http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Local, News,
Referendum
THE MDC-T has expressed concern at what it termed
irregularities before and
during yesterday’s referendum, claiming there were
cases of violence and
some of its members were intimidated.
BY OUR
STAFF
The party’s secretary general, Tendai Biti told a press conference
that
there were concerned by the way some members of Zanu PF viewed the
referendum, while also claiming there had been “omissions by electoral
officials”.
“In Mbare, Hurungwe, Muzvezve, Chakari and Zvimba North,
Zanu PF members
were intimidating voters by forcing them to submit their
names and addresses
after the voting, so this is inconsistent with our law
and absolutely
unacceptable,” he said.
Biti said the party was
concerned about incidences of violence in Mbare,
Headlands, Kariba and
Bindura.
“In Mbare our members were being turned away at one polling
station
notwithstanding police presence. Tactics of intimidation were being
used by
Zanu PF officials in Midlands Province vouching for a ‘No’ vote
because of
the schism or factionalism in the party,” he said.
Biti
said the party was also concerned at the alleged disappearance of party
secretary for Headlands, Samson Magumura, who was allegedly kidnapped
yesterday.
“We find this very unacceptable but typical of the
environment we are living
in,” he said.
Biti said the party was also
concerned about the actual presence of police
officers in polling stations
and expressed disappointment at the late
invitation of Sadc
observers.
He said an election needed to be observed four months before
polling date as
subjective issues such as body language needed to be looked
at.
The MDC-T secretary general said the actual polling day was usually
peaceful
and called for early deployment of observers in future to enhance
the
credibility of an election.
“We are also strongly against the
idea that one party can decide who will
come to observe, as far as we are
concerned Zimbabwe has nothing to hide,
more so in a referendum,” he
said.
Biti said they were disappointed that ZEC had not allowed parties
to deploy
election agents, instead preferring to allow observers only.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Local, News,
Referendum
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe voted at Mhofu Primary School in
Highfield yesterday
describing the referendum as a momentous occasion for
the country.
BY OUR STAFF
“This is momentous, it is a day when we
are all called as Zimbabweans to
receive our own destiny,” he said soon
after voting.
Accompanied by the First Lady, Grace and their eldest
daughter, Bona, Mugabe
said he had voted ‘Yes’ and hoped the new
constitution would be adopted.
“If we vote ‘Yes’ our own constitution
would be made and the process of
legalising it will take place,” he
said.
Mugabe conceded that there had not been enough time for people to
study the
draft constitution, but considering that there had been an
extensive
outreach programme that was not an issue.
“Perhaps more
time was needed,” he said. “But we went out and collected the
views of the
people and after that we had a stakeholders meeting. We cannot
say the
people were not involved.”
The president said the new constitution was
important as it guaranteed
freedoms, child rights and women’s
rights.
Mugabe reiterated his peace call, urging Zimbabweans to embrace
the peace
that prevailed during voting days.
He also said the new
constitution meant that Zimbabweans controlled their
natural
resources.
Mugabe’s Zanu PF party is leading an indigenisation drive,
which has been
criticised in some quarters, as it is feared that this could
sound the death
knell for the country’s fragile economy.
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai voted at Chitungwiza’s Chaminuka Primary
School
in St Mary’s where he said the constitutional referendum was a step
towards
a free and fair election due this year.
“We have just exercised one of
the most important historic steps since the
constitutional movement was
launched in 1997,” he said. “Those who lost
their lives, I think, will rest
in peace because this is an important step
that we have been fighting for.
What is significant is that the country,
the people of Zimbabwe are not
outsourcing their destiny, to anybody else.
We have defined this for
ourselves.”
He expressed the hope that the exercise would usher in a new
political
culture.
“This is a new political dispensation and I hope
it brings in a new
political culture … from the culture of impunity to the
culture of
constitutionalism,” he said.
The arrival of Tsvangirai,
who arrived at the polling station with his wife
Elizabeth Macheka, roused
excitement among fellow voters.
Old women ran and jumped around in
celebration, with some rushing over to
the couple to shake hands with
them.
The crowd swelled after Tsvangirai moved to address journalists
outside the
polling station, with residents shouting and whistling in
excitement,
drowning the Prime Minister’s voice in their noise.
Some
elderly women attempted to hug Macheka who was rescued by Tsvangirai’s
security personnel. The two had a nightmare getting into their car as the
people followed them around.
The Sadc executive secretary, Tomaz
Salomão, who was at the polling station
as an observer well before
Tsvangirai’s arrival, said he was happy with the
peaceful
environment.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013
in Local, News
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called for a full
Sadc summit to focus
on cementing the roadmap to free and fair elections in
Zimbabwe.
BY NQABA MATSHAZI
Tsvangirai held an hour long meeting with
the Sadc observer mission on
Friday, where he said there were a number of
issues that were still
outstanding from the GPA that were paramount to the
holding of a credible
election.
“He said Sadc, as the guarantor of
the GPA, should use a full Summit to
assess whether Zimbabwe was ready for
free, fair and credible elections
based on a checklist on agreed positions,”
a statement issued after the
meeting reads.
“The summit could use its
past resolutions as a yardstick to measure
compliance with the bloc’s
standards for the conduct of free and fair
elections as there.”
Some
of the key reforms which Tsvangirai said were yet to be implemented
include
security sector and media reforms, adding that it would be tragic
for
Zimbabwe to go ahead with elections without those reforms.
He expressed
concern at the at the deployment of senior military officers
ahead of the
referendum and elections, saying the actions by security
personnel showed a
lack of paradigm shift despite four years of existence of
the inclusive
government.
The premier told the mission there had been a resurgence of
violence, there
was selective application of the law and that the police
were partisan.
He accused the RG’s office of coming up with tactics to
disenfranchise first
time voters and those people previously classified as
aliens.
“The RG’s office was demanding several documents which were not
normally
required for one to register to aliens, Tsvangirai told the
observer
mission. “In some instances, hoards of soldiers were being bussed
to
registration centres to disturb the registrations.”
Tsvangirai
called for the Sadc troika representatives to be deployed
urgently in the
Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic),
adding that the body
would now be required to present detailed reports to
cabinet. Sadc has
seconded three people to the monitoring committee, but
they are yet to
assume their duties.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Local, News,
Politics
AN MDC-T activist in Headlands was yesterday morning picked up
by four armed
people raising fears of more similar actions ahead of the
forthcoming polls.
BY OUR STAFF
MDC-T secretary for Headlands,
Samson Magumura was picked up by the quartet
that also confiscated his
wife’s mobile phone.
He was bundled into a white Isuzu
truck.
Magumura’s whereabouts could not be established as a local police
post said
it was not aware of the arrest.
But later in the day,
police called MDC-T provincial spokesperson Pishai
Muchauraya informing him
that Magumura was now in the custody of Nyazura
Police
Station.
“Police confirmed that he had been surrendered to Nyazura Police
Station by
officers from the Law and Order section for safe-keeping,”
Muchauraya said.
Police spokesperson, assistant commissioner Charity
Charamba said Magumura
had been arrested by Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) detectives on
charges of attempted murder and malicious
injury to property.
She said this followed the recent petrol bomb attack
on the home of an
aspiring Zanu PF councillor, William Chapepa who was
hospitalised with
serious burns following the raid on his home in
Headlands.
But the MDC-T said the arrest was an assault on the
party.
The party’s secretary general, Tendai Biti, told a press
conference that the
arrest was “unacceptable but typical of the environment
that we are living
in”.
Yesterday’s episode is set to raise political
temperatures in the
constituency barely a month after 12-year old
Christpowers Maisiri died in
an inferno.
Christpowers was son to
MDC-T aspiring candidate for the constituency,
Shepherd Maisiri.
The
party pointed a finger at Zanu PF and has called for an international
probe.
The former liberation party has denied the
allegations.
Police claim that investigations established that the
inferno was a result
of an explosion of tobacco chemicals and ammonium
nitrate fertiliser in the
thatched hut the boy was sleeping in.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Local, News,
Politics
POLICE officers in Bulawayo have allegedly been told to
safeguard their jobs
by registering to vote and casting their ballots for
President Robert Mugabe
and Zanu PF during the upcoming elections, The
Standard heard.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
Sources in the force said the
officers were allegedly told to show
patriotism by voting for Zanu PF during
the elections. This was reportedly
said at the strategy workshops for police
officers held in Bulawayo
recently.
“The message was clear, that we
should all make sure that we register to
vote and vote for President Mugabe
and Zanu PF during the upcoming election
to save our jobs,” said a police
officer, who cannot be identified because
he was not authorised to speak to
the press.
The sources said the workshops, conducted and facilitated by
the Police
Professional Updating Centre (PUC) based at Drill Hall, were held
under the
title, Public Order Strategy Workshop.
The Standard heard
the workshops were being conducted countrywide, but it
could not be verified
whether officers in other cities were also being told
to vote for Zanu
PF.
However, the sources indicated that the “vote for Zanu PF” message
was the
buzzword at all the workshops countrywide.
“The history of
Zimbabwe, liberation history and the state of preparedness
of the police,
was also discussed during the workshops,” said one of the
sources.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba
confirmed that
the police force was holding nationwide election
preparedne-ss workshops,
but denied they were being directed to vote for
Zanu PF and Mugabe.
“They are held countrywi-de,” said
Charamba.
“But it is not true that police officers are being told to vote
for Zanu PF
or any other party.”
Police Commissioner-General, Augustine
Chihuri has previously openly
declared his support for Mugabe and Zanu PF,
although he is supposed to be
apolitical.
Directive is an attempt to
rig elections: Analysts
Analysts last week condemned police authorities
for directing officers to
vote Zanu PF, saying this was a violation of their
rights.
“This buttresses the view of the people of Zimbabwe that there is
a
calculated attempt to rig the elections using state machinery like the
police,” said Effie Ncube, chairperson of the National Association of
Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango).
“Members of the police must
be allowed to exercise their right to vote
without being guarded as if they
are disabled people. even those that are
disabled have a right to make their
own choices.”
Pastor Anglistone Sibanda said: “This is a sign of
electoral fraud and
confirms what we have always said, that rigging starts
happening way before
the voting and counting of votes.”
He said it
was unfortunate that Sadc and other international observers were
not aware
of such incidences.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Local, News,
Politics
ZIMBABWEANS have taken to social media to express their disgust
at
politically-motivated violence by starting an online group called
Blackout
Thursday.
Every Thursday, the Facebook group members blackout
their picture profiles
in an effort to promote peace.
BY OUR
STAFF
One of the pioneers of the group, Freeman Chari, said the idea to
blackout
their profiles began spontaneously after the death of Christpowers
Maisiri,
who died in a suspected arson attack.
“Not everyone will
have a chance to take part, but the responsibility lies
with each one of us,
including the media, to spread the message of peace,
love and harmony,
especially during these trying times. And in our small
way, we are trying to
do just that,” he said.
“If we can convert one soul from the belief that
violence brings votes or
violence brings freedom, then we would have
achieved our goal.”
Chari said the campaign had generated much interest
and in its three weeks
of existence, it had experienced a surge in
members.
“We have also received support from people of different
political
orientation and that encourages us,” he said. “We intend to take
the
campaign to Twitter and WhatsApp, which we believe will increase our
access
to Zimbabweans. The campaign is running until the next
election.”
Beloved Chiweshe, a programmes officer at Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition
(CiZC), said the campaign had the potential to change
perceptions.
“The campaign is easy to activate and has lots of potential
to change people’s
perception,” he said.
“We hope that one day
everyone in the country will blackout their profile
pictures.”
Chiweshe said they believed social media was a growing
platform and there
was need to take advantage of the social trends.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Local, News
Sukai Tongogara, the
eldest daughter of the late Zanla commander, General
Josiah Magama
Tongogara, is on the run as the fallout from the attempt to
investigate top
Zanu PF officials and certain State entities on suspicion of
corruption
continues to unfold.
Sources close to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission (Zacc) and the
Tongogara family said Sukai was tipped off on
Friday that law enforcement
agents were on the verge of arresting her on
charges of abuse of office.
They said Sukai, who is Zacc’s general
manager in charge of investigations,
was being victimised for trying to
expose alleged corrupt deals at various
government departments and
agencies.
They said Sukai, a lawyer and former magistrate, was being
caught up in
crossfire in Zanu PF’s internal fight over the indigenisation
policy.
“Sukai was told Friday that she will be locked up for the whole
weekend in
order to silence and fix her for daring investigating senior
officials,”
said a Zacc official. “This is pure persecution because what she
is doing is
on behalf of the commissioners. Our understanding is that this
exercise has
the blessing of President Robert Mugabe as he has openly spoken
against
corruption.”
Another official said investigators were now
living in fear as a number of
them have been threatened at their respective
homes by unknown people.
“We fear for our lives and it appears no one will
give us protection,” he
said.
However, Police spokesperson, assistant
commissioner Charity Charamba
yesterday insisted police were not looking for
Sukai.
But Zacc spokesperson, pastor Goodwills Shana confirmed that a hunt
was on
for Sukai.
“We understand that certain people are looking for
her. But as to their
identify we are not sure,” he said.
Shana said
while Zacc was concerned about the security of its staff members,
the
anti-graft commissioner believed no harm would come to them.
He said Zacc
was still to be appraised on the reasons behind co-Home affairs
minister,
Kembo Mohadi’s decision to redeploy the commission’s chief
executive
officer, Ngonidzashe Gumbo.
Shana expressed concern that Zacc was not
getting the required support from
other stakeholders such as the police and
the magistrate’s courts which have
been refusing to issue search warrants to
the commission’s investigators.
He said although Zacc had no other
recourse after the High court blocked it
from investigating the Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and
the National Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Board, the body was
happy that the issue had been
exposed.
Shana said it was now up to the public to judge which side was
wrong or not.
Although Zacc can investigate cases of fraud and
corruption, the body has no
arresting and prosecuting powers.
Sukai
could not be reached for comment as her mobile phone was unavailable
yesterday.
ENDS///
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Community
News
MASVINGO – Villagers in Bikita have petitioned Mines and Mining
Development
minister, Obert Mpofu following the discovery of diamonds in
Devuli Ranch
demanding transparency in the allocation of mining
licences.
BY TATENDA CHITAGU
They are also demanding that local
communities benefit from the gems.
The discovery of the diamonds has led
to a rush that saw scores of illegal
miners besieging Budzi communal lands
in Bikita in search of the precious
mineral.
Police last week had to
remove the miners from the area.
A Chinese mining company, Nan Jian
Africa Resources, is already mining in
the area but reports say the company
has not secured a licence.
In a petition dated March 15 2013, the
villagers demanded to be consulted by
government on all issues regarding the
mining of the gems in their area.
“We remain gravely concerned that there
has been inadequate public
information over and about the discovery of
diamond deposits in the Bikita
district and hereby request that the
Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe
through the Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development urgently furnish
members of the public, particularly
residents of Bikita district as well as
oversight organs of the state (such
as the Parliament of Zimbabwe through
its Parliamentary Portfolio committee
on Mines and Minerals Development)
with full and official information as to
the nature and extent of the
diamond discovery,” reads part of the
petition.
The villagers said the Mines ministry must also publicly show,
through
widespread consultation in the district, any plans it has over the
licensing
of mining operators in the area, as well as the clear
pre-requisites of the
awarding of the licences.
“The prioritisation
and contractual obligation of the winning mining concern
to provide first
priority to the residents of Bikita where and when
considering applications
for employment at the diamond mine,” says the
petition.
The residents
also want the mining companies to implement environmental
rehabilitation
during and after the mining operations.
“It is our hope that the Minister
of Mines and Mining Development will find
our submissions to have been made
in good faith and in tandem with what we
view as best practice given the
context of Bikita and other communal areas
in Zimbabwe,” reads the
petition.
Villagers also said they should be given first priority in
getting jobs at
the mining concern.
The people from the area that
have signed the petition include MDC-T MP
Sessel Zvidzai, National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) spokesperson Madock
Chivasa and Voluntary
Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) executive director,
Takura
Zhangazha.
Mpofu could not be reached for comment
yesterday.
VILLAGERS DEMAND COMPENSATION
VILLAGERS in Bikita are
demanding compensation for those who may be
displaced to pave way for the
mining activities.
Part of the A reads: “There should be full payment for
any relocation of
residents of the directly affected areas of Bikita
district within the
vicinity of the mining operation and the construction of
modern housing for
all of those affected by relocation.”
They are
also demanding the development of schools, hospitals, roads, as
well as the
setting up of a vocational training college on natural sciences,
business,
the humanities and minerals processing within two years of
commencement of
full mining operations.
Four kimberlitic pipes rich in diamonds were
recently discovered in the area
by a Chinese mining company, Nan Jian Africa
Resources.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Community
News
TOBACCO farmers who are selling their crop in Harare are under siege
from
prostitutes that are after their hard-earned cash.
BY JAIROS
SAUNYAMA
Other than offering sex services for money, the prostitutes who
turn the
auction floors into their hunting ground every tobacco selling
season, are
also providing accommodation to the farmers.
A survey
conducted by Standardcommunity last week established that
prostitution had
become so prevalent at auction floors in Harare, especially
at Boka Auction
Floors, largely because of its proximity to Hopley Farm, a
sprawling
high-density suburb.
A tobacco farmer, who identified himself only as
Tonderai, from Headlands in
Manicaland province, said most farmers were
losing their hard-earned cash to
the cunning prostitutes, who sometimes work
in cahoots with male thieves.
He said some of the prostitutes went to the
extent of giving the farmers
accommodation and sexual favours first and
expected payment when the farmers
sold their tobacco.
“This is
happening everyday, commercial sex workers from the nearby areas
are
pouncing on farmers heavily and some are even providing shelter for
them,”
he said.
“Some of the commercial sex workers are even offering services
in credit
form and farmers pay after selling their tobacco. This is the
routine and
most farmers are losing money this way.”
The commercial
sex workers are charging between US$30 and US$50 per night
for both sex and
accommodation. Farmers are also falling victims to
prostitutes who throng
the nearby local bars and night clubs.
The environment during the day is
deceiving as it appears like everything is
normal, with farmers struggling
to book their bales due to the congestion at
the floors.
However,
during the night, the situation changes completely to that of moral
debauchery. Women that are skimpily dressed roam around the area targeting
the farmers.
Robbers also move around identifying and targeting those
farmers that would
have been paid.
Some of the prostitutes that have
flooded the auction floors also come from
other suburbs of Harare such as
Glen Norah, Epworth, Budiriro and Mufakose
while others travel from as far
as Chitungwiza, Murewa and Shamva.
Meanwhile, car and furniture dealers
at Glenview 8 Complex have hiked their
prices by over 50%, as they try to
make a killing from farmers.
One of the furniture dealers, Thomas
Mutseyekwa said they made the most of
their profits during the tobacco
selling season because farmers were
impulsive buyers.
“This is our
time to make money. the farmers are obsessed with buying
whatever they want
here without considering the prices,” he said.
“They have a lot of money
and they don’t bother negotiating prices. Most
dealers here have hiked
prices and business is going well.”
Mutseyekwa said a bed which used to
cost US$150 each, was now going for
US$280.
“I have sold more than
seven beds since the auction floors opened,” he said.
Car dealers have
also flooded the floors, hoping to sell their vehicles,
most of them
unroadworthy, at inflated prices.
Prostitutes, furniture and car dealers
also target farmers who sell their
crop at Tobacco Auction Floor Limited and
Premier Tobacco Auction Floors.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Community
News
PRESSURE is piling on government to ensure that villagers being
displaced by
the construction of the Tokwe-Mukosi dam in Masvingo get
compensation and
rehabilitation.
BY OUR STAFF
Affected villagers last
year formed the Tokwe-Mukosi People’s Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Trust
(TMPRRT) to co-ordinate the issue of compensation of
the 3 000 people that
are set to be displaced.
TMPRRT founder, Tasara Wam-ambo said the trust
wanted to facilitate a smooth
relocation to ensure the villagers are not
disadvantaged.
“We do not want people to expe-rience what happened with
the construction of
Kariba Dam, where villagers were stranded for over a
year, and could not
farm,” said Wamambo.
“Our wish is for the
villagers to lead normal lives as soon as possible and
to get some form of
compensation from the relocation.”
It is estimated that the construction
of Kariba dam forced the resettlement
of over 50 000 Tonga people living
along the Zambezi in both Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
Wamambo said the trust
held several meetings with the Zimbabwe National
Water Authority (Zinwa)
regarding the issue of water rights, to ensure that
locals would also
benefit from the dam.
“We have also discussed with local
telecommunication companies to assist
community members in development
projects,” he said.
The trust was formed in October last year to
represent families affected by
the construction of the dam and to safeguard
the community’s value and
resources.
“Life should not be hard for
these gallant people who have sacrificed their
land, developments,
relationships and culture,” said Wamambo.
“Their momentous sacrifice
allows for the development of the dam and the
nation. Thus the people need
to be treated in the best regard. By seeking to
re-establish them into the
new community, the people will not be
disadvantaged.”
Wamambo said
the displaced villagers would need compensation and
rehabilitation.
“Compensation on its own is not an end to people’s
problems. The people of
Tokwe-Mukosi need rehabilitation and since they are
giving up their land to
a massive economic development, payment of a lump
sum is not enough,” said
Wamambo.
“Where and how they will live
before their structures are in place, comes to
mind? Money is good, but in
the wrong hands, it will not do much. If we say
a house for a house, a
community for a community, relationship for a
relationship and a culture for
a culture; money cannot provide all this.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Business
ZIMBABWE is
ruing the missed opportunity to showcase what it offers ahead of
the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly
mee-ting in
August after failing to capitalise on the world’s leading travel
fair that
ended on Sunday in Germany.
Report by Ndamu Sandu
Zimbabwe and
Zambia are co-hosting the event from August 24 to 29.
While the official
line has been that Zimbabwe and Zambia are ready for the
UNWTO meeting,
there was nothing to show for it at the International Tourism
Bourse (ITB),
the must-attend show for serious tourism operators.
ITB is hosted
annually by Germany which is the number one generating country
in terms of
traffic. It is the number one source market in terms of
expenditure.
At
its peak, Zimbabwe used to receive 70 000 German tourists per year.
While
the banners showcased Zimbabwe as a world of wonders, there was
nothing on
display about the UNWTO meeting, the second time that such an
event had been
held in Africa.
What this means is that Zimbabwe has to go to the member
countries of the
UNWTO, a tall figure considering the cash constraints of
the inclusive
government.
Zimbabwe’s delegation was not as strong as
it should have been, with senior
government officials
missing.
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi was absent attending the African
Travel
Association, where he is the president.
Permanent secretary in
the ministry, Margaret Sangarwe joined the delegation
during the course of
the meeting as she had come in for another engagement
at
ITB.
Zimbabwe only had 11 exhibitors, a mockery considering that
companies had
been invited to exhibit for free.
In the past, the
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) wo-uld pay for a stand and
then charge
companies.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Business
ZIMBABWE and
Zambia have received positive responses from six airlines to
become partner
carriers for the 20th session of the United Nations World
Tourism
Organisation (UNWTO) meeting in August.
BY NDAMU SANDU
Zimbabwe
and Zambia co-host the UNWTO General Assembly meeting in Victoria
Falls and
Livingstone respectively from August 24 to 29.
The move to engage partner
airlines comes from the absence of players in
both countries that could
assume the role of official carriers.
The permanent secretary in the
Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry,
Margaret Sangarwe, told
Standardbusiness that the co-hosts had approached
South African Airways,
Kenya Airways, Ethiopian, British Airways, KLM and
Emirates to become
partner airlines.
“We have approached them [the carriers] to become
partner airlines and to
offer discounts to people coming for the general
assembly and we have had a
positive response from all of them,” Sangarwe
said.
An official carrier would fly into the UNWTO member countries
either by
themselves or through partnerships.
The UNWTO General
Assembly in Victoria Falls and Livingstone is seen as
Africa’s tourism World
Cup.
Authorities in both countries have already admitted that as an event
the
UNWTO meeting would not bring the desired benefits but hope capitalise
on
the successful hosting of the event.
While Zambia has allocated
funds for preparations, the situation is
different for Zimbabwe as
infighting in the inclusive government poses a
serious threat to the
co-hosting of a successful meeting.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in
Business
VICE-President Joice Mujuru visits the Chisumbanje ethanol
project on
Wednesday alongside other Zanu PF heavyweights piling up pressure
on the
inter-ministerial committee to speed up the reopening of the
plant.
BY NDAMU SANDU
Mujuru will be accompanied by Zanu PF
national party chairperson Simon
Khaya-Moyo, secretary for administration
Didymus Mutasa and Commissar
Webster Shamu.
The visit comes more than a
week after cabinet approved a roadmap for the
new ownership of the
plant.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the ownership of the
Chisumbanje ethanol
project was recently approved by cabinet and now waits
scrutiny from the
Attorney General’s office, raising hopes the plant would
resume operations
soon.
The agreement would effectively give
government a 51% shareholding in the
ethanol plant with the remainder owned
by Billy Rautenbach’s companies.
Initially, the project was a 20-year
Build,Operate and Transfer between the
Agricultural Rural Development
Authority (Arda) and Rautenbach’s Ratings and
Macdom.
State
Enterprises and Parastatals minister Gorden Moyo told Standardbusiness
last
week that the inter-ministerial committee had presented its report to
cabinet and a MOA would be signed between government and the
developer.
Moyo said the MOA would go to the AG’s office to check on the
legal
implications.
“We have moved and the project is on its way
back,” Moyo said.
Sources said last week that the developer was becoming
impatient at the slow
pace at which the inter-ministerial committee was
moving.
Standardbusiness was told last week the inter-ministerial
committee had
ditched some of the recommendations proposed by the consultant
on the way
forward for the plant.
Sources said that government wants
shareholding in the venture but do not
want to inject capital into the
project for phases two and three.
Phase two requires US$300 million while
phase three’s capital requirements
are in excess of US$1,2
billion.
Standardbusiness was told that government is saying that its
contribution to
the project is the land owned by Arda.
It is
understood that government has proposed that the new company should
have
seven board members with government contributing four with the
remainder
being provided by Billy Rautenbach’s companies.
Government also wants
Rautenbach to appoint the managing director of the
venture. But they also
want to be given the mandate to appoint a finance
director.
Sources
said government has also proposed that the board should oversee the
day-to-day running of the project, an affront to corporate
governance.
Experts say the introduction of a 5% mandatory blending for
petrol would
save US$2 million monthly in imports.
The country imports at
least 30 million litres of petrol per month.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Editorial,
Opinion
The 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women took
place at the
United Nations headquarters in New York from March 4-15. The UN
Women
Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director Michelle Bachelet
declared:
“Gender equality must become a lived
reality”.
International Women’s Day has quietly come and gone, without
appearing on
many people’s radar. My mind struggles to imagine the day that
the line
between men and women would become less distinct, perhaps even
blurry, to
the point where true equality, not only in name or on paper, is
our reality.
Although we have made tremendous strides in the female
struggle towards
gender equality, there is much more to be done. The UN
along with the
African Union declared 2010-2020 the “African Women’s
Decade”. It’s
encouraging to see that steps are being taken towards
equality; however the
pace is disheartening. Unicef’s 2012 report announced
that “if current child
marriage rates continue, more than 140 million girls
will have become child
brides by 2020. Of the 140 million girls, 50 million
will be under the age
of 15”.
Gender inequality affects all aspects
of society. It is a key driver in the
HIV pandemic. The UNAids 2012 report
revealed that HIV is the leading cause
of death for women of reproductive
age. In sub-Saharan Africa 59% of all
people living with HIV are
women.
Women still struggle to gain control of their bodies. The World
Health
Organisation reported between 15-71% of women aged between 15 and 49
have
reported physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner at some
point in
their lives.
This reveals that the problem isn’t solely
strangers in a dark alley or
convicts. Inequality is rampant within the home
and a large degree of
violence towards women occurs at the hands of a loved
one.
Global reports and statistics show that violence against women is
universal
irrespective of income, class, culture and race. A UN report says
one in
three women will experience violence in their lifetime, while one in
four
women worldwide is physically or sexually assaulted while pregnant.
Women
and girls make up 80% of the estimated 800 000 people trafficked
across
borders. The plight of women is cross-cultural and transcends
borders.
Although the UN is working tirelessly to assist the female
struggle, there
is still much to be done. The United Nations Development
Programme 2012
report reveals that two thirds of the global illiterate
population is women.
In some parts of the world, a girl is more likely to be
raped than learn how
to read. Every year 60 million girls are assaulted at
or on their way to
school.
It’s haunting that these statistics are
only a portion of the grandmothers,
mothers and daughters that have been
assaulted. There are millions of
stories of abuse that have yet to be heard,
numbers that are yet to be
recorded and people that are yet to be
reached.
As women’s day has come and gone, I struggle to grasp its
significance. Is
it merely a condescending slap in the face, one day out of
365 set aside
specifically for women that isn’t made a public
holiday?
Or is it meant to be a day of celebration, when we review the
momentous
strides the female struggle has overcome? It’s tempting to be
seduced into
celebrating, but in the same moment you can pick up the
newspaper and merely
glance over the numerous stories of rape, female
genital mutilation and
abuse of women throughout our country and continent.
Violence against women
and girls remains clearly pervasive within the
world.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Opinion
Since the formation
of the Government of National Unity in 2008, it has been
a clear and
deliberate policy of President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF to hold
onto power
despite popular domestic opposition.
Despite the massive amounts of
violence, harassment, and intimidation that
was, and continues to be,
inflicted upon opposition supporters and civil
society, countervailing
opinions remain strong and vocal. While several
public opinion surveys over
the course of the past year show an increase in
support for Zanu PF and
sometimes significant declines in support for Morgan
Tsvangirai’s MDC, many
experts nonetheless concede that the country’s
liberation party is not in a
favourable electoral position. In fact, it
seems the only manner in which
Zanu PF can feasibly win is if the election
environment is once again marred
by violence and by means of malfeasance
by-election.
While the
disarray in Zimbabwe is often explained or otherwise viewed
through the
prism of political affiliation, it is important to note the
severe social
cleavages and tensions that currently exist.
Mugabe, in collusion with
Zanu PF hardliners in the military, security
sector and the police, have
expertly perceived and exaggerated threats to
national security, driving
them to abridge civil liberties and human rights.
Civic leaders and
opposition political figures who challenge Mugabe’s
dictatorial directives
are often branded “enemies of the state” and “agents
of regime
change”.
These labels, in effect, allow state security agents to act with
impunity,
often arresting leaders on spurious grounds and using repressive
legislation
to stifle peaceful assembly, association, and freedom of
expression.
The heinous acts perpetrated by Zanu PF — and its affiliated
militias and
“war veterans” — fit neatly into the party’s liberation
ideology, a
continuation of the narrative used by Mugabe to ostensibly
safeguard the
country from the imperial and neocolonial impulses of the
West. Most
recently, this rationale has been used by the country’s partisan
police to
“ban” shortwave radios, which are allegedly used to incite
violence and
peddle foreign propaganda.
A number of prominent civic
organisations, including Radio Dialogue and
Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP),
have been raided and a number of radios were
confiscated to limit access to
independent media.
Zimbabwe is in the midst of an uncertain transition,
where most institutions
of the government remain unreformed. Zanu PF
continues to run roughshod over
and dominate important ministerial
portfolios, including local government,
defence, the police, the security
sector and mining.
This toxic combination has, in effect, created a
parallel government in
which Zanu PF, partly due to enormous windfalls from
diamond and natural
resource revenue, has been allowed to control vital
levers of power in the
country.
What is more, Zanu PF has recently
installed party stalwarts and long-time
supporters to oversee important
institutions, including the ZEC and the
Human Rights Commission (HRC). The
previous director of the HRC resigned in
December 2012 due to the lack of a
clear mandate, requisite funding and
buy-in from political
elites.
Overall, the dire human rights problems in Zimbabwe are attributable
to a
climate of violence that has been fostered and perpetuated by the
ruling
elite within Zanu PF. Major institutions of the state are part of the
problem, not the solution.
In public, Zanu PF frames their hold on
power as necessary to protect
against an inevitable neocolonial onslaught,
while in private it is their
desire to protect amassed wealth and shield
themselves from criminal
prosecution that underlies aspirations to rule in
perpetuity.
While there is an impressive level of political direction and
assertiveness
by ordinary citizens, public interest groups and human rights
defenders, the
Mugabe regime has ably kept these social forces in check.
Over the course of
the past several months, a concerted and unsurprising
crackdown on civil
society has caused organisations to be largely on the
defensive, with police
break-ins, raids, and arrests commonplace throughout
the country. The human
rights situation will likely deteriorate further, as
activists — and
opposition supporters alike — will continue to encounter a
parallel
government that is bolstered by an impunity infrastructure,
comprising the
country’s most violent, increasingly affluent and wholly
unaccountable
individuals. For these reasons, regional and international
engagement is
necessary in the immediate term, including advocating for and
securing
international election monitors and peacekeepers well in advance of
scheduled elections.
— swradioafrica.com
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Editorial, Opinion
We voted
“YES”, but it’s NO time to celebrate the new Constitution yet.
REPORT BY
NEVANJI MADANHIRE
In giving the new charter the nod, Zimbabweans said it
didn’t matter that
the constitution-making process was half-people driven
and
half-political-principals driven. Zimbabweans have reached a stage where
they have seen the futility of entrenched positions and have seen the
life-giving properties of compromise.
The constitution-making process
and yesterday’s referendum were but two
minuscule steps in a complex
progression that must now move into its most
difficult phase, hence there is
need for cautious optimism.
By so fervently participating in the outreach
programme, the drafting and
the referendum, Zimbabweans have shown that they
are agreed on the
importance of having a supreme law of the land, but are
they also agreed
that they should uphold it? Therein sits the crux of the
matter!
Our belief in constitutional government means that the principles
or
practice of government must be regulated by a constitution. This belief
is
also called constitutionalism and it is the reason behind all the
excitement
around yesterday’s referendum. But constitutionalism by
definition presents
its own problems particularly in a country such as
Zimbabwe which has been
ruled by a dictatorship for over three decades,
which dictatorship is so
well-entrenched its edifice is not about to
collapse in one go, any time
soon.
“Constitutionalism is the idea,
often associated with the political theories
of John Locke and the
‘founders’ of the American republic, and equated with
the concept of regula
iuris [the Rule of Law], that government can and
should be legally limited
in its powers, and that its authority depends on
enforcing these
limitations.”
A day after the vote, do we feel that the constitution we
voted for legally
limits our present government’s or our future governments’
powers?
When scholars debate constitutions, they inevitably reference
their
arguments on the Magna Carta, a 13th century document written by
feudal
lords forcing the King of England to limit his power and protect
their
privileges. Although it was a selfish document by the feudal lords —
it
sought to protect only their liberties and rights, not those of the
common
people and serfs — the Magna Carta has been immortalised by two
clauses that
still form the basis of almost all constitutions
today.
“No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised [to deprive
somebody
wrongfully of possession of land], outlawed, banished, or in any
way
destroyed, nor will we proceed against or prosecute him, except by the
lawful judgement of his peers and by the law of the land.”
“To no one
will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay, right or justice.”
British
lawyer and judge, Lord Denning (January 23 1899 – March 5 1999),
described
it as “the greatest constitutional document of all time — the
foundation of
the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority
of the
despot”.
It was also described as “an important symbol for those who
wished to show
that the King [read president] was bound by the
law.”
Does our new constitution ensure that the president is bound by the
law?
During the decade of Zimbabwe’s political crisis, the country saw
how
governmental institutions were subverted to serve certain political
interests. Beginning with the judiciary it was seen how noncompliant judges
were systematically removed and replaced by those who were ready to pander
to the whim of a certain political party. The independence of the judiciary
was therefore irreparably compromised.
The security sector was
emasculated in a similar way, with leaders being
appointed not necessarily
on merit but on their willingness to defend the
system. Because of this, we
saw security services chiefs openly becoming
political in a way that denied
the common people their rights of peaceful
assembly, association, and
freedom of expression. The people were denied
their democratic right to
freely elect who they wished to be ruled by
through intimidation and open
coercion by the uniformed forces. Security
chiefs were ready to subvert
civilian authority!
Property rights were subverted without recourse;
police said they would not
interfere in political issues even when they
amounted to criminality. In
other words, there was no rule of law, which is
what constitutions are all
about.
The new charter doesn’t limit
presidential powers; either of the incumbent
or whoever is elected in the
next elections that should come in the next few
months. The president
retains the power to appoint all important players in
the state which makes
them answerable solely to him.
Under the new constitution, in addition to
appointments made under other
statutes, the President will appoint: the
Vice-Presidents, all ministers,
the cabinet, permanent secretaries,
ambassadors and diplomats, Judges, the
Attorney-General, the
Prosecutor-General, the Auditor-General, all
commissioners to all
commissions; the Citizenship and Immigration Board,
Traditional Chiefs, and
the heads of all Security Services. [Research and
Advocacy Unit]
This is
what the president has always done and we saw how this was
problematic
during the political crisis.
The new constitution lamely stipulates that
appointments “to offices in all
tiers of government including government
institutions and agencies and
government-controlled entities and other
public enterprises, must be made
primarily on the basis of merit”. But merit
is not clearly defined, making
it impossible to put in place any checks and
balances. In the past decade we
have seen how being a war veteran has
cynically been made an important
qualification for public office ahead of
academic achievement and
experience. Often we have also seen nepotism and
tribalism come into play.
Clearly the new constitution does not
unequivocally make the statement that
the president is bound by the law!
This will be a source of strife both in
the near and the distant future as
people’s liberties are subverted by
presidents with dictatorial tendencies.
In the next few weeks, Zimbabwe will
watch with bated breath how the new
constitution withstands the test of a
watershed election in which civil
liberties will be the majority’s battle
cry. Will civil liberties be
respected when there has not been a concomitant
security sector reform; when
state institutions are still so intractably
compromised?
When King
John affixed his signature onto the Magna Carta on June 15 1215,
he averted
a looming civil war, but when 10 weeks later Pope Innocent III
nullified the
agreement, England plunged into internal war; this just shows
how strong the
people’s desire for liberty is and the extent to which they
are prepared to
go to fight for it.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
March 17, 2013 in Opinion
The late
decorated freedom fighter Josiah Magama Tongogara must be turning
in his
grave.
As Zimbabweans voted yesterday, his daughter Sukai was in hiding,
unable to
freely take part in the process to either endorse or reject a
draft
constitution that will pave way for fresh elections.
With the
police from the Law and Order section hunting for her, the general
manager
in charge of investigations at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission
(Zacc) was in hiding.
Her crime was daring to investigate suspected
underhand dealings at the
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, National
Indigenisation and
Empowerment Board and Zinara.
Carrying the Zacc
mandate, she sought a High Court order to investigate
these institutions and
the line ministers. That move, which was a noble
thing to do, triggered a
backlash from politicians bent on stopping the
commission from unearthing
corruption at public institutions.
Police swooped on Zacc offices and
Home Affairs co-minister Kembo Mohadi
recalled Ngonidzashe Gumbo, the Chief
Executive Officer, from the
commission.
These events of the past week
culminating in Zacc officials going into
hiding show that Zimbabwe is still
far from the society that Tongogara
sacrificed his life for.
If
Tongogara were alive today, he would have been proud of his daughter and
her
colleagues’ efforts to rid Zimbabwe of corruption. He would have been
disappointed by those seeking to stop Zacc from investigating the corrupt
members of the society.
But the reality is that Zimbabwe remains an
unjust and corrupt society where
those who loot public coffers get
protection from the police.
President Robert Mugabe himself is aware that
some members of his inner
circle are corrupt to the core.
At one time
he threatened to fire corrupt ministers, some of whom allegedly
asked for
bribes of up to US$10 million from potential foreign investors.
Mugabe’s
threat to weed out corruption will remain empty as long as those
crusading
against corruption are treated like criminals, and those who loot
public
resources are protected.
We challenge Mugabe to stop the onslaught
against Sukai and her colleagues
and allow the body to investigate all cases
of graft regardless of the
positions of the suspects.
