http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Jun 3, 2011, 21:31
GMT
Harare - A Harare magistrate Friday ordered justice officials to
investigate
apparent police assaults on suspects as 12 people accused of
killing a
policeman limped into court bearing signs of violent
abuse.
Four women and eight men were arrested on Monday in the wake of a
melee in a
poor Harare township that erupted when police stormed an area to
break up an
alleged 'illegal meeting' of pro-democracy activists.
The
police inspector leading them died in last Sunday's clash after being
hit on
the head with a chair.
The group of twelve, all handcuffed, limped from
police vehicles into Harare
magistrates' court late Friday after five days
in police custody, during
which lawyers were denied access to
them.
Their faces were swollen, their eyes bloodshot and wounds and
bruising on
their arms and legs were clearly visible.
Magistrate
Shane Kubonera ordered state prosecutors to ensure that the
prisoners
receive immediate medical care, and to investigate allegations of
torture
against the arresting police.
Human rights lawyer Charles Kwaramba said
his clients were punched and
kicked and hit with rifle butts. He said they
were subjected to torture at
night, with police taking turns to beat them.
He said the police jumped on
the suspects.
Earlier, police
commissioner Augustine Chihuri accused supporters of Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of the
killing. He vowed
that 'those who live by the sword will surely die by the
sword.'
Tsvangirai is in an uneasy power-sharing coalition with
Zimbabwe's
decades-long authoritarian president, Robert
Mugabe.
Police Inspector Petros Mutedza, 45, is believed to be the first
law officer
to have been killed in 11 years of violent repression of the
MDC.
Eyewitnesses said the police officer burst into a bar in Glenview
township
and started harassing patrons, who angrily fought back against the
police.
Township residents say Mugabe's police are notorious for looting
goods being
sold by alleged 'unlicensed' traders, and for violence against
market
traders and shoppers. Residents refer to police as 'vana venyoka'
(children
of the snake).
After 31 years in power, Mugabe and his
security forces are under close
scrutiny from neighbouring countries for his
use of excessive violence
against opponents. Regional countries including
South Africa pressured
Mugabe to accept Tsvangirai and the MDC in a
power-sharing deal.
The MDC said that the past week saw police making
house-to-house searches
all over the township that targeted party officials,
many of whom fled in
fear of persecution.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, June 5,
1:45 AM
HARARE, Zimbabwe — The Zimbabwe prime minister’s party says
police have
thwarted its first showcase political rally in several
months.
Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the Movement for Democratic
Change, said
Saturday police clearance for the meeting was only received
late Friday.
About 2,000 supporters braved a heavy police turnout that
included armored
cars and water cannons in the western township of
Highfield. Witnesses also
saw militants of President Robert Mugabe’s party
threatening and assaulting
people headed to the rally.
Police have
banned several recent meetings of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s party
on security grounds.
Chamisa said Tsvangirai, billed to speak, did not
show up Saturday because
the rally had been “relegated” to a minor
event.
Saturday, 04 June 2011
Thousands of MDC supporters today attended the
People’s Real Change Peace Rally at Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare. Addressing the
supporters, the MDC National Organising Secretary, Hon. Nelson Chamisa said the
MDC’s position at the forthcoming SADC summit on Zimbabwe was to adopt the
resolutions of the SADC Troika that were prepared in Livingstone, Zambia in
March.
“Our position as the MDC is that the resolutions that were
prepared in Zambia in March should be adopted at the SADC summit to be held next
week,” Hon. Chamisa told the supporters gathered. “If these resolutions are
adopted, then no elections will take place this year and there will be no
elections in Zimbabwe without the MDC,” Hon. Chamisa said.
The rally was
also an opportunity for the party to unveil the new provincial and national MDC
leadership to the people of Harare after the holding of a successful congress in
Bulawayo in April.
“The new leadership has a mandate to deliver real
change to the people of Zimbabwe,” Hon. Chamisa said. All the 12 MDC provincial
chairpersons were present. Hon. Chamisa thanked the people of Harare for the
continued support they proffer to the MDC despite challenges that include the
arrest and intimidation of MDC members.
Before the rally kicked off, Zanu
PF youths at Machipisa shopping center today assaulted six members of the MDC
who were going to the people’s real change peace rally at Zimbabwe grounds in
Highfield. The matter was reported to Machipisa police station, but no arrests
were made despite the identified youth being stationed at their office just
opposite the police station.
Present at the rally were several senior
MDC officials who included the Deputy Organising Secretary, Hon. Abednico
Bhebhe, the national spokesperson, Hon. Douglas Mwonzora, Youth Assembly
chairperson, Solomon Madzore, national executive member, Hon. Jameson Timba,
Harare provincial spokesperson, Hon. Obert Gutu, Hon. Eddie Cross, Hon Sesel
Zvidzai and Hon Murisi Zwizwai.
The next MDC Peace Rally will be held in
Midlands South at Mkoba Stadium on 19 June and President Tsvangirai is expected
to address the gathering.
--
MDC Information &
Publicity Department
http://www.radiovop.com
9 hours 3 minutes ago
Harare,
June 04, 2011 – Zimbabwe’s governing parties have reached a deadlock
and are
having 'serious disputes' over the operations of the Central
Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) with Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
formations
calling for a new law that will regulate operations of this
institution.
A report compiled and signed by all the six negotiators
from Zimbabwe
African National Union, Zanu (PF) and the two MDC factions
following the May
5, 2011 inter-party talks in Cape Town, South Africa
established.
“A serious dispute arose at the workshop regarding the
Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO). The MDC formations claim that the
CIO, which is
administered through the Office of the President, is not
covered by any
legislative framework,” reads the report, a copy which is in
possession of
RadioVop.
In an apparent plan to buy time over the
matter, Zanu (PF) declared a
deadlock forcing the postponement of the matter
to a future date, arguing
they would want to go and consult over the
issue.
The report further reads, “Zanu (PF) indicated that there are two
traditions
relating to this matter. The one as advocated by the two MDC
formations is
for regulation under an Act of Parliament and the second is to
constitute
the Intelligence Services, as is currently the position in
Zimbabwe, under
Administrative Action.
Zanu (PF) believes that this
tradition is copied from British convention.
Zanu (PF) negotiators indicated
that they are not fully acquainted with the
merits and demerits of either
tradition and would want to consult further on
the matter.”
The
report, set to be presented to a SADC troika summit next weekend, was
confirmed by the negotiators as an accurate account of what transpired in
the South African port city in the presence of South African facilitators
Charles Nqakula and Lindiwe Zulu last Thursday.
The MDC formations
are agitated by the unprofessional and partisan manner in
which the CIO are
operating.
The MDC claims over 200 of its supporters were killed in State
sponsored
violence during the period preceding the disputed 2008
Presidential run off
election with the country dreaded spy agency taking a
very active role.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Fungi Kwaramba
Saturday, 04 June 2011
12:38
HARARE - Security sector reform is emerging as the most significant
outstanding issue confronting the GPA and the MDC is pushing hard for it to
be high on the agenda at this week’s SADC summit.
Since President Robert
Mugabe and Zanu (PF) lost the 2008 elections to the
MDC led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the military has been running
the country from
behind the scenes. In effect, what happened during the
weeks between the
holding of elections and the announcement of the results
was a silent,
bloodless coup. Nation-wide violence and widespread
intimidation of the
people of Zimbabwe has been carried out with military
precision ever
since.
The appointment last year of Air Marshal Henry Muchena as Zanu (PF)’s
campaign director saw the resurgence of political violence and the
re-establishment of torture bases around the country, each under the control
of a military commander – known as “the boys on leave”.
The SADC Troika
in March highlighted security sector reform as a key issue
in the roadmap
towards free and fair elections for Zimbabwe. Security chiefs
make no secret
of their allegiance to Zanu (PF) and their abuse of their
position through
treasonous statements and actions.
MDC-T chief negotiator Tendai Biti said
last week: “We demand that our
service chiefs abide by the laws of
Zimbabwe.” The MDC said that it was
going to the SADC summit with a bold
statement on the need for security
sector reforms. “The MDC will call upon
SADC to help end all-state sponsored
violence in Zimbabwe,” said Biti.
He
hinted that his party had reached a compromise with Zanu (PF) to be
presented to the SADC summit next week, but said “I cannot comment on the
matter before we go to the summit.” Sources told The Zimbabwean that the
MDC-T, which had initially called for sweeping changes in the security
sector, had agreed that the service chiefs could keep their positions, but
insisted that “the party wants them to sign statements undertaking to abide
by the constitution of Zimbabwe and respect the will of the people in any
election.”
The party’s spokesman, Douglas Mwonzora, said there had been
no shift in the
party’s position, which was that “for free and fair
elections to occur they
must be security sector reforms”. Mwonzora insisted
that the MDC would
accept nothing less than a removal of partisanship and
bias in the security
sector. Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba’s recent
outrageous statement
that he would never salute Tsvangirai as President has
been widely
condemned. Outgoing Germany Ambassador, Albretch Conze said that
“Generals
should stay in their barracks. It never works if generals mix in
politics,
not anywhere in the world.”
The Zimbabwe Liberators Platform
said all unprofessional service chiefs
should resign. "The objective of
security sector reform is to mould a
professional non-partisan national
defence force and other state security
arms into national institutions that
respect the will of the people," said
Wilfred Mhanda, of the ZLP. University
of Zimbabwe political scientist, Dr
John Makumbe said SADC should be firm on
security sector reforms.
"If Zanu (PF) insists that the security structures
remain unformed and
partisan, that should constitute a breach of the
agreement and the roadmap,
resulting in further delays to the holding of
elections in this country,”
said Makumbe. Meanwhile, this newspaper’s report
earlier this year that
Defence Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga was
planning to take over from
Mugabe has been confirmed.
Media reports last
week said a group of disgruntled generals were urging
Chiwenga to retire
from the army and enter the succession race. Observers
said senior military
officers were increasingly jittery about their futures,
given Mugabe’s
ill-health and SADC’s determination to push for free and fair
elections.
“They want a military man in the top seat who can safeguard their
interests
and protect them from international prosecution for crimes against
humanity,” said one political analyst.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Saturday, 04 June
2011 13:14
HARARE - Zimbabwean civil society organisations have warned
that South
Africa will stand to lose more if it does not act fast to
pressure President
Robert Mugabe to agree to put an end to the current
military-led political
“madness” in Zimbabwe.
Southern African
Development Community leaders are scheduled to meet on 11
June in
Johannesburg for an extraordinary summit to discuss Zimbabwe’s
troubled
power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
The summit is expected to discuss the report of a South
African-led SADC
facilitation team that has been mediating in the
dispute.
Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) has refused to implement the full provisions of
the 2008
Global Political Agreement, including calls for the reform of the
partisan
security forces. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an umbrella body of
more than
350 civic society organisations, said the recent police onslaught
against
human rights defenders and members of Tsvangirai’s MDC-T should
serve to
galvanise SADC to push Mugabe to agree to reforms of state
institutions.
“As SADC leaders meet their main focus should be on how to
establish strong
democratic institutions in Zimbabwe that do not pander to
the whims of Zanu
(PF),” said the Coalition’s coordinator, Dewa Mavhinga. He
said this was an
urgent matter that had ghastly implications for regional
peace and
stability, “especially when one considers current concerns
regarding Mugabe’s
age and health, and that there is no clear succession
plan within his
party.”
He warned that the military vultures currently
circling “are sure to plunge
Zimbabwe into chaos should anything happen to
Mugabe now”. Civic society’s
calls for urgent security sector reforms were
put into perspective last week
when a hardline army officer Douglas
Nyikayaramba told a local paper that
the military would never allow anyone
other than Mugabe to rule Zimbabwe –
even if the ageing strongman were to
lose the next elections.
“It is up to SADC to stop this madness. SADC must
take the lead in writing a
new narrative for Zimbabwe – one that breathes
life and hope. If SADC fails
Zimbabwe, it is South Africa that will carry
the burden of chaos in
Zimbabwe,” said Mavhinga. As the biggest regional
economy, South Africa is
the most obvious destination for potential
Zimbabwean refugees should the
political climate deteriorate any
further.
There are already more than two million Zimbabweans who fled to
South Africa
after Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis started in 2000.
Calls for
security sector reforms were also vindicated after last week’s
indiscriminate arrest of a dozen suspected MDC-T supporters following the
murder of a Zanu (PF)-aligned police officer in Harare. The police quickly
placed blame on the MDC-T for the murder of the police inspector even before
conducting thorough investigations.
South African President Jacob Zuma is
expected to brief other SADC heads of
state and government on progress on
the ongoing mediation efforts by his
team.The summit is expected to examine
a proposed roadmap to Zimbabwe's next
elections as well as the rise in
political violence, farm seizures and the
unfulfilled GPA provisions.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
04/06/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
MOST of the country’s Senators and Members of Parliament are
refusing to
repay car loans of up to US$30 000 arguing these have been
offset by sitting
and other allowances the government has failed to pay them
since 2008.
Finance Minister, Tendai Biti established a car-scheme in
2009 whereby 291
of the country’s 300 legislators were handed vehicles worth
up to US$30 000
but the ministry somehow failed to get them to sign loan
contracts for the
vehicles.
Biti is now trying the rectify the
anomaly but MPs and Senators have
insisted they will not sign the contracts
until the government pays them
sitting allowances which some claim now
amount to more than US$50 000.
"MPs did not sign contracts when they
received the vehicles and now the
Ministry is saying MPs should sign the
contracts," Zanu PF chief whip, Jorum
Gumbo said.
"However, because
MPs have been coming for Parliament sitting since 2008
without sitting
allowances up to now, the MPs are now saying before they
sign the contracts
- Government through the Ministry of Finance - should
acknowledge that they
owe them (MPs).
Legislators are entitled to a US$75 sitting allowance and
fuel proportional
to distance travelled to Harare from their constituencies.
Those living in
Harare get an allowance of US$50, while those from other
parts of the
country have their accommodation paid for directly by
Parliament.
"They (MPs) are saying books should be balanced by
calculating how much MPs
should have been paid since 2008 up to now and then
compare that to the
money that was paid for the vehicles," Gumbo
said.
Some of the MPs claimed that the car-loan was offset by the unpaid
allowances which, in some cases, amounted to about US$50 000.
"We are
not denying that we received the cars. We acknowledge that, but we
are not
going to sign the contracts until they have paid us our allowances
since
2008," one MP told the Herald newspaper.
Another legislator added: "From
our calculations, those who have been
consistently coming to Parliament
should be in the range of US$50 000
meaning they would have to be paid the
difference of US$20 000. Until
(Minister) Biti agrees to that, we are not
signing the contracts."
However, a Finance Ministry official, Pfungwa
Kunaka said measures were
being taken to ensure the legislators signed the
loan contracts.
"I can confirm that all MPs except nine did receive cars.
Last week we had a
discussion with the Clerk of Parliament (Austin Zvoma)
who confirmed that
all measures were being taken for all MPs who received
cars to honour their
obligations,” he said.
"If there are other
issues of MPs wanting to be paid first, then that would
be looked into but I
can confirm that Zvoma promised that all measures were
being taken for them
to acknowledge their loans."
http://www.radiovop.com
8 hours 8 minutes
ago
Masvingo, June 04 2011 - Notorious Zanu (PF) foot soldier and war
veteran
Jabulani Sibanda who is reportedly victimising villagers throughout
Masvingo
province said he will not leave the province unless his enemies
kill him.
In an interview Jabulani told Radio VOP on Friday that Masvingo
is part of
Zimbabwe and he did not see any reason why he should be forced to
leave the
province. He also said he was enjoying what he is doing.
“I
will not budge, Masvingo is also my home. I will only leave Masvingo in a
coffin. Unless my enemies kill me first, I will remain in the province doing
what I am doing,” said Sibanda.
He added that he does not seek any
approval from anyone in order to remain
in Masvingo where he is heavily
campaigning for Zanu (PF).
Sibanda said he was baffled by media reports
that he fled Masvingo after
succumbing to pressure from fellow Zanu (PF)
members, Movement for
Democratic Change activists, civic groups and splinter
war veterans groups.
“I want to see who will take me out of Masvingo," he
said.
http://www.voanews.com/
South
African Mineral Resources Ministry spokesman Musa Zondi said
Pretoria's
position matches that of Kimberly Chairman Matthieu Yamba, who
has declared
that Zimbabwe can freely sell its diamonds, 'so there is
absolutely no
reason why they shouldn’t be sold on an open market'
Sandra Nyaira |
Washington 03 June 2011
In a new blow to the credibility of the
Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme, the South African Ministry of
Mineral Resources has said the country
will accept rough stones from
Zimbabwe's controversial Marange field in the
absence of a Kimberley
consensus.
Musa Zondi, spokesman for South African Mineral Resources
Minister Susan
Shabangu, said Pretoria's position is the same as that of
Kimberly Chairman
Matthieu Yamba, who has issued a statement saying Zimbabwe
can freely sell
its diamonds, "so there is absolutely no reason why they
shouldn’t be sold
on an open market.”
But Yamba's declaration in
March saying Zimbabwe could sell Marange diamonds
with no Kimberley
oversight has driven a wedge between factions in the
watchdog
group.
Research Director Alan Martin of Partnership Africa Canada, a
Kimberley
Process civil society observer, said that if confirmed, South
Africa's
decision to accept Zimbabwe's Marange diamonds would further damage
the
image of the Kimberley Process.
He said there was never a
consensus among Kimberley participants as to
whether or not Zimbabwe had met
Kimberley standards, pointing out Yamba, of
the Democratic Republic of
Congo, had “overstepped his mandate” issuing the
statement giving a green
light.
So, Martin said, South Africa should not base its decision on
Yamba's
directive.
A Kimberley Administrative Decision from November
2010 states that "the
Chair represents the collective will of the
Participants."
“There was no collective will,” Martin said. “There was no
consensus coming
out of (the Kimberly meeting in) Jerusalem, and therefore
there was no way
that the KP chair or Minister Shabangu can declare these
diamonds to be
compliant" with KP standards.
Martin said Pretoria's
decision was “tragic” would further damage Kimberley
credibility,
particularly as South Africa was the founding chair of the
organization.
But Zondi said Shabangu also decided to open up South
Africa to Zimbabwe’s
diamonds due to economic considerations, citing a
shortage of diamonds among
small cutters and polishers. He said he could not
divulge the quantity of
Marange diamonds which had been shipped to South
African buyers since the
ministry's decision in the matter.
Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu asserted Zimbabwe's right to sell Marange
diamonds
freely, adding the country has met Kimberley requirements to mine
and sell
its gems.
“We are certified by KPCS to sell,” Mpofu said. “That’s why
Murowa [mine] is
exporting, River Ranch [mine] is exporting, Marange is
exporting."
Martin said if South Africa is serious about importing
Marange diamonds,
there could be consequences because others involved in the
supply chain
might not want to bear the responsibility that comes with
marketing the
controversial gems.
“That puts a lot of pressure on De
Beers and some of the bigger companies,
but more importantly it puts a lot
of pressure on the big trading companies
in India,” he said.
Martin
dismissed Zondi's argument that rough stones are in short supply,
calling
this a "smokescreen for the fact that people in industry are putting
greed
above decency.”
Farai Maguwu, director of the Center for Research and
Development in
Mutare, near the Marange field, told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Sandra Nyaira
that he believes the South African government will not back
the Mineral
Resources Ministry's decision.
Maguwu said if Kimberley
allows Zimbabwe to sell rough stones from Marange
without supervision, it
would have failed in its mission. “Issues of human
rights abuses continue
unabated. The smuggling of diamonds still continues,”
Maguwu charged.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 03 June 2011 11:18
Dumisani Ndlela,
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA)
has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with South Africa's Hatch
Africa Energy for consultancy
services for the expansion of the Kariba and
Hwange power plants.
The move is expected to boost electricity generation
and supply to the
domestic grid.
In a statement addressing a number of
customer concerns, ZESA said its unit,
the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) had
signed the MOU with Hatch who would,
through their Zimbabwean representative
firm, Zimbabwe Africa infrastructure
Development Group, carry out an
expansion roadmap of the two power stations
in three phases beginning later
this year.
"That, coupled with new and further long-term expansion projects
of Kariba 7
& 8 and Hwange 7 & 8, Batoka project, among others (will
result in) an
improvement in the capacity of the national grid resulting in
the reduction
of electricity imports as Zimbabwe would almost be self-
sufficient in terms
of availability from local sources," said ZESA.
The
power utility said such a boost in local electricity generation would
also
result in a reduction in load shedding as there would be a narrow gap
between supply and demand for electricity.
ZESA indicated in the
statement that electricity shortages would however
persist, insisting that
only fresh investments in new power plants by
independent producers or
itself would ameliorate the situation.
"If Hwange was to operate at maximum
920 MW and Kariba at 740MW, there would
still be load shedding as demand
peaks at 2200MW," said ZESA.
Current generation capacity at Hwange Thermal
Power Station is at 400MW from
four units. Kariba has six functional units
with a current generation
capacity of 740MW.
The ZPC has resuscitated all
small thermal power stations in an attempt to
boost electricity
generation.
This was after a plan for the transfer of the small power plants
around the
country to private operators failed to generate interest from
domestic power
users.
Under the plan unveiled in August last year, ZESA
had invited interested
major power consumers to take up three of its small
thermal power stations
in Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare for own consumption
and disposal of surplus
generation to its national grid at agreed
tariffs.
The Bulawayo plant has an installed capacity of 90MW and a
dependable
capacity of 85 MW, while the Harare plant has a capacity of 100
MW and a
dependable capacity of 45 MW. The Munyati plant has an
installed
capacity of 120 MW and a dependable capacity of 80 MW. The
three old
thermal power plants were to be "refurbished to give a relief to
those
institutions that can absorb power at an average tariff of 13 US cents
per
kwh of this ring fenced and uninterrupted power supply", ZESA had
indicated
in its invitation for bids.
The power utility had indicated
that it would mobilise resources for the
refurbishment of the thermal power
plants and start up costs, but successful
bidders would be required to enter
into a power purchase agreement (PPA)
with a ZESA subsidiary, the Zimbabwe
Electricity Transmission and
Distribution Company (ZETDC) for the purchase
of power from the power
plants.
"The average tariff for this power shall
be 13 US cents per kwh. Power
supply delivery point shall be the ZETDC meter
terminals," ZESA said.
The latest ZESA statement did not reveal how much the
resuscitated small
thermal power plants were contributing towards the
national grid.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
04/06/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
A JUDGE has blasted what he described as shoddy police work
when quashing
the conviction of a Bulawayo man for allegedly causing a
traffic accident
that involved co-Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi’s wife,
Tambudzai.
Businessman Kenneth Drummond was convicted and fined Z$150 000
(or two
months in prison) for negligent driving following the accident which
occurred at about 9pm on the Harare-Masvingo road in November
2006.
Drummond however, challenged the conviction in the Appeal
Court.
The court heard that the accident occurred when Drummond
encroached onto the
opposite lane as he tried to overtake a Zimbabwe
National Army truck.
Mohadi, who was travelling in the other direction,
just managed slightly to
swerve her Mercedes Benz vehicle out of the way
barely avoiding a head-on
collision although both vehicles were still
damaged extensively.
In quashing the lower court’s conviction Appeal
Court judge, Justice
Nicholas Mathonsi, with Justice Maphios Cheda agreeing,
found that the state
had failed to prove Drummond’s guilt beyond reasonable
doubt.
The judges said it was the army driver, instead, who had caused the
accident
by putting an “invisible” vehicle on the road.
“There is a
reason for why a vehicle is required to have rear lights and
reflectors at
the back. It is to alert other drivers of the presence of that
vehicle on
the road,” Justice Mathonsi said.
“That danger required the appellant to
take avoiding action which led to the
collision with both the army vehicle
and the Mercedes Benz. The appellant
cannot be said to have been
negligent.”
The judge also blasted police for trying creating an
impression that the
army vehicle was not involved in the incident and
pretending that it had
actually “not existed”.
“Otherwise there would
be no explanation for its (army truck) exclusion from
the traffic accident
book and the signal failure to bring its driver to
testify. It is an attempt
to pull the wool over the court’s eye, which is as
unsavory as it is
unacceptable. It is an injustice that should be
condemned,” he
said.
Justice Mathonsi added that police had done a shoddy job of
investigating
the accident and disregarded Drummond’s statement that he had
tried to
overtake after seeing the army truck in front of him late because
was not
visible as it had no rear lights or reflector.
“The
police officer who attended the scene, Constable Mathe, did a shoddy
job
indeed,” Justice Mathonsi said in his ruling.
“Constable Mathe did not
bother to check the army truck. He testified that
the army truck was not
entered in the traffic accident book, he did not
investigate it at all, and
he did not put it on his sketch plan.”
http://www.radiovop.com/
9 hours 2 minutes
ago
Harare, June 04, 2011 -The Germany Ambassador to Zimbabwe
Albrecht Conze is
bitter over the government’s failure to investigate his
attack that took
place two months ago.
Conze’s car was smashed while
driving home.
“I have never heard from the police, neither have I heard
anything from the
ministry of foreign Affairs, over the incident which
happened two months
ago. But I am glad that I now have an armoured car now
which my government
sent me after that incident,” Ambasador Conze told Radio
VOP.
Foreign Affairs permanent secretary Joey Bimha said the incident was
apolitical and criminal and had nothing to do with diplomatic
relations.
“From the investigations we made after reading the story from
the media we
discovered that it was a criminal case which had nothing to do
with
politics, “he said in a telephone interview.
On the fateful day
the driver of the car with its official diplomatic
plates, had stopped
briefly at an intersection when an assailant emerged
from the tall grass at
the side of the road and tried to smash the rear
window next to where
Ambassador Conze was seated.
The outspoken diplomat believed the
assailant wanted to rob him, but did not
exclude the possibility the attack
was politically motivated.
The envoy is known to have roused the ire of
officials in President Robert
Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union, Zanu
(PF) party after he published
an article in the local independent press
charging Mugabe with racist
rhetoric and with corruption in the
nationalisation of the economy.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 03 June 2011 11:50
Dumisani Ndlela, Deputy
Editor-in-Chief
AIR Zimbabwe's debt has ballooned to over US$100 million
as the airline
continues to default on debt payments and picks up new bills
from service
providers, The Financial Gazette can report.
The rising debt
level, which has reached US$108 million from US$64 million
last year, could
precipitate a financial hemorrhage on the group, whose
planes are currently
grounded after a Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe
moratorium issued
after concerns the fleet was now too aged to fly.
Air Zimbabwe's three Boeing
737 planes have been grounded as a result.
Group acting chief executive
officer, Innocent Mavh-unga, said the airline
had successfully negotiated
with top creditors to curtail termination of
services and litigation over
ballooning debts.
The debt level, which was confirmed by Mavhunga, represents
an acceleration
of liabilities for the State-owned entity, whose predicament
was worsened by
government price controls during the economic crisis period
that ended with
the formation of an inclusive government as well as
dollarisation in 2009.
Critics have said government should allow Air
Zimbabwe, which over the years
has largely depended on fiscal support to
remain in business, to twist in
the wind or sell the perennial loss-maker to
a strategic partner able to
turn around its fortunes.
The escalating debt
level has been a result of non-payment to service
providers and not a result
of borrowings.
The Air Zimbabwe boss revealed during a parliamentary hearing
last year that
the airline was operating on an overdraft facility and that
its debt, which
was increasing on a daily basis, stood at US$64 million by
October 25, 2010.
Air Zimbabwe's top creditors include ENNA, the Agency for
Air Navigation
Safety in Africa and Madagas-car (ASECNA), China's Na-tional
Aero-Technology
Im-port and Export Corporation (CATIC), Aero Industrial
Sales and American
General Supplies.
CATIC supplied Air Zim-babwe with
the unpopular MA60 aircraft in 2005. The
airline bought three MA60 planes
but one developed technical faults before
it could operate and is currently
grounded.
ASECNA had already secured a court ruling in France over which it
could
impound Air Zimbabwe's airplanes due to an overdue debt, while British
Airport Transport and American General Supplies, a major supplier of
aircraft spares to Air Zimbabwe, had warned that they could suspend services
due to accumulating arrears.
But Mavhunga told The Financial Gazette on
Friday that the beleaguered
national flag carrier had successfully persuaded
its key creditors to bear
with Air Zimbabwe until a bailout out package is
unveiled by government, the
sole shareholder.
"We continue to talk to
them (creditors). From the assurances we have
received from government,
through the Ministry of Transport, we have assured
the creditors that at
some stage, we'll be able to make good what we owe
them," he said.
He
indicated that they had paid "something" towards debts to top creditors,
although the current level of indebtedness appears to suggest the payments
could have been a drop in the ocean. Nonetheless, Air Zim-babwe, said
Mavhunga, had come to an understanding with its creditors based on the
"commitment from shareholders".
Mavhunga said there was a compelling case
for government to bailout Air
Zimbabwe because its collapse would affect
national pride, which he said was
at stake.
"Allowing Air Zimbabwe to
collapse would worsen the negative perception on
the country. A national
airline in a developing country is strategic," said
Mavhunga when asked to
comment on remarks that government should let the
airline collapse to avoid
an unnecessary burden on the fiscus. Mavhunga said
it was not the intention
of Air Zimbabwe to become dependent on Treasury for
sustenance but said
policymakers should understand their plea for cash given
that the airline
had "reeled under price controls" for over a decade.
"We don't want to
continue to be a burden to the fiscus (but) given that
history, policy
makers should be sympathetic to our bailout proposal. We had
a big hole on
dollarisation," said Mavhunga.
He declined to discuss developments over the
once-proposed roping in of a
strategic partner, saying this was a
shareholder issue. But he insisted that
despite its galloping liabilities,
Air Zimbabwe still had "intrinsic value"
to make it attractive to a
potential suitor.
"We have managed to maintain safe operations in a difficult
environment.
Zim-babwe can be the region's second hub (after South Africa)
given our
geographical location. When you take these factors into account,
apart from
our financial status, you realise there is potential; an investor
will be
attracted," he said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Ngoni Chanakira
Friday, 03 June
2011 16:56
Special treatment - thanks to govt funds
Parirenyatwa
General Hospital, once the envy of all, not only in Zimbabwe
but within the
region, is a dilapidated shadow of its former self. But major
refurbishments
are underway. Ngoni Chanakira did a month-long investigation
at the
hospital. This is his report.
I have been waiting here for two days now but
have not seen any doctor,"
says an elderly patient, looking frail and
hungry.
The old woman must be in her 70s and has been sleeping on the floor
of one
of Zimbabwe's most prestigious hospitals – Parirenyatwa.
"No one
tells me the truth. The only thing that they have told me is that
the
doctors are busy and will only come when they have been paid by the
government of President Robert Mugabe, who must now go," the sick old lady
continues.
This is the story of 75-year-old Mary Shungu (Not her real
name).
Besides old age and the problems that accompany it, Shungu is also HIV
positive.
Medical practitioners believe treating those suffering from the
killer AIDS
disease, especially the old, "is a waste of state funds" -
despite the fact
that there is much international funding available for
HIV/AIDS sufferers.
The practitioners say treating young children is much
better for the nation
because they can serve in future, while the old are
simply "gobbling funds,
but dying".
Insiders say more than $7 million is
being spent on Parirenyatwa Hospital,
with money coming mainly from the
wealthy World Health Organisation.
The hospital was once numbered among the
region's most advanced and
respected health facilities, but Zimbabwe's
health institutions are
crumbling and need more than $420 million for their
upgrade before the
nation can think about meeting its Millennium
Development health goals.
Even President Robert Mugabe, accused of blowing an
average of $3 million
each time he seeks medical attention overseas, and his
now "ailing” wife,
Grace, do not use local hospitals.
Sleeping on
floor
During the past month, this reporter made several undercover visits to
the
hospital.
At night, patients were seen lying on the floor of the
Outpatients
Department. Some slept on chairs waiting for their relatives to
be treated,
only to be told that the doctors were on strike and would not
return for a
week.
So some of them who had travelled long distances were
forced to stay in the
hospital, much to the chagrin of staff and the
security officials.
"You must go home today and return when the doctors are
back at work," an
overzealous security man told one woman who had stayed in
the Outpatients
Department for three days, sleeping on the benches.
She
was waiting for her daughter, who had measles, to be treated.
"I have not had
anything to eat for two days now," the woman said in an
interview.
"They
do not give food to people who are not sick. Only those with beds are
given
food. We have come from Mutare only to be treated like this. Why were
we
told to come to Harare if they knew this is the treatment they would give
us?"
On another visit, new tables and chairs were being brought into the
hospital. Broken chairs, beds, wheel chairs, trolleys and sinks could be
seen outside the back of the hospital.
New paint
Workers could be
seen replacing the old, dirty paint in the dark hallways
with cream
paint.
Ward D on the Fourth Floor, reserved for wealthy citizens, was closed
to the
general public because it is currently being re-painted, according to
a
worker.
"We were given instructions to paint the Ward D first and the
hallways,"
said a painter. "I think government must be very embarrassed
about its
hospital system and dilapidated buildings."
The broke
government needs $18 190 000 to repair or purchase ambulances and
service
vehicles.
Known as "Infrastructure Investment Priorities for Zimbabwe", a
Ministry of
Finance document submitted to Cabinet recently, points out that
Chitungwiza
Central Hospital tops the list with a staggering need for $56
717 000 from
"empty" government coffers.
Parirenyatwa Hospital needs $10
335 000 for infrastructure rehabilitation
and development, but it needs a
total of $40 334 000 for upgrading
everything.
As with most sectors in
Zimbabwe today, corruption is rife. "Nurses are also
stealing drugs and
selling them outside the hospital to their clients," said
a senior official
who cannot be identified for professional reasons.
"We have employed a
security firm and everyone, including doctors and
nurses, is searched when
they leave. This has resulted in less cases of
'missing drugs'. It was very
serious during the days of hyperinflation, when
medicines were very
expensive and only those with foreign currency or
relatives in the Diaspora
could afford them."
Since dollarisation in 2009, the economy has been
resuscitated and the new
lease of life has seen a glimmer of hope that
Zimbabwe will return to its
glory days - even at Parirenyatwa.
The
underlying strength of the country's infrastructure has shown through in
that even after a decade of disinvestment, deterioration and decay, within a
relatively short time there has been a dramatic revival of economic
activity.
"The nurses are still very rude and need better training here,"
the old lady
tells me after I refreshed her with a loaf of bread and a soft
drink.
Maybe she is right, because the nurses walk proudly in their starched
white
uniforms.
"Things can only get better here," the senior hospital
administrator said.
"They can only get better my son."
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Friday, 03 June 2011
11:47
Dumisani Ndlela, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
ZIMBABWE'S
Ministry of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure
Development (MTCID)
has stalled the dualisation and tolling of the
Harare-Beitbridge road, the
country's highway to South Africa as well as the
southern neighbour's
transit artery to at least five regional countries.
Information obtained by
The Financial Gazette suggests that there have been
surreptitious manoeuvres
by the MTCID officials to undermine ZimHighways
Consor-tium (Pvt) Limited, a
company awarded the tender to dualise and toll
the Beitbridge-Harare road,
arguably southern Africa's busiest transit road.
The government has balked
from signing the concession agreement to enable
financiers to release
funding for the project two years since ZimHighways
Consortium forwarded it
to government for its signature. This has triggered
speculation that there
could be personalities within the MTCID who are not
happy with the
consortium, a move that has reportedly undermined trust
between ZimHighways
and government in their engagement over the project.
In fact, the consortium
is now seeking assistance from the State Procurement
Board, which succeeded
the Government Tender Board that awarded ZimHighways
the tender in 2005, to
arbitrate between the consortium and the MTCID.
ZimHighways consists of the
country's major construction companies - Costain
Zimbabwe, recently
rebranded CZL following the group's takeover by a
management consortium,
Murray & Roberts, Joina Development, Kuchi
Construction, Civil Planning
Projects (Zimbabwe), Southland Project
Management and bankers, BancA
BC.
ZimHighways won the bid for the design, engineering, financing,
procurement,
construction, operation, tolling and maintenance of the
Harare-Beitbridge
road system on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) after a
tender issued in
early 2002.
This was after the government had indicated
that it was satisfied with the
technical ability of the company to undertake
the project. The ZimHighways
contract, PBR 0632 was awarded on June 7,
2005.
Due to the economic crisis obtaining in the country, government had
allowed
the consortium to postpone the project until such time that the
economic
situation allowed for a viable implementation of the project.
On
August 28, 2009, the MTCID then wrote a refreshed letter of comfort, a
copy
of which was seen by The Financial Gazette, indicating that ZimHighways
had
renewed its interest in the project and that government was committed
"to
finalising the Concession Agreement with the ZimHighways Consortium and
subsequent implementation of the Harare to Beitbridge toll road project in
the shortest possible time".
The letter was signed by MTCID permanent
secretary, Pattison Mbiriri, who
was said to be out of the country when The
Financial Gazette contacted his
office for a comment.
The acting
permanent secretary a Mr L. Muzondo had not answered questions
sent to his
e-mail on Friday last week.
ZimHighways then obtained a written undertaking
from the Development Bank of
Southern Africa (DBSA) to finance and or
arrange the necessary funding for
the project.
Subsequent to this
development, in July 2009, DBSA wrote another letter
advising that they were
willing to extend funding to also cover the project
preparation stage that
was going beyond the project investment funding.
This culminated in several
meetings between the consortium, DBSA and the
government represented by the
Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe,
the new advisors to the MTCID.
These meetings culminated in the submission
of an application for project
preparatory funding by the consortium. DBSA
then sent a full mandate
agreement, indicating their readiness to unveil the
requisite funding, for
signing and accent by ZimHighways. The copies of the
mandate letter were
copied to the MTCID as required by the concession
document.
But
government then dramatically leaned over DBSA and pushed them to sign
with
the MTCID and relegate ZimHighways Consortium.
Sources in both government and
the consortium indicate that this marked "the
stalling process" for the
project.
"The letter to DBSA spoke of other players that government wanted to
take
over the project," a source within the ZimHighways Consortium
said.
Following this development, the MTCID then wrote to ZimHighways
Consortium
saying it had secured sovereign debt and therefore there was no
longer any
need for a concession agreement on the basis of the Public,
Private sector
Partnership (PPP)/BOT arrangements. The ministry indicated
that it would
revert to a traditional contract, in which ZimHighways could,
at the
benevolence of the MTCID, be subcontracted for some of the
dualisation and
tolling work.
However, this turned out to be false as the
mandate letter the MTCID had
proceeded to sign with the DBSA was predicated
upon the PPP/BOT concession
agreement.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Mxolisi Ncube
Saturday, 04
June 2011 13:09
Shops win ‘nuisance and irritation’ court
case
JOHANNESBURG - The South African government has closed
Johannesburg’s only
refugee centre at the insistence of local businesses who
went to court
complaining of “nuisance and irritation” caused by the large
number of
asylum seekers in the area.
The order is the third of its kind
in 10 years and once again leaves the
capital city, where the largest number
of refugees is located, without an
office to deal with them. The move has
been condemned by several civil
rights movements. The international watchdog
Human Rights Watch said it
would cause hardship to tens of thousands of
asylum seekers living there –
most of them Zimbabweans.
HRW said the
closure of Crown Mines, the only refugee reception centre in
Johannesburg,
would expose the thousands of asylum seekers to the risk of
being deported
to face persecution at home. Refugee rights groups have also
warned that
previous closures of refugee reception offices had resulted in
lost files
and other problems that interfered with asylum seekers’ ability
to get
services, including permit renewal, in an already chronically
overburdened
asylum system.
South Africa has the world’s largest number of registered
asylum seekers,
most of them Zimbabweans. The numbers have risen steadily
over the past six
years. There were 20,000 new applications in 2005, 50,000
in 2007, and
264,000 in 2008, with similar numbers in 2010. Despite recent
attempts to
improve its asylum system, there is a backlog of hundreds of
thousands of
cases.
Hundreds of desperate Zimbabweans were left stranded
on Monday, when the
centre closed without notice and left them having to
travel to Pretoria to
make their applications. “Some people had been given
appointments by the
officials here, who pretended that everything was
normal, only to find the
place closed when they came to honour those
appointments,” said Joshua
Rusere of the Zimbabwe Political Victims
Association.
“The officials should have at least made an announcement or put
up posters
warning their clients of the imminent closure. As a result the
refugees,
most of who do not have access to television and newspapers, were
left in
the open. This is inhuman treatment of people.” HRW said the South
African
government should extend its moratorium on deportations of
Zimbabweans until
Johannesburg has a functioning refugee reception
centre.
“In the two years before South Africa suspended deportations of
Zimbabweans
in April 2009, police deported an estimated 400,000 Zimbabweans,
including
asylum seekers who had been unable to lodge their claims,” said
Siphokazi
Mthathi, South Africa director at HRW, in a
statement.
“International law prohibits the deportation of refugees and
asylum seekers
whose safety could be at risk. The government is obliged to
protect anyone
seeking asylum in South Africa and the closing of the centre
is a serious
blow to those already struggling to get protection in a
dysfunctional
system.” Refugees are now forced to make a 140 km round trip
to Pretoria to
lodge claims or renew their permits to remain in South
Africa, at huge
financial and other personal cost, including the risk of
losing their jobs.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Jane Makoni
Friday, 03 June
2011 17:48
200 orders but no capital for equipment
MARONDERA - The
hopes and skills of young people continue to go untapped and
unfilfilled as
the so-called youth empowerment programmes advocated by
politicians are not
that empowering. Government -sponsored youth project
loans have too many
strings attached and intended beneficiaries without
connections have found
it impossible to access the funds.
With political affiliation being a major
determining factor regarding who
benefits from a share of the national cake,
Zimbabwe continues to lose out
on potential foreign currency as youngsters
with the necessary skills and
energy to revamp the economy are sidelined for
political reasons.
A Marondera-based youth and shoe making cooperative is a
case in point.
Started in 2008, the three-member co-op continues to lose out
on lucrative
contracts due to lack of equipment.
Abel Mbwana, Ostin
Makandanji and Wellington Chaperuka harnessed their shoe
designing and
manufacturing skills so much that their product attracted huge
orders from
both the local and regional markets.
“We presented samples of our product at
Walk-Tall and The Shoe Centre in
Harare, who in turn asked us to provide
them with 58 pairs each as initial
consignment. We lost out on the
potentially lucrative deal as we failed to
secure enough materials and our
only working domestic duty sewing machine
could not meet the demand.
“The
shops appreciated our product since we used genuine leather and lasting
sole
material, and our shoes were skillfully designed and tailored. We
approached
TLM General Dealer of Pretoria, South Africa, with samples of our
product.
The company was also impressed with the product and asked us to
provide
hundreds of pairs of shoes for both sexes. Like the Harare deal,
nothing
materialised as we again failed to raise capital for the
contract.
“Currently, we are struggling to meet demand for nurses’ shoes at
Marondera
Provincial Hospital and children from local schools. Individual
residents
place huge orders for shoes at our cooperative as they realise
that we
manufacture a quality product.
“Despite the huge and potentially
lucrative orders, we continued to live
from hand to mouth as we were
operating at below capacity due to poor
resources. In any given month orders
from clients would stand at around 600
pairs, but due to economic
constraints we can only make about 20 pairs,”
said the
youngsters.
Marondera Mayor, Farai Nyandoro, who once visited the
cooperative, said he
would assist the youths to draft a project proposal and
forward it to the
Constituency Development Fund Committee for
consideration.
“I am strongly convinced that the shoe-making youths should be
assisted
realise their entrepreneurship ambitions. They are a competent
group in a
venture capable of creating dozens of job opportunities for the
jobless in
the town. I hope they can be catered for in the second phase of
the CDF
project. Their dream should come true,” said Nyandoro.
MDC-T
councillor, Johannes Razunguza, of the ward to which the enterprising
youths
belong, said he had approached potential donors regarding the
project, but
nothing tangible had yet materialised.
“This venture is a potentially huge
foreign currency earner if properly
funded. Any investor would do the
youthful business people and the shoe
industry an invaluable service through
funding the project,” said Razunguza.
To get the project going, the
cooperative needs a heavy duty straight sewing
machine, post machine,
skiving machine and a sore pressing machine – costing
in the region of $3
500.
“We failed to access government youth projects loans at the Commercial
Bank
of Zimbabwe (CBZ), since we did not have a guarantor with an account at
the
bank. The loans are processed through the Ministry of Youth Empowerment
and
Employment Creation,” said Mbwana. - The cooperative is contactable on
mobile number 0772659972