The Zimbabwean
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
HARARE - A pro-democracy group is threatening more protest
action against
President Robert Mugabe if steps are not taken to start
meaningful
constitutional reform.
The National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA), an ad-hoc pro-democracy alliance
of trade unions, human rights and
legal support and advocacy groups, has
given President Mugabe until early
next month to respond to their concerns
or face a "peaceful march" to
Munhumutapa Building, Mugabe's Office on
Samora Machel Avenue.
The NCA's
direct demand to Mugabe comes after the organisation delivered a
petition to
Parliament last week in a demonstration, which was broken up by
riot police
in Africa Unity Square.
The theme of the demonstration demanding
constitutional reform was: "The
Supreme Law of the Land is
Illegitimate".
Previous attempts by pro-democracy reformers and other
organisations, such
as student and labour unions, to air their grievances
have been broken up by
riot police.
The NCA is currently embroiled in a
High Court action challenging the
legitimacy of the 17 times amended
constitution which has given Mugabe
ultimate executive, judicial and
legislative control of government, thus
entrenching the prevailing political
status quo.
The alliance petition included demands to investigate torture of
labour
leaders in police custody and to respect the rule of law.
A recent
report by Amnesty International cited numerous instances of torture
and
abuse by the police and the military, resulting in the serious injuries
of
several suspects.
Political analysts, who declined to be identified, said the
petition was
designed to put the government on the defensive about its track
record of
ignoring court decisions that it disliked.
"Government will
probably not respond to the NCA's list of demands by next
month, and
probably not ever. Any attempt by NCA to see the President will
be broken up
by police. The NCA strategy appears to be one of casting a
spotlight on rule
of law and human rights in the country, lest the
international community
become complacent about the situation in Zimbabwe,"
said one
analyst.
Most of the NCA's grievances deal with demands for a new
constitution, which
Mugabe rejected last week Friday following the launch of
a National Vision
document by church leaders in Harare.
"We need an
all-inclusive, people-driven process," said the NCA in the
petition
.
Opposition parties have been harassed ever since the rejection by
Zimbabweans in 1999 of government's proposed draft constitution.
The Zimbabwean
JOHANNESBURG - The Friends of Zimbabwe Coalition (FOZC) has
embarked on a
massive membership drive in a move aimed at giving voice and
demanding an
urgent stop to property, land and company invasions by the
marauding Zanu
(PF) government.
Chairman of the Friends of Zimbabwe
Coalition, Sox Chikohwero, announced the
opening of new chapters in Cape
Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth (PE) Wit bank,
Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg)
and Pietermaritzburg.
He said Zimbabweans must say a "BIG NO" to company
seizures, invasions and
persecution of local citizens under flimsy
allegations aimed at justifying
theft of property, companies and land. "FOZC
is apolitical and we are indeed
friends of Zimbabwe. The response we have
received so far is overwhelming,"
he said.
The membership drive was not
only targeting Zimbabweans but anyone within
the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) region.
Echoing same sentiments was Mukhachana
Mahenye of Giyani-Malamulele, South
Africa, who said the initiatives by the
FOZC needed the regional support in
order to stop company and property
seizures in Zimbabwe.
"Zimbabwe must preserve the little resources left in
the country by coming
together and challenge this monster called the
Reconstruction of
State-Indebted Insolvent Companies Act," he said. - CAJ
News
The Zimbabwean
Politics of violence and
vengeance at work
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - Serious electoral irregularities
in rural district council
elections held last week bore clear testimony that
the Zimbabwe government
is not serious about conforming to the SADC protocol
on free and fair
elections, a coalition of civic groups said this
week.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition noted in an election synopsis that the
rural
elections saw the recurrence of the politics of violence and vengeance
targeted at opposition candidates. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC),
which is responsible for administering elections, remained conspicuously
silent and there has been no investigation into allegations of electoral
malpractice, including political violence, to date.
"The just ended
elections depict a flawed electoral system run through de
facto institutions
being headed by ex-army officials and divorced from the
SADC elections
framework," Crisis Coalition said.
According to ZEC, Zanu (PF) garnered 765
wards, while the Tsvangirai led MDC
polled 54 and the Mutambara-led faction
won 42.
The civic group said in the run up to the RDC elections, opposition
candidates were not allowed to campaign freely in their respective
constituencies adding the public media relegated the opposition to the
peripheries of media coverage.
"When ever they got air play, the
opposition was being caricatured and
subjected to hate messages," the report
said. "In the just ended elections,
the electronic media was not opened to
opposition contestants. This is part
of the state's instruments of gagging
dissenting voices."
Crisis Coalition said opposition supporters faced a wave
of
politically-motivated violence and discrimination.
"In areas such as
Buhera, Mutoko, Mudzi and Gokwe, MDC supporters had their
homes reduced to
ashes by Zanu (PF) youth militia."
In Chitungwiza, a magistrate barred the
MDC candidates from campaigning and
addressing their constituencies on the
grounds that they had failed to pay
certain electoral fees, which the court
could not substantiate.
"It is in this light that the courts are aiding in
the shrinkage of
democratic space by failing to execute their duties with
impartiality and
objectivity."
Crisis Coalition said the elections were
characterized by poor voter
education processes resulting in more than 1000
people being turned away
from the polls for failing to comply with the
voting requisites such as
proper identification details.
Opposition
parties were denied the right to converge in constituencies they
were
campaigning in before registering with the Zimbabwe Republic Police
(Z.R.P)
for clearance. The report states that the MDC was refused permission
to hold
rallies in Gokwe, Mudzi among other areas before the elections
"The nefarious
Public Order and Security Act (POSA), remains a barricade for
the full
democratization of the Zimbabwean socio-political and economic
environment,"
Crisis Coalition said.
According to a report by the Zimbabwe Elections
Support Network, thousands
of prospective voters were turned away for
various reasons.
"Disturbing figures were noted in Mashonaland Central. For
instance, at
Rusununguko Primary School in Chaminuka District, Shamva, by
1000hrs on the
voting day at least 120 voters had cast their vote and 81 had
been turned
away. In Manicaland, at Govingo Business Centre, by 1445hrs, 344
voters had
voted and 92 had been turned away. In addition, in Mashonaland
West, at
Sanyati Welfare Centre polling station, ZESN observed that by
midday, 124
voters had cast their votes whilst 61 were turned away. At
Msitha polling
station in Matebeleland South, by close of poll, 507 voters
had cast their
votes whilst 100 were turned away."
The Zimbabwean
Remarkably, the Catholic
Bishops' Conference, the Council of Churches and
the Evangelical Fellowship
produced the discussion document "The Zimbabwe We
Want" jointly. The 42-page
document gives us its "vision for Zimbabwe" in
Biblical terms and in terms
of Christian Social Teaching, it speaks about
democracy and human rights,
about having our own constitution and the need
for consensus, the separation
of powers and the rule of law, participation
and tolerance, about the value
of human life and the stewardship of
creation, about the preferential option
for the poor and the care for the
marginalised.
But the devil is in the
detail. The general principles have to be applied to
our concrete situation.
The authors demand justice for the poor, but let
government get away with
its fraudulent claim that it is making "efforts to
build decent houses for
those who had been displaced by Murambatsvina in an
operation called
Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle" (7.2.4).
They say "the separation of powers and
checks and balances" (4.3.3) is
fundamental for our constitution, but fail
to state openly that the
excessive powers of the executive president are the
root cause of our
political and economic crisis.
The document sings the
praises of democracy, but fails to spell out that the
Electoral Commission
must be a body independent of government and ruling
party.
The prime evil
of Zimbabwe is the concentration of too much power in the
hands of very few.
There is no "impartiality" as long as the power to set up
this crucial
commission is in the hands of one man.
Zimbabwe is defined as
"unity-in-diversity". Diversity includes "political
differences" (3.2.2).
Fine. But there is no mention anywhere that this
country came off to a false
start when it functioned for a long time as a
'one-party-state' and is still
doing so in the mind of the ruling party.
The document goes along with
government in calling the Land Question "the
single most emotive subject in
our nation" (6.1). A whole section of eight
pages is devoted to it, plus
references elsewhere. It adopts the government
phrase "the restoration of
the land to its rightful owners". This implies
that whites are not 'rightful
owners' whereas blacks are. "The agrarian
structure before independence was
highly inequitable, largely along racial
lines" (6.1). True. And now after
land redistribution? Are we not still
trapped in thinking and acting "along
racial lines"?
Most European farmers bought the land. They cannot be held
responsible for
the sins of their forefathers. They have contributed to the
common good by
productivity, by paying taxes and providing employment. There
should be a
set of rules on how land should be used which bind both white
and black, for
the common good. Just taking it away from whites and giving
it to blacks -
any blacks - does not solve anything.
But this does not
make land reform impossible. Quite to the contrary. In
Christian thinking,
as the document rightly points out, "land is a gift from
God"(6.1). It is
given to all of us, not just to individuals. Ownership of
land is not
absolute. It entails social obligations which includes sharing
it with the
landless.
The preoccupation both of government and this document with land is
somewhat
lopsided. There is no mention of mining and industrial
manufacturing, little
is said about urban unemployment, informal trade, the
brain drain and the
exodus of so many, nothing about the urban housing
crisis.
This document, like government, sounds as if we wanted to remain just
agriculturalists for ever. What about industrialization?
Was government
really driven by the 'hunger and thirst' for justice when it
unleashed the
violent occupation of farms as the church leaders seem to
assume? Was it
not all part of the patronage system which buys the ruling
party popular
support by granting favours to the voters, in this case giving
them pieces
of land?
When the churches talk to government about land reform are they
talking
about the same thing? There cannot be dialogue unless they make sure
they
do.
"In redistributing land the government was at last doing the
right thing
which was long overdue, but regrettably it was done in a
haphazard manner"
(1.2.7). Why give praise to government for doing the right
thing in the
wrong way? Doing the right thing in the wrong way is not half
right and half
wrong. It is simply wrong. Government, of course, is craving
the approval of
the churches for its disastrous land policy. The Church has
spoken out on
the land issue many times (see Fr Walter Nyatsanza, The
Zimbabwe Catholic
Bishops on the Land Issue, 1959 - 2002). "Productive
agricultural land ..is
a most precious asset which should be put to the best
possible use for the
benefit of one's family, nation and even the
neighbouring countries" (no. 7,
Solidarity and Service, ZCBC 1989).
Unfortunately, land became a political
football.
The central issue is not
land, but governance and respect for the rule of
law. Once you have good
governance and respect for the law questions like
land, and others like it,
will be resolved. We need to overcome corruption,
have a proper legal system
and strive for the common good, not the advantage
of merely one
party.
The section on National Reconciliation says about the Media in only
one
sentence, "Our media is polarized and is not always helping our national
unity" (7.2.5). POSA and AIPPA are called "contested legislation" (4.3.4),
but are not clearly denounced as bad law. The fact is that most of the print
media and all electronic media (radio, TV) are government controlled. You
cannot put the blame for "polarization"on the small and harassed independent
media as much as on the huge and powerful government media. Unless there is
a truly free media we will not be able to have the national debate the
churches are calling for in this document.
We need a free debate on a
constitution that cuts power down to size, we
need to prepare for our second
liberation and lay the foundation for a new
Zimbabwe. - In Touch Jesuit
Communications
The Zimbabwean
HARARE -
President Robert Mugabe, already being blamed for the country's
seven-year
economic rot, has once again broken the bank by pampering top
police and
army officers with new Mazda vehicles, while allowing them to buy
at
giveaway prices the Peugeot 306 and Nissan Almeras his government bought
for
them last year.
The influential police officers, ranking assistant
commissioners and army
lieutenants, were sold the 306s and Almeras at $30
000 each, while they were
promised they could take the new vehicles home
when they retire.
Sources from within the police and army this week told The
Zimbabwean that
the officers received more that 80 new Mazda 3 vehicles and
Peugeot 406
vehicles, costing over US$1,6 million.
"They received the new
cars in mid-October and were sold the ones they have
been using at the end
of the month. Most of them have ceded the old cars to
their wives, and now
drive around in the new vehicles. They have also been
promised to take home
the new vehicles in the event that they want to
retire," said a police
source.
Police national spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena,
himself a
beneficiary of Mugabe's generosity, refused to comment on the
issue saying
it had nothing to do with the press.
"I have nothing to tell
you on that because it is an internal police matter.
Where is your interest
coming from?" he said before switching off his mobile
phone.
However,
Home Affairs Minister, Kembo Mohadi, in charge of police and his
defence
counterpart, Sydney Sekeramayi, who is overall in charge of the
Defence
Forces, both admitted the purchases, which they said were part of
the
benefits of the senior security officers.
"We are not the first ones to do
this. Every other country is doing it,
including your own foreign masters
that make you turn against your country.
Why is it an issue when it is done
by Zimbabwe? Go to Britain and you will
see things are not different there,"
said Sekeramayi.
However, government critics have observed this as another
attempt by Mugabe
to retain loyalty among the influential chefs in the
uniformed forces - on
whom he is dependent for protection from mass
uprisings by a population in
crisis since the government's watershed
decision in 2000 to expropriate
white owned farms for redistribution to
political cronies. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Britain last
week denied a visa to one of President Robert Mugabe's
cronies because he
was on the EU sanctions list.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive
Karikoga Kaseke was denied a visa
to attend the World Travel Market
Exhibition that opens in the UK next week,
British Embassy officials in
Harare confirmed.
"Yes he was refused a visa to travel to the UK. We have our
reasons and the
embassy reserves the right to exercise its discretion," a
British Embassy
official said, adding it was done under the auspices of a
European Union
travel ban preventing Zimbabwe's ruling elite entering
Europe.
President Robert Mugabe's government - already furious at its former
colonial ruler for leading international opposition to his policies -
accused Britain of sabotaging the country's tourism industry and hinted at
retaliatory measures.
The expo, that is held annually, "provides an
opportunity for the global
travel trade industry to meet, network,
negotiate, conduct business and stay
abreast with the latest trends in the
travel industry."
The incident was sure to further inflame tensions between
the governments of
Mugabe and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"This is
a clear example of sabotage. They do not want to see this country's
tourism
industry flourishing. We will also take our own measures against
these
people," deputy Information minister Bright Matonga said.
Earlier this year,
the EU added more names, including Kaseke's, to an
original travel ban list
comprising government officials and their wives.
Kaseke, who was expected to
lead a delegation comprising tour operators and
hoteliers, claimed he had
not realised he was included in the ban.
"I had read that some senior party
officials would be affected. I didn't
think that would include me," he told
The Zimbabwean. He said his role was
within the tourism policy-making
portfolio and he was not in a senior
government position.
The Zimbabwean
BY NOMSA GARANDE
There is absolutely
no question that land redistribution in Zimbabwe was
necessary. It is very
puzzling therefore that an intelligent man like Robert
Mugabe took so long
to effect it.
Why were serious efforts on such an important issue not started
at
Independence? There was nothing in the Lancaster House Constitution
stopping
redistribution, only that there had to be a willing buyer willing
seller
basis. Joshua Nkomo said as early as 1983 that the process was
possible, and
Mugabe admitted at the time that his own policies on land
redistribution
were not workable. According to Nkomo, white farmers had
shown a strong
willingness to co-operate with government to transfer land to
blacks
straight after independence in a transparent and organized
manner.
Mugabe's land grab acquisition had very little to do with the
altruistic
ideal to redistribute land to landless blacks and everything to
do with
retention of power. He frequently puts forth the argument that the
land was
taken from the black people and therefore must be returned without
compensation. Why then did his government, through its own legislation,
allow the sale and purchase of land with it's blessing in the first
place?
Mugabe had only three or four opposition members in parliament to
oppose his
policy after the 1987 Unity Accord through to 2000. More than 80%
of the
farmland owned by white farmers was bought legally, with government
permission, after Independence.
The whole land question needs to be put
into perspective. In 1890 the white
settlers arrived in Zimbabwe, but a mere
50 years before that the Matabele
under King Mzilikazi arrived in what is
now known as Matabeleland, forcing
out the resident tribes and annexing
their land.
Just like the Matabeles cannot and should not be sent back to
Zululand, so
there are people of mixed colour, Asians and whites who know no
other home
than Zimbabwe, but are not truly considered Zimbabweans by the
current
government. There are many descendants of neighboring countries like
Malawi
and Zambia who have also been shunned.
Furthermore, the Bantu
tribes when migrating south from the North of Africa
displaced most of the
people who had been here for many centuries before
them. The San People had
been here for tens of thousands of years before the
Bantu tribes arrived in
the area. On Mugabe's logic, do they not qualify for
a slice of the cake? If
not, why not?
These disenfranchised, now impoverished and almost forgotten
people today
live in a tiny corner in the west of the country. What is it
that makes
their case in his argument different? Perhaps it is the numeric
or political
consideration and not the moral issue that counts.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The
looming risk of mass starvation in Zimbabwe worsened this week
as militants
moved on to more white-owned farms, beating one worker for
refusing to shout
ruling party slogans and forcing hundreds of others to
stop work.
On
Sunday three white farming families were barricaded in their homes after
scores of militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party,
gathered on four farms in Guruve, 125 kilometres north of Harare.
Despite
an official announcement that the land reform was a "done deal", the
occupiers told farm workers they had to make room for new black settlers on
the land.
The continuing violence threatens to worsen already critical
food shortages
in Zimbabwe. Farming experts have predicted a 40 per cent
fall in
agricultural output this year due to the communalisation of
commercial
farming. The country needs to import at least 700,000 tons of
wheat and
maize, but has no foreign currency to buy it. A recent report said
nearly
three million villagers had registered for food aid with the
government. The
worst hit people had already started eating tree roots and
leaves for lack
of other food.
Conceding that a quarter of Zimbabwe's
12.5 million people were now living
in abject poverty, the Finance Minister,
Hebert Murerwa, warned last week
that the country urgently needed aid from
abroad. But analysts say President
Mugabe will remain the major hurdle to
efforts by some of his more moderate
ministers to normalise ties with the
donor community. While Murerwa was
urging ties with donors, the Foreign
Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, a
close ally of Mugabe, was summoning
British and EU diplomats in Harare to
censure them for their stance on
Zimbabwe. Mumbengegwi is said to have
expressed dismay at the EU's
"confrontational attitude" towards Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean
BY PAUL
PALATI
CHIREDZI - Peasant farmers at Chiredzi South Matibi 2 area near
Gonarenzou
National Park are increasingly faced by massive stock theft and
diseases.
Cattle and small animals, like sheep and goats, are vanishing in
large
numbers in the area due to diseases like anthrax, foot and mouth, red
water
and heart water spread by ticks and tsetse-flies. Stolen animals are
sold in
Mozambique to cope with the continuing drought and food shortages in
the
area.
The situation is made worse by the withdrawal of some Non
Governmental
Organizations like World Vision under World Food Program who
used to provide
food for hungry people. The reason for their withdrawal is
that the
Zimbabwean government has accused them of siding with the
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Many shops are also closing
down due
to lack of income.
According to farmers, cattle often go from
three to four month without being
dipped due to shortage of dip and other
medicines. Consequently, cattle are
increasingly badly affected by ticks and
tsetse-flies. A veterinary surgeon
in the area, Jethro Mavambe, says he
often visits other veterinarians in
Chiredzi to obtain medicine but usually
return empty handed. He therefore
urges farmers to try and obtain medicine
themselves from abroad. "It is very
difficult to obtain medicine from abroad
because there is now so little
foreign currency available in Zimbabwe,"
Mavambe said.
It has been estimated that the livestock of farmers in the area
has depleted
by 45,000 last year because of deaths and theft. This number is
expected to
increase this year because of the ravaging drought, which will
create more
shortages. Areas like Chilonga, Masivamele, Chikombedzi and
Chibwedziva, in
particular, are severely affected by diseases and drought.
The high
temperatures in these areas encourage the breeding of ticks and
tsetse-flies
and contribute to poor rainfall.
Farmers say farming will
become even more difficult next year because their
animals will be too weak
to pull ploughs and they will have to use hoes to
till the land. They
strongly feel that the government is ignoring their
problems. "The
government is to blame because is not trying to solve our
problems and we do
not know what to do", Runesu Togarepi said, fed up by the
situation. "We do
not know what to do; they tried to get the police to stop
stock theft, but
it does not help," Mavambe added.
However, Masenyani Zachariah, the ward
councilor in the area, says farming
is his top priority and he will make
sure that people's grievances reach the
government before the end of the
year.
The Zimbabwean
but only if property rights
respected
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - Britain is ready to help fund an
equitable land reform programme in
Zimbabwe, but only once President Robert
Mugabe stops using arbitrary
presidential powers to ride roughshod over
Parliamentary laws protecting
individual property rights, Britain's
ambassador to Zimbabwe has said.
"The UK remains a strong advocate of land
reform and has, since 1980,
provided 44 million Pounds for land reform, and
500 million Pounds in
bilateral support - more than any other donor - for
development in
Zimbabwe," British envoy Andrew Pocock said in a
statement.
"The UK has honoured its commitments, from Lancaster House
onwards, and
remains willing to contribute to an equitable land reform
programme. Its
objections are to the arbitrary seizure of property, the use
of that
property as a means of political patronage rather than to benefit
the needy,
the use of violence; and the destruction of Zimbabwe's
agricultural
productivity - and therefore its economy - in the interests of
the few and
at the cost of the many."
Pocock's comments came amid a
flurry of "disingenuous" reports in the
official media rallying behind
President Mugabe, calling for international
funding for the agrarian reform
to end the country's escalating crisis.
State security minister responsible
for land reform Didymus Mutasa told the
official media weekend that Western
governments should make good on their
promise at a 1998 donor conference to
fund the redistribution of farm lands
mainly owned by whites.
"British
colonial settlers took the land by force, and black Zimbabweans are
entitled
to reclaim their property by any means. If Britain wants its white
children
to be compensated for their loss, Britain must pay," Mutasa said.
Pocock said
Britain had never opposed land resettlement and money was
available for the
agrarian reform but that the settlement scheme must be
"transparent, just
and fair". He said between 1980 and 1985, the UK provided
£47 million for
land reform: £20 million as a Specific Land Resettlement
Grant and £27
million in the form of budgetary support to help meet the
Zimbabwe
government's contribution to the programme. By 1988, the Land
Resettlement
Grant had been substantively spent.
"But what happened from 2000 triggered so
much destruction - of agricultural
productivity, asset values, employment,
foreign exchange earnings - and had
so many consequences - social
dislocation, food insecurity, scarcity,
inflation - that it is important to
get the history right," said Pocock.
Mutasa said the violent invasions of
white owned farms were just the
"symptom" of the problem. The real cause is
British Prime Minister Tony
Blair's refusal to accept the solemn commitment
to pay for land made by his
Tory predecessors, Mutasa claimed.
He said
all other issues - such as government corruption, the allocation of
land to
cronies, violence on the farms, democracy and the systematic
intimidation of
the opposition - are internal Zimbabwean matters to be
solved by
Zimbabweans.
Pocock said: "If we are to build bridges, we need to begin
laying stable
foundations. We need a common analysis of the real causes of
Zimbabwe's
difficulties. These do not include EU economic sanctions - there
are none,
nor, after a record rainy season, drought. We are ready to talk
sensibly. We
are ready to do more than this, to drill through the rhetoric
to the bedrock
reality. But we need evidence of serious intent and capacity
to contemplate
and deliver change."
Mutasa said Britain the coloniser
couldn't teach democracy to the colonized.
But in Zimbabwe the obsession with
colonialism is wearing very thin,
especially among the growing number of
young urban Zimbabweans who have
known no other leader but President
Mugabe.
Political analysts said the majority of Zimbabweans were no longer
interested in the history of colonialism, but in their future in an
independent Zimbabwe.
They said Mugabe was not concerned in solving the
land question, but was
more interested in stoking the fires of land
grievances and conflict with
Britain.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE -
Deputy Finance minister David Chapfika has been forced by
Parliament to
defend government's decision to blow Z$8,6 billion (revalued)
printing
bearer cheques that have dismally failed to tame Zimbabwe's
rampaging
hyperinflation.
Chapfika was challenged by Mberengwa West MP, Joram Gumbo to
respond to
opposition allegations that government had become the laughing
stock for its
profligacy in printing lower denomination bearer cheques in
the vain hope
that it could slow inflation.
Responding during a question
and answer session in Parliament, Chapfika said
the central bank blew $8,6
billion during the one-month countrywide
operation.
"The operation cost
$8,6 billion revalued, $4,6 billion of which was for
capital expenditure and
$ 4billion for printing of new bearer cheques and
other operational
expenses," Chapfika said.
Opposition MPs said they were horrified at the cost
of the operation and the
decision to print a 1cent bearer
cheque.
Chapfika told Parliament that as at August 22, 2006, which was the
cut off
date for the changeover, at least $35,1 billion had been collected
from the
public while at least $10,6 billion worth of old bearer cheques
could not
accounted for from various government ministries and
departments.
There were howls of protest when Chapfika told the House that
the central
bank had subsequently written off that amount from its books,
adding it had
the technical effect of writing off costs incurred during the
operation.
He also stated that 304 vehicles had been purchased for the
operation.
The currency reforms saw the central bank lopping off three zeroes
from the
local unit to accommodate IT systems that had breached their
digital
handling capacity ceiling. People were given three weeks to swap
their money
to the new cheques and no one was allowed to carry more than
$100,000 in
cash in the course of doing so. Police set up roadblocks and
literally
seized anything over that amount - no receipts given. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
BY GIFT
PHIRI
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe is now running the country under an
undeclared state of emergency by invoking sweeping presidential powers,
openly encouraging violence with rhetoric invoking war and depicting
opposition and civic groups as traitors, analysts said this
week.
Political analysts said there was shocking judicial tampering and
legislative engineering through the circumvention of Parliament by Mugabe's
excessive abuse of his presidential powers. Analysts said Mugabe's continued
use of the police to harass and torture opponents had effectively imposed a
state of emergency through the backdoor. In this culture of impunity,
violent threats against the country's core democratic institutions,
including the judiciary, have become commonplace.
"In almost every way,
Mugabe is now running this country under an undeclared
state of emergency,"
said Dr. Lovemore Madhuku, a constitutional law
lecturer at the University
of Zimbabwe (UZ).
Madhuku, who is also chairman of the militant pressure
group National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), was interviewed as he led a
democracy march
demanding a new constitution last week.
"Mugabe is using
the Presidential Powers Act to amend existing laws and
create new ones
without having to put them to Parliament. The way he is
operating, he does
not need to declare a state of emergency," he noted.
Mugabe has invoked his
presidential powers three times this year alone. In
July he signed into law
a statutory instrument granting immunity to security
officers, including the
notorious youth militia, tasked with seizing
currency and merchandise from
innocent citizens. The cash search and seize
operation, ostensibly aimed at
crashing the black market, was widely
condemned by countless human rights
bodies as patently unconstitutional and
illegal. But caution was thrown to
the wind.
Mugabe is currently crafting a statutory instrument, which will
further
postpone the eagerly awaited Harare mayoral and council elections.
His
ruling Zanu (PF) party's supreme decision-making body, the Politburo,
has
also unanimously adopted a resolution to use its two-thirds
parliamentary
majority to amend the constitution and delay presidential
elections from
2008 to 2010.
Professor Greg Linington, a UZ
constitutional law expert, said Zimbabwe was
now under an unofficial state
of emergency because of the way Mugabe abused
his presidential
powers.
"It is a very sad situation. The Presidential Powers Act enables
President
Mugabe to do exactly the same things he would do under the
Emergency Powers
Act in an official state of emergency," said
Linington.
"All regulations created by President Mugabe under the Act are
unconstitutional," said Linington, adding that he saw no reason why
Zimbabwean courts should not adopt the South African constitutional court's
view of the presidential powers.
Prof. Welshman Ncube, another leading
local constitutional law expert, said
Mugabe was relying on the use of
violence and coercive tactics to
consolidate and maintain his iron-fisted
26-year rule. He said there was
also a strong repressive backlash towards
the opposition and its supporters
in reaction to shows of
discontent.
Ncube said Zimbabweans were now at the mercy of Mugabe and he
could do
whatever he wanted to trample on their fundamental rights.
"The
Presidential Powers Act permits Mugabe to make whatever regulations he
wants
and even to repeal primary legislation instituted by Parliament. The
safeguards against the abuse of the Act are so ineffectual as to be any
safeguards at all," said Ncube, who is also a senior official of the
Mutambara-led faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
Analysts said Mugabe has also increasingly circumvented
Parliament, ordering
troop
deployments, ruling by decree and branding
critics as "terrorists."
In the past Mugabe has used the Presidential Powers
Act to pass legislation
banning private radio stations and regulating other
broadcast media.
The same Act has banned strikes and been used to pardon
perpetrators of
political violence, most of them members of his ruling Zanu
(PF) party. A
ruling made under the Presidential Powers Act is valid for six
months before
it can be turned into draft legislation and put to
Parliament.
Mugabe has also used the Act to take away the rights of white
farmers to
facilitate his
controversial land acquisition drive for black
resettlement that he
conveniently used as his re-election ticket.
His
government recently announced plans to bulldoze through the House
legislation that will empower him to snoop on private communications of
citizens.
MDC legislator David Coltart urged the international community
to start
planning for the consequences of Mugabe postponing the
elections.
Coltart said the Harare authorities have already made it clear
that they
would postpone elections to 2010.
Last week, Mugabe told off
U.S. President George Bush and Britain Premier
Tony Blair for "lecturing"
him on human rights and the rule of law.
The EU, which Mugabe has accused of
being a "Goliath", has already set in
motion a process leading to the
Zimbabwe crisis being put on the UN Security
Council agenda.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Serious electoral irregularities in rural district council
elections held last week bore clear testimony that the Zimbabwe government
is not serious about conforming to the SADC protocol on free and fair
elections, a coalition of civic groups said this week.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition noted in an election synopsis that the rural
elections saw the
recurrence of the politics of violence and vengeance
targeted at opposition
candidates. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC),
which is responsible
for administering elections, remained conspicuously
silent and there has
been no investigation into allegations of electoral
malpractice, including
political violence, to date.
"The just ended elections depict a flawed
electoral system run through de
facto institutions being headed by ex-army
officials and divorced from the
SADC elections framework," Crisis Coalition
said.
According to ZEC, Zanu (PF) garnered 765 wards, while the Tsvangirai
led MDC
polled 54 and the Mutambara-led faction won 42.
Crisis Coalition
said opposition supporters faced a wave of
politically-motivated violence
and discrimination.
"In areas such as Buhera, Mutoko, Mudzi and Gokwe, MDC
supporters had their
homes reduced to ashes by Zanu (PF) youth
militia."
In Chitungwiza, a magistrate barred the MDC candidates from
campaigning and
addressing their constituencies on the grounds that they had
failed to pay
certain electoral fees, which the court could not
substantiate.
Crisis said the elections were characterized by poor voter
education
processes resulting in more than 1000 people being turned away
from the
polls for failing to comply with the voting requisites such as
proper
identification details.
Opposition parties were denied the right
to converge in constituencies they
were campaigning in before registering
with the ZRP for clearance. The
report states that the MDC was refused
permission to hold rallies in Gokwe,
Mudzi among other areas before the
elections
According to a report by the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network,
thousands
of prospective voters were turned away for various
reasons.
"Disturbing figures were noted in Mashonaland Central. For instance,
at
Rusununguko Primary School in Chaminuka District, Shamva, by 1000hrs on
the
voting day at least 120 voters had cast their vote and 81 had been
turned
away. In Manicaland, at Govingo Business Centre, by 1445hrs, 344
voters had
voted and 92 had been turned away. In addition, in Mashonaland
West, at
Sanyati Welfare Centre polling station, ZESN observed that by
midday, 124
voters had cast their votes whilst 61 were turned away. At
Msitha polling
station in Matebeleland South, by close of poll, 507 voters
had cast their
votes whilst 100 were turned away."
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - In a bid to boost food production, the Zimbabwean government
will
give 99-year leases to the first batch of resettled black commercial
farmers
this week.
Ngoni Masoka, permanent secretary in the ministry of
lands, said in a
statement that the leases would demonstrate the
government's commitment to
empowering black farmers who had benefited from
the government's
controversial fast-track land reform programme.
The
leases will provide resettled commercial farmers with security of
tenure,
which could serve as collateral for loans to procure inputs. They
have cited
their inability to raise money and uncertainty about their future
as reasons
for the drop in production.
The leases will be issued to farmers who have
been on their plots for at
least three years, and have been vetted by the
National Land Board for
competence and commitment to farming.
Land expert
and former head of the technical unit of the presidential land
review
committee Sam Moyo said the 99-year leases would increase the
confidence of
farmers. "Generally, many farmers falling under the A2
[commercial] scheme
perceive having leases as a reason for them to feel more
secure and,
hopefully, to increase production."
However, the group of beneficiaries could
be small. "Given that there is a
need to survey the farms, the numbers of
farmers might not be large, since
the capacity to survey the land seems
limited. I doubt if the figure will go
beyond 1,000." Moyo added that the
vetting process by the land board, while
desirable, "might tend to be
cumbersome".
He said there was also concern that influential people could
take advantage
of their positions to get the leases ahead of the intended
beneficiaries. At
the height of the fast-track programme, many top
politicians were accused of
grabbing multiple farms in violation of the land
policy, which stipulated
that a person was entitled to only one
farm.
Since the land would remain state property, there was a need for the
government to clarify whether farmers could use their farms as collateral,
said Moyo. "It is not yet clear how the government will deal with cases
whereby a farmer goes to borrow from a bank and defaults: will the bank be
able to repossess the farm and sell it? Because for as long as the plots
remain state land, the government would still be involved." - IRIN
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
- The family of a man accused of masterminding a plot to topple
President
Robert Mugabe in the eastern city of Mutare have spoken of their
anger and
anguish over a court ruling to keep him in jail until March.
A family
spokesperson said the family felt grief and bitterness over the
continued
detention of Peter Hitschmann, who appeared in court last week
looking
famished, and intermittently breaking into uncontrollable coughing
spasms.
"We find it difficult to understand why a judge who has been
selected for
his wisdom and expertise would refuse to grant bail on medical
grounds when
it is blatantly obvious that his health is failing and any
further detention
could result in his death," he told The
Zimbabwean.
Judge Alfas Chitakunye opposed bail on the grounds that the
charges
Hitschmann was facing were grave and that he was likely to abscond
if he was
granted bail.
Hitschmann's lawyer Trust Mhanda said he had
filed an appeal in the Supreme
Court for bail because he could not wait for
March 2007 for the trial to
re-open the next time the High Court will be on
circuit in Mutare.
Police nabbed Hitschmann in March, leading to the arrest
of opposition
lawmaker Giles Mutseyekwa and six others who were charged but
later released
on bail.
The eight men including four police officers were
charged under Zimbabwe's
tough security laws of possession of weapons to
carry out an insurgency,
sabotage or terrorism.
The prosecution claimed
Hitschmann was working for a shadowy organisation
called the Zimbabwe
Freedom Movement (ZFM) based in Britain, which it said
was seeking to
overthrow Mugabe's government.
Government's star witness, a military
intelligence official, Israel Phiri,
told the High Court that Hitschmann was
part of a goon squad working for
ZFM. He claimed he had gone undercover for
three months investigating the
case. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
Call for African NHS workers to be released to prevent health
catastrophe
LONDON - Zimbabwean and African campaigning groups and aid
agencies last
week called on British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to allow
the release of
African health care workers working in the NHS so they could
respond to
growing health crisis in Zimbabwe.
"Zimbabwe is facing the
biggest health crisis in human history. AIDS is the
main reason why
Zimbabwean life expectancy has fallen to 35 years. As a
result of the Mugabe
regime's violence and economic sabotage thousands of
our health care workers
have fled the county. Many are working in Britain,"
explained Shane Lunga,
Chair of Zimbabwe Futures, a pressure group
campaigning for policies
essential for the reconstruction of Zimbabwe.
"When political change comes to
Zimbabwe we are going to need a massive
injection of skills into our health
service to help prevent the next
generation of Zimbabweans becoming HIV
positive. Zimbabwean doctors and
nurses could be an advance party able to
restore clinics and get care to the
millions of Zimbabweans who are sick
with AIDS.
"Unless we are ready with this response we will have a sick
workforce and no
basis for long term economic recovery."
Blair recently
set up a review of policy on the brain drain of African
health care
workers.
"We are calling for Africans working in the NHS to be giving the
right to
take leave from their jobs in order to go home to improve health
services.
Nigerian, Ghanaian and Zimbabwean staff are among those who have
worked long
hours in British hospitals. It is time to allow them to put
their skills at
the service of the countries that paid for their training,"
said Lunga.
According to World Health Organisation 2006 figures Zimbabwe has
a medical
practitioner to population ratio of 1: 6250 doctors and 1:1400
nurses while
the ratios in UK are doctors 1:400 and nurses 1:80.
The Zimbabwean
BY A SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
Sprawling over 98 acres along the Harare-Mutare road in Ruwa,
Tirivanhu
Therapeutic Community, a structured rehabilitation centre for
people
recovering from severe and persistent mental disorders, is
living
testimony to the success of a holistic psycho-social community based
rehabilitation scores of people with mental disorders who have passed
through the programme in the two decades that the centre has been in
existence have since been reunited with their families and integrated into
the community.
The name Tirivanhu (We are also human) is inspired by the
stigma and
discrimination to which people with mental disorders are
subjected from a
society which views them as a burden.
Tirivanhu's secret
to success lies in its ability to give to people with
disorders what the
rest of society denies them - a sense of responsibility
and control over
their lives. From the moment one sets foot on the farm, the
members
undergoing rehabilitation take over, explaining the objectives of
the centre
and the intricacies involved in the running of the centre's
diverse projects
such as the rabbit breeding project, calendar making
project, fowl rearing,
nutritional garden, market gardening , maize growing
and cattle rearing
projects.
The projects are run entirely by the members, four of whom are
women, with
the help of three supporting staff. This sense of ownership and
empowerment
is complemented by the diverse services the centre offers in its
community
based rehabilitation care design. These include clinical care,
health
education, social and technical skills training, group dynamics,
individual
and family support, future realistic plans and extended
rehabilitation
options.
The Executive Director of the Zimbabwe National
Association for Mental
Health (ZIMNAMH), Mrs Elizabeth Matare,
affectionately known as 'Elizabeth'
by all the members and the driving force
behind the Tirivanhu Therapeutic
Community, said that while the centre did
everything in its power to empower
people with mental disorders, it was the
duty of the government to provide
adequate medication. The recently-launched
Mental Health Policy makes
provision for the supply, availability and
accessibility of psychotropic
drugs at all levels. But these drugs are
currently unavailable because of
financial constraints.
"The clients are
referred to us by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
institutions or
discharged mental patients from the Ministry of Justice,
Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs (Prison Department). The organization
identifies the
person's functioning ability and agrees on a rehabilitation
programme that
seeks to promote and maximize the person's level of
functioning or talent,"
explained Mrs Matare.
The centre runs a thriving horticultural project and
produces a variety of
vegetables for local consumption and for sale. In
addition to a cattle
rearing project, the centre also runs a rabbit breeding
project and a fowl
breeding project.
Despite its successes, the centre is
in desperate need of funds to sustain
current activities and cater for more
clients.
"The administrative grant from the Ministry of Public Service,
Labour and
Social Welfare that the organisation received this year ($30 000)
is not
enough to meet our needs," said Mrs Matare.
The philosophical
Shepherd Mapfumo, a client who was referred to the centre
by medical staff
from Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital in April this year after
being imprison
edunder the Mental Health Act of 1996, has found peace and
respect since
engaging in the rehabilitation programme. "This place is like
paradise to
me. You learn a lot of skills and you can also read. It is
better to get
wisdom and knowledge than riches," he said.
The Zimbabwean
BY PAUL THEMBA
NYATHI
HARARE - MDC (Mutambara) expresses its gratitude to the people of
Zimbabwe
for coming out to vote during the just ended rural district council
elections. MDC is conscious of the immense economic burden associated with
hunger and starvation which the people of Zimbabwe are enduring as a result
of a crisis of mis-governance and corruption in the country caused by Zanu
(PF) and the Mugabe government.
We are also mindful of the threats of
violence, threats of denials of state
supplied agricultural inputs and
threats of denials of food assistance that
the people of Zimbabwe were
subjected to by the ruling party during the
election campaign. In spite of
all these pressures the people of Zimbabwe
were still able to come out in
numbers to vote for their preferred
candidates. For this we salute them for
their courage and resilience.
Not withstanding the uneven electoral playing
field, which favours the
ruling party, MDC (Mutambara) is pleased with the
party's performance in
which it won in 45 contested wards. We note the
Tsvangirai group won in 35
contested wards. We congratulate them for their
efforts and victories. We
hope that these results will demonstrate once and
for all that we are a
definitely not a splinter group with no grassroots
support. The truth of
the matter is that in this national election we won
more contested seats
than the Tsvangirai-led MDC.
(According to the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Zanu (PF) garnered 765
wards, while the
Tsvangirai-led MDC polled 54 and the Mutambara-led faction
won 42.)
We
are also pleased with our improved performance in light of the statistics
which show that in the 2003 rural district council elections the united MDC
only managed to win no more than 15 wards throughout the whole
country.
We as the MDC strongly believe that our concern should be to come up
with
strategies of dislodging the Zanu (PF) regime and rescuing the people
of
Zimbabwe from hunger and dehumanizing abuses by the regime.
We
recognize that there is still a lot of work ahead in removing the corrupt
and dictatorial regime of ZANU PF and to that extent we as a party are
prepared to go the extra mile in our struggle against the regime. - Nyathi
is Director of Elections for the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara
The Zimbabwean
BY NELSON
CHAMISA
Local government is probably more important to the people living in
Zimbabwe
than central government. This is because local authorities control
the
delivery of basic services to the people who live in their regions and
they
also control many social services - health clinics, schools and roads
among
others.
The structure of local government in Zimbabwe has changed a
lot since 1980
and now comprises 25 Urban Councils and some 58 Rural
District Councils.
These bodies are controlled and managed by elected
Councils and in this
respect there were some 1400 Rural District Council
seats up for election
this year. Some Urban Councils were also up for
election and there were a
few bi-elections in Urban Councils.
In the past
six years Zanu (PF) has lost control at one time or another of
12 Urban
Councils and several Rural District Councils - but remained firmly
in charge
in the majority of Rural District Councils. In the recent
elections the MDC
made some inroads - but these were minimal and Zanu (PF)
retains its
dominant position in these rural local authorities.
This was to be expected.
The combined efforts of the two factions of the MDC
fielded about 1000
candidates (70 per cent). Despite a critical shortage of
funding and
vehicles they campaigned quite vigorously throughout the
country. Despite
this, the main feature of these elections was extreme
disinterest by the
average voter. The number of voters who actually made the
effort to vote was
tiny - perhaps two per cent of the number of voters on
the voters
rolls.
If we assume the voters rolls still contain a large number of absentee
voters and voters who are actually dead, then the turnout was possibly four
or five per cent. For an election of such importance, this is a dismal
performance and requires careful analysis.
It is clear from this turnout
that the great majority of the people affected
simply no longer think that
they can change matters in their local
authorities by voting for different
parties. In Urban Council areas, the
majority of the Councils elected under
the MDC banner have been turned out
of office on one pretext or another.
They have then been replaced by
appointed Zanu (PF) structures that have
simply resumed business as usual.
Corrupt practices are widespread and the
collapse of service delivery is
becoming a serious aspect of urban
life.
In the rural areas the combined influence of the traditional leaders,
who
are increasingly servants of the State, with Chief Charumbira leading
the
way - demand that their people vote for Zanu (PF) candidates or face a
wide
variety of penalties - from the withholding of food aid to eviction
from
rural homes. Government service providers such as the Grain Marketing
Board - which has a monopoly over grain supplies and markets as well as a
near monopoly over the supply of inputs, also demand acquiescence to the
dominance of Zanu (PF). Possession of membership cards and the support of
Headmen and Chiefs is a frequent demand in return for service
delivery.
Then there is the experience of the people in national elections -
three
times they have gone to the polls since 2000 and voted overwhelmingly
for
the opposition. Only to find that in the end their votes made no
difference
at all - the State simply subverted the poll in a dozen different
ways.
Having been cheated three times, they now feel there is little point
in
making the effort to vote. Counselors were elected this past weekend on a
handful of votes. Where required voters were bussed in and the armed forces
used to bolster Zanu (PF) candidates.
If this state of affairs continues
there is the very real danger that
elections will cease to have any meaning
in countries like Zimbabwe. The
days are long gone when (as we saw in 2002)
long lines of people will turn
out and wait patiently for hours - even days
to vote. Before the next
national election - now likely to be the March 2008
presidential elections,
we must do what is required to ensure that faith is
restored in our
democracy and people persuaded to exercise their right to
vote.
The Zimbabwean
Economic growth without
democracy
'China has become Mugabe's handmaiden in the repression of
Zimbabweans'
BY STANFORD MUKASA
WASHINGTON - China's "economic growth
without democracy" policy is spoiling
African dictators like Mugabe.
The
announcement by President Hu Jintao that China will double its aid to
Africa
to the tune of US$5 billion over the next three years will have some
implications on efforts by Zimbabwean civil society and church leadership to
negotiate with Mugabe and Zanu (PF) a return to democracy and the rule of
law.
The excessive generosity with which China has assisted Mugabe and
other
dictators of the world makes Mugabe and Zanu (PF) scoff at any appeals
for
human rights or democracy.
Against this background, the document by a
section of Zimbabwean church
leaders and which was handed to Mugabe last
week will probably carry little,
if any, weight with Mugabe and Zanu (PF)
who feel their Look East policy
will soon bear fruit.
China's policy of
economic progress without democracy has historically been
a model and a
source of great inspiration for dictators in Africa. Virtually
all appeals
to the Chinese by the international community to bring pressure
to bear on
Mugabe have been ignored.
Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhang Xianyi,
recently spelt out the
principles governing Chinese policy towards
Zimbabwe, namely, what he
called equality, mutual benefit, solidarity and
common development.
The ambassador said China's bilateral trade with Zimbabwe
would increase by
11.5 percent to US$500 million in 2008. In 2005 the figure
was US$283
million.
Overall, China's trade with Africa in the past 10
years increased 10 times
to about $40 billion last year.
China has also
announced it will forgive debts owed to it by the poorest
African countries.
President HU also announced other measures by China to
boost trade with
Africa.
At a recent meeting of the American Enterprise Institute it was noted
that:
. More exports from Africa to China will receive tariff-free
status.
. China will train 15,000 African professionals.
. China will
build schools, hospitals and anti malaria clinics.
. China will send experts
and youth volunteers to Africa.
. China will double the number of
scholarships to African students to 4,000
by 2009.
China is an emerging
world economic power and the second largest consumer of
energy and petroleum
products. To meet internal demand China has invested
heavily in oil
resources in Nigeria, Sudan, Angola, and Gabon as well as in
copper
purchases mainly in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Zimbabwe
China is eyeing the country's untapped platinum resources
reported to be the
second largest in the world. Zimbabwe has also other
mineral resources like
uranium, gold, silver and copper that China would
like to tap into.
In
its aggressive quest for increased trade China has totally ignored the
human
rights implications of its economic growth without democracy policy.
This may
well explain why Mugabe is dragging his feet on any pressures to
negotiate a
resolution of the country's crisis of governance with the
opposition and
civil society.
Mugabe's survival can be attributed to number factors
including a strong
military and generous looting of the national resources
to reward his
cronies, notably top party and government officials as well as
the army. But
the China factor is increasingly becoming a significant
lifeline for the
aging dictator.
According to reports China has extended
generous financial and other forms
of assistance to Mugabe and Zanu (PF) in
exchange for the wholesale
mortgaging of national resources to China. Some
people are calling this Look
East policy a new colonialism from China, and
China has become Mugabe's
handmaiden in the repression of
Zimbabweans.
The opposition movement and civil society leadership must come
to grips with
the fact that Mugabe has in China a real and substantive
promise of
support - whether or not China will actually deliver on all
promises made to
Mugabe. Strategies for confronting Mugabe must factor this
reality.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The University of
Zimbabwe (UZ) will start offering lessons in the
Chinese language in
February, according to an announcement by the UZ Faculty
of Arts Dean
Pedzisai Mashiri.
He said the refurbishment of lecture rooms was in progress
and the
university was importing equipment from China.
The Chinese have
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese for
the establishment
of the Confucius Institute for the Chinese language at UZ.
The school will
offer two courses, Basic Chinese and a degree programme.
"We are going to
start offering lessons in mid-February. There are going to
be to be two
categories - one for basic Chinese and then the degree
programme. We have
been getting a lot of inquiries from interested people
and we hope this
programme is going to be a success," said Mashiri.
Government claims the
courses are aimed at catering for the business
community, especially those
dealing with Chinese tourists. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
ALOOTER CONTINUA
John
Makumbe
'Matsotsi haagerani (Thieves look after each other)'
Media reports
on the recent, and not so recent, looting of Zisco finances by
Zanu (PF)
officials confirm what most Zimbabweans have long suspected - that
the level
of asset stripping taking place under Robert Mugabe's watch has
risen to
astronomical proportions. It is unfortunate, however, that he sits
there
like a zombie, incapable of stopping the rot, let alone arresting and
prosecuting any of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. In the past,
government and ruling party officials used to be so frightened of what
Mugabe would say that they would be panic-stricken whenever they did
something that the "dear leader" disapproved of. Today, they carry on
looting regardless of his remonstrations and much fist-shaking from the
spent force that is Mugabe.
But there have to be good reasons for this
reckless disregard for
presidential authority by Mugabe's minions as
demonstrated through the Zisco
stories. It is possible that the looters are
aware that Mugabe has become so
impotent that his bark is much worse than
his bite. He threatens what he has
neither capacity nor interest to
undertake. It is therefore quite safe just
to ignore him and carry on
looting. After setting up the much-touted
Anti-Corruption Commission, Mugabe
and Zanu (PF) proceeded to uproot the
commission's teeth, thereby making it
harmless to the looters.
A second possible reason for Mugabe's impotence may
be that he himself has
long ceased to be "holier than thou", and has small
and big "sins" that he
has committed as well. Some of his underlings are
aware of these, and will
not hesitate to disclose them should they be
threatened by the old man. We
have not forgotten that some time last year
Mugabe threatened senior Zanu
(PF) and government officials who had acquired
more than one farm from the
grand invasion with punishment. Recently, it has
been disclosed that there
are still numerous such cases, and none of them
has been punished. It is
possible that after making the threat, Mugabe,
given his age, went to sleep
on the job and forgot all about the threat. But
it is equally possible that
he himself has more than one farm and cannot
challenge fellow looters in
this regard.
Was it only last year that
Mugabe was ranting and raving about lacklustre
performance by some of his
ministerial "wives"? The media then speculated
that a cabinet reshuffle was
imminent. Twelve moons down the road, nothing
has happened. Good old Joseph
Made, minister of Agriculture, has sweated
himself sick after Mugabe
specifically mentioned his ministry as a
non-performer. I shudder to think
of how much he may have spent on
traditional healers to safeguard his
position. The "muti" (magic) seems to
be working; Mugabe has forgotten all
about the matter.
But back to the Zisco looters, they seem to have used every
trick in the
book to illegally get at the parastatal's resources. According
to the story
published in The Zimbabwe Independent (3-9 Nov. 2006), they
used such
corrupt methods as claiming large unaccounted for allowances,
dubious
contracts, supplies over-pricing rip-offs, non-competitive
procurement
procedures, as well as unwarranted sitting fees for managers,
and fees for
public relations campaigns. The list could easily be
endless.
Corruption demands that its perpetrators be highly innovative, and
this
comes easily to an evil mind. Efforts are underway to suppress the
truth
from being exposed. It is feared that the Zisco scandal could scare
away
foreign and local investors. That is actually ridiculous since there
are
none on the horizon given Zimbabwe's continued deterioration as an
investment destination. Will anyone be arrested and prosecuted for this
corruption? I have my doubts. Matsotsi haagerani (Thieves look after each
other).
The Zimbabwean
RESIDENTS have a lot of work to do before they can become the
key
factor in how Central Government treats local governance. The absence of
key
provisions in the Urban Councils' Act (Chapter 29:15) that deals
directly
with residents' participation must be viewed as opportunities for
greater
involvement by the grassroots.
Presently, residents are
only being brought in to participate in areas
of local governance through
voting for their respective councillors and
mayors. Annual city budgets are
drawn up by manipulative municipal
departments, only eager to increase
revenue that the respective local
authority can generate through levying
residents. The residents' interests
are only treated as minor through
legislative provisions that requires the
budget to be advertised and
objections lodged.
This presents an opportunity for residents'
groupings like the
Combined Harare Residents' Association (CHRA), the
Bulawayo Residents'
Association (BURA), the Mutare Residents Association
(MURA) and all other
progressive residents' bodies to set a clear agenda of
dealing with such
retrogressive provisions of the Act that gives too many
powers to ministers
like Ignatius Chombo.
The agenda for collective
resistance must be defined from the
experiences of residents in their daily
lives. Residents understand
first-hand what it means to go for days without
water, they appreciate the
meaning of an inflated bill and they can tell you
without fear what they
went through during the satanic Operation
Murambatsvina, beginning 18 May
2005.
At a public meeting held in
Mbare on October 19 and 02 November 2006,
the residents categorically
denounced Zanu PF for being a bully in their
lives. They fail to access the
market stalls because the Zanu PF structures
think it is wrong for an
opposition activist to make money.
The myths of a Zanu PF backlash were
demystified. Residents felt
encouraged to discuss how best to deal with a
vindictive ruling party. For
this to occur, an enabling environment has been
created. Mbare residents
have for long been subjected to intense
intimidation, harassment, illegal
detentions and arrests. This has been at
the instigation of the Chipangano
clique in Zanu PF, collaborating with some
illiterate policemen.
More residents are beginning to open their mouths
to castigate the
government for its abuse of the local governance system.
They want to know
why their bills are inconsistent, why Minister Chombo does
not want to hold
elections in Harare, and also why the commissions in the
capital is not
fired yet it has failed to deliver on water and service
delivery.
Residents of Dzivarasekwa are a clear example of an awakening
CHRA
membership that will no longer let Zanu PF thugs, masquerading as
policemen
to bully them and steal their wares. We received a sad report that
six armed
'policemen' pounced on vendors and fled with their wares after
firing
gunshots in the air, a clear testimony of the lawlessness that abound
in
Zimbabwe.
CHRA's thrust has been to have its values and vision
clearly
understood by the individual member to the Association's leadership.
Every
person who drives the CHRA agenda must understand the reasons for
engaging
in any of our actions from street action, petitions to legal
battles.
We do not want a situation where people engaged in an action
do not
know why they have signed a petition, why they are on the streets or
why
CHRA takes matters to the court.
By Precious Shumba,
Information Officer
The Zimbabwean
We need government in exile
BY MAGAISA
IBENZI
SOMEWHERE IN SOUTH - I have been absolutely delighted with the news
from
England about the Free Zim youths who gave south Africa's foreign
minister
Amai Zuma a hard time when they heckled her while she was trying to
convince
Londoners about South Africa's solidarity with other struggling
Africans.
Bravo! Well done Free Zim.
We need more of this from you young
boys and girls of ours. We are proud of
you. This is why we, your parents,
suffered so much to educate you. Why has
it taken you so long to get
started. You have shown the way to other
Zimbabweans around the world. This
is what they should do whenever South
African officials visit. This type of
activism should also be extended to
other SADC officials who are also
backing Mugabe.
I was particularly pleased that the first target was
Nkosazana Zuma, who
herself spent many years living in London during the
apartheid years. She
was a member of the South African diaspora. But now
she tells those in the
diaspora that they should keep quiet. Hah! It was
actually South Africans
in the diaspora who successfully lobbied the
international governments and
media to put the squeeze on the apartheid
regime.
I appeal to all Zimbabweans wherever they are in the diaspora to
completely
ignore the comments of Zuma and her ilk.
We all know very well
that the ANC supports Zanu (PF). They care nothing for
the suffering people
of Zimbabwe - all they care about is propping up the
façade of a fellow
liberation movement. Despite their fancy constitution,
human rights really
means nothing to Mbeki and his crowd, Zuma included.
Even the youngsters in
the ANC have been brainwashed as we saw last week.
It's really a very
worrying situation.
I therefore appeal to our young Zimbabweans, and the old
ones out there, you
are all needed. Please step up this campaign of
confrontation, to include
all visits by South African government officials
to anywhere in the world.
And please extend this campaign to cover all SADC
leaders because they are
all complicit in the crimes against the Zimbabwean
people through their
silence.
It is not that they don't know the real
situation. The life expectancy of
Zimbabweans has been reduced in six years
from 60-something to 30-something.
And that is not simply because there is
an AIDS pandemic in the region.
People are dying from hunger, malnutrition,
malaria and many other
preventable diseases that even the least developed
Third World country
should be able to prevent. The people of Zimbabwe are
dying from cruelty by
one man.
But I digress. Zimbabweans in the
diaspora constitute a sizeable force.
More than a quarter of Zimbabweans
live outside their own country. We are
all denied our right to vote. We did
not vote for Zanu (PF). We were not
allowed to vote. Why don't we have our
own government in exile, to represent
our interests, to look after
ourselves? We could be a focus for those
wanting to help our nation and
channel resources back home. At the moment we
have nobody to represent us.
Our embassies in the countries where we live
are there for Zanu (PF) - not
for us. In fact they spy on us.
I would like to hear from your readers, Mr
Editor, about how we can take
this idea forward. - write to magaisa@thezimbabwean.co.uk