http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
18.12.12
by Staff
Reporter
The Zimbabwean has unearthed shocking details of how high
profile people,
among them the late Vice President Joseph Msika and a
current top MDC-T
official, were engaged in a cross-border money laundering
scheme that
resulted in unsuspecting Zimbabweans being sold condemned
agricultural
inputs.
The names of the alleged money launderers cannot
be published at this stage
as we have been unable to secure their side of
the story, but it has been
established that President Robert Mugabe and Vice
President Joice Mujuru
were tipped off about the criminal activities by the
syndicate.
Correspondence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe dated 16 May
2007 and
addressed to Mujuru by the late RBZ Senior Division Chief in charge
of
Exchange Control, Paul Sigauke, titled “International Money Laundering
Operation” indicates that the top MDC-T official formed a shelf company that
was used to import fertiliser and maize from South Africa.
The
document, which shows that senior police officers shuttled between the
two
countries during high level investigations, says the company operated in
direct contact with another South African firm (name supplied) that was
responsible for shipping the inputs back to Zimbabwe.
The scam
basically involved raising US dollars by one of the officials (who
had
strong links with Msika) by selling maize to the Grain Marketing Board
and
subsequently depositing it in offshore accounts of conspiring partners,
one
of whom is a former Zanu (PF) heavyweight currently living outside the
country.
The money was then transferred to a number of accounts in
South Africa to
buy the inputs. The fertiliser, Sigauke claimed, was tested
in South Africa
and passed for transmission to Zimbabwe in the full
knowledge that it was
bad and would not be suitable for agricultural
purposes. When it got to
Harare’s GMB Aspindale depot, it was tested again
and found to be
unsuitable, yet GMB officials proceeded to sell it to
farmers.
“The imported fertiliser … failed three independent tests in
Harare but was
sold by GMB knowing that it would not grow maize in
Zimbabwe,” reads the
document. The report says RBZ financed the Harare tests
on the fertiliser.
The shipment of the condemned grain and fertiliser
commenced in 2007, but
the document does not indicate the amounts involved,
even though it says the
contract to ship grain to Zimbabwe was “awarded by
the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe…without Mugabe’s knowledge”.
RBZ
officials, in communication copied to RBZ Governor, Gideon Gono, and the
then State Security Minister, Nicholas Goche, warned of the corrupt
fertiliser imported through the company owned by the top MDC
member.
The named company banked with a leading financial institution
headed by the
official’s close relative.
“(The intention) was to sell
this fertilizer to communal farmers who did not
know that crop failure was
guaranteed. I am of the opinion that it was a
plot to ensure that certain
parts of the population would buy this and their
crops would fail,” reads
Sigauke’s letter to Mujuru.
The alleged transactions happened when the
country was reeling under a
severe inputs shortage.
According to
Sigauke, Msika approached the RBZ and convinced its management
to enable his
colleague, who in the mid-2000s was also named in illegal
grain exportation
deals to countries like Mozambique, to pay back the money
he had allegedly
externalised when the police net closed in on him. This was
done so that the
colleague would not be prosecuted.
When RBZ subsequently dispatched an
investigator to South Africa to verify
the quality of the fertiliser, it was
discovered that there was no such
factory - as had been claimed when a
certificate to export was given to the
company based in
Tzaneen.
Instead, “the fertilizer was being mixed manually by labourers
with shovels
on a platform at the old railway siding on the outskirts of
Tzaneen
and …there were 4 piles of different blends plus bags of rose quartz
finely
crushed to mix in the finished blend as was noticed at GMB
Aspindale”.
Mugabe recently lambasted corrupt officials in his party, but
analysts say
he lacks the political will to take any action.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
19
December 2012
Future investment in Zimbabwe remains under threat, because
of the ongoing
campaign to remove all commercial farmers from their
land.
This week a farmer in Mashonaland West, Piet Zwanikken, was shot in
the face
as part of efforts to force him to leave his farm. Zwanikken, a
Dutch
national meant to be protected by an international agreement (BIPPA)
between
Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, is still recovering in hospital from a
serious
wound to his nose and cheek.
He has been fighting for his
property rights since January after his farm
was gazetted for
‘redistribution’ by the Lands Ministry. But Zwanikken told
SW Radio Africa
on Tuesday that he will do all he can to remain on his land.
This is not
easily done when the legal system is biased against the farming
community.
On Friday another BIPPA protected farmer, this time a South
African citizen,
faces losing his farm once and for all, after years of
intimidation and
harassment.
Piet Henning, who has owned land in the Chiredzi district
since 1965, will
be appearing in court on charges of illegally occupying
government land.
Henning told a South African newspaper that Friday’s court
date is his “27th
or 28th” appearance and he expects to be found
guilty.
The farm that the Land Ministry has gazetted for takeover is a
small portion
of the original farm he was forced to give up as part of the
land grab
campaign in 2003. Since 2008 Henning has been in and out of court
trying to
secure the rights to his farm, but with little
success.
Former Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) President Deon Theron, who
was another
victim of the land grab, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that
until
property rights and the rule of law are honoured in Zimbabwe, the
country
can never recover.
“We desperately need new investment, but
investors need confidence and there
is no confidence in placing any
investment in Zimbabwe. There are no
property rights, there is only rule by
law, not rule of law,” Theron said.
Theron said the ongoing seizure of
land, which is being done under the guise
of ‘indigenisation’, is “a
complete farce and a vote buying gimmick,” that
does not benefit the
ordinary Zimbabwean. He said that hundreds of working
Zimbabweans lose their
jobs every time a commercial farm is seized, “so
there is only empowerment
of the few, not the masses.”
“We all know there is a role for
indigenisation, but if it’s done to garner
votes or boost ZANU PF’s
popularity, then it will not work,” Theron said.
Farmer
Shot in Banket
On 17 December 2012, Mr Piet Zvanikken of
Riverhead Farm, Banket, north west
of Harare, was approached at
approximately 6.00 pm by three people who told
him that tobacco was being
stolen from the barns.
He indicated that he did not want to go
down to the barns to check as it was
late. Mr Zvanikken thanked him for the
information and turned around to go.
The man then pulled out a pistol and
aimed for his head but shot him in his
face with the bullet passing through
the cheek bone and nose.
Mr Zvanikken knows the identities of the
individuals and is treating this as
an attempt on his life. He is a Dutch
national.
He is now in Avenues Clinic in Harare receiving
treatment and will have
reconstructive surgery on his face and nose. He is
out of danger.
We are very disturbed by this incident of
attempted murder and urge our
farmers to remain extremely vigilant at all
times.
Charles Taffs
President
Commercial
Farmers' Union
Cell: +263 (772) 284 847
Tel: +263 4 309 800
landline to 19
E-mail: ctaffs@cfuzim.org
Information
for the press (on request)
1. Late Monday afternoon (17.12.12) a
50-year-old Dutch man shot was shot
in Banket, Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe.
The man is in the hospital.
2. The man has a farm where he grows
tobacco. Three armed men came to the
farm to demand his harvest. When the
man refused, he was shot.
3. Two suspects have been
arrested.
4. The embassy in Harare has contact with the family of the
man and will
visit him in hospital.
5. The embassy is in contact
with the police and has also drawn attention
of other local authorities to
the case, including the Ministry of
Agriculture and the Joint Monitoring
Commission, which examines cases of
(political) violence in
Zimbabwe.
6. The ambassador had just visited the farm on 14.12.12
because it had
been under threat to be taken over by others. The ambassador
had already
intervened with the local authorities on behalf of this Dutch
investor.
7. The position of white farmers in Zimbabwe remains shaky.
Many
thousands have lost their possessions, but still there are hundreds who
are
active as farmers in Zimbabwe. Virtually all of them now work on smaller
pieces of land, sometimes no longer as owner, but only as a co-owner or as a
contractor.
8. At present, there are two other Dutch investors of
whom it is known
that their investments are threatened.
9. The
Dutch embassy in Zimbabwe will pursue the interests of Dutch
citizens and
businesses, amongst others by appealing to Zimbabwean
authorities and by
supporting organizations that strive to combat
(political) violence.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
19 December 2012
ZANU PF has already blown its chances of
winning the harmonized elections
set for next year by fielding an
unelectable Robert Mugabe as their
presidential candidate, a political
analyst has said.
Pedzisai Ruhanya, a director with the Zimbabwe
Democracy Institute said as a
result of its failure to change its
leadership, the former ruling party is
being ‘propelled into the wilderness
by political and economic plans that
repel voters.’
Speaking on SW
Radio Africa’s Hidden Story program on Wednesday, Ruhanya
predicted that
after 32 years in power, at which he presided over the worst
economy in the
world, Robert Mugabe is now unelectable and so is ZANU PF.
‘Mugabe is
going to turn 89 in February next year and will become one of the
oldest
political candidates to contest an election. Zimbabwe will reject him
at the
ballot box. The inability to change its leadership will almost
certainly
condemn ZANU PF to political history.
‘Zimbabweans cannot invest their
future into an 89 year-old candidate and
this is a quandary for ZANU PF and
a huge problem for Mugabe and this is not
opposition driven, it is self
inflicted,’ Ruhanya said.
He said Mugabe failed to implement the GPA
because that would also mean his
defeat: ‘ZANU PF being aware that it has
survived for 32 years because of
repressive media and security laws would
not dare implement the provisions
of the GPA’
He emphasized that
Mugabe abuses, disregards and celebrates violence, which
has seen him
survive for this long, including in his own party.
‘Violence is part of
ZANU PF’s DNA and this is why they say ZANU PF
ndeyeropa (ZANU PF is for
blood). That is why in his own party Mugabe is not
contested, he’s
intolerant to internal democratic processes.
‘Now….what do you think will
be his attitude when he is contested by a
foreigner, someone outside ZANU
PF. If you look back to 2008, the results
are there for everyone to see,’
observed Ruhanya.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Wednesday, 19 December
2012 13:29
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe’s dream for a March 2013 poll
is
effectively dead and buried after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(Zec)
requested at least three months to carry out a comprehensive voter
registration exercise.
Officials from Zec — the body mandated with
presiding over electoral
processes in the country, last week met Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
minister of Justice and Legal Affairs,
Patrick Chinamasa and requested for
urgent funding to kick-start a voter
registration blitz that would take
three months to carry out.
William
Bango, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, said Zec’s request effectively
means that
elections are impossible by March as envisaged by Zanu PF.
Mugabe, who is
in a coalition government with bitter rival Tsvangirai, and
Welshman Ncube,
the Industry and Commerce minister and leader of the smaller
MDC formation,
has been insisting that the country would go for an election
before end of
March next year with or without a new constitution.
However, Zec’s
request for three months to register voters, notwithstanding
that a
referendum is held or not, means Zimbabwe will not be ready for polls
by end
of March.
“The fundamental thing that was discussed at the meeting, apart
from a
revised Zec budget and the dropping-off of the delimitation of the
country’s
constituencies, is that Zec requested three months in order to
register
people.
“A decision was taken in that meeting that Zimbabwe
should embark on an
intensive voter registration and voter confirmation
exercise contacted by
Zec for three months,” said Bango.
Mugabe has
already told the courts the country will go for harmonised
elections come
March in order to fulfil an obligation to hold by-elections
in all vacant
seats that were left vacant either by deaths of incumbents or
defections to
other political parties.
“The request from Zec basically scuttles the
March election. What that means
is if we start registration on January 3, it
means it would end on the 3rd
March then a proclamation of the electoral
dates must take place,” said
Bango.
“If all things go well without
any delays an election is certainly not in
March and maybe in the middle of
the year. The suggestion that Zec needs
three months came from Zec itself,”
said Bango.
Joyce Kazembe, Zec acting chairperson who
attended the
meeting, however, said time needed for registration does not
rest with the
body but with the Principals.
“This is an area that is beyond us. The
issue of time was discussed but
those are principles that are not cast in
stone. They may be changed,” said
Kazembe.
Zec, which is currently
broke and urgently needs at least $20 million to
start the voter
registration blitz, should also procure indelible ink which
will take eight
weeks to deliver.
Mugabe’s election point man Chinamasa, says it is
premature to fix election
dates because a final constitutional draft is yet
to be completed owing to
disagreements among coalition
partners.
“Everything depends on the finalisation of the
constitution-making process,
so we cannot determine when the referendum and
elections will be held,” he
said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
18.12.12
by
Brenna Matendere
Munyati
Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller MDC,
says his party is ready to
participate in elections even without a new
constitution. He was speaking on
the side lines of a rally at Maboleni
business centre in Lower Gweru.
In a direct jibe at President Robert
Mugabe, who has been insisting on early
elections since 2010, said his party
was ready for polls even if they were
to be called next month.
Mugabe
is on record saying the two MDC formations are afraid of an early
poll
because they are afraid of losing. During his party’s conference in
Gweru a
fortnight ago, it was resolved that Mugabe should dissolve
parliament and
fix dates for elections if the impasse on the new
constitution is not broken
by Christmas.
The new constitution is expected to level the playing field
and guarantee
the holding of free and fair elections by introducing key
reforms.
“We want to say to Mugabe we are not afraid of elections. If he
wants the
polls in January or February we are ready,” Ncube told The
Zimbabwean.
He added that his party has resolved to go for the polls even
without a new
constitution because it was unlikely that there would be a
breakthrough on
the current draft document any time soon. “Zanu (PF) has
said either you
agree to our amendments or go back to the old constitution
as a way of
trying to factor in their impossible demands.
So our
position is that if it is not possible to have a democratic
constitution,
then let’s have elections without a new constitution. We can
always fight
for one after that exercise,” said Ncube. He reiterated that
his party had
agreed to give in on some of Zanu (PF)’s demands but could not
give in on
key matters.
“Zanu said they want separation of phrases like development
and empowerment
in the constitution and we agreed. But we can’t accept to
delete fundamental
issues,” said Ncube.
MDC-T and civil society are
adamant that elections can only be held after
fundamental reforms and a new
constitution are in place. The pronouncement
by Ncube on holding elections
without a new constitution is likely to
complicate further the road map to a
new democratic dispensation, as it
plays into Zanu (PF)’s hands by further
alienating his party from MDC-T and
other smaller movements.
John
Makumbe, speaking in his capacity as a political scientist, described
Ncube’s position on having elections without a new constitution and reforms
as “dangerous”
“Ncube is shooting himself in the foot. Without the
full implementation of
the Global Political Agreement, there is no guarantee
that what happened in
2008 will not recur. He is just politicking and I
would be surprised if his
supporters agree with him,” said
Makumbe.
“Ncube seems to be saying what he said in order to spite
Tsvangirai. He
wants to give the impression that he is his own man and
cannot define a
position different from that of MDC-T,” he added. Ncube was
Secretary
General under Tsvangirai in the formerly united MDC, but bad blood
has
developed between the two since their split in 2005 over disagreements
relating to whether or not they should back the reintroduction of the Senate
that had been abolished in 2007.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
18.12.12
by Mkhululi
Chimoio
Academics here believe it is only practical to hold elections in
2015 as
there are lot of processes to be put in place.
Dr
Lawton Hikwa also says 2015 perfect for elections
Speaking at a public
meeting organised by Bulawayo Agenda recently,
political analyst Ibbo
Mandaza said the country was not ready for elections
until the new
constitution is completed.
“We can only have the elections practically in
2015 as we need to complete
the constitution first and harmonise it with old
and new laws of the
country,” he said. Mandaza emphasised that there was
still a long way in the
completion of the new constitution which he labelled
as a ‘political deal’
meant to safeguard and promote the interests of
political parties.
“The constitution is a political deal which was merely
sold to the public.
We need a constitution that is near perfect so as to
protect the citizens
from having another Mugabe –like leader in the future,”
he said. NUST
Faculty of Communication and Social Sciences, Lawton Hikwa,
said there was
need for reforms first before any talk of
elections.
“We cannot talk about elections without the reforms as spelt
out in the GPA,
especially media reforms as the media is a major player in
promoting any
democratisation process through the free flow of information,”
said Hikwa.
“The challenge is that we have politicians developing
policies and
attempting to implement them but failing dismally as they have
political
ideologies and interest to protect. What we need are technocrats
who will
occupy ministerial positions and serve the nation without
compromise,” he
said. Zanu (PF) has strongly dismissed institutional reforms
especially in
the media and the security sectors, which have underpinned
their stay in
power over past three decades.
There were calls for the
Cabinet to be composed of technocrats instead of
Members of Parliament like
in countries such as the United States of America
and Kenya.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Published: December 19
HARARE,
Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s official statistics agency says the nation’s
population rose to 12.9 million in the past decade but the annual growth
rate declined to a low of 1.1 percent. Average growth stood at about 3
percent before political turmoil and an economic meltdown beginning in 1998
drove more than 3 million Zimbabweans abroad as economic fugitives and
asylum seekers, according to United Nations and World Bank
reports.
The state Zimstats office, releasing first results of a new
census, did not
acknowledge the absentees Wednesday, saying its tally was
based on
Zimbabweans living in the country on the night of Aug. 18. It said
households have declined to an average of 4.2 members.
The last
census in 2002 gave the population as 11.6 million, mainly in
households of
more than six.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
19/12/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council is disputing the census
results showing the city
having far less than 1 million people, and being
the least populated.
Preliminary data released this week said while the
national population rose
marginally to 12,9 million over the past 10 years,
Bulawayo’s count fell
from 750 000 to 655 675, or 5 percent of the national
population.
But like many Bulawayo residents and activists, city mayor
Patrick Thaba
Moyo isn’t convinced.
“It is surprising that our
population would go down when the cost of
providing housing in the city is
going up, Moyo told NewsDay. "The last time
(2002) it was 750 000 and now it
is 655 675.”
“We are worried that we have never had the population of
Bulawayo going up
considering that Bulawayo is a city where many people
across tribes and race
prefer to settle in.
“Our census has never
reached 1 million (officially), although as Bulawayo,
we have always
budgeted for 1, 5 million people,” he added.
The census findings may have
serious policy implications for the second
city, activists
say.
Harare was found to be the most populous, accounting for 16 percent
with 2,
098 199 people.
Manicaland Province is second with 1, 755 000
or 14 percent. Midlands is
third at 13 percent, which translates to 1, 622
476 people.
Masvingo and Mashonaland West are tied at 11 percent, with 1,
486 604 and 1,
449 938 people, respectively.
Mashonaland Central’s
population stands at 1, 139 940, or 9 percent.
Matabeleland North has 6
percent or 743 871, while Matabeleland South - the
least populated after
Bulawayo, has 685 046 people or 5 percent.
The final report will be
released in March 2014.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
19
December 2012
Zimbabwe’s government is facing serious criticism for
allowing the export of
live elephants to China, with accusations that entire
families of elephant
are being ‘destroyed’.
According to the Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) four juvenile
elephants were exported last
month, in a journey that included a 12 hour
drive in the back of a truck
from Hwange to Harare, before being shipped by
air for 10 hours to Dubai.
From Dubai the animals were then flown to
Beijing.
ZCTF chairman
Johnny Rodrigues told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that, “the
fact that
these elephants are juveniles indicates that they are being taken
away from
their mothers, and family units are therefore being destroyed.” He
explained
that the family links within elephant herds are very strong and
removing the
very young is devastating to a herd.
Another 14 juvenile elephants are
reportedly being held at Hwange, also
awaiting exportation in January 2013.
The ZCTF said in a report that the
final destinations of the elephants are
two zoos in China.
“Some elephants do not survive the stress caused by
such long trips, not to
mention the fact that the ones that do survive will
be subjected to a life
of captivity in a habitat they are not born to live
in,” Rodrigues said.
Rodrigues had strong words for the government’s
wildlife authorities, who he
said “are meant to be the guardians of our
wildlife.”
“We already have a poaching problem and we believe the
authorities are now
in business with the same poaching syndicates to export
live animals. So the
people who are meant to be protecting wildlife are the
same perpetrators,”
Rodrigues said.
He also dismissed the
government’s repeated arguments that Zimbabwe is
‘overpopulated’ with
elephant, explaining how no audits have been done in
recent years to support
this claim. Rodrigues argued that rampant poaching
has decimated the
elephant population and more should be done to protect the
animals.
“The whole world should stand against what is happening and
be the guardians
of these majestic animals. Because one day there won’t be
any left if this
keeps happening,” Rodrigues warned.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
18/12/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
A STAGGERING total of 34 people have been killed in road
accidents across
the country just in the past three days, police said
Tuesday.
Almost 200 crashes were recorded since the outset of the traffic
festive
season on Sunday, 25 of which were fatal.
The shocking
statistics include the smash that killed Zimbabwe soccer legend
Adam Ndlovu
and injured his young brother, Peter, along the
Bulawayo-Victoria Falls
highway early Sunday.
A female passenger identified as Nomqhele Tshili
was also slain.
On the same day, and along the same road, another
accident killed five
people and injured eight near Insuza.
Deputy
national traffic police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Luckmore
Chakanza
described the obtaining situation as “frightening.”
He urged motorists to
exercise caution especially at this time of the year
when volumes of traffic
swell on the roads.
Some 147 people died during last year’s festive
season, and Chakanza
cautions the number of casualties could rise this
year.
“From 15 December we have so far recorded 183 road accidents, 25 of
which
were fatal leading to 34 deaths and 160 injuries.”
“At this
rate the figures could surpass last year’s where there were 118
fatal
accidents, 1 304 injuries and 147 deaths from a total of 1, 785
accidents
countrywide during the 30-day [festive season] period,” Chakanza
said.
Police say the number of crashes recorded between January and
October this
year reached 28 929 compared to 26 500 during the same period
last year.
They blame human error for most of the crashes, including
speeding and
ill-timed overtaking.
And to ease the prevalence,
Chakanza urged motorists to stick to speed
limits and avoid overtaking on
blind spots such as bends and uphill slopes.
Faulty vehicles will not be
allowed on the roads, the police spokesman said,
adding there will be a
heavy deployment of police to deal with traffic
regulation
violators.
“We want to remind people that we are getting into a busy
holiday on the
roads because of increased volume of traffic, and we
encourage motorists to
make sure that their vehicles are serviced and in
good condition to avoid
breakdowns and accidents.
“They should also
ensure their vehicles have necessary documents to avoid
delays at
roadblocks. These include vehicle and passenger insurance, vehicle
and
drivers’ licenses, fitness test certificates and radio licences,” said
Chakanza.
He added that there will be zero-tolerance for overloading,
especially by
public passenger vehicles.
“Operators should ensure
that drivers carry the specified number of people
per vehicle and we would
want to appeal to passengers as well to inform
police when vehicles they
would be travelling in are overloaded.”
The police traffic department is
currently running a public campaign to
promote road safety under the theme
“Drive Safe, Arrive Alive.” The
awareness started December 15 and runs
through January 15.
“We are distributing pamphlets with phone numbers of
police stations
including the police headquarters so that people report any
form of
behaviour like drunken driving, corruption and bribery which are
likely to
cause accidents,” Chakanza said.
“We do not condone
corruption and we want to appeal to motorists not to give
bribes to police.
Otherwise we as police would want to wish everyone a Merry
and accident-free
Christmas so we all get into the New Year healthy.”
Chakunza urged owners
of public vehicles not to overwork drivers and ensure
that tyres are in good
condition.
Zimbabwe has some of the most dangerous roads in the
region that many call
"death traps."
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
19
December 2012
The MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on
Wednesday declared the
late Highlanders and national team legend Adam Ndlovu
a national hero, in
recognition of his ‘unstinting contribution to football
in Zimbabwe.’
This was decided following a full MDC national council
meeting in Harare.
This symbolic gesture has been greatly welcomed by the
Ndlovu family who
announced that Adam will be buried at Lady Stanley
cemetery on Saturday.
The 42 year-old Chicken Inn FC coach died together
with Nomqhele Tshili, 24,
in the crash near Victoria Falls that left his
brother Peter critically
injured. It has been confirmed Nomqhele was Peter’s
girlfriend.
Peter underwent a successful operation on Wednesday to insert
pins in both
his fractured legs. He also broke some ribs in the horrific
crash, but is
expected to fully recover.
In a statement the MDC-T,
whose MPs and top leadership are keen sportsmen,
sent consolations to the
Ndlovu family.
‘The party wishes Peter Ndlovu a speedy recovery. Further,
in recognition of
Adam’s unstinting contribution to the Zimbabwe football
fraternity, the
Party declares Adam Ndlovu a national hero,’ the statement
said.
A friend of the Ndlovu family told SW Radio Africa they had been
been
overwhelmed by the gesture and recognition coming from Tsvangirai’s
party.
‘This comes at a time when the family and whole country are still
trying to
come to terms with the shocking death of Adam,’ the family friend
said.
On Tuesday, the family finally broke the news of Adam’s death to
Peter and
this left him shattered.
There will be a church service for
Adam on Friday at Luveve stadium where
everyone is invited to attend. There
will also be a funeral procession in
Bulawayo, which will be led by the
Highlanders football club.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 13:29
HARARE - The
Harare City Council (HCC) is in the eye of a $5,4 million
“roads and garbage
truck” tender storm, as one of its lead suppliers has
been struggling to
meet its end of the bargain, and fulfil the key mandate.
With Paul
Chenjerai’s Paza Buster winning a bid to supply a majority of the
27 utility
vehicles needed by Muchadeyi Masunda’s municipality, delays over
the
five-month project have allegedly angered some councillors in the
MDC-led
local authority.
However, the defiant Harare businessman told the
WeekendPost last week that
he would meet the HCC’s December 31
deadline.
“I have delivered five vehicles so far (and) seven more are in
the country
waiting delivery. Council is the one to blame (for delaying to
give me the
tender,” Chenjerai said.
“I was supposed to get the
tender in May, but council released it end of
August. These are special
vehicles manufactured abroad. They are
manufactured per order (and) it is
unfortunate that some people think I have
failed, no, I am
delivering.”
According to documents, Chenjerai’s share of the spoils is
not only in the
region of $3 million, but he tendered at a much higher price
of $202 000 per
truck as compared to other bidders.
Victor Chifodya,
the HCC’s procurement board chairperson insists the company
had won them
over on a 24-month payment-free after sales service plan, says
they were
miffed by Paza Buster’s dilly-dallying.
“This person (Paza) has been
promising to deliver the vehicles for quite
some time. He has been telling
us never-ending stories.
“He was supposed to deliver 27 refuse trucks
(and) we only hear he has
delivered one. He was supposed to deliver the
whole consignment, but he has
not done so,” he said.
The complaints
come as a probe team appointed by Local Government minister
Ignatius Chombo
has rapped Masunda’s Council for mishandling key procurement
mandates, in a
city or jurisdiction handling over $400 million worth of
procurement jobs
annually.
“Councillors lack depth in what is required of them. They seem
to be
drowning and their decisions are based on personal benefits,” claimed
the
Ellen Chivaviro-led team.
“We feel they should look at technical
issues and capacity. At the end of
the day, you find those who would have
been given the tenders have no
capacity to supply,” it said.
Although
HCC has also taken the flak for undertaking key projects over $300
000
without going through the State Procurement Board, independent observers
also say the agency itself lacks capacity to handle the council’s
procurement needs.
Regional banking group BancABC is bankrolling the
facility to retool the
Council fleet.
In recent years, the bank has
also extended or provided similar facilities
to Zimbabwe’s biggest
municipality, in efforts to augment its fleet. —
WeekendPost
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai Karimakwenda
19
December 2012
An activist from the MDC-T who was released from Chikurubi
maximum security
prison on Tuesday, after ten months in jail, has told SW
Radio Africa that
she feels “rejuvenated” and happy to be with her
family.
Linda Musiyamhanje and 20 others, accused of murdering a Glen
View cop last
year, walked out on bail just in time to celebrate the
holidays and were
welcomed by MDC-T supporters and officials outside their
Harvest House
headquarters.
Five more remain in jail after being
denied bail as flight risks. With the
courts closed till next year, they
will have to spend Christmas and New
Years’ holidays in jail.
Linda
said her release came as a surprise because she had given up hope of
being
freed before Christmas. She said although there was no evidence
against her,
she is not angry and will continue to fight for democracy in
Zimbabwe.
“They don’t have any evidence at all against all the
accused persons. They
just wanted us to stop being MDC activists. But we are
not going to give up.
They have made us grow and mature politically,” Linda
said.
The police say officer Petros Mutedza was killed by MDC-T activists
who held
a meeting at a local Glen View pub. But the MDC-T insists many of
their
supporters were not at the pub the day Mutedza died. They say the
arrests
were politically motivated and meant to destroy MDC-T structures. A
total of
29 party members were arrested at the time.
The Youth
Assembly chairman , Solomon Madzore, and two others were granted
bail last
month.
The MDC-T Youth Assembly is demanding the release of the last five
activists
who were denied bail. The five still detained are Last Maengahama,
Tungamirai Madozkere, Rebecca Mafikeni, Yvonne Musarurwa and Simon
Mapanzure.
The call came from Clifford Hlatywayo, spokesperson for
the MDC-T Youth
Assembly. He told SW Radio Africa that no evidence was
presented in court to
warrant the five being denied bail. He said they are
being persecuted
because of their political affiliation.
“There is no
reason why Justice Bhunu should say the five are flight risks,
yet all of
them were on bail before. The circumstances were the same for all
the
accused. This generally shows the political affiliation of the judicial
system,” Hlatywayo said.
He added: “We seriously condemn this move
and call for their release. We
call for their freedom. Once again we
reiterate that their continued
incarceration is political, and not criminal.
It is ZANU PF’s tricks.”
Two other MDC-T youth officials have also been
charged in connection with
Mutedza’s death. Tarirai Kusotera and Jackson
Mabota were arrested in late
October and were held in detention for a month
before being released on
bail.
The two are being tried separately from
the original Glen View 29. Their
case will also resume in the New Year.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
00:00
Business Reporter
A Chitungwiza businessman has called
upon the Ministry of Health and Child
Welfare to screen bottled water being
sold on the market to ensure that only
quality water gets to the people.Mr
Sydney Farirai,
who recently established a state-of-the-art water
bottling plant at
Chikwanha Shopping Centre, said on Monday that bottled
water not certified
by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe should be
removed from the market.
“Those who want to buy quality water must look
at the label that shows them
the quality of water and that it meets the SAZ
standards,” he said.
“I got interested in establishing a water bottling
plant after reports that
some of the bottled water being sold in Chitungwiza
was of poor quality.
Tap Water
“Some people had gone to the extent of
bottling tap water.”
Mr Farirai, who is the managing director of Bobby
Enterprises, said the
water bottling plant the company established about two
months ago had the
capacity to produce 20 000 litres of water a day.
He
said the company offers some of the water to Chitungwiza Central Hospital
for free so that patients can drink quality water.
“They can bring
containers to collect the water for their patients for
free,” he
said.
“We also allow residents to fetch water from our boreholes whose water
was
certified by SAZ before even being purified.”
Mr Farirai said his
company would soon establish water bottling plants in
other cities and
border towns, starting with Bulawayo.
Bobby Enterprises has another water
bottling plant in Nyanga.
The plant at Chikwanha has a computerised water
purification system that has
filters for sand and carbon and a water
softener.
Bacteria
The company also uses oxidation to remove odours
and pollutants and
disinfecting bacteria and viruses.
There has been
an outcry from consumers in recent months over the presence
of bottled water
on the market that does not meet standards.
In fact, the Ministry of
Health and Child Welfare recently warned consumers
against taking bottled
water without verifying its quality.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
19.12.12
by
Edgar Gweshe
Harare- PRIME Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai has said that Zanu (PF) is abusing
its overbearing
influence on the country’s judicial system to persecute his
party
supporters.
Tsvangirai made the remarks at the MDC-T’s headquarters
in the capital while
addressing 21 of the party’s activists who were
released on bail in a case
in which they are being accused of murdering a
police officer in Glen View
in May last year.
The justice ministry is
headed by Patrick Chinamasa, a top Zanu (PF) member,
while Johannes Tomana,
the Attorney General, is also a self-confessed
sympathiser of the
party.
Augustine Chihuri, the Police Commissioner General, is also a
member of Zanu
(PF), together with the more influential Co-Minister of Home
Affairs, Kembo
Mohadi, and there are concerns that judges are appointed
along partisan
lines.
The 21 activists were granted bail yesterday by
High Court Judge, Justice
Chinembiri Bhunu, who said that the state’s case
had “weaknesses and
inconsistencies”.
As part of their bail
conditions the activists, most of whom paid $500, were
ordered to report
twice a week at Glen View Police Station.
However, five others were
denied bail after Bhunu ruled that they were a
“flight risk”.
“There
has never been a legal case here. It has been mere persecution rather
than
prosecution. If it was prosecution, what could have taken so long to
grant
these people bail,” said Tsvangirai.
He said that the selective
application of the law in Zimbabwe had led to
many MDC-T activists being
arrested on trumped up charges.
“In this country we are very unfortunate
that there is a deliberate
selective application of the law and our
supporters are being accused of
anything,” said Tsvangirai.
He said
his party would continue to fight until justice prevailed for the
murder
suspects.
“You are out on bail but you are not yet free. As a party, we
shall continue
fighting until justice prevails,” he said.
Tsvangirai
expressed concern over the filthy conditions in the country’s
prisons.
“You need to be very strong to stay in those prisons. I was
there in 2008
when things were very hard and I saw people dying because they
were
malnourished,” said Tsvangirai.
Meanwhile, there was jubilation
at Harare Remand Prison on Tuesday following
the release of the MDC-T
activists.
Relatives of the activists could not contain their joy as the
alleged
murderers walked out from remand prison.
The crowd, led by
MDC-T Youth Assembly Chairperson, Solomon Madzore, burst
into song and
ululation before heading to Harvest House where Tsvangirai
addressed them.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
19.12.12
by
Staff Reporter
Four ZimRights officials accused of forgery and fraud
appeared at the Harare
magistrates court on Tuesday and were remanded in
police custody, after the
State applied for time to research on submissions
presented by the defence
counsel. The matter continues today.
The
state, represented by Area Prosecutor, Jonathan Murombedzi and Michael
Reza,
said it needed time to study bail submissions made by defence lawyers,
since
the accused were facing serious charges.
Human rights lawyers led by
Trust Maanda denied the charges and described
them as baseless and void of
evidence on which the state can prosecute.
“These are frivolous charges
by the state. My clients deny ever possessing
the mentioned documents and
the state has failed to provide evidence before
the courts to support its
case.
“In fact, one of my clients was actually abducted by some militia
in the
absence of police. The militia did not search her house but actually
ransacked it. She was also thoroughly beaten up. I am advised that when the
militia arrived at her place, they had some unidentified objects in the
hands,” said Maanda.
He added that, an “intruder” also raided another
accused’s place and failed
to identify himself, subsequently emerging
holding mysterious documents that
he claimed to have obtained from the
house.
He said police failed to bring credible evidence before the
courts, save for
a blank white copy which meant nothing at all. “Evidence
must be brought
before the courts in a complete manner. The accused should
also be taken to
the site of search and an inventory has to be made. Nothing
of that sort was
ever done in this respect. The state is simply trying to
lie in this case,”
said Maanda.
Maanda said reasons given by the
state to deny bail were a mockery to the
judicial system.
“Surely,
how can a respected court of law deny the accused bail on the
grounds that
they will be unlawfully attacked by war veterans if they are
let free? Under
normal circumstances, the detained innocent would be granted
his liberty,
while the known violent war veterans would be brought to
justice,” said
Maanda.
The defence lawyers applied for $50 bail each, accompanied with
reporting
instructions. It challenged the state to speed up the process
‘since
innocent people’s liberty was at stake.”
The State was urged
to speedily carry out its “research”.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
18/12/2012 00:00:00
by Rebecca
Moyo
AIR ZIMBABWE is undergoing an audit by the International Air
Transport
Association (IATA) to determine if the national airline in now fit
to fly
international skys.
Deputy Minister of Transport and
Communication Infrastructural Development
Morgan Komichi says he has his
fingered crossed fo a IATA thumbs up.
"The last time they came, they
could not do much as the airline's staff was
on strike," he
said.
"This time there is no strike and we hope they will be assisted
accordingly
as we look forward to seeing Air Zimbabwe resume international
flights,"
said Komichi.
IATA is a global aviation body that works
with airlines and the air
transport industry to promote safe, reliable,
secure and economical air
travel for the benefit of travelers.
The
body conducts a biennial Operational Safety Audit, which measures an
airline’s system of operations, covering the operation of flights, boarding
procedures and other aircraft safety
matters.
To retain IATA
membership, members must submit and pass the audit.
Air Zimbabwe was
suspended from IATA in September for failing to comply with
global safety
standards.
At that time, Transport Minister Nicholas Goche said the
national airline
had been given a grace period of up to November 30 2012 to
comply with the
standards.
If it fails to meet the deadline, Air
Zimbabwe will be banned from using
international airports and air spaces of
other countries forever.
Said Minister Goche in September: “Air Zimbabwe
is at the moment suspended
from IATA. However, the national airline was
given up to November 30 to
carry out the audits.
"The letter we
received is not that bad as they were encouraging us to
comply with global
safety standards and this we are going to do,” he said.
Auditors visited
Zimbabwe early this year but there was nothing to audit as
the airline’s
workers were on strike.
The audit, done after every two years, is carried
out by firms accredited to
IATA at the expense of the national airline
seeking certification.
The auditors, who come from various countries
worldwide, include experts in
the global aviation industry such as aircraft
engineers, pilots, accountants
and cargo operators who are former senior
airline workers.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 22
hours 49 minutes ago
Zimbabwe is asking if it can purchase South
African coins for use in
commerce, but since Zimbabwe is not a member of the
Common Monetary Area the
South African Reserve Bank has yet decide on the
request.
The CMA is a monetary union comprised of Lesotho, South Africa, and
Swaziland. Namibia was been a member of the CMA, but withdrew from the
organization in 1993. Botswana is also formerly a member, but replaced the
South African rand with the pula in 1976.
Today the Namibian dollar
is on par with the South African rand. Swaziland’s
lilangeni and Lesothos’s
loti currency is also on par with the rand, however
the rand can circulate
freely in these two nations, while it cannot in
Namibia or
Botswana.
As of late November, when this article was being written, SARB
officials
said discussions with Zimbabwe were ongoing. Hlengani Mathebula is
the head
of the SARB strategy and communication department. According to
Mathebula,
“Zimbabwe is not a member of the Common Monetary Area (CMA), but
there are
conversations that are happening with regards to the coins
issue.
A decision has to be made at the highest level beyond the two central
banks
and that decision would be communicated.”
Zimbabwe’s currency
is a problem. When the Zimbabwe dollar was introduced in
1980 it was
considered to be one of the highest valued currency units in
Africa. Due to
continuing political crisis and hyperinflation the currency
degenerated into
one of the least valued currency units in the world.
The currency was
revalued in 2006, 2008, and in 2009. On April 12, 2009, the
Zimbabwe dollar
was officially abandoned. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
legalized the
Botswana pula, British pound, European Union euro, South
African rand, and
the U.S. dollar for all domestic transactions. Officially
Zimbabwe currency
will only be reintroduced if industrial output improves.
Zimbabwe had
issued 1-, 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50-cents as well as a Z$1 coin in
1980. A Z$2
coin was added to this in 1997, and a Z$5 denomination in 2001.
In June 2005
Zimbabwe announced it was planning new Z$5,000- and
Z$10,000-coins for
circulation, but this never materialized. New Z$10 and
Z$25 coins were
introduced in 2008. The value of Zimbabwe’s coinage became
confused due to
their continued use even following each of the three
currency
redenominations.
Zimbabwe began experiencing a coinage crisis once the
domestic currency
system was abandoned in 2009. Retailers often give clients
credit notes or
candy as change. During 2011 banks repatriated coins with a
face value
totaling about 8 million rand as retailers resisted purchasing
them even
though banks offered retailers prevailing rand-U,S. dollar
exchange rates.
South Africa’s coins have only carried the name of the
nation in one of it’s
11 official languages since 1994. Although inflation
in South Africa pales
when compared to that of Zimbabwe, in March 2002 1-
and 2-cent coins ceased
being issued due to their low purchasing power. (The
two coins are still
legal tender, but are seldom seen in circulation.) All
cash transactions
were to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. On April 1,
2012, the 5-cent coin
met the same fate for the same reason, with cash
transactions now being
rounded to the nearest 10 cents.
In recent
years South Africa has added higher denomination circulating coins
to its
currency system, these being the 2 and the 5 rand.
According to
Mathebula, there has been resistance to the acceptance of newly
redesigned
South African bank notes in Zimbabwe as well. These notes feature
former
South African President Nelson Mandela.
Ironically Mathebula noted,
“There is high demand for new notes as some
people are framing the notes.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 13 minutes ago
HARARE -
The beleaguered excommunicated Archbishop of the Anglican Church of
Zimbabwe, Nolbert Kunonga says his church will abide by the court ruling to
surrender all Anglican Church property to the Church of the Province of
Central Africa (CPCA).
He however said his church will continue with its
operations at various
locations around the country.
Reverend Admire
Chisango, who is the church’s spokesperson, told journalists
in Harare that
the Kunonga led church respects the judgement by the court
but stressed that
the ruling does not mean his church is disbanded.
“The Anglican Church of
Zimbabwe is still alive and kicking but continues to
differ with CPCA on
their doctrine which supports homosexuality,” said
Reverend
Chisango.
He dismissed all rape allegations laid on the Kunonga led
church, describing
them as unfounded.
Probed by reporters over his
personal feeling over the unfolding events in
the church, Archibishop
Kunonga said he had delegated all the duties to his
juniors.
The
Supreme Court of Zimbabwe last month ruled in favour of the CPCA led by
Bishop Chad Gandiya and ordered the Kunonga group to surrender all church
property.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 13:29
HARARE - President
Robert Mugabe will remain saddled with the tough
mediation of South African
President Jacob Zuma after the African National
Congress (ANC) retained the
Zimbabwean crisis mediator as party leader.
Zuma’s re-election at the
party’s congress yesterday effectively means he
will remain Sadc’s key man
to Zimbabwe, which is heading towards a watershed
general election next
year.
Mugabe and his Zanu PF party have warmly embraced Zuma’s rivals
such as
expelled ANC youth leader Julius Malema in a clear sign of their
unhappiness
with Zuma’s insistence on Zimbabwe creating conditions for a
free election.
Close Mugabe allies such as political flip-flopper
Jonathan Moyo have also
repeatedly shown disdain for Zuma, with some quietly
praying for him to lose
the ANC election to deputy president Kgalema
Motlanthe.
Although Zuma’s term as President of South Africa will end in
18 months,
political dynamics in the mineral-rich country point to the fact
that the
leader of the ANC will continue leading the country due to ANC’s
massive
command of the majority support. This means Zuma is likely to lead
South
Africa well beyond that country’s 2014 election, giving him space to
oversee
Zimbabwe’s transition.
In a recent interview with a British
newspaper, Zuma did not mince his words
saying while Mugabe was a liberation
war comrade, the quest for a democratic
Zimbabwe where the people’s vote is
respected is the primary focus.
Zuma said although Zanu PF and the ANC
share the same revolutionary roots,
he does not give preferential treatment
to the 88-year-old strongman when he
meditates in Zimbabwe’s long-drawn
political crisis.
“I deal with issues as they come as the ANC and as an
individual. What we
need in Zimbabwe is to ensure that Zimbabwe is
democratic, that’s why we
talk to all of them (Zimbabwean politicians), let
the Zimbabwean people
decide which party leads them. We can’t interfere,”
said Zuma recently.
On Mugabe’s propaganda that the MDC is a stooge of
the West, Zuma said:
“We don’t say that in the ANC. Much as it is true
that we come from the
liberation movement with Mugabe, but that to us does
not give anyone a
licence to mishandle his country, so if at all there was
mishandling of the
country we’d be critical,” he said in the
interview.
Although Zuma has publicly denied any major rift between him
and Mugabe, his
mediation has been a pain for Zanu PF, some party officials
have admitted.
Deviating from predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, who employed
“quiet diplomacy” to
deal with Mugabe’s intransigence, Zuma has been a
constant thorn in the
flesh to Zanu PF.
He has repeatedly insisted
that Zimbabwe government partners fully implement
the power-sharing Global
Political Agreement (GPA), the founding accord of
the fragile coalition
government.
Zuma and his team have also repeatedly dismissed Zanu PF
moves to sabotage
the constitution-writing process and call an election
under the current
Lancaster House Constitution.
This has seen Zanu PF
moving closer to the anti-Zuma lobby fronted by
Malema, who was in the
country recently.
Malema, who says he views Mugabe as a hero, whose ideas
should be tried in
South Africa, has told local state media that Zuma
“hates” Mugabe despite
pretences of friendship.
In turn, Mugabe’s
Zanu PF has become like a second home for Malema.
In the past, top Zanu
PF leaders have reinforced the Malema sentiment that
“Zuma hates Mugabe” and
have publicly attacked his mediation on the
Zimbabwean crisis.
Others
such as Moyo have suggested Zuma and his mediation team are driving a
United
States regime change agenda to push Mugabe out through Sadc
mediation.
The ANC on its part has expressed serious reservations on
Malema and Zanu PF’s
relationship, which the party fears could be used to
destabilise Africa’s
biggest economy.
Simon Khaya-Moyo, the Zanu PF
chairperson who attended the ANC elective
conference, yesterday sought to
downplay Mugabe and Zuma’s widely recognised
rift.
“We have a common
liberation history and culture. We are one,” he said
delivering his party’s
message of support after the announcement of the ANC’s
leadership election
results.
“The two parties successfully led the demolition of apartheid in
both
Zimbabwe and South Africa,” he said.
ZANU-PF wants to remind voters of the role played by the military in the presidential election run-off [in 2008] in which hundreds of people were butchered or maimed |
Read more |
Divisions over a new constitution |
Security sector refom key to peaceful elections |
The mean season for gays |
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
http://nehandaradio.com
on December 19, 2012 at 1:02
am
By Lloyd Gumbo
OPERATIONS at New Zim Steel are expected
to resume next month after Cabinet
guaranteed the investor that the initial
deal signed between the Government
and Essar Group stands.
This
brings relief to over 3 000 workers who have gone for almost a year
without
salaries after the investor suspended payments in March this year.
The
investor, who is apparently impressed by the latest arrangement,
reportedly
agreed to pay the workers before Christmas.
Industry and Commerce
Minister Welshman Ncube said the Essar Group had
requested a Cabinet
guarantee that there would be no changes to the original
deal signed between
the Government and Essar last year.
“This was sparked by statements that
were attributed to (Gift) Chimanikire
(Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining
Development) in the media recently that
they were not going to give New Zim
Minerals iron ore claims at Mwanesi,”
said Minister Ncube.
According
to the original deal, Essar Group would take 53 percent of New Zim
Steel
(former Ziscosteel-manufacturing arm) and 80 percent of New Zim
Minerals
(former Buchwa Iron Mining Company – mining arm) while the
Government takes
the remaining shares in both firms.
Minister Chimanikire recently told
The Herald that his ministry was not
going to “give away” mining claims at
Mwanesi Ranch that have rich ore
deposits. He said there was a need to avoid
a monopoly by giving other
players an opportunity to mine iron ore at
Mwanesi in Chivhu.
Said Minister Ncube: “The investor then requested that
the Office of the
President writes to them telling them the correct
position. Their problem
was that Government was speaking in so many contrary
voices.
“The Office of the President and Cabinet then wrote to Essar
Group last week
Tuesday telling them that the Cabinet decision of September
10 this year
confirming the agreement of March last year was going to
stand.”
“The Essar people then responded to us this morning (yesterday)
expressing
their happiness with the Chief Secretary’s letter (Dr Misheck
Sibanda). What
we have now agreed is that we will have ameeting between
Essar, ourselves
and our colleagues in the Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development to
finalise all the issues to do with joint exploration and the
transfer of
mining rights to New Zim Minerals.
“We are hoping to have
that meeting before the end of this month,” said
Minister Ncube. He said his
ministry had been negotiating with Essar Group
to pay workers some money
ahead of the festive season.
“They (Essar) are sympathetic to the
workers’ cause so in principle they
have agreed to pay the workers some
money before the Christmas holidays so
that they can go to the holidays with
something,” said Minister Ncube.
Industry and Commerce deputy Minister
Michael Bimha concurred with Minister
Ncube.
“The position is that
Cabinet made a resolution a long time ago and that has
since been
communicated to Essar. As far as the ministry is concerned
whatever decision
is made by Cabinet is the final decision and that is what
we do.
“We
will follow the Cabinet resolution that was made sometime in
September.
“We are now expecting them to resume operations because for a
long time they
have been waiting for us to make a decision (on iron ore
claims) and now
that the decision has been made, they should start
operations soon,” said
Deputy Minister Bimha.
The deal at one point
hit a brickwall after Mines and Mining Development
Minister Obert Mpofu
expressed reservations with the 80 percent shareholding
of iron ore reserves
by New Zim Minerals.
He said the deal was supposed to be revisited
because Essar Group would pay
only US$700 million for resources worth over
US$30 billion.
Minister Mpofu told a Parliamentary Committee that iron
ore reserves in
Mwanesi near Chivhu, which are supposed to be controlled by
Essar Group
under the agreement, had a cumulative value of US$30
billion.
Government recently endorsed the implementation matrix that was
agreed to by
the Government and the Essar Group management.
It is now
up to the Essar Group board to give a position on the matrix.
Government,
Minister Ncube said, had resolved all the issues around the
supply of water
and energy, transportation of coal and steel and investment
incentives,
which it was supposed to do.
On its part, the investor, Minister Ncube
said, was supposed to take over
the plant and set up a US$10 million fund
for the youths and small to medium
enterprises. He said Essar Group was also
supposed to pay the Zisco debt to
China and Germany.
Minister Ncube
recently said Essar Group workers who have not been paid
since March this
year would be paid as soon as the operations resumed. Essar
Group stopped
paying salaries to its employees in March this year amid
indications it had
forked out millions in wages without production.
The firm was reluctant
to continue pumping money into New Zim Steel which is
yet to get iron ore
mining rights from the Government. The Redcliff-based
company owed its
employees over US$12 million, a debt it assumed from
Ziscosteel. The Herald
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Ndakaziva Majaka, Staff
Writer
Wednesday, 19 December 2012 13:27
HARARE - Cabinet has restructured
the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB), with
government retaining a 51 percent
stake, while private players will get a 49
percent share, a Cabinet minister
has said.
Gorden Moyo, the State Enterprises and Parastatals minister,
yesterday told
journalists that government had decided to modernise the bank
and improve
its services.
“After a memorandum from the
inter-ministerial committee on parastatals,
government is shaving off 40
percent of POSB shareholding and taking on
board other partners,” he
said.
Moyo said the bank will retain its original mandate, which is
serving the
grassroots to boost banking services in the country.
He
said plans are underway to restructure the Zimbabwe Grain Bank (ZGB).
Moyo
said Tredger Holdings will get first preference in partnering
government in
ZGB since it already has ties with the entity.
The National Oil Company
of Zimbabwe has already been restructured while
Agribank’s restructuring is
still in the pipeline.
Arda Chisumbanje is also on the restructuring
list.
Moyo said parastatal board reshuffling is
necessary.
Government will with effect from January 2013, implement
stiffer conditions
concerning the funding of state-owned enterprises
following a series of
misappropriation of funds by parastatals.
Moyo
said the decision resonates with good corporate governance
standards.
“From January 2013 onwards, requests for financial support by
state-owned
enterprises and parastatals will only be considered by Treasury
after
compliance with statutory obligations, provisions of the corporate
governance framework and the public finance management Act,” he
said.
Moyo said recommendations from line ministries should be
accompanied by an
annual budget and strategic plan. Audited financial
reports and audited
annual reports are also needed.
Performance
agreements between boards and chief executive officers and
approved
restructuring proposals are also a necessity, he said.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
WEDNESDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2012 09:29
By
Factmore Dzobo
Forests and bushes in Zimbabwe's rural areas have since
turned into toilets
and have become major sources of outbreaks of
communicable diseases.
Mrs Senzile Ndlovu (38), a mother of six who lives
in Ndikimbela Village in
Ward 22, Nkayi District, is among the villagers
who are living without
toilets.
“We are finding it difficult to do
without toilets especially us women. A
non-governmental organisation
promised to build some toilets for each
household here but the programme is
yet to start.
“We used to have a makeshift toilet but it collapsed so we
are back to using
the bush,” she said.
Mrs Nothando Dube from the
same village said most families had no toilets
after most of the toilets
were destroyed by cyclone induced floods in 2000.
She said they were as a
result using the bush to relieve themselves.
Mrs Dube said what has
compounded the situation was shortage of water for
both domestic use and for
their livestock.
“We are facing difficulties especially now when the few
boreholes have dried
up. We have serious challenges when it comes to
hygiene. We need toilets and
access to safe drinking water. People are using
the bush for toilets and
this is causing pollution of water bodies,” said
Mrs Dube.
Nkayi District Administrator, Mr Moses Mbewe, admitted that
several wards in
the district had no toilets and that people had problems
accessing clean and
safe drinking water.
“Many wards have no toilets
as many of them were destroyed by Cyclone Eline
in 2000. Most boreholes have
broken down and as such people travel long
distances to fetch water,” said
Mr Mbewe.
Unicef recently compiled a report titled A Situational Analysis
on the
Status of Women and Children's Rights in Zimbabwe 2005 to 2011 the
(SITAN).
The survey which looked at the issue of Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene
(WASH), revealed that in the last decade rural water and sanitation
development management has deteriorated and worsened by the decline of
support for health and hygiene education.
The SITAN reported that
most rural children are dying of mainly water-borne
diseases such as
cholera, bilharzia, and diarrhoea because of poor
sanitation.
The
report revealed that there is need to educate villagers on the
importance of
having toilets, especially the older generations.
It is also reported
that about 60 percent of infant mortality worldwide is
linked to poor
hygiene and water related infectious and parasitic diseases
including common
ailments such as diarrhoea, intestinal worms, trachoma,
bilharzia and
cholera mainly in the rural communities.
In his key note address at the
launch of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
programme early this year,
Unicef’s representative, Dr Peter Salama said
WASH’s objective was to
improve access to clean and safe drinking water,
sanitation and general
hygiene. He said this was in line with one of the
Millennium Development
Goal (MDGs) which is to ensure people have access to
safe clean water and
hygiene by 2015.
“Investment in safe water and appropriate sanitation is
critical to prevent
outbreaks of water-borne diseases and will assist
Zimbabwe to meet many of
the Millennium Development Goals,” said Dr
Salama.
http://nehandaradio.com
on December 19, 2012 at 5:48
pm
By Stancilus Makotore
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono’s latest unpleasant
utterances that his Bank
lacked the capacity to pay off retrenched workers
not only displays the
highest form of deceitfulness by the Bank but also
exposes Gono as a slimy
character and the RBZ as an awfully bad corporate
citizen.
Gono loves
play-acting and whenever he gets a chance, especially before
cameras and
notebooks, he likes being economical with the truth to buttress
the little
that is left of his personal credibility.
So when Gono says his Bank does
not have the capacity to pay the retrenched
workers, he is unfortunately
trying to sound like a good, caring Governor,
in the process, hoodwinking
the nation into feeling sorry for him – that he
is a good hearted Governor
ominously seized with a difficult situation.
But those of us who have
worked with him know that he only cares for
himself – which explains why he
is still holed up at the Bank when the
majority of the workers were made to
join the grimy ranks of the unemployed.
The cold and un-transparent
manner in which Gono has presided over the
retrenchment exercise clearly
demonstrates his lack of concern. If the truth
be told, the ex-workers were
heaved off the bank on the basis that they
would be paid the remainder of
their dues by end of June 2011.
Gono and his Bank disgustingly failed to
honour this agreement confirming
everyone affected’s worst worries that
these tricksters knew from the
beginning that they did not have the enough
resources to fund their purge.
The question to ask then is, when Gono
says there is no capacity to pay off
workers now, when and where did he and
his board think they were going to
‘grow” the funds when they made promises
to the odd 1000+ hapless men and
women. Isn’t this the highest form of
unethical behaviour?
When the retrenchees protested and then contested
Gono’s modus-operandi
following the collapse of the agreed payment plan and
demanded prompt
payments through the courts, Gono’s Bank through its lawyers
said under oath
the Bank would offset the worker’s dues from income derived
from the sale of
the Bank’s non-core assets. It is in the public domain
which assets the Bank
has identified for disposal.
So far, the Bank
has successfully disposed off two assets which include a
part of Homelink
and the entirety of Tractive Power Holdings. So why is the
“good” Governor
telling humankind that his Bank has no capacity to pay the
workers? What
does he want to do with the money from the disposal of the
assets? Besides,
Treasury has reliably provided him with money to fund this
exercise.
To save his skin and himself, from an inglorious exit from
the cookie-jar
the Bank has been, Gono agreed to adopt the Government of
National Unity and
World Bank’s advised reformation of the Bank. Through
this action, the
retrenchment becomes the creation of
government.
Tendai Biti, the Ministry of Finance as principals of the RBZ
along with
Gono become willing accomplices to this malice and therefore
should equally
shoulder responsibility for the exercise and should JUST
please find the
money to finance the retrenchment and bring closure to this
matter. It is
only fair.
It is such a shame that the ex-workers, whom
no one now sympathizes with,
worked their socks off under Gono’s era and
some even lost lives working
24/7 executing many of Gono’s hare-brained
projects – performed to stroke
his twisted EGO as well as to please his
incorrigible masters.
And yet nobody in government wants to come to the
party for the workers in
their moment of need, by ensuring they get their
entitlements. When Gono
says that he is troubled by the plight of the former
workers, again, he is
lying to the world – like he always does to look like
a nice guy.
The same world should know that same Gono, as the CEO of the
Bank has
refused to meet AT ALL with the workers. He has refused to discuss
their
future, to entertain their grievances or tell how he intends to pay
off what’s
left of their packages.
The ex-workers are thus very
surprised when the ‘good” Governor tells the
workers and the nation, through
newspapers that he is troubled by their
plight, when he has spurned numerous
efforts to dialogue with him. Once the
workers left the Bank on that fateful
day on January 31 2011, the “troubled”
Governor turned his bank on
them.
Another famed mistruth by the Governor is that the retrenched
workers have
been paid more than their former colleagues at the Bank
including the
Governor. Gono must not insult the workers with such unkind
remarks. In the
first instance, what is he comparing?
Comparing an
unemployed person who has been receiving his package in bits
and pieces with
someone earning a very comfortable salary every month? The
new RBZ salary
structures effected at the time of the retrenchments indicate
that the least
paid person at the Bank has to date been paid way better than
those
retrenched and Gono knows that.
If Gono was really serious about paying
off the workers, he would have done
so a long time ago, for example, by
adopting the retrenchment model used by
Fidelity Printers and Refinery where
all the workers identified for
retrenchment did leave work until they were
all fully paid – starting with
the least paid.
Again, if Gono really
cared for the workers, why can’t he convince
government or argue for a
once-off payment of the workers with the same
gusto he pushed his irrational
policies and agendas during his peak as the
commanding Governor of the
Central Bank.
In a world where overall strategic management of an
organization is
inseparable from the strategic management of stakeholder’s
issues, the way
the RBZ has handled the issue of ex-workers portray with a
shadow of doubt
bad corporate citizenry by an institution the sheer size and
social standing
of the Central Bank.
Stancilus Makotore is a former
RBZ worker seriously aggravated and perturbed
by Gono and the Bank’s
conduct.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
12.12.12
by Editor
Last Saturday the
Zimbabwe Republic Police Commissioner General, Augustine
Chihuri, castigated
MDC-T Secretary General, Tendai Biti, for pointing out
that generals should
not be partisan.
Biti had, while delivering a lecture in the UK,
complained that service
chiefs had demonstrated their brazen bias towards
Zanu (PF) once again by
attending the party’s recent annual conference in
Gweru as delegates.
Chihuri then took advantage of a police Christmas
church service in Harare
to berate Biti for saying so, and lamely tried to
justify service chiefs’
presence—which he vowed would continue in the
future—on the basis that they
had fought for Zimbabwe’s
independence.
He said: “We are part and parcel of the revolution. We
cannot be divorced
from that revolution; those who are thinking of leading
this country without
respecting those who fought for it must stop dreaming”.
He also lamely
attempted to have us believe that, as service chiefs, they
should go
wherever the President goes. The Zanu (PF) conference is a private
event and
service chiefs have no obligation to be there. They should only
attend
national events such as Heroes’ Day and Independence Day.
Of
course, most of the utterances he made are not new. We have heard these
pronouncements from service chiefs since 2002 when Vitalis Zvinavashe, then
head of the military, talked of Zimbabwean leadership being a
straight-jacket, albeit with different versions.
But Chihuri, just
like the other generals, ought to be disabused of this
very wrong way of
reasoning things out. Nobody has said Chihuri or any other
service chief
should not defend the revolution. What is wrong is the
platform they are
using to do it.
As Biti says, they are public servants, and Zimbabwean
law makes it criminal
for them to be engaged in active politics, or, worse
still, to openly back
one party. As we move towards the next election, this
is very important.
Zimbabweans have had enough of the police chief’s
selective application of
the law.
Chihuri and his colleagues ought to
be told in no uncertain terms that
respect for the liberation struggle is
not their preserve. They should avoid
talking as though they are the only
ones who contributed towards freeing
Zimbabwe.
We are not a
mouthpiece of any political party, and do not intend to become
one. However,
just what is it that makes the likes of Chihuri think that if
people vote
for any party other than Zanu (PF), they are selling away the
country? Who
are they to decide what the people of Zimbabwe should do or not
do? If they
want to be Zanu (PF) activists, people like Chihuri should just
quit their
jobs and apply to become full-time political commissars. We
challenge them
to do that and see if anyone will complain.
In this issue we highlight
yet another incident of the ZRP’s acute bias. In
Masvingo, the MDC-T was
recently denied permission to hold a rally on the
basis that they had not
applied properly, yet Zanu (PF) held a rally without
applying. There are
several other cases whereby Zanu (PF)’s opponents are
denied freedom of
association and assembly yet Chihuri’s party enjoys that
without
restraint.
Zimbabwe is not a one-party state, but even if it was, the
office of the
Commissioner General should be a neutral one.
The solution to corruption and inefficiency is institutionalised accountability and transparency, not dictatorial centralisation. Make the councils publish every last detail of all municipal transactions online so we, the ordinary citizens, can carry out our own audits, using the power of crowd-sourcing to expose corruption. Backed by an independent media, we have the capacity to examine council business and expose questionable activities. For example, let us have the full details of what the City of Harare has spent on water chemicals, who they have purchased these from, and who are the directors and owners of the companies who supplied the chemicals. Harare is our city, these are our elected officials and our employees so why should we not be fully informed? Any bureaucrat or politician opposing such a suggestion obviously has something to hide or seeks to perpetuate the system of opacity and corruption.
However there is a bigger question that the Minister’s dictat raises - has he forgotten which party he belongs to when he acts this way? Does he remember the meanings of “movement” or “democratic” or “change”? “Movement” in its political sense implies a gathering of many people of differing opinions for the purpose of achieving specific goals, “Democratic” means a process of involvement of many people in political decision making – the exact opposite of autocratic. And, of course, “Change” means doing things differently from the past.
Nothing that we have seen in the past 3 or 4 years leads one to believe that any of these qualities are being upheld by the MDC-T. From the imposition of an unelected Mayor in Harare (and one who by his own admission was only approached by the party on the morning of his swearing-in and who belongs to no political party) thereby over-ruling the democratic process, to the arrogance of some councillors who, having being elected, now think they are beyond accountability, one may be forgiven for assuming that we were conned by those in democratic sheep's clothing who were actually wolves wanting their piece of the pie. The ordinary members of the MDC-T should be on their guard against the influence of our insidious political culture on their party: patronage, patriarchy, personality cultism, violence and intolerance should be opposed if they wish to avoid ending up becoming ZANU-Lite.
Yours
Mike Davies
(Former Chair, CHRA)
"Biti urged to implement recommendations on procurement board"
Chronicle, 19 August 2012
"Tender boards directive sparks uproar" Standard 16 December 2012