Zim Online
Thu 2 March 2006
MASVINGO - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU
PF party is probing some of its
senior officials in Masvingo province for
allegedly campaigning for
opposition candidates in last November's
controversial senate election.
But insiders told ZimOnline the
probe that is targeting former foreign
affairs minister and now Higher
Education Minister Stan Mudenge, former
provincial governor Josaya Hungwe
among other senior figures was just an
extension of power struggles in ZANU
PF over President Robert Mugabe's
succession when he steps down in two years
time.
All those targeted for investigation belong to a faction of
ZANU PF
led by former parliamentary speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa that is
embroiled in
a vicious struggle with a rival faction led by powerful former
army general
Solomon Mujuru for the control of ZANU PF in the post-Mugabe
era.
"This is just a witch hunt which is aimed at
keeping the pressure on
Mnangagwa's camp," said a senior member of the
ruling party, who did not
want to be named.
He added: "If those
behind the probe manage to make the allegations
stick on Hungwe, Mudenge and
others, then they will push for either
dismissal from the government or
expulsion from ZANU PF . the whole idea is
to destroy the core of
Mnangagwa's supporters especially within his Karanga
sub-ethnic
group."
Masvingo is home of the Karangas, the largest group among
Zimbabwe's
majority Shona tribe who dominate ZANU PF.
ZANU PF
chairman for Masvingo, Samuel Mumbengegwi, who until a few
months ago was
considered an ally of Mnangagwa, confirmed the investigation
but denied it
was aimed at victimising supporters of the former
parliamentary
speaker.
Mumbengegwi said all ZANU PF officials accused of
supporting
opposition Movement for Democratic Change party or independent
candidates
during the election were being targeted. He said: "We are
investigating
everyone over the issue because it was raised by our
supporters during our
restructuring exercise.
"The constitution
of the party is clear on such issues and we are just
doing what we are
empowered to do by the party.
"Those found guilty would be expelled
from the party. In case of
Members of Parliament or ministers they will lose
their posts and where
necessary by-elections would be
conducted."
Apart from Hungwe and Mudenge, other notable Mnangagwa
allies in
Masvingo who will be probed are parliamentarians Shuvai Mahofa and
Enita
Maziri.
Mnangagwa, who for long was seen as heir apparent
to Mugabe, appeared
to lose ground in the race for the top job when he last
year lost the posts
of second Vice-President of ZANU PF and the government
to Mujuru's wife,
Joice.
Joice is now seen as the leading horse
to succeed Mugabe after the
veteran President openly backed her for the
vice-president's job. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thu 2 March 2006
HARARE - Authorities at Zimbabwe's
private schools on Wednesday said
they will challenge in the courts the
constitutionality of a new education
law that gives the government powers to
determine school fees once President
Robert Mugabe signs it into effective
legislation.
The Association of Trust Schools (ATS) that represents
privately-owned
schools said in a statement that the new law lacked
"rational economic
thinking"and would create chaos in non-government schools
that are run with
fees paid by students.
The ATS said it was
together with the Association of Church Education
Secretaries (ACES)
studying the Education Amendment Bill of 2005 that sailed
through Parliament
last Tuesday with a view to approaching Mugabe to
withhold his assent
without which the law remains ineffective.
If Mugabe however
assents to the Bill, the ATS and the ACES will
resort to the courts to have
the legality and constitutionality of the new
law reviewed by the
bench.
"The ATS and the ACES are now carrying out a detailed study
to assess
the impact of the two amendments to the more than 500
non-government schools
in order to alert the Presidency of the dangers of
these two amendments
before Presidential assent and or to prepare for a
Judicial review of the
constitutionality of the amendments if it becomes
necessary," the statement
signed by ATS chairman Jameson Timba read in
part.
The ATS and ACES-run schools are the only sources of a good
and
reliable education for young Zimbabweans as the country's once highly
regarded public schools crumble due to years of under-funding and
mismanagement.
But Mugabe's government accuses the schools of
taking advantage of
their good reputation to extort money from parents by
charging exorbitant
fees and levies, which the government says is used to
fund lavish lifestyles
for school executives.
The government
last year forced several privately-run schools to close
and threatened to
jail authorities there for refusing to lower fees. When
the matter was
refereed to the High Court, it ruled that the government had
no right to set
fees at private schools.
The controversial new law will now require
all schools whether state
owned or not to first seek approval from the
secretary of education before
hiking fees. The law also sets stringent
conditions under which school
authorities may be allowed to increase fees or
levies.
For example, under the new law, fee hikes should not exceed
"the
percentage increase in the cost of living from the beginning to the end
of
the preceding term as indicated by the Consumer Price Index published by
the
Central Statistics Office".
The ATS says this and other
requirements before fee hikes can be
approved under the new law are
arbitrary and do not make economic sense
because "the cost structures of the
more than 500 non-government schools are
not the same depending with
location and type of boarding facilities offered
at each
school."
Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere was not available for
comment on
the matter. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
01 March
2006
Arthur Mutambare, a newly-elected leader of one of
Zimbabwe's opposition
parties, says he has an obligation to return home to
help deliver people
from what he says is the dictatorship of the ruling ZANU
PF.
Arthur Mutambare, who lead the first ever pro-democracy student
protests
against the present government 16 years ago, says the main
opposition, the
Movement for Democratic Change, has an image problem. He was
elected as
president of one of the factions of the MDC, which split in
October last
year.
He says the party needs a makeover. He said
Africa's perception, rightly or
wrongly, was that the MDC was too close to
western governments, such as the
United States and Britain.
"The MDC
had a problem of image, a branding problem. They failed to
effectively
de-link themselves from interests or perceptions of imperialism.
If you are
perceived as a puppet, those perceptions become a reality. You
have to
actively disengage yourself from those that give you that terrible
image,"
he said.
Arthur Mutambare does not dwell on what divides the MDC, and
says he hopes
that leader of the other faction, Morgan Tsvangirai, and all
democrats who
want to end ZANU PF rule, will join him in the struggle to
bring democracy
to Zimbabwe.
ZANU PF began seizing white-owned
commercial land after white farmers began
to openly support and help finance
the MDC when it was formed in 2000.
Mutambara says Africa also became
confused about the MDC's close association
with white farmers.
"Land
secondly, The MDC, was not able to articulate a revolutionary land
program,"
he said. "They gave the impression that the major driver of their
policy was
white farmer interest. Rightly or wrongly the impression was out
there that
these people were pursuing and pushing an agenda on land for
white farmers.
It was their job to clarify and make sure that thier position
was
unequivocal taht their desire was to have a land revolution meant for
all
Zimbabweans, white and black."
The MDC at first gave the impression that
the major driver of their policy
were white farmers. Rightly or wrongly the
MDC was seen seen pursuing and
pushing an agenda on land for white farmers
instead of a desire to have a
land revolution meant for all Zimbabweans,
white and black.
He said he decided to return home and become involved in
opposition politics
for several reasons, among them, to be able to make a
difference, which he
could not do from South Africa where he was
living.
"It is my civic duty and obligation to participate in the process
of
creating solutions for my own country...so I am jumping from the pan into
the fire, to participate in the liberation of Zimbabwe from the hegemony of
Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF. We are here to fight and defeat Mugabe, and fight
the regime, which brought misery and suffering, and defeat them and form the
next government, that's my agenda, pure and simple," said
Mutambara.
Mutambara won a scholarship to do his doctorate in electrical
engineering at
Britain's Oxford University after he left the University of
Zimbabwe and he
then worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
NASA before
returning to Africa to work in Johannesburg, South Africa. There
he headed
up a business and scientific institute until he was invited to
make himself
available for election to one faction of the MDC. Now he says
he is
returning home to Zimbabwe.
UN News Centre
1 March 2006 - Following the brutal murder of a
Zimbabwean student by her
boyfriend, the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) today called on the
country's political and community leaders to
campaign widely and forcefully
to end the growing tide of violence against
women and girls.
"The crime of domestic violence has devastating impacts
on women and
children and on Zimbabwe's development," UNICEF country
representative Festo
Kavishe said in support of Zimbabwe Vice President
Joice Mujuru's vigorous
condemnation of gender- based violence and any
cultural practices that put
the safety of women at risk.
"UNICEF says
no, no and no to the horrifying stories of women who go into a
relationship
with high hopes and good intentions - and find themselves
trapped with men
who beat, kick, rape and at times kill them," he added.
A combination of
an inflexible approach to cultural and traditional
practices, an economic
downturn that has seen women become the chief bread
winners as men are made
unemployed, and odious beliefs on HIV and virgins
have made gender-based
violence frighteningly common in Zimbabwe.
Press reports and data
collected at workshops and through non-governmental
organizations indicate a
steep rise in violence against women.
To counter traditional practices
and principles that include the subjugation
of women and acceptance that it
is culturally permissible for a man to
physically 'discipline' his wife and
children, UNICEF strongly supports all
those calling for the acceleration of
the enactment of a law on gender-based
violence.
"Zimbabwe's women
continue to shine in the face of great social and economic
odds," Mr.
Kavishe said, warning that domestic abuse plants the seeds of
violence in
the next generation.
Mail and Guardian
Harare,
Zimbabwe
01 March 2006
12:40
Zimbabwe's central bank governor says that
the
cash-strapped Southern African country last year spent $135-million
importing food to make up for poor harvests, a state-controlled newspaper
reported on Wednesday.
"Zimbabwe's grain
imports gobbled up $135-million
last year," the Herald quoted Gideon Gono as
saying. Zimbabwe is critically
short of foreign
currency.
Gono said he applauded efforts by the
Zimbabwe
National Army to grow food for the country this year in order to
stave off
the cost of importing grain.
Around
three million Zimbabweans, or a quarter of
the population, are estimated to
be in need of food aid ahead of harvests
due in April or
May.
"We applaud the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for
taking
up the challenge by strapping their guns on their backs and rolling
up their
sleeves to till the land," Gono was quoted as telling a meeting of
army
officers from the region, meeting in Harare on
Tuesday.
"Under this programme, no doubt a huge
food gap will
be closed, effectively saving foreign exchange to go towards
other priority
sectors of the economy," he
added.
Agricultural production in Zimbabwe, once
dubbed the
grain basket of Southern Africa, has been in decline for the past
six years
following the government's controversial seizure of white-owned
commercial
farms for redistribution among new black
farmers.
The government blames the poor harvests
on drought.
This year, despite good rains,
chances of a bumper
harvest have been dashed due to acute fertiliser
shortages. The country's
deputy agriculture minister said last month that
expected yields of the
staple maize have been slashed by 50% due to the
shortages.
Zimbabwe's foreign-currency shortages
are making it
increasingly hard to pay for the importation of raw materials
needed to
manufacture fertiliser, as well as to pay for fuel, power and
medicines. --
Sapa-dpa
Zimbabwe's central bank governor
says that the cash-strapped
Southern African country last year spent
$135-million importing food to make
up for poor harvests, a state-controlled
newspaper reported on Wednesday.
"Zimbabwe's grain imports
gobbled up $135-million last year,"
the Herald quoted Gideon Gono as saying.
Zimbabwe is critically short of
foreign currency.
Gono
said he applauded efforts by the Zimbabwe National Army to
grow food for the
country this year in order to stave off the cost of
importing
grain.
Around three million Zimbabweans, or a quarter of the
population, are estimated to be in need of food aid ahead of harvests due in
April or May.
"We applaud the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for
taking up the
challenge by strapping their guns on their backs and rolling
up their
sleeves to till the land," Gono was quoted as telling a meeting of
army
officers from the region, meeting in Harare on
Tuesday.
"Under this programme, no doubt a huge food gap will
be closed,
effectively saving foreign exchange to go towards other priority
sectors of
the economy," he added.
Agricultural
production in Zimbabwe, once dubbed the grain
basket of Southern Africa, has
been in decline for the past six years
following the government's
controversial seizure of white-owned commercial
farms for redistribution
among new black farmers.
The government blames the poor
harvests on drought.
This year, despite good rains, chances
of a bumper harvest have
been dashed due to acute fertiliser shortages. The
country's deputy
agriculture minister said last month that expected yields
of the staple
maize have been slashed by 50% due to the
shortages.
Zimbabwe's foreign-currency shortages are making
it increasingly
hard to pay for the importation of raw materials needed to
manufacture
fertiliser, as well as to pay for fuel, power and medicines. --
Sapa-dpa
Cape Argus
March 1, 2006
By Basildon
Peta
For years, Morgan Tsvangirai has been the face of the Zimbabwe
struggle against the Robert Mugabe government. But the weekend election of
rocket scientist Arthur Mutambara to head a faction of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) has brought a new dimension to the Zimbabwean
opposition political landscape.
The question now exercising the
imaginations of political observers is
the likely impact on opposition
politics of two potentially dominant
political figures.
Is the
already splintered opposition likely to face more polarisation
to the
benefit of Mugabe? Or are Mutambara and Tsvangirai going to forge a
united
credible front, badly needed to dislodge the ruling Zanu-PF?
Tsvangirai's critics, who accuse him of poor leadership and failing to
develop an effective strategy to confront Mugabe other than participating in
flawed elections, have welcomed Mutambara's arrival.
They hope
Mutambara, a professor in robotics and mechatronics who has
worked for the
US space agency, Nasa, will add a new flavour to opposition
politics and
develop alternative strategies to confront Mugabe.
Tsvangirai
supporters, however, dismiss Mutambara as a "chancer" who
has been in exile
for too long and who is trying "to reap where he did not
sow".
What seems not in dispute is that both Mutambara and Tsvangirai are
formidable personalities. Each has his own uniquely laudable
traits.
Tsvangirai is an accomplished former trade unionist and
political
mobiliser who in the past six years has become synonymous with the
struggle
for a democratic Zimbabwe.
Mutambara is an established
academic and businessman, most remembered
for his efforts in helping to
thwart Mugabe's plans to install a one-party
state in the 1980s when he
headed the Zimbabwe Students Union.
The best case scenario,
according to University of Zimbabwe political
scientist Eldred Masunungure,
would be for Tsvangirai and Mutambara to
combine forces in one political
camp against the Mugabe regime.
That is not the case because
Mutambara has been catapulted to the
leadership of an MDC faction that broke
away from Tsvangirai in disagreement
on whether or not to participate in
December's Senate elections.
Tsvangirai, who will hold his own
separate congress for his faction in
two weeks, has declared Mutambara's
election null and void because it was
done at an "illegal and unprocedural"
party meeting.
Tsvangirai has won a High Court battle against
attempts to suspend him
from the party.
Although Mutambara has
declared his wish to unite democratic forces
fighting the Mugabe regime,
including re-uniting with Tsvangirai's faction,
another University of
Zimbabwe political scientist, John Makumbe, sees
little chance of that
happening.
"I grant Mutambara's chances of uniting the two factions
one out of
100," said Makumbe.
Makumbe says the biggest problem
is that Mutambara, 40, is too
ambitious and would prefer a unity pact in
which he emerges as chairman and
Tsvangirai, 53, his junior.
This, unfortunately, leaves the real spectre of letting Mugabe
entrench his
power while Mutambara and Tsvangirai feud over leadership of
the
opposition.
"If Mutambara and Tsvangirai contest against Mugabe or
his successor
in 2008, then chances of having a split opposition vote that
would benefit
Zanu-PF are almost guaranteed," said another analyst who did
not want to be
named because of his close links to both Tsvangirai and
Mutambara.
"Tsvangirai has serious strategic shortcomings but we
cannot wish him
away in favour of Mutambara because he has been on the
ground for long and
enjoys grassroots support," he said. - Foreign
Service
The Publisher of 'The Zimbabwean'
newspaper, Wilf Mbanga is the guest on
Reporters' Forum. Lance Guma speaks
to him about how he started the
newspaper and some of the obstacles he has
had to overcome in keeping the
paper afloat. The Media and Information
Commission led by Tafataona Mahoso
has been trying to stop the distribution
of his paper in Zimbabwe. Have they
succeeded? Mbanga also explains how his
newspaper has handled the split in
the MDC and their approach to covering
it.
Lance Guma
Producer/Presenter
SW Radio
Africa
+44-777-855-7615
www.swradioafrica.com
Reporters'
Forum
Wednesday 6:30 to 7:00pm (GMT) live on the internet at www.swradioafrica.com
Thursday
6:30 to 7:00am on Medium Wave broadcasts 1197khz
Also available on internet
archives after broadcasts at
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/archives.php
SW
Radio Africa is Zimbabwe's only independent radio station broadcasting
from
the United Kingdom. The station is staffed by exiled Zimbabwean
journalists
who because of harsh media laws cannot broadcast from home.
Full
broadcast on Medium Wave -1197KHZ between 5-7am (Zimbabwean time) and
24
hours on the internet at www.swradioafrica.com.
Two hospital stories - at last a water pump for hospital that has been
without water for a month...... yet state of the art specialist equipment is
to be bought??
Hospital Gets Two Electric Water
Pumps
The Herald (Harare)
March 1, 2006
Posted to the
web March 1, 2006
Harare
HOLYCROSS Mission Hospital in Chirumanzu
will now function normally after
receiving two electric water pumps worth
several millions of dollars from
the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
and Chief Chirumanzu at the
weekend.
The mission hospital and school
had gone for close to a month without water
following the theft of a water
pump.
In an interview, the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare Dr
Edwin
Muguti who is also the Member of Parliament for Chirumanzu, said the
ministry assisted by supplying a water pump because the mission hospital and
school served thousands of people.
"The local Chief is also very
active. While he approached us for help he
also sourced for another electric
water pump, which means the hospital now
has two, which will go a long way
in alleviating the water problems it was
facing.
"The community is
very happy about the development and it is our hope that
the water pumps
will be kept safe as long as possible," Dr Muguti
said.
-------------
Hospitals to Receive Training
Equipment
The Herald (Harare)
March 1, 2006
Posted
to the web March 1, 2006
Bulawayo Bureau
Harare
THE Ministry of
Health and Child Welfare will soon equip medical schools and
central
hospitals with state-of-the-art equipment to train specialist
doctors, the
deputy Minister, Dr Edwin Muguti, said yesterday.
In an interview, he
said the ministry wanted to upgrade its specialist
training and tertiary
health care programmes to bring them in line with
other worldclass health
care facilities.
Dr Muguti said at independence, the Government
concentrated on provision of
primary health care and neglected growth of
tertiary health care which
covers specialists medical
services.
"Tertiary health care is a very important feature in the health
delivery
system but proper facilities and properly trained health care
personnel are
required for effective services to be delivered," Dr Muguti
said.
He said locally trained doctors have been receiving training in
basic
surgery but his ministry now wanted some of them to be specialists in
selected fields.
"Local health care delivery has never
offered specialist training in
neurology, radiology and renal surgery but
the ministry is prioritising the
upgrading of training schools to offer
these programmes.
"Back up technology is needed for practical lessons by
the trainees and this
whole project will see to it that the medical students
are furnished with
the required machines," he said.
By Lance
Guma
01 March 2006
The militant Zimbabwe Action Support
Group (ZASG) has been accused of
faking rallies and holding 'ghost meetings'
in a bid to fraudulently solicit
money from donors. The accusation was
carried in a report by the Centre for
African Journalists (CAJ) news
website. ZASG co-ordinator Rogers Mudarikwa
is alleged to have lied to
journalists that he addressed a 'star' rally in
Mozambique, which had
grouped together Zimbabwean activists. CAJ News
investigated the matter and
found out that no such rally took place and even
Mudarikwa himself had not
even entered Mozambique.
Fernando Ferreira the Mozambique Bureau
Chief for CAJ News who drove
to the venue after being assigned to cover the
rally found, to his dismay,
no such gathering. The Mozambique Immigration
department has also dismissed
the claim of a star rally by the ZASG saying
Mudarikwa 'did not go through
their roads or air if he visited Maputo.' The
revelations seriously harm the
group's credibility - something which even
its President Remember Moyo
agrees with. Moyo told Newsreel he is
disappointed with Mudarikwa for lying
and says he will investigate the
matter.
The two have not met since the incident and Moyo says they
are having
a meeting this Friday, which should clear the air over what
really happened.
He did concede however that Mudarikwa was supposed to go to
Mozambique to
address a meeting but had simply told him there were State
security
operatives following him and hence the decision to withdraw. What
Moyo says
he does not understand is why Mudarikwa would then turn around and
lie to
the media about the rally.
The group has organised
several demonstrations in South Africa
protesting human rights abuses in
Zimbabwe. The President, Remember Moyo,
spent several years in remand prison
after being falsely accused of taking
part in the murder of Bulawayo war
veteran's leader Cain Nkala. Although he
was later acquitted, Moyo ran away
to South Africa after he was further
implicated in the murder of Zanu PF
activist Limukani Lupahla. A warrant of
arrest remains out for him in
Zimbabwe. Moyo's problems don't end there; he
currently has a legal battle
with South African authorities over his
immigration
status.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Tererai Karimakwenda
02 March
2006
The student leaders who were arrested earlier this week
finally gained
their freedom on Wednesday after spending several nights
under shocking
conditions. Their lawyer said he believed the Attorney
General had refused
to prosecute and the police will have to proceed by
summons. The 6 student
leaders, including Washington Katema, Wellington
Mahohoma, Collen Chibango,
Tinei Sande and Mfundo Mlilo from the Zimbabwe
National Students Union, were
arrested on Monday as they attempted to
approach officials at University of
Zimbabwe to discuss the recent ten-fold
increase in tuition fees which they
say they cannot afford.
But
security details at the Harare campus descended on them and said
they were
not allowed to gather or approach any officials.
Katema told us
after his release Wednesday that they were brutally
assaulted and denied
medical attention. The students also say that
University security took money
from Tinei Sande which was meant for his
school fees. Sande's eye was badly
damaged and swollen. He had tears
constantly rolling down his cheeks.
Another student suffered a broken jaw,
and despite the severity of their
injuries, police denied them access to
medical assistance. It was only after
their release that they sought medical
help with assistance from The
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
Katema also told us that the
police at Harare Central put them in a
cell with a deranged man who attacked
them all night. He said even in the
face of this danger, the police would
not move the violent man to another
cell. Katema said he believes the psycho
was a state agent placed there to
intimidate them and discourage them from
future actions. He said there are
over 300 cells at Harare Central and it
seemed rather obvious why the police
to force them to share with this
attacker.
Their lawyer Tafadzwa Mugabe told us a complaint has
already been
filed outlining all these abuses and seeking damages from the
security
details at the University and from the police. There is a hearing
Thursday
morning to determine if the police are guilty and
liable.
More details about the student arrests can heard on In The
Balance
with Gugulethu Moyo, who explores the legal
issues.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
The Herald
(Harare)
March 1, 2006
Posted to the web March 1,
2006
Harare
GOVERNMENT is exploring a forest-based land reform
programme with the view
of ensuring the full participation of indigenous
people in the forestry
business.
This development comes after the
Government last year evicted more than 60
families that had illegally
settled in the timber forests of Nyanga and
Chimanimani to make way for
proper resettlement.
In an interview yesterday, Environment and Tourism
Minister, Cde Francis
Nhema said Government was still consulting on the
allocation of land for
purposes of professional forestry
development.
"We would like people who will judiciously manage the
forests and ensure the
nation remains self-sufficient in its timber
requirements," Cde Nhema said.
He said the Government had evicted
families who had illegally settled in
some places in Manicaland, as it was
not in the timber industry's best
interest to have people with no background
of the proper utilisation of the
forests.
Cde Nhema said the
Government was committed to sound environmental practices
hence the
development of policies that promote sustainable environment
development in
line with set international environmental standards.
"Commercial and
gazetted forest land should be protected from illegal
settlements and let it
be known that we do not support the mushrooming of
these illegal settlements
anywhere," Cde Nhema said.
He said illegal settlers contribute heavily to
timber poaching, forest fires
and recently in this area, to illegal gold
panning, which has resulted in
massive land degradation.
In 2005
alone, he said, plantations lost over 7 000 hectares of timber to
forest
fires while the demarcated forests had 230 725 hectares destroyed.
"These
losses translate into billions of dollars lost in foreign currency.
"It
also means the country will experience timber shortages in the next 10
years."
Zimbabwe's forestry industry is a source of hard wood timber,
which is
sought after the world over, notably in South Africa, Mozambique,
Botswana,
Madagascar, America and other European countries.
He said
the Government would want to see the country realising immense
benefits from
its timber resources and be able to sustain livelihoods.
"Many people are
now involved in housing, furniture, pulp and paper
manufacturing."
He
said the timber producers industry and its ancillary collectively employ
over 550 000 people -- 400 000 directly and 150 000 through the informal
sector. Cde Nhema said it is also important for people to understand that
the country is faced with challenges in the energy sector particularly in
the procurement and supply of fuel for both industrial and domestic
use.
"We have set aside land for commercial cultivation of the jatropha
carcus, a
species whose seeds can be processed into bio-diesel."
He
said his ministry is also advocating for the full participation of
tobacco
farmers in extensive forest farming as they rely on wood energy for
the
curing of their tobacco.
Cde Nhema said it is regrettable that tree-
planting success by commercial
farmers and in communal areas has been low
due to frequent droughts of the
years 1982, 1992 and the 2000-2004.
The Herald
(Harare)
March 1, 2006
Posted to the web March 1, 2006
Bulawayo
Bureau
Harare
THE refurbishment of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo
International Airport is
lagging behind by almost two years, as monthly
funds released by the Public
Sector Investment Programme are being eroded by
inflation.
This was revealed by the General Manager of the Civil Aviation
Authority of
Zimbabwe, Mr Davies Chigudu, during a tour of the airport by
the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications
yesterday.
The refurbishment started in 2003 and was expected to take 18
months. Mr
Chigudu told the committee during its tour of the facility that
they were
allocated $140 billion in January for the completion of the
refurbishment
but Government was disbursing it in small amounts that were
not sufficient
to cover the work the funds were allocated for.
"We
have been failing to acquire adequate funding for the project and from
November last year, it was stagnant until the release of the PSIP funds in
January this year," he said.
"The problem, however, is that the money
is released in small tranches that
are inadequate to cover the work that is
being done and is also affected by
inflation."
He said the authority
now needed about $500 billion for the construction
work which he said was 70
percent complete.
"However, with the rate of inflation and the amount
that is released
monthly, the remaining 30 percent will be completed at a
cost that is even
higher than the 70 percent work that we have done," he
said.
The chairman of the committee, Cde Leo Mugabe, said his committee
would call
for the urgent release of more money in larger
quantities.
"As a committee, we are impressed with the work that has been
done and the
explanation that you gave as to why the work has not been
completed," said
Cde Mugabe. We will therefore advocate for the release of
more money but in
larger quantities before inflation takes its toll. The
manner in which the
money is being released does not give the impression
that it (PSIP) wants
the project to be completed. We want to see to it that
by the end of the
year."
Meanwhile, during its visit to Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Holdings at Montrose
Studios, the committee urged the national
broadcaster to emulate the
National Railways of Zimbabwe's successful
turnaround programme. Speaking to
journalists after a closed meeting with
ZBH management and workers, Cde
Mugabe said the two parties should learn
from the NRZ where all staff
members worked together to solve challenges
that the company was facing.
He said the committee visited ZBH following
complaints that it had received
from the workers' committee on issues such
as late payment of salaries.
"Management, board members and staff need to
work together. There is also
need for ZBH to streamline its workforce.
Workers should also be adequately
rewarded so that they are motivated," said
Cde Mugabe.
UN
Integrated Regional Information Networks
March 1, 2006
Posted to the
web March 1, 2006
Johannesburg
Mozambican authorities and aid
agencies are scrambling to assess the damage
of last week's 7.5 magnitude
earthquake.
"Mozambique suffers regularly from floods, drought and other
natural
disasters but an earthquake is something you cannot anticipate or
prepare
for fully," Chris Kaye, Regional Representative of the UN Office for
the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN.
The
Mozambique Council of Ministers held an emergency meeting on Thursday,
the
day the earthquake struck the centre of the country, leaving four people
dead, 36 injured and 288 families homeless.
According to OCHA, a
subsequent technical meeting under the chairmanship of
the National Disaster
Management Institute (INGC) dispatched assessment
teams to the affected
areas in Gaza, Manica, Sofala and Tete provinces,
assisted by two
helicopters provided by the United Nations.
The Ministry of Public Works
also sent teams to assess potential damage to
large infrastructure, such as
bridges and dams, while local civil engineers
have been mobilised in several
cities to check buildings for possible
damage.
"The information on
damage to large infrastructure is still pending. Major
bridges and dams have
been inspected, and so far there has been no
particular indication of
serious damage," said Jean-Luc Tonglet,
humanitarian affairs officer with
the OCHA Regional Office for Southern
Africa.
OCHA said the most
pressing needs were food, water, sanitation and shelter
for the people made
homeless by the quake, which was felt as far away as
neighbouring South
Africa and Zimbabwe.
"Since the floods in 2002 the UN has been very
committed to supporting the
INGC in full recognition of the important role
they play in disaster
preparedness. This again has been demonstrated by the
earthquake," Kaye
commented.
Tonglet said the government and UN
contingency plans would be revised to
include earthquake scenarios. "The
government is also preparing a public
awareness campaign in relation to
earthquakes, to explain what people should
do during and after an
event."
There has been a history of earthquakes in Mozambique, "but
because the last
few decades have been quiet, earthquakes are no longer in
the common
memory," Tonglet remarked.
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
Angola Press
Harare, Zimbabwe,
03/01 - Health officials in Zimbabwe said Tuesday a
cholera outbreak in two
central districts of the country had killed six
pereons and 137 others
infected.
The epidemic broke out in the districts of Gokwe and KweKwe,
and officials
said they were battling to control the outbreak, the latest in
a series to
hit Zimbabwe.
Officials said quarantines had been
established in all affected areas, and
hoped to bring the outbreak under
control shortly.
International aid agencies had been drafted to help
battle the outbreak,
which officials have blamed on heavy rains, which
washed dirt into drinking
water sources.
"Red Cross and the Ministry
of Health and Child Welfare are working
hand-in-hand to keep the situation
under control," an official from the
international aid agency said
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
All Travel Agencies are unable to apply for RSA
visas on behalf of their
clients.
We received a letter from the
Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agencies:
" We were advised as
follows " Section 46 (1) of the Immigration Act states
that only an attorney,
advocate or immigration practitioner may apply for a
visa on behalf of
somebody else."
Therefore, the following will take place:
* The
last intake of visa applications through Travel Agents will be on
Tuesday
28th Feb '06 which will take the normal 7 days to process.
* Provision is
made at the Embassy for a Business window which will allow
corporate
companies, directors etc. to apply through, the 7 days will
however
apply.
* To become an immigration practitioner is possible,but
information
concerning this can only be obtained at the
Embassy.
According to Dennis Nzuza (The Consular) there is no way around
the law, but
the Embassy will accommodate the corporate through their
business window. "
From
Sontine Travel &
Tours
Also received in"
Dear Resident, I was called at 8 30PM
last night ( Mon ) to the corner of
Ruth Taylor Road and Fair Close. One of
our residents was responding to a
disturbance and noise on the street armed
only with a torch. When he
questioned a uniformed soldier he was assaulted
with a severe blow with a
blunt instrument to the side or his face. I have a
photo but have declined
to show it as his bloodied face and shirt is not
something I feel would be
of any benefit, suffice to say the wound was nasty
and blood loss
significant. M. P. have been informed and we have been to KG 6
twice but we
feel nothing will be done!
Please be warned to ignore these
soldiers as they are very aggressive and
feel nothing to attack residents as
they will get away with it.
Thank You
New Zimbabwe
By Staff
Reporter
Last updated: 03/01/2006 17:45:15
A NEW television channel in the
UK will compete with the Original Black
Entertainment (OBE) station for
Southern African viewers, New Zimbabwe.com
can reveal.
The new
channel to be called Focus Television will launch on Sky digital in
July,
sources revealed.
Former Zimbabwe TV and radio presenter, Eric Knight, is
one of the directors
of the new multi-million pound
project.
Currently, Africans only have OBE TV to watch for entertainment
programmes
and current affairs. However, OBE has received a severe battering
from
critics who say its programmes are poor and it is generally biased
towards
West African viewers.
Knight, now living in Manchester,
England, declined to comment Tuesday, only
saying: "It seems you have your
facts pretty much nailed down. I don't
intend to comment at this
stage."
But sources have told New Zimbabwe.com that Zimbabwean Big
Brother
sensation, Makosi Musambasi, has been approached to do an "Oprah
Winfery-style TV show" on the new channel.
"The station will be
officially launched in July but currently, they are
working on the
programmes and Makosi has been approached. It looks like the
next biggest TV
thing for Africans in the UK," a source said.
The new TV station has four
directors, one from Ghana, the other from South
Africa and two Zimbabweans
including Knight -- a prominent former Zimbabwe
TV and radio
entertainer.
The station has already approached Zimbabwe's state TV to
carry their news
bulletins, and could be soon doing the same with South
Africa's SABC,
sources said.
"The idea is to give the viewers a taste
of home, although we know the news
programmes can be extremely one-sided
stuff," said a source close to the new
station.
New Zimbabwe
By Lebo Nkatazo
Last updated: 03/01/2006
18:09:20
ZIMBABWE'S Parliament on Tuesday passed a controversial legislation
that
allows the jailing of headmasters and school authorities for up to six
months for charging fees not approved by the government.
During a
hastily convened emergency session which saw members of the House
of
Assembly being recalled earlier after Parliament had adjourned to March
28,
45 Zanu PF MPs voted for the Education Amendment Bill while 21 from the
opposition objected to it.
Opposition legislators say one of the
Bill's most draconian aspects is the
six months imprisonment or a fine
equivalent to it or both for headmasters
who "unilaterally increase school
fees or levies", without government
approval.
The Bill which was
earlier assented to by Senate now awaits President Robert
Mugabe's
signature.
The idea of the Bill was mooted after May 2004 when the
government closed a
number of private and Non Governmental, and mission
schools that refused to
follow unrealistic government charges that have seen
a drop in school
standards due to inflation induced costs.
The
amendment also provides for the charging of the fees in line with the
Consumer Price Index, published by the Central Statistical
Office.
The six months, a reduction from 12 months is a compromise that
was reached
after the Parliamentary Legal Committee ruled that the Bill was
unconstitutional.
In an interview Wednesday, MDC Chitungwiza MP
Fidelis Mhashu said "education
had been criminalised".
"The point
which I made is that there is no need to criminalise the
education system,"
he said.
The legislator added that there was no need for Education
Minister Aeneas
Chigwedere, through provisions of the Bill, to concentrate
on administrative
issues such as fees and levies and school uniforms, when
what needed to be
addressed was the decline of the country's education
system.
"The emphasis should be on the learning outcome, in other words
the quality
of education. Administering schools is not the major issue, it
should be
left to school managers. What is needed is the reform of the
educational
system," he added.
Mhashu said the fact that the pass
rate for O' Level in Zimbabwe was 20
percent in 2003, dropping to 19 percent
in 2004 was enough evidence that
there was need to examine the quality of
education.
He added that some of the government's interference in the
running of the
schools was unconstitutional.