Sunday Times (SA)
Mugabe sets out to grab yet more
land
Methembe Mkhize
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is
pressing ahead with his farm seizures
in spite of the fact that he has
already grabbed more than 90% of
white-owned farmland.
Although he has
been expropriating land since 2000, the 74-year-old leader
still intends to
acquire 24 more commercial farms to resettle
landless
blacks.
Mugabe says he will expropriate the land under
Section 5 of the Land
Acquisition Act in the next couple of
weeks.
Farmers who want to oppose Mugabe's orders are legally
entitled to do so by
writing to Agriculture Minister Joseph Made before
August 5.
The minister, however, reserves his right not to respond to
objections. In
the past Made has ignored the objections and proceeded to
serve eviction
orders demanding that owners stop working within 45 days from
the date of
notice and vacate the farms within 90 days.
Last week
Mugabe imposed a ban on production on about 3000 farms and ordered
farmers to
leave their farms by August 10.
Some have reacted by taking Mugabe to
court.
On Thursday the Zimbabwe High Court blocked Mugabe's eviction
order against
George Pretorius Quinnell and granted him interim relief to
remain on his
property and farm.
The same court also granted the
owner of Erewhon temporary relief against
removal.
Update Chiredzi Farmers Charged for
FARMING
and legal successes!
5th July 2002
Dear All,
The last three days have been very
significant for Zimbabwe's farmers and in fact for Zimbabweans as a whole. There
was significant progress on the legal cases taken by individuals under the
Justice for Agriculture platform.
Wednesday - Judge Chinengo granted
the declaring without force of the preliminary and compulsory acquisition
notices on Erewhon Farm owned by Jean Simon. The basis for this ruling was that
the notices were not served on all interested parties. Secondly the legislation
requires the serving of a Section 7 notice within 30 days, this was not complied
with. Jean and her
300 odd workers have returned to full production!!!!!!!!
Some of you will have participated in a survey I conducted and will be happy to
know that JUSTICE PREVAILED for Jean and her staff.
12:30 Thursday - Judge Paradza
granted 'interim relief' to a Farmer allowing that he continue farming whilst
the Government answer as to the constutionality of the amendments to the Land
Acquisition Act. The Government have 10 days to respond. Pls request details if
you have not already received the legal papers. George Quinnell has returned to
walk his lands and tend his 130 hectares of wheat and 50 hectares of barley.
Thursday to Friday - Whilst Jean
and George were returning to full production 15 other farmers were visited by a
group of Government Officials and Police and asked to report to Chiredzi Police
to be charged for FARMING.
As that unfolded in Chiredzi
proceedings opened in a regional court where a group of 10 Chinhoyi Farmers sat
on the edges of their seats awaiting the next move by Public Prosecutor, Mr C
Chimbari. He had already withdrawn charges on 14 others, and justice was served
as he indicated to Provincial Magistrate, Mr C Mushipe that he was withdrawing
charges against the remaining 10 accused. They are Tony Barkley, Jim Steele,
Hamish Barkley, Scott Marillier, Robbie Moyes, Gert "Oom Gert" Pretorius, Tony
Marillier, Gert "Boet" Pretorius, Cornelius "Niels" van Heerden and Andries
"Hennie" Nel. You will all recall the events in August 2001 that lead to massive
trashing and looting in the Lomagundi farming area resulting in hundreds of
families being evacuated out of the area and the loss of billions of dollars
worth of property.
Just wanted to share these events
with you and as always, I value your emails, calls and comments as only if we
communicate will be find solutions to make our nation of Zimbabwe whole again.
Regards,
Jenni Williams
P.S. Please forward this update to
any an all Farmers that face the same predicament of being charged for
continuing to earn a living whilst FARMING to FEED the nation!
_________________________________________________
News release (On
behalf of the Commercial Farmers Union)
FIFTEEN Sugar Cane Farmers from the
Chiredzi farming area of Zimbabwe have been told to report to the Chiredzi
Police to be charged under the Land Acquisition Act Chapter 20:10 Section 8 Sub
(7) Sub Section 1 for 'interfering with the Resettlement Programme by the
Acquiring Authority'.
Four of the fifteen have signed
warned and cautioned statements and the remainder are still to attend the Police
Station to do so. The first four are under arrest but were released on 'free
bail'. The Farmers are then expected to make statements as to their reasons for
'continuing to farm' and will appear before a magistrate who it is believed will
make a ruling. The Farmers have been asked to provide proof that they had
applied to continue farming as part of their defense.
Background regarding the Amendments
to the Land Acquisition Act:
The Order was radically changed by
a special session of parliament that was convened on 10th May at which
amendments to the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) were promulgated (Act 6 of 2002).
The Orders, including all those served before
10 May, transfer ownership of
the land to the State immediately, and constitute a notice to stop farming after
45 days, and to vacate the homestead within 90 days. To exceed either of these
time limits was made a criminal offence. Ends 4th July 2002
Update 5th July 2002 Eleven of the
fifteen have made warned and cautioned statements and it is understood that the
dockets are being held by CID.
The statements read..
WARNED AND CAUTIONED STATEMENT: -
We,... (Farm name and registration
number) having been informed that inquiries are being made in connection with a
case of contravening Section 8 (7) A. R. . W. Subsection (1) of the amendment to
the Land Acquisition Act: Chapter 20:10 "interferes with the Exercise of the
Acquiring Authority" make this statement of our own free will. While we have
been informed that we are not obliged to say anything in answer to these
allegations, our failure at this stage to mention any facts relevant to our
defense to them may result in a court drawing interference against us. Whatever
we do say will be taken down in writing and may be given in evidence in court.
_______
While we understand the charge, we
deny the charge totally. The Section 8 order was wrongly issued, as the Section
7 proceedings have not been concluded. A Section 8 order is subject to the
provisions of Section 7. Signed and dated and stamped by ZRP.
Ends
5th July 2002
For more information, please contact, Jenni
Williams
Mobile (+263) 91 300456 or 11 213 885 or on email
jennipr@mweb.co.zw Or Fax
(+2639) 63978
or (+2634) 703829 email:
prnews@mweb.co.zwA member of the
International Association of Business Communicators.
MSNBC
Zimbabwe farmers charged with ''illegal
operations''
HARARE, July 6 - Fifteen white Zimbabwean farmers
have been charged with
defying a government order to stop farming land
targeted for seizure by the
state, officials said on Saturday.
Jenni Williams, spokeswoman for the white Commercial Farmers Union
(CFU),
said the 15 had signed statements at the Chiredzi police in
southeastern
Zimbabwe on Thursday acknowledging they had been ''warned
and
cautioned.''
''The authorities are saying that the farmers are
defying lawful
orders and interfering with the government resettlement
programme, but the
farmers are simply attending to a sugar crop already in
the ground,'' she
told Reuters.
''Farmers cannot simply abandon
their operations like that, and that
is why some have gone to the courts to
appeal against the government
orders.''
The Zimbabwean government
is pressing on with its seizures of
white-owned farms despite criticism that
the drive is worsening a severe
food crisis in the southern African
state.
Nearly 3,000 white farmers have been ordered to vacate their
farms by
August 10 to make way for landless blacks.
The farmers
were ordered to stop all farming on June 24, and those
found guilty of
defying government orders face heavy fines or two years in
prison.
The High Court this week gave one farmer 10 days to continue farming
while
the government prepares its papers and arguments for a court hearing.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made has branded whites fighting to
retain their
land as ''unrepentant racists and fascists.''
President Robert Mugabe,
who is accused by the opposition and many
Western powers of cheating in
presidential polls in March, says he wants to
finish his ''fast-track'' land
redistribution by August.
The programme is an effort to correct
imbalances in land ownership
created by British colonialism, government
says.
Zimbabwe was plunged into its worst crisis in 22 years
of
independence in 2000 when pro-government militants, led by veterans of
the
1970s liberation war, began invading farms.
Farmers say they
support land redistribution but are opposed to the
methods employed by
Mugabe, who has ruled the former Rhodesia since
independence in 1980.
TO ALL FARMERS
I AM HAPPY TO
SHARE WITH YOU ALL THAT THIS MORNING IN THE HIGH COURT OF HARARE RELIEF WAS
GRANTED TO OUR URGENT INTERDICT SEEKING RELIEF FROM A SECTION 8 ISSUED TO ONE OF
OUR FARMERS. AS PART OF THE JAG TEAM I AM HUMBLED TO SEE HOW OUR LORD ANSWERS
PRAYERS. ISAIAH 41-10. GOD BLESS PETER GOOSEN (JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ZIMBABWE CASE
NUMBER HC5263/2002
Farmer - Lomagundi vs. Ministry of
Lands Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Joseph Made and Minister of Justice
Legal and Parliamentary affairs, Patrick Chinamasa and the Attorney General
Provisional order to the 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd Respondents issued on 4th day of July 2002 in the High Court sitting at
Harare. The Respondents, have 10 days to respond.
Ray Passaportis represented the
Farmer
INTERIM RELIEF
Pending the determination by this
Honourable Court of the issues referred to below in point 1 to 5 inclusive, it
is ordered that:
1. The Acquisition Order issued
by the first respondent on 8th May 2002 in respect of Nyalugwe Farm shall not preclude the applicant
from occupying, holding or using the land including all improvement thereon or
from undertaking all farming operations:
2. That the costs of this
application will be determined at the hearing of this matter.
The Terms of Order declare that
the:
1. Land Acquisition Act, No 6 of
2002 was not lawfully enacted by Parliament and is therefore invalid and of no force and effect.
Alternatively:
It is declared that the amendments
to sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Land Acquisition Act (Chapter 20:10) made in
terms of the Land Acquisition Act, 2002, are invalid and of no force and effect
by reason of being in conflict with Sections 11, 16, (1) (b), 16 (1) (c), 16 (1)
(d), 18 (5), 18 (9), 23 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
2. It is declared that Mr.
Patrick Anthony Chinamasa MP ceased to be the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs with
effect from 1st April 2002.
3. It is declared that Dr.
Joseph Mtakwase Made MP ceased to be the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement with effect
from 1st April 2002 and that the Section 8 Acquisition Order signed by him on
29th April 2002 concerning Applicant's farm known, as Nyalugwe is invalid and of
no force and effect.
4. It is declared that the
Section 8 Acquisition Order signed by the First Respondent is invalid and of no force and effect by reason
of the fact that First Respondent failed to file with the Administrative Court
an Application to confirm the Acquisition within the 30 day period prescribed by
the Land Acquisition Act (Chapter 20:10).
5. It is declared that the
Section 5 (1) Notice and the Section 8 Acquisition Order signed by the First Respondent are invalid and of no
force and effect by reason of the fact that First Respondent failed to serve
notice on bond holder in terms of Sections 5 and 8 of the Land Acquisition Act
(Chapter 20:10).
Ends
_______________________________
Dear All,
Background info re yesterdays
ruling.
URGENT CHAMBER APPLICATION
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
ZIMBABWE CASE NO H C 5263/2002
HELD AT HARARE
In the matter between
GEORGE PRETORIUS
QUINNELL APPLICANT
and
MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE
&
RURAL
RESETTLEMENT 1ST RESPONDENT
MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL &
PARLIAMENTARY
AFFAIRS 2ND RESPONDENT
ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR
ZIMBABWE 3RD RESPONDENT
________________________________________________________________
CERTIFICATE OF URGENCY
________________________________________________________________
I, RAYMOND MILTON PASSAPORTIS, a
registered Legal Practitioner and Partner of Wintertons, Legal Practitioners of
record for Applicant, hereby certify that this matter is urgent on the following
grounds:
Applicant is currently growing 130
hectares of wheat and 50 hectares of barley.
If Applicant is forced to stop his
farming operations on 24th June 2002, the crops will die.
Zimbabwe is currently facing a
severe food shortage and it is unconscionable that the loss of these crops be
permitted when it is unnecessary that this happen.
Applicant wrote to the Respondent
on 10th May 2002 seeking an extension beyond the 24th June 2002 to enable him to
grow and harvest the crops. Respondent has not replied. The matter is now
urgent because on 24th June 2002 Applicant must stop farming operations unless
the relief sought is granted.
DATED at HARARE this 21st day
of June 2002
..............
R M PASSAPORTIS
WINTERTONS
Applicant's Legal Practitioners
Beverley Corner
11 Selous Avenue
HARARE (RMP/emac)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
ZIMBABWE CASE NO H C 5263/2002
HELD AT HARARE
In the matter between
GEORGE PRETORIUS
QUINNELL APPLICANT
and
MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE
&
RURAL
RESETTLEMENT 1ST RESPONDENT
MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL &
PARLIAMENTARY
AFFAIRS 2ND RESPONDENT
ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR
ZIMBABWE 3RD RESPONDENT
_______________________________________________________________
AFFIDAVIT OF GEORGE PRETORIUS
QUINNELL
________________________________________________________________
I, GEORGE PRETORIUS QUINNELL do
hereby make oath and say that:
1. I am the registered
owner of certain piece of land in the District of Lomagundi called Nyalugwe
measuring 600,4192 hectares in extent and held by me under Deed of Transfer No
3200/77. A copy of the Deed of Transfer is attached marked "A". It can be
seen that I have borrowed monies from a commercial bank (Standard Chartered) and
mortgage bonds have been registered in respect of this property and the other
property known as Mbidzi which is also owned by me..
2. Respondent is the
Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement and, for the purposes of
this Application, is the Acquiring Authority as defined in Section 2 of the Land
Acquisition Act, Chapter
20:10 ("the Act").
3. The facts deposed to in
this Affidavit are within my personal knowledge or made to the best of my
information and belief.
4. The property known as
Nyalugwe Farm (the property) is the subject of compulsory acquisition
proceedings by Respondent.
5. After the land was
gazetted for compulsory acquisition and a preliminary notice served in terms of
Section 5(1) of the Act. I sent a letter of objection to the Respondent dated
3rd July 2001. This letter was delivered to the offices of the Ministry of
Lands Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, 1 Borrowdale Road, Harare. A copy of
the letter is attached marked "B".
6. I received no response
to this letter from Respondent.
7. I made a conscious
decision to continue farming operations despite the many and varied land
resettlement problems throughout the country. I am currently growing 130
hectares of wheat and 50 hectares of barley. The gross return on these crops is
expected to be in excess of
Z$25 000 000,00. By the
beginning of April 2002 the crops had been planted.
8. On the 8th May 2002 I
received an Acquisition Order made by the Respondent in terms of Section 8 (1)
of the Act. The Order was signed by the Respondent on 29th April 2002. A
copy of the Order is attached marked "C".
9. On the 10th May 2002,
after receipt of the Acquisition Order (annexure "C"), I wrote to the
Respondent. A copy of the letter is attached marked "D". I handed a copy of
the letter to the Commercial Farmers Union and received an assurance that it was
hand delivered to the Ministry Offices on Borrowdale Road, Harare, the following
day. The contents of the letter are self-explanatory. In brief, I wrote to the
Respondent for permission to continue farming operations. I wrote to the
Respondent because I was advised to do so by the Commercial Farmers Union and
because farmers in the area had received assurances from Vice-President Msika
that grain crops could be grown and harvested. I have waited for a response from
the Respondent but none has been forthcoming. I am now compelled to make this
Application because of the promulgation of the Land Acquisition Amendment Act,
No 6 of 2002 (the Amendment Act) which came into effect on 10th May 2002.
10. By 20th June 2002 no
Section 7 Application for confirmation of the Acquisition of Nyalugwe Farm had
been served upon me. A diligent search was conducted by Mr David Drury, a
registered legal practitioner and partner of Gollop and Blank, at the offices of
the Administrative Court. I attach his Affidavit as annexure "E". Because
the Respondent as the Acquiring Authority, has failed to file with the
Administrative Court the application for confirmation of acquisition within the
prescribed 30 day period, I submit that the Section 8 Order is rendered invalid
and of no force or effect.
11. I have mentioned
previously that the property is bonded to the bond holder. In terms of Section
5 of the Act, the Respondent is obliged to give notice to the owner and all
interested parties. The bond holders have never been notified of the Section 5
Notice or indeed the Section 8 Order. In terms of the amendment to Section 9
of the Act, the 90 day period starts to run on 10th May 2002 which is the date
upon which the Amendment Act came into effect. This provision relates, of
course, to Section 8 Orders made prior to the commencement of the Act. The
Section 8 Order served upon me falls into this category. According to the
amendment Act, then, I am required to cease occupying, holding or using the
property on 24th June 2002 failing which I face criminal prosecution.
12. For the purposes of this
Application, I maintain that Sections
8, 9 and 10 of the Act, as amended by
the Amendment Act, are unconstitutional for the reasons which follow and are
therefore invalid.
12.1 The Amendment Act was
legislated unprocedurally and not in accordance with the Constitution or with
Parliamentary Standing Orders. I refer in this regard to the Affidavit of Tendai
Laxton Biti attached hereto marked "F"
12.2 Following on from what Mr
Biti says in his Affidavit, it must follow that any Notices or Orders made or
issued by the Respondent upon or after the 1st April 2002 are invalid. The
Section 8 Order relating to the property was signed by the Respondent on the
29th April 2002 and served upon me on 8th May 2002. It is submitted that this
Acquisition Order is invalid because the Respondent was not at the time a
lawfully appointed Minister of Government.
12.3 A preliminary notice given
in terms of Section 5 (1) of the Act has a life span of two years. A Section 8
Order can be made by the Acquiring Authority at any time during that two year
period. Section 8 (2) (b) (which relates specifically to agricultural land)
permits and acquiring authority "to exercise any right of ownership .... without
undue interference to the living quarters of the owner or occupier of that
land." A farmer who decides to grow any crop, therefore, does so at great
peril because at any time the Acquiring Authority may assume ownership of his
land and crop (which attaches to the land and forms part of it). Section
16(1)(b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe ("the Constitution") "requires the
acquiring authority to give reasonable notice of the intention to acquire the
property, interest or right to any person owing the property or having any other
interest or right therein . "
Because the issue and service of a
Section 8 Order requires no notice whatsoever, it is submitted that the
provisions of Section
16(1)(b) of the Constitution are offended.
12.4 Section 16 (1) (c) of the
Constitution requires that no property shall be compulsorily acquired unless the
Acquiring Authority pays fair compensation for the acquisition "before or within
a reasonable time after acquiring the property, interest or right."
Respondent purports to have
acquired the property by virtue of the Acquisition Order dated 29th April 2002,
which was served upon me on the
8th May 2002. No compensation has been
paid to date and I maintain that the provisions of Section 16 (1) (c) of the
Constitution have been offended.
12.5 Section 9 of the Amendment
Act introduces a criminal penalty for any owner or occupier who fails to stop
occupying, holding or using the land acquired forty-five days after service upon
of a Section 8 Order. Because of the stated retroactive affect of the
legislation, an owner of occupier may well find that he has committed an offence
even though when the Section 8 was issued, no criminal sanction existed at that
time. This applies to all Section 8 Orders issued and served before 10th May
2002 (the date of commencement of the Amendment Act) at which time the
occupation, holding or use of land contrary to the rights of the Acquiring
Authority was not an offence. It is submitted that this provision offends
Section 18(5) of the Constitution which provides as follows:
"No person shall be held to be
guilty of a criminal offence on account of any act or omission that did not, at
the time it took place, constitute such an offence...."
12.6 The issue and service of
Section 8 Order effectively deprives an owner of his ownership of land without
any hearing. This offends one of the fundamental principles of natural justice
to the effect that a person must be given a fair opportunity of putting forward
his case before any action can be taken against him (the audi alteram partem
rule). Also, it is submitted, the implications and effects of a Section 8
Order offend Section 16 (1) (d) of the Constitution which requires the Acquiring
Authority, if the acquisition is contested, to apply to the High Court or some
other Court for the prompt return of the property if the Court does not confirm
the acquisition. It is implicit in what is stated that a physical acquisition
of land without the Acquiring Authority seeking and obtaining such confirmation
is illegal. Additionally, Section 18 (9) of the Constitution provides that "....
every person is entitled to be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time
by an independent and impartial court or other adjudicating authority
established by law in the determination of the existence or extent of his civil
rights or obligations".
12.7 It is common knowledge and
indeed accepted by Government that the Land Reform Programme is designed to take
land from white farm owners and give this land to indigenous blacks. Section 8
Orders are, therefore, selectively applied on racial grounds. It is submitted
that this approach offends Sections 11 and 23 (1) of the Constitution.
I pray for an Order in terms of the
Provisional Order attached hereto.
SWORN to at HARARE on this
the day of June 2002.
.................
G P QUINNELL
Before me
....................
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
ZIMBABWE CASE NO H C /2002
HELD AT HARARE
In the matter between
GEORGE PRETORIUS
QUINNELL APPLICANT
and
MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE
&
RURAL RESETTLEMENT RESPONDENT
TO THE RESPONDENT
TAKE NOTICE that
on the High Court sitting at Harare issued a Provisional Order
as shown overleaf.
The annexed Chamber Application,
Affidavit and documents were used in support of the application for this
Provisional Order.
If you intend to oppose the
confirmation of this Provisional Order, you will have to file a Notice of
Opposition in Form No 29B, together with one or more Opposing Affidavits, with
the Registrar of the High Court at Harare within ten (10) days after the date on
which this Provisional Order and annexures were served upon you. You will also
have to serve a copy of the Notice of Opposition and Affidavit/s on the
Applicant at the address for service specified in the application.
If you do not file an Opposing
Affidavit within the period specified above, this matter will be set down for
hearing in the High Court at Harare without further notice to you and will be
dealt with as an unopposed application for confirmation of the Provisional
Order.
If you wish to have the Provisional
Order changed or set aside sooner than the Rules of Court normally allow and can
show good cause for this, you should approach the Applicant's Legal Practitioner
or agree, in consultation with the Registrar, on a suitable hearing date. If
this cannot be agreed or there is great urgency, you may make a Chamber
Application on notice to the Applicant, for directions from a Judge as to when
the matter can be argued.
BY THE JUDGE
REGISTRAR
Dear Family and Friends,
The food crisis in Zimbabwe is unfolding with
frightening speed now. Wheat supplies have dwindled to almost nothing and all
week there have been reports of bread shortages in towns and cities around the
country. Bakers and Millers have been making urgent representation to the
government appealing for immediate imports of wheat as well as a 30% increase in
the price of bread which has been controlled by government for months. None of
the relevant ministries have responded with any maturity to this desperate
situation. One by one they have lashed out at every sector of the country
looking for someone to blame, looking for a scapegoat. Agriculture
Minister Joseph Made continues to insist that there are no shortages of wheat
despite having previously ordered that deliveries to millers be slashed by
almost 50%. Dr Made just will not admit that his ministry has failed the
country, has been unable to interpret conditions on the ground and been grossly
incompetent in securing food. Dr Made has consistently refused to accept the
enormity of the problems in the disastrous, politically dominated distribution
of our farm land. Even now he continues to say that everything is going to be
alright despite the fact that we need 400 000 tons of wheat a year and right at
this moment there are only 150 000 tons of the grain in the ground. If the
situation is bad now, it will be catastrophic in coming months. We are
eating all our food the moment it comes out of the ground and not a single thing
is being put into storage. When almost 3000 farmers are finally thrown off their
land in early August, there will be nothing left to harvest. Other government
ministers say that the food shortages have got nothing to do with the fact that
95% of our farmers are forbidden to work the land. They say that manufacturers
and wholesalers are deliberately hoarding basic commodities, selling them on the
black market and trying to sabotage the country. President Mugabe himself said
that these companies would be taken over by the government and given to the
people to run. In a government stacked with men holding doctorates I wonder what
on earth has happened to plain and simple common sense. Fifteen of
Zimbabwe's sugar cane farmers were ordered to report to the Chiredzi police
station this week, charged with breaking the law by continuing to reap sugar.
They were made to sign warned and cautioned statements and will appear in court
for trying to grow food and while that insanity is going on there is no sugar in
Zimbabwe. I got caught in a terrifying mob when shopping in my little town this
week. 500 people were queuing for sugar, someone tried to jump the line and
chaos was immediate and terrifying. A score of people chased the queue jumper
out into the main road and when they caught up with him outside the main
Marondera Railway station they beat him senseless. This is the ugly face of
hungry people and will undoubtedly get worse while our government continue to do
nothing except blame someone else for their incompetence. We are a restless and
desperate nation that stands patiently in line for food while we can still
afford it. The price of one single egg on my own farm in 2000 was $1.00, today
that same egg costs $23.00. In the frightening madness that overwhelmed Zimbabwe
this week there was also sanity and hope. Every single one of the 23 farmers
arrested and imprisoned in Chinoyi last year have now been acquitted of any
crime. A very brave magistrate made an honest ruling and all 23 men are now free
to carry on with their lives. Many of those men lost everything when their farms
were looted and destroyed last year but they have held their heads high, stood
by the truth and waited for justice. Their wait may have seemed an eternity but
it has shown us all that, in the end, justice always prevails. Until next week,
with love, cathy
Business Day
Gays to 'welcome' Mugabe in
Durban
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance will be among five interest groups set
to
"welcome" African heads of state on their arrival in Durban from Sunday
for
the launch of the African Union next week.
Safety and Security
Minister Charles Nqakula on Friday said the others
were a group from
Ethiopia, another from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a
trade interest
organisation, and members of the Socialist Party of Azania.
"The
gay and lesbian lobby will be there to welcome President Robert
Mugabe of
Zimbabwe," he told reporters.
The demonstrations would be staged
around Durban's International
Convention Centre, where the heads of state
will meet from Monday.
Nqakula said police had contingency plans in
place, but were not
overly concerned.
"We will be ready for them
in the nicest possible way," he quipped.
The five groups all had to
apply for permission to stage peaceful
pickets, which was granted as a matter
of routine.
Deputy President Jacob Zuma, Cabinet ministers and
their deputies were
on Friday bracing themselves for a long and hectic Sunday
to greet dozens of
heads of states. Most of the 52 African leaders invited
had so far confirmed
their attendance.
Minister in the
Presidency Essop Pahad said Zuma would "as far as
humanly possible" be on
hand to receive the heads of state on their arrival
at Durban International
Airport.
He would be supported by a rotating set of ministers or
deputies.
The heads of state would be accommodated in five-star
hotels in the
coastal city.
All indications were that Durban
would be squeaky clean for the
important visitors - despite a national strike
by municipal workers who have
been trashing city streets earlier in the
week.
Nqakula said the city council had commissioned private
companies to
clean up the streets, and to ensure the continued removal of
rubbish. They
would be backed up by soldiers.
The leadership of
the SA Municipal Workers' Union had since condemned
the conduct of members
who were throwing rubbish around.
"We are not expecting further
trashing of streets," Nqakula said. Sapa
Sapa
Saturday
06 July 2002
Mail and Guardian
SACP Klaps Mbeki And His
Africanists
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)
June 28,
2002
Posted to the web July 5, 2002
Jaspreet Kindra
The
South African Communist Party (SACP) has released a document highly
critical
of President Thabo Mbeki's stance on HIV/Aids and his renaissance
plans for
the African continent.
Without naming the president, the current edition
of the SACP's central
committee bulletin Bua Komanisi! takes an implied dig
at him in its critique
of the "Africanist current" within the ruling
tripartite alliance. Among the
other currents it identifies are the
"pragmatic" and "socialist".
The bulletin says the pragmatists and the
socialists want South Africa to be
more critical of the "anti-democratic"
behaviour of Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF
government.
In its critique of the
Africanist trend, the bulletin highlights its
tendency to move into "denial",
referring to Africanist attitudes to
HIV/Aids and unemployment in South
Africa. It ascribes the proneness to
denial to the "shortfall between
exaggerated and/or short-term expectations
of African renewal or of South
African growth and development".
Africanists are said to resort to
"subjectivist explanations -- allegations
of conspiracies or an overly
psychologised explanation for persisting
injustices (white racism, or global
Afro-pessimism)".
Mbeki and the ANC leadership have alleged a range of
conspiracies to
undermine the government and the ANC, including claims of an
"ultra- left
tendency" in the Congress of South African Trade Unions and a
plot by
pharmaceutical firms on HIV/Aids.
The document does not deny
"white racism" and Afro-pessimism, but argues
that these are not sufficient
to explain persisting poverty and
marginalisation of the majority of South
Africans.
The SACP document also warns against a "tendency" among
Africanists "to
exaggerate the possibilities of a continental renewal -- or
to associate
such a renewal with relatively superficial events". In a clear
reference to
South Africa's bid for the 2004 Olympics in Cape Town, it cites
the hosting
of international sporting events as one of the "superficial"
attempts to
enhance Africa's status.
"This is often linked with a
failure to adequately analyse the deeply
entrenched, structured character of
global capitalism, and its systemic
reproduction of Africa's
peripheralisation and development."
The bulletin says the Africanist
tendency has sympathy for Zanu-PF and its
leader President Robert Mugabe,
while holding that the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change is "an
imperialist tool". Africanists identify white
farmers and Britain as the
cause of stalled land reform, which "lies at the
heart of the economic
crisis" in Zimbabwe.
It says the pragmatists want South Africa to be more
critical "probably" to
send positive signals to international investors and
"our own capitalist
class, that we will not behave like that
here".
For socialists, the emphasis is on how "anti-democratic behaviour"
is used
to "suppress progressive popular forces" including unions and
progressive
civil society. The bulletin, however, notes that the co-existence
of these
differing perspectives has "not prevented the development of an
effective
and unifying ANC and alliance position on Zimbabwe and on a variety
of
otherissues."
Among the weaknesses cited in the socialist current
is the existence of two
extreme positions, one of which holds that the party
should assert its
independence by "seeking to distinguish every action we
take from the ANC",
the other seeking to reduce the SACP to the "socialist
desk" of the ANC.
The document also states that the SACP can neither
isolate itself from the
liberation movement nor tail behind the ANC
Farmers Challenge Mugabe's Cabinet -
Las
Vegas Sun: July 05, 2002
Court overturns
work ban on Zimbabwe’s white farmers - The Scotsnam: 6 July
2002
Judge orders 10-day halt to farm seizures -
The Independent UK: 06 July
2002
Farmers Challenge Mugabe's
Cabinet
Las Vegas
Sun: July 05, 2002
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARARE, Zimbabwe- White farmers trying to stave off
evictions and arrest have gone to court to challenge the constitutional
authority of President Robert Mugabe's Cabinet.
The government has 10 days to respond to allegations filed
Thursday in the High Court that claim the president failed to reappoint his
Cabinet after his disputed victory in March elections as required by the
constitution.
Commercial Farmers Union spokeswoman Jenni Williams said
until the court case is heard and finalized, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
and Agriculture Minister Joseph Made may not legally interfere with any of the
2,900 commercial farmers ordered to stop work on June 24 in preparation for
government takeover in early August.
"See how the Lord has answered our prayers," said Peter
Goosen of "Justice for Agriculture," a newly formed defense organization that
brought the action in the name of George Quinnell, a farmer facing eviction from
his 1,500 acre Nyalugwe Farm at Karoi, 125 miles northwest of Harare.
Quinnell has been continuing to tend 450 acres of
irrigated wheat and barley in defiance of the government order to stop work.
Police at Chiredzi, 250 miles south of the capital,
Thursday arrested 15 white farmers who allegedly defied the government order to
stop tending crops and livestock.
The order was part of Mugabe's efforts to seize about 95
percent of the nation's white-owned commercial farms. Mugabe says he wants to
redistribute the land to landless blacks to correct inequities from the colonial
era. Critics say he is using the issue for political gain and claim many of the
farms are going to his cronies.
The order has disrupted agricultural production as U.N.
experts say 6 million Zimbabweans are threatened by possible famine.
Zimbabwe is currently suffering a serious bread shortage.
Stocks of maize meal, the staple diet of its 13 million people, already have run
out. Made, the agriculture minister, repeated government claims Friday that food
shortages were the result of economic sabotage by white-controlled companies.
Under Zimbabwe's constitution, a president is supposed to
appoint a new Cabinet immediately after being sworn in. Mugabe, however, has
never done so.
Government sources said he delayed the appointments
because of reconciliation talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
However, the talks broke down over Mugabe's demand the
opposition accept the election. Critics say Mugabe has also delayed the
appointments in an effort to threaten Cabinet ministers wavering from his
hard-line policies.
He told a rally: "There are some members of my government
I cannot trust."
The action in the High Court, in theory, means officials
and police cannot execute orders made in the name of the justice and agriculture
ministers until the issue has been decided.
However, the government has frequently disregarded court
orders in the two years since ruling party militants began occupying white
farms.
The court challenge argues that Chinamasa and Made ceased
to be ministers on April 1 because Mugabe failed to publish their reappointment
in the official government gazette. Thus the eviction notices the ministers
issued on April 29 are invalid, the suit argues.
