Zimbabwe Weekly update – Week ending 24 August 2010

Posted by ZDN on August 25, 2010

Politics

The SADC organ of the Troika, which met on the eve of the SADC Summit in Windhoek, Namibia, adopted a report on the progress of Zimbabwe’s transitional government compiled by South African President Jacob Zuma.

President Zuma’s new “roadmap” includes a push for elections, zero tolerance for intimidation and a 30-day deadline for President Mugabe to finally honour his agreements.

The SADC Summit instructed the three parties in the transitional government to fully implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and clear the way for 2011 elections by completing the writing of a new constitution.

Faced with rising tensions among the parties over a range of longstanding issues, South Africa said it would step up its mediation efforts. Lindiwe Zulu, the facilitator and President Zuma’s international relations adviser, confirmed that her team would be back in Harare shortly.

The sixth SADC People’s Summit, held concurrently with the SADC Summit in Namibia under the auspices of the Southern Africa Peoples’ Solidarity Network (SAPSN), warned that governments in the region are silencing dissenting voices increasingly to sustain unpopular regimes.

Legal

SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salamao denied Wednesday that the SADC Tribunal had been suspended as claimed by Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

Mr Salamao said the Tribunal’s role and responsibilities were to be reviewed by professionals and experts tasked with providing clear recommendations. The review would be undertaken by a committee of SADC Justice Ministers and Attorney Generals within a period of six months. “In the meantime, they don’t entertain any new cases but they can deal with those they have at hand,” Mr Salamao said.

Lawyers in South Africa have warned of the negative impact on the region if human rights are not respected and the rule of law is tramped on when it does not suit the rulers in power.

Diplomatic

Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe Sten Rylander and European Union ambassador Xavier Marchal, who have both completed their terms of office in Harare, have been commended for their commitment and invaluable contributions to the country.

Rwanda has appealed for United Nations intervention in its simmering diplomatic row following Zimbabwe’s refusal to extradite Proitas Mpiranya – believed to be one of the masterminds of the 1994 Rwandan genocide – to the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Governance

Sanctions imposed on President Mugabe and his close associates will remain until the implementation of democratic reforms in Zimbabwe, US ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray told a roundtable discussion with senior editors in Harare on Wednesday.

In a complete reversal of what President Mugabe and his partners agreed to at the SADC Troika, Mugabe on Friday vowed not to make any further concessions in the transitional government until Western sanctions are removed.

These include the appointment of governors from the two MDC formations – one of the outstanding issues in the GPA. The new stance differs with observations made by President Zuma at the SADC Summit that the issue of governors had been resolved.

In a compromise deal announced last week, the three political parties in the transitional government have agreed to retain controversial George Charamba – accused of churning out hate-speech against the MDC-T – as President Mugabe’s spokesman and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai can no longer make senior appointments in his party and government without consulting the party’s National Standing Committee (NSC), as part of measures to stem growing factionalism.

Economy

Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has appointed committees dominated by allies of President Mugabe to help the government set minimum shareholdings in various segments of the economy to be allocated to black investors. The appointees include former defence force officials known to have spearheaded violent campaigns in the 2008 presidential election run off.

Large multinational corporations targeted for indigenisation include cigarette manufacturer BAT Zimbabwe, which is 80 percent British-owned; UK-controlled financial institutions Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, food group Nestlé Zimbabwe, mining giants Rio Tinto and Zimplats, and AON Insurance

The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency reported that the annual inflation rate in July stood at 4,1%, declining from 5,3% the previous month. Food inflation eased from 7,39% in June to 7,11%.

The cash-strapped Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe board has ordered the central bank to cut — with or without packages — three quarters of its staff to match its scaled down operations and avoid a ballooning retrenchment bill. The visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) team made similar recommendations.

The RBZ has also started has started repossessing top of the range vehicles it donated to parastatals and several government departments in the run-up to the 2008 elections.

The beleaguered Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) said Friday it would comply with an order from Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) to reduce tariffs and reverse some of the excessive, inaccurate bills it gave to consumers.

Reports show that rural poverty is deepening, with more rural people – many of whom live on less than one US dollar a day – being more vulnerable today than at Independence, increasing the spectre of instability as resources continue to be plundered ahead of development.

Business

Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi’s son Lieutenant-Colonel Engineer Saadi Muammar al-Gaddafi and a delegation arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday for a five-day visit to explore business opportunities

Production at Rio Tinto Zimbabwe’s Murowa diamond mine increased by 28%, although it generated a loss of US$5 million due to a ban on the export of diamonds from Zimbabwe among other factors, the Rio Zim unit said on Friday.

Kingstons Ltd, a giant provider of stationery partly owned by government, had 18 vehicles attached by First Mutual Limited (FML) recently over a US$130 000 debt amid reports that it owes creditors over US$1,5 million. The company has been struggling to pay its workers for several months

Mining/Diamonds

A third layer of hardliners has been added to the powerful grouping of cabinet ministers/top civil servants and retired senior military officers who have effectively taken control of the diamonds, from mining in Chiadzwa to the final sale of the gems at the new Zimbabwe Diamond and Technology Centre near Harare. They are allegedly using the proceeds to boost the depleted Zanu PF party coffers and generate cash to fund Mugabe’s election campaign. For further details:

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news230810/diamond230810.htm

Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa has threatened action against Farai Maguwu, the director of the Centre for Research and Development and his alleged backers after Mr Maguwu’s appointment as the focal point person for the Kimberley Process by the umbrella body for non-governmental organizations, NANGO.

According to mining minister Obert Mpofu, the August 11 auction of Marange diamonds raised US$56.4 million, of which the government will receive US$30 million. This differs from an earlier estimate by finance minister Tendai Biti that the auction raised US$46 million, with US$15 million coming into government coffers.

Zimbabwe sold 900 000 carats of what Mines minister Obert Mpofu said was just part of a six million stockpile after a protracted battle to get certification from diamond regulator, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Finance Minister Tendai Biti says of the US$45 million realised from the sale, government pocketed US$15 million.

The financial scandal rocking the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) has deepened amid further revelations that the company’s suspended top managers, including CEO and general manager Dominic Mubayiwa, invested millions of dollars in the money market while the corporation’s mines were being closed.

Land/Agriculture/Food Security

Zimbabwe is ranked among the top 10 countries in danger of hunger this year, according to a new reported published by British risk analysis and rating firm Maplecroft. The United Nations estimates that more than 1.68 million Zimbabweans will need food and agricultural assistance next year.

Zimbabwe’s wheat harvests are expected to hit an all-time low of 11,000 metric tonnes in a nation that needs at least 250,000 tonnes annually.

The 3,7 million litres of milk currently being produced each month falls below the monthly demand estimated at an average of 5,5 million litres, Dairibord Holdings Limited has reported.

Workers at Gushungo Dairy Farm, which was taken from its legal owners by the Mugabe family, have accused their employer of unfair dismissal. Both permanent and seasonal workers said they were sent on forced unpaid and indefinite leave a fortnight ago and food rations were stopped as business was said to be “low”.

According to the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement, the three leaders of the transitional government have finally agreed to set up an independent Land Commission whose main task will be to oversee the implementation of the long-awaited audit to rid the country of multiple land owners.

A Zanu PF MP behind the illegal seizure of a farm in the Somabuhla district, who has committed ongoing vandalism and acts of violence to intimidate the owners and their workers, has snubbed a High Court order protecting the land from invasion and refused to leave the property on Monday. The farm owner is a South African citizen who should be protected by a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement (BIPPA) signed between South Africa and Zimbabwe and ratified in May.

New Constitution / Escalating Violence

Violence related to the constitutional outreach exercise has become so severe in Manicaland that MDC officials on the teams have resolved not to hold meetings in the affected areas. MDC Senator Patrick Chitaka said several MDC members have been hospitalized after attacks when they spoke out during outreach meetings. Reports have been made to the police and details provided of some of the perpetrators but once again there have been no investigations or arrests.

The General Agricultural and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) has raised concerns about “rampant” intimidation and harassment of farm workers in constitutional outreach meetings, mainly in Mashonaland farming areas.

Seven members of the MDC who had been abducted at gunpoint by Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives were finally found dumped at Catchway police station in Manicaland province last week.

Villagers apprehended a group of axe-wielding militants who attempted to disrupt a constitution-making outreach preparatory meeting in Nyanga North constituency and handed them over to the Nyamaropa Police Station.

Human rights group Amnesty International last week expressed its concerns about worsening human rights abuses in Manicaland and other parts of the country during the ongoing outreach exercise.

A coalition of Zimbabwean churches, civic and human rights bodies, women’s organisations and student and labour movements is campaigning for the devolution of power with a proposal that the country’s proposed Constitution should provide for provincial assemblies to be elected on a system of proportional representation.

Christians in Zimbabwe, who are being mobilised to participate actively in the making of the new constitution, are also being encouraged to set the groundwork for national reconciliation and healing

Elections / Pre-election Violence Threats

A row is brewing within the transitional government over the timing of the next elections and the level of SADC’s involvement in any such polls. While President Mugabe is resisting significant SADC involvement, Prime Minister Tsvangirai believes that SADC, as guarantors of the GPA, should play a central monitoring role.

Speaking at the SADC Summit, President Zuma said the troika of the organ on politics, defence and security should persuade SADC to “draw up guidelines for free and fair elections where intimidation and violence would not play any part and where the result of such elections would be credible.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) says electoral authorities should do away with postal votes for police force members and instead introduce a new “special voting” system where they cast their ballots two days before polling day instead of 30 days ahead for postal votes.

The MDC-T says its supporters in Mudzi and Mutoko districts of Mashonaland East province are living in fear as Zanu PF is ordering them to renounce MDC membership or face political violence as in 2008.

The Union for Sustainable Democracy has been inundated with statements of concern from Johane Masowe Church members who are worried about Zanu PF’s infiltration of their church and escalating intimidatory tactics ahead of possible elections.

Zimbabwe has still not joined the ranks of the 147 nations who have signed up to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The 147 nations include 47 out of 53 African states.

Education

About 30 percent of Zimbabwe’s 90 000 teachers are unlikely to be retained for the third term which begins next month as the government battles to afford salaries of temporary teachers and other qualified members who have recently joined the profession.

Diaspora

At least 20 000 failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers in the United Kingdom could be deported before the end of the year. To assess claims that despite the formation of the transitional government it is still unsafe for them to return home, Britain has sent a fact finding mission to Harare from its Border Agency.

Since January, 14 795 illegal Zimbabwean immigrants have crossed into South Africa over the Limpopo river at Beitbridge, the SA army said on Tuesday.

Sport

Zimbabwe’s cricket team has offered to tour Pakistan to raise funds for the victims of the country’s massive floods, despite the suspension of foreign visits following a militant attack last year.

The Good News

Primary education is to benefit from the distribution of 13 million textbooks made available through the Basic Assistance Module (Beam) programme between the government and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

To boost Zimbabwe’s self image, the African Centre for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has launched a nationwide campaign where local churches, aid groups and government agencies are working together to rid the streets of trash.

Source: Zimbabwe Democracy Now

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