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UK aid delivers in Zimbabwe but violence threatens progress, say MPs
26 March 2010
UK aid has helped deliver progress in Zimbabwe since the
Government of National Unity was established a year ago, but governance, human
rights and provision of basic services are still falling well below the needs of
the people, says a report published today by the International Development
Select Committee.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) is a leading donor in
Zimbabwe. It allocated £60 million for humanitarian and development assistance
in the country in 2009-10.
The Report says that UK support has been effective in reaching poor and
vulnerable people. UK aid should continue, given the scale of ongoing need, and
should be increased in the sectors where it is making the greatest impact. To
date aid has been channelled through non-governmental organisations and
multilateral agencies.
This should continue to be the way UK assistance is delivered, with DFID also
supporting pro-poor elements of the Inclusive Government's own policies, where
this is appropriate.
Emergency aid is making a difference but it cannot be turned into sustained
development support without a long-term political settlement. The report
condemns the electoral manipulation, abuse of state power, land seizures, and
violence against political opponents and civil society which President Mugabe's
ZANU-PF have inflicted on the country for many years.
The Chair of the Committee, Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce, said:
"We welcome the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which, although far from
perfect, created the basis for formation of the Government of National Unity.
However, violence and intimidation, bad government and destruction of the
economy have forced millions of people to leave Zimbabwe.
"Many others have been displaced from their homes and are now refugees in
their own country. There have been welcome signs of economic recovery under the
Inclusive Government. Nevertheless, the political situation remains fragile.
Until free and fair elections can take place, without intimidation and violence,
progress will be limited and could be halted or reversed at any
time."
The report concludes that the international community's longer-term focus
should be on strengthening the capacity of the Government of National Unity so
that it is better placed to determine its own development priorities and to
deliver them.
The Chair said:
"The Inclusive Government needs to move to a position where it can meet the
needs of the Zimbabwean people. All elements within the Government must
demonstrate that their main aim is to ensure people receive basic services like
health and education and are allowed to earn a living. The continuing political
violence and harassment is not compatible with this.
"The Global Political Agreement must be fully implemented and all parties
must be allowed to function without intimidation. We also believe that progress
on human rights and democracy must be demonstrated before all the EU's
restrictive measures placed on named individuals and organisations in Zimbabwe
can be lifted."
The collapse of the economy led to a humanitarian crisis. Although the
situation has improved, two million people are estimated to require food aid
this year. DFID has provided vital humanitarian assistance and this will
continue to be necessary for the next few years.
However, the report recommends that DFID should work towards a transition to
longer-term development assistance, as conditions improve. It commends DFID for
its Protracted Relief Programme, which has both met the immediate needs of
millions of people, and helped them to rebuild their livelihoods.
Many skilled workers, particularly health workers and teachers, were driven
from the country by political violence and the collapse of the economy. This
left the health and education systems near collapse.
The Chair said:
"The challenges in the health sector are clear. Life expectancy rates in
Zimbabwe are amongst the lowest in the world. Maternal and child mortality rates
are particularly worrying. HIV/AIDS kills 62,000 people a year and has left one
in four children as orphans.
"Continued donor support is needed to restore Zimbabwe's health services to
the capability and capacity they had 20 years ago, when they were amongst the
best in Africa. This is also true of education where a lack of teachers has
resulted in a sharp decline in the number of children who are in school and the
quality of provision they receive."
The report highlights that Zimbabwe's recovery will not only benefit its own
people but neighbouring countries and the wider international community. The
Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the South African President
are central to progress towards political stability and continued economic
recovery in Zimbabwe.
The Chair said:
"SADC has a key role to play in supporting Zimbabwe's recovery. We are
disappointed that Zimbabwe has defied the SADC Tribunal ruling on land seizures.
Farm invasions have had a devastating impact, both on individual farm-owners and
workers and on the agricultural economy, and they must stop.
"The terrible human rights abuses which have taken place as part of land
seizures are completely unacceptable. Zimbabwe should recognise the authority of
SADC. The lack of enforcement mechanisms for the SADC ruling should also be
addressed."
Image: iStockphoto
Biti
may face charge after road accident
http://www.timeslive.co.za
Mar 26, 2010 12:09 AM | By Moses
Mudzwiti
Zimbabwean police were preparing to charge Finance Minister
Tendai Biti with
negligent driving, sources close to the case
said.
The charges came to light two days after Biti was involved in a car
crash
near Chegutu. He was slightly injured.
Biti, who is
secretary-general of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
Movement for
Democratic Change, was discharged yesterday from the Avenues
Clinic in
Harare.
Police sources investigating Tuesday night's crash said evidence
collected
so far indicated Biti was alone in his vehicle when it collided
with a truck
travelling from the opposite direction about 130km from Harare.
However,
initial reports said Biti was a passenger.
Senior Assistant
Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said the police would make an
official
statement on the possibility of charging Biti after their
investigation was
complete.
Watchdog
says calls for Zim vote premature
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Clara Smith Friday 26 March
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe's biggest election watchdog on Thursday
said calls by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe
for new
elections are premature, adding that credible polls are possible
only after
a complete overhaul of the country's distorted voters' roll and a
review of
electoral, security and media laws.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai,
who formed a unity government in February 2009 but
have since then been
locked in a dispute over how to share executive power,
have in recent weeks
urged supporters to prepare for a new vote to end
political stalemate in the
country.
But the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said conditions
that have
produced disputed election results in the past still existed in
the country
while political violence that had relatively eased following
formation of
the unity government was on the rise again.
ZESN, which
is a coalition of more than 30 civic groups working to promote
democracy and
free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, said the voters' was
still in a mess
with tens of thousands of ghosts voters on the register.
"An imperfect
voters' roll can disenfranchise the electorate," said ZESN,
which also
called for the new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to
takeover voter
registration from the office of Registrar General Tobaiwa
Mudede, a known
Mugabe ally who has been accused in the past of manipulating
the register to
ensure victory for the veteran President and his Zanu (PF)
party.
Under the political agreement signed by Mugabe, Tsvangirai and
Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara that gave birth to their
power-sharing government,
a new election should be held after the drafting
of a new democratic
constitution to ensure the vote is free and
fair.
But the constitutional reform process is lagging behind schedule
which could
mean that the new vote that was initially expected in 2011 will
have to be
delayed to probably 2012 or 2013 - or that the three governing
parties agree
a new electoral framework to allow the holding of polls even
before a new
constitution is in place.
ZESN said in addition to
preparing a fresh and clean voters roll the unity
government would have to
scrap the Public Order and Security Act and the
Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act to ensure a new vote is
free and fair even in the
absence of a new constitution.
The civic group said the government must
move with speed to provide
resources and other support to the ZEC to ensure
the commission is able to
manage elections.
"ZESN proposes that the
election management body needs to be capacitated
and resourced to improve
its ability to manage elections efficiently and
effectively. ZESN continues
to advocate for the creation of a truly
independent election management
body," the group said.
Zimbabwe's elections over the past decade have
been accompanied by violence
and gross human rights abuses with at least 200
supporters of Tsvangirai's
MDC party are believed to have been killed while
no less than 10 000 others
were displaced in political violence in the
run-up to a second round
presidential vote in 2008.
Tsvangirai, who
had been tipped to win the second round vote after
defeating Mugabe in the
first round ballot withdraw from the race citing
state sponsored attacks
against his supporters and leaving Mugabe to win the
poll
uncontested.
But Mugabe's victory was rejected by the international
community including
some of his African allies forcing him to agree to form
a power sharing a
government with his former opposition foes.
The
government has won plaudits for stabilising the economy but has moved at
a
snail's pace on political and democratic reforms. - ZimOnline.
Zimbabwe
gets green light to sell ivory
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Friday 26 March
2010
HARARE - The 175-member Convention on International Trade in
Endangered
Species (CITES) has given Zimbabwe the green light to continue
trading in
ivory despite attempts by some African countries to have a
20-year
moratorium, a government official told ZimOnline on
Thursday.
Speaking on condition that his name was not published the
official said the
authorisation to continue trading in ivory, follows
submissions by Harare on
the benefits the country's wildlife industry is
giving communities.
"CITES has given us the green light to continue
trading in ivory," the
senior government official who is part of Environment
Minister Francis Nhema's
delegation attending a CITES meeting which ended in
Qatar yesterday said.
"This is a major relief to us. We are spending some
US$13 million in terms
of security and the administration of the ivory we
would have recovered from
either poachers or dead animals."
According
to the official Nhema is expected to officially announce the CITES
position
upon his return from the Middle East country.
Zimbabwe's bid to continue
trade in ivory looked doomed following appeals by
Kenya, which lobbied the
world conservation body not to allow trade in
ivory.
The east African
country had suggested that there be a 20-year moratorium on
moves to ease
international trade controls on elephant ivory.
"Kenya's proposal would
have been disastrous for our conservation efforts,"
the official
said.
Zimbabwe's elephants alongside those of other African countries are
listed
under CITES Appendix I, in which trade is prohibited.
The last
CITES meeting in 2007 agreed to a nine-year moratorium on any
further trade
in ivory, after a sale of 105 tonnes of elephant ivory from
Botswana,
Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to China and Japan.
Elephants, the
world's largest land mammals, are under pressure in many
parts of Africa
from poaching, loss of habitats to farms and towns,
pollution and climate
change. Estimates indicate that the numbers have
fallen to between 470
000-685 000 against millions a few decades ago.
Although Zimbabwe's
proposal has received a nod from the world body,
Zambia's and Tanzania's
appeal to be allowed to sell has been short down.
In 2008, Zimbabwe,
Botswana, South Africa and Namibia were allowed a
once-off sale of their
ivory stockpiles.
Currently, Harare does not have any ivory stockpiles
after it was granted
permission for a once-off sale in 2007, but later sold
the ivory in 2008. -
ZimOnline
Harare
power-sharing talks resume
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Ndodana Sixholo Friday 26 March
2010
HARARE - Talks to resolve a power-sharing dispute between
Zimbabwe's
political parties resumed on Thursday after MDC secretary-general
and
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who was involved in a horrific car crash
on
Tuesday night, was discharged from a private hospital in the
morning.
Biti's car was a complete wreck following the horrific crash in
Chegutu when
a haulage truck sideswiped his Toyota Hilux vehicle on Tuesday
night.
But Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC said yesterday that
Biti was set
to leave for Nyanga in the country's eastern districts to
attend the
inter-party talks with negotiators from President Robert Mugabe's
ZANU PF
party and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara's MDC faction in
line with
the time frames set by South African President Jacob
Zuma.
Zuma, who controls the region's biggest economy, is the Southern
African
Development Community (SADC) appointed facilitator in the on-going
dialogue
to nudge the Harare coalition partners to fully implement a 2008
power-sharing agreement that is also known as the global political agreement
(GPA).
After three days of intensive negotiations in Harare last
week, Zuma
announced that the parties had reached agreement on a "package of
measures
to be implemented concurrently" but negotiators were asked to put
final
touches on the agreements.
Zuma said the three parties to the
GPA "have instructed their negotiating
teams to attend to all outstanding
matters during their deliberations on
March 25, 26 and 29 and to report back
to the facilitator by the 31st of
March".
Reliable sources said the
negotiators will zero in on the implementation of
the agreed issues. It is
not clear however how many of the 27 issues on the
agenda were agreed on
when Zuma came and how many were still outstanding.
The negotiators are
expected to draft implementation plans and timelines to
all the agreed
issues and outline issues of disagreement which will then be
referred to
Zuma for final arbitration.
Zimbabwe's unity government has stabilised
country's economy to improve the
lives of ordinary citizens. But a dispute
between Tsvangirai and Mugabe over
how to share executive power, senior
appointments and security sector
reforms is holding back the administration
and threatening to render it
ineffective.
The unity government's
failure to win financial support from Western powers
and multilateral
institutions has also crippled its efforts to rebuild an
economy shattered
by a decade of political strife and acute recession. -
ZimOnline
Economic
recovery won’t end unemployment: Govt
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Friday 26 March
2010
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s recovering economy will be able to absorb in
the medium
term thousands of workers laid off during the past decade of
recession if it
maintains the pace of recovery, but it was a long way off
before the economy
could start creating fresh employment opportunities, the
government has
said.
According to a government policy document –
Government Work Programme (GWP),
March 2010 – the government was looking at
various intervention measures to
try and stimulate rapid recovery and growth
in key sectors such as tourism,
mining and manufacturing to try and create
more jobs in a country where
unemployment is above 80 percent.
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is set to present the policy document to
Parliament next week.
"With formal unemployment still hovering at
around 80 percent, restoring old
jobs as well as creating employment
opportunities remains top on the agenda
of this government," the 24-page
document states.
"Hope for this to be achieved is rekindled from
increasing industrial and
manufacturing capacity utilisation that, in some
cases has begun to breach
the 40 percent levels and beyond. If this trend
continues on this upward
trajectory, then most of the lost jobs will be
recovered in the medium term.
“However, even in the long term, economic
recovery and employment creation
is unlikely to absorb the rapidly growing
population. The GWP is therefore
thinking outside the box in the areas such
as mining, tourism and
manufacturing in order to make a sizeable positive
dent."
The GWP, which was adopted by Cabinet last week states that
increasing
production in mining and tourism will be critical in driving
economic
growth, while unviable and unproductive state enterprises will be
reformed.
The government, which is set to launch a new economic blueprint
next month,
says the GWP spells out agreed options, aimed at responding to
political,
social and economic challenges facing the country.
Once a
model African economy Zimbabwe is reeling from the effects of a
decade-long
economic meltdown that is marked by record unemployment and
deepening
poverty partly blamed on company closures as the economy continued
to
shrink.
A power-sharing government formed last year between President
Robert Mugabe
and Tsvangirai saw the southern African nation post its first
economic
growth last year after the coalition government implemented
measures,
including the adoption of multiple currencies that doused
hyperinflation.
The measures also improved availability of basic goods in
shops although the
country faces shortages of the main staple maize crop due
to a poor
agriculture season.
But the government remains hamstrung by its
failure to persuade key Western
donors to loosen their purse strings. The
donors are demanding that the
government carry out far reaching political
and media reforms and bring an
end to farm invasions before they consider
releasing any money. -- ZimOnline
Zimbabweans
Debate Youth Service Reform as Nation Moves Toward New Elections
http://www1.voanews.com
Training
at the so-called Border Gezi camps named for a deceased youth
minister is
said to have been halted - but reports say youth militia
continue to be
deployed ahead of the public outreach phase of constitutional
revision
Sandra Nyaira | Washington 25 March 2010
While
Zimbabwe's unity government principals and their negotiators haggle
over
outstanding issues undermining power-sharing, others are urging reform
of
the national youth service program, which many say was hijacked by
ZANU-PF
and turned into a youth militia that was deeply implicated in 2008
political
violence.
Training at the so-called Border Gezi camps named for a
deceased youth
minister is said to have been halted. But reports say youth
militia continue
to be deployed ahead of the public outreach phase of
constitutional revision
and some fear a resurgence of political
violence.
ZANU-PF officials have dismissed such concerns.
For a
closer look at youth program reform proposals, VOA Studio 7 reporter
Sandra
Nyaira sought the views of former education minister Fay Chung,
chairwoman
of the Envision Zimbabwe Women's Trust, and ZANU-PF Youth League
Secretary
Lesley Ncube.
Chung, whose organization seeks to rehabilitate youth
caught up in political
violence, said youth provisions in the 2008 Global
Political Agreement for
power sharing represent an opportunity for Zimbabwe
to make sure that its
youth are not politically exploited.
Ncube
insisted that ZANU-PF has not deployed youth militia. He said all
parties to
the GPA are consulting on a new Zimbabwe National Youth Service.
Zimbabwe's
Fractious Governing Parties Resume Talks Following Zuma
Intervention
http://www1.voanews.com
The long-running talks resumed behind closed doors late
Thursday afternoon
and continued into the evening after Finance Minister
Tendai Biti, shaken up
in a highway crash Tuesday, joined the
discussions
Patience Rusere | Washington 25 March
2010
Negotiators for the three parties in Zimbabwe's troubled
power-sharing
government resumed talks Thursday with a deadline Monday to
conclude
discussions and another deadline March 31 report to regional
mediator and
South African President Jacob Zuma on their
positions.
The long-running talks resumed behind closed doors late
Thursday afternoon
and continued into the evening after Finance Minister
Tendai Biti, shaken up
in a highway crash Tuesday, joined the discussions as
chief negotiator for
the Movement for Democratic Change formation headed by
prime minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
No word emerged as to progress - or
lack of it.
Meanwhile the state-controlled Herald newspaper, strongly
pro-ZANU-PF,
quoted party Information Secretary Rugare Gumbo as saying
Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa, ZANU-PF's chief negotiator, had declared
that no
agreements were reached during Mr. Zuma's mediation visit to Harare
last
week.
Mr. Zuma announced a "package of measures" that had been
agreed through his
mediation, and political sources said he secured
undertakings from the three
parties for the appointment of MDC provincial
governors and for a change at
the top at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe or the
Office of the Attorney
General, among other items.
Edwin Mushoriwa,
spokesman for the MDC formation led by Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur
Mutambara, said he hoped the latest talks would deliver
results.
Meanwhile, President Zuma has again urged the West to lift
sanctions against
President Robert Mugabe and his closest political
associates and supporters,
saying they are undermining the Harare unity
government.
Addressing the South African Parliament in Cape Town, Mr.
Zuma said the
sanctions are dividing the partners in government and that all
members of
the government should be treated the same.
South
African-based political analyst Ozias Tungwarara concurred with
President
Zuma, saying that lifting the sanctions would promote progress in
Harare.
African
Media Initiative a partner for economic development
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 25 March 2010
18:49
FOR too long news about and for Africans has come predominantly
from
outsiders. International media portrayals of Africans have often been
unrecognisable to Africans themselves. Africa's journalists have tried -
with increasing success - to present a more accurate and nuanced picture of
the continent and its myriad peoples and cultures.
They have
strived at the same time to hold their own governments accountable
by
exposing corruption and airing views of the opposition, civil society,
the
poor and the marginalised.
News organisations around the continent have
played an indispensable role in
Africa's transition to more open, responsive
political and economic systems,
as well as the empowerment of the powerless,
especially women - goals the
African leaders themselves have set and deemed
critical to democratic
development.
Without free and independent
media, Africa would be unable to monitor
progress towards - much less
achieve - its agreed goals in health, education
or economic
growth.
But Africa's media continue to face intense political
pressures and other
external obstacles. In too many countries, news
organisations are
threatened by criminal prosecutions, arbitrary closures,
and other assaults
on media freedom.
The economic viability of
Africa's media enterprises - crucial to their
independence and
professionalism - is also at risk.
Media across the continent have
been hampered by insufficient capital, a
lack of market data, inconsistent
and often onerous regulatory regimes, and
the inherent difficulties of
operating in less developed markets.
The digital revolution in broadband
and mobile phones offers great
possibilities for growth, but demands major
new investments and bold new
business models.
In the wealthiest
nations of the world, many of the best-established media
organisations face
grave financial problems. In Africa these challenges are
even more
acute.
Yet at the same time, thanks to the emergence and development of
the new
information and communication technologies, the continent is a vast
laboratory for global media innovation, with unrivalled room for further
expansion into underserved populations.
Many projects are
underway on the continent to help Africa's independent
media grow and build
on its recent successes. And now there is an
unprecedented African-led
effort to support all those endeavours, and to
create new initiatives that
will serve as a champion and driver of
transformational changes in Africa's
media.
The African Media Initiative (AMI), backed by proprietors,
hundreds of media
executives, journalists, academics and other experts from
across the
continent, takes a practical, holistic approach to these
challenges, with a
shared commitment to professional ethics and public
service.
Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya AMI last week announced the
appointment of
Senegalese national Amadou Mahtar Ba as CEO, with
Johannesburg-based
Shehnilla Mohamed as his deputy.
Through AMI
we hope to marshal pan-African industry support for legal and
economic
reforms that are needed for media to operate freely and
successfully. AMI
and its partners will also seek new financing tools for
the African media
sector as well as training assistance in management and
technology to
complement existing programmes focused on journalism skills.
We will
work on the sector's behalf with the major African intergovernmental
institutions - the AU, the ECA and regional bodies like Ecowas, Sadc and the
EAC - to secure policy support for a sector that is essential to Africa's
economic and social development. AMI will also engage with the donor
community: International support for media development has been helpful, but
could even have greater impact through the kind of coordination AMI hopes to
offer.
AMI's central mission is to ensure that media development
projects in Africa
are driven by the needs and informed by the knowledge of
the African media
practitioners themselves.
This is a critical
moment for Africa. Throughout the continent, the long
night of wars that
have killed Africa's people, as well as their hopes and
dreams, is not
nearing an end. Increasingly, countries are taking real
steps towards
democracy, building societies where citizens have a voice in
how they are
governed, and in how they live their lives and raise their
children.
This historic change requires free and effective media,
the one instrument
that democratic societies all over the world rely on to
make it possible for
citizens to meaningfully participate in national
political life.
AMI and its partners and allies in civil society and
journalism will need
still more support, ideas and energy from media
professionals and those on
whose behalf we serve as we pursue this shared
quest for greater media
independence and effectiveness - and, ultimately,
for the long-term
development of a continent that will stand tall as the
Mother of us All.
Trevor Ncube and Charlayne Hunter-Gault are
co-chairs of the African Media
Initiative.
By Trevor Ncube/
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Hwange
coal pit set to run out by 2012
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 25 March 2010 18:43
COAL
reserves at Hwange's dragline pit, which supplies the country's largest
thermal power station, will run out by 2012 -- a development that might
force government to import the commodity to avert worsening an already dire
power crisis. According to documents seen by businessdigest, the dragline
could have run out by the end of last year had the company been operating at
100%.
The documents also showed that the company has been operating at
between 50%
and 60% for nearly two years.
Hwange Colliery Company has
three operational mines namely JKL Opencast
(widely known as the dragline
pit), Chaba Opencast and 3 Main underground
mine.
An expert report said
reserves at Chaba and 3 Main mine, which produce
industrial coal used in
metallurgical industries, were projected to last
until 2020, although
Hwange says 2027.
Contacted for comment on Tuesday, Hwange Colliery Company
public relations
manager Burzil Dube said coal reserves at the dragline pit
"are expected to
have been depleted within the next two years while those at
Chaba and 3 Main
are to last for the next 17 years (2027)".
"This leaves
the colliery company with a challenge as far as the long term
survival of
the organisation is concerned. We are currently operating at 60%
of our
capacity which is also subject to our customers' demand," he said.
To avoid
plunging the country into further darkness, government has to give
mining
concessions to other players so that they open up new mines to
replace the
depleted ones in order to boost production before the mine runs
out.
Dube
said: "applications for new mining concessions around the colliery were
submitted to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and the licences
are yet to be granted."
Workers at Hwange said the future of coal mining
in Zimbabwe was currently
with Clidder Minerals because Hwange Colliery
could have operated below 30%
had the company not been supplying it with
coal.
Sources said Clidder Minerals' contract with Hwange Colliery ends in
September this year.
"Clidder Minerals was contracted three years ago by
the colliery company to
mine the product (coal) whose quantity or volume is
subject to our
requirements and needs," Dube said. "As you are aware that
the world over
(including Zimbabwe) most mining houses outsource or contract
their
operations for various activities as part of efforts to capitalise on
their
business and the colliery is no exception."
The sources said
Clidder Minerals has been able to deliver all the
quantities that Hwange
colliery requested.
"The engagement of Clidder Minerals whose contract is
ending by September
this year was to enable or give the colliery company an
opportunity to
capitalise its business ventures," Dube said.
He said the
commodity was sold to the local market which is very depressed
as most
industries were not operating at full capacity.
The global consumption of
coal is expected to increase by 4% annually
between 2010 and 2030 in line
with the rising global demand for energy.
"The company's main thrust is to
intensify the export drive," Dube said.
Hwange sells Coke peas for
US$65/tonne, Foundry coke between
US$320-350/tonne, Met Coke US$350, Coke
breeze US$320/tonne and breeze US$55
per tonne to various
markets.
"Lucrative deals have been clinched with firms based in Belgium,
India and
South Africa," said Dube without giving figures of how much the
company has
made from the deals. "Some of our longstanding customers are
companies and
organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
Markets have
also recently been found in Malawi and Mozambique but we are
however facing
logistical challenges on exporting the
product."
Zimbabwe's coal mining industry remains unbalanced, with rising
coal demand
on one hand and constrained supply sources on the
other.
Paul Nyakazeya
BEE
rules set insurance sector investment back
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 25 March 2010
18:36
THE controversial indigenisation and empowerment laws have
adversely
affected insurance companies' investment portfolios on the
Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange, with almost all making losses in investment income
(ZSE) since
the regulations were gazetted. Year-end financial results
released by
insurance companies this week show that while the sector is
emerging from a
decade long recession following liberalisation of the
financial services
sector and the introduction of the multi-currency payment
system,
empowerment regulations forcing foreign owned companies to cede at
least a
51% stake to locals have set back insurance companies' investment
plans.
Insurance companies, which invest on behalf of policyholders, are the
largest institutional investors on the ZSE.
A February trading update
report accompanying Fidelity Life Assurance
financial results shows that the
company made a US$73 000 loss in investment
income on the bourse as it
retreated after the regulations were announced on
January 29.
Investment
income is capital derived from premiums which insurance companies
invest on
equities before paying out matured policies.
Fidelity Life managing director
Simon Chapereka on Wednesday told media and
analysts that the regulations
were affecting the value of the company's
investment portfolio.
"We have
been affected by what has been happening to the country,
particularly the
issues relating to the political environment and the
indigenisation
regulations," Chapereka said. "Basically we have incurred a
$73 000 loss in
investment income up to February."
Fidelity, Chapereka said, did not
underwrite any new first year premiums but
managed to reinstate 12 000
policies. Statistics show that the insurance
company had close to 300 000
policies at peak in 2000.
NicozDiamond Insurance, one of Zimbabwe's leading
insurance companies, had a
similar story to tell.
NicozDiamond, which
posted US$1,6 million profit after tax, had its ZSE
investments affected by
the regulations. The company has interests in
blue-chip stocks on the
ZSE.
Grace Muradzikwa, NicozDiamond MD, said the group made $593 161 loss in
February for its investment income after the regulations were
gazetted.
She however said the company, currently accounting for an estimated
20%
market share, would push its market share to 25%.
"Because of what is
happening in the country we have decided to take a step
back in terms of
business growth and recruitment," Muradzikwa said.
Rival insurance company
Zimnat Lion a firm owned by diversified investment
company TA Holdings is
also keenly following the indigenisation debate
despite injecting US$4
million to local insurance investments that include
Zimnat Lion, Zimnat Life
and GrandRe.
TA recorded a US$1,4 million loss on the back of poor
operations of its
Zimbabwe investments. The group has business interests in
South Africa,
Botswana and Nigeria.
Bothwell Nyajeka, TA group chief
finance officer said Zimnat Lion has
underwritten close to half of the
entire premiums made last year.
"Insurance companies are developing new
packages, especially individual life
products," he said.
"Just this year
alone, Zimnat Lion has written premiums of $4,3 million,
against $9,6
million for the whole of 2009. Zimnat Life has recorded $748
000 versus $3
million for the whole of 2009, while GrandRe has written $723
000 compared
to $1,9 million over 2009."
Commenting on insurance investments under the TA
group, New Africa
Securities said the group could register growth buoyed by
its Botswana
operations.
"The group's insurance business is expected to
continue being driven by
Botswana Insurance Company Ltd (BIC) which recorded
an underwriting profit
of US$ 3,573,158 while the Uganda and Zimbabwe
operations continue seeking
firm footing," reads the stockbrokers'
commentary.
"Local insurance business is not expected to show any exceptional
performance soon as the population's expenditures are currently focused on
non discretionary and capital expenditures."
Chido Chakanyuka, NMB
Corporate Finance and Advisory manager, however says
business could this
year grow for local insurance companies.
"Insurance business is expected to
pick up significantly because of the very
high risk of loss (asset
replacement) as a result of dealing in hard
currencies," said
Chakanyuka.
He, however pointed out that tight liquidity on the market could
slow down
the rate of recovery.
"Insurance is becoming a must rather
than an option and banks are becoming
more particular about insurance cover
on the assets of companies that they
lend money to," he
said.
Bernard Mpofu
ZITF
hopes to unlock investment potential
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 25 March 2010 18:01
THE
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) is one of the biggest
exhibitions
in the southern African region as it brings together businesses
from across
the board. This year's theme of the five-day fair which begins
on April 20
is "Unlocking investment potential". Our reporter Fortune
Dlamini-Moyo this
week caught up with the ZITF general manager Daniel
Chigaru to get an
insight into this year's exhibition. Below are excerpts of
the
interview.
Dlamini-Moyo: What is the thought behind this year's
theme?
Chigaru: With Zimbabwe having turned a new leaf at the
inception of the
government of national unity, there is a lot of hype about
the turnaround of
the economy. We are expecting a lot of investments into
the country.
Therefore, this year's theme is about unlocking the potential
that Zimbabwe
has, as the ZITF is a forum that brings together diverse
backgrounds, policy
makers and foreigners. So we are saying to ourselves,
"what's holding us
back as Zimbabwe?"
Dlamini-Moyo: What will
make ZITF different this year?
Chigaru: There is no exhibition that
can be the same as another. Last year's
exhibition was held at the onset of
the economy's turnaround and most
companies were trading at zero capacity.
This year, business has had more
trading time and capacity is growing with
the feeling that the economy is
improving. Also, this year is different due
to the political and social
stability that has attracted interest from
outside the country. There is
more foreign participation this year as we aim
to restore the international
flair of the
exhibition.
Dlamini-Moyo: There has been a general feeling that ZITF
has over the years
been used as a public relations forum for government. How
are you planning
to refocus so as to use the exhibition to attract
investments, which is its
core business?
Chigaru: The ZITF serves
the government of the day, regardless of which
government is in place,
because it reflects what is happening in the country
at that particular
time. Exhibitions in an economy will always mirror what
is happening at that
time. One aspect that makes the exhibition into a
political issue is the
official opening ceremony, which is declared a state
occasion and falls
under the director of state occasions. This event then
tends to overshadow
the exhibition, but it is only one out of the five days,
so our aim is still
achieved.
Dlamini-Moyo: What can you say have been ZITF's major
achievements over the
years?
Chigaru: Over the years, we have
managed to keep the local, regional and
international business community
informed of what is happening in the
country. ZITF is still renowned as a
key exhibition in central-southern
Africa as it is a gateway for businesses
in the world and has spearheaded
industrial development in
Africa.
Dlamini-Moyo: There has been a proliferation of small and
medium enterprises
(SMEs) exhibiting at ZITF over the years, and yet ZITF is
meant for big
businesses. Can you comment on that?
Chigaru:
Zimbabwe's economy has indigenised with the informal sector
becoming more
formal. We are encouraging these small and upcoming businesses
to be part of
the exhibition, as a starting point to go to other
exhibitions. Therefore,
the Zimbabwean economy has evolved.
Dlamini-Moyo: How much space have
you sold for this year's edition?
Chigaru: Of the 55 000 square
metres that we have, 94,4% of that space has
been taken and we are positive
that by the time the exhibition begins, all
the space will be
taken.
Dlamini-Moyo: How many exhibitors are you
expecting?
Chigaru: 484 exhibitors have
confirmed
Dlamini-Moyo: How many of them are foreign
exhibitors?
Chigaru: There are 31 foreign exhibitors representing 14
countries which
include Botswana, Ghana, India, Iran, Indonesia, Italy,
China, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey and
Zambia. We are also
expecting visitors from Germany, India, South Africa and
the United Kingdom.
AAG
branch defies directive
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 25 March 2010 18:04
THE Bulawayo
branch of the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) has allegedly
defied a
directive from its leadership to provide a detailed inventory of
foreign-owned companies in the city in preparation for takeover. This, AAG
sources in Bulawayo said, has caused a rift within the empowerment lobby on
how the controversial indigenisation policy should be
implemented.
However, AAG president Supa Mandiwandzira denied ever issuing
such a
directive, saying those giving such orders were "misguided elements
bent on
tarnishing AAG's image" and were trying to instil fear in the
business
community of Bulawayo.
He said there was no rift on the
implementation of the indigenisation
regulations gazetted by government in
January.
Bulawayo-based members of the AAG told the businessdigest this week
that
although they supported the empowerment drive, they have refused to be
used.
Affiliate members of the organisation said the directive had a hidden
agenda.
AAG former president Matson Hlalo on Tuesday said: "Empowerment
is a noble
cause which should be supported but we refuse to be used as
fronts for
people already empowered. Why should people in Harare instruct us
to come up
with an inventory?"
However, Mandiwanzira denied this saying:
"There is absolutely no truth in
what you are suggesting. No one at head
office has requested any list
because no one needs that list. In fact, the
AAG is operating full throttle,
firing from all cylinders and the unity in
the organisation is
unquestionable. We are focused and would not waste time
fighting each
other."
Hlalo said past indigenisation moves empowered a
clique of the powerful
elite. He said there was no indication that the
pattern would be different
this time around.
AAG's vice-president based
in Bulawayo, Sam Ncube, on Wednesday told
businessdigest that there is
nothing wrong with identifying companies to be
indigenised in the
region.
"Personally there is nothing wrong with identifying companies in
Bulawayo
and the region, but what I can say is that the organisation has not
set up a
fund to invest in companies in the event of a take over," said
Ncube.
"Currently, banks are not giving out substantial loans and where
would we
get the money to keep the companies operating?"
There was panic
within the business community in the city as news spread
that the AAG was
going to identify companies in preparation for takeover.
Ncube said
"misguided elements" purporting to be AAG leaders were spreading
alarming
information within the business community.
The indigenisation regulations,
whose aim government said was to empower the
perennially disadvantaged
indigenous black population through running a
controlling stake in
companies, are set to be amended, press reports said
this week.
Late last
year, the AAG, which has
strong links with Zanu PF, drew sharp
criticism
from the German embassy after it threatened to close
Bonn-headquartered
international courier services firm DHL if it did not
appoint a Zimbabwean
to head its local operation.
Nqobile Bhebhe
Media
and transition: reporting beyond the crisis
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 25 March 2010
20:48
IT is said that life is like a book and that each new day depicts
the
opening of a new page in our lives. Taken against the backdrop of this
anecdote, the topic and subject at hand suggests an acknowledgement of
Zimbabwe's socio-economic and political crisis.
Viewed differently it
also suggests that this crisis will come to pass
through collective
bridge-building efforts of which the media has a role to
play.
It
would, however, be a gross irresponsibility on the part of the media or
any
journalist worth his/her salt to hurriedly gloss over the early pages of
our
history and expect to meaningfully report and contribute to a new
Zimbabwe -
post the acknowledged crisis.
This call to national duty demands the
media to be well versed and
knowledgeable of the historical transgressions,
sins of omission or
commission that led to the manifestation of the crisis
in its past or
present form and content.
It is poignant to note
that the crisis or conflict visa-a-vis the
socio-economic slump of the past
10 years was not thrust upon us from outer
space. Its causal effects were
the result of certain decisions and actions
taken by those entrusted with
power and by us Zimbabweans as a proxy
collective.
The past
informs the present
The first port of call entails acknowledging and
identifying the background
to the crisis - the issues at stake and the
critical players. Equally
important is the need to reflect on how these
issues were dealt with. This
will help in shedding light on the issues that
need to be addressed towards
a new socio-economic and political
dispensation.
I would posit the background into the following
transit eras as critical
to how the media can play a meaningful role
towards limiting and averting
new causes of
conflict.
=Pre-Independence struggle and events leading to the
Lancaster House
Conference of 1979.
=Post-Independence policy and
conflict resolution mechanism vis-ą-vis
provisions of the Lancaster House
agreement and the quest for a one-party
Marxist-Leninist state and the
contestations around the issue.
=Deployment of the army into the Matabeleland
and Midlands regions which led
to the signing of the Unity Accord between
Zanu PF and Zapu in 1987.
=The economic decline and introduction of IMF/World
Bank Economic Structural
Adjustment Programme (Esap).
=Multi-party
democracy and the emergence of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) -
polarisation and election violence
=The impact of the land
invasions/acquisitions on Zimbabwe's socio-economic
and political
fabric.
=Events leading to the signing of the Global Political Agreement on
September 15 2008.
=Constitution making process
The
afore-mentioned transitional eras while not necessarily exhaustive
should
inform the content and shape of editorial conference debates and
analyses on
how best to report beyond the crisis.
Intricate or sensitive as they
may be, it is the duty of the journalist to
dissect and simplify these
issues in a manner that will not ignite and
engender residual or existing
hostilities. Volumes of literature abound on
these issues. Extensive
research should thus be conducted on how best to
proceed and move the nation
forward in that regard.
Global political agreement
In my
view the understanding and the template for how best to deal with the
issues
at stake despite its flaws and deficiencies has been made easy for
the media
through the global political agreement (GPA).
The parties to the agreement
among other issues state:
=Concern about the recent challenges that
we have faced as a country and the
multiple threats to the wellbeing of our
people and, therefore, determined
to resolve these
permanently.
=Dedicating ourselves to putting an end to the polarisation,
divisions,
conflict and intolerance that has characterised Zimbabwe politics
and
society in recent times.
=Determined to build a society free of
violence, fear, intimidation, hatred,
patronage, corruption and founded on
justice, fairness, openness,
transparency, dignity and
equality.
=Recognising and accepting that the land question has been at the
core of
the contestation in Zimbabwe and acknowledging the centrality of
issues
relating to the rule of law, respect for human rights, democracy and
governance.
The GPA, establishment of the inclusive government
and the current
stop-start-constitution making process and the underpinning
intricate links
to events of the past inform the media on how to report the
situation as it
unfolds in the context of present day
Zimbabwe.
Role of the media
The fact that the inclusive
government recognises these conflicts and the
alienation of the populace is
in itself a step in the right direction. That
acknowledgment offers the
media an entry point in so far as following
through the government's pledges
to correct the injustices of the past.
In dealing with these issues
the media should always be mindful of the fact
that victims of historical
injustices in conflict-torn situations are
naturally prone to seek their own
forms of retribution.
The media should therefore remain on high alert
and do everything within its
professional mandate of setting the agenda and
shaping opinions and views by
creating platforms for a multiplicity of views
on the issues at hand. The
voices of the victims should also be equally
heard.
The role of the media is to identify and define the multiple
threats to the
security and wellbeing of the people (the people should speak
on these
issues). For instance in tackling the issue of ending polarisation,
divisions, conflict etc, the media can draw from experiences elsewhere in
the region, South Africa, Mozambique, Burundi and Angola, among other
countries.
In South Africa victims of apartheid were able to
raise their voices under
the new political arrangement through the single
narrative that: Apartheid
was a crime against humanity and its inequalities
will not be repeated.
The aim of course is to avert regression and
eruption of conflict which
would obviously be costly in terms of the current
efforts to rebuild the
country, and erode confidence in the inclusive
government regionally and
internationally. Thus the media should devise the
formulas and set the
agenda that will steer the nation in a direction that
can lead to peace,
reconciliation and nation building.
Reportage
should be aimed at pricking the collective consciences of those in
power and
even more importantly their supporters and the generality of
Zimbabweans.
The onus therefore is on the media to define and pitch that
single
narrative.
Suffice to say it is the media's responsibility to
influence the course of
events towards a secure future for Zimbabwe. This
can be achieved through an
unquenchable quest for the highest professional
and ethical standards.
This will entail extensive research, sober
reflections, planning,
organisation and optimum utilisation of the resources
available.
Resources should be garnered towards the search for new voices
and ideas.
Reporting beyond the crisis requires journalism that is sensitive
to hate
speech, xenophobia, tribalism, gender discrimination, racism and
sexism. In
that regard the media and journalists at large should eschew the
narrow and
parochial interests of those who pursue power for its abusive
sake.
The media's role is that of serving the people with the highest
sensitivity,
integrity and credibility and affording the citizens space and
voices that
contribute on how best to deal with the issues at
stake.
To excel in that regard, the media obviously needs the space to
fulfil its
professional duties.
The media, relevant interest groups
and the citizens at large should
therefore not relent in the agitation for
the repeal of repressive media
legislation and the need for a constitutional
provision that explicitly
guarantees media freedom and the right to access
to information held by both
private and public bodies.
This
article is an abridged version of a paper presented by Zimbabwean
journalist
Nyasha Nyakunu at a workshop held in Harare on the role of the
media in
reporting on nations in transition.