News from Zimbabwe

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Stock exchange goes realtime

HARARE – The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has launched an electronic trading board, becoming the third African country to move from a manual system and paving the way for investors to access realtime data.
Harare joins Johannesburg and Cairo as the only African countries to offer such a facility, which will also supply data from the Zambian and Malawian bourses.
The Zimbabwe bourse, the second largest in southern Africa after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, boasts 80 counters and has a market capitalisation of around $6 billion. – Staff reporter


Prospects grim – IMF

JOHANNESBURG – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says prospects for economic recovery in crisis-hit Zimbabwe are “grim” following last month’s surge in the annual inflation rate to 1 204.6 percent, the highest in the world.
Addressing the media at the weekend, IMF’s deputy director in the Africa Department, Siddharth Tiwari, said the situation could only be rectified if the government adopted sound economic policies.
“The country is in a difficult situation and has faced six years of continuous output decline, rising prices, increasing poverty and a decrease in public services ... it’s a tragic situation, frankly, and the prospects are grim," said Tiwari.
“There is substantial goodwill on the part of the international community to help Zimbabwe , but the first step has to be taken by the authorities,” he added. -
ZimOnline


Illegal occupation affects brickmakers

HARARE – Illegal land occupation currently besieging Willdale Farm near the Harare has seen a drastic reduction in brick production, according to the company’s audited financial statement.
Willdale is the latest company to record reduced production at their farms caused by pro-government land invaders sometimes at the instigation of ruling party officials.
“However, we would like to thank the authorities for having removed squatters who were occupying Star Village, the company township,” the statement adds.
The company has also suffered because of inferior products that are flooding the Zimbabwean market – “the use of inferior bricks on the market is a cause for concern for future housing standards in the country… the regulatory authorities have allowed the use of farm bricks in this country,” says the report.
Willdale recorded $48,8 billion turnover up from $13,3 billion last year – a 267 per cent increase, but largely inflationary as volumes only increased by 15 per cent. Due to “difficult trading circumstances” no dividend was declared for 2005. - CAJ News


Increase in violence and abuse - ZHRF

HARARE – Politically motivated violence and human rights abuses are on the increase in Zimbabwe, with for example 68 cases of illegal use of torture recorded last July compared to only one case the previous month, according to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum (ZHRF).
The Forum’s latest report blames most cases of politically motivated torture and assault on state security agents and called on the government to ensure its agents upheld international and local laws forbidding torture and inhuman treatment of people.
“The Forum further urges the responsible authorities to abide by the prohibitions of torture as espoused in the United Nations convention against torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment,” says the report.
Ironically, the call for an end torture of opponents comes amid reports that about 15 labour leaders arrested by the police for organising worker protests last Wednesday were all in critical condition after they were severely assaulted and tortured by the police.
The ZHRF report cites several examples of police and army brutality against opponents of President Robert Mugabe’s government.
In one such case on July 9, 2006, the youth chairman of the MDC in Chitungwiza town was abducted by eight men suspected to be Zimbabwe army soldiers who took him to an army camp along the highway from Chitungwiza to Harare and where they severely assaulted and tortured him, the report says.
The report also cited the arrest and subsequent assault of 128 activists of the National Constitutional Assembly for holding demonstrations in Harare demanding a new and democratic constitution in Zimbabwe.
Neither Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi nor Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa were immediately available to respond to the ZHRF report. However, the government has in the past denied that security forces target its political opponents for abuse and torture. - ZimOnline


Girl Child Network accuses Rusere

MASVINGO – A local child rights group has accused a junior Zimbabwean government minister of sexually abusing a child parliamentarian and covering up the crime by bribing the parents in an out of court settlement.
The Girl Child Network, which champions the rights of the girl child, accused Tinos Rusere, 61, of impregnating the former child parliamentarian for Zaka East, Petronella Chimbera.
Chimbera, who was still in her teens at the time of the offence about two years ago, has since given birth to a baby sired by the deputy minister who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Zaka East constituency.
A report compiled by the Network in February this year but only made available to ZimOnline this week, says Rusere impregnated the minor between 2003 and 2004.
Rusere is also accused of using his immense influence in offering the girl’s parents a farm under the government’s controversial land policies.
The report reads in part: “It is assumed that the MP got into an out of court settlement with the girl and her family. The family was allegedly allocated a farm... It is against this background that the GCN is instituting investigations against the MP with the view to rescue the abused child.”
Contacted for comment, Rusere flatly rejected the allegations.“I am not aware of such a thing. What I only know is that I worked with all child parliamentarians nicely in my area. Even if that might sound true can you not see that it has been overtaken by events?” said Rusere. - ZimOnline