http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=23837
October 17, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Embattled MDC treasurer-general and deputy
agriculture
minister-designate Roy Bennett returns to court today (Saturday)
to
challenge the manner in which he was indicted for trial at the High Court
this Monday.
Bennett (52) wants a review of his indictment this past
Wednesday which
allowed the state to revoke his bail order and have him
committed to a
Mutare remand prison awaiting the commencement of his trial
this coming
Monday.
He was released Friday evening after High Court
judge, Charles Hungwe upheld
the bail order granted to him by the Supreme
Court in March this year, a
month after his arrest shortly after his return
from South Africa where he
had spent three years in exile.
Bennett,
through his lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa of Mtetwa and Nyambirai and
Partners
legal practitioners, on Friday filed a review application to compel
the
Attorney General to review its indictment of Bennett.
He faces charges of
possessing weaponry for insurgency, banditry, sabotage
and terrorism,
charges which the MDC says are trumped up.
His trial has been set down
for Monday 19 October 2009 a circuit court due
to sit in Mutare on
Monday.
Mtetwa says the State should first have written to Mutare
provincial
magistrate Lucy Mungwari informing her of its intention to indict
Bennett.
According to Mtetwa, the magistrate should respond by
instructing the clerk
of court to summon Bennett to be served with the
papers.
"In this case," said Mtetwa, "Bennett went to court in terms of a
trial not
the procedure.
"We are saying you cannot be called to court
for a trial and when you get
there you get ambushed with the indict
papers.
"We are also saying the magistrate contradicted herself by
allowing the
state now to indict him because she accepted our argument that
the State had
not followed the proper procedure. She made a ruling to that
effect but the
State lawyer Michael Mugabe chose to ignore that.
"If
you are going to be tried in the High Court, you shall be given no less
that
10 days notice. Bennett was given yesterday (Thursday) and today
(Friday)
and we are saying clearly that indict is invalid."
The High Court sits
this Saturday (October 17) to review application which
has been set down for
11am.
http://www.independent.co.uk
Basildon
Peta
Saturday, 17 October 2009
The
decision by Morgan Tsvangirai to disengage from Robert Mugabe appears
dramatic, but it is hardly surprising. Yesterday he implicitly admitted that
he has been lying to the world about all being well in Zimbabwe's unity
government - well, anyone could have worked that one out.
As I warned
in this newspaper shortly before February's inauguration, it was
never going
to be a matter of if the power-sharing government would unravel,
but when.
And as it limps from one disaster to another, my scepticism has,
sadly, been
vindicated.
Yes, the government has brought improvements to the lives of
ordinary
Zimbabweans, but these have been exaggerated.
The
stabilising of the country's runaway inflation and the return of scarce
commodities in the shops, trumpeted as one of its best achievements, was
going to happen anyway once the country switched to the US dollar,
regardless of whether Tsvangirai was in government. The painful fact remains
that unemployment is at 90 per cent, and people cannot find suitable jobs
and the hard currency to purchase these commodities.
With Mugabe
still firmly in the driving seat, there is no sign of policies
that would
smooth the path with foreign donors and investors and help
kick-start the
economy.
Regarding the rule of law, absolutely nothing has changed. The
media space
remains constricted. Mugabe keeps militarising key state
institutions.
Violence against farmers has continued. Tsvangirai's
parliamentary majority
has been reversed by the arrests and incarceration of
seven of his MPs on
clearly trumped-up charges.
Mugabe is by far the
greatest winner. The pressure that boiled up when he
stole the presidential
run-off has evaporated. The unity government has
given him the legitimacy he
craved. And Tsvangirai has nothing to show for
his cohabitation. He has
become a figure of pity as he is trampled all over.
Political and
economic salvation shall only ever come to a Zimbabwe without
Mugabe. It is
sad that Tsvangirai joined hands with a vile dictator and
derailed the march
towards democracy just at the moment it had gained the
most
momentum.
Temporary disengagement in the belief that Mugabe will somehow
undergo a
Damascene conversion and honour all outstanding obligations is as
disingenuous as it is stupid. Tsvangirai has a simple choice: shape up or
ship out.
The State Department 15 October 2009 |
The State
Department Thursday called the terrorism prosecution against Zimbabwean
parliament member Roy Bennett a "blatant example" of the absence of rule of law
in the African country. U.S. officials are ruling out the provision of anything
other than humanitarian aid to the Harare government until President Robert
Mugabe accepts meaningful reform.
Roy Bennett
(File)
The Obama administration is condemning
the legal action against Roy Bennett in unusually sharp terms and making clear
it will not follow Britain's lead in extending new aid to the power-sharing
government led by Mr. Mugabe.
Bennett, a founding member and
treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change, the former opposition party
that joined Mr. Mugabe in a unity government early this year, was jailed
Wednesday and ordered to stand trial on long-pending charges of possessing
weapons for terrorism and acts of insurgency.
The MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangerai maintains Bennett's innocence and calls his jailing a deliberate
provocation by Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party loyalists.
At a news briefing, State Department
Deputy spokesman Robert Wood said the United States also believes the
prosecution of Bennett is without merit.
"This
particular case with regard to Roy Bennett is frankly a blatant example of the
absence of the rule of law in Zimbabwe," said Wood. "Frankly, it's a transparent
attempt to prevent Bennett from taking up his position as deputy secretary for
agriculture. The prosecution has never, as far as I know, presented any credible
evidence against him. He's complied with all of the court's requirements. So
Mugabe needs to end his harassment of the opposition, including Mr. Bennett," he
said.
US State Dept. Deputy Spokesman,
Robert Wood (File)
Despite the legal action against Bennett, the British government said
Thursday it is providing a $100 million aid package to Zimbabwe - its
largest-ever single donation - to help restore sanitation, health care and other
services disrupted by years of political turmoil.
British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mike
Canning told reporters the formation of the unity government in February was a
significant step and that Britain wants it to succeed.
But under questioning here, spokesman
Wood said the United States has no intention of following suit while elements of
the so-called Global Political Agreement between Mr. Mugabe and his former
opponents remain unfulfilled.
"We will continue to provide assistance
to the Zimbabwean people," Wood said. "But in terms of our sanctions that are
targeted against regime members, Mugabe regime members, we're not going to in
any way ease those sanctions until we see changes from that government. And
we're very concerned about the situation in Zimbabwe. So we are not going to be
able to make fundamental changes to our policies with regard to development
assistance until we see real movement on the ground," he
said.
The United States imposed targeted travel and financial
sanctions against Mr. Mugabe, family members and key associates in response to
past vote-rigging and human rights violations. It is one of the largest
contributors of humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe but U.S. aid is delivered only by
U.N. agencies and non-governmental groups.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by KABELO MARUPI
Saturday, 17
October 2009 04:44
Elections are underway in Botswana for parliamentary
elections as
President Ian Khama faces his first election challenge after
taking over
from his predecessor Festus Mogae, who retired in April last
year.
Ian Khama's ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is
expected to
emerge winners as more than 700 000 people of a population of
1.7 million go
to the polls to vote in landlocked Botswana, the world's
largest diamond
producer. Results are expected over the weekend and no
election violence is
expected in the rather peaceful Zimbabean
neighbour.
Botswana's parliament has 57 contested seats, while an
additional
group of four lawmakers is appointed by the president. The
winning party
will need 29 seats to name their president. Khama is hoping
that his MPs win
convincingly to hand him the presidency.
However, reports say the ruling party, in power since independence in
1966,
could see its majority reduced. The party has also been beset by
bitter
spats between rival factions and Khama has been criticised for his
authoritarian style.
Seven political parties and 15 independent
candidates are contesting
the country's 57 constituencies. But the main race
is between the ruling
party, the main opposition Botswana National Front and
its offshoot Botswana
Congress Party.
Botswana, a former
British protectorate gained independence in 1966
when Seretse Khama became
president until his death in 1980.
Meanwhile, Khama, earlier on,
predicted the collapse of the coalition
government in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Khama, a fierce critic of President
Mugabe in the region is quoted saying,
"It is limping along and there is a
real danger that the whole thing could
collapse.
"If it was to collapse for genuine reasons we would
certainly not
recognise a Zanu(PF)-only government or certainly not one
headed by
President Robert Mugabe because he certainly did not win the
presidential
election last year," he said.
afrik.com
http://en.afrik.com/article16330.html
Saturday 17 October
2009 / by Alice Chimora
Roy Bennet, whose jailing was harshly citicised
by Europe and caused the MDC
to issue a statement over its decision to
boycott the Zimbabwean inclusive
government, was Friday released on bail.
But, far from the hue and cry over
his politically motivated persecution, he
has become the subject of another
equally sensitive issue in the Southern
African country.
Ordinary Zimbabweans, and mostly MDC supporters, have
slammed the west for
their lopsided intervention in Zimbabwean politics
crises. They have accused
the European Union and the United States of double
standards on their
intervention with respect to the jailing of Roy Bennett,
a prominent aide to
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
In Thursday's
statement, the 27-member bloc said it was "deeply concerned"
and regretted
"that politically motivated abuse persists in the country" in
apparent
reference to Bennett arrest. This statement was seconded by the
United
States embassy in Harare, who said that "This is a blatant example of
the
absence of rule of law in Zimbabwe."
These strong statements from the
west have led some Zimbabweans to suspect
that the West is pushing a racial
agenda. According to Zimbabwean observers,
the recent arrest of 10 Black MDC
lawmakers attracted little interest from
the European Union, who reacted
"mildly". "When 10 MDC MPs are arrested, no
angry statements are issued,"
said Monica Sweswe, a student from the
university of
Zimbabwe.
Indeed, several Zimbabweans have expressed surprise over how
mum the EU has
been over the detention of an MDC deputy minister, Thamsanqa
Mahlangu, who
is accused of stealing a mobile phone from a Zanu PF
functionary. Tsvangirai
has also been accused for not doing enough when his
ten MPs were arrested.
Besides cancelling a ministerial meeting, Tsvangirai
had warned that Bennett's
case threatened the coalition before he announced
his party's boycott of the
unity government following Roy Bennett's
imprisonment.
Swedish ambassador to Zimbabwe, Sten Rylander whose country
holds the
European Union presidency on Thursday said the detention of
Bennett was
nothing less than provocative given the on-going political
processes in the
country. "This action - taken just prior to very important
donor discussions
on Zimbabwe, together with other negative developments
recently, such as the
implied threats against independent media
practitioners and the intense
attacks on Finance minister Tendai Biti in his
efforts to pave the way for
continued macroeconomic reforms and debt relief
- does not facilitate the
on-going dialogue to normalise relations with
Zimbabwe," Rylander said.
The US embassy acting public affairs officer
Andrew Posner said his
government is very concerned about the state of the
rule of law in Zimbabwe
and ongoing politicised arrests and prosecutions.
The MDC on its website
described Bennett's imprisonment as "yet another
serious attack on the
credibility of the inclusive government". The move
would poison both the
letter and the spirit of the inclusive government, it
said.
http://www.ft.com/
By Richard Lapper in Johannesburg
Published:
October 17 2009 01:35 | Last updated: October 17 2009 01:35
Zimbabwe was
thrown into political confusion on Friday when Morgan
Tsvangirai, the prime
minister, said his party would "disengage" from
working with Robert Mugabe,
the president, and his Zanu-PF party in the
coalition government.
Mr
Tsvangirai said, however, that he and fellow Movement for Democratic
Change
ministers would remain in office as part of the power-sharing
government
formed in February.
"It is our right to disengage from a dishonest
and unreliable partner," Mr
Tsvangirai told a press conference in
Harare.
In practical terms the decision means that the MDC and its ministers
will
not attend cabinet meetings or other executive bodies, further
undermining
the coherence of an administration that has been beset by
tension
and division since its formation.
The fresh uncertainty
casts another cloud over the country's economic
prospects, amid indications
that some foreign investors are being tempted by
Zimbabwe's mining resources
and signs of greater monetary stability.
The latest crisis was prompted
by the arrest and imprisonment this week of
Roy Bennett, the MDC's
designated deputy agriculture minister, on what the
MDC considers trumped-up
treason charges. His detention "has brought home
the fiction of the
credibility and integrity of the transitional government",
the prime
minister said on Friday. "It has brought home the self-evident
fact that
Zanu-PF see us as a junior, fickle and unserious movement."
Zanu-PF's
unwillingness to revise its unilateral appointments of an
attorney-general
and central bank chief, the continued detention of MDC
activists, as well as
the refusal to swear in Mr Bennett all remain bones of
contention.
Mr
Tsvangirai has come under increasing fire from senior MDC figures
for
failing to make more headway in his battles with Mr Mugabe and has
demonstrated increasing impatience in recent weeks.
Just over a month
ago at a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of a
political agreement
brokered by Zimbabwe's southern African neighbours, Mr
Tsvangirai said he
was not prepared "to stand by while they violate the law,
persecute our
members of parliament, spread the language of hate and invade
productive
farms".
However, neither he nor his senior colleagues appear to be
prepared to leave
the government completely. An official said on Friday that
pulling out was
not an option because the MDC, which won elections in March
2008, was the
only party that had a political mandate from voters.
http://www.mg.co.za/
JASON MOYO - Oct 17 2009 06:00
The decision by Zimbabwe's
chief prosecutor not to defend key figures in
President Robert Mugabe's
security apparatus accused of abducting activist
Jestina Mukoko has buoyed
activists -- but provoked anxiety among Mugabe's
top
lieutenants.
Human rights campaigners hope that making individuals
accountable for their
actions will strengthen efforts to reform the security
services, long
accused of being instruments of oppression.
Mukoko is
suing security ministers and their senior officials for her
abduction last
year. This followed a Supreme Court decision to free her on
charges of
banditry, on grounds that her rights were violated when she was
seized from
her home last December and held in secret locations for months.
Her
supporters believe she was targeted for recording the accounts of
hundreds
of victims of violence during last year's election.
Mukoko has filed for
damages against Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa,
Home Affairs
co-Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa (of the Movement
for Democratic
Change), police commissioner Augustine Chihuri, Brigadier
General Asher
Tapfumaneyi of the secret service, Attorney General Johannes
Tomana and
former state security minister Didymus Mutasa.
But Tomana has told the
high court he will not represent any of the alleged
abductors.
His
surprise decision is seen as setting a precedent that threatens many
government officials who played a role in last year's abuses. It could
trigger a spate of similar applications by other victims.
However,
the decision will be a relief for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
His
officials point out that the MDC pressed state lawyers not to defend the
alleged abductors, as this would have meant the party was defending those
accused of rights abuses. The MDC has joint control of the home affairs
ministry, which oversees the police.
Tsvangirai's supporters are
growing impatient with the slow pace of reform
under the unity government
and he is under pressure to replace the party's
man in home affairs, Giles
Mutsekwa. Under Mutsekwa's watch, several MDC MPs
have been arrested on what
the party claims are charges fabricated to
whittle down its slender
Parliament majority. Besieged farmers seeking
police protection are
routinely told police do not attend to "land issues".
Last week
Mutsekwa appeared frustrated and powerless when police fired on
striking
miners. He said: "We have told the police repeatedly that they
should
refrain from using firearms against defenceless people."
However, he
courted controversy this week by praising the conduct of the
police and
appearing to repeat Zanu-PF's mantra on sanctions. The Zimbabwe
Republic
Police had "steadfastly maintained its integrity in the ferocity of
machinations of the detractors determined to collapse the country", he
said.
Senior police officer Peter Magwenzi, in court papers for the
Mukoko
hearings, denied any police involvement. "They [the abducted
activists] were
handed to me by the security agents when they were in
protective custody and
I went and dropped them at their residences." He
could not name the agents,
saying State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi
had issued a "certificate"
gagging the police.
But in his affidavit
Sekeramayi also denied his agents were involved in
abductions and,
therefore, could not identify them.
While Mukoko's freedom has been
celebrated by rights groups, seven activists
abducted last year remain
missing, according to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights.
http://www.scmp.com
Zimbabwe first lady back after
row
Barclay Crawford and Liz Heron
Oct 17, 2009
|
The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is
back in Hong Kong,
her first visit since she was granted diplomatic immunity
to escape assault
charges for allegedly bashing a photographer.
Grace Mugabe and eight companions were escorted through a VIP entrance
of
Chek Lap Kok airport after arriving on a Cathay Pacific (SEHK: 0293)
flight
from Johannesburg at 7.24am, passengers on the flight
confirmed.
Grace Mugabe was accused of assaulting British
photographer and
long-term Hong Kong resident Richard Jones as he snapped
her shopping in
Tsim Sha Tsui on January 15. The Department of Justice said
Mugabe was not
prosecuted for the alleged assault because she was entitled
to diplomatic
immunity as the president's wife.
After leaving
the airport yesterday, Mugabe's entourage headed to an
undisclosed location
in the city. Her daughter has been living in a
residential complex in Tai
Po, but last night neighbours said they had not
seen Zimbabwe's first lady
or her daughter, Bona, who is studying
accountancy at City
University.
The JC Castle complex in Shan Tong Road was the scene
of another
alleged assault, by two bodyguards protecting Bona, on two other
photographers on February 13. The justice department decided not to
prosecute male guard Mapfumo Marks and female guard Manyaira Reliance
Pepukai, saying the pair were only doing their job.
However,
police later revealed they were exploring whether the
bodyguards were
working in Hong Kong illegally on tourist visas, a crime
that could see them
jailed.
A spokeswoman for the department said it was still
examining the
tourist-visa issue, almost three months after the South China
Morning Post
(SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) revealed investigations were
under way
into the guards' suspect employment status.
The
decision not to prosecute Grace Mugabe and her daughter's two
bodyguards for
assault will also be investigated by a Legislative Council
panel.
Senior prosecutors within the department have said the
bodyguards
should have been charged over the alleged assault on the two
local
photographers this year.
Many countries have imposed a
travel ban and financial sanctions on
Robert Mugabe, 85, and members of his
regime over his despotic rule of
Zimbabwe. Once one of the richest countries
in Africa, the nation is now
close to a failed state, with millions near
starvation.
A spokeswoman for City University confirmed that Bona
Mugabe was still
a student and defended her enrolment on equal-opportunities
grounds.
"CityU is committed to providing a quality education to
all students
and is not influenced by the students' parentage," she said.
"The university
does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, colour,
race, creed,
nationality, social or ethnic origin, or physical
disability."
CityU confirmed in February that it had enrolled Bona
Mugabe following
its common admission guidelines after she applied through
the normal
procedures.
Several students have said she is
studying accountancy at the Kowloon
Tong campus.
Crystal Chow
Ching, secretary general of the Federation of Students,
said it had recently
discussed the issue of Robert Mugabe's daughter
studying in Hong Kong at its
monthly meeting.
"We decided that it wasn't an appropriate issue
for the federation to
take up because it related directly to a fellow
student," she said.
Source: Reuters - AlertNet Date: 16 Oct 2009 JOHANNESBURG, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A new political crisis in Zimbabwe
that erupted after the opposition said it would boycott the unity government
will likely undermine efforts to secure Western aid and investment needed for
economic recovery. Highlighting the fragility of the new government, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said his MDC would disengage from President Robert Mugabe's
"dishonest and unreliable" ZANU-PF party in the country's unity cabinet set up
in February. CAUTIOUS WESTERN DONORS The power-sharing government formed by the old foes after a disputed election
raised hopes that the country would gain the confidence of Western donors and
secure billions of dollars to rebuild an economy critics say was destroyed by
Mugabe's policies, charges he denies. The fresh turmoil in Zimbabwe comes after a court this week ordered the
detention in prison of Roy Bennett, a senior MDC official, and ruled that he
should stand trial on terrorism charges, evidence, Tsvangirai says, of political
persecution by Mugabe. Western countries have long been suspicious of Mugabe so the new crisis is
likely to erode confidence they may have built up after the veteran leader and
Tsvangirai said they would bury their differences for the sake of Zimbabwe. DOES TSVANGIRAI HAVE ENOUGH WILLPOWER? They are looking for tangible signs that both Mugabe is willing to implement
reforms and that Tsvangirai will be able to assert himself enough to guarantee a
safe political and economic environment for their billions of dollars of cash.
Tsvangirai suggested that may be way off, saying Bennett's detention showed
ZANU-PF was a "dishonest and unreliable" partner whose actions brought home the
"fiction of the credibility" of the government. ELECTION OPTION? He said if the crisis escalated further, it would only be resolved by holding
fresh elections under supervision of the United Nations and the Southern African
Development Community. Mugabe has already made it clear that he would reject outside political
interference, so that may not be an option, leaving Tsvangirai with the
challenge of outfoxing his wily and resilient rival while trying to repair the
ruined economy from top to bottom. Zimbabweans are likely to become further disillusioned, fearing that a
protracted political struggle will just delay what is most crucial for millions
-- basic services, infrastructure and functioning hospitals and schools. For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.alertnet.org
By Michael Georgy
http://www.voanews.com
By
Ish Mafundikwa
Harare
17 October 2009
Zimbabwean
farmers can now use livestock and crops as collateral to access
inputs such
as seeds and fertilizers under a $210 million loan program
launched by the
government.
The loan program is the latest effort by the government to
boost food
production and ensure food security in Zimbabwe. All farmers can
apply for
the loans. But Zimbabwe Farmer's Union Director Paul Zakariya told
VOA
communal farmers, who produced the bulk of Zimbabwe's food before the
fall
in production, are unlikely to meet the collateral requirements. "We
don't
have any cattle to talk about in the communal areas, any meaningful
population of cattle to talk about, so that means communal farmers may not
necessarily benefit out of this," he said.
Zakariya says that unlike
previous programs to help farmers, where the
government doled out farm
equipment and inputs, this one is administered
through the banks. On
approval of a loan application, the bank gives the
farmer a voucher, which
will be used to collect the inputs. Critics of
previous plans say they
benefitted supporters of President Robert Mugabe's
former ruling party
Zanu-PF.
Zakariya says the fact that the farmers have to provide
collateral may
discourage past practices where those who received them sold
the inputs.
Beneficiaries of Zimbabwe's land reform program, who took
over white owned
farms, cannot, according to Zakariya, use that land as
collateral. So, he
says, they must have other property, such as houses, in
their names. "Title
deeds where bonds can be registered, those do offer
security because you can
actually take the title deeds to a property valuer
and they can tell you the
value of your property," he said.
Zakariya
expressed concern that the scheme has been launched too close to
the
cropping season. By the time banks go through the process of verifying
who
owns what and studying their proposals, the cropping season could be
well
under way. "If we had started around June processing applications and
giving vouchers to farmers only for farmers to start taking delivery of
their inputs around this time it would have made a lot of sense," he
said.
He also says that while the facility is a welcome boost, it falls
way short
of the more than one billion dollars required to revive Zimbabwe's
agricultural sector.
The shortage of agricultural inputs during
Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, as
well as unseasonable droughts reduced the
country once known as the
breadbasket of the region to dependence on food
aid. In another effort to
improve food security, the international community
has made available a $70
million input scheme targeted at the most
vulnerable farmers.
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
16th
Oct 2009 22:15 GMT
By
Rhoda Mashavave
AS the constitutional debate rages on in Zimbabwe,
women have been urged to
unite so that their contributions are well
incorporated.
In May Vice President Joyce Mujuru implored lawmakers to
include women in
the drafting of a new Constitution to ensure that they do
not remain
marginalised.
She made the remarks during an Indigenous
Business Women's Organisation
stakeholders' meeting that ran under the theme
'Emancipation and Economic
Empowerment of Women and their Role in the
Development of the Economy'.
According to women activists in Zimbabwe,
"the current constitution makes
men more equal than women, setting the basis
for inequality in terms of the
law. That inequality, negatively affects
women and children when national
resources are allocated".
Senate
President Edna Madzongwe has also underscored the need for women
parliamentarians to play a role in constitution making.
She made this
call while addressing participants at a four-day workshop
organised by Women
in Politics Support Unit. She said the drafting of a new
constitution was a
golden opportunity for them to reclaim their space as
equal citizens to
their male counterparts in terms of the law.
Women in Politics Support
Unit (WIPSU) director Cleo Ndlovu says: "We hope
that this coming
constitution will recognise us as equal citizens to our
male counterparts
and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women."
Deputy Prime
minister Thokozani Khupe says while women constituted 52% and
contributed
80% to GDP, they remained in the minority in terms of their
direct
contribution to economic development.
She made this observation during a
gathering to mark this year's women
international day.
The Short Term
Economic Recovery Programme launched in March has however
raised hopes for
women as it includes a section focusing on
de-marginalisation of women
through specific and concrete gender
mainstreaming policies and programmes
in every sector and facet of
Zimbabwean life.
Vice Chancellor of the
Women's University in Zimbabwe, Professor Hope Sadza
has urged government to
enact policies that ensure equity between men and
women in both the business
and political sphere.
She said women have been marginalised for too long
and it was time for
legislators to enact laws and policies that help
reinstate the status in
both the political and business world.
"We
have a crisis in Zimbabwe especially at the work place were women in
particular are failing to recognise their full potential as business
leaders," she said at a workshop in Harare to mark Women's Day.
This
is despite that women in Zimbabwe are well presented in the current
government. They hold the deputy Presidency and deputy Prime minister-ship
posts, among the highest political office.
There are also five female
cabinet ministers in the current inclusive
government; Sithembiso Nyoni,
Olivia Muchena, Priscilla
Misihairambwi-Mushonga, Theresa Makoni and Purina
Gwanyanya Mpariwa.
Women activists in Zimbabwe say the current economic
problems affected them
as they had to fend for families.
Zimbabwe's
living standards have declined by 150% within the last decade, a
survey by
the public service and social welfare ministry.
The Food Poverty Line for
a family of five stood at US$552 in January
according to the Central
Statistical Office. A national statistics agency
which also calculates
inflation in March said of the US$552, US$177 was
needed for
food.
This average family will need to spend US$375 on basics such as
accommodation, transport to and from work, school fess. There is no
provision of other basics.
Between 1995 and 2003, more than 63% of
rural people could not obtain enough
money to meet both basic food and
non-food requirements.