http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
5 October 2009
A recent appointee to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Holdings board, retired
Brigadier Benjamin Mabenge, two years ago shot and
killed an MDC activist on
his farm in cold-blood.
Described as a 'blood
thirsty monster' Mabenge in November 2007, fatally
shot Clement Takaendesa
at close range, using a powerful FN rifle. In the
same incident he also shot
and seriously wounded Taurai Chigede, for
allegedly fishing on a stretch of
river that runs through his farm. He was
briefly arrested but was released
just days after the fatal shooting. He is
still to stand trial for the
murder of the MDC activist.
The MDC leadership in KweKwe maintains Mabenge
gets protection from Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. The ZANU PF
strongman was a former legislator
in the Midlands town, before his defeat in
the 2000 parliamentary elections
to MDC's Blessing Chebundo.
Two other
members of the ZBH and Transmedia boards, appointed by Information
Minister
Webster Shamu, were part of military elite that directed and
executed
political violence during last year's presidential elections.
Retired
Major-General Gibson Mashingaidze and retired army doctor Paul
Chimedza were
part of an elaborate plan by the security chiefs credited with
keeping
Robert Mugabe in power. The security forces, led by the Joint
Operations
Command (JOC), waged a ruthless campaign of violence to force
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai from a second round presidential poll. The
JOC is made up
of the heads of the intelligence service, police, prisons and
each of the
armed services, and is chaired by the toughest of the hawks,
Defence Forces
Commander General Constantine Chiwenga.
This is the group that appointed
Mashingaidze to be the second-in-command to
Major-General Engelbert Rugeje,
to direct the violent political purges in
Masvingo province. Mashingaidze
was last week appointed to sit on the ZBH
board by Shamu and Dr Paul
Chimedza is the new chairman of the Transmedia
board. He is notorious for
leading political violence against MDC activists
in Gutu South.
Due
to his involvement in political violence, the former medical
superintendent
for Harare Hospital had his lucrative consultancy contract
with the European
Union terminated.
Chimedza, whose checkered past saw him being removed
from the top post at
Harare Hospital following routine conflicts with other
consultants, is no
stranger to controversy. His intended move to assume the
post of deputy
secretary in the Ministry of Health in 1994 was also blocked
following
objections from doctors citing his dictatorial tendencies. Since
then he has
been in private practice.
In March last year he failed in
his bid to represent ZANU PF in the
parliamentary elections after the seat
he was eyeing in Gutu South
constituency was reserved for a woman. The
eventual ZANU PF candidate,
Shuvai Mahofa, lost the election to Professor
Elphas Mukonoweshuro of the
MDC-T.
Chimedza's involvement in the
political violence last year broke the notion
that only war veterans and
militias perpetrated violence in the rural areas.
Other professionals,
notably the gun-totting former Health Minister David
Parirenyatwa, were
heavily involved in the torture and killing of opponents
in Murehwa,
Mashonaland East province.
While Parirenyatwa is on the United States and
EU targeted sanctions list,
Chimedza was the first known health professional
to have his work contract
terminated by an international body, because of
his involvement in political
violence.
Other hawks, like retired general
Mashingaidze, have for years been part of
a military cabal that has in the
last decade had a significant role in
running the country. In the weeks
before the second round presidential poll,
the military deployed across the
country, with two senior officers in each
of hundreds of local government
districts, overseeing a web of
paramilitaries and security officials. This
has been Mugabe's modus operandi
since he suffered the referendum defeat in
February 2000. After this
unexpected defeat, Mugabe always turns to the
military to shield himself
from attacks and to mobilise support around
him.
When it came to organising the crucial 2002 presidential elections,
Mugabe
again heavily relied on military personnel who were appointed to a
number of
key positions. Lawyer and former colonel and head of military
intelligence,
Sobusa Gula-Ndebele, was appointed chair of the Electoral
Supervisory
Commission, while Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba was appointed
chief
elections officer.
Through his patronage system, Mugabe has
managed to keep the army leadership
close to him by rewarding them with
privileges, including generous payouts
and lucrative mining contracts in the
DRC and the Chiadzwa diamond fields.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
05
October 2009
ZANU PF has revealed its carefully played hand on the future
of the media in
Zimbabwe, with the return of the country's most notorious
media 'hangmen'
into the government.
The party's clarification that
it remains committed to keeping the media in
a hard-line stranglehold was
laid out for all to see last week, with the
announced return of Tafataona
Mahoso and Jonathan Moyo. Mahoso, the former
head of the now-defunct Media
and Information Commission, which saw the
forced closure of independent
newspapers such as the Daily News, was
announced last week as the new head
of the Broadcasting Authority. The
appointment by Information Minister
Webster Shamu, who has also appointed
eight former senior military officials
to six boards, has been slammed by
media rights organisations and the MDC as
a threat to any hope of media
freedom in the country.
A further
threat is the return of Moyo, who was readmitted to ZANU PF by the
party
Politburo last Thursday. The former information minister was
responsible for
crafting some of ZANU PF regime's most repressive media
laws, including the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA), which saw
several newspapers being banned, as well as the arrest
and exile of many
journalists. He was also responsible for the forced
closure of Zimbabwe's
first independent radio station, Capital Radio.
Moyo was unceremoniously
kicked out of ZANU PF after he was fingered as the
architect of the
so-called 'Tsholotsho Declaration' in November 2004, which
sought to plot
ZANU PF leadership changes.
But his return to ZANU PF has long been
speculated and it was revealed last
month that he had approached the party
about his re-admittance as a member.
Last week Ephraim Masawi, the party
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.
While it is not yet known what kind of role Moyo will play
in the
government, his past actions within ZANU PF have left media groups
and
journalists worried. The pairing of Moyo and Mahoso will be a lethal
combination for the country's media, which had hoped that critically needed
reform under the unity government, was on its way. But the bluff by ZANU PF
that it was committed to media freedom is now clearly evident, as is the
party's unilateral control in the coalition formation with the MDC.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
5
October 2009
Former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings chief executive, and
former ZIANA
editor-in-chief Henry Muradzikwa, is believed to be the
incoming chairman of
the much awaited Zimbabwe Media
Commission.
Muradzikwa was among a list of 12 candidates endorsed in
August by the
Parliamentary Standing Rules and Orders Committee, to sit on
the media
regulatory body. But the creation of the commission has had to
wait for
Robert Mugabe.
Sources close to government said the President
and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai met in Harare Monday and finally agreed
on the nine
commissioners, although it is not known when Mugabe will make
the actual
announcement. He is expected to open the Second Session of the
Seventh
Parliament on Tuesday, and there is a possibility the announcement
could be
made then.
Although he was fired from both ZIANA and the
ZBC, the rise and fall of
Muradzikwa's career over the years has largely
depended on ZANU PF. The
veteran journalist has close, long-term links to
the regime, and is always
in a 'love hate relationship' with ZANU PF.
Critics say his appointment is
proof that ZANU PF is still very much in
charge, as a 'compromise' candidate
could have been chosen.
An MDC
official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that in theory
this, yet
to be announced list, should be the final one. But he warned that
Press
Secretary George Charamba is capable of 'fiddling' with the final
list.
Although not official, SW Radio understands the new commissioners
are:
(Chairman) Henry Muradzikwa
Chris Mhike - Lawyer and
journalist,
Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa (it is alleged this Zanu-PF
activist and
former ambassador to China, has been included, despite not
having been on
the original list of successful candidates),
Mathew
Takaona - Outgoing Zimbabwe Union of Journalists President,
Nqobile Nyathi -
Former News Editor of the Financial Gazette,
Godfrey Majonga - Danhiko
Project Deputy Director,
Dr Millicent Mombeshora - Reserve Bank Division
Chief (she is also the new
chair of the Kingstons board,)
Miriam
Madziwa-Sibanda - Freelance journalist,
Reverend Useni Sibanda - Christian
Alliance National Director .
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=23472
October 5, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Giles Mutsekwa, the co-minister of Home Affairs,
has said he is
concerned that police are refusing to reform after three
striking Shabanie
Mine workers were shot by members of the force
recently.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) claimed the three
were shot as
they fled from teargas thrown by the police to disperse more
than 2 000
workers at the mine late September.
The ZCTU said the
workers had convened a meeting where management was
supposed to address them
on salaries that had not been paid since February.
The three were shot
after trouble started at the meeting.
Mutsekwa said: "We have repeatedly
told the police that they should always
refrain from using firearms against
defenceless people", he said." In this
particular case, we have not yet
received a convincing explanation on how
the police got
involved."
The ZCTU, which has called for the resignation of the
co-ministers, Mutsekwa
and Kembo Mohadi, said workers at the meeting had
noticed the absence of
senior managers at the meeting.
"When one of
the workers Alluwis Zhou (32) asked about the whereabouts of
members of the
management who were supposed to address the meeting, he was
beaten with a
gun and shot on his left hand and shot again on the left leg,"
said the
ZCTU
"Tear gas canisters were thrown to the sitting workers.
"The
other two Leonard Simbarashe Chinhadada (30) and Taurai Zhou (50) were
shot
on their right legs while running away from the police officers.
"They
were shot by an AK47 gun No. 2221 registered with the Bukwa Mine
Camp."
The workers who were injured were admitted at a Harare
hospital.
The ZCTU said the co-ministers of home affairs should resign on
account of
the conduct of the police force. The union also wrote Paurina
Mupariwa, the
Minister of Labour, demanding an urgent investigation into the
case.
The Zimbabwean Republic Police has a history of heavy-handed action
against
protesters. In the past, the police have shot and killed
demonstrators
during the food riots. In March 2007, the police beat up MDC
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai and other activists after arresting him for taking
part in a
prayer meeting which they said was illegal. A man was reportedly
shot dead.
Mutsekwa, nominated by the MDC to co-run the Home Affairs
ministry with
Zanu-PF's Mohadi, said he was disappointed about the reaction
of the police
at the mine.
Mutsekwa said: "I would like to express my
sympathies and also reiterate
that I understand ZCTU's reaction."
"I
have been to the mine to assess the situation and I even visited the
injured
persons at hospital where they are admitted.
"I have also talked to the
police and the management at the mine regarding
the issue which we as a
ministry have decided to make a cabinet issue."
Mutsekwa said he not received
an explanation for the shooting. Augustine
Chihuri, the head of the police,
is a keen Zanu-PF supporter.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=23467
October 5, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
BULAWAYO - MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has urged
Zimbabweans to prepare
themselves for free and fair elections which he said
will be held in the
next two years.
Tsvangirai told his supporters
that the fresh elections would change the
lives of people.
Addressing
thousands of people at four 10th MDC Anniversary rallies in
Matebeleland
North over the weekend, Tsvangirai said the constitution-making
process
would bring in a free and democratic Zimbabwe.
"The new people-driven
constitution will do away with repressive laws such
as the AIPPA (Access to
Information and Public Protection Act) and POSA
(Public Order and Security
Act)," he said.
Tsvangirai held rallies at Manjolo Business Centre, Tinde
Business Centre in
Binga on Saturday, Sipepa Business Centre and Tsholotsho
Growth Point on
Sunday.
Thousands of people attended all the four
marathon rallies that marked the
celebration of MDC's 10 years since its
formation.
Tsvangirai also said he was happy that the people of Zimbabwe
had realised
that it was only the MDC that could bring real change to the
country.
"I am grateful that the people of Zimbabwe have realised that
the MDC is the
party that can bring real change.
"Ten years after the
formation of the party, we have moved from being an
opposition to the
majority party. We have moved from being leaders of the
opposition to
leaders of government," he said.
He also dispelled reports that the MDC
had been swallowed since it formed
the inclusive government with the
Zanu-PF.
"The MDC is not going to be swallowed by Zanu-PF because there
is no way
that a majority party can be swallowed by a minority party," he
said.
The MDC enjoys a slight majority in parliament after it defeated
Zanu-PF in
the March 2008 harmonised elections.
However, Tsvangirai
expressed concern that Zanu-PF was reluctant to reform.
"Zanu-PF does not
want to see progress and this is shown by the continued
disregard of the
rule of law and the refusal to resolve outstanding issues,"
he
said.
"However, despite these challenges, the past seven months have seen
incremental progress. There is stabilisation of the economy. Schools and
hospitals have reopened. It is our hope to increase liquidity on the
market."
He said the government would see to it that all farmers had
access to
agricultural inputs in order to increase food
production.
"This is only a transitional arrangement but it will give
food security to
the country. However, this programme will enable you to be
self sustainable
and bring the country to its former state as the
breadbasket of southern
Africa ," he said.
Tsvangirai was accompanied
by several senior MDC officials, who included,
the party's deputy national
organising secretary, Senator Morgen Komichi,
national youth chairman,
Thamsanqa Mahlangu, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo and
Minister Gorden
Moyo.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Clifford Nyathi
Monday 05 October 2009
BULAWAYO - Senior leaders of President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party in
Bulawayo province on Sunday nominated
chairman John Nkomo to takeover as
vice president of the party and Zimbabwe,
a key stepping stone to the top
job when and if Mugabe
retires.
Mugabe has two deputies in the party and in government but one
of the vice
presidents' slots has been vacant since the August death of
former vice
president a liberation struggle hero Joseph Msika.
Joice
Mujuru is the other vice president.
Members of the ZANU PF central
committee and politburo from Bulawayo
province who met in the country's
second largest city to discuss party
affairs meeting said it was proper that
Msika's post be filled up by a
member of the former ZAPU that merged with
Mugabe's party in 1987.
As ZANU PF national chairman, Nkomo is the most
senior of the former members
of ZAPU. But a scandal involving a man who has
alleged he was sodomised by
Nkomo had appeared to sully his image with
speculation he might be
overlooked for the vice presidency's job because of
the damaging allegations
that have however not been proved in
court.
ZANU PF politburo member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told reporters after
the Sunday
meeting: "We have resolved that John Nkomo takes over the vice
presidency.
It was decided that we get a person who had a national outlook
as ZAPU was
not a party for the people of Matabeleland only."
Ndlovu
said that the province would forward Nkomo's name to the ZANU PF
national
leadership within the next two weeks. He said Nkomo's proposed
elevation
would result in his current post of national chairman becoming
vacant and it
was expected that a former ZAPU cadre would be appointed
chairman.
"The leadership in Matabeleland will consult other
provinces on a suitable
candidate to fill the post that would have been
created by the departure to
assume a higher office by Nkomo," he
said.
While elevation to the vice-president's post would place Nkomo
closer to
Mugabe's job, analysts see him really as a dark horse in the race
to replace
the 85-year-old President who has not indicated when or whether
he intends
leaving power.
Analysts see Mujuru and powerful Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa as the
lead contenders for Mugabe's job. -
ZimOnline
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Monday 05
October 2009
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe will on Tuesday
officially open the second
session of the 7th Parliament of Zimbabwe, where
he is expected to highlight
the performance of the inclusive
government.
The official opening of the House of Assembly comes a week
later than
initially scheduled because Mugabe was not in the country last
week, as he
was attending a summit of African and South American heads of
state in
Venezuela.
Last year's opening was marred by unprecedented
jeering and heckling of
Mugabe by Movement for Democratic Change legislators
while he was reading
his speech.
Critics said the heckling by the MDC
parliamentarians, drowning large parts
of Mugabe's speech to the new
Parliament showed the extent of loathing
between Zimbabwe's two biggest
political parties following controversial
elections last year.
Mugabe
and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing
government in
February and pledged to work together to revive the economy
that had been in
decline for the past decade.
Tsvangirai is expected to attend the opening
of Parliament, according to his
spokesman James Maridadi.
During
tomorrow's speech, Mugabe is expected to address the issue of the
performance of the inclusive government and also highlight its
challenges.
He is also expected to dwell on the issue of the state of
preparedness for
the forthcoming agricultural season.
Parliament has
210 members of which Mugabe's ZANU PF party has 99,
Tsvangirai's MDC faction
has 100, a smaller faction of the MDC led by Arthur
Mutambara has 10, while
there is one independent candidate. - ZimOnline
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
05 October
2009
At least 26 families living on Foothills farm near Bindura are
facing
imminent eviction, after a ruling last Friday that is feared to have
been
swayed by ZANU PF interference.
In a highly controversial move,
magistrate Chakanyuka on Friday ruled in
favor of the eviction of the
families, who are being kicked off the land by
Ruston Ngandu. Ngandu, who
has argued that he was given the Foothills farm
land as part of the
government's land resettlement scheme. He alleges that
the families are
disrupting activities on the farm. But lawyers
representing the families
said in their argument that Foothills farm was not
part of the resettlement
scheme and it is meant to be a township with space
for a school, clinic and
commercial ground for shops. The defense further
argued that Ngandu did not
produce any legal documents in the form of title
deeds or valid offer letter
to prove that the area in question was allocated
to him by the
government.
Rights groups, Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHR
Zimbabwe), on
Monday said the ruling has been met with shock and
disapproval, saying in a
statement that "it has been slammed as lacking
merit and biased even under
the scrutiny of a layman's eye."
The group
explained that an eye witness reported that magistrate Chakanyuka
was seen
the night before the court ruling at a local hotel in Bindura, in
the
company of officials linked to the planned evictions of other families
in
the area. This included the former mayor of Bindura Webster Bepura, who
is
reportedly also planning to evict at least 50 families in the area. The
eyewitness reported that Chakanyuka was also in the company of notorious war
veteran Comrade Sato, Mashonaland Central governor advocate Martin Dina and
Acting Area Public Prosecutor Mr. Gini. ROHR said the meeting has raised
fears that the ruling to evict the 26 families was a result of interference
on the bench by supporters of ZANU PF
Commenting on the outcome, ROHR
Zimbabwe's secretary general, Tichanzii
Ganganda, said the court ruling was
a smack in the face of justice and it
represents the manipulation of the law
by those with influence denying a
fair trial to vulnerable citizens.
Magistrate Chakanyuka meanwhile is set to
decide on the fate of another 50
families facing eviction from Carse farm,
under similar circumstances.
http://af.reuters.com
Mon Oct 5, 2009 5:51pm
GMT
By Nelson Banya
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank
governor warned on Monday that
the country faces a disastrous agricultural
season due to poor preparations
and inadequate funding for inputs, raising
prospects of more grain imports.
The southern African country, a former
regional food exporter, has struggled
to feed itself since 2000 when
President Robert Mugabe embarked on a drive
to seize farms from whites to
resettle landless blacks.
A unity government formed by Mugabe and
long-term rival, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, has managed to stabilise
Zimbabwe's economy, which is
expected to grow for the first time in over a
decade on the back of
agricultural recovery.
But central bank
Governor Gideon Gono has warned that the failure to fund
agriculture
threatens the country's food security.
"I called the Minister of
Agriculture ... and told him that if he is not
careful, he will lead this
country to hunger," Gono told a media briefing.
"There is no meaningful
land preparation going on, because there is no money
for fuel and spares.
Our appetite for imports is surprising."
The government has projected the
next harvest to top 2.5 million tonnes of
the staple maize, more than double
last year's output, although farmers'
unions have cast doubt on the
forecast, citing input shortages and poor
preparations.
Gono said a
government facility would only provide fertilizer and seed, but
not fuel and
cash loans for working capital.
He added that many farmers, mostly those
recently resettled, were failing to
get the inputs due to lack of collateral
security demanded by banks
financing the scheme.
"We are all
witnesses to the disaster of the last winter wheat crop, where
only 10
percent was grown. A repeat of that could be catastrophic," he said.
Gono
has suggested that part of a recent $510 million IMF loan be injected
into
agriculture.
Gono, a Mugabe ally whose reappointment last year is being
contested by
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, has
been locked in
a battle for control of the country's finances with Finance
Minister Tendai
Biti, an MDC official.
Biti and Gono have had a
series of clashes, including over the
reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar
-- dumped earlier this year in favour
of multiple foreign currencies -- and
more recently over the use of the IMF
loan.
"The current delay in
utilising the IMF loan is needlessly delaying the
recovery of the economy.
This can constrain further resource mobilisation,"
Gono said.
"It
will not do, going around with a begging bowl. We should not substitute
our
own direct efforts for reliance on NGOs."
Donor groups say they have
raised $74 million for 685,000 households
expected to produce 450,000 tonnes
of the staple maize in the 2009/10
season, about a quarter of the country's
annual consumption requirements.
http://www.businessday.co.za/
FOREIGN STAFF Published:
2009/10/05 06:38:40 AM
A GROUP of German investors who undertook a
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe
last week said on Saturday they were
sceptical of the situation in the
country.
"There are questions
that remain open. These questions relate to law and
order," German
businessman Andreas Wenzel said in Harare.
A decade ago, Zimbabwe was
Germany's second-biggest trading partner in the
region.
Wenzel
and other members of the group, representing about 24 companies from
various
business sectors, said that despite its problems, Zimbabwe offered
potential
for investment.
The country's newly formed unity government has set
out to restore democracy
and has appealed for foreign
investment.
Separately, global food leader Nestlè's Zimbabwean unit
has stopped buying
milk from a farm owned by President Robert Mugabe's wife
that was seized
under his controversial land
reforms.
Nestlè 's decision to pull out of the deal
came after international media
coverage of some milk purchases put the
company under the spotlight.
Nestlè said its Zimbabwe unit had
started buying the milk on a temporary
basis in February from Gushungo Dairy
Estate because a local privatised
marketing firm which dominates the milk
industry was unable to make
purchases during an economic
crisis.
"This helped prevent a further deterioration in food supplies
in Zimbabwe at
that time," said the company of its decision to purchase milk
from eight
farms, including one owned by Mugabe's wife .
Mugabe's
seizure of white commercial farms for blacks has drawn heavy
criticism from
western countries, which say aid will not flow to help
Zimbabwe's economic
recovery until the land grabs stop . Sapa-DPA, Reuters
http://en.afrik.com/article16244.html
Ministers
incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts on accommodation
Monday 5
October 2009 / by Alice Chimora
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's continued use of his simple
Strathaven home as his official
residency seven months after his appointment
has been explained: President
Mugabe still keeps his personal belongings at
Zimbabwe House...
Zimbabwe
House was traditionally the home of prime ministers when Zimbabwe
was still
a British colony and a few years after Independence in 1980.
Mugabe, who
became the prime minister in 1980, also used Zimbabwe House as
his official
residence.
Sources at Tsvangirai's office say Mugabe has openly told
Tsvangirai why he
can not move in. sources claim "Mugabe said he still keeps
his personal
belongings at Zimbabwe House as he is still looking for better
storage
place. So Tsvangirai can not move in and that's the official
explanation..."
Also Tsvangirai was told that the drainage system is not
working and
extensive repairs are needed.
However, Mugabe's reasons
have been dismissed as being "flimsy" and shows
that he does not want
Tsvangirai as his neighbor. However, the issue of the
Prime Minister's
residence is said to be just a tip of the iceberg as
several former Zanu PF
ministers are refusing to vacate government houses in
leafy Borrowdale and
Gunhill suburbs to pave way for new MDC ministers.
This has led to the
financial crippled government to accumulate exorbitant
hotel bills as it
struggles to secure accommodation for new ministers from
outside the
capital, Harare.
Tsvangirai is not the only new member of the inclusive
government affected
by an accommodation crisis. Speaker of Parliament and
senior member of
Tsvangira's MDC Lovemore Moyo spent a year booking into the
elegant
world-famous executive suites of the Meikles Hotel in
Harare.
The reason is Parliament said it failed to secure "suitable"
accommodation
for him in the capital city. Parliament says it forked out a
total of $6 000
a month for the comfort of Moyo, whose own home is in the
second city of
Bulawayo-450 kilometers out of Harare.
He only checked
out at the beginning of September after Parliament secured a
house for him
at a rental of US$1 800 per month, a saving of $4 200 of his
monthly bill at
the Meikles.
Several minister such as State Enterprises Minister Joel
Gabbuza, Deputy
Youth Minister Thamsanqa Mahlangu and co-Home Affairs
Minister Giles
Mutsekwa had incurred a debt of US$39 895 at the Crowne
Plazza hotel because
they cannot get alternative accommodation.
The
government houses were built for the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (Chogm) in 1991 and are being used by ministers coming from out of
Harare.
http://www.sabcnews.com
October
05 2009 , 4:16:00
Deputy Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba,
says plans are at an
advanced stage to issue Zimbabweans, who have entered
South Africa to seek
political asylum and employment, with a "special
dispensation" permit.
The permit will give them the right to stay
in South Africa for six
months, the right to schooling or education, and the
right to work and
access basic health care. Gigaba was speaking at the
launch of the regional
2009 UN Human Development Report in Johannesburg
today, which focuses on
Human Mobility and development.
The
regional 2009 Human Development Report recognises that South
Africa is still
a destination of choice for African migrants, especially
those from the
sub-Saharan region. The influx of immigrants, especially from
Zimbabwe, has,
however, raised concerns about an increase in crime and
higher levels of
unemployment in the country.
Gigaba says government has introduced
a package of policies and
interventions to assist in managing not only
domestic affairs but migration
as well. This also includes the special
dispensation for Zimbabwean
nationals, a process which is yet to be
finalised. The deputy minister says
the migration patterns between the two
countries would never be stopped, and
all authorities need to do is
encourage regular movement through the ports
of entry to ensure the safety
and security of the travellers.
Biometric data registration of
migrants
Other policy interventions also include the biometric data
registration of migrants. The new project will take effect during the 2010
Soccer World Cup and then be rolled out to all areas of Home Affairs. Gigaba
says the process is crucial as it will also assist with the process to
de-mystify concepts around those who are involved in crime.
On
the home front government also wants a complete database of all
South
Africans. Many do not have birth certificates and this compromises the
Identification Document process. Gigaba says from now on, government wants
all new born babies to be registered shortly after birth. He says the
departments of Home Affairs and Health are co-operating to increase
connectivity at hospitals and clinics.
The UN report states
that migration can bring large gains for human
development, as the migrants
can boost economic output and generate other
gains at little or no cost to
locals. Gigaba says migrants could be very
useful in helping South Africa
with its skills shortage. The Human
Development Report, however, points to
the fact that many restrictions and
inequalities prevent Africans from
moving.
Policies at home, along the way and at destinations all
constrain
human mobility and reduce its potential to enhance human
development. One of
the presenters of the UNDP report, Dr Tegenewok Gettu,
says governments must
simplify and liberalise current policies around
migration. Gigaba says
government is consulting on a regular basis with
research companies, UN
agencies and international organizations on how best
to implement the
envisaged amendments to current policy.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
Oct 4, 2009 11:40 PM | By Moses
Mudzwiti
Zimbabwe's banks have resisted pressure to lend recklessly,
insisting
instead that farmers requiring loans will have to provide
collateral like
everyone else.
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF have
been lobbying banks to accept
"offer letters", which "authorise" the holder
to forcibly take over a farm,
as collateral.
However, at the weekend the
Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe reiterated that
banks require "asset-based
security".
Dr John Mangudya, the association's president said: "Offer
letters are
acceptable forms of entitlement to the land, but cannot be used
as
collateral security."
About 4000 commercial farms have been taken
over under Mugabe's land reform
programme. The few remaining white farmers
are on the verge of losing their
farms to a new wave of land grabs.
A
recent report by the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of
Zimbabwe estimated that 350000 black farm workers had been displaced by the
redistribution of farms since 2000.
The precarious food security
situation in Zimbabwe has prompted Mugabe to
order his government to bail
out the new farmers.
However, the government has no money and the banks
won't bend.
"Loans will be approved on asset-based security; that is, any
form of
security the farmers have," Mangudya said.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, October 05, 2009 - Crusading human
rights campaigner Jestina
Mukoko has finally regained her passport back
following her acquittal on
charges of plotting to unseat President Robert
Mugabe's government.
Mukoko surrendered her
passport together with title deeds and
parted with US$600 as part of her
bail conditions when she was released from
prison early this year following
her abduction by state security agents.
But the
Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) executive director got her
passport and title
deeds back last week after her lawyer Harrison Nkomo
petitioned the Attorney
General (AG)'s Office to release the passport, the
title deeds and the bail
money.
However, court officials did not give Mukoko
back her bail
money. Nkomo said the clerk of court at the Harare Magistrates
Court where
the bail money was deposited did not give any satisfactory
reasons for
holding onto the bail money.
The
Supreme Court last week stopped the prosecution of the
former Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) after ruling that the
abduction and torture
she was subjected to violated her constitutional
rights.
Mukoko, whose organization has been
documenting rights
violations for the past decade was abducted from her
Norton home last
December by state security agents who held her
incommunicado for three weeks
together with two ZPP employees.
http://www.radiovop.com
Triangle, October 05, 2009 - Vice
President Joice Mujuru left more
than 400 delegates stranded for two days in
Triangle when they failed to
secure transport to go back to their respective
rural homes.
When RadioVOP arrived at Triangle late
Sunday, both men and women who
were bused from areas such as Chivi, Mwenezi,
Checheche and Zaka to attend a
conference for South Eastern Growers
Association (SEGA) in Gibbo Stadium
complained that they were never told
that they were not going to be taken
back home.
"We
came here on Friday to attend the conference. We were taken by our
Members
of Parliament from our respective constituencies who said VP Mujuru
promised
to sponsor for our transport to and from the conference
venue.
"However, soon after the conference on Saturday
evening, there was no
one to help us. I do not know when I will go home but
the situation is bad
because we are begging for free transport to
well-wishers here," said
Stephen Mangirazi from
Rutenga.
MP for Mwenezi East constituency Kudakwashe
Bhasikiti said there was
nothing he could have done to assist stranded
villagers since he had
'already exhausted all the resources' for the
event.
"Look, I am not a magician because I already played
my part. I did a
lot of things to assist people both from my area and
beyond. They just have
to understand that I have already exhausted all my
resources. It is me who
was feeding them from my pocket. I can not continue
pumping out money, I am
a politician not a miracle performer," said
Bhasikiti.
RadioVOP was informed that some None
Governmental Organizations which
had pledged to ferry people and look after
their welfare during and after
the conference backtracked after discovering
that a conference which was
supposed to be purely for agriculture
development had turned to be a
political rally.
"There
were organizations which had promised to do everything but soon
after
discovering that the organizers had turned the event to become a Zanu
PF
rally, they ditched their pledge," said a highly placed source in Zanu
PF.
The national coordinator of the SEGA who is Zanu PF
politburo member
Dzikamai Mavhaire denied that some people were stranded
preferring to say
they were delayed.
"No one is
stranded there. We know the situation, they are just
delayed due to some
logistical problems, go there tomorrow and you will find
no one," said
Mavhaire.
A two day's conference which was supposed to see
farmers exchanging
notes about how to grow different crops in their areas
turned to be a purely
Zanu PF rally.
VP Mujuru was
elected patron of the organization last year.
http://www.gov.bw
05 October, 2009
FRANCISTOWN - Botswana will, by June next year,
get some of its electricity
supply from Zimbabwe.
This follows a meeting
in Francistown on Friday between the Minister of
Minerals, Energy and Water
Resources (MEWR), Mr Ponatshego Kedikilwe and his
Zimbabwean counterpart Mr
Engineer Mudzuri.
The meeting resolved that short term measures be
progressed to restore
optimal generation capacity of Bulawayo power station
by June 2010 and to
enhance transmission capacity at the Zimbabwe power
grid.
Permanent Secretary in MEWR, Mr Gabaake Gabaake said in an
interview that
the inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will
be signed by
November this year to pave way for the rehabilitation of the
Bulawayo power
station through the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and the
Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).
Mr Gabaake said the
shortage of power experienced in the country, which he
said will be worse in
the next two years, has made them come up with
measures to counter
it.
He said next year, South Africa will reduce its power supply to
Botswana by
100 megawatts, adding that the electricity supply from outside
and Morupule
is able to meet the demand leaving no room for reserve
electricity.
He said they have signed an agreement for a 70 megawatts
rented power from
Matsiloje as a way of addressing the problem.
The
permanent secretary also said they have an agreement with Debswana for
the
pump station in Orapa to supply 90 megawatts of power.
However, Mr
Gabaake said the two projects are expensive.
He said they had to come up
with strategies to mitigate costs while at the
same time giving electricity
to Batswana. The rehabilitation of Bulawayo
power station, he said, was
cheaper and affordable than the Matsiloje and
Orapa projects.
Mr
Gabaake said from the 90 megawatts produced by the power station,
Botswana
will get about 40 megawatts for a period of three years, saying
Zimbabwe
also has the problem of power shortage.
He said the Bulawayo power
station ceased operations last year, saying the
advantage is that it has not
lost its employees.
Mr Gabaake hailed the meeting saying the two parties
have agreed to assist
each other.
He said the two ministers
reaffirmed their commitment to promote integration
in the energy sector in
their two countries.
The ministers, according to the permanent secretary,
have also agreed to
meet often to evaluate progress made. He said all
details will be in the MoU
to be signed by the end of next month.
The
ministers meeting was a follow up to their previous meetings in
Mozambique
in April at which the ministers directed their two national power
utilities
to develop short term intervention measures to address the power
supply and
demand mismatch, which if not adequately addressed will stifle
social and
economic development in the sister countries.
Subsequent to their
meeting, President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama and
Zimbabwean Prime
Minister, Mr Morgan Tsvangarai asked the ministers to
expeditiously address
the issues relating to power supply between Botswana
and
Zimbabwe.
The ministers then directed the two utilities responsible for
power supply
in the two countries to work together to restore power
generation at the
Bulawayo power station and to address transmission
constraints in the
Zimbabwe power grid so as to facilitate increased power
transfers through
Zimbabwe. BOPA
http://www.africanews.com
Posted on Monday 5 October 2009 -
13:30
Charles Rukuni, AfricaNews reporter in Zimbabwe
A
Dutch company, a state-owned bank and development agencies from at least
five European countries have been flouting European Union sanctions if it is
illegal for European companies and organisations to do business with
President Robert Mugabe's lieutenants who are on the EU sanctions
list.
The issue of EU sanctions was brought to the forefront following
revelations that Swiss food giant, Nestle, was buying milk from Gushungo
Dairy Estate, a farm owned by Mugabe and his wife Grace. Nestle said it
would stop buying milk from Mugabe on Sunday.
A Swedish company,
DeLaval, was also put under the spotlight for selling
dairy equipment to
Mugabe. A company spokesman regretted that the
transaction had been allowed
to go through when it should never have been.
The European Union
imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his
lieutenants in 2002. The United
States did the same thing with its sanctions
becoming effective
2003.
According to Britain's Daily Telegraph "the sanctions forbid
direct or
indirect funds or economic resources" being given to persons on
the
sanctions list but a Netherlands based company has been assisting
several
companies that have listed persons among their directors.
African Management Services Company (AMSCO) which is registered in the
Netherlands but moved its operational headquarters to Johannesburg has been
assisting River Ranch Diamond Mine where former Zimbabwean army commander
Solomon Mujuru has a stake as well as Innscor Corporation where Ray Kaukonde
is a shareholder and chairman of some subsidiaries.
Both Mujuru and
Kaukonde are on the EU and US sanctions lists.
AMSCO is a joint venture
of the International Finance Corporation, the
commercial arm of the World
Bank, and the United Nations Development
Programme.
Its shareholders
include Agence Francaise de Development, the main
operator for the French
Official Development Assistance; Banco BPI, a
Portuguese financial group;
FMO, the Netherlands Development Finance
Company; FINNFUND, the Finnish Fund
for Industrial Cooperation; IFU, the
Danish Industrial Fund for Developing
Countries; and Norfund, the Norwegian
Investment Fund for Developing
Countries.
AMSCO also says its donors include Denmark, Finland,
Ireland, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom.
Its bankers are reported to be ABN-AMRO, a Dutch bank
in which the state
has a stake. Companies that are assisted by AMSCO pay for
its services
through ABN-AMRO in the Netherlands. AMSCO still maintains an
office in the
Netherlands where its company secretary is based.
ABN-AMRO has not responded to several inquiries about its relationship
with
AMSCO and whether it was getting any funds from River Ranch or its
sister
companies. AMSCO and River Ranch have refused to discuss the
financial
aspects of their relationship saying this is confidential.
AMSCO
assisted River Ranch by seconding five managers in November 2004 to
help
revive the diamond mining company which had been closed for nearly four
years but it terminated its contract in July 2007 following allegations that
the mine was smuggling diamonds out of the country because it was not
allowed to sell them on the open market because of an ownership
dispute.
It was also assisting Shearwater, a subsidiary of Innscor
Corporation, and
Innscor itself and all Innscor subsidiaries outside
Zimbabwe.
It is not clear whether the company is still assisting
Innscor as its
website and annual report no longer list companies that it
assists.
AMSCO does not offer any financial assistance but it is
instead paid for
its services. However, companies that it assists enjoy
tremendous benefits
including tax concessions and duty exemptions which is
why even
foreign -funded companies find it attractive.
Mujuru and
his business partner, Saudi Arabian billionaire Adel Aujan who
is the
majority shareholder, took over River Ranch through a boardroom coup
in
April 2004 almost similar to the way Mugabe grabbed the dairy farm by
kicking out the previous owners, Bubye Minerals, which was owned by a white
couple Michael and Adele Farquhar.
AMSCO seconded five managers to
revive the mine six months later.
Bubye complained about AMSCO's bailout to
the European Union and then
United States secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice but never got a response.
HARARE, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - Despite moves to
salvage Zimbabwe's ailing education sector, exorbitant fees are keeping many
poor students from writing the examinations that will allow them to gain a
school-leaving certificate at the end of 2009.
Photo:
UNICEF
Even the
most basic teaching materials such as text books are often beyond
reach
A recent survey by the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) revealed that up to 75 percent of
the 300,000 children who could sit their Ordinary Level and Advanced Level
examinations in November had failed to register before the deadline.
PTUZ president Raymond Majongwe said exams had to be written in eight
O-Level subjects at a fee of US$10 per subject, and in six A-Level subjects at a
fee of US$15 each, which was simply beyond the means of most parents or
guardians.
"The situation is terrible. Students learning in rural areas
and on farm schools are the worst affected, with those coming from poor suburbs
in urban areas accounting for a substantial amount of the victims," Majongwe
told IRIN.
The number of students who could not afford to write their
examinations this year was "the highest in the history of the country" said a
PTUZ statement.
Hyperinflation, widespread food shortages, cholera
outbreaks and an almost year-long strike by teachers in 2008 led to the near
total collapse of an education system already undermined by the economic and
political crises besetting the country. The standard of learning has declined
dramatically.
"We seem to be going back to the pre-colonial era, when
education was a privilege of the rich elite - the poor are slowly being edged
out, even though the goal should be to provide universal education," Majongwe
said.
No extension
The minister of education
and sport, David Coltart, said there would be no extension of the 25 September
deadline for registering to write the exams because it would delay the existing
timetable and affect the printing of question papers.
The poor are slowly being edged
out, even though the goal should be to provide universal education
"I am deeply
concerned because children have been denied the chance to sit for their final
examinations after working hard for probably four or five years," Coltart was
quoted as saying by The Herald, an official newspaper.
Majongwe urged
the government to allow all students to sit the examinations, "and then give
them time to pay up, failure of which [would mean] their results should be
withheld".
A sign of deeper trouble
Public
servants, including teachers, have been paid in foreign currency as a hedge
against hyperinflation since the formation of the unity government in February
2009, which has brought back some stability to schooling, but there are still
mountainous problems to be overcome.
"Zimbabwe's education sector, once
a model in Africa, continues to be riddled with challenges. Public financing of
the sector declined significantly over the last decade, leaving most schools
with no funds to purchase even the most basic teaching materials such as text
books and stationery," said a recent statement by the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF).
It is not uncommon for 10 pupils to share a text book, and
despite the government's move to drastically slash school fees in February 2009,
deepening poverty has meant that even the reduced cost of attending government
schools in some areas had put education beyond the reach of thousands of
children.
More and more have been dropping out: "Almost 50 percent of
Zimbabwe's children graduating from primary school were not proceeding to
secondary school," the UNICEF statement noted.
A school principal in
Chitungwiza, a town about 30km south of Harare, the capital, told IRIN that 80
percent of the more than 1,000 students at his school had not paid fees since
January.
"Of the hundred or so students who have paid to write their
O-Level examinations, only 16 have registered for five subjects and above. Worse
still, I don't have any reason to believe that things will change for the better
next year if the economy does not improve dramatically."
Majongwe said
although it was unlikely, he still hoped that part of the US$70 million Education Transition Fund unveiled by the government,
UNICEF and the international donor community in mid-September would be used to
rescue the stranded students.
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/
5th
Oct 2009 17:50 GMT
By a
Correspondent
ROHR Zimbabwe wishes to express its disappointment
towards the hurried
fraudulent imposition of incapacitated media boards to
run the state
controlled media bodies and corporations.
More
concerning is the inclusion of eight ex military officials with no
traceable
media credentials and Tafataona Mahoso, responsible for the
shutting down of
independent media under Media Information Commission (MIC).
It raises
high suspicions of a sinister plot by the minister responsible for
media to
field stooges that are loyal to Zanu PF regardless of other
fundamental
issues to be taken into consideration for the establishment of
vibrant
independent media with full consultation of media stakeholders.
One
Tafataona Mahoso is credited for shutting down The Daily News, Daily
News on
Sunday, The Tribune, Capital Radio under the auspices of Jonathan
Moyo in
attempts to silence critics against Zanu PF and Mugabe His
appointment as
chairman of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) is
not only an
affront to the people's right to freedom of expression but it
sends wrong
signals to the international community at a time when efforts
are being made
to ensure Zimbabwe is restored back to the family of foreign
allies for the
benefit of the people.
Mohoso stands for an era of oppressive media
legislation like POSA and
AIPPA, hate language, vitriol propaganda that
seeks to vilify voices deemed
critical to the powers that be, something
contrary to the desired reforms
that are detrimental in transforming the
state media into embracing plural
voices and promoting diversity and
independence from the era of
totalitarianism and misgovernance that
characterized the previous decades.
It is shocking that whilst efforts
are being made to transform the nation
into a democratic society that
respects the will of the people, we still
have self centered people in
government that are bent on pulling the country
back into a one party state
where they make unilateral decisions to appease
non but their narrow
partisan ego.
Unfortunate as it may be, that minister Shamu is still
delusional about how
events have shifted since March 29 when the majority of
Zimbabweans voiced
that they no longer have confidence in entrusting Zanu PF
and its
octogenarian leader to govern.
The unprocedural appointment
of a militarized media board by Webster Shamu
is a sign that ZANU Pf is not
serious about reforming the state institutions
to match acceptable regional
and International standards that govern a
democratic society as guided by
the Windhoek Declaration of 1991, African
Charter on Broadcasting and the
Banjul Declaration of Principles on Freedom
of Expression in
Africa.
ZANU Pf should respect the people of Zimbabwe and desist from
using state
institutions as ground for rewarding their loyal subjects in
their party,
worse still when those appointed on patronage are not competent
enough and
lack the relevant expertise to hold the respective public
offices.
Appointments to state institutions should strictly follow
transparent
procedures based on merit not party patronage.
It is the
nation's prerogative through collective active responses to
denounce any
advances aimed at politics of patronage at the expense of the
nation as a
body. For too long Zimbabweans have tolerated abuse of state
offices by
individuals who forget that both in their personal and
representative
capacity they are appointed to serve the people.
More so, the MDC as
partners in the coalition government will be damned to
perpetuity if they
stand in the sidelines and watch their counterparts from
the Zanu PF party
smothering efforts of transforming the country into a
democratic
society.
For Peace, Justice and Freedom
www.rohrzimbabwe.org
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by
Mutumwa Mawere Monday 05 October 2009
OPINION: On Monday,
September 28 2009, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe
confirmed what many with
the exception of a few in Zimbabwe have come to
accept - that the state has
been transformed into an instrument of injustice
and
intimidation.
The court ordered a permanent stay in Jestina Mukoko's
prosecution. This no
doubt brought to a partial end her ordeal that began on
December 3 2008 when
her freedom was temporarily taken away by the state
without any involvement
of the courts on allegations of
terrorism.
Only a few believed she was so dangerous to the state
warranting the kind of
action that was taken. She was taken at daybreak by
armed state actors who
held her in secret locations where she was tortured
in an attempt to force
her to confirm that she was a danger to
society.
Her persecutors knew as they have done before that the framing
of her
alleged misdeeds had to fit into what they believe their principal,
President Robert Mugabe, needs or needed to hear.
All that is and was
required is to frame one as an economic or political
saboteur to justify the
renting of the state machinery to deprive one of
freedom or rights enshrined
in the constitution.
As expected, Mukoko was accused of being involved in
a plot to topple Mugabe
and such an allegation need not be investigated in
contemporary Zimbabwe
before the accused is arrested.
More
importantly, such allegations need not be tested before an independent
tribunal as required under the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
She is one
in many who have faced similar accusations. In fact, Deputy
Agriculture
Minister (designate) Roy Bennett faces similar allegations and
notwithstanding the ruling of the Supreme Court, it is unlikely that the
state, albeit in the framework of an inclusive government, will be persuaded
to change its way of doing business.
When, for example, James Makamba
was accused of externalisation, the laws
were changed to deal with his
unique circumstances where the state rushed to
arrest him before even
completing investigations.
Under the new law passed using state of
emergency powers, popularly known as
Makamba law, the state could detain
suspects for extended periods without
charging them before a court of
law.
Makamba, Muderedi, Kuruneri and others were kept on remand for more
than 48
hours as is normal in democratic societies.
In order justify
the temporary deprivation of freedom, in the case of
Makamba, the state had
to reconstruct normal exchange control violations
into serious economic
crimes.
This was evidently necessary to convince not only Mugabe that
Zimbabwe's
crisis was a direct consequence of the indiscipline and alleged
corruption
in the private sector.
As a result, all that was required
was to point a finger at a suspect and
then the state machinery could be
used to demonstrate that draconian and
unorthodox measures were what the
country needed to lift itself up.
The Prevention of Corruption Act was
accordingly amended to achieve that
which was not intended by the
constitution.
The state could and can use this instrument to deprive
temporarily and even
permanently the rights, title, and interest of citizens
to property let
alone freedom.
Once a person has been identified by
the state with no assistance of the
judiciary as culpable, the state has
given its actors powers that can only
be valid and enforced in an
undemocratic constitutional order.
Mukoko like many before her had to
endure at a high emotional, physical and
financial cost until the highest
court in the land had to pronounce its
opinion on a case that never
was.
The mere fact that the executive branch of the state felt confident
that
their actions were justified must be a cause for concern.
No
lower court could see through this abuse let alone the Attorney General's
office. To the extent that state actors enthusiastically prosecuted Mukoko
using illegal methods to extract confessions, one can safely conclude that
the system has been sufficiently compromised to accept and condone state
abuse of citizens in the name of protecting misplaced sense of
sovereignty.
The lower courts could not come to the assistance of Mukoko
as they have
failed to do so in other cases of human rights
abuses.
What does this say about the health of Zimbabwe's constitutional
democracy?
It would be naïve for one to conclude that the end is near
just because of
the ruling. Nothing can be done to restore Mukoko to the
position that she
was in on the morning of December 3 2008.
To the
extent that her freedom was temporarily taken away as a consequence
of an
act of state, who should make good on the injury to Mukoko?
One would
have expected the President to take action to restore the
confidence of
citizens in the state. Appointing a commission of inquiry to
look at all
cases of state abuses could be a good starting point. I do not
believe that
the judiciary is sufficiently equipped to handle these kinds of
cases that
clearly involve political meddling.
The complicity of the lower courts in
giving life to the kind of abuse that
has become customary in contemporary
Zimbabwe should also be an area that
needs investigations because it should
not be acceptable for one to be
exposed to the treatment that Mukoko and
others have been subjected to in
the name of protecting national interest
and sovereignty.
Makamba like Kuruneri languished in remand prison until
the courts acquitted
them. The journey to freedom was long and tortuous.
Bennett is in the same
journey as are many.
At least Mukoko's journey
has been completed but the scars will remain
forever and no doubt legitimate
questions would need to be answered for her
to get some closure to this. Who
was behind this? How far up the state
ladder was this action conceived and
prosecuted?
It may very well be the case that Mugabe is not fully in
control of the
state suggesting that there may be a few in the system who
know what their
boss wants to hear.
After 29 years in power, Mugabe
is yet to be convinced that he has acted
improperly let alone that the state
has failed its citizens. He has as would
be expected after that length of
stay in office been transformed into a
prisoner.
There is no doubt
that Mugabe was told that the MDC was up to mischief and
the temporary stay
by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after the elections
in Botswana was
aimed at consolidating a regime change strategy and plan.
Notwithstanding
the inclusive government, Mugabe has been convinced that
Zimbabwe is just
too important to the West hence the media coverage and the
regime change
allegations is just too real.
Informed by this mindset, the reality of
such an agenda can only be
confirmed by arresting human rights activists
just like specifying John
Moxon and his companies is meant to prove that
Zimbabwe's economic crisis is
a result of greed and actions of unpatriotic
citizens.
It has become customary to blame Mugabe for all that has gone
wrong in
Zimbabwe in as much as he has adopted a worldview that says
Zimbabwe is a
genuine target for regime change.
One can only imagine
the kind of life Mugabe is subjected to. He is and has
been guarded 7/24 for
the last 29 years and can only see and hear what his
handlers want him to
see and hear.
He may very well not know who is Mukoko in as much as he
may be ignorant of
the precise facts of the KMAL saga. More importantly,
with enemies of the
state like Mukoko, for example, he would have to answer
to his supporters
whether Zimbabwe would be safe is he were to step
down.
Clearly with the mushrooming number of enemies of the state that
the system
has been able to manufacture and generate, the prospect of Mugabe
considering retiring is remote explaining why Jonathan Moyo may be back in
control of the expected election campaign by Mugabe.
For the country
to move forward, everyone needs a reality check. Mukoko
provides a
convenient departure point for people to reflect on the kind of
society that
they want to see. Surely, a society that treats people in the
same manner
Mukoko has been treated is not only unacceptable but is
inconsistent with a
post-colonial democratic constitutional order.
We already know that state
actors violated Mukoko's constitutional rights
and the buck must surely stop
somewhere. Who should be ultimately be held
responsible for this
absurdity?
There is no doubt that the perpetrators of this abuse will
maintain that
they were acting under instructions from above and in any
event were acting
in the interests of the Republic.
What was the
President told about Mukoko? Is it not time for the Prime
Minister to chip
in at the Council of Ministers level and ask the awkward
and inconvenient
questions? Is it also not appropriate for the President to
take
responsibility by appointing a commission of inquiry to establish what
is
going on in the state system?
One would have expected the state to
respond to the Supreme Court judgment
with positive actions. The corrosive
effect of non-response on the integrity
of the state cannot be understated.
If Mukoko and others can be subjected to
abuse by the state, then who is
safe?
There are many who have similar stories to tell about the state and
its
toxic impact on Zimbabwe's progress.
A transparent and credible
tribunal must urgently be set up as the three
Ministers appointed to deal
with national reconciliation and healing appear
to be missing in
action.
One would have expected them to be at the forefront of the
Mukoko/Bennett/Moxon and other cases that are still pending before the
courts when it is common cause that such cases would not exist in a
democracy.
Should all citizens now turn to the Supreme Court as a
court of first
instance? Clearly the lower courts have consistently not been
able to tell
the executive to obey the law and act accordingly.
The
inclusive government appears to have fallen into the trap that Mugabe
has
been condemned to of believing that the state can do no wrong. -
ZimOnline
Source: Institute of Development Studies
(IDS) Date: 05 Oct 2009 The Global Political Agreement one year on One year on from the signing of the Global Political Agreement, which forms
the basis of Zimbabwe's cross-party inclusive government formed in February this
year, the country's slow rehabilitation continues. It has not been easy or
straightforward. But many signs are good: hyperinflation has been eliminated by
the introduction of the US dollar and the South African rand, and the economy is
starting to function again. On the political front, wrangles within the
inclusive government continue, but progressive factions on all sides realise
that the only option is to make the current settlement work, despite the
compromises it entails. (See 'Zimbabwe
on the Move', a commentary on Zimbabwe's progress.) A key issue remains the
question of land, and the challenge of revitalising agriculture and securing
rural livelihoods. Land reform 'success' and 'viability' in Zimbabwe Over the last four years, IDS researchers have been collaborating with
partners in Zimbabwe to examine the experiences of land reform across three
countries - Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia - and exploring contrasting
notions of 'success' and 'viability'
in land reform efforts. The research programme,
Livelihoods After Land Reform asks the very basic question: what happens to
people's livelihoods when they get new land? The answers are varied and complex.
The research team
recently met in Masvingo, Zimbabwe to review the results and to debate their
implications for the politics of land in southern Africa. The debate explored
the likelihood of land reform in the future and highlighted lessons from
Zimbabwe's experience for Namibia and South Africa. Myths and realities in Zimbabwe's land reform The findings of the Zimbabwe research challenge a number of myths
about land reform. These myths are repeated regularly in the international
media and are reflected in much academic commentary. While no-one denies the
problems resulting from the post 2000 land reform - and there are many,
particularly in the highly capitalised farming areas of the Highveld near Harare
- the more positive stories are often not told. The Zimbabwe research provides a counter to the dominant storyline. Detailed
studies across 16 sites in Masvingo province show, with significant variations
across location and households, how those getting new land have successfully
established new farms, invested in them and are now producing; sometimes in
significant amounts. As part of the Masvingo workshop, participants visited a number of farmers
who are part of the study sample and were amazed to find granaries full and
cases of farmers selling over 20 tonnes of maize in the past season (see photos
of farming in the new resettlements of Masvingo). While this pattern is of
course not universal, it begins to dispel the myth that Zimbabwe's land reform
has been a total disaster. Indeed, with good rainfall, the prospects look good.
In a series of interviews, members of the Zimbabwe research team, also
beneficiaries of land reform in different parts of Masvingo province, explain
their experiences, and hopes for the future (see the Audio section further down
this web page). Adding to the evidence base To complement the Masvingo studies, IDS, together with the Institute for
Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, the African Institute for Agrarian Studies,
Ruziwo Trust and the Centre for Applied Social Sciences Trust, has recently
commissioned a series of short studies from across the country. The Livelihoods
after Land Reform Small Grants Award was open to any Zimbabwean who had done
recent research for a post-graduate degree on land reform processes. An amazing
76 applicants sent in high quality proposals, and 15 were given awards. These
studies, to be published in early 2010, will add to the fast growing evidence
base for drawing lessons and charting the way forward. Policy dialogue: charting the way forward In terms of defining new policy directions for the post land reform era,
there is much to be done, and the team has spent time engaging with policy
efforts. For example, a commentary by the team on a major World
Bank-supported land policy study highlighted important questions about how
policies for 'revitalising' agriculture need to look beyond narrow concerns of
economic 'viability' centred on assumptions from large-scale commercial farming.
In addition, a short note was prepared on
land tenure issues also as a way of generating debate on this topic,
highlighting the importance of looking beyond a narrow focus on freehold tenure
as the route to solving problems of land insecurity. A well-attended meeting of
donors, hosted by the Netherlands Embassy and the multi-donor trust fund, was
convened in November 2008 to discuss the controversial
'myths' paper. More recently, the team spent time with Masvingo province's
Head of Agricultural Extension, discussing the implications of the project
findings for extension support and delivery following land reform. Solid, research-based evidence must be central in the policymaking process in
Zimbabwe. For too long debates have been influenced more by ideological
posturing and statements made on the basis of conjecture and assumption than
solid, research-based evidence. Increasingly, there is a great opportunity to
change this if government, donors, NGOs, consultants and others all draw on the
growing body of research on livelihoods after land reform. The Livelihoods after Land Reform research programme is jointly funded
through the the UK's Economic Social Research Council and is co-ordinated by the
Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian
Studies at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The work builds on a decade of IDS research in collaboration with Zimbabwean
partners to document the effects the post 2000 land reforms have had on people's
livelihoods. Ian Scoones is Professorial Fellow and joint convenor of the IDS-hosted
Future Agricultures Consortium.
Ian Scoones
BILL WATCH
33/2009
[3rd October
2009]
The
ceremonial opening of the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament by the
President will take place at 12 noon on Tuesday the 6th
October
[apology:
in the last Bill Watch the date given as the 5th was an
error]
The President will
deliver a speech outlining the Government’s legislative agenda for the new
session to a joint sitting of the House of Assembly and the Senate. Both Houses
are then expected to adjourn for a week.
Update
on Independent Constitutional Commissions
Electoral Commission
[ZEC]:
Following interviews on
28th September, Parliament has forwarded 12 names to the President out of which
he will select 8 members of ZEC. There was unanimity among members of the
Committee on Standing Rules and Orders [CSRO] over the selection – there is no
official list available from Parliament, only “leaked” press reports which may
not be accurate. In addition to the 8 members a chairperson will be appointed
by the President “after consultation with” the Judicial Service Commission [JSC]
and the CSRO. This does not mean that the President, the JSC and CSRO must
agree on the chairperson; but the President must notify the JSC and CSRO of whom
he has in mind and must consider the views of both bodies before reaching his
decision. The chairperson must be a judge, former judge or a legal practitioner
of at least 7 years’ standing. The chairperson could, but not necessarily, come
from the 12 nominees already submitted to the President.
Media
Commission: There has been no
announcement from the President’s Office on the appointment of the chairperson
and 8 members of this Commission from the list of 12 nominees submitted by
Parliament in mid-August
Human Rights Commission
[ZHRC]: These interviews
will be on Monday 12th October. Some 40 candidates have been short-listed for
interview, compared to the 28 short-listed for both ZMC and ZEC – this is
because the Constitution calls for a longer list of nominees for this Commission
[16] than for ZMC and ZEC [12 nominees each]. The President must appoint the
eight members of ZHRC from this list of 16. The appointment of the chairperson
is a separate exercise, involving appointment by the President ‘‘after
consultation with” the JSC and the CSRO as in the case of the Electoral
Commission. The person appointed must have been qualified to practise as a
legal practitioner for at least 5 years.
Anti-Corruption
Commission [ZACC]: The CSRO
has not yet decided how to fulfil its somewhat different role in the appointment
of the members of this Commission [which is to be consulted by the President
rather than to send him a list of nominees proposed by it]. [Constitution, section 100K(1): “There is a Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission consisting of at least four and not more than nine
members appointed by the President in consultation with the Committee on
Standing Rules and Orders.”]
SADC Organ Troika
and Outstanding GPA Issues
No date has been set for a Troika of
the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation meeting, although
it is nearly a month since the SADC Kinshasa Summit referred to the Troika the
outstanding GPA issues formally referred to SADC by Mr Tsvangirai and Mr
Mutambara at the end of May. SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomão said this
week that “the parties involved would be consulting in October and have to agree
on a date”. This slow pace holds out little hope of early Troika action on any
of the outstanding issues. The Troika consists of Mozambican President Armando
Guebuza [chairperson], Zambian President Rupiah Banda [deputy chairperson] and
King Mswati of
Update
on Parliament
House of Assembly
Portfolio Committees and Senate Thematic Committees: According to
Parliamentary Standing Orders, portfolio and thematic committees are
automatically dissolved at the end of each Parliamentary session and must be
reconstituted by the CSRO at the beginning of the next session. The new
committees will be announced when Parliament reassembles after the week-long
adjournment that is expected to follow Tuesday’s ceremonial opening of the new
session. Past practice suggests that the new committees will have more or less
the same membership as the committees appointed for the First Session.
Committee on Standing
Rules and Orders: This
committee is constituted for the life of a Parliament, so its present membership
will continue unchanged in the new session.
Select Committee on
the New Constitution: there
will be a meeting with the new Management Committee next week, to map out roles
under the new structure agreed by the three principals on 17th September
[see Constitution Watch 10 of 25th
September].
Sole Independent MP
joins ZANU-PF:
Professor Jonathan Moyo [MP for Tsholotsho North], the only Independent elected
to the House of Assembly in the March 2008 elections, has been accepted back
into ZANU-PF some four years after his expulsion. This does not affect his
membership of the House [the Constitution makes no provision for the forfeiture
of a member’s seat in such a situation]. But it does affect voting strengths
in the House of Assembly, which are now as follows: MDC-T – 97; MDC-M – 8;
ZANU-PF – 96 [these figures take into account vacancies in the House arising
from deaths and expulsions and one nominated seat not having been filled by
ZANU-PF]. In theory the Legislature of the inclusive government has lost its
sole “opposition” member – in practice it will make little
difference.
SADC
Tribunal Pull-Out Controversy
In the weeks since
Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs Patrick Chinamasa announced that the
Government no longer regarded the SADC Tribunal as legally constituted
controversy has raged. Various legal opinions challenging the Minister’s stance
and the Minister’s response to these have been advertised in the press.
[Electronic
versions of the Minister’s and opposing opinions available on request – see
list at end of bulletin.] The Prime Minister
said that as the matter had not been discussed in Cabinet, the Minister’s action
was null and void, but after a recent meeting and discussion of the issue in the
Council of Ministers, the question is now on the Cabinet agenda.
[Electronic
version of Prime Minister’s statement available.]
Specification of
Meikles Companies under Corruption Act
GN 132/2009, gazetted in a
Government Gazette Extraordinary on 11th September and signed by both
co-Ministers of Home Affairs, declared four Meikles companies and a Meikles
senior executive to be specified persons under section 6 of the Prevention of
Corruption Act and appointed two investigators. The GN does not state the
grounds for the declaration, but it is said to have been prompted by allegations
of illegal externalisation of funds [the Act permits specification only when
there is reasonable suspicion of misappropriation or loss of property, or
corrupt practices in contravention of the Bribery and Corruption provisions of
the Criminal Law Code]. Under the Act the investigators must now investigate
the specified persons and report to the Ministers whether or not anyone has a
claim against the specified persons arising out of the suspected conduct. In
the meantime the specified persons cannot deal with their property, bank
accounts, etc. without the approval of the investigators. They have filed a
High Court challenge to the specification, pointing out that according to the
public record the Ministers of Home Affairs have not been assigned
responsibility for the Prevention of Corruption Act. The specification has been
disowned by the Prime Minister and by MDC-T, and Co-Minister of Home Affairs
Giles Mutsekwa has been reported as admitting he made a mistake in signing it.
High
Court Decision on Chiadzwa/Marange Diamond Fields:
A recent
High Court decision restored mining rights over Chiadzwa/Marangwe diamond fields
to African Consolidated Resources [ACR] and invalidated Government’s 2006
cancellation of ACR’s rights and expulsion of ACR from the area and the
Government’s award of these rights to Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
[ZMDC]. The court also ordered the Minerals Marketing Corporation of
Legislation
Update
Finance
and Appropriation Acts gazetted at last
The Finance (No. 2) Act
(No. 5/2009) and the
Appropriation (Supplementary) Act (No. 6/2009) were gazetted in a Gazette
Extraordinary dated 30th September 2009. Section 17 of the Finance (No. 2) Act
makes the British pound, the Euro, the
Bill
passed by Parliament but not yet gazetted as
Act
The Appropriation
(Additional) (2008) Bill was passed in early
April but has not yet been sent to the President’s Office for the President’s
assent. [See Bill Watch 32 for a note on
the Bill.]
Bills
gazetted
The Audit Office Bill
[HB 10, 2009] was
gazetted on 2nd October. The purpose of the Bill is to establish an independent
office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General outside the Public Service, with
its own Audit Office Commission to fix conditions of service for the staff of
the office and to be responsible for appointing and disciplining that staff.
Also covered are the powers, functions and responsibilities of the Comptroller
and Auditor-General, amplifying what is already in the Constitution.
[Electronic version
available on request.]
A
sister Bill, the Public Finance Management Bill, is due to be gazetted shortly.
The Financial
Adjustments Bill [HB 8,
2009] was gazetted on 25th September [it is a short routine Bill providing for
condonation of overspending by several Ministries during the 2006 financial
year]. [Electronic version
available on request.]
The Reserve Bank
Amendment Bill was
gazetted on 14th August and awaits introduction in Parliament by the Minister of
Finance.
Bill
being printed
The Public Finance
Management Bill is expected to be gazetted on 9th
October.
Statutory
Instruments
Six statutory
instruments [156 to 161/2009] were gazetted on 2nd October under the National
Social Security Authority Act – they fix new amounts for workers compensation
payouts, and for pensions and grants under the NSSA Pensions and Other Benefits
Scheme.
Documents
available on SADC Tribunal Pull-Out
Counsel’s
opinions provided to Commercial Farmers Union
Response
by Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs
Statement
by African
Bar Associations and Rule of Law Institutions
Statement
by
Southern
African Litigation Centre Opinion Piece
Veritas makes
every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied.