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Report: No passengers as Air Zimbabwe resumes service after strike

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Sep 17, 2011, 9:03 GMT

Harare - No passengers turned up for Air Zimbabwe's first flights after a
seven-week strike by pilots, its chief executive admitted according to media
reports Saturday.

Air Zimbabwe chief Innocent Mavhunga said it would take six months for the
beleaguered national airline to regain customer confidence, the daily Herald
reported.

'We have started operations but we have not yet started the physical flying
because there are no passengers,' he said.

None of Friday's scheduled domestic flights took to the skies on the pilots'
first day back to work, due to the lack of passengers.

This was attributed in part to the airline's last-minute announcement that
flights would resume, which was only made on Friday.

'Hard work is really needed to restore customer confidence and we must take
into account that it takes time to build (confidence in) the market,'
Mavhunga told the Herald.

'It's like we are re-entering the market.'

The pilots grounded flights from July 29 in protest at the non-payment of
salaries and allowances.

President Robert Mugabe's government pumped an additional 2.8 million
dollars into Air Zimbabwe this week, allowing management to come to an
agreement with workers.

But the Herald said workers 'were still owed their July and August
salaries,' raising the spectre of fresh strike action.

'We have agreed in principle with the workers and we will work hard to
resolve what we owe them,' Mavhunga said.

Air Zimbabwe is due to resume international flights next week. The strike
has cost the national carrier 6.8 million dollars, Mavhunga said.


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Constitution: not a word written yet

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

President Robert Mugabe’s plans to call for elections early next year is
likely to hit another snag amid revelations that “not a word” of the new
constitution has so far been written due to bickering and administrative
problems.
16.09.1112:19pm
by Vusimusi Bhebhe

Mugabe has indicated that Zimbabwe’s next general elections would be held no
later than March 2012, insisting last month that a shaky 30-month coalition
government he forced with arch-rival Morgan Tsvangirai was surviving "on
stolen time."

But, according to a South African-based thinktank, time is fast running out
for the GNU to squeeze all that needs to be done into the months available
before the constitutional guillotine drops in March 2013 – formally ending
Mugabe’s term in office.

The Southern Africa Report said it was increasingly unlikely That Zanu (PF)
and the two MDC formations would complete their constitution-making
programme and all other conditions imposed by the Global Political Agreement
to ensure conditions conducive to free and fair elections.

It noted that despite mounting Southern African Development Community
irritation about the lack of progress, there was little prospect that a
draft constitution would be ready for consideration by Parliament on
schedule in late November or early December.

“Sources close to the pre-drafting process insist ‘not a word’ of the
constitution has been drafted,” the thinktank said.

“This will make the possibility of an election before the last quarter of
2012 impractical – and even that will be tight.”

The sources said completion and submission of the new constitution in time
for a parliamentary vote was unlikely before the end of the year.

This will make the possibility of an election before the last quarter of
2012 impractical – and even that will be tight.

Parliament is currently considering a Human Rights Commission Bill and an
Electoral Amendment Bill – the latter crucial for cleaning up massive fraud
in Zimbabwe’s voters’ roll.

The clean-up exercise is expected to take more than six months - voter
registration and voter mobilisation for 30 days, voter registration for 60
days, preparation of the new roll 60 days, inspection of the roll 45 days,
and final clean-up 45 days.

The GPA and the current constitution both require popular endorsement of the
new constitution by referendum, a process requiring several months.

SADC leaders who met in Luanda last month chastised Zimbabwe’s leaders for
failing to show enough commitment to the country’s reform process.

Zimbabwe needs SADC’s full backing – particularly from South African
President Jacob Zuma, the facilitator of Zimbabwe’s dialogue process – to
persuade Western countries that the time has come to lift targeted travel
and trade sanctions on Zanu (PF) officials and hangers on.

Zanu (PF) continues to agitate for a general election as soon as possible,
despite Zuma and SADC’s insistence that the country is not ready for this
step along its “roadmap”.

Zuma’s report to the recent Luanda summit highlighted a number of
commitments that have not yet been met, including the creation of a level
political playing field and freedom for all political parties to campaign
without harassment and intimidation.


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Zanu heavies threaten Mugabe over secret deals

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Senior Zanu (PF) officials have threatened to expose President Robert
Mugabe's secret dealings with Western businessmen if he brings up the issue
of their own clandestine meetings exposed in leaked US diplomatic documents.
16.09.1103:47pm
by Fungi Kwaramba

Zanu (PF) secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa told the media ahead
of Wednesday's politburo meeting that the issue of "sellouts" exposed by the
US organisation Wikileaks to have pursued a regime change agenda would be
top priority at the meeting.

But the issue was inexplicably dropped from the agenda. The party elders
then spent a long time deliberating the hero status of financier and
politburo member, Kanthibai Patel, who died last week.

Mugabe is accused of dealing with British business people by proxy. The
revelations that have thrown Zanu (PF) into turmoil implicated top
officials, including vice Presidents Joice Mujuru and John Nkomo and Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

There was a media frenzy amid expectations that the Politburo would read the
riot act to those named in the cables. But that came to naught on Wednesday.

Sources close to Zanu (PF) and analysts say Mugabe is now in a fix and has
nowhere to turn that will not spell disaster for his party. “Almost everyone
worth talking about is involved. So it’s difficult for Mugabe to act as that
would divide the party further,” said a Zanu (PF) member.

“Since the death of Solomon Mujuru Zanu (PF) is falling apart. There is
still a group that thinks Mujuru was murdered. Raising the Wikileaks topic
would have led to a bitter fight that even Mugabe would not be able to
control,” said an analyst.

Police are still to reveal their findings on the cause of Mujuru’s death,
while many have demanded an inquest as they suspect foul play.


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Parties Call For Independent Electoral Commission

http://www.radiovop.com/

2 hours 29 minutes ago

Karoi –Zanu-PF and Movement for Democratic Change supporters have called for
an Independent Electoral Commission few months ahead of the scheduled
election.

''Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must be independent, staffed with competent
people appointed on basis of expertise. Police must not detain people who
report cases of violence" said CIZ in a statement released to the media at
the weekend.
Residents who attended a community meeting agreed that Zimbabwe was in
urgent need of an Independent Police and Electoral Commission.

Participants also called for secrecy of ballot paper for security forces
unlike in the past where juniors were forced to vote under watchful eyes of
their superiors including police, arm and prison services.

Participants also called on transparent voting of civil servants many who
have been subjected to political victimisation. The participants called on
police to carry out duties without any political influence, not detaining
victims of political violence.

Karoi town under Hurungwe is a politically volatile area in Mashonaland West
and had MDC supporters detained for making reports of political violence
since 2000.

Zimbabwe's decade long political crisis ended in 2009 following the
formation of a Government of National Unity between President Robert Mugabe
and his long time foe Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister after the disputed
2008 presidential election that were condemned internationally. MDC-T claims
at least 200 of its supporters were killed in June presidential run-off.


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Registration of Voters ... An Election on its own

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Much has been said about the need for a new voters’ roll in Zimbabwe over
the past months and the debate has come to a head in current discourse
around the roadmap to elections and the recently gazetted Electoral
Amendment Bill.
16.09.1112:56pm
by The Zimbabwean Harare

The debate has prompted the Registrar of Voters to challenge anyone
dismissing the roll to come and inspect it as he believes that it is
probably one of the best in the world. In as much as he has trashed
suppositions that Zimbabwe’s Voters’ Roll is in shambles, the very people
that participate in elections such as political parties, civic society
organisations and ordinary voters clearly do not have confidence in the
document.

In fact, the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) has repeatedly and
categorically called for the cleaning up of the current voters’ roll.

That being the case, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) seeks to ignore the
Registrar of Voters’ comments about the state of the Voters’ Roll and
instead explore possible voter registration methodologies that the state
could embark on ahead of the next poll.

The submission below will seek to place into a context, perceptions about
the roll and the fact that as the primary election document, any negative
perception on such a document by election stakeholders not only opens up any
election premised on it to rejection, but also promotes voter apathy.

The ERC further wishes to point out that in as much as voter registration
has to be comprehensively and inclusively conducted, the success of such a
process, regardless of the methodology, lies in its accessibility to the
very people that are supposed to register and the opportunities available
for scrutiny of such a document by election stakeholders.

Consequently, the ERC is convinced that any voter registration methodology
that the Election Management Body decides to embark on can be comprehensive
enough as long as the electorate can freely participate in the process of
registering and parties that will participate in the election have unlimited
access to scrutinise and audit the document on time.

It is therefore prudent that the political environment under which future
voter registration processes are conducted allows for the exercise of one’s
freedoms and there is access to accurate and timely information on the
process.

That being said, a number of submissions have been presented as potential
solutions to Zimbabwe’s discredited voters’ roll. Election watchdogs such as
the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and organisations such as the South
African Institute for Race Relations have recommended that a credible
election in Zimbabwe can only happen if the country adopts the usage of a
biometric system. Such submissions have largely been centred on the need to
add security features that are aimed at eliminating the six flaws that have
been identified in the current voters’ roll namely;

1. Duplicate entries

2. Existence of deceased persons

3. Existence of under age individuals

4. Incomplete addresses

5. Inaccurate names

6. Unclear sex of voters

Using biometric voter registration methodology, the registering authority is
able to collect more than just one’s name, identification number,
residential address, sex among other things. The method, which has proven
quite popular in emerging democracies such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and
Gambia, captures biometric data such as the voters’ finger prints and
photographic image and then assigns a barcode to the data.

It is widely believed that the system, which is computerised and
centralised, is able to detect once an individual attempts to register more
than once as his details are unique and hence limits multiple registration.
Owing to its computerised nature, the methodology is also able to reject
incomplete data such as unclear sex and incomplete addresses.

Given the above assertions, it would be logical for Zimbabweans to clamour
for biometric voter registration as it clearly addresses four of the key
challenges identified with our current voters’ roll. The other two
challenges can also be comprehensively dealt with if the system is linked to
the birth and death register and the electorate is adequately educated to
understand the importance of registering births and deaths and the processes
are easily accessible to everyone.

However, the ERC is cognisant of the fact that processes that are meant to
be inclusive and participatory in nature often confront difficulties if the
environment in which they are conducted is not conducive. By environment,
the ERC refers to the political climate and the question here should be are
communities free to participate in the process.

From past experiences, participation and free participation are different in
the Zimbabwean context. The Constitutional Making Outreach Process provides
clear evidence of this fact in our immediate past. In some rural areas,
communities came out to participate and in fact participated through
attending the ward meetings but only assigned “spokespersons” participated
as they were the only ones permitted to contribute during the discussions.

Secondly, access to accurate information and not just access to information
is also central in processes that are supposed to be participatory. If the
objective of voter registration is to capture a true record of potential
voters and to afford every adult of voting age an opportunity to exercise
their constitutional and democratic right to vote, then emphasis should be
placed on dissemination of accurate information about the registration
process.

Again from previous election experience some political parties have thrived
on provision of false electoral information. Communities have been convinced
that the ballot is not secret and that in fact when one folds their ballot
paper and shows it to the polling officials, “ZANU PF” is able to see how
one would have voted.

Through biometric voter registration’s use of advanced technology to capture
potential voters’ details, there is limit to what those politicians who
thrive on misinformation are likely to tell rural and marginalised voters
what the system actually allows them to predict.

As the voter registration debate continues, the ERC strongly urges all
election stakeholders to carefully consider the implication of any voter
registration methodology to be used ahead of the next poll. The ERC supports
a process that will not only be inclusive but transparent and conducted in
an environment free of intimidation and violence.

Voter registration in Zimbabwe will in fact be an election on its own and
therefore the same demands being made about the next election also aptly
apply ahead of this process. Such conditions include security sector
reforms, media reforms, reforms to ZEC and all bodies mandated with
conducting election related processes such as the Registrar of Voters, an
end to violence and removal of all infrastructure of violence such as bases
and the disbanding of youth militia.


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‘Centre debate on how to bring down Mugabe’

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Everson Mushava, Staff Writer
Saturday, 17 September 2011 16:39

HARARE - Zimbabweans from all political divides should centre debate on how
to achieve the common position voiced through the WikiLeaks explosion that
President Robert Mugabe should go than to waste time in discussing the
merits of the exposures, analysts have said.

Speaking at the Southern Africa Political and Economic Series (Sapes) Trust
dialogue, academic and political analyst Ibbo Mandaza said there was
unanimity in the calls for Mugabe to go from within his party and outside,
nationally and internationally.

Mandaza said 99 percent of all that was said about Mugabe showed that the
people want the aging leader out of politics, including his inner cabal.

“There is unanimity in what needs to be done and I think debate should focus
on how it can be achieved. It is evident that the people no longer want
Mugabe,” said Mandaza.

Zimbabwe’s crisis was, Mandaza said, the excitement to continue discussing
the merits of the cables without debating on how the agreed position can be
implemented.

“Instead of debating on the merits of the WikiLeaks exposures, Zimbabweans
should realise that there is unanimity on what needs to be done and debate
should be centred on what is needed can be achieved,” said Mandaza.

He wondered how Mugabe, with these many voices against him, had survived all
this long.

Media space, Mandaza urged, should be dominated from now on by discussions
on leadership renewal in the country as it was evident from the leaked
cables that Mugabe was no longer the man people wanted.

Speaking at the same event, Brain Raftopoulos of the Solidarity Peace Trust
said the WikiLeaks exposures only saved to show how weakened and fractured
Zanu PF was as a party.

Raftopoulos said the biggest challenge for Mugabe was that people had shown
that they were not what they appeared to him and never meant what they said
in public as the cables revealed.

He said dealing decisively with the matter will further fragment the
liberation party.

“People should however try to understand the meaning of these exposures in
the right context,” warned Raftopoulous.
Mugabe, so grieved by open betrayal, has up to now not officially commented
on the exposures.

On Wednesday he met the “sell-outs” but left them guessing on their future
after he railed off discussion on the exposures which show most of the party’s
top officials told United States diplomats they wanted him out.

Author and University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Professor Rudo Gaidzanwa, said
Mugabe would not likely comment on the issue until the Zanu PF congress
penned for December in Bulawayo as a diplomatic move to avoid further damage
to the former ruling party.

The leaked US cables lay bare that most Zanu PF bigwigs, whom Mugabe used to
trust, like most Zimbabweans and the rest of the world, want the
octogenarian leader to go.

Most diplomats told the US envoy that it was time for Mugabe to go.

Mugabe’s Vice President, Joice Mujuru, who is said to be wrestling with
Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa to replace Mugabe, held a meeting with
US ambassador Charles Ray at a secret location, when she was acting
president, according to the leaked cables.

Vice President John Nkomo is alleged to have confided in late politburo
member Edson Zvobgo as early as 2003 that the country’s economic woes could
be solved once Mugabe was removed from power.

Saviour Kasukuwere, who was described by diplomats as “dangerous”, with the
potential of being a “thug” told the US diplomats he too wanted Mugabe to go
to give way to a youthful leader.

Moyo, whom US officials described as a “useful messenger” for extracting
data from Zanu PF, told US diplomats that Mugabe had throat cancer.

He even gave advice on how to infiltrate Zanu PF to weaken Mugabe.

The serial political flip-flopper, who is now suing the Daily News for
“sensationally” reporting on the leaked cables against him, defended his
position saying by then he was in political wilderness and was not a member
of Zanu PF.

Moyo had since confirmed that the cables reflected the truth about his plots
on Mugabe.

Former Resident Minister and Governor Cephas Msipa of the Midlands province
also said he wanted Mugabe to go and had since advised him at his birthday
celebrations in 2007 but he did not take the advice.


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Mugabe flies to New York for UN Summit

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

17/09/2011 11:08:00    Staff Reporter

PRESIDENT Mugabe left Harare last night for next week's 66th Session of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he will deliver an
address.

Mugabe's wife Grace Mugabe, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi,
Health and Child Welfare Minister Henry Madzorera and other senior
Government officials were part of the delegation accompanying him.

President Mugabe was seen off at the Harare International Airport by senior
Government officials.

The main plenary of the UN General Assembly - whose agenda was still
embargoed yesterday - would be preceded by high-level meetings, chief among
them the Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) scheduled for Monday and
Tuesday.

The meeting is the second in the international body's history to focus on a
global disease after the HIV and Aids Summit of 2001 that led to the
creation of the Global Fund.

UN members organised the interface on NCDs to formulate a co-ordinated
global strategy to prevent and control the diseases. Deliberations would
centre on prominent NCDs such as cancers, cardiovascular ailments, chronic
respiratory disorders and diabetes.

Leaders are expected to discuss Millennium Development Goals.

On Monday, the President of the General Assembly will chair plenary meetings
that will also be addressed by UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, World
Health Organisation Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, and a civil society
representative.

Three roundtable discussions are expected to tackle the rising incidence and
socio-economic impact of NCDs and their risk factors.

Participants would also explore methods of strengthening the national
capacities and policies of member states to address their prevention and
control.
Tuesday will see the adoption of an action-oriented outcome document
comprising submissions from the plenary meetings and roundtables.

In Zimbabwe, resource constraints continue to hamper the fight against NCDs.

Those living with such conditions - including top local musician, Tongai
Moyo, who is battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - have complained that
authorities seem to be concentrating on diseases such as HIV and Aids, while
turning a blind eye to their plight.

The omission of NCD indicators in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
also makes it difficult for the country to secure donor support. So far,
only Government and the WHO are channeling funds towards the diseases.

In an interview last Thursday, Cancer Centre knowledge manager Mr Tafadzwa
Chigariro, urged world leaders to avail more resources for NCD awareness and
treatment programmes.

"The world is yet to acknowledge that NCDs are a major challenge in terms of
resources. They are now the major killer globally," he said.

"The developing world, in particular, has experienced a transition from
communicable to non-communicable diseases. NCDs are easier to prevent as
they have a lot to do with healthy lifestyles. They are, nonetheless, more
expensive to treat and manage than communicable diseases.

Latest statistics show that NCDs account for 60 percent of deaths worldwide.

More than 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer worldwide annually
with 7,6 million of them eventually dying. Zimbabwe records an average of 7
000 cancer cases every year. Indications are that the figure could be higher
if rural communities were included.


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Top judge Justice Sandura retires

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

17/09/2011 00:00:00
    by africalegalbrief.com

JUSTICE Wilson Sandura, an eminent jurist on the Supreme Court bench, has
retired, with colleagues saying the judiciary has been robbed of one of the
finest legal brains in the country.

The high-profile judge left the bench at the end of July, before the Supreme
Court went on its month-long break in August.

Justice Sandura, the most senior judge in the country after serving as a
judge for nearly 30 years, would be remembered as a forthright and fearless
judge who saved his country with a constant mind, both in good and turbulent
times.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku's office confirmed Sandura's retirement at
the age of 70 yesterday.

The top judge had served on the Supreme Court since 1998. He was a High
Court judge between 1983 and 1997, and was judge president from 1984.

Zimbabwean judges are required to retire when they reach 65 years, but if
they can demonstrate good mental and physical health to a doctor, they can
stay on up to the age of 70.

The president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, Tinoziva Bere, said justice
Sandura made some of the best judgments on record in this country.

"He was constant and stayed the course like a candle that continued to burn
and bring light to a dark room. He is principled and courageous and he can
be proud of the service he rendered to the cause of justice and the rule of
law in this country,” Bere said.

“He endured service under conditions, which some could not tolerate and
resigned. Some of the best judgments on record in this country carry his
name; sadly some of them had to be dissenting judgments in the Supreme
Court."

"The judiciary is poorer without the skill he goes away with. We hope he is
available to save this country in other capacities to advance the cause of
justice," said Bere .

Another prominent defence lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, said Justice Sandura
enriched the judiciary process in Zimbabwe adding that from a judicial
point, he is a national hero.
"He was his own man. He did not go with the flow. He stood as one man and
justified himself.
"His judgments were good, sound and well-reasoned even when they were
dissenting judgments," said Samkange.

"He brought out the jurisprudence aspect in his judgments. I compare him
with two English judges, Lord Denning and Lord Wilber-force. There is Lord
Denning, Lord Wilberforce and Justice Sandura."

Some of the retired judge's notable judgments include the case of Movement
for Democratic Change treasurer, Roy Bennett, whose application for early
release was dismissed by Chief Justice Chidyausiku following the
politician's sentencing to an effective year in prison by Parliament after
flooring Justice Minister, Patr-ick Chinamasa.
Justice Chidyausiku said Bennett's one year sentence, though "severe, is not
grossly disproportionate to the offence" but the Sandura said: "I
respectfully disagree with it."

Sandura also passed a dissenting judgment in the case of former Judge
Benjamin Paradza, stating that President Robert Mugabe had erred in using
his powers to select members of a tribunal that probed the judge.

In 2002, the judge also differed with Justice Chidyausiku's judgment on a
media case on the issue of compulsory accreditation of journalists under the
Access to information and Protection of Privacy Act.

He said compelling journalists to register was clearly ultra vires the
Constitution as it violated Section 20 of the Constitution.

In 2009, the law society awarded Sandura the Walter Kamba Rule of Law Award,
named in honour of the late Professor Walter Joseph Kamba, a law professor
and scholar credited for being the driving force behind the expansion and
transformation of the University of Rhodesia into the University of
Zimbabwe.

In 1989, Justice Sandura became a household name in Zimbabwe after presiding
over the Sandura Commission that claimed the political careers of several
ministers following a vehicle scandal, commonly referred to as the Willogate
scandal.

For more than seven weeks, the Sandura Commission called 72 witnesses,
including six Cabinet ministers, two deputy ministers, three Members of
Parliament, two senior army officers and 40 directors and managers of
private companies.

During the hearings, some Cabinet ministers threatened commissioners, but
Justice Sandura stood his ground and threatened two of them with arrest.

The Los Angeles Times of April 20, 2009, in its coverage of the commission's
work, portrayed Justice Sandura as a legal super-hero.

Leaked United States cables on developments in the judiciary in the country,
said the judge "was widely respected for his non-partisan reading of the law
and is viewed as one of the two last remaining independents".

In one secret meeting with US officials, Justice Sandura allegedly
criticised some of his colleagues and accused Zanu PF of pressurising judges
to issue judgments in its favour.
Sandura allegedly described Justice Chidyausiku as "more of a politician
than a judge".


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Sekeramayi’s wife to replace Mutinhiri

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Tsitsi Sekeramayi, wife to Zanu (PF) State Security Minister and Senator for
Marondera-Hwedza, has been earmarked for the Marondera East Parliamentary
seat following the dismissal of Tracy Mutinhiri from Zanu (PF).
16.09.1103:08pm
by Jane Makoni

“It was suggested by Zanu (PF) that since the constituency was reserved for
a female candidate as prescribed by the party policy, Tsitsi should be given
the green light to represent the party in that regard. It’s no wonder Sydney
Sekeramayi worked tirelessly for the dethronement of Mutinhiri,” said a
party central committee source on condition of anonymity.

“Tsitsi has plans to set up women’s forums. The programmes will begin at Two
Boy Shopping Centre and will spread around the constituency in due course.”

Elsewhere in the district, the headmaster of Eagle Turning Secondary School,
Machinga, refused to accept two water tanks donated to the school by
Mutinhiri, as he wanted authority from Zanu (PF) to receive the items.

“Machinga, who is reported to be a member of Sekeramayi’s campaign team, was
involving himself in party politics at the expense of our children’s
welfare. The school has no facilities to store water and how Machinga
resolved to deny the school the donated water tanks boggles the mind. The
fact that Mutinhiri fell out of favour with Zanu (PF) should not hold our
children to ransom,” said a parent, Naison Kanyi.

Machinga, a self-declared Zanu (PF) supporter, was kicked out of Dhirihori
Secondary School in 2009 following a fall out with parents.


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Zanu PF youths take over buildings

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Godfrey Mtimba
Saturday, 17 September 2011 16:35

MASVINGO - Rowdy Zanu PF youths on Thursday violently took over three
buildings owned by white businesspeople in Chiredzi accusing them of
refusing to comply with the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act.

The unruly youths said they were moving into the white-owned buildings in
support of Youth Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s
controversial policy that compels foreign businesses to sell 51 percent
shareholding to locals.

About 60 youths operating under a group called the Masvingo Youth
Empowerment Association (Mayea) brought business to a standstill in the
small town of Chiredzi after they went on a rampage — “taking ownership” of
the said buildings.

The three affected businesspeople are Jan Van Javeert, who owns South East
Turning company, Graig Hanning, and Southhood Govan who owns Govan
Investments.

Mayea spokesperson, Darling Zirebwa confirmed the buildings grab to the
Daily News adding that they were targeting buildings owned by foreign whites
in the whole province starting with Chiredzi.

“This is in response to the indigenisation drive, a policy by government
which we feel should also empower the youths. We will be taking more
buildings in Chiredzi before we move to Masvingo city where there are a
whole lot of listed properties we are going to take,” Zirebwa said.

As the youths went on a rampage, police officers watched helplessly.

Zirebwa said some of the buildings they are taking were lying idle and
needed to be utilised by youths who are unemployed.

The controversial youth movement says it was fully backing Kasukuwere for
this policy and will not sit while their ageing leaders in Zanu PF grab
everything and use them in their fight for political power.

“We are sick and tired of being used by these elderly politicians as weapons
of political violence while they loot everything especially under such
policies.

“It’s our time now to be empowered economically. We will make use of the law
to take up firms owned by whites,” he added.

The group said after taking buildings from well-known white investors in the
province, they will be moving to big mines and transnational companies like
Hippo Valley and Triangle, the country’s giant sugar producers as well as
Renco Mine which are the province’s biggest gold producers.

Lithium giant, Bikita Minerals is also said to be a target of the youths’
takeover bid.

Efforts to get comment from the three affected white men were fruitless as
they were said to have skipped the country while one went into hiding as a
result of the move by the youths.

Police in Masvingo declined to comment and referred all questions to their
Headquarters.

“Call the Police General Headquarters. I can’t comment,” said Masvingo
provincial spokesperson, Tinaye Matake.
Talent Majoni, the Zanu PF national youth deputy political commissar
confirmed the grabs and backed the youth for supporting the policy.

“It is true our youths who formed an empowerment organisation moved into
some buildings in Chiredzi on Thursday as part of the policy by Minister
Kasukuwere.

“We are fully behind the youths who are repossessing the wealth ill-gotten
by whites during the colonial era.
“I was advised that so far they took three buildings and the operation is
on-going. It is their time and they will be moving into bigger companies,”
Majoni said.

The move has sent shivers down the spines of other white businesspeople in
the province as panic has gripped them, with some in hurried efforts to
leave the country before they are confronted by the rowdy youths.


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Severe teacher shortage

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Matabeleland is suffering an acute shortage of teachers both at primary and
secondary level.
16.09.1103:04pm
by Paul Ndlovu

Matabeleland South province is short of about 610 and 460 primary and
secondary teachers respectively. The Ministry of Education is still
consolidating figures for Matabeleland North.

Education directors for the two provinces said the shortage was compromising
the standard of education. The PED for Matabeleland South, Thumisang
Thabela, said the hardest hit districts were those along the border:
Bulilima, Mangwe, and Matobo.

She said the situation in Beitbridge was better.

“Insiza and Mzingwane districts are better off because they are closer to
Bulawayo. However, we still have challenges with secondary school teachers
especially in practical and science subjects,” she said.

“With the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture directive for
schools not to engage temporary teachers, we cannot create new posts, but
can engage people for those posts that were filled last term.

“This means that the gaps which are there will remain. In Matabeleland
South, about 85.3 percent of primary school places are occupied while about
77.6 percent of secondary school posts are full. This means we have a
shortage of 610 and 460 teachers for primary and secondary teachers
respectively.”

She said the challenges facing the province were worsened by the fact that
most people had left for South Africa or Botswana.

“We hope we will be allowed to engage temporary teachers to fill our vacant
posts,” she said. Mathius Luphahla, the deputy Provincal Education Director
for Matabeleland North, said the province was assessing the situation.

“One thing to note is that districts are still recruiting teachers to try
and reach the figures they had previously. We have always had a problem with
teachers for sciences and practical subjects and hope the government will
allow us to engage temporary teachers.”

The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture recently announced that it
would indefinitely suspend the services of temporary teachers while
qualified teachers intending to go on leave would not be in a position to
immediately do so.


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Locals shortchanged

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

A Zanu (PF) functionary, Mubuso Chinguno, is firing workers perceived to be
MDC sympathizers from their jobs at Mbada and Canadile mining firms in the
diamond-rich Chiadzwa area.
16.09.1102:56pm
by Staff Reporter

Disgruntlement is rife, and tempers running high among the people in
Nyanyadzi, Gunura, Hotsprings, Marange and Chakohwa areas which border the
diamond fields.

Saigon Magurutu, an MDC secretary in Nyanyadzi, where Chinguno hails from,
criticized Zanu (PF)’s insensitivity towards the affected MDC members.

“It is utter rubbish and totally unacceptable to imagine how Zanu (PF),
vociferous on community empowerment and indigenization at its campaign
rallies can stoop so low to the extent of employing workers on partisan
lines,” he said.

Chamada Murire from Gunura, who was barred from sending his documents to
seek employment in Chiadzwa for being an MDC activist accused the local Zanu
(PF) leadership of double standards.

“Munacho Mutezo, former Water Resources Minister and MP for Chimanimani who
lost the seat to MDC’s Lynnette Karenyi, promised to turn the fortunes of
this area around for everyone’s benefit to secure votes in the next
elections. Events on the ground, however, show that he is the one telling
Chinguno to fire all MDC sympathizers from their work in Chiadzwa.” - Seven
Nematiyere


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World’s dumbest cops

http://www.iol.co.za

September 17 2011 at 11:19am

Harare - Four suspected thieves escaped from the clutches of Zimbabwean
police this week by simply speeding off in the patrol car, the official
Herald newspaper reported on Saturday.

The police officers guarding the men in the capital Harare not only forgot
to handcuff their captives but also abandoned the vehicle carrying the
suspects to chase another member of the gang.

The engine was left running, according to the Herald.

The officers gave chase in a second car, when ran out of fuel and the
suspects got away.

The Herald said the escape was “the conclusion of an otherwise
highly-successful police operation.”

The arrests followed an investigation into a recent spate of burglaries in
Harare and came just days after President Robert Mugabe urged police to “act
tough” on crime. - Sapa-dpa


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John Sentamu refuses to be collared

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Ugandan-born John Sentamu, the (Anglican) Archbishop of York will continue
refusing to wear a dog collar until Robert Mugabe is out of office – despite
the fact that his immediate “boss,” Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, plans to meet the Zimbabwean dictator in Harare next month.
16.09.1101:10pm
by Trevor Grundy

“The Archbishop will stick to his principles. He cut up his dog collar on
the Andrew Marr Show on 9 December 2007 and said that he would not put it on
again until Mugabe was out of power. He has no intention of putting it on
again until that happens,” one of his aides told me.

Sentamu, 62, caused a sensation in Anglican circles when he cut up his
symbol of being a clergyman, asking his interviewer: “Do you know what
Mugabe has done? He has taken people’s identity and literally cut it to
pieces. So, as far as I’m concerned, from now on I’m not going to wear a dog
collar until Mugabe is gone.”

The irony of the situation is clear to those who wish the Archbishop of
Canterbury well in his attempts to make Mugabe see sense over the burning
issue of church property ownership in Zimbabwe.

The legitimate Anglican Church has been effectively hi-jacked by the rebel
“bishop” Nolbert Kunonga who was excommunicated by Williams after the fiery
pro-Mugabe cleric’s attempt to remove his diocese from the Anglican Province
of Central Africa.

Kunonga has always said that his actions were in protest against the western
churches growing toleration of homosexuals who Mugabe describes as “worse
than dogs and pigs.”

With the help of police, Kunonga has seized something like 40 percent of all
Anglican church and other property in Zimbabwe. Williams has asked to meet
Mugabe to discuss this. His visit will be the first by a prominent public
figure from Britain in a decade.

The trip starts on 5 October in Malawi with a celebration of 150 years of
the Anglican Church in that country.

After he shredded his collar on television four years ago Sentamu described
Mugabe as “the worst kind of racist dictator”. He has criticized African
leaders who defended Mugabe as a freedom fighter who liberated his country
from white rule.


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Mines will keep licences

http://www.businesslive.co.za

17 September, 2011 21:14
Business Times

Zimbabwe will not revoke operating licences of any foreign mining company,
mines minister Obert Mpofu said this week.

The indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere had said earlier he would
enlist Mpofu's support in deregistering noncompliant companies in his
empowerment duel with foreign-owned miners, including Zimbabwe Platinum
Mines (Zimplats).

In his bid to seize companies under a controversial law that entitles black
locals to a 51% share of foreign-owned entities, Kasukuwere said recently
that Caledonia-owned Blanket Mine and Zimplats had been "sanctioned" for
closure under powers vested in him by the empowerment act.

While Mpofu claimed the issue of Zimbabwe's indigenisation programme was
being overplayed in certain quarters of the world, numerous investments and
projects in the sector were being inked on a shared basis.

As Impala Platinum CEO David Brown and Kasukuwere jointly announced a new
empowerment plan for Zimplats on Monday, the minister told a mining
conference that discussions with various mining companies were under way and
exceptions in terms of implementing the shareholding demand were
foreseeable.

Tapiwa Mashakada, the opposition MDC minister of economic planning and
investment promotion in the coalition government, also said seizure of
mining licences was not government policy and the sector had shown
tremendous potential, with most of the inquiries at the Zimbabwe Investment
Authority being linked to the sector.

However, he stressed there was a need for the country to improve support
infrastructure for the sector's anticipated double-digit growth,
particularly in relation to water, power and transportation supply.

Winston Chitando, Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines president, said nearly
$260-million worth of mining projects had been approved in the first half of
2011 - a 300% jump on the comparative period last year - and the sector
required $8-billion in recapitalisation funds in the next five years.

"Financial products are short-term and limited, hence loans are available
only for working capital, which is inadequate. The mining industry received
18% of disbursed loans ... compared to sectors such as telecommunications at
40%," he said, adding government and lenders must prioritise the sector
given its strategic importance to the economy.


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No to economic sabotage

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Only in Zimbabwe can government ministers threaten to seize a controlling
stake in private businesses, sending their shares tumbling on world
markets - and then turn around to say they didn’t mean it after all!
16.09.1112:40pm
by Editor

After behaving all these months as if the 51-percent local ownership rule
was non-negotiable, empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere and his mines
counterpart Obert Mpofu have backtracked, telling a mining investment
conference in Harare last week that no one would lose their licence to
operate in Zimbabwe because of the indigenisation law.

The government, or to be more precise, the Zanu (PF) wing of the government
that is behind the so-called indigenization campaign is, after all, willing
to negotiate with foreign-owned companies. It says not everyone will be
forced to surrender control of their businesses.

"We have no intention of canceling any licences. There are some negotiations
taking place with some parties. No licence has been cancelled. We have no
such intention," Mpofu told investors.

So why was it not made clear in the first place that the government was open
to negotiations? Why create the impression that any foreigner who fails to
cede a controlling stake in their business faced hefty fines, seizure of
their company or even imprisonment?

Why did Mpofu and Kasukuwere repeatedly reject pleas by the Chamber of Mines
to reduce empowerment thresholds for mining firms to 26 percent, with the
rest made up of credits arising from corporate social investments?

And then, when we are done with this flip-flopping, we turn around and ask
why no one wants to invest in Zimbabwe? Or blame so-called Western sanctions
for dissuading investors from coming to our country?

Seriously, which foreigner, except those already with investments in
Zimbabwe and therefore in a sense trapped here, would give a hoot about a
country where the government behaves like this?

We have said it before, and we repeat: we will be the first to call upon the
nation to rally behind any economic empowerment plan meant to place control
of the economy in the hands of Zimbabweans. This is as it should be.

But this ill-timed and ill-conceived empowerment plan championed by
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF) has achieved nothing but to scare away
investors. It is nothing short of economic sabotage.


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Zanu-PF Central Committee Member Arrested For Theft

http://www.radiovop.com

Chivi, September 17, 2011- Zanu-PF central committee member and youth’s
legal affairs chairman Clopas Magwizi was this week arrested here for
allegedly stealing six cattle from his neighbours in Chivi district.

Magwizi also a councillor for ward eight in Chivi is expected to appear in
court soon.

Magwizi is accused of having slaughtered cattle belonging to a Dengu family
and sold the meat after having connived with other party youths. The police
from Chivi denied commenting on the issue referring all the questions to
Masvingo.

Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tinaye Matake said he
needed more time to look into the facts of the matter.

“I was not in office for some time. I am not fully furnished with the
specific details of his (Magwizi) matter but I can come back to you once all
the details are available,” said Matake.

Cliford Dengu confirmed that their cattle were stolen and Magwizi was the
chief suspect.

“He is the chief suspect in this case. This is not the first time for this
man to be fingered in some criminal activities. Our major worry is that the
police often get intimidated by Zanu-PF politicians so they get away with
their cases at our expense,” said Dengu.

This is the second time for Magwizi to be arrested after he was elected to
be Zanu-PF councillor and central committee member respectively. In 2008,
Magwizi was arrested for stealing tones of maize which was meant for the
general public in his ward.

Efforts to get a comment from Magwizi were unsuccessful.


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Court Ruling Paves Way For Gukurahundi Play

http://www.radiovop.com

Bulawayo, September 17, 2011---The first Gukurahundi play was showcased last
Friday following the magistrate’s ruling.

There was a sombre moment at Bulawayo theatre on Friday evening when the
first Gukurahundi theatre play in the country was performed in public.

On Monday police here had banned the Gwanda-based Jahunda Community Theatre
group’s public performance of the Gukurahundi play without giving any
reasons. They threatened with arrest its leader Bhekimusa Moyo and other
group members with arrest.

But the Gukurahundi play was finally showcased on Friday evening after
Bulawayo magistrate on Wednesday Magistrates Tancy Dube lifted the ban
saying that police should not disturb or interfere in any way with the drama
performance.

More than 200 people attended the show and some dropped tears when the
actors showcased how the 5th Brigade soldiers maimed, raped and butchered
innocent people of Matebeleland and Midlands provinces accusing them of
being Zapu dissidents in the early 1983.

Addressing the gathering after the show, Moyo the writer of the
Gukurahundi play said he was inspired by the love of truth and peace and
also wanted the truth to be told about Zimbabwe’s history.

"The play is written to show what happened in the past because we can’t live
without talking about the past. We have to create a peacefully Zimbabwe and
we don’t want our bad past to be repeated. We don’t want people to be killed
again,” said Moyo.

Moyo said the Gukurahundi play will be taken to most parts of Zimbabwe.

In 1982, President Mugabe’s Zanu PF in pursuit of a one party state sought
help from North Korea to train the infamous Five Brigade soldiers. The
brigade was deployed in the Midlands and Matabeleland regions in an
operation code named Gukurahundi.

For about five years, the Five Brigade massacred innocent civilians using
the propaganda excuse that there had been insurgency in the Zapu
strongholds. Innocent civilians estimated at up to 20 000 were killed while
thousands disappeared.

They were buried in mass graves while some were thrown in disused
mines.President Robert Mugabe has refused to apologise for the killings
although the Zimbabwean leader has called the crackdown a “moment of
madness.”


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Wikileaks: 'Mugabe feared war vets'

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Nkululeko Sibanda, Senior Writer
Saturday, 17 September 2011 16:33

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe “feared” that war veterans who had invaded
farms in 2000 could turn against his government if he attempted to have them
forcibly removed from the farms they had occupied, it has emerged.

According to a leaked United States cable penned by the then US Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, Tom McDonald, Mugabe confided in the US diplomat that he feared
there could be serious uprising if he had ordered the war vets off the
farms.

The cable was created on April 24, 2000 after the two had met.

Thousands of war veterans, who had in 1997 received Z$50 000 packages from
the government as gratuities, invaded farms across the country as government
claimed it was embarking on a land reform programme to address imbalances
that had been created by the colonial regime.

The international community rubbished the land reform programme as chaotic
and laden with human rights abuses and lack of respect for property rights.

McDonald said that he held a “frank and open” 45-minute discussion with
Mugabe primarily on the land reform programme and other issues, with Mugabe
reportedly opening up on his fears and reservations on the entire programme.

“The Zimbabwean president listened closely and appeared to welcome the
opportunity to talk through a number of his immediate preoccupations: he was
keenly aware of the immediate dangers, had publicly condemned the violence
that had occurred, and was working to defuse the crisis,” McDonald said.

He added: “(He said) His government had not abandoned the rule of law, but
feared the consequences of any police or army effort to forcibly remove the
war veterans who had occupied the commercial farms.”

McDonald is quoted as saying: “I told the Zimbabwean president, whom I have
known since the 1970’s, that there was a growing and widely held perception,
even among his country’s longest and strongest supporters, that the
Zimbabwean government had abandoned its commitment to the rule of law; was
complicit in recent acts of lawlessness and violence; and was contributing
to a climate of increased racial polarisation and dangerous political
tension.”

“In a forty-five-minute tete-a-tete, Zimbabwean President Mugabe and I had a
cordial but frank exchange on Zimbabwe’s domestic political crisis. I told
Mugabe that recent events were threatening to imperil his own personal
legacy.

“He, however felt that the British had yet to hold up their part of the
bargain struck at Lancaster House and had no moral basis to complain about
Zimbabwe’s insistence that long-delayed land reform be implemented with or
without compensation to the white commercial farmers.

After all, it was the Africans who had originally been forcibly separated
from their traditional lands by the white settlers,” McDonald said.

The US diplomat said Mugabe had, during their meeting, pledged to conclude
the land reform programme using his own government initiatives.

“While he still hoped for a negotiated solution to the land question, he was
determined to address this historical injustice once and for all. He had yet
to have a real meeting or exchange with Prime Minister Blair and, more
generally, felt slighted by the new labor government,” he added.

McDonald noted there would be challenges in creating harmony between the
black farmers and white commercial farmers whose land had been taken.

This, he said, was created by a situation where the white minority had
refused to acknowledge that blacks had taken over the agricultural sector.

“Many of Zimbabwe’s white farmers had never reconciled themselves to a
black-led Zimbabwe. There were however, some notable exceptions.

“Unfortunately, one progressive commercial farmers’ union president had
failed in his efforts to persuade his colleagues to negotiate a binding
settlement that would definitively resolve the land issue.

“He (Mugabe) welcomed the willingness of the US government to be of
assistance, both in direct support of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme and
in our conversations with the British,” McDonald added in his cable.

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