LOOTING of basic commodities reminiscent of the bloody
food riots of 1998, rocked the hotbeds of Glen View and Budiriro high
density suburbs in Harare yesterday, leaving a trail of destruction
estimated at millions of dollars, as angry mobs vandalised property and
barricaded roads. A tense atmosphere gripped the two suburbs as hordes of
people swarmed streets with those interviewed by The Daily Mirror blaming
residents' opposition to the demolition of illegal shacks and removal of
vendors from undesignated public places for sparking the
disturbances. The police, as part of the clean up exercise had gone to the
high density areas to destroy what they called illegal structures, but
immediately after the uniformed forces left, residents went wild and
embarked on an orgy of violence. The main artery leading into the two
suburbs, Willowvale Road, was barricaded by boulders and vehicle wreckages,
forcing some residents to disembark from the few commuter omnibuses and walk
the remaining distance back home. The situation resembled a war zone
with agitated people on roadsides warning motorists to divert because it was
dangerous to proceed. Robots at the intersection of Willowvale and High Glen
roads were not spared either. This reporter saw destroyed traffic lights,
while some telephone lines in the two areas were pulled down. Billowing
smoke from burnt shacks resembled a war torn area. At Tichagarika Shopping
Centre, looters broke into OK Supermarket and made off with an assortment of
groceries whose value could not immediately be established. "The whole of
Glen View was here. This is a protest. food and even beer was looted. Zanu
PF, MDC and NAGG supporters were all involved, they are fighting back. They
hit back soon after police had destroyed the vegetable markets," a resident
who requested anonymity said. "People have been driven to the edge by the
destruction of their stalls that were the major sources of their
livelihood. The campaign (to destroy illegal structures and activities) is
being put to the test," he added. Other shops in the vicinity were not
spared. In Glen View, incensed crowds attempted to torch the local council
offices after downing the fence and shattered windows. The community hall
and a nearby TelOne station were also stoned. A security guard at the
municipal precinct said a home made "petrol bomb" was thrown into one of the
office blocks, forcing the occupants to fire warning shots which sent the
angry mob scurrying for cover. In Budiriro, a service station was destroyed
and looters grabbed whatever foodstuffs they could lay their hands
on. According to residents the police started destroying the illegal
structures in Glen View 1 at around 4am yesterday. "It's unfortunate that
the police are now all over this place. From the previous disturbances we
know that they will beat up everyone tonight, but some of us were not
involved," said a citizen who declined to be named. By about 4pm law
enforcement agents in police vehicles could be seen patrolling the
residential areas, force-marching people rounded up to remove barricades
from the roads. About two hours later, police convoys were seen heading into
the troubled areas. Police spokesperson Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka could
not be reached for comment late last night, while his boss Assistant
Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said he was off duty.
THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) and the government are at loggerheads over the composition of
delegates to attend the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference
on June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland. The labour body is alleging government,
through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, had
selected its own delegates and not the usual ZCTU bosses. The labour body
says: "It has come to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)'s
attention that the government of Zimbabwe in its attempt to muzzle trade
unionism in Zimbabwe and in particular the ZCTU, have through the Ministry
of labour, selected their own people from the ZCTU to represent labour at the
forth coming ILO conference. "The Ministry of labour is trying to coerce the
ZCTU second vice president, Elias Mlotshwa to attend the Conference as a
delegate and Edmund Ruzive, the third vice president as the adviser against
the usual labour delegation which normally consists of Lovemore Matombo, the
ZCTU President and Wellington Chibebe the Secretary General." The labour
body vowed to fight the government over the issue. "The ZCTU would therefore
not agree to such trickery from government especially the exertion of
Mlotshwa to immense pressure to agree to go against the resolutions of the
ZCTU General Council that Matombo and Chibebe attend the conference on
behalf of the organisation," the ZCU said. It claimed the government move
smacked of sinister motives to get an opportunity for a public relations
platform at the conference without any major input from the labour
delegation from Zimbabwe. "This can happen if Matombo and Chibebe are not
accredited as delegates to the Conference," declared the labour body. The
permanent Secretary in the Labour Ministry, Lancaster Musaka said it was
impossible for Matombo and Chibebe to attend the said conference. "As you
are aware they are fighting among themselves with some members of the ZCTU
calling for Chibebe and Matombo to step down. How can they then go when some
members are saying they no longer hold office?" Musaka questioned. He
stressed it was impossible for Matombo and Chibebe to now represent the ZCTU
at the conference. "It is impossible for them to represent the ZCTU. The
General Council of the labour body met and resolved that a body of inquiry
be set to investigate Matombo and Chibebe. "Mtlotshwa is the second vice
president in the ZCTU. Logically he is the one who is supposed to go there
because of his non involvement in what is currently taking place in the
union," Musaka said. All has not been well between the ZCTU and some of its
affiliates, a dispute that has since spilled into the courts. Early this
month, the ZCTU led by Matombo and Chibebe obtained a peace order from the
magistrates' court against two rebelling affiliates, the Zimbabwe Leather
Shoes and Allied Workers Union and the Construction and Allied Workers Union
of Zimbabwe. The ZCTU alleged some members from the two affiliates had
disrupted its meeting and assaulted Chibebe, Mativenga among other members
aligned to the Matombo leadership.
VICE
President Joyce Mujuru has been dragged to the Supreme Court for the first
time since her inauguration last year, among other parliamentarians, by
jailed former MDC Chimanimani legislator Roy Bennett. Bennet's constitutional
challenge is expected to be heard in the superior court today. Mujuru was
cited as a respondent alongside former Parliamentary Speaker Emmerson
Mnangagwa, Minister Paul Mangwana, Chief Jonathan Mangwende, MDC secretary
general Welshman Ncube, the opposition shadow finance minister Tendai Biti
and the Attorney General in the constitutional challenge. The seven were
members of a Parliamentary Privileges Committee, that found Bennett guilty
of contempt of the august House after he floored Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa during a heated debate on the Stock Theft Bill on May 18 last
year. Bennett was on October 28 2004 sentenced to 15 months in jail, of which
three months were suspended by Parliament. According to court papers
filed by Bennett with the Supreme Court, the former parliamentarian argues
that the proceedings of the privileges committee are inconsistent with
provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The court papers read in part:
"This matter concerns the constitutional validity of the proceedings in
terms of which the applicant was convicted by Parliament and sentenced to 15
months' imprisonment arising from a decision by the majority of Parliament
that one of its members, the applicant, was guilty of contempt. The majority
of Parliament thereupon sentenced the applicant to 15 months' imprisonment
with hard labour, three months of which were suspended to certain
conditions."The provisions of the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of
Parliament Act ("the Act") in terms of which the proceedings purported to
take place." Bennett's argument is premised on the grounds that the
composition of the committee that recommended his incarceration was
improper. He is arguing that the composition and the attitude of the
committee vic+iated its decision because it gave rise to reasonable
apprehension of bias and interest in the cause and alternatively a violation
of the his fundamental right not to be discriminated against by virtue of
his race and political affiliation. "The composition and proceedings of
the committee and parliament were not in accordance with the principles of
natural justice and did not amount to the required fair hearing before an
impartial tribunal," read Bennett's heads of argument. "A majority of
the committee members were from the majority party (Zanu PF), meaning that
it was biased, or at the very least reasonably perceived as biased against
applicant. "A reasonable perception of bias, of course, suffice to
invalidate. He claimed that Parliament convicted and sentenced him on party
lines. "The majority party was the complainant in this matter and yet
controlled the charging, investigating, conviction and sentencing process.
"The members of the majority party who sentenced and convicted the applicant
had a direct and substantial interest in the matter. "In each of these
respects, the committee and/or Parliament breached the applicant's right to
fair hearing," read the court papers. Bennett further argues that the
sentence imposed on him was grossly unreasonable and amounted to cruelty and
inhuman punishment. Read the court papers: ". the applicant was convicted of,
essentially, common assault. In most circumstances, a prison term of 15
months with labour would be grossly excessive for such a crime. Indeed the
severity of the sentence strongly suggests that it was retributive - indeed,
vindictive - in nature. "We must of course recognise that common
assault within the walls of Parliament is of course more serious than
outside Parliament. Parliament's dignity must be protected. However, it ought
to have been borne in mind by the sentencing bodies that, to paraphrase the
Musa dicta (supra), "Parliament dignity is not enhanced, let alone
preserved, by an apparently over reactive drive to punish the
contemptor". Further, Bennett argues that the sentence did not take into
consideration that he acted in "the heat of the moment" and in response to
severe provocation. ". the imprisonment of the applicant did not only
result in his loss of freedom. It also resulted in the members of his
constituency losing their lawfully and democratically elected representative
in Parliament. Imprisoning a member of Parliament for contempt is in
conflict with the principles of representative democracy because it is a
punishment which is calculated to penalise not only the member in contempt,
but also his or her party and the member of the electorate who voted for the
member and who are entitled to be represented," the papers said. Bennett
wants the Supreme Court to declare with cost the proceedings of the
parliamentary committee to be inconsistent with the Constitution of Zimbabwe
and invalid.
Inter-ministerial committee on indigenisation
formed
issue date :2005-May-25
The Zimbabwe government has
established an Inter-ministerial Committee on Indigenous Empowerment to
spearhead implementation of indigenisation of all sectors of the economy, an
official said on Wednesday. Indigenisation and Empowerment Ministry permanent
secretary, Ozias Hove said the Committee was established last month and
comprises six ministers assisted by a working party of officials. Hove
said members of the Committee included Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Minister, Sithembiso Nyoni, Finance Minister, Hebert Murerwa,
Economic Development Minister, Rugare Gumbo, Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, and Policy Implementation
Minister, Webster Shamu with Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister,
retired Air Marshall Josiah Tungamirai chairing the body. "The minister
has since written to other ministers in government advising them of the
Committee and requesting them to report on the status of indigenisation in
their sectors," said Hove. He said his ministry wanted to know the extent of
indigenisation in the various sectors of the economy to assist in the
implementation of the Indigenisation Policy. The government approved the
Indigenisation Policy in October last year and launched it in November the
same year, he said. Hove said although Zimbabwe had large amounts of
empowerment funds in place, the desired result had not been achieved because
of lack of coordination. Organisations such as the Small and Medium
Enterprises Development Corporation, National Investment Trust, Zimbabwe
Development Bank, Agricultural Bank were created to assist indigenous people
enter the mainstream economy, he said. Others like the Affirmative Action
Group, Women in Business, Zimbabwe Taxi Operators Association, Small Scale
Miners Association, Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Farmers
Union and the Zimbabwe Micro-Lenders Association catered for particular
groups of people. "Establishment of a National Empowerment Fund is part and
parcel of the thrust of the Indigenisation Policy to expand the pool of
funds," said Hove. An Empowerment Bill had since been drafted and was
expected to be presented before the first session of the Sixth Parliament of
Zimbabwe due to start sitting on June 28 this year, he said. The Bill
would enable the ministry to enforce the requirement for a 50 percent
indigenous shareholding in every business. Indigenisation of the Zimbabwean
economy has been achieved in a number of sectors including agriculture,
finance, telecommunications, construction, sports and culture while much
still needs to be done in mining, energy, tourism and manufacturing.
Widow lives in bush after politically motivated
eviction
The Daily Mirror Reporter issue date :2005-May-25
A
WIDOW from Sebatwe Resettlement area in Manicaland, Gaudencia Nyahotsi, was
reportedly evicted from her A1 farm in February this year by suspected Zanu
PF supporters after her son was seen in MDC regalia during the countdown to
the March general elections. The MDC losing candidate for Mutasa North where
the resettlement area falls under, Evelyn Masaiti, said suspected Zanu PF
supporters forcibly removed Nyahotsi and her family from their home. She
said Nyahotsi and her siblings have been living in the open since the
eviction as punishment that her son Munyaradzi Mafondokoto sympathised with
the opposition party. "I went there myself and saw her at a bushy area.
Her property was destroyed during the rain season and since then they (Zanu
PF supporters) have been threatening her son with death. She is living in
conditions unsuitable for human habitation," she said. According to
Nyahotsi, the ruling party supporters led by a councillor (name supplied)
met twice on February 4 and agreed to evict the poor family because
Munyaradzi was putting on MDC T-shirts. A woman who attended the "meetings"
but asked to remain anonymous said: "Two meetings took place in the area and
it was agreed that Nyahotsi should be evicted from the area. As we are
speaking, her property has been destroyed by rain since she was evicted
during the rain season." Although Zanu PF Manicaland province acting
chairperson Shadreck Chipanga said he was unaware of the incident, he
quickly pointed out that Nyahotsi's case might be peddled by people out to
tarnish the image of the ruling party. "I am not aware of such an
incident and for your own information there are people who want to tarnish
the ruling party's image for their selfish gains. However, we will take the
matter seriously and I will send people to the area because Zanu PF is not
associated with such deeds," he said. Since their eviction in February, the
Nyahotsi family settled at a bushy area in Mangosho farm near London Stores
before Masaiti found them accommodation in Mutare. The former MP, who
played the role of a philanthropist, declined to give the exact place where
the family now resided citing security concerns. Masaiti said the ruling
party was now on a "retribution exercise to root out" suspected MDC
supporters. "We found accommodation for the family somewhere in Mutare, but I
can't give you the location because of her safety. It's a fact that the
ruling party is intimidating our supporters and punishing them out for
voting for the opposition," she said.
The United States'
Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell has said his country was prepared to
assist Zimbabwe with food aid to alleviate food shortages in the country
caused by drought. Speaking to journalists soon after meeting Vice President
Joyce Mujuru at her Munhumutapa offices, Dell said the US would assist
Zimbabwe if requested to do so. "My government is prepared to provide
food aid to Zimbabwe to alleviate the food shortages, should the Zimbabwean
government make the request," Dell said. He said the US had pledged not
to politicise food aid not only in Zimbabwe but also in any other
country. On another issue, Dell said the US looked forward to continued
cooperation with Zimbabwe in the social services sector, particularly in the
area of HIV and Aids. "We have played a very big role in the fight
against HIV and Aids in Zimbabwe, and it is one area which will continue to
see greater co-operation between our governments," he said. Meanwhile,
three other envoys from China, Kuwait and India also paid courtesy calls on
Vice President Mujuru during which they reviewed bilateral relations with
Zimbabwe. "We talked about our relations with Zimbabwe," Kuwait Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Saud Faisal Al-Daweesh said. India's Ambassador, Ajit Kumar,
congratulated VP Mujuru on her appointment as the country's first female
Vice President. He said they discussed bilateral relations and how the two
countries could further enhance the relations under the spirit of the
South-South co-operation. Kumar said India enjoyed good economic ties
with Zimbabwe and had a number of investments in the country, particularly
in the pharmaceutical industry. "We want to continue to be partners in
development as we are both developing countries," he said. China's
Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhiang Xianyi, said his country and Zimbabwe
co-operated in various fields, including the water sector. Mujuru was
Minister of Water and Rural Resources before she was elected to the
presidium and President Mugabe appointed her his vice in government. Her
elevation saw the ruling party almost torn apart as other senior members
jostled for the same position. The campaign to occupy positions in the
presidium saw party stalwarts clandestinely meeting to map the way
forward, but eventually Mujuru ruled the roost while six provincial
chairpersons were booted out of Zanu PF for
undermining authority. Xianyi said China would continue to assist Zimbabwe
in the construction of dams and boreholes to promote irrigation and boost
agricultural production. -New Ziana/Mirror Reporter
THE food security situation in
Zimbabwe's urban areas has worsened, the Famine Early Warning Systems
Network (FEWSNET) has said in a recent report. The network attributed the
situation to failed yields, shortages of basic commodities, escalating costs
of goods available and foreign currency shortages. It said at this time
of the year, parallel market prices of staple grain commodity normally
decline in response to improved supply from the harvest, but this year the
expected fall in prices has not occurred, and instead prices continue to
increase throughout the country. "Food security in urban areas continues to
worsen. Price increases have been recorded for a number of basic
commodities on both the formal and informal markets during the month of
April 2005. "A shortage of basic commodities, such as cooking oil, sugar,
milk, wheat flour and cheaper-grade maize meal, re-emerged at the beginning
of April 2005. Consumers may be able to get some of these commodities on
the parallel markets, but only at exorbitant prices. The price increases
have continuously drained the meagre disposable income of the poor urban
households," said the report. The report added that according to figures
monitored by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) for March, the cost of
the monthly basket for a low income urban household of six increased by nine
percent from $1 945 080 the previous month to $2 123 121. It added that
rural households in parts of Mashonaland provinces, Manicaland and Midlands
provinces will harvest some food crops, but in a majority of cases the
harvested crops will only last for a few months. The report also said in the
country's southern provinces, the majority of farming households will
harvest nothing from their fields and their situation will be worsened by
the fact that mopani worms (Madora), which provide an important source of
protein as well as cash (from sales) did not come as expected around March
and April this year. "The food security problem facing Zimbabwe is of such a
magnitude that Zimbabwe will need to import substantial amounts of cereals
during the April 2005 - March 2006 consumption year in order to ensure
sufficient food is available for all Zimbabweans. "It will be critical
for the government, private sector and the humanitarian community to create
effective partnerships to ensure adequate in-country distribution of this
food," the report said. Although the chairman of the ministerial
committee on food security, Didymus Mutasa could not be reached to comment
on the latest report, President Robert Mugabe is on record saying no one
would starve in Zimbabwe. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) had since started
importing grain to improve food security.
MASHONALAND West
governor Nelson Samkange has been taken to the High Court on allegations
that he confiscated 250 000 killogrammes of tobacco worth more than $4
billion and farming equipment from Zitac Chief Executive Officer William
Nyabonda. In an urgent chamber application (case No 2341/05) filed with the
court through Honey and Blackenberg law firm, Nyabonda said sometime last
year, Samkange asked him to utilise his Rukoba Farm in Banket saying he did
not have any skills or resources to do so himself. Nyabonda added that
the governor, who is the sole respondent, told him he did not want anything
in return as the farm's utilisation was payment in itself, as it would have
saved him embarrassment. The farmer, who is also the secretary general of the
Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union (ICFU), said he agreed to the governor's
request and thereafter he engaged labourers and moved farming equipment and
chemicals onto the property in a project that saw him yielding 250 000 kgs
of tobacco. After the yields, he added, Samkange took the crop, in a
development that saw a number of his workers being threatened and security
guards being chased away. Said Nyabonda in the court papers: " Needless to
say, I was shattered by the complete reversal in the respondent's attitude.
It was clear that he had deceived me into growing the crop, which he had
intended from the onset to expropriate. "He had cleverly and deviously
led me along to the point where the tobacco was ready for sale. the tobacco
is worth in excess of $4,3 billion and it is astounding that a person of the
respondent's standing should attempt to commit an injustice of this
magnitude." The ICFU secretary general added that in the process he was also
" dispossessed" of a number of equipment he moved into the farm. The
equipment included three electric motors, two water bourses and one tobacco
trolley. Nyabonda added that he was now in a precarious situation as he had
borrowed $1,4 billion from Barclays Bank to finance the project he must
repay by May 31. In the application, the farmer said he was seeking an
order declaring him: "the owner absolutely of the tobacco crop grown by him
upon Rukoba Farm estimated to be 250 000kgs in weight." In an interview
yesterday, Samkange's lawyer Johannes Tomana said Tomana, Muzangaza and
Mandaza law firm would respond to the application 'first thing" today in
the morning.
Zimbabweans bear full brunt of paralysing energy
crisis May 26, 2005
By Susan Njanji
Harare - Zimbabweans are
spending hours in queues for petrol or waiting for transport to return home,
sometimes trekking huge distances as a fuel crisis worsens in the wake of
food shortages and blackouts during a bleak winter.
Commuters in Harare,
though more privileged than their counterparts elsewhere, had been stranded
for hours at a time since the fuel crisis intensified over the past two
weeks.
Meanwhile, a police crackdown on private bus operators in Harare
during a sweeping operation to clean up the city and on car drivers offering
lifts for a fee has made life difficult for residents of a city once rated
among the best places to live in Africa.
Many petrol pumps have not
received supplies for two weeks, while the lucky few that have managed to
get some are forced to ration supplies to a maximum of 20 litres per
vehicle.
The shortages worsened once President Robert Mugabe's party had
won a crushing victory in March, and deepened this week after the central
bank devalued the already wilting local currency by 45
percent.
Zimbabwe imports all its fuel mainly from neighbouring South
Africa and Kuwait. Drivers have to queue for hours unless they can afford to
buy on the black market, where it sells for 16 times the normal
price.
Only state-run buses seem to have regular supplies, while private
mini-buses, which transport the vast majority of commuters in Harare, have
ceased running because their tanks are dry, or as many as 500 have
reportedly been impounded by police for allegedly being
unroadworthy.
Some commuters are forced to trek to and from work for
distances of up to 25km. "I had to walk home the other day after waiting for
five hours," said John Bunhu, a worker at a plastics factory.
A woman
travelling from Zimbabwe's second major city, Bulawayo, to Harare said she
boarded a bus that ran out of diesel halfway through the journey.
"We had
to hike to Harare," Millie Nyirenda said, after she had completed the rest
of the 500km trip by private car.
Zimbabwe has experienced serious fuel
shortages since 1999, which were initially blamed on corruption and
incompetence at the state-owned oil company, Noczim, and later attributed to
a scarcity of foreign exchange.
Last week, Gideon Gono, the governor of
Zimbabwe's central bank, accused some petroleum importers of abusing foreign
exchange they had been allocated by the central bank to buy fuel.
The
energy ministry said yesterday that fuel supplies would improve after the
state oil firm was given $18.5 million (R121.92 million) to import fuel. -
Sapa-AFP
South Africa grapples with immigrant influx Thu May 26, 2005
02:22 AM BST By Gershwin Wanneburg JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Wonder
Mashayamombe admits he broke the law by coming to South Africa from Zimbabwe
without a permit last year, but says he had no choice.
"We come from
Zimbabwe because there's no money, there's no jobs. Even if you work, you
work for nothing. You get a lot of money but you can't buy anything," said
Mashayamombe, a 26-year-old inmate at the Lindela detention centre for
illegal immigrants outside Johannesburg.
Mashayamombe was fleeing
Zimbabwe's worst recession in history but many Africans in less dire
circumstances flock to South Africa daily looking to seek their fortunes in
the continent's wealthiest nation.
But they are often disappointed by the
cold welcome.
Despite its reputation as one of Africa's most tolerant
democracies, foreigners from the continent are not always welcomed with the
open arms they expect -- a remnant of the apartheid policy of "protecting
the borders".
Widespread poverty, unemployment and crime make South
Africa fertile ground for xenophobia and analysts say officials have often
exploited this, using newcomers as scapegoats for their failure to solve
these problems.
"If you hear the mayor of Johannesburg saying ... there
are 30 Nigerians on every street corner, they're selling drugs, involved in
prostitution, trafficking, violence, gun running... ... you're going to
believe it," said Loren Landau, director of the Forced Migration Studies
programme at the University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for those whose countries
suffered the brutality of the apartheid regime almost as much as South
Africans.
Civilians were often caught in the crossfire in the 1980s when
apartheid forces launched frequent attacks into neighbouring countries to
destroy bases of the armed wings of the now-ruling African National
Congress.
In a country where more than one in four is officially
unemployed and where the United Nations says around half the people live on
less than 354 rand a month, promoting a more tolerant policy is a political
risk, analysts say.
"I think the government ... (has to) answer to
voters. If its voters tend towards xenophobia then the government can't
really go wildly more welcoming," said Antony Altbeker, a crime and justice
researcher at the Institute for Security Studies.
"I think if you
tried to explain to an unemployed South African why you are allowing
immigrants to come into the country -- I think politically that's a hard
sell."
LAUGHED AT, EXCLUDED
Analysts say foreigners are denied
access to bank accounts, housing and are frequently harassed by police for
bribes.
A recent study in Johannesburg found that 17 percent were denied
medical care, often even life-saving emergency attention.
"You're
(African foreigners) laughed at, you're excluded. This for a country trying
to build a society on tolerance and human rights," said Landau, who is an
American.
South Africa last year passed new immigration laws aimed at
speeding up notoriously slow paperwork and luring much-needed skilled
foreigners, but analysts say they do little to help the majority who come
knocking at its door -- poor Africans.
Official figures show that
cumulative immigrant numbers have risen from over 5.8 million in 2001 to
around 6.5 million in 2003. This compares with a population of around 45
million.
Most come from Mozambique -- historically a source of cheap
labour for South African mines. But Zimbabwe's economic meltdown has seen
immigrant numbers from that country soar.
New laws have also failed
to cool tensions between locals and newcomers, which have often spilled over
into violence.
Lindela itself -- a brown brick building outside
Johannesburg resembling an army barracks, with strict schedules for meals
and lockdowns -- has frequently made headlines over accusations of inmate
mistreatment.
In November last year, at a conference organised by South
Africa's Human Rights Commission, rights activists accused the Department of
Home Affairs, which oversees immigration, of widespread abuse of
immigrants.
Lindela officials were accused of keeping detainees in
unacceptable conditions, resulting in the death of several in one instance.
Authorities denied responsibility for the deaths.
Others say people
caught while entering the country illegally at the Zimbabwe border were
detained for hours and even days outdoors.
The Human Rights Commission
has also accused officials of randomly arresting people based on their
looks.
Barry Gilder, director-general of the Department of Home Affairs
said such cases are not common and where they are found disciplinary action
is taken.
"We certainly don't tolerate any mistreatment of people ... The
concern ... is sometimes the means of checking whether they are South
African or not: do you speak Zulu, where's your vaccination mark, how dark
is your skin?" Gilder told Reuters.
Gilder said Lindela -- boasting
sporting facilities and a clinic -- is one of the best centres of its kind
in the world.
For those like Mashayamombe, however, this offers little
comfort. He does not think he should ever have been sent there.
"I
remember during apartheid, the South Africans, they were coming to Zimbabwe,
they were going to Nigeria to seek refuge," Mashayamombe said.
"But now
this is their way of saying thank you to us. We are neighbours but they
treat us as if we are criminals."
UN Officials Call for More Action As Southern African Crisis Enters 'Acute
Phase'
UN News Service (New York)
May 25,
2005 Posted to the web May 25, 2005
With an unprecedented crisis
"triple threat" stalking southern Africa - HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and a
massively depleted skilled labour force - senior United Nations relief
officials today called for the world to refocus its attention on the chronic
problems and humanitarian needs of millions of desperate people in the
region.
"Emergencies come and go, but we are now in an acute phase of a
chronic problem and the effects of this are going to be with us for
generations to come," said James Morris, the UN Special Envoy for
Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, who is in the region on an 11-day,
four-nation assessment mission along with Ann Veneman, Executive Director of
the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"This is not about one issue or one
country. Many factors are converging to undermine livelihoods of millions of
people in southern Africa," said Mr. Morris, adding: "The complexity of the
situation demands that we must do all we can to help Governments in the
region."
The HIV/AIDS-driven aspects of the crisis are now considered so
grave that Mr. Morris called 10 UN country representatives in the region to
Johannesburg, South Africa, for a special review meeting today to examine
current interventions, joint programming, UN reform, and the strategies to
address the multiple impacts of the triple threat.
"It's crucial that
we reverse the downward spiral on child survival in this region. There are
remarkable local initiatives across the region to prevent the spread of AIDS
from mother to child," said Ms. Veneman. "By expanding these successful
models we can reduce the number of infants contracting HIV." She added that
treatment for HIV-positive children and adults is a critical element of the
regional response. "Keeping more parents alive means fewer children orphaned
by AIDS," she said.
Ms. Veneman is the first UNICEF chief to visit
Swaziland, the tiny African nation that suffers from of one of the world's
highest HIV prevalence rates, with about 38 per cent of the adult population
carrying the virus. After visiting yesterday with children orphaned by the
virus - many now caring for frail grandparents or older relatives and unable
to attend school - she emphasized the need to focus attention on children,
for the benefit of all humankind.
Joining the UN leaders in their
call for action was Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme
on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), who said that over the 20-year span of the AIDS
epidemic, it had become clear that an exceptional response is required. "We
need to make sure that HIV prevention, food security and HIV treatment are
integrated into a comprehensive response. This is the only way to get ahead
of the epidemic. We must aim for universal access to HIV prevention and
treatment."