Alshabab strikes again in KweKwe

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
15 October 2012

The KweKwe based ZANU PF terror outfit, Alshabab, on Sunday struck again as
its rogue militants attacked members of the Utakataka Express band, accusing
them and their late lead singer Tongai Moyo of belonging to the MDC-T.

This latest round of wanton violence against innocent civilians took place
at Jessie Lodge, owned by Owen ‘mudha’ Mugabe, Alshabab’s alleged ring
leader. The band was playing there as part of festivities to commemorate the
life and death of Moyo, popularly known as ‘Dhewa,’ who died a year ago.

Information made available to SW Radio Africa on Monday indicates the
militants beat up some Utakataka band members when they tried to come to the
aid of a bar lady who was being assaulted by Brian Sinyoro, a gang member.

The militants also helped themselves to the gate takings and accused
Utakataka members of being MDC supporters since, according to them, Moyo was
also an MDC supporter.

One patron who witnessed the fracas told us: ‘The youths uttered insults
against the late Moyo and against his son Peter Moyo, whom they also accused
of being an MDC supporter just like his father. They vowed that they were
going to discipline him,’ the patron said.

This latest incident came barely 48 hours after the Settlement Chikwinya,
the MP for Mbizo, was arrested by the police for criticizing the militants
in an interview with SW Radio Africa.

Last week the MP confirmed to us that a 29 year old Mbizo resident was
hacked to death in a pub in front of friends and patrons, by a member of the
notorious Alshabab.

Chikwinya said his arrest by the police was an attempt to silence him,
vowing that as a legislator he will expose all the evil deeds of the violent
group.

‘I was alarmed the police asked me not to speak to the media about the
violence and other issues in the constituency. If they thought I was going
to heed their advice, they are mistaken because I know they were taking
instructions from ZANU PF,’ the MP said.

MDC-T’s Mbizvo MP arrested over ‘Alshabab’ story

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
12 October 2012

The MDC-T MP for Mbizvo in KweKwe, Settlement Chikwinya, was briefly
detained by police in the Midlands town over a story SW Radio Africa carried
on Thursday.

The MP had confirmed to us that a 29 year old Mbizvo resident was on Tuesday
hacked to death in a pub in front of friends and patrons, by a member of the
notorious ZANU PF militia that calls itself ‘Alshabab.’

In remarks that he didn’t want us to publish at the time, Chikwinya told us
a source in the police force had alerted him that authorities were planning
to arrest him over the fact that he had been giving information to the media
about the Alshabab terror group.

But on Friday the MP sent SW Radio Africa a text message saying: ‘Arrested.
At KK (KweKwe) central police over alshabab story.’

The MP had been highly critical of the fact that police had not arrested the
alleged murderer, who is reportedly on the run.

“It is clear who is behind the attack and the police have all of a sudden
developed cold feet. The weapon used (machete) is synonymous with ZANU PF as
a tool of violence. This was a savage attack carried out in front of
witnesses and I find it amazing the police have not made an arrest yet,” the
MP complained on Thursday.

Gutu says rigging still possible with new Electoral Act

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
15 October 2012

Senator Obert Gutu, the deputy Minister of Justice, says he’s not too
optimistic that the new Electoral Act will prevent election rigging. The Act
was signed into law two weeks ago.

Some have welcomed the new Electoral Act, saying it signals the end of the
machinery that formed the backbone of ZANU PF vote-rigging.

But Gutu remains pessimistic: ‘It is not 100 percent fool proof we will not
witness incidents of vote rigging. The signing into law of this Act
obviously brings with it many advantages but there are other areas were ZANU
PF stills dominates, like the media landscape,’ Gutu said.

The senator added: ‘But honestly speaking, this Act will make it hard for
people to rig but it’s not impossible. ZANU PF still controls the vast
majority of the election machinery in Zimbabwe.’

He said that only once all political parties are afforded equal time on the
state media, as well as getting access to all parts of the country for
meetings, rallies and consultations, could you begin to talk about a level
playing field.

‘This is why I said we can have a new Electoral Act in place but that will
not stop others from cheating. Denying your opponents air time on state
radio and television is cheating and so is blocking them from addressing
rallies,’ according to Gutu.

Some of the amendments brought by the Bill include the introduction of a
polling station-based voters’ roll. The Bill will also compel the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission to announce presidential election results within five
days of polling.

The new Bill also establishes an Electoral Court to speedily deal with any
electoral disputes. Police officers would no longer be allowed inside the
polling station, while the visually impaired will be allowed to bring any
person of their choice to assist them in voting in the presence of a polling
officer.

The Electoral Amendment Bill, together with the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission Bill, signed into law last week, are part of the reforms that
were agreed to by the three parties in the inclusive Government.

Meanwhile, Gutu has lambasted his Minister Patrick Chinamasa for saying that
ZANU PF will not accept Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai taking over, should
he win presidential elections next year. During a BBC interview aired
worldwide on Sunday Chinamasa made it absolutely clear that Tsvangirai will
not be allowed to win an election.

‘I can say what he said is first of all the joke of the year. Secondly the
comments are very damaging to him as a Justice Minister and a lawyer. It was
very unwise for him to say that and I’m sure where ever he is, its slowly
dawning on him that he made a massive blunder,’ Gutu said.

‎UK based law expert Dr Alex Magaisa told us the comments by Chinamasa were
a clear signal that ZANU PF are not prepared to relinquish power, even if
they lose the elections.

‘He is the Minister responsible for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary affairs
in Zimbabwe and that portfolio gives him the role of administering the
Electoral Act, among other laws that deal with elections.

‘As Justice Minister he will have a role in the next electoral processes,
including the accreditation of election observers. Yet already, long before
the election dates have been declared, Chinamasa is not only defining the
goalposts, but declaring that one of the prospective contestants cannot
score or let alone win the contest,’ Magaisa said.

Tsvangirai Requests Out Of Court Settlement In Maintenance Case

http://www.radiovop.com/

Harare, October 15, 2012 - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has through his
lawyers requested for an out of court settlement in the maintenance case in
which his former lover, Locadia Karimatsenga, is demanding US$15 000 per
month.

Everson Samukange representing Karimatsenga and advocate Thabani Mpofu
standing in for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader spent almost
three hours negotiating at the court chambers on Monday.

"We have been talking to each other as counsels. We believe we owe it to the
profession, to the court and to the generality of Zimbabweans that we settle
this matter. We have been able to find each other and we believe there is a
way to settle this issue that will not involve the court," read Mpofu's
court submissions which Radio VOP got hold of.

"We have agreed that with the indulgence of this court this matter could be
postponed to allow the processes we are carrying out to unfold."

In his court papers, also seen by Radio VOP, Samkange noted: "I can confirm
that there are processes that are going on and we expect to be able to
settle the matter without the involvement of the court.

"We do not expect to fail. The respondent has approached us and we think it
is possible for us to settle it."

Karimatsenga filed court papers demanding a US$15,000 monthly maintenance.
Tsvangirai denies he is married to Karimatsenga, who however, insists the
MDC-T leader completed customary marriage rites by paying lobola to her
family last November.

Karimatsenga successfully sought a court interdict blocking Tsvangirai’s bid
to enter a monogamous marriage with his new love, Elizabeth Macheka, last
month.

Magistrate Reuben Mukhavhi is expected to give his ruling on the matter on
Thursday.

Mugabe shimmies up to youth vote in advance of election

http://www.irishtimes.com

Monday, October 15, 2012

BILL CORCORAN

ANALYSIS: Zimbabwe’s ageing president has little traction with the vital
youth demographic

ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s appearance last week in a new music
video is one of many recent indications that his Zanu-PF party views the
youth vote as essential to success in next year’s proposed elections.

Aired repeatedly on state television, the amateurish video shows the ageing
Mugabe (88), a known devotee of old-school British correctness, dancing with
a group of hip youths with Mohawk haircuts who joyfully sing the president’s
praises.

Zanu-PF has always availed of youth militias to intimidate and harasses its
political opponents and the general voting population around election time.

But the former liberation movement has had little real traction over the
past decade with the wider youth demographic, which has no direct experience
of its activities during the war of independence against white rule.

In addition to bringing a youthful edge to Mugabe’s image, Zanu-PF has
adopted a new strategy that sees Zimbabwe’s cash-strapped government give up
to €775,000 to each of the country’s 10 provinces for businesses run by
youths under its indigenisation programme.

Zanu-PF’s Chris Mutsvangwa told South Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper
last week that he believes the “empowerment” strategy will result in many
young people voting for the party.

“Zanu-PF goes for the real thing. Your wealth is the basis of your
prosperity. If you control wealth, the future of the youth is assured,” said
the former director of Mugabe’s intelligence agency.

That remains to be seen, but recent international surveys show Zanu-PF has
gained ground on prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic
Change since the disputed presidential poll of 2008.

According to a survey by US-based Freedom House published in August, support
for the MDC had plummeted from 38 per cent in 2010 to 19 per cent. Over the
same period, Zanu-PF’s support grew from 17 per cent to 31 per cent.

Sections of the public have become disillusioned with the MDC, Freedom House
said, blaming it for the failures of the power-sharing government into which
it entered with Zanu-PF in 2009. A number of corruption cases linked to MDC
party officials have not helped it.

Buoyed by these developments, Zanu-PF believes it stands a better chance of
success at the polls, and securing the youth vote on the coming campaign
trail could be just what is needed to tip the balance in their favour.

While the date for the coming poll has yet to be officially announced,
Mugabe indicated in court papers last month that an election would take
place by the end of next March.

The MDC maintains the country is not ready to hold free and fair elections,
as many of the political reforms that were to be introduced under the power-
sharing arrangement – including the adoption of a new constitution – have
yet to materialise.

Both MDC groups have endorsed the draft constitution but Zanu-PF has
indicated it wants extensive amendments made at a stakeholders’ conference
scheduled for later this month. The MDC says there can be no election
without a new constitution, as a host of political reforms would be realised
when it was adopted.

A rise in the levels of political violence perpetrated by Zanu-PF youth
militias has also been recorded recently, and Tsvangirai has warned he will
pull out of the coalition and elections unless it is curbed. As he put it
nine days ago, he would not “step on dead bodies” to get elected as the
country’s president.

Great expectations for Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, but vigilance required

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) welcomes the eventual gazetting of
the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Act after inordinate delays that
have prevented this body from carrying out its critical mandate since
Commissioners were appointed in 2009.
15.10.12

by ZLHR

The signing of the Bill into law allows the ZHRC to finally commence its
operations amid great expectations from Zimbabweans who have patiently
waited for years to realise this long overdue genesis.

At last Zimbabwe has a constitutional body that is mandated to promote
fundamental rights and freedoms, and to protect the public against abuse of
power and maladministration by the State.

Although ZLHR maintains that the powers of the Minister of Justice and Legal
Affairs remain too wide, discretionary, and may have the effect of blocking
key investigations and adversely affecting transparency, accountability and
independence of the Commission, the importance of having an operational
Commission to deal with protection of human rights cannot be
over-emphasised, particularly in a society where violations of fundamental
rights and freedoms remain prevalent.

Civil society and the general public must ensure that they continue to
scrutinise the conduct of the Minister so as to ensure his powers are not
abused to the detriment of effective investigation and redress of alleged
abuses.

ZLHR is also of the view that the protective mandate of the ZHRC is still
not strong enough and the body’s independence is not properly safeguarded.
However, we remain hopeful that the integrity of the Commissioners will
assist in ensuring that they play their part in guaranteeing that effective
action is taken to enforce this protective mandate without fear or favour in
order to build a strong and effective institution.

With a constitutional referendum and elections on the horizon, and having
reference to historical trends, the existence of a functional mechanism to
investigate and deal with politically-motivated rights violations is
extremely important, especially where such violations tend to worsen in the
run-up to, and following, such national processes.

Although the Act does not specifically address the role of the ZHRC in
electoral processes, despite our submissions to Parliament in this regard,
we will continue to advocate for the inclusion of this critical institution
in national conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms.

ZLHR encourages the ZHRC to immediately commence its operations and ensure
that a strong, professional secretariat is established to assist in the
implementation of its strategic plan and the fulfillment of its
constitutional mandate. It must ensure visibility throughout the country,
particularly within local communities, down to the ward and district levels.

Its activities and swift professional action will allow observers and users
of its services to assess the institution’s commitment to the promotion and
protection of human rights in Zimbabwe, especially where such concepts have
been anathema to many state and non state actors who have embraced a culture
of impunity over the past three decades.

ZLHR remains mindful of the emotive issue of outstanding redress for past
human rights excesses prior to the timeline provided to the ZHRC for
investigation of human rights abuses. ZLHR therefore reiterates its call to
the coalition government to urgently establish an independent and credible
mechanism to deal with issues relating to past human rights violations and
atrocities.

This independent mechanism must be mandated to deal with all past human
rights violations that have occurred in Zimbabwe, including the
pre-Independence era, as well as the post-Independence atrocities of
Gukurahundi, Operation Murambatsvina, and electoral-related crimes, amongst
others.

Furthermore, ZLHR reiterates that all crimes committed in the past remain
crimes, whether or not a national human rights institution or other
mechanism exists to deal with past human rights violations.

Government, political players and other perpetrators of violations must
disabuse themselves of the notion that the creation of such mechanisms
removes responsibility and punishment for such crimes. It would be foolish
to assume that the despicable crimes committed and documented on a daily
basis for the past three decades can be met with impunity.

The police, the prosecutorial authorities and the judiciary must at all
times bear in mind that they have a constitutional and legal obligation to
respectively investigate and arrest, prosecute, and punish convicted
perpetrators. ZLHR expects these constitutional duties to be carried out
without fear or favour, and we will continue to exercise our watchdog role
in this regard and beyond as we answer to our calling of fostering a culture
of human rights in Zimbabwe.

As the vanguard for human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, we keenly await
meaningful interactions with the ZHRC and will support its endeavours
without seeking to compromise its independence, impartiality and
effectiveness. We urge all Zimbabweans to do the same, whilst always
remaining vigilant in order to ensure that the ZHRC develops quickly into a
strong, effective and trusted institution that caters for the needs of all
victims, survivors and their families.

Obert Mpofu's campaign manager defects to MDC

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Zanu PF Mines Minister and MP for Umguza, Obert Mpofu’s campaign manager,
Lameck Moyo, has defected to MDC-T, saying Zimbabweans have suffered enough
under his former party.
15.10.12

by Thando Moyo

Moyo, who was Mpofu’s campaign manager from 2005 when he was elected
legislator for Umguza, defected to MDC-T during a MDC-T rally held at
Tatezela in Bubi Matebeleland North on Saturday.

The rally was addressed by Deputy Prime Minister, Thokozani Khupe, and MDC-T
Deputy Organizing Secretary, Abdnenico Bhebhe.

“I worked with Mpofu when he was first elected as an MP in 2005. I know that
guy in and out. There is no peace or harmony in Zanu (PF). I have also
decided to join the MDC after realising that Zanu (PF) has also caused too
much suffering among Zimbabweans. I think it is high time Zanu PF should be
stopped,”Moyo said this to a round of applause from the more than 700 MDC-T
supporters at the rally.

Moyo said he would work very hard to make sure that MDC-T won the two
Matabeleland North constituencies of Umguza and Bubi which are under Zanu
(PF).

Zanu (PF) has three parliamentary seats in Matebeleland North, the first
being Umguza under Mpofu, Bubi under Clifford Sibanda and Nkayi South under
Small and Medium Enterprises Minister, Sithembiso Nyoni.

In welcoming Moyo to MDC-T, Bhebhe said: “Moyo has taken the right decision
by joining MDC-T which is our party of excellence and is admired by many”.

Moyo’s former boss Mpofu is believed to be one of the Zanu (PF) bigwigs
looting Marange Diamond mines. Last week, he boasted that he was the “King
of Matebeleland.”

Since his appointment two years ago as Mines Minister, Mpofu is on a buying
spree of the properties in Matebeleland region especially in Bulawayo and
Victoria Falls.

The rich cabinet minister has acquired several shopping complexes, night
clubs, and supermarkets among others in the resort town.

ZUJ calls for Malema to apologize for harassing journalists

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) Secretary General Foster Dongozi has
called upon former African National Congress (ANC) Youth League leader
Julius Malema to issue an apology for the violent and disorderly conduct of
his aides on Daily News journalists Tendai Kamhungira and Bethule Nkiwane in
Harare on Saturday.
15.10.12

by The Zimbabwean

The two journalists were seeking to interview Malema when they were set upon
by the violent mob.

“We do appreciate that this week it was reported that we, as Zimbabwe, are
importing a lot of consumables from South Africa but I do not think Malema
and his hangers on should add violence against journalists, intolerance and
so on to what we should import from South Africa.

“As African journalists, we have been campaigning for the Safety and
Protection of African journalists at the African Union Commission and sadly,
Malema’s compatriot, the incoming AU chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma
will have to deal with our complaint, we cannot have our journalists being
harassed as a result of violence imported from South Africa through Malema’s
bodyguards.”

Dongozi added: “We demand that Malema should issue an unconditional apology
for the trauma brought on the journalists and that they should return the
memory card which was stolen by his aides from his camera.”

He said ZUJ was going to raise its concerns with the South African Embassy
and the African Commission’s Special Rappateur on Access to Information and
Freedom of Expression, Pansy Tlakula, another South African and Zimbabwean
authorities.

If Malema genuinely has an interest in the rights and welfare of workers,
which he claims, he should apologize for the abuse that two Zimbabwean
workers suffered at the hands of his hangers on.

“Recently, following massive engagement and lobbying, the United Nations
Council on Human Rights adopted resolutions on the safety of journalists
which have to be respected by State and non State actors including violent
mobs accompanying Malema.” – Nigel Nyamutumbu, ZUJ Information Desk

Juju’s ‘goons attacked Zim journos’

http://www.iol.co.za

October 15 2012 at 07:44am
By Peta Thornycroft

Zimbabwe - Julius Malema’s security crew allegedly attacked journalists from
a Harare Sunday newspaper when they tried to interview him at a restaurant
on Saturday.

The journalists, working for the Sunday edition of The Daily News, reported
this to police and have a case number.

According to the journalists, Bhethule Nkiwane, a photographer, was
manhandled by three heavily built men as he tried to take photos of Malema
and his entourage of about 12 people as they went into a restaurant.

Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) group editor Stanley Gama said he
witnessed the incident. In the heat of the five-minute “scuffle”, the
bouncers took away Nkiwane’s photographic memory card after forcing him to
delete photos of Malema.

Gama said his young photographer had also lost other valuable photos from
the weeks prior to the “mad and unprovoked assault”.

“Malema seemed calm and appeared interested in talking to my colleagues
after exchanging pleasantries and greetings. But after the introductions,
the goons pushed him aside and told our reporter to go to hell. It was
sudden and unexpected,” Gama said.

At the eatery, Malema’s team spent R1 400 on food.

The Daily News on Sunday reported that hours after he arrived in Harare on
Friday, Malema attended a lavish party hosted by a top Zanu-PF official in
the leafy suburb of Highlands.

Malema told Independent Newspapers that he had travelled to Harare purely to
attend the wedding of a Zanu-PF official, but his spokesman, Floyd Shivambu,
had put out a statement last week, saying the main purpose was to engage
with Zimbabweans to advance “economic freedom”.

Independent Foreign Service

Malema to fight 'imperialist forces'

http://ewn.co.za

Eyewitness News | 3 hours ago

HARARE - Former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema on Monday
said he visited Zimbabwe to gain “wisdom and inspiration” so that he can
intensify his fight against “imperialist forces” back home.

The controversial politician visited the country at the weekend, where he
told guests at a wedding that he was only scared of defeat.

He said he wants white people to hand over minerals and land, without
compensation.

According to the state-run Herald newspaper, Malema told guests in Harare
that he was not scared of blood, as long as it delivers what belongs to his
people.

Malema rubbished claims he would seek asylum in Zimbabwe and vowed he would
never run away from South Africa.

He said he was carrying on former president Nelson Mandela's struggle.

Zimbabwe under Zanu-PF an "inspiration to Africa" - Malema

http://www.politicsweb.co.za

Politicsweb.co.za
15 October 2012

Former ANCYL leader also ridicules polygamy in address to Harare wedding,
says its spreads disease

Former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has described Zimbabwe's
achievements under Zanu-PF rule as an "inspiration to Africa". This is
according to a report in the Zanu-PF supporting Herald newspaper in Harare,
Zimbabwe.

Malema was speaking at the wedding of Zanu-PF Youth League members, Tendai
Wenyika and Mike Gava in Harare on Saturday. Among the other guests in
attendance were senior Zanu-PF officials including Nathan Shamuyarira, David
Parirenyatwa, Saviour Kasukuwere, Chris Mutsvangwa and Cde Patrick Zhuwao.
Almost the entire ANC Youth League leadership was also reportedly in
attendance.

Addressing the guests Malema stated: ‘‘We are coming here to Zimbabwe not
because we are running away from problems, but to come and gain strength
because what you have achieved is an inspiration to Africa. Don't listen to
imperialist newspapers. You have achieved a lot. You are running your own
country, you have been managing your own affairs and you are not controlled
by foreigners. That is what we need in South Africa. So we came here just to
seek an inspiration and wisdom so that when we go home, we can double the
spirit of fighting against imperialist forces.''

Malema added: ‘‘Our struggle is a defined struggle. We are not a lost
generation. We are asking what belongs to us. We are not asking for any
favour neither are we victimising anybody." He said the youth in South
Africa were calling on whites to surrender their land and mines - without
compensation - because "when they came from Europe they did not carry any
land into South Africa. What we are asking is for them to surrender our
minerals because they did not come with any mineral."

"We want that land and those minerals for free because they never paid for
those minerals. Actually they killed people to get that land and those
minerals. We are not going to give them money when we take the land back
because it will be like we are thanking them with money for killing our
people. We will never do that, little did they know that we are not scared
of blood. We are scared of defeat. We don't want to be defeated but seeing
blood is not what we are scared of as long as that blood delivers what
belongs to us we are prepared to go to that extent. Because it cannot be
generations before us, which has failed to deliver what rightfully belongs
to us and we equally fail the future generation. We want to be remembered as
a generation of economic freedom fighters."

Malema also took a dig at ANC President Jacob Zuma's polygamy in a comment
which, the Herald said, left many in the audience in stitches of laughter.
He stated that: "comrade Marupeng (an ANCYL member) raised a very important
point last night. She spoke about them (Mike and Tendai) having many kids
and people laughed as if having many kids is a taboo. You must never be
ashamed of having many kids; you must be ashamed of having many wives, not
many kids. Many wives are not an alternative. Actually they spread diseases
because that is multi-sexual relationship and they are not protected. Have
many kids with one wife Mike.

We want to see many kids, why? Because we must reproduce ourselves. For our
ideas to be sustainable, we have to reproduce ourselves. In the whole of
Africa, we are not more than one billion and the world has got seven billion
people. In Africa we have not more than one billion people. What it means is
that we have gone less than a billion people in Africa facing more than six
billion. We have to be half of that so that our ideas can dominate. I know
that in some instances size does not matter . . . but when it comes to a
revolution, size matters."

SA trade mission heads for Zimbabwe

http://www.moneyweb.co.za

15 October 2012 01:14

To begin a trade and investment conference.

A delegation of officials and businesspeople from South Africa arrived in
Zimbabwe on Sunday to begin a trade and investment conference, the
department of trade and industry said.

The delegation is being led by deputy minister of trade and industry
Elizabeth Thabethe for the fourth annual Investment and Trade Initiative
(ITI), the department said in a statement.

The South African exhibition officially opens on Monday and will feature
businesspeople displaying their wares and services.

The ITI is part of the department's export and investment promotion strategy
that focuses on high-growth markets with the intent of creating
opportunities for South African businesses.

The business delegation will include companies from sectors such as
construction, manufacturing, agriculture and processing, mining, and
information technology.

Zimbabwe economy forecast to grow at 9%

October 15 2012 at 08:00am
By Reuters

Zimbabwe’s economy was projected to grow 8.9 percent next year if the
political environment remained stable and the government lived within its
budget, the finance ministry said on Friday. Uncertainty over the date and
conduct of elections due within the next year is casting a shadow over the
economy given Zimbabwe’s recent history of violent and disputed polls. The
economy has been growing since the formation in 2009 of a unity government
between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. –
Reuters

Coltart blames 'politics' for Warriors failures

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

14/10/2012 00:00:00
by Sports Reporter

SPORTS Minister David Coltart says depoliticising football should be the
first step to solving what is wrong with Zimbabwean football.

Coltart spoke on Sunday after Zimbabwe lost 2-0 away to Angola as they
failed to qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations finals.

Manucho’s double in Luanda brought the aggregate scores level at 3-3, but
Angola went through on away goals rule.
Coltart said: “Along with the rest of Zimbabwe, I’m bitterly disappointed
with our failure to qualify for AFCON 2013. But it was so close and well
done.

“When we clean up Zimbabwe football and rid it of political influence, we
will start getting better results on the field – the two are linked.”

Coltart urged the Zimbabwe Football Association to finalise its
investigation into match fixing in football so the country can start
planning for future tournaments.

Over 60 players and officials are implicated in the worst corruption to hit
local football. ZIFA officials say players and coaches took bungs from Asian
betting syndicates to lose matches by set scores – allowing the syndicates
to clean up at the bookies.

Coltart said: “Now we need to analyse the Asiagate report out this week and
continue the process of cleaning up and de-politicising Zimbabwe football.”

Media Alliance of Zimbabwe position paper on media provisions in the draft constitution

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe welcomes provisions in the Draft Constitution
of Zimbabwe produced on 18 July 2012 which contains an express guarantee on
freedom of expression, which includes freedom of the media, artistic
expression and academic freedom, as well as guaranteeing the right to access
information, in compliance with international standards.
15.10.12

by MISA

However, MAZ notes several areas of concern that should be amended to
adequately guarantee freedom of expression and access to information.

MAZ is concerned by the entrenchment of “state-owned” media in Section
4.18(4). Although the draft protects the independence and impartiality of
the state-owned media, the best way forward would be to transform all
state-owned media into public media that are run by independent boards and
are accountable to the public through Parliament. The appointment procedure
for board members should be democratic and fully transparent, and allow for
public input. In light of this, the Constitution should clearly state and
define “public media”, as opposed to “state media”.

State media fall directly under the control of state institutions, such as
the Ministry of Information and cannot be expected to be fair, balanced and
impartial. Public media on the other hand, are independent institutions
established to work in the public interest in line with regional and
international standards and principles contained in documents, such as the
“Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa” adopted by
the AU Commission on Human and People’s Rights in 2002. Zimbabwe’s national
broadcaster, ZBC, is an example of a public media institution that has been
hijacked by the state for narrow partisan political purposes.

MAZ is also concerned by the entrenchment of statutory regulation of the
media through the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), created by Section 12.17
of the draft Constitution. This section reinforces the disciplinary powers
of the ZMC to “take or recommend disciplinary action against journalists and
other persons employed in the press and other media of communication who are
found to have breached any law or any code of conduct applicable to them”.
This provision contradicts a clause guaranteeing media freedom where it
refers to the fact that government shall not

control or interfere with any media activity, because it allows for
continued statutory interference in the freedom of the media. The existence
of a statutory “disciplinary” body for the media runs counter to the
Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa. If a media
institution breaks an existing law, there is no need for a Commission to
usurp the perfectly adequate justice system to enforce any penalties
associated with the breach of that law.

MAZ believes that codes of conduct should be a matter for the media
community to establish and to enforce – not a statuory commission. This
self-regulation, supervised by an independent media council established by
the media community, should be guaranteed in the new Constitution as it
protects freedom of expression and promotes independent and professional
journalism.

MAZ also notes that although access to public information held by the state
is specifically guaranteed, it does not protect against subsequent
legislation that obstructs the public’s right to access contemporary
information. For example, the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (AIPPA) allegedly guarantees the public’s right to information
but then takes the right away by introducing numerous arbitrary and
discretionary conditions that have the effect of depriving the public of
their right to information. This section should contain a clause
specifically guaranteeing the public’s right to access public information
contemporaneously.

About the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe

The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe is a partnership of media advocacy and
representative groups in Zimbabwe working towards defending freedom of
expression and freedom of the media. Since its formation, MAZ has been
advocating for media law and policy reform, to ensure a free, fair,
independent and pluralistic media.

Members of the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe are:

Media Institute of Southern• Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe Chapter

Media Monitoring Project• Zimbabwe (MMPZ)

Zimbabwe Union of Journalists• (ZUJ)

Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum• (ZINEF)

Federation of African Media• Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ)

Africa Community Publishing Development Trust (ACPDT)•

Zimbabwean 'taken to village court for failing to give husband best chicken pieces'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

A Zimbabwean man assaulted his wife and dragged her to a village court last
week where she was found guilty of disobeying custom by failing to give him
the juiciest pieces of chicken.

By Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg 2:48PM BST 15 Oct 2012

Nomusa Sibanda, 24, gave her husband the gizzard, wings and one drumstick
and ate the chicken breast and second drumstick herself, according to local
newspaper, The Sunday News.

Jabulani Ncube, 40 was incensed and beat up his wife who fled to her
grandmother's house.

The next day, he forced her to attend the village court where he complained
to the traditional leaders in the Nkayi Communal Land, 100 miles north east
of Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo, that his wife was "uncultured and
disrespectful".

He warned that he would seek a divorce if she again failed to give him the
drumsticks and breast which in traditional culture are due to the man of the
house.
Mrs Sibanda was unrepentant and told the court: "How long shall I slaughter
chickens and not taste the back portion?"

She was found guilty of ignoring custom and fined a chicken, as was her
grandmother Gogo MaDawu for failing to teach her granddaughter "how to treat
her husband and dish out meals".

Court frees journalist

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

A correspondent of The Zimbabwean,Thomas Madhuku has been freed on charges
of practicing journalism without accreditation after Harare magistrate Anita
Tshuma ordered the state to put its house in order.
15.10.12

by MISA

Magistrate Tshuma freed Madhuku after the state failed to furnish the court
with a trial date. The magistrate said the state had shown that it was not
ready to proceed to trial after postponing the case on several occasions.

background

Madhuku who was on $50 bail, was arrested on 23 July 2012 while working on a
story pertaining to alleged anomalies on the voters roll.

He was accused of contravening Section 78 (2) of the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

Madhuku was arrested at the Registrar- General’s Offices in Harare while
trying to seek clarification from Registrar- General Tobaiwa Mudede on
anomalies he had identified on the voter’s roll for Chipinge South
constituency.

Platinum cheaper to mine in Zimbabwe than in SA

http://www.bdlive.co.za

BY TAWANDA KAROMBO, OCTOBER 15 2012, 15:42

THE Mimosa platinum mine, a Zimbabwean joint venture project between
Aquarius Platinum and Impala Platinum (Implats), is in line to record
204,000 troy ounces (oz) of platinum this year, a marginal increase from
last year’s production of 202,000oz.

Platinum mining companies in South Africa and Zimbabwe are facing
operational challenges such as erratic power supplies, reduced working
hours, owing to strikes, and an uncertain legislative and political
framework.

However, Ben Davis, an analyst at Liberum Capital, said the Mimosa mine is
"operating normally and profitably under difficult circumstances".

Although some South African platinum miners are scaling down operations, and
shutting down other projects in some instances, Zimbabwean platinum miners
are expanding operations, buoyed by relatively low operating costs.

Winston Chitando, the MD at the Mimosa mine, said platinum production would
rise this year. "We are expecting to produce 204,000oz compared with about
202,000oz last year, a slight increase due to efficiency improvements," said
Mr Chitando during a tour of the mine at the weekend.

However, the expected increase in output from Mimosa is not likely to
immediately lead to a revenue surge, with Mr Chitando insisting operational
costs have also been on the rise, driven by consumables and equipment.

"There is pressure on the cost curve worldwide and we expect a slight
increase due to the pressure on various items, but that cost is within
industry norms."

Rising costs have hit platinum miners at a time when demand for the
commodity from major markets — mainly in Europe — has been affected by the
global economic slowdown.

Worse still, production of the commodity is likely to run into surplus, with
platinum prices likely to respond by not rising.

But, with the worst now behind them after foreign-owned Zimbabwe platinum
miners were forced to comply with the indigenisation policy, Mimosa and
Zimplats, Implats’s Zimbabwe unit, have revealed plans to expand projects.

The expansion projects will boost production, although analysts say a
favourable environment will be crucial to incentivise this.

Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest platinum reserves after South
Africa, although analysts say it is relatively cheaper to mine the mineral
in Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabwe is a relatively cheaper place to mine for platinum and the plans
are there for the mines to boost their operations. But a favourable
environment that does not have political fears and no concerns over
arbitrary legislation will promote such plans to expand," said Johannes
Kwangwari, a Harare-based analyst.

Mr Chitando said Mimosa was undertaking feasibility studies for the
expansion of operations.

Wikileaks - various cables about the Save Conservancy

http://www.insiderzim.com/stories/4695-us-ambassador-raised-save-valley-issue-with-mugabe.html?

US ambassador raised Save Valley issue with Mugabe
Monday, 15 October 2012 12:02

United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee took advantage of a meeting
between President Robert Mugabe and congressman Donald Payne to ask Mugabe
about the fate of an American-owned property in the Save Valley Conservancy
that was under threat of being acquired by the government.
Payne had clicked with Mugabe after telling Zimbabwe’s President that he had
been a fan of Mugabe from the days of the liberation struggle.

McGee described the visit as an opportunity for dialogue, "if we can talk
about issues”, and raised the issue of Save Valley conservancy and credit to
farmers as issues that could be discussed.

Payne said the US shared the goal of having positive relations with Zimbabwe
and noted that he and others in congress wanted to see the US end
isolationist policies.

Mugabe did not respond to the Save issue but told Payne "we've never taken a
decision to have a hostile relationship with anyone -- especially you. You
were there when we started".
------------------------------------------------
http://www.insiderzim.com/stories/4469-mnangagwa-associates-interested-in-save-conservancy.html?

Mnangagwa associates interested in Save Conservancy
Monday, 15 October 2012 10:00

Several Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front politicians from
Masvingo, most of them said to be affiliated to Defence Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, were interested in a stake in the Save Valley Conservancy.
The Save Valley Conservancy was a privately-owned wildlife reserve of one
million acres comprising 22 properties that shared a common boundary fence.

Among those interested were:

Masvingo Provincial governor Titus Maluleke.
Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Stan Mudenge
Former Masvingo Governor Josiah Hungwe
Director of Conservation in the Parks Authority Vitalis Chadenga.
Major General Engelbert Rugeje, Chief of Staff to the Zimbabwean Army.
Chiredzi South MP Aaron Baloyi
Former Chipinge South MP Enock Porusingazi, and
Former Gutu South MP Shuvai Mahofa.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.insiderzim.com/stories/4693-american-hunters-constituted-90-percent-of-save-valley-clients.html?

American hunters constituted 90 percent of Save Valley clients
Monday, 15 October 2012 06:03

More than 90 percent of the clients of one of the owners of a conservancy
farms in the Save Valley were American hunters.
Clive Stockil, the general manager of the Save Valley Conservancy, one of
the largest private conservancies in Africa, told this to a United States
embassy official.

He also pointed out that wildlife safaris and ecotourism represented the
easiest and fastest means to rejuvenate Zimbabwe's economy, particularly at
the local level.

He had, however, at another occasion gone to great pains to dissuade
investors led by Chief Fortune Charumbira telling them that making money
from wildlife was not as easy as the government thought.

The director of National Parks Morris Mutsambiwa told the same US official
that up to 92 percent of the Parks and Wildlife budget came from
hunting-related revenue and that about 60 percent of hunters in Zimbabwe are
Americans.
---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.insiderzim.com/stories/4694-hunting-major-source-of-revenue-for-zanu-pf-elite.html?

Hunting major source of revenue for ZANU-PF elite
Monday, 15 October 2012 08:03

Hunting had long been a source of ill-gotten revenue for members of the
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front elite and they were
developing new hunting schemes to earn more foreign currency.
This was said by the United States embassy after the Safari Operators
Association of Zimbabwe claimed that the government was indiscriminately
issuing hunting licences including in the country’s national parks.

Sally Bown, administrative officer for SOAZ, said that numerous photographic
safari operators in Hwange National Park were sending emails reporting
commercial elephant hunting incidents within the park.

Bown and Save Valley Conservancy director Clive Stockil believed that this
frantic last grab at hunting revenue was one more aspect of ZANU-PF
insiders' efforts to strip assets and fill their pockets before losing power
to the Movement for Democratic Change

She said that the same small group of hunters involved in this operation had
been consistently involved in unethical and marginally legal hunting.

Bown named some of the professional hunters involved as Guy Whitall, Tim
Schultz of African Dream Safaris, Headman Sibanda and Wayne Grant of Nyala
Safaris, Evans Makanza, Alan Shearing, Buzz Charlton and James Macullam of
Charlton Macullum Safaris, A.J. Van Heerden of Shashe Safaris, Barry Van
Heerden of Big Game Safaris, and Lawrence Boha.

According to the US embassy numerous conservationists had suggested that the
Van Heerden brothers were involved in suspicious hunting and land deals with
the Director of the Central Intelligence Organization, Happyton Bonyongwe.

The Power of We: People helping people to help themselves

The Zanu PF Battle Plan

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

The day after the signing of the GPA in Harare in February 2008, the Hard
Liners in Zanu PF recognised the danger for them hidden in its text. They
immediately began a fight back, initially simply holding up the reform
process laid out in the GPA and stonewalling any progress. After 18 months
it became apparent to them that this strategy had a limited life and a more
permanent solution to the issue of how to retain power had to be found.
15.10.12

by Eddie Cross

The CIO prepared a paper for the Zanu PF leadership and stated that the
Party could not win an election. The military concurred and argued for a
military led coup leading to a Junta government that would have some
democratic credentials. When plans for such an exercise became known in
regional circles, the SADC leadership moved swiftly to make it clear that
any such adventurism by the military would not be tolerated.

Although they have played with this idea at least twice, it has now been
abandoned as the region has maintained its stance of total hostility to such
a route back to power. Zanu PF leadership was forced to consider the idea of
trying to win the unwinnable – how to so engineer the circumstances under
which an election might be held where they could do what the CIO said was
not possible – win an election.

Out of this decision came the “battle plan”. This is not so much a strategy
for a campaign in the conventional sense, but a comprehensive plan for an
election that Zanu PF would control and manipulate from start to finish. It
has many different aspects: -

They set about reengineering the voter’s roll and the result is that they
have now moved the voters roll and its administration from the Registrars
Offices to the Headquarters of the National Army. This was for security
reasons and there they have a small team of experienced staff working on it
to achieve their goal. They have now created a roll that has six million
names on it. The fact that we do not have more than 3 million eligible
voters in the country is totally ignored. The roll is deliberately loaded
with dead and absent voters.

Then they paid attention to the distribution of these voters, carefully
arranging the numbers so that only a quarter were in urban areas, even
though they know, that two thirds of our population now lives in the Towns
and Cities. Then they loaded the former Commercial farming Districts with
more voters than in the urban areas and left the balance in the Communal
areas.

In 2008, we were taken aback when the delimitation done just prior to the
elections, reduced the number of seats in urban areas to a third - 84 out of
210. Now they have conducted another secret delimitation exercise at Army
Headquarters and have come up with a formula that would further reduce the
number of urban seats to 52. MDC leadership told me last week that there
“would be no delimitation this time”. In contrast the Central Committee of
Zanu PF was told this week that delimitation was imminent and that no
candidate selection should take place until “delimitation and new electoral
boundaries are determined”.

The next part of the battle plan was to make the rural areas no go areas for
the MDC. They began by flushing out any non Zanu elements in the commercial
farming districts and this has led to more farm evictions. They tightened up
access and started to erode MDC Party structures and leadership in these
areas. More seats were planned for the farming areas than in the urban
centers and they were quite confident that they could win the majority of
these seats. By the time an election is held there will be virtually no one
in these Districts who does not owe allegiance to Zanu PF.

In the Communal areas, they tightened their grip on the traditional leaders,
insisting that they control the people under their jurisdiction. Leaders
were encouraged to evict strong MDC cadres and MDC structures were carefully
and systematically attacked. Lower level leadership disappeared or were
beaten and intimidated. A plan for patronage support was adopted and funded.

The JOC (Joint Operations Command), a relic of the war against the
Rhodesians, was instructed to activate its network and JOC’s were
reestablished at Provincial and District level. Bases staffed by the
military and CIO were established in every district many with “black
operation” groups of specialists to conduct covert operations against the
MDC and hostile NGO elements.

To strengthen their attacks on the perceived strongholds of the MDC in urban
areas, they adopted a plan to settle thousands of people on farms they
controlled adjacent to the urban centers. They established a Zanu PF office
on each farm and people are being allocated small plots on which they can
build a home. Two weeks ago a report came to light that some 174 000
families (three quarters of a million people) had been settled in these
areas, each one taking out Zanu PF membership and paying a small fee for the
right to build a shack. All urban areas are now surrounded by a necklace of
shanty towns and the new delimitation being planned will draw those into the
peri urban areas of many urban seats.

The battle plan called for a tightening of the grip on the media – no
reforms were acceptable, two new radio licenses were issued – but to loyal
Zanu PF interests and companies. Jamming was resumed on all shortwave
broadcasters and a strategy for restricting eh effectiveness of Studio 7 –
the VOA station broadcast from neighboring Botswana was agreed and
implemented.

No reforms to the environment for the campaign were planned – they would
resist any attempts to scrap restrictive legislation. Instead they would
intensify their attacks on MDC meetings and activities using all available
elements and tools – especially POSA (the successor legislation to the Smith
regimes “Law and order Maintenance Act”). Criminal gangs of young thugs were
to be used in urban areas as a means of intimidation and coercion.

They tightened their grip on the diamond and gold industries and began to
use these resources for patronage, support for the military (purchase of
arms and supplementing their incomes). They adopted and implemented a
destabilization programme against regimes in the region that were perceived
as being hostile to Zanu PF (Zambia (successful), South Africa and
Botswana). They tightened their relationship with China and secured
assurances of support and protection in return for trade and other
concessions.

Finally, they agreed to keep the Registrar General (Mudede) in place and to
get him to do his usual stuff – control the balloting, the counting and the
reporting of the actual election results. To do this they ring fenced the
ZEC, controlled the appointment of staff and made sure that the Commission
was ineffective.

Finally they set up a department in the CIO with the specific task of
neutralizing the leadership of the MDC and its support base. Orders have
been issued to take action against the most effective individuals who might
be a threat to the process. The leadership of the MDC Youth Assembly has
been crippled by the arrest of its leadership on spurious grounds that they
were involved in the killing of a policeman. There is no evidence of this
but they have been held in Prison for nearly 18 months. Warrants of arrest
for many others have been exercised or are being planned.

The subliminal programme of violence and intimidation that is going on is
carefully managed. The product seldom sees the light of day. There is still
no explanation of mass graves and fresh bodies in places like Mt. Darwin,
Marondera and Mutare. People are disappearing and no one follows up, their
families cowed and fearful. Homes are burnt, cattle stolen. Attend an MDC
function and you are visited the following day with an eviction order; the
programme takes on many forms leaving Zimbabwe as one of the most fearful
places on earth with a political fear index higher than that in Iraq or
Afghanistan.

Can they win an election with this battle plan? I think so and they are
clearly confident of this. The problem is that such a victory would leave
Zimbabwe isolated and the new government illegitimate. Their calculations
are that this would not matter, they would be protected internationally by
the Chinese; they think they can live in isolation from the global community
whom they calculate would still provide “humanitarian assistance and aid”.
They think that they could do very well on what would be left of the economy
and that what remains of their enemies inside Zimbabwe would simply migrate.

A revolution gone awry: Zanu PF’s last supper

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

15/10/2012 00:00:00 by Senator Obert Gutu

Senator Obert Gutu ROBERT Nesta Marley once sang that “you can fool some people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time". He was right. From the time Zimbabwe attained independence from British colonial rule on April 18, 1980, the Zanu PF government has been feeding the people on a consistent diet of lies, hate, fabrications, propaganda, intolerance and looting. Between April 1980 and February, 2009, when Zanu PF was solely in charge of government, Zimbabwe experienced an unprecedented decline in the people’s standards of living as the government threw all caution to the wind and legitimised, in fact popularised looting, thievery, corruption and greed. In Zanu PF circles, it was just fine to be a crook and a thief. All you needed to do was to chant the party slogan “Pamberi neZanu” and thereafter, you would have acquired a passport to looting, thievery and all the political chicanery that you can think of. As time went on, Zanu PF functionaries began to believe that corruption and looting were normal occurrences in their government operations. In fact, if you are not greedy and inherently corrupt and crooked, you cannot survive for long in Zanu PF. This is true as was frequently testified by the late revolutionary and nationalist, Edgar Zivanai Tekere. At independence in April 1980, the Zimbabwe dollar was slightly stronger than the US dollar and it was 1-1 with the British pound sterling. The Zimbabwean economy was the second biggest and most diversified in Southern Africa. The University of Zimbabwe was a den of academic excellence that attracted students and lecturers from all over the world. Indeed, Zimbabwe was a paradise in Africa. Our roads and general public infrastructure were the envy of the rest of Africa. Potholes were unheard of. The public transport system in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare was run so efficiently it could easily compare with, if not surpass, the public transport system in big cities such as London and New York. That was the Zimbabwe that the Zanu PF government inherited at independence. It didn’t take long before the Zanu PF “revolutionaries” began doing what they know best, that is, pilfering and looting public resources and enriching themselves. We all remember how the War Victims’ Compensation Fund was looted dry. We clearly remember the Samson Bernard Mashata Paweni scandal of the early 1980s when the then Minister of Labour and Social Welfare connived with the late Paweni to loot from the government by over-pricing maize imports during the serious drought of 1982. That former Minister of Labour and Social Welfare is still alive and he even sits in the Zanu PF politburo. He was never arrested and/ or investigated for corruption. Only Paweni was used as a sacrificial lamb and taken to prison for a very long time. We also remember the Willowgate scandal that was so thoroughly unmasked by the famous Sandura Commission. A number of cabinet ministers were implicated and some were brought before the courts of law for prosecution. One senior cabinet minister committed suicide in total shame. I suppose he felt abandoned and neglected by his erstwhile comrades. One of these disgraced former cabinet ministers was promptly pardoned and he evaded prison. In typical Zanu PF fashion, this thoroughly discredited individual has since been recycled and he is now the Zimbabwean Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. This is Zanu PF for you. Vintage Zanu PF! If you steal or commit acts of corruption, you are not punished or reprimanded. In fact, you are promoted. The people of Zimbabwe are not fools. By the late 1990s, they had had enough of Zanu PF misgovernance, corruption and greed. There were massive food riots in 1998 that were ruthlessly crushed by the police. By then, the government had lost all moral legitimacy to continue in power. In 1990, the Zanu PF government, against the advice of leading local academics and the labour movement, stupidly adopted the notorious Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). This decision will go down in history as the worst decision ever taken by the Zanu PF government. It is difficult to understand why the government adopted ESAP when all the evidence provided by specialists clearly showed that ESAP had never succeeded anywhere in the world. However, if you talk to Zanu PF mandarins today, they will tell you that ESAP was forced down their throats by “evil” Western bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They will not admit the fact that they were forced to approach the IMF and the World Bank for a financial bail-out package primarily because by then, the economy was in a shambles largely due to mismanagement, unchecked corruption as well as misguided economic policies. Thank God there were no “illegal sanctions” then! The formation of the popular people’s movement, the Movement for Democratic Change in September 1999, was indeed an inevitable and necessary consequence of Zanu PF kleptocracy and obscurantism. The MDC, led by the firebrand trade unionist, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, became the people’s salvation from Zanu PF thievery and autocracy. Against all odds, the MDC quickly reached out to the downtrodden masses and it grew into becoming the biggest and most popular political party in Zimbabwe. From the time that the MDC was formed, Zanu PF has never won any elections in Zimbabwe. All elections from the year 2000 going forward, were systematically and unashamedly rigged by Zanu PF. In this rigging mechanism, the office of the Registrar General played a leading role by bastardising the voters’ roll. The voters’ roll was deliberately tampered with and thousands of ghost voters were registered. The Presidential election of 2002 had the dubious distinction of the most rigged election. Only a mentally-challenged person will believe the absolute fallacy that the Zanu PF candidate beat the MDC candidate by more than 400,000 votes! Little wonder, therefore, that the Registrar General, who has long since surpassed the mandatory civil service retirement age of 65, still keeps his job. This is a big “thank you” for his sterling efforts in ensuring that, by hook or crook, Zanu PF remains in power. When general elections are held next year, Zanu PF will be relegated to the dustbin of political history by the resurgent MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai. The massive crowd that attended the MDC 13th anniversary celebrations at White City stadium in Bulawayo on September 29, 2012, is clear testimony of the fact that Morgan Tsvangirai will be the new tenant at No.1 Chancellor Avenue, Harare, come June 2013. Some sycophants and recycled Rhodesian agents, of late, have come out guns blazing. These lost souls, who were wining and dining with die-hard Rhodesians in some law firm somewhere in the then Salisbury when their peers were participating in the armed struggle, have suddenly become latter day “revolutionaries” and hardliners. These are shameless and absolute losers who have never won and will never win any election in their lifetime. We know them very well because they served in the sell-out Abel Muzorewa regime as deputy ministers. Now these same political turncoats and charlatans have been quoted as saying that Morgan Tsvangirai will never be allowed to take over power even if he wins the elections next year. We are not surprised by the shrill sounds coming out of these turncoats because they know that the end game is near. They should start packing. Only a miracle will prevent the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai from resoundingly winning the historic 2013 elections. The people of Zimbabwe know that Zanu PF is beyond redemption. Indeed, this is Zanu PF’s last supper. Obert Gutu is the Senator for Chisipite in Harare. He is the MDC Harare provincial spokesperson as well as the Deputy Minister of Justice & Legal Affairs. He is also the Africa Heritage Society Goodwill Ambassador for Justice & Messenger of Peace

Constitution Watch of 15th October [16th -17th October: Accreditation of Delegates to Stakeholder Conference]