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http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
03 May
2012
As Zimbabwe commemorates World Press Freedom Day, SW Radio Africa
chronicles
the trail of broken promises made under the 3 year old coalition
government
and, in particular, ZANU PF’s stubborn reluctance to free the
airwaves.
The power sharing deal that came about after Mugabe lost
elections in March
2008 promised far reaching media reforms. Zimbabweans
hoped to see
independent radio and television stations, in addition to the
newspapers
that were licensed. But ZANU PF made it obvious they will
continue
monopolising the broadcasting sector.
After licensing a
string of independent newspapers, including the previously
banned Daily
News, many were fooled into thinking the same would happen with
broadcasting. But newspapers have a limited circulation due to their cost
while, radio and television reach a wider audience and pose a threat to ZANU
PF’s propaganda.
Despite statements by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai that the broadcasting
authority was going to be reconstituted it
became clear the ZANU PF
Information Minister Webster Shamu was taking
different instructions from
Mugabe.
Last year the same illegally
constituted body called for commercial radio
licence applications. Packed
with ZANU PF cronies the broadcasting authority
awarded the two licences to
the ZANU PF controlled Zimpapers Talk Radio and
AB Communications, owned by
the ZANU PF apologist, journalist Supa
Mandiwanzira.
Making a
further mockery of the whole affair was the fact that both stations
were
already buying equipment and recruiting staff before the winning bids
were
made public.
Nothing highlights the close link between Mandiwanzira and
ZANU PF more than
reports that ZANU PF wanted him to stand as their
parliamentary candidate in
Nyanga. The awarding of the radio licence might
have changed this position
but Mandiwanzira remains a blue-eyed boy of the
regime and is trusted to tow
the line.
The Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA) this week said: “The
controversy surrounding the
licensing authority, the licensing process and
the licensees, engender
doubts on whether the development would enhance
access to alternative view
points for the majority of Zimbabweans who rely
on radio for
information.”
MISA added: “While there has been a decline in the number
of arrests and
harassment of journalists following the inauguration of the
coalition
government, there is no guarantee that the situation will continue
as long
as the repressive laws remain in place and could be used as and when
those
in office are subjected to robust media scrutiny.”
Last
Saturday riot police disrupted a road show organized by a local
community
radio initiative, Radio Dialogue. The police strangely claimed
there was a
‘lack of space’ and the road show had to end. This is despite
Radio Dialogue
holding the road show for the past 6 years without any
hindrance.
MISA noted that since November 2011, six cases of media
violations were
reported. In four of the six cases journalists were charged
under criminal
law, including three who were charged with criminal
defamation.
Targeted by the regime over stories they wrote were Standard
journalists
Nqaba Matshazi, editor Nevanji Madanhire, Daily News editor
Stanley Gama and
journalist Xolisani Ncube. “Criminal defamation has become
the weapon of
choice against media freedom and freedom of expression,” MISA
said.
US based NGO Freedom House has meanwhile ranked Zimbabwe 172 out of
197
countries in terms of Press freedom. Last year Zimbabwe was ranked 173
alongside Gambia, Congo and Russia. Reporters Without Borders also released
a statement putting Mugabe among the predators of freedom of
information.
Emmanuel Ndlovu from the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’
Association said:
“The citizens and residents of Zimbabwe continue to bear
the brunt of a
highly restrictive media landscape that ostracises, harasses
and prosecutes
journalists for criticising politicians, the government and
other powerful
groups.”
In another example of the repressive
environment Robin Hammond, a New
Zealand journalist, was arrested in
Beitbridge on the 16th April for
allegedly breaching media
regulations.
According to his sister he is still locked up there: “We’ve
heard from his
lawyer that he is expected to be moved to Harare at some
stage and the
intention is to deport him from there. Apart from that we have
heard
nothing,” his sister told journalists. Hammond was said to be working
on a
story on irregular migration between Zimbabwe and South
Africa.
In his World Press Freedom Day statement Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
said: “We marked Workers’ day in a country with no workers to
speak of and
today I am here with you to “celebrate” Press Freedom day when
we all know
that press freedom is a scarce commodity in this
country.”
Tsvangirai said the power sharing deal made it clear “that
Zimbabwe is
“desirous of ensuring the opening up of the airwaves and
ensuring the
operation of as many media houses as possible. The GPA is clear
on the role
of the public media and how it should behave in order to reflect
the new
dispensation of inclusivity.”
“The responsible Ministry has
chosen not to make the pubic media reflect the
new inclusive dispensation
and to provide a platform for divergent views in
line with the dictates of
the GPA. We have a Ministry that spends more time
thinking about how it
should curtail information rather than how it should
disseminate
it!”
The MDC-T leader said: “The regional trend should leave us
embarrassed as a
country. The DRC has 381 radio stations and 93 television
stations. (41
radio stations and 51 television stations in Kinshasa alone!).
South Africa
has about 1, 000 radio and television stations
combined.”
Tsvangirai warned journalists peddling hate speech, saying
they “shall be
personally liable on the day of reckoning. The Rwandan
example shows that
you will be alone, without any institutional support,
when history asks you
to account for your role in standing between the
people and their
inalienable rights and freedoms.”
Reuters
Cris Chinaka,
Reuters May 4, 2012, 3:37 am
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe on Thursday
threatened a crackdown on the media
over what it called sensational and
inaccurate reporting, following stories
over the health of 88-year-old
President Robert Mugabe.
However critics said the warning from the
country's information ministry,
controlled by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, could
be an attempt to intimidate
journalists ahead of elections expected next
year.
Senior ZANU-PF officials last month were forced to issue statements
dismissing reports that Mugabe was seriously ill in Singapore, saying the
stories were lies meant to destabilize Zimbabwe.
Addressing
journalists at an event to mark World Press Freedom Day on
Thursday,
information minister Webster Shamu said: "If the clearly
anti-African and
anti-Zimbabwe frenzy we have experienced through some media
outlets and
platforms in this country continues, and if the conspiracy of
silence within
the media industry and profession also persists, the gloves
may soon be off
here as well."
Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing deal with his rival
and now Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for
Democratic Change,
after a disputed 2008 poll which Western powers said was
marred by ZANU-PF
violence and intimidation.
Under the terms of the
deal, elections must be held by next year.
Brian Mangwende, chairman of
the Zimbabwe National Editors' Forum, said of
Shamu's remarks: "He must be
under pressure from those ZANU-PF ministers who
want to tame the media
before we get to the next elections.
"I hope he has no reason to take off
his gloves for a fight with the media."
The MDC accuses Shamu and
Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba of stalling
reforms to open up Zimbabwe's
state-run television and radio broadcasting to
the private
sector.
Mugabe has ruled the country since its independence from Britain
in 1980.
The president has been the subject of several newspaper health
stories in
recent years, with some reports saying he has prostate
cancer.
In interviews with state media in February he laughed off
suggestions he was
seriously ill.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
03/05/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert
Nyambabvu
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has accused Information
Minister Webster
Shamu of blocking media reforms but conceded he could not
prevail over the
Zanu PF minister because he enjoys “tacit support from a
higher office”.
Speaking on Press Freedom Day on Thursday, Tsvangirai
said little progress
has been made in implementing a power sharing agreement
signed in 2008 which
calls for the licensing of private broadcasters to
break the monopoly of the
Zanu PF-leaning Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC).
“Zimbabweans have justifiably asked why we have failed to
implement reforms
when we are part of the coalition [government],” he
said.
“The answer is simple. Those who see reforms as conceding power
have dug in
and the nature of our coalition is such that political parties
second people
into government and even a Prime Minister who is in charge of
implementation
has no powers to fire any minister seconded by another
party.”
While a number of privately-owned newspapers have been allowed to
operate,
only two private radio stations have been licensed with the ZBC’s
television
monopoly remaining unchallenged.
But Tsvangirai said the
granting of licences to two national radio stations
by the Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe was a ruse since they were both
owned by individuals
and organisations with links to Zanu PF.
“New voices have to be just that
- new voices!” he said. “That is why the
granting of licences to Zanu
PF-aligned radio stations such as Zimpapers’
Talk Radio and AB
Communications does not in any way reflect pluralisation
as envisaged in
Article 19 of the Global Political Agreement.
“It is a case of old wine
in new bottles; those old voices in Zanu PF
finding more media with which to
complement the ZBC and Zimpapers. There is
no plurality.”
The MDC-T
leader also accused information minister Webster Shamu of ignoring
directives by the coalition principals to reconstitute the management boards
of public media institutions such as the BAZ and the ZBC.
“The
responsible Ministry has also chosen not to comply with the
instructions of
Cabinet and the Principals of the inclusive government to
reconstitute the
boards of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, the ZBC
and the Mass Media
Trust,” he said.
“We have a Ministry that spends more time thinking about
how it should
curtail information rather than how it should disseminate it!
[But it is]
clear that those ministers refusing to implement reforms are
getting tacit
support from a higher office.”
He also insisted
that his party would not take part in new elections unless
the media reforms
were implemented and warned that those blocking the
changes would be made to
account for their actions under a future MDC-T
administration.
“We
will continue to press for media reform as part of the key reforms that
we
agreed should take place during the tenure of this transitional
government,”
he said.
“In fact, a free and fair election is not possible in this
country without a
free press; without a multiplicity of radios, television
stations and
newspapers to provide a platform for people to express
themselves and to
make informed choices.
“We will demand it. We will
insist on it because a free press is enshrined
in the SADC minimum
conditions for the conduct of free and fair elections.
“[Again those]
ministers and their handlers, as well as those journalists
that have chosen
to peddle hate speech and to sow seeds of conflict shall be
personally
liable on the day of reckoning.”
http://www.voanews.com
02 May
2012
Tatenda Gumbo & Mavis Gama |
Washington/Harare
Zimbabwe joins the international community Thursday
in commemorating World
Press Freedom Day with very little gains on the
ground in terms of press
freedom.
Commemorations will be held under
two themes with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai addressing one gathering
sponsored by the Media Institute of
Southern Africa, Zimbabwe chapter, and
Information Minister Webster Shamu,
gracing another event backed by the
Zimbabwe Media Commission.
'Media Freedom Now or Never - 20 Years in
Defence of Media Freedom' and the
global theme: 'New Voices: Media Freedom
Helping to Transform Societies' are
the two themes.
The day comes
against a backdrop of a bleak media terrain characterized by
repressive
legislation, slow pace in the implementation of media reforms and
a shackled
public media that has failed to reflect the inclusive nature of
the new
unity government.
Meanwhile the media community today celebrated the life
of the late veteran
journalist Bornwell Kidson Chakaodza, who died early
this year.
Speaker after speaker lamented the state of the media
landscape in the
country saying the information ministry, instead of aiding
the growth of
independent reporting, has been a major stumbling block in
efforts to
unbundle the airwaves, among other issues.
Media experts
called for the disbandment of the ministry. They said media in
the country
should be allowed to regulate itself, adding the former ZANU-PF
government
had failed to deliver on its press freedom promises.
Renowned journalist
William Bango, who was the guest of honor at the event,
said the former
ruling ZANU-PF government had failed the country as a whole.
"The
government ministries of information should disband and turn into
repositories of public record as regulatory bodies together with their
sidekicks, the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Media
Commission and others," said Bango. "Their performance history leave a sour
taste in mouths."
Chakaodza’s widow, Emma Julie, told Studio Seven
she felt honored that her
late husband’s colleagues had decided to celebrate
his life.
Koliwe Nyoni-Majana of the MISA-Zimbabwe said this is a time
for media
practitioners, civil society and the government to reflect and
take stock on
issues that need to be dealt with urgently in the
country.
"Despite the fact that there's been highlights through out the
year - which
is the licensing of two commercial licenses - still media
activists are
clamoring for more freedom and diversity within the broadcast
sector," she
said.
Matthew Takaona of the Zimbabwe Media Commission
said the organization, in
its activities Thursday, will focus on strides
taken throughout the year in
trying to improve the media landscape in the
country.
He said the commission had managed to give 70 new licenses to
print
newspapers, but had failed to institute a media council as mandated by
the
law, among other issues.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai Karimakwenda
03
May 2012
Excommunicated Bishop Nolbert Kunonga has made headlines again,
after
reportedly unleashing a hateful, verbal attack, describing Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-T as “satanic”, while praising Robert
Mugabe
as a “Holy” man and encouraging more farm invasions.
According
to The Zimbabwean newspaper, Kunonga made the comments while
preaching to a
small “disinterested” group of ZANU PF supporters at a
primary school in
Mashonaland East, in Chief Svosve’s area. The congregation
was said to be
mostly state security agents and army officers wearing
uniforms.
Ranting about the MDC-T Kunonga described party leader
Morgan Tsvangirai as
a “western puppet” and his followers as “agents of
doom” who are fighting to
reverse the land reform programme and are against
the black empowerment
programme.
Kunonga reportedly urged Zimbabweans
to grab any land still owned by white
commercial farmers, saying: “Whites
like other aliens should not be allowed
to own land and other properties in
the country as they are strangers.” He
then praised Mugabe, calling him “the
Biblical Daniel, sent to suffer for
the cause of his
people.”
Political analyst Professor John Makumbe told SW Radio Africa
that Kunonga
commands no respect from ordinary Zimbabweans on the ground and
is regarded
as ZANU PF’s “spiritual clown”. According to Makumbe, services
conducted by
Kunonga these days are very poorly attended.
Makumbe
said Chief Svosve is located near Marondera in the area where the
farm
invasions first began. The population there is made up mostly of ZANU
PF
supporters that would listen to anyone, if they were ordered to.
“Kunonga
was there singing for his supper and they were listening because
they know
where their supper comes from too. He himself is an agent of the
devil. The
things he has done can only have been authored in hell, not
heaven,” Makumbe
said.
The professor was referring to the seizure of Anglican church
properties by
Kunonga after he split from the main church in 2009, when
failing to be
appointed Bishop of Harare. Kunonga has illegally taken many
church run
schools, clinics and orphanages, using ZANU PF thugs and support
from the
police.
Makumbe also criticized political parties that use
churches and religious
sects as political “fishing grounds”, in order to
increase their share of
supporters. “It’s an act of desperation for
political parties to go that
route. People go to church to hear biblical
messages, not political
slogans,” Makumbe explained.
UK based
Reverend Lameck Mutete agreed, saying Zimbabweans always turn to
religion
when life is hard but this should not be abused by those trying to
recruit
for political parties.
“It’s up to these religions to realize that Jesus
was not in cahoots with
the political leaders of the day. These political
parties fish out
supporters and off they go. You never see them at another
service after
elections,” Reverend Mutete said.
Regarding Kunonga’s
comments, Reverend Mutete said the language itself
“indicates he is no
longer a man of God.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
03 May 2012
An Australian businessman embroiled in a legal battle
over the ownership of
a gold mining claim in Kwekwe, has explained how a
ZANU PF MP has been
paying the police to “get rid” of him.
Lee John,
Chairman of Kwekwe Consolidated Gold Mines (KGCM), recently spent
more than
two weeks behind bars after being arrested on what he calls
‘trumped up’
charges. His arrest formed part of his ongoing fight with a
ZANU PF MP for
Buhera North, William Mutomba, who has refused to vacate a
gold mining claim
leased to him by John’s company.
More than six years ago Mutomba entered
into a joint venture agreement with
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to
mine at the claim owned by KGCM. This
was a short term lease that expired in
February this year.
When the lease came to an end, the RBZ pulled out as
agreed. But according
to John, Mutomba has refused to leave and has ignored
High Court eviction
orders to vacate the property.
John told SW Radio
Africa on Thursday that the MP has since been threatening
him and his
directors, trying to force them to hand over the full rights to
the mine.
John added that Mutomba has also been paying thousands of dollars
to the
police to have him arrested, “and they are still trying to have me
arrested.”
“I have been reliably informed that about US$80,000 has
been paid to the
police to arrest me, and I have been informed that I could
be arrested once
again so I am constantly worried,” John said.
He
explained that Mutomba’s interests in the Kwekwe mine are purely selfish,
dismissing other reports that the MP’s interests are protected by Zimbabwe’s
indigenisation policies. ZANU PF has been spearheading the indigenisation
drive, which requires foreign owned firms to handover 51% of their
shareholding to local Zimbabweans.
“This has nothing to do with
empowerment or indigenisation. This is straight
up someone trying to steal
100% of the property,” John said.
John’s release on bail last month
garnered international headlines after it
was reported that his sixteen day
incarceration was ended by the
intervention of Robert Mugabe. John admitted
that his business connections
saw the matter being handled at a high
political level. But he insisted his
interests in Zimbabwe are apolitical
and completely above board.
“There was NO corruption and NO racism in
prison and I told all who would
listen that I was happy to stay there until
the corruption, outside in Zim,
was sorted out,” John said.
He added:
“I am hoping that I will soon be exonerated because there is no
basis for
the charges against me.”
He will be back in court on Friday.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
03
May 2012
Observers have expressed doubt that a new constitution will make
any
difference while ZANU PF remains in power in Zimbabwe, with concern
being
expressed that it will be one more promise the party will fail to
keep.
The parliamentary team tasked with developing the new charter
finally
presented a draft to government this week. The COPAC team has
reportedly now
been given until the end of this week to ‘clean up’ the
draft, with a
meeting scheduled for next Monday to finalise the
document.
So far the document has failed to impress, mainly because
contentious issues
like dual citizenship have been ‘parked’. The COPAC team
has said these
issues have been referred to parliament, which rights
activists have said
means exiled Zimbabweans won’t be able to vote in a new
election.
The new constitution is expected to pave the way for an
election to bring to
an end the coalition government. But, as one observer
told SW Radio Africa,
the constitution cannot physically protect people
against Robert Mugabe’s
loyal security services if their commanders decide
ZANU PF will remain in
power.
Exiled Zimbabwean journalist Tano
Whande said Thursday that the contents of
a new constitution will mean
nothing if the proper reforms are not in place
to protect
Zimbabweans.
“We are concerned that we will have another election like in
2008 and in
that case it will not matter what it says in the constitution,”
Whande said.
He added: “We can only accept a new constitution that goes
hand in hand with
key reforms, like security sector reforms, like media
reforms. Only then can
a truly free and fair election be possible.”
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, May 03, 2012 - Zimbabwe
will scrap the Prime Minister post if a new
draft constitution is passed
into law, a smuggled draft constitution shows.
Meanwhile the
Parliamentary Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) has
disowned the draft
constitution document.
The state-owned Herald on Wednesday published a
draft it said was the COPAC
final constitution draft while the
privately-owned NewsDay is serialising
what it says is the Zimbabwe Draft
Constitution.
But COPAC officials told Radio VOP, the document in
circulation, was
fraudulent and did not belong to COPAC.
Jessie
Majome, the COPAC spokesperson, said the document could be
information
stolen from COPAC offices.
“We have not published a draft. It is not yet
available. We urge members of
the public to be wary of any purported draft
of the new Constitution of
Zimbabwe and wait and rely on the proposed draft
to be officially released
by COPAC as soon as it is available and
ready."
Zanu (PF) and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
formations are
failing to agree on the draft constitution before it goes to
a referendum.
The draft constitution shows that the country will remain
with the powerful
executive President post and two Vice
Presidents.
The President will have a maximum of two five year terms and
must be at
least 40 years of age. There is no maximum age limit of the age
of the
Presidential candidate or a clause that prevents a former president
to run
again.
The President must be guided by ethnic and regional
balance. Matebeleland
regions, which have been advocating for devolution of
power, have been
calling for decentralisation saying that over the past 32
years they had
been neglected.
"In appointing ministers and
deputies the President must be guided by
ethnic, regional and gender balance
considerations," the draft reads.
The draft constitution calls upon
media's self regulation but the government
appointed Media Commission will
continue to exist.
"What people are reading in newspapers is not
legit at all,” said Majome.
President Robert Mugabe has demanded that the
draft be handed to the
principals before the end of this week.
The
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) has said it will advocate for a
no
vote during a referendum saying the process did not allow people to air
their views on the new constitution freely.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
By Staff Reporter 2
hours 4 minutes ago
HARARE - Zanu-PF Political analysts say the
draft constitution is a
dangerous tool that is meant to weaken the country’s
security system and
limit the executive powers of the President so that
external forces using
its local conduits can have control of the
country.
When the people of Zimbabwe participated during the outreach
programmes of
the constitution making process, hopes were high that the
supreme law of the
land would protect the country’s sovereignty and also
strengthen the
security of the nation.
However it has emerged that
the new constitution is now being manipulated
for use as a regime change
tool after the West has failed on numerous
attempts.
Zanu-PF
Political analyst, Dr Tafataona Mahoso says the constitution is
meant to
dismantle the state institutions making the country vulnerable to
external
forces.
He noted that the new constitution should be rejected totally as
adopting it
would be tantamount to committing strategic suicide.
He
said: “The Anglo Saxon forces using the MDC-T are trying to achieve what
they failed in 1997 that is the regime change plan. If they weaken the key
state institutions it means we have freely given them an opportunity to do
whatever they want with our country. So we should reject this piece of
constitution.”
Another Zanu-PF analyst, Mr Goodson Nguni says by
limiting the executive
powers of the President through putting in place
various commissions to
appoint key security sector personnel, the MDC-T and
its allies are trying
to institute their security sector reforms which have
been rejected by many
quarters.
“The MDC-T had an agenda of the
reforms of the security sector and if the
constitution is allowed to pass as
it is then its very dangerous.
“It limits the executive powers of the
President by putting place other
structures to appoint the judges and
service chiefs. The attempts to smuggle
the issue of dual or mono
citizenship is glaring. All these efforts are
aimed at derailing the gains
of the liberation struggle,” Mr Nguni said.
Confusion continues to reign
supreme in the constitution making process as
it has emerged that a larger
percentage of what is contained in the draft is
not what the people said, a
clear attempt to subvert the will of the people
which has resulted in many
stakeholders calling for the halting of the
constitution making process
which has since been turned into a money
spinning venture.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
02/05/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been sucked into an
unseemly power
struggle for the control of Zimbabwe’s biggest labour
union.
May Day celebrations on Tuesday dramatised a raging battle to
control the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) – the union that
catapulted
Tsvangirai to the leadership of the MDC after over a decade as
its secretary
general.
Now the union is split into two camps: one led
by former Tsvangirai ally,
Lovemore Matombo, and the other by George
Nkiwane, who now seems to enjoy
Tsvangirai support.
Nkiwane’s backers
called a congress late last year and elected him leader.
Matombo – whose
term was up as per the ZCTU constitution – boycotted the
congress and
suggested it was illegally convened.
The two organisations held competing
Workers’ Day celebrations, with
Tsvangirai addressing more than a thousand
workers who convened at Gwanzura
Stadium under Nkiwane’s
leadership.
Matombo, meanwhile, organised celebrations at the Harare
Gardens which
attracted some 300 workers and were attended by MDC leader
Welshman Ncube
and Mavambo-Kusile leader Simba Makoni.
Matombo warned
Tsvangirai he risks alienating a large body of his
traditional supporters in
the workers’ movement by wading into the
leadership dispute.
Raged
Matombo: “If you are a father, and you make choices of which child you
are
going to support, then you cannot be regarded as the best
father.”
Tsvangirai went to the Gwanzura celebrations with MDC-T
secretary-general
Tendai Biti, deputy chairman Morgan Komichi, organising
secretary Nelson
Chamisa, deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma and party
spokesperson Douglas
Mwonzora.
Matombo claimed the MDC-T leader had
defied a party resolution that senior
officials would not attend any of the
commemorations so that they would not
be seen to be taking sides in the
dispute.
“Even if Tsvangirai did not like Matombo, he was not supposed to
take sides
because what he did is contrary to an MDC-T resolution made three
weeks ago
that they were not going to attend both meetings,” he
said.
“The people who are going to suffer most are the workers because
our agenda
has been hijacked by the MDC-T and yet Tsvangirai is a former
trade unionist
who is being used by some MDC-T elements who want to settle
scores and are
using him to destroy the workers organisation which he
formed.”
Tsvangirai deplored the divisions and called for an end
to the factionalism,
which he said were harming the country’s oldest and
biggest labour body.
“I want to start by expressing my displeasure at the
fact that there are two
or more celebrations taking place today because
labour has chosen to
factionalise,” he said.
“Factions are in
politics, not in labour unions and the working class cannot
be divided on
the basis of personalities. As labour, we have to unite and it
is imperative
to note that this day should unite us and not divide us, and
so I want to
appeal to the leaders to unite.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
David Chidende/Jeffrey Moyo
MUTARE-There
was drama at Bakorenhema Hospital in Mutare on Tuesday last
week when a
traditional chief aligned to Zanu PF hijacked a ceremony
organised by Plan
International and started chanting Zanu PF slogans before
forcing everyone
at the gathering to join in the milieu.
Chief Marange and Shuah Mudiwa,
legislator for Mutare West pushed and shoved
each other, exchanging verbal
insults, nearing a fist-fight.
The chief had implored people to visit
Chimoio, where scores of liberation
fighters and refugees perished during
the war.
Marange insulted Mudiwa, saying he was against legislators of
Mudiwa’s
caliber without liberation war credentials.
But MDCT MP
Mudiwa called for non-partisan speeches at the gathering, which
was ignored
by the Zanu PF-aligned traditional chief and other rowdy Zanu PF
activists.
“We don’t want these kinds of gatherings to be
politicized, this is a
humanitarian event,” Mudiwa said.
Manicaland
Province is on record experiencing acute food shortages as talks
of
elections this year intensify by Zanu PF politicians, sparking fears that
the situation in the eastern province may worsen.
These reporters
witnessed activists from Zanu PF and MDC formations engaging
in running
battles, threatening to confront each other in fist fights,
throwing rocks
and empty beer bottles at each other.
The event had been earmarked for
the handover of hospital equipment donated
by Plan International (Canada
Office) meant to benefit less privileged
pregnant mothers and
children.
Impeccable sources from Plan International said Zanu PF’s
actions in Mutare
were a replica of the party’s Masvingo Provincial Governor
Titus Maluleke
when he banned NGOs in the drought-stricken province two
months ago.
The National MDC-T Youth Assembly has castigated Zanu PF’s
actions at the
Mutare event.
“We have got some elements used by Zanu
PF to abuse the people of Zimbabwe
and that is the reason why even on
non-political forums we end up having
people chanting party slogans,” said
Oliver Chikumba, Youth Assembly
National Secretary for ICT.
May 3, 9:07 AM EDT
By
ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Prosecutors in
Zimbabwe said Thursday they have
dropped charges against three women accused
of raping men to collect their
semen for tribal rituals after DNA tests
failed to link them to 17 men who
claimed they were
victims.
Prosecutors said Thursday that DNA evidence cleared the women,
who will now
face prostitution charges.
The women, aged in their 20s,
and a male companion were arrested in November
on charges of "aggravated
indecent assault" amid allegations they lured men
into a car and forced them
to have sex at gunpoint, knifepoint or using
drugged drinks to collect semen
for tribal rituals. Police said 31 condoms
containing semen were found in
the car.
In a case that has fascinated the nation, the women denied the
allegations,
saying they had sex for money and didn't throw out the
condoms.
Prostitution is rife in Zimbabwe after years of economic
meltdown and
soaring unemployment.
Sophie, 26, and Netsai Nhokwara,
24, who are sisters, and Rosemary
Chakwizira, 28, had faced lengthy prison
sentences on the charges of
aggravated sexual assault, equivalent to the
penalty for rape committed by
men.
Soliciting and prostitution
charges carry a small fine.
According to court papers, 17 men stepped
forward with claims they were
victims of women said to be in a syndicate
preying on men flagging down cars
or minibuses for lifts along the nation's
highways since 2010. One said he
was sprayed with and forced to drink a
pungent liquid.
Local media reports have suggested some men alleging they
were abducted and
sexually assaulted used it as an excuse for spending
nights away from home
with prostitutes.
The arrests of the three
women in the provincial city of Gweru after their
car was involved in an
accident fueled intense rumors that a syndicate was
collecting semen for
rituals. There is a local belief that the semen is more
powerful if obtained
through sexual coercion, and that it is not so potent
if gathered
voluntarily.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
03/05/2012 00:00:00
by Moses Matenga I
NewsDay
PROPHET Emmanuel Makandiwa’s United Family International Church
(UFIC) has
admitted to irregularly acquiring huge tracts of land from
Chitungwiza Town
Council and has asked the local authority “to regularise
the state of
affairs”.
This followed the adoption of a probe report
by the joint meeting of the
public works, town lands and environment
management; education, housing and
community service; and general purpose
committees on how UFIC acquired the
land.
The committees on Tuesday
recommended the arrest of housing and community
services director Jemina
Gumbo for allegedly facilitating the illegal
transactions. Gumbo, the
committee recommended, should be “prosecuted for
criminal abuse of office as
a public officer”.
The report by Local Government minister Ignatius
Chombo’s special
investigating team on land also unearthed a litany of
clandestine land deals
which resulted in council allocating UFIC three
stands instead of one stand
the church had paid for.
The stands’ land
use was not meant for church building.In one of the deals,
council
purportedly claimed to have sold a 2,000-square-metre (sq m) stand
to UFIC
when in reality it was over 92,000 sq m.
“A Lease Agreement on the stand
was signed on the 12th of July 2011 and
indicated as measuring 2,000 sq m .
. . The measurement is not correct
because the actual stand size is 92 130
sq m,” reads the report.
“This stand does not exist on the Chitungwiza
Town Centre Layout Plan (ref
E591 03/02/1987) produced by the Ministry of
Local Government, Rural and
Urban Development’s Department of Physical
Planning because all land
administered by Chitungwiza Municipality is State
land.”
The report further said: “According to available records, stand
19,770,
whose size is 182,725 sq m belongs to Chenjerai T. Madamombe and it
is
adjacent to 19,769.
"It is on stand 19970 that UFIC is
constructing, not on the stand on the
file and plan.”
In view of
these, and numerous other alleged indiscretions, the team
recommended
Gumbo’s arrest, saying:
“The Director of Housing and Community Services,
Ms Jemina Gumbo, should be
charged and prosecuted for criminal abuse of
office as a public officer. (a)
She usurped council authority or powers in
the allocation of stands in
particular to UFIC and signing the deed of
settlement with Chenjerai
Madamombe without council authority for the same
stand. (b) She did not seek
any council resolution on allocating the stands
to different persons. (c)
She made multiple allocations for the same stands
without any good reason.
(d) She also disregarded the mandatory provisions
of section 26 (3) of the
Regional, Town and Country Planning Act and
allocated stands for purposes
other (than) those permitted in terms of the
approved layout plans.”
In an apparent admission to the irregular way the
church acquired the
stands, UFIC lawyers Mushangwe and Company in a letter
to acting town clerk
Fungai Mbetsa dated April 13, asked council to “rectify
the state of affairs
and relinquish its right, title and interest in stand
number 19,769 which
property is being surrendered back to
council”.
The letter further reads: “Our client hereby relinquishes its
right, title
and interest in stand number 19,769 which property is being
surrendered to
council.
“Further to our agreement, we would like to
seek the indulgence of the
council to rectify the state of affairs by
allowing our client to apply for
permission to use and develop stand number
19,770 which is 180,000 square
metres in extent.
"They are already
building a mega church on the stand which will sit 17,000
people and the
project is currently 80% complete with the administration
block, ablution
facilities and structure of the church already complete.”
The letter
added: “Our clients wish to proceed to apply for change of use at
the
property they are constructing should you be amenable to their
proposals.”
Mbetsa confirmed that the resuscitation team’s
recommendations were adopted.
“The report was discussed and we recommended
that UFIC should comply with
provisions of the law for change of use, then
council would consider their
application,” he said.
The UFIC matter
is due for deliberations by the full council soon.
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/
By: Terence Creamer
3rd May
2012
Implementation of a one-stop border post at Beitbridge, the
congested
crossing between South Africa and Zimbabwe, is “imperative” to
reducing
trade-restricting transactions costs that are currently estimated
to be as
high at $35-million a year, African Development Bank chief
economist
Professor Mthuli Ncube argues.
In a paper entitled ‘Border
Posts, Checkpoints and Trade in Southern African
Development Community
(SADC) Countries’, Ncube says chronic delays,
congestion and inefficiency at
Beitbridge are costly in both time and money.
Waiting times range from 33
hours to 45 hours, while yearly transaction
costs are estimate to be between
$29.3-million and $35-million.
By implementing a one-stop solution,
similar to the one that has already
been deployed at the Chirundu crossing
between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Ncube
believes the flow of commercial goods and
services, as well as the movement
of people, will improve significantly,
helping to facilitate further trade
and investment.
At Chirundu,
northbound trucks are inspected and cleared by the Zambian
authorities,
while Zimbabwean officials clear southbound vehicles, reducing
the
duplication associated with two checks. Average waiting times have
reportedly fallen from around two days to two hours, while those using the
fast-track preclearance procedure are now crossing within 15
minutes.
The reduced transaction costs associated with the one-stop
solution have
stimulated trade, which has increased revenues for Zambia by
30%.
Ncube believes the solution should be replicated at Beitbridge,
which is one
of the busiest border posts within the SADC, with more than 3
500 vehicles
and 12 000 people crossing daily during peak
periods.
The paper also makes the case for a more generalised roll-out of
one-stop
border solutions across the region.
Trade liberalisation
efforts, Ncube notes, have helped raise trade volume
within the SADC from
$12.4-billion in 2000 to $34.5-billion in 2010, after
peaking at $36-billion
in 2008. However, the large number of border posts
and roadblocks along key
SADC corridors are costing the region about
$48-million a year.
“The
customs environment in the regional grouping is characterised by a lack
of
coordination among the multiple government agencies on both sides of
borders. This raises the common challenge of the duplication of procedures
at each border, which increases the potential for risk management and
fraud.”
There is also a lack of computerised customs management
systems, while such
systems are not compatible when they do in fact
exist.
The solution, Ncube states, lies in one-stop border posts, whereby
people
and products make a single stop and pass through simplified and
harmonised
customs and immigration procedures.
“One-stop border posts
do not only facilitate the movement of goods and
persons by reducing the
bureaucracy and clearance times at the borders, they
also enhance trade by
reducing the high cost of trading emanating from
delays, bribes, and
cumbersome procedures at border posts.”
http://www.voanews.com/
02 May
2012
Jonga Kandemiiri | Washington
Zimbabwe's Labor Minister
Paurina Gwanyanya-Mpariwa says the government is
taking allegations of
worker abuse by Chinese firms seriously, charging
culprits will be
prosecuted under the country's labor laws.
The minister said Wednesday
her office will deal decisively with growing
complaints once investigations
by a team set-up last year were completed.
The government put together a
team to probe the abuse allegations last year
but it seems not much progress
has been made since then.
The committee comprises officials from the
labor ministry, the National
Social Security Authority (NSSA) and the
construction sector. It has been
visiting Chinese construction and mining
companies and is yet to submit a
report.
Workers have been
complaining of physical abuse, being forced to work long
hours without being
paid overtime, among other issues.
Mpariwa-Gwanyanya told VOA the
government is taking the allegations
seriously and will leave no stone
unturned, adding culprits will be punished
according the the country's labor
laws.
Commenting, University of Zimbabwe lecturer John Makumbe said he
does not
think the government will punish the Chinese firms found abusing
workers.
Thursday, 03 May 2012
Issue –
348
Blessing Rukowe, the MDC Ward 18 chairperson who was facing false
charges of
assaulting two Zanu PF youths, Wilson Chaderopa and Hilton
Ndawana was
yesterday acquitted by a Kadoma Magistrate.
Dismissing
the case, the magistrate said Ndawana and Chaderopa are well
known for
terrorising MDC supporters in Sanyati and surrounding areas as
indicated in
several police and court reports.
According to a medical report Rukowe
was attacked with a sharp object on his
hand causing him to be hospitalised
for more than a fortnight.
After the attack, the assailants rushed to
make a false police report
against Rukowe who was at that time receiving
treatment in hospital alleging
that he had attacked them.
The people’s
struggle for real change – Let’s finish it!!!
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Reporters Without Borders
Press release – World Press Freedom Day
3
May 2012
ZIMBABWE
Read the article on Robert Mugabe
(http://en.rsf.org/predator-robert-mugabe,42479.html)
It
is thanks to its president that Zimbabwe’s privately-owned print media
are
constantly harassed and that the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC) has a monopoly of radio and TV broadcasting. Robert Mugabe
blocks everything, prevents the national unity government from functioning
properly, makes sure the independent media are unable to express themselves
freely and, with the help of his closest aides, keeps the state media under
tight control.
Mugabe stepped up the pressure on the media after his
government’s electoral
setbacks in 2008. Editors were placed under
electronic surveillance to check
their loyalty to the party, while
opposition activists were abducted and
tried for “terrorist plots” in
grotesque trials.
Despite being hailed as a “liberator” when he came to
power in the 1980s,
Mugabe has no problem with the arbitrary arrests and
harassment to which
most of the country’s journalists are exposed. In 2002,
he was the architect
of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act (AIPPA), the sole
aim of which was to finish off the privately-owned
press, above all The
Daily News, then the country’s most widely-read daily.
In 2012, “the old
man” was preparing for the next elections – for which a
date has yet to be
set – by continuing to curtail free speech. While foreign
news organizations
are not welcome, the harassment of local journalists
continues.
A journalist killed every five days, six new “predators”
brings total to 41
See the complete list of predators: http://en.rsf.org/#trombiPredateur
Today,
World Press Freedom Day 2012, Reporters Without Borders condemns the
furious
pace of physical attacks on news providers and reports that a total
of 21
journalists and 6 netizens and citizen journalists have been killed
since
the start of 2012, many of them in war zones such as Somalia and
Syria. This
is a rate of one news provider killed ever five days.
Reporters Without
Borders is today also releasing an updated list of its
“predators of the
freedom to inform,” a list that has grown in size and now
has 41
members.
“Let there be no witness to our crimes” and “let there be no
voice but
ours” – these are the watchwords of authoritarian regimes and
armed groups
that are hostile to freedom of information. What with
crackdowns on protest
in Arab countries, and suppression of political
opposition, criticism and
reporting in other parts of the world, the first
four months of 2012 were
especially violent for those who try to provide
news and information.
New predators of the freedom to inform
The
first quarter of 2012 has clearly shown that the world’s predators of
the
freedom to inform, led by Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad and Somalia’s Islamist
militias, are capable of behaving like outright butchers.
The 2011
revolts toppled several despots who were on the predators list such
as
Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Yemen’s Ali Abdallah Saleh but they
unfortunately did not reduce the overall number of these enemies of
information.
Six new predators have joined this evil “club” in 2012:
Boko Haram, an
Islamist group that spreads terror in Nigeria; Egypt’s
Supreme Council of
the Armed Forces, which has regrettably taken over from
deposed dictator
Hosni Mubarak as regards violating freedom of information;
the Somali
federal government’s information minister, who is responsible for
harassment
and intimidation of the media; Vasif Talibov, the all-powerful
leader of
Azerbaijan’s “Autonomous Republic” of Nakhchivan; Pakistan’s
intelligence
agencies; and Kim Jong-un, who perpetuated North Korea’s
predatory
dictatorship on the death of his father, King
Jong-il.
There is a growing trend for countries to have more than one
predator. Six
countries now have two. Somalia has as the Islamist militia
Al-Shabaab as
well as the information minister. Pakistan has the Taliban as
well as the
intelligence agencies. Azerbaijan has President Ilham Aliev as
well as
Nakhchivan’s strongman, Talibov, who has turned his fiefdom into a
laboratory for the repressive methods that Aliev applies in the rest of the
country.
Russia not only has Vladimir Putin but also his Chechen
“guard-dog,” Ramzan
Kadyrov, who shares his master’s taste for forceful
words and gestures. The
Palestinian Territories have both the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank
and Hamas in Gaza, both of which use their
security forces to harass
journalists. And finally, the Islamic Republic of
Iran has both Supreme
Leader Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad, who –
despite their rivalry –
agree on gagging the media. Iran still ranks with
Eritrea, China, Turkey and
Syria as one of the world’s biggest prisons for
journalists.
Other presidents, such as Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Guelleh,
Sudan’s Omar
al-Bashir and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, could be added to the
predators list
soon. Yemen, which had a particularly trying 2011, continues
to be under
close scrutiny since President Saleh’s departure. Burmese
President Thein
Sein, on the other hand, could be removed from the list if
he proves to be
the president of reform and democratization in
2012.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were on the list
for many
years, like Colombia’s paramilitary groups, which are still on it.
The FARC
guerrillas were dropped from the list some time ago because they
cut back
targeted actions against journalists. But now the FARC are being
blamed for
French freelance journalist Roméo Langlois’ disappearance since
28 April,
when FARC guerrillas attacked a military anti-drug operation that
Langlois
was covering.
Reporters Without Borders is following the
case closely, and with the
appropriate caution, as the claim that Langlois
has been kidnapped by the
FARC has not yet been clearly confirmed. But the
organization intends to use
World Press Freedom Day to pay tribute to his
professional courage and to
voice its support for his family and
colleagues.
See the complete list of predators: http://en.rsf.org/#trombiPredateur
Vulnerability
of cameramen, news photographers and citizen journalists
Freelance
journalists, a growing number of whom are covering wars, have paid
a high
price in the past four months. Reporters Without Borders pays
particular
tribute to citizen journalists, the last bastion of the freedom
to inform
when governments want to crush opposition without the outside
world looking
on. Cameramen and news photographers are also favourite
targets for
repressive regimes that understand only too well the impact of
images and
their power of providing information.
In view of the turmoil resulting
from the Arab springs, Reporters Without
Borders has decided to accompany
the region’s new governments during their
progress towards democracy. After
opening an office in Tunisia, Reporters
Without Borders is now about to open
one in Libya to encourage the
government’s efforts to build a free and
pluralist press. However, the Arab
springs have fallen far short of keeping
all their promises and we must
remain on our guard, on the one hand, for
manipulative attempts by new
governments to brand protest movements as
“terrorist” and, on the other, for
the anti-freedom tendencies of certain
protest groups.
Journalists’ safety and international
agreements
Because of the growing dangers to which journalists are
exposed, Reporters
Without Borders:
- Urges the news media to begin a
debate about the protection of the
stringers, fixers and local journalists
they use, and about the protection
of their sources and the people they
interview.
- Calls on governments to implement international provisions
on the
protection of journalists in an effective manner. Five years after
the UN
Security Council adopted Resolution 1738, a status report is urgently
needed
on the specific steps taken to implement it. Governments must accept
their
responsibilities and obligations under paragraphs 6 and 7 to do their
utmost
to prevent violations of international humanitarian law against
journalists
and to end impunity for such violations.
- Requests a
revision of the International Criminal Court’s statutes in
order to provide
specific protection for journalists, as a special civilian
category, similar
to the specific protection they provide for humanitarian
workers.
-
Urges governments to quickly adopt the Plan of Action on the Safety of
Journalists and the Decision on The Safety of Journalists and the Issue of
Impunity that were drafted by UNESCO in March.
Tsvangirai’s Statement on World Press Freedom day
Harare, 3 May 2012
It is with sadness that I join you on what
is supposed to be a celebration
of Press Freedom day.
On Tuesday, I
joined the workers on May Day to mark another hollow day and
expressed my
fear that most of these days have become meaningless.
We marked Workers’
day in a country with no workers to speak of and today I
am here with you to
“celebrate” Press Freedom day when we all know that
press freedom is a
scarce commodity in this country.
In 2008, we signed the Global Political
Agreement and one of the critical
articles contained therein is Article 19,
which deals with Freedom of
Information and Communication.
The
article makes it clear that Zimbabwe is “desirous of ensuring the
opening up
of the airwaves and ensuring the operation of as many media
houses as
possible.” (pp12).
The GPA is clear on the role of the public media and
how it should behave in
order to reflect the new dispensation of
inclusivity.
Article19.1. (c) (ii) calls upon the government to “take the
necessary steps
to ensure that the public media provides balanced and fair
coverage to all
political parties for their legitimate political
activities.”
The same Article calls upon the government to ensure that
“the public and
private media refrain from using abusive language that may
incite hostility,
political intolerance and ethnic hatred or that unfairly
undermines the
political parties and other organisations.”
Sadly, the
responsible Ministry has chosen not to make the pubic media
reflect the new
inclusive dispensation and to provide a platform for
divergent views in line
with the dictates of the GPA.
The responsible Ministry has also chosen not to
comply with the instructions
of Cabinet and the Principals of the inclusive
government to reconstitute
the boards of the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe, the ZBC and the Mass
Media Trust.
In short, media reforms
remain in limbo regardless of the fact that they are
part of those key
reforms that are necessary in creating a democratic
society especially as we
go towards an election that must produce an
uncontested outcome.
This
means that as a government, we have not only failed to deal with the
battery
of repressive laws that stand in the way of media freedom such
AIPPA, POSA,
The Broadcasting Services Act, the Censorship and Entertainment
Control Act,
the Interception of Communications Act, but that we have also
failed to
bring in the necessary legislation that would have promoted press
freedom,
such as the Freedom of Information Act.
Just like any reforms, there are
those in this government who think that
implementing any reform is conceding
power, and they have stood in the way
of key reforms including those reforms
that would have changed information
management and dissemination and brought
in alternative voices.
We have a Ministry that spends more time thinking
about how it should
curtail information rather than how it should
disseminate it!
It is clear that those ministers refusing to implement
reforms are getting
tacit support from a higher office. But the ministers
and their handlers, as
well as those journalists that have chosen to peddle
hate speech and to sow
seeds of conflict shall be personally liable on the
day of reckoning. The
Rwandan example shows that you will be alone, without
any institutional
support, when history asks you to account for your role in
standing between
the people and their inalienable rights and
freedoms.
I notice that the global theme for this year’s event is New
Voices: Media
Freedom Helping to Transform Societies.
New voices have
to be just that—new voices! That is why the granting of
licences to Zanu
PF-aligned radio stations such as Zimpapers Talk Radio and
AB Communications
does not in any way reflect pluralisation as envisaged in
Article 19 of the
GPA.
It is a case of old wine in new bottles; those old voices in Zanu PF
finding
more media with which to complement the ZBC and Zimpapers. There is
no
plurality.
There is no diversity and ordinary Zimbabweans still do
not have alternative
media platforms to speak their minds and to make
alternative expression.
Those small satellite dishes dotted around the
country and mounted even on
pole-and-dagga huts are a big statement from the
people of Zimbabwe; indeed
a rebellion from the diet of mono-information
relentlessly churned out by
the public broadcaster.
The regional
trend should leave us embarrassed as a country. The DRC has 381
radio
stations and 93 television stations. (41 radio stations and 51
television
stations in Kinshasa alone!). South Africa has about 1 000 radio
and
television stations combined.
Zimbabweans have justifiably asked why we
have failed to implement reforms
when we are part of the coalition. The
answer is simple. Those who see
reforms as conceding power have dug in and
the nature of our coalition is
such that political parties second people
into government and even a Prime
Minister who is in charge of implementation
has no powers to fire any
Minister seconded by another party.
So I am
here to register my solidarity with you in your quest for true press
freedom
in Zimbabwe.
There cannot be true press freedom when there are moves to
ban the
circulation of foreign newspapers!
There cannot be true press
freedom when a vendor selling the Prime Minister’s
newsletter is harassed in
Gwanda for no apparent reason!
There cannot be true press freedom when
journalists are harassed and when we
have political parties that make
resolutions to the effect that social media
are a threat and not an
opportunity!
In fact, a free and fair election is not possible in this
country without a
free press; without a multiplicity of radios, television
stations and
newspapers to provide a platform for people to express
themselves and to
make informed choices. We will demand it. We will insist
on it because a
free press is enshrined in the SADC minimum conditions for
the conduct of
free and fair elections.
I want to assure you that we
will not allow the frustrations of our present
circumstances to blight us
from our historical obligation of creating a new
Zimbabwe with a new
culture, a new ethos and a multiplicity of information
platforms so that we
develop an informed citizenry.
So we are in this together, in this
struggle together!
Some of us value the role of the press in unleashing a
new impetus because
information is power!
Information is
knowledge!
Information is the key driver for growth and economic
development!
That is why a year ago, my office began monthly press
briefings with
journalists in order to provide a platform for people to
understand the
challenges and progress in this inclusive
government.
We began those briefings because we believe that a government
is not a cult
movement that should operate outside the public glare and we
pledge to
continue holding those briefings in the public interest.
In
the new Zimbabwe that we envision, information will play a critical role
because the right to information and freedom of expression are a core
element of democracy.
We believe that an informed society is able to
participate in the design and
execution of public policies and is more
resourceful and creative in
addressing its social challenges.
There
is no law in Zimbabwe that obliges public officials to supply relevant
information when requested to do so by the media or to respond to questions
put to them. It is necessary to come up with a national information policy
that deals with these issues.
Our present circumstances
notwithstanding, some of us are staunch believers
in self-regulation in the
media with the full understanding that the media
themselves have to act
responsibly and to appreciate their potential to make
or unmake a nation, to
cause division or unity and to incite war or national
cohesion.
This
is our vision of the new information society in the new Zimbabwe but we
will
continue to press for media reform as part of the key reforms that we
agreed
should take place during the tenure of this transitional government.
May
you celebrate this day, well aware that we are solidly behind you in
your
quest for true press freedom, but freedom exercised within the context
of
responsible journalism.
I can assure you that we are committed to
achieving media freedom well
within our lifetime.
I thank You
3 May 2012
This
year’s World Press Freedom Day commemorations mark a significant
milestone
for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) as they coincide
with the
organisation’s 20th anniversary.
Of equal significance is the fact that the
commemorations come on the
backdrop of last year’s 20th anniversary of the
1991 Windhoek Declaration
from which MISA, and inherently MISA-Zimbabwe,
derives its brief and mandate
as a freedom of expression advocacy and lobby
group.
These two historical milestones offer immense opportunity to SADC
governments and Zimbabwe in particular, to reflect and take stock on how far
the region has gone in fulfilling the obligations of the Windhoek
Declaration.
The Declaration encourages member states to allow for
the emergence of an
environment that fosters the establishment and
maintenance of an
independent, pluralistic and free press, which is
essential to the
realisation of democracy and economic growth.
Sadly
for Zimbabwe, the seven-year ban on The Daily News and The Daily News
on
Sunday (prior to resumption of publication in 2011) and the holdup in
liberating the airwaves, spoke volumes about the government’s commitment to
the Declaration and let alone, the African Charter on
Broadcasting.
MISA-Zimbabwe is nevertheless encouraged by the opening of
the print media
sector, which saw the licensing of more than 30
publications. However, the
country’s legislative framework remains a threat
to the sustainability of
the very same publications.
We also
witnessed the licensing of two commercial national radio stations in
November 2011. However, the controversy surrounding the licensing authority,
the licensing process and the licensees, engender doubts on whether the
development would enhance access to alternative view points for the majority
of Zimbabweans who rely on radio for information.
While there has
been a decline in the number of arrests and harassment of
journalists
following the inauguration of the coalition government, there is
no
guarantee that the situation will continue as long as the repressive laws
remain in place and could be used as and when those in office are subjected
to robust media scrutiny.
Our theme: Media Freedom Now or Never – 20
Years in Defence of Media
Freedom, was deliberately coined mindful of the
ongoing constitution making
process and the fact that Zimbabwe does not have
constitutional provisions
that guarantee media freedom and citizens’ right
to access to information.
It is against this background that journalists
and citizens continue to be
harassed and arrested under undemocratic
legislation such as AIPPA and the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act, among others.
For instance, during the period between November 2011
to date, six cases of
media violations were reported. In four of the six
cases journalists were
charged under Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act. Of the four, three
were specifically charged with criminal
defamation.
The cases involved charges against Standard journalists Nqaba
Matshazi and
editor Nevanji Madanhire, The Daily News editor Stanley Gama
and journalist
Xolisani Ncube.
Criminal defamation has become the weapon
of choice against media freedom
and freedom of expression.
This is
despite spirited calls by the African Commission on Human and
Peoples
Rights’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to
Information, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, for the repeal of all criminal
defamation laws and provisions which are antithetical to a democratic media
space.
In celebrating our 20-years in defence of freedom of
expression and media
freedom, we hereby reiterate and reaffirm our
commitment to the ideals,
principles and visions of MISA as espoused in
terms of the Windhoek
Declaration, African Charter on Broadcasting and the
Banjul Declaration on
the Principles of Freedom of Expression in
Africa.
On its part the government should fully comply with these
instruments and as
a matter of urgency:
- license more independent
players in the broadcasting field and transform
ZBC into a true public
service broadcaster
- institute fundamental media law reforms and comply with
the African
Commission’s recommendations to amend some provisions of
AIPPA
- present before parliament the much talked about Freedom of
Information
Bill
- ensure that there are explicit constitutional
provisions that guarantee
the right to freedom of information and press
freedom
End
Njabulo Ncube
National Chairperson
MISA-Zimbabwe
CONSTITUTION WATCH 2012
[3rd May 2012]
Latest Draft Constitution Published
On 1st May Newsday
published its first instalment of the text of the latest draft of the
constitution, i.e., the draft that was approved by the COPAC Select Committee
and then delivered to the Management Committee last week. [Note: In our last Constitution Watch Veritas, referred to this as
the second draft – to distinguish it from the first draft published by the
Herald on the 10th of February. But
although that draft has now been thoroughly revised by the lead drafters and the
COPAC Co-chairs Forum, the Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs chairing the
Management Committee has insisted that it should be called the “first draft”
because it is the first official draft to reach the Management Committee and be
accepted by the Management Committee as a foundation for progress. Veritas to avoid confusion will call it the revised draft]
This first Newsday extract
covered the Preamble and Chapter 1 [Founding Principles]. Newsday of 2nd May followed with
instalment 2. This extract covers
Chapter 2 [National Objectives], Chapter 3 [Citizenship] and part of Chapter 4
[Declaration of Rights]. Today’s Newsday continues with Chapter 4 up to
clause 22.
Veritas does not usually circulate drafts that are not complete or
have not been finalised. But as the
latest draft is now in the public domain and needs to be widely discussed, and
as we believe it may be helpful to do so, we make it available in electronic
form for those who do not have access to a hard copy or otherwise need a soft
copy. We thank Newsday for providing the document. [Copy of draft constitution available from veritas@mango.zw - 140 KB zipped Word
document.]
Yesterday’s Herald had the
complete draft as a supplement, but the very small print makes it difficult to read.
First Draft (Revised) Still Not
Complete
As pointed out in Constitution Watch of 26th April, this revised
draft is not a complete draft. There are
issues that were still to be decided by the Management Committee and/or the
principals or political parties. Also to
be borne in mind when reading the draft is that, as well as later inclusion of
issues still to be resolved, there may be further revisions even of this text by
the Management Committee and/or the principals/party presidents or political
parties. It is only when it has gone
through all these levels that a final draft will be translated and made
available countrywide for debate before the Second Stakeholders’
Conference. So any comment on or
objection to the first draft (revised) may also have to be revised.
Nevertheless, as the new constitution requires study and analysis, the
sooner this is started the better – with the caveat that there are still changes
to come.
Result of Management Committee Meeting on 30th April
The COPAC Management Committee met as planned on Monday 30th April to consider the revised draft
delivered to them by the COPAC co-chairs last week. Press reports of the meeting’s outcome have
been somewhat contradictory, but according to the chairperson of the Management
Committee, Hon Eric Matinenga, Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary
Affairs, the decisions taken at that meeting were:
· the Management Committee will remain seized with the “parked issues” and will meet again next
week with a view to resolving them, the only really troublesome remaining issue
being what provision should be made for implementation of devolution of power to
the provinces
· the draft must be referred to the
three GPA political parties for their comments.
[This
has now been done.]
· the draft, even though incomplete,
must be given to the “party principals/party presidents”, i.e., it must go to
Professor Ncube as well as to Mr Mugabe , Mr Tsvangirai and Professor
Mutambara. [It has already
been received by Professor Ncube, Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai.] [Note:
Professor Ncube’s MDC is represented on the Select Committee and the
Management Committee. Professor Mutambara’s MDC is not.]
· the Select Committee members, under
the leadership of the co-chairs, must endeavour to make the necessary editorial
corrections arising from discussions that have taken place so far and must
revisit the provisions on citizenship to make the changes agreed on by the
Management Committee regarding dual citizenship. [The management committee had at a previous meeting
resolved the “parked” issue of dual citizenship by leaving it to be regulated by
Act of Parliament, but at the same time ensuring special protection of the
rights of citizens by birth and descent, and those currently classed as aliens
but who by virtue of birth in and family residence in Zimbabwe can be said to
belong to Zimbabwe.]
· the political parties must submit
their comments no later than Friday 4th May. [Mr Biti has
said that MDC-T has already made its comments.]
· the co-chairs must also submit the
tidied-up draft no later than Friday 4th May, to facilitate a fruitful
Management Committee meeting on Monday 7th May.
Two out of Three Previously Parked Issues Resolved
Number
of Vice-Presidents This formerly parked issue
[see Constitution Watch of 26th April
2012] has been resolved by not specifying whether there would be one or two
in the Constitution, and instead saying there can be “up to two
Vice-Presidents’.
Dual
citizenship This issue has been resolved [see above] – though there is still a
strong opinion that it should not be left to an Act of Parliament because
correctly all the important parameters of citizenship should be covered in the
Constitution.
Devolution and its modalities This still remains an unresolved and
contentious issue and the Chapter of the revised draft headed Provincial and Local Government is still
“parked”.
[Note: The present
constitution has a certain measure of devolution but there is pressure for more
devolution of power from the MDC parties and strong resistance to this from ZANU-PF.]
How Long to an Agreed Final Draft?
Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Eric Matinenga said today he hoped the remaining issues could be
satisfactorily resolved and the final draft wrapped up by the end of next
week.
Comment: Wrapping up the
draft by the end of next week – 11th May – is a tall order. Things could still be delayed or derailed –
for instance, by one of the GPA political parties failing to come up with agreed
comments on the draft for submission to the Management Committee. Reports suggest that there
is a strong body of opinion within ZANU-PF that is vehemently opposed to the
draft. The ZANU-PF Politburo is due to
meet on Thursday 3rd May.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information supplied
