International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: September
7, 2007
HARARE, Zimbabwe: The government raised prices across the
board by 20
percent Friday in an effort to ease acute shortages of food and
basic goods.
Elliot Manyika, acting head of the Task Force on prices,
said the increase
was in line with policy to "ensure viability in the
business sector," the
official media reported.
State radio said
Friday businesses were now allowed a 20 percent markup on
prices frozen in
June and sales tax, known as VAT or value added tax, would
be charged on top
of the markup, effectively raising prices by 35 percent.
The government
has been struggling to respond to its economic crisis, with
the world's
highest official inflation of 7,634 percent, though independent
estimates
put real inflation closer to 25,000 percent. Thursday, Zimbabwe
sharply
devalued its currency, from 250 Zimbabwe dollars for every US$1 for
most
official transactions to 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars. The U.S. dollar,
however,
was still fetching up to 250,000-1 on the illegal market, dealers
said.
Prices of all goods and services were slashed by about 50
percent in a
government decree on June 26 in a bid to tame the world's
highest official
inflation of 7,634 percent.
The decree has left
shelves across the country bare of corn meal, meat,
bread and other staples,
with businesses arguing they were being forced to
sell their products at
below the cost of producing them.
Essential foods and basic medicines are
exempted from sales tax.
The new increase was not expected to quickly
restore supplies to shops. Some
businesses have been forced to wind down
their operations because of
shortages of raw materials and gasoline blamed
of shortages of hard currency
in the crumbling economy.
In panic
buying, poultry breeders have sold out of chickens and say even if
they can
return to viability and obtain sufficient stock feed, also in short
supply,
it will take up to two months to re-establish a supply chain.
Bread
shortages worsened Friday. Bakers said Thursday they had used up
strategic
flour reserves and were down to two days supply of flour.
Mail and Guardian
MacDonald Dzirutwe | Harare, Zimbabwe
07
September 2007 03:46
President Robert Mugabe's exchange-rate
devaluation and promises
of tax relief were dismissed on Friday by
Zimbabweans weary of an economic
crisis marked by the world's highest
inflation and severe shortages.
His government's latest bid
to ease the economic turmoil,
announced in a supplementary budget on
Thursday, highlighted the worsening
plight of the Southern African nation
and widespread fears that cash will be
worthless in the face of runaway
prices.
Zimbabwe's inflation rate has surpassed 7
600%.
Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi -- who devalued the
official
exchange rates -- said on Thursday that the tax changes would see a
worker
earning Z$4-million a month no longer pay tax. The threshold had
previously
been Z$1,5-million.
But that raised few
spirits on Friday on the streets of Harare,
where a chicken costs
Z$1-million.
"This [budget] is ridiculous," said Tawanda
Sambaza, an
electrical technician in Harare.
"I can only
buy four chickens with that money on the other
[black] market because there
is nothing in the shops," added Sambaza, who
earns Z$14-million more than
the average Zimbabwean.
Queues for everything from soda to
maize-meal are getting
longer. Zimbabwe's main bakery said this week that
bread shortages would
worsen after closing one of its outlets due to a lack
of wheat from
Mozambique.
A growing number of Zimbabweans
have resorted to using a
thriving black market for foreign currency to try
to protect themselves
against the inflation that has caused the Zimbabwean
dollar to plummet in
value.
The government on Thursday
scrapped a two-tier foreign-exchange
system for government and exporters,
devaluing both rates for the Zimbabwe
dollar to 30 000 against the
greenback.
Zimbabwe had applied an exchange rate of 250 to
the United
States currency for government transactions and had allowed
exporters and
foreign currency account holders to exchange at a rate of 15
000 prior to
the move.
The new rate still falls short of
a widely used black market
rate of about 250 000 to the US
dollar.
Amid fears that the economic bleeding could lead to
growing
support for a divided opposition, Mugabe, in power since
independence from
Britain in 1980, has cracked down on political opponents,
tightening his
grip on power ahead of presidential and parliamentary
elections expected
next year.
But the economic crisis may
pose the biggest threat to his rule,
analysts say, and his Western foes, who
have imposed sanctions in a bid to
weaken Mugabe's rule, are still banking
on their strategy.
"On the political front the government may
be winning but the
economy is its Achilles' heel," Eldred Masunungure, a
political analyst,
said. "This budget is testimony that the economic
policies are not working."
Mugabe remains defiant, attempting
to focus attention on the
Western powers he accuses of sabotaging Zimbabwe's
economy in retaliation
for his controversial seizure of white-owned farms
for redistribution to
landless black Zimbabweans, analysts
say.
He is likely to push a Bill through parliament,
dominated by his
Zanu-PF party, that would give Zimbabweans majority
ownership of
foreign-owned firms, fuelling fears it will drive away the few
remaining
foreign investors.
The veteran leader's salary,
along with those of his ministers,
was sharply raised this year. Veterans of
Zimbabwe's anti-colonial struggle,
among the hardest core supporters of his
government, also saw their
allowances increased.
"I'm
disappointed there's no real attempt to cut spending,"
economic commentator
Eric Bloch told Reuters.
"The income tax measures are not
sufficient ... they are still
taxing people who are starving." --
Reuters
SW
Radio Africa (London)
7 September 2007
Posted to the web 7 September
2007
Lance Guma
There are reports that mobile and internet
service providers in the country
have already begun installing surveillance
equipment to comply with the
controversial snooping bill passed last
month.
A report in the weekly Financial Gazette quoted Shadreck Nkala,
the Chairman
of the Zimbabwe Internet Access Providers (ZIAP) saying, 'we
are putting in
place projects to see that we comply.' Nkala however refused
to disclose the
costs involved in the project and where the equipment is
being installed.
The installation has generated fears for members of
the public who are not
sure about the privacy of their communications.
Newsreel has it on good
authority that most workers at courier DHL's offices
in Harare have opted
out of mailing lists that have political or news
content. A DHL employee has
revealed how top management at the company have
instructed them not to read
newsletters from particular websites. It was not
possible to solicit comment
from DHL at the time of
broadcast.
Although communications experts have said it is impossible for
the regime to
monitor everything, a big proportion of Mugabe's strategy
seems to rely on
generating the fear factor. One e-mail going around warns
people of 'death'
if they send or receive e-mails with political content.
The same message
warns that any offending mail will be picked up by 'Mail
Marshall' content
filters, normally used by companies to block spam. It is
not yet clear if
the alleged DHL directive is a response to the threatening
e-mails.
Econet's Ecoweb, Telone's Comone and Telecontract's Telconet are
all said to
be installing surveillance equipment, as are all 3 mobile phone
companies.
Under the Interception of Communications Act, Mugabe's regime
will establish
a monitoring centre. Service providers who fail to comply
face up to three
years in prison. Those authorised to make interceptions
include the Police
Commissioner, Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority,
Defence and Intelligence chiefs and the Director General
of the Presidents
department of national security.
Speaking on our
Behind the Headlines programme last month, IT expert Robert
Ndlovu said
Yahoo, Hotmail and G-mail platforms remained the safest forms of
communications as they used remote servers. The only way for the regime to
read e-mails on such platforms would be if they had the password to the
e-mail account. He also said the snooping bill and the equipment being
installed were all part of a package meant to intimidate people from freely
expressing themselves. It would require the entire state security apparatus
to spy on everyone's communication not to mention huge financial resources
to do so.
SW Radio Africa (London)
7 September
2007
Posted to the web 7 September 2007
Lance Guma
Budget
presentations in Zimbabwe have always been stale, drawn out affairs
full of
hype and rhetoric, but offering nothing new.
On Thursday Finance Minister
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi went through the motions
to present a supplementary
budget critics say exceeds the original by almost
800 percent. As if that
was not shocking enough, defence and security
institutions have gobbled up
almost half a budget whose revenue was never
disclosed. MDC Secretary
General Tendai Biti was scathing in his comments
saying, 'Some men are
gifted enough to hide their mediocrity or at least to
hide the mediocrity of
their work. But alas, the talentless Minister of
Finance possesses neither
attribute.'
Biti argues the budget betrays a fundamental lack of
elementary
understanding of the 'nuts and bolts of economics' and is more
motivated by
a desire to cling to power than anything. With the Zimbabwe
National Water
Authority (ZINWA) struggling for resources to provide
adequate water for
people the President's Office, which the CIO falls under,
and the Ministry
of Defence and Home Affairs, got a staggering Z$12,662
trillion, 33 percent
of the supplementary budget. Biti says if slush funds
allocated to the same
security institutions are added up, then 43 percent of
the budget is going
towards financing the security apparatus.
Biti
says the very appointment of Mumbengegwi, 'as a replacement of the
affable
and whisky-loving Hebert Murerwa is a reflection that Robert Mugabe
does not
give a hoot about basic economic housekeeping fundamentals.' He
expressed
disappointment that the budget was not grounded around a policy
framework,
but simply thrown together to ensure the 'power retention agenda'
of Zanu
PF. He believes state resources are being used to 'maintain and
reproduce
power.'
Analysts see the regime relying only on the printing of money to
buy time,
but as Biti concludes, 'Clearly the task at hand is beyond the
chubby and
overfed fellows at number 80 Samora Machel Avenue in Harare and
at
Munhumutapa building (Mugabe's office) in the same street.' This he says
is
why the opposition believes only a political solution based on a new,
people
driven Constitution and free and fair elections in Zimbabwe is the
only
viable solution.
SW Radio Africa
(London)
7 September 2007
Posted to the web 7 September
2007
Tererai Karimakwenda
Despite efforts by South Africa's
President Thabo Mbeki to gag SADC leaders
and Zimbabwe's negotiating
political parties, more information has been
revealed about what really
transpired at the SADC summit that took place in
Lusaka last month. The
heads of state were all smiles when they took a group
photo on the last day,
but Robert Mugabe had allegedly stormed out of a
closed session earlier
after a heated exchange with Zambian President Levy
Mwanawasa.
The
revelations are significant because they show that there are divisions
within SADC, contrary to assertions by Mbeki and other heads of state.
Mbeki's behaviour is also shown to be supportive of Mugabe, giving credence
to reports that he is not suitable as a mediator on the Zimbabwe
crisis.
Reports say Mwanawasa had suggested the Zimbabwe crisis be
discussed as the
situation was "unacceptable". Tanzanian President Jakaya
Kikwete responded
by saying there was no need to deal with the Zimbabwe
issue while the SADC
initiated talks were still in progress. Mbeki is
reported to have agreed
with this, effectively siding with Mugabe. Kikwete
then made the mistake of
suggesting that Mugabe be given an opportunity to
comment on Mwanawasa's
suggestion.
The story goes that Mugabe
launched into an angry tirade at Mwanawasa,
saying he was aware the Zambian
leader had held recent meetings with
'western intelligence agencies' about
Zimbabwe. He also accused Mwanawasa of
selling out his country. He said he
would not allow Mwanawasa to sell out
Zimbabwe the way he had sold off
Zambian assets. Mugabe was so angry that at
one point he is quoted as
saying: "Who are you Mwanawasa? Who are you? Who
do you think you are?"
before storming out and leaving.
Journalists who attended the SADC
meeting say they heard that Mwanawasa had
apologized and kept pleading with
Mugabe to understand that he had not meant
anything negative. He is quoted
as saying: "Mr President I didn't mean to
say that, you misunderstood me. Mr
President that was not my intention."
Journalist Valentine Maponga was at
the final press conference when the
Zambian leader, who is the new SADC
chairman, was asked why Mugabe had left
early. Maponga said Mwanawasa joked
that Mugabe needed to rest since he was
older. But information about
Mugabe's tirade was already making the rounds.
SW Radio Africa
(London)
7 September 2007
Posted to the web 7 September
2007
Tichaona Sibanda
Agriculture expert Renson Gasela
predicted on Friday that many people will
die in the country if food
shortages are allowed to continue unresolved.
'They will be slain by one
of the cruelest weapons of any era, starvation.
They will die slowly and
painfully. They will die hungry,' said Gasela a
former chief executive of
the Grain Marketing Board.
Gasela, who is now a leading opposition
figure with the Mutambara led MDC,
said the creation of mass starvation had
little to do with the work of
nature but was largely the work of
man.
'Drought and crop failures have not gone unnoticed. Donor agencies
have
pledged hundreds of thousands of tons of foodstuffs. NGO's are ready to
allocate the food. But all that separates millions of malnourished
Zimbabweans from the food that could save their lives is a handful of
stubborn men: Mugabe and his Zanu-PF,' Gasela said.
He said Zanu-PF
is more intent on winning the next general election than
feeding the people,
adding that if people die this time, it is not going to
be because of the
drought but because of the economy and political
situation.
'People
might say we are exaggerating but I can see many deaths happening
this year.
There is absolutely no food. Individuals have no food. The GMB
has no food.
The imports that are supposed to come are not there because
there is no
foreign currency to import food,' he said.
In his constituency of Gweru
rural, people were surviving on wild fruits and
berries. Gasela warned that
if nothing is done there is going to be a
disaster. The current crisis has
been worsened by that fact even those with
money cannot find food to
buy.
SW Radio Africa (London)
7 September
2007
Posted to the web 7 September 2007
Tichaona
Sibanda
Heavily armed riot police from Rusape on Friday stormed the
home of the MDC
district secretary for Makoni West in Manicaland, and took
away party files
and campaign material.
After ransacking Bonnie
Kandini's house, the police officers searched his
garden for weapons but
found nothing. MDC spokesman for Manicaland, Pishai
Muchauraya told Newsreel
Kandini was not at his home when it was raided.
'They went to the
house in Mutungagore village under chief Chiduku, in two
vehicles. When they
got there they only found his wife and children and
forced their way in.
They took away all MDC files including things that were
not related with
party business,' Muchauraya said.
The officers left a message for Kandini
to report to the Law and Order
section at Rusape police station. They also
ordered him to bring his
passport.
'We have advised him not to go
there because history has taught us that once
he does he will be abducted
and taken to Harare for interrogation and
torture. The strategy here is to
get as much information about the MDC's
campaign plans since Kandini is the
secretary for the district,' said
Muchauraya.
The Manicaland
spokesman said Kandini is a retired teacher who is in his mid
50's and is
described by his colleagues as a reserved person.
Mail and Guardian
Percy Zvomuya
07 September 2007 11:03
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC) has described as
"scandalous" the
decision by Zimbabwe to spend up to $67-million on sprucing
up hotels and
its infrastructure to cash in on the 2010 Soccer World Cup in
South
Africa.
"It's a disgrace. It's a tragedy to try to create
world-class
facilities in a situation of misery," CZC spokesperson Elinor
Sisulu said,
describing Zimbabwe as a "big blot on the
world".
Next week Zimbabwe will play host to a delegation of
Fifa
officials.
"The Fifa officials will assess the
capacity of Zimbabwe to host
visitors for 2010," Karikoga Kaseke, chief
executive officer of the Zimbabwe
Tourism Authority,
said.
"They have specifically requested to see three- to
five-star
hotels in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, as well as other
service
facilities in the tourism sector."
Some of the
hotels to be inspected are the Monomotapa Crowne
Plaza, Meikles in Harare
and the Elephant Hills in Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwean
officials are hoping the football spectacle will
inject life into a comatose
tourism sector that has not been spared the
difficulties being experienced
by other sectors of the economy following the
chaotic land reform of
2000.
Shingi Munyeza, chief executive of the ZimSun hotel
group, said
the group intends to add up to 1 000 rooms at a cost of about
$50-million.
Construction is set to begin next year. He said
the group is in
talks with the government about lengthening the runway at
the Victoria Falls
airport from the present 2,6km to 4km -- "so that it can
accommodate bigger
aircraft".
Zimbabwe plans to host
training camps, accommodation and fan
parks for teams and visitors during
the tournament.
As part of the renovations, Harare's Rufaro
Stadium was closed
last month to install new turf, a move that has been
contested by the
Premier Soccer League.
The government
has also weighed into the wrangle.
"There is no going back on
the decision to close Rufaro. It is
now a national issue to spruce up our
sporting and tourism facilities ahead
of the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa," said secretary for information and
publicity George
Charamba.
The 60 000-seat National Sports stadium will remain
closed until
next year, undergoing a major facelift. Plans for a new stadium
have been
mooted.
Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister, Francis
Nhema, recently told the
hospitality industry to toughen
up.
"They [Fifa officials] are not interested in your
problems --
they are interested in the services that you can provide,
period.
"It is either you prove your worth or they move to
the next
country. Don't tell them we have this problem and the other. Tell
them what
you can do for them -- that is what they want," he said.
Portugal News Online
8/9/2007
The United Kingdom accepts the presence of a
Zimbabwe government
representative at the EU/Africa summit, as long as
President Robert Mugabe
does not participate, a British diplomatic source
told Lusa this week in
London.
"We always said we'd like Zimbabwe to
be represented, but we don't want it
to be Mr. Mugabe, because we believe
that could cast a shadow over the
summit," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson
stated.
The same source specifically declined to comment on the suggestion by
the
European commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner,
that
Zimbabwe be represented at the summit by "a high-level minister such as
the
foreign minister".
Portuguese President Cavaco Silva suggested the
same solution Wednesday
during a visit to the European Parliament in
Strasbourg.
"We are discussing various solutions with our partners," the
British
spokesperson told Lusa, without indicating any specific
scenarios.
The issue will be discussed again at the end of the week in
Portugal, when
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband travels to the
northern city of
Viana do Castelo for an informal meeting of EU foreign
ministers.
The United Kingdom has led efforts to block Mugabe's presence at
the
December EU/Africa summit in Lisbon, invoking the current EU sanctions
against the Zimbabwean leader.
The sanctions were imposed due to human
rights violations in Zimbabwe.
However, various African leaders have
insisted that all countries should be
invited and represented at the
summit.
British diplomacy hopes that the "Lisbon summit will go ahead and be
successful" in discussing issues such as environmental protection or human
rights, the British foreign ministry spokesperson stressed.
The holding
of the second EU/Africa summit of heads of state and government
this
December 8-9 in Lisbon is one of the priorities of Portugal's current
six-month EU presidency term.
The first EU/Africa summit was held in
April 2000 in Cairo, during the
previous Portuguese EU presidency, though
its follow-up has been delayed due
to differences over the situation in
Zimbabwe. TPN/Lusa
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
With
Libya and now, seemingly, China cooling off Zimbabwe, some say Mugabe's
remaining friends are purely of sentimental value.
By Mike Nyoni in
Harare (AR No. 131, 07-Sep-07)
Dwindling state visits to Zimbabwe reflect
President Robert Mugabe's
increasing isolation from the rest of the
world.
So last week's visit by Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo
came as a welcome diversion for the elderly president, who showed
his guest
around the capital Harare with great
enthusiasm.
Officially, Obiang came to open Zimbabawe's once vibrant
agricultural show,
but observers say the visit had more to do with Obiang's
bid to extradite
alleged coup plotter Simon Mann to Equatorial Guinea to
face trial for the
foiled coup against Obiang's government.
Mann is
currently in jail in Zimbabwe, but it is believed he may be "traded"
to
oil-rich Equatorial Guinea in return for some much-needed fuel for
Zimbabwe.
But just as Obiang flew out on August 31, Mugabe was
brought down to earth
with the shock that his closest ally China had made a
policy u-turn on
Zimbabwe. Britain's Foreign Office minister James Malloch
Brown told
reporters on an official visit to China on August 30 that he had
been
assured by his hosts that they would apply more pressure on "rogue
states".
"I was told that Chinese assistance to Zimbabwe was now limited
to
humanitarian assistance, which is enormously important," said Malloch
Brown.
This must come as a major blow to Mugabe who has trumpeted his
so-called
"Look East Policy" as a counter to what he sees as undue
interference in
Zimbabwe's affairs by western countries, which have imposed
"targeted
sanctions" on Mugabe and his senior party and government
officials.
Mugabe received another rebuff last week by one of his
fiercest critics
Australia, which revoked study permits for eight children
of government
officials, including Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono's three
children
studying in that country.
There have been very few state
visits to Harare since the country launched
its controversial land reform
programme in 2000, which was accompanied by
violence and human rights
violations. This led to worldwide condemnation,
culminating in the country's
current isolation.
Mugabe's decision to leave the Commonwealth of former
British colonies in
2003 all but completed the country's isolation from the
international
community - except for countries in the Southern African
region.
What visits have occurred have been limited to official, one-day
events by
regional leaders to see how Zimbabwe can be plucked out of what
many see as
a man-made humanitarian crisis. So Obiang's three-day state
visit must have
come as something of a relief to Mugabe who is desperate to
show that he
still has friends besides those in the Southern African
Development
Community, SADC.
The visit saw delegates from Equatorial
Guinea whisked in a large cavalcade
up to the resort town of Victoria Falls,
about 800 kilometres by road from
Harare, in a country in the grip of a fuel
shortage. There was very little
official information about the purpose of
Obiang's visit and most of the
meetings were held behind closed
doors.
Outside State House and the capital, Mugabe took Obiang on a tour
of family
projects in his rural Zvimba district in Mashonaland West
province,
including his Gushungo Farm, a livestock enterprise, where most of
the stock
was to be displayed at the agricultural show as a demonstration of
black
economic empowerment. Obiang was later taken to First Lady Grace
Mugabe's
brother Reward Marufu's farm in the same district.
The
touring party ended with a stately dinner hosted by the First Lady
herself
at Iron Mask farm just outside the capital, which was seized from an
elderly
white couple at the height of the land reform programme.
At the time,
Grace Mugabe claimed she wanted the property to set up a home
for orphans
and other displaced children from Harare's streets. Work on the
project is
only beginning now with the help of the Chinese.
But perhaps the party
also ended too soon for Mugabe's troubled regime, for
Obiang's red-carpet,
21-gun salute reception at Harare airport ended without
much ceremony on his
departure.
Outside the SADC, one can count Mugabe's friends on one hand,
namely China,
Cuba and Vietnam. Relations with Israel have been the most
ambivalent, with
Zimbabwe always expressing support for the Palestinians but
sourcing its
instruments of repression such as teargas, water cannons and
other anti-riot
materials from the Jewish state.
Of late, Mugabe has
also been getting solidarity messages from another
populist leader, Hugo
Chavez of Venezuela. Although he enjoys a lot of
support in the region,
Mugabe rarely pays visits except to attend official
occasions like SADC or
African Union summits. He doesn't get visitors of
note either, except a few
envoys delivering "special messages" from their
leaders - a rather sad
commentary on someone who wants to portray himself as
a champion of the poor
across the third world.
According to a senior editor of an independent
newspaper in Zimbabwe, China's
latest policy pronouncement will be the most
painful to Mugabe after losing
another friend in Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi.
"The only friends who really made a difference to Mugabe were
Gaddafi and
[Chinese president] Hu Jintao because they offered material
support: Gaddafi
with fuel and Hu militarily and in the construction of
infrastructure such
as roads," said the editor.
In 2001, Zimbabwe and
Libya signed a deal in which Zimbabwe was to supply
15000 tonnes of beef per
year to Libya in return for oil. But the deal fell
through when Zimbabwe
failed to deliver because of the disruption wrought on
the beef industry by
the farm invasions, which began in 2000. Libya then
allowed Zimbabwe to pay
for fuel imports in local currency but when the
Zimbabwean currency
plummeted in value Libya scrapped the deal.
"Gaddafi is now a friend of
the West after debilitating sanctions almost
crippled Libya's economy. Any
Gaddafi liaison with Mugabe now seems aimed at
convincing him to follow his
example of softening his stance against the
West," continued the
editor.
He cited former British premier Tony Blair's valedictory visit to
Tripoli as
telling. Mugabe went there soon afterwards but reports say he
returned
empty-handed.
"China's policy u-turn means the end of the
much-touted 'Look East Policy',"
said a Harare civil servant working in the
ministry of foreign affairs,
adding that China was the most important
trading partner in the Far East.
According to the Washington-based
Council on Foreign Relations, Mugabe
ordered 12 FC-1 fighter jets and 100
military vehicles from China in a deal
in 2004 worth 200 million US
dollars.
In 2000, China reportedly swapped a shipment of small arms for
eight tonnes
of Zimbabwean elephant ivory. It provided a radio jamming
device to Zimbabwe
that allows Mugabe's regime to block broadcasts of
independent news sources
like Radio Africa. And also donated the blue tiles
that decorate the roof of
Mugabe's house.
The civil servant also
pointed out that without China's backing, the
Zimbabwean crisis would now be
discussed in the United Nations Security
Council, "China has been using its
veto to block the discussion of the
Zimbabwe crisis. World attention will
now be refocused on Zimbabwe. We would
expect a UN resolution on Zimbabwe in
due course. Without Libya and China,
Mugabe's remaining friends are now
purely of sentimental value."
The Chinese embassy in Harare issued a
statement on September 4 denying any
policy u-turn and citing ongoing
projects as evidence of continued
collaboration. However, analysts
attributed this to "diplomatic double
speak" and said the embassy statement
referred to the policy of the Chinese
Communist Party and not the
government, which Malloch Brown was referring
to.
Mike Nyoni is the
pseudonym of an IWPR journalist in Zimbabwe.
zimbabwejournalists.com
7th Sep 2007 11:32 GMT
By Ian Nhuka
Bulawayo- The National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) has filed papers at
the High Court here, defending itself
against charges of overcharging.
This follows a sensational suit brought
up last month by a Bulawayo based
company Chips Enterprises, against the
parastatal, which the company accuses
of charging excessive prices, contrary
to the ongoing government blitz
against businesses that are
over-charging.
The debt-ridden utility filed its notice of opposition and
opposing
affidavit on Monday this week. It is accused of overcharging the
plaintiff
by up to $157 million.
NOCZIM, through its law firm Dube,
Manikai and Hwacha argues that the case
against it is unclear and is asking
for certain clarifications to be made.
"It is not clear whether the
applicant is suing in terms of a Government
Directive or in terms of the
Control of Goods (Price Control) Regulations,
Statutory Instrument Numbers
141 and 142 of 2007. There is no (official
government document) which has
been attached to this present application.
This has placed the respondent in
the invidious and prejudicial position of
not being able to know the basis
of the claim, which it is facing, and how
to respond meaningfully to it,"
said the lawyers adding that the case must
fail on this basis
alone.
Chips Enterprises owner, Matthew Moyo says in his founding
affidavit that
the company bought fuel products between 30 June 2007 and 26
July with a
total value of $316 152 000. Moyo says he was shocked to
discover that
NOCZIM had defied a government directive yet it is a
parastatal, adding that
his own investigations have shown that his company
was overcharged by $157
million.
"Investigations revealed that the
purchases I made should have amounted to $
158 159 000 at June 18, 2007. It
is therefore clear that respondent
unlawfully overcharged me by $ 157 993
000 which amount I now seek to
recover," Moyo argues.
The case, which
has attracted considerable interest as it involves a
government parastatal,
comes as the government forges ahead with the
controversial blitz that it
launched in early July. Under the clampdown, the
government ordered firms to
halve their prices or revert to those that
applied as of June 18, 2007. The
blitz has further worsened the viability
crisis gripping industry, with
several more companies having closed down
over the past few weeks. One of
the country's biggest bakeries, Lobels has
shut down as a result, while
American food giant; Heinz sold its stake in
Olivine Industries partly
because of that.
NOCZIM says in its opposing affidavit that on 6 July
2007, the government
issued the ministerial directive freezing prices of
basic commodities in
terms of the Control of Goods Act.
But it says it
does not sell basic commodities, and as such the directive
does not affect
it. Following the order NOCZIM said it consulted the
government on what to
do, but was advised that the cost of their products
should also be reduced.
It complied, say the court papers.
"The applicant purchased certain
products from the respondent before
consultations with the ministerial
taskforce on control of goods were held
and before respondent was bound to
any price on the products. Accordingly,
it is clear from the facts that the
respondent was not in contravention of
any law at the time that the
applicant purchased the said products," argued
NOCZIM.
Zim Online
Saturday 08 September 2007
By Batsirai
Muranje
HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)
party says a multi-trillion dollar supplementary budget
announced by the
government this week is in violation of the law because
Finance Minister
Samuel Mumbengegwi did not disclose how he intended to
raise revenue.
Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Morgan
Tsvangirai-led MDC, said
according to the Constitution, Mumbengegwi should
have revealed the
estimated revenue receipts when he announced the $37
trillion budget.
"The fact that the supplementary budget has been
presented without
disclosing the estimated revenue receipts is quite clearly
dangerous and
unacceptable," said Biti, who is a trained
lawyer.
"Indeed, it is implicitly in breach of the provisions of the
provisions of
section 103 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which requires
full disclosure
of both the revenue and expenditure components in an
Appropriation Bill,"
added Biti, who is Member of Parliament for Harare East
constituency.
The government, which is facing a serious economic crisis
and an inflation
rate officially pegged at over 7 000 percent, on Wednesday
presented a
record $37.1 trillion supplementary budget which exceeds the
original budget
by about 800 percent.
Biti said the supplementary
budget was the clearest indication yet that
Harare had no capacity to tackle
the debilitating economic crisis,
characterised by massive unemployment and
a critical shortage of foreign
currency for key imports such as grain,
power, fuel and medicines.
"Stripped to its bare bones, the supplementary
budget betrays the
contradiction of the ZANU PF state between on one hand,
the need to be loyal
to basic economic fundamentals and on the other, the
power retention agenda
in which state resources will be spent without
reason, logic or limit purely
for the purpose of maintaining power," Biti
said.
The MDC official added that President Robert Mugabe's government
had
provided about $15 trillion, or 43 percent of the total supplementary
budget, for the army, the Central Intelligence Organisation and the
police.
"That amount is, in fact, being allocated to the securocrats, who
are at the
helm of this Vampire State," he said.
He added that
Mugabe's policies had made the country's battered economy more
dependent on
foreign inflows if it were to recover once again.
Biti said the
devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar to 30 000 to one American
unit announced
by Mumbengegwi remained inadequate considering that the local
currency was
trading at 250 000 to the US dollar on the illegal but thriving
parallel
market for foreign currency.
The MDC and Western governments blame
Zimbabwe's unprecedented meltdown on
repression and wrong policies by Mugabe
- charges he denies. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Saturday 08 September 2007
By
Lizwe Sebatha
BULAWAYO - At least 15 Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)
officers were arrested
by the military police this week for allegedly
assaulting villagers in
retaliation for the beating up of one of their
colleagues.
About 60 soldiers who are based at the Bomb Range Barracks in
Esigodini,
went on the rampage last week assaulting villagers at Ntabende
rural service
centre whom they accused of beating up their colleagues during
a brawl.
Several villagers were injured during the retaliatory
attack.
The soldiers were picked up by the military police earlier this
week in
Esigodini after they were positively identified by the victims
during a
parade held at the barracks.
"We were all called for a
parade at the Barracks on Sunday which is about
seven kilometres from the
village where we identified about 15 soldiers who
were part of the crew that
assaulted us.
"They were taken by the army police," said Joel Ncube, the
village head who
was among the group of villagers who were beaten up by the
soldiers.
Scores of villagers, including Ncube, had to seek treatment at
Mater Dei
Hospital and other major hospitals in Bulawayo as a result of the
beatings.
Army spokesperson Colonel Solomon Tsatsi refused to comment on
the arrest of
the soldiers referring ZimOnline to the regional spokesperson
in Bulawayo.
The regional army spokesperson, Captain Mhizha, who is based
at Brady
Barracks in Bulawayo told ZimOnline that the army was still
carrying
investigations into the matter.
"All I can say is that we
have launched our own investigations into the
matter," said
Mhizha.
President Robert Mugabe, whose government is battling its worst
economic
recession since independence 27 years ago, has in the past
unleashed the
army on defenceless citizens to crush dissension against his
rule.
Human rights groups have in the past accused the army and other
state
security agencies of committing serious human rights violations
against
civilians to crush opposition to Mugabe's rule. - ZimOnline
Appeal for a worldwide reading
on September 9, 2007
This Sunday in a change to our usual programming SW
Radio Africa is
featuring a special programme commemorating the 3rd
world-wide reading by
the Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics ,
Germany . The spotlight
this year falls on Zimbabwe and r adio stations,
schools, universities,
theatres and other cultural institutions all over the
world are focusing on
the issue of the lack of democracy and press freedom
in Zimbabwe , with the
reading of poems by Zimbabwean writers Chenjerai
Hove, Dambudzo Marechera
and Chirikure Chirikure. Also featured in this
selection is a reading by
Elinor Sisulu of her introduction to the book
"Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe - A
Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and
the Midlands 1980-1988." The
readings are being broadcast worldwide today in
French, Spanish, German and
English. Through these readings the
international literature festival Berlin
would like to help draw attention
to the situation in Zimbabwe .
The reality of Zimbabwe has been concealed
long enough, and the human rights
abuses go back to the early 80s, when
Robert Mugabe implemented the
Gukurahundi operation. This month sees the
tenth anniversary of the release
of the report on this tragic
operation.
An appeal has also been launched on the Peter Weiss website
and has already
been signed by more than 150 authors from 50 different
countries, among them
Nadine Gordimer, JM Coetzee, Günter Grass, Don
DeLillo, John Updike and
Mario Vargas Llosa. The web address is
www.peter-weiss-stiftung.de.
Source: Tearfund
Date: 07 Sep 2007
Churches in Zimbabwe's second largest city,
Bulawayo, are launching
emergency distributions of water and warning of
'disastrous' water shortages
that could lead to diseases like
cholera.
"Many people in western areas have had virtually no water for a
whole month.
There are already cases of diarrhoea and we are facing a
crisis," said
pastor Promise Manceda, one of the leaders of Churches in
Bulawayo, a
network of more than 70 congregations across the
city.
The churches report that three of the five dams supplying the
city's
population of 700,000 have run out of water, with the fourth due to
run dry
later this month. "With people, especially the poorest, already
suffering,
it is too ghastly to contemplate what will happen when we are
down to only
one dam," said Promise. The churches' warning comes soon after
Zimbabwe's
main bread producer was quoted in state media as warning it had
only two
days' supply of flour.
In a statement, Churches in Bulawayo
declare: "The health hazards that loom
in Bulawayo are very real and very
serious. The vast population of Bulawayo
has been exposed and left
vulnerable to diseases such as cholera. Thousands
of people have been forced
into the degrading and inhuman situation of using
ground around their homes
as toilets under cover of darkness."
Churches in Bulawayo are appealing
within Zimbabwe for funds. And British
aid agency Tearfund, which works
through local churches, is preparing to
supply twenty 5000-litre water tanks
to be placed in communities where the
need is greatest.
Churches say
the catastrophic decline in water supplies is due to
unregulated farm
resettlements putting pressure on supplies, a dispute
between national and
local government over the city's water supply,
vandalism and drought. They
are appealing to local and national government,
with little response. The
Churches in Bulawayo statement adds:
"It saddens us deeply that, though
we wrote to the minister responsible for
water and to local government for
two months about the looming disaster,
there was neither acknowledgement nor
any reply to our letters. Hearts sank
when it was reported in the media
during the past two weeks that the
government will not intervene in the
Bulawayo water crisis.. This has left a
sense of hopelessness and
desperation among the people."
Karyn Beattie, Tearfund Disaster
Management Officer states: "It is a measure
of just how serious the crisis
in Zimbabwe has become that churches now have
to supply water to local
communities once their appeals for local and
national government action went
unanswered."
Notes to Editors:
Karyn Beattie, Tearfund's Disaster
Management Officer for Southern Africa,
and Pastor Promise Manceda, a leader
within Churches of Bulawayo, are
available for interview. Contact Keith
Ewingin the Press Office on 020 8943
7779 or 07701 051971
Tearfund
has supported church involvement in relief, development and social
justice
in Zimbabwefor over 25 years. Tearfund is a Christian relief &
development agency working with a global network of churches to help
eradicate poverty. Tearfund is a member of the Disaster Emergency
Committee.
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Gesture comes as surprise to those who thought he had cut ties with
the
Catholic Church.
By Jacob Nhlanhla in Bulawayo (AR No. 131,
07-Sep-07)
Amid escalating calls to excommunicate him from the Roman
Catholic Church,
President Robert Mugabe has donated a large sum of money to
it.
After damaging stand-offs between the Zimbabwean ruler and the
Zimbabwe
Catholic Bishop's Conference, ZCBC, as well as highly regarded
critic
Archbishop of Bulawayo Pius Ncube, some analysts see the 300 million
Zimbabwe dollar donation (one million US dollars at the official exchange
rate and just over one thousand US dollars on the black market), made late
last month to a women's Catholic Church grouping, the Marian Association, as
more of an electioneering stunt than a way of making amends with the
church.
Mugabe describes himself as a devout Catholic who attends Sunday
mass
regularly. However, fellow Catholics maintain he should have been
excommunicated long ago from the church that raised him, for failing to
respect human rights and good governance.
But Father Oskar Wermter, a
Jesuit missionary priest who has lived in
Zimbabwe for over 30 years, said
calls to excommunicate Mugabe were "old
hat" and were unlikely to be heard.
"This was mooted years ago. It was
explained then that this was no longer
done today. At any rate,
excommunication in a strict legal or canonical
sense is a measure applied
only in certain circumstances defined by church
law," he said.
Wermter, based in Harare, said that while excommunication
had been evoked in
the past to deal with political leaders - heads of
governments, kings and
emperors - who violated human rights abuses, the
phenomenon was rare in the
21st century.
"We no longer live in the
Middle Ages. The local bishops do not even have
that power. It would have to
come from the Pope himself," explained Wermter.
But he added that renewed
calls for Mugabe to be excommunicated were
indicative of people's growing
desperation to see a resolution to the crisis
that has gripped Zimbabwe for
the past ten years.
Ecumenical efforts to find solutions to Zimbabwe's
woes under the
faith-based Christian Alliance and the Save Zimbabwe Campaign
banners -
groupings of local Christian denominations and pro-democracy
activists -
have been snubbed by both Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF
party.
Early this year, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his support for the
ZCBC after
it issued its most vocal pastoral letter since the crisis set in,
blaming
Mugabe for the escalation of human rights abuses and for destroying
a
once-vibrant economy.
While Catholics here continue to call for
Mugabe's excommunication, the
president insists he is just an "ordinary
Catholic who goes to Mass every
Sunday".
Mugabe was educated by
Jesuit missionaries but made a shift from alter boy
to radical nationalist
when he joined the nationalist movement in the early
1960s, which he then
led in a bitter guerrilla war against Ian Smith, then
prime minister of
Rhodesia. The war culminated in the country's independence
from Britain in
1980.
Calls for Mugabe's excommunication from the Catholic Church were
first made
after the human rights abuses during the "Gukurahundi Era" in the
early
1980s were exposed: an estimated 20,000 people were killed under
Mugabe's
rule in the Matabeleland uprisings - a travesty which was
documented by the
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace,
CCJP.
Almost three decades later and with his fight against his
opposition party
detractors now encompassing his critics in the Catholic
Church, calls for
his excommunication have grown louder. Derrick Shorai, an
official with the
CCJP in Harare, says he, along with many of Zimbabwe's
Catholics, has always
supported the idea of having Mugabe excommunicated.
"Perhaps it shows our
desperation to get rid of him not just as a Catholic
but as the country's
president," said Shorai.
"Mugabe has caused so
much untold suffering, but still enjoys access to the
sacraments. We just
don't know how he has been able to receive these,
despite his known human
rights abuses."
Reacting to the pastoral letter issued by the ZCBC
earlier this year,
strongly criticising Mugabe's regime, the 83-year-old
leader warned the
bishops to stay away from politics or risk being dealt
with as opposition
political activists.
The veiled threats escalated
recently when on July 7, during the burial of
an army brigadier at the
country's Heroes Acre burial shrine, Mugabe
chastised "priests who steal
other men's wives". A fortnight later, one of
his fiercest critics, Bulawayo
Archbishop Pius Ncube, was accused of being
an adulterer in the
media.
Among the archbishop's supporters are those who believe the expose
was a
carefully orchestrated sting operation by Mugabe's lieutenants to
disgrace
the archbishop. This has swelled the chorus among some Catholic
supporters
that he be excommunicated.
A pastor with Christian
Alliance who preferred to remain anonymous said,
"While the people's
concerns would appear legitimate, you cannot trust a man
accused of so much
to take this lying down. His relationship with the
Catholic Church
especially has always been stormy but we have to understand
that it is God
who will judge him, not us."
Retired Bulawayo archbishop Henry Kalern was
reluctant to talk about the
issue, citing the present controversy
surrounding his successor.
According to Wermter, Mugabe has "effectively
excommunicated himself", given
the sustained human rights abuses meted out
by his government. "In a very
real way, though not technically as defined by
church law, Mugabe has
effectively excommunicated himself, that is to say
put himself outside the
community of the church, by resisting the word of
the church and attacking
the bishops in a most offensive, vulgar form. At
least the constant
propaganda line that he is a 'practising, devout
Catholic' is now shown to
be false," he told IWPR.
But Mugabe, always
the wily politician, has begun to make amends. His
donation came as a
surprise to those who thought he had cut ties with the
Catholic Church after
his run-ins with the bishops and the Ncube incident.
"There are two
reasons he could have [made the donation]," said one local
Catholic who
refused to be identified. "The Catholic Church has a huge
following in
Zimbabwe and the elections are coming. He does not wish to lose
that vote.
Also he might be in his own way telling the Catholics that he
still
belongs."
Mugabe handed over the money through his ally in the ruling
party and
presidential hopeful Oppah Muchinguri. The donation was confirmed
by Bishop
Patrick Mutume of Harare who said it would be invested on the
money market
until a decision was made on how it could be best utilised.
Muchinguri is at
the forefront of the campaign for Mugabe's nomination as
ZANU-PF's sole
candidate in next year's election. She herself is eyeing the
vice-presidency
and is fighting tooth-and-nail to have incumbent Joice
Mujuru fired.
Jacob Nhlanhla is the pseudonym of an IWPR journalist in
Zimbabwe.
Bloomberg
Zimbabwe devalued the local dollar by
92 percent yesterday, according to
news reports. A stock-market-based
indicator of the currency's value shows
they didn't go far
enough.
The country's official rate was set at 30,000 to the U.S. dollar,
Deutsche
Presse-Agentur and Reuters reported. The rate for government
transactions
tumbled from 250 to the dollar.
A number closer to
200,000 would have been more in line with reality, based
on a comparison of
Old Mutual Plc's share price in Harare, the Zimbabwean
capital, and
London.
Old Mutual closed yesterday at 615,000 Zimbabwe dollars and 154.3
pence. The
company, based in London, is Zimbabwe's largest insurer and has
traded there
since going public eight years ago.
The valuation method
is similar to one used for Venezuela's bolivar after
President Hugo Chavez
imposed capital controls in February 2003. Estimates
of the bolivar's value
were calculated from the share price of CA Nacional
Telefonos de Venezuela,
the country's largest phone company, in New York and
Caracas. This approach
worked before Chavez nationalized the company in May.
To contact the
writer of this column: David Wilson in New York at
dwilson@bloomberg.net
Last
Updated: September 7, 2007 00:08 EDT
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 7 September
Paul Nyakazeya and Constantine Chimakure
Divisions
between finance minister Samuel Mumbengegwi and Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe
(RBZ) governor Gideon Gono deepened yesterday after the former
devalued the
local currency from US$1: $250 to 30 000 without consulting the
central bank
chief. Apart from that, Gono boycotted Mumbengegwi's
presentation in
Parliament of the $37,1 trillion 2007 supplementary budget.
This is the
first time that Gono has not attended the mid-term and fiscal
policy
presentation since he became governor in December 2003. Sources last
night
said the devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar to $30 000 from $250
against the
US dollar was done by Mumbengegwi without input from the RBZ,
which in April
introduced a sectoral devaluation of US$1: $15 000 under the
guise of
Drought Mitigation and Economic Stabilisation Bonds. The sources
said the
RBZ would soon engage the Finance ministry to find out how it would
proceed
with the drought mitigation scheme.
Gono and Mumbengegwi have clashed
on several occasions. Recently cabinet had
to intervene and compel Gono to
print $100 trillion to meet civil servants'
salary increments after the
central bank chief had turned down such a
request from Mumbengegwi. Sources
said Gono and the Finance minister were
also heading for a clash on how to
finance ministries' requirements after
Mumbengegwi allocated them a total
budget of $37,1 trillion from a requested
$255 trillion. The sources said
Mumbengegwi was set to ask Gono to print
money to meet the ministries'
demands. Last night, Gono's spokesperson
Kumbirai Nhongo confirmed the
governor was not at parliament but denied the
central bank boss had snubbed
Mumbengegwi's budget presentation. "The
governor did not boycott, he had an
engagement elsewhere and the minister
was aware of that engagement," Nhongo
said. "To suggest otherwise is to be
mischievous."
Before the
devaluation, the Zimbabwe dollar has been trading at $250 to the
US$1 since
July 31 2006. As of yesterday the local currency was trading at
above $240
000 to the US dollar, while the British pound and South African
rand were
trading above $500 000 and $35 000 respectively on the black
market. "In
line with Section 47 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, the
Minister of
Finance will determine the country's exchange rate policy, which
the central
bank implements," Mumbengegwi said yesterday. "The Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe
will therefore adjust the exchange rate applicable to all
purchase and sale
of foreign exchange in the market from $250 per US dollar
to $30 000 with
immediate," Mumbengegwi said. Mumbengegwi said the new rate
will apply to
all Zimbabwe Revenue Authority customs and incomes tax
valuations. The
sectoral devaluation encouraged exporters to liquidate their
foreign
currency but did not improve inflows. The devaluation by Gono was
done under
the guise of Drought Mitigation and Economic Stabilisation
Bonds.
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 7 September
Dumisani Muleya
President Robert Mugabe stormed out
of the recent Southern African
Development Community (SADC) summit after an
explosive clash with Zambian
President Levy Mwanawasa during a closed
session, it has emerged. Mugabe's
confrontation with Mwanawasa and his
subsequent walk-out raised fears that
the already divided regional bloc
could be further weakened by growing
infighting. SADC is riddled with
geo-political and personal rivalries among
leaders that have incapacitated
it in dealing with internal conflicts.
Mugabe's altercation with Mwanawasa
was reminiscent of his row with former
South African president Nelson
Mandela during a SADC meeting in Angola in
1997. High-level diplomatic
sources in Lusaka who attended the volatile
summit revealed this week that
Mugabe furiously stormed out of the meeting
after a fiery row with Mwanawasa
over Zimbabwe's political and economic
crisis.
The sources said
Mugabe went off in a huff after the confrontation with
Mwanawasa, who was
chairing the meeting, causing the summit to end on a sour
note. The row was
caused by Mwanawasa's attempt to arbitrarily table
Zimbabwe for discussion,
a move which angered Mugabe. Mugabe arrived home
early after hurriedly
leaving the summit. Upon his arrival, he said the
meeting went well, but
made it clear his government would continue with its
own programmes
regardless of what the SADC leaders decided. SADC said it was
preparing an
economic recovery package for Zimbabwe. However, Mugabe's
spokesman George
Charamba has said in his anonymous column in the Herald
Zimbabwe does not
need "any aid cent from SADC countries", reflecting Mugabe's
obdurate
attitude after the summit.
This is contrary to South African
President Thabo Mbeki's claims that there
were no divisions over Zimbabwe at
the summit and that SADC is committed to
help Zimbabwe out of its crisis.
Mbeki has said SADC leaders were not at
odds over Zimbabwe issues, including
its economic rescue package, but did
not provide any evidence to back up his
assertions. Information gleaned from
senior SADC diplomats show that there
were not only divisions, but a fierce
clash between Mugabe and Mwanawasa
that left the regional leaders shocked
and the organisation reeling. The
sources said trouble started after Mbeki
had delivered his report on talks
on the Zimbabwe crisis between the ruling
Zanu PF and the opposition MDC.
Mbeki had earlier given the report to
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete who
was the chairman of the SADC organ on
politics, defence and security as per
procedure. Mbeki briefed the summit on
Zimbabwe in his capacity as a
SADC-appointed mediator on the situation.
He was tasked in March by
the SADC extraordinary summit held in Dar es
Salaam to facilitate dialogue
to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis. Mbeki said in
his briefing there was
progress in the talks, although parties needed to
intensify negotiations to
reach an agreement to end the current problems.
The summit "encouraged the
parties to expedite the process of negotiations
and conclude the work as
soon as possible so that the next elections are
held in an atmosphere of
peace'', the SADC communiqué said. Zanu PF and MDC
negotiators held further
talks in Pretoria last weekend. The parties are
expected to finish the
negotiations based on constitutional amendment Number
18 in mid October. The
Zanu PF politburo discussed the talks and the
amendment on Wednesday. The
amendment Bill, which will be changed to include
issues agreed on at the
talks, will be debated in parliament next week.
"After Mbeki
delivered his report to the summit, Mwanawasa, as the chair of
the meeting,
said there was need to discuss Zimbabwe because the situation
there has
become "unacceptable". Kikwete said there was no need to discuss
it because
talks were in progress and Mbeki concurred," a senior diplomat
said.
"Kikwete then suggested Mugabe should be asked what he thought about
Mwanawasa's proposal. When Mugabe was given the platform to speak, he
launched into an angry tirade, attacking Mwanawasa left, right and centre
before walking out in protest." The diplomat said Mugabe angrily asked: "Who
are you Mwanawasa? Who are you? Who do you think you are?" Mugabe is said to
have gone on to say Mwanawasa should not think he could sell off Zimbabwe as
he had done Zambian assets. "Mugabe also said that he was aware of
Mwanawasa's
recent meetings with Western intelligence agencies on Zimbabwe.
He said he
would not allow Mwanawasa to sell out Zimbabwe as he has done
Zambia," the
diplomat said. "During the process Mwanawasa was shaken and he
kept on
saying 'Mr President I didn't mean to say that, you misunderstood
me. No Mr
President that was not my intention', those sort of statements and
such
other pleas for mercy."
Zim Independent
Dumisani Muleya/ Constantine Chimakure
IN a desperate bid to
win next year's crucial presidential and
parliamentary elections, President
Robert Mugabe has roped in the Zanu PF
faction led by senior party official
Emmerson Mnangagwa and the war
veterans.
Zanu PF sources said
Mugabe has reached out to the Mnangagwa camp and
the war veterans to be part
of his campaign machinery for the elections
after he realised that his
fallout with a faction led by retired army
commander General Solomon Mujuru
had created a rift that could not be
bridged before the
elections.
There are three factions in the ruling party - one
fighting for the
continued stay in power of Mugabe, the other backing
Vice-President Joice
Mujuru, and the third rooting for
Mnangagwa.
Mugabe and the Mujuru camp fell out in February after he
made thinly
veiled attacks on Vice-President Mujuru.
Sources
said Mugabe and the Zanu PF camp rallying behind him have
promised to
support Mnangagwa's succession bid in the future if his group
manages to
help secure victory in next year's critical elections.
However,
some in the Mnangagwa faction are sceptical about the promise
because Mugabe
dumped Mujuru after they fought from the same corner at the
height of the
party's power struggle in 2004.
Mugabe supported Mujuru's
ascendancy to the vice-presidency in 2004
against Mnangagwa who appeared to
be the winning candidate in the run up to
the momentous Zanu PF
congress.
Mugabe accused Mnangagwa and his group of trying to seize
power in the
party through a palace coup.
This led to the
suspension, demotion and expulsion of Mnangagwa's
party supporters,
including war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda.
But Sibanda is now
back in the Zanu PF fold through the back door to
support Mugabe's bid for
re-election.
Last week war veterans held street marches in support
of Mugabe in
Harare amid reports the Mnangagwa faction was behind the
demonstrations of
loyalty and support.
Mugabe - fighting for
his political life - has now turned to Mnangagwa
despite dealing with him
roughly in 2004 because the Mujuru camp is balking
at supporting
him.
The Mujuru faction wants to oppose Mugabe's candidacy at
either the
party's conference or special congress in December.
"We know Mugabe is determined to stand for re-election, but we will
fight to
oppose him," a senior member of the Mujuru faction said. "It won't
be easy
for him come December."
Mugabe needs to be roundly endorsed to be
the party candidate.
Mugabe's backers have of late been scrambling
all over the place to
secure his endorsement ahead of the
conference.
This comes after the realisation that endorsement may
not be taken for
granted, especially after Mugabe was blocked in his bid to
extend his term
to 2010 without an election at the party's Goromonzi
conference last
December.
Mugabe also failed during the party's
crucial central committee
meeting in March to secure his endorsement,
leading his loyalists to mislead
the public on the issue, claiming his
candidacy was approved when it was
not.
Although many in Zanu
PF do not want Mugabe to stand, they are unable
to oppose and force him
out.
Mugabe is said to be also turning to the Mnangagwa group
because the
Zanu PF faction comprising his adherents is collapsing due to
infighting.
The camp comprises the likes of party political
commissar Elliot
Manyika, Youth Development deputy minister Saviour
Kasukuwere, Labour
minister Nicholas Goche, women's league boss Oppah
Muchinguri, Zanu PF
spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira and Security minister
Didymus Mutasa but it
has of late been crumbling due to internal conflicts.
The camp is now split
on whether to support Mugabe or the likes of Simba
Makoni as the candidate.
Zim Independent
Constantine Chimakure
ZANU PF has agreed to limit the age of
members of its youth wing to 30
years in a move that will see the ouster of
deputy ministers Saviour
Kasukuwere and Patrick Zhuwao, among
others.
Sources in the party said the decision to put a cap on age
was made at
a politburo meeting on July 5 to clip the wings of the youth
league which
was getting entangled in the contentious presidential
succession debate in
Zanu PF.
The succession battle has seen
the emergence of three factions in the
party, one fighting for the continued
stay in power of President Robert
Mugabe, the other backing Vice-President
Joice Mujuru, and the third rooting
for Rural Amenities minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
Kasukuwere and Zhuwao are linked to the pro-Mugabe
faction and were
reportedly using the youth league to promote their
agenda.
"The age limit was agreed on after it was realised that the
league had
become too powerful," a source said. "It was now behaving like
the main wing
of the party."
The source added that the Mujuru
faction pushed through the proposal,
arguing that Kasukuwere was using his
vast wealth to exercise influence in
the youth league.
Kasukuwere has business interests in the oil, transport and farming
industries and is currently the deputy secretary of youth affairs in the
politburo.
Zhuwao is Mugabe's nephew and is a close ally of
Kasukuwere.
"The two were running the league. Most of the wing's
decisions were
coming from Kasukuwere and Zhuwao. Their continued stay in
the youth league
was unwelcome," another source said.
The
source said the age cap would not affect the secretary for youth
affairs in
the politburo, Absolom Sikhosana, because he was a Mugabe
appointee.
Last week, Sikhosana declined to comment on the
matter to the Zimbabwe
Independent, accusing it of being part of the
so-called regime change
agenda.
However, he told the Zanu PF
mouthpiece, The Voice, that the youth
league would soon embark on a
restructuring exercise in line with the party
constitution.
"This has always been there in our constitution, that if you are above
the
age of 30 you would have graduated from the youth league to the main
wing,"
Sikhosana told The Voice. "We have not been following this provision,
but we
are now going to ensure that it is implemented and this should see us
restructuring our organs."
However, a perusal of Zanu PF's
constitution revealed that never at
any stage was there an age cap on
membership of the youth league.
Last Friday, Kasukuwere complained
that the Independent was out to
destroy his political career.
"What wrong have I done to you? Some of us do not want to speak to
newspapers," said the Mount Darwin South legislator.
Meanwhile,
the auditing and restructuring of Zanu PF arms in Harare is
in limbo amid
reports that the ruling party is failing to garner support to
set up cells,
branches and districts.
Sources said efforts to create the arms of
the party over the past two
months have hit a brickwall.
"It is
proving difficult to carry out the restructuring. Members of
the party have
shunned the exercise. They don't attend meetings and we
wonder what strategy
we should employ to carry out the exercise," a member
of the provincial
executive said.
He said a series of meetings had been lined up in
the capital to
convince the party members to be actively involved in the
restructuring
exercise.
The restructuring of the party, the
executive member said, would
culminate in the election of a substantive
provincial executive committee.
Currently Harare is run by a
co-opted provincial executive committee
chaired by Mines minister Amos
Midzi.
Sources in the party said a substantive executive committee
could not
be elected into office before the creation of cells, branches and
districts
throughout the province.
"Those elected into cells,
branches and districts constitute the
provincial electoral college, which
elects the executive committee," one of
the sources said. "Given the state
of affairs, it appears Harare will not be
able to restructure before the end
of the year - the deadline set by the
party's national
commissariat."
Recently, Midzi said the auditing and restructuring
exercise was still
on-going.
Teams led by politburo members
were last August mandated to conduct
the restructuring of the party arms in
their respective provinces.
The restructuring was expected to
strengthen the party structures
ahead of next year's local authority,
parliamentary and presidential polls.
This has seen the election of
new provincial executive committees in
all provinces except Bulawayo and
Harare.
While the party is struggling to restructure in Harare, the
sources
said jockeying for the provincial chairmanship has begun in the
capital.
The sources said Midzi wanted to retain the chairmanship,
but was
facing stiff challenge from politburo member Tendai Savanhu and
diplomat
Christopher Mutsvangwa.
Midzi reportedly belongs to
the Mujuru faction, while Savanhu favours
Mugabe's continued stay in
power.
Mutsvangwa reportedly enjoys the support of Mnangagwa.
Zim Independent
Orirando Manwere
THE Zanu PF-dominated
parliamentary portfolio committee on Local
Government, Public Works and
Urban Development still maintains that the
takeover of water and sewer
reticulation services in urban centres by the
Zimbabwe National Water
Authority was not in the best interests of residents
as the purported
consultation was confined to government circles.
Committee
chairperson Margaret Zinyemba (Zanu PF) told parliament on
Wednesday that
although her committee had given in to the cabinet directive,
the committee
still stood by its ealier position that the takeover was
ill-timed and was
not reflective of the view of the majority of the people
and other
stakeholders in urban centres.
She was moving a motion to withdraw
the debate on the Zinwa takeover
from the order paper following a response
to the committee's second report
by Water Resources and Infrastructural
Development minister Munacho Muteza
last week.
"Following
minister Mutezo's response to my committee's second report
last week, it
appears there is no going back on the takeover of water and
sewerage
reticulation services in cities and towns by Zinwa.
"However, I
would like to point out that the decision is not in the
best interests of
the public as water shortages and sewer bursts have become
the norm in
residential suburbs. The situation is critical and it's posing a
danger to
our lives. There is an urgent need for Zinwa to correct the
situation," she
said.
Zinyemba, whose address was interrupted by loud applause from
members
from either side of the House, said her committee had established
that
consultations on the takeover were limited to government officials
only.
She said it was the committee's view that the earlier
decision to
decentralise the services to local authorities was the best and
should have
been upheld.
Zinyemba challenged the responsible
ministry and Zinwa to deliver the
expected quality service to residents as a
matter of urgency as the
situation was worsening by the day.
"The minister indicated in his response that the process of
rehabilitating
infrastructure in all towns and cities would take long and
that Zinwa needed
huge financial backing from government.
"We urge government to
urgently provide the necessary funds so that
the problem of sewer bursts and
water supplies are addressed as a matter of
urgency," said
Zinyemba.
Earlier Bulawayo South legislator David Coltart had urged
the House to
lobby the government to treat the Bulawayo water crisis with
urgency as the
city was facing a disaster.
He said the proposed
Mtshabezi-Umzingwane pipeline link, considered
the mid-term solution to the
city's water crisis, was taking too long to be
implemented.
Coltart told the House that he had learnt from stakeholders in the
city that
a local company contacted to manufacture the required pipes would
accomplish
the task in two years while a huge amount of foreign currency was
required
to import critical components.
Zim Independent
GOVERNMENT has been accused of using so-called Western
sanctions as an
excuse for its failure to address the country's economic
problems, the
Zimbabwe Independent heard this week.
MDC
spokesman for Finance Tapiwa Mashakada said government should
involve all
stakeholders in seeking to address key macro-economic
fundamentals which are
a sine qua non of a stable economy.
Presenting his motion on price
controls in parliament on Tuesday,
Mashakada said government was pursuing
"narrow, populist, experimental,
adventuristic and ad-hoc policies which
kill the goose that lays the golden
egg".
He also said last
week's presidential decree freezing salaries and
prices of goods and
services would only make the majority of people already
living under the
poverty datum line worse off in the face of escalating
prices.
He said the government's revenue base from taxes had shrunk by an
estimated
65% following the introduction of price controls which saw
companies scaling
down their operations, some relocating to South Africa,
others closing down
and retrenching labour.
Transport shortages and long queues of
local, rural and inter-city
commuters, loss of man-hours and productivity,
and a thriving black market
for scarce basic commodities also
emerged.
Mashakada's presentation which proffered practical
solutions to
current economic challenges was however continuously
interrupted by ruling
Zanu PF legislators who despite acknowledging the
problems, blamed
everything on sanctions allegedly called for by the
opposition MDC.
Instead of considering suggested solutions, the
debate degenerated
into harsh words between the two party camps centred on
sanctions.
In his motion, Mashakada urged the House to act and stop
the Task
Force on Price Monitoring and Stabilisation from carrying on with
its
exercise because it had caused more harm than good to the people of
Zimbabwe. - Staff Writer.
Zim Independent
Constantine Chimakure
THE future of a community primary school
in Karoi is bleak after the
Minister of State for National Security, Lands,
Land Reform and
Resettlement, Didymus Mutasa, designated the farm on which
the institution
is built and allocated it to his personal lawyer, Gerald
Nqobile Mlotshwa.
The school, Rydings, catered for over 200
pupils.
Documents in the possession of the Zimbabwe Independent
reveal that
Mutasa on August 18 allocated Rydings of Enthorpe Farm to
Mlotshwa under a
commercial scheme after his application for land was deemed
successful.
Thereafter, Mlotshwa took charge of the school and
appointed
businessman, Themba Mliswa, as chairman of the board of governors
in a
letter dated August 30. The letter was delivered to the Ministry of
Education on Monday.
Mliswa is Mutasa's nephew.
The documents reveal that the appointment of Mliswa was done although
parents, the school trustees and Association of Trustee Schools chairperson
Jameson Timba. They met at an annual general meeting and adopted a new
constitution for the school and established a new board of governors chaired
by former banker, Richard Chimuka.
This was done in line with
the Education Act.
In a petition to President Robert Mugabe dated
September 3, the school's
parents' assembly asked for a rescission of the
acquisition of the farm and
its allocation to Mlotshwa.
"As
parents we are concerned that decades of investment in education
and
community upliftment will now come to naught," read the petition signed
by
more than 110 people. "We are concerned that our children's education
will
certainly be disrupted. We are concerned that a school has been
acquired by
an individual under the guise that it is land for agricultural
purposes."
The parents appealed to Mugabe to "take whatever
action you deem
appropriate" in order to ensure that the school continues to
function for
the benefit of pupils and the community.
Other
documents in the possession of the Independent reveal that
Mlotshwa was
between December 5 2006 and June 7 this year the interim
chairperson of the
school before he was forced to stand down amid
allegations of
maladministration.
During the time, Mlotshwa, as a director of
Nandi Farm, tried but
failed to buy the farm for $2,5 billion.
"Further to this matter, we write to formally offer to purchase all of
the
immovable, movable and fixed assets of Rydings Farm for $2,5 billion
subject
to the terms and conditions more fully set out in the attached draft
agreement of sale and annexures thereto," read Mlotshwa's purchase offer
dated May 24 this year.
On allegations of impropriety, the
lawyer allegedly advanced $107
million to the school in April 2007 to pay
for a hired bus and other
requirements in Harare.
The following
month, Mlotshwa allegedly bought 40 cattle from the
school using the money
he advanced the educational institution. The cattle
were moved to Mliswa's
farm.
On May 24 this year, Mlotshwa allegedly instructed the school
bursar
to transfer $700 million into his law firm, Antonio & Associates'
Trust
Account, which was then invested under a debenture trust agreement
between
Capital Ventures (Pvt) Ltd and Antonio &
Associates.
This resulted in the school experiencing a cash
crisis.
However, Mlotshwa returned the money and interest
thereon.
In appointing Mliswa, Mlotswa instructed the former rugby
coach to
prepare a draft constitution, a financial plan, assess dietary
requirements
and identify children requiring scholarships and other
financial assistance.
"In appointing you as chairman of Rydings
School, I trust that you
share in the company's vision of creating a first
class learning institution
subsidised by farming operations," wrote
Mlotshwa. "As a benefactor of
government's land reform programme, my wife
and myself feel strongly that we
should as individuals, give back to the
community, and in doing so, also
express our support for government's
endeavours to ensure that education,
even in private schools, remains
affordable."
Zim Independent
Kuda
Chikwanda
NOT only did Finance minister Samuel Mumbengegwi
appear clueless
yesterday, he also walked the fine line between truth and
deception when
delivering his supplementary budget which was described in
certain quarters
as nothing short of scandalous.
Apart from
mentioning that domestic debt stood at $8,1 trillion and
that the interest
component was $6,1 trillion, Mumbengegwi was unnervingly
silent on the
absorption of both the debt and the interest payment in his
supplementary
budget.
In fact a perusal of government's blue book shows no
interest payment
or loan repayment - a marked shift from last year's
performance by his
predecessor Herbert Murerwa who, with a sleight of hand,
hid interest but
acknowledged the debt.
Neither was there any
mention of quasi-fiscal activities which
government pledged to lift from the
shoulders of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ). Mumbengegwi made no mention
at all of QFAs or their extent.
In addition Mumbengegwi made no
mention of the $13,1 trillion
government lost in potential tax revenue owing
to the price blitz which have
seen businesses almost folding.
Instead the Finance minister chose to defend the blitz by saying that
government was forced to intervene to halt "economic carnage".
"In response to the economic carnage, government was forced to
intervene by
instituting price monitoring and stabilisation measures for
restoring sanity
in the goods and services market," Mumbengegwi said.
In short, his
supplementary budget of $37,1 trillion - contrasting
with ministry
expenditure bids of $255 trillion - was deception at its worst
as a clearly
befuddled Mumbengegwi swept a great deal of pertinent detail
under his
ministerial carpet.
"These additional expenditure submissions now
stand at over $255
trillion. This level of Supplementary Budget bids is
beyond our domestic
financing capacity," said Mumbengegwi, helpless and
hapless
His silence on how government intends to close the yawning
chasm
between expenditure requests by ministries and government departments
has
sent chills up the spines of business executives countrywide.
Why?
There is enough evidence that the crisis bedevilling the
country is
set to worsen.
And because they know they will have
to foot the economic cost of a
government that does not want to accept its
shortcomings - indeed is in
denial about them - and the futility of their
actions.
For the central bank, the situation is nothing short of
calamitous.
The RBZ now faces the harsh reality that they will have to
continue printing
money and remain the unwilling drivers of inflation or
finance government
activities from statutory deposits in banking
institutions.
"I would say RBZ is in a tight fix," said economist
John Robertson.
"They realise they will have to comply with government
orders to print money
or fund it out of statutory deposits.
"For government, excess liquidity means low interest rates. They can
tell
anyone to keep his money and source it elsewhere. Either way it will
not be
in the best interests of RBZ."
Robertson said Mumbengegwi had been
very generous in his budget beyond
what revenue sources he could cobble
up.
"It seems the minister was very generous in allocating what he
does
not have. It is obvious he cannot deliver what he has promised,"
Robertson
said.
Another economist with a local banking
institution who requested
anonymity said it was very clear that one or all
were bad planners and that
the supplementary budget was a
farce.
"Either all ministers and their teams are very bad financial
planners
or it is Mumbengegwi and his team. One of the two teams is
practically
incompetent at financial planning and disclosure and I could bet
my last
dollar it's the latter," he said.
Certainly Mumbengegwi
did not present a comfortable figure and at
times one got the impression his
speech would have sounded the same if he
had held it upside
down.
Zim Independent
Orirando
Manwere
FINANCE minister Samuel Mumbengegwi says the Zimbabwe
National Water
Authority should review water and sewer tarrifs reflective of
economic
levels for it to sustain treatment and pumping of
water.
This means that residents should brace themselves for tarrif
increases
despite the enactment last week of a law to freeze salary and
price increase
to curb inflation.
Presenting his mid-term
fiscal review policy to parliament yesterday,
Mumbengegwi said due to the
inability by local authorities to maintain urban
water and reticulation, and
sewer upgrading, they had become increasingly
dependent on central
government loans.
He said this had resulted in the level for
funding required by Zinwa,
which has taken over most of the centres, to be
high.
Mumbengegwi allocated $1,4 trillion for the restoration of
water
supplies to only four towns - Harare, Bulawayo, Marondera and
Beitbridge.
Water resources and infrastructural development
minister Munacho
Mutezo told parliament last week that Zinwa had so far
taken over 42 out of
52 urban centres and there was need for massive funding
from government to
normalise water supplies in the centres.
"Government can not perpetually assume direct responsibility for the
financial requirements of Zinwa's long term and sewer programmes, it is
necessary that the authority's water and sewer tarrifs reflect economic
levels that sustain treatment and pumping of water," he said.
Among the four centres allocated $1,4 trillion, Bulawayo, which is
facing a
critical shortage of water following the decommissioning of major
supply
dams, has the proposed Mtshabezi-Umzingwane which requires billions
of
dollars as the immediate alternative, a situation which could impact on
other projects.
There was no specific breakdown of how much
would be allocated to
particular centres but given the number of centres
taken over by Zinwa so
far, the allocated amount was clearly not
enough.
Zim Independent
Constantine Chimakure
THE $37,1 trillion
supplementary budget presented yesterday by Finance
minister Samuel
Mumbengegwi is inflationary, economic commentators said last
night.
The commentators said it would be difficult to contain
inflation which
went past the 7 600% mark in July because the supplementary
budget was nine
times more than the original one ($4 trillion) presented
last November by
then Finance minister Herbert Murerwa.
Economist John Robertson said apart from the supplementary budget
being
inflationary, it would also militate against government's recent price
freeze on goods and services.
"While I am still working on an
in-depth analysis of the budget, it is
clear that it's inflationary. The
massive increase in various taxes would
result in importers and service
providers passing on the cost to ordinary
people, thereby defeating the
government price freeze," said Robertson.
Mumbengegwi reviewed
upwards customs duty on fuel, Noczim debt
redemption levy, carbon tax, stamp
duty and presumptive tax and rental fees
for A2 farmers.
Robertson said the devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar from $250 to $30
000
against US$1 will benefit the government more than exporters through
import
duty.
"There is no way inflation can be contained given the budget
which is
largely going to be financed through tax increases," said
Robertson.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions secretary-general
Wellington Chibebe
said the budget did not address the concerns of
workers.
"It was a non-event in relation to the recently signed
Incomes and
Prices Stabilisation protocol by social partners. The protocol
clearly
stated that taxes should be linked to the poverty datum line, but
the
minister pegged the tax-free threshold at $4 million instead of the
poverty
datum line which is $8,2 million," Chibebe said.
He
said it was "shocking" to hear Mumbengegwi calling for social
partners to
play their part when the government recently introduced a salary
freeze.
MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti dismissed the
supplementary budget
as disastrous.
"It's a disastrous budget
which reflects the Zanu PF government's
complete inability to turn around
the economy or to offer anything valuable
to Zimbabweans," Biti
said.
He questioned the wisdom of having a supplementary budget
that is more
than nine times the original one.
"One can tell
that the government has no grasp of elementary
fundamentals of economics,"
Biti said. "How can you craft a budget which is
not rooted in any economic
policy? Ifembera fembera (it is guess work). How
do you move from point A to
B without following a set-out policy?"
He said while government
declared inflation its enemy number one,
facts on the ground prove
otherwise.
"Instead of putting in prudent policies to fight the
budget deficit as
a way of addressing inflation, the minister in his budget
is compounding
inflation. This is disastrous," Biti added.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Callisto Jokonya said
he was
yet to see the budget, while Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce
boss
Marah Hativagone was not answering her mobile phone last night.
Zim Independent
Kuda Chikwanda
AIR Zimbabwe chief executive officer Peter
Chikumba allegedly
cancelled a deal clinched last year by the state airline
with an Italian
firm, Avio Interior, to supply new plane seats and awarded
it to a United
States company, American General Supplies (AGS), which has
since supplied
second-hand seats at a higher cost, businessdigest can
reveal.
According to reliable Air Zimbabwe sources, Chikumba
cancelled the
deal in February despite the payment of a US$250 000 deposit
by the airline.
The deal had gone to tender before being clinched by the
Italian company
which has since refused to refund the deposit citing breach
of contract.
"Chikumba cancelled the contract when he arrived in
February," a
source said. "This was despite the fact that it had gone to
tender. He then
gave the same contract to AGS. Avio Interior then refused to
refund the
deposit and said they wanted Air Zimbabwe to make good their end
of the
bargain, but Chikumba refused."
Chikumba is said to have
awarded the deal to AGS, which was paid
US$1,1 million in three installments
of US$360 000 for the supply of the
second-hand seats. The payments were
made through the International Air
Transport Association
(IATA).
Contacted for comment, Chikumba - responding through Air
Zimbabwe
spokesperson David Mwenga - confirmed that the contract with Avio
Interior
had been cancelled and that the airline had settled for second-hand
seats.
"Last year Air Zimbabwe made an order and paid for a deposit
for B737
seats with Avio Interior of Italy," said Mwenga. "The airline
revised its
position and repealed the order following a realisation that
given the age
of the aircraft, it was not prudent to buy completely new and
expensive
seats when refurbished and less expensive seats would be equally
durable and
attractive," said Mwenga.
Mwenga said the decision
to cancel the order with Avio Interior had
been made before Chikumba's
arrival at the airline in February.
"Although the order was placed
with another company after his arrival,
the decision to cancel the contract
with Avio Interior was taken before Dr
Chikumba's arrival at the airline.
American General Supplies has indeed
supplied the aircraft seats (at more
attractive price) on the basis of their
past relationship with Air Zimbabwe,
" Mwenga said.
Mwenga also said AGS had been a long-running
supplier of the airline
for the past seven years and scoffed at the alleged
connection between Air
Zimbabwe and Chikumba's wife.
"AGS has
been one of the most consistent and most competitive
international aircraft
spares suppliers for Air Zimbabwe for the past seven
years, during which Dr
Chikumba has not been with the airline," Mwenga said.
Over the
years Air Zimbabwe has had more than its fair share of
troubles and last
week was reported to have been serving inadequate food on
its flights as a
consequence of government's June 18 directive to slash
prices.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke
apologised profusely last Monday to a visiting Chinese delegation which had
to fly from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg to get a flight to Harare.
Flights between Harare and Victoria Falls have been fully booked since the
price freeze was announced.
VOA
By Netsai Mlilo and Ndimyake Mwakalyelye
Bulawayo and Washington
07 September 2007
Public
hearings in Harare and Bulawayo on the Zimbabwean government's
proposal to
amend the national constitution in ways that would significantly
change the
electoral landscape are primarily turning up opposition to the
measure.
A parliamentary public hearing Friday in Bulawayo, the
country's
second-largest city, failed to draw a large turnout - but the few
who showed
up said the amendment was an ill-timed waste of resources that
would do
little to relieve suffering Zimbabweans.
Correspondent
Netsai Mlilo reported from the Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo.
Though
parliament was registering public opinion on the proposed amendment,
some
who attended the hearings said they doubted whether the public input
would
have an impact on the final shape of the legislation to be tabled in
parliament.
Experts noted that as a constitutional amendment, the law
does not have to
be vetted by a parliamentary committee but can go straight
to the floor for
debate after which the ruling party ZANU-PF party, armed
with the two-thirds
majority it claimed in the 2005 general election, could
easily pass it for
signature by President Robert Mugabe.
Another
issue of concern is timing - presidential and general elections are
just
seven months off, and many of the constitutional changes that are
envisioned
in the draft of the legislation would tip the scales in favor of
Mr.
Mugabe's ruling party.
For instance, the amendment will create 60 new
house seats, for a total of
2010, giving the ruling party an opportunity to
gerrymander ruling
party-safe districts.
For insight, VOA turned to
Chief Executive Officer Cephus Zinhumwe of the
National Association of
Non-Governmental Organizations and National Advocacy
Chairman Felix Mafa of
the National Constitutional Assembly, who spoke at
public hearings this week
in Harare and Bulawayo, respectively.
NANGO's Zinhumwe told reporter
Ndimyake Mwakalyelye of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that while civil society
groups doubt the hearings will make much
difference once the legislation is
tabled in parliament, they want to
register their views.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
07
September 2007
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has
called an emergency meeting of its
national council on Saturday to address
pressure from its affiliate unions
for action in opposition to a six-month
freeze on wages announced by
President Robert Mugabe.
Sources said
the affiliates want to pressure the government to reverse the
decision so
they can press for wages on a level with the national poverty
line.
President Mugabe invoked the Presidential Powers Act last week to
impose the
cap on wages.
ZCTU Secretary General Wellington Chibebe told Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Mr. Mugabe's wage decree
violated the Labor
Relations Act.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
07
September 2007
Zimbabwean police authorities in Gwanda,
Matabeleland South, have banned the
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition from
holding meetings there, saying speakers at
a recent gathering made
derogatory comments about President Robert Mugabe.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition spokesman Thabani Moyo said the group was
informed of the meeting
ban when it sought a permit for a voter education
session next
week.
Police said Mehluli Dube, vice president of the student
representative
council of the National University of Science and Technology,
declared at a
meeting in Gwanda that President Mugabe should be removed from
office ''either
through the ballot or the bullet.'' Accosted by police at
the meeting, Dube
fled, evading a roadblock.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition spokesman Moyo told reporter Patience Rusere of
VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that his organization intends to challenge the
ban in the courts as
it believes it is entitled to hold public meetings in
Gwanda.
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
07
September 2007
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said
Friday that it plans to relaunch the
mobile registration program that ended
August 17 in certain areas where it
has decided that the exercise was "not
satisfactorily conducted" because of
logistical hitches.
The
commission said it came to the decision after reviewing reports from
teams
deployed to oversee the mobile registration drive - important for
Zimbabweans living in remote rural areas - and consulting political parties
and others.
The statement did not identify the areas that would see
further mobile
registration.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network -
among others including both factions
of the divided opposition Movement for
Democratic Change - registered
dissatisfaction with the operation. ZESN
officials said logistical problems
prevented many citizens from registering
to vote or obtaining key documents
such as national identity
cards.
ZESN Acting Director Denford Beremauro told reporter Carole
Gombakomba of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that although his organization
welcomed the
commission's move, it remains concerned that logistics could
hinder voter
registration.
Deputy Secretary General Priscilla
Misiharambwi-Mushonga of the Movement for
Democratic Change faction led by
Arthur Mutambara said the issues her
formation raised with the election
commission went beyond the mobile
exercise.
The electoral commission
pledged to launch a massive public education
campaign on the importance of
the mobile registration exercise, noting as
well that the process of
registration continues full time in district
offices of the registrar
general.
Elections Director Ian Makone of the MDC faction of Morgan
Tsvangirai said
that his formation was not satisfied with the electoral
commission's
statement, which did not provide details on how and when the
new mobile
drive will be conducted.
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE PR COMMUNIQUE
Dated 7th September, 2007
Email:
jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
JAG
Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410. If you are in trouble
or
need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to
help!
IMPORTANT: FREE HELP:
ONE DAY SEMINAR FOR THE FARMING
COMMUNITY
�Living with Hope�
Farmers and their families are
invited to a one day seminar entitled �Living
with Hope�.
This will
take place on Wednesday 19th September from 9am to 4pm at the
Dominican
Convent Harare. Entry via Selous gate.
Father Robert Igo who is a
trained psychologist and therapist as well as
being a Benedictine Monk and
Prior at Christ the Word Monastery at Monte
Casino Mission will facilitate
this.
This is the second seminar along this line, those who attended the
first day
found it helpful and empowering. The morning session will
concentrate on
understanding how we react to situations and the afternoon
session will help
teach coping strategies.
This day is aimed at
assisting us in dealing with trauma, stress and also
looking positively
forward.
There is no charge for the day but teas and biscuits will be
offered at
reasonable cost. Please arrange to bring your own packed
lunch.
I can strongly recommend this day.
Ben Gilpin
Please
register with JAG via email or phone.
Telephone numbers: 799410 or
730507
Email: jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw