The Scotsman
JANE FIELDS
IN HARARE
POLICE in Zimbabwe have banned a series of "prayer processions"
planned to
commemorate the first anniversary of the devastating wave of
shack
demolitions that left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Lawyers
for the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, a coalition of churches based
in
Bulawayo, have gone to court to try to overturn the ban on the marches,
scheduled for Saturday. They said it was an "infringement of our freedom to
worship" and it demonstrated "the desperate position of this
regime".
Ray Motsi, a Baptist minister, said police had at first given
the go-ahead
for the marches but then changed their minds, saying they were
a "security
risk".
This week marks one year since Robert Mugabe's
government launched its
brutal clean-up campaign codenamed Operation Drive
Out Trash. Police with
bulldozers stormed Zimbabwe's towns and shanties,
razing flea markets and
ordering people to dismantle their shacks and
cottages. About 700,000 people
lost their jobs and homes, the United Nations
said.
Mr Mugabe countered international criticism by claiming his
government was
trying to raise Zimbabweans' living standards. He promised
more than a
million new houses would be built for the homeless. But a year
on, only
7,000 homes have been built. According to reports, many of those
have been
handed over to civil servants, cabinet ministers' children and
other
officials, leaving Zimbabwe's poorest out in the cold.
Mr Motsi
said churches in Bulawayo were struggling to cope with the appeals
for aid
from the victims of Operation Drive Out Trash. "We would like to
remind
people of the evil and destruction caused [by the demolitions] and
that
people are still out there without shelter," he said.
He said if the
court move was unsuccessful, supporters would still march in
Bulawayo, but
for only a few hundred yards.
zimbabwejournalists.com
By a Correspondent
SOUTH KOREAN
investors have told Central Bank Governor, Gedion Gono,
and his 14-member
government and private sector delegation that they would
want security of
tenure for their investments, a relaxation of exchange
controls in the
country and zero tolerance against corruption if they are to
put money into
the ailing southern African country.
Apparently concerned by the
unplanned land reform programme and the
government's desire to take stakes
of as much as 51 percent in mines,
business people in Seoul also told Gono
Zimbabwe must open up its economy
more to free market forces, among other
things, for them to consider
investing.
Gono, who quietly
sneaked into the rich South East Asian country, some
seven days ago, is
heading yet another investment promotion mission after
his sojourn to Russia
recently.
Also travelling with the delegation is Zimbabwe's Ambassador
to Japan,
Stewart Comberbach.
A source close to the delegation
said Gono, who has since held
meetings with his South Korean counterpart,
has been talking about
investment attraction, mainly foreign direct
investments (FDI), which will
help solve most of Zimbabwe's economic
problems such as unemployment, low
capacity utilisation, foreign currency
shortages, inflation and others.
A Ghanaian journalist studying in
Seoul, Pranvera Adobea, who attended
one of the meetings addressed by Gono
told zimbabwejournalists.com the
Reserve Bank Governor spoke to
businesspeople, government officials,
commerce and industry leaders about
Zimbabwe and its opportunities in the
agro, mining, manufacturing,
infrastructure and parastatal sectors of the
economy.
"He also
talked extensively of the inflation in your country, which I
believe is now
over 1000 percent, land reforms and also toured two
universities, Yonsei
University and Kyung Hee University where he delivered
some lectures on
economic turnaround in transition economies," said Adobea.
"It was
interesting to hear him talk about Zimbabwe's transitory challenges,
its
foreign currency problems, high inflation, HIV/Aids and other
distortions
but he did lay a solid foundation for what he termed economic
turnaround of
Zimbabwe and the future given its centrality as a launching
pad of southern
Africa, its high literacy rate, the completion of the land
reforms and
abundance of natural resources."
At Yonsei University, Gono and his
delegation were given a guided tour
by the president of the university,
Professor Jung Chang Young.
Gono, said Adobea, did not concentrate
on Zimbabwe's political crisis,
which many believe is the major stumbling
block to any efforts being made to
revive the ailing economy. The absence of
an heir-apparent in Zanu PF if
President Mugabe decides to leave in 2008 and
intra-party feuding within the
ruling party and the suffocation of the
divided opposition MDC, all pose
major challenges in efforts to revive the
ailing economy.
"The coming 25 years belong to Africa, Asia and the
Middle East
because of the technological depth and resource-richness of Asia
and the
Middle East which ought to be married with the natural resources of
Africa,"
Gono is said to have told a meeting of 200 delegates last
night.
According to the Zimbabwe government, its investment drive
being
championed by Gono, if it materialises, should see a new geo-political
and
economic complexion taking root in Zimbabwe and southern Africa at the
expense of the West, which according to him is "unreasonably pushing
Zimbabwe against the wall even when overtures for building bridges have been
offered and no-body seems to be taking us seriously".
Gono's
office refused to shed more light on his trip but the Central
Bank chief
seems to be continuing with his investment missions, which remain
shrouded
in secrecy. He remains tight-lipped on his recent trip to Russia.
Russian
platinum producer Norilsk Nickel and a Russian mission are expected
in
Zimbabwe soon to follow up on agreed investment opportunities during Gono's
mission to the former Soviet Union. Apparently neither the state nor private
media in Zimbabwe has been reporting these investment drive trips. This is
the first time a Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has ever taken a
leading role in trying to attract investment to the country.
While
in Seoul, Gono is expected to meet bankers, insurance companies,
government
officials and high profile investors. With a population of 49
million
people, four times the size of Zimbabwe but one quarter its
geographical
size, South Korea, founded after World War 11, has struggled
with the
aftermath of 35 years of Japanese occupation, the Korean War, and
decades of
military rule, seeing five major constitutional changes.
Pro-democracy
demonstrations during the 1980s led to free elections in 1987.
South Korea
is now a multi-party democracy.
The South Korean economy has advanced
rapidly since the 1950s and it
is now the 10th largest economy in the world.
South Korea is also one of the
world's most technologically advanced and
digitally-connected countries. It
has the highest number of broadband
Internet connections per capita in the
world and is a global leader in
computer games, digital displays, and mobile
phones. As one of the East
Asian Tigers, South Korea achieved rapid economic
growth through exports of
manufactured goods. This is in sharp contrast to
the stagnation of North
Korea's economy, which has turned for the worse
since the disintegration of
the Soviet Union. South Korea's per capita GDP
is now roughly 12 times that
of North Korea.
In the 1950s, South Korea was one of the poorest
countries in Asia.
Following the military coup led by General Park Chung-hee
in 1962, South
Korea embarked on a series of ambitious five-year plans for
economic
development. Emphasis shifted to foreign trade with the
normalisation of
relations with Japan in 1965 and a subsequent boom in trade
and investment.
Rapid expansion, first into light and then heavy industries,
in the 1960s
and 1970s followed. During this period, the South Korean
economy grew at an
average annual rate of 8.6%.
The South Korean
model of encouraging the growth of large,
internationally competitive
companies through easy financing and tax
incentives led to the dominance of
the family-controlled conglomerates such
as Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, and LG
which became global corporations.
Since the Asian financial crisis of
1997, however, the corporate
landscape has changed considerably as a result
of massive bankruptcies and
government reforms. The crisis exposed
longstanding weaknesses in South
Korea's economy, including high debt/equity
ratios, massive foreign
borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector and
Daewoo collapsed in
1999. Between 2003 and 2005, economic growth has
moderated to about 4
percent per year in South Korea. . Moderate inflation,
low unemployment, an
export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income
characterise this
solid economy.
Gono and his delegation, it
seems, have a lot to learn from this Asian
tiger.
People's Daily
The Zimbabwean government is implementing measures
to resuscitate the
economy and the next six months will start seeing the
results as prices of
basic commodities will decrease, President Robert
Mugabe said on Thursday.
He was addressing hundreds of people
gathered at Budiriro 1 High
School in the high density suburb of Budiriro in
Harare, the country's
capital city, where he was donating
computers.
"Zimbabwe will never collapse. Never ever," he
said.
Mugabe said Western countries thought Zimbabweans would
crumble under
illegal sanctions that they imposed, forgetting that the
people had
experienced worse hardships under the colonial era and during the
liberation
struggle.
He said the Zimbabwean government was
implementing programs to turn
around the economy and the effects would be
showing within the coming six
months.
These included installing
and repairing irrigation infrastructure,
resuscitating collapsed companies
and assisting those operating below
capacity, building factory shells and
market stalls and providing people
with decent accommodation.
The Basic Education Assistance Program would be expanded to include
more
children while conditions of service for civil servants would be
improved.
Mugabe said the clean up exercise that the government
embarked on last
year was designed to restore sanity in urban areas to allow
the government
to implement Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, which will see
people in urban
areas being allocated stands to build houses.
He noted that the independence that the country attained in 1980 was
only
political and that the Land Reform Program was part of the continuing
struggle to attain full independence where the people controlled their
natural resources.
Following success of the agrarian reforms,
he said, the government was
now moving to the mining sector where it had
since adopted a policy that the
government should own 50 percent to 51
percent of equity in all
multinational mining companies.
"That
is now the policy of government. We have determined it and it
will be
pursued henceforth," he said.
"All mining companies should take
note of this and those that do not
agree we say 'good bye' and those that
agree we will be partners. It is
therefore to take it or leave
it."
The government could not continue allowing multinationals to
extract
non-renewable minerals while not deriving any benefit, he
said.
Source: Xinhua
May 19, 2006,
By
ANDnetwork .com
President Mugabe of Zimbabwe, yesterday urged the
people of Budiriro
not to repeat the mistake they made in previous elections
and turn out in
their thousands to vote for the Zanu-PF candidate, Cde
Jeremiah Bvirindi, in
the Budiriro by-election tomorrow, to bring meaningful
development in their
area.
The President said this while
addressing thousands of people at a star
rally held at Budiriro 1 High
School in Harare yesterday. "Kuno kuBudiriro
sedzimwe nzvimbo dzemuHarare
makambovhotera MDC, mukaivhoterazve neSaturday
munenge matorasika. "Budiriro
will be going to elections, elections now
mugore ra2006, mamboona magariro
enyu muno munyika, kuti mukuvhotera MDC,
inokusvitsai kupi, inokupai
mastands here? Inokupai pekugara, iye zvino
yangova tsukukuviri, ukaitarisa,
uku musoro unonzi Tsvangirai, uku musoro
unonzi Mutambara, zvino muswe uri
kupi? "Zvino kana mada chimhuka chenyu
ichocho, monoita mashiripiti nacho,
asi isu hatidi kuchiona." The President
said the MDC was a foreign creation,
which was formed after the three
British parties - the Conservatives, Labour
and Liberal Democrats - pooled
their resources to set up the Westminster
Fund for Democracy, which released
money to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) to give birth to the
MDC. He said, because of that, the
opposition party's agenda was at variance
with the aspirations of
Zimbabweans. "Ndosaka makanzwa vachiti havafarire
kutorwa kwakaitwa minda.
Hanzi muchafa nenzara, mairimirwa nemabhunu,
asingazive, munhu anobva
paBuhera apa, kuti chikafu chese chaidyiwa muno
chairimwa mumaruzevha kwete
nemabhunu. ''Mabhunu airima fodya neSoya beans.
Chibage chakawanda chairimwa
nevanhu, apo neapo waiwanawo mubhunu airima
chibage asi chokwadi, gore
negore, chibage chairimwa nevanhu. "Tikashaya
mvura makore iwayo, mabhunu
vaine madhamu taiita nzara... Ipapo ndipo
patakasiyana uyu atsamirana
nemabhunu akatirakasha nguva yehondo, vachiramba
kuti titore nyika yedu."
The President thanked Zimbabweans for their
steadfastness, saying it was
their resolve that had defeated western
attempts to bring about the collapse
of the country. The Government, he
said, was aware that the cost of living
had gone up and had put in place
measures to stabilise the economy, and the
results would be evident in the
last six months of the year. He also urged
employers to emulate the
Government and award their workers realistic
salaries to cushion them
against rising prices. The Government, said Cde
Mugabe, was also seriously
looking at the issue of the ever-rising school
fees with a view to finding a
lasting solution. He said no child should be
sent away from school for
failing to pay fees. The President castigated some
school authorities,
mainly the private trust schools, for hiking fees as if
they were operating
businesses. "Tine zvichemo zvedzidzo, dzidzo yedu iri
kukwira, iri kukwidzwa
nevari muzvikoro umu varikuita kunge vane zvitoro.
"Ndiri kuda kukuzivisai
kuti we are thoroughly unhappy about school fees,
zviri kukonzerwa
nemaprivate schools, mumaGovernment schools mungacheme
zvenyu asika tine
programme iya inonzi BEAM, Basic Education Assistance iya,
nekukwira kuri
kuita zvinhu tichada kuti BEAM ibate mhuri dzakawanda." The
President
underscored the Government's commitment to turn around the
economy, saying
factories that closed down would be reopened while
distressed companies
would be brought back to full production. He reiterated
the Government's
resolve to reform the mining sector by acquiring 51 percent
equity in all
mines in the country. "We have decided by way of policy as
Government that
we shall now pursue a policy as the Government and people,
we will insist on
the ownership of equity of 50 to 51 percent depending on
the determination
which we shall have made. "Vasingade tinoti goodbye, we
will shake hands,
you can go. Vanoda will be in partnership with us in this
arrangement. You
will get 49 percent, we will get 51 percent, that is the
policy of
Government. "It is there for the taking, take it or leave it,
leave it or
take it." After the rally, the President donated 100 computers
to 10
secondary schools in Harare Province. The schools that received
computers
are Glen View 2 High School, Glen View 3 High School, Mufakose 2
High
School, Mufakose 3 High School, Mufakose Mhuriimwe, Tynwald High, Oriel
Boys
High, Seke Mhuriimwe, Harare High and Mbare High School. The donation
brought the number of high schools that have benefited from the programme to
50 out of the 82 secondary schools in Harare, while only one primary school
has so far benefitted. Yesterday's donation meant that all secondary schools
in the Glen View-Mufakose District - which covers Budiriro constituency -
have benefited from the President's computerisation programme. The President
said once he clears off all secondary schools, the programmme would spread
to primary schools. In an earlier address during the official opening of the
National Youth League Assembly at the Zanu-PF Headquarters in Harare,
President Mugabe urged youths to remain vigilant and united to protect
national interests against internal and external detractors who are working
to erode national gains. "The need for a united youth, acting in consonance
with the greater interests of the country, is felt most now when some of our
people speak with forked tongues that pretend to love the country while they
are simultaneously seeking to serve foreign interests. "Be wary of these
wolves in sheep's skins who will certainly devour you should you lapse in
your vigilance," said Cde Mugabe. The President said national interests were
made up of ideals, goals, commitments and experiences that sought to
strengthen the country's political independence while also supporting the
economic empowerment of the people. He deplored the uncouth behaviour of
some students at Bindura University of Science Education who embarked on an
orgy of destruction at their institution. "Reports indeed suggest that
students from other universities instigated the destruction, yet we should
ask, what madness drove the students to destroy the very objects by which
they hope to enhance their education? "What possessed them to commit such
acts of treachery and banditry that retard the promising development of a
whole national institution and cause damage to property of over $400
billion? Bindura University, Cde Mugabe said, held a special place in the
history of the country as it attested to the special relationship between
the country and Cuba in Science Education. This, he said, was in line with
the country's own determination to produce graduates who are relevant to and
are tailor-made for some of the country's pressing manpower needs. He said
it was sad that some rowdy students burnt down the major part of the
university, forgetting that they needed to benefit from the institution. Cde
Mugabe said the usefulness of the national youth service training programme
and its allied projects could not be overemphasised. He reminded the young
generation about the birth of the country, especially the sacrifices it took
to bring about Zimbabwe. "The youth need to know that against the wishes of
our detractors, we decided as a country and Government to commit significant
resources to improving the education, health and social welfare of our
people," said Cde Mugabe. "Out of our own commitment, we have 9 State
universities today as opposed to just one that existed at independence in
1980. However, we are concerned that these universities should produce
patriotic and mature students who are appreciative of the nation's
investment in these institutions." The President said the challenge of
inculcating the right values in the youth was that the party youths should
share in. He urged the youth as they met to take time to understand the
history and meaning of the struggle for nationhood. The youth, he said,
should be challenged to share their knowledge with those who might yet be in
darkness. Cde Mugabe also called on the youth to play a crucial role in
arresting the evils of corruption, dishonesty and slothfulness in the
society. The Government, he said, had played its part when it set up an
Anti- Corruption Commission, whose mandate is, among other objectives, to
contain the improprieties that had bled the country and affected its
soci-economic development. Cde Mugabe said the Government was re-engineering
the curricula at vocational training centres in cognisance of the important
role of the youth in transforming society. This, he said was meant to give
the youths life skills in areas that includes, carpentry and joinery,
clothing technology, bricklaying, agriculture apprenticeship among others to
add value to rural development and food production programmes. Cde Mugabe
also said Young Commercial Farmer (YCF) training programme was now
established at six vocational training centres Mount View and Chaminuka in
Mashonaland Central, Kaguvi in Midlands, Magamba in Manicaland, Mashayamombe
in Mashonaland West and Mushagashe in Masvingo. The centres, he said,
focused on crop production. Horticulture, poultry and piggery and enable the
students to attain the requisite knowledge before they set up their own
income-generating projects. The President said the programme was expecting
good harvest from 380 hectares of maize, 19 hectares of sorghum and 20
hectares of sugar beans. Cde Mugabe said the YCF training programme would
enhance the country's thrust towards maximum land utilisation. He said the
common denominator in all the programmes geared towards the youth was to
inculcate the necessary spirit of community participation, conservation,
voluntarism and disaster management. Cde Mugabe also reminded the youth of
the HIV/Aids pandemic whose debilitating effects were felt across all
sectors of the country's life. "The same message that there is no cure for
the pandemic remains true to this day. Zvokuti ndinozogeza mushawa ahii."
said Cde Mugabe drawing laughter from the audience.
Source :
The Herald
People's Daily
At least 30 companies
operating under the Export Processing Zones
Authority (EPZA) closed or
suspended operations from January this year
mainly due to the macro-economic
challenges facing the country, an official
has disclosed.
EPZA
public relations officer Phineus Mushoriwa said on Thursday that
25
farm-based companies stopped operations while five manufacturing
companies
closed on the grounds of an unfavorable exchange rate and loss of
international markets.
He said although several agro-based
companies had been closed, some
positive developments had also occurred as
17 new companies with an
investment value of 31 million U.S. dollars had
been approved over the
six-month period.
Meanwhile, Mushoriwa
said the authority was happy with the performance
of most of the companies
it licensed. "Most of the companies have more than
100 percent exports,
which is very good," he said.
The Export Processing Zone Act
stipulates that a licensed company
should export at least 80 percent of its
products.
More than 40 percent of companies under the EPZA are
agro-based,
reflecting the country's agricultural thrust. Agriculture
accounts for about
16.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product, 33 percent of
foreign exchange
earnings and 26 percent of employment.
The
EPZA was established in 1996 to spearhead the country's export
drive. There
are more than 200 exporting companies in the country.
Source:
Xinhua
Zim Independent
Dumisani Muleya
PROMINENT church
leaders are expected to meet President Robert
Mugabe next week to discuss
Zimbabwe's deteriorating political and economic
situation as pressure mounts
at home and abroad for Mugabe to quit.
This comes against a
background of South Africa's evident alarm
this week at the deepening crisis
in Zimbabwe. It also follows reports that
United Nations secretary-general
Kofi Annan was working on a plan in search
of a breakthrough to the
problem.
The dramatic economic decline - which has seen
inflation
surging to a record 1 042,9%- is said to have created a new sense
of urgency
among all stakeholders.
Official sources said
the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and
the All African Council of
Churches (AACC) leaders were due to meet Mugabe,
who wants to hang on until
2010, on May 25 or next Friday, for critical
talks on a wide range of issues
buffeting the country. The ZCC has of late
stepped up criticism of
government policies. The meeting has the blessing of
the World Council of
Churches, which is reportedly deeply concerned about
the plight of ordinary
Zimbabweans.
Sources said ZCC president Bishop Peter
Nemapare, his deputy
Bishop Sebastian Bakare and secretary-general Densen
Mafinyane, as well as
AACC secretary-general Bishop Mvume Dandala and
colleagues, would meet
Mugabe in a bid to find a solution to Zimbabwe's
simmering seven-year
crisis.
Nemapare confirmed the
meeting but refused to give details,
saying it was a "courtesy call on the
president".
Meanwhile, South African deputy Foreign minister
Aziz Pahad said
the increased number of Zimbabwean economic refugees fleeing
the meltdown in
their country called for an urgent solution. There are
reportedly over two
million illegal Zimbabweans living in South Africa, he
said.
Pahad's remarks on Wednesday broke Pretoria's silence
over the
decline in Zimbabwe. South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has
been
grappling with the Zimbabwean problem for the past six years, has
hitherto
stuck to a policy of quiet diplomacy in dealing with the
situation.
Pahad said South Africa "remains seized" of the
Zimbabwean
impasse and was following with interest Annan's expected visit to
Harare
which - as the Zimbabwe Independent revealed last week - was part of
a broad
international initiative to break the logjam.
Clergymen have been involved before in trying to resolve the
present
national crisis. Bakare led an initiative three years ago to broker
talks
between the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change
(MDC).
There have been several other church leaders who have
been
involved in the search for a solution to the now global Zimbabwe issue.
Mugabe's confidant Father Fidelis Mukonori, South African Council of
Churches leaders and Cape Town Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane have also
been involved.
Mukonori, like Mbeki and other foreign
heads of state, has tried
to arrange talks between Mugabe and MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai.
Pahad said South Africa was anxious to get
details of the Annan
proposal. "We look forward to getting more information
on the Annan trip.
One assumes he won't come unless he sees prospects of a
breakthrough," he
said.
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, UN
under-secretary general for
political affairs, held separate talks in South
Africa last month with Mbeki
and Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs minister
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi to discuss
the Annan plan.
Pahad
said South Africa was talking to other southern African
countries and
"further afield", as well as to the African Union over the
Zimbabwe
issue.
"We have been concerned about the deteriorating
economic
situation, where inflation has now reached 1 000%, and the
predictions are
it can get worse," he said.
Zim Independent
Shakeman Mugari
SOUTH
African-based Zimbabwean tycoon Mutumwa Mawere says his
business problems
were caused by a Zanu PF faction led by Emmerson Mnangagwa
after he tried to
block its front company, Smoothnest (Pvt) Ltd, from
securing a loan from
First Bank Corporation (FBC) in which he had an
interest.
In his first explanation of what went wrong between him and
Mnangagwa, who
was widely seen as his ally, Mawere this week said the
seizure of his
businesses started after he clashed with the Mnangagwa camp
over the
Smoothnest deal meant to raise funds for the Zanu PF national
conference in
Masvingo in December 2003.
He said he was punished for
opposing the release by FBC of $1
billion to Smoothnest for the purchase of
shares from a Zanu PF company, M&S
Investments, to raise party
funds.
Mawere, who last week accused the so-called Tsholotsho
group in
Zanu PF of instigating his woes, said the Mnangagwa faction reacted
with a
fierce backlash against him because Smoothnest was owned by ex-Labour
minister and Zanu-PF provincial chairman July Moyo and prominent lawyer
Edwin Manikai, seen as Mnangagwa's lieutenants.
Although
Manikai this week admitted he has an interest in
Smoothnest, he denied any
links to Mnangagwa's camp. Manikai said Mawere's
allegations were "sour
grapes".
"Mawere is unscrupulous, greedy and vicious. But
above all, he
is a loser, a very bad loser and a cry baby," Manikai said.
"Mawere has
messed himself up and is now blaming everyone for his problems.
I have
nothing against him but he must have a
conscience."
On the Smoothnest deal, Manikai said it was a
tired story
created by Mawere to try and get him into
trouble.
Documents obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent when
the
Smoothnest dispute erupted three years ago reveal that the company
applied
for a loan from FBC in October 2003 to purchase 23 million shares
owned by
M&S from the then listed Southern Africa Reinsurance Company
(Sare). Sare
has since been taken over by FBC.
M&S
Investments' stake in Sare was at that time worth about $500
million but
Smoothnest was offering to buy it at $875 million. The proceeds
from the
sale were used to finance the Zanu PF conference.
The
documents show that the loan was fast-tracked because of
Smoothnest's links
to Zanu PF. The FBC executive director at the time,
Mberikwazvo Chitambo,
wrote a strong supporting letter saying Smoothnest's
application should be
given priority because of its links to Moyo.
"The names
behind Smoothnest are Edwin Manikai and Mr (Patrice)
Dhliwayo recently
qualified as an engineer and man of straw," wrote
Chitambo. "Mr Dhliwayo
represents the interest of Minister July Moyo and
should be accorded that
priority."
Zim Independent
Pindai Dube
THE abduction case of
opposition MDC MP Abednico Bhebhe by
alleged Zanu PF supporters opened on
Wednesday at the Bulawayo provincial
magistrate's court, five years after
the incident was reported.
Giving evidence in court, Bhebhe,
MP for Nkayi, said he was
abducted in 2001 at Nkayi business centre by 10
war veterans who included
several Zanu PF supporters.
Bhebhe told the court that while he was refuelling his car at
the business
centre, two war veterans, identified only as Mhodi and Melusi
Ncube,
approached him holding a pickaxe and an axe respectively. He alleged
the two
knocked him down from behind and assaulted him until he was
unconscious. He
alleged they then abducted him and dragged him into the
bush.
"When the two got to me they said in Ndebele:
"Namhla
sikutholile usujayele" (today we got you) and they knocked me down
and
started assaulting me while I was on the ground. I became unconscious
and
they abducted me and dragged me into the bush," Bhebhe told the
court.
He said when he regained consciousness he stood up and
kicked
one of the assailants from behind, snatched the axe from one of them
before
they ran way.
After his assailants had escaped,
Bhebhe said he went to the
highway and a "Good Samaritan" gave him a lift to
Bulawayo where he reported
the case at central police station before he was
taken to United Bulawayo
Hospitals for treatment.
However, most of the accused in the case failed to turn up for
the hearing.
Only Ncube, who denied the charges, appeared in court.
A
police officer testified that when the MP made the report he
was soaked in
blood. The trial continues today with several witnesses
expected to testify
on Bhebhe's behalf.
Zim Independent
THE Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ)
has denied
claims by River Ranch Ltd that the two are in negotiations for
the sale of
diamonds worth more than US$1,5 million.
The
corporation through its lawyers Dube, Manikai & Hwacha also
said it
would maintain neutrality concerning the ownership dispute for the
Beitbridge based diamond mine between River Ranch Ltd and Bubye
Minerals.
The dispute between the two mining concerns dates
back to the
late 90s when Bubye Minerals was authorised to manage the mine
for purposes
of paying creditors when River Ranch went into voluntary
liquidation.
Bubye Minerals subsequently applied to the
Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development to have the special grant
registered in its name, which
was done. The decision did not go down well
with River Ranch, holder of the
special grant since 1992, claiming that it
had not been consulted.
The denial by the MMCZ follows
enquiries by Bubye Minerals on
the alleged negotiations following claims by
River Ranch that it had entered
negotiations with the MMCZ for the sale of
diamonds.
"We have now obtained our client's instructions on
issues raised
in your letter. Our client denies that it has entered into
negotiations for
the sale of 22 000 carats of diamonds from the mine," said
Dube, Manikai &
Hwacha acting for the MMCZ.
"Our
client has maintained its stance of neutrality in the
dispute between your
client and River Ranch Ltd throughout, in accordance
with the provisions of
the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe Act,"
the letter by the
lawyers said. The MMCZ lawyers also said their client
would observe the
terms of the High Court order of February 2 in which the
court reversed
Mines minister Amos Midzi's decision cancelling the cession
of the special
grant to Bubye Minerals. - Staff Writer.
Zim Independent
Reagan Mashavave
POOR remuneration
and lack of teaching resources are expected to
top the list of problems
affecting tertiary institutions currently being
visited by the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, the
Zimbabwe Independent has
established.
The committee, chaired by MDC legislator for
Seke, Fidelis
Mhashu, toured Midlands State University, Mkoba Teachers
College, Hillside
Teachers College, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic and
Bulawayo Polytechnic
and is expected to compile a report of its findings for
presentation to
parliament.
Although Mhashu refused to
disclose the team's findings, he
said: "We toured a number of colleges to
assess the situation on the
campuses and to get the side of students and
staff on the problems they are
facing. My committee is going to present a
report in parliament anytime from
now."
Issues likely to
top the list are poor staff salaries, lack of
teaching resources such as
computers, and textbooks, and failure by
government to release resources to
kick-start building projects that have
been on the drawing boards for many
years.
Midlands State University still operates without a
proper campus
while the construction of Lupane University in Matabeleland
North has yet to
start.
The tour was prompted by
widespread complaints from students and
parents after government raised fees
at tertiary institutions by more than
500% in February.
State grants to students fall far short of what they are
expected to pay as
tuition and accommodation fees.
Last week students at Bindura
University reportedly torched a
computer laboratory during a demonstration
against fees hike and the late
payments of grants.
Meanwhile the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) remained
resolute
that it would lead students to boycott lectures in protest against
high
fees, beginning Monday if the Minister of Higher and Tertiary
Education,
Stan Mudenge, doesn't review
them.
Zinasu president, Promise Mkwananzi, said: "We are
still
standing by our demands that government must review the hiked fees
with
immediate effect."
Zim Independent
AGRICULTURE minister Joseph Made's maize
production projection
has cast yet another dark cloud over government's
commitment to avert the
recurring food crisis.
Analysts
said Made's evidence to a parliamentary committee that
the crop forecast
stands at 1,8 million tonnes was misleading and would
create a false sense
of security beneficial to political mileage but
detrimental to resolving the
current food crisis.
"Misrepresentation of facts by some
government ministries with
the effect of misdirecting public opinion and
sentiment, which in turn,
creates a false sense of security, particularly in
the food and energy
sectors of the economy, has proven dangerous over the
past six years," one
analyst said
Made on Monday told
Parliament's Portfolio Committee on
Agriculture that crop forecasts
indicated that the grain harvest would
significantly improve compared to the
past three years.
Opposition MDC secretary for agriculture
Renson Gasela described
Made's projection as a
"pipe-dream".
"We know that there was only 30 000 tonnes of
maize seed
available for the 2005/6 season," he said. If all this seed had
been
planted, it would have covered 1 200 000 hectares.
"This would produce at best about 800 000 tonnes of maize. We
know that the
seed was too expensive for many farmers, so not all was
bought."
He said there was very little ammonium nitrate
fertiliser
available, resulting in a very poor crop in most
areas.
"There is no way we would have produced such maize
this year.
The best we are looking at is no more than 700 000 tonnes," he
said.
Justice for Agriculture (JAG) projected that this
year's harvest
would not exceed 750 000 tonnes.
"Made is
day dreaming," JAG chairman John Worsley-Worswick said.
"The
best we can achieve this year would be 750 000 tonnes. The
planting was done
late, then followed by too much rain, leaching the little
fertilisers
applied by very few farmers."
The United States Department of
Agriculture's Foreign
Agricultural Service estimated this year's harvest at
900 000 tonnes of the
staple maize crop, up from 550 000 tonnes last
year.
The Zimbabwe Grain Producers' Association, the
commodities body
of the Commercial Farmers' Union, said this year's harvest
will be higher
than that of 2005 but less than half the government's
projections. - Staff
Writer.
Zim Independent
Loughty Dube
THE Ministry of
Information has said it will soon summon the
Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe (BAZ) to explain why it has not issued
licences to private
broadcasters more than two years after being given a
mandate to do so, a
government official has said.
Deputy Information minister
Bright Matonga said in Bulawayo last
week he would summon BAZ officials to
ascertain why they had not issued any
operating licences.
BAZ has so far not issued anyone with a private broadcasting
licence despite
several advertisements inviting applications.
"The government
has no problems with opening the airwaves and we
will have to summon BAZ
soon to establish why they have not issued anyone
with a licence," Matonga
said.
BAZ was set up under the Broadcasting Services Act in
2002 to
regulate broadcasting services in the country by issuing licences to
new
players. This followed a Supreme Court ruling striking down ZBC's
monopoly.
However, Zimbabwe's electronic media is still a de
facto
monopoly dominated by the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings
(ZBH),
making the country the only one in the region without private
broadcasters.
In March, the Parliamentary Portfolio on
Transport and
Communications chairman Leo Mugabe expressed similar concerns
when he
visited Radio Dialogue studios in Bulawayo to find out the station's
preparedness for broadcasting.
Radio Dialogue is one of
the initiatives for a community radio
station and those behind the project
say they are ready to broadcast if
granted a licence.
Matonga said government would allow independent television and
radio
stations in the same way they gave permission to private
newspapers.
However, Matonga said government would not repeal
the repressive
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa)
which has been
used to shut down several independent
newspapers.
Matonga said the law had its good aspects that
journalists did
not fully appreciate.
"The problem is
that journalists complaining about Aippa have
never read the Act and they do
not know that Aippa has clauses which empower
them in accessing public
information," Matonga said.
"Last week I sent representations
to the Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists to come up with a paper outlining what
journalists are not happy
about in Aippa but I am yet to receive a response
on that," Matonga said.
Zim Independent
Augustine Mukaro
SENIOR Zanu PF
members and other beneficiaries of the land
reform are raking in billions of
dollars a month by leasing out farms to the
few remaining white commercial
farmers as corruption cases sprout in the
agricultural
sector.
Highly placed sources in the farming sector said many
of the
farmers still on the land had managed to do so by entering agreements
with
powerful individuals in the Zanu PF leadership to whom the farmers pay
"protection" fees.
During a tour of the eastern Lowveld,
members of the Lands,
Agriculture, Resettlement and Water Development
parliamentary portfolio
committee discovered that newly resettled farmers
had ceded their plots back
to the former owners for a
fee.
"The Lowveld scenario was a microcosm of the wider
national
picture in which senior ruling party and government officials
seized farms
only to rent them out," sources said this
week.
A Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) executive, who refused
to be
named, said ceding farms to influential people and paying protection
fees to
continue operating was a countrywide phenomenon.
"Most of the operating farmers have entered into private
arrangements with
the local party leadership to remain on the land," the
executive
said.
"The arrangements range from paying settlers for
grazing
pastures or going into partnership with the beneficiary. If it
wasn't for
such arrangements no white commercial farmers would still be
farming."
The executive said the CFU top leadership had not
been spared
the illicit deals resulting in some of them expanding their
business
operations.
In the Selous area settlers are
understood to have made
fortunes, charging farmers for harvesting hay from
their pieces of land.
Another such set-up was at Chikore farm
in Masvingo, where
provincial war veterans leader Isaiah Muzenda and his
colleagues struck a
deal with the Buchanan family to block Higher Education
minister Stan
Mudenge from taking over the farm.
Mudenge
has since been given an offer letter and occupied the
farm, forcing the
Buchanans to leave the country.
The move has caused serious
disgruntlement amongst war veterans
who had struck a deal with the owner of
the farm who in turn agreed to cede
part of the farm to them while he
retained the remainder. As part of the
agreement, the war veterans would
benefit from Buchanan's expertise in
horticulture.
Zim Independent
Loughty Dube
CONFIDENTIAL
documents, which include Zanu PF politburo minutes,
have emerged as the
contested centre piece of evidence in the case in which
former Information
minister Jonathan Moyo is suing two senior Zanu PF
officials for
defamation.
This is the first time confidential Zanu PF
documents have been
used as evidence in court. It is also the first time
that a party member has
testified against their incumbent chairman and other
senior officials.
The documents have set the parameters of
the battlefield and
both set of lawyers are fighting over them to gain an
upper hand in the
matter which has been playing in the Bulawayo High Court
for two weeks.
For the better part of the 10 days allocated
for the case by the
presiding judge, Justice Francis Bere, proceedings
revolved around the three
confidential party documents.
Moyo is suing Zanu PF national chairman John Nkomo and politburo
member
Dumiso Dabengwa for $2 billion each for alleged defamation after
accusing
them of telling a party meeting in Tsholotsho that he plotted a
coup to
topple President Mugabe from power in 2004.
The two
politicians deny ever making the remarks.
The first document
produced in court contained minutes of a
politburo meeting held on November
30 2004 at the Zanu PF headquarters in
Harare. Defence lawyer Francis
Chirimuuta quoted statements attributed to
Mugabe in the minutes in a bid to
prove that the Tsholotsho meeting was
illegal.
Moyo
reacted under cross examination from Chirimuuta, saying the
politburo
minutes were not a true record of what had transpired at the
meeting because
they were not signed and seconded by anyone.
Moyo further
said Mugabe's statements were not helpful because
they were made by an
interested party who was vying for a party position at
the
time.
There were also minutes of a Zanu PF central committee
meeting
held on December 1 2004 to ratify the amendment to the party
constitution to
insert the clause that one of the two ruling party second
secretaries and
vice-presidents should be a woman.
The
defence counsel produced the central committee minutes to
prove that the
manner in which the woman candidate issue was ratified was
constitutional.
However, Moyo refuted the minutes saying the process was
unconstitutional.
"The president is not the constitution
and in any case these
minutes were not availed to me since they were
released just before the
meeting which followed that I did not attend.
Minutes do not capture
everything that will be under discussion in any
meeting," Moyo said.
Witnesses who attended the January 12
2005 Tsholotsho meeting
where Nkomo and Dabengwa allegedly made the
defamatory statements against
Moyo said they were surprised that there were
any minutes at all.
"During the meeting you are referring to
there was no one taking
notes because there was a lot of commotion and I am
shocked that there are
minutes for this meeting," said Virginia Ndlovu, one
of the witnesses under
cross-examination from Chirimuuta.
Moyo fought a battle of wits in court with Chirimuuta as the
contest rose to
a climax.
"Your honour, the first defendant (Nkomo) says,
according to the
minutes recorded, he called the meeting because he was a
Tsholotsho homeboy
but he is not disclosing his real concern was events at
Dinyane (where the
alleged plot to oust Mugabe was hatched)," Moyo
said.
Chirimuuta contested Moyo's remarks, citing a paragraph
in the
minutes to show that the Zanu PF district coordinating committee
meeting
called on January 12 2005 was indeed a post-mortem of the Dinyane
meeting.
At one stage another witness, Jerome Ndlovu, angrily
retorted
that he had nothing to do with the minutes since he was in court to
testify
about what he saw.
Zim Independent
Itai Mushekwe
AN increasingly
insecure government currently shaken by the
prospect of looming opposition
mass protests, is contemplating coming up
with legislation to curb cyber
crime.
Transport and Communications minister Christopher
Mushohwe made
the revelation on Wednesday.
In a speech to
mark World Telecommunications Day read on his
behalf by acting permanent
secretary in the ministry, Jacob Gonese, Mushohwe
said the cyber security
legislation was relevant to Zimbabwe since "we are
connected to the global
information communications system".
Mushohwe said the move
was in line with the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), which has
been calling for global cyber
security since the year
2002.
"This year's theme serves to remind all ICT users of
the threats
that come with these new and expanding technologies," said
Mushohwe.
"As government we wish to involve all stakeholders
in
formulating consensus on the way forward in combating cyber crime. We
also
wish to include our parliament as there is need to come up with the
requisite legislation to combat cyber crime," he said.
Government has already tabled another controversial law, the
Interception of
Communications Bill. Under this legislation the state will
be empowered to
monitor and intercept Internet communications between
citizens.
Mushohwe said given the threats that are posed
to global
economies by cyber crime, there was need to devise contingent
measures to
combat this crime, including "coming up with relevant
legislation both for
internal use and to facilitate international
cooperation".
Zim Independent
Clemence Manyukwe
ATTORNEY-General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele has made an undertaking to
revisit the
case in which CIO operative, Joseph Mwale, is alleged to have
led a group of
Zanu PF supporters who murdered two aides of MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai in
the run-up to the 2000 general election.
The AG confirmed
receipt of a letter from Tsvangirai requesting
Mwale's
prosecution.
In an interview on Wednesday, Tsvangirai's
lawyer, Sheila
Jarvis, said Gula-Ndebele in a letter dated April 21 said "he
had noted the
contents of our letter and undertook to revert to us as soon
as he is able
to".
Jarvis said four days later they
received a letter from an
officer in the AG's office promising to respond to
Tsvangirai's letter.
The lawyer said she had a conversation
with the Director of
Public Prosecutions, Loice Matanda-Moyo, the same day
as part of
preparations by the AG's office to respond to Tsvangirai's
requests.
Mwale is accused of being the ringleader of a group
of Zanu PF
supporters accused of murdering the opposition leader's aides in
the run up
to the 2000 poll.
Tichaona Chiminya and Talent
Mabika were burnt to death at
Murambinda growth point while campaigning for
Tsvangirai in Buhera North,
later won by Zanu PF's Kenneth
Manyonda.
Last year three other accused persons in the case,
Webster
Gwama, Bernard Makuwe and Morris Cainos (alias Kitsiyatota), were
indicted
on two counts of murder but their trial has not
started.
In the letter to the AG concerning the case,
Tsvangirai warned
against the dangers of trying Mwale and the other three
accused persons
separately.
The letter said if there was
a split trial the AG "risks being
seen as bringing a token prosecution
calculated to confer future impunity by
facilitating acquittals rather than
ensure justice".
l In another case involving MDC activists,
two Zanu PF
supporters on Wednesday appeared in the High Court facing
allegations of
murdering an MDC supporter in Muzarabani five years
ago.
Chrispen Mutandwa, Michael Mandava and another accused
person
still on the run, Itai Chiname, are accused of fatally assaulting
Robson
Ticharima after fracturing his skull in March
2001.
According to the state outline, Ticharima went to Hoya
business
centre on March 4 wearing a T-shirt bearing the MDC
logo.
He had an argument with the three Zanu PF supporters
who fatally
assaulted him with logs and iron bars.
High
Court judge Tedious Karwi granted Mutandwa and Mandava $2
million bail
each.
In granting them bail, Karwi ordered the two not to
interfere
with a certain state witness and to report twice a week at their
nearest
police stations. Contacting the witness would see them being
"immediately
arrested", the judge said.
Justice Karwi
also postponed the case to a date within the
current High Court session to
be decided by the state.
The postponement was meant to
facilitate the location of certain
witnesses as well as Chiname.
Zim Independent
Shakeman Mugari
RESERVE Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has declared a
truce with the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) Holdings which
reacted angrily to his
allegations of mismanagement and sought to give an
uncomplimentary
presentation to cabinet indicting him, sources said this
week.
Businessdigest is informed that Gono, who blocked a
cabinet-sanctioned tariff increase by Zesa, saying the group was top-heavy,
mismanaged and wanted customers to pay for its bloated salaries bill, had
invited Zesa for talks over tariff increases.
The sources
said this week Gono's overtures to Zesa could end a
four-month battle that
was dragging in members of President Mugabe' cabinet
in a verbal
war.
Gono was understood to be seeking to iron out his
differences
with the Zesa Holdings board and its management.
Gono had earlier blocked Zesa's tariff review proposal to
cabinet arguing
that they would militate against his war on inflation.
A
source said the central bank wrote a letter to Zesa last week
inviting them
to an urgent meeting to discuss the tariff problem.
The
central bank also invited the Zimbabwe Electricity
Regulatory Commission, a
statutory board which regulates the power industry,
to be part of the
talks.
The talks started on Friday with the parties agreeing
to form a
committee to discuss their differences on tariff
increases.
A source who attended the meeting said the
committee would be
made up of representatives from the three
organisations.
"We met on Friday to discuss the sticking
issues. Basically it
was to iron out our differences," said the
source.
Businessdigest understands that the committee would
be made up
of four representatives from each
organisation.
"We agreed the findings of the committee would
feed into a joint
proposal to cabinet," said the source.
The committee has also been tasked to find a compromise between
the RBZ and
Zesa positions.
The findings would be presented once they
were complete.
In his presentation to cabinet which
culminated in the
obstruction of the tariff increases which they had
initially agreed to, Gono
censured Zesa for making consumers pay for its
inefficiency.
He accused Zesa of misleading cabinet into
awarding it a tariff
review, saying tariff increases were meant to fund
Zesa's bloated wage bill
which had been caused by the "superstructure"
created by its unbundling.
Cabinet then dismissed Zesa's
proposals for tariff increases on
the basis of Gono's presentation,
prompting a fierce brawl in which Zesa
management made counter accusations
against Gono, alleging he was
ill-informed about the utility's
operations.
Zesa demanded an audience with cabinet and two
weeks ago made
strong representations to Vice-President Joice Mujuru against
Gono, sources
indicated.
They said Gono had misled
cabinet into making the decision
barring Zesa from reviewing its
tariffs.
They said the governor had failed to appreciate the
operations
of the power industry and used uninformed arguments to block
their proposal.
The sources said Gono had sought dialogue
with Zesa in an effort
to avoid embarrassing exposures to
cabinet.
A source said after Zesa's presentation to Mujuru
two weeks ago,
the central bank had started making overtures to iron out its
differences
with the power utility.
Zim Independent
Dumisani Ndlela
ZIMBABWE'S biggest
banks are demanding the central bank re-price
all long-dated paper to avert
imminent bankruptcies because of costly
treasury bill (TB) portfolios,
businessdigest established this week.
The five major banks,
which control close to 90% of all deposits
in the financial services sector,
want Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor
Gideon Gono to re-price all
long-dated paper priced below 200% to at least
400% per
annum.
Documents shown to businessdigest indicate that the
bankers are
also demanding that TB instruments issued in October 2005 in
exchange for
reduced statutory reserves be liquidated, saying the policy
that introduced
them had been reversed.
Last week, the
Zimbabwe Independent reported that five
commercial banks - Standard
Chartered Bank, Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe,
Barclays Bank, Stanbic Bank,
and Zimbabwe Banking Corporation - were holding
huge TBs in their
portfolios, most of which had yields averaging 300%.
The TB
assets were financing borrowings at rates in excess of
850% under the
central bank's overnight accommodation facility, creating
huge gaps between
their financing costs and the cost of their assets.
This had
raised the risk of wiping out the banks' accumulated
capital at a time they
were expected to meet higher capital levels in excess
of $1 trillion by
September 30 this year.
Currently, the commercial banks'
capital requirements are pegged
at $100 billion per
institution.
The banks, speaking through the Bankers
Association of Zimbabwe,
said the 90-day TB rate was low at 525% and should
be increased to at least
700% in line with the accommodation
rate.
This, they said, would eliminate distortions currently
prevalent
on the market. The central bank, they said, should revert to the
old regime
when the TB rate was linked to the accommodation
rate.
"The statutory reserve ratio should not be higher than
what the
banks are allowed to retain of clients' deposit funds as this
creates a
mismatch in balance sheets," the bankers said.
Zim Independent
Tendai Mukandi
MULTINATIONAL oil firm
BP & Shell has closed down its blending
lubricants plant in the
Willowvale industrial area due to sustained foreign
currency shortages in
the country, businessdigest established this week.
The move
has resulted in over 40 workers being thrown out of
work, worsening the
unemployment situation in Zimbabwe which analysts say
already amounts to a
humanitarian disaster.
Corporate affairs manager, Rodrick
Kusano, confirmed that the
plant had been closed after making
losses.
But he downplayed the impact of the move, describing
the closure
as a rationalisation of "operations at the blending plant" by BP
& Shell "in
order to remain viable and be ready for any future upturn in
the business
environment".
"Blending of lubricants was no
longer viable due to market
changes and the critical shortage of foreign
currency," Kusano said.
"All the raw materials required to
manufacture oils and greases
for automotive industrial use are imported and
with the critical shortage of
foreign currency our plant has not operated
optimally for a long time hence
the rationalisation (process)," Kusano
said.
The closure of the blending plant is likely to add woes
to
industrial operations that relied on BP & Shell for the supply of
lubricants. They will have to scout for supplies from other suppliers in the
country who are themselves operating under severe constraints of raising
foreign currency from a starved market for imports.
Sources indicated that Triangle Estates, Hwange Colliery
Company,
Shabanie-Mashaba Mine, and Renco Mine, a RioZim subsidiary gold
mine, were
some of the key clients for BP & Shell's lubricants.
Sources revealed that only the Warehouse and the Liquid
Petroleum Gas
department which imports and distributes gas, have remained
operational at
the plant.
BP & Shell joins hundreds of other industrial
and business
operations that have closed shop or rationalised operations
over the past
six years due to foreign currency shortages and a host of
other economic
problems affecting the country's economy.
Zimbabwe is currently facing its worst economic crisis in
history,
characterised by fuel and power shortages caused mainly by an acute
shortage
of foreign currency.
Basis food commodities are also in short
supply, mainly due to
agrarian reforms under which the government
expropriated white-owned
farmlands for redistribution to landless black
peasants.
The reforms have been largely abused by ruling
party bigwigs,
who have parcelled out fertile land to themselves and their
cronies. The
land, however, has become derelict, plunging the country, once
the region's
bread basket, into a basket case.
Other
companies have relocated to more stable economies in
Botswana or South
Africa.
Kusano said 15 of the initial 58 workers have
remained at the
plant to coordinate the importation and distribution of
finished products.
"Currently the blending operations have
been suspended at this
plant and we will only be receiving finished products
for onward
distribution to our customers," he said.
Businessdigest understands that some workers were retrenched in
March and
given their packages following authorisation granted by the
Minister of
Labour and Social Welfare.
Kusano however said the company
had made arrangements to
minimise disruptions to customers.
Zim Independent
Shakeman Mugari
AIR Zimbabwe
(AirZim)'s restructuring exercise suffered a major
setback this week after
workers rejected a retrenchment package meant to
facilitate the unbundling
of the airline.
The workers have since threatened to block
the exercise unless
their demands are met.
Sources said
the restructuring exercise also ran into
difficulties after a key
consultant, Brian Maphosa, appointed to oversee the
process, left in a huff
last week after clashing with worker
representatives.
Businessdigest understands that Maphosa withdrew his services
last Friday
after being frustrated by workers who were protesting against
the
restructuring and the package.
It is understood that Maphosa
left the airline after he was
verbally abused last week by workers from the
engineering department which
is made up of artisans who are mostly war
veterans.
Sources said Maphosa was insulted by worker
representatives at
the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Tuesday
last week.
Board chairman Mike Bimha confirmed that Maphosa
had left but
said he was not aware of the reasons.
"Yes
he gave me his letter last week. I will be meeting him
today to discuss the
matter," Bimha said.
Trouble at AirZim started immediately
after the restructuring
process was announced early last
month.
The process involved the unbundling of the airline
into four
companies, but Bimha announced that the group's workforce would be
significantly trimmed.
Workers' organisations, which
include Zimbabwe Aircraft
Maintenance Engineers Association (Zamea),
National Air Workers Union (Nawu)
and Air Transporters Union (Atu) rejected
AirZim's offer.
The voluntary retrenchments are part of the
airline's efforts to
cut its bloated wage bill which has caused massive
losses.
AirZim had offered to pay a two-month severance
package plus
three months' salary instead of notice. It had also offered a
gratuity
package of a month's pay for every year served and three months of
medical
cover.
The workers have rejected the package.
They are demanding a
severance package of six months instead of two months.
They also insisted
that the gratuity package should be raised from one to
three months and the
medical cover increased to six
months.
There are now fears that AirZim could be forced into
compulsory
retrenchment to reach its target to lay off 360
workers.
"We have no problem with the unbundling, what we are
saying is
that the package is too small," said one of the workers'
representatives.
"We worked for them and we deserve to be rewarded. We got
the airline to
where it is now."
The worker
representatives are lobbying the Minister of
Transport and Communications,
Christopher Mushohwe, to block the
restructuring.
They
met Mushohwe last week to present their concerns.
However,
board member Luxon Zembe, who chairs the human
resources committee, said the
retrenchments would continue despite protests
from
workers.
He confirmed that some workers had sought the
support of senior
politicians to help them fight the
retrenchments.
"It is good that some workers are now feeling
the heat. We are
happy because we have said that those who are not
comfortable should leave,"
Zembe said.
"No amount of
political lobbying can stop this exercise. It was
approved by the cabinet
and everyone was involved," he said.
Zim Independent
By TD WaMzezethure
IT
was good to see and hear Colonel Samuel Muvuti on the
national broadcaster
as he spoke proudly about how the Grain Marketing Board
he heads lived up to
President Mugabe's call that no one would starve or die
from
hunger.
The same news item was aired on Sport FM during the
08:00hrs
news on May 2. Indeed, no one died (at least no known reported
cases) from
hunger as compared to Kenya where 60 people died from
hunger-induced deaths.
Said Muvuti: "Zimbabwe managed to
avert these dreadful deaths
because the GMB timeously delivered food to the
communities inspite of the
continued droughts that have been with us for
close to six or seven years."
Let the truth be said for once
even when it hurts.
Muvuti would know that the Ministry of
Labour entered into an
agreement with the World Food Programme (WFP) to feed
58 rural districts of
Zimbabwe.
At the end of April, the
WFP, together with other cooperating
partners that were carefully selected
jointly with the Ministry of Labour
were feeding close to four million
people.
In most districts the communities wanted the whole
ward
registered because the GMB deliveries had been erratic. Some
communities
would go for close to four months without taking delivery of
grain from the
GBM.
Household community surveillance
assessments showed these
statistics month in and month
out.
It is true no one died from hunger or starvation, but to
say it
was because of the timeous intervention by the GMB is a false
statement as
it fails to acknowledge complementary efforts of other
stakeholders such as
the WFP and the Consortium of Southern Africa Food
Emergency (C-safe).
We should give credit where it is due. We
worked together in
this and these agencies complemented the efforts of the
GMB and the
government of Zimbabwe. To single out the GMB as the sole pillar
and
champion in averting hunger is rather being selfish and an insult to
other
stakeholders.
Indeed, the retired colonel may be
quick to say he is not an
appointed spokesperson for other stakeholders, but
when we talk of food
security in Zimbabwe, there is no one-man band or
one-institution show.
I just wanted to put the record
straight and let the colonel
know that when they speak, we listen.
Zim Independent
Dumisani Ndlela
IN a short
satirical film, a cow urges a little pig to abandon
its ambition of becoming
a shepherd dog, informing the pig that its reason
for existence was to
provide meat when eventually slaughtered.
The perturbed pig,
which later emerges as a Pig of Destiny after
overcoming numerous hurdles,
is told by the cow, rather mockingly, to
console itself in the fact that in
this unkind world, it has to accept that
"the way things are, is the way
things are".
While this may not appear to have any relevance
to the economic
crisis in Zimbabwe, where millions seem to have accepted
"the way things
are", bankers have now taken the attitude of the pig in the
tale which
refuses to accept "the way things are" by taking on the Reserve
Bank.
They have rejected the notion that the Reserve Bank is
a "sacred
cow" - or indeed a "shepherd dog" - which should impose the "way
things are"
line on the financial services sector although they may not
necessarily
command the influence of the Pig of Destiny.
After months of prevarication, bankers have finally come out of
the closet
to warn of bank failures, particularly among the big players, if
the Reserve
Bank does not act on current monetary policies.
Last week,
the Zimbabwe Independent reported that each of the
five biggest banks had
been borrowing in excess of $1 trillion daily to
cover short positions since
February, incurring daily interest of over $20
billion.
This was against a background of high statutory reserve ratios
which were
forcing mainly commercial banks to pay out a large portion of
their deposits
to the central bank, leaving them with a paltry 70% available
for lending
but which was locked up in treasury bill (TB) instruments of one
form or
another.
Moreover, in its fight against inflation, the RBZ
has maintained
a tight monetary policy, with daily shortages of around $5
trillion.
This has forced banking institutions to compete for
deposits by
offering higher interest rates to depositors, with many
financial
institutions ending up in the lurch because their assets cannot
sustain such
high interest rates on deposits.
With
interest accrued on TBs only payable on maturity of the
money market
instruments, bankers say they are now tottering on the brink of
collapse
because they are paying interest expenses daily for their
borrowings through
the RBZ overnight window.
This was proving particularly
strenuous on long-dated paper.
With commercial banks now
expected to meet a capital base in
excess of $1 trillion by September 30
under a new regime linking capital
requirements to the US dollar, there are
fears this could hasten the
collapse of banks as capital accumulated so far
is being wiped out by the
huge interest expenses arising from daily
borrowings.
Independent economic consultant, John Robertson,
said the crisis
emanates from the fact that government had "captured cash
resources and
replaced them with paper" under a tight monetary policy
framework aimed at
fighting hyperinflation.
Bankers
allege that prevailing monetary policies, combined with
high inflation
levels, have created a host of problems threatening their
existence. The
annual inflation rate shot by 129,3 percentage points to 1
042,0% for April,
from 913,6% in March.
The RBZ has consistently raised its
accommodation rate in line
with rising inflation. The accommodation rate
currently stands at 850% and
875% for secured and unsecured lending
respectively.
Statutory reserves on demand and savings
deposits are currently
pegged at 60% and 45%
respectively.
Bankers say the most recent change in statutory
reserve ratio is
a reversal of a policy statement announced on October 20
last year, under
which the statutory reserve ratio then was accompanied by
the issuance of
180-day and 270-day TBs instead of funds being credited to
each bank's
position.
The new statutory reserve policy
has ignored the fact that banks
had been locked up in unattractive TBs under
the old policy. TBs issued
under the old policy should therefore have been
redeemed or liquidated, they
say.
Money market rates are
currently hovering around 500%. Bankers
contend that the high statutory
reserves have caused disintermediation in
two major ways.
Firstly, this is directly impacting on the banks themselves
which have to
cede 58% of all their deposits to the RBZ. This has limited
the amount of
funds available for lending.
Secondly, the resultant high
lending rates under the current
monetary regime have crowded out productive
sectors of the economy.
Capacity utilisation in industry,
bankers say, has largely been
low as a result, and there have been
redundancies across the manufacturing
sector, leading to high levels of
unemployment.
"The government is a victim of policies it
adopted in the past,"
says Robertson. "It has destroyed savings and is now
struggling to find
money."
Robertson says savings are
critical in promoting investment and
economic growth. Moreover, if
government had promoted savings through sound
economic policies, it could
easily borrow from the market without
necessarily raiding banks for funds
through the high statutory reserve
requirements.
Moreover, the latest policy militates against government's
pronounced
economic revival agenda under the recently launched National
Economic
Development Priority Programme (NEDPP).
The NEDPP, described
by the government as a joint economic
revival effort by government and the
private sector, is expected to create
economic stability within the next six
months.
Under the NEDPP, the government plans to mobilise
US$2,5 billion
within the next three months, boosting efforts to stabilise
the economy,
reduce inflation and increase agricultural
production.
The programme also aims to enhance savings and
trigger
investments inflows.
Gross national savings are
estimated at aound 10% of gross
domestic product (GDP). Economists say to
stimulate investment growth, gross
national savings should be upwards of 60%
of GDP.
But as a result of significant funds being tied up in
statutory
reserves, banks have not been able to mobilise savings because of
the costs
created under the new statutory reserve requirements and policies
related to
financial sector support for TB instruments.
"The seriously illiquid situation on the market is a crisis. The
RBZ has to
react to this. Everything should be done in moderation. Tightness
should not
amount to strangulation," says Robertson.
Zim Independent
IN its role as the arbiter of the financial sector,
regulator
and lender of last resort, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has
a direct
and central role to play in bank regulation. It is therefore
imperative to
assess comprehensively the impact that the RBZ's role, or more
specifically,
Gideon Gono's solidly solipsistic approach to bank regulation
continues to
have on the operation of banks in Zimbabwe.
An empirical evaluation of the way Gono, a political appointee
with patent
ambitions of higher political office, has sought to regulate
banks should
also provide insights into government's "thinking" in
formulating and
executing economic policy. This would be useful in assessing
the proper role
government should play in the economy, especially in seeking
to make the
banking system safe from calamities.
Attempts to regulate the
banking industry have been around for
as long as organised economic activity
has existed. History is replete with
accounts of banking crises, collapses,
triumphs, the role of banks in
financing wars, trade, industrialisation,
economic growth and development
and bank runs during depressions. In recent
times, banking regulation has
been formulated and championed by the approach
and recommendations of the
Basel Committee's influential views on the
subject. In Zimbabwe, the RBZ
has, most notably in the past two years,
sought to "regulate and control"
the banking industry. This is generally
seen as an attempt to "reform" the
industry, rid it of "undesirable
practices" in a bid to enhance its
contribution to stated goals of economic
recovery, presumably thereby
transforming it into an efficient, respectable
industry devoid of blemish.
A recent study of bank
regulations and its limitations has its
central theme inspired by James
Madison, who wrote: "If men were angels, no
government would be necessary.
If angels were to govern men, neither
external nor internal controls could
be necessary. In framing a government
which is to be administered by men
over men, the great difficulty lies in
this: you must first enable the
government to control the governed, and in
the next place oblige it to
control itself."
Economists generally refer to the difficulty
of getting
government to control itself as "regulatory failure". Gono would
have the
country believe that RBZ regulations governing banks are introduced
for good
and valid reasons and therefore well-intentioned. He would tell the
country
that the regulations will stem bank runs, prevent collapse and
protect
depositors and investors. The truth of the matter, however it may
appear, is
that they have all been introduced and are administered without
due
consideration for the risk of regulatory failure. Consequently, due to
the
occurrence of such failure, Gono's measures have worse consequences than
the
failings and potential dangers that they seek to
address.
Despite characteristically grandiose and far-fetched
claims to
the contrary, the jejune Gono has hardly been original in his
construction
of bank regulation. Instead, he has fashioned his approach not
on "home
grown solutions" but on two categories drawn from a number of
regulations
that are recommended in the Basel II banking regulations being
urged on
banks worldwide. The first of these requires banks to set aside a
certain
amount of capital as a reserve against losses, varying with risk.
The second
involves stronger supervisory powers to enable government
regulators to
scrutinise and discipline banks.
Having
borrowed from Basel II, Gono has then distorted the two
basic policy
objectives and shrouded them with personal fixations and
deep-seated
jealousy of entrepreneurs in the banking sector:
"Founder
shareholders, especially individuals, should be
prepared to dilute their
holdings and allow new shareholders to come in if
they do not have
resources," Gono said.
Never mind the fact that
indigenously-promoted banks are
basically defunct in view of the
unpredictable, arbitrary and deleteriously
brutal way they are treated by
the regulator. The solution to an impossible
working environment, according
to Gono, is to introduce new shareholders. He
gloats in his "monetary
policy" rantings, hammering the last nail into the
coffin now containing
entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe's financial sector: "We
trust the individual
shareholders would put interest of the institution
above personal vanities
as they chart the way forward."
As if this is not enough, or
just to be sure no indigenous
promoters of financial institutions survive
and stay submerged, he intones
further: "All banking institutions are
expected to maintain US dollar linked
minimum capital requirements with
effect from September 2006."
This is in a country with a host
of exchange rates. Only the
regulator can specify the exchange rate of his
choice at any time so that
"shareholders can top up the difference", that
is, he can move the goal
posts at will, never mind the horribly flawed basis
of the requirement in
this context. What is the basis for a US$10 million
capital requirement for
commercial banks, US$7,5 million for merchant banks,
finance houses and
building societies etc?
Whilst banks
struggle to fulfil the requirement for this
arbitrarily decided US$10
million capital base, Gono is busy hastening their
demise with his policy to
"mop up excess liquidity". Banks are subject to a
60% statutory reserve
requirement. This means that 60 cents in every dollar
deposited at a bank
has to be placed with RBZ at 0% interest. On clearing if
a bank is in
surplus, RBZ seizes that surplus and issues the bank with
two-year treasury
bills at 150%. Should the same bank be short the next day,
RBZ lends the
bank its own statutory reserves at 850% interest compounded
daily and takes
the treasury bills as security! The "in duplum" rule which
provides that
interest stops accumulating when unpaid interest equals unpaid
capital is
part of Zimbabwe law but is ignored by the RBZ.
A recently
compiled (published 2006), indeed the first
comprehensive global database of
bank regulations put together by Messrs
Barth, Caprio and Levine, spanning
150 countries with databases covering
1998-2003 reveals some remarkable
results. In the first instance, they found
that raising capital requirements
has no discernible impact on whether a
country had a more developed banking
sector (measured by the amount of
credit extended to private firms as a
proportion to GDP), had more efficient
banks (measured by net interest rate
margins and overheads) or was less
likely to experience a banking
crisis.
Less surprising, perhaps, given what is common
knowledge
regarding the deliberately distorted pattern of bank lending
especially
Public Sector Funds (PSF), ASPEF and other subsidised lending
extended
directly by the RBZ or routed via its preferred institutions,
notably CBZ
and Agribank, is the study's finding concerning the supervisory
powers of
bank regulators. Strengthening bank supervision was found to have,
at best,
neutral, otherwise a negative impact on banking development,
reduced bank
efficiency and increased the likelihood of
crisis.
According to the findings of this study, corruption
in bank
lending tends to be higher in countries with more heavy-handed
supervisors,
except in places with strong, independent legal systems, and
political
institutions. Harsh or simply brutal supervisory powers as in
Zimbabwe,
characterised as it is by weak governance, may invariably give
officials
more chance to help themselves. The authors of this study raise a
valid
concern in this regard: "The overriding message is that simply
strengthening
direct official oversight of banks may very well make things
worse, not
better, in the majority of countries."
Zimbabwe is not an exception, in case one was in any doubt!
What may not come as a surprise to the RBZ and other government
officers who
have been talking to the IMF and World Bank and is common
knowledge to some
bankers in Zimbabwe, is the study's finding and
confirmation that regulatory
policies that boost private sector monitoring
of banks tends to make banking
systems more developed, banks more efficient
and less crisis prone.
Monitoring by markets stresses transparency, full
disclosure of information
and private, dispersed ownership of banks. This
holds true even in countries
with poorly developed capital markets,
accounting standards and legal
systems.
However "well-intentioned" Gono's "protective
measures" may be,
they aggravate "moral hazard" by making savers less
careful about whom they
trust with their money. Savers then flock to
foreign-owned banks and
favoured banks such as CBZ despite glaring
incompetencies and mismanagement
which are masked by results based on
special favours from the RBZ. Locally
promoted banks are then all bunched
together and painted as unsound.
* The author is an
indigenous banker.
Zim Independent
Comment
WHEN the first edition of the Zimbabwe
Independent rolled off
the press on the evening of May 9 1996, few involved
in the project could
have imagined what a roller-coaster of a ride it was
going to be.
It has been a decade of highs and lows. Among
the highs has been
the experience of fulfilling our role as a public
watchdog - one that barks
where necessary! Among the lows has been our
vulnerability to state
vindictiveness.
One such low was
the abduction and torture of the late Mark
Chavunduka, then editor of our
sister paper, the Standard, and his chief
reporter Ray Choto in 1999 over a
story involving the military. That marked
the beginning of the state's
assault on press freedom where we were among
the main
targets.
President Mugabe went on state television to
threaten the
proprietors of the Independent and Standard following a plea by
the
judiciary for him to uphold the rule of law.
The
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act was a
direct product of
that episode. But the state is yet to account for its role
in the abduction
despite a judicial order to do so.
Three journalists at the
Independent were arrested and
incarcerated in early 2004 over a story about
Air Zimbabwe flying the
president to the Far East.
Air
Zimbabwe, we need to remind ourselves, is a publicly-owned
corporation and
therefore subject to media scrutiny in the public interest.
The episode represented a further abuse of power by an unpopular
and
delinquent regime.
We believe the press has a duty to
reinforce accountability,
especially in a society with a democratic deficit.
That is why so many of
our lead stories have been concerned with the misuse
of public funds: the
abuse of the War Victims Compensation Fund; the
hijacking of the VIP housing
scheme; murky deals in the Congo; and more
recently "mediagate", the
penetration of formerly independent newspapers by
the state's intelligence
arm in order to win hearts and minds for a
faltering government.
What these reports revealed was a
parasitic post-liberation
aristocracy feeding off the land. Who will expose
the chasm between the
claims of populist rhetoric and the reality on the
ground if we don't?
Certainly not an official media that massages the
presidential ego and lies
about the cause of the nation's
plight.
We argue that to cultivate a participatory democracy,
the public
must have access to a variety of views so they can make an
informed choice
at the ballot box. At present the only voice heard across
the land is Mugabe's.
US ambassador Christopher Dell made a
further point recently.
Without access to accurate figures, how can
investors assess the health of
an economy or determine who is profiting from
misrule? Murkiness suits rogue
regimes.
We are currently
being told to rally behind the latest panacea -
the New Economic Development
Priority Programme.
This is another bird that won't fly,
largely because it is run
by the same people who brought us all the other
alphabet-agency failures. We
have a duty to say so while at the same time
providing a platform for the
nation to articulate its vision of the future:
a democratic society with a
bold parliament, an honest public service, an
independent judiciary and
leaders who understand that Zimbabwe doesn't
belong to them.
Above all, to use Eddison Zvobgo's words, we
need to know on the
day the new president is sworn in, the exact date of his
departure.
The Independent has been "telling it like it is"
for 10 years
now. We have been happy to loan that phrase to others, but it
originates
here.
Despite fierce resistance from those
with an investment in the
sterile status quo, we intend to go on telling it
like it is for the next 10
years. That is the pledge we make to our readers
on our 10th anniversary.
Zim Independent
Candid Comment
By Joram Nyathi
WE
have been following with interest the twists and turns in the
ongoing MDC
saga. It is nothing to be proud of.
Come tomorrow, Morgan
Tsvangirai's faction will be battling it
out for the Budiriro seat. We still
don't understand what the party hopes to
achieve even if it wins the
constituency after it passed a resolution at its
congress in March not to
take part in future elections under current laws.
So far as I am aware, the
rules of engagement have not changed and still
favour Zanu
PF.
There is a cynical sense in which one is made to feel
that
rather than following any defined principle, the aim is to humiliate
the
Arthur Mutambara camp despite evidence now coming out that there was
more to
the MDC split than the senate election. Zanu PF is no longer the
enemy.
Thanks to a very illuminating report by Brian
Raftopoulos, I now
know more about the problems in the MDC than when I first
wrote in this
column earlier this year saying there was room for synergies
between the two
factions. There is none.
In an article
titled "Grubby patina of ethnicity" on March 3 I
expressed the view that
there was a lot of tribal innuendo in the attacks
against Mutambara's entry
into the MDC on the side of Gibson Sibanda. I said
then that he would have
to be "more than an ordinary man to withstand the
barrage of attacks and
make his decision abide" because there was a feeling
that he had "betrayed"
the people by joining the "wrong camp".
So far Mutambara has
stayed put and Raftopoulos has vindicated
my point about the tribal cancer
at the heart of political discourse in this
country.
He
reveals in his report that there was a firm position in the
MDC that nobody
should challenge Tsvangirai's presidency. Specifically,
there was an
unwritten caveat that whatever happens to the party, a Ndebele
should never
be its leader.
While President Mugabe was saying Tsvangirai
would "never ever"
rule Zimbabwe, the latter was also making his own vow
that no Ndebele should
ever lead the MDC.
It was in this
context, Raftopoulos's article reveals, that
Tsvangirai set up the infamous
parallel decision-making structure in the MDC
that came to be known as the
"kitchen cabinet" to override the decisions of
the management committee and
fight for Tsvangirai's presidency ahead of the
congress. It was this
parallel structure that used violent unemployed and
hungry youths to attack
party leaders who did not "toe the line".
Soon after this,
the leadership struggles in the MDC took on an
anti-intellectual dimension
in favour of those who did not question
Tsvangirai's decisions. At first it
manifested itself in the attacks against
former Information minister
Jonathan Moyo as the author of all the country's
problems. But soon it was
evident that the title of "professor" was being
used pejoratively to deride
anybody in the MDC who differed from the herd
mentality or opposed
mobocracy.
The senate debate came as a grand opportunity for
both Mugabe
and Tsvangirai - it enabled the former to deliver a coup de
grace to an MDC
already wrecked by internal leadership convulsions while the
latter took it
as a chance to get rid of those challenging his leadership
style.
This explains the "big lie" about a 50-50 vote in the
National
Executive Council on October 12. It explains the big lie about
Welshman
Ncube trying to sign a second Unity Accord with Zanu PF, and a
third big lie
about a plot to assassinate Tsvangirai by "our erstwhile
colleagues".
Tsvangirai was more than happy to see a divided
MDC so long as
he was able to keep his post. It is for these leadership
conflicts and party
militia that former MDC legal secretary David Coltart's
efforts at
reunification have been in vain. It is unfortunate that voters
are being fed
lies about what actually caused the MDC split. The senate
election was never
the reason. It was the excuse for the
break-up.
It is to Mutambara's credit that he has refused to
pander to
petty ethnic inclinations by those who have no solution to the
fight against
entrenched tyranny.
It is a pity that a
most promising project like the MDC has been
wrecked and the truth buried
under a sludge of lies after so many people
lost their lives or careers in
the hope of a better future. It is also a
pity that those purporting to
fight for democracy and the rule of law don't
want to be bound by the
same.
As the MDC fights itself in Budiriro this weekend we
are being
fed woolly explanations like proving "who is the legitimate" MDC
between the
two factions. What I find disappointing is that nobody says what
is in it
for the people of Budiriro who have been engaged in strife since
the date of
the by-election was announced. Beyond attempts to build a
personality cult,
there are no issues being raised.
Nobody is talking about skyrocketing rates and water charges or
the
uncollected garbage since Operation Murambatsvina this time last year.
Nobody is talking about school fees or medical charges. Long grass on road
verges is creating many blind spots for motorists while street lighting
belongs to a bygone era. How is the Budiriro seat going to solve these
problems that Zanu PF has evidently forgotten about? Yet people are happy to
support and pursue ethnic agendas. Perhaps the sages of yesteryear were
right after all - people get the government they deserve.
Zim Independent
Editor's Memo
MAGINE Standard Chartered Bank
writing a memo to Barclays Bank
Zimbabwe to say don't employ Jairos Simbi
without our permission. He is an
employee of ours. Or OK Zimbabwe making a
similar request to TM Zimbabwe for
the same reasons.
Or
at a different level, imagine all banks in Zimbabwe reaching
a memorandum of
understanding to give all their top employees a similar
salary so that there
is no staff mobility or competition.
I don't know what such a
cartel would be called or whether it is
legal. I have no doubt however that
there would be a major outcry from
official circles about big business
trying to penalise talent and to stifle
competition. What happens when
countries try to impose such conditions on
the movement of their
citizens?
There was a report in a local daily this week of
Sadc states
crafting a bond of slavery that would forbid the "stealing" of
talent from
member countries. This, it was claimed, would stop the brain
drain in the
region.
It is telling that such a protocol
will only apply in the Sadc
region where most of the leaders are under the
evil spell of the regime in
Harare. In Europe and America slavery was
abolished centuries ago and they
would be unlikely to accept its
reintroduction for professionals under some
fancy name.
Under the envisaged protocol, no Sadc member state will
"disadvantage"
another by "luring health professionals using economic
superiority".
Health minister David Parirenyatwa is said
to have endorsed this
fantasy because it would benefit Zimbabwe and other
Sadc states "against
South Africa and Botswana, which lead the list of
engaging doctors and
nurses from neighbours since they offer the highest
salaries".
Parirenyatwa said permission would be sought first
from the
applicant's government whether he can be employed. The government
then uses
its own discretion as to whom to clear and whom
not.
In its desperation to set new dubious records, the
Zimbabwean
government has been trying to come up with legislation that will
allow it to
seize citizens' passports, if such citizens are deemed to have
said
unflattering things about government.
It is not
clear whether they will want to use the same
iniquitous law to stop
Zimbabweans leaving the country to seek better
opportunities elsewhere for
themselves and their children as conditions here
continue to deteriorate
under a delinquent administration that wants to rule
by coercion instead of
persuasion.
Short of seizing passports, the protocol
obviously has no force
nor effect in the civilised world. In other words it
is only Sadc countries
that will miss the chance to share or transfer
skills.
The report didn't name the other colluding rogue
states. It is
also not clear whether South Africa and Botswana have endorsed
this patently
illegal protocol that seeks to tie health professionals to
unprofitable
employment in their mother countries in the name of stemming
the brain
drain.
The report did state that government has
in the past tried to
use the bonding system to retain skilled workers. It
failed.
The doctors and nurses have not been secretive about
what they
need. They want better salaries and improved working conditions.
They want
drugs and equipment to carry out their duties professionally. They
want to
be able to buy a decent house and to drive to work. They want to
give their
children a decent education and plan a better future for them.
Unfortunately, government has not been able to meet any of these basic
requirements.
It is not hard to find out what informs the
so-called Sadc
protocol on health professionals - the same mentality that
makes our leaders
believe everybody else is unpatriotic except
themselves.
Patriotic Zimbabweans are expected to endure a
life of
deprivation while politicians wallow in the lap of luxury because
they
brought us political independence.
Secondly,
government has not learnt a thing from the failed
bonding system - force
alone without incentives will not work. It is not for
lack of resources that
Zimbabwe cannot pay its professionals well. It is
incompetence and
misallocation of resources pure and simple.
If South Africa
and Botswana are able to pay more it is no more
than their appreciation of
the skills that our doctors and nurses possess.
But we treat them as if they
were no more than untrained labourers.
Parirenyatwa said it
didn't matter whether the doctors had
trained outside Zimbabwe. They should
return for their housemanship.
"They should have knowledge of
how the system works here," he
declared. It would be interesting to see how
many take up this patriotic
challenge given the threat of not being allowed
to leave the country again.
Zim Independent
Muckraker
SO Dr
David Parirenyatwa, having one of those delusional moments
that all
ministers appear to suffer from, thinks he can hold doctors
prisoner in
Zimbabwe.
A Sadc protocol states that no member state can
disadvantage
another by "stealing" its health workers. South Africa and
Botswana are
accused of using their "economic superiority" to "lure" our
medical staff
away. They will now have to seek permission before "stealing"
them.
Can you believe the simplistic thinking behind this?
Instead of
creating the conditions that reward medical staff and encourage
them to work
in this country, they will now be held captive and told they
cannot work
elsewhere in the region. This will simply channel the flow to
the UK and
elsewhere outside Sadc where their professionalism is
rewarded.
Sadc states have no business agreeing to measures
that abridge
the constitutional right of Zimbabwean health personnel to
freedom of
movement. And the step, like all the other misguided measures
aimed at
controlling the symptoms of misrule, will simply not succeed in
keeping
doctors and nurses locked up here. This is another attempt by the
government
to emulate King Canute in commanding the waves to recede. Dr
Parirenyatwa
should know better. How long ago was it that Zimbabwe was
attracting the
best staff the continent had to offer? There were no
complaints then.
Then, in the same edition of Monday's
Herald, we learn that
"deregulation of the oil sector pays off". But at the
same time, the
Minister of Education is busy regulating fees in the
private-schools sector.
Is there any policy coherence
here?
Further evidence of ministerial delusionalism comes
from Joseph
Made who claims that the national beef herd has declined
significantly over
the past four years due to successive droughts and
foot-and-mouth disease.
In other words, it has nothing to do
with farm invasions and the
wholesale slaughter of cattle that
followed?
Improved harvests in the 2005/6 farming season
would boost
confidence in the beef and dairy sectors, Made
claimed.
Will the owners of Zengea Farm which houses the Red
Dane Dairy,
occupied by a Zanu PF MP recently, agree that confidence has
been boosted?
The MP's invading gangsters have taken over the butchery and
occupied the
butchery manager's house. Didymus Mutasa signed the offer
letter, we gather.
Again, what is the policy here? What
climate of predictability
has been established by this attack upon a
productive business that served
the national interest? The National Economic
Development Priority Programme
(NEDPP) depends upon investment for its
success. Who in their right mind
would invest in dairy production after this
episode?
The Sunday Mail carried what must represent the
most delusional
lead story to date on how inflation was "set to
tumble".
You could hear the laughter across the land. None of
the
"experts" cited in the heading actually said any such thing. That's
because
there isn't a single credible economist who would put his name to
such a
claim. And it is all based on NEDPP being a panacea plus "a good
summer
harvest".
Inflation-drivers such as power and fuel
shortages and the
scarcity of forex are all being addressed, we are
told.
"NEDPP has been designed to respond to these challenges
and
already there are signs that a turnaround is in prospect," the Sunday
Mail,
in best Pollyanna mode, assured its readers.
The
story was supported by an editorial which sought to "explode
the whole myth
about inflation figures". Don't panic, we are told. It was
expected that the
figures would keep shooting up until Zimbabwe began to
reap the fruit of
efforts that are being made to stimulate the economy.
"The
figures are a reflection of the fact that Zimbabwe is under
siege," the
Sunday Mail said. "Once productivity reaches the required levels
things will
start to change."
Claims that Zimbabwe's levels of inflation
were catastrophic for
a country that was not at war were "a big lie", the
Mail said. "Zimbabwe is
at war!"
"It is in the middle of
an economic war. Zimbabwe is under
sanctions."
Indeed,
the country is under siege - by its rulers. The most
damaging sanctions are
not those preventing this government from borrowing
from the IMF. Why should
it anyway be dependent upon an organisation the
president has described as
an enemy? No, the most damaging sanctions are
those imposed by a regime that
has sabotaged commercial agriculture, printed
money to buy its way out of an
inflationary fix, alienated investors by
seizing property protected by
bilateral agreements, threatened to seize
mines and other businesses,
manipulated elections, and preached a gospel of
intolerance and hate towards
civil society and the opposition.
The state media, that
has played a prominent role in trying to
justify this misrule, now pretends
that all our problems, including
four-digit inflation, stem from the fact
that Britain and the US have cut
lines of credit.
In
other words, newspapers that should be telling the truth
about the state of
the economy, are lying to their readers not only about
the cause of the
problem but also its likely outcome.
"It is amazing how much
capacity we have to generate electricity
internally which is not being fully
exploited, and once authorities get on
top of the situation inflation will
take a knock," the Mail said.
Since when have the authorities
ever got on top of the
situation? And when was this extra capacity first
noticed?
It won't be long before a smile returns to the faces
of
Zimbabweans, the paper's editorial concluded.
This is
sunshine journalism run riot. The Sunday Mail should
stop behaving like Mark
Twain's character, the little girl who saw
everything through rose-tinted
spectacles. Newspapers shouldn't be in the
business of deception. There is
no recovery around the corner because those
currently mismanaging the
economy couldn't find their way out of a paper
bag, let alone around any
corner. Ask Herbert Murerwa. We have no doubt he
would provide an honest
answer on the prospects for recovery if approached
for
comment.
But how much disclosure can we expect from a
newspaper that
repeatedly quotes Swedish ambassador Sten Rylander as saying
Western
sanctions were hurting ordinary people when he has publicly denied
saying
any such thing? He did say however that the distortion of his remarks
in the
state press made bridge-building very difficult.
And how long can we go on calling the various crises we are
experiencing
"challenges"? We can understand ministers, in the business of
dissembling,
describing the collapse of the rule of law, economic decline
and 1 000%
inflation as "challenges". But even businessmen who don't want to
cause
offence in official circles now refer to the "challenges" the country
faces.
Should they not be calling a spade a spade? These challenges are,
after all,
entirely man-made.
Our prize for this week goes to Fungai
Mutseyekwa,
vice-president of the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, who
was quoted as
saying the theme of this year's HAZ Indaba was informed by
"the challenging
economic challenges" facing our country.
"Rather than continue in a state of what someone called
'analysis
paralysis'," he said, "we felt that congress this year should be
used as an
opportunity to discuss solutions."
Admittedly, the challenges
repetition could have been the work
of a sloppy sub-editor. But what HAZ
appears not to recognise is that the
only solution to our problems is to get
the boulder out of the road. Only
when the obstacle is removed can
organisations like HAZ get down to
exploring their theme of "Great ideas for
hospitality revival". Until then -
as in agriculture, mining and
manufacturing - there will be no revival, and
the sooner people understand
this the better.
It appears the lie about land reform
being a tool of empowerment
is beginning to unravel. The Herald reports that
over 423 880 children of
school going age are engaged as labourers on the
farms.
The Central Statistical Office attributed this to
"general
poverty and economic hardships". The children out of school
represent almost
16% of the child population in the
country.
The CSO said most of the children working as
labourers should
have been at school but their parents can't afford the fees
and other costs.
Topping the list of delinquent provinces is
Mashonaland Central
with 21% of children who never attend school, followed
by Manicaland at 18%.
In a way all this proves one thing that
we have been saying:
that all the claimed gains of Independence about free
education and free
health are being systematically reversed by an
incompetent regime that can
never get its priorities right. If people had
been empowered through land
reform they should find it easy to send their
children to school. Instead we
have more dropouts now than at any other time
recorded. Add to this lost
generation, the victims of on-farm displacements
and those made homeless by
Operation Murambatsvina and you have a disaster
in the making.
In another country such shocking revelations
would force the
minister to resign. In Zimbabwe nothing is too shameful to
countenance.
Muckraker was struck by a number of
statements made by officials
in the wake of Benjamin Paradza's reported
application for refugee status in
New Zealand.
First we
had George Charamba making silly remarks about New
Zealand being one of
Britain's overseas territories.
"It's a known fact," he
claimed, that it was "part of the
British establishment".
Known only to him, it would seem. New Zealand has been an
independent
sovereign state since 1907. It formulates its own immigration
policy and
Britain has no say in it. Wouldn't it be better for government
spokesmen to
simply describe New Zealand's action as "unfortunate" rather
than advertise
their ignorance at the same time?
Then we had police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena saying Paradza
should return to face "the wrath
of the law".
He needs reminding that the law should be
impartial, not
"wrathful". It is precisely because the public see the
Zimbabwe
law-enforcement system as "wrathful" on behalf of a vengeful state
that so
many people become refugees when they would in
a fair
process have no case to answer.
The Herald report referred to
Paradza's claims that he would be
punished for making a series of judgements
"in defiance of government's
wishes". The Herald helpfully inserted the
following: "However, many
judgements have been passed against the Zimbabwean
government by judges in
both the High Court and the Supreme Court and
nothing sinister has happened
to them afterwards."
Would
former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay share this view? And
what about Justice
Fergus Blackie? Judges have been hounded off the bench by
this regime and
that is a fact the international community will take into
account when
granting asylum or formulating its response to Zimbabwe's pleas
for
bridge-building.
The Sunday Mirror carried an interesting
comment on Zanu PF's
slogan about land being the economy and vice versa.
Apparently those who
took over Zimbabwe's commercial farms have not
converted them into a viable
economic resource.
The paper
said those who took over the land "were selling the
country down the river".
They lacked commitment, willpower and drive, the
paper
said.
In a rare moment of truth-telling, the Mirror pointed
out: "They
took over the farms when the previous farmers had already sown,
and they
reaped lucratively. But when it came to sowing on their own, the
riches they
had envied and envisioned would be theirs until thy kingdom come
could not
materialise without hard work."
In fact the
party is not over yet. There are reports that orange
estates are being
plundered in the Mazowe area while Triangle and Hippo
Valley Estates which
supply sugar are being reduced to tiny plots that can't
meet national
requirements, let alone exports.
It's time to call a spade by
its name - it's only a matter of
time before most of these greedy looters
desert those farms that they have
laid waste.
Zim Independent
By Eric
Bloch
RECENTLY there has been some talk by upper echelons of government
that
reconciliation between those parted by the great Zimbabwean divide
should be
sought.
Already, a few months ago, Vice-President Joseph
Msika was publicly
advocating reconciliation and cooperation between former
white commercial
farmers and new farmers. In doing so, he recognised that
facilitation of
return to the land by the former commercial farmers was a
prerequisite for
any reconciliation.
Regrettably, however, as was
clearly evidenced by statements by President
Robert Mugabe, Minister of
State for Land and Security Didymus Mutasa and
Agriculture minister Joseph
Made, Msika was, at that time, almost a lone
voice in the wilderness. He was
supported only by the dynamic and courageous
calls of the governor of the
Reserve Bank, Gideon Gono, for such
reconciliation, for cessation of farm
invasions, belated respect for
bilateral investment protection agreements
and collaborative agriculture
between peoples of all races.
In fact,
the responsible ministers continued to spew out vitriol against
white
commercial farmers, and to condone unreservedly disregard for law and
order
in rural areas. But recently their statements have been more muted and
moderated, and some tentative prospects of a partial white return to the
lands, and of constructive interaction between farmers of all races,
hand-in-hand with government, seem possibly to be
developing.
However, as some farm invasions are still occurring, without
hindrance, it
remains to be seen whether there is genuinely a move towards
reconciliation
and working together, or whether once again Zimbabwe is
witnessing
substance-less, opaque words, without actions.
Then, a
fortnight ago, Mugabe advocated reconciliation when he was
delivering a
landmark address in Malawi. He spoke out strongly for the need
for
reconciliation between blacks and whites, and within the global
communities.
Compared to his many previously very aggressive and
confrontational verbal
attacks upon whites, the European Union in general,
and United Kingdom in
particular, the USA, the International Monetary Fund
and others, his Malawi
address was conciliatory and suggestive of a genuine
desire for détente,
provided attainment did not embrace subjugation or
denigration, and would
ensure continuance of, and respect for, Zimbabwean
sovereignty.
Because his words were so much at variance with that
which he has said very
often, including as recently as in his Independence
Day speech on April 18,
it was inevitable that many viewed his call for
reconciliation with some
scepticism or, at the least, had a stance of
non-acceptance and disbelief
until the words are matched by
actions.
Then on May 9 at the Europe Day reception hosted by Xavier
Marchal, head of
the European Union Commission delegation to Zimbabwe, a
remarkable
reciprocal expression of desire for reconciliation was expressed.
The
reception's host spoke eruditely of the very extensive support accorded
to
Zimbabwe by the European Union ever since Zimbabwe's Independence in
1980,
and continuing to the present time.
He authoritatively "put the
lie" to the oft repeated Zimbabwean allegation
that the EU has imposed
economic sanctions upon Zimbabwe, and that such
sanctions are a major
underlying cause of Zimbabwe's economic distress.
While unashamedly
acknowledging that the EU has imposed "targeted sanctions
upon those in the
hierarchy of government and the ruling party, Zanu PF,
inclusive of a travel
ban and a freezing of their assets", he
authoritatively refuted contentions
of economic sanctions.
Admittedly, the EU has imposed prohibitions upon
the supply of armaments,
and has partially suspended cooperation assistance
under the European
Development Fund, but nevertheless trade relations have
not been affected,
and the EU remains a strong trading partner of
Zimbabwe.
Moreover, in 2005 alone, the EU funded projects to an extent of
70 million
euro. (Between 1980 and 2005 total funding provided by the EU
approximated
1,2 billion euro.) The expenditure in 2005 included 18,5
million euro on
health and education projects, 22 million euro of food aid,
via the World
Food Programme, 15 million euro on humanitarian assistance in
food security,
water and sanitation, mobile and vulnerable populations,
orphans and other
vulnerable children, and a variety of other support
programmes.
Proof that the EU is not waging economic sanctions include
that in 2005
Zimbabwe exports to the EU approximated 391 million euro, while
imports from
the EU approximated 130 million euro, yielding Zimbabwe a trade
surplus of
approximately 261 million euro. If only Zimbabwe had similar
"economic
sanctions" with numerous other trade blocs and countries, it would
have an
extraordinarily virile and resilient economy!
But that has
not deterred government and the state-controlled media from
continuing their
recurrent contentions that the straitened Zimbabwean
economic circumstance
is due, to a significant degree, to economic
sanctions.
As recently
as three weeks ago, in its National Economic Development
Priority Programme,
government correctly states that "the Zimbabwe economy
has been experiencing
serious economic challenges" and other negative
circumstances, but said
these were including "international economic
sanctions by Western
countries".
The unending reiteration of this fallacious claim, in order
to suggest that
the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy is not homemade, is
not conducive of
the reconciliatory environment which government now claims
to desire.
Nevertheless, it was very heartening to witness, at the Europe
Day
reception, the reciprocally expressed desires for a harmoniously created
reconciliation between the EU and Zimbabwe. In his welcoming his guests,
Marchal said that although relationships between Zimbabwe and the EU had
deteriorated, it was very possible that, with hard work and meaningful
dialogue, strong ties could be restored.
Marchal noted that, only six
months ago, Zimbabwe had signed the revised
text of the Cotonou Partnership
Agreement, which evidences its desire to
revive virile relationships with
the EU. He said "with hard work, in the
framework of meaningful dialogue on
issues of content, we can eventually
move towards better mutual
understanding, with the view to re-establishing
full and prosperous
relations".
Responding to these remarks,and proposing a toast to the EU
and its
president, Foreign Affairs secretary Joey Bimha was also
constructive and
conciliatory. Acknowledging that the relations between
Zimbabwe and the EU
were not as strong today as they had been when Zimbabwe
became independent,
he stated that "this is a sad development, but a
challenge which your
organisation and my country are facing with increasing
determination to
re-establish the strong relationship we once
enjoyed".
Bimha continued: "Zimbabwe is always ready to engage the
European Union as
long as dialogue is carried out with the mutual
understanding and
appreciation of each other's views. Zimbabwe has set no
preconditions, no
benchmarks. We only wish to be engaged in a manner that
respects the
sovereignty of the people of Zimbabwe."
On the one hand,
the vibes that emanate from the statements from Msika,
Mugabe, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and others augur well that a change
of perspectives and
attitudes is setting the groundwork for major
international reconciliations
and economic development and recovery.
On the other hand, past trends
necessarily create a concern that the
governmental perceptions of respect
for sovereignty include that none should
challenge abuses of human rights,
disregard for the fundamentals of
democracy, contempt for the principles of
justice and equity, and
contemptuous rejection of the key elements of
democracy, and of equitable
preservation of law and order.
Hopefully,
this is not the case, and the governmental expressions of a
desire for
reconciliation with the international community are founded upon
willingness
for a genuine change in policies, failing which all the talk of
reconciliation will prove to be a mirage.
Start with mess at Town House
AS both a worker and resident
of the city of Harare, I feel it's
time all city employees and ratepayers
voiced concern over the misfortune
that has befallen our capital city amid
platitudes by commissioners
concerning its wage bill vis-a-vis its
revenue.
If unattended, this issue might bleed the city dry
because the
commissioners are playing tricks, leading both the government
and ratepayers
to view the city worker as a cruel, gluttonous burden
threatening the city's
survival.
Yet the truth is that
the commissioners themselves are a
relentless cabal used by politicians to
milk Town House of the fruits of
labour of the men and women who strive to
make Harare the Sunshine City it
used to be.
Problems of
the wage bill will never end as long as government
makes half-hearted
efforts in sorting out the mess at Town House.
Government has
not been bold enough in forcing whoever is
appointed or elected city father
to recognise that first and foremost, the
ratepayer is
king.
The city employee must be taken care of by way of a
better
salary, allowances and other benefits.
Government
must not allow commissioners to do according to their
bidding in running the
city's affairs, especially where the workers'
salaries are abused to fund
their projects, while they falsely assure
government that council has set
aside enough funds for salary adjustments
and is waiting for union members
to come to the negotiating table to seal
the deal.
These
commissioners are "playing casino" with workers' money.
This is not Las
Vegas. They should give the worker his dues.
Since the year
2000, no council has worked for the betterment of
the city. I am yet to come
across someone who speaks good of any council in
the intervening
period.
The major preoccupation for the commissioners in this
millennium
is lining their pockets. When government chooses eminent people
to shore up
the image of the capital city, these people misinterpret the
trust for an
opportunity to enrich themselves.
Government
must ensure that the commissioners work in line with
their job descriptions,
or risk bleeding the fiscus by those whose scorn for
the city worker is
appalling.
Perhaps our commissioners need a little motivation
from what
former United States president, Abraham Lincoln, once said: "...
you cannot
help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer, you cannot
keep out of
trouble by spending more than your income, you cannot establish
security on
borrowed money..."
If they cannot interpret
these wise words, then the
anti-corruption team must visit Town House to
interpret the law of the land
on corruption.
It is my
hope that they think of the workers' plight with their
hearts rather than
their heads.
The Vulcan,
Harare.
--------
A meeting with Arthur
evinces a better verdict
IT is not often that
Zimbabweans are spoiled by
politicians who take their chances to engage them
directly,
eye-ball-to-eye-ball, talking straight the way Arthur Mutambara,
president
of the MDC pro-senate faction, did in London on May
9.
Those interested in numbers were not disappointed,
it was
a full house.
Much has been covered in the
media about Mutambara, but
one has got to see him in person to make a better
judgement of the man.
When Mutambara and his delegation
comprising Welshman
Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga arrived at the
venue in Wood
Green, it was apparent they knew that the gathering was
expecting them to
articulate issues, so they refrained from sloganeering and
singing.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga highlighted the dilemma
the MDC
encountered after the infamous October 12 national council
meeting.
She expressed her disgust at how Morgan
Tsvangirai had
made reference to the possibility that the party could split
because of the
decision he was going to take on the way forward in respect
of the senate
election.
She appealed for Solomonic
wisdom in solving the issue of
their differences with the Tsvangirai-led
MDC.
Ncube conceded no one was perfect in the MDC
dilemma, but
added that lack of accountability and transparency in the way
Tsvangirai was
operating had reached unacceptable
levels.
He made reference to investigations by the MDC
into
alleged violence perpetrated against party members and flouting of
their
founding principles and values.
He said it
was increasingly getting difficult to point out
the wrongs without being
labelled a sell-out, Zanu PF sympathiser or a
tribalist.
Ncube said it was becoming impossible to
hold Tsvangirai
to account without risking the wrath of rogue youths at
Harvest House who
have access to party resources, thus making them
susceptible to abuse, given
their economic
vulnerability.
Ncube's position could thus be summed
up: "You can't run
with the hare and hunt with the hounds
indefinitely."
Mutambara urged Zimbabweans to stand up
and be counted. He
told the gathering: "Zimbabwe is in a crisis that
requires generational
intervention. A new generation of Zimbabweans must
step up to the plate and
be counted. History will never absolve them if they
do not rise to the
challenge."
Mutambara asserted
that there was enough space for
everyone in his party and encouraged the
gathering to "join my brother
Morgan Tsvangirai if you wish or Zanu PF if
that is where you find
resonance, but the 'do nothing' years are
over".
Mutambara said diasporans had a role to play in
the
development of their country by leveraging their remittances, expertise
and
networks.
Mutambara said people should
challenge politicians over
content of their change agenda and called for
consultations to strengthen
and sustain the resultant
change.
After discussions with other Zimbabweans who
attended the
meeting, I was persuaded to think that breaking up could be a
healthy sign
of growth, and out of splits emerge great
parties.
Msekiwa Makwanya,
UK.
---------
Tsvangirai =
Mugabe
THE letter by Frank Matandirotya, "Education is
out of it
Arthur!" (Zimbabwe Independent, May 12), cannot go
unchallenged.
Tell me brother, do you support Morgan
Tsvangirai because
you believe he can lead Zimbabwe out of its current
crisis? Or you support
him because some seven or so years ago he was the
only alternative in
opposition?
Do you really trust
Tsvangirai with the state machinery,
especially after what he demonstrated
with his youth militia?
He even lied to both the local
and international media
about the outcome of the vote to decide whether the
party should participate
in the senate election.
People should declare their interests. Why have there been
attempts to
change the MDC constitution to concentrate power in Tsvangirai?
An unchecked
presidency is dangerous.
If you ask me brother,
together with other Zimbabweans, I'll
tell you this: Tsvangirai =
Mugabe.
When Mugabe was campaigning for the 1980
elections,
everyone had hope, look where he has led us
to.
The same thing can be said of Tsvangirai. He is
good today
because we believe he will reduce inflation to 10%. Wait until he
gets to
power.
The other mistake we make is being
intolerant of
disagreements in a national party like the
MDC.
We allow politicians to play the tribal card on us
and
fail to hold our leaders to account.
Politics
is about conflict; conflict of opinions over
power, resources,
etc.
Conflict, disagreements and presidential checks
within the
MDC were some of the reasons why we supported the party. With
presidential
checks and disagreements, it is easy for people to tell their
president:
enough is enough, you can go now!
Look
at the leadership crisis in Zanu PF where divergent
opinions and
presidential checks are taboo. Look at old men like
Vice-President Joseph
Msika, Emmerson Mnangagwa, John Nkomo, among others,
being reduced to
boys.
Deep down they know Mugabe is a liability, but
can they
say it? Scared aren't they? That's going to be the situation in the
MDC.
Tendai Biti, Tapiwa Mashakada, Fidelis Mhashu and
Thokozani Khupe, among others, will be boys and girls who will not dare
challenge Tsvangirai.
There is need for us to
change the way we approach
leadership. Leaders should be held to account and
not be treated like
demi-gods. If you are to ask me who amadoda isibili
(real men) were in the
MDC prior to the split, I will mention Job Sikhala,
Welshman Ncube - yes
Welshman - Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Trudy
Stevenson, etc.
As for people like Biti, Mashakada,
Mhashu, Khupe, etc,
they are weaklings. They are what I would call
"yes-men".
We need British-style democracy where MPs
and politicians
can tell their party leader that enough is
enough.
Ncube, Sikhala, and their other colleagues'
crime was that
they dared challenge an authoritarian
leader.
I tell you if "Tsvangison" was president, these
guys would
be living in exile by now.
Tsvangirai
supporters can boast of numbers, but what
substance are they supporting? Are
they sure they are not supporting another
Mugabe in the
making?
My challenge to the anti-senate guys is: don't
just be
followers, hold your leader to account.
They should desist from playing the tribal card for it
will backfire.
Slowly, Arthur Mutambara is gaining ground and we are waiting
for the
promised mass action.
Tiny
Murefu,
Harare.
--------
Joseph Made never ceases to
amaze
AGRICULTURE minister Joseph Made is at it
again!
How he manages to project a bumper harvest of
1,8 million
metric tonnes of maize is beyond me.
Year-in year-out, inputs have been inadequate, abused or
distributed well
into the agricultural season. Good rains alone can never
constitute a good
harvest.
I hope people will recall the "helicopter"
assessments of
recent years.
Joseph
Mhlanga,
Ireland.
------
Tsvangirai protege 'out of
race'
THE contest for the control of Budiriro is
between MDC
pro-senate candidate Gabriel Chaibva and Zanu PF's Jeremiah
Bvirindi in the
by-election due tomorrow.
Morgan
Tsvangirai as a bogus MDC leader can make all the
noise in Budiriro in his
efforts to shore up Emmanuel Chisvuure who is one
of the most-hated youth
leaders in Budiriro.
Chisvuure tried in vain to block
the late Gilbert Shoko
from representing the constituency and the latter
died a very bitter man.
Now Tsvangirai has imposed the same Chisvuure who
caused sorrow and
suffering to Shoko's family.
Chaibva has properties in Budiriro registered in his name
while Chisvuure is
a lodger who does not own anything in the suburb.
The
MDC pro-senate faction is not going to hold rallies in
Budiriro for the
benefit of our supporters.
As a party born out of a
struggle and guided by democratic
principles, the electoral route is our
Plan A, and we will not give away the
Budiriro seat to either Tsvangirai or
Robert Mugabe.
We have spoken to real voters on the
voters' roll in
Budiriro, not street kids and people from outside the suburb
who have been
attending Tsvangirai's rallies.
We
are very confident that Chaibva is going to win the
Budiriro by-election,
judging from the people's response.
The people of
Budiriro will vote for a politically mature
and experienced MP who has seen
it all like Chaibva. Chisvuure has
terrorised the people of Budiriro in
typical Zanu PF style with Tsvangirai's
blessings.
Kurauone
Chihwayi,
Harare.
Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Jag
Wild Brushes is a loose knit of group of primarily wildlife and
landscape
artists who come together once a year to raise funds for the
preservation of
our wildlife. This year we are proposing to
help:
1) Mana Pools National Park where Norman Monks is struggling
to
maintain the park and its facilities, plus he has an ongoing
fascinating
collared lion project:
2) Hwange which has huge problems
as a lot of the water is pumped to
the pans, and these pumps have fallen into
dis-repair. Money to be channeled
through Johny Rodrigues and his Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force set up ;
3) Save valley Black Rhino. Run by
Raoul Du Toit who is funded
primarily by the WWF, the rhino have transmitters
put in their horns and are
monitored 24hrs a day. Some 300 rhino are involved
, and breeding success is
high.Everone can rest assured that the money goes
nowhere near parks itself
, or any government agency.
We are holding
an exhibition and auction on the 24th May at Borrowdale
Brooke and featured
artists are Sheena Chadwick; Ant Fynn;Sarah Fynn;Margi
Grobbelaar; Delene
Lambert; Sue Jarvis; Narina Nel ; and Nigel Saunders . We
will be taking
on-line bids up to 1800 hrs on 23rd May. The top on-line bid
will be the
reserve price for the live auction night on 24th May. Some
outstanding
paintings are being put up and I would be very grateful if you
could
circulate this to your members so that, if interested, they can get
hold of
us at fynn@zol.co.zw from where we can send
them images of the
paintings, size, medium, Etc. If they would like to be
represented at the
live auction I suggest they liaise with John Worswick cell
no 011610073 as
their nominee.
Many thanks for any help you can
give,
Regards,
Ant
Fynn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of
the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 20 April 2006
Handyman Wanted
IS THERE AN EX FARMER WHO
IS A HANDYMAN - I HAVE SEVERAL SMALL JOBS TO BE
DONE AROUND THE
HOUSE?
PLEASE CONTACT MRS. D"Elia 303056 or email
sherrols@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
ADMIN AND LOGISTICS CO-ORDINATOR
We are a
young, dynamic & rapidly growing organisation focussing on
the
facilitation of short-term mission teams working in Southern & East
Africa.
This position would involve all of the associated logistics and
bookings for
inbound teams. A suitable candidate will be a committed
Christian, Microsoft
office literate, gifted administrator, financially
literate. Offices in
Harare, competitive salary offered. Contact barry@africanencounter.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
WANTED
ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER - ANTELOPE
PARK, GWERU, LION REHABILITATION
PROGRAM
This position would involve
assisting the Project Manager to manage all
volunteer operations.
The
position is unique in that you would have the opportunity to work with
a
variety of people from around the world who have come to work in Africa
and
want first hand experience in Conservation. You will be chosen for
this
position because of your enthusiasm and passion for this project as well
as
other skills needed to ensure that this remains one of the most
successful
volunteer programs in the world. For more information please
email
sarah@africanencounter.org please
send
CV.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
SITUATION VACANT
Dairy Manager Wanted - for
medium size dairy on mixed farm in Midlands.
Must have some dairy
experience. Be hard working and responsible. Good
package and accommodation
offered to a suitable candidate.
Send C.V. to P.O. Box 805, Gweru or Tel
054-229020 or Cell
011607611.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
Wanted
Zambia: Short term opportunity in
August
I need an experienced surveyor to peg out contours on about 800 ha
of
existing arable land and supervise the grading of these contours. Might
suit
ex-farmer or retired consultant who would like a few weeks break in
Zambia.
Must have lots of contouring experience.
Free meals and
accommodation plus fee of USD50/day.
The farm Lwimba Ranch is 60km east of
Lusaka.
Phone Keith Clubb at 0027 11 4477477 or email details to kclubb@polka.co.za.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
Bookkeeper Wanted
"GROUP BOOK KEEPER wanted as
soon as possible
The right candidate must have experience using the Pastel
accounting
package; must be able to work under pressure.
Competitive
salary offered to the right person.
Please apply to evelyn@furnitureman.co.zw with your
cv and
references."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
Vacancy
The bakery located in Sam Levy's
village Borrowdale is looking for a
Manager.
The ideal person should
be an energetic lady with knowledge of cake
preparation and good managerial
skills.
Please call: 851 729 or 091 775544 / 011
607045
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN CHIMOIO
MOCAMBIQUE
POSITION ONE
" Immediate vacancy exists for an
experienced FLEET MANAGER at our Chimoio
factory. The incumbent must have
traceable references and preferably a
working knowledge of Shona or
Portuguese. The company runs over 40 vehicles
throughout central Mocambique.
Units from 30 ton to pick ups mainly Mercedes
Benz and Freightliner.Expat
terms and conditions apply. Pse contact the MD
Mr Euan Kay DECA Lda, on +258
820697840"
POSITION TWO
Immediate opportunity for a fully
qualified Mercedes Benz Truck mechanic
exists at our Chimoio factory.
Incumbent must have extensive experience on
Merc trucks 2636, 2626, 1017 and
Unimog. Knowledge of Century class
Freightliners and Toyota Hino would be an
advantage. This position will
involve extensive travel throughout central
Mocambique on breakdowns.
Only applicants with traceable references and
genuine Mercedes experience
will be considered. Expat package
applies.
Contact Mr Euan Kay
DECA Lda
Phone +258
820697840
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 11 May 2006
FOOD & BEVERAGES MANAGER
Lodge @ Kariba
(base) and Safari camps around Karoi, Makuti areas. Will
involve quite a lot
of travelling on dirt roads, so clean drivers license
required. Suit
responsible single gentleman experienced in this field (min.
2yrs) with good
traceable references, who can work under pressure.
Send application & CV
to: townsend@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 11 May 2006
VACANCY - QUALIFIED & EXPERIENCED DIESEL
MECHANIC
Two vacancies exist for qualified and experienced motor
mechanics,
preferably with considerable experience in diesel engines,
especially Land
Cruisers. We offer a negotiable salary, accommodation, lights
and water.
The company is based approximately 170 km from Bulawayo and
comprises of
various farming departments and a Safari Company with camps
based around
Zimbabwe, to which the successful incumbents may be required to
visit from
time to time.
For more information contact call (016) 596
or (016) 318 during office
hours. Interested parties can send CV via email
to tshafari@mweb.co.zw or
by fax to
(016)
256
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 18 May 2006
Wanted
We URGENTLY require 2-3 Montessori
trained and qualified pre-school and
primary level teachers with a B.Ed or
similar qualifications for our school
in Yellowknife, NWT which is located
1500 kms north of Edmonton, Alberta
here in Canada.
Experienced
individuals willing to relocate to Canada on 3-5 year work visas
are welcome
to apply. In addition, they should be able to obtain police
clearances from
their countries and with Interpol. A medical exam will
also be required. The
cost of these clearances will be borne by the
individual. We also require
traceable, recent references with contactable
telephone numbers and emails of
the referees. The selected individuals
should also be ready to travel to
Canada this September to start work when
the new school year starts. Travel
costs to Yellowknife, will be paid by the
individuals concerned.
The
Montessori School will apply for a 3-5 year Canadian work visa for
successful
candidates, who will be required to sign 3-5 year contracts with
the School.
There are also excellent opportunities for self-development and
growth, as
well as a lifetime experience in Canada's fastest growing region,
due to
diamond mining, natural gas and oil.
Interested individuals should send
their resumes, via email to: eso@unw.ca
OR chakarukobo@yahoo.com
BEFORE 30th
May 2006.
NB: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY OR OTHER CONSIDERATION. THIS
IS NOT A
SOLICITATION FOR
FUNDS.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 18 May 2006
Wanted Primary School Teacher
We are urgently
in need of an experienced Primary School Teacher to teach
our eight-year-old
daughter, in Bulawayo. We need to start with the private
tutor as soon as
possible, please contact us on Tel: 241489/241490 or Cell:
091387423 or fergs@netconnect.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employment
Sought
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 20 April 2006
Employment Sought
Very knowlegeable and
experienced ex-commercial agricultural representative
with farming experience
in Zimbabwe and Mozambique seeks position,
preferably external, Mozambique or
further afield. Contact Stu Taylor Odzi
2288 (0204), cell 091 - 650997, or
(Mozambique)
00258-8240407490.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 11 May 2006
Employment Sought
"Personal Assistant with
good shorthand (minutes) available either
permanent/temporary/mornings.
Please phone Vera Smith on 776135 (home) or
746812 (daughter - Kirsten).
E-mail: verajean@zol.co.zw.
Available
immediately".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 18 May 2006
Employment Sought
I am an ex Zimbabwean
farmer living in the UK and want to return to Africa
to farm. I am married
and have children and am looking for a farm-managing
job any where in Africa.
I have 7 years experience in Tobacco, maize, seed
maize, paprika, beef
cattle, dairy cattle and pigs. If anyone might be
interested in employing me
please contact me on the following.
chontelle@cdewet.wanadoo.co.uk
Bradley de
Wet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 18 May 2006
FIX IT MAN
For any small electrical, plumbing
repairs and general odd jobs around the
house/property, please call Charlie
091209883
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 18 May 2006
Employment Sought
Michael (Aged 19). Looking
for a well paid job (preferably Mozambique) and
is willing to give it his all
if given the right employment opportunity,
with any company that is willing
to take him on and train him as to how it
would best suit the companies
needs.
Previous employment experience includes, Trainee Motor Mechanic
& Panel
Beater, Sales Rep for Painting
Company, Sales Rep &
Managing Tyre Company in absence of Manager, Salesman
&
Storekeeper.
He is a hard worker, fast learning, social,
independent,
motivated, and willing to learn. He is currently unemployed and
it is a
necessity for him to find employment as soon as
possible.
Please contact Mrs J Pieters using the following
details:
Cell No - 091 371 041
Work Tel - (020) 63934 [8am to 5pm]
Home
Tel - (020) 61027 [After Hours]
E-mail - jpieters@border.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 18 May 2006)