Zimbabwe lawyers say Mugabe's July poll call is illegal, may be forced to rescind

http://www.canada.com/

BY GILLIAN GOTORA, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JUNE 14, 2013 12:00 PM

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Legal experts in Zimbabwe said Friday that President
Robert Mugabe's unilateral call for end of July polls is illegal and he
could be forced to overturn it at an upcoming regional meeting scheduled
Saturday.

Veritas, an independent legal research group, said President Robert Mugabe
has no power under the country's constitution to call for elections without
the approval of the cabinet of government ministers.

"In issuing an election proclamation, the president is obliged to act on the
advice of cabinet. Quite obviously he did not do so. On that ground alone,
the proclamation is legally void," the group said in a statement.

Mugabe is in a coalition government with former opposition leader Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai brokered by regional leaders after violent and
disputed elections in 2008.

He has set July 31 for the national vote arguing he is obeying a May court
ruling after a private lawsuit brought against him demanded early polls.

The legal group said Mugabe can only act on his own if he wants to dissolve
parliament, but in this case he has allowed parliament to run until June 28,
when it should expire after its current five-year term.

Tsvangirai claims Mugabe needs his consent on when to hold elections under
the power-sharing deal.

Veritas said Mugabe has created a political crisis in unilaterally calling
for polls. It said once Mugabe has set an election date, amendments to
electoral laws that critics say have led to vote-rigging in the past cannot
be made as proposed in the nation's new constitution, overwhelming accepted
in a March referendum.

Mugabe invoked special presidential powers earlier Thursday to by-pass
parliament and fast-track changes to electoral laws a few hours before his
notice announcing an election date.

But Veritas said the amendments to the electoral laws that Mugabe would have
made are superseded by the election notice rendering them invalid.

"So whatever deficiencies there may be in the amendments .the election will
have to be held in accordance with them," it said.

Tsvangirai, Mugabe's partner in the coalition, has repeatedly demanded
reforms in the loyalist police and military widely blamed for
state-orchestrated violence in previous elections.

Mugabe has dismissed calls for reform in the partisan security sector.

This has raised fears among rights groups of a repeat of violence that
marred the previous 2008 polls. Hundreds of Mugabe's opponents were killed
and thousands were wounded.

In a statement, Amnesty International's Africa director Netsanet Belay said
sweeping security laws used to arrest and intimidate people must be repealed
before the elections.

"Whatever date is decided for the election, the government's absolute
priority must be making sure the violence that erupted during the 2008 vote
is not repeated," Belay said.

Veritas, the legal research group, said the regional body known as SADC may
have to "exert sufficient pressure" on Mugabe to make him rescind his
decision at the Saturday meeting in Maputo, Mozambique.

Mugabe 'breached Zimbabwe Constitution'

http://mg.co.za/

14 JUN 2013 00:00 HARARE CORRESPONDENT

Zimbabwe's opposition says it will challenge President Robert Mugabe's July
31 poll date proclamation.

President Robert Mugabe on Thursday found himself with the upper hand, but
also in a complicated situation after he proclaimed the harmonised poll date
as July 31.

More legal impediments stand in his way, including a flurry of challenges
placed before the Constitutional Court this week as well as a rejection of
the date by the Movement for Democratic Change.

Mugabe resorted to using the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act
after it became apparent to him that Parliament would not have finished
amending the Electoral Act to bring it into sync with the new Constitution
by July 31.

At a press briefing, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Mugabe cannot
force him into an election and he has instructed his lawyers to file an
urgent court application seeking to stop the polls being held on July 31. He
said Mugabe's announcement was a "unilateral and flagrant breach of the
Constitution".

Tsvangirai also said holding an election would mean cutting short the 30-day
voter registration process that is under way, and this would disenfranchise
potential voters and deny political parties a chance to inspect the voters'
roll.

Zimbabwe's wrangling over the poll date will also play out on Saturday in
Maputo, Mozambique, during a Southern African Development Community summit,
which was initially planned for last week but was postponed on Zanu-PF's
insistence that it still wanted to consult further following the court
ruling. That meeting and the outstanding legal challenges will be key to
determining the date.

Constitutional challenges
Among cases before the courts are:

A man from Harare who is yet to be named, who has asked the Constitutional
Court to set aside its ruling that the poll be held on July 31, arguing that
his rights to vote were violated as he was unable to register and he would
be violated further if elections are held before he had had a chance to do
so.
Maria Phiri, a woman from Bulawayo, filed a Constitutional Court application
this week arguing that as an "alien" under the old Constitution, she
requires more than 30 days of the stipulated voter registration period to
acquire an identity document and register.
The Zimbabwe Development Party this week also brought a case before the
Constitutional Court, arguing that it must be granted $1.5-million in
government funds it is entitled to under the rules of state funding for
political parties. The state argues that according to the rules, the party
does not qualify for such funding. The party has requested that elections be
put on hold until its case is heard.
Human rights defender Nixon Nyikadzino on Monday also filed an application
with the Constitutional Court. He argues that by being in a hurry to hold
elections on July 31, the president will not give enough time for electoral
processes to play out, hence his rights may be violated.
Tavengwa Bukaibenyu, a driver by profession, on Thursday asked the
Constitutional Court to declare that sections of the Electoral Act that bar
postal voting for ordinary Zimbabweans in the diaspora infringe his rights
to have a voice on who governs Zimbabwe.
A challenge by businessman Mutumwa Mawere asks the court to overturn a
decision by the registrar general, which states that he may not vote due to
his dual citizenship. Mawere was born in Zimbabwe, but became a South
African citizen by naturalisation. Mawere has asked that the voter
registration process be stopped until his case is finalised. Mugabe's
spokesperson, George Charamba, was not available for comment to explain how
Mugabe would proceed in light of the applications.
Cabinet agreements
On Tuesday, Mugabe led a Cabinet meeting that managed to successfully align
existing laws with the new Constitution, which was adopted last month. The
government, however, faced a dilemma in that certain laws, such as the
Electoral Act, were not in sync with the new supreme law and had to be
amended before an election could take place.

After the Cabinet meeting, Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick
Chinamasa confirmed that Cabinet had endorsed amendments recommended by the
unity government negotiators.

Chinamasa said that in addition to legislative changes, Cabinet agreed that
election results will be pinned outside each polling station and candidates
will receive copies of the results. He also said that all parties can have
up to three representatives at each polling station.

Electoral Act headaches
After the Cabinet agreements, legal experts this week pointed out that the
electoral amendments still need to be passed by Parliament, assented to by
the president and gazetted before Mugabe can name an election date.

Veritas, a group of lawyers, said in order to comply with the new
Constitution, changes had to be made to suit constitutional requirements
that:

Sixty women are elected as members of the national assembly under a
party-list system of proportional representation;
Sixty senators are elected,
also under a party-list of proportional representation; and
Ten provincial councillors for each provincial council are elected under a
party-list system of proportional representation.
Veritas had said it was unlikely these changes and the ensuing parliamentary
process could be completed in the limited time available.

The Constitution also requires at least 44 days from proclamation date to
polling date, of which at least 30 must be provided between the nomination
of candidates and the election. Longer periods can be fixed within the
confines of the electoral laws.

Veritas had said that unless the Electoral Bill has been passed by
Parliament, signed by the president and gazetted as law on or before June
17, it will be impossible for the president to proclaim an election before
or for July 31.

Furthermore, it said nominations could only take place after July 9, when
the voter registration process that started on Monday is complete. Doing so
before then would be violating the Constitution.

To get around these legal challenges, Mugabe on Thursday invoked the
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act, effectively allowing him to
proclaim the election date.

In a letter to Tsvangirai, seen by the M&G on Thursday, Mugabe said it was
not possible for him to wait for Parliament to pass the Electoral Act if he
was going to comply with the Constitutional Court deadline and it became
"necessary" for him to use the Presidential Powers Act.

Party problems
Mugabe was also locked in the party's politburo meeting on Wednesday and
Thursday, which would finalise rules and dates for his own party to carry
out primary elections to choose candidates to represent it at the polls.

This paper last week reported that the party was not prepared for polls, and
there was strong opposition to its rules for selection of candidates from
its women's and youth leagues.

The party had indicated at its December conference that it would hold
primary elections in February, but it has not done so. Sources in the party
say this is due to factional fights.

Its Masvingo branch has also threatened to campaign for the opposition if
the party does not take its demands for a change of rules seriously.

Sources who were attending the politburo meeting said the party could hold
its primaries on June 22. By the time of going to press, the Zanu-PF
politburo had not ended or put out an official statement.

Biti: No money for elections

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
SW Radio Africa
14 June 2013

Elections are going to be held next month but Zimbabwe has not secured any
funds for the elections, a serious problem that has also been raised by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Rita Makarau who told a
parliamentary portfolio committee on security and defense that the electoral
body would need resources to run “credible” elections.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti told SW Radio Africa that Zimbabwe has no money
to hold elections due on July 31st and this will be one of the issues that
will clearly be on the agenda of the SADC summit on Zimbabwe in Mozambique.

“If you are going to have the nomination court in seven days time will SADC
have put those funds together, if at all they are going to put money in the
kit?” Biti asked.

Zimbabwe needs at least $120 million for the elections.

The MDC formations want SADC to put pressure on Mugabe to set up a clear
election roadmap that will adhere to laid down electoral processes and not
fast track the elections.

The MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai instructed his lawyers to file an
urgent application in the Constitutional Court to “defend” the constitution.

Mugabe used a presidential decree to bypass Parliament in order to rail-road
through changes to electoral laws, which had been agreed on by the political
parties in cabinet on Tuesday, had then proceeded to “unilaterally” and
“unconstitutionally” declare the poll date.

Biti said: “What is clear is that there is a chaos faction in ZANU PF
centered around (Patrick) Chinamasa and others that have mendaciously and
nicodemously manouvred President Mugabe into this corner when it is clear
that President Mugabe is not ready.”

The country’s political leadership arrived in Maputo Friday, ahead of the
extraordinary summit of Heads of State.

ZANU PF insists there are no more reforms that are needed before the polls
and argues SADC cannot override a decision that was made by the country’s
highest court, ordering the holding of elections by end of next month.

But Biti said: “No one can hide behind the doctrine of sovereignty because
Zimbabwe lost its sovereignty the minute there was State failure and the
last elections were stolen. Zimbabwe is a member of SADC and the African
Union and is bound by those rules.”

He added:”The Constitutional Court judgment is not immutable; after all it
was President Mugabe himself who was going to the same court by another
different name asking for postponement in the by-election matters involving
Honorable Bhebhe and others. So it’s not immutable. Let’s do the right
thing.”

Biti, who was speaking from the Mozambican capital, said Zimbabwe wants an
election that will ensure that the people’s will was respected and an
election that ensures that a new Zimbabwe can be ushered in and not the
“shenanigans that are designed to promote the status for retention.”

Analysts say it will not be strategic for the MDC parties to focus on
putting pressure on SADC to ask the Constitutional Court to change its
ruling.

Trevor Maisiri from the International Crisis Group said the impact of the
SADC summit waits to be seen as the regional body has no mandate to change
the ruling of the courts of member states because of the notion of
non-interference.

“What the MDCs can do is to demand the prerequisite reforms that SADC has
been calling for and have those on the ground before elections are held.”Maisiri
added: “That is a better strategy than focusing on a court ruling.”

Southern African Leaders Meet to Discuss Zimbabwe Elections

http://www.voanews.com/

Sebastian Mhofu
June 14, 2013

HARARE — Southern African leaders are meeting in Mozambique this weekend to
discuss the upcoming Zimbabwean elections.  The event is likely to be
overshadowed by the controversy over the election date.  Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai is challenging President Robert Mugabe’s decision to hold
the elections on July 31, a date less than seven weeks away.

Leaders of countries in the Southern African Development Community, SADC,
are finally meeting this weekend in Mozambique to discuss ground rules for
the Zimbabwean elections, after postponing the summit last week.

On Thursday, President Mugabe said elections will be held on July 31.
However, Prime Minister Tsvangirai, who formed a power-sharing government
with Mugabe in 2009, says the president did not consult him before setting
the election date.

“I instructed my attorneys to file an urgent application to deal with this
matter," said Tsvangirai. "In addition, I think SADC, we are going to the
summit, I think SADC has a responsibility of ensuring that they call the
president to order.  We hope that SADC will have a consensus and that is
what I expect to be the outcome of the conference.”

Tsvangirai’s lawyer Selby Hwacha said they want Zimbabwe’s highest court to
force Mugabe to revisit the election date.  He says the president usurped
parliamentary powers and changed the electoral law.

The prime minister and other Mugabe opponents have also demanded changes in
electoral laws and laws that restrict the rights of expression and
association before the elections are held.  The court hearing for the case
is likely to be next week, a few days after the SADC leaders’ meeting in
Mozambique.

Professor Lovemore Madhuku is a senior constitutional lawyer at the
University of Zimbabwe.  He said it is not likely that the Zimbabwean courts
will rule in favor of Tsvangirai.

He also said the SADC has no power to make Mugabe change the election date.

“These are voluntary organizations - the best they can do is to expel
Zimbabwe from SADC, but not to run its affairs," said Madhuku. "You go into
SADC as a sovereign country.  Do you think President Mugabe will listen to
SADC, that might be a better question.  Not will SADC reverse.  SADC will
not reverse."

Earlier this week, Pedzisai Ruhanya, a media and democracy doctorate student
at University of Westminster in Britain, said this election could plunge
Zimbabwe into a fresh political crisis unless SADC quickly moves in and
ensure a credible election.

“It is possible for SADC to immediately deploy its observers, for AU to
immediately deploy its observers," said Ruhanya. "They have to deploy their
people now, to monitor the registration process, to monitor the political
environment before we go into a hotly disputed electoral outcome.”

Zimbabwe's last elections in 2008 were marred by widespread violence, most
of it by Mugabe supporters against perceived opponents.  The elections were
widely condemned as unfair and resulting in SADC pressuring Mugabe to form
the current power-sharing government.  The fragile arrangement will end
after the next election is held.

Tsvangirai Arrives in Maputo for SADC Summit on Zimbabwe

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

Thomas Chiripasi
14.06.2013

HARARE — Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai arrived in the Mozambican capital
Maputo this afternoon ahead of a summit of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) with the hope that the regional bloc might rein in
President Robert Mugabe who unilaterally declared a July 31st election date,
a move the premier says violates the country’s constitution.

Mr. Tsvangirai and his delegation arrived in the Mozambican capital hoping
SADC will back him in opposing President Mugabe’s decision to hold
harmonized elections in Zimbabwe next month.

Mr. Tsvangirai, accompanied by negotiators of his MDC formation, wants SADC
to push Mr. Mugabe to implement key democratic reforms before any elections.

President Mugabe is expected to leave for Maputo tonight or early tomorrow.

Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, told Studio 7 by phone from
Maputo that the prime minister maintains that the president needed to
consult him to before proclaiming the election date.

Mr. Tamborinyoka said the MDC will also ask SADC to consider the failure by
many Zimbabweans to register to vote in the ongoing voter registration
exercise and what a July 31st election date will do to the efforts to get
voters registered.

The current voter registration exercise was expected to end on July 9th but
under the Electoral Act, registration must close 24 hours before the
nomination court sits, but the court sits on June 28th according to
President Mugabe’s decree yesterday.

Studio 7 was unable to reach officials of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
to see how they will handle this change to their plans.

But MDC-T organizing secretary Nelson Chamisa says his party believes this
will deny many potential voters the chance to participate in the election.

Although many Zimbabweans would like SADC to rein in Mr. Mugabe, University
of Zimbabwe law lecturer Lovemore Madhuku says SADC does not have tangible
power to do this.

MDC-99 leader Job Sikhala said SADC’s lack of any real authority in this
matter means that the Maputo summit will be what he called another talkshow.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai promised yesterday he would go to court to force
Mr. Mugabe to abide by the constitution and implement key democratic reforms
before polls are called.

But his lawyers, who were expected to file a court application today, said
they would file only after the summit.  Perhaps they are hoping that SADC
action will make a formal court challenge unnecessary.

Welshman’s MDC Takes Security Chiefs To SADC

http://www.zimeye.org/

By Clement Moyo

Published: June 14, 2013

(Bulawayo)-Professor Welshman Ncube’s MDC party flew out of Zimbabwe this
morning en-route to Maputo carrying the thorny issue of politically active
army chiefs to the SADC Summit on Zimbabwe to be held tomorrow, Saturday.

The much delayed Extra-Ordinary Summit will discuss regional political and
security situation and at large the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe.

Professor Ncube and his two party lieutenants Ms. Priscila
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Mr. Moses Mzila Ndlovu have been mandated  by
their party among other pressing issues to seek to force Zimbabwe’s military
and police leaders  to publicly and officially retract previous partisan
statements to the effect that only a ZANU PF presidential candidate will
receive their support.

The MDC trio will seek to get the security chiefs to issue an un-conditional
written and sworn commitment that they will respect the will of the people
as expressed through a free and fair election.

The MDC is also calling for the police to make a distinction between issuing
of a notification and seeking permission to hold public meetings by
political parties.

“The police must understand that while political parties are compelled to
inform them prior to holding public meeting, this does not amount and must
not be read as seeking permission,” the party said in a statement.

Zimbabwe’s police have had a history of disrupting the political meetings of
other political parties other than Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF.

Following President Mugabe’s election date announcement, political parties
are bracing up for harassment by the state security machinery which include
the Zimbabwe Republic Police, National Army and the dreaded Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

SADC must deal with Mugabe: Ncube

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

13/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

MDC leader Welshman Ncube has called on SADC to deal with President Robert
Mugabe accusing the Zanu PF leader of effectively telling regional
counterparts “to f**k off” with his “unilateral” proclamation of election
dates.

Ncube said Mugabe had turned his back on an agreement during Tuesday’s
Cabinet meeting that the electoral amendments would be put before Parliament
next week.

He told NewZimbabwe.com: “We sat in cabinet on Tuesday and agreed amendments
to the Electoral Act, we agreed to take those amendments to parliament next
week, we agreed that voter registration will run until July 9 and we also
agreed to hold a weekly cross-party review of our election preparedness.

"Then out of the blue I wake up to receive a letter from Mugabe literally
saying go to hell. At this level, this kind of deceit is unacceptable.”

SADC helped Mugabe and his rivals reach a deal to form the coalition
government after violent but disputed polls in 2008 and, through South
Africa President Jacob Zuma, has facilitated negotiations between the GPA
parties over a so-called roadmap to new elections.

The regional grouping is due to meet this weekend in Maputo, Mozambique at a
rescheduled extra-ordinary summit which will discuss preparations for the
polls as well as their financing.

Mugabe however, announced Thursday morning that the elections would be held
on July 31, using a presidential decree to fast-track the necessary
electoral amendments.

The move angred rivals including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who, just
on Wednesday this week, had claimed to hold the keys to timing of the
elections.

Ncube said the SADC should call Mugabe and his party to order.
He said: "It is very clear that this proclamation is deliberately designed
literally to tell SADC to f*** off. The ball is now in SADC's court, do they
accept to be deceived this way? Do they accept the brazen contempt against
them?

The Maputo summit was supposed to have been held last week but was called
off after Mugabe, who was away in Japan, said he would not be able to
attend.

Ncube said it would be a “very sad indictment” against SADC if the grouping
did not take action against Mugabe.

"If SADC allows Mugabe to get away with this, it would be a very, very sad
indictment on them," he said.

“On our part, we will go to SADC on Saturday and place it on record that we
feel cheated by the scoundrels in Zanu PF.”

Zimbabwe voters' roll fraud exposed

http://mg.co.za/

14 JUN 2013 00:00 TAKUDZWA MUNYAKA

The Zanu-PF is resorting to underhanded means to ensure it registers enough
voters to win elections in Zimbabwe.

Zanu-PF has drawn up a plan to sway election results in its favour by
manipulating the voter registration process that happens throughout the
year, and which is being intensively carried out since June 10.

The plan, mainly centered on disenfranchising as many people as possible in
urban constituencies where the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) excelled
in the 2008 poll, will ensure that as few people as possible who are not
Zanu-PF members are registered on the voters' roll in those constituencies.
The MDC-T holds 23 of the 24 constituencies in Harare.

Observations by the Mail & Guardian in the past month reveal a pattern of
voters being denied the chance to register due to various impediments, and
unusually large numbers of voters are being registered in urban areas after
suspicious resettlements.

The M&G has previously reported that the registrar general was also possibly
manipulating the voters' roll, which would see a substantial number of
voters being removed from the roll, making them ineligible to vote.

Party sources this week confirmed the plan that they say also involves
resettling landless people in selected MDC strongholds in urban areas, such
as Harare, to boost the number of Zanu-PF votes. The party is also intending
to ensure that soldiers and the police are mobilised in its favour, the
source said.

The plan, according to insiders, was devised by Zanu-PF's commissariat
department, which is run by Air Vice Marshal Henry Muchena, who retired from
the Air Force of Zimbabwe in 2010, and former Central Intelligence
Organisation director internal Sydney Nyanhongo, who retired from his post
to work for Zanu-PF.

Insiders revealed this week that Zanu-PF's commissariat had come up with
alternative ways of swaying votes as it has become apparent that the
Southern African Development Community and international groups will be
watching developments during the election period. Muchena and Nyanhongo did
not respond to queries about their plans.

Land for votes
Zanu-PF won mostly rural constituencies in the last election and, to boost
its numbers in Parliament, the party is aiming to wrest some urban seats
from the MDC formations.

The opposition alleges the party has been gradually resettling people in
selected constituencies such as Harare north, where it has recently been
parcelling out land to Zanu-PF aligned housing co-operatives.

"Thousands of people have been given land through housing co-operatives in
Hatcliffe, and this will boost our numbers in the constituency," said the
same source.

The land-for-votes strategy first came to light in the 2008 general
elections when Hubert Nyanhongo won the Harare south seat after thousands of
landless people were given housing stands in the constituency in return for
voting for Zanu-PF. Harare south is the only constituency Zanu-PF won in
Harare.

Housing co-operatives established in Harare north include Imba Mukadzi,
Chimurenga, Kukura, Kubatana Kwakanaka and Greater Harare Women's Housing
Project.

Some co-operatives were formed in 2010, when Zanu-PF started its poll plans.
In Harare north, members of the co-operative who spoke to the M&G said
Zanu-PF mobilised its supporters to form the co-operatives, which then
applied for stands.

Harare north legislator Theresa Makone, who is also the co-minister of home
affairs and chair of the MDC-T Women's Assembly, confirmed the existence of
the housing projects, which she said had resulted in more than 10 000 people
being moved into her constituency.

"Some of the people who are now being registered in my constituency are from
Sally Mugabe Heights, which should be in Goromonzi West constituency. All
this is meant to upset my majority because there are thousands of people
being registered under these co-operatives."

Makone said her suspicions that the ruling party was up to no good were
confirmed when she inspected the voters' roll for her constituency on April
15 and discovered that her name was missing.

After complaining to registry officials she acquired another voters' roll
two days later and this time her name had been included, but the number of
people in ward 18 had also shot up from 8 305 people to 10 076, she said.

"The jump was shocking, given that on average they were registering about
200 people per day, but in 48-hours they managed to register 2 000 voters,"
said Makone.

In ward 42, which is also in Harare north, the roll had 5 196 people listed
on April 15, but the number had more than trebled, to 17 068, by April 17.
The huge increase was caused by the large number of people registered under
housing co-operatives, Makone said.

Harare central
Zanu-PF is also counting on the security sector vote, and aims to use it to
win the Harare central seat and other seats where barracks, police camps and
prisons are located.

Commanders of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, most of whom have publicly
declared their allegiance to President Robert Mugabe, have also been
reportedly forcing their members to urge families in the camps to vote for
the party.

In the 2008 elections members of the army and police reported that they had
voted in the presence of their commanders.

The new Constitution allows for prisoners to vote but Zimbabwe Prison
Services spokesperson Elizabeth Banda said: "A lot of logistical issues
would need to be put in place but we stand guided by the Justice Minister."

Mbare irregularities
In Mbare, an area that is dense with informal traders, vendors said vending
stalls were issued only to those who could produce Zanu-PF party membership
cards and all traders, including those from areas outside the constituency,
were forced to register to vote in the area they trade in.

Although proof of residence is required when one registers, vendors in Mbare
allege that Zanu-PF

activists bypassed the requirement by giving their names and national
identity numbers to party officials, who registered on their behalf, despite
not meeting the requirements.

Residents of Mabvuku in Harare, who also spoke to the M&G, complained of a
similar operation. Zanu-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo was unavailable for
comment.

Voters' roll manipulation
Party sources say Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede has been mandated to make
sure that few people are able to register in areas where the MDC enjoys
support.

Mudede, who has often been accused of rigging previous elections, is in
charge of the voters' roll.

Last month, during the mobile voter registration exercise, officials from
Mudede's office, who carried out the process, were widely accused of making
it difficult for people in urban areas to register.

They were demanding proof of residence bearing the name of the person who
wanted to register, despite the knowledge that most people in townships do
not own houses, but instead rent accommodation, mostly without formal
leases.

After a flood of complaints, Cabinet ordered that people be allowed to
register after they sign an affidavit proving they live in the constituency,
but registry officials failed to provide the affidavits.

Inefficiencies
The M&G observed the registration in urban areas such as the Matabeleland
region, where registration was slow mainly because of the deliberately
sluggish pace of officials. In contrast, registration centres in Mashonaland
east, central and west were being run efficiently.

In addition, a large number of people who managed to register in urban areas
were not given registration slips, but in Zanu-PF strongholds the slips were
more readily available. To be allowed to vote, rules stipulate that
potential voters who are not on the roll must produce a registration slip to
prove they have registered.

MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said the inefficiencies displayed by
officials was meant to aid Zanu-PF.

"It's clear that Mudede's office is staging a go-slow in MDC strongholds so
that few people register. In areas where they think Zanu-PF is strong, they
are more efficient.

"We are also aware that in our strongholds, people are not being given
registration slips and this reinforces our belief that something sinister is
being plotted.

"We are demanding that there be a separate voter inspection period after the
voter registration exercise."

Left out
Figures supplied by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission deputy chair Joyce Kazembe
showed that Mashonaland east, central and west — areas that showed the
highest support for Zanu-PF in the last elections — recorded the highest
number of first-time voters during the mobile registration period: 204 041
between April 29 and May 19.

In contrast, Bulawayo, the country's second-largest city, recorded only 5068first-time voters. Zanu-PF has not won a single seat in Bulawayo since the
MDC contested an election, in 2000.

On Monday Mudede raised eyebrows when he said his department did not have
enough money to abide by constitutional requirements that voter registration
should take place for at least 30 days in all wards.

He said the programme, which began on Monday, would be district-based not
ward-based, raising fears that again some people would be left out.

Voter registration problems mount

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/

14.06.13

by Farai Mabeza

Aspiring voters continue to face problems with registration in the ongoing
outreach programme, amid revelations that some wards have been given only
two days within which to be attended to.

On Monday, the Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede, told the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs that, due to a critical
shortage of money, his department and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
would reduce registration in wards to three days.

The constitution, however, stipulates that intensive voter registration,
which is mandatory, should cover 30 days and must be ward based. Mudede said
mobile voter registration would be district based.

Rural voters in Zvimba and Zowa in Mashonaland West, Chirumanzu, Zvishavane,
Silobela and Mberengwa in the Midlands as well as Chipinge in Manicaland
told The Zimbabwean that they had only learnt through rumour that they
should converge at combined registration centres on given dates to register.

“We heard that voter educators visited our school and asked students to
spread the word that we should go and register at a shopping centre on June
18 and 19. We have not met the voter educators and I am not sure what we are
supposed to do,” said Georgina Maphosa from Guramatunhu in Chirimhanzu.

Samson Jamba from Zowa in Mashonaland West said villagers from his community
were told that they should gather at another business centre on July 2 and
3.

The villagers are under the impression that the next election will be held
when they go to register, indicating that the information is being distorted
along the way.

In Silobela, voters are being forced to travel distances of more than 50km
to register and inspect the voters’ roll, but many are staying at home.

“We don’t have the money and the roads are very poor. The government should
ensure that we have officials in charge of registration coming to us,
otherwise we will not be able to vote,” said Sifile Mabhena from Silobela.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, civic society and political parties
have warned that thousands of people will be disenfranchised by the decision
to make voter registration district based.

In urban areas, Zimbabweans visiting registration centres with the intention
of acquiring national identity documents told The Zimbabwean that they were
experiencing significant problems.

In the Hatcliffe suburb of Harare one resident had to be referred to the
Registrar General’s offices at Market Square but the registration officials
would not give the reasons.

“The decisions that need to be made for this one can only be made by someone
higher than me. There are some complications with this one,” one of the
officials said.

Election Resource Centre Director, Tawanda Chimhini, told The Zimbabwean
that they had received reports that some centres do not have the affidavit
forms which are supposed to cater for those without proof of residence.

“There has been an overwhelming response to calls for people to register but
we have received reports that at some centres there are no affidavit forms.
This has disenfranchised people who intend to register,” Chimhini said.

He welcomed positive feedback he said he had received of the conduct of some
officials but expressed concern at the number of voter educators. In Seke,
people had problems acquiring national identification particulars with
registration officials saying they had no stationery.

“They only recorded our details and told us to come back on Friday but we
thought we would finish this process in one day. Now we don’ even know if we
will get them. The question is, why did they not have them in the first
place?” one man told The Zimbabwean.

In Marondera East, a source told The Zimbabwean that he witnessed truckloads
of Zanu (PF) supporters being ferried to a registration centre at Mushangwe
Primary School by a prospective candidate for that party.

He however described the atmosphere as calm saying people were enthusiastic
but news of the proclamation was unsettling them.

Anti Mugabe hackers bring down ANC website

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
SW Radio Africa

14 June 2013

The African National Congress (ANC) issued a statement in support of
President Robert Mugabe, after an activist group calling themselves
Anonymous Africa hacked the South African ruling party’s official website on
Friday.

The attack on the ANC site involved multiple computers overwhelming the site’s
server with huge amounts of traffic. This is known as a DoS (Distributed
Denial of Service) attack.

It came a day after Mugabe used a presidential decree to by-pass Parliament
and fast-track amendments to electoral laws. He said he had to do this if he
was to comply with a Constitutional Court order to hold elections by end of
next month. This unilateral and controversial call for polls at the end of
July has created a potential constitutional crisis.

Anonymous Africa, which has a twitter account called “zim4thewin” sent a
tweet shortly after the cyber attack saying:

http://www.anc.org.za is tango down! for being corrupt and supporting the
mass murdering Mugabe. #anc #africa #zimbabwe #anonymous.

Undeterred ANC spokesperson Keith Khoza told News24: “We support Robert
Mugabe – as a person; as the ANC, we have fraternal relations with Zanu PF
as a former liberation movement.”

The activist group accuses President Jacob Zuma’s party of being Mugabe’s
enabler. Zuma is the facilitator to the SADC mediated Zimbabwe coalition
government between ZANU PF and the MDC formations.

The development comes as SADC heads of state prepare to hold an
extraordinary summit of Zimbabwe in the Mozambican capital Maputo on
Saturday.

Africa Anonymous has in the past week also attacked several ZANU PF related
sites, including the state controlled Herald newspaper and the Ministry of
Defence website in Zimbabwe.

They also hacked South African news portal IOL, which had written an opinion
piece last Sunday which the activists said “glorified” 89 year old Mugabe.

In an interview with Iweb Africa, Anonymous Africa said it is pro democracy
and anti corruption.

Iweb Africa asked the group representative: “Would you attack other
political parties e.g. Democratic Alliance in SA and MDC in Zimbabwe should
their corrupt activities be made known?”

The representative responded by saying: “If the DA are involved with
corruption and supporting Mugabe we would target them in an instant, there
is no indication of that.”

Many people took to twitter to react to what some described as a new form of
cyber activism or ‘Internet Street Protest’.  One of the tweets read: ‘I
hear Herald has been subjected to a DOS attack. Good Job’ and another said:
‘Just want to be a fly on the wall of the ANC boardroom when the @zim4thewin
conversation goes down. Imagine’.

However other observers were not so impressed: “If they were doing this to
get some information would be helpful, but not just to bring down a
 website.”

A DoS attack has frequently been used to obtain sensitive information and
e-mail files on a server while it is rebooting. It is not clear if these
attacks gained any such information or if they were designed purely to annoy
and protest

Police arrest Ncube, Misihairambwi-Mushonga

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/

14.06.13

by Edgar Gweshe

MDC President, Welshman Ncube, together with the party’s Secretary General,
Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, were yesterday detained by police in
Tsholotsho and later released without charge.

Ncube and Misihairambwi-Mushonga were reportedly apprehended during a
meeting with the party’s district members and aspiring candidates for the
next elections.

The party’s deputy spokesperson, Kurauone Chihwayi, confirmed the
development to The Zimbabwean. “Initially, they were told that they had been
arrested under POSA for holding a meeting without police clearance and they
were taken to Tsholotsho police station where they were questioned. They
were detained for about three hours and later released without charge,” said
Chihwayi.

He bemoaned that police were acting in a partisan manner ahead of elections.
“We view that as a strategy by the police to derail our campaign programmes
ahead of the harmonised elections and this unprofessional behavior by the
police is an attempt to tilt the playing ground in favour of Zanu (PF).

“This is the reason why all along we have been calling for the issue of
security sector reform and we will be taking the issue to SADC,” said
Chihwayi.

Police spokesperson for Matabeleland North, Assistant Inspector Siphiwe
Makonese, confirmed the development to The Zimbabwean.

“He wasn’t arrested as such. What happened is that he was questioned whether
he had a police clearance for the meeting as per the provisions of POSA and
he insisted that it was a private meeting.

However, he still continued with the meeting,” said Makonese. Section 25 of
the Public Order and Security Act stipulates that a notice of seven days
should be given to the police before the holding of public meetings, but
does not say clearance must be given by the police.

MDC-T MP Mutsekwa questioned over constituency violence

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Nomalanga Moyo
SW Radio Africa
14 June 2013

National Housing Minister and MDC-T legislator Giles Mutsekwa on Tuesday
handed himself in to the Mutare police, following reports of intraparty
violence in the constituency.

Mutsekwa is one of the sitting MDC-T MPs who is yet to be confirmed in order
to avoid going into primary elections for the Dangamvura-Chikanga seat.

A party official told SW Radio Africa that the confirmation process was
postponed, following disagreements over who within party structures was
eligible to vote.

Should Mutsekwa fail to gather the required two-thirds majority, he will
face prominent human rights lawyer Arnold Tsunga, with whom there is bad
blood.

Reports indicate that events took an ugly turn last week when one of Tsunga’s
supporters, Crispen Dube, was assaulted, allegedly with the minister’s
blessing.

Dube told the Standard newspaper that he was beaten up in full view of the
Housing Minister: “Mutsekwa came in the company of his youths at Mega Watt
where I was with Tsunga. I had the impression that they were going to
assault Tsunga and that is when I tried to restrain them and I was badly
assaulted.”

It is said that a dispute arose after Tsunga’s camp accused Mutsekwa’s side
of trying to manipulate the voter verification process, which the latter
denied.

Mutsekwa is alleged to have ordered his colleagues to “deal’’ with Dube, who
was rescued from further assault by a soldier who was passing by.

Dube reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of his
assailants who implicated Minister Mutsekwa.

Mutsekwa’s lawyer confirmed to the media that the minister had been summoned
by the police, but said it was just to clarify certain issues.

Meanwhile in Masvingo, a reporter with the Masvingo Mirror newspaper was
said to have been manhandled by three MDC-T security personnel while
covering the party’s Masvingo North primary elections on June 8th 2013.

In an alert issued by media watchdog the Media Institute of Southern Africa
(MISA), the MDC-T security staff allegedly denied reporter Bernard
Mapwanyire entry into the elections venue at Curious Business Centre.

“On denial of entry Mapwanyire called his editor who instructed him to go
back as he had been cleared to cover the meeting from MDC-T provincial
office. On return the bouncers allegedly pushed him around saying that they
did not want any press coverage,” MISA said.

MISA expressed concern at what the group said appears to be a trend in
harassment of journalists as the nation prepares for elections.

“This incident follows two other recent incidents of harassment of
journalists by MDC-T security personnel. In similar incidences a senior
reporter at The Chronicle, Mashudu Netsiada, was on 6 June briefly detained
and questioned by MDC-T security personnel for allegedly gate crashing a
meeting between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the business community
in Bulawayo.

“In another incident MDC-T security personnel on 7 June allegedly assaulted
Zimbabwe Independent journalist Herbert Moyo while he was covering a
demonstration by party activists at Harvest House, the party’s head
quarters,” the media watchdog said.

The group called on all political parties to ensure a free and open media
environment, to ensure that all viewpoints and political perspectives are
aired during Zimbabwe’s election campaign period.

Ncube-led MDC primary elections begin Saturday

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Nomalanga Moyo
SW Radio Africa
14 June 2013

With elections scheduled for July 31st, the next weeks are set to be very
busy for the country’s three main political parties as they decide on
candidates to represent their parties in the national polls.

Going into the weekend, the three parties are at varying stages of
preparations, with only the MDC-T going into its last round of primary
elections which kicked off last month.

The Welshman Ncube-led MDC on Thursday announced that it had concluded the
first phase of its candidate selection process, with the second phase
expected to start this weekend.

There had been insinuations in the state media that the MDC was subjecting
interested candidates to a rigorous exam as part of the internal selection
process.

But spokesman Nhlanhla Dube dismissed this and told SW Radio Africa that the
MDC had opted for ‘consensus’ to select candidates to represent the party in
the upcoming polls.

“Our selection criteria involved the usual vetting of applications based on
whether applicants are card-carrying members of the MDC as well as being
registered voters in the areas they hoped to represent.

“The next stage was to get the hopefuls together so they could discuss
amongst themselves up to a point where some would cede space to one of the
candidates. So it’s consensus in the sense that people talk to each other,
trade off, and rally behind one candidate,” Dube said.

According to Dube the idea is to limit discontent which he said usually ends
up spilling into elections as happened in 2005 when disgruntled ZANU PF
members de-campaigned each other using the bhora musango (kick the ball off
the field of play) strategy.

While the majority of candidates in the party’s 12 political provinces have
been selected using the roundtable method, primaries will have to be held in
the constituencies where applicants failed to agree.

“We are starting with primary elections this weekend and should be finished
by the end of next week,” Dube said without giving the actual date.

The MDC said everything was on course, including their campaign which Dube
said had shifted from rallies to one-on-one canvassing.

On Thursday MDC presidential candidate Welshman Ncube and secretary-general
Priscilla Misihairabwi were hassled by Tsholotsho police while drumming up
support for the party. Ncube received overwhelming endorsement from the
party’s supporters.

Meanwhile the 27 sitting MDC-T legislators, who failed to get the two-thirds
majority for them to return uncontested, will be battling it out in the
party’s last round of primaries this weekend.

The legislators failed to gain the confidence of their constituents during
the initial confirmation stage and, according to MDC-T rules, anyone who
fails to be confirmed proceeds to primary elections.

MDC-T Youth League secretary general Promise Mkhwananzi, who will be locking
horns with sitting Magwegwe MP Felix Magalela Sibanda this Sunday, said he
was confident of victory.

“We have been doing our door-to-door campaigns and defeat is not an option.
But it is also important that losing hopefuls accept defeat and rally behind
the party and President Morgan Tsvangirai,” Mkhwananzi said.

ZANU PF will be holding its primaries in just one day, on June 24th.
According to the Herald newspaper, the selection process kicks off tomorrow
with aspiring candidates submitting their CVs to the districts.

Zanu PF scrambles to hold primaries

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

13/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

THE Zanu PF politburo decided Thursday that its primaries will be held on
June 24, days before the nomination of candidates for harmonised elections
which President Robert Mugabe said will be held at the end of next month.

Mugabe rattled coalition partners Thursday morning when he announced that
elections to choose a substantive government would be held on July 31 with
the Nomination Court sitting to accept candidates on June 28.

In April, Zanu PF put-off finalisation of guidelines for its primaries after
divisions emerged in various provinces and chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo, had
to be dispatched on a country-wide tour to paper over the schisms.

A politburo meeting held on Thursday however, decided that the primary
elections would be a one-day exercise on June 24.
“On June 24, Zanu PF primary elections will be held throughout the country,"
Khaya Moyo said after the meeting.

"It will be a one day exercise and we hope by the end of the 24th the
primary elections will be completed. The primary elections will be held on
the same day using the secret ballot

“The NED (national election directorate) met and deliberated on a number of
issues relevant to our primary elections. They reported to the Politburo and
this is the position taken.

"We have had our guidelines approved by the Politburo and will be
distributed to the provinces (on Friday)."

Aspiring candidates have been told to submit their names to provincial
structures on Sunday with the politburo expected to finalise the lists next
week.

“The central committee will meet soon after the names (of winning
candidates) have been approved by the Politburo to approve the same before
nomination day," Khaya Moyo added.

"We have emphasised time and again that there will be no imposition of
candidates whatsoever."

The party also announced the appointment of Rido Mpofu and Lloyd Siyoka to
“assist” its Matabeleland South executive which is led by Andrew Langa who
however remains provincial chairperson.

The changes follow recommendations made by Khaya Moyo after his nationwide
probe into party structures.
Bulawayo chairman, Killian Sibanda, was also replaced by Callistus Ndlovu in
a move officials said was aimed at helping the party “connect” with voters.

Zimbabwe's national airline goes for broke

http://mg.co.za/

14 JUN 2013 00:00 RAY NDLOVU

Air Zimbabwe is trying to win back passengers with low fares as it attempts
to resuscitate itself.

Struggling national airline Air Zimbabwe has embarked on an aggressive push
to turn around its fortunes.

It's slashing ticket prices, hunting for a new chief executive, reducing its
workforce, overhauling its fleet and re-introducing domestic and regional
flights.

Fed up passengers began deserting the airline at the height of the economic
collapse in 2008 in favour of foreign airlines, including South African
Airways, Kenya Airways and British Airways, as persistent strikes by Air
Zimbabwe staff, flight delays and a $100-million debt weighed the operation
down.

Two incidents of the airline's flagship Boeing 767 aircraft being impounded
in 2011 at the United Kingdom's Heathrow International Airport and at South
Africa's OR Tambo International Airport over non-payment of debt,
underpinned the national carrier's financial woes and left many passengers
stranded.

Now the airline is trying to win back passengers and is tempting them with
bargain fares.

This week it slashed prices on its Harare to Johannesburg route to $275 for
a return trip, compared with South African Airways's price of $600 and $750
for British Airways on the same route.

United Nations World Tourism Organisation Summit
The upcoming United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) summit that
Zimbabwe will co-host with Zambia in August also appears to be at the centre
of Air Zimbabwe's revival.

The UNWTO will be hosted in Africa for the second time and is expected to
attract nearly 3 000 delegates to Victoria Falls. The carrier is positioning
itself to benefit from the windfall the summit will bring.

Figures released by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) this week show that
tourist arrivals in Zimbabwe had increased by 17% in the first quarter of
this year to 404 282 from the 346 299 recorded in the same period last year.

According to the ZTA report, South Africa accounts for the largest number of
the continent's visitors to Zimbabwe. A total of 37 294 South Africans
visited the country during the first quarter of 2013 — a 6% increase on the
previous comparative period.

Johannes Kwangwari, an economic analyst, said there was growth across the
tourism sector, with international visitors reviving their interest in
visiting the country.

"There could be major benefits from the UNWTO meeting in August, but
possible election violence could keep visitors away until later this year,"
he said.

Resisting pressure
Aviation sources with intimate knowledge of the national airline's
turnaround plans said the government had resisted pressure to privatise the
airline and Cabinet had directed Transport, Communication and
Infrastructural Development Minister Nicholas Goche to deal "once and for
all with the embarrassment taking place at Air Zimbabwe".

Treasury ploughed $8.5-million into helping kick-start the national
airline's turnaround strategy.

The airline has been operating without a chief executive since the departure
of Peter Chikumba in December 2010.

Last month, Air Zimbabwe introduced the Airbus A320 to replace its old
Boeing 767 aircraft.

The return of Air Zimbabwe to the skies in November was marked by the
re-launch of the Harare to Johannesburg route four times a week and domestic
flights between Harare and Bulawayo three times a week.

Since then, the airline has started offering daily flights to South Africa
and between Harare and Bulawayo, which airline officials said is an
indication of the confidence of the market.

"We are now in a position to provide a reliable service. I can assure you
that this will be done in a professional manner," said Ozias Bvute, chair of
Air Zimbabwe's board.

Only time will tell if Air Zimbabwe can gain more altitude and keep itself
in the skies.

Going on honeymoon with Air Zimbabwe
It has been seven months since my first time on an Air Zimbabwe flight.
Since then, I have used the airline twice but have flown on five other
occasions. Critics would say that I am unpatriotic. I just tend to think
more about my own safety.

Media reports as well as stories told by friends and relatives about the
airline's flights being cancelled at the 11th hour, wild pigs bolting out on
the runway and the unbearable noise of the old planes race through my mind
each time I think of booking a flight with them.

News of a flock of birds grounding the airline's latest acquisition, an
Airbus A320, last month in South Africa did not do much to inspire my
confidence. But then again, it was just an accident.

Being recently wed I was determined to take my new wife to South Africa on
honeymoon.

I recall the deep concern I had days earlier as I paid for our return
tickets, which cost $617, as an unsmiling Air Zimbabwe official said that
the plane would take off on Sunday morning to Johannesburg. So much for
customer service.

I tried to explain the reason for my anxiety to him. "Sir, the plane will
take off," he told me again, and I kept quiet.

"What if" mode
Even when we arrived at Harare International Airport at 5am, my mind was
still in "what if" mode. Only the arrival of other passengers and airline
officials for check-in calmed my nerves.

Checking in was a painfully slow process, as officials manually checked
passenger tickets. Needless to say, the 7am flight only took off at 7.30am.

Once on board, fellow frustrated passengers said they expected the delays
from Air Zimbabwe, while others said it was unacceptable for an airline that
was trying to win back lost customers to depart late.

Once seated, I couldn't care any less about the in-flight entertainment or
meals, and just hoped I'd get to my destination safety. I was grateful we
landed without incident.

Air Zimbabwe announces November London return

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

13/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

AIR Zimbabwe has announced it will re-launch its direct Harare-London
service in November this year as management steps up the company’s
turnaround programme.

The airline suspended services to the UK in December 2011 after one of its
aircraft was seized over unpaid service charges at Gatwick but a new board
appointed early this year is working to ensure the company regains lost
market share.

Flights resumed last July with a truncated domestic services after the
airline had been virtually grounded for about a year at a time global
carriers were also announcing a return to the country.

An official with the company’s board told NewZimbabwe.com Thursday: “Our
problems are often overstated. For instance, although it is widely claimed
that the company is saddled with a US$140 million debt, the fact is US$100
million of that is owed to the shareholder (the government).

“What this means is that our actual obligations amount to about US$40
million which is not unmanageable considering the airline’s asset base.”

A mid-range 150-seater Airbus A320, one of two leased by the government, has
been added to the fleet and was deployed on the Harare-Johannesburg route,
replacing the long-range and bigger Boeing 767 which is more costly on
short-haul runs.

The airline has also acquired the Brazil-made 50-seater Embraer ERJ145 jet
which has been deployed on domestic routes, boosting services between
Harare, Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls resort, with Hwange and Kariba
expected to be covered soon.

This week, management announced a huge reduction in airfares with a
Harare-Bulawayo return ticket now US$105, down from about US$300. Passengers
plying the Harare-Johannesburg route will now pay US$275 for a return
ticket, down from about US$420.

And, as part of the on-going restricting exercise, the airline has also
moved to cut costs and recently reduced staffing levels from more than 1,000
to about 300.

The government, keen to part-privatise the airline, had expressed concern
over Air Zimbabwe’s staff complement saying the bloated workforce was one of
the factors putting off potential investors in the company.

Zimbabwe ministers battle over conservancy hunting permits

http://mg.co.za/

14 JUN 2013 00:00 HARARE CORRESPONDENT

Two ministers have clashed over a recent decision to ban white operators in
Zimbabwe's Save Valley Conservancy from attaining hunting licences.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Walter Mzembi and Natural Resources
Minister Francis Nhema have clashed over the latter's decision not to grant
hunting permits to white operators at the Save Valley Conservancy in favour
of mainly Zanu-PF members, the Mail & Guardian has learnt.

The dispute has resulted in the white operators appealing to the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) whose general assembly would be
jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia in August. The UNWTO is yet to respond
to the appeal.

The Save Valley Conservancy, which spans 3 200km2 in south-eastern Zimbabwe,
is an association of more than 20 private properties that were unaffected by
the chaotic land reform exercise.

Save initially appeared to have been spared because one of its main founding
partners is the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, a wholly
state-owned entity, and it also incorporated the Bikita Rural District
Council, where it is based, and was 32% owned by black partners.

But upheavals started last year when Nhema handed hunting licences to nearly
30 Zanu-PF and army officials, whom the legitimate owners do not recognise.

The new beneficiaries say that the founding owners cannot lay claim to the
wildlife as this was not paid for and they have already received full
benefit and should have recouped their costs during the time they operated
there.

Challenging the high court's decision
Those who were issued the hunting licences include war veterans leader
Joseph Chinotimba, Major General Gibson Mashingaidze, Major General
Engelbert Rugeje, Masvingo Resident Minister and Governor Titus Maluleke,
Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chair Lovemore Matuke, Deputy Health Minister
Douglas Mombeshora, Zanu-PF's central committee member Enock Porusingazi, as
well as Zanu-PF MPs Alois Baloyi, Abraham Sithole, Samson Mukanduri and Noel
Mandebvu, who are now being referred to as the "Masvingo group".

Last month, the white conservationists approached the high court to move for
the decision to deny them licences to be overturned because they are the
lawful owners of the conservancy, but the court ruled that it was not an
urgent matter. They took the matter to a higher court on appeal, where it is
still pending.

In an interview this week, Nhema dismissed the group's claim on the
conservancy.

"They are not the ­owners. We asked them to follow the channel and bring the
original owners and register. The other thing is that they went to court and
lost, so I am also abiding by the court's decision."

However, Mzembi has a different view.

In a separate interview, he said the matter was hurting tourism. "I can
confirm that the issue is untenably injuring the tourism sector as hunting
is one of the key tourism consumptive activities. Secondly, it does not
assist our cause image-wise as we advance towards hosting the UNWTO summit."

At Nhema's mercy
Mzembi said the government in December resolved that the aggrieved party be
issued with permits as efforts to find a lasting solution to the dispute are
under way, and he was surprised that Nhema was not abiding by that decision.

"I am at the mercy of what he [Nhema] is doing, and I can't keep quiet
because it is hurting tourism. It was resolved in December last year that
the permits be issued."

Nhema's decision to parcel out the hunting businesses has also been opposed
by Parliament.

In a report, the parliamentary committee on natural resources condemned the
occupation of the conservancy by Zanu-PF leaders and military chiefs, saying
the process lacked transparency.

The report said the selection of those who would be involved in that venture
should have been based on a demonstration of interest and experience in
wildlife conservation, a capacity for business development and an ability to
contribute to the asset base, among other things.

The MPs had also recommended that conservancies must not be parcelled out to
individuals, but rather in the spirit of indigenisation, the natural
resources ministry needs to award leases through share transfers, joint
ventures and community trusts, positions that have all been disregarded in
the latest scheme.

"It is the committee's finding that the allocation of indigenous
beneficiaries … was not based on business principles," said the report.

Poachers, Not Animals, Pose the 'Real Danger' in Victoria Falls National Park

Zimbabwe needs a debt audit, not IMF conditions

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

13 June 2013

Zimbabwe needs a debt audit, not IMF conditions

The International Monetary Fund has announced that it has agreed a Staff
Monitored Programme with the Zimbabwean government. The programme means the
Zimbabwean government has to implement conditions as set by the IMF, but no
money is lent. Completing the programme is the first of many steps Zimbabwe
would need to take to qualify for some debt relief under the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries initiative.

The IMF has not yet revealed the detailed conditions of the programme.
However, conditions discussed in 2012 included a freeze in public sector
pay. The programme runs from April-December 2013, despite having only just
been announced, and despite the fact elections are due to take place in
Zimbabwe in coming months, effectively tying the hands of a future
parliament.

Tim Jones, Policy Officer at Jubilee Debt Campaign, said:
“Rather than rushing into a debt relief process and IMF conditions,
Zimbabweans need a debt audit to examine where the debt came from and how to
prevent a debt crisis arising again. In the 1990s, the debt crisis and IMF
economic conditions forced on the country caused poverty and unemployment to
increase, and economic growth to collapse. The IMF has no legitimacy to
force economic policies on Zimbabwe.”[1]

Zimbabwe has not yet been judged to be eligible for the IMF and World Bank
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Meeting IMF conditions is
one step towards doing so. Completing the HIPC initiative and receiving some
debt relief usually takes several years. Joining the HIPC scheme would
actually cost Zimbabwe money because it would be required to start making
debt payments again, something it is not currently doing.

Tim Jones, Policy Officer at Jubilee Debt Campaign, continued:
“The main reason for Zimbabwe to seek HIPC debt relief is to become eligible
for new loans again. There is a danger these loans will repeat the country’s
history of debt crisis. A debt audit can work out what loans are needed for,
and how to prevent them from once again increasing poverty and inequality.”

SADC summit on Zimbabwe elections; the precedence of “SADC Tribunal” case and the concept of “non-interference”

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Trevor Maisiri

The SADC Tribunal, set up in 1992, then with jurisdiction over inter and
intra member-states litigation, was unceremoniously suspended at the August
2010 SADC summit held in Windhoek, Namibia.  The background of this
suspension was Zimbabwe’s objection of the Tribunal’s ruling against the
State, in cases brought before it by its citizens.  These rulings involved
incidences where the Zimbabwean State was found in contravention of
conventional human rights provisions of these citizens. The Tribunal had
also functioned as an appeal mechanism, when the Zimbabwean government
failed to comply with certain judgements made by the country’s courts, in
favour of the citizens. In objecting to the rulings of the SADC Tribunal,
Zimbabwe questioned its legality, arguing that the protocol that brought it
into existence had not been ratified by the requisite two thirds membership
of the regional bloc.

Upon the suspension of the Tribunal, the SADC heads of states and
governments commissioned a review process of the court’s mandate and
jurisdiction. Zimbabwe made proposals to reconstitute the Tribunal, without
the mandate and jurisdiction of intervening in cases between member-states
and their citizens. The proposal also implied the Tribunal conforms to the
intergovernmental status of SADC; where the mandate to ‘interfere’ or
intervene in the internal matters of a member-state is proscribed or at
least limited. Successive review processes ensued. In June 2012 SADC justice
ministers and attorney generals  recommended to the SADC Council of
Ministers that the original mandate of the Tribunal be reinstated, a
proposal which the Council rejected. After consideration of these review
processes, the SADC heads of state and governments, at the August 2012
summit held in Maputo, unanimously endorsed the decision to re-draw the
Tribunal protocol, limiting its mandate to inter-state litigation issues
only. Beside restrictions on SADC citizens’ access to regional recourse on
legal and human rights matters, the decision was also instructive on SADC’s
“non-interference” concept in the internal issues of member-states.

The SADC Tribunal case has implications on how the regional bloc will
approach the Zimbabwe election crisis at its extraordinary summit in Maputo
on Saturday 15 June 2013. The unanimity by the regional leaders, including
those from countries proclaimed to be champions of human rights and good
governance, in attenuation of the Tribunal’s mandate, is ironical. It
however reveals the collective fear that SADC leaders have in adopting
decisions and mechanisms that empower the regional bloc instruments in
“interfering” in internal matters of their States. The regional leaders are
protective of the state-centric operational nature of SADC and are wary of
creating a precedence that may in future affect and challenge their own
individual positions and foothold on power, in their own countries. So the
leaders will be sensitive to any development that implies or creates the
perception or precedence of SADC’s interference in the internal issues of a
member-state.

President Mugabe has been in SADC long enough to understand the mechanics of
the regional body. In fact he and José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, remain
the longest serving leaders of the regional bloc. President Mugabe
understands the sensitivities and pressure points of SADC as well as its
“Achilles tendon”.  Having realised the political contentions around the
election date in Zimbabwe, among the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
principals, as well as SADC’s push back on early elections without key
reforms; President Mugabe had to come up with an alternative. The
Constitutional court ruling calling for an election date before July 31
became an opportunity for President Mugabe to push for his preferred timing.
The Constitutional court ruling transformed the election date debate from
merely being political to a legal matter. As a legal matter, it would create
complications for the MDC parties to out rightly defy, as they have for long
proclaimed themselves proponents of the “rule of law”.  For SADC, the notion
of non-interference in internal affairs of member-states, especially legal
processes, is significant.  This is against a background of President Mugabe’s
success in influencing SADC against the “intrusive” mandate of the Tribunal.
The regional leaders will therefore be careful not to disregard the
Constitutional court ruling in Zimbabwe.

In order to ensure that he complicates the possible reversal of the
Constitutional court ruling, even by SADC, President Mugabe made sure he
goes to the 15 June SADC summit with a declared election date. This is why
he did not take the gamble of allowing the parliamentary process to enact
the amendments to the Electoral Act. He would have also faced a further risk
of MDC parliamentarians blocking the passage of the Electoral Act in
defiance of his push for a July 31 election.  Backed by a Constitutional
court ruling and with a proclaimed election date in place, President Mugabe
will approach the SADC meeting on a leveraged negotiation position. Any
direct pressure by SADC to force him to climb-down will easily be
interpreted as the regional bloc’s interference with legal processes in a
member-state. Even if President Mugabe decides to consider any shift on the
election date, then that would need an offer of some electoral concessions
to him, as a way of “buying” his climb-down. As to what kind of concessions,
that remains an open question.

SADC also has precedence in Madagascar, which may have motivated President
Mugabe’s move. On 5 June, the electoral court in Madagascar confirmed the
candidacy of three controversial candidates, Lalao Ravalomanana, Rajoelina
and Ratsiraka, who are participating in the election in contravention of a
SADC call to exclude them. The prominence of internal legal processes in
Madagascar, no matter their insolence, over SADC calls, seems to emphasize
the reverence of the non-interference concept in the region. The Madagascar
courts have ruled against a SADC position and SADC has limited options to
influence such internal matters.  This Madagascar precedence must have
created contemplations for President Mugabe.

So as the SADC summit approaches on 15 June, there are limitations to
regional leaders’ engagement with the legal processes that have transpired
in Zimbabwe in the last two weeks. These are purely internal legal
processes, which SADC has no appetite or mandate to challenge. The regional
leaders are faced with limited options, key among them being: either seeking
consensus on any possible reforms before an election on 31 July; persuading
President Mugabe to an extended election date through leniency of the
Constitutional court while also offering him certain electoral process
concessions; or persuading the MDC parties to consent to the proclaimed date
even without clarity on processes for pre-election reforms.

What is however clear is: a political matter has now become a legal matter.
Will President Mugabe score another goal past SADC, or has he already done
so?

Trevor Maisiri is a Senior Analyst – Southern Africa at the International
Crisis Group

Mugabe's tit-for-tat exclusion of election monitors a big mistake

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

The Times Editorial | 07 March, 2013 00:29

The Times Editorial: The pronouncement by the Zimbabwean government this
week that President Robert Mugabe would not invite US and EU observers to
validate next week's constitutional referendum, and the general election
later this year, is alarming.

The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi, a leading member of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, as justifying the
decision on the grounds that Western powers had imposed sanctions on Mugabe
and his acolytes for human rights abuses.

"To be an observer, you have to be objective and once you impose sanctions
on one party your objectivity goes up in smoke," said Mumbengegwi.

The argument, while it might appeal to Zanu-PF loyalists, is akin to a
soccer team deciding who will referee their next match.

It is critical for the credibility of the election that independent
observers be allowed to monitor the vote.

For the same reason, it is vital that the international media be allowed
untrammelled access to Zimbabwe during the election, which might take place
as early as July.

Zimbabwe's previous elections, in 2008, were bloody and disputed.

They were widely regarded as having been stolen by Zanu-PF at the expense of
the Movement for Democratic Change, the party of Mugabe's arch-rival, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The disputed poll resulted in the current
power-sharing government, which is due to come to an end in June.

President Jacob Zuma, the SA Development Community mediator on Zimbabwe,
should do his utmost to ensure that Mugabe's party plays by the rules this
time around.

There have been sporadic incidents of political violence in Zimbabwe in
recent weeks. This, and a report last night that riot police blocked a
meeting that Tsvangirai was due to address, does not bode well for free and
fair elections.

Mugabe poll move unfortunate: Mutambara

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

13/06/2013 00:00:00
     by Arthur Mutambara

We must work together. Remedies to our problems will come from Zimbabweans

ONCE again we continue to plunge forward into unnecessary and avoidable
conflict on matters of the State. There is dearth of leadership across the
political divide. Just to emphasise the position I re-stated on the 6th of
June 2013.

“All the problematic implementation issues with the Constitutional Court
ruling should be addressed by first committing to complying with the
judgment. We should solve these compliance challenges as a collective Team
Zimbabwe, not by scoring partisan points against each in period of a
potential constitutional crisis. We will certainly not get far by appealing
to players external to Zimbabwe, without first respecting ourselves, our
nationhood and our own constitutional democracy. Foreigners can only nudge
us to talk and find each other. The compliance dialogue should have started
on 31st May 2013 among Zimbabweans, across the political divide.”

We have now lost two weeks out of the two months we were given by the
Constitutional Court. All we have done so far is bicker among ourselves and
avoid productive national dialogue. The Principals meeting of the 10th of
June 2013 did not take place, because the Prime Minister was not available.
We also did not meet as Principals after Cabinet on Tuesday the 11th of June
2013. All this was unfortunate. This is not leadership at all.  Zimbabwean
citizens deserve better. I explicitly sought to get leaders to talk, with
very little success. Now, the proclamation of the election dates has been
done without sufficient dialogue. There is enough blame to go around the
Zimbabwean political leadership table. This has been a missed opportunity.
We could have done a lot to lower the tension in the country and bring our
people together.

Where did we go wrong? I would have preferred a broader compliance
conversation before the action taken by the President. If there was a legal
mechanism or possibility of varying the decision of the Constitutional
Court, thus extending the election period beyond 31st July 2013, this should
have been explored during that collective dialogue. This remedy, if any such
possibility existed, could only have come through an all-inclusive, Team
Zimbabwe spirit and approach which puts President Mugabe at the center of
the initiative.  Only through him, as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,
could any avenues been investigated or considered, of varying an
uncorrectable final decision from the Constitutional Court, the final
arbiter in our land.

I am not even certain whether any such legal remedy existed. But if it did,
the President had to be part of it. You certainly do not address this
imponderable by being confrontational to a person who is your key partner to
a potential solution. More significantly, you do not achieve much by
insulting the judges of the Constitutional Court and then proceeding to file
numerous counter but vexatious urgent court cases in the very same Court.
Really? What outcome do you expect from the court system through such
reckless and contradictory efforts?

This business of banking and waiting on SADC without concentrating on
internal processes also led us astray. What is it that SADC will tell us to
do that we already do not know? Why wait for SADC?  Where is our collective
self-respect? Within individual SADC member states they respect their own
laws. They value their sovereignty and defend their territorial integrity.
Why would they want to prescribe to Zimbabwe; what they do not accept
internally? Does the SADC constituting law allow that? These are questions
we chose not to answer.

Now that the proclamation of election dates has been made, what do we do?
While I would have preferred a much more consultative, and an
all-stakeholder process, I have to concede that no Zimbabwean laws have been
broken by the President in his efforts to comply with the Constitutional
Court. The amendments to the Electoral Act were by negotiations among the
GPA Political Parties. They were further reviewed, adjusted and then adopted
by Cabinet on the 11th of June 2013. The amendments have now been brought
into law by Presidential decree as opposed to through Parliament.

This is regrettable but unavoidable, given the time constraints. All the
agreed changes in the Electoral Act have been kept, including the position
that voter registration continues until the 9th of July 2013. The only
adjustment made was that voter registration continues 12 days after the
Elections Nomination date of 28th of June 2013, as opposed to ending before
nomination. There is possibility here of disadvantaging potential election
candidates who delay their registration as voters. We must mitigate this
challenge. In particular, we must emphasize that all aspiring candidates
must register as voters by the 28th of June 2013.

We must now concentrate on working within the election framework we now have
in the country. Elections are now on the 31st of July 2013. There is no
point in taking legal action against this dispensation by appealing to the
same judges we have been insulting. Neither is it prudent to expect SADC to
overturn our constitutional democracy. The first task is to ensure that
every Zimbabwean who is eligible to vote must be given an opportunity to
vote. This means we must carry out effective voter registration in the
limited time we have. Secondly, the election itself must be conducted in a
conducive, peaceful, free and fair environment. Peace, freeness and fairness
must be guaranteed before the vote, during the voting, in the process of
counting, and after the entire election process, leading to a credible,
legitimate and undisputed outcome.

In order to achieve these two key objectives - effective voter registration
and a legitimate election - we need to understand that time is just one of
many critical variables. Yes, we need time and it is in very short supply.
However, political will, cooperation, dialogue, inclusiveness, a Team
Zimbabwe spirit, leadership, resourcefulness, administrative competence and
resources are just as important, if not more critical.

Time alone will not deliver reforms. If the reforms have not been delivered
in four and half years, what makes one think they will be delivered in three
months? Reforms require political will and cooperation among the GPA
parties.  Even if the elections are held in October 2013, in the absence of
the requisite leadership, political will, decisiveness, resources, and
national commitment, we will still face an election with incomplete reforms
and an unsatisfactory voter’s roll.

Let us get down to work as Team Zimbabwe. We are not in the best of
circumstances. We have no choice, but to work together and deliver a
credible, free and fair election on the 31st of July 2013. We have to be
masters of our own destiny. SADC can only assist and facilitate us within
this given framework.

Arthur G.O. Mutambara

Deputy Prime Minister, Republic of Zimbabwe

SAPES Trust Policy Dialogue

James Duddridge MP: Zimbabwe's elections must be free and fair

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/

James Duddridge is the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East.

Western policy makers are sometime criticised for expecting the same
standards of accountability and transparency within developing nations that
they would expect within our own.

Yet, there are circumstances, however developed or not a country is, when
the rule of law simply must be upheld and we have a responsibility to ensure
it is.

Yesterday, Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, used his first presidential
decree since the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2009 to
bypass parliament and declare the date of the next election as the 31 July.

In one simple and straight-forward act, months of political progress in the
country is at risk of being reversed.

The citizens of Zimbabwe have become far too use to the unlawful,
undemocratic and illegitimate practices carried out by President Robert
Mugabe. It is of little surprise therefore that this decision has
understandably sparked outrage across Zimbabwe, as well as within the SADC
region.

What is concerning to me however is the reaction, or lack thereof, from the
international community.
Although last week the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), led by
Jacob Zuma, called an emergency summit to help pave the way for a harmonised
election within Zimbabwe, that summit was postponed, after Mugabe declared
himself unavailable. This was a major blow, given that SADC is regarded by
many as the only option left to resolve an increasingly tense political
stand-off.

Earlier this year, Zimbabwe was seen to have taken a major step forward in
its democratic progress. It passed a new constitution, voted for by the
people of Zimbabwe.

In a sign of major progress to the international world, this new
constitution provided hope for a new democratic process, it gave investors
reassurance in a stable economic environment, and, most importantly of all,
it gave the people of Zimbabwe belief in their future and reassurance that
their struggles had not been in vain.

The basis of the new constitution was the requirement for the successful
implementation of new reforms, prior to any election taking.

The reforms were largely focused upon security sector independence, to
prevent Mugabe from sending his security forces to assault and intimidate
the electorate. Media reforms, to try and ensure the state newspapers showed
at least some neutrality, rather than simply using tax revenues to write
abuse about their opponents. And finally, and probably most importantly, a
proper voter registration process and audit has been required, in an attempt
to rid of the current list of deceased voters.

Although this is still to happen – the voter registration process has now
started – there is now no possible way for the agreed reforms to take hold
before the date proclaimed by Robert Mugabe, 31 July. If elections do take
place then, it would demonstrate disregard to the constitution.

The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan
Tsvangirai, have made it clear that if the new constitution is not abided
to, and the necessary reforms fail to be properly carried out, then they
will boycott the polls. I expect the other opposition parties will follow
suit. It is my belief that they would be completely in their right to do so.

Despite all this, a softening stance towards Mugabe’s regime from the
international community is apparent, particularly from the US where delivery
of a vaguely credible election will seem to suffice their requirements. I
find this deeply concerning.

Although I have been fortunate enough to have had many enjoyable experiences
in Zimbabwe, and spent much time with its people, my feelings towards
Zimbabwe are not based upon that – they are based solely upon respect for
the rule of law and the need for a legitimate democratic process.

Any elected official within the international community, with a genuine
interest in the future of Zimbabwe, should understand that we cannot just
sit back and pretend to recognise a process as legitimate, when the reality
is anything but. To do so would be a neglect of our professional
responsibilities, no matter how convenient it may be for some.

June 14, 2013

Bill Watch 23/2013 of 14th June [New Electoral Regulations Gazetted]