Zim Daily
Wednesday, March 22 2006 @ 12:05 AM GMT
Contributed by:
correspondent
The beleaguered Zimbabwean government has
intensified moves to
turn the country into a military state as pressure
mounts from civic society
and the opposition for the government to quit.
With a popular revolt
looming, President Mugabe is now turning to his
loyalists in the army to
crush the impending revolt.
And
as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change puts
finishing touches to
its plan for a "cold season" mass action to oust Mugabe
in the next two
months, the president seems intent on flexing his military
might to plant
fear in people's minds ahead of the revolt. Recent public
demonstrations
have unveiled government's intentions. Army units were a
fortnight ago
unleashed on to demonstrating University of Zimbabwe
students.
Zimdaily heard that the Government, in preparation
for the
ultimate clampdown on the country's discontented masses, has barred
police
officers and soldiers from going on leave. Sources within the two
government
arms said they had been denied leave indefinitely as government
readies
itself for the ultimate showdown with the people. Soldiers were told
to be
ready any time to quell "disturbances". Some police officers had their
two
months' leave for May and June cancelled, Zimdaily heard
yesterday.
Although the army yesterday denied that it had
banned soldiers
from taking leave, military sources confirmed to Zimdaily
that because of
the tense situation in the country, they had been told to be
at the ready.
"It is as if we are on a standby or something like that. Those
who wanted to
take leave had to cancel. At the moment, we are not being
allowed to go on
leave and it is not clear when we will be allowed to take
our leave," said
the sources. Police spokesman, Superintendent Wayne
Bvudzijena, said it was
routine for police members to be denied permission
to go on and that there
was no link to the tense situation in the
country.
The police also cut down the number of officers
selected for
international peace keeping duties despite a UN request for the
number to be
increased. The UN said it was pleased by the conduct of the
Zimbabwean
police officers. A senior police officer told the police that
they had cut
the number because the force needed manpower at home to deal
with any
disturbances. The MDC has promised to embark on unspecified mass
action to
force President Mugabe out of office. "From today, fellow
Zimbabweans,
kindly save a penny and stock up where possible. A storm is
upon the
horizon," Tsvangirai said in his acceptance speech at the end of
his
congress weekend."I promise to lead from the front. I promise to use all
available resources and will-power to see off the tyranny in Zimbabwe today;
to assist in putting together the building blocks for a new Zimbabwe and a
new beginning," he said. Recent mass actions organised by the MDC have
proved popular among the people who, according to the latest surveys, are
increasingly sympathising with the opposition.
Although
the MDC has not yet specified the form the mass action
will take, the
government has reacted angrily to the proposal and has
promised to thwart
the move. Government, facing popular dissent, has, of
late, taken to using
the military to attack ruthlessly anyone who tries to
express their
discontent. Except for Zanu PF supporters, it has become
unsafe for anyone
to demonstrate because government is quick to bring out
the army and the
police. Two weeks ago, the army and police attacked
University of Zimbabwe
students who had embarked on a peaceful demonstration
against recent fees
hikes. Some students were severely injured in the
process.
Government is also preparing to repress the
expected popular
uprising against its policies which have impacted
negatively on the economy
and have resulted in the impoverishment of many
Zimbabweans. The situation
in the army camps has also reportedly become
tense and the camps themselves
more politicised. Said the sources: "The
situation is so tense and it has
even become dangerous to be labelled an MDC
supporter. You wear or carry
anything with red at your own risk. The camps
used to be so relaxed but now
you see guns everywhere.
Government is jittery about the mass action." MDC supporters
have been using
the red card as their symbol of dissent. They also carry
around red
whistles. The army denied that it had barred members from taking
leave. "We
are not aware that any soldiers have been banned from taking
leave. All the
administrative procedures derive from the Defence Act and its
attendant
regulations. Therefore, it is absolutely incorrect that members'
leave has
been cancelled because of the so-called tense situation in the
country,"
said a Defence spokesman.
Zim Daily
Wednesday, March 22 2006 @ 12:04
AM GMT
Contributed by: correspondent
MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said his party was
looking at new tactics to
confront President Mugabe's regime head on, vowing
the party would not be
intimidated by any form of threats by government.
Tsvangirai, who was
addressing journalists at his Harare home, said the
record attendance at his
congress beared testimony to the overwhelming
desire for change by many in
Zimbabwe. He said the party had resolved that
there was supposed to be a
paradigm shift in terms of engaging Mugabe's
dictatorship.
"That paradigm shift involves the issue of
building a democratic
people's resistance movement and other options
available democratically and
that elections are not just exclusive to the
achievement of that objective,"
he said. He said he had full confidence in
his new team saying its immediate
concern was to build a people's movement
to fight repression "We need to
regenerate and renew the party to make it
much more focused on removing the
dictatorship," Tsvangirai said."The first
six years, the focus was on
winning change through elections, and that's got
us nowhere, so now we have
to take a new tack."
He
said"we need to widen our options to include using people
power to put
pressure on this regime that has reduced us to paupers and
beggars in our
own motherland". The 54-year-old former union leader has
survived a number
of assassination attempts, endured a debilitating treason
trial and fought a
presidential election and two parliamentary elections in
which his party
workers have been tortured, murdered and had their homes
burnt, only for the
polls to be rigged. But he is now under the greatest
pressure since the MDC
formed in 1999.
The party split into two factions when
Tsvangirai defied a vote
by his national executive in October on whether to
participate in elections
for a new Senate. The MDC leader felt the Senate
did not represent the
desires of the party's grassroots and that contesting
yet another fraudulent
election was a waste of much-needed money. But his
decision exacerbated
rifts within the party. "It is also clear that the
machinery for contesting
elections has often exhibited serious weaknesses,"
he told journalists.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Farirai
Machivenyika
issue date :2006-Mar-22
ANOTHER disastrous winter wheat
season looms after three major farming
organisations yesterday revealed that
they were only prepared to plant 45
000 hectares of the crop during the
winter season, instead of a government
target of 110 000 hectares.
A
joint statement by the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU), the
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) and the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) painted
a bleak outlook on this year's harvest given the planned hectarage is a
decline from last year's 65 000 hectares.
The three unions issued the
statement whilst giving oral evidence to the
Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Resettlement, Rural
Resources and Water
Development at a stakeholders' meeting to assess the
state of preparedness
for winter cropping.
Earlier, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Agriculture Simon
Pazvakavambwa had indicated that government's target was
110 000 tonnes of
wheat.
He said: "Last year, 65 000ha of wheat was
planted and 40 percent of the
crop was grown late. 180 000 tonnes of wheat
was taken by the Grain
Marketing Board (GMB). This year we are aiming to go
for 110 000ha."
Last year's harvest was less than half the country's needs
of 420 000
metric tonnes a year.
The unions, however, gave a contrasting
outlook of the season saying: "There
has been a continual decline in the
production of wheat since 2001. This is
a worrying issue. What the farmers
envisage is that a minimum of 45 000ha
can be handled by the farmers in
terms of what is available as inputs,
equipment and chemicals."
They
added that the situation had been worsened by the government's failure
to
announce a pre-planting producer price as a way of giving them incentives
to
venture into wheat production.
"The current cost (of producing wheat) per
hectare is $120 million. For a
farmer to commit such an amount of money
without even assurance from Zesa
(on electricity outages) would be a
disincentive.
"Last year, farmers were paid between December and January and
in such a
hyperinflationary environment that would not act as an incentive
if (they
are) to be paid six months later (after delivering the crop to
GMB). As
farmers we are planning for 45 000ha and let's have inputs for
that," added
the farmers.
They also said there had been no guarantees on
the availability of fuel from
the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim)
for the forthcoming season.
Pazvakavambwa also mourned the late disbursement
of funds saying it affected
planting timetables.
"The problem has always
been money. We do not lack plans, but when it comes
to putting the money on
the table we are found wanting. The optimum
conditions of growing a crop are
within a timeframe and as long as we miss
that timeframe we will not achieve
the yields we need," he said.
Shortages of inputs and late disbursement of
funding has affected farming in
the past five years and last month President
Robert Mugabe said poor
planning had cost the country this season despite
having received good
rains.
The permanent secretary for the Ministry of
Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, Ngoni Masoka, Agricultural Rural
Development Authority (Arda)
chief executive officer Joseph Matowanyika and
his GMB counterpart Retired
Colonel Samuel Muvuti and others from agro-
based industries also attended
the meeting
Masoka said the land audit
that his ministry started in September last year
was nearly complete, but
added that in Manicaland they had discovered that
the whole province was
being serviced by a mere eight combined harvesters
and 316
tractors.
Matowanyika indicated that his organisation had just over 600
tractors with
103 needing minor repairs, but were being hampered by the lack
of other
drawn implements like discs needed in land
preparation.
Solomon Mupeti, the marketing manager for STM Agricultural
Services, which
deals in the supply of pesticides, said the industry only
had in stock
chemicals sufficient for 30 000ha.
"On chemicals, we have
very little in stock in the country. The pesticides
we have are sufficient
for 30 000ha," he said.
A representative from fertiliser manufacturing
company, ZFC, welcomed the
US$6,5 million that was advanced to the
fertiliser industry by the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last week, but
indicated that the money was yet to be
released.
"We have two granulation
plants that were undergoing maintenance, but one
has been completed and the
other is nearly complete. This is, however,
routine work and we expect it to
resume operations on April 1. We however
urge government to allow us to
charge viable prices if we are to remain in
business," said ZFC sales
manager, Phillip Mathemera.
The country needs 40 000 tonnes of compound D and
32 000 tonnes of ammonium
nitrate fertilisers for winter wheat.
The
chairman of the portfolio committee, Walter Mzembi, said there was need
for
government to declare the agricultural sector as strategic if its
contribution to the economy was to be improved.
Last weak, the Minister
of State for National Security and also responsible
for lands, land reform
and resettlement, Didymus Mutasa, said government had
begun importing 50 000
tonnes of wheat to avert bread shortages.
The high cost of importing wheat
has subsequently resulted in the price of
bread shooting to between $60 000
and $70 000 as bakeries struggle to remain
in business.
There have been
fears that the shortage of wheat could further push up the
price of bread if
bakers resorted to importing wheat
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The
Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2006-Mar-22
RESIDENTS of Harare have
complained against constant and lengthy power cuts
that have affected the
capital and other major cities in recent days.
The blackouts have in some
extreme cases stretched for more than 24 hours,
leading residents to doubt
whether they were a result of the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority
(Zesa) Holdings load shedding programme.
Over the weekend suburbs such as
Mufakose, Marimba Park, Budiriro, Westlea,
Tafara and Mabvuku lost power for
over a day, while residents of Chisipite,
Eastlea, Kuwadzana, Glen Norah,
Warren Park, Dzivarasekwa, Glen View,
Crowborough and Tynwald also
complained over constant power cuts in recent
days.
The blackouts have
also affected Chitungwiza, Chinhoyi and Bulawayo.
Affected residents
complained over the blackouts, which they said disrupted
domestic activities
and sometimes resulted in extensive damage to electrical
appliances.
There were also complaints from butchery operators, who said
tonnes of meat
in their shops had gone bad because of the power cuts
resulting in losses to
their business.
Bottle stores that do not have
electricity generators also found themselves
on the losing end as alcoholic
beverage consumers shun drinking warm beer.
"This is bad. We are forced to go
looking for firewood or paraffin at odd
hours because the electricity just
goes off without prior notice. Besides,
other sources of energy that we can
use for cooking are unaffordable," said
Ronald Makombe of Glen Norah
A.
Tafadzwa Mureri of Mufakose said the blackouts in the suburb had become
too
much compared to other areas.
"Here, we lose power almost daily. It
is unbearable and you can't imagine
the smell that is coming out of our
fridges. You cannot buy perishables and
be guaranteed of keeping them frozen
even if you have a refrigerator as long
as you stay in Mufakose," Mureri
said.
Gibson Simeti, a Hatcliffe resident, said Zesa ought to use ratepayers'
monies to expand its power generating capacity at Kariba power
station.
"Zesa should use the monies we pay them in rates to expand their
Kariba
station instead of importing power from abroad. We should have enough
power
for ourselves as a nation because as things are, we are not happy with
the
blackouts," Simeti said.
Zesa spokesperson James Maridadi, said the
power utility was preparing a
detailed report to inform the public about the
technicalities of the power
cuts.
"We are working towards a comprehensive
paper which explains the issue. The
paper is being worked on right now and I
cannot pre-empt its contents. It
has to be understood that before final
consumption of electricity, it passes
through various entities, such as
transmission, distribution and others and
technical entities involved are
giving their input to the paper," Maridadi
said.
The power cuts, which at
times have come without warning, have affected
other social activities and
programmes that depend on electricity.
Revellers at a Somandla Ndebele and
Alick Macheso gig in Dzivarasekwa
reportedly endured about half an hour
without power after paying their entry
fees into the show last weekend.
A
Zanu PF constituency report-back meeting had to be aborted at the Chinhoyi
Hall after a power cut last Tuesday evening among many other private
programmes that have also been affected.
The Telegraph
By
David Blair in Choma
(Filed: 22/03/2006)
James Chance slept in a tent
for four months when he arrived to farm the
bush country of
Zambia.
Having lost his farm in Zimbabwe, Mr Chance leased 4,400 acres in
its
northern neighbour and was "exhilarated" to have a second opportunity to
till Africa's soil.
Yet his hopes and those of 200 other
white farmers, all fugitives from
Zimbabwe, have been shattered almost
overnight.
Most of their farms have lost their viability at a stroke
because in the
past three months Zambia's currency, the kwacha, has risen by
a third
against the US dollar.
The farmers grow tobacco and maize for
export at prices in dollars. But
their costs are paid in the local currency
so they must find more dollars to
survive. Mr Chance estimates that his
annual costs have grown by about
$20,000 (£11,400).
No one predicted
the kwacha's sudden rise or budgeted for this increase. For
a new, heavily
indebted and relatively small-scale farmer, such a burden
could spell the
difference between survival and collapse.
"It troubles me all the time,"
said Mr Chance, 38. "Our first year was
excellent and now things have got
dramatically worse. I don't see it
working. Only established farmers will be
able to keep going. The rest of us
are out."
Only by cutting costs
can Mr Chance survive, so he must lay off 30 of his
120 workers. Every
labourer supports about 10 relatives, so about 300
Zambians will be
impoverished by the crisis on this one farm alone.
The kwacha's surge
makes everything produced in Zambia more expensive
abroad. It has damaged
not only commercial agriculture but every other
exporter as
well.
There are many reasons for the currency's climb. One is the
decision by the
G8 group of rich countries, among them Britain, to write off
Zambia's
foreign debt last year and double aid. In January, Zambia was among
the
first 19 poor countries to benefit from 100 per cent debt relief and
allow
its government to spend money on health and education that would have
repaid
loans.
This has boosted confidence in Zambia's economy. But
the unintended
consequence has been the rise of the kwacha and the
punishment of the export
sector, with tens of thousands of small maize,
tobacco and cotton growers
hardest hit.
"Writing off debt and
increasing aid is intended to alleviate poverty," said
Bruce Danckwerts, 51,
an established farmer in Zambia who has 40 fewer
workers than normal this
year. "But revaluation is hurting the poorest the
most."
Mr Chance
lost his tobacco farm in the Matepatepa region of Zimbabwe in 2002
after a
squatters' invasion. In 2003, he moved to Choma district in Zambia,
where
about 12 fugitives from Zimbabwe and a dozen established white farmers
form
a tightly knit community.
He leased a derelict farm and began making it
habitable. "I thought, yes we
can make this work. Now it's very different. I
wonder how we can carry on."
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
People in the countryside can barely feed themselves as crops fail for
the
sixth successive year.
By Obert Gadzi in Kwekwe (AR No.57,
21-Mar-06)
The food situation in rural areas of the county is so dire
that people are
clamouring for something to eat and schools are appealing
for help for
hungry children, according to leading aid agencies.
The
warnings of mass hunger come as members of the governing elite who've
taken
over commercial farms are reprimanded for using their land as "weekend
picnic venues".
Southern Africa's food security warning organisation,
FSEWS, said Zimbabwe
will bring in from the fields only 600,000 tonnes of
maize, ordinary
people's staple food, during the impending harvest season
against the
average annual consumption of 1.8 million tonnes.
Steady,
soaking rains have robbed Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe of
drought as his
standard excuse for nose-diving agricultural production -
this being the
sixth successive year of crop failure. Until six years ago,
agricultural
exports to the rest of the region and to the European Community
were the
country's leading foreign exchange earners.
FSEWS, the Food Security
Early Warning System of the Southern African
Development Community, said
Zimbabwe will have to import 1.4 million tonnes
of maize, 200,000 tonnes of
wheat, 40,000 tonnes of sorghum and 6,000 tonnes
of rice in coming months in
order to avert widespread starvation-related
deaths.
The minimum cost
of such imports for a country that is fundamentally broke -
suffering from
an official inflation of 800 per cent and only limited
foreign exchange
reserves - will be at least 350 million US dollars for the
maize
alone.
In February, the Zimbabwe government struggled to raise 9 million
US dollars
to pay the International Monetary Fund and thus avoid becoming
the first
country since Czechoslovakia 52 years ago to be expelled from the
world's
most important lending institution. The country must find another
120
million US dollars to service IMF payment arrears in the next few
months.
Zimbabwe now has the dubious distinction of having what the
United Nations
has called the fastest-shrinking economy, the highest
inflation and the
weakest currency in the world - coupled with systematic
human rights abuses
and the collapse of the rule of law.
"The food
situation is grave," said Barbara Shenstone, CARE International's
country
director in Zimbabwe. "There just isn't food in the rural areas.
People are
clamouring for food everywhere. Schools are asking for help for
hungry
children. Most of the vulnerable are eating less than one meal a
day."
Zvikomborero, a 33-year-old firewood vendor whose home in the
Harare suburb
of Mbare was destroyed last year in Mugabe's Operation
Murambatsvina
(Operation Drive Out the Filth), presented as an urban renewal
scheme, said,
"My children are now eating out of a garbage dump. We are
washing potato
skins and eating them. We are starving. You can say we are
dead."
Mugabe's ZANU PF government's notorious Fast Track Land Reform
Programme,
which when it began in 2000 involved the mass invasion of
commercial farms
by so-called veterans of the 1970s liberation war and
landless peasants,
marked also the beginning of the agricultural industry's
collapse.
After more than 4,000 commercial farmers were driven from their
properties,
the initial invaders were themselves pushed from the farms,
which were
redistributed to members of President Mugabe's family, government
ministers,
top ZANU PF party officials, senior army, air force and police
officials,
and compliant judges and journalists.
Few of the "new
farmers" are producing crops. In a rare admission of
government failure,
Deputy Agriculture Minister Sylvester Nguni said they
lacked the skills to
produce on what he called a "commercial or even
subsistence
level".
The lack of foreign exchange means there are also drastic
scarcities of
vital seeds, fertiliser, herbicides and chemicals. There are
also fuel
shortages and frequent electricity power cuts. A dire situation is
made
worse by the fact that banks are unwilling to make loans to the new
farmers
because they have no title deeds to the usurped land.
They
rarely have any other collateral to repay loans. Neither do they have
the
capacity to repay loans nor, in the culture of lawlessness promoted by
Mugabe, do they have the will to do so.
Central Bank Governor Gideon
Gono criticised new farmers from among the
governing elite for using their
land only as "weekend picnic venues". He
also reprimanded some for using
government agricultural loans - as opposed
to commercial bank loans - to buy
luxury sports utility vehicles for private
use and profiteering, by selling
subsidised petrol available to them at
black market
prices.
Consequently, the once flourishing commercial farms are now
dismal sights,
overgrown with weeds and bush. Where planting has taken place
- currently on
only about an estimated ten per cent of this farmland - the
crops are
miserably stunted.
No one bothers to supervise what is
happening because the agricultural
support infrastructure is collapsing,
and, at government level, factions are
either too busy fighting each other
over who gets the next farm or
politicising the whole issue.
The
mechanics of food distribution in the country have also contributed to
hunger among an estimated five to 6.5 million people of the 11.5 million
population. Fuel shortages, now a permanent feature of Zimbabwe's problems,
have hampered the delivery
of food to needy areas.
When fuel is
available, the ZANU PF government politicises food
distribution. Areas
perceived to be strongholds of the opposition are denied
access to food aid
as political punishment. Food is thus used as both the
carrot and the stick,
leaving millions hungry and prompting the outspoken
Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, to observe, "They [ZANU
PF] would rather
kill people for the sake of power. You can see what kind of
people we are
dealing with here, murderers. President Mugabe is a very, very
evil man. The
sooner the Good Lord takes him from us the better."
Dydimus Mutasa,
Mugabe's right-hand man and Minister of National Security
and Land, has
notoriously shrugged his shoulders at Zimbabwe's high death
rate from AIDS
and hunger-related illnesses, saying, "We would be better off
with only six
million people . We don't want all these extra people."
International
food aid is seemingly abused on a widespread basis. Government
distribution
agents, through whom international agencies are compelled to
distribute
supplies, tightly control to whom it is given. Local government
officials,
youth militias, village chiefs and other affiliates of ZANU PF
tightly
control donor-feeding schemes: they make sure that food goes to
communities
who proclaim loyalty to ZANU PF, and consequently millions of
needy people
go hungry. Many donor agencies have withdrawn or been pushed
out as a result
of these pressures.
Government officials deny the seriousness of the food
situation. Both Mugabe
and Mutasa constantly assert that the country has
adequate food reserves.
Denying that Zimbabweans needed international help,
Mugabe said, "We are not
hungry. Why foist this food on us? We don't want to
be choked. We have
enough."
Corruption by high-ranking senior
government officials and politicians has
worsened the food crisis.
Politicians who enjoy political protection from
prosecution have looted
scarce supplies from the Grain Marketing Board, the
sole official grain
procurement and distribution agency, to sell on the
black market and smuggle
to neighbouring countries.
Last year, the president's nephew Leo Mugabe,
a ZANU PF parliamentary
deputy, was arrested when he attempted to smuggle 30
tonnes of wheat flour
out of the country. He was later freed and all charges
were dropped.
Obert Gadzi is the pseudonym of an IWPR contributor in
Zimbabwe.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
The country's divided churches unite against Mugabe.
By Sarah
Dlodlo in Bulawayo (AR No.57, 21-Mar-06)
With the notable exception of
Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, most of
Zimbabwe's Christian priests
and pastors have coped with the country's rapid
political and economic
deterioration by getting on quietly with helping the
poor and suffering in
their communities.
But the situation is changing. More and more clerics
are saying they can no
longer remain silent as the country crumbles as a
result of bad governance.
Increasingly, church leaders are taking time
away from their pulpits and
from tending the sick to protest against growing
human rights abuses,
corruption and political repression that their
congregations are enduring.
Clerics drawn from traditional Protestant and
Pentecostal churches are
speaking out against government abuses at public
meetings and acting
collectively through their recently-launched Christian
Alliance.
Jonah Gokova, an official with a church charity called
Ecumenical Support
Services, an coordinator of the Christian Alliance, says
the organisation's
mission is "to bring about transformation in our nation
through prophetic
action", and admits that it was born as a result of
pressure from Christians
who had become disillusioned by the church's
silence on
issues of human rights abuses by the government, the security
forces and
militias.
"When people are going through a phase of
suffering, particularly when the
suffering is human-induced as we have in
Zimbabwe, people are always saying
where is the church? Why is the church
not speaking out against these
injustices?" said Gokova.
"We are
responding to these concerns to create a situation where people can
begin to
hear leaders within the church speaking out against the injustices
and the
suffering of the people."
The Christian Alliance wants to pressure the
government into a new culture
of listening to the voices of the downtrodden.
"The government continues to
ignore the voices of its citizens while
conditions go on deteriorating,"
continued Gokova.
Another group of
ordained and lay church leaders, calling itself Christians
Together for
Justice and Peace, has been helping victims of state violence
get treatment.
It also compiles reports detailing atrocities perpetrated by
state security
agents against perceived government enemies. The group also
issues press
statements denouncing such government policies as the national
youth
training programme.
Once the youths graduate, they are assigned to
militias loyal to Robert
Mugabe, which are used by the president to enforce
rule by his ZANU PF party
and to intimidate opposition supporters.
In
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, church leaders have come together to
form
a group called Churches in Bulawayo to provide a united response to the
suffering caused by Operation Murambatsvina (Operation Drive Out the Filth).
In Murambatsvina, presented as an urban renewal scheme, hundreds of
thousands of people, most of them opposition supporters, saw their homes in
the suburbs and squatter camps of the main cities and towns destroyed by
Mugabe's police and militias.
One of the pastors, Albert Chatindo,
works closely with squatters from the
Killarney transit camp outside
Bulawayo, where thousands of people had their
homes destroyed in
Murambatsvina.
Pastor Chatindo says his role has been confined quietly to
helping ease the
suffering of the victims of the mass destruction of homes.
He says he and
his colleagues have witnessed horrific abuses of people at
the hands of the
authorities.
Chatindo claims to have seen people die
without receiving medical treatment,
and watched helplessly as children as
young as five die from cold and
hunger.
Pastor Ray Motsi, of the
Bulawayo Baptist Church and a leading member of the
Christian Alliance, says
people whose homes were destroyed in Murambatsvina
had "done nothing but
commit the crime of poverty. Government should admit
that all is not well
instead of beating citizens into silence".
Gokova says the Christian
Alliance is building on such existing regional
efforts by Christian leaders
to give Zimbabwean religious leaders what he
terms a "national expression".
He adds that the alliance aims to become a
national platform for religious
institutions, enabling its members to
cooperate in resolving social,
economic and justice
issues.
He says his organisation will also work
with civic organisations such as the
National Constitutional Assembly -
which groups many bodies campaigning for
democratic reform - in calling for
a new constitution.
Analysts have long been forecasting that the next
step in Zimbabwe's
political development will be an alliance between
opposition political
parties and civic and church groups to form something
equivalent to the Mass
Democratic Movement, which took over the
anti-apartheid struggle in South
Africa after the African National Congress
was banned and exiled.
Gokova says the clerics will not hesitate to take
part in street protests.
"As Christians we have to organise activities that
are expressing solidarity
with the victims of the human-made catastrophe
that we are going through,"
he said. "We will use prayer for both the
victims and oppressors so that
they can see that what they are doing is
wrong.
"We will also talk about possibilities of joining street protests
and any
Christians who agree to defy unjust laws."
Dr Phineas Dube, a
Harare-based international leadership trainer, says an
organisation like the
Christian Alliance is long overdue, adding that, if
managed properly, the
major strength of the organisation will be that it
presents a united
religious front to oppose government repression. He says
that until now
churches have been competing
against each other and were divided in
confronting the crisis created by the
government.
"This Christian
Alliance, even if they should fail, are on the right road,"
said Dr Dube.
"I'm hoping they will succeed because this is the only way
they can get
government to listen to them by speaking with one voice."
Dorothy Bhbhe,
a women's rights activist working in Bulawayo, also welcomes
the church
leaders' attempt to form a united front. "They will benefit from
unity," she
said. "Now that they are uniting the big and small churches so
that they
work together to help people who are suffering they should be able
to make a
difference. This Christian Alliance can take the people of
Zimbabwe out of
this current crisis, end hunger and bring them shelter,
education and
food."
However, she is wary the leaders could get caught up in internal
power
politics and infiltrated by state security agents. Bhebhe says she
would
also want
to see more women being accommodated in the
alliance.
Gokova says the Christian Alliance is aware of the magnitude of
the
challenges that lie ahead but remains confident that it will deliver
Zimbabweans from their misery. He acknowledges that many of the issues the
alliance will raise will not go down well among politicians but is quick to
point out the church can no longer remain silent.
"The nature of our
problems is political. We cannot avoid challenging
politicians," he said.
"We cannot avoid talking directly to politicians. But
when we speak as
Christians, we speak the justice and peace of God. Some
politicians will
have problems with us, but our conviction and motivation
are coming from
God."
Sarah Dlodlo is the pseudonym of an IWPR contributor in Zimbabwe.
The Mercury
March 22, 2006
By Tony Carnie
Mexico
City: Millions of African women still smell because they are
putting the
needs of their families ahead of their desire to wash their
bodies more
frequently.
That was the blunt message delivered to the World Water
Forum in the
Mexican capital this week by Zimbabwean-born gender activist
Mildred
Mkandla. She made it clear that rural women did not smell
because they chose to, but simply because having a bath was a
luxury.
In many parts of Africa women had to trek up to 15km a day
to fetch
water, she said.
By the time this had been rationed
for cooking, drinking, cleaning and
washing the children, there was barely
enough left over for mothers to wash
themselves.
Mkandla said
some of these women lived in the vicinity of large dams
and hydroelectric
schemes like Kariba Dam, yet they derived no benefits.
"If I am
sitting in my home in Zimbabwe, I don't want to see big
electricity pylons
running past me unless we are benefiting," Mkhandla said.
So
before any new big dams were built, she said that those delegates,
bankers
and government officials attending the Water Forum should ask
themselves
whether these projects would bring meaningful development for
Africa's
women.
Mkandla's message coincided with the launch of a new report
entitled
"For her, it's the big issue", by the United Nations International
Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), which suggested that young girls and
women in many parts of Africa walked an average of 6km a day to fetch
water.
Ethne Davey, a gender activist and official of the South
African
Department of Water Affairs, was even more blunt. "We have heard
this all
before. We don't need to launch any more reports like this. Let's
stop
talking and just get those water pipes in the ground now," she
said.
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Sharon Njobo
THE ruling Zanu PF government
has picked cotton wool, sanitary towels
and tampons as the latest weapon of
choice to punish Zimbabwe's
poverty-battered population. Sadly, in this
battle over feminine hygiene,
the bleeding is not on the battleground, but
in Zimbabwe's schools, rural
areas, city streets and on farms.
This latest battle pits the Zimbabwe Union of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
attempting
to bring in a consignment of donated sanitary towels and the
government's
department of customs, which says the feminine hygiene products
have to be
quality-tested to determine if they should be allowed into the
country
duty-free.
"We can't fight against nature, periods are like
oxygen. You can't
tell your periods to go away because you have no pads,"
said a furious
Ntombiyomusa Ncube in Toronto, Canada.
Ncube
said the attitude being demonstrated by the government confirmed
that the
ruling party did not recognize the status of women.
"I am very
furious because the vice-president is a woman and she
should understand how
important pads are for women's dignity and health,"
she said.
The sanitary towels donated from England and South Africa are the
result of
passionate pleas by Zimbabwe's women who can no longer afford the
highly
priced products.
The ZCTU gave birth to Zimbabwe's first-ever
formidable opposition
party some six years ago, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).
Evidently, President Robert Mugabe's government has not
forgiven the trade
unionists.
An exiled Zimbabwean human rights
activist disagrees that the
government could be using the pads to fight the
ZCTU, saying humanitarian
donations have always had a problem being cleared
through customs over the
years.
She said sewing machines,
schools supplies and computers donated to be
used by humanitarian agencies
or to be distributed free of charge have been
held on countless times by the
department of customs.
"Donations have always been held by customs,
you might think that
being a crisis situation they (government) would be
more sensitive," she
said.
She said Zimbabwe's female
vice-president Joyce Mujuru would not feel
any pressure to help the women
because she did not get to her position on
the women's vote.
"She (Mujuru) is not there because of the women so she will not serve
the
women's interest."
It has been three years since the women launched
the campaign to
highlight their menstrual woes after sanitary pads
disappeared from store
shelves. The shortage was caused by the closure of
firms and unavailability
of foreign currency to import the
products.
So messy was the cotton wool, pads and tampons shortage
that even
Zimbabwe's parliament, dominated by the traditional males from the
ruling
Zanu PF was forced to table a motion and debate this taboo
subject.
The Minister of Finance, Hebert Murerwa has been presented
with a
petition signed by thousands of men and women. Murerwa promised that
the
government would reduce the duty on sanitary-ware from 40% to 20%. The
promised reduction was neither referred to during the last multi-trillion
dollar budget nor has it been implemented to date.
The ministry
of education also promised to distribute sanitary ware to
young girls in
schools, but several months later, the distribution is yet to
begin. The
bleeding Zimbabwean economy, tottering from an inflation rate
of nearly
800%, can ill afford to subsidize, let alone distribute free of
charge
sanitary-ware for girls and women.
"Sanitary ware, in the form of
cotton wool, pads and tampons is now
available on the local market. However
the majority of women and girls
cannot afford to purchase it due to high
costs and low incomes," Zimbabwe
Women Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN)
said in a recent statement.
Increased teen prostitution is among
the vices being bred by the
shortages.
"Social risk factors
such as poverty increases the vulnerability of
women and girls as they find
themselves offering sexual favours in exchange
for food and other basic
items including sanitary ware," ZWRCN elaborated.
Some gains being
made to increase enrolment of girls in secondary
schools are being eroded as
the girls now prefer to stay home from school or
extra curricular activities
when they have their periods.
While women fear that the old rags
they use to contain menstrual flow
are not sterile enough to prevent
infection, Zimbabwe's junior information
minister Bright Matonga sums up the
government's position in a recent BBC
interview, "The Zimbabwe government
won't sit back and let women suffer. We
care about our women."
zimbabwejournlists.com
By Rhoda Mashavave
COLLEGE days are
supposed to be every student's best days in life. But
as young students in
Zimbabwe narrate their suffering under President Robert
Mugabe's government,
the anguish in their voices sums it up all. Most of
them are a sad lot and
if wishes were horses, they would want things to be
much easier for them as
they get their much-needed education.
The recent 100 percent hike in
fees has left many with no choice but
to abandon their studies while others
have resorted to selling anything from
sweets to foreign currency to make
ends meet. Some female students have even
turned to prostitution to raise
money to pay through college.
With inflation currently pegged at 782
percent and expected to hit the
1 000 mark in April, chances are that the
fees will keep on rising.
Last week a number of students who failed to
pay boarding fees at
Harare Polytechnic, a government college for higher
learning, were evicted
while others received notices to pay up tuition fees.
The students have been
given until end of March to pay up although the
government has failed to pay
them their loans.
The students feel
insecure and unprotected.
Tawanda Kamire, 24, a student at Harare
Polytechnic says his family
cannot afford to raise the increased fees in a
short space of time as
required by the college. For several days now he has
been surviving on
boiled maize and bread. "I can not eat at the dining hall
until I pay the
increased fees. And when I finally pay, I have to pay even
for the meals I
missed."
Kamire cannot go to his home in Masvingo
and is illegally staying with
a friend in the hostels until he settles his
fees.
Students at state universities have also faced huge
increases.
While Taurai Chikwereti managed to pay the increased fees
because his
brother sent money from overseas, he feels the standards at
Harare
Polytechtenic have deteriorated extensively.
Infact, he says
authorities at the college have warned students not to
speak to the Press
about the institution's condition. "Most student live in
fear of
victimisation because we can not raise our complains. We were told
not to
speak to the press about the problems facing the college or even
write
letters to newspaper editors. There has been some witch hunting of the
students talking to the Press."
Chikwereti says the hostels are not
cleaned properly while most
toilets are not functioning well. "I wonder why
they increased the fees when
the facilities are still so poor," said
Chikwereti.
Twenty-three year old Mirriam Shoko, a final year economics
student at
the University of Zimbabwe, says her parents were finding it hard
to afford
the hiked fees.
She says: "My parents are peasant farmers
and they had to sell their
cattle for my education. I expected government to
provide a loan for my
tuition and accommodation. Now I have to turn to my
boyfriend for my fees
though we are yet to be married."
Shoko
believes the only dear thing left in her life is her passport.
"My passport
is the most treasured thing that I possess at the moment. I
want to move out
of the country when I complete my degree. There is no hope
for a better
future here in Zimbabwe."
Prostitution is now a gateway for others. A
female student confided
that some students were surviving on money given to
them by their
boyfriends, most of them married men. "That is the only we can
survive
through these hardships we are facing. Most parents can not afford
to pay
the fees," said the student who refused to be identified.
For Trevor Ngara, 25, from the National University Science and
Technology
(NUST), surviving at college has taught him to do business deals.
Ngara
says: "I pay my fees from profits I make from buying and selling
things like
fuel, foreign currency and cellphone lines. I have been
surviving for the
past four years through this."
Ngara blamed the Mugabe government for
ignoring the plight of students
in the country.
Twenty-five year
old Patrick Moyo from the University of Zimbabwe
blasted the government
sponsored Fort Hare scholarship programme, which he
says was too costly at
the expense of local students. The South African
university accepts students
from Zimbabwe on a government to government
programme. "I think the cost of
enrolling one student at Fort Hare can pay
fees for more than 16 students at
government tertiary colleges. The
recipients of the scholarship are getting
more monies at the expense of
local students who have better Advanced Levels
passes. The government
scholarships to study at Fort Hare have mainly
benefited people who are
connected to the ruling party ZANU PF," said
Moyo.
Another bone of contention among college students has been the
introduction of a new compulsory subject, National Strategic Studies
introduced two years.
Farai Mhepo from Kwekwe Polytechnic is not
happy with this subject
which one has to pass to graduate. He describes the
National Strategic
Studies as ZANU PF propaganda to indoctrinate students.
He adds: "The
subject praises the way land reform was done while the
Matebeleland
(Gukurahundi) massacres are only described as disturbances.
National leaders
like Robert Mugabe are showered with praises even though we
are living in
misery because of his bad economic policies," said
Mhepo.
Mhepo's wish was for students in the tertiary colleges
throughout the
country to boycott all the classes and stay at home in
protest. "Maybe the
government would try to address the problems we are
facing as students. When
we try to demonstrate the riot police descend on us
in the colleges beating
and threatening in us."
As a JAG member or JAG Associate member, please send any classified
adverts
for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG Classifieds: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
For Sale Items
2. Wanted Items
3. Accommodation
4.
Recreation
5. Specialist Services
6. Pets
Corner
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
OFFERED FOR
SALE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
HONDA XR 250 R, trail bike with lights
and indicators, 18000km only. In
near original mint
condition.
Phone: 091 326 965 for
details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2
Agricultural Items for sale
(Ad inserted
21/02/06)
RADIUM
Imported harrow discs 24" and 26"
New Montana boom
sprayers 10m boom, 600l tank
New 16KVA generators
Radium Zimbabwe 04
870264 / 011 600
389
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3
Chemicals For Sale (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
Dithian (M45)
Copper
Oxy
Dual Magnum
Punch Extra
Phone: John 334764, Cell
011208893
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4
BIKE FOR SALE (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
CRX450F - GOOD CONDITION, 2004
MODEL.
PREVIOUSLY USED FOR MOTOCROSS. PRICE ON REQUEST
CONTACT:
WARREN/ANDREA THORNE
091208836 OR EMAIL US: tourleaders@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5
For Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
"THE WEAVERY."
Phone your orders
to--Anne--011212424 or 332851.
Email joannew@zol.co.zw
Fax--332851.
SUPER
GIFT IDEAS FOR LOCAL OR OVERSEAS FRIENDS AND FAMILY. LIGHT,EASY TO
WASH AND
SOMETHING DIFFERENT. EASTER IS JUST AROUND THE
CORNER!
Prices.
Small woven bags--$395,000 each.
Large
crocheted bags.--$1,055,000 each.
Large woven bags.--$815,000
each.
Table Runners.--$600,000.
Set of 4 Fringed Table mats +
serviettes--$1,805,000.
Fringed mats only(4)---$1,195,000.
Set of
6 Fringed mats+ serviettes--$2,705,000.
Set of 4 Bordered table mats+
serviettes---$2,185,000.
Bordered mats only(4)--$1,575,000.
Set of
6 Bordered mats + serviettes--$3,275,000.
Set of 8 Bordered mats +
serviettes---$4,370,000.
2m Throws--$2,115,000.each.
Tea
cosy(L)--$350,000.
Tea cosy(m)--$340,000
Tea
cosy(s)--$330,000.
Crocheted oven
gloves(pair)--$800,000.
Cotton(lined)oven
gloves(pair)--$455,000.
Aprons--$945,000.
Decorated cushion
covers--$805,000.
Plain cushion
covers---$560,000.
Scarves(knitted)--$795,000. each.
Hand Woven
Scarves--$900,000 each
Hats(Beanies)--$450,000 each.
Large plain
cotton rug--$1,785,000.
Med. plain cotton rug---$1,155,000.
Small
plain cotton rug.---$740,000.
Cotton Rag Rug--$740,000.
Med. plain
mohair rug--$1,380,000.
Med. patterned mohair rug.--$1,725,000.
X
Large plain mohair rug.--$5,455,000.
Bedspreads-- QS/DB/3/4
and
Single--$6,110,000,/$5,260,000/$4,840,000/$3,175,000.
Wholesale
prices available for orders(over 6 of an article) or
large
purchases.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6
For Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
Old farm radio equipment for sale....
Motorola.
Antiques as follows:
Mahogany bedroom set with marbled
washstand, dressing table, bedside
table and wardrobe! All exquisitely
carved, bevelled mirrors and in
outstanding condition.
English oak
dining room set. Ten chairs, extendable table and
long
sideboard.
Victorian hall tables x 2. One round and one
oval.
Pie Crust coffee/tea table.
Grandmother clock.
Three
what-nots in outstanding condition.
Collectors cupboard - ideal for
collections of eggs/butterflies etc.
Burmese Teak mirrored
dresser.
Lounge suite, whickered arms with carved backs, legs and arms.
One three
seater and two single seaters.
Large liquor cupboard - lined
with asbestos - antique mirrors, screens
and much more.
Contact no:
011
416937
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
Sony LBT-V302 Stereo Hi-Fi System
with 5 discs CD player - ZWD 100
million.
Excellent condition. Phone
Harare
494395
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.8
Item for Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
FOR SALE:
Monarch Chevette 4
plate Stove (black)
Minor attention needed $30 mill
Contact joe@radius.co.zw
or 756363-9 (work)
339378 (home)
091-338414
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.9
Curtains for Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
Very good condition and fully
lined
1. SUNFILTER Pale beige with Wheat
design
1 x 2.8m wide x 2.3m
drop
1 x 1.4m wide x 2.3m
drop
$2,400,000
2. SUNFILTER Pale green with floral
design
2 x 2.8m wide x 2.3m
drop
2 x 1.4m wide x 2.3m
drop
$4,800,000
3. HEAVY QUALITY Plain
Cream
2 X 4.0m wide x 2.3m
drop
$5,400,000
4 x 2.16m wide x 2.3m
drop
$5,800,000
Contact Tel 303570 to
view
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.10
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
Various second hand items for sale
- All must go!!!
Prices are negotiable.
Filing cabinet, 2 draw, wooden
(good condition) - $35m
Wooden and black leather bar 140 x 50cm with 3
leather stools - $20m
18 speed mountain bike - $10m
Square folding
table, wooden 92 x 92cm - $6m
Roller Blades size 5/6 - $3m
Trivial
pursuit for teens (good condition) - $2m
Monopoly - $1m
Scrabble -
$1m
Please contact Monique 309274(w) 091 315 411 (cell)
monique.fachet@gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.11
For Sale (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
1) 2 x 200 litre electric/solar geysers
and drip trays
plus 4 glass covered panels and piping.
2) 1 x
Frigidaire refrigerator (locakable). Old but in excellent
working
condition.
3) 1 set of bunk beds and mattresses.
Contact: Nigel
Rennie on 011-808
752
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.12
For Sale (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
"Shawasha hills, phase one, 4,4 acres,
extensive Msasa/acacia trees,
river frontage, for sale, share transfer, call
496829
evenings"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.13
For Sale (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Datsun Pulsar 140 A, very economical, in
use every day. Looking for $200
million. Please call Cheryl or Shane on
336710 or send e-mail to
mailto:galorand@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.14
Stamps for Sale (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Stamps for Sale: Mint condition,
many in albums.
First Day Covers of the following
Countries:-
Period
Envelopes
South Africa
01/82-02/95
126
South West Africa/ Namibia 12/82-05/95 72
Bophuthatswana
11/81-03/94 60
Venda
11/81-04/94 60
Transkei
01/82-03/94
54
Ciskei
12/81-04/94 58
Rhodesia
02/62-07/76
45
Zimbabwe
04/80-04/00 108
Offers: Phone:
861089
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.15
Bakery for Sale (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Bakery and coffee shop in Sam
Leavy`s village Borrowdale for sale.
Bakery is operating full speed and
doing catering for
numerous schools and coffee shops in Harare.
Call:
091 77 55 44 or 011 60 70 45
land line 88 2 384 or 851
729
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.16
For Sale (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Mazda B2500 Diesel, single cab, pickup.
1997. Driven by owner only.
Contact: Mark at 09 234757 or 011 416
937.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.17
For Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
TOYOTA RAIDER 3.0L KZTE
2003
Model
1 owner since new
Long Range Tank
Rubberised
Back
Spotlights
Please email: office@arniston.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.18
For Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Steel slim line Canopy for Toyota 2.4
truck for Sale.
$ 40. Million/offers.
Please phone a.m. 487141 or
p.m evenings.
882713
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.19
For Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
TROLLING MOTOR 24V (FOOT CONTROL) IN
PERFECT CONDITION US$650
PHONE
741671.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.20
For Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Offered for Sale
TOYOTA RAIDER
3.0L KZTE
2003 Model
1 owner since new
Long Range Tank
Rubberised
Back
Spotlights
Please email: office@arniston.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.21
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Steam Iron $3
million
Porcelain Doll $2 million
Heater $2
million
Electric Blanket $3 million
Ladies Racer $10
million
Girls 28in Bycle $6 million
4 pine folding tables $5
million
Sewing Cabinet $5 million
Baby Tender $5
million
Carpet - Dusty Pink 12 x 15 ft $15 million
Carpet - Maroon
12 x 9 ft $12 million
Lace Curtain - 18 1/2m on roll (long) $5
million
Lace Curtain - 40m on roll (short) $8 million
Lounge &
Dining Room full length curtains - Pale Green 5 drops x 2
widths $5
million
Lounge & Dining Room full length curtains - Blue Cream 6
drops x 1
width $5 million (with pelmet covers)
Lounge & Dining
Room full lenth curtains - Wine Brocade 2 drops x 2
widths, 2 drops x 1 1/2
widths, 3 drops x 1 width $4 million
Curtains - Pink with bedcover 2
drops x 2 widths $4 million
Curtains - Rose Green & Cream (large set)
$6 million
Curtains - Bathroom & Shower - green and blue sets, sun
filter
$2 million
Curtains - Kitchen, fancy lace yellow & white $2
million
Vinyl Records - offers
Summer collection in excellent
condition
Long play, speed 33, 1000 records
Seven Singles, box3s
of 7, speed 45
1st single releases, boxes of 4, speed 78 (some of Elvis's
1st original
releases)
Lots of ornaments
Lots of framed
pictures
Lots of Kitchen wear
1998 4WD Ex Jap Pulsar, in good
condition. +\- 89 000 kms $400 million.
For further enquiries please
contact Mrs L Noble on 304426 or
091340334.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.22
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Honda CB 650 B Motorbike. Seat
needs attention and needs new Electric
start batt.
$200
million.
Pink Carpet. 12 x 9 ft $12 million
Blue single bedspread
set $2.5 million
Brand New Double bed sheets $5 million
Brand new
12 piece tea set (6 cups & 6 saucers) $4 million
Brand new Pyrex oval
dish with metal frame $4 million
Brand new Pudding bowls $4
million
Tupperware Rice Cooker $3 million
Tupperware deep oval
casserole dish $3 million
Tupperware low oval casserole dish $3
million
Tupperware round casserole dish $3 million
Tupperware
rolls container $3 million
2x tea sets (for 6) $1 million
each
Deep Fryer $8 million
Ice Cream Machine $10
million
Snug and Safe Baby carrier/car seat (0 - 9mths) $5
million
Baby bath seat $1.5 million
Baby monitor $3
million
Baby carrier $3 million
Microwave Sterilser (brand new) $5
million
2 man canvas Tents $10 million each
Tennis Rackets $2.5
million each
Hockey sticks $2.5 million each (one is for
goalkeeping)
2000 pieces puzzles $2 million each
Pictionary Game
$2 million
For further details please contact Venetia Bratley on 309914
or
091777668
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.23
For Sale (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Hewlett Packard printer 610C (brand
new)
French lessons course (Oxford) never used
Supersonic radio
and record player (superb condition)
.270 rifle with Lynx scope (4x40)
licensed.
Contact no: 011 416937 or 09
234757
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.24
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Sokkia Automatic Dumpy
- Level / Theodolite
In immaculate condition with Tripod contact 851380
or 091272572 to view
or with realistic
offers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.25
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Various second hand items for sale
- All must go!!!
Prices are negotiable.
Filing cabinet, 2 draw, wooden
(good condition) - $25m
Wooden and black leather bar 140 x 50cm with 3
leather stools - $20m
5 man Tent (dome shape - water resistant) -
$18m
Camp bed x 2 (army edition) - $5m each
Square folding table,
wooden 92 x 92cm - $2m
Roller Blades size 5/6 - $2m
The Mad Max
Magazine Game (good condition) - $3m
Cluedo (good condition) -
$3m
Please contact Monique 309274(w) 091 315 411 (cell)
monique@oxfordit.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.26
FOR SALE (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
2 Toshiba Satellite Pro Pentium Laptop
Computers in good working order.
Complete with carrier cases.
Loaded with
Windows 95 and Lotus Word Perfect.
Price ZD$ 50,000,000.00 each
onco.
Call B. Brown on 04-754301/2 or
091-754301.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.27
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Leather Coat - full length - size
107cm - only worn once
Leather Coat - 3/4 length - size 112cm - in very good
condition.
Health Walker
A set of 18 Volumes of Claxton
Encyclopaedias
A set of 4 volumes of Claxton Children
Encyclopaedias
Serious offers only
Contact R. Jordaan on 011 603
110
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.28
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
One Humidifier.
Phone 04 - 701940
or 011 -
616342.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.29
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Brand new (unused) Delco Remy 24 volt
starter suitable for Mercedes, MAN
or ADE engine trucks, complete with all
mounting brackets and solenoid.
$100 million ONCO.
Contact 091
321006 or 335573 (after hours) to view or for
further
information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.30
FOR SALE (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
30,000 litre steel tank on skids,
complete with lockable filler and
outlet fixtures. In excellent condition and
suitable for fuels. $1
billion. New tank costs in excess of $2 billion.
Contact 091 321006 or
335573 (after hours) to view or for further
information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.31
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
NISSAN SE 3.2 Diesel , D/Cab , 4 X 4,
White , 2001 .
14,000 Kms ( only )
Rubberised back, Canopy, Bull
bar, Roll bar, as new
usd 27,000:
cell 011
208848.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.32
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
A NUMBER OF LARGE BANANA
TREES
PLEASE PHONE:- 071 8 474
CELL 091 238 462/ 091 303
097
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.33
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
MAZDA 323 YEAR 1986
One careful
owner
Excellent condition
500 million
Please phone:
011603070, 486326, 486293, or
011605219
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.34
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Laundry table solid wood
Verandah
furniture Monomatapa oval 8 seater
Adam Bede round oak table and six
chairs
4 upholstered swivel bar chairs
Single Beds
4
Kitchen table and 6 stools
Small Hoover
Single tub
washing machine (not automatic)
Large glass top defy stove
Beige
Carpet
Music Centre 3 CD shuttle and a record player new
Old pine
table
Tennis court/ driveway/garden roller
Pine bedroom suite,
single headboard, bedside table, desk and chest of
drawers
1 painted
white chest of drawers
1 Creda Carefree Cooker 4 plate double
oven
1 GEC old fridge 8 cubic foot
1 Capri Fridge
4 large
pot plants
Fertiliser spreader
A garden fumigation / chemical
backpack sprayer.
Please phone 884076 or
011204060
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.35
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Large whiskey collection.
Must all
go together? Serious buyers only.
Please phone 884076 or
011204060
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.36
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
BMW 323i
Beautiful condition 1998
133 000 km on the clock. Alarm, central
locking, CD player
etc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.37
Toyota Starlet 116 000 km 1997
Wonderful runner round town. Extremely
fuel-efficient.
Air conditioning, alarmed, cut out switch, anti hijack,
central locking
Kenwood front loader CD with speakers.
Please phone
851558/851375
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.38
For Sale (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
CHILDREN'S, COLOURED CHAIRS
$350,000
TABLE TENNIS TABLE & TRESTLES $ 35 MILLION.
BATS, NET
& BALLS $ 5 MILLION
APPLY mnmilbank@zol.co.zw
---------------------------------------------------------------
2
WANTED
ITEMS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1
Wanted (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
White painted Garden Furniture - we need an
attractive table for eating
round and 6-8 chairs to go with
it.
Contact 04 -
496049
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2
Wanted (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
MAIZE STOVA WANTED
Are you likely to
have any maize stova available in the next few
months? If so I have cattle
that would like to eat it. Must be fairly
near Harare / Ruwa and have some
sort of cattle handling facilities.
Reply to mnmilbank@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.3
Wanted (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
ANY ROOFING (PREFERABLY CORRUGATED IRON OR
ASBESTOS) WE NEED TO COMPLETE
2 SMALL HOUSES
PLEASE PHONE:- 071 8
474
CELL 091 238 462/ 091 303
097
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4
Wanted (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
1 medium sized coffee table (wooden not
steel)
1 x three quarter bed, or 2 x single beds in good
condition.
Contact: Kim Rennie on 011-212
697
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5
WANTED (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
MEASURING WHEEL
Does anyone have a
measuring wheel to, donate, lend or sell to Pony
Club? Ours 'went missing'
last weekend and we urgently require another
one
for our shows and
eventing. Many thanks.
Please call Jo on 091 247001 or 494720 or Kathy
on 023
317537
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.6
Wanted (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
I am looking for a second hand cellphone to
buy. If there is anyone out
there selling his/her cellphone please contact me
on 023756589
or e-mail babsmandava@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.7
Items Wanted (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Wanted Items
Is there anyone
out there with a second hand jungle gym for sale? Please
phone Michelle Ross
on 091 202 138 or alternatively
883606.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.8
Wanted (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Pensioner looking for second hand walking
frame to buy.
Any further details please contact Mrs L Noble on 304426 or
091340334
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.9
Wanted (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
PICK-UP VEHICLE WANTED!
Mazda B1600,
1995 - 1998, petrol or
Ford Bantam/Mazda Rustler 1995 - 1998
LAWN
MOWER WANTED!
Electric, used but in good condition.
Call 091 256
326 or mail rejoice@earth.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
2.10
Wanted (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
City Bowling Club
Desperately
required: Lawnmowers (drum type) for bowling greens. If you
know of any clubs
that are closing their bowls or golf sections please
let me
know.
Contact Malcom Evans 011 604929 or motley@zol.co.zw or Joe 04 756363-9
or
091-338414 or joe@radius.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.11
Wanted (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Petra Junior School in Bulawayo needs to
buy a good quality lawn mower
for its premises. A second hand will be an
option if the condition
is
good.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Accommodation Wanted and
Offered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1
House for Sale (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Helensvale Area, on just over 2
acres (8138 sq.mtrs)
Mediterranean style, very neat, well
maintained.
Spacious lounge with jet master fireplace
Separate
dining room
Kitchen with walk in pantry
Two large
bedrooms
Two lock up garages
Well-developed garden of indigenous
trees
Good borehole
Offers phone:
861089
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2
Wanted (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
Accommodation
Wanted
Elderly couple looking for 3 bedroomed house for long term lease
with
lock up garage(s). Able to maintain home and property very well. Able
to
pay rental up to $25 million per month. Please contact Reg Gravett
on
302983 after 1800
hrs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3
Looking for House Sitter (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
House Sitter
Wanted
Marondera - Smallholding - Mature couple required to house sit
from 1st
April to 1st July. Must be animal lovers. Beautiful environment, on
tar
road, Town Centre only 4kms away.
Please phone Rene' on 091
395-576 or 04 747
411
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4
Looking for House Sitter (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
House sitter required
from May to end of July in Bulawayo. Large house
with 3 dogs and 3 cats plus
staff. Traceable references please
Contact: 011
416937
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5
House Wanted for Rent (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
A reliable married couple
(no children) are looking for a 3 or 4 b/roomed
house to rent as from Ist
June 2006. (Long term lease) preferably with
lock up garage and domestic
quarters. A granny cottage/bachelor flat
would be a bonus. We are able to
maintain home and garden very well.
Contact:
Dudley or Colleen
Potgieter
04 335455 - evenings
091 202303 (Dudley)
011 613268
(Colleen)
---------------------------------------------------------------
4
RECREATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1
Harare International Festival of the Arts (Ad inserted
7/2/06)
The
Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is one of
Zimbabwe's premier
artistic events. It gives Zimbabweans the change to
meet and interface with
top local artists, as well as regional and
international artists and
performers. The Festival's appeal is for all
ages and interests and during
HIFA, Zimbabweans come together in a truly
carnival atmosphere
to
experience the sheer joy that is art in whatever form - art as
healer,
art as educator, art as up lifter of the spirit.
HIFA 2006 is
scheduled for 25th to 30th April 2006. All the major
international festivals
offer a "Friends of Festival" scheme and ours is
known as HifAmigos.
HifAmigos are a highly valued and regarded
component of the Festival. HIFA
offers a series of comprehensive
benefits in several categories of HifAmigos
to cater for all interests
and needs and subscriptions are reasonable. HIFA
has been described as
"second to Edinburgh" and "among the top ten festivals
of the world!"
HIFA 2006 now invites you to become a HifAmigo or to renew
your HifAmigo
membership. If you do so by 24th February 2006, you will be
listed in
the Official HIFA 2006 Programme and invited to what is becoming
the
hottest even on the Zimbabwean social calendar - the HIFA Opening
Party.
Our launch events are legendary. Join early & be
there!
2006 HifAmigos will enjoy 20% discounts on all shows and
workshops.
Procedure for becoming a hifAmigo
Contact the hifAmigo Manager
for an application form -
Angie Thomas - contactable via HIFA as
below.
Harare International Festival of the Arts
Box A42, Avondale,
Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone & Fax: +263 (4) 300 119
Email: amigos@hifa.co.zw
Website: www.hifa.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2
ABERFOYLE LODGE (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
HONDE VALLEY
Fully serviced, self-catering lodge with cook
and bar.
Something for everyone- golf, swimming, squash as well as lovely
walks in
idyllic surroundings
and brilliant birding. Gather your friends, share
transport, and have a
fun-filled few days.
For further information contact
Sue Fawcett on fawfam@mango.zw or
Val
Marshall on
mfpl@mango.zw or bookings@aberfoyle-lodge.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3
KARIBA (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
GACHE GACHE LODGE
Book now for
Easter!
Contact us: tourleaders@zol.co.zw or phone Andrea
on
091 208 836.
Rates on
request!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4
Looking for Bush Time (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
Are you a writer or just in
need of bush time?
Looking for someone to spend one month at a time in bush
environment.
Would be there as a male presence while husband is working away.
Small
help required mechanically if generator or vehicle needs arise. Must
like
animals, both domestic and wild. Would have own cottage with en
suite
bush shower and flush lou and food would be provided.
If interested
please email: paolillo@users.sourceforge.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5
(Ad inserted 7/03/06)
The National Institute of Alied
Arts
Presents their Annual Festival from 8th - 23rd March
Choirs
at Harry Margolis Hall
Music across the board
21st, 22nd and 23rd
March
Final Concert at Prince Edward School
Public welcome we need
your
support
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
SPECIALIST
SERVICES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1
Ad inserted (21/02/06)
Farmers -- your favourite hairdressers, Donaghy's,
has re-located from
Farm & City Centre to smart new premises in the City
Bowling Club in
Harare Gardens. Phone Annette on 011 716
246.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2
Ad inserted (7/03/06)
Blackfordby College of Agriculture
DIPLOMA
IN AGRICULTURE
Enrolment applications for the
intake
Commencing in
August 2006
are now open
The minimum entrance qualifications for the
diploma
Is: Five O-Levels; English, Maths,
Science and two
others.
The course covers two years and is written in
five
Disciplines, Animal Husbandry, Crop Husbandry,
Horticulture,
Farm Mechanization and
Farm Management.
Applicants must send a
non-refundable deposit of
$1 000 000.00 (one million dollars) to the
address below
or deposit the money
into our
account:
Standard Chartered Bank, Avondale Branch
Account Number:
0101723103701.
A copy of the deposit slip with the applicant's name
and
Address must be faxed to 075-2539.
The application forms will
then be sent to you, and will
Include details of fee
structure.
Blackfordby College of Agriculture
P.O. Box EH
197
Emerald Hill
Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone:
075-2532/2533
Fax: 075-2579
E-mail: agfordby@mweb.co.zw
Applications
close on 31st May
2006.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3
(Ad inserted 7/03/06)
T.M. LAMBERT (Agent for Mono Pumps
Zimbabwe)
Capacity Test, Installations, Repair Maintenance On All
Borehole Pumps
PO Box GT 629
Graniteside, Harare
Tel:
04-494796
Cell: 091 288 448 or 011 726 062
E-mail: tlambert@zim.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4
Savuli Safari (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Savuli Safari, self catering chalets
in the heart of the Save Valley
Conservancy. Game watching, fishing, horse
riding, canoeing, walking
trails and 4x4 hire. Camp fully kitted including
cook and fridges. Just
bring your food, drinks and relax. $900 000 pppn, 1/2
U/12.
Booking direct to John Tayler at 091 631 556 or savuli@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.5
G - TECH (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
G - TECH: Diesel and plant maintenance,
site contracting, generator and
stationary engine installation and
maintenance, tractors and hydraulics.
Contact Graham at gtech@zol.co.zw or call 011 406023, 091
286657, 04
741001, 075
2264
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.6
For Hire (Ad inserted 14/03/06)
21 & 14" Televisions & videos for
hire - Please phone Hire Electric
on
741913.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.7
(Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Air-conditioning
Servicing and re-gassing
of aircon done on all vehicles and fridges/deep
freezes. Reasonable rates -
same day car return.
Call Russell or Teresa Hook on 305381 331970 331976
091201744
011201744
Plastic Repairs
For all plastic repairs, on
car bumpers ,grilles, door handles, trims,
mouldings, cowlings, right down to
cooler box handles. Anything plastic
bring to us.
Call Russell or
Teresa Hook on 305381 331970 331976
091201744
011201744
Boats
All Fibre Glass repairs to boats,
Repairs and Servicing done on all
motors.
Call Russell Hook at Dragon
Marine on 305381 331970 331976
091201744 011201744
Motor
Vehicles
Servicing and minor repairs to all motor vehicles. Affordable
rates. Come
in and see us at 6 Childwall Road Bluff Hill or phone Russell
Hook
305381 331970 331976 091201744 011201744
Stationery
For
all your stationery requirements call AF Stationers. Our prices
include
delivery!
Phone Teresa Hook 305381 331970 331976 011201744
Holiday
in Amanzimtoti
2 Bedroom flat at Toti Cabanas. Sleeps 6. Available from
15-22 or/and
22-29 May.
USD150 for the week.
Call Noeleen on
011 205 183 or 305381 or
065-204.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.8
(Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Care Management Services. Formerly called
"Substitute Daughter."
No further vacancies. Sorry. The ad will not run
after this until further
vacancies are available.
Have you left Zim?
Are worried about a remaining relative? For a modest
fee our service will
monitor the well being - physical, mental and
emotional - of those
who
might be in need. The service is run by qualified, experienced,
registered
nurses of "the old school". We ensure that health needs are
being met and
that if your relative needs any other sort of care -
nursing, financial
services, transport, domestic aid, medical visits
etc... - we will arrange
for these needs to be met. We visit regularly
and keep you informed with
reliable, accurate reports of all
developments. 24 hour call
available.
The service has been working successfully without interruption
since
Sept. 2002.
Want to know more? e-mail: brumarlow@mango.zw
Ph.: 00-263-4- 302518
(after hours) or 00-263-91-603621.
References will be supplied on
request.
Margaret Low. SRN.
SCM.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
PETS
CORNER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.1
Home Wanted (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
Jack Russell looking for home as only
dog, not a fighter but has always
been an only pet. Jock, tan/white, male 6
years. Docked tail not
neutered. Tel Calla Van Zyl on 884226 or 091-252-744.
To approved
home
only.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------
6.2
African Grey Chicks For Sale
(Ad inserted 21/02/06)
Two hand
reared African Grey chicks.
Contact: Trinity on
04-369160-5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.3
Puppies For Sale (Ad inserted 21/02/06)
$ 1 MILLION EACH
Father -
boer bull cross ridgeback
Mother - blue heeler
CONTACT
011
606 783
091 246 233 or 065
2703
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.4
Wanted (Ad inserted 28/02/06)
"5 year old male Golden Retriever "Stanley"
with excellent UCI and FCI
pedigree background ideally looking for female
Golden for breeding, but
also
any friends for playing in yard etc. Pls
call 091
317550.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.5
Homes Wanted (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
2 ex farming male cats both
neutered,
2 ex farming female cats both spayed,
Very relaxed and
well house trained. Looking for a new home. Used to
travelling and good at
settling into different life styles. Please
contact 04 490758 after 6pm
weekdays or
weekends.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.6
HOME WANTED (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
I have two very beautiful tabby cats
that we took onto farm from someone
leaving the country. However now refusing
to come into house because of
dogs. I would very much like to find them good
home where there are no
dogs. Very friendly, young, females, spade.
Independent but love people.
Please phone Carrie 091 206
558.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.7
Wanted (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
LOOKING FOR 2 PEAHENS FOR LONELY PEACOCK
AND WHITE DUCKS COUPLE OF
PAIRS. WOULD LIKE TO BREED PEKIN DUCKS IF ANYONE
HAS ANY BREEDING STOCK.
PHONE JACKIE 091 240 923 OR EMAIL be1371@mweb.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.8
HOME WANTED (Ad inserted 7/03/06)
Looking for a good home for a 6 year
old female Pure Bred Boerbul.
Excellent guard dog but very dominant and
probably needs to be an only
dog. Prefer a Farm or big
property
Contact
Colin Paterson 011-206626
Gill Paterson 091-294185
or
04-882013
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.9
Wanted (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
Staffordshire Pup
We are looking for
a Staffordshire Bitch Pup. Preferably between 6 and 8
weeks old. Please
contact Colleen on 091275624, or email us at
peat@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.10
Looking for a Home (Ad inserted 21/03/06)
English Bull Terrier
Lovers.
Magnificent white English Bull Terrier Male, 4 years, looking for
kind
and loving home. Came from a farm but owners have left. Please help
as
will be put to sleep if home not found soon. Tel Michelle on 884294
or
e-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAG
Hotlines:
+263 (011) 205 374 If you are in trouble or need advice,
please
don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
+263 (04) 799 410 Office
Lines
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To
advertise (JAG Members): Please email classifieds to: jag@mango.zw
with subject "Classifieds".