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The state blocks release of Roy Bennett

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
5 March 2008

On Thursday Supreme Court Judge Paddington Garwe ruled in favour of the
State, after prosecutors appealed against the granting of bail to MDC
politician Roy Bennett. This means the official will remain in custody until
a date for the hearing is set.

This was after a High Court judge had ordered the authorities to release the
MDC official. Justice Tedius Karwi had last Tuesday granted the MDC Deputy
Minister of Agriculture designate bail, which was immediately opposed by the
State. The prosecutors were given seven days to launch an appeal and on
Tuesday this appeal was dismissed by the High Court judge, who ordered the
immediate release of Bennett.

On Wednesday night, lawyers representing Bennett had successfully fulfilled
the bail requirements to ensure their client's release. They paid US$2 000
to the clerk of court and surrendered Bennett's passport.
But then the lawyers were given the run around by prison officials when they
arrived at Mutare Remand Prison.

By 10pm George Loch, one of the lawyers, said the police officials were
deliberately delaying processing the paperwork and were putting in place
other obstacles. Lawyers were told to get a 'warrant of liberation paper'
from the courts, which they did. It's reported that these warrants had not
been used since 2002.

The MDC also allege that two senior prison officers; the Officer Commanding
Prisons in Manicaland Senior Assistant Commissioner Albert Mandimika and
Chief Superintendent Zondai Nyatsanza, the chief staff officer in
Manicaland, confiscated Bennett's 'warrant of liberation papers' and
disappeared with them.

Furthermore it's reported the officers who ran away these papers are the
same ones who were supposed to receive the warrant. So even if the lawyers
had managed to obtain another warrant, they would have had no one to give it
to.

It's now understood that the disappearance of the officers was to delay the
process, until the Supreme Court hearing the following day.

On Wednesday evening scores of Bennett supporters had been waiting anxiously
outside the prison waiting for his release. He has been in custody for the
last three weeks facing treason charges.
Bennett's situation is becoming a test case for the sincerity of ZANU PF in
the fragile inclusive government. The developments are in gross violation of
the inter-party political agreement and despite the new Prime Minister's
pleas for a return of the rule of law, the Mugabe regime still does exactly
what it wants and completely ignores the courts, when it suits them.

Furthermore it's not only Bennett who is still in illegal detention. Several
political detainees, including MDC officials Ghandi Mudzingwa, Chris
Dhlamini and photo-journalist Shadreck Andrew Manyere, are all still in
police custody after having been denied bail. At least six other activists
who were granted bail are still in detention because they were not able to
fulfil the stringent bail conditions required. There are also at least 10
missing persons who have yet to be released, after the police agreed to
produce them earlier this week.
Political commentator Glen Mpani said: "This issue is a waste of time and
resources and shows how childish ZANU PF can be. Honestly a country that is
on the verge of crumbling spends time and energy on petty issues. One
wonders whether ZANU PF is sincere in getting Zimbabwe on a recovery path.
Today its Roy Bennett, tomorrow it will be someone else - slowly the regime
is purging activists.'

The commentator said and not a word has been heard from the guarantors of
the power sharing agreement, SADC, about these blatant infringements by
Mugabe of the deal. Mpani said SADC from the onset has shown it is powerless
and has no leverage to push ZANU PF into a meaningful agreement with rival
parties.

Meanwhile 3 students leaders who were arrested after an improptu
demonstration at Bindura University were released on Wednesday evening.
Respect Ndanga, Innocent Kapoya and Kelvin Veremu were released after being
charged with inciting violence and paid US$20 fines. The trio led a protest
against the new tuition fee structure announced by the Ministry of Higher
Education.


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Supreme court ruling

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/lawyers050309.htm
 
 

zlhr logo

05 March 2009

HRDs Watch

SUPREME COURT RULES ON

APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL AGAINST BENNETT’S BAIL

At around 15:30hrs on Thursday 5 March 2009 Supreme CourtJudge, Justice of Appeal Paddington Garwe, handed down his ruling in respect of the State’s application seeking leave to appeal against the granting of bail by the High Court to Roy Bennett, the National Treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change and Deputy Agriculture Minister-Designate.

In his Chambers, Garwe JA granted the State leave to appeal, although he pointed out that the State - represented by Chris Mutangadura - has little prospect of success in challenging the granting of bail to Bennett and may only have prospects in respect of the quantum of the bail granted.

The ruling followed the hearing of arguments by Mutangadura and Mrs. Beatrice Mtetwa, who represented Bennett, on Wednesday 4 March 2009 in Chambers. Both parties were requested to file Heads of Argument the following morning in order for a decision to be made in the afternoon. A Warrant of Liberation, which was issued on 4 March 2009 , was ignored by the Zimbabwe Prisons Service and Bennett was not released despite the best efforts of his lawyers in Mutare.

The ruling of Garwe JA means that Bennett will remain incarcerated until the appeal is heard by the Supreme Court. Lawyers are doing their best to ensure that the matter will be set down for hearing at the earliest opportunity to minimize further infringements on Bennett’s constitutional right to liberty.

Human rights monitors who were present at the Supreme Court on 4 March 2009 were surprised to see the red minibus (which became notorious due to its use in transporting the abductees and political detainees such as Mukoko and Dhlamini) arriving at the court, and identified members of the Law and Order section of Harare Central police station seeking to see the Chief Justice and then meeting separately with the Registrar of the Supreme Court. These same individuals were again at the Supreme Court today, in the company of Mutangadura of the Attorney-General’s office, making it clear that they were involving themselves in Bennett’s matter.

All right-thinking individuals should be questioning the involvement of the Law and Order section in this matter, particularly as Bennett effectively remains in the custody of the Prisons Service in Mutare, the investigating officer in Bennett’s matter is not from Harare, and the alleged offence did not occur in Harare.

Police and other law enforcement agents should concentrate on fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities in a professional manner rather than engage in behaviour which can be viewed as an attempt to place undue pressure on purportedly independent arms of government, including the judiciary and the office of the Attorney General.

ZLHR further deplores the continued persecution of Roy Bennett, particularly by the office of the Attorney General. It is our fervent hope that the appeal will be set down and heard urgently to prevent further abuse of process and its devastating impact on the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals who have a right to be presumed innocent and a right to protection of the law rather than persecution by that law.

Background

High Court Judge Justice Tedius Karwi on Tuesday 24 February 2009 granted bail to Bennett and ordered him to deposit US$2,000 with the Clerk of Court at Mutare Magistrates’ Court and to reside at his Workington home in Harare . Reporting conditions, surrender of Bennett’s travel documents and non-interference with State witnesses also formed part of the bail conditions. In granting bail to Bennett, Justice Karwi noted that Bennett was a suitable candidate for bail as he was unlikely to abscond having returned to Zimbabwe from South Africa on his own will. Justice Karwi also stated that Bennett was not likely to interfere with State witnesses as the State’s key witness Peter Hitschmann is serving a prison sentence.

However, the bail was suspended following the invocation of Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) by Mutangadura representing the State. The invocation of section 121 of the CPEA effectively suspended the liberty of Bennett by retaining him in custody.

-ENDS-


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High Court Judge implicated in land grab

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
05 March 2009

The corruption at the heart of the recent offensive against Zimbabwe's
remaining white farmers was further exposed Thursday, when it was revealed
that the High Court Judge who nullified the SADC Tribunal ruling protecting
white owned farms, is a direct beneficiary of Robert Mugabe's land-grab.

Justice Anne-Mary Gowora this week ruled that decisions made by the SADC
Tribunal do not apply and cannot be enforced in Zimbabwe. This effectively
dismissed last year's Tribunal ruling that Zimbabwe's white farmers had a
clear legal title to remain on their farms. The Tribunal president at the
time also ordered the Zimbabwe government to "take all measures to protect
the possessions and ownership" of the farmers' land - an order which has
already been ignored with the recent wave of fresh invasions of farms across
the country.

It has since been revealed that Justice Gowora has a clear personal and
political motive to nullify the Tribunal's ruling, as she was awarded land
snatched from farmer Ben Gilpin.

Gilpin, who is part of the organisation Justice for Agriculture, explained
on Thursday that his Headlands farm in Manicaland, from which he was evicted
in 2005, was divided between two ZANU PF ministers, as well as Gowora and
her husband. Gilpin argued that Gowora clearly "had much to lose by the
judgement made by SADC," and according to law should have recused herself
from the case.

He said that it's almost impossible to find anyone in the judiciary who hasn't
been corrupted by the offer of land.

The Commercial Farmers Union confirmed recently that Attorney General,
Johannes Tomana, is behind the new wave of farm invasions and threats.
According to the minutes of secret meetings held by Tomana with magistrates
and police officials across the country, the AG has instructed officials to
ignore court orders protecting the country's remaining farmers - leaving
them open to invasions, evictions and prosecution, which have been
escalating in recent weeks.

Justice Gowora's High Court judgment this week also dismissed an order being
sought by farmer Peter Etheredge against the President of the Senate, Edna
Madzongwe.

Madzongwe has been harassing Etheredge since 2007 in an effort to force him
off his Stockdale citrus farm, which is one of the few productive farms left
in a country crippled by food shortages. Last year, the farm was looted over
a period of several weeks and an estimated US$600 000 worth of goods was
destroyed or stolen. Etheredge's brother and wife were also severely beaten
at the time of the looting, while they were trying to reclaim their
possessions that had been dumped at the roadside.

The family have since been fighting off a string of invaders living on the
property and Etheredge, who was supposed to be protected by the SADC
Tribunal ruling, has been arrested on numerous occasions. The offensive
against the farm owners has since been renewed, shortly after Justice Gowora
delivered her judgment nullifying the SADC Tribunal's ruling.

On Wednesday Madzongwe, accompanied by a 20 strong group of people,
including four policemen, arrived on the farm brandishing a copy of the
state owned Herald newspaper, and ordered Etheredge to cease operations on
the farm. Madzongwe's spokespeople apparently told Etheredge the Herald's
report on the High Court ruling gave them the authority to carry out the
order.


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Zim farmer protected by SADC ruling harassed by Senate President

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/3512

The President of the Zimbabwean Senate, Edna Madzongwe, arrived at Stockdale
Citrus Estate in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province, at 9 pm yesterday,
brandishing a copy of the state-owned Herald newspaper.

Senator Madzongwe, who is a powerful member of Zanu PF, was accompanied by
approximately 20 people including four policemen from the Chegutu Police
Station. Assistant Inspector Bepura was among them.

Senator Madzongwe's spokespeople told Peter Etheredge, whose family owns
Stockdale Citrus Estate, that he had to stop all work on the farm and gave
him a copy of the Herald to read which apparently gave them authority to
issue this order.

No legal papers were given to Mr Etheredge.

Senator Madzongwe, who is the beneficiary of a number of other farms which
are now unproductive, has been trying to take Stockdale Citrus Estate since
May 2007.

The farm currently employs 350 people and produces approximately 6 000 tons
of citrus each year.

The Etheredges have had a very hard time of late. In June last year their
farm was looted over a period of some weeks. Police refused to attend and
their entire household possessions, as well as tractors, vehicles and other
goods from the farm were stolen.

Losses amounted to approximately US$ 600,000.

James, Peter's brother, and Kerry, Peter's wife, were beaten in front of the
police while trying to load some of their possessions which had been dumped
by the roadside.

They eventually managed to get back to their farm but more recently have had
invaders living on their property.

The Messenger of the Court evicted the invaders on the basis of a High Court
order but they came back again immediately. Thereafter the police have
complained of a lack of manpower to evict the invaders.

However, this did not stop the police arriving with a team of eight people
to put Peter Etheredge in jail last Thursday after he tried to stop the same
illegal invaders from further theft. To do so, he fired two shots in the
air.

As a result, he languished in jail on a bare concrete floor until the
following evening with 37 other people in a cell 6 metres by 6 metres.

The Etheredges are protected by the SADC Tribunal. Advocate Prince Machaya,
acting for the Zimbabwe Government as the Deputy Attorney General, made it
clear in open court that the Zimbabwe government would abide by whatever the
SADC Tribunal ruled.

However, Etheredge said, this hasn't stopped Senator Madzongwe from taking
the law into her own hands along with various others.

Via Press Release

This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 12:39 pm


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Tsvangirai says cholera figures 'underestimated'

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
5 March 2009

The cholera epidemic came under the spotlight on Thursday when Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai raised doubts about the number of people killed
by the disease so far, and those that have been infected by it.

The Prime Minister said 4000 people are reported to have died and 85 000
more infected since the outbreak in August last year, but warned the figures
published so far were an underestimate.

There have always been suspicions that the former ZANU PF government, led by
the former Health Minister David Parirenyatwa, tried to hide the scale of
the deadly epidemic sweeping the country.

The Zimbabwean Association of Doctors for Human Rights accused the former
minister of dramatically under- reporting the spread of the disease. They
said Parirenyatwa tried to hide the real extent of the epidemic by silencing
health workers and restricting access to the huge number of death
certificates that give the same cause of death.

Addressing an Emergency Health Summit in Harare, Tsvangirai told provincial
medical directors and other stakeholders that the country cannot have a
situation where the health sector fears to expose and deal with public
health risks.

'While the Ministry of Health is not solely responsible for health, it is
the custodian of the Public Health Act. Therefore it has a role to play in
providing decisive leadership in advocating for the health of our nation,'
the Prime Minister said

He told the health workers that the epidemic that has swept the country
since last year was a sign of the collapse of the country's health system.

'We have had a clear warning of this in the national trauma of over 85,000
reported cases of cholera, and over 4,000 reported cholera deaths by the end
of February 2009,' he said.

'This is most likely a dramatic underestimate of the real figures given the
unreported cases and deaths in communities,' he added. Cholera is a deadly
disease, but preventable. It is carried in water containing human faeces. In
its most severe form, and without treatment of antibiotics and rehydration,
it causes acute diarrhoea and dehydration, and can kill within hours of
symptoms showing. Preventing cholera relies on proper sewage treatment,
sanitation and water purification.

The Prime Minister promised that the inclusive government will strive
towards ensuring that every household in the country has affordable, safe,
and accessible water which is required for health, safe sanitation and
efficient waste disposal.

'This government is committed to rehabilitating infrastructure so that we
will never again have a situation where the water, sanitation, waste
disposal systems and access to food, reach such a level of degradation that
they become the significant challenge to public health that they are today,'
he said.

Health minister Dr Henry Madzorera told us the two-day meeting will try to
come up with urgent solutions that will see a marked improvement in the
health delivery system.

The Minister of Public Works Theresa Makone, on Thursday met with the Prime
Minister to appraise him on the need to improve the country's ageing water
infrastructure. Makone is said to have drawn up a long-term water
infrastructure upgrade project, in a bid to get rid of obsolete systems in
the country's cities and towns. The aging water system has led to increasing
reports of burst pipes and contamination.

Recent reports say that the entire aquatic system in Zimbabwe is
contaminated, and that this contaminated water is flowing into regional
countries and dramatically increasing cases of cholera throughout the
region.


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Daily cholera update and alerts, 04 Mar 2009


 Full_Report (pdf* format - 199 Kbytes)


* Please note that daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the numbers. Any change will then be explained.

** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may occasionally result

A. Highlights of the day:

- 477 cases and 5 deaths added today (in comparison 394 cases and 6 deaths yesterday)

- 49.2 % of the districts affected have reported today (29 out of 59 affected districts)

- 90.3 % of districts reported to be affected (56 districts out of 62)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate 1.8.%

- Daily Institutional Case Fatality Rate 0.4 %

- Denotifications: Zvimba 83 cases, Bikita 42 Cases


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IMF team to visit Zimbabwe

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12862

March 5, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team will visit Zimbabwe
Monday as the country attempts to mend broken links with the international
lender.

The Washington based Bretton Woods institution announced on Thursday that
its team of economic experts led by Vitaliy Kramarenko will visit Harare for
a two week period, following an invitation extended by the coalition
government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

During their two week stay in Zimbabwe the IMF will conduct its Article IV
consultations - a scrutiny of a country's economic policies which is usually
carried out every year for every member of the global lender.

"The IMF mission will review Zimbabwe's economic situation and prospects and
discuss with the authorities their policies to address the acute economic
and humanitarian crisis facing the country. IMF staff plan to meet with
Finance Minister Biti and other senior officials, as well as representatives
of civil society and the financial, business, academic, and diplomatic
community. The IMF team will work closely with a parallel World Bank
mission," reads part of the IMF statement.

After its assessment the IMF team will release a report, which its Executive
Board is tentatively scheduled to discuss in early May.

Relations between Zimbabwe and the IMF soured in 1999 when the aid agency
cut off financial aid to the country citing gross human rights abuses and
the government's preference to keep loose strings on the public purse.

Since then Zimbabwe has battled with foreign currency shortages which
spawned the collapse of the country's manufacturing sector. More than 2 000
companies have closed shop since 2000 and hundreds of employees have lost
their jobs.


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Biti, Chamisa, visit detained activists


From Radio VOP, 5 March

Harare - Movement for Democratic Change Secretary-General and Minister of
Finance, Tendai Biti on Wednesday visited MDC members who are in hospital
following their arrest and torture at the hands of State security agents
since last year. Biti, who was accompanied by the MDC secretary for
Information and Publicity, who is also Minister of Information and
Communications Technology, Nelson Chamisa, expressed shock at the torture
arrested members went through. "The torture they went through is very
shocking. They have only survived through the mercy of God," Biti said after
the visit. Those in hospital and under armed Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS)
guard are, Ghandi Mudzingwa, the former personal aide of MDC president and
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and Chris Dhlamini, the head of
security in the party. The two, together with journalist Andreson Manyere
are the three remaining suspects still in remand after they were arrested
late last year on trumped up charges of banditry and terrorism. They are
part of at least 40 MDC supporters including a two year old boy, Nigel
Mutemagawo who were abducted during pre-dawn raids at their homes from
October last year. However, for nearly two months, their whereabouts
remained unknown until they appeared in court facing trumped up charges of
banditry and terrorism.

Meanwhile High Court Judge Justice Ben Hlatswayo on Wednesday ordered police
to allow visits to three detained Movement for Democratic Change members.
The three namely Fanny Tembo, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Terry Musona are being held
under protective custody following their abduction last October. The three
are being held as state witnesses in a case in which the police are accusing
some MDC members and human rights activists of planning banditry and
sabotage activities to unseat President Robert Mugabe from power. But on
Wednesday Hlatswayo ordered the police to allow access to relatives of the
three detainees to visit them in police custody. The order by Hlatswayo was
issued during a hearing of an urgent chamber application filed by human
rights lawyer Chris Mhike seeking the release of the three detainees who
have been detained incommunicado for five months. Hlatswayo also ordered the
State to file its response to the detainees' applications by end of day
Thursday. Meanwhile, the trial of two Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
project lawyers, Roselyn Hanzi and Tawanda Zhuwarara together with a group
of Women of Zimbabwe Arise, who were arrested in connection with the
peaceful demonstration held by WOZA last month, was postponed by both the
State and defence consent to 25 March 2009. At the Magistrates Court
Magistrate Gloria Takundwa deferred remand proceedings for human rights
activist Jestina Mukoko and five other alleged MDC members who were freed of
US$600 bail to 20 March 2009.


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EU earmarks R3bn for Africa

http://www.iol.co.za

Sapa-AP
March 05 2009 at 06:41PM

Brussels - The European Union says it remains committed to spending
€247-million (R3.2-billion) in development aid in Africa this year despite
the economic crisis.

EU spokesman John Clancy says it is "understandable" that international aid
groups have concerns that commitments were under threat because of the
international crisis. But he says the EU's executive is standing by its aid
budget plans for humanitarian assistance to 12 African countries this year.

The EU executive commission said Thursday that €110-million will be spent in
Sudan, much of it on millions of refugees who have fled fighting in Darfur.

Congo is to get €45-million and Chad €30-million. More is to be disbursed in
Burundi, Mali, Niger, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and other African nations. -
Sapa-AP


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Currency vouchers for soldiers stolen

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12854

March 5, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - SENIOR army officers in Harare have reportedly pilfered more than 2
000 foreign currency vouchers which were supposed to be issued to
low-ranking soldiers as allowances.

Sources based at the Zimbabwe Defence Forces headquarters have told The
Zimbabwe Times there is widespread discontent as a result.

"There is a lot of anger among the junior ranks over the theft of our
allowances because most of us are very poor and can barely make ends meet,"
said one soldier. "Senior army officers have access to mines, factories and
the farms, which senior army officers seized. So we find it very evil that
they would want to steal such small amounts from suffering junior soldiers."

The top ranks of the ZDF have since last year been paid in United States
dollars, despite the public posturing and constant attacks on US
institutions by the political leadership who accuse the US administration of
pursuing a 'regime change' agenda in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Times was informed that a small coterie of the ZDF leadership,
have since last year received their salaries directly from the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe.

"The senior army officers who have been on the RBZ payroll include colonels,
major generals, brigadier generals, lieutenant-general and the general
himself, as well as their equivalents in the Air Force of Zimbabwe, the
Central Intelligence Organisation, the police and prisons."

The sources said the junior army officers had refused to receive the
equivalent of US$100 in Zimbabwean currency.

"The senior officers keep telling us that the vouchers were misplaced but we
said we will be patient," said the source. "We are very bitter about the
whole thing."


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Thousands of Zimbabweans stranded as SA shuts refugee camp

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
05 March 2009

Thousands of Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa have been left stranded,
following the Department of Home Affairs decision to shut a densely
populated refugee camp in the border town Musina.

Officials this week announced the mobile 'Refugee Reception Office,' based
at the Musina showgrounds, is to be closed and relocated to a military base
on Friday. But on Wednesday the estimated 4000 refugees sheltering at the
showgrounds were told to leave the area, with Home Affairs officials
reportedly ordering that all shelters be broken down and burnt. Despite
local reports suggesting that alternative accommodation arrangements had
been made for the stranded refugees, aid groups said no such arrangements
have been made.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders, explained on Thursday that
officials within the Home Affairs department have requested that NGOs and
other aid groups working in the area shoulder the responsibility of housing
the thousands of refugees. But the head of the mission in South Africa,
Rachel Cohen, told SW Radio Africa that only an estimated 700 refugees are
left to provide shelter for, saying that the rest have fled in fear of being
deported.

"Patients at our mobile clinic at the showground informed us that many
people fled Musina yesterday morning, fearing they would be arrested or
deported if they stayed," Cohen said. "Our medical teams know from
experience that the threat of deportation serves only to force Zimbabweans
into hiding."

An estimated three million Zimbabweans are believed to be living in South
Africa, with thousands crossing the border every night. In Musina alone,
more than 200 new asylum applications have been processed per day, but Cohen
explained that thousands of refugees are now at risk of deportation.

"Although the showground didn't meet the standards for humanitarian
assistance it was the only place in Musina where undocumented Zimbabweans,
awaiting their papers, were safe from arrest or deportation," Cohen
explained.
The charity described in a statement the cruel nature with which authorities
have already shut down the Musina refugee camp explaining that families were
not even allowed to stay together. On Tuesday morning authorities started
dividing the refugees into different groups, according to their legal
status, gender, and age. Women with children, pregnant women and
unaccompanied minors were removed from a special location that had been
established for them at the showground, despite having nowhere else to go.

The decision by the South African authorities has been labeled as
'ill-conceived' and the medical charity has called for the immediate halt to
any Zimbabwean deportations. The group has called on the government to
provide immediate, adequate humanitarian assistance - including some form of
legal status - for Zimbabweans seeking refuge in the country.


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Middle-aged Women Keeping Zimbabwean Economy Afloat

http://www.ipsnews.net

By Tonderai Kwidini

HARARE, Mar 5 (IPS) - Her small tattered book is full of lists of orders for
goods such as beer, maize-meal and chemicals. On another page are addresses
and phone numbers of store managers while, on another, a list of names has
been jotted down along with corresponding amounts.

''This is my accounting book. It has my orders for goods that I am supposed
to go and buy for my clients in Botswana, as well as a list of people who
have paid and also those who haven't, plus those goods that are in short
supply,'' Amai Towe, a Harare-based cross-border trader, told IPS with a
satisfied tone.

Among her customers she counts supermarkets and retailers. ''I supply these
businesses with goods from beer to hair products,'' said Towe, who travels
to Francistown in Botswana every week. The 43-year-old is just one of the
thousands of Zimbabwe's enterprising cross-border traders who travel across
the country's borders into neighbouring countries, bringing in much-needed
foodstuffs.

A visit to the Ramakobane-Plumtree border post between Zimbabwe and Botswana
reveals a hive of activity.

Immigration officials at the Beitbridge border post, which Zimbabwe shares
with South Africa, estimate that about 2,000 traders cross the border
everyday into Musina, the nearest town on the South African side. Heavily
loaded vehicles with maize-meal, beers, soft drinks and rice are a common
sight.

Traders also travel to Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia and even faraway
countries such as China, Malaysia and Singapore. These mostly middle-aged
women deal in basic goods, including soap, bottled drinks, canned beer,
rice, maize-meal and any other scarce goods.

From the time when the Zimbabwean government embarked on a disastrous land
''reform'' programme that dealt the farming and food sectors a blow,
cross-border traders have been the mainstay of the country's economy. They
have kept the collapsing Zimbabwean economy going.

Many started out as vendors of artefacts who used the proceeds to buy goods
for resale back home. But over the years, particularly with the worsening
economic situation in Zimbabwe, the traders have developed viable and
organised economic alternatives.

The bulk of goods and services now available in Zimbabwe are the products of
the entrepreneurial spirit of traders who spend sleepless nights on regional
roads, filling the void left by departed or crushed formal businesses.

''I supply bottle stores with beer from Botswana, chemicals to a saloon in
town and other groceries to small retailers in town,'' explained Towe, who
looks after a family of four.

''I also belong to a group of individuals who supply a supermarket with
biscuits and cereals. We have been organised into a cartel because they
realised that one person cannot meet big orders, therefore they are using
many of us. They are saving a great deal because they don't have to dispatch
a truck to Botswana. We meet their requirements.''

A barman at a hotel in Harare told IPS that his hotel is open to offers from
individuals who can meet the requirements of large orders. ''We have
shortages at times but the cross-border traders have helped us a lot with
supplies. A lot of our clients prefer foreign beers and wines which can only
be sourced from neighbouring countries. Most of the time we turn to these
traders.''

Even in the remotest areas of Zimbabwe, traders have been managing to
provide supplies. In rural Watsomba in Zimbabwe's eastern province, goods
such as Mozambican beer are common.

Institutions such as boarding schools are also engaging their services. Even
the country's central bank has contracted agricultural traders to source
farming implements on behalf of the country.

At the beginning of last year, virtually all shops in Zimbabwe were empty
until the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe authorised selected shops to sell goods
and services in foreign currency. This proved to be the boost that many
traders had been waiting for. Traders' incomes increased as they now trade
in foreign currency which makes it easier to plan their business.

The cross-border traders now have an association through which they lobby
authorities to safeguard their interests. The Zimbabwe Cross-Border Traders
Association (ZCBTA) represents the interests of approximately 15,000
registered traders.

The South African government has since recognised them by granting them
year-long business visas to facilitate easy travel through border posts.
Previously they were issued with six month visitor's visas which had many
restrictions.

The Zimbabwean government has also suspended tariffs on all imports, except
goods classified as luxuries, a move which has boosted cross-border trade.

The ZCBTA ''belongs to the Southern African Social Forum (SASF) and Southern
African People's Solidarity Network (SAPSN),'' Samuel Borerwa, an official
with ZCBTA, told IPS. SAPSN is a regional non-governmental network that
promotes people's participation in development.

''We use these platforms to advance our interests. We are currently lobbying
sub-Saharan African governments to ease trade entry requirements to make it
easier for small business people to cross borders,'' he declared.

The group is also working with other traders' associations in the region to
push for the introduction of a regional passport that will facilitate
movement within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

''It will allow traders to make multiple entries into other countries and
reduce administrative costs and times at border check-points,'' argued
Borerwa.

Traders still lament that the recently signed SADC free trade area is yet to
produce benefits, given the ill treatment and long hours that they have to
endure at regional borders. (END/2009)


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Progress Report



MDC has been inside the tent for 10 days ­ it was only Friday the week
before last when the Ministers were finally sworn in and they started work
last Monday. By now they have found their new cars (that did not take long!)
and their offices ­ some do not even now have a permanent office or support
staff, but they are operating.

As is to be expected, some of the Ministers hit the ground running, others
were more hesitant and unsure of themselves. Some mistakes have been made
and some progress achieved ­ not as much as we may have wanted, but some.
Certainly the atmosphere has improved a bit although Mugabe does his best to
knock us all down from time to time.

There have been some notable achievements in this short space of time. The
Ministry of Finance has affected some reforms and the public service has
received hard currency allowances. More will be paid this week. Teachers are
back at work and I think most medical establishments are also working ­ to
varying degrees, but they are open. Food supplies in the commercial markets
are more or less in free supply and as a result prices have started to
decline ­ some by a significant margin.

In areas receiving food aid there has been a notable reduction in political
interference and a sharp increase in food distribution. In fact in February
a remarkable 75 per cent of the total population will have received food
from the aid agencies. I think this is the highest percentage of a national
population in receipt of food aid anywhere and at any time ­ not even
Ethiopia during the famine in that country, reached this level of need
across the whole country.

There has been a serious explosion at the only functioning fertilizer plant
in the country at Sable Chemicals ­ this uses 30 per cent of our national
power consumption and as a result we have had no power cuts for a week. It¹s
not because the MDC Minister concerned has waved a magic wand ­ it¹s just
that we have more electricity to go around now that the plant is out of
action. I have argued for some time that we should have in fact closed the
plant down and used the electricity for other purposes.

Water supplies have gone back to the urban councils where they belong and
the Councils are slowly picking up the pieces and trying to rectify matters.
Water supplies in Harare are now up to 50 per cent of needs ­ from 30 per
cent and quite a bit of investment is taking place. Sewerage and solid waste
disposal is still a problem and will be for a long time but a team of
consultants is visiting all towns and cities to investigate what needs to be
done and is making recommendations to the Councils.

We have made some progress in the field of media reform ­ the Zanu PF
Minister has been tasked with this responsibility and as a start, to stop
political interference with the State controlled media. After an encouraging
start the State media resumed its delinquent practices and more action is
now required ­ perhaps a bit of surgery.

It is tragic that in those areas where the SADC has responsibility, only
very patchy progress has been made. Although they signed the Global
Political Agreement on the 15th September last year and then supported the
adoption of constitutional reform in February with the President signing the
new legislation into law on the 15th, the old regime shows little sign that
they intend either to honor their part of this deal or to work with us on
the many urgent problems that need to be addressed.

The National Security Council Act is yet to be signed into law, the basic
tenants of the GPA are yet to find expression in the way the State operates
and every possible obstacle is being put in the way of progress. The
abductees remain mostly in detention or missing, farm invasions have
intensified and segments of the administration are simply refusing to reform
or to act when instructed to do so by the new Ministers.

At the same time, a secret criminal cabal has been established ­ working
downwards from the Presidents Office to remote police stations and army
barracks. The paymaster is Gono and the principle role players are senior
Cabinet Ministers assisted by a number of senior civil servants. It is
difficult to determine just what they want to achieve but it would appear
that they have a number of objectives.

They want to prevent any substantive aid coming to the country in the belief
that this will then discredit the MDC in the eyes of the majority. They want
to try and force us to quit the transitional government by holding our
people in detention on false charges and allegations, they want to frustrate
any new reforms that might usher in a period of media freedom and a more
open society. They want to skew the upcoming debate on the constitution and
electoral reform; they want to protect their key players in the
administration and to sustain their activities by using state resources.

This past week we saw an open challenge to the authority of the Prime
Minister when the administration unilaterally announced the appointment of
Permanent Secretaries to head ministries. Tsvangirai immediately repudiated
the action and rescinded the appointments. A subdued Mugabe conceded they
had exceeded their mandate and violated the GPA by doing so. The Prime
Minster will now handle all those appointments properly today. On Friday we
obtained information of an attempt to shift responsibility for the telephone
system from the MDC Minister responsible to a Zanu PF Minister. This was
confronted and prevented.

Despite the fact that all farm invasions are illegal after the signing of
the GPA and despite instructions to the contrary by the Prime Minister, the
President stated that they would continue and the Chief Magistrate ordered
the Courts to ignore binding legal agreements in regional Courts. Farmers
with cows in milk, fruit on trees and crops in the ground have been told to
leave their farms and homes at 24 hours notice. If they refused they were
jailed and in many cases beaten. Private assets and homes are being occupied
illegally and assets looted. Clearly this criminal activity will have to be
addressed ­ but who is the policeman in all this ­ surely SADC and in
particular, the South African government.

So here we are ­ still no action on the key issues that the SADC leadership
said should be resolved by the new government ­ governors are not yet
appointed, the Attorney General and the Reserve Bank Governor ­ all
appointed in violation of the GPA have not had their positions reviewed and
agreed, the National Security Council is yet to be constituted and begin
operations. The Prime Minister is yet to be allowed to function in
accordance with the GPA and the new constitutional provisions. Illegal
detentions have continued and the farm invasions intensified.

On top of all this, regional governments are yet to come to the assistance
of the new administration. When approached for help they disingenuously
argued that we ³Must settle our debts and they will give us help to do so!².
We owe over US$5 billion to our creditors ­ have done little or nothing to
settle these debts for over 15 years and now ­ as we take over a bankrupt
and devastated State, regional governments sit on their hands!

Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 2nd March 2009


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MDC outraged over Bennett detention

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12866

March 5, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Zimbabwe's mainstream Movement for Democratic Change party
expressed outrage Thursday at the continued detention of MDC
treasurer-general and Deputy Minister for Agriculture-designate, Roy
Bennett.

Describing the people allegedly scuttling Bennett's release as "residual
elements," the MDC demanded the immediate release of the embattled farmer.

In a strongly-worded statement, the party charged that the machinations of
the people it referred to constituted blatant disregard of the law, adding
that such moves were tantamount to fighting the inclusive government.

The MDC slammed the State's non-compliance with a High Court order to
release Bennett as Supreme Court judge of appeal, Paddington Garwe
reluctantly granted the State the leave to appeal against the release of
Bennett in the Supreme Court chambers.

In his Chambers, on Thursday afternoon, Garwe granted the State leave to
appeal, but immediately warned State counsel, Chris Mutangadura that he had
little prospect of success in challenging the granting of bail to Bennett.

He said the prosecutor might only have prospects in respect of the quantum
of the bail granted.

The ruling followed the hearing of arguments by Mutangadura and Bennett's
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa during the March 4 court hearing in chambers.

According to a statement from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, both
parties were requested to file heads of argument the following morning in
order for a decision to be made in the afternoon.

A Warrant of Liberation, freeing Bennett on March 4, was ignored by the
Zimbabwe Prisons Service.

A statement from the MDC named two senior prison officers, the Officer
Commanding Prisons in Manicaland, Senior Assistant Commissioner Albert
Mandimika and Chief

Superintendent Zondai Nyatsanza, the chief staff officer in Manicaland as
the people who allegedly scuttled Bennett's release.

The MDC claims the officers confiscated his Warrant of Liberation papers and
"disappeared with them".

Bennett remains unlawfully in custody, according to the MDC, despite a High
Court order to have him released and despite his lawyers having paid the
US$2 000 bail to the Clerk of Court.

The ruling by Garwe means that Bennett will remain incarcerated until the
appeal is heard by the Supreme Court.

MDC leader Mogen Tsvangirai last week complained that the AG's office was
abusing the appeal process. Tomana reportedly met Mugabe at State House last
Friday and was instructed to release all the political prisoners.

Tomana was summoned by Mugabe after the President met with members of the
Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee, who appraised him on the
resistance being encountered from the AG.

The conditions were that the prisoners withdraw their appeals in the High
Court and Supreme Court before being freed.

Defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama was on Friday afternoon summoned to the AG's
office for a meeting at 4pm, The Zimbabwe Times has established.

A senior law officer, Roderick Tokwe, reportedly read from a prepared text,
and told Muchadehama and his team of lawyers that the AG had met the
President and that it had been agreed that their clients could be released
on bail.

That meeting was attended by Tokwe, Michael Mugabe and one Chikoshwe,
according to Muchadehama.

Human rights lawyers said Thursday they were doing their best to ensure that
the matter would be set down for hearing at the earliest opportunity to
minimize further infringements on Bennett's constitutional right to liberty.

The Zimbabwe Times heard that officers from the Law and Order section
arrived at the Supreme Court in a red mini-van that has been used to
transport the political detainees and asked to see the Chief Justice.

They were instructed to channel their concerns to the Registrar of the
Supreme Court.

The officers were later seen at the Supreme Court, in the company of
Mutangadura of the AG's office.

"All right-thinking individuals should be questioning the involvement of the
Law and Order Section (in Harare) in this matter, particularly as Bennett
effectively remains in the custody of the Prisons Service in Mutare, the
investigating officer in Bennett's matter is not from Harare, and the
alleged offence did not occur in Harare," said Irene Petras, head of ZLHR.

"Police and other law enforcement agents should concentrate on fulfilling
their constitutional responsibilities in a professional manner rather than
engaging in behaviour which can be viewed as an attempt to place undue
pressure on purportedly independent arms of government, including the
judiciary and the office of the Attorney General.

"ZLHR further deplores the continued persecution of Roy Bennett,
particularly by the office of the Attorney General.

"It is our fervent hope that the appeal will be set down and heard urgently
to prevent further abuse of process and its devastating impact on the
fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals who have a right to be
presumed innocent and a right to protection of the law rather than
persecution by that law."

The MDC statement slammed what the party described as "wanton disregard of
the rule of law, the brazen trampling of citizens' rights and the chicanery
to stand in the way of court orders flies in the face of the new era and the
new spirit of unity that had begun to be engendered by the inclusive
government.

"The MDC calls for the unconditional release of Hon Bennett and other MDC
activists who continue to be illegally detained on trumped-up charges of
banditry and terrorism," said the MDC statement.

"We call upon the government to urgently intervene to ensure that the rule
of law is respected. State security agents must comply with the law. In this
new Zimbabwe that is now upon us, no one is above the law. State security
agents who continue to trample on citizens' rights and freedoms should
themselves face the full wrath of the law."


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Whose land?

http://www.economist.com

Mar 5th 2009 | HARARE
From The Economist print edition

Despite a recent power-sharing deal, white-owned farms are still being taken

ROBERT MUGABE was in a festive mood as he celebrated his 85th birthday on
February 21st in a small town north of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. "Land
distribution will continue!" he told his 2,000 or so partying guests. "The
few remaining white farmers should quickly vacate their farms, as they have
no place there.I am still in control and hold executive authority." Zimbabwe's
president seemed to have forgotten his recent power-sharing deal with Morgan
Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which included an
agreement to end the seizure of white-owned farms.

Of the 5,600-odd white commercial farmers in Zimbabwe when Mr Mugabe came to
power in 1980, barely 250 are still on their land. Output has slumped; 7m
people, in a resident population of perhaps no more than 9m, now rely on
food aid to survive. Yet in the past month 75 white farms are reported have
been occupied or threatened with invasion, often with police connivance. And
prosecutions against 140 white farmers are being hurried through the courts
to force them to comply immediately with eviction notices served in defiance
of a landmark ruling by an African regional court in November.

This sudden upsurge in farm seizures suggests that Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF is
determined to settle the land issue to its own liking before Mr Tsvangirai's
people can stop them. When the MDC was set up in 1999, many of Zimbabwe's
white farmers backed the party. Though Mr Tsvangirai wants land
redistributed, he says it must be done fairly and by law. In his inaugural
address to Parliament this week, he called for a "halt to the wanton
disruptions of productive farming". Those who believe they can "move onto a
viable farm and steal the crops.are wrong."

In a case brought by 78 white farmers last year, a tribunal of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), a 15-country group, held Mr Mugabe's
land-reform programme to be illegal, since it violated a SADC treaty
requiring respect for civil rights and the rule of law, and was racially
discriminatory in targeting only white farmers. The tribunal said it might
have reached a different conclusion had the "spoils of expropriation" not
been awarded mostly to ZANU-PF people.

Didymus Mutasa, the minister then responsible for distributing the land,
retorted that the judges must be "day-dreaming" if they thought Zimbabwe, a
signatory to the SADC court, would heed the ruling. Several of the 78
farmers told by the judges that they could keep their farms are among those
now facing imminent eviction.

Western donors have made respect for property rights, as well as for other
human rights, a precondition for resuming development aid. This week, in a
rare gesture of conciliation, a prominent human-rights campaigner, Jestina
Mukoko, was freed on bail after nearly three months in prison, along with
some 16 others out of 40 whose release the MDC had specifically demanded.
Roy Bennett, a dispossessed white farmer whom the MDC had named as deputy
agriculture minister in the new government, is also expected to be released
on bail; he had been arrested on an array of charges, including insurgency,
on his return from exile to Zimbabwe on the day the government was sworn in.

But over the land seizures Mr Mugabe seems loth to back down. Few dispute
that land redistribution was sorely needed. In 1980 the 5,600 white farmers
owned 15.5m hectares of land, most of it good, at an average of nearly 3,000
hectares each, including cattle and game ranches and some vast, often
foreign-owned, estates. At the same time 780,000 black smallholders
subsisted on 16.4m hectares of generally poorer communal land. Often less
than five hectares in size, these smallholdings lacked title deeds and thus
could not be used as collateral for loans. According to Justice for
Agriculture, a mainly white farmers' lobby, by 1995 whites still had 10.9m
hectares. The British government says it stopped subsidising resettlement
schemes at that point because the land was being dished out corruptly.

Sam Moyo, head of the African Institute for Agrarian Studies in Harare,
maintains that Zimbabwe's land redistribution has been "broad-based and
largely egalitarian". It is untrue, he says, that most of the land taken
since 2000, when the seizures began, went to Mr Mugabe's relatives, friends
and other ZANU-PF faithful. More than two-thirds, he says, was allocated to
140,000 poor families, most getting around 20 hectares. He concedes that 30%
of the redistributed land, consisting of bigger and better farms, was handed
out to 15,500 officers in the army and security services, judges, ministers,
members of parliament, civil servants and so on.

The professor blames drought, lack of affordable seed and fertiliser, price
controls and a dearth of credit for the disastrous results of the
confiscations, although he also admits that many of the new black owners
lacked farming skills. Whatever the truth is, the upshot is that vast tracts
of once-productive land now lie idle. Moreover, more than 200,000
experienced black farm-workers and their families-well over 1m people-have
lost their livelihoods and homes, along with their dispossessed white
masters.

In this week's address to Parliament, Mr Tsvangirai repeated a promise to
audit all the land to ascertain who owns what, to eliminate multiple
ownerships and to ensure security of tenure for all farmers, black and
white. He also sought help from abroad to compensate former (nearly all
white) farmers whose land had been seized and to provide much-needed support
for new farmers. But the MDC accepts that it cannot restore the seized land
to its former owners. Most have gone. Even under an MDC government, it is
doubtful many would come back. It will be many years before Zimbabwe's
farms, whoever owns them, will prosper again.


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The MDC continues conceding too much too often to ZANU-PF

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/heart050309.htm

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

The scariest thing to me is seeing Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for
Democratic Change actually behaving and acting like they are in control of
the government.
It is enticing and quite impressive until you notice that the other half of
the government does not pay any attention to such utterances.

I am obligated to agree with those who say that there is no Government of
National Unity in Zimbabwe but a ZANU-PF government in which the MDC has
been invited to do the cleaning up, campaign for the end of sanctions and
beg for billions of dollars on behalf of Mugabe and his party.
Gideon Gono is waiting for that money.

I am disturbed by the fact that the MDC allows Mugabe and his ZANU-PF to get
away with some important concessions without itself getting anything back.
The sum total of this misguided approach is that it is always ZANU-PF that
ends up being the winner at the expense of the MDC.
Since the so-called talks started, it was always the MDC that had to soften
its stand against that of ZANU-PF.
The MDC is the one that has always been compromising and giving away or
changing their positions whenever ZANU-PF stood its ground.

The MDC has to calm down as a matter of urgency. They are moving too fast in
the wrong direction.
They are ignoring important things, which they could be using as leverage,
yet run to embrace other things that might seem to be diplomatic protocol
while strengthening ZANU-PF.
The case of Roy Bennett illustrates the impotence of the MDC.
The lamentations and charges of Bennett's wife that the MDC had let her
husband down should be alarming to both MDC supporters and leadership.

Recent statements by MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, are slowly rekindling
fears that these political foes had only reconciled for their own benefit,
not for the benefit of the nation.
"The swearing in of Tomana as the chief government legal advisor puts paid
to the fierce challenge of his appointment from the MDC," says a report.
"His swearing in on Tuesday can be construed as an indication that President
Mugabe was not prepared to sacrifice his avid supporter to appease the MDC."
When Mugabe unilaterally appointed Tomana as Attorney General, the MDC made
it loud and clear that they wanted the unilateral appointment to be
reversed, along with that of the Governor of the Reserve Bank. The MDC said
both appointments violated the inter-party agreement, the basis of the
current government of national Unity.
Now they are part of the government and asked to comment on Tomana's
swearing in, the MDC said his party would not contest Tomana's coming into
Parliament as his party "was not fighting individuals".
"The MDC appreciates that before the matter is resolved, there had to be an
Attorney General in Parliament," said Chamisa.
An illegal or unconstitutional Attorney General?
"But," he continued, "our position is very clear. We are not fighting
individuals but we are fighting the system, its institutions and processes."
And the process has indicated that there had to be an attorney general,
legal or otherwise, in parliament.
The MDC better calm down and think first because they are betraying their
intentions and might not reach the Promised Land they erroneously think is
within their reach.

It is frightening that they are no longer playing to the innocent gallery
but to themselves and we all know where that leads as John Nkomo and his
former PF-ZAPU negotiators found out when they were tasked with convincing
people for the need of PF-ZAPU joining ZANU-PF.
After months of being chauffeured around the country in Mercedes Benz luxury
sedans, complete with bodyguards and drivers, sleeping in luxury hotels, the
negotiators were prepared to join ZANU-PF with or without their brethren to
whom they had been sent.

And here we go again!
Why does the MDC think it, alone, is the one supposed to compromise and to
give in to ZANU-PF? They are always giving and always trying to explain
their capitulation to the people.
This is the selling out period.

Today, while invasions continue, the MDC says that the government "shall not
seek to reverse the land reform programme but shall strive to secure
international support and finance to both compensate the former land-owners
and support new farmers".
What kind of betrayal is this?
Yes, land redistribution is not negotiable; in fact, it is mandatory but all
along it was the legal aspect of the affair that was very much in question.
Crimes were committed.
People were raped and murdered during the violent land seizures. ZANU-PF and
its government literally stole those farms to give to their children,
friends and relatives and they continue to do so.
Where does the MDC draw the line?
Is it now saying those who murdered are also forgiven? What is the land
audit they trumpet supposed to achieve? And if the audit unearths
inconsistencies, as indeed they will, what are they going to do or is the
MDC also coming up with its own "reconciliation" gimmick?

Last Saturday, Mugabe declared that farm seizures will continue but a few
days later, Tsvangirai said farm invasions must stop.
I then wonder what they discuss in their cabinet meetings if they, as
government, cannot present to the people a unified and agreed approach.
Whose voice should the people follow?
This confusion should be noted and the MDC must do something about it
otherwise they have no business in this government.

Chamisa, Tsvangirai and the MDC are never coming back to the people. Their
new found mandate now is to always explain why they are giving in to ZANU-PF
so frequently while ZANU-PF is not giving the MDC anything in return.
They are now the ZANU-PF apologists in front of the expectant Zimbabweans.
The MDC is now ZANU-PF's messenger. They are not for the people any more.

The heart of the matter is that the MDC needs to be much tougher with
ZANU-PF if they expect to keep their identity and support. They have
conceded too much and they continue to do so.
The MDC is too willing to give in to ZANU-PF demands while ZANU-PF is not
budging an inch.
The MDC has already started using ZANU-PF terminology to hoodwink the people
into supporting the mistake called government of national unity.

Their biggest mandate appears to be to convince the international community
to accept the current government.
No, Mr Tsvangirai, sanctions against Mugabe and his lieutenants must remain
until there is evidence that he is listening to you. Until there is evidence
that you are not being innocently used. Until we all can see that you have
been given the powers that should be vested in your office and party.
So please, for now, do not embarrass your staunch supporters in and outside
Zimbabwe; do not shame those governments that gave you unwavering support by
hurrying to get money which we know will go into Gideon Gono's hands and we
all know where it will end up.
We realise you are being used. You will deny it, of course, but Mugabe is
using you.
The MDC must calm down a bit and proceed with extreme caution.
What do you think? Send me your comments on tano@swradioafrica.com
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, I am afraid to say, my compatriots, is
the way it is today, Thursday March 5, 2009.

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