The ZIMBABWE Situation
An extensive and up-to-date website containing news, views and links related to ZIMBABWE - a country in crisis
Return to INDEX page
Please note: You need to have 'Active content' enabled in your IE browser in order to see the index of articles on this webpage

Mugabe sees end to Zimbabwe Power-Sharing In February

http://www.nytimes.com

By REUTERS
Published: October 15, 2010

Filed at 4:59 a.m. ET
Reuters

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's power-sharing government expires in four
months and should not be extended, leading to new elections by mid-2011,
President Robert Mugabe said in comments broadcast on Friday.

Mugabe has been forced to share power with his rival, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, since last year under a deal worked out after disputed elections
in 2008.

In comments aired on state television as he addressed his ZANU-PF
supporters, Mugabe said the country should hold a referendum on a new
constitution early in 2011 and elections shortly afterwards.

"After a referendum then we have elections by mid next year. I don't see any
reason why we shouldn't have elections next year," Mugabe said.

He expressed frustration with constant wrangling within the coalition
government, saying the political agreement he signed with Tsvangirai had a
two-year life-span and would expire in February 2011.

"February next year, which is about four months to go, then it will have
lived its full life and I do not know what is going to happen if we are not
ready with a constitution," Mugabe said.

"Some will say let us negotiate and give it another life. I am reluctant
because part of the things that are happening (in the coalition) are
foolish."

The power-sharing pact, signed on September 15 2008 after months of
wrangling, is silent on how long the coalition government should last, but
gives a 24-month timetable for the crafting of a new constitution seen as
key for free and fair elections.

The constitutional reform process is almost a year behind schedule, held
back by lack of funding and bickering over the composition of committees. An
inter-party parliamentary committee driving the reforms has said it expects
a referendum on the draft charter by June 2011.

Mugabe said the remaining public hearings on the proposed charter needed to
be concluded early to pave way for a referendum and subsequent elections.

"I do not see any reason why we cannot do that. So, are you prepared for
elections?" he said to cheers from supporters.

The hearings were suspended in the capital Harare after violent clashes
blamed on Mugabe's party.

Mugabe's comments come at a time when tensions have risen in the unity
government, which saw Tsvangirai boycotting the weekly cabinet meeting on
Wednesday in protest over what he says are unilateral appointments of senior
state officials by Mugabe.

Last week, Tsvangirai said his MDC party rejected all senior appointments -- 
including that of central bank governor, attorney-general, six ambassadors
and five judges -- made by Mugabe without consulting him. Mugabe says the
appointments were made in line with the constitution.

Although the coalition government has stabilised Zimbabwe's economy, Mugabe
and Tsvangirai have also frequently clashed over the pace of political
reforms and Western sanctions imposed on the veteran ruler and his inner
circle.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Mugabe speech raises fears for power-sharing

http://www.ft.com

By Simon Mundy in Johannesburg

Published: October 15 2010 19:16 | Last updated: October 15 2010 19:16

Fears for Zimbabwe’s fragile power-sharing agreement have grown after Robert
Mugabe, president, said he was “reluctant” to extend it beyond February.

Addressing a meeting of youth leaders, Mr Mugabe said the agreement, signed
in September 2008 to establish a government including both his Zanu-PF party
and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, was approaching the end
of its lifespan.

“February next year . . . then it will have lived its full life,” he said,
in a speech broadcast on state radio on Friday. “Some will say let us
negotiate and give it another life. I am reluctant because some of the
things that are happening [in the coalition] are foolish.”

Analysts said Mr Mugabe’s remarks were a deliberate misinterpretation of the
terms of the so-called global political agreement, which followed an
election marred by widespread fraud and violence. The agreement said a
referendum on a new constitution should take place within two years, to be
followed by a general election.

The process of drafting a new constitution has been severely delayed by lack
of funds and disruption by Zanu-PF activists. Mr Mugabe said the
consultations would need to be accelerated to allow an election early next
year.

“I do not see any reason why we cannot do that. So, are you prepared for
elections?” he said. The “shambolic” preparation of the new constitution
presented the risk of “a very, very flawed document being presented to the
electorate, and being rejected,” said Tendai Dumbutshena, a political
analyst. “If it’s rejected, Mugabe will be pleased as punch, because then we
would revert to the old constitution. It would play into his hands.”

The statement came amid fraught relations between Mr Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai, prime minister and leader of the MDC. Mr Tsvangirai wrote to
several foreign governments last week urging them not to recognise
ambassadors who had been appointed without the MDC’s approval. He also
protested against a number of other unilateral appointments, including those
of 10 provincial governors and the governor of the Reserve Bank, Gideon
Gono. Mr Tsvangirai was absent from a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

But Brian Raftopoulos, director of research for the Solidarity Peace Trust,
said Mr Tsvangirai had little option but to keep the MDC in government.

“If the MDC backs out, what will they do? They would be forced into another
election without having put in place the conditions for a good election.
That’s not an option.”

Jacob Zuma, South African president, sent a delegation this week to
encourage dialogue between the coalition partners. The influence of South
Africa and other members of the Southern African Development Community could
prove crucial in achieving stability in Zimbabwe, Mr Dumbutshena said.

“One thing [Mr] Mugabe knows he can’t afford is to alienate the SADC
leaders. But they don’t have the courage or inclination to make sure Zanu-PF
abides by the GPA,” he said. “Mugabe absolutely hates having the MDC in
government.”


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Mugabe throws his toys out the cot over GPA

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
15 October 2010

Robert Mugabe is not used to his authority being challenged. So when Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week convened a press conference challenging
the 86 year old and his unilateral appointments of governors, ambassadors
and judges, the ZANU PF leader on Thursday threw his toys out of the cot and
said the coalition government should be dissolved within 4 months.

Addressing members of the ZANU PF youth league Mugabe said; 'The life of
this creature called the Global Political Agreement is only two years and it
started in February last year. Some will say let us negotiate and give it
another life. I am reluctant because part of the things happening (in the
coalition) are absolutely foolish and stupid.'

In March 2008 Mugabe was humiliated when he and his party lost elections to
the MDC led by Tsvangirai. Instead of accepting defeat and stepping down he
authorized the Joint Operations Command (JOC) which groups all arms of state
security, to go around the country torturing and murdering opposition
activists in retribution. Over 200 people died while tens of thousands were
tortured.

The Southern African regional block, SADC, cobbled together a half-baked
power sharing accord to save Mugabe. On Thursday it was ironic to hear
Mugabe, who remained in office because of the same deal, tell his
supporters; 'February next year, which is about four months to go, then it
(GPA) will have lived its full life and I do not know what is going to
happen if we are not ready with a constitution.'
Ominously Mugabe's ZANU PF have been doing their best to scuttle attempts to
get a new people driven constitution. Party thugs have been disrupting
meetings around the country while intimidating people to tow the ZANU PF
line.

MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa meanwhile said Mugabe's announcement on the
timeline of the GPA was something all three parties in the coalition had
agreed to. This of course raises many questions about a date for the next
elections but Chamisa said people shouldn't focus on the date but on
establishing conditions for a free and fair election. He said this includes
dismantling state security structures in the electoral machinery, media
reforms and having a new voter's roll, among other things.

But this interpretation of the life of the unity government however may not
be entirely accurate. In September we asked constitutional law expert Dr
Lovemore Madhuku how long the GPA could exist, and he said; 'There is no
time frame specified in the GPA itself but the time frame is clearly
stipulated by law. A government elected in Zimbabwe serves for a maximum of
5 years. The GPA is simply an agreement of the political parties who were
elected in 2008 to govern the country together.'

'So the GPA must come to an end on the 28th June 2013. That is the maximum
because Mugabe took oath on the 29th June 2008 and under our constitution
the term of office of any government is determined by the office of the
President. So that is the legal limit of the GPA.'
Madhuku however said there was a 'political limit' for the GPA, based on an
understanding by the political parties that the coalition government was
temporary.

On Wednesday ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo was trying to defend Mugabe's
unilateral appointments, claiming he had authority to do so under the
constitution. He further claimed that there was nowhere in the constitution
'where it says as President, Mugabe must consult and get the consent of the
Prime Minister when making key appointments such as those of provincial
governors and judges.'

But Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga told SW Radio Africa the
power sharing deal known as the GPA had been added to the constitution as
Amendment 19, and it is made clear in the various clauses that 'this
amendment is going to take precedence over any other aspect of the
constitution which it is inconsistent with it.' Matinenga said Amendment 19
makes it clear all senior appointments are made by the President, but in
consultation with the Prime Minister.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zuma’s team returns home with letter from Tsvangirai

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
15 October, 2010

The South African delegation sent to Zimbabwe on Wednesday by President
Jacob Zuma, returned home Thursday, after individual meetings with all three
principles to the Global Political Agreement. The team carried a letter from
Prime Minister Tsvangirai, explaining to President Zuma the latest crisis to
hit Zimbabwe’s so-called coalition government.

There had been reports that the team, comprised of Charles Nqakula, Mac
Maharaj and Lindiwe Zulu, had failed to meet with Robert Mugabe. But on
Friday Zulu, who is also Zuma’s foreign policy advisor, told SW Radio Africa
that they had met with Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
separately on Wednesday, and with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on
Thursday morning.

Zulu said that the delegation had gone to Zimbabwe with no desire to have
all three principals meet under one roof. She added that this only happens
when the chief facilitator Zuma is present. Zulu also denied reports that
the trip had been organized in response to the latest crisis, which
developed when Mugabe appointed governors and other key officials, without
consulting his coalition partners, as is required by the GPA.

She said: “That issue was raised partly because Prime Minister Tsvangirai
had already written a letter to President Zuma and a whole range of other
people, though the purpose of our going had not been that.”

According to Zulu, the trip to Zimbabwe was to check on progress made in
fulfilling the GPA since the SADC summit in Namibia. But she gave no other
details, saying this was because the team wanted to report their findings to
President Zuma first and he would decide how to proceed.

“The only thing I can say to you at the moment is that we are not at liberty
as a facilitation team to go public and discuss these issues as we raise
them because we still have to report to our principal President Jacob Zuma.”

Asked what will happen as the 30 day deadline set by SADC for the GPA to be
implemented had long gone, Zulu again only said: “That is the reason we
came - to see what has been done and what has not been done and why.”

Once again Zimbabweans are being left in the dark regarding the situation in
their own country.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Ex-diplomat says Tsvangirai must crank up pressure on appointments

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
15 October 2010

A former Zimbabwe diplomat to Ethiopia, Clifford Mashiri, who served in
Addis Ababa between 1982 and 1986, said people should not read much into the
failure or success of Tsvangirai's request for the diplomats not to be
recognized where they were posted.

Mashiri's comments come after the United Nations said on Thursday it won't
disown Zimbabwe's U.N. ambassador, as he was properly accredited on June
28th. Tsvangirai had this week written to the UN and several countries
asking them not to recognize ambassadors appointed in July by Mugabe to
Sweden, Italy, the European Union, the UN and South Africa.

But U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the world body 'will be bound by
the letter of Chitsaka Chipaziwa's accreditation, until advised otherwise by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.'

'Personally I don't see any of the ambassadors who have already submitted
their accreditation being withdrawn by the host countries. It would be a bit
awkward for them to walk away from a guest they would have welcomed. It's
the same as asking Zimbabwe not to recognize people they've already
recognized,' Mashiri said.

In retaliation Mugabe has threatened to expel diplomats from countries that
may refuse to recognize ambassadors he appointed. But Mashiri, now an
academic in London said Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party should be
congratulated for taking Mugabe head-on for violating the GPA.

'It takes a lot of courage for what he did to expose Mugabe to SADC, the AU
and the whole world on how he is flagrantly flouting the constitution of the
country to remain in power,' he said.

'What Tsvangirai did was a good way of protesting, even if he fails to
achieve what he wants or wanted. At least the message has gone far and wide
that Mugabe is not an honest partner who thrives on underhand tactics to
stay in power. Even his friends will view him in bad light though they may
not say so to his face,' Mashiri added.

Another analyst told us it was clear Mugabe was 'stung' by comments made by
Tsvangirai during his news conference last week.
'Mugabe's reaction when he addressed his party's youth members said it all.
He was clearly stung to a point where he now finds it difficult to work with
the MDC in government. He revealed his inner feelings when he indicated his
unwillingness to let the unity government go beyond its stipulated two year
period,' the analyst said.

Members of the European Parliament have responded more positively to
Tsvangirai's calls for a rejection of the EU ambassador have urged European
Union President Jose Manuel Barroso to step up pressure on Mr. Mugabe by
rejecting the credentials of Harare's ambassador to Brussels, Margaret
Muchada.
EU Member of Parliament Geoffrey Van Orden, head of the assembly's Campaign
for Freedom and Democratic change in Zimbabwe, has urged the rejection of
Margaret Muchada's credentials as Harare's ambassador to Brussels, on
grounds that her appointment was unconstitutional, as Mr. Tsvangirai has
maintained.

""Until Mugabe and his cronies step aside and there is real evidence of
change, the EU and its member states must keep up the pressure on Mugabe,"
Van Orden said, urging the EU to "send a clear signal to the Mugabe clique
that the EU does not tolerate despots." He urged Italy, South Africa, Sweden
and Switzerland to do the same.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Ministers, top security officials named in torture case

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
15 October 2010

Four cabinet ministers and eight top State security officials have been
named in another torture case before the courts, where a victim of the 2008
spate of state sponsored violence and abductions is seeking more than a
million dollars in compensation.

Activist Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, a multiple victim of state brutality, is
demanding US$1.2 million in damages for the abduction and torture he
suffered at the hands of State agents in 2008. Chinanzvavana is demanding
the damages from the ministers and security official whom he says were
responsible for the State security agents who abducted him on 3 November
2008. He was held incommunicado until 23 December 2008 when he was finally
transferred to detention at Avondale Police Station.

Chinanzvavana says he was tortured during his ordeal with State agents
trying to force him into admitting to sabotage and banditry accusations.
Chinanzvavana was part of a larger group of rights and political activists
abducted, tortured and charged with banditry in 2008 when there was a
vicious down on opposition activists.

Chinanzvavana has cited co-Home Affairs Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Giles
Mutsekwa, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Presidential Affairs
Minister Didymus Mutasa. Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri,
Prisons Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi, CIO Director General Happyton
Bonyongwe, CIO assistant director Ashley Walter Tapfumaneyi, police chief
superintendents Crispen Makedenge and Magwenzi, police assistant
commissioner Nyathi and detective chief inspector Mpofu, are cited as the
other defendants in the compensation claim.

The top officials have also all been named in other torture cases still
pending in the courts, to the tune of US$20 million. This includes the
abduction and torture of human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and 17 other
abductees. The group of 18 disappeared 10 weeks after Morgan Tsvangirai
signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which formed the unity
government and offered Zimbabweans a glimpse of change. Rights groups say
the shocking details of torture and impunity accompanying such cases provide
a compelling case for the coalition government to urgently undertake
security sector reforms as dictated by the GPA. But two years since that
agreement was signed, there is still no meaningful change.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

European banks refuse to finance Zim diamond transactions

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
15 October 2010

Two top European banking groups have said they will not finance
international diamond transactions with Zimbabwe, citing reputation concerns
over dealing with the country.

It emerged during the Bank Finance session on the second day of the Mines to
Market conference in Mumbai this week, that neither ABN Amro nor the Antwerp
Diamond Bank (ADB) will deal with Zimbabwe or its diamonds.

Both Victor van der Kwast, CEO of ABN Amro's International Diamond &
Jewellery Group (ID&JG) and Pierre de Bosscher, chairman of the executive
committee of the ADB, made it clear that "reputational issues" stood in the
way of their banks involvement with Zimbabwe.

De Bosscher stated that "ethical standards must improve," and that "we will
not finance diamond transactions with Zimbabwe while it is still on the OFAC
(European sanctions) list, under an EU trade embargo as well as a number of
other such issues." He went on to say: "We are not willing to even finance
roundabout transactions in South African rands or Hong Kong dollars, because
this isn't good for the transparency of the industry."

International diamond dealers have been warned against dealing with diamonds
mined in Zimbabwe, because the mining parastatal involved in plundering the
natural resource is still on both European and US sanctions lists. The US
based Rapaport Diamond Trading Network (RapNet) has cautioned its members
against trading in stones mined from the Chiadzwa diamond fields, partly
because of this involvement.
The parastatal Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) took over
Chiadzwa in 2006, after the legal title holder, London based African
Consolidated Resources (ACR), was forced off the claim at gunpoint. In 2009
the ZMDC joined forces with two South African owned entities to mine the
alluvial fields, in a partnership that will see the ZMDC take 50% of the
diamond profits. But the ZMDC is still listed on the targeted sanctions
lists of both the US and EU and, legally, American and European diamond
groups are restricted from dealing with the ZMDC.

Meanwhile Mines Minister Obert Mpofu this week signed an agreement at the
Mines to Market conference, with the Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing India
Limited (SRDSIL), a newly-formed company of the diamond merchants of Surat.
As part of the agreement, the Indian Diamond Institute (IDI) will train
1,000 Zimbabwean youths how to cut and polish diamonds.

In return, the Surat group has requested that Zimbabwe supply it with US$100
million worth of Chiadzwa diamonds each month. In a letter presented to
Mpofu on Thursday, SRDSIL chairman Ashit Mehta, whose private company Blue
Star is linked to the international De Beers mining group, offered to
provide training in cutting and polishing in exchange for the rough supply.
Blue Star meanwhile was one of the buyers at a September auction of Chiadzwa
stones, which was held in secret.

"We request minister Mpofu and the government of Zimbabwe to facilitate the
supply of rough diamonds, on a regular monthly basis, to the tune of $100
million, which will be on an annual basis of $1.2 billion of run of mine
goods," Mehta said during the Mpofu's visit to Surat.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

EU to expell Robert Mugabe's ambassadors

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

15 October, 2010 11:00:00    By Nkululeko Ndlovu

BRUSSELS - A consensus is emerging among the EU institutions to reject
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ambassadors-designate to the European
Union, after the country's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, called on the
bloc not to recognise Mugabe's unilateral appointment.

President Mugabe appointed Zimbabwe's new envoys to the EU, Italy, Sweden,
Switzerland, South Africa and the UN without consulting Tsvangirai - prime
minister since January 2009 and leader of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party.

The normal procedure everywhere in the world is that ambassadors are
designated by the government and approved by the head of state. Then, the
countries of their destination have the right to accept the appointment or
reject it.

Tsvangirai, whose party shares power with Mugabe's Zanu-PF in a unity
government, wrote to the EU and UN this week urging them not to recognise
the choices, made solely by Mugabe. The unilateral appointments, he argues,
contradict the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that established the
power-sharing government last year.

MEPs, headed by Geoffrey Van Orden of the European Conservatives and
Reformists, will call on Commission President José Manuel Barroso and
Council President Herman Van Rompuy to heed Tsvangirai's request by
rejecting Mugabe's choice for Brussels, Margaret Muchada.

"As PM Tsvangirai has stated, Mrs. Muchada's credentials must be refused, as
her appointment is clearly unconstitutional," said the British MEP, who
leads the Parliament's campaign for democratic change in Zimbabwe.

"As PM Tsvangirai's recent statements illustrate, not much seems to have
changed on the ground following the signing of the 'Global Political
Agreement' two years ago [.] Key elements of the Zimbabwean state - in this
instance one of Zimbabwe's most important diplomatic postings - are still
controlled by Mugabe, in outright contravention of the GPA," Van Orden said.

"Until Mugabe and his cronies step aside and there is real evidence of
change, the EU and its member states must keep up the pressure on Mugabe. I
would urge Mr. Barroso and Mr. Van Rompuy to send a clear signal to the
Mugabe clique that the EU does not tolerate despots," he added.

EU: Envoy row 'a serious matter'

On Wednesday (13 October), a spokesperson for EU foreign affairs chief
Catherine Ashton affirmed that the EU is taking the envoy row very
seriously.

"It is important that the ambassadors be fully empowered to speak on behalf
of the whole government," said Maja Kocijancic, quoted by AFP.

"The EU supports the GPA. Non-respect is therefore a matter of great
concern," she added. "This is a serious matter that demands clarification."

Since the government was formed in January 2009, relations between the two
leaders have been strained over the appointment of state figures, such as
governors and the attorney general. Tsvangirai recently accused Mugabe of
"betrayal" for failing to honour the unity pact.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zimbabwe inflation quickens to 4.2 pct y/y in Sept

http://af.reuters.com

Fri Oct 15, 2010 3:37pm GMT

HARARE Oct 15 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's annual inflation quickened to 4.2
percent year-on-year in September from 3.6 percent the previous month, the
Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (Zimstats) said on Friday.

Month-on-month inflation was at 0.1 percent from -0.1 percent in August,
Zimstats said in a statement.

Zimstats figures showed that rising food, beverages and utility prices drove
inflation higher. (Reporting by Nelson Banya)


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Mugabe Tightens Security

http://news.radiovop.com

15/10/2010 17:46:00

Masvingo, October 15, 2010 - Masvingo Town came to a halt on Friday as
President Robert Mugabe's long motorcade caused a stir and traffic jam.

Analysts in the town told Radio VOP that President Robert Mugabe seemed to
be getting paranoid with each tick on his biological clock.

Political commentator Ray Muzenda, the National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) executive member who is also the provincial chair of the Restoration
of Human Rights (ROHR), said Mugabe's boost on his security is an admission
that he is no longer liked by the people of Zimbabwe.

"This is an acknowledgement that he knows that he is not liked and may get
assassinated. Why should he overprotect himself to such an extent?"

He said Nelslon Mandela, a great stateman did not have bodyguards on him
always and Mugabe needed to learn from that.

The tightening of his personal security was gobbling a lot of taxpayer's
money.The cars which were part of the motorcade comprised latest makes of
Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Nissan Twin Cabs, Mazdas, among others and covered a
stretch of two kilometres from Robert Mugabe way up to the Masvingo
Polytechnic College.

Mugabe was in Masvingo for the fourth graduation ceremony of the Great
Zimbabwe Universtiy where he capped 1 028 graduands,.

The President had flown to the town and was whisked away soon after landing
at the dilapidated Masvingo Airport.

His advance team of security aides and agents from the dreaded Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) had been booked in most of the Town's hotels
where they were seen drinking and dining in the accompany of women.

The Army and police vehicles were also causing a commotion in the usually
sleepy town, one of the oldest in the country.
 


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zim Parliament Faces Critical Shortage Of Funds

http://news.radiovop.com

15/10/2010 09:43:00

BULAWAYO,October 14,2010---Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma said Zimbabwe
Parliament is currently facing critical shortage of funds.

Addressing a Parliament and Coordination Committee Retreat in Bulawayo on
Thursday Zvoma said lack of funding has seen most parliament business
failing to take place this year.

"We are facing critical shortage of funds at the moment .The lack of finance
has compromised capacity building and enhancement of parliament. I am having
fights with some parliamentary portfolio committee chairpersons who are even
accusing me of sitting on money which is not there," said Zvoma.

The Zimbabwe Parliament resumes sitting last week . The Parliamentarians had
gone on recess to concentrate on the constitution making process.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai last month said he will ensure that all cabinet
ministers will attend Question and Answer sessions in parliament. The
premier also said he will take time to answer questions from
parliamentarians on government business and policy issues.

Zvoma also said "the parliament portfolio  committee  on mines will  visit
Chiadzwa  diamonds very soon  after getting   a clearance  from The  Mines
Ministry, Home Affairs Ministry   and  the  police commissioner general
Augustine Chihuri."

In April this year the Mines Ministry barred the  parliamentary portfolio
committee on mines  and energy team from touring the Chiadzwa diamond fields
in Marange. The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy was
scheduled to visit was cancelled after Mines Minister Obert Mpofu and his
Permanent Secretary, Thankful Musukutwa refused to grant them clearance.

The barring of the committee had reportedly irked individual members, who
believe Mpofu is blocking them on baseless fears that the committee could be
on a witch-hunt to embarrass him.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Makone to investigate corruption at passport office

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Diana Ngondonga
Friday, 15 October 2010 11:23

HARARE - Home Affairs co-minister Theresa Makone has castigated alleged
corrupt practices at the Registrar General's Passport Offices and vowed to
investigate what goes on at this critical government department.

Speaking at the familiarisation tour that took placeThursday, Makone said
that her ministry was going to look into these allegations. He unannounced
tour came after the Home Affairs Ministry decided to familirise with people
and see how the passport issuing process was going after the slashing of the
fees.

"We are aware of these corruption allegations and the ministry will conduct
an investigation to ensure that all passport seekers can acquire the much
needed document," she said.

Makone further said that her ministry is not aware of the $318 and $253
'emergency' passports that are being issued and said that they are only
aware of the $50 ones.

"After speaking to the people who are queued here, I am actually surprised
that there are passports that are being issued at exohibitant prices. My
ministry is not aware and we will probe into these allegations as passports
are a fundamental right, everyone should easily access them," said Makone.

She also addressed the issue of congestion at the passport offices and said
that they will also look into it.

"We will investigate and see what the problem is and try to rectify it. If
its about staff shortages, we'll employ more staff," she added.

People who were queuing for passports complained that there was visible and
shameless corruption at Makombe indicating that someone who came as early as
4 am could be served last whilst others who came later like 8am will be
served first.

"There is rampant corruption going on here, if you want to be served first
you will have to fork out between US $20 and $50 and this is unfair. What
will it do to those of us who cannot afford to bribe the staff here?" said
Praise Andireya from Epworth.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Tragic Death Of Don Hornsby

        ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION TASK FORCE         
 
 
 
15th October 2010
 
TRAGIC DEATH OF DON HORNSBY
 
It is with deep regret that we announce that  South African businessman, Don Hornsby was killed by an elephant in Kariba on October 13th 2010.
 
Don, an avid conservationist and nature lover was attacked by an elephant whilst on holiday in Matusadona. He was a great supporter of wildlife and assisted us in the feeding of Tatenda, the orphaned baby rhino.
 
Less than a month ago, Geoff Blythe was lucky to escape with his life after an elephant attack in Kariba and we would like to appeal to everybody to exercise extreme caution when coming into contact with elephants in Zimbabwe. Due to the poaching and number of elephants being shot, they have become traumatized and are extremely unpredictable and dangerous.
 
Our sincere condolences to Don's wife, Felicity and family on the loss of a good friend and fellow conservationist.
 

Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
Landline:        263 4 336710
Landline/Fax: 263 4 339065
Mobile:           263 712 603 213
Email:            
galorand@mweb.co.zw
Website:        www.zctf.mweb.co.zw
Website:        www.zimbabwe-art.com
Facebook:    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15148470211

 
The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force relies soley on public donations. Your donation can help to preserve the wildlife in Zimbabwe. If you would like to assist, please contact us.


 


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

ArcelorMittal leads race to rescue embattled Ziscosteel

http://www.mg.co.za

RAY NDLOVU - Oct 15 2010 06:00

ArcelorMittal looks set to further extend its tentacles into Southern Africa
after it emerged that the multinational steel corporation had put in a bid
for the troubled state-owned Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Ziscosteel).

Zicosteel has suffered a decade-long slump caused by alleged looting and
externalisation of funds by officials linked to Zanu-PF.

Foreign investors are lining up to acquire the 70% stake in Ziscosteel
offered by the Zimbabwe government.

Three valid bids are under review, said Welshman Ncube, the minister of
industry and commerce, namely those of ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa),
Jindal Steel and Power of India, and Shogun, a Chinese company.

In May President Robert Mugabe rejected an earlier bid by Amsa on grounds
that the multinational was too big for the small country. However, an
industry source revealed that Amsa now has the full support of top Zimbabwe
government officials who believe it could turn Ziscosteel's fortunes around.

"Of all the bids received, we feel strongly that ArcelorMittal has the
capacity to run Ziscosteel. We welcome its new bid, as it realises that
conditions have changed from when its bid was rejected," the source said.

Media reports suggest that Amsa is prepared to channel more than
$500-million to the Zimbabwean concern to pay off its estimated debts of
$300-million and recapitalisation projects.

Insiders at the ministry of industry and commerce described the debt
strategy offered by Jindal Steel and Power as "not feasible", making Amsa
the frontrunner.

At peak operating capacity Ziscosteel produced one million tonnes of steel
annually, making it the second-largest steel producer in sub-Saharan Africa
after Amsa.

However, steel production ceased two years ago and the company has
reportedly been selling scrap metal.

The bulk of Ziscosteel's debts were accrued in 2006 after what was dubbed
the "Ziscogate scandal", in which high-powered Zanu-PF officials, including
Deputy President Joyce Mujuru and Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa, were
fingered for siphoning off the parastatal's resources.

A report by the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate detailing the alleged
looting was never made public. Observers have reacted cynically to the
government's requirement that bidders include a debt strategy for
Ziscosteel, seeing it as an attempt to protect the looters, who have never
been prosecuted.

In an interview with the Mail & Guardian this week Ncube said: "It is true
that a lot of externalisation and irregularities took place at Ziscosteel,
but beyond the stepping down and resignation of several people and
restructuring of the board, no one was arrested. It is not for me to open up
old cases."

He said that when a new investor becomes involved "we will restructure the
board at Ziscosteel to reflect the new interests".

Ncube said his ministry had notified the three parties in the unity
government of the bids and was waiting for a decision.

It is also understood that the new foreign investor will have special
privileges exempting it from Zimbabwe's controversial empowerment law, which
requires foreign companies to cede a controlling stake to indigenous
Zimbabweans.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Tendai Biti takes his illegal 2008 detention to Supreme Court

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
15 October 2010

The full bench of the Supreme Court on Monday will sit to hear an
application by Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is seeking to have his
detention by police in 2008 declared illegal.
The MDC-T Secretary General was arrested in June 2008 as he stepped off a
plane at Harare International airport, from South Africa where he had spent
two months in self-imposed exile. Police detectives Boysen Matema and
Crispen Makedenge kept Biti incommunicado for five days.

At the time lawyers representing Biti sought the intervention of High Court
Judge Samuel Kudya, but the application was dismissed on flimsy grounds.
This was despite the fact that 6 days after Biti was arrested police had
still not charged him with any offence.
The police later claimed they had a warrant to arrest Biti on treason
charges. The entire case stemmed from a 'clumsy, ill-written document'
authored by the Central Intelligence Organisation and later published in the
state media.

Following Mugabe's election defeat in March 2008, Biti had convened a press
conference at which he announced Tsvangirai and the MDC as the victors. This
did not go down well with the regime who subsequently engineered a case to
harass the MDC-T Secretary General.

The charges were eventually dropped just before the MDC-T joined the
coalition government.
 


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Chiadzwa Community Faces Starvation

http://news.radiovop.com/

15/10/2010 11:08:00

Mutare, October 15, 2010 - Starvation is looming in the diamond - rich area
of Chiadzwa following poor harvests due to erratic rains last season.

Chiadzwa, which is in Marange, is traditionally an arid area which is a poor
area for agriculture. The little crops that withstood the drought were
destroyed by illegal panners leaving the villagers with little rt nothing to
depend on.

Despite sitting on mineral wealth worth billions of United States Dollars
the villagers' from Chiadzwa and surrounding areas are scrounging for food.

The majority of them are relying on handouts from relatives from Mutare for
basic foodstuffs.

The local leadership has been pestering companies mining in the area to come
to the rescues of the villagers resulting in Mbada Diamonds, one of the
three companies mining diamonds in the area donating foodstuffs to 3 800
people.

Each household received 40kgs maize-meal, 8 litres of cooking oil, 3 kgs of
sugar beans, 4 kgs of sugar and 2 kgs of salt.

The distribution was done at Chiadzwa Clinic.

But while the villagers expressed gratitude to Mbada Diamonds for its timely
intervention, they complained bitterly that the companies mining in Chiadzwa
were failing to deliver on their promises of constructing better houses for
families to be relocated from the diamond-rich fields.

The villagers said they were angry with the slow progress on building better
houses for them before they relocate.

They said the government wanted to move them out of the homes before the
houses they are supposed to occupy at Arda Transau have been build. They
complained the government wanted to dump them in the bush.

Patrick Chiadzwa said the companies should be seen to be doing something in
terms of construction.

"Some of the companies mining here now have a year operating but nothing is
being done in terms of fulfilling their promises of providing decent
accommodation to the families to be relocated from the Chiadzwa diamond
fields," Headman Chadzwa said.

"Our villagers are prepared to move out of the mining companies'
concessions, but they cannot just move and settle in the bush. We want
proper structures and better social amenities for the people. No one is
resisting relocation, but we want everything to be done properly because a
lot the communities around us.

The villagers are also complaining the Chinese national working for a
Bejing - based company Anjin, were behaving as if they were above the law.

The villagers accused the Chinese of ill-treating their workers and beating
them up once a labour dispute arises.

"They always threaten workers and villagers that they will report them to
Zanu (PF) if they cause trouble," said Tendai Makono, from Hotsprings.

The Chinese have also become unpopular with villagers because they have
turned the area red - luring young women and girls into prostitution.
 


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

The Zim consulate stops soup distribution

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Ndumiso Mlilo
Friday, 15 October 2010 11:31

JOHANNESBURG: The Zimbabwe consulate in Johannesburg has stopped the South
Africa Communist Party (SACP) from giving soup to Zimbabweans in some
queues. An official SACP told The Zimbabwean that the Consulate General
Chris Mapanga told them to stop giving soup to Zimbabweans as it was
embarrassing the Zimbabwean community.

Mothusi Mongele from SACP says, "Mapanga behaves exactly the same way as the
Zimbabwean regime. They want to show strength. The consulate said the
Zimbabweans are working and can feed themselves. He said if there is anyone
who is starving they will send him with the next bus to Zimbabwe. He is
arrogant."

Palesa Motsome from SACP told The Zimbabwean that they were touched by
seeing Zimbabweans circling their offices the whole day. Palesa says, "We
used to find them on the queue and leave them on the queue some with
children on their backs. We decide to assist our brothers and sisters. We
are a party that cares for the marginalised. Zimbabweans have assisted us
before."

Palesa says they wish the City of Johannesburg could do something to assist
with mobile toilets and water since people spend some days in the queues.
Ngqabutho Dube the Administration Secretary form the Movement for the
Democratic Change Mutambara MDC-M) says the consulate should sympathise with
Zimbabweans in some queues. Ngqabutho says, "the consular general does not
care about the plight of the suffering Zimbabweans. He is not the one who is
buying and giving the soup. People are given the soup because of their
(consulate) inefficiency to assist people so that they do not sleep in
queues. Why should he stop people who care about the welfare of the
Zimbabweans?"

Dube says they are some Zimbabweans who do not afford to buy their meals.
Ngqabutho Dube has been assisting the SACP to prepare and distribute soup at
the consulate offices. Some members of the MDC-M are also volunteers
assisting in the at the Zimbabwe consulate.The Zimbabwe consulate general in
South Africa Chris Mapanga says the giving of soup was portraying
Zimbabweans in South Africa in bad light. He says, "Why are you worried
about the soup? Do you want Zimbabweans to be presented as destitutes? Most
of people are applying for passports so that they can apply for business and
study permits. They are employed and can afford to buy their own food."

Mapanga says the national pride is at stake if Zimbabweans are seen being
given some free soup. He says they wanted also to avoid a situation where
other people would come only for the soup and disturb those waiting to get
passports. Some Zimbabweans queue for two days to get some passports which
will enable them to get some permits. Zimbabweans are struggling to beat the
December 31 2010 deadline to legalise their stay in South Africa. SACP have
been feeding more than one a thousand people a day in some queues for about
a week.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Mbudzi attacks Biti over loan

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Staff Reporter
Friday, 15 October 2010 16:39

HARARE - The Director of  Business Support Services, Retired Major Kudzai
Mbudzi, whose company facilitated  a loan offer of US$50 billion to Zimbabwe
by  Norange Capital Markets has hit back at the Finance Minister Tendai
Biti for rejecting the  offer.

Minister Biti said in September that one of the officials representing
Norange Capital Markets was an arms dealer and could have "Russian Mafia"
links.

Biti said the offer was outlandish and reeked of  "a strange financial
smell." The money was therefore unclean, according to the Finance Minister.

In a long statement, released this week Mbudzi  explained that Norange
Capital Markets is a highly diversified international company  with branches
in Hong Kong,  China , South Africa and Botswana.

"Its directors and Advisory Board consists of predominantly South African
citizens. The company is a funding conduit of the Global Funder whose
history and dynasty funds are well documented.  They have funded many
governments and have engaged in several international humanitarian
programmes throughout the world.  This is why their headquarters is located
at the United Nations offices in Geneva,"

Mbudzi said Norange Capital officials came to Zimbabwe at the invitation of
Minister Biti, for a meeting at which a number of issues  were explained.

The first was that  Norange  Capital and its principals wanted  to operate
within the framework of the formal government system in Zimbabwe , including
the RBZ. And that they wanted to finance the government of Zimbabwe directly
through the RBZ and the Ministry of Finance.

In addition, Norange Capital wanted the Zimbabwean government  to
immediately review and verify the funds in the Central Bank of Malaysia in
accordance with  pecific Norange  protocols and procedures to be  agreed
upon by both parties.

"These protocols included the signing of a sub-recipient agreement, the
verbiage of which was provided, between the government of Zimbabwe and
Norange after which Zimbabwe would be assisted to verify the funds in the
Central Bank of Malaysia . Having satisfied these two protocols then the
funds would immediately and unconditionally be released to Zimbabwe .  This
whole process would include notification of the IMF, World Bank, the USA FED
system and Interpol," Mbudzi said in the statement.

In an interview with the Herald recently Biti indicated that the government
could not take up the loan on "suspicion that it was dirty."


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zimbabweans at Home and Abroad Face Frustration in Passport Application Process

http://www.voanews.com/

Faced with heavy demand, the Zimbabwean Passport Office has assigned
priority to those willing to pay US$253 dollars to obtain an emergency
passport in three days, or even to ante up US$318 for one-day service

Patience Rusere and Irwin Chifera | Washington DC 14 October 2010
The Zimbabwean government's reduction of the fee for a passport to US$50
from US$143 previously has unleashed a flood of applicants at the Registrar
General's office, overwhelming the office's capacity and frustrating
consumers.

Faced with such heavy demand, the Passport Office has assigned priority to
those willing to pay US$253 dollars to obtain an emergency passport in three
days, or even US$318 for one-day service, reports Irwin Chifera.

For a look at the causes and consequences of the passport crunch affecting
so many Zimbabweans - not only at home but in South Africa where many
thousands are desperately seeking new passports to apply for South African
residency permits, reporter Patience Rusere turned to Combined Harare
Residents Association Chairman Simbarashe Moyo and Youth Initiative  for
Democracy in Zimbabwe Director Sidney Chisi for their analysis.

Moyo said corruption - staff demanding bribes for service - is the main
reason for the Passport Office traffic jam, while Chisi said the decision to
slash the prices for passports reflected the desire by the former ruling
ZANU-PF party to encourage the emigration of young Zimbabweans likely to
support the Movement for Democratic Change. About 4 million Zimbabweans live
abroad in the so-called diaspora, having fled oppression or sought a better
life.

Co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone, who visited the Passport Office on
Thursday trailed by reporters, said on the VOA Studio 7 LiveTalk call-in
program that she intends to crack down hard on such corruption.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Currency Exchange Rate Distortions Cause Havoc in Zimbabwean Street Markets

http://www.voanews.com/

Some sources report currency trades in the Harare black market where the
dollar has fetched 10 rand or a rate of 10 US cents per rand - in normal
foreign exchange market terms an extraordinary premium for dollars over rand

Gibbs Dube | Washington 14 October 2010

Fluctuating demand for the US dollar and South African rand in Zimbabwe,
where both currencies as well as Botswana's pula circulate as legal tender,
has resulted in some price distortions on street dealings in the currencies.

In Johannesburg as elsewhere in the global currency market, the South
African rand currently trades around 6.8 rand to the dollar - or putting it
another way, one rand equals about 14.5 US cents. That's about the same
exchange rate that consumers and businesses are seeing in Bulawayo, where
there is strong demand for the South African rand, and in Matabeleland South
province, which runs along the border with South Africa.

But some sources report trades in the Harare black market where the dollar
has fetched 10 rand or 10 US cents per rand - in normal foreign exchange
market terms a remarkable premium for dollars over rand. The relative
attractiveness of the two currencies is influenced not only by intrinsic
market value but also by the relative scarcity of physical US dollars,
especially small-denomination bills much sought by consumers and traders.

Economists add that such distortions are not easy to control as the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe has no power to set dollar-rand exchange rates - indeed,
the RBZ under Governor Gideon Gono has been close to bankruptcy with its
physical assets ranging from buildings to so-called Scotch carts, Zimbabwean
wheelbarrows, seized for debts.

Financial analyst James Wade told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that the
longer-term appreciation of the rand against the US dollar on global
currency markets has also caused dislocation in Zimbabwe's trade sector, as
many merchants and manufacturers source materials in the rand but price
their goods locally in dollars.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zimbabwean man arrested in multi-million credit card fraud racket

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

15 October, 2010 09:00:00    By

DROGHEDA, IRELAND - A Zimbabwean man Micheal Tuzuka was remanded in custody
today over a multi-million euro fraud.

Micheal Tuzuka was arrested along with two other people after a nationwide
investigation into stolen cheques and cheque books and the elaborate forging
of credit cards.

The 32-year-old, of Park Square, Grange Rath, Drogheda, Co Louth, was
charged with a series of fraud offences including possession of high-tech
counterfeiting equipment, handling stolen cheques and theft.

A 28-year-old woman arrested in Drogheda and a 34-year-old man arrested in
Galway were released without charge. All three were from Zimbabwe.

A file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

A Garda spokesman said over the last five months business customers of banks
have been targeted by a criminal gang trying to transfer money overseas.

Criminals were pretending to be the account holders and sent forged
documents to bank branches instructing them to transfer funds to other
jurisdictions.

Several charities and companies doing international business were targeted
by the gang.

The Garda spokesman said the investigation recovered €160,000 taken from the
account of a well-known charity in September and prevented attempts to steal
about €1.3m in September alone.

Searches were carried out on Wednesday morning at addresses in Drogheda and
Galway.

The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation and Drogheda-based detectives found
forged documentation used to perpetrate a number of the frauds in the area.

High spec counterfeit equipment used to make fake credit cards, business
cheques and cheque books were also found.

Detectives believe the cheques were stolen from post in Ireland and the UK.

Tuzuka is due back before Drogheda District Court next Friday. Irish
Examiner


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

A few facts about water in Zimbabwe

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/6106
 
Washing clothes in a pot-hole

Washing clothes in a pot-hole

  • Only one fifth of Zimbabwe's population has access to clean water
  • A devastated sanitation system and poor water supply led to a terrible outbreak in cholera in Zimbabwe in 2008: since the outbreak, nearly 100,000 cases of cholera have been reported and over 4,000 people died from the deadly disease.
  • 900 cases and 25 deaths have been recorded as a result of cholera in Zimbabwe in 2010.
  • The United Nations says 50 percent of Zimbabwe's rural population have no toilets and use the bush.
  • More than 60% of the hand pumps used in rural areas to access water need repairs. This affects an estimated 2, 1 million Zimbabwean rural dwellers.
  • Water is a gender issue with women bearing a great deal of the responsiblity for providing water for their familes:
    • Women are forced to spend much of their productive time travelling to fetch and carry water.
    • The need to collect water also affects girls enrolment in schools, with many staying at home to help fetch and carry water for the family.
    • Poor sanitation at schools leads to an increase in drop-out rates due to a lack of sanitary facilities when girls reach puberty.
  • Years of poor investement has led to critical equipment not being maintained or replaced when necessary. According to the spokesman for Zimbabwe's Environmental Management Agency, "Most local authorities' pump stations and biofilters are not functional and hence most of them have resorted to diverting raw sewerage straight into the natural water sources, causing a health time bomb." He said this in July 2010, less than two years after Zimbabwe's deadly cholera outbreak. "The way these authorities are managing the liquid waste is really pathetic," Kangata said. "Most of them are treating waste management as a peripheral issue which they only attend to it after all other things - including the payment of their hefty salaries - are done."
  • As well as equipment failure, frequent and lengthy power cuts in major cities exacerbates problems because water pumps cannot operate properly.
  • Children living in slums and in rural areas are among the most disadvantaged when it comes to being able to access clean water. Many children die silently of simple diarrhoeal diseases, but these don't make the news headlines in the same way cholera outbreaks do.
  • The Minister of Water Resources and Development Samuel Sipepa Nkomo estimates that US$434 million is needed to resuscitate water infrastructure. The government has only US$100 million.
  • A potential 2 235 200 ha of arable land is suitable of irrigation. Only 150 000ha is under irrigation; 50 000 ha is under sugar estates and the remaining 100 000 ha comprises of: A1 and A2 farming sectors, small holder and communal sectors, large private sectors and Arda estates.
  • The National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, viewed as the solution to water scarcity in the city of Bulawayo, has apparently been discussed since the 1920s. The failure to move the project forward is viewed by many as a sign that the previous Zanu PF government prioritised investment in areas which benefitted its political support base. For many, devolution is now seen as one way to potentially address issues of under-development. The water project, and scarcity of water, terefore already functioning as a key driver for political reform and change in the Matabeleland regions.

It is Blog Action Day today, and the theme this year is 'Water'.


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

The GPA and the Constitution: PM Tsvangirai is Right


By Sanderson N Makombe

The recent spat between President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai has
led to a host of false legal opinions being splashed without care and due
legal analysis and discourse. The most absurd interpretation was the moronic
gibberish muttered by Rugare Gumbo, the ZANU PF spokesman, who I quote,
reminded all and sundry that 'It should be made clear that the GPA itself is
not part of the Constitution of Zimbabwe'. He goes on to say 'there is
nowhere in the constitution of Zimbabwe or GPA which says President must
consult and get consent of the Prime Minister in making key appointments'.
Another 'legally challenged' article by ZANU PF sympathiser Itayi Garande
appeared in the Guardian, postulating the same, arguing the GPA is only a
'good faith document'. He concludes Mugabe can unilaterally do as he wishes
using his executive powers as before commencement of the inclusive
government. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Firstly it is true to some extend the GPA is not part of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe. However, some provisions of the GPA, as stipulated in the
Interparty Political Agreement found expression in the Constitution of
Zimbabwe in  December 2008 as Constitution Amendment No 19.To that extend
,those provisions as stipulated, are enshrined in the Constitution of
Zimbabwe, an enshrinement which perpetuates as long as the Inclusive
Government is in subsistence. Section 115 of the Constitution, on
Transitional Arrangements (Schedule 8),subsection (2), states 'Schedule 8
shall have effect from date of commencement of Constitution of Zimbabwe
Amendment No 19,2008, and continue in force during the subsistence of the
Interparty Political Agreement. If the ZANU PF spokesman does not know this,
God knows whether he has a functional head at all.
Amendment No 19 diluted some of the powers previously held by the state
President and this is made explicit by Sec 115,subsection (3), which states
that 'the provisions of this constitution shall, for the period specified in
subsection (2),operate as amended or modified to the extend or in the manner
specified in Schedule 8.A straightforward example of the  conjunction of the
old constitution without amendment No 19 and the one which includes can be
discerned from  the powers conferred upon the President on the dissolution
of Parliament. Before the amendment, the President, under Part 3, (5) (a),
could dissolve parliament without approval of cabinet or anyone else. This
provision is still valid but only suspended because Under Transitional
Arrangements brought about by Amendment No 19, at 20.1.3, the President now
'may, in acting in consultation with the Prime Minister dissolve parliament.
To those borrowing Rugare Gumbos mantra, they would rather ignore
implications of amendment No 19 and still claim Mugabe has absolute
executive power as before the amendments to dissolve parliament.
The provisions which found expression in the constitution are mainly
contained in Schedule 8 of the same constitution. Notably, Schedule 8
details the powers of the President and also those of the Prime Minister.
The major areas of disagreement are stemming from the unilateral
appointments of the Attorney General, the Reserve Bank Governor, the
reappointment of Provincial Governors and appointment of Ambassadors. It has
been foolishly argued by Gumbo that President Mugabe has executive powers to
appoint these without consulting with the Prime Minister. Playing on
semantics, he further states the governors and ambassadors were simply
reappointed, transferred or otherwise. Again this is erroneous.
Under Schedule 8,Powers of the President, at (P),it is stated the President
,'in consultation' with the PM,makes 'key appointments' the President is
required to make under the terms of the constitution or any other act of
parliament. The key wording in this clause is 'in consultation'. The phrase
is defined on Sec 115 (1) (a) as meaning 'the person [president in this
case] is required to consult before arriving at a decision after securing
the agreement or consent of the person consulted'. Surely no spin can hide
such a blatant exposition .It does not require the wisdom of the Godfather
to understand this. For the avoidance of doubt, under the same subsection, a
reference to the power to appoint key person (s) to any public office is
required to be 'construed as including a reference to the like power of (a)
to reappoint to that office, (b) to appoint him or promote or transfer to
that office.Rugare Gumbo is quoted saying the governors were simply
reappointed as if this provision only applies to appointment of new
governors, which is wrong.
'In consultation' can readily be contrasted with another phrase commonly
used in the same constitution, 'after consultation'. The difference being
,where 'after consultation' is used, the person required to consult is not
bound by the advice or consent or opinion of the person consulted, again as
provided  by 115 (1)(a).Despite the non binding aspect of the advice,
opinion or consent, it is still a procedural requirement that a consultation
process or event be initiated. It remains a procedural requirement and where
it is not done, the process is unconstitutional.
Lastly, the drafters of the Constitutional Amendment No19 must have foreseen
the present difficulties and expected certain groups to try to wiggle out of
the binding nature of the amendment. It duly then provided under schedule 8
(1) that for the avoidance of doubt, the following provisions of the Inter
party Political Agreement, being XX thereof, shall during the subsistence of
the Inter party Political Agreement, prevail notwithstanding anything to the
contrary in this constitution.
The Prime Minister is very correct in asserting that some of the
appointment, reappointments were done unconstitutionally. However it should
also be noted that appointments done before Amendment No 19 might legally
not be challenged using provisions contained in Schedule 8.Rugare Gumbo and
those who borrow his skewed line of thinking must not try to hoodwink the
public by hiding behind constitutionalism. Rather, he should just have
stated the obvious, which is that ZANU PF does not care about
constitutionalism. Let Gumbo be reminded that there is currently is no
legitimacy outside the GPA.  Mugabe and ZANU PF lost the last election, only
to be saved by the brutality of the gun and Mbeki's machinations
The writer can be contacted at smakombe@btinternet.com


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zimbabwe – the unintended effects of land and indigenisation laws


by Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London 15/10/10

What has been dubbed “legitimised looting in the guise of indigenisation and
the racist land seizures” could be argued as having got unintended results
in achieving more inequalities and investor boycott.

In what clearly appears to be a deliberate retaliatory response to the EU
travel ban on Mugabe and his 200 allies, the Harare regime has targeted for
partial acquisition, British-owned industrial and financial giants such as
cigarette manufacturer BAT Zimbabwe, Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered
Bank. The inclusion of the Swiss food group Nestle Zimbabwe on the short
list comes as no surprise in view of last year’s incidents.

Having been in Zimbabwe for 50 years Nestle sparked an international media
outcry in February 2009 when it was reported to be purchasing milk from
Gushungo Dairy owned by Mugabe’s wife. However, in an undated statement on
its website, Nestle announced that it would no longer be receiving milk from
“these 8 farms” referring to Gushungo Dairy Estate and 7 other (unspecified)
farms from Sunday 4 October (without saying 2009 or 2010). Consequently,
militant rhetoric has also increased.

“We are going to make sure that Nestle buys Gushungo milk. It is clear that
Nestle is perpetuating a foreign regime change agenda. We are demanding that
with immediate effect Nestle must be indigenised,” Affirmative Action Group
(AAG) Secretary General Tafadzwa Musarara told journalists in Harare. It is
common knowledge that Grace was allocated Gushungo under her husband’s
controversial land reforms. Other beneficiaries include Zanu-pf  senior
members, their friends and allies as well as many members of the AAG who got
some of the best farms seized from whites (Zimonline, 22/10/09).

Other large multinational corporations in the line of fire are the partially
British-owned mining giants Rio Tinto and Zimplats. Zimbabwe Platinum Mines
(Zimplats) had to put on hold its US$2 billion expansion project in December
2005 unless the issue of Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPAs)
between Zimbabwe and South African companies had been settled.

The need to respect BIPAs came after Hippo Valley Sugar Estates, which is
owned by Anglo American Corporation had had part of its land invaded by war
veterans despite a standing bilateral agreement. As a result, 7 833 tonnes
of poor quality and unmillable cane from settler farmers valued at US$1.4
billion was rejected (The Zimbabwe Standard, 18/12/05). Five years later, no
BIPA is being respected by the Zanu-pf regime. The combined effects of the
chaotic, racist land seizures and indigenisation better known as “the
Zanu-pf vindictive nationalisation of foreign owned firms” are evidenced by
famine, poverty, 90 percent unemployment, the influx of Zimbabweans in South
Africa and obviously the reluctance of investors to risk everything to
“legitimised looting.” As a result, investors have voted with their feet.

In March the country’s power utility, Zimbabwe Electricity Power Authority
(ZESA) was reportedly failing to secure serious investors to develop two
power stations worth US$3 billion that could help to ease power problems
bedevilling economic growth. Asked on whether investors were scared to
invest in the country, the then chief Executive, Engineer Rafemoyo gave an
academic or politically correct answer saying the country was coming from
doldrums of economic meltdown and some investors were not yet ready to take
part in such huge projects.

That Zesa is feeling the effects of an investor boycott and the recent
resignation of its boss, Engineer Rafemoyo materialised on Wednesday, 13
October 2010 when the government owned Herald reported that Zesa holdings
had indefinitely shut down Hwange Thermal Power Station owing to “technical
problems,” forcing the utility to increase load-shedding outside normal
schedules in most parts of the country. However, Zesa Holdings denied that
Hwange Power Station had been shut down. “Hwange Power Station lost all five
generation units which were producing 560MW of power at 1745hrs on Monday 13
October 2010 (wrong date) due to a transmitter fault. Restoration of units
to service was conducted in phases with three units coming into service by
Tuesday 12 October 2010” said Zesa on its website, giving another wrong date
(Zesa.co.zw accessed 15/10/10). Its customers are on the receiving end.

A German business delegation cancelled a visit to Zimbabwe in March 2010,
put off by the controversial indigenisation law saying Zimbabwe had become a
“no-go area” for foreign investors. The move by Germany came about a week
after Norway announced it was putting on hold a US$1.5million project to
assist Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector citing the indigenisation law as the
reason.

Meanwhile beneficiaries of the chaotic land reform programme have confessed
that their participation in the land grab exercise was a result of greed to
merely snatch the farm houses from the white community and not to till the
land. The assertion contradicts the perceived enrichment of land reform as
peddled by Zanu-pf. A ZBC Newsnet reporter said, “Most farmers are
confessing that what they needed were farm houses and not vast swathes of
land, which implied slavery for them. That is the reason why there is no
productivity on the farms” (Zimdaily, 18/02/10).

Although the Zanu-pf leadership code says that it regards corruption as an
“evil disease destructive of society” the story seems to differ in practice.
The Zimbabwe Times reported on 15 June 2009 that Senator Jamaya Muvuduri of
Zanu-pf, who already allegedly owns four farms was wrestling with Catherine
Jouineau-Meredith, a  French citizen for Twyford Farm in Chegutu which is
protected by a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) between
Zimbabwe and French governments. Muvuduri reportedly owns Shiloh Farm near
Kadoma, Mandalay Farm near Chegutu, Hoffmarie Farm in Kadoma and Brunswick
Farm in Chegutu.

A typical breakdown of the rule of law under Mugabe’s stewardship is
illustrated by Jouineau-Meredith, when she said that during one of the
beating sessions, her farm workers were assaulted from 6.00 a.m. to 10.00
a.m. with bars and sticks on their buttocks and under the sole of their feet
adding, “The police refused to intervene or come to the farm to make a
statement.” The courts were not interested to help either.
Zimbabwe’s High Court in a ruling in January refused to enforce a SADC
Tribunal judgement outlawing the country’s land reforms although, the
Tribunal in November 2008 declared Mugabe’s land reform programme
discriminatory, racist and illegal under the SADC Treaty. It was suspended
for six months in August.

Mugabe has reportedly commissioned at least four land audits but failed to
publish their explosive findings due to embarrassment. First, there was a
land audit by Flora Bhuka, the then Minister of State in Vice President
Joseph Msika’s office, followed by the audit by the former Secretary to the
Cabinet Charles Utete to investigate matters relating to Flora Bhuka’s
audit! Then there was the Chiwewe Committee which recommended in vain that
areas that were protected under BIPAs, forestry estates or which had Export
Processing Zone (EPZ) licences be exempted from compulsory land acquisition.

According to Zimnetradio.com (20/07/09) a five-member Presidential Land
Resettlement Committee appointed by Mugabe (fourth one) completed its land
allocation audit in July 2009 and unearthed widespread evidence of corrupt
allocations and the use of violence by senior politicians and military
officers to evict landless smallholder farmers, the very people Mugabe
claimed the land reform policy sought to help. The team reportedly named
about 13 cabinet ministers and four provincial governors as having violated
the “one man, one farm policy” but the report is being set upon by Didymus
Mutasa, Mugabe’s confidante.

The Supreme Leader himself allegedly owns a 10,000 acre holding made up of
six farms worth £2million. According to the Daily Telegraph 25/09/09, Robert
Mugabe has built a secret farming empire from land seized from at least five
white-owned businesses. The paper says, the 1,100-acre Highfield farm near
Mugabe’s tribal home was bought commercially but five others were seized
from their white owners. His Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo
allegedly attempted to “hide” his empire under shelf companies “facilitated”by
Attorney General Johannes Tomana. For details of the properties see
www.zimbabwemetro.com “Chombo’s Empire – The Details” Sep 1st, 2009.

Nobody is suggesting any wrong doing in the foregoing but just astonished at
the ease with which some people amassed wealth and became multi-millionaires
in less than 30 years in the midst of abject poverty.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com.
 


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Zimbabwe – SADC presidents should not delude themselves


by Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London 05/10/10

It was a big delight to read about the US snub of SADC’s four Presidents
Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, Hifikepunye
Pohamba of Namibia and Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, now African Union
chairman who are reportedly planning to lobby for the removal of a travel
ban on Mugabe and his 200 allies.

Sadly SADC’s leaders have chosen delude themselves and bury their heads in
the sand like ostriches for the sake of pleasing their ageing “hero”.
Despite concrete evidence of Zanu-pf’s gross violation of human rights,
disregard for the rule of law, racist land seizures, legitimised looting,
reluctance to reform political governance and use of violence during the
constitution outreach programme, SADC leaders have shown who they sympathise
with.

As the prospect of famine looms high in Zimbabwe due to a botched land
reform programme and economic mismanagement, the SADC four have no regard
for the welfare of millions of displaced Zimbabweans some of who are facing
deportation to the depressing status quo of political uncertainty and 90 per
cent unemployment. While it is appreciated that some SADC countries have
opened their borders to Zimbabweans who are seeking political or economic
refuge from Mugabe’s tyrannical rule, a lot of the exiles are spending days
and nights in queues trying to regularise their stay in the face of forced
removal from certain countries.

It is not academic to visualise Zimbabweans being condemned to an indefinite
nomadic life all over the world due to some leaders’ preference for Mugabe’s
erstwhile debatable liberation war heroism. Rather than go on a wild goose
chase and, the SADC leaders should watch their carbon footprint and put
pressure on Mugabe back home to make him reform politically and honour the
GPA which he signed in their presence after losing presidential elections in
March 2008.

Zimbabweans who are struggling to find jobs, shelter and food 30 years after
independence are tired of being lectured on colonialism by people who have
caused them more suffering than the colonialists. It is a fact that the
Zimbabwe problem ended at Lancaster House conference with the signing of a
ceasefire agreement and the holding of democratic elections in 1980 as
neither side had won militarily. It is therefore unfair of some SADC leaders
to take sides when they should be impartially mediating and reconciling the
opposing sides.Targeted sanctions have never affected the ordinary
Zimbabweans other than the privileged 200 listed people who have been
invited by the EU to apply for delisting individually.

Ironically, as Mugabe was pontificating about human rights at the recent UN
Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York, in the presence of these
SADC leaders, 73 Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were held for three days in
filthy police cells at Harare Central without food or access to legal
assistance for the crime of exercising their democratic right to free
expression ion International Peace Day. Also five MDC officials were
reportedly seriously injured and one man died in Mbare after being attacked
with iron bars allegedly because of his views on the proposed constitution.

Racism has also reared its ugly head at the constitutional outreach
programme with the reported denial of white citizens by Zanu-pf war veterans
of the right to express their views on the proposed constitution as they
were regarded as “foreigners”. Similarly, according to the Centre for
Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) a fight erupted during a meeting at
Seke 1 High School in Chitungwiza on 18 September 2010 when one participant
advocated for dual citizenship in the new constitution leading to the
Zanu-pf supporters attacking the COPAC facilitator. The reason is that it
would give those in the Diaspora the right to vote regardless of their race,
colour, creed, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation or where they are
resident.

These incidents seek to demonstrate the need for pressure to be put on
Mugabe by SADC presidents to ensure there is a level playing field for all
Zimbabweans who want to exercise their democratic right to write a new
constitution in a peaceful, tranquil and tolerant environment.
 


Click here or ALT-T to return to TOP

Peace Watch 12/2010 of 14th October [Peace-Building in Zimbabwe]

PEACE WATCH 12/2010

[14th October 2010]

Peace-Building in Zimbabwe

Veritas will be doing a series profiling different organisations that are working in the arena of conflict prevention, management and peace-building. It is hoped that sharing information on objectives and programmes, strategies that have been found effective and problems encountered will inspire and help others working in this field.  We all need to be peace-builders in Zimbabwe and to learn from the experience of others.

This bulletin features the Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation [CCMT], an organization providing conflict intervention services to communities and organizations, using training and dialogue as tools for conflict resolution.  Veritas conducted a question and answer interview with CCMT’s director, to learn more about the organisation’s outreach programmes, achievements and the challenges it has faced along the way.

The Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation

Question [Q]: What are your organization’s objectives?

Answer [A]: CCMT’s vision is to promote “a society where people actively participate in creating social and economic justice by managing and transforming all forms of conflict constructively”.  CCMT’s objectives are to raise awareness and enhance the capacities of communities in conflict transformation to enable them to deal with their conflicts constructively.  We do this using capacity building, intervention and research. 

Q:  Conflict management and resolution are difficult enough in less complicated situations, how has the concept been received in the polarized political atmosphere prevailing in Zimbabwe.?

A:  Our work has been very well received in both the urban and rural areas.  Our approach is to sensitize communities on what we offer but it is up to them to identify problems and disputes affecting them. We do not go into communities to dictate but to facilitate dialogue and help them tackle the issues they see as problems. 

Q:  Does your initiative have the support of politicians?

A:  We work within the framework created by the political environment at the grassroots level, mainly through local government structures which include district councils, elected local officials and legislative representatives.  Members of Parliament attend our workshops. If we are required to seek authorization from the DA to enter a community, we comply.

Q:  Do you intervene in conflict situations by invitation from the community ?

A:  Yes, we intervene only by invitation. However, not every community experiencing problems knows about CCMT.  If we see a problem, we may go into a community to organize a workshop to sensitize community leaders about our work.  But after that it is up to them to invite us or not.

Q:  Tell us about some situations CCMT has tackled and whether long-term impacts have been achieved in the communities in question?

A:  Conflict resolution associations have been formed as a result of CCMT’s work. We support such associations in Epworth, Chitungiza, Mbare, Kuwadzana, Highfield and Tafara-Mabvuku in Harare. Other associations are in Rujeko and Mucheke in Masvingo and Mkoba North and South in Gweru.

Q:  How do you ensure that communities feel they own the process rather than that CCMT imposes or prescribes solutions?

A:  We clarify the role that CCMT is able to play; we only go in as facilitators. CCMT’s role is to create a safe space where conflicting parties can discuss and identify solutions to their problems. We do not impose or prescribe solutions, those have to come from the parties.

Q:  What are the measures that communities emerging from conflict situations must take to ensure that they do not relapse into violence and other upheavals?

A:  When we facilitate dialogue between conflicting parties, we make sure participants internalize the process and that way learn relevant skills.  CCMT’s hope is that they can use these skills beyond the specific intervention.  In the main, we try to impart skills for communicating in a non-violent way.  We also equip communities with skills to analyse a conflict so that they can identify its root causes and work on them.

Q:  It is common knowledge that in any conflict situation, it is women and children who bear the brunt. Does CCMT take this into consideration when implementing outreach initiatives?

A:  While it is true that women and children bear the brunt in conflict situations, the creation and exacerbation of a conflict is a collective responsibility.  All members of a community bear responsibility.  Therefore our approach is as inclusive as possible.  We recognize that women are an intrinsic part of the community and can play a vital role through their ability to influence as mothers and nurturers.  We believe it is good to equip them with skills to deal with conflict, but do not regard them as a separate entity.

Q:  Apart from conflict linked to political affiliation and land occupation, what other issues spark disputes within communities?

A:  Every day disputes are the ones that give rise to political conflict as people will seize on them, misinterpret them and take them out of context. As an example, CCMT is facilitating the resolution of disputes in schools between parents, school development associations and school administrations.

Q:  The work of CCMT involves giving communities capacity to manage conflict. Tell us about CCMT’s training programmes?

A:  We provide training linked to specific interventions.  If a particular intervention is needed, we bring in training for it. To cite an example, in one area of Zimbabwe we have brought together a group of headmasters to equip them with conflict management and transformation skills to deal with disputes within their field of professional operation.  Ideally, however, it is the conflict that defines the training needs.  It should not be the other way around.

Q:  How does CCMT liaise with other organizations undertaking similar work so as to avoid duplication?

A:  We are part of the Peace-Building Network of Zimbabwe whose very purpose is to enhance co-ordination among organizations involved in peace building.  At community level we network with organizations operating in the same districts.  This rules out unnecessary duplication.

Q:  Has the  existence of the government of national unity created a better operating environment for CCMT?

A:  Yes, it has created a better operating environment in that communities are more open to assistance from outside and there is more tolerance between conflicting political groups.  This has generally created a more conducive environment.  We hope to work towards maintaining and enhancing it

Q:  Skills to handle differences amicably must be instilled early in life.  Does CCMT have programmes specially tailored for schools and youth groups?

A:  We do not have any programmes for pupils in schools, but are initiating a pilot project in association with the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo.  This involves building up intervention skills within a select group that includes students, lecturers, university administration and support staff.  This is in recognition of the fact that universities and other tertiary institutions are hotbeds of conflict.  We will assess the success of the pilot project and decide where we go from there.

Q:  How do you disseminate information about your programmes and successes so that communities in conflict can benefit?

A:  We are currently developing a strategy by building up our research department which will package and disseminate our information.

Q:  What are some of the challenges CCMT has faced along the way?

A:  One that comes to mind immediately is the imbalance between the work that needs to be done and the availability of resources to do the work. An additional challenge is CCMT’s ability to be flexible in responding to situations on the ground.  Funding partners expect specific outcomes from specific areas in specific timeframes and this can be very limiting when a situation demanding immediate attention arises

We would be pleased to hear from any organisations working for peace that would like their work featured.  We are aware that some organisations are working in very difficult circumstances and cannot therefore give us full details of their work, for the sake of the communities they work with.  But any strategies that can be shared are of interest.  We have a policy of sending a profile to the Director of the organisation featured for the go-ahead before it is distributed by Peace Watch. 

 

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

 

Back to the Top
Back to Index