Zim Standard
By
Foster Dongozi
MINISTER of Agriculture, Joseph Made, has been
involved in the
diversion of State resources to facilitate agricultural
production on three
farms linked to President Robert Mugabe's family, it
emerged last week.
The Standard understands that staff from
the Agriculture and
Rural Development Authority (ARDA), a parastatal which
falls directly under
Made, have been deployed to farms linked to Mugabe's
family under "Special
Projects" to provide agricultural
expertise.
The farms owned or linked to the First Family
include Gushungo,
formerly Foyle Dairy Farm, and Iron Mask, which are
adjacent properties in
Mazowe, and Mugabe's Highfield Farm in
Norton.
According to Zanu PF insiders, Made has instructed
ARDA deputy
director, Engineer Zebediah Murungweni, to personally supervise
agricultural
production at the farms while he has also made it his mission
to visit the
three farms regularly. Made visited Iron Mask last week,
according to
sources.
Other than having to oversee
production at the Mugabe farms,
Made also attends to his ministerial duties
and his own farm in Manicaland.
A Zanu PF official said:
"Since Made was publicly rebuked by
President Mugabe in February for poor
performance, he now spends a lot of
time working at the President's farm.
Made is now behaving like the farm
manager at the Mugabe farms as he fears
an anticipated cabinet reshuffle
following Mugabe's criticism may leave him
stranded."
When The Standard called ARDA offices on Friday
seeking comment
from Murungweni, an official said: "I think he has gone to
Gushungo Farm
because I think he was supposed to go there
today."
When contacted Murungweni told The Standard: "I
cannot talk to
you on the phone. Talk to the chief executive (Joseph
Matowanyika)."
Matowanyika could not be reached for
comment.
Made refused to discuss the matter saying: "Hapana
zvandinozivaba. Hapana zvandinoziva (I know nothing)," before switching off
his cellphone.
However, The Standard can reveal that four
managers who were
recently arrested for allegedly stealing from Gushungo and
Iron Mask Farms
were in fact ARDA employees.
Although he
denied it, Made reportedly visited the suspects when
they were remanded to
Bindura Prison recently.
The accused are expected to appear
in court this week on
allegations of stealing fuel.
The
scandal emerges at a time when Mugabe has publicly adopted
an
anti-corruption crusade to weed out graft in the country.
However, his call may fail to convince his comrades in the
ruling party
against multiple farm ownership as his family is being linked
to the three
farms.
Iron Mask Farm is supposed to benefit disadvantaged
children
under Grace Mugabe's pet project, the Zimbabwe Children's
Rehabilitation
Trust.
Recently, a 'ground-breaking'
ceremony was held at Iron Mask
Farm where a vision to build schools with
state-of-the-art information
technology departments at the maize and citrus
producing farm was announced.
Recent State media reports
alleged that the First Family had
made huge harvests at the Highfield and
Iron Mask farms - not a difficult
feat to achieve if state resources and
ARDA experts are roped in.
Zim Standard
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
THE grieving
brother of the 19-year-old boy gunned down by
police last week in Harare
says police never identified themselves or fired
any warning shots before
they killed his brother.
Prince Chabuda, the teenager, died
at Harare Central Hospital
after his abdomen was ripped open by a volley of
bullets from an AK 47.
Emmanuel Chabuda was driving the
family's Ford Laser when
detectives travelling in an unmarked car on
Wednesday morning shot Prince.
Police claimed that they fired
three warning shots before aiming
at the vehicle, saying only one bullet hit
Prince.
But Emmanuel told The Standard a different story of
callous
disregard for human life.
Fearing that he could
be a victim of carjackers, Emmanuel said
he wanted to drive to nearest
police station before the detectives
caught up with them and
opened fired without any warning shots.
He said he was
driving towards High Glen Shopping Complex but
made a U-turn towards Glen
Norah Police Station. "Before we arrived at the
station, Prince had already
been shot several times and was crying. They
blocked me and ordered us out
at gunpoint but Prince could not sit up and
was bleeding profusely," he
said.
Emmanuel said he carried his brother, who was bleeding
into the
police station while the detectives continued to beat them
up.
However, on realising that Prince was seriously injured,
Emmanuel said the detectives ordered them to follow them to Harare Central
Hospital, where they were "dumped" before the officers
disappeared.
Fortunately, an alert onlooker took the
registration number of
the detectives' vehicle, AAM8396, which was later
traced to Harare Central
Police Station's homicide
section.
An irate Emmanuel said: "It was a painful death. The
only words
he was able to say were kufa kwangu kuri nani (It's better for me
to die)
before he died. I think he said those words because of the
excruciating pain
he was experiencing."
A Harare Central
Hospital doctor who examined the deceased also
conceded that police were
lying.
He wrote in his report: "The detectives opened fire at
the
vehicle on the side of the vehicle where the victim was, shooting him
with
four bullets on the right side ribcage. An AK rifle was used to shoot
the
deceased."
A postmortem said Prince died of as a
result of a "massive liver
rupture" from gunshots.
A
grief-stricken Deogratias Chabuda, the deceased's father said:
"This is
murder and they should not get away with it. I will first bury my
son and
see what action to take."
He said if the police wanted to
immobilise the vehicle they
should have shot the tyres of the vehicle, not
to aim at the body of the
vehicle.
Prince's mother,
Winnet (42), struggled to speak during an
interview but broke down in tears.
She said police always warned motorists
on radio and television to drive to
the nearest police station whenever they
saw suspicious vehicles trailing
them.
"That is what my children were doing. They (police)
shot them
for doing the very thing they tell people to do. To show that they
do not
care, they did not even come here for the funeral," said
Winnet.
Zim Standard
By Foster Dongozi
SEVEN families who
have served the Roman Catholic-owned Regina
Mundi School and mission in
Lupane for years face eviction from the church
farm on allegations that they
have been vandalising equipment at the
institution.
But
the families deny the charge, saying they could not loot
equipment from a
mission which they guarded jealously at the height of the
liberation war in
the 1970s. Mission staff fled to the safety of urban areas
at the
time.
In addition, the families also protected the mission
from
looting in the early 1980s when the government unleashed the North
Korean-trained 5 Brigade which committed genocide in parts of Matabeleland
and the Midlands.
Bulawayo Archbishop Pius Ncube, who
presides over Matabeleland
said it was unfortunate the families will be
evicted.
"As a church we have to be on the side of the people
but we
cannot develop that institution because of levels of vandalism taking
place," said Ncube.
However, the affected families told
The Standard that the
statements by the Archbishop were
untrue.
"How can the church accuse us of being vandals when
we protected
the mission at a time when church employees fled while we
remained to
protect the infrastructure during difficult times?" asked an
elderly man
from the mission. The villagers, most of them aged between 80
and 90, built
the mission from 1951.
Ncube however said
arrangements were being made to have them
resettled in nearby communal
areas.
"The elderly people who say they are too old to move
can always
negotiate with the priest-in-charge. What we have a problem with
is keeping
the younger generation of people who have embarked on acts of
vandalism."
However, children and grand-children of the
affected families
say they are not interested in building homes at the
mission.
"All we want is that our grandparents and parents
who have known
no other home should be allowed to spend their last days at
the place they
have known as home,"one of the affected grand-children told
The Standard.
Matabeleland North Administrator, Latiso
Dhlamini, has written a
letter to the Lupane District Administrator asking
him to help resolve the
issue.
"Please ensure the issue
is brought to the attention of the
district lands committee and solved
amicably to avoid undue anti-government
attention. We hope you are going to
take your part in resolving the issue to
avoid a precedence where settlers
would become illegal squatters and
illegally occupy the surrounding grazing
land."
For now, the elderly people who built Regina Mundi
will have to
wait as church authorities and the government debate their
fate.
Zim Standard
BY VALENTINE MAPONGA
MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai and members of his party's national
executive on Friday staged a
surprise demonstration in Harare city centre,
catching the police
unawares.
The march came after a national executive committee
meeting of
the MDC held on Friday morning.
More than a
thousand Harare residents joined the lunch time
demonstration from the
party's Harvest House headquarters to Parliament
Building, where they handed
over a petition to Speaker of the House of
Assembly and ruling Zanu PF
national chairman, John Nkomo.
In their petition, the
anti-Senate faction demanded better
living conditions, pointing out that the
majority of Zimbabweans were
suffering under the yoke of Zanu PF
oppression.
Some of the placards read: "We want a new
Zimbabwe Now", "We
want free education", "Our Workers are Hungry," "Our
soldiers are Hungry",
"We demand a new Constitution Now" and "Civil Servants
demand better
salaries".
The demonstrators later handed
over to officials at Parliament
the party's "Road-map" document, a set of
proposals to unlock Zimbabwe's
six-year-old political and economic
crisis.
MDC insiders said the march was part of efforts to
"test waters"
ahead of planned nationwide demonstrations.
A parliamentary portfolio committee on home affairs has already
painted a
grim picture on the state of police preparedness to deal with
unrest.
The march, which was not sanctioned by the
police, is the first
act of defiance by the MDC leadership against laws that
require Zimbabweans
to first seek approval from the police before embarking
on any street
marches.
Addressing supporters after the
demonstration, Tsvangirai said
the march was a warning to the government
that widespread protests were on
the way.
Senior
officials from the faction who took part in the
demonstration included party
VP Thokozani Khupe, secretary general Tendai
Biti, national chairman Isaac
Matongo, organising secretary and former
Harare Mayor Elias Mudzuri, and
chairperson of the women's assembly, Lucia
Matibenga.
Zim Standard
By Bertha Shoko
FOR Betty Makoni, the
director and founder of Girl Child Network
(GCN), clinching the Joint United
Nations programme on HIV and Aids Red
Ribbon Award and attaining worldwide
recognition, has more than convinced
her that her organisation is on the
right track to addressing the root
causes of HIV and
Aids.
Makoni's GCN recently scooped the first prize of this
prestigious award in what judges said was in recognition of its "outstanding
and remarkable role in addressing gender inequities that drive the HIV and
Aids epidemic".
GCN was named winner ahead of 20 other
non-governmental
organisations and was presented with the award in Toronto,
Canada where the
16th International Aids Conference was held
recently.
Speaking to Standardhealth on her return from
Canada, Makoni
said the US$10 000 award had certainly boosted her confidence
and showed
that the "world agrees with GCN's girl-child centred strategy" in
dealing
with HIV and Aids.
Makoni said GCN's worldwide
recognition confirmed that the world
also agreed with the fact that the girl
child was more vulnerable to sexual
abuse because of the age and gender
peculiarities, and as such any
interventions should recognise
this.
This vulnerability to sexual abuse plus exposure to
other
harmful religious and cultural practices make them even more prone to
HIV
infection, Makoni said.
According to UNAIDS, four out
of five new infections in Zimbabwe
in the 15-24-year-old age group in 2005,
were among girls.
While statistics from the GCN show that 3
900 girls were
reportedly raped between September 2005 and January 2006, in
the period
between January to September last year, 6 000 girls were raped.
This,
according to Makoni, is the reason why in the first place GCN pursued
this
"girl child strategy".
Makoni said: "Since GCN was
formed many people have asked us why
we have had to focus specifically on
the girl child. Our answer has always
been that because girls are more
vulnerable to sexual abuse and subsequently
HIV and Aids. The statistics are
there to show this. It's not a figment of
our
imagination.
"Now with this award, I must say the GCN team
has never felt
this rewarded and confident. We are certainly convinced that
we are on the
right track by addressing the gender inequities that fuel the
pandemic.
"It is an undeniable fact that young girls are more
vulnerable
to HIV infection compared to their male counterparts. The world
and Aids
community are through with that debate. We know it is fact and it's
up to us
do something about it."
Makoni said GCN's stance
on fighting HIV and Aids by empowering
young girls was now being used as a
model by the donor community to advise
other aspiring child rights
organisations.
She said: "Quite a number of donors are
backing our girl child
strategy and are even advising existing and aspiring
child and women rights
organisations to take on board what we are doing.
This is the feedback we
have been receiving and we are proud that the world
has finally recognised
us through this award."
Once a
victim of sexual abuse at an early age, Makoni said she
has emerged even
stronger and more passionate about fighting child sexual
abuse.
She said: "I am driven even much more to fight
sexual abuse, HIV
and Aids, fight gender imbalances and empower young girls.
I believe my own
experience was definitely a calling and promise to continue
my work with
passion."
Zim Standard
By
Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - Construction at the Lupane State
University (LSU) has
been stalled due to a land dispute between the
government and a Zanu PF
member who owns the farm where the university is
situated.
Authoritative sources indicated that the government
is yet to
offer compensation or alternative land to ruling party member,
Nkulumo
Hillary Msipa, three years after the state earmarked Plot 147 for
the
university.
Sources indicated this has further
derailed the LSU construction
as the government continues to drag its feet
in honouring an agreement
reached to compensate him for his
property.
LSU is situated three kilometers west of Lupane
Business Centre,
along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway. A Chinese
construction company,
China First Metallurgical Company was awarded the
tender to build the
university.
"This whole land dispute,
despite the agreement struck between
him and the government, only started
after other family members objected to
the move since it is a family farm.
Msipa was running it on behalf of the
whole family," said
sources.
Msipa refused to entertain questions on the land
dispute. "We
have not talked about compensation," he said before cutting the
line.
The Zanu PF member was recently denied the opportunity
to stand
on a Zanu-PF ticket in the upcoming rural district council
elections.
LSU Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr McLean Bhala,
confirmed the
unresolved land dispute had stalled construction work at
LSU.
"We were directed and shown that the land is still under
Msipa.
They (District Administrator's office) have not responded to Msipa's
request. He has asked for another offer for that land," Bhala
said.
"That is now the bone of contention. However, I believe
the
formalisation of the transfer is being worked out by the
DA."
The Lupane DA Christopher Tshuma also confirmed that
the
government was yet to offer any compensation to
Msipa.
"In fact, we were talking about it and we have not
concluded
the matter. We are working on offering him alternative state land
next to
his plot," Tshuma said.
LSU, which has a total of
14 students from its first intake last
year, is being snubbed by aspiring
students. Only 12 students enrolled this
year at the university housed at
the National Railways of Zimbabwe premises
in Bulawayo.
Construction at the LSU has been moving at a sluggish pace from
the time the
idea of a Matabeleland North State University was mooted three
years
ago.
In 2004 LSU failed to enroll its first intake of
students
despite the government having set 1 September 2004 as the opening
date for
the university.
This was after the government
announced the release of $56
million (revalued) required for the first phase
of construction in order to
enable lessons to kick off.
A recent visit to Lupane revealed that LSU is still situated
amidst dense
bush. This is against repeated government claims that
construction is
progressing well. Analysts have said the completion of LSU
will not
materialise in the same way other development projects in
Matabeleland have
been abandoned in their early stages.
Zim Standard
BY GODFREY MUTIMBA
MASVINGO -
Villagers in Chivi last week told officials from the
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe that the six-day extension period for the return of
old bearer
cheques was insufficient because of the few centres in their
district.
The RBZ extended by six more days the return of
the old currency
for the rural folk after they had failed to beat the 21
August deadline.
But scores of villagers who queued at
Masunda primary school in
Chivi to change their old bearer cheques last week
said only a few centres
had been established along major roads leaving
thousands of villagers in
remote parts of the district stuck with the old
currency.
Villagers complained that this forced them to
travel long
distances in order to ensure their old bearer cheques were
exchanged.
Zivanai Paringira, who had travelled over 25km
from his village
in Badza, which borders Chivi and Zvishavane, told The
Standard that scores
of people in his village and neighbouring areas would
fail to meet the
deadline for the extension period.
He
said they could not travel to Masunda at Mhandamabwe Growth
Point, located
along the Masvingo-Bulawayo road.
"I think the Reserve Bank
officials should extend by some more
days, say another two weeks so that
they establish more centres in the
remote areas. These centres such as this
one are located near the
Bulawayo-Masvingo road so it will benefit a few
people from the surrounding
areas who had the opportunity to go to Masvingo
city to exchange their money
but what about us from Badza and other areas?"
asked Paringira.
Herbert Bako, another villager from
Chasiyatende, who travelled
15km from his home, said other villagers would
lose millions of dollars as
they could not come to
Masunda.
"A lot of people in my area will be affected,
especially the
elderly because they can't walk here. Their money will be
rendered valueless
as there is no centre anywhere near us. I walked 15km
from my homestead," he
said.
In remote areas such as
Chidyamatiyo, Chomuruvati, Chasiyatende,
Mutote and Shindi in Chivi, many
villagers could lose their hard-earned cash
if the RBZ fails to extend the
deadline.
Other areas affected in Masvingo province include
Munyikwa and
Chepiri in Gutu, Mageza in Zaka, Mashoko in Bikita and other
places in
Chiredzi and Mwenezi.
Zim Standard
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
OFFICIALS of the Kellogg Foundation, on
tour of the
organisation's projects in Zimbabwe, were recently shown an
irrigation
scheme in Chimanimani sponsored by another charity organisation
in a move
that has raised eyebrows.
Kellogg Foundation
Southern Africa regional director, Professor
Mandivamba Rukuni, a Zimbabwean
now based in South Africa, was one of the
officials who were misled by local
officials.
Official sources said the incident has irked the
Catholic
Development Commission (Cadec), the sponsors of Dembeni Small
Irrigation
Scheme in Mhakwe area of Chimanimani district. The organisation
last week
dispatched a team of officials from Mutare to investigate the
matter.
"They had visitors from South Africa but had nothing
to show
them so they decided to tour our projects without our permission.
It's very
unprofessional and we have expressed our disappointment to them,"
said a
Cadec official, who requested anonymity.
Dembeni
Irrigation Scheme in Chitukutu Village is one of the
many projects sponsored
by Cadec in Zimbabwe, which are designed to empower
communities so that they
can fend for themselves.
The source said Chimanimani Rural
District Council chief
executive officer, Joseph Harahwa, who was part of
the touring team, has
apologised to Cadec.
Cadec
programme officer, Nhamo Hondo, confirmed the incident.
"We
were tipped off that they were touring our project and so I
sought an
explanation from Mr Harahwa about it. He told me that there were
no sinister
motives about the visit even though our organisation was not
informed of the
visit," he said.
Hondo said Cadec had not yet formally
launched a complaint with
Kellogg Foundation, adding: "Even if we complain
to Kellogg, they will tell
us what Harahwa told us because they are working
together on a number of
development projects in the
district."
Hondo added: "If they did not discredit Cadec
during the tour,
which we don't know yet, we will put the matter to
rest."
Harahwa could not be reached for comment. His
secretary on
several occasions said Harahwa would return calls from The
Standard but he
did not.
Kellogg Foundation
administrator, Tarisai Tavengwa, said she
could not comment. "I know nothing
about that. All the people responsible
for projects are out of town. And I
am new to the organisation," she said.
Rukuni and programme
manager, Marble Hungwe, could not be
reached for comment.
Zim Standard
BY
VALENTINE MAPONGA
AIR Zimbabwe (AZ) technical experts say the
Ministry of
Transport and Communication is going ahead with plans to acquire
Russian
planes against their advice.
This comes in the
wake of reports that President Robert Mugabe
has been angered by the Chinese
MA60 planes which had no back-up spare
parts.
The
Standard understands that a delegation led by the permanent
secretary in the
transport ministry, George Mlilo, travelled to Russia and
sealed a US$500
million deal which will see the beleaguered airline taking
delivery of at
least five Ilyushin and Tupolev aircraft.
The Air Zimbabwe
board was not involved in the trip, sources
said.
The
deal will see AZ acquiring planes, consisting of three 400T
freighters and
two 400M passenger aircraft. Deliveries from the Voronezh
Aircraft
Construction Company plant will start in 2008 once the final deal
is
signed.
AZ sources said the deal has caused jitters among the
airline's
pilots and engineers, who have expressed serious concerns over the
quality
of the aircraft. The planes have been dubbed "flying coffins"
because of
their poor safety record.
AZ staff wants the
airline and its engineers to have greater say
in any planned acquisitions
following problems with recent plane
acquisitions from China, The Standard
was told.
AZ board chairman, Mike Bimha, confirmed contacting
the Russian
supplier but said the board was not involved in the recent
trip.
"I was not involved in organising that trip but I am
sure they
will make a report soon. I think this is really a ministry
initiative,"
Bimha said.
Mlilo was not immediately
available for comment last week.
In May last year AZ acquired
two MA60 aircraft from China and
earlier this year received a third one for
free. The planes are being used
to fly domestic and regional routes. They
are, however, being shunned by
senior government officials who are concerned
about their safety.
Zim Standard
BY
OUR STAFF
THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has
set the date
for a nationwide demonstration to force employers and
government to address
increasing poverty and economic meltdown affecting
workers in the country.
The demonstrations will be dubbed,
"Operation Tatambura:
Vashandi Musatyityidzirwe or Operation
Sesihluphekile-Zisebenzi
lingethuselwa."
Speaking after a
one-day general council meeting yesterday, ZCTU
president Lovemore Matombo
said the labour body resolved to stage the
protestsbeginning 13 September to
force employers and government to award
workers salaries above the poverty
datum line (PDL). The demonstrations
could take many days, he
warned.
"Workers are angry. These days, employers treat
workers like
slaves and we cannot allow this to continue. They (workers)
wanted to
protest like yesterday but we're saying let's give employers
time," Matombo
said.
Matombo said employers and
government are refusing to accept
Paragraph 6 of the Prices and Incomes
Stabilisation Protocol, which will
bind them to award salaries above the
PDL.
Official figures say the PDL stands at $75 000
(revalued) as of
last month but Matombo said it has since topped $90 000 for
a family of six.
About 90% of workers in the country earn salaries below the
PDL.
Matombo said the ZCTU was also demanding that government
makes
available Anti-retroviral drugs to all people in the country affected
by
Aids.
Official figures indicate that there are only 60
000 people on
the government's ARV programme compared to 300 000 people who
desperately
need the drugs.
The meeting also resolved to
support the Christian Alliance
initiative bringing together political
parties in the country in an attempt
to solve the current economic
crisis.
Zim Standard
marketwatch by Deborah-Fay Ndlovu
THE mining index has risen
to within three quarters of the
industrial index in recent weeks due to
spiralling international commodity
prices and a fair value exchange rate,
according to a report from Stanbic.
Although the index
dropped in preceding weeks due to profit
taking, Stanbic contends that the
mining index was likely to continue with
the rally that could see it
returning to a trend maintained at the start of
the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
when the two indices were at par.
"At start of the ZSE a
century ago, the two indices were on par,
but mining have persistently
under-performed industrials, partly due to
unsteady movements in commodity
prices caused by global socio-economic
tensions. However, in the last
fortnight or so mining have powered
strongly . representing a year to date
growth of nearly 2 000% thanks to
firming mineral prices," said
Stanbic.
Gold rallied to over US$630 an ounce on the
international market
while nickel is selling around US$32 195 a
tonne.
The recent adjustment in the rate of exchange is
likely to
benefit mining companies, which could lead to higher forecast
earnings,
Stanbic also added.
The exchange rate review
which pegged the US dollar at $250 also
benefited the equities as a whole
with the industrial index gaining 0.24%
points to close Wednesday at 183
622.65 points.
Stanbic attributed the gains to the monetary
policy.
"And while the central bank was distracted over the
past three
weeks by its massive campaign for the new currency, the Zimbabwe
Stock
Exchange (ZSE), always a barometer of speculative activity in Gono's
book,
was chalking up gains of over 100%, encouraged by Gono's apparent
change of
heart on his previously strict monetary policy," said the
bank.
However local stockbrokers said despite the gains this
was not
the best week for the benchmark index, which had more sellers than
buyers.
Zim Standard
By Terry Mutsvanga
DEALERS in
generators have reported brisk business following the
continuous power
blackouts experienced in the country.
Failure by the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to
provide adequate power supplies over
recent months has forced consumers to
look at
alternatives.
A survey carried by this paper showed that
most hardware shops
were experiencing an upsurge in sales of generators
resulting from the power
shortages.
Most sales
representatives who spoke to Standardbusiness agreed
that business was
"quite good".
According to Michael Jokora the director of
OTC, individuals and
organisations were coming to purchase the generators as
the power cuts
continue to affect many households in the
country.
"Generally business is quite okay and people are
coming to buy
our products. The most popular brand is the Chinese made Nexus
which is
suitable for domestic purposes," he said.
His
sentiments were also echoed by Lawrence Shamu, a sales
representative at
Avon DIY in Avondale who said: "Sales have been generally
good but the
recent currency changes have slowed down business. But we are
recording some
good sales here and the 5.5kW diesel generators are selling
quite well," he
said.
The generators are selling for an average of $250 000
up to $800
000 in most hardware shops depending on the sizes and types. The
most
popular models include Honda, Kohler and Nexus.
However, sales representatives of other hardware shops argued
the recent
currency changes that had resulted in the devaluation of the
local currency
had negatively impacted upon their businesses.
A director
with a Hardware shop that sells generators in the
capital who spoke on
condition of anonymity said: "We import the generators
but it is not easy to
source foreign currency."
Zim Standard
By Our Staff
A diplomatic wrangle between Zambia and Zimbabwe
over the former's
insistence to impose non-tariff barriers remains
unresolved five years after
it began with no resolution in
sight.
Several businesspeople decried the bad service they
have
received from Zambia at an export conference organised by Zimtrade last
week
with most calling for an urgent resolution to enable them to penetrate
the
market.
"The Zambian problems have been going on for
five years now. I
remember storming into government offices and asking why
they were not
taking care of the problem," said Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries
president Callisto Jokonya.
Other business
people recounted how there had been a parallel
market pegged duty and had
their goods revalued by Zambian authorities who
did not trust that they had
presented the correct value for their goods.
Representatives
from the pharmaceutical industry said they were
irked by Zambia's insistence
that they pay registration fees in Kwachas when
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
does not trade in the currency.
Zimbabwean authorities said
last week that the problems had been
raised "at the highest level" but
insisted the barriers were not restricted
to Zambia.
"We
know the problems very well and have raised them at the
highest level. The
problems are not unique to Zambia . . . but specific in
the region," said
Beatrice Mtetwa, an official with the Ministry of Industry
and International
Trade during an export conference organised by Zimtrade
last
week.
The Northern neighbour has been a constant source of
headache
for local businesspeople. In 2003 it introduced a parallel market
rate
pegged duty but scrapped it after interventions from the Common Market
for
Eastern and Southern Africa.
It was later to
re-introduce the requirement last year in
apparent disregard of trade
laws.
Zim Standard
Comment
SADC's ambivalence towards the Zimbabwean crisis
could be
because the region has been the major beneficiary. But it betrays
the
expectations of ordinary Zimbabweans.
At the recent
SADC Summit held in Maseru, Lesotho, the regional
grouping discussed
Zimbabwe but the outcome was inconclusive. This is
despite reports of a
doomsday scenario in which the crisis could shatter the
stability of the
region because every economic indicator shows a downward
trend, exacerbated
by inflation, unemployment, and rising levels of poverty.
It
is hard to imagine what the fate of South Africa would have
been had the
Frontline States adopted such an ambiguous position towards
Pretoria.
Equally the civil war in Mozambique during the
late 1980s and
early 1990s would have taken longer to resolve, as would the
conflict in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo during the early part of
the last decade.
President Festus Mogae, who was in the
country last week praised
Zimbabwe's agricultural sector and the
contribution Zimbabwean professionals
in Botswana have made towards the
growth of its economy and the development
of that country. But Botswana
knows how repeated outbreaks of foot-and-mouth
disease, for example,
resulting from Zimbabwe's chaotic "agrarian reform
programme" have cost it
beef exports.
SADC countries are aware that the exodus of
Zimbabweans into the
region is mainly by professionals, people who can make
a meaningful
contribution to growth of their economies. But even the less
skilled have
made an impact and it is precisely for this reason that South
Africa, for
example, allows seasonal labour onto farms in that country,
which has seen a
significant growth in agricultural productivity and farm
exports.
SADC's growth has largely been at Zimbabwe's expense
and while
regional leaders offer lip-service to the plight of the majority
of
Zimbabweans. That is why they elect not to take decisive
action.
Mogae spoke of the number of Zimbabwean companies
that have
relocated to his country since the crisis began. Many other
businesses have
gone to South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi and
Mozambique.
It is time regional leaders stopped their
complicity in
inflicting further suffering on the people of this country and
work for a
speedier resolution to the current crisis.
The
recently concluded agreements between Mozambique, South
Africa and Zimbabwe,
and Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe in the creation
of transfrontier
national parks, and the proposed bridge linking Botswana,
Zambia and
Zimbabwe will only immediately benefit the other countries and
not
Zimbabwe.
But it is time the regional leaders appreciated
that the
security and stability of SADC lies in growth and development of
all member
states. An under-developed and de-industrialising Zimbabwe will
be a weak
link threatening the well-being of the regional
grouping.
Seven years of the crisis in this country appear an
eternity. It
is time SADC learnt to call a spade a spade and confronted
their opposite
numbers in Zimbabwe.
SADC can transform
into a region that is able to conduct
business within itself and the rest of
the world is if all the countries are
not disjointed in their approach. This
was clearly demonstrated when
Zimbabwe declined to sign the finance and
investment protocol - signalling
it is a stumbling block to
investment.
The people of Lesotho, Moza-mbique and South
Africa look-ed to
the region in their hour of need. The people of Zimbabwe
are entitled to
expect the region to listen to their plight and come to
their rescue.
Zim Standard
sunday opinion by Josiah B Taundi
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) Governor, Gideon Gono's monetary
policies while packaged as a fight
against bad business practices are only
hurting the poor most. The policies
are not tackling the real issues for the
benefit of every
Zimbabwean.
In 2003 the central bank governor's monetary
policy reviews
zeroed the problem on financial institutions. Banks, bureaux
de change,
asset management companies and discount houses were closed in the
name of
"bringing sanity" to the financial services
sector.
It is hard to see a single executive who became
destitute due to
the closures. If anything, some have re-established
themselves well outside
Zimbabwe where economies still operate normally.
Others are contesting the
closures in courts with real prospects of winning.
Those who had been
arrested, some under special laws that guaranteed
detention for 21 days
without an option for bail, have been
acquitted.
The opposite is true for the ordinary man.
People's monies were
trapped and many went for Christmas destitute without
pay, bonuses and no
money to pay school fees for the next year. They only
got their cash years
later when its value had been eroded by inflation, the
original "number one
enemy" that Gono should have addressed in the first
place. A good number of
ordinary people lost lifetime
investments.
The 2005 monetary policy changed the target.
Gono's wrath turned
to flea market dealers, vendors and other such accused
of possessing
precious foreign currency, changing it on the parallel market
and ostensibly
sabotaging economic turnaround efforts.
The
clampdown raged wide and ended up as the historic and
vicious "Operation
Murambatsvina" which, according to the UN Special Envoy's
report, left
nearly one million people homeless and without a source of
livelihood while
affecting 2.4 million others. The clergy described the
operation as a "war
against the poor and not poverty".
Nevertheless, not much
foreign currency was recovered, let alone
substantial enough to meaningfully
service this country. In fact, the
destruction and misery far outweighed the
benefits and up to now the poor
are still reeling from the effects of
vicious "Murambatsvina".
This is 2006 and Gono is now
accusing faceless "money
launderers" or "cash barons" for causing economic
ruin by hoarding and
salting away cash in foreign countries. The current
monetary policy gave
birth to a new family of bearer cheques that has three
zeroes lopped off the
previous bearer cheques. The changeover was swift,
vicious and militarised.
Ordinary people from rural areas and high-density
suburbs were made to
endure many hours of humiliating roadside searches by
armed police, soldiers
and national youth service graduates at the behest of
the RBZ.
Many bona fide small traders and citizens, some
without bank
accounts, lost out due to lack of awareness, logistics and
police excesses.
Now the RBZ has extended the deadline for rural people - an
admission of
policy failure. Already security forces are searching people
for new money
that may exceed amounts prescribed by the monetary
authorities.
But the issue is: most people tend to keep cash
at their homes
not because they were involved in shady deals but because it
made economic
sense. People have lost confidence in the banking system
precisely because
of Gono's bank closures that created quasi-monopolies with
a vampire-like
attitude and decaying sense of
professionalism.
Banks give clients ridiculously low interest
but charge punitive
interest rates for borrowing and charge big service fees
and countless other
fees. It is discouragingly difficult to open an
account. A client always
loses out. Those who hold accounts do so mostly
for administrative purposes
characterised by more withdrawals than
deposits.
Instead of addressing these issues the central bank
is mulling
erecting more banks in rural areas when it is clear that won't
work in the
current crisis because of the collapse of the rural economy
especially
commercial agriculture. The Zimbabwean crisis is such that one
thing leads
to another.
The currency change inspired
serious money laundering as cash
hoarders bought assets and foreign currency
to beat Gono's deadline. Somehow
they were ahead of the authorities and
media reports indicate that billions
of new money is already circulating in
neighbouring countries before it has
even reached most local rural
communities. It's business as usual.
The lesson is: a policy
works well through the co-operation of
those for whom it is intended. That
avoids sabotage.
The solution lies elsewhere. It is
definitely not the three
zeroes blamed for spoiling a good soccer game as
propagated by the central
bank's ill-conceived media adverts. Blame games
and vindictiveness (such as
threatening to change the currency in 24 hours
in Project Sunrise 2) will
not solve the problem. Energies should be
directed at the obvious the
protracted capricious economics and bad politics
perpetrated by the
incumbent government.
Zim Standard
sunday view by Phillian Zamchiya
THE tragedy of opposition politics in Zimbabwe has been a major
shift
towards speculation around President Robert Mugabe's stepping down
from the
helm.
There have been consistent calls for Mugabe to hand
over power
to a transitional government with some going as far as suggesting
that he
will be calling for fresh national elections. This is just child's
play.
These dream speculations only have short-term benefits in arousing
expectations among the masses but in the long run they only serve to
disillusion the nation and create a long dry spell of frustration such as we
are experiencing.
It's not a question of making some
vague generalisations about
Mugabe's individuality on a form of popular
identity but it is a matter of
carefully observing everyday political facts
in their variegated
manifestations. We run the risk of permanently
misreading political events
and consequentially misleading the
nation.
To be able to formulate strategies that will dislodge
Mugabe we
must be able to accept the harsh reality that Mugabe is not about
to pass
the baton to anyone.
Mugabe is not prepared to
let go of his political power and the
more we understand that the better.
Mugabe has managed to fool Zimbabweans
to engage in the childish games
centred around his succession, resignation
and transitional government. When
people expend their energies on State
house stage-managed scenarios this
makes him comfortable. To deal with this
man we should ensure that every
player sharpens and aims his arrows at him
and his
surrogates.
It is Mugabe's game plan to lull us into
hallucinating about
his imagined departure. Even in March 2002 before the
Presidential election,
The Financial Gazette published speculations from
unidentified sources that
Mugabe was suffering from fits that made him
collapse several times. A
perception of a weak enemy can lead to premature
celebrations. That kind of
hope is like dew once it evaporates
away.
The issue of succession that some of the leaders have
chosen to
spend their energies on is a charade. The Insider in 2003
reporting on the
International Crisis Group dwelt extensively on the two
camps within Zanu PF
preparing to take over from Mugabe. If Mugabe was
serious about leaving
power while he is still living he could have simply
propelled the Mujuru
camp with its preferred candidate then Simba Makoni.
But to him, Makoni
would pause a threat to his rule on assuming the
deputy's role just the
same as Emmerson Mnangagwa, thus he settled for
Joice Mujuru.
Another unfortunate thing is that most of his
overtures towards
resignation have been quoted while he is out of Zimbabwe
on official visits.
Mugabe is still to clearly articulate his retirement
plans while on
Zimbabwean soil. On 22 April 2005 he was quoted by the
Indonesia Jakarta
Newspaper saying: "I have said it before that when my term
ends I will
retire." The Guardian also reported such overtures in September
2005 that
Mugabe had alluded to the fact that he "will want some rest" after
his term
in 2008.This gives a picture to activists that the struggle is
coming to an
end which in reality is just a mirage.
Predictions of Mugabe's demise have proved premature. Mugabe in
his own
words has constantly reminded the people that he is there to stay.
After the
June Parliamentary elections Mugabe had this to say on home soil:
"I still
have quite a lot of vigour in spite of all the deaths I have
suffered.
Please I am no ghost; I am the real Robert Mugabe."At least by
then Mugabe
could still acknowledge that he was human.
To stress that he
is ready to rule forever Mugabe sees himself
as a teenage and even recently
responding to a question on his health on 20
February 2006 he boasted: "The
other day they said in Singapore my bones
were not exactly of a boy of 26,
but they said certainly of someone 30." He
even went further to say that he
felt like a "28-year-old". This does not
portray a picture of anyone
planning to retire and let another generation
take
over.
The Charles Taylor debacle is another ulcer that
strengthens
Mugabe's determination to die on the throne. He no longer trusts
anyone.
Forget even the hullabaloo about Benjamin Mkapa.The betrayal of
Charles
Taylor by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria did not go
unnoticed by
Mugabe. The Nigerian Head of State had given guarantees of
protection to
Taylor when persuading him to step down as leader of Liberia.
But Obasanjo
later backtracked and facilitated his arrest. Taylor's arrest
will obviously
send shivers down the spine of any dictator as it points to
an end to an era
to impunity of Heads of States.
The fact
that Obasanjo met US President George W Bush shortly
after Taylor's arrest
and assured Bush he had complied with demands is all
fresh in Mugabe's mind
and it's certain he worries Mkapa could potentially
do the same after he
steps down.
Even a solution from his close circles will be
difficult to
swallow. The way Bingu wa Mutharika has been hounding former
Malawi
president Bakili Muluzi is a case in point and also just closer to
home
former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba has been dragged to courts
for
alleged crimes committed during his reign.
In recent
comments Mugabe has strongly warned those who intend
to embark on mass
action against his rule saying " . . . if they are looking
for death let
them go ahead and follow that route". He said opposition
leaders should just
eat their sadza and relax instead of plotting to unseat
him. During the
Heroes' Day commemorations last month, he was more fired up
and sanctioned
the army to pull the trigger against those who want to
challenge his rule.
That's how serious Mugabe is about clinging onto power.
The
false ray of hope created by misguided reports on Mugabe
encouraging Zanu PF
members to discuss his succession should be
contextualised. Those who dared
to democratically influence the composition
of the presidium were
humiliated, sacked, demoted, managed, jailed and
forgotten. Ask Professor
Jonathan Moyo.
False hope created on the basis of prospects
of Mugabe's
resignation, prospects of a transitional government and
prospects of fresh
elections will have long term debilitating effects on the
political scene.
The people need to understand that the struggle will be
long and painful and
certainly Zimbabwe will not get change overnight. The
masses must never
divert their attention to the false hopes being created.
Mugabe has already
prepared himself for life presidency.
Zim Standard
sundayopinion by Marko Phiri
WHAT is it that so-called
"fact-finding missions" expect to see
when they visit Zimbabwe, and are
these visits based on reports about the
country being "demonised" by a
belligerent western and local private media?
This is asked
with reference to the latest visit here by a
delegation of an obscure
Christian grouping from Europe. As far as reports
in the
government-controlled Press go, the delegation was quick to emphasise
that
all the stories they had been hearing prior to their visit here were
fabrications. They just had to see for themselves what had made Zimbabwe
earn the wrath of the British and other hostile nations.
One of the judgements passed by the Christian coalition which -
top on its
agenda was a mea culpa for sins committed against Africans by his
Caucasian
brother - is that Zimbabwe is a beautiful country.
The
beauty translates to a country getting bad Press because of
some reasons not
made very clear by the Christian delegation.
But for other
independent observers who cannot be fooled, the
reasons come fast and
furious. Thus it has to be asked what is it that they
expect to
find?
One is reminded of those missions that have endorsed
every
fraudulent election result here favouring the ruling party as free and
fair
when the voters claim their vote was stolen. If the people themselves
dismiss the result, what then informs a troupe of African circus performers
to contradict the people who know better because they actually cast their
ballot? But then, this slight detail has never been known to bother the
observers of Zimbabwe's messy elections, much to the celebration of the
ruling party.
Because Zimbabwe is not at war and thus has
no derelict
bullet-riddled edifices in the manner of Mogadishu, one then
imagines the
judgments passed by "friendly delegates" that absence of what
looks like a
war zone means all is well here.
The very
fact that a Christian delegation passes judgment about
Zimbabwe being
unfairly criticised when other Christian leaders here have
gory tales to
tell about how the regime treats "its" people could be a
pointer to who
hosted the delegation.
We already know that these are the
kind of people the ruling
party wines and dine: folks who endorse the
disputed legitimacy of the
regime. And this sadly, includes churchmen who
should bear the human rights
and social justice torch.
Many a time it has occurred that a delegation jets into the
country, meets
ruling party bigwigs at State House, are told about sanctions
and
imperialists, then there you have it, the delegation has ample proof
that an
African statesman is waging a noble war against imperialist bullies.
But the
people themselves will tell you the regime is waging a brutal war
against
the very people it claims sprang it into power.
Another
delegation jets into the country, meets the people,
tours slums, meets
members of the official political opposition: there you
have it, these are
CIA agentsgathering intelligence to unseat a
democratically elected
government. I mean, come on, when will all this crap
end?
That some members of the local clergy have been accused of
siding with the
much criticised regime, and still getting a "white"
Christian group merely
parroting what their local brethren are saying points
to the extent which
politics has virtually infiltrated religion. Or rather
how ministers of
religion have decided there is no honour in standing with
the people of God,
but with people of power and obscene wealth.
In a report in
the State media, the leader of the Christian
delegation is mentioned as
being British, and one asks the relevance of that
small detail. Obviously
the regime's fight with the British extends to
anybody British, and now that
a British Christian leader is apparently
analysing events from a different
perspective, it becomes a victory for the
regime here!
Imagine then if a British minister of religion were to unleash a
scathing
attack on the regime about human rights abuses, absence of rule of
law,
constitutional violations, and a whole litany of breaches that have put
the
country under international spotlight, he would be accused of being an
unrepentant Rhodie and other names, which the ruling party and its doctors
of spin have in abundance in their hate and conspiracy
lexicon.
Zimbabwe still has magnificent tourist resorts,
architectural
and infrastructural developments envied by the average African
country and
for some dimwit fact-seeking visitor, this translates into a
country at
peace with itself.
We know Anna Kajumulo
Tibaijuka invited the wrath of the regime
after her tour of the destroyed
homes last year. It was unacceptable that an
African woman could condemn an
African government. Ruling party-controlled
men and women were quick to
point she was from a country with the largest
slums in Africa how dare she
preach about the evils of the government's
demolitions.
What would have been ideal for her and Jan Egeland was to visit
the
air-conditioned offices of the men responsible for that misery shake
hands,
smile for the cameras, get into their planes and live happily ever
after.
Zim Standard
Ziegler Mano: turning dreams into reality
BY OUR
STAFF
SOME of the greatest ideas that have made profound
changes in
the world have been inspired by circumstances of
necessity.
An English teacher at a secondary school in
Chirumhanzu was
amazed by the highly talented students she encountered in
the rural areas.
What to do with this pool of talent in Zimbabwe was the
question that vexed
her for some time.
When she later
joined the United States Embassy in Harare as an
education adviser, Rebecca
Zeigler Mano, persuaded her immediate boss at the
time, Bruce Wharton, on
the need for a programme that would ensure that
highly talented, dedicated
students, regardless of their financial
background, had the right and
ability to access the abundant opportunities
of higher education in the
US.
Wharton gave the nod and with his support, Zeigler Mano
launched
the innovative United States Achievers' Programme (USAP) in
1999.
USAP also aims at building open-minded, skilled,
well-educated
future leaders who are committed to sharing their knowledge
and experience
to improve their communities.
For Zeigler:
"Effective leaders come from backgrounds where they
can relate to the
majority of people, so finding someone who has grown up,
in my case in
Zimbabwe, in a rural village or township urban background who
then gets
amazing educational opportunities is more likely to remember home
and be
able to do something in their life to make a difference for the
people at
home."
USAP has seen more than 120 Zimbabwean students being
accepted
at US universities. The latest group of 27 students began leaving
in August
after a farewell reception in the capital presided over by US
Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, who in congratulating the
students, encouraged
them to use the knowledge and experience acquired from
abroad to help make a
positive difference in the future of
Zimbabwe.
The students will take up their studies at
America's most
selective colleges and universities that include Princeton,
Columbia, Brown
and Pennsylvania, and Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Williams'
colleges.
Fallon Chipidza, who has left to take up her
studies at Hamilton
College, New York, said her group was made up of people
who had
distinguished themselves academically and proved that academic
excellence is
achievable through diligence and integrity despite one's
background.
Describing their selection as a "lifetime
opportunity" Chipidza
said: "We intend to contribute significantly and not
to just add diversity
but also substance and character to the American
society.
"We shall revive our country's economy,
revolutionise our
industries and give some dignity to the health fraternity.
That is the
pledge from all of us to all of you."
USAP
students are achieving top marks at their US institutions
and have big plans
on graduation.
Tafadzwa Muguwe is one of many. On graduation
from Swarthmore
College in Pennsylvania in 2005 with a degree in Biology, he
was awarded a
Rhodes scholarship to study Pharmacology at Oxford in UK.
After graduation
he will proceed to Harvard Medical School where he plans to
continue
biomedical research focusing on development of an AIDS
vaccine.
Muguwe has been part of HIV medical research teams
at Mount
Sinai School of Medicine in New York, focusing on the pathology of
HIV-1
virus.
This summer he will be working with the US
Centres for Disease
Control.
USAP selects more than 30
students during May of each year, from
high schools throughout Zimbabwe to
participate in the programme. Each year,
more than 400 top "A" level
students complete the extensive application
process.
Selection criteria include academic excellence, demonstrated
leadership
potential, economic disadvantage and an ethos of giving back to
the
community.
Explains Zeigler: "The USAP students have the
potential to be
the future generation of Zimbabwean leaders in the various
academic and
professional sectors. Over the last six and half years, USAP
students have
excelled academically and many have worked as teaching
assistants or in
academic research, especially in mathematical, economic and
scientific
fields.
"Socially, they have been engaged in
and have spearheaded a wide
variety of initiatives - clubs, sports, music
and dance troupes, community
service and leadership activities on campus, in
their surrounding
communities, and most crucially back home in
Zimbabwe."
The programme has attracted the attention of other
nations so
much so that as many as 15 countries around the world ranging
from
Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Latvia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mongolia,
Nigeria,
Romania, South Africa, Uganda to the UK have established centres
modelled on
Zeigler Mano's programme.
Although the
students attend various universities, they have
established a network that
offers support and mentoring. The network has a
fund and an online
discussion forum, which ensures that the students are in
contact and are
able to discuss various relevant issues affecting them or
those playing out
at home.
Allow the poor the means to survive
FIRST, I must congratulate
the leadership of Zimbabwe for the
delivery of the land to the children of
the soil, even though the process
was haphazard, unsystematic and with a
political bias.
Despite the fact that people like myself were
refused land by a
Makoni District Land Committee in Rusape (a clear example
of post-colonial
discrimination and oppression of citizens) making it
half-baked freedom for
them, I am pleased the land is now available to
Zimbabwe.
I also cherish the relative peace prevailing in the
land though
it is peace limited in liberty and justice.
I
congratulate Vice President Joice Mujuru for her leadership,
which is
characterised by dignity, stateswomanship, progressiveness and
balance in
her attitude and speeches.
The Reserve Bank's action in
deleting three zeros from our
bearer cheques and introduction of new bearer
cheques is appreciated. In
fact, some 28 countries did so in the face of
hyperinflation many years ago.
The result is greater convenience for the
general public and repatriation of
large amounts of the Zimbabwean currency.
Unfortunately enemy number one and
two - hyperinflation and foreign exchange
shortages respectively - have not
been tackled at all.
The plight of the voiceless and poorest of the poor in Zimbabwe
breaks my
heart and I would like to believe the heart of every caring
person. We are
seeing all over the country women with babies strapped on
their backs,
baskets of vegetables and fruit on their heads with some
falling down while
fleeing from the police.
These women, poor widows, men,
widowers and orphans are bleeding
from poverty, hunger, lack of medicine,
housing and all sorts of economic
and financial hardships that haunt the
nation. That is why they are trying
to earn a living by selling their goods
wherever it is convenient for them
because the government has not provided
enough places for selling their
commodities.
Many of
these people are victims of the so-called "Operation
Murambatsvina", the
national man-made tsunami or disaster in Zimbabwe. If
human need and
suffering were put first, the so-called "Murambatsvina"
should have followed
the so-called "Operation Garikai" (which is a
replacement of demolished
shelters) and not the other way round.
No one in his or her
right mind would oppose the principle of
cleanliness of the cities as
exposed by Murambatsvina. However, the idea
lacked the insight necessary to
cushion its effect on people already under
immense pressure from the social
and economic hazards.
Now the only alternative for these
victims of the disaster and
other poorest of the poor is buying and selling
vegetables, fruits and other
commodities and by raising crops such as maize.
But their crops and
commodities are being snatched away from them at police
road blocks. Where
do the police put what they snatch from the
poor?
The other day, a widow with four children had her
bananas worth
$2 000 (revalued) taken away from her by the police, while
another woman
lost her peanuts and round nuts. Where did the police take the
produce to?
The poor women and their children were deprived of either
essentials or
livelihoods. But these women are not alone. They represent
millions more.
Ours has become an on-going crisis and man-made disaster
wreaking havoc
among the poor of the land.
Let the poor
sell their commodities wherever it is convenient
and productive for them. Do
not take away their commodities.
In the name of both the
living and the dead, who suffered and
died for the liberation of Zimbabwe,
as well as in the name of the ancestors
and yes, in the name of the
Almighty, Stop it!
Abel T Muzorewa
Retired
Bishop
United Methodist Church
-----------
Brutal attack by police on Chibebe
shameful
THE brutal attack by police on Wellington Chibebe,
the
Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions in front of
his
family should not go unchallenged. This incident is but a tip of the
iceberg. The sad history of this country has seen thousands of such
cases.
Children are very vulnerable and to expose them
to such a
brutal attack on their father was diabolical to say the least. Do
we want
our children to grow up dreading the police? What future society
would we be
creating?
Would President Robert
Mugabe's family been amused to see
the President manhandled in such a brutal
and uncouth manner?
He should be very thankful that his
own children are
insulated against what is a normal occurrence to
unfortunate Zimbabwean
children. Mugabe should not encourage us to include
children for punishment
for their father's perceived
sins.
Through his regime, Mugabe has created a
Gestapo-type of
police force whose sole aim is to maim and kill. Our police
force has been
reduced to a force of thugs and this is all thanks to the
Commissioner of
Police, Augustine Chihuri, who has no idea what police work
entails.
Chihuri must take a leaf from the British
police. No
British child is scared of the Bobbies who are considered by
law-abiding
Britons as their friends except, of course, the criminally
inclined Britons
who dread the very sight of these well-trained lawmen and
women.
I would like to know the feelings of children
whose
parents are in the police force. Are they not aware of the activities
of
their parents? How can they face other children after assaults on their
parents? What type of relationship, between the children, is being
developed?
During my youth days we were in the same
dilemma.
Relations between children from the British South Africa Police and
ordinary
children were very strained. We managed to isolate BSAP children by
not
mixing with them after school because they lived in their protected
camps.
This is no longer the case because police officers and their families
are
living among ordinary Zimbabweans.
Such a state
of affairs is breeding hatred between the two
groups of youths, making the
future of Zimbabwe very bleak indeed.
Let us start to
rebuild a people-friendly police force
with no political leanings. Let us
openly criticise a police force which
shows its brutality in front of our
children. A family which resorts to
violence in front of its children will
create very brutal parents of the
future.
Chihuri
must go
Masvingo
----------
Terrible chaos at AU student
registration
THERE is an old saying that "All that
glitters is
not gold". This saying fits exactly what took place at Africa
University
(AU) from 16 August to 18 August 2006 during students'
registration. There
was organised chaos by those responsible for university
administration. Such
disorganisation was not expected at such an institution
of higher learning.
The whole registration
exercise was horrible,
frightening, awful and unbearable. At the end of the
day, Friday 18 August,
registration was still far from being completed. On
this day, the situation
was worse. There was heavy pushing in a line
composed of female and male
students. It was survival of the
fittest.
The authorities at Africa University
must be
reminded strongly that parents are paying very high fees for their
children's
good welfare. The students are not getting any free service. So
both parents
and students expect a better service than this horrible one the
students
went through during the registration
days.
What took place was tantamount to insult,
mockery
and degradation of student dignity. The students had a torrid time.
God
forbid!
The good reputation of AU, built
over the years, has
been tarnished in a short space of time by a few
misguided elements in the
administration department. If the Vice Chancellor
is an honest man as he
ought to be, then definitely some heads in the
administration department
should roll sooner than later, for bringing the
good name of AU into
disrepute.
D R
Mutungagore
Mutare
---------
Zanu PF vultures cannot escape
perdition
ZANU PF should have chosen a vulture
rather
than a cock as their symbolic
emblem.
Now that the heat of the furnace of
reality
and exposure is closing in on the evil and corrupt Zanu PF
deadbeats, it is
perhaps unfortunate for them that they have not even yet
found any
parachuting options to escape from their eventual
accountabilities.
Hallucination, criminal
conduct and denial are
apparently the instilled principles of the Zanu PF
culture.
What is perhaps understandably
tragic is that
they typically cannot differentiate proper right from
wrong.
Any near mentally neutered
solidarity comrade
that might know about immoral or unlawful conduct may be
deluded to believe
that they will always get away with what they have done -
perhaps because
the still-living supreme comrade made promises to them to
persist over the
time he was still of self-imposed
relevance.
Another oversight may be that no
Pharaoh has
ever been able to control events, claim or re-assign the use of
its assets
or for others to spend or benefit from its ill-gotten loot after
its overdue
death.
No hero
resurrections have yet been recorded
in properly tabulated
history.
Based on Zanu PF recorded conduct,
the time
will probably come when Heroes' Acre may become not less than a
joke place
or a tourist attractive feature as would a public
urinal.
It is a matter of record that
"heroic"
supporters of the Mugabe regime have never displayed any true
solidarity
commitment such as towards a "self-sacrificial holy war" against
the emerged
world that knows too much about their evil and
depravity.
Usually the distinctive Zanu PF
hero elect or
supporter is appraised to be one that would likely be refused
a legitimate
and qualified work position as a sanitation engineer (toilet
cleaner) in
Ethiopia.
The typical
otherwise non-achieving Zanu PF
comrades actually do have uniquely
specialised skills. Their looting
nostrils flair up when they have sight of
another self-serving plundering
opportunity.
So deep are their snouts
in the
ever-diminishing loot trough results in that they cannot even see
their
future accountabilities.
Blunt
Talk
Bloemfontein,
RSA
-------------
No real substance in Namate's
sentiments
TONY Namate's articles decrying
the present
crop of opposition leaders cannot go unchallenged. Is he saying
that Morgan
Tsvangirai has failed because he is a trade unionist, Professor
Jonathan
Moyo because of his intelligence and Arthur Mutambara because he is
robotics
professor? Come on Namate, give us
substance!
I would have thought that by
now it is
obvious that the likes of Moyo, Daniel Shumba and Pearson Mbalekwa
cannot
hope to win in any free and fair election because of their
association with
this evil party called Zanu
PF.
Anyone who has been associated with
this
monster has blood on his/her hands, and the cost is very high. Ask Dr
Callistus Ndlovu, John Nkomo, Dumiso Dabengwa and Dr Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu
how their link with Zanu PF has ruined their political
careers.
As for Tsvangirai, again I
thought the facts
have been provided that he failed to lead MDC to great
heights. Instead, the
accusation is that he is a younger version of
President Robert Mugabe. Gift
Chimanikire can give you the facts on which
Tsvangirai's dictatorial
tendencies are based. And then when we come to
Mutambara, please give us the
facts to be used to discredit
him.
One last thing - does it help our
politics
to keep on talking about some leaders and their "robotics" and
others about
having been tea-boys?
John Majaha
Bulawayo
----------
Alerting responsible minister
of apalling
conditions at Harare
Polytechnic
I write this letter to bring
attention to
the Minister of Higher Education or /and to President Robert
Mugabe.
Heads of Departments, Division
and Wardens
who happen not to come from the home area of the Principal of
Harare
Polytechnic are being frustrated to pave way for those from his home
area.
College records reflect all
this.
Since the current administration
came in,
the college has been on rapid decline and it seems the ministry
concerned is
doing nothing although complaints have been aired out in
various media.
The college is not being
run on professional
lines. It appears that all senior positions are being
assigned to people
from Manicaland, specifically Rusape. Not all of these
appointments are on
merit.
The head
himself appears to use the
fire-fighting management style. He actually
ensures that people around him
are inexperienced in order to perpetuate his
autocratic tendencies.
The Principal and
his trustees are the ones
who are running the students' canteen, which
guarantees low quality food and
shortages.
Thanks to deputy minister
Saviour Kasukuwere
for putting him in his correct station during a function
in Masvingo. In
addition, members of staff are permitted to follow up on
students on
attachment. If an audit is made, it will be found out that
travel and
subsistence allowances are accessible only to members in the
college board
of studies. Lecturers are denied funding to attend refresher
courses.
There are also numerous cases of
female
students being abused by administrators without the Principal doing
anything. He actually surprised many during one of the open days by bringing
in his female friend.
The creation of
two vice principals (Vice
Principal Admin & Training) has created a lot
of confusion at the college.
Could the
minister in question or President
please set up a commission of inquiry to
investigate what is happening at
Harare Polytechnic
College?
Disgruntled
Harare
This letter was referred to the
Principal
for comment. While he acknowledged receipt of the letter and
promised a
prompt response, more than a month later no comment has been
forthcoming. -
Editor.
------------
Disability benefits: NSSA
explains here
IN response to disgruntled
worker's letter
that appeared in your issue of 13 - 19 August 2006, the
National Social
Security Authority (NSSA) would like to state the following:
Disability
change with stability of disablement i.e. 50% by one's doctor and
20% by
NSSA doctor.
The NSSA
disability ratings are based on
international rating systems (Statutory
Instrument 68/1990 applies).
Benefits are a function of insurable earnings
ceiling or degree of
disablement.
Compensation is payment for the injury under
the Workers' Compensation
Insurance Fund (WCIF). This scheme is
employer-funded, employees do not
contribute.
The $150 000 (old currency)
is a retirement
benefit under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) which will
be paid
regardless of the compensation pension, therefore the two schemes
are
different. NSSA is always reviewing benefits levels and the latest
review is
effective from 1 July 2006.
Where the worker is not satisfied with the
NSSA doctors' rating, there are
appeal procedures that have to be followed
for a
review.
If the worker requires further
clarification
on the matter, he/she should contact the nearest NSSA
office.
P
Chereni
Public Relations
Manager
NSSA
Harare
-------------
Play National Anthem
once
RADIO Zimbabwe plays the National
Anthem in
Shona and Sindebele but I believe the use of the two languages
everyday is
divisive. We are one nation and there are many Shona-speaking
people who are
fluent in Sindebele and
vice-versa.
I propose that the Anthem be
played in one
language on one day and in the other language the next day.
This will cement
the sense of oneness and belonging. ZTV is doing it - one
language today
and the other language the next day. No one loses
anything.
Interested
Mabelreign
Harare
----------
A geriatric among the
youth
VOICE of America reported that
President
Robert Mugabe walked out of the SADC Summit after he was accused
of ruining
the economies of the region through his misgovernance in
Zimbabwe.
The new leader of the regional
grouping, the
Lesotho Prime Minister denied that Mugabe had walked out but
said that the
President of Zimbabwe being an old man had gone to his hotel
room to rest.
Both reasons were not
complimentary to our
President. For the first time in living memory, Mugabe
found the kitchen too
hot for him so he had to scurry away from the
room.
Credit must go to the new
generation members
of SADC for finding the courage to criticise the most
dreaded member of the
region. The other reason of old age was very
uncomplimentary. In short, the
Prime Minister of Lesotho was asking what an
old man like Mugabe was doing
in Maseru among a youthful
leadership?
I felt rather sorry that an
82-year-old plus
old man sat all alone among scores of youthful leaders. It
is time for
Mugabe to avoid being ridiculed because of his advanced age. He
should now
stay in his palace drinking tea and dining on sumptuous
meals.
Take a
rest
Masvingo
-----------
Mugabe should create favourable
conditions
for migrants to return
THE big
question that any patriotic
Zimbabwean is asking himself or herself is: "How
can I help my country?"
Every person sees his or her role differently
depending on where they are
located.
There is no honour better than serving one's
country and it is not possible
to pursue the Zimbabwean dream from abroad.
It is not my intention here to
detail the causes of migration among
Zimbabweans but it is a fact that, the
history of migration is the history
of people's struggle to survive and to
prosper, to escape insecurity and
poverty, and to move in response to
opportunity, whether real or imaginary.
When Professor Arthur Mutambara, leader of
the other MDC faction, made a
clarion call for all Zimbabweans to step up to
the plate and be counted for
the fact that history will never absolve them
for doing nothing, he was not
calling his generation to merely enter into
politics, but rather to search
their souls and consider any role that could
help their
country.
President Robert Mugabe, for all
his
limitations, has asked Zimbabweans outside the country to return home
and
help their country, but he should be encouraged to go a step further
and
set up a task force that will engage all stakeholders on the major
impediments such as corruption, and governance
issues.
Some Zimbabweans had matured into
their
roles when they left the country and yet they now find themselves not
being
accepted as accomplished professionals. Zimbabwe's top bankers,
farmers,
engineers, lawyers, pharmacists, teachers, nurses, social workers
and
journalists among other professionals are all tremendous human capital
that
the country needs to claim its rightful place in the
sun.
There is no doubt that home is best
and most
of them would like to come back home one day. I am certain that the
big
question is when and how will this be possible? Migrants do not always
acquire new skills and in cases where they do, some of the skills may be
irrelevant to the sending countries.
In other cases migrants are not able to
practise their chosen profession
when they move to countries such as the UK
because not all qualifications
obtained overseas are often recognised at the
equivalent level and in other
cases the jobs are simply not available
resulting in
de-skilling.
However, there are also many
Zimbabweans
abroad doing exceptionally well in their respective fields and
they still
think about their country. Most Zimbabwean professionals abroad
have avoided
going into party politics for various
reasons.
Dr Alex Magaisa makes an
observation that,
"Perhaps political leaders in positions harbour fears in
relation to the
security of their positions. They should not worry. Some of
us have very
different professional interests and are happy to do what we do
and have no
immediate interest in active politics. We are content to sit in
the
background and generate and share ideas for the good of the
country".
There is no doubt that
mechanism should be
put in place for professionals abroad to contribute to
the development in
their country which invested so much in them. Prospects
of economic recovery
in Zimbabwe should not be ruled out. Eric Bloch in The
Zimbabwe Independent,
of 19 August, 2006 points at the possibility of
economic recovery, "Zimbabwe
has vast potential economic wealth in a number
of very material respects.
These include a tremendous treasure trove of
minerals, most of which are as
yet barely exploited. It has very
considerable, commercially exploitable,
gold reserves, but its present
mining of those reserves is relatively
minimal. The same is true in respect
of platinum, uranium, diamonds, coal,
chrome, nickel, other precious and
semi-precious minerals, metals and
methane
gas".
According to the United Nations,
the wealth
of migrants is not only in money. The skills and know-how they
accumulate
are also instrumental in transferring technology and
institutional
knowledge. They inspire new ways of thinking both socially and
politically.
In India the software industry
is said to
have emerged in large part, from the intensive networking among
expatriates,
returning migrants and Indian entrepreneurs at home and abroad.
While
Diasporans' views and skills are valuable and may help to deliver
peace and
development in our country, it would be a mistake to assume that
Zimbabweans
in exile or abroad are better able than people back home to
represent their
nation's interests.
South Africa has established the South
African Network of Skills Abroad,
linking skilled nationals abroad who want
to contribute to their home
country's economic and social development, with
local experts and
development projects. The challenge is for Zimbabweans in
the Diaspora to
come together and form Diaspora organisations that can
engage other
development partners and stakeholders in areas of
interest.
We do not have to despair in
the face of
challenges; after all we have the cyberspace which enables us to
chart new
ways of engaging to promote development in Zimbabwe. You can start
with me,
especially those in the United
Kingdom.
Msekiwa
Makwanya
United Kingdom