Being panhandled by crackheads is not completely unusual on
the route between my house and Brixton Tube, so, when an exhausted-looking
black guy caught my eye as I was passing Windrush Square on Saturday, I was
wary. But once we got talking, it was apparent that he wasn't stoned. His
story - which I can't vouch for, but believed - was this.
He was a
member of the Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change, was
tortured by the regime and fled, via South Africa, to seek asylum here. He
was given a work permit, but a quirk of the system prevents him - for a
period of time - from collecting benefits, so he is forced to sleep rough.
His belongings were stolen, and he said he hadn't slept for three days,
because he didn't want to lose his shoes, too. When he asked me, learning I
was a journalist, to pass his regards if I could to Andrew Meldrum - "He
knows me; my name's Andrew Matisa" - I was convinced. Mr Meldrum, a Guardian
correspondent, is admired but hardly famous.
I gave Mr Matisa a bit
of money and my phone number. I hope he gets in touch. We're always reading
about happy asylum seekers living in taxpayer-funded mock-Tudor
mansions.
It would be interesting to learn, then, what sort of
one-in-a-million administrative error has landed a torture victim from a
former British colony on the streets in Brixton, hungry and in fear of
having his shoes stolen from his sleeping feet.
`Good for shares, bad
for houses, was my instant reaction to George W Bush's re-election," wrote
my strange colleague George Trefgarne yesterday. My own instant reaction
was: "Nnnnnnrrrrgghghhh! Gaaahd I HATE that guy!"
That is perhaps why
Trefgarne gets to write the grown-up stuff. But watching Bush's victory
speech - which was, yup, gracious to a fault; and interrupted by the
terrible noise of me grinding my teeth to powder - I was struck by the way
he thanked his election strategist. "Karl Rove," he said. "The Architect."
Applause going off everywhere.
I asked the American writer Carl Hiaasen
last week about the received idea that in US elections - dirty fights by
tradition - Republicans fought dirtier than the Democrats. Surely, I said,
they're all as bad as one another. "No!" shouted Hiaasen (OK, I paraphrase).
"The Democrats' problem for years and years is that they have never learnt
to be as low-down skunky and evil as the Republicans, who are Satan." (I
paraphrase a lot. Sorry, Carl.)
In this department, Karl Rove is very
highly estimated. He does little to discourage his image as the Sauron of
Republican skulduggery: such a guy as - in the phrase used by a friend of
mine during a row with her boss - "eats babies for breakfast . with salt
on!"
"The Architect." Spinal shiver. That's a moniker used in weirdo
Freemason theology, for God; and by the Wachowski Brothers, in the Matrix
films, for a creepy old guy in a white suit who spends all eternity in a
room full of televisions.
Crossing Hungerford footbridge in the
lovely winter sunshine yesterday, I was stopped by a Japanese tourist. He
had, until I approached, been looking up the river towards the very
appealing view of the dome of St Paul's, and the many other pleasing sights
available from that vantage, with an expression of deep
anxiety.
"Excuse me," he said. "Is this Hungerford Bridge?" "Yes," I
said. He pointed down at a postcard he was holding. On it was written:
"Stand on Hungerford Bridge. North bank of river. Panoramic views." "North,"
I said, pointing to the view he had been looking at. "Panoramic."
He
beamed with relief. I left him staring at the dome of St Paul's with a look
of - more than appreciation - almost Bodhisattvic contentment.
The Cosatu fact-finding
mission deported from Zimbabwe this week did not go without the knowledge
and consent of the other members of the governing ANC-led
alliance.
The ANC was, in fact, one of the parties to the decision,
made in September last year, to send the delegation.
"Not that
we require any permission, but the decision was taken at our congress, at
which the other alliance partners were present," says Cosatu president
Willie Madisha.
He points out that Cosatu delegations have visited
many countries and have protested at conditions in countries such as Nigeria
and Swaziland without any adverse comments.
This is the reason
he and other unionists have expressed disappointment at some of the
statements made this week by ANC and government members.
For
Ronnie Mamoepa, the foreign affairs spokesperson, "to say Cosatu goes into
other countries at its own risk is simply stupid", says National Union of
Mineworkers general secretary Gwede Mantashe.
"We must ensure that
we stop supporting the Zimbabwe state and assist the workers," he
says. Cosatu is well aware that Zimbabwe relies on South Africa for
electricity and on the revenue from platinum that is processed in South
Africa.
But this decision to press for action is not a
knee-jerk reaction to the deportation this week. Cosatu has been handed
dossiers detailing the ill-treatment and harassment of trade unionists and
others deemed by the Zimbabwe government to be "enemies".
This
week's deportation was not the first case of its kind. Last week Mpho
Mkhatso, national researcher of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA
(Numsa), was held at Harare airport and put on a plane back to Johannesburg.
His offence - wearing a Cosatu T-shirt and Numsa cap.
"They said he
was staging a demonstration and that this was illegal," says Colin Gwiyo,
the deputy general secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU).
Numsa spokesperson Dumisa Ntuli adds: "He was also told
that the Zimbabwe government had an antagonistic relationship with Cosatu,
so he was not welcome."
Neither Numsa, Cosatu nor the ZCTU
protested, as they considered the incident to be irrelevant .
Besides, two other Numsa officials, not wearing identifying clothing, were
allowed into the country, where they held a week-long workshop for
Zimbabwean trade unionists.
"That's the irony of the situation.
We've been visiting and working with ZCTU unions for years," says
Madisha.
ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo says: "What has happened
to our South African colleagues is what is happening to us in Zimbabwe
almost daily."
Madisha says: "We have reports of meetings of five
or more people being declared illegal and broken up. They are employing the
same tactics as Josef Stalin did in Russia - terrorising the
population."
According to leading Zimbabwe lawyer Tendai Biti, who
is an executive member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), Zimbabwe now qualifies as "a paranoid state that is prepared to
operate outside the rule of law".
He points out that when the
South African unionists were bundled out of the dining room of their hotel
as they sat down to lunch, the ZCTU immediately applied to the high court
for an interdict to stop the deportation.
"It was granted - and
simply and arrogantly ignored," says Biti. Gwiyo, who stresses that the ZCTU
is not part of the MDC, says: "By treating our colleagues in this way, the
government here has shown clearly what kind of regime it is."
In fact, at the time of the initial arguments about land redistribution in
Zimbabwe, many ZCTU members favoured a policy of handing farms to the
workers who laboured on them.
This stress on co-operatives or
collectives did not find favour with the mainstream of the MDC. But it was a
logical stand for the ZCTU, which at the time had some 15 000 farm workers
organised into the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers' Union
(Gapwuz).
Today, there are barely 5 000 Gapwuz members left. Many
have died and others are landless and unemployed.
"In a country
that does not even respect its own courts, how can we even talk about
African Union, Nepad and SADC protocols promoting civil rights?" asks
Madisha. "We have to act."
Herald Reporter THE
Acting Officer Commanding Mashonaland East province Assistant Commissioner
John Masimba Machakaire died yesterday morning in a road accident near
Mabvuku along the Harare-Mutare Road.
Asst Comm Machakaire who was coming
from a function of officers who had graduated at the 2004 Superintendents
Promotion Parade held at Morris Depot died yesterday at around
2am.
Police said on approaching the Mabvuku turnoff, he lost control of
the police vehicle, a Mazda Etude. The vehicle veered off the road and
stopped after hitting a big rock about 40 metres from the road.
Asst
Comm Machakaire, who was alone, died instantly from serious head injuries.
His body was taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital mortuary for a post
mortem.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka yesterday
said burial arrangements for the senior police officer were in
progress.
"The ZRP has lost a diligent and dedicated commander, barely a
day after we lost one of our other senior officers (Superintendent Tafireyi
Mukoki) in a fatal road accident," said Supt Mandipaka.
Mourners are
gathered at Number 33 Arcacia Groove, Paradise Park in Marondera. Born on
July 11 1959 in Wedza, Asst Comm Machakaire did his education at St Mary*s
Primary School in Dorowa and Holy Family School in Nyazura.
Before
joining the police, he worked for the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe.
He
joined the force in 1980 and rose through the ranks to become a patrol
officer in 1985 and in 1989 he became a section officer, a rank that has
since been phased out in the force. Asst Comm Machakaire obtained several
certificates at the ZRP Staff College and was also a holder of a Bachelor of
Education degree.
Herald Reporter CONFRONTATION looms between the Harare City
Council and the Harare Municipal Workers' Union, which has now instructed
its lawyer to file an urgent chamber application over council's failure to
remit deductions amounting to about $600 million due to the union in the
last three months.
The money is for membership subscriptions to the union
and contributions to the employees' housing scheme.
The union is also
unhappy with council's delay in paying employee salaries.
It alleges that
most employees did not get their salaries by October 28 as stipulated by
Statutory Instrument 390 of the 1992 Collective Bargaining Agreement which
states that "Harare Municipal Undertaking has it that employees should be
paid their salaries no later than the 28th of every month".
Some
council employees received their salaries on Monday afternoon.
"We have
received our salaries, but there are some who bank with other building
societies who are yet to receive their salaries," said one woman who did not
want to be named.
Union officials charged that council unilaterally
deferred the payment dates for the October salaries without the employees'
consent as stated in the statutory instrument.
Harare Municipality
Workers' Union lawyer Mr Joel Mambara confirmed that he had filed an
application with the Labour Court and was awaiting the court's decision on
the way forward.
Council has acknowledged its failure to remit the union
subscriptions, but said it had problems meeting its obligations owing to the
garnish order imposed by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority recently over unpaid
staff income tax deductions.
"The little that we are making is being
swallowed as soon as it gets to our bank. Some of these union members work
at the treasury department and we expect them to understand the difficult
circumstances we are under," said town clerk Mr Nomutsa
Chideya.
Council has of late been struggling to pay its employees on time
and recently had to defer the dates for the payment of salaries by a week as
it tried to raise the money.
The union deducts a certain percentage
directly from their salaries every month for its operations and other
labour-related administrative costs
By Lawrence
Moyo ZIMBABWE Cricket Union chairman Peter Chingoka says the Matabeleland
Cricket Association had jumped the gun in involving Heath Streak in the
coaching set-up of their team for the Logan Cup match against
Manicaland.
Streak, a former captain for both the national team and
Matabeleland, is reported to have offered to assist coach Mpumelelo Mbangwa
but Chingoka said yesterday Streak*s involvement was irregular as it
breached the union*s protocol.
Appointments for provincial teams are
made at the ZCU, a procedure that was breached by MCA who have since
apologised to the union.
"The Logan Cup provides the only opportunity for
the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to build capacity at first class level. The
enhancement programme is for everyone concerned with the match: the players,
coaches, umpires and scorers. Its success depends on adherence to
appointments within existing structures otherwise one risks having those who
should benefit not being in place at the right time.
"For example,
the appointments of the four provincial coaches were well-structured and
done in consultation with the national team coach and national selectors.
Heath Streak*s involvement was irregular as it did not go through this
process. The protocol was breached and the person who made the ad hoc
appointment has since apologised to the Union for the breach. Because of the
irregularity, we did ask Heath not to be involved but he was not replaced by
Phil Simmons.
"The national coach had a prior arrangement to divide,
starting from Tuesday, his time and that of national team fitness trainer
Dean Woodford, between Kwekwe and Bulawayo so that he could watch as much
action as possible in the two Logan Cup matches underway there," said
Chingoka.
He was reacting to a story that the ZCU had snubbed
Streak.
"Hopes of reconciliation between the Zimbabwe board and the rebel
cricketers were dealt a blow with the board*s tetchy reaction to the news
that Heath Streak had been drafted in to help with coaching at
Matabeleland.
Streak, a former captain of Matabeleland, offered to assist
Pommie Mbangwa, their bowling coach. But as soon as ZCU officials were made
aware of the situation, they ordered Phil Simmons, the national coach, to
the ground at Bulawayo to replace Streak.
"Streak involvement was as
an unpaid assistant, and given that he has other priorities - his wife is
heavily pregnant - the ZCU*s action appears unnecessarily provocative," read
the story on leading cricket website Cricinfo.
Chingoka added that
they were in the process of appointing an assistant coach to
Mbangwa.
"You may also want to know that the issue of an assistant coach
for Mpumelelo Mbangwa is one that the Union is working on. An offer was made
a fortnight ago to a qualified coach to take up the post and we await his
response," said Chingoka.
Meanwhile, holders Mashonaland and
Matabeleland cruised to easy victories on the third day of the
inter-provincial Logan Cup tournament yesterday.
Mashonaland crushed
Midlands by 188 runs at Kwekwe Sports Club 30 minutes before stumps while
Matabeleland posted a convincing nine-wicket win over Manicaland in just 56
minutes of the third day at Bulawayo Athletic Club, losing just one wicket
in pursuit of a mediocre target of just 70.
Opening batsman Wisdom Siziba
scored an unbeaten 40 as the hosts bounced back from the heavy defeat
suffered against holders Mashonaland in the first round of matches last week
and given the fact that there was still the whole day available the teams
played a limited overs match.
At Kwekwe, Mashonaland had set Midlands an
impossible target of 532 and although the hosts put up a brave fight, they
were bowled out for 343.
Captain Alester Maregwede led the Midlands
resilience with a gusty century, which is only the second in his first-class
career and he reached his 50 of 35 balls and his 100 in 88 balls.
Mashonaland, who had resumed the day on 343/3, declared their second innings
at 448/4 with captain Tatenda Taibu unbeaten on 76 while Elton Chigumbura
smashed 64 runs off just 46 balls.
By Freeman
Razemba POLICE yesterday recovered two bodies of men - both believed to be
white - from a drilled well more than 11 metres deep in Harare's eastern
suburb of Greendale.
One of the bodies had a building block tied to
the neck, while the other had a rope tied around the neck.
The bodies
were facing downwards in disused well or borehole.
Police suspect that
the two were murdered and thrown down the well. No arrests have yet been
made.
The bodies were discovered by a security guard with Knight Security
Company, whose offices are housed at the plot, on Wednesday at around
1pm.
According to the security guard, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, he chanced upon the bodies after he had walked over to warn women
who were cutting reeds near the grass-covered well, which is about 60m away
from the house, of the danger of falling into it.
"As they were
cutting the reeds near the well, my fear was that any or several of them
might fall into it. So I decided to go and warn them," he said.
On
reaching the area, he said, he decided to have a look into the well, which
was covered with small pieces of asbestos.
"I just wanted to see whether
there was still any water because we used to draw water to drink from the
well," said the security guard.
He said he saw a shape that had what
looked like human features and became suspicious.
The security guard
informed his colleagues and a report was made to the
police.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID)
Homicide went to the scene but failed to retrieve the bodies.
The
Fire Brigade and officers from the police Sub-Aqua Unit were also
informed.
Police called in an excavator from the Fire Brigade to help
them in digging up the well.
At around 3pm, a truck company which
operates near the plot offered to help the police by offering its excavator
which, however, developed mechanical problems before the task was
completed.
At around 5pm, an excavator from the Fire Brigade was brought
in and started digging up the well.
The police finally managed to
retrieve the bodies at around 7pm.
The Officer-in-Charge at Rhodesville
Police Station Inspector Zebron Manyame said police were still carrying out
investigations.
"We can confirm that, we as the police, have managed to
retrieve two naked bodies of two male adults, but we are still carrying out
investigations on what might have caused their death," he said. said Asst
Comm Bvudzijena.
He said the five suspects prevented the money from being
remitted to Zimbabwe and it was deposited in offshore
accounts.
Details of how Econet earned the money were not immediately
available.
So far this week alone, eight bosses of mobile phone service
providers have been arrested on allegations of externalising and illegally
dealing in foreign currency.
Businessman and politician James
Makamba, who is Telecel chairman, and two other Telecel Zimbabwe bosses were
also picked up on Tuesday on allegations of externalising over US$70
million.
The other two Telecel officials taken into custody are managing
director Anthony Carter and secretary Edward Mutsvairo.
The Telecel
bosses are still in police custody while investigations continue before they
are brought before the courts.
Telecel Zimbabwe is alleged to have sold
40 percent of its shares worth over US$70 million outside the country
without the authority of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
It also
suspected to have externalised more than US$1,2 million earned from roaming
services.
In April, the telephone service provider was fined $374,2
million, the Zimbabwe equivalent of hard currency involved, by a regional
magistrates' court for illegally dealing in foreign currency.
Telecel
was convicted on its own plea of guilt on three counts of illegally dealing
in foreign currency amounting to US$1,3 million, R1,3 million and over 22
000 British pounds.
Makamba was in September convicted on his own plea of
guilt on six counts of breaching the Exchange Control Act by a Harare
regional magistrate for illegally dealing in foreign currency amounting to
US$133 000.
In September, Makamba, who had spent about seven months in
prison, was fined $7,3 million, the equivalent of the hard currency he had
illegally dealt in, by Harare regional magistrate Mrs Virginia
Sithole.
This week police arrested the owner of Malilangwe Estate in
Chiredzi, Dereck Andrew De la Harpe, on allegations of externalising
billions of dollars in foreign currency.
Between January 2002 and
August this year, De la Harpe is alleged to have externalised US$4 527 000,
R6 783 000 and 33 600 euros.
Johannesburg - The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday
it was ready to provide 100 000 tons of food aid to Zimbabwe over the coming
three years if President Robert Mugabe's government makes the
request.
"There is belt-tightening going on in Zimbabwe," said WFP
regional director for southern Africa Mike Sackett.
"Between now and
the next harvest, it is unlikely to improve."
The WFP is appealing for
$404m to provide 657 000 tons of food aid in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Swaziland and Zambia beginning in January up to December 2007.
While
Zimbabwe is not among the five southern African countries targeted for
relief, the WFP said it had set up an "emergency window of 100 000 tons" to
help the needy in the southern African country.
"We are keeping a
very close eye on the situation," said Sackett, citing concerns over rising
food prices that he said were causing hardship, in particular in the
southern Masvingo area.
"We are in discussion with the government" about
the impact of high prices on low-income families, he said.
Mugabe's
government announced early this year that it had produced enough food from
last year's agricultural season to feed its own people.
But the state-run
Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the country's sole grain purchasing agency,
said in September that it expected to receive 750 000 tons of maize this
season, way below the country's needs.
Zimbabwe's food shortages have
been partly attributed to the government's land reform policy launched in
2000 that saw the seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution
to blacks.
By Staff
Reporter Last updated: 11/05/2004 08:19:19 A GOVERNMENT appointed
delimitation commission has considered abolishing at least two
constituencies held by Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), it emerged last night.
The party's shadow minister for foreign
affairs Priscilla Misihairabwi told Zimbabwe's London-based internet radio
station Afro-Sounds last night that the delimitation commission wanted to
erase her Glen Norah constituency and Gwanda North, currently held by party
spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi.
The four-man commission was tasked with
re-drawing constituency boundaries, paying attention to shifting population
patterns. It is chaired by George Chiweshe, a High Court judge, and includes
Job Whabira, a former defence secretary in the Zanu PF
government.
When the commission was sworn in by President Robert Mugabe
last month, the party's secretary general Professor Welshman Ncube said it
could be "relied upon to do the bidding of Zanu PF".
Writing on this
website, Ncube said: "This is particularly worrying if one has regard to the
fact that the MDC has documentary evidence that the process of re-drawing
constituency boundaries, ahead of the March 2005 parliamentary elections,
has already been carried out, under the instructions and guidance of
officers from the notorious Central Intelligence Organisation.
"By
appointing new personnel to the Delimitation Commission, in order to provide
it with a veneer of independence, and tasking them to carry out 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."
Meanwhile,
Misihairabwi said the MDC was detecting a change of heart from Sadc leaders
following MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai's tour of the region after he was
cleared of high treason.
"Initially, the Sadc leaders thought it was sour
grapes because the MDC had lost an important election," she told Afro
Sounds' Ezra Tshisa Sibanda. "But they are now realising that we are a
genuine movement trying to raise world attention to a governance crisis
which they all now acknowledge.
"As the MDC, we are happy that it's no
longer the West talking about the situation in Zimbabwe, but the whole of
Africa is now noticing that there is something wrong and they are all urging
reform."
Please send any
classified adverts for publication in this newsletter to: JAG Job
Opportunities jag@mango.zw --------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Advert Received 29th October 2004 KARIBA - KAPENTA COMPANY
We are
looking for a Manager with some mechanical experience to run our Kapenta
Company. If you are interested please contact (04)213 501 - 2, (04)213 552,
(04)212 692 / 7 ____________________________________________
2.
Advert Received 31st October 2004
Farm Manager required.
Graaff
Reinet . 12000 Ha Game farm , 2000 sheep , irrigation , Stud section ,
growing out weanlings bred in the Western Cape. The Stud section could
be managed by a seperate person . Please contact ; ROSS FULLER . on cell
82 8262127 e-mail
: ross@lormarins.co.za ______________________________________________
3.
Advert Received 1st November 2004
Dear Sir / Madam,
I was given
your e-mail address by a Zimbabwean now working up here. We are a large-scale
rain-fed wheat and barley growing farming company based on West Kilimanjaro,
Northern Tanzania. We are currently looking for two young recent
Agricultural College graduates to strengthen our management team. One should
have "field" interests, whilst the other should have machinery
interests.
I would be grateful if you could let me know if there is any
possibility of advertising on your website.
Yours, Luke
Edwards."--" THIS IS RADIO E-MAIL. PLEASE LIMIT MESSAGES TO 10kb. DO NOT
INCLUDE ATTACHMENTS OR ORIGINAL MESSAGES. Mountainside Farms Co. Ltd. P.O.
Box
14664 Arusha TANZANIA _______________________________________________
4.
Advert Received 1st November 2004
Am looking for a trustworthy gardener
who can also do the swimming pool without munching through the tools. If you
know of anyone out there who does not need to be followed around in order to
work please contact me on Grace Mutandwa 091 252 544 or my partner Andrew
Moyse on
091315063. _______________________________________________
5. Advert
Received 1st November 2004
SINGLE MAN OF 28 LOOKING FOR A FARMING RELATED
POSITION IN ZIMBABWE. WENT TO CIRENCESTER COLLEGE AND HAS WORKED ON VARIOUS
FARMS.
Ex-farming couple, 50-65 yrs., required for
business in Ruwa area. Mechanical knowledge and workshop ability essential
for the man. 3-4 days a week in the office for the wife. Salaries negotiable.
House provided with usual perks. Need to start end of November. Please
contact 073 - 2777, or 073-
22595. _____________________________________________
7. Advert
Received 3rd November 2004
We're looking for a retired couple / person to
assist in the general management of an ongoing restoration project at the
Prynnsberg Estate outside Clocolan - Eastern Free State South
Africa.
On the one hand we're looking for a highly practical and
organised farmer to assist in re establishing some arable land plus a herd on
a profit share basis. On the other hand we have a large garden and building
restoration job to do.
Rick
Melvill Johannesburg,
SA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
THE
VALUATION CONSORTIUM NEWSLETTER - OCTOBER 2004
In this issue:
·
Compensation Coalition
· Two months left
· Perceptions
·
Verification goes well
· Certificates
· Gay gangster (1)
·
Contacts
THE COMPENSATION COALITION
The most significant move on
the farm acquisition/land grab scene in the last few months has been the
formation of the Compensation Coalition. Initially it seemed that the
coalition would be a little toothless. However, the two committee meetings in
September and October have been very productive. A Memorandum of
Understanding has been agreed and the committee will be a lot more proactive
than envisaged. For the first time different camps with very different ideas
are being forced to consider their positions on a one to one basis.
If
you have concerns on the compensation issue you can now require the body or
group you feel most comfortable with to pose questions of the other groups
directly.
The Chairmanship of Alan Burl and John Laurie, both former
C.F.U. presidents but with very different styles is a great combination. We
now understand where everyone is coming from and are in a position to
combine efforts productively, minimizing overlap and by communication cut
friction.
TWO MONTHS REMAIN
Landowners who have not yet registered
with Valcon now only have two months left in which to do so. Clients reading
this please pass this information urgently to fellow farmers both here and
abroad and refer them to our web site: www.compensation.co.zw or email: valuers@zol.co.zw The Consortium, which
is following closely its own long term plan, hopes to conclude both the
registration and verification exercises by 31st December this year. To date
1300 farmers have registered more than 2000 farms.
HOW THEY SEE
IT
There seems to be a perception in some countries that
Zimbabwe's large-scale commercial farmers have received compensation for the
loss of their farms. Please could our clients let as many people as possible
know that this is not the case. What happened in the 1990s was that some
farmers after initially resisting acquisition decided to cede and were paid
out - in many instances - a fair price. Since 2000 however, farmers have
been forcibly evicted from their properties and subsequent offers of payment
for those farms have been inadequate largely due to rampant inflation.
Some farmers have nevertheless had to accept offers at the
government's valuation and the handing over title deeds before receiving
inadequate cheques. Recently a third compensation committee has been formed
by government. We await events and in the meantime have made them aware of
our existence.
Several database clients have asked us to represent
them before the Compensation Committee. This we are prepared to do but it has
proved fruitless so far. The major problem is that the Secretary of the
Committee is demanding a Power of Attorney from the client in a Valuer's
favour before they will allow representation. This is highly irregular
and inconvenient and we hope to resolve the issue. Lawyers for example, do
not need a Power of Attorney before representing a client so why should
a valuer or other professional.
VERIFICATION PROCESS
UNDERWAY
Valcon's verification process is in full swing and to date there
have been no major hitches. The cost of verification is now increased to $500
000 (up from $46 000 when we started two years ago). The company will try
to maintain this fee for as long as possible but can guarantee nothing
with the continuing inflation. If you know of anyone who has not yet
registered, please pass this newsletter on to them.
COLLECTION OF
CERTIFICATES
It is important that you phone or email us before coming to
our Harare offices in Eastlea to collect your registration certificates. Due
to the considerable increase in postal charges we are no longer able to
post certificates. If you know of friends who have registered with us but
who are now living abroad please pass this newsletter on to them so that
they can make a plan to have theirs collected.
DOWN THE LINE with
Martin Redfern
News is that here in Matabeleland there has been a surge
of new Valcon registrations. Like those in Manicaland, Matabeleland farmers
were slow in coming forward and although for all the wrong reasons, it is
pleasing that registrations are continuing before the "deadline" (although
how the end of December deadline is to be enforced nobody has yet advised).
Suffice to say there is not a lot of obvious commercial agriculture in
Matabeleland, nor is there for that matter anywhere else in Zim and I am
afraid this reflects the success, or otherwise, of the government's
programme. Regarding the aerial photographic survey exercise which Valcon is
embarking on - to validate details of improvements, arable land etc. on the
ground - significant assistance has been received from two local sources.
The exercise is important, and not only to convince donors of the accuracy
of the workings and figures, it is also mighty expensive and the
assistance offered is greatly appreciated. All at Valcon are pleased with
progress made to date. I am making an unwelcome trip to the UK to celebrate
my Mother's 90th birthday and have no doubt that at the age of 56, I shall
be on the receiving end of criticism re smoking and drinking habits, length
of hair etc, etc. Joy. Apart from dreading the flight, UK is just too full
of everything: people, cars, buildings and narrow minded parochial
attitudes. But at least I will see some agriculture and from my last visit to
stay with a daughter in Cornwall I can confirm that more maize is grown in
that one county than in Zim, so the Gay Gangster must be doing something
right.
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAG
OLF
309 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY
"You just don't luck into things as much as you'd like to
think you do. You build step-by-step, whether it's friendships or
opportunities."
BARBARA
BUSH ______________________________________________
OPEN LETTER
FORUM
Letter 1. Subject Justice
Justice Perverted.
Roy
Bennett is a rough diamond - he is very much a self made man who left school
early and came from a poor background. He worked hard and eventually created
his lifetime ambition - a farm in the Chimanimani Mountains. For those who do
not know the area, it is approached by a road that goes through dry and harsh
land in the Save valley up to a range of mountains that straddle the eastern
highlands and then you travel down through lush, well watered land to the
village of Chimanimani. Here you break out of the hills and there in front of
you is a magnificent range of rocky mountains straddling the border with
Mozambique. It is a very beautiful sight and in the sweeping valley that lies
between the Village and the mountains is a stretch of country that would
rival any other place in the world. A decade after independence, Roy got all
his resources together, borrowed some money and he bought Charleswood Estate.
Not an outstanding bit of farmland - it only had a few hundred hectares of
arable land, but it was where he wanted to live and make a living. Before he
bought the farm he was given a certificate of "no interest" by the Ministry
of Lands, which confirmed they did not require the land for resettlement. Roy
had married Heather and they had two children - a boy and a girl. Roy and
Heather worked hard. Roy, being the kind of man he is, did everything he
could to ensure that his entry to the community was acceptable. He visited
the local Chief and said that he would work with the local community. He
recognized that he could not prosper if his neighbors did not do so as well.
The result was the slow creation of a coffee farm with cattle on the rough
grazing and a lodge to exploit the local tourist potential. He worked to get
the local peasant farmers to join him in the coffee project and extended to
them credit and know how. Eventually he built a coffee mill on the farm and
established a market for local coffee beans in Europe. In 1998 he was asked
by the people to stand for Parliament to represent the community. Asked by
the local peasant farmers - not the handful of local commercial farmers and
timber companies. He accepted and was duly nominated to run under the banner
of the only party operating effectively at the time - Zanu PF. However
when MDC was formed in 1999, the people asked him to switch sides and to run
for the new party. He investigated MDC and eventually agreed. MDC accepted
him into their ranks and in 2000 he ran against the Zanu PF candidate who
had taken his place, beating him by a huge margin. It was the start of a
war against Roy in every respect. He was an early target for the illegal
farm invasions and demands that he gives up his land for "resettlement".
He fought back hard and was given the full support of the people in
the District. His own staff supported him - several with their lives.
Heather had a miscarriage after a violent incident on the farm and the family
began a three-year fight to hold onto what was theirs by law. It should be
noted that the Courts who consistently ruled supported Roy in this
protracted fight in his favor. It was to no avail and this year he was
eventually forcibly evicted from the farm - his life's work. He lost
everything he owned in this exercise - the farm, all his equipment, vehicles,
the coffee mill, 350 hectares of coffee, and several hundred tonnes of raw
coffee beans and over 800 head of beef cattle. The combined value of these
losses is almost impossible to estimate - the land and buildings, perhaps
Z$3 billion, the cattle, at least Z$1,6 billion, the coffee operation at
least another Z$4 billion. Add in the incidentals and you could come to a
total of Z$10 billion. That is about US$1,7 million. His 350 staff and
their families were evicted and are today destitute and living in an
informal squatter camp. His out growers in the local peasant-farming district
are without guidance or credit and have lost their market outlets in Europe.
A State controlled company has stolen the coffee, cattle and other
moveable assets and is trying to run the farm. The lodge is derelict. Roy and
his wife moved to a rented property outside Harare but even there they
faced harassment and intimidation. They were forced to move several times
and experienced further losses in the process. Roy continued to represent
his constituency and to secure development funds for the absolute poor in
the area. He rebuilt an irrigation scheme destroyed by a cyclone in 2002 and
he helped many individual families. When the time came for him to
be renominated by the people for the elections scheduled for March 2005 -
he received a unanimous nomination and was honored by the local community
with a "totem". A symbol of his acceptance in the community and a rare
gesture. In Parliament he steadfastly stood up against the lawlessness and
thuggery of Zanu PF. His fluent knowledge of Shona made him a formidable
debater and to say that he was hated and feared is not to put it too
strongly. In a speech to the House the Minister of Justice said that Roy was
a "thief" and that his forefathers had robbed the community. Faced with this
slander and coming after the years of harassment and violence directed
against him and his family and his community at large, Roy's restraint broke,
he leapt over the seat in front of him and strode over to the Minister and
pushed him - knocking him down in the process. Another Zanu Minister (Mutasa)
a nasty bit of work, came up behind Roy and kicked him - Roy turned and
knocked him down and then left the building. Now a committee of Parliament
has sat and sent Roy to Prison for 15 months with hard labor. It means he
will loose his seat in the House and his right to run as a candidate next
year if the MDC fights the election. It leaves his wife and two children
without a breadwinner and alone in a hostile environment for the next year at
least. If this had been an ordinary case of violence heard by a Magistrate,
Roy could not have been given a fine of more than Z$8000 (US$1.00). This,
like the treason charges against Morgan Tsvangirai, are purely political
acts designed to hinder the MDC's ability to fight the next election. There
is no justice in this act and there are no valid grounds for this
decision. This is just another sign that Zanu PF has run out of ideas and
is desperate and feels pressed against the wall politically. The incident
with COSATU also points in this direction. In Prison Roy will be regarded as
a hero - which he is and when we eventually win this struggle, you can
be sure the prisons will be packed with those who have flaunted the law
in defense of their own crimes. People who look at this incident should
not lose sight of the fact that there have been over 400 political murders
in this country since the war on Roy began - not one has been prosecuted
and none of these culprits have been brought to book. Eddie
Cross
Bulawayo, November 1st
2004. ______________________________________________
Letter 2.
Subject: Tesco/OLF
Dear sirs
Further to the correspondence about
Tesco - I am interested in Sue Shearer's reasons for defending Tesco's policy
to buy produce from Zimbabwe.
If I were to openly steal property or
goods from Tesco, would they ( having reported the fact to the police who
then refused to take action because they condoned the theft) accept that I be
allowed to sell these goods if my customers didn't care that they had been
stolen from Tesco?
Let's face it - Tesco are dealing in stolen property
and show themselves to be gullible fools if they are hoodwinked into
believing that the "Land Issue" was anything to do with "Land-hungry masses."
John Davey has hit the nail on the head when he points out that profit margin
is all that seems to matter. What has happened to good old-fashioned moral
ethics?
Mike
Mylne ______________________________________________
Letter 3.
Subject: Mangetout
Dear JAG
While I totally agree with various
sentiments regarding produce off invaded farms, I have to point out that
there are several farms still operating under their legitimate owners, and
these farms have been exporting mangetout. So before anyone climbs on a high
horse, please take time out to investigate, and get your facts straight
before you put legitimate people out of business. Thanks.
Ann
Hein. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for
Agriculture. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
JAG TEAM
JAG Hotlines: (091) 261 862 If you are in trouble or need
advice, (011) 205 374 (011) 863 354 please don't hesitate to contact us
- (011) 431 068 we're here to help! 263
4 799 410 Office Lines
ZANU PF GURUS PLUNDER $50 BILLION AGRICULTURE FUND Fri 5
November 2004
HARARE - Senior government and ruling ZANU PF party
officials have looted a Z$50 billion state fund intended to assist poor
black peasants settled by the government on former white-owned farms,
ZimOnline has established.
The fund was being administered by
Agribank, a wholly state-owned bank created by the government last year
specifically to raise funds and resources for black villagers resettled on
white-owned farms under President Robert Mugabe's often violent and chaotic
land reform programme.
The fund, created under the 2004 national
budget, is now penniless after ZANU PF and government officials, their
relatives and friends helped themselves to most of the money.
A
list of some of the senior government and ZANU PF officials who looted the
fund includes, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, Local Government Minister
Ignatius Chombo, and Transport Minister Chris Mushowe.
Air Force of
Zimbabwe Commander Perence Shiri, Matabeleland North Governor Obert Mpofu,
Mashonaland West ZANU PF chairman Philip Chiyangwa and former governor of
the province, Peter Chanetsa, also feature prominently on the
list.
A senior Agribank manager, who spoke anonymously for
professional reasons, said: "In addition to these, there are several other
junior government and ZANU PF officials who obtained various amounts of
money from the fund."
Agribank chief executive officer Sam
Malaba refused to discuss the issue when contacted by this reporter citing
bank/client confidentiality. But sources at the bank said Malaba had already
told the government that he was unable to finance farmers this season
because the fund was broke.
But Agriculture Minister Joseph Made,
under whose ambit the fund falls, said the government had already ordered a
probe into the fund. He said: "There are investigations into the issue of
money allocated to Agribank and it is after the process has been completed
that we will be able to identify the culprits."
Some of the
senior politicians contacted by ZimOnline yesterday admitted receiving money
from the fund but said this was above board.
Chiyangwa, who heads
the quasi-government National Economic Consultative Forum's anti-corruption
committee, said: "Whatever I have benefited was done above
board."
Air Force chief, Shiri admitted benefiting from the fund
but said he was unaware that the fund had been looted dry.
Government and ZANU PF officials have also seized most of the best land
acquired under the land reforms with some of them taking as many as six
farms each. They have so far largely ignored pleas by Mugabe to return the
excess land.
Meanwhile, agricultural production has plummeted
by about 60 percent since the farm invasions four years ago, chiefly because
black families resettled by the government on former white farms do not have
funds to acquire resources to maintain commercial production on the
farms. - ZimOnline
Protesters besiege SA deportation centre Fri 5 November
2004
JOHANNESBURG - A group of Zimbabweans and local
sympathisers yesterday demonstrated against the "appalling treatment" of
asylum seekers at the Lindela Deportation Centre just outside
Johannesburg.
Close to a 100 protesters, who gathered outside the
centre, said an increasing number of Zimbabweans were dying at the centre
because of beatings and other abuses at the hands of centre
officials.
The demonstrators, who accused both ordinary South
Africans and government officials of xenophobia, also alleged routine
torture of immigrants at the centre in breach of international conventions
on the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.
But South
African Home Affairs officials denied the allegations saying deaths at
Lindela were because of illnesses inmates carried before they were brought
there.
"While we cannot deny deaths at Lindela, allegations that
these are caused by torture are just not true," said South African Home
Affairs spokesman, Nkosana Sibuyi.
The protests, which come
after a series of reports carried by local papers earlier this week
detailing ill-treatment of detainees at Lindela, were organised by the
Southern African Women's Institute for Migration Issues and the Solidarity
Peace Trust, a Zimbabwean NGO based in Johannesburg.
According
to the demonstrators - who marched to Lindela carrying a coffin draped in a
Zimbabwean flag symbolising the death of detainees at the centre - pregnant
women and those with children bore the worst at the centre where they were
being forced to share overcrowded cells with other
inmates.
They said once locked up at Lindela, asylum seekers would
never have an opportunity to have their cases properly evaluated as they
were denied access to immigration officials.
Zimbabwean
detainees, some of them fleeing their home country because political
violence, were also denied access to food and health care.
Detainees were routinely loaded onto a train and taken to Beitbridge border
post where they face further harassment and torture by militias of
Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU PF party.
A South African activist, who
helped organise the demonstration, Emilly Welman, said most Zimbabwean
immigrants being deported out of South African were legitimate asylum
seekers.
She said: "We have come here to remind South African
officials that the same Zimbabweans they are treating so shabbily sacrificed
a lot for the freedom that we South Africans are now enjoying.
"It is therefore simply inhuman for South Africans to treat these asylum
seekers this way. Zimbabweans are coming here not because South Africa is a
land of milk and honey. They are being forced into exile because of obvious
political reasons."
The protesters marched to Lindela carrying a
coffin wrapped in a Zimbabwean flag to symbolise people who have either died
in detention at Lindela or as a result of the general crisis in
Zimbabwe.
Asylum seekers who claimed to have undergone dehumanising
treatment at Lindela gave their testimonies. Family members of an asylum
seeker who died at the centre were also among the crowd.
The
protesters handed a petition demanding appropriate treatment of asylum
seekers to a Mr Norris, understood to be an official at the centre.
Sibuyi said South African Home Affairs Minister Nosibiwe Mapisa-Nqakula had
given instructions that women who are pregnant should not stay at Lindela
for seven days as well as those with kids.
He said the directive
was being followed. He also said the grievances raised by the protestors
would be looked at and an appropriate response formulated.
But
Sibuyi dismissed some of the grievances saying they were baseless. He
insisted conditions at Lindela were habitable and in line with international
conventions on the treatment of refugees. - ZimOnline
No evidence of mass starvation in Zimbabwe, says SA Fri 5
November 2004
CAPE TOWN - South Africa said it would intervene in
Zimbabwe with food assistance only if it got evidence that people "are
falling dead due to starvation in the streets of Harare."
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad told the South African parliament
that his country would only wait for "concrete information" about the
starvation of Zimbabweans before considering any intervention.
Such
evidence would be the visible starvation of people in the streets of
Harare.
"Our high commissioner has not reported that hundreds of
people are falling dead due to starvation in the streets of Harare," said
Pahad adding that there was hence no need for anyone to panic.
Pahad said the South African government would also intervene "if and when"
it got evidence that President Robert Mugabe was manipulating food for
electoral purposes.
He was responding to questions by the
opposition Democratic Alliance's chief whip Douglas Gibson who referred to a
recent Amnesty International report which warned of massive food shortages
in Zimbabwe and accused the Zimbabwean government of using food as
a political weapon to punish opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
supporters.
"There are millions of our brothers and sisters there
(in Zimbabwe) who are on verge of starvation - 5.5 million Africans. I care
about them," Gibson said.
While acknowledging Gibson's concern
for the people of Zimbabwe, Pahad nonetheless said there was "no indication"
that President Mugabe's government was interfering with the food situation
by using it as a weapon to punish opponents.
If such evidence
came to light, SA would intervene.
"I'm happy that the honourable
Gibson is concerned about people. I didn't think he had it in him....," said
Pahad.
"There is however no concrete information that there is mass
starvation and that people in Zimbabwe are dying in their thousands because
there is government manipulation of food policy.
"If and when
there is mass starvation in Zimbabwe and our high commissioner is able to
report that, then obviously we will expect him and the Zimbabwean government
to ask for further assistance," Pahad said.
He said the SA
government would however monitor any allegations raised by non-governmental
organisations.
"If we are given some concrete evidence about these
allegations that the Zimbabwean government is denying access to grain to
supporters of the opposition MDC, we will then consider what to
do.
"Zimbabwe is not the tenth province of South Africa and
therefore if we want to help the Zimbabweans find a Zimbabwean solution,
there is a way we must act and get involved." - ZimOnline
UN warns of impending food crisis in Zimbabwe Fri 5
November 2004
JOHANNESBURG - The United Nations (UN) said yesterday
the food situation in Zimbabwe remained critical despite the Zimbabwe
government's claims that it has enough food to see it through to the next
harvest.
"There is belt-tightening going on and we think that
between now and the next harvest, it is unlikely to improve," the UN's World
Food Programme (WFP) regional director for southern Africa Mike Sackett
said.
He said food prices were already rising sharply in the
southern parts of the country - a possible sign of tough times to come,
particularly for the poor.
Sackett said the WFP was ready to
provide 100 000 tonnes of food aid to Zimbabwe over the coming three years
but only if President Robert Mugabe's government makes the
request.
Sackett spoke as the WFP launched a US$68 million appeal
to feed hungry people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia
beginning next January up to December 2007.
While Zimbabwe was
not among the five southern African countries targeted for this relief aid,
the WFP said it had set up an "emergency window of 100 000 tonnes" to help
the needy in Zimbabwe.
"We are keeping a very close eye on the
situation," said Sackett, citing concerns over the rising food prices that
he said were causing hardships, particularly in the southern Masvingo
province.
"We are in discussion with the government about the
impact of high prices on low-income families," he said.
Mugabe
said early this year that Zimbabwe had produced enough food to feed its own
people. He spurned food aid telling donors to take their food elsewhere
because "we will choke with this food".
But analysts insist that
the country has not produced enough food since most of the farms seized from
white farmers are lying fallow. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) said in
September that it expected to receive 750 000 tonnes of maize this season,
way below the country's annual needs of nearly two millions
tonnes.
It is widely suspected that the government has inflated the
harvest projections because it wants to be in charge of the distribution of
the maize it is surreptitiously importing to cover any shortfalls, to buy
votes ahead of the March parliamentary elections. - ZimOnline.
Econet bosses still in custody Fri 5 November
2004
HARARE - Two top executives of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and a
lawyer for the company who were arrested on Wednesday were still in police
custody by late last night.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena
told state television that Econet chief executive officer, Douglas Mboweni,
customer services director, John Pattison and legal consultant, Anthony
Eastwood, were being detained at Harare central police station over
allegations they failed to remit US$4 million to Zimbabwe.
Econet is owned by Johannesburg-based businessman, Strive Masiyiwa, who also
owned Zimbabwe's biggest and only privately-owned daily paper, the Daily
News. The Daily News and its sister publication, the Daily News on Sunday,
were shut down by the government last year.
Masiyiwa could not be
reached for comment last night on the arrest of his workers.
Econet, which was awarded a licence to operate by the High Court after a
gruelling five-year legal battle against the government, is Zimbabwe's
biggest GSM mobile network.
Police earlier this week also
arrested the chairman of another mobile phone network, James Makamba, for
allegedly externalising foreign currency. Makamba was picked up at Harare
international airport as he prepared to leave Zimbabwe.
Two
other Telecel officials Anthony Carter and Edward Mutsvairo were also
arrested.
Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri is in jail awaiting trial
after he was also arrested by police under an anti-corruption crackdown by
the government launched at the beginning of this year. - ZimOnline
New ZANU PF membership card to boost party coffers Fri 5
November 2004
HARARE - The ruling ZANU PF party, which is
understood to be desperately looking for cash to pay for its congress next
month, has hiked membership fees by more than 6 000 percent, ZimOnline has
learnt.
Registered members of the party will be required to renew
their membership by paying a Z$5 000 fee. Those joining the party for the
first time will also pay the same amount. Previously it cost only $82 to buy
the ZANU PF membership card.
The party had raised close to $2
billion for its watershed congress but cannot recover the money as it is
trapped in three financial institutions which collapsed earlier this
year.
ZANU PF finance secretary David Karimanzira told party
members from the various provinces that the party had decided to replace its
old membership card with a new one which all supporters had to purchase to
retain their membership.
Asked by ZimOnline whether the move
was not just a ploy by the party to raise money for its congress from
ordinary Zimbabweans, Karimanzira retorted: "The party has always been
raising money and this is one way of doing so."
Several
thousands of Zimbabweans mostly in rural areas, including those who do not
support ZANU PF, have been forced to buy the party's membership card in
order to save themselves from the party's militia who beat up and torture
anyone not holding the card.
And the party could reap a financial
windfall as many Zimbabweans fearful of increasing political violence ahead
of next year's general election are most likely to buy the new ZANU PF
membership card for safety and security. - ZimOnline