http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
18 May 2012
Factional infighting in ZANU PF is threatening to
scupper a proposed draft
constitution that enhances democracy but contains
measures that they say go
against the ‘revolutionary party’
values.
Some within ZANU PF want to remove clauses from the constitution
that
prohibits the President from unilaterally deploying troops without
parliamentary approval.
Others are backing the draft, which they say
strengthens democracy. The
draft retains an executive president, though with
stronger checks and
balances, plus a measure of devolution to the country’s
provinces.
The drafting of a new constitution is part of the deal that
ended Zimbabwe’s
bloody election violence of 2008. But differences between
the country’s
leading political parties remained wide, illustrating a
persistently
worrying polarisation of politics.
State sponsored
violence left over 500, mainly MDC-T supporters dead in
three months of
political retribution. A power sharing deal struck between
the three parties
in the GPA eased violence for a while and stabilized the
economy. But the
violence is escalating again with talk of an election.
The draft that was
released last month seeks to eliminate the problems that
led to the
post-election violence. While many in the Civil Society
Organisations and
other political parties see the draft as a good document,
there are fears
mounting in ZANU PF that the new draft erodes its unfettered
power attained
at independence in 1980.
Blessing Vava, information officer with the
National Constitutional Assembly
told SW Radio Africa that the only way to
resolve difference between the
political parties is to visit the national
report compiled after the
outreach program.
‘It’s sad that COPAC is
deviating from set down rules that a national report
should be published to
give people an opportunity to have a glimpse of views
gathered during the
outreach program.
‘At least through this way, it would give Zimbabweans
an informed opinion
when they get to see the final draft,’ Vava
said.
Dewa Mavhinga, the regional coordinator for the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition
told us from what he has seen of the draft, it represents a
momentous step
for institutional stability.
The draft decentralizes
the government’s power, strengthens checks and
balances, enables democracy
to flourish and provides even greater
protections for individual
rights.
As a result of these changes, many believe that democracy in
Zimbabwe, if
ever there is a new constitution, will be stronger than ever
because
credible institutions bring lasting stability.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
18 May 2012
The MDC-T on Friday condemned the involvement of
Zimbabwe’s security forces
in the conduct of elections in Manicaland
province, saying doing so would
amount to gross derailment of the
exercise.
Party spokesman Pishai Muchauraya said allowing the military to
participate
in any democratic elections amounts to flouting of the electoral
reforms
under the current inclusive government.
‘We are praying that
in the next coming election, people should be able to
go out in Zimbabwe to
vote freely without anybody in the military beating up
or intimidating the
electorate,’ Muchauraya said.
He said the country’s security services
should turn over a new leaf and work
assiduously to protect the lives and
property of fellow Zimbabweans.
The MDC-T MP issued a warning to ZANU PF
they may be damaging their ‘very
slim’ chances of re-election if they
unleash the might of the military on
innocent civilians like what they did
four years ago. The military was
largely suspected of helping Robert Mugabe
manipulate the results of the
2008 elections.
Muchauraya’s sentiments
come as members of the country’s military, police,
intelligence and airforce
elite have invaded the province in an effort to
help ZANU PF win back seats
they lost in 2008. Out of the 26 parliamentary
seats contested, the MDC-T
won 20 while ZANU PF only managed to get six. The
MDC also holds four of the
six senate seats.
It’s believed members of the junta want to contest the
elections to enhance
the chances of ZANU PF regaining lost ground. But
Muchauraya seemed not
bothered by that, pointing out that his party has
defeated ‘generals and
ZANU PF heavyweights’ before.
‘It’s not the
first time we have contested these soldiers or so called big
names in ZANU
PF and defeated them. Lest they be warned they’re coming for
the second
defeat.
‘What we want to assure our supporters is that these military big
names are
not a threat to us. History can tell us we have defeated them
before. People
like General Mike Nyambuya, war vet leader Joseph Chinotimba,
former CIO
deputy director-general Shadreck Chipanga, party stalwart
Kumbirai Kangai
and other vicious characters have been defeated by MDC
candidates,’
Muchauraya added.
Its feared ZANU PF is so desperate to
win the next poll that they are
planning to roll out a similar campaign to
that of 2008 were soldiers
harassed and drive out MDC supporters, especially
from rural areas.
In 2008, more than 500 were killed; thousands beaten
and close to half a
million were driven from their homes in electoral
related violence.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
18 May
2012
An MP from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party has said he will
soon
move a motion calling for the expulsion from Parliament of ZANU PF’s
Tsholotsho North legislator Professor Jonathan Moyo.
Felix Sibanda
the MDC-T MP for Magwegwe was contributing to a debate in
parliament on
Tuesday where he tackled reports that Moyo and Mines Minister
Obert Mpofu,
the MP for Umguza, topped a list of ZANU PF and MDC MP’s
bunking
Parliamentary sessions between September 2011 and March this year.
Moyo
and Mpofu have not attended parliament for 21 consecutive days. Out of
32
sittings held in 32 days Moyo only attended once. Although Mpofu only
sought
two official leave of absences, he was absent 29 times.
The constitution
says that if an MP “is absent for 21 consecutive sittings
during any session
without the leave of Parliament, their seats shall become
vacant.” This
means both legislators should have lost their parliamentary
seats by
now.
Speaking in parliament Sibanda said Moyo has been drawing salaries
and
benefits, but not attending sittings of Parliament.
“I am soon
going to move a motion that people who have been defrauding
Parliament by
not attending Parliament be fired. Jonathan Moyo has not been
attending
Parliament but he has been attacking us, we have been performing a
national
service for the country,” Sibanda said.
Sibanda was referring to Moyo’s
incessant attacks on the Constitution Select
Committee (COPAC) which is
trying to draft a new constitution for the
country. Moyo meanwhile defended
his ‘boycott’ of parliament claiming it was
‘dysfunctional’.
“My
decision to make technical appearances in Parliament – which should have
been dissolved some 18 months ago – is very deliberate and quite considered
because I want to make a point about that fact.” He claimed Parliament was
an “idle body” where MP’s picked up allowances while debating non-binding
motions.
Moyo and Mpofu are not the only errant MPs. Other MP’s
absent without leave
include Kembo Mohadi (29), Saviour Kasukuwere (24),
Stanislaus Mudenge (28),
Didymus Mutasa (28), Webster Shamu (22) and Olivia
Muchena (28) all from
ZANU PF.
From the two MDC formations Jameson
Timba (29), Joel Gabbuza (19), Moses
Mzila Ndlovu (27) Tapiwa Mashakada (25)
and Heneri Dzinotyiweyi (26). The
revelations infuriated many ordinary
Zimbabweans, given recent proposals to
expand parliament by another 90 MPs,
allegedly to accommodate women.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
18 May, 2012
Chinese nationals who own businesses in
Zimbabwe have been strongly
criticized by the MDC-T for abusing local
workers and flouting the country’s
labour regulations, with the party
demanding that the abuses be stopped
immediately.
In a statement this
week, the MDC-T said the Chinese abuses include workers
putting in long
hours, receiving paltry wages and being assaulted by their
employers. The
lack of health and safety regulations and failure to remit
pension
contributions and union dues were also on the list.
“Should this abuse
continue, the MDC calls upon every law abiding citizen to
boycott Chinese
products until they learn to treat workers with the respect
and dignity,”
the party warned Chinese employers.
The MDC-T also urged the Zimbabwean
government to bring the matter to the
attention of the Chinese authorities,
with the hope that their government
will encourage its nationals to abide by
Zimbabwean trade laws.
The party said there has been an influx of Chinese
businesses in Zimbabwe
over the last five years, who are “exploiting” the
locals and
“overshadowing” them instead of contributing to the country’s
development
and economic growth.
Luke Zunga from the Global Zimbabwe
Forum told SW Radio Africa that the
Chinese are notorious for abusing their
workers all over Africa, working
them long hours and paying very low wages.
He said some governments “turn a
blind eye” to the problem in order to
maintain good relations and secure
lucrative deals.
“They are so
powerful that I have been told they even assault policemen.
That’s how much
power they have in some countries,” Zunga explained. He
added that they
should be held accountable by Zimbabwean authorities and
penalised if they
do not comply.
Regarding the boycott threatened by the MDC-T, Zunga said
this could be used
to force the Chinese to comply with Zim labour laws, but
it can be tricky
because consumers buy what they want and cheap Chinese
products are popular
in a poor countries.
Zimbabweans have complained
about Chinese abuses for years, making fun of
cheap Chinese products that
have flooded the Zim markets as “zhing zhongs”.
These cheap products have
also been blamed for destroying Zimbabwean
companies that were not able to
compete.
The Mugabe regime has ignored the abuses and pursued what they
call the
“Look East” policy, which seeks to establish relations with eastern
countries while ranting against western nations and the U.K. In return,
China has protected Zimbabwe at the United Nations Security Council, voting
against punitive resolutions.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Posted by Tererai
Karimakwenda on Friday, May 18, 2012 in police | 0
comments
Toyota
Hiace Kombis
By Tererai Karimakwenda
18 May, 2012
Several
innocent passersby and minibus passengers were reportedly injured
this week
in accidents caused by overzealous police in Harare, as the war
between the
minibus crews and police re-surfaced.
One unconfirmed report said a taxi
driver accused of resisting arrest had
died at Parirenyatwa Hospital, where
had been taken for treatment of the
injuries he sustained during the police
assault.
Police this week resumed a roadblock campaign against minibus
drivers and
taxis which made headlines earlier this year, with the police
being accused
of soliciting bribes from motorists and kombi drivers at the
roadblocks.
Some witnesses said police officers are ambushing kombi
drivers and trying
to smash their windscreens to stop them from escaping
without paying. Kombis
driving away at top speeds in crowded areas have
reportedly hit pedestrians
and caused accidents.
According to a
Harare based community radio staff member: “The situation has
become so
tense that the Charge Office Terminus area now resembles a
war-zone every
morning as the police and kombi crews try to out-do each
other.”
Earlier this year Harare drivers complained that there were
too many
roadblocks within short distances, and they were losing too much
moneypaying
bribes to corrupt police officers.
Several drivers told
SW Radio Africa that they had chosen to pay small
amounts in bribes to avoid
larger penalties for infractions made up by the
police. One driver said he
was told the wheels on his car do not match.
Drivers in Bulawayo and all
the way up to Victoria Falls told the same story
of police corruption at
roadblocks. But government officials have defended
the police, saying drunk
driving and road violations were responsible for
too many deaths and the
police must deal with the situation.
http://www.radiovop.com
Bulawayo, May 18,2012- Transport
Minister Nicholas Goche has accused local
government authorities countrywide
of “stealing“ toll gates fees meant for
rehabilitation of country’s road
network.
“Recently ZINARA allocated funds to several city, town and
rural district
councils authorities countrywide, but I know very well that
these local
authorities are diverting these funds. In some cases it is being
used to pay
for salaries for council workers. So people should stop blaming
ZINARA on
why the roads are not being upgraded, but should blame their local
authorities who are not using these funds wisely,” Goche told Radio
VOP.
Goche also admitted that “most Zimbabwe roads are still in very bad
conditions and his Ministry is now looking for new methods for distributing
of toll gate fees”.
Toll gates were introduced in August 2009 as a
way of mobilising resources
for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the
country’s road network.
Small vehicle road users pay US$1 to cross the
tollgates, while drivers of
buses and lorries pay $5. Motorbike and cyclists
do not pay anything.
According to official government estimates, the
tollgates are raising $350
000 per week.
Most of the country's roads
are in a state of disrepair with many littered
with dangerous potholes as
result of years of neglect and increased volume
of traffic beyond designed
carrying capacity.
Several fatal road accidents have largely blamed on
the poor state of roads.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife Susan
Tsvangirai perished in a car
accident along Harare- Masvingo highway in
March 2009.
According to the ministry of transport, 30 percent of the
country’s roads
require rehabilitation, while the remainder needs periodic
maintenance.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, May 18, 2012 - The new
Malawian government has reportedly dispatched
a delegation to Zimbabwe to
demand a five year-old $23 million debt, in what
could mark a shift in
relations between the two countries.
Impoverished Malawi in 2007 gave
Zimbabwe a “soft loan” of $100 million
while still under the leadership of
President Robert Mugabe’s late ally
Bingu Mutharika. Harare only repaid $76
million.
Mutharika, who was once married to a Zimbabwean and was given a
farm in the
country, died after suffering a cardiac arrest last
month.
His successor Joyce Banda has been making a radical shift in her
country’s
foreign policy and purging her government of the late president’s
allies.
According to a report in the Nyasa Times newspaper on Friday,
Malawi’s
Energy minister Cassim Chilumpha, the delegation had been promised
$12
million and the balance would be settled later.
He said the money
would be used to buy fuel as the country had been facing a
critical shortage
for the last two years.
Mutharika’s government had virtually written off
the debt, according to the
report.
“When Mutharika was still in
power, it almost became certain that the
improverished nation had written
off the loan to Zimbabwe, a country with
better infrastructure, agriculture
and industry,” the paper said.
“Malawians took it as an insult to the
poor majority who still live on less
than $1 per month.
“The Malawi
government through the Reserve Bank of Malawi issued the loan to
then hunger
stricken Zimbabwe, through its Reserve Bank under very
questionable
circumstances as the deal only came into public domain three
years down the
line.”
Mugabe counted Mutharika as one of his best allies in the Southern
African
Development Community where peers have openly shown their impatience
over
his reluctance to reform.
Early this month cash strapped
Zimbabwe was forced to make a down payment
for a $70 million debt to Zambia
after it unilaterally disposed the assets
of the Central African Power
Corporation (Capco).
Zimbabwe jointly owned Capco during the era of the
Federation of Rhodesia
and Nyasaland.
Harare disposed of the assets
without consulting its neighbour and Zambia
had threatened to block the
construction of the Batoka Gorge hydro power
station until it got its share
of the proceeds.
Zambia’s Mines and Energy minister Christopher Yaluma
said Zimbabwe had paid
$5 million so far and would have paid $20 million by
June.
He said a bank account had been set up where Zimbabwe would be
depositing
the money regularly.
In January, the two countries signed
a memorandum of understanding to
cooperate in the in Batoka project that is
estimated to cost $4 billion.
But implementation hinged on Zimbabwe
paying off the Capco debt.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
18/05/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
A MUTARE man faces jail after he was overheard claiming
President Robert
Mugabe is infertile because he was
castrated.
Maxwell Mutsetse, 30, was arrested after making the cheeky
remark within
earshot of a local Zanu PF youth leader who promptly reported
the alleged
insult to the police.
Mutsetse appeared in court this
week charged with undermining Mugabe's
authority and was released on US$50
bail.
Prosecutor Fletcher Karombe told a Mutare Magistrates Court that
Mutsetse
was overhead saying in Shona: "President Mugabe vakatenwa, handina
basa
neZanu PF ndinosapota MDC uyezve President wangu ndiMorgan Tsvangirai",
which the State interpreted to mean, "President Robert Mugabe was castrated;
I don’t care about Zanu PF, my President is Morgan
Tsvangirai".
Mutsetse was charged with contravening section 33 of the
Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act, which makes it illegal to
criticise or
undermine the President.
His case is the latest in a
string of prosecutions against several people
and organisations charged with
allegedly criticising the 88-year-old Zanu PF
leader.
In December
MDC-T legislator, Lynette Kerenyi, was briefly jailed after she
was accused
of insulting Mugabe at a rally where she criticised his stance
on
homosexuality.
The following month a bookshop owner was arrested under
suspicion of
undermining the President after he stocked copies of
Tsvangirai's
autobiography at his store in the town of Victoria
Falls.
Again, last August private security guard Zebediah Mpofu was held
by police
and warned he faced a year in prison after he allegedly joked
about the
state of Mugabe’s health.
And a couple of months before
that a police officer was detained for two
weeks after he was caught using
the Mugabe’s private toilet at the Zimbabwe
International Trade Fair (ZITF)
in Bulawayo.
http://mg.co.za
17 May 2012 11:59 - Jason Moyo
Mugabe and his
opponents seem to be looking elsewhere for the religious
vote. They are
taking the battle to the open-air spaces, writes Jason Moyo.
In the
supercharged political atmosphere leading up to Zimbabwe’s 2008
elections, a
letter pinned in the foyer of Harare’s Sacred Heart Cathedral
marked the
turning point in relations between the mainstream Catholic Church
and Robert
Mugabe’s government.
In the letter, titled “God Hears the Cries of the
Oppressed”, the Catholic
Bishops Conference accused Mugabe of repression
similar to that of Pharaoh.
They warned Mugabe, a devout Catholic, that he
faced a “mass uprising” if he
did not “repent”.
The criticism hit
Mugabe hard and now he and his opponents seem to be
looking elsewhere for
the religious vote. They are taking the battle to the
open-air spaces and
sports arenas where the charismatic church movement is
on a roll.
At
the Anglican Cathedral of St Mary’s and All Saints in Harare, the pews
are
largely empty most Sundays. The church, torn apart by a political fight
for
control, has been deserted by its members. In contrast, the United
Family
International Church, led by Emmanuel Makandiwa, a young preacher in
his
30s, draws up to 40 000 to his Sunday services at an arena on the
outskirts
of the city. At Easter, he drew more than 100000 to the country’s
largest
football stadium for a mass all-night prayer.
For politicians these
numbers are hard to resist and among the throng were
representatives from
all sides. Seeing his opportunity, Zanu-PF’s political
commissar, Webster
Shamu, appeared on stage in a white suit to sing a Sam
Cooke gospel
song.
Swamped by politicians
Although Makandiwa himself has appeared
at government events, including at a
rally against Western sanctions, he has
tried to steer clear of politics.
But, like many pastors, he finds himself
swamped by politicians hoping to
share some of their glitter.
The
charismatic leaders have become so popular with politicians that Tourism
Minister Walter Mzembi described Makandiwa and other charismatic pastors as
a “tourist attraction”.
With their ability to draw huge crowds, he
said, “we are in for some serious
domestic tourism with all its national
benefits and value”.
Editors have also found that newspapers sell better
when the activities and
“prophecies” of the popular church leaders are
carried on their front pages,
instead of the more weighty issues such as
constitutional reform and party
politics. As a result, the “prophets” are
dominating the front pages.
They have a strong hold on their followers
and, should the pastors endorse
candidates, their flock is likely to vote
for them.
Prayer for peace
Mugabe may have seen this coming and moved
early. In 2010 he appeared at an
open-air mass gathering of a large
Apostolic sect, complete in the white
gown and staff that is the trademark
of sect worshippers. Members of the
church usually form a large part of the
crowd at rallies and other national
events.
Movement for Democratic
Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been attending a
series of “prayer for
peace” rallies - mass prayer meetings organised by the
Zimbabwe National
Pastors’ Conference, a grouping of mostly Pentecostal
church leaders.
He
has professed his faith and told the gatherings that Zimbabwe’s problems
would be eased by prayer.
Political analyst Blessing Vava said: “It
is nothing new. Zanu-PF has been
using every platform to gain political
mileage. They have been into music,
soccer, churches and, of late, clothing
to try to lure as many followers as
possible.
“Makandiwa is a good
target because he commands a huge following.”
http://uk.reuters.com/
Thu May 17, 2012
10:12pm BST
By Martin Coyle LONDON, May 17 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) -
Counter-money
laundering officials have welcomed a British court decision
that saw wealthy
Zimbabwean businessman Jayesh Shah fail in his $300 million
suit against
HSBC Private Bank.
Wednesday's High Court judgment is
also a relief to financial firm
professionals who feared the impact of a
Shah victory on their processes for
suspicious activity
reporting.
The case focused on HSBC's decision to block four transactions
totalling
more than $38 million between September 2006 and February 2007.
The bank
suspected Shah of money laundering and sought consent from the
Serious
Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the UK's financial intelligence unit,
to
proceed with the transfers.
Shah claimed that the delay in
carrying out his requests in part led to the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
freezing his investments in Zimbabwe and caused him
significant losses. SOCA
later gave consent to the transactions as
legitimate. Shah had 'parked' the
majority of the money in his HSBC account
following an attempted fraud on
his Credit Agricole account in July 2006.
Shah's claim was originally
thrown out in January 2009, but a subsequent
appeal allowed him to continue.
This claim has now failed. In his judgment,
Justice Michael Supperstone said
that Shah "was able to, but did not, take
reasonable steps to mitigate or
avoid his loss."
The decision marks the end of a 4-1/2-year legal battle.
An interim order
was made at the High Court requiring Shah to pay 40 percent
of HSBC's legal
costs, which are estimated to be around £2 million. It is
thought that
Shah's costs are in the region of £1.2 million.
The
decision also marks a ray of sunshine for HSBC, which has been under a
regulatory cloud for years in the United States for suspected failures in
its anti-money-laundering processes.
A BURDENSOME SCENARIO
The
Shah battle raised the burdensome scenario of banks having to justify
every
suspicious activity report (SAR) that they filed. The banking industry
files
the vast majority of the 250,000 or so SARs that reach SOCA each year.
Under
UK law bank employees risk committing criminal offences if they fail
to
report money-laundering suspicions.
Shah claimed that the bank had acted
irrationally and had been mistaken in
blocking his money. The bank denied
this.
The bank was always confident that it would succeed, and the
financial
sector will be relieved, said Daren Allen, a partner at Berwin
Leighton
Paisner who represented HSBC during the case.
"I question
whether financial services firms should ever be placed in this
position
where they are subject to an action like this in circumstances
where all
they were doing was complying with their statutory obligations.
They have no
option but to make suspicious activity reports if they have a
suspicion of
money laundering,” Allen told Thomson Reuters.
Allen declined to rule out
similar challenges to bank practices in the
future. "This case does not
close off that avenue but I think it does
indicate that banks which make
suspicious activity reports in these
circumstances are likely to be
successful," he said.
A win for Shah would have sparked a wholesale
review of the way banks handle
and report their internal suspicions of money
laundering. One experienced
former money-laundering reporting officer at a
global investment bank, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the
decision favoured the
industry. "If one had to start justifying their
decisions in the courts it
would raise the bar for firms. This confirms the
current state of play. The
test for banks is a very low one and the balance
remains in favour for
them," he told Thomson Reuters.
If the decision
had gone the other way it would have reduced dramatically
the number of SARs
going to the authorities, the source said.
"At the moment submitting a
SAR is a cost-free option. You don't lose
anything. If you had to weigh up
the financial costs of getting it wrong it
would have a deterrent effect.
You might have lawyers crawling all over
them," he said. He added that if
the judgment had gone the other way it
could have led to a change in
legislation. HIGH HURDLES
The decision was likely to have little impact
on the day-to-day role of
money-laundering reporting officers, or MLROs,
said lawyer Jonathan Fisher
at Devereux Chambers.
“This case should
be regarded as having been decided on its facts, and MLROs
should proceed as
before, taking care to address the issue of whether or not
there are
reasonable grounds for suspicion in a straightforward way," he
said.
Nevertheless, he said, the case kept the money-laundering
process under a
microscope. "The HSBC MLRO (Michael Wigley) was grilled for
a number of days
and his actions are now enshrined in a court judgment.
MLROs have got to
keep on their toes. HSBC didn't cover itself in glory but
it will be pleased
and relieved at the decision," Fisher said.
Duncan
Aldred, a partner at CMS Cameron McKenna in London, said that a Shah
victory
would have been "disastrous" and that the decision provided some
reassurance
for banks. “What's helpful about this case is that it will be a
case that is
pointed to to illustrate what people have always thought is the
common sense
position anyway," he added.
Banks might want to think about rewriting
some of their terms and conditions
to strengthen their positions, said Zia
Ullah, a partner at law firm
Pannone. "I also think we will see banks
scrambling to ensure that the
nominated officer role is properly authorised
and documented," he said.
SPOTLIGHT ON HSBC MONITORING
During the
High Court hearing, which began in December 2011 and ended in
March, the
spotlight was shone on HSBC's internal processes, which were
described by
Shah's legal team as "chaotic" and "under-resourced." The judge
made no
criticism of the bank's processes in his judgment, however.
The case
revealed the difficulties that hard-pressed reporting officers face
in
coping with the huge volume of internal reports filed by bank employees.
Michael Wigley, the bank's money laundering reporting manager, spent a
gruelling six days giving evidence on the critical SARs he filed against
Shah.
In court, Wigley admitted that the bank had breached the
counter-money
laundering regulations as a result of its handling of internal
suspicious
transaction reports. The regulatory breach resulted from a
mishandling of
the tens of thousands of SARs the bank received in 2006. The
court heard
that "large numbers" of internal suspicious transaction
reports
(STRs) were dealt with by an assistant and were not seen by
Wigley, who
should have seen them under regulations in effect at the time.
An HSBC
spokesman declined to comment on this, other than to say that the
bank was
pleased with the decision.
In contrast, HSBC’s U.S. unit
confronts multiple investigations into its
internal policing abilities.
Authorities are scrutinizing client activities
such as cross-border
movements of bulk cash, and transactions linked to Iran
and other parties
under U.S. economic sanctions, the bank said in a February
regulatory
filing.
Confidential documents reviewed by Reuters that originate from
investigations by two U.S. Attorneys' offices allege that from 2005, the
bank violated anti-money laundering laws on a massive scale by failing to
adequately review hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions for any
that might have links to drug trafficking, terrorist financing and other
criminal activity.
Those allegations could not be confirmed. It is
possible that subsequent
inquiries have led investigators to alter their
views of what went on inside
HSBC's compliance operation.
HSBC says
it is cooperating with the investigations, and that it had
“vastly”
increased spending on its U.S. anti-money laundering systems.
In his Shah
case ruling, the judge said that despite some "discrepancies" in
the detail
of Wigley's evidence the official "genuinely" suspected that
Shah's funds
were criminal property when he made his reports to SOCA. The
judge rejected
claims that "someone else" in the bank had made the decision
to stop the
payments before Wigley. The case saw some confusion about the
appointment of
Wigley as HSBC's nominated officer for anti-money laundering
purposes. The
judge said that although he would have expected HSBC to
document properly
the appointment of Wigley he was under no doubt that
Wigley was nominated
for that role. "JAMES BOND" INVESTIGATION
Speaking to Shah on the
sidelines of the case it was evident that he was
frustrated at the way HSBC
had handled his accounts. In court he accused the
bank of conducting a
"James Bond"-style investigation into his affairs.
Shah's legal team at
Edwards Wildman declined to comment when contacted by
Thomson Reuters; Shah
did not respond to a request for comment. The British
Bankers' Association
also declined to comment on the judgment. The FSA
declined to comment when
asked whether it would be investigating HSBC's
alleged breach of the money
laundering regulations 2003.
http://www.nation.co.ke/
By KITSEPILE NYATHI NATION
Correspondent
Posted Friday, May 18 2012 at 20:48
HARARE,
Friday
Hundreds of Zimbabwean MPs will be circumcised by the end of next
month to
help popularise the latest HIV/Aids prevention method.
The
175 lawmakers would also undergo HIV tests and counselling, Mr Blessing
Chebundo, the chairperson of Zimbabwe Parliamentarians Against HIV and Aids
(ZIPAH) told NewsDay newspaper today.
“We will walk the talk as role
models and lead by example to embark on
voluntary HIV testing and male
circumcision, as well as to inspire young
people to do the same,” he
said.
“We need to go down to constituencies, provinces, districts, wards
and
villages as ZIPAH to spread messages to fight HIV/Aids and encourage
males
to undergo voluntary circumcision,” he added.
Mr Chebundo said
20 MPs had already booked appointments for circumcision at
various centres
set up by the government and donors.
“Almost 175 MPs who are members of
ZIPAH are in support of this and also 25
members of staff at Parliament,” he
said.
“We are still updating the list of volunteers. Obviously, female
MPs are not
going for circumcision, but we have encouraged their spouses to
join us,” he
added.
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Previous studies
have indicated that male circumcision reduces the risk of
men contracting
HIV during heterosexual intercourse by about 60 per cent.
But experts
have warned that circumcision should not replace other
prevention
methods.
In 2009, Zimbabwe launched a massive circumcision drive
targeting at least
1.2 million men. Last year, the government encouraged
cabinet ministers and
MPs to join the drive in order to popularise
it.
However, during debate on the pledge by the lawmakers to undergo
circumcision on today some MPs felt it was a waste of resources as most of
them were now “too old”.
“HIV should be a syllabus for the youth at a
tender age — not to tell us
here in Parliament when I am already 65 years
old and you tell me to go and
get circumcised when I have sired 18 children
without circumcision,” one of
the MPs, Magalela Sibanda, was quoted as
saying.
Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world.
However,
the rates have declined dramatically from 29 per cent of the
population in
1997 to just over 14 per cent last year.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By Staff Reporter 1 hour ago
On Friday Robert
Mugabe met Nkala at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport in
Bulawayo On Friday
Robert Mugabe met Nkala at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport
in
Bulawayo
BULAWAYO - In a dramatic twist President Robert Mugabe has met
one of his
former senior government minister and founder of the Zanu PF
party, Enos
Nkala in Bulawayo amid reports he is courting him to prop-up
dwindling
senior Zanu-(PF) numbers from Matebelenad.
The President
met Nkala at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport in Bulawayo and
had a closed
door meeting with him that lasted almost an hour.
The two worked together
during and after the war of liberation.
Emerging from the meeting, Nkala
said they had shared memories of yester
year, adding that they discussed a
number of issues of national concern.
Nkala said he regrets some of the
statements that he has made about
President Mugabe, but was happy to have
met and spoken to him.
In recent months, Nkala, said President Robert
Mugabe’s good oratory skills
deceived nationalists – including Nkala himself
— to believe he was a good
leader and they thrust him to the helm of the
party “hence the collapse of
both Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe’s economy”.
He
said worse still, Mugabe had chosen to surround himself with
“cheerleaders”
who would not dare lift a finger against him.
“We deceived ourselves and
listened to the manner in which he (Mugabe)
articulated issues, so we got
carried away into believing that he was a
leader,” he said. “I regretted
later on (after forming Zanu as a breakaway
from Zapu led by Joshua Nkomo)
that myself, Maurice Nyagumbo and Edgar
Tekere removed Ndabaningi Sithole
from the position of president of the
party and put Mugabe.”
Nkala
said Mugabe was not even in the country when he was thrust at the helm
of
Zanu.
“I engineered the breakaway from Zapu because I did not agree with
Joshua
Nkomo on some issues, including military operations, as part of the
struggle — that is why Zanu was formed in my house in Harare,” he said. “I
was the moving spirit of Zanu.”
Nkala said he was one of those tasked
to approach Mugabe when he was
onholiday in the country as he was a teacher
in Ghana — where he met his
first wife, the late Sally — to ask him to join
the then National Democratic
Party as the spokesperson.
“Robert
(Mugabe) is a first-class intellectual but lacks administrative
ability,”
Nkala said. “He is a talker but not a leader. He should be
teaching at a
university not leading the country.”
However he has made an about
turn and said he was overwhelmed by the love
and friendliness of Mugabe
given what he has said about the President in the
past.
“Zanu
PF was a massive party but look at what it is today,” said Nkala. “In
Matabeleland it’s virtually not there and even in Mashonaland people are
forced to vote for it.” He said people who had remained in Zanu PF were
mostly Mugabe’s “recruits” who did not have the spine to challenge
him.
“When we were still in Zanu PF with the likes of Tekere and
Nyagumbo, we
would not be lectured to in politburo meetings as I hear
happens now,” said
Nkala.
“It is this chef syndrome that has killed
that party. I don’t know what chef
means but it’s something they borrowed
from Mozambique and we never had it
in our politburo meetings.
“There
was no way we would fear Mugabe when we were the people that
recruited
him.”
Nkala said he was set to meet the President again at a
later date to cement
their friendship, adding that it had been a long time
since they last met.
He is one of the founders of the embattled former
ruling party Zanu-PF.
During the war, he served on the ZANU high command,
or Dare reChimurenga. He
was detained by the Rhodesian government at
Gonakudzingwa.
Following independence in 1980, he served as the Minister
of Finance until
1983 when the portfolio was consolidated into Finance,
Economic Planning and
Development and handed over to senior minister Dr.
Bernard Thomas Gibson
Chidzero.
Nkala was instead moved sideways to
being Minister of National Supplies
until 1985, Home Affairs and Defence
after the 1985 election. As Defence
Minister he was involved in the
notorious Gukurahundi massacre of Ndebele
people. He denies this.
He
has stated he regrets his involvement in the Gukurahundi. He says that if
he
had the chance he would never do it again. Not only does he describe his
involvement as "eternal hell," but publicly blamed Robert Mugabe for having
ordered it. At the Imbovane YaMhlabezulu meeting held in Bulawayo on 26
February 1998, Nkala, who was one of the guest speakers alongside Joseph
Msika (National Chairman of ZANU-PF), repeatedly denied any involvement and
responsibility in the Gukurahundi genocide.
While serving as
Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Nkala rejected allegations
by Amnesty
International, the London-based human rights organization, who
had reported
beatings, electric shocks and other torture at Government
detention camps
after the general election in Zimbabwe in July 2006.
Nkala claims to have
written a book chronicling all that has happened in
ZANU PF since its
formation, including the Gukurahundi Massacres and the
assassinations of
several high profile politicians using car accidents.
He blames the death
of liberation war heroes Josiah Tongogara and Herbert
Chitepo and others on
Robert Mugabe. He is alleged to have had an affair
with Sally
Mugabe.
While a minister in the Zanu-PF government, Nkala became
embroiled in the
'Willowgate' scandal, concerning the allocation of new
motor vehicles to
government officials, especially ministers, by Willowvale
Motors in
Willowvale Harare.
The vehicles were subsequently sold at a
huge profit. The scandal was
eternalised in song by Ndebele musician Solomon
Skuza in the hit single
'love and scandals' in which he asks "how can
someone buy a car and sell it
again?" a reference to the nature of the
scandal.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has been granted
an observer
status by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
(ACHPR). The
observer status was granted during the Commission’s 51st
Ordinary Session
which was held from the 18th of April to the 2nd of May
2012 in Banjul,
Gambia.
18.05.1209:33am
by The Zimbabwean
Harare
ZESN joins 349 non-governmental organisations in Africa and twelve
other
civic society organisations in Zimbabwe such as the Media Monitoring
Project
of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe Human
Rights
Association (ZIMRIGHTS), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA),
Catholic
Commission for Peace and Justice in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ), Zimbabwe
Women Lawyers
Association (ZWLA) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR).
This new status will enable ZESN together with other CSOs that
already enjoy
the observer status to directly interact with the African
Commission on
Human and People’s Rights on various issues pertaining to the
protection and
promotion of human rights in the country. In addition, the
status will also
allow ZESN to report violations of human rights to the
Commission through
communications and many other mechanisms that are
available. ZESN envisage
that such communication and actions will assist in
the prevention of human
rights abuses and promotion of human rights in
Zimbabwe.
“We are very happy with the opportunity awarded to ZESN by the
Commission
and we hope that this will go a long in promoting democratic
elections and
enhancing the quality of elections in Zimbabwe in particular
protecting the
right to vote. We affirm ZESN’s commitment to reporting and
attending the
sessions of the Commission”, said the Director of ZESN, Rindai
Chipfunde
Vava.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012 08:55
Faith
Zaba
VICE-PRESIDENT Joice Mujuru (pictured) has slammed senior Zanu
PF officials
fuelling infighting through succession battles driven by their
presidential
ambitions, saying they should respect the party hierarchy —
remarks seen as
directed at her bitter rival, Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
This comes after Mnangagwa recently told the Zimbabwe Independent
he was now
“ready to rule”, although the minister is now
backtracking.
During a tense extraordinary politburo meeting
chaired by President Robert
Mugabe at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare on
Wednesday, insiders say
Mujuru warned that the party should not tolerate
people who undermine senior
leaders and destabilise structures through
ambitious agendas.
The politburo meeting, as first reported in the
Independent recently, was
called by Mugabe to tackle growing factionalism
and infighting in the party
triggered by hotly-contested District
Coordinating Committee (DCC)
elections. The polls have left a trail of
divisions, wrangling and
bitterness.
Politburo sources told the
Independent yesterday Mujuru fought “like a
tiger” in defence of her
political territory and fiercely attacked senior
officials in her camp,
mainly Nicholas Goche, Saviour Kasukuwere and Zanu PF
Mashonaland Central
chairperson, Dickson Mafios, for working against her
during DCC polls. Goche
and Kasukuwere viciously hit back.
Mujuru later turned her wrath to
the Mnangagwa faction, which she tongue
lashed in a fit of rage, warning she
would descend on them if they continued
undermining her. She also attacked
mafikizolos (newcomers) and “sell-outs”
who collaborated with Ian Smith
while others were fighting his regime.
Senior politburo members said while
she read the riot act, not all her
remarks helped her to re-assert
authority.
“Mai Mujuru spoke very strongly against what is
happening,” a senior
politburo official said. “She was like a tiger. She
spoke about the need to
follow the party structures and to respect and
recognise the leadership and
party hierarchy.”
Sources said after
Zanu PF commissar Webster Shamu had presented his report
on the DCC
elections process and attendant problems, Mujuru took over the
show and
started by slamming Goche, Kasukuwere and Mafios as well as other
party
officials in her province who did not support her candidates during
the
recent district polls.
This provoked a backlash, especially from Kasukuwere
whose reaction was said
to be have been firm and stinging. Mujuru was in the
process accused of
vote-buying and other irregularities.
The
situation deteriorated in chaotic scenes when Mujuru’s alliesstarted
lambasting the Mnangagwa faction. Mujuru herself blasted the Mnangagwa camp
and warned as deputy president she would not tolerate their machinations
anyone. She said she has never campaigned for positions but got them and
would exercise her authority firmly.
In the end, Mujuru’s
remarks left the politburo divided, with some saying
she had reasserted her
authority, while others said her lack of restraint
and brawling with juniors
undermined her claim to seniority and standing as
potential successor to
Mugabe.
However, Mujuru made the remarks while Mnangagwa had already
left the
meeting for Mozambique with State Security minister Sekeramayi and
co-Home
Affairs minister KemboMohadi. The three are attending the sixth
Zimbabwe-Mozambique Defence and Security Permanent Joint Commissionmeeting
with their Mozambican counterparts in Maputo.
Mnangagwa’s absence
during Mujuru’s remarks prevented a potentially
explosive meeting. Sources
said even though Mnangagwa was no longer there,
Mujuru and her allies were
still aggressive in their contributions.
In terms of the pecking
order, Mujuru is far higher ranked than Mnangagwa
who is number 12 in the
politburo order of precedence. Insiders say Mujuru’s
position would give her
a head start in the race to succeed Mugabe if the
veteran leader quits or
dies.
“The hierarchy is only an order of precedence, important in
stating who will
act in what position if seniors are not there. Remember
politburo positions
are appointed and not elected, so the mandate of
officials in those posts,
except the presidium, is not derived from the
electorate but from the
president. So while hierarchy is important, it does
not make it automatic
when it comes to succession in terms of who will take
over from the
president,” the senior politburo member
said.
“Every party member, regardless of position, has a right in
terms of Article
3, section 17, sub-section (2) of the constitution to be
elected to any
office in the party, subject to such rules and regulations as
determined by
the Central Committee. What this means is that hierarchy and
precedence don’t
always matter. In fact, that’s why vice-president Mujuru
skipped the pecking
order when she assumed her current position after a
constitutional
amendment, saying one of the party’s second secretaries shall
be a woman.
Mnangagwa is senior and can easily ascend to the top depending
on the
circumstances and the support he commands.”
However,
Mujuru’s allies insist her position makes her the frontrunner to
succeed
Mugabe.
The party insiders said most politburo members who spoke at
Wednesday’s
meetingcriticised the divisions along factional lines, which
they said
threatened to tear the party apart ahead of the
elections.
The criticism, said the sources, was directed mainly
atMnangagwa, widely
seen as leading the dominant faction in Zanu PF at the
moment against Mujuru’s
camp.
Sources said when the debate
started on Wednesday, politburo members spoke
generally about imposition of
candidates and factionalism. They only opened
up when Mugabe told them to be
specific and frank and to name people
involved.
“President Mugabe
was open and vivacious,” said another party official.“He
encouraged people
to be more specific and to talk about their own
challenges. He told people
to cough up their grievances.”
Another official said: “After that
everyone was free to talk about the
challenges they were facing. Most people
spoke about the anti-party line
that is being pursued by some ambitious
people and felt that this should
come to an end and we should organise the
party and work as a team ahead of
elections.
“People were talking
about people who want the presidency. They said these
people are
organisingsupporters on factional lines and werea destabilising
force.”
Some of the politburo members who spoke strongly against
factionalism and
imposition of candidates werespokesman Rugare Gumbo,
DzikamaiMavhaire,
KudakwasheBhasikiti, Francis Nhema, Flora Bhuka and
TsitsiMuzenda.
Another politburo member said: “There is a party
hierarchy – the presidency
with the president and his two deputies, and the
presidium that includes the
chairman and secretary for administration. That
is the way things stand and
you can’t talk about factions as things
stand.
“But there are other forces at the bottom; here I am talking
about people
like Mnangagwa who want to get to the top. We are not saying
that people
should not aspire to get to the top but they must recognise the
structures
of the party and these people should not denounce Mai Mujuru
because doing
so goes against the party and the president. It destroys the
party.”
Contacted for comment, Gumbo, the Zanu PF spokesperson, said
the discussions
were frank and open.“People were looking at principles and
issues that have
been violated and how people were campaigning for power and
looking at
whether there is excessive use of money – like people buying
supporters
vehicles,” he said.
“This is the kind of thing that
the president took exception to and
encouraged people to be focused and
understand why they are where they are
and the challenges we face here and
internationally.”
Describing the mood in the meeting, Gumbofurther
said: “People were anxious
to get answers. Discussions were lively and
people were really honest and
were able to air their views freely. We agreed
that divisions are a threat
to the party and these must end and people
should close ranks. People who
are fanning divisions were told to stop
forthwith. We spoke about the need
to strengthen the party ahead of
elections”.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012 08:43
Staff
Writer
THE military and police chiefs have launched a spirited campaign
on behalf
of President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF ahead of the next do-or-die
elections
to regain ground lost to the MDC parties in the last polls.
The
security forces have begun their campaign — which is clearly in
violation of
the constitution — in Manicaland where it is believed people
mainly in rural
areas would be easily swayed because of their painful
experience and bitter
memories of the liberation struggle.
Informed sources say
after the recent invasion of the province by security
personnel who held
meetings with Zanu PF provincial coordinating committee
officials, a team
of about 25 army generals and police chiefs last weekend
held two meetings –
one in Chimanimani at Biriwiri school on Saturday and
another in Nyanga on
Sunday — where party supporters spoke about
factionalism, imposition of
candidates and vote-buying during district
coordinating elections (DCC) in
the province.
The meetings were part of the security forces’ campaign
to lay the ground
for Zanu PF and Mugabe who is agitating for early
elections.
The securocrats are expected to hold further meetings in
all eight districts
in Manicaland in a bid to reclaim the province from the
MDC-T. Their
campaign is expected to spread to Buhera tomorrow and Chipinge
on Sunday.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party won 20 of the 26 seats
in the
province during the March 2008 elections. It also holds four of the
six
senate seats.
Last weekend’s meetings were chaired by deputy
police commissioner-general
Godwin Matanga and attended by high-ranking
officials who included
Brigadier-General Mike Sango, retired Air Commodore
Michael Karakadzai and
Officer Commanding Police Harare province Senior
Assistant Commissioner
Clement Munoriarwa.
This was a follow-up
to a meeting held on April 29 at Mary Mount Teachers’
College by close to 50
top service chiefs, who included Matanga,
Major-General Martin Chedondo, Air
Vice Marshal Shebba Brighton
Shumbayawonda, Brigadier-General Herbert
Chingono and Brigadier-General Mike
Sango, 3 Brigade commander
Brigadier-General Eliah Bandama and members of
the provincial Joint
Operations Command.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012
08:41
Gamma Mudarikiri
GOVERNMENT will introduce a policy
framework to reduce banks’ inflated
interest rates, currently hovering
between 15% and 25%, Finance minister
Tendai Biti has said.
Biti told
journalists in Harare yesterday his ministry had fruitlessly
engaged the
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) to consider lowering
lending rates,
which treasury felt were far higher than international rates,
currently at
around 3% on average.
“We are going to work on a framework in
the coming few weeks to address the
humongous distortions of crazy lending
and non-existent deposit rates. We
have tried to engage BAZ but they have
produced nothing,” said Biti.
The government would soon amend the
Banking Act, which would see banks
involuntarily playing “the role that a
bank in Zimbabwe should be playing”.
Biti said interest rates and
other bank charges had all remained at levels
which perpetuated the
pre-multiple currency mindset at a time when the
country faces an acute
shortage of liquidity.
He said internationally, money was being sold
at 3%, but in Zimbabwe,
interest rates were as high as 30%.
“We
would have no problem if deposit rates were also meaningful,” he
said.
Deposit rates for demand and short-term savings accounts for
the period
ranged between 0,15% to 5% per annum. Long term deposits ranged
between
0,10% to 18% against lending rates as high as 30%.
Biti
said there was rising concern over the absence of serious initiatives
in the
mobilisation of savings in the financial sector, a development which
would
see government developing market-based initiatives to attract more
savings
into the formal banking sector.
He said the banking sector was
reluctant to play its intermediary role of
giving credit to local
businesses.
“As we speak, we have over US$700 million sitting in
banks’ vaults,” he
said.
Biti said while he and Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono had stuck their
necks out for banks in the wake of the
indigenisation onslaught, they felt
that they were getting little support
from them.
“These banks are operating like foreign banks being run by
foreigners. They
need to act like local banks that are foreign-owned,” he
said.
Biti said after the flawed land reform programme banks stopped
giving
credit to agriculture –– a position which he said was no longer
justified.
He said banks had the capacity to strategise and mobilise
lines of credit.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012 08:40
Wongai
Zhangazha
THE Comptroller and Auditor-General, Mildred Chiri, has found
the government
ministries’ accounting systems for 2010 shambolic, with
constant breakdowns
of the system leading to transactions being processed
outside the system. In
a Narrative Report on Appropriation Accounts,
Miscellaneous Funds and Donor
Funded Projects compiled by her office for the
financial year ended December
31 2010 released yesterday, Chiri said the
bulk of transactions for the
greater part of 2010 were processed outside the
Public Finance Management
system through which all financial transactions
should be processed.
Chiri said: “In my report for the financial year
ended December 31 2009, I
reported the constant breakdown of this system.
The breakdown continued for
the greater part of the 2010 financial year
leading to the bulk of the
transactions being processed outside the system…
As a result, I was not able
to ascertain whether all the transactions
relating to revenue, expenditure
and assets processed manually by ministries
were fully captured in their
respective year and accounts. Consequently I
could not express an opinion on
the accounts. I have issued a disclaimer of
opinion for 2010.”
The report also accused ministries of failing to
follow proper tender
procedures when procuring assets and
services.
The office of the president and cabinet is reported to have
failed to submit
accounts on time and this affected the progress of audits.
The president’s
office also failed to account for about US$750 468, a
difference noted after
the Sub Paymaster-General’s account reflected
payments totalling US$82 979
436 while the appropriation account expenditure
was listed as US$83 729 904.
The prime minister’s office was reported
to have an unreliable accounting
system and Chiri could not determine the
correctness of the total
expenditure incurred by that office.
It
had three different figures within the range of US$9,3 million and US$9,9
million which it failed to reconcile.
Parliament also had an
unreliable accounting system with Chiri noting that
10 vehicles worth US$326
802 were purchased by the legislature without
following tender procedures in
contravention of Treasury Instruction 1005
(1).
Payment vouchers
showing details of the acquisition of vehicles were not
produced and Chiri
said she could not assess the legality and accuracy of
the
purchases.
Chiri said that it was difficult to reconcile expenditure
figures from the
Defence ministry due to the absence of reliable accounting
records, accurate
and complete financial information.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012 08:36
Owen Gagare/Faith
Zaba
ACCUSATIONS and counter-accusations between Mashonaland Central
governor
Martin Dinha and party heavyweights, in the province including Vice
President Joice Mujuru, are intensifying as infighting spreads. In
briefings with the Zimbabwe Independent this week, Zanu PF heavyweights and
provincial leadership accused Dinha of reversing the land reform programme,
among other things, while Dinha strongly believes there is a concerted
effort by politburo members Nicholas Goche and Saviour Kasukuwere to push
him out of office.
Those against Dinha insist that it is because
he is not working well with
other provincial leaders and party bigwigs in
the province. But the main
reason for the fallout, they said, was “he
(Dinha) is anti-people and is
working against Zanu PF’s ideals”, by
repossessing land from those who
benefited from the land reform programme,
while those close to Dinha believe
that he is being punished for being too
close to President Robert Mugabe.
Dinha confirmed he was being
de-campaigned but said he preferred dialogue
with those after his
head.
“I confirm that I have reports alleging hat I am being
decampaigned by
political elements in districts and at political
gatherings,” he said.
“As governor for Mashonaland Central I am
amenable to dialogue and peaceful
resolution of political problems, be they
personality clashes, land-related
or arising from perceptions that I am an
emerging political threat to
certain parochial interests. I am not a saint
or an angel; where I err my
political gurus have a right to simply call me
for dialogue, not to stab me
in the back.”
However, Goche said
all they were concerned about was the manner in which
the land issue was
being handled.
“I am not fighting him. I have no reason to fight him.
What we are concerned
about is the way the land issue is being handled,”
Goche said.
“He knows that I have been working with him but I find
there are stories in
the media. I have no personal grudges against him. What
we want is the land
issue to be handled properly. We are going towards
elections and we do not
want any destabilisation of the people who are
properly settled.
“I don’t want to discuss issues in the media but at
an appropriate forum in
Mashonaland Central,” Goche said.
At a
meeting in Bindura with Goche and Kasukuwere, some chiefs complained
that
they had not benefited from the land reform programme. Political
commissar
for Zanu PF’s Mazowe’s District Coordinating Committee Dugmore
Chimukoko
said people in his district wanted Dinha out because he was a
“sell-out who
doesn’t respect the will of the people”.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012 08:29
Owen
Gagare
THE security sector, particularly the army, is increasingly
manoeuvring into
the country’s mining terrain, making footprints in the
Marange diamond
fields and right across the Great Dyke into remote areas. In
Marange, the
army, police, intelligence and prisons services have direct
mining claims.
Retired and also serving security personnel sit on the boards
of various
mining companies.
Security forces have mainly entered
into partnerships with Chinese and
Russian companies which bring in capital
as well as expertise.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), which brings
together the army and the
air force, is involved in a partnership with
Chinese firm, Anjin, in mining
diamonds in Marange while the Zimbabwe
National Army (ZNA) has embarked on a
platinum mining project in Ngezi with
another Chinese company, Sinodrill.
The ZDF is also heavily involved
in joint ventures in the Chegutu-Selous
area as well as in diamond mining
and explorations of new gold deposits in
Matabeleland North and
South.
Sources revealed that the defence forces were also working
with other
Chinese and Russian companies to prospect for and mine other
minerals right
across the country.
ZDF spokesperson, Colonel
Overson Mugwisi, said he was unaware of any mining
deals involving the
defence forces, but asked for questions to be submitted
in writing so that
he could confirm with his superiors.
He, however, failed to respond
to the Zimbabwe Independent’s enquiries and
was reported to be out of his
office yesterday.
Sources, however, maintained that the joint
ventures with the Chinese and
Russians were aimed at ensuring that the
defence forces raise enough capital
to acquire new equipment and pay off
their debts as they were not getting
enough funding from
Treasury.
But their involvement has raised fears this could create
opportunities for
the diversion of funds and compromise the work of the
defence forces, whose
main duty is to ensure peace as well as to defend the
sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the country.
According
to a February 2012 Global Witness report titled Diamonds: A Good
Deal for
Zimbabwe, the presence of several serving security personnel on the
boards
of companies mining diamonds in Chiadzwa, presented opportunities for
the
diversion and abuse of funds.
Anjin board members include Martin
Rushwaya, the permanent secretary in the
Ministry of Defence, as well as
Zimbabwe Republic Police commissioners,
Oliver Chibage and Nonkosi
Ncube.
The principal officer and company secretary of Anjin, Charles
Tarumbwa, and
non-executive board members, Morris Masunungure and Romeo
Daniel
Mutsvunguma, all have links with the military.
Another
company mining diamonds in Chiadzwa is Mbada, whose chairperson is
retired
Air Vice-Marshal Robert Mhlanga. Mbada and its associated companies
are
believed to have obscure legal structures which Global Witness believes
could be used to divert funds.
“Anjin’s Zimbabwean board members
include senior serving and retired
military and police officers, and the
permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Defence,” says the Global Witness
report.
“Control by the military and police over a major diamond
mining company
creates opportunities for off-budget funding of the security
sector. The
presence of Mbada, Transfrontier and associated companies in
countries with
zero rates of corporate tax such as Mauritius, Hong Kong,
British Virgin
Islands and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, raises the
questions of where
these companies pay their taxes and whether these
arrangements are a good
deal for Zimbabwe.”
“Complex legal
structures and secrecy jurisdictions can be used to hide who
benefits from
natural resources. Such secrecy is inappropriate for national
assets and has
the potential to conceal corruption, tax avoidance or
off-budget government
spending,” the report said.
Constitutional law expert, Professor
Lovemore Madhuku, said it was not
normal for the military to be involved in
activities such as mining, and
said deals involving them were meant to
facilitate corruption.
“The involvement of the army is an act of
corruption,” said Madhuku. “It is
meant to buy their loyalty, to ensure that
they remain loyal, but this is
not normal. If members of the army are to go
into business, they should do
so in their private capacities like everyone
else, instead of having the
whole institution going into business,” Madhuku
said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012 09:11
WHEN United Nations Human
Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay lands in
Hararae on Sunday for her
visit to assess the situation she must recall the
words of her boss Ban
Ki-moon to stay focused on a trip which could prove to
a rigorous test of
her diplomatic savvy and engagement skills. Pillay will
be confronted with
half-truths, propaganda, lies and deception coming from
official and
unofficial circles. She would need to be smart and informed to
separate fact
from fiction.
She must remember what Ki-moon said in 2007 while
opening the Human Rights
Council fourth session in Geneva, Switzerland,
where she is based. Ki-moon
spoke about need to shed light in the “darkest
corners of the world”.
Referring to the Universal Periodic Review —
which involves the assessment
of the human rights records of all 192 UN
members (now 193) once every four
years — Ki-moon said: “This mechanism has
great potential to promote and
protect human rights in the darkest corners
of the world”.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights is a UN
agency which works to promote and protect human rights
guaranteed under
international law and in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
The office was established in 1993 the wake of the World
Conference on Human
Rights held the same year in Vienna, Austria, against
the background of
conflicts and human rights violations in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Angola and
Liberia — just a year before the Rwandan genocide.
Those involved in human
rights abuses in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liberia
are currently facing
trial at International Criminal Court at The Hague
against a backdrop of
complaints of selective application of the law, even
by those who are
advocates of the same at home!
So it is clear Pillay is
part and parcel UN institutions and processes
designed to promote and
protect human rights around the world. No country is
spared when it comes to
the periodic review mechanism. All countries are
treated as equals and have
open opportunities to speak their minds.
In fact, Zimbabwean
authorities had a field day last year in October in
Geneva when Harare was
in the dock — bleating about sanctions and attacking
the United States and
other western countries while trying to divert
attention from their
horrendous human rights record back home.
So Pillay must carry with
her that culture of being frank and open to
Harare. She must raise issues
without fear or favour. Her itinerary will
allow her to meet a wide
cross-section of Zimbabweans who will tell her
stories which may sound like
they are coming from people living not just in
different countries, but in
different planets as well. So she must negotiate
her way through all that
and more.
Pillay will meet President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai,
ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice and other relevant
authorities, as
well as the Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament, President
of Senate,
among others.
She will also meet with the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission and members of
civil society in the country. She is
also considering a number of field
visits within and outside Harare,
including to the Marange diamond fields.
During these visits, she will also
meet local communities and civil society
members to listen to their
experiences and views. This is a very good mix,
although it is surprising
why the media is not included in her list.
All the same Pillay must
be bold and call a spade a spade. She must give
credit where it is due, but
ask difficult questions given Zimbabwe’s
appalling human rights record. It
is deeply disturbing, for instance, that
in 2012, Zimbabweans are still
being persecuted for their real or perceived
political beliefs or
affiliation. This is the legacy of President Robert
Mugabe and Zanu PF’s
disastrous 32-year rule. Political and civil liberties,
as well as freedoms
of expression and association, in all their various
manifestations, and
assembly, among other rights, are still being trampled
on.
Human
rights abuses in Zimbabwe are still rampant. Pillay will hear this for
herself even though official briefings will be strangely removed from
reality. However, she must be gutsy and help shed light on the darkest
corners of our society.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May 2012
09:08
Dumisani Muleya
THE indignation, incredulity and
indifference with which the Select
Committee of Parliament on the new
constitution (Copac) and its resultant
shoddy draft document, now a source
of acrimonious dispute and contest, has
been greeted in some circles is not
surprising at all.
What is rather surprising is why some people are
astonished by the outcome
to begin with. For it was a foregone conclusion
Copac would be a failure:
its conception and process were deeply-flawed and
hence the defective
outcome.
What is now needed is a bold and
impartial intervention to rescue the
project and keep the implementation of
the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
on track before the next credible, free
and fair elections. Partisan
interventions, like the one we have from Zanu
PF and other stakeholders,
are unhelpful.
So many people have
lost track or interest of what is happening at Copac,
largely because of the
incompetence, shoddiness and confusion with which the
process was
handled.
Right from the beginning, we at this newspaper said Copac was
badly-conceived and that the process was not open and inclusive, hence it
was inevitably going to fail. This was the same position taken by
progressive civil society groups and many other
Zimbabweans.
Unfortunately, the main players, Zanu PF and the two MDC
factions —in the
name of the GPA and coalition government — conspired to
embark on a process
which was manifestly unrepresentative, opaque and
flawed. Acting in cahoots,
the three parties resisted the idea of a
democratic constitution-making
process driven by openness and popular
participation, opting for a dubious
alternative.
Shockingly, some
civil society groups and their calculating donors also
decided to join the
charade even though they always claimed they wanted a
democratic
constitution-making process.
Naturally, the political parties wanted to have
a process controlled by
their elite pact, while donors and their surrogate
civic groups thought it
was better to get a new constitution, no matter how
shoddy, in service of
partisan political agendas.
In other words,
all the players involved in Copac are there for the wrong
reasons — for
self-serving agendas. The reason why there is so much acrimony
and noise is
because those involved are not genuinely motivated by the idea
of making a
new constitution to serve the national interest but by expedient
designs.
There are too many convenient and undeclared agendas at play at
Copac —
which is now a theatre of power struggles. This is precisely what we
feared
from the start.
The main flaws in the Copac process, among other
things, include the
following:
The process is inherently
unrepresentative and is dominated by politicians;
Its conception and
framework were badly flawed;
There were no proper legal instruments and
philosophical approach on how
the process would unfold, except phobia to
openness, inclusivity and
accountability;
The relationship between the
GPA, the next elections and the
constitution-making process is unclear;
and
The organisational structure, control and funding of the process was not
transparent.
These, among many other issues, were left hanging,
rendering the whole
process fragile and disorganised.
If Copac
was guided by best practices in Africa and the rest of the world
right from
the start all these problems could have been avoided.
The Copac
process should have been based on basic components of democracy:
the
imperatives of openness and popular participation.
It should have
been a constituent assembly in which its members were
selected in a way that
allows open and popular participation by all sectors
of society in a context
of strong mass support for constitutional reform and
change.
In
fact, it should not have been based on irrational fears of democracy. As
it
is the process resulted effectively in the abolition of democracy and
thus
it became a charade and ultimately a national disaster.
Now Copac
needs to be either disbanded or rescued from itself through a
constituent
assembly or delegates and experts assigned to rework the whole
process using
all draft constitutions available.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 18 May
2012 09:03
Itai Masuku
GREEN Fuel has dominated newspaper
headlines over the past few weeks, but
not for reasons that are unlikely to
turn anyone green with envy. In fact,
it is a classical case of why Africa
continues to be backward.
Only yesterday, we heard a shocking statement
from Energy minister Elton
Mangoma claiming he doesn’t know about the
existence of the project, nor
does government. Now if a whole minister does
not know about a mammoth
project portfolio, it then becomes clear why Zesa
continues to plunge us
further into the dark. The responsible minister
himself is in the dark about
a project cleared by cabinet. So why is that
man being allowed to earn our
hard-earned tax money? And he makes strange
bedfellows with Agriculture
minister Joseph Made who also says he’s not
informed about the Green Fuel
pricing policy, when in fact his ministry is a
30% shareholder in the
project and presumably should have a seat on the
board.
Why is he fuelling confusion? The ministry has representation
in the Green
Fuel Project through Arda. So we in fact have two ministers who
don’t know
what’s happening right under their noses. Or shall we say who
don’t know
what they are doing? Or is it a simple case of selective
amnesia? This last
possibility is very likely. It is particularly
disappointing that MDC-T
ministers are not offering the breath of fresh air
that the populace would
have expected. They ought to have shown a
difference. Instead we get Mangoma
saying, “The issue of jobs and that of
blackmail will not work”. By this is
he suggesting that he won’t be
blackmailed by the argument raised by Green
Fuel that the project must not
be scuttled because it will create 5 000 plus
jobs?
“I don’t
care,” declares Mangoma. Is that a statement coming from a minister
from a
so-called pro-worker party? And why doesn’t he care? Because even if
the
project fails, “I will still remain a businessman”.
So it’s about
him, and not the constituency he purports to represent. In
more progressive
countries, he’d be out of office like a bat out of hell
when the next
election comes.
“I have zero capital on politics,” he adds. Agreed.
However, he says
something instructive for Green Fuel. “They have been given
the opportunity
to interact with the government and they should use it.”
Clearly,
interaction has taken place before the project began, hence why it
had BOT
status and government is a 30% shareholder, has arranged a special
water
deal for the company and land has been availed for the project, albeit
some
of it under questionable circumstances.
In case the
Rautenbachs, promoters of the project who have been doing
business in
Africa, miss the hint, the key word is in the term “
interaction”. In
Nigeria they call it a transaction. In Zambia it’s called
a missing page.
Others call it oil for the machine. Conservative English
call it greasing
the palms. Still don’t get it?
We obviously don’t advocate this but
our paper has it on good authority
which palms need to be greased. Anyone
who has been following the Green Fuel
saga can identify the palms, some have
open palms and the others clenched
ones. They include MPs, cabinet ministers
and other top government officials
(names supplied) some of whom are
demanding free shares for themselves in
the company so as to facilitate the
smooth flow of the project. So the issue
is not about indigenisation. The
Rautenbachs are indigenous.Regrettably this
is the way of doing business in
Africa. European governments have known this
for ages and some of them give
tax rebates for their companies that would
have found themselves in such an
invidious position.
In fact, that was the real reason why
Transparency International was formed;
to fight corporate - government
corruption.
http://mg.co.za/
17 May 2012 11:58 - Webster Zambara
A
highly anticipated visit by human rights commissioner, Navi Pillay, to
Zimbabwe could have some welcome consequences, writes Webster
Zambara.
To the optimist, the confirmation that United Nations’ human
rights
commissioner Navi Pillay will officially visit Zimbabwe marks the
beginning
of a new era in a country that not only has a chequered human
rights record,
but also had a major falling-out with this UN
office.
In October 2009 Manfred Nowak, then-UN special rapporteur on
torture, cruel,
inhumane or degrading treatment and punishment (appointed by
the UN’s human
rights council), was unable to conduct a fact-finding mission
after he was
deported from Zimbabwe.
The incident coincided with
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s claim that
his Movement for Democratic
Change had “disengaged” from President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF - citing
human rights violations and persistent breaches of
the frosty power-sharing
agreement between the parties.
Relations between Zimbabwe and the UN were
also thorny in October last year
when Mugabe cancelled a trip to Geneva in
protest against the denial of
visas to his wife, Grace, and six top aides
for an International
Telecommunications Union summit on information and
technologies.
So, to hear that Zimbabwe has finally extended an
invitation to Pillay is an
interesting development. In fact, it was
initially extended in February, but
she could not make it then because of
other commitments.
Inclusive government
There is no doubt that the
human rights situation in Zimbabwe has improved
considerably over the period
of inclusive government, compared with the
period leading to its
formation.
Had Pillay visited in February, she would have found the
situation was
nearing normalcy. Diamond watchdog the Kimberley Process had
approved gems
from the Marange diamond fields and the European Union had
removed certain
individuals and companies from its sanctions
list.
However, the political temperature has risen since then as a result
of the
pending constitutional referendum and prospects of elections to end
the
unity government’s barren “marriage of convenience”.
The timing
of Pillay’s visit now is the subject of much speculation and
certainly will
not be devoid of controversy.
Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs
Patrick Chinamasa, who invited
Pillay, could have spilled the beans. He was
quoted by the state media as
saying he had “warned her in advance that news
of her coming to Zimbabwe
would trigger negative stories to colour her
appreciation of the situation”.
Crimes against humanity
His comments
were made when he dismissed a recent North Gauteng High Court
judgment that
wanted Pretoria to investigate Zimbabwean officials for
alleged “crimes
against humanity”, charging that the landmark ruling brought
the South
African justice system “into disrepute”.
Chinamasa said the ruling was
part of a regime-change agenda that aimed to
put Zimbabwe in the spotlight
ahead of Pillay’s visit.
Such pronouncements, sadly, can be viewed as an
attempt to pre-empt the
commissioner’s findings - a scenario that exposes
Zanu-PF’s defensive
position should they be unfavourable. It would seem that
Chinamasa has drawn
the battle lines too soon.
As human rights chief,
Pillay has had her work cut out for her. After a
visit to Syria in August
last year she encouraged the UN Security Council to
refer the country to the
International Criminal Court for an investigation
into, and possible
prosecution of, individuals alleged to have committed
crimes against
humanity.
She followed her visit with a full international commission of
inquiry to
interview witnesses and gather evidence. Her report found that
the Syrian
army and security forces were guilty of crimes against humanity
in their
repression of a largely civilian population. These included murder,
torture,
rape and arbitrary detention.
Pillay’s visit
It was not
surprising then when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refuted the
findings
and claimed that the UN was not a credible organisation.
A similar
pattern was followed when Pillay visited Palestine’s occupied
territories.
She ordered that the settlements “should be stopped altogether”
because they
violated human rights. She went on to establish an
international committee
to investigate the implications of the Israeli
settlements on the civil,
political, economic and cultural rights of the
Palestinian people.
It
was at this point that Israel refused to co-operate with the human rights
council, barring the proposed fact-finding mission from entering the West
Bank because of what Israel perceived as a pro-Palestinian bias by the
UN.
During her five-day mission starting on May 20, the South African
born
Pillay will hold meetings with Mugabe, Tsvangirai, government
ministers, the
chief justice, the speaker of Parliament, the president of
the Senate, the
Zimbabwean Human Rights Commission and members of civil
society.
Her itinerary also includes a possible visit to the Marange
diamond fields.
There could be no better time for a country preparing for a
constitutional
referendum and general elections to invite a high-profile
commissioner such
as Pillay.
Her visit could lead to further
appropriate steps being taken to improve the
human rights situation in
Zimbabwe. In this regard, it could provide the
crossover to a new and
progressive human rights culture.
Webster Zambara is a senior project
leader for Southern Africa at the
Institute for Justice and Reconciliation,
South Africa
http://www2.dailymaverick.co.za
18
May 2012
Just in case you were in any doubt about where the Zimbabwean
army’s
loyalties lie, last week’s declaration of unflinching support for
Zanu-PF
should reassure you – and Robert Mugabe – that the top brass have
his back.
By SIMON ALLISON.
Zanu-PF senator Martin Femai believes
attractive women spread HIV. If women
were less attractive, he reasons,
there would be less sex and, therefore,
less HIV. “What I propose is that
the government should come up with a law
that compels women to have their
heads clean shaven like what the apostolic
sects do,” he recently told a
parliamentary HIV awareness workshop. “They
should also not bathe because
that is what has caused all these problems.”
Dirty women, it seems, have a
lot to answer for.
Not to be outdone in the outrageous policy department,
his colleague
Ignatius Chombo, the Zanu-PF minister of local government,
called for
homosexuals to be evicted from their homes. “Those who support
same sex
marriages must be banished from the communities and dispossessed of
their
land,” he said. “What kind of madness is this that when we have
beautiful
women in our country some people want to marry other men?” Enjoy
the
beautiful women while you can, Chombo; soon they’ll all be bald and
smelly.
Policy coordination is not a Zanu-PF strongpoint.
Rather
disturbingly, neither Femai’s women-blaming nor Chombo’s gay-hating
is the
most outrageous sentiment to emerge from Zimbabwe in the last couple
of
weeks. That dubious accolade belongs instead to a certain Major General
Martin Chedondo, the army’s chief of staff, who instructed troops to respect
their political allegiance – to the party, not the state. “As soldiers, we
will never be apologetic for supporting Zanu-PF because it is the only
political party that has national interests at heart,” he said. “A national
defence force the world over is there to protect the national politics,
national integrity, the executive and other systems that form part of the
government. By virtue of this, defence forces automatically become a
political animal.”
Take a second to ponder this extraordinary
statement. Here you have one of
the top men in Zimbabwe’s armed forces
openly and without reservation
pledging his support – and, by extension, the
support of the men and weapons
he controls – to a political party. Just
imagine if the US Army were to
choose sides in the presidential election. An
army is a tool of the
government, and in a functional democracy the people
are supposed to choose
the government.
We know, however, that
Zimbabwe is no functional democracy, and the army’s
political leanings have
never been in doubt. But the general’s brazenness is
in itself a cause for
concern. With elections scheduled for sometime next
year, it is worrying
that top army figures feel confident enough in their
power (and their
ability to hold on to power) to abandon even the pretence
of political
neutrality.
Even more disturbing is the news that followed Chedondo’s
statement. In an
abrupt about-turn, the Zimbabwean Army scrapped plans to
trim its fighting
force from 55,000 troops to 40,000. Instead, it’s doing
the opposite:
dropping long-held educational requirements to allow the army
to extend its
latest recruitment drive.
The opposition Movement for
Democratic Change’s Morgan Tsvangirai was quick
to condemn the new policy:
“It is not a genuine military recruitment
exercise. It is a recruitment of
militia, which will have the mandate to
harass the people come election
time,” said spokesman Douglas Mwonzora. “It
is the beginning of the terror
campaign. Otherwise there is no need of
reducing the military standards for
which Zimbabwe has been known for(sic).”
The concern is that this new
recruitment drive is merely a prelude to a
repeat of 2008’s election
violence. Specifically an attempt to recreate the
infamous “Green Bombers”
who were accused of doing so much of the dirty
work. The Green Bombers was
the nickname for members of the National Youth
Service which was implicated
in acts of intimidation and torture in the name
of Robert Mugabe and
Zanu-PF. They were disbanded as part of the
power-sharing agreement in 2009,
depriving Zanu-PF of a potentially decisive
militia force. But who needs a
militia when you have an army?
The other important question is precisely
which part of Zanu-PF enjoys
military support. The party is no longer the
unified entity it once was and
is riven into various factions competing for
power once Mugabe is gone. The
moderate faction, led by vice-president Joice
Mujuru, lost its main link to
the army when her husband, General Solomon
Mujuru, died in a mysterious fire
at his home. Since then, the hard-liners
led by defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa have established close links to
both the army and the police. It
is likely that were the army to intervene
politically, it would be in favour
of Mnangagwa rather than
Mujuru.
But all is not lost for the opposition. Some reports suggest
there is a
disconnect between the top brass blowing the trumpet for Zanu-PF
and the men
and women in the ranks, some of whom can see the need for
political change.
This could explain the new recruitment drive – the
generals are trying to
flood the ranks with loyal cadres and pre-empt a
potential mutiny.
This is speculation. All we really know is one way or
the other Zimbabwe’s
armed forces will play a role both before and after
elections, and their
involvement will not be benign.
http://press.blogs.france24.com
Fri,
05/18/2012 - 20:39
This
article was written for Think Africa Press with Capucine
Dayen
Harare, Zimbabwe:
The struggle
against censorship for artists performing at last week's Harare
International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is nothing new. Since HIFA first
opened its doors 13 years ago, Zimbabwe’s notorious Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) has been keeping a close eye on the event. Yet, despite
government intimidation, Zimbabwe’s biggest cultural event continues to grow
and offer artists increased local and international
exposure.
Behind the scenes, HIFA’s organisers are
consistently confronted by what the
festival founder Manuel Bagorro
describes as “fairly formidable challenges”
and Zimbabwe’s artistic
community always breathes a sigh of relief at each
opening.
HIFA’s
appeal is wide-reaching and cultural activist Comrade Fatso explains
why.
“We’re in an environment which is oppressive. People need on the one
hand a
release from it, whether a piano recital or a powerful mbira concert
and, on
the flip side, a political comedy or theatre performance with a
social or
political message.”
“No, no, there's no naming
names”
While some performances at HIFA purposefully remain ambiguous,
Zimbabwe’s
main news of the day takes an overtly satirical twist in the play
Zambezi
News. The dry tone is set when the newsreaders invite potential
investors to
“make a plan” in a country that boasts unparalleled experience
in dealing
with “inflation, hyper-inflation and
hyper-hyper-inflation”.
Following the retro advertisement for
Zimbabwe’s shaky economy, the Minister
of Impending Projects, played by
comedian Michael Kudakwashe, takes to the
stage. Modelled on a local
politician, Michael shakes his head as he
affirms, “No, no, there’s no
naming names". Kudakwashe says he approaches
social commentary through
comedy, using it to skirt around the sensitive
issue of jibing at Zimbabwe’s
big bosses. “I find different, artistic ways
of approaching a subject. If
you call that censorship, well I suppose it is,
but it still gets out
there.”
Zimbabwe’s frequent power cuts also hit the
headlines, this time in a
tongue-in-cheek hip-hop video called Turn Off the
Lights. It’s an all too
familiar experience for the predominantly Zimbabwean
audience, which cuts
across ethnic and social divides. The brainchild of the
skit, Comrade Fatso,
says censoring himself is not an option, “you know what
can happen and you
move forward,” and so despite numerous run-ins with the
CIO, he continues to
champion the arts as a way to expand Zimbabwe’s
democratic space. As Comrade
Fatso explains, however, the state’s
heavy-handed approach has taken its
toll on many and “a lot of artists
aren’t brave enough to speak their mind”.
Treading a fine
line
Some artists at HIFA prefer to steer clear of the political
arena altogether
and enjoy art on a lighter note. Gertrude, for example,
says, “we’re tired
of politics, we just want to have a good
time”.
Others find themselves treading a fine line
between conveying the essence of
their work and avoiding the wrath of the
government. Maia Von Lekow, a
musician travelling from Kenya, explains,
“being an African artist in a
country which obviously has issues of
censorship, you have to be very, very
careful – there is a very fragile line
as to how you put the words, so
people can understand what you’re trying to
say.”
Senegalese singer, Didier Awadi, navigated his way around
the political
minefield by switching from English to French. Awadi said his
people ousted
their unwanted leader, encouraging an apprehensive audience to
shout
“Degage!” (or “Move over!”). The incident prompted one festival-goer
to
whisper, “OK the po po [police] are going to turn up any minute
now.”
Indeed, a number of artists are warned that they
may be pushing the
boundaries too far. Zimbabwean poet and cultural activist
Ghobori explains
that his manager advised him to read only one chapter from
his latest poem
to avoid making the audience “uncomfortable”. UK musician,
Oneness, says
being a spoken word artist is particularly risky because
“there’s no
filtering of the process.”
Zimbabwean MC
Outspoken also falls prey to backstage warnings, this time for
swearing. He
asks, “What’s the point of having a creative space if it’s
going to be
contained and confined?”
Freedom after
expression?
Although some of HIFA’s more provocative performers may
be expecting a tap
on the shoulder in the weeks to come, Zimbabwe’s artistic
community remains
a strong indicator of the country’s political temperature.
Cultural hubs
like Harare’s recently reopened Book Café are popular hangouts
for
marginalised poets, musicians and cultural activists whose work will
continue to bubble beneath the surface.
HIFA’s capacity to
break the barriers of state censorship may be somewhat
lacklustre but it
gives an important confidence boost to some of the country’s
artists who are
pushing to open up Zimbabwe’s democratic space. Whether on
HIFA’s grounds or
in Harare’s streets, “people enjoy when the status quo is
challenged and
when people dare to express themselves,” as Comrade Fatso
explains.
To the Churches of Zimbabwe: - Ben Freeth
To the Churches of
Zimbabwe: - Ben Freeth
Dear Jag
Should the Christians and the
church leaders of Zimbabwe remain silent when
we read what Bishop Kunonga had
to say recently?
For those who did not see his utterances, he said:
"Whites like other aliens
should not be allowed to own land and other
properties in the country as
they are strangers." Does Bishop Kunonga
believe that black people should
not own property in the UK or America and do
other church leaders agree with
this?
Bishop Kunonga stated that: "I
took 3 800 church properties in the region
since their title deeds were in my
name. There was no way the properties
could remain under charge of the church
controlled by whites and their black
puppets. Bishops such as Julius Makoni,
Chad Gandiwa and others are MDC-T
and furthered western interests," Are other
churches supportive of such
racial talk in the church to justify taking
church [and other] properties?
"Churches should protect Mugabe's
indigenisation policies, no matter the
cost. This world is not for cowards
and as Christians; we must gear
ourselves for a bloody war against white
interests." Do other church
leaders believe in shedding blood to steal
farms, mines and other
properties, no matter the cost?
"Those who
participate in the land grab and future seizure of mines and
other properties
in the hands of aliens, will definitely enter the kingdom
of God." Do other
church leaders believe in this blasphemy that
covetousness and theft are ways
to enter the kingdom of God?
"Elections will give Zimbabweans the
opportunity to choose between good
(Mugabe) and death (Tsvangirai). Vote
wisely. I am a professor in my own
right and would rate Mugabe's governance
as 'very good'."
Are these not the same kind of 'kristall nacht" type
utterances that
foreshadowed the destruction of the Jews in NAZI Germany or
the Tutsi's in
Rwanda?
Should these utterances by a powerful man of
the cloth remain unchallenged
by other church leaders in Zimbabwe? Have we
all not had enough of such
talk, backed up by unjust laws and violent action?
Have we not seen enough
destruction and destitution?
We all know the
famous words of Martin Niemoller - a former President of the
World Council of
Churches who was incarcerated by the NAZI's: "First they
came for the
socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a
socialist. Then they
came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out
because I was not a
trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did
not speak out because
I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was
no one left to speak
for me."
Ben Freeth.
http://www.cathybuckle.com/
May 18, 2012, 1:17 pm
There’s a wonderful moment in
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird when
Atticus Finch the lawyer who
shocks the white community by defending a black
man, gives his daughter a
lesson in tolerance. The book is set in the Deep
South of America in the
days of racial segregation. Atticus tells his
daughter, “You never really
understand a person – until you climb into his
skin and walk around in it.”
Seeing things from the other person’s point of
view is, after all, the very
essence of tolerance.
An MDC senator this week proposed a law to
force women to dress
‘shabbily’, to bathe less and to shave their heads!
These measures, says the
senator, would deter HIV/Aids. The proposal is so
ludicrous that one’s first
reaction is to wonder if the senator was joking.
Quite apart from the
impossibility of administering such a law – who would
decide what
constitutes ‘shabby’ dressing? – there is the implied assumption
that women
are responsible for whatever is done to them, because of the way
they dress.
It’s hardly original but it is surprising to hear it enunciated
in the
twenty-first century when attitudes towards male/female relations are
more
enlightened.
The senator’s remark taken in conjunction with
the Vice President’s
advice this week to women to be ‘docile’ to promiscuous
husbands gives the
decided impression that Zimbabwe is a century behind the
times when it comes
to gender politics. Not surprisingly, Women’s Rights
activists were very
angry with the Vice President. Taken together, the two
pieces of advice
would result in a ‘shabbily dressed, shaven headed, smelly
but docile woman’!
Not a very attractive picture of the modern, emancipated
African woman. As a
former Freedom Fighter herself, Joice Mujuru must surely
have been accorded
equality with her male comrades? She rose to be one of
the top women
commanders in ZANLA and is reputed to have shot down a
Rhodesian helicopter
single-handed. Hardly the actions of a ‘docile’
woman!
When feminism first hit the headlines in the west back in the
sixties it
was often derided for being a European concept which had no
relevance for
Africa and the developing world where cultural practices
appeared to endorse
the position of women in a subservient role. Attitudes
have changed and in
2012 Zimbabwe’s draft constitution enshrines the
equality of the sexes.
Homosexuality is another matter altogether and it is
that which has caused a
major rift between the parties. The draft actually
enshrines gay rights but
Minister Chombo made Zanu PF’s attitude very clear
this week when he said
that Chiefs should evict homosexuals from the
communal areas and their land
should be seized. His remarks have been
roundly condemned by Human Rights
lawyers and while Chombo may have been
politicking in the run-up to
elections, the sentiment he expressed is
certainly in line with Robert
Mugabe’s own views. It was Mugabe’s comment
that gays are ‘no better than
pigs and dogs’ that earned him the scorn of
Peter Tatchel, the gay rights
campaigner who twice attempted a citizen’s
arrest of Robert Mugabe back in
the days when the Zimbabwean president was
welcome in the UK.
Admitting that gay rights are ‘a controversial
issue in my part of the
world’ Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that for him
gay rights constitute ‘a
human right’ He has not always been of that opinion
but that appears to be
his present stance and I for one hope he stands by
it. What Zimbabwe needs
more than ever is tolerance in all matters but
particularly in race, gender
and politics. The views expressed this week by
the Senator, the Vice
President and the Minister suggest that Zimbabwe is a
long way off accepting
differences in such matters. Zimbabweans are by
nature conservative people
but as the tide of returnees increases in the
months and years ahead, we can
only hope that their years in exile have
broadened their horizons and they
return to their motherland with more
enlightened views and increased
tolerance towards differences of all
kinds
Yours in the (continuing) struggle. Pauline Henson
