Zim Online
Fri
12 May 2006
BULAWAYO - Senior ZANU PF leaders loyal to former
parliamentary
speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa allegedly met in November 2004 to
plot a
parliamentary coup which would have seen Parliament order President
Robert
Mugabe to resign, the High Court heard yesterday.
The
allegation was contained in documents - which are minutes of a
meeting of
the ZANU PF district co-ordinating committee for Tsholotsho
district - read
in court by former information minister Jonathan Moyo during
the hearing of
his defamation suit against ruling party chairman John Nkomo
and politburo
member, Dumiso Dabengwa.
Moyo is suing the two senior ZANU PF
politicians for Z$2 billion in
damages saying they defamed him when they
allegedly told Mugabe that he
(Moyo) funded and led the hatching at a
meeting at Dinyane school in
Tsholotsho of the "coup plot" against the
President and other top ZANU PF
leaders.
Nkomo and Dabengwa
deny the defamation charge.
The former information minister told
the court that Nkomo in December
2004 convened a meeting of the Tsholotsho
district committee at which false
allegations were made that he (Moyo) was
behind the coup plot.
Moyo told the court: "If you
look at the district co-ordinating
committee (meeting) minutes on page three
when Ngwenya (ZANU PF official)
was asked by the first defendant (Nkomo) to
say what happened at Dinyane
(meeting) he said there was to be a
parliamentary coup where President
Mugabe was to be asked by Parliament to
step down and be paid his package."
The disclosure by Moyo is the
first time that the details of an
alleged internal rebellion against Mugabe
have been divulged in public.
Moyo was fired from the government
and ZANU PF after he chose to
contest the 2005 general election as an
independent candidate for Tsholotsho
in open defiance of senior leaders who
had blocked him from standing on the
ruling party's ticket saying the
constituency was reserved for a woman
candidate.
But insiders
say Moyo was really the victim of internecine fighting
within ZANU PF over
Mugabe's succession. The say the reservation of
Tsholotsho - Moyo's home
constituency - for a female candidate was a ploy by
his enemies in the
ruling party to frustrate him.
Moyo and other senior ZANU PF
leaders had backed former parliamentary
speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa to be
appointed vice-president ahead of Joice
Mujuru, which would have placed him
in a strong position to succeed Mugabe
when and if he steps
down.
The plot to prop up Mnangagwa fell through after it was
discovered by
Mugabe and other ZANU PF old guard leaders, who threw their
weight behind
Mujuru and accused those who had attempted to block her rise
of in fact
scheming to topple the party leadership.
Moyo has
also told the court that in addition to labelling him a coup
plotter, Nkomo
and Dabengwa had also falsely claimed that he had received
unspecified sums
of money sourced from foreign persons or countries hostile
to
Zimbabwe.
The case, which gives a glimpse of the power struggle
within ZANU PF
over Mugabe's succession, will see more confidential
documents which include
minutes of several ZANU PF committees and
confidential party correspondence
being produced in court as evidence. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri
12 May 2006
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has signed into law
the Education Act
Amendment Bill giving the state powers to fix fees at
private schools, in a
development education experts say could see standards
falling at the schools
that are the only sources of a reliable education for
young Zimbabweans.
Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere yesterday
told ZimOnline that
Mugabe, who must give his assent to all Bills before
they can become
effective law, signed the Bill earlier this week on
Monday.
Chigwedere - who two years ago forced several privately-run
schools to
close and threatened to jail the administrators for refusing to
lower fees
until he was ordered by the High Court to leave the schools alone
-
immediately threatened to use the new law to "deal heavily" with
privately-owned and church-run schools he claimed were overcharging on
fees.
"The Education (Act Amendment) Bill is now law. The President
assented
to it on Monday," said Chigwedere. "We are going to deal heavily
with all
those schools that are charging exorbitant fees. We are aware that
there are
some schools already charging $300 million a term, some $250
million, others
$200 million a term. This is outrageous and
unacceptable."
The more than 500 non-government owned schools that
are run by either
private entrepreneurs or church organisations are the best
equipped and best
run schools in Zimbabwe as the country's once highly
regarded public schools
crumble after years of under-funding and
mismanagement.
Children of senior officials of the government and
ruling ZANU PF
party, who are not studying in rich foreign countries, learn
at the
non-government owned schools where the children of most relatively
well-off
citizens also learn.
But the government accuses the
schools of taking advantage of their
good reputation to extort money from
parents by charging exorbitant fees and
levies that it says are mostly used
to fund lavish lifestyles for school
executives.
Authorities at
the schools deny the charge saying the high fees are
necessary to maintain
standards and retain experienced and highly qualified
teachers by paying
them higher salaries so they do not leave for better
paying jobs
abroad.
Under the new law, all schools whether state owned or not
are required
to first seek approval from the secretary of education before
hiking fees.
The law also sets stringent conditions under which school
authorities may be
allowed to increase fees or levies.
For
example, under the new law, fee hikes should not exceed "the
percentage
increase in the cost of living from the beginning to the end of
the
preceding term as indicated by the Consumer Price Index published by the
Central Statistics Office".
It was not possible to get comment
on the matter from the Association
of Trust Schools that represents
privately-owned schools or the Association
of Church Education Secretaries
that represents church-owned schools.
But the two organisations
have in the past opposed the new school fees
law saying it did not make
sense to arbitrarily set conditions under which
fees could be hiked when
cost structures of schools vary depending on
location and type of facilities
at each institution. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 12 May 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwean civic society groups
have told the ongoing 39th
session of the African Commission on Human and
People's Rights (ACHPR) that
human rights violations are worsening in
Zimbabwe in total disregard of
previous resolutions by the commission urging
Harare to uphold people's
rights.
The civic groups urged the
continental human rights watchdog to
redouble pressure on President Robert
Mugabe's government which they said
had not only failed to repeal repressive
press and security laws but was
considering enacting even tougher
legislation which will empower the state
to spy on private internet
communication.
Addressing the commission meeting in Banjul, in
Gambia on Thursday,
Wilbert Mandinde, a legal officer with the Zimbabwe
Chapter of the Media
Institute of Southern Africa, said: "We wish to advise
your commission that
the situation has remained unchanged and your
Commission should continue to
put pressure on the government of Zimbabwe to
uphold the rule of law and
respect human rights."
The ACHPR is
an arm of the Africa Union (AU) focusing on human rights
on the continent.
The commission significantly passed a resolution at its
meeting last
November expressing concern about human rights violations in
Zimbabwe. But
the commission has failed to nudge AU leaders many of them
close allies of
Mugabe to act against the veteran Zimbabwean leader.
Political
violence and human rights abuses have become routine in
Zimbabwe since the
emergence of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party in
1999 to become the biggest threat ever to Mugabe and
his ruling ZANU PF's
iron-fist rule. Most of the violence has been blamed on
militant supporters
of Mugabe and his ruling party. They deny the charge.
With the MDC
clearly weakened after a damaging split over how to
unseat Mugabe and ZANU
PF, political analysts had expected violence and
human rights abuses to at
least decline.
Mandinde, who is part of a delegation that also
include media
representatives, told the commission that Harare was instead
tightening
repressive laws with the proposed new Interception of
Communications Bill
giving the government powers to spy on telephone and
e-mail messages.
"(This is) obviously a blatant and outright
invasion of privacy and
infringement of the right to receive and impart
ideas without interference
with one's correspondence," Mandinde
said.
Zimbabwe, rated by the World Association of Newspapers as one
of the
most dangerous places for journalists in the world, already has tough
media
laws requiring journalists and their newspapers to obtain registration
certificates from the state Media and Information Commission in order to
practise or publish in the country.
Journalists caught
practising without being registered face up to two
years in jail while
newspapers that breach the registration law face closure
and seizure of
their property by the state.
At least a hundred journalists have
been arrested over the past three
years for breaching the government's tough
media laws while the country's
largest circulating and only non-government
owned daily paper, the Daily
News, was shut down in 2003 because it was not
registered with the state
commission. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 12 May
2006
HARARE - A government-appointed commission running the city of
Harare
has ordered all newspaper companies to pay Z$100 000 (about US$0.99)
a day
for every site they use to sell their newspapers.
In a
circular to all newspaper companies in the city, Harare City
Council acting
finance manager, a Mr Dhliwayo, said all newspaper companies
must pay for
sites where their products are sold.
"In this regard we are making
a request for your company to prepare
for the payment of this fee to the
City of Harare with effect from the start
of May of 2006.
"The
said charge is in respect of the various sites used by your
newspaper
vendors to sell your company's products. The current charge per
day per
vendor is $100 000," said Dhliwayo in the circular dated 3 May which
was
seen by ZimOnline yesterday.
He said the fees would be increased by
50 percent every quarter until
the end of the year.
"In line
with inflationary pressures, currently prevailing in the
country, this
charge will go up by 50 percent every quarter until end of the
year," said
Dhliwayo.
The commission did not explain what will happen to
foreign newspapers,
among them South Africa's Mail and Guardian, Sunday
Times and the
London-based The Zimbabwean, which are sold on the streets in
Harare.
The Harare city council is battling a severe cash flow
crisis that has
resulted in the deterioration of services in the city.
Observers say the
latest move to charge vendor's fees is a desperate ploy by
the council to
mobilise financial resources to deal with the
crisis.
Harare is being run by a government-appointed commission,
headed by
Sekesai Makwavarara, which has been accused of extravagance and
mismanagement of council matters. The council is accused of failing to deal
with heaps of uncollected garbage and burst sewer pipes in the
city.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) secretary general Foster
Dongozi
yesterday condemned the move to introduce vending fees saying the
plan was
meant to drive newspapers out of business.
"It's
absolute nonsense. It's an attempt to raise money to fatten the
commissioners' pockets. Where will newspapers get the money when the economy
continues to shrink," said Dongozi.
Media Institute of Southern
Africa (Misa) national director Rashweat
Mukundu also condemned the plans
saying the introduction of fees should only
be done when council provides
vending sites and toilets to the vendors.
"Without the council
providing these facilities, there is no
justification for charging that fee.
That money should correspond with the
service being provided," said Mukundu.
- ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 12 May 2006
GABORONE - The Botswana and Zimbabwe
governments are set to
reintroduce a passenger train service between the two
countries which was
suspended 15 years ago in a rare sign of warming
relations between the two
southern African neighbours.
A senior
official with Botswana Railways, Jane Golubane, confirmed the
plans and said
the two countries had ironed out their differences which led
to the
suspension of the train service.
"The only problem remaining is to
find a suitable opening date so that
ministers of transport from both
Zimbabwe and Botswana can attend. Otherwise
all the other problems have been
sorted out," Golubane said.
The train service, which was popular in
the early 1980s, will run
between Zimbabwe's second biggest city of Bulawayo
and Francistown in
Botswana.
The train service was suspended in
1991 after the Gaborone authorities
were incensed over the issue of illegal
Zimbabwean immigrants who used the
service to sneak into
Botswana.
Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana have been frosty
over the past
few years with Harare accusing Botswana of harassing and
ill-treating its
national who visit Botswana while the Batswana authorities
accuse the
Zimbabweans of fanning crime in their country.
Thousands of Zimbabweans, reeling under an unprecedented six-year old
economic crisis, cross into Botswana fleeing hunger and starvation in their
country. - ZimOnline
Engineering News
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The mystery over Zimbabwe's latest inflation data deepened on Thursday
as
officials said they still had no information when the number -- expected
to
top 1 000% -- would be released.
Zimbabwe's Central Statistical
Office (CSO) had been due to release
the April inflation figure on
Wednesday, with analysts saying it would
likely show a country near collapse
due to an economic meltdown critics
blame on President Robert Mugabe's
government.
That release was abruptly cancelled, however, and on
Thursday CSO
officials said they could not say what had caused the delay and
when the
figures would be issued.
"Let me just say we will let
you know when we are ready," a senior
official said, declining to give
details.
Mugabe's government has admitted inflation, already the
highest in the
world at 913.6 percent as of March, is one of the biggest
hurdles in its
efforts to reverse an economic slide which is raising fears
of popular
protest.
Economists said authorities might be afraid
of causing shockwaves by
putting out a new figure showing the situation
getting even worse.
"I think it (the postponement) shows the
authorities are panicking,"
said Harare-based economist James
Jowa.
"It could be that the rate has gone up drastically and they
are trying
to see how best to handle the situation because if it is too high
-- as
indications show on the ground -- then it could cause a shock in terms
of
the inflation outlook," he said.
Zimbabwe's dominant state
media made no mention of the delayed data.
But in an indication
that Zimbabweans were already bracing for a steep
jump in the consumer price
index, shop assistants at some supermarkets in
the capital Harare were busy
adjusting upwards prices of some commodities on
Thursday -- an exercise that
has become a familiar ritual this year.
The CSO has in the past
rejected suggestions from both the local and
international financial sector
that it has come under pressure to suppress
inflation figures for political
expediency.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper
released earlier
this year accused Zimbabwe of releasing unreliable economic
data and said
price controls had resulted in artificially low inflation
figures.
The fund has led international donors in suspending aid to
Zimbabwe
over policy differences with Mugabe's government, worsening an
economic
crisis manifesting itself in erratic supplies of food, fuel and
foreign
currency while labour unions estimate unemployment has soared to
85%.
Mugabe, who has ruled the former British colony since
independence in
1980, denies responsibility for the ailing economy, and in
turn charges
sabotage by opponents of his controversial drive to forcibly
redistribute
white-owned commercial farms among blacks.
By Tererai Karimakwenda
11 May 2006
The United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP), which is playing a
vital role in feeding Zimbabweans
during the current political and economic
crisis, has organized an event
that will raise money to feed the world's
poorest children and raise
awareness about this issue. "Fight Hunger: Walk
the World" will take place
later this month and 350 different locations
around the world will be
participating. Greg Barrows of the WFP told us a
group of boy scouts in
Harare will be joining in. Barrows described these
walks best when he said:
"The idea is they start when the sun rises in
places like New Zealand and as
the time zone changes they track across the
world and each country
consecutively has a walk." Harare will be part of
this chain and London is
participating as well.
Barrows praised school children for
participating in large numbers and
said raising awareness is also an
important element of this event. He said:
"It's not just about raising money
it's also about raising awareness. I
think the important message here is
that this is almost like a movement of
African school children." Barrows
informed us that one child dies every five
seconds and 300 million go hungry
worldwide. In Zimbabwe the food situation
is critical especially in the
rural areas. Aid agencies cannot feed everyone
and some kids only eat at
school through programmes run by the WFP and its
partners. "Walk the World"
aims to raise £2.5 million for their global
school feeding programmes
worldwide.
Thousands of Londoners are expected to join in the link
that will
begin at the Ready Money Fountain in Regents Park. They will then
go on a 5
kilometer walk which will take them through some beautiful areas.
This will
be followed by live entertainment, dancing and free refreshments
for
participants. There will also be a painting exhibition by primary school
children in the area and prizes for the best depiction of children and
hunger.
Since awareness is an important part of this WFP
campaign, the
following facts about Zimbabwe should be useful. According to
The Food
Security Early Warning System the country will have to import 1.4
million
tonnes of maize, 200,000 tonnes of wheat, 40,000 tonnes of sorghum
and 6,000
tonnes of rice in order to avoid widespread starvation and death
from
hunger-related illnesses. The minimum cost of such imports will be at
least
350 million US dollars for the maize
alone.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Tichaona
Sibanda
11 May 2006
Close to 50 National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) activists were
picked up by the police in central Harare
during a street protest calling
for a new constitution in
Zimbabwe.
Columbus Mavhunga NCA information officer told us from
Harare Thursday
that some of the activists were assaulted by police in riot
gear near the
Parliament building. He said the demonstrators who numbered
close to 200
distributed fliers during their short march in central Harare.
It's alleged
some were chanting anti-government songs and dancing as they
went along.
'We are not happy with the current constitution we have
in this
country. Also we were commemorating the first anniversary of the
worst
tragedy in human nature when over a million people were displaced by
the
government last beginning on the 19th of May,' Mavhunga
said.
He said that under a new constitution, destructive operations
like
Murambatsvina would become illegal in Zimbabwe.
The
demonstration on Thursday clashed with a presidential motorcade
near the
Parliament building. Mavhunga said Mugabe's motorcade appeared from
nowhere
when the protestors were already along Nelson Mandela avenue from
Julius
Nyerere avenue.
This forced the heavily armed police details to
surround the
demonstrators, most of them young men and women. They were
bundled into
police vehicles taken to Harare Central police station where
they are
awaiting charges.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
By
Violet Gonda
11 May 2006
Sporadic peaceful protests over
crippling tuition fee hikes have
broken out at state universities
countrywide. At some schools they have
gathered momentum but at Bindura
University the protests have become a
rebellion. On Monday 19 students were
arrested after police brutally broke
up peaceful protests by the
students.
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) President
Promise Mkwananzi
said two of the arrested are being denied medical
treatment in remand prison
despite suffering serious injuries. He said one
of those brutality assaulted
by police and state agents is ZINASU Secretary
General Beloved Chiweshe who
has a swollen head and another female student
is said to have a broken jaw.
It's reported that the detained
students are being denied proper food,
accesses to their lawyers and medical
treatment.
On Wednesday night students reacted in fury to the
police brutality,
when they ran amok at the University and burnt down a
computer lab
destroying billions of dollars worth of equipment. During the
riot 20 more
students were arrested bringing the total to thirty-nine on
Wednesday. By
late Thursday it was reported the number of students detained
had risen to
56.
Mkwananazi alleges that Minister Elliot
Manyika instructed the
security forces to use brutal force to clampdown on
the students. He said,
"We are also told that the Minister without
portfolio, the political
commissar of Zanu PF, Elliot Manyika is giving
instructions to the police
and we are asking him where he draws his mandate
since he is not the
Minister of Home Affairs, he is not the commissioner of
police and he is not
even the Attorney General."
When asked how
such confrontations like burning down a computer lab
could help their cause?
Mkwananzi responded, "If a government rebels against
its own people the
people rebel back. We are non violent. the government of
the day has become
violent, has denied us our right to meet and demonstrate
peacefully. So
we've got to resort to the measures which are available and
basically follow
those."
He said the atmosphere at the institution is very tense.
Riot police
officers and youth militia are said to have camped there to
intimidate the
students. "Youth militia wearing ZANU PF t-shirts are singing
and chanting
ZANU PF slogans."
Meanwhile, the 19 students who
were arrested on Monday were remanded
in custody to the 25th of May after
they appeared in court on Thursday. They
are currently at remand prison
while the 20 who were arrested on Wednesday
night are at Bindura police
station.
The ZINASU president said two human rights lawyers, Alec
Muchadehama
and Andrew Makoni were forced to flee to Harare to seek a High
Court order
after they were threatened and harassed by state agents.
Mkwananazi reports
that the lawyers "fled for dear life" from Bindura to
Harare after they were
allegedly threatened by ZANU PF youths stationed at
the police station and
the court house.
Observers fear that if
a compromise is not met soon the situation at
Bindura University could
easily lead to anarchy and the general destruction
further a
field.
We were not able to get a comment from state
officials.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
VOA
By William Eagle
Washington,DC
11 May
2006
For many in Africa, China is a welcome investor. In 2005,
trade between
China and Africa reached 35 billion dollars. Much of China's
investments are
centered on Africa's oil sector, although Beijing is also an
importer of
African raw materials such as timber and minerals. Inexpensive
Chinese
products are now common in Africa's crowded market places. And, as
part of
its diplomacy, Beijing has forgiven over a billion dollars in debt
to 32
African countries.
Martin Davies is the director for the Centre
for Chinese Studies at
Stellenbosch University and the CEO of Emerging
Markets Focus, a management
consultancy with offices in Pretoria and
Shanghai.
He says Chinese investors include both government-backed
companies and
private traders and retailers who do business in Africa
through a network of
established family and regional contacts.
Davies
told Voice of America reporter William Eagle, "China is a very
aggressive
investor in the continent and a provider of low cost engineering
development
solutions, and that can't be a bad thing. That's what Africa
requires -
infrastructure development. It's a positive thing to see the
Chinese
engaging Africa on a constructive commercial basis, where it seems
to be
almost less cognizant of risk than many other investors on the
continent
are. In that sense, China should be lauded."
Much of China's investment
is in the petroleum sector - and with Africa's
largest producers: Nigeria,
Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea. The Council
on Foreign Relations quotes
Chinese official sources as saying that in the
first 10 months of 2005,
China invested 175 million dollars -- mostly on oil
exploration and
infrastructure projects. That same year, according to the
Council, Beijing
purchased half of Sudan's oil - about 5% of the petroleum
needed by the
growing Asian economic power.
In Angola, China's export bank has approved
a two billion dollar credit for
rebuilding infrastructure in return for 10
thousand barrels of oil a day -
about 13% of China's crude imports. The
deal, according to France's Le Monde
Diplomatique, also means that China's
companies will get most of the
contracts, with 30% going to Angolan
firms.
Another appeal of China's aid to Africa is that it comes with few
strings
attached - other than dropping recognition of Taiwan as the
legitimate
government of China. China says it follows a policy of
non-interference in
the domestic affairs of its partners - and has come out
against sanctions
against Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Sierra Leone's
ambassador to Beijing is reported to have told one
international
broadcaster, "We like Chinese investment because we have just
one meeting,
we discuss what they want to do, and then they just do it..
There are no
benchmarks and preconditions, no environmental impact
assessment. If a G8
country had offered to rebuild [a] stadium, we'd still
be having meetings
about it."
But critics say China's support has a down side.
Human
Rights Watch says China has given Sudan military and financial
support,
including ammunition, tanks and fighter aircraft. The journal
Aviation Week
and Space Technology says among the sales made to Khartoum
between 1996 and
2003 were 100 million dollars worth of fighter planes,
including 12
supersonic F-7 jets. Human rights activists say Chinese
helicopter gun ships
have been used against civilians in Darfur.
The Congressional Research
Service says Beijing sold Ethiopia and Eritrea
one billion dollars worth of
weapons before their border war began in 1998.
International arms sales
monitors say weapons sold to Zimbabwe have included
12 fighter jets and 100
military vehicles worth 200 million dollars and a
radio jamming device to
prevent outside stations from being heard within the
country. In Tanzania,
the Overseas Development Institute says Beijing has
delivered 13 shipments
of weapons to Dar es Salaam labeled as agricultural
equipment.
A
specialist in energy security at the Washington-based Institute for the
Analysis of Global Security says the Chinese are also more likely to use
bribery and bonuses than are Western businesses, which have been under
increasing pressure to use transparent business practices. Some observers
say China's loans to Angola and others do not include guarantees of
transparency and thus allow governments to avoid "good governance" and
anti-corruption measures.
But China specialist Martin Davies of
Stellenbosch University says Beijing
is being singled out
unfairly:
"I don't think external parties should be blamed for Africa's
poor
governance. Many countries fall short when it comes to the political
ties
which should be placed on investments in African countries. [For
example], I
know China's engagement in Sudan has been criticized heavily.
What about
European countries engaging Sudan? There are Indian firms and
Malaysian
firms [engaged there]. I think we need to ask how can we form a
broader view
start to change this corporate behavior of all companies in
these countries,
which may be considered politically
undesirable."
Davies says China's pursuit of oil in Africa is simply part
of a Chinese
policy of commercial "realpolitik" - a policy recognizing the
reality that
the United States has much of the oil market in the Middle East
to itself.
He says because China is largely unable to gain access, it turns
to other
more marginal producers, such as Africa. He says China is pursuing
its
purchase of oil in Africa without violence or a military take-over of
the
host country.
Like China, Davies does not favor commercial
sanctions against Sudan or
Zimbabwe, although sanctions were credited with
ending the apartheid
government and ushering in multi-racial democracy in
South Africa more than
10 years ago.
Mr. Davies says sanctions worked
in South Africa in part because the country's
leadership and public
consciousness were at a different level than those of
many other African
countries today:
"South African society and the domestic population were
pushing for
political change. Also, South Africans had access to information
and a
[high] level of education.. They had political access and [an]
aware[ness]
of issues and wanted to see change. Thirdly, the apartheid
government had
strong cultural and political ties to European governments.
There were
political and cultural linkages to Western Europe.[that
reflected] the value
system of the political elite. I do not think the value
system is as equally
developed in the elites of many countries on our
continent where the
willingness to suppress domestic uprising for political
changes is far
greater."
Davies also challenges the critical view of
cheap Chinese goods driving
African manufacturers out of business. Some
critics say the Chinese
advantage comes in part from paying lower wages,
sometimes even [using]
slave labor from Chinese prisons.
But Davies
says, "There are about 35 thousand textile and garment
manufacturers in
China - most of which are private companies competing with
other private
companies; that can not be a bad thing. Labor rates in
Bangladesh, Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda are lower than those in China. China's
competitiveness
is largely not determined by the cost of labor but by
overcapacity in the
marketplace. That results in too many goods chasing to
few consumers in
China.."
Davies says cheaper products benefits the African consumer, and
that African
countries must learn to be more competitive: "We should emulate
[what works]
in the Chinese market and ask what are our private and public
sectors doing
wrong, which is not attracting investment in the country, or
carrying out
the necessary incentives or environment upon which
manufacturing and
business can flourish. Obviously we're doing something
wrong."
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Richard Choga
ZIMBABWE has sent a 2010
African Cup of Nations bid committee to
Cairo, Egypt for presentation but
analysts have said there is little hope
that the southern African nation
will make it.
A committee led by businessman and former Zimbabwe
Football
Association (Zifa) board member finance Cuthbert Dube left the
country for
the presentations scheduled for Monday.
Other
countries which have submitted their bids to host the tournament
include
Namibia, Angola, Senegal, Nigeria, Libya, and Mozambique. Gabon and
the
Equatorial Guinea weighed in with a joint bid. An evaluation committee
from
Caf will then visit all
the bidding countries in July and August to
assess the facilities
presented in their bids and then report back to the
Caf executive committee.
The 13-member executive committee will choose the
host country orcountries
in May next year.
Among outstanding
issues which should be addressed by the bid document
are that; (a) All the
members of National Associations shall obtain entry
visas and any other
permits necessary for the full duration of the
tournament.
(b)
The Statutes and Regulations of Caf, particularly
the financial
provisions shall be observed.
(c) Any commitment which is formally
entered into by the national
Association concerned will also be considered
by its government. It will be
the third time Zimbabwe will be trying their
lucky to host the event after
attempting in 2000 and 2004.
Having won the right the right to host the event at the turn of the
millennium, Zimbabwe were denied the chance after Caf felt that Zifa had
secured government guarantee.
Among the venues Zimbabwe want to
use during the 2010 edition are the
National Sports Stadium, Barbourfields
in Bulawayo, Sakubva Stadium in
Mutare, and Kwekwe's Mbizo. But there has
been growing concern on the bid
which has not been marketed since the 2010
extravaganza has become
competitive because South Africa will be
hosting the World Cup for the first time ever on the continent the
same
year.
A soccer analyst Malcom Sibanda said: "We are just trying our
luck but
the truth of the matter is that many issues are not in our favour.
The
economy is not doing well and yet it is one of the basic gateway to
getting
greenlight from Caf."
A top football official who
preferred not to be named said the bid was
hopeless. "It is really a
desperate effort taking into consideration that
all the stadiums that we had
promised to renovate in 2000 are still an
eyesore. I don't see any billboard
suggesting that we intend to
host that event. How do you expect Caf to
take us
seriously?" said the analyst.
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
11 May 2006
02:54
As Zimbabwe's public health services crumble, the only
two
state-owned radiotherapy machines are out of action and await repairs,
leaving cancer patients without vital treatment, state media reported on
Thursday.
Impoverished patients were unable to afford
alternative
treatment or travel to neighbouring countries, said The Herald
newspaper, a
government mouthpiece.
Patients treated at
the two main state hospitals in Harare and
the second city of Bulawayo faced
cancer relapses, the paper said.
It said health the
authorities, bankrupt in the worst economic
crisis since independence in
1980, sought sponsorship from the International
Atomic Energy Agency to
repair the equipment and train local maintenance
staff.
Thursday's report was the latest in a list of woes facing public
services
already reeling from acute shortages of drugs, equipment and
materials, as
well as a shortage of medical professionals and struggling to
cope with the
high HIV/AIDS rate.
Earlier this month, the government
announced increases in state
hospital charges of up to 30-fold in an effort
to shore up crumbling
services.
Official inflation is
running at 913%, the highest in the world.
In January,
consultant physicians wrote a damning report to
health authorities on
conditions at the state Harare Central Hospital
serving poor townships in
the capital.
That hospital had run without an intensive-care
unit and
high-dependence unit for three years, the blood bank often had no
blood "and
several people have died as a result", the report
said.
Most X-ray equipment was either broken down or
obsolete.
Antiquated elevators constantly broke down and one
in the
maternity wing had not worked for several years.
"Very ill babies have to be carried in the arms up the stairs,"
the report
said.
Elsewhere in the hospital, "there is often no soap or
any other
antiseptic liquid to clean hands in wards. There is usually
nothing to dry
hands with," the physicians said.
Police
in Zimbabwe, meanwhile, were reported earlier this month
to have run out of
breath test analyzers for drink-related offences and
resorted to asking
motorists and other suspects to stand on one leg or walk
in a straight
line.
Zimbabwe's economy has been in freefall since the often
violent
seizures of more than 5 000 white-owned commercial farms began in
2000,
disrupting agricultural production. The United Nations estimates at
least
3-million of the 12,5-million population are in need of emergency food
aid
ahead of next month's harvests. -- Sapa-AP
May 11, 2006,
By albert mazhale
Gwanda (AND) Beneficiaries of Zimbabwe's
'Operation Garikai' houses
are being exposed to a severe health hazard as
their houses lack basic
sanitation.This follows an order by the Minister of
Local government and
national housing Dr Ignatius Chombo that those entitled
to the houses
quickly move into the units or risk losing their
properties.This is despite
the fact that the houses do not have toilets and
running water.
This follows an order by the Minister of Local
government and national
housing Dr Ignatius Chombo that those entitled to
the houses quickly move
into the units or risk losing their properties.This
is despite the fact that
the houses do not have toilets and running
water.
Despite promises by the Minister that Government would erect
temporary
sanitation such as blair toilets,nothing has since been
built.Instead
occupants of the houses use a nearby thick forest to relieve
themselves and
source water from an adjacent stream. A health official at a
local clinic
who requested anonymity expressed fears on the impending health
hazard.She
said the move by Government to push people into the unfinished
units could
be suicidal especially at a time when the country has been
battling to fight
a cholera outbreak.
She added that they have
received mild dairrhoe cases from some of the
people who have moved into the
houses.The health official added that there
is a likelihood of an outbreak
of the deadly Dysentry and Malaria as people
are drinking contaminated
water and are being exposed to mosquitos as the
houses have no windows and
doors. Operation Garikai,a follow-up programme to
government's ill-fated
Operation Murambatsvina was abandoned in December
after the government ran
out of funds to finish project.Beneficiaries of the
controversial housing
scheme will now have to pay from their pockets for the
finalisation of the
programme.
Gwanda mayor Mr Thandeko Zinti Mnkandla said he was not
aware that
people had moved into the houses.Mnkandla said he would
investigate and
kick-out those who have occupied the houses.He said despite
the health
concerns none of the occupants had received an offer letter from
Council
hence their stay is illegal.
Gwanda (AND)
May 11,
2006
By Andnetwork .com
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR) notes with grave concern the
continued harassment of students
in Zimbabwe and the perpetual undermining
of the right to peaceful assembly
and association in Zimbabwe
On Thursday 4 May 2006, members of the
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)
stormed a Zimbabwe National Students Union
(ZINASU) General Council meeting
and arrested 48 student leaders in Harare
apparently over a missing portrait
of President Mugabe during the conference
at Management Training Bureau. The
Police demanded that the students
identify the ZINASU President Washington
Katema. During the interrogation
the police fired two times in the air to
force the students to identify
Washington Katema among themselves but they
refused. The police officers
detained the students overnight. The students
were released without charge
on Friday 5 May. On Thursday 4 May, 73 children
ranging from age seven to
eighteen, most of whom are students in primary and
high schools of Bulawayo,
were arrested when they took part in a march
organised by the Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) calling for a reversal to
crippling school fee
increases of up to 1000%.
On 8 May 2006, heavily armed members of
the Zimbabwe Republic Police
stormed Bindura University and arrested 18
students who were peacefully
demonstrating against the new fees structure
approved for universities. The
arrested students were brutally assaulted
resulting in one female student
sustaining a broken jaw. They were then
taken to Bindura Central Police
station where they were unlawfully detained.
Another student from Bindura
University was picked by the police on campus
on Tuesday 9 May and detained,
bringing to 19 the number of students in
detention. Among the arrested was
Mr Beloved Chiweshe the ZINASU Secretary
General who was also brutally
assaulted all over his body.
In
light of the above ZLHR would like to express its concern over the
criminal,
wanton and blatant violation of human rights by the Zimbabwe
Republic
Police. ZLHR further condemns the use of torture, inhuman and
degrading
treatment as a weapon of control against defenseless human rights
defenders
in Zimbabwe and also notes with great concern the failure to
respect the
rights of even the minor children of Zimbabwe. ZLHR further
reminds the
government of Zimbabwe of its obligation to respect, protect and
promote the
rights of all citizens and safeguard human rights defenders. The
Zimbabwe
Constitution, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights as well
as
numerous other international covenants we are party to note without
exception the freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and protection from
inhuman and degrading treatment as fundamental human rights necessary for
the well-being of society living in dignity. As such, Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights calls upon the government of Zimbabwe to
henceforth;
· cease the arrest, and detention and victimization of
human rights
defenders under unscrupulous and frivolous charges
· to immediately cease the use of violence upon the students and thus
play a
role in fostering a culture of non-violence in Zimbabwe
· to
promote and practice, tolerance and divergence in Zimbabwean
society
· to acknowledge, appreciate and respect the rights of
persons in
Zimbabwe to express themselves in all matters that affect them
and their
freedom of assembly in doing so and thus immediately cease
impeding these
rights.
- Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
-
Comment from The Financial Mail (SA), 5 May
By Tony Hawkins
The announcement that about 200
white farmers have applied for 99-year
leases under the government's new
land tenure policy has been acclaimed as a
climb-down by President Robert
Mugabe and a reversal of past policies. This
is simply not the case. The
fact that the process is taking place alongside
eviction orders - with just
48 hours' notice - served on 20 white farmers
last week shows that policy
has not changed. Far from being a climb-down, it
is a clever attempt to
deflect international criticism of the land seizures
and, quite possibly,
kibosh efforts by farmers to secure international
support for compensation
demands. Those who sign the leases may be signing
away the last hopes of
disposed farmers to secure compensation. Justice For
Agriculture (JAG), the
organis ationthat represents the majority of evicted
farmers, says farmers
would be "insane" to go along with the offer. JAG's
John Worsley Worswick
says farmers will not get title deeds and will
therefore be unable to borrow
against the land to finance essential inputs.
He notes also that under
present law the maximum lease period is only 10
years.
Meanwhile,
in an effort to pre-empt the expected outcry when the April
inflation
figure, probably over 1 000% , is published, the government
launched yet
another economic recovery programme. The US$2,5bn National
Economic
Development Priority Programme (NEDPP) focuses on curbing
inflation,
stabilising the exchange rate and boosting agricultural
production. Within
days of the promise to tackle inflation more vigorously,
the government
announced massive wage awards, some as high as 300% , to the
civil service,
including the security forces. An average 250% increase will
cost the
government Z$80 trillion or 25% of GDP and ensure that inflation
averages
upwards of 800% during 2006. Though the economic plan was approved
by the
Zimbabwe National Security Council, chaired by Mugabe himself,
economic
development minister Rugare Gumbo insisted at the launch that there
was no
sinister security agency involvement. Media claims of militarisation
of the
economy were "hogwash", he said.
It's an adjective that some
economists and analysts are applying to the
latest economic programme - the
fifth such turnaround plan in the past seven
years. The plan is long on
administrative detail but thin on policy content.
It includes the creation
of a plethora of committees and task forces,
staffed by civil servants and
private-sector executives who will be
responsible for mobilising foreign
exchange, deploying and retaining skills,
and programmes of import
substitution, funds for distressed businesses and
the promotion of small-
and medium-scale companies. All this has been heard
before and the sole
fresh elements are the promise to raise US$2,5bn over an
improbably short
period of three months, and the greater involvement of the
private sector.
There are no indications of who will provide the $2,5bn ,
nor indeed whether
all of it is to be raised offshore. With foreign debt at
almost US$5bn ,
foreign lenders and investors are unlikely to respond
positively. Efforts to
raise a US$1bn credit from SA having reportedly
collapsed, Harare will be
forced to look to China, Malaysia, or possibly
India and Iran. Mugabe's
reaffirmation last week of his government's plans
to nationalise
foreign-owned mining companies will not help either, nor will
the fact that
the envisaged $2,5bn credit is nearly double annual export
earnings.
Though tackling inflation is a stated priority, the
injection of $2,5bn
would be hugely inflationary. At current exchange rates
this is equivalent
to 70% of GDP in a country that has a negligible,
possibly even negative,
national savings rate. In all probability, the bulk
of the money will have
to be raised locally, meaning massive central bank
credit creation and even
higher inflation. The plan is silent, too, on
immediate business concerns,
such as conditions in the money market and
exchange rate strategy. The
Bankers Association warned the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) recently that
its tight money policies could cause bank
failures. Exchange rate strategy
is shrouded in uncertainty. The interbank
(market) rate for the Zimbabwe
dollar has been pegged at Z$99 200/US$ since
late January, since when prices
have increased 80% . By effectively
devaluing the Zimbabwe dollar by 36% for
gold and tobacco producers, the
central bank has acknowledged that the
currency is overvalued and should be
adjusted. This could happen when RBZ
governor Gideon Gono presents his
midyear monetary statement, but he is
under pressure from exporters to
devalue sooner and by at least 40%-50%.
In an effort to talk up the
economy, optimistic growth and inflation
forecasts are being made. In his
April 18 Independence Day address , Mugabe
predicted GDP growth this year of
between 1% and 2% and, though this is
lower than the 3,5% forecast in March
by finance minister Herbert Murerwa,
it is far more upbeat than the IMF's
projection of a 4,7% decline. The IMF's
inflation forecast of an average
850% for 2006 is more realistic than the
government's year-end target figure
of 80% . According to the IMF, when
inflation exceeds 40% , GDP growth turns
negative, implying there is no
chance of Zimbabwe achieving positive growth
this year or next. The NEDPP is
unlikely to make a difference unless
underpinned by an international
bail-out, including debt relief. This will
not happen unless there is
political change, without which the stalemate
will continue.
From The Daily Mirror, 11 May
Shame Makoshori
Nasty corporate clashes pitting
local financial institution, CBZ Bank,
against British tycoon, Nick van
Hoogstraten, erupted in October last year,
with the businessman alleging
that the bank breached terms of an investment
deal entered into the previous
month. CBZ Bank advised van Hoogstraten to
transfer $40 billion into its
coffers as collateral for sub-underwriting a
Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG)
rights issue and told him that while the funds
were in the bank, they would
attract a 225 percent interest per annum.
However, the businessman alleged
that the bank reneged on the promise and
lowered the interest rate. Van
Hoogstraten has in the past few years
invested heavily in Zimbabwe. He
recently took up an 8.6 percent stake in
medium rated commercial bank, NMB
Bank, 20 percent shareholding in coal
mining company Hwange Colliery Limited
and emerged among the largest
shareholders in RTG after the rights issue.
The businessman also controls an
influential stake in agro-industrial
conglomerate CFI Holdings.
At the vortex of the conflict, The
Business Mirror can reveal, was that on
September 7, 2005, CBZ head of
investment banking, Amon Chitagu, advised
Messina Investments -
Hoogstraten's investment vehicle - that his investment
would yield the 225
percent interest. However, documents at hand reveal that
on October 20, van
Hoogstraten complained that the bank unilaterally slashed
the rate to 90
percent. He argued that this was a breach of the initial
agreement and
threatened to take legal action. "Your bank like others, is
currently
charging those persons unfortunate enough, or foolish enough, to
be in
overdraft rates upward of 350 to 400 percent, so do not try such
nonsense
with my money. I did not arrive in this country on the back of an
ox wagon.
As I stated in our telephone discussion, I require payment of
interest of
225 percent as per our original agreement. It was not open to
you to
unilaterally reduce the rate without my knowledge or giving me the
option to
remove my deposits. I should not have to deal with matters in this
way but I
do not expect to be taken for an idiot," van Hoogstraten demanded
in a fax
letter to Chitagu.
He added that on the basis that CBZ was not
willing to continue paying the
225 percent it had to transfer all his funds
the same day. The money
included an unspecified $12 billion plus the RTG
investment together with
another $800 million underwriting fee. He demanded
that the money had to be
transferred as follows: $6 billion to his account
number 0100206823300,
Standard Chartered Bank, Africa Unity Square in
Harare, $25 billion to NMB
Bank Account RTGS, $4 billion to Staneys Limited
Account number 210029869
held at NMB Bank's Bulawayo branch. The balance had
to be transferred to
Edwards Nominees Account number 0100207166000 that is
also at Standard
Chartered Bank Africa Unity Square in the capital. He also
demanded another
$10 billion plus interest that he said he had paid directly
to RTG that had
reverted to him. Well-placed banking industry sources
yesterday said CBZ
argued that van Hoogstraten's investment matured on
October 13. On maturity,
and after paying for the rights issue shares, the
residual investments were
re-invested at 90 percent per
annum.
The bank remained steadfast on its resolve to review downwards
the interest
rates. Sources say the bank indicated that it was prepared to
end its
association with van Hoogstraten if he exhibited his "bullying"
attitude.
CBZ said the schedule of van Hoogstraten's investment had been
forwarded to
his Messina Investments and the he had confirmed receipt of the
transactions. "We advised that given the prevailing market conditions,
coupled with our own treasury position, the bank is not in a position to
offer you rates that are above the 90 percent per annum that your investment
is currently earning. In the event that you decide not to maintain your
current investments with us on maturity, the bank is willing to break the
investments, and pay interest of 90 percent per annum up to the date of
termination of the investments," CBZ maintained in its response to van
Hoogstraten's hard hitting demands. Van Hoogstraten replied on October 19
demanding that he did not give any instructions to place funds at 90
percent. He further instructed that if the 225 percent was out of the
question he was prepared to remove all his investments and place them
elsewhere the following day.
While CBZ chief executive officer
(CEO) Nyasha Makuvise, could not be
reached to explain the current status of
the impasse yesterday, insiders
said CBZ executives were concerned that the
tycoon wanted to dictate
decisions at the bank as if he was the CEO. They
said officials at CBZ
resolved never to be pushed around by "a foreign
investor". However, in an
interview from his London headquarters van
Hoogstraten claimed that the bank
gave in to his demands and computed the
interests as per the original
agreement. "This is a private matter between
me and CBZ and what has that to
do with you?" van Hoogstraten charged.
Pressed for comment he said: "Our
contractual agreement was that I was going
to be paid 225 percent interest
per annum and that is what I got."
She has been arrested more times
than you can count with both hands and has
become an international icon of
courage in the face of repression. Jenni
Williams and the brave women of
WOZA continue to defy harsh public order and
security laws. Sometimes with
babies strapped to their backs, they take on
the might of Zimbabwe's police
force. Lance Guma gets to speak with Jenni on
Behind the Headlines and asks
about the latest WOZA school fees protest and
the subsequent arrests and
detentions.
Jenni Williams
Next week:
The following week Lance
Guma hosts a special interview with Cont Mhlanga
the Director of Amakhosi
Theatre. Mhlanga talks about his arrest and
responds to the accusation that
he is presiding over political gatherings
under the guise of plays and
workshops (without police clearance). Why are
senior police officers
threatening him? What is his relationship with the
government? The talented
Director explains his politics of the
theatre.
Cont Mhlanga
Lance
Guma
Producer/Presenter
SW Radio Africa
+44-777-855-7615
www.swradioafrica.com
Behind
The Headlines
Thursday 6:05 to 6:20pm (Zimbabwean Time) on Medium Wave
1197Khz or live on
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on internet archives after broadcasts at
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Live Internet Broadcast time has returned to 5pm-7pm UK time
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