Police assault attorneys after violently breaking up lawyers' demonstration in Zimbabwe

International Herald Tribune

The Associated PressPublished: May 8, 2007

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Armed police violently broke up a demonstration of lawyers
wearing traditional legal gowns outside Zimbabwe's High Court on Tuesday,
took several away and beat them, the independent Law Society and witnesses
said.

One group was corralled onto a truck and taken to open grassland in the
Eastlea suburb of Harare, where they were made to lie on the ground and were
assaulted, said attorney Beatrice Mtetwa, head of the Zimbabwe Law Society.

Afterward, some were being examined for injuries by doctors at a private
clinic in northern Harare, she said.

During the lunchtime demonstration in downtown Harare, some of the lawyers,
in white court collars and other legal attire, were struck with riot sticks
as they argued their rights against orders to disperse.

They were protesting the arrest and detention of two of their colleagues
Friday for allegedly obstructing the course of justice in their defense of
opposition activists.

A senior police officer, using a bullhorn, warned the group of about 30
lawyers their protest was illegal under a ban on demonstrations in the
Zimbabwe capital.
Riot police, some armed with automatic rifles and shot guns, pushed and
jostled the lawyers, hitting out at them.

It was not immediately clear whether any of the protesters were being held
under arrest in a continuing clampdown against those seen as opposing the
government.

The lawyers pleaded their rights to gather and march peacefully to the
nearby parliament house, but squads of police were ordered to disperse the
group.

Last month, President Robert Mugabe repeatedly told supporters
demonstrations would not be tolerated and police had the right to crush
dissent and "bash" perpetrators of unrest.

Two attorneys who specialized in human rights issues and were defending
jailed opposition activists accused of petrol bomb attacks were released
from police cells Monday after being arrested Friday.

Police ignored two High Court orders to release them over the weekend. Alec
Muchadehama, 41, and a partner in the same firm, Andrew Makoni, 36, were
charged Monday with obstructing justice and freed on bail.

State prosecutors alleged the attorneys submitted "falsehoods" to a Harare
magistrate's court April 30 over one alleged gasoline bombing in western
Harare.

The two maintained a fire at ruling party offices in the township of Mbare
may have been accidental or set deliberately to blame opposition activists.

They said scarce gasoline and kerosene was stored at the offices.

Prosecutor Austin Muzivi also alleged the two lawyers "lied" that a key
witness trumped up charges against government opponents.

Plain clothes agents searched the two lawyers' offices after their arrest
Friday and combed through client files in breach of client-attorney
confidentiality, colleagues said.

Muchadehama, most prominent for representing activists and victims of state
orchestrated violence, was held at Matapi police cells in western Harare,
one of the nation's harshest jails, and was denied warm clothing and even a
blanket, said Eric Matinenga, an attorney acting for him.

Night temperatures drop to near freezing in Zimbabwe's southern hemisphere
winter.

Matinenga said court orders issued by Judge Tedius Karwe and Judge Alfas
Chitakunye over the weekend found no reason for the continued detention of
the lawyers arrested in the course of their professional duties.

Both orders to immediately free them were served on police but ignored, he
said.

Police and state officials in Zimbabwe, including Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa, have frequently ignored court orders and although contempt of
court proceedings have been filed, none has been concluded.

Attorneys, human rights activists and independent journalists have been
accused of backing a Western campaign led by Britain, the former colonial
power, for the ouster of President Robert Mugabe, 83, who has ruled since
independence in 1980.

The government claims the opposition Movement for Democratic Change mounted
a Western-backed campaign of terror and subversion that included a series of
11 gasoline bombings, charges the opposition denies.

At one court hearing, Muchadehama submitted that his clients could not have
committed one bombing cited by the state because they were already in jail
at the time.

Opposition leaders insist the bombings were orchestrated by state agents to
justify the arrests and assault of activists and clear the way for the
possible imposition of a sweeping state of emergency as the nation faces
deepening political and economic turmoil.

Meanwhile, Ghana's President and chairman of the African Union, John Kufuor
expressed concern about the crisis in Zimbabwe before a meeting with South
African President Thabo Mbeki, the South African Press Association reported
Tuesday.

"When the leader of the opposition gets beaten up, for good or ill,
naturally all concerned should be worried," Kufuor said, referring to the
assault on activists, including main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
when police broke up a March 11 prayer meeting.

Mbeki has been appointed by the Southern African Development Community as
facilitator to resolve the political tension in Zimbabwe.

Inflation in Zimbabwe last month reached a record 2,200 percent, the highest
in the world, and the country is facing acute shortages of hard currency,
gasoline, food, medicines and most other basic goods.

Zim poverty line rockets by 82%

Mail and Guardian

Harare, Zimbabwe

08 May 2007 04:21

       Zimbabwe's poverty line shot up by 82,88% as soaring inflation
wreaked havoc on daily life, figures from the Central Statistical Office
(CSO) showed on Tuesday.

      A family of five now requires Z$1 715 000 a month to meet its
most basic needs, said acting CSO director Moffat Nyoni in a poverty
analysis report.

      That figure is way above average wages for Zimbabweans lucky
enough to be formally employed.

      Farm workers have just had their monthly salary increased to
Z$96 000 a month, according to official reports earlier this week. That
means that a farm worker would have to work for nearly a year and a half
just to meet the poverty line for one month.

       Zimbabwe's economy has been spiralling deep into chaos since the
beginning of a controversial land-reform programme in 2000, which has seen a
massive drop in agricultural production, the wholesale flight of foreign
investment and the scaring off of the lucrative tourist market.

      Annual inflation topped 2 200% in March. Analysts on state radio
this week forecast the April rate, which has not yet been announced, could
reach 3 000%.

      Rising costs are now affecting all sectors of society.

      About half the nurses employed at Harare hospitals are choosing
not to report for duty because bus fares rose sharply last week, the
official Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday. Nurses receive at most Z$800
000 per month.

      "We are doing all we can to ensure that our health professionals
are remunerated in an appropriate manner," said Health Minister David
Parirenyatwa.

      "We fully appreciate the hyperinflationary environment we are
living in and we would like all our health professionals to be adequately
taken care of," he added. -- Sapa-dpa

Armed police drag leading lawyers on to lorry for public beating

The Times
May 9, 2007

Jan Raath in Harare
Armed police violently broke up a demonstration of lawyers yesterday,
subjecting them to punishment beatings as passing motorists stopped and
watched in horror.

One group was corralled on to a truck and taken to open grassland in a
suburb of Harare, where they were assaulted as they lay on the ground.

The victims included Beatrice Mtetwa, president of the Law Society of
Zimbabwe and winner of a 2005 press freedom award given in New York by the
Committee to Protect Journalists.

Lawyers were confronted by police with rubber truncheons, automatic rifles
and shotguns as they gathered outside the High Court to protest against the
arrest of two prominent human rights lawyers.

Some of the lawyers, including Eileen Sawyer, 80, the executive director of
the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, an alliance of civil liberty bodies,
stood their ground, but in the face of the lashing truncheons they were
forced to flee.

Mrs Sawyer received several blows on her back. "I thought, 'Oh my god, I'm
going to break my pelvis again'," she said. At least five people were
treated for severe bruising.

President Mugabe has encouraged security forces to deal violently with
protests against his regime. In March, after Morgan Tsvangirai, the
opposition leader, and about 30 other officials of his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) suffered severe injuries inflicted by police, Mr
Mugabe said of his critics: "They will get arrested and get bashed by
police."

On Friday the lawyers Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni were arrested as
they emerged from the High Court after arguing against the continued
detention - for more than a month - of 13 MDC officials whom the Government
accuses of being involved in an alleged petrol-bombing campaign.

They were released late on Monday after being charged with "lying" in an
affidavit asserting there was evidence that the bombings in March and last
month had been carried out by the Government to justify the violent
repression of the past two months.

About 30 lawyers were gathering outside the High Court yesterday, planning
to march to Parliament to present the Justice Minister with a petition
protesting against the treatment of Mr Muchadehama and Mr Makoni.

A force of police was also gathering, and Mrs Mtetwa attempted to negotiate
with the senior officer to allow them to proceed peacefully. His response
was to order the violent attack.

Mrs Mtetwa, two other Law Society councillors and an elderly white lawyer
ran into the nearby entrance of the Justice Ministry. "We thought we would
be safe there," she said. "But there were other cops waiting inside. They
dragged us out and threw us into the back of a truck."

They were driven to an open area next to a golf course east of the city
centre and ordered to get out. Mrs Mtetwa said that the senior officer, in
regular police uniform, ordered: "These people must now be beaten."

"One lawyer started running away, a lot of cops chased after him. There were
truckloads of cops," she said.

Mrs Mtetwa said that she was attacked by a woman in plain clothes. "The
woman really went for me. They were beating us everywhere, on my back, my
stomach, my arms, my buttocks.

"It was such a spectacle. Motorists on the road nearby stopped to watch."

Mrs Mtetwa added: "A police car with two officers stopped. They rebuked the
police who were beating us. They said, 'Why are you doing this in public?'
Then we were abandoned there. They said, 'Now you can go and demonstrate
with your swollen bodies.' "

As Mugabe era ebbs, opposition is deeply divided in Zimbabwe

International Herald Tribune

By Michael Wines Published: May 8, 2007

JOHANNESBURG: The last couple of years have been exceedingly tough for the
Movement for Democratic Change, the only opposition political party of any
note in Zimbabwe.

Party officials have been beaten with stones and logs; their cars have been
hijacked; their posters have been methodically stripped from street poles.
In one memorable instance, thugs tried to toss the party's director of
security down a sixth-floor stairwell at the party's headquarters.

And those are just the attacks they have endured from their own members.

Even more than the Zimbabwean government's frequently brutal abductions and
assaults on members of the MDC, the internecine brawls are evidence that all
is not well inside Zimbabwe's political opposition, the force upon which the
West has pinned its hopes for democratic change.

As President Robert Mugabe's 27-year rule enters what many analysts call a
terminal phase, the self-proclaimed democratic opposition is near its nadir.
The Movement for Democratic Change is split into two bitterly opposed
factions, at war over ideology, power and prestige. Each has called the
other a tool of Mugabe's spy service, the Central Intelligence Organization,
and each has accused the other of betraying the party's democratic ideals.

Now, with a crucial national election looming, the question is whether the
two factions can reform their tactics and patch up their differences long
enough to mount a serious challenge to Mugabe - and if they do, whether
ordinary people will care.
Some Zimbabweans are skeptical. "They don't seriously challenge the regime,"
said Mike Davies, who leads a civic group, the Combined Harare Residents
Association. "You ask young people here what they want, and their No. 1
answer is 'I want to get the hell out of Zimbabwe.' They don't buy into the
MDC."

Another expert, a political analyst in Harare, the capital, who refused to
be identified for fear of expulsion by the government, was dismissive. "As a
political party," he said, "they haven't cut the mustard."

An unlikely amalgam of whites and blacks, trade unionists and intellectuals,
the Movement for Democratic Change nearly won control of Parliament in 2000,
just a year after its founding, and nearly beat Mugabe in the 2002
presidential contest.

By the end of 2006, however, repeated miscalculations and sometimes violent
infighting had divided the party into two feuding camps, both almost
irrelevant.

They might still be, had Mugabe's riot police not severely beaten dozens of
opposition members during a protest March 11, including Morgan Tsvangirai,
the popular figure who now heads the party's largest faction.

Although Tsvangirai and his loyalists presided over the party's decline -
and not a little of the violence - his head wound and swollen eye instantly
elevated the party's profile in the world press, turning him into a symbol
of democratic change in Zimbabwe.

For the MDC, Tsvangirai's drubbing could be a godsend. Though the economy is
in ruins, millions of citizens have fled the country and most of those who
remain resent Mugabe, who at 83 has declared his intention to seek a new
term as president in elections next March.

Zimbabwe's neighbors, belatedly alarmed at the unraveling next door, have
appointed President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa to mediate guarantees of a
free and fair election.

Most political analysts say Mugabe has already begun his campaign, in his
own way. In February his agents began a wave of kidnappings and beatings of
hundreds of Movement for Democratic Change leaders - a crusade, critics say,
to destroy the opposition's will to contest another election.

Faced with that campaign, the two MDC factions have declared a temporary
truce and pledged to wage a single campaign against Mugabe. But with 11
months left before the vote, they have yet to choose a presidential
candidate or a parliamentary slate, much less a campaign plan.

Brian Raftopoulos, a Zimbabwean political scientist at the Institute for
Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town, says the clock is ticking. "They
have to agree at the very minimum on a common election strategy and a common
nominee for president," he said. "I think they've got very little time to do
that."

In interviews, both Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, the general secretary of
the opposing MDC faction, said that they were in serious talks to put aside
their rivalry and refocus their energies on defeating Mugabe.

That will be a tall order, for as Ncube says, the two sides are at odds over
bedrock issues about the role of a democratic opposition. One is the
principle of majority rule; the other is the acceptability of violence as a
political tactic.

Divisions began to fester early this decade, after Tsvangirai was lured into
a government sting operation that videotaped him talking of Mugabe's
"elimination" and relishing the prospect of his party's ascension to power.
Tsvangirai's subsequent arrest and trial on treason charges becalmed the MDC
for more than a year, crippled his control of party affairs and raised
questions about his competence.

Since he was acquitted in 2004, the party's internal feuds have blossomed
publicly. While political analysts say the party fell apart for many
reasons, violence seems to have been the trigger.

In mid-2004, vigilantes loyal to Tsvangirai began attacking MDC members who
were mostly loyal to Ncube, climaxing in a September raid on the party's
Harare headquarters in which the party's security director was nearly thrown
to his death.

An internal party inquiry later established that aides to Tsvangirai had
tolerated, if not endorsed, the violence. One of them, Isaac Matongo, later
became the chairman of Tsvangirai's wing of the party. Matongo died in his
sleep in Harare on Wednesday.

Divisive as the violence was, it was a debate over the rule of law that set
off the party's final breakup, in November 2005. As new Senate elections
approached, Ncube's supporters argued that the MDC should field a slate of
candidates; Tsvangirai's argued for a boycott. When party leaders voted on
the issue, Ncube's side narrowly won - but Tsvangirai declared that as
president of the party, he was not bound by the majority's decision.

In the ensuing divorce, each side accused the other of treason, and each
said the other had been infiltrated by Mugabe's spies, a charge that was
probably true for both. But in the 18 months since then, the two factions'
differences have persisted - as has the violence, albeit sporadically.

Both Tsvangirai and Ncube have publicly deplored the violence within the
opposition's ranks. Tsvangirai, in particular, said that the split in the
opposition "is sad and tragic," but added that the "petty squabbles" between
the two factions were now "water under the bridge." But in a party founded
on the nonviolent principles of Gandhi and King, the image of disarray and
to some critics, hypocrisy, has taken its toll in support from civic groups
and the press.

Roy Bennett, a Zimbabwean in exile who is the treasurer of Tsvangirai's wing
of the party, says those who bemoan the state of the MDC are missing the
point.

"Is the opposition the problem in Zimbabwe?" asked Bennett, who now lives in
South Africa. "The problem is Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF." He was referring
to Mugabe's party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.

Ncube says he agrees, which is why the two sides are attempting to present a
common front in the 2008 elections. But he and others find a disturbing
precedent to the discord - the leader of Zimbabwe's original liberation
movement, Robert Mugabe, suddenly decided after taking power in 1980 that he
alone knew what was best for his people, and waged a brutal war against
those who disagreed.

Nonviolence and democratic decision-making, he said, "are at the heart of
what we stood for. This is why we are opposed to the presidency of Robert
Mugabe. We don't want a one-man show."

Political violence, rights abuses in Zimbabwe worries US

Zim Online

Wednesday 09 May 2007

By Wayne Mafaro

HARARE - The United States (US) government on Tuesday said it was "deeply
concerned" with the growing levels of political violence and intimidation in
Zimbabwe.

In a statement released in Washington, US State Department spokesperson Sean
McCormack said the rise in cases of human rights abuses and intimidation
were a great cause for concern to the United States government.

"We condemn the serious human rights abuses and growing climate of fear and
intimidation for which the government of Zimbabwe bears primary
responsibility," said McCormack.

The US said Zimbabwe's seven-year old political crisis was threatening to
destabilize the whole southern African region.

"The situation has taken a toll on the people of Zimbabwe as well as the
people in southern Africa as a region, discouraging foreign investment,
creating a potential for a refugee crisis and food shortages and reducing
trade within the region," he said.

McCormack said the US will continue to press President Robert Mugabe's
government to respect the media, the judiciary and legitimate opposition
political parties.

The statement comes a week after international human rights watchdog Human
Rights Watch (HRW), called on the Harare administration to halt a violent
crackdown on political opponents and civic groups.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum also said last week that Harare had
since last February intensified a crackdown on political opponents leading
to the arrest of 294 people and the death of an opposition activist.

Rights abuses and political violence have become routine in Zimbabwe since
the emergence of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party as
a potent electoral threat to Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party. -
ZimOnline

Minister: Zim nurses can't afford transport to work

Mail and Guardian

Harare, Zimbabwe

08 May 2007 02:25

      Nurses at Zimbabwe's major government hospitals are not
reporting for work because they cannot afford transport costs due to low
wages, the country's health minister said.

      David Parirenyatwa told the official Herald newspaper that many
nurses at state-run hospitals were suffering, and their forced absence had
dealt another blow to a public health system struggling under a severe
economic crisis.

      Transport costs are rising in line with the country's galloping
inflation, which at 2 200% is the highest in the world.

      Parirenyatwa said student nurses and nursing supervisors were
staffing wards and attending to patients, but could not cope with the large
numbers of people needing attention.

       "It is a very difficult situation to manage. Since about half of
the nurses are not coming to work, it follows that service delivery at those
hospitals is compromised," he said in comments published on Tuesday.

       The minister was not available for further comment.

      Nurses and doctors employed at government hospitals went on a
lengthy strike earlier this year to press for higher wages, paralysing a
public health system creaking under the burden of HIV/Aids.

      The move forced President Robert Mugabe's government -- which
faced the prospect of a full-scale strike by the civil service after
teachers also boycotted work -- to increase wages twice in as many months to
pacify restive government workers.

      Parirenyatwa said his ministry was seeking additional funding to
review health workers' wages.

       Nurses employed by the government earn about Z$550 000 ($2 200
at the official rate but $22 at the black market rate). Many health
professionals have left the country for better-paying jobs overseas.

       Workers in the Southern African country have borne the brunt of
a severe economic crisis, blamed on Mugabe's policies and marked by record
inflation, 80% unemployment and persistent shortages of foreign currency,
fuel and food.

      Mugabe denies mismanaging the economy, which he says has been
hurt by sanctions imposed by Western countries. -- Reuters

AU concerned over political situation in Zimbabwe

SABC

May 08, 2007, 17:45

John Kufuor, the African Union (AU) chairperson and Ghanaian president, says
African leaders are concerned about the political situation in Zimbabwe.
Speaking before his meeting with President Thabo Mbeki at the Union
Buildings today, Kufuor also raised concerns about the continent's failure
to send troops to war torn Somalia.

The beatings of opposition members in Zimbabwe moved Kufuor to say Zimbabwe
was embarrassing the continent and it prompted SADC's Heads of State to hold
a special Summit in Tanzania. On his feelings about Zimbabwe's political
turmoil, Kufuor said: "You have to be worried when opposition members are
being beaten up. The rule of law must be respected."

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the deployment of UN
peacekeepers to Darfur, and the AU Force in Somalia.

Kufuor is in South Africa for the seventh ordinary session of the Pan Africa
Parliament in Midrand. During their meeting the two leaders will also look
at strengthening existing ties between their respective countries. Ghana
represents a major African export market for South African goods. Total
trade volumes are still relatively low in global terms, but it is expected
that these figures will continue to grow.

In recent years, trade between South Africa and Ghana has grown
significantly. In 2003 South African exports to Ghana jumped to R1.61
billion - up R979 million from the previous year. In the same year South
African imports from Ghana stood at R52 million. South African exports in
2006 amounted to just more than one billion rand.

Tutu says Africa should condemn rights abuses in Zimbabwe

By Lance Guma
08 May 2007

South Africa's Nobel peace prizewinner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on
Africa to condemn human rights violations in Zimbabwe. He also called on the
South African government to consider threatening action against Mugabe if
the situation remained unchanged. In an interview with Reuters via video
link from Hawaii, Tutu said many Zimbabweans felt betrayed by the failure of
African leaders to condemn a widening crackdown on the opposition.

Tutu said there seemed to be a reluctance to call a spade a spade but as he
observed, 'human rights violations are human rights violations.' He said
most African countries were unwilling to condemn Mugabe because of his
history as a 'freedom fighter.' The Archbishop however says despite him
having a high regard for Mugabe, the Zanu PF leader had destroyed 'an
incredible country.' Last month Tutu issued a similar statement blasting
African leaders and saying they should feel ashamed of their silence on
Zimbabwe. He went further to suggest South Africa should consider, 'turning
off the tap,' (sanctions) if Mugabe refused to be persuaded to mend his
ways.

Tutu, now 75 years old, is a former Archbishop of Cape Town who as the first
black bishop in South Africa fought against the apartheid government. He was
also instrumental in the success of the Truth and Reconciliation hearings
that followed. According to Reuters Tutu is aboard the "Semester at Sea"
ship with hundreds of students who have spent the past three months
travelling the globe.

Reverend Nicholas Mkaronda who heads the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
chapter in South Africa told Newsreel Tutu's remarks will help to build an
African voice against Mugabe. He pointed to statements by the current
African Union chairperson John Kuffour condemning human rights abuses in
Africa as being part of a growing chorus of disapproval galvanising the
continent. This tide of opinion was especially important in light of
attempts by Mugabe to deliberately portray Zimbabwe's problems as a black
versus white issue.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Zimbabwe - Majority living in hell on earth

zimbabwejournalists.com

8th May 2007 15:26 GMT

By Charles Mtetwa, recently in Harare

HARARE - Titus Mlambo has always depended on his small-scale farming
activities to feed his family. Every year, rains permitting, he remains with
some surplus produce that he sells enabling him to make ends meet.

But in the past few years things have not been the same. With the high cost
of inputs and related costs, the money coming from his crop has been
dwindling. He has been waiting for his cheque for the current delivery to
the Zimbabwe government-run Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

Upon delivery, he curses the day he was born and shrugs his shoulders in
bewilderment at the sight of his seasonal payment for the maize he supplied
to the GMB.

"I depend on farming and this is my life. To say the least, this is
criminal, they have robbed me of my survival and let alone the money. How do
they expect me to feed my family," Mlambo, a father of six school-going
children, bellows as he brandishes a cheque payment for Zd$104 000 he has
just received for the two tonnes of maize he supplied to the GMB.

The GMB, up until a fortnight ago, has been paying a pittance $52 000 per
tonne (20 bags) for maize supplies and that is enough to buy only four pints
of milk.

The producer price has been increased to $3 million per tonne, a figure,
which still barely covers the cost of production, in Zimbabwe's inflationary
economic quagmire.

Depending upon where you go, a 50 kg bag of fertilizer costs in excess of
$100 000 on the black market and Mlambo explains that he required more than
300 kg of the growth-enhancing chemical per hectare to produce enough.

The GMB sells a bag of fertilizer for $14 000, but it is subject to the
product being in stock and even then the parastatal rations among the sea of
registered farmers.

There is a risk of even getting fake fertiliser on the flourishing black
market in Zimbabwe.

Mlambo's situation is repeated in many spheres and sectors of life in
Zimbabwe, enmeshed in an unprecedented economic calamity. Picture this;
Zimbabwe has been without a normal currency in over three years and has been
resorting to expiring cheques, which often have to be revalued to curb
quantities of the 'money' one can carry.

The southern African country's inflation is officially over 2000 percent -
the last time it was reported. The IMF has already projected the figure
would hit 5000 percent this year, but the government no longer publishes the
monthly figures, deeming it more embarrassing as prices go up in some cases
twice daily despite threats of prosecution from a government clinging on by
the thread.

In a two-week period in which this correspondent was in Zimbabwe in April,
the price of milk went up by 100 percent to $12 000.

Consider this, the Government takes a keen interest in prices of such basic
commodities and yet they are still going up rapidly, but for those products
deemed luxurious, it is free for all and it is the majority of Zimbabweans
enduring the pain of poverty.

Despite his poor earnings, Mlambo said he still had fork out $250 000 to buy
a one litre of tick greaser, barely enough for his herd of 10 cattle.  "You
tell me where is the logic?" he quizzes.

Perhaps Mlambo consoles himself that in his Chipinge rural setting, there
are no rental or transport costs to bear in comparison to those in urban
areas.

Humphrey Sithole (40) has been teaching in the last 15 years in Harare and
is considering quitting his job in August and tries his luck in South Africa
like many Zimbabweans have, braving the ill treatment by authorities across
the Limpopo River that marks the border between the two southern African
countries.

Sithole's net salary is $300 000 monthly. "My transport cost is $200 000 per
month and my rent is $200 000. Need I say more?" he shakes his head, looking
around to see if anyone is listening to the conversation, in a country where
leaders have now been galvanised against any criticism by the very people
they are expected to be accountable to.

It is an offence to speak ill of president Robert Mugabe in public according
to Zimbabwean laws enacted in recent years in the midst of the economic
meltdown.
And yet workers cant take it any more.

Teachers, nurses, secretaries, clerks, managers and many other workers are
not turning up for work as they cannot bear the cost of going to work for
pittance in remuneration.

Nurses' basic monthly salary is pegged at slightly above $111 000 and only
medical allowances were adjusted when they went on strike a few weeks ago.
With the inclusion of other allowances like transport and housing,
State-registered nurses said they were earning not more than $550 000 while
grade 11 matrons were getting around $800 000 including allowances.

Nurses like teachers, are no longer turning up for work, raising concern
about the welfare of the ill, in a country ravaged by HIV/AIDS.

Trust Chingome, who works at the passport offices in Harare, summed up the
situation: "You have to be able to steal from your employer to survive.
Corruption is reaching dangerous levels."
Privately senior government officials and military chiefs concede the
situation is unbearable. But they will not fathom any rebellion as they
benefit from corrupt deals that bedevil the social fabric of Zimbabwe.

Take for instance pump price for fuel is $20 000 a litre for the public and
yet government officials buy the same product through a government run
commercialised department CMED for just over $800, not even enough to buy a
sweet on the streets which costs $1 000.

Trade unions are pushing for the minimum wage to be increased to $1,5
million, up on the current $50 000, enough to buy 10 kg of mealie-meal. At
Zimbabwe Newspapers, the country's largest newspaper and printing company,
the lowest paid worker has just had their monthly wage increased to $300 000
from the previous $150 000.

To use a cliché there is a glimmer of hope for the workers in two respects
as the 2008 plebiscite approaches. The government soften and provide
Zimbabweans some reprieve or the other one is for voters to turn up in
droves in deciding the direction of country's governance situation.

Zimbabwe's exiled workers continue to be a source of lifeline for those
lucky enough to have a family member living in the diaspora. The recent
discovery of diamonds in the Marange area some 300 km south east of the
capital Harare has been a major source of economic activity, in a country
with a record shrinking economy without being in a civil war.

Police are now guarding the area and will arrest anyone in possession of the
previous mineral whose discovery has been seen by many as an oasis in the
midst of the economic crisis. The diamond granules fetch from anything from
$2 million to over $100 million depending on the quality.

Road blocks litter the Mutare-Masvingo road, as police stop vehicles
searching for the diamonds. Those who have gone to look for the 'ngodas' as
the mineral is affectionately called, tell harrowing stories of armed police
brutality in the midst of quest for survival.

Student leader attacked

The Zimbabwean

(08-05-07)

THE VANGUARD ALERTALERT

        STUDENT LEADER  ATTACKED

Harare

Clifford Hlatywayo Vice President of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Student
Representative Council (SRC) was badly assaulted by suspected  securocrats
from the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) today, 8 May 2007
at 2am at the University.

Impeccable sources revealed that six men armed with iron bars and police
baton sticks forced their way into Clifford's room in the New Complex Hall
of residence at the UZ at around 2;00 am .They started to assault him and
when he passed out they threw him down from the first floor. He was seen and
assisted by a sympathetic  UZ security officer who called the police and
Zimbabwe National Students' Union (ZINASU).

Clifford is recuperating at a local private hospital courtesy of the Student
Solidarity Trust.

Information Desk
Zimbabwe National Students Union
21 Wembly Road, Eastlea, Harare, Zimbabwe,
+263912471673/ +2634788135
zinasu@gmail. com
www.zinasu.org

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, Martin Luther King jnr

Zim man dragged by elephant

IOL

    May 08 2007 at 11:33AM

Harare - An elephant trampled a 48-year-old man to death in western
Zimbabwe while his wife and son looked on helplessly, the state-controlled
Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The attack occurred on Sunday near Mushumbi Pools in Zimbabwe's
wildlife-rich Zambezi Valley, days after a buffalo gored three people to
death in the same area.

The man, Mendas Muzerengeni, was killed when he and his 17-year-old
son tried to scare some elephants away from their fields, police
spokesperson Michael Munyikwa was quoted as saying.

One of the elephants got irritated and turned on Muzerengeni, said the
report. The elephant dragged him for 300 metres.

The incident is the latest in a string of deadly attacks by wild
animals in Zimbabwe. Last week, a married couple working in their cotton
field in Mushumbi were killed by a rogue buffalo.

The buffalo went on to later kill a 25-year-old man who was gathering
firewood in the same area.

In other recent attacks, two British tourists, a mother and her
10-year-old daughter, were trampled to death by an elephant in Hwange in
March.

In Mwenzi district, a crocodile killed and ate a young boy in last
month.

A young Australian diplomat on her first overseas posting was badly
mauled by lions at Harare's Lion and Cheetah Park in early April while her
boyfriend watched helplessly. - Sapa-DPA

Zimbabwe government denies deregistering NGOs

Monsters and Critics

May 8, 2007, 10:47 GMT

Harare - The Zimbabwe government Tuesday denied cancelling the registration
certificates of hundreds of aid groups in the country, contradicting earlier
claims by the country's information minister that they had been
deregistered.

A senior official in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare said that only new guidelines on the registration of new
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had been issued.

'No NGOs have been deregistered. What we did is that we issued policy
guidelines for the registration of NGOs,' Lancaster Museka said in comments
carried by the official Herald newspaper.

His comments contradict a claim by Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu
carried by state television last month that all NGOs in the country had had
their registration certificates cancelled.

The government has annulled the registration certificates of all NGOs in
order to screen out 'agents of imperialism' from genuine organizations
working to uplift the wellbeing of the poor, the television report said on
April 16.

There are more than 1,000 NGOs registered in the country, working in the
areas such as human rights, HIV and poverty alleviation.

The initial report of the clampdown by the government caused an outcry,
especially coming at time when Zimbabwe is facing chronic food shortages,
worsening poverty and a renewed crackdown on the opposition.

Late last month the government published strict guidelines for the
registration of new NGOs in the country, saying groups require agreements
signed between them and the government as well as clearance letters from the
international police organization, Interpol.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Zimbabwean lawyer speaks on assaults, broken protest

zimbabwejournalists.com

8th May 2007 19:08 GMT

By Nokuthula Moyo

THE Law Society of Zimbabwe called a protest march for lunchtime today, to
end with the presentation of a petition to the Minister of Justice, Patrick
Chinamasa, and the Commissioner of Police, Augustine Chihuri.

The protest was sparked by the unlawful arrest of lawyers Alec
Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni, but was against the abuse of the legal
profession and the defiance of court orders by the police generally.

I had a good breakfast, and I packed my make up and soap into my
handbag. I anticipated arrest, but I did not want to ultimately get to
a court (after whatever number of days), looking like something the cat
dragged in.

At 12.34, I left my office and walked across town to the High Court, the
meeting point for the march. As I walked up, I overtook another lawyer, and
asked if he was ready. He said he was ready, whatever it took. A handful of
lawyers were outside the High Court when I arrived, as were a number of riot
policeman, standing a few metres
away.

Our fearless president, Beatrice Mtetwa, carrying in her hands the petitions
to be delivered. David Morgan, Fraser Edkins and John Meyburgh, partners
from my own firm. Pat Lewin, Prof Geoff Feltoe.

Beatrice asked the riot squad what they were doing there, and they said they
were under instruction not to divulge their orders. They could be there to
break up the march, to beat us up, or to escort us. A few more people
arrived, including T. Fitzpatrick, who later was in a scuffle with a police
officer. Most of us were in our gowns.

As more lawyers arrived, so also did a woman in a tracksuit, and a man in
plain clothes. They asked, in Shona, what we were doing there. I looked
around me, and noticed that most of us there were not Shona speakers. We did
not respond. Still speaking in Shona, they said they were police, that we
were not allowed to stop where we were, that we were to disperse. They were
waving baton sticks around in a menacing manner.

I noticed that baton sticks are very long; I do no think I have been at
such close range to one before. We shuffled off a few feet, ad Beatrice
suggested we move into the High Court courtyard, though we did not get to do
that. Many other lawyers were arriving then.
Innocent Chagonda, Eileen Sawyer, a veteran human rights activist,
Mordecai Mahlangu, Raymond Moyo, Peter Lloyd, Chris Seddon, Dickson Mundia,
Colin Kuhuni, a Councillor of the Law Society, and many others whose names I
cannot list.

More police and riot squad officers arrived in truckloads, and were moving
us along in a solid line. Beatrice stood her ground. A senior police officer
arrived then, whose arrival stopped the menacing advance of the police. He
spoke to Beatrice for a while.

By that time I was a few metres away in the path of retreat, and  did not
hear the conversation, but Beatrice told me the officer was saying they had
sent a letter to the Law Society offices banning the march. I understood
from Beatrice also, that the march would be banned, but the Law Society
Councillors would still present the petition to the Minister.

The Minister himself was in cabinet, and we would try and present the
petition to the Secretary for Justice, David Mangota.

By this time, the numbers of lawyers were swelling, at least 50 lawyers were
there, with more arriving. They were walking past the lines of riot squad to
join us.

A car drove out of the High Court gate. I did not see the occupants,
but a ripple went round that  it was the Judge President. A short while
later, the Honourable Justice Hungwe drove out. I was personally
disappointed to see them drive out. It is their orders that are being
defied. It is the officers of their courts that are being abused and
arrested for carrying out their work as officers of the court. I had
had delusions of the entire bench joining us in solidarity, if only to
protect the integrity and independence of the bench.

It is sad that the bench has done nothing to protect itself from the sheer
disrespect shown by the police to its existence and the unmitigated contempt
of its orders.

The senior police officer had gone to his car. He returned carrying a
loud hailer. He spoke to the growing number of lawyers. He told us we should
not be there. First, he said, we had not given notice at least four days in
advance. Second, they had replied in writing, and also exchanged telephone
calls, to say we could not proceed with the gathering.

Third, all gatherings are banned in Harare, and that ban still holds even
for professional bodies. That position is legally disputed, but I will save
that debate for another forum. He then told us that we were in an unlawful
gathering. He would tell us three times to disperse, and if we did not obey,
they would do what they had to do. He then said in quick succession, 'Please
disperse, please disperse, please disperse.'

Many of us looked at the baton-wielding police, who started moving on the
third announcement. We dispersed. Initially, we moved very slowly, and the
police fell in behind us. We wanted to be seen to be moving away to avoid
being beaten up, but we were not giving up. I was suggesting we walk to the
Ministry anyway, with the police behind us, when the police started
assaulting some lawyers who were in the back of the column.

We had to move pretty smart then. We were driven as far as the corner of
Second Street and Samora Machel Avenue (may his liberating soul rest in
peace!). We went our various ways then, meeting more lawyers as we went, who
were on their way to the march.

Some of the lawyers who were assaulted include Beatrice Mtetwa, Mordecai
Mahlangu, T. Fitzpatrick, and Chris Seddon.

What was the march about? For quite some time now, the police have
threatened and even assaulted lawyers for representing people. It seems to
be the attitude of our Government that if they want to arrest you, you
should give up all your rights. No legal representation, no defence.

The state is the policeman, the prosecutor and the judge. Any lawyer who
dares represent you incurs the wrath of the State.
The police have often threatened to arrest lawyers for simply doing
their duty. The threats have grown in recent weeks, and last Friday,  the
police did arrest two lawyers, and a day or so later, they beat up
another lawyer.

Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni have been representing MDC activists who
were arrested in the last few weeks.  More than 40 activists are reported to
be in custody, many have been severely
assaulted, and they have been denied food, medical attention, and even
access to family members and lawyers. Both Andrew and Alec's wives have been
threatened.

On Friday afternoon, the two lawyers were leaving the High Court when they
were arrested. No reasons were given initially.

Detective Inspector Rangwani refused to allow access by legal practitioners
and family.The two lawyers were even denied food. Lawyers who sought to
represent the two were themselves threatened with arrest and assault.

Three  High Court orders were issued for various things, including
access by lawyers and doctors and family, and food, and ultimately, for
their release.

All  the court orders were totally ignored by the police. A representative
of the Attorney General, Richard Chikosha, was assaulted by Assistant
Commissioner Mabunda, for consenting to a court order.

I have not heard of any official protest by the Attorney General, on
the assault of his officer, Richard Chikosha; on the usurpation of his
Constitutional duties by the police; on the disrespect and defiance of
court orders.

The police should act on the instructions of the Attorney General, not the
other way round. I had hoped that the Attorney General
would make a very public protest, if only for the protection of his
officers.

The Minister of Justice has also continued to be quiet. He clearly is not
concerned about the violence and chaos that is affecting his Ministry. Now
that we have an 'indigenous' bench, one would expect
the Minister to protect the bench, but the current bench is suffering
the fate of the previous one. What goes round, comes round.

The bench itself has not complained about the defiance of its orders. It
does not seem to see any threat to itself. If lawyers can be arrested and
beaten up by the police, judges run the same risk. But in this country, you
do not act until the monster has eaten all your neighbours and gets to your
gate.

The Commissioner of police, of course, is not expected to do anything about
all this. Such violence and abuse would not be perpetrated by the police
without his express or tacit authority.

None of the regional and international police bodies have condemned our
Commissioner of Police for any of the actions of his police force.

Ours is a country by name. It no longer deserves to be called a state, let
alone a sovereign one. We traded our sovereignty the day we allowed violence
to determine and run our lives. We are a flock without a shepherd.

We have no hope of protection in this country, and certainly not the
protection f the law.

But for the sake of this country, for those who have died in its  defence
through the years, for the sake of the children whose school fees we can no
longer afford, for the sake of the unborn ones,    our
children and our children's children, we will continue to stand up for
what is right. Other dictatorships have fallen, this one will also
fall.

The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

Nokuthula Moyo - Moyo is the current chairperson of the Legal Resources
Foundation

Standing against oppression

National Catholic Reporter

Editorial

It is difficult to know how the growing tensions in Zimbabwe will end and
increasingly difficult to hope that the end will be peaceful.

It is clear that the authorities in this beleaguered African country are
less than happy with the assessment of the country's Catholic bishops in
their recently released pastoral letter, "God Hears the Cry of the
 Oppressed" ( see story).

Somewhere along the way, the Catholic leaders in Zimbabwe had to make a
fundamental decision: whether being a Catholic community meant keeping their
thoughts, prayers and experiences inside the sanctuary walls, or taking
their analysis of sinful, oppressive structures to the public square and, in
that tired but apt phrase, speaking truth to power.

They've done the latter, and life for many has become dangerous.

It is not a new phenomenon. We know ministers of various denominations whose
faith has compelled them to not only help "the poor" but also to investigate
the reasons people are poor, powerless, hungry. In the usual pattern, their
Christianity eventually becomes a threat to the state.

It is true of now legendary figures, from Dom Hélder Câmara and Cardinal
Paulo Evaristo Arns of Brazil to Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador to
Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera of Guatemala and the countless lesser known
bishops, priests, catechists and believers who were compelled by faith to
confront the evil of social and state systems in Latin America. Many paid
with their lives.

In Poland, priests and laypeople were not speaking out of the context of
Latin American liberation theology, but their confrontation with the evils
of communism required no less a fundamental decision about raising the
demands of justice in the public square. The concept of Solidarity was no
less dangerous.

It is easy to point to excesses in Latin America or disturbing compromises
with the state by church officials in Poland. But in neither case does the
lack of perfection diminish the power and truth of what was undertaken,
motivated by faith, to liberate humans.

The complaint, of course, particularly from those with a large stake in the
status quo, is that the church should not become political and worldly, but
should remain spiritual and uninvolved. Believers' rewards will come later.
But then one runs into, as Garry Wills has put it in his book What Jesus
Meant, the radical love of Christianity, "exigent, searing, terrifying,"
inherent in the lines: "I hungered and you gave me food. I thirsted and you
gave me drink. I was an alien and you welcomed me, I was naked and you
clothed me, I was ill and you tended me, I was in prison and you came to
 me."

Casting one's lot with those words and with such people can make life
difficult and dangerous.

We see it when our own beleaguered bishops approach the immigration debate
without equivocation. All of the complications of U.S. immigration law and
the complex dynamics of international trade recede before the mandate to
love in so radical a way that the world at large has trouble comprehending
it.

The price here ranges from funny looks to heated debate. The price in
Zimbabwe could be far greater. The Zimbabwean bishops are walking a fine
line. They encourage public prayer, but the piety is aimed at public
"corruption" and "bad governance."

In praying for an end to "further bloodshed" and to "avert a mass uprising,"
the bishops also urge an end to the brutal regime of President Robert
Mugabe.

Priests suspected of aiding in the distribution of the pastoral letter are
receiving visits from security personnel. The threats to the Catholic
community are imminent and ominous.

For further details on the situation, see the Human Rights Watch Web site
or, if you want to be more directly involved, see the Amnesty International
Web site. Under the Zimbabwe button you'll find details on writing to
Zimbabwean officials. As small as that act may seem, it has proven an
effective strategy to let dictators know that the world, in the form of
individuals from all over the planet, are concerned and are watching.

Writing and praying are small ways to join those who now face danger after
making their fundamental decision to move, unarmed and vulnerable, against
the oppression.

National Catholic Reporter, May 11, 2007

Patients stranded as doctors and nurses shut clinics

By Tererai Karimakwenda
08 May, 2008

Zimbabwe's capital is not a good place to become ill theses days. Many
clinics are reported to have shut down as doctors and nurses fail to turn up
for work saying they do not have enough money for bus fare. Our Harare
correspondent Simon Muchemwa visited several primary care facilities and
reports that patients were being turned away and referred to Parirenyatwa
and Harare Hospitals. But these city hospitals have no staff either.
Muchemwa said those who decided to go for private care were also shocked
because private doctors have raised their fees from Z$100 000 up to Z$300
000 and even Z$ 1 million.

According to Muchemwa, some hospital staff are so desperate they have
resorted to taking supplies like gloves and cotton wool and selling them for
cash to help pay their transport fees and other basic necessities. Doctors
and nurses at the large hospitals are not on strike, but many are simply not
showing up due to a lack of funds.

Muchemwa visited one radiology department in Harare where he said patients
were being asked to pay cash in advance but were not given receipts. He
believes the money is not going to the hospital but to the staff who need
bus fare.

Muchemwa said he was distressed at the sight of pregnant women being turned
away from the clinics. The majority cannot afford the new increased
consultation fees at private hospitals.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

CHRA leader summoned by Police

CHRA condemns assault of lawyers

8 May 2007
 
SOLIDARITY STATEMENT: Police Must Stop This Abuse
 
THE Combined Harare Residents' Association (CHRA) is outraged by the barbaric attack on lawyers by the police while protesting outside the High Court against the harassment and illegal detention of renowned human rights defenders, Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni. 
 
The Association wishes to reiterate its commitment to justice, advocates for equity before the law and vehemently denounces its (the law) selective application.
 
The harassment of people who defend us against organised violence and torture is a serious a mockery to the pronouncements that Harare is a democracy. We urge the international community, especially the leadership of the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Community Development Community (SADC) to use their influence on Harare to end targeted harassment and the disregard of the rule of law.
 
In that vein we demand:
 
·   A full investigation of the incident and the production of a report naming those responsible.
 
·   An immediate end to the harassment of peace loving Zimbabweans crying to have a say in affairs that determine their destiny
 
·   Return to rule of law without fear or favour.
 
To our colleagues we say: Remain resolute in reclaiming our democratic space to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe retain their power.
 
“CHRA for Enhanced Civic Participation in Local Governance”
 
Ends

Tsvangirai's overture is a sobering thought

Silence Chihuri

The proposition by Morgan Tsvangirai of an amnesty for Mugabe and his inner
circle for the good of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans should be hailed by all
genuinely peace loving Zimbabwe. This vicious cycle has to be ended
somewhere. It cannot be a continuous orgy of retribution and retaliation.
Common sense has to prevail from source with the national and political
leadership.

If Mugabe could wave the olive branch to Ian Smith and Co then surely there
should be nothing untoward about Tsvangirai doing the same to Mugabe. Smith
killed thousands of innocent Zimbabweans not to mention the guerrillas who
sacrificed their lives to liberate us. When Mugabe tore into the airwaves on
the even of independence with his statesmanlike speech of reconciliation and
forgiveness, he was hailed as a pragmatic leader who was a breath of fresh
air. I think Tsvangirai is mulling the route that makes great leaders
because as he said in an interview a short while ago, no amount of
retribution will ever heal the wounds of those who have suffered at the
hands of the monstrous dictatorship that is ZANU PF.

Nelson Mandela emerged from the ashes of apartheid South Africa to become
one of the greatest leaders Africa has ever produced. Yet the bedrock of
Mandela's policy was enmeshed in conciliation and reaching out to the very
people who had humiliated him, killed most of his comrade-in-arms and
oppressed Black South Africans. Mandela was never vilified but he was lauded
as a great man of wisdom and integrity. I personally think that Tsvingirai
has latched a gear up his ladder of leadership with a statesmanlike and
visionary proposition for peace and brotherhood. Zimbabwe is desperate for
that spirit today - of conciliation and tolerance.

Yes the wounds are still fresh and the fire of pain is still burning in the
hearts of Zimbabweans, but Tsvangirai is no less a victim himself. He has
endured as much pain and suffering at the hands of the dictatorship and he
is merely chatting the way as a leader. Of course bold moves always come
with at times misplaced recriminations. I am one of those people who in the
past have yearned to see bold moves being taken by our political leadership
and I should be among the first to welcome when such signs of political
sanity manifest themselves in the form of propositions and overtures that
would certainly guarantee peace and continued prosperity in our strife torn
country.

Zimbabwe today is a country that is deeply divided with the seeds of
division being largely sown by politicians who are the government of the
day. Ours is a dangerously polarised country today, and it would be a recipe
for full-scale strife should no bold efforts be made by future leaders to
normalise the trend towards worse disintegration. This is a very opportune
moment to start chatting the conciliatory course of futurist politics
because the successful reconstruction and rehabilitation of Zimbabwe will
hugely hinge upon wisdom and peaceable existence rather than animosity.

Yes Mugabe has presided over one of the worst regimes in our time and
overseen the worst decadence during his tenure. But history has told that
those who mess up never do it with an intention to clean up because if this
were the case, then they would never do it in the first place. However, it
is always the duty of others to do the clean up and our country is one that
needs quite a bit of cleaning up in the comings years. That kind of national
purification will have to start with plugging the source of the dirty that
is Mugabe. If you rapture a leaking pipe then you will end up with more
sewage on yours hands. Mugabe is no different because he is dragging a lot
of dangerous baggage with him.

People may clamour for Mugabe's blood but they may needlessly prolong the
suffering of the innocent citizens of our country some of whom are dying
needless deaths due to lack of ordinary medicines. Others are going for days
on end without a decent meal while sleeping in the open. All this is because
Mugabe cannot be dislodged and will not yield power without force. The
consequences of employing force on Mugabe, entrenched as he is at the
moment, is a disastrous deterioration and prolongation of the prevailing
situation. The circumstances obtaining in our country are precarious and any
further slip down the slop will be catastrophic and even much more difficult
to recover from. The more threats we hail at Mugabe the deeper he digs in
his heels.

Tsvangirai's proposition maybe misconstrued for a fall on the last hurdle or
maybe given as a sign of someone looking for a quick fix to the current
problem, but that is no quick fix at all. In fact that move will prove to be
the largest block on the foundation of the future of Zimbabwe. It should be
known that Zimbabwe is one nation and that the electorate is the same that
is courted by ZANU PF and the MDC. There has to be a constructive approach
towards reaching out to that electorate no matter how divided it is between
ZANU PF and the MDC. The people who today sing ZANU PF songs and vote ZANU
PF are the same who tomorrow might vote for the MDC. They will not be won
over by force but rather, they will need to be reached out to. And that
includes their leadership as well no matter how cruel. They have to be shown
the way because following their footsteps would be total failure to raise
the bar of leadership.

The Zimbabwean crisis will only take a homegrown solution and that solution
can only be found if our leaders start exploring the ways that benefit the
nation more than themselves. Tsvangirai is exploring one such avenue and it
is a very refreshing move. Mugabe will not listen to anyone and least of all
Thabo Mbeki. This so-called South African initiative fronted by Mbeki will
be in the sand in no time and the sooner Zimbabweans realise that the
better. Mugabe will never willingly retire as long as the prospect of
prosecution and incarceration lingers over his conscience. The man knows
what he has done and because power has its limits, he is powerless to
forgive himself. It will only take the people to forgive disgraced leaders
like Mugabe and Co and people like Tsvangirai do have the morale high ground
to seek consensus on such an essential national issue. Tsvangirai is simply
seeking consensus and the people of Zimbabwe should duly yield it.

It should be bone in mind that Mugabe still has a significant following in
Zimbabwe. His supporters are a cocktail of genuine admirers and sympathisers
who still view Mugabe as the hero of our liberation struggle. Then there are
the crooks that would love to have Mugabe where he is for as long as
possible, not because they love him, but because it is enriching them. Of
course it would be a loss and painful experience to allow such people to go
scot-free and not be brought to book. However, the benefits of allowing all
Zimbabweans the experience of all-inclusive and peaceful reconstruction and
re-integration into economic and political existence, far out ways the loss
of revenge through the prevalence of common sense over animalism.

Mugabe and his inner circle are all terribly arrogant and they would beat
their chests loud but this is the time for nation builders rather than
nation wreckers to assume the national mantle. It is time for leaders who
have the vision to take Zimbabwe into that next level and it will take tough
decisions take by humble citizens with the pragmatism to forgive and move
on. Leaders need the support of their people to see through those difficult
but necessary decisions.

Silence Chihuri is a Zimbabwean who writes from Scotland. He can be
contacted on silencechihuri@hotmail.com

Warrant of arrest issued for arresting officers in ZCTU case

By Tererai Karimakwenda
08 May, 2008

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) reports that 11 of their
activists from Chegutu who were arrested last year during the September 13
mass protests were found not guilty of behaviour likely to cause an uprising
and disturbing peace. A Chegutu magistrate made the ruling on Tuesday after
the State witnesses failed to show up to testify.

Khumbulani Ndlovu, the ZCTU Information Officer, said the witnesses were the
four police officers who made the arrests. The magistrate was angered by the
behaviour of the police because they had failed to appear in court on
several occasions since last year. He immediately issued warrants for their
arrest saying this should serve as a warning to other police officers not to
simply arrest and brutalize innocent citizens without cause.

It is highly unlikely that the police officers will be detained since these
arrests are all part of a state sponsored campaign against the opposition
and civic organisations. The police have been making arrests around the
country and assaulting or torturing detainees before releasing them. There
is a consensus that the government is attempting to intimidate opposition
officials and supporters ahead of the elections due next year.

In related news, the news Editor of The Worker newspaper, Bright Chibvuri,
is due to appear before a Plumtree Magistrate on Wednesday. He is charged
with practicing journalism without accreditation. But the ZCTU said Chibvuri
was arrested while attending a district orientation workshop in his capacity
as a ZCTU staff member, not a journalist.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Rights Groups Disappointed By UN Human Rights Council's 1st Year

nasdaq

UNITED NATIONS (AP)--The U.N. Human Rights Council has failed to
criticize egregious human rights violations since it replaced a discredited
U.N. rights body last year, two watchdog groups said Monday.

The two groups, U.N. Watch and Freedom House, released reports
charging that rights violators such as Cuba, Saudi Arabia and China have
shielded themselves - and countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe - from
criticism as members of the new group.

The groups said the U.N. General Assembly is also expected to select
several other countries with poor rights records to become new members of
the body this month. The groups named Angola, Belarus, Egypt and Qatar as
candidate nations that were unqualified for membership because of their poor
rights records. There are only 15 candidates for the 14 open seats in the
47-member council.

U.N. Watch, based in Geneva, described the council's first year as
"profoundly disappointing."

"Members are supposed to be elected based on their human rights
records, yet the council includes persistent violators, and after the
upcoming elections is expected to include several more," the U.N. Watch
report said. "The council's record so far is profoundly disappointing."

U.N. Watch, which monitors the U.N.'s compliance with its charter, is
associated with the American Jewish Committee. Freedom House is a New-York
based democracy watchdog.

The Human Rights Council, which began its work last June and has no
power beyond drawing international attention to rights issues, was meant to
replace the highly politicized Human Rights Commission with a new body that
could keep some of the worst offenders out of its membership.

Instead, critics say, it has been dominated by African and Muslim
countries that have sided with China, Cuba and other countries in preventing
criticism of any government but Israel. The U.S. has also not sought a seat
on the council, accusing it of anti-Israel bias.

According to U.N. Watch, the council has issued 12 country-specific
resolutions: nine censures of Israel and three "non-condemnatory"
resolutions on Sudan.

The most recent resolution on Sudan, passed in late March, expressed
concern over the situation in Darfur but avoided any outright criticism of
the Sudanese government.

Amnesty International said the resolution had the potential to be a
"major turning point" in the council's approach to Darfur because Sudan's
allies supported it, but the group failed to denounce the role of the
Sudanese government and the janjaweed in grave violations of human rights.

On the Net:

Human Rights Council: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

U.N. Watch: http://www.unwatch.org

Freedom House: http://www.freedomhouse.org

Debate on Harare crisis

Business Day

08 May 2007

Jean-Jacques Cornish

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Business Day Correspondent

THE Pan African Parliament (PAP) will hold an unprecedented debate this week
on the worsening human rights situation in Zimbabwe.

Parliamentary clerk Murumba Werunga said yesterday a motion on the
continuing human rights abuses will be introduced today by South African
legislator Suzanne Vos. The motion, seconded by Botswana MP L Boyce Sebetla,
will be debated on Friday.

Vos, an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP, is one of the five South African
parliamentarians seconded to PAP, which opened its seventh session in
Midrand yesterday.

"As members of the Pan African Parliament, we are charged with protecting
human rights in Africa," said Vos. "We are also responsible for
consolidating democracy and ensuring good governance. We cannot ignore the
pictures on television of Zimbabwean police beating opposition supporters
and the bloody faces of Zimbabwe opposition MPs."

Speaking at yesterday's opening ceremony, Ghanaian president and African
Union chairman John Kufuor said notwithstanding the value placed on
sovereignty, the PAP should have more to say about what he called "sister
nations where domestic policies are, or seem to be, at variance with the
principle of respecting and upholding human rights".

PAP president Gertrude Mongela gave Kufuor a shopping list of priorities for
the cash-strapped four-year-old body that remains a talk shop.

The parliament has still to receive most of the $12m due from the African
Union for its 2006 budget. This was withheld pending an internal auditing
process which has since been completed.

The body's financial woes are compounded by the tardiness of payments by its
member states - 47 of the 53 African Union (AU) members - who are required
to deliver the other half of the $24m budget.

Plight of illegal Zimbabwe immigrants highlighted

SABC

May 08, 2007, 18:45

Illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe often find themselves stranded in
Johannesburg with no money to pay their traffickers, young women can easily
become prey to men looking for sex slaves.

SABC's Special Assignment tracked the journey of a young border jumper as
she faces an uncertain future in a city struggling with the huge influx
while the department of home affairs is continuing its mandate of deporting
all illegal immigrants in the country.

One jumper shares her story
Brenda Ncube (17) is full of hope after she just crossed the border
illegally with 50 others. She arrives in Johannesburg with no money and
cannot to pay her trafficker. They call the drop off place the kraal. It is
a drop-off point for many illegal Zimbabweans who arrive in the city.

What happens there is the daily experience of thousands of new arrivals.
Meanwhile the city of Johannesburg has set up a migrant help desk also
designed to keep track of illegal activities. Jak Koseff, of the City of
Joburg, says they tracked Brenda down at the Central Methodist Church where
she has found shelter along with hundreds of other Zimbabweans facing an
uncertain future.

Chinese shadows

The Boston Globe

Published: May 8, 2007

There are murderous dictatorships in the world today that have one thing in
common: support from the People's Republic of China. In Sudan, Myanmar,
Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe, China has become an enabler of evil.

Although Beijing rules in the name of Communism, the motives of its leaders
for backing tyrants have nothing to do with that doctrine. Their reasons for
helping the genocidal regime in Sudan avoid effective United Nations
Security Council sanctions, or for voting against a Council resolution to
censure the Burmese junta, are more capitalist than Communist.

Being the world's fastest-growing consumer of energy and having almost no
oil of its own, China wants to protect its investments in foreign
oil-producing consortiums. So China has partnered with governments that kill
their own people, using its state-owned companies to acquire interests in
oil or natural gas reserves around the world.

It is known that the China National Petroleum Company owns the largest slice
of Sudan's two major oil consortiums and buys more than half of Sudan's oil
exports. It is less well known that after Uzbekistan's despot, Islam
Karimov, massacred protesters in Andijan in 2005, China's Foreign Ministry
said it staunchly supports Uzbekistan's striking at "terrorism, splittism,
and extremism."

This was China's way of equating Karimov's repression with Beijing's
campaigns against autonomy for Tibet, independence for Taiwan, and political
activism by Muslim Uighurs in western China. Shortly afterward, Karimov was
received for a state visit in Beijing, where he signed a $600 million joint
venture to develop oil fields in Uzbekistan.

Because China fears outside interference, Beijing has elevated
noninterference into a sacrosanct principle justifying its commercial
partnerships with dictators such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
China seems unpersuaded by the argument that it is a waste of money to
pursue energy security by buying stakes in oil reserves in Sudan or natural
gas pipelines in Myanmar. So the best way to deter China's rulers from being
the principal enablers of genocide in Darfur or ethnic cleansing in Myanmar
is to shame them as often as possible. The last thing China's rulers want is
to have the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing branded with the name that many
are trying to apply: the Genocide Olympics.

Sanctions

The Zimbabwean

(08-05-07)
HARARE - The United States has scoffed at growing calls for the lifting of
US and European Union sanctions against Zimbabwe by the clergy and leaders
of Southern African nations, with Washington making a clarion call on them
to isolate President Robert Mugabe's government if they genuinely wanted
reform from the Harare administration.

The State Department said the Southern African Development Community
(SADC)and Anglican bishops were misguided in making the appeal and suggested
its leaders did not understand the dire situation in Zimbabwe. The statement
by the Anglican bishops, broadly supportive of  the Mugabe regime, has
caused a forore and threatens to further widen the crevices in the church.

"The statements on Zimbabwean sanctions ... are disappointing and do not
accurately reflect conditions on the ground," said a State department
statement. The statement said Mugabe and his policies, and not the
sanctions, were responsible for the poor economic and social conditions in
which the people of Zimbabwe are now living and accused the government of
manipulating the crisis to consolidate power.

"The humanitarian and economic crises in Zimbabwe are a direct result of
failed Zimbabwean government policies," the statement said, citing the
imposition of price controls, artificial exchange rates and the

controversial land-reform program as examples.

It added that foreign and local investment in Zimbabwe had been paralysed by
the Mugabe government's "decision to abandon the basic tenets of rule of law
and democracy".

"There is clear evidence that the government is trying to consolidate its
own political position with no regard for democratic institutions or the
effect on the citizens of Zimbabwe," it said.

Anglican bishops and SADC leaders last month declared that US and EU
sanctions against Zimbabwe were unwarranted and ineffectual and called for
them to be lifted.

Spokesmen of the ruling Zanu (PF) party have also made public statements
saying there will be no talks between the ruling party and the opposition
until opposition deputies call for the removal of sanctions.

The State Department ridiculed this allegation, noting that the sanctions
affected only Mugabe and his inner circle and said that if Southern African
nations and bishops truly cared about the Zimbabwean people, they would work
to isolate the government in Harare.

"SADC member states concerned about conditions in Zimbabwe should openly
distance themselves from the failed economic and political policies of the
Mugabe regime and press for full restoration of democracy and the rule of
law," it said.

The US and EU sanctions were imposed in 2000 over the effects of the

Mugabe government's often violent land-redistribution program and his
re-election in 2002 polls that were widely condemned as fraudulent.

The SADC includes Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

'Noczim Allocates 470 000L Fuel to Govt Ministries Daily'

The Herald (Harare)

8 May 2007
Posted to the web 8 May 2007

Harare

THE National Oil Company of Zimbabwe is allocating about 470 000 litres of
fuel per day to various Government ministries and departments but this falls
far short of their requirements, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

Energy and Power Development Minister Cde Mike Nyambuya told the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications that
Noczim was trying its level best to import fuel under difficult conditions.

"Government is importing fuel for the prescribed sector.

"About 470 000 litres are being availed per day, but this excludes the
agricultural and public transport sectors.

"Noczim is trying its best to avail some fuel but it is difficult at this
stage to satisfy everybody due to the shortage of foreign currency," he
said.

Cde Nyambuya was giving oral evidence on fuel procurement by Noczim.

The briefing was attended by Noczim acting chief executive officer Mr Isaac
Mhaka and director of marketing and distribution Mr Krispen Mashange.

Cde Nyambuya said the country needed at least US$120 million a month to meet
its fuel requirements but currently there was no capacity to mobilise such
financial resources.

The minister said the bulk of the fuel that was running the economy was
being imported by private companies following the liberalisation of the oil
sector.

Zimbabwe needs at least 3,5 million litres of diesel and three million
litres of petrol per day while about 800 000 litres of Jet A1 fuel was
required every week.

Government, said the minister, was geared to find other alternative sources
of fuel with the ethanol plant in Chiredzi expected to be in place by
September this year.

Mr Mhaka told the committee that Noczim was allocating fuel to critical
Government departments although the parastatal was failing to meet the
demand.

For instance, the Zimbabwe Republic Police needs about 300 000 litres of
fuel per week but was getting at least 110 000 while the District
Development Fund was being allocated 20 000 litres per week against a
requirement of about 100 000 litres.

Mr Mhaka said as part of the drive to mobilise foreign currency, Noczim was
importing fuel under the Direct Fuel Import facility for US$0,60 per litre
and selling it for US$0,64.

The parastatal was also charging oil companies and individuals for using its
pipeline.

There were also plans for Noczim to venture into growing flowers for export
as part of the foreign currency mobilisation.

However, Mr Mhaka dismissed reports that there had been discovery of diesel
in Chinhoyi.

He said investigations by Noczim had revealed that a certain spirit medium
was allegedly "fooling people" at the Chinhoyi Caves but did not elaborate.

Recently, there were reports that a liquid that resembles diesel had been
oozing out of a rock at the summit of a hill near Chinhoyi caves.

The MPs wanted to know why fuel had not been allocated for road maintenance.

Chairperson of the committee and Makonde legislator Cde Leo Mugabe (Zanu-PF)
expressed concern over the non-allocation of fuel for road maintenance.

He said with the pending harmonised presidential, parliamentary and local
government elections, it was important that the roads should be maintained.

Don't Write Mugabe Off

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

The Zimbabwean president is a past master at orchestrating the political
process and playing to vested interests.

By Max Sidindo in Gweru (AR No. 111, 8-May-07)

Is President Robert Mugabe weaker than ever before, as he tries to manage a
ruling party riven with dissent ahead of next year's election? That, at
least, is the view taken by many of the pundits commenting on recent
developments in Zimbabwe.

But those who argue that President Mugabe has lost the plot may be badly
misreading Zimbabwean politics.

According to the line of reasoning promoted by many analysts, the ZANU-PF
party has been left fatally divided by its decision to endorse the
octogenarian president as its candidate for next year's presidential
election. Mugabe himself is ready for the scrap-heap, they say, his
unpopularity largely stemming from an imploding economy which has seen
poverty levels dropping to pre-1960 levels.

There is, however, another way of interpreting recent events. On closer
inspection, the wily Mugabe can be seen to have succeeded in refocusing his
party and at the same time out-manoeuvring his enemies both within and
outside the party.

His masterstroke was to ensure that the presidential and parliamentary
elections take place at the same time, a decision which ZANU-PF's governing
Central Committee endorsed on March 30.

Many within the party opposed Mugabe's original plan to extend his
presidential term for two years until 2010, when the parliamentary election
was scheduled.

Sensing the political risk posed by dissent within ZANU-PF, Mugabe adroitly
arranged matters the other way round, so that the parliamentary election was
brought forward to coincide with the presidential ballot, which has to take
place by March 2008.

That means he can stand next year when his current term in office expires -
but before that happens, he can dissolve parliament, leaving most of his
critics without a political power-base. Then he can invite them to join him
in campaigning for both his political future and their own.

With its attention refocused on the end game, ZANU-PF has already put its
election machinery into motion.

You can tell an election is looming in Zimbabwe when opponents of the ruling
party are picked up in the middle of the night and beaten while in police
custody.

You also know ZANU-PF means business when it begins redrawing constituency
boundaries to suit itself. The latest plan is to link urban areas, which
tend towards the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, to rural
constitutiences where ZANU-PF is strongest.

ZANU-PF's invincibility is only augmented by the woefully inadequate
response from its main rival, the MDC, which does not seem to have any new
strategy to counter the Mugabe administration's chicanery.

The MDC appears to be largely relying on tactics that have manifestly
failed, rather than looking for new approaches to winning popular support,
or re-examining past assumptions about the best way of handling ZANU-PF
intimidation.

The political opposition's dependence on the help of sympathetic
organisations such as the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, ZCTU, and the
National Constitutional Assembly has proved fruitless, as most workers are
too busy with their own survival strategies to think about confronting the
state.

Since they cannot live on their pitifully low wages in an inflationary
economy, they are relying more and more on activities that will yield a
daily cash reward, such as cross-border trading or retailing items like eggs
and vegetables.

This has had a definite negative impact on the ZCTU's calls for industrial
action, such as the April 3-4 "stay away" strike.

Nor have opposition tactics like engaging in running battles with the police
proved effective in changing attitudes among the general population.

Furthermore, Mugabe's propaganda machine has succeeded in convincing a large
section of the urban population that the economic meltdown is a result not
of mismanagement by government, but of sanctions imposed by the West. Many
of these people blame the hardship of their lives on the opposition, which
they hold responsible for the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. That reduces
the impact of opposition attempts to use economic problems as an angle for
attacking Mugabe.

The opposition has also been pinning great hopes on the much publicised rift
within ZANU-PF that pits the Solomon Mujuru-led camp against Emmerson
Mnangagwa's faction. It was hoped that the schism would finally bring the
party to its knees, enabling the opposition to pounce.

But that was a gross underestimation of the party's underlying strength, and
a misreading of its internal political dynamics.

The Mujuru and Mnangagwa factions are led by people who have known and dealt
with each other since the liberation war days. Many of those on either side
have also been implicated in the corrupt practices that allowed officials to
benefit from the illegal acquisition and sale of state assets.

On both counts, politicians across the party will be very much aware of the
consequences of letting some outside player - worst of all the MDC - take
over. Given the choice, they will go for compromise within the ranks in
order to fend off external challenges.

Ironically, it is the MDC that has suffered more damage from its own
internal divisions. After building up Morgan Tsvangirai as a credible
leader, the MDC was left weakened and divided by a schism over whether or
not to take part in elections in 2005. As a result, the existence of two MDC
factions confuses voters. By contrast, ZANU-PF still presents a united front
to the electorate, and even those members who no longer like Mugabe still
rally behind him.

The MDC has been unable to build up voter support in rural areas, not least
by the Public Order and Security Act which effectively bars it from
campaigning unless it gets police clearance, which never comes. Independent
newspapers cannot be distributed in these rural areas, and anyone seen in
possession of one can be assaulted, even killed.

In the countryside, the lack of information means many people do not
understand the MDC and view as Mugabe depicts it - a group of people seeking
trouble and conflict. It should not be forgotten that the liberation
struggle was waged in the countryside, and many people still carry the
horrors of war with them. These memories give ZANU-PF plenty to work with.

The MDC is even finding it hard to mobilise support in Matabeleland and the
Midlands, historically the areas where Mugabe was weakest. The president is
helped by the fact that when his party swallowed up the rival ZAPU in 1987
after a bloody campaign to destroy its support-base among the civilian
population, ZANU-PF inherited the political mechanisms needed to control
this region. Now it is putting them to good use to neutralise potential
opposition sentiment, and the MDC has yet to come up with any strategy for
countering them and making inroads into Matabeleland and the Midlands.

It would also be a mistake to underrate grassroots support for ZANU-PF, in
the shape of the "war veterans" and the youth militia popularly known as the
"Green Bombers", who together form the front-line forces when it comes to
intimidating political opponents. ZANU-PF is already in the process of
recruiting 15,000 young people who will be deployed in December when the
election campaign gets into full swing. Provincial officials have already
been asked to deliver quotas of young people to undergo training.

Another important constituency consists of people who have benefited from
Mugabe's land seizures. At the bottom end of this group, some feel that they
have been genuinely empowered by the redistribution of land, and that they
owe it all to Mugabe. At the top end, there are many powerful figures -
high-ranking officials from the military, the police, industry and commerce.
Taken together, they now form a new class of landowners who would fight to
the end to maintain the status quo.

Another area where the MDC has failed to come up with new strategies is in
engaging with African governments, particularly those in the Southern
African Development Community, SADC.

Mugabe still enjoys considerable respect in the region, and SADC states have
supported the conduct of elections, certifying them free and fair, much to
the chagrin of the opposition.

South African president Thabo Mbeki has refused to condemn Mugabe publicly,
and the MDC has failed to win his sympathy.

Mbeki's current attempts to mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis will bear
little fruit, because Mugabe will ensure that the negotiations drag on and
on until just before the elections. At that point, the MDC will have run out
of time to campaign and will be in no position to win.

The Zimbabwean opposition faces a mammoth task ahead of the 2008 elections.
It is already clear that a campaign strategy based solely on the economic
crisis will prove futile.

Mugabe may still have the last laugh.

Max Sidindo is the pseudonym of a reporter in Zimbabwe.

Luxury Goods Duty Directive Illegal?

New Zimbabwe (London)

OPINION
8 May 2007
Posted to the web 8 May 2007

Obert Chaurura Gutu

STATUTORY Instrument 80A of 2007 is more fully known as the Customs and
Excise (Designation of Luxury Items) Notice, 2007.

This Statutory Instrument was promulgated by the Minister of Finance in
terms of Section 115(2) of the Customs and Excise Act (Chapter 23:02).

The regulations came into effect on April 5, 2007. Basically, the Statutory
Instrument provides a list of goods that will attract customs duty and value
added tax in US dollars, Euros or any other currency denominated under the
Exchange Control (General) Order, 1996 i.e. Statutory Instrument 110 of 1996
upon the importation of the said goods into Zimbabwe.

Every resident of Zimbabwe as well as every non-resident person who imports
the designated so called luxury items into Zimbabwe shall be liable to pay
customs duty and value added tax in foreign currency. The list of such
designated goods is long and it varies from the importation of flue-cured
tobacco, cigarettes, trunks, suitcases, handbags, wooden kitchen ware, table
ware, electric blankets, tubes, pipes, motor vehicles, mattresses etc.

The lawful and legal currency of Zimbabwe is the Zimbabwe dollar. Thus,
prices of goods and services within Zimbabwe shall be denominated in
Zimbabwean dollars unless there is a lawful exception to the contrary. My
understanding and interpretation of section 115(2) of the Customs and Excise
Act does not imply that the Minister of Finance has the relevant legislative
authority to promulgate regulations that make it mandatory for customs duty
and value added tax in Zimbabwe to be paid in foreign currency for a certain
category of so-called luxury goods.

Section 6 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15) clearly states
that some of the main functions of the Reserve Bank are to regulate
Zimbabwe's monetary system as well as to achieve and maintain the stability
of the Zimbabwe dollar. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act also unequivocally
states that the legal tender in Zimbabwe shall be the Zimbabwean dollar.

In terms of Section 47 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, the Minister of
Finance is empowered to formulate the exchange rate policy of Zimbabwe in
consultation with the board of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and in doing so,
the Minister shall ensure that the exchange rate policy is consistent with
the objectives of the monetary policy of Zimbabwe.

It therefore, logically follows that it is clearly unlawful for the Minister
of Finance to promulgate subsidiary legislation the main effect of which is
to impose the payment of customs duty and value added tax in foreign
currency upon the importation of so-called luxury goods into Zimbabwe. The
writer cannot find any legal basis upon which the Minister of Finance can
promulgate regulations whose other effect is to virtually dollarise the
payment of customs duty and value added tax in Zimbabwe.

The lawful currency in Zimbabwe is our very own Zimbabwean dollar and not
the US dollar, the British pound sterling, the Euro and/or any other foreign
currency for that matter. Even the Banking Act (Chapter 24:20) does not give
the Minister of Finance the legal authority to effect a partial
dollarisation of the Zimbabwean economy. What the Minister of Finance can
lawfully do in terms of the laws of our country is to formulate the exchange
rate policy and this does not mean that he can also promulgate that in
certain circumstances; customs duty and value added tax payable in Zimbabwe
shall be paid in foreign currency.

The Minister of Finance should not be allowed to dollarise a portion of
business transactions in Zimbabwe through the back door. Whilst I appreciate
that scarce foreign currency should not be used to import luxury goods into
Zimbabwe, the Minister of Finance is still legally bound to follow the laws
of the country and hence; he should not promulgate subsidiary legislation is
clearly unlawful and that does not derive any legality from the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15), the Customs and Excise Act (Chapter 23:02),
the Banking Act (Chapter 24:20), the Finance Act (Chapter 23:04) or even
from the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 will inevitably lead to the escalation of
the prices of motor vehicles, furniture and most of the goods that are
listed in the schedule to the Statutory Instrument. It is a fact that most
goods are being imported into Zimbabwe mainly because one cannot find
competitively priced alternatives locally and/or goods are simply not
available in the country any more.

Thus; the majority of our people are left with no other alternative but to
import goods such as second hand motor vehicles simply because
locally-assembled brand new motor vehicles and even second hand vehicles are
hardly available. Whilst I do not profess any expertise in the field of
economics, I can safely state that what our economy needs are far reaching
measures to resuscitate the ailing manufacturing and industrial sectors.

We should come up with economic policies that promote efficient and
sustainable import substitution activities. I have always wondered why we
have to import cigarettes into Zimbabwe instead of simply resuscitating the
tobacco farming and tobacco manufacturing sectors. Instead of our people
having to resort to the importation of second hand Japanese motor vehicles,
we could simply initiate viable policies to resuscitate Willowvale Mazda
Motor Industries and ensure that those vehicles are easily available
locally. Such a policy will obviously create massive employment
opportunities and indeed; our comatose economy can be easily revived.

To the extent that Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 is inconsistent with the
relevant laws of Zimbabwe, it can therefore be successfully challenged in a
court of law. As long as the Zimbabwe dollar remains the only legal and
lawful tender within the borders of our country, Statutory Instrument 80A of
2007 cannot therefore successfully withstand a legal challenge in a
competent court of law.

Obert Chaurura Gutu is a Zimbabwean lawyer and writes from Harare

JAG Classifieds dated 8 May 2007

As a JAG member or JAG Associate member, please send any classified adverts
for publication in this newsletter to:

JAG Classifieds: jagma@mango.zw
JAG Job Opportunities: jag@mango.zw

Rules for Advertising:

Send all adverts in word document as short as possible (no tables, spread
sheets, pictures, etc.) and quote your subscription receipt number or
membership number.
Notify the JAG Office when Advert is no longer needed, either by phone or
email.
Adverts are published for 2 weeks only, for a longer period please notify
the JAG office, by resending via email the entire advert asking for the
advert to be re-inserted.

Please send your adverts by Tuesdays 11.00am (Adverts will not appear until
payment is received.). Cheques to be made out to JAGMA.

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1.  For Sale Items
2.  Wanted Items
3.  Accommodation
4.  Recreation
5.  Specialist Services
6.  Pets Corner
7.  Social Gatherings

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1. OFFERED FOR SALE
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1.1 Generators & Inverters for Sale

The JAG office is now an official agent for GSC Generator Service (Pvt) Ltd
and receives a generous commission on sales of all Kipor generators and
equipment.  Generators are on view at the JAG office.

The one stop shop for ALL your Generator Requirements SALES:
We are the official suppliers, repairs and maintenance team of KIPOR
Equipment here in Zimbabwe.  We have in stock KIPOR Generators from 1 KVA to
55 KVA.  If we don't have what you want we will get it for you.  We also
sell Inverters (1500w), complete with batteries and rechargeable lamps.  Our
prices are very competitive, if not the lowest in town.

SERVICING & REPAIRS: We have a qualified team with many years of experience
in the Generator field.  We have been to Kipor, China for training.  We
carry out services and minor repairs on your premises.  We service and
repair most makes and models of Generators - both petrol and diesel.

INSTALLATIONS:  We have qualified electricians that carry out installations
in a professional way.

SPARES: As we are the official suppliers and maintainers of KIPOR Equipment,
we carry a full range of KIPOR spares.

Don't forget, advice is free, so give us a call and see us at: Bay 3,
Borgward Road, Msasa.
Sales: 884022, 480272 or admin@adas.co.zw
Service: 480272, 480154 or gsc@adas.co.zw

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1.2 For Sale

So Far and No further! Rhodesia's Bid for Independence during the Retreat
from Empire 1959-1965 by J.R.T. Wood

533 pages; quality trade paperback; pub. Trafford ISBN 1-4120-4952-0
Southern African edition, pub. 30 Degrees South : ISBN 0-9584890-2-5

This definitive account traces Rhodesia's attempt to secure independence
during the retreat from Empire after 1959. Based on unique research, it
reveals why Rhodesia defied the world from 1965.

Representing Volume One of three volumes, Two and Three are in preparation
and will take us to Tiger and thence to 1980;

To purchase:

Zimbabwean buyers contact Trish Broderick: pbroderick@mango.zw

RSA buyers: WWW. 30 degreessouth.co.za or Exclusives Books

Overseas buyers see: http://www.jrtwood.com
and a link to Trafford Publishing http://www.trafford.com/04-2760

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1.3 Pet Food for Sale

Still supplying pets food which consists of 500g of precooked pork offal and
veg costing $3000 and 250g of pigs liver or heart costing $3000 for 250g.

Collection points:      Benbar in Msasa at 10.00
Jag offices in Philips Rd, Belgravia at 11.30
Peacehaven which is 75 Oxford St at 13.00

This is on Fridays only. Contact details: phone 011 221 088 and E mail at
claassen@zol.co.zw

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1.4 For Sale (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Road motorcycle for sale.
YAMAHA - Model YZF 600cc - Thundercat - in immaculate condition.
Highest cash offer secures.  For further details contact Dave on 011 600 770
or 091 22 55 653 or email dapayne@zol.co.zw or leave a message on 04 744826.

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1.5 For Sale (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Boat
Cougar 16' Hull on trailer with Mercury redline 125 motor, electric start,
ride glide steering system, two built in fuel tanks, one carry tank.

Wind surfer
Various '94 Peugeot 405 body parts
Windscreen - cracked
Rear window (with heater lines)
Bonnet
Boot
4 Doors (one bit of a dent)
3 glasses for the doors
Door panels
Headlights
Grill
Rear tail lights
Back seats
Rims x3
Front & rear suspension

Boat motors:
Mercury Blue line 40hp motor, running but needs minor attn, complete with
controls, plus many spares

Contact:  Sandy on 660535 for further details.  Cells are a problem

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1.6 THE WEAVERY (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Going Overseas or down South? Why not take hand woven gifts for your friends
or family?
These super articles which are light,easy to pack, take or send, and fully
washable.
Contact Anne on 332851 or 011212424.Or email joannew@zol.co.zw

Crocheted oven gloves--$255,000.
Cotton oven gloves--$240,000.
Small woven bags--$210,000.
Large woven bags--$255,000.
Crocheted bags--$300,000.

Queen(approx.250x240cms) size bedcover--$1,920,000.
Double(approx.250x210cms) size bedcover--$1,730,000.
Other sizes to order.
Single Duvet cushions(open into a duvet)--$1,290,000.
Other sizes to order.
2x1 meter Throw--$915,000.
Baby Blanket(1x1meter)--$555,000.

3 piece toilet set--$510,000.
Bath mat--$360,000.(small rug).

Decorated cushion covers--$255,000.

Table runner--$150,000.
Set(4)Bordered table mats + serviettes--$510,000.
Set(6)Bordered table mats + serviettes--$765,000.
Set(4) crocheted table mats only--$405,000.
Set(6)fringed table mats + serviettes--$765,000.
Lots of other combinations.

Small(approx.105x52cms) plain cotton rug--$360,000.
Medium(approx.120x65cms) plain cotton rug--$510,000
Large(approx.150x75cms) plain cotton rug--$765,000.
Ex.Large(approx.230x130cms) plain cotton rug--$1,650,000.
Small patterned cotton rug--$510,000.
Small rag rug--$360,000.
Medium rag rug--$510,000.
Medium patterned cotton rug--$765,000.
Large patterned cotton rug--$1,020,000
Ex.Large patterned cotton rug--$2,030,000.
Small patterned mohair rug--$1,010,000.
Medium patterned mohair rug--$1,270,000
Large patterned mohair rug--$1,650,000.
Ex. Large patterned mohair rug--$2,790,000.

Lots of other articles.
PLEASE be aware that prices may change without
notice and orders take some time as they have to be woven and sent from
Gweru to Harare.

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1.7 Woodwork Machinery / Tools for sale (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

MACHINERY
10" CIRCULAR SAW - (Taiwan) + spare  blades, spindle moulder attachment etc
260mm PLANNER/THICKNESSER(260 x 160) Inca + spares, lubricant, belt etc
220mm PLANNER & THICKNESSING Inca attachment, blades , ' v ' belts
260mm wide x 145mm wide BANDSAW Inca + spare blades
ML8 WOOD LATHE Myford 1metre bed, int. & ext. face plates & tools + boring
attachment
PEDISTAL DRILL (tall) 4 speed+ 3 size square hole morticing attachment +
spares
belt, bearings & drum sanding attechment

HAND MACHINERY
Ingersol/rand COMPRESSOR 800 KPA +10m hose and attachments
450W Bosch ELECTRIC DRILL
350W Bosch JIG SAW + blades
Bosch P20 ORBITAL SANDER

750W Elu ROUTER + guide & bits
600 W Elu BELT SANDER 75 x 480 + 20 spare belts & spares
Stanley ROUTER (imperial)
950W Rockwell 7.5" hand held CIRCULAR SAW + spare blades
double ended BENCH GRINDER
Bosch CORDLESS DRILL  PSR  12 VE - 2  with 2 cells

HAND TOOLS
4 X extra long SASH CLAMPS
9 x medium SASH CLAMPS
1metre& 500mm  STEEL RULES
1,1metre SPIRIT LEVEL
600mm x 300mm TRI-SQUARE & 1 x 170mm & 1 x 250mm
HAND PLANES trying, smothing, spoke shave
SAWS: panel, rip, cross cut, tenon, dovetail
FRET SAW X 2 + spare blades
COPING SAW + spare blades
PAD SAW 7 5 BLADES
HACK SAW
JUNIOR STEEL SAW + spare blades
RATCHET BRACE & 20 Twist bits
16 SCREW DRIVERS
10 piece STANLEY WOOD CHISEL set
6 assorted WOOD CHISELS
assorted wood chisels and gouges
assorted steel and masonary chisels and punches -wood & steel
100W (pistol) electric SOLDERING GUN
 POP RIVET GUN
SPIRIT LEVELS X 4 - 1 sliding & 1 line level
2 X wooden MALLETS
1 X rubber MALLET
5 x small sharpening stones , cilindrical, triangular
3 x OIL STONES
5 x SCAPER BLADES
BENCH HOOK
1,7metre  PIT SAW
set of LETTER & NUMBER PUNCHES
TAPE measures
CIRCULAR HOLE SAWS X 3
3 sets DRILL, 13 MASONARY,4 ROSE HEAD & 10 GRINDING bits

AND MANY OTHER ASSORTED TOOLS AND EXTRA'S - SCREWS, NAILS, FINISHES, ETC.
Please phone : 0912 266526

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1.8 MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

ZNSPCA IS SELLING GOODS DONATED FOR RESALE TO HELP WITH OUR WORK.
ZNSPCA HQ 156 Enterprise RD, tel 497574/ 497885

ROCKING CHAIR - OREGON PINE
$600 000

WOODEN TRUNK
OREGON PINE (NEEDS ATTENTION)
$500 000

WOODEN OLD CASE
$300 000

PINE COFFEE TABLE GLASS TOP 2mtr X 1mtr
$ 3. MIL

OLD/ NEW BOOKS - GALORE

1940's /50's TRANSISTOR RADIO- RELIC FROM THE PAST
OFFERS

STEEL COUNTER DOOR WITH LOCKING MECH.

GARAGE DOORS
3MILL

FENCING

DRIVE WAY GATE

OLD ASBESTOS ROOFING

FIRE WOOD
$80 000 PER BAG

ZNSPCA HQ156 Enterprise Rd, or tel: 497574/497885 or 882566

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1.9  Horse Items for sale (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Bridles - $150,000 ea
Reins- $100,000
Numnas - $150,000
Flyguards - $50,000
Jods small - $100,000
Soft halters  - $50,000
Hard hat - $l00,000
Long riding boots size 6 - $200,000
Rope Hay feeders - $50,000 ea
Windsuck collar  - $50,000
Pelham bit - $350,000
Rubber snaffle - $200,000
Stirrup Irons - $350,000
Girths - $200,000

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1.10 Miscellaneous for sale (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Flippers and goggles                                      $50,000 for both
Water wings, small tyre for child                     $50,000
Hockey sticks                                                  $200,000
Roller blades size 6                                        $200,000
Saddle horse about 2 yards long                    $l00,000
Brown Poof                                                     $50,000
Sockets set (some missing)                            $l00,000
Various girls bathing costumes and caps, also
belts, handbags, garden hats
Offers Contact 073 3399 or 011 423614

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1.11 Jam Jars (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Jam jars and more. Anybody out there wanting jam jars - various sizes: glass
and plastic. Reply: mhowarth@zol.co.zw

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2. WANTED
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1 Wanted

Sheila Macdonald (Sally in Rhodesia) - If you have any of Sheila Macdonald's
books for sale, please let JAG know the details including condition etc with
your name, telephone number and price wanted.

Telephone JAG - 04 - 799410

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2.2 Wanted - Short break in CHIRUNDU. (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Does anyone have any idea of lodges or time shares in Chirundu. A group of
about 6 want to spend 5 days in Chirudu fishing either first weekend or
second weekend of November.

Please contact: Mel - 055 20044 or 011 405 879

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2.3 Maid in Avondale (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Maid needed for Avondale West area. We are looking for a maid to help with
housework, for a "growing" family. She needs to have her own accommodation.
Please call 091-2-300 059 or e-mail mbav@zol.co.zw

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2.4 Small family car (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Small family car needed for a "growing" family. Please contact Chantelle on
091-2-300 059 or Vincent on 091-2-887 783

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2.5 Cartoonist (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Looking for a book illustrator who can do Spud type cartoons.

Contact kockott@zol.co.zw

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3. ACCOMMODATION WANTED AND OFFERED

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3.1 HOUSE-SITTER WANTED (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Bromley - 50 kms Harare - Attractive thatched cottage in farm garden.  Two
bedrooms and nice garden, plenty of room for vegetables if required.
$400,000
per month   Tel. 073 3399 or 011 4236l4

I am looking for a house-sitter for July, August and part of September.  I
am not farming, but have four dogs (3 daxis and a collie) and two cats.  I
have good servants, one in the house and two gardeners.  I also have a
lovely
home and garden.  We are 50 kms from Harare in a quiet area   Tel 011 423
614
or 073 3399.

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3.2 Accommodation wanted (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Daughter of ex-farmer seeks secure suitable accommodation in a flat or
cottage at reasonable rent as soon as possible.  Please contact Antoinette
on 0912 365515 or Eugene on 0912 363970

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3.3 Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Ex farmer and his wife need accommodation for themselves and 5 horses.2/3
bed-roomed house on 5 hectares or more.
If you can help please phone Malcolm 0912315375 or Shirley 0912367304

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4. RECREATION

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4.1 Hippo Pools Wilderness Camp (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Need a breakaway into a relaxing and stress free environment for a weekend,
where there is no outside interference? Hippo Pools Wilderness Camp is the
place to go. On the bank of the Mazowe River in the Umfurudzi Safari Area.
For Details phone Tracy or Elsie on 747929 or email
wildernessafrica@zol.co.zw

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4.2 GACHE GACHE LODGE (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE PLEASURES OF KARIBA LAKE.  FISHING AND PHOTOGRAPHIC
SAFARIS, GAME DRIVES, CRUISES, WALKS WITH QUALIFIED GUIDE, FISHING FOR TIGER
AND BREAM, MAGNIFICENT SUNSETS AND FANTASTIC BIRDWATCHING. GACHE GACHE
OFFERS A PERSONALISED SERVICE IN A HOMELY, NATURAL AND RUSTIC ENVIRONMENT.

CONTACT US FOR BOOKINGS: tourleaders@zol.co.zw 0912289345 or 0912208836,
301889.

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4.3 Need a break? (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Getaway and enjoy peace and fresh air at GUINEA FOLWS REST
Only 80kms from Harare, Self-catering guest-house
Sleeps 10 people, Bird-watching, Canoeing, Fishing, DSTV

REGRET: No day visitors.  No boats or dogs allowed.
Contact Dave: 011 600 770 or Annette 011 600 769
or 091 22 55 653 or email dapayne@zol.co.zw

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4.4 Savuli Safari (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Self catering chalets in the heart of the Save Valley Conservancy. Game
watching, fishing, horse riding, canoeing, walking trails and 4x4 hire. Camp
fully kitted including cook and fridges. Just bring your food,  drinks and
relax.    Best value for money. U12 are 1/2  price

Contact John : savuli@mweb.co.zw or Phone 091 2631 556

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4.5  Calling all Kariba Lovers... (Ad inserted 08/05/07)

Looking for an Affordable, Comfortable Houseboat with an Excellent Crew?

Try the LIBERTY BELL!

Sleeps 8 passengers
2 x twin cabins and 2 x double cabins each with own shower, toilet and
hand basin.
Air conditioned saloon/dining area
Splash Pool
2 tender boats
Self Catering or Full Catering available
Airport Transfers
Now privately managed by Kiara Hammond (Kariba Resident).
Website up and running soon!

For bookings and enquiries telephone 061 2282 (during office hours) or 011
208 718 (poor signal) or email kiara@zol.co.zw

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5. SPECIALIST SERVICES

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5.1 Vehicle Repairs

Vehicle repairs carried out personally by qualified mechanic with 30 years
experience. Very reasonable rates.

Phone Johnny Rodrigues:  011 603213 or 011 404797, email:
galorand@mweb.co.zw

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5.2 Borehole Pumps

Installation of borehole pump, piping and pressure tank.  Connections to
water mains and garden mains.  Steel cage and necessary cabling.

T M Lambert (Pvt) Ltd, P O Box GT 629, Graniteside, Harare

Phone 494 796; 091 288 448

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5.3  VIDEO PRODUCTION (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Filming & Editing of Weddings & Special Events. DVD Production, Broadcast
Quality.

DVD & VHS transfers. Call Greer on 744075 / 0912 353 047

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5.4  Mr Cruiser' (Pvt) LTD (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Repairs:

I have now opened our workshops for all major accident repair work for
your Toyota Land cruiser. No Job to big and if your cruiser is a write of
we can offer you a replacement  there and then and a trade in on your
wreak. We have an enormous range of spares and vehicles we are breaking
which enables us to repair your land cruiser fast and professionally with
new genuine spares as well as original second hand ones, like doors,
pillars, panels etc...

All work done fully guaranteed. Get the specialists to do a proper job on
your land cruiser right the first time, one time. No Stuffing around.

Contact Alex Hawkins 091 2 261085. Email: alexhawkins@zol.co.zw, 63 Harare
Drive, Marlborough.

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5.5 PRESENTATIONS AND PROMOTIONAL DISCS (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Young professional lady working from home available to design all your
Company Presentations & Promotional Discs according to your specifications.

Main client base currently in Victoria Falls.  Sample discs available for
reference.

Email: kiara@zol.co.zw

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5.6 BUILDING CONSULTANT (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Available to oversee construction operations and alterations/modifications,
assess and monitor quality control; submission of appraisals for repairs and
maintenance undertakings, and other associated tasks.
For further information please reply to the following contact:
mhowarth@zol.co.zw

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5.7 IT Solutions (Ad inserted 1/05/07)

Oxford IT are looking for Bookkeepers, attractive packages on offer. Please
submit your cv to sarah@oxfordit.co.zw or call and speak to Sarah (the
numbers shown below).

Sarah Vale
GENERAL MANAGER
Oxford IT Recruitment

c/o CFU, Agriculture House, Cnr. Adylinn Road and Marlborough Drive,
Marlborough, HARARE
Tel:  + 263-4-309274 (Direct)
Tel:  + 263-4-309855-60 (Ext. 23)
Fax  + 263-4-309351
Email: sarah@oxfordit.co.zw
MSN Messenger:  sarah@oxfordit.co.zw

Recruitment Specialists

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6. PETS CORNER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.1 Looking for a Home (Ad inserted 24/04/07)

Staffy Lovers! Adorable 4 year tan/white staffy bitch looking for kind and
loving home. Her name is Rita, she is spayed, a small staffy and would
probably suit being an only pet. Very affectionate. Loves people. Tel
Michelle on 884294 or 011602903 or e-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw
'
Gemma a super tan Boxer x bitch. 6 years and her friend 'Bobby' a Border
Collie x dog. Would like to go together but can be separated Tel Alva
Mcintosh on 776426 or 0912250628 or e-mail alva@zol.co.zw

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6.2 Looking for a Home (Ad inserted 24/04/07)

'Daisy' adorable tan/white Jack Russell bitch, young, gets on with all other
dogs looking for a kind and loving home. Tel Michelle on 884294 or 011602903
or e-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw

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6.3 Puppies for sale (Ad inserted 01/05/07)

Pure bred rottweiler puppies for sale not registered. 2 females and 1 male
left. Ready to go. 1st parvo done. Come from a long line of parents with
great temperaments. Contact 0912-333601:0912-331787 or 011-404808

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6.4 Puppies looking for a home

7 puppies, 6 weeks old, are looking for lovable and caring home/homes.  4
males and 3 females ready to go.

Contact Chere - 011 631 546.

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6.5 WANTED (Ad inserted 8/05/07)

FEMALE TERRIER around 2 yrs old to keep our little Jack Russel male company.
Contact: townsend@zol.co.zw

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7.  SOCIAL GATHERINGS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.1 Farewell for Ian Cochrane (Ad inserted 8/05/07)

Friends, Romans etc.Farewell Carrie and Patrick Cochrane. Live Band " N
tatters" @ DRIVE THRU

THURS 10 May.  Dinner + Jump up. Get a ticket @ Drive Thru to confirm your
booking.

Phone Steve, Ruth, or Laura. 851045/6

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7.2 Country Juke Box (Ad inserted 8/05/07)

Country Juke Box Family Dances in a Family Environment. Bring the whole
family for an evening out and enjoy good club meals, reasonable bar prices
and reasonable entrance charge. Dance to 60's, Tiekkie Draai, Country, 80's
etc.
Contact Joe on 0912 338414, after 5pm on 339378 or e-mail
countryjukebox@hotmail.com

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JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410.  If you are in trouble
or need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
To advertise (JAG Members): Please email classifieds to: jagma@mango.zw
with subject "Classifieds".