http://www.voanews.com
Sources said Mr. Zuma’s
team pressed negotiators to draw set a time line for
a referendum on a new
constitution and the next elections so as to have a
definitive document to
present to a SADC summit on May 20
Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington 06 May
2011
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Cape
Town on
Thursday, Mr. Tsvangirai said he wants a road map that will produce
credible
elections whose results will not be contested
Discussions
among negotiators for the parties in Zimbabwe's troubled unity
government
ended Friday in Cape Town, South Africa, with a request to
regional mediator
President Jacob Zuma to schedule meetings with the Harare
principals on
critical items.
Such issues include reform of the Zimbabwean security
sector to ringfence
the electoral process from interference by the military,
the police and
intelligence services, and the reconstitution of the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission to remove carryovers from the predecessor commission
who remain
loyal to President Robert Mugabe.
The negotiators opened
talks on Thursday at the request of Mr. Zuma, named
mediator in the Zimbabwe
crisis by the Southern African Development
Community in 2009. They presented
a draft road-map to the next Zimbabwean
elections to a team of facilitators
and advisers representing Mr. Zuma and
by extension SADC and the African
Union.
Sources close to the talks said Mr. Zuma’s team pressed the
negotiators to
draw set a specific timeline for a referendum on the
constitution now under
drafting and the next elections so as to have a
definitive document to
present to a SADC summit May 20.
Negotiators
for ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change formations
are now
expected to meet next week in Harare to discuss the timelines before
Mr.
Zuma’s arrival for talks with President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan
Tsvangirai and Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, leader of the
smaller MDC
formation.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Cape
Town on
Thursday, Mr. Tsvangirai said he wants a road map that will produce
credible
elections whose results will not be contested. He said negotiating
with Mr.
Mugabe had been "frustrating."
Energy Minister Elton
Mangoma, negotiator for the Tsvangirai MDC formation,
told VOA Studio 7
reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that the MDC agreed on various
issues with their
ZANU-PF counterparts but it was not clear whether
implementation would
follow.
http://www.radiovop.com
07/05/2011 14:01:00
HARARE,
May 07, 2010- Police on Friday blamed Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s
MDC-T party for the eruption of political violence across the
country saying
the party has for the past few months been a major culprit
especially during
the run-up to their congress.
The police were responding to a report
published by a local daily, Newsday,
which alleges that Zanu (PF) has
unleashed political violence across the
country, the Zimbabwe Republic
Police claims their records shows clearly
that MDC-T is the major
perpetrator of political violence which were
recovered in most provinces
ahead of the party's congress held last month.
Police Spokesperson
Superintendent Andrew Phiri warned MDC-T against trying
to destabilise the
country through acts of political violence and said the
culprits will be
dealt with accordingly.
Responding to the recent alleged kidnapping of
four of MDC-T supporters in
Mbare, Superintendent Phiri said the party
should follow procedures of
reporting cases and the matters should be left
in the hands of capable
authorities.
According to the report MDC-T tops
the list in national political violence
records as demonstrated by
intra-party clashes during the provincial
elections and the congress.
The
report indicates that from January to April this year, MDC- T party has
been
involved in more than 20 incidences of violence though it has blamed
Zanu
PF.
http://www.voanews.com/
The report, released Tuesday,
said intra-party violence in the MDC formation
during the first four months
of the year topped the national violence record
despite claims by the party
that its members are always on the receiving end
from ZANU-PF
supporters.
Jonga Kandemiiri | Washington 06 May 2011
The
Zimbabwean police have issued a report alleging that the Movement for
Democratic Change wing of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai exceeds President
Robert Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF and other parties in the commission of
political violence.
The report released this week said intra-party
violence in the MDC formation
during the first four months of the year
topped the national violence record
despite claims by the party that its
members are usually on the receiving
end from ZANU-PF supporters.
The
police report said more than 20 violent incidents were recorded during
the
build-up to the MDC’s national congress held in Bulawayo last
week.
Violence fIared in Masvingo, Bulawayo and Midlands during
provincial
congresses ahead of the main event in Bulawayo, prompting
Mr.Tsvangirai to
openly condemn the use of violence within the party. He has
however accused
ZANU-PF of fomenting violence.
The MDC resolved at
the Bulawayo congress to form a committee that will
investigate internecine
violence, promising to bring perpetrators to book.
MDC spokesman Douglas
Mwonzora told VOA reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the
party was not taking
the police report seriously as it was made up out of
whole
cloth.
Director Phillip Pasirayi of the Center for Community Development
in
Zimbabwe dismissed the police report saying it's common knowledge that
the
police always protected ZANU-PF members who go about harassing MDC
supporters.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Mxolisi
Ncube
Saturday, 07 May 2011 12:23
JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwean civil
rights groups said recently that they are
monitoring the situation at home
and making notes for a report to be
published before the extra-ordinary
summit of the regional SADC bloc,
expected later this month.
This follows
reports of continuing violence unleashed by President Robert
Mugabe on his
political opponents, despite a recent order by the SADC for
the octogenarian
leader to stop the crackdown, mainly targeted at the
mainstream MDC led by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The SADC Troika summit in Zambia on March
31 noted with grave concern the
polarisation of the political environment as
characterised by the resurgence
of violence, arrests and intimidation. It
resolved that there must be an
immediate end of violence, intimidation, hate
speech, harassment, and any
other form of action that contradicts the letter
and spirit of GPA. But a
civil rights leader here said Mugabe and his junta
continued to destabilise
the GNU.
“There has been very little change and
we are worried that hate speech is
continuing in the state media, while
violence has not subsided,” said
Munjodzi Mutandiri of the National
Constitutional Assembly. “A dossier with
credible evidence will be released
just before and during the SADC meeting.
For example, ZBC is still being
dominated by Zanu (PF) propaganda, with no
other party getting
coverage.”
Among a number of measures that the groups will demand is the
immediate
suspension of Zimbabwe from the regional grouping, which gave
Mugabe a
lifeline when he faced rejection by the majority of Zimbabweans.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by The Zimbabwean
Saturday,
07 May 2011 12:30
Mupukuta objects as group buys drinks at ZESA
club
KARIBA – Ten MDC-T officials were arrested here on Easter Monday as
they
tried to have a drink in the ZESA social club.
Overzealous ZPC
security approached the group and said the Zanu (PF)
district Chairman,
Moses Mupukuta, who was also at the club was not happy
with the presence of
the known MDC-T members.
As some of the group were trying to pay $6.70 for
the drinks which they had
ordered, the Dispol stormed in and arrested them
for “public gathering”.
When More Mudondo, the MDC-T youth Chairman insisted
that they were just
having drinks, the police ordered the five officials to
get into the police
Mitsubishi Pick Up truck and to answer all charges at
Kariba Police Station.
“It was shocking to see a high ranking police official
of the rank of Dispol
arresting innocent civilians at a public place simply
because they support
MDC-T. At the police station he instructed that they be
locked away for a
night,” said an eye witness.
Those arrested included
Greenwich Ndanga, the Mashonaland West Provincial
Secretary, together with
Director of Elections Chafu, Councillors Musemburi
and Chatora, District
Youth Chairman More Mudondo, District Youth Organising
Secretary Tafadzwa,
District Secretary George Masendu, Ward Chairperson
Robby Tigere, District
Youth Treasurer Whachi and Provincial Youth member
Opa Makwenya.
The
local ZESA manager was forced to come up with flimsy charges against the
activists and they were locked away and the cells heavily guarded by police
with guns. The following morning the other five MDC-T activists who had left
the Club before the Dispol ordered the arrest of their fellows, were dragged
from their homes and locked up with the others at the Kariba Police Station
cells.
“Even though Kariba has a court in which these detainees could be
tried,
investigating officers had to be summoned from Chinhoyi Law and Order
Section as a delaying tactic. After a whole night’s interrogation they were
bundled the following day into a Mitsubishi Pick Up and transferred to
appear in Chinhoyi - some 200kms away,” said the witness.
“Detentions are
now an antiquated system of repression against us and can no
longer crush
our spirits. So many heroes of the struggle have survived
incarceration
before, to an extent that being detained in Zimbabwe for
political reasons
is now so ordinary, Zanu (PF) should desist from this old
tactic as it no
longer works,” said Ndonga. “Zanu (PF) was rejected in
Kariba and the people
of Kariba will continue to reject them,” he added.
The Kariba MDC-T Youth
Chairman said Zanu (PF) was behaving as if there was
no inclusive
government. “They are treating all ZESA assets as Zanu (PF)
property to the
extent that the ZESA Power Company buses are sometimes
abused by party
officials to ferry their members to various functions. One
wonders if the
Minister of Energy, Elton Mangoma, is aware of this abuse of
ZESA assets,”
he said.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 06 May 2011 12:33
Clemence Manyukwe,
Political Editor
ZANU-PF has turned the heat on its negotiators after
what party stalwarts
alleged were a number of controversial concessions made
in talks meant to
extinguish a crisis between the party and its rivals in
the inclusive
government.
Party officials said some of the agreed
positions in a planned election
road-map contravene some of the liberation
party’s own resolutions.
The party’s negotiators this week go into fresh
meetings in South Africa
under immense pressure from hardliners in their
party who feel that they are
giving too much ground to Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) formations
that might end up tilting the balance of
power against them in forthcoming
polls.
Patrick Chinamasa, who leads
negotiations on behalf of ZANU-PF, was also in
the eye of the storm for
utterances he made last week in the State media.
The minister said it was
not possible to hold elections this year
considering reforms that must first
be implemented before any poll could
take place.
The view was totally at
odds with President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF’s
position that elections
should be held this year.
Chinamasa, the Justice and Legal Affairs Minister,
added: “We need to start
talking about elections next year or 2013 assuming
that the referendum is
completed in September as we have been advised by
COPAC (Constitution
Parliamentary Select Committee).”
COPAC is the body
charged with the constitution-making process.
Sources this week said there
was growing unease in ZANU-PF that Chinamasa
and Nicholas Goche, another
member of the party’s negotiating team, could
end up costing the party in
the impending polls.
Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma, are representing the
MDC-T in the
negotiations with Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Edwin
Mushoriwa
representing the other MDC outfit led by Welshman Ncube.
In an
interview on Tuesday, ZANU-PF secretary for information and publicity,
Rugare Gumbo, said Chinamasa should not have expressed his personal opinion
on the issue of polls. He said ZANU-PF had not changed its stance that
elections would be held this year, adding that the party’s position is
supreme to any undertakings that may be made by its negotiators.
“I don’t
work on personal opinions as a representative of the party.
Everyone in the
party has an opinion, but in party politics no one expresses
his own
opinions, you follow what the party says,” said Gumbo.
“The position of the
party prevails. We still stand by the resolution of the
people’s conference
in Mutare; we maintain the position taken by the
President that elections
would be held this year. The Politburo and central
committee approved (the
resolution) and we stand by that,” said Gumbo.
It is not only the possibility
of delaying elections that has seen ZANU-PF
negotiators coming under fire.
The negotiators also agreed to media reforms
that resulted in an agreement
pushing for the appointment of new boards for
the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation, Broadcasting Auth-ority of Zimbabwe
and trustees for the Mass
Media Trust.
There was also an agreement for the establishment of a Media
Council of
Zimbabwe, the opening up of the airwaves and campaigning for the
closure of
pirate radio stations, as agreed under the Global Political
Agreement (GPA).
The negotiators also agreed that measures should be taken
for the State
media to provide balanced and fair coverage to all political
parties and to
stop unnecessary attacks on ministers seconded by MDC
formations who would
be implementing government programmes.
Last week,
ZANU-PF’s political commissar, who is also the Minister of Media,
Information and Publicity, Webster Shamu, criticised the proposed media
reforms and went to the extent of saying not even Chinamasa or Goche were
media experts.
“Not even our negotiators are communication experts. They
are politicians
representing political parties who have been put together to
deal with a
national political question,” said Shamu.
“We must not, as
negotiators, abuse our mandates to roll back the very
freedoms we purport to
read in the GPA.”
The pressure on ZANU-PF negotiators coincides with a
meeting of negotiators
in South Africa that would also be attended by
President Jacob Zuma’s
facilitation team.
The South African President’s
international relations advisor, Lindiwe Zulu,
on Tuesday said the
negotiators were expected to have left Zimbabwe
yesterday ahead of today’s
meeting.
She said there would be two issues on the agenda: A review of the
GPA and
the election road-map.
Zulu further said SADC officials
recommended by the SADC Troika to join the
local dialogue were yet to be
appointed.
“Right now, we are dealing with those two issues — the review of
the GPA and
the road-map,” said Zulu.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
07/05/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
AIR Zimbabwe workers received only half their salaries last
month as the
struggling airline’s operational and viability problems, which
were worsened
by a recent month-long strike by its pilots,
continue.
Workers confirmed the development in interviews with state
media.
"We were given half salaries in April and management has made it
clear that
it does not have money at the moment to give us our full
salaries,” an
airline employee was quoted as saying.
"Management says
the strike by the pilots worsened the cash flow problems
faced by the
company.”
Acting chief executive, Innocent Mavhunga said the airline was
facing cash
flow problems.
"Yes, they (workers) will continue to get
half salaries. It is nothing new,"
Mavhunga said.
“We have cash flow
problems at the moment.”
Mavhunga however dismissed reports that a London
flight had to be cancelled
after the airline failed to raise money for
fuel.
Passengers were left stranded after Thursday’s scheduled London
flight was
cancelled.
The airline chief said a decision had been made
to combine loads because of
declining passenger numbers.
"We decided
to combine loads because the loads to London are low. They are
low because
we are just coming from a strike and we are trying to optimize,"
he
said.
Air Zimbabwe is sitting on a $100 million debt pile amid reports
that
massive loses are also being incurred on all the seven routes the
airline
services.
The government was recently forced to chip-in with
US$4 million to help end
a month-long strike by pilots.
Part of the
money was reportedly used to pay the reduced April salaries.
Mavhunga
warned that the airline was likely to continue paying half salaries
unless
the cash flow situation improves.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 06 May 2011 11:58
Njabulo
Ncube, Assistant Editor
ZIMBABWE’S civil servants are getting
increasingly agitated after a promised
salary hike failed to materialise,
setting the stage for a possible winter
of discontent.
Civil servants
representatives have warned of a crippling strike next month
if the
inclusive government fails to award them a reasonable salary
adjustment.
Presently civil servants take home an average of US$150 per
month, in a
country where the poverty datum line is estimated at
US$502.
Last month, President Robert Mugabe pledged to award the government
wor-kers
hefty salary increments derived from the sale of gems from the
controversial
Ma-range diamond fields.
While the country has held several
auction sales of the Marange diamonds,
nothing has trickled down to the
civil servants, with Finance Mini-ster,
Tendai Biti pleading
ban-kruptcy.
As if this was not enough, last month war veterans of the
country’s war of
liberation stormed Biti’s offices, dem-anding that he award
them increments
from the diamond sales.
With the proceeds from the
diamond sales now shrouded in mystery, the issue
has stoked tempers among
public workers who feel the inclusive government
has abandoned them.
The
generality of the public workers accuse Biti of deliberately refusing to
award them increments while allowing ministers and other senior government
officials to globe-trot at a time the government is claiming to be
broke.
There is a general feeling that the civil servants have become pawns
in a
political game as ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
formation headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai eye the next
elections.
ZANU-PF is seen trying to drive a wedge between the MDC-T and
labour by
presenting the party’s secretary general, who is the Minister of
Finance, as
arrogant, unreasonable and selfish.
As if to confirm this
theory, the Mines Ministry, which is headed by a
ZANU-PF minister, has been
claiming to have wired substantial proceeds from
the sale of Marange
diamonds to Treasury.
Biti has denied these claims, demanding an audit which
has been resisted by
ZANU-PF ministers.
MDC-T is principally a
labour-backed party. Intere-stingly, it is also in
charge of the labour
portfolio in the inclusive government.
The bulk of the MDC-T leadership,
including Prime Minister Tsvangirai, were
trade unionists. In fact they used
the Zimbabwe Con-gress of Trade Unions as
the launch-pad for the MDC.
But
there are concerns the MDC formations have abandoned the workers as they
join the gravy train in government, hence their silence over the plight of
civil servants.
Biti argues that a huge recurrent expenditure bill was
among factors
militating against recovery of the country’s economy.
He
suggested that a painful realignment of government spending was
imp-erative.
In his first quarter fiscal update delivered last Thurs-day,
Biti revealed
that recurrent expenditures, at 93,7 percent, had swallowed
the bulk of the
US$655,6 million in revenues collected during the period.
Wages and salaries
constituted 48 percent of recurrent expenditure.
“I
think the whole issue reflects on the desperation by politicians to
use
the deplorable conditions in the public sector for political
mileage,”
said Trevor Maisiri, an independent political analyst.
“It indicates the
state of politicisation of the civil ser-vices which must
critically be
addressed through public sector reform initiatives. The public
service must
not at all be engulfed in the political machinations
characteristic of party
politics.
In that regard, conditions of service for the civil service sector
must
therefore not be determined by the political infrastructure but must be
professionalised.
“This latest standoff is an indication of the bigger
problem we have in
Zimbabwe where some national institutions have outrightly
been abrogated to
and by political parties,” said Maisiri.
Bekithemba
Mpofu, another analyst, said the promise for salary increments
was
tantamount to vote buying.
“Vote buying comes in different forms and the
recent promises to hike civil
servants’ salaries can be viewed as such,”
said Mpofu.
“It is unthinkable to have a labour backed party suppressing
civil servant
salary increases,” he added.
Reverend Useni Sibanda, the
executive director of the Zimbabwe Christian
Alliance, said the announcement
by the President of the increment, which
procedurally should be done by the
Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of
Public Service, was indicative of the
internal politics and tussle between
ZANU-PF and the MDC-T.
“The fight
for space and political mileage to the electorate in many cases
dictates
some populist announcements that have no bearing to the realities
on the
ground.
“I think the announcement by the President was a political decision
meant to
appeal to the huge base of civil servants,” he said.
The
confusion over the salary increases is indicative of the struggle
between
two sides of the government where one is trying to cut down on
expenditures
and unbudgeted costs while the other side of the same
government wants to
continue with fiscal indiscipline.
But the civil servants remain the losers
in the meantime as state players
fight for political space.
http://mg.co.za/
RAY NDLOVU HARARE, ZIMBABWE - May 06 2011
07:47
Allegations of violence, vote-buying, tribalism and
jostling for top
positions at last weekend's national congress of Morgan
Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change have dealt a blow to the party's
improving
fortunes.
The MDC recently scored crucial political
victories against Zanu-PF,
retaining the post of Speaker of Parliament and
sealing its majority in
Parliament. It has also garnered overwhelming
support from the Southern
African Development Community to oppose
Zanu-PF-led crackdowns against its
supporters.
The national congress
was intended to further consolidate the MDC against
Zanu-PF ahead of the
elections expected this year. Instead, it created deep
divisions in the
party and posed a challenge to Tsvangirai's 12-year
leadership.
Although Tsvangirai retained the party presidency, the
run-up to the
congress was marked by violent clashes among MDC youth members
and conflict
between Gorden Moyo and Matson Hlalo for the coveted Bulawayo
chairperson
position, denting the party's pro-democracy
image.
Zanu-PF has expertly exploited these internal squabbles to attack
Tsvangirai
as "a leader without real power" and accuse the MDC of "ill
discipline" and
involvement in violence across the country.
Eager to
be seen reining in the chaos in his party, Tsvangirai promised to
set up an
independent commission to investigate all acts of violence.
"We know
those people causing violence … we don't tolerate violence and
party leaders
sponsoring it face expulsion and will be investigated
thoroughly," he
said.
A senior MDC official told the Mail & Guardian of the extensive
vote-buying
that overshadowed the congress, a worrying sign that the party
has lost its
pro-poor stance and has been overtaken by elitist
practices.
"It's known that people were paid as much as $3 000 to buy
votes for the
provincial posts. This congress wasn't concerned about
ordinary people, but
with the self-serving interests of power-hungry
individuals," said the
official.
While other party heavyweights,
including Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa,
Lovemore Moyo and Roy Bennett, romped
to easy victories at the congress,
veteran leader Elias Mudzuri lost the
race for the post of national
organising secretary. Mudzuri has long been
viewed as an ambitious schemer
who is seeking to oust Tsvangirai.
In
a Cabinet reshuffle last year Tsvangirai dropped Mudzuri as a minister,
strategically paving the way for his removal from top party
structures.
The conference also sparked complaints of tribalism in the
MDC's executive
committee; only three of its 13 leaders -- Moyo, Thokozani
Khuphe and
Abednico Bhebhe are drawn from the Ndebele-speaking
regions.
Traditionally, the Matabeleland and Midlands regions have been
bastions of
support for the MDC during elections.
The smaller MDC
faction, led by Welshman Ncube, has recently stepped up its
criticism of
perceived tribal representation in Tsvangirai's grouping. This
has had a
knock-on effect among some of Tsvangirai's supporters, who have
intensified
their calls for a "regional balance" in the leadership.
http://www.radiovop.com/
07/05/2011 17:39:00
JOHANNESBURG, May 07,
2011- Zimbabwe MDC leader says at World Economic Forum
he supports
indigenisation policy that stipulates locals own 51% of the
shares in
foreign companies
ZIMBABWEAN Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday
voiced support for his
country’s controversial indigenisation policy, which
stipulates that locals
should own at least 51% of the shares in foreign
companies.
"Indigenisation is not about expropriation or nationalisation
... it’s about
setting fair value," he said at a debate at the World
Economic Forum in Cape
Town .
It was the first time Zimbabwe’s opposition
leader made clear he was in
favour of the new laws, which took effect in
March when foreign mining firms
were given six months to sell a majority
stake to local black investors.
Mining is one of the few profitable sectors
in Zimbabwe and analysts warn
indigenisation could curtail capital
inflows.
"People have raised concerns about indigenisation," Mr
Tsvangirai told
reporters. "Across the political divide we agree on the
principle of
citizenship empowerment."
Mr Tsvangirai said what was
important was how the new laws would be
implemented. "We are trying to model
a matrix that will satisfy both the
investor and our desire to see people
(participate more in the economy).
"We are contributing the mineral resource,
you will exploit it and we will
exploit it to the benefit of both of
us.
"Companies want political stability and policy consistency, we have
been
consistent in the area of indigenisation." Tongue in cheek, Mr
Tsvangirai
asked a mining panel discussion why there was no metals exchange
in Africa
or a cartel such as Opec. He criticised the lack of accountability
in
Zimbabwe’s mining sector, saying that the fiscus had only received a few
dollars from the industry.
"We can’t have this .... there must be
accountability for how they are
dispersed to the benefits of the
population."
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Midlands Reporter
Saturday,
07 May 2011 12:46
GWERU - United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles
Ray says Washington is
fully behind the institutions and processes
necessary to ensure transition
to democracy so that the country can avoid a
disputable election outcome in
polls expected next year.
Negotiators from
Zimbabwe's three mainstream parties, MDC-T led by Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai; MDC-N led by Welshman Ncube and Zanu (PF) have
agreed that
elections be held next year. However, fears have escalated that
President
Robert Mugabe might still refuse to give up power if he loses the
polls.
Speaking to journalists in Gweru last week, Ray said it was not
the foreign
policy of the US to interfere in the domestic affairs of other
countries.
Acting on a “needs basis” his country could be forced by
circumstances to
make direct involvements, as it did in countries in
Northern Africa like
Libya.
"We are working with regional bodies like
SADC to ensure that democracy
prevails in Zimbabwe. If this country produces
a disputable election in
future, we will all be disappointed. It is our
hope that democracy will
prevail, so that the ordinary citizens who speak
through their votes are
respected," said Ray.
He added that Americans do
not vote in Zimbabwe's elections and are not
bothered on who rules the
country as long as elections are held in a free
and fair manner. Political
analysts have warned that it is less likely that
Mugabe would agree to pass
on rule of Zimbabwe to anyone else, let alone a
leader of an opposition
party in Zimbabwe.
They cite the example of 2008 where the ageing leader lost
elections to
Tsvangirai but maintained a stranglehold on power.
The
chances of Zimbabwe being able to hold a free and fair elections have
been
questioned, considering the fact that the main regulatory body,
Zimbabwe
Elections Commission, is believed to be staffed with Central
Intelligence
Organization (CIO) operatives sympathetic to Mugabe.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Yeukai Moyo
Friday, 06 May 2011
15:09
HARARE – Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) founder
and
artistic director Manuel Bagorro has issued a press release clarifying
that
he was not arrested nor was the event ransacked by police, Showbiz on
Sunday
can reveal. (Pictured: Winky D performs at HIFA)
Bagorro, the only
official authorized to comment on behalf of HIFA, said, ‘I
would like to
clarify a matter that has generated much interest and some
rumour. Firstly,
I would like to reiterate that I have not at any point been
arrested. The
HIFA offices were not at all ransacked by police. It is as yet
unclear where
reports originated but I would like to clarify that the HIFA
offices were
not ransacked or raided.
The Harare International Festival of the Arts, as a
large-scale, public
entertainment event, as a matter of course works closely
with law
enforcement authorities, just as is the case with other large scale
public
events. However, the scale of HIFA necessitates closer and more
regular
liaison with law enforcement agencies who second representatives to
the
security committee at the Festival. Regular meetings are held between
Festival security personnel and management with the law enforcement agencies
as part of regular plenary and reportage sessions to ensure crime prevention
and law compliance.’
http://www.radiovop.com/
07/05/2011 13:59:00
BULAWAYO,May
07, 2011- The Zipra Veterans Trust has again threatened to drag
the Fallen
Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe to court for allegedly dumping more than
250 bodies
at an open place at Monkey William Mine in Mt Darwin.
“We are taking
Rutanhire and his group to court again for dumping these
bodies at an open
place, ”said Dexter Magwizi, the chairman of the Zipra
Veterans
Trust.Magwizi said Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe which is aligned
to
former ruling party, Zanu(PF) has no scientific approach to give
solutions
to the prevailing problem at Monkey William Mine.
“There are many heaps of
bones and skeletons lying idle in the open. These
corpses need urgent
attention before it is too late,” he said.
The war veterans leader said
when the Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe
started the project it did not lay
appropriate plans to deal with matters
accordingly.
“All they wanted
was to trigger people’s emotions, of the spectre of the
liberation war. This
was a myopic idea of politicking." He said.
Zanu (PF) has been accused
using the exhumations in Mount Darwin for
propaganda puposes and to draw
sympathy from the public on what they say is
genocide perpetrated by the
Smith regime in the 70s.
Last month Bulawayo High Court Justice, Nicholas
Mathonsi ordered immediate
stoppage to the exhumations saying the exercise
should be done in the
presence of medical experts and should also involve
ministries of national
healing and Reconciliation and Home Affairs.
http://www.radiovop.com
07/05/2011
13:58:00
HARARE, May 07, 2010- As inter-party negotiations for an
election roadmap
continue in South Africa, women's organizations have also
come up with their
own which sets minimum conditions for free and fair
elections, including
greater female representation.
Among the
conditions set by the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe are a new
constitution
for the country, a gender sensitive national healing process,
legal reforms,
an end to politically motivated violence and intimidation and
the promotion
of intra- party democracy.
A statement released by the coalition Friday also
calls for reforms in the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the media,
including the licensing of
independent radio and television stations, and
for the human rights and
anti-corruption commissions to be fully
functional.
"The state should ensure full security of women and girls
during election
periods and end impunity. Political parties must commit to
non-violent
campaigning and desist from hate speech in accordance with the
Global
Political Agreement (GPA); we demand that all stakeholders mainstream
non-violence education in all awareness raising and voter education
campaigns by all players (and) the state should guarantee and safeguard
freedom of movement, expression and assembly for all citizens, especially
women," the coalition said.
In a roadmap which is almost similar to
that proposed by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party, the coalition
also wants local, regional and
international election observers to be
deployed six months before elections
and maintain their presence for another
three months thereafter.
Zimbabwe will go to elections either in 2012 or in
2013, despite earlier
attempts by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu- PF
party to have them held
this year.
Negotiators for the three parties
in the inclusive government -- Zanu-PF and
two MDC factions -- are meeting
in South Africa to consider a roadmap to new
elections and issues that have
to be ironed out before the elections are
held.
South Africa, which was
mandated by the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to facilitate
talks between the country's rival political
parties following inconclusive
elections in 2008, is hosting the talks.
Areas being considered include the
compilation of a new voters' roll,
electoral and media reforms and the role
of security chiefs in matters of
politics and national governance.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by The Editor
Friday, 06 May 2011
16:46
After a decade in which political violence has become a byword for
elections
in Zimbabwe, Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri and
his officers
were only last week able to identify the chief culprits behind
the mayhem
that passes for elections in this country.
But what
boggles the mind the most is not that it has taken the police 10
years to
identify the enemies of peace who have assaulted, looted, raped,
tortured
and murdered in broad daylight at every election.
According to the latest
police records as reported by The Herald last week,
it is not the Border
Gezi youths, partisan army and CIO officers that are
behind most of the
violence and human rights abuses that have come to
characterise our
elections.
It is, in fact, the victims of violence -- the MDC-T -- that
according to
police statistics top the national violence record. And most of
that
violence was actually committed by one MDC activist against another,
the
police claim.
And what an insult to the victims of violence some
who -- like Tonderayi
Ndira, who was murdered in 2008, or Tichaona Chiminya
and Talent Mabika, who
were petrol-bombed to death in 2000 – paid with their
lives for daring to
oppose President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF)
party.
“The MDC-T is topping the national violence record despite the
party's
claims that its supporters are on the receiving end of political
violence in
the country…. acrimonious factionalism and skirmishes marred the
MDCT
provincial elections as party members jostled for positions,” the Zanu
(PF)-controlled newspaper reported last Thursday.
The point of the
story was quite clear: cast the MDC as inherently violent,
while at the same
time shifting attention from the real authors of violence
who even today
continue to harass and abuse innocent citizens as punishment
for not
supporting Mugabe.
Of course, the grand objective is to propagate a false
narrative to fool
Africa and the international community at large that those
who yesterday
ordered Gukurahundi and Operation Murambatsvina, and have kept
camps full of
murderers and rapists masquerading as a national youth service
brigade are
in fact the victims. What a shameless lie!
For the
record, we oppose violence whether it is politically motivated or
not. We
believe violence whether committed by the MDC or by whoever must be
prosecuted and punished accordingly. Those that committed violence during
the run-up to the MDC congress must be brought to book.
But by the
same token ‘Comrade’ Chihuri must also target all whose hands are
dripping
with the blood of innocent Zimbabweans including those – you know
who – that
have boasted publicly about holding degrees in political
violence.
Dear
Family and Friends,
Travelling
to a small country town on a cold and wintery morning this week, my eyes were
drawn to a shimmering silver trail running down the smooth, black boulders of a
rocky mountainside. Glistening and gleaming on the boulders, I knew the water
trail wouldn’t be here for much longer. The last puddles and pools of rain water
are now trickling away and disappearing underground, signalling the start of our
long dry season. Flying low overhead was a stunning Auger Buzzard, white wings
edged with black, a long stick hanging from its beak. It’s nearly nesting time
and the Buzzard had obviously found its spot on a cliff ledge nearby. In the
valley below lay a breathtaking panorama of open woodland and bronze grassland;
some of the aloes have started flowering providing a breathtaking portrait of
the African bush.
But
everything is not as peaceful as it seems because, alongside the beauty of this
magnificent time of year, is the grim reality that now is the time Zimbabwe’s
wildlife species are most at risk. The end of the rainy season; drying up of
small water pools and bronzing of the tall green summer grass, forces animals
out into the open and makes them easy targets for poachers. Johnny Rodrigues of
the Zimbabwe Conservation task Force calls the coming months our “peak poaching
season” and recently sent out the most horrific report on rhino poaching in
Zimbabwe’s Save Valley Conservancy.
Game
Scouts had reported seeing a severely wounded black rhino and when Rangers
located the animal they found a gruesome, horrific sight. The rhino had been
shot several times by poachers who had then hacked the horn off the animal’s
face and left the poor creature for dead. But it wasn’t dead and the rhino was
found wandering around with an enormous open wound and obviously in extreme
distress.
In
situations like this, immediate action is needed, sometimes to save the animal,
other times to provide a merciful release. Vets, transport, fuel, drugs,
tranquilizers – all are needed in a hurry. After a decade of turmoil in which
almost all government departments have been ravaged by economic collapse,
paralyzed by the exodus of skilled and professional staff and suffocated by
political interference, a few dedicated people and NGO’s have been left saving
our wildlife.
Johnny
Rodrigues and his wife Cheryl have been doing superb work in this regard. For
the last decade they have been travelling to the remotest of places to see,
record and intervene in the plight facing Zimbabwe’s wildlife. They mobilise
resources and specialists to save as many animals as they can. This might be in
the form of animal feed, veterinary supplies, tools, water pumps or just a few
bags of milk powder to save an orphaned baby animal.
Johnny is
passionate about conservation and not afraid to expose the big players behind
the gruesome poaching syndicates which are decimating Zimbabwe’s big game
species including lion, elephant and rhino.
Johnny and
Cheryl sent me a list of supplies desperately needed to get them through the
“peak poaching season.” Its not your average shopping list and reads as follows:
“We need M99 as a priority but are also trying to raise funds for
veterinary supplies for the guys in the field who are doing the snare removals.
These are: Antiseptic powder; Wash; Creams; Bandages; Wire cutters; Bolt
cutters; Dart gun; hypodermic needles; Scalpels and anti
inflammatories.”
If you
want an example of people working tirelessly behind the scenes and ‘giving back”
to Zimbabwe, Johnny and Cheryl Rodrigues and their Conservation Task Force are
it! If you would like to help them save animals this season or just be on their
mailing list, drop them a line at galorand@mweb.co.zw
Until next
time, thanks for reading, love cathy 7th May 2011. Copyright
© Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com