The Times
May 25, 2007
Jan Raath in Harare, and Sam Coates, Political
Correspondent
The Army and the state youth militia, organisations crucial to
President
Mugabe's continued grasp on power in Zimbabwe, are demoralised and
fast
running out of money.
The Defence Ministry has already exhausted
its budget of Zim$32 billion for
rations this year, Trust Maphosa, the
Secretary for Defence, told a
parliamentary committee this week. The sum was
worth £10 million when it was
allocated at the beginning of the year but its
value has been shrunk by
hyperinflation and the collapse of the currency to
about £400,000.
A private's monthly pay in February mounted to
Zim$300,000, he said, worth
nearly £50. The figure was the result of a sharp
increase in army salaries
after alarming reports of officers resigning and
troops going absent without
leave. The 35,000-strong Army is now in a
significantly worse position. A
private's pay is equal to about
£4.
Mr Maphosa said that training would have to be suspended. The defence
forces
were suffering from a severe shortage of spare parts for vehicles and
machinery and water supplies to several military installations had been cut
off because of nonpayment of bills.
The revelations came as
Conservatives at Westminster called on Margaret
Beckett, the Foreign
Secretary, to beef up "woefully inadequate" EU
sanctions on
Zimbabawe.
The Army and the youth militia have been widely used in the
past three
months of violent repression as President Mugabe reacted to a new
surge of
discontent.
Claudius Makova, the ruling party MP who chairs
the parliamentary portfolio
committee on defence, said that the financial
situation had severe
implications for national security.
Economists
have repeatedly said that inflation, now running at 3,700 per
cent, is
President Mugabe's worst enemy. "The time between each big pay
increase is
getting shorter and shorter," a Western diplomat said. "The day
is coming,
like it did in any number of South American dictatorships, when
the new pay
rise will be worthless as soon as it is awarded."
Another report this
week by a second parliamentary committee revealed the
abysmal conditions at
camps for the youth militia, whom President Mugabe in
March described as the
"big, hard-knuckled fist" of Zanu (PF).
It described the dormitories as
uninhabitable. The buildings were crowded
and filthy, and many had no doors
or windows, and recruits had been fed on
an almost nutritionless diet of
boiled cabbage and stiff maizemeal porridge
since January. There were
reports of violence and abuse, and women recruits
were constantly in fear of
being raped.
At one camp, youths had risen against soldiers in charge of
them over the
state of food. As a result, "one student had his arms broken"
the report
said.
East African Standard
Editorial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He
presides over the world's fastest crumbling economy and he cheers when
police bludgeon his opponents into silence.He shuts down the Press to cover
up the atrocities of his kleptocratic rule and chooses the august forum -
Comesa - to vent off his anger about the ills of the West on
Africa.
But what is worrying is that no African Head of State has faced
up to that
fact and told President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to straighten
up and save
his country.
The irony is that Mugabe's tirade in Nairobi
came just two days before the
African Union Day, the occasion when the AU's
predecessor, the Organisation
of African Unity (OAU), was founded 44 years
ago. The day is being marked
today.
Though the organisation changed
name a few years ago in an attempt to
redefine itself little has changed.
The OAU's defining plank was
non-interference in the internal affairs of
member states.
As a result, African leaders slaughtered their people, but
no nation in the
continent would raise a finger. And the leaders would still
be welcome at
the annual Heads of State summit.
That has not changed.
As the situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated in the
past seven years,
Africa has been silent. Zimbabwe's neighbour, South
Africa, has opted for
diplomacy and has had nothing but kind words for
Mugabe.
This has
encouraged Mugabe to do what he did in Nairobi on Wednesday. And
those
present did not disappoint. The reception was enthusiastic from an
audience
comprising mainly Africans.
No doubt, Mugabe is an albatross around the
continent's neck and he must be
told as much. He does not tolerate
opposition and treats its members in the
same way he does Britain and the
United States.
Yet Mugabe knows how to say the right things. When he
rebukes the West for
exploiting Africa, we want to believe him. He awakens
the passion and
fervour in those who feel the continent has been
short-changed.
He speaks for many who suffer from the unbalanced trade.
And Africa cheers
him on for it. But the ghosts of his ruinous rule won't
just go away.
But Africa must be at the forefront in telling Mugabe:
Thank you very much
for all the good words on how to end dependency on the
West. But then what
you are is so jarring to the ear that Africa cannot hear
what you say. There
is no better day to do this than today: African Union
Day.
East African Standard
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By
Peter Thatia
Today, as Africa observes African Union Day, the omnipresent
sense of hope
and possibility ushered into the continent at the turn of the
millennium
continues to throb on. Most of the dictators of yesteryear are
long gone and
the overall economic growth hit a record last year with an
average of over 6
per cent. These achievements will be put to the fore today
across the
continent.
The greatest threat to the African dream today
remains Zimbabwe, a country
where deprivation is being measured in extremes.
Indeed, statistics in
Africa are being churned out in a pair, i.e. Africa
scores this and that,
and this and that without Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
has become a blotch in the conscience of Africa, its performance
playing
havoc with every statistical figure about Africa. And while Africa
will be
turning over a milestone, her failure to intervene in Zimbabwe will
certainly be given a blackout.
Flashback to the gloriously sunny
Salisbury afternoon of April 18, 1980,
when a surging crowd of unprecedented
proportions on the continent of Africa
roared in unison as the Union Jack
and the flag of Rhodesia came down for
the last time. Robert Gabriel Mugabe
had finally arrived.
Big tragedy
If you asked any resident of
Harare how it was during that time, he would
probably smile, close his eyes
and blow a kiss. If he has been there since,
he would recount a tale that is
a creation by sheer lack of forethought,
misfortune, stupidity, and tragedy.
In a world dominated by warped
geopolitics where self-interest was the only
moral, few saw it coming.
In his personal website, launched in 2002 and
recording over 300,000 hits so
far, President Robert Mugabe makes an
interesting statement about himself:
"I know you love your leader as much as
you love your country. I know you
deserve to see what kind of a man I am. To
those of you that already know
me, this will simply be a joyous refresher of
your cherished memories of me.
To those with still unfulfilled desire to
know me better, I welcome you into
an intimate glimpse of Mugabe The
Man."
But just how much does Zimbabweans, and indeed the world, know
about Mugabe?
Just how much are they willing to know about the boy who was
abandoned by
his father, a man who went to make a life with another woman
elsewhere, when
the boy was only ten years old?
Do they care about
the genius who created the best education system in
Africa (by 2000 Zimbabwe
had the highest literacy rate in Africa at 85 per
cent), or the devious
schemer who went ahead to have two children with a
lover 41 years his junior
(whom he later married) while his wife Sally was
dying with cancer?
A
proud man
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is an extremely proud man. He doesn't
suffer
opposition gladly - whatever kind of opposition. He'd go to any
lengths to
wring competition at the neck - whatever the consequences. When
Zimdaily.com
recently ran a scoop on how he ordered the death of his younger
brother
Albert Mugabe in the mid-1980s because he had reportedly slept with
his wife
Sally and impregnated her, the most some Zimbabweans could do was
just to
yawn. Yet, indisputably, Robert Mugabe had a good dream for
Zimbabwe, and
for more than a decade he delivered.
But the
ruthlessness with which he destroyed the careers, lives and the
families of
the very men who introduced and helped him into the big league
tells a
profound story on where his own destruction started. The question of
political legitimacy, though having won to become the prime minister in
1980, was always going to be a big shadow obscuring his own star. The
liberation of Zimbabwe had been multi-pronged and too complicated an
exercise for one man to claim captainship. To do this would have been like
committing a unilateral and covert act of war.
The mega-crisis in
Zimbabwe did not happen in a day. The elements had been
taking place for
decades in readiness for an explosion bound to wreak
devastating
consequences. In four and a half decades of blatant betrayal and
cold-blooded scheming, it is only now that casual eyes are glaring up to the
truth that that the rudimental scaffolding had the character and the person
of Robert Gabriel Mugabe as its overbearing totem.
The cunning
tribalist
The struggle of the liberation of the then Southern Rhodesia
has the
inerasable image of five courageous men: Joshua Nkomo, Ndabaningi
Sithole,
Herbert Chitepo, Robert Mugabe and Canaan Banana, and in that
order. Unlike
the case in other African countries, it was the unlikely
candidate and a
late entrant, Robert Mugabe, who would receive the salute on
the day of
independence, culminating in two decades of successful
power-wrestling
mischief from the pioneers of the struggle
The
political stakes in the first all-race general elections in Zimbabwe
were
sky-high. Africa was failing big and the world awaited a new
regeneration in
Zimbabwe. Whoever was going to win would automatically be
catapulted to the
top of a brand new African agenda, a beacon of glitter
amidst
degradation.
The grandeur of the symbolic prestige was tantalising. The
world awaited the
man who would cut the last tentacle still linking the
British Empire beyond
the white cliffs of Dover.
The world expected
Joshua Nkomo to win the all-race general elections of
February 1980. What
they had failed to account for was Mugabe's own skills
in flinging mud and
pulling the strings over all eyes, something that the
gentleman Nkomo was
alien to. Indeed, Mugabe made it the main tool in his
election machine to
remind all Zimbabweans that Nkomo was actually a Ndebele
and that Sithole
had teamed up with Ian Smith during the last days of the
Unilateral
Declaration of Independence (UDI). As for Canaan Banana, he was
the son of a
Ndebele mother and a Malawian father anyway.
The tribal stakes thus set
by the Mugabe election machine, Mugabe won a
landslide victory against the
combined forces of Nkomo, Sithole and Ian
Smith. He would teach them a
lesson, setting the stage for the undulating
tremors that are gathering as
the chicken troop back home to roost.
Worst economy
Today,
Zimbabwe is the only place in the world where luxury flats are
occupied by
squatters, closed stores are boarded up and rats scurry through
abandoned
restaurants. Life expectancy has plummeted to the world's lowest,
34 years
for women (69 years at independence) and 37 for men.
Catholic archbishop
for Bulawayo, the courageous Pius Ncube, says even the
inflation rate, which
the Central Bank governor Gideon Gono puts at 3000 per
cent (the world's
highest), is propped up by lies. He puts the figure at
over 4000 per cent.
Nurses no longer go to work because a trip to work would
wipe out your
earnings. The national health fabric has literally
collapsed.
Instructively, the Zimbabwean dollar was worth more that its
American
counterpart at independence. Today, the official cost of a loaf of
bread is
$Z875 but in reality it sells at $Z6000. In a speech delivered in
Australia
last month, Archbishop Ncube said that school fees in Bulawayo
were
$Z500,000 for the first term this year but when the students reported
back
for the second term the fees had doubled.
Despite being ringed
by two of Africa's greatest rivers, Limpopo and
Zambezi, a biting water
shortage has led to the use of water hosepipes being
banned in the capital.
Watering backyard gardens is an illegal offence that
is punishable by a jail
term.
Sad paradox
Zimbabweans are escaping from their homeland in
droves. According to UN
reports, 109,532 Zimbabweans were deported from
South Africa last year
alone. Botswana deported 32,264. Soldiers sent by the
government to check
the tide at River Limpopo are themselves peeling off
their uniforms and
abandoning their weapons at the banks of the
crocodile-infested river and
swimming across to a better life as casual farm
labourers in South Africa.
Not even in Somalia, a nation that holds the
rare distinction as the only
country in the world to have endured more than
one and a half decades
without a government, did the society collapse.
Without a respite on the
escalating political, social and economic crisis in
Zimbabwe, the country is
rapidly teetering past the point of no return. That
there is no war in
Zimbabwe is a fact that mars poignantly intrinsic
paradoxes in the whole
modern tragedy.
Mugabe made sure that every
liberation struggle leader died an ignoble
death.
Those who filled
the ideological vacuum these great men left behind were
bound to ignite
Zimbabwe in a way Mugabe was not going to countenance, and
now it was
complicated because the twin evils of colonialism and capitalism,
against
which Mugabe anchored his perceived morals, no longer rung any bell
in the
younger Zimbabwean populace.
His latest bid to lock this generation out
was his recent declaration that
as a proof of residence on the day of voting
you need to produce utility
bills, something that the majority young
population of Zimbabwe can't
produce because they are jobless.
Mugabe
had suffered one of his biggest blows in 1997 when the new British
government of Tony Blair unilaterally decided to stop funding his land
reform programme on the basis that the initial £44m allocated by the
Thatcher administration was used to purchase land for members of the ruling
elite from Mugabe's own Zezeru clan. For this, Mugabe still refers to Blair
as a "gay supremacist" on national TV.
It is a paradox that even when
Mugabe was murdering over 20,000 Ndebele
people in the 1980s with the
Korean-trained Fifth Brigade the world still
referred to him as a
statesman.
It was easy for the world not to recognise the build-up, whose
savagery
exploded in 2000 after he lost the referendum, because the larger
African
spectrum was even worse. Before Mandela came into the scene, Mugabe
was
largely viewed as the last African hope and to a large extent acted the
part. No one would have compared him to the reactionary sergeants, colonels
and bandits who were running most of Africa in 1980.
Writing on the
wall
The desperate manoeuvre to extend his tenure beyond the set 2008 to
2010 so
as to coincide with the parliamentary elections has dealt Mugabe
another
blow. Recently Mbeki called him and put it to him that he was not
going to
agree to potentially nasty presidential general elections in
neighbouring
Zimbabwe in the year that he will be staging the World Cup in
South Africa.
Being the only people who care about him nowadays, Mugabe
obliged. To the
horror of the rest of the world, his old ANC friends still
continue to
support him in South Africa.
Indeed, after South Africa
stage-managed a press conference in Harare
following the 2002 poll and
declared the elections fair, all the local and
international journalists who
were present burst out laughing. Right now the
MDC is laughing at Mbeki's
quiet diplomacy. Just who will have the last
laugh in next year's
presidential poll remains to be seen but the writing is
slowly emerging on
the wall.
Mail and Guardian
Percy
Zvomuya
24 May 2007 11:59
Zimbabwe's
government is adding more bricks to the wall it has
built between itself and
the rest of the world. Starting next month,
university students who have
received government assistance -- which is most
of them -- will no longer be
able to leave the country legally to seek
employment elsewhere. Instead,
they will be forced into a civil-service
programme that will prohibit them
from emigrating for several years,
Washington Mbizvo, the permanent
secretary of the Zimbabwean department of
home affairs, announced last
week.
This reality is grossly at odds with what most
Zimbabweans want.
A study by the Southern African Migration Project (Samp)
of university
students in three of the country's biggest cities, Harare,
Bulawayo and
Gweru, shows that only 6% of the respondents have never
considered leaving
the country, with more than 50% saying they will emigrate
within six months
of graduating.
A study by the
state-sponsored Scientific and Industrial
Research Centre (SIRDC), which
came out in September 2005, showed that about
half a million Zimbabweans,
mainly professionals in the health and education
sector, had already
emigrated.
While Zimbabwe is erecting walls around its
borders, South
Africa may be considering adopting a more a laissez faire
attitude towards
immigration from its northern neighbour. In Parliament last
week, President
Thabo Mbeki said that South Africa cannot build a "great
wall" between the
two borders and that South Africans have to learn to live
with Zimbabweans.
Experts the Mail & Guardian spoke to
said Mbeki's statement does
not necessarily signal a change in policy on
illegal immigration. It is just
a "recognition of the reality," said Sally
Peberdy, a project manager at
Samp. "He was just being realistic, it's not
possible to keep people out if
they really want to come," she
said.
Daniel Molokele, a human rights lawyer, pointed out
that last
week the department of home affairs deported 1 800 illegal
Zimbabwean
immigrants and a further 3 000 are currently being held at
Lindela where
they await deportation. More continue to be arrested, he
said.
Jacob van Garderen of Lawyers for Human Rights said:
"It is not
enough to say we have to live with it. We have to make it legally
possible
for them to come and live here." He pointed out that the
Immigration Act
provides limited scope and opportunities to migrate legally
and urged the
government to create mechanisms such as waiving visa
requirements for
Zimbabweans, as it has for citizens of Mozambique, Lesotho,
Swaziland,
Botswana and a number of other Southern African
countries.
For a Zimbabwean to get a South African visitor's
visa he or she
has to have R2 000 in travellers' cheques, a letter of
invitation, and
copies of the identification documents of the persons they
are visiting.
Minister of Home Affairs Nosiviwe
Mapisa-Nqakula was in Zimbabwe
last week to meet her counterpart, Kembo
Mohadi. The Herald, a state-owned
daily, claimed that South Africa had
agreed, in principle, to relax
stringent visa
requirements.
Responding to the M&G's questions on this
matter, Cleo Mosana,
of the department of home affairs, said this week: "We
will be working
towards reciprocal visa waiver regimes with all SADC
countries, as and when
circumstances allow."
Mosana
added: "If a Zimbabwean citizen is illegally in South
Africa, he will be
deported, unless he applies for asylum. When he applies
for asylum he must
show that he was forced to flee Zimbabwe for the reasons
set out in the
Refugees Act -- basically he must show political persecution,
as the country
is not involved in a civil war."
In 2006 the government took
decisions on 1 981 applications for
refugee status. "Of this number only 103
applications for refugee status
were approved. In other words, only 5% of
applications were successful," Van
Garderen said.
Meanwhile, professionals, such as lawyers, face problems of
admission and
accreditation by the Law Society. Although the Attorneys' Act
allows certain
exemptions, normally a foreigner has to possess a South
African law degree
or a degree certified by a South African University, and
be either a South
African citizen or a permanent resident in order to be
admitted in terms of
the Attorney's Act.
To qualify for permanent residence in
terms of the Immigration
Act, a foreign national must be able to show the
department of home affairs
that he or she has an offer of employment from an
employer. In practice,
however, such offers of employment are only made to a
person who has already
been admitted as an attorney in South Africa. This
creates a "catch-22
situation", said a Zimbabwean lawyer.
Nyaradzo Muzah-Chiwa, a Zimbabean lawyer, living in South
Africa, but not
working as a lawyer, said that Zimbabwean legal
professionals have engaged
the Law Society and "have raised these
difficulties with
them".
She said a number of lawyers fled Zimbabwe after being
targeted
for representing commercial farmers; she estimated that up to 400
trained
Zimbabwean lawyers living in South Africa are currently
idle.
Zim Online
Friday 25 May 2007
By Hendricks
Chizhanje
HARARE - Zimbabwe's labour movement on Thursday said it had
begun
preparations for fresh protests by workers, saying the government and
employers had ignored calls to link wages and salaries to the country's
runaway inflation.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the
largest representative
body for workers in the country, wants wages and
salaries linked to
inflation, which at more than 3 700 percent is the
highest in the world.
The union also wants President Robert Mugabe's
government to urgently act to
end Zimbabwe's severe economic crisis and on
May Day said it would call
nationwide protests if its demands were not
met.
ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo told ZimOnline the union was
mobilising for
two-day protests in July that would be repeated after three
months until the
government and employers acceded to workers'
demands.
Matombo said: "We are still maintaining that workers need to be
paid poverty
datum line (breadline) linked wages indexed to inflation,
failure of which
we have no choice but to carry out the mandate which we
were given by the
workers. July is fast coming (the deadline for worker
protests)."
The poverty line is estimated at above Z$1.7 million, way
above the average
monthly salary for most Zimbabwean workers which ranges
between $300 000 to
$500 000.
Labour Minister Nicholas Goche and
police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena were
not immediately available for comment
on the latest threat by the ZCTU to
call protests by workers.
But the
government has in the past deployed armed police and soldiers to
crush
protests by the union which it accuses together with the main
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change party of being puppets of the West
and of
manipulating genuine worker grievances in order to incite hatred
against
Mugabe and instigate popular revolt.
Police last September brutally
assaulted Matombo and scores of other ZCTU
leaders for attempting to
organise workers in Harare and a two-day
nationwide work boycott called by
the ZCTU flopped last April as workers
turned up for work and business
opened fearing a government backlash.
But an unprecedented economic
crisis marked by hyperinflation, shortages of
medicines, fuel, electricity,
hard cash and just about every basic survival
commodity continues to stoke
public anger especially in urban areas that
have become hotbeds of
opposition to Mugabe's rule. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 25 May 2007
By Hendricks
Chizhanje
HARARE - Crisis-weary Zimbabweans could soon run out of bread
amid reports
the government's Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is out of wheat
and unable to
pay for new supplies held at South African
ports.
Senior managers at the GMB, who spoke on condition they were not
named, said
the grain utility - the only one permitted to import wheat into
the
country - was unable to pay for wheat stuck in South Africa because the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had not given it foreign currency to do
so.
"The problem is that no foreign currency has been provided by the
RBZ. So
unless the RBZ provides forex then we will be stuck with the wheat
shortages," said a GMB manager.
RBZ governor Gideon Gono and GMB
chief executive officer Samuel Muvuti could
not be reached for comment on
the matter.
But millers confirmed they were operating below capacity
because of reduced
wheat supplies from the GMB while bakers said they were
running out of floor
and Zimbabwe could soon run out of bread, one of the
troubled country's
major staple foods.
"There has been a significant
reduction of wheat allocations. Wheat supply
is now tight and millers are
operating at below capacity because of the
reduced supplies," said Mike
Manga, the chairman of the Millers Association
of Zimbabwe.
National
Bakers Association chairman Vincent Mangoma said: "Millers have
told us that
they have had their wheat allocations reduced. So there could
be bread
shortages anytime from now."
Zimbabwe, which was once a regional
breadbasket, has battled acute food
shortages since seven years ago when
President Robert Mugabe began seizing
commercial farms from whites to give
to blacks, crippling the mainstay
agricultural sector.
International
donors have supplied Zimbabwe with maize, its chief staple,
while GMB has
since late last year imported wheat from Argentina and South
Africa to
ensure bread on shop shelves.
An acute shortage of foreign currency is
however hampering the state grain
utility's ability to import enough wheat
to feed a country grappling with an
economic recession highlighted by the
world's highest inflation of more than
3 700 percent, unemployment of above
80 percent and rising poverty. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 25 May 2007
Own
Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG - Namibia's national power company, NamPower,
says it is
holding US$40 million that was loaned to Zimbabwe for the
refurbishment of
Hwange power station in an off-shore account in
Botswana.
NamPower boss, Paulinas Shilamba said the cash will not be
handed over to
the Zimbabwean government but will be used to pay directly
suppliers and all
those involved in the rehabilitation of Hwange power
station.
Under the terms of the agreement signed with the state-owned
Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), the Namibians will fund the
refurbishment of Hwange with Harare agreeing to supply 150 MW of electricity
in return.
There were concerns however that Zimbabwe, which this
month began 20-hour
power cuts as a means of minimizing the little
electricity available, would
fail to provide power to Namibia as required
under the agreement.
But Shilamba said Zimbabwe would give first
preference to Namibia before
seeking to satisfy its domestic
needs.
"We gave them the US$40 million in foreign (currency). They cannot
pay that
back in US-dollars so in exchange they agreed to give us power at a
cheaper
rate.
"They just have to do that even it means they have to
experience power
shortage in their domestic market," said
Shilamba.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe seven-year economic crisis
that has
manifested itself in the world's highest inflation rate of over 3
700
percent, rampant poverty and unemployment.
The economic crisis
has also shown itself in massive power shortages that
have seen Zimbabweans
go without electricity supplies for days on end.
The country's two
biggest power stations at Hwange and Kariba have over the
past few years
failed to generate enough electricity because of ageing
equipment and
frequent breakdowns there. - ZimOnline
zimbabwejournalists.com
24th May 2007 22:14 GMT
By a
Correspondent
THE Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs Patrick Chinamasa
was grilled over Zimbabwe's human rights situation
after Zimbabwe presented
its long overdue report to the African Commission
on Human and Peoples'
Rights (ACHPR) during its 41st Ordinary Session in
Accra, Ghana.
Minister Chinamasa had a torrid time defending the
deteriorating human
rights situation when the ACHPR Commissioners fired more
than 100 questions
at the Zimbabwean official on the steps Harare was taking
to open the
democratic space and secure an environment conducive to freedom
of
expression and media freedom and other universally guaranteed rights and
freedoms.
The Commissioners quizzed Minister Chinamasa over the
repeal or amendment of
the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act (AIPPA), Public
Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Broadcasting
Services Act (BSA).
The torrent of questions rained in after the Minister
had presented Zimbabwe
's State Party Report to the ACHPR on 20 May
2007.
The report, which was eight years overdue, was submitted pursuant
to Article
62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which
states: "Each
State Party shall undertake to submit every two years, from
the date the
present Charter comes into force, a report on the legislative
or other
measures taken with a view to giving effect to the rights and
freedoms
recognized and guaranteed by the present Charter."
On POSA,
the Minister told the Commission that certain sections of POSA had
been
challenged and some nullified by the Supreme Court. This, he said, had
resulted in the amendment of the law. Zimbabwean lawyers in attendance at
the Commission disputed this saying POSA has never been amended since 2002
when it was promulgated.
Chinamasa denied that the opposition was
being denied permission to hold
their meetings and rallies under POSA. He
stated that the opposition
political parties have been holding their
meetings countrywide and
government would provide a schedule of meetings
held by the opposition. He
also omitted to advise the Commission about the
banning orders in force in
Harare .
He dithered on the police
brutality which led to the brutal assault of MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai,
opposition leaders and parliamentarians and other
human rights defenders
including photojournalist Tsvangirai Mukwazhi when
police cordoned off
Zimbabwe Grounds on 11 March 2007 ahead of a planned
Save Zimbabwe Campaign
national prayer day and measures being taken to
arrest perpetrators of the
torture.
He said the Commission Chairperson Salamata Sawadogo and Special
Rapporteur
on Freedom of Expression Pansy Tlakula had since written
President Robert
Mugabe on the issue of the violations and that Zimbabwe
would respond in
writing in due course.
The Commission was further
advised that the government was consulting with
the Civic Society
Organisations on the establishment of a national human
rights
commission.
Chinamasa however claimed that the process had been derailed
after United
States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell allegedly
threatened
representatives of Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe
Election
Support Network, Crisis in Zimbabwe , and Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights
and the National Constitutional Assembly with withdrawal of
funding if they
participated in the process.
Representatives of NGOs
attending the Session said no such meeting with
Ambassador Dell ever took
place and dismissed this as cheap politicking by
the Minister.
Asked
about steps being taken to arrest those who bombed The Daily News
Printing
Press, the Minister responded: "The bombing of The Daily News
printing press
was an unfortunate incident indeed. We have asked for leads
which can
assist us arrest the perpetrators. So far no one has provided us
any
leads."
Chinamasa was also taken to task over his statement in 2001 when
he said
Judges should be politically correct. He blatantly refused that he
had
uttered these words.
He was asked on the circumstances leading to
the arrest of Retired High
Court judge Justice Fergus Blackie as well as the
removal of former Chief
Justice Anthony Gubbay from the Supreme Court. On
Blackie, Chinamasa was at
pains to explain that Blackie had heard an appeal
case with Justice Rita
Makarau, now Judge President but allegedly proceeded
to deliver a judgment
in that case behind Justice Makarau's back. Chinamasa
however, omitted to
advise the Commission that Blackie was later acquitted
of the charges.
On Gubbay's resignation, Chinamasa explained that Gubbay
felt that he wanted
to take an early retirement but that later after being
persuaded by the Law
Society to rescind his resignation, he then launched a
comeback bid which
was refused. According to participants at the Session,
Gubbay was actually
visited by Chinamasa who directed him to
resign.
The Minister justified Operation Murambatsvina and submitted that
over four
thousand 4 000 complete houses and over three thousand (3 000)
incomplete
houses have been handed over to beneficiaries under phase 1 of
operation
Garikayi.
The Commission will now discuss the Zimbabwe
State Party Report in a private
session. They will come up with concluding
observations which they will
forward to the African Union Heads of States
Summit for adoption before
being forwarded to Zimbabwe as recommendations
for implementation.
International Federation of Journalists
(Brussels)
PRESS RELEASE
24 May 2007
Posted to the web 24 May
2007
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called
on the
Zimbabwean government to end its attacks and harassment of
journalists and
to stop police harassment of newspaper photographer Boldwill
Hungwe.
"We are very upset by recent incidents that show a pattern of
media
repression and we urge the government to put an end to it," said
Gabriel
Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "Violent attacks on
journalists
and other media workers are having a chilling effect in Zimbabwe
and sending
a message that the government will use force to silence
journalists that
publish news it wants to keep out of public
view."
Hungwe is a photographer with The Standard newspaper. In its
Sunday edition,
the paper published pictures of attorney Beatrice Mtetwa
severely injured
after she was abducted and tortured by police. The security
forces broke up
a gathering of lawyers in Harare the previous week.
According to IFJ
sources, after the photo was published the police called
Hungwe and told him
to turn himself in at the police station. The
photographer has been in
hiding since then.
Violence against
journalists has been increasing in Zimbabwe. The dead body
of cameraman
Edward Chikombo was found in April, a few days after he was
abducted from
his home by armed men. Chikombo was suspected of having leaked
the footage
of the demonstrations and images of brutalised opposition
activists which
flooded international media organisations like the BBC and
CNN. A few weeks
before his death at least three other journalists were
arrested and badly
beaten in custody.
The IFJ is also calling on authorities to release Luke
Tamborinyoka, who has
been imprisoned for two months after a crackdown on
the opposition.
Tamborinyoka, press officer of the opposition party
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), was arrested along with about 30 MDC
members when police
raided the party's headquarters on March 28. He was
reportedly badly beaten
and tortured while in custody and has been denied
access to medical
treatment and legal representation since his arrest.
Tamborinyoka was the
former news editor of newspaper The Daily News until it
was banned in 2003
and he is a former Secretary General of the Zimbabwe
Union of Journalists.
The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more
than 115 countries.
In Search of Regional and Continental
Sovereignty
25th May 2007; Harare,
Zimbabwe
The Background to Africa
Day
Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963
founding of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU). On this day we
celebrate the great
occasion when 32 independent African countries came
together to form this
continent-wide organization whose platform was the
total liberation of
Africa. The objectives of the OAU included the
following: promote the unity
and solidarity of African States; co-ordinate
and intensify their
cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the
peoples of Africa;
defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity and
independence; eradicate
all forms of colonialism from Africa; and promote
international cooperation,
having due regard to the Charter of the United
Nations and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Hence, the mandate of
the OAU was simple, but
momentous: to complete the liberation of the
continent from colonial rule,
and to foster unity and solidarity among its
newly independent members.
Consequently, the 25th of May is a day
on which we observe the creation of
the OAU and pay tribute to the African
revolutionaries, who through a common
vision of unity, decided to seek joint
African solutions to the challenges
that confronted the continent. The
spirit of that era is typified by the
disposition of one of the OAU
founders, the African visionary, Dr. Kwame
Nkrumah: "The Independence of
Ghana is meaningless without the total
Independence of Africa. We as
Ghanaians are prepared to surrender our
national sovereignty in part or in
total in pursuit of African unity". That
was then. How many African leaders
can say this today?
In July 2002 the OAU was succeeded by the
African Union (AU), while
amalgamating with the African Economic Community
(AEC), but kept the date
and name of Africa Day. The historical foundation
of the AU originated in
the Union of African States, an early confederation
of African states, as
well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including
the OAU and the AEC
(formed in 1981). While acknowledging the end of settler
colonialism, the
transformation into the AU entailed embracing a wider
mandate that included
promoting democracy, human rights, and sustainable
economic development.
There was a vision for a more unified entity, a
legislative body, and other
institutions of common
governance.
Whereas the central organizing principle of the OAU
was political
independence for African states that of the AU centers on
sustainable
economic independence from the West, rooted in regional
integration,
beneficiation, fair trade, technology transfer and export based
investment.
The demand for effective leadership has never been greater. The
long-term
aims of the AU include a single currency, an integrated defense
force and a
cabinet for the AU Head of State. With a membership of 53
states, the AU
seeks to help secure Africa's democracy, human rights and
sustainable
economy by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and
creating an
effective common market. The overall dream is to establish a
peaceful,
democratic and prosperous continent.
Acknowledging
the Achievements
Thus the significance of Africa Day continues
beyond the life of the OAU
into the era of the AU. We must continue to
celebrate the achievements and
dreams by Africans, while acknowledging our
failures. The victories include;
the successful execution of national
liberation struggles, post-colonial
efforts at state crafting, OAU/AEC
evolvement into the AU, and the
establishment of the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD) to
address African challenges and ensure that
the 21st Century truly becomes an
African Century.
During its
term of existence, the OAU had stellar performance in executing
its mandate
of ridding the continent of colonialism. Many countries,
including our own,
partly owe their liberation to the support rendered by
the OAU's Liberation
Committee. When South Africa achieved democracy in
1994, effectively ending
the last vestige of settler exploitation, the
African continent was finally
able to stand up tall and proclaim "We are
free at last!" As we plough
through 2007, most African countries have
overcome many obstacles and have
begun building an Africa that belongs to
all Africans, through smart
partnership between government, civil society
and business. In particular
there is emphasis on leveraging women and the
youth in strengthening
solidarity among Africans.
The African Union is taking root, with
many of its institutions already
established. The Pan-African Parliament
(PAP) has been inaugurated as a
platform for the articulation of aspirations
of the peoples of Africa. A
woman was elected as the Parliament's first
Speaker. The convening of this
regular session of PAP confirms the
determination of the peoples of Africa
to promote and achieve the unity of
our continent. To realize these goals,
the PAP, made up of representatives
elected by the African masses, will
discuss a number of important
pan-African issues of the day, consistent with
its mandate to help determine
the African agenda. As the PAP meets, its
agenda seeks to enhance their
mandate to contribute to Africa's renaissance.
Throughout the
continent, commendable progress has also been made in the
implementation of
NEPAD, especially in the priority areas of agriculture,
infrastructure,
environment and health; all key areas in reducing poverty,
promoting social
stability and improving the quality of life. We have seen
the establishment
of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), one of NEPAD's
most important
and innovative features, with the aim of fostering the
adoption of policies
and practices leading to political stability, economic
growth,
accountability, good governance and democracy.
Taking Stock of
the Deficit
Of course, much remains to be done. With political
freedom came new
challenges for Africa. Leaders that brought liberation have
become dictators
denying fellow Africans human rights and economic
opportunities. Our
continent continues to be afflicted with hunger, disease,
civil strife and
general economic underdevelopment. We are the only region
of the world where
more than 50% of school-age-children do not have access
to education. We are
also the only region of the world that has experienced
negative net economic
growth in the last thirty years. As a continent, we
still lack the capacity
to intervene and effectively deal with incidences of
famine and civil
strife. Tragedies like Darfur and Zimbabwe stare us in the
face, without
effective African resolution. We ought to do
better!
Africans must keep striving to address both HIV/AIDS and
the persistence of
violent conflict in various parts of Africa, which
continue to hold back
development by destroying social and economic
infrastructures, diverting
resources and tearing asunder the social and
cultural fabric of affected
societies. The international community must
continue to complement the
efforts made by Africans themselves, through
fairer trade, greater aid and
significant debt relief. On this Africa Day,
it is imperative for Africans
to rededicate themselves to that partnership
and agenda.
Zimbabwe: Reflections on Africa
Day
Currently Zimbabwe is completely out of step with the
economic vision, value
system and frameworks that are being developed
regionally and globally. The
strategic direction of the Zimbabwean state is
at variance with objectives
of both the OAU and AU. Clearly the
dysfunctional Zimbabwe economy cannot be
properly integrated into COMESA,
SADC, and the AU. Regional inflation is
benchmarked at 20% while Zimbabwe is
experiencing inflation levels
approaching 4000%. SADC as a grouping will
continue to be affected and the
success of COMESA is put in jeopardy. The
vision of a vibrant AU rooted in
the foundation of an integrated continental
economy will be elusive with an
unresolved crisis in Zimbabwe. Equally
significant and important to note is
that countries in the region are also
experiencing major social effects from
mass migration from Zimbabwe into
those countries.
Furthermore, the brutality, political repression
and economic subjugation
currently taking place in Zimbabwe do not bode well
for the ethos,
principles and values of the AU and the African Renaissance.
In fact what is
happening in Zimbabwe is an outright negation of the African
revolution
ignited in Ghana (1957) and whose construction was formalized on
25th May
1963 (Africa Day). The fight envisaged by Nkrumah and his
contemporaries was
an all-inclusive, anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist
continental-wide
struggle, whose premise included democracy, freedom,
liberty, equality,
universal suffrage, justice, equity, socio-economic
justice, and prosperity.
We have none of these in Zimbabwe. Our nation is
going through an
unprecedented economic and political crisis authored by the
autocratic and
illegitimate government of Robert Mugabe and ZANU(PF). There
is increasing
repression while the economic crisis is deepening. The recent
arrest and
brutal physical attacks on lawyers (including the President of
the Law
Society) have demonstrated that this regime has lost any semblance
of
legitimacy.
It is imperative for SADC and the AU to
realize that Zimbabwe's failure is
their demise too. They must understand
that when Zimbabwe coughs, SADC
catches a cold, while the AU is rendered
sickly. Under globalization there
is no country that can prosper and stay
competitive without effective
regional integration. The global survival
paradigm is regional economic
integration predicated upon regional and
continental sovereignty that
supersedes national sovereignty. Any economic
meltdown in one regional
member is catastrophic to the group's strategic,
economic and political
interests.
The Zimbabwean crisis is an
African crisis. It's a bloat on the continent's
record. Today on Africa Day
we call upon the Africans to take a vested
interest approach to the
Zimbabwean crisis. It is in this context that we
embrace and salute the
mediation efforts by SADC through President Mbeki of
South Africa, the
decision by the PAP to send a delegation to Zimbabwe, the
comments by
President John Kufuor of Ghana and President Levi Mwanawasa of
Zambia. All
these activities and overtures constitute a triumph of regional
sovereignty
and Pan-Africanism over narrow, perverted and misconceived
notions of
national sovereignty. However, these efforts are not enough. We
need to see
more leadership on Zimbabwe from the AU, its institutions and
leaders. While
the AU must overtly support the SADC initiative, they must
also institute
their own mechanisms of intervention and solidarity. This
should be food for
thought for African leaders as they prepare for the 9th
AU summit to be held
in Accra, Ghana in July 2007. The demise of Zimbabwe
symbolizes the failure
of African institutions and
leadership.
Conclusion
All Africans must deploy a
vested interest strategy on Zimbabwe. No African
nation should oppress and
denigrate its citizens under the guise of
misplaced notions of national
sovereignty. The OAU had a dubious distinction
of doing little to protect
the rights and liberties of African citizens from
abuse by their own
political leaders. Hence it was derided as the "Dictator's
Club". The AU has
a unique opportunity to shed this image and de-link itself
from such a
legacy. Africa's leaders should abide by a new creed, built on a
uniquely
African foundation, which fosters the respect of citizen's rights
and
commits each nation to the improvement of people's quality of life on a
sustained and sustainable basis. The AU should clearly condemn and confront
charlatans like Robert Mugabe, who are fond of grandstanding as
Pan-Africanists and anti-imperialists while they casually trample over the
human rights and economic opportunities of their own citizens. Africans must
seek to develop the principle of continental sovereignty that protects the
socio-political-economic rights of Africans everywhere. This is the only
way, we as Zimbabweans, can extract any meaning from celebrating Africa
Day.
In conclusion, we congratulate the African continent on 44
years of striving
for African liberation, unity and prosperity. Much has
been achieved, and
yet more work has to be done. We urge African leaders to
take seriously
their new mandate of promoting democracy, human rights, good
governance and
sustainable economic development. An injury and injustice to
one African is
an assault to all Africans. Our posterity as Africans is
defined by a common
destiny.
Through African Unity,
We Shall Overcome.
The Struggle Continues
Unabated.
Arthur G.O. Mutambara
MDC
President
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Zimbabwe's
influential Catholic bishops have hit back at criticism
by President Robert
Mugabe that they had taken a dangerous route by
criticising government
policies, saying they would not be cowed into silence
in an escalating wave
of State-sponsored violence.
Mugabe issued a stark warning three weeks ago
that the bishops would be
treated as opponents if they continued dabbling in
politics.
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference said in a statement they
were
gravely worried that the country's political environment had
deteriorated in
the run-up to next year's poll, and noting that people were
being attacked
over their right to free association and
expression.
"Violence has already claimed more than three lives and injured
many more.
Some people have fled their homes and are now living like
refugees in their
own country," they said.
The violence - which many say
is led by riot police loyal to Mugabe - has
severely disrupted school,
hospital and farming operations across the
country and created widespread
fear, they said.
"In this light, we condemn the pre-election violence and the
killings that
have taken place in our country. Nobody should ever have to
suffer reprisals
for honestly expressing and living up to their convictions,
be they
intellectual, religious or political," they said.
"We therefore
issue a plea to all political parties and their supporters to
desist from
any form of violence. We call upon the government to ensure that
its organs
like the police and the media revisit their national obligation
of service
to the nation and all its citizens and not to be partisan," the
nine bishops
said. - Own Correspondent
The Zimbabwean
BY OWN
CORRESPONDENT
THE takeover of key government parastatals by former Zimbabwe
National Army
personnel has done little - if anything - to improve the
companies, as they
have continued to post unimpressive results each and
every year.
The Grain Marketing Board (GMB), National Railways of Zimbabwe
(NRZ) and the
Zimbabwe Wildlife Authority are a few examples of parastatals
that are
failing to meet expectations - with blame being put squarely on the
former
ZNA personnel heading them.
Other government-owned bodies such as
the Sports and Recreation Commission
(SRC) - headed by Retired Major General
Gibson Mashingaidze - have now
become toothless. GMB, facing huge losses,
plans to export 10,000 tonnes of
sugar from Hippo Valley in order raise
foreign currency for grain imports -
a development that is set to trigger
another acute shortage of sugar in the
near future.
And GMB acting chief
executive officer - Retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti -
sees nothing wrong with
such an ill-advised move.
"This is trade, like any other trade. Any country
can export whatever it can
export," he was quoted as saying in a weekly
newspaper.
NRZ general manager Retired Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai told a
Cabinet
sub-committee on inter-parastatal debts that the company has been in
a
desperate state since 2005, the year that saw it managing to transport
only
3,7 million tonnes of goods against a target of 12 million
tonnes.
In 2006, NRZ improved to 5,4 million tonnes although the figure was
once
again well below its projections.
NRZ board chairman Brigadier
Douglas Nyikayaramba revealed to the Cabinet
sub-committee that the railways
company currently has a shortage of 33
locomotives and 2,752 wagons to
transport goods in and outside the country.
The Zimbabwean
John Makumbe
It was, indeed,
magnanimous for Morgan Tsvangirai, President of the MDC, to
indicate that
Robert Mugabe could be granted an amnesty for all the sins
that he has
committed during his reign of terror in Zimbabwe. But that was
Tsvangirai's
own opinion, and certainly not that of the majority of the
people of
Zimbabwe. It may even have been the position of the MDC faction
led by
Tsvangirai but it still is not the preferred position of the
suffering
people of this country.
There are certainly a few good reasons why the
blood-sucking dictator should
be granted immunity from prosecution. One good
reason is that this will
encourage Bob to willingly retire from active
politics and allow the nation
to inch its way back to democracy, peace and
development.
Another good reason is that it is a little awkward to prosecute
Mugabe for
crimes against humanity while Ian Smith, who committed more or
less equally
atrocious crimes, is walking about a free man.
Perhaps a
third good reason is that it is always logical to allow one man to
(sort of)
get away with murder or some such evil in order to rescue millions
of
innocent hostages that are under his captivity. The argument is that if
the
evil Mugabe is not promised amnesty, he will continue his relentless
torture
against the innocent people of Zimbabwe as a way of safeguarding
himself
against prosecution and possible conviction in a court of law. He
will do
his best to remain in office until his death.
But these three reasons, while
seeming to be logical and reasonable, are
easily overwhelmed by the numerous
reasons against granting Mugabe an
amnesty.
Robert Mugabe is not
invincible; he can lose an election even if he
redoubles his rigging
efforts. We are all aware that he lost the 2002
presidential election but
held onto power like an octopus. At that time,
however, Mugabe was still
generally accepted within the Zanu (PF) circles as
the only possible
candidate against the hugely popular Morgan Tsvangirai.
This is no longer
the case given the two other factions in Mugabe's rotting
party. The
Mnangagwa and Mujuru factions are very unlikely to co-operate
with the
Mugabe faction in shoring up support for the geriatric. There is
therefore
no need to grant the dictator an amnesty in order to coax him out
of
office.
With regard to Ian Smith's apparent freedom after committing all
those
crimes against humanity, Zimbabweans can safely argue that Smith has
long
since left the country and is now resident in South Africa. For all we
know,
Smith may have been granted political asylum in our southern
neighbouring
country, and there is little we can do to bring him back to
Zimbabwe to face
charges of genocide. Indeed, Mugabe would do himself a
favour if he followed
suit. Zimbabweans would not bother to pursue Mugabe
into South Africa,
should he be granted political asylum there.
The
argument that one evil ruler should be allowed to get away with crimes
against humanity does not hold water. As a nation, we are anxious to put to
an end this evil culture of impunity, reckless abuse of innocent people, and
bad governance. We will not be able to destroy this culture if we allow
Mugabe and his evildoers to escape justice. Indeed, we run the risk of
setting a dangerous precedent, which could be exploited by the next dictator
at State House.
We need to send a strong and powerful message to all
potential governors of
this our land: that no one will be allowed to abuse
power, trample roughshod
on the rights of the people and get away with it at
the end of the day.
Robert Mugabe must pay for the numerous sins that he
committed against the
people of this country. He must never be allowed to
escape from justice.
The Zimbabwean
Zimbabwean NGOs with observer
status at the African Commission for Human and
Peoples' Rights' session,
held in Accra, Ghana, have refused to address the
Commission on the
human-rights situation in Zimbabwe, citing fears for their
safety.
This
followed remarks made by the Minister of Justice Legal and
Parliamentary
Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa.
At least five NGOs from Zimbabwe, among them the
Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe), Human Rights Trust of
Southern Africa and the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, were expected to
deliver their statements
on 19 May. Instead, the NGOs released a joint
statement through the Civil
Liberties of Nigeria, in which they expressed
concern over Chinamasa's
statements.
In a radio interview in Accra,
Chinamasa had branded the NGOs as regime
change activists and singled out
MISA-Zimbabwe's legal officer Wilbert
Mandinde as an activist working for a
British and American-funded NGO.
"The remarks by the minister place
accredited non-governmental organisations
from Zimbabwe in a position where
they cannot publicly, and without fear of
retribution, address this
Commission, as is their obligation in updating the
Commission on the current
situation prevailing in Zimbabwe," reads the joint
statement.
"We
request that the African Commission, through its Special Rapporteur on
Human
Rights Defenders, should take all precautionary measures to ensure
that all
those who enjoy Observer Status and have participated in this
Session will
not be subjected to harassment, or attack on account of their
participation,
whether here in Ghana, or upon their return to Zimbabwe."
Presenting a
statement on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe during the
41st Ordinary
Session of the ACHPR, Chinamasa said problems in Zimbabwe were
being caused
by Western countries that had poured resources into political
malcontents
and NGOs, for the purposes of destabilising the country. -
MISA-Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean
With Presidential and
general elections less than 10 months away, the Mugabe
regime is already
busy implementing a number of schemes to hijack the vote.
Their devious raft
of measures includes nation-wide, state-sponsored
violence and intimidation
calculated to terrify the populace into
submission.
Mugabe's tame
Electoral Commission is busy re-drawing the constituency
boundaries to
dilute the largely opposition urban vote. Millions of
Zimbabweans, mainly
farm workers and those living outside the country (now a
quarter of the
total population), have been disenfranchised through the
passing of
convoluted legislation.
The SADC-appointed mediator, President Thabo Mbeki of
South Africa, seems to
be dragging his feet. It is now two months since his
appointment to sort out
the Zimbabwean crisis. To our knowledge, he still
has not met either Mugabe
or the opposition MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai, and his
officials keep insisting
that he will work behind the scenes and not in the
glare of publicity.
The problem with this is that people everywhere have lost
faith in Mbeki's
so-called quiet diplomacy. Justice must not only be done,
it must be seen to
be done. Mbeki should also know by now that Zimbabweans,
by and large, do
not believe that he is an honest broker and it is therefore
vitally
important that he demonstrates his impartiality by conducting the
mediation
process above board.
Mugabe's minister of rural housing,
Emmerson Mnangagwa, announced in
Parliament last week that Mbeki had set
pre-conditions to any negotiations
between Zanu (PF) and the MDC. These
stipulate that the opposition must
recognise Robert Mugabe as the legitimate
President of Zimbabwe and cease
all acts of violence.
Both demands are
unrealistic and patently unfair - countless MDC members are
victims of Zanu
(PF)-sponsored violence and the MDC has won several court
cases proving
widespread electoral fraud during both the 2000 and 2005
general elections.
Several further court challenges of fraud during the 2002
presidential
elections have been enmeshed in the partisan judicial system
for five years
now.
Mbeki's continued silence would appear to confirm Mnangagwa's statement.
His
lack of even-handedness is extremely worrisome. At the very least he
should
require the same conditions of Zanu (PF). But ruling-party thugs in
police
and army uniform continue to wreak havoc among opposition supporters,
arresting and beating hundreds with impunity, while Mugabe refuses point
blank to rein them in and continues to fabricate charges of violence against
the MDC.
By his silence and apparent lack of action, Mbeki appears to be
playing
right into the hands of Zanu (PF), aiding and abetting its tactics
of delay
to ensure yet another fraudulent election 'victory' in 2008.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The main
opposition this week welcomed Canadian and Australian
condemnation of
President Robert Mugabe's handling of Zimbabwe's economic
and political
crisis, and tightened sanctions targeting Zanu (PF) chiefs.
The Canadian
Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week approved a motion
to suspend
bilateral assistance to Zimbabwe until democracy and the rule of
law are
restored. The bill, which must be approved by their House of
Commons, would
direct Canadian officials at multilateral lending
institutions to oppose
loans, credit lines or other benefits to Zimbabwe's
government.
The
Canadians were also mulling over moves to expel the Zimbabwean envoy to
Canada, Florence Chideya, for working for a 'brutal regime'.
"As a
general principle, we are in favor of sanctions against Zimbabwe
because
they hurt the ruling elite, although this so far has not necessarily
resulted in a change in government policy,'' said Eddie Cross, policy
advisor of the Movement for Democratic Change.
"We do welcome the very
strong condemnation of the failure by President
Mugabe's government to
adhere to fundamental principles as we go toward the
elections."
Officials in Mugabe's government were not immediately
available to comment
on the Bill, moved by Conservative Senator Hugh
Segal.
Said Segal: "It will send a signal to the people of Zimbabwe that
Canada is
very concerned with the lack of democracy. The best way to stand
up for the
people of Zimbabwe is to withdraw our diplomatic mission, to make
it clear
that it is not business as usual, that we view this as a
crisis."
At least three people have been killed, hundreds beaten and
thousands forced
to flee violence linked to mounting anger against the
Mugabe regime and
party rivalry ahead of joint presidential and
parliamentary elections
planned for March next year.
Segal said Mugabe
had become totalitarian and was backing State terror to
sidestep an economic
crisis caused by his misrule. - Own Correspondent
The Zimbabwean
Health disaster feared
as infrastructure breaks down
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
MARONDERA - The
Environmental Management Authority has established that more
than eight
million cubic litres of raw sewage have been flowing into
Marondera's source
of water - Rufaro Dam - for the past six weeks, following
the collapse of a
reservoir holding the waste and the breakdown of a pump.
A health disaster is
looming following allegations that the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority has
resorted to 'blending' water from the infested
dam with supplies from the
smaller Nyambuya dam.
Robson Mavondo - who is the EMA Mashonaland East
provincial chief
environmental officer - made these startling revelations
and pointed out
that ZINWA was breaching the law.
"The EMA Act states
that when the effluent is discharged into the
environment, an appropriate
plan has to be put in place, but this has not
been done," said
Mavondo.
He revealed that EMA had also established that, about six weeks ago,
the
pump station that pushes effluent from Rujeko, Dombotombo, Yellow City
and
other eastern suburbs to Elmswood Treatment Works, broke down.
As a
result, all the effluent had to be diverted into an emergency holding
sewage
pond, which was already on the brink of overflowing. This resulted in
the
collapse of the pond's walls - causing the filth to flow into Rufaro
Dam.
Since then, according to EMA, more than 8000 cubic litres of raw
sewage per
hour have been flowing into Rufaro Dam.
The Zimbabwean
Bankrupt government accused of
driving hyperinflation
BY CHIEF REPORTER
HARARE - President Robert
Mugabe's embattled regime has issued a directive
to the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe-owned Fidelity Printers to mint a staggering
$200 billion to be
injected into the market in a bid to have more money at
its disposal as the
crunch joint legislative and presidential polls draws
near, The Zimbabwean
heard this week.
Impeccable RBZ sources confirmed Fidelity Printers had
received instructions
two weeks ago to step up its printing schedule, to
avail desperately needed
cash for government to borrow ahead of the
poll.
Zanu (PF) Finance chief David Karimanzira said last week the ruling
party
would raise another $100 billion through raffles, dinner-dances and
musical
galas. He said the cash was needed to purchase campaign materials,
including
vehicles.
The broke Mugabe regime has developed a penchant for
borrowing from the
domestic market to bankroll its
operations.
Government's unfettered access to the fiscus was confirmed by RBZ
governor
Gideon Gono last week, who scoffed at IMF criticism that the
central bank
was fuelling Zimbabwe's hyperinflation - which raced to an
unprecedented
3,713.9 percent last week - by printing money.
Gono told
Parliamentarians last week that he offered "no remorse for our
intervention
in all spheres of the economy", adding the central bank had
come under
pressure to print money for cash-strapped government departments
which he
said had been failed by the budgeting system.
RBZ sources said government's
use of its overdraft facility with the central
bank has intensified with its
latest borrowings accumulating to nearly $10
trillion.
Economists say
government borrowing through the overdraft facility
represents the creation
of money since it would be borrowing against
non-existent assets.
This
spurs money supply growth and creates aggregate demand in the economy
since
there would be too much money chasing few goods, hence the galloping
hyperinflation - now the highest in the world, according to the IMF.
The
Zimbabwean heard that Fidelity Printers staff have been working 24/7,
Monday
to Friday, grappling to satisfy the burgeoning demand for cash.
Staff at
the printers have been getting only weekend afternoon off .
The RBZ requested
written questions but a top official denied Fidelity
Printers was working
overdrive, saying like any enterprise additional hours
were there only on a
"need basis." He denied there was a marked increase in
the need for
cash.
"Cash withdrawals and deposits from our customers have been normal.
However,
demand for cash is attributable to a number of factors, among them
inflation, that is, the generalised increase in the price of goods and
services," the RBZ official said. "Fidelity Printers does not mint money to
service government's overdraft. In terms of the Reserve Bank Act, we are the
sole issuers of notes and coin in Zimbabwe. For your information, government
overdraft is far less than the figure you suggest," he said.
The Zimbabwean
BY CAJ NEWS
AGENCY
MUTARE - Zanu (PF) youths from the national youth-training programme,
popularly known as Border Gezi youths, have unleashed a reign of terror on
illegal diamond miners in the Chiadzwa area.
Diamond miners who spoke to
CAJ chronicled a saga of harassment at the hands
of the youths, who are clad
in army uniforms and are masquerading as
soldiers at the behest of security
officers.
A Zimbabwe National Army member, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said
those alleged to be harassing and beating illegal miners
were not member of
the ZNA.
"Those beating people in Marange are not
soldiers as reported. They are
youths from the national youth-training
centre. Soldiers are known to be
tired of being used in such activities. The
government has now turned to
youths whom they can easily use and abuse at
will," he revealed.
According to reports, at least 10 people, among them
policemen, have been
killed in skirmishes between police, soldiers and
illegal diamond miners
since the beginning of the year.
A driver with the
government-run District Development Fund corroborated the
story. He said he
twice ferried youths he knows to be from the national
youths programme, to
Chiadzwa to beef up security in the diamond-rich area.
"I know most of the
youths that are beating people in Chiadzwa not to be
soldiers," he
said.
He said the youths were being used as part of a plan by the government
to
ensure diamonds are not smuggled out by the poorly paid soldiers, who
earn
as little as ZD300,000 a month.
Edward Marowa, a diamond miner, said
the youths beat him up while he was
with his three colleagues after they had
managed to extract diamonds.
"We were severely beaten and had to be treated
for wounds and cuts as the
youths accused us of working against the
government," Marowa said.
But Manicaland provincial police spokesperson
inspector Brian Makomeke
denied the allegations. He would not elaborate,
referring us to police
spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka in Harare.
Zanu (PF)
youth chairperson for Manicaland, Enock Porusingazi, could not be
reached
for comment.
The Zimbabwean
This week on Be Our Guest, our Chief
Reporter (CR) speaks to the national
director of the Zimbabwe Election
Support Network, Rindai Chipfunde-Vava,
about the 2008 municipal,
Parliamentary, Senate and Presidential elections.
CR: Zimbabwe holds
"harmonised elections" next year. What are the
challenges likely to arise
from this process?
RCV: Firstly is the issue of the voters roll where there
is no issuance of
IDs by the Registrar General on the basis that there are
no financial
resources. Then there is the issue of time. Even if the
Registrar General
was provided with resources, it's less than a year to
clean the voters roll.
Coupled with economic hardships, we don't foresee a
situation where people
from the rural areas are going to get bus fare to
travel to the nearest
district to get IDs and also get registered on the
voters roll, unless they
do mobile voter registration. And this should be
done at least six months
before the election. Then there is the issue of the
Citizenship Act, the one
that denied the fourth generation the right to
vote. There have been
political pronouncements by Chombo that aliens would
be allowed to vote. But
then there is need to amend the law accordingly.
Then the next big problem
is the delimitation of constituencies especially
the additional ones. They
should follow the universal principles. 1.
Representatation. 2.Reprocity.
3.Equal voting strength to guard against
gerrymandering and apportionment of
votes. Therefore the process should take
into consideration the community of
interest, population size, existing
administrative structures and ensure
that the delimitation process is done
by a competent body agreed upon by all
stakeholders. And the process should
consult widely among key stakeholders.
The electoral infrastructure needs to
be put in place and information known
by all voters in time especially
things like how to vote, the number of
ballot papers in different colours.
For instance, how do you differentiate a
Presidential from a Parliamentary
or Senate ballot paper? And lastly, the
issue of which polling station do
you go to cast the vote for all three
harmonised elections.
CR: President
Mugabe has said he is going to increase the number of MPs from
150 to 210
and Senators from 66 to 84. Won't this pose any problems?
RCV: The increase
in the number of constituencies seems to be leading to a
situation where
more constituencies will be created for rural areas,
traditionally the
stronghold of the ruling party and reducing urban
constituencies, which are
a stronghold of the opposition. There is also the
issue of the Senator and
MP. There are different constituency boundaries.
This leads to operational
problems in terms of accountability and
maintaining geographical links with
the representatives. I am saying there
are two people, one says I am your
MP, the other says I am your Senator. So
who is above the other? In an
ailing economy it's an unnecessary cost
exercise. Selection of the Senate by
proportional representation would
assist to reduce these operational
challenges.
CR: What is the state of the voters roll right now?
RCV: The
voters roll definitely needs to be reviewed.
CR: What is you view of the
atmosphere in the run-up to these polls?
RCV: The atmosphere is very tense
right now. In fact, the recent political
violence incident by the State
against the opposition and human rights
activists is already affecting a
conducive electoral environment. What is
needed is a conducive environment
for free and fair elections where there is
no selective application of the
law.
CR: The opposition alleges that traditional chiefs are doing the bidding
for
Zanu (PF). Are there any merits to this allegation?
RCV: Considering
it's a drought year, there is need to ensure there is no
manipulation of the
voters by the politicians using food and farming
equipment. Sometimes they
use fertilizer, seeds. The traditional chiefs
should be impartial not
partisan.
CR: Is there enough time to capture these changes in time for the
election?
RCV: There is need for an all embracing constitutional review and
electoral
reforms based on wider consultation of all stakeholders. If there
is genuine
political will for reforms, then the timing of the elections
could be pushed
ahead to end of 2008 to allow time for some those reforms
taking place.
CR: Do you think there is genuine political will?
RCV: I
think there is genuine political will, in government and all the
political
parties.
CR: What about the issue of observation and monitoring of this
election. Is
that adequately covered?
RCV: Observers, both regional and
international, should be allowed access to
see all stages of the electoral
process from pre-election, polling day and
post-election period. The
process should be open to close scrutiny by
regional, international and
local observers.
CR: Is the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) ready to run
the harmonised
elections?
RCV: ZEC must be capacitated and resourced, not
relying on staff seconded
from other ministries. It should not report to the
minister of Justice who
is also an interested player. They should report to
Parliament and also have
their own consolidated fund to enhance their
autonomy.
CR: Do you think there is democracy among Zimbabwe's political
formations?
RCV: Intra-party democracy should start with them, especially
during primary
elections.
CR: What about the issue of voter education. Do
you think this is being
adequately catered for?
RCV: ZEC, complemented by
NGOs should make sure the relevant information is
given to the voter on a
continuous basis. But especially in view of the
harmonised elections there
is need for vigorous and a comprehensive
education of the electorate to
avoid these foreseen problems associated with
harmonisation of
elections.
FROM THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL
Zimbabwe Rally for Democracy
A Rally for `Democracy in Zimbabwe' organised by Bristol Action for
Southern Africa (ACTSA), Bristol Zimbabwe Association and the Bristol Zimbabwe
Vigil Group will take place on Saturday 26th May in Bristol City Centre at the
top of Cascade Steps opposite the Hippodrome from 12.00 – 3.00 pm. The main
speakers including Kate Hoey MP (Chair, Parliamentary All Party Group on
Zimbabwe), Alois Phiri (Free Zim Youth), will speak between 1.00 and 2.00. There
will also be music and performances from Zimbabwean artists, and Bristol
Rednotes Socialist Choir.
The aim of the rally is to highlight the
current crisis in Zimbabwe, show solidarity with Zimbabweans including those
Zimbabweans living in and around Bristol, and to call for an end to the attacks
on democracy and the need for free and fair elections.
Vigil
co-ordinator
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London,
takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross
violations of human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which
started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and
fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
OFFERED
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 3 May 2007)
Contracts in the DRC
Wanted: for six month
renewable contracts in the DRC, three Zimbabwean farm
managers. One with
experience in orchard and plantation crops especially
citrus and bananas, the
second with experience in row cropping: potatoes,
maize/soya, wheat and
barley and the third with experience in dairy
production. Formal
agricultural qualifications an advantage but not a
necessity.
Fluency
in Swahili preferable but not essential.
Contact:
011610073.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Vacancy for Farm Assistant
Samona (Z)
Ltd.,
P.O. Box 630557
Choma
ZAMBIA
Tel: +260 3 225 018
Cell:
+260 97 790 209
E-mail: samona@zamtel.zm
The above-mentioned
company has a vacancy for a Farm Assistant to work
directly under the
Managing Director, to help with the running of a large
tobacco enterprise
situated in the Choma/Kalomo farming area in the Southern
Province of
Zambia.
Qualifications required:
Internationally recognised
Diploma/Degree in Agriculture
The farming programme for the 2007/2008
season is 120 Ha Tobacco (55
Irrigated and 65 Rainfed), 60 Ha Soyabeans
(Supplementary Irrigation), 60 Ha
Winter Wheat. There is currently no
livestock production.
Remuneration package:
Commission (paid in US
Dollars) will be calculated as a percentage of farm
profit, details of which,
together with other benefits, will be made
available to applicants considered
for the position once all CV's have been
received and
processed.
Applicants should apply to Samona Zambia Ltd using the above
e-mail address
attaching their CV for consideration by the
company.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Project Manager in Tanzania
we have a pretty
large Eco-Tourism and residential Beach Plot scheme going
on for which we
are looking for a Project Manager with overall
responsibility for the whole
thing. A farmer background would be ideal.
Please advise whether there are
still farmers willing and able to leave Zim
for a new horizon. If affirmative
we would of course provide you with
further details.
Look forward to
hearing from you.
Best Regards - Georges C. Hess / Amboni Sisal
Properties Ltd - Nairobi
Liaison Office
Email: fidos@kenyaweb.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Vehicle Sales Administrator :
This position is
in the busy front office of our Vehicle Sales and would
suit a
self-motivated, efficient and pro-active lady. The post combines all
aspects
of Administration, client interaction and sales. Must be able to
work under
pressure.
Building Foreman :
Must have hands-on-experience in all
aspects of building including :
- Setting Out
- Foundation work
- Steel
re-enforcing
- Concrete Work
- Brick laying / Plastering
- Carpentry /
Roofing
- Plumbing / Electrics
- Material Ordering / Quantity
Estimating
- Labour Procurement & Supervision
- Must be able to work
on own initiative.
Forward CV or apply in person with contactable
references to ABC Auctions,
Seke Road, Graniteside, Harare.
Glynis Wiley,
751343 or 751904 or cell 011 630164
ABC Auctions
Hatfield
House
Seke Road
Telephone 263 4 751904/751906/751343/751498
Fax 263 4
751904/751906/751343/751498
Website: www.abcauctions.co.zw
Email Address:
auctions@yoafrica.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Job Title: Chief Executive
Officer
Based at: Asamankese, Ghana
Reports
to: Direct reporting to Shareholders
Introduction: Pinora
is the 3rd largest fruit processing plant in sub
Saharan Africa. Completed in
2006, the state of the art facility, and its
dedicated Pineapple orchard,
occupies 610 acres, employs 250 staff and is
capable of processing 320,000mt
of locally procured oranges and pineapples.
Job purpose
summary:
Identify, develop and direct the implementation of business strategy
leading
to growth and profitability
Plan and direct the organisation's
activities to achieve stated and agreed
targets and standards for financial
and trading performance, quality,
culture and legislative
adherence
Evaluate existing staff, and thereafter where necessary, recruit,
select and
develop executive team members
Direct functions and
performance, where necessary, via the executive team
Maintain and develop
organisational culture, values and reputation in its
markets and with all
staff, suppliers, partners and regulatory and official
bodies
Key
responsibilities:
Evaluate existing procurement process and thereafter plan
and implement
procurement strategy, including transportation of fruit to the
plant.
Plan and implement supply(ier) retention, expansion and
development.
Producing an operating budget and thereafter its monitoring,
implementation
and reporting.
Maintain administration and relevant
reporting and planning systems.
Evaluate existing and thereafter select and
manage external agencies, such
as transportation companies, banks, insurance,
quality management standard
bodies and inspection companies etc.
Identify
and manage new business development and further
potential
investments.
Plan, develop and implement strategy for
organisational development
Contact: petermacsporran@iconnect.zm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Housegirl
Maid needed for Avondale West
area. We are looking for a maid to help with
housework, for a "growing"
family. She needs to have her own accommodation.
Please call 091-2-300 059 or
e-mail mbav@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Workshop Manager
Workshop Manager - To run
a fleet of Freightliner/Internationals - Cross
Border. J.W. WILSON,
INTERNATIONAL (PVT) LTD
Contact: Jim Wilson 620131-4
Contact: Rowena
Bannister
TEL: +263-(04)-620131-4
FAX: +263-(04)-620135
EMAIL: rowena@wilson.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
ORIGNATOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER WANTED
IDEAL
PERSON NEEDS TO BE FULLY COMPUTER LITERATE (CORRELL DRAW
EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL) METHODICAL, PATIENT AND TECHNICALLY MINDED. TO RUN A
NEW DIGITAL
PRINTING PROJECT.
PLEASE RESPOND WITH CV AND REFERENCES
TO:
hotelgs@mweb.co.zw or tel: 04
485695/6 attention
Brigit."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Houseworker required
Gardener OR
houseworker required. Someone who is clean, and hardworking.
Preferably
employer recommended or contactable references. Please phone
011-614-233 or
email : dieselandplant@zol.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Looking for Investors:
Looking for serious
investors that want to get involved in the Floricultural
industry of
Zimbabwe. Need secure land close to Harare and access to
finance. Technical
expertise, markets and highly skilled human resources
ready available. For
serious enquires please contact me on: 011 630 696,
0912 782 782, 480 160,
watin@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Housekeeping Team
Looking for an
experienced husband and wife team to cook and housekeep.
Excellent staff
accommodation is available on the property. A very
competitive remuneration
package, with benefits, proportionate with
experience and qualifications is
offered by way of negotiation with
successful applicants. Traceable
references are essential.
Apply on 091 2 238
204
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 24 May)
Secretary
Doctor's secretary required, preferably
coming from Mount Pleasant, Emerald
Hill, Avonlea, Avondale, Alexandria Park
area. Mornings only 8:30 - 1 pm -
5 days per week.
Work load is not
heavy. Nursing experience is not required. Any one
interested should be
mature and able to handle files, correspondence and
simple book
keeping.
References are essential.
Contact Clare Peech at cflegal@kpmg.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 24 May 2007)
Employment Offered
OXFORD IT is looking for
cvs. Please send your cv as soon as possible if
you wish to be considered
for the positions.
MANUAL/HANDS ON POSITIONS
These positions will go very
quickly so please do not delay in sending your
cv. The positions are
offering very good benefits and locations.
Mechanics (Automotive and
Mechanical/Industrial), Construction Workers,
Waste Disposal Workers
etc
Mining Engineers, Drillers, Crane/Forklift Operators, Truck
Drivers
Workshop Managers, Driver/Messengers, Dispatch Supervisors
NON-IT
POSITIONS
Temporary/Mornings
Only/Flexi-time
Bookkeepers/Secretaries/Receptionists/Accountants
Contract/Consultancy/Permanent
Advertising/Marketing
Administrators/Secretarial
Finance
(especially
Bookeepers)
Management
Sales
Shipping/Transport
Tourism/Hotel
Industry
IT POSITIONS
IBM Service Consultants
SAP/Spectrum
Consultants
Developers, Network Engineers, Technicians, ISP
Engineers
Positions we have on our books at the moment
are:
Bookeepers
Mining personnel
Manual/Hands On personnel
Personal
Assistants
And various others....
Please email you cv to the below
email address or contact the General
Manager for more information. If you
have a cv which does not fit into the
above descriptions, please send it on.
We deal with all types of
recruitment now, so delay in sending your cv might
result in your missing
out on the right job.
Miss Sarah
Vale
GENERAL MANAGER
Oxford IT Recruitment
Agriculture House, c/o CFU
Building, Cnr Adylinn Road/Marlborough Drive,
Marlborough, Harare
Tel: +
263 4 309274 (Direct)
Tel: + 263 4 309855-60 (Ext 23)
Cell: + 263 11 231
917 (Office Hours Only)
Fax: + 263 4 309351
Email: sarah@oxfordit.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 24 May 2007)
Partner in Tanzania
Needed an Agricultural
Partner to establish plantations in Tanzania to grow
the following crops;
rise, maize,beans, vegetables, cotton, wheat and many
others.
Contact
details:
Name:Philip Mbunda,
Tel. +255
754262486
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 24 May 2007)
Office Co-ordinator
Office co-ordinator
required for mixed farming enterprise. Office situated
in Harare and mostly
mornings only. Duties would entail general
administration, and procurement.
Computer literacy a must. People skills
important.
Interested persons
to please email boheke@zol.co.zw and send
a brief CV of
working
experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 24 May 2007)
Looking for a cook
Cook wanted with a
Zambian passport or can get a Zambian passport for Zim
couple living in
Lusaka Zambia, must be able to cook every thing from
pancakes to pies
breakfast, lunch and dinner, please phone Pam on this no
+0966291818 or email
Tony at rbzhatchery@iwayafrica.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 24 May 2007)
Houseworker required
I am looking for an
excellent cleaner who not only cleans my home but also
takes pride and can
clean his own quarters regularly. A good salary is
offered to the right
person. Please phone
100-614-233.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
REQUIRED
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad inserted 17th May 2007)
Secretarial
I am a mature
Lady looking for Secretarial / Administration/ Reception with
20 years of
experience. Computer literate , good communication skills with
all segmentas
of Zimbabwe society.
I will consider full or part time engagement in any
field
Please contact me on 331116 ( Home ) 011 732 497 Cell or e-mail me
at :
srakabo@yahoo.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Seeking Challenging Management Position:
I
am looking for a good management position where by I can grow with
the
business, I have mainly been involved in Rose exports for the past 15
years
on large scale farms in Zimbabwe. Although this is my main line
of
expertise, I interested in any other industry that is looking for
strong
management, an energetic, ambitious, honest and strong willed person
to join
their organization. Please contact me, Wayne Seiler on the
following
details if you are interested and I will forward you my CV, 011
630 696,
0912 782 782, 480 160, watin@zol.co.zw . Skype name : Wayne
Seiler
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Seeking Top Management Position:
I am
looking for a good management position where by I can grow with the
business,
I have mainly been involved in Rose exports for the past 15 years
on large
scale farms in Zimbabwe. Although this is my main line of
expertise, I will
consider any industry that is looking for an energetic,
ambitious, honest and
strong willed person to join their organization.
Please contact me, Wayne
Seiler on the following details if you are
interested and I will forward you
my CV, 011 630 696, 0912 782 782, 480
160, watin@zol.co.zw . Skype name : Wayne
Seiler
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 24 May 2007)