The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/06/21/zanu-pf-chefs-accidents-timeline/

June 21, 2013 in National, News, Politics

Zimbabwe has a history of mysterious car accidents involving top Zanu PF officials.

The latest accident claimed the life of outspoken Guruve South MP Edward Chindori-Chininga on Wednesday.

General Josiah Magama Tongogara (1979) — Zanla Commander. Died in Mozambique on the eve of independence on December 26, 1979 in a mysterious car accident and was reburied in Zimbabwe on August 11, 1981.

William Ndangana (1989) —Senior Zanu PF member — died near Nyazura in a suspicious car accident on June 27, 1989.

Sydney Malunga (1994) — Outspoken Member of Parliament for Bulawayo’s Mpopoma constituency died on August 28, 1994 in a car accident as he tried to avoid hitting “a black dog”.

A timeline of mysterious accidents in the history of Zimbabwe. Timeline by Tapiwa Zivira

Christopher Ushewokunze (1994) — A prolific lawyer, economist and Zanu PF government minister was killed in a car crash on January 17, 1994 near Suri Suri in Chegutu.

Witness Rukarwa (1995) — Mashonaland West governor died in a mysterious car crash in 1995. His death was linked to feuding

within Zanu PF.

Zororo Duri (1996) — He was told not to contest for the chairmanship of Zanu PF Manicaland province against Kumbirai Kangai, but he went ahead and won.

He was appointed ambassador to Cuba, but was killed at the very same spot where Ndangana crashed near Rusape along Mutare-Harare road.

Moven Mahachi (2001) —Then Defence minister and Zanu PF political commissar. He died in a mysterious road accident on May 26, 2001 in Nyanga.

Border Gezi (2001) — Zanu PF political commissar, government minister and MP for Bindura died in a car accident on April 28, 2001, along the Harare-Masvingo Highway.

Brigadier General Paul Armstrong Gunda (2007) — The State claimed he died in a rail-road accident near Watershed College in Marondera.

His wife disputes the facts.

Elliot Manyika (2008) — Zanu PF political commissar. Died on December 6, 2008 at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo due to injuries sustained in a road accident along Zvishavane-Mbalabala road.

Details of the accident have not yet been made public. The family suspects foul play.

General Solomon Mujuru (2011) — First post-Independence Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Armed Forces and husband of Vice-President Joice Mujuru.

Died in a house fire which destroyed his farmhouse near Beatrice.

Cause of fire and circumstances surrounding his death have been contested by family members.

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Hot Seat transcript: Zanu-PF ‘diamond whistleblower’ Chindori-Chininga dies in car crash

http://www.swradioafrica.com

The late Edward Chindori-Chininga

The discussion on Hot Seat this week is about the death of Zanu-PF legislator Edward Chindori-Chininga, who last week released a damning report about the involvement of ZANU PF officials and allies in the diamond industry. He died in a car crash on Wednesday. Alan Martin the director of research at Partnership Africa Canada, a civil society organization that is part of the Kimberley Process, communicated extensively with Chindori- Chininga in recent weeks. He says Chindori- Chininga told him earlier this month that he knew he was a “marked man” and that his work as chairman of the parliamentary committee on mines had ended his political career in ZANU PF. He is said to have told delegates at a workshop in South Africa two weeks ago that some of the individuals in government who complained about the targeted western economic sanctions were the same people who were benefitting the most from the restrictions, because it allowed them to operate in the grey zone.

BROADCAST: 20 JUNE 2013

Listen Here

VIOLET GONDA: The Zanu PF MP for Guruve South, Edward Chindori-Chininga, died in a car crash while driving in his constituency on Wednesday. This has set Zimbabwe talking because last Wednesday he released a damning report about the involvement of Zanu PF officials and allies in the diamond industry. Only two weeks ago the lawmaker was at a workshop prior to the Kimberley Process meeting in South Africa and delegates told SW Radio Africa he was openly critical of the diamond situation in Zimbabwe. Last week as chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Mines and Energy, Chindori-Chininga presented this highly critical report to parliament on Zimbabwe’s diamond industry.

Alan Martin is the director of research at Partnership Africa Canada, a civil society organization that is part of the Kimberley Process, and he’s someone who communicated extensively in the last few weeks with the late former Mines minister and I asked him to tell me more about the work that Chindori-Chininga was involved in. Mr Martin welcome to the programme Hot Seat.

Alan Martin director of research at Partnership Africa Canada

ALAN MARTIN: Thank you very much Violet.

GONDA: First of all can you start by giving us your reaction to the sad news?

MARTIN: Well I think it is a great tragedy, obviously for his family and we express our condolences to his wife and his family on his passing. I think he was certainly a maverick politician and I think that the work that he did in his role as the chair of the portfolio committee on Energy and Mines I think was absolutely stellar. I think he was a great example of probably perhaps the best parliamentary tradition of using his role to use the parliamentary structures to try and find out and get to the truth of the matter or the issues that were surrounding Marange and I think that for that we will always be indebted to him for his work.

GONDA: Did it surprise you that there was a senior member of Zanu PF who was forthcoming with information on diamond dealings in the country?

MARTIN: Yes. I should clarify that my personal relationship with him is actually quite new; in the time that I was doing research on Marange, a lot of it was by using information that he had gleaned from his inquisitory style in the committee where he revealed a lot of information. He got company officials and government officials, members of the ZMDC for example and even the minister (Obert Mpofu) himself to admit things in front of the committee which I felt very useful for my work. But I personally only met him for the first time at the beginning of this month and I think I was very much struck by the fact that he had this sort of independent sense of style, this belief that he had a role and parliament had a role in finding out and having some kind of oversight of what happened in Marange. So I was a bit surprised, perhaps to one degree, to the extent that someone in a senior seat in government would be this cooperative but I think the lesson I also take from him is that despite the fact that we might have had our disagreements, it’s always important to remember that even in regimes such as that in Mugabe’s faction that I think there are people who are always willing to listen and to be able to talk despite the fact that we might have our disagreements.

GONDA: Several parliamentarians have described him as a man who really knew his mining issues and was a no-nonsense kind of guy especially during sessions where he chaired the parliamentary portfolio committee on mining. I hear he even tried hard to get corrupt guys to answer the right questions during hearings and he repeatedly interrupted people reminding them that they were under oath and that perjury is a crime. I also received an email that he sent out last week to the outside world, and I think you were also on that mailing list, and basically he was forwarding the contents of the report that he presented in parliament. The report had quite some astounding issues – what can you tell us about the report?

MARTIN: As you say it was very surprising; it was one that took about four years to write so it was quite a well thought out piece and I think one of the things that I thought was the most striking about it was that it essentially, from a government perspective, for somebody in his position to essentially be agreeing with the Minister of Finance that there was a huge discrepancy between what companies were remitting to government and what the Treasury was receiving. And one of the things he did was to actually go to the companies themselves and ask them to reveal how much they had paid to the government in terms of royalties, depletion fees, marketing fees, dividends, corporate tax – things like that – and just in the case of Mbada for example – Mbada told the committee that they had given something like a US$117 million and yet the government could only account for 41 million of those. So I think this was a pretty astounding thing. And he was very clear in directing responsibility for this directly at the executive, particularly the Minister of Mines.

And I think this is one of the things that made him so effective in that position as committee chair. As a former Minister of Mines he knew exactly how that ministry was supposed to work which I think made it very difficult for people to try and whitewash him. Just in terms of the lead up to your question, I think one of the things that he was very good at, even in the case of Minister Mpofu, he even mentioned about how he had issued four subpoenas to Mpofu to, recently to appear before the committee and Mpofu had been denying those and dismissing them and I think finally he had to actually get the Speaker to issue, or get the police to actually go and present the Minister with that final subpoena which if he’d not agreed to would have resulted in the Minster’s arrest. This man was very tenacious; I think he really believed that parliament and Zimbabwe deserved to have answers as to how this precious resource was being managed.

The car in which Edward Chindori-Chininga died

GONDA: Did he openly refer to corrupt elements in the industry as ‘barons’?

MARTIN: He did. He had said that during a conference, a workshop that was held in Jo’burg at the beginning of this month where I think he spoke very openly about a lot of things. He was very critical obviously about the west and how the KP had, the Kimberley Process had dealt with the issue of Marange diamonds but he was also clear to point out that some of the people who complained the loudest about the western economic sanctions were those who were also benefitting the most by their continued presence because it allowed them to, as he said, operate in the grey zones . I think that that was again another very astounding admission and very much in keeping with what PAC and other organizations have found in terms of political elite, predatory elite as Thabo Mbeki called them at the Victoria Conference in November – people who are essentially robbing Zimbabwe of the diamond revenues.

GONDA: So did he or his committee follow the money or find out where these people were putting the revenue?

MARTIN: Not particularly, I think this was one of the things that is always very difficult to find in tracking where these revenues go but certainly the fact that these companies are listed in off-shore jurisdictions such as Mauritius and Hong Kong and other places I think would certainly make it very difficult for people to find out who is really behind those companies. But yes, he was I think very clear in pointing a finger at people in very senior places who were either on the take or were looking the other way to something that should have been part of their mandate.

GONDA: He said there was no accountability and that this needed to be investigated. So what has been the reaction about this report from the KP and also from the civil society organizations, as the KP has certified Zimbabwe’s diamonds?

MARTIN: The report that he presented to parliament last week came after the Kimberley Process meeting and I think that a lot of it, even in the same vein as the report that PAC released last November called “Reap what You Sow” dealt a lot with the issue of revenue transparency and missing revenues and unfortunately the Kimberley Process doesn’t have any way of addressing this issue of lost revenues. And so it was never really tabled as a discussion point at the KP meeting in Kimberley that followed this workshop in Jo’burg.

I obviously and other civil society people believe very strongly that this idea of lost revenue, of ways in which either predatory elites or people in foreign jurisdictions – in trading centers – who are taking or exploiting vulnerabilities in countries such as Zimbabwe that perhaps have democratic challenges, I think is one that the Kimberley Process and certainly the diamond industry has to take a closer look at.

GONDA: I don’t know if you are aware but Zimbabwe’s parliament’s term of office expires on Saturday June 29^th and a new group of legislators will of course be sworn in when the next election is held. But the House of Assembly has been criticized for not really doing much; parliamentary watchdog VERITAS has, over the last few days, been issuing alerts showing how parliament has not functioned or how there’s been little work in parliament. For example on Tuesday the House of Assembly only sat for 15 minutes without transacting any business but I understand that Chindori-Chininga’s committee was one of the main source of information in the ‘diamond world’ on what was happening in Zimbabwe. Do you agree with this and if so how important was this portfolio committee?

MARTIN: I don’t think it can be underestimated how important it was. It was something that, in the first report PAC did in 2010. The information the committee led by Mr. Chindori-Chininga revealed incredible things about the fact that the minister (Mpofu) had stacked the boards, the ZMDC-side of the boards and these were apparently joint ventures with his cronies – his sister-in-law, his PA – I mean people with absolutely zero mining experience, who had nothing to really add to the issue or the management of Marange. The fact that he revealed a lot of the opaqueness of the ownership structures of these companies, the fact that Zimbabwean laws and regulations were routinely overturned at the behest of Minister Mpofu – these were unbelievable findings and I think clearly he was a person who persevered on numerous times to try and witness firsthand what was going on in Marange, to try and gain access for the committee to go to Marange to meet different people, to see for themselves what was going on there. I think that kind of tenaciousness really is something that Zimbabweans should owe him a debt of gratitude and credit for.

I think that clearly going forward, his fellow parliamentarians, irrespective of partisanship should try and persevere his memory by continuing to work with that kind of dedication and selflessness. It was a really, it really was an amazing thing to watch how he led that committee.

GONDA: You said earlier on that the report was four years in the making so what explains the timing of these reports as they could have been released four years ago?

MARTIN: Well I think part of it was he talked a lot about the political challenges he had faced in being able to get the report done. I think he said part of it was the contestation between the executive and the legislation of accessing information and the ability to actually visit Marange. But also part of it, he explained in the introduction to the report, was trying to keep up with the changing developments and how the issues were evolving constantly. So I think that is mostly the reason why but I don’t know, I think part of it perhaps might well be his own thinking. We can imagine perhaps some of the other reasons why but those are the two that he’s put down on paper.

But I certainly got the sense in meetings that I had with him in early June that I think he recognized that, I think, his work on this issue had certainly ended his political career. He was very open about how Zanu was not going to re-sign his nomination papers to run as a Zanu candidate. I think perhaps this was his sort of parting shot that he wanted to have a very definitive record of what his and the committee’s observations had been of this issue before the parliamentary period closed next week.

GONDA: Speculation is rife on social networking forums, especially on Facebook, where people are wondering what could have happened because as you know, Zimbabwe has a history of mysterious deaths – where senior politicians die mysteriously and some of them through road accidents. It’s not clear what happened to Mr Chindori-Chininga and we may never know but he was killed in an accident shortly after releasing a damning report last week in advance of elections. So what’s your reaction to people who feel that the timing is just so very, very odd?

MARTIN: Yes, well as you say it’s more than coincidental. I think there are a lot of factors that are at play. I think that probably Zanu hardliners knew that this report was coming. I think he had been a lot more open and willing to speak out or to speak his mind which was a tradition that I think he always had, which is why he had got himself in trouble in the past.

But I think it does leave one wondering, particularly in the same vein as even people like the death of Solomon Mujuru, the timing of it was so coincidental as to make one wonder about whether there is some kind of other more nefarious hand at play. I think that the other issue too that had also put him offside with a lot of the hardliners was the fact that he had recently been released, or his name had been released from the US sanctions list and I think that probably also might have caused some within Zanu to see him in a suspicious light in order to doubt his bona fides. But it’s hard to say but I think that he very clearly was a person who was aware of the fact that he was a marked man. I really got that feeling that the liberty with which he spoke indicated a man that knew that he might have crossed the line.

GONDA: Right and despite doing the right things on the issue of Zimbabwe’s natural resources there are others who will say he was still part of the Zanu PF machinery that in 2008 presided over a violent election and that there were serious rights abuses recorded in his area during that period. What do you make of that as a civil society organization that also deals with issues relating to conflict and human rights in Africa?

MARTIN: It’s a good question and I think this goes back to one of the initial points I made at the beginning – that there’s no doubting a lot of the people who were on sanctions lists deserved to be there and they were there for very good reasons. It might have been because of corrupt behavior or violent behavior. I think that the point that I’ve found in a lot of my dealings when I’ve been in Zimbabwe is that Chindori-Chininga was not the only Zanu person who was willing to talk – and just to be honest, I had never sought his opinion for the previous reports largely because I thought he would be quite antagonistic towards us. But certainly there were other people within Zanu who were of the same vein or same mindset and were willing to give information and talk or to present a perspective that I think was helpful to my ability to better understand what was going on in Zimbabwe.

So I think that the way I look at it is that there’s no harm in speaking to people who you might disagree with and you might have issues with because of behavior or suspected behavior that they might have been engaged in. But for me it’s important that in order to better understand the perspective is that you have to speak to people who you disagree with - and even in discussions I had with him in June, at the beginning of June, I think it was one where there were things that he said that I disagreed with but in a free world you are allowed to have opinions that people would disagree with. That’s a healthy part of democracy. I think it’s more the fact that you could actually have an open conversation with him about issues and I think that is something that is important to remember.

GONDA: Can you share a bit more about some of those issues that you disagreed with him?

MARTIN: I think that for example on the issue of sanctions, he made some very open comments which I’ve already alluded to or mentioned but I think the other one where he argued that because the KP had deemed Marange diamonds to be compliant with KP standards that therefore European and US sanctions should be lifted on individuals or entities like the ZMDC – and I would argue that’s a little like comparing apples and oranges. There’s one thing to argue that you are KP compliant based on a very old and outdated definition of what constitutes a conflict diamond for example, and the issues that we see at play in terms of loss of revenue and things like that. And another very different standard by which you would look at the European and US regimes which were really looking at involvement in other activity unrelated to diamonds – for example election-related violence and the two are not the same.

Car crash in March 2012 which Chindori-Chininga survived

GONDA: You mentioned that the committee’s report was released after the KP had actually met so now that the report is out there is it going to make any difference in terms of the KP’s involvement with Zimbabwe?

MARTIN: I think it’s a bit too early to say. I don’t think the report has actually been circulated much within the Kimberley Process and I think that it could be one of those issues that gets discussed at a later date which would be the November plenary. But I think that most people would argue that – particularly from a conflict point of view, that there was not really much to add. The fact that he’s listing a lot of or revelations about missing money would indicate that Zimbabwe continues to have a problem with its internal controls which should be a KP issue. But I think that quite frankly the KP lost the political will to do the right thing on Zimbabwe in 2011 when they lifted most of the export limitations on Marange diamonds. So I think that it’s something that people will certainly look at but I wouldn’t hold my breath that the KP was actually going to do something about it.

GONDA: And a final word Mr Martin?

MARTIN: I think his passing is a great loss for Zimbabwe and I think particularly in terms of shining a very small light on irregularities that continue to happen in Marange. I express my condolences to his family, to Zimbabwe for that because I think he really was a maverick, somebody who had the interests of his country at heart and I think all of us are going to be worse off for his passing.

GONDA: Mr. Alan Martin from Partnership Africa Canada thank you very much for talking to us on the programme Hot Seat.

MARTIN: Thank you.

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Zimbabwe's harmonised elections a 'delayed' match

http://blevava.blogspot.co.uk/

Thursday, 20 June 2013

By Blessing Vava
On the 15th of September 2008 Zimbabwe’s three political parties, ZANU PF,
and the two MDCs signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA), a settlement
aimed at resolving Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis. In signing this
agreement ‘ALL’ the parties fully committed themselves and agreed to work
together, to ‘create a genuine, viable, permanent, sustainable and
nationally acceptable solution to Zimbabwe’s situation, reads Article 11 of
that agreement. What this meant was that it was the responsibility of all
the political parties in the unity government to ensure that Zimbabwe’s
political and economic situation returns to normalcy.

Needless to say, the GPA encompassed reforms to create an even environment
to lead us to a free and fair poll. The GPA was thus a temporary
arrangement, all the parties were aware. The GPA had to address some of
these issues, to mention but a few, economic recovery (Article III),
Sanctions (Article IV), a new constitution (Article VI), Media Article
(XIX). It also provided for implementation mechanisms, (that we will discuss
later). But the question of the day that every democracy loving Zimbabwean
is asking today is when the elections are going to be held since the country
now has a new constitution, and also cognisant of the fact that parliament
expires on the 29th of June this year.

Already we have had three significant events that happened in the past few
weeks. The first one being the Jealousy Mawarire case in whose ruling, the
constitutional court compelled the president to proclaim an election date by
the 31st of July. The second event was the gazetting of the electoral
amendment act and the invoking of the temporary powers by the President in
gazetting the dates of an election. Third, was the Extraordinary SADC summit
on Zimbabwe held in Maputo over the weekend which then acknowledged and
respected the ruling by the courts but at the same time ‘urging’ the
government through Minister Chinamasa to approach the constitutional court
for an extension of the election date as requested by the other parties in
government. Already Chinamasa has done so. The simple message from SADC
through their communique and previous summits held was its acknowledgement
that Zimbabwe will resolve its own problems. In this case it is now
Chidyausiku who is has technically substituted Zuma as facilitator; the
decision now entirely rests in him not the ‘false victories’ we read about
in the local media. The resolution on Zimbabwe was a victory on Mugabe; the
communique was quite strong on Madagascar that SADC will not recognise any
outcome on any election results with candidates who violated that country’s
constitution and the Electoral Laws of that country.

But was the SADC communique really about reforms? Some local newspapers,
political parties and civil society groups rang bells of joy, they rang loud
that the summit had punished Mugabe. However, the sound is now low, and
becoming faint by day as reality is now dawning that it was Mugabe’s victory
not the other way. After the constitutional court ruling on the appeal by
Chinamasa it will now be difficult especially to those whose bells have been
ringing recklessly. We know theirs is not really about reforms. Maybe it’s a
case of lack of preparedness, or the realisation that ZANU PF has already
‘technically’ rigged the election before it has been conducted but it is
now difficult to prove or rather discredit because the referendum and the
coming of a new constitution left them with no moral ground to discredit the
polls. A referendum held under such an environment was supposed to be a
cause of concern to all these parties. Not even to mention the alarming
figures of the YES vote especially in the ZANU PF strongholds despite the
low turnout.

Hence the chorus of security sector reform and media reforms before we go
for polls is a lost battle. One wonders then how they are going to achieve
what they failed to push for during their disastrous though luxurious stint
in the infamous government of national unity?

It would be grossly unfair if we fail to remind the MDC that during the
referendum, they campaigned for the adoption of a new charter for the
country giving us assurances that the new constitution would create a
conducive environment for the holding of elections.

Whereas groups like the NCA vigorously campaigned for the rejection of the
new document mainly citing Chapter 5 of the constitution which provided for
the post of an executive president. A president with the sole responsibility
of appointing judges, the judicial services commission and so on. The nine
judges constituting the newly established constitutional court are all
Mugabe appointees.

We did raise our voices that the political environment was not level to
ensure not just a credible referendum but an election as well. Only fools
thought that the referendum was of a lesser importance probably that’s why
they called us ‘nhinhi.’ Little did they know that nothing was as strong as
the need to demand reforms to allow a free and fair referendum? In short,
the referendum proved to be a dress rehearsal for ZANU PF to rig the coming
elections. The contents of the draft and the environment in which it was
passed under are fundamentally skewed. It was only the three parties that
got favourable airplay in the media whereas those campaigning NO were shut
out only to be invited on ZTV two days before the referendum.

But, the GPA’s mandate was to look into the issues of reforms, media to be
more specific. It was provided for in article X1X of the GPA, but the
parties chose to forward, lists of their people to compose bodies like the
Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission etc, it
became political appointees rather than professional. And parties like ZANU
PF will be saying, we now have your people in ZMC, ZHRC, JOMIC so we did
reforms. Haaa!! The reforms were supposed to start right at the inception
of this GPA. This whole period till the 29th of June 2013 is indeed an
election period.

Some parochial minds think they will achieve reforms in two weeks whilst
they failed to push for the reforms in four years? It defies simple logic.
Not even on a single day did they threaten to pull out of government because
of reforms, not even about the Glen View 29 who are still languishing at
Chikurubi Maximum Prison for dubious allegations, but well, they did
threaten to pull out after Mugabe refused to swear in Roy Bennet as Deputy
Minister of Agriculture.

Turning back to the implementation mechanisms, provided for in Article XX11
of the GPA, which meant to address the following: 22.3
The committee shall have the following functions;
(a) To ensure the implementation in letter and spirit of this Agreement;
(b) To assess the implementation of this Agreement from time to time and
consider steps which might need to be taken to ensure the speedy and full
implementation of this agreement in its entirety
(c) To receive reports and complaints in respect of any issue related to
the implementation, enforcement of this Agreement
Just to remind that these were some of the responsibilities of the Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), but, alas, the fact that
all the parties forwarded their personnel we hoped that this body was
supposed to deal with the issue of reforms, the same withe Zimbabwe Media
Commission and Human Rights Commission. Rather, JOMIC turned out to be a
cash cow; instead, their implementation mechanism was in the form of
amassing resources, sleeping in hotels and driving top of the range
vehicles, which indeed became their pre-occupation.

As for the MDC-T, it became a cry-baby, always trying to get sympathy from
the people of Zimbabwe now that the election is now around the corner. It
has now turned to attacking any opposing viewpoint to it tending to label
them either ZANU PF or sell-outs.

This I am referring to their attacks on the NCA and other individuals whom
the party thought they were sympathetic to their cause. We have worked
together fighting the ZANU PF hegemony in the past decade but they chose be
part of a sinking ship, probably in the hope of reforming it. Rather it
proved that they just joined ZANU PF’s gravy train of corruption and
violence. So sad that the MDCt now want to criminalise those appearing in
the state media labelling them traitors and yet they have been enjoying
these spaces during the last four years in government. Ours is not a fight
against the MDC as some narrow minded individuals are now viewing it,
rather, it is a principled position in defence of the National Working
Peoples Convention resolutions and the Peoples Charter. As the NCA, we were
against a government of national unity, rather we advocated for an
independent body to be in charge of the transitional period. Hence to those
in doubt, I do wish to set the record straight that the NCA will neither be
MDC nor ZANU PF because the two parties have failed the people of this
country, we are our own people and will remain guided by the Peoples
Charter, which all these parties have failed to embrace as a guiding
document towards a truly democratic Zimbabwe.

As we go forward we must know that reforms are not a two week event but a
process that requires time, honesty and the political will. Not to talk of
reforms on the eve of an election, it doesn’t work. Reforms were supposed to
be the main agenda of the inclusive government, not Discovery 4 vehicles,
not trips to Legends of the Seas, not the abuse of Constituency Development
Funds, not even expensive and allocation of residential and commercial
stands in local authorities that characterised their stay in government. The
GNU did not benefit the people of Zimbabwe and hence it must not be
extended, Zimbabwe does not belong to three political parties they have had
their share and now they must allow Zimbabweans to exercise their democratic
right.

Blessing Vava is a blogger from Chipinge. He can be contacted on
blessingvava@gmail.com

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Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe

http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/2013/210807.htm

Testimony
Donald Y. Yamamoto
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
As Prepared
Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee
on African Affairs
Washington, DC
June 18, 2013

Chairman Coons, Ranking Member Flake, and distinguished Members of the
Committee, thank you for holding this hearing on Zimbabwe. Thank you also
for affording me the privilege of testifying before you about this very
important country at this critical juncture. It is my honor to have this
opportunity to speak with you and our other assembled guests here today
about the Department of State’s work in Zimbabwe. We appreciate the deep
interest of this Committee in Zimbabwe over the years, and we are pleased to
work closely with members of Congress in support of our national interests
in Zimbabwe and the region.

After nearly five years under Zimbabwe’s unity government, 2013 began as a
year of promise and opportunity for Zimbabwe. In February, President Mugabe’s
ZANU-PF party and the MDC parties led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman
Ncube agreed on a draft constitution. In March, Zimbabwe held a peaceful
referendum in which the Zimbabwean people overwhelmingly approved the draft
constitution and, on May 22, President Mugabe signed Zimbabwe’s new
constitution into law.

The June 15 communique issued by the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) called for the parties in Zimbabwe’s unity government to seek more
time to complete important reforms and create a conducive environment for
peaceful, credible elections. Too short a timeline would risk undermining
the careful work of SADC to build a framework for peaceful, credible,
transparent elections and to ensure necessary reforms are in place.

These elections present an important opportunity for Zimbabwe to improve its
relationship with the United States by holding elections that are regarded
as peaceful, credible, and transparent by a broad range of international
observers. Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN and civil rights leader Andrew
Young recently delivered a letter to President Mugabe from Secretary Kerry
outlining this opportunity. As elections approach, however, reports indicate
that elements within Zimbabwean political parties and government security
agencies have already begun efforts to intimidate voters and illicitly shape
the outcome of the elections.

This includes a troubling trend of arrests, detentions, and harassment of
organizations and individuals working on human rights, electoral assistance,
and related issues. The chilly reception offered to a partial UN Electoral
Needs Assessment Mission (after all but one member of the delegation was
denied entry into Zimbabwe), Zimbabwean hardliners’ persistence in brushing
off calls for a broad range of international election observers, and ZANU-PF’s
insistence on the removal of all sanctions rather than recognizing good
faith efforts to ease some restrictions constitute obstacles to the
conditions that we feel are necessary for warming relations between the
United States and Zimbabwe. Influential officials within the Zimbabwean
Government and the Zimbabwean defense and security sectors who benefit from
the perpetuation of the status quo remain the most vocal critics of further
engagement with the "West."

The Government of Zimbabwe now faces a key decision point. Zimbabwe must
decide whether it will support a credible electoral process, or continue to
repress its people and isolate itself from the international community. The
2011 Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Roadmap and Zimbabwe’s
new constitution outline key reforms focused on voter education and
registration, inspection of voters’ rolls, media reform, security sector
reform, freedom of assembly and association. We are concerned that holding
elections without providing adequate time for voter registration, inspection
of voters’ rolls, other needed electoral and democratic reforms –
particularly reforms of the Public Order and Security Act, media reforms,
and security sector reforms - will put the credibility of the outcome at
risk.

The United States shares the same fundamental interest as the people of
Zimbabwe: a stable, peaceful, democratic Zimbabwe that reflects the will of
her people and provides for their needs. U.S. support for human rights and
democracy groups contributed to the success of the long and difficult
development of Zimbabwe’s new constitution. The U.S. also supported Zimbabwe’s
progress in attaining universal coverage for antiretroviral treatment,
reducing the HIV/AIDS prevalence to just under 15 percent and extending the
quality and reach of Zimbabwe’s health care system. U.S. development
assistance in smallholder farming has improved the lives of tens of
thousands of everyday Zimbabweans, and U.S. support to the
quasi-governmental statistics and economic research institutions, as well as
nongovernmental organizations, has fostered a more disciplined approach to
evidence-based fiscal and agriculture policy development in Zimbabwe.

In May, following the peaceful and credible constitutional referendum, and
as a means of demonstrating the sincerity of our intent to work toward
normalizing relations should Zimbabwe make progress consolidating its
democratic institutions , the Administration eased restrictions on two
Zimbabwean banks – the Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe and the
Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe. Both remain on the Office of
Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN
List), despite the issuance of a General License by OFAC allowing Americans
to conduct transactions with those banks. As part of our regular review of
U.S. targeted sanctions, we also removed eight individuals and one entity
designated under the Zimbabwe sanctions program from the SDN list. Some of
the individuals are recently deceased, but others have left their positions
in the Zimbabwean Government or are now using positions of influence to
effect positive change. One hundred thirteen (113) individuals and 70
entities remain sanctioned under the Zimbabwe program today.

In an effort to leverage SADC’s consistent position that elections in
Zimbabwe should be conducted properly rather than expediently, we in
Washington and our ambassadors in the field have been working to highlight
and reinforce key U.S. policies on Zimbabwe, including strong support for
SADC as the guarantor of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and creator of
the roadmap charting the reforms to which the unity government has
committed. The people of Zimbabwe deserve the full and complete enactment of
the reforms called for in the GPA, the SADC Roadmap, and the new
constitution prior to elections. An environment free of political
intimidation and violence, and the inclusion of a broad range of
international observers, are essential for credible elections. Led by SADC,
a robust contingent of election observers would play a central role in
verifying that the credibility of the upcoming election and Zimbabwe’s
ability to live up to international electoral standards. The absence of
local and international observers would detract from the credibility of the
electoral process.

We are also profoundly troubled by the lack of transparency within the
diamond sector and the possibilities for illicit diamond sales in Zimbabwe.
We are concerned about ongoing reports that diamond mining entities in
Zimbabwe are being exploited by people in senior government and military
positions for personal gain, that revenues from those enterprises are being
diverted for partisan activities that undermine democracy, and that proceeds
from diamond sales are enriching a few individuals and not the Treasury and
people of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean people deserve to benefit from Zimbabwe’s
diamond fields and the many millions of carats (and dollars) that they
likely hold.

Giving all Zimbabweans the opportunity to choose their government this year,
in peaceful, credible, and transparent elections, will help ensure a
democratic, prosperous future for Zimbabwe. The United States Government has
made it clear that we deeply respect the sovereign will of the Zimbabwean
people, and that we will work with any government chosen in such elections.

We are prepared to consider steps to further roll back sanctions and expand
trade and investment between our countries. However, as a necessary first
step, Zimbabwe must first hold elections that are peaceful, credible,
transparent, and truly reflective of the will of the Zimbabwean people, and
which are verified as such by a broad range of international observers.
Thank you for providing me the opportunity to speak with your Committee
today. I welcome any questions you may have at this time.

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The business of candidacy in Zimbabwe

http://mg.co.za/

21 JUN 2013 00:00 JASON MOYO

Claims of bribery, cronyism and all sorts of threats and intrigue come with
intra-party politics in Zimbabwe.

At Murombedzi, a dusty outpost next door to President Robert Mugabe's rural
home in Zvimba, Zanu-PF's bruising intra-party politics is good business.

At Davey & Ery General Dealer, they were making good money last weekend as
the ruling party called for nominations for hundreds of politicians hoping
to stand for the party in this Zanu-PF stronghold.

For $5 each they typed out application letters for aspiring candidates,
typed and printed curriculum vitae, did a lot of photocopying, sold computer
memory cards and bicycles, and hired out public address systems for wannabe
candidates.

Zanu-PF's internal democracy is always a great show to watch, whether in the
high halls of its national headquarters or here in a rural community, where
Zanu-PF is a way of life for most. There are allegations of bribery,
cronyism and all sorts of threats and intrigue.

There is the curious case of a man called Vambe and the missing campaign
bicycles, and there is the issue of party membership cards that allegedly
left national headquarters but did not reach supporters.

As the nomination process starts, there seems to be an issue with membership
cards. It would appear a good number of hopefuls do not have fully paid up
membership, which means that, according to party rules, they cannot stand.

New cards, bicycles
The problem is, as it turns out, national headquarters issued new cards but
local leaders allegedly withheld them from members belonging to rival
factions, just to freeze them out.

"No card, no qualification," one official shouts above the crowd.

A bit of a row ensues, but it is soon resolved. The hopefuls will pay $25 to
submit their papers; they have to buy a membership card for $1 each, then
pay $24 each in outstanding monthly subscriptions for the previous two
years.

Then there's some nasty business about bicycles. Apparently, dozens of
bicycles made available by the party's headquarters for campaigns are
missing. Vambe, a local enforcer of some sort, apparently, it is whispered,
doled them out to sabhukus, the influential local headmen, to buy power.

"Vambe will never address the party in my ward," one belligerent ward leader
declares. Vambe himself is nowhere to be seen.

Then there are whispers about people who do not meet the party's criteria
for candidates being allowed to submit their papers through the back door.
Party rules say only those who have been members for at least five years can
stand in elections. But it seems at least one Johnny-come-lately has somehow
escaped the net.

"His papers were signed?", an elderly man, wearing a Mugabe baseball cap,
asks a comrade. "Where did he get his five years?"

'A1s' and 'A2s'
There are both types of Zanu-PF supporters here; the "A1" farmers and their
bicycles and the wealthier "A2s", with their 4x4s. A1 refers to the smaller
farms that the government made available during the land reform process, and
A2 refers to the bigger pieces of land.

Dozens of hopefuls line up to submit their freshly typed CVs to someone
called Yvonne.

There is relief all round when Local Government, Public Works and Urban
Development Minister Ignatius Chombo announces that the national chairman,
who heads the party's national elections directorate, has agreed to push the
deadline for submissions to 6pm.

Once you register you get a reference number that you can use to track your
application, right up to national elections directorate. Should you fail to
qualify as a candidate, they are told, you can use that reference number to
get an explanation of why your application failed.

The nomination of candidates is a lead-up to the party's potentially
divisive primary elections The primaries will all be held in a day, which
will be a mean feat for a party so divided, but party insiders say is a
deliberate strategy by party leaders to contain the almost inevitable
fallout.

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IFJ Raises Concerns Over Journalists Security in Zim

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS
20 JUNE 2013
PRESS RELEASE

IFJ Raises Serious Concerns Over The Security of Journalists Ahead of July
Polls in Zimbabwe

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today has expressed
serious concerns on the security of journalists in Zimbabwe ahead of the
July presidential election.

The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), an IFJ affiliate has documented
several cases of attacks against journalists and press freedom. “We call on
authorities in Zimbabwe to protect journalists and promote press freedom as
guaranteed by the country’s Constitution,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa
Director. “Journalists must not be sacrificed by political groups during the
upcoming polls”.

These elections are crucial for the country’s stability and are due to take
place on July 31, though the opposition wants them in August.

On 7 May 2013 Dumisani Muleya, editor of the Zimbabwe Independent and
reporter Owen Gagare were arrested and charged with publishing falsehoods.
They were released from police custody but rejected the charges against
them.

This was followed in June by the brief detention of journalist Mashudu
Netsianda, reporter for the state-owned Chronicle, and the attack against
journalists Herbert Moyo, and Bernard Mapwanyire.

On June 14, non identified men abducted Paul Pindani, a freelance
journalist. ZUJ said that the freelance journalist’s attackers were wearing
masks when they were committing the assault.

The IFJ believes that all the motives of these attacks are political and
closely related to the upcoming elections. “These attacks must be
investigated and their perpetrators brought to court”, Baglo added.

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67 airfares

http://www.cathybuckle.com/

June 21, 2013, 2:37 pm

In all the hoo-ha about the election date, diamonds may have lost some of
their news value but they are still there and still causing quite a lot of
bother. Finance Minister Tendayi Biti says the country has no money to fund
elections and an appeal is put out to the international community.
Ironically enough, the province where the precious stones are located has
this week declared a state of acute hunger. What Manicaland needs, they say,
is a series of irrigation schemes. Such schemes benefit the whole community
with people able to grow their own vegetables to feed their families and
sell the surplus to bring in some cash. Obviously the wealth generated by
the diamonds would immediately solve Manicaland’s problem but – and it seems
to be an insoluble ‘but’ – the diamond money is leaking away. Government
says it will close these revenue ‘leaks’ but exactly how they will do that
is not clear. On Thursday it was reported that the taxes paid by the mining
companies have simply disappeared; they claim they have paid a certain
figure to the treasury but the treasury says it has received a significantly
lower amount! Whatever the truth of the matter, the fact remains that there
are several major projects in the country that need massive capital
investment. The capital city of Harare, for example, is fast running out of
drinking water and that problem will only be solved by investment in a whole
new sewerage and water treatment plant. China, that ever-generous donor, has
apparently given –or loaned? – Harare City Council $14.4 million to
rehabilitate its water treatment but water shortage is not limited to the
capital city, Gweru is facing a similar dilemma.

None of these very pressing problems at home seem to bother Robert
Mugabe. Off he went to the SADC Summit on Zimbabwe with one of the biggest
delegations, some 67 people we are told. True, the Summit was on African
soil, in Maputo, but 67 airfares, hotel bills, daily allowances, bar bills
and etceteras must have used a very substantial sum. Perhaps it’s an
over-vivid imagination but with all these VIPs travelling all over the
place, one can’t help thinking that it must be very easy to conceal a few
shining stones tucked away in one’s suit pocket in order to transact shady
but lucrative deals in foreign countries. That might explain where some of
the missing diamond wealth is going? Zim police seem more interested in
banning opposition political rallies and PTUZ marches than arresting crooked
diamond dealers. This week the police detained a man because he was driving
a car with a Voter Awareness poster on display! It will be interesting to
see how the ZRP behave now that there is a 10 man AU delegation in the
country to assess Zimbabwe’s voter readiness. If these are indeed the
forerunners of the electoral observers, it’s hard to see how such a small
number could possibly cover the whole country. The repeated calls by the US
for credible elections would suggest that they are none too hopeful of a
smooth outcome but President Obama probably has the more pressing problem of
Syria uppermost in his mind. Zimbabwe too might be facing an aggressor with
a resurgent Renamo vowing to overthrow the Frelimo government in Mozambique.
Military confrontations on the eastern border may well spill over into
Manicaland where the diamonds are but there is an alternative to diamonds.
It’s called ‘cattle banking’ might bring hope for Africa’s rural poor, that’s
a much more realistic option for ordinary folk. They don’t have to sell
their animals, the cattle are held by the bank as collateral against loans.
Diamonds are for the already rich but cattle are the true measure of rural
people’s wealth

Yours in the (continuing) struggle, Pauline Henson.

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Mugabe fails to turn up for meeting with Tsvangirai and Ncube

Jonathan Moyo says ZANU PF not part of ‘consensus’ court application

Election rigging in Headlands

Factionalism rocks ZANU PF ahead of primaries

Protesters storm MDC-T headquarters

ZimRights officials acquitted

Electoral Commission starts accrediting poll observers

MDC-T plans to unmask manipulation of voters roll

Imposition of Candidates Angers Zanu-PF, MDC-T Supporters

Reporter Badly Hurt In Attack By Three Masked Men

Daily News scribe detained

Residents Threaten to Oust Sitting Councilors

Mugabe may still hold elections without reforms: analysts

Zimbabwe builds spooks academy

Zimbabwean arms dealer sues Foreign Office for freezing assets

Stateless Zimbabwe residents gain citizenship

Secret insider warned Zanu-PF 'rebel' before his death

Zanu PF chefs accidents timeline

Hot Seat transcript: Zanu-PF ‘diamond whistleblower’ Chindori-Chininga dies in car crash

Zimbabwe's harmonised elections a 'delayed' match

Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe

The business of candidacy in Zimbabwe

IFJ Raises Concerns Over Journalists Security in Zim

67 airfares