The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Daily News online edition

      Gono pumped in $150 billion to rescue distressed tycoon

      Date: 18-Nov, 2004

      HARARE - The heat is now on for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor,
Gideon Gono, after revelations that he gave more than Z$150 billion to
distressed business tycoon and politician, Daniel Shumba, over the last two
years, as part of roll out capital for the failed TeleAccess fixed telephone
network.

      Gono, who was the chief executive for Jewel Bank, is alleged to have
authorised the advancement of the money to Shumba after the Post and
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, (POTRAZ), awarded him a
licence to operate the country's second fixed telephone network.

      The first licence was issued to TelOne, a company which came out of
the privatisation and unbundling of Posts and Telecommunications Corporation
(PTC), through an Act of Parliament.

      Circumstances surrounding the issuance of the loan, which the Jewel
Bank has indicated would be very difficult to recover, is now the point of
argument, as allegations are that Gono might have received kickbacks after
giving Shumba the unsecured loan.

      Shumba, who was then known in the telecommunications and information
technology sector as a shrewd and intelligent businessman, through
TeleAccess, snapped up the opportunity to establish the country's second
fixed telephone network, promising that "phones would be available to more
than 120 000 people within the coming six months".

      The Jewel Bank, as a technical partner, then disbursed the money to
Shumba's company, in anticipation of quick returns on the project.

      It is now two years down the line, and the project has not taken off
the ground, save for the purchase of equipment which is currently housed at
the Central Film Laboratories, which can roll out a maximum of 100 telephone
lines.

      Alarm bells began to ring when Shumba failed to roll out his project,
although his company had managed to have its presence felt through the
placing of big advertising billboards at strategic points around Zimbabwe's
capital city, Harare.

      The project now needs more that $3 trillion to get off the ground.

      At a recent parliamentary portfolio committee meeting to probe why
Shumba had failed to roll out operations of his company, he requested that
the media be barred from covering the hearings, alleging that what he wanted
to say in the meeting bordered on national security.

      Gono, who has been on a crusade to 'bring back financial sanity in the
country's banking sector,' is being accused of failing to exercise financial
prudence when dealing with TeleAccess.

      The company was given the hefty loan although not much had been done
to protect the bank from possible bust of the project.

      A local financial weekly newspaper, which is said to have strong links
with the central bank governor, is the only newspaper which has always
reported or covered Shumba in positive light although the public media has
of late changed its stance on the estranged politician and business
executive.

      "We await to see what Mugabe will do with Gono because it has now been
proved that the Jewel Bank was reckless in giving Shumba all that money.

      "The whole deal is fraught with irregularities which are criminal in
nature and one wonders how the Jewel Bank is still solid after $150

      billion was milked out of it.

      "This figure represents the company's projected interest earnings for
the next 34 years," said one source in the banking sector, who said he was
now following activities at the Jewel Bank with interest.

      At a recent National Economic Consultative Forum meeting which was
held in Masvingo last week, Mugabe, is alleged to have refused to be
associated with Shumba, who was supposed to lead him into the conference
marque as part of protocol procedures.

      The provincial governor, Josaya Hungwe, was then given that task, with
Shumba dashing to Gutu-Mupandawana Gowth Point, where Mugabe was supposed to
donate computers.

      At the Gutu-Mupandawana function, Mugabe is alleged to have openly
told Shumba that the net was closing in on him.

      Efforts to get comment from Gono yesterday proved fruitless as staff
at the central bank insisted that a Daily News Online could not interview
him.

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Daily News online edition

      Nigerian fake money syndicate carves niche in Harare

      Date: 18-Nov, 2004

      HARARE - A NIGERIAN syndicate which specialises in the production of
fake money, academic certificates and drivers' licences, has quietly
established itself in Zimbabwe's commercial business district where business
has become viable.

      The syndicate, which has been operating for sometime in the country,
has now become a cause for concern for the authorities in the country, who
have now put in place measures to nab the culprits before the situation gets
out of hand.

      Sources within the local police force, the Zimbabwe Republic Police,
have indicated that measures have now been put in place to deal with the
syndicate, which has so far put in circulation a huge amount of fake United
States dollars printed on genuine security paper.

      The sources, who spoke on condition that they were not named, said the
country's economic and academic sector, were being targeted because of their
sensive nature.

      "The economic sector has been hard hit by the distribution of fake US
dollars which have been channeled into the black market and the banking
sector where state of the art detecting equipment is not yet available.

      "The green-back is on high demand and therefore most institutions and
money traders on the country's black-market are falling prey to the massive
injection of the fake money. On the other hand, fake certificates being
circulated include those for degrees and masters programmes from reputable
colleges in Europe and America.

      "Desperate Zimbabweans are buying these certificates for careers
outside the country where Zimbabwean academics are on high demand," said the
source, who is a senior member in the country's police force.

      As part of sweep-up operations to rid the commercial business district
of the Nigerian syndicate, police recently combed off Ximex Mall, a popular
place for members of the syndicate, where thorough searches were mounted.

      Lunch-time shoppers were recently inconvenienced when they had to go
through police check points to clear themselves.

      Although police indicated that they had recovered a number of stolen
mobile phones and other documents which were being sold at the mall, nothing
related to the syndicate was recovered, raising fears within the police
force that syndicate members could have been tipped off before the raid.

      Just a few days ago, police busted the distribution of fake US dollars
printed on genuine security paper, which had been circulating on the market
for some time.

      The money, which did not have all the security features as required on
the US currency, had the general features which passed through most of the
fake detecting machines in the banking industry.

      Both money changers and some financial institutions lost out as a
result of the fake money which had been pushed onto the market.

      The syndicate, is also alleged to be producing fake certificates of
ownership for mobile cellphone lines which would have been stolen. A number
of people have been arrested after being found in possession of stolen
cellphone lines although they had certificates of ownership which looked
genuine.

      The emergence of the fake certificate market is a result of the
current socio-economic situation in the country where more than 70 percent
of the population is now jobless.

      Most Zimbabweans have now resorted to going abroad in search of
employment and better living conditions. Countries which have been targeted
by the Zimbabweans include South Africa, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique,
where conditions are said to be favourable and employment opportunities in
abundance, especially for Zimbabwean academics.
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The Star

      Shady Namibian election observer

      Top member of watchdog delegation was involved in gruesome poll
violence in Zimbabwe
      November 17, 2004

      Harare - A senior member of an African observer group monitoring
Namibia's elections had his own election in Zimbabwe's 2000 poll annulled
because of violent intimidation in his constituency, according to court
records.

      Shadreck Chipanga, a former director of Zimbabwe's notorious secret
police, was identified by witnesses as being at the wheel of a pick-up truck
carrying ruling-party supporters who disembowelled a young man on the bonnet
of the vehicle for having opposition pamphlets during the run-up to the
violence-racked 2000 parliamentary elections, according to a judgment in the
case.

      Zimbabwe's state-controlled daily Herald reported on Thursday that
Chipanga had been appointed as one of two deputy chairpersons of the
observer delegation of the Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African
Development Community, the 14-
      nation regional political bloc, to the two-day elections in Namibia.

      In October last year, High Court Judge Paddington Garwe ruled that the
incident was sufficient to order the cancellation of the election result in
the constituency of Makoni East, about 180km east of Harare. Chipanga won by
a narrow margin of less than 100 votes.

      However, he has remained in his seat and last year was appointed by
President Robert Mugabe to be deputy minister of home affairs.

      An appeal by Chipanga against the ruling was noted, said Sheila
Jarvis, lawyer for Nicholas Mudzengerere, who stood against the former
director of the Central Intelligence Organisation. Nothing has happened
since then.

      The hearing took place in 2001 and it took Garwe, the head of the High
Court, two years to come to a decision.

      The court heard that Francis Chigonzo and a friend were walking home
from work in the constituency shortly before the elections when they stopped
to pick up election leaflets scattered on the road by the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change.

      A pick-up truck loaded with supporters of Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF
party stopped and seized them, ramming the head of one of the two young men
under one of the vehicle's wheels and making as if they were about to drive
forward.

      Chigonzo (23) told the court that Chipanga was the driver.

      The other young man was allowed to flee while Chigonzo was then
pinioned on the bonnet of the truck and Chipanga's campaign manager slit
open his abdomen with a knife. They drove off, leaving him for dead.

      a.. Namibians yesterday began a second and last day of voting to
choose a successor to outgoing president and liberation hero Sam Nujoma, who
has ruled the country since independence 14 years ago.

      The elections in the arid country of 1,82-million people started on
Monday, and despite a computer glitch that affected about 300 polling
stations, causing long queues, the electoral process was running smoothly,
election officials said.

      Namibians yesterday took advantage of shorter queues, which moved
quickly, to cast their ballots. - Sapa-DPA-AFP

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The Mercury

      MDC leader hits out at SA critics
      November 18, 2004

      By Basildon Peta

      Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has dismissed as
"grossly unfair" criticism from South African analysts that he should
abandon trips abroad to woo support against President Robert Mugabe and
instead concentrate on mobilising supporters at home.

      Tsvangirai, who is the President of the MDC, has met President Thabo
Mbeki and Mauritian Prime Minister Paul Berenger since last month's
acquittal on treason charges.

      Last week he was given a red-carpet welcome by Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo.

      Tsvangirai also met Ghanaian President Joseph Kufour, African Union
Commission Chairman Alpha Konare, Botswana President Festus Mogae and
Burkina Faso leader Blaise Campaore.

      The only leader to snub Tsvangirai was Lesotho's Prime Minister,
Pakalitha Mosisili.

      But Tsvangirai has faced criticisms that his many trips abroad after
almost three years of virtual house arrest are unnecessary. Sunday Tribune
Editor Barney Mthombothi accused Tsvangirai of wasting time on these trips
instead of remaining in Zimbabwe where his services were needed most.

      "There was nothing he said in person to the leaders that could not
have been relayed down the line of a telephone," wrote Mthombothi in his
column for The Mercury. He observed: "It (Tsvangirai's trip) is indicative
of the shortcomings of the struggle against Mugabe. It explains why Mugabe
is not even contemplating retirement ... "

      Tsvangirai said Mthombothi's remarks were way off the mark.

      "He (Mthombothi) completely misses the point. If he wakes up one day
to find his house on fire, does he remain in it to burn to ashes or will he
run out to ask for assistance from his neighbours? If he agrees that
approaching his neighbours would be a reasonable step to take, then he
should understand why we are doing this," said Tsvangirai in an interview in
Johannesburg while on his way to meet Mogae in Gaborone.

      "People must not conveniently forget how apartheid was defeated.

      The anti-apartheid struggle was complemented by external pressure and
solidarity from outside."

      Tsvangirai said his meetings with the African leaders were part of an
aggressive campaign by his party to get free and fair elections in Zimbabwe
next year. - Independent Foreign Service

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The Times

            Mugabe bans human rights groups
            From Jan Raath in Harare

            ZIMBABWE'S parliament was rushing through legislation yesterday
that will shut down human rights groups and other organisations critical of
President Mugabe and his Government. It is regarded as the most repressive
legislation since independence in 1980.

            The Zimbabwe Non-Governmental Organisations Bill will force all
the estimated 3,000 private voluntary organisations to register with a state
commission or be closed, have their staff arrested and their assets seized.
Those not already on the Social Welfare Ministry's voluntary register will
be regarded as illegal as soon as the law comes into force.

            The Bill also threatens charities that serve as an alternative
Civil Service for impoverished Zimbabweans in a society where the state
infrastructure is largely in ruins. These organisations bring water
supplies, famine relief, seed and farming implements, literacy and support
to much of the one third of the population stricken by HIV/Aids. The jobs of
up to 20,000 people working for the charities are at risk.

            Agencies devoted to what is broadly described as "governance"
will be banned from receiving foreign funding. Foreign human rights
organisations, including the local office of Amnesty International, will be
outlawed. David Coltart, legal director of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), said: "It attacks the churches, human rights
organisations, trade unions, everything."

            In Zimbabwe, private organisations have managed to keep alive a
semblance of democracy and independence. Observers say the face of the
country will be changed rapidly when Mr Mugabe signs the Bill into law.

            Announcing the Bill in July, he declared that "we cannot allow
them (voluntary organisations) to be conduits of foreign interference in our
national efforts". Since then, the state propaganda mill has incessantly
denounced the groups as "puppets of imperialist forces seeking to
destabilise the country to effect regime change".

            The parliamentary legal committee reported yesterday that the
Bill violated the Constitution on 12 counts. Welshman Ncube, the committee's
chairman, described it as "a determined and pervasive attempt to curtail and
extinguish the fundamental freedoms of the people of Zimbabwe". He added:
"It does not seek to regulate but to control, to silence, to render
ineffective and ultimately shut down non-governmental organisations."

            The same groups had "painstakingly recorded . . . political
beatings, intimidation, torture, rape, killings, unlawful arrests and
detention, destruction of homes, the suppression of media freedoms". They
had also provided victims with legal advice, counselling and medical care,
he said.

            There is little doubt that parliamentary elections set for March
are the main reason for the extraordinary legislation and the haste in
passing it.

            "We work in rural areas all over the country, and whether we
like it or not we see what is going on," a Western aid manager said. "They
don't want us to see what they do."

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SOKWANELE

Enough is Enough

Zimbabwe

PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!

(www.sokwanele.com)

“Mauritius Watch”

 

The Zimbabwean Elections:

(Monitoring SADC Protocol Violations)

 

Issue 4.   15 November

 

On August 17 2004, SADC leaders meeting in Mauritius adopted the SADC Protocol – Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.  Zimbabwe, as a member of SADC, also signed the Protocol and committed itself to implementing its standards.

 

“Mauritius Watch” provides a regular, objective and non-partisan assessment of Zimbabwe’s compliance with the Protocol.  In the run-up to the 2005 Parliamentary Elections we note any significant failures to adhere to the SADC standards.

 

 

Date

Incidents/Developments

SADC standards breached

11.11.04

ELECTORAL BILL UNCONSTITUTIONAL

 

Parliament’s Legal Committee said this week that proposed regulations banning civic bodies from carrying out voter education or accepting foreign funding for voter information programmes are unconstitutional.

 

In a major blow to the regime’s claims that that the proposed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Bill conforms to the SADC standards for democratic elections, the committee said the Bill also violated Section 18 (1) of the Constitution guaranteeing protection from the law.

 

The committee said that by barring Zimbabweans from mobilizing resources for voter education, the proposed law would infringe on citizens’ rights to freedom of expression guaranteed under Section 20 of the constitution.

 

The committee chaired by (Law) Professor Welshman Ncube who is secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change, also criticised the intention to bar Zimbabweans staying outside the country from taking part in voter education, either through participation or funding.

 

(For further details refer to ZimOnline (11th November) -www.zimonline.co.zw and the Zimbabwe Independent (12th November) - www.theindependent.co.zw

 

 

2.1.1.        Full participation of citizens in the political process

 

2.1.8          Voter education

 

4.1.1.          Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens

 

7.3                  Establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel …

 

 

5/11/04

MOVES TO ERASE OPPOSITION CONSTITUENCIES

 

It has emerged that a delimitation commission appointed by Robert Mugabe is considering abolishing at least two constituencies held by Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)    The MDC shadow minister for foreign affairs, Priscilla Misihairabwi, told the London-based internet radio station Afro-Sounds that the delimitation commission wanted to erase her Glen Norah constituency and Gwanda north, now held by the party spokesperson, Paul Themba Nyathi.

 

The four man commission, tasked with redrawing constituency boundaries in accordance with shifting population patterns, was hand-picked by Mugabe, and as the MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube says, can be “relied upon to do the bidding of ZANU PF”    Professor Ncube added, “This is particularly worrying if one has regard to the fact that the MDC has documentary evidence that the process of re-drawing the constituency boundaries, ahead of the March 2005 parliamentary elections, has already been carried out, under the instructions and guidance of the notorious Central Intelligence Organisation”.

 

“By appointed new personnel to the Delimitation Commission, in order to provide it with a veneer of independence, and tasking them to carry the process of amending constituency boundaries ahead of the parliamentary elections, the government is clearly attempting to legitimize and rubber-stamp the discriminatory boundary changes that it has already carried out unlawfully. This is not in the spirit of the Mauritius agreement”, said Professor Ncube.

 

(For further details see Mail & Guardian - http://www.mg.co.za

 

 

2.1.7.        Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions

 

4.1.3.      Non-discrimination in the voters’ registration

 

7.5.                Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process …

 

11.11.04

Amendments to AIPPA slammed

 

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (Crisis) representing a wide cross section of civic and church groups in the country, has slammed the proposed amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (AIPPA) Amendment Bill passed by parliament on November 9th.

Noting that the new Bill criminalizes the profession of journalism in Zimbabwe, Crisis states, “Once again the ruling ZANU PF party abused its parliamentary majority and voted in favour of the violation of Zimbabweans’ civil liberties particularly the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the country’s constitution”.

 

The amendment provides that journalists found practising without accreditation are to be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine, imprisonment for up to two years or both such fine and imprisonment.   A further amendment to AIPPA allows the minister responsible (Jonathan Moyo in this case) to constitute the board of the Media and Information Commission (MIC) without including nominees from an association of journalists or association of media houses if he so chooses.

 

“The amendments”, reads the statement issued by Crisis, “are a flagrant violation of the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections and show a determination by ZANU PF to establish a pariah state”.

 

(For the full statement refer to Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition website - www.crisis.org.zw

 

 

2.1.1.        Full participation of citizens in the political process

 

2.1.5.          Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media

 

4.1.1.          Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens

4.1.2.          Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections

 

7.4.            (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens, including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression …. during the electoral processes

 

 

05.11.04

Britain Zimbabwe Society slams NGO Bill

 

In an open letter to the South African President, Thabo Mbeki, the Britain Zimbabwe Society (BZS), a non-partisan society founded in 1981 to promote understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries, has expressed deep concern about the implications of the NGO Bill.

 

In the letter the BZS’s commitment to the well being of the Zimbabwean people is high-lighted with references to their fund raising activities for NGO’s concerned with rural water supplies, the rehabilitation of street children, the education of Aids orphans and support for such institutions as the University of Zimbabwe, the National Galleries and National Archives.

 

The letter reads in part: “The society has not previously made representations about Zimbabwean domestic legislation.  But we write to you now to express deep unhappiness about the NGO Bill currently before the parliament of Zimbabwe.  This Bill affects all the concerns and activities of the society”.

 

The letter continues:  “We welcome the SADC  undertaking to ensure democratic participation by citizens of the region. But the NGO Bill and the limits it proposes on civil society runs counter to the principles set out in the African Union’s Constitutive Act and the SADC guidelines concerning the role of citizens in political life”.

 

The letter is signed by Professor Terence Ranger and Diana Jeater, President and Chair of the BZS respectively.

 

(The full text of the letter may be seen in the Zimbabwe Independent (5th November 2004) -www.theindependent.co.zw

 

 

2.1.1.        Full participation of citizens in the political process

 

7.4.              (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties  of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.11.04

ARREST OF MDC CANDIDATE

 

Harare police on 1st November arrested the aspiring MDC candidate for the Marondera East constituency, Iain Kay, and held him for two days before releasing him without charge. It is believed Mr Kay was arrested in connection with the discovery by the police of copies of a statement by Morgan Tsvangirai, President of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)

 

Before Mr Kay’s arrest members of his family and close friends were subjected to a barrage of intimidation and threats by a gang of four men who claimed they were members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), but whose bizarre activities led the family to believe they were in fact dealing with criminals and extortionists. On one occasion they took Mr Kay’s driver into the bush and pinched his testicles with pliers, demanding to know his employer’s whereabouts.

 

The Attorney General’s Office declined to prosecute and instructed the police to release Mr Kay forthwith.  The police however refused to comply with the order, and it took a second written order from the Attorney General to secure his release late on 3rd November.

 

In the meantime one of Mr Kay’s interrogators, Dentist Chimanga of the Criminal Investigation Unit, is believed to have broken into Mr Kay’s house in order to effect an illegal search.  During this time 30 million dollars worth of jewelry disappeared from the Kay’s residence.  Mr Kay has said he intends to lay a charge of house-breaking and theft against the officer concerned and his criminal associates.

(For further details refer to the MDC information office – http://www.mdczimbabwe.com

 

 

 

2.1.1.      Full participation of the citizens in the political process

 

2.1.2.       Freedom of a association

 

2.1.3.       Political tolerance

  

4.1.2.      Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections

 

7.4.              (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning … during the electoral process

 

 

13.11.04

NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE PROGRAMME UPGRADED

 

According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper the National Youth Service Unit is now a full government department funded from the budget of its parent ministry rather than through a grant as before.

 

The Minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation, retired Brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri, said that the full youth training programme is expected to resume this month.  At a press conference the minister revealed that three of the six training centres established to date have undergone major renovations and are now ready to reopen. (These are at Kamativi in Matabeleland North, Mushagashe in Masvingo and Vumba in Manicaland)   Two other centres are nearing completion at Chivhu in Mashonaland East and Chikwerengwe in Masvingo Province, and this will bring the total number of camps to eight. With an additional two provincial camps scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2005, Zimbabwe will then have 10 training camps in operation.

 

The National Youth Service Programme is responsible for the training of youth militia, popularly known as “green bombers”, who have been used by ZANU PF in recent elections to instill terror among those sections of the community known or perceived to be sympathetic to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.  The programme has been severely critisised by human rights’ groups for brutalizing the youth concerned, indoctrinating them with ZANU PF propaganda and using them as a tool for (violent) political control.  

 

(The above report appeared in the Herald on 13th November -http://www.herald.co.zw/For an objective  assessment of the National Youth Service Training Programme see the Solidarity Peace Trust Report of 5th September 2003, entitled “Shaping youths in a truly Zimbabwean manner” - www.solidaritypeacetrust.org.za)

 

2.1.3        Political tolerance

 

4.1.2.      Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections

 

7.5         (Government to) take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process, in order to maintain peace and security

 

15.11.04

STATE MEDIA FOR ZANU PF PROPAGANDA BLITZ

 

The state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) is recording new propaganda music and television adverts to be used by the ruling ZANU PF party in next year’s general election.  The wholly-state owned ZBH, known as Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, is the country’s only radio and television broadcasting company. 

 

Sources at the public broadcaster said Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, who maintains an iron grip on ZBH, had recruited several musicians whom he was working with at ZBH Pocket’s Hill studios putting together an album of ZANU PF promotional songs and jingles to be released by December.

 

ZBH is still maintaining a virtual blackout on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and has on several occasions refused to flight paid adverts by the MDC, saying they were “too political”.

 

(For further details refer to ZimOnline - www.zimonline.co.zw

 

2.1.5.      Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media

 

7.4.              (Government to) safeguard …access to the media on the part of all stakeholders, during the electoral process as provided for under 2.1.5.

 

 

 

On the basis of these and numerous other daily breaches of the SADC Protocol on Democratic Elections, it can be seen that the Mugabe regime has yet to show any serious intent to change its ways or to begin to prepare for anything resembling fair and free elections.  And the Parliamentary Elections are now less than four months away ….

 

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JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM 17th November 2004

Email: jag@mango.zw ; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
justice@telco.co.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.

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JAG OLF 314
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner. -- English proverb
______________________________________________

OPEN LETTER FORUM

Letter 1.  Subject: Open Letter Forum

Dear Jag

I read with interest an article in the Financial Gazette of 11 - 17
November 2004, an excerpt of which follows:

"IGNORANCE OF INSURANCE RAMPANT AMONG NEW FARMERS

Farming insurance in Zimbabwe has declined by over 70 percent in the past
four years because of lack of knowledge of the merits of insuring crops and
livestock.

Sources in the insurance industry said only an estimated 30 percent of the
new breed of commercial farmers was taking up crop and livestock insurance.

They said close to 80 percent of farming equipment such as tractors,
combine harvesters and irrigation equipment, most of which was looted from
white commercial farmers at the height of the government's chaotic land
reform programme, had not been insured.

It has been established that insurers are skeptical about underwriting
crops and farming equipment because of the uncertainties surrounding land
and property ownership."

End of excerpt>

For generations commercial farmers insured their movable and immovable
property with our local insurance companies. Suddenly, late in 2000, the
insurance companies made a unilateral decision to withdraw insurance for
acts of war or political interference.

The commercial farms were looted and taken over during the period from 2000
to date and very quietly, the insurance companies withheld any payments for
property or equipment looted from the farms by whatever forces believed
they had the right to take these possessions. There was no compensation
from the insurance companies despite many years of insurance being paid by
the farmers.The insurance companies had quietly exonerated themselves by
writing a letter to the farmers!!

If those self same insurance companies now insure the assets looted from
the commercial farmers, would this be acceptable practice?

Do the insurance companies have a moral, or legal obligation to pay out the
farmers for assets insured by the farmers?

Should we make the insurance companies accountable for their actions during
the past 5 years. Do we have a case against the insurance companies for
insurance claims which they refused to acknowledge??

By being frightened to insure the assets of the new farmers in case they
were looted from the old farmers, is this an indication that the insurance
companies are aware of the possibility of a class or other action and are
therefore trying to keep out of trouble?

Do we have a right to defend our property rights with the insurance
companies?

What you think?

Simple Simon
_____________________________________________

Letter 2.  Subject: For Whom The Land? For Whom The Food? There can be no
dispute that Zimbabwe's revolution has revolved around land.

There can be no dispute that the catalyst for almost every revolution since
1917 has stemmed from the same root.  Land is common to all countries.
Covetousness of that land is common to all peoples.  Therein lies the
recipe for grabbing power : Facilitate the covetous in allowing the
forceful grabbing of the land !  The consolidation of that power has
invariably been the stratagised use of what is produced from the land and
what every human-being needs on a daily basis: food.....

With the Quinnell case now having gone through the highest court in our
land is the revolution now complete?  Has the allocation of land to almost
all the supreme and high court judges; almost every cabinet minister;
almost all ZANU PF law makers ; almost all senior police and army
personnel; almost all senior civil servants; almost all party officials in
local government, paid off?

In Hugh Setton-Watson's extensive history of world communism he writes of
the revolution: "which seems to follow the same pattern everywhere. First
comes the redistribution of land ............" The current leaders of
Zimbabwe studied the revolution in the Eastern bloc countries for many
years as a means to grab and then consolidate power until it was absolute.

 The ongoing revolution in Zimbabwe known as the "third chimurenga" is
following the pattern set out by Lenin.  On the 8 November 1917 he decreed
the confiscation of all land owned by the larger land owners. He was
counting on the covetous and jealous nature of man. He set that Spirit
loose.  There was a general lawless and chaotic rush for the land.  The
less principled peasants and revolutionary party men invaded and grabbed
the land and whatever had been upon it without cost to themselves.  Lenin
had given the peasants and his revolutionary radicals something at no cost
to himself or the party.  The party was strengthened.  The peasants and
party cadres were thankful and now under his complete patronage.  The
revolutionary tide was irreversible.

Mao's revolution in China was no different.  He built his support base from
the rural peasant.  Stalin had directed it for China from the comintern
some years before in 1927 demanding "the deepening of the agrarian
revolution" by confiscating land and giving it to the peasants to satisfy
their covetous and jealous natures.  The land law of November 1931 provided
for the confiscation of all land.  Men in Mao's peasant red army each
received a plot as did all his other loyal supporters.  Western
commentators at the time, like many Western commentators of our time,
regarded the Maoists as merely "agrarian socialists".  The West did nothing
to stop the revolutionary march on the land.  They did nothing to put a lid
on the Pandora's box that had been opened and allowed to devour property
rights and the production base for the nations stomach .  It was
irreversible.

The net result of such "agrarian revolution" where unprincipled people
steal what is not theirs and then are expected to feed the people is
inevitably famine.  In the summer of 1918 food shortages became acute in
Lenin's Russia.  Famine has been a feature of every national land heist by
revolutionary regimes since that time.  By 1927, after Stalin had taken
power, it was the food shortages that culminated in what is known as
"Stalin's revolution".  Houses were searched and food was confiscated from
the very men that had brought the party to power on the tidal wave that had
swept the land owners away.  Peasant was encouraged to denounce peasant for
keeping food for his family.  Troops were sent into collect food and
massacres were not uncommon.  The more successful peasant farmers were
deported because they were able to exist outside the party's patronage
system.  In 1929 and 1930 and in 1932 five million peasants were deported
of whom over a million died.  In 1933, in a massive troop movement, all
food was confiscated in Russia's grain belt of the Ukraine and the North
Caucasus and some of it was exported. Over 5 million peasants starved to
death in one terrible winter.  But the party was strengthened.  Power was
total.  The revolution had been subjugated to the will of one man.  The
people could be controlled absolutely by meagre handouts to the "deserving"
within the party.  Their alternative was a cold and gnawing death.

The same tactics were of course used in the "gukurahundi" in Matabeleland.
The roads were sealed off.  No food was allowed to get in .  The troops
moved in.  Estimates from the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
have suggested that over 20 000 people died, some from starvation, some
from simply being thrown down mine shafts by fifth brigade soldiers.

Is it too unreasonable to suggest that the same tactics are now being
employed countrywide in Zimbabwe?  Food production has been chaotically but
systematically brought to an all time low.  All grain has been centrally
controlled so that no more than a couple of bags can even be moved from one
place to the next unless it is going to the state.  Artificially inflated
crop production statistics have been circulated from the top.  Grain
importation has been stopped[except by the State].  Laws have been drafted
and decrees have been made to stop anyone but the regime [or those with the
regimes permission] from distributing food.

The regime knows that the world will do nothing that may appear
contaversial.  The cricket goes on.

Why should the world do anything ?  There is no oil here.  The regime knows
that after elections it only needs to click its fingers and the big
business of food relief with its highly paid officials and its smart air
conditioned cars will mobilise and come to its rescue.  So where is the
hope?  Where is the justice?  For whom will the land be?  How many will
starve? .........The answer can only lie with the living God and whether as
his people we do His bidding with integrity and courage .  I pity anyone
who falls into His hands without first being born again.

Ben Freeth.

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of the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for Agriculture.
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Zim Online

ZANU PF IN VICIOUS MUGABE SUCCESSION BATTLE
Thur 18 November 2004
      HARARE - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU PF party next Sunday nominates
candidates to fill in various top posts including that of party president,
breaking into the open a vicious struggle to succeed President Robert Mugabe
silently raging within the party for months now.

      In a letter dated November 11, 2004, ZANU PF secretary for
administration, Emmerson Mnangagwa, asked party provincial executives to
submit names of candidates to fill in the posts of party president, the two
deputies and the party's national chairman.

      The nominees will be ratified or rejected at a watershed congress of
the party scheduled to take place in the first week of next month.

      Mnangagwa's letter, a copy of which is in the possession of ZimOnline,
reads in part: "The respective party organs (provincial executives) shall
meet on Sunday 21 November 2004 to elect and nominate the above (candidates
for top party posts.)

      "(They will) submit nominated candidates' detailed curriculum vitaes
(CVs) to the national Secretary for Administration by 22 November, 2004 for
forward transmission to the Politburo and Central Committee before election
and ratification by the National People's Congress to be held in December,
2004."

      Party insiders last night said Mugabe, his deputy, Joseph Msika and
party chairman, John Nkomo, were going to be nominated by all ZANU PF's 10
provinces and also retained by Congress.

      It is the other post of vice-president, which fell vacant following
the death of Simon Muzenda in July 2003, that has generated vicious
behind-the-scenes in-fighting with insiders saying whoever gets the post is
sure to replace Mugabe as party and possibly
      national president, when he steps down in about three years time.

      Mugabe has publicly indicated he will step down at the expiry of his
current term in 2008. The ZANU PF leader is said to have long preferred
Mnangagwa to take over Muzenda's post and eventually the presidency.

      Insiders also note that Mnangagwa, who last week publicly indicated he
coveted the vacant vice-president's post, has used his five-year reign as
ZANU PF secretary for administration to place his supporters in key
provincial posts and they say he
      could win the strategic post if the matter were left to provincial
executives alone.

      But Mnangagwa, who is Speaker of Zimbabwe's Parliament, faces bitter
opposition from retired army general, Solomon Mujuru, who has roped in the
support of the powerful women's league and nearly all senior leaders in ZANU
PF's influential central committee to promote the candidature of his wife,
Joyce, to fill in the vice-president's post.

      Mujuru, who commanded the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army
guerrillas, who fought under Mugabe during the country's 1970s independence
war, also has on his side most of Zimbabwe's senior military commanders and
intelligence chiefs, many of whom owe their ranks to him. - ZimOnline
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Zim Online

Chinese to take over key state firms
Thur 18 November 2004

      HARARE - Cash-strapped Zimbabwe will cede control of most of its
strategic but loss-making state firms to China, acting Finance Minister
Hebert Murerwa told journalists in Harare yesterday.

      Murerwa, who was briefing the Press on his macro-economic policy
framework for 2005-2006, said the Chinese were going to invest into the
ailing parastatals and take over control while in some cases they were going
to provide loans only.

      "Chinese deals are purely investment deals in which case the Chinese
would assume control of the companies and also provide lines of credit to
the parastatals. We expect tourism growth to provide foreign exchange to
finance these loans," said Murerwa.

      Key state firms set to be taken over or to receive financial rescue
packages from China include, National Railways of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority, Air Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings
and the country's only fixed telephone company, Tel-One.

      The Chinese are said to have already provided three aircraft to
national flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe. Murerwa said the Chinese were also
already working on rehabilitating the dilapidated national rail system and
would also be bringing in new rail wagons for the country.

      Harare is vigorously pursuing a "look East" policy after falling out
with traditional trading and development partners in the West over its
appalling human rights record, failure to uphold democracy and the rule of
law.

      Local industry however says Zimbabwe is reaping little positive
results from its association with China and other Asian states.

      For example, a survey commissioned by the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries two months ago established that at least 40 companies were forced
to shut down last year after losing the market to cheaper goods from mostly
China.

      And local hotel and leisure mogul, Shingi Munyeza, told the Press
yesterday that the tourism sector had benefited little from Zimbabwe's
association with China.

      He said: "The Chinese are bad spenders moving in large volumes. They
insist on their dishes and we have to configure all our systems to suit
their demands. This puts pressure on the local operators. There is nothing
of significance in terms of business arising from the influx of the
Chinese." - ZimOnline

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Zim Online

Government seeks to control production and pricing of all crops
Thur 18 November 2004

      HARARE - The government plans to control production, pricing and
marketing of all crops according to draft legislation expected to be tabled
in Parliament before year-end.

      The Agricultural Marketing Authority Bill, a copy of which was seen by
ZimOnline, proposes the setting up of a statutory board to regulate and
supervise pricing, production and even storage of farm produce. It will also
fix production quarters where it deems fit.

      The board, which shall be answerable to the Minister of Agriculture,
shall be known as the Agricultural Marketing Authority.

      The draft Bill reads in part: "The functions of the Authority shall be
to regulate the participation in the production, buying or processing of any
agricultural product by producers, buyers or processors or classes of
producers, buyers or processors of any agricultural product upon such terms
and conditions, including as appropriate, the fixing of quotas, as may be
prescribed.

      "(The Authority shall seek) To promote the proper marketing and fair
pricing of any agricultural product produced by any producer, including
producers in the communal and resettlement areas, who the Authority
considers require its assistance."

      Agriculture Minister Joseph Made could not be reached for comment on
the matter yesterday as he was said to be away in Russia on business.

      The government already controls trade in wheat and maize, Zimbabwe's
two major staples, through its Grain Marketing Board which is the only
organisation permitted to buy or sell the two crops.

      Previous attempts to impose Soviet Union-style statutory controls on
prices of commodities have failed with most of the commodities disappearing
from the official market only to resurface on the black-market at almost
treble the official prices. -ZimOnline

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The Herald

New bank likely to override Karoi farmers' litigation

Business Reporter
KAROI farmers' payment litigation against Royal Bank could be overridden by
the establishment of the Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) next January.

Farmers would likely fail to access their funds locked in the bank during
the inter-period pending ZABG, the proposed amalgamation of troubled banks.

The curator, Mr Robert McIndoe is presently administering Royal Bank, and
indications are that the bank will become part of the ZABG. The farmers, who
have a pending court case against Royal Bank, its curator and the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), might see their attempts to have their payment
queries prioritised stayed.

This is so given the new reimbursement plans that will come with ZABG.

Under ZABG, single account holders with a deposit equalling or less than $5
million will be refunded, while those holding deposits beyond this figure
along with creditors and Government will become automatic shareholders. This
would be done via a debt to equity conversion transaction.

Government would have to shed off its entire shareholding by 2007.

Given these developments, the fate of the farmers' efforts to have access to
their moneys looks set to be decided within the premises of ZABG's repayment
methods.

Resettled commercial farmers from Karoi, led by the district's largest black
maize producer, Mr Never Gasho, are suing Royal Bank, the curator and the
RBZ for failing to institute special measures allowing farmers to access
funds locked up in the institution. The move, farmers say, would enable them
to carry on with their farming activities, which have been hugely hindered
by the lack of sufficient financial resources.

Royal Bank was placed under the management of a curator on August 4,
following its mudslinging with equally troubled First Mutual Limited (FML),
a development that exposed the bank's illiquid status.

Ever since, the bank has been closed from the public, except for the
processing of August salaries, as deposits and withdrawals alike have been
frozen by the curator pending implementation of a proper rescue plan for the
entity.

Subsequent to this, the Hurungwe District Farmers Association filed papers
at the High Court in September asking an order compelling the curator to
enable the farmers access their money.

Farmers argued their operations, including winter crop, have been adversely
affected by their failure to access their funds locked up in Royal Bank
while attempts to seek audience from the RBZ and Mr McIndoe to redress the
scenario have not been progressive.

However, Mr Gasho insisted that the court would hear the farmers' case
before it is settled under the parameters of ZABG.

"We have accrued losses due to the sudden closure of the bank and we need to
sue it (Royal Bank). "The case is still at the courts and it will be heard,"
he said.
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The Herald

Foreign currency denominated bonds offer good investment option

The introduction by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe of Foreign Currency
Denominated Bonds was, like the Homelink Housing Development Scheme, a
direct result of an appeal from Zimbabweans living abroad for investment
opportunities that would benefit them.

However, unlike the housing scheme, which is only available to Zimbabweans
living abroad, the Foreign Currency Denominated Bonds are available to
anyone with foreign currency to invest, whether they be resident
Zimbabweans, non-resident Zimbabweans or foreigners.

The bonds are 12-month bonds. The interest rate is 12 months London
Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) plus six percentage points per annum, making
it an attractive investment for those living in other countries. It is
equally attractive for locals, since interest is paid in foreign currency.

Subscriptions to the bonds are paid in foreign currency. The interest
earned, as well as the capital invested, is likewise paid to the bond-holder
at the end of the investment period in foreign currency.

Payment on the maturity date in foreign currency of the principal amount
invested plus interest is guaranteed by the Reserve Bank. The maturity date
is indicated on the bond certificate.

Prospectuses are available from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and some
Zimbabwe embassies. They can also be downloaded from the Reserve Bank web
site (www.rbz.co.zw). Included with the prospectus is an application form.

Subscriptions must be for amounts of not less than US$1 000. The bonds are
issued in denominations of US$100, US$200, US$500, US$1 000, US$5 000 and
US$10 000. Investors are free to choose the denominations they prefer.

Completed application forms can be sent by mail to the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe. The money to be invested can be paid to the Reserve Bank through a
bank draft or telegraphic transfer.

The Reserve Bank has designated two bank accounts into which amounts sent by
telegraphic transfer for subscriptions to Foreign Currency Designated Bonds
can be paid.

The details of these accounts are as follows:

Correspondent Bank: ABSA Bank, Johannesburg

Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ

Beneficiary Bank: Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe

Swift Code: COBZZWHA

Account Number: 016105USD104201

Correspondent Bank: American Express Bank Ltd

ABA Number: 124071889

Swift Code: AEIBUS33

Beneficiary Bank: Kingdom Bank

Swift Code: KFISZWHA

Account Number: 000737288

Those remitting subscriptions for the bonds through telegraphic transfers
are advised to instruct their own bankers to send an MT100 Customer Transfer
Message, as this type of funds transfer should ensure there are no delays in
applying the funds and issuing the bonds.

Where a bank draft is used to pay the subscription, the draft should be made
payable to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

The Foreign Currency Denominate Bonds are bearer instruments. This means
that they are like cash or bearer*s cheques. They should therefore be kept
in a secure place. They can be sold or traded. The person holding the bond
at the end of the investment period is the person who will be repaid the
capital and paid the interest.

The amount due to the investor at the maturity date will be paid by
telegraphic transfer to the investor*s designated account.

The bonds provide an attractive investment opportunity at internationally
competitive interest rates. At the same time they are a means of assisting
in the mobilisation of foreign exchange for the country*s critical import
requirements.

The bonds and interest on them are payable out of the general foreign
currency reserves and assets of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

If you have any questions you would like addressed in this column or any
suggestions, please send them by e-mail to mhpr@mhpr.co.zw or by post to Box
MP97, Mount Pleasant, Harare.

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The Star

      Cosatu calls for ANC clarity on Zim

      Federation condemns statements made by leader of youth league
      November 18, 2004

      The Congress of SA Trade Unions has urged its alliance partner, the
ruling ANC, to clarify its stance on political and human rights abuses in
Zimbabwe.

      Federation general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi yesterday slammed recent
statements by ANC Youth League president Fikile Mbalula likening Cosatu's
criticism of the Zimbabwean state of affairs to that of right-wing
personalities and media.

      Mbalula's article in last week's ANC Today online publication raised
serious questions for the ANC-Cosatu-SA Communist Party alliance, Vavi said,
as it sought to question the bona fides of and cast aspersions on other
alliance partners on behalf of the ANC.

      "To ensure a proper, open and comradely debate in the alliance, we
need clarity from the ANC leadership," Vavi said.

      Among other things, the ANC should clarify whether it agreed with
Mbalula that the government of President Robert Mugabe still represented a
progressive national liberation movement.

      Mbalula's statements were a chilling warning that events in Zimbabwe
could be a foretaste of what could happen in South Africa if the author had
his way, Vavi said.

      The only buffer to such a scenario was a strong ANC-Cosatu-SACP
alliance and the country's democratic and progressive constitution.

      The article pointed to the need for the alliance to develop a common
understanding of what was actually happening in Zimbabwe, Vavi said.

      "Maybe the alliance must send a joint fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe
so that we can read from the same page."

      A Cosatu fact-finding mission to that country was recently expelled by
Mugabe's government, and drew criticism from President Thabo Mbeki.

      Mbeki has urged Zimbabwe's ruling and opposition parties to agree on a
revised election law before polls in March, to ensure no recurrence of
disputes over the result.

      Mbeki noted that Zimbabwe's parliament was currently considering new
legislation relating to creating an independent electoral commission and
other changes in the election system.

      These were needed "to address concerns that have been raised by the
Movement for Democratic Change and the rest of the world about ... the
conduct of elections", he said.

      "What we've tried to do is encourage the ruling party and the
opposition to get together."

      nZimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday warned
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai that he should not return home from his
current European tour if he was lobbying for renewed sanctions against
Mugabe and his entourage.

      Tsvangirai reportedly called on Sweden and the EU to extend sanctions
against Mugabe and 94 of his close associates during talks with the Swedish
leadership on Tuesday.

      Chinamasa was responding to a question in parliament from a member of
Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF, asking him to comment on Tsvangirai's statements
during talks with Swedish leaders.

      Tsvangirai last month launched a series of foreign trips after he was
acquitted on treason charges and his passport was returned to him.

      Chinamasa also ruled out the possibility of inviting EU observers for
the parliamentary elections in March. - Sapa, Sapa-AP and Sapa-AFP
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