http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Partricia Mpofu
Saturday 03 October 2009
HARARE - Riot police and state
security agents have forced striking workers
in the southwestern mining town
of Zvishavane to return to work while seven
others suspected to have links
with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC
party have been summarily
dismissed from work, labour leaders said.
It also emerged on Thursday
that the three workers who were shot on
September 25 at Shabanie Mine have
been transferred to Harare for specialist
treatment at a private
hospital.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) spokesperson
Khumbulani Ndlovu said
gun-totting policemen and the dreaded secret service
- Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) - went on a door-to-door campaign
on Tuesday to force the
striking workers to report for duty the following
day.
"The state security agents together with Shabanie Mine security
Officers
visited workers in their homes on September 29 threatening them
that if they
did not return to work the following day the workers should
vacate not only
the mine houses they were occupying but also get out of
town," said Ndlovu.
As a result, said the ZCTU spokesperson, on September
30 about three
quarters of the 2 280 striking workers returned to
work.
She said management then immediately began holding "kangaroo court"
hearings, resulting in the dismissal of seven workers.
Ndlovu said
the dismissed employees were charged with absence from work
without official
leave, defying the general manager's memo instructing them
to return to
work.
"The workers' legal representative had earlier requested management
to
inform him when the hearings would take place but the mine management
declined to inform him of the date and time of the hearings. As of September
30 seven workers have been dismissed. These workers are known by management
for their MDC activism as they hold posts in the MDC youth assembly and ward
executive. It seems the matter has also become an issue of discrimination on
political grounds. Those who are known to belong to ZANU PF have been
guaranteed their jobs back," added the ZCTU spokesperson.
Police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said he had not been informed of the
incident. "I
am not aware that police took part in that incident," said
Bvudzijena.
Ndlovu also revealed that on September 30, the home of
ZCTU Zvishavane
district secretary Ndodana Sithole was raided by police
officers allegedly
demanding to know what action the ZCTU was planning to
take. Sithole was
also warned not to meet any of Shabanie Mine
employees.
Ndlovu said in September alone, the ZCTU reported three
serious cases of
violations of freedom of association to Labour Minister
Pauline Mpariwa.
"To this end, the ZCTU is pushing for a parliamentary
commission of inquiry
to look into the Shabanie and Mashava Mine incidents
where workers have not
been paid since January," she said.
Last week
police opened fire on hundreds of striking workers in Zvishavane,
injuring
four workers including an MDC councilor in an incident Tsvangirai's
party
condemned saying the police action was clear abuse of human
rights.
Shabanie and Mashaba mines, which produce asbestos were
expropriated by
President Robert Mugabe's government from exiled businessman
Mutumwa Mawere
in 2004 when his company was put under judicial
administration for allegedly
failing to pay debts. - ZimOnline
http://www.voanews.com/
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
02 October 2009
Tensions
in Zimbabwe's former ruling ZANU-PF party have escalated as
factions
position for control of the Marange diamond field following a High
Court
decision upholding an agreement between the government and a resources
company which Harare repudiated in 2006.
Sources said ZANU-PF
heavyweight Solomon Mujuru, a former military
commander, holds a 3% stake in
African Consolidated Resources, the firm that
brought the high court suit.
Calls placed by VOA to Mujuru were not
returned. However sources said he
bought company shares through the London
Stock Exchange where ACR is
listed.
Meanwhile, ZANU-PF sources said Army Gen. Constantine Chiwenga
and Police
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri have teamed up with
Defense Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa, a close associate of President Robert
Mugabe, to bar
Mujuru faction control of the field.
Though the High
Court ruled that the firm can proceed with mining operations
even if the
government appeals the decision, as it has done, Attorney
General Johannes
Tomana told VOA reporter Blessing Zulu that lodging the
appeal stays the
court ruling.
Human rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga, who has investigated
alleged human rights
abuses in Marange, said the government's defiant stand
shows there is no
rule of law in Zimbabwe.
The Kimberly Process
Certification Scheme has tacitly threatened to bar sale
of Zimbabwean
diamonds on world markets if Harare fails to act on
recommendations by a
Kimberly team sent to investigate conditions in the
diamond field, including
its demilitarization.
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/
Friday, 02 October 2009 15:45
Staff
Reporter
ZANU-PF politburo members in Mashonaland West have plunged the
province into
political turmoil after defying a directive by President
Robert Mugabe that
his ailing sister, Sabina Mugabe, should not stand for
any election due to
ill health.
The decision to enter Sabina's name
to contest in the Women's League
elections to be re-run today, has widened
divisions within the restive
province, spawning allegations of tribalism
against two senior ZANU-PF
politburo members vying to control the largely
farming community.
The divisions emerged this week after a provincial
executive committee
reversed a decision by the party's co-ordinating
committee in Mashonaland
West to suspend ZANU-PF central committee member,
Jimayi Muduvuri, and
Hurungwe East House of Assembly member, Sarah
Mahoka.
The suspensions were announced at a meeting attended by senior
ZANU-PF
officials who include Ignatius Chombo and Webster Shamu on
Monday.
Chombo and Shamu are both members of the ZANU-PF politburo, the
supreme
decision-making body of the party in-between congresses.
In what
ZANU-PF insiders said was a result of maneouvres by powerful
politicians to
thwart Mahoka's bid to be elected the Women's League
secretary for finance,
a faction within the party surprisingly pushed Sabina's
name in
defiance
of President Mugabe's directive that the latter should not stand in
the
polls.
Muduvuri and Mahoka, who lost the first round of the women's
elections last
month, are Karanga from Masvingo Province.
This is the
second time that tribalism has reared its ugly head in ZANU-PF
polls in the
province after former public service minister, Paul Mangwana,
who was a
Member of Parliament for Kadoma West, was hounded out of
Mashonaland West
and forced back to his home province of Masvingo, where he
is now the
party's Chivi Central legislator.
Sabina's candidature at the women's
congress last month caused commotion
resulting in fistfights that saw police
at one time being called in to
restore order.
The party's chairperson,
John Nkomo, had given Mashonaland West two weeks to
put its house in order,
before new polls are held.
Fresh polls are now expected today.
However, a
fresh push to yet again scuttle Mahoka's election to the top
Women's League
post resumed when she was suspended last Sunday by the
provincial
co-ordinating committee for indiscipline.
In an interview yesterday, ZANU-PF
Mashonaland West provincial chairperson,
John Mafa, confirmed to The
Financial Gazette that there are politburo
members who had defied the
President's directive for his sister not to
stand, but declined to name
them.
"The politburo members are defying the President. That is
insubordination.
We are writing reports. Maybe the matter will be discussed
by the politburo
tomorrow," said Mafa.
He added that the suspensions of
Mahoka and Muduvuri were null and void
since only the chairperson has the
power to call for such a meeting where a
member is suspended.
"The story
that the two were suspended is all lies. Only the chairperson can
call such
a meeting. I am the chairperson and I did not call any meeting.
The
chairperson of the disciplinary committee is the one who suspends or
issues
a prohibition order. He did not do that and he did not suspend
anyone. The
meeting is null and void," said Mafa.
Sources this week said President Mugabe
had communicated his directive to
Didymus Mutasa who, in turn, relayed the
message to the province.
Documents in our possession show that ZANU-PF's
deputy secretary for the
commissariat, Richard Ndlovu, has directed
Mashonaland West province to hold
fresh polls by this Sunday to choose
members who will take positions in the
party's main wing following
disturbances at the Women's League congress.
The positions up for grabs are
secretary for finance, secretary for gender
and culture, deputy secretary
for transport and social welfare as well as
the deputy secretary for the
welfare of the disabled and disadvantaged
persons.
Sources said Mahoka
would stand again for the finance secretary post, while
the rival faction
has decided to withdraw Sabina and push for the election
of her
daughter-in-law, Barbra Zhuwao, wife to the President's nephew,
Patrick.
Information at hand indicates that provincial executives that
met on Monday
accused Chombo and Shamu of dividing the party and meddling in
women's
affairs against the party's position.
Mutasa is also said to have
indicated that this time around, Sabina would
not contest in line with the
President's position.
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/
Friday, 02 October 2009 16:01
. . . as city
fathers demand Airport Road deal probe
Clemence Manyukwe, Senior
Political Reporter
A BRUISING tug-of-war is looming between the
Harare City Council and its
parent ministry after the city fathers defied a
directive by Local
Government Minister, Ignatius Chombo, to rescind their
decision to stop all
projects related to the controversial Airport Road
construction deal.
In a resolution last Thursday, during an ordinary
council meeting,
councillors cited gross anomalies in the tender process for
the highway
named after the late Vice-President, Joshua Nkomo.
The
councillors said a similar road project stretching 77 kilometres, done
by
resource giant, the Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats) in Chegutu, was
valued at US$19 million. But the Joshua Nkomo Expressway that will link the
Harare International Airport and the city centre, a distance under 20
kilometres, has been valued at US$80 million under unclear
circumstances.
The Ngezi highway, which has three bridges, was completed in a
record time
in 2001.
The discord between Chombo and the city council,
which is seen being
escalated to Cabinet level, is likely to delay, if not
torpedo, the Airport
Road project.
While the project is not a priority
for Harare residents, who are going for
months on end without water and
other essential services which the city
fathers should provide, it has
brought into public glare the extent to which
the government is interfering
in the operations of the local authority.
Last week, the city fathers clearly
showed they were spoiling for a fight by
defying Chombo's directive,
rescinding a decision by council to stop all
projects related to the Airport
Road deal.
Apart from freezing the construction of the Airport Road project,
they also
resolved to stop a housing development on the Warren Hills Golf
Estate as
councillors tightened the screws on the two projects that were
awarded to a
Ukrainian company, Augur Investments, by a caretaker council
appointed by
Chombo last year.
"Following further discussion, during
which council noted the need for
improved communication between the
Honourable Minister of Local Government,
Rural and Urban Development and
council before directives are issued, it was
resolved that council notes the
directive dated 17th August 2009 by the
Minister directing it to rescind its
resolution to suspend work on the
Airport Road project pending
investigations," reads part of the council
meeting's minutes.
". . .
Notwithstanding the ministerial directive referred to in resolution
(1)
above and for the reasons also stated in the preamble above, council
reaffirms its previous decision recorded under item 29 of the Environment
Management Committee minutes dated 3rd August 2009 to stop forthwith the
project on the construction of the Airport Road."
Council then tasked the
mayor, Muchadeyi Masunda, to communicate its
reservations about the project
to Chombo adding that councillors were not
opposed to the project to upgrade
the Airport Road, but were instead
concerned about what they said were
"irregularities, which are apparent in
the manner the project was awarded to
Augur Investments".
The council resolution said the then Harare Commission
chairperson, Michael
Maha-chi, was involved in negotiations and the
subsequent signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding between the City of
Harare and Augur Investments
on May 29 2008 in violation of a provision
under the Urban Councils Act that
stipulates that those serving council must
declare their interests and
withdraw from meetings in which they have
personal interests being
discussed.
Mahachi, a close ally of Chombo, was
first appointed commissioner in January
2005, becoming the commission's
chairperson in August 2007.
He was part of the contractors that were involved
in the construction of the
Newlands by-pass in Harare.
He was then
appointed "caretaker" of the city in April last year following
the electoral
impasse that ensued after the March 29 synchronised elections.
Following the
take-over of the city council by a Movement for Democratic
Change-led
council in July last year, Mahachi was appointed as a special
interest
councillor, before resigning a month later with reports saying he
was now
the project manager for Augur Invest-ments.
"Council also recommends that it
may be necessary to investigate similar
agreements or transactions in all
local authorities, which may have been
entered into after the March 2008
elections before councillors assumed
office," reads part of the council
minutes.
Council also expressed dissatisfaction with the decision made by
Augur
Investments to appoint a South African company, Power Constr-uction,
to
construct the Airport Road and drew parallels with the Zimplats project
that
was done by a consortium of local firms, but which met international
standards.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=23429
October 3, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - The Politburo, the top decision-making body of
President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has readmitted Prof Jonathan Moyo, a
former
Information minister who was responsible for crafting some of
Zimbabwe's
most repressive laws.
Because of the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA)
several newspapers were banned, while
journalists were arrested, with many
leaving the country to live in
exile.
Moyo was expelled from Zanu-PF in 2005 after he was fingered as
one of the
key figures behind an alleged palace coup that sought to plot
leadership
changes in the Zanu-PF presidium.
Zanu-PF's Politburo met
in Harare on Thursday to consider Moyo's application
for
readmission.
Ephraim Masawi, the Zanu-PF deputy spokesman, told reporters
that the
Politburo had unanimously endorsed Moyo's readmission.
"The
Politburo considered the application by Professor Jonathan Moyo to
rejoin
Zanu-PF which was unanimously endorsed," Masawi said as he read the
communiqué issued by the Politburo.
Moyo was unceremoniously booted
out of Zanu-PF after he was fingered as the
architect of the so-called
Tsholotsho Declaration in November 2004 which
sought to plot leadership
changes in the Zanu-PF presidium.
After Moyo was kicked out of the
Politburo his attempt to wiggle his way
into the Central Committee was
blocked by Mugabe by Mugabe personally. He
was subsequently fired from the
Cabinet and then from Zanu-PF in February
2005 after he insisted on standing
as an independent candidate in Tsholotsho
North after the party had reserved
the seat for a female candidate.
Following his expulsion, Moyo (52)
underwent radical transformation to
become a vicious and vociferous critic
of Mugabe and his party. He is
perhaps the most controversial political
figure on the Zimbabwean political
landscape, hated by many, including some
of the very politicians who opened
their arms to welcome him back to the
ranks of their party.
He is a recognised propagandist, however. From a
political perspective his
reunion with Zanu-PF means he brings Tsholotsho
North constituency to the
party. The MDC of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
says Moyo won this seat
in March 2008 as the result of a concession from the
then opposition party.
Moyo came to the fore of Zimbabwean politics
during the drafting of a new
Constitution a decade ago. He arrived in Harare
in flight from Johannesburg
and Nairobi previously where officials at
Witwatersrand and the Ford
Foundation respectively accused him of allegedly
embezzling funds. Back in
the Zimbabwean capital where previously he was
university lecturer, he
became the spokesperson for the committee charged
with putting the final
draft of a new Constitution together before it was
tabled for a referendum
in February, 2000.
Once the people of
Zimbabwe rejected the draft despite Moyo's efforts to
market it, Mugabe
appointed the political science professor to his Cabinet
following the 2000
parliamentary election, making him the spokesperson of
the government and
Minister of Information in the President's office.
He arrived at Zanu-PF
headquarters when the party was in total disarray in
the wake of a near
defeat in the June 2000 elections. Many in the Zanu-PF
leadership had
withdrawn to the sidelines and Moyo immediately filled the
vacuum. He became
the public face of a party that had lost both support and
credibility. A
Zanu-PF official was quoted in the press last week as saying
that Moyo would
be required to rise through the ranks this time around,
instead of being
parachuted to the top as happened in 2000.
Since his expulsion from
government and Zanu-PF in 2005 Moyo has vehemently
denied the common fact
that he was the architect of AIPPA and the equally
draconian Public Order
and Security Act (POSA).
Analysts and observers have labeled him as an
opportunist because of his
puzzling behavior. In the space of nine years,
Moyo went from being a
fervent critic of the government of Mugabe to being
its fiercest defender
and then again to being one of its fiercest
detractors. Now he is back in
the Zanu-PF fold again, with a crucial
election on the horizon.
Analysts believe he has the potential to
rejuvenate Mugabe's dying party,
because he is a master of
propaganda.
"His task will not be as easy as in 2000, though," said a
journalist in
Harare who has covered the ups and downs of Moyo's political
career. "But he
has gone way past his 'best-by date' and his return could be
futile."
Given to drama, Moyo launched his new career by declaring last
week that
Mugabe must be allowed the dignity of dying in office.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Martin
Saturday,
03 October 2009 15:12
HARARE - The United Nations says about a quarter
of Zimbabwe's health
facilities lack reliable water supplies, raising fears
that they may not
adequately respond to potential outbreaks of water-borne
diseases.
The UN Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster said
a recent
assessment of clinics around Zimbabwe by the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) had
revealed that 300 of the 1 200 facilities surveyed had
"inconsistent or
limited" water supplies.
"The cluster is alerting
relief agencies to the reported water supply
difficulties so that
organisations operating in affected districts can
assess the situation and
work to address potential problems," it said.
The news of the irregular
water supplies brings memories of last year's
deadly outbreak of cholera,
which was described by the World Health
Organisation as Africa's worst in
more than a decade.
The outbreak claimed more than 4 300 lives and
infected close to 100
000 people between August 2008 and July when the
government declared that it
had ended.
New cases of the disease
have already been reported since the
beginning of last month.
At
least 29 cases were detected in the Chipinge district of
Manicaland, with
several more reports expected during the forthcoming
farming season which
begins in November.
http://www.earthtimes.org
Posted : Sat, 03
Oct 2009 11:17:04 GMT
By : dpa
Harare - A group
of German investors who undertook a fact- finding
mission to Zimbabwe last
week said Saturday they were sceptical of the
situation in the once
prosperous southern African country. "There are
questions that remain open.
These questions relate to law and order," German
businessman Andreas Wenzel
told the German Press Agency
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=23442
October 3, 2009
HARARE - A consortium of
entrepreneurs, which includes businessmen Philip
Chiyangwa, has acquired the
shareholding of Econet Wireless in the troubled
Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd
(KMAL) for a total consideration of US$27
million.
The group is led
by Rugare Chidembo, a former non executive director in
KMAL, who is now MD
of Chiyangwa's Pinnacle Investments, a
multi-million-dollar construction
company and also RTG boss Chipo Mtasa,
Zimre Holdings Ltd Chief Operating
Officer Solomon Tembo, and Langton
Nyatsambo.
In a statement issued
to the market Thursday Econet said it had sold its 24
537 480 shares in KMAL
at $0,71 per share. This represents a premium of 29
percent on KMAL's
closing price of $0,55 before its suspension from the
Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange last month. Market analysts immediately questioned
how the shares
of a specified company could be sold.
Econet said the US$27 million would
be directed towards its network
expansion. The company said that the sale
was in line with a directive
issued by its board in March that the company
should sell all
non-telecommunication investments.
Last week, the
company announced that it had sold some of its shares in Afre
Corporation,
the life insurance and financial services group, which owns
First Mutual
Life.
Econet spokesman Ranga Mberi confirmed the sale but declined to say
who had
bought the shares.
"The company had received numerous
enquiries about the shares from both
local and international investors, but
had accepted an offer from a
consortium made up of Zimbabweans, whose
membership includes business people
in the country as well as in the
Diaspora," Mberi told The Zimbabwe
Independent.
However, sources
close to KMAL former chairman John Moxon and outgoing chief
executive
officer Nigel Chanakira said the consortium led by Chidembo had
acquired the
Econet shares.
Moxon told Violet Gonda of SW Radio Africa last week that
he had been forced
to flee Zimbabwe last year after he was warned that
besieged KMAL chief
executive Chanakira had motivated Chiyangwa, Affirmative
Action Group
chairman Supa Mandiwanzira, and Youth Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere to molest
him.
The takeover of the Econet shares has taken
place while the company and
Moxon are under specification. His lawyers have
dismissed the specification
as illegal. Negotiations between Chanakira and
key shareholders in the
blue chip company are currently underway in a bid to
find an amicable
demerger of KMAL.
The Independent reported that
Chanakira, who is receiving medication in
South Africa after he was
airlifted from Harare last Monday, had said
Thursday that the talks were
centred on resolving the outstanding issues of
the
de-merger.
Shareholders of the group agreed in June to de-merge following
serious
boardroom fights between Chanakira and Moxon.
The High Court
last week postponed for two weeks the group's extraordinary
general meeting
to give Chanakira time to recover. The meeting was meant,
among other
things, to boot out Chanakira and two of his nominees, Callisto
Jokonya and
Sibusisiwe Bango, from the board of KMAL.
Chanakira said recent events
and developments relating to the de-merger had
taken a toll on his health,
but he was now on the road to full recovery.
He said press reports that
he collapsed were "unfortunately exaggerated".
But it is Chanakira's own
lawyer, Canaan Dube, who said the businessman had
collapsed. He said this in
a supporting affidavit to an application seeking
to stop last week's
extraordinary general meeting.
"I confirm that recent events and
developments related to the arduous and
lengthy process of demerging Kingdom
Meikles Africa Ltd have had a toll on
my health," Chanakira said. "I am
glad, however, that, as a result of expert
medical attention in Zimbabwe and
South Africa, I am resting and recovering
well. I am confident I will be
able to return back to normal duty soon."
He said his ultimate goal
remained focused on ensuring the successful
demerger of KMAL so that the
companies can revert to their original mandate
of growing their respective
core businesses for the benefit of their
shareholders.
"I am as keen
as everyone else to conclude the demerger of KMAL so that the
demerged
companies can revert to their original shareholders and mandate to
grow
their businesses. I am confident that all parties concerned are also
concerned that the outstanding issues are resolved. It is regrettable the
demerger has taken longer than we expected, but I am confident the end is
near," he said. "However, due to the sensitive nature of the current
initiatives, it would be premature for me to go into specific details,
suffice it to say there is goodwill on both sides to put this behind
us."
Chanakira and Moxon are embroiled in a boardroom battle over the
control of
KMAL amid accusations that the top banker lined up Zanu-PF
politicians to
take over one of Zimbabwe's largest corporate
organisations.
On the other hand, Chanakira accused Moxon of
externalising huge sums of
foreign currency. Moxon, some members of his
family and some companies under
the group have been now specified by the
government as a result.
The boardroom wrangle has seen the value of the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
listed company drop from US$500 million last year to
US$90 million.
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/
Friday, 02 October 2009 15:29
Staff
Reporter.
THE nine doctors that were suspended from the Parirenyatwa
Group of
Hospitals for allegedly spearheading a recent three-week strike
were
reinstated this week.
The doctors, expected to start work today
after a month-long suspension,
were called to fill in assumption of duty
forms on Monday. They were part of
the health professionals who downed their
tools on August 11, protesting
against poor salaries.
A doctor who spoke
to The Financial Gazette on condition of anonymity, said
they were exempted
from attending disciplinary hearings on charges levelled
against them as
required by the labour laws.
"The situation seems like we were on forced
leave without pay. We are being
reinstated as health workers who were on an
unpaid leave for a month. We are
not getting our government salaries for the
month of September as well as
the donor salaries that other doctors will get
because our names were not
submitted to the relevant authorities," he
said.
"We wrote application letters to be reinstated earlier on and the
clinical
director said that our letters didn't show any remorse so we had to
rewrite
and resubmit our applications. The Medical and Dental Practitioners
of
Zimbabwe as well as the Ministry of Health were silent on the matter and
yet
they are supposed to be our responsible authorities," the doctor
added.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Saturday,
October 03, 2009
Herald
Reporter
TRADITIONAL leaders attending the chiefs council meeting in
Harare yesterday
expressed outrage over alleged interference by the police
and magistrates'
courts in matters falling under their
jurisdictions.
The chiefs appealed to Government to intervene arguing
that their judicial
powers were being undermined.
The traditional
leaders said verdicts they imposed on their subjects were
often being
reversed by the magistrates' courts on appeal.
The law allows people to
appeal against a ruling passed by traditional
leaders.
However, there
is lack of co-ordination between the magistrates and chiefs'
courts.
The chiefs also accused the courts of interfering in cases to
do with
installation of traditional leaders.
They said it had become
a tradition for the courts to reverse the
appointment and installation of
chiefs when rival candidates seek legal
recourse.
They also
castigated police interference in operations of their courts.
Chief
Chiweshe said he was once arrested after he attached a convicted
subject's
goats.
At times, the chiefs said, they were summoned by the police to
explain
judgments they imposed on their subjects, a situation which
demeaning their
status.
In response to the chiefs' concerns, Justice
and Legal Affairs Minister
Patrick Chinamasa pledged to look into the
complaints and find ways to
harmonise the relations between the chiefs and
magistrates' court.
He also promised to arrange a meeting between the
chiefs' courts,
magistrates' court and the police to iron out the
differences.
Minister Chinamasa said police had no right at law to
reverse judgments
passed by traditional leaders.
The Zimbabwe
Republic Police, who were also represented at the meeting,
underpinned the
need for the police, the chiefs and courts to work as a unit
as their duties
sought to achieve same objective.
Meanwhile, the president of Chiefs
Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira, has
accused MDC legislators of
disrespecting traditional leaders in their
respective
constituencies.
"MDC MPs are encouraging people to disrespect traditional
leaders. They
always run to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights whenever
they are
convicted in our courts," he said.
Chief Charumbira said the
MPs boast that the ZLHR represented the interests
of the
MDC.
However, Justice and Legal Affairs Deputy Minister Jessie Majome
said the
ZLHR was an independent organisation and had nothing to do with the
MDC.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondent
Saturday 03 October 2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's oldest
investment house, The Discount Company of
Zimbabwe, is set to close down due
to viability problems, the firm announced
on Friday.
Group
chairperson Busi Bango said the financial services group would be
surrendering its discount licence to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe but did
not give a date when the licence would be handed back to the central
bank.
"The Discount Company of Zimbabwe struggled to sustain its
operations
although it managed to obtain a limited dealer licence, which
allowed it to
raise deposits and lend in US dollars," she
said.
Currently the business unit, which is owned by Kingdom Financial
Holdings
(KFH), was operating on a limited dealer licence.
KFHL plans
to merge the discount house with that of its micro finance
business,
Microking.
"Going forward, the group plans to surrender the discount
house licence and
amalgamate the discount house business with that of
Microking Credit and
Savings Company to form a Microfinance
bank."
The closure of Kingdom's discount house comes hard on the heels of
the
dollarisation of the economy by the government this year which has
brought
some economic stability but leaving many people without disposable
income.
Already, Highveld Discount House, which was last year rated as
one of the
best discount house groups in the country, has shut operations
also citing
viability problems. - ZimOnline
http://www.mg.co.za
JASON MOYO - Oct 03 2009 06:00
A row over Nestlé's business
dealings with Grace Mugabe is likely to spook
many other foreign companies
in Zimbabwe, where business dealings with
members of Robert Mugabe's circle
are a daily reality.
Reacting to reports that Mugabe's wife Grace owns
the multimillion-dollar
Gushungo Dairy Estate seized during Zimbabwe's land
grabs, which now
supplies Swiss company Nestlé, Georgette Gagnon, Africa
director of Human
Rights Watch, called for an international investigation
into "corporate
behaviour and irresponsibility".
Anti-corruption
group Global Witness said that "it's something the European
Commission and
the Swiss would want to look into".
According to Nestlé, half of its
contracted dairy suppliers had gone bust
under Mugabe's land seizures,
forcing the company to source milk on the open
market, including Gushungo.
The latter accounts for between 10% and 15% of
Nestlé's local milk
supply.
"Had Nestlé decided to close down its operations in Zimbabwe, the
company
would have triggered further food shortages and hundreds of job
losses among
its employees and milk suppliers in an already very difficult
situation,"
the company said.
It was the familiar refrain of foreign
companies pressured to leave
Zimbabwe: pulling out would leave hundreds
jobless. But the truth is that
with Mugabe backers now major players in
agriculture and industry, few
businesses have an alternative.
British
American Tobacco's Zimbabwe associate, BAT Zimbabwe, remains one of
the
largest buyers of tobacco, which is grown by the few remaining white
farmers, poor black peasant farmers and some senior Mugabe
henchmen.
BAT Zimbabwe this year bought 15-million kilograms of tobacco
from the
farmers. The company will consume just 10% of this, exporting the
bulk to
other BAT operations worldwide, according to BAT managing director
Lovemore
Manatsa.
Last year, German company Giesecke & Devrient
was pressured into cancelling
a contract to supply the paper on which the
Reserve Bank printed worthless
Zimbabwe dollar banknotes.
Foreign
banks, such as Barclays, continue to channel cheap state loans to
farmers
sitting on seized land. Such services are mandatory and banks risk
their
licences by not complying.
Two South African retail giants looking to
expand in Zimbabwe will
inevitably have to source produce from seized farms
and will have some
business dealings with a Zanu-PF-linked company Pick n
Pay owns 25% of
Zimbabwe's biggest supermarket chain, TM, whose parent
company Kingdom
Meikles Africa Limited is going through a politically
charged de-merger.
Shoprite, which has a single store in Bulawayo, is
said to be negotiating
for a majority share of OK Zimbabwe, valued at
$52-million.
Mount Carmel farm, the country's biggest mango producer, was
taken over and
farmer Mike Campbell's farmhouse razed to the ground. His
$600 000 mango
crop was seized and a pressure group drawn from white farmers
had to mount a
campaign to try and stop stores from buying the
produce.
In 2002, Sainsbury's of London purchased close to $750 000 worth
of produce
from a farm seized by army general Constantine Chiwenga. At the
time,
Sainsbury's claimed it was unaware the farm had been taken over, as
the
purchase was channelled via British-owned agent
Hortico.
According to central bank export reports, Sainsbury's and UK
retailer
Waitrose still source fish from Zimbabwe. British supermarket chain
Tesco
only stopped buying farm produce from Zimbabwe last year, eight years
into
Mugabe's land grab.
The company had previously bought $2-million
worth of citrus from Zimbabwe
annually, according to central bank figures.
While most companies have
chosen to ride out the storm, others have
withdrawn under pressure.
In 2007, United States food giant Heinz sold
its 51% shareholding in
Olivine, Zimbabwe's largest cooking oil
producer.
The government accused the company of acting on Washington's
orders not to
buy sunflower seeds and soya from farms seized from white
farmers. But with
investor interest growing, assets put up for sale by
fleeing foreign
interests are quickly snapped up.
As soon as BP and
Shell announced a pullout from Zimbabwe last month, Engen
and Kenya's
KenolKobil put in a bid for their 75 service stations and
30-millionlitre
blending plant. While seizure of their assets by Mugabe is
their greatest
anxiety, many foreign businesses also fear losing market
share when many
believe the battered economy has bottomed out.
Shoprite and Pick n Pay,
for instance, will find the retail market is
increasingly being taken over
by Chinese-owned supermarket chains whose
owners are gobbling up prime
locations abandoned by larger operators and
have fewer misgivings about
dealing with Zanu-PF.
Many foreign firms have come to believe that having
influential political
figures among the shareholders is good for
business.
This week, African Consolidated Resources, the British company
whose diamond
claims in eastern Zimbabwe were seized by the government and
allowed to
descend into anarchy, won a landmark court ruling that allows it
to take
back the rich diamond fields.
The company, listed on the
London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investments
Market, is said to be partly
owned by Solomon Mujuru, a senior Zanu-PF
member.
Mujuru is also a
partner in another diamond mine, River Ranch, together with
Saudi
billionaire Adel Aujan. Zanu-PF itself, via a string of shelf
companies, is
also a major investor on Zimbabwe's booming stock exchange.
Dear Family and Friends,
Its hot and
purple in Zimbabwe: Jacaranda trees adorned in purple
flowers; skies
heavy with purple rain clouds, bougainvillea creepers
ablaze with carpets of
purple blooms and Mulberry trees dripping with
sweet, sticky, staining
berries. Overhead the flycatchers are back,
the long russet tails of the
males flicking through the trees as they
chase their mates. Underfoot,
emerging from the ash of a million fires
that have again devastated so much
habitat, the wild flowers are on
defiant display: yellow heads, violet
gentians, orange pimpernels and
exquisite salmon pink
gladioli.
Zimbabwe needs this beauty more than ever now to soften the
ugliness
of what's going on around us. Tragically its not just political
and
economic ugliness we're dealing with, its a basic loss of
compassion
and empathy that seems to have engulfed us as a nation. We've
lost
our moral compass, someone said this week and how true that
is.
Recently asked to assist in finding help for people in need I
heard
stories that are cause for deep shame. A doctor described
being
ushered into a small dark house in a high density township where
he
examined a 43 year old woman. The patient, Mrs M, has no regular
income
and is dependant on donations made by scattered relatives. The
doctor easily
diagnosed a large cauliflower growth as advanced breast
cancer. He was amazed
Mrs M had not sought help before and felt
despair as he heard how she had
tried and failed, again and again, to
get help. Referred to a government
hospital 6 months earlier when her
problem began, Mrs M's first attendance
yielded nothing because the
nurses and doctors were on strike. Weeks later
she tried again and
was referred to the Chitungwiza Hospital in Harare where
she was seen
by a junior doctor and given a date to return to see the surgeon
on
duty. More struggle and begging for help to get bus fares for
another
trip to Harare. On the specified date the surgeon ordered a chest
X
ray and some blood tests and told Mrs M to return with her results.
To
her dismay Mrs M found she had to pay cash for the tests but she
had nothing
left. The hospital would not waive the fees and so again
she returned home
without having been helped. On her third attempt
and with money for
transport, X rays and blood tests, Mrs M returned
to Chitungwiza but the
surgeon did not arrive to conduct his clinic
and so she was sent back home
again.
The doctor said that when he saw Mrs.M.again recently her tumour
has
doubled in size and she was in considerable pain. Deep down, he
said,
he knows Mrs M has missed all chance of a cure but hopes for
some
compassion, empathy and palliative care.
Such anguish for the
price of an X ray, the cost of a blood test or
just the hand of compassion -
our poor Zimbabwe. Until next time,
thanks for reading, love cathy. 3 October
2009
Copyright cathy buckle ww.cathybuckle.com
<http://www.cathybuckle.com/>
Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM - No..zw with "For
Open Letter
Forum" in the subject line.
To subscribe/unsubscribe to
the JAG mailing list, please email:
jag@mango.zw with subject line "subscribe" or
"unsubscribe".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
DO YOU CALL THIS COMPENSATION? - Robb WJ Ellis
2. A. McCormick - Charles
Lock
3. Looking for Colin & Anne Randell
4. Tendai
Chaminuka
5. THE FREE WORLD WATCHES - BUT DOES NOTHING - Robb WJ
Ellis
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
DO YOU CALL THIS COMPENSATION?
This morning, the internet had a story
that told us that just 3% of
farmers had been compensated for the loss of
their land.
Before we can actually comprehend what that 3% represents, we
have to
remember that Mugabe and ZANU PF will only pay compensation
for
improvements to the land - nothing more.
But a fair percentage of
the land taken by Mugabe was purchased since
independence by the commercial
farmers after his government had declared
'no interest' in developing the
land.
Then it must also be borne in mind that the compensation paid will
be
based upon figures arrived at by a ZANU PF appointed assessor
who,
reportedly, undervalue the land by as much as 90% and then,
consequently,
the improvements thereon.
Any compensation for the land
itself is to be paid for by the British
government. Well, that is what Mugabe
wants - but he wants that money to
be channelled through his government - so
he can plunder it just like he
has done with any other money that has been
detoured via his government.
But let's not concentrate on supposition.
Just 3% in nine years - even
based upon the ZANU PF undervalued assessment -
is a few shillings only.
I remember reading an article quite a few years
ago where it was reported
that evicted farmers were pressured into accepting
the reduced payments
because they had been rendered paupers by the evictions
and needed the
money to stay alive!
Mugabe will, no doubt, wear the 3%
as a badge of some merit, telling the
world that his administration has paid
that much without the assistance
of the former colonial power. In reality
though, the monies so paid - and
I find it quite annoying that the article
has failed to quantify the 3% -
a far less than the true value of any
improvements to the land.
And that some of the farms that were forcibly
taken over, were valueless
even after independence, and it is only the work
of the commercial
farmers that have endeavoured to make that land worth
something.
To declare no interest in the land until such time as the
commercial
farmer has developed it into a project that is worth something,
not only
to the farmer, but to the country as a whole, is tantamount to theft
-
especially if the 'compensation' is a mere fraction of the investment
on
the land, let alone the initial financial outlay to purchase the
land!
I, personally, understand the need for the land appropriation, but
would
certainly have preferred that it be done properly without any
violence,
abductions or deaths. Mugabe is steadfast in his claim that
Britain
should pay any compensation, but is also ignoring the basic rule of
law
in Zimbabwe by allowing the land grab to take on such a
tragic
environment.
We should also remember that it is not just the
commercial farmer that is
rendered without a farm, a livelihood and a home
when these enforced
evictions take place. The farm workers are also rendered
jobless and
homeless when the farmer is thrown off, as the new 'owner' has
no
requirement for workers who sided with the 'bloody whites'
(Mugabe's
words, not mine) - not to mention how the country is affected by
the loss
of the farm's production which is for either domestic use or the
export
market.
Land appropriation is one thing, a 'land grab' is
another thing entirely
- and Mugabe may profess to be conducting the former
when he is really
perpetrating the latter.
Robb WJ Ellis
The
Bearded Man
http://mandebvhu.instablogs.com/entry/do-you-call-this-compensation/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
A. McCormick - Charles Lock
Dear Jag
Maybe it is time (overdue)
for Lock to engage the Tribunal citing jointly
SADC as guarantors of the GPU,
Mbeki in his personal capacity as promoter
of the GPU, the First Secretary of
ZANU(PF) in his personal capacity for
inciting the violence (at party
functions), and the GPU for his
losses. Obviously the necessary claims and
notices would have to go out
first. Until people are held personally liable
I don't see an end to the
ongoing lawlessness.
Perhaps he should also
institute a parallel civil suit against Brigadier
Mujaji, Ass Commissioner
Crime Khumalo, DISPOL in Rusape, Chiuri, et al.
He is lost anyway but he
may get some financial compensation - the only
problem is his personal safety
which is what has stopped us from
challenging the regime all along. But a
sacrifice like this may help
turn around Zimbabwe.
Regards
Alan
McCormick
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.
Looking for Colin & Anne Randell
Dear Jag,
A friend of mine is
looking for Farmers Colin and Anne Randell. They
farmed in the Bulawayo
area. Please if you have any information on this
couple could you contact
me.
Best Regards
Mandy
Retzlaff
Mozambique.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.
Tendai Chaminuka
The situation on Zimbabwe farms is not something that
can be admired. To
any right minded Zimbabwean the situation on farms is a
shame and very
retrogressive. A colonial and historical wrong cannot be
corrected by a
post independence wrong. The demise of an ordinary Zimbabwean
is that the
key players in this land issue belong to a generation of
failures. A
generation which does not value human life. It is an open secret
that
most of the commercial farmers are somehow associated with either
the
First and Second World War. What they experienced was inhuman.
Coupled
with the local Second Chimurenga, this generation became hardened
in
their thoughts and actions. They then created an exclusive class
which
could not accept change. Even when change finally came they did not
see
it as real and they continued living in fantasy. Whilst
everyone
became Zimbabweans in 1980, they remained Rhodesians on their
farms.
Their treatment of the locals was inhuman. They treated locals
as
inferior. The only group they could associate with were the
politicians.
Those are the only people whom the treated as equals because
they wanted
protection from them whilst the politicians wanted their
wealth.
Together, they formed a band of ruthless capitalists who exploited
the
suffering majority on the farms and
factories.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.
THE FREE WORLD WATCHES - BUT DOES NOTHING - Robb WJ Ellis
As the days go
by, and the interest is awash with stories of the ZANU
PF/Mugabe duplicity, I
am always quite stunned at the inaction taken by
the free world.
More
and more stories uncover the manner in which Mugabe
'rules'
Zimbabwe.
The latest of which is the revelation that Nestlé is
being supplied with
milk by Mugabe's wife, Grace - from a farm seized in the
controversial
'land grab' that has been going on in Zimbabwe since
2000.
Other institutions, like the United Nations, have a penchant for
inviting
Mugabe to their conferences - even though he is subject to
targeted
travel sanctions - and then the UN make an absolute mockery of the
whole
sanctions idea by opening the floor for yet another Mugabe tirade
against
the West, accusing them of all manner of conspiracies and intentions
-
whilst at the same time, Mugabe asks the West to dig into their
pockets
and finance the rebuilding of the country - necessitated by
Mugabe's
heavy-handed rule.
As the days, weeks, months and years go
by, it becomes more and more
obvious that Mugabe is not interested in working
with the MDC in a
coalition government, but he has been demanding that the
World Bank, the
IMF and various countries cough up to allow the country to
rebuild.
Mugabe has no right to 'demand' anything! But all his demands
are couched
in such a way to make the free world develop a conscience, and he
hopes
that he will strike it rich by this means.
Just like the diamond
find in the Marange Fields in the North East of the
country, Mugabe is intent
on using the money so received to finance his
own forays on political and
personal fronts - he has no want or desire to
use the money for what it was
originally intended.
Just yesterday, we read how "Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon
Gono planned to divert a huge chunk of an
International Monetary Fund
loan to pay back money diverted to President
Robert Mugabe's bloody
re-election campaign last year, documents
show.
According to proposals submitted by Gono to Finance Minister Tendai
Biti
recently, and seen by ZimEye, US$90 million of the $510 million
availed
to Zimbabwe (or 21.5%) would have been used to pay NGOs, exporters
and
banks whose funds were raided by Gono in June last year to prop
up
Mugabe's bankrupt campaign.
Biti rejected the
proposals."
Please note that Mugabe said that the theft of money from
accounts by
Gono were excused by Mugabe and the majority of that money has
yet to be
repaid.
I have written on many occasions that any debts run
up by ZANU PF should
be paid for by ZANU PF, not the country, and certainly
not acceded to by
the watching world.
At least the watching world is
holding the purse strings - for the time
being.
"The finance minister
reportedly told Gono that any expenditure should
first be approved by
parliament through the normal budget process.
Gono has now launched a
vicious media campaign against Biti, blowing up
public funds on full-page
adverts attacking the minister.
The matter has also been taken up by ZANU
PF politicians, who normally
say they do not need the IMF, but are now
evidently upset about Biti's
move to prevent looting of the
loan."
Gono has been "accused of by the MDC of bringing down the
Zimbabwean
economy by financing Mugabe's political campaigns.
Corruption
investigations are underway against the central bank governor
who's
money-printing to bail out Mugabe's bankrupt regime drove inflation
to
astronomical proportions.
Faced with an election that he could not
afford last year, Mugabe ordered
Gono to loot foreign currency belonging to
private organisations. The
government has so far been unable to pay back the
money. Gono's latest
proposals give a rare indication of the massive amounts
looted, analysts
said."
Mugabe is not interested in rebuilding
Zimbabwe, but in diverting money
to his own account - and the whole world,
even though they have largely
fallen wise of Mugabe's intentions, still
remain seated, watching from a
distance, unwilling to do anything to assist
the Zimbabwean people - in
case Mugabe shouts at them - again!
Robb WJ
Ellis
The Bearded
Man
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------