http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Thursday 23 September
2010
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday accused
the military of
intimidating Zimbabweans during countrywide meetings to
write a new
constitution and charged that the process was not credible, in
his clearest
indication yet that his MDC party may reject the outcome on the
new charter.
Officials have suspended constitutional hearings in Harare
and the nearby
dormitory town of Chitungwiza after President Robert Mugabe's
supporters,
some of them visibly drunk, trashed meetings by blocking rivals
from airing
their views.
This has cast doubt on whether Zimbabwe has
managed to exorcise the ghost of
political violence.
Tsvangirai
blamed ZANU-PF for the outbreak in violence but would not say how
his
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party would respond.
"This process
fails to pass the test of legitimacy, credibility and
people-drivenness,"
Tsvangirai said at a press conference.
"We have noted with concern the
militarisation of the process, interfering
with a purely civilian process.
Reports from all over the country show the
heavy involvement of the military
in the process."
The military, whose commanders fought alongside
Zimbabwe's President during
the 1970s independence war, has long pledged
undying loyalty to the ageing
Mugabe and is now seen as the biggest threat
to the future stability of the
once prosperous southern African
nation.
Tsvangirai formed a unity government with Mugabe last year but
the marriage
has been fragile and rocked by tensions and differences over
political and
economic reforms.
Under the power-sharing pact,
Zimbabweans will go to elections after a
referendum, which is expected next
year but there are doubts the vote will
take place because the
constitutional reform exercise is about a year behind
schedule.
Zimbabweans hope that a new charter will replace the
ceasefire document
penned in 1979 on the eve of the country's independence
from Britain.
But the countrywide public consultations on the
constitution have
highlighted the continued tensions between ZANU-PF and the
MDC, which
culminated in the weekend violence.
Tsvangirai said he
would first meet Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a
splinter MDC
faction, to try to address the violence. Mugabe is currently
attending a
United General Assembly meeting in United States.
The MDC has since its
formation in 1999 actively sought a new constitution
it says would guarantee
free elections and entrench political and media
freedoms, while
strengthening parliament's oversight role.
The new charter is also
expected to introduce two 5-year presidential term
limits but ZANU-PF wants
to do away with the position of prime minister,
which it says prevents the
smooth flow of government operations.
In 2000, voters rejected a draft
constitution in a national referendum that
catapulted Tsvangirai and the MDC
as the most serious challenge to Mugabe's
vice-like hold on power. -
ZimOnline.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
23
September 2010
The death of MDC activist Crispen Mandizvidza at the
hands of ZANU PF youths
was a "calculated and ruthless murder of a
strong-willed party cadre," an
MDC legislator said on
Thursday.
Mandizvidza died on Wednesday as a result of the injuries he
sustained,
after a savage attack by the ZANU PF youths on Sunday. The attack
happened
shortly after a constitutional outreach meeting at Mai Musodzi Hall
in Mbare
was abandoned, because of an outbreak of violence. Ten other MDC
activists
were also admitted to hospital after they were attacked by ZANU PF
members.
Mandizvidza was repeatedly hit with blunt objects on the abdomen
and had to
undergo emergency surgery on Monday night. But, because of the
severe nature
of the injuries, he didn't recover.
A medical report
about Mandizvidza's death, seen by independent bodies
monitoring the
constitutional outreach program, said he suffered "swelling"
and "deformity"
and there was evidence of severe soft tissue injuries.
Mandizvidza will be
buried next week in Zaka, Masvingo province.
Piniel Denga, the MDC MP for
Mbare told SW Radio Africa "the attack (on
Mandizvidza) was planned." Denga
said that the activist and the ZANU PF
youths were involved in a "fracas"
during the constitutional outreach
meeting in Mbare on Sunday. When
Mandizvidza headed home after the meeting
was abandoned "he was confronted
by a large group of ZANU PF youths, some of
whom are known in the area,"
Denga said.
Denga said Mandizvidza was assaulted with iron bars,
minimising his chances
of survival. One of the ZANU PF gang leaders was
identified by his first
name, Jimmy, who is known to live at Carter House
guest lodge.
"But the police won't make any arrests because they will be
in deep trouble
if they incarcerate anyone known to be ZANU PF," Denga
complained.
The MDC MP added: "A witness who was close to Mandizvidza has
apparently
gone into hiding after police threatened him with arrest. He had
gone to the
police to file a complaint and make a statement. Instead they
are now
hounding the witness instead of going after the
murderers."
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
23
September 2010
Tafadzwa Mugwadi, the president of a faction of the
Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU), was on Thursday arrested by
police over protest
graffiti painted around several city centre buildings in
Harare. Speaking to
SW Radio Africa Kudakwashe Chakabva, a spokesman for the
grouping, said
Mugwadi was detained by police around 9am and the union only
knew about it
later in the afternoon.
"President Mugwadi was arrested
early this morning after being summoned for
charges emanating from wall
writings by an unknown group of students
expressing their anger on the vile
'education denying' tuition fees being
levied to them by the government,"
Chakabva told SW Radio Africa. He said
Mugwadi was being detained by members
of the notorious Law and Order
Section.
At the TelOne building along
the Julius Nyerere road, the slogan: 'Education
is not for sale' was
painted. Opposite the NASA building along Sam Nujoma
Avenue 'ZINASU lives
on' was written, and in the basement of the Parkade
Building opposite the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 'Education is not for sale'
was written. Perhaps
most daring was the 'ZINASU struggle is our birthright'
graffiti near Robert
Mugabe's Munhumutapa office buildings.
"Thousands of students in the
country's institutions of higher learning are
facing either deferment or
completely dropping out of tertiary education due
to failure to pay the
demanded tuition fees ranging from US$200 to
US$800.The paradox of this
amount is that most students are sons and
daughters of civil servant who are
earning a paltry salary of US$150,"
ZINASU said in a
statement.
Chakabva said government claims of a lack of resources to fund
the critical
education sector were not sincere because the same government
"can afford to
spend thousands of taxpayer's money on a trip to a United
Nations meeting by
at least sixty state officials all claiming allowances of
US$250 per day."
This week the US Embassy in Harare confirmed granting visa's
to 80 people
who were part of Mugabe's official delegation to the UN general
assembly in
New York.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
23 September, 2010
ZANU PF's co-Minister for Home Affairs
Kembo Mohadi has been named in yet
another scandal, this time involving the
theft of almost one thousand
kilometers of copper wire from the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority
(ZESA) and from the telephone company Telkom. A
relative of Mohadi's,
believed to be a nephew named Roy Muleya, is reported
to have been at the
centre of the wire theft ring.
SW Radio Africa
this week received information that Muleya was arrested at
the Beitbridge
border post last year with a convoy of ten trucks, each
loaded with tonnes
of stolen copper wire. Reliable sources said the convoy
was headed for
Troyeville, Johannesburg, where the wire was eventually sold.
Despite the
evidence in the trucks and Muleya's failure to provide a clear
explanation,
he was suddenly released by the police in Beitbridge,
apparently after
interference by Mohadi. The trucks were allowed to cross
the border and it
is believed that they travelled to their destination in
Troyeville.
The theft was so massive that the whole infrastructure of
electricity and
phone lines south of Masvingo to Beitbridge was affected.
According to
sources, low level employees at ZESA and Telkom were blamed for
the thefts,
because it was believed that they were trying to compliment
their meager
salaries. Specialised tools are also needed to release some of
the copper
wire, adding to suspicions that 'insiders' were responsible, when
all along
a top official was making huge profits.
SW Radio Africa
Bulawayo correspondent Lionel Saungweme said that Mohadi
owns an insurance
company in Beitbridge that insures foreign registered
haulage trucks for
transit through Zimbabwe.
"What is happening is that the charges are
extremely high and many of the
haulage companies are complaining that they
are the highest in the region.
The costs do not match the risk involved,"
Saungweme said.
He also referred to a well known case that involved
Mohadi's wife and her
suspected lover. He said: "It is public knowledge that
his wife's lover was
found two years after he had gone missing somewhere in
Beitbridge and there
was a lot of suspicion as to who killed him. There has
never been any police
investigation."
As SW Radio Africa has reported
over the years, Minister Mohadi is said to
have top connections within the
Mugabe regime. Saungweme said the minister
is an asset to ZANU PF because he
comes from an intelligence background and
has been involved in a number of
mysterious cases.
He added: "There have been some farm invasions and a
conservancy in Gwanda
which has been taken over by 'ZANU leaning thugs' and
the mastermind has
been singled out as Mohadi."
At a time when the
coalition government running Zimbabwe is trying to
convince businesses and
farmers to help with the redevelopment of the
country, it would be
beneficial if they started by stamping out corruption
and establishing a
positive business environment. But unfortunately it is
top government
officials who are at the heart of the problem.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Staff Reporter
Wednesday, 22
September 2010 18:49
HARARE - A new wave of farm invasions,
particularly in Mashonaland West
province is mainly motivated by gold
panning, one of the affected parties
has told Daily News.
Plumway
Estates, a US$3,6 million consolidated farming project, says a
significant
portion of its 2,3 hectare Chakari property is under threat from
a "new
breed of land invaders" mainly interested in illegal bullion
extraction.
"These invaders are not interested in farming land, but
gold panning,"
Ronald Chiwundura, the company's divisional director has
said.
"Our view is that if they want to engage in mining, they must get
claims and
licences from the authorities," he said, adding Plumway was
perturbed by the
squatters' audacious move a fortnight ago against
government policy barring
occupation of black-owned land.
Although
Zimbabwe's unity government and the February 2009 dollarisation of
the
economy has brought about relative stability, ordinary folks still find
an
incentive in prohibited economic activities such as gold panning to
supplement their lives in the absence of tangible jobs and
employment.
Besides, they would rather look or dig for the precious metal
than engage in
actual farming - a widely suppressed, but known issue or
phenomenon
reminscent of the days where some ''inventive'' farmers would
sell diesel
and other inputs.
An export earning company with
agro-activities ranging from grain,
horticultural and livestock production,
Plumway is owned by London-based
Metallon Corporation chief executive and
businessman Collen Gura.
While there have been attempts to seize the
property in recent years, the
owners have a Lands ministry letter asserting
their rights to the farm -
bought in November 1996.
"Plumway
Properties is indigenously owned and held title to the properties
before the
gazetting. Against that background, the government policy is not
to take
land from indigenous people to resettle other indigenous people," an
M.
Dzinoreva wrote on June 21 this year.
Observers say attempts to seize
Gura's estate - along several other
black-owned farms - expose the shoddy
nature of Zimbabwe's land reform
programme in terms of planning and
implementation.
Ever since President Robert Mugabe's government embarked
on the disastrous
programme 10 years ago, rampaging mobs of mainly Zanu PF
supporters and some
war veterans have been indiscriminately overrunning
farms, including
highly-productive and locally-owned
portfolios.
Apart from commercial crops such as maize at 300 hectares,
baby corn at
five, soya bean 250 hectares and tubers, including potatoes at
60 hectares,
the CAG Holdings agro subsidiary, Plumway, is involved a number
of value -
addition activities, including foods and stock feeds
production.
The company also had a shot at European market penetration
through Nellco,
where it exported fruits and vegetables from the nearly 890
hectares of
arable land at its highly-mechanised Kadoma district farm, among
other group
facilities.
http://news.radiovop.com
23/09/2010 17:04:00
Bulawayo, September
23, 2010 -Zimbabwe's immigration authorities are set to
deport five Russian
tourists for illegally exploring minerals in West
Nicholson, Matabeleland
South province.
The five Russians - Volynkin Vladilir, Safonor Alexander,
Vorob Vev,
Valerity Kharitonov and Shokolov Ivor - were arrested last week
at a new
mining site in West Nicholson.
For illegally exploring for
minerals in that province, the five Russian
tourists were charged with
abusing their tourist visas when they appeared
before Gwanda Magistrate,
Douglas Zvenyika.
According to the state, the five entered the country on
tourist visas issued
in Moscow through the Zimbabwean embassy but after
entering the country
started engaging in mining activities.
They five
Russians who were represented by lawyer Elasto Mugwadi in their
court
appearance were charged with contravening the Immigration Act, Chapter
4:02
(engaging in activities not specified in the visa) and fined US$200 or
15
days in prison.
They face deportation. Matabeleland South is rich in gold
deposits. Illegal
gold panning is however rife in that
province.
President Robert Mugabe often says the country has rich mineral
deposits
that he says are adequate to see southern African nation clear its
external
debt on its road to economic recovery.
But the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Zimbabwe's mining wealth
will not provide
sufficient resources to settle the country's external debt
even if the
government mortgaged its future fiscal revenues from the
sector.
Zimbabwe's external debt is US$4,6 billion which is 104% of the
country's
gross domestic product (GDP), a level which is considered
unsustainable.
Diamonds, gold and platinum are some of Zimbabwe's
minerals with a potential
to earn the country significant revenue streams,
but they are also weighed
down by high extraction costs.
http://news.radiovop.com
23/09/2010 13:38:00
Harare,
September 23, 2010 - The Minister of State in the Prime Minister's
Office,
Senator Sekai Holland, says she will quit her post as a member of
the Organ
of National Healing and Reconciliation if people think that she
has
failed.
"I do want to do a job where people are seeing all faults and
nothing
positive about what I am trying to do in this country," an angry
Holland
told women at a workshop in Harare. "If you women think that I am
not doing
my job then come and do it yoursleves because I am going to
quit."
She had been provoked by a woman who told her that she was not
visiting her
constituency of Chizhanje and was just using the Organ to
attend conferences
and workshops in Zimbabwe.
"You chefs just eat and
drink at major hotels and are doing nothing in the
rural areas," the woman
told Holland.
"There is nothing being done by the Organ and we do not
what it is
achieving. Where is John Nkomo. Where is Gibson Sibanda (now
late),. We
never see them."
Holland then stood up and threw her hand
bag on the high table and
threatened to quit.
She said she and the
late Gibson Sibanda had done all they could do to make
the Organ work
despite the fact that it was currently cash-strapped.
Meanwhile some
members of the National Association of Non-Governmental
Organisation Nango
attending the same workshop castigated the organisation,
saying it is a
toothless bulldog.
"What has NANGO done for us," a member questioned
bosses at a workshop in
Harare. "Where do we stand as far as the
constitution is and what is our
position."
NANGO held a meeting to
see what they could inject in the upcoming National
Budget 2011 but debate
changed to the constitutional making proces currently
suspended in
Zimbabwe.
"What if Tendai Biti just throws out what we say here and are
just wasting
our time," a member said.
"He does not take NANGO
seriously just like all other government ministers.
They are just using
us."
NANGO members said they were requesting a meeting with thei Minister
of
Finance (Biti) to ensure that their voices were heard.
http://news.radiovop.com
23/09/2010 10:16:00
Harare,
September 22, 2010 - The Movement for Demoratic Change leader, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called for an urgent meeting with principals
who signed the Global Politial Agreeement following the death of an activist
from his party after weekend violent clashes with Zanu (PF) over meetings to
draft a new constitution.
"One of our members who was attacked by
Zanu (PF) over the weekend has since
passed away. His name was Chrispen
Mandizvidza," MDC spokesperson Nelson
Chamisa said at a press conference on
Wednesday.
At the same press conference, Tsvangirai said:"This process
(constitution
making) fails to pass the test of legitimacy, credibility and
people
drivenness. We have noted with concern the militarisation of the
process,
interfering with a purely civilian process. Reports from all over
the
country show the heavy involvement of the military in the
process."
"In the rural areas, ordinary people were under siege from
similar cases of
military meddling. The military and state agents'
involvement must be
investigated and the principals must meet immediately to
map the way
forward."
"So messy was the process that it rendered the
hearings unnecessary and out
of step with the slightest meaning of what
could possibly be regarded as a
people driven Constitution making
process."
Tsvangirai said the violence over the weekend was needless and
was a stark
reminder of "our dark past and a serious threat to our common
future."
Zimbabwe is meant to write a new constitution which will lead to
new
elections but the current disturbances are likely to derail the
process.
The main principals of the unity government Tsvangirai,
President Robert
Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara have
failed to resolve
outstanding issues in the unity government that include
appointment of
senior government officials.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/
Sep 23,
2010, 12:51 GMT
Harare - Nearly 70 children in Zimbabwe died of measles
in a two-week period
recently after communities of religious sects drove
away government health
teams trying to immunize their children, the health
ministry said Thursday.
The 'Vapostori', or 'apostles', combine Christian
fundamentalism and African
traditional practices, forbid the use of Western
medicine and insist on
treating the ill with 'holy water' and prayer. The
government has tried for
years to persuade the sect leaders to allow
children to be immunized against
measles and other diseases, with little
success.
In May, health authorities mounted a massive countrywide
immunization
campaign after a surge in the viral disease had killed 400,
mostly among the
sects, ministry disease control director Portia Manangazira
was quoted as
saying in the daily state-run Herald newspaper.
She
said they noted 'a significant decline' in the incidence of measles.
'There
are, however, areas that have continued to report cases of measles
because
the communities have continued to evade health authorities. The
persistent
refusal 'means these closed communities have large numbers of
unvaccinated
children,' she said.
She said two religious communities, one in
south-west Zimbabwe and another
in the Mazowe district 40 kilometres north
of Harare had 'chased away the
campaign teams.'
She said she knew of
24 children who died in Mazowe during the fortnight,
and 40 in a district
further north. Medical teams had been dispatched to try
to contain the
outbreaks.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by The Zimbabwean
Thursday, 23 September 2010
07:35
After much confusion, Jenni Williams has been released from police
custody.Inspector Majuru, based at Harare Magistrate's Court, finally
released her after Williams signed a caution under protest.
Majuru
had insisted that Williams be taken to Harare Central for 'addressing
a
gathering in court'even though both she and her legal representation
explained on numerous occasions that she had merely been speaking to members
that had been released from court about who needed medical attention. The
group was also not even in the immediate vicinity of court. Inspector Majuru
would not let her go to Harare Central however as he kept insisting that it
was not safe to do so as there were still WOZA members outside court and
they would start demonstrating if they caught sight of Williams! After
several phone calls between himself and Harare Central, Williams was
released.
The 76 women and seven men released this morning after two
nights in
horrific conditions in Harare Central are all suffering from aches
and pains
and upset stomachs. 10 people required medical treatment for
various
ailments including dysentery. Lazarus Mandondo required treatment
for severe
headaches as he was beaten across his head with baton sticks and
made to
stand on his head for several hours. Several people are still in the
process
of being checked and the whole group will be monitored for
developing
conditions.
It also transpires that a nine-month-old baby
was in custody with her
mother. It is being investigated why the mother and
child were not released
earlier. Both mother and baby are still due to be
checked by a medical
professional.
The group testified to appalling
conditions in cells. Clara Manjengwa and
Lillian Ntefula, both of whom spent
six days in custody in April, confirm
that conditions are much worse now
than in April. None of the cells, male or
female, are in use due to their
filthy state requiring all detainees to stay
in the passages, which are
equally dirty. Over 120 women and over 150 men
were squashed in their
respective passages.
The toilets were not working and in the female
cells, no water was
available. When the WOZA women asked for cleaning
materials so that they
could clean their section, they were given a mop but
no water. In the male
cells, an officer, Moyo, would spray the male
prisoners with a hose pipe and
make them sing and dance along to a song
played on his cell phone. If anyone
did not comply, they would be beaten.
The WOZA and MOZA activists were also
verbally abused by officers.
Yesterday, after refusing to pay admission of
guilt fines, they were forced
to eat their dinner and breakfast this morning
in a room filled with human
waste 'to fix them for thinking that they have
money'.
WOZA condemns
the prolonged detention of the 83 activists, including a baby,
in inhumane
conditions, their degrading treatment, the torture of Lazarus
Mandondo and
the arbitrary arrest of Jenni Williams. The demonstrations
earlier this week
were to highlight police abuses and the concerns of
ordinary Zimbabwean
citizens about safety in their communities. The
behaviour of police towards
the women and men of WOZA, human rights
defenders exercising their
constitutional right to speak out about issues
concerning them, only serves
as further proof of our concerns. Attempts on
the part of WOZA leadership
last week to meet with the Commissioner of
Police, Augustine Chihuri to
discuss the concerns of WOZA members about
community safety and to hand over
a list of demands were denied by his
refusal to meet with WOZA.
WOZA
renews its call to members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police to behave in
accordance with the ZRP Service Charter, Service Standards and the Police
Act. Please remember the people of Zimbabwe are not the enemy to be abused
and mistreated, we are your brothers and sisters.
http://www.foxnews.com/
Published September 23, 2010
| Associated
Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe - HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabwe's
national airline says
a crippling two-week strike by its 44 pilots has ended
and regional and
international flights will resume Friday.
Air
Zimbabwe chairman Jonathan Kadzura didn't give details of the deal that
ended the strike. The airline fired the pilots last week but then resumed
negotiations.
Senior pilots earned $2,600 a month, well below
salaries of their regional
counterparts, and the heavily indebted airline
failed to pay most crew
allowances for the past 20 months.
One
airline plane was commandeered to fly President Robert Mugabe to the
U.N.
General Assembly in New York this week. U.S. officials confirmed they
issued
80 visas for his entourage. Striking pilots had criticized the trip
for its
extravagance in the ailing economy.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Energy Bara
Thursday, 23 September
2010 17:16
MASVINGO - Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri
has ordered all
policemen in the country to register as voters ahead of
elections due in
2011.
Chihuri gave the directive in a circular on 9
September 2010 to officers
commanding provinces in a move seen as another
attempt to rig the elections.
In the 2008 presidential run-off elections,
police were forced to vote for
Mugabe in the presence of their
superiors.
In the circular which was shown to the Daily News, Chihuri
expressed concern
over the failure by some officers to cast their votes in
the 2008 elections.
Chihuri said he will soon dispatch senior officers
countrywide to ensure
that all officers register as
voters.
"Addresses' are reminded that voter registration is a continuous
exercise,"
read part of the circular. "Commanders are reminded that police
officers
under their command are educated and ordered to register as
voters."
"It was discovered that during the last election, some police
officers who
had asked for postal ballots did not vote because they were not
on the
voters' roll."
"This office will send commanders to check if
this instruction has been
obeyed and make sure that those not registered as
voters do so without
fail."
Although Chihuri could not be reached for
comment yesterday, a senior police
officer in Masvingo yesterday confirmed
the developments.
"It is true that all officers have been ordered to
register as voters by the
commissioner general and that is what we are going
to do," said the officer
who refused to be name.
"Although voting
should be voluntary, if an instruction comes from your
superior it has to be
obeyed," added the officer.
Zimbabwean laws do not force citizens to
register as voters.
However political analysts have said that the order
by Chihuri could lead to
rigging of elections.
"The responsibility to
register voters lies with ZEC," said a political
analyst.
"For a
uniformed senior officer to force people to register is an anomaly
and this
could lead to rigging of elections."
Zimbabweans are expected to go to
the polls next year where Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and President
Robert Mugabe are expected to resume their
rivalry.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
23 September,
2010 02:51:00 APA
Harare - Zimbabwe is considering an out-of-court
settlement with German bank
KfW Bankengruppe which is owed €40 million
borrowed more than 12 years ago
to rehabilitate the troubled Zimbabwe Iron
and Steel Company (Ziscosteel),
APA learns here Thursday
Sources said
the KfW Bankengruppe settlement would be announced on October 8
when the
case comes up at the North Gauteng High Court in South Africa.
"The
Zimbabwean government has decided to go for a settlement with the
German
bank KFW Gruppe and offered to repay the 40 million Euros,"
Commercial
Farmers Union (CFU) Vice President Louis Fick said.
A South African
farmer dispossessed of his property under President Robert
Mugabe’s land
reform programme, Fick is leading a campaign to sue the
Zimbabwean
government over the expropriation of farms.
The North Gauteng High Court
in July postponed the auction of several
properties in South Africa owned by
the Zimbabwean government which had been
seized to pay back loans from the
German bank as well as compensate a group
of South African farmers who lost
their farms under the land reform
programme.
The postponement came
after the Zimbabwean government appealed against the
legality of the
sale.
Seven properties in South Africa’s Western Cape and Gauteng
provinces were
seized by KfW Bankengruppe in May over Harare’s failure to
settle a
multi-million dollar loan.
The government, through
Ziscosteel, entered into the loan agreement with the
German bank in January
1998.
Repayment of the loan was then meant to be done in 16 instalments
starting
from May 2000. But after only four payments, the last being in
2002,
Ziscosteel stopped paying, leaving the German bank with no other
option than
seek other means of repayment.
http://www.europeanvoice.com/
By Toby Vogel
23.09.2010 / 05:11
CET
South African leader will be urged to help deal with difficult
neighbour.
European Union leaders will next week call on Jacob Zuma, the
president of
South Africa, to become more involved in the search for a
solution to
political deadlock in Zimbabwe.
Zuma will on Tuesday (28
September) travel to Brussels for a summit with
Herman Van Rompuy, the
president of the European Council, and José Manuel
Barroso, the president of
the European Commission. The summit is only the
third to take place between
the two sides and comes two months before an
EU-Africa summit in
Libya.
The EU expects Zuma to ask the Union to lift the remaining
sanctions on
Zimbabwe, according to an EU briefing document, but many member
states are
sceptical that such a move would help resolve a stalemate between
Robert
Mugabe, Zimbabwe's long-time strongman, and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai. South Africa has in the past resisted calls to step up pressure
on Mugabe to open up his country, ravaged by repression and
misrule.
Regional agreements
Another likely point of disagreement
concerns trade, with South Africa
opposing the regional Economic Partnership
Agreements that the EU has
signed, or is negotiating, with many countries in
the region. The South
African government believes that the agreements could
undermine regional
integration in the continent's south by splitting the
area in two. EU
documents describe South Africa as maintaining a "committed
and assertive
developing-country perspective" on various issues.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Rebecca Moyo
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
13:20
Anti-corruption commission investigates
HARARE - High Court
Judges, magistrates, prosecutors, lawyers and clerks of
court are among
those receiving bribes and compromising the country's
justice delivery
system.
Anti-Corruption Commission investigations manager, Sukai Tongogara,
confirmed to The Zimbabwean this week that the commission had received
complaints against some individuals at all levels of the judicial system.
"Magistrates, prosecutors, clerks of court, legal practitioners, officers of
the Labour Court, traditional chiefs and judges are all involved and cases
of bribery involving these offices continue to rise," said Tongogara, who
declined to reveal any names.
"What is worrying is that some of the graft
involves judges presiding over
cases involving relatives and friends without
disclosing their interests,"
she said. When asked the extent of corruption
and bribery at the High Court,
Tongogara said judges' cases contributed 1%
of bribery and corruption
matters reported to the commission. It is
universally accepted that a
judiciary that is fearless, impartial and
independent is fundamental to any
democratic dispensation.
"Of all cases
reported to us, the highest number involved bribery and
corruption against
magistrates, prosecutors and clerks of court," Tongogara
added. She said
judges represented the lowest number of corruption cases
being handled by
her organisation, but some lawyers said it was worrying
that senior officers
such as judges could be involved in any form of graft.
Tongogara cited
interference in the independence of the judiciary as the
biggest area of
corruption. "Poor remuneration, lack of supervision, weak
monitoring
mechanisms, inadequate work facilities, greed, lack of integrity
and
unprofessionalism also contribute to this scourge," she said.
Some lawyers
were said to be fraudulently selling properties, conniving with
prosecutors
to solicit money to obtain judgments and with clerks to remove
documents
from records, she said. Over the past decade, the justice delivery
system in
Zimbabwe has taken a major knock as is proved by the blatant bias
and
partiality displayed by judicial officers; particularly in cases
involving
issues of human rights and other politically-sensitive cases.
Analysts say
the case involving Jestina Mukoko and other MDC activists has
clearly proved
that some judges would fare better as Zanu (PF) political
activists rather
than judges. They said it was also alarming to hear that
the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe had "donated trinkets to judges of the High
Court" and that many
were recipients of farms stolen from commercial farmers
under the so-called
land "reform" programme.
These "trinkets" included luxury SUV motor vehicles,
generators, plasma and
LCD television sets. "By accepting these lands and
"gifts", the judges have
compromised their credibility and impartiality
beyond redemption," said one
analyst.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Edward Jones Thursday 23 September
2010
HARARE - Political violence that rocked outreach meetings for a
new
constitution in the capital has heightened fears that this could serve
as a
forerunner of what to expect in general elections that the country's
main
political parties want to be held next year, but which analysts warn
could
end in another stalemate.
Violence broke out when President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF supporters
disrupted outreach gatherings in Harare
last weekend, forcing officials to
cancel meetings.
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party and ZANU-PF
are clamouring for elections in 2011 to end their uneasy
coalition that was
formed after a hotly disputed poll three years ago.
But the weekend's
events, where suspected ZANU-PF supporters, some of them
visibly drunk,
trashed meetings by blocking rivals from airing their views
on a new
charter, have cast doubt on whether Zimbabwe has managed to
exorcise the
ghost of political violence.
"What we saw during the weekend is a clear
indication that Zimbabwe can not
hold a violent free election because the
mood is still very much like it was
in 2008," John Makumbe, a veteran
political commentator and Mugabe critic
said.
"The perpetrators of
violence in 2008 are still very much on the loose and
they will go back the
same route because their sponsors are still in power
and are afraid to lose
power," said Makumbe.
ZANU-PF supporters in Harare's poor townships and
the nearby dormitory town
of Chitungwiza brought events to a standstill when
they threatened
participants with guns and machetes while some were involved
in fighting
with their MDC rivals.
Polls Only
Alternative
Although Zimbabwe has been blighted by political violence
since independence
in 1980, tensions eased somewhat in 1987 when Mugabe's
party and the late
Joshua Nkomo's PF-ZAPU merged to form ZANU-PF.
But
political disturbances exploded again in 2000 as Mugabe fought to stop
the
surging tide of the MDC which had been formed a year earlier and has
come
closest to unseating him from power.
Political commentators said a fresh
poll is the only alternative to dissolve
the unity government, whose life
has been tenuous and marked by bitter
tensions over political and economic
policies.
"Elections are the only way out of the current political
stalemate but do I
think they should be held in 2011? Well it would not be
prudent to hold them
unless there is a serious transformation of the body
politic," said Eldred
Masunungure, who heads the local political think-tank
Mass Public Opinion.
"If elections are held under the current conditions,
there is no doubt that
the biggest beneficiaries will be
ZANU-PF."
The southern African nation was gripped by violence in the run
up to the
June 2008 presidential run-off as Mugabe sought to claw back from
his first
ever defeat by Tsvangirai during the first round of
polling.
No Security Reform
The army and central intelligence took
control of Mugabe's campaign and with
the support of war veterans and a
rowdy youth militia, unleashed violence
that left more than 200 MDC
supporters dead and embarrassed even some of
Africa's most neutral
leaders.
Analysts say the failure to reorganise the security sector,
which has
pledged undying loyalty to the 86-year-old Mugabe, Africa's oldest
leader
and in office since independence in 1980, did not augur well for
future
elections.
Tsvangirai told an economic conference on Zimbabwe
in South Africa last week
that he was aware of the anxiety of the
securocrats and that talks were on
to reassure them on their
future.
But political commentators said there was no evidence of key
reforms within
the security ranks, adding that the security forces stood in
the way of a
smooth transfer of power in future.
"The security sector
has not been reformed and the fears and interests of
the security has not
been addressed by the inclusive government and so in
the next election they
will act in the same manner that they have in the
past," said
Makumbe.
A referendum is expected next year on a new constitution, whose
writing is
nearly a year behind schedule but there are now lingering doubts
that the
final document will carry the wishes of the
majority.
Zimbabweans hope that a new charter will introduce two
five-year
presidential terms, clip the powers of the president, strengthen
the
oversight role of parliament and allow the legislature to approve
appointments of service chiefs and senior civil servants. - ZimOnline.
http://www.voanews.com/
Peta Thornycroft |
Johannesburg 22 September 2010
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai says he and his colleagues in the
unity government must continue
to rebuild the country, despite difficulties
and slow progress towards
democracy. Mr. Tsvangirai and other Zimbabwean
leaders were in Johannesburg
for a recent investment conference.
The primary goal of Zimbabwe's
transitional unity government is to stabilize
the country and create a
suitable environment for free and fair elections.
No one is sure when the
elections will take place and some analysts fear
elections without
reconciliation will spark a return to the political
violence in which about
200 of Morgan Tsvangirai's supporters were killed
during the last polls in
March 2008.
Glacial pace
But, some ministers in Prime Minister
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change say Zimbabwe is slowly moving
forward from the chaos and violence of
the past 10 years.
One of the
major difficulties faced by Zimbabweans is an erratic power
supply resulting
in lengthy power cuts. This has severely constrained the
possibility of
rebuilding mining, industry and agriculture.
The Movement for Democratic
Change energy minister in the unity government,
Elton Mangoma is upbeat
about new investment in electricity. He says
Zimbabwe will be self
sufficient in power in three years through repairs and
increased output from
existing power stations and investment in new ones.
"We have already
lined up investors, it is all sorted out," Mangoma said.
"And then two
greenfield investments, in coal, one at Sengwa and that is a
2,400 megawatt
project, with a European country coming in."
Mangoma, like Mr.
Tsvangirai, was arrested and beaten in detention under the
previous ZANU-PF
government. Mangoma says it is more important to try to
rebuild Zimbabwe
than to dwell on President Robert Mugabe and the past.
"Do you fight
Mugabe every day or do you focus on achieving your objective?
You have to
commit yourself," Mangoma said. "We say we think we can work
this thing
through, and surely we have better insight. It is not out of
stupidity.
You do not achieve the growth rates we are getting if you are
stupid
."
Exodus
During the political crisis of the past 10 years,
ZANU-PF closed several
newspapers, many journalists were arrested and some
fled the country. One
of those affected was Trevor Ncube, a Zimbabwean
publisher who moved to
South Africa several years ago.
Under the
unity government he is now regularly back in Zimbabwe and recently
launched
a new daily newspaper, Newsday.
Ncube says one of the most pressing
problems facing Zimbabwe is the lack of
skills because so many people have
left the country due to the political
crisis.
"There simply is not
the depth of skill in Zimbabwe," Ncube said. "The
banking sector, the
insurance industry and so forth is suffering. As a
result quality of
products, quality of service is lower than it has ever
been in
Zimbabwe."
He says many who left the country are nervous to return in
case the
inclusive government fails.
"A lot of people do not have
confidence that what has been started is
sustainable, that there will not be
developments around the corner that are
going to reverse the situation so
that they are back to square one, having
to deal with same issues that
caused them to leave the country," Ncube said.
Black vs
white
Although political violence has declined under the inclusive
government and
there are fewer partisan arrests, the situation for white
commercial farmers
and their workers has worsened.
Official
statistics show that 90 percent of white commercial farmers, whose
products
provided 40 percent of Zimbabwe's foreign currency, have been
evicted since
2000.
Pressure group Justice for Agriculture's John Worsley-Worswick said
former
commercial farm workers, now employed by new farmers who were given
white-owned land, are among the poorest people in Zimbabwe.
"Those
that remained internally displaced on commercial farms, who were
forced to
work for new farmers, were forced into a cashless existence where
the work
they were doing was paid for in kind," Worsley-Worswick said. "They
were
getting a couple of slices of bread, and tea a day, and at the end of
the
month if they worked a whole month, they would get a bucket of maize."
He
said farm workers without cash cannot pay for health care or education
for
their children or buy subsidized food that is available on the former
commercial farms. He said these farm workers are "slaves."
High
hopes
Mr. Tsvangirai says although he is regularly disappointed by
ZANU-PF's
behavior within the inclusive government, there is hope for the
future.
"Zimbabwe is moving forward," Tsvangirai said. "We have health
workers and
medicines in our hospitals, teachers and books in our schools,
food in our
supermarkets and granaries, water in our taps and fuel in our
petrol
stations. We have a dependable and stable multi-currency regime, a
single
digit inflation. And we have expected growth of over seven percent
this
year."
Last weekend, as people gathered in Harare and second
city Bulawayo to
discuss a new constitution, there was a spurt of political
violence and
arrests. Members of the public who attended some of the
meetings blamed Mr.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF for attacking and injuring some members
of the public,
throwing stones and aggressively disrupting meetings. Some
journalists say
they had to flee from ZANU-PF activists and the
police.
Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai agreed two years ago that Zimbabwe
needed a
new constitution before new elections.
After the weekend
violence and disruptions of public meetings on the
constitution, Mr.
Tsvangirai said that he will not take his MDC party into
any new elections
if there is political violence.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
23/09/2010 00:00:00
by Basildon
Peta
EVEN dead, they would get me, the man from Mugabe's spy agency,
the CIO, had
warned. My corpse would be shred into "mince meat" even if I
returned to
Zimbabwe in a coffin for burial, he told me when our paths
crossed in
Johannesburg.
I had been branded a "sell out", and an
enemy of the state for my reports in
the foreign media on how the ruling
party and its supporters waged their
land war against white farmers and then
tortured and murdered hundreds of
black opposition supporters. The decision
to leave my homeland permanently
came after I was told I was a dead man
walking and after the arrival of an
A4 brown envelope filled with live
ammunition and containing chilling words
in red telling me I was marked for
death.
So now, nearly nine years on, as the captain tells the crew to prepare
for
landing my heart is pounding.
In the years of my exile, Zimbabwe
has been dragged through bloody violence,
economic collapse and political
chaos. But the "unity government" formed in
February last year has, for now,
survived, and I am risking a return home.
"Things have changed," I've
been told. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai,
now Prime Minister to Robert
Mugabe's President in the power-sharing
government, is among those who
reassure me I will be safe. But Roy Bennett,
the MDC MP, broke his exile on
the strength of similar assurances only to
end up sharing a cell with the
uncollected corpses of prisoners. I wonder,
belatedly, if my decision to
accept an invitation to a UN-sponsored media
conference is wise.
As
the plane touches down at Harare International I recall how somebody has
just been arrested for the "crime" of describing the 86-year-old president
as an "old man". My own characterisations of the geriatric leader as a
"clueless buffoon" in The Independent and in the free South African press
would surely guarantee me lengthy incarceration if warrants were
activated.
I've also had the dubious distinction of appearing twice on a
list of 17
"saboteurs" whose passports would be seized if they ever
returned, because
they had "badmouthed" the country abroad. The High Court
nullified the
order. But this is a regime still defined by its flagrant
disregard for the
rule of law and the decisions of the Zimbabwe
courts.
The officer at the passport desk looks at my documents, appears
to recognise
me, and then smiles and, in our native Shona, offers a warm
welcome waving
me through. But the Zimbabwe I find on the other side of
immigration is
certainly not the Zimbabwe I grew up in nor the Zimbabwe
which once held so
much hope for Africa. It is not even the Zimbabwe I fled
in February 2002.
From the airport I am taken into town in a UN vehicle,
but we are
immediately plunged into darkness as there is no power in the
entire eastern
part of the city. "Life without electricity, water and proper
sanitation is
the norm here," the driver mutters.
Next morning,
Christopher Mutsvangwa, the media czar in the ruling party
Zanu PF and a
former ambassador to China, approaches the podium at the
conference. He
prefaces his speech by welcoming me and urging me to feel
safe "even though
we don't see eye to eye with you on many issues". I begin
to feel a bit more
at ease.
I grew up in Chi Town, the local slang for Chitungwiza, a
dormitory town
built during Ian Smith's apartheid regime to confine blacks
from the Harare
factories outside working hours. We had severe overcrowding
- a population
of 250,000 swelled to quadruple that figure soon after
independence - but it
was nevertheless a liveable place. I cannot think of a
single day in my
childhood when we went without running water or
electricity. Cousins my age
from rural areas would visit us to take
advantage of our electric light to
read and prepare for exams.
Now
the Chitungwiza I revisit to find my ageing parents is a sprawling place
of
three million people. Here, the claim that things have improved since the
deal that brought the MDC into government seems scarcely credible. The
consequences of Mugabe's misrule are everywhere. The roads are pocked, not
by potholes but by huge gullies. Even in my borrowed 4x4 it is a challenge
to navigate them. The "unity government" may have halted Zimbabwe's economic
freefall but the neglect of infrastructure here seems total. Rivers of
sewage water, from burst septic tanks, meander through the gullies. Nothing
that has broken seems to have been repaired for years.
Ten years is a
long time not to have seen one's parents in their own home.
So I expect my
father, now 72, to drop everything when I arrive. He rushes
to hug me but
quickly returns to direct his hose-pipe into containers lined
up in his
yard. Water supplies have just been restored after three months
and he must
fill as many buckets as possible before the taps go dry again.
"This is how
the country has become," he says sadly. The filled buckets will
keep him
away from the long queues at a public borehole, for a few days at
least.
Just as we go inside the house, the electricity re-connected some two
hours
earlier after a long power-cut snaps off again. My welcome meal of
Sadza
(maize meal porridge) is cooked on firewood.
My parents' stories about
everyday survival are distressing enough although
hardly remarkable by
Zimbabwe standards. They, at least, consider themselves
well off because of
the modest sums that my sister and I send back in
dollars. None of the
friends I grew up with in the area remain. Some have
died. Others have long
since fled abroad. And those who stay live in dread
of becoming
ill.
State hospitals, once staffed by the best-trained doctors and nurses
in the
region are not just in tatters. Locals call them mortuaries. At one
stage
ox-drawn ambulances had to be introduced because of crippling fuel
shortages. Mothers prefer to midwife their daughters at home rather than
send them to give birth in the clinics. Scarce drugs are available only to
those who can afford bribes. And basic equipment like bandages is still
lacking. "Being admitted to a ward is like being put on death row," I am
told by a neighbour.
I went to a bottom-of-the-ladder township high
school but we had excellent
teachers. Zimbabwe, after all, had a proud and
impressive education system.
Mugabe himself had started his career as a
schoolteacher. Our school, which
was called Seke 4, had a decent science lab
and a workshop for wood-work and
metal-work.
Even a poor
shirt-factory worker like my father could afford our school fees
on his
wages because the economy was stable. Now, at one school, a teacher
tells me
they use candles in place of bunsen-burners. Even though school
attendance
has improved since the crisis reached its trough in 2008, in many
rural
areas the schools remain closed because the salaries are too low to
retain
teachers, and there are no books. In the cities, children who would
be in
class if they could afford the fees can be seen scavenging at dump
sites.
For a country that was considered affluent by African
standards, the squalor
is heart-breaking, but I keep being told that things
were a lot worse before
the formation of the coalition government. "We once
went 13 months with no
running water. At least now, we get it back after a
month - two or three
months at most," explains a neighbour.
The
shops, empty two years ago, are again replenished with goods imported
from
South Africa. The abolition of the Zimbabwe dollar in favour of the US
currency has restored some semblance of economic functioning. And the
violence that marked the peak of the crisis in 2008, when Mugabe embarked on
his murderous spree to cling to power in a presidential run-off vote, has
ceased in most urban areas - though MDC supporters at meetings to discuss a
new constitution have been attacked in recent days.
"The only items
we could find in shops during 2008 were shoe polish, tissue
paper and
sometimes candles," says a friend. "Now you can get anything as
long as you
have the bucks. Above all, we are enjoying some peace."
But the goods in
supermarkets are so out of the price range of the majority
as to be
irrelevant. A civil servant's average monthly wage is US$150 yet
the average
household electricity bill is double that amount despite
constant power
cuts.
Unemployment is running at 90 per cent and once-thriving local
industries
are either gone or running at just 20 per cent capacity. The
influx of
capital required to revive them is not forthcoming. Though Western
donors
continue to pour in humanitarian aid, the EU and US say the new
government
has still not made enough progress to justify direct budgetary
aid.
In Eastview Gardens in the Harare suburb of Eastlea I retrace my
steps for
the first time in nearly a decade to the once-comfortable
residential
complex I moved into after I started my career as a journalist
and married.
It was a symbol of upward middle-class mobility and seen by
many as a place
for the "lucky few". Residents had well-decorated two- and
three-bed
apartments, paved interior roads, manicured gardens with beds of
roses, and
tennis and basketball courts for the children.
The entire
complex of 450 flats now resembles a slum. Balconies are lit by
candles.
Paint has peeled off. No water has been supplied to individual
flats because
of broken pipes that have gone unrepaired for two years. The
tenants must
queue every day at a borehole sunk in the grounds. Like emblems
of what has
happened to the country, rusting second-hand cars lie abandoned
in the
grounds.
I stop by my local branch of Barclays bank to inquire about the
11 trillion
Zimbabwean dollars I ought by now to have accumulated from rent
paid in by
my tenants over the years since I fled. "It does not quite work
like that,"
the cashier explains as she tells me there is nothing in the
account. I
remonstrate with her, pointing out that I surely deserve
something from the
currency conversion.
"After dollarisation, we
nullified all Zimbabwe dollar accounts. The best I
can do is open a new one
for you if you've got at least US$50. Remember even
with your trillions you
could not have bought a wheelbarrow," she says.
Despite the relief
brought by the South African-brokered power-sharing deal
and the abolition
of the Zimbabwe dollar, which has put a stop to joke
levels of inflation
(banknotes worth tens of billions of dollars were being
issued at the worst
point), Mugabe and his cronies remain firmly in charge.
Draconian laws
remain in place and broadcasting remains a state monopoly.
State journalists
at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation bring to mind
Soviet newscasters
lost in time. I listen to one hour-long bulletin
dominated by ministerial
speeches followed by an extra 40-minute clip of
Mugabe addressing mourners
at the funeral of his brother-in-law.
Morgan Tsvangirai hangs on even
though he is regularly humiliated, trashed
as a "lackey of the West" in the
state media which now routinely describes
Mugabe as "Head of State and
Government and commander in chief of the
defence forces," as if to rub salt
in the wounds of Tsvangirai's
powerlessness. Many Zimbabweans fear that
Mugabe and the military men who
prop him up are simply playing along with
power-sharing while they regroup
for the next election. The Prime Minister,
who was himself viciously beaten
in detention at the height of the violence,
acknowledges it wasn't easy to
join the coalition. Some of his own senior
party members advised against it.
But he insists it was his best option to
save Zimbabweans from an even worse
fate.
While political stability
remains at best fragile, and reports of violence
in the rural areas persist,
foreign investors are staying away. They are
waiting for Mugabe to go before
they will risk their money. Mr Mutsvangwa,
the man who welcomed me so
publicly at the conference, defends new
"indiginisation" laws requiring all
companies with a value of US$500,000 or
more to give at least 51 per cent
majority equity to blacks. A country whose
citizens don't control its
resources is not worth the name, he says.
British companies like Rio
Tinto, Standard Bank, Barclays, British
Petroleum, Anglo American, Old
Mutual and many others will be affected. BP
is already disposing of its
assets in Zimbabwe. But in an example of the
ways in which the governing
parties are contradicting each other, Mr
Tsvangirai claims the 51 percent
threshold is simply a target. The
thresholds are being revised and will be
set on a sector-by-sector basis, he
insists. Officials from Mugabe's Zanu PF
party repeatedly state the
opposite.
From the centre of Harare it is
a short drive to the north-eastern suburb of
Glen Lorne, a place my sister
tells me has changed a lot in my absence. Up
on the high ground of this
leafy outskirt, much extended by the acquisition
of white farms, I find
Folyjon Crescent - and it feels like another country.
This placid spot, with
its jacaranda trees and green lawns, is home to some
of those who assisted
Mugabe in his plunder of Zimbabwe. Here, behind
electric gates, are
obscenely palatial mansions of up to three or even four
storeys, some
boasting internal elevators, floodlit tennis courts,
magnificent gardens
and, of course, swimming pools. Johannesburg's richest
enclaves may have
mansions to compare but they are hidden inside gated
communities. In Harare,
they are on open display.
The homes of one or two army generals are
particularly breathtaking. No
wonder. According to Western diplomats, much
of the country's vast diamond
wealth (the Marange fields contain a quarter
of the world's diamond
reserves) has been diverted by the heads of the armed
forces to help them
dictate the terms of the succession battle that will
play out when Mugabe
finally dies.
While his people continue to
struggle to eke out an existence from the
debris of the shattered nation,
Mugabe himself lives out his days in high
style. From the splendour of a
private US$25 million 30-bedroomed mansion in
the suburb of Borrowdale, to
which he and his wife Grace moved after an
assassination attempt at the old
and less glamorous State House, he
continues to destroy his once-prosperous
nation even as a struggle for power
between his ruling party's rival
factions rages.
As my departing SAA flight taxis onto the runway, I try
to comprehend the
patience of my fellow countrymen. Have they not been
pushed to a point from
where nothing is left to lose? But the stoicism of a
people who have adapted
to whatever mess their geriatric leader throws at
them has always been
remarkable. They have been beaten into submission, are
exhausted from the
daily struggle for survival, and now terrified by what
will happen at the
next election.
If the tyrant had any honour, he
would have quit long ago to save his people
from their suffering. But
nightly, on the state TV news, as his successors
jockey for position behind
his back, spreading rumours that the old man is
dying, he remains steadfast
in his wilful delusion, no sign of shame on his
botoxed face, aware,
perhaps, of the catastrophe around him, but still
heaping blame on everyone
but himself.
ZIMBABWE IN NUMBERS
11,400,000 Country's
population
62/1,000 Infant mortality, per live births
42 Life
expectancy (down from 44 years in 1999)
$355 Average annual income per
head of population (IMF)
790/100,000 Prevalence of TB, double the rate in
1999
15.3 per cent HIV/Aids rate
90 per centAdult
literacy
90 per centUnemployment rate
(The Independent - UK)
Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task
Force
Landline: 263 4 336710
Landline/Fax: 263 4
339065
Mobile: 263 712 603 213
Email: galorand@mweb.co.zw
Website: www.zctf.mweb.co.zw
Website: www.zimbabwe-art.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15148470211
Harare, September
23rd 2010: United States Ambassador Charles Ray officially handed
over audio and other digital equipment to the Parliament of Zimbabwe on
Wednesday as part of an ongoing effort to boost the capacity of parliamentarians
and promote good governance.
“I am proud to join
Zimbabwe’s legislative leaders to let the voices of the representatives of the
people of Zimbabwe be heard throughout these chambers and across the land. The
system unveiled today will help shed light and transparency on the actions of
parliament and parliamentarians,” said the U.S. Ambassador at a function attended
by legislators, diplomats and senior government officials including the Prime
Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
The United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), working with the Southern Africa
Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST), funded the purchase and installation of the
equipment to enhance the documentation and archiving of parliamentary debates
and other proceedings in the august house. The state of the art digital
equipment will enable Parliament to improve its ability to make official
proceedings accessible to the media and public.
The equipment
included 211 microphones, loudspeakers and headphones in both the Senate and the
House of Assembly, microphones and servers in the six committee rooms, recording
software, PC’s and monitors for use by Hansard reporters.
“Parliament will face
a busy and full agenda when it sits next. I am humbled to help inaugurate this
small, yet important, contribution from the American people which I hope will
make your voices accessible throughout the land and into history for the
difficult, yet vital, decisions and actions you take on behalf of the people of
this great country,” said Ambassador Ray who was accompanied by the USAID
Mission Director, Karen Freeman, and senior Embassy
officials.
Parliamentarians
welcomed the new state of the art equipment installation, which was done by
South African company Questek Advanced Technologies (Pty) Ltd. Hon. Lovemore
Moyo, Speaker of Parliament, described the occasion as a “milestone achievement
for the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe.”
“It is gratifying to
see that the work carried out over the last year has resulted in improvement in
efficiency, transparency and effectiveness in our parliamentary business. One
can now follow parliamentary proceedings in both chambers and six committee
rooms,” said Moyo.
Speaking the same
occasion, Prime Minister Tsvangirai, who is the leader of government business in
Parliament, called on development partners to invest more in strengthening
Zimbabwe’s democratic institutions.
“I wish to call upon
all development partners to continue supporting and strengthening our public
institutions which have suffered decline for so long. As Zimbabweans, we are
grateful for this support,” said the Prime Minister. He noted that the country
has “great potential as a nation to serve the people.”
“Once our public
institutions are fully functional, we will definitely be able to deliver real
change to the people of Zimbabwe,” said the Prime Minister.
With the new
technology, Hansard reporters only come into the Houses to make note of
interjections and the rest will be captured by the recording software. Audio
output from the two Houses will now be captured on a dedicated server and can be
played back, paused, and re-wound. This improvement will enable Parliament to
compile a digital archive of all its proceedings in the respective Houses, as
well as in the Committee Rooms. In addition, it will now be possible for
journalists to obtain audio recordings of any sitting of Parliament and
Committee proceedings.
USAID Mission
Director Karen Freeman noted that her organisation, which is also supporting the
Parliament-led Constitution making process through the United Nations
Development Program, had since 2001 worked with Parliament to strengthen its
procedures and processes through technical assistance on the legislative
process.
“We believe that this
audio equipment will foster the debate and discussion needed to come to a
consensus on what should be incorporated into the new constitution and how,
later on, that language should be upheld in law,” said the USAID mission
director.
In an interview, Moyo
said Parliament had completed training of staff in the use of the new equipment
and will assist members to get acquainted with the new equipment on their return
from the constitution making process.
“We will work with
all legislators to help them appreciate the new technology, and improve the
quality of their contributions,” said the Speaker.
# #
#
Note: Images
available on our Facebook site and/ or upon request.
This report was
prepared and distributed by the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section. Queries and
comments should be submitted to Sharon Hudson Dean, Public Affairs Officer,
Sharon
Hudson-Dean, Public Affairs Officer, E-mail: hararepas@state.gov, Tel: 263-4-758800/1;
Fax: 263-4-758802
Url. http://harare.usembassy.gov
Follow us on Twitter!
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
23 September
2010
Billionaire Richard Branson, who heads the Virgin business group,
has
officially launched a new initiative in Zimbabwe to encourage investment
in
the country.
Virgin Unite, the philanthropic arm of Branson's
Virgin Group, has helped
create Enterprise Zimbabwe, which was launched in
New York on Wednesday. The
group aims to connect philanthropists and
commercial investors with
different opportunities in Zimbabwe. Branson said
this week that the idea is
to provide a 'safe haven' for people to invest
through.
"In life, people have got to take risks. If everybody waits on
the sidelines
it will be the people who suffer," said Branson. "The present
state of
politics in Zimbabwe is by no means perfect, but it's a great deal
better."
"Zimbabwe, of all the African countries, it's got the best chance of
getting
back ... it just needs a bit of help being kick-started," he
said.
Branson has this week come under fire from ZANU PF supporters, who
have
accused the businessman of being a "vulture," disguised as an angel.
Tendai
Midzi, who writes for the ZANU PF supporting Zimbabwe Guardian
website, on
Tuesday said that Branson's intentions are a late attempt to
take advantage
of Zimbabwe's resources. Midzi said that the billionaire is
attempting to
counter "the power of China." "Zimbabwe does not need
investments disguised
as 'philanthropic work' now," Midzi wrote "The
international community has
now realised that this jewel we call Zimbabwe,
having discovered the largest
deposit of diamonds, in now able to lift
itself out of the poverty that the
West helped create in the first
place."
Details about how Branson's investment 'safe-haven' will be
created are yet
to be clarified and the Virgin Unite group has so far not
responded to SW
Radio Africa's requests for an interview. But there are
concerns that
Branson's investment urgings are premature. Robert Mugabe has
insisted that
the controversial business indigenisation programme will go
ahead, which
will see foreign companies in the country forced to hand over
51% of their
shares to pre-selected Zimbabweans.
At the same time,
the illegal seizures of commercial land have continued,
despite most
properties being protected by court orders. Many farms are also
meant to be
protected by Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion
Agreements
(BIPPA's) signed between Zimbabwe and other countries. But these
are also
being completely ignored, allowing Mugabe's loyalists to seize as
much land
as possible.
Economic analyst Luke Zunga told SW Radio Africa week that it is
too soon to
invest in Zimbabwe, saying Robert Mugabe needs to be out of the
picture for
a safe investment zone to be created.
"I might sound
pessimistic but as long as the president is Robert Mugabe
then nothing will
change," Zunga said. "Zimbabwe does not have a safe
investment climate now."
http://www.ipsnews.net/
By Stanley Kwenda
JOHANNESBURG,
Sep 23, 2010 (IPS) - While investors need assurances about
property rights
and the protection of investments before they will invest in
Zimbabwe's
precarious economy, the state of democracy in the Southern
African country
should also be a consideration.
These were some of the opinions of
businesspeople and diplomats
participating in a recent summit on Zimbabwe's
future.
Human rights violations and land grabbing shattered Zimbabwe's
democracy and
economy during the past decade as a result of President Robert
Mugabe and
his ZANU-PF party's rejection of democratic
process.
Amidst extra-legal killings, detentions, torture and mass
displacement of
people, the Zimbabwean dollar crashed, shop shelves emptied
and the country
registered one of the world's worst peacetime inflation
rates.
A power-sharing deal between ZANU-PF and the Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) restored relative political stability and led to the
dollarisation of
the economy. The country has since exhibited some signs of
recovery, both
democratically and economically.
Prime minister and
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai sought to assure investors
in highly emotive
language at the summit that his country had turned a
corner.
"We
chose progress over violence, polarisation, decline and decay. Zimbabwe
is
moving forward from the darkness of madness and self-destruction to a new
dawn," he said at the summit, held on Sep 16 in Johannesburg, South Africa,
and hosted by the international business magazine "The
Economist".
"The Economist" news editor Adam Roberts argued that signs of
renewed
interest in the country could be noticed but that it remained
unclear
whether the recovery could be sustained.
"For the first time
in a long while you have investors seriously considering
if this is the
moment to invest in Zimbabwe and you have Zimbabweans in the
diaspora
contemplating if this is the time to return," Roberts said.
"But many
serious tests are yet to be passed, and the diaspora, investors,
donors and
others need a great deal more assurances," he added.
Johannesburg-based
Zimbabwean businessperson Chris Goromonzi told IPS that,
"it is time
Zimbabwe creates opportunities and conditions for companies to
do business.
This involves conducive legislation that protects investment."
German
ambassador to Zimbabwe Albrecht Conze acknowledged that progress was
being
registered but said change was "millimetre-ing" forward and that real
progress was possible only once a new constitution that guaranteed private
property was agreed.
White commercial farmers' representatives warned
that legal disputes and
claims for substantial compensation for expropriated
land could not be
wished away.
"The most important thing is to
address issues of property rights and rights
of the individual. The fact
that farmers who lost their land have not been
compensated should serve as a
warning to would-be investors," John
Worsley-Worswick from the Justice for
Agriculture farmers' lobby group told
IPS.
Concern was also raised
over government plans for "indigenisation" --
transferring majority
ownership of companies to black Zimbabweans -- which
are seen in some
quarters as an attempt by Mugabe to expropriate businesses
for his
allies.
Tsvangirai said that the indigenisation measures are being
amended to take
investors' concerns into account.
Zimbabwean minister
of economic planning and investment promotion Tapiwa
Mashakada said that the
government was working at reducing red tape that
made it difficult to do
business and to put in place the necessary
legislation to protect
investments.
"We are working on an investment protection bill so that we
can lay down the
guarantees for and obligations of investors," Mashakada
told IPS.
But Zimbabwean businessperson Tawanda Nyambirai told IPS that
foreign
investors should use their businesses to help democratise Zimbabwe.
"The
consideration should be human rights, whether political, social or
economic," said Nyambirai.
"They have to ask themselves whether they
are investing in Robert Mugabe or
in Zimbabwe. Investment should be a
strategy that encourages
democratisation," said Nyambirai. (END)
Written by SW Radio Africa |
Thursday, 23 September 2010 17:11
|
Background: The holding cells at Harare Central Police station, overflowing
with human waste, prompted pressure group WOZA to state their intention to sue
co-Home Affairs Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Theresa Makone. WOZA coordinator
Magodonga Mahlangu speaks to SW Radio Africa journalist Lance Guma about their
arrest and detention in April after a WOZA demonstration against power utility
ZESA and the appalling conditions in the prison.
Interview broadcast 16 September 2010 Lance Guma: The filthy state of holding cells at Harare Central police station is set to become the subject of a landmark law suit by pressure group WOZA following their last arrest and detention in April this year. Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa, Selena Madukani and 67 other activists from WOZA are suing co-Home Affairs ministers Kembo Mohadi and Theresa Makone over their detention in cells that had toilets overflowing with human waste and no running water. Now this week I have one of the WOZA activists Magodonga Mahlangu joining us on the programme. First things first Miss Mahlangu describe for us conditions inside the cells at Harare Central that prompted you to make this decision. Magodonga Mahlangu: Yah Harare Central is very filthy and not fit for anyone to be kept there in cells or even to be working there. The moment you step at the front of the detention room, the smell, the stinking smell it just suffocates you. Once you are in the cells the cells are filthy with fresh human faeces, old, as old as three weeks or a month, it has never been cleaned and there’s also urine all over the floor. You name it you can find condoms, you can find pads, anything on the floor, that place is not being cleaned yet we are supposed to go there, sleeping barefooted wearing just one bottom and one up. Guma: Now you say in your letter stating your intention to sue that you were forced to remove your shoes and all undergarments until each of you had a single top and bottom. Were you given any explanation why this was necessary? Mahlangu: Unfortunately at Harare central police station or any police station if you try for example you ask something you are told that the moment you are arrested you have no rights. They say if you are a prisoner or if you are a suspect for that matter you don’t have any rights so at the time we asked we did not get an answer, in fact there just confrontation, we tried to say we have the right to do this, we can do this, why are we not allowed to wear clothes, they will just tell you, harrass you further, even the use of a toilet paper. Can you imagine, we had to fight to use that, because the moment I stepped into that police station, the smell it just made me have a running stomach there and then so I had a running tummy and I wasn’t allowed to keep a piece of toilet paper, I had to fight, I kept it by force. Guma: You have been arrested and detained at Harare Central police station before in your many years of activism, what was different in April that prompted you to contemplate this law suit? Mahlangu: The conditions of the toilets. You cannot even keep animals there, it is worse now, and its surprising that this is the time were they can buy disinfectants and other detergents to clean the cells but they are not doing that, they are not giving priority to that. They are only arresting people and then dumping them there. Even for the police officers who work there, it’s not healthy for them. But for you, someone who has to sleep there, eat there, there’s no running water, everything is filthy. Guma: Just remind our listeners in case they have forgotten why did they arrest you in April in the first place? Mahlangu: Yah we had a peaceful protest to Megawatt ZESA office in Harare where we were saying that it’s very unfair, it’s grossly unfair for them to be charging us, billing us exorbitant bills yet we are not getting any supply any electricity supply. We carried out a survey that showed maybe within a month we get seven days full supply of electricity so we had gone there for them to address this issue because now we had kept incurring bills, especially those with fixed billing meters. Whether you had electricity or no electricity, you still had to pay the full amount of electricity for the month. If you don’t pay it incurs interest so you are always incurring debt, you are always spending more money on alternative energy like paraffin, wood and other things, gas and other things and the candles. Guma: It must make you angry that even the police who arrested you suffer because of these power cuts that you were demonstrating about, so it’s kind of sadly funny that they should be doing this to you when you are raising an issue which also affects them. Mahlangu: Yah it’s very sad and the fact that we were kept there for six days and then we were never taken to court because the AG’s office said there was no case against us. Six days in those filthy conditions to be told there is no case. Moreover to mention something that is very crucial here this was the week of, the period of independence day it went in the independence day, the 18th of April we spent it in custody yet the liberation fighters, our brothers, our fathers and our mothers fought so that we could be able to free express ourselves and get our issues across freely by the means that we choose. Guma: Now I spoke to co-Home Affairs minister Theresa Makone in July this year and she blamed a lack of resources for the appalling state of cells. She was previously Public Works minister and said where she needed a budget of US$ 90 million to maintain government buildings throughout the country, she was lucky if she got more than two million in a year. Do you believe this is the reason why conditions are like this, that there’s no money to maintain the police cells? Mahlangu: I don’t think that’s the case because, I think they are prioritising that because what we are talking about, the infrastructure is there, everything is there, only it needs to be maintained, kept not by renovating or painting, it’s just cleaning with detergent and water, keeping, making sure policing the people who are cleaning because I will tell you the tax payers money is going to someone who is being paid to clean those facilities, those premises, they are not doing that. What we have seen that they will use urine with a mop, mopping urine and then they will mop the entire place, there’s no supervision and the political power, power from ministers involved, concerned and the commissioner himself and other people involved in this ministry to make sure that this job is done. We are not talking about millions of money. We are just talking about someone doing their job and being monitored just basic things that are used. Guma: Do you sense Miss Mahlangu the absence of any political will to address the issue of the conditions in the holding cells because to a large extent ZANU PF uses them to detain political opponents on many occasions so it suits them to keep conditions the way they are. Mahlangu: Yah that’s the problem in Zimbabwe if you are a suspect or arrested, going, being arrested, you are serving a sentence whether you are guilty or not guilty. And the only thing that I want the listeners to know is that if you are kept in filthy cells, you can have your property stolen. I personally had my memory card from my phone stolen by the police officers, of which after that I went and reported, I have a case number, since then, since April they are still investigating who stole yet I told them that the person who stole my memory card from my phone is anyone who was on duty from the 15th of April when we were arrested and then between 5.30pm and the 20th of April that was Tuesday at 10am when we were released because when I booked in my phone it had everything and I’m not the only one who had lost items, it’s only that I’m the only one who had the guts to complain to the police. Police are stealing people’s, prisoners’ things and they go Scot free. Guma: It’s been quite a whirlwind last 12 months for you Magodonga with some of the awards that you have received, particularly in the United States, meeting the Secretary of State, meeting the President. Describe this for us, how have those experiences been? You go through all this and at the end of the day you do get recognition for your work. How does that make you feel? Mahlangu: Yah it is something that is very, it gives us a moral boost as an organisation and as individuals but we don’t want recognition from outsiders, from, yes it’s good to get recognition from the States and other organisations, the international community but we very much hopeful for our own leadership, our own government to recognise us because we are not doing this to be recognised we want to fix this country, we want to be proud of our country, that’s why we are doing this job. They must recognise the work that we are doing. Its not that we are against them as rulers but they are not delivering the promises of independence and social justice should be recognised. Inhuman conditions shouldn’t be there, they should see that we are human beings, simple things like cleaning the toilets, clearing sewerage from the streets, picking rubbish weekly, doing simple things. We are not saying they should pour in money, we are saying that should see that they are trying as a nation if you are trying and struggling as a nation to bring a nation to a better place, it’s OK for us but the problem is that these politicians are not concerned about us, they are just concerned about power. Guma: My last question for you Miss Mahlangu is a general one. We now have had two years of a coalition government between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations, what would you say have been its successes and what would you say have been its failures, just in brief? Mahlangu: I think the major, the successes that maybe we now can have access to some people who are in government that we can address our issues to even though they don’t do much the fact that they are aware of those things even if they don’t do much it’s something that is consoling that we can talk to some government officials unlike before. Before, we couldn’t do that. But the worse thing that we are hoping, that an ordinary person was hoping for in Zimbabwe was that they would address the education system, they would address the collapsing health delivery system but unfortunately that is not happening. Yes the schools have opened but what we are seeing is that there are more dropouts because of the teachers, they are not paying teachers enough, incentive for teachers, the parents are literally running the schools, they are buying all the things for the school. It’s not like they don’t have money because we realise that most of our candidates at O level and A level did not sit for exams because of failing to pay and yet we have the audacity, the Minister of Sport and Culture in the government itself have the audacity to spend US$ 1.8 million that was used to invite Brazil (national football team) to come and play for 90 minutes in this country. That money could have gone to the education of our children, those 13 000 that had failed to sit for exams could have sat for the exams if the authorities had paid to subsidise their exam fees. This is one thing that’s makes us very mad as an ordinary persons that there is no prioritizing, they always get their priorities wrong. Guma: That was Magodonga Mahlangu from Women of Zimbabwe Arise otherwise known as WOZA joining us on Behind the Headlines this week. Miss Mahlangu thank you very much for your time. Mahlangu: Thank you very much for having me. Feedback can be sent to lance@swradioafrica.com or http://twitter.com/lanceguma |
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by The Editor
Wednesday, 22 September 2010 10:06
The
weekend of violence in Harare comes as no surprise. Everything is going
perfectly according to plan - for Zanu (PF). At the very beginning of the
constitutional consultation process, a retired army major launched Operation
Chimumumu, with the full backing of the Joint Operations Command - the cabal
of generals that really rules Zimbabwe today.
It has always been their
firm intention that the people of Zimbabwe should
not be allowed to exercise
their right to freedom of expression. The Kariba
Draft is Zanu (PF)'s
constitution of choice and that is that. They have been
determined all along
to foist this upon the people of Zimbabwe - in just the
same way as they
have forced themselves upon us.
The generals' control of the means of power
is evidenced by the behaviour of
the police last weekend. The COPAC
consultations in Harare have been
suspended because of political violence.
The media is full of reports that
truckloads of policemen either sat and
watched or actively participated in
the violence - on the side of Zanu (PF).
These reports prove beyond any
reasonable doubt that innocent and
law-abiding citizens cannot rely on the
nation's police force to protect
them, or to maintain law and order.
It is ironic that before the COPAC
meetings got underway, the Commissioner
of Police, Augustine Chihuri,
demanded - and received - millions of dollars
to be paid to the force for
the specific purpose of safeguarding the
consultative meetings.
In
future, COPAC would be better off paying for private security guards to
provide protection at meetings - rather than wasting money to enable thugs
in police uniform to disrupt their meetings, or to stand idly by while Zanu
(PF) hooligans disrupt them.
Throughout the consultative process this
newspaper has carried reports of
violence and disruptions at COPAC meetings
around the country. There has
been a clear, coordinated pattern
orchestrated by Zanu (PF) to keep
Zimbabweans mum, while a carefully
selected, vociferous few supported the
Kariba Draft.
The behaviour of the
shamelessly partisan police force in attacking
peaceful, un-armed
demonstrators - mostly women and children - as they
marched in Harare on
Monday is but another case in point. Zanu (PF) has been
consistent - the
voice of the people will not be heard
BILL WATCH
37/2010
[23rd September 2010]
Updated list of Ministers and Deputy Ministers
There have so many requests for an updated list of Ministers and
Deputy Ministers that we are sending it out as a Bill Watch. The following list
reflects the current position. It takes account of:
·
the
reshuffle of MDC-T Ministers and Deputy Ministers announced by the Prime
Minister on 23rd June
·
the
elevation of former Minister of State John Nkomo to Vice-President
·
the late Gibson Sibanda’s ceasing to be a Minister because he did not
hold a Parliamentary seat.
Prime
Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers
Prime
Minister: Morgan Tsvangirai [MDC-T]
Deputy
Prime Minister: Arthur Mutambara [MDC-M]
Deputy
Prime Minister: Thokozani Khupe [MDC-T]
Ministers
Ministry
|
Minister
|
Party |
Deputy
Minister |
Party |
Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development |
Joseph Made
|
ZANU-PF |
Roy Bennett [not yet sworn
in] |
MDC-T |
Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs |
Eric
Matinenga |
MDC-T |
None |
|
Defence |
Emmerson Mnangagwa
|
ZANU-PF |
None |
|
Economic Planning and Investment Promotion |
Tapiwa Mashakada |
MDC-T |
Samuel Undenge |
ZANU-PF |
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture |
David Coltart |
MDC-M |
Lazarus Dokora
|
ZANU-PF |
Energy and Power Development |
Elton Mangoma
|
MDC-T |
Hubert Nyanhongo |
ZANU-PF |
Environment and Natural
Resources Management |
Francis Nhema
|
ZANU-PF |
None |
|
Finance |
Tendai Biti |
MDC-T |
None |
|
Foreign Affairs |
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi
|
ZANU-PF |
Moses Mzila
Ndlovu |
MDC-M |
Health and Child
Welfare |
Henry Madzorera |
MDC-T |
Douglas Mombeshora
|
ZANU-PF |
Higher and Tertiary Education |
Stan Mudenge |
ZANU-PF |
Lutho Addington Tapela |
MDC-M |
Home Affairs [Shared
Ministry] |
Kembo Mohadi
Theresa Makoni |
ZANU-PF MDC-T |
None |
|
Housing and Social Amenities |
Giles Mutsekwa |
MDC-T |
None |
|
Industry and Commerce |
Welshman Ncube |
MDC-M |
Mike Bimha
|
ZANU-PF |
Information
Communication Technology |
Nelson Chamisa
|
MDC-T |
None |
|
Justice and Legal Affairs |
Patrick Chinamasa
|
ZANU-PF |
Obert Gutu
|
MDC-T |
Labour and Social
Welfare |
Paurina Gwanyanya
|
MDC-T |
Tracy Mutinhiri |
ZANU-PF |
Lands
and Rural Resettlement |
Herbert Murerwa
|
ZANU-PF |
None |
|
Local Government, Urban and Rural
Development |
Ignatius Chombo
|
ZANU-PF |
Cecil Zvidzai
|
MDC-T |
Media, Information
and Publicity |
Webster Shamu |
ZANU-PF |
Murisi Zvizvai
|
MDC-T |
Mines and Mining Development |
Obert Mpofu
|
ZANU-PF |
Gift Chimanikire
|
MDC-T |
Public Service |
Eliphas Mukonoweshuro |
MDC-T |
Andrew Langa
|
ZANU-PF |
Public
Works |
Joel Gabuza
|
MDC-T |
Aguy
Georgias |
ZANU-PF |
Regional Integration
and International Co-operation |
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga
|
MDC-M |
Reuben Marumahoko |
ZANU-PF |
Science and
Technology |
Heneri Dzinotyiwei |
MDC-T |
None |
|
Small and Medium
Enterprises and Co-operative Development |
Sithembiso Nyoni
|
ZANU-PF |
None |
|
State Enterprises and
Parastatals |
Gorden Moyo |
MDC-T |
Walter Chidhakwa
|
ZANU-PF |
Tourism and Hospitality
Industry |
Walter Mzembi |
ZANU-PF |
None |
|
Transport and
Infrastructural Development |
Nicholas Goche
|
ZANU-PF |
Tichaona Mudzingwa
|
MDC-T |
Water Resources and
Development |
Samuel Sipepa Nkomo |
MDC-T |
None |
|
Women's Affairs, Gender
and Community Development |
Olivia Muchena
|
ZANU-PF |
Jesse Majome |
MDC-T |
Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment |
Saviour Kasukuwere
|
ZANU-PF |
Tongai Matutu |
MDC-T |
Ministers
of State who are Cabinet Members
Minister of State for National
Security in the President’s Office |
Sydney Sekeramayi
|
ZANU-PF |
Minister of State for
Presidential Affairs |
Didymus Mutasa
|
ZANU-PF |
Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's Office |
Jameson Timba |
MDC-T |
Ministers
of State who are NOT Cabinet Members
Minister of State in Vice-President Nkomo's
Office |
Flora Bhuka |
ZANU-PF |
Minister of State in
Vice-President Mujuru's Office |
Sylvester Nguni |
ZANU-PF |
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office
“Healing Organ” |
Sekai Holland |
MDC-T |
Note: there is a pending case in the High Court questioning the legality of the appointment of Ministers
who were sworn in after the quota of Ministers stated in the Constitution, as
modified by Constitution Amendment 19, had been filled. The Ministers in
question are Savior
Kasukuwere, Joseph Made, Walter Mzembi, Flora Bhuka, Sylvester Nguni
[ZANU-PF],
Henry Madzorera, Giles Mutsekwa and Sekai Holland [MDC-T]. [Note: John Nkomo
was also sworn in late but is no longer a Minister.] [See Bill Watch 36
for more details]
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied.
CONSTITUTION WATCH 20/2010
[21st September 2010]
COPAC Outreach Meetings: Statistics as at 12th September
The table below gives details of meetings from the beginning of the outreach on 23rd June up to 12th September. Attendance figures are the official ones from the COPAC Secretariat.
Completed meetings: Meetings in Mashonaland East have been completed.
Ongoing Meetings: Meetings are not yet finished in Kariba, Rushinga, Beit Bridge, Umguza, Gokwe and Buhera districts. Also, “mopping-up meetings” are underway to cover rural wards in other provinces where scheduled meetings were called off or not completed – dates and venues are being arranged at provincial level, and were not available from the COPAC central office. There will also be new meetings scheduled for some wards in the Harare metropolitan area where meetings over the weekend had to be cancelled because of violent disruptions – the dates for the replacement meetings are still to be announced.
All meetings are expected to be completed by the end of next week.
Meetings Held 23rd June to 12th September
Province |
No. of Meetings |
No. of Participants |
No. of Males |
No. of Females |
No. of Youths |
No. of Special Needs |
Average attendance per meeting |
Mash East |
514 |
133 485 |
46 505 |
53 150 |
32 800 |
1 030 |
260 |
Mash West |
498 |
104 314 |
45 715 |
37 963 |
20 353 |
283 |
209 |
Manicaland |
556 |
102 974 |
40 564 |
46 216 |
15 388 |
806 |
185 |
Mat South |
308 |
31 205 |
12 983 |
13 704 |
4 387 |
131 |
101 |
Mash Central |
567 |
130 340 |
44 671 |
49 628 |
35 194 |
847 |
230 |
Mat North |
467 |
36 793 |
15 192 |
14 030 |
7 358 |
213 |
78 |
Masvingo |
531 |
103 040 |
39 711 |
44 021 |
18 734 |
574 |
194 |
Midlands |
555 |
71 971 |
32 468 |
28 885 |
10 286 |
332 |
130 |
TOTAL |
3 996 |
714 122 |
277 809 |
287 597 |
144 500 |
4 216 |
185 |
|
|
|
38.9% |
40.27% |
20.23% |
0.59% |
|
1. Women’s attendance slightly outweighs attendance by men.
2. Youth attendance figures are considerably lower than the estimated percentage of youth in the population. This has been acknowledged by COPAC, which has announced that there will be special outreach meetings for youth over the weekend 25th-26th September at venues to be announced.
3. Youth and special needs attendance figures are not broken down by gender.
4. Provincial statistics only: The statistics made available by COPAC are for provinces only. They give no idea of the incidence of high and low attendance per district or ward [meetings were arranged on a meeting per ward basis]. ZZZICOMP [the network set up by Zimbabwe Election Support Network, Zimbabwe Peace Project and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to monitor the constitution-making process] have attempted to remedy this shortcoming in their reports, as have Crisis Coalition and Sokwanele. ZZZICOMP’s latest report [for 8th to 22nd August] refers to some meetings in Matabeleland attended by only approximately 20 people and contrasts that with meetings attended by very large numbers in Manicaland and Mashonaland [e.g., 1400 and 759]. [Reports available from zzzicomp@gmail.com; www.crisiszimbabwe.org; www.sokwanele.com]
5. High attendance at some meetings may make it difficult for all who wish to do so to contribute; it suggests that more meetings should have been scheduled for the areas concerned. There have also been reports of busloads arriving from areas outside the ward where a meeting is held.
6. Low attendance at some meetings could well be the result of poor arrangements and poor communication. There is a suspicion in some areas that this was deliberate marginalisation. COPAC should think of revisiting these areas after giving proper prior notice.
ZZZICOMP’s reports provide a fuller picture of what has actually been happening at a wide sample of meetings. Examples are listed of other aspects of the outreach not captured by the COPAC statistics, such as: cancellation/disruption of meetings; bussing in of non-residents; obvious coaching of participants by political parties; intimidation and harassment; monopolisation of meetings by representatives of one political party, etc. One report states “Close analysis of provincial comments by ZZZICOMP suggest there is high risk that most of the decisions that are passed as “unanimously agreed” may be accounted by fear of retribution after the meetings.”
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied