http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The two MDC formations are talking to
reform-minded elements in Zanu (PF)
with a view to striking an “historic
compromise” on post-Mugabe
“transitional arrangements” ahead of the next
elections, a leading
think-tank has revealed.
30.07.1102:45pm
by
Vusimusi Bhebhe
London-based Africa Confidential said both Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and Welshman Ncube, who head the MDC-T and MDC-N,
have confirmed ongoing
secret talks with Zanu (PF) officials in separate
interviews.
“Neither Tsvangirai nor Ncube would be drawn on the details
of such a deal
but both told Africa Confidential that there were serious
talks about
‘transitional arrangements’,” the think-tank said.
These
are believed to involve ridding the post-Mugabe government of partisan
bureaucrats and a governance system beholden to the security
forces.
Zimbabwe's military has taken day-to-day control of key elements
of the
government, limiting the authority of Mugabe as he struggles to
maintain
power after 31 years.
Mugabe's clout has diminished as the
military supremos have deployed forces
widely across the country and in
government agencies – including the
electoral commission, many parastatals
and government ministries.
National decision-making has been consolidated
within the Joint Operations
Command, a shadowy group consisting of the
leaders of the army, air force,
police, intelligence agency and prison
service – the "securocrats."
Zanu (PF) insiders say that even Vice
President Joice Mujuru and Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa have been
having clandestine meetings with
Tsvangirai and other senior MDC-T figures
about how to handle post-Mugabe
politics.
Mujuru and Mnangagwa lead
the two factions believed to be jostling to
succeed Mugabe. Neither man
relishes the prospect of inheriting a country
with a crippled economy,
diplomatically isolated from its neighbours and
beholden to the
military.
A deal with the MDC factions would be anathema to the
securocrats, so the
generals are now believed to be promoting a third Zanu
(PF) faction led by
Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Constantine Chiwenga
as a serious
candidate to succeed Mugabe.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
South Africa will launch a multi-national offensive
against President Robert
Mugabe to see him isolated regionally if he
continues to refuse to implement
the terms of the SADC election
roadmap.
30.07.1102:51pm
by Staff Reporter
The latest showdown
is due on August 16 when regional leaders meet in
Luanda. The crucial SADC
summit will urge Zimbabwe's suspension if Mugabe
remains defiant.
SA
broke cover this week in its diplomatic wrangle with Mugabe when
President
Jacob Zuma, speaking through his official spokesperson Lindiwe
Zulu, made it
clear Pretoria had finally lost patience with Mugabe’s
increasingly
oppressive regime.
In an interview after an outbreak of Zanu (PF)
sponsored violence in
Parliament, Zulu pledged to put Mugabe "on the spot"
by urging a concerted
drive against him.
Diplomatic sources said this
could include a sanctions regime, halting aid
and effectively kicking
Zimbabwe out of SADC.
"The facilitator is not happy that we are remaining
fixed on the same issues
(violence)," Zulu said. "The facilitator is gravely
worried by the violence,
any violence from any quarter. We want to go to
Angola with a progress
report. It seems there is regression.
"We have
been to Livingstone, Windhoek, Sandton and now Luanda and we are
stuck with
the same problem. The facilitator is not happy about this."
A SADC
diplomat told The Zimbabwean: "The tragedy unfolding in Zimbabwe is
driven
by one man's ruthless campaign to hang on to power whatever the cost.
He's
destroying his country, damaging the rest of southern Africa and making
wretched the lives of his people."
Zulu's attack will inflame the
already combustible stand-off between Harare
and Pretoria. He has been
blamed by Mugabe's spindoctors for seeking to
topple the veteran despot in
what the regime calls a Western-inspired plot.
Pressure has been growing
from human rights groups for SA to lead the way in
a tougher stance against
Mugabe, as human rights abuses continue unabated.
They include widespread
torture and persecution of members of the MDC, a
ruthless crackdown on
freedom of the press and prevention of independent
international observers
at the election.
Sources said SA's attitude toughened after it became
clear that Mugabe was
going to ignore pleas for moderation. Introducing SA
economic sanctions had
been put on hold in the hope Mugabe would relent and
allow the global
political agreement to be fully
implemented.
Diplomatic sources said Britain, whose leader David Cameron
was in SA two
weeks ago, was urging a sanctions programme that would force
Mugabe to clear
obstacles to a free and fair vote. There is acknowledgement
in the UK that
the Western targeted measures have been
ineffective.
The House of Lords last week recommended a change in the
Zimbabwe foreign
policy. Mugabe and his henchmen find themselves faced with
the real prospect
of losing power at the next poll.
The MDC has some
extraordinarily courageous people and overwhelming evidence
of wide popular
support. Mugabe's response has been to unleash the "war
veterans" campaign
to terrorise the political opposition.
The response of the SADC has been
feeble indeed. The refrain from the club
of dictators is that this kind of
thing was to be expected in Africa. But
Zuma has been a lone voice in the
wilderness, flatly refusing to countenance
Mugabe's arrogance.
http://www.iol.co.za
July 30 2011 at 01:08pm
Harare -
A strike by Air Zimbabwe pilots in support for demands for payment
of
outstanding allowances and salaries left travellers stranded for the
second
day running on Saturday.
The bankrupt airline has suspended all its
flights from Harare International
Airport.
“I was supposed to have
flown to London from Johannesburg on Friday. I could
not fly yesterday and
it is the same story today,” said Hendricks Dube,
threatening never to use
the airline again.
Moses Mapanda, Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive
officer, could not be
reached for comment, but the state-owned Herald daily
newspaper quoted him
as saying the airline had started negotiations with the
pilots.
“We have not been able to pay the pilots their June and July
salaries and
allowances, so that is what they are demanding,” he
said.
“It was only the pilots who went on strike, everyone else is at
work. In the
meantime we are not offering any air service.”
The
airline has experienced several strikes recently and its flights have
been
grounded five times this year.
Air Zimbabwe operates a daily
Harare-Johannesburg route, a twice-weekly
flight to London and a weekly
flight to Beijing as its only international
routes.
In May, the
airline, one of Africa's oldest, was suspended by the
International Air
Transit Association (IATA) over a debt of 280,000 dollars.
This affected its
ability to take bookings abroad. - Sapa-dpa
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, July 30, 2011 - The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
is providing food supplies to 17 detention
places, the organisation has
confirmed.
ICRC said they have been
providing food supplies to 17 detention places in
Zimbabwe but denied
getting into the exact details saying they regard their
partnership with
prison authorities in a confidential manner.
Head of communication for
the ICRC regional headquarters, Tendayi Sengwe
told Radio VOP that for the
past two years the humanitarian organisation has
been supplying beans,
cooking oil and groundnuts for more than 8000 inmates
in the country's
prisons across the country.
"For more than two years, the International
Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) has been regularly supplying beans,
cooking oil and groundnuts for
more than 8,000 inmates in 17 places of
detention around Zimbabwe, including
Harare Remand Prison and Chikurubi
Maximum Security Prison. The ICRC also
provides assistance and technical
support to the Zimbabwe Prison Service to
boost food production at prison
farms, upgrade water and sanitation
facilities, monitor the nutrition of
inmates and improve access to
healthcare services," Sengwe
said.
Sengwe could not confirm a stroy carried by Radio VOP on Wednesday
that part
of the cooking oil they donated were allegedly stolen by two
prison
officials but reiterated that the ICRC was not the source of the
information.
"The ICRC is not the source of this information. We are
not in a position to
confirm or deny these allegations. In line with the
ICRC's worldwide
approach to visits to places of detention, the organisation
shares any
concerns about treatment and conditions of detention with the
prison
authorities in a confidential, bilateral dialogue," Sengwe
said.
The ICRC regional office in Harare monitors the humanitarian
situation in
Malawi, Namibia,Zambia and Zimbabwe. The ICRC which is based in
Geneva,
Switzerland was established in 1863, and has many offices across the
globe
mainly to provide provide humanitarian assistance to people in
affected by
"conflict and armed violence and to promote the laws that
protect victims of
war."
In Zimbabwe apart from assisting detained
prisoners with food, the ICRC has
been embarking in projects that include
helping communities with clean
water, health care and providing inputs for
small scale farmers for
subsistence farming. The international humanitarian
organisation has also
been lecturing on international humanitarian law to
Zimbabwe's uniformed
forces.
"Throughout 2009, the ICRC has assisted
the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in
improving knowledge of, and respect for
international humanitarian law
(IHL). Between January and September, the
ICRC gave presentations on basic
IHL to over 500 officers and soldiers of
the Zimbabwe National Army at its
training institutions in Bulawayo, Gweru,
Harare and Nyanga.
The presentations also emphasized modern military
commanders’ responsibility
to comply with IHL," the ICRC said.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Court Writer
Saturday, 30 July 2011
14:00
HARARE - Magistrate Shane Kubonera has given the state until
Thursday to
produce medical affidavits for MDC activists facing charges of
murdering a
policeman in Glen View, failure of which he said the state will
be in
contempt.
Kubonera said this when the residents appeared in
court yesterday for their
routine remand.
“When the accused first
appeared in this court, the court made a ruling that
they should be examined
by a government medical doctor,” said Kubonera.
The residents’ lawyer,
Jeremiah Bamu, told the court on their previous
appearance in court that his
clients were being denied access to medical
attention by prison officials
despite the court ruling that they receive
treatment.
Kubonera said
the state was supposed to furnish the court with the medical
affidavits on
August 4 in order for him to make a determination on August
10.
Kubonera had given an order that the activists should have access
to medical
attention after allegations surfaced that they were brutally
assaulted by
police while in detention.
Of the 24 activists arrested
over the murder, 17 have been granted bail.
On their initial remand, the
suspects appeared in court with visible marks
of injuries sustained after
the alleged assaults by police, prompting
Kubonera to order immediate
medical attention.
The activists were arrested following the death of
Inspector Petros Mutedza
during a public brawl at a shopping centre in Glen
View in May this year.
The state alleges that Mutedza had gone to Glen
View as part of a team that
was assigned to disperse a group of alleged MDC
supporters who were braaing
and drinking alcohol.
The residents
allegedly started shouting at the police officers and began
throwing stones,
empty bottles, steel stool frames and other missiles before
allegedly
killing Mutedza, who was leading the police team.
Outnumbered, Mutedza
allegedly rushed to a Nissan Hardbody that he
mistakenly identified as a
police vehicle but was hit by a brick on the left
side of his
head.
The group allegedly kicked him until he became unconscious, the
state
alleges.
Defence lawyers however say Mutedza was not killed by
MDC activists and that
the police randomly arrested known activists.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
President Mugabe's Zanu (PF) is frantically
trying to stop a judicial probe
into the Gukurahundi
massacres.
29.07.1105:16pm
by Chief Reporter
Zanu (PF) MPs
moved in Parliament this week to close the Gukurahundi debate
that has
divided the house and heightened tensions in the hung Parliament.
The
debate came as international experts on genocide meeting in Argentina
resolved that the Gukurahundi massacres could be classified as genocide and
that the perpetrators must be brought to book.
Genocide Watch
chairperson, Professor Gregory Stanton, said the Mugabe
regime has been
trying to sweep this atrocity under the carpet but the
latest classification
now means the perpetrators can be prosecuted no matter
how much time has
passed.
"Looking at the motion under discussion, it is clear that the
motion was
just aimed at whipping political emotions and sending people to
outrage,
which the nation does not look forward to, especially considering
that as
Members of Parliament, we have to lead by example," said Kudakwashe
Bhasikiti, a Zanu (PF) MP.
He rejected a motion to allow the National
Organ of National Healing to
probe the massacres, saying the Gukurahundi
"incident" was not part of the
mandate of the organ.
"The mandate of
the organ was looking at the 2008 elections and its
aftermath and how people
can reconcile and get healed," Bhasikiti said.
MDC-T MP Editor Matamisa
said Zimbabwe needed to deal with its past in order
to confront the future.
She said national healing should address every era
of Zanu (PF)’s
madness..
"When we went for COPAC, people expected national healing. They
thought that
God had intervened. National healing should have touched
everyone,” she
said.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Saturday, 30
July 2011 14:04
HARARE - Copac is set to resume the constitution
making process on Monday
but with uncertainties over how the process is
going to be further funded, a
development which might delay the
exercise.
More than $7 million will be required to complete the
entire process.
Copac co-chairperson Douglas Mwonzora told the Daily News
yesterday that the
committee has limited funds.
The committee is
desperately hoping that the government and donors will chip
in with funds to
take the process forward.
“The funds we have are only enough for the
compilation of information and we
need about $7,7 million for the whole
process. We are however hoping for
more funds from the donor community and
government for the drafting stage,”
said Mwonzora.
The constitution
making process will resume on Monday with the compilation
of districts and
provincial reports, a process expected to take about a
week.
Thereafter researchers will compile the special narrative of
districts and
provincial reports for a week before the reports are handed
over to the
drafters for the actual constitutional drafting.
“The
document will be ready for the drafters thereafter and immediately the
drafting will begin,” Mwonzora said adding that barring any delays, the
constitutional document should be ready by December 31.
“Assuming
that everything goes according to plan, funds are made available
and there
are no further political impediments, we are likely to produce the
document
by December 31. However, disputes may arise during drafting and at
the
second all stakeholder conference.”
Disputes on methodologies to be used
to interpret people’s views have in the
past stalled the process.
The
process also nearly suffered a still birth when the very first all
stakeholders conference was disrupted by Zanu PF supporters who invaded the
main conference hall where the preparatory meetings for the constitution
making process were taking place.
A total of 355 delegates are
expected to participate in the upcoming
exercise.
http://www.voanews.com
29 July
2011
Jonga Kandemiiri | Washington
Zimbabwe's
ZANU-PF party is reportedly coercing and blackmailing private
companies to
support its anti-sanctions drive, this time a dinner and a
concert featuring
international artistes like U.S.-based Haitian musician
Wycleaf Jean, Mali’s
Salif Keita and rhumba legends Kofi Olomide and Yondo
Sister, among
others.
Firms are being asked to contribute $100,000 each in what some
corporate
executives have described as extortion.
The independent
Newsday reported that an entertainment company, Yedu Nesu,
has been
contracted by ZANU-PF to organize the event to be held next
month.
According to the Newsday, the company has been given permission by
the
Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity to approach individuals and
companies for support. Also lined up to perform at the concert are South
Africa’s Rebecca Malope and top Zimbabwean artistes.
Information
Minister Webster Shamu confirmed the development to Newsday,
saying: "That
is confirmed. There are no qualms on the issue of sanctions,
we are going
all out until people are aware that sanctions are illegal; that
they are not
sanctioned by the United Nations and are meant to reverse the
gains we made
through the land reform exercise."
ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo,
however, denied his party was coercing or
blackmailing companies and
individuals to cough up for the bash.
Gumbo told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Jonga Kandemiiri that companies and
individuals were freely contributing
towards the anti-sanctions concert and
snapping up tables at the dinner
which are going for $1,000 each.
Political analyst Nkululeko Sibanda told
VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube
that it was impossible that private
companies were willingly footing the
ZANU-PF anti-sanctions programs.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Police here arrested and dragged to court
Newsday senior court reporter,
Richard Muponde on charges of criminal
defamation.
29.07.1104:46pm
by Radio VOP
Muponde was
temporarily released after state prosecutors refused to take it
to the
magistrate’s court without more evidence.
According to the police,
Muponde defamed a bogus Bulawayo Estate Agent,
Christopher Mangisi, who is
also facing charges of defrauding a 70 year-old
city woman, Sophie
Mpofu.
Mangisi made a report to police against Muponde saying that he
defamed him,
by writing his fraud case in the Newsday before talking to him.
Police then
picked the journalist up on Thursday morning before dragging him
to court.
Muponde’s lawyer, Josphat Tshuma of Webb Low and Barry, said he
was
surprised that the police had arrested a journalist who was exposing
corruption.
“When a case is in court it’s no longer a private matter
but it is for
public compensation and I don’t see the reasons why police
arrested a
journalist for reporting such a case. This is just continuous
harassment of
media practitioners in Zimbabwe by police,” said
Tshuma.
The arrest of Muponde comes barely two weeks after police
arrested four
other journalists from the same city: Nqobani Ndlovu of The
Standard, Pindai
Dube of Daily News and two freelancers, Osca Nkala and
Pamenos Tuso who were
detained at Ntabazinduna police training depot for
witnessing the eviction
of senior police officer who had been fired from the
force for playing MDC
songs.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Helen Kadirire, Staff Writer
Saturday, 30
July 2011 14:07
HARARE - Civil society organisations say the storming
of parliament by Zanu
PF supporters last weekend is a clear sign that
President Robert Mugabe and
his party are not willing to implement the
Global Political Agreement (GPA)
and usher in a new regime of democratic
reforms in the country.
The Centre for Community Development in
Zimbabwe (CCDZ) said a familiar
pattern of disruptions of important national
events, by known Zanu PF
supporters, has been witnessed throughout the
country yet the perpetrators
are left scot free, a situation that suggests
that they might actually be
doing so with the blessings of Zanu PF
officials.
“These same people continue to act with impunity because they
know they have
protection from the highest political offices. The violence
perpetrated
against parliamentarians was planned and systematic,” CCDZ
said.
The organisation said police did not take appropriate action
against the
group and only reacted when they went on to pounce on the
journalists and
parliamentarians.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC)
said the demands by Zanu PF for the
Human Rights Commission to try cases
that occurred after 2008 are calculated
and designed to cover up their
heinous crimes.
“Judging from past history, if Zanu PF supporters are
allowed to continue
with such attacks, the country will slide back to June
2008 period when more
than 150 MDC supporters were murdered while thousands
were displaced in
post-election violence,” Crisis said in a
statement.
The human rights lobby group added that it was concerned by
police inaction
and said such behaviour only adds up to the growing calls
for security
sector reform.
“It is surprising that when a peaceful
demonstration is staged, riot police
pounce on protestors in their numbers
yet when parliamentarians and citizens
who are exercising their freedom of
expression are attacked, the police are
ill-prepared,” the rights group
said.
In addition, Crisis said the police continue to “protect”
perpetrators of
violence yet they have a constitutional obligation to uphold
the rights and
interests of every citizen and apprehend violators of the
law.
The group also want the Zanu PF leadership to dismantle its terror
machinery
which has ignited the embers of political violence which torched
the 2008
political violence.
The Zanu PF supporters stormed
Parliament, singing party songs and
physically attacked journalists and a
Member of Parliament.
http://www.bulawayo24.com
by Moyo Roy
2011 July 30 21:07:39
|
Eighteen people have died when a Toyota Hiace commuter omnibus veered
off
the road after hitting a tree at the 86 kilometre peg along the
Harare-Centenary Road.
16 people died on the spot while two others
died on admission at Mvurwi
Hospital.
Deputy National Police
Spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka,
says preliminary
investigations indicate that the right rear wheel studs
broke resulting in
the entire wheel getting off the vehicle as it was in
motion.
Meanwhile, details of the deceased are still being verified.
http://www.iol.co.za
July 30 2011 at 10:38am
By Joshua
Howat Berger
Johannesburg - Malawi, once considered a southern
African success story,
risks going down the same road as regional basket
case Zimbabwe, said the
leader of recent anti-government protests that left
19 dead.
Undule Mwakasungula had been in hiding since security forces
launched a
violent crackdown to quell two days of demonstrations that
erupted July 20.
Re-emerging in South Africa for a forum on Malawi held
Friday in
Johannesburg, the chair of the Human Rights Consultative Council -
an
umbrella organisation of rights groups that organised the protests - said
Malawi is undergoing twin economic and political crises that are reminiscent
of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
“We are almost Zimbabwe, both in the
economy and in political governance,”
Mwakasungula, who also heads the
non-profit Centre for Human Rights and
Rehabilitation in Lilongwe, told AFP
in an interview.
He drew parallels between Mugabe and Malawian President
Bingu wa Mutharika,
who has been criticised for a series of increasingly
autocratic moves seen
as restricting political freedoms.
“There are
similarities in terms of their president and Bingu wa Mutharika,
their style
of leadership. They're both using a heavy hand in terms of their
governance,
in terms of how they want to rule. And also disregarding other
branches of
government Ä the judiciary, the legislature,” Mwakasungula
said.
Mutharika, who came to office in 2004, has been criticised for
expelling
rivals from the ruling party, expanding presidential power and
signing laws
that have restricted protests, media freedom and lawsuits
against the
government.
The moves have alienated foreign donors,
causing the United States and
Britain to cut their aid to the impoverished
country at the same time it is
facing massive fuel shortages that have
forced drivers to queue overnight
for petrol.
Mutharika has also
presided over a foreign exchange crisis that has seen
international
currencies become virtually unavailable, leaving businesses in
the
import-dependent country unable to buy goods and materials
abroad.
“Malawians right now are frustrated,” Mwakasungula said.
“Malawians are
disgruntled in terms of how the country is being governed,
how the economy
is moving. They want to have more voice.”
The day of
the demonstrations, Mwakasungula says he and his fellow
organisers were
rounded up and beaten by police at the church in Lilongwe
where they had
gathered to monitor the protests.
“It was a fracas. The police were just
brutal. They were just animals,
really,” he said.
Mwakasungula said
he was briefly detained, then released to get medical
attention. Afterward,
he went into hiding.
But he said he plans to return home and organise
another demonstration, even
though his lawyers have told him there is a
warrant out for his arrest on
treason charges - which carries the death
penalty in Malawi.
“I have to go home. If you want to make things change,
there has to be
change in the country, not outside,” he said.
“I was
not part of this organising just for the sake of my own interest, but
for
the sake of making sure that Malawi becomes a better place.” - Sapa-AFP
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Seven MDC-T political activists in the Mutsamvu area
in Chimanimani East
were this week banished from the area by their local
headman, Timothy
Madzianike, for reporting to the police three Zanu (PF)
leaders who had
assaulted them.
30.07.1102:08pm
by Zwanai Sithole
Harare
The seven MDC-T supporters: Mary Kuretu, Lina Marova, Agnes
Chishuro, Vivian
Chase, Eunice Kuretu, Ndorekeraani Chirongwe and Naume
Mutereke on Wednesday
this week appeared before the traditional court of
headman Madzianike at
Mutsamvu primary school facing charges of reporting to
the police Zanu (PF)
thugs who in March this year severely assaulted them
for attending an MDC
restructuring meeting in the area.
The seven MDC
supporters identified the assailants’ leaders as Kumbirai
Mushango, the Zanu
(PF) district chairperson for the area and his deputy,
Uleki Mugebe and
Marangani Mutambara, a war veteran.
One of the victims, Chirongwe
suffered a fractured arm and was admitted at
the United Methodist Church run
hospital, after Mushango hit him with a log.
Mushango is also accused of
being involved in the torching of MDC supporters’
huts in Nyambeya area in
Cashel valley last month.
Following the assault, the victims reported the
case to the police but the
police took their time to investigate the
case.
“Headman Madzianike summoned us to his court on Wednesday and
accused us of
reporting Zanu (PF) officials and war veterans to the police
without first
seeking his permission. As punishment, we have been asked to
pay US$30 each
and leave the area with immediate effect. The headman said he
does not want
MDC supporters in the area. Last night we slept in the bush,”
Mary Kuretu
told The Zimbabwean in an interview.
Kuretu sought refuge
at the MDC Chimanimani district offices. Mushango and
Mugebe also attended
the court session where the seven’s fate was decided.
“Since the 2008
elections, we have not known peace here in Mutsamvu. We are
being harassed,
beaten and sexually abused by Mushango and his colleagues.
The headman is a
Zanu (PF) supporter. We do not know what to do because now
for the love our
party we are now homeless,” said Kuretu in tears.
The MDC district
coordinator for Chimanimani office, Pardon Maguta,
confirmed the
incident.
“The situation prevailing at Mutsamvu is now getting out of
hand. How can a
mere headman punish ordinary citizens for expressing their
democratic right
to join a party of their choice?” said Maguta. The headman
could not be
reached for comment.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The Minister of Education, Sport and Culture David Coltart
has expressed
grave concerns over the deteriorating standards of the
country’s education
system.
28.07.1105:07pm
by Tony
Saxon
Speaking after a tour of schools in Masvingo last week Coltart
said there
was need to revamp the country’s education system and restore
Zimbabwe’s
status as a leading education provider.
“As government
there is great need to improve the working conditions of
teachers in a bid
to revamp the education system whose standards are slowly
deteriorating due
to shortage of personnel and resources,” said Coltart.
He said his
ministry was working hard to restore the education system to the
standard it
once was.
“There is a strategic plan of action in place that is going to
help to
restore the education system in the country and this prioritizes the
welfare
of the teachers. We are also intending to provide primary and
secondary
schools with text books,” he said.
The education minister
added that they were finalizing with UNICEF the
contracts that will assist
in the provision of the text books on a
one-to-one ratio.
He revealed
that the ministry would also initiate the provision of clean
safe drinking
water and build ablutions at various schools. Coltart said the
ministry had
embarked on a computerization programme that would see most
schools getting
computers.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, July
30, 2011 - More than 30 United States of America colleges and
universities
will host a fair at a local school in Harare this Saturday to
provide
information on scholarships they provide as the US continues to
assist
hundreds of Zimbabweans students with scholarships.
In a statement the US
embassy in Harare said over 1600 students from
Zimbabwe are studying in
different US higher learning institutions.
US ambassador, Charles Ray
will attend the fair at Prince Edward School on
Saturday that is expected to
attract "A" level and prospective
under-graduate students to get infromation
on scholarships, and to know more
about the different universities or
colleges.
"The Fair will enable “A” level and other prospective
undergraduate students
to access more information about further study in the
United States,
including information on scholarships, campus and college
life at a wide
variety of colleges and universities," the US embassy
said.
"Ambassador Charles A. Ray will attend the Fair which will showcase
more
than 30 U.S. universities and colleges. There will be presentations on
the
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), financial aid and other topics related
to
U.S. higher education application processes."
The embassy said
last year it granted 400 visas to Zimbabwe students to
study in the US. The
embassy has also been providing library facilities to
Zimbabwe students and
ordinary people in three main cities of Harare, Mutare
and
Gweru.
"Over 1,600 Zimbabwean students are studying in the U.S. in a wide
range of
fields and at a diverse group of institutions. Last year, the U.S.
Embassy
granted about 400 visas for Zimbabwean students to begin or continue
their
studies in the U.S. A large percentage of those who pursue U.S.
studies from
Zimbabwe do so under full or substantial scholarships given for
their
academic, artistic or sporting talent," the embassy
said.
Zimbabwe education which was not spared by the economic collapse in
the last
years has been in the doldrums. Students at the country main
colleges and
universities were struggling to pay fees and their upkeep
resulting in some
dropping out of school. Grants that were once provided by
the government
were scrapped as hyper-inflation sank the once stable
economy.
Most of the students that have gone overseas or in the region to
study have
been lured by the better working conditions and better salaries
outside the
country resulting in the country losing out on qualified
personnel.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Villagers here recently buried their political differences and
joined forces
to construct a bridge over Agorst River that will enable the
community to
access the neighbourhood.
30.07.1102:10pm
by Jane
Makoni
MDC-Councillor Passmore Mangwiro congratulated his constituents
for their
willingness to work together. MDC-Councillor Passmore Mangwiro
congratulated
his constituents for their willingness to work
together.
“In the true spirit of inclusiveness traditional leadership and
other
villagers across the political divide pooled resources for the bridge
construction project. The selflessness and team spirit made the project a
success.
During the rainy season these areas were cut off from each
other resulting
in children not attending school across the river”, said
MDC-T councillor
for the ward, Passmore Mangwiro.
Mangwiro commended
headmen Zuva, Chizanga, Makate, Mavhunga and other
traditional leaders who
inspired locals to participate in the programme.
“I want to express
special appreciation for services offered by a villager,
Gilbert Mheyamwa,
who provided a tractor which was used to fell and
transport stones to the
construction site. Another selfless villager, Peter
Ngondo, contributed
immensely to the provision of other construction
requirements,” said
Mangwiro.
The construction of infrastructure such as roads and bridges is
the
responsibility of the government-funded District Development Fund (DDF),
which struggled to fulfil its mandate due to lack of resources.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The US's top envoy in Harare is assembling a delegation
of Zimbabwean
business leaders to attend US-Africa summit that is expected
to reach over
250 American officials and State department
officials.
29.07.1104:59pm
by Chief Reporter
The idea was
mooted after a four-day major international conference on doing
business
with Africa where US ambassador Charles Ray spoke to hundreds of
representatives from US, European, and African businesses and handed out
information sheets that said: “Zimbabwe is Open for Business.”
"Given
the interest that we sparked from that event, we put on a trilateral
business dialogue in conjunction with the Corporate Council on Africa and
Business Unity South Africa where we brought together a dozen firms each
from the US, South Africa, and Zimbabwe in Victoria
Falls in June to
talk about the opportunities for business here," Ambassador
Ray told a
policy dialogue seminar in Harare Thursday.
"We had Microsoft, Proctor
and Gamble, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Cargill,
General Electric, and many
other firms here to see for themselves the
prospects for business in
Zimbabwe. Building on the success of that event,
we are now working with the
American Business
Association in Zimbabwe – or ABAZ – to assemble a
delegation of Zimbabwean
business leaders to attend a U.S.-Africa Business
Summit in Washington, DC.”
Ambassador Ray said the US was eager to work
closely with the business
community and
Zimbabwean government across
the political spectrum to find new and
collaborative ways to build on these
efforts for the mutual benefit of the
two countries.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The West should take some of the blame for
propping up Zimbabwean dictator
Robert Mugabe whose human rights excesses
they conveniently ignored since
the 1980s, Education Minister David Coltart
said last week.
30.07.1102:30pm
by Vusimusi Bhebhe
In an
address to the Annual Acton Lecture on Religion and Freedom in Sydney,
Australia, last Tuesday, Coltart said former colonial master Britain and
other Western nations bankrolled the Mugabe regime without regard to the
atrocities it committed in Matabeleland and Midlands soon after independence
in 1980.
Many of the wars fought by the West since the 2nd World War
have occurred
because of the appeasement and sometimes encouragement of
dictatorial
regimes.
Since the 2nd World War many corrupt and violent
regimes have prospered
because of either Western support or indifference.
Saddam Hussein was
supported by the US in its fight against the Iranians as
were the Taliban in
their battle against the Russians.
Cosying up to
Gaddafi
He said the same situation recently repeated itself in Libya
where Britain
has, until last year, been “cosying up” to long-serving leader
Muammar
Gaddafi in order to secure access to Libyan oil.
Western
support bolstered and strengthened Gaddafi who has been accused of
ruthlessly crashing a protest against his 42-year reign.
“In Zimbabwe
the West looked the other way when Zanu (PF) committed a
genocide in
Matabeleland and even rewarded Robert Mugabe with a knighthood
in 1994 –
this was mainly because they were more focused on keeping Mugabe
out of the
Soviet sphere of influence,” Coltart said.
In the early 1980s, Mugabe,
then Prime Minister, unleashed the North Korean
trained Fifth Brigade into
the volatile Matabeleland regions, wiping an
estimated 20 000 civilians,
including innocent women and children.
Several ministers and top army
officials in Mugabe’s side of Zimbabwe’s
inclusive government were directly
involved in the atrocities, popularly
known as the Gukurahundi massacres,
and are believed to be hanging on to
power to prolong their
freedom.
Learn the lesson
Coltart noted that experiences in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Zimbabwe
should serve as lessons for the West
that propping up profligate and corrupt
governments has long-term
repercussions.
“I have no doubt that if the West changes it will be less
likely to be
dragged into the intractable messes it now finds itself in
Afghanistan, Iraq
and Libya,” he said.
Relations between Zimbabwe and
the West have soured over the past decade
after a cornered Mugabe turned
against white farmers from whom he grabbed
commercial farmland without
compensation. Faced with a formidable political
opposition, he also
intensified the repression of fellow black Zimbabweans
whom he accused of
being Western puppets for voting against him and his Zanu
(PF) party.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Having inherited a
constitution negotiated between the colonial and
liberation forces at the
dawn of independence (the Lancaster House
Constitution) in 1979 and having
amended that constitution 19 times in the
last 30 years, Zimbabwe is trying
for the second time in just over a decade
to completely overhaul its
constitution.
28.07.1102:53pm
by DR ALEX T. MAGAISA
The first
attempt to create a new constitution failed when voters at the
referendum
rejected the proposed constitution in February 2000. The major
grievance was
in regards to the process of making the new constitution,
which civil
society groups criticised as dominated by, and intended to
advance,
government interests.
The current process, which is led by a
Parliamentary Committee (Copac), is
part of the agreed package of reforms in
the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) that should culminate in a referendum
in 2011. Experience since
independence has demonstrated the government’s
pre-occupation with the
constitution as a
means of legitimising its
power and less as a mechanism for limiting such
powers. A number of the 19
amendments have served to reverse the effect of
decisions made by the courts
of law and some have even ousted the
jurisdiction of the courts leading
effectively to the concentration of power
within the executive branch of
government.
Arbitrary power
The government appears to have been
interested only in
legality/constitutionality and paid scant regard to
constitutionalism by
which principles governmental power must be
limited.
This article demonstrates the dearth of constitutionalism by
analysing some
court decisions and constitutional amendments that have
effectively eroded
the limits on governmental power. This article also warns
that a narrow
focus on constitutionality can mean that instead of the
constitution being
the supreme legal document controlling the exercise of
state power, it
simply becomes an instrument for autocratic control,
legitimising rather
than preventing arbitrary power – the very antithesis of
constitutionalism.
This article demonstrates that constitutionality is
not enough and that to
promote democracy, it is necessary to implement the
principle of
constitutionalism. The article draws heavily on Zimbabwe’s
recent
constitutional history to illustrate shortcomings in regards to
constitutionalism. It will argue that through the colonial period and most
of the post-independence era there has been an erroneous focus by successive
governments on mere constitutionality (or simple legality) at the expense of
constitutionalism.
Overall, this article advocates a serious
re-evaluation of the collective
attitude and approach towards the
constitution; that in making it, concern
is not only in defining what is
constitutional but also in ensuring that
those constitutional clauses
conform to and advance the principles
and values that underpin
constitutionalism. The hope is that as Zimbabwe
undertakes the drafting of a
new constitution, those tasked with drawing up
the draft can learn some
lessons about the critical elements that are
necessary for this
purpose.
Constitutionalism’s core ideas
It is a basic tenet of
constitutionalism that a constitution is not simply a
collection of rules
and institutional arrangements regarding the use of
state power but it is,
in addition, about placing limits on that power (Belz
1998). It is the idea
that government should be legally limited1 and that
the authority of
government is dependent on the enforcement of such
limitations against
itself (Wormuth 1949).
The principle says that a constitution not only
describes but also restrains
government. The core idea of constitutionalism
is probably best encapsulated
in the words of one of the Founding Fathers of
the United States
Constitution, James Madison, who wrote in The Federalist
No. 51:
“In framing government which is to be administered by men over
men, the
greatest difficulty lies in this: you must first enable government
to
control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
A
dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on government
but
experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary
precautions.”
This passage confirms three critical points:
•
First, that a government is necessary and that its power must be
facilitated
to enable it to have control and to fulfil the interests of the
governed;
• Second, that government cannot be completely trusted with
power and that
this power must therefore be restrained (Allen &
Thomson 2005); and,
• Third, whilst acknowledging the role that people
may play in controlling
government it says that this is inadequate and
unreliable and therefore that
it is necessary to create ‘auxiliary
precautions’ to control governmental
power. As Wormuth (1949) states,
constitutionalism is synonymous with these
‘auxiliary
precautions’.
According to Kay, “The special virtue of constitutionalism
… lies not merely
in reducing the power of the state, but in effecting that
reduction by the
advance imposition of rules.”3 Furthermore, as asserted by
Wormuth, the
legitimacy of governmental authority turns on its enforcement
of the rules
limiting its authority. In this regard, it may be said that
constitutionalism is synonymous with the rule of law, which is the more
commonly used terminology.
Next week the principle of
constitutionality will be explained, and we will
also look at the effects of
previous amendments to the constitution. - First
published by OSISA (www.osisa.org)
Dear Family and Friends,
This week I asked a
friend who had returned to the country after
living in the diaspora for a
couple of years if she was still glad to
be home. She replied: “I have had
absolutely no regrets about
returning to Zimbabwe, it’s the best thing I have
done for a long
time (though I am sure that not everyone thinks
that!)”
I first met Meryl Harrison six years ago, just when she was
preparing
to leave Zimbabwe. Meryl had risked her life time and time
again
rescuing the thousands of animals stranded on invaded farms and
stuck
in the middle of Zimbabwe’s mayhem. Meryl’s courage and bravery
then
put most of us to shame and we watched in awe at what one totally
determined
and dedicated woman could achieve.
Leaving Zimbabwe wasn’t what Meryl
wanted to do but was something
that a quarter of our population had to do,
for all sorts of reasons,
as the country collapsed into economic and
political mayhem. Coming
back to Zimbabwe is a huge decision but for Meryl it
was right as it
gave her back the ability to really make a
difference.
Meryl told me this week about a dog called Miss Muffet, the
reason her
return to Zimbabwe might not be such a popular move.
Miss
Muffet was a three month old Labrador puppy, axed to death one
night in late
February. She was one of three dogs sleeping in the
garage of a house in
Penhalonga during an invasion of the farm by a
mob of 21. Sleeping alongside
Miss Muffet at the time were a female
Rottweiler which was stabbed in the
spine, and a male Labrador which
was axed three times in the head by the
invaders.
Meryl got involved in her capacity with a private animal
welfare
organization (VAWZ) and she was determined to see justice. Thanks
to
swift action and skilled expertise of a vet in Mutare, the
Rottweiler
and adult Labrador were saved. Tragically for Miss Muffet, it was
too
late for intervention.
From that point on everything about this
familiar and tragic story was
different.
Meryl described how the
Police in Penhalonga acted very swiftly and
arrested the invaders. They said
the accused were to be charged with
Public Violence but Meryl and her
colleagues weren’t satisfied. A
long meeting followed and it was eventually
agreed that the accused
would also be charged under the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals Act.
Then followed eight court appearances, four subpoenas and
hundreds of
kilometres of travelling between Harare and Mutare. In the VAWZ
docket
for the court, Meryl included a photograph of a 3 month old
Labrador
puppy. She told me she did this: “so that the Magistrate could
see
that the puppy would have been absolutely no threat to anyone -
at
that age, they think the whole world is their friend!”
The case
finally went to trial a couple of weeks ago and nine of the
twenty accused,
who were the main perpetrators of the attack on the
dogs, pleaded guilty. In
mitigation the accused apologized for killing
the puppy and offered to
replace it. They were sentenced to 18 months
in prison, 1 year of which was
suspended and the remaining 6 months
made up of each being given 140 hours of
community service.
For Meryl, seeing justice being done for Miss Muffet,
a Rottweiler and
a Labrador makes all the effort, frustration and grit
worthwhile.
There are many people, like Meryl, and many organisations, like
VAWZ,
working tirelessly out of the spotlight, to bring Zimbabwe back
from
darkness. In them is our hope. Until next time, thanks for
reading,
love cathy 30 July 2011. Copyright � Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com