark on the strike,
accusing ZESA chief
executive Josh Chifamba of not honouring an arbitration
order from last
month. The order promised a new salary structure would be
awarded to the
energy sector on June 18th.
“We have given Chifamba 72
hours to respond to our management in a
meaningful engagement and people
should not be surprised if they wake up
without electricity,” Chitambo
said.
Chitambo added: “We have written so many letters and I don’t think
this
blackout is going to be news to Chifamba. It will only be news to him
if he
takes us for granted.”
ZEWU is an umbrella body representing
workers from ZESA, the Rural
Electrification Agency, Petrotrade, the
National Oil Infrastructure Company,
Green Fuels, Powertel, the Zimbabwe
Electricity Transmission and
Distribution Company, the Zimbabwe Power
Company, Petrozim Lime, the Zambezi
River Authority and a Mozambican energy
firm, CPMZ.
The threat comes as Zimbabwe continues to face power supply
problems, with
the financially troubled ZESA unable to meet the countrywide
demand for
power. Power cuts and load shedding are now a widely expected
norm, and ZESA
has faced serious criticism for its service deliver
failures.
Most recently, the power utility was criticised for its
decision to carry on
providing estimated bills to energy users, despite its
unreliable service.
ZESA has argued that it does not have the money to pay
for meter readers.
Zimbabwe Watchdog Rebukes State Media for Political
Bias
http://www.voanews.com
09 July
2012
Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington DC
A Zimbabwean watchdog
has criticized the state media for continued bias
against the MDC and lack
of respect for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
other politicians
outside President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party.
The Media Monitoring
Project of Zimbabwe, MMPZ, said on Monday that despite
a provision in the
unity government agreement compelling public newspapers
and broadcasters to
maintain balance, the outlets were still leaning towards
Zanu PF.
"We
express deep regret and concern over the state media's continued biased
coverage about the activities of the MDC formations," said Edson Madondo,
the watchdog's deputy coordinator for research and monitoring.
"This
kind of coverage is giving the Zanu PF arm of government an unfair
advantage
over its coalition partners ahead of elections. We demand Mr.
Mugabe and his
unity partners to truly reform the state media institutions."
In many
cases, Madondo said, newspapers such as the Herald, Sunday Mail,
Sunday News
and the Chronicle reported falsely about the MDC with the
intention of
harming the party, and never apologize when their reports are
proven
otherwise.
The latest case in point is a Herald report last Friday
alleging Tsvangirai’s
wife, Elizabeth Macheka had left the previous day for
a shopping spree in
South Africa and India to buy jewelry and other
auxiliary accessories for
their upcoming wedding.
But the story
turned out to be false when Macheka showed up for a public
event in Harare
with Tsvangirai the same day the Herald said she was out of
the
country.
This forced the newspaper to publish a follow-up report Saturday
saying the
shopping trip had been canceled at the last minute. It did not
explain why.
On Monday the paper ran another story saying Macheka had missed
her flight.
The watchdog says there are several other examples where
state media,
particularly the Herald and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation have
deliberately attempted to falsely portray the MDC in a bad
light.
The Global Political Agreement, which underpins power-sharing
between Zanu
PF and the MDC, requires state media to be fair to all parties.
But
observers say the bias towards Zanu PF that existed before the coalition
arrangement has not gone away.
The Media Monitoring Project says the
ZBC and Zimpapers boards should be
disbanded to address the
situation.
Spokesman Douglas Mwonzora of the Tsvangirai MDC told VOA
instead of
reducing the inflammatory and hate language in line with the
unity accord,
the state media has doubled down.
"The Global Political
Agreement makes it clear that all hate language must
be eliminated,"
Mwonzora said, "but we have seen an intensification from the
ZBC and the
Herald newspaper."
His sentiments were echoed by Nhlanhla Dube, spokesman
for the MDC wing
headed by Welshman Ncube, who added that while he agrees
the state media is
biased, the private media is also at fault.
MDC-T
ministers and legislators declare assets to party
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
10 July 2012
The top leadership of the MDC-T and all its
legislators have been told to
declare their assets to the party. The
deadline is Tuesday.
The asset declaration exercise is expected to become
routine for the party,
in a move analysts said will prove that their hands
were clean of
corruption.
The party ordered it’s MP’s and Senators to
declare their personal incomes
and property such as real estate in an
attempt to stamp out corruption.
Determined to tackle corruption, the
party also set up a high-powered
investigation team that is looking at how
some of its councilors have become
mega-rich overnight.
Deputy
Justice Minister and party spokesman for Harare province, Senator
Obert
Gutu, told SW Radio Africa that the declaration forms requested them
to
disclose all their investments, local and foreign, including any
shareholdings in companies.
‘We were asked to declare ownership of
any farms or plots, motor vehicles,
immovable and movable property,’ Gutu
said.
An analyst told us compliance to the party ethics of the MDC-T was
important
in monitoring the conduct of its MP’s, in matters such as abuse of
power,
accountability and transparency.
The MDC-T’s national
organising secretary Nelson Chamisa has over the years
promised to
ruthlessly fight against corruption and the embezzlement of
public monies
within their party.
Although Zimbabwe’s constitution does not mandate
public officials to make
their assets public, such an undertaking is more an
issue of morality and
leadership than constitutionality or legality,
according to Gutu.
‘We’ve got nothing as a party to hide, so we have
nothing to fear and the
insistence by the party to declare our assets is
also a signpost of our
resolve to tackle corruption in the country,’ the
Senator added.
After the 2008 elections the MDC-T won 100 seats in
Parliament and 25
senatorial seats, although some of its legislators have
died in the last
four years, reducing its representation in both the upper
and lower houses.
A study by Transparency International in ranked
Zimbabwe 154 out of 182
countries in terms of its level of corruption. The
police force, led by
Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has been found
to be the most corrupt
institution in the country.
Several leading
ZANU PF politicians have also been named in the United
Nations linking them
in the illegal exploitation of the Democratic Republic
of Congo’s mineral
resources.
Chamisa
castigates Indigenisation policy
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Wendy Muperi, Staff
Writer
Tuesday, 10 July 2012 11:20
HARARE - Minister of
Information Communication Technology, Nelson Chamisa,
has castigated the
scope of the indigenisation policy saying it was
benefiting political
leaders at the expense of poor people.
Speaking in Kuwadzana on Sunday,
Chamisa said the country was failing to
fully benefit from the vast mining
activities because of “gluttonous and
unwise political
leadership”.
“It pains me to see the economy of Zimbabwe in shambles when
we have
infinite mineral wealth but remain as poor as we are. It is because
we lack
focus on availing opportunities to deserving investors, be it black
or
white,” said Chamisa during a constituency feedback meeting in
Kuwadzana.
The minister tore into the Zanu PF indigenisation crusade
describing it as
an “enrichment of the enriched” which has failed to benefit
the impoverished
communities.
“The indigenisation policy is bent on
benefiting the political elites at the
expense of development. We need the
money from diamonds to fund projects
like road construction, education and
health. Instead of us just providing
for the elderly, proceeds from diamonds
could even provide every citizen’s
needs without labouring,” he
said.
Chamisa said the failure of government to provide employment was
creating a
very potentially corrupt young generation.
“I assure you
these youths who are unemployed can end up being a very
dangerous group. If
these youths are not given employment, they will surely
create their own
crooked industry,” he said.
Chamisa said politicians were taking
advantage of people because they lack
knowledge on their constitutional
rights through intimidation.
“The problem we have is that citizens do not
know their rights and
authorities make no efforts in educating their
followers because they are
benefiting from the situation.
“We end up
with a situation where the ordinary citizen will say gumbo rangu
raenda pasi
perenyu rather than just saying you have stepped on me,” said
Chamisa.
He said political parties should not take advantage of the
disempowered
youths in advancing their party interests through inciting
violence.
“Some of the droughts we are constantly faced with are because
of violent
political strategies that have cornered the youths in beating
their own
grandparents,” he said.
Responding to the plea lodged by
Kuwadzana-based vendors who are being
harassed by neighbourhood police who
confiscate their wares, Chamisa said he
would raise the issue with the
relevant ministers.
“This is why I like feedback, how can the
neighbourhood police literally
take over the role of municipal police. I
will raise this issue with the
relevant ministries,” he
said.
Kuwadzana Ward 37 Councillor Urayayi Mangwiro raised concern that
Zanu PF
supporters had taken over council vending stalls to which the
minister
promised to raise the issue in Cabinet.
Chamisa, announced
that he will soon start disbursing his constituency
development funds after
a thorough assessment of the constituency’s needs
and will use the money on
equipping schools, bankrolling poultry projects
and roads.
Diaspora
welcomes news on dual citizenship
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
10 July
2012
Members of Zimbabwe’s Diaspora community have cautiously welcomed
news that
dual citizenship will be part of the country’s new constitution,
raising
hopes that their voting rights will also soon be secure.
A
chapter in the new draft constitution, which is believed to be almost
ready,
stipulates that every Zimbabwean citizen by birth should retain his
or her
citizenship, even if that person acquires foreign citizenship. This
comes as
a positive development for the millions of Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora, many
of whom now have citizenship rights in other countries after
being forced to
flee the crisis back home.
It is also a positive development in terms of
the right of members of the
Diaspora to vote, a right that has been denied
by the Robert Mugabe regime
through partisan electoral laws.
But even
though dual citizenship may be in the constitution, the Electoral
Act would
still have to be amended before those in the Diaspora could vote.
MDC-T
spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa this week that 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. He said his
party will push for the amendment, to allow Zimbabweans in the Diaspora the
right to vote in the next elections.
“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,” Mwonzora said.
Den Moyo from the Zimbabwe
Diaspora Vote Campaign told SW Radio Africa on
Tuesday that the Electoral
Act amendment is the “key” for their hopes to be
realised. He welcomed the
inclusion of dual citizenship in the new draft
constitution as
“progressive,” and a “step in the right direction.”
“There is still a lot
that needs to happen though, chief among this is the
Electoral Act
amendment. We are waiting to see what happens and we are
hoping that the
support shown by the MDC-T for a Diaspora vote means there
will be no
resistance to the amendment being passed,” Moyo said.
Moyo meanwhile
called on members of the Diaspora to gather their paperwork
and start
preparing to register to vote, saying they will push for a
separate Diaspora
voters roll to be in place before a poll. He said that in
the mean time,
citizens abroad can register their details with the Zimbabwe
Diaspora Vote
Campaign, which will then help them secure their voting rights
in the
future.
Zimbabwe's population census and a begging
bowl
http://www.theafricareport.com
Posted
on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 14:38
By Janet Shoko
Zimbabwe will next month embark on a
population census, but those in the
Diaspora will miss out on the chance to
be counted, as the country's
statistical body says it does not have
resources to reach them.
The country's fourth census since
independence in 1980, will take place
between August 18 and
27.
Zimbabwe Statistics Agency's director of population census and
surveys,
Washington Mapeta said the counting would only focus on Zimbabweans
who
would be in the country on the set dates.
′′Mapeta says his body
would rely on immigration authorities and
neighbouring countries for
statistics of people in the Diaspora.′′
"We have no capacity to send
enumerators worldwide to document Zimbabweans
outside our borders," he said
on Tuesday. "People should understand that we
are not after the exact number
of Zimbabweans as that is impossible." ′′
The census will cost about $39
million and a begging bowl has been extended
to non-governmental
organisations to assist government with funding.′′
According to the 2012
World Bank-commissioned Zimbabwe Demographic Profile,
Zimbabwe's population
is estimated at 12 084 304, with a population growth
rate of 4, 31 percent
from the figures gathered in the 2002 census.′′
However, the population
estimates do not take into account the effects of
mortality due to HIV and
Aids, which affect life expectancy, infant
mortality, death rates,
population growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by
age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
′′University of Zimbabwe's
population studies expert Professor Marvellous
Mhloyi says the information
gathered will help with planning for
construction of schools, clinic, and
hospitals, among other social needs,
and will help identify densely
populated areas, which are in dire need of
the services.′′
She says
the 2002 figures are no longer valid for planning purposes.′′
Unofficial
estimates put the number of people that left Zimbabwe during the
past decade
at over three million, with South Africa being home to the
majority.′′
Previous counts showed that in 1982 the population was
7.6 million, 10.4,
million in 1992 and 11.6 million in
2002.′′
However, with a month to go, a cross-section of ordinary
Zimbabweans
continue to profess ignorance of the upcoming population
census.′′
"We are not even aware of a census, when is it being held?"
asked one
citizen adding: "We just heard it from school children but we
don't know
where to get more information."′′
During preparatory
exercises most people were taken by surprise when they
saw enumerators
knocking on their doors as they were not aware of such a
programme.
Gono,
Kasukuwere call truce in banks row
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
09/07/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert
Nyambabvu
EMPOWERMENT Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe
governor, Gideon Gono, reached a truce Monday ending their
public row over
the takeover of foreign-owned banks in line with the
country’s economic
empowerment legislation.
Said Gono: “The Minister
(Kasukuwere) called me earlier this (Monday)
morning from Dubai and we spoke
at length very cordially and, like the
brothers we are, reconciled our
positions and agreed we had ‘assisted
newspapers to do good business out of
our differences’ and that enough was
enough.
“We will (now) work
things out taking each other’s views on board before we
do anything. I am
happy with the new way forward and the mode of
collaboration we have agreed
upon.”
The row between the two was sparked by a government notice issued
last week
by Kasukuwere ordering foreign banks to reduce shareholding in
their
Zimbabwe operations to the 49 per cent required by law within a
year.
Gono, who was out of the country at the time, appeared totally
flummoxed by
the move, accused Kasukuwere of over-reaching his mandate and
claimed that,
having been involved with a failed bank, the Minister was not
a “fit and
proper” person to be involved in banking matters.
“The
fact that the two main proponents of the recent illogical moves have
presided over the failure of their two banks before, namely Unibank and
Genesis, calls for Solomonic wisdom on the part of Zimbabwe’s population and
leadership,” Gono said.
“Ordinarily, anyone who was near a failed
bank is not a fit and proper
person to deal with banking matters or to ever
own, run or talk about the
ownership of a bank again until cleared by the
central bank; his is a
universal practice.”
However, unfazed by the
attack, Kasukuwere hit back, reminding Gono that
implementation of the
indigenisation programme was not his responsibility.
He added: “I know some
would have wanted to be doing this task, but let’s
not turn it into
unwarranted personal attacks.
“Discharging national responsibilities
require maturity and sober reasoning.
We will not fall for the attacks; but
will continue to be guided by the rule
of law and the necessary
transformation of key institutions.”
Kasukuwere says the foreign banks –
two British, Barclays and Standard
Chartered, and three South African,
Stanbic, MBCA and CABS building
society – must be “transformed” because they
play political games by denying
“you (Zimbabweans) funding”.
But
Gono, backed by Finance Minister Tendai Biti among others, is urging a
cautious approach, arguing that applying the 51 per cent local ownership
threshold to banking could destabilise a sensitive and key sector of the
country’s struggling economy.
The RBZ chief insists he is not against
the indigenisation programme but has
reservations over “technical
methodologies that seem to be blind to the fact
that, as with everything we
do in life, the devil is in the details of the
implementation.”
He
adds that Zimbabweans should not be quick to forget “the way price
controls
of 2007 were implemented, leading to unintended consequences that
gave birth
to BACOSSI (Basic Commodity Supply Side Intervention) and fuelled
hyperinflation because a lot of money needed to be printed to buy forex with
which to entice industry to go back into production.”
Gono is
currently in Beijing, China, attending a shareholders meeting of the
African
Import and Export Bank (Afreximbank) which is being hosted by the
Chinese
Import-Export Bank.
He said: “Both institutions are key to crucial to
financing Zimbabwe’s trade
and development needs at a time other development
agencies such as the IMF,
the World Bank and the African Development Bank
are not extending support to
the country due to its arrears situation and
the sanctions.”
Observers have expressed concern over the row between the
pair with
Kasukuwere’s adviser Psychology Maziwisa, writing on New
Zimbabwe.com this
week, saying the two men should "cut the crap" and end the
mutually-destructive public dispute.
“Let’s put it this way: even if
it terribly dents their personal egos, Gono
and Kasukuwere need to find each
other, cut the crap and work together for
the good of this country. It’s not
too much to ask, it’s the least they can
do for a country that has endured
many years of economic deprivation,”
Maziwisa said.
But sources close
to Gono said his intervention was aimed at calming nervy
investors and
bankers. They said, since he is the country’s main sanctions
buster, it is
understandable Gono should be “upset and blast anyone who
appears to be
destabilising his and (Finance Minister) Biti’s efforts at
resource
mobilisation and financial sector stability.”
Senator
only joked about women shaving heads to stop HIV
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance
Guma
10 July 2012
Chikomo Senator Morgan Femai generated international
headlines in May this
year after suggesting that women shave their heads and
dress shabbily to
look less attractive and therefore reduce the spread of
the HIV virus.
Speaking to SW Radio Africa’s Question Time programme,
Kwekwe MP Blessing
Chebundo, who chairs the Zimbabwe Parliamentarians on HIV
and Aids, has
defended Femai, saying the remarks were meant as a joke during
a workshop.
“I want to say that when that statement came out, I was
actually leading the
parliamentarians in Kadoma and that was a workshop,
mainly to sensitise
MPs,” before the public HIV testing and circumcision
campaign launched
three weeks ago.
Chebundo said Femai was quoted out
of context because he and several other
MP’s shared jokes during the
workshop. Some MP’s said worse things than
Femai all in the name of light
hearted jokes, Chebundo told SW Radio Africa.
“Unfortunately the press
picked that one up and I fear, I don’t want to
usually bring in the aspect
of politics into the social issue of HIV Aids,
but then the way the report
was publicized, it appeared like Senator Femai
was really 100% saying this
is a good solution,” yet he only cracked a joke
to ‘lighten up’ the
workshop.
Chebundo said Senator Femai three weeks ago attended “the
voluntary
counseling and testing, he was interviewed, he was very positive,
because he
knew that he was now talking as a leader and not necessarily in a
workshop
where you can actually throw jokes here and there.”
New Report Says HIV Prevalence High in Circumcised Zimbabwe
Men
http://www.voanews.com/
09 July
2012
Jonga Kandemiiri | Washington
The 2010/2011 Zimbabwe
Health Demographic Survey says that 14 percent of
circumcised men in the
country between the ages of 15 and 49 contracted HIV
as compared to those
uncircumcised.
The survey said there was a misconception among
circumcised men that the
procedure protects them from HIV infection, thus
they do not use condoms
during sexual encounters.
The same report
says Zimbabwe recorded the highest usage of condoms in the
world in the last
five years, contributing effectively to the fight against
the
pandemic.
Health expert Dr. Elopy Sibanda told VOA he was surprised by
the survey's
findings since results had previously shown circumcision
helping reduce new
infections.
A member of an HIV/Aids advisory group
of Africa's Inter-Parliamentary
Union, Tabitha Khumalo, said condom usage
must continue to be promoted, even
amongst circumcised men.
Cox & Kings to return to
Zimbabwe
The tour operator Cox & Kings is to
reintroduce package tours to Zimbabwe after 10 years.
It joins other tour operators such as Expert
Africa, Africa Travel and Cazenove & Loyd, who have also started featuring
the country in their brochures. The airline Emirates also recently launched
direct flights into Harare.
“Zimbabwe offers one of the most comprehensive
and varied African safari experiences on the continent,” said Cox & Kings’
Africa Product Manager, Louise Stanion.
“We have chosen to work with partners who help
their local communities and ensure that the vast majority of the money earned
from tourism goes into the hands of the people who really need it.
Writing for Telegraph Travel
following a recent visit to the country,
Graham Boyton, who grew up in Bulawayo, said he felt his trip was not propping
up Mugabe, but was more a show of support for the people of Zimbabwe.
He said: "That international airlines such as
Emirates are prepared to invest in Zimbabwe, and that Mugabe’s reign must surely
be drawing to a close – he is 88 and reported to be suffering from prostate
cancer – may be the first green shoots of this lovely country’s recovery.
"It has wonderful natural assets, the nicest,
friendliest people of the continent and for the time being at least it is not
overcrowded with tourists. This may be the right time to take another look at
Zimbabwe."
Historic Masvingo City Faces Critical Water Shortages
http://www.voanews.com
09 July
2012
Tatenda
Gumbo & Obert Pepukai | Washington/Masvingo
Panic has gripped
the city of Masvingo, south-eastern Zimbabwe, as water
levels in Lake
Mutirikwi, the country's largest inland water body, have
fallen drastically
amid reports the dam wall has developed cracks posing
serious danger to
families living downstream.
Presently Lake Mutirikwi is just 29 percent
full, raising strong fears
available water won't be enough to take Masvingo
City to the next rainy
season.
Sugar cane plantations in the lowveld
that also rely heavily on the lake
will be affected resulting in loss of
business. This is the lowest level
recorded in the lake in 20
years.
Masvingo Mayor Alderman Femias Chakabuda said there’s every reason
for
people in the city to panic. He says the water levels have reached
alarming
levels.
"I am not a water engineer but seeing from a layman
yes, I am scared at the
rate it's discharging water down stream and also the
levels of the lake at
this time of year," said Chakabuda. "We are getting
scared."
It has also emerged that the dam wall, built by an Italian
company in the
1950s, has developed cracks posing danger to everyone living
down stream.
Naison Mureri of Murinye communal lands told VOA villagers
are worried
despite assurances by authorities that the cracks will not give
in just yet.
"We are told the wall is still okay but imagine if one day
its washed away;
there will be disaster," said Mureri.
Zimbabwe
National Water Authority officials in Masvingo refused to comment
on the
issue.
In Harare meanwhile, residents’ advocates are pressing the city
council to
liaise with defaulters rather than cutting off their water when
they fail to
pay bills.
The Combined Harare Residents Association,
along with other resident groups,
said the city’s move to disconnect water
and remove water meters from
households that are failing to pay is too
severe, adding it exposes people
to health risks.
Combined Harare
Residents Association coordinator Simbarashe Moyo said they
have reached out
to city fathers but there seems to be a disconnect between
employees on the
ground and the authorities.
Chrome
export ban costs US$4 million
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
10/07/2012 00:00:00
by Roman
Moyo
THE ban of raw chrome exports have cost the sector nearly
US$4 million in
fresh revenue as well as the opportunity create of at least
2,000 new jobs,
an industry expert has said.
Chrome Miners
Association chairperson Thomas Gono to a Parliamentary
committee on mines
and energy that the government should lift the ban to
ensure the viability
of the sector as well as facilitate job creation.
"Government should
allow us to export chrome. Chrome producers are stuck
with huge stocks of
the mineral as a result of the ban," he said.
Gono said nearly 2,000 jobs
could be created if the ban was lifted with
revenues increasing to as much
as US$3,8 million.
The government imposed the export ban in April banned
to force producers to
invest in processing and value addition so that the
country optimize its
benefit from the mineral.
Officials estimate
that every 2,000 tonnes of chrome ore can generate close
to US$1 million
when exported in processed form compared with just about
US$240,000 when
raw.
Small-scale producers have appealed to government for a 36-month
grace
period to export stocks of the mineral which they have accumulated to
enable
them to raise capital to set up own smelters.
Gono said small
scale producers were stuck with huge stocks of ore since the
ban was imposed
adding existing processing companies were struggling to
cope.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) national chairman Edzayi
Kufandarerwa
recently said the situation was dire since the country only has
one smelter
at ZIMASCO.
"We have made representations to government
to review the ban and give the
chrome producers 36 months to export and
establish their own smelters. The
whole country cannot take chrome to
ZIMASCO," he said.
"ZIMASCO does not take all grades of raw chrome. They
take only (chrome of
a) certain quality which sometimes small-scale miners
may not meet. If the
chrome ore is kept for two long it will lose quality,"
he said.
Zimbabwe, along with South Africa, holds about 90 percent of the
world's
chromite reserves and resources, according to the US Geological
Survey.
There are three large-scale ferrochrome miners in Zimbabwe,
including
Zimbabwe Alloys and Zimasco, which is owned by China's
Sinosteel.
Zimasco recently told state media it planned a $300-million
investment in
the second half of 2011 to ramp up output and build a new
smelter.
The country exported 600 000 t of chrome in the 18
months from November
2009, mostly to China and South Africa, according to
official figures.
But the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe estimates
that chrome output
could increase to 3,5 million tonnes this year.
Policy Inconsistencies Stalling Sale of RBZ's Homelink
http://www.voanews.com/
09 July
2012
Gibbs Dube
| Washington
Business strategists and economic commentators say
the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe’s Homelink (Pvt) Limited has failed to attract
buyers since June
last year due to fears over the lop-sided black economic
empowerment program
and the country’s serious liquidity
constraints.
They said the central bank’s latest decision to invite fresh
bids for the
disposal of its 100 percent shares in Homelink, is an
indication that the
company had no takers.
They further said no
proper valuations were done before Homelink was put on
sale. The company,
set up in 2004 to facilitate property development and
investment for
Zimbabweans in the diaspora, is believed to be worth $5
million.
The
RBZ said in a statement Saturday that preference will be given to
bidders
that offer competitive prices. The bank is selling its non-core
businesses
in order to raise funds to settle a $1.2 billion debt.
It is also
disposing of shares in Tractive Power Holdings, Tuli Coal, Cairns
Holdings,
Sirtech (Pvt) Ltd, Transload (Pvt) Ltd, Carslone Enterprises and
Astra
holdings.
Business strategist Phillip Chichoni said the central bank will
end up
selling Homelink assets at low prices if it fails to attract any
buyers.
“This company appears to be worthless as its services are no
longer in high
demand since Zimbabwe is now using the U.S. dollar,” Chichoni
said.
Economic commentator Masimba Kuchera concurred adding that
investors are
being discouraged from buying shares in companies like
Homelink due to the
unity government’s policy inconsistencies.
The
RBZ has hired KM Financial Solutions to oversee the sale of the business
entity.
Witnesses
line up against Rushwaya
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
10/07/2012 00:00:00
by Tendai Kamhungira I
Daily News
FORMER Warriors manager Ernest Mapepa Sibanda and
goalkeeper Energy
Murambadoro are expected to testify in the corruption
trial of former
Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) chief executive officer
Henrietta
Rushwaya.
Rushwaya is facing charges of corruptly
concealing a transaction from a
principal, punishable by a fine or up to 20
years in jail.
Rushwaya faces nine counts in total, but the charges are
less serious than
the match-fixing and bribery trial she faced in May. She
was acquitted after
the prosecution said it was struggling to find
cooperating witnesses.
The new trial should have resumed on Monday, but
Harare regional magistrate
Esthere Chivasa said the court was overwhelmed
with other cases, pushing the
trial back to July 24.
Prosecutor
Oliver Marwa and Sidom Chinzete also advised the court that
Tendai
Madzorera, a former Zifa board member, was also going to testify in
the
case.
According to state papers, Rushwaya organised several matches
outside the
country between 2007 and 2010 without advising her
employers.
The court heard how between October 2007 and November of the
same year,
Rushwaya facilitated an international sporting tour for the
Warriors to
participate in the Agribank Cup in Vietnam, where the team lost
to Finland,
Vietnam and drew with Uzbekistan.
According to state
papers, the trip was in violation of Zifa rules and
regulations, which
stipulate that the Zifa board and assembly members are
the only ones who can
be appointed heads of delegations.
The court heard that the players were
not paid their allowances.
It is further alleged Rushwaya organised
soccer matches in Oman, Bahrain,
Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand, China and
Bulgaria, without Zifa authority.
Zimbabwe: is it time for British tourists to
return?
British tour operators are starting to feature
Zimbabwe in their brochures again. Graham Boynton, who grew up in Bulawayo,
considers whether it is right for tourists to return.
Within hours of landing in Zimbabwe I found
myself standing round the back of the Bulawayo Museum next to Cecil John Rhodes.
Well, actually the John Tweed statue of Rhodes that for nearly 80 years stood on
a plinth in the centre of Bulawayo proudly surveying the pretty, civilised city
he was instrumental in founding.
These days colonialism is a dirty word. Indeed,
the minute Robert Mugabe was sworn in in 1980 and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, that
statue was torn off the plinth and dumped out of sight – and so to show any
attachment to Rhodes, his vision or indeed his statue is dramatically
politically incorrect. But that is just what I was doing.
Pioneers such as Rhodes, Selous and Coghlan
carved these cities out of raw bushveld. Within four years of its founding in
1894 Bulawayo had a railway, a civil administration, postal and telegraph
services, reticulated water and electricity supplies, shops, churches and even a
public library, the last being the recipient of many books from Rudyard Kipling
as well as advice from the great man on how to protect them against white ants
and dust.
Now, the colonial yoke has been lifted, the
indigenous people have been freed from white rule... and Bulawayo looks a little
shabbier than it did when I grew up there in the colonial heyday. I looked
across from the Rhodes statue and there was another one, covered in a black
shroud: the statue of Joshua Nkomo, porcine father of the Matabele people and
Robert Mugabe’s opposite number in the early years of Zimbabwe.
This statue was intended to replace the one of
Rhodes on the plinth on Eighth Avenue. However, the government commissioned
Koreans to do the work, and when the statue was unveiled assembled dignitaries
and family members were mortified to see that the representation, far from being
large and portly and African as it should have been, was Korean-slim, not very
tall and had narrow Asian eyes. So it was whipped off the plinth and dumped
round the back of the museum with the other unsavoury statues.
I left the grounds of the museum, with the
ghosts of its complicated past, mildly amused but also bewildered that so much
time and executive energy had been spent on these trivial, symbolic matters when
the country and this city really require some inspired economic and political
leadership.
This was the first time I’d been back to
Zimbabwe since the bloody and brutal election campaign of 2008. In the interim
an uneasy political coalition of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has ruled the country, and some semblance
of economic stability has prevailed, not least because the hyper-inflated
Zimbabwe dollar has been abandoned in favour of the US currency, and tourists
are trickling back.
However, it is rare to hear a British accent
these days. There are plenty of Americans, some Europeans, an increasing number
of Chinese tour groups, but we, as a nation, have stayed away. One reason is
that British tour operators specialising in Africa have for some time left
Zimbabwe out of their brochures; another is that we have clearly decided it is
not right to visit while Mugabe is still in power.
Those who do choose to go will find the basic
infrastructure, for which Zimbabwe was rightly famous, still there, although
slightly more dilapidated. The roads are fine if somewhat potholed, the
telephones all work, Wi-Fi and all the other modern aspects of connectivity
operate quite efficiently. This is a safe and secure country to travel in, and
the only major drawback is that the collapse of Air Zimbabwe makes getting
around a little more difficult. But, as Zimbabeans always do, visitors make a
plan.
My trip took me through some of Zimbabwe’s most
beautiful assets, places that, were it not for the politics of the country,
would be teeming with tourists. Through the Matopos, the mystical granite
outcrop where Rhodes is buried; to Hwange National Park, the national wildlife
reserve that is the size of Switzerland and home to 100 mammal and 400 bird
species; to the Victoria Falls, which is one of the world’s natural wonders and
continues to astonish after countless visits over the years; to Lake Kariba, the
largest artificial lake on earth and one of my colonial peer group’s most
extraordinary achievements; and, finally, on a long drive through the farming
districts of Mangula and Banket, which were once at the heart of Zimbabwe’s
farming industry but now stand ragged and unproductive.
Matopos, Zimbabwe's mystical
granite outcrop
As I travelled through a country that was my
boyhood home – and over the years in print I have expressed my distaste for both
the pre-independence Smith regime and equally vociferously for the excesses of
the current government – I asked myself whether this trip was in any way
validating Mugabe and his regime. I was in the country for more than two weeks
and, with every day I travelled and with every Zimbabwean black and white I met,
I realised that this interface between foreign visitors and the local tourism
people had no connection at all with the political wrangling that was taking
place at conference tables in Harare, Pretoria or wherever. This was about
ordinary people who have been dealt a terrible hand by a violent autocratic
government and who are trying to make a living just as you and I are in Britain.
To gauge the chasm that exists between Mugabe’s
ruling elite and the people on the ground, you have only to note the howls of
outrage from Zimbabweans that followed reports that the United Nations World
Tourism Organisation had appointed Mugabe an international tourism ambassador.
The reports turned out to be exaggerated – the WTO is holding its conference in
Victoria Falls next year, and a low-level document concerning it was signed off
by Mugabe – but they gave Zimbabweans the opportunity to rail against a man who
is banned from travelling by both the EU and the US because of widespread and
sustained human-rights abuses he has visited on his own people.
As I made my way through the country in what I
hoped was the last days of this terrible regime’s rule, I had no trouble arguing
that my trip was in no way propping up Mugabe and his cohorts; if anything, it
was a show of support for their victims. For example, two of the lodges I stayed
at are operated by white farmers whose families turned to tourism after their
farms were taken from them by howling mobs of so-called “war veterans”. One of
these farmers is Cedric Wilde, whose 25,000-acre game farm just outside Bulawayo
was a model ranch, richly stocked with rare and beautiful beasts such as sable
antelope, gemsbok (imported from Namibia) and leopard. Since the farm’s
“liberation”, many of these have fled and been poached and the place is now in
ruins.
On the shores of Lake Kariba, Tommy Miller, a
farmer who is still clinging on to parts of his dairy-and-tobacco farm, has
created with his wife, Jackie, a charming eight-bed lodge called Hornbill on the
promontory overlooking the lake. They have this as their “alternative plan” in
case the war veterans who are occupying large parts of his farm eventually throw
them off.
A spectacular sunset over Lake
Kariba
“The mobs are still living on my land,” Tommy
said. “If they need something, they call me Mr Miller; if they don’t, I’m just
‘You, Miller’. Hornbill Lodge is a pleasant escape from all of that.”
And then there is Beks Ndlovu...
I had been in Zimbabwe for almost a week when I
met him. I arrived at his camp, Somalisa, in Hwange National Park in
mid-morning, and he led me to the swimming pool for a quiet chat. We sat beside
it, about 10 feet from a herd of elephants, all drinking from the pool as if it
were the local waterhole. Which indeed it was.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the African
bushveld, and I have to say that sitting among wild elephant as we did that
morning is up there with the best wildlife experiences. As Beks said at the
outset, provided we made no sudden moves, kept a low profile and made no loud
impulsive exclamations the elephants would regard us as a non-threatening,
integral part of the natural habitat. We watched in awe as they went about their
business as if we weren’t there.
Beks is one of southern Africa’s top guides and
the owner of one of the best wildlife camps in the country. As the dominant bull
nudged aside a pair of high-spirited teenagers at the water, Beks made the case
for tourists to visit Zimbabwe. “Leaders of countries come and go,” he said,
“but the wilderness areas are here to stay, provided we look after them. We’ve
had endless opportunities to leave this country and set up elsewhere, but we
know we have a part to play as the good custodians and look after what we’ve
inherited. And the only way we can do that is through tourism.”
He said he understood why British travellers had
stayed away. But he went on: “We say to everyone out there that Zimbabwe in
these desperate times is the people on the ground, and they need the support
because it is the people on the ground who are keeping the country going.
Sanctions or travel stay-aways are going to hurt the average person much more
than they would hurt any political leader. Also, our presence here and the
presence of tourists provides significant security for the wildlife. It deters
poaching.”
The price Zimbabwe has paid for the past 12
years of political chaos is heavy. Garth Thompson, the wildlife guide who is one
of the country’s most famous men of the bushveld, calls them “the lost years”.
Although he still guides his rich and famous clients through Zimbabwe, more and
more he has been using other African countries such as Botswana, Zambia and
Rwanda as his African theatres. He, like Beks Ndlovu, thinks it is time
international tourism came back.
British tour operators such as Cox & Kings,
Expert Africa, Africa Travel and Cazenove & Loyd are now featuring the
country in their brochures and Emirates has recently started direct flights into
Harare. Jean-Luc Grillet, who is in charge of Emirates’ commercial operations in
Africa, told me: “Nobody wanted to fly to Africa. The problem is that the image
of many African countries is dictated by the image of the dictators. In fact,
when we arrived in Zimbabwe we were surprised to find the infrastructure was in
good condition compared with the rest of Africa.”
That international airlines such as Emirates are
prepared to invest in Zimbabwe, and that Mugabe’s reign must surely be drawing
to a close – he is 88 and reported to be suffering from prostate cancer – may be
the first green shoots of this lovely country’s recovery. It has wonderful
natural assets, the nicest, friendliest people of the continent and for the time
being at least it is not overcrowded with tourists. This may be the right time
to take another look at Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe basics
Africa Travel (020 7843 3500; www.africatravel.co.uk) arranges tailor-made holidays to Zimbabwe. A sample
nine-night holiday, staying for three nights with breakfast at the Victoria
Falls Hotel, three nights with all meals and activities at Somalisa Camp, and
three nights with all meals and activities at Bumi Hills Safari Lodge in Kariba
costs from £3,695 per person, including return British Airways flight from
London via Johannesburg and local transfers.
Getting there
Emirates (0870
243 2222; www.emirates.com)
flies to Harare and Lusaka, via Dubai, five times a week and will start daily
services from October. British Airways (0844 493 0787; www.ba.com)
operates daily flights to Johannesburg and there are daily connections to
Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.
Getting around
Since Air
Zimbabwe suspended operations early in the year, getting around has become
rather difficult. Charter light aircraft flights are expensive but comfortable,
air-conditioned buses operate between the major cities such as Bulawayo and
Harare, and there are private vehicle transfers between Hwange and Victoria
Falls. A private-sector consortium has plans for a regular light aircraft
service between Harare and Kariba.
Staying there
In the
Matopos, Camp Amalinda (00 263 964868/9; campamalinda.com), 20 minutes’ drive from Bulawayo, is set in the granite
hills and has the best archaeological/historic/socio-political guide in the
country in Paul Hubbard. At Victoria Falls one really should stay at the
Victoria Falls Hotel (00 263 13 44751; reservations:pacro@africansunhotels.com) because of its rich colonial history and its proximity
to the Falls.
When to go
Autumn (March to
May) is climatically the most pleasant as the country has come off the
blistering hot summers and the nights are still balmy, but for game viewing
winter (June to early September) is best. In November, you will witness
spectacular late-afternoon thunderstorms followed by evenings of calm and clear
light.
Currency
US dollar.
Time difference
+ 2hrs GMT
Reading
Zimbabwe by Paul
Murray (Bradt), published in 2010, is probably the best around, but the time is
right for a new up-to-date guidebook. Douglas Rogers’s The Last Resort: A
Zimbabwe Memoir (Short Books) provides an insight into the country under Mugabe.
Graham Boynton’s own Last Days In Cloud Cuckooland (Random House) describes the
end of colonial rule and the transition to democracy.
Vaccinations/health
Emergency
services and hospital resources are limited and potentially hazardous in their
own right – there is no screened blood supply for transfusion, for example – so
the best approach is to do all you can to avoid needing medical help. Travellers
should be up to date with routine vaccine protection, should be vaccinated
against hepatitis A and typhoid, and should also consider vaccination against
rabies, hepatitis B, and possibly cholera, depending on their plans. Malaria is
present in parts of the country, particularly Hwange and the Zambezi Valley. For
more information, contact the Fleet Street Clinic (020 7353 5678; www.fleetstreetclinic.com).
VISA
British citizens
require a visa, which costs US$50 and is obtained at the airport on arrival.
Gukurahundi
debate haunts Mugabe
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/
Tuesday, 10 July 2012 10:14
By Dumisani
Sibanda
In the absence of a truth and reconciliation mechanism to tackle
issues
relating to Gukurahundi, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC)
should
be mandated to deal with human rights violations that were
perpetrated
during the genocide, which claimed the lives of an estimated 20
000 people,
a new lobby group demanded yesterday.
Matabeleland Civil
Society Organisations Forum (MCSF) spokesperson Dumisani
Nkomo said they
were against proposals to limit the commission’s mandate to
violations that
occurred from 2009 onwards .
MCSF was formed last week to lobby for the
development of the region and has
more than 40 civil society organisations
from Matabeleland.
Although the ZHRC was constituted two years ago, the
legislation to enable
its operation has reached its second reading stage in
Parliament.
“When the issue of cut-off point was first discussed there
was outrage from
civil society groups in Matabeleland,” said Nkomo in an
interview.
“That position has not changed. We didn’t think that the
period where 20 000
people were killed could be ignored.”
Gukurahundi
was mainly in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands.
Nkomo said
Matabeleland’s “narrative” about post-independence human rights
violations
would be “incomplete” without tackling the issue of Gukurahundi.
“If we
had some quasi-judicial body like the truth and reconciliation
commission,
then we would accept the cut-off points of the Human Rights
Commission in
terms of timeframe, but in the absence of such a body we
cannot leave it to
chance,” he said.
“That would be naive. That is why we want the Human
Rights Commission — in
the absence of the truth and reconciliation type of
body — to deal with the
Gukurahundi violations some of which are continuing.
For instance, we have
people who do not have birth certificates because of
Gukurahundi.”
Nkomo said there was a legal argument that ZHRC should not
tackle issues in
retrospect but it would not be wise to let “such human
rights violations go
unpunished”.
“It’s 20 000 people who died, they
can’t be forgotten just like that,” he
said.
“How come someone can be
arrested for killing a python (which is a protected
species in Zimbabwe) or
killing a rhino for its horn?
“We are not talking about animals here. We
are talking about human lives. ”
Newsday
Zimbabweans
Deserve Our Solidarity In Their Hour Of Need
http://www.namibian.com.na/
10.07.2012
By: TSUDAO GURIRAB
AFTER
installing South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as AU Commission’s
supremo
at the AU summit this month, the leaders of our region will hunker
down for
the SADC summit next month to consider issues pertaining to
regional
development and (human) security.
One of the perennial questions, which
will loom large at this summit is the
Zimbabwean crisis. This crisis, which
goes back to the year 2000, will need
a Promethean action from the heads of
state and government. It is time to
deliver now. In this regard, it was
refreshing, during Botswana President’s
recent visit that President
Hifikepunye Pohamba made the pertinent point
that instability in one of the
country’s of the region affects the region as
a whole. Here we must give our
President full marks because this observation
fits the Zimbabwean crisis
like a glove.
We can state without any fear of contradiction that the long
running crisis
in our neighbouring country has not only caused a drastic
decline in the
economic fortunes of that country but also occasioned human
insecurity and
an incessant political paralysis. True, notionally there is a
Government of
National Unity (GNU) but this appears to brew more conflict
than the
business for which it was created in the first place which is to
prepare the
country for free, fair and credible elections. SADC is the
guarantor of this
process, which is intended to return the country to
normalcy beyond the
present “marriage of inconvenience”. It is for these
reasons that the August
summit provides our leaders with yet another
opportunity to grasp the nettle
of difficult choices in the Zimbabwean
drama.
This past week a delegation of Zimbabweans under the banner of “Crisis
in
Zimbabwe Coalition” visited our country to interact with a cross-section
of
Namibians on obstacles in the way of implementing the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), which is SADC’s roadmap to elections in that country. These
interlocutors were from government, political parties and civil society. The
purpose of their visit was to implore us all to exercise whatever influence
we have over Harare to stop the haggling over the incomplete process of
constitution drafting and move with deliberate speed so Zimbabweans can
commence with the important business of elections. After all that is what
the GPA is all about; and which GNU should be working towards
single-mindedly.
For us in Namibia, Zimbabwe is not a distant problem. It
is our important
neighbour but also a country, which was there for us in our
hour of need.
Harare was a site of many key meetings from which emanated key
declarations
on the liberation struggle in southern Africa. Zimbabwe’s
plight is,
therefore, our business. In this case we have no option but to be
our
brothers’ keepers. We can therefore not afford to be consumed in our
false
self-importance to forget the important values of solidarity and the
duty to
care. Zimbabwe presents us with an African problem we cannot afford
to wish
away. As a matter of fact the numerous protocols we signed up under
SADC
commit us, as a region, to make it our business and require of all
parties
to play ball. Our failure to act and act decisively provides room
for others
with ulterior motives to get involved and render outcomes which
serve their
rather than our best interests. We have witness so much of these
on our
continent recently that it will be foolish of our leaders to allow
the
unnecessary drift in Zimbabwe.
It is for these reasons that the SADC
summit of next month should not only
take stock of the (slow) pace of the
implementation of GPA in Zimbabwe but
crucially bring the process back on
track so as the conclude the
constitution making as soon as possible. It is
therefore important that this
summit brings all Zimbabwean principals of GPA
to re-commit themselves to
GPA’s full and unfettered implementation. This
will allow for early
elections, hopefully, next year, which will give that
country a government
with a clear mandate of the electorate. This will put
an end to consuming so
much time on trivia and the government can begin to
address the backlog of
development and challenges of human insecurity, which
have become the
hallmarks since 2000. It is for these reasons that the visit
of the “Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition” to our country was of benefit to us
all.
In the manifold crises popping up daily on the continent our leaders and
our
regional institutions have a choice: either they can be relevant by
genuinely helping to seek solutions for our problems or we can adopt the
infantile position of forever being bystanders. The world is not going to
stop waiting for us to rise from our slumber. They will impose their
solutions and move on with the business of living. And it is perhaps for
this reason that the putative election of Dlamini-Zuma to the head of the
moribund AU must be a welcome development. Our own regional organisation –
SADC- will also only survive and be of relevance to the extend that it is in
tune with the demands of our citizens and able also to grasp the rapidly
changing global environment. It cannot continue to be an old boys club (our
apologies to President Banda) where they regale each other with latest
chicanery to perpetuate their staying power in office.
The upcoming SADC
summit may be crucial for this and many other reasons to
turn around the
ship of Zimbabwe before it sinks faster than the Titanic.
The visit by the
“Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition” group again makes the point
that the leaders
of the region will need to hear the many voices and actors
interested in an
immediate resolution of the Zimbabwean situation. And as
they pack their
bags for the summit, the leaders will do well to remember
that SADC’s
intervention is not a life support system for one or the other
political
interest. The essence of the SADC Treaty signed here in Windhoek
in 1992 is
to mould common values for all in the region. These values, among
others,
include governments elected through free and fair elections. It is
for this
reasons that as citizens of SADC we are all guarantors of the
Zimbabwean
national indaba. We believe our leaders will therefore act in the
best
interest of our people. We are all Zimbabweans.
Robert
Mugabe 'a complex character'
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
News24 7 hours 35 minutes
ago
Cape Town - President Robert Mugabe is a complex
character who claims to
champion the interests of the poor, yet his
government has worsened the
plight of ordinary Zimbabweans through a raft of
skewed laws and ruthless
actions, leader of the smaller MDC faction Welshman
Ncube has reportedly
said.
According to Newsday, Ncube said that
although Mugabe had "emerged a hero"
at independence in 1980, " he had
turned tyrant after presiding over the
impoverishment of the masses and
ruined the country’s economy as he
unleashed his dictatorship in the guise
of defending the revolution".
"No doubt he is a complex character. When
you talk to Mugabe, you can hear
in his mind he talks of the interests of
the people," said Ncube.
"How then you reconcile what he says and what he
and his Zanu-PF party goes
on to do, you then ask yourself ‘What is wrong
with the man?’”
Ncube said history had already made judgement of Mugabe
and his legacy.
"No matter his sincerity or not in championing the cause
of the people, the
truth is that under his watch the people of Zimbabwe were
impoverished." -
News24
Individuals Purporting to be ZESN Officials
|
INDIVIDUALS PURPORTING TO BE ZESN
OFFICIALS
9 July 2012 - The Zimbabwe Election Support Network
(ZESN) has received reports that there are individuals purporting to be ZESN
members and officials who are conducting unauthorised meetings in various
communities across the country. Recently four people were arrested in
Mashonaland East for holding a community event under the disguise of ZESN.
ZESN has since
disassociated itself with such groupings and urges all civic groups, individuals
who are or intend to conduct workshops in communities to desist from using
ZESN’s name forthwith as this can put the organisation into disrepute.
In addition ZESN would also want
notify members of the official spokespersons of Zimbabwe Election Support
Network who are the Chairperson and the National Director. In their absence the Vice Chair and the Acting
National Director speak on behalf of the organisation.
However they are instances when a
ZESN Board or representative is asked to represent the organisation, in that
case they are able to speak on behalf of the organisation and it should not be
assumed that they are able to continually do so. The organisation will not be
held responsible and accountable for any statements that are made by individuals
not officially representing ZESN.
For any official positions and or to arrange interviews,
please do not hesitate to contact ZESN Media and Information Department on the
numbers and email addresses below. | |
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwe Election Support Network
10 Rochester Crescent
Belgravia
Harare
Postal address
BE 630, Belvedere
Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: 263 4 791443/ 798193/791803
Fax: +263 4 250735
Email: zesn@africaonline.co.zw
Website: www.zesn.org.zw
Our bitter sweet Matobo –
returning to the playground of childhood
July 10th, 2012
As the burning sun set behind the Pomongwe
caves, my partner and I were greeted by a beaming member of the Maleme
National Parks chalet team, welcoming us to this haven of peace, nestled
away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Bulawayo – a perfect end to
a long week. In his faded but immaculate National Parks uniform he is a proud
man who takes his professional role very seriously. This is his camp and he
will ensure you are happy, have everything you need and, more importantly, you
will return, bringing your friends and family. With enough firewood to keep us
warm through the chilly Matopos winter nights, we settled in for the evening
with the near full moon lighting the kopje’s, only the company of each other and
dozens of dassies and klipspringers. Life could not be sweeter.
The morning brought the chatter of monkey
antics, some brave enough to attempt thieving our food through a miniscule open
window, while we lay sleeping. But it just made us laugh and carry on with our
exciting plans for the day…. a trip to Inswatugi cave paintings first, then a
spot of lunch at a little dam just up the road and then some game viewing till
sunset. It’s not too warm, so the animals should be aplenty….
Following the road from Maleme to Inswatugi it
is very clear that a 4×4 is now imperative if you are going to travel many of
the dirt trails. After years of zero maintenance and soil erosion, the water
damage to the roads has caused huge rifts, and the journey was rocky to say the
least! But once you’ve climbed the 200 metres to the caves, all that is
forgotten. The cave paintings leave you in awe of the San people and we debated
through lunch the extraordinary lives they must have led.
With the early afternoon sun dipping, we entered
the game park excited at the prospect of some game viewing, taking bets on the
last leg of our day out as to who would spot the most animals and, more
importantly, the famous Matobo rhinos. But the water in the small dams is
sparse, and we became increasingly anxious as we spotted not a single animal.
As children we visited the park, and would almost ignore the prolific herds of
impala, sometimes dubbed ‘bush rats’, as there were so many of them, saying ‘Oh
it’s just another impala’..
Starting on Impala Loop, the tall dry grass and
badly managed roads put the height of the 4×4 and the diff lock into good use,
but, undaunted we continue to admire the balancing rocks, for which this park is
famous. The mother and child formation is a landmark that so many will
remember. These magnificent ancient rocks distract us from the fact that till
then not even an impala had crossed our path.
Persevering, we continued for another two hours
following every loop until we reached Mpopoma Dam. The Egyptian geese met us
with exuberant excitement, as we count the location as our first wildlife spot.
Sadly, the excitement is short lived, for we are forced to pull over for two
Massey Ferguson tractors towing hay bales along the main link road. We need a
quick reminder to ourselves that yes, we are in the game park, we are not on a
farm. We both feel a sense of childhood lost, and a growing sorrow over the
decay that is overtaking this magnificent wonder of the world.
After 6 hours and nearly 180km, we exit the game
park having seen a grand total of 6 skittish impala and 1grumpy old waterbuck.
We pep each other up with the thought of an early return at 6am the next day,
determined to be at the gates as soon as they open. No tractor disturbance and
surely we are bound to see the diverse game we remember so well…
Heading back to Maleme, the bitter taste of the
day in our mouths, we are greeted by yet another beaming employee with our key
and the old fashioned curtesy we’ve become accustomed to with the Maleme staff.
We forget the day, light the fire and watch our dassie show in our own personal
auditorium, all for the audience of just two!
The alarm jolted us into our 5am start. The
freezing winter air makes for a bracing wake up and we load up the truck,
dressed for the occasion to ensure we are at the gate for our 6am entry. We
will be the first into the park!!
Well, we were the first in, but an hour later
than the sign on the gate informed us it would be opening. The National Parks
guard on duty slept in, and we had to wait for him in the freezing cold. The
disappointment is growing, yet we both refuse to give up on our childhood
memories, we are adamant we will find game……….
Two hours later and with the sighting of a lone
nervous Nyala, we conclude, that the sign at the entrance to the game park is
most definitely not observed. We leave with heavy hearts and wonder just who is
in cahoots with who? Who checks the fence lines? Who does the poaching? Where
has the game gone? Will our game park ever be the same again?
This entry was
posted by Still Here on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012 at 9:08
am
Rethinking Zimbabwe
July 10th, 2012
Live stream by
Ustream
A half-day conference hosted by the National
Endowment for Democracy, the World Movement for Democracy and the Solidarity
Center.
About the
Speakers (more on the NED
website)
Carl Gershman is the president
of the National Endowment for Democracy. In addition to presiding over the
Endowment’s grants programs in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe,
the former Soviet Union and Latin America, he has overseen the creation of the
quarterly Journal of Democracy, International Forum for Democratic Studies, and
the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program. He also took the lead in launching
the World Movement for Democracy, which is a global network of democracy
practitioners and scholars. Mr. Gershman is currently encouraging other
democracies to establish their own foundations devoted to the promotion of
democratic institutions in the world.
Jameson Timba is the Minister
of State in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office, chief political advisor
to the Prime Minister and member of House of Assembly for Mount Pleasant
Constituency of Harare (MDC-T). Mr. Timba is also a member of the National
Executive Committee of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the party’s
secretary for international relations and cooperation. Previously, he served as
Zimbabwe’s deputy minister of media, information and publicity tasked with
spearheading media reforms in Zimbabwe. Mr. Timba is founding member of the
Zimbabwe Unity Movement, a party led by the former Secretary General of Zanu-PF
the late Edgar Tekere. He holds a Bsc in Political Science and a Master of
Business Administration (MBA).
Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa is
a Board Member of the Zimbabwe Media Commission. From the mid-1980s to 2007,
Ambassador Mutsvangwa served as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to China, counselor to
Namibia, and the permanent mission to the United Nations. Other diplomatic posts
in which he has served include the Embassy of Zimbabwe to Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg and the European Union from 1980-1985. Ambassador Mutsvangwa has also
served as chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC), commissioner of the city of Harare (2002), provincial administrative
secretary of ZANU PF, member of the constitutional commission of Zimbabwe
(1999), and board member of the Trans-media Corporation for Broadcast
Transmission (2001).
Arthur Mutambara is Deputy
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and leader of the Movement for Democratic
Change-Mutambara faction (MDC). He has served as director of the Standard Bank,
managed consulting companies in Zimbabwe and the US. He is an author, professor,
community leader, public intellectual, and activist who is extensively involved
in socio-economic issues in both the US and Africa. He has served as research
scientist and taught Robotics and Mechatronics at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), California Institute of
Technology (Caltech), FAMU-FSU, and NASA, all in the United States. He holds a
BSc from the University of Zimbabwe, an MSc in Computer Engineering and
Electrical Engineering and Doctorate of Philosophy in Robotics and Mechatronics
from Oxford.
Lovemore Madhuku is an author
and awardee of several prizes including the 2004 Civil Courage Prize. Prof.
Madhuku has been a civic activist since early 1992 when he provided legal
defense for ZCTU officials arrested for protesting against government economic
policies. He played a major role in the formation of the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) in 1997, where he currently serves as chairperson. NCA is the
leading organization advocating for a new, democratic and people-driven
constitution in Zimbabwe. He received a Bachelor of Law from the University of
Zimbabwe, and a Master and a PhD in law from the University of Cambridge in the
United Kingdom.
Jennifer G. Cooke is the
director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS). The CSIS’s Africa Program covers a broad range of U.S.-Africa
policy issues, including security engagement, health assistance, conflict
diplomacy, and support for good governance. It places special emphasis on
analyzing political and economic dynamics within African states to better inform
U.S. policy choices. Ms. Cooke has authored numerous CSIS reports and has
testified before Congress on multiple occasions. Previously Ms. Cooke worked for
the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa in the U.S. Congress, as well
as for the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Reuben Brigety has been
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs since
November 2011, with responsibility for Southern African and Regional Security
Affairs. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, where he supervised US refugee
programs in Africa, managed US humanitarian diplomacy with major international
partners, and oversaw the development of international migration policy.
Previously he held senior positions at the Center for American Progress and at
the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance of the U.S.
Agency for International Development. Dr. Brigety is a Distinguished Midshipman
Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and he holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in
international relations from the University of Cambridge, England.
Dr. Ibbo Mandaza is a
Zimbabwean scholar, author and publisher. He has researched and written
extensively on issues of governance, international relations and public policy;
and was one of the first senior African Civil Servants in post-independence
Zimbabwe (1980-1990). Ibbo Mandaza is currently executive director of the
Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust and group publisher and
editor of the Southern African Political Economic Monthly (SAPEM).
Rukudzo Murapa is a leading
expert in political science, democracy, peace and conflict resolution,
leadership and governance, economic development and capacity building in Africa.
He is chairman of the Great Zimbabwe Scenarios Project (GZSP), based on similar
processes in South Africa – the “Mont Fleur” scenario exercise in 1991-92. Prof.
Murapa has served as an Advisor with United Nations on Africa, USA and Eastern
Europe (including Bosnia and Moldova). He has held several prominent positions
at universities around the world including, Africa University in Zimbabwe,
University of Zimbabwe, Cornell University in the USA, University of Ghana,
Kinshasa, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Nairobi and the Institute of Social
Sciences (ISS) in the Hague, The Netherlands. Among his several degrees
includes, BA Political Science and Economics from Hamline University in St Paul,
Minnesota, Graduate Certificate in African Economic and Political Development
from Syracuse University in NY and PhD. Public Administration, Comparative
Politics and Economics, Northern Illinois University.
Dr. Godfrey Kanyenze is an
economic researcher and the founding director of the Labor and Economic
Development Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), a research institute of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) established in September 2003. Before that he
worked as the chief economist of the ZCTU from 1986 to 2003 and as a
statistician at the Central Statistical Office in 1986. He has done consultancy
work for various UN agencies and is currently assisting governments in the SADC
region on employment issues. Dr. Kanyenze has published extensively in the areas
of labor market economics, trade policy, macroeconomic analysis, and others. He
has a BS in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe, a Masters in Economics
from the University of Kent (UK) and a PhD in Development Studies from the
University of Sussex (UK).
Imani Countess is the director
of the Africa Program at the Solidarity Center – American Federation of
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Ms. Countess is a veteran
of the U.S.-based Africa advocacy community. A respected political strategist
and analyst, she frequently makes presentations regarding U.S.-policy toward
Africa, including congressional and expert witness testimony. She has extensive
knowledge of African politics, particularly Southern Africa. Previously, Ms.
Countess held various positions including with the National Democratic Institute
(NDI) and the TransAfrica Forum where she provided oversight and implementation
of democracy strengthening programs, and advised, conceptualized and implemented
Zimbabwe programs.
This entry was
posted by Sokwanele on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012 at 8:22
pm
Re-engaging the EU
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 11th July 2012.
As
the EU reportedly considers re-engagement with Zimbabwe at its next
council
meeting scheduled for 23rd July, there are a few tricky questions
worth
pondering (see ‘EU considers re-engagement,’ ZBC, 09/07/12).
Will the EU
Council discuss or review the controversial issue of sanctions
in view of
the court action?
There is a sense that the EU will defer discussion or
review of the
so-called targeted sanctions pending a decision by the court
in Brussels.
Who will pay for the legal team representing Tomana and 120
other
applicants?
The AG Johannes Tomana told the state-controlled
Herald that the government
will pay for his legal team, but Finance Minister
Tendai Biti said he had
not been consulted about that in any case the
Cabinet task force on
re-engaging was set up for dialogue, not
litigation.
Despite the disagreement, the court action is believed to be
costing
millions of dollars funded by unnamed “Friends of Zimbabwe,” with
critics
pointing fingers at the unaccounted for diamonds cash.
Will
Mugabe’s declaration that the indigenisation law is revenge for
sanctions
help or hinder the court action? That is the big question.
Addressing
people in Shurugwi in November last year, Mugabe said:
“We said they
called for sanctions against us because we had taken back our
land, so we
looked and said you have 400 companies which were British at the
time which
were mining in Zimbabwe…so after we finished the land reform we
then moved
to those companies where we are demanding a controlling stake of
not less
than 51%.”
Could the Sunday Mail commentaries be equally making things
better or worse
for the legal team?
That remains to be seen however,
in a full commentary of the 161-page court
application, the state-owned
Sunday Mail on 19 May 2012 described the court
action as “ground-breaking” -
seeking the annulment of the “illegal”
sanctions.
Asked to comment,
Johannes Tomana declined saying: “it is better for the
court papers to speak
for themselves and for the court to decide hopefully
as soon as possible
after the other side has filed its response…”
Why is the Mugabe regime so
keen for a quick verdict but does not
reciprocate that at home?
The
regime is getting increasingly anxious and impatient over the travel ban
and
asset freezes that others are speculating if this has anything to do
with
Mugabe’s medical checkups.
In another commentary citing unnamed
“observers” the Sunday Mail on 16 June
2012 alleged the EU’s Registrar of
the General Court Mr Emmanuel Coulson was
“invoking bureaucratic tactics to
delay the sanctions case.
This followed claims that the EU official had
allegedly noted the
“application did not comply with the Rules of Procedure
and/or the Practice
Directions to parties…”
Mr Coulson had allegedly
requested for further particulars of the applicants’
identity and current
status to which Tomana and other applicants declined
but provided supporting
affidavits from the Registrar of Companies.
Interestingly, the regime
feels frustrated by the EU “bureaucracy” when its
own administration of
justice is far from perfect and plainly partisan.
A case in point is the
trend of reviving criminal cases dubbed “archival
cases” dating back several
years but previously dropped by police or
prosecutors for various
reasons.
According to Veritas, available figures show that this happens
more
frequently when the accused person is an MDC-T supporter.
This
means that although discharged from custody or released from remand,
the
accused person in an archive case is on paper liable to find himself
back in
court at any time for 20 years from the date of the alleged offence
(see
Court Watch 6/2012 of 29 March, Constitutional Cases).
It will be fair to
conclude that whereas the Mugabe regime cannot wait for
the EU General Court
procedures to run their full course, back home, it
hypocritically drags its
feet in the selective application of the rule of
law.
While
Zimbabweans would benefit tremendously from EU’s help in addressing
mounting
concerns over corruption at Marange diamond fields, it remains to
be seen if
the EU Council will succumb to Zanu-pf pressure on sanctions when
the matter
is already before the court.
It is unlikely that the regime will agree to
an EU role in the controversial
Chiadzwa diamonds. As for the litigation,
the regime seems not bothered by
sub-judice or any procedural matters,
believing in the power of political
rhetoric.
Clifford Chitupa
Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com