The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
Our
own staff
THE Zimbabwean dollar has been on a free-fall against major
currencies on the parallel market for the past two weeks, as the country’s
economic crisis continues unabated.
The economic meltdown has resulted in the
weakening currency and analysts have said that it is going to have a ripple
effect on prices of most commodities.
The local dollar was last week trading
around $300 000 against the US$1 from $220 000, $50 000 against the Pula from
$38 000 and $45 000 against the South African Rand, up from $35 000.
Fuel
price last week went up by almost 50% and is now selling at around $300 000 a
litre.
John Robertson, an economic analyst, said the increase in fuel prices
in response to the falling local currency, was going to push prices of most
commodities further upwards.
Transport operators last week increased fares
further squeezing the already struggling populace-barely making ends meet.
An
economist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fall in the local
currency was in response to speculators who were trying to find a home for their
money as the stock market has not been trading for the past two weeks and also
the low interest rates prevailing on the money market.
David Mupamhadzi, an
economist, said the Zimbabwean dollar was falling largely because most investors
were shifting their portfolios from the money market to the foreign currency
market.
Heavy liquidity positions on the money market in May saw interest
rates falling and most investors terminated their portfolios turning their
sights to the hard currency market.
The analysts said the inflation rate was
going to continue an upward trend because of the inflationary pressures
besieging the economy.
One analyst said the rate for the month of May was
likely to be around 1 200% and going further upwards to around 1 500% for the
month of June.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
HARARE — In a flagrant style that must have left President Robert Mugabe
green with envy, lawyer Lovemore Madhuku and other leaders of Zimbabwe's
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) last weekend chopped and changed the
constitution of the country's largest pro-democracy group so they could retain
its control.
While Madhuku — who is NCA chairman — has argued that the
amendment of the constitution was legal, his civic society allies as well as
critics in the government are both agreed that the manipulation of the NCA’s
constitution during an annual general meeting last Saturday could only have left
the organisation weaker and without moral authority to demand a new and
democratic constitution for Zimbabwe.
ZimOnline spoke to Madhuku about
this and other issues. Excerpts:
QUESTION: Many people including your
allies in civic society say you are power-hungry, that you pushed — President
Mugabe-style — for the NCA constitution to be changed so you could remain in
office, what is your comment?
ANSWER: Those are very unfortunate comments.
They arise from a misunderstanding of what we stand for and what is involved in
the struggle for a new constitution. It would be very wrong to equate the
processes that we are currently engaged in with the processes of what the
government is doing.
Q: But the point is that by pushing for the old NCA
constitution to be changed so you could remain in office, you have forfeited
whatever moral authority you had to lead the search for a new and democratic
constitution for Zimbabwe?
A:The amendments came from the NCA membership.
The constitution does not allow the chairman to change the constitution. My
moral authority must be judged from the perspective of the people on the ground,
the ordinary members, and the struggling majority of the people of Zimbabwe.
These are the people who know as a matter of fact that they need a new
constitution.
They decide on any change in the organisation, whether
the organisation needs any changes in leadership and so on. So as far as we are
concerned you can't talk of a lack of moral authority because the NCA membership
wanted me to stay on. But if you are looking at it from an outsider's point of
view or from that of someone who wanted to take over, then certainly you would
think that there is now a lack of morals.
Q:Even if it was the NCA delegates
who proposed and adopted the constitutional amendments, why did you have to
accept being re-elected when you had served the maximum two two-year terms under
the old order?
A: I believe that my leadership at the moment will go a long
way in our fight. So when the request came to re-elect me, I was more than happy
to accept it. So it doesn't follow that the people who asked me to stand again
for re-election were talking to an unwilling person.
I have been around
working with them and I know why they need me to remain in this position. They
believe I still have a role to play as chairman of NCA. I share that belief and
I am not trying to second guess them. It is fact.
Q: Can you tell us why you
did not simply recuse yourself from contesting for the chairman's post, not only
so that new blood could take over but also for the sake of setting an example to
others both inside and outside the NCA that leaders should be prepared to give
up power even if not legally bound to do so?
A: We are not here to set
examples on how long people should stay in power. We are here to fight for a
cause. We are agenda-driven and the best person to lead that agenda to fruition
should be given a chance as long as the membership agrees.
Q: Do you really
feel you still have the respect of the people to lead the fight for a new
constitution or let alone to pressure Mugabe to accept limiting of terms in
office?
A: Well, I think you need to understand the role of the NCA. The
role of the NCA is not to get Mugabe out of power. It is to push for a
constitution that is democratic and a result of wide consultation. We will
continue pushing for that. We will not ask Mugabe to leave, we will ask him,
force him if we can to embrace constitutional reforms, whether they affect his
continued stay as President or not.
Q: The fact of the matter is President
Mugabe has no term limits and has refused to yield to pressure for him to leave
and you are following exactly in the same footsteps or can you tell us why you
think you are different?
A: I think there is a big difference between
national constitutions and constitutions of organisations fighting for a cause.
First it must not be assumed that we always have enough volunteers to take up
the risks involved.
The people in the NCA are trying to push for a
certain cause. In that case we should be willing to open up space for whoever is
willing to push that cause, instead of shutting them out. In that case you
would make a mistake if you would rigidly impose term limits on people who have
the capacity and the interest to lead that cause.
But in a national
constitution, it would be a whole issue of governmental power. We will be
talking about people who control the army, the police and a lot of state
agencies. They need limits, lest they corrupt governmental systems. But we have
no such power in the NCA. Our only interest is in seeing democracy flourish.
Q: Given the controversy surrounding your re-election and the obvious damage
it is doing to the credibility of the NCA, are you still convinced that what you
did was the best thing or do you think you could have handled things
differently?
A: I don't think there is anything I could have handled
differently. I would do it the same way because I don't see anything that was
done wrongly. The amendments, the elections, were all done in a democratic and
transparent manner.
Q: What specific steps are you going to take to
repair damaged relations with other pro-democracy activists and organisations
that at this point are dismayed by what has happened in the NCA?
A: I am
actually not aware of who was for the amendments and who opposed them. We just
left the process to be determined by the Annual General Meeting (AGM). There
will be no bridge building or whatever because our understanding is that
democracy won. What will happen from now onwards is to make the NCA even more
formidable.
Q: And what is your programme of action to achieve the NCA goal
of a new and democratic constitution for Zimbabwe?
A: We are going to
deepen our penetration of the grassroots, to educate them about the new
constitution to raise awareness so that they can join our resistance programmes.
We are going to increase the activities, especially the resistance.
This means more and more demonstrations until the government gives in to
our demands. The support you saw at the AGM was a result of the good things we
have been doing. — ZimOnline
The Standard, Zimbabwe
4/6/06
Zimbabwe
GENEVA - Living conditions have worsened in
Zimbabwe, where most of the 700,000 people who lost homes or businesses in mass
evictions last year were still struggling to find shelter, a United Nations
housing expert said on Thursday.
Miloon Kothari, the U.N. special rapporteur
on adequate housing, said most of those displaced by President Robert Mugabe's
May 2005 eviction campaign remained homeless, in resettlement camps or were
living without food, safe water or sanitation.
"It is as bad as it can get,"
Kothari said.
He took aim at the international community for what he called
a "shocking" lack of pressure on Zimbabwe.
"The political leaders continue
to be silent. They are saying there is quiet diplomacy, but you can't have quiet
diplomacy for a year with no results," he said.
"The international community
seems to have forgotten the people of Zimbabwe," he told reporters at U.N.
headquarters in Geneva.
The Mugabe government used police and bulldozers to
demolish street stalls and residences in urban shantytowns in its "Operation
Restore Order" eviction campaign.
While authorities said it was aimed at
cracking down on black market activity, critics decried the evictions as part of
a political swipe against the largely urban supporters of Zimbabwe's main
opposition party.
Kothari said some people evicted last year had returned to
the site of their previous homes, making them vulnerable to a new round-up by
the government.
"We have information that another round of evictions is
imminent," he said.
Kothari said he was "extremely concerned" the government
had not heeded calls from the United Nations to halt further demolitions and pay
compensation for property that was unlawfully destroyed.
He said Zimbabwe's
extensive human suffering, combined with difficult economic conditions including
the world's highest inflation rates, had compounded the country's problems. --
Reuter
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By
Foster Dongozi
EUROPEAN diplomats have rebuffed attempts by pro-Zanu PF
clergy to broker a peace pact between President Robert Mugabe, the European
Union and the United States.
The diplomatic sources told The Standard
that as far as the Europeans were concerned, they were awaiting the outcome of a
visit by the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
“As far as
the Europeans are concerned, the only discussions over the Zimbabwean issue will
be by the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan. We have only read
about the European Union talks in the media,” said a diplomat.
The
diplomat added: “It would also be interesting to find out whose interests the
church leaders are representing in their quest to hold talks with the
UN.”
Another diplomat from the European Union said: “All these
developments are quite interesting. Mugabe has all along accused the Europeans,
particularly Tony Blair of causing his problems. It would be interesting to know
why he is now so keen to build bridges and talk to the Europeans.”
Densen Mafinyane, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Council of
Churches, which is reported to have approached the EU, declined to shed light on
their meeting with the Europeans.
“Look, I cannot comment on what has
taken place,” he said.
When asked who would be able to talk to the media,
Mafinyane said: “That has not been finalised.”
However, sources close to
the developments said a meeting of top church leaders in the country ended in
disarray on Friday as the leaders bickered on the strategies to be used in the
resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis.
“There was just no agreement. Other
church leaders who believe Mugabe is being victimised by Britain want him to be
rehabilitated in the same manner that Libyan dictator, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi
is being rehabilitated. Others believe Mugabe is the reason why Zimbabweans are
suffering which means any discussion should centre on when he is going,” said a
source in the church fraternity.
“The meeting ended prematurely because
those opposed to Mugabe’s continued misrule of the country insisted that the
European Union would not pour money into the country as long as Mugabe continued
to cling onto power.”
During a meeting with British Premier, Tony Blair
recently, South African President, Thabo Mbeki said the United Nations chief,
was the last hope for the solution to the Zimbabwean dilemma.
Despite
ridiculing Annan over his planned visit, Harare might have no option but to
agree to a visit by the UN chief.
However, government sources said with
the economy continuing to implode resulting in increasing hardships, Mugabe’s
regime believes if the country receives fresh funding from its traditional
donors in Europe, living standards could improve.
Meanwhile the convenor
of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, Reverend Levee Kadenge, who criticised
colleagues in the clergy for singing praises of the government after being
hosted by President Mugabe at State House, says he has received
threats.
The Alliance is a grouping of churches and religious leaders who
have since last year sheltered victims of the government’s widely-condemned
“Operation Murambatsvina”.
Attacking some church leaders for praising the
government last week, Kadenge said they should have taken the opportunity to
tell Mugabe that tens of thousands of Zimbabweans were suffering because of the
government’s demolition exercise.
The Alliance recently held a prayer
march in Bulawayo for victims of “Murambatsvina”.
They are planning a
similar function in Harare.
Sources said Kadenge was being victimised by
the pro-Zanu PF churchmen for his role as convener of the prayer
commemorations.
When contacted by The Standard, Kadenge confirmed that
following the comments he made in the media, he had been accosted by his
colleagues who support the ruling Zanu PF party.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By Foster Dongozi
A FIERCE critic of the government, Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, has alleged that church leaders have been
given farms and monetary gifts to campaign for the government.
Archbishop
Ncube made the startling allegations to The Standard a week after leaders of
Zimbabwe Council of Churches were hosted by President Robert Mugabe at State
House where they threw their support behind the government.
Densen
Mafinyane, the secretary-general of the ZCC said during the meeting with
President Mugabe: “We love Zimbabwe and support your (government) efforts.”
ZCC president Bishop Peter Nemapare, not to be outdone, sang praises of
the government. “We know we have a government that we must support, interact
with and draw attention (to concerns)," he said.
“Those of us who have
different ideas about this country surely must know we have a government which
listens."
The ZCC leadership, in a brazen show of bias towards Zanu PF,
reversed a negative report on last year’s Parliamentary elections and forced its
partners to declare the elections free and fair, according to senior
members.
ZCC was one of the accredited election observers.
Ncube
said: “Some of our church leaders have been given farms and money by the ruling
party and government to campaign for them. The reason why you see some church
leaders singing government’s praises is because they have already been bought.
When somebody gives you money, you cannot start pointing out their
shortcomings.”
While Nemapare was not immediately available for comment,
Mafinyane said he had neither received a farm nor gifts from the
State.
But Ncube said the ZCC leadership should spend more time
ministering to suffering Zimbabweans instead of feasting with politicians.
“Pastors should have compassion and feeling for the ordinary people instead of
standing by the ruling class and the rich.”
Ncube alleged the Central
Intelligence Organisation had infiltrated churches in a bid to monitor sermons.
“The evil infiltration has become even more sustained now with the government
creating its own Zanu PF pastors to divide the church,” he said.
Ncube
also urged Mugabe to resign, adding he had dismally failed to lead the
country.
“I know that even the Pope has sent Mugabe messages urging him
to resolve the problems in Zimbabwe. The problem with that man is that he does
not listen to advice. He listens to himself and his sentiments of
dictatorship.”
The outspoken cleric said he did not hate Mugabe as
claimed by the President.
Ncube had no kind words for Nemapare and
Mafinyane either. “As for Nemapare, I am not really surprised by his statements.
He supports Mugabe; he is a Zanu PF loyalist. Mafinyane always changes his
stance; today he will have a certain opinion, tomorrow that opinion will have
changed.”
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By
our staff
ZIMBABWE’S exports to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern
Africa (COMESA) declined by 29 % last year, raising worries that the country is
losing out on regional trade agreements.
Intra COMESA trade has been growing
by average of 7% every year since the introduction of a Free Trade Area (FTA) in
2000 but Zimbabwe is still to benefit.
Latest statistics released during a
workshop organised by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce show that the
country’s exports to COMESA have dropped from a peak of US$271.6 million in 2000
to US$192.8 million last year.
The country has also fallen behind Kenya and
Swaziland whose performance was pegged below that of Zimbabwe before the
economic crisis.
Kenya and Swaziland’s exports totalled US$1.2 billion and
US$300 million respectively.
Zimbabwe’s import figures on the other hand shot
up to US$641.6 million creating a negative balance of trade amounting to
US$448.8 million.
Government described the situation as "unacceptable" but
business believes that the onus is on legislators to improve the country’s
economic conditions in order to enable companies to benefit from the COMESA
FTA.
"This calls for a very high level of aggressiveness wherein the business
sector should take advantage of the opportunities that arise from regional
integration…anything short of this will result in the country increasing her
import bill and a negative balance of trade arises," the Deputy Minister of
Industry and International Trade, Phineas Chihota, said.
Zimbabwe’s exports
have generally been on a free-fall since 2000 when the government implemented
the controversial land reform programme that resulted in low productivity on the
farms and exports from crops like tobacco, cotton, horticulture plummeted.
In
2008 the COMESA FTA will be transformed into a single Customs Union (CU),
characterised by the integration and merger of customs territories into a single
customs territory.
The CU will result in common customs laws, external
tariff, tariff nomenclature and common legislation to deal with unfair trading
practices, competition issue and investment.
The single customs union is also
likely to open Zimbabwe to a potential market of around 400 million people,
remove tariff barriers and widen the choice of products but industry is worried
that companies could lose out on the benefits because of the misaligned exchange
rate, which has made exports uncompetitive.
Government was also called upon
to implement consistent economic policies to remove the risk attached to
investing in Zimbabwe before the country joins the CU.
Joseph Kunyetu, ZNCC
vice president, said there was need for a market-driven economy which was
relevant to the removal of distortions which are prevalent in the
economy.
COMESA is made up Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar,
Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
Market Watch By Debrah-Fay Ndlovu
TRADING resumed at the
stock market last Thursday pending a High Court decision on an urgent
application filed by stockbrokers contesting the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s
decision to levy value added tax backdated to 2004.
Stockbrokers boycotted
the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange a fortnight ago but have since resolved to resume
trading pending the High Court decision.
"The matter is still to be decided
in court and until such a time, we have decided to start trading beginning this
afternoon (Thursday)," said a broker.
He said that firms have begun to levy
VAT but would hold on to it until the dispute has been cleared.
"Going
forward, we will be levying VAT but will hold on to it until the matter has been
resolved in the courts," he said.
The impasse at the stock market had brought
good tidings to the money market with short-term rates increasing to 200% for 7
-14 days.
The 91-day TB rate also rose sharply last week to 493,07% spurred
by a rise in inflation figures and cash deficits on the money market.
The
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe had reduced it to 350% in the past weeks.
Analysts
expect it to go higher in line with 1 042% inflation rate.
A dealer with a
local bank said last week the increase in the 91 day TB rate was to be expected
if real returns were to be maintained on investments.
"But large people are
adjusting the rate in tandem with the increase in inflation which is what is
needed to maintain positive real returns," said the dealer.
Another analyst
attributed the rise in the rate to the deficits on the money market.
"The
Governor (of the RBZ, Dr Gideon Gono) made it clear that they want to keep the
market as short as possible. They have to offer attractive rates on the 91 day
TB," said Terrence Mazango of Highveld.
Wednesday opened $3,8 trillion down
because there were no significant inflows from TB maturities.
But analysts
said the market should be awash with funds next month on the back of TB
maturities totalling $30 trillion for June.
The market watchers said they
anticipate that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will introduce the two-year and
three-year papers as part of moves to reschedule debt.
"They could introduce
the two-year and three-year papers as part of debt rescheduling. It will be
expensive for the central bank to continue to borrow short," said the
dealer.
Government debt stood at $14,9 trillion as of 28 April.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
BY
WALTER MARWIZI
ONE of the government ministers implicated in the looting of
equipment from Kondozi Estate is reported to have returned some of the pipes
stolen as pressure mounts on the politicians to surrender their loot.
By
late yesterday, The Standard could not verify the identity of the minister and
quantities of the irrigation equipment he had surrendered.
Reports said
the minister may have succumbed to pressure from Vice President, Joice Mujuru,
who wants the estate handed over to its original owners.
The revival of
Kondozi is a priority under the National Economic Development Priority Programme
(NEDPP).
Colonel Ronnie Mutizhe, the manager of Kondozi, revealed
recently that top government ministers had looted farm equipment from the
estate.
Under pressure to explain why crops were in a poor state on the
estate, Mutizhe named Agriculture Minister, Joseph Made, Energy Minister Mike
Nyambuya, Transport Minister Christopher Mushohwe and one feared man referred to
as “Nyathi.”
Mutizhe identified Nyathi as Didymus Mutasa, the Minister of
Security and Lands, after Mujuru demanded to know who he was.
Sources said it
was possible the ministers could face charges arising from the alleged
looting.
But Attorney General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele yesterday said he was
only hearing about the case in the media.
“I do know anything about the
Kondozi issue. Maybe you can talk to the Director of Prosecutions (Loice
Matanda-Moyo).”
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
sunday opinion by Tom Odhiambo
SEXUAL offences in Kenya
have come under the spotlight as a private motion for a Sexual Offences Bill has
sparked vigorous debate both within the country’s parliament and among ordinary
Kenyans.
The motion was put forward by a woman Member of Parliament
(MP), Njoki Ndung’u, who has been left speechless by the reactions from her
colleagues. Quoted in Kenya’s The Sunday Nation, Ndung’u said: “I am deeply
shocked by the passionate reactions this Bill has attracted. I have amended it
twice and I am not sure any more what exactly my (parliamentary) colleagues
want.”
During the first reading of the Bill, all female MPs with the
exception of the mover and the seconder, the Minister for Justice, Martha Karua,
walked out of parliament to protest snide remarks by one of the male MPs who
termed women “creatures” and argued that they are “somehow shy” and “not as open
as men are” with reference to courtship. During its second reading, after some
amendments, The Sunday Nation reported that out of the 13 MPs who contributed
during its debate, eight – all men – flatly refused to support it; demanding
further amendments or total withdrawal.
But why is this the case when
the current ruling party came to power in Kenya on the back of promises to
restore human rights? As it stands, the Sexual Offences Bill simply seeks to
improve on the Penal Code which does not sufficiently address sexual offences as
such rape, sexual harassment, and defilement of minors or the organised
exploitation of prostitution for monetary gains.
Ndung’u’s Bill goes
further to include such offences as marital rape and female circumcision.
Several male MPs have reacted strongly to these two elements and have argued
that criminalising marital rape and female circumcision undermine both private
and community rights. However, recent evidence indicates that rape is on the
increase in Kenya; that it is underreported – with marital rape possibly not
being reported at all; defilement of minors is common; and several communities
continue to circumcise girls and women. This is despite interventions by many
non-governmental organisations.
For those who followed the rape trial of
Jacob Zuma in South Africa, it will be interesting to read that many of the
Kenyan MPs are concerned about a clause in the Bill that protects a rape accuser
having his or her sexual history dredged up in court. Just like some of the
reported reactions to the Zuma case, the arguments for or against the Bill have
invoked terms and phrases such as “African cultures” or “alien and foreign
practices” either to reject some of the clauses or to oppose it.
What is
lost in these arguments is the essence of the Bill, what its proposer Ndung’u
has called “insecurity at home”. Backed with statistics she argues that “Kenya
is a country at war”, not in the conventional sense, but in the sense of sexual
violence.
These are sentiments that resonate in many parts of the
continent where women continue to be victims of either religious laws or some
residues of “traditional” cultural practices perpetuated by men and
male-controlled institutions.
Some of these laws and practices are at
times out of step with real life experiences or are unjustified. Examples
include the recent invocation of the Sharia law in some parts of Nigeria to
punish women offenders only while absolving the men of any blame in the assumed
transgression and the continued practice of female circumcision in many parts of
Africa.
Indeed, gender inequality and violence will not realistically
disappear overnight. But is it possible to dream of the attainment of parity
between men and women when most men would rather ridicule, mock or laugh away
such a serious issue as gender violence? In Kenya’s case, it seems the struggle
is still a long way from even starting.
Women, who constitute the
majority of the population, must aspire more to public office and power. The
insignificant number of female MPs in the current Kenyan parliament means that
issues affecting women will continue to be marginalised. If there is one other
significant issue that the drama surrounding the reading of the Sexual Offences
Bill highlights, it is that of power. That the Kenyan parliament and most of
the public offices are still a male domain simply means that men control and
exercise immense powers over several public institutions and everyday life.
It is therefore important that women claim an increasing stake in public
life in Kenya. Indeed a campaign such as the Sixteen Days of Activism Against
Gender Violence which have received much more serious attention in South Africa
need to be spread across the continent. It is only through perpetual activism
that women will be able to attain some amount of respect of their identities and
lives from their men-folk.
The ignorance and male chauvinism that Kenyan
parliamentarians have exhibited over the Sexual Offences Bill is not merely
about the Freudian symbolic fear of castration or the physical castration that
the Bill initially proposed – which was later amended to chemical castration.
This is a case of blatant sexism with no regard for the rights of women and
children.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By Our
Staff
THE honeymoon for local companies continues, with most releasing good
results despite the hyper-inflationary conditions.
Powerspeed, Delta and ZSR
were the latest to release their results which analysts passed as
"exceptional".
ZSR saw its operating profit going up 1 614% to $1.2 trillion
for the financial year ended 31 March 2006 from $70 billion in the previous
reporting year buoyed by the 1,566% currency depreciation which increased export
viability.
This was despite the 17% decline in refined sugar exports to
Botswana and Namibia.
Analysts said ZSR’s results were above market
expectation and predict a good financial year ahead because of the group’s move
to diversify operations.
Interfin said: "Without disruptions to sugar
pricing, ZSR certainly has blue chip characteristics and we believe that the
focus on value-added foods and other non-sugar operations will continue to yield
results."
Its share price should also benefit with projections that it will
rise to $75 000 from the present $17 600, said Interfin.
Powerspeed, on the
other hand recorded a 1126% growth in historic earnings to Z$68b for the six
months ended 31 March 2006 a three fold increase from Z$21 billion at year-end
driven by increased demand for electric motors and accessories applied towards
irrigation.
Interfin said the results "were on the upper end of our
expectations" but added that not declaring a dividend could see profit taking on
its counter.
"The lack of a dividend may however see some profit taking when
trading resumes," the analysts said.
Delta survived exchange rate losses of
$562 billion to post an overall profit figure of Z$2.4 trillion for the
financial year ended 31 March 2006.
The group recorded a 42% decline in soft
drink volumes during the financial year due to concentrate supply interruption
but analysts still insist that the beverage company’s performance was in line
with projections with an EPS of Z$2,435 and a Z$320 dividend.
While the
acquisition of Ariston is starting to bear fruit, analysts said Delta’s future
performance could be dampened by the crisis in the economy.
"A moderate
volume recovery is anticipated given a better supply picture and an improvement
in the agro-harvest output from prior year. The overall GDP outlook for the
economy remains depressed and this will be reflected in the performance," said
Interfin
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
IN order to help me buttress my argument, I propose to begin this
piece by paraphrasing the general definition of democracy, and a couple of other
systems of government. More curious and inquisitive readers can find
comprehensive and exhaustive definitions from any decent encyclopaedia or from
the Internet.
Democracy literally means a rule by the people and for the
people and is derived from two Greek words, demos (people) and kratos (rule). It
can be contrasted with two other forms of government, oligarchy and autocracy.
Oligarchy is a form of government where all political power rests with a small
segment of the society, usually the most powerful. It is derived from oligo
(few) and arkhos (rule). Autocracy occurs when unlimited political power is held
by a single individual, and is derived from autokratôr (self ruler).
Two
separate stories in The Standard last week (28 May 2006) prompted me to seek to
understand the real meaning of democracy in our local context. The first was a
story on Senator Chief Musarurwa’s remarks that President Robert Mugabe should
be made life President so he can continue leading the country.
The
second was a story on the controversial re-election of National Constitutional
Assembly’s leader Lovemore Madhuku after a constitutional amendment allowing him
to extend his term for a further five years.
People can quickly dismiss
Chief Musarurwa’s remarks as those of a typical Zanu PF apologist resistant to,
or afraid of change, but in actual fact his shallow grasp of basic concepts is
only a microcosm of wider and more worrying misconceptions by Zimbabweans from
different angles of political inclination.
When people advocate for a
change in leadership after a reasonable period of time, it is not necessarily
because the incumbents are no longer capable of leading, but simply a way of
helping people retain their confidence in the democratic systems. It often
happens that competent leaders are replaced by less effective leaders (we can
not all be great men and women), but if people’s confidence in democracy is
retained, we can all work together to ensure that the fundamental pillars of
democracy remain firmly in place.
Therefore, Senator Chief Musarurwa’s
remarks are unfortunate as they negate the fact that Zimbabwe is supposed to be
a democracy where people have a right, nay, an obligation, to choose their
leaders and actively participate in the way they are governed. No matter how
good Chief Musarurwa thinks the President is, the truth is that Mugabe is not
the only one capable of leading the country.
Most people will be
relieved if the President were to relinquish power sooner rather than later
because times are hard, and he doesn’t seem to have a clue on how to solve the
country’s litany of problems. In reality, however, even in good times leaders
should still be replaced once they have stayed in power for more than is
reasonable if for no other reason, then simply to give others a chance, and for
the sake of our democracy.
The NCA similarly, risks losing the moral
authority of advocating for a new democratic constitution for the country if
they are seen to be bending the rules to enforce a pseudo-autocracy within their
own organisation. Democracy is like a team sport where everyone in it should
play a role, and where no one individual is indispensable or beyond
reproach.
A lack of understanding of these basic facts will only help to
deceive people that Zimbabwe is a democracy, or fighting for democracy, when in
actual fact it is only a few powerful individuals who wield all the
power.
Hudson Yemen Taivo
Birmingham, UK
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By Our Staff
RIOZIM Limited says it has put on hold US$120
million expansion plans at Murowa Diamond Mine until the debate on the proposed
amendments to the Mines and Minerals is settled, albeit at the expense of
production.
Company chairman, Eric Kahari, told shareholders at the AGM held
last week that while holding back expansion plans would result in the diamond
project winding down production in 2009, "conditions relating to mining
investment" were not conducive for implementation.
"Murowa production fell
in the first quarter as the end of surface enrichment was reached. Production
from the mine will continue at lower levels than those achieved last year and
without expansion production will wind down from 2009," Kahari said.
He
added: "Feasibility work has commenced on the expansion project but with a
capital cost of around US$120 million implementation will depend on the
conditions relating to mining investment."
The proposed amendments stating
that government would get non-contributory 25% equity on the promulgation of the
bill into law and the nationalised stake would be increased to 51 % within five
years.
The proposed mining laws, Kahari said, were also threatening the
viability of other projects that the company was considering.
"Recent
ownership pronouncements, while undoubtedly deterring overseas mining investors
from considering Zimbabwe as an investment opportunity, have also made it
difficult for us, a Zimbabwean company, to finance a development such as the One
Step gold opportunity," he said.
The One Step project was viable but could
not continue without a change in the investment conditions in the mining
industry, said Kahari.
The chairman also said the company was planning a
bonus issue to enable them to align the number of shares in issue to the
requirements of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
He said the proposal that would
see shares in issue increase to 29 million, well in excess of the 10 million
required by the ZSE, would be tabled at the Special General Meeting for approval
by shareholders.
The bonus issue, he said, has also been necessitated by the
need to increase their share price while shareholders would also be required to
approve a revised set of Articles of Association to replace those written 50
years ago.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
Comment
WHAT those who fight so hard to hide the truth
from President Robert Mugabe do not realise is that at the rate at which
deterioration is fast setting in, even they will have no security of property or
lifestyles to enjoy.
Two recent incidents illustrate this argument. In
Masvingo, a 27-year-old junior military officer, frustrated by the government’s
misrepresentations over salary increases summoned enough courage not only to
accuse his superior of lying, but went further and assaulted him. Soldiers have
been implicated in extra-legal activities in order to make ends meet.
The second incident relates to last month’s round- up of 10 224
squatters and street people netted in “Operation Round-up”. Police said they had
ascertained that street people and vagrants were responsible for a significant
proportion of crimes, particularly robbery, theft and rape, committed in
Harare.
It is important to point out that there have been numerous
operations — some of them on a monthly basis — by the police and municipal
officials aimed at ridding the city centre of street people and vendors. But
they always return because there are no other known alternatives.
Last
month, Peter Moyo, one of Zimbabwe’s successful business exports to South Africa
warned that the country’s recovery will have to come from those who have more to
lose.
“Fixing employment is not going to bring all the chartered
accountants that have left the country. Zimbabwe needs more than that… In
business and in history, we also know that no change has ever been led from the
palace…” he counselled.
What those who have sought to protect Mugabe
from the reality and hardships the majority of Zimbabweans confront daily do not
realise is that, sooner rather than later it will not be one junior officer
taking up the fight against his superior. It will be hordes of them. Even
bribing senior military officers with perks such as the latest top-of-the-range
vehicles will not be possible because the country’s capacity to generate wealth
to sustain such lifestyles will have collapsed.
Those that surround
Mugabe and daily feed him lies may find comfort in their cluster houses or
cantonments, but the moment they venture out they will come across products of
more than 80% unemployment, haunted by the uncertainty of where their next meal
will come from, when the majority earn below the Poverty Datum Line, pegged at
more than $41 million a month.
The majority of the workers still in
employment spend more than $200 000 daily on transport alone. For others it is
much more than that.
The security guards who are posted to the cluster
houses will soon find an answer to their pressing needs in helping themselves to
properties they are supposed to protect.
How does Zimbabwe’s elite
think these squatters, street people and vagrants will react when they see the
elite pushing shopping trolleys laden with groceries through supermarket aisles
when the down trodden of the earth have nothing in their stomachs? Of course,
they will help themselves because those that decide the fate of this country
have betrayed hopes and aspirations of securing employment and leading a more
secure life.
It was good that Mugabe toured the Zimbabwe Platinum Mines
venture in Ngezi and was briefed, as well as seeing how just one investment had
transformed that part of the country. That is the reward for providing an
attractive investment climate — even though Mugabe spoke of his government’s
desire to reap where it has not sown.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
sundayopinion by Pedzisai Ruhanya
DR Lovemore Madhuku, the chairman of
the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)’s understanding of democracy has gone
to dangerous and unacceptable levels to the extent that if other civil society
organisations and leaders remain silent the end result of his unquenchable
thirst for power will destroy the institution.
His behaviour will spread
to all sectors of the democratic space outside of the government and state
realms and ultimately destroy the ability of civil society to challenge
governmental power and abuses associated with the Harare
administration.
The irony of Madhuku’s political expedition is that he
has done what he wants President Robert Mugabe and his government to stop doing.
Madhuku and his followers have endorsed his constitutional amendment to
facilitate his continued stay in power, the same thing that he legitimately
wants the government to stop in a bid to create a democratic and people-driven
constitution.
It is also a matter of public record that among other
things, the NCA and civil society organisations are opposed to long incumbency
and therefore want a constitution that limits the power and terms of any future
leader of the country. It is therefore a contradiction in terms for Madhuku to
do exactly the same thing that he wants Mugabe to stop.
It is difficult
to understand why Zimbabweans should accept Madhuku’s long incumbency while at
the same time demonising Mugabe for doing the same. The point is Mugabe and
Madhuku’s long incumbency must be equally condemned.
We also heard that
Madhuku managed 744 votes out of 805 in order to implement his power project and
then went on top of the mountain and shouted that the will of the people
prevailed.
While the constitutional amendment may have been technically
legal, it is clearly immoral and politically incorrect; it is political suicide.
Assuming that Madhuku was voted overwhelmingly as we are made to
believe, it is without doubt that as a seasoned scholar, Madhuku should have
taken heed of the contributions of the few people who challenged him to stop
amending the constitution to suit his quest for power.
Madhuku
understands very well that the idea of democracy lies in the fact that in
critical situations such as faced by the NCA and the idea that he had led the
organisation for some time; democracy would entail the maximisation of the
interests of the minority and the minimisation of the interests or power of the
majority.
I contend that Madhuku should have been magnanimous to the
extent of accepting that small vote as a sign of democratic maturity and not to
go by the views of the majority who have now soiled his image as a democratic
resistance fighter.
There are similarities between Madhuku and other
African leaders including President Mugabe that we should be wary of. These have
to do with the creation of personality cults at the expense of strong
institutions that are supposed to nurture democratic ethos in troubled countries
such as Zimbabwe.
The problem that we have in Zimbabwe is that we have
allowed ourselves to build a strong leader who later became dictatorial at the
expense of building institutions that are strong such as the judiciary, the
legislature with a capacity to curtail the excesses of any leader.
For
instance, President Mugabe has become so powerful that he has substituted the
Politburo of Zanu PF which in turn has substituted the central committee of the
party and in the end the Central Committee of Zanu PF has substituted Zanu PF
supporters and the people of Zimbabwe in general.
Such a scenario has
left Mugabe privatising State affairs to the extent that there is no difference
between Mugabe, the State, government, the Zanu PF Politburo, Central Committee
and Zanu PF supporters.
This is exactly the direction that Madhuku is
taking through his constitutional amendment. Madhuku is in danger of creating a
personality cult in the NCA where everything revolves around him.
He has
joined African leaders such as Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in seeking the
third term under the guise of trying to achieve the objectives of the
organisation. If Madhuku was genuine, why can’t someone be the chairperson of
the organisation and he works with that new leadership to achieve the goals of
the organisation?
I challenge Madhuku to tell Zimbabweans why he thinks
he deserves to run the NCA for more than six years without handing power to
another person. As a constitutional lawyer, Madhuku should also tell Zimbabweans
and his followers what constitutional values he is advancing by pursuing
parochial personal interests. I raise these issues because I am of the view that
constitutions are not made for the angels we know but for both the angels we
know and devils we do not know.
As it stands, the NCA has lost its moral
authority to do that because it has violated one of the fundamental cornerstones
of democracy, that of limiting the life of the incumbent leader. The government
has every right to reject and question Madhuku when he questions Mugabe about
his tenure.
Given the state of the NCA, the challenge lies with other
civil society organisations and partners which have ties with the NCA. If these
organisations foster institutional building as a way of advancing the democratic
cause in Zimbabwe then they should censure Madhuku and remind him that he has
gone out of step and this image problem could affect many organisations.
It is not good enough to claim the democratic will of the people in the
NCA circus when indications were clear that Madhuku wanted to cling on to power
as witnessed by the postponement of the AGM last year.
Lastly Madhuku
should be held responsible for any institutional collapse of the NCA as he seeks
to pursue what appear personal interests at the expense of the organisation and
the greater national democratic objective started by others who have left the
leadership after expiry of their mandate.
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By Estelle Shirbon
LAGOS - Negotiators in Nigeria's
oil-producing southern delta were seeking the release on Saturday of eight
foreign workers kidnapped from an oil rig by gunmen demanding jobs and
development for their community.
Six Britons, one Canadian and one American
were seized from an offshore rig on Friday, raising new security fears after a
campaign of militant attacks earlier this year that have cut a quarter of crude
oil output from Africa's top producer.
The sophisticated night-time raid,
carried out 40 miles off the coast of the Niger Delta by 20 to 30 gunmen in four
speedboats, showed that even deep offshore facilities are no longer safe from
well-armed local groups.
"There are negotiations going on ... We are getting
help from a couple of people who seem to be accepted by both sides," said a
source from one of the oil companies involved who did not wish to be named to
avoid making himself or his firm a target.
"Good progress is being made ...
We're very optimistic ... We don't think this is likely to be prolonged," he
said.
The kidnappers had not listed any specific demands but wanted to force
the oil companies to negotiate on a range of issues including employment for
local people, environmental impact and development projects, the source said.
Abductions are a common tactic by disgruntled groups in the Niger Delta, a
vast, impoverished wetland that produces the bulk of Nigeria's 2.4 million
barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Local people have seen few benefits from the
industry.
Poverty, graft, lawlessness and struggles over a lucrative trade
in stolen crude fuel militancy and unrest in the delta.
MILITANTS DENY
INVOLVEMENT
The militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND), which earlier this year launched a series of attacks on oil facilities
and took a total of 13 hostages, said on Saturday it was not involved in the
latest kidnappings.
"That makes me hopeful that this can be resolved soon,"
said a U.S. diplomat. Two separate multiple hostage takings by MEND in January
and February dragged on for weeks.
Security analysts say the real motivation
of most kidnappers is to get hefty ransoms from oil companies, which usually pay
up. The companies deny this, but analysts say the practice exists and encourages
abductions.
The company source said the eight hostages were being well
treated and their captors had allowed a delivery of food, clothes and toiletries
for the men.
"Everyone is in good health. The captives are being allowed to
use the satellite phone. They made three calls to our Port Harcourt base
yesterday and one of them was allowed to call his wife at home," said the
source.
The men are believed to be held in a swamp in the Ekeremor local
government area of Bayelsa state, the coastal area nearest to the Bulford
Dolphin rig where the raid took place.
The rig is owned by the Norwegian
oilfield services group Fred Olsen Energy ASA (FOE.OL) and leased to the
Nigerian firm Peak Petroleum, which operates it in partnership with Equator
Exploration.
The attack had no impact on oil output as the facility is an
exploration rig that will not produce crude for years.
MEND's attacks, which
have forced the closure of more than 500,000 bpd of crude oil production since
Feb. 18, contributed to several spikes in world prices. OPEC member Nigeria is
the world's eighth-biggest exporter of oil.
MEND demands greater local
control of oil revenues but authorities say it is a criminal gang bent on
extorting money. -- Reuter
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By Haitham Haddadin
KUWAIT - A new international aid mechanism for
the Palestinians agreed last month by the "Quartet" group of Middle East
mediators could be finalised in as little as a week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State David Welch said on Saturday.
"I believe it will be completed maybe
within the next seven days or maybe at most three weeks. I'm confident we will
arrive at this understanding," said Welch, who is visiting Kuwait as part of a
tour to include Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
He
said the Quartet of the United States, European Union, Russia and the United
Nations was working on the details of the mechanism to funnel aid to Gaza and
the West Bank, while bypassing the Hamas-led government. Washington calls the
Palestinian militant group a terrorist organisation.
The Quartet raised
Palestinian hopes last month with a promise to funnel the aid.
"In terms of
its details, I think people want to see the most urgent humanitarian needs taken
care of," Welch, told a news conference in Kuwait City, adding those might be
specific such as medical items.
He said the Europeans are interested in
possibly providing some further funding for certain operations like the Gaza
power electricity plant as well as providing humanitarian assistance to families
with difficulties.
"U.N. organisations sometimes do that for the refugee
populations, so there's a question of what happens to the other part of the
population," added Welch, whose State Department specialty is the Near East.
SALARIES
Welch said Washington, which strongly opposes any direct
aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, will not agree that salaries could
be paid from these funds. He said the salaries of public employees were the
responsibility of the Hamas government.
"I think instead, what the
international community will look at is is there some way we can help those who
are really in the most urgent and critical situation, who may have nothing to do
with the (Hamas) government ..." Welch said.
He said the Hamas government
has the money to pay salaries.
"They seem to have a lot of people who are
able to drive around all over with nice uniforms and gasoline in their cars,
they're sending delegations abroad to talk to everybody about their
difficulties," Welch added.
Israel and the United States have called on
other countries to boycott Hamas, which crushed Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas's long-dominant Fatah faction in January polls, until it disarms,
recognises the Jewish state and interim peace deals.
"All that is needed is
yes, yes, and yes," said Welch, adding there was no change in Hamas's policy.
Asked about concerns the aid will not be enough to meet the needs of
Palestinians and if Washington would agree to channel funds for the salaries to
the Palestinian presidency, he said:
"That is not a solution ... to transfer
the problem over to President Abbas, he knows what he wants done, he agrees to
this approach, he has a platform of peace ... the problem is with the government
of Hamas." -- Reuter
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
I write to correct the insinuations and factual inaccuracies in
Phillip Pasirayi’s letter to The Standard of 28 May 2006 entitled: Letter misled
readers about Mutambara’s meeting.
Pasirayi was responding to my letter
entitled, There is space for everyone in opposition politics published in the
same paper on the 21 May 2006.
Pasirayi states as a matter of fact that
in my letter of 21 May I argued that the MDC pro-Senate faction led by Professor
Arthur Mutambara provides a better alternative to that led by the founding
President, Morgan Tsvangirai.
I had no ground to make that comparison
and did not do so because I had only attended Mutambara’s meeting. I could only
advance the argument that he suggests on the basis of comparison. I did not make
any comparison between Mutambara and Tsvangirai. It was about getting a better
judgment of Mutambara in his own right having previously heard a lot of
different things about him but not met him in person.
I, of course,
respect Pasirayi’s every right to comment on my letter. He made his own
interpretation that I am an MDC pro-Senate member but that is his own
interpretation of events, which I respect. I only object to the manner in which
he reached his conclusion – that by chairing and organising a meeting I
therefore automatically became a member of a faction.
He states it as a
matter of fact yet the reality is otherwise. To be sure, I did not organise the
meeting in London. I was invited to chair the meeting and I was honoured to do
so at a meeting, which informed most of us as Zimbabweans, including Pasirayi,
about the merits and demerits of Mutambara’s leadership.
I only accepted
that chair to be of service to all of us and I would do the same if invited to a
meeting involving any Zimbabwean public figure, including Tsvangirai, and anyone
else regardless of the political affiliation. I think it is not fair to make
blanket conclusions based on one’s own perceptions and conclude that to be
fact.
Secondly, and far more seriously are statements in the letter
insinuating that I am or was in some way connected to Zanu PF. My recollection
of the circumstances of the meeting in 2000 at Chikanga Catholic Centre to which
he made reference are that it was not a ZINASU congress.
The sponsors
have the Conference Report if anyone would like to see it. I was not and have
never been a member of ZINASU and there is no way I could have invited guest
speakers to a ZINASU congress. I attended that meeting at the invitation of the
sponsors having previously assisted in other meetings involving civic society
organisations.
Minister Patrick Chinamasa was invited in his capacity as
Minister of Justice to speak on a relevant topic. I take exception to the
insinuation emanating from Pasirayi’s statements that I had any connection to
Zanu PF.
To put forward his insinuations, Pasirayi relies on what he
refers to as allegations made by other people that he does not name.
If
it was so significant to publish the allegations, it seems to me to make sense
to refer specifically to the persons behind those allegations. What is more
baffling is that after making mere allegations, in his letter he goes on to
state that he does not wish to make any comment about the merits of those
allegations. Why then, one is left to question, would he repeat those
allegations if he has no intention of commenting on them?
Why was it
relevant to include unsubstantiated allegations on which he did not wish to
express any opinion? One is left to conclude that the statement was made to
tarnish my character by associating my name with Zanu PF. I respect public
discourse, but I find such cheap shots to be in very bad taste.
Pasirayi
states that we know each other. Without appearing to be rude to him, I honestly
do not share the same view. He may know me but I do not know him to the level of
having to write in a public newspaper that we know each other. It creates an
impression in the mind of the ordinary reader that we know each other well
enough, which is incorrect. I am not sure why he found it necessary to profess
his knowledge of me – perhaps to bolster his point about my alleged connection
to Zanu PF?
Last but not least, it was neither the purpose of
Mutambara's meeting nor my duty to tell the readers of this paper that Pedzisai
Ruhanya is former Daily News deputy news editor and student of Human Rights at
the University of Essex. The meeting was attended by Zimbabweans studying PhDs
with other bigger universities and others pursuing high profile jobs in the UK
as well who also contributed in the meeting.
Msekiwa Makwanya
United
Kingdom
The Standard, Zimbabwe 4/6/06
By Lloyd
Mutungamiri
A THREE-man Zifa delegation today leaves for Germany to attend
the Fifa Congress, on what is without doubt a crucial leg of the roadmap that
seeks to turnaround the fortunes of Zimbabwean football.
The Congress,
normally held every two years, starts in Munich tomorrow and Zimbabwe will be
represented by football association chairman Wellington Nyatanga, his deputy
Tendai Madzorera and chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze at a forum
that brainstorms on such matters as Fifa statutes, annual reports as well as the
holding of elections, the most important of which is the organisation’s
presidency.
The Congress culminates in the 2006 Fifa World Cup that
explodes into life on Friday as Germany take on Costa Rica in Munich.
Throughout the four-day indaba, associations exchange notes and such
partnerships as regards sponsorship, invitational tournaments and technical
co-operations are discussed.
The Zimbabwean delegation goes to Europe
with a serious mission not only to strike bilateral relations, but sell the
country to the international community after failing in the same mission with
last month’s debacle in bidding for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
But
glaring shortcomings seem to make this a journey into the wilderness.
According to Mashingaidze, a major part of their mission includes
convincing fellow associations Zimbabwe is an attractive destination and share
in the business that will come with the 2010 Fifa World Cup to be hosted by
South Africa, tell the Warriors’ success story to attract invitation to
lucrative tournaments, as well as take a leading role as the region comes up
with a common position ahead of the next global event.
Yet there is no
one from the tourism sector in the travelling party, and the country’s soccer
legends, whose mere presence sells Zimbabwean football more effectively than any
dossier, have been snubbed yet again.
“What we are concerned with, in
addition to the interaction with other associations, is the issue of the 2010
World Cup, where we are saying this is not an event for South Africa alone. We
have to discuss as a region about who should play what role and come up with a
common position. This is the opportune time to meet the rest of the world at the
same time and tell our story, so that come 2010, Zimbabwe will also share in the
spin-offs of the World Cup,” Mashingaidze said.
Mashingaidze would not
discuss it, but Standardsport has it on good authority the Zimbabweans will also
meet officials from German sports goods manufacturing companies Adidas and Puma,
during the Congress. A comprehensive report listing the Warriors’ achievements
will be presented to the two firms.
The meetings with the German
companies hold the key to the future of Zimbabwean football as their sponsorship
also comes with a cash injection, a crucial component taking into account the
reluctance by local companies to bankroll the game.
Yet the composition
of the travelling party means Zimbabwe has not learnt anything from the Egypt
disaster, where an equally inappropriate delegation saw the CAF executive
dismiss the country’s ACON 2010 bid out of hand.
The inclusion of such
icons as Peter Ndlovu, for instance, could have guaranteed Reinhardt Fabisch as
the next Warriors technical adviser as the delegation is also supposed to meet
German officials on the appointment.
Sunday Independent (SA), 4 June
Ask Zimbabwean Zenzele Ndebele about his job and you'll get a mouthful
about the challenges facing an entire urban community. Ndebele is production
manager for Radio Dialogue - a spirited community radio station in Bulawayo -
and if his feisty and straightforward manner is anything to go by he would
probably make big waves on air. The station exists in the vacuum that is the
Zimbabwean broadcast media environment. In most countries community radio
stations are licensed and regulated by an independent broadcasting authority. In
present-day Zimbabwe access to information, particularly in broadcast media, is
strictly controlled by the government. "At the moment there are only four radio
stations in Zimbabwe and they are owned by the state," says Ndebele. "This means
that they broadcast Zanu PF propaganda." Radio and television in the country are
regulated by the Broadcast Services Act (BSA), a piece of legislation much
maligned by media observers and practitioners alike, and rendered draconian by
the many limitations it places on the basic tenets of freedom of expression and
access to information. Thus, says Ndebele, "there are very few platforms for
people to express their views. The state media does not often tell the story of
the ordinary Zimbabwean".
The BSA in its present form seems intent on keeping
this status quo intact. According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa,
under the BSA, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings "is the only broadcaster in the
country permitted to carry out diffusion services and is currently used to
propagate the ideals of the ruling party". A station like Radio Dialogue is
within its right to apply for a licence under the act, but the success of the
application is subject to such a slew of bureaucratic and restrictive conditions
- including licence fees considered out of reach of even commercial stations -
as to render it a non-starter from the word go. Radio Dialogue was established
as a trust in 2001, which may partly explain why it has managed to survive the
often ruthless media terrain in Zimbabwe. A committed staff of 16 has come up
with innovative ways of engaging the citizens of Bulawayo in debate and dialogue
on topics ranging from health and environmental responsibility to how to dress
for funerals or get along with one's neighbours.
A particularly novel
approach is the Taxi Tunes series. Radio Dialogue records cassettes, which are
then distributed free of charge to taxi organisations that are members of the
station. The cassettes are played in the taxis for the benefit of commuters -
stimulating dialogue and raising awareness. At present the trust makes between
500 and 3 000 copies of each series, depending on the availability of funds. The
Taxi Tunes initiative raised the eyebrows of some people in government, says
Ndebele. "Soon after we started, the state gazetted a law under the BSA that
made it a crime to produce tapes and distribute them to public transport
operators. They said it amounted to broadcasting, so we would need a licence to
do that. Obviously, it was just a move to stop people from sending information
to the community. We knew that even if we applied they were not going to give us
the licence. Since the passing of the BSA in 2000, no one has been granted a
licence to operate a private radio station in Zimbabwe."
Not to be thwarted,
Radio Dialogue decided to put participatory democracy - what's left of it in
Zimbabwe - to good use. "We now distribute the cassettes through ward
representatives in Bulawayo rather than directly to taxi operators," explains
Ndebele. "There are 29 wards in the city and each ward has a committee of seven
people. These are ordinary people elected by the community and many are members
of Radio Dialogue. By using them to distribute the cassettes we are making the
programme one that is community-driven and that gets to the community." The Taxi
Tunes are popular, particularly among young people, because they often feature
well-known celebrities and tackle issues affecting youth. One of the cassettes
features discussions on the problem of owindi or touts - men who hang around bus
and taxi ranks and target schoolgirls for sexual favours. "Some of these guys
are drivers, others are conductors or they load passengers into taxis," says
Ndebele. "They 'fall in love' with young girls and sometimes spend whole days
with them in the taxi. They provide transport and money to the girls, most of
who come from poor families." The cassette features interviews with young girls,
taxi drivers and the touts themselves, as well as parents and teachers. People
hear a variety of opinion on the topic and so are able to engage all sides of
the story.
Ndebele says that this particular cassette is very popular among
taxi drivers because "their voices are also heard". It has spurred the community
to act. The programme has made parents and teachers more vigilant. "Teachers are
now becoming strict and not allowing these taxis to enter school premises.
Parents are also making efforts to get their children home." Radio Dialogue is
integrating the Taxi Tunes concept so that members of the community are engaged
as people who not only have something to learn but also something to say. "We
organise meetings in community halls to discuss social and political issues such
as food shortages, corruption, good governance, refuse collection and so on,"
says Ndebele. "We work with community members to produce local news, which is
read as part of a live broadcast at the meetings. The meetings are recorded and
distributed to our members." The community meetings create space for people to
speak out, express their views, share good and bad experiences and address
common problems together. Ndebele compares the initiative to giving a voice to
the voiceless. "We also invite government representatives, including MPs and
councillors, to answer questions and respond to allegations. Our aim is to make
them accountable to the people they claim to serve." Accountability does not
come easy in the present climate and invited officials often don't show up or,
if they do, deny prior knowledge of the problems raised or simply pass the buck
and promise the community that "everything will be OK". Things are not OK for
the majority of Zimbabweans, but in Bulawayo at least, dialogue, debate and the
spirit of community are alive, on and off the air.
Mail & Guardian
Harare,
Zimbabwe
04 June 2006 09:15
Five people were killed and 24 others
injured when a freight train rear-ended a passenger train on Saturday in
southern Zimbabwe, state television reported.
"The derailment occurred
after a goods train that was travelling from Rutenga to Gweru rammed into the
back of a passenger train," the broadcaster said.
Four of those killed in
the accident were employees of National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), travelling
on the freight train, while the fifth was a person on the passenger train, it
said.
The injured were taken to hospitals in the southern cities of
Bulawayo and Gweru, the report said. Six of the survivors were described as
having severe injuries.
An official from the NRZ said that the accident,
which occurred early on Saturday, could have been caused by "the non-functioning
of the parastatal's central train-control system", which operates signals on the
rail network.
The accident comes a little more than a week after 34
passengers were injured when 10 carriages and a dining car derailed near Dete in
north-western Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's ageing rail network links major towns
and cities but is suffering from a shortage of money for spare parts and
maintenance amid the country's economic collapse. -- Sapa-dpa