http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondents Thursday 12 March
2009
HARARE - South Africa's ruling ANC party has invited
Zimbabwean Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to come and rest with his family
while he
recovers from the tragic death of his wife in a car crash last
Friday, a top
government official said Wednesday.
Tsvangirai's wife
of 31 years, Susan, died shortly after the car she and her
husband were
traveling in was struck on the side by a truck that veered onto
their lane
along the Harare-Chivhu highway. Tsvangirai sustained neck and
head injuries
from the crash.
Addressing thousands of mourners gathered at the burial
of Susana, Finance
Minister Tendai Biti said ANC president Jacob Zuma had
offered great support
to Tsvangirai including an offer for him to come and
recuperate from his
loss and injuries in South Africa.
"He (Zuma) was
very concerned about the situation," said Biti, who is also
secretary
general of Tsvangirai's MDC party.
"Most importantly he has offered the
Prime Minister and his family that they
still need time together for solace
so he offered facilities so that the
Prime Minister can take rest away from
the glare and pain associated with
the sad loss," said Biti.
The MDC
secretary general said South African President Kgalema Motlanthe had
also
showed great concern after receiving news of the accident last week.
"I
want to thank the President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe who when he
heard news of the accident offered a plane to take the Prime Minister for
further medical attention in South Africa," he said.
Biti said he
had met Motlanthe on Monday to give him a full briefing on the
accident.
After being treated at a private Harare hospital Tsvangirai
was flown to
neighbouring Botswana in a jet send by that country's President
Ian Khama
where he was reassessed by doctors before returning on home Monday
to
organise his wife's funeral.
Thousands of people including members
of the diplomatic corps, government
representatives from Kenya, Zambia,
Swaziland, Lesotho and Malawi among
others, joined government officials, MDC
party supporters and relatives who
thronged the funeral at the Tsvangirai
rural home in Buhera, some 200km
south east of Harare.
Biti also
thanked Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe for his fatherly
support during
the funeral in which the government provided most provisions
used at the
funeral.
"I also want to thank His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe.
I think many
of us are transiting to understand him better and I think
yesterday's speech
he spoke not like a politician but a father. We all saw a
part in him, that
he is also a human being like us," said Biti.
Head
of the European Union (EU) mission in Zimbabwe Xavier Marshall also
spoke at
the burial of Tsvangirai's wife conveying the EU's condolences and
wishing
the Prime Minister speedy recovery.
"I present my deepest condolences on
behalf of the European Union. I hope
the Prime Minister recovers speedily as
Zimbabwe needs him more than ever
and most importantly for Zimbabwe's future
and national healing," said
Marshall.
A special envoy from South
Africa Jeff Hadebe said, "Her (Susan) life
reflected aspirations of the
people of Zimbabwe. Her death should be a
catalyst to Zimbabwe's political
leadership to finalise outstanding issues."
The tragedy comes at a
difficult time for Tsvangirai, who faces the daunting
task of rescuing the
ruined country under a new unity government with
President Robert Mugabe,
his old rival. - ZimOnline
http://af.reuters.com
Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:07am GMT
DAR ES
SALAAM, March 12 (Reuters) - Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has
called
on the international community to help Zimbabwe out of its economic
crisis,
saying conditions had become too bad to ignore.
Kikwete, one of Africa's
first leaders to criticise Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe, told Reuters
in an interview in Tanzania's capital the
country had "come a long way"
after forming the coalition government of
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai. "People now should go and try
to help them."
Tanzania was
part of Southern Africa's regional bloc SADC, alongside Namibia
and Lesotho,
charged with dealing with Zimbabwe's political crisis.
A high-level
International Monetary Fund this week returned to the country
after a
two-year break to assess the economy and review policies to address
the
economic and humanitarian crisis. Regional leaders have put Zimbabwe's
needs
at around $2 billion.
Under its rules, the IMF cannot provide financial
aid until Zimbabwe pays
off its arrears and demonstrates it is able to
implement credible policies
that will help the country. Any future lending
will probably be made under
an IMF programme.
"They have a $50
trillion dollar that is worth $1.50. Everybody is a
trillionaire but
worthless. This is the kind of situation we cannot leave,
the economy is
almost in free-fall," Kikwete said.
He said measures to fix the economy,
especially to lower inflation, would be
difficult, but added: "It will be
difficult but all of us have to lend a
hand for the people of Zimbabwe."
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=13258
March 11, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor and
Financial Gazette owner
Gideon Gono is pressing ahead with plans to launch a
daily paper, sources
close to the project have revealed.
The paper
will challenge the two state-owned dailies The Herald and Bulawayo's
Chronicle, where Gono has enjoyed extensive exposure and unwavering support
in his six years at the institution.
Our sources say Gono has ordered
a US$2 million state of-the-art printing
press to print the newspaper, a
project, which reportedly was first mooted
in 2005.
Sources told The
Zimbabwe Times this week that Gono wanted to launch the
newspaper "not
because of the money or any fantastic financial returns, but
to buttress his
image and flagging fortunes.
"The governor is anxious to counter possible
negative publicity and looming
diminishing coverage from the current
Zimbabwe Newspapers dominated market.
"As we speak, Gono has been issued
with the licence for a daily newspaper by
the media commission. l must say
that despite the losses he has incurred
from the current Financial Gazette,
Gono is quite keen on the new project.
"He is not making any money from
the existing business, yet he has even
expanded his publishing empire by
acquiring Zimbabwe Publishing House (ZPH),
which launched his book,
'Zimbabwe's Casino Economy'."
The man spearheading the daily newspaper
project is the former ZPH managing
director and the Financial Gazette's
financial director, Blazio Ginio
Tafireyi.
Gono and other private
Zimbabwean newspaper owners have decried high
operating costs and in the
case of The Financial Gazette, lack of in-house
printing facilities. Sources
say Gono is determined to acquire a printing
press of his own to insure
total independence. The newspaper is currently
printed by Tunatemore
Printers (Pvt) Ltd, the printing subsidiary of
Associated Newspapers of
Zimbabwe, publishers of the banned Daily news. The
Financial Gazette has a
print-run of about 18 000 copies per week.
The publishing company
launched a daily tabloid newspaper in 1992. The Daily
Gazette folded after a
year because of poor advertising support.
Speaking through his spokesman,
Kumbirai Nhongo, Gono denied he had any
plans to launch a newspaper. He is
said to have an interest in a leading
internet newspaper.
Meanwhile,
in Bulawayo Zimind Publishers (Pvt) Ltd, the publishing company
of The
Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent newspapers, faces eviction from
its
premises in the city over alleged failure to settle its monthly rentals
going back to November 2008.
Knight Frank Zimbabwe, the real estate
agent which manages the Forestry
Commission Building in Bulawayo which
houses the Zimind operations in the
city, threatened legal action and
eviction against the publishing company
for late payment. Zimind leases 10
offices in the building. The Zimbabwe
Times was informed that the publishing
company had complained over the
months that the rentals charged by Knight
Frank were too high.
An official at Knight Frank told The Zimbabwe Times
that although notices
had previously been issued the publishers had refused
to vacate the building
"since they found our charges too
exorbitant".
Efforts to obtain comment from Raphael Khumalo chief
executive officer were
unsuccessful. He was said to be in meetings when The
Zimbabwe Times
reached his office for comment.
The chairman of Zimind
Trevor Ncube also owns the Mail and Guardian weekly
newspaper in
Johannesburg, where he is based. He is reported to be currently
engaged in a
legal wrangle with Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) over
the
circumstances surrounding his acquisition of 25 percent the Daily News
printing press.
The printing press is now operated by, Tunatemore
(Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary
company of ANZ. The company was set up to separate
the publishing operation
from the printing.
The $3, 6 million Solna
D300 printing press was acquired for the company in
2002 through funds
raised abroad by its then executive management following
the bombing of the
company's original printing press in 2001. The press
became idle after the
ban by the government of the Daily News and its sister
publication, The
Daily News on Sunday.
Apart from Gono's Financial Gazette, Tunatemore
used to print Ncube's
titles, The Zimbabwe Independent and The
Standard.
Ncube is understood to have acquired 25 percent of Tunatemore
in a deal
brokered with then ANZ chief executive Sam Sipepa Nkomo. However,
highly
placed sources at ANZ say Ncube's share in Tunatemore is in fact 23
percent
since the final two percent in foreign currency was not
paid.
Nkomo was asked to leave ANZ after the deal. He is now the Minister
of Water
Resources Development and Management in the government of national
unity.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=13277
March 11, 2009
By Owen
Chikari
MASVINGO - A mainstream MDC Member of Parliament who claims he
planted five
tonnes of seed maize none of which germinated is among several
legislators
who are currently being investigated for
corruption.
Police in Masvingo have started investigating
parliamentarians named in the
alleged theft of farming inputs. Some have now
threatened to name senior
Zanu-PF and army officials said to be implicated
in the scam who have
allegedly been let off the hook.
Brigadier
General Douglas Nyikayaramba, head of a committee appointed to
administer
the government-sourced farming inputs, last month named several
legislators
whom he said allegedly abused the facility.
Police in Masvingo on Tuesday
said they had started probing the legislators
and had since visited several
farms as part of the widespread investigation.
Police also said that they
had recorded statements from Gutu East legislator
Ransome Makamure and
Masvingo West MP Tachiona Mharadza both of the
mainstream MDC as well as
Chivi North MP, Tranos Huruba and Chivi South MP
Irvin Dzingirayi both
representing Zanu-PF.
"We have started gathering information from the
legislators who received
various tonnage of farming inputs such as
fertiliser and seeds meant for the
poor, which they abused," said a senior
police officer based at Masvingo
Central Police station.
"We have not
yet formally charged anyone since the investigation is at a
preliminary
stage. We will only press criminal charges once we establish
that an offence
was committed."
Police sources say that at Makamure's farm it emerged
that he had allegedly
received ten tonnes of maize seed. Makamure has
apparently told
investigators that he planted five tonnes of seed maize
which all failed to
germinate. He says he was more successful with the
remaining five tonnes
which, indeed, germinated.
Huruba is alleged to
have abused over 50 tonnes of maize and fertiliser. The
legislator has
apparently threatened to name senior Zanu-PF officials and
army personnel
who also abused the facility but have, according to him, been
spared.
According to the police, Brigadier-General Engelbert Rugeje,
whose haulage
company was contracted to ferry the inputs, allegedly hijacked
some of the
inputs.
"We have gathered during the course of our
investigations that some of the
lorries never reached their intended
destinations, meaning that either the
drivers or the owner of the trucks
also abused the facility," said the
source.
The mainstream MDC and
Zanu-PF legislators implicated in the scam have
denied abusing the scheme,
and have threatened to name the so-called big
wigs who allegedly benefited
from the scam.
"We are going to name and shame the Zanu-PF big wigs
because some of us from
the MDC are just being labelled as corrupt people
because of our political
affiliation," said Masvingo West legislator
Mharadza.
Others named in the alleged scam are Dzivarasekwa MP, Evelyn
Masaiti,
(MDC-T), Zaka North MP, Ernest Mudavanhu (MDC-T) and Bikita West
MP, Heya
Shoko.
MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa said his party would
also thoroughly
investigate the matter to ascertain the truthfulness of the
allegations.
"As a party we are going to investigate thoroughly on our
own to find out
the truth," said Chamisa.
Nyikayaramba said he would
name more legislators from both Zanu -PF and the
MDC who allegedly abused
the farming inputs scheme.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=13269
March 11, 2009
By Owen
Chikari
MASVINGO - At least 38 soldiers and 19 policemen have been
arrested since
the beginning of this month for looting diamonds at Chiyadzwa
diamond field
in Manicaland.
The army and the police were deployed to
flush out all illegal diamond
dealers from the area.
The bulk of the
soldiers arrested were deployed from 4 Brigade headquarters
in
Masvingo.
According to reliable sources in the Zimbabwe National Army and
the police,
those arrested had literally taken over from illegal diamond
dealers in
looting the precious stones.
About 20 of the 57 arrested
have been discharged from duty without benefits
as the government tries to
control mining activities at Chiyadzwa.
"Since the beginning of February
38 soldiers and 19 policemen were arrested
at Chiyadzwa for engaging in
illegal mining activities," said a source at 4
Brigade in Masvingo. "The
soldiers and the police had successfully flushed
out all illegal diamond
dealers but later turned the field into their own by
mining operation," said
the source.
"The army personnel and the police would round up people in
the area under
the guise of reclaiming the pits that were abandoned by the
illegal miners
but instead would continue mine."
"Some of the
soldiers involved in looting the minerals have since been
discharged from
duty without benefits while others are still waiting for
their cases to be
finalised".
Brigadier Finos Mutisi of 4 Brigade neither confirmed nor
denied the arrest
of some soldiers deployed at Chiyadzwa.
"I have not
checked on that," said Mutisi, "but I think you people of the
press are just
giving us bad publicity."
The combined operation involving the army and
the police code-named
"Operation Hakudzokwe" flushed out most of the illegal
diamond dealers in
the area.
Reports say that about 5 000 people
living near the diamond field were
relocated to pave the way for full mining
activities.
The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) has
stopped mining
activities in the area and sources said a Chinese company
would take over
operations once the necessary agreements have been
concluded.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Simplicious Chirinda Thursday 12 March
2009
HARARE - A collapsed public health system has greatly
compromised Zimbabwe's
ability to contain tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, a
senior government
health expert has said.
National TB coordinator
Charles Sandy said broken down laboratories made it
difficult for hospitals
staff to diagnose cases of multi-drug resistant
(MDR) or extensive drug
resistant (XDR) TB.
In the cases where doctors were able to make the
diagnosis, patients had to
seek treatment in neighbouring countries where
hospitals are better equipped
and stocked with drugs, according to
Sandy.
"We don't have any figures yet because we are not able to do any
surveillance because our laboratory is not working," Sandy told
ZimOnline.
"The only way you can diagnose MDRTB is through the use of a
laboratory and
we have one laboratory for the public service which has not
been functional
for many years."
Zimbabwe's public health delivery
system, once lauded as one of the best in
Africa, has virtually collapsed
after years of under-funding and
mismanagement.
For example of the
several laboratories owned by the Ministry of Health and
Child Welfare only
the National Laboratory at Harare's Prirenyatwa Group of
Hospitals was fully
operational while the rest are, according to some
accounts, dysfunctional
and derelict.
A severe economic crisis now in its 10th year running has
only helped worsen
the situation with the government short of cash to import
essential
medicines and equipment, while the country has suffered the worst
brain
drain of doctors, nurses and other professionals seeking better
opportunities abroad.
Acute food shortages due to consecutive poor
harvests over the past decade,
rising unemployment as the economy shrunk and
deepening poverty have further
complicated Zimbabwe's health crisis, also
seen in a cholera epidemic that
has infected nearly 90 000 people and killed
more than 4 000 others since it
began last August.
Sandy said: "We
have many cases of TB patients who default on medication but
most of them
attribute this to poverty and difficulties in getting to health
institutions
where drugs are free.
"In general TB patients are usually very poor and
complain that they cannot
take drugs on empty stomachs but when this happens
there is a high
likelihood of the development of MDR/XDR
TB."
Zimbabwe's new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week promised
to
urgently act to mobilise resources to rehabilitate collapsed health
infrastructure and to woo back the country's doctors and nurses from
abroad.
Tsvangirai, who last month formed a power-sharing government with
President
Robert Mugabe, said it would be possible to revive Zimbabwe's
health sector
to its former glory only if the unity government implemented
necessary
reforms to stabilise the economy and the political
environment.
Rebuilding Zimbabwe's health sector will require millions of
dollars. But
rich Western nations with the financial resources to bankroll
reconstruction
of Zimbabwe's health sector have said they will withhold
support until they
are convinced Mugabe is committed to genuinely share
power with Tsvangirai
. - ZimOnline
http://www.voanews.com
By
Blessing Zulu & Patience Rusere
Washington
11 March
2009
The International Federation of the Red Cross said Wednesday
that 9 million
people or 75% of Zimbabwe's estimated population of 12
million could need
food assistance - significantly higher than the 7 million
hungry the United
Nations World Food Program is targeting.
The Red
Cross said Zimbabwe is now the world's third largest food aid
consumer
following Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
A food security assessment now being
conducted by the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of
Agriculture should provide a
clearer picture.
But Red Cross
Operations Coordinator John Roche told reporter Blessing Zulu
of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that his organization included in its need
projections
Zimbabweans at risk of sliding into a more critical food
security situation
in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, though food prices have been falling due
to the increased volume
of imports following Harare's suspension of import
duties on key
commodities, many Zimbabweans do not have the hard currency
they need to buy
food on the open market.
Consumer and other sources
said some prices have dropped by half in the past
month.
A loaf of
bread now fetches 50 U.S. cents, compared with a dollar
previously. Ten
kilograms of maize meal now cost US$5, a 50% decline from
the previous price
of US$10.
Market sources said more U.S. dollars are in circulation now
that public
workers are being paid a supplementary US$100 a month by the
government
through a voucher scheme, and banks are converting Zimbabwe
dollar accounts
into foreign currency accounts.
Most people only use
the national currency these days to pay relatively low
official fees as it
is largely worthless as a unit of exchange for goods and
services.
Despite anecdotal evidence of some economic stirrings,
economist Naome
Chakanya of the Labor and Economic Research Institute of
Zimbabwe told
reporter Patience Rusere that the dollarization of the
Zimbabwean economy in
recent months has not helped the overall economy as
foreign exchange is
still in short supply and most firms are struggling.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
In an apparent sign of change in the attitude of the Army towards the
inclusive government, the Commander of 4 Brigade in Masvingo, Brigadier
Francis Mtisi, has landed his support to the all inclusive Government saying
it was a clear indication that Zimbabwe had matured in terms of national
development.
Speaking to journalists in Masvingo province during a
seminar on
military-media relations on Wednesday, he said Zimbabwe was
blessed to have
visionary leaders who cherish the ideals of engagement
instead of conflict.
Brig Gen Mtisi said the fact that Zimbabwean
political parties sat
down to hammer out a political settlement indicated
that Zimbabwe had
entered a new epoch as far as development was concerned.
"The fact that our
country today has got an inclusive Government that was
created after
Zimbabweans decided to talk to one another is a barometer of a
certain stage
that the country has reached in terms of development.
"When the people of a nation can sit down together to discuss their
problems
and reach an agreement that would be a clear sign that they would
have
reached a certain stage of development," said Brig Gen Mtisi.
He
pointed out that there were some countries where political leaders
could not
sit down together to discuss their problems and reach an agreement
as what
happened in Zimbabwe.
Brig Gen Mtisi said such agreements could only be
reached in countries
where the stage of development was high.
Zimbabwe's national unity government got off to a bad start last
month,
raising doubts about its ability to usher in political stability and
economic revival in the country. Most worrying was the attitude of the
Commanders who seemed unhappy with the inclusive agreement.
The
military and security chiefs had previously declared that they
would not
salute Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the mainstream formation of
the
splintered opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Now they
seem to
be doing everything in their power to support the unity government
that has
elevated the man they accused of being a Western puppet to the
prime
minister's office, making him one of their bosses.
In an apparent
gesture of disapproval, the chiefs boycotted
Tsvangirai's swearing-in
ceremony at the State House on Feb. 11 - the first
time since independence
in 1980 that they stayed away from a ceremony
presided over by Mugabe. The
gesture left many wondering what that meant to
the all-inclusive
government.
Brigadier General Mtisi's statement is a marked departure
to the
previous stance by the army. The statement will go a long way to
demystify
some of the misconceptions that might have existed between the
army and the
new inclusive government.
Zimbabwe Observer
http://www.radiovop.com
MASVINGO, March 11 2009 - The
Minister of Defence and a member of the
Zanu PF politburo Emmerson
Mnangagwa, has accused America and Britain of
trying to eliminate Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Addressing a meeting in Masvingo,
Mnangagwa is said to have told a
group of Zanu PF supporters while
explaining the new inclusive government at
the weekend, that Tsvangirai's
accident had been an attempt to take his life
by Americans and the
British.
A source told RadioVOP that Mnangagwa said the West was
not pleased
with Tsvangirai's decision to join the unity government and had
sent the
USAID truck driver, who was involved in an accident which killed
Tsvangirai's wife, Susan on Friday, to eliminate him.
Mnangagwa is said to have told the meeting that the West wanted to
kill
Tsvangirai and not his wife and that they might attempt to kill him
again.
Tsvangirai on Monday however ruled out foul play as
the cause of a car
crash that injured him and killed his wife Susan, easing
concerns that it
would increase tensions in the new government. Susan is due
to be buried
Wednesday afternoon at the family's rural home in
Buhera.
After returning home from treatment for minor injuries
in Botswana,
Tsvangirai told mourners that despite speculation over the
cause of the
accident the chance of foul play being involved was only "one
in 1,000".
"It was an accident which unfortunately took a life.
I am sure that
life has to go on and I'm sure she would have liked for life
to go on," he
said.
Many Zimbabweans are suspicious about
Friday's crash on a dangerous
potholed highway, neglected like many others
during the country's economic
decline.
The driver of the
truck that slammed into Tsvangirai's vehicle and
forced it to roll off the
road appeared at a court in Chivhu, 150 km (around
90 miles) south of
Harare, on Monday, accompanied by three plain-clothed
policemen.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au
March 12, 2009
Article from: Australian
Associated Press
ZIMBABWE'S economy and social fabric have been devastated by
the Mugabe
regime, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said.
Now was the
time for Australia to assist Zimbabwe's reconstruction by giving
as much
help and assistance as possible to its people and Zimbabwe Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, he said.
Mr Smith today announced Australia would
provide another $10 million to help
provide clean water and attract
professionals back to the country's health
system.
"We think the time
has come," Mr Smith said of the need for the
international community to come
to Zimbabwe's aid.
"Its economy, its social fabric, whether it's health
or education, have,
frankly, been devastated by the Mugabe regime."
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own
Correspondent Thursday 12 March 2009
JOHANNESBURG -
Xenophobic violence that swept across South Africa last year
was in the main
organised by local leaders wanting to further their own
political and
economic interests, according to a report released Wednesday.
Mobs of
young South African men armed with guns, machetes and home-made
weapons last
year murdered at least 62 African immigrants and displaced more
than 30 000
others in a wave of xenophobic violence that began in
Johannesburg and
quickly spread to other cities across the continent's most
prosperous
country.
The attacks against fellow Africans shocked South Africa, a
nation that
loves to portray itself as one of the most tolerant societies in
the world
and for a moment unsettled foreign investors.
The report
commissioned by the International Organisation of Migration
(IOM) said there
was little evidence to back claims from some quarters in
South Africa that a
"third force" was behind the violence.
Likewise, the report said, there
was no evidence to support claims that lax
border controls that had allowed
millions of foreigners from across the
continent to flood South Africa, or
changes in political leadership in the
ruling ANC party and a rising cost of
living were behind the xenophobic
attacks.
The report entitled:
Towards Tolerance, Law and Dignity: Addressing Violence
against Foreign
Nationals in South Africa, is the result of a study carried
out by the
Forced Migration Studies Programme at Wits University on behalf
of the
IOM.
The report said no one factor could be said to have caused the
violence and
instead suggested that a combination of factors including
ethnic tensions,
high crime rates, organised violence and a lack of
institutionalised
leadership could have driven the attacks against African
immigrants.
The researchers called for cooperation between government,
civil society and
international organisations to address leadership vacuums
and reduce the
risk of xenophobic attacks in the future.
They urged
the setting up of an official commission of inquiry to identify
those who
carried out violence and called for the prosecution of community
leaders and
individuals involved in the xenophobic attacks.
The report said there was
need for reform of local governance and leadership
structures to protect the
rights of all residents and provide legal support
for marginalised groups
including immigrants at community level.
There was also need for
education and awareness campaigns to enlighten
citizens of the country's
laws as well as the rights of immigrants, while
immigration authorities
should do more to facilitate legal migration in
order to curtail corruption,
labour exploitation and other practices that
disadvantage South Africans and
foreigners, the report said.
Meanwhile South Africa's Department of Home
Affairs has said it is
negotiating with the defence department for the use
of a military base in
Limpopo near the border with Zimbabwe as a temporary
shelter for refugees
seeking asylum permits.
"We hope to finalise the
negotiations this week," said home affairs
spokesperson Siobhan
McCarthy.
A facility in Musina town where thousands of Zimbabwean
immigrants applied
for asylum permits was last week closed, a move
criticized by international
medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) as
insensitive to the plight of immigrants who require
asylum permits in order
to access shelter, food or medical
assistance.
But McCarthy said the facility had not been closed but merely
relocated
elsewhere in town. "The centre has not closed, we are offering
uninterrupted
service," she said.
South Africa hosts millions of
immigrants from other African countries among
them an estimated two million
Zimbabweans who have fled their home country
because political violence,
hunger and economic hardships. - ZimOnline
http://www.thestar.co.za
March 12, 2009 Edition 2
Stanley
Gama
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was joined by high level
representatives from the Southern African Development Community (SADC),
diplomats from across the world, politicians and thousands of people to bury
his wife, Susan, at an emotional ceremony at his rural
home.
President Robert Mugabe did not attend the burial but some Zanu-PF
officials
attended. No explanation was given for Mugabe's absence, but it
appeared the
84-year-old former rival of Tsvangirai skipped the event
because it was
dominantly attended by Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
members.
Tsvangirai's home in Buhera, about 250km south of Harare, was
besieged by
people from all walks of life as they paid their last respects
to the prime
minister's wife, who died in a car crash last
Friday.
Tsvangirai survived the crash with minor injuries. He rubbished
reports that
it was an assassination attempt, saying it appeared to be an
accident.
Thousands of people braved the sweltering heat to bid farewell
to Susan
Tsvangirai, with speaker after speaker paying tribute to the prime
minister's wife, hailing her as the "mother of the nation".
South
Africa was represented at the burial by the Minister of Transport,
Jeff
Radebe, while King Mswati of Swaziland sent Deputy Prime Minister
Themba
Masuku. Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi also sent ministers.
Prominent
diplomats like US ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee and his
Swedish
counterpart, Sten Rylander, who have consistently criticised Mugabe,
and
dozens African and European diplomats also attended the service.
The
main speaker, Thokhozani Khupe, who is one of the deputy prime ministers
and
the second in charge in the MDC, said that Susan Tsvangirai's death was
a
loss to the whole country as she was a pillar of strength who supported
her
husband through difficult times.
"Mrs Tsvangirai was our mother of the
nation, she has been fighting for
democracy for many years - she was
fighting so that everyone should have a
better life. She was a nation
builder.
"To the prime minister, we will support you because we must move
on.
"We want to assure the prime minister that we will help him to make
sure
that Zimbabweans have a better life," said Khupe.
The president
of the smaller faction of the MDC, Arthur Mutambara, who is
also a deputy
prime minister, received a standing ovation when he described
Susan
Tsvangirai as a heroine.
"She should have been a national heroine, if she
is not a national heroine,
then who will be a national heroine? Susan
Tsvangirai is the people's
heroine," he said.
Tsvangirai did not
speak during the ceremony. - Independent Foreign Service