http://www.newzimbabwe.com
27/10/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert
Nyambabvu
ZANU PF administration secretary, Didymus Mutasa, has
ordered a stop to
attacks on embattled Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa,
who has been
vilified by senior party officials for allegedly “selling-out”
in the
constitutional reform process.
Chinamasa and other officials
who represented Zanu PF in negotiations for
the new constitution have faced
rare public censure from within the senior
ranks of the party with the most
strident attacks directed at the Justice
Minister.
The critics feel
Chanamasa and his colleagues failed to defend the party’s
interests and were
out-manoeuvred by the MDC formations. Among a host of
issues, Zanu PF is
particularly incensed with clauses which cut-back the
powers of the
Presidency as well moves to introduce devolution.
The party has been
trying to regain the initiative by proposing a raft of
amendments which were
however, rejected by the MDCs.
But Mutasa said none of Chinamasa’s
critics had dared raise their
reservations during politburo meetings adding
that President Robert Mugabe
was satisfied with the Minister’s
work.
“We have not heard any such reports or complaints in all our
Politburo
meetings about Chinamasa having sold out,” he said.
“As far as
I am concerned, even President Mugabe is happy with Chinamasa
and, as the
party’s secretary for administration, I am also happy with the
sterling job
he did during the Copac constitution-making process,” Mutasa
told state
media.
“Those suggesting he sold out should come out clearly and spell
out one by
one the areas they believe he sold out on. I am the party’s
acting
treasurer, I have not received or seen any money from what Chinamasa
is said
to have sold out on.’’
Mutasa said Zanu PF had been kept
informed of the Copac negotiations every
step of the way and suggested that
those criticising Chinamasa in the state
media had “other
motives”.
“Those going to the media could be serving other interests
which are not
Zanu PF’s; we therefore ask them whose interests are they
serving by so
doing?’’ he said.
Chinamasa’s situation was not helped
by an interview he gave to the BBC in
which he effectively suggested that
there would be a coup should MDC-T
leader Morgan Tsvangirai win elections
expected next year.
Said Herald columnist Nathaniel Manheru who is widely
believed to be
President Robert Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba: “… it is
plain
impolitic to entertain any thoughts that speculate on your party's
defeat.
Apart from suggesting your own self-doubt, you are inviting a
negative
debate on a speculative scenario. Why?
But the Zanu
PF-aligned Media and Information Commission chair, Tafataona
Mahoso, was far
more scathing and said: “Minister Chinamasa avoided all the
hot issues
falling under his job and decided to speak for the Zimbabwe
Defence Forces
in order to create grounds for the imperialist and Rhodesian
condemnation of
the next elections long before they are held.
“The purpose for BBC was to
scandalise and demonize the Zimbabwe Defence
Forces and the liberation
movement so fundamentally that no matter how clean
and convincing the entire
population of Zimbabwe may want the next elections
to be, these elections
will have been framed permanently and in advance as
fraudulent and inviting
a foreign intervention.
“That interview seems intended to assist the
Pentagon, Nato, the EU, the
Rhodesians and the MDC formations in their
pursuit of “lawfare” against the
next elections.”
However, Mutasa
said the critics did not speak for Zanu PF.
“(Only Rugare Gumbo speaks
for the party. If (he) is not available, as is
the case right now, I become
the sole person with the permission to speak on
behalf of the party,
expressing our position as we work together, and not as
individuals,’’ he
said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
27/10/2012 00:00:00
by Garikai
Chaunza
ZANU PF Legislator, Paul Mangwana, who is also the
party’s Copac
co-chairman, has rebuffed entreaties from the ZBC to drop his
US$1 million
defamation claim against the state broadcaster.
Mangwana
slapped ZBC with the damages claim two weeks ago after being
angered by a
current affairs programme broadcast by the corporation on
October 18 in
which he was attacked and vilified over the constitutional
reform
process.
Panellists on the programme rounded on the Chivi Central MP,
accusing him of
selling out to the MDC formations and describing him as
worse than those who
massacred Zimbabweans at Chimoio and Nyadzonia during
the liberation
struggle in the 1970s.
Mangwana was further accused of
supporting homosexuality as well as taking
money from “imperialists to sell
out on Zimbabwe’s interests”.
However, taken aback by the huge damages
claim, the ZBC hosted Mangwana on
another current affairs programme last
Thursday where producers apologised
for the attacks and urged him to drop
the lawsuit.
But clearly unimpressed, Mangwana told the producers: “You
were not supposed
to invite people to attack my character without giving the
platform to
defend myself. I was expecting to be invited to the programme
and defend
myself .What you did is criminal.”
Mangwana said he had
been hurt by the attacks insisting: “Ini semumwe
wevakuru vanga
vachitungamirira kunyorwa kwebumbiro idzva remutemo wenyika
ndakarwadziwa
zvikuru kuti mumwe munhu anongouya paTV oti Mangwana mutengesi
asina
humbowo.
"Ini ndaiita basa renyika murunyararo. What pains me is that I
was called a
sell-out. I participated in the liberation of this country and
for someone
to call me a sell-out means that the person wants me to be
killed.”
The attacks on Mangwana were part of wider recriminations within
Zanu PF as
senior officials felt their negotiators had been outsmarted by
the MDC
formations. Zanu PF was particularly angered over the whittling down
of
Presidential powers as well as moves to introduce devolution.
In
an interview with Newsday, Mangwana blamed Zanu PF’s Copac management
committee representatives Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche for making
concessions detrimental to the party.
“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,” he said.
“ZBC should know that it cannot abuse
their monopoly by attacking
individuals without the right to respond. They
had been doing that for a
long time, but I kept quiet. This time I will
fight and set a precedent so
that they will not continue abusing
politicians.”
http://ewn.co.za
Eyewitness News | 4 hours ago
ZIMBABWE -
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's party said on Sunday, a team
of its top
officials had just returned from China where they observed how
the Chinese
Communist Party goes about winning its elections.
State media said everything
points to yet another victory for Zanu-PF in
polls in 2013, though Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party is
also confident of a win.
Top Zanu-PF official Amos Midzi said the team's
visit to China was an
eye-opener.
He told the Sunday Mail newspaper
that one of the lessons they brought back
was that indiscipline within the
party must be punished.
But he said there will be no wholesale changes to
Zanu-PF's strategies to
win the polls.
Midzi said these strategies
are people-oriented, though the MDC claims
Zanu-PF uses intimidation and
violence to ensure people vote for the party.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The militant Woman of Zimbabwe Arise was on
Saturday night awarded the
Bulawayo Agenda Courageous Award during the
organization’s 10th anniversary
commemorations.
28.10.12
by
Gladys Ncube
The Jenni Williams-led WOZA landed the in recognition of
its continuous
resistance to Zanu (PF) and police repression through
street-based
demonstrations.
Speaking during the handover of the
award to Williams, Bulawayo Agenda
Executive Director, Thabani Nyoni, said
WOZA was the only group which
managed to keep police on its toes while
fighting for democracy.
Addressing the gathering after receiving the
award, Williams said her group
would continue fighting for democracy in
Zimbabwe using the streets.
“We encourage all of you to continue
supporting us by joining us in the
streets. We will keep on using the
streets to fight for democracy in this
country,” said Williams.
WOZA
was founded in 2003 by Williams and the late Sheba Dube to demand
social and
political reforms in Zimbabwe under the rule of President Robert
Mugabe.
WOZA leaders and several members have endured dozens of
police arrests and
beatings for leading peaceful protests.
The
militant group has inspired tens of thousands of Zimbabwe women and men
to
stand up for their rights to free speech and assembly and the fulfillment
of
basic needs like food and education.
Early this year, Williams was also
awarded the Amnesty International USA
2012 Ginetta Sagen Award for Women and
Children's Rights, in recognition of
her work in inspiring women in
particular to fight for the betterment of
their welfare.
The Vigil welcomes the peaceful
conclusion of the second Stakeholders’ Conference on the constitution – not
because we think it achieved anything but because it took place without the
feared violence and because it clears the way for the next hurdle in the Alice
in Wonderland caucus race. (Wikipedia definition of caucus race: a laborious but arbitrary and
futile activity; an activity that amounts to running around in a circle,
expending great energy but not accomplishing anything.)
Zimbabweans now
rejoice in an expensive proposed new constitution which nobody wants. If
constitution-making was ranked as a productive activity Zimbabwe (or Rhodesia
before it) would be world leaders: constitutions for all occasions. We might
even flog one to the UK which has managed all these years without one.
As far as the Vigil
can see, a constitution matters only if there is the rule of law. And when did
that last exist in Zimbabwe? And, anyway, Mugabe has made it clear the
constitution will not be adopted until he is satisfied with it (at one stage he
seemed to have co-opted Tsvangirai to this idea!).
So the fiasco moves
to Parliament and then to a referendum, apparently in mid-January, costing
$100,000,000 or so. Of course Zimbabwe has no money for this – that is unless
the Mugabes, the Mujurus, the Mpofus, the Chombos etc care to contribute a few
dollars from their stolen millions.
Mr Biti says we in
the UK must pay. He says we are paying for Zimbabwe’s health and education
(along with other donors) so we ‘have an obligation’ to pay for everything else
(see: Biti turns to donors to fund referendum and elections – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/oct27_2012.html#Z3).
Biti’s logic is the sort that has made Zimbabwe the intellectual powerhouse it
is today.
So here we will be in
mid-January 2013 with a useless referendum on a useless constitution and the
situation on the ground to all purposes unchanged – certainly no rule of law.
And then Mugabe – coming up to his 90th year and popping with
Singaporean monkey glands – can start campaigning for the elections he wants in
March, leaving little time for the essential reforms agreed four years ago and
still not implemented. The Vigil thinks this is a recipe for disaster.
Elections any later –
and some are talking of October – will provide an interesting backdrop for the
UN’s tourism conference at the Victoria Falls next August. The odious tourism
functionaries from all over the world will then get the chance to see some real
Zimbabwean ‘wild life’.
Other
points
ˇ
ROHR Central London
Branch was launched today. An interim committee was elected with Fungayi Mabhunu
of the Vigil as Chair. Participants felt that ROHR Central London would have a
pivotal and challenging campaigning role in the UK capital where government
headquarters and foreign embassies are based.
ˇ
Attendance at the
Vigil and the ROHR meeting was affected by adverse weather (biting winds from
the Arctic) and travel disruption (roadworks, train cancellations etc). Thanks
to Elijah and Sheron Makhosi Bhebhe who were there at the start to help set up
in the absence of Vigil regulars who were late because of travel
problems.
ˇ
The Vigil was pleased
for our Swazi friends at the coverage they managed to achieve in the Swazi Times
of their campaign against oppression by King Mswati III and his government (see:
Swaziland Vigil hits home – http://www.swazilandvigil.co.uk/Campaign-News/swaziland-vigil-hits-home.html).
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: 58 signed the
register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
ˇ
Next Swaziland
Vigil. Saturday
3rd November from 10 am – 1 pm. Venue: Swazi High Commission, 20
Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB. Please support our Swazi friends. Nearest
stations: St James’s Park and Victoria. www.swazilandvigil.co.uk.
ˇ
ROHR Bournemouth
Branch Meeting. Saturday 3rd
November 2012 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
ˇ
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
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ˇ
Election of
Substantive ROHR UK Executive. Saturday
8th December. Further details as they become
available.
ˇ
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link: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/363-vigil-highlights-2011.
Links to previous years’ highlights are listed on 2011 Highlights
page.
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partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil
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ˇ
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band
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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
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ˇ
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.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Local
THE government is
set host an education all-stakeholders’ conference in
December to review the
school curriculum to put emphasis on vocational
skills
training.
Report by Report by Nqaba Matshazi
Education, Sport,
Arts and Culture minister David Coltart last week said
while Zimbabwe had a
good education system, the curriculum was too
academically-oriented.
He said greater focus should be placed on
vocational skills.
“The country’s curriculum was last reviewed in 1986 and we
need to update it
to include ICT (information and communication
technologies) and the
environment, among others,” he said.
Expected
to attend the conference are leaders from industry, agriculture,
mining and
commerce, as the government seeks to develop a “broad-based”
curriculum to
prepare students for life after school.
Previous attempts to develop a new
curriculum had been abortive, with the
Nziramasanga Commission on Education
recommendations of 1999 yet to be
adopted.
The commission said
academic education on its own was not entirely
beneficial and there was need
to input vocational training into the schools’
curriculum.
Coltart
said he would recommend to Cabinet, that provisions of the
Nziramasanga
Commission be adopted, so that Zimbabwe’s education system
could benefit
learners more.
Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rate in Africa, while
the quality of
education is third behind Kenya and Gambia on the continent,
according to
the World Economic Forum report of 2012.
However, in the
provision of internet and ICTs in schools, Zimbabwe performs
poorly, as it
is ranked 129 out of 142 countries. It also polls woefully in
the provision
of training and research, as it is ranked 105.
As if to illustrate the
new direction education was taking, Cabinet recently
approved a memorandum
of understanding between the Education ministry and
Foundations for Farming,
which would see conservation agriculture becoming
an integral part of the
school curriculum.
A number of rural schools have been selected for the
pilot programme for the
conservation agriculture initiative, with the scheme
later expected to
spread throughout the country.
Coltart was
optimistic of the agreement signed with Foundations for Farming,
saying it
had the capacity to revolutionise agriculture in Zimbabwe.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Local
Copac
management committee is set to meet tomorrow to deliberate on issues
raised
at the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference, as it emerged there was
no clear
mechanism to deal with disputes that arose after the constitutional
indaba.
Report by Our Staff
An official at Copac revealed that
Article 6 of the Global Political
Agreement was silent on how the parties
would deal with a dispute, as it was
anticipated that all parties would be
in agreement.
“It was assumed that since the Copac management committee
came from the Zanu
PF politburo and the national executive committees of the
two MDCs, the
parties would have thrashed out their differences before the
final draft was
produced,” the official said.
But the official
indicated that since Zanu PF had raised its 266 issues,
Copac was faced with
a unique situation it had not prepared itself for.
But Copac co-chairman
Douglas Mwonzora downplayed this saying the management
committee would only
edit the draft where there was consensus among the
three
parties.
“What we will be doing is to see whether the proposals made were
unanimous
and if they are, we will see if it is necessary to make the
changes,” he
explained.
Mwonzora said in cases where there were
disputes, the draft charter would
not be altered as alterations could only
be made unanimously.
He said Zanu PF had not presented its document at
the all-stakeholders’
Conference and so it could not be discussed as an area
of contestation.
Efforts to get a comment from Zanu PF co-chairman
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana
were in vain.
The draft constitution would
now be presented to Parliament before it is
taken to a
referendum.
President Robert Mugabe wants the plebiscite held in
November, but the
management committee said the earliest date would be end
of January 2013.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in
Local
Local Government, Urban and Rural Development minister Ignatius
Chombo who
is also Zanu PF’s secretary for land, would not discuss the issue
of the
many illegal settlements across the country and the risk being faced
by the
settlers.
“The issue we should be discussing is the
callousness and lack of feeling
shown by Sunway City,” Chombo said on
Thursday.
“United Nations regulations and even our own laws say you
cannot simply
evict people without an alternative. Why did they have to wait
until the
start of the rainy season?”
Chombo denied that the
evictions that took place at Arnold Farm in Mazowe,
where 50 families that
had been allocated stands by the rural authority,
were meant to pave way for
the First Lady, Grace Mugabe’s projects.
UN Habitat Programme manager for
Zimbabwe, Peter Mutavati, said, “We are not
encouraging lawlessness, but our
reasoning is in line with UN protocols and
the Habitat Agenda, which outlaws
destruction of people’s homes without
alternatives.”
An estimated two
million people are on the housing waiting list countrywide.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Local
THE recent
demolition of houses of more than 200 families in Epworth has
exposed Zanu
PF as a party that abuses poor and desperate citizens for
political
gain.
Report by Jennifer Dube
The families bought the residential
stands from local Zanu PF officials who
assured them that they would not be
displaced.
The people, most of them surviving on hand-to-mouth, forked
out amounts that
ranged from US$300 to US$1 000, depending on size of their
stands.
But they were recently left stranded after owners of the land,
Sunway City,
a subsidiary of the Industrial Development Corporation of
Zimbabwe,
destroyed their homes.
The company had won a High Court
order to evict the residents, as they had
unlawfully settled on land
reserved for light industries.
Harare councillors and the Harare
Residents’ Trust (HRT) have warned that
the same fate awaits thousands of
other families “squatting” in areas around
the capital at the instigation of
Zanu PF, which is seeking for votes.
“The nation has to come together to
ensure that housing delivery is
prioritised, that political parties have no
business in setting up housing
co-operatives, as what has happened in
Harare, where politicians are abusing
supporters,” said HRT director,
Precious Shumba.
While sympathising with Epworth families, Shumba said
the victims had
themselves to blame.
“Epworth victims were fully
aware (that they were being illegally settled),
but chose to listen to their
political handlers, who knew exactly what they
were doing to these people,”
said Shumba.
“They have no one to blame but themselves. they could have
easily approached
the Epworth local board for clarification before they
constructed their
houses.”
Shumba said home-seekers must understand
the national housing policy and
respect by-laws to avoid being misled by
politicians who take advantage of
people’s desperation and
ignorance.
Unauthorised settlements included the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo
Housing
Cooperative in Kambuzuma, where people whose houses were demolished
in the
2005 under Operation Murambatsvina have resumed building.
There is
no council resolution approving the construction, the councillors
said.
Other controversial settlements include Tongogara (also known
as
Whitecliff), Ushewokunze, and Caledonia.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in
Politics
BULAWAYO — Zanu PF has rolled out door-to-door campaigns in
Matabeleland
South Province in an attempt to reclaim 13 seats it lost to the
MDCs during
the harmonised 2008 elections.
Report by Our
Staff
Zanu PF lost nine parliamentary and three senatorial seats to the MDCs
during the elections that were marred by violence.
Andrew Langa, the
Zanu PF Matabeleland South chairperson, said the party
lost parliamentary
and senatorial seats in the 2008 elections because it had
not activated all
its structures.
Langa, who is also Labour deputy minister said Zanu PF
was rolling out
massive campaigns — door-to-door lobbying — in a bid to grab
all lost seats
in the drought-prone province in the coming
elections.
President Robert Mugabe has said the elections would be held
in March next
year, but the MDC formations insist the polls would only be
possible after
implementations of reforms to level the playing
field.
“We are more than ready for the elections. The party is geared up
to bag all
the seats in the province through our massive campaigns,” Langa
said last
week.
“All our structures are actively campaigning for the
party. We are also
conducting door-to-door campaigns.”
He added: “We are
leaving no stone unturned in our quest to re-claim lost
seats in the
province.”
Zanu PF’s Matabeleland South province, he said, would also
host a provincial
conference this month to map out more campaign
strategies.
Matabeleland has been turned into a political battlefield by Zanu
PF and the
two MDC officials who have descended on the province to drum up
support for
their parties.
Bulawayo-based analyst Effie Ncube said
Zanu PF’s chances of winning seats
in a fair election in Matabeleland were
however slim.
“Zanu PF can only achieve that (winning seats in
Matabeleland) if the people
of the region, Sadc, AU and election observers
allow them to use violence,”
Ncube said.
He, however, said money was
likely to play a very decisive role in the
upcoming elections.
“One
of the things that Zanu PF has achieved in Zimbabwe is to corrupt
politics,
to ensure that money plays a decisive role,” said Ncube.
“Those who have
access to money have an advantage over other candidates or
parties,” he
added.
A recent survey said Zanu PF had gained ground against MDC-T
across the
country.
The party recently dispatched its chairpersons to
China to learn campaign
and mobilisation strategies.
The party is
also using the empowerment programme, music and community
ownership schemes
to drum up support.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Politics
JERERA
— “They were brandishing AK 47 assault rifles and ordered us to lie
in one
corner.
Report by Tatenda Chitagu
Washington Nyamwa, our
colleague, wanted to grab the rifle from one of the
gunmen but was shot in
the stomach. He fell on me and they started pouring
petrol in the room. They
locked the door from outside and lit the room.”
With tears streaming down
his disfigured face, Edson Gwenhure, broke down as
he narrated events of
that fateful day to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
who visited Jerera
growth point a fortnight ago.
Gwenhure was one of the MDC-T activists
who had fled their homes from Zanu
PF militia and sought refuge at Jerera in
Masvingo Province in the run-up to
the bloody June 2008 presidential run-off
elections.
But his tormentors, determined to kill them, followed them up
and
petrol-bombed their hide-out, killing two of his colleagues.
“I
do not know how I escaped the inferno or how my friends made it out,”
said
Gwenhure who managed to escape from the hellhole.
“All I remember is
dragging Crison Mbano, but he failed to make it as he
only crawled for a few
metres from the office and died. I ran away into the
darkness and hid in the
nearby mountain as the attackers were still in the
area.”
Among those
that survived the gruesome attack were Kudakwashe Tshumele and
Isaac Mbanje.
They were, however, left with permanent injuries.
Tsvangirai also visited
John Chebanga, the party’s ward organising secretary
whose homestead was
destroyed during the violent June 2008 elections.
Four years on, the
72-year-old political activist is still sleeping in
roofless part of the
building that did not collapse during the attack.
Chebanga has no
resources to rebuild his house.
He was reduced to a pauper.
His
wife Epiphania, who had sought refuge in Masvingo, died in 2010 due to
stress and high blood pressure on realising that all she had worked for her
entire life had been reduced to ashes.
“A day before I fled to South
Africa, two suspected state security agents
(CIO) came here on a motorbike
and ordered me to attend a Zanu PF rally that
was in the area,” he
said.
“I told them that I was occupied. In the evening, fellow villagers
who were
coming from the rally told me that my name had been mentioned as
somebody
who should die for supporting the MDC-T.”
That night
Chebanga fled to South Africa while his wife sought refuge in
Masvingo
town.
When Chebanga returned after three months, he found the homestead
destroyed.
His property, livestock and food reserves had all been looted
by Zanu PF
militia that had set up base near his homestead.
The
staunch MDC-T supporter said he would forgive but never forget the
perpetrators, as they stay in the same area.
Tsvangirai said the
MDC-T would rebuild Chebanga’s house to make it
habitable.
“We will
refurbish your house so that you do not sleep in the open. We are
very sorry
for the death of your wife, but we will continue to support you,”
said
Tsvangirai.
“As a party, we may not be able to compensate you, but we
definitely have to
do something. We, however, promise to compensate all
supporters who lost
their property when we are an MDC-T only
government.”
He added: “Remember it took several years for Zanu PF to
compensate war
veterans. But we thank you for your bravery and
support.”
During the tour, the party gave out food hampers, shovels and
wheelbarrows
to several victims of political violence.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Local
MASVINGO
Municipality workers have applied to the High Court for a writ of
execution
to allow them to attach property over a US$3,5 million arbitration
award the
city is failing to pay them.
Report by Christopher Mahove
This
follows the registration of the award by the High Court on October 17
2012,
after it was handed down by an arbitrator, one E Machekeche on March 3
2011.
Rodgers Matsikidze of Matsikidze&Mucheche who is representing
the workers
told The Standard that the city was reluctant to pay the award,
which was
for salary and benefit shortfalls from October 2008 to February
2011.
The city is supposed to pay a total of US$3 571 295.
“They
(Masvingo Municipality) are refusing to own up and we will move to
attach
property anytime from now because the money is from a long time ago,”
said
Matsikidze. “We have already applied for a writ of execution and once
it is
granted, and if they have not paid, we will attach the
property.”
Matsikidze said workers would initially attach movable
property such as
cars, graders, tractors, fire tenders and furniture. They
would also attach
buildings if the money is not enough to pay the
workers.
The city council had filed an appeal against the quantification of
the award
which was handed down by another arbitrator in December
2010.
They had also sought to halt the quantification of the award based
on their
appeal against the judgment. They claimed it was time wasting to
quantify an
award which was being appealed against.
An attachment of
the municipal property would paralyse operations of the
local authority,
which is already failing to deliver quality service to
residents due to
financial constraints. The city was owed more than $7
million by the
government alone.
Masvingo mayor Alderman Femius Chakabuda, however,
professed ignorance on
the matter, saying council had never been to any
court over salary issues
with workers.
“Not that I have heard of, I
am hearing it from you for the first time. We
have never been to the High
Court,” he said.
However, documents in our possession show that the
arbitral award was
registered in the High Court under case number HC
4011/11.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Local
CIGARETTE producing
concern, British American Tobacco Zimbabwe Holdings
Limited (BAT Zimbabwe)
has moved towards complying with the government’s
indigenisation and
empowerment requirements, a senior company official said
last
week.
Report by Our Staff
BAT Zimbabwe managing director Lovemore
Manatsa said that the company’s
shareholders unanimously approved its
indigenisation proposal following an
extraordinary general meeting on
October 26.
“This is evidence of shareholder confidence that the business
will continue
to generate shared value,” said Manatsa.
“We endeavour
to continue to run the business in a responsible and
profitable manner. It
is important to understand that our context is based
on the sustainability
of our business and for all investors and
stakeholders, including the people
and country within which we operate.”
The company’s four-year
indigenisation plan was approved by the Youth
Development, Indigenisation
and Empowerment ministry on October 9 this year.
Under the arrangement,
26% of the shareholding in BAT Zimbabwe would have
been transferred to the
hands of indigenous shareholders by end of this
month.
At least
10,74% would be allocated to a corporate social investment trust
focused on
the development and support of indigenous tobacco growers.
An employee
share trust dedicated for the benefit of permanent BAT Zimbabwe
employees
would be allotted 10% while the remaining 5,26% would be retained
by
existing indigenous shareholders.
Indigenisation thresholds applicable to
the manufacturing sector were
gazetted in General Notice 459 of 2011 and
require companies in the sector
to comply in a phased manner.
Within
the first year, 26% shareholding is required to be held by indigenous
Zimbabweans by October 28 2012.
In the second year, 36% shareholding
should be held by the same by October
28 2013 and within the third year, 46%
by October 28 2014.
Companies are required to cede 51% shareholding by
October 28 2015.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Community
News
CHIPINGE — A local communication company has started a programme to
source
internet equipment and computers in their endeavour to bring
information
communication technology to disadvantaged schools in rural
areas.
Report by Our Correspondent
The International Communication
Technology Association of Zimbabwe (ICTAZ)
is working in conjunction with
the UK-based organisation Computer Aid
International.
The association
is already identifying beneficiaries and provide expertise
and back-up
service.
Computer Aid International, Anglophone Africa programmes officer
Wilhelmina
Seng said the programme was set to improve access to ICT in rural
areas.
“IT (information technology) opens the world to marginalised
students in the
rural areas,” said Seng. “It will enable them to open their
eyes so that
they can see what they should see in the 21st
century.”
Permanent secretary in the Science and Technology Development
ministry,
Professor Francis Gudyanga, said Africa was lagging behind in
terms of ICT
development.
He said it was high time Africa started
manufacturing own computers to
improve the lives of its people.
ICTAZ
president Hasha Maringe said their mission was to promote the growth
and
betterment of the ICT community through facilitating education, training
business clustering, partnering and mentoring.
However, Maringe said,
funding was a major challenge in the country.
“The economic situation in
the country does not allow us to adequately fund
our programmes. We need
computer laboratories as well as laptops, but this
equipment is expensive in
the country,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Community
News
BUHERA – A group of villagers in Mutiusinazita in Buhera have taken
an
initiative to protect the environment by planting trees to avoid complete
deforestation in the area, due to excessive cutting down of trees by some
members of the community.
Report by Stephen Tsoroti
Alarmed by the
high rate of depletion of trees, villagers came together to
form the
Promoting Positive Livelihood with Adaptation to Climate Change
(PPLACC) to
reclaim all land that had been destroyed, in an effort to fight
effects of
climate change.
PPLACC secretary Patrick Chidhoma said the organisation
was formed with the
help of The Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau two years ago to
stop widespread
deforestation that was threatening livelihoods of the
community.
“We realised that there was no one who was going to come and
plant trees for
us. We had to act fast as our forests were fast
disappearing,” he said.
Chidhoma said the group had embarked on
bee-keeping, gardening and planted
woodlots in an effort to preserve the
environment.
Presently, the organisation has a membership of over 200
households, mainly
vulnerable members of the society such as widows, orphans
and unemployed
youths.
“To date we have several woodlots created.
Combined we have planted over 10
000 indigenous trees, including fruit
trees,” said Chidhoma.
“One project we have done well is implementing the
tsotso stove in the
village. Over 500 households have the stove in their
homes.”
The tsotso stove, he said, used less firewood.
“The tsotso
stove uses much less wood and has an insulated combustion
chamber which
helps reduce smoke while increasing the heat output and
burning efficiency,”
he said.
“The fuel sticks, usually from thorn trees, come in a bundle and
cost very
little. A bundle of the sticks can potentially cook approximately
six to ten
meals, saving energy and labour in the process.”
One of
the beneficiaries, Mable Makufa said the tsotso stove was convenient
because
it could be carried from one place to another.
“All in all, the tsotso
stove is highly desirable because it cooks fast,
produces less smoke and is
environmentally friendly and requires very small
amounts of wood fuel,” he
said.
The organisation is also getting assistance from agricultural
extension
officers to implement new conservation farming methods in an
effort to boost
crop yields.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Business
THE
government is working on an Information Communication Technology (ICT)
policy that is expected to liberalise entry of new players in the sector, a
Cabinet minister has said.
REPORT BY KUDZAI CHIMHANGWA
ICT
minister Nelson Chamisa said the draft policy has already gone through
countrywide consultations before undergoing sectoral discussions.
He
said various government ministries were making their input on the draft
policy.
“Our hope is for the policy to be out this year as it is very
urgent, but
this is all subject to the speed with which the government
facilitates the
process,” said Chamisa.
“Various ministries are
giving their input as this sector has been
identified as a key enabler to
the country’s socio-economic development.”
A variety of problematic
aspects affecting the development of the industry
were raised during the
nationwide and sectoral consultations.
The existing single transit
gateway policy does not allow for pure voice
over internet protocol (Voip)
to prevail, consequently leading to an
imbalance in the sector as operators
who came in ahead of new entrants are
favoured.
For instance, despite
the existence of other players with capacity to set up
the national
backbone, only the state-controlled TelOne has a monopoly in
building such
infrastructure in the country.
Comm IT systems manager Robert Ndlovu said
such measures were simply aimed
at protecting the parastatal’s revenues as
competition for traffic heats up.
“It should also be noted that some
companies don’t want Voip to grow because
this will eat into their
revenues,” he said
Other players suggested that the Postal and
Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) should licence
aggregators for Value Added
Services (VAS) such as short codes, bulk
multi-media services, bulk short
message services and triple-play,
comprising voice, video and data, among
others.
It was suggested that
aggregators would also have to access all operators
while tariffs would need
to be gazetted too, as VAS has the potential to
change the whole ICT
landscape.
“We are reviewing that process to ensure that appropriate
mechanisms that
take such issues into consideration are catered for. We will
adopt a
streamlining approach in terms of who will provide particular
services,”
Chamisa said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in
Business
EMBATTLED national airline, Air Zimbabwe has deferred the
International
Operational Safety Audit (Iosa) to the end of this year, as it
battles to
remain afloat.
REPORT BY MOSES CHIBAYA
Innocent
Mavhunga, the airline’s acting group chief executive officer, said
the
existing operational challenges had seen the airline having to defer for
the
second time in one year, Iosa registration.
The audit is a two-year
evaluation method designed to assess the operational
management and control
systems of an airline.
The move by Air Zimbabwe effectively means the
airline, which recently
announced its renewed regional flight schedule ahead
of the festive season,
would be flying without one of requirements
stipulated by the International
Air Transport Association
(Iata).
“Iosa does not rank an airline in terms of being safe or unsafe
and it is
only used by international civil aviation authorities to ban
airlines from
flying,” said Mavhunga.
“However, Iosa registration is
a pre-requisite for the retention of Iata
membership, as it confirms that an
airline complies with all Iata audit
standards at the time of the audit. The
airline took a deliberate action to
defer the audit, owing to obtaining
operational challenges.”
Mavhunga said it would be conducting the audit
at the end of this year.
Air Zimbabwe suspended all flights indefinitely
in February due to serious
cashflow problems.
The airline is set to
resume domestic flights next week.
Regional flights would resume on
November 12.
Air Zimbabwe is saddled with a debt of over US$100 million
and owes its
employees in unpaid salaries.
Despite the problems, the
airline took delivery of two Airbus aircrafts to
beef up its depleted
fleet.
Aviation experts say Iosa had been adopted by other countries as
minimum
safety requirements, adding that an airline has to get concurrence
from Iata
to defer the audit.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Business
AT least US$300
million has passed through EcoCash since inception of
Econet’s mobile money
transfer service, the company’s chief executive
officer Douglas Mboweni said
last week.
REPORT BY NDAMU SANDU
The company intends to build
partnerships with banks to drive the business.
Presenting the company’s
financial results for the half-year ended August 31
on Thursday in Harare,
Mboweni said the response had been phenomenal.
EcoCash now has 1,7
million subscribers up from one million when it was
launched last
year.
Mboweni said Econet had bought a 45% stake in TN Bank to help grow
the
mobile money transfer service.
As a result 50% of EcoCash
subscribers came through TN Bank.
“To drive the initiative without
interference, you have to take a strategic
position, a position where you
influence decision-making. By taking this
significant stake we are saying we
are serious about EcoCash,” Mboweni said.
Mboweni added that in the
outlook Econet would create “strong partnerships
with the rest of the
banking sector so that we have transactions flowing
among the banks and also
flowing between the EcoCash and the banking system”.
This, Mboweni said,
would result in the growth of the service from sending
and receiving money
to a comprehensive platform that transforms lives of
people.
“Technology which does not impact on people’s lives is
meaningless,” Mboweni
said.
In the half-year financial results,
Econet’s subscribers stood at seven
million up from 5,6 million in the same
period last year.
Revenue at US$339,5 million represented a 17% jump from the
same period last
year.
Broadband subscribers also grew to 2,5 million
up from 1,4 million in the
year comparable.
In the outlook, Econet
would grow the EcoCash and broadband services
leveraging on its vast
infrastructure.
The telecommunications company is investing heavily in
network
infrastructure and has already committed US$677 million in the last
three-and-half years.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Opinion
For
some decades librarians have been engaged in a friendly but serious
debate
about the relative virtue of school libraries.
Report by Nevermore
Sithole
Readers might ask, so where are we now? Are school libraries
prioritised in
Zimbabwe?
one of the emerging themes in the
international debate on school libraries
is to collectively ask the
question: What is the value of school libraries?
Across the country,
there is increasing attention being given to the role of
school libraries in
education.
As such, there has been considerable debate over the last few
years, both
within the political arena and among professional and policy
bodies, about
the position of school libraries.
Notably, there is
currently a strong lobby for school libraries in the
country.
The
Zimbabwe Library Association is currently embarking on the “one school,
one
library, one librarian” advocacy campaign for school libraries. Further,
October being the International School Library Month, it is vital to reflect
on the value of school libraries and school
librarianship.
Discussions of educational reforms in Zimbabwe are
deficient, defective and
distorted if they do not include a significant role
for libraries. Education
for all can be more effectively provided through
adequate and effective
library and information services network across the
country.
Quite frankly, libraries in schools continue to decline and
shelves are
empty or full of irrelevant materials. Few schools have
libraries and the
quality and relevance of information resources in these
libraries reveal
marked variations from school to school.
Government
support for school libraries is still elementary.
At the core of this
issue is inadequate funding. Funding for school
libraries is generally
perceived to be inadequate, small in scale, piecemeal
and lacking in
coordination. And yet funding is vital to efficient and
effective library
and information services provision in schools.
In his landmark book,
Quality-Quantity Dilemma in Education: The Zimbabwean
Experience, Bernard
Gatawa claims that a disconcerting situation exists
where the majority of
secondary schools have no libraries. And yet libraries
are meant to
complement the educational process without which much of the
education
desired could not be achieved.
An abundance of evidence strongly supports
the connection between student
achievement and the presence of school
libraries with qualified school
librarians. A school library is the nerve
centre of academic activities in
the school.
The school library
supports teaching, learning and research activities in
the school.
In
other words, school libraries support and enrich classroom activity,
teach
information skills, reinforce teachers and offer reading materials for
students. As such, no educational system can thrive without good library and
information services. Libraries are to any educational system what blood is
to our body system.
Quality in education in the country will depend
to a large extent on the
availability and effective use of instructional
materials. Distribution of
textbooks to pupils in both primary and high
schools, while a noble idea, it
is not cost-effective and sustainable for
the government.
As such, development of school libraries is an integral
part of any strategy
aimed at improving the quality of school programmes and
equitable access to
learning and teaching resources.
It is in
recognition of the pivotal role of school libraries to education
that we
call on the government and other key players in the country to
establish
libraries in schools.
Nevermore Sithole writes in his personal capacity
and can be contacted on
ncharira@yahoo.co.uk or nchardz@gmail.com
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Opinion
John
Bhasikoro lives in Murehwa. He turned 50 this year. He belongs to what
could
be defined as “Zimbabwe’s cursed generation”.
Report by Nevanji
Madanhire
He was born in the so-called “Swinging Sixties” when the world
was changing
rapidly culturally.
The 1960s were characterised by the
counter culture movement and social
revolution. Many people around the globe
were calling for the fall and
relaxation of social taboos relating to sexism
and racism.
The decade was characterised by radical and subversive events
and trends. It
was the decade of the civil rights movement in North America.
The radicalism
did not spare Africa; 32 countries gained
independence.
The events happening all over the globe did not spare
Rhodesia and had a
bearing on how the boy John Bhasikoro would live his
life, not only in
Rhodesia but in independent Zimbabwe.
At the time
of his birth the nationalist movement was in its definitive
years. Zapu had
been formed a year or so earlier.
Zanu was formed when he was one. When
he was three years old Ian Smith
declared independence from Britain,
Rhodesia’s colonial master. When he was
four the first bullets of the Second
Chimurenga were fired and that war was
to continue in different degrees of
intensity until it ended when he was 18.
By today’s standards, John
Bhasikoro is illiterate. His education was
affected immensely by the
war.
The area he grew up in was heavily affected by the war. His
contribution to
the war effort will never be fully quantified and
appreciated, but it is
what defines his life now. Illiterate and poor, he
survives on what he can
farm on the small plot allocated him by his
father.
His face is weather-bitten and his clothes threadbare; he gets
them courtesy
of his cousins working in the city.
He has eaten one or
two crumbs of independence, but that was during the
early years. In a
population of 14 million, John Bhasikoro is right in the
middle of the bell
curve which constitutes perhaps 80% of the population.
What does this huge
chunk of the population look forward to? The easy way is
to give up and wait
patiently for their deaths; but that would be too
fatalistic.
John
Bhasikoro thinks he can at least strike one last blow for the sake of
his
grandchildren; his own children are caught up in a time warp. The father
didn’t have the means to educate them so their lot isn’t any different from
his. They are in a vicious cycle. But how about the
grandchildren?
John Bhasikoro’s only hope is the new constitution that is
being written
now! He might not even be aware there is some activity towards
the writing
of the new constitution but that doesn’t matter. Hundreds of
thousands, if
not millions, of people may not be aware, as we speak, that
there is a
process that has the potential to change their lives for
ever.
They may been visited by groups of town people who asked them one
or two
convoluted questions about this and that and called it “a
people-driven
process”, but they never got to know the import of their
questions and their
life-changing value simply because the people who came
to ask them the
questions had their own political agendas.
Some were
fighting to preserve their political power while others were out
to gain
political power. John Bhasikoro and his ilk became only pawns in a
game they
never knew was being played.
But they are people who know there is game
going on and they know the
stakes. It is incumbent upon these to ensure that
they strike the blow John
Bhasikoro yearns to strike for the sake of his
grandchildren. It doesn’t
matter anymore whether the new constitution was
people-driven, or
principal-driven or even parliament-driven. But let’s
think about John
Bhasikoro’s grandchildren.
As the drafting of the
constitution staggers towards a conclusion everyone
involved is called upon
to produce a document that will benefit
grandchildren. It’s easy, guidelines
and the international best practice is
there for all to google! Below is
what can be googled and copied:
A good constitution is one that works
well. It should have the following
features:
1. Well written:
It
must be well defined and precise. It should not have ambiguities and
obscurities of language, because this may lead to conflicting
interpretations.
Such a constitution will depend for its
interpretation on whims of judges.
In this respect a carefully-drafted
written constitution is more
satisfactory than an unwritten one, as a
written constitution is the result
of careful thought.
An unwritten
constitution, on the other hand, is indefinite and unprecise
because of the
vague character of the convention and the traditions, of
which it is
generally made.
2. Comprehensiveness:
A constitution should be
sufficiently comprehensive, covering the whole
field of government. powers
of different organs of the government and
various functionaries of the state
must be clearly demarcated. A
constitution that is detailed becomes a
plaything in the hands of judiciary.
The US Constitution is an example of
a very brief constitution. It is matter
of common knowledge that this
constitution is what the Supreme Court makes
of it.
A good
constitution should not omit the main fundamentals and at the same
time does
not enter into needless details, since a detailed constitution is
also
liable to give rise to constitutional disputes. Besides, a detailed
constitution indicates a sort of distrust in the various organs of the
government and hampers its natural growth.
3. Partly rigid and
partly flexible:
A constitution should neither be very rigid nor very
flexible. A rigid
constitution does not possess the qualities of
adaptability and
adjustability.
With the changing needs of time, a
flexible constitution is liable to be
perverted. The best constitution is
one which combines both elements of
rigidity and flexibility. It must
provide a method of change so that it may
be changed and adopted without a
revolution.
4. Provision for a Bill of Rights:
A constitution should
provide for a bill of rights for the people. It has
become a necessity in
the modern democratic age. It should also make
adequate provision for the
protection of individual liberty by providing for
appeal to the law
courts.
5. Suitability:
Lastly, a good constitution should
represent the needs of the time and
should be suitable for social, political
and economic needs of the people.
“Legal sovereignty should coincide with
political sovereignty.”
Everyone can google it too.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in
Opinion
Amidst all the confusion after the shooting of 44 protesting
miners at
Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in South Africa, we should not
lose sight of
the astonishingly simple underlying issues.
Report by
Arthur McKay
We are told the workers were demanding that their wage be
raised to R12 500
per month (about US$1 500), but the workers claim their
salary is already at
this level. They say they are sub-contracted by a
company owned by
billionaire South African oligarch Cyril
Ramaphosa.
He only pays them R5 400 or less and pockets the rest paid out
by Lonmin.
If this is so, then agreeing to the workers’ demands would
cost Lonmin
nothing and the whole dispute is between the workers and
Ramaphosa. Instead
of saying this, however, Lonmin has placed itself between
the two and taken
responsibility for negotiating a pay rise which no one has
asked for.
Doing this, Lonmin is placing Ramaphosa’s private interests
above those of
its common stockholders and is neglecting its fiduciary
duties. It is also
leaving itself open to litigation.
Ramaphosa, in
fact, owns 9% of Lonmin but was paid out US$304m in cash by
the company in
2010 in a deal backed ultimately by Xstrata.
By comparison common
shareholders have received only US$60m in dividends in
the last two years
and have incurred over US$2,5bn of paper losses. What the
workers are
requesting is that Ramaphosa share with them about US$18m which
he is taking
from their wages.
When Ramaphosa bought 50,03% of Lonmin’s Black Economic
Empowerment partner
Incwala Resources in 2010, Lonmin put up the US$304m in
cash which he
needed. Lonmin funded this with a share issue to which,
according to Lonmin,
Xstrata was the key subscriber. Since then a further
US$51m of credit has
been extended to Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa’s company
also provides all of Lonmin’s welfare and training
services and for this, he
may have been paid at least US$50m in 2011 alone.
Based on the worker’s
demands and their living conditions, we can guess at
how much of this
reached its stated purpose. Companies linked to Ramaphosa
were also paid
advance dividends by Lonmin of US$20m in the last two years.
All-in-all
Lonmin seems to have paid Ramaphosa and his related companies
well over
US$400m since he bought into the company. This is about 25% of
Lonmin’s
current market value and is a very large amount for a man who was
supposed
to be doing the paying when he bought his stake.
All this casts the
Marikana conflict in a very different light to what we
have heard so
far.
The dirt-poor Marikana workers, many from Lesotho, living in slums,
wearing
rags, are asking for an extra US$750 per month from one of the most
powerful
figures in the African National Congress (ANC) and one of the
richest men in
the world, and they are openly calling him an
exploiter.
Such a debacle, which calls into question not only Lonmin,
Xstrata and
Ramaphosa, but also the whole ANC hierarchy, the reality of the
New South
Africa and the credibility of the ANC’s many foreign supporters,
not least
those in the United States, helps to explain the speed and the
savage
brutality of the reaction.
On August 16, six days into the
strike, the police opened fire injuring 112
and killing 34.
Local
witnesses claim the workers were not charging at the police, but were
fleeing from them as teargas was thrown at them by another police
detachment. Autopsy reports apparently confirm many were shot in the
back.
How could Ramaphosa exercise such influence over Lonmin’s executive
board to
be able to effectively bend it, and potentially the board of
Xstrata too, to
do his bidding? And what truth could the South African
government have been
so desperate to hide that it was judged better to risk
everything and open
fire on its own people, rather than let it see the
light?
The answer lies at the heart of the bitter fallacy of the South
African
commodities boom and the emerging markets paradigm which we have
lived in,
in the last 15 years. The sad truth is that nothing has changed,
or, more
accurately, nothing has improved.
In the past there was one
oligarch, Harry Oppenheimer, who controlled Anglo
American.
Today
there are five to 10 oligarchs. They are black and they are African.
They
too oppose apartheid and they too are exporting all of South Africa’s
gold
and diamonds at the present time. The reason Ramaphosa could ransack
Lonmin
in the way he has is because he effectively is Lonmin.
Lonmin exists in
many ways to serve his interests and its foreign
shareholders would do well
to understand this. The whole debate about
nationalisation is therefore
completely moot. South Africa’s mines have
already been nationalised and
given over to a ruthless tyranny, signed,
sealed and delivered by the many
cheerleaders of the ANC overseas.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
October 28, 2012 in Opinion
THE Asiagate
report made public last week by Zifa contains frightening
revelations about
match-fixing in Zimbabwe.
It suggests that convicted Singaporean
match-fixer Raj Perumal may have
infiltrated Zimbabwe football far back in
the 1990s.
That finding, made by former Fifa head of security Chris Eaton
who
investigated Perumal’s match-fixing tentacles that spread across the
globe,
means there could more to the scandal than what is in the public
domain.
So Zifa’s investigations which have been centred on trips made to
Asia do
not provide the whole picture of what took place in Zimbabwe’s
tainted world
of football over the years.
It is possible that
match-fixing may have thrived for years without
authorities noticing, and
this may help explain why suspicious characters
posed as the El Salvador
national team in January 2004 and played against
the Warriors.
Now
that it is public knowledge that some players and officials were
involved in
match-fixing, Zifa has to intensify its investigations in order
to get to
the bottom of the matter.
The focus should not just be on the period from
2007, but also on the ’90s
when some of our players, who were inches away
from scoring for Zimbabwe in
important matches, suspiciously shot wide of
the goal.
The guiding principle should be to root out any forms of
corruption that
have tainted Zimbabwean football. Recently Zifa president
Cuthbert Dube
publicly claimed that the Warriors’ away match against Angola
was fixed.
Dube’s stunning utterances bring to light the fact that Zifa
has done very
little to protect players from match-fixing syndicates.
It
is appalling to see that during national team camps, our players are
exposed
to the outside world, as they freely mix and mingle with different
people
both at training sessions and hotels.
The way players interact with
outsiders should be restricted. Zifa should
also put in place a special
security department that will guard against
match-fixing as recommended by
the Ebrahim Commission.
That is the only way we can bring credibility back to
football which is
followed by millions of Zimbabweans.
