Zimbabwe Weekly Update – week ending 20 Jan 2010

Posted by ZDN on January 20, 2010

Politics

The inter-party negotiations between the coalition partners did not take place on Monday Jan. 18 as scheduled after Zanu-PF negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche failed to attend. Talks were meant to resume on Saturday but were postponed to Monday because of the absence of Goche who was in Tanzania, reportedly on government business.

South Africa President and negotiation facilitator Jacob Zuma, impatient with the slow pace of the talks, suggested the MDC be flexible in demanding the removal of controversial Attorney General Johannes Tomana and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, to help speed along the negotiation process. Zuma is also pushing for elections in Zimbabwe next year, but Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday said a date would be set for elections only once all outstanding issues are resolved.

U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray said his country is ready to lift targeted sanctions imposed on the Zanu-PF elite once the three governing parties fully implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

The MDC denied claims by The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper that three MDC ministers are being probed for corruption.

The MDC on Friday said it would not give up on the fight to have Roy Bennett sworn in as Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and would resist pressure to appoint another person to fill the post.

Governance

Only a quarter of Zimbabweans support President Robert Mugabe, a U.S. Gallup poll has revealed. The poll said that if President Mugabe stood against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai he would lose dismally.

The head of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe (PAOZ), Bishop Trevor Manhanga, has sparked controversy following his refusal to renew the credentials of some pastors perceived to be close to MDC leadership.

The country’s three main unions representing state workers said they would go on strike in the next two weeks if their demands for a minimum wage of US$630 were not met. The strike would cripple public services and exert pressure on the coalition government.

Law

Three people, including a journalist, were arrested in Harare on Monday after police broke up a peaceful demonstration organised by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). Thabita Taona, one of the arrestees, is still in police custody.

MDC provincial chairman for Masvingo Wilstaff Sitimere was arrested on Tuesday morning for yet unknown charges.

Zimbabwe’s constitutional committee has postponed public consultations on the draft constitution to allow an audit of members to ensure that only accredited persons will be deployed.

The constitutional committee is pressing Mugabe to publicly speak against acts of political violence ahead of the public consultations.

Zimbabwe police chief Augustine Chihuri faces a US$5 million lawsuit from five trade union officials who are claiming damages for unlawful arrest and detention.

Agriculture

A Rusape farming family is currently barricaded inside their house on De Rust tobacco farm, with no electricity and water for themselves or their animals, after Zanu-PF youths invaded Koos Smit’s farm last Tuesday and cut off supplies.

Police in Mutare are reportedly moving in to arrest two directors of Matanuska, a private company owned by Malaysian and Dutch investors, on charges of operating Fangundu Farm without an offer letter. Edzai Chimonyo, a retired top army commander and Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania, invaded the farm over the festive season. He is now resisting a court order to vacate the farm.

A landmark statement issued by the South African government’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation on Monday announced that formal contact had been made with the Zimbabwean government concerning the illegal invasion of farms owned by South African citizens.

The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) has cast doubts on the state of the tobacco industry’s recovery and has warned that government farm-eviction threats against one third of its 150 members could lead to disaster.

Plans by the government to conduct a cloud seeding exercise to induce rain have been shelved due to lack of finances. The development raises fears of another poor farming season as it comes on the back of fertilizer shortages and a prolonged dry spell.

Humanitarian Crisis

The US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet) said over two million Zimbabweans would require food aid between now and March. Independent estimates put the total population at between 7 and 8 million.

Violence

Two students activists from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) were arrested and brutally assaulted by officers from Bulawayo Central Police’s Law and Order section last week. They were released on Friday.

Global medical charity organisation Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) says Zimbabweans crossing illegally into South Africa after spending the holidays at home are being raped and robbed by gangs on both sides of the border between the two countries.

Violent gangs led by the son of MP Aquiline Katsande (Zanu -PF) are terrorising villagers in her constituency of Mudzi West, beating up MDC officers and threatening to burn and kill anyone who does not ‘surrender’ to Zanu PF.

Business

Mugabe on Monday said Zimbabwe is willing to have foreign investors in the country to invest and develop the country but only as “partners,” stating “the country’s sovereignty is not negotiable.” He also invited international mining companies to invest in Zimbabwe, but cautioned that they would have to do so on a racial basis, with black Zimbabwean partners.

Zimbabwe Energy Minister Elias Mudzuri has backed down on his decision last week to stop debt-ridden Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) from exporting power to Namibia since the Hwange power station was not working properly. ZESA has been providing Namibia with electricity to help settle a US$40 million loan to refurbish Hwange power station.

Zimbabwe’s tourism ministry will seek treasury approval for a US$70-million plan to fund various projects in an effort to benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup taking place in South Africa during June and July.

The tourism industry has called on authorities to treat it as a productive sector so that it can take advantage of the US$510 million “windfall” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Last year, the IMF gave member countries Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocations to bolster their reserves ravaged by the global financial crisis.

Economy

Finance Minister Tendai Biti is urging the government to resolve the country’s debt crisis, stating that Zimbabwe’s US$5.4 billion debt is hindering efforts to rebuild the economy. Biti on Monday said Zimbabwe would seek highly indebted poor country (HIPC) status to have its debt cancelled.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Monday said Zimbabwe must settle its arrears with international lending institutions before it can access available funds.

Zimbabwe’s year-on-year inflation stood at -7.7 percent in December, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) said. Zimbabwe’s inflation peaked at 500 billion percent in December 2008.

The future of Zimbabwe’s central bank is in doubt because of a lack of funds from the Treasury, a bank official said.

Diamonds

African Consolidated Resources (ACR), the British-based company that owns the rights to mine in Marange, has condemned “fake patriots” who are plundering the fields for the benefit of a corrupt elite. ACR Chief Executive Andrew Cranswick also said contrary to deliberate misinformation, ACR is Zimbabwe-founded and run by Zimbabweans.

The Center for Research and Development in Mutare said soldiers and youth militia in Marange have been beating and torturing people indiscriminately and raping women, despite government assertions that the area has been demilitarized.

Zimbabwe has rejected a European monitor to oversee the export of diamonds from the Marange fields. The World Diamond Council in New York has warned that if an acceptable monitor is not agreed upon, it will call for the country’s suspension from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).

The Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) said small-scale miners now want to be allocated claims on Marange, in the name of empowerment.

Diaspora

Locals in De Doorns (South Africa’s Western Cape province) said they would chase out any Zimbabwean nationals should they try to return, after xenophobic attacks rocked the community two months ago. “We will braai them and turn them into KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) if they come back. There’s no place for them here,” said Pastor Frans Henke on Monday.

Breede Valley mayor Charles Ntsomi said continuing tensions in the area meant that re-integrating the Zimbabweans was not possible at this stage. Thousands of Zimbabweans have been living in tents on the town’s sports field since November.

Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana says he intends inviting his Zimbabwean counterpart to South Africa to discuss the issue of the displaced Zimbabweans in De Doorns.

Media

Artists for Democracy in Zimbabwe Trust (ADZT) director and senior freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda last week fled the country after he was allegedly phoned and threatened with death by a senior police officer, Assistant Commissioner Chrispen Makedenge, over a story reportedly published in the Zimbabwean newspaper.

Health

Water Resources Minister Sam Sipepa Nkomo on Monday said Zimbabwe would continue to face problems in providing the population with safe drinking water, as the country needs more than US$5 billion to overhaul infrastructure.

Prisons

A report by parliament’s justice committee reveals the shocking state of affairs in the country’s under-funded prisons, with half-starved prisoners allegedly still walking around naked due to a shortage of prison garb. The prison infrastructure across the country is in a serious state of disrepair.