Lawyers ask Justice Bhunu to recuse himself from Bennett’s case

ZCTU leaders acquitted & set free

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
12 November 2009

The President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Lovemore
Matombo, and four other unionists were set free on Thursday after a Victoria
Falls magistrate threw out charges against them. The 5 were arrested on
Sunday for holding consultative meetings with workers in the town. Police,
acting on instructions from Mugabe's regime, claimed the leaders had
violated the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) by holding the meetings
without police permission. The magistrate however ruled that trade unions
were exempt from seeking police authority for their meetings.
After being arrested, Matombo, Michael Kandukutu, Percy Mncijo, Dumisani
Ncube and Nhawu Ndlovu were detained overnight at Victoria Falls police
station. They were later transferred to Hwange and kept there until their
court appearance. The state continued to frustrate them and prolong their
detention by applying for further remand on Tuesday. The arrests prompted
international condemnation from trade unions worldwide. On Wednesday the
Australian Council of Trade Unions, which represents 2 million workers,
added its voice in condemning the arrests.
Meanwhile the state continues to oppose an application for a refusal of
further remand put in by lawyers representing tortured MDC Transport Manager
Pascal Gwezere. Two weeks ago state security agents abducted Gwezere from
his home. His whereabouts were unknown for several days until he was finally
taken to court and charged with breaking into a military armoury and
undergoing military training in Uganda. Gwezere was severely tortured after
his abduction and was refused medical treatment until last Friday, when a
magistrate ordered he be treated.
On Wednesday the state prosecutor Michael Mugabe (Robert Mugabe's nephew)
opposed the defence application for a refusal of further remand, saying they
had laid enough facts before the court to warrant remanding him further. His
lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, however said; 'The court must take a practical
view of the case. Could a man from the street go to Pomona Barracks and
steal arms? The State must put its house in order, they must investigate if
there is anything to investigate'. Magistrate Archie Wochiunga will make a
ruling on the application on Monday next week.

Soldiers tortured to death in custody

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
12 November 2009

There is rising tension in the Zimbabwe National Army after a number of
senior officers allegedly died from torture whilst in military detention.

The Herald reported on Wednesday that Major Maxwell Samudzi, a 48 year-old
deputy officer commanding One Engineers Support Regiment at Pomona barracks
was found dead in his detention cell. The paper said Major Samudzi committed
suicide, but army insiders contend he was tortured to death.

Major Samudzi was described by colleagues as an excellent soldier and a
brilliant darts player. He was one of many senior and junior officers
arrested by the military police after 20 AK47 rifles went missing from the
army garrison last month.

Another senior officer, a colonel identified as Garira, presumably the
officer commanding Pomona barracks, is reportedly very ill and close to
death, after also being tortured.

On Thursday SW Radio Africa was told that three more soldiers, detained
under allegations of stealing weapons from Pomona, died in the morning from
severe torture.  Two others were reported to be critical.

Two weeks ago, the weekly Zimbabwean newspaper reported that at least 12
soldiers had died the previous week, after brutal torture following the
weapons disappearance.

For obvious reasons it is extremely difficult to verify the deaths and
torture cases, but apparently furious army colleagues are leaking the
information.

It is believed that Pomona barracks and other barracks  surrounding the
capital had been put under 'lockdown' by the Presidential Guard to contain
the crackdown on fellow soldiers. A source told us soldiers were not allowed
to leave Pomona barracks for a week, while investigations were underway.
Survivors have been speaking of being tortured by foreigners, from Angola
and the Congo.

Other soldiers still detained have been named as Sungiso Musa, Darlington
Kanyingwe, Nyaruwata Lawyers, Charles Muzondo, Dzingai T Chibutwaka, Stanley
Mvindwa, Chamunorwa Chinyere, Cosmore Mangenda, Misheck Kangwa, Callistus
Mutero, David Hamandishe and Farai Chitsiko.
Sox Chikohwero, a former war veteran and Airforce of Zimbabwe officer, said
if the reports of torture and killings are verified, the army stands accused
of committing serious crimes against humanity.
'Normal procedure in the military is that when a crime is committed
investigations should follow. If there is a case to answer, the officer or
officers should be arraigned before a court marshal who will decide on the
matter. But what we see here in this case is murder of innocent servicemen,'
Chikohwero said.

Human rights advocacy group, Zimbabwe Democracy Now, has called on the
United Nations and the international community to intervene on the soldiers'
behalf. They expressed grave concern for the safety of the soldiers and have
also called on the country's government to ensure immediate access by
medical and legal practitioners to the detained members of the army.

A retired army colonel who fought with ZANLA forces in Mozambique, told us
Robert Mugabe has now lost control and the trust of the army. He said if
weapons start missing from army barracks 'that's no small matter.'

'Worse still if senior ranks of major and colonels are implicated then there
is a real problem in the army and these are former ZANLA forces,' the
retired army officer said. ZANLA was the armed wing of ZANU PF during the
liberation war of the 1970's. Its former commander, the late General Josiah
Tongogara, died in a mysterious car accident, a few days before the end of
the war.

Old Mutual Zim chairman defends investment in Zimpapers

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
12 November 2009

Much Masunda, the Chairman of Old Mutual Zimbabwe, has said the insurance
giant is an 'institutional investor' and does not influence the running of
companies that the group has invested in. Masunda, who is also the Mayor of
Harare, was reacting to calls by South African pressure groups for Old
Mutual to publicly withdraw its stake in Zimpapers, saying it is wrong to
invest in a company which promotes hate speech.

But the Chairman argued that the investment in Zimpapers goes back before
independence, when the company was known as the Rhodesian Printing and
Publishing Company.

South African refugee rights group, People Against Suffering, Suppression,
Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) and the labour movement COSATU, have called
on the insurance giant to withdraw its stake in Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd, or
face a series of protest actions.

A petition sent to Julian Roberts, Old Mutual CEO said: "The newspapers
operated by the state through Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd. (including The
Herald, The Sunday Mail, Kwayedza, The Sunday News, The Chronicle, and The
Manica Post) are among Zanu PF's most vital tools for retaining its place as
one of the most infamously corrupt and brutal governments of the last
decade."

But Masunda told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the company 'does not take
into account political considerations when investing in a company and said
when the group initially made the investment  in Zimpapers, the politics in
the country and within the company were not what they are now.  He said if
Old Mutual was ever going to exit it would be for reasons that are not
necessarily connected with the politics of the country and company, but on
the basis that 'we are no longer getting the returns we were expecting to
get."

He said: "There must be close to 83 companies that are quoted on the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and you will find that Old Mutual is invested in
close to 76 of these companies and in most cases our investments range from
15% to maybe 33% . In all these instances we don't seek representation, we
are purely an institutional investor, investing on the basis of financial
returns that we are going to get for our policyholders or pensioners, on
whose behalf we manage the pensions."

But the rights protestors accuse big businesses, such as Old Mutual, of
having absolutely no ethics and because of this they actively help
repressive regimes to remain in place. They say that many companies today
care about nothing but making money.

Companies like Zimpapers have, over the years, been used to spread dangerous
hate speech and have been a very important part of the regime's repression,
helping trample down any hope of freedom of expression.

PASSOP said Old Mutual was 'arming' Mugabe's propaganda machinery, which is
the equivalent to 'loading bullets into the guns that kill oppositional
voices in Zimbabwe."

Masunda responded by saying while he takes heed of ethical considerations,
they are currently 'operating in a market that has severe restrictions and
constraints' and threfore there is 'very little stock that is really worth
investing.'

How can Old Mutual defend the indefensible?

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za

Michael Trapido

Old Mutual says its investments are dictated by profit and not political
considerations.

The insurance giant was reacting to a call to shed its investment in the
Zimbabwean company that prints the Mugabe government's propaganda
mouthpiece, The Herald newspaper.

"Our investments are made for the benefit of our policyholders, meant to
meet needs and expectations in terms of return and not contingent upon
political consideration," OM Zimbabwe group chief executive Luke Ngwerume
said in a statement on Wednesday." (Sapa)

Anyone who has been living in Southern Africa for more than an hour would be
aware of the atrocities that have been committed by the Zanu-PF and
President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe in order to cling to power.

One of the most important cogs in the machinery that they employ in order to
achieve this is the Mugabe mouthpiece The Herald.

It ensures that only the information and disinformation he wants circulated
goes out to the people through the major newspaper of that country.

Moreover the government censor, to a large degree, anyone who dares to take
up an anti-government position.

This is not rocket science and everyone knows it.

Accordingly Old Mutual is acutely aware that this particular investment of
theirs is occasioning untold hardship on the people of that country.

Personally I was shocked to hear that one of our major corporates was
involved with a Mugabe propaganda machine.

It is totally unacceptable.

What is worse is that they try to justify the indefensible by saying that
they have a duty to their shareholders to ensure that they retain profitable
assets and anyway it's an investment dictated by money not politics.

What a load of crap.

There are many corporate monsters that have tried singing the exact same
song before and their conduct was equally disgusting. Let's look at one
example.

Zyklon-B was a commercial rodenticide and pesticide in common use before
World War II. The active lethal ingredient in the product is hydrogen
cyanide, which is deadly to warm-blooded animals in very low concentrations,
and to insects in considerably higher concentrations.

DEGESCH (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung mbH / German Vermin
Controlling Company), a subsidiary of IG Farben 4, licensed two German
companies for the manufacture and distribution of Zyklon-B: Tesch und
Stabenow (Testa) and Heerdt-Lingler (Heli).

Zyklon-B was also manufactured in one of its forms in the United States by
the American Cyanamid Company 5 under licence from the patent holders, I.G.
Farben.

Hydrogen cyanide has historically been employed for the destruction of
rodents and insect pests.

When, however, the Nazis were looking for an effective method of gassing the
Jews and other undesirables in their concentration camps they chose Zyklon-B
as the most suitable for that purpose.

As a result huge orders went out to the suppliers who naturally also
considered themselves indebted to their shareholders and only interested in
profits and not politics.

Or that's their version and they're sticking to it.

If the comparison makes anyone uncomfortable it's meant to.

In Zimbabwe we have 5 million people on the brink of starvation, political
murder, millions in exiles and on and on.

The part that The Herald has played in promoting Mugabe and the Zanu-PF can
never be underestimated. Despite millions starving, other millions leaving
the country and their countrymen's terrible suffering they simply keep
pumping out the "good word".

Old Mutual is an insurance company which weighs up risk very carefully
before spending their money. In order to do this they need information in
depth.

Accordingly if they invested heavily in The Herald they know far more about
the horrendous goings on in Zimbabwe than almost anyone else.

Yet they say they are not concerned about politics merely profits.

I hope they've heard of Dormicum or falling asleep every night must be a
bitch.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

Petition Old Mutual to stop funding Zimbabwe’s state-controlled media

Herald reinvents fictitious divisions in the MDC

Thursday 12 November 2009

Herald reinvents fictitious divisions in the MDC

True to fashion and tradition, The Herald today sought to reinvent their
tired fiction of divisions within the MDC leadership over the issue of the
so-called sanctions.

The Herald has an agenda to create artificial fissures in the people's
Movement in the hope that they can concoct another October 12 in the MDC.

After October 12 2005, we built a stronger Movement which overwhelmingly won
the election on 29 March 2008. We could not have won that election if the
leadership had been as divided as The Herald wishes could happen in this
great party.

The Herald has simply sought to transfer factions and divisions from their
permanent home in Zanu PF to the MDC. It is in Zanu PF where factions,
groups and divisions are the order of the day. The Herald is currently
facing litigation over similar persistent lies on the relationship between
the MDC President and the Secretary-General, which lies they miraculously
hope might improve the political fortunes of Zanu PF.

The MDC leadership and members, from the President and Secretary-General, is
united and has a common position on the issue of so-called sanctions which
in essence are restrictive measures imposed on a cabal that thrived on
violence, murder and rampant human rights abuses.

For the record, the MDC Secretary-General is the chief executor and
implementor of party decisions and party policy. The unanimous party
position is that the so-called sanctions are sanctions imposed and created
solely by Zanu PF.

It is Zanu PF which has largely imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe which they now
want the MDC to deal with. We are also aware that The Herald's lies are
deliberate diversionary tactics to make some of us lose focus from the theft
and kleptocracy that has eroded everyone's confidence in the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe.

Hon Tendai Biti

MDC Secretary-General

Mugabe To Cap Less Than A Quarter Of UZ Students

http://www.radiovop.com

     
      Masvingo, November 12, 2009 - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has
revealed that only 680 students from the University of Zimbabwe will
graduate on Friday, out of the nearly 3 000 students.

      Mugabe, the UZ chancellor, annually caps thousands of graduating
students from the oldest university in the country. The university, like
many in the country, has seen a serious deterioration of standards over the
years due to the political and economic problems the country is facing. Most
universities have been rocked by lecturer resignations, student strikes and
lack of water and sanitation as well as food and accommodation problems.

      On Thursday, Mugabe who visited Copota School of the Blind here,
acknowledged that Zimbabwe's universities were in a "mess". "I understand
that universities and colleges are faced with serious problems. I was
shocked ...when University of Zimbabwe Vice Chancellor told me that out of
about 3000 students who are supposed to graduate under normal circumstances,
only 680 will manage to come to the graduation ceremony tomorrow (Friday).

      He blamed South Africa for Zimbabwe's brain drain, saying it had
severely affected the smooth running of instituitions of higher learning in
the country

      "Colleges are in mess, I am aware that there is no water, food
lecturers and a lot of other essential things," said Mugabe. "Our lecturers
are all in down South."

      Mugabe, however,  said he was not interested to disclose the state of
the inclusive government to the people."Today I am not going to tell you
about the inclusive government or anything related to that. Thus not my
business today."

      Mugabe was recently given 30 days by the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to comply with the Global Political Agreement  (GPA) which
brought the new unity government in place in February. The Movement for
Democratic Change had protested to SADC that Zanu PF had failed to fulfill
agreements of the GPA by failing to reverse among other issues, the
appointments of Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono and Attorney General,
Johannes Tomana.

      Mugabe was in Masvingo to donate two tractors, two trucks, one Isuzu
single cab,  100 beds ,50 computers and one photocopying machine to Copota
School For The Blind. He said he received the donations from Mimosa mine in
Zvishavane and various stakeholders.

      He was accompanied by Minister of Higher Education, who is also the
legislator for the area, Dr Stan Mudenge.

      Copota- which is run by Reformed Church in Zimbabwe, is facing serious
economic problems and a lot of blind people are dropping out of school as
they are running away from poor living conditions at the school.

      Sources at the school revealed that at times the blind people could go
for the whole day without food. Currently the school has also arranged for a
fundraising day scheduled for 28 November.

Reports SA metal company plans to mine diamond fields

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za

Eyewitness News | 4 Hours Ago

Zimbabwe's state-run media is reporting a South African scrap metal company,
partly owned by Old Mutual PLC, is planning to mine in the contested
Chiadzwa diamond fields.

Rights activists said the fields were the site of a vicious government
clampdown last year but the state denied this.

Zimbabwe's official Herald newspaper named the company as the
Johannesburg-based New Reclamation Private Limited which is part owned by
Old Mutual PLC.

The insurance giant has come under fire this week for having shares in the
Herald - President Robert Mugabe's mouthpiece.

The paper said Reclamation would mine its 50 percent-owned Grandwell
Holdings and would work in partnership with the state's Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation.

The problem is that the High Court has said the government does not have
legal title to the claim.

Zimbabwe nearly got suspended from the Kimberly Process over claims of
rights abuses in the diamond fields.

Mutare residents said illegal diamond dealers, known as Ngoda boys, were
back.

Failure to act on abuses threatens conflict diamond process

Zimbabwe Soldiers Force Villagers To Accept Draft Constitution

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

     
      Written by Radio VOP
      Thursday, 12 November 2009 15:40
      Chivi - Zimbabwe soldiers  have been deployed to rural areas to force
villagers to accept the Kariba draft constitution as Zimbabwe's new
constitution, saying there was nothing to discuss.
      Chivi villagers were on Wednesday forced to abandon their day-to-day
duties to attend the meetings called by soldiers from 4.1 infantry battalion
in Masvingo. Prior to the meetings suspected Zanu PF youths were seen early
Wednesday making door to door visits instructing villagers to attend the
meetings. "I was not aware that there were meetings which were arranged, I
was shocked to see the youths in Zanu PF ward structures coming at my home
saying all the people above 18 years were supposed to go to the meeting,"
said a villager to Radio VOP. "I had no option because we are very scared of
this military junta, I had to abandon my programme and went to the meeting."
      The villagers said they were told by the soldiers that there was no
other draft constitution which was better than the Kariba one. The Kariba
draft was crafted by the three political parties who are signatory to the
Global Political Agreement (GPA) in Zimbabwe. However the two Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) factions said there was need to take the draft to
the people for their inputs, a move that has been resisted by Zanu PF.
Zimbabwe needs a new constitution before it holds another election to take
over from the transition government that was put in place in February
following the intervention of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC). "When we arrived at the meeting, we were surprised to discover that
there were soldiers, war veterans and Zanu PF officials who all said we
should support the Kariba draft constitution if the experts who are supposed
to come here for consultations arrive in our area," said Curthibert
Chengeta.
      MDC-T provincial chairman Wilstaff Sitemere said he had since received
reports that villagers including his supporters in Chivi were coerced by
soldiers to attend the meeting. "We received the news today and we are not
happy with such behaviour at all. Soldiers are now having tendencies of
victimizing innocent people in Chivi and some parts of rural areas. We are
encouraging people to resist such actions because the people have their
right to support their own draft,"  Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, who is Chivi
Central legislator (Zanu PF) and also co-chairman of the constitution making
process said he was not aware of the move by soldiers in his constituency.
"I do not know what you are saying but I am aware that all political parties
are already campaigning for people to support any draft of their own
 choice," said Mangwana.

UN food summit 'fails before it begins'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

A UN food summit aimed at helping the one billion people worldwide suffering
from hunger has been declared a failure a week before it has even begun.

By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 5:48PM GMT 12 Nov 2009

The leaked World Food Summit draft declaration falls short of a UN goal of
eradicating hunger by 2025. Instead, leaders are expected to to sign a
watered down declaration in Rome next week that calls for vague increases in
aid for farmers in poor countries but sets no targets or deadlines for
action.

Leaders are expected to reaffirm their commitment to the UN's Millennium
Development Goal of halving the number of hungry people by 2015 - a target
that is unlikely to be reached.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is organising the
three day conference, had hoped to win a clear promise from rich countries
to increase the amount they give each year in agricultural aid from $7.9
billion (£4.8 billion) to $44 billion.

But a final draft declaration instead made only a commitment to
"substantially increase the share of official development assistance devoted
to agriculture and food security based on country-led requests".

"The declaration is just a rehash of old platitudes," said Francisco
Sarmento, food rights coordinator for ActionAid.

Campaigners condemned the fact that the summit will be attended by only one
G8 leader - Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who is hosting the
gathering.

Britain will be represented by two junior ministers, Mike Foster, from the
Department for International Development and Jim Fitzpatrick, of the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The US, the world's biggest food aid donor, will send the acting head of the
US Agency for International Development.

More than 60 world leaders are expected, including Pope Benedict XVI, Col
Gaddafi of Libya, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela.

"It's a tragedy that the world leaders are not going to attend the summit,"
said Daniel Berman of Medecins Sans Frontières .

Aid groups said the summit was a missed opportunity to tackle malnutrition,
which kills a child every six seconds, despite the fact that the world
produces a surplus of food. Cereal crops this year are expected to be the
second largest ever, after a record harvest in 2008.

According to FAO, the number of hungry people rose this year to 1.02 billion
people, as a result of the global economic crisis, high food and fuel
prices, drought and conflict.

"This scourge is not just a moral outrage and economic absurdity, but also
represents a threat for our peace and security," said FAO's director,
Jacques Diouf, who will embark on a 24 hour fast on Saturday to show
solidarity with the world's hungry.

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Tsvangirai Urges Political Tolerance, Nonviolence

http://www.voanews.com

     
      By Jonga Kandemiiri
      Washington
      12 November 2009

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai Thursday urged members of his Movement for
Democratic Change and all Zimbabweans to shun violence and take a cue from
his relationship with President Robert Mugabe within the national unity
government.

Tsvangirai was speaking at the Rusape, Manicaland province, burial of the
late Makoni Central Member of Parliament John Nyamande, 57, who died in a
weekend car accident.

Nyamande, who defeated Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in the 2008
general elections, had been living in England before returning to run for
the House. Sources said Chinamasa and traditional leaders from Manicaland
attended the funeral.

Nyamande leaves his wife and five children.

Tsvangirai spokesman James Maridadi told VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga
Kandemiiri that the prime minister praised the late Nyamande's courage in
running in a rural constituency such as Makoni Central which has long been a
hot spot for political violence.

 from VOA's Studio 7

Mining offers hope for Zimbabwe business

http://www.ft.com/

By Richard Lapper at the Freda Rebecca Mine, Zimbabwe

Published: November 12 2009 16:25 | Last updated: November 12 2009 16:25

After three years of silence, the din of dump trucks and conveyor belts
fills the air at the Freda Rebecca mine 50 miles to the north west of
Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital.

Struggling to make himself heard as 30 tons of gold-bearing rock is unloaded
nearby, Kalaa Mpinga, chief executive of  Mwana Africa, the London-listed
mining company, admits it has been tough convincing investors about the
chances of reviving mineral production in one of Africa’s most politically
tormented countries.

“Very few people believe it is possible after all these years ... to restart
mining,” says Mr Mpinga, who founded the company in 2003 and took it public
two years later.
“I’d go to roadshows and people would say, where are you going to get the
people from?”

Mwana, which also owns mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
South Africa and Angola, is seeking to prove the doubters wrong, with its
gold-mining operations part of a broader but as yet embryonic Zimbabwean
revival.

Forced to close its operations in the country almost entirely two years ago
after hyperinflation and punitive exchange controls made it impossible to
mine profitably, Mwana has been encouraged by the decision to abandon the
local currency in favour of the dollar and the rand and free up exchange
controls.

With gold prices this week reaching record levels of more than $1,100 per
ounce, the company, whose costs are about $650 per ounce, expects handsome
returns. Mr Mpinga is also planning to bring two nickel mines – in which
Mwana has a majority stake – back into production next year.

A handful of other mining companies are also back in business, and although
gold output is well short of the peak of 28 tons reached in 1998 it  is
creeping up. David Murangari, a former president of the mining chamber who
now works with Mr Mpinga, estimates it will rise by two thirds to five tons
this year and could reach 15 tons in 2010.

Mr Mpinga, who learned his trade with Anglo American in the early 1990s,
says that, despite the difficulties of recent years, Zimbabwe’s physical and
human infrastructure remains relatively advanced, especially compared with
other high-risk areas such as his native Congo. “Here the issue is not a
building issue, it is rehabilitating existing infrastructure ,” he says.

Zimbabwe retains considerable mining talent. Mr Mpinga says there is no
shortage of geologists and engineers seeking to join the company and that he
has received CVs from professional Zimbabweans from as far away as Papua New
Guinea who are interested in returning.

Although political and human rights concerns remain, business people note
that Zimbabwe has made modest progress on economic issues. Mwana says that
the coalition government – formed after President Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai, his political foe, agreed to share power in February – has been
receptive to some investor concerns and that government departments are
becoming more responsive.

Recently, for example, the state-owned electricity company finally provided
new electricity connections for the Freda Rebecca mine.

Sustaining these advances could be problematic. Mwana last week secured a
$10m (€6.6m, £6m) loan from Industrial Development Corporation, a South
African state-owned development bank, that will allow it to double output at
Freda Rebecca. But commercial bank lending – local or international – is
unlikely to be available for some time.

And Mwana could have a difficult job persuading would-be investors that
political risks are under control. To make nickel production viable at its
majority-owned mines at Bindura, Mwana will need to cut its 2,700-strong
workforce by about 40 per cent. In an area where Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has had
strong support, that might not be easy.

Mr Mugabe’s party retains a capacity for unpleasant surprises. Ministers
from the Movement for Democratic Change said last week the government would
introduce an investment law under which foreign investors would be under no
obligation to cede control of operations to local black empowerment groups.
Days later local press reported on draft legislation from Zanu-PF that
proposes just the opposite.

Civil servants cry for bonuses

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

     
      Written by Munosvikepi Chakonera
      Thursday, 12 November 2009 06:54
      HARARE - Zimbabwe's civil servants who have returned from the Diaspora
have complained bitterly about the failure of the government to pay
competitive salaries.
      Since February of this year, average salaries have fallen consistently
below the poverty-datum line and the civil servants' hopes are pinned on
annual bonuses to enable them to survive the festive season. Health workers
in hospitals across the country have been getting additional money from
donor agencies as incentives to motivate them to continue working in a
country where threats of cholera outbreaks and other water-borne diseases
haunt citizens.
      Teacher representative unions, The Zimbabwe Teachers' Association
(Zimta), and the Progressive Teachers' Union (PTUZ) have both said that
their members are frustrated. "We have held several meetings with the
minister of education and other organisations like UNICEF to try and come up
with competitive salaries for teachers, but currently the government is
broke and has not accessed any lines of credit from international
financiers. However, it is our hope that those teachers who have rejoined
the profession will finally get paid for all the months they have gone
without pay and that all teachers get their annual bonuses as has been the
norm in the previous years. Currently we have not got any word from the
ministry about the bonuses," said Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of
PTUZ.
      Salaries are still very low that some workers in the ministry of home
affairs have resorted to corrupt measures in order to make money; policemen
are swindling motorists at roadblocks and immigration officers charge high
prices for passports and emergency travel documents. The provision of annual
bonuses will go along way in solving the problems of the restive civil
service workforce.

Chinese Money - Zimbabwe’s ultimate Catch 22

www.nationalvision.wordpress.com

In spite of Zimbabwe’s economic desperation, China’s deals have to be
considered with extreme caution, notwithstanding China’s rising economic
clout. It is particularly true especially considering China’s heart-rending
role in propping up the genocidal regime of Omar al-Bashir, the despotic
Sudanese President currently on the run after a warrant of arrest was issued
by the International Criminal Court (ICC) this year.
Al-Bashir, a mass murderer who has been in power for 20 years through a 1989
military coup, is wanted by the Hague for crimes against humanity. According
to the United Nations, he is personally responsible for the Darfur genocide
that killed up to 300 000 non-Arabs while displacing 2.7 million. But
al-Bashir insists that there were ‘only’ 10 000 deaths.
Sudan is sustained by China militarily, economically and politically. China
is also the leading trading partner for Sudan and has numerous business ties
with government officials there. China’s interests in Sudan are vast
especially considering the fact that it has multi-billion-dollar oil
contracts and arms deals. In February 2007, Hu Jintao’s state visit to Sudan
culminated in the cancellation of the country’s multi-million dollar debt.
 As new deals were signed in 1997, China swiftly built al-Bashir’s new
presidential palace, a similar corrupting gift extended to Robert Mugabe in
the recent past.  As reported by The Herald, while in China this week,
Mugabe paid a truly stunning tribute to China, yet politically fashionable
for him saying, "China has been able to develop its economy without
plundering other countries and the Chinese economic miracle is indeed a
source of pride and inspiration. I would like to express my gratitude…”
Sudan is already under sanctions but with the underhand tactics of countries
such as China, its kleptocracy has been immensely enriched. For the same
reason, it is worrisome that Mugabe was quick to celebrate the newfound
neo-colonialist role of China in Africa. Any deals that come from Zanu PF’s
traditional allies from the “East” without careful thought, might mean that
Zimbabwe pays dearly for its democratization efforts. Money from Asia means
a lot in terms of advancing Zanu PF’s game plan.
Sudan is touted as one Africa’s potentially richest nations yet the
incongruity is that it is also one of the poorest, with nothing to show for
the multi-billion dollars supposedly being poured by China. There is an
oxymoron here: Sudan is being impoverished. Similarly, as the economic
crisis persists, Mugabe must not be allowed to continue mortgaging the
country’s mineral wealth and land in exchange for a few US dollars enough to
sponsor their private interests as they did in the past. The people of
Zimbabwe must demand a full disclosure of China’s intentions.
The bottom-line is that China has been the distinguished beneficiary of
African’s chaos such as in Zimbabwe and Sudan by providing huge military
hardware, bribes and sweetheart deals that barter a few US dollars for vast
national wealth. Before the inclusive government, barter trade was more
visible in Zimbabwe (for mines, tractors, military supplies and properties)
being a country hard-hit by a severe foreign currency crisis. Unconfirmed
reports also indicate that Zimbabwe’s ongoing blood diamonds in Manicaland
have the Chinese as sworn underwriters.
By supplying weapons of war to woeful Zimbabwe (through Angola) soon after
the stolen elections of March 2008, China proved that it was extending its
unscrupulous underhand condoning dictatorships in Africa. China fatally
compromised Zimbabwe’s democratic process.  It is China’s ugly track record
of human rights violations that worries many people. To put it mildly, just
like Mugabe and his minions, China is less concerned about human rights. Let
alone Africa’s tranquility.
Other than flooding downtown Harare with plastic toys and “sadza lajuro”
food cafes, China will only serve to under-develop Africa further if African
governments  continue to give the Chinese blank cheques. (Otherwise
Zimbabweans may need to use a new form of “junta tactic” at some stage after
Mugabe is long gone, to repossess the land and the mines that are freely
being donated to the Chinese)
Other than plundering national wealth and looting alongside Africa’s
kleptocrats, the advent of China comes with no strings attached. What makes
it an exceptionally attractive package for Africa’s strongmen is that China’s
deals are silent about the rule of law or respect for human rights as
preconditions for doing business. It’s incontestible; China is the biggest
beneficiary of the dictatorships of Africa. Similarly unregulated Chinese
investments will do more harm than good for Zimbabwe. It will just be money
without logic!
=====================================================
For feedback email: nvinstitute@aol.com

Robert Mugabe off the hook as usual

http://www.economist.com

Sep 10th 2009 | CAPE TOWN
From The Economist print edition

African leaders fail yet again to squeeze Zimbabwe's recalcitrant president

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, Zimbabwe's prime minister, is putting a brave face on his
latest setback. But he must feel badly let down, once more, by the Southern
African Development Community (SADC). At a summit meeting of its 15 leaders,
the regional club failed to criticise President Robert Mugabe for his
refusal to honour the power-sharing deal it helped broker a year ago.
Instead, Mr Tsvangirai was fobbed off with the promise that a committee of
three SADC members would eventually "review" the unity government that took
office in February. Mr Mugabe is smirking.

Jacob Zuma's election as South Africa's president in May had brought hope of
a tougher stance towards Zimbabwe by SADC's most powerful country after
years of ineffectual "quiet diplomacy" by its former president, Thabo Mbeki.
Mr Tsvangirai's expectations rose after he met Mr Zuma in Johannesburg last
month. South Africa's ruling African National Congress announced that Mr
Zuma would be "more vocal" than his predecessors in criticising the
"adolescent" and "deviant" behaviour of Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

During a visit to Zimbabwe at the end of August, ostensibly to open an
agricultural show but in truth to knock a few heads together ahead of the
SADC summit, Mr Zuma pointedly stressed the importance of good governance
and respect for human rights everywhere in Africa, before calling on the
parties to Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal to honour their commitments and
ensure its full implementation. In particular, he said Zimbabwe must, as a
priority, meet the West's conditions for resuming development aid. No
African leader had dared say that before.

The Americans and the European Union insist that Mr Mugabe's lot must stop
abducting, arresting and killing supporters of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC); cease the invasions of white-owned farms; replace
the central-bank governor, Gideon Gono, and the attorney-general, Johannes
Tomana; appoint new provincial governors; and free the media (see article).
And they must help draft a new constitution leading to fair elections
within, it is hoped, 18 months.

To stave off the humiliation of being censured by his SADC peers, Mr Mugabe
has begun to make a few concessions. In the past few weeks he announced
steps to end the state's monopoly over the media, and lifted a ban on
correspondents from international broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC. And
he has convened the National Security Council, on which Mr Tsvangirai has a
seat and which is meant to replace Mr Mugabe's feared Joint Operations
Command. The top military brass have even begun to salute Mr Tsvangirai,
which they had sworn never to do.

Yet, with Mr Mugabe still holding the main levers of power, violence and
intimidation have not abated. No fewer than 15 MDC MPs have been arrested on
dubious charges since the unity government took office. More white farmers
have been murdered and 170 face prosecution for refusing to leave their
land. A SADC tribunal ruled last year that the seizures were illegal, but
Zimbabwe's government now refuses to recognise the tribunal's legitimacy.

Meanwhile, Zanu-PF is doing its utmost to delay drafting a new constitution
and to prevent fresh elections, which it knows it is virtually certain to
lose. Now, with SADC apparently unwilling to squeeze Mr Mugabe, the old man
and his friends can breathe more easily for a while yet.

When patience finally runs out

http://www.economist.com

Nov 12th 2009 | JOHANNESBURG
From The Economist print edition

Setting a deadline for Zimbabwe's politicians to settle their differences

AT LAST the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an influential
club of 15 countries that has overseen the regional diplomacy intended to
solve Zimbabwe's troubles, is showing signs that it may be prepared to
squeeze President Robert Mugabe a bit harder. As the supposed guarantor of a
power-sharing pact between Mr Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the former
opposition leader, SADC has-after months of dithering-ordered all
"outstanding issues" to be settled by December 5th. As a result, Mr
Tsvangirai has agreed to end a three-week boycott of the unity government by
members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Ever since the coalition government was set up in February, Mr Mugabe has
flouted most of the pact's main provisions with impunity. In some respects,
matters have been getting worse. The persecution and arrest of political
opponents, trade unionists and student leaders have increased. So has
violence against the dwindling band of white farmers who refuse to be chased
off their property. Broadcasting and the daily press, still firmly in the
hands of Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF, smear Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC incessantly,
while independent newspapers have yet to be allowed to start printing again.

A new national security council, representing all parties in the unity
government as the pact decrees, has met briefly just once in place of the
feared Joint Operations Command, which has long organised Zanu-PF thuggery.
And Roy Bennett, Mr Tsvangirai's nominee as deputy agriculture minister, on
trial on trumped-up terrorism charges that carry the death penalty, has
still not been sworn in.

On paper, the communiqué issued on November 5th by SADC's "troika" of
Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia, looks as bland and ineffectual as the
group's previous statements on Zimbabwe. There was still no hint of censure
of Mr Mugabe.

Yet those who attended the meeting in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, say the
mood was distinctly different. For the first time, they detected a real
sense of urgency. Mr Mugabe attended along with Mr Tsvangirai, but only in
his capacity as leader of ZANU-PF, not as Zimbabwe's head of state: a
humiliating come-down. It was clear this time that most of the blame for
non-compliance with the "spirit and the letter" of the power-sharing pact
was laid at Mr Mugabe's door. "We had the clear impression that he was being
brought to book," said an MDC official.

Mr Tsvangirai sounds chuffed. He is particularly pleased that SADC has
appointed South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, formally to "facilitate"
Zimbabwe's power-sharing in place of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, whom the
MDC loathed for what it considered his gross bias in Mr Mugabe's favour. Mr
Zuma, who has sounded more sympathetic to Mr Tsvangirai, is expected to
visit Zimbabwe before the end of the month to review progress.

No one expects all the outstanding issues to be settled by the deadline of
December 5th. But for once Mr Mugabe is under pressure to make proper
concessions. His peers have never given him so plain a deadline before.
Recently the director-general of South Africa's foreign ministry said that
regional leaders were fearful that the situation in Zimbabwe could "get out
of hand". At least 2m Zimbabweans, many of them destitute, have poured into
neighbouring countries, especially South Africa.

Co-operate or collapse
At the very least, SADC's leaders now expect Mr Mugabe to meet some of Mr
Tsvangirai's demands, such as the appointment of MDC people to provincial
governorships and the prompt swearing-in of Mr Bennett as deputy agriculture
minister. But if Mr Mugabe refuses to co-operate, the MDC may decide,
perhaps even with SADC's approval, to pull out of the government altogether,
leading to its collapse.

If that happened, calls for fresh elections would intensify, probably with
backing from at least some of SADC's leaders. ZANU-PF is keen to avoid such
an eventuality, knowing that it would almost certainly lose, unless the poll
was as blatantly rigged as it has been in every election since 2000. A
recent survey suggested that Mr Mugabe's party, in sole power for 28 of the
past 29 years, would get less than 10% of the vote.