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.
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-
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.
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
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.
Source: Government of Zimbabwe; World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 04 Mar 2009 ** 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
* 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.
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.
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.
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
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."
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.
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)
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
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."
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.
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.