Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai rejoins troubled unity government - with conditions

http://www.csmonitor.com

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Tsvangirai , who had withdrawn from the powersharing
government after Mugabe arrested a party leader, says he is giving the
president 30 days to address oustanding issues. A regional coalition meeting
in Mozambique pressed the leaders to resolve their differences..
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
and a correspondent
from the November 6, 2009 edition

Johannesburg; and Harare, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's on-again, off-again
coalition government is on again. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai announced
Thursday that he had suspended his "disengagement" from the powersharing
government with President Robert Mugabe, adding that Mr. Mugabe has 30 days
to meet the outstanding issues of their global political agreement.

A meeting of regional leaders from the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), convened in Mozambique to discuss the country's political
crisis, called on the coalition government to settle their outstanding
issues this week, a sort of hard shove to get the stalled powersharing
government moving again.

Mr. Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change, had stopped
meeting with their Mugabe cabinet colleagues for two weeks after Mugabe's
police detained an MDC senior leader on charges of terrorism.

Yet Zimbabwe's coalition government is reunited in name only, analysts say,
and it is "unrealistic" to expect the rival parties to resolve their
outstanding issues within the 30-day deadline. Like a political diamond,
Mugabe - whose party controls the police, the Army, the intelligence
service, the courts, the reserve bank, and most other key ministries - only
hardens under pressure, and his long track record of obfuscation and his
failure to resolve the outstanding issues suggests that the current crisis
is only likely to deepen even further.

"Mugabe is impervious to external pressure," says Aubrey Matshiqi, a
longtime political analyst for the Center for Policy Studies in
Johannesburg. "ZANU PF [Mugabe's party] enjoys the advantages of a
repressive Zimbabwe government, while the MDC [Tsvangirai's party] suffers
from a smaller share of power."

Zimbabwe's neighbors can do little

In the absence of firm intervention - a hard-edged investigative body to
determine whether free and fair elections are possible - Zimbabwe's
neighbors can do little to put pressure on Mugabe, leaving the 85-year-old
liberation leader free to continue to dither and govern at will, Mr.
Matshiqi says.

But for now, at least, Zimbabwe's political crisis appears to be postponed.

"We have suspended our disengagement from the GPA [global political
agreement] with immediate effect, and we will give President Robert Mugabe
30 days to implement the agreement on the pertinent issues we are concerned
about," Tsvangirai told reporters after the regional summit.

The MDC "disengaged" from the inclusive government citing Mugabe's
reluctance to address outstanding issues of the GPA, signed in September
last year.

Political analysts say the time frame given by the former opposition party
leader was "too short," and could further deepen the crisis when ZANU PF
fails to meet the strict deadline.

They note that Mugabe faces severe pressure from ZANU PF hardliners
determined to maintain their hold on political power and Zimbabwe's economic
resources.

"I don't see much being achieved during the given time frame given that the
two parties are poles apart," says University of Zimbabwe political
scientist Simon Badza. Mr. Badza says that Zanu PF would agree to resolve
only "a few" of the issues that do not obstruct the party's strategic
political interests. This, he says, would be done to hoodwink the guarantors
of the political agreement - SADC and the Africa Union - into believing that
there was movement toward resolution of the crisis.

"No key issues would be resolved. Only issues of little significance .
issues that do not tamper with Zanu PF's strategic interests would be
solved," says Badza. "ZaANU PF hardliners would not agree to anything that
would compromise their socioeconomic and political interests."

Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi, said the MDC was optimistic that
Mugabe would have addressed the outstanding issues within the 30 days.

"We are very hopeful," said Mr. Maridadi, adding that South African
President Jacob Zuma would soon visit Zimbabwe to assess progress toward
full compliance with the GPA. "In the event that Mugabe does not comply with
GPA and Zuma's mediation fails, it would mean the collapse of the
government."

Among the outstanding issues are the appointment of provincial governors and
Mugabe's unilateral reappointment of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and
Attorney General Johannes Tomana. Mugabe has replied that the appointments
were done constitutionally.

The MDC has also claimed that its MPs and activists have been targeted for
government persecution.

Tsvangirai disengaged with ZANU PF in the unity government following the
renewed detention of the party's treasurer Roy Bennett on terrorism charges,
which the MDC said are trumped up.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara joined for
talks in Maputo, Mozambique, together with the leaders of Mozambique,
Swaziland, and Zambia.

Also attending were South African President Zuma, Democratic Republic of
Congo President Joseph Kabila, and current SADC chairman Joseph Kabila, as
well as former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who facilitated the
agreement that brought about the inclusive government.

 Our reporter in Harare could not be named due to security concerns.

SADC sets December deadline to implement outstanding issues

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
6 November 2009

The regional SADC Troika summit held in Maputo, Mozambique on Thursday
toughened up its stance on Zimbabwe by giving all parties the 6th December
as the deadline to implement all outstanding issues.

The regional bloc, seen as sympathetic to Robert Mugabe for years, took a
tougher line against him on Thursday after a ministerial report tabled at
the summit laid the blame squarely on the non-implementation of the GPA as
the root cause of the shaky government. But it did not specifically name
Mugabe as being at the root of the problem.

The Maputo summit, which lasted nine hours, urged both Morgan Tsvangirai and
Mugabe not to allow the situation to deteriorate any further. A communiqué
issued at the end urged all parties to fully comply with the spirit and
letter of the GPA and SADC summit decisions of 27 January 2009. Mugabe left
the summit venue without speaking to journalists, reportedly angry at being
given a deadline to comply with the GPA.
Intense power struggles between Mugabe and Tsvangirai have kept the unity
government teetering on the brink of collapse since its formation. The MDC
complains about violations of the agreement, political repression, disregard
of the rule of law and human rights, continued farm seizures, media
repression and Mugabe's refusal to adopt political and democratic reforms,
including constitutional review.
Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi, told SW Radio Africa that the MDC
leader was happy with the summit outcome, especially with the timeline given
to resolve the issues by the 6th December. He said South African President
Jacob Zuma will be visiting the country before the end of this month to
monitor the dialogue between the parties.

'The Prime Minister did not go to Maputo to negotiate or re-negotiate. He
was there to point out the failures of one party to implement the GPA. So he
is happy with outcome,' Maridadi said.

He added; 'What the resolution of the summit means in simple terms is the
appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General will be
dealt with by the principals in the coming days or weeks. They will also
deal with the issues of the provincial governors, ambassadors and Roy
Bennett.'

Many observers and analysts following the Zimbabwe crisis have long blamed
SADC for not taking a tough stand against Mugabe's intransigence. Wilf
Mbanga, editor of the weekly Zimbabwean newspaper, wrote recently that SADC
was now part of the problem affecting Zimbabwe.

In an editorial in his newspaper, Mbanga said the regional body's leaders
have 'demonstrated on numerous occasions that they are utterly spineless
when faced with a recalcitrant Robert Mugabe on his anti-colonialism
hobby-horse'.

'SADC is supposed to be the guarantor of the Global Political Agreement -
but they have persistently sidestepped the MDC's legitimate complaints about
ZANU PF's non-compliance while entertaining Mugabe's ludicrous "sanctions"
posturing. Their pro-Mugabe bias is evident to all,' said Mbanga.
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa director Ozias Tungwarara said
it remains to be seen if SADC will finally take some measures against Mugabe
if he ignores this latest deadline.
'SADC leaders stand accused of defending Mugabe to the last. I am not privy
to what transpired in Maputo yesterday (Thursday) but it will be interesting
to see what happens if Mugabe fails to comply again,' Tungwarara said.

SADC sets deadline – or does it?

http://www.swradioafrica.com

South African Company to Begin Mining for Diamonds in Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com

     

      By Peta Thornycroft
      06 November 2009

South African company, New Reclamation Group, a private limited company is
reportedly planning to form a venture with Zimbabwe to mine diamonds from a
deposit that human rights groups say has been the site of military
atrocities. This comes as the world's diamond control body called on
Zimbabwe to clean up a lawless field, but stopped short of suspending the
country from a process meant to keep "blood" gems off the market.

South African company New Reclamation says it will begin mining for diamonds
in eastern Zimbabwe this month in a joint venture with the state's mining
and development corporation.

According to documents obtained by VOA, the company's chairman David Kassel
has resigned from his position to take part in the operations to exploit the
diamonds.

New Reclamation will reportedly manage mining on the diamond deposit through
its company Grandwell Holdings Ltd. in partnership with Marange Resources
Ltd., a unit of the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp.

Part of the land the company will use is held in a lease by a British
company, African Consolidated Resources. In 2006, the Zimbabwe government
seized the land from the British company after gems were found in the
deposit.  As many as 20,000 illegal miners besieged the area and were later
cleared off by the army and police. New York-based Human Rights Watch says
more than 200 were killed in the area last year. Zimbabwe's police say they
have had no reports of atrocities.

Andrew Cranswick, chief executive officer of African Consolidated Resources
said the New Reclamation's reported mining plans with the Zimbabwe
government set a bad precedent for any future investment in Zimbabwe.

"It is detrimental to Zimbabwe's diamond industry which could prove to be
the life-saving force for the economy because these diamonds are going to
get extremely bad names," he said. "These will effectively be stolen
diamonds, and any diamonds coming out of there will be stolen goods. So we
have this natural resource plundered and looted in an organized fashion by
foreign thugs. "

Zimbabwe, which is trying to recover from a decade-long recession, is trying
to attract foreign investment even as a dispute between Mugabe's Zimbabwe
African National Union- Patriotic Front and the Movement for Democratic
Change threatens to dismantle a coalition government set up in February and
deter investors.

Cranswick said New Reclamation would be operating on the northern part of
its claim through a company registered in Mauritius.

"We as a company view this extremely seriously and will take full legal
recourse through litigation and criminal orders if we can get them in South
Africa, Zimbabwe and Mauritius," he added.

This week, the Kimberley Process, a global body created to curb trade in
gems mined to fund conflict, considered whether to suspend Zimbabwe as a
member after a mission visited the Southern African country in May.
Investigators found killings and forced evictions from the Marange diamond
fields in the east of the country close to the border with Mozambique.

Despite the findings, the Kimberley Process panel stopped short of kicking
Zimbabwe out.  Instead it has adopted a plan - proposed by Zimbabwe itself -
which includes calls for an independent inspector to monitor diamonds
leaving the controversial fields.

According to human rights activists monitoring the situation,  most of the
stones so far extracted at the diamond fields have been smuggled out of
Zimbabwe and sold in Mozambique.  Human rights groups also say the diamonds
have been an important source of revenue for the military and for President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Ian Smillie, one of the architects of the Kimberley Process, says the
panel's decision on Zimbabwe was "farcical."

He said the Zimbabwe mines ministry has "lied repeatedly" to the the diamond
regulatory body.

Diamond watchdog gives Zimbabwe time to comply

Associated Press

Nov 6, 1:55 PM EST

By DONNA BRYSON
Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Investigators for the world's diamond control body say
the gems were mined by virtual slaves who had been told to dig or die, and
were smuggled out by soldiers who rape and beat civilians.

Yet the Kimberley Process, the diamond body, said those gems don't qualify
as "blood diamonds," and instead of sanctioning Zimbabwe is giving the
country another chance to get its Marange fields under control.

In a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press, investigators for
the Kimberley Process had recommended that Zimbabwe be suspended, meaning
many consumers would have shunned the country's diamonds. Instead, officials
ended their annual deliberations this week with a decision Zimbabwe be given
another chance to improve control over its Marange diamond fields.

In a communique issued late Thursday in Namibia, the group said its
investigators found evidence of Zimbabwe's "significant noncompliance."
Zimbabwe agreed to take steps, including pulling soldiers out and allowing
monitors in to become compliant, and the country would be given time to do
so under Kimberley Process monitoring, the group said.

According to Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper, a mouthpiece for the ZANU-PF party
whose officials are believed to be reaping the proceeds from sales of
Marange diamonds, Zimbabwean Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert
Mpofu told the meeting in Namibia that his country needed more technical
help from the Kimberley Process to get Marange in order.

The Kimberley Process was established in 2002 by governments, the diamond
industry and rights groups in an attempt to stem the flow of "blood
diamonds" - gems sold to fund fighting across Africa.

Thursday's brief communique announcing the decision focused on "illicit
trade of Marange diamonds," not the human rights abuses detailed in a report
by Kimberley Process investigators who visited Zimbabwe in June and July.

Tiseke Kasambala, a Johannesburg-based researcher for Human Rights Watch,
said the Kimberley Process was interpreting its mandate too narrowly.

"The Zimbabwe diamonds definitely qualify as blood diamonds," she told The
Associated Press Friday. "Human rights should be respected in each member
state" of the Kimberley Process.

Global Witness, an international human rights groups that helped establish
the process, also has called for it to be strengthened. Global Witness's
Annie Dunneback, who was in Namibia for the meetings, said her group was
"very disappointed" with the outcome.

"We feel that this points to fundamental weaknesses in the scheme and also
points to a serious lack of political will," she said Friday, adding Global
Witness questioned whether Zimbabwe would live up to its commitment to clean
up Marange.

The Kimberley Process investigators had recommended that Zimbabwe either be
suspended or voluntarily suspend itself.

"Lawlessness, particularly when combined with violence and largely overseen
by government entities, should not be the hallmark of any system ... deemed
to be compliant" with the Kimberley Process, the investigators said in a
report reviewed at this week's Namibia meetings.

The investigators had interviewed miners who told of working for soldiers
who allowed them to keep only 10 percent of the proceeds of any diamonds
recovered. The witnesses described what happened to those who refused to
work for the soldiers:

"Each one of these illegal miners reported seeing people killed and the
numbers they cited ranged from one to seven. This group also told members of
the team that they observed extreme violence against illegal miners" by
soldiers using rifles, dogs, batons and tear gas.

The report said women "reported that, while under the custody of the
security forces, they were raped repeatedly by military officers and that
they have been forced to engage in sex with illegal miners."

According to Kimberley Process officials, Zimbabwe exported nearly 800,000
carats of diamonds from three fields, including Marange, last year.

South Africa to sign deal with Zimbabwe

http://www.ft.com

By Richard Lapper in Johannesburg

Published: November 6 2009 17:18 | Last updated: November 6 2009 17:18

South Africa is close to signing a bilateral investment treaty with
Zimbabwe, paving the way for what could be a sharp increase in private
sector investment in its troubled northern neighbour, according to officials
in both countries.

The treaty would provide mechanisms to help resolve disputes and sharply
reduce the price of political risk insurance, helping ease concerns about
Zimbabwe’s political stability that have inhibited investment despite
interest from South African groups ranging from mining companies to banks
and retailers.

“There is huge interest but the biggest stumbling block has been the
[failure] to finalise an investment treaty,” said Ufikile Khumalo, of South
Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation. The government development bank
earlier this week made its first loan to a Zimbabwe business since Robert
Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, agreed to form a coalition government with his
political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai in February.
News of the investment treaty comes as the Zimbabwe economy continues to
stabilise following the abolition of the local currency and amid signs that
the South African government is keen to encourage closer bilateral ties.

It also follows Mr Tsvangirai’s decision late on Thursday to re-engage with
his Zanu-PF coalition partners inside the power-sharing administration. Mr
Tsvangirai, who withdrew his Movement for Democratic Change from the country’s
unity government last month because of differences with Mr Mugabe, agreed to
rejoin the coalition at a summit in Mozambique attended by southern African
leaders including Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president.

Earlier this week, Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s MDC finance minister, played down
differences with Zanu-PF and said that the investment agreement would be
signed in South Africa in the last week of November.

The IDC loan extended a $10m (£6m, €6.7m) facility to the London-listed
miner Mwana Africa, allowing the company to step up gold production that it
resumed in Zimbabwe in October. Mr Khumalo said other investments could soon
follow and that commitments to Zimbabwean-based businesses might eventually
reach 10 per cent of the corporation’s portfolio, which totalled nearly $9bn
in 2008.

Local businesses believed they could steal a march on their more risk-averse
rivals outside the region, he said. There was still some uncertainty about
the willingness of the Zimbabwe government to include investments in land –
a politically controversial area – within the terms of the treaty, he said,
but “outside of this, everything has been agreed upon”.

Mr Biti indicated that other issues that have worried potential investors
were being resolved. Kingdom Meikles, the retail, hotel and banking group
that was until recently Zimbabwe’s biggest listed company, was no longer
subject to government intervention, he said. So-called “specification
measures” under which government agents were appointed to run the company’s
affairs in September had been lifted, paving the way for the de-merger of
the group.

Mr Biti insisted that the government, including Mr Mugabe, wanted to take a
flexible approach to foreign investors.

Separately, he told news agencies on Friday that a local newspaper report on
proposed draft legislation to force foreign-owned companies to allocate a 51
per cent majority stake to black Zimbabweans was “speculative”.

CFU Press Statement on escalating violence

PRESS STATEMENT

CFU Fact Sheet

Zimbabwe white farmers seek $1.2m for welfare: union

http://af.reuters.com/

Fri Nov 6, 2009 11:39am GMT

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's white farmers union said on Friday it needed
to raise $1.2 million each month to look after more than 4,000 members it
said had been impoverished by President Robert Mugabe's often violent land
seizure drive.

The Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) said violence against white farmers
still remaining on farms was escalating and that efforts to engage the
government had failed, and warned of a failed 2009/10 cropping season.

Mugabe formed a unity government with longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai, now
prime minister, but the coalition has been at odds over how to share power
and the CFU said the new government was not protecting them.

CFU deputy president Charles Taffs said 150 farmers were being prosecuted in
the courts for refusing to make way for new black farmers.

The CFU now has less than 400 active farmers, down from more than 5,000 when
the seizures started in 2000.

"We are actively now trying to raise $1.2 million every month to look after
the 4,200 people who are currently facing total destitution," Taffs told
journalists.

The land issue is emotive in Zimbabwe, where white commercial farmers used
to own 70 percent of the country's fertile land, thanks to a colonial system
that drove blacks from their ancestral lands.

Since the land seizures, which Mugabe argues are necessary to correct
colonial land imbalances, 90 percent of the land is now in the hands of
black farmers, but who lack proper commercial farming skills and are without
adequate inputs.

Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party say there are no invasions taking place but
that black farmers issued with occupation letters were simply moving on to
claim their land, which sometimes caused tensions with the white farmers.

"We have some of our elderly members who are so desperate that they are
saying they would want some form of compensation to survive," CFU president
Deon Theron said.

"They are coming to us and saying 'please can you not negotiate with the
government, even if its a partial compensation so that we can survive',"
said Theron.

Farm workers have not been spared from the upheaval in the farming sector,
which used to employ 250,000 permanent workers and as much in seasonal
labour.

There are now 18,000 workers left on commercial farms.

Court orders urgent treatment for tortured & detained MDC employee

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
6 November 2009

Pascal Gwezere, the MDC Transport Manager who was abducted at gunpoint from
his house in Harare last Tuesday, has made another appearance in court. He
first appeared in court last Saturday, four days after he went missing. He
is being accused of undergoing military training in Uganda and stealing
firearms from Pomona Army Barracks in Harare. He denies all the allegations.
At his first court appearance he was denied legal representation and was
remanded in custody to 13th November.

Gwezere had been threatened and because of this only hinted in court that he
had been tortured by state security agents. Although clearly injured he was
still denied medical treatment by the prison authorities, despite an order
by the court. Lawyer Alex Muchadehama tried to have the matter heard again
in court on Thursday so his client could place on record complaints against
his abductors and apply for refusal of remand. But prison officials claimed
they had no fuel to transport the prisoner.

Finally on Friday Gwezere was taken to court, under heavy guard. Kumbirai
Mafunda, Communications Officer for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR), said there was heavy security at the Magistrate's Court and
journalists were prevented from taking pictures of the MDC employee.
Muchadehama was supposed to make an application for refusal of remand but
the matter was postponed to Monday because of time constraints, caused by
the magistrate arriving late.

However, Muchadehama was able to complain against the prison authorities'
treatment of Gwezere, who was transferred from Harare Remand Prison to
Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Muchadehama told the court that the
transport manager was still being denied medical treatment and that the
prison doctors who had been ordered by the court to examine him, had not
done so.  The lawyer then asked the court to allow his client to be seen by
private doctors of his choice. The Harare magistrate consented but at the
time of going to air it was not clear if this had yet happened.

Gwezere is said to have sustained serious injuries after he was tortured in
detention, including being blindfolded, beaten under the feet and an
indecent assaulted. Mafunda said it was clear from his appearance that he
was in a lot of pain and had problems with his legs.

.................

Violet presents Hot Seat where her guests are political commentators
Professor Brian Raftopoulos and Brian Kagoro, with their analysis of the
outcome of the SADC Troika Summit on Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai has ended is
'disengagement' with ZANU PF and all parties have been given 30 days to
implement outstanding issues in the GPA. Does this resolve the crisis or
just defer it for another 30 days? Is Tsvangirai's decision to 'rejoin' a
capitulation or strategic, and what could SADC come up with as their 'Plan B'
if this 30-day deadline fails?
.................

On Callback Muradzdikwa says the drafting of a new constitution is the most
important issue facing 'this useless GNU, in which the MDC have no power';
Tawanda is concerned that ZANU PF will step-up its campaign of violence
unless the MDC stays in the GNU, and, Chipo says the old days of suffering
are looming and it's up to the MDC to consider this when planning their
future strategies.

79 year old widow sentenced to prison for refusing to vacate her farm

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
06 November 2009

A 79 year old widow has been given a month to vacate her dairy farm and home
of 50 years, or face a jail term, after she was convicted earlier this year
for failing to vacate her farm.

Hester Theron, who runs a local dairy farm in Beatrice, was sentenced on
Friday under the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act, for refusing
to leave the land that has been her home since the late fifties. She was
sentenced to three months behind bars, suspended for five years on condition
that she vacates the farm by 8 December 2009.

The news comes as more concern has been raised about the escalation of
violence on commercial farms across the country, as the state sponsored
offensive to conclude the so called land 'reform' program continues to
gather momentum. The president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) Deon
Theron, who is also Hester Theron's son, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that
he is shocked by how his mother was treated by the courts, calling her
suspended sentence 'ridiculous'.

Theron had earlier in the day told a press conference about his organisation's
concern, listing the various atrocities that have been and are still being
committed on farms. Many farmers and their workers have been assaulted, had
their belongings seized and stolen, and been forced to watch as their homes
and workers villages have been burnt to the ground. Most recently, five
workers from Louis Fick's Friedawil farm in Chinhoyi were shot and wounded
by a man working for Deputy Reserve Bank governor, Edward Mashiringwani.
Mashiringwani, who has led a campaign of harassment and intimidation against
Fick and his staff for several months, in complete violation of the SADC
ruling meant to protect the land. Mashiringwani's hired thugs have also
prevented the remaining farm staff from feeding or watering the numerous
pigs and crocodiles on the farm, in an extreme act of animal cruelty meant
to force Fick to give up the farm.

Police reaction in all cases, including Fick's has been limited, slow and
"frequently biased against our members." Theron said that in the majority of
cases there has been no response at all because the deliberately
orchestrated violence has been classified as 'political'.

Theron also described the plight of the country's thousands of farm workers,
who are also under constant threat, explaining that "when the farmer is not
present, the attorney general's office frequently targets the employees." A
significant number of workers have been prosecuted and even imprisoned,
often for trying to defend their employers land from invasions. Over 60
thousand farm workers have lost their jobs this year alone, as a result of
the renewed land grab campaign. This has all resulted in farms being unable
to produce desperately needed food for a food-insecure nation, heavily
dependent for the last decade on food aid.

At the same time over 150 productive farmers have recently been targeted and
prosecuted by the attorney general's office for still being on their farms.
In addition to these illegal prosecutions, various well-connected
beneficiaries of 'offer letters' have been taking the law into their own
hands and farming operations continue to be violently disrupted.

Meanwhile, farmer Charles Lock, whose Karori farm has been seized by
Brigadier General Justin Mujaji and his personal army of soldiers, has this
week appealed to the High Court to have the top army official arrested and
convicted. Mujaji, who is related by marriage to Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa, has plundered and looted the farm in contravention of numerous
court orders against him. Lock has not been allowed on the property for
several weeks, despite more court orders in his favour, meant to allow him
to collect his equipment and produce still on the farm.

But Mujaji has not allowed a single court messenger or police official onto
the farm, and has previously threatened to shoot various messengers from the
courts. Lock has now sought the conviction order from the High Court,
although his application has been postponed until next week to allow Mujaji
time to respond.

As the farm crisis escalates, it is disturbing to note that the various
stories have been given little international media attention. This is
despite major news groups such as CNN and the BBC recently being allowed
back into the country to report on what is happening, after years of being
banned. But regardless of the high human-interest newsworthiness of the farm
crisis, the animal abuse and plight of the country's farm workers, there
seems to be little interest from these international media groups in
providing footage and interviews, about a crisis that is worsening by the
day.

Numerous Challenges For Harare Water Supply

By Vusumuzi Sifile

An overhaul of Harare's water infrastructure has stalled. Credit: Vusumuzi Sifile/IPS

HARARE, Nov 6 (IPS) - Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda is a troubled man. When he took office in July 2008, one of his most immediate tasks was to resolve the water crisis in the capital.

′′But as the year draws to an end, many areas of Harare still do not have a reliable supply of the precious liquid. Even the man who superintends thousands of households has no piped water at his own home.

′′"I also do not have water at my house in Chisipite (a plush suburb where most senior government officials and diplomats stay). Some of my neighbours have water, but we have been without water for some time now," Masunda told IPS.

′Greater Harare requires 1,000 megalitres per day. The Morton Jaffray Water Works has the capacity to generate 614 megalitres of water per day, while Prince Edward has a capacity to pump 100 megalitres.

With the current shortages of power and water treatment chemicals, the combined output from the two plants is at 600 megalitres, but a significant proportion of the water being treated is being lost to leaks.

"The problem is the leakages," confirms Masunda. "We are losing up to 40 percent of treated water through leakages."

Taking the leakages into account, slightly more than a third of the daily water requirement reaches industrial and domestic users.′′To resolve the problem, the Harare City Council in October embarked on a highly visible programme to replace water pipes, mostly in the central business district. The council dug out old pipes in the CBD, and replaced them with new ones.

The programme started at a high pace, but it has since slowed down. Mounds of earth, uncovered trenches and old pipes left on the roadside are now becoming an eyesore, and a hazard to motorists and pedestrians.

Residents' representatives are not happy with the slow progress.

Instead of "just digging", Moyo said the city council should have addressed the pumping capacity. Moyo said there was need to contol how revenues from water bills are used in order to improve the system.

"For us as residents, it seems water revenue is being abused, it is not being put into proper use. It is being used for other things," he said.

Despite their frequent clashes over many issues, Moyo and Masunda agree that there is need for collaboration between residents and the city government to combat pollution of water resources, which they say is the root cause of problems in Harare.

"Because of industrial and domestic pollution, we have to procure a cocktail of between eight and nine chemicals to treat the water," Masunda said.

"People have to do their bit as well. They have to help by not polluting the system. They can do this by not throwing litter all over and by properly disposing of sewage. If we are able to treat the sewage, we will reduce the amount of chemicals."

Moyo challenged the authorities to scale up their awareness efforts on issues of pollution. Because Harare sits on the catchment area of its two major supply dams, Lake Chivero and Lake Manyame, it is easy for waste, including raw sewage, to flow into the dams.

′Said Moyo: "Our solutions must go beyond just digging in town. They must address the root cause of the problem. Issues of pollution should be addressed. The reason why we have to spend so much on water chemicals is because not much is being done to contain pollution."′′In recent years, Harare has struggled to procure enough water treatment chemicals, resulting in perennial water shortages in the capital.

At the official opening of Parliament on Oct 6, President Robert Mugabe shifted the blame onto middlemen, whom he accused of pushing costs up.

"Reliance on middlemen in the procurement of water treatment chemicals has been a major cost driver in the provision of water. To obviate this challenge, government will centralise the procurement of water treatment chemicals."

In supporting this view, Masunda said: "When it comes to the bulk procurement of anything, let us put our heads together. This will help us speak with one voice… Service delivery has nothing to do with politics. We need to all do an appraisal and rationalise these things."

Neither Mugabe nor Masunda named the middlemen involved in procurement of water treatment chemicals. But in a recent address to journalists, water resources minister Samuel Sipepa said the middlemen were connected to influential government officials.

"By the time a chemical reaches Harare or Bulawayo (from where it is bought in South Africa), its price will be 10 times higher. These chemicals would be very cheap if we were using the right thing but there are too many middlemen in between. These are people who have become very rich through selling water treatment chemicals," Nkomo said.

The big challenge for Masunda and his team of councillors now is to ensure that the old pipes are cleared and the trenches covered, and compacted, before the rains begin.

As Mariet Moyo, who works at Century House East along Nelson Mandela Avenue puts it, "at this time of the year the tractors are better off at the farm than here (in Harare)".

UK suspends deportations to Zimbabwe

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
6 November 2009

The United Kingdom Border Agency has suspended scheduled deportation flights
for failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers, following strong protestations by the
MDC-UK.

A high powered delegation of the MDC, led by chairman Jonathan Chawora, held
a marathon meeting in London with officials from the UK border agency on
Thursday, where it was agreed to suspend the deportations.

Jaison Matewu, the organizing secretary and one of the delegates to the
talks, told SW Radio Africa that they managed to convince the British
officials that the situation in the country was still volatile.

'I can confirm that following our meeting yesterday (Thursday) the
deportation of Zimbabweans has been suspended until further notice. We will
meet again with the officials in January 2010 to review the situation but we
are happy that for now we've managed to resolve this crisis,' Matewu said.

'We went there (Home Office) representing all Zimbabweans, not necessarily
our members or activists only. We have people who claim asylum based on
political, economic and humanitarian grounds. So we told the Home Office the
situation is not yet ideal for any Zimbabwean to be deported because of the
renewed surge in violence perpetrated by ZANU PF,' Matewu added.

The MDC-UK was part of a growing list of organisations in the UK who
criticised the planned deportations of failed asylum seekers by the British
government. They said such a move was counter-productive and would cause
stress among the Zimbabwean community.

The British government announced two weeks ago that it was considering
resuming the deportation of failed asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe. It cited
the political power-sharing agreement in the country as an indication that
the situation had changed. UK Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said he was
looking at 'normalising' returns to Zimbabwe because the situation was
'improving' after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was appointed Prime Minister
in February.

But conditions in the country have not yet returned to normal and some of
the returnees face serious risk of persecution for supporting the MDC.

Last week United Nations human rights expert, Manfred Nowak, was detained by
security officials on arrival in the country and was deported. He said the
situation in Zimbabwe was 'worsening.'

Amnesty International also said that Zimbabwe was once again on the 'brink
of violence.'

South Africa to sign deal with Zimbabwe

http://www.ft.com

By Richard Lapper in Johannesburg

Published: November 6 2009 17:18 | Last updated: November 6 2009 17:18

South Africa is close to signing a bilateral investment treaty with
Zimbabwe, paving the way for what could be a sharp increase in private
sector investment in its troubled northern neighbour, according to officials
in both countries.

The treaty would provide mechanisms to help resolve disputes and sharply
reduce the price of political risk insurance, helping ease concerns about
Zimbabwe’s political stability that have inhibited investment despite
interest from South African groups ranging from mining companies to banks
and retailers.

“There is huge interest but the biggest stumbling block has been the
[failure] to finalise an investment treaty,” said Ufikile Khumalo, of South
Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation. The government development bank
earlier this week made its first loan to a Zimbabwe business since Robert
Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, agreed to form a coalition government with his
political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai in February.
News of the investment treaty comes as the Zimbabwe economy continues to
stabilise following the abolition of the local currency and amid signs that
the South African government is keen to encourage closer bilateral ties.

It also follows Mr Tsvangirai’s decision late on Thursday to re-engage with
his Zanu-PF coalition partners inside the power-sharing administration. Mr
Tsvangirai, who withdrew his Movement for Democratic Change from the country’s
unity government last month because of differences with Mr Mugabe, agreed to
rejoin the coalition at a summit in Mozambique attended by southern African
leaders including Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president.

Earlier this week, Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s MDC finance minister, played down
differences with Zanu-PF and said that the investment agreement would be
signed in South Africa in the last week of November.

The IDC loan extended a $10m (£6m, €6.7m) facility to the London-listed
miner Mwana Africa, allowing the company to step up gold production that it
resumed in Zimbabwe in October. Mr Khumalo said other investments could soon
follow and that commitments to Zimbabwean-based businesses might eventually
reach 10 per cent of the corporation’s portfolio, which totalled nearly $9bn
in 2008.

Local businesses believed they could steal a march on their more risk-averse
rivals outside the region, he said. There was still some uncertainty about
the willingness of the Zimbabwe government to include investments in land –
a politically controversial area – within the terms of the treaty, he said,
but “outside of this, everything has been agreed upon”.

Mr Biti indicated that other issues that have worried potential investors
were being resolved. Kingdom Meikles, the retail, hotel and banking group
that was until recently Zimbabwe’s biggest listed company, was no longer
subject to government intervention, he said. So-called “specification
measures” under which government agents were appointed to run the company’s
affairs in September had been lifted, paving the way for the de-merger of
the group.

Mr Biti insisted that the government, including Mr Mugabe, wanted to take a
flexible approach to foreign investors.

Separately, he told news agencies on Friday that a local newspaper report on
proposed draft legislation to force foreign-owned companies to allocate a 51
per cent majority stake to black Zimbabweans was “speculative”.

National Press Club to Host 'NEWSMAKER' Media Briefing on Zimbabwe Instability, Injustice: Award-Winning Women's Rights Leaders

http://www.earthtimes.org

 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:20:20 GMT

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni
Williams, leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and recipients of the
2009 RFK Human Rights Award, will discuss Zimbabwe's growing instability and
social problems at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 2
p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press
Building, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC.

WOZA is a grassroots movement of more than 60,000 Zimbabweans, empowering
women from diverse communities to take non-violent action against injustice
on a range of issues, including political rights and freedoms, rape,
domestic violence, and the rights to health, food and education.

Williams and Mahlangu will outline what they call the worsening economic,
social and political conditions in Zimbabwe due to the recent breakdown of
the Global Political Agreement (GPA), as well as the country's ongoing
violence against human rights defenders and dissidents. They also will
detail their experiences leading more than 100 nonviolent marches in support
of democratic reform and women's empowerment, and the brutality of the
government's response.

Mahlangu and Williams will be joined by Monika Kalra Varma, director of the
RFK Center for Human Rights (RFK Center). The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Award honors human rights defenders throughout the world who stand up
against injustice, often at great personal risk. The annual award includes
on-going legal, advocacy and technical support through a partnership with
the RFK Center.

Briggs Bomba, director of campaigns at Africa Action, also will participate,
discussing the implications of the continuing boycott of Zimbabwe's unity
government by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his faction of the
government, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T).

SOURCE National Press Club

Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch : Issue 10

China-Africa summit seeks to boost trade and 'brotherhood'

http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com

By Christophe de Roquefueil / Agence France-Presse
First Published: November 6, 2009
CAIRO: Leaders from China and Africa start a three day summit on Sunday that
will again throw the spotlight on Beijing's strategic sweep for energy,
minerals and political influence in the continent.

China has over the past decade paid for dams, power stations, football
stadiums across Africa and scooped up copper, oil and other fuel for its
breakneck economic expansion from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

It has invested billions of dollars while raising eyebrows in the United
States and its allies by pursuing the hunt for oil and other resources in
Sudan, Somalia and other nations that the West has shunned.

Many African leaders praise China however for not preaching about rights and
corruption. So despite neo-colonialist qualms, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
can expect a warm welcome from Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and finance
and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started
in 2000.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has
said the new meeting will lay down a "road map" to further boost cooperation
between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8
billion dollars in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since
the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent
in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its
two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by
oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical
goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Some in the West have accuse China of worsening repression and human rights
abuses in Africa by supporting countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

US intelligence director Dennis Blair told a Congress committee in March
that US agencies are keeping close tabs on China's expanding influence in
Africa, especially in oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

China ploughed $7 billion into Guinea's mining sector just days after the
massacre by the army in September of 150 opposition supporters in the
capital Conakry.

But China is seen as a key to ending the six-year war between the Sudanese
government and Darfur rebels because it is a firm ally of the Khartoum
administration, a weapons supplier and importer of its oil.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has defended China's action in Africa, while
slamming Western nations and firms for polluting the continent.

"The Chinese bring what Africa needs: investment and money for governments
and companies. China is investing in infrastructure and building roads,"
Kagame told German daily Handelsblatt in an interview published in October.

In contrast, the West's involvement "has not brought Africa forward," the
president was quoted as saying.

"Western firms have to a large extent polluted Africa and they are still
doing it. Think of the dumping of nuclear waste in the Ivory Coast or the
fact that Somalia is being used as a rubbish bin by European firms," he
said.

Others have also said the closer ties focus on industries that boost African
development, such as agriculture, electric power, transport and water
drainage.

"China is the biggest developing country while Africa has the largest number
of developing countries," China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the
Xinhua news agency ahead of the summit.

"With similar historical experiences, same tasks of developing and common
interests, the two sides have always been supporting each other and forged a
friendship of brotherhood."

A letter from the diaspora

http://www.swradioafrica.com

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN -

Dear Friends.

There was a terse little announcement from the SADC Summit in Maputo on
Thursday 05.11,09 from Morgan Tsvangirai that his party had lifted their
boycott of the GNU with immediate effect for a thirty day period, in which
time Robert Mugabe would be expected to deal with the 'pertinent' issues
that had led to the MDC's disengagement. We all know what those 'pertinent'
issues are, whether they remain intact after the Summit will only be evident
in the coming thirty days. If Morgan Tsavangirai has not been arm-twisted by
SADC into dropping any of his demands then by 05.12. 09 the country should
have a new Attorney General, a new Reserve Bank Governor, Roy Bennett will
be installed as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and the Provincial Governors
will also have been installed in their posts. The next thirty days will
surely be a test of Mugabe's authority; will he be able to persuade his
supporters on the ground, the army, the police and the hated CIO security
agents, that the GNU is a political reality which they must accept or will
he once again introduce all the usual red herrings of sanctions and British
involvement to muddy the waters? The MDC have now added the name of George
Charamba to the list of unacceptable Zanu PF officials. Will Charamba now
tone down his 'hate' speech and will ZBC/TV and the government controlled
Herald begin to report more fairly- or at all - on the MDC? The next thirty
days will be a test not only of Mugabe's honesty but also of Tsvangirai's
strength of purpose.

For me and the thousands of others who signed the AVAAZ online petition to
ban Zimbabwe from the Kimberley Process, the shock of the week was the
failure to expel Zimbabwe for the blatant human rights abuses committed at
the Chiadzwa diamond fields. Despite all the credible documentary evidence
of murder and brutality committed against Zimbabwean citizens, despite clear
evidence of the massacre of 200 people at Chiadzwa, the Kimberley Process
meeting in Namibia failed to expel Zimbabwe or even to impose a six-month
ban on diamond sales. Instead, they will send a monitor to Chiadzwa to check
up on the human rights situation and oversee the production and sales
procedures! The Kimberley Process is an international diamond certification
process, set up in 2003 to monitor the sale of the gems and ensure that
'blood diamonds' are no longer sold on the international market. The Process
involves some 99 members representing 75 countries who make up 99.8% of the
world's diamond production. Obert Mpofu, Zimbabwe's Mining Minister, was
present at the meeting in Namibia. There was "insufficient evidence" he
declared, that Zimbabwe was in breach of Kimberley Process rules and,
unbelievably, the meeting chose to accept his word. But not so unbelievable
when we see that Zimbabwe was defended by South Africa, Namibia, Russia and
the DRC, all diamond producing countries. You would think that they would
all be concerned to clean up the diamond trade but, in fact, it was their
veto that let Zimbabwe off the hook. Liberia's Minister of Mines had visited
Chiadzwa back in July to see for himself and he spoke movingly about how the
diamond trade had funded the bloody wars that have killed thousands in his
own country and in the DRC. None of that made any difference to the
Kimberley Process decision; in blatant defiance of their own rules, Zimbabwe's
'blood diamonds' will continue to be sold, enriching army generals,
ministers of state and all the other assorted crooks who support Robert
Mugabe's continued stay in power. Their motives are at least understandable,
greed is after all a universal phenomenon, but what remains incomprehensible
is South Africa's continuing support for the dictator. The business
community in South Africa appears to be equally indifferent to human rights
considerations as they gobble up more and more businesses in Zimbabwe. Today
we read that a Johannesburg based firm called the New Reclamation Group will
form a joint venture with Zimbabwe to mine the Chiadzwa diamond deposits.
The New Reclamation Group is a scrap metal company partly owned by Old
Mutual plc, another South African company whose business interests include a
sizeable share holding in Zimpapers, the owners of The Herald and Chronicle,
whose hate speech and pernicious propaganda have propped up the evil Zanu PF
regime for decades and kept the Zimbabwean public disinformed on every
issue - from crucial election issues to horrific human rights abuses. Old
Mutual plc is the second largest share holder in Zimpapers. Pretty ironic
that a company based in South Africa, a country where the press operates
freely and which prides itself on one of the most liberal constitutions in
Africa, should be so closely connected with a Zimbabwean newspaper group
that daily spews forth virulent racist propaganda. South Africa's
constitution, adopted in 1996 clearly states in its bill of rights that all
its citizens regardless of sexual orientation, race or gender have the right
to live in "a society based on democratic values, social justice and
fundamental human rights." Those noble ideals seem not to apply when South
African government and business deals with Robert Mugabe and the country he
has ruined. Instead of censuring his appalling record of misgovernance,
South Africa protects him at every turn. Leaving morality aside, as the
South Africans so obviously have, perhaps the forthcoming 2010 World Cup
with all its potential business opportunities will convince them that their
support for the geriatric dictator is a serious error of judgement?
Meanwhile, South Africa continues to buy up our impoverished and desperate
country where 50% of pupils cannot afford to write their O level exams this
year because the fees are just unaffordable and half the population is
living on food aid. I'd say they are very 'pertinent' issues and not likely
to be dealt with in the next thirty days.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson author of Case
Closed published by Mambo Press in Zimbabwe, Going Home and Countdown
political detective stories set in Zimbabwe and available from Lulu.com and
Amazon.