FinGaz
Clemence Manyukwe Staff
Reporter
ZANU PF heavies threaten to dump Unity Accord
FISSURES have
emerged in ZANU PF over the re-emergence of suspended war
veterans leader
Jabulani Sibanda as one of the chief architects of the
party's re-election
campaign amid revelations that ruling party heavyweights
in Matabeleland,
led by Vice President Joseph Msika, had threatened to pull
out of the 1987
Unity Accord over the issue.
And remarks made by Msika in Parliament last
week, seen as the strongest
hint yet of his retirement, have only helped to
stoke temperatures in ZANU
PF ahead of an extraordinary congress called for
December to elect leaders
ahead of next year's harmonised
elections.
Addressing legislators soon after a unanimous vote for
Constitutional
Amendment (No 18) Bill last Thursday, Msika said: "You must
never, never,
ever fail to realise that we are a people who have the love of
our country
first, your love second, this is the legacy. I speak with
authority because
I have travelled this long path, the legacy I want to
leave you, if time
comes for me to depart, is let us work as a
nation."
As Msika appeared to be priming his party for his exit, rifts
emerged over
Sibanda, who has publicly fought senior party leaders in
Matabeleland, whose
clout in ZANU PF has been weakened by their failure to
break the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change's dominance in the three
Matabeleland
provinces.
Sibanda was suspended and subsequently axed on
the eve of ZANU PF's 2004
congress, together with five other party
provincial chairpersons, for
attending an unsanctioned meeting in Tsholotsho
allegedly called to block
Joice Mujuru's bid for the Vice Presidency.
The
group was later alleged to have planned a wider coup against the entire
ZANU
PF leadership.
Sibanda had been seen as a key player in a faction said to be
led by
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former ZANU PF secretary for administration,
but he
has now been quietly reinstated as leader of the ex-combatants, and
has been
rallying support for President Robert Mugabe against opposition
from his
rivals, ahead of the December special congress.
Sibanda's
return, according to senior officials, has shaken already fragile
alliances
between President Mugabe and senior leaders of his own party in
Matabeleland. Sources said Sibanda's re-emergence almost rocked the December
1987 Unity Accord signed between President Mugabe, representing ZANU PF and
the late Joshua Nkomo's PF-ZAPU but the swift intervention by other members
of the Presidium saved the situation.
One of the most senior ZANU PF
officials in the region, Dumiso Dabengwa,
said to have opposed Sibanda's
readmission, declined detailed comment on the
matter when approached
yesterday.
The matter would only be discussed internally, said the former
ZIPRA
intelligence supremo.
"I can only discuss that issue in the Central
Committee or the Politburo,"
Dabengwa said.
In an interview yesterday,
war veterans' association secretary for
publicity, James Kaunye, confirmed
that the association had met prior to a
march in support of President Mugabe
earlier this month, where it was
decided that Sibanda should return as
leader.
Kaunye said although Sibanda had been suspended from the ruling
party, the
ex-combatants had never taken any measures against him, except to
temporarily ask him not to speak for the organisation pending his
appeal.
"We met as the association's executive three weeks before our march
and made
that decision. We asked him to be dormant while he sorted out his
appeal.
The appeal was accepted, so he is free," said Kaunye.
State media
have quoted Sibanda issuing threats against groups secretly
campaigning to
block President Mugabe's re-election.
In May, two ZANU PF factions aligned to
the Mnangagwa and Mujuru camps
violently clashed in Bulawayo over selection
of a new executive for the
province, leading to elections for a substantive
executive being postponed
and 53 members being suspended.
FinGaz
An agreement struck
between the ruling ZANU PF party and the opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) has stirred mixed emotions. Others back
the compromise as a
basis for cooperation between both sides going forward,
but MDC allies, such
as the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), reject
the deal as
appeasement. Below, we publish a full transcript of a speech
given by
Welshman Ncube, secretary general of one faction of the MDC, at the
second
reading of the Constitutional Amendment (No. 18) Bill in Parliament
last
Tuesday.
I rise to make a contribution to the debate on the Constitution
of Zimbabwe
Amendment No. 18 Bill. I begin by fully and unconditionally
endorsing the
remarks of my colleague Hon Khupe and wish to add the
following.
I confirm what the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, has
said in his statement in respect of the process and content of
the
negotiations, which are taking place between the Government of Zimbabwe
and
ZANU PF on one hand and the MDC in its collective sense -
(Laughter!)
For the avoidance of doubt, particularly for those in the media
fraternity
who keep speaking the language of MDC negotiating as two
formations - that
is not the case. At the negotiating table there is one
MDC.
For those of our compatriots who love our beautiful country, some might
be
alarmed and say those of us in the MDC might appear on the face of it to
be
abandoning the principles we have fully enunciated over the last eight
years
on how we believe a new Constitution for Zimbabwe must be made. Let me
take
the opportunity to explain and enunciate those principles and how they
fit
in with what we are trying to do in order to resolve the national
crisis.
I can speak authoritatively on these principles because I can say I
was
there at the beginning of the NCA and the crafting of its principles.
For
those who are not aware, the very first meeting, which conceptualised
and
began the process of constituting the NCA took place in Belgravia, and
was
convened by Tawanda Mutasa, attended by Brian Kagoro, Everjoice Win,
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and myself. Thereafter, the NCA as we know
it was constituted and formed.
In the process of its birth and in trying
to define its mission and its
guiding principles, it hired as a consultant
and retained the services of
Justice Ben Hlatshwayo, who was not a judge
then, to come and document the
same - the foundation of the NCA issues. In
the interest of time, that
document was then debated and adopted by the task
force of the NCA. At that
time I was the spokesperson of the NCA and
President Tsvangirai was the
chairperson. The NCA agreed that we needed a
new constitution for Zimbabwe,
which would be crafted or written in an open,
transparent and participatory
manner. In that regard, we as members of the
NCA were there to oppose two
things. One: the piecemeal amendments to the
Constitution of Zimbabwe, Two:
the unilateral manner of setting such
piecemeal amendments.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to understand those two
principles. Let me say
that these two principles were conceptualised,
conceived and adopted, not to
be verses in a bible. They were strategic and
tactical principles, which
were intended to forge the making of a
people-driven constitution. I despair
today when I read and hear the attempt
to transform these principles into
some fundamentalist decrees, which, we
are told, are to be regarded as
completely sacrosanct. As far as we
understood them, they were supposed to
be means to an end.
Zimbabwe
today, as Hon. Khupe has said, is faced with a national crisis,
which all of
us acknowledge. We might differ as to the causes and sources of
that crisis,
but I think we all, across the political divide, agree that we
are in a
crisis. Consequently those of us who love this country are saying
that
somewhere along the line as a people we lost each other.
Notwithstanding the
intolerance Hon. Khupe talked about, notwithstanding the
anger and emotion,
if we are to move forward, Mr. Speaker, we need to find
each other. {Murisi
Zwizwai: Murima imomo (right there in the darkness)}
Laughter
What we are
attempting to sow within the dialogue that we are engaged in is
to find each
other. Our contribution to supporting the Amendment Number 18,
as to be
amended at the Committee Stage as explained by the Hon. Minister,
is our
attempt to say" let us reach out to each other, let us find each
other, let
us give confidence among ourselves."
If what it takes to find each other is
for us to support these amendments,
we are prepared and we are supporting
these amendments in that context, with
the hope that as negotiating teams
move on with the rest of the agenda of
the dialogue, which the Minister has
explained includes the question of a
new constitution for Zimbabwe - how to
come up with that new constitution;
the question of a new Electoral Act -
how to come up with it {Didymus
Mutasa: and the question of sanctions} - the
question of how to deal with
contentious provisions in the Public Order and
Security Act and the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
and indeed the question of
sanctions.
They are on the agenda and we will
deal with them. We hope that we will find
each other around all these
issues. When we come back to this house, we will
come back with a package,
which includes resolutions of all the issues,
which have divided us over the
last eight or so years. That is our hope, Mr.
Speaker, and it is in that
context that we stand before this august house
today, taking that step into
the dark.
I had the privilege, Mr. Speaker, to spend the whole of Saturday in
a
meeting discussing these issues with President Mutambara and President
Tsvangirai - (Laughter) - Mr. Speaker, I was impressed by their commitment
to the dialogue process. I was impressed by their deep concern for the
suffering of ordinary people of this country (Hon Members: Hear, hear!) - As
President Tsvangirai said at that meeting: "There is no such thing as a
risk-free political decision", and therefore when we take this decision, we
are fully cognisant of the political risk inherent in it.
But we take it
with our eyes open in the hope of serving our people. We
believe that we
cannot continue to conduct politics for the sake of
politics. We believe
that we must begin to conduct our politics in the
service of the people,
otherwise it is meaningless.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I want to comment very
briefly on the aspect relating
to the composition of the Senate, which has
worried some of my colleagues,
in terms of what they perceive to be the
disproportionate number of
unelected people in the Senate. Unelected in the
sense of direct election,
in that you have 18 chiefs elected by other
chiefs, you have 10 Governors or
is it 8 Governors plus 5 appointed by the
President.
Let me just explain, Mr. Speaker, that when elections were not
synchronised,
these numbers would have been very problematic, but when you
have
synchronised elections, you elect your Councillor, you elect your MP,
you
elect your President. The person who wins the Presidential race then has
the
right to constitute the government of the day from the day of his or her
election. Whereas when the elections were not synchronised, you could have a
scenario where one political party could win a Parliamentary election whilst
the Presidency is in the hands of another party. So the potential of
subverting the government will not happen in the proposal before you.
Whoever has been elected President has a mandate for the next 5 years to
form a government. So it becomes irrelevant as to whether or not you have
these disproportionate numbers of unelected people. I thought I should end
by making that explanation. - Hansard
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube
Political Editor
MORGAN Tsvangirai has been working overtime all week to
heal rifts that have
emerged within his faction of the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change
(MDC) over the party's endorsement of constitutional
amendments last week.
Tsvangirai has over the past week held a series of
meetings with senior
figures in his party and with representatives of civic
society allies
opposed to the agreement.
Tsvangirai held meetings on
Monday with representatives of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU),
a key ally, at his Strathaven home to
explain his stance on Constitutional
Amendment Number 18.
The MDC has also been briefing diplomats, including
those from the Southern
African Development Community, on the
agreement.
Japhet Moyo, acting ZCTU secretary-general, confirmed the union
representatives held discussions with the MDC leader, during which they
reiterated their opposition to the amendments.
"We opposed Amendment
Number 17 last year, which established the Senate. Now
Number 18 has
increased the seats of the Senate to 93. Why should we support
it now?" Moyo
asked.
However, the NCA, which has described the MDC's support of the Bill as
"treachery", boycotted the meeting. Its leader, Lovemore Madhuku, said there
was no reason for his group to meet Tsvangirai as the MDC had "sold
out".
On Saturday, Tsvangirai met MDC provincial executive leaders at the
party's
Harvest House headquarters, and told them that developments in
Parliament
surrounding Constitutional Amendment No. 18 were informed by
"certain"
points already agreed to by the two parties.
Tsvangirai told
the meeting that the negotiating parties were still engaged
in discussions
to cover a range of outstanding issues.
These include amendments to the
Electoral Act. In addition to the removal of
the impediments currently in
place, the MDC will demand that Zimbabweans in
the diaspora be allowed to
vote in all elections.
Other issues to be thrashed out include:
lMatters
related to citizenship laws, which disenfranchised millions of
potential
voters;
lSecurity laws: Debate would cover the repeal of the Public Order and
Security Act and other legislation that stifles political
activity;
lMedia laws: The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act and
broadcasting laws shall be debated to enable Zimbabweans to campaign
freely
and openly;
lThe role of security forces in politics. MDC
negotiators would examine the
involvement of security forces, the secret
service, ZANU PF militias and
other state agencies in elections;
lZANU
PF's use of food as a political weapon, the role of chiefs in
elections and
the use of violence as an instrument of coercion, particularly
in rural
areas.
Tsvangirai told the meeting that the hostile reaction to the agreement
arose
out of widespread "mistrust of the ZANU PF dictatorship and lack of a
proper
and full brief of the various stages in the negotiation
process."
He urged his lieutenants to mobilise support for the "bold and
correct"
decision the party had taken "to locate the exit points from the
political
logjam."
President Robert Mugabe, in New York for the UN
General Assembly, yesterday
told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the
talks with the MDC showed
Western criticism of his rule was
unjustified.
President Mugabe, called a "tyrant" by US leader George Bush on
Tuesday,
also protested to Ban at what he said were attempts by Britain to
"internationalise" a bilateral dispute over land by attempting to push
Zimbabwe onto the Security Council agenda.
Ban, who has stated publicly
his concern over Zimbabwe, proposed sending a
special envoy to the country,
but this was rejected.
Meanwhile, a survey by the Mass Public Opinion
Institute released on Tuesday
showed 33 percent of Zimbabweans would vote
ZANU PF in elections next year,
while 21 percent would vote for Tsvangirai's
faction.
Some 21 percent declined to answer, while only one percent said they
would
vote for the Arthur Mutambara faction of the MDC.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business
Reporter
THE government, grappling with acute food shortages, has
deregistered over
100 milling companies for allegedly committing several
misdemeanours in a
crackdown that could suck in some top ruling ZANU PF
sympathisers.
Government and milling industry sources disclosed this week
that several
milling companies, among them those owned by leading ZANU PF
politicians
were last week struck off the register of licensed millers by
the
increasingly powerful Joint Operations Command (JOC) for allegedly
committing various offences ranging from hoarding, overpricing and side
marketing.
The sources said the JOC, which comprises operatives from the
country's
uniformed forces and the Central Intelligence Organisation took
the drastic
measure to plug possible leakages feeding into the black market
after its
probe teams dispatched to milling plants across the country
reported several
trading anomalies.
Some millers were alleged to be
selling maize-meal on the black market where
the product is fetching a
higher price than that fixed by government, which
millers say is
uneconomic.
Millers have been selling a 10 kg bag of maize meal at above $500
000
instead of the government dictated $140 000.
"Some millers have been
suspended for hoarding and overpricing. Some were
selling maize meal on the
parallel market and creating artificial shortages.
So the government had to
take some corrective measures through the Grain
Marketing Board," said the
sources.
In Harare, sources said only 16 millers were left operating out of
65 while
in Bulawayo a total of 20 millers were spared the axe. There are
over 200
milling companies countrywide.
However, the deregistration of
the millers has created a lot of apprehension
within the ruling party as
some officials felt that the crackdown spared
some influential ruling party
gurus who own milling companies at the
forefront of unethical trade
practices.
State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, who also chairs a Cabinet
taskforce
on food yesterday denied any knowledge of the de-registration of
millers but
confirmed that some were violating trade practices.
"We
haven't deregistered any millers. We are just working with them. Asi
pane
vamwe varikuita misikanzwa," (There are others who are violating the
conditions of trading). We will sit down to decide on what action to take
against them," Mutasa said.
When reached for comment last night, Grain
Millers Association of Zimbabwe
chairman Tafadzwa Musarara said his
association has initiated dialogue with
the government to re-register all
the affected millers and save jobs.
"Until that process has been completed,
it would be too early for us to say
anything in the media," he
said.
However, other millers hit out at the blitz, saying the government was
just
masking its failure to source enough grain supplies to feed starving
Zimbabweans.
Millers together with bakers have in recent months been
filing for
bankruptcy owing to a cocktail of tribulations among them a
shortage of
grain, skyrocketing prices and shortages of raw
materials.
Zimbabwe is battling with an acute shortage of both maize and
wheat grain
after poor harvests in the past seven years and this has
prompted the
intervention of international aid agencies who are targeting to
feed more
than four million people.
FinGaz
Staff Reporters
DEPUTY Youth
Development and Employment Creation Minister, Saviour
Kasukuwere, has taken
over freight firm Allen Wack & Shephered (AWS) for an
undisclosed sum of
money under a transaction largely seen as affirming
controversial government
plans to force foreign-owned companies to cede
control to
blacks.
AWS, a leading player in the freight industry in Zimbabwe,
specialising in
freight forwarding and customs clearing, imports, exports
and warehousing
for air, sea, rail and road transport, has been in Zimbabwe
for over 50
years, operating along the main trade routes of the world
offering a
complete service in regional and international shipping and
freight,
according to the company's website.
The company has offices
across the country as well as in South Africa,
Malawi and Mozambique and
recently entered into a partnership with ICON UK
to open an office in
Zambia.
Kasukuwere is understood to have made the acquisition through Migdale
Holdings, a holding company with interests in fuel distribution and
transport among other sectors.
AWS's managing director, Chris Darangwa,
yesterday confirmed a new
shareholder had taken over the company, but
refused to discuss details,
saying a statement would be issued to the media
next week.
The acquisition of AWS comes hard on the heels of the disposal of
a 51
percent stake in Olivine Industries by America's Heinz, and could mark
the
beginning of acquisitions of foreign-owned companies under the
controversial
Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill, which sailed through
parliament
yesterday.
The opposition and the country's black business
community have condemned the
Bill, alleging the transfer of ownership was
earmarked to benefit the ruling
party bigwigs and their cronies and would
amount to expropriation.
Indigenisation Minister, Paul Mangwana had reacted
angrily to these
accusations, insisting concerns expressed by stakeholders
were "nonsensical"
and that the Bill was "about the total liberation of
Zimbabwe".
Cain Mpofu, chief executive officer of the predominantly black
Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce, recently told a parliamentary
portfolio
committee that the proposed law would disrupt the economy and
escalate its
hemorrhage.
"There is a likelihood of a 30 percent drop in
foreign direct investment
following passage of the proposed act," Mpofu
warned.
But Mangwana this week charged that the proposed law was "not about
economics but politics".
Meanwhile, the government has allowed Zimbabwe
Platinum Mines (Zimplats) to
put on hold the disposal of a 15 percent
empowerment stake until the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill becomes
law.
The platinum miner had sealed the deal for the 15 percent empowerment
threshold with the government in 1998 after taking over the platinum claims
from Broken Hill Properties.
A number of empowerment groups have held
discussions with Zimplats to
purchase the stake but failed to do so due to
lack of offshore financial
support.
These groups include the National
Investment Trust (NIT) and Nkululeko
Rusununguko Mining Company of Zimbabwe
and Needgate Investment.
NIT, which warehouses shares in both listed and
unlisted companies on behalf
of the public for empowerment purposes, was the
first company to engage
Zimplats over the 15 percent stake but failed to
raise US$31 million
required for the shares.
Needgate, which was the
second company to enter into talks with Zimplats
after NIT failed to raise
the money, had managed to secure offshore
financial support but its bid
crumbled mysteriously under unexplained
circumstances, with the government
appointing Nkululeko Rusununguko Mining
Company to start negotiations with
Zimplats for the empowerment shares.
Nkululeko again failed to make a
breakthrough due to alleged failure by the
government to back its bid with
unspecified guarantees and support.
Mangwana on Monday said government had
the capacity to fund interested
investors but an understanding had been
reached with Zimplats to defer talks
on the disposal until the new law is
passed.
"Zimplats is rather a specific contractual nature," Mangwana said in
response to questions from a legislator who wanted to know if government
would have the capacity to finance empowerment transactions if the new law
is enacted.
"When talk of the new Bill came through, Zimplats said why
talk of 15
percent only? Can we deal with this small figure at the same time
(as the
new Bill)? So the issue about the delay was not about foreign
currency; we
are dealing with a mineral that can be exported to generate
foreign
currency, so we can borrow (money to finance the take-over). That is
why we
have been involving the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe," Mangwana
said.
Zimplats has previously negotiated empowerment credits with the
government
but these are likely to be cancelled by the planned law.
The
impending legislation will require companies with foreign ownership to
give
up at least 51 percent shareholding to blacks, effectively handing over
control of the operations.
This has caused a lot of disquiet among
foreign controlled companies in
Zimbabwe, including foreign owned banks.
FinGaz
Clemence Manyukwe Staff
Reporter
Officials make discordant statements
CHINA is sending mixed
signals over its relations with Zimbabwe, with top
officials making
contradictory remarks on the Asian giant's aid policy to
the
country.
The controversy erupted last month when British Foreign
Secretary Mark
Malloch-Brown claimed Chinese officials had told him, during
a visit to
Beijing, that China was changing its stance on economic aid to
Zimbabwe.
The Chinese Embassy in Harare then issued a press
statement
denying the British minister's claims.
However, in a further
twist last week, a senior Chinese diplomat, Liu
Guijin, who is a former
Ambassador to Zimbabwe and South Africa and
currently that country's special
envoy in Sudan, was quoted as indicating a
change in relations.
This then
forced the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Yuan Nansheng, to call
a press
conference to issue a fresh denial.
Guijin, the Chinese special envoy on
Darfur, had said: "China's assistance
to Zimbabwe is mainly humanitarian
aid, because in terms of other
development assistance, we still have some
difficulties.
"In the past, China has provided substantial development aid.
Now, with the
devaluation of the currency and deterioration of the economic
situation, the
outlook for this aid is not very good."
He said: "There
does exist a problem with the situation in Zimbabwe" and
that Chinese
diplomats had "introduced to them (Zimbabweans) our policy of
building a
harmonious society and a harmonious world."
China was reluctant to go beyond
suspending investment, Liu said, because
"we know that African countries,
including South Africa, don't want to
internationalise the issue of
Zimbabwe. We support their efforts."
The following day, the Chinese
Ambassador to Zimbabwe held a press
conference in Harare, during which he
said his country had not cut
non-humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. "The fact is
that the Chinese government
is offering all sorts of assistance to the
Zimbabwean government and people,
including loans, grants and food
assistance besides humanitarian aid."
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
INFORMATION and Publicity Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu says bare
supermarket
shelves will be loaded with goods by the end of October, and
that government
has achieved its goal of disproving former US envoy
Christopher Dell's grim
inflation forecasts.
Price cuts ordered in
June have emptied supermarket shelves and pushed
industry to the brink of
collapse, but Ndlovu said on Tuesday that the
economy would be back to
normal within weeks.
"Dell and other people had predicted that by December,
inflation would reach
1.5 million percent. What they didn't know was that we
are also thinkers. So
we cut the prices. This was economic shock therapy.
Now inflation is going
down," Ndlovu told reporters. Consignments of wheat,
he said, were being
ferried into the country by what he described as "a
generous government". "A
lot of wheat is coming into the country, thousands
upon thousands of tonnes.
Our people should just be patient. There are
efforts that the government is
taking. By the end of October, the shelves
will be full."
Ndlovu's sunny outlook on how quickly the shortages can be
ended contrasts
sharply with the views of retail companies, who are at the
coalface of the
crisis.
Edgars and Truworths, the two largest clothing
retailers in Zimbabwe, have
said over recent weeks that the extent of the
disruption was such that even
if government and business reached agreement
on prices now, stores would
only once again be fully stocked by mid next
year.
Edgars had planned to shut down 19 stores, but was threatened into
keeping
them open. The price cuts have caused more damage than government
had
bargained for, with the shortages raising alarm among ZANU PF Members of
Parliament.
Deputy Industry and International Trade Minister Phineas
Chihota recently
faced a ZANU PF caucus at Parliament, where MPs demanded an
end to the
shortages before elections next year.
FinGaz
LOCAL Government
Minister Ignatius Chombo has rubbished recommendations made
by a
parliamentary committee to limit his powers to avoid the arbitrary
dismissal
of mayors, and has described media reports on the collapse of
service
delivery systems as being exaggerated.
Responding to the first report by
the Local Government parliamentary
committee, headed by ZANU PF Mazowe West
Member of Parliament (MP), Margaret
Zinyemba, Chombo said the legislators'
report was in some parts
"exaggerated", "incorrect" and on the whole failed
to reach an "objective
conclusion."
"Clearly, the (committee's) fear that
the executive has the power to
dissolve any local authority at any time is
legally without basis and has
never been the general practice in our
country. In any case, both the Rural
District Councils Act and the Urban
Councils Act do not allow for such
recklessness," Chombo said.
The
minister also dismissed the committee's recommendation for the Local
Government Board to be granted autonomy, saying because he appoints it, the
board must remain answerable to his office.
"Whereas there have been some
media reports on service delivery in respect
of Harare, Chegutu, Karoi and
Redcliff, it is, in my view, an exaggeration
to state as the report does,
that these media reports have been dominating
both print and electronic
media. As they say, one swallow does not make a
summer," the minister said.
He rejected a recommendation to harmonise local
government legislation by
year-end saying: "As the famous poet puts it,
'they stumble that run
fast'".
Chombo said there was no need, as suggested by MPs, for the Local
Government
Board to levy local authorities, as the board was not yet ready
to shoulder
such a responsibility.
"In a situation where the board is
battling to fulfil roles and functions in
relation to urban councils, to
suggest that the board's role and functions
be extended to rural district
councils would seem somewhat ambitious in the
short term."
He said the
MPs' report was "not factual" because they had not consulted him
and had
used a small sample. - Staff Reporter
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Political
Editor
THE High Court has ruled that police have no right to block a
rally
scheduled to be held by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC)
in Masvingo this Saturday.
Police had refused to authorise the
rally to mark the party's 8th
anniversary on the grounds that the
celebrations clashed with Vice President
Joice Mujuru's visit to
Masvingo.
However, the MDC sought legal recourse, and the Harare High Court
last week
ordered the police to allow the party's rally to go
ahead.
Under Zimbabwe's tough Public Order and Security Act (POSA), citizens
must
first seek police clearance before gathering in groups of more than
three
people.
Nelson Chamisa, spokes-man for the Morgan Tsvangirai
faction of the MDC,
said the rally had been organised "to celebrate eight
years of the people's
unarmed combat against dictatorship."
The rally
will be Tsvangirai's first public meeting since the MDC endorsed
Constitutional Amendment No 18 and he will be anxious to ease worries among
his more radical supporters.
The MDC's endorsement of the amendment has
created dismay among the
opposition's civil society allies.
The militant
National Constitutional Assembly, a pressure group campaigning
for an
entirely new constitution, has severed ties with
the MDC and boycotted a
meeting with Tsvangirai this week.
Said Chamisa "On Saturday, 29 September
2007, we will look back with a
mixture of happiness and tears to eight years
of a dedicated people's
struggle for change.
"Eight years of fighting for
a better life for all Zimbabweans. Eight years
of fighting for food, jobs
and drugs. Eight years of fighting for education
and better health care for
all. Indeed it has been eight years of scars and
death at the hands of the
regime," he said.
He said the on-going Southern African Development
Community-brokered
dialogue between ZANU PF and the MDC reflected an
achievement of the goals
the party had set for itself at its congress last
year.
At only six months old, the MDC nearly upset ZANU PF in the 2000
general
election when the opposition garnered 57 seats of the 120 contested
seats.
However, the infamous split in October 2005 has drastically weakened
the
MDC, with critics doubting its clout when it goes into next year's
elections.
Meanwhile, a leading political think tank has
recommended
the repeal of seven pieces of repressive legislation and a
postponement of
elections scheduled for March next year, in the wake of an
agreement last
week between ZANU PF and the MDC on electoral laws.
A meeting of the Centre
for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA) at the
weekend implored the MDC to
urge the West to lift targeted travel and
financial sanctions imposed on
President Robert Mugabe and about 130 of his
lieutenants.
The meeting was
attended by representatives from both the ruling party and
the opposition,
diplomats, churches and civil society activists.
A communiqué at the end of
the meeting recommended the repeal of the POSA,
the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the
Citizens Act, the Electoral Act,
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act, the
Broadcasting Services Act, the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act
and the Political Parties Finance
Act.
Abolition of these laws would enhance the credibility of elections, the
group said.
The CPIA said the government should be approached to defer
the elections,
which must be held by March according to the constitution, to
September or
October next year "to give our nation time to
prepare."
Abolishing AIPPA would allow the establishment of new media houses
and the
lifting of stringent restrictions that current laws place on the
work of
journalists.
"While the dialogue between ZANU PF and the MDC
formations is welcome as the
first step towards the resolution of the
Zimbabwean crisis, the conference
would have preferred a holistic, home
grown constitution-making process,"
the CPIA communiqué said.
Last week's
agreement, it said, should be the basis for additional
negotiation to restore
confidence, but further electoral reform was still
needed.
FinGaz
Dumisani Ndlela Business Editor
THE
verdict has long been out: price controls trigger shortages, spawning a
black market where prices can even be 20 times higher than the regulated
charges.
Potentially, this has the effect of pushing inflation to
higher levels,
triggering social discontent and unsettling incumbent
regimes.
So ignore the government rhetoric about economic saboteurs
undermining the
economy by spawning shortages, and start watching the market
burn, even
under the "vigilant" guidance of the state.
Indeed prices have
started the rampage that saw them on that uncomfortable
trajectory north,
and the government this time has a hand in it.
After the infamous price blitz
that forced prices down 50 percent at the end
of July, there appears to be a
rethink on the government policy as the
country braces for Presidential and
legislative elections next year.
No need to hazard a guess: one list of price
reviews has followed another
since late July, often with the same products
marked on the list except with
different prices.
For the uninitiated, or
for those that have not bothered to follow the
trend, when the first
piecemeal price review for a product failed to trigger
supplies, often
because the price was still insufficient to ensure viability
for the
producers, another review of the same product followed, and then
another
one.
But still, that has failed to press that supply button, and shortages
have
remained entrenched in the economy.
Now, with the elections looming,
the situation might be getting a bit
desperate.
The market appears to
have been opened, and prices are soaring again.
Not something, of course,
that one would need to seek confirmation for from
officialdom - there will
be a flat denial.
But a visit to any supermarket will reveal a bit of where
the economy is
going, and there is no need for that spiritual eye.
A
2-litre container of ice cream, for example, will cost $500 000 in one
shop,
and another shop will sell the same product for $1.3 million.
It's something
for which a number of business executives were hauled before
the courts, and
some convicted, while others were found to have a clean bill
from their
tills, but not before they were subjected to those lice-infested
police
cells, of course, to show what the revolution can do to its smart and
famous.
But there is just no shock and awe any longer, and the government
is
desperate to make sure supermarket shelves are refilled before the
current
year closes, sloganeering starts on the streets and people are
hauled to
those notorious party rallies on full stomachs.
It will slowly
have to be just your pocket, not the untrustworthy producers
hoarding to
starve the market and trigger unrest against President Robert
Mugabe's
government.
The civil servants have already been promised wage and salary
increases, and
wait for that famous line from President Mugabe that they
will be shocked by
the magnitude of the pay rises - nobody said they would
be hefty by the way!
But the old concern about escalating inflation will
continue to linger in
government circles. That worthless victory handed over
to Samuel
Mumbengegwi, the Finance Minister last month, and the month
before, of
receding month on month inflation, might soon be snatched away by
those bent
on bewitching the government.
Which might still call for some
form of drastic measures again to deal with
an errant market that can easily
forget the draconian pieces of legislation
already in place to deal with
unfriendly behaviour.
Last month, the country's inflation rate declined to 6
592.8 percent
year-on-year, helped by the government blitz on the business
sector.
The inflation rate receded after initially touching a record high of
7 634.8
percent in July.
Month-on-month inflation slumped to 11.8 percent
in August, from 31.6
percent in July, largely due to a sharp slowdown in
prices for food and
non-alcoholic beverages.
The market is simply puzzled
over what basket the Central Statistical Office
(CSO) used to come up with
new figures, as most of the basket products were
not available on
supermarket shelves, from where the CSO gleans its data for
compilation of
inflation rates.
It could as well be that the CSO had used figures compiled
by the government
for the prices of most of the products, which are not
available on the
market.
Apparently, inflation should show a rebound even
when the CSO goes back to
that list.
While the price controls have always
been meant to benefit the poor, they
have, in fact, benefited the rich and
politically connected, hurting the
poor.
Until recently, ruling party and
government bigwigs and their cronies used
to buy maize from the Grain
Marketing Board for $600 per tonne but resold it
back to the grain monopoly
at $52 500 per tonne, the price at which the GMB
was buying it from
farmers.
The same people, who have access to cheap fuel from the National Oil
Company
of Zimbabwe, are reselling the fuel acquired from the company on the
black
market at inflated prices.
Apparently, this has been the case with
almost all controlled products.
Basic economic arguments note that price
controls eventually hurt the entire
economy - and there has been no classic
example of this than the recent
price blitz.
Government has been arguing
that retailers should not hike prices on their
shelves, even when the cost
of replenishing stock is escalating.
Naturally, if retailers are forbidden
from charging economic prices, they
will eventually be unable to buy from
the suppliers.
If the suppliers cannot sell their goods to retailers at
viable prices, they
will quit buying from farmers who will be stuck with
products they cannot
sell to the marketplace.
Consequently, they might
stop producing, creating shortages on the market.
This has been the reason
for the increased hardships consumers currently
have to face.
The
government might have good intentions in imposing market controls, but
the
record for such controls has simply proved unhelpful and dangerous to
the
economy.
And more costly, as ZANU PF's own bureaucrats are realising, to the
party's
bid for a fresh mandate from the electorate.
But those that might
be tempted to quickly jump onto the price gravy train
should not be too
reckless: the next time ZANU PF strikes, it might not use
water but
fire.
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
CENTRAL bank governor Gideon Gono will unveil the much-waited
mid-term
monetary policy review, initially put on hold due to delays in the
presentation of a supplementary budget, on Monday next week, Bank officials
indicated.
Invitations to the event are already being sent to
stakeholders.
Gono's monetary policy review will be unveiled amidst a gloomy
outlook on
the economy, ravaged by its worst crisis in history characterised
by acute
foreign currency and fuel shortages that have disrupted the normal
functioning of all economic activities.
Apparently, the market holds very
little hope that Gono will turn his magic
and transform the economy, given
the plethora of government policies
directly militating against an economic
turnaround.
A supplementary budget by Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi
early this
month will fuel money supply growth, while shortages on the
market could
trigger a sharp increase in the demand for imports. -
FinGaz
Personal Glimpses with
Mavis Makuni
PICTURES showing the injuries of victims of police brutality
are always
shocking but the one published on the front page of the September
23-29
issue of the Sunday paper, The Standard, was particularly
harrowing.
It showed the horrendous wound a member of the National
Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) sustained after being assaulted by the police
during a
demonstration on July 25. The paper reported the woman needed a
skin graft
to replace badly damaged tissue. Inside, the paper carried a
report about
the death of a 64-year old woman who was battered by the police
during the
same demonstration.
What made the front page picture of the
Zimbabwean law enforcement agents'
handiwork particularly excruciating for
me was the fact that it appeared
alongside a lead story in
which Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai was
explaining the
rationale behind the MDC's endorsement of the 18th amendment.
Tsvangirai
explained that the MDC had taken "a necessary political risk" by
approving
the amendment, which will allow President Robert Mugabe to install
a
successor of his choice, in order to resolve the escalating crisis in the
country. Answering a question from journalists, Tsvangirai said while he
fully understood ZANU PF's duplicity, the ongoing dialogue and process of
mediation was "not just a South African initiative but a SADC initiative"
recognised by both the MDC and ZANU PF. "SADC will guarantee that no one is
going to walk from negotiations. Why should we doubt SADC when we are
committed to the negotiations taking place?"
Tsvangirai rightly
acknowledged being aware that some sections of Zimbabwean
society were
uneasy about the MDC's sudden faith in both the regional body
and the ruling
party. Zimbabweans remember how SADC has, until this eleventh
hour, blocked
every attempt to have the Zimbabwean crisis discussed openly
at its summits.
They will also recall how SADC observer teams have declared
elections that
were characterised by violence, intimidation and allegations
of
vote-buying
and rigging, free and fair. Zimbabweans are also aware that SADC
itself has
been led up the garden path by ZANU PF on a number of occasions.
What will
it do this time to ensure that the ruling party will keep its
word?
Zimbabweans who ask these questions do not do so because they do not
want
the problems in the country to be solved but simply because they do not
want
another charade that enables the ruling party to buy time while
maintaining
the status quo. I will explain why the picture of the battered
woman
referred to above is particularly deplorable and incongruous. Even in
armed
combat, when warring parties agree to engage in negotiations, a
ceasefire is
declared.
The negotiations between ZANU PF and the MDC,
which are being umpired by
South African President, Thabo Mbeki, have been
underway for months now. It
has not escaped the notice of ordinary
Zimbabweans who bear the brunt of the
atrocities perpetrated by state agents
that not once, has Mbeki ever
complained about police brutality, abductions
of civilians, the arbitrary
arrest of innocent Zimbabweans and their
indefinite detention without
charge. I fault the MDC for accepting SADC's
assurances that "no one will
walk away from negotiations" without insisting
that the regional body
demonstrates its clout in the here and now by
guaranteeing the end of state
violence against the people.
How can ZANU
PF be said to be serious and to be negotiating in good faith
when state
violence and repression are escalating? The point the MDC and
ZANU PF have
to be reminded of is that the resolution of the crisis bringing
this country
to its knees is not about what is good and comfortable for the
leaders. The
governance problems at the core of the crisis must be solved so
that every
Zimbabwean can live in dignity and peace and security. The
negotiations
should not be a process for the leaders to extract what they
want as
individuals in terms of positions they can get or appointments they
can make
but about national interests and ending the suffering the people
are
enduring. There are already signs that ZANU PF could be more interested
in
pressing the opposition to call for the lifting of targeted sanctions for
their self-preservation and comfort than in ending repressive practices that
have deprived ordinary Zimbabweans of basic freedoms and liberties.
The
acceptance by the MDC of guarantees by SADC leaders that ZANU PF will
not
renege on negotiations on a new constitution before next year's
elections is
like signing a crucial contract by proxy after learning of the
details by
hearsay from a proponent of "quiet diplomacy." When the party
finally gets
to read the fine print, it may get the shock of its life but it
will be too
late.
President Mugabe has declared in the past that the constitution is
non-negotiable and the brutal attacks perpetrated by the police against NCA
activists are not a sign that the government has changed its mind. On the
contrary the state violence proves that the question of a new constitution
is still anathema. Moreover, if ZANU PF is serious about the issue, it
should have had no problem making the pledge directly to the opposition
party, which consists of fellow Zimbabweans with a personal stake in the
matter.
Tsvangirai is quoted as saying, "We want to go into an election,
which we
have full confidence in. We can't get into an election whose
outcome is
predetermined." That may be so, but the environment in the
build-up to that
eventuality is already determined. It involves continued
violence against
civilians, drastic food shortages triggered by deliberate
government action,
soaring unemployment and abject poverty for the majority.
ZANU PF does not
need an election or a constitutional amendment to institute
corrective
measures to bring these horrors to a halt immediately.
mmakuni@fingaz.co.zw
FinGaz
THE National
Consti-tutional Assembly (NCA) is spearheading civic society's
opposition to
an agreement on amendments to electoral laws reached between
ZANU PF and the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last week. NCA chairman
Lovemore
Madhuku, once a strong ally of the MDC, speaks to The Financial
Gazette
Political Editor Njabulo Ncube.
Q: Could you clarify the NCA's position
on the ruling ZANU PF and the MDC's
endorsement of Amendment Number 18? Is
it the general feeling of the civic
society organisations?
A: We reject
piecemeal amendments to the current constitution. We demand an
overhaul of
the current constitution. We are for a new, democratic and
people-driven
constitution. We view the MDC's endorsement of Constitution of
Zimbabwe
Amendment Number 18 as an act of treachery.
It is a betrayal of the point
that the NCA, together with the MDC, made in
February 2000 when we
successfully urged Zimbabweans to vote NO in the
referendum. That point is
that constitutional reform must be genuinely
people-driven and not dictated
by politicians of the day. To the best of my
knowledge, this position of the
NCA is shared by what I can describe as "an
overwhelming majority" of civic
society organisations.
Q: The MDC says it backed the amendment because it was
driven by the spirit
of ongoing regional efforts to break the political
impasse. What is your
take on this?
A: We are not in the so-called SADC
(Southern African Development Community)
initiated talks. Our attempt as
civil society to have a seat at the
negotiation table was not successful. We
have been subjected to two
meaningless briefings by the South African
facilitators so we have no idea
of what you are calling the "spirit" of SADC
efforts. However, if the
"spirit" of SADC is to undermine the participation
of ordinary Zimbabweans
in the making of a new Zimbabwean constitution, then
it is not acceptable.
In 2000, we rejected ZANU PF's attempt to impose a
constitution on the
people of Zimbabwe. The imposition of a constitution on
the people does not
become right merely because it is being done with the
endorsement of the MDC
at the behest of SADC. We do not accept that
explanation as a sufficient
justification for departing from a principle
that has driven our struggle in
the past 10 years. Many people have lost
their lives in pursuit of this
principle and countless others are nursing
permanent body injuries inflicted
upon them by those opposed to this
principle.
Q: I understand you boycotted a meeting called
by MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday this week at his house. What
happened?
A. We
have always engaged Morgan Tsvangirai over a variety of issues. In the
past,
he has had occasion to speak at our NCA Taskforce meetings and annual
general meetings. I did not boycott the meeting you are referring to. I
declined an invitation to attend it. This was in line with decisions taken
by our NCA Taskforce which had met on Saturday. We did not see the point of
talking about a matter over which the MDC had made an irreversible decision
that harmed the principles of our movement. We will interact, in future,
over other issues of mutual interest but not Amendment 18. On Amendment 18,
Morgan Tsvangirai has to accept that he does not, and will not, have the
blessings of the NCA.
Q: So what is your solution to ending the
crisis?
A: At the core of our crisis is bad and undemocratic governance. It
is bad
and undemocratic governance that is the principal cause of our
economic
malaise. As long as we have an unrepentant government, the
so-called
economic rescue packages will come to nought. We must set the
parameters for
democratic governance through a people-driven constitution;
hold free and
fair elections under that new constitution; have an
accountable government
and work, as Zimbabweans, with that accountable
government to address the
social and economic challenges we face as a
people.
But to get to a democratic constitution, we have to put pressure on
the
Mugabe regime for it to yield to a process of democratic reform. To put
this
pressure, we have to unite as democratic forces and organise mass
protests
on a continuous basis whatever the risk. We have to be prepared to
face the
brutality
of the regime. Eventually, we will succeed. This is a
difficult path but it
is the correct one.
Q: Your critics say you are
only against the amendment because you know it
spells doom for your pressure
group. Are you not just singing for your
supper?
A: The criticism is not
made sincerely. It is a gimmick to undervalue what
we stand for. The critics
know fully well that we represent a serious
constituency and that we have a
legitimate agenda. Donors are not a group of
naïve and unthinking automatons
who just release money to government
critics.
Our partners support us
solely because our advocacy for a new, democratic
and people-driven
constitution represents hope for the future of our
country. Most of the work
of the NCA is the sweat of ordinary Zimbabweans
clamouring for a better
country.
Q: Others say you are now irrelevant after last week.
A: The NCA
has become more relevant. Amendment 18 does not bring a new
constitution.
The sellout package by the MDC shows that the surest way to
get a new
constitution is to ensure that the process of constitution making
is taken
away from politicians. It is not acceptable for a political party
to be
entrusted with the task of constitution making. The NCA has always
rejected
the notion that what comes first is a new government, which is
thereafter
allowed to author a constitution for the country. As long as
there is no
new, democratic and people-driven constitution, the NCA will
remain
relevant. In any event, the deal between the MDC and ZANU PF has not
silenced Zimbabweans - they continue to demand a new constitution and the
NCA is there for them.
Q: Tell us about your altercation with some youths
on Sunday.
A. I have been very surprised to hear reports I
was assaulted.
I addressed a Social Forum meeting in Chitungwiza on
Saturday, September 22,
2007. There were over 400 people in attendance. The
organisers had not
created scope for questions and answers. After I had
finished my address,
two or three youths came from outside the tent,
demanding at the top of
their voices that I answer their questions on
criticism I had levelled
against the MDC leadership. I went back to the
podium and reiterated the
statements I had made. I do not know where the
youths came from, but it is
clear that they belong to that section of our
society where Morgan
Tsvangirai cannot be criticised, whatever the issue.
Q: Since your formation
in 1997, why has it been difficult to convince the
government to deliver a
people-driven new constitution?
A: The issue is not one of convincing the
government. This government is
aware of the quest for a new constitution.
President (Robert) Mugabe is
presiding over a dictatorship that survives by
not allowing democracy to
flourish. A new constitution of the type we are
advocating will bring
genuine democracy. This government is opposed to
democracy. One should not
view it as a group of men and women of goodwill
who can listen to a good
argument and get convinced. They are not interested
in the goodness of any
argument that provides scope for democratic
governance.
This government has to be forced, by mass pressure, to accept
democratic
reforms. What we have not yet achieved is to bring sufficient
pressure. So
far we have succeeded in making the issue of a new constitution
remain on
the national agenda. No one disputes the fact that the NCA has
remained
consistent in demanding a new constitution and has successfully
ensured that
constitutional reform is at the centre of every discourse for
the resolution
of the crisis in our country.
We will get a new
constitution in the very near future. The impediment now,
is the fact that
the two parties have agreed to go into the 2008 elections
without a new
constitution. This will make our work difficult. As soon as
the 2008
elections are over and the MDC has been cheated again, I am
confident that
Zimbabweans will rally behind the one cause that will make
our country a
genuine democracy: the cause of a new constitution. The NCA is
available at
all times to provide Zimbabweans with an appropriate framework
to face the
Mugabe regime and put pressure for democratic reforms.
There is sufficient
time provided there is political will. What is needed is
a people-driven
process. This can be achieved by convening an All
Stakeholders
Constitutional Conference to debate the various proposals,
which exist.
There is a Chidyausiku Draft of 2000 and an NCA Draft of 2001.
There are
also other drafts such as the Women's Charter of 2000, the
Chinamasa/Ncube
Draft of 2004 and the ZANU (PF)/MDC/Mbeki Draft of 2007.
A properly convened
All Stakeholders Conference with the broadest possible
representation can,
within a short period, produce from the various drafts,
a synthesised draft
that is subjected to public debate.
Thereafter a referendum can be held.
Access to the people is easy through
meetings of civic organisations,
religious bodies and political parties. The
problem in Zimbabwe is not so
much the content of a new constitution, but
the process by which it is
produced. We need a process that guarantees
participation by the people so
that we can entrench a democratic culture
where the people are superior to
government. In that way, we create a
country that respects democratic
values.
We need democracy to achieve economic prosperity. Seek ye democracy
first
and everything else will be granted.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi News
Editor
WHAT if you invested all you had in shares in an arms
manufacturer, only to
wake up the next morning to news that man had at last
come to his senses,
realising that war was really a silly way of settling
quarrels, the news
crashing the US$1 trillion global arms industry and
wiping out your
investments?
Or perhaps you were like an executive at
a big oil company, with stock
options piled to the sky, only for some nerd
to develop a car that runs
entirely on water?
Or maybe, you were Lovemore
Madhuku, chairman of the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA), called to
deliver a new Constitution to Zimbabwe, but now
feeling betrayed after your
major ally "sold out" by agreeing only to
amendments, falling short of your
dream of a gleaming, new Constitution.
Madhuku, in rejecting the deal last
week between ZANU PF and the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) over
electoral reform, made the telling remark
that he could no longer see
himself "sitting under the same tent with both
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara, discussing the future of this
country."
It was good that
Madhuku made this important remark, on at least two
accounts.
First, it
once again shows up the peculiar culture among the country's
teeming horde
of non-governmental organisations, where anybody can form an
organisation,
give it a thundery name - it must have a haughty "National" in
it - pitch a
tent on some suburban lawn, and speak on behalf of 12 million
people about
"the future of the country" over tea and sandwiches.
Second, it is good that
Madhuku mentions himself, Tsvangirai and Mutambara
among the figures under
his tent; all three unelected, and their own
influence going forward now
left decidedly shaky now that it is at
Parliament, and not under tents,
where any real future breakthrough would
likely be reached.
Critics raise
valid concerns about some of the amendments.
For one, Parliament will be far
too large; 93 senators is just seven short
of the US senate, and 210 members
of the lower house is about half that of
the US equivalent.Compare
Zimbabwe's 12 million population to America's 300
million.
Perhaps
critics of last week's deal should run with this, instead of casting
themselves as "the people", sole guardians of the rights and
wishes of 12
million Zimbabweans.
Concern among Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) types
over the deal is
largely genuine, one would at least hope.
But the term
"Robert Mugabe" itself, has become less of a symbol of decline,
as it
frankly is to millions of ordinary Zimbabweans, as it is, to hundreds
of
"civic groups", more a billion dollar industry, whose value rises with
every
escalation of the crisis, but devalues at any sign - however remote as
was
the case last week - that a solution might be in sight.
What would become of
the Crisis Zimbabwe Coalition should there no longer be
a crisis?
Where
would political journalists be if they could no longer hawk the
lucrative
"Mugabe regime" headline?
They gather, the NGO sort, in snooty hotel
conference rooms, usually
Thursday nights, with "moderators" presiding over
high-and-mighty sounding
discussion topics, such as "Whither Zimbabwe:
Confronting the regime head
on".
Invariably, they leave without coming
up with little else in terms of
strategy than more seminars.
According to
Welshman Ncube, secretary general of Mutambara's faction of the
MDC, the NCA
- of which he is a founder - had indeed opposed "piecemeal
amendments" and
"the unilateral manner of setting such piecemeal amendments".
But he said:
"Let me say that these two principles were conceptualised,
conceived and
adopted, not to be verses in a Bible. They were strategic and
tactical
principles, which were intended to forge the making of a
people-driven
constitution. I despair today when I read and hear the attempt
to transform
these principles into some fundamentalist decrees which, we are
told, are to
be regarded as completely sacrosanct. As far as we understood
them, they
were supposed to be means to an end."
So, if Nicholas Goche, Patrick
Chinamasa and Ncube insist that a new
Constitution remains on the table,
what's to be made of the hysterical
reaction from NGOdom?
Does the grumpy
reaction show a late realisation by NGOs that the
credibility of decisions
reached, and strategies planned, after "sitting
under a tent" do not carry
as much weight as they had imagined?
Or is this showing deeper panic among
people, some of them Tsvangirai's
closest advisers, that any more such
agreements, should they happen, also
mean those outside the negotiating
circle increasingly risk being nudged off
the stage?
FinGaz
Mavis Makuni Own
Correspondent
THE African Union (AU) won praise about two years ago when
it successfully
defused a potentially internationally embarrassing scenario
in which
Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir would have assumed the
chairmanship of the
continental body while the humanitarian crisis in his
country escalated.
The African heads of state assembled in Khartoum as
the beneficiaries of
al-Bashir's lavish hospitality nevertheless did not
shirk their
responsibility to come up with an acceptable compromise. They
agreed that
although it was Sudan's turn to assume the rotating chairmanship
of the AU,
the position would pass on to Ghana, with a promise that the
chairmanship of
the organisation would revert to al-Bashir at a more
appropriate time in the
future.
Since then the 53-member AU has remained
largely impotent in the face of the
still unresolved Sudanese humanitarian
crisis in which millions have been
displaced and hundreds of thousands have
died at the hands of the government
sponsored Janjaweed Arab
militias.
The Sudanese scenario comes to mind because the AU is currently
embroiled in
another controversy involving another head of state.
This is
the question of whether or not President Robert Mugabe should attend
the
European Union/ AU summit to be held in Portugal at the end of this
year.
The controversy was sparked by new British Prime Minister, Gordon
Brown's
insistence that he would boycott the summit if the Zimbabwean leader
was to
be present. He said it would not be appropriate for him to attend
under
those circumstances because President Mugabe's presence would turn the
event
into a media circus and thus detract from its agenda.
It would
seem, however, that more than two months before the summit, the
media frenzy
is already in full swing. Over the past week, newspapers have
carried
reports almost daily giving the different stances of all the key
players in
this five-way clash of egos featuring Britain, the EU, the AU,
the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) and Zimbabwe.
The guest country,
Portugal, the current holder of the rotating EU
presidency, believes that
differences between Britain and Zimbabwe should
not be allowed to spoil
Europe's relationship with Africa. As a result, it
has announced that the
summit will go ahead even if Britain boycotts it.
Ghana, the current AU
chair, says all heads should be present in Portugal in
December. "It would
not be fair not to invite a member of the African Union.
I believe we are
coming with all members of the African Union, the heads of
state of the
African Union, so definitely the invitation will be issued,"
Ghana's foreign
minister, Akwasi Osei Adjei has been quoted as saying.
The EU/AU summit has
been in limbo for the last seven years because of the
refusal of Britain and
other EU countries to attend if the Zimbabwean leader
was
invited.
African heads of state have in turn refused to show up if their peer
was
excluded.
Interestingly, Ghana's president, John Kufuor said in March
that African
leaders were embarrassed by the situation in Zimbabwe. "The
African Union is
very uncomfortable. The situation in your country is very
embarrassing", he
told a Zimbabwean questioner at a press conference during
a state visit to
Britain.
He suggested that African institutions such as
the AU
should exhaust all means to "give us a handle so we can
help
Zimbabwe return to normality."
Throwing his hat into the fray, current SADC
chairman, Levy Mwanawasa of
Zambia indicated that other African heads would
boycott the summit if
President Mugabe was absent. "I will not go to Lisbon
if Mugabe is not
allowed. I don't know how many of us will be prepared to go
to Portugal
without Mugabe."
Mwanawasa is another African leader who has
spoken out about the situation
in Zimbabwe, comparing the country a few
months ago to a "sinking Titanic".
The Zambian leader and President Mugabe
were reported to have clashed during
the
SADC summit in Lusaka last
month. This was after Mwanawasa had suggested
that the leaders should
discuss the situation in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe, the country at the centre of the
storm has made its own position
clear.
Information and Publicity
Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, has declared that
President Mugabe's attendance
will not be determined by any Western head of
state or a member of the EU.
"Portugal, the host nation is clear about
President Mugabe's attendance. It
is abundantly clear that if any pressure
is put on Portugal not to invite
the President, SADC will also not attend
and the AU will not attend and that
will be the EU's doomsday - not AU, not
SADC and certainly not President
Mugabe and not Zimbabwe."
This impasse seems set to persist. The AU and SADC,
which have both
condemned Brown's threat to boycott the summit, are
threatening to do the
same themselves making the chances of coming up with a
compromise remote.
FinGaz
Comment
SOUTH African
President Thabo Mbeki, whose efforts to resolve the complex
Zimbabwean
crisis were seen hitting a brickwall, could have the last laugh,
as his
controversial brand of "quiet diplomacy" moves closer to confounding
many of
his critics.
Mbeki, tasked by the Southern African Development Community
(SADC), to cool
off boiling political temperatures north of the Limpopo
River, had a false
start to his midwifery role as the ruling ZANU PF used
every trick in the
book to scuttle the process. And when the negotiations
finally started, the
protagonists were poles apart, throwing onto the table
long lists of
pre-conditions, which made the SADC initiative appear to be a
sheer waste of
time and resources.
But events of the past week suggest
whatever Mbeki whispered into the ears
of the feuding political parties did
the trick; securing the long sought
buy-in from ZANU PF and the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), whose
continued bickering is at the expense of an
economy now in terribly bad
shape.
Last week the two parties sprang a
surprise by agreeing to the Constitution
of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.18) Bill,
seen giving President Robert Mugabe a
softer landing from active politics by
allowing him to handpick his heir
apparent, which he could not do
previously.
On paper, ZANU PF has all its ducks in a single file. The party
has made
negligible concessions, railroading all its plans to harmonise
presidential
and general elections and in the process making its survival at
next year's
crucial polls a collective responsibility. ZANU PF has also
secured the MDC's
backing to add an extra load onto the taxpayer by
expanding the number of
seats in the House of Assembly, which, again, will
be tilted in favour of
the rural constituencies, strongholds of the ruling
party.
The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), which is leading the
chorus of
disapproval from civic organisations that had gone to bed with the
MDC and
are only realising now that there are no political enemies in
politics, is
crying foul. The NCA, which had pitched high on its agenda
issues of the new
constitution, is among the organisations feeling terribly
let down by the
MDC's acceptance of piecemeal amendments to the current
constitution and has
bolted out of the alliance.
The MDC insists it has
agreed to a compromise deal with ZANU PF in order to
give the SADC
initiative a chance to succeed. After travelling a bumpy and
gruelling
political journey since its formation in September 1999, the MDC
formation,
divided as it is, cannot capitulate.
With Mbeki on top of the situation as
suggested by reports from Pretoria,
ZANU PF knows it has been put in a tight
spot. Mbeki has hinted in the past
that only a free and fair election next
year can produce a government
capable of leading the country's battered
economy into prosperity. The
country's economy has sunk into penury because
of legitimacy concerns
hounding ZANU PF's disputed rule since the bloody
2000 parliamentary
elections. From there on, President Mugabe's government
has been treated
like a leper colony internationally.
While the parties
to the negotiations have refused to lift the iron curtain
on the
negotiations, it would appear both parties have made undertakings to
abide
by the rules of the game as set out by Mbeki, hence the wisp of hope
sweeping across the country.
The MDC should now drive a hard bargain by
insisting on a level political
playing field sooner rather than later
because a free and fair election is
part of a process, which starts well
ahead of the election right up to the
day of the actual polling. A free and
fair election would also mean
reversing legislation that restricts freedom
of speech, assembly and the
gerrymandering characterising the delimitation
process and the conduct of
the voter registration exercise. The
depoliticisation of the security
forces, including access to the public
media, should also be non-negotiable.
By endorsing the 18th amendment, the
MDC has honoured its part of the
bargain. The onus is now on ZANU PF to
commit itself to the healing process
or risk pressing the self-destructive
button. It would be a sad day for
Zimbabwe if ZANU PF is to pull "a fast
one" by not honouring its part of the
bargain, which is possible given the
ruling party's arrogance, which has
soiled Zimbabwe's name to levels where
it is now being lumped together with
tyrannical states such as Belarus,
Iran, Burma, North Korea and Syria.
A return to the standoff, which made the
MDC and ZANU PF look like
implacable enemies, will be suicidal for both
parties. ZANU PF has its back
against the wall because of public
disenchantment against its wicked rule.
The MDC is in no better situation.
It has lost considerable ground since its
birth. The October 2005 split has
made it more vulnerable.
It would be a zero sums game if either party refuses
to make some
compromises and decides to go it alone. There can never be a
more opportune
time than now for both parties to put aside old grudges and
sectional
interests for the good of the country.
The ordinary citizen has
suffered enough and cannot continue to endure the
grinding poverty and the
anxious moments created as ZANU PF and the MDC
fight for the captaincy of a
sinking Titanic.
FinGaz
Mutumwa
Mawere
SEPTEMBER 20, 2007 will remain etched in Zimbabwe's unfolding
history as a
historic day on which the people of Zimbabwe through their
parliament put in
legislative motion forces for which there may be no
turning back.
Although the significance of the day in defining the fate
of Zimbabwe has
not been fully digested, it is a moment pregnant with
implications for the
country and marks a decisive turning point.
On this
day, the Constitution of Zimbabwe Bill Number 18 was unanimously
passed by
both ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
legislators and
yet barely a year ago, such a development would have been
unthinkable.
The harmonisation project mooted and authored by President
Robert Mugabe
last year was condemned even by the same people who now
embrace it. However,
the object of my article is not to dwell on the past
but to fully unmask the
nature, content and context of the secretive deal
that SADC through
President Mbeki has brokered in the quest for a lasting
solution to the
Zimbabwean crisis.
The bill that was passed unanimously
by 111 members of Parliament who were
present or 74 percent of the House
seeks to harmonise next year's
presidential, parliamentary and local
government polls. No-one, including
Tsholotsho MP Professor Moyo
(Independent) who was not part of the Mbeki
negotiations voted against the
bill.
As the country and the world at large tries to digest this development,
it
is instructive that no such deal could be realised without a resolution
of
the fate of President Mugabe.
In the absence of a formal confirmation
about what has been agreed between
the parties, the subtext of the deal is
instructive and there was no better
person to expose to the nation that
President Mugabe's days are numbered and
an agreement has been reached that
he will step down as President of Zanu PF
in December 2007, the same month
as a new President of ANC is to be elected,
than Vice President Joseph Msika
who in the excitement of the moment gave a
clue to the fate of not only
himself but also that of President Mugabe.
This is what Vice President Msika
was reported to have said amid resounding
applause: "May we keep it like
that. Never ever should we fail to love our
nation! We should put the love
of our people first. This is the legacy I
want to leave with you. As you
know, I have come a long way; it's time for
me to depart. Work together as a
nation."
When a person of Vice President Msika's age (older than Mugabe)
talks of
leaving a legacy and for the first time announcing that it is time
for him
to depart then you know that a Tsugabe has taken place. Vice
President Msika
is on record as having said that he will not leave President
Mugabe in the
trenches and would rather die in office than surrender before
the successful
completion of what he describes as the national democratic
revolution.
If Vice President Msika is retiring, then it is evident that
President
Mugabe is also retiring, which explains why the MDC formations
would in
their collective minds choose to align themselves with a project
that
eliminates President Mugabe from the scene while providing a roadmap to
elections presided over by someone other than President Mugabe.
To the
extent that the SADC leadership was satisfied about the progress
reported by
President Mbeki at the Lusaka summit, it follows that the
forthcoming
Extraordinary Congress of ZANU PF will be tasked with choosing
the new
leadership of the party. If President Mugabe and Msika had not
accepted to
step down, there would have been no need to convert a ZANU PF
Conference
into an extraordinary Congress in December.
President Mugabe and Msika's
terms as party president and vice president,
respectively, were due to
expire in 2009, creating a problem if the
presidential and parliamentary
elections were not harmonised and hence the
proposal by President Mugabe to
have a transitional process that would have
extended the Presidential term
to 2010 to allow ZANU PF to elect its
leadership in 2009 who would have led
the party in the elections. This is
now history and it is evident that
President Mugabe and Msika will not seek
to renew their terms in
December.
Under this construction, ZANU PF will choose a new president and
two vice
presidents in December assuming that the framework of the ZANU and
ZAPU
unity accord is still in place. It is expected that Vice President
Mujuru
whose mandate in the party was also due to expire in 2009, will offer
herself as a candidate for the presidency, leaving the party to elect two
other individuals for the presidential posts.
With respect to the
national leadership question, President Mugabe and Vice
President Msika will
finish their terms in March 2008 and will not seek to
renew their terms.
Although Zanu PF would have wanted the elections to be
held in March, it
appears that an agreement has been reached to have a
transitional six-month
period after the exit of Mugabe to prepare for the
harmonised
elections.
The U-turn by MDC on the harmonisation project and Professor
Moyo's active
support of the constitutional changes exposes the fact that
Mugabe has
agreed not to be a candidate in the 2008 elections otherwise the
outcome
would have been as predictable as night comes after daylight.
It
is no longer debatable whether President Mugabe is a factor or not, it is
clear that the MDC has taken the gamble that with President Mugabe out, the
chances of unseating ZANU PF through an electoral process are higher.
Informed by this belief, MDC leaders were prepared to ditch their NCA
colleagues who have not appreciated that the real objective of making noises
on the constitution was to remove President Mugabe. Now that this has been
achieved through the efforts of SADC, the NCA and other non-state actors
including their external supporters have been left guessing about the way
forward. President Mbeki appears to have understood the Zimbabwean political
quagmire to allow him to persuade President Mugabe to step down without him
feeling that he has been pushed out. To the opposition, their acceptance of
the deal exposes the narrowness of their agenda. It appears that all that
was required was for President Mugabe to agree to step down without
reversing any of the policies that have combined to exacerbate the economic
meltdown.
It is clear that MDC has accepted that the land reform is
irreversible and
the only way in which compensation for the dispossessed
white farmers will
be realised is through the intervention of the British
government. Equally,
the allegations of human and property rights violations
did not feature in
the deal structure.
What is evident is that the MDC
has accepted the position of the government
of Zimbabwe that sanctions are
the root cause of the crisis and President
Mugabe will only step down on
condition that sanctions are lifted and the
indigenisation and economic
empowerment programme as envisaged in the bill
before Parliament is
implemented.
It is clear that President Mugabe has succeeded in writing the
agenda for
his successors. To the extent that the removal of President
Mugabe was the
primary preoccupation of the UK and USA governments, African
heads of state
and government are united in asking for the lifting of
sanctions and in the
reopening of dialogue between Zimbabwe and the UK on
the unresolved land
question. By brokering President Mugabe's exit deal,
President Mbeki and his
African colleagues will naturally be angered if new
conditions like
restoration of the rule of law, democracy and respect for
property and human
rights were to be asked for. -
Newzimbabwe.com
Mutumwa Mawere is a Zimbabwean businessman based in South
Africa
Living in Utopia
EDITOR - I was very
pleased to read Innocent Kadungure's letter (The
Financial Gazette,
September 20), which gave a correct account of the
intrinsic situation in
Zimbabwe. He hit the nail on the head - Zimbabwe is
getting worse.
I
guess people in the diaspora should not be deprived of their right to make
comments about the situation back home but clearly they should not be
allowed to propagate misguided interpretations.
The majority of people in
Zimbabwe are living below the poverty datum line
and our country has become
an eyesore to the rest of the world. Most basic
commodities can only be
found on the black market at exorbitant prices. We
need cheap public
transport to go to work and to places such as the National
Sports Stadium to
watch football, not posh cars. We need affordable
accommodation in
Chitungwiza, Mbare or Hatcliffe extension, not mansions.
The rural folk
certainly need buses, paraffin and diesel, and not posh cars
or palatial
houses in urban areas. They also need cooking oil and some of
the basic
commodities, which were mentioned by Kadungure.
Those who think that Zimbabwe
is doing well are living either in Utopia or
snoozing.
Tich
Bizabane
Zvimba
----
MDC leadership is just power
hungry
EDITOR - The recent developments in Parliament where
the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) endorsed the 18th Amendment Bill
exposed the
opposition leadership and left a lot of Zimbabweans
shocked.
First, the opposition leadership is accepting the principle of
amending the
constitution in Parliament as compared to crafting a new
democratic
constitution by the people. This is unacceptable and not expected
of an
opposition that claims to be fighting for democracy.
The
endorsement of the 18th Amendment by the MDC is a clear sign of betrayal
and
the people of Zimbabwe should not let them off the hook for selling out
to
ZANU PF.
The claim by the MDC leaders that they are supporting the amendment
for the
good of the country is fallacious. There is nothing good about an
amendment
that gives power to Parliament to handpick a president in the
event of the
incumbent leaving office. It is the duty of the ordinary
citizens to decide
on the laws that govern the country, and Parliament is
there to listen to
the will of the people.
The MDC cannot justify
supporting an amendment that increases the number of
parliamentary and
senatorial seats given the state of our economy. Where
does the government
intend to get the money to pay the extra MPs and
senators?
The MDC
leadership is just after power and they are prepared to go out of
their way
to get power at all costs. They are a disgrace to the suffering
masses of
Zimbabwe who have been looking forward to an alternative
leadership emerging
from the opposition.
What happened is a clear testimony that there is no
politician worthy of our
trust. Politicians, especially those in the
opposition ranks, are
opportunists who are interested in power, not the
welfare of the people. The
MDC should not cry foul in next year's elections
as it is public knowledge
that they will not be free and fair. The MDC
should have advocated a total
overhaul of the constitution as compared to
these piecemeal amendments.
Madock
Chivasa
Harare
------------
I salute the MDC for a good
decision
EDITOR - I think the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) is right in going
along with ZANU PF on the constitutional changes. If
ever the MDC wants to
rule Zimbabwe, then they have to be seen to be
Zimbabwean first and then an
opposition party later.
If they are ever to
follow the likes of the National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) and the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), they are doomed. The
MDC must be
on the people's side in trying to solve the country's problems
instead of
just laying blame on the government without offering solutions.
The ZCTU can
not, even at this time of serious hardships, convince its
constituency, the
workers to go on strike, so they have become irrelevant to
the Zimbabwe
political scene. The MDC should think of the future instead of
listening to
the likes of Messrs Madhuku and Matombo who are clinging to
their posts in
the most undemocratic manner - the same crime they accuse
ZANU PF of.
The
NCA and ZCTU know that once the current problems are resolved, they are
doomed, so they would want the continued suffering of Zimbabweans in order
to continue getting funding from abroad.
It is good that the MDC has
acknowledged that it is only us Zimbabweans who
can solve the country's
problems and I salute them. All they need to do now
is to unite so that they
get the votes next year.
LM
Harare
-----------
ZESA cashes in
on incompetence
EDITOR - It is not what you do but how you do
it that matters at the end of
the day. People understand the problems that
ZESA is going through and they
have come to endure the hardships that are
brought about by the power cuts,
but the accounts department at ZESA leaves
a lot to be desired.
We have read and heard that ZESA is facing some cash
flow problems, in most
cases this is followed by ZESA disconnecting services
for 'defaulters" who
will be forced to fork out a million dollars each as
reconnection fees -
fair enough, but this is the area that ZESA is cashing
in on its
incompetence!
Most consumers who are affected are the
defenceless and poor urban
residents. ZESA is not dispatching bills or they
are dispatching the bills
well after the final and due date! ZESA should
know that it takes at least
two weeks for mail to reach its final
destination in Harare and should put
that into consideration as
well.
Should people pay for ZESA's incompetence and unprofessional behaviour?
ZESA
should refund all those people who never get their bills on time yet
their
electricity was disconnected!
ZESA should lead by example instead
of committing daylight robbery like it
is doing now. It should protect its
customers.
We pray and hope that one day, a private company will come in and
put an end
to this monopoly!
Lovemore A
Magaso
Chitungwiza
---------
Civil society should stop
moaning
EDITOR - After ZANU PF and the MDC agreed to pass
Constitutional Amendment
Bill Number 18, I was left wondering how this could
happen so fast when no
one within civil society was mentioning it behind the
scenes or in public.
It appears to me the majority of people within civic
society in Zimbabwe
were caught unawares because they were not following up
on these things.
Thus they were outmanoeuvred by the political
actors.
Statements that have been issued by some membership-based civil
society
organisations have left me convinced that some of these groups are
so
obsessed with processes that they have lost real legitimacy to discuss
certain issues in the eyes of the common man.
It is apparent that the key
political players in Zimbabwe have agreed on the
Presidential term,
harmonised local government, parliamentary and
presidential elections and
the composition of the House of Assembly. They
believe these will eventually
benefit all Zimbabweans. These political
parties wield significant influence
on the grassroots.
Those who are claiming to be speaking on behalf of the
people of Zimbabwe
must be genuine and sincere in their demands and not
focus on trivial issues
that have little impact on the broader picture of
finding a lasting solution
to Zimbabwe's crisis. The outcry by civic leaders
and other such
commentators on why the MDC embraced Constitutional Amendment
Number 18 must
now translate into real action on their part to test their
capacity to
influence events on the ground.
The objective of all
initiatives on Zimbabwe must be to resolve the
economic, political and
social crisis and nothing else. I urge the civic
movement to view these
political developments in a positive way and begin to
roll out programmes
that will ultimately define how the Zimbabwe crisis is
resolved. There are
opportunities to be explored.
Political statements are good but they alone
will not serve Zimbabwe from
the continued slide into madness at the hands
of a clique in ZANU PF that
believes it can do to the MDC what it did to
Joshua Nkomo's PF-ZAPU after
the Lancaster House Agreement.
The concerned
civic groups should direct more of their resources towards
furnishing the
local communities with information so that these same
communities are able
to make the necessary demands from the ongoing
negotiations.
This is one
way of ensuring that the common man's issues are brought to the
negotiation
agenda, for example the issue of restorative justice -
Gukurahundi in
Matabeleland and the Midlands and Operation Murambatsvina
throughout the
urban centres.
In our fight for a democratic dispensation where human rights
are
sacrosanct, civil society organisations must engage the grassroots
communities and understand the issues that really matter to them before they
take positions that will, in the long term, alienate them from the same
communities that they claim to represent.
The grassroots communities in
both rural and urban set-ups must be assisted
to understand what the key
issues the MDC and ZANU PF have been negotiating
for and what they have
agreed upon. It is pertinent to enable these
communities to have a strong
case with the political establishment once the
political actors descend on
the communities to try to popularise the
negotiations.
Precious
Shumba
Harare
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to: JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(Add
inserted 27/9/07)
FARM LABOURERS required
Older, yet capable, sheep
hand and general farm hand required, good with
irrigation and
fencing.
Contactable refs required – would suit displaced farm
worker.
Contact – Debbie on cell: 0912 323 220
Email: mikes@kettex.co.zw
(Add inserted
20/9/07)
SIMBA International School – NDOLA, ZAMBIA
SIMBA
International School, a multi-cultural school in Ndola, Zambia, has
the
following vacancies.
1. A-level and IGCSE Art teacher. This post will
become vacant in January
2008.
2. An English teacher – to teach up to
IGCSE level. This post is currently
vacant due to the death of a staff
member.
3. A Design & Technology teacher to teach up to A-level. This
post will
become vacant in September, 2008.
4. A History teacher to
teach up to A-level. There is a possibility that
this post will become
vacant in 2008.
In order to obtain a Work Permit from the Zambian
Immigration Authorities,
it is essential that applicants have experience of
the Cambridge
International Board exams and should preferably have had
experience of
teaching in an Independent School. SIMBA prides itself on its
academic
results, which have been excellent in recent years.
An
attractive US Dollar based package is offered along with free
accommodation,
free medical and a car.
Ndola is a thriving and friendly town with an
expanding expatriate
community.
Letters of application and a CV
should be emailed to:
deputy.head@simba.sch.zm
Only
short-listed applicants will be contacted.
.
(Add Inserted –
20/9/07)
FARM MANAGER REQUIRED
A Horticultural Export project
close to Mutare, requires a farm manager.
Previous horticultural experience
would be an advantage.
Contactable references only .
Please send CV’s to:
dalyn@mweb.co.zw
(Add inserted
20/9/07)
WILD GEESE LODGE
Wild Geese Lodge has a vacancy for an
Accountant/Book-keeper.
The right person must have at least 3 years
experience in the Accounting
Field.
Working hours are: Monday – Friday,
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Good package offered, including fuel.
Friendly working
environment.
Please forward your CV’s and references to|:
wgl@hms.co.zw or post to:
T.J. Cornish
P O
Box BW 198
Borrowdale,
Harare
(Add inserted – 20th September,
2007)
ABC AUCTION – BOOK-KEEPER
Qualifications: Must have
excellent qualifications in Pastel Vs 7, 8, 9 and
be proficient in Excel
& Word
Duties: Perform all basic tasks of data capturing
into Pastel and
interpreting into Excel & Word Spread
Sheets
Balancing inter Company Accounts (no wages or salaries)
Produce
monthly balances of Expense Accounts in Pastel
Responsibilities:
Ensuring daily sales are accurate
Reporting to Financial Manager &
carrying out duties
allocated
Supervising Accounts
Clerk
Qualities: Well organised &
Punctual
Efficient &
Dynamic
Must work well under pressure & in busy
environment
Suit mature
female/male
Be prepared to work 6 day
week
Forward updated C.V. with contactable references to:
Glynis
Wiley
ABC Auctions
Hatfield House
Seke Road, Harare
Telephone:
751343 / 751498
Email: auctions@yoafrica.com
ABC
AUCTIONS
ACCOUNTS CLERK
Qualifications: Must be very proficient
in Excel, Word, Pastel and have
good working knowledge of
VAT.
Duties: Data capture from departments and interpretation onto
Spreadsheets
RTGs applications
Balancing
spreadsheet to Pastel
Produce cheques & write out
orders
Responsibilities: Ensuring accurate daily data
capture
Reporting to Financial Manager &
carrying out
duties allocated
Qualities: Well organised &
Punctual
Efficient & Dynamic
Must work well under pressure & in busy environment
Be prepared to work 6 day week
Suite mature
female/male
Forward updated C.V. with contactable references
to:
Glynis Wiley
ABC Auctions
Hatfield House
Seke
road
Harare
Telephone: 751343 / 751498
Email: auctions@yoafrica.com
(Add
inserted 20th, September 2007)
CV People Africa
Visit our website
www.cvpeopleafrica.com for numerous
local and regional
vacancies.
Readers are encouraged to send through
their CV’s, they need not necessarily
apply for specific positions.
-
PA To Director : Agri-Processing : ref 63
-
Transport & Warehouse Supervisor : ref 410
- Production /
Works Director – Textiles : ref 471
- Livestock
Out-Grower Programme Manager : ref 1188
- Project Systems Business
Manager : ref 1189
- Finance
Manager :
ref
1433
- Farm Mechanic / Workshop Supervisor : ref
1513
- CV People Recruitment Consultant - Regional : ref 1
-
Borehole Drilling Team & Operators Angola : ref 1697
- Creditors
Controller / Head of Department : ref 1717
- Property
Negotiator :
ref 1754
-
Roads Civil Engineer : Angola : ref 1657
-
Construction Engineer : Angola : ref
1659
- Quantity Surveyor : Angola
: ref
1664
Contact
- email : cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com
- Cathy’s
cell : + 263 (0) 11 213 989
- registration : mail@cvpeopleafrica.com
-
website : www.cvpeopleafrica.com or www.cvpeople.co.zw
Farm Managers –
Angola – Southern Province. Required to develop and
rehabilitate agriculture
in the Southern Province. Primary crops will
include maize, onions,
potatoes, etc. US dollar remuneration. Email
cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com or visit our
website www.cvpeopleafrica.com
Production/Works
Manager. Textiles, Manufacture & Export. Harare based. A
good technical/
engineering background required. Highly negotiable package.
Email cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com or visit our
website www.cvpeopleafrica.com
Factory
Manager. Construction mouldings and boards. Harare based. Lucrative
operation with expansion programme underway. US dollar based package. Email
cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com or
visit our website www.cvpeopleafrica.com
General
Manager/Manageress. Designer furniture import and distribution.
Duties to
include business development, sales and marketing, retail,
showroom
administration, contract negotiations, etc. Email
cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com or visit our
website www.cvpeopleafrica.com
Construction
Managers. Civil Engineers. Road Engineers. Site Agents.
Quantity Surveyors.
Angola. Recruitment interviews presently being
conducted. Email cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com or visit our
website
www.cvpeopleafrica.com
PA to
Operations Director. Food Processing. Secretarial and public
relations
functions. Very good communicator required. Own vehicle essential.
Email cathy@cvpeopleafrica.com or visit our
website www.cvpeopleafrica.com
(Add
inserted 20th September, 2007)
GARDENER/HOUSEWORKER
REQUIRED
Urgently Wanted – A reliable, honest person to work in the house
and garden;
preferably having worked for someone who is leaving and can
recommend their
worker.
Please contact Liz on 0912 308410, 04 492754
(home) or 04 747859
(Add Inserted – 20th September, 2007)
SINGMONT
INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD t/a The Capsicum Company
Paprika
The Capsicum
Company needs farmers with irrigation. There is still time for
direct sowing
of paprika.
The Capsicum Company has been established for over ten years
and we have
reputable markets.
Please contact the office on 04
369143/369198 or
Zane: 011 611 650
Brendan 0912 214
340
Daniel 011 604 666
Douglas 011 638 622
(Add
Inserted – 6th September, 2007)
TEACHER REQUIRED
ONCE UPON A TIME
NURSERY SCHOOL
Is looking for an extra teacher for January
2008.
Competitive salary, excellent facilities and equipment, congenial
working
atmosphere where the emphasis is on the all-round development of
little
children.
Only qualified persons need apply.
Phone 776470 or
746811 for an interview or email: andyk@zol.co.zw
Or rosyv@zol.co.zw
(Add inserted 6th
September, 2007)
SAFARI LODGE MANAGEMENT COUPLE
or 2 individuals
required for Upmarket Progressive Business
(Applicants will also be
considered from regional countries to Zimbabwe)
We are putting a
management team together to run a successful and developing
Safari Lodge
(75ks from Harare) of presently 32 beds with an additional
satellite/overlander camp to be added next year. The business is foreign run
with one owner recently relocated to Zimbabwe but not wanting to manage the
business on a day to day basis.
We are looking for either 2 individuals
or a couple, one to manage the
hotel/lodge side and the other to manage the
game section/park (7800 acres
with extensive game).
Management
accommodation is a 3 bed roomed house very close to the lodge but
not on
site (allowing personal time away from the business). A good local
primary
school exists 20 minutes away. A good basic package with the
possibility of
profit share exists for the right applicants.
The applicant for the lodge
element MUST have experience in the Hotel/Lodge
industry in a Management
capacity.
Preferably good knowledge on F&B
Good financial control
management
Driving licence
A pleasant personality to interact with
clients
Payroll experience (BELINA)
The applicant for the Game section
will need the following:
A good basic knowledge of game
Basic mechanical
knowledge
The ability to work with and organise, game activities and
guides.
Be pro-active in the management of anti-poaching/fencing/road
maintenance/hunting.
Someone with a farming background may be suited to
this position.
Suitably qualified interested parties please forward your
current CV’s to
the directors listed below:
Mr Dobinson. UK
phil@selectcages.com Tel: 00 44 1959
561031 (fax 00 44 1959 569171)
Mobile: 00 44 7775 840739
Mrs Bekker,
Zimbabwe
transerv@zol.co.zw Tel: 00
263 4 496297 (fax 00 263 4 480997) or Mobile:
00 263 23
401414
(Add inserted 6th September, 2007)
HUSBAND/WIFE
TEAM
Twin Peaks in Gweru is looking for a husband and wife team. The
husband to
be handyman/caretaker and the wife to supervise the
restaurant.
A two bedroomed house, fully dura-walled is available and animals
are
allowed.
The vacancy is available from 1st November, 2007.
Any
further details can be obtained from Marie Pile.
Please send your CV: to pilet@mweb.co.zw
Tel: 054 223762 or 054
227996
(Add inserted 6th September, 2007)
JOB OFFER IN
AUSTRALIA
Electrical Appliance Mechanic is required in Maroochydore,
Australia, for a
commercial kitchen equipment installation
company.
Ability to work under pressure, people skills, diagnostic ability,
understanding of PCB’s and components, pressure switches, elements
etc.
Official qualifications and experience is required. Assistance to
migrate
will be given if qualifications are acceptable and applicant is
accepted for
the job.
Please contact Mrs Bown at 04 702402 (office)
or: 023 316 739 (cell) for
further information.
No time wasters –
please.
(Add inserted 28 August 2007)
Looking for work in
Australia?
Australian Recruiting Pty Ltd is a national leader in the
provision of
recruitment and human resource consulting services and is a
wholly
Queensland owned and operated business which is staffed with leading
industry consultants.
We provide specialised recruitment expertise with
local knowledge. Our
personalised friendly approach is backed up with
skilled consultants and a
state of the art database that identifies both
client and candidate
opportunities in the marketplace.
We partner with
our clients to search for, attract, screen and appoint
exceptional people
more effectively.
For a confidential appraise of the job market and work
opportunities in
Australia, please contact Kerran Nicolle, Manager &
Owner of the Sunshine
Coast Branch of Australian Recruiting.
Kerran ran a
highly successful Agricultural Consulting Company in the
Chinhoyi District
up until the end of 2002. He has now been in Australia for
4 ½ years. As an
autonomous manager of the Branch or Australian Recruiting,
he is happy to
communicate with any interested parties currently looking to
Australia to
relocate.
Contact Kerran on: kerran.nicolle@australianrecruiting.com
www.australianrecruiting.com
Work: 61 7 54453188
Fax: 61 7
54456539
Mobile: 61
400070526
____________________________________________________
(Add
inserted 28 August 2007)
BOOK-KEEPER/RECEPTIONIST (Mornings
Only)
Looking for a mature book-keeper, mornings only excluding Fridays
and the
odd Wednesday. Must be computer literate.
We off a fun
working environment based in Highlands with a good remuneration
and fuel
allowance offered.
Please contact: Siobhan Hutchings on Tel: 443080/2 or
443088 or
Mobile: 011 410 347 or email: Siobhan@xsea.biz
____________________________________________________________
(Add
inserted 28th August, 2007)
DAIRY MANAGER – CHISAMBA, ZAMBIA
.I
have an immediate vacancy for a Dairy Manager to manage our 1000cow dairy
in
Chisamba, Zambia. This is a senior post and I am looking for a highly
motivated, experienced, professional person. Only high-calibre, suitably
experienced candidates will be considered. Experience of managing a large
dairy herd is ESSENTIAL. Total herd is 2500 animals. Tertiary education
would be an advantage but NOT essential.
1. 1000 milking cows.
2.
TMR feeding system.
3. All silage/stock-feed is provided by Crops Manager so
Dairy Manager can
focus 100% on managing the dairy
4. 40 x unit
herringbone parlour.
5. 50km north of Lusaka.
6. Very attractive
package.
7. Permanent/long-term position.
Please contact:-
Francis
Grogan
Managing Director
Zambeef Products PLC,
Private Bag
17,
Woodlands,
Lusaka,
ZAMBIA.
Tel: +260977999001
Fax:
+2601213777
fgrogan@huntley.co.zm
(Add
inserted 13th September, 2007)
HOUSEWORKER/COOK OR GARDENER
I am
looking for either a houseworker/cook or gardener. The applicant should
be
mature, experienced and either recommended by an employer or have recent
contactable references.
Excellent accommodation offered plus a good
salary to the right person.
Please phone: 011 614 233 for
interview.
EMPLOYMENT SOUGHT
(Add inserted
27/9/07)
Logistics, Administration and Fraud Investigator on cross-border
transport,
18 years General Manager, Consultant and Co-ordinator of drought
operations
for Aid Agencies seeks employment either Harare based or
external. Will
consider none transport positions.
CV available on
request.
Please contact - John Rushton on Tel: 04 497614 Cell: 011 877
384
Email: rushton6@mweb.co.zw
(Add
inserted 20/9/07)
QUALIFIED MOTOR MECHANIC
Qualified in diesel and
petrol.
Experience also on boats.
Had own workshop.
Requires position
as Workshop Manager in and around Harare.
Contact: Vernon Cockcroft on Tel:
0912 272842
Email: cockie@zol.co.zw
(Add inserted
13th September, 2007)
OPPORTUNITY WANTED
A mature man with many years
referenced experience, mainly in administration
and security related
management with various reputable organisations, seeks
a new direction in
life.
CV is available and contact can be made through:
Mrs Parsons on Tel:
04 300514 or email: Selous.hotel@mango.zw
(Add
inserted 28th August 2007)
Marketing/Sales/Management
Mature man
in his 30’s seeking employment in either Marketing/Sales or
Management.
Preferably regional.
I am the holder of an IMM Diploma; Bachelor of Bus.
Admin degree;
Certificate in Retail Business Management.
I am computer
literate with experience in Word and Excel.
Please contact: Stan Mabika c/o
email: tourleaders@zol.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 16 August 2007)
Administrator
I am mature lady with 14
years working experience in Administration and
Human Resources. I am
currently working at the University of Zimbabwe in the
Human Resources
Department. I hold A Bsc in Sociology from The University of
Zimbabwe and
Certificates in Human Resources Management. I am looking for
employment
either as an Administrator in Human Resources. My contact is Mrs
Hove
011218590 or 333524 or 492348. My e-mail address hoveh@admin.uz.co.zw.
Employment
Sought
(Ad inserted 2 August 2007)
Position sought - Finance,
Salaries and Administration.
Work experience
Currently serving as a
Finance and Administration Officer for a regional
organisation.
17 years
solid work experience, 8 in the NGO sector.
NGOs, Embassies, Regional or
International organisations preferred.
Current salary in foreign
currency.
Clean class 4 driver s licence.
Qualifications
Diploma in
Personnel Management.
Higher National Diploma in Accounting.
Bachelor of
Commerce Degree majoring in Finance.
Contact details
Juliah Murima –
04-2920769 home, 0912 699258 cell, 0912 405281 husband
Email murimao@yahoo.com or oliver@uz-ucsf.co.zw
For the
latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw