http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Tonderai Kwenda, Investigations
Editor
Sunday, 21 October 2012 12:26
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe
reportedly told Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai at their Monday meeting not
to worry about coup threats from his
Zanu PF officials and
hardliners.
Addressing the New Zimbabwe Lecture Series organised by his
MDC party on
Thursday evening at a Harare hotel, Tsvangirai said he raised
the issue of
“coup” threats with Mugabe who simply told him not to worry
about the
comments, the latest one which was made by Justice minister
Patrick
Chinamasa.
Mugabe’s comments suggest he will be willing to
surrender power if he loses
the forthcoming watershed vote, his toughest
election battle in 32 years.
Tsvangirai took the issue to Mugabe after
Chinamasa told BBC’s southern
Africa correspondent Andrew Harding that a win
by the MDC leader in the
forthcoming elections will be unacceptable to the
military.
“I raised this with President Robert Mugabe and I asked him,
kangozi kaya ke
Zanu kauya ka? Zvikanzi, ‘ah, vamwe vanhu vanongotaura
zvisina nemusoro
wese.’ Ndikati, ‘ah, this time hakusikungotaura chete.
(That avenging spirit
in Zanu PF seems to have returned, Mr President. And
he said this is just
political rhetoric.
And I replied it seems this
is not empty talk), this is a calculated threat
by a coward because that’s
what cowards do,” said Tsvangirai while urging
his supporters not to be
cowed by the coup threats which were also repeated
by Zanu PF spokesperson
Rugare Gumbo.
The Zanu PF spokesperson told South Africa TV station eNCA
that it will be
difficult for “our guys” to accept a Tsvangirai win. He was
referring to the
army.
Tsvangirai said though he is taking these
threats seriously, this reflected
a Zanu PF terrified of electoral
defeat.
“The signs are that our colleagues are already afraid of a free
and fair
election,” Tsvangirai said.
“They know that the people’s
verdict will be with the MDC. They are aware
that the people of this country
want a break from the past, that they want a
new democratic culture and a
new Zimbabwe,” he said.
“How does one explain the fears of one Patrick
Chinamasa, a minister of
Justice, a negotiator and a lawyer who should be a
stickler to
constitutionalism and the rule of law? Why should he tell the
world that
there will be a coup if Tsvangirai wins the next
election?”
Tsvangirai said statements by Chinamasa and Gumbo were
treasonous.
In the past, members of the security sector have also openly
declared that
they will not accept a Tsvangirai
presidency.
Describing the next election as his last chance at the
presidency,
Tsvangirai urged his supporters to mobilise Zimbabweans to
participate in
the elections and not be intimidated by the coup
threats.
“The question of apathy as a result of these threats, I don’t
think it
applies, it may intimidate one or two but let’s all go and mobilise
people
because this is our last chance,” he said.
“This is our
watershed test as a nation to achieve change. I am sure what is
important
for the people of Zimbabwe is to remove fear, I am sure they will
come out
and make their choice.”
In addition, he had a word for Chinamasa and
Gumbo.
“There will be bloodbath, bloodbath to who? Who is dying? Let’s
put you at
the forefront, Rugare Gumbo and Chinamasa, you die first. Who are
you trying
to sacrifice, someone’s child?” Tsvangirai
questioned.
“President (Jakaya) Kikwete (of Tanzania) once told me that
you hear someone
saying we are prepared to shed blood but whose blood,
someone else’s child’s
blood, we will die until the last man but only when
you reach him when he
says, ‘oh, lets negotiate.’
How can any right
thinking national leader propagate for a bloodbath.”
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, October 21, 2012 - There was drama at
the police headquarters where
Zanu PF delegates to the Second All
Stakeholders Conference are meeting
after the party’s Copac co-chairperson
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana publicly
declared that senior Zanu PF officials
including Emerson Mnangagwa sold out.
The revelation that the faction leader
sold out during the
constitution-making process is likely to worsen fissures
within Zanu PF
ahead of possible elections next March.
Mangwana made
the disclosures after he was confronted by Joseph Chinotimba.
The self
styled war veteran demanding that Mangwana leave the venue where
Zanu PF
delegates were gathered to strategise ahead of the conference on
Monday.
Chinotimba was scolding Mangwana accusing him of selling Zanu
PF out during
the constitution-making process.
In his defence a
visibly shaken Mangwana told Chinotimba and those present,
including Zanu PF
national chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo, that Mnangagwa,
Nicholas Goche and
Patrick Chinamasa were responsible for anything that may
have had gone
wrong.
Mangwana said Mnangagwa, Goche and Chinamasa made him sign Copac
documents.
He said all the concessions he did on behalf of Zanu PF during
the
constitution-making process came from the three top
politicians.
Early this week Mangwana said the party’s Copac Management
Committee
representatives — Goche and Chinamasa were to blame.
“The
whole debate on the constitution-making process started with the method
to
use when sifting the information gathered during the outreach programme,”
Mangwana said.
“I stood firm in support of the quantitative method
because it was in line
with the exercise that we had carried out. There was
a stalemate and it was
our representatives in the management committee who
compromised on the
qualitative method. I was not willing to give in. That is
where we lost out.
I am not the one who sold out.”
“I don’t accept
the nonsense that I sold out. I acted in accordance with
instructions that I
was given by my party (Zanu PF) and I am clearly aware
that there are
pressures from my party to discredit me.”
Mangwana was reacting to a TV
programme screened by the national
broadcaster, ZBC, on Tuesday night where
panelists accused him of selling
out, describing him as worse than those who
massacred Zimbabweans at Chimoio
and Nyadzonia during the liberation
struggle in
the 1970s.
The Chivi Central MP is now suing ZBC for $1
million for defamation.
The panelists claimed Mangwana was worse than
Morris Nyathi, the alleged
traitor who guided Rhodesian forces in the brutal
pre-independence massacres
at Nyadzonia in Mozambique in 1976.
The
panelists further claimed that Mangwana supported homosexuality and was
paid
by imperialists to sell out on Zimbabwe’s interests.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Chinamasa is a justless minister of Justice
who deserves to be in prison for
uttering treasonous statements, an MDC-T
minister said.
21.10.12
by Staff Reporter
Addressing
hundreds of party supporters at Huruyadzo Shopping Centre in St
Marys
Chitungwiza today, MDC- T Secretary General and finance minister said
for
the justice minister to think that he has the power to reject an elected
leader is wishful thinking.
“Chinamasa is well versed with the
constitution and he knows that election
results should be respected. For him
to incite a coup in Zimbabwe is
treasonous which deserves jail time,” said
Tendai Biti.
He warned army generals that for them to think that they
have the power to
refuse saluting an elected leader has adverse implications
with the law.
“We are poised for victory and we will not allow the next
election to be
stolen. The party is ready to defend the vote in the event
that Zanu (PF)
refuses to hand over power in the forthcoming elections,” he
said.
MDC- T organizing secretary who is also Chamisa warned ‘old
cronies’ within
government under the Zanu (PF) ticket that their time was up
and they are
supposed to start packing.
“The Politburo and Senate
just to mention a few is composed of very old
people who should retire,” he
said.
He accused their Zanu (PF) partners in the GNU of derailing
development by
introducing policies that destroy investor confidence in the
country.
“They are gurus in stealing from resources meant for the
majority.
Zanu (PF) destroys companies. Look at what they did to Zupco,
Lobels, NRZ,
Bata and Air Zimbabwe just to name a The MDC- T has embarked on
massive
campaigns countrywide ahead of the forthcoming general election
expected
early next year.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
20/10/2012 00:00:00
by
Paradzai Brian Paradza
DEPUTY Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has
said the government needs to come
up with a clearer policy position
regarding state enterprises, many of which
are badly managed and cost the
fiscus millions of dollars every year.
Singling out Air Zimbabwe, which
is effectively grounded due to a mountain
of debt and other operational
problems, Mutambara said the government must
decide whether it should remain
involved in the running of parastatals.
He however, said the experiences
of countries like China, Malaysia and
Singapore showed that governments
could run companies profitably.
"On Air Zimbabwe, as a government we
accept that we have failed. Shame on
us! I do not want to be defensive.
However, the fact that the government of
Zimbabwe has failed to run
parastatals does not prove the incorrect theory
that States cannot run
businesses," Mutambara told New Zimbabwe.com in an
interview.
“If we
are going to have our parastatals work, we must learn from those who
have
excelled at it, such as China, Malaysia, and Singapore. What is it that
they
do that we do not do?
“Furthermore, we must appreciate the role of the
partnerships with the
private sector, and get over the obsession with
ownership. It’s better to
own 10 percent of an elephant than 100 percent of
a rat. Air Zimbabwe is a
dead rat; NRZ rava zi rat, ZESA is a dead
rat.”
Mutambara said the government would “soon” come up with a position
on Air
Zimbabwe which has been pushed to the wall by debts said to be over
US$140
million.
The airline was forced to pull out of regional and
international routes
after its aircraft was seized by restive creditors in
Johannesburg and
London. The company is now only offering a truncated
domestic service.
The tourism industry is however pushing the government
to end Air Zimbabwe’s
monopoly over some regional and international routes
such as Harare-Durban
since the airline is unable to service
them.
Mutambara conceded that there as need to open up the country’s
airspace.
“We must open up the air space to allow other airlines to come
and serve the
people,” he said.
“We must concede we have done a bad
job in terms of managing the air space.
We want to come up with an air
transportation system that goes beyond Air
Zimbabwe but of course we need to
salvage this parastatal.”
Tourism executives said an efficient
air transport system was needed
especially as the country prepares to host
the United Nations’ World Tourism
Congress next year. The event will be
jointly hosted with Zambia at the
Victoria Falls resort.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
20/10/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
ASIAGATE mastermind Henrietta Rushwaya has sensationally
admitted "falling
into the trap" of match fixing as she accepted her
punishment over the
scandal.
Rushwaya apologised to players and officials
who now face the end of their
careers over the scandal which saw makeshift
national team squads being sent
on trips to Asia between 2007 and 2009 at
which they were offered bungs to
lose matches.
But the former ZIFA
CEO – banned for life from all football activities last
Friday – insists
that match fixing was taking place well before she assumed
the position in
March 2007.
In her first interview since she and 14 others were banned
for life,
Rushwaya offered no apology to the nation and appeared to suggest
she was
being made a scapegoat because she was a woman.
“I am sorry
for those who are trying to get to grips with their sentences,
but I hope
with this conclusion our football continues to grow to the extent
of
qualifying for the World Cup and African Cup of Nations tournaments,”
she
said in an interview published on Sunday.
“I feel like they have made me
an easy target because I am a woman, but this
began way before I was in
office and I just fell into the trap.
“However, I have accepted being the
scapegoat and I have dusted myself while
moving on with my life.”
But
Zimbabweans hoping to see Rushwaya out of public life – or in jail as
suggested by Sports Minister David Coltart – are in for a new shock as she
announced in the same interview plans to run for PARLIAMENT.
Rushwaya
told the Sunday Mail newspaper she had no interest in returning to
football
and would now focus on her political career. The former teacher is
thought
to be eyeing a parliamentary seat on a Zanu PF ticket in Masvingo
Province.
Rushwaya appeared in court in February charged with
corruption over match
fixing but was acquitted on a technicality after
prosecution witnesses
stopped cooperating. She was then charged with sending
the national teams on
foreign trips without the permission of her employers,
ZIFA.
Zimbabwe lost to Jordan 2-0, to Thailand 3-0 and to Syria 6-0 in
Malaysia on
tours arranged by Rushwaya and convicted Singapore match fixer
Raj Perumal.
She also conspired to send local club, Monomotapa, to
Malaysia where they
posed as the national team. Malaysia, ranked 157th in
the world, won the
first friendly with the fake Zimbabwe national team 4-0,
followed up with a
1-0 victory.
An independent committee led by
retired High Court judge Ahmed Ebrahim
recommended that 15 individuals –
including Rushwaya, former coach Sunday
Chidzambwa – be banned for
life.
About 78 other players and officials face suspensions of between
six months
and 10 years. The sanctions will be announced in the coming
weeks, say ZIFA
officials.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
ZANU (PF) youths today terrorized villagers
wishing to attend a peace rally
by the MDC formation led by Professor
Welshman Ncube here forcing police to
ban the event.
21.10.12
by
Brenna Matendere
However the party went on to hold the rally attended by
hundreds of fearless
locals in the constituency represented by Defence
minister and ZANU (PF)
Legal affairs secretary Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
When The Zimbabwean news crew arrived at the venue- Netherburn
Grounds, six
police details were manning the entrance but villagers had
found their way
in.
“We could not cancel the rally because it was at
a short notice that police
sought to reverse their clearance which they had
issued earlier on,” said
MDC Organising Secretary Moses Chikwadze.
He
added that investigations carried by the party revealed that villagers
had
been told that MDC could not hold a rally in the area before ZANU (PF)
held
one. Since 2008, the former ruling party has not done so.
“We also
gathered that there was a circular from ZANU (PF)’s hardliners
which went
around the area dissuading villagers from attending the rally but
no one
took it serious, ” Chikwaze told The Zimbabwean.
It is not the first time
that the MDC has had its rallies disrupted this
year. Few months back, ZANU
(PF) youths in Silobela started playing a
football match at Crossroads
grounds on the exact time that MDC intended to
hold a rally. Last month
several of the party’s members were also attacked
soon after attending a
similar event in Mutoko.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
COPAC at the weekend gave in to demands by the
country’s civic society to
increase their representation at the Second All
Stakeholders Conference and
accrediting its members independent of political
parties.
21.10.12
by Tavada Mafa
COPAC in that regard
increased the number of delegates from 571 to 721.
“As I speak to you
now, the additional number of delegates from the civic
society is being
accredited. They did not want to come here under political
parties and that
has been resolved,”Edward Mukosi COPAC –CO- Chairperson
from the Welshman
Ncube led MDC told TheZimbabwean Sunday in Harare.
NANGO and Crisis
Coalition last week petitioned South African President
Jacob Zuma who is the
coalition government’s SADC chosen mediator to
intervene after COPAC had
requested members of the civic society to attend
the Second All Stakeholders
Conference under political parties.
The conference starts Monday and ends
Wednesday in Harare.
“This amounts to“ paddocking of civil society along
partisan political
lines” and is unacceptable because it could compromise
civil society’s
independence and impartiality. On 12th October we wrote to
COPAC explaining
this and that they wish to participate in the Conference
but “not under the
participation regime that is currently being sponsored.
Political parties do
not own civil society, and COPAC should not aid the lie
that they do, by
pushing this untenable, unprofessional and partisan
invitation framework”,the
civic society said in a statement last
week.
The second all stakeholders’ conference which starts Monday will
now see
1350 delegates attending.
The conference is a platform for
political parties, the church and members
of the civic society to propose
for the amendment of the draft constitution.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Gwanda police have unleashed a reign of terror
in the area following the
killing of their colleague by a gold panner last
Monday, The Zimbabwean
heard.
21.10.12
by Ashly
Sibanda
A gold panner allegedly stabbed to death Constable Blessing
Mamimini
officers and left two others seriously injured after a brawl at
Phakama
Business centre on Monday.
Gwanda police reportedly teargased
and assaulted residents, resulting in
some injuries.
Gwanda North
legislator, Thandeko Zindi Mnkandla confirmed to The Zimbabwean
that police
have unleashed a reign of terror in Gwanda.
“Residents of the town are
now gripped with fear that there will be more
attacks,” Mnkandla
said.
According to the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), some residents had
to be
admitted at Gwanda Provincial Hospital.
ZPP said their
investigations reveal that hospital staff reportedly demanded
clearance
letters from the police before attending to them.
“The armed anti-riot
police invaded bars and nightclubs and assaulted
patrons in the following
areas Pakama, Garikai,Ultra and Spitzkop on Monday
and Tuesday night
injuring more residents.
“The brutal attack and clashes came after the
stabbing to death of a
plainclothes officer by a suspected gold panner on
Monday,” ZPP said.
Acting Matabeleland South police spokesperson,
Sergeant Nkosilathi Sibanda
refused to comment.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Sunday, 21 October 2012 12:18
HARARE - A rally
organised by businessperson Phillip Chiyangwa yesterday to
prop up sidekick
Chamu Chiwanza’s bid to stand in Mabvuku as a Zanu PF
candidate in next
year’s Parliamentary elections flopped after a handful of
people
attended.
Less than 100 people including children turned up for the
much-hyped rally,
where Chiyangwa claiming to be a money prophet, started
dishing out money to
people after realising that his mission had
collapsed.
Chiyangwa, a former Zanu PF MP arrived in a Rolls Royce
vehicle accompanied
by Affirmative Action Group president Keith Guzah and
other Zanu PF
officials.
But the rally turned into a nightmare for
Chiyangwa as children dominated
the crowd.
The controversial
businessperson, like he has done at several past
gatherings, ended up asking
people questions, rewarding them with $20 each.
Chiyangwa told the
gathering that when choosing a leader they should look
for someone whose
qualities included a sound political background, good
manners and has a
grasp of the constitution.
The controversial businessperson urged the
people to look for someone who
could offer them security.
“When
choosing a councillor, MP, Senator or president you must choose a
person who
even when you are sleeping, he can decide on your behalf. You
should also
examine the party you choose,” said Chiyangwa.
The boastful Chiyangwa
urged people not to just wait for hand-outs but work
hard and make
money.
Chiyangwa narrated his road to achieving “wealth” and gave a few
tips to
those interested in emulating him.
He encouraged the crowd to
rally behind the youth empowerment programme and
vote for President Robert
Mugabe.
Chiyangwa has plunged himself into the battle for primary
elections in Zanu
PF where besides campaigning for himself in Chinhoyi, he
is also pushing for
Chiwanza in Mabvuku.
Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa
has for the past two years
been laying the ground for Zanu PF in the same
constituency.
MDC’s
James Maridadi is also eyeing the Mabvuku constituency seat. - Staff
Writer
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Richard Chidza, Staff
Writer
Sunday, 21 October 2012 12:20
HARARE - Africa’s liberation struggle
ideals have been hijacked by greedy
elites who have turned against the
people, Information Communication
Technology (ICT) minister Nelson Chamisa
has said.
Delivering the third Samora Machel Memorial Lecture in Harare
on Friday,
Chamisa described the former Mozambican president as an African
giant who
loved his people.
“The tragedy of post-colonial Africa is a
tragedy of lack of love,” Chamisa
said.
He said Zimbabwe’s leaders
are “sadly” involved in actions which Machel
would have frowned
at.
“We vanquished the white settler colonialists, but not colonialism.
We
kicked out Smith, yet kicking in and entrenching Smithism. Literally
copying, pasting and perfecting the Rhodesian template of repression,” said
Chamisa.
“Suddenly, we see false enemies, define fictitious
saboteurs, behave like a
leopard that accuses its young ones of smelling
like goats to justify
cannibalism and misguided infanticide,” Chamisa
said.
He added that since independence, Zimbabwe has reproduced the very
institutions that its sons and daughters had valiantly fought
against.
“Our conduct continues to provide fuel to our naysayers, cynics
and
doomsayers. Remember Van der Byl, Desmond Ladner-Burke and Ken Flower,
the
Special Branch, the Law and Order Maintenance Act, the Selous Scouts,
the
colour bar policies? Juxtapose these with our own post-colonial
realities,”
he said.
“While Machel hosted our liberators who are we
hosting; Mengistu?” queried
Chamisa.
Former Ethiopian dictator
Mengistu Haile Mariam convicted in absentia of war
crimes and human rights
abuses by the Addis Ababa administration has been
holed up in Harare for
decades.
Former Mozambican president Samora Moisés Machel died in a
mysterious plane
crush On October 19, 1986 while coming back from an
international meeting in
Zambia.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Jeffrey Muvundusi, Own Correspondent
Sunday, 21 October
2012 12:29
BULAWAYO - When Dumiso Dabengwa walked out of the “marriage
inconvenience”
with Zanu PF in 2008, many, particularly hard-core Zapu
supporters who felt
homeless after the 1987 “Unity Accord”, had something to
smile about.
And when he announced that he would re-launch Zapu,
thousands in the
Matabeleland region, where the party enjoyed popular
support, relished their
chance in national politics again.
That
Dabengwa, a liberation war spy chief nicknamed the Black Russian, was
at the
centre of Zapu’s revival added to the party’s credibility, given his
war
history as a top commander.
So vibrant was the party in its first year of
comeback that it somehow shook
the country’s two political heavyweights Zanu
PF and the MDC.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC was particularly
rattled since it
also claims large support in the same region but lacks the
“homeboy”
credentials enjoyed by Dabengwa.
The party’s first full
congress, held at the Zimbabwe International Trade
Fair grounds in 2010, was
an emotional affair with over 5 000 ecstatic
delegates
attending.
Representatives of Zapu branches in foreign countries such as
Canada, the
United Kingdom, United States, Swaziland and South Africa graced
the event.
Even South Africa’s ruling ANC party, which enjoyed historical
war ties with
Zapu sent emissaries to the event.
And what a feast it
was as 15 cattle were slaughtered.
Witnessing such scenes, one was left
with the impression that Zapu, formed
by the late larger than life Joshua
Nkomo in 1961, really had something new
to offer in the highly contested
political dispensation.
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF was formed in
1963 by renegades who broke
away from Zapu.
But two years after the
congress, Zapu seems to be a party in decline,
heading towards
oblivion.
Broke and disintegrating, Zapu seems unable to match the giant
status it
earned during the liberation war and after independence before
being diluted
by Zanu PF under the “Unity Accord”.
With watershed
elections likely next year, Dabengwa’s “revived” Zapu seems
one of those
little parties just there to increase the numbers.
Recent rallies have
been telling, with party leaders counting their luck to
get 100 people
attending.
Reports say the party has recently been forced to sell 14
cattle to settle a
$15 000 headquarters’ rent debt. The party has since been
evicted from the
building.
Infighting has become the order of the
day, with some members going for
Dabengwa’s head.
In response,
Dabengwa has fired those he suspects of plotting his ouster as
party
president.
Ray Ncube, a former army colonel who was the party’s Bulawayo
provincial
chairperson, was shown the door last week for allegedly running a
parallel
structure.
Some have described Dabengwa as part of Zanu PF
projects to try and upset
the MDC in its stronghold Matabeleland
region.
Together with another former Zanu PF politburo member, Simba
Makoni, they
ran a “failed” campaign supporting Makoni for President under a
project
called Mavambo/Dawn, Kusile in 2008.
Dabengwa later opened up
in a newspaper interview that the project was set
up specifically to prevent
Tsvangirai from taking over from Mugabe.
He described the project as
“successful” after Tsvangirai failed to garner
enough majority to take
complete control of government. — Weekend Post
http://www.radiovop.com
:
Bulawayo, October 21,
2012, - South Africa’s Polokwane executive mayor,
Freddy Greaver, has said
Bulawayo has the potential to rise from the ashes
of de-industrialisation,
and with the right partnership, can reclaim its
industrial-hub position in
the SADC region.
Greaver was speaking at a function, held at the Bulawayo
Large City Hall on
Friday evening, where a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
that laid the
foundation for a twinning arrangement between Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe’s second
largest city, and Polokwane, South Africa’s Limpopo
province capital city,
was signed.
“From today onwards, the exchange
between Polokwane and Bulawayo is going to
mean that our people work
together,” he said.
“Indeed many will argue that Zimbabwe and Bulawayo
are going through trying
times. We know too well what it means. We are here
today because we believe
in the resurrection of the giant called Zimbabwe,
the resurrection of a
giant called Bulawayo.
“We are here because we
believe the day shall come when the people will look
at this city as the
heartbeat of the economy of Zimbabwe, the heartbeat of
the economy of
SADC.”
Bulawayo has over the years suffered de-industrialization with the
ministry
of industry and trade estimating that slightly over 100 industries
closed
down since the beginning of January this year.
Economist Eric
Bloch told the gathering on Friday that while the closing
down of industries
was countrywide, it was most sad in Bulawayo, “because it
has always been
the industrial hub in the SADC region.”
Polokwane mayor Greaver said
Polokwane will never turn its back on Zimbabwe
because, “You (Zimbabweans)
were there for us yesterday during our struggle
for freedom. In this time of
your difficult, it can’t be us, the people of
South Africa; it can’t be us,
the people of Polokwane, who turn our backs on
you.”
Bulawayo mayor,
Thaba Moyo, said the signing of the MoU emphasised, “the
need to foster
economic engagement among our people through the various
sectors.”
“Talk of a global village is meaningless if we cannot as
neighbours
establish relationships between ourselves,” he said.
“It
has to start from among us. Bulawayo has been on the decline for quite
some
time now. Many industries are operating below capacity. Our joining
hands
with Polokwane are but one intervention that we hope our business
communities will take advantage of.”
http://www.bdlive.co.za
BY LONI PRINSLOO AND JANA MARAIS, OCTOBER 21 2012,
13:40
ZIMBABWE, which together with South Africa holds 75% of the
world’s platinum
reserves, has grown production of the white metal by 121%
since 2006, while
local output has dropped 20% over the same
period.
Hamstrung by violent labour unrest, rising costs and increasingly
difficult
underground mining conditions, South Africa’s platinum production
is
expected to fall by 607,000 ounces this year, costing mining companies an
estimated R8.6bn in lost revenue at current prices. Zimbabwe’s output is
expected to increase by 7%.
Should the political situation in
Zimbabwe improve, it will become a more
attractive platinum investment
destination than South Africa. “The long-term
potential of Zimbabwe excites
me. It’s a low-cost, high-growth area for
investors. I’m much more excited
about Zim than South Africa over the long
term,” one platinum analyst
said.
Compared with South African mines, which are largely deep
underground
operations, Zimbabwe’s platinum deposits allow for opencast,
mechanised
mining, making them some of the lowest-cost operators in the
world.
Zimbabwean mining companies have also benefited from low labour
costs, which
are about a third of what they are in South Africa, and limited
labour
unrest. However, the cost and availability of electricity remains a
problem,
one fund manager with exposure to Zimplats said.
The share
price of the country’s biggest platinum miner, Zimplats, which is
87% owned
by Impala, has gained 13% since the unrest at Lonmin started in
August.
However, political risk remains a big concern and is depressing the
values
of assets in the country.
Other platinum operators in Zimbabwe are Anglo
American Platinum, which
commissioned its Unki mine at the end of 2010, and
Mimosa, a venture between
Impala and Aquarius Platinum.
Impala has
said that it could invest as much as $10bn (R87bn) to expand
production in
the country if the regulatory environment and indigenisation
rules, which
require that black Zimbabweans own 51% of companies, were more
business-friendly. Zimplats, which produces about 180,000 ounces of platinum
a year, has the potential to expand this to a million ounces.
The
expropriation of white-owned farmland since the late 1990s caused
investors
to withdraw from Zimbabwe and halved its economy between 1997 and
2008. The
economy has recovered since the use of the US dollar was legalised
in 2009,
but it is still smaller than it was in 1999.
Uncertainty over
indigenisation legislation has seen investment into the
country’s mines dry
up and investors are expected to remain skittish until a
new constitution is
finalised and free, fair and peaceful elections are
held.
South
Africa’s government should take note of the effect political risk has
on
asset valuation and the ability to attract investment.
“Zimbabwe also
holds an important lesson for South Africa in terms of
political risk and
the impact on valuations. You can have the best asset in
the world, but any
good asset will be damaged by an unfavourable political
environment,” the
analyst said.
Despite the challenges facing local mines, South Africa
remains the world’s
biggest platinum producer and is expected to produce
4.2-million ounces this
year, out of total global production of 5.87-million
ounces. South Africa’s
production is expected to recover slightly next year,
with output of
4.47-million ounces.
Zimbabwe’s output is expected to
grow 3% to 365,000 ounces this year and is
forecast to reach 393,000 ounces
in 2013.
* This article was first published in Sunday Times: Business
Times
http://in.reuters.com
KARACHI | Sun Oct
21, 2012 10:30pm IST
(Reuters) - The Pakistan Cricket Board has postponed
a tour to Zimbabwe in
December in anticipation of a bilateral one-day series
against India.
A senior official of the board told Reuters that under the
future tour
programme of the International Cricket Council, Pakistan were
due to visit
Zimbabwe for a test and one-day series in December.
"But
since it is too close to the series against India we have informed the
Zimbabwe authorities the tour should be held sometime next year," the
official said.
Pakistan have been invited by the Indian board to play
three one-day
internationals and two T20 matches in
December.
Bilateral cricket between the nuclear-armed neighbours were
snapped after
the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed. India
blame
Pakistan-based militants for the incident.
India and Pakistan
have fought three wars in the past 65 years, and the
already fragile
relations were further strained when gunmen attacked two
upmarket hotels, a
busy railway terminal and a fashionable cafe in Mumbai.
The last series
between the two sides was Pakistan's tour of India in 2007
although Pakistan
travelled to India to play the 50-over World Cup
semi-final in Mohali last
year.
Picture
1: ‘Operation Take Back Zimbabwe’
Picture
2: Josephine Zhuga posts petition under Embassy door (no letter
box)
On the eve of the
2nd Stakeholders’ Meeting on the new constitution, Zimbabweans exiled
in the UK gathered outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London to underline our fears
that this ludicrous process would again be hijacked by Zanu
PF.
The gathering was
part of the 10th round of monthly demonstrations by the Free Zimbabwe
Global Diaspora 21st Movement. Previous protests were directed at
SADC, regional players and the UN. The theme this month was ‘Operation Take Back
Zimbabwe’ targeting Zimbabwe embassies (See: 21st Movement press
release –
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1empt9LlblvSr8H1tsxgXrlUdppW1LoTTR3jhgbAYjSQ/edit).
The following
petition was drawn up on the spot and signed by participants, including many MDC
members as well as Vigil and ROHR supporters, before being slipped under the
Embassy’s front door. ‘Petition to Zimbabwe Embassy, London.
Zimbabweans exiled in the United Kingdom have gathered outside the Embassy today
(Saturday 20th October 2012) to demand that the 2nd
Stakeholders’ Meeting on the new constitution should be allowed to take place
without sabotage by Zanu PF. We deplore the upsurge in political violence and
the arbitrary arrests of opposition members and warn you that we will continue
our campaign until there are free and fair elections. This demonstration is part
of a global diaspora project ‘Operation Take Back Zimbabwe’ in which we are
joined by brothers and sisters in the United States, South Africa and others
round the world.’
Against a background
of exuberant singing and dancing, we displayed the following posters:
Independent Monitors for Copac Conference; No violence, No Arbitrary Arrests;
Free Fair Peaceful Referendum; Free, Fair, Credible and Indisputable Elections;
SADC JOMIC Monitors Where Are You?; UN, AU, Independent Monitors For Referendum;
UN, AU, Independent Monitors For Elections; We Want A Clean Voters' Roll; No
Repeat of 2008 Ever Again; Fair Justice, Independent Judges Now; People's
Parliament Not Mugabe's, Open It Now; Diamond Money For The People; and
Chinamasa & Gumbo stop your nonsense.
Other
points
·
Following the Vigil’s
10th anniversary last week we were pleased to receive further
messages of support:
-
Congratulations on your 10 years.
Sorry I wasn’t able to be there as I am in South Africa. I did however post this
on our facebook page: ZEN is congratulating the Zimbabwe Vigil on their 10th
Anniversary. Hopefully it will not be necessary for another ten years of protest
outside the Zimbabwean Embassy! – Tor-Hugne Olsen, Co-ordinator, Zimbabwe Europe
Network.
- Forgot
to say happy 10th birthday/anniversary to the ZImbabwe Vigil Coalition. www.zimvigil.co.uk on the 13th of October.
We should surely celebrate and thank God for stalwarts . . . Well done guys you
are always in our prayers – Yvonne Gwashawanhu (Zimbabwean lawyer and human
rights activist in the UK).
-
So proud
that the Vigil is 10, it's amazing!! I keep up with your weekly diary and cheer
you on. Hope it all goes well and please send love to everyone and keep on the
keeping on – Wiz Bishop. Zimbabwe HR NGO Forum.
-
Makorakoto
– well done, keep it up until the people have won – Eddie Cross
MP.
·
We urge people to read Eddie
Cross’s latest thoughts on the situation in Zimbabwe in which he discusses Zanu
PF’s strategy to steal next year’s elections (see: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/oct16_2012.html#Z21
- The Zanu PF Battle Plan).
·
The African philanthropist Mo
Ibrahim, whose foundation promotes African leadership, has some stinging
comments to make about Zimbabwe this week. Ibrahim said: "Zimbabwe should have
been a success story. It is a wonderful country with wonderful resources but
unfortunately is at a political impasse. That is really a problem. We really hope the Zimbabwean people
will somehow come together to resolve this impasse and enable the country to
move forward. It's unfortunate to have this kind of
stagnation in the political scene which is affecting the performance of the
country. The Zimbabwean people are among some
of the best-educated Africans and very enterprising. So let's hope that they get
their act together and somehow we see Zimbabwe rising again." (see: Mugabe holding Zimbabwe back: Ibrahim –
https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/oct17_2012.html#Z8).
Zimbabwe was ranked 47 out of 52 African
countries in the 2012 Ibrahim Index. At the same time the influential Economist
magazine rated Harare as the 4th worst capital city in the world to
live in.
·
The Vigil has been
asked to campaign for the diaspora vote by Derek Sparrow (see: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/448-diaspora-vote-campaign
for text of his request and our reply).
·
The Vigil has been
asked to draw attention to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum’s children’s
competition as part of UN human rights day. They are inviting Zimbabwean
children anywhere in the world to submit a story or a picture on the theme of
'The Portrait of a Great Zimbabwe'. For full details check: http://www.swradioafrica.com/Documents/CHILDREN%20STORY%20AND%20DRAWING%20COMPETITION-3.pdf.
·
Thanks
once again to the ladies from ROHR Slough branch (Josephine Zhuga, Grace Nyaumwe
and Iline Manhunzi) who brought sadza and nyama and mealies which they sold for
ROHR funds. They were joined by Thandiwe Gwarumba and Anne Chikumba of the ROHR
Birmingham branch who also contributed to ROHR funds by selling
snacks.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website.
FOR THE
RECORD: 77 signed the
register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
Launch of ROHR
Central London Branch. Saturday
27th October from 6 – 9 pm. Venue: Strand
Continental Hotel (first floor lounge), 143 Strand, London WC2R 1JA. The meeting
will take place straight after the Vigil. Directions: The Strand is the same
road as the Vigil. From the Vigil it’s about a 10 minute walk, in the direction
away from Trafalgar Square. The Strand Continental is situated on the south side
of the Strand between Somerset House and the turn off onto Waterloo Bridge. The
entrance is marked by a big sign high above and a sign for its famous Indian
restaurant at street level. It's next to a newsagent. Nearest underground:
Temple (District and Circle lines) and Holborn.
·
ROHR
Cambridge Branch Meeting.
Saturday 27th October from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: St Andrews Hall,
Chesterton, Cambridge, CB4 1DH. Contact: Andrew Mlambo 07826626579; Deon Matola
07786674066, or Elijah Mandaza 07446251197
·
ROHR
Bournemouth Branch Meeting. Saturday 3rd November from 3 – 5 pm.
Venue: 71 Stewart Road, Bournemouth BH8 8NZ. Contact: Memory Dzepasi
07585907566, Arthur Chagadama 07951 269667, Dennis Muringai 07787486839 or
Collin Chitekwe 07957712691
·
Special
Zimbabwe Action Forum
(ZAF). Saturday
10th November from 6.30 – 9.30 pm. Our special guest will be Ben
Freeth. Venue: Strand Continental Hotel (first floor lounge), 143 Strand, London
WC2R 1JA. Directions: The Strand is the same road as the Vigil. From the Vigil
it’s about a 10 minute walk, in the direction away from Trafalgar Square. The
Strand Continental is situated on the south side of the Strand between Somerset
House and the turn off onto Waterloo Bridge. The entrance is marked by a big
sign high above and a sign for its famous Indian restaurant at street level.
It's next to a newsagent. Nearest underground: Temple (District and Circle
lines) and Holborn.
·
Zimbabwe Vigil
Highlights 2011 can be viewed on this
link: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/363-vigil-highlights-2011.
Links to previous years’ highlights are listed on 2011 Highlights
page.
·
The Restoration of
Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s
partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil
to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s
mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through
membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in
Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other
website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents the
views and opinions of ROHR.
·
ZBN
News. The Vigil
management team wishes to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not
responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that
they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no
control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN News.
·
The Zim Vigil
band
(Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our
Vigil)’ to raise awareness through music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video
check: http://ourvigil.notlong.com. To watch other
Zim Vigil band protest songs, check: http://Shungurudza.notlong.com and http://blooddiamonds.notlong.com.
·
Vigil Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.
·
Vigil Myspace
page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil.
·
To sponsor the Mike
Campbell Foundation expedition ‘Sailing across the Makgadikgadi Pans’ which will
raise money for the work of the Foundation, go to www.justgiving.com/Mike-Campbell-Foundation.
·
Useful websites:
www.zanupfcrime.com which reports on Zanu
PF abuses and www.ipaidabribe.org.zw where people can
report corruption in Zimbabwe.
Vigil
co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.