FIFA
president says match-fixers will be banned for life
http://edition.cnn.com/
By Columbus Mavhunga, For
CNN
July 5, 2011 -- Updated 1354 GMT (2154 HKT)
(CNN) -- FIFA
President Sepp Blatter said Monday his organization would ban
for life any
players and administrators found guilty of match-fixing.
"We can't
intervene at this early stage, but when those people are condemned
and found
guilty we will ban them for life. They will not be allowed back
into
football," Blatter told reporters in Harare, as he wrapped up a one-day
visit to Zimbabwe.
FIFA security chief Chris Eaton arrived in
Zimbabwe ahead of Blatter on
Sunday. The organization is looking into
allegations of match-fixing
committed two years ago, which resulted in the
Zimbabwe Football Association
(ZIFA) boss being fired in October
2010.
Player Method Mwanjali was one of five athletes who told a ZIFA
inquiry last
year that he accepted bribes in return for losing matches
against Thailand
and Syria in 2009.
ZIFA submitted its findings to
FIFA, which is now conducting its own
investigation.
"We are working
with Interpol and the governments. What FIFA is doing is to
clean up the
situation," Blatter said.
Besides meeting with the country's football
administrators, the FIFA
president met with President Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai during his one-day visit.
He is
scheduled to head next to South Africa to attend an International
Olympic
Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Cops
after match-fixers
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Chengetai Zvauya, Senior Writer
Tuesday, 05 July
2011 16:58
HARARE - Footballers, top coaches, officials and
journalists face imminent
arrest over their roles in Zimbabwe’s match-fixing
scandals that have
invited the attention of visiting Fifa boss Joseph Sepp
Blatter.
Ralph Maganga, the Zifa lawyer told the Daily News yesterday
that police
commissioner Augustine Chihuri, as well as Interpol, were
perusing a report
done by Zifa that names of several high flying
personalities in soccer as
having taken part in match fixing during matches
clandestinely organised in
Asia.
Interpol is the world’s largest
international police organisation with 188
member countries.
Maganga
said Blatter had also taken a keen interest in the matter.
He said the
net could be closing in fast on culprits, many who could have
been using
their influence to keep the matter under the lid.
“There are very
interesting names of some coaches, players, officials and
even journalists
in the report who are mentioned but they will be made
public when it is
published and when the police have finished their
investigations,” said
Maganga.
The Daily News understands that among those named is a coach
with a
legendary playing and coaching record in Zimbabwe and is currently
based
outside the country.
This comes as it emerges that a Fifa
delegation led by the body’s security
chief Chris Eaton and Investigative
Officer Terry Steans will soon work with
a Zifa committee investigating the
controversial Asian tours and also with
the local police.
The
Zimbabwe national team played a series of soccer matches in Asia in 2009
whose results were determined by betting syndicates working in cahoots with
local football officials, national team coaches, selected players and local
sports journalists.
Police are now expected to act on the matter
after being briefed and
presented with a report of the Zifa investigation
findings at the weekend,
said Maganga.
“The police commissioner was
given the document and anything that is found
bordering on criminal
activities then the police are going to investigate
and prosecute the
culprits. I understand that the police are now studying
the report,” said
Maganga.
Senior assistant commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed to the
Daily News
that the matter was now in the hands of the police.
“I can
confirm that the matter is now with the police,” said Bvudzijena, who
promised to reveal more details on the investigation today.
Blatter
confirmed at a press conference last night that his organisation has
taken a
direct interest to ensure culprits were nailed.
“We are working with
Interpol and governments. Definitely we will let you
know of the result,”
said Blatter.
“We as Fifa have our statutes, disciplinary committee and
the ethics
committee but we cannot intervene at the first stage. We must let
the
jurisdictional organisations of the different states work and when these
people are condemned and found guilty then we will suspend them for life and
they will never come back to football being officials or being players. They
will be banned for life,” Blatter said after meeting President Robert Mugabe
and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare.
Investigations by the
Daily News have so far revealed that the report
containing the names of the
coaches, officials, journalists and footballers
that took part in the
scandal had became a security issue for Zifa.
Sources said at one point,
the report was kept under lock by Zifa President
Cuthbert Dube.
This
was done to safeguard the report, whose contents had generated
sensational
interest amongst those involved.
So coveted was the report that Zifa at
some point had to make special
security arrangements for one of its board
members who acted as the
custodian of the findings at that time, high level
sources said.
The Zifa bosses were also carefully monitoring the safety
of all those who
came into contact with the document arguing that the stakes
were so high
because of the involvement of ruthless international football
betting
syndicates.
So far players like captain Method Mwanjali top
striker Nyasha Mushekwi have
been questioned. Mushekwi revealed to the
investigating committee that he
asked to be substituted in one of the
matches after being instructed not to
score but was forced to play at
gunpoint in one of the matches in Asia.
ZESA
managers sue Mangoma for pay hikes
http://www.swradioafrica.com
by Irene Madongo
05 July
2011
Managers at ZESA have taken legal action against the Energy Minister
Elton
Mangoma, for allegedly slashing their salaries and
allowances.
According to Caleb Mucheche who is representing the managers,
the ZESA board
awarded the managers an 18% increase. The managers earn an
average of
$1,600. However, the National Employment Council was against the
increase.
The matter was taken to an arbitrator who ruled that the 18%
salary increase
was justified, as initially stated by the board. But Mangoma
decided this
18% increase should not go ahead, Mucheche said.
Mangoma
has reportedly dismissed allegations of any wrong doing. But
Mucheche
insisted his clients have a case: “It is a contractual right which
can never
be taken away from them. What they are saying is that you have to
restore
the status quo or the original position which was obtained because a
salary
or allowance which is being given in terms of a contract is a legal
right
and no-one has the power to take it away.”
Unions in Zimbabwe have
repeatedly complained that bosses of parastatals
earn high salaries and
allowances while lower level staff get a pittance. A
recent report from the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said some bosses
even get cellphone
allowances of over $250, while the average worker’s total
earnings are often
no more than $250.
Civic organizations such as Women and Men of Zimbabwe
Arise have also
complained that ZESA management wastes money, while
complaining it has no
cash for delivering electricity to the
nation.
Precious Shumba of the Harare Residents Trust said: “While the
concerns from
managers are justified from a labour perspective, the HRT has
consistently
raised the issue of the abnormal salaries that the ZESA
managers get every
month while the electricity provision is erratic and
leaves a lot to be
desired.”
RBZ Snubs
Parly
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare,July 05,2011-, 2011 - Embattled Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono was
on Monday, June 4, 2011 humiliated by the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee
on Budget, Finance, Economic Planning and Investment
Promotion after he was
turned away together with his senior staff members at
a meeting to discuss
matters related to the bank’s functions and
operations.
The portfolio committee chaired by Gromonzi North MP paddy
Zhanda told Gono
and his team that they would not accept evidence from a few
board members.
“The reason why we wanted to meet the full boards members
is to know who is
who in the organisation as we deliberate accordingly. We
have the power
according to the statutory regulations to summon people if we
notice that
they are avoiding meeting this committee,” said
Zhanda.
“We are constitutionally mandated to make sure that we do our
duty and
present a report to Parliament,” he said.
Zhanda also
questioned the commitment of the absent board members to the
central bank.
“One wonders how much time they have to attend to the bank’s
business if
they cannot manage to meet the committee.It will be unfair for
us to carry
on with this meeting in the absence of the other board members,”
said
Zhanda
He said the RBZ matter had been outstanding for four months and
they are now
in a hurry to try and clear the backlog. This was after only
three members
managed to attend the meeting and these are Tody Smith, Author
Manase and
Gono.
The RBZ board has some of the country’s leading
economists, Tony Hawkins and
Daniel Ndlela, Labour and Economic Development
Research Institute of
Zimbabwe boss Godfrey Kanyenze, State Procurement
Board head, Charles
Kuwaza, businessman David Govere and lawyer Mordecai
Mahlangu.
Ministry of Finance permanent secretary Willard Manungo and
Zimbabwe Open
University vice-chancellor Primrose Kurasha are also members
of the board as
non-executive directors.
Kambuzuma MP Willias
Madzimure said the absence of other board members was
unjustified and called
it a “snub”.
“It is a snub on the part of the committee; probably they
think we are not
competent enough but we are here because of the mandate
that we got from the
people. I think our oversight role means nothing to the
RBZ board,” said
Madzimure.
In his response Gono said the RBZ had
respect for the portfolio committee
and parliament.
“I am sure that
their absence is something beyond their control. The bank
and its board
regards parliament with highest respect itdeserves.Most of the
time I will
be out of the country that is why I
have chosen this day to be with you.
There is definitely no reason why I
should not appear before you,” he said
adding that absence of other board
members was something beyond their
control.
Zanu
PF hardliners cornered
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Reagan Mashavave, Senior Writer
Tuesday, 05 July
2011 17:33
HARARE - Zanu PF hardliners, busy at work to paralyse the
coalition
government by abusing state institutions to drive a brutal
propaganda and
harassment war against opponents are likely to hit a brick
wall.
This is largely because of growing regional interest in
ensuring a credible
Zimbabwe election, analysts say.
The arrest of
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s top aide, Jameson Timba and
ordinary
supporters from Glen View as well as the description of Tsvangirai
by an
army general as a security threat have heightened fears that the shaky
coalition could be headed for the rocks.
But analysts say even a
vicious propaganda war spearheaded by former
information minister Jonathan
Moyo on mediator, South African president
Jacob Zuma and the Sadc endorsed
elections roadmap will come to nothing.
Moyo, who is having to work
overtime to convince sceptical Zanu PF bosses
that he has abandoned his
turncoat tendencies — having left and criticised
the party on multiple
occasions — has gone to the extent of suggesting that
Zuma is fronting for
Mugabe’s Western rivals.
“There is no doubt that actors outside the
circle of negotiators will throw
heavy spanners at every turn to spoil the
negotiations and for the people to
become despondent,” said Eldred
Masunungure, a professor in the University
of Zimbabwe’s political science
department.
Masunungure said the crafting of an election roadmap would
remain on track
because the negotiators of the three main parties were also
under pressure
to produce a result before the next Sadc summit next
month.
The negotiators, Masunungure said, had in the past shown scant
regard for
hardliner rants from noisy spoilers such as Moyo.
“I have
no doubt that this (hardliner manoeuvres) will contaminate what is
outside
the inclusive government and the finalisation of the roadmap to
fresh
elections. But I think this will not strain relations of the
workmanship
amongst the negotiators or those who support the inclusive
government,”
Masunungure said.
“We have spoilers who control the instruments of the
organs of the State but
there will be a roadmap. The negotiators will do
their job in a more sober
way and they are professionals,” added
Masunungure.
Yet, the events of the past two months would test any
patience.
After the arrest of Timba and Tsvangirai’s public fallout with
military
generals, war veterans raided Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s
offices,
forcing him to flee his government offices.
Biti, one of
Tsvangirai’s most powerful ministers, was accused by the war
veterans of
undermining President Robert Mugabe by refusing to take
directives issued by
the 87-year-old leader.
The ordinary rank and file of the MDC has not
been spared.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told the Daily News
recently that officers
would continue arresting Tsvangirai’s supporters,
claiming many of them were
wanted in connection with political
violence.
Charles Mangongera, a political analyst gave the arrest of
Timba as one such
example of how Zanu PF hardliners were abusing state
apparatus to push a
particular political agenda.
“The strategy is
poorly executed. You can read that it is the work of
Jonathan
Moyo.
“For instance when Jonathan Moyo said Morgan Tsvangirai and Jameson
Timba
must be arrested, Timba was arrested. This raises the question of who
is
really in power,” Mangongera said.
“Zanu PF hardliners have an
advantage that they use state resources and
institutions to enforce whatever
political plan they have in the bag,” said
Mangongera.
Tsvangirai
appears to have read the script well.
The former trade unionist told
supporters in Bulawayo recently that although
Zanu PF hardliners were
seeking to undermine his authority and collapse the
coalition, his party
would not quit.
John Makumbe, another professor in the University of
Zimbabwe political
science department said the “shenanigans” by Zanu PF
hardliners would “not
work any good” for Zanu PF.
Instead, such
actions would further “solidify” regional thinking that Zanu
PF is the
spoiler of the 28-month-old coalition.
“In terms of the region Zanu PF is
seen as the spoiler,” said Makumbe.
RBZ
defaults payment
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Taurai Mangudhla, Business Writer
Tuesday, 05 July
2011 18:14
HARARE - The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has defaulted
on paying
retrenchment packages and other benefits owed to former employees
laid off
due to viability challenges.
Scores of dejected
retrenchees gathered at Harare Gardens yesterday to
deliberate on strategies
to secure the remaining part of their retrenchment
benefits, including
arbitration.
Webster Ngundu, retrenchees’ association chairman, said the
group was
considering taking legal action.
The workers, retrenched in
January this year, were promised half of their
packages — based on
employment grade or level — only received $5 000.
“We had initially
agreed with the bank (RBZ) to get our entire packages by
end of June. The $5
000 we received is not the entire outstanding amount,”
said
Ngundu.
“We are going to the labour office today after this meeting to
get a
certificate of no settlement so that we can move for arbitration,”
said
Ngundu.
He said other unresolved issues included pension
remittance from 2009 yet to
be finalised by the central bank’s pension fund
trustees — plus monthly
interest accrued on the packages.
The RBZ did
not return enquiries on the matter.
Contrary to recent RBZ statements
published in the media, it had fully paid
all the retrenchment packages, the
former employees said they had received
two payments, $10 000 in March and
the recent $5 000.
“We have just received $15 000 which may be enough for
a few who had
recently joined the bank. What about other people who have
packages far in
excess of $15 000,” Ngundu said, adding that the retrenchees
feared
prejudice in the long run.
“We have been fighting as a group
all along and I suspect the bank may start
paying us one by one. This will
divide us and the unlucky ones won’t get a
cent,” said a 32 year old former
RBZ female employee who requested
anonymity.
Some of the workers also
revealed that they had not yet been furnished with
a clear breakdown of
their packages.
Ngundu said: “The bank (RBZ) should give everyone full
computation of what
we must be paid. We should get a clear breakdown of our
total benefits and
deductions including taxes so that we get our net worth.
This will enable us
to easily calculate how much we are owed.”
The
RBZ, saddled by a more than $1 billion debt mainly incurred through
quasi-fiscal operations, retrenched three quarters of its 1 400 staff to
cut costs.
Gideon Gono’s central bank requires over $70 million to
fund the layoffs,
after the bank sought to trim its bloated work force early
this year.
The International Monetary Fund earlier in this month
cautioned the RBZ
against using its allocation under the special drawing
rights to fund its
retrenchment exercise.
The bank recently announced
that it was selling its non-core assets,
including Cairns, Tuli Coal and
Tractive Power with funds raised being
channelled towards retiring its
debts. however, there have been reports that
some members of the board are
now blocking the sale of the assets.
15
Aspiring Radio Broadcasters Applied License
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe (BAZ) on 30 June 2011 said that a
total of 15 aspiring radio
broadcasters submitted applications for the two
advertised free to air
national commercial radio
licenses.
05.07.1103:17pm
MISA
According to the State owned The
Herald of 1 July 2011, the BAZ Chief
Executive Officer, Mr. Obert Muganyura
said that all 15 applicants met all
the requirements as stated in the call
made on 26 May 2011.
MISA-Zimbabwe has noted the requisite adverts by
some prospective
broadcasters in the national newspapers. These include
Voxmedia Productions
trading as Voice of People FM, Thonet Investments
trading as Radio Africa,
AB communications Pvt Ltd, Black Thing
Communications and Seddon
Investments.
In terms of Section 10
Subsection 3 of the Broadcasting Services Act,
applicants are required to
publish their applications in a national paper
within 7 days of submitting
their applications. The processing of
applications by the BAZ is upon proof
of production of the advert. Members
of the public are also given a 14 day
window period to comment about the
applications to the authority and lodge
any objections about an applicant.
Background
The BAZ, which is
the regulatory board for the broadcasting media
established in terms of the
Broadcasting Services Act of Zimbabwe, invited
applications from prospective
broadcasters for two 10 year licenses for free
to air national commercial
radio licenses on 26 May 2011,setting 30 June
2011 as the
deadline.
Should the BAZ grant the license, it would be the end of
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation’s (ZBC) monopoly on radio broadcasting
field.
Currently ZBC runs four FM radio stations namely, Power FM, Spot FM,
Radio
Zimbabwe and National FM.
Threats
and beatings of residents of Harare a wakeup call to action
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
I have always
wondered why thousands of people in Mbare throng Zanu PF
meetings, and yet
these same people, even those at the forefront of claiming
that they are
Zanu PF at heart, vote for the other contesting parties during
election
time.
05.07.1103:23pm
Harare Residents’ Trust
But now I think I
have found the answer to that. Before I get to this let me
get to the heart
of my piece.
What happened on Saturday 25 June 2011 at the Mbare Netball
Complex to
members of the Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) should not happen
again. The
circumstances leading to this Black Day are clear. The HRT
notified the
police, via the Mbare District Police, and the meeting was
cleared in time
to allow us enough time to plan and coordinate our
activities.
The theme was precise and spoke to the issues of the
conditions of residents’
life: “Towards a Peaceful and Healthy Environment,
and an Improved Living
Conditions for Harare Residents.”
Nearly 2 500
people came to the Mbare Netball Complex, sang and danced to
the music and
singing by various community groups, set up by residents as a
way of
celebrating the work of the HRT. Our speakers included Minister of
Local
Government, Rural and Urban Development, Mr Ignatius Chombo, who was
represented at the HRT Convention by Mrs Nyarai Priscilla Mudzinge, Director
Urban Local Authorities who was the Guest Speaker.
He was said to be
busy preparing to host Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
ministers of local government at the Rainbow Towers.
The Founder and
Coordinator of the HRT, the Board Secretary Mrs Elizabeth
Rutsate, Board
Chairperson Mrs Emilia Chakatsva, the Residents’ Council
Chairperson
Reverend Onismo Mushonga; the local Members of the House of
Assembly,
Honourable Gift Chimanikire, who is also the Deputy Minister of
Mines the
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local
Government
Honourable Lynnet Karenyi (Chipinge West), Mr Fambai Ngirande, a
long time
ally of the HRT, Mr Shepherd Mandizvidza, the Public Relations
Officer for
the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), health and
residents’
representatives delivered people centred speeches that left
residents
clamouring for more.
In an act of thuggery, bordering on ignorance and
foolishness, identified
youths among them Robson Sakala (31 Madzima Road),
Chairman of Youth in
Ernest Kadungure Branch, Monica Chapusha (33 Madzima
Road), Charles (69
Zambe St), Reuben Doti (32 Pazarangu Way), Elvis Linje,
and Spiwe (109 Zata
St), Tyson Chinyemba (11B, 24th St), Emmanuel Majaya
(16A-24th st), Lawrence
Sintilau (New Lines, 7c- 4th St), Sam Ziwore, Sandra
Chikanya, and a host of
other guys known to have started off as street kids
residing along the
Mukuvisi River, and capable of committing even murder,
were witnessed
brutalising unarmed, innocent residents, with booted feet,
clenched fists,
broom sticks and baton sticks. Police have no reason not to
take action
against these people. They are known, where they live and what
they do for a
living.
This attack on the gathering of the HRT cannot
be blamed on anyone else
other than the identified youths, allegedly acting
on the instructions of a
Mr Namion Chirwa, who has become notorious for
taking over Majubeki
residents’ houses, acting in connivance with identified
City of Harare
housing allocation officers at Remembrance Drive District
Offices. So it is
understood when they get very hostile towards the HRT,
hiding behind Zanu PF
to try to intimidate us.
Mr Chirwa faces
multiple charges of abusing his position as a Chairman of
Zanu PF’s Joshua
Nkomo District where he has allegedly forced over 26 people
out of their
houses using the identified officials in the Housing Department
and
replacing them with known people, after payments of around $2 000 in
bribes.
The HRT knows that this violence was orchestrated by
frightened men who are
only protecting their illegal activities, than for
the cause of Zanu PF.
They are criminals and deserve to be prosecuted for
alleged extortion,
assault and sexual harassment of innocent
women.
As scheduled, most of the speakers delivered their passionate
speeches, to
rousing ululation and celebration by the strong gathering.
Residents
representatives, drawn from the suburbs and the solidarity
speeches by our
friends from other residents’ associations from Harare,
Chitungwiza, Kadoma,
Chegutu, and Rusape could not deliver their messages
due to the
disturbances.
What has hurt most HRT leaders is the fact
that as soon as the guest
speaker, Mrs Mudzinge left around 1340hrs, the
youths, travelling in clearly
defined groups from Mbare Number 5 grounds
between Jourburg Lines and Mbare
Flats, blew whistles as a code, and
immediately entered the venue of the
Convention, holding beer bottles, and
other weapons of repression. They
locked the gate and started beating up
people indiscriminately.
On behalf of myself and the HRT, I sincerely
apologise to all those who were
beaten up and injured, including our
strategic partners from ZESA, Kadoma
and Chegutu who suffered various
degrees of injuries as a result of this
thuggish behaviour.
Let me
highlight to the world what the HRT stands for- truth and justice,
residents’ rights, local government, nothing more nothing less. Our
membership is drawn from across the political divide and our policy is that
we side with no political party, not even Zanu PF, not even the MDC-T,
Mavambo, Zapu etc.
Painful as it is, known members of Zanu PF within
our ranks were also beaten
up for simply participating in the activity of an
organisation that stands
for social service delivery, an organisation that
has a mandate of over 20
000 residents to deal decisively with issues of
corruption in the housing
department of the City of Harare. We also
apologise to our members from Zanu
PF and other political parties who were
beaten up.
The HRT is one of a few Zimbabwean organisations that has
remained neutral
in a polarised society, and has successfully brought
together progressive
members of the political parties existing in Zimbabwe,
and the Church
because our issues are strictly residents’ issues.
No
amount of intimidation will change that. We have been a beacon of hope to
the vulnerable in society, those who are struggling with illegal evictions,
unjustified rates and rentals and inconsistent billing by service providers.
Elected councillors have also been a big let down to the citizens as they
are failing to articulate the issues of the communities.
These
communities need a strong institution of the calibre of the HRT to
articulate those issues and force service providers and elected
representatives to account for their actions. It is one of the reasons
elderly, young and middle-aged people across the political divide, strong
Christians, even non-Christians have found a new lease of life in the thrust
and ideals of the HRT. They seek solutions to their community social
challenges.
The people who disrupted the HRT Convention were
apparently drunk. They used
the empty beer bottles to smash people’s heads.
Despite it being a legally
constituted gathering, the Officer in Charge at
Stodart Police Station, an
Inspector Moyo claimed afterwards when people
thronged the police station
for protection that he had not been informed of
this gathering so had not
officially assigned any police officers to protect
the delegates.
But then the question to answer is; why did the three or
five police
officers at the entrance to the venue disappear as soon as these
drunken
people locked the gates. They stole a laptop belonging to the owners
of the
hired Public Address system; they took away my Black Nokia 6630 cell
phone
handset serial number 354349008370879, confiscated HRT t-shirts from
residents travelling to the venue, which we suspect they will use to commit
crimes in an attempt to tarnish the image of the HRT.
The HRT
requests Zanu PF leadership in Harare Province, Chairman Amos Midzi,
if they
entertain ever winning any seat in Mbare, to disband this Chipangano
group
and the police must take appropriate action against the identified
criminals, hiding behind their party to rob people and dispossess people of
their homes. These violent people are not doing it to promote Zanu PF but to
destroy this nationalist party as they are only interested in accumulating
wealth and assets, stolen from people, who in turn will vote against Zanu PF
come election time. This is friendly advice to be taken seriously. The age
for barbaric political activism has gone, now it is time for innovative and
persuasive methods of reaching out to people.
As our theme stated,
residents want to live in peace and in a healthy
environment where they can
enjoy their rights without hindrance. Residents
want peace and not violence.
The HRT demands peace and development.
Thank you, HRT Website: www.hrt.org.zw Email: info@hrt.org.zw /
admin@hrt.org.zw
/membership@hrt.org.zw
Hunting
of black rhinos on farms on the increase
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Zimbabwe's policy of
redistributing land owned by white commercial farmers
has caused unmitigated
"ecological disaster", according to an eminent
conservationist.
04.07.1106:11am
Chief Reporter
Professor
Johan du Toit, says wildlife populations have been overhunted in
Zimbabwe
after farms were handed over to black Zimbabweans.
He warned that the
country's black rhinos, one of the species that attracts
high-spending
foreign tourists and hunters, is at great risk right now,
faced with the
spectre of extinction.
But he believes international help could avert the
disaster.
Professor du Toit, director of the Mammal Research Unit, says
commercial
white-owned farms in Zimbabwe were home to many rare large
mammals,
including cheetah, black rhino and sable - a type of
antelope.
"White-owned commercial farmland and ranchland in Zimbabwe
supported a very
significant proportion of the country's biodiversity. It
has been severely
impacted after land was thrown over to subsistence
agriculture."
The Zimbabwe Government insists that prior to the agrarian
revolutiion only
about 30 percent of white-owned land was actually used for
farming, the
minister of Environment Francis Nhema said, dismissing the
findings..
But the professor dismisses this, saying most of the arable
land was
cultivated, while the rest supported indigenous woodland that was
used for
grazing cattle, or for wildlife, or both.
"The issue is that
dumping impoverished peasants on geometrically-plotted
patches of virgin
non-arable land, without any infrastructure, tillage
equipment, venture
capital, housing, water supplies, or training will result
quite simply in an
ecological disaster," says Professor du Toit.
"Wildlife populations are
being overhunted and snared, habitat loss has been
rapid, and the whole
crisis risk getting exponentially worse."
Professor du Toit acknowledges
that Zimbabwe itself cannot afford to provide
that sort of infrastructure.
But he believes the international community
could step in and help. He says
its too late to undo the damage, but there
was need to save the little that
left.
He believes Zimbabwe can still find a solution to cut its losses.
But if it
fails to do so, he thinks the future is bleak.
"We're going
to lose some large populations and some important gene pools in
the near
future," says Professor du Toit.
Minister of State Jameson Timba on Question
Time
|
The
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jameson Timba, is the guest on
Question Time and joins SW Radio Africa journalist Lance Guma to talk about his
arrest last Friday for allegedly calling Mugabe a liar. Freed by a special
session of the High Court last Sunday, Timba joins the programme to respond to
questions sent in by SW Radio Africa listeners using Facebook, Twitter, Skype,
e-mail and text messages. |  |
Interview broadcast 29 June 2011 
Lance
Guma: The Minister of State in the
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Office, Jameson Timba, was on Sunday freed by
a special session of the High Court following his controversial arrest on Friday
for allegedly calling Robert Mugabe a liar. Justice Joseph Musakwa ordered his
release saying there had been a violation of his rights. Minister Timba is my
guest on Question Time and we have invited him onto the programme to talk about
this and many other issues raised by our listeners who sent in questions via
Facebook, Twitter, Skype, e-mail and text messages. Thank you for joining us
Minister Timba.
Jameson
Timba: Thank you Lance.
Guma:
Let’s start with Friday, what happened? There were worries over your safety and
whereabouts.
Timba:
Well as I was leaving my office
around 4.35 and I got to my car and then I found three men standing on my car,
surrounded me and then they identified themselves as police and they demanded
that I accompany them to Harare Central Police Station.
Guma: Now
for some time your party didn’t know where you were and they were all worried
that you had been abducted. During this period were you taken anywhere else
except Harare Central Police Station?
Timba:
I was taken to Harare Central
Police Station and then whisked to Matapi Police Station.
Guma: And
did they tell you why they had arrested you and what the charges were?
Timba:
No they never did that. All they
did was just to take my profile, just taking my personal details and then that’s
all. And then took me to Matapi Police Station and then they instructed the duty
officer that I was not supposed to communicate with anyone, neither was supposed
to receive any visitors.
Guma: Okay
and then what happened from then on?
Timba:
The following morning they came
and picked me up around 9.30 and they took me to St Mary’s Police Station and we
went through exactly the same routine with the duty officer being told that I
should not communicate with anyone and/or receive any visitors.
Guma: At
what time or at what point did you get access to your lawyers?
Timba:
I got access to my lawyers around
20 to 11, that is when they came to pick me up around 10 ‘o clock from St Mary’s
Police Station (inaudible) my lawyer had the previous night filed an urgent
court application demanding that the police release me, no produce me in court
at 11 ‘o clock on Sunday. So it is that time I was only able to see my lawyer,
that was about 20 minutes before I appeared before the high court.
Guma: Now
when you did appear before the High Court, this was on Sunday, did they at any
point lay out what they were charging you with?
Timba:
No, in fact just before we went to
the High Court, they then produced a piece of paper which they said they were
charging me under Section 33 of the Criminal Code for insulting the president
and/or undermining his authority by having called him a liar.
Guma: Okay
so we all know the judge, Justice Joseph Musakwa ordered your release but
despite the order from the judge for you to be freed there was to be some
courtroom drama for over an hour we are told as police officers and your lawyers
reportedly clashed over attempts to take you back to the police station. Talk us
through that, what was happening?
Timba:
The police were saying that they
needed to take me back to the police station to go and complete what they called
release procedures but my lawyers argument was that there was no need for any
release procedure since the high court order had said to release me immediately
and immediately meant that particular time. Okay? In any event, when we
eventually went to the police station, there were no release procedures to be
completed. All they needed to do was to complete their docket by making me sign
a Warned and Cautioned statement to respond to the outrageous charge of
insulting the President.
Guma: We
were told even during that period of the standoff, police reinforcements had to
be called in and it was only that juncture that you then went to the station.
Timba:
No, that’s not
thereason why we went to the station. We went to the station
after my lawyer and I had made a decision. Look whatever these guys intentions
might be I think at this point so we just went to the police station to face
whatever circumstance was actually awaiting me.
Guma:
Okay. Now soon after your release Mr Timba, you wrote on your Facebook wall ‘I
am out and resting at home after two and a half days without food and water. I
didn’t realise the power of the mind over matter. Thanks to all of you for your
prayers and support.’ Interesting thing there – they denied you food during this
whole time?
Timba:
The last food that I’d had was in
the plane, the plane from Barcelona, ironically from a Rule of Law Summit in
Barcelona organised by the World Justice Forum and one of the key things that
the Prime Minister said at that Summit was that the rule of law in Zimbabwe was
in intensive care and it was proved as soon as we landed, that indeed it was in
intensive care.
So (inaudible)
until I got to the police station and they picked me up from St Mary’s
(inaudible) some food but what I meant by that the power of the mind over the
body was the fact that when I realised that food was not going to be
forthcoming, I switched off, therefore I never felt hungry.
Guma: You
also go on to say ‘Know that my resolve to fight for democratic change has been
strengthened. When you see Jonathan Moyo tell him I’ll see him in Luanda for
Round Two at the next SADC Summit in August and he will become second best
again.’ Special mention of Jonathan Moyo there, what do you think is his role in
this whole thing?
Timba:
Jonathan Moyo ran a media campaign
a week before I was arrested, both in the print state media and in print in the
public media and (inaudible) where he was advocating for my arrest (inaudible)
Attorney General to institute proceedings against me.
Guma: The
background to all of this is that you allegedly accused Mugabe of lying about
the outcome of the SADC Summit in South Africa. Can you clarify this issue and
what your exact remarks were?
Timba:
My exact remarks which are
contained in my opinion piece that I wrote for both, for the Standard are to the
effect that the distortions that are coming out of the public media and some
from ZANU PF have reached dishonest proportions bordering on insanity. That’s
what I said.
Guma:
Okay. Even for example if you had used the word ‘Mugabe lied’, would that still
be a crime under Zimbabwean law?
Timba:
According to my lawyers, it is not
an offence.
Guma: We
have a question from South Africa, Martin Mpeketula he says, Minister as MDC is
there a policy right now being worked out in regard to the whole correctional
institute in Zimbabwe, especially on rehabilitation of all prisons since from
your experiences and others they are inhumane and dangerous to inhabit?
Timba:
Sorry what is the question?
Guma: Well
he’s asking, from your experiences as MDC people who have been incarcerated and
you’ve seen conditions in the prisons, in remand prisons, are there any policies
that you are working on in regard to trying to…
Timba:
Yes indeed. We have pushed through
the Council of Ministers a programme of rehabilitation of all these facilities
which has to be done under the Ministry of Justice. As it stands now, the
minister of Justice has set up a technical committee of officials, an
inter-party technical committee because it is a cross party issue which affects
other ministries, to work on the rehabilitation programme.
Guma: The
last time we addressed this issue I think we had posed it to the co-Home Affairs
minister Theresa Makone and the answer was that there was no money to be able to
rehabilitate so is that something obviously that you’ll be coming up against?
Timba:
Well look people need first of all
to establish what needs to be done and then people know the cost that is
involved and then a bid, a normal bid to the Treasury is then done. It is only
after that that we are able to determine whether the resources to do it are
there or not. But we have to determine the cost first. So this technical
committee that I indicated to you is working on the programme and the cost will
be determined from what is involved.
Guma: From
Mount Pleasant, that’s your constituency obviously, Roger says MDC MPs among
others, keep finding themselves being arrested under laws that have no place in
a democratic society e.g. insulting or undermining the authority of the
president, notifying or obtaining permission from police before holding a
meeting, etcetera, etcetera. Now he cites Article 17 of the GPA which talks
about the parties agreeing to a legislative agenda, so his question is – why
after nearly two and a half years in government and in parliament, have the MDC
not introduced any Bills to amend or repeal any of these laws? “They and others
like WOZA would not be subject to this sort of harassment from the police if the
laws did not exist.”
Timba:
I agree with Roger. Let me start
by saying that we have actually tabled a Private Members Bill on POSA, to clean
up POSA. There’s another plan to come up with another Private Members Bill to
look at the Criminal Code, in particular some of the provisions that I’ve been
arrested under but there are others like the ones which affect media freedom
such as the publication of falsehoods etcetera, etcetera under the Criminal
Code.
We did make an
effort through the general amendment laws but the minister who is responsible
for that is the Minister of Justice and I made, I specifically and personally
made submissions to him in cabinet about these provisions and there were
actually four clauses about the Criminal Code including this one and he rejected
that and because of the way in which we work, he is the minister in charge of
that Act so he can reject any submissions.
So the next thing
that is going to happen now is that there will be a Private Members Bill to deal
with that. Then the other aspect that I also want Roger to understand is that
this is not an MDC government. MDC is in government but it is not an MDC
government. Therefore processes and procedures to do certain things are hampered
by the partners that we have in government. We are still in the trenches; the
only difference is that the trenches are now executive trenches.
Guma:
There is a general argument made by some critics that a lot of effort was put
into electing MDC members of parliament and the party got a majority in
parliament but you have not been using that majority to your advantage, choosing
instead to be cautious in your dealings with ZANU PF. Would you accept that
criticism?
Timba:
Well unless somebody were to
specify in what way I would not be able to respond other than just to accept and
take it as a criticism but without being specific it would be very difficult for
me to respond.
Guma: Well
there’s a general feeling and some of our listeners have made this observation
that, for example the controversial Chinese loan deal, a lot of people felt the
MDC could have, I mean they said the right things in parliament in terms of
criticising the skewed priorities but they did not block the deal from going
through although they have the majority in parliament. So that is an example of
the MDC probably not using its majority.
Timba:
That is a valid criticism; I’m
totally against that loan agreement myself.
Guma: The
army generals have been relentless in their attacks on Tsvangirai; you were
arrested, eventually freed; Energy Minister Elton Mangoma faced the same fate
several months ago and now we have nearly 25 party activists in custody over the
death of a policeman in Glen View. Just your thoughts Mr Timba, what do you
think is the ZANU PF strategy here?
Timba:
ZANU PF has got three strategies –
violence, intimidation and harassment. That’s all they have left to them and
that’s all they’ve had for the past 30 years and that’s all they will continue
to do. As fighters for democracy, we have made a deliberate choice, okay?
Although it is a choice which one might say represents an oxymoron where we have
decided to fight a dictatorship using democratic means, which means fighting a
ruthless dictatorship using peaceful means. So this is a choice that we have
made and we will continue to fight to ensure that we can go to a process where
Zimbabwe can be reborn.
Guma: One
of your strategies and this is my final question, one of your strategies has
obviously involved relying on the SADC regional grouping for a solution and you
are also obviously looking forward to the Summit in Luanda. Do you think this
route will bear fruit because when Thabo Mbeki was leading the mediation effort
people didn’t have a lot of confidence in it, there seems to have been a gradual
shift after the Livingstone Summit and everyone is hoping something will come
out of it? Do you think this is going to be the ultimate solution?
Timba:
I believe that SADC leaders have
now made a decision that they don’t want this Zimbabwe crisis to continue to be
on their agenda. It is affecting them. South Africa for instance, the issue of
Zimbabwe is no longer a foreign policy issue; it is now a domestic issue for
them. It is an issue that is raised in their parliament; it is an issue that is
raised in their national executive of their ruling party.
It is an issue
that is raised in the streets of South Africa. We have got millions of our
compatriots who are living in South Africa; we have got issues of xenophobia now
taking place where people are complaining that our jobs are being taken
etcetera. So South Africa has got to a resolve to ensure that the Zimbabwe case
is resolved for themselves.
Guma: Well
Zimbabwe that was the Minister of State in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
office, Mr Jameson Timba. He was on Sunday (last) freed by a special session of
the high court following his controversial arrest on Friday for allegedly
calling Robert Mugabe a liar. Mr Timba, thank you so much for joining us on this
edition of Question Time.
Timba:
Thank you.
To listen to the
programme:
http://swradioafrica.streamuk.com/swradioafrica_archive/qt290611.wma
Feedback can be
sent to lance@swradioafrica.com http://twitter.com/lanceguma or http://www.facebook.com/lance.guma
SW Radio
Africa – on line 24 hours a day at www.swradioafrica.com and daily broadcasts on 4880 kHz in the 60m band between
7 - 9 pm Zimbabwe time. Twitter
: Facebook :
RSS feed
You can now get SW Radio Africa on the Tunein
Radio smart phone app.
|
Is the Kimberley Process fit for purpose?
By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 05/07/11
Never has there been so much
pressure for the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme to reform itself
than now, since its formation.
Launched in January 2003, to prevent the
trade in diamonds that fund
conflict, the KP scheme has had its achievements
and failures.
KP’s notable achievements in the past ten years, include
“pioneering a
tripartite approach to solving international problems, and
helping some of
the countries that were worst-hit by diamond-fuelled wars to
increase their
official diamond revenues,” according to Global Witness
campaign group on
its website.
On the other hand, it is common
knowledge that the KP has failed to
effectively deal with the problem of
Zimbabwe’s “blood diamonds” as the
mines remain under military occupation
and some people said to be working
like slaves for too little or nothing. To
compound the problem, the Treasury
in Harare is not receiving proceeds from
the diamond sales to the extent
that striking civil servants have had to be
content with $31 pay increase.
Everyone is asking, so where is the money
from diamond sales going?
The KP is hopping from one crisis to another,
without a clear indication of
when it will get out of the woods. First, was
the controversial
certification of Zimbabwe’s diamonds as “conflict free”
by KP monitor Abbey
Chikane who even went on to endorse the military
occupation of Chiadzwa in
spite of the alleged murder of 241 people in the
area by the army using
helicopters. The army should be replaced by a
civilian police force.
Secondly, KP Chairman Yamba’s decision to declare
Zimbabwe controversial
diamonds as suitable for sale without a consensus
almost ripped the
organisation apart. The final straw was the release of
seized Zimbabwean
diamonds by the United Arab Emirates which has plunged the
watchdog body in
the mother of all crises.
It looks like the main
cause of the KP’s “life threatening” problems could
be the overdue need to
redefine “conflict “or “blood diamonds” in the
contemporary context. It’s
now clear that undemocratic regimes are capable
of dealing in conflict
diamonds to wage wars whereas at its formation, the
KP’s definition of
conflict diamonds was confined to rebels only.
Not long ago, almost six
thousand people signed an online petition calling
for a complete reform of
the international diamond monitor, the Kimberley
Process over its decision
to certify diamonds mined at Chiadzwa as “conflict
free” according to the
Swradioafrica on 24 September 2010. The KP’s decision
caused an outrage as
Zimbabwe went on to hold two auctions of what critics
argued were ‘blood
diamonds’ and allegedly mined by entities led by people
on the US and EU
targeted sanctions list for rights abuses.
As is well known that the
Mugabe regime regards human rights and the rule of
law as peripheral issues,
it is justifiable to criticise the Kimberley
Process for copping out on a
crucial issue of human rights. Therefore,
having failed to discharge its
duty, the Kimberly Process is arguably not
fit for purpose.
Unless it
reforms urgently, the KP system risks a nasty and painful collapse
leaving
behind a trail of human rights outstanding issues blighting the
commercial
world of diamonds. The prognosis is not looking good for the
Kimberly
Process, if it remains shy to change.
©Clifford Chitupa Mashiri,
Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
