http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Politics
The two MDCs
yesterday dismissed Zanu PF’s declaration that it would not
allow
international observers to monitor this year’s make-or-break
elections,
setting a stage for a bruising political battle.
BY CAIPHAS
CHIMHETE
Last week, Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, a
senior Zanu PF
official, declared that Zimbabwe would not allow European
Union and US
observers to monitor electoral processes in the country as long
as sanctions
were still in place.
Jameson Timba, Minister of State in
the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
Office, said Zanu PF had no mandate
to invite or accredit observers, as it
was the responsibility of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
“We don’t expect ZEC to take
instructions from Zanu PF, a political party,”
said Timba.
He said
polls would be conducted according to Sadc principles and guidelines
governing the conduct of democratic elections.
The guidelines provide
for the participation of international observers in
any Sadc
country.
“The responsibility to invite and accredit observers is that of
ZEC and not
an individual political party,” said Timba. “It is only those
who have
skeletons in the cardboards who are afraid of the international
observation
of our elections.”
Timba, who is secretary for
international relations in MDC-T, said cabinet
never gave an instruction to
bar international observers from monitoring
elections in the
country.
MDC secretary-general, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said it
was not up to
Zanu PF to decide who observed the elections.
“Zanu PF
needs to disabuse themselves of the fact that they are not the only
one in
government. The decision will be made by all of us and that decision
has not
been made,” she said.
“Zanu PF should know that these elections are not
run by them for them to
win. they will have to define a new
path.”
Misihairabwi-Mushonga said Zanu PF’s statements “all seem to be
sending one
message, that they had no intention of taking Zimbabwe off the
regional and
international agenda”.
Since 2002, when the EU imposed
sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his
cronies in protest at human
rights abuses and violations of democracy, the
89-year-old President has not
allowed international observers from Europe
and America to witness local
elections.
Political analysts last week said the country could witness
another violent
election and a disputed outcome if Zanu PF insists on
excluding
international observers from monitoring this year’s
plebiscite.
They said if Mugabe wanted to sanitise his image as a
democrat, as he wants
people to belief, he should allow unlimited
international scrutiny.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) director
McDonald Lewanika said banning
international observers would cast doubt on
the credibility of the
elections, especially with the current increase in
reports of
politically-related violence.
“Elections are not a
wedding, where you invite only your relatives and
friends,” said
Lewanika.
“We need international observers to witness the whole process
and give a
fair assessment and not people who tell you what you want to
hear.”
Zanu pf unsettled: Hamauswa
University of Zimbabwe
lecturer, Shakespeare Hamauswa said the fact that
international observers
were likely to be objective unsettled Zanu PF.
“But it raises questions
about what Zanu PF is up to,” he said.
“International observers give
credibility to the elections.”
Threats to ban international observers
comes at a time state security agents
have embarked on an onslaught on
individuals and civic organisations that
are deemed critical of Zanu PF and
Mugabe.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Politics
The
Sadc Troika met in South Africa yesterday, where they castigated
violence in
Zimbabwe.
BY NQABA MATSHAZI
The leaders also urged the country to
ensure that peace prevails ahead of
the referendum and
elections.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma gave a report back on the
situation in
Zimbabwe and the country’s preparedness for the
referendum.
“Sadc called for an end to violence,” Zuma’s international
adviser, Lindiwe
Zulu said. “Sadc has consistently called for the end of
violence in
Zimbabwe.”
She said the recurrence of violence was a
concern to Zuma, the facilitator
to the Zimbabwe crisis and to the regional
body.
Zulu said the South African president had also read statements from
Zanu PF
and the two MDCs, and urged that the referendum be held in a
conducive
environment.
“Sadc is concerned about the readiness of the
parties ahead of the
referendum,” she said. “The facilitation gave a
progress report on the state
of preparedness for the
referendum.”
Zulu could not be drawn further into commenting on recent
cases of violence
and a clampdown on civil society, saying a communique
would be issued later.
The Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security
is chaired by Tanzania and
includes South Africa, Namibia and regional
chair, Mozambique.
MDC-T, a fortnight ago went on a diplomatic offensive,
accusing Zanu PF of
promoting violence and called for an extraordinary Sadc
summit on the
situation in Zimbabwe.
Jameson Timba, Minister of State
in the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday
confirmed the meeting.
He
said the meeting was only for the troika, but the three GPA parties, Zanu
PF
and the two MDCs, had been asked to submit written submissions.
MDC secretary
general, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said Sadc executive
secretary,
Tomaz Salamo had informed party leader, Welshman Ncube about the
summit.
Timba said there had been an escalation in violence and
intimidation,
culminating in the death of 12-year-old Christpowers Maisiri,
who died in a
suspected arson attack at his family’s Headlands
home.
Zanu PF and the MDC-T have traded counter accusations on who was to
blame
for the death of Christpowers, but the latter maintains that the
attack had
the hallmark of the former’s terror campaign.
He said as a
party, they were worried about the conduct of the police, who
have in recent
days, heightened their onslaught on civil society
organisations.
A
number of organisations have been raided on various charges, with
authorities accusing them of smuggling radios into the country.
In its
2012 conference resolutions, Zanu PF seemed to intimate a crackdown
on
non-governmental organisations and the recent police onslaught seems to
be
part of that agenda.
“[The conference] instructs the party to ensure that
[the] government
enforces the de-registration of errant NGOs, deviating from
their mandate,”
reads one of the resolutions.
Zim Police still
partisan: Timba
Another resolution by Zanu PF condemned the United
States, Britain and the
European Union (EU) for distributing shortwave
radios and other
communication devices, saying this undermined the
government.
“[The conference] condemns EU, America and [the] white
Commonwealth
countries for supplying ICT gadgets, such as cellphones,
decoders, radios to
communities to create conditions for the broadcast and
spread of falsehoods
to distort so as to undermine confidence in the
electoral process and
trigger Arab-style civil unrest,” another resolution
reads.
Timba said, with these resolutions in mind, it was clear that the
police
were taking instructions from Zanu PF, illustrating how partisan the
force
was.
“There is a direct correlation between what is happening
now and the
resolutions, this shows that the police are partisan,” he
said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Politics
ZIMBABWE has been
rated the least democratic country in Southern Africa,
scoring lowly on
elections, accountability, political freedoms and human
dignity.
BY
PATRICE MAKOVA
According to the “Democracy Index for Zimbabwe 2013,”
launched in Harare
last week, the country was rated 30% democratic from the
time of the signing
of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in 2008 up to
present.
In comparison, Zambia was rated 54%, Namibia 55%, while Botswana
was 60%,
higher than South Africa at 59%.
The Institute of Democracy
in South Africa (Idasa) developed Index
interrogated whether Zimbabwe was a
democracy, where citizens were able to
build an accountable, sustainable and
popular self-government; where they
had the freedom to question government
without fear or favour, and influence
and control their elected officials
including the executive.
Kudakwashe Chitsike, co-editor of the democracy
index, said the country was
still far from achieving the democratic ideal;
over four years after Zanu PF
and the two MDC formations signed the
GPA.
She said although the situation was much better than it was in 2008
before
the GPA, the index showed that the political system did not meet even
the
basic requirements of democracy such as civil and political
rights.
Chitsike, who is also a lawyer and director of the Research and
Advocacy
Unit, said the country’s scored below 50% on all the five key areas
assessed
by the team of experts.
The index noted that elections were
held regularly to promote a façade of
democracy, but were marred by
violence, terror and corruption.
“The electoral process and systems are
contentious and lack the ability to
offer citizens any real choice or
opportunities to hold the leadership to
account,” reads the index.
It
said elections have been characterised by the curtailment of real choices
for citizens, resulting in fewer women contesting them.
On civil and
political rights, the index said there was widespread
suppression of
political freedoms in order to restrict political access and
repress
competition for power.
“Citizens security is threatened by those who hold
power and thus citizens
do not believe they can influence decision-making,”
reads the index.
It further noted that the State provided little
opportunity for citizens to
participate.
“Patterns of participation
are dominated by patronage networks and political
violence. Women’s
participation is specifically hampered by a highly
patriarchal political
environment” .
The Zimbabwe Democracy Index was co-authored by several
Zimbabwe women
experts, among them, Transparency International Zimbabwe
director, Mary
Jane-Ncube, Chitsike, Tsitsi Mhlanga from Idasa and Barbra
Nyangairi of
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN).
Human rights
lawyers, Rumbidzai Dube and Revai Makanje were also part of the
experts.
New constitution vital: Eaglestone
Amy Eaglestone,
who co-edited the index, was hopeful that the democratic
situation in the
country would improve if the draft constitution is adopted
in Saturday’s
referendum.
She said the country had several good laws, but lacked the
culture of
democratic implementation of such legislation.
Eaglestone
cited the existence of laws to protect women from physical and
sexual abuse,
which were not being utilised.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe goes to the forthcoming elections with a spruced up
image,
after over four years of leading a fractious coalition government,
analysts
have said.
BY PATRICE MAKOVA
After the 2008 bloody elections,
Mugabe’s stature was diminished, especially
in the eyes of the international
community which labelled him a villain.
He was vilified in the media for
the country’s poor human rights record. But
five years down the line, the
Zanu PF leader appears to have metamorphosed,
thanks to his cunningness and
a successful rebranding by both his friends
and foes.
Until recently
when the country entered into an election mode, none other
than the likes of
Prime Minister and MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai were
defending him as a
good statesman.
Tsvangirai’s deputy and former Mugabe critic, Professor
Arthur Mutambara
also appears now to be a disciple of the 89-year-old
leader.
Political analyst, Joy Mabenge said the Mugabe people knew in
2008 was
different from the one they now know in 2013.
He said Mugabe
was the biggest beneficiary of the GPA and the Inclusive
Government which he
has used to clean his image and “rise from the ashes”.
“The first tactic
was to get the two MDCs on an equalisation footing with
Zanu PF and so the
blame on misgovernance, corruption and all ills
associated with taking the
country to the doldrums is now shared across the
political parties,” said
Mabenge.
He said the MDCs, hitherto not so much blamed for the country’s
ills, were
now taking a fair share from the court of public opinion.
He
said Mugabe had managed well the deployment of his coalition partners,
especially as messengers of bad news to the nation while he remained in a
fairly comfort zone.
Mabenge said for Mugabe, it was now about
legacy. He said renewal of the
Mugabe brand mostly appealed to young people,
most of them first-time voters
who may not necessarily share the MDCs’
well-documented struggles for
democratisation over the past
decade.
He noted Mugabe has also played the victim card
well.
“Whether or not this translates to votes is something else, but
clearly the
old man is not finished yet, which is why he is the only person
from Zanu PF
who can stand against Tsvangirai and square neck to neck,” said
the
political analyst.
He said the Zanu PF leader was multi-faceted
and had mastered the art of
deploying the right face at the right time for
the right purpose and in this
instance, he has gained significant public
sympathy by playing the victim
card well.
GNU cleansed him —
Gumbo
Another political analyst and social rights activist, Hopewell
Gumbo agreed
that Mugabe’s bad image had been polished over the past few
years.
“There is glaring and apparent evidence that the GNU has shampooed
Mugabe to
a large extent,” he said.
Gumbo said this had given him a
new and fresh breath, allowing Zanu PF to
re-organise and pick up the pieces
from the 2007-2008 plunge.
He said it was clear that his image was
“soiled” in the minds of many who
had “toiled under his misrule” in the last
two decades.
“But new generations, whose interface with the Zimbabwe of
today, may fall
victim to the cosmetics that he is applying into his
day-to-day interactions
with diverse sections of Zimbabwe, ranging from
sport to the synagogues
[churches],” said Gumbo.
“He is obviously
giving a full effort to remain at State House in the coming
elections and
his call for peace, while it is encouraging, should be taken
with a pinch of
salt.”
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Shakespeare
Hamauswa said
programmes such as the Presidential Scholarship Scheme and
events such as
the Bob89 soccer tournament and 21st February Movement
commemorations, have
been used to spruce up Mugabe’s image.
He said
soccer tournaments brought together people from different political
backgrounds and helped promote nation building.
Hamauswa said
Mugabe’s had also tried to build his image by his constant
calls for peace
and promises to economically empower youths and other
groups.
However, Hamauswa said Mugabe had to walk the talk if efforts
to rebrand him
were to bear fruit.
“People want violence to be
addressed not by words, but by taking action.
They want perpetrators to be
brought to book and if this is done, then
Mugabe’s words will be taken
seriously,” he said.
MDC ministers who showered praises on the
president
Recently, three cabinet ministers from the MDCs admitted to a
British
newspaper that Mugabe was double-faced, an attribute that has
enabled him to
cling on to power for a long time.
MDC leader and
Industry and Commerce minister Welshman Ncube said he had
been exposed to a
different side of Mugabe that he never imagined existed.
He said Mugabe
showed real concern for his country and people, like a
father.
MDC
secretary-general and Regional Integration and International
Co-operation
minister, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said she did not know
that Mugabe
was “a serious charmer around women”.
MDC-T organising secretary, Nelson
Chamisa, who is also the Information
Communication Technology minister, said
he admired Mugabe’s intellect.
But analysts said the expressions by the
ministers proved that Mugabe had
successfully rebranded himself by hook or
by crook.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in
Politics
FIREWORKS are expected in the Zvimba North primary elections,
with Marian
Chombo yesterday confirming that she will challenge ex-husband,
Local
government minister Ignatious Chombo in the race to represent Zanu PF
in the
constituency.
BY OUR STAFF
The candidature of Marian
turns Zvimba North primaries into a three-horse
race between the two Chombos
and Edwin Matibiri, a close relative of
President Robert
Mugabe.
Marian’s spokesperson told The Standard that Chombo’s former wife
had made
inroads in the constituency held by the Zanu PF politburo
member.
He said Marian was already busy campaigning in the constituency
and is
confident of beating her two opponents.
“Despite spanners
being thrown here and there, she is quite popular in the
constituency,
having worked with the people in the area for a long time
while the minister
[Chombo]was busy elsewhere,” he said.
The spokesperson, who cannot be
named for professional reasons, said Marian
was not contesting the seat to
spite or get back at her ex-husband, but
because of her desire to represent
the people in the area.
He said Marian had always been working in the
constituency, where she was
involved in a number of projects including one
for the care of orphans.
“As a woman and motherly figure, she is prepared
to address the problems
faced by people in the constituency. She is better
known in the constituency
than the incumbent who is a busy man,” said
Marian’s spokesperson.
He claimed that supporters of Marian were already
facing intimidation from
some people.
“Some of Marian’s supporters,
who are mostly farmers in the district are
being threatened with
repossession of their land, while others are being
told they will not get
agricultural support.” Zanu PF primary elections are
expected in April,
while national polls are due in June or July this year.
The Chombos
divorced in September last year after nearly 20 years of
marriage. Marian is
now a successful poultry farmer in Raffingora.
Minister Chombo was not
answering his phone yesterday. Matibiri could also
not be reached for
comment.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Politics
BULAWAYO —
Infighting within Zanu PF’s Bulawayo province reached new heights
yesterday,
as rival groups fought running battles, in defiance of national
chairman,
Simon Khaya-Moyo who had called the meeting.
BY NQOBILE
BHEBHE
About 1 000 party members cramped into Davis Hall to discuss the
draft
constitution but chaos broke out when members of the youth league
refused to
be addressed by provincial chairman, Killian Sibanda.
The
women’s league responded by accusing the youth league of disrespect and
insubordination, resulting in a melee, as members openly exchanged
blows.
Khaya-Moyo unsuccessfully tried to quell the riotous members, but
they
responded by denouncing him.
His car was briefly blocked at the
gate by the marauding youths, who forced
Khaya-Moyo to chant some
slogans.
He responded by saying “kuzalunga, kuzalunga” (all will be
fine).
Riot police kept an eye on the situation, although they did not
intervene.
The disgruntled youths then turned their fury on Sibanda, as
they menacingly
recited slogans denouncing him and threatening to make the
province
ungovernable.
Zanu PF youths have threatened to sponsor a
vote of no confidence in
Sibanda, as happened with his predecessor, Isaac
Dakamela.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Community News
MUSANA — Headmen
from Musana and Masembura villages in Mashonaland Central
province are
demanding an increase in their pay-outs saying the money they
are getting is
too little for their sustenance.
JAIROS SAUNYAMA
A headman gets
US$140 per month as an allowance from government while a
village head is
given US$20.
Speaking at a mini-gala to celebrate President Robert Mugabe
89th birthday
at Musana Business Centre recently, Chief Musana, Nyarumwa
Joel Batsirai,
said he had informed the President about the plight of
headmen under his
jurisdiction.
He however, said the headmen must
mobilise their people to vote “Yes” during
the referendum before the issue
of allowances could be addressed.
“I met the President in Masvingo
recently and delivered your pleas. But he
told me that there were issues of
the constitution and the referendum at
stake, so he said you should vote
‘Yes’ for the constitution and he will
deal with your issue later,” he
said.
“We know that you want an increment and the government will look into
it.”
A fortnight ago, headmen and village heads in Tsholotsho in
Matabeleland
North demanded cars and decent housing from government saying
their current
benefits were not commensurate with the amount of work they
were expected to
do.
However, the MDC formations have accused the
traditional leaders for being
aligned to Zanu PF and drumming up support for
Mugabe during elections.
The government provides cars, houses and over
US$300 monthly allowances to
chiefs.
Demands by headmen come as
traditional chiefs are set to receive new cars
under the chiefs’ vehicle
revolving fund, which has been largely dormant in
the past few
years.
Local Government minister, Ignatius Chombo announced the scheme in
the
latest Government Gazette saying it would be backdated to September
2004.
According to the regulations, each chief will pay back the full
cost of the
vehicle they would have been allocated.
The minister will
determine the interest.
There are 227 chiefs countrywide.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Community News
THE
Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture has deployed a team to
investigate numerous claims of Satanism at several schools
countrywide.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
Education minister, David Coltart
said claims of Satanism were disturbing
smooth learning in several schools
across the country.
In some cases, parents had to transfer their children
from the affected
schools fearing the stigmatisation associated with the
practice.
“I have ordered this morning the acting permanent secretary Mr
[Chrispen]
Bowora to investigate the Hatcliffe incident,” Coltart said. “We
need to
understand who is promoting this.
“People who are promoting
these practices will be subjected to severe
disciplinary
measures.”
Hundreds of people last week besieged Hatcliffe 1 Primary
School in Harare
where two Grade 5 pupils reportedly grew canine teeth and
fur after being
given rings and bracelets by their class teacher.
The
teacher is alleged to be a staunch member of a Pentecostal church,
popular
for performing “miracles”.
Earlier in the week, parents of a pupil from
Nhowe Mission in Mashonaland
East province withdrew their child from the
school following allegations
that she had her throat mysteriously slashed at
night.
Several of her dorm mates reportedly woke up in blood-stained
blankets.
It was also recently reported that a stranger turned into a
snake and
entered the body of a Kuwadzana 6 Primary School pupil through the
mouth
after the boy had allegedly picked a R2 coin.
Scores of people
thronged Yamuranai Primary School in Mufakose in March last
year following
allegations that a Grade 2 pupil regularly changed into a
snake after being
initiated into Satanism by an unidentified Budiriro woman.
Parents and
teachers’ organisations last week said they were disturbed by
the increase
in the number of Satanism claims.
“The government should put a stop to
this nonsense as it is disturbing
children’s education,” said one parent,
Liznet Katsidzira. “Our children are
no longer safe at these
schools.
“Government should ask prophets to cleanse schools
countrywide.”
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer,
Sifiso Ndlovu
said religious leaders should be called in to flush out the
perpetrators of
such ungodly practices.
“We should not be in a state
of denial when such things which we do not
understand happen,” Ndlovu said.
“Authorities should consult people who
understand the spiritual realm
including Christians, traditional healers and
spirit mediums.
He said
there was need to give psychotherapy to the victims, especially the
children, so that they are not affected in their studies by such strange
happenings.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Business
MUTARE industrial site,
which used to be a hub of trade, has totally
collapsed.
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
It used to employ thousands of people and generated
millions in foreign
currency for the country, but it is now a shadow of its
former self.
The area now resembles a junkyard with heaps of scrap and
abandoned railway
wagons.
A few companies, that survived the jaws of
the country’s decade-long
economic meltdown, are struggling to break
even.
Others have scaled down operations or are embroiled in labour
disputes with
workers who are demanding their dues after their contracts
were terminated
without benefits.
Mutare Board and Paper Mills, which
used to supply newsprint to local media
houses and the region, is now a
shell.
At its peak, the company was a source of livelihood for over
6
000 workers. Today, its offices have been turned into a private primary
school.
In the giant workshop, a few indigenous mechanics carry out
their private
businesses.
Last week, Zanu PF politicians and local
business people, under the banner
of Manicaland Business Action Group,
toured the industrial site on a
familiarisation tour.
The delegation
comprised officials from Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce (ZNCC),
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the Asian
community, Manicaland
Business Forum (MBF) and Zanu PF secretary for
administration, Didymus
Mutasa.
ZNCC president for Manicaland Chapter, Charles Tawazadza said
Mutare Board
and Paper Mills needed an excess of US$120 million to bring
back its glory.
The company also needs new partners to produce chemical
rather than
mechanical paper, he said.
Also visited was Cairns
Holdings, currently operating below capacity due to
viability
problems.
Before the economic meltdown, the company used to employ over 5
000 workers,
but it is now operating with a staff compliment of less than 60
workers.
Cairns Holdings operations manager, Joseph Mavu admitted that
all was not
well as the company was operating at 7% of its
capacity.
Mavu said they had started with 92 workers this year, but 32
had since been
sent home on unpaid leave by the judicial manager, Reggie
Saruchera of Grant
Thornton Camelsa.
Cairns, which is reeling under a
US$20 million debt, has been placed under
judicial management for an
indefinite period. “We are facing challenges of
funds for recapitalisation
and buying raw materials,” said Mavu.
Mutasa said he was not promising
anything but was going to ask government to
assist these companies through
Distressed Companies Funds (Dimaf).
Afri-Safety Glass, formerly PG Glass,
is operating at 5% capacity. At full
throttle, the company used to employ
400 workers, supplying glass to
countries in the Sadc region.
Dick
Sunduza, who is Afri-Safety Operations director, said the company
needed a
US$700 000 capital injection to boost production.
He said their major
challenge was shortage of raw materials since they were
importing everything
from South Africa.
“We have markets in the region and [the] United
States, but we are
financially handicapped,” said Sunduza.
He said at
its peak, the company used to produce over 15 000 windscreens, 5
000 door
glasses, and 30 000 oven door glasses for Kango per month.
obsolete
equipment has now hamstrung their operations.
“We need new equipment to
meet world-class standards. We have the capacity
and the market is readily
available, but we need financial support from
[the] government,” he
said.
Sunduza said they had capacity to generate US$4 million every year
if
government availed support urgently.
A local business analyst,
Clive Thompson said reviving industries in Mutare
was a mammoth task. He
said government was broke and could not go it alone.
“Government should
swallow its pride and reverse all populist policies that
drive away
potential investors,” said Thompson.
He was referring to the government’s
indigenisation and Empowerment
programme which compels all foreign-owned
companies to dispose 51% of their
shares to indigenous peoples.
The
closure of companies in Mutare has led to a significant number of
residents
resorting to informal sector trading, either at Sakubva Musika or
vending
along pavements in the Central District Business, playing cat and
mouse with
municipal police.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Business
TRANSPORT costs for
country tours are more expensive than those obtained in
neighbouring
countries inhibiting Zimbabwe’s efforts to lure tourists,
industry players
said last week.
BY NDAMU SANDU
Zimbabwe has intensified efforts to
lure tourists into the country riding on
the stability of the political and
economic environment.
Tourism players told Standardbusiness on the sidelines
of ITB 2013, a travel
and tourism fair, that the bulk of the concerns
received centred on
transport costs.
Players said some German tour
operators had packaged around the country
trips to tourists attractions such
as Hwange, Masvingo, Matopos, Kariba and
Mana Pools but the packages have no
takers due to the high transport costs.
“The main hindrance is transport
costs. It’s more expensive to do a trip
around Zimbabwe than the whole of
South Africa because of transport, not
accommodation costs,” an operator
said.
For a country that is set to co-host the United Nations World
Tourism
Organisation General Assembly meeting with Zambia, the turnout at
the fairby
Zimbabween exhibitors, was low moreso when the Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority
(ZTA) paid for all the exhibition costs.
The tourism
industry was not represented in other areas. Visitors to the
Zimbabwean
stand inquired about local tour operators and travel agencies to
do some
business with and regrettably the two sectors were missing in
action.
As a result, European tour operators could not find their
Zimbabwean
counterparts to do business.
Under normal circumstances a
foreign tour operator will work with a local
one which would do all the leg
work: looking for accommodation, activities;
and airfares among
others.
As Zimbabwean tour operators were unavailable, foreign tour
operators had to
do business with Namibian and South African
players.
Foreign tour operators also raised concern over the air access to
Victoria
Falls where it is difficult to get seats in July, August and
September.
“You can get five when you have a group of 50”.
The
travel fair began on Wednesday and ends today.
Tour operators snub travel
fair
Sugar Chagonda, ZTA spokesperson, said that the absence of tour
operators at
the travel fair was an issue of concern, adding that this was
one of the
reasons why the authority will engage all
stakeholders.
“We will continue to engage them [tour operators] with a
view of bringing
them on board. Marketing a destination would be incomplete
without service
providers,” Chagonda said.
Chagonda said ZTA exempted
exhibitors from paying the exhibition fees as a
way of encouraging more
players and only 11 companies responded.
He said Germany is one of
Zimbabwe’s leading source markets “and we need to
look seriously into that
market”.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Business
ZIMBABWE and Zambia
are more than ready to host the United Nations World
Tourism Organisation
(UNWTO) General Assembly meeting in August,
notwithstanding the challenge in
getting ordinary citizens to appreciate the
event, a Zambian government
official has said.
BY NDAMU SANDU IN BERLIN, GERMANY
But the
situation on the ground in Zimbabwe shows that the country might not
be able
to put everything in place before the meeting, to be held in
Victoria Falls
and Livingstone from August 24 to 29 this year.
Zambian minister of
Tourism and Arts, Sylvia Masebo, told journalists here
on Thursday that the
two countries are more than ready to host the meeting
even if it were to be
held tomorrow.
“We are ready but in every preparation, we have some
challenges, especially
in trying to get our people [to] appreciate the
importance of this
conference and use it as a mechanism, not just to make
money, but as a
springboard to showcase our country, people, tradition and
culture beyond
the UNWTO,” Masebo said.
Masebo’s remarks come at a
time Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Tourism and
Hospitality Industry has been
knocking on Treasury’s door for the release of
US$6 million necessary for
preparations.
Last month, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi approached the
Prime Minister’s
office complaining about Treasury’s delay in releasing the
money necessary
to oil the preparations.
Masebo said the meeting
could either make or break the two countries.
She said at the last
inspection, UNWTO said the two countries were on course
to host the event
that has been equated to tourism’s World Cup.
Masebo said both Zimbabwe
and Zambia “are taking it as a unique opportunity
to develop our
destinations”.
“With it, we have to do certain things in terms of
infrastructure
improvements and getting the ordinary citizens to participate
in the tourism
industry,” Masebo said.
“It’s an opportunity to
inte-grate our people and culture”.
The successful hosting of the UNWTO
meeting is envisaged to help the two
countries lure
tourists.
However, the two nations have to grapple with accessibility
challenges, as
their national flag carriers are either grounded or in the
intensive care
unit. The co-hosts are still to appoint an official carrier
for the meeting.
The UNTWO has been helping Zimbabwe and Zambia to
fine-tune preparations. In
addition, the UNWTO has assisted Zimbabwe in
drafting a Tourism Master Plan
(TMP) that is expected to double tourist
arrivals and increase the sector’s
economic contribution by 2015.
The
TMP is expected to adopt a fast-track strategy that would see arrivals
grow
to five million in 2015 from the current 2,2 million.
During this period, the
sector should subsequently create
150 000 new jobs and reach 450 000 jobs
compared to the current 300 000.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in
Business
IMPLEMENTATION of trade agreements by countries belonging to
more than one
regional economic groupings continues to be one of the most
challenging
issues hindering integration, the United Nations Economic
Commission for
Africa (Uneca) has said.
BY KUDZAI
CHIMHANGWA
Although member states have ratified several protocols and
agreements, trade
across borders remains hampered by government-endorsed
barriers, thereby
defeating the goals of regional integration.
One
such goal is industrialisation of all member states to deepen economic
integration through enhancing intra-regional trade in the southern Africa
sub-region.
Speaking at the 19th session of the Inter-governmental
Committee of Experts
(ICE) held in Harare last week,Uneca director for
sub-regional office for
southern Africa, Beatrice Kiraso, attributed failure
to implement the
agreements to lack of resources.
“When it comes to
implementation of grand T-FTA [Tripartite Free Trade Area]
plans, there is a
disconnection between countries and sub-regions. The
possible reason is due
to competing needs or lack of resources,” said
Kiraso. “We will continue to
urge governments to find the balance between
satisfying ‘short-term’
national goals and long-term regional objectives in
the interest of regional
integration.”
Speaking at the same event, Economic Planning and
Investment Promotion
minister, Tapiwa Mashakada said government was
committed to the regional
industrialisation agenda.
“Zimbabwe’s
Industrial Development Plan [IDP] was crafted after extensive
consultations
with stakeholders and is envisaged to anchor national economic
transformation,” he said.
“The days of import substitution are over,
we need to open up our economies,
we need to work on our policies so that we
have the right institutional
regulatory policies in order to promote
industrialisation.”
The IDP promotes advances in science and technology
and endeavours to ensure
that research and development expenditure is at
least 2% of GDP annually.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in
Opinion
“We remain deeply concerned by the lack of progress globally on
effectively
regulating the flow of large sums of private money unto the
elections
process in many countries. Political financing remains the number
one
corruption risk around the world, and absent meaningful reforms will
continue to hinder many other open government and transparency initiative.”
(Nathaniel Heller, Global Integrity Executive Director, 2011).
Sunday
View by ZESN
It is in this context that the Zimbabwe Electoral Support
Network (ZESN)
facilitated a roundtable meeting in Kadoma recently to
discuss issues around
political parties’ finances.
The meeting sought
to conscientise political parties and other stakeholders
on the issue of
political party funds, as well as possible effects of
limited regulation on
political parties’ finances such as threatening the
legitimacy of the
democratic processes and practices.
Addressing delegates at the meeting
attended by different political parties,
civil society organisations and
academia, the ZESN’s National director
Rindai Chipfunde-Vava said,
candidates and political parties’ campaign
finances need to be regulated in
terms of (i) limits, (ii) sources of
funding and (iii)
expenditure.
“While recognising that democracy is priceless, its
functioning does have a
price, and the use of economic resources is an
essential element for
democratic competence. The money in politics is
capable of introducing
distortions if there is unequal distribution.if the
use of funds is not
regulated, it can threaten the legitimacy of the
democratic processes and
practices,” she said, adding that political parties
campaigning in an
election need funding for for institutional
support.
The ZESN chairperson, Reverend Dr Solmon Zwana added that,
“Democracy cannot
function effectively unless political parties have enough
money to carry out
their activities and enough members willing to perform
them. The
relationship between money and politics has come to be one of the
great
problems of democratic governments and that healthy political life is
not
possible as long as the use of money is unrestrained,” he
said.
In Zimbabwe, the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:11] of
2001
makes it illegal for parties to receive foreign funding; hence they
have
limited avenues to source funds for their activities and this therefore
creates opaqueness in terms of how parties source their
funding.
Hence political finance everywhere is a sensitive matter and
Zimbabwe is no
exception. Thus running effective and robust political
parties in a
competitive environment is an expensive enterprise, as was
recognised by the
Zimbabwe political leadership more than two decades
ago.
It is accepted that grossly uneven access to political finance can
greatly
vitiate democratic politics and imperil the representative system of
government. Political party finance has high risks of endangering democracy
as was emphatically stated by one seasoned researcher, Pinto-Duschinsky. He
argued: “Corruption related to political party financing poses a grave
threat to democratic development worldwide. . . ”
In light of this,
the major political parties in Zimbabwe depend solely on
methods such as
membership dues, sale of party merchandise and donations.
However, the
director of ZESN explained that, these methods would normally
not raise much
funding needed for political parties to survive.
That leaves political
parties to depend on other methods such as: kickbacks,
returns on undeclared
business investments, use and abuse of state
resources, illicit sources,
foreign donations, anonymous sources and
donations.
ZESN is therefore
advocating for the creation of an environment that provide
women and men
with skills to raise money, campaign, and build name
recognition.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Opinion
Non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) under police investigation will be
barred from
observing the referendum.
Standard Editorial
That is the shocking
announcement that was made by acting Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (Zec)
chairperson Joyce Kazembe on Friday.
“We turned down their request [for
accreditation] because they are
undergoing investigations. We have told them
to bring documentation of
acquittal if they have any. We will also verify if
indeed they would have
been acquitted,” said Kazembe.
The
announcement is disturbing as it comes at a time when police continue to
target organisations perceived to be hostile to President Robert Mugabe and
Zanu PF.
So far many organisations have been targeted, the latest
being the Zimbabwe
Peace Project headed by Jestina Mukoko, who was abducted
and tortured in
2008.
In a democracy, civil society organisations
(CSOs) play a watchdog role by
monitoring human rights violations and
service provision by the state.
In addition, they are involved in civic
education and public outreach
programmes. Zec’s ban comes at a time when
Copac itself has been begging
CSOs to partner it in constitution awareness
programmes, as well as the
production and distribution of the draft
charter.
Unless authorities have something to hide as we go for
elections, there is
no justification for hounding NGOs and stopping them
from checking if our
electoral processes are safe and sound.
Zec’s
decision to bar them on the basis of unproven charges is deplorable
and can
be viewed as part of a larger crackdown on organisations like ZPP
that have
been documenting political violence.
With Western observers ruled out,
extending the ban to local organisations
perceived to be hostile to Zanu PF
will be seen as abetting those who are
keen to shrink the democratic
space.
Zec already has a credibility problem, especially after the recent
resignation of its chairperson, Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe.
The body
therefore urgently needs to embrace all legally registered
organisations
operating in the country as it prepares to hold the referendum
on March 16
and elections, expected in June or July, in a transparent
manner.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in
Editorial
Kindly consider my opinion and views on the recently published
Copac summary
of the draft constitution featured in The Standard (March 3-9
2013).
Sunday Opinion by John Demus
I have keen interest in the
ensuing developments pertaining to the draft. I
would appreciate opposing
and or supporting arguments in an effort to
empower the electorate, before
we elect to participate or not in the
impending referendum and election
respectively.
Official Languages
What constitutes official
recognition of a major spoken language? There are
14 languages prescribed as
major and official in the draft, but to be
honest, I knew only three major
languages before I read the draft
constitution. What’s the difference
between a dialect and a language? A
major and a minor
language?
What’s the prerequisite to qualify a language as Zimbabwean? I
would
appreciate insights from linguists and historian Aeneas
Chigwedere.
The Presidency
Why is it necessary for the Executive to
nominate two running mates? What’s
the disadvantage of nominating one? Under
Chapter 5, The Executive Part 3,
it says: “The President guided by
considerations of regional and gender
balance appoints ministers and deputy
ministers from Members of the
Legislature.” I would have thought it
beneficial for a progressive democracy
like ours to function under the
premise of proportional representation when
constituting a cabinet as
reflected by the Legislature’s composition.
To anoint or not to
appoint
What happens in the instance where the Executive chooses to
arbitrarily
elect and appoint cabinet members of one party over another? Is
the
Executive obliged in any way to observe, implement and allocate posts
with
accord to fair and equitable representation? Is it within its power for
the
Legislature to recommend and/or disapprove the appointment and choice of
any
public officer who holds office at the pleasure of the Executive and /or
fire ministers appointed from outside the Legislature? Does the constitution
stipulate the size of the cabinet?
Vetoing
Under Chapter 18:
General and Supplementary Provisions, Part 3,
Interpretation, the Executive
has two elective rights where the authority
makes an appointment “acting on
the advice of ”, which means he must follow
the advice and/or alternatively
“after the consultation with”, which means
the Executive has to consult but
does not have to follow the
recommendations made thereof. Where the
President elects to enforce the
latter, does the Legislature have the power
to veto presidential
appointments where it deems such selections as contrary
to the proper
execution of duty or the vested interests of Zimbabwe? A good
example is
that of the arbitrary appointment of non-elected provincial
governors.
The Legislature
Chapter 6, Part 2 declares “All agencies of
government are accountable to
The Legislature.” Which agencies in
particular? Does this include the Office
of the Attorney General, the
Security Services? Is it within the Legislature’s
ambit to institute an
inquiry into the operations of the intelligence
service established under
law or by order of the executive or cabinet?
The Senate
Only 70% of
Senate seats are by virtue of direct universal ballot. The
outstanding 18
seats are reserved for traditional chiefs with the remaining
two allocated
to the disabled. Each provincial assembly of chiefs nominates
two
representatives complemented by the National Council Chiefs President
and
his deputy. Despite constituting a caucus in the National Council where
they
are fairly represented, chiefs earn an additional berth in the Senate
thereby reducing direct universal ballot and equitable representation by
22,5%
The Parliament
Is it feasible at present for the Zimbabwean
economy to sustain a financial
threshold ratio of 29:1 in terms of
legislative representation? The total
sum of legislative representatives is
290 for a total of 10 provinces,
translating to 29 officials representing
each province. This figure does not
include an additional 60 female members,
six from each province (for the
first two parliaments after this
constitution comes into force).
To halt or not to vote
Despite keen
interest in the ensuing constitutional draft, I have not come
across an
analysis that postulates the possibility of the Government of
National Unity
entertaining surgical modifications to the current draft, if
and when the
electorate register an overall “No” vote.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 10, 2013 in Editorial
The Kenyan
elections have finally ended; they were quite bruising in a lot
of ways but
they have had a positive ending.
From the Editor’s Desk with Nevanji
Mdanhire
As Zimbabwe approaches its own polls, with first the
constitutional
referendum this week and then the harmonised general
elections later in the
year, one or two lessons may be learnt.
The
most important is that a country can hold an important election with
little
or no violence at all. It is universally accepted that no election
can ever
be totally violence-free; electoral violence happens in the US
elections and
in UK elections too, but the incidents of violence are
isolated.
In
Kenya only one incident was really noteworthy.
After the violence that
came in the aftermath of the 2007 elections that
left more than a thousand
people dead, the Kenyans have shown they have
learned their lesson. This was
mainly thanks to the leadership of the
political parties that saw the folly
of using violence as a campaign tool.
Zimbabwe can emulate the Kenyan
example if the political leadership also
learns this lesson. But this seems
not to be the case going by the violence
we have witnessed in the past
month. we have seen that even when President
Robert Mugabe preaches peace,
his cronies still act otherwise.
The incidents we have seen so far
indicate that violence can be inter-party
and intra-party as well. Headlands
experienced the ugliest face of political
violence when arson was used
resulting in the death of a 12-year-old lad in
a fight between two political
formations.
In Hurungwe, a seating member of parliament was assaulted by
members of her
own party. what this suggests is that political violence is
seen by part of
the leadership as a crucial weapon in gaining and retaining
political power.
Kenya had to learn the folly of this through the
indictment of one of its
big political players by the International Criminal
Court (ICC). Uhuru
Kenyatta who has won the presidential elections has been
summoned to stand
trial at The Hague after allegedly leading the violence
that followed the
2007 elections.
African politicians have always
taken advantage of the impunity that came
with winning elections through
violence. Even if he is eventually found to
be innocent, the mere
embarrassment of having to stand trial must have
restrained a lot of
politicians with an inclination towards violence.
In Zimbabwe impunity
still exists, hence senior politicians can still
encourage their supporters
to engage in violence because they know they will
get away with
it.
The impunity comes through because the institutions that should
enforce the
law have become sickeningly partisan. The police tend to look
away when
certain politicians commit crimes while acting swiftly to
apprehend others
when they commit similar crimes.
If Zimbabwe’s
political leadership sends a clear message that there won’t be
any impunity
by having perpetrators of political violence and their sponsors
apprehended
without fear or favour, the country would have taken the first
major step
towards holding violence-free elections.
Another lesson that can be
learnt is that people are ready to vote when they
are assured of the
transparency of the voting process; Kenyans stood in
lines for up to 10
hours at a time in order to cast their ballots. There was
little suspicion
that the person behind them in a line was spying on how
they were going to
vote. There was therefore no threat of reprisals. Kenyans
created the right
atmosphere in which people could freely exercise their
democratic
rights.
In Zimbabwe, there is always the suspicion that the voting
process is not
totally secret, that someone has got a way of telling how
people have voted
and that there would be reprisals. as long as this sense
of foreboding is
not eliminated, elections in Zimbabwe will never be truly
free and fair.
voters need the assurance that their vote is secret and
safe.
which brings us to another important lesson to learn from Kenya.
Whereas
Kenya went a long way in ensuring that the voting atmosphere was
conducive
to a free and fair election, they forgot that they had to ensure
the
counting process was also watertight. there shouldn’t be any room for
doubt.
when it came to the counting of the ballots, Kenya failed in a
very
embarrassing way. to say at that late stage that the electronic
counting
system failed because of power problems is to show that they
underestimated
the importance of the process of counting.
the
staggering number of seemingly spoilt votes was great cause for concern;
to
explain this by saying the system multiplied each spoilt vote by a factor
of
eight (whatever that means) was shocking to say the least.
Zimbabwe
should seriously look at this so it doesn’t happen. the referendum
this week
should be used to plug any holes that might emerge in the general
elections.
Problems seen in the Kenyan counting system should be
avoided because they
lead to lots of doubt as to the validity of the
figures the electoral
supervising board eventually pronounces.
The
doubt can easily lead to panic and despondency because it is usually
accompanied by conspiracy theories as happened in Kenya where some political
groupings were beginning to suggest foreign interference in the
process.
Importance should be placed equally on the pre-election period,
the voting
process itself, the counting of the ballots and the announcement
of the
results. placing emphasis on one of these at the exclusion of the
others is
a recipe for disaster.
The Kenyan elections almost flopped
because of this. As we went to press
yesterday, one of the presidential
contestants was threatening to appeal
against the result at the supreme
court because of the failure of the
enumerating process.
another
important lesson is that outside influence can never influence how
people
vote; people know what they want and who they wish to be ruled by. If
outside interference could influence how people vote surely Kenyans would
have voted for Kenyatta’s main rival Raila Odinga.
We are all aware
that some countries, especially in the West, would have
preferred another
candidate because of Kenyatta’s pending trial at the ICC.
The US and the
former colonial masters loudly voiced their reservations of
Kenyatta but
that counted for nothing when it came to voting. in Zimbabwe
there is
immense acrimony between parties with one accusing the others of
being
puppets of the West. this is a message used now and again at campaign
rallies in order to denigrate certain political players.
The Kenyan
election has shown that no outsider can influence how people
vote.
