http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Mar 21, 2011, 16:32
GMT
Harare - China on Monday signed about 700 million dollars in loan
agreements
with Zimbabwe, with the visiting vice premier requesting
President Robert
Mugabe's government to protect Chinese
businesses.
'We hope Zimbabwe will protect the legitimate right of
Chinese businesses in
the country,' said Chinese Vice Premier Wang
Qishan.
China supports Harare's moves to increase business ownership by
Zimbabweans,
he said, but urged the government not to tamper with Chinese
investments.
Zimbabwe's two-year-old fragile coalition government is divided
over the
plan to nationalize foreign-owned companies.
Speaking about
the loan, Zimbabwean Vice President Joice Mujuru said the
money would be
used for priority areas such as agriculture, health and water
systems.
This was the biggest recent loan package for Zimbabwe, which
has been
shunned by the west for its failure to service its external debt of
about 7
billion dollars.
Beijing has stood by Zimbabwe while the west
shuns Mugabe, citing the
long-term leader's poor human rights record. In
2008, China vetoed a UN
Security Council resolution seeking sanctions
against Harare.
Chinese companies have made inroads in Zimbabwe
especially in the
construction industry. Later Monday, the Chinese vice
premier was expected
to meet separately with Mugabe and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.
http://af.reuters.com
Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:12am
GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said on
Monday that
China supported Zimbabwe's drive for local people to own
majority stakes in
foreign firms but urged the government not to tamper with
Chinese
investments.
"China understands the need for indigenisation
and empowerment but we hope
Zimbabwe will protect the legitimate right of
Chinese businesses in the
country," Wang said at a briefing with Zimbabwean
Vice-President Joice
Mujuru.
http://www.radiovop.com/
21/03/2011
17:20:00
Harare, March 11, 2011 - Six of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces face
severe food
shortages, and the government has ordered the country's grain
marketing
board (GMB) to send grain to the affected areas, a state daily
said on
Monday.
"The GMB is holding on to 270 000 metric tons and
have to start helping our
people," Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told The
Herald newspaper.
Zimbabwe needs an estimated 2.2 million tonnes of maize
each year.
A government crop assessment carried out in January found that
the country
had more than two million hectares of maize planted, up from 1.8
million
last year, and was expecting to harvest 1.7 million
tonnes.
The United Nations has appealed for $415m to feed 1.7 million
people this
year until the harvest starts in May.
This year Zimbabwe
received normal rains at the beginning of the year, but
some crops have been
written off following a dry spell between February and
March.
Since
2000, the southern African nation has faced successive years of food
shortages that coincided with controversial land reforms launched by
long-time President Robert Mugabe to seize nearly 4 000 white-owned farms
for redistribution to landless blacks.
The programme has combined
with poor rains and shortages of seed and
fertiliser to force a country once
considered the breadbasket of the region
to depend on food aid. - AFP
http://af.reuters.com
Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:39pm
GMT
* No money to get food to 1.7 million who need it
-minister
* Zimbabwe has 270,000 tonnes of grain reserves, he
says
* All due to be sold in affected areas, he tells Herald
* Six
of country's 10 provinces experiencing severe drought
HARARE, March 21
(Reuters) - Zimbabwe does not have the money to transport
food aid to areas
experiencing acute shortages, Agriculture Minister Joseph
Made said on
Monday.
The country wants to send its entire 270,000 tonnes of grain
reserves to
provinces that are worst hit by drought and where 1.7 million
people need
aid, but the Grain Marketing Board had no money to do so he told
the
state-owned Herald newspaper.
"The directive was given by cabinet
two weeks ago," Made was quoted as
saying.
Zimbabwe's drought has
left six of its 10 provinces facing serious food
shortages, the Herald
said.
The southern African country, once a regional bread basket, has
failed to
feed itself since 2000, following President Robert Mugabe's
seizure of
white-owned commercial farms to resettle landless blacks, leading
to sharp
falls in production.
Made told Reuters last Thursday that
the government is carrying out a crop
assessment programme but would not
discuss the extent of the drought.
Combined estimates by the Zimbabwe
Vulnerability Assessment Committee, the
United Nations Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO) and the World Food
Programme said about 1.7 million
people out of its population of 12 million
would need food
aid.
Zimbabwe suffered a prolonged dry spell between February and March
leading
to crop failure in several provinces, the government-controlled
Herald said.
Masvingo, Manicaland, Midlands, Matabeleland North and South
provinces are
the worst affected, the newspaper said.
China lent
Zimbabwe $700 million on Monday. At the same time, Chinese Vice
Premier Wang
Qishan emphasised on a visit to Harare that he hoped Chinese
businesses
would be protected from the mineral rich southern African country
plans to
increase ownership by black Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe expected to harvest
about 1.7 million tonnes of grain in 2011, up
from FAO estimates of 1.3
million tonnes in 2010 season and 1.2 million
tonnes the season
before.
"Most of the maize crop was at vegetative growth stages and in a
fair to
good condition. This positive crop production outlook has been
halted by low
rainfall activities for most of February in most parts of the
country," the
U.S. Agency for International Development's famine
early-warning systems
network said on its website.
"The southern half
of the country appears most affected, having experienced
a dry spell of
close to 20 days by late February," it said.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance
Guma
21 March 2011
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party was forced
to postpone to next week
Sunday a planned peace rally at the Glamis Stadium
in Harare, after ZANU PF
youths and riot police camped at the venue and beat
up party supporters who
tried to attend.
Close to 15 people were
admitted to hospital with serious injuries while
three are said to have been
abducted and taken away in ZANU PF trucks. Our
correspondent Simon Muchemwa
witnessed some of the violence, telling us ZANU
PF youths undressed a woman
who was passing by, leaving her naked.
“Unsuspecting members of the
public were battered with heavy logs, metal
bars and whips, for merely
passing through the area. Apart from the vicious
beatings, several residents
said they were robbed of varying amounts of
cash, stripped of their
valuables, shoes and clothing,” the MDC-T said in a
statement.
The
police and youths “assaulted innocent civilians who were passing by the
venue, especially those wearing red T-shirts, on allegations that they are
MDC activists,” the MDC-T added. There were fears for the welfare of one
person hit over the head with a log, with eyewitnesses saying it was
doubtful he would survive.
When some of the MDC went to the police
station to report the assaults, an
Inspector Dembedza at Harare Central
allegedly told them to leave and go
back to face their assailants.
The
rally had been banned after ZANU PF claims that they had also booked a
venue
500 metres away from the planned MDC-T peace rally. Police said this
could
lead to violence. But no such ZANU PF function took place. The MDC-T
sought
an urgent High Court injunction for their rally to proceed but, this
was
turned down.
Justice George Chiweshe, who presided over the electoral
commission that
cooked figures in favour of Mugabe in the 2008 presidential
election, was
the same judge who threw out the MDC-T court
application.
Meanwhile several hundred kilometers away in Marondera, ZANU
PF thugs closed
down all the shops and beer halls in the Rujeko suburb,
ordering people to
attend the signing of the so-called anti-sanctions
petition.
Similar bullying was reported in Mutare over the weekend where
Muchemwa said
there was violence in the eastern town of Mutare as ZANU PF
again forced
people to attend their rally and sign the anti-sanctions
petition. “Loads of
trucks were seen passing by the Christmas pass leading
into town just before
the violence erupted,” he said.
In Bindura
white commercial farmers were paraded in front of people at the
anti-sanctions rally in the mining town. According to Muchemwa the farmers
were forced to sign the anti-sanctions petition.
The MDC-T also
reports that Luckmore Chida, its District Chairperson for
Sanyati, plus two
other officials, were on Friday afternoon picked up by the
police and held
at Kadoma Central police station. The charges are still not
known.
The Daily News meanwhile reports that heavily armed soldiers
are being
deployed in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. In the
eighties the two
provinces witnessed the Gukurahundi Massacres, after
Mugabe’s elite 5th
Brigade troops massacred close to 20 000 people,
perceived to be backing the
opposition ZAPU.
The deployment of the
troops is said to be a deliberate tactic to intimidate
villagers by reviving
memories of the atrocities. The Daily News reported a
“steady incursion of
armed troops into Nkayi, Zvishavane, Plumtree, Gwanda,
Rutenga, Mwenezi and
Ngungumbane areas” and increased incidents of
intimidation.
An
example of how the army is now showing no regard for the rule of law in
any
area was to be found in Harare recently, when 22 Zimbabwe National Army
officers from the Mounted Unit Regiment at Inkomo Barracks, ransacked a
lodge. They raped two women in the process and stole money from guests. Two
soldiers appeared in court charged with rape while 20 others are still at
large.
FROM THE ZIMBABWE
VIGIL
Zimbabweans
demonstrate in London against violence – 21st March
2010
Zimbabwean exiles in
the UK and supporters demonstrated outside the Zimbabwean Embassy and the South
African High Commission in London on Monday in protest at the growing violence
as Mugabe’s Zanu PF prepares for new elections.
The demonstrations
were organized by the MDC UK and were supported by other groups including the
Zimbabwe Vigil, Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe
Association and Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) the successor organization to
the Anti-Apartheid Movement.
Outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy prominent demonstrators included members of the Haldane Society of
Socialist Lawyers who demanded the release of six Zimbabwean activists on trial
for treason for watching a video about the uprising in
Egypt.
Amid drumming and
singing, over a hundred demonstrators outside nearby South Africa House carried
banners reading ‘Zuma where is our road map?’, ‘Blood on Zuma’s hands’, Mugdafi
stop selective justice now’, ‘Zuma publish election dossier now’, ‘AU act now’,
‘Zanu PF game is up’, ‘Mugabe stop torture, false arrests’, ‘Bloody SADC where
are you? – wake up’, ‘Chihuru, Chiwenga, Shiri – Hague is waiting’, ‘Bloody Zuma
– ungunthakathi’ and ‘No violence in Zim? Ask Gwisai’.
A deputation was sent
to the Home Office to deliver a petition protesting at new moves to send home
failed Zimbabwe asylum seekers.
The MDC UK’s Interim
Organising Secretary Jeff Sango said: ‘We
realise that the situation in Zimbabwe is not getting any better. We thought the
government of national unity was going to change things, but we see an
escalation where Mugabe and ZANU PF are very keen on not having a proper road
map and free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.’ (See: http://www.swradioafrica.com/news210311/zimsprot210311.htm).
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
http://www.radiovop.com
21/03/2011 11:55:00
Harare, March
21, 2011 – South African President Jacob Zuma has appointed a
new ambassador
to Zimbabwe, Vusi Mavimbela.
Diplomatic sources told VOP on Monday
Mavimbela is due to start his mission
in Harare on Friday 25 March,
2011.
He replaces Mlungisi Makhalima whose tour of duty diplomatic
sources said
has come to an end.
Makhalima has been Zuma’s point-man
in Harare for the past two years as the
South African leader battled to find
a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.
Mavimbela comes at a time when tension
is high in the government of national
unity as President Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Tsvangirai wrestle for
power.
President Mugabe refused
the premier permission to hold a star rally in
Harare over the weekend,
further confirming fissures within the coalition
government. Zuma's
facilitation team is due back in Harare this week in what
weekend papers
claimed was meant to diffuse tension in the power-sharing
arrangement
following heavy regional lobbying by the Prime Minister.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Staff Reporter
Monday, 21 March 2011
06:29
CHITUNGWIZA - Zimbabwean police on Sunday prohibited the MDC led by
Prof
Welshman Ncube (Pictured) from campaigning for the upcoming
presidential
election in Chitungwiza. Riot police violently ejected MDC
supporters from
the Unit L Hall just after the arrival of Ncube and the
party's top
leadership. Despite remonstrations by the MDC-N, police ordered
everyone to
disperse. This election therefore cannot be free and fair, says
MDC-N Youth
Assembly spokesperson Discent Collins Bajila.
After almost 31
years in power, President Robert Mugabe, 87, is making every
effort to stay
in power. His brutal crackdown on the opposition includes
implicit
government approval of violence against opposition activists and
use of the
largely partisan top echelons of the police force to scilence any
dissent.
His actions have been widely condemned by the international
community. MDC-N
spokesperson Kurauone Chohwayi said : "People have been
beaten, others
hospitalised and our deputy organising secretary Laison
Mushonga has been
arrested."
Mushonga was arrested after taking pictures
of riot police beating up MDC
supporters. Mugabe has mobilised boisterous
youth, similar to the Hitler
Youth, to support his Zanu PF party.
The MDC
blamed the police of disrupting its meetings and rallies in advance
of the
upcoming presidential elections. It said ruling party militants,
including
youth militias, have already disrupted its campaign rallies in
Harare.
Under draconian security laws, police must be informed of
arrangements for
rallies four days in advance. Collaboration between police
and official
youth service members gave militants enough time to plan
disruptions and
intimidate residents in areas around rally venues, according
to the MDC.
http://www.sabcnews.com/
March 21 2011 ,
5:43:00
Hundreds of Zimbabwean nationals marched through the streets
of Johannesburg
today calling for an end to human rights violations back
home. This as South
Africa celebrated National Human Rights
Day.
Among the demands of the protestors, they want six of their
countrymen who
were recently arrested for treason to be freed and the
charges dropped.
Organiser of the march Riaad Desai says: "We are seeing
more and more people
over the last few weeks going before the courts by the
police charged with
treason, a charge which will lead to death penalty in
Zimbabwe." They also
want President Robert Mugabe to step
down.
Socks Chikuwero fled Zimbabwe in 2001, after being arrested 11
times for
treason. He says he was tortured and that he has seen many of his
countrymen
die at the hands of police. "We want to warn all the dictators
that what is
happening in the Middle East and east Africa is going to come
to southern
Africa and when it comes Zimbabwe is not spared, when it comes
Swaziland is
not spared."
Protesters have also backed calls for a
probe into the mass graves unearthed
at a mine in Harare. Human remains were
discovered last week at a shaft in
Mount Darwin.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
Mar 19, 2011 1:55 PM | By SUNDAY TIMES
CORRESPONDENT
Attorney General Johannes Tomana faces a government inquiry
into allegations
that he corruptly used his office to shield four close
allies from being
prosecuted.
The move is likely to worsen
relations in Zimbabwe's shaky inclusive
government.
Deputy minister
of Justice, Obert Gutu told the Sunday Times after studying
the Transparency
International Zimbabwe (TIZ) report, which documented
Tomana's alleged role
in helping clear the four in court, he was left with
no option but to call
for an inquiry.
In the report, Tomana is accused of corruptly using his
office to shield
former deputy minister Bright Matonga, gold dealer Patrick
Mavros, Charles
Nherera and Beauty Basile from being prosecuted for
different crimes.
Gutu, who is also member of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), said he will prepare a
formal request to Tsvangirai
to take up the issue with the cabinet, and
thereafter an inquiry will be
instituted.
"In my humble opinion, that
report concerns serious matters which go to the
root of the functionality
and capacity of the attorney general," Gutu said.
"Let me hasten to add
that this is not a political issue, because the
attorney general's office is
a critical constitutional office. The people of
Zimbabwe should have total
trust and confidence in whoever occupies that
office...
"It is just a
matter concerning the suitability of an individual to hold the
very
important constitutional office of the attorney general."
Tomana was
controversially appointed attorney general in 2008 - and his
appointment is
one of the outstanding issues in the Global Political
Agreement (GPA). The
report titled, "Johannes Tomana's Reign as Attorney
General of Zimbabwe - A
Trail of Questionable Decisions 2011", is set to be
tabled before the
cabinet next week.
Tomana has declined to comment in the media, but is
fighting back.
Last week he is said to have forced publishers of a local
daily newspaper to
retract a report quoting the TIZ report.
The
editors of the paper responded by carrying a full page story dismissing
the
TIZ report as fake in a bid to avoid being arrested. Insiders at the
newspaper said there were threats of arrest against the reporters who
covered the story, the editors and the publisher.
"The newspaper was
forced to defend Tomana because they had been threatened
with arrest. That
is why they dedicated the whole page virtually dismissing
the report as fake
and telling the world that they had been misled," said an
insider.
But the TIZ insists the report was accurate and said it
still wanted to see
the controversial Tomana being probed.
TIZ
programme co-coordinator John Maketo said: "TIZ notes and appreciates
the
independence of the office of the attorney general. However, the manner
in
which Mr Tomana handled the cases referred in the report points to
serious
abuse of office on his part."
Ministers from the MDC insisted the Tomana
issue would be tabled before the
cabinet and thereafter a cabinet inquiry
might be opened.
But the move is likely to face stiff resistance from
Zanu-PF.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Monday, 21 March
2011 17:12
HARARE - Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo has
fired two Harare
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) councillors who were
investigating him
for alleged fraudulent acquisition of prime land in Harare
City.
Elected councillors Warship Dumba and Casper Takura were fired
on Monday,
with Chombo accusing them of dishonesty, fraud and mismanagement
of council
funds by a probe team appointed by the minister.
Dumba and
Takura have vowed to fight for their ‘democratic’ right in the
courts,
saying the minister’s action was meant to silence them after they
exposed
him in the land scam.
Dumba said the minister was trying to ensure that
they do not further expose
his illegal land grabs across the country. He
said they reported the filthy
rich minister to the police for amassing more
than 100 stand and properties
in most urban areas of the country.
“We
knew that he was going to fire us and we have been waiting for this
opportunity to approach the courts of law,” Dumba said.
“It is just
disappointing to note that we have been fired by a criminal,
this is like
calling Satan to investigate Christians.”
“We will seek the intervention
of the High Court to ensure that our rights
and the will of residents are
respected.”
Chombo has been fighting with MDC councillors throughout the
country and the
expulsion of the two, comes at a time when Bindura Mayor
Tinashe Madamombe
is fighting charges of corruption unearthed by another
probe team appointed
by the minister.
The Harare investigating team
was chaired by one Andrew Makoni whom Dumba
described as a Zanu PF
apologist.
“Makoni is actually a member of Zanu PF and holds an
influential position in
Manicaland province,” Dumba said.
“If justice
is to prevail, the probe team must also be investigated because
there is
high suspicion that they could actually be beneficiaries of the
illegal land
acquired by Chombo.”
http://www.radiovop.com/
21/03/2011 11:59:00
Harare,
March 21, 2011 – Welshman Ncube’s smaller faction of the Movement
for
Democratic Change (MDC) has resolved not to contest the controversial
vacant
post of Speaker of the House of Assembly.
The Supreme Court two weeks ago
declared the post vacant which for the past
two years has been held by
Morgan Tsvangirai's (MDC -T) national chairman
Lovemore Ncube, vacant,
citing irregularities in the manner his election was
held in
2008.
The Supreme Court ruling sparked a jostle from Zanu (PF) and the
two MDC
formations with reports that President Robert Mugabe’s party wants
to field
its national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo, Tsvangirai's MDC, the
dethroned Moyo
while Ncube’s MDC had suggested Paul Themba Nyathi, the
party’s director of
elections.
But insiders of the smaller MDC
faction told Radio VOP on Monday it had been
infamously resolved to stay
away from the election in which the party was
viewed as the king-maker for
the post.
Kuraone Chihwayi, the deputy spokesman for the small MDC
faction confirmed
to Radio VOP on Monday that the party had decided over the
weekend not to
field a candidate for the position of Speaker of
Parliament.
“That position is correct,” said Chihwayi. “The party has
decided to make a
strategic retreat in as far as the contest for speakership
is concerned. The
decision was reached after wide internal consultations,”
he said, adding
that his party had some more serious political business to
pursue than to
fight for speakership.
“We have decided to leave the
issue of speakership to MDC T and Zanu (PF) to
fight for the position
although we had presented a candidate who commands
respect from both MDC-T
and Zanu (PF). We are not partnering anyone in this
contest.”
Zanu
(PF) and the MDC-T are understood to be tied at 96-96 members each,
leaving
the parties to fight for support from the seven legislators from the
small
MDC faction.
It is understood the MDC T has managed to cajole at least
three of the MDC N
law-makers to vote for the former speaker when elections
for the post are
called, possibly on Tuesday.
http://www.radiovop.com/
21/03/2011
11:56:00
Masvingo, March 21, 2011 – Hundreds of villagers who were
being ferried to
their homes after signing President Robert Mugabe's
anti-sanctions petition
are battling for their lives in Morgenster Mission
Hospital here after a
lorry which they were travelling in on Sunday morning
failed to negotiate a
corner and veered of the road before nose-diving into
Mudzviru river - some
25 kilometres away from Masvingo town.
Speaking
to Radio VOP, eye witnesses and those that had survived the
accident said
the lorry was not road worthy.
“We are lucky to be alive. The lorry was
...not road worthy. We had no
option besides using the lorry because we had
no money to return to our
homes,” said one of the accident
victims.
Others said the lorry was overloaded while some alleged the
driver was
drunk.
“We were overloaded, tens of us were just clinging
on the edges,” added one
of the victims.
The lorry was loaned to Zanu
(PF) by the party’s secretary for
administration here, Edmund
Mhere.
Mhere denied that his lorry was not road worthy.
“The fact
that the lorry managed to ferry them from their homes to Mucheke
yesterday
must tell you that it is road worthy. Accidents just happen no
matter how
good the vehicle might be,” Mhere said.
Masvingo provincial police
spokesperson Inspector Tinaye Matake could not be
reached for
comment.
“We were not passionate about signing that thing, we only wanted
to be seen
in good light by these Zanu (PF) people who usually beat us if we
fail to
comply with their directives,” said another villager who preferred
anonymity.
Mugabe launched the anti sanctions petition two weeks ago
in which he is
seeking millions of signatures to protest the targeted
sanctions imposed on
him and senior members of his party by the west. He
argues that the
sanctions are the cause of the current crisis in
Zimbabwe.
Last week the media was awash of reports of school children and
other
members of society being forced to sign the petition by Zanu (PF)
youths and
war veterans.
Mugabe has called for elections this year to
end the shaky two year
government coalition while Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) leader Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said an election should
only be held after a road
map by the Southern African Development Community
(SADC).
The South African President Jacob Zuma, who is the mediator in
Zimbabwe,
this week, sent his facilitators to Zimbabwe amid protests by
Tsvangirai's
MDC that the country has been plunged into a crisis through
violence
perpetrated by Zanu (PF) members and arbitrary arrests of MDC
officials on
trumped up charges.
http://www.radiovop.com
21/03/2011 11:54:00
Harare, March 21, 2011 -
The financially beleaguered National Social
Security Authority (NSSA) has
increased pension payouts from US 25 per month
to US$ 40.
This comes
after much and heated debate by pensioners that the payouts were
very
low.
The Minister of Labour and Social Services, Paulina Mpariwa,
approved the
increases by NSSA.
The new payouts will be backdated to
January 01.
Mpariwa said her ministry had consulted with the Worker's
Compensation
Insurance Scheme who had agreed to back-dated the increases to
January 1,
this year.
The ministry said the increases were currently
"being processed" for
everyone but would become effective in April.
Under
the National Pension Scheme (NPS) retirement pensions for those who
retired
during the worthless Zimbabwe dollar period would get US$40 monthly,
up from
the paltry US$25.
NSSA said survivors and invalidity pensions would now
go up from US$10 to
US$25 per month, while funeral grants remained at US$200
per member.
"Minimum retirement pensions under this scheme will be set at
US$40 per
month with effect from January 1, 2011," NSSA said in a statement
made
available to Radio VOP.
In terms of the Workers' Compensation
Insurance Scheme (WCIF) all work
injury pensions would be increased by 50
percent with effect from January 1,
2011.
The organisation said
minimum work injury pensions would be increased from
US$15 per month to
US$30 per month, which is a 100 percent increase much to
the delight of
cash-strapped citizens.
The pension society said minimum spouses pensions
would also shoot up from
US$10 per month to US$20 monthly with effect from
that date.
"Minimum children's and dependent's allowances are to be set
at US$10 per
month," NSSA said. "Funeral grants will, however, remain at
US$200 under the
WCIF.
NSSA said insurance premiums, on the other
hand, would be reduced by 20
percent across all industries with effect from
January 1, 2011.
"NSSA pensioners will receive pension payments at the
new rates on the
April, 2011 payroll including adjustments for the months of
January,
February, and March, 2011," NSSA told pensioners in its
statement.
The organisation had come under fire and has had various
management changes
due to alleged inefficiency with accusations of rampant
corruption levelled
against it.
http://www.idexonline.com/
(March 21,
'11, 4:10 Vinod Kuriyan)
In a decision that brought instant and strong
reactions from the United
States and the European Union, Kimberley Process
(KP) chairman Mathieu Lapfa
Lambang Yamba of the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) has allowed the
resumption of rough diamond exports from
Zimbabwe’s Mbada and Canadile
fields, including the exports of
stockpiles.
According to information received, the United States
has warned the UAE,
South Africa and India that it will publish the names of
those taking
delivery of these goods on its government website to ensure
that US
companies are aware of the fact that there might be KP-non-compliant
goods
in what their suppliers send them. It has also said that it would ask
the
Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers all US sanctions
procedures, to scrutinize these transactions.
The EU has
reportedly said that the decision was not taken through due
process and
therefore could not stand.
Sources told IDEX Online that the KP
chairman wrote to all participants and
observers, authorizing the immediate
resumption of exports from Mbada and
Canadile and that all unresolved issues
would be dealt with at the meeting
of the Working Group on Monitoring (WGM)
scheduled for November 20-23 this
year.
In his letter, the KP
chairman said that according to him, the KP system was
faced with a vacuum
since November 2010 as clause 3(b) remained a stumbling
block following the
reservations expressed by Zimbabwe and other
participants. He noted that the
issues raised in this clause pose problems
with regard to KPCS rules and
procedures and that there was a need to be
more specific and remove all
forms of ambiguity. He said that the stoppage
of exports by the KPCS must be
subjected to “a more credible mechanism that
includes verification of
allegations and due process.”
The situation is now very fluid and
rapidly evolving at the time of writing.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Chengetai Zvauya, Staff Writer
Monday,
21 March 2011 17:34
HARARE - As heavy fighting involving Western
coalition forces continues in
Libya, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Libya George
Vengesa remains stranded in
Tripoli.
The political instability
rocking Libya has forced governments around the
world including Zimbabwe, to
evacuate embassy staffers in the troubled
country.
Some of the former
embassy workers are now back home and have been
redeployed to the ministry
of foreign affairs office.
Contacted for comment, Foreign Affairs
permanent secretary Joey Bimha,
confirmed that Vengesa was in still in
Tripoli and was safe.
‘’All countries in the Southern Africa evacuated
their staff. We started
recalling them after the security situation in Libya
deteriorated, and we
are monitoring the situation. We have evacuated all
non-essential staff
which includes spouses and kids,” said
Bimha.
Vengesa remains in Tripoli with two unnamed key staff members.
http://www.radiovop.com/
20/03/2011 22:40:00
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BULAWAYO, March 20, 2011-Churches in Bulawayo
(CIB), a grouping of church
organizations in the city, have been elected to
chair multi party peace
liaison committees that will handle issues related
to election violence.
The multi-party peace liaison committees are made
up of the country,s
political groupings including those that form the unity
government.
The Zimbabwe Victims of Organized Violence Trust (ZIVOVT) has
since late
last year been facilitating meetings between the country’s main
political
parties to form the peace liaison committees.
ZIVOVT
coordinator, Bekithemba Nyathi, confirmed that a representative of
the CIB
Pastor Samuel Ndlovu is chairing the provincial multi-party liaison
committees.
In the committee, Zanu (PF) has taken up the post of
secretary, MDC T, the
post of organising and logistics, Zapu the post of
vice chairperson, Zapu
(FP) the post of information and advocacy and
MDC-Ncube the post of deputy
secretary.
“ This is to ensure swift
response to actions and intentions of violence, ”
the ZIVOVT coordinator
said in a telephone interview, adding that “ we hope
that the Zimbabwe
Republic Police will also become part and parcel of the
multi-party peace
committees. ”
ZIVOVT was formed last year with a mandate to assist victims of
politically
motivated violence in Zimbabwe.
Felix Mafa and Edwin
Ndlovu, the MDC T and MDC spokespersons respectively
both hailed the
formation of the peace committees as a major step towards
ending political
violence in the country.
“ It is a very noble gesture towards ending all acts
of political
violence, ” Mafa said.Ndlovu added: “ The idea is noble and any
sane person
would support it to stop political violence. ”
The formation
of the multiparty liaison committees follows reports late last
year of a
raft of changes to the country’s electoral laws, among them, the
formation
of special police liaison committees to deal with election related
violence.
The special police liaison and investigation committees in
provincial
centers would work with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to
deal with
intimidation and violence cases during elections.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by MISA
Monday, 21 March 2011
14:04
Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) editor-in Chief Vincent Kahiya and the
editor of
The Zimbabwe Independent Constantine Chimakure were on 18 March
2011 removed
from remand by Harare Magistrate Lazarus Murendo.
Kahiya
and Chimakure are accused of breaching Section 31 of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act which deals with publishing false statements
that undermines public confidence in security agents.
The two were
arrested on 11 May 2009 after publishing a story headlined CIO,
Police role
in Activist’ abduction revealed naming security agents that were
allegedly
involved in the abduction of civic and political activists in the
Zimbabwe
Independent edition of 8-14 May 2009.
They had been attending court since
2009 but their trial could not proceed
at the Magistrates Courts after they
made application for referral to
Supreme Court on 16 June 2009 challenging
the constitutionality of Section
31 of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act under which they are
being charged. Since then the case has been
on remand.
On 16 December 2010 their lawyer Chris Mhike applied for
refusal of further
remand which the state did not oppose but simply asked
the court to use its
discretion when the matter was brought for hearing on
18 March 2011.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
by Irene Madongo
21 March
2011
The wife of one of the jailed Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF)
leaders, Paul
Siwela, says she has been left traumatised after being hunted
down by
members of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) last
week.
Paul Siwela is being held with two other MLF leaders, John Gazi and
Charles
Thomas, who were all arrested on 3rd March on treason charges, and
face the
death penalty if found guilty. The allegations are that they
arranged an
executive meeting in Bulawayo where they agreed to topple the
government, as
happened in the Egyptian-style uprisings.
They are
also being accused of distributing pamphlets that urged members of
the
Zimbabwean army to defect and take up arms under a Republic of Mthwakazi
state. The trio deny that they have committed treason and say the charges
against them are trumped up.
On Tuesday last week three CID officers
reportedly appeared at the Siwela
home in Bulawayo and demanded to see Mrs
Enelsi Siwela. On finding she was
not at home they went to look for her at
her work place. Mrs Siwela
meanwhile was tipped off that the CID were after
her and decided to flee to
her lawyers.
“I was afraid, as my husband
is already in prison, and I feared they would
arrest me and my children
would remain without a father or a mother,” she
said.
“The reason I
went to the lawyers was I didn’t want any trauma on my
children. They are
already traumatised with the father being absent. Even at
night my children
are not secure,” said Mrs Siwela, who has five children.
She said after
meeting her lawyers, they went to Bulawayo Central Police
station, where she
was questioned by a member of the CID. “He asked me about
our private
properties, Mr Siwela’s company and his political views,” she
explained, “I
said, ‘look, I’m just his wife, I’ve got nothing to do with it
and I don’t
know.’”
On Monday there was a bail hearing for all 3 leaders of t MLF,
after the
state opposed their bail application at the High Court last
week.
But the judge postponed making a decision in order to review
submissions
from both the state and lawyers representing the trio. It is
hoped a
decision will be made on Wednesday.
The MLF leaders are being
represented by their lawyers Lucas Nkomo, Sindiso
Mazibisa and Matshobana
Ncube.
The case of the MLF has reportedly caused a split in the Zimbabwe
Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR). Last week some members of the group formed
a
splinter legal rights group, following allegations that the ZLHR refused
to
represent the trio.
Five Bulawayo lawyers Nkomo, Mazibisa, Ncube,
Robert Ndlovu and Kucaca Phulu
went on to form the Abammeli Human Rights
Lawyers’ Network. Abammeli
reportedly has 40 lawyers, and said human rights
defenders from the
Matabeleland region were not being adequately
represented.
But on Monday ZLHR said in a statement: “As a professional
law-based
organisation with limited funding for litigation, ZLHR has strict
standardised procedures for the take-up of cases by lawyers on its behalf.
The organisation does not cover cases in which lawyers deploy themselves and
then ask, or expect, ZLHR to cover their legal fees after the
fact.”
“We are reliably informed that the MLF accused are already
represented by 5
lawyers of their own choice, as is their constitutional
right, and we wish
them the best of luck,” the ZLHR statement
read.
Meanwhile, on Monday it was reported that the treason case of
Gwisai and the
five other activists has been remanded until 20th April.
http://www.brookings.edu
John Mutenyo, Africa Research Fellow, Global Economy
and Development, Africa
Growth Initiative
The Brookings
Institution
March 21, 2011 —
Zimbabwean Minister Saviour Kasukuwere
recently announced a government plan
to partially nationalize the country’s
mining sector. The announcement came
after accusations by the minister that
foreign companies had all but
plundered the country’s resource wealth and
left little for ordinary
Zimbabwean citizens.
On a certain level,
this seems like a practical decision. Kasukuwere is
right in demanding that
more money from the mines reach the Zimbabwean
people. However, the
country’s experience in “land reform” 10 years ago
should serve as a
precautionary tale before any decision is made.
In 2000, the Zimbabwean
government seized 110,000 square km of land from
white farmers and
“redistributed” them to black farmers. Most of this land,
particularly the
parcels located in good farming areas, ended up in the
hands of members of
President Mugabe’s political party, the ZANU-PF, or in
the hands of loyal
army officials. Everyone else was given inferior farming
land, if any at
all. Following this infamous “reform,” the Zimbabwean
economy tanked.
Agricultural production growth fell from 3 percent in 2000
to -3 percent in
just three years; net foreign direct investment inflows
made a sharp
decline, from $435 million in 1998 to essentially zero in 2001;
and exports
dropped from $2.1 billion to $1.3 billion in roughly the same
time frame.
The economy never fully recovered from this. For the rest of the
decade,
macroeconomic data showed a gloomy picture. Between 2000 and 2009,
real GDP
and GDP per capita growth averaged around -6 percent; the
industrial
production growth rate averaged -8.5 percent; and net foreign
direct
investments averaged a paltry $35 million a year.
Zimbabwe’s decade of
economic downturn followed a pattern laid by other
despotic regimes that
have nationalized private investments. In Uganda, for
instance, the
industrial sector collapsed and foreign direct investment
bottomed out
following the nationalization program in 1972. Similarly, in
Argentina, the
nationalization of the former British and French railway
companies, as well
as other foreign businesses, served as the basis for the
Argentine economic
crisis of the 1950s.
Furthermore, if Zimbabwe’s current plan is to
redistribute income and
increase revenues for the state, the government need
not nationalize private
firms to achieve these outcomes. Instead it should
urge the foreign firms to
enlist their companies on the Zimbabwe stock
exchange; renegotiate its
contracts with the mining companies; and, most
importantly, should improve
its institutional capacity. At present, Zimbabwe
is ranked among the most
corrupt countries in the world; and given this
level of corruption; those
who are well positioned politically are most
likely to benefit from the
nationalization effort, while the poorest and
neediest aren’t likely to be
helped at all. Worse still, given the mining
industry’s prominence in
Zimbabwe’s economy, disruptions to the sector could
plunge the already
fragile country into an economic depression. Although
Kasukuwere’s plan for
partial nationalization, possibly being implemented on
March 18, might stem
from good intentions, the majority of the country won’t
likely benefit from
this plan.
The tradition finds its 21st- century expression in stone sculptures, including 75 on exhibition in Johannesburg.
Carolyn Dempster opened Rwavhi Fine Art in 2006 to cultivate an audience for Zimbabwean art.
"Zimbabwe has been getting bad publicity over the past few years; I want to show people that Zimbabwe can also produce beautiful things."
The 52-year-old former BBC Africa correspondent said she has been a passionate collector of Zimbabwean art since her twenties. Today she represents 50 Zimbabwean sculptors, 40 of whom have pieces on display at this exhibition.
When you arrive at her house in Greenside, Johannesburg - which doubles up as a gallery - you are welcomed by a big reddish-brown birdlike sculpture on the lawn - one of many adorning the tranquil garden. When you step into the lounge, more pieces are on display and there are others in the kitchen, the dining room and even the study.
"I have put them everywhere so people can understand that you can put the sculptures anywhere, even in the kitchen," Dempster explained.
"I find that people don't respond well to the art in a gallery, you have to be able to live with the piece," she said.
When asked about the birdlike sculpture outside her gate, she said that the piece is called Spirit Messenger and that it weighs just under a ton. The sculpture was made by Tafunga Bonjisi from Ruwa.
According to Dempster, Tafunga started sculpting when he was 16 and his work has been exhibited in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, the UK and US.
"Sadly, he no longer sculpts due to the economic crisis in Zimbabwe. He now works in the hotel industry," she said.
Dempster travels once a year to Nyanga Mountains in Manicaland and rural areas of Mashonaland to seek out sculptures which she imports to South Africa.
"The people believe that the stones have a cultural and spiritual component, so before they remove it from the mountain they say a little prayer."
Simon Chidharara from Nyanga Village is one of the artists whose work is on show.
In a telephonic interview from Zimbabwe, Chidharara told Sunday Times his work is "about movement - to show life and energy".
Dempster said Chidharara likes to blend the old and the new which "often evokes the spirits of his female ancestors".
According to Dempster, Chidharara's older brother introduced him to sculpting when he was a child.
And now the 31-year-old sculptor looks up to renowned second-generation Zimbabwean sculptor Dominic Benhura.
Dempster said Chidharara had participated in several exhibitions in the National Gallery in Mutare and some of his sculptures are in people's homes and galleries around the world.
He has also participated as the artist-in-residence in Canada at the Rice Lake Gallery.
Sunday Times asked him about the impact of the economic conditions on art in his country.
"It is not the same as it used to be. Zimbabwe used to get a lot of tourists and we would sell to them. Now we rely on promoters who buy our work and sell all over the world. But I will never surrender. I chose art as a career. The sky is the limit."
Another artist whose work is on exhibition, is Buhera-born Godfrey Matangire. He now resides in Hwedza.
Dempster said Matangire started sculpting at the age of 23 as an apprentice of one of Zimbabwe's first-generation sculptors, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, for four years.
At the age of 30, Matangire stepped out on his own and he describes his art as "abstract, but strongly influenced by human behaviour".
Dempster commented that although springstone is Matangire's stone of choice, he also likes to use opal and harder rocks, such as leopard rock.
"The latter can only be tackled by more experienced artists as it is extremely hard to work with," she said.
One of his works on show, is a piece called Stone Angel made of green opal.
"Only certain people can sculpt," Matangire said.
Dempster further explained that experienced sculptors like Chidharara and Matangire use springstone (one of the hardest stones used for sculpting, it polishes to a lustrous black finish) and serpentine stone. Serpentine is found in many parts of Zimbabwe. It is said that the stone is over 300 million years old. A free resource for the community of Nyanga, people can just dig up the stone and use it without paying anybody.
The sculptures are all made out of stone; ranging from about 20cm up to more than a metre high, some of them weigh just under a ton, like the Spirit Messenger. They are all hand-carved and crafted with different textures and fascinating detail. One can expect to pay from about R1000 to well over R100000 a piece.
http://af.reuters.com
Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:12pm
GMT
KARACHI, March 21 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will host a test match
against
Pakistan in August, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on
Monday.
Zimbabwe, who have not played test cricket since 2005 after
suspending their
status due to political problems in the country, are due to
play a test
match and two one-day internationals against
Pakistan.
"We will be touring Zimbabwe in August to play the lone test
and ODIs and we
then host Sri Lanka for a future tours program series," a
PCB official said.
The Zimbabwe cricket union voluntarily suspended its
test status in 2006
when the country was engulfed in political turmoil,
forcing many leading
players to retire from international
cricket.
Zimbabwe, also hoping to play a test against Bangladesh in 2011,
offered to
tour Pakistan last year following the refusal of other teams to
visit the
country because of security concerns after the attack on the Sri
Lankan team
in 2009.
By Clifford
Chitupa Mashiri, 20/03/11
The Right Honourable Mr Morgan
Tsvangirai
The Office of the Prime Minister
Private Bag
7700
Causeway
Harare
Zimbabwe
Dear Sir,
I have taken this
extraordinary way of communicating my wishes to your
distinguished office
not out of disrespect of protocol but in recognition of
the sensitivity of
all contacts with Zimbabwean authorities especially at
this moment by
someone resident in the United Kingdom. I would not be the
first person to
use the words, ‘extraordinary times call for extraordinary
measures’ but add
that, as long as they are legitimate means to lawful ends,
there is no harm
in trying.
Accordingly, I am taking the initiative to express my personal
wish that you
as our Prime Minister and MDC President pay a visit to the UK
so that I and
hopefully other interested Zimbabweans can have a decent
conversation with
you on how to resolve the current crisis in our country.
In my view, the
situation in Zimbabwe is not getting any better politically
as demonstrated
by the selective application of the rule of law, political
violence and the
denial of civil liberties to hold prayer and peace rallies
as well as
demonstrations in a safe and secure environment ahead of possible
elections
this year. I am also concerned about the plight of Zimbabwean
exiles who are
risking deportation.
Your recent efforts to engage the
SADC leaders on the situation in Zimbabwe
are greatly appreciated. However,
we would be deceiving ourselves by placing
all our eggs in one basket.
Therefore, it is my hope and wish that we as
voters subject to confirmation,
need to make an input into your options for
solving the Zimbabwean crisis.
Again to avoid any possible
misrepresentations, the option we seek to
discuss with you is seeking help
from the office of the United Nations
Secretary General to compliment what
has been achieved so far by the SADC
and the AU and help map-out a realistic
roadmap for free and fair elections
in Zimbabwe.
As I am of limited means, I do not want to pretend that I
can arrange
tickets and accommodation but only trust that you can include
the UK in your
next official overseas travel.
Yours
sincerely,
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London
Zimanalysis2009@gmail.com