tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273432972024-02-08T12:25:27.226+02:00Aluta continua...Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1165431940749650882006-12-06T20:53:00.000+02:002006-12-06T21:05:41.690+02:00We're making Vic Falls better says Legacy07 December 2006<br /><br />THE environment may be better off with the 220-hectare Mosi oa Tunya Hotel and Country Club golf development in the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site, says Legacy chief executive, Bart Dorrenstein. ( Tel: +27 11 806-1200 Fax: +27 11 234-1828 E-mail: cklostermann@legacyhotels.co.za)<br /><br />The site is presently used by picnickers and is being damaged through the indiscriminate cutting of trees, as well as the increased population of elephant crossing the river from Zimbabwe, Dorrenstein told <a href="http://www.travelinfo.co.za/defaulttnn.asp?userid=54126&newsid=30134">Travel News Now</a> recently.<br /><br />According to the hotel group, bird life, flora and fauna on the site will be enhanced by the development, and game, once evident in the park, will be reintroduced. "These are all pluses for the area and environment," said Dorrenstein, who blames local stakeholders with their "own agenda or conflicting interests" for fanning the flames of outrage around the development.<br /><br />The real issue, says Dorrenstein, is whether the environment on the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls will be better or worse off with the development. Legacy, he says, believes the development could be a model for others to follow, "one which sets the standard for how man, nature and wildlife can live together."<br /><br />Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the development is growing, with international and local mainstream media having added their voices to the outrage. But, as Legacy points out, this is not the first tourism development to have been built in the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site. "We are surprised to note that none of the other developments on the Zambian side seem to have been attracting any of the attention ours has," says Dorrenstein.<br /><br />Ian Manning, steering committee member of the Natural Resources Consultative Forum of Zambia, says there was similar controversy around these developments, including the Sun International site. "Zambia has always suffered from a weak environmental lobby. Efforts were made to fight the Sun International development at the time, but the development was pushed through by the Zambian Vice President," says Manning.<br /><br />Natalia Thomson<br />(nataliat@nowmedia.co.za)Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1165421971606505782006-12-06T18:11:00.000+02:002006-12-06T18:19:32.420+02:00Well, so what : Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls could go on UN worry list...<div class="artTitle"><br /></div>According to an article just in from Reuters "Zimbabwe's premier tourist destination, Victoria Falls, could be listed as an endangered world heritage site by UNESCO because it is not being properly managed, official media reported on Wednesday."<br /><br />Gosh.<br /><br />"Even the attraction of the Victoria Falls has failed to reverse the fortunes of a tourism industry hit hard by an unprecedented economic crisis largely blamed on President Robert Mugabe's government's seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.<br /><br />Western visitors, who have traditionally topped arrival numbers, have shunned the southern African state mostly over safety fears following the often violent land grabs.<br /><br />Earnings from the industry plunged by more than 70 percent to $98 million last year from $340 million in 1999, just before the land reforms started."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Gosh.</span>Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1165405595592087912006-12-06T13:36:00.000+02:002006-12-06T13:46:35.826+02:00Victoria Falls & Zambezi River developments should be halted!The difference between ownership and responsibility is one that few seem to grasp in today’s world of quarterly stock price reviews, Moore’s Law and Global Warming.<br /><br />Ownership implies responsibility. Responsibility implies much more than simple ownership.<br /><br />There have been conflicting efforts throughout the years to protect the environment. Jack Curtis, of Kasaba Bay fame, built the paths through the rain forest, with much regret, in order to protect the plants on the edges of the muddy paths.<br /><br />I remember the outcry when, in contravention of Township regulations, the Casino Hotel went above tree level in height. Of course, that was before the blogosphere and instant global outrage. The casino stayed up.<br /><br />Then the Sheraton, (was it?) ruined the Zambian skyline.<br /><br />Then on a sacred hill overlooking the wide, lazy stretch of the Zambezi above the Falls, the Elephant Hills Hotel was i) built; ii) torn down; iii) rebuilt; iv) hit by a Sam 7 heat seeking missile; v) rebuilt; and vi) nearly burnt down again. And of course vii) rebuilt again. You’d think we’d learn.<br /><br />In the meantime, Gary Player’s Golf Course gave elephant and hippo, buck and warthog an upmarket open zoo to wander through. Hardly natural, but the animals coped with change in the environment.<br /><br />As they coped with Bungy jumpers, canoe safari’s, white water rafters, helicopters and booze cruises. They even occasionally got in a bite in revenge.<br /><br />But let’s get real about the situation at the Falls. The animals are already too enclosed. We need to improve land planning, increase profits and give back to the animal’s land that is under used.<br /><br />Move people from the numerous poverty-stricken villages that surround the area into the urban space and build an infrastructure designed to repair the damage with tree planting, intensive agriculture and other suitable sustainable activities.<br /><br />Fence off the suburbs and restrict travel at night.<br /><br />Hah, fat chance,<br /><br />Changes coming make our stewardship more difficult. And our record so far with the Falls environment has been, lets face it, pretty appalling.<br /><br />So what is to be done?<br /><br />· ALL development should be stopped.<br />· Hotel and tourism prices should be doubled, tripled and more!<br />· Quality in all services should be improved until visitors get value for money.<br /><br />Hah. Even fatter chance!<br /><br />Too simple? One person who thought a great deal about the future of tourism in Africa was the late, great, much missed Dave Kauffman of Bulawayo. He came up with two visions, it must have been 20 years ago.<br /><br />His one idea was to only let into Zimbabwe very rich people and backpackers. No tours, no groups, only small parties. But why backpackers? Because they have a light footprint and will come back as very rich people.<br /><br />His other idea to save the true heart of Africa was to provide people who now couldn’t afford the outrageously expensive visit with a virtual reality experience that would make the environment and grandeur of the “Smoke that thunders” available and real to everyone.<br /><br />Bit ahead of his time, but now the time is here, I hope the reality is still worth saving.<br /><br />Check out <a href="http://victoriafallsheritage.blogspot.com/2006/12/kk-advises-government-on-legacy.html">http://victoriafallsheritage.blogspot.com/2006/12/kk-advises-government-on-legacy.html</a> for something to do to help.<br /><br />And as Nick Drake said, “if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1164977125631896832006-12-01T14:42:00.000+02:002006-12-01T14:45:26.116+02:00Freedom In Our Lifetime ~ Zimbabwe Solidarity Festival, Joburg, 9 DecUhuru Network Presents<br /><br />THE FREEDOM IN OUR LIFETIME FESTIVAL ~ A RESISTANCE MUSIC FESTIVAL IN SOLIDARITY WITH ZIMBABWE<br /><br />XARRA BOOKSHOP QUAD, NEWTOWN, JO'BURG<br />SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER<br />12 MIDDAY - 7PM<br /><br />FEATURING:<br />- FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN (HIP HOP - SA)<br />- COMRADE FATSO & CHABVONDOKA (HIP HOP-POETRY-CHIMURENGA FUSION - ZIMBABWE)<br />- SOUNDS OF EDUTAINMENT (POETRY - SA)<br />- TOYI TOYI ARTS KOLLEKTIVE (HIP HOP - ZIMBABWE)<br />- JOSH MECK & MAONERO (AFRO-JAZZ - ZIMBABWE)<br /><br />STALLS BY ZIMBABWEAN ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS ~ ARTS AND CRAFTS ~ COLD BEER<br /><br />TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR<br /><br />INFO: UHURU_NETWORK@HOTMAIL.COM<br /><br />DON'T MISS THIS EXPLOSIVE FESTIVAL OF THE MOST REBELLIOUS TALENT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE LIMPOPO!<br /><br />FREEDOM! ~ NKULULEKO! ~ UHURU! ~ RUSUNUNGUKO!<br /><br />............................................................................................<br /><br />ABOUT THE FREEDOM IN OUR LIFETIME FESTIVAL<br />The Freedom In Our Lifetime Festival aims to raise awareness on the oppression faced by Zimbabwean people today. We hope the festival can unite the Zimbabwean Diaspora and South Africans in coming up with creative solutions for freedom in Zimbabwe. Music is the key as we bring together rising, outspoken artists from both countries. Artists whose message and music are both rebellious and new, truthful and innovative.<br /><br />Fire on the Mountain are one of South Africa's most respected grassroots hip hop movements, uniting dozens of MCs across the country. Samm Farai Monro, better known as Comrade Fatso, is amongst Zimbabwe's top resistance poets<br />mixing poetry, hip hop and chimurenga to create a funky, anarchic afro-beat sound with his band Chabvondoka. Sounds of Edutainment are a diverse movement of poets that bring together voice and percussion in a powerful way. Like Comrade Fatso the Toyi Toyi Arts Kollektive are also part of the Uhuru Network and are Zimbabwe's fastest rising Shona-language hip hop group as they merge tradiion and street culture. Josh Meck and Maonero are one of the freshest jazz groups in the Harare jazz scene, combining beautiful melodies and deep afro-jazz basslines. <br /><br />ABOUT THE UHURU NETWORK<br />The Uhuru Network is a network of Zimbabwean community youth struggling for social justice. Based in Harare's townships the network uses creative ways of mobilising ghetto youth to fight for their rights, ways ranging from<br />radical arts performances to community medai intiatives, from street clean-ups to subversive soccer battles. Uhuru has recently infected Jo'burg where it now has an Uhuru Solidarity Desk which distributes democracy material and raises awareness about the Zimbabwean struggle. The Freedom In Our Lifetime Festival is one such intiative.Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1164347754896707782006-11-24T07:52:00.000+02:002006-11-24T07:55:55.203+02:00SW Radio Africa is International Radio Station of the Year.SW Radio Africa has won the award for International Radio Station of the Year from the AIB, the Association for International Broadcasting. Other winners included the BBC World Service.<br /><br />Mandisa Mundawarara was highly commended in the award category, International Radio Presenter of the Year.<br /><br />These non commercial awards offer peer review of output, personalities and technology - they are the only awards that celebrate excellence in international cross-border broadcasting. The 2006 awards have been judged by an international panel of broadcasting experts, including professional TV and radio critics from leading newspapers.<br /><br />See links:<br /><br />http://www.aib.org.uk/<br /><br />http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/221106/bbc_and_sky_win_broadcast_awardsTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163569476183125262006-11-15T07:44:00.000+02:002007-01-04T03:39:59.200+02:00Who is marching from Norwood?ANGRY ABOUT CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA<br /><br />Hi all South Africans<br /><br />My name is Lorraine, In April 2006 one of my best friends Richard Bloom and his best friend Brett Goldin were murdered in Cape Town. As a South African I have decided to make a difference and March to give a memorandum to our president. Please help me to make this a success. If we all don’t stand together, nothing will ever be done. March with me – let’s be seen and heard<br /><br />70 people are murdered in South Africa every day. This number excludes the other evils of crime such as rape, robbery and hijacking.<br /><br />South Africa is at war. Crime is out of control, Now, more than ever before in our history, the people of South Africa need to stop doing nothing. We need to prevent the evil of crime from spreading any further.<br /><br />Do you feel safe in your own home? Is your family safe? Have you personally experienced the evil of crime in South Africa? Are you satisfied that your President cares about your safety and well-being? Are you angry about crime?<br /> <br /><br />On 24th November 2006, at 10.30 am the people of South Africa will come together to say to our President that we are angry about crime and we want action. No more talking, no more denial, we want action and we want it now.<br /><br />If you believe in South Africa and want to live a long and happy life in this beautiful country of ours, take time out for yourself and the ones you love and let us march together from Wits University Empire Road entrance and gather outside the SABC to deliver a message to our President that all is not okay. We are angry about crime and demand action now. <br /><br />PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY .<br /><br />March on the 24th NOVEMBER 2006 at 11.00pm<br /><br />Bring lots of water and sun block<br /><br />No litteringTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163274183597532222006-11-11T21:40:00.000+02:002006-11-11T21:43:04.216+02:00ZIMBABWE: Doctors protest condition of health systemBULAWAYO, 10 November (PLUSNEWS) - Doctors in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, have gone on strike to protest against deteriorating health services characterised by widespread shortages of drugs, food and equipment.<br /><br />The stayaway, which started on Monday, is expected to spread to other parts of the country during the course of the week.<br /><br />"It has become very difficult to work with basically nothing to use in all departments; it is disappointing to watch patients deteriorating in a hospital, as no help can be given to them," medical practitioners at the city's two main referral centres, Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals, said in a statement.<br /><br />"Doctors took an oath to save lives, and do not want to continue lying to patients that they can do something for them when they know very well there is nothing they can do, as the hospitals can no longer function."<br /><br />The striking doctors said there was virtually nothing to administer to patients at the two hospitals, and the situation was the same in government-owned health institutions across the country.<br /><br />Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, an NGO, indicated in a recent statement that the country's health facilities had "in fact become death traps, as patients continue to die unnecessarily due to drug shortages." In some instances hospitals had no running water.<br /><br />Officials have acknowledged shortages of key drugs in the recent past.<br /><br />The health delivery system has virtually collapsed in the last seven years due to lack of foreign exchange to purchase medical requirements and a shortage of qualified personnel, who have fled low pay and poor working conditions for greener pastures in other countries.<br /><br />Zimbabwe is going through a severe economic crisis, with serious fuel and food shortages brought on by recurring droughts and the government's fast-track land redistribution programme, which have disrupted agricultural production and slashed export earnings.<br /><br />Doctors in the Bulawayo hospitals were also concerned about the quality and quantity of food being given to patients, and claimed that malnutrition was rampant in government health institutions. At least five patients at the Ingutsheni Hospital for the mentally challenged in Bulawayo died last month after allegedly being diagnosed with malnutrition.<br /><br />The Zimbabwean deputy health minister, Edwin Muguti, confirmed the five deaths at the hospital, but said the authorities had yet to establish the cause.<br /><br />"There is basically no food to feed the sick, yet it is only natural that patients need to eat for their conditions to improve. This is worrying us so much, and we demand that government sets its priorities right and starts working towards rebuilding the health sector," the doctors said.<br /><br />There was no comment from the Zimbabwe Doctors Association, which officially represents the country's medical practitioners.<br /><br />nn/jk/he/oaTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139975487827292006-11-10T08:25:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:26:15.636+02:00At large with John Makumbe: ALOOTER CONTINUAhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom<br /><br />John Makumbe<br /><br />‘Matsotsi haagerani (Thieves look after each other)’<br /><br />Media reports on the recent, and not so recent, looting of Zisco finances by Zanu (PF) officials confirm what most Zimbabweans have long suspected - that the level of asset stripping taking place under Robert Mugabe’s watch has risen to astronomical proportions. It is unfortunate, however, that he sits there like a zombie, incapable of stopping the rot, let alone arresting and prosecuting any of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. In the past, government and ruling party officials used to be so frightened of what Mugabe would say that they would be panic-stricken whenever they did something that the “dear leader” disapproved of. Today, they carry on looting regardless of his remonstrations and much fist-shaking from the spent force that is Mugabe.<br /><br />But there have to be good reasons for this reckless disregard for presidential authority by Mugabe’s minions as demonstrated through the Zisco stories. It is possible that the looters are aware that Mugabe has become so impotent that his bark is much worse than his bite. He threatens what he has neither capacity nor interest to undertake. It is therefore quite safe just to ignore him and carry on looting. After setting up the much-touted Anti-Corruption Commission, Mugabe and Zanu (PF) proceeded to uproot the commission’s teeth, thereby making it harmless to the looters.<br /><br />A second possible reason for Mugabe’s impotence may be that he himself has long ceased to be “holier than thou”, and has small and big “sins” that he has committed as well. Some of his underlings are aware of these, and will not hesitate to disclose them should they be threatened by the old man. We have not forgotten that some time last year Mugabe threatened senior Zanu (PF) and government officials who had acquired more than one farm from the grand invasion with punishment. Recently, it has been disclosed that there are still numerous such cases, and none of them has been punished. It is possible that after making the threat, Mugabe, given his age, went to sleep on the job and forgot all about the threat. But it is equally possible that he himself has more than one farm and cannot challenge fellow looters in this regard.<br /><br />Was it only last year that Mugabe was ranting and raving about lacklustre performance by some of his ministerial “wives”? The media then speculated that a cabinet reshuffle was imminent. Twelve moons down the road, nothing has happened. Good old Joseph Made, minister of Agriculture, has sweated himself sick after Mugabe specifically mentioned his ministry as a non-performer. I shudder to think of how much he may have spent on traditional healers to safeguard his position. The “muti” (magic) seems to be working; Mugabe has forgotten all about the matter.<br /><br />But back to the Zisco looters, they seem to have used every trick in the book to illegally get at the parastatal’s resources. According to the story published in The Zimbabwe Independent (3-9 Nov. 2006), they used such corrupt methods as claiming large unaccounted for allowances, dubious contracts, supplies over-pricing rip-offs, non-competitive procurement procedures, as well as unwarranted sitting fees for managers, and fees for public relations campaigns. The list could easily be endless. <br /><br />Corruption demands that its perpetrators be highly innovative, and this comes easily to an evil mind. Efforts are underway to suppress the truth from being exposed. It is feared that the Zisco scandal could scare away foreign and local investors. That is actually ridiculous since there are none on the horizon given Zimbabwe’s continued deterioration as an investment destination. Will anyone be arrested and prosecuted for this corruption? I have my doubts. Matsotsi haagerani (Thieves look after each other).Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139855238021602006-11-10T08:22:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:24:15.590+02:00More new cars for senior officershttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />HARARE - President Robert Mugabe, already being blamed for the country's seven-year economic rot, has once again broken the bank by pampering top police and army officers with new Mazda vehicles, while allowing them to buy at giveaway prices the Peugeot 306 and Nissan Almeras his government bought for them last year.<br />The influential police officers, ranking assistant commissioners and army lieutenants, were sold the 306s and Almeras at $30 000 each, while they were promised they could take the new vehicles home when they retire.<br />Sources from within the police and army this week told The Zimbabwean that the officers received more that 80 new Mazda 3 vehicles and Peugeot 406 vehicles, costing over US$1,6 million.<br />"They received the new cars in mid-October and were sold the ones they have been using at the end of the month. Most of them have ceded the old cars to their wives, and now drive around in the new vehicles. They have also been promised to take home the new vehicles in the event that they want to retire," said a police source.<br />Police national spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, himself a beneficiary of Mugabe's generosity, refused to comment on the issue saying it had nothing to do with the press.<br />"I have nothing to tell you on that because it is an internal police matter. Where is your interest coming from?" he said before switching off his mobile phone.<br />However, Home Affairs Minister, Kembo Mohadi, in charge of police and his defence counterpart, Sydney Sekeramayi, who is overall in charge of the Defence Forces, both admitted the purchases, which they said were part of the benefits of the senior security officers.<br />"We are not the first ones to do this. Every other country is doing it, including your own foreign masters that make you turn against your country. Why is it an issue when it is done by Zimbabwe? Go to Britain and you will see things are not different there," said Sekeramayi.<br />However, government critics have observed this as another attempt by Mugabe to retain loyalty among the influential chefs in the uniformed forces - on whom he is dependent for protection from mass uprisings by a population in crisis since the government's watershed decision in 2000 to expropriate white owned farms for redistribution to political cronies. – Own correspondentTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139740993167712006-11-10T08:21:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:22:21.656+02:00UK supports ZCTU - Triesmanhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />LONDON - The British government is becoming increasingly worried about European Union solidarity on the Zimbabwe issue according to Lord Triesman, Minister for Africa. He was speaking at a meeting in London arranged by ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa, the successor to the Anti-Apartheid Movement) in support of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). <br />The meeting was attended by Lovemore Matombo, one of the ZCTU leaders who was beaten up with his colleagues by Zanu (PF) thugs after their recent pro-democracy protest. Also attending was Kate Hoey, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, who was warmly praised for her work by the Minister.<br />Lord Triesman said targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his supporters must be maintained, yet there were signs of wavering from France and Portugal. President Chirac of France wanted to host a conference for African leaders, including Mugabe, in defiance of the EU’s policy. The French were supported in this by Portugal, which takes over the EU Presidency in July next year and wants to host a meeting with the African Union. <br />Lord Triesman said the EU sanctions were due to be renewed in February and trade unions and others should press for them to be continued.<br />In a remarkably outspoken speech, he said that Zimbabwe was a failing state which faced all its problems with brutal suppression.<br />He said the UK Government unequivocally supported the ZCTU and the Zimbabwe Ambassador had been called in to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and asked to account for his government’s actions.<br />South Africa had genuine dilemmas about the situation in Zimbabwe but there were signs of increased willingness by Pretoria to confront the issue. It was crucial, he said, to continue to apply pressure on South Africa.<br />Lord Triesman said his government couldn’t stand aside while Zimbabweans starved and had spent £38 million on food aid for Zimbabwe in the last financial year. It was also pressing the UN to engage the Zimbabwe issue as well as putting pressure on other African governments. – Zim VigilTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139662843009172006-11-10T08:20:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:21:02.963+02:00Britain ready to help, but only if property rights respectedhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />BY GIFT PHIRI <br /><br />HARARE - Britain is ready to help fund an equitable land reform programme in Zimbabwe, but only once President Robert Mugabe stops using arbitrary presidential powers to ride roughshod over Parliamentary laws protecting individual property rights, Britain’s ambassador to Zimbabwe has said.<br />“The UK remains a strong advocate of land reform and has, since 1980, provided 44 million Pounds for land reform, and 500 million Pounds in bilateral support – more than any other donor – for development in Zimbabwe,” British envoy Andrew Pocock said in a statement. <br />“The UK has honoured its commitments, from Lancaster House onwards, and remains willing to contribute to an equitable land reform programme. Its objections are to the arbitrary seizure of property, the use of that property as a means of political patronage rather than to benefit the needy, the use of violence; and the destruction of Zimbabwe’s agricultural productivity – and therefore its economy – in the interests of the few and at the cost of the many.”<br />Pocock’s comments came amid a flurry of “disingenuous” reports in the official media rallying behind President Mugabe, calling for international funding for the agrarian reform to end the country’s escalating crisis. <br />State security minister responsible for land reform Didymus Mutasa told the official media weekend that Western governments should make good on their promise at a 1998 donor conference to fund the redistribution of farm lands mainly owned by whites. <br />“British colonial settlers took the land by force, and black Zimbabweans are entitled to reclaim their property by any means. If Britain wants its white children to be compensated for their loss, Britain must pay,” Mutasa said. <br />Pocock said Britain had never opposed land resettlement and money was available for the agrarian reform but that the settlement scheme must be “transparent, just and fair”. He said between 1980 and 1985, the UK provided £47 million for land reform: £20 million as a Specific Land Resettlement Grant and £27 million in the form of budgetary support to help meet the Zimbabwe government’s contribution to the programme. By 1988, the Land Resettlement Grant had been substantively spent.<br />“But what happened from 2000 triggered so much destruction – of agricultural productivity, asset values, employment, foreign exchange earnings – and had so many consequences – social dislocation, food insecurity, scarcity, inflation – that it is important to get the history right,” said Pocock.<br />Mutasa said the violent invasions of white owned farms were just the “symptom” of the problem. The real cause is British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s refusal to accept the solemn commitment to pay for land made by his Tory predecessors, Mutasa claimed. <br />He said all other issues - such as government corruption, the allocation of land to cronies, violence on the farms, democracy and the systematic intimidation of the opposition - are internal Zimbabwean matters to be solved by Zimbabweans. <br />Pocock said: “If we are to build bridges, we need to begin laying stable foundations. We need a common analysis of the real causes of Zimbabwe’s difficulties. These do not include EU economic sanctions – there are none, nor, after a record rainy season, drought. We are ready to talk sensibly. We are ready to do more than this, to drill through the rhetoric to the bedrock reality. But we need evidence of serious intent and capacity to contemplate and deliver change.”<br />Mutasa said Britain the coloniser couldn’t teach democracy to the colonized. <br />But in Zimbabwe the obsession with colonialism is wearing very thin, especially among the growing number of young urban Zimbabweans who have known no other leader but President Mugabe. <br />Political analysts said the majority of Zimbabweans were no longer interested in the history of colonialism, but in their future in an independent Zimbabwe. <br />They said Mugabe was not concerned in solving the land question, but was more interested in stoking the fires of land grievances and conflict with Britain.Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139556510451262006-11-10T08:18:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:19:17.110+02:00Residents need to understand their role in a strugglehttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />RESIDENTS have a lot of work to do before they can become the key factor in how Central Government treats local governance. The absence of key provisions in the Urban Councils’ Act (Chapter 29:15) that deals directly with residents’ participation must be viewed as opportunities for greater involvement by the grassroots.<br />Presently, residents are only being brought in to participate in areas of local governance through voting for their respective councillors and mayors. Annual city budgets are drawn up by manipulative municipal departments, only eager to increase revenue that the respective local authority can generate through levying residents. The residents’ interests are only treated as minor through legislative provisions that requires the budget to be advertised and objections lodged.<br />This presents an opportunity for residents’ groupings like the Combined Harare Residents’ Association (CHRA), the Bulawayo Residents’ Association (BURA), the Mutare Residents Association (MURA) and all other progressive residents’ bodies to set a clear agenda of dealing with such retrogressive provisions of the Act that gives too many powers to ministers like Ignatius Chombo.<br />The agenda for collective resistance must be defined from the experiences of residents in their daily lives. Residents understand first-hand what it means to go for days without water, they appreciate the meaning of an inflated bill and they can tell you without fear what they went through during the satanic Operation Murambatsvina, beginning 18 May 2005.<br />At a public meeting held in Mbare on October 19 and 02 November 2006, the residents categorically denounced Zanu PF for being a bully in their lives. They fail to access the market stalls because the Zanu PF structures think it is wrong for an opposition activist to make money.<br />The myths of a Zanu PF backlash were demystified. Residents felt encouraged to discuss how best to deal with a vindictive ruling party. For this to occur, an enabling environment has been created. Mbare residents have for long been subjected to intense intimidation, harassment, illegal detentions and arrests. This has been at the instigation of the Chipangano clique in Zanu PF, collaborating with some illiterate policemen.<br />More residents are beginning to open their mouths to castigate the government for its abuse of the local governance system. They want to know why their bills are inconsistent, why Minister Chombo does not want to hold elections in Harare, and also why the commissions in the capital is not fired yet it has failed to deliver on water and service delivery. <br />Residents of Dzivarasekwa are a clear example of an awakening CHRA membership that will no longer let Zanu PF thugs, masquerading as policemen to bully them and steal their wares. We received a sad report that six armed ‘policemen’ pounced on vendors and fled with their wares after firing gunshots in the air, a clear testimony of the lawlessness that abound in Zimbabwe.<br />CHRA’s thrust has been to have its values and vision clearly understood by the individual member to the Association’s leadership. Every person who drives the CHRA agenda must understand the reasons for engaging in any of our actions from street action, petitions to legal battles.<br />We do not want a situation where people engaged in an action do not know why they have signed a petition, why they are on the streets or why CHRA takes matters to the court. <br />By Precious Shumba, Information OfficerTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139464133436092006-11-10T08:17:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:17:44.190+02:00Logistics, corruption could hamper 99 year lease schemehttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />HARARE – In a bid to boost food production, the Zimbabwean government will give 99-year leases to the first batch of resettled black commercial farmers this week.<br />Ngoni Masoka, permanent secretary in the ministry of lands, said in a statement that the leases would demonstrate the government's commitment to empowering black farmers who had benefited from the government's controversial fast-track land reform programme.<br />The leases will provide resettled commercial farmers with security of tenure, which could serve as collateral for loans to procure inputs. They have cited their inability to raise money and uncertainty about their future as reasons for the drop in production.<br />The leases will be issued to farmers who have been on their plots for at least three years, and have been vetted by the National Land Board for competence and commitment to farming.<br />Land expert and former head of the technical unit of the presidential land review committee Sam Moyo said the 99-year leases would increase the confidence of farmers. "Generally, many farmers falling under the A2 [commercial] scheme perceive having leases as a reason for them to feel more secure and, hopefully, to increase production."<br />However, the group of beneficiaries could be small. "Given that there is a need to survey the farms, the numbers of farmers might not be large, since the capacity to survey the land seems limited. I doubt if the figure will go beyond 1,000." Moyo added that the vetting process by the land board, while desirable, "might tend to be cumbersome".<br />He said there was also concern that influential people could take advantage of their positions to get the leases ahead of the intended beneficiaries. At the height of the fast-track programme, many top politicians were accused of grabbing multiple farms in violation of the land policy, which stipulated that a person was entitled to only one farm.<br />Since the land would remain state property, there was a need for the government to clarify whether farmers could use their farms as collateral, said Moyo. "It is not yet clear how the government will deal with cases whereby a farmer goes to borrow from a bank and defaults: will the bank be able to repossess the farm and sell it? Because for as long as the plots remain state land, the government would still be involved." - IRINTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139404651152412006-11-10T08:15:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:16:45.046+02:00Enormous cost of bearer cheques shocks MPshttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />HARARE - Deputy Finance minister David Chapfika has been forced by Parliament to defend government’s decision to blow Z$8,6 billion (revalued) printing bearer cheques that have dismally failed to tame Zimbabwe’s rampaging hyperinflation.<br />Chapfika was challenged by Mberengwa West MP, Joram Gumbo to respond to opposition allegations that government had become the laughing stock for its profligacy in printing lower denomination bearer cheques in the vain hope that it could slow inflation.<br />Responding during a question and answer session in Parliament, Chapfika said the central bank blew $8,6 billion during the one-month countrywide operation. <br />“The operation cost $8,6 billion revalued, $4,6 billion of which was for capital expenditure and $ 4billion for printing of new bearer cheques and other operational expenses,” Chapfika said.<br />Opposition MPs said they were horrified at the cost of the operation and the decision to print a 1cent bearer cheque.<br />Chapfika told Parliament that as at August 22, 2006, which was the cut off date for the changeover, at least $35,1 billion had been collected from the public while at least $10,6 billion worth of old bearer cheques could not accounted for from various government ministries and departments.<br />There were howls of protest when Chapfika told the House that the central bank had subsequently written off that amount from its books, adding it had the technical effect of writing off costs incurred during the operation.<br />He also stated that 304 vehicles had been purchased for the operation.<br />The currency reforms saw the central bank lopping off three zeroes from the local unit to accommodate IT systems that had breached their digital handling capacity ceiling. People were given three weeks to swap their money to the new cheques and no one was allowed to carry more than $100,000 in cash in the course of doing so. Police set up roadblocks and literally seized anything over that amount - no receipts given. – Own correspondentTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139337951483782006-11-10T08:14:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:15:38.006+02:00Detention Watch from Zimbabwe Associationhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />LONDON - Welcome news received last Saturday is that the Court of Appeal has granted AA permission to appeal. The court directed that the appeal should be heard "if possible this term [which ends on 19 December]". The suspension on forced returns will continue until the outcome of AA's appeal is known. For those of you who have been dreading going to report, there should be little danger of being detained until AA’s appeal has been heard.<br />While many Zimbabweans can breathe more easily we were distressed to learn that one man was detained when going to report last Friday and is now facing removal to Malawi. Zimbabweans who have travelled on other passports such as South African or Malawian passports are in a different category to most Zimbabweans unless the Home Office has accepted that they are Zimbabwean.<br />At the end of a tiring day of waiting at Yarls Wood Hearing Centre we were delighted to witness bail being granted to two ladies who have been in detention for a very long time. To see the slow smile spreading all over L’s face was a sight to behold and something to warm the heart for many a day. Equally moving was poor D, who collapsed sobbing with the relief of knowing that she was getting out. Our tributes to all their friends and relatives who made long journeys and patiently submitted to intensive questioning by the Home Office representative before they were accepted as being suitable sureties. <br />What was disturbing about the day was watching a representative from the Home Office smoothly claiming to the judge that removals to Zimbabwe were ongoing. It took timely intervention from friendly lawyers to get a letter to the judge disproving this assertion in the case of failed asylum seekers. Without the letter those ladies would still be in detention. We hope they had a great weekend! Four Zimbabweans known to us were released from detention during the week so that’s something positive to ponder on.<br />ZA members participated in The Way Forward meeting later the same day and we understand it was a successful and positive occasion. The following day saw us going to hear Lovemore Matombo speak at the Actsa event in support of the ZCTU at Congress House, along with so many others. It was interesting to hear from some speakers (whose own families had suffered colonial oppression) how very difficult it had been for them and so many left-leaning people to stop viewing Mugabe as the hero he once was, and to see him as the oppressive dictator he had become.<br />We can be contacted at the office on 020 7549 0355 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, messages may be left on the answer machine at other times, or by fax 020 7549 0356 or email: zimbabweassociation@yahoo.co.uk. We also have a website at www.zimbabweassociation.orgTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139272702374262006-11-10T08:13:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:14:32.766+02:00Econet fights for right to communicatehttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />HARARE – Zimbabwe’s already hard-pressed citizens will be forced to pay for cellphone calls in foreign currency under a new plan signed into law by President Robert Mugabe last week in which the country’s largest mobile phone operator will be forced to pay for outgoing traffic in hard currency.<br />The directive, which Econet Wireless is challenging in the Supreme Court, would remove the right of many Zimbabweans to communicate with their exiled colleagues and family members in the diaspora and will make access to international calls a privilege of only a few.<br />The directive has been condemned by business groups as potentially damaging to the Zimbabwe economy. Judge President Rita Mukarau on Monday suspended the regulation saying the Supreme Court – sitting as a constitutional court - needed to hear the case first.<br />The government has fought since 1995 to defend a cherished monopoly in the telecommunications industry.<br />Econet Wireless, which enjoys about 57 percent of the local subscriber share,<br />competes with privately owned Telecel Zimbabwe, which has 17 percent of <br />the local market, and state-run Net*One with 26 percent.<br />Under statutory instrument 70/06, which came into force on November 01 through a presidential decree, the State-owned Net*One would charge US$0,15 while Econet will be forced to pay US$0,20.<br />Econet Wireless in its court papers contends that Mugabe’s government is attempting to reintroduce Tel*One’s monopoly “through the back door” and this was in violation of a 1995 Supreme Court order that granted it “unrestricted right to move traffic within, into and from Zimbabwe”.<br />The directive comes at a time when Econet has announced the launch of third generation (3G) cellular services next year. 3G offers high-speed data transmission and allows callers to see real-time video images of each other. <br />Econet contends in its court papers that government is attempting to make it submit to draconian measures, designed to curtail one of the last arenas of free speech left in Zimbabwe. – Own correspondentTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139216446846562006-11-10T08:12:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:13:36.500+02:00Editorial: Toothless anti-corruption commission deep in slumberhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in Africa, indeed in the world, with an anti-corruption commission and a minister in charge of anti-corruption. Fantastic. <br />But every time a major corruption scandal breaks, the minister and his commission seem to be oblivious and unconcerned. Each new revelation is simply greeted by a deafening silence.<br />A case in point is the Zisco scandal, happening under their noses right now. The allegations of wholesale looting of this invaluable, and highly strategic, parastatal have been investigated by a government agency. <br />Names have been named. We understand the list of names of those high-ups involved is eye-popping to say the least. All the groundwork has been done. The report has been produced. <br />All that remains is for the minister and his commissioners to wake up and do something. Authorise the police to pick up those named and get them to a magistrate. <br />The minister of trade and industry, himself, has admitted the existence of the report to a parliamentary committee of inquiry. After promising to give the report to the committee, he mysteriously changed his mind. Nobody has seen the report. <br />There are various rumours of a leak but nothing substantive has so far come to light. We understand that Mugabe himself ordered the report to be suppressed, and furthermore that he himself is implicated. <br />As with so many reports before, the government shredders are no doubt working overtime. And so the corrupt ministers and politburo members, already obscenely wealthy, get away with it once again. <br />We sincerely hope that somebody has had the foresight to keep a copy. Given the machinations in the top echelons of Zanu (PF) as the succession struggle continues, we have no doubt that somebody must have a copy tucked away carefully somewhere. <br />The best thing they can do is to make this available to the people of Zimbabwe who have a right to know just who is looting their children’s future. <br />If anyone is brave enough to get a copy to us, we will surely publish it. <br />Meanwhile, the anti-corruption minister and his band of merry commissioners continue to draw their fat government salaries, and do nothing. <br />Roll on accountable government for Zimbabweans. <br /><br /><br />Word for Today 44<br />“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed <br />and broken. We are perplexed, but we dont give up and quit. We are <br />hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we <br />get up again and keep going.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT)Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139158854253722006-11-10T08:11:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:12:38.940+02:00Human rights watch: Militants move onto white-owned farmshttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />HARARE - The looming risk of mass starvation in Zimbabwe worsened this week as militants moved on to more white-owned farms, beating one worker for refusing to shout ruling party slogans and forcing hundreds of others to stop work. <br />On Sunday three white farming families were barricaded in their homes after scores of militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party, gathered on four farms in Guruve, 125 kilometres north of Harare. <br />Despite an official announcement that the land reform was a “done deal”, the occupiers told farm workers they had to make room for new black settlers on the land. <br />The continuing violence threatens to worsen already critical food shortages in Zimbabwe. Farming experts have predicted a 40 per cent fall in agricultural output this year due to the communalisation of commercial farming. The country needs to import at least 700,000 tons of wheat and maize, but has no foreign currency to buy it. A recent report said nearly three million villagers had registered for food aid with the government. The worst hit people had already started eating tree roots and leaves for lack of other food.<br />Conceding that a quarter of Zimbabwe’s 12.5 million people were now living in abject poverty, the Finance Minister, Hebert Murerwa, warned last week that the country urgently needed aid from abroad. But analysts say President Mugabe will remain the major hurdle to efforts by some of his more moderate ministers to normalise ties with the donor community. While Murerwa was urging ties with donors, the Foreign Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, a close ally of Mugabe, was summoning British and EU diplomats in Harare to censure them for their stance on Zimbabwe. Mumbengegwi is said to have expressed dismay at the EU’s “confrontational attitude” towards Zimbabwe. <br />He also launched a broadside at Britain claiming it was mobilising negative international opinion against Zimbabwe. But, in private, Zimbabwe has asked the United Nations Development Programme to help mobilise food aid worth £200m. The president sent the Finance Minister to hold urgent private talks with Agostinho Zacarrius, the UNDP resident representative in Zimbabwe, reports said last week. – Own correspondentTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139099396195202006-11-10T08:10:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:11:39.516+02:00Govt not serious about SADC: Politics of violence and vengeance at workhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />BY GIFT PHIRI<br /><br />HARARE – Serious electoral irregularities in rural district council elections held last week bore clear testimony that the Zimbabwe government is not serious about conforming to the SADC protocol on free and fair elections, a coalition of civic groups said this week. <br />Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition noted in an election synopsis that the rural elections saw the recurrence of the politics of violence and vengeance targeted at opposition candidates. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which is responsible for administering elections, remained conspicuously silent and there has been no investigation into allegations of electoral malpractice, including political violence, to date. <br />“The just ended elections depict a flawed electoral system run through de facto institutions being headed by ex-army officials and divorced from the SADC elections framework,” Crisis Coalition said.<br />According to ZEC, Zanu (PF) garnered 765 wards, while the Tsvangirai led MDC polled 54 and the Mutambara-led faction won 42. <br />The civic group said in the run up to the RDC elections, opposition candidates were not allowed to campaign freely in their respective constituencies adding the public media relegated the opposition to the peripheries of media coverage. <br />“When ever they got air play, the opposition was being caricatured and subjected to hate messages,” the report said. “In the just ended elections, the electronic media was not opened to opposition contestants. This is part of the state’s instruments of gagging dissenting voices.” <br />Crisis Coalition said opposition supporters faced a wave of politically-motivated violence and discrimination. <br />“In areas such as Buhera, Mutoko, Mudzi and Gokwe, MDC supporters had their homes reduced to ashes by Zanu (PF) youth militia.”<br />In Chitungwiza, a magistrate barred the MDC candidates from campaigning and addressing their constituencies on the grounds that they had failed to pay certain electoral fees, which the court could not substantiate. <br />“It is in this light that the courts are aiding in the shrinkage of democratic space by failing to execute their duties with impartiality and objectivity.”<br />Crisis Coalition said the elections were characterized by poor voter education processes resulting in more than 1000 people being turned away from the polls for failing to comply with the voting requisites such as proper identification details. <br />Opposition parties were denied the right to converge in constituencies they were campaigning in before registering with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (Z.R.P) for clearance. The report states that the MDC was refused permission to hold rallies in Gokwe, Mudzi among other areas before the elections<br />“The nefarious Public Order and Security Act (POSA), remains a barricade for the full democratization of the Zimbabwean socio-political and economic environment,” Crisis Coalition said.<br />According to a report by the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network, thousands of prospective voters were turned away for various reasons. <br />“Disturbing figures were noted in Mashonaland Central. For instance, at Rusununguko Primary School in Chaminuka District, Shamva, by 1000hrs on the voting day at least 120 voters had cast their vote and 81 had been turned away. In Manicaland, at Govingo Business Centre, by 1445hrs, 344 voters had voted and 92 had been turned away. In addition, in Mashonaland West, at Sanyati Welfare Centre polling station, ZESN observed that by midday, 124 voters had cast their votes whilst 61 were turned away. At Msitha polling station in Matebeleland South, by close of poll, 507 voters had cast their votes whilst 100 were turned away.”Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163139022685143832006-11-10T08:09:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:10:22.873+02:00Family fears for Hitschmann’s health in custodyhttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />HARARE - The family of a man accused of masterminding a plot to topple President Robert Mugabe in the eastern city of Mutare have spoken of their anger and anguish over a court ruling to keep him in jail until March.<br />A family spokesperson said the family felt grief and bitterness over the continued detention of Peter Hitschmann, who appeared in court last week looking famished, and intermittently breaking into uncontrollable coughing spasms.<br />“We find it difficult to understand why a judge who has been selected for his wisdom and expertise would refuse to grant bail on medical grounds when it is blatantly obvious that his health is failing and any further detention could result in his death,” he told The Zimbabwean.<br />Judge Alfas Chitakunye opposed bail on the grounds that the charges Hitschmann was facing were grave and that he was likely to abscond if he was granted bail.<br />Hitschmann’s lawyer Trust Mhanda said he had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court for bail because he could not wait for March 2007 for the trial to re-open the next time the High Court will be on circuit in Mutare. <br />Police nabbed Hitschmann in March, leading to the arrest of opposition lawmaker Giles Mutseyekwa and six others who were charged but later released on bail.<br />The eight men including four police officers were charged under Zimbabwe’s tough security laws of possession of weapons to carry out an insurgency, sabotage or terrorism.<br />The prosecution claimed Hitschmann was working for a shadowy organisation called the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement (ZFM) based in Britain, which it said was seeking to overthrow Mugabe’s government.<br />Government’s star witness, a military intelligence official, Israel Phiri, told the High Court that Hitschmann was part of a goon squad working for ZFM. He claimed he had gone undercover for three months investigating the case. – Own correspondentTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163138962610831992006-11-10T08:08:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:09:23.386+02:00FOCZ to challenge govt “theft” of companieshttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />FOCZ to challenge govt “theft” of companies<br /><br />JOHANNESBURG – The Friends of Zimbabwe Coalition (FOZC) has embarked on a massive membership drive in a move aimed at giving voice and demanding an urgent stop to property, land and company invasions by the marauding Zanu (PF) government.<br /> <br />Chairman of the Friends of Zimbabwe Coalition, Sox Chikohwero, announced the opening of new chapters in Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth (PE) Wit bank, Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg) and Pietermaritzburg.<br /> <br />He said Zimbabweans must say a “BIG NO” to company seizures, invasions and persecution of local citizens under flimsy allegations aimed at justifying theft of property, companies and land. “FOZC is apolitical and we are indeed friends of Zimbabwe. The response we have received so far is overwhelming,” he said.<br /> <br />The membership drive was not only targeting Zimbabweans but anyone within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.<br /> <br />Echoing same sentiments was Mukhachana Mahenye of Giyani-Malamulele, South Africa, who said the initiatives by the FOZC needed the regional support in order to stop company and property seizures in Zimbabwe.<br /><br />“Zimbabwe must preserve the little resources left in the country by coming together and challenge this monster called the Reconstruction of State-Indebted Insolvent Companies Act,” he said. - CAJ NewsTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163138859572905272006-11-10T08:06:00.001+02:002006-11-10T08:07:39.666+02:00News from Jozihttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br /><br /><br />CIO agents still stalk me – Moyo<br /><br />JOHANNESBURG - Former opposition Movement for Democratic Change security chief in Bulawayo, Remember Moyo, who is now exiled in South Africa says Zimbabwe government’s psychopathic agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) castrated him during torture sessions in 2003.<br />Moyo fled to South Africa soon after the High Court in Harare acquitted him and his MDC colleagues of kidnap and murder charges. He was arrested by the CIO agents after the kidnapping and eventual murder of Bulawayo war veteran leader Cain Nkala in 2003.<br />Moyo has been in hiding in Johannesburg since he fled to South Africa. But he recently came out of his hiding for the first time and gave an interview to Voice of the People, VOP, one of Zimbabwe’s two independent radio stations operating from exile.<br />Speaking in his native Ndebele language, Moyo told VOP that severe torture to his genitals had left him impotent.<br />“My brother, I am no longer a man. Women have left me because they can not stay in a home where there is no sex,” Moyo told the radio station .He blames Robert Mugabe for all his troubles and has vowed to bring his government down. <br />“I would rather die in the battle fighting Mugabe than to die of hunger and frustration,” he said. Moyo also told VOP that CIO agents who tortured him were recently spotted in the bustling streets of Jozi. He says they are still after his head. - Themba NkosiTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163138801644770752006-11-10T08:06:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:06:41.730+02:00Letter from Americahttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />Letter from America<br /><br />Economic growth without democracy <br /><br />‘China has become Mugabe’s handmaiden in the repression of Zimbabweans’<br /><br />BY STANFORD MUKASA<br /><br />WASHINGTON - China’s “economic growth without democracy” policy is spoiling African dictators like Mugabe. <br />The announcement by President Hu Jintao that China will double its aid to Africa to the tune of US$5 billion over the next three years will have some implications on efforts by Zimbabwean civil society and church leadership to negotiate with Mugabe and Zanu (PF) a return to democracy and the rule of law. <br />The excessive generosity with which China has assisted Mugabe and other dictators of the world makes Mugabe and Zanu (PF) scoff at any appeals for human rights or democracy. <br />Against this background, the document by a section of Zimbabwean church leaders and which was handed to Mugabe last week will probably carry little, if any, weight with Mugabe and Zanu (PF) who feel their Look East policy will soon bear fruit. <br />China’s policy of economic progress without democracy has historically been a model and a source of great inspiration for dictators in Africa. Virtually all appeals to the Chinese by the international community to bring pressure to bear on Mugabe have been ignored. <br />Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhang Xianyi, recently spelt out the principles governing Chinese policy towards Zimbabwe, namely, what he called equality, mutual benefit, solidarity and common development. <br />The ambassador said China’s bilateral trade with Zimbabwe would increase by 11.5 percent to US$500 million in 2008. In 2005 the figure was US$283 million. <br />Overall, China’s trade with Africa in the past 10 years increased 10 times to about $40 billion last year. <br />China has also announced it will forgive debts owed to it by the poorest African countries. President HU also announced other measures by China to boost trade with Africa. <br />At a recent meeting of the American Enterprise Institute it was noted that: <br />• More exports from Africa to China will receive tariff-free status. <br />• China will train 15,000 African professionals. <br />• China will build schools, hospitals and anti malaria clinics. <br />• China will send experts and youth volunteers to Africa. <br />• China will double the number of scholarships to African students to 4,000 by 2009. <br />China is an emerging world economic power and the second largest consumer of energy and petroleum products. To meet internal demand China has invested heavily in oil resources in Nigeria, Sudan, Angola, and Gabon as well as in copper purchases mainly in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. <br />In Zimbabwe China is eyeing the country’s untapped platinum resources reported to be the second largest in the world. Zimbabwe has also other mineral resources like uranium, gold, silver and copper that China would like to tap into. <br />In its aggressive quest for increased trade China has totally ignored the human rights implications of its economic growth without democracy policy. <br />This may well explain why Mugabe is dragging his feet on any pressures to negotiate a resolution of the country’s crisis of governance with the opposition and civil society.<br />Mugabe’s survival can be attributed to number factors including a strong military and generous looting of the national resources to reward his cronies, notably top party and government officials as well as the army. But the China factor is increasingly becoming a significant lifeline for the aging dictator. <br />According to reports China has extended generous financial and other forms of assistance to Mugabe and Zanu (PF) in exchange for the wholesale mortgaging of national resources to China. Some people are calling this Look East policy a new colonialism from China, and China has become Mugabe’s handmaiden in the repression of Zimbabweans. <br />The opposition movement and civil society leadership must come to grips with the fact that Mugabe has in China a real and substantive promise of support – whether or not China will actually deliver on all promises made to Mugabe. Strategies for confronting Mugabe must factor this reality.Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163138742860676712006-11-10T08:03:00.000+02:002006-11-10T08:05:46.683+02:00We need government in exilehttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom <br /><br />We need government in exile<br /><br />BY MAGAISA IBENZI<br /><br />SOMEWHERE IN SOUTH – I have been absolutely delighted with the news from England about the Free Zim youths who gave south Africa’s foreign minister Amai Zuma a hard time when they heckled her while she was trying to convince Londoners about South Africa’s solidarity with other struggling Africans. Bravo! Well done Free Zim. <br />We need more of this from you young boys and girls of ours. We are proud of you. This is why we, your parents, suffered so much to educate you. Why has it taken you so long to get started. You have shown the way to other Zimbabweans around the world. This is what they should do whenever South African officials visit. This type of activism should also be extended to other SADC officials who are also backing Mugabe. <br />I was particularly pleased that the first target was Nkosazana Zuma, who herself spent many years living in London during the apartheid years. She was a member of the South African diaspora. But now she tells those in the diaspora that they should keep quiet. Hah! It was actually South Africans in the diaspora who successfully lobbied the international governments and media to put the squeeze on the apartheid regime. <br />I appeal to all Zimbabweans wherever they are in the diaspora to completely ignore the comments of Zuma and her ilk. <br />We all know very well that the ANC supports Zanu (PF). They care nothing for the suffering people of Zimbabwe – all they care about is propping up the façade of a fellow liberation movement. Despite their fancy constitution, human rights really means nothing to Mbeki and his crowd, Zuma included. Even the youngsters in the ANC have been brainwashed as we saw last week. It’s really a very worrying situation. <br />I therefore appeal to our young Zimbabweans, and the old ones out there, you are all needed. Please step up this campaign of confrontation, to include all visits by South African government officials to anywhere in the world. And please extend this campaign to cover all SADC leaders because they are all complicit in the crimes against the Zimbabwean people through their silence. <br />It is not that they don’t know the real situation. The life expectancy of Zimbabweans has been reduced in six years from 60-something to 30-something. And that is not simply because there is an AIDS pandemic in the region. People are dying from hunger, malnutrition, malaria and many other preventable diseases that even the least developed Third World country should be able to prevent. The people of Zimbabwe are dying from cruelty by one man.<br />But I digress. Zimbabweans in the diaspora constitute a sizeable force. More than a quarter of Zimbabweans live outside their own country. We are all denied our right to vote. We did not vote for Zanu (PF). We were not allowed to vote. Why don’t we have our own government in exile, to represent our interests, to look after ourselves? We could be a focus for those wanting to help our nation and channel resources back home. At the moment we have nobody to represent us. Our embassies in the countries where we live are there for Zanu (PF) – not for us. In fact they spy on us. <br />I would like to hear from your readers, Mr Editor, about how we can take this idea forward. – write to magaisa@thezimbabwean.co.ukTonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27343297.post-1163135825543063882006-11-10T07:06:00.000+02:002006-11-10T07:17:06.096+02:00The black spothttp://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk<br />Tel/Fax: 02380 879675<br />General: 07714736382<br />P O Box 248, Hythe, SO45 4WX, United Kingdom<br /><br />BY CHIPO, grade 6D, Mvurwi<br /><br />It was on the 20th of July 2002 when I was admitted to Parirenyatwa Hospital because of a black spot, which was developing, on my left eye. I was admitted in the Hospital for one week, my mother was worried about it. <br />When the ambulance came to take me, I was scared, I arrived at the hospital and the doctor gave me some medicine, which I would take while at home. After two weeks, we went back to the hospital. The specialist took me into a small room, which was tidy. In the room, I was asked to look on a white chart, which was glued on the wall with alphabet letters on it. The specialist told me to read the alphabet using the eye with a spot, whilst the other one was closed. I managed to read all the letters from A to Z, but the doctor told me to stay in the hospital since the spot was becoming bigger and bigger as the days passed by.<br /> I stayed in the C3 ward with ill strangers and I was afraid of them. My mother visited me every visiting hour; at times she brought bananas, oranges and cascade drink. After a couple of days I was used to the hospital life though I was missing my friends and family members. In the morning, porridge would find its way down our throats and in the afternoon, sadza would be dished to us with cabbage. <br />After a week the doctor said we had to go for an operation. I became very worried but my mother raised my faith when she told us to kneel down and pray. We sang a hymn and prayed to the almighty. I was taken to the theatre though I was afraid of past information of people who died because of unsuccessful operations. Four people entered the room wearing white dustcoats. I knew these men were surgeons because I had read about them at school. My life was in the hands of these four men and I trusted that they knew what they were going to do. The anesthetist gas me a special gas to breathe and I immediately fell asleep. After a long while, I woke up. The operation was over and was successful. We gave thanks to God for answering our prayers.<br />I will not forget my experience at Parirenyatwa Hospital, the nurses and doctors were kind and knew their job for the black spot was completely removed and I trust it will never resurface again.Tonymhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011939535647151499noreply@blogger.com0