Constitution program in turmoil as ZANU PF unleashes violence

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
20 September 2010

The troubled constitutional outreach program degenerated into total chaos
over the weekend when 45 meetings were violently disrupted by ZANU PF hired
goons in the capital.

As a result the COPAC management committee which is leading the exercise to
gather views for a new constitution, suspended indefinitely the program,
following the coordinated attacks on MDC supporters and COPAC officials.

Douglas Mwonzora, co-chairperson of COPAC, announced the suspension on
Monday. The exercise has only been suspended in Harare, pending
investigations to probe the violence.

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us the attacks were clearly
premeditated because most of the assailants were bused in from rural areas
bordering Harare metropolitan. Most of the trouble makers could be seen
loaded in trucks belongings to ZANU PF officials.

'It is tragic that even during the disturbances when people were being
assaulted with logs, iron bars and sticks the police could act only as
onlookers,' Muchemwa said.

In Mbare, the violence left 32 year-old Lucia Kandanga battling for her life
at the Avenues clinic after she was hit over the head several times by a
thug using an iron bar. MDC-T MP for Mbare, Piniel Denga, told us Kandanga
was one of five people admitted to the private clinic following the orgy of
violence.

'They were attacked right in front of the police but no officer dared to
intervene or arrest the perpetrators. Out of the five that were ferried to
the Avenues only Kandanga still remains in hospital because of the
seriousness of her head injuries. The other four were treated and
discharged,' Denga said.

The MDC legislator said the ongoing impression created by the police
inaction is that ZANU PF as a party is untouchable and enjoys immunity from
the authorities.

For the first time since the exercise began four months ago, there was also
a racial dimension when scores of white people were chased away from
participating in the constitutional outreach program in most of Harare's
affluent suburbs.

White families in Mount Pleasant bore the brunt of a torrent of abuse by
suspected ZANU PF supporters, who chased them away shouting racial slurs.

It has also been revealed that some big shots have had a hand in the
violence. In Harare's South Western high density suburbs, ZANU PF Senator
Charles Tawengwa allegedly paid and encouraged his party's youth members to
sow discord.

At Sunningdale 1 Primary, former MDC MP Gabriel Chaibva, who last year
defected to ZANU PF, bused in members of the Vapositori sect to the
meetings. A participant at the meetings told us the Vapostori members would
clap hands after every opinion he gave and only participated where 'YES' or
'No' was required.

The weekend violence only serves to worsen an already bad outreach campaign
that has seen countless meetings being aborted because of the escalation of
violence in rural areas.

Rarely does a day go by without the media reporting on intimidation and
violence in various parts of the country. Equally unsettling to civil
society organisations and NGO's is the police indifference to this political
intimidation and violence.

'One would be hard pressed to recall whether anybody from ZANU PF has been
arrested and charged in connection with the violence or disruptions since
the program began four months ago,' MDC-T MP for Makoni South Pishai
Muchauraya said.

Action Alert: 84 WOZA members arrested today

Zimbabwe constitution meetings halted by violence

http://news.yahoo.com

By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer Angus Shaw, Associated Press Writer -
Mon Sep 20, 11:24 am ET

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean lawmakers in charge of a constitutional reform
program halted public canvassing Monday after weekend violence disrupted
their work, and the prime minister said he suspected the violence was
sparked by political operatives.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said his party in the coalition government
would not tolerate the coercion and intimidation seen in the weekend unrest,
and said he suspected that thugs were hired by some leaders to "beat up
people and unleash terror" in Harare.

"Some among us have the misguided audacity to undermine our efforts by
hiring thugs to disrupt people's right to express themselves in an important
national exercise," he said.

The proposed constitution could limit the tenure of President Robert Mugabe,
86, who has ruled since independence in 1980. It would also strengthen
democratic freedoms, free speech and impartial law enforcement, which
critics of Mugabe say could threaten his strong grip on power in the
southern African nation.

While Tsvangirai did not directly accuse Mugabe, his longtime rival, of
interfering, he said: "We know there is one party that wants us to continue
using the Lancaster House constitution" adopted at independence that has
entrenched Mugabe's powers.

At least five people were injured in clashes and stone-throwing between
rival party supporters in one Harare township Sunday. Four other meetings
across Harare were abandoned, the lawmakers' panel said. Riot police were
posted Monday at sites of the disturbances.

Under a two-year-old coalition agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the
former opposition leader, a new constitution must be drawn up before fresh
elections can be held, possibly next year.

Tsvangirai said he will review the constitutional outreach program that
began its first meetings in Zimbabwe's two main cities, both Tsvangirai
strongholds, on Saturday.

"We will not support a constitution that is flawed," he said. "If it means
redoing it, we will do it again."

Rowdy youths broke up a meeting in the western Harare township of Mbare on
Sunday, injuring five, and attempted to barricade parliament officials in
the yard of a community hall there.

Skirmishes broke out in another district when attendees jeered arrivals they
did not recognize from their area, alleging they were sent in by bus from
Mugabe's rural strongholds to sway the meeting. Fist fights broke out at
another venue.

The constitution-writing program has been plagued by chaotic administration,
delays, money shortages and accusations of intimidation since it began in
July. Officials say about 5,500 meetings have been held countrywide,
attended by less than one million of the nation's nearly 5 million voters.

Earlier Monday, witnesses and activists said at least 85 demonstrators were
arrested after staging a march to Parliament to demand better policing and
public safety.

Activist group Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise said 600 members marched
Monday to protest police conduct.

The group accused police of beating suspects in public, harassing street
vendors and stealing their goods and routinely demanding bribes.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the arrests Monday and said the
march was conducted without routine police clearance.

Army 'selling illegal diamonds for war chest'

http://www.smh.com.au/

Aislinn Laing and Peta Thornycroft
September 21, 2010

JOHANNESBURG: Zimbabwe's generals are accumulating a secret slush fund from
diamond sales, a campaign group claims.

Diplomats fear the vast mines put the army in a powerful position to dictate
the terms of succession after the death of the President, Robert Mugabe.

The warning comes days after Zimbabwe's pro-democracy Prime Minister, Morgan
Tsvangirai, appealed to lower ranked army and police not to participate in
any coup against the constitutional order when Mr Mugabe, 86, dies.
Advertisement: Story continues below

The military's control over the vast Marange fields - the source of a
quarter of the world's diamonds - has become an important factor in the
future of Zimbabwe. The eight-member Joint Operational Command (JOC) of
military and police leaders earns revenues from the mines through the
control of companies.

The campaign group Global Witness says smugglers also sell stones dug up by
labour gangs overseen by the military.

The diamonds are smuggled over the Mozambican border, where they are traded
on the black market. The revenues then return to the military.

''The general pattern is that units are rotated to make sure they maintain
the loyalty of the army by allowing everyone to benefit,'' said Annie
Dunnebacke, of Global Witness.

''It's safe to assume that the cut of JOC generals, who some believe are
those who really run the country, is fairly consistent.''

A Western diplomat said last week that Zimbabwe's diamond wealth was being
diverted by the military elite with catastrophic consequences.

''There are lots of other [mining] sites and I have no doubts the generals
have quite a lot of it,'' the diplomat said. ''The money is running into a
handful of pockets.''

Zimbabwe's power sharing government, which included Mr Tsvangirai's Movement
for Democratic Change, has halted the country's economic decline.

However, the impoverished country relies on Western aid to provide basic
services such as books in schools. Its treasury received $32 million from
the first official sales of diamonds last month.

Among those alleged to have earned many millions from diamond sales are
factions headed by the Defence Minster, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Solomon
Mujuru, the former head of the armed forces and husband of the
Vice-President, Joyce Mujuru.

Alan Martin, who compiled a report on the military's role in Marange for the
pressure group Partnership Africa Canada, said Mr Mujuru and Mr Mnangagwa,
were preparing for the death of Mr Mugabe.

''Undoubtedly, they are building up their war chests,'' he said. ''None of
them will make a move until he dies but there will be a succession fight
after his death.'' The JOC ''would not accept an MDC president''.

Telegraph, London
 

Tsvangirai threatens to boycott elections over violence

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

Sep 20, 2010, 19:11 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday said he would
not participate in an election threatened by violence, following a surge of
attacks on his supporters by youths loyal to President Robert Mugabe at the
weekend.

'I will not commit to any election if it is a declaration of war,' he said
at a conference dedicated to victims of political violence. 'I will not
support a process that is flawed,' he continued.

In the capital at the weekend gangs of youths from Mugabe's Zanu- PF party
disrupted meetings at which ordinary Zimbabweans had been asked to air their
views on what they wanted in a new constitution.

At one meeting point, about 200 youths reportedly surrounded a smaller crowd
of supporters of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and
attacked them with iron bars, bricks, and barbed wire. Seven people had to
be taken to hospital.

Witnesses said riot police parked in a truck nearby did nothing.

Tsvangirai, who is now in a power-sharing government with Zanu-PF, said the
violence was a reminder of the dark past, a reference to a second-round
presidential ballot in 2008 in which 200 MDC supporters were murdered and
thousands tortured.

Tsvangirai, who had won the first round, withdrew from the election to avoid
further bloodshed.

The three-month campaign to canvass opinions for a new constitution is part
of the coalition agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. The draft of a new
democratic constitution is intended to lead to a referendum and then to new
elections.

A brick in the face — Constitution-making in Zimbabwe

http://www.timeslive.co.za

Sep 20, 2010 6:58 PM | By Jan Raath, Sapa-dpa

Christine Nkulu learnt first-hand on Sunday how some of Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe’s followers settle constitutional discussions. With a
half-brick in the face.

She and a couple of hundred supporters of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is in a power-sharing government
with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, had attended a meeting in Harare’s Mbare
township, where citizens were being asked what they would like to see in a
new draft constitution.

“Zanu-PF youths arrived and they outnumbered us by five to one,” she said.
“They were carrying iron bars, sticks, axes. They surrounded us and began to
beat people, one by one. They beat women and old people.” She managed to
flee but a half brick hurled at her from close range caught her just above
her left eye, causing it to swell up and turn a painful shade of blue.

It was the last of hundreds of sessions organized by the Constitutional
Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) since June.

The huge range of opinions expressed are meant to form the basis for
drafting a new democratic constitution to replace the flawed constitution
used by Mugabe to cement his power over the last 30 years.

But meetings all over Harare at the weekend were broken up or had to be
abandoned as mobs of youths took over the process.

Witnesses at the Mbare meeting claimed the mobs had been bussed in from
remote rural areas.

“A lot of them were soldiers in civilian clothes,” one observer said. “They
stand out from the ordinary people. Their heads are shaved, they have a
military bearing.” At one meeting, a Zanu-PF supporter reportedly pulled out
a pistol when other speakers spoke in support of a free media and property
rights. People fled in terror.

At another, a Zanu-PF youth is said to have opened the meeting with a prayer
“ God, kill those who are sellouts,” apparently referring to supporters of
the MDC, which Mugabe accuses of selling out to the West.

In rural areas, the meetings were mostly run by chiefs and headmen, who are
usually loyal to Zanu-PF, with groups of intimidating youths or secret
police reportedly often present.

Ten years ago, when Zimbabwe was drafting a new constitution, the mood was
very different.

In the absence of repression, public consultations became
emotionally-charged platforms for citizens demanding change.

“Mugabe learnt his lesson then,” said a Western diplomat. “They weren’t
going to let a repeat of that happen.” The final draft of the constitution
is to be submitted to a referendum, and if approved, will be the foundation
for what the MDC hopes will be free and fair elections.

Tsvangirai told reporters in Johannesburg last week he believed citizens
could be voting on the next text by May or June and that elections could be
held soon afterwards, once the two parties had agreed on the ground rules,
including no violence.

But many people still fear a repeat of the violence that characterized the
2008 polls.

“We are all afraid, we cannot have elections,” said Nkulu. “They will kill
us. They have told us.” In 2008, Zanu-PF militia and soldiers avenged Mugabe’s
defeat by Tsvangirai in the first round of presidential elections by
unleashing fierce violence against MDC supporters, killing scores of people
and injuring hundreds more.

To help end the violence and kickstart the wrecked economy, Tsvangirai
agreed in September 2008 to share power with Mugabe on condition of sweeping
human rights reforms, most of which have yet to be implemented.
 

Airline makes special arrangement for Mugabe

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Tobias Manyuchi Monday 20 September 2010

HARARE -- Air Zimbabwe had to make "special arrangements" to get pilots to
fly President Robert Mugabe to the United Nations General Assembly meeting
in New York because the airline's own pilots are on strike.

Mugabe arrived in New York on Saturday and is accompanied by several
ministers drawn from both ZANU-PF and MDC.

Jonathan Kadzura, board chairman of Air Zimbabwe confirmed that they had
managed to entice some of the pilots to fly the President.

''The pilots are still on an industrial action and we are still discussing
with them," Kadzura said. "We made plans for the president to leave as we
have managed to secure a cabin crew to fly him to the UN meeting in the
USA.''

Pilots at the national carrier embarked on an industrial action some two
weeks ago demanding payment of allowances that were scrapped in February.

The Kadzura board gave the pilots an ultimatum to return to work weeks ago,
but none of the pilots has headed the call.

After the UN meeting, Mugabe is expected to travel to Quito, where he is
expected to be awarded with an Honorary Doctorate in Civil law from an
Anglican Church-run University of the province of Ecuador. -- ZimOnline.

Zim Rural School Children Stranded

http://news.radiovop.com

20/09/2010 12:55:00

Hurungwe, September 20, 2010 - Some schools remain closed here after
education officials stopped the recruitment of temporary teachers last week.

This is despite calls by Education Minister David Coltart to employ the
teachers to allow schools to re-open.

However, pupils have been forced to stay at home due to the confusion.

A survey conducted by Radio VOP around the district revealed that some
schools that had 100 percent untrained teachers remained closed on Monday.

Most of the affected schools are in the remotest parts of Hurungwe, which
are shunned by trained teachers.

A Magunje district education official who refused to be named said, ''We
received a directive on Tuesday last week stopping us from recruiting
untrained teachers from our provincial offices. We are still yet to resume
though we had accepted papers of nearly 300 teachers against the required 1
000 in the district."

Scores of untrained teachers milled around the provincial offices at Magunje
on Monday, hoping to be re-employed.

"I have been coming here since Wednesday last week hoping that I will be
accepted but there is nothing positive," said an untrained teacher who was
based at Mjinga school, 80 kilometres from Magunje.

Mashonaland West provincial education officer Sylvester Mashayamombe said:
"We are still waiting for clearance from Public Service Commission to
recruit more teachers. It is a national issue.''

There are an estimated 25 000 untrained teachers in the country.

The Finance Minister Tendai Biti said a civil servant audit conducted by
government had exposed 45 000 ghost workers among the 250 000 government
employees.

However PSC chairman Mariyawanda Nzuwa disputed Biti's announcement saying
it was premature to talk about the result of the audit.

This is coming at a time when civil servants have promised to down tools as
they want a salary increment. Government employees earn US$150-250 a month,
but are demanding US$500-600 a month.
 

US embassy denies state media reports of visa denials

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
20 September 2010

The head of the country's notorious Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)
Happyton Bonyongwe, and ZBC chief news correspondent Reuben Barwe, are
reported to have been denied visas by the United States Embassy in Harare,
according to the state owned media. The two were due to travel with Mugabe
for the 65th Ordinary Session of the United Nations which opened on the 14th
September and runs up to September 30th in New York.

A report in the state owned Herald newspaper says Mugabe's regime has made a
formal complaint to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, alleging the denial of
the visas was a 'violation of international law by the US.' The paper also
said this was the 'second successive year that members of the President's
delegation to the UN have been denied visas by the US embassy, following the
denial of a visa to Herald Deputy Editor Caesar Zvayi and Retired
Major-General Bonyongwe last year.'

Bonyongwe, as head of the CIO, is blacklisted on US travel and financial
restrictions for his key role in directing human rights abuses in the
country, while Barwe and Zvayi, as state media journalists, are accused of
defending and promoting those abuses. Although Mugabe is also black listed
under the measures he appears to get away with it, and the legal excuse is
'the UN Headquarters is international territory to which no country or
visitor, who is not on UN sanctions, should be excluded.'

A letter written by the US Embassy to Zvayi in May this year makes it clear
why they denied him the visa. In the letter Zvayi is told he is listed as
one of the people who among other things 'derive significant financial
benefit from policies that undermine or injure Zimbabwe's democratic
institutions.'

SW Radio Africa is reliably informed Bonyongwe's visas application listed
him as Director-General in the President's Department, an obvious attempt to
disguise his role as head of the notorious CIO, a group behind hundreds of
abductions and murder of activists in the country. 'While Mugabe and the
other lesser known aides could argue they are on state business at the UN,
the roles of Bonyongwe, Barwe and Zvayi at the UN were rather dubious if not
unnecessary,' a source told us.

Meanwhile Sharon Hudson-Dean, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Harare,
has rejected reports that Bonyongwe was denied a visa telling us 'all
members of the official delegation (80 people) were granted visas, including
the Air Zimbabwe crew.' She also explained that Barwe was not part of the
official delegation but all the same his visa application had not been
denied but was still being processed. She promised a full interview on
Tuesday, explaining the whole story.
 

Home Affairs Min Makone says ZANU PF holding police captive

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
20 September 2010

Co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone on Monday launched a tirade against
ZANU PF for 'virtually holding the Zimbabwe Republic Police captive.'

In an outburst directly aimed at her coalition partners in government, the
minister said she was 'disgusted and sickened' by ZANU PF's thuggery during
the constitutional outreach program.

Responding to weekend reports that police did nothing to stop ZANU PF
supporters from the violence that disrupted outreach meetings in Harare, the
co-Home Affairs minister said the police were just as paralysed as most
victims of political violence.

'If anyone of them (police) dares do what they're supposed to do, they are
the ones who will end up in worse trouble. We've got a captive police that
is not allowed to do its job which it knows best,' Makone said.

The minister added; 'Until such a time when we have a comprehensive security
sector reform as espoused in the Global Political Agreement we will never
get an effective police force.'

'It's not that they are ignorant of it or that they don't know how to do it
but if they dare arrest ZANU PF supporters they will be in as much trouble.
They get their instructions from the ZANU PF hierarchy,' she said.

Makone, the MDC chairperson of the women's assembly, said following events
of this week, the whole world can see what they have been saying all along,
that trying to work with ZANU PF does not work.

'It's a party whose principals are based on violence. They've not changed
their way of doing things, so people should not expect those outside the
party to change it for them,' she added.

Asked to respond to reports that a few weeks ago she vouched for the police,
saying they have turned over a new leaf as opposed to being partisan.

'I never said that. I was misquoted in that article. What I really said was
that the wheels of justice were moving so slowly and that things are
beginning to happen slowly. Anything else about the police being
professional was a misrepresentation of facts,' said Makone.

Magistrate, interpreter jailed 24 months for corruption

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Energy Bara
Monday, 20 September 2010 16:16

MASVINGO - A Zvishavane magistrate and court interpreter were on Friday
convicted and jailed for 24 months each for criminal abuse of office after
they solicited for a US$50 bribe from a Mberengwa businessman on the pretext
that they would overturn a civil court judgment and help him recover his
attached goods.

The magistrate Ishmael Mutsunguma and court interpreter Michael Mujapelo
will however serve an effective one and  a half years in jail after Chiredzi
magistrate Judith Zuyu suspended six months of their sentence.

The two were tried at the Masvingo magistrate court after the Ministry of
Justice ordered that they could not be tried at the same station in which
they were based.

The state alleged that on 10 August last year, the complainant's mother
Rhoda Ndlovu had three cattle taken away from her  by a messenger of court
following a civil court judgement .

On 11 August the messenger of court again confiscated  Maclean Zhou (the
complainant )'s property which included Television sets DVD players and
radio speakers among other things  following a civil court judgement on the
same case.

The state further alleged that on August 12, Zhou and his mother Ndlovu
decided to make a follow up on their seized cattle and goods .

They proceeded to the Zvishavane magistrate courts and met magistrate
Mutsunguma and registered a complaint.

It was the state case that Mutsunguma told the two that the civil court
judgement was improper and therefore asked to meet them at a bottle store in
Zvishavane where they later met.

It was alleged that the two demanded  money for drinks and were given US$5
and bought the drinks but did not return the change.

The state further alleged that  the magistrate and the interpreter then
demanded  US$50 from the two so that they could help them reclaim their
confiscated goods and cattle.

It was alleged that the two accused persons were given US$ 50 and Mutsunguma
allegedly advised them to come to his office the following day.

However luck ran out for the two court officials when the complainant went
to Zvishavane police station and made a report to the police.

Police then waylaid  the two in a street and arrested  them.
The magistrate and interpreter and pleaded not guilty to the charge but were
convicted due to the overwhelming evidence presented in court.

Magistrate Zuyu said the two had abused the trust bestowed in them by the
public hence a custodial sentence was mandatory.

She said corruption in any form especially by judicial officers should be
condemned.

Zimbabweans Squat In Cape Town Consulate Office

http://news.radiovop.com

20/09/2010 18:22:00

Cape Town, September 20, 2010 - While AfriForum is waiting for the courts to
decide if it can go ahead with auctioning an abandoned building belonging to
the Zimbabwe government, homeless people, predominantly Zimbabwean refugees,
have occupied it.

Over 20 people, most of them Zimbabwean refugees, are squatting in the
former Zimbabwean Consulate office at 55 and 53 Kuyper Street in the Cape
Town CBD.

They have no electricity or running water and the building is in a filthy
state.

Zimbabwean refugee Lundi Dhlamini said he had been squatting in the building
for the last eight months while looking for employment.

He said since he started squatting there many more Zimbabweans had arrived
after being referred by friends.

The building, which has been vandalised since the consulate closed in 2006,
is still listed on the Internet as a functioning consulate.

According to reports, the Zimbabwean government still owns the property and
has outstanding rates of R25 000 owed to the City of Cape Town.

Roof sheeting, windows and taps have been stolen and parts of the floor are
covered in faeces.

Dhlamini said although police often came to chase them away, he and his
fellow squatters simply returned because they had nowhere else to go. He
said the building was cold "but we make fires to keep warm and cook food
inside the building".

Meanwhile, the long-standing closure of the consulate means thousands of
Zimbabweans wanting to benefit from the South African Home Affairs special
dispensation would have to go to Pretoria to sort out their documents, the
only City with a functioning Zimbabwean Embassy.

The special dispensation, which was implemented by the Home Affairs
department in April 2009, allows Zimbabweans the right to live, work and
study in South Africa for a period of six months.

But the special dispensation deadline ends on December 31 this year.

To qualify, Zimbabweans would have to have affidavits signed by their
consulate or embassy indicating that they lived, worked, or studied in their
country.

It also allows Zimbabweans who are in the country illegally to avoid
deportation by giving their details to the Zimbabwe Embassy or Consulate.

However, the closure of the Consulate office in Cape Town Consulate means
Zimbabweans have to travel to the Embassy in Pretoria - something many of
them have not the money to do.

Braam Hanekom, coordinator for People Against Suffering Oppression and
Poverty (Passop) said as a result, hundreds of Zimbabweans in the Cape were
phoning his the organisation asking for assistance..

"We have been trying to get a meeting with the Zimbabwe Embassy officials to
try to convince them of the need of the consulate in Cape Town but with no
success," said Hanekom.

An official at the Pretoria Embassy, who refused to give his name, said: "We
know about the closed consulate in Cape Town and we are dealing with the
matter. We are busy with arrangements to help Zim (sic) refugees living in
Cape Town. New facilities to assist Zimbabwe refugees would be unveiled in
two weeks time."

In February civil society initiative AfriForum, on behalf of the Commercial
Farmer's Union (CFU) successfully approached the North Gauteng High Court to
have four properties belonging to the Zimbabwe government seized in order to
have them auctioned to reimburse farmers whose land had been expropriated.

The move came after the Southern African Development Community Tribunal
ruled that the land reform process of Robert Mugabe was illegal and racist
and ordered that compensation had to be paid to farmers.

According to AfriForum spokesperson Willie Spies, the Cape Town based
Zimbabwe Consulate property was scheduled for auction to recover debts owed
by the Zimbabwean government.

But the process has been put on hold after the Zimbabwe government launched
an application with both the North and the South-Gauteng High court to set
the decision aside.

The Zimbabwe government was expected to file papers before the end of this
month.  - West Cape News
 

Gono, Kuwaza Fight

http://news.radiovop.com/

20/09/2010 18:08:00

Harare, September 20, 2010 - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon
Gono and the deputy chairman of the bank's board, Charles Kuwaza, who are
engaged in a bitter feud for the control of the country's biggest financial
institution, have again differed over remuneration paid to workers.

Gono has already written to the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti appealing
for his intervention as the fight is said to be seriously affecting the
smooth operation of the bank.

Kuwaza, a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance is
reportedly shooting down efforts by Gono to increase workers' salaries
claiming that the central bank has no money to pay the workers.

The letter to  Biti in which he is appealing for his intervention in his
fight with Kuwaza reveals that the former permanent secretary wants workers
at the RBZ to be paid the same salaries as civil servants.

Documents show that Kuwaza is blocking the proposed RBZ employee salary
structures drafted by Gono, which he said are too high compared to those
being paid civil servants.

But Gono is arguing that workers at the central bank are not civil servants
and therefore should get competent salaries. The latest dispute has
escalated the sharp differences which were exposed by local newspapers last
week.

The two have also clashed over alleged Kuwaza's "intrusive behavior" in
which he is reported to have occupied an office next to Gono despite the
fact that he is a non-executive deputy chairman of the board.

"I have evidence and witnesses to evidence showing that Mr Kuwaza is failing
to draw the line between being a board member and being part of the
executive team.

"Instances  where a board member storms in the governor's personal
secretarial assistances' offices, demanding to know what they do and their
day to day roles do not serve for objective, balanced and professional
conduct," complained Gono to Biti.

The bitter fight has also sucked in President Robert Mugabe and his regime
before the inclusive government. Kuwaza wants to investigate Gono over his
propping up of the Mugabe regime and his assistance to the military,
intelligence and other government departments between 2003 and 2008.

Kuwaza also wants Gono's special advisor, Munyaradzi Kereke, fired arguing
that he is a "ghost worker" who was illegally employed at the institution in
a move seen by RBZ workers as a tactic to weaken the governor.

The letter to Biti was also copied to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who
is expected to intervene to diffuse the dispute.

Racism against white Zimbabweans reach shocking levels

http://www.zimdiaspora.com/

Monday, 20 September 2010 11:55 Editor

HARARE -Racism against white people in Zimbabwe has reached shocking levels
particularly in the capital Harare, The Zim Diaspora can reveal.

According to reports reaching London, droves of white people were chased
away from participating in the constitutional outreach programme in Harare
at the weekend, in which violence and confusion marred the process.

In Mount Pleasant, white families were subjected to a torrent of abuse by
suspected Zanu PF supporters who later drove them away shouting racial
slurs.

"If this process is to genuinely gather the views of people, then what has
happened here is a farce. This is not acceptable. Are you saying whites are
not part of Zimbabwe," asked one white man who had been turned away after
verbal abuse.

Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (Copac) co-chairperson Paul Mangwana
deplored the incident, which he said was regrettable.

"This is the people's constitution, not a party's constitution. People
should not fight and resort to violence because of partisanship. These
parties are like clothes that you change because of weather, you can change
them anytime, " he said.

There were reports of similar incidents in Graniteside.

In Dzivarasekwa Ward 39, irate residents were angered by the no show of
COPAC teams.

The committee had initially scheduled the outreach programme for Saturday
but later changed it to Sunday before moving it to Monday.

"How can you say Monday when you know that the majority of us will be at
work? You want to bring people from other wards to come and act on our
behalf and air views which are different from ours," said Taurai Chuma from
Dzivarasekwa 3.

Violence and ill tempers rocked the commencement of the outreach programme
in Harare and Bulawayo.

In Mbare, five officials from the main faction of the MDC were seriously
injured and scores arrested when rampaging Zanu PF supporters invaded Mai
Musodzi Hall.

The incident came barely a day after the commencement of the outreach
programme in Harare was overshadowed by intimidation and sporadic scenes of
violence in and around the capital.

In Bulawayo, tempers flared after some tribal jibes which almost degenerated
into chaos. Additional reporting by Daily News

Humble Farmer teaches amateurs to do wonders

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=22349

By Na Ncube

Published: September 20, 2010

Harare -  A humble Christian farmer who lost his own farm is now selflessly
transferring his expertise to thousands of aspiring farmers, teaching them a
revolutionary method of using the land to manifest wonders hailed as the
best farming technique in Africa to date.

Brian Oldrieve has a revolutionary way of farming which does not require
much artificial chemical implements such as fertilisers but yet yields of up
to 16 tonnes per hectare when the average subsistence farmer receives less
than 1 tonne per hectare. The average commercial farmer receives an average
4 tonnes per hectare.

Previously dubbed 'Farming God's Way', Oldrieve's method was recently
re-named 'Foundations For Farming'. Free courses are now being conducted
across the country in which many are being taught to farm in this way
enabling the most ordinary uneducated farmer to obtain a potential turnover
of at least 11000 dollars per season even with the smallest piece of land.

In a video interview, Oldrive says these ideas started coming to him after
he quit a lucrative tobacco farm in fear that he was producing a product
which damages other people's health, and then started to major in growing
foods such as maize so to feed others.

Case study - VILLAGE TRANSFORMATION

Like any of the 300,000 young people leaving school each year in rural
Zimbabwe, Themba had very few prospects. He heard about Ebenezer College in
Kezi where young people like him learn conservation farming principles from
a friend.  He applied, and was happy to be part of the very first intake
with other young people from nearby villages.

Interviewing Themba at the beginning of his training, his tutor wrote that
Themba's main ambition was to be able to help his father to feed the family,
and maybe one day a family of his own. Over the next two years at the
college Themba's time was split between conservation farming training, bible
classes and work on his own 30X100m plot of land where he produced cabbages,
tomatoes and maize. The college assisted him to transport his produce to the
market, and from his earnings he paid a 20% admin fee to the college.

In addition to the training, as required Themba did 6hrs of voluntary
community service in his village each week. For probably the first time he
started to see other people's needs, and with his 6 friends at Ebenezer they
started to discuss what they can do. One of the guys paid fees for local
aids orphans - at US1 each, this was not a lot.  Someone else wanted to help
former classmates who now spent their time drinking local beer and hanging
about. Themba felt he needed to assist in the local church and he approached
the pastor who was very happy to receive help. Soon he had extra
responsibility at church and his mentor noted quietly that Themba had
lengthened his working day to enable him to earn more and serve the
community better. He duly agreed to extend Themba's plot to allow him to
increase production.

At Themba's exit interview from Ebenezer his tutor wrote of the huge vision
of the young man who now wanted a whole lot more than just to assist his
father to feed the family. Not long after Themba went back home, the local
chief approached Ebenezer College and asked if he could bring all the local
young men in his ward to Ebenezer. His words were particularly encouraging,
he said 'for many years I have been approached by outsiders wanting to
implement one project or another. Our people have become used to this, and
some have even come to expect such assistance. But when our own children
start to look after aids orphans and give freely to the widows, then the
village takes note. Even those who are used to asking for help are
challenged and start to do some work for themselves'

What has been achieved using conservation farming?

First time farmers have achieved yields of 3tonnes per ha - a tenfold
increase on our present production of less than 0.3t/ha. Experienced farmers
have achieved anything up to 9t/ha. The research centre at Westgate has
reached 16t/ha.

Consider that what the word calls a green revolution is an achievement of
3t/ha, consider that Zimbabwe's annual grain yields are 2million t/ha - all
it would take for the nation to feed itself is less than a million rural
farmers adopting conservation farming. Consider that Zimbabwe is a Christian
nation, and if on the 26th of September a million Christians buy in to this
method of farming, our future looks bright. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Na Ncube is the Director of The Global Native, a charity that works with
Foundation For Farming. She can be reached at
na.ncube@theglobalnative.org.uk  She is also part of a coalition of
Zimbabweans who are coordinating Love-Zim-Prayer Day, a 26th October program
that advocates the economic emancipation of Zimbabwe's poor masses through
every possible means]

Foundation For Farming's new website is www.foundationsforfarming.org

Air Zim spends $400m on new aircraft

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

by Irene Madongo
20 September 2010

The government's decision to spend US$400m on purchasing aircraft for Air
Zimbabwe, as workers strike over pay, show the government has failed to
balance priorities, an economic commentator has said.

More than 40 pilots have been on strike because of the non-payment of
allowances and salaries owed to them, estimated at US$1.2 million. The
airline says their demands for more than US$1,200 per month are impossible
to meet. The job action continues with no resolution in sight, amid reports
that management had fired the striking staff. However on Sunday it was
reported that the government paid US$400 million for two new Airbus A340-200
aircraft, to service Air Zimbabwe's long-haul routes such as China and the
United Kingdom.

On Monday, economic commentator Masimba Kuchera of the Zimbabwe Coalition on
Debt and Development, said of the purchase: "It comes at the backdrop of
salaries not being afforded to pilots and other airline workers, and it is a
shame. There should be a balance between replacing the fleet and making sure
people who work for Air Zimbabwe are also healthily remunerated. In this
case the Treasury and the government has failed alongside the board of Air
Zimbabwe."

Kuchera added that the amount spent was relatively huge considering the size
of the country's national budgetary expenditure. "US$400m is a lot of money.
It is a quarter of what Biti protested to be his annual budget of US$1.7bn.
It is a lot of money in terms of buying aircraft and looking at how long it
will take for the money to be recouped. It is a misplacement of priority,"
he said.

Over the past decade Zimbabwe's once excellent national airline acquired a
reputation for poor service, including constant delays and cancellation of
flights.

Kuchera said regular reports that the airline cancels passengers' flights to
ferry Robert Mugabe on his global expeditions has only discredited the
airline. In August it was reported that instead of servicing its London
flights and generating income, Air Zimbabwe's Boeing 767 long haul was
parked for three days at Windhoek's International Airport waiting for Robert
Mugabe who was attending a SADC summit.

Kuchera said: "What we know of parastatals is they have not been run well.
The people who have been put in to run these parastatals have plundered,
looted and exerted resources from those parastatals into their own pockets
and non-core issues."

The failure of parastatals to balance their priorities is nothing new and is
becoming more alarming by the day. On Sunday the Daily News reported that
bosses at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation have paid themselves nearly
US$100 000 in subsistence allowances for a trip to Mozambique to make a
documentary on the liberation struggle.

A source at the corporation said the approved Cabinet rates in travel and
subsistence allowances for a trip to Mozambique are US$200 per day, meaning
that each of the managers was supposed to get around US$2 000 for the two
week trip, instead of the over US$25 000 each pocketed.

He added that the Mozambique documentary was just meant to impress ZANU PF
in order to safeguard the managers' jobs following the recent unearthing of
allegations of massive corruption and looting by top officials.

Parly must vet nominees to key public posts

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Own Corespondent Monday 20 September 2010

HARARE - Zimbabweans have called for the proposed new constitution to
empower Parliament to have a say in the appointment of service chiefs and
other senior government officials such as the central bank governor and the
attorney general (AG).

This emerged from a survey conducted by pressure group Kubatana last week in
which it asked members of the public to text their expectations ahead of the
final outreach meetings of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee
(COPAC) which were took place in Harare and Bulawayo at the weekend.

Besides the usual responses about the need for a limited presidential term
as well as the president's powers and the incorporation of gay and lesbian
rights into the Constitution, there was an interesting proposal that the new
charter should give Parliament oversight powers during the appointment of
army generals, the AG and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor.

Under the present arrangement, President Robert Mugabe can appoint anyone he
wants to head the army, RBZ or AG's Office after consulting Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara.

The veteran leader has however unilaterally appointed his loyalists to some
of the key positions in violation of a 2008 power-sharing pact among the
three politicians, triggering off a feud with Tsvangirai's MDC-T party.

The appointments of RBZ governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes
Tomana are among several issues threatening to derail the fragile coalition
regime formed by Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara in February 2009.

The MDC-T wants Mugabe to reverse the appointment of the two officials and
appoint consensus candidates to be selected by the three leaders.

According to Kubatana, some members of the public believe that the AG, RBZ
chief and service chiefs should be vetted by parliamentarians before they
are sworn in by the president.

Such an arrangement is similar to one used in the United States where the
Senate vets all senior regime officials nominated by the president.

Amnesty International  -- Zimbabwe must release 83 activists detained at peaceful demonstration

http://www.amnesty.org/

20 September 2010

Amnesty International has called on the Zimbabwean authorities to release 83
activists arrested during a peaceful demonstration in the capital Harare on
Monday.

The members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise
(MOZA) were arrested after they marched on the country's Parliament to
highlight concerns around community safety and police behaviour in
Zimbabwean communities.

They are all being held at Harare Central Police Station.

"These arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions are clearly aimed at
restricting the rights to freedom of expression and assembly," said Michelle
Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme.

"Those detained must be released immediately and unconditionally or
otherwise charged with a recognisable crime."

At noon on Monday, 600 members of WOZA and MOZA took part in the march,
which was organized to commemorate International Peace Day on Tuesday.

Two WOZA members addressed the group outside the Parliament and described
violence that had taken place over the weekend during consultation meetings
for Zimbabwe's current constitutional review process.

They called on the Zimbabwean police to allow freedom of expression without
violence and to arrest those who perpetrate or threaten violence.

Demonstrators handed police a list of demands addressed to the Zimbabwean
police, the Police Commissioner and the co-Ministers of Home Affairs.

When police began arresting some of the demonstrators, other demonstrators
climbed into the waiting police truck in a display of solidarity with their
colleagues.

Twenty-five of the demonstrators, including those who had handed themselves
in voluntarily, were then transported to Harare Central Police Station.

A further 58 members of WOZA and MOZA then marched from Parliament to Harare
Central Police Station and handed themselves in, also in an expression of
solidarity.

No charges have yet been brought.

"This incident is a worrying example of what can happen when Zimbabweans try
to make their voices heard during the current constitution making process,"
said Michelle Kagari.