Tsvangirai's Risks Arrest/Seeks Regional Support

http://www.radiovop.com

15/03/2011 10:00:00

Harare, March 15, 2011 - Attorney General Johannes Tomana is going after
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai whom he wants arrested for contempt of
court at a time when the Prime Minister has just left Zimbabwe on a tour to
seek regional support.

Tomana wants Tsvangirai arrested and prosecuted for his condemnation of a
Supreme Court ruling which set aside the election of former Speaker of the
House of Assembly, Lovemore Moyo.

Tsvangirai left Harare on Monday evening for a five nation regional tour to
drum up support against President Robert Mugabe’s actions where he is set to
meet the leaders of South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and
Botswana.

He is expected to meet South African president Jacob Zuma in his capacity as
the mediator in Zimbabwe’s political talks and Zambian leader Rupiah Banda
in his capacity as the Chairperson of SADC’s Troika on Defence and Security.

SADC are the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement which brought the
transitional Government two years ago.

Tsvangirai’s regional tour comes in the wake of increased arrests of his
ministers and Members of Parliament in recent weeks.

Tsvangirai last week attacked the Supreme Court ruling saying his party
“will not accept the decision of some Zanu PF politicians masquerading as
judges”.

“The decision is a clear reflection of the state of affairs at the Bench,
the Judiciary which in the post-Dumbutshena and post-Gubbay era largely
discredited itself by becoming a willing appendage of Zanu
PF,” Tsvangirai said.

“Dubious and pro-Executive decisions have been made in this era. We will not
accept the decision of some Zanu PF politicians masquerading as judges. Zanu
(PF) is trying to use the courts to subvert what it lost
in an election.”

Highly placed sources said Tsvangirai was likely to be charged under Section
82(1) subsections (a) and (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act.

The section reads: “Any person who, by any act or omission, impairs the
dignity, reputation or authority of a court – intending to do so or
realising that there is a real risk or possibility that his or her
act or omission may have such an effect, shall be guilty of contempt of
court and liable to a fine not exceeding level six or imprisonment for a
period not exceeding one year or both.”

The same section, however, allows for fair and temperate criticism of the
administration of justice, the conduct of a judicial officer or any other
decision or proceedings of a court.

Last week the Supreme Court nullified Moyo’s election as Speaker of the
House of Assembly, saying it was flawed.

This followed an appeal by Tsholotsho North MP Jonathan Moyo, MDC’s Moses
Mzila-Ndlovu, Patrick Dube and Siyabonga Ncube, who challenged his election,
arguing it was fraught with irregularities.

Tsvangirai’s MDC party has complained about abuse of the GPA, unilateralism
by Mugabe and violence that has been on the rise since January.

Spokesperson for the Prime Minister, Luke Tamborinyoka, told RadioVoP that
Tsvangirai will meet regional leaders among other stakeholders to press for
Mugabe’s censure over his violations of the GPA.

Last week Tsvangirai threatened a divorce with his partner in the
transitional government over continued abuses.

“If there is a breakdown in the relationship of the parties in the GPA, it
is important for the parties to agree on a clean divorce. As far as we are
concerned, the roadmap that President Zuma has committed himself to draw up
is the only solution to this madness,” Tsvangirai said last week.

Energy Minister Elton Mangoma out on $5,000 bail

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
15 March 2011

Energy and Power Development Minister, Elton Mangoma, was on Tuesday granted
$5,000 bail, ordered to surrender his passport and told not to speak to
witnesses.

But one of the state witnesses is his permanent secretary, Justin
Mupamhanga, a person he deals with on a daily basis in the ministry. The two
are certain to be in contact when Mangoma resumes his ministerial duties on
Wednesday.

Mangoma, a close ally of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, appeared at the
High Court in Harare in handcuffs and wearing green prison garb, a scene
that left his wife in tears.

Several senior members of Tsvangirai’s party attended the hearing, including
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe, plus cabinet ministers Nelson
Chamisa, Tapiwa Mashakada and Eric Matinenga.

Mangoma, who is also the MDC-T deputy treasurer-general, was arrested last
week Thursday at his government offices.

The police charged him with abusing public office, a charge that stems from
an alleged breach of tender regulations in the purchase of five million
litres of diesel from a South African company. He has since been indicted
for trial at the High Court on 28th March.

Mangoma was being held at the Harare Remand Prison and our correspondent
Simon Muchemwa told us state prosecutors opposed bail, alleging Mangoma was
likely to abscond.

But High Court Judge Samuel Kudya dismissed this claim. He also said the
State had no tangible facts to warrant Mangoma’s conviction, a position that
suggests the state has a very weak case against the minister.

‘From what the judge said in the court, I think the prosecution team will
have to move mountains to secure a conviction because he exposed their case
as weak and with little facts to suggest a crime was committed.

‘The Judge even alluded to the fact that when Mangoma bypassed the tender
procedures, he did so in the public interest to speed up the procurement of
fuel which was in short supply at that particular time,’ Muchemwa said.

Mangoma’s arrest last week drew an angry reaction from Tsvangirai, who
called for new elections and said it was time for a ‘divorce’ in the
two-year-old unity government with Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai is currently on a regional diplomatic offensive to seek greater
support from the SADC regional bloc, following an intense blitz on his party
officials and activists by ZANU PF.

Police raid party HQ in Zimbabwe

Mar 15, 1:37 PM EDT

By GILLIAN GOTORA
Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- The arrests of Zimbabweans gathered to discuss what
they could learn from uprisings in North Africa drew international
condemnation. They turned out to be just the start of harassment of people
hardline supporters of longtime ruler Robert Mugabe consider enemies.

A key aide to Morgan Tsvangirai - Mugabe's rival and partner in an uneasy
coalition - was arrested on corruption charges. The offices of Tsvangirai's
party have been raided, and members arrested. An independent civic group
leader was detained for several hours over the weekend for possessing
T-shirts police claimed were intended to incite opposition to Mugabe's
authoritarian rule.

Tsvangirai threatened last week to leave the coalition, and some are
wondering how much more he can take. Bringing down the coalition could mean
elections for which Tsvangirai's party and international observers say
Zimbabwe is not ready.

John Makumbe, a political scientist at Zimbabwe's main university, said
Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party want Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change to quit the fragile two-year-old coalition. That way, they could
return to one-party control - and place the blame on Tsvangirai.

"They want to tell Africa and the region Tsvangirai's people don't know how
to behave in government positions and they are the spoilers," Makumbe said.

Tsvangirai has grown frustrated enough with Mugabe in the past to have
briefly suspended his participation in the government. But it is clear he
does not want to play into Mugabe's hands, and that he believes he can do
more for Zimbabweans from the inside. The economy, health and education have
improved since he joined the coalition, even if political violence and
international isolation have not.

On Tuesday, a judge ordered the release on $5,000 bail of Energy Minister
Elton Mangoma, a founder of Tsvangirai's party. Mangoma spent five nights in
Harare's notoriously cramped and filthy prison after plainclothes police
took him from his ministerial offices.

He is charged with abuse of public office over a January deal to buy
gasoline from neighboring South Africa to ease regular fuel shortages in
Zimbabwe.

The corruption allegations carry a possible penalty of a fine or
imprisonment of up to 15 years.

Mangoma denies wrongdoing. In granting bail, the judge told the prosecutor
the minister's fuel deal appeared to be a response to national fuel
shortages and no evidence had so far been given that he personally gained
money from it.

Small clusters of Tsvangirai supporters clapped and cheered inside the
Harare High Court as Mangoma, dressed in a khaki prison uniform and looking
drawn, was released and ordered to reappear for trial March 28.

Also Tuesday, Tsvangirai's party said 30 police "besieged" its headquarters
and arrested three staff members late Sunday.

Nelson Chamisa, a party spokesman, said efforts were still being made to
find why police took away a youth leader and two security guards taken away
while on duty at the downtown headquarters.

"No charges have yet been leveled against them," he said.

In addition, Tsvangirai's party said two of its lawmakers were arrested in
the past week for alleged threatening behavior toward a Mugabe party
provincial leader.

The Crisis Coalition, an alliance of independent civic groups, said Tuesday
its chief coordinator was detained by police for several hours on Saturday
for possessing the suspect T-shirts.

The crackdown began when activists gathered Feb. 19 to watch footage of
North African protests at what organizers said was an academic discussion on
people's rights to democratic freedoms. Police swept in and arrested scores,
most of whom were later freed. Of the group, a former opposition lawmaker
and five other activists are facing treason charges punishable by death on
allegations they were meeting to "organize, strategize and implement the
removal of the constitutional government ... the Egyptian way."

Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, a possible successor to the ailing
Mugabe, 87, has warned that any mass uprising against Mugabe would be
"crushed."

Military analyst Michael Quintana described the appearance of convoys of
armored cars, anti-riot trucks and water canon in the capital in the last
month as a show of force by Mugabe's military.

The French-made armored cars, delivered before an arms embargo was imposed a
decade ago, are fitted with machine gun turrets and carry up to a dozen
combat troops. The vehicles that fanned out into Harare's township suburbs
are well equipped and maintained, he said.

"It is a clear signal of the army's ability to mobilize quickly and get out
onto the streets," Quintana said.

----

Angus Shaw in Harare contributed to this report.

Race for Speaker On

http://www.radiovop.com

15/03/2011 18:09:00

Harare, March 15, 2011 - The Welshman Ncube led Movement for Democratic
Change will field Paul Themba Nyathi as the contestant for the vacant
position of speaker of parliament.

The position fell vacant after a Supreme Court ruling that the speaker
Lovemore Moyo of the mainstream (MDC-T) led by Morgan Tsvangirai, had been
elected improperly in 2008.

“Paul Themba Nyathi is a charismatic character with unquestionable
credentials to restore sanity in the house of assembly. A number of MDC-T
and Zanu (PF) legislators have great respect for Paul Themba Nyathi and none
of the level headed legislators in our house of assembly dispute the
candidature of Nyathi. As the MDC we respect the Supreme Court ruling which
we think should serve as a lesson for habitual cheats and fraudsters who
have the habit of getting into positions of authority through the back
door," said the party in a statement.

"It’s unfortunate that a party that calls itself a party of excellence has
turned out to be a party of fraudsters and pseudo democrats “ read the
statement signed by party spokesperson Kurauone Chihwai.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku in concurrence with Judges of Appeal,
Justice Vernanda Ziyambi and Justice Paddington Garwe, ruled in favour of
Tsholotsho North House of Assembly member Jonathan Moyo and the MDC’s Moses
Mzila Ndlovu, Patrick Dube and Siyabonga Ncube who had applied to the
Supreme Court for the nullification of Moyo’s election.

Jonathan Moyo, Ndlovu, Dube and Ncube had appealed to the Supreme Court
following the dismissal of the case by High Court judge Justice Bharat Patel
early last year, where they sought to nullify Moyo’s election as Speaker of
Parliament.

Jonathan Moyo argued the voting process was flawed and not done by secret
ballot and that it was tainted by the behaviour of the Minister of Finance,
Tendai Biti, and five other MDC-T parliamentarians who publicly displayed
their ballot papers after casting their votes, thereby influencing the
outcome.

The MPs named as having displayed their votes are Biti, Deputy Prime
Minister Thokozani Khupe, Amos Chibaya, Gorden Moyo, Severino Chambati and
Piniel Denga.

NGO Crackdown Continues As Police Raid Czc Offices And Quizz Chikomo

Acts of harassment and intimidation against Mr. Chikomo, Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum

http://www.omct.org/
World Organisation against Torture

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

ZWE 001 / 0311 / OBS 035

Intimidation / Harassment

Zimbabwe

March 15, 2011

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention
in the following situation in Zimbabwe.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the continuing
acts of harassment and intimidation faced by Mr. Abel Chikomo, Executive
Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum in Zimbabwe (the Forum).

According to the information received, on March 14, 2011, Mr. Abel Chikomo
was summoned by the Law and Order Section of the Zimbabwe Republic Police
(ZRP) at the Harare Central Police station. Mr. Abel Chikomo, accompanied by
his lawyer, Mr. Harrison Nkomo, was interrogated by a police officer on the
work carried out by the Forum and its legal status. He was then informed
that the investigating officer in charge was away and had not left the file
or any instructions. Mr. Abel Chikomo was then allowed to leave the Police
station and informed that he will be summoned to appear on a later date. Mr.
Abel Chikomo had to report on March 15, 2011 in the afternoon and was told
that he would be summoned again at a later stage.

Over the last months, Mr. Abel Chikomo has been interrogated and asked to
report to the police on several occasions. According to the information
received, these summons were related to activities carried out by the Forum,
in particular the Campaign against Torture, the Transitional Justice
National Survey and several press statements issued in 2011 on the
resurgence of politically motivated violence.

The Observatory is concerned that these acts form part of an ongoing trend
of harassment by the Zimbabwe Republic Police against the Forum and more
generally against human rights defenders in the country, in the run-up to
the referendum on the Constitution likely to take place in September 2011
and the parliamentary elections due in November 2011.

The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about this summons and fears
for Mr. Abel Chikomo’s physical and psychological integrity. The Observatory
calls upon the Zimbabwe authorities to immediately and unconditionally put
an end to acts of intimidation and harassment against Mr. Chikomo which
merely seem to aim at sanctioning his human rights activities.

Background information

On November 11, 2010, Mr. Abel Chikomo was summoned by Bulawayo Law and
Order police regarding the Forum's public campaign against torture. Bulawayo
Law and Order police alleged that billboards put up by the Forum and calling
on the Government of Zimbabwe to ratify the Convention against Torture and
to outlaw torture were offensive.

On February 9, 2011, two days after the inception by the Forum of a
Transitional Justice National Survey, the Machipisa police in Harare
detained two researchers from the Forum and questioned them about this
survey. They released them only after receiving the assurance that Mr.
Chikomo will report the next morning to the Machipisa Police station.

The next day, on February 10, 2011, Mr. Chikomo was interrogated at the
Machipisa Police Station about the work of the Forum. The police also
insisted on the fact that the Forum required police clearance to carry out a
survey and an authorisation from the Government of Zimbabwe. After
approximately two hours of questioning, the Machipisa police said it was a
very serious matter that required the intervention of the Harare Central Law
and Order Section. As a consequence, Mr. Chikomo was transferred to the
latter   and questioned for more than six hours. Detectives from the Harare
Central Law and Order Section also visited the Forum offices in the city of
Harare on the same day accompanied by Mr. Chikomo. After the visit, he was
released without charges but the police insisted they will call him later.

On March 10, 2011, two officers from the Harare Law and Order Section
visited the Forum offices and requested to meet Mr. Chikomo who was at the
time out of the office. They then asked for the organisation's registration
certificate and number under the Private Voluntary Organisations Act. The
two officers instructed that the Executive Director should report in person
without fail on March 14, as he has “questions to answer” and needs to
provide the certificate of registration.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Zimbabwe asking them to:

i.      Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological
integrity of Mr. Abel Chikomo as well as all members of the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum and all human rights defenders in the country;

ii.     Put an end to any kinds of harassment against members of the Forum
as well as against all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;

iii.    Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December
9, 1998 and notably :

- its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and
in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and
realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and
international levels”;

- Article 5 (b), which states that “For the purpose of promoting and
protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others, at the national and
international levels [...] to form, join and participate in non-governmental
organizations, associations or groups”;

- its Article 6 (b) and (c), which states that “Everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others […] as provided for in human
rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish,
impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all
human rights and fundamental freedoms and [...] to study, discuss, form and
hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate
means, to draw public attention to those matters”;

- and its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,
threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure
or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate
exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

iv.    More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with in accordance with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional
human rights instruments ratified by Zimbabwe.

Addresses:

    * President of Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert G. Mugabe, Office of the President,
Private Bag 7700, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 708 211 / +
263.4.70.38.58;
    * Mr. Khembo Mohadi, co-Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home
Affairs, 11th Floor Mukwati Building, Private Bag 7703, Causeway, Harare,
Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 726 716;
    * Mr. Giles Mutsekwa, co-Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home
Affairs, 11th Floor Mukwati Building, Private Bag 7703, Causeway, Harare,
Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 726 716;
    * Mr. Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Fax: + 263 4
77 29 99 / +263 4 252 155;
    * Mr. Augustine Chihuri, Commissioner General, Police Headquarters, P.O.
Box 8807, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 253 212 / 728 768 / 726
084;
    * Mr. Justice Johannes Tomana, Attorney-General, Office of the Attorney,
PO Box 7714, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 77 32 47;
    * Mrs. Chanetsa, Office of the Ombudsman Fax: + 263 4 70 41 19;
    * Ambassador Mr. Chitsaka Chipaziwa, Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to
the United Nations in Geneva, Chemin William Barbey 27, 1292 Chambésy,
Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 758 30 44, Email: mission.zimbabwe@ties.itu.int;
    * Embassy of Zimbabwe in Brussels, 11 SQ Josephine Charlotte, 1200
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 96 05 / + 32 2 775 65 10,
Email: zimbrussels@skynet.be.

Please also write to the embassies of Zimbabwe in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, March 15, 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in
your reply.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

    * E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
    * Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
    * Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

Zim asylum seekers urged not to panic over UK deportations

http://www.swradioafrica.com

Zimbabwe Could Still Hold Planned Referendum on Constitution in September

http://www.bloomberg.com

By Nelson Gore Banya - Mar 15, 2011 10:18 PM GMT+1000

Zimbabwe may still hold a referendum on a new constitition in September even
though the process is behind schedule, said Munyaradzi Mangwana, a co-
chairman of the country’s inter-party parliamentary committee.

“We lost one month but still think it’s possible,” Mangwana told reporters
today in Harare, the capital. ‘‘When we came up with September, we took the
shortage of funds into account, so we should still be able to meet the
deadline.’’

A constitution must be agreed to before elections can take place, according
to a power-sharing agreement between President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change.

Bennett blasts Old Mutual role in blood diamonds

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
15 March 2011

Exiled MDC-T Treasurer General, Roy Bennett, used an investment conference
in Cape Town last week Thursday to blast Old Mutual and its ‘seedy role’ in
the “illicit diamond mining that is occurring in the Marange diamond
 fields.”

Bennett, forced to relocate to South Africa owing to persistent
victimization by the Mugabe regime, was very blunt in his assessment,
telling the conference that the diamond fields are controlled by the
military junta and were “attained over the dead bodies of hundreds of
impoverished Zimbabweans.”

Old Mutual has a 16 percent shareholding in the New Reclamation Group, a
company that partnered the government to extract diamonds in Marange.
Bennett expressed outrage that a respected London-listed financial services
company could continue “its investment and shareholding in a joint venture
with a disreputable scrap metal merchant and an infamous confidante of
Robert and Grace Mugabe.”

Old Mutual has tried to defend its involvement saying its “engagement
post-dated any reported wrongdoing in the mining area. As a result, Old
Mutual is most certainly not associated with activities which contravene the
human rights of citizens.” Bennett however described the excuse as
‘reprehensible and obscene’ and a ‘blowing of smoke and hot air.’

Bennett said the MDC-T have urged Old Mutual “quietly behind closed doors,
to quit their blood-stained investment” but the company has not listened and
this had forced them to “air our grievances publicly.” He reminded the
investors that “Old Mutual and its partners have benefited from the daylight
robbery of mining rights and from massacres by the army and air force of
Zimbabwe.”

Bennett cited the well-documented orgy of violence, where helicopter
gunships mowed down civilians in cold blood, ‘clearing the decks’ for the
junta’s illegal mining activities. He said the opportunity now existed for
international celebrities “to mount a Zimbabwean blood diamonds campaign”
and said the Old Mutual should be aware of the danger to their share price
should this campaign get underway.

Bennett also criticized Old Mutual for maintaining a significant share in
Zimpapers, the publishers of the government-controlled Herald newspaper,
among others. “If ever there was a practitioner of hate-speech and an
apostle of vice and violence, this is it. This dirty little rag plays a very
real part in the butchery and battery of our people,” Bennett said.

“These are but a couple of examples of the companies that have, and
continue, to walk the halls of shame in Zimbabwe. There is no shortage of
them. When the day of judgement comes, I will not lift a finger to save them
from the consequences of their actions,” he added.

Air Zim Boss Arrested In Connection With Fraud

http://www.radiovop.com/

15/03/2011 18:12:00

Harare, March 15, 2011 - Police on Monday arrested a senior Air Zimbabwe
employee over a fraud case which happened at the troubled national airline
two years ago.

Informed sources told Radio VOP that the police arrested Mujere on Monday
morning as he was about to board a flight to Johannesburg.

The sources said Mujere was detained at a police post at the Harare
International Airport before being transferred to the fraud squad at
Braeside Police Station. By late Monday Mujere had been detained at Hatfield
Police Station.

Sources said the police suspect that Mujere facilitated the escaping of
Abraham Katerere, an Air Zimbabwe employee who reportedly fled to London
under unclear circumstances.

The sources said investigators are currently undertaking a forensic audit at
the national airline in connection to the fraud case involving US$2 million.

The Anti-Corruption Commission is reportedly also involved in carrying out
investigations at Air Zimbabwe.

Air Zimbabwe board chairperson Jonathan Kadzura on Monday confirmed the
investigation and the arrest of Mujere.

“It’s not quite an arrest. He (Mujere) has gone to assist with fraud. He has
only been picked because he authorised the absence of the guy who went to
the UK,” said Kadzura in reference to Katerere.

Kadzura said Mujere was arrested as he was about to travel outside the
country on Air Zimbabwe business.
“He was supposed to have gone to the police to assist them over the weekend
but he did not,” said Kadzura.

Once rated one of the best airlines on the continent, Air Zimbabwe has been
run down by years of mismanagement, government interference and lack of
financial resources.

Gono says Mawere and the State must negotiate

http://www.swradioafrica.com

by Irene Madongo
15 March 2011

Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono says the best solution for the wrangle
over Shabanie Mashaba Mines (SMM) is for its owner and the state to put
their past differences behind them and negotiate, in order to move forward.

Gono said this on Monday when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Mines and Energy to explain issues relating to the
specification of SMM.

In 2004 the government, led by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, took over
businessman Mutumwa Mawere’s empire, claiming he was heavily indebted to the
state and had externalised huge sums of foreign currency in the process. But
in 2010 Mawere was then declared a ‘de-specified’ person, and it was hoped
this would pave the way for a return of his companies. However, reports
suggest Chinamasa and Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa are blocking this.

At his appearance before the Committee on Monday, Newsday reports that Gono
did admit that the state had used ‘political influence’ in the wrangle
surrounding SMM. When he was asked if the law had been selectively applied
on Mawere, Gono said it had been.

However he insisted it was possible for the state and Mawere to work
together in order to move forward.

“I do not believe this matter is beyond resolution because this country has
gone through much more difficult cases, which make this one less difficult,”
Gono said. “We cannot move on as a country as long as we keep on holding to
yesterday,” he added.

On Tuesday Mawere told SW Radio Africa that he does not want to fight
either. “I have no wish to fight the state,” he said. “Anyone who is trying
to find solutions can never be blamed,” he added.

But he expressed his concern that laws had been used by individuals for
personal gain, instead of national interests. “Gono himself has said laws
were applied selectively. When laws are applied selectively then we must
know that something is wrong,” he explained.

The SMM affair has meanwhile badly hit the companies workers, who have gone
for two years without salaries under the government’s control. They
eventually asked Robert Mugabe to intervene, accusing management of not
being sensitive to their plight. But their situation has not changed.

Villagers demonstrate against Unki mine

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Stff Writer
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 17:08

SHURUGWI - About 100 villagers living around Unki platinum mine in Shurugwi
last Thursday demonstrated against management, claiming they were not given
preference in the employment of general hands as promised.

The locals claim the platinum miners promised them 75 percent of general
hand jobs when they resumed mining operations in the area.

The placard waving villagers, who barricaded the entrance to the mine forced
operations to  stop for about four hours before police were called in to
contain the situation.

The villagers also alleged that some personnel in the human resources
department were  soliciting for  goats in exchange for jobs.

“Besides not being given much preference for employment as locals, we are
asked for goats in exchange for jobs,” claimed one villager.

Some of the villagers slept at the mine entrance on Wednesday night chanting
songs, saying they also want  a fair share of the platinum mineral wealth.

Shurugwi police confirmed the incident and said 10 villagers were arrested
but were released after representatives from villagers later met Unki
management to discuss the issue.

“We were called to calm the situation and the crowd dispersed around 11 am,
after representatives from the villagers met the mine management. Ten
villagers were arrested but later released,” said the police.

Repeated efforts to contact Unki mine spokesperson James Maphosa were in
vain as his mobile number could not be reached.

Contacted for comment, the traditional leader of the area, Chief Nhema, said
it was only fair for the mine to give preference to the locals, particularly
those who were displaced to pave way for mining activities.

He said the demonstration had nothing to do with politics but empowerment of
locals who were affected by the mining activities at Unki mine.

“Look we are saying that at  least a huge  percentage of general hand jobs
go to locals living in the mining area. But at the moment less than 30
percent of the general hands at Unki Mine are from the Shurugwi area. After
this meeting (follwing the demonstration), they have only promised to look
into the matter. This is unfair and we hope the mine seriously consider this
issue.

“There is no politics involved. It all has to do with empowering locals,”
said Chief Nhema.

Zanu PF hoodlums pull down Obama portrait

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Staff Reporter
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 18:13

Zanu PF thugs, accompanied by Central Intelligence Organisation, CIO,
operatives this week ordered staff and management at the Upper City Hotel on
Fife Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street to pull down a portrait of US President,
Barack Obama displayed in the bar.
The incident happened on Monday although the hotel has  Mugabe’s portrait at
its reception  as is the case with all public places. According to the
sources, the youths also ordered the removal of Argentine revolutionary,
Ernesto Che Guevara, saying they did not want to see a picture of ‘a white
man’.
The Zanu PF hoodlums, who  descended on the entertainment area  appeared to
be heavily sloshed from what seemed  to be illegal substances, said one
patron who spoke to The Zimbabwean. Upper City Hotel is a former red light
area but new management renovated the joint and banished the commercial sex
workers who patronised the place.
The hotel has changed names from Terresken then later to The Bira. Hotel
workers told The Zimbabwean that the Zanu PF youths and CIO operatives said
they could not stand the sight of the portrait of Obama in the absence of
President Robert Mugabe in the bar.
“They, (Zanu PF youths)  were very drunk and  disorderly. They said  Mugabe
had just celebrated his  87th birthday and  they would not allow the
portrait of the American president to have pride of place in a Zimbabwean
public place.” An employee  at the Upper City Hotel told this newspaper that
they now feared for their lives as the hoodlums had threatened to return to
‘assess the level of patriotism’ among patrons and workers.
“We are now living in fear because these thugs may return and that may chase
our patrons away or they may even harm us physically. They may even come and
demand free beer or loot the place,” he said. The  Zanu PF youths had no
qualms with a portrait of Zanu PF and President Robert Mugabe praise singer,
losing  Big Brother contestant,  Munyaradzi Chidzonga .
The seductive power of Marilyn Monroe also prevailed on the violent youths
as they agreed that her portrait did not have to be removed.
The storming of the Upper City Hotel appears to be part of a well planned
operation as another drinking outlet, Portugal Restaurant has been targeted
in the past two weeks by drunken soldiers and Zanu PF supporters who have
threatened to take over the operations of the outlet under the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Act.

Zimbabwe’s economic progress ‘has become stuck’

http://www.businessday.co.za/

African Development Bank seeks policy clarity, says Côte d’Ivoire threatened
with collapse, writes Nasreen Seria
Published: 2011/03/15 06:59:16 AM

ZIMBABWE’s economic progress has become "stuck" because of a lack of clarity
on policy, while Côte d’Ivoire is threatened with collapse amid a political
crisis, says African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka.

Mr Kaberuka visited Zimbabwe last week as part of a three-nation tour of
southern Africa, urging authorities to clear up confusion about the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Act, which compels foreign companies to sell
stakes to local citizens. He also called for political parties to stick to a
power- sharing agreement or risk investors fleeing the country again.

"Zimbabwe has done the basics but now they’re stuck," Mr Kaberuka said in an
interview at the weekend in Pretoria.

"They’ve stabilised the macroeconomic environment but they can’t move" to
the next phase of development "until there’s policy clarity on property
rights, less uncertainties and more predictability", he said.

While the indigenisation laws have been passed by legislators , there have
been conflicting messages from policy makers about their implementation.

The legislation requires foreign and white-owned companies to cede 51% to
black Zimbabweans.

The Movement for Democratic Change, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
formed a power-sharing government with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF)
in 2008 following disputed elections. While the government of national unity
helped end a decade of recession, it has often come close to breaking down.

The risks that a collapse in the power-sharing government would pose to the
economy "are considerable", Mr Kaberuka said.

"In the short term, confidence will be lost and re-engagement with
international partners will be seriously compromised.

"For the long-term investment outlook, it’s a no-brainer."

The power-sharing agreement "is what gave confidence for the return of macro
stability", he said. "So you understand our concern. When the global
political agreement seems to be shaky, investors get worried, external
partners get worried, and I suppose, Zimbabweans should be worried as well."

The African Development Bank, based in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, is helping
Zimbabwe improve its debt management as it seeks to have 7bn in debt owed to
the African Development Bank, World Bank and International Monetary Fund
(IMF) cancelled.

The African Development Bank had set aside 500m to help Zimbabwe clear its
arrears, a first step towards a debt write-off, Mr Kaberuka said. A
precondition to making the funds available would be for Zimbabwe to agree on
an IMF-monitored plan that aims to sustain economic growth.

Mr Kaberuka said the political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire following a disputed
November 28 election had continued for "too long", to the detriment of the
economy and its people. Its economy "has become dysfunctional", he said.
"Credit to the economy has dried up. They’re having challenges paying the
civil service; they’re having challenges exporting cocoa and coffee. I can’t
use the term breakdown of the economy but it’s become dysfunctional. And the
entire region is becoming affected."

The African Union (AU) said last Friday it backed Alassane Ouattara as the
legal president of the world’s largest cocoa producer. Incumbent Laurent
Gbagbo, has refused to relinquish power.

The World Bank and African Development Bank have suspended funds to the
country and cocoa exports have been disrupted. "I hope the AU appeal is
adhered to because it’s a unanimous position," Mr Kaberuka said. Bloomberg

Tsvangirai must be taught lesson: Moyo

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

15/03/2011 00:00:00
    by Lebo Nkatazo

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the deposed Speaker of Parliament
Lovemore Moyo have “opened themselves to a clear and unambiguous risk of
prosecution” following their attacks on the Supreme Court, Tsholotsho North
MP Jonathan Moyo (Zanu PF) said on Tuesday.

Tsvangirai accused Supreme Court judges of being “a willing appendage of
Zanu PF” and the former Speaker said the judges were “loyal and faithful to
the cause of Zanu PF” after they nullified Lovemore Moyo’s 2008 election.
Both now face the possibility of being charged with contempt of court.

The Tsholotsho North MP, a member of the Zanu PF politburo whose court
application ended in the Speaker's ouster, said Tsvangirai and Moyo “have a
right to attack and disagree with judgements but no right to attack judges”.

“One is a Prime Minister of Zimbabwe who has taken an oath to respect and
uphold the laws of the country. The rule of law he preaches also means
accepting that judges have a responsibility to interpret the law, no-one
else can claim to have authority in interpreting the law except the courts,”
Moyo said.

“Tsvangirai has done what nobody else in the executive has ever done. He has
undermined not only the rule of law, but his own claims to be a champion of
democracy and rule of law and proven that he has no respect or understanding
of the rule of law.
“No-one will listen to him in future when he preaches about the rule of law
because to him that means the rule of MDC-T.”

The Attorney General Johannes Tomana is said to be considering bringing
charges against the Prime Minister and the former Speaker – an action that
could further strain relations in an already tense governing coalition with
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party and a rival MDC faction led by
Welshman Ncube.

Tsvangirai was furious after the Supreme Court last week voted 3-2 to
nullify Lovemore Moyo’s election as Speaker, after finding that MPs from
MDC-T had been compelled to display their votes in what was supposed to be a
secret ballot.

Tsvangirai stormed: “This decision is a clear reflection of the state of
affairs on the Bench. A judiciary which in the post-Dumbutshena and
post-Gubbay era has largely discredited itself by becoming a willing
appendage of Zanu PF.

“Dubious and pro-executive decisions have been made in this era. We will not
accept the decisions of some Zanu PF politicians masquerading as judges.
Zanu PF is trying to use the courts to subvert and regain what it lost in an
election.”

And offering his response, Lovemore Moyo told New Zimbabwe.com last Friday:
“We are aware that the majority of our people, learned men and women on the
Bench, owe it to the (Robert) Mugabe regime, and obviously it is given that
when it comes to a call when they have to make decisions, crucial decisions
for that matter, they have to pay back the master. In this case, do things
in favour of Zanu PF.
“So I was not shocked because I knew that 99 percent they would certainly
favour their master.”

But Jonathan Moyo, speaking in an interview, said the twin attacks on the
Supreme Court judges by the senior MDC-T officials was "particularly
surprising", given that judges have handed down many adverse judgements
against Zanu PF interests.

On the same day judgement was handed down in the Speaker’s case, Chief
Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku shot down the Attorney General’s appeal against
the acquittal of MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett on treason charges. Tsvangirai
himself was acquitted on treason charges in 2004 over an alleged plot to
assassinate Mugabe.

Moyo said: “If these were Zanu PF judges doing Zanu PF’s bidding, this guy
(Tsvangirai) would be six feet under by now. He is forgetting very quickly.
We in Zanu PF were furious that he got away, but we did not call judges
MDC-T appendages.

“To be sure, citizens in a democracy have a constitutional right to disagree
with judgements, but they have no right to cast aspersions and attack the
integrity of judges.

“We can attack judgments but not judges. Attacking judgements is part of
advancing democratic space because it brings out views which the judge might
not have taken into account and helps in future cases.
“Judgments are not gospel truths, they are not biblical. They are legal.
What is legal today may not be legal tomorrow.”
Lovemore Moyo, said the MP, was especially culpable because he was a
litigant in the Supreme Court case.

“His case is worse,” said the Tsholotsho North legislator, a former
Information Minister. “His contempt is worse because here is a person who
was a second respondent in this matter and had every opportunity in the last
24 months to make his case before the courts.

“He brought a lawyer from South Africa, the son of a South African apartheid
judge, and won the case before the High Court. We never complained that it
was a political ruling.

“The High Court said their displaying of ballot papers was impolitic, and
found Moyo was one of the culprits who created the problem before the
courts. He did not challenge that finding of facts. The Supreme Court took
that as a matter of fact, and the case before it was not whether or not
there were irregularities but whether that irregular conduct violated the
constitution and rendered the contest null and void.
“He was heard and succeeded in the High Court but lost in the Supreme Court.

“What now needs to be done is to teach him and Tsvangirai that they are not
above the law, and that they are prosecutable. If this was a reckless
challenge to the rule of law, then the rule of law must take its course.
There is no better way of teaching them that lesson than hauling them before
the same court that they have held in contempt.”

New Zimbabwe.com columnist and legal expert Alex Magaisa has criticised both
Moyo and Tsvangirai for their attacks on the courts, but said unfortunately
they were not the first to take aim at judges following adverse decisions.

“Some characters who today point accusatory fingers do not seem to have a
clean record when it comes to contemptuous behaviour towards the courts,”
Magaisa said. “No doubt they will justify their conduct, just as Tsvangirai
will also try to justify his recent comments.”

Magaisa recounted the Tsholotsho North MP’s attack on Justice Ismail
Chatikobo in October 2000, when he was still Information Minister. Chatikobo
had granted Capital Radio an after hours injunction stopping the seizure of
its equipment.
Moyo railed against what he said were “night lawyers going to see night
judges in a night court to seek night justice”.

After Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was hit with a contempt charge by
Justice Blackie for his own criticism of judges, Moyo remarked that “there
is no doubt that fair minded and law abiding citizens will see this
judgement for what it is: outrageous, sinister and a highly personalised
crusade by someone who should be packing his bags.”

Magaisa added: “It is not right for politicians – Zanu PF, MDC or whomsoever
to abuse the courts and judges yet it is also not right to apply the law
selectively. The matter needs sober minds and sober politicians to raise
their hands and clean up their act and for judges to maintain the integrity
of their office by not only dispensing justice but as the old adage goes, be
seen to be doing so.”

But Moyo insists there is no “national value” in looking back at the era of
“Rhodesian judges” when “the whole cast of players has changed from that
time in terms of judges, the attorney general, the police, the culprits, the
crimes and the times.”

“The last time I checked, Dr Magaisa was a lawyer. If I am correct, then he
should know that what he is saying is not a legal defence. And this is a
legal matter that requires a legal defence.
“If you are arrested for murder, you don’t say you are innocent because
there are other murderers out there,” Moyo said.

Zimbabwe: an HIV prevention success story

http://www.unaids.org/

 

 

 

15 March 2011

The reduction in multiple sexual partnerships major significant cause of the decline in HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe.

HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe has declined remarkably in recent years, dropping from 26% to 14% between 1997 and 2009. In a recent edition of the journal PLoS Medicine, researchers explored the reasons for this decline and examined what lessons can be learned and replicated.

Sponsored by UNFPA, UNAIDS and the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, the study pinpointed several key factors in Zimbabwe’s success. These include changes in sexual behaviour, personal experiences related to the high AIDS mortality in the country and correct information about HIV transmission.

“The behaviour changes associated with the HIV decline appear to be largely the result of people increasingly talking about HIV and its link to risky sexual behaviour,” said Clemens Benedikt, HIV prevention manager in the UNFPA office in Zimbabwe and one of the authors of the report.

The most significant cause of the decline was seen to be the reduction in multiple sexual partnerships, with a 30% fall in men reporting extra-marital relationships. This can be partly attributed to the success of HIV prevention programmes, both mass media and those based on inter-personal communication through the church, work-place, friends and family. Such programmes stressed the protective effect of having fewer partners and promoted condom use during casual sex.

According to the study, there have been a number of significant shifts in sexual norms. For example, in previous years, men gathering in beer halls and bottle stores tended to be surrounded by women, some of whom were sex workers. Now, it is more typical for such places to be men only.

The entrenched economic crisis has also played a role. Men reported having less money to spend on sustaining multiple partnerships as well as using the services of sex workers. However, this is noted as a secondary factor given that the most severe effects of the financial crisis were felt after 2002 when most of the decline in HIV incidence had already happened.

 

Another apparent spur in behaviour change was high AIDS mortality. AIDS-related deaths increased significantly during the mid- to late-nineties and stabilized after 2000. Many women and men in the authors’ focus groups reported that knowing people who had died as a result of AIDS was a large motivating factor to modify their own sexual behaviour.  According to the study, the policy of home-based care for people living with HIV adopted in Zimbabwe may have also contributed to this phenomenon as people were brought face-to-face with the reality of AIDS in their own homes.

“Zimbabwe provides a clear example of the profoundly positive results that behaviour change can bring about in an effective AIDS response,” said Bruce Campbell, co-author of the report and currently UNFPA Representative in Viet Nam. “People can and do look at their individual and collective circumstances and make informed decisions about how to protect themselves and others, especially in an environment where information and education interventions highlight the link between sexual risk behaviour and HIV.”

The authors also argue that Zimbabwe's experience highlights the importance of prevention in an effective and sustained response to HIV, despite the growing availability of antiretroviral drugs. According to UNAIDS, globally there are still two new HIV infections for every one person starting treatment and prevention efforts make up only around 20% of AIDS-related spending in low- and middle-income countries.

Similar to the Zimbabwean example, HIV prevention success has been achieved in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the latest UNAIDS report on the global epidemic, some 22 countries have reduced the rate of new infections by more than 25% between 2001 and 2009. These include several other countries with the region’s highest prevalence, including South Africa and Zambia. And in many cases, it is young people who are leading the ‘prevention revolution ‘and changing their behaviour by deciding to delay sex, having fewer partners and using condoms.

Job vacancies in Zimbabwe

Desperate times in Zimbabwe-the MDC must pull out now

http://www.moneyweb.co.za

Vince Musewe*|
15 March 2011 10:47

My message to Mugabe is that the only way out is out.

JOHANNESBURG - Picture this: An MDC minister of energy is arrested on
allegations of misuse of public office. In the mean time, the home affairs
minister who is in the same party and allegedly in charge of the police
force has no clue why her colleague was arrested and where he is being held.
While this is all happening, Zimbabwe is hosting an investor’s conference
after announcing that they are taking over companies and mines. In addition,
hundreds of millions of diamond proceeds are missing and the minister of
mines cannot account for them and yet he is scot free. With all this
nonsense happening, the MDC cries foul while Mugabe flies off, once again to
another international African gathering.

I know that I have spoken before on what needs to happen in Zimbabwe but it
is obvious to some of us now that the end of ZANU (PF) is near. Desperate
times required desperate measures and we are beginning to see the scenario
play itself out in Zimbabwe. As ZANU (PF) realises that there time is coming
to an end, we are bound to see things become worse. I am told that violence
and intimidation are now on the increase especially in the rural areas and
the plan is to arrest and discredit as many MDC members as possible. I
therefore will not be surprised if the finance minister or even Morgan
Tsvangirai himself are the next to be arrested on frivolous charges.

In my opinion, if anyone has misused the public office and should be
arrested it is Mugabe and his ministers. For many years, we have watched how
they all have plundered the resources of the country, misused public office
and promoted violence. The MDC must now seriously consider pulling out of
this government of national unity which has worked to prolong ZANU (PF) grip
on power. The only difference between Qaddafi and Mugabe is that the latter
has not started bombing Zimbabweans but I would not put that past him.

In the event that the MDC does pulls out, one would expect more pressure and
tangible action from the international community for credible elections to
be held sooner rather than later. But is that about to happen? I don’t think
so, we are going to see further deterioration of conditions in Zimbabwe and
the worst is yet to come.

In my opinion, Mugabe has prevailed to date because of the support he gets
from other African leaders. The SADC has been conspicuous by their absence
in condemning violence and the lack of freedoms in Zimbabwe while the
African Union is irrelevant and ineffective. Our only hope is for South
Africa to put more pressure on Mugabe and also freeze his assets as we have
seen in the case of Qadaffi. Sanctions must be intensified and maybe
ordinary Zimbabweans will rise to the occasion. I have written off Zimbabwe’s
business people as agents of change. Can you imagine that some of them were
even heard complaining that an Egypt style uprising would be disruptive to
business! What a cheek.

My message to Mugabe is that the only way out is out. Sooner rather than
later the dictator shall fall.

Vince Musewe is an independent Zimbabwe economist based in South Africa. You
may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com

Constitution Watch Content Series 1/2011 of 14th March [ADeclaration/Bill of Rights]

BILL WATCH 10/2011 of 15th March [Parliamentary Update]