Zim Online
Friday 04 May 2007
By Regerai
Marwezu
MASVINGO - Maize-meal queues have resurfaced in most parts of
southern
Zimbabwe with some villagers in the drought-hit region saying they
last
received maize-meal supplies at the beginning of last
month.
Long and winding queues have become the order of the day in most
towns and
cities in the region as people desperately search for the
commodity, the
main staple food for the majority of
Zimbabweans.
There have also been reports that some villagers had
besieged Grain
Marketing Board (GMB) depots around the country in search of
maize-meal.
In Rutenga, Masvingo, for example, villagers had literally
camped at the
business centre looking for maize-meal.
Villagers who
spoke to ZimOnline on Thursday said they last received maize
supplies on 2
April and had since exhausted the little supplies they still
had in
stock.
In Mupandawana, in Gutu district of Masvingo, the situation was
almost the
same with some villagers saying they were on the brink of
starvation because
of a severe shortage of maize-meal.
"We wake up as
early as 3am to come and queue for maize or maize-meal," said
60-year-old
Chapwanya Nherera of Muunde village in Gutu.
"We have been here for more
than two days looking for the maize-meal and it
appears nothing is
coming."
In Gweru and Bulawayo cities, shop managers who spoke to
ZimOnline said they
had also run out of maize-meal saying the commodity was
now only available
on the illegal black market at exorbitant
prices.
An official with the Millers Association of Zimbabwe, Tinashe
Romba told
ZimOnline that they were failing to secure enough maize supplies
from the
GMB.
"We last received maize from the GMB in March. Since
then, supplies have
been very erratic.
"What has worsened the
situation was that we are being ordered by the
government to deliver
maize-meal to rural areas first before we give urban
dwellers. The situation
is very critical," said Romba.
Zimbabwe's Agriculture Minister Rugare
Gumbo confirmed to ZimOnline
yesterday that maize-meal was in critical short
supply adding that he
expected the situation to improve in the next two
weeks when farmers start
delivering maize to the GMB.
"I can confirm
that the whole of the southern region which includes
Masvingo, Matabeleland
North and parts of the Midlands is facing food
shortages," said
Gumbo.
"We hope in the next two weeks the maize-meal queues will
disappear since we
expect inflows of maize from those few farmers who
managed to harvest
something."
Zimbabwe has battled severe food
shortages over the past seven years after
President Robert Mugabe's
government seized white farms for redistribution
to landless
blacks.
The farm seizures saw food production slump by more than 60
percent
resulting in most Zimbabweans depending on food handouts from
international
aid agencies for survival.
But Mugabe denies that his
land reforms are to blame for the food crisis
saying the shortages are due
to natural causes.
The food security situation worsened last week after
the government
sanctioned a massive hike in the producer price for maize
from Z$52 495 a
tonne to Z$3 million a tonne.
The hike has seen the
retail price for a 10kg bag of maize-meal going up
from Z$12 000 to a
massive $47 000 while a 20kg packet of maize-meal now
costs about Z$100 000,
almost half the salary of most average Zimbabwean
workers.
The Harare
authorities have already declared 2007 a drought year and have
been
importing maize from neighbours Malawi and South Africa to cover the
national shortfall.
Zimbabwe, once regarded as the breadbasket of
southern Africa, is only
expected to harvest about 600 000 tonnes of maize
against a national
requirement of 2.4 million tonnes of maize. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 04 May 2007
By
Nqobizitha Khumalo
BULAWAYO - The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ), a
coalition of several
media organisations, has again postponed to the end of
May the launch of a
Voluntary Media Council to regulate the operations of
the media in Zimbabwe.
Earlier this year, MAZ had said it would launch
the self-regulatory media
body on 3 May as part of World Press Freedom Day
celebrations.
But for the second time this year, the MAZ postponed the
launch of the
council to end of May amid allegations of serious disagreement
within the
media organisations on the issue of the
constitution.
Sources within the media group confirmed to ZimOnline that
media groups were
still haggling over some "outstanding issues" adding that
this had delayed
the launch of the media council.
Contacted for
comment, MAZ co-ordinator Abigail Gamanya, dismissed charges
of disagreement
within the media group saying the launch had been pushed to
end of May to
allow for some minor amendments to be made on the
constitution.
"From
the consultations we did earlier in the year, there were submissions
made on
constitutional amendments and that was not completed in time for the
launch
on Thursday to coincide with the World Press Freedom day.
"That is the
reason we have pushed the date to May 29 when we will
definitely launch the
Voluntary Media Council," ¯Gamanya said.
The MAZ is made up of the
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), the Media
Monitoring Project of
Zimbabwe (MMPZ), the Editors' Forum and the Media
Institute of Southern
Africa (Zimbabwe).
Earlier this year, President Robert Mugabe's nephew,
Leo, who heads
parliament's portfolio committee on transport and
communications, told
journalists not to go ahead with the launch of the
media council.
Mugabe said the voluntary council could only be set up
after an amendment to
the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act to allow the council
to exist alongside the state's Media and
Information Commission (MIC).
Zimbabwean journalists however said they
would ignore Mugabe's threats and
would proceed with plans to launch the
council.
Zimbabwe has some of the harshest media laws and regulations for
journalists. For example, journalists are liable to a two-year jail term if
they are caught practicing their profession without licence from the
MIC.
Newspapers are also required to register with the state commission
with
those failing to do so facing closure and seizure of their equipment by
the
police.
At least four independent newspapers including the
biggest circulating
daily, The Daily News, have been shut down over the past
three years for
breaching state media laws. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 04 May 2007
By
Patricia Mpofu
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government's Media and Information
Commission (MIC) on
Wednesday banned an independent journalist for a year,
as the Harare
administration intensifies a crackdown against political
opponents and
journalists.
The MIC that has over the past four years
forced the closure of four
newspapers and brought charges against scores of
journalists said it removed
Nunurai Jena from the roll of journalists
beginning on 3 May 2007 -
ironically World Press Freedom Day - until March
2008.
The state-controlled commission said Jena was banned after he was
caught
using an expired licence. Under the government's tough Access to
Information
and Protection of Privacy Act, journalists must obtain licences
from the MIC
to practice with those failing to do so facing up to two years
in jail.
The MIC had also accused Jena of freelancing for various foreign
news
networks some of them banned in Zimbabwe. He denied the charges and
argued
he had submitted an application for the renewal of his
licence.
Journalists' organisations and pro-democracy groups immediately
condemned
the banning of Jena. But they also warned it was the beginning of
worse
things to come for the media as the government stepped up a crackdown
on
dissension that has seen three journalists tortured by the police and
another murdered by suspected government agents over the past two
months.
At least 600 activists of the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) party were also arrested and some tortured by state
security agents
over the same period.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists
secretary general Foster Dongozi said: "It
(banning of Jena) is a
continuation of a sustained campaign against
journalists and other media
representatives after the murder of (journalist)
Edward Chikomba and the
abductions of journalists which is still going on."
Chikomba, a former
cameraman for the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC) but who
had become a freelancer for foreign media, was in
March abducted by
suspected state agents and found murdered several days
later.
His
colleagues believe Chikomba was murdered as punishment for supplying
foreign
media with footage of a bruised MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
following his
torture in police custody. The footage sparked international
condemnation of
Mugabe and his government.
Freelance photojournalist Tsvangirai Mukwazhi
and film producer Tendai
Musiyazviriyo were again in March admitted to
hospital for treatment for
injuries suffered after they were arrested and
brutally assaulted by the
police.
Another journalist Gift Phiri, who
works for the United Kingdom-based, The
Zimbabwean weekly newspaper, was in
April abducted by the police in broad
daylight from a Harare shopping centre
and taken to Harare Central police
station where he was brutally beaten and
tortured.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC) co-ordinator Jacob Mafume
said the
banning of Jena was a "typical example of (the government) muzzling
the
media with elections less than 10 months away."
MIC chairman
Tafataona Mahoso and Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu
were not
immediately available to respond to charges the government is
muzzling the
Press. The government has in the past denied suppressing the
media.
Zimbabwe was this week ranked by the Austria based
International Press
Initiative as the most difficult country in the world to
operate as a
journalist.
Besides journalists being required to obtain
licences, newspaper companies
operating in the southern African country are
also required to register with
the state commission with those failing to do
so facing closure and seizure
of their equipment by the
police.
Another law, the Public Order and Security Act imposes sentences
of up to
two years in jail on journalists convicted of publishing falsehoods
that may
cause public alarm and despondency, while the Criminal Codification
Act
imposes up to 20 years in jail on journalists convicted of denigrating
Mugabe in their articles.
Repression against the media usually peaks
up towards critical elections as
the ones to be held next year and which
some analysts have said the
government could lose, citing a worsening
economic crisis that is fuelling
anger against the government and boosting
opposition support. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Blessing Zulu, Patience Rusere and Jonga
Kandemiiri
Washington
03 May
2007
Founding President Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe's
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change was set to travel to Ghana next
week for a meeting with
African Union Chairman John Kufuor, Ghana's
president, in which he hopes to
convince the organization to pressure Harare
to halt its ongoing crackdown
on opponents.
Senior MDC officials said
AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare, a
former Malian president, will
also take part in the Accra meeting.
Konare displeased Zimbabwe civil
society leaders last October when he
declined to meet them while in Harare
for discussions with President Robert
Mugabe. But Kufuor in March described
the international furor over
Tsvangirai's severe beating while in Zimbabwean
police custody March 11-13
as "embarrassing" for Africa.
Tsvangirai
MDC faction spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Tsvangirai had intended
to leave
for Ghana on Wednesday, but canceled the journey after the sudden
death of
Isaac Matongo, the MDC's founding chairman, who died in his sleep
that
morning.
International Affairs Secretary Eliphas Mukonoweshure of the
Tsvangirai MDC
faction told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that
Tsvangirai will also update Kufuor and Konare on the mediation
process led
by South African President Thabo Mbeki under the aegis of the
Southern
African Development Community.
But independent political
analyst Hermann Hanekom of South Africa said that
even if the AU brings
pressure to bear, President Mbeki will have his hands
full convincing
President Robert Mugabe to halt state violence and engage
the
opposition.
Meanwhile, a bail hearing for 13 jailed members of the
Tsvangirai MDC
faction was to take place on Friday despite efforts by Home
Affairs Minister
Kembo Mohadi to call it off. He sent magistrate Lazarus
Murendo a so-called
ministerial certificate this week urging him to throw
out the application
for bail filed on behalf of the 13, who are alleged to
have taken a hand in
firebomb attacks against police posts.
Lawyer
Andrew Makoni, representing the jailed activists, said he had been
informed
by the office of the attorney general that the bail hearing would
go
forward.
Makoni, who described the minister's intervention as "unlawful,"
detailed
the charges faced by the activists, who are among a total of 31 MDC
officials or members held on an assortment of charges since late March, to
reporter Patience Rusere
Elsewhere, the MDC faction headed by Arthur
Mutambara says it was much
saddened by Matongo's death early Wednesday.
Matongo was chairman of the MDC
from its inception and sided with MDC
founding President Morgan Tsvangirai
when the party divided in late 2005
over whether or not to contest elections
for the new
senate.
Officials at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, which Matongo
once
served as vice president, said his passing removed a source of wisdom.
Matongo, who was 60, was to be buried at his rural home in Masvingo Province
on Saturday.
Mutambara faction spokesman Gabriel Chaibva told
reporter Jonga Kandemiiri
that his death robbed Zimbabwe of a dedicated man
who sought positive
change.
International Herald Tribune
By Stephanie
Kleine-Ahlbrandt and Andrew Small Published: May 3,
2007
HARARE, Zimbabwe:
The walls surrounding the
Chinese Embassy in Harare are getting higher.
"Extra security," our host
explained nervously - and one small indicator
that China's relationship with
Zimbabwe is changing. Formerly a staunch
supporter of President Robert
Mugabe, Beijing has said conspicuously little
about the current crisis in
Zimbabwe, which started on March 11 when the
government began a bloody
crackdown on opposition leaders.
China, which once perceived the West's
condemnation of Mugabe and sanctions
against his regime as an economic
opportunity, now views its involvement in
Zimbabwe as a liability both for
its investments and its international
reputation.
Mugabe's "Look
East" policy, announced in 2003, was followed by a flurry of
loans,
memorandums of understanding and weapons deals. It was supposed to
herald a
new alliance: China would gain access to Zimbabwe's mineral
riches - chrome,
gold and platinum - while providing Harare with financial
and political
backing that could help stymie the West's attempts to isolate
Mugabe.
But in the last few months, Beijing's support has dropped
almost as quickly
as the value of the Zimbabwe dollar. In December, the
Chinese government was
already so irked with Mugabe's trumpeting of their
relationship that it
hauled in Zimbabwe's ambassador to Beijing for a
dressing down, and soon
afterwards dismissed suggestions that a $2 billion
loan was in the offing.
In a conspicuous snub, President Hu Jintao's trip
to Africa in February
included stops in virtually all of Zimbabwe's
neighbors, but not even a
stopover in Harare (the recent visit by Jia
Qinglin of the Politburo was a
paltry consolation prize).
Senior Chinese
leaders had given prominent support to previous government
crackdowns,
including Mugabe's 2005 campaign to demolish the homes of
hundreds of
thousands of Zimbabweans living in opposition strongholds. But
the current
crisis has Chinese diplomats in Harare confessing to their
foreign
counterparts that they are embarrassed to be associated with the
regime.
Beijing's pullback was no great act of moral courage. China
knows fully well
that this is a dying regime. Although Mugabe announced that
he will stand
for re-election, factions in the ruling ZANU-PF party are
feverishly
planning for succession. Diplomats in Harare suggest that China
has been
carefully gathering intelligence and cultivating relationships to
prepare
for a post-Mugabe future.
For anyone who followed the money
rather than the grand promises, the
writing was already on the wall. Beijing
has realized that, in a country
facing what Chinese officials in Zimbabwe
described to us as "the worst
economic situation in the world," most loans
and investments are money down
the drain.
Zimbabwe's government has
struggled to repay China for fighter jets it
bought on credit in 2005.
Multibillion dollar projects announced with great
fanfare in sectors such as
thermal-power generation have rarely taken off.
Officials of China's
Ministry of Commerce have described recent efforts by
the Zimbabwean
government to encourage new investment in power stations,
railways and coal
mining as little more than a "headache." Chinese money has
largely been
focused in sectors such as tobacco, where returns are quick and
exposure is
low, and in positional investments, readying China to take
advantage if the
situation changes for the better.
Ordinary Zimbabweans have been
complaining about working conditions in
Chinese companies, the low quality
of cheap Chinese imports and the
destruction of jobs in Zimbabwe's
small-scale manufacturing sector. Some are
reported even to have attacked
the property of Chinese expatriates.
While the financial prospects of
China's relationship with Zimbabwe have
dimmed, its costs to Beijing's
reputation have increased. As China
prioritizes its global image, boosts its
leadership role and massages its
relations with the West, it is increasingly
clear that lending fulsome
support to regimes such as Mugabe's is bad
politics, with little payoff.
In a related change of heart, Chinese
pressure on the Sudanese government
has widely been seen as critical to its
agreement last week to accept a UN
force in Darfur.
These
developments suggest that China's Africa policy is moving into a more
mature
phase. In its initial flush of enthusiasm following the vacuum left
by the
West and the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, Beijing saw the
continent as an investment opportunity and a giant repository of natural
resources.
Now the risks of investing in failing economies and of
supporting fragile
regimes are becoming apparent. The fierce training of the
international
spotlight on China's behavior is also starting to yield
results.
China is making increasingly pragmatic calculations about its
involvement
with regimes like Mugabe's, and it is finding that it's not in
its interest
to be the symbolic head of a coalition of
despots.
Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt is an international affairs fellow at
the Council
on Foreign Relations. Andrew Small is program associate at the
German
Marshall Fund.
By Violet Gonda
3 May
2007
Today is World Press Freedom Day but in Zimbabwe press freedom
doesn't
exist. It's been reported that the regime barred journalists who
wanted to
march to commemorate the Day. Media reports quote Matthew Takaona,
the
President of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), saying the police
banned processions that were planned in all the provinces in the
country.
We could not get a comment from the police.
Desperate to
cling to power by every means possible, the Mugabe regime
continues to use
draconian legislation such as the Access to Information and
Protection of
Privacy Act (AIPPA) and Public Order and Security Act (POSA)
to control the
media.
The state has used these laws as a weapon to restrict the
operations of the
media and also to physically harass and arrest
journalists. Over the years
Zimbabwe has also seen more and more independent
newspapers like the Daily
News being forced to shut down. In other cases the
regime has resorted to
taking over newspapers like the Daily Mirror &
Sunday Mirror. An oppressive
accreditation system that is controlled by a
government appointed Media and
Information Commission has also resulted in
many journalists losing their
jobs and most foreign correspondents being
denied accreditation.
There is no independent electronic media in
Zimbabwe and the sole
broadcaster the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) has become a
propaganda machine 100% controlled by the government. The
media controls
have forced radio stations, such as SW Radio Africa and Voice
of America's
Studio 7 to broadcast from abroad.
And unless you can
afford DSTV satellite television, you are forced to get
your information
from the ZBC, which is widely known as 'Dead-BC'. This is
because of its
biased and news coverage.
But despite the clampdown journalists still
find ways of reporting and
exposing what is happening in Zimbabwe. The human
rights group, Amnesty
International has brought out a newspaper (found
online at www.amnesty.ie )
to mark World
Press Freedom Day and to highlight the dangers of being a
journalist in
Zimbabwe as well as the government's unjust and repressive
media
laws.
Andrew Furlong, the Coordinator of Amnesty's Zimbabwe group, said
the
newspaper called The Daily News in Exile, was named in honour of the
banned
Daily News and has articles written by former senior journalists at
the
newspaper, Geoffrey Nyarota, Sandra Nyaira and Nyasha
Nyakunu.
Furlong said: "It's a tool by which through the media we express
our
solidarity with journalists in Zimbabwe. And we use it to raise
awareness
and as a way of campaigning against human rights abuses in
Zimbabwe."
In the last seven years the situation in Zimbabwe has
completely
deteriorated as a result of mis-governance and corruption.
Inflation is over
2 000% with more than 80% unemployment. The majority of
the working
population is now living below the poverty datum line.
Researchers have said
the economic crisis has left Zimbabwe with a depressed
population and the
lowest life expectancy in the world.
Those that can
afford to leave the country have done so while others are
forced to cross
the croc-infested Limpopo River, fleeing to neighboring
South Africa for
sanctuary. The Sunday Times reported recently that as many
as 49 000 people
a month are entering South Africa illegally.
Journalists are among the many
who have fled, many of them forced to do
menial work in the Diaspora.
The
Committee to Protect Journalists noted that the "Zimbabwe government has
waged a relentless war on critical voices since 2000, using repressive new
laws to imprison and harass journalists and driving dozens into
exile."
Nelson Chamisa the spokesperson for the Tsvangirai led MDC said the
regime
is trying to victimize and isolate people who are trying to inform
the
public.
The opposition official said: "Without information citizens
are not able to
participate fully in any democracy and our concern and our
problem is that
we are not going to be able to achieve free and fair
elections under the
circumstances where you find that journalists are being
murdered."
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
The Zimbabwean
( -3-05-07)
UK
Parliament
House of Lords
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Zimbabwe:
Non-governmental Organisations
Baroness Park of Monmouth asked Her
Majesty's Government:
What steps they propose to take with the African
Union to ensure that
immediate representations are made to President Mugabe
to reverse his decree
banning non-governmental organisations from
Zimbabwe.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and
Commonwealth Office
(Lord Triesman): My Lords, there have been conflicting
reports on the
current situation for NGOs in Zimbabwe. Our understanding is
that the
reported new procedures for the registration of NGOs do not appear
to
require established and registered NGOs to re-register. The impact on new
NGOs is less clear. Our embassy is in constant touch with the NGO community
in Zimbabwe, which provides essential support for millions of ordinary
Zimbabweans, and we will monitor the situation closely. The increased
uncertainty for NGOs is part of a wider picture of intimidation, violence
and harassment of civil society in the run-up to the presidential and
parliamentary elections in 2008. It runs contrary to the NePAD and SADC
principles.
Baroness Park of Monmouth: My Lords, it is certainly the
belief in Zimbabwe
that Mugabe deregistered all NGOs two weeks ago. They
certainly fear that
that is what is happening to them. It is damaging civil
society, giving
Mugabe political control over food distribution just before
an election, and
the NGOs are intimidated. They must fear that their
overseas funds are going
to dry up. They and the people see this action as
one more assertion of
ruthless power.
I am glad that the Minister has
said that this is contrary to NePAD. Should
not the AU be asked whether it
condones this treatment of NGOs? This is the
second time that they have been
threatened in this way over the past two
years. The AU also has NGOs. Does
it want them to be treated in this way? Or
does it want NGOs abroad to think
that they would be treated in this way if
they went to any country in
Africa? It is a serious issue. There is general
intimidation and fear. That
fear runs right through civil society. I am sure
that the Minister will
agree that if intimidation and fear exist to that
degree there is a real
danger that Mugabe intends to annihilate the NGOs.
Lord Triesman: My
Lords, if I were involved in an NGO in Zimbabwe I would
share all of those
apprehensions. In the run-up to the elections in 2005 we
saw those
organisations under terrible pressure, particularly those that
promoted
human or political rights. I would not rule out, whatever our
knowledge of
the apparent position today, that that may very well happen in
the future. I
am happy to give the House the assurance-I suspect "happy" is
not the right
word in the circumstances, but I am most willing to give the
assurance-that
those matters will be raised with the African Union, SADC and
the regional
bodies. They are of very great importance.
Lord Alton of Liverpool: My
Lords, does the Minister agree that one of the
guarantees that can be given
to NGOs and civil society is the presence of a
free press and free media in
a country such as Zimbabwe? Does he not agree
that the capricious licensing
system used to stifle the freedoms of the
press in Zimbabwe is not a good
augury for what might happen to the NGOs?
What does he make of the decision
of the South African Broadcasting
Corporation a few days ago to open an
office in Zimbabwe, having instructed
the network's news editors not to
broadcast the views of Moeletsi Mbeki,
Archbishop Pius Ncube and Eleanor
Sisulu-all prominent opponents of the
Mugabe regime?
Lord Triesman:
My Lords, an energetic and free press is a precondition for a
healthy civil
society, just as the work of the NGOs is. I agree with that
proposition
wholeheartedly. I do not expect Robert Mugabe suddenly to
embrace the
concept of a free press any more than anybody else in your
Lordships' House
does. The South Africans take their own decisions. We will
continue to argue
that they could take a more forward-leaning position.
Lord Morris of
Handsworth: My Lords, is the Minister aware that the current
chaos in
Zimbabweis being presented as a struggle against British
colonialism? It has
also been said that it is a struggle against land
redistribution. What plans
exist, if any, to assist the resettlement of
Zimbabwean citizens who may
well be displaced-as we helped the Ugandan
citizens to resettle-when
Mugabe's vile regime collapses, as it will do?
Lord Triesman: My Lords, I
am aware of how the Zimbabwean Government
describe the interest that all of
us show in that country. I assert that we
show that interest for
humanitarian reasons. It is nothing to do with the
history. This generation
in politics does not share that history. In the
kind of package that we have
all agreed and on which we worked with Kofi
Annan when he was intending in
the last days of his secretary-generalship to
visit Zimbabwe, we envisaged a
raft of economic measures that would also
help to deal with some of those
land resettlement questions. There has been
no desire on the part of
successive United Kingdom Governments to avoid
doing so. What I think
everyone has avoided is parcelling up money and
giving it to Robert Mugabe
to distribute as he chooses.
Lord Avebury: My Lords, regarding the wider
picture of intimidation that the
noble Lord mentioned in his first Answer,
would he consider asking the
presidency of the European Union to raise with
President Mbeki the
recommendation made by Human Rights Watch in its report
published today? It
describes:
"systematic abuses against opposition
members and civil society activists,
as well as the increasingly violent
repression of ordinary Zimbabweans in
Harare's densely populated
suburbs".
Could not the EU presidency ensure that a copy of this report,
and of the
resolution which is likely to be passed by the
Inter-Parliamentary Union at
its meeting this week on the violation of the
rights of parliamentarians in
Zimbabwe, be placed on the desk of every AU
president and Foreign Minister?
Lord Triesman: My Lords, I have had the
advantage of being briefed on the
report that has just been published by
Human Rights Watch, and I have little
doubt that the German presidency will
want to raise it. In all the meetings
between the EU and the Government of
South Africa that I have attended,
these issues have been on the agenda, and
so they should be.
PRESS STATEMENT
ISSUED BY THE ZIMBABWE NATIONAL SPCA
CONTACT
PERSON - Glynis Vaughan 091 2367 260 / 04 - 497574 / 497885
SHEARWATER
ELEPHANTS - LATEST
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL SPCA BACK TO THE HIGH
COURT
The Zimbabwe National SPCA (ZNSPCA)'s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has
returned
to the High Court to discuss the above issue with a judge as access
to the
elephants continued to be denied to the ZNSPCA despite a recent Court
order
granting access. The ZNSPCA continues to question why access is
denied.
Welfare concerns grow as yet another elephant has
died.
ZNSPCA Attorney Beatrice Mtetwa stated before the judge
that she found the
situation extremely unusual in that the ZNSPCA was being
instructed to rely
on veterinarians that they did not commission. Ms Mtetwa
has written to the
Director of Veterinary Services and to one of the
veterinarians nominated by
Shearwater Adventures to organise a visit to the
premises where the
elephants are being kept. To date, no reply has been
received. Both the
above veterinarians were included in the Court order at
Shearwater's
request.
The ZNSPCA's statutory right to inspect
the elephants continues to be
frustrated. The NSPCA believes it should not
have to go to Court in the
first place to have access to animals for
inspection.
In November 2006, 12 juvenile elephants were captured
from wild herds in the
Hwange National Park to be "trained" for work with
Shearwater Adventures.
One elephant subsequently escaped and one died days
after capture.
The Zimbabwe National SPCA (ZNSPCA) laid charges
on 19 December 2006 to
initiate a prosecution process against Shearwater
Adventures, for cruelty to
animals. The ZNSPCA has consistently been denied
access to the 10 elephants
that were being held in the bomas at Nakavango
range in the Victoria Falls.
Veterinarians from both Zimbabwe and South
Africa have also been denied
access to the elephants.
On the
12th January 2007, the ZNSPCA filed a complaint with Zimbabwe
Republic
Police in Victoria Falls, for obstruction (in terms of section 12
of the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act) after access to the elephants
was
again denied.
The ZNSPCA attempted to meet with representatives
of Shearwater to discuss
the way forward. The Board of the ZNSPCA attempted
to engage in dialogue
with Shearwater's appointed lawyer but no agreement
was imminent.
Shearwater Adventures threatened to bring a civil suit against
ZNSPCA for
malicious prosecution, claiming that its business had suffered
due to the
ZNSPCA's actions.
Shearwater eventually agreed to
meet with ZNSPCA in the presence of their
lawyer on 31 January 2007. In
this meeting it was agreed that both parties
would release a statement to
the effect that they were working together for
the betterment of the
elephants concerned.
Shearwater have not withdrawn their threat
of malicious prosecution against
ZNSPCA.
On 19 February 2007,
the ZNSPCA expressed concern that access continued to
be denied. After
phoning Shearwater, the ZNSPCA was informed by the then
Managing Director,
Allen Roberts, that until press statements were approved,
no access would be
granted.
Mrs. Mtetwa, the lawyer acting for and on behalf of the
ZNSPCA proceeded to
the High Court to obtain an order for ZNSPCA to have
unrestricted /
unhindered access to the elephants.
On 09
March the Honourable Mr Justice Patel granted a Court order to the
ZNSPCA,
giving access to the elephants. Shearwater Adventures insisted that
they
wanted ZNSPCA personnel to be accompanied by two vets, namely Drs.
Foggin
and Zvishiri as well as a member of National Parks and Wildlife
Management
Authority on such visits. Shearwater Adventures requested that
the ZNSPCA
would give them 24-hours notice before a visit in order to
facilitate the
summoning of two veterinarians to accompany them.
The ZNSPCA gave
Shearwater Adventures 2 working days notice of an intended
visit/inspection
on 26 March 07. Shearwater personnel insisted that it was
ZNSPCA's
responsibility to obtain the relevant veterinarians and because
this had not
been done, the ZNSPCA was denied access.
Shearwater has given
access to numerous individuals and companies but still
resists the ZNSPCA.
In the interim, another elephant has died, leaving 9
elephants in the
bomas.
We sincerely regret that it has been so
long since we were last able to send
news of our activities. We have been
through an extremely difficult and
challenging period for our Society, not
unexpectedly, as the social,
political and economic situation continues to
deteriorate in Zimbabwe. As
Chenjerai Hove recently stated, we are "a
wounded country where people feed
on the illusion of
freedom".
In November we received reports that wild elephants
were being captured in
Hwange Game Reserve for 'domestication' and
'training' to fill the growing
demand for elephant back rides. All
scientific research and study has
proven that the removal of sub-adult
elephants from their family groups is
extremely traumatic, not only for the
captured elephants, but equally so for
the remaining elephants and indeed
constitutes extreme cruelty.
To quote Doctor Dame Daphne
Sheldrick:
"The impact on social dynamics within herds who have
been subjected to
violent abductions of their young is emotionally
profound. Natural
mortality when the herd can grieve for a lost loved one
is acceptable, as it
would be in human society, but the emotional damage
inflicted on all members
of the herd when a calf is forcibly and cruelly
abducted, is something else.
Like humans, elephant families like to know the
fate of their precious
babies."
12 young elephants were taken
from 8 different family groups and were run
down and darted by helicopter.
1 elephant died post capture and 1 escaped
post capture. There was no
grounds for their removal, they were not
starving and there was adequate
water.*
Following intensive lobbying, the Department of National
Parks and Wildlife
Management Authority, who have been very co-operative and
supportive, have
given a verbal undertaking that no further permits will be
issued for the
capture of wild elephant. We would like to see this
promulgated as a
regulation. The authorities would like further supporting
evidence of the
cruelty involved, to support the introduction of such
legislation and we
continue to correlate all cases and experiences that
substantiate the levels
of cruelty involved.
Further to this,
the Department have stated that from now on, no permits for
the keeping of
wildlife in captivity will be renewed or issued until both
National Parks
and ZNSPCA have inspected the facilities.
This has become a major
animal welfare issue in Africa with a great deal of
debate regarding the
cruelty involved in the capture and 'training' of wild
elephants. The
Society is unequivocal - the expression 'domesticated
elephant' is a
misnomer - in the wild or in captivity, they are still wild
animals.
We will continue with all of our efforts to stop
this practise which is
driven by the tourist demand for elephant back
rides. Far better that
visitors support and promote facilities where they
can enjoy a truly wild
experience by sharing the elephant's natural habitat
and view their
fascinating natural behaviour and the close social
interaction of a 'family'
of elephants that bond for life and care for one
and other as much as any
human family.
Since their capture by
Shearwater, a further elephant has died and the
Zimbabwe Conservation Task
Force has reported on the increased level of
aggression being displayed by
the elephants in Hwange who are now obviously
afraid of
humans.
We are sending out a separate update with this report on
the current
situation with the Shearwater elephants.
Apart
from this instance, which highlighted the conditions of elephants in
captivity, ZNSPCA Inspectors have inspected the other 61 elephants around
the country that are held in captivity and great strides have been made in
improving conditions, with most owners co-operating fully with the Society
and taking all steps necessary to provide a stress-free existence for their
animals.
Whilst the Inspectors were in Victoria Falls to
investigate the elephant
capture, they took the time to also check all
horses and stabling facilities
being used for the tourism
industry.
Four horses were attended to that had been abandoned at
Brondsbury Park.
They have since been adopted by the new owners of the hotel
and are
recovering well.
The ZNSPCA Inspectors also responded
to a report of horses being neglected
at Park Acres Farm which had been
'resettled' and the horses left behind by
the farmer. The new occupants
expressed every willingness to take proper
care of the horses and requested
education on how to care for them. This
has been done and the horses are
being monitored and are now in much better
condition. Such are the strange
conditions in our country. We must ignore
the politics and remain focused
on the best interests of the animals.
Chief Inspector Glynis
Vaughan has reported on some of the other cases
attended to by the team and
the great work they are doing in the rural
areas:
A horse
owner in the Vumba is being prosecuted for cruelty - one horse had
to be
euthanased; and the owner of a lion at Halfway House is also being
prosecuted for neglect.
Following numerous visits by ZNSPCA
Inspectors to Snake World on the
Harare/Norton road, the final being on 5
September 2006, it was agreed by
the Inspectorate to confiscate most of the
population of reptiles as they
required specialised care and
treatment.*
On 14 September 2006, accompanied by respected
herpetologist, Ben Vermeulen,
the ZNSPCA proceeded to Snake World to examine
the reptiles.
The cages and holding pens were found to be
inadequate for the respective
needs of each species as there was no heating
in the cages and most of the
snakes were trying to stay as close as possible
to the roof for warmth. All
enclosures were dirty and all water containers
full of algae and other
debris. Behind the cages the Inspectors found the
dead bodies and remains
of snakes, frogs and lizards that had just been
discarded on the ground.
On closer observation they found sick
snakes - one African Rock Python had
to be euthanased because of severe
mouth injuries and infection. No
reptiles were receiving veterinary
treatment. All reptiles were
malnourished and Mr. Vermeulen demonstrated
how loose and puckered their
skin was due to hunger.
Four
rare Gaboon Vipers had grossly enlarged infected glands in the ventral
area. Three Egyptian cobras had sustained broken jaws from striking the
glass. With the adept assistance of Mr. Vermeulen, ZNSPCA confiscated the
following animals :
24 snakes (including 5 African Rock
Pythons), 11 Tortoises, 6 Chameleons and
3 Rabbits. All the animals were
easy to handle as they had become lethargic
and weak from cold and
hunger.
We had advised National Parks but they were unable to
accompany the ZNSPCA
as they did not have personnel available. We advised
National Parks which
animals had been confiscated and handed them the
desiccated snake skins
(including one Python) which had been found on the
premises. They
authorised government wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Foggin, to
treat the snakes
and Mr. Vermeulen was given permission to release the ones
that were well
enough to be returned to the wild.
On the
advice of the National Parks, we wrote a letter to the Director
General of
Parks requesting that he revoke the owner's wildlife permit. The
owner is
Mr. Graham Bristow who is also being prosecuted for cruelty.
We
are monitoring Snake World closely and hope that the case will proceed to
court without delay.
Mr. Bristow also owns the Lion and Cheetah Park
and we are monitoring the
movement of all animals.
A
'supplier' was caught capturing Gaboon Vipers at Aberfoyle Estates in
Honde
Valley without a permit and National Parks are investigating the
intended
destination of the snakes.
A farm rescue was carried out in the
Kwekwe area where a dog and horses had
been left with the new occupants on
Dunlop Farm. The dog was uplifted to
Kwekwe SPCA.. A tame eland which had
also been left by the farmer died of
neglect.
The Avian Flu
Task Force are pleased that ZNSPCA has been conducting
educational tours
around the country. As yet we are the only member of the
task force that is
educating the public.*
These trips have given Inspectors the
opportunity to meet with local Chiefs
and village elders who are anxious for
us to increase our visits and expand
our activities to the more remote
areas. It has also afforded Inspectors
the opportunity to address certain
cultural practices which involve cruelty
such as the placing of a live
rooster into the grave of a deceased Chief.
This practice appears to be
restricted to the Mutare area.
Recently the Inspectorate have
been investigating fresh reports of dog
fighting in Harare. They are
working with members of the public and
following up on various leads. They
also had to deal with allegations of a
Chinese restaurant slaughtering
dogs. Undercover investigations revealed
that this information was
incorrect, but we are monitoring the property at
regular intervals. Harare
City Health Department has also confirmed that
they not find any remains of
dogs in the freezer, as had been reported.
The capture of several
indigenous and endangered African Rock Pythons is
also under investigation
as they are classified as specially protected in
Zimbabwe and may not be
captured or hunted.
The Inspectorate have also commenced the
checking of all Abattoirs in
Zimbabwe. Several have already been found not
to be pre-stunning, coupled
with other cruel practices. Slaughter has been
suspended at several
Abattoirs with warning letters being issued and
prosecutions initiated in
the two worst cases.
A pig farmer
in Gokwe is being prosecuted with over 400 counts of cruelty
and he will be
appearing in court next month.
The owner of Sodbury Farm admitted
to 60 counts of cruelty following the
death of 60 cattle that died of
starvation in Nyabira.
The Inspectors continue to check all
working dogs at Security Firms, with
several new firms having started up as
crime levels continue to escalate.*
Despite fuel shortages, the
teams are still managing to spend time on the
Donkey Outreach Program. The
use of yokes remains the biggest problem with
over 100 yokes being
confiscated on a single trip to the Masvingo/Chiredzi
area, whereas on the
Vic Falls Road which is regularly patrolled by
Inspectors (also being the
road to Hwange) all donkeys are now harnessed and
in much better condition.
The teams are concerned as the dry winter months
approach that there will be
insufficient grazing for donkeys and livestock
until the next rainy season
in November.*
Despite the most dire and challenging of
circumstances that continue to
prevail in Zimbabwe and the ever increasing
demands placed on our
Inspectors, we continue to make progress. Due to our
entirely apolitical
stance, concerning ourselves only with our service to
animals, whatever the
circumstances, our presence and activities are
respected and accepted by all
parties. We are most pleased to report that
the Minister of Education,
Sport and Culture has approved the introduction
of animal welfare into the
Grade 3 to 7 curriculum in all schools and the
Chief Education Officer
(Director) Curriculum Development Unit has been
tasked with weaving our
educational material into the new syllabus which is
currently being drafted.
To quote Minister Chigwedere "There is no doubt
that our community needs
something bordering on a campaign on the care for
animals, both domestic and
wild".
We have just received the
following Inspectorate report for March from
Glynis:
The
three trucks that were on the road during March covered a distance
between
them of 12, 519kms using 1,057 litres of fuel.
Cases of interest
were the closing down of another Reptile Park at Haka Game
Park, again with
the ever-willing assistance of Ben Vermeulen. Three
crocodiles, 2
tortoises, 1 terrapin, 1 water monitor and 8 snakes were
confiscated. Two
of the snakes had to be euthanased to prevent further
suffering. The owner
is being prosecuted. National Parks assisted with the
confiscation and most
of the reptiles have been treated and successfully
released back into the
wild, with a few still receiving treatment.*
Lion and Cheetah
Park, owned by Mr. Bristow (who is being prosecuted for
cruelty to the
reptiles confiscated from Snake World), ran out of food this
month. ZNSPCA
provided 50kgs of meat on the day we arrived. We appealed to
the public and
managed to secure food for a further week. The situation has
since improved
but the fact remains that there are too many lions at the
facility and the
uncontrolled breeding is compounding the problem. They
have 43 lions with
two of the females being pregnant. The manager of the
facility is selling
25 lions to Antelope Park and Mr Sparrow's facility in
Masvingo. Both of
these facilities also breed lions. ZNSPCA is addressing
the problem of
uncontrolled breeding with National Parks and there has been
a verbal
agreement that within a year, there will be proper controls in
place to
strictly limit the number of lions bred in captivity. ZNSPCA is
accompanying Parks to all the facilities in order to obtain accurate
statistics on the captive lion population in the country. We remain deeply
concerned by the potential for lucrative canned
hunts.
Numerous pig farms have started up around Harare and
ZNSPCA has inspected 8
of these, finding many problems that were causing
cruelty to the animals.
The new farmers are being educated by the Inspectors
and we will regularly
check these facilities to ensure that the improvements
are adhered to.
Six security companies in Harare CBD were
checked, as Harare SPCA cannot
currently cope with the demand for their
services. Dogs were confiscated
from two companies due to cruelty. We will
continue to monitor Harare
companies in order to stamp out the cruelty in
this area.
Besides these cases, 182 donkeys were treated, 11
goats and 32 chickens were
confiscated from the top of buses, 76 rural dogs
were dewormed and dipped
and 38 oxen checked and treated. Educating the
public takes place every day
and we always stop at rural schools during our
outreach work to talk to the
children.
During the month
another 4 wildlife facilities were checked and the animals
and conditions
were found to be good, with a few minor changes recommended.
National Parks
is working closely with ZNSPCA and will now only issue
permits if ZNSPCA
approves of the facility. Although we remain opposed to
the keeping of
wildlife in captivity, this is a big step forward for animal
welfare in
Zimbabwe.
The National Inspectors are now finding travelling
easier with our new
camping equipment. A kind member of the public, Mrs.
Fiona Saunders donated
gas for our three camp cookers. The three trucks are
running well with our
main appeal being for a new battery for the Mazda
B1600 and new tyres for
the Nissan 2.7.
We commend our
Inspectors Glynis, Simon and Matthias and trainees Marko,
Ronald, Mac,
Partmore, Levison and Oliver for their untiring efforts over
difficult and
tiring terrain to get to all the animals in need of our
services and
protection.
Before ending off we must once again thank all of our
kind and caring
supporters from around the world who are so understanding
and sensitive to
the difficulties we face in Zimbabwe, and in particular our
South African
neighbours, the NSPCA and their member societies who continue
to lend
material and financial support as well as manpower and expertise
whenever
needed. We would certainly still not be here without your
unwavering
support.
Thank you all
Bernice
Robertson Dyer
National Chairman
ZNSPCA
This week Lance Guma speaks to Tiseke Kasambala,
a researcher with New York
based Human Rights Watch. She authored the
report: 'Bashing Dissent:
Escalating Violence and State Repression in
Zimbabwe.' Lance speaks to her
about this report and the call by Human
Rights Watch urging South African
President Thabo Mbeki to condemn
state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe.
For programme schedules visit:
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/schedule.php
Programmes
are available for two weeks on our archives even after broadcast.
Visit: http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/archives.php
Lance
Guma
Producer/Presenter
SW Radio Africa
+44-777-855-7615
www.swradioafrica.com
SW Radio
Africa - the independent voice of Zimbabwe - is back on multiple
frequencies.
Between 7pm - 9pm (Zim time) on shortwave every day and
online 24 hours a
day at www.swradioafrica.com
In the 25m
band , 11775 kHz , 11810 kHz , 12035 kHz
In the 60m band , 4880 kHz
03 May 2007 17:06:07 GMT
Source:
IRIN
BULAWAYO, 3 May 2007 (IRIN) - A church-led mediation effort aimed
at a
negotiated solution to Zimbabwe's political crisis has been shaken by
government claims that the clergy support the opposition, and that the
interdenominational initiative has its own internal rifts.
A
coalition of churches, under the banner of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign
(SZC),
has been attempting to bring President Robert Mugabe's ruling
Zimbabwe
African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party and the
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to the negotiating table, to
bury their
differences and solve the country's deepening political and
economic
crises.
SZC made a cocktail of proposals, including constitutional and
electoral
reforms, ahead of next year's elections, but government recently
condemned
the church leadership as opposition activists pushing a
regime-change agenda
in the country.
"When the church movement
started last year with the production of a
document, entitled 'The Zimbabwe
We Want', which was embraced by President
Mugabe, we thought an end to the
crisis had come," said Luke Sibanda, a
social commentator.
"But, due
to infiltration by the ruling party, the movement has weakened ...
recent
statements by government condemning church leaders as puppets mean
Mugabe
has closed the door on them," he alleged.
Information minister Sikhanyiso
Ndlovu told IRIN they had ample evidence
that the ongoing prayer meetings
organised by the SZC were an initiative to
mount an anti-government crusade,
with the intention of stirring a
rebellion.
With inflation at 2,200
percent, many poverty-stricken Zimbabweans have
sought refuge in religion
and, according to observers, churches wield
considerable
influence.
The SZC is led by influential church leaders, such as the
outspoken Roman
Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube and Raymond Motsi of the
Presbyterian Church.
Ncube, a critic of the government, said a sense of
mistrust had resulted in
a campaign against the church movement. In some
instances, he claimed, state
security agents had been deployed in churches
to spy on preachers.
The church campaign for reforms, which started two
years ago, presented 'The
Zimbabwe We Want' to the government last year. But
internal differences have
torn it apart: the Roman Catholic churches have
been critical of the
crackdown on pro-democracy activists, while Anglican
Churches have remained
resolutely behind the ruling party.
Catholic
bishops recently distributed a pastoral letter, entitled 'God Hears
the Cry
of the Oppressed', urging Mugabe to step down. But their Anglican
counterparts issued their own pastoral letter supporting Mugabe, and called
on the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions, which they
said hurt the poor.
Although there has been discord among church
leaders over engaging with
Mugabe, Ncube said prayer remained an integral
part of the efforts being
made to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis.
"The
whole campaign against churches started when we organised a prayer
meeting
in Harare [in March], which was set to be attended by many
peace-loving
Zimbabweans, including political leaders. But because
government has become
alarmingly paranoid, it responded quickly and beat up
a lot of people,
including [Morgan] Tsvangirai himself [leader of one
faction of opposition
Movement for Democratic Change]," he said.
"What we are doing, as a
church countrywide, is to pray for the nation,
which has slid into a
pathetic abyss. We even invite ZANU-PF leaders to
attend and pray with us,
but they refuse."
Ordinary Zimbabweans have been supportive of the
churches' efforts to
resolve the crisis. "It only needs courageous clergymen
to sit down with the
ruling party and the opposition to discuss pertinent
issues," said
churchgoer Tholakele Sibanda. "The suspicion between
government and the
church is not necessary at all."
Church leaders
seen to be critical of government have either been briefly
detained or
threatened in the past few weeks.
SZC works with several political
parties, civic groups and labour unions. It
also has support from churches
in South Africa and Malawi. At a recent
prayer session in Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe's second city, church leaders from the
two countries said they
supported the movement's initiative.
Churchgoers remain hopeful. "Even in
apartheid South Africa, church leaders
were influential in bringing about
change, and I think the same is
appropriate in Zimbabwe," said Sibanda.
"Each time I go to church I pray
that God ends the crisis that we are going
through without any blood being
spilt."
news.com.au
By Nicolette
Burke
May 04, 2007 12:00
FOREIGN Affairs Minister Alexander Downer
will set up a meeting with top
cricket officials in the next week to
discourage them from the planned tour
of Zimbabwe later this
year.
Pressure has been put on the Australian team to cancel the
Zimbabwean tour
in protest against the treatment of citizens under
dictatorial President
Robert Mugabe.
The Australian team is required
to tour the country under its agreement with
the International Cricket
Council - and could face a fine of $2.4 million if
it does not
attend.
Cricket Australia said it would not address the question of
touring Zimbabwe
until the completion of the World Cup.
World Cup
side member Stuart MacGill - who boycotted the last tour of
Zimbabwe three
years ago - said this week he wanted his team-mates to look
more closely at
the political situation when making up their minds.
"It's naive to think
that sport and politics don't mix," MacGill said. "You
have a bigger part to
play in the world community than just on the sporting
field."
A
spokesman for Mr Downer confirmed yesterday the Minister would be in
contact
with Cricket Australia next week, after members of the Australian
team had
finished celebrating their World Cup win.
"He'll be contacting Cricket
Australia in the next week to set up a
meeting," the spokesman
said.
The 83-year-old Mr Mugabe, who has been in power since Zimbabwe's
independence in 1980, faces an economic crisis, with inflation at almost
1800 per cent and 80 per cent of people unemployed.
Once the foodbowl
of Africa, the nation is now on the brink of collapse,
with widespread
famine and the lowest life expectancy in the world at 36
years.
Under
the international cricketing agreement, Australia is required to tour
Zimbabwe, and only a natural disaster, or significant threat to security,
are acceptable reasons for pulling out.
Failure to comply would
result in $US2 million in damages paid to the
governing body of cricket in
country.
In this case, the fine would be paid directly in to the coffers
of Mr
Mugabe, who chairs the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and acts as an informal
selector, refusing to allow his opponents to play on the team.
Stabroek News, Guyana
Thursday, May 3rd 2007
Dear Editor,
I've appreciated Vishnu
Bisram's assessment and update on Zimbabwe in
his letter captioned "Mugabe
is using brutal means to keep himself in power"
(07.04.25).
I
also support him strongly in calling for the Government of Guyana to
join
international forces to put pressure on Mugabe so as to restore
democracy in
that country.
My friends from Zimbabwe here in India are moaning
and groaning about
the appalling political, economic and social situation in
Zimbabwe, aptly
described by Mr. Bisram. They are desperate for change, and
ask that
international pressure be applied to Mugabe. I related to them that
I could
empathise, as I had experienced similar horrors in my
country.
President Bharrat Jagdeo should do whatever he can to help
alleviate
the situation in that once progressive nation, and bring urgent
relief to
the people.
It is a desperate situation which the
world should not ignore. Mr.
Jagdeo needs to do his part, and do it
soon.
Yours faithfully,
Devanand Bhagwan
The Herald
(Harare)
EDITORIAL
May 3, 2007
Posted to the web May 3,
2007
Harare
ZIMBABWE'S appalling road toll leaves more than 3 000
people a year dead,
often with dependents needing help, plus many thousand
more injured and
disabled.
Besides these permanent casualties, there
are many more who have to be raced
in ambulances to hospitals, given first
class care and eventually
discharged.
The hospitals do this, but
often they cannot be paid because the injured
person is near destitute and
has no medical aid.
Insurance payouts are supposed to take care of much
of the financial burden,
but inflation has eroded what were already quite
modest figures on the
minimum insurance plans.
More needs to be done,
more money is needed to rescue accident victims and
to treat them, and more
money is needed to help families who have lost a
breadwinner get back on
their feet.
Harare Central Hospital clinical director Dr George Vera
suggested at the
first United Nations Global Road Safety workshop in Harare
recently that a
modest levy on fuel could provide the needed
funds.
He is on safe ground here. Other countries impose such levies,
which have a
degree of fairness. The faster you drive, and the more often
you drive, the
more fuel you use and the more likely you will cause an
accident or be the
victim of an accident.
Dr Vera not only wants to
use the money to revamp his casualty department,
which receives more than
its fair share of accident injured, and the similar
departments in other
hospitals, but he also wants some of the money going on
prevention.
We agree.
One reason for Zimbabwe's startling high
death toll, similar to that of
several major European countries, despite the
smaller population and far
smaller vehicle fleet, is the continued instance
by many drivers to speed
dangerously and to drive after drinking
alcohol.
Simply giving police at roadblocks cheap breathalyser kits
would, if other
countries' experience is anything to go by, cut the death
toll by two
thirds.
Hammering speeding would take care of a good
chunk of the rest.
So while fixing up rescue and casualty services is a
priority, cutting
significantly the numbers needing such services would also
have a serious
cost benefit, as well as averting much suffering.
Only
a small percentage of accidents and road deaths are caused by bad roads
or
badly maintained vehicles. It is in fact bad driving on good roads that
is
so lethal.
On a bad road even the most dangerous driver must slow right
down, and old
badly-maintained vehicles tend to come to stop, rather than
crash.
Hitting speed, alcohol use when driving and jumping red lights and
give way
signs will cut road accidents dramatically. And to do this simply
requires a
few hundred thousand breathalyser tubes, a few score modern speed
cameras,
and remote controlled cameras at traffic lights and stop
signs.
That costs money but if half the income from Dr Vera's proposed
levy went on
prevention and half on maximising the chances of an accident
victim
surviving, Zimbabwe's death toll and disability toll could both be
dramatically reduced.
The Herald
(Harare)
May 3, 2007
Posted to the web May 3,
2007
Chinhoyi
Harare
KADOMA is waiting desperately for two new
pumps ordered from South Africa
and paid for through a special
levy.
The city is pumping water at below capacity owing to obsolete pumps
that
constantly break down. This has resulted in intermittent water
cuts.
In an interview yesterday, Kadoma mayor Cde Fani Phiri said the
council was
waiting for the delivery of two pumps purchased from South
Africa at a cost
of 500 000 rand.
"We expected to have received the
pumps by now but there are some logistical
problems that have to be sorted
out. We are, however, expecting to get the
pumps delivered soon," he
said.
Cde Phiri conceded that the council was unable to meet demand for
water at
the moment owing to the ageing pumps with a capacity of about 60
000
megalitres of water against demand of 80 000 megalitres.
He said
the shipment of the pumps had been done but there were still some
outstanding clearance procedures to be done in Harare.
Rimuka, areas
around Kadoma General Hospital, Westview, Queen Mary Private
Hospital and
parts of the central business district have been the worst hit
by the water
shortages.
Cde Phiri said the situation was being worsened by
intermittent power cuts.
Kadoma Municipality introduced a special water
levy for residents and
commercial property owners to raise money to purchase
the pumps.
The city has been facing perennial water shortages and has had
to rely on a
Harare company that has the expertise to service and repair the
old model
pumps which were installed in the 1970s.
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 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 26 April 2007)
JOB OPPURTUNITY
We have a vacancy for a
mature/semi retired man to join our team. The
position would be as workshop
manager to be in charge of maintenance and
repairs of all farm equipment.
Accomodation and competitive package offered
for the right person. Situated
30km from Beit Bridge (Zim)
Please send CV/References to fergs@netconnect.co.zw or
benfer@netconnect.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AT NO COST
We are
looking for a business partner in Bulawayo or Gweru or Masvingo to go
into a
50/50 venture to offer instant passport and visa photographs. We will
provide
all equipment and training. The equipment comprises 1 compact
digital camera
and 1 printer (the size of a supermarket till). The partner
will need to have
a shop outlet close to the CBD and be able to devote a few
square metres of
floor space to the passport/visa photography. The partner
will operate the
venture and share all costs and profits on a 50/50 basis.
No photographic
experience is required. The net profit to each party should
be in the region
of USD 600 (equivalent) per month. Please reply to
acacia@africaonline.co.zw giving
details of your location and any other
relevant
information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Management Couple / Professional
Guide
Management couple/professional guide needed to run small,
exclusive, safari
camp in Kariba/Matusadona as soon as possible. Salary and
benefits
negotiable depending on experience and qualifications - please
contact one
of the following:
Steve - steve@saflodge.co.zw Phone 013 43358
011 207 307
Wendy - wendy@saflodge.co.zw 0912 307
875
Belinda - email: belinda@zol.co.zw phone: (04)
301494/301496 or 011
603
613
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Transport Manager
To co-ordinate all
aspects of transport for cane haulers, mechanical
background is a
pre-requisite
Please contact Rob Buchanan, E-Mail - robbuchanan@yebo.co.za
Cell
082-3371290, Tel
033-3431106
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Manager for Sawmill
We are a large
furniture manufacturing company (J.W.Wilson Int (Pvt) Ltd).
Based in Harare.
We are currently looking for a manager for our sawmill in
Matabeleland, which
supplies our Norton factory with teak.
The position entails travel to the
mill in the Thlotsho area spending 2
nights, 3 days, a week at the mill
attending to the management of the mill.
We feel that the job would suit a
person with a farming background.
Should you need any further details
please contact me at dave@wilson.co.zw
of phone on cell
0912231 511 or Harare
620131.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
COMPUTER STUDIES TEACHER - PRIMARY
A
leading Independent School in Zambia requires a teacher of Computer
Studies
for September 2007. Experience in a CHISZ school in Zimbabwe or
an
Independent School in South Africa is essential. A good US dollar salary
is
offered along with accommodation and other benefits which include
medical
cover.
There is a possibility of other vacancies at both primary
and secondary
arising in the future and interested teachers with appropriate
experience
should register there interest.
A brief resume should be
emailed to zamvacancies@fsmail.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
URGENTLY NEEDED
Looking for an honest hard
worker in Harare to work in the house as well as
in the garden. We would
prefer a mature male who has experience.
Please if there is anyone out
there who is leaving or knows of someone
please contact me on 011207583 or
0912308410.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
GIRL FRIDAY
Busy office in Avondale
requires a full day lady to take care of
correspondence and general office
duties. Email/computer knowledge an
asset but we can teach you what you
need to know. Pleasant working
environment - to start as early as
possible.
Please contact - dundawidaho@mango.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Offered
I am a South African
farmer who needs employers for the following vacancies:
1: A person with
mechanical knowledge who can do welding and am able to work
with steel as
well. He must be reliable, able to attend to my vehicles and
help with
general work on the farm and with the cattle
2. A reliable chef,
housekeeper. He/she must have experience in western
cooking
I would
like to see references which can be e-mailed to the following
E-mail
Address(as): vermaasboerdery@telkomsa.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 3 May 2007)
EMPLOYMENT OFFERED:
Looking for a retired
Christian couple - will suite ex-farming couple - to
be caretakers of a dairy
enterprise. 70kms from Harare. Accommodation on
farm. Package to be
discussed. Please email CV and contact details to
dapayne@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
REQUIRED
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad inserted 26 April 2007)
BUILDING
CONSULTANT
Available to oversee construction operations and
alterations/modifications,
assess and monitor quality control; submission of
appraisals for repairs and
maintenance undertakings, and other associated
tasks.
For further information please reply to the following
contact.
mhowarth@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
FULL OR PART TIME EMPLOYMENT SOUGHT
I am
an active, multi-skilled retiree seeking a fresh challenge. I have
extensive
and long-standing knowledge of the Agrichem and Veterinary
supplies
industries with over twenty years experience in management and
research. I am
computer competent, multi-lingual, and have good
communications skills with
all segments of Zimbabwean society. I will
consider full or part time
engagement in any field.
Please contact me on 885236, on cell 0912 535737 or
e mail at:
carmiked@zol.co.zw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Sought
A husband & wife
team looking for employment with accommodation in Harare.
They both come
highly recommended; he in the garden and she with housework,
cooking and
child minding. They have 4 children, 3 of whom are school
going. Current
employer does not allow the family on the property so he
spends his entire
earnings on visiting them every 6 weeks in the Eastern
districts. Please
phone Julie on 011 605 083 or evenings only on 744156;
email: julie@fresh-value.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 3 May 2007)