• The MDC has formally protested the recent spate of arrests of its MPs and officers by Zanu PF-partisan forces. At least 6 MDC legislators have been incarcerated on flimsy charges in the last week. South African President Jacob Zuma, the regional mediator in Harare’s power-sharing arrangement, is expected to respond to the complaints.

• The three principals in the Inclusive Government finally met to ‘discuss outstanding issues’ and examine the GPA negotiators’ report on progress, which President Zuma has to present to the SADC Summit in August. The political leaders reportedly declared a deadlock after their four-hour meeting and agreed to refer the issue to President Zuma to mediate in the power-sharing dispute that has dodged the shaky coalition government since its formation over a year ago.

• President Zuma’s facilitation team was due in Harare on Monday 14 June in a follow up to the principals’ meeting. The continuing deadlock will have to be reported formally to President Zuma and then to the SADC Organ Troika with a view to a SADC Summit. No reports had been received at time of closing this week’s summary.

• The South African government was ordered by its High Court this week to release a report that was kept under wraps on Zimbabwe’s disputed 2002 elections, after a successful court bid by South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper.

• Former President Thabo Mbeki commissioned two South African judges, Deputy Chief Justice  and Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe, to make the report but has suppressed its results. The 2002 elections were marred by vote rigging, intimidation, violence and fraud by the Mugabe government, but Mbeki’s administration officially recognised the election as ‘free and fair’.

• Information Minister Webster Shamu (Zanu PF) has blocked the building of a much-needed clinic in the Chegutu East district by an independent Namibian-based businessman, Charlton Hwende. Hwende claims that since Zanu PF operates on the patronage system, he is not being allowed to make improvements in his home area. He was also been prevented recently from repairing a communal cattle dipping tank and supplying the necessary chemicals, again by Shamu who is the local MP.

Governance

• Government’s ‘commercialised’ vehicle supply parastatal, CMED (known unofficially for decades as the Crashed Mercedes Exchange Department), is being audited but as a result of ‘poor record-keeping’, 19 vehicles have ‘vanished without a trace’ in Harare province alone. The Comptroller and Auditor-General’s report says that CMED (Pvt) Ltd. does not even have an assets register, while the financial statements show that 50 percent of the company’s stated assets consist of moneys owed (debtors).

• Over-zealous policemen opened fire on a commuter omnibus in Harare city centre, shooting out the back tyres as the targeted vehicle, which was being apprehended for not having a valid licence, sped off. Police are conducting an ‘anti-congestion’ drive but taxi drivers complain that the everyday fines are simply an ongoing means of fundraising for traffic police. Harare ratepayers’ associations are calling the police ‘a public danger instead of public protectors’.

• Harare City Councillors have revealed that municipal land has been sold to Chinese and other foreign nationals in contravention of city regulations and apparently on the orders of Zanu PF Minister of Local Government and Urban Development, Ignatius Chombo.

Diplomatic

• A Foreign Affairs row unfolded this week as President Mugabe, who has unilaterally made military, trade and investment protection deals with North Korea, has unilaterally overturned a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement which was signed recently by Prime Minister Tsvangirai with South Korea.

• The new Tory government in the UK has stated that there will no change of policy on Zimbabwe (and on the issue of targeted sanctions) despite President Mugabe inferring that he would find it easier to deal with the Conservative party than the former Labour administration.

• President Mugabe arrived at the FIFA World Cup official opening in Johannesburg with an entourage of over 50 officials, family members and hangers-on. All were uninvited except the Presidential couple and Foreign Affairs Minister Mumbengegwe, and were turned away by match officials.

New Constitution

• The MDC has accused Zanu PF MPs of attempting to stall the start of the Constitutional Outreach programme next week by demanding increased daily allowances. This comes after Zanu PF-instigated violent disturbances in the countryside, where villagers are being coerced to stay silent during the outreach program. The party also noted that the state-controlled media has deliberately ignored publicizing the outreach exercise.

Agriculture

• The South African government is being urged to immediately intervene in ongoing attacks against South African farmers in Zimbabwe, where at least 16 people, including five South African citizens, have faced aggressive land seizures in the past week. South African interests are meant to be protected by a signed and recently ratified bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement (BIPPA) between the two countries.

• The Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) has predicted its lowest ever winter wheat output of about 10 000 tonnes this year, due to lack of funding and continued upheavals on commercial farms. The amount represents just one week’s supply for Zimbabwe which may have to import up to 400 000 tonnes of wheat to meet consumption demands.  In 2000, wheat production was 250 000 tonnes.

• Zimbabwe’s annual national maize requirement is 1,8 to 2 million tonnes, with only 700 000 – 800 000 tonnes produced this year. In 2000, maize production was 2 043 200 tonnes.  Food aid organisations estimate that over 2 million Zimbabweans will soon face starvation.

• Zimbabwe has earned US$199.26 million from the sale of 65.3 million kg of flue-cured tobacco since the season began in mid-February, according to a story in The Herald.

• Trevor Gifford, a former president of the CFU, was forced off his farm in the Chipinge district on Sunday evening by Zanu PF thugs and was forced to sign over the rest of the contents of his house and the farm to the ‘new owners’.

• The revived Zapu party has joined hands with war veterans in Bubi-Mguza, Matabeleland North, to form resistance groups and block attempts by senior Zanu PF and army officers to evict the remaining white commercial farmers in that area, reports Zimbabwe’s newly launched, independent daily, NewsDay.

• Huge resentment against Zanu PF is building in the Masvingo area, where starving villagers are being denied food aid on the grounds of being “MDC sellouts”, while unscrupulous businessmen are forcing the desperate villagers to trade their cattle, at ruinous rates. A live beast, worth between US$200 and US$300, is swapped for a US$40 bag of meal.

Diamonds/Mining

• South African diamond executive Abbey Chikane, the Kimberley Process monitor in Zimbabwe, said that “Zimbabwe has satisfied minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) for the trade in rough diamonds.”

• Watchdog group Global Witness, which is a member of the Kimberley Process Group, rejected Chikane’s claim that Zimbabwe’s diamonds are clean and said state-sponsored violence and human rights abuses are still taking place in the Marange diamond fields, located in the Chiadzwa district of Eastern Zimbabwe. They said that Chikane’s recommendation could still be reversed as a decision has not yet been taken.

• The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) warned its Sightholders that any purchase of goods from Zimbabwe’s Marange fields “will be deemed in contravention of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme,” until they are approved by KP Working Group on Monitoring (WGM) which will meet in Tel Aviv on 21 June.

• Diamond researcher and human rights defender Farai Maguwu, director of the Centre for Research and Development in Mutare, and who has been behind bars for a week, was denied bail in Harare on Thursday and remains in custody. Maguwu was arrested shortly after giving evidence to KP monitor Abbey Chikane about the irregular situation in Marange. Maguwu’s lawyer has applied to the High Court to challenge the magistrate’s ruling and obtain bail. Maguwu is due to travel to Tel Aviv to present his findings on Chiadzwa.

• On Friday evening, Maguwu was illegally taken from Harare Remand Prison to a known torture centre, on the orders of Detective Henry Dowa. Nicole Fritz of the Southern African Litigation Centre pointed out in a strongly worded statement that if Zimbabwe is trying to show that there are no more human rights abuses around Chiadzwa, they have just proved the opposite.

• Gold and platinum exports have been the main drivers of mineral exports valued at over US$1 billion for the period January to May 2010.

In The Courts

• Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, who owns several large buildings in Bulawayo city, is evicting his tenants, The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Time Bank, for non-payment of rentals.

• In a victory for women’s rights, a landmark Supreme Court ruling has allowed that a Zimbabwean mother has the right to seek a passport for a minor child without involving the father. Former independent MP Margaret Dongo, with the help of the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers’ Association, filed an application with the Supreme Court in 2006.

Wildlife

• Ivory poachers have slaughtered 10 elephants in the Gonarezhou (“Place of the Elephants”) National Park. FN rifle cartridges were found at the scene. Tusks were removed and the carcasses left to rot. Zimbabwe’s National Parks Department is meanwhile sitting on stocks of 34 tonnes of raw ivory. Conservation groups have offered a reward of US$1 000 for information leading to the arrest of the poachers.

The Good News

• Zimbabwe will return to Test Cricket in 2011, having implemented the recommendations of an ICC task force which visited Zimbabwe in November 2008.

• Zimbabwean farmer and human rights activist Ben Freeth was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire award) in the Queen’s birthday honours list “For services to the farming community in Zimbabwe”. British-born Freeth initiated a successful lawsuit against the Mugabe government through the SADC Tribunal, an international court located in Windhoek, Namibia.

• NGOs Mercy Corps and CADEC are operating a successful Food for Work programme in Chinhoyi whereby women and unemployed youths embark on municipal clean-up operations in exchange for grocery vouchers.

• Morgan Tsvangirai said on Saturday that MDC and Zanu-PF supporters must stop fueling violence in the country, as he and Mugabe have a good relationship. He said they even eat together every Monday. Tsvangirai is on tour of Zimbabwe’s ten administrative provinces to explain the MDC’s position on the unity government.

• Zanu-PF is printing over 1.6 million party membership cards to sell to its supporters countrywide, in a move widely seen as a recruiting and fund-raising project. Youth militia are allegedly forcing villagers in hunger-stricken districts to buy the party cards.

• MDC supporters told Tsvangirai last week at a meeting in Masvingo that they wanted him out of the unity government, saying that Mugabe was acting in bad faith.

• Switzerland on Saturday extended targeted sanctions against senior Zanu-PF officials by another year.

• Norwegian Development Minister Erik Solheim called on the African Union (AU) Wednesday to intervene to break the deadlock between the partners in the unity government.

• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would help Zimbabwe as much as possible in view of the sanctions imposed on the country. Ahmadinejad was speaking during a meeting with Zimbabwean Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa in Tehran on Monday.

Governance

• Government delayed its planned meeting with striking civil servants, requesting more time.

• The visiting president of the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) Michael Sommer has said he is “deeply concerned” by the Zimbabwean government’s disregard for workers’ and human rights.

• Forty-nine death row inmates in Zimbabwe’s jails have not been assigned an execution date as Zimbabwe Prison Service is battling to attract suitable candidates to fill the post of executioner.

Business

• Germany’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Albrecht Conze said Saturday that the new indigenisation law had ‘scared’ German investors. He said if the law remained, German investment would go “elsewhere.”

• The government is holding public hearings and reviewing regulations for the implementation of the indigenisation law in an effort to bolster investor confidence.

• United Nations anti-poverty campaigner Charles Abugre said the indigenisation law was in violation of international trade ideals, and could be a ploy to entrench Mugabe’s regime.

• National Foods Holdings (Natfoods) has posted a US$1.4 million loss, blaming this partly on government’s waiver of duty on imports of basic commodities. Other local industries are also struggling to compete with duty free imports.

Economy

• The Travel & Tourism Economic Impact report for 2010 released by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), says Zimbabwe’s travel and tourism sector may grow by 9.4 percent this year.

• American tourists however have been advised to travel to Zimbabwe with cash, as ‘payment platforms’ for tourists are inadequate, according to Tourism Minister Walter Muzembi.

• Finance Minister Tendai Biti on Thursday distributed US$100 million, part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s US$510 million Special Drawing Rights fund received last year for infrastructural development.

• The IMF has said it is still not prepared to offer Zimbabwe any new loans, citing the country’s continued political crisis, social instability and the new indigenisation law.

• Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said an immediate economic turnaround would be difficult before the debilitating electricity shortages are addressed.

• Namibia’s power utility company NamPower will next week send a delegation to Zimbabwe for discussions with the energy ministry and ZESA officials, following news that Hwange Thermal Power Station may be decommissioned. Three years ago, NamPower gave ZESA US$40 million in return for a guaranteed supply of 150 megawatts for 5 years.

Violence

• A damning terror report, called Cries from Goromonzi: Inside Zimbabwe’s Torture Chambers, by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, launched on Thursday. The 83-page report details harrowing accounts of 23 people who were allegedly tortured in detention camps by state agents and Zanu-PF members. Tsvangirai was there to commission the report.

• Reports of Zanu-PF violence and threats of impending violence are being received from locations across Zimbabwe and the situation is becoming increasingly serious.

• The MDC has accused Zanu-PF of unleashing violence against its supporters in the Mudzi area in Mashonaland East. Zanu-PF thugs were allegedly raiding the homes of MDC supporters, taking their livestock in order to ‘teach’ them to vote for the Kariba Draft constitution.

• Bindura Magistrate Story Rushambwa is living in fear after receiving death threats from senior Zanu PF officials who are accusing him of being anti-Zanu PF when handling political violence matters.

• Zimbabwe Peace Project director Jestina Mukoko said that her organisation is still recording human rights abuses in the country and expects more violence as the country prepares for a new constitution.

Law

• High Court Judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu reserved his decision to 31^st March on whether or not Deputy Agriculture Minister (designate) Roy Bennett should be acquitted. On Monday the prosecution had closed its case, prompting the defence to apply for a dismissal, saying the State had failed to show evidence linking their client to the alleged offense.

• The Senate approved a reform bill, meant to reduce the powers of the Reserve Bank Governor, on Tuesday, despite Zanu-PF having earlier threatened to scupper it.

• Zimbabwe’s High Court upheld the election of the first opposition Speaker of Parliament since independence, after a legal challenge by Jonathan Moyo of Zanu-PF. Moyo immediately launched an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Agriculture

• The government has recruited some former white commercial farmers to assist newly resettled farmers in Mashonaland Central Province. In return, the farmers are allowed to stay and cultivate a small area around their homesteads.

• The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has embarked on a membership drive targeting former members, to provide it with financial support to mount an effective legal challenge of the land reform programme.

• Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa said white commercial farmers could not attach government properties in South Africa for compensation as all of them are protected by diplomatic protocols.

• Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said that the season’s harvest had not yet failed, contradicting Tsvangirai’s declaration that the situation is catastrophic. Made blames western sanctions for the collapse of irrigation infrastructure on small-scale farms.

• Severe electricity shortages are jeopardizing chances of Zimbabwe harvesting a winter wheat crop that would ease chronic food shortages, Made told Parliament.

• The Malaysian government has officially protested the seizure of a Malaysian-owned banana plantation in eastern Manicaland by a retired army general. The move threatens diplomatic ties between the two countries. Vice President John Nkomo has promised to intervene.

Diaspora

• The majority of the Zimbabwean Diaspora may be excluded from the constitution-making process due to lack of funds, Edward Mkhosi, co-chairperson of the parliamentary select committee said last week.

• Scores of Zimbabweans at Johannesburg Park bus station were injured on Thursday when South African police indiscriminately opened fire with rubber bullets on travellers boarding buses to return to Zimbabwe. The police also raided and closed two illegal bus stops used by buses going to Zimbabwe.

• Non-governmental organizations like the Red Cross are no longer assisting the displaced Zimbabweans in De Doorns in the Western Cape. Conditions at the camp housing the Zimbabweans have allegedly deteriorated, with insufficient food and irregular water supplies.

• South Africa will deploy police officers and soldiers along the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders to curb the influx of illegal immigrants into the country and guard against cross border criminal activities.

Humanitarian

• The International Red Cross has launched an urgent appeal for funding in response to a new hunger crisis in Zimbabwe. 2.8 million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, and the number is expected to rise as a result of a widespread drought.

• Aid agencies in Zimbabwe are appealing to donors to support the $378 million appeal launched last December to support humanitarian and early recovery efforts in the country. The 2010 Consolidated Appeal is just over 2 per cent funded.

• Hundreds of starving villagers in the Gonarezhou National Park descended on a recently deceased giant bull elephant, reducing it to a skeleton in just less than two hours in a desperate scramble to provide food for their families.

Health

• An outbreak of measles has hit 28 of the 62 districts of Zimbabwe and is spreading. The illness is deadly in a population where many are  suffering from malnutrition, HIV and other conditions. According to the  latest Epidemiological Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO) most of the victims belong to a religious sect which refuses vaccinations.Senior Zanu-PF officials sided with members of a Christian sect in Manicaland in their efforts to resist the child immunisation programme against a deadly measles outbreak. The sect members have been a source of support for Zanu-PF for years.

• At least 24 children from Chegato Mission have contracted bilharzia after they used raw water from a nearby dam for bathing. Authorities fear the disease could spread at the school because of recurrent water problems.

• A deadly strain of tuberculosis has reportedly hit Epworth, outside Harare. One case of the deadly multi-drug resistant TB strain has been confirmed with two more people in the same area suspected to be infected.

• Five people died from typhoid fever in Mabvuku suburb, Harare. 40 other people have been infected in the area so far.

• A widespread circumcision campaign is planned, targeting at least 1.2 million men over the next two years in a bid to stem the rise of new HIV infections across the country.

Education

• Lecturers in Zimbabwe have received salary hikes and will now earn US$800 a month, up from $290. They have since returned to work after more than a month of partaking in a wider ongoing civil servant strike. Only lecturers have been awarded a pay rise so far.

• Education Minister, David Coltart has said the main challenge his ministry was facing was restoring basic education for all children, as it was in the 1980s.

• A government audit of the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Councils (Zimsec) questions the credibility of last year’s examinations and also raises issues of mismanagement. The audit, carried out in November last year, said Zimsec requires a complete overhaul.

Diamonds

• The influential Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma has thrown his weight behind an investigation by the Committee on Mines into dubious aspects of the government’s activities in Chiadzwa. He declared his support after the directors of two firms licensed to mine diamonds at Chiadzwa dodged on Monday for the second time a hearing to probe their activities at the diamond field.

• Finance Minister Tendai Biti has called for a complete overhaul of the laws governing the country’s diamond trade, saying all the mining leases that the government has awarded to firms in Chiadzwa should be cancelled.

• The MDC youth wing is calling for nationwide demonstrations to lobby for the arrest of people linked to corruption at Chiadzwa.

Sport

• While the West Indies won their series against Zimbabwe 4-1, New Zealand cricket has postponed a scheduled tour of Zimbabwe in June due to the unstable political and social climate. Chief executive Justin Vaughan said he was open to the tour being played at a neutral venue possibly in June 2011.

Media

• Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere told reporters last that if they write good stories about black empowerment he would make sure they were “empowered” too.

• There is a growing trend in Zimbabwe to listen to exiled media outlets such as Voice of America (VOA)’s Studio 7, SW Radio Africa and the BBC in the face of biased coverage from the state-owned Zimbabwe Television (ZTV). The Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS), which surveyed a sample of 2000 consumers in each town, said ZTV’s viewership had drastically dropped in the face of competition from free-to-air channels.

• Sam Mtukudzi, twenty two year old son of legendary musician Oliver Mtukudzi, died in a car crash Monday morning while travelling from Bulawayo to Harare. Sam was an upcoming artist and was scheduled to tour the UK with his father in two weeks’ time.

The Good News

• Zimbabwean lawyer and writer Nyaradzai Gumbonzwanda has been appointed to a UN advisory team on ways to better protect women in conflict situations. Gumbonzwanda will help advise the UN High-Level Steering Committee on ways to ensure that women’s voices are heard in peace processes.

• Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHR) and Victims Action Committee (VAC) is launching a series of peace building initiatives at grassroots level with the chief aim of promoting tolerance in polarised communities.

• One of Zimbabwe’s top Human Rights defender, Pelagia Semakweli Razemba, was recently short-listed for the Front-Line International Organization for Protection of Human Rights Defenders award.

Source: Zimbabwe Democracy Now

MR GARETH THOMAS MP, MR MARK LOWCOCK and MR JOHN DENNIS

Evidence heard in Public Questions 50 – 135

USE OF THE TRANSCRIPT

1.This is an uncorrected transcript of evidence taken in public and reported to the House. The transcript has been placed on the internet on the authority of the Committee, and copies have been made available by the Vote Office for the use of Members and others.

2.Any public use of, or reference to, the contents should make clear that neither witnesses nor Members have had the opportunity to correct the record. The transcript is not yet an approved formal record of these proceedings.

3.Members who receive this for the purpose of correcting questions addressed by them to witnesses are asked to send corrections to the Committee Assistant.

4.Prospective witnesses may receive this in preparation for any written or oral evidence they may in due course give to the Committee.

5. Transcribed by the Official Shorthand Writers to the Houses of Parliament: W B Gurney & Sons LLP, Hope House, 45 Great Peter Street, London, SW1P 3LT Telephone Number: 020 7233 1935

Oral Evidence

Taken before the International Development Committee on Tuesday 23 February 2010

Members present

Malcolm Bruce, in the Chair

John Battle

Hugh Bayley

Richard Burden

Mr Nigel Evans

Mr Mark Lancaster

Andrew Stunell

_______________

Memorandum submitted by Department for International Development

Examination of Witnesses

Witnesses: Mr Gareth Thomas MP, Minister of State, Mr Mark Lowcock, Director General, Country Programmes, Department for International Development, and Mr John Dennis, Head of Zimbabwe Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, gave evidence.

Q50 Chairman: Thank you, Minister, for coming to give evidence. This is the final session on our inquiry into the situation in Zimbabwe. Would you. for the record. introduce your team?

Mr Thomas: Mark Lowcock, who is the Director General for Country Programmes, is on my left, and on my right is John Dennis, who is the Head of the Zimbabwe Desk at the Foreign Office.

Q51 Chairman: Thank you for that. As you know, we visited Zimbabwe a couple or so weeks ago. I will start by saying that we have an extract from an Economist article saying that, since we left, things have deteriorated with strikes. It says things like: the unity government is “as good as dead” and that Harare is “abuzz” with talk of early elections and so forth. What is the political situation? Has it changed that dramatically in the last couple of weeks? Perhaps that would be the first question to ask, and then a couple more will arise from it.

Mr Thomas: I do not think the political situation in Zimbabwe can ever have been described as easy. We have always expected that there would be difficult periods between the formation of the Inclusive Government and eventually free and fair elections taking place. You are obviously aware that there have been reports of both strike action over salaries and of other tensions within the Inclusive Government. Whether or not it leads to elections sooner rather than later, I am not in a position to make that judgment, frankly, and I do not think any of us are in a position to make that judgment. We knew that the period between the formation of the government and elections would be a protracted and difficult period, and events are bearing that out.

Q52 Chairman: Have you seen this article from The Economist?

Mr Thomas: I have not seen that article.

Q53 Chairman: Is that an accurate reflection of the current situation? That is worse than the situation we would have observed three weeks ago. Saying things like the Government of National Unity is “as good as dead.” and “Mr Zuma appears to agree that the unity government has become a sham” but that he does not want any trouble before the World Cup. It says that Mr Tsvangirai has given up all his demands, other than to try to see if he can get space for free and fair elections. There is then this “indigenisation” rule, saying that every company worth more than half a million dollars needs to provide a 51% stake to black Zimbabweans – which is a blatantly racist policy. That, even in relation to three weeks ago, appears to be a serious degradation of the situation.

Mr Thomas: I have no sense that the President of South Africa has given up on the mediation process that SADC have in place and have under way. Our sense, certainly, is that the key players in the Inclusive Government have not given up the sense of the work programme to which the government is committed. As I say, there are tensions at the heart of the Inclusive Government. As we all recognise, political power continues to be very contested. Inevitably, when you have a situation like that there are going to be moments of high tension as well as moments where tensions are relatively lessened. I think we are probably in one of the tenser periods at the moment.

Q54 Chairman: We will explore this in more detail, but for the ordinary people, some of whom at least were getting access to education and health and other services, has the position changed significantly in the last few weeks? Or, in spite of those background difficulties and the strikes, are those services still being delivered?

Mr Thomas: There has been an improvement in the delivery of basic services, as I think you had the chance to see for yourselves when you were in Zimbabwe. Having said that, there are huge challenges still in terms of the delivery of those services. The crisis in terms of access to healthcare which was at the heart of the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has not gone away, albeit there are more health workers in place. In terms of your specific question, our sense is that basic services are still in place, but they are very basic, and there is still a much longer transition to more recognisable, good quality health, education and other services to take place. The Department staff in Zimbabwe continue to look at what else we can do to improve the quality of those basic services, but that is very much a job in hand, as I suspect you will have seen for yourself when you were there.

Q55 Chairman: The final political point: a call for early elections. That was in the air when we were there. The counter-argument was that you could not possibly have free and fair elections if they were early because the register does not exist – and to the extent that it does exist, it is completely stacked to the benefit of ZANU-PF. Is this call for early elections a realistic call? Is it achievable? Is it desirable?

Mr Thomas: It is difficult to believe that free and fair elections would take place if they took place in the short term. As you say, there are substantial changes that are required, in terms of thinking through issues around voter education, constituency boundaries, the behaviour of the security forces, the role of the diaspora in getting the right to vote. It is difficult to see how free and fair elections could take place in the short term, certainly.

Q56 Chairman: That would imply that you think more time is needed to get those issues straight.

Mr Thomas: Certainly, our view is that what was included in the Global Political Agreement in terms of changes that were going to be needed has not happened as yet. The Electoral Commission is not up and functioning yet, albeit its head has been appointed – although not, I believe, formally confirmed. We would want to see the Electoral Commission being able to go about its work, completing the process of reform that everybody recognises is necessary if free and fair elections are going to take place.

Q57 Chairman: Mr Dennis, do you want to add any comments?

Mr Dennis: I have no comments to add, thank you.

Chairman: Richard Burden.

Q58 Richard Burden: One of the pots of support that DFID has been providing has been to the Office of the Prime Minister. We understand that the purpose of that funding is around enabling that as an office to fulfil its role under the GPA. When we met Prime Minister Tsvangirai over there, he felt that that DFID funding had been particularly useful in fulfilling the obligation to the GPA but he felt more could be done and extra support to his office would be well used, in particular, on the same sort of areas: helping the Prime Minister’s role to lead executive business in parliament and so on. Are there any plans to increase that support?

Mr Thomas: Certainly, if further approaches for assistance were made to us, be it by the Prime Minister or indeed any other ministry that is committed to reform and to a pro-poor agenda, then we would look at them very sympathetically. As you say, our support is designed to enable the Office of the Prime Minister to carry out the sort of normal functions that a head of state’s office would, including oversight of the budget, making sure that the different ministries are following through on the government’s agreed work plan, and helping to resolve disputes between government departments were they to happen. Certainly, that has been the purpose behind granting the assistance that we have done. We also, as you may be aware, granted assistance to a number of other departments to help them carry out the basic functions of their ministries, not least the Ministry of Finance to help them with the budgeting process.

Q59 Richard Burden: In terms of the level of that support, if a case were made that increases in that would be consistent with the objectives, would that be something that we would be prepared to look at?

Mr Thomas: Absolutely. We have increased our aid programme to Zimbabwe over the last 12 months from £49 million to £60 million. Of course, we are looking for the measures that can have most impact most quickly in terms of helping the Zimbabweans get access to better services. Clearly, helping key ministries be better functioning so that they can drive that process, is sensible. When a prime minister or other key minister asks for assistance, of course we always look at that sympathetically. We would have to make a judgment about its relative merit as against other programme asks, but we certainly would not rule it out by any means.

Q60 Richard Burden: What kind of conditionality would be applied if funding were to be extended?

Mr Thomas: We would want to make sure that the assistance that is offered is being used to help promote reform, is being used to help deliver pro-poor services. Those would be the key conditions, as such. “Conditions” is probably the wrong phraseology to use in that sense, in that it has a resonance of the bad old days of Structural Adjustment Programmes. “Conditions” is not a term we would use, in that sense. Certainly, in terms of the decisions we might take about how we allocate aid in future, be it by a minister’s office or for a big programme of humanitarian assistance, we would want to be convinced that it was helping to deliver a pro-poor agenda, that it was going to lead to significant reforms in the way services are delivered. Those would be, if you like, the guiding principles for the decisions we might take.

Q61 Hugh Bayley: I want to ask a question about support for a free and independent media. I should preface my remark by saying that, if any government anywhere in the world funds the media, you need to ensure that that there is editorial independence and no control from the funder, as, for instance, with the BBC World Service. I recall in the run-up to liberation in both Namibia and South Africa there was British funding for the Namibian newspaper, possibly for The Sowetan, and it was seen as important to have some forums which were not under state control disseminating information. The print media in Zimbabwe is very strongly controlled by the state. I wonder what thought both of your Departments have given to ensure that, in the run-up between now and elections, whenever they come, there is fair and unbiased information about electoral registration, about the platforms of relative parties, the achievements of ministers and their ministries. Is that something which your Department should be funding or possibly the Foreign Office should be funding, or both?

Mr Thomas: First, there is no doubt that we would want to see reforms in the way the media operate and are organised to allow more independent activity by different media operations of one sort of another. The return of the BBC is undoubtedly a positive step. Key to wider change in how the media sector operates is the establishment of the media commission as heralded in the GPA. Again, like the Electoral Commission, it has not yet started doing its work, and that will be a key issue for the international community to continue to watch. It is certainly a key issue set out in the GPA where progress is needed. In terms of the run-up to free and fair elections, absolutely. A substantial programme of voter education would be required, the media clearly would have an important role in that. If we were asked to be part of a multi-donor group supporting an election process, of course we would want to consider doing that. Again, where we have been asked to enable elections to take place in a free and fair way, we have provided support in other countries to election funding arrangements. As I say, we would be happy to look at that, if we were asked, when the time came.

Q62 Hugh Bayley: Given that the barriers to the dissemination of information and the history of intimidation are probably greater in rural areas than in urban areas, I would have thought radio was a particularly important medium. Are you satisfied that there is wide access to radio giving independent and unbiased news across the country?

Mr Thomas: It is not just radio where there is an issue; it is the media in general. There is not free and fair access to the media in any way in which any of us in the room would recognise. That is clearly one of the areas, as set out in the GPA, where substantial reform is necessary. Like others in the international community, we would want to see progress in that area, not just so that elections can take place but, also, so that the executive can be held to account regardless of their political affiliation in that sense.

Hugh Bayley: One final question on culture. DFID does not normally make the promotion of culture a priority: you would defer, I suppose, to the British Council or others. We held a reception at the Bookshop Café and that seemed to me to be an oasis of free expression.

Chairman: From time to time. When it was not being disrupted.

Q63 Hugh Bayley: Relative free expression, yes. There is a strong tradition throughout Africa of music – I think of Fela Kuti and Miriam Makeba – permitting things to be said which could not be published in a manifesto. Would either of your Departments – yours through the British Council, Mr Dennis, or DFID – think about providing unusually and atypically support for freedom of expression through culture or arts?

Mr Thomas: I do not know where the Foreign Secretary is on music. In terms of DFID, again it is about the balance and the opportunity cost of providing funding in one particular way as against others. You are right that freedom of expression is hugely important, whether it is through music, through media, through other sources of activity.

Q64 Hugh Bayley: We were given a couple of booklets published by the British Council, which I thought was quite a courageous bit of work.

Mr Thomas: Do not get me wrong, I think the British Council does hugely important work. We are contributing, along with others, in helping to promote freedom of expression through the constitution review process, where UNDP, with our support, have started to fund work that we hope will allow civil society to engage in thinking about the type of constitution and the type of state that Zimbabwe should have in the future. That is one of the few ways at the moment – though it is very imperfect, as you will, I am sure, have had a sense – in which civil society and Zimbabwean citizens can begin to air views and bounce ideas around about the future of their country. In that sense, it is a hugely important process. It is not just us who are funding it – it is being led, as I say, by UNDP – but it is one way in which we are beginning to see some signs of growing freedom of expression.

Chairman: Mark Lancaster.

Q65 Mr Lancaster: Thank you, Chairman. I want to explore slightly beyond Zimbabwe’s boundaries and its relationship with other countries in the region. Of course historically, before 1994, when we saw the end of apartheid, Zimbabwe was very much the centre for the region, but relationships with surrounding countries have deteriorated to a degree, particularly those with South Africa and Botswana because of the Zimbabwe diaspora. What do you think surrounding countries can do to help in assisting the development of Zimbabwe, not least when it comes to finding a permanent political solution?

Mr Thomas: SADC, in that sense, the group of Zimbabwe’s neighbours, has a key role to play and has accepted that role in terms of acting as guarantors of the Global Political Agreement. It is encouraging that there is a mediation process underway. It is a process I welcome but it is very much a process that we need to respect, as SADC leading on that process and fulfilling the role that it has. You asked me specifically about South Africa. South Africa is probably the country that has seen most migration of Zimbabweans who have fled the country or have left the country into South Africa. Zimbabwe is very much a domestic issue for President Zuma and the South African government, as it is an international or a regional issue. You are right to flag the continuing importance of the region for resolving the political tensions in Zimbabwe. It is a process that we are obviously monitoring closely, but SADC is very much in the lead in that process.

Q66 Mr Lancaster: I agree with you wholeheartedly, and I think SADC do have a key role to play, but, given the Chairman’s opening questions and the deterioration at the moment, and notwithstanding that it is right that SADC should take the lead, what more can we do in supporting SADC to try to resolve some of these situations? Or should we not do anything?

Mr Thomas: First, we have to respect the mediation process that President Zuma has put in place. He has appointed a high-level team with significant reputations themselves to lead on that mediation process and, despite moments of high tension, which we all recognise will occur as the GPA process moves forward, we have to respect that mediation effort that President Zuma’s team on behalf of SADC is leading. The other ways in which we can help are more direct, frankly, and that is through our development programme. It is important for the people of Zimbabwe that there has been economic progress, and I think the economic progress is beginning to throw the spotlight on to the lack of political progress that has taken place in Zimbabwe. Through some of the assistance to the Ministry of Finance and through our humanitarian programmes we have played a small role, but an important role, along with others in the international community, in helping the stabilisation of the economy, and in that sense allowing the issues around the political process and the lack of sufficient political reform to be further highlighted, both for SADC to continue to deal with and also for the government to continue to have to deal with.

Q67 Mr Lancaster: Is it quite a difficult tightrope to walk really? For example, when we were there, you will be aware from all the talk in the papers that they had seized on comments that the Foreign Secretary had made in the chamber and they were being spun one way by one party and the other way by the other. Is it quite a difficult tightrope to walk, where on the one hand, everybody in this room, I am sure, wants to see development and progression within Zimbabwe in helping to secure that political process, but, as soon as we are vocal, it can sometimes be counterproductive whilst at the same time trying to support this process? Is that tricky? How do we find that balance between the two?

Mr Thomas: That is not true just of Zimbabwe, it is true of a whole series of relationships that we have with countries. Sometimes, you are right, there is a tightrope to walk.

Q68 Mr Lancaster: Are we getting it right, I suppose is what I am asking?

Mr Thomas: Are we getting it right? I think we are getting the balance right. We have a rising development programme. We do continue to deliver tough messages to all members of the Zimbabwean government, regardless of their political affiliation, and we continue to look to the leadership of both South Africa and SADC more generally to provide that on-the-spot mediation work that they are doing.

Q69 Chairman: Taking The Economist article, it describes SADC as a fairly spineless 15-member regional group. Zimbabwe has already defied their court rulings. They have just adopted another racist agenda which presumably would fall foul of the South Africans. Mr Mugabe’s attitude seems to be: “I don’t recognise SADC. It doesn’t bother me. If it suits me, I will pray them in aid, otherwise I will ignore them.” What can we do to persuade SADC to stand up for what it says it believes in?

Mr Thomas: If SADC was not prepared to play the role that it is playing, we would not have seen President Zuma set up a high-level mediation group, and we would not have seen that mediation group engaging in the very direct way in which it has done. I do think we have to be careful not to respond to some of the bluster from particular politicians in Zimbabwe at the moment and allow the SADC mediation process to continue. On occasion, we deliver blunt messages to all the members of the Zimbabwe government when it is required, and we provide direct assistance to help the journey of reform where it is appropriate to do so. There is also this international effort through SADC, and we have to allow it to continue to do its work and not be put off, if you will forgive me for saying so, by particular articles or particular comments by particular leaders in Zimbabwe.

Chairman: Nigel Evans.

Q70 Mr Evans: Thank you, Chairman. President Zuma is in London next week for a State Visit. Do I assume that yourself and the Foreign Secretary will be meeting with him and, if so, that you will raise the mediation process?

Mr Thomas: It would be pretty odd if he came to the UK and there were not conversations with the Foreign Secretary and the Development Secretary. I am sure there will be a whole series of conversations about affairs in southern Africa, and Zimbabwe will inevitably be one of those areas that gets discussed, but there is a broad agenda for the State Visit, so it is not the only issue that will come up by any means.

Q71 Mr Evans: No, I assume that other things will be spoken about as well, but clearly his important role in Zimbabwe is fully recognised by the world community.

Mr Thomas: Absolutely. We recognise that he is playing a key role and we respect that. The decision that he took to set up a three-member mediation team and to include in that team some people who are extremely well respected in southern African politics was a sign of the seriousness with which he views the situation in Zimbabwe, but those were decisions that he took and we have to respect his leadership, given the importance of South Africa to SADC. Obviously, as I say, we will talk inevitably about Zimbabwe. It is one of the issues that will be on the agenda, but there will be a whole series of other issues that we have to talk through as well.

Q72 Mr Evans: I want to touch on land reform, but before I do that the Chairman referred to The Economist piece about businesses having a 51% stake by black Zimbabweans. Does the Government see that as a racist policy?

Mr Thomas: With all decisions in South Africa, the key test is avoiding explosive language. The concern we would have is more about the impact of particular policies on the economy and on the people of Zimbabwe, so if it makes investment in Zimbabwe less likely, if it reduces the chance of jobs being made available, then of course it has to be a considerable concern. One of the issues, as the Committee will recognise, as to why so many people have left South Africa is the lack of job opportunities, so anything that prevents the private sector from beginning to develop, anything that further discourages private sector investment, is clearly going to be a major concern, but in the end this has to be a decision that Zimbabwe takes for itself.

Q73 Mr Evans: But clearly it is a racist policy. If you say that there are a lot of white Zimbabweans living there and people who are not black Zimbabweans living there, surely they should have an opportunity to be able to be a major partner in whatever businesses exist within a country. If any other country did this sort of thing, we would be banging the table and saying, “This is racist.”

Mr Thomas: We want everybody in Zimbabwe to have equal economic opportunities in that sense, quite clearly, but sometimes there is a way of recognising that a whole series of reforms are required. I appreciate, Mr Evans, that you might want me to use particular phrases to describe a particular set of policies but, with respect, I am not going to do that. The broad message is that there has been progress in terms of the economy. We do not want that progress put at risk. We want the economy to stabilise still further. That is going to require a whole series of political reforms now to take place to create the conditions for longer-term private sector investment to take place.

Q74 Mr Evans: That leads me on to land reform, which is part of the reforms that clearly are essential to get some sort of progress and stability within Zimbabwe. Have you seen the documentary Mugabe and the White African?

Mr Thomas: I have not, no.

Q75 Mr Evans: I would heartily recommend it because our Committee has had an opportunity to see it. It is quite startling exactly what pressures clearly are on white farmers who exist within Zimbabwe. It is an incredible and very moving documentary. Clearly a number of people have had their lands grabbed, basically in a way that is not helping Zimbabwe. One can understand the reason for reform – we talked to the Commercial Farmers Union when we were in Zimbabwe and they can understand the sense for reform too – but something that is not orderly, something that is not structured, and something that leads to so much farmland being taken out of production and, indeed, then handed over to the cronies of politicians or friends within Zimbabwe, clearly is not doing Zimbabwe any favours.

Mr Thomas: I would agree with that. I would go further and say that not only do we condemn the huge number of farm invasions that have taken place, but we have seen terrible human rights abuses committed as part of those invasions which are completely unacceptable, both on an individual basis, the individual rights of the people affected, but also, as you quite rightly describe it, in terms of the devastating impact it has had particularly on the rural agricultural economy. Frankly, “economic madness” would be an appropriate phrase to use to describe that. I hope that that situation will desist. We will continue to make that clear in our comments to the politicians in Zimbabwe. It is clear that we do need to see a land policy that is fair, that is pro-poor, that is transparent, because that will, as you say, help to revive the economy, particularly in rural areas. It would help to revive the agriculture sector. We are a long way from that point at the moment, but we would stand ready, as part of a wider donor group, to help in that process if the political conditions were right. I suspect, frankly, the first step would be for some sort of land audit to take place, if the Inclusive Government were so minded, but, at the moment, we are not seeing signs that there is a willingness by all the parties to the Inclusive Government for a fairer land policy to take place.

Q76 Mr Evans: They seem to be dragging their feet on doing anything about a land audit, but clearly that looks like being a necessary forerunner to making some real progress in that area. You have just mentioned the international community doing its bit, along with the United Kingdom, in trying to bring some sort of commonsense solution to this issue. What do you think the international community and Britain specifically can do in this area?

Mr Thomas: As I have said, we do stand ready to provide assistance, as part of a wider donor group, if we are asked to. As I have said, the first thing would be to conduct an audit of land. Frankly, we would only see a merit in such an audit taking place if we had confidence that the information that such an audit gleaned would be used to promote the type of pro-poor, sensible, transparent land reform policy that most people independent of some of those in Zimbabwe recognise as being necessary to revive the rural economy there. We stand ready to help as part of a wider international effort if the conditions are right. They are not right at the moment.

Q77 Mr Evans: Even with the hyperinflation that the country has gone through, a lot of white farmers have gone to neighbouring African countries, as I understand it, and set up businesses there and are doing rather well. I suspect that Zimbabwe is importing some of the produce now of the former white Zimbabwean farmers – which is clearly insane. Do you think we are getting any closer to the political reality within Zimbabwe that a solution should be found? Or do you think that the mentality is still: no, we wish to right the wrongs of many generations and we do not care about economic or humane consequences of what the policy is that we are now doing in Zimbabwe?

Mr Thomas: Unfortunately, land is one of those issues around which the political power continues to be very heavily contested. As I described in my comments earlier, whilst we have seen some progress in terms of the stabilisation of the economy in Zimbabwe, we have not yet seen the major political changes which the GPA has set out as being necessary. One of the areas where we are continuing to see (to use a diplomatic phrase) “unfortunate activity” is around land. I hope, as the economy has begun to stabilise, that there will be recognition in all parts of the Inclusive Government of a series of further steps that need to be taken to help that economic progress. If those political realities kick in, then perhaps we will get closer to the situation that you describe.

Q78 Hugh Bayley: Do you not think it would be helpful if the British Government were to acknowledge that the terms on which white settlers, many from this country, obtained land at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was not fair and did not follow the rule of law, and that the consequence for many indigenous people was that they were forced on to marginal land and suffered enormously? If we were to say that, then perhaps we would be in a better position to oppose the wrongs of fast-track land reform and to move the debate on to a position you were talking about, of pro-poor, rural development – which is what Zimbabwe clearly needs – rather than a return to settler plantations.

Mr Thomas: With respect, Mr Bayley, I am not sure it would be helpful. I think I should take responsibility for what we as a party have done since we took power in terms of our aid programmes and our foreign policy since 1997. I am not sure we should try to reach back all the time into history to look at what happened a very long time ago. We need to deal – forgive me for saying so – with the realities on the ground at the moment. In that sense, the report that your party group produced was very helpful in trying to put to bed some of the misnomers that have existed around what happened in 1980, but, despite the importance of that report, we should rather think ahead. We should recognise, as Mr Evans has described, the continuing adverse implications of the land policy which particular elements in the government are pursuing from time to time and recognise that there needs to be a comprehensive change in terms of land policy at some time which needs to be led by the government in Zimbabwe, but which, if the conditions were right, we would stand ready to support.

Q79 Hugh Bayley: I think you are right to want to see a land audit, but if British money alongside money from other donors is to go towards establishing land title for poor landless Zimbabweans, how would you see that process unfolding? In other words, how would you select the landless poor? Who would get land? Who would you compensate?

Mr Thomas: Mr Bayley, with respect, I am not going to go down that particular route. That is a process that the government of Zimbabwe has to lead, and I hope it is a government that would be elected in free and fair elections so that it had a clear mandate. I have said that we would be ready to help as part of a series of donors with such an audit if we could be convinced that the information from that audit was going to be used properly. We do not have those conditions at the moment. We do stand ready to help, as I say, but we are not going to put money on the table when, frankly, we know that there is a series of other priorities where we can have a sense that our money were to achieve good outcomes for the poor in Zimbabwe more immediately. But we recognise the importance of the land issue and staff and ministers will be ready to respond if the political conditions changed.

Q80 Chairman: We agreed, anyway, that, whilst we would refer to the land issue, it was not going to be central to our report because it is such a major issue, but I think Mr Bayley has put his finger on some of the background to it. You just mentioned about effective DFID programmes. Indeed, DFID is doing a lot of the co-ordination on the ground and that seems to be welcomed by a number of the NGOs and charities. Two things were said to us: one was that if things improve a lot more donors are likely to come in and it is important that co-ordination is established in advance, otherwise it could get chaotic. That, on the other hand, may be too optimistic in terms of what is likely to happen. But you cannot give the funding directly to the government in most cases. Does that make it much more difficult to co-ordinate? Clearly other donors may not be very keen to hand it over to one lead donor, so what mechanisms do you need to have in place, or what could you do to ensure that the relationship between donors and the government is more direct than it is now? What are the criteria that would need to be met?

Mr Thomas: We are a long way away from having confidence in the systems of the government of Zimbabwe, so it is a long way off before we would want to be putting money directly into the government of Zimbabwe’s budget. Nevertheless, there are a number of ministries which are developing plans which are pro-poor, which are designed to help all communities across Zimbabwe and behind which we feel we can align some of our support, so there are discussions with government about their future plans and we are trying, as you say, to work with other donors where we have confidence in those plans or in the merits of those plans to put our financial assistance to support the achievement of those plans. In terms of the broader issue about donor co-ordination, you are right that donors are co-ordinating in general fairly well, particularly those which are traditional OECD Development Assistance Committee donors. There could still be better co-ordination with the World Bank and others within the UN system. In the longer term, if we can draw some of the non-traditional donors into the donor co-ordination process, players like China, like South Africa, like Brazil, that would clearly be an aspiration that we would want to have, not just in the Zimbabwe context but in a whole series of other developing country contexts too. Also, the donor co-ordination mechanisms are relatively informal at the moment. As you say, if conditions continue to improve and other donors were to come in, then we would need perhaps to formalise some of the donor co-ordination structures that are there at the moment, but, in general, relations between the main donors are very positive, as you describe.

Q81 Chairman: You have increased the programme in recent years in difficult situations. If you were going to put more money in, are you satisfied that the mechanisms you have in place would be effective, or would you need to find different or better ways of delivering it?

Mr Thomas: We are comfortable that the mechanisms we have available at the moment are strong enough and robust enough to ensure that the money that we are spending in Zimbabwe is going to where it should go. Clearly, if you increase your aid programme into a country, you have to think through what implications that has for the particular funding instruments that you use. We work, as you know, with UN agencies and NGOs but also with a number of private sector organisations which manage particular programmes of aid for us. As I say, we have a strong process for monitoring how our money operates. Thus far, we are confident that we have managed to make a significant difference with our money. If we were to increase funding substantially, then clearly we would look at the mechanisms we had available to us.

Chairman: If we are moving on to that, I will bring in John Battle.

Q82 John Battle: In a sense, the real issue is governance, from my experience of the visit we did, in particular the field visit. I would like to express gratitude to the staff at DFID who took us out of Harare to Bulawayo. I went with some of our colleagues to Tsholotsho and I was very encouraged and impressed by work on the ground, not least around the Protracted Relief Programme. All these things have great titles, but I found a programme there to reach to people who were poor, the poorest of the poor, the people who were landless, to try to get back their livelihoods, with a whole range of activities from home care right the way through. I was very, very impressed by that programme. I just want to ask you a couple of questions about it. If that has gone in the right direction, can it be amplified and done elsewhere? The programme has two phases, as I understand it, and we have just entered Phase II. Phase I was going for a few years. I am lost at the scale of it. As I stood in a field in Tsholotsho with those older women, trying out new cultivation techniques for getting more water into their plants so that their fields of maize and cowpeas would look rather healthier than the ones across the way, I asked whether there was just one field or thousands of fields like that. In the DFID letter it says that the programme is reaching over two million poor and vulnerable people, but the plan for Phase II is to reach two million people, and sometimes we include the two million that we have not quite yet reached. I want to know the extent of the programme. Is it really being disseminated across? Do you have just one field in Tsholotsho or do you have programmes elsewhere in the country? Can it be scaled up? I know the programme is working with other donors as well, but is the scaling up happening and is it possible for it to happen? Can you find the land? Can the people respond to it? Can it be a much more mobile programme than just one or two little pivotal projects?

Mr Thomas: I will bring in Mr Lowcock in just a minute, but, first, thank you for your comments about DFID staff in Zimbabwe. If I may, I will to put on record my appreciation for the work they do. They have had to operate in some extremely difficult circumstances in the past.

Q83 John Battle: Indeed.

Mr Thomas: As Members will recognise, we have some of our most talented staff deployed in Zimbabwe, given the importance of the work we are doing there. The Protracted Relief Programme has expanded. It is not just that one field that you were sent to, but let me bring Mr Lowcock in to amplify on that.

Mr Lowcock: It is a long time since I have been in Tsholotsho, so I am glad to hear that particular report. The programme covers 300,000 households, which is about two million people, which is probably 20%.

Q84 John Battle: At present?

Mr Lowcock: At present, yes.

Q85 John Battle: The target for Phase II was to reach two million people.

Mr Lowcock: I think that is the current coverage.

Q86 John Battle: So you are already well ahead.

Mr Lowcock: I think that is the case, Mr Battle, yes.

Q87 John Battle: Good. What about the range of activities? Many of the NGOs praise the programme for its innovation in reaching from home care, and quite personal support, to innovative agricultural techniques, including community participation. While we sometimes focus on, as I said, governance at the government level, the new engagement of the people is the real innovative work that DFID and other NGOs are leading internationally. Is that integration being extended? Is that development of those kinds of participatory tools able to take place? I felt the local officials were not resisting it at the local level, which augured well for the future of Zimbabwe if it could be scaled up from the bottom. Is that the view of the Department in the work that is going on at field level, at floor level?

Mr Thomas: Absolutely. We would want to continue to see that programme scaled up. There is a series of developing countries – and I think of Afghanistan – where we have similar grassroots programmes. We are particularly fortunate in Zimbabwe to have very many committed civil society organisations which are playing, as you describe, a crucial role in helping to identify who needs the support that the PRP programme can give in communities most. As you say, the range of support we are able to give is a particularly important feature of the programme, from the very direct assistance, be it seeds and fertilizers or home care, to some of the more technical assistance, to help NGOs help the individual farmers understand what they have to do to increase their yields. As you say, it is an innovative programme and we have been encouraged by the international community’s response to that programme. As you know, Phase I was very much a programme that DFID initiated. Phase II has had much broader donor support and in that sense has become a proper multi-donor programme.

Q88 John Battle: What struck me as well was that perhaps with the word “farmer” in English we think of some strapping young man who is ultra-fit out there in the fields, but there were women who were older than I am and what impressed me immensely was they have not had the benefit of my education but their knowledge of agriculture and agricultural techniques was incredible. I was quite excited by this new conservation agriculture method and I wonder whether your Department is able to feed that into DFID and some of the climate change discussions and see if those methods can be tested out elsewhere in Africa and South East Asia so that the learning from innovation can be passed on? I thought as well as the process of engagement with the people there may be some good agricultural science in there that could be very helpful as well.

Mr Thomas: Far be it from me to suggest recommendations to the Committee but drawing that particular point out would certainly help us continue to spread some of the lessons from the Zimbabwe programme across our other country programmes. As you quite rightly said, the lessons in terms of climate change, in terms of the particular farming environment, if you like, in which our programme operates does potentially give information that would be useful in a whole series of other developing countries – Sedex – particularly in the climate change context. As you know, one of the priorities that the Secretary of State set out in last year’s White Paper was for us to do more on climate change in developing countries. Learning the lessons from successful programmes such as the PRP where there is a climate element is exactly the type of thing that we need to continue to spread across the Department.

Q89 John Battle: It was noticeable that we were speaking directly with the women, the farmers themselves, not through an intermediary, an agent, the NGO’s leader or even the DFID person. DFID is actually involved in the programming. If I can put it to you this way: I understand DFID now uses managing agents and some of the conversations suggest that using agents can become bureaucratic and can tie up resources of the partner NGOs having to fill in analyses and sometimes the direct link with DFID is not quite there, as it were. Although we had the experience of talking to someone in the field, when the process is taking place on a daily programme basis is the use of managing agents causing delays in the transaction between DFID and the work on the ground? Is it sometimes holding up the provision of DFID support?

Mr Thomas: We need to recognise that there was a substantial difference between Phase 1 of the PRP and Phase 2. Phase 2 is inevitably much more ambitious and involves a series of other donors. In a sense, what you want from your staff is that they make things happen on the ground in terms of developing countries. Our staff initiated this programme and as others come onboard the pressures on those staff and their ability to do other things would inevitably have been much more constricted if they had continued to run the programme direct, so we took the decision to bring in a private sector operator and there was an international tender, as I understand. Inevitably, when you have that sort of change there are one or two bumps along the process. What the head of the DFID office in Zimbabwe is making sure happens is that there are regular, I believe quarterly, meetings with the heads of civil society groups in Zimbabwe to make sure that we continue to have good coordination with civil society. That will clearly be of importance, not just in terms of the PRP programme but also in terms of the other programmes that we have.

Q90 John Battle: I will pass to Andrew in a second. It was expressed to us that there could be a distancing built in. What would worry me is that what seems to be really radical – to use a word, I think it is connected to the word “roots” – about DFID’s work is that ability to reconnect at the ground floor level and get the pro-poor development going on there and then feed it back up through. If you build a layer in that cuts them off again it could undermine some of the good work that has been done. I think Andrew wanted to follow through on this.

Mr Thomas: May I just pick that point up and bring Mr Lowcock in in a second. I think if there was not regular communication with civil society then, you are right, that would be a concern. In order specifically to avoid any suggestion that we are getting remote we wanted to set up a proper process for communicating with key players in civil society, and that is what we have now initiated.

Mr Lowcock: I would just like to put on the record that we have three members of staff in the Harare office who still work primarily on this programme and they are spending less of their time on the routine administration and more of it on the strategic dialogue and, indeed, at least once a month going out to regions like Tsholotsho and seeing what is happening. In terms of the objectives of making sure we stay in touch with the goals and the delivery of those goals, the way we have organised the work is an improvement on the past arrangement.

Q91 Andrew Stunell: If I could just pick up where John finished. First of all I want to say that we saw some excellent on the ground projects which will be the anecdotes and illustrations of my presentation about the work the Department does for a long time. They were very good projects.

Mr Thomas: But.

Q92 Andrew Stunell: The “but” is that there are so many levels between the money going in from the office in Harare to the wheelchair-bound lady with her four chickens in the compound outside Bulawayo that we have paid for. There is the managing agent, there is the Zimbabwe-wide NGO and there is civic society. When we pour £100 in at the top in Harare, how much goes out and buys chickens at the bottom, where does the other money stop on the way and what is the value of that other money on the way in terms of the investment in civic society and so on?

Mr Thomas: I would have to get you the exact breakdown in terms of the portion of what we put into the PRP programme that is taken up, if you like, as administration costs. We need to be careful and to recognise that those different layers, as you have described them, also play a key function in helping us to account for how the money is spent, making sure that money goes to the most needy people in Zimbabwe but also that we have proper accounting processes in place. I can see that as the programme has got bigger certainly one or two people have raised concerns, but I do think it is important that we have that administration element in there so that we do have proper checks and balances. We will very happily provide for the Committee, Mr Stunell, a more detailed explanation of what portion of the PRP programme goes as administrative costs if that would be helpful.

Mr Lowcock: May I make an additional point? As well as the cost of delivering the programme we need to think about what the returns and benefits of the programme are. It costs about $70 per household to provide the assistance we provide under the PRP and the value of the production that is generated by that $70 is about $140, it is a very high rate of return. The alternative to providing some of the inputs that we have provided would be in many cases to provide food aid which would cost us between $700 and $1,000. The opportunity saving of this programme is very high and the rate of return on the programme is also very high. The numbers I have given you reflect the administration costs as well as the costs of the inputs. We honestly think that in terms of value for money this is a very effective programme.

Q93 Chairman: I think it is a very important question that Mr Stunell is asking. As you will know, Minister, we are up against rather tight timetables. The constitutional requirements tell us that we have to have this report done in a very short space of time, so if you are able to give us that breakdown we need it very soon. I think it would be very helpful.

Mr Thomas: Okay. We will see if we can do that.

Q94 Andrew Stunell: I just want to underline that point. To give us real confidence that Mr Lowcock’s presentation is resilient, it would be helpful to have an additional report and note from you.

Mr Thomas: Okay. We will get that to you even quicker than usual.

Q95 Richard Burden: This is really on the same subject. From what we saw, I think we do understand why managing agents are used and the good pressures that lead DFID to go down that road. It is also fair to say that in terms of the projects we saw in Tsholotsho and the engagement of the women from GRM there it appeared to be good. However, I think the uncertainty that some of us still feel is whether we will get to a stage where the tail starts to wag the dog. If the need to have those managing agents is because of their expertise and they get such expertise that they are used not just by DFID but other partners as well, the danger is that they could then become intermediaries that start determining what happens rather than intermediaries that do what is required from the grassroots or reflecting policy. I do not think we are saying that is what is happening but we see there is a danger that could happen. The question really is, is it right that could be a danger and, if so, how do you guard against it?

Mr Thomas: Let me bring Mr Lowcock in in a second. When we take a decision that we want to contract out, if you like, the management of a particular programme there are a whole series of well-established processes which we follow. We are very happy to provide some further information to the Committee if that is what you need to give you some confidence that the tail will not wag the dog in this particular context. There is good donor coordination in Zimbabwe and, as I say, we have some very experienced staff operating in our office, so I do not believe, if you like, the worst case scenario that you are posing would happen. Let me bring Mr Lowcock in to give you some further detail.

Mr Lowcock: I think you are exactly right, Mr Burden, that in principle the problem you have described could be one we face. We have tried to describe how we are mitigating it in this case. The Committee knows very well the staff of the Department is quite stretched. If we had more staff available to us in Zimbabwe my own view would be that are were other things I would rather they did next before more administration and more detailed monitoring and engagement on the PRP. I am satisfied with the approach that we have to the management of the PRP at the moment.

Mr Thomas: Just one other point to make. It is not just us as one donor who plays a role in this, there are a series of other donors who also are funders of the PRP. In a sense, it is a shared process for looking at the administrative cost element and taking decisions about tenders, et cetera, which in that sense I hope gives further confidence and further checks into the system.

Q96 Andrew Stunell: I would like to hear from Mr Lowcock that if he did have those extra staff and it is not what Mr Burden was postulating, what would it be that the extra staff would be dedicated to?

Mr Lowcock: One of the issues that came up in discussions yesterday with the finance minister in Harare was follow-up to a discussion he had in Washington last week when the board of the IMF restored Zimbabwe’s voting rights. He had some discussions with the staff of the IMF about what it would take for Zimbabwe to move towards fuller normalisation of its relations with the international financial institutions, including potentially debt relief. We have a very good economist, who I am sure you met, in our office in Harare, who is one of a rather small number – I think I could count them on my fingers, excluding the thumb, of one hand – of international macroeconomists in Harare at the moment. That is a big prize for Zimbabwe to normalise its relations to that degree, an awful lot has to be done to secure that prize, but that would certainly be an area where it would be worth putting additional professional resources in. We will find ways to do that. That is one example I would give in answer to your question.

Q97 Mr Lancaster: We will move on to health, if we may. The Committee visited two hospitals, the Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo and a hospital in Harare. We saw the maternity unit and we saw programmes associated with HIV/AIDS which Mr Evans will ask questions about in a moment. What we saw was very good. One of the key points that was put across to us, and perhaps we should not be surprised at this given the diaspora and the migration, was that there is a real shortage of skilled health workers, many of whom have gone abroad. For example, in the hospital in Bulawayo they had only recruited approximately 50% of midwives, although there is a midwife shortage in the UK so perhaps that is a bad example. What are we doing to try and recruit and retain health specialist staff in Zimbabwe?

Mr Thomas: One of the things, as I suspect the Committee will be aware of, that has, if you like, continued to focus our attention on the health sector was the cholera crisis in 2008/09 where the crisis was sparked by a long-term lack of investment in water and sanitation, but also the substantial deterioration in the health sector which was caused by many health workers wanting to migrate or simply not coming into work because they were not being paid. What we have done is to ensure that there is an allowance paid directly into health workers’ bank accounts to provide that direct incentive for them to turn up to work and to go about their business. We can provide direct assistance in that way, but in the end there has got to be further economic stabilisation and a further reduction in the political instability that exists in Zimbabwe. We can make a difference in terms of public services, but to get anything like the type of public services that we would recognise here in the UK those broader economic and political changes are going to have to happen. As I say, we are making a difference in terms of the allowances we fund directly into health workers’ bank accounts which has helped recruitment to pick up. We are also helping to fund the supply of crucial drugs. If you look at the government of Zimbabwe’s budget, they simply cannot afford to pay all the salaries of health workers that are required or all the needs for drugs, so it is the donor community which has to plug that gap. It is not just us, it is a number of other donors too that are playing a role.

Q98 Mr Lancaster: You say the government cannot really afford to pay the wages, so given that we have strikes at the moment in Zimbabwe, and I think they are currently paid $200 a month and they are demanding $500, is that realistic? What effect would that have? What can we do?

Mr Thomas: One of the things we can do is not to get involved in what is a conversation that has to take place between those workers themselves with their own government. What we can do, as I have said, is to respond to the requests that we have had from the government, the Inclusive Government, to provide support to the health sector, and through the continuation of these allowances that is what we are doing and by making further money available to target, for example, maternal health and to continue our different aid programmes.

Q99 Mr Lancaster: Workers’ pay and drugs to one side, I suppose the other key element to try to improve the health structure in Zimbabwe will be infrastructure. I know that we are investing in six hospitals in Zimbabwe at the moment. Can you perhaps outline what the aims of that programme are and whether or not you intend to increase it, or how you see it us moving forward in that area?

Mr Thomas: Obviously we want to move from, if you like, the crisis phase of the health support to getting a longer term plan in place for the health sector, one that can tackle all the different health challenges that the people of Zimbabwe face. I would not want to underestimate to you the scale of the challenge that there still is, we are still in a situation where I think substantial humanitarian assistance will have to be provided for Zimbabwe. The scope to dramatically expand our health programme, whilst I think it is there, is perhaps more limited than we would like. You are right, we have to continue to invest in infrastructure but continue to make sure there are health workers in place and that those health workers are being paid and, crucially, that the basic drugs and other supplies that they need to go about their business are in place. If you like, the next ambition that we have is to try to reduce maternal and child mortality where there has been a substantial deterioration in Zimbabwe more recently. We have recently committed some £25 million over the next five years to help people continue to get better access to family planning services, to antenatal care, to obstetric services and newborn care services. If you like, that is the next iteration of our support to the health sector.

Q100 Mr Evans: Another health subject is HIV/AIDS, which you have already touched on. We all had an opportunity to see some of the projects involved with that and I think we were all impressed with what we saw. It is tremendous if one considers that in parts of Zimbabwe some of the aid is somewhat thin. Certainly where we were in Bulawayo and Harare we saw some tremendous projects, so I was very pleased with that, but still last year 140,000 people died in Zimbabwe of AIDS. Compared to other countries, Zambia for instance, where the amount of money spent is way above, I think it is US$187 per person as opposed to Zimbabwe where it is $4, why is there such a staggering disparity?

Mr Thomas: I think often the disparity, frankly, relates to the political situation in Zimbabwe and the ability for the international community to spend money effectively to tackle HIV/AIDS. With our programmes on the health sector we have wanted to get to a stage where other players in the international donor community would support it. The Global Fund are now funding the health workers’ support programme. As I say, I think as the economic situation stabilises there will be more opportunities to do more on healthcare, of which HIV/AIDS will continue to be a priority for ministers. Nevertheless, I think the UK can take some pride in the success that there has been, notwithstanding the significant levels of death because of AIDS that there is in Zimbabwe, for the fact that it has not been even higher. HIV prevalence has come down, it has halved over the last ten years, and our aid into the sector over that period has been absolutely pivotal to helping those who wanted to make a difference in this area in Zimbabwe be able to do so.

Q101 Mr Evans: I have got no doubts about that whatsoever. We went to see one of the hospitals there where the storeroom had eight months’ worth of supply whereas two years ago they would have had nothing.

Mr Thomas: That is right.

Q102 Mr Evans: Getting the capacity and getting those drugs out into the villages and into the more rural areas is clearly something that needs to be done. Within the infrastructure that exists there, are we able to target some of the high risk groups like sex workers, children and, indeed, gays and lesbians?

Mr Thomas: We have a behaviour change communications programme which is run by an organisation, Population Services International, who are very well established in this field who are doing hugely important work in terms of getting those prevention messages out on AIDS. There is a whole programme of work around voluntary counselling and testing which has also been very important in making a difference. I am sure the Committee will be familiar with the way in which those who have migrated from Zimbabwe potentially would not get access to information about how to avoid becoming HIV positive, but through funding we give to the International Organisation on Migration we have been able to provide support for them to get help and information to those migrating from Zimbabwe to avoid the obvious risks at transit points, et cetera. One of the keys in terms of preventing the spread of AIDS and HIV infection is making sure there is good access to condoms and that is something we have continued to be in the lead on in the provision in Zimbabwe.

Q103 Mr Evans: One other area which helps greatly is male circumcision which apparently improves the rate of protection to 60%. The target is to circumcise 80% of the males within Zimbabwe as soon as they possibly can. Apparently the cost of that will be around $140 million but they will save over $3 billion if that could be achieved. We visited one of the clinics and talked to a couple of people who had gone through it, so they were acting as peers to encourage other males to go through the procedure. Do you envisage upping the amount of money that we will be directing towards male circumcision within Zimbabwe over the coming months?

Mr Thomas: Rather than just focusing on one specific intervention in response to one specific disease, however important that disease is, and I have a longstanding interest in HIV/AIDS, I think the challenge for us, both in DFID and the wider donor community, is how do we get more support more generally into the health sector in Zimbabwe and get a clear coordinated plan that looks at maternal health, that looks at HIV/AIDS, that looks at a range of other diseases too. Many of the responses that you need to tackle HIV/AIDS or to tackle maternal health are common across the piece in terms of having good health workers and good infrastructure in place. The challenge is to continue that process of coordination under good leadership from the government of Zimbabwe to get a series of clear health priorities in place which the international community could get behind. That is certainly what our ambition would be to support. Whether it has to be just DFID upping our funding levels on healthcare or whether there are other players in the international community, such as the Global Fund, who can take up that extra financial need is something that we need to continue to review. Health is certainly one of the areas that we watch very closely.

Q104 Mr Evans: Clearly all the donor organisations talk to one another anyway and that is important to make sure there is no duplication or people working against one another. When we visited the clinics we saw a number of posters with famous Zimbabwean footballers who were saying that they were getting this procedure and encouraging others to do so. It does seem to me to be economic commonsense, never mind humane commonsense, to ensure that as many people as possible have this particular procedure to better protect the nation, particularly when you look at the colossal number of deaths. This is a bit of a lobbying plea really. All I would ask is that you look at this again and make absolutely certain that not for the want of directing the money there, which as I say will pay dividends in the short and medium-term, we support this procedure as much as we possibly can.

Mr Thomas: I recognise both the lobbying plea and I fear one of the specific recommendations that will emerge from your report, and will obviously respond to the report in the usual way and no doubt faster than we would normally.

Q105 Chairman: I think it might be the next government that has to deal with that.

Mr Thomas: Mr Evans, I think your point in general about support for HIV/AIDS is well made, not only in the context of Zimbabwe but actually in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa more generally. We are five years on from Gleneagles where that commitment to try to deliver universal access to anti-retroviral drugs was one of the pivotal elements of the Gleneagles Agreement. We are probably two-thirds of the way towards achieving that commitment, so massive progress has been made but the target has not yet been reached. One of the issues that ministers in DFID are looking at is how we can use the international meetings that are taking place this year to refocus attention on that commitment to universal access, to look at what has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa, what has not worked perhaps, and what else the donor community needs to do. There will be an international meeting that takes place in London very shortly that looks at exactly that question.

Q106 Mr Evans: Hopefully when President Zuma comes as well on South Africa, maybe pushing him a little bit more on that area.

Mr Thomas: I hear your message, Mr Evans.

Q107 Richard Burden: One of the other major health areas, and you have alluded to it yourself, is the issue of water and sanitation. Six million people still have not got access to clean water and sanitation and obviously there was the bad cholera outbreak just a little while ago. When we met the Mayor of Bulawayo during our visit, if there was one priority that he wanted to identify it was the issue of the water system in the city. He said it was close to collapse and that was not unique in Bulawayo and his plea was for donors to concentrate on trying to address that as an issue. Where would you see the issue of investing in the water and sanitation infrastructure to rank compared to other priorities in terms of health and so on?

Mr Thomas: That is a very difficult question to answer. In the longer term there is no doubt that for a series of economic and social reasons as well as health reasons we need to see more investment in water and sanitation in Zimbabwe. That is absolutely clear. Through some of the programmes that we already have, not least the Protracted Relief Programme, there is work taking place on water and sanitation, but I would not want to give you the sense that there is a clear long-term sector-wide plan on water and sanitation which we are leading. This is one of the issues where as the humanitarian situation stabilises and as hopefully too we see progress on the politics in Zimbabwe the donor community with the government can start to put together a plan for beginning to see much longer-term, more sustained investment in water and sanitation going forward. It might be one of the areas potentially that the Multi Donor Fund that we are in the process of trying to establish under the leadership of the World Bank can look at. In the same way that water and sanitation is a key long-term issue, so is investment in the road network in Zimbabwe and investment in access to electricity. These are long-term issues which we will have to address. However, given the humanitarian need that still exists, and I think will exist for at least another couple of years, the balance of our programme focusing on the delivery of basic services plus, where we can, targeted assistance to support reforms in key ministries is broadly right for the moment, but we have got to keep in view those longer term issues like the Mayor of Bulawayo has identified, I think that is absolutely right.

Q108 Richard Burden: When you mention the Multi Donor Trust Fund, are you saying that this is an issue they could look at?

Mr Thomas: Possibly, yes.

Q109 Richard Burden: Or that they are looking at?

Mr Thomas: The Multi Donor Fund is not up and running yet, there is still a series of preparatory meetings that are taking place to sort out how the fund will operate and what it will focus on. Exactly what it does we are still in discussion on, but it certainly could look at water and sanitation issues. Frankly, if you are looking at a series of other longer term issues, such as infrastructure, roads, et cetera, you have got to think about water and sanitation issues to some extent anyway.

Q110 Hugh Bayley: Could I come in on the issue of the diaspora before we move on to a different subject. There are many thousands of Zimbabweans in this country and they tend to be relatively better educated because the better educated migrants migrate longer distances. They are very committed to their country and because of human rights abuses or political or economic pressures they do not want to be there at the moment, but might well return if there was political change. When the Government is talking next week to President Zuma, will you be talking about the issue of a right to vote given particularly that South African citizens in this country are entitled to vote in South African elections?

Mr Thomas: I think the point you make about the issue of the right to vote for the diaspora has been recognised as one of the issues that the Electoral Commission when it gets on to do its work will have to address. We all want to see progress on those political parts of the GPA where progress has been much slower. I think the big ticket items are getting the Electoral Commission established so that it is in a position to do its work, of which looking at the voter roll and the issues around the diaspora is one of a series of issues that are key to getting free and fair elections to take place.

Q111 Hugh Bayley: One other thing I wanted to raise that affects the diaspora is this: there are circumstances, as you are acutely aware, where money from the UK may appear politically tainted in Zimbabwe. The diaspora traditionally sent a lot of money back through remittances which has played a vitally important part in allowing Zimbabwe to survive an economic collapse. When I met the Institute of Migration’s director of programmes in Zimbabwe, she talked about imaginative schemes that operate in other countries of the world whereby the government of the country in question from which the migrants have migrated and donors match dollar for dollar, pound for pound remittances that are sent back. Given that remittances tend to be spent locally, not by government agencies but by families on essential services, would your Department look at the feasibility of setting up a scheme both to encourage Zimbabwean citizens living in this country to remit money and to find a good channel for transmitting money from your Department? Is that something you would examine?

Mr Thomas: I am not sure we would want to look at a programme that matches exactly what one particular Zimbabwean living in the UK or elsewhere donates to his or her family as such. There are a whole series of obvious technical difficulties with such a scheme. We certainly do want to make it easier for remittances to get back. I would go along with the director-general of IOM in this regard: there are a whole series of innovative programmes around remittances and the use of technology making it easier and cheaper for people to get remittances back which are being deployed in other countries. One thinks of Kenya’s M-PESA programme, for example, where remittances are being sent using mobile phones from a whole series of countries, as I understand it, to the individual recipient in-country. We are looking at a programme of work to try and spread the benefits of that technological innovation around remittances. I would hope Zimbabwe would be a beneficiary in that regard. As you may be aware, we have tried to get much more information into the public sphere about the different rates of interest and different types of financial product that are available for people who want to remit money to be able to do so to try and create much greater competition and, as a result, drive the administrative costs, commissions, down for those sending money back.

Q112 Andrew Stunell: Children have certainly been victims of the current difficulties and it could be said probably that Zimbabwe used to have the best educational system in southern Africa, it has now probably got the worst, yet DFID is still only contributing about 2% of aid to education. I wondered if you could give us some account of how that priority was set and whether you feel it should be a greater contribution in the future.

Mr Thomas: We have a couple of programmes that are supporting the education sector. One is a programme of support to orphans and vulnerable children, which is managed by UNICEF which helps to pay the school fees of a number of the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. We estimate that we have helped almost 250,000 schoolchildren through that process and we are hoping that the programme will expand this year to reach almost 600,000 children directly. Some of the other benefits of that programme include better access to nutrition, to healthcare, to welfare and to psychosocial support services for those young people so that in turn they can benefit better from the education that is available to them. The other source of funding for the education sector is an Education Transition Fund which we launched the idea of back in June last year and pledged £1 million to it. Our interest has generated pledges now worth a total of $50 million and we are in the process of sorting out the procurement process to enable the purchase of substantial textbooks for schools in Zimbabwe. One of the problems in the education sector, as I suspect you will have seen, is as a result of the political instability there has been a substantial loss of good quality materials for teachers to use. We hope that this fund will be one opportunity to begin to restore that damage.

Mr Lowcock: Can I just clarify the point on your 2% figure, which I suspect we gave you.

Q113 Andrew Stunell: You did, yes.

Mr Lowcock: I think that refers to the £1 million towards the wider Multi Donor Fund programme the Minister has just described for textbooks in particular. Probably what we should also have explained is that the programme of support for orphans and vulnerable children, which again the Minister has described, is also that education dimension, so to give a fair overall summary of how much we are putting into education we should include that as well. I apologise that we did not do that the first time. I just wanted to correct that on the record.

Q114 Chairman: How much is that?

Mr Lowcock: I will have to calculate that for you, Chairman. It is significant, and we can do it quickly.

Q115 Andrew Stunell: Can I just pull out a couple of points from your two replies, if I may. The underlying problem is that a lot of schools have been lost to use and a lot of teachers have emigrated or fled from the country. Are there any specific plans that DFID is developing or working with the Zimbabwean government on to get the restoration of school buildings and bringing back teachers?

Mr Thomas: One of the things that the Inclusive Government did when they came to power was to offer a $100 allowance to all civil servants, including teachers, which has helped to see a series of teachers returning to post and in that sense has made a difference.

Mr Lowcock: The biggest issue in our opinion is teachers. I am afraid it is going to be a significant challenge for Zimbabwe to attract back many of the best teachers who have left the country. The thing that will attract them back over time is an improvement in the political and economic situation and confidence in the future of their country, so it all turns back on what the Minister was describing about the overall political situation. Clearly there is also a school infrastructure problem and textbook issue, but we think first teachers, second textbooks and probably third infrastructure would be the order of priorities.

Q116 Andrew Stunell: Can I just ask a question about textbooks? I asked a number of questions in Zimbabwe and we received representations from some of the witnesses there. My impression was that we had gone for a big bang solution to getting textbooks in which was leading to a substantial delay in getting any textbooks in, when it might have been better or more appropriate to have gone for a small-scale solution with more rapid results. We were told by an official from the Department of Education, I think, that they were still waiting for textbooks which were supposed to have been ready at the beginning of the school year, et cetera. I would be interested in your commentary on that situation and for some assurance about how the textbook programme, for which we appear to have set aside funds, is actually going to be delivered to a sensible timetable.

Mr Thomas: I think the first thing is that our initial interest back in June in making money available for the supply of textbooks has sparked considerable interest from the wider donor community, perhaps more than certainly I had expected. What we are trying to do is to make sure that money collectively is well spent by having a central procurement programme. We believe that will deliver substantial economies of scale. There has been a process by which the Zimbabwe Ministry of Education has been looking at trying to prioritise a particular core set of textbooks to be delivered across the country. I recognise the appetite inevitably for teachers to want to have access to those books, but it is right that we get the procurement process right and it is right that we try to deliver economies of scale. Given the size of the pot and the increase in the size of the pot it has clearly taken some time to get that right, but we hope we are close to achieving that and getting the textbooks out.

Mr Lowcock: I would, if I may, like to answer the question we promised you a subsequent answer to, which is the share if we had included the programme of support in our total programme in education. It would be about 6%, about £2.4 million going into education through the programme of support and then £1 million this year through the Education Transition Fund. As the Minister said, we were trading off speed with efficiency and value for money. We have got a much cheaper deal and, therefore, can buy many more textbooks in the way we have done the procurement, but I take the point you have made about needing to think carefully about that trade-off between speed and efficiency.

Q117 Andrew Stunell: So when do we now expect those books to be available to schools, bearing in mind the money was allocated back in July, August last year?

Mr Lowcock: We will need to check when we expect the first deliveries, but the procurement process is advanced now.

Q118 Andrew Stunell: And the schools have no books.

Mr Lowcock: Well, most schools have some books. Clearly, yes, there is an issue and that was the trade-off we were trying to manage. I will find out for you exactly when we expect the first deliveries.

Q119 Mr Lancaster: The Committee went to see some projects directed at orphans and vulnerable children and the Department estimates that more than 90% of the country’s orphans have been absorbed by the extended family. Indeed, 40% of households in rural areas actually care for orphans and vulnerable children but they have almost no financial assistance, so how do you feel that external donors can help in this process and support them?

Mr Thomas: There are a number of programmes that we contribute to which have an impact on orphans and vulnerable children and the financial needs either of the individual children themselves or those who are looking after them. I described the programme of support to orphans and vulnerable children in answer to Mr Stunell. Paying for education fees of the most vulnerable children is one obvious way in which we can help. The second is through the Protracted Relief Programme which we talked about in answer to questions from Mr Battle. That also provides support often to some of the young people of Zimbabwe who have lost parents and who perhaps head up households themselves because of the loss of parents. Many of those people who have taken in orphans and vulnerable children are beneficiaries of the Protracted Relief Programme and in that sense get support from the international community. As a Department we do not pick the individual recipients, that is done through the NGOs who, if you like, deliver the process and the support on the ground.

Q120 Mr Lancaster: I accept the answer, but I suppose what I am really pushing for is given the sheer scale and how a relatively small percentage are being reached given limited resources from the Department, how can we move forward perhaps in greater collaboration with others. That is really what I am asking.

Mr Thomas: I think the Protracted Relief Programme is expanding. It has gone from the first phase when it was largely just the UK funding it to a much bigger programme which is allowing us to reach many more people, including orphans directly or those who are looking after orphans. Similarly, the expansion of the number of children who will get support through the overseas programme up from about 250,000 so far to, we hope, 600,000 this year is an example of the way in which we are trying to expand the numbers that we can access. As we have discussed, in the end it does come back to the economic and political situation in the country moving forward and donors being willing to do more as a result and, frankly, more resources being able to be generated in-country.

Q121 John Battle: If I could just go back to the issue of food security. I think the UN at one point said five million people would be food insecure and the Crop and Supply Assessment Mission estimated around 2.8 million might need humanitarian assistance before the next harvest, which is this April. Some of the reports are suggesting that the weather has not been all that good and the harvest might not be that good. What is your latest prediction for food aid requirements that are coming up in the next year from April?

Mr Thomas: In terms of prediction in terms of hard numbers, I am not sure I can give you that specifically now. We share the analysis that you employed that there are some early indications that this year’s harvest is not going to be as good as in previous years. As I said, notwithstanding that sense of what this year’s harvest is going to be, I think we will have to provide humanitarian assistance anyway at least for the next two years.

Q122 John Battle: The next two years.

Mr Thomas: In recent years there has always been a substantial humanitarian component of our aid programme at different times, almost 50% or more. We work very closely with organisations such as the World Food Programme who deliver that food aid and humanitarian assistance. Frankly, the development of the Protracted Relief Programme is not only an attempt to meet the immediate food needs of those affected but is trying to get at some of the deeper roots of that humanitarian crisis. As well as giving the seeds and fertiliser programme direct support, we are also giving support to NGOs so that they can give actual guidance to people as to how to use those seeds and fertilisers to increase the yields that they do get.

Mr Lowcock: I was going to add a point on when we will have a better sense of this year’s harvest. It will be March-time probably. Most people think that it will be better than 2008 and possibly less good than 2009, so the numbers requiring emergency assistance will be in that range that you described.

Q123 John Battle: Can I thank you for the way in which you gave the answer to that longer term rather than immediate relief. Forgive me, I am not sure I clearly understand this. You provided £9 million to the World Food Programme in 2009 and that aid was mainly for food relief programmes. I wonder whether the World Food Programme itself has that longer term food programme development as well as relief. It is that distinction between your work on the programmes I referred to earlier that are getting sustainable agriculture again, but are you working with the World Food Programme itself on getting those longer term programmes in as opposed to just dishing out food aid, frankly?

Mr Thomas: We are, but it is important to recognise that the World Food Programme has particular expertise at getting food aid to those who need it instantly, who are hungry now in that sense. We are looking as a donor community, which includes WFP, at a cash transfer programme, in a sense, which helps people both to plan for a slightly longer term process as well as meeting their immediate needs now.

Q124 John Battle: If I could follow through from Mark Lowcock’s comment. When will the figures be available? We are in March next week, are we not, so is there a chance that an assessment could be included in our report? Have we got time to get that far?

Mr Lowcock: Normally it is sensible in Zimbabwe to make an assessment of the harvest level by late March. We will give you any update we can at the point at which you want to go to press, but late March is probably the earliest at which we can say something resembling an authoritative answer.

Q125 John Battle: If I can be absolutely clear, that is two things: one to get on to those longer term food development programmes, both our own and working with the World Food Programme, and the other is to look to cash transfers to stimulate that rather than going to handouts. Have I got that right?

Mr Thomas: That is effectively where we are now. Obviously if the harvest is better than anticipated then we can move further up that particular long-term process earlier.

Q126 John Battle: Also not to lose, and sometimes it is lost, may I say, and criticism is made of the UN and the World Food Programme sometimes. People standing in queues and just getting it dished out to them does not always encourage community participation, whereas other methods might include that engagement of development with the people at the local level, which is where I am hoping our programmes are geared towards now.

Mr Thomas: You have to use a range of ways of getting help to people and you have to look at the reality on the ground and adjust what you do to reflect that reality.

John Battle: The direction of the overall programme is very clear from that answer, thank you.

Q127 Richard Burden: Could we move on to the question of internally displaced people, which is clearly a very, very big issue. Estimates vary of IDPs making up between just over 4% of the population and 7.5% of the population. Yet there is also difficulty, there is quite a lot of evidence, a lot of concern being voiced that as far as the Zimbabwean Government is concerned, because they take the view that IDPs do not exist, IDPs are being fairly systematically excluded from a number of relief and humanitarian programmes. Some of the NGOs are saying that really the UN as an institution is not tackling this head on and that it needs to be a lot more assertive around the question of IDPs, both in terms of Zimbabwe’s own obligation under UN obligations but also from a straight humanitarian point of view; aid is not getting to where it should be getting. What is your response to that?

Mr Thomas: I think that was a situation that was certainly true of the previous Government. I think the Inclusive Government has been better at recognising both the existence of IDPs and their needs, but I would not want to downplay the challenges that still remain. I think many of our existing programmes upon which we have touched are also giving assistance to those who are internally displaced within Zimbabwe but who are perhaps living with other families or who are vulnerable in some other way. Clearly there is more we need to do, as we have described, across the range, but I do believe that our programmes and those of others in the international community, are helping to get aid to those who are internally displaced, albeit there is clearly a lot more that could happen.

Q128 Richard Burden: Certainly the impression we got was that a number of NGOs and others were saying that yes, whilst things may have improved since the formation of the Inclusive Government, the issue is still very much there as far as IDPs are concerned. Partly because of the nature of some of the security ministries, it is quite easy to get in the way of aid programmes where necessary.

Mr Thomas: In that sense, absolutely, I would agree with that. There is a huge problem in terms of the ability of IDPs to move around in terms of particular locations and the level of need that we have described in terms of humanitarian issues, in terms of children or young people, if they have been internally displaced, it is particularly acute in that sense. What I would want to avoid the Committee having the impression is that none of our programme is thinking through issues around IDPs; they very much are. However, as NGOs have described to you, certainly there are real difficulties for IDPs in terms of the security situation.

Q129 Chairman: The aid programme to Zimbabwe has more than doubled in the last four years. You said in a press release last August that the Department was willing to re-engage and support recovery in Zimbabwe provided the new Government can demonstrate: its commitment to sound economic management; the democratic process and respect for human rights; the rule of law; full and equal access to humanitarian assistance; and a timely election held to international standards. I would suggest none of those things is what is happening on the ground. The serious point behind that is, nevertheless, you have increased it. What capacity is there for increasing it further or perhaps, putting it the other way round, how do you assess your ability to deliver and whether you should do more or less? What is the process that goes round the Department in evaluating this?

Mr Thomas: We do look firstly at the humanitarian situation on the ground and we would provide humanitarian aid almost regardless of the political situation, and it is clearly right that we do get help to people who are in desperate need, despite the particular governments that they have. In terms of long-term development assistance, you are right, we will have to look at the political and economic conditions that are operating and are on the ground before we can make big decisions about be it substantial increases in aid or substantial changes in the nature of our programmes. I think there has been progress in Zimbabwe, in particular in terms of the economics of the country. Clearly the political progress in Zimbabwe has been much, much slower, and that certainly affects our ability to do more and more quickly; there is no question of that. If we were to see faster political progress, then there is no question that we could do more, and more quickly, and I am sure that others in the international community would probably see things in the same way.

Q130 Chairman: We were told, and indeed we saw for ourselves, that in spite of the migration of some of the brightest and best people from Zimbabwe, the administrative capacity to deliver services was one of the best in Africa. Even now we saw effective delivery. Do you envisage a situation, if the political background were transformed, where government support or sector support would be a possibility? Obviously it is not today but can you see a scenario where it would and how would you judge that? Is that something you could even incentivise?

Mr Thomas: I think it is a long way off. I would hope that we could get to a situation where the politics of Zimbabwe had moved so radically forward that we could have confidence in government systems or in the particular sector plans of particular ministries. I think we are a long way off from having confidence that the Government’s financial systems are strong enough and robust enough and would be free from political interference. Having said that, there are ministries that are committed to reform and who are starting to try and give direction to what should happen in their particular sectors, and where we have confidence in the plans of those ministries, then we are trying to align our support as a donor community behind those plans. I think moving down the route of sector support or budget support is a long way off. The first stage is what we are embarked on, which is where we have confidence in the plans of a particular ministry thinking through how, without going through government systems, we can support those plans and move forward.

Q131 Chairman: And if you were increasing the funding further, how would you allocate that between multilateral or donor partnerships as opposed to the bilateral work that the NGOs are doing, which, to be honest, is mostly what we were looking at, which was extremely good, but the question is whether it is best to expand that or would it be best to expand it through multilaterals or would it be a parallel process?

Mr Thomas: I do not think we have a fixed view, frankly, in that sense. We would want to spend money in a way that was going to have most impact most quickly and for which we can properly account. Whether that is through UN organisations or through civil society, I think in reality it will be through a mixture and quite what the balance of that mixture would be going forward, I do not think we are yet in a position to say. It does depend on how particular programmes work. I think the Protracted Relief Programme is a programme, for example, that has a mixture of a whole series of civil society organisations and is making a significant difference. If the humanitarian situation were to deteriorate, clearly using organisations like the World Food Programme would make a huge amount of sense, but they, too, use civil society organisations, as I understand it, so it is not a question of either/or. I think it will simply come down to a hard decision as to which particular organisations are going to get money on the ground where it needs fastest.

Q132 Chairman: In spite of the very heavy anti-British rhetoric, the general dynamic on the ground is the attitude between the Zimbabwean and British people is quite positive in terms of that underlying trend. It was suggested to us that Zimbabwe ought to be one of the overriding priorities for the UK, in other words one of the three or four countries in which we do most, not because of that particular British interest, which is just stated as a positive underlying fact, but because it would have such a dynamic effect on the whole dynamic of Southern Africa if it could be turned around. Do you accept that as a possible analysis and, if you do, what could DFID do more that would reflect that priority, taking on board entirely that it is complicated and unpredictable but the argument that so long as you were working in the right direction it justified that kind of prioritisation?

Mr Thomas: Zimbabwe takes up a significant amount of both ministerial and very senior official time in both Departments in that sense, so it is accorded a high level of priority. I think the analysis about the importance of Zimbabwe to sub-Saharan Africa is absolutely right. There is no doubt that if we were to see further economic stability and progress and further political progress, Zimbabwe’s recovery could help to drive progress towards the Millennium Development Goals across the whole of the region. I have a particular interest in regional integration and in the transport infrastructure that helps to drive, if you will forgive the pun, that integration, Zimbabwe has a pivotal place in the north-south corridor, a network of key roads, and therefore the investment, or lack of investment, that Zimbabwe puts into its road network has a fundamental impact on the capacity of sub-Saharan Africa to trade between the countries in that area. I think the analysis is spot on and that is why I hope that we will see the type of economic progress and political progress that I suspect all of us would want.

Q133 Chairman: Thank you very much. The Committee would want to repeat the thanks that have already been made to the DFID staff for the visit they organised. All eight members of the Committee who went on the visit came away with a much more positive impression of what is going on than we had anticipated, although I would hasten to add we are not naive enough not to realise the huge political difficulties and underlying tensions and threats that could blow it all away. We understood that. What we saw was impressive. Our report has to focus on the development agenda rather than the political agenda, but, again, you cannot deliver the one without the other. Our intention is to complete the report in advance of an Election unless we are ambushed.

Mr Thomas: With that in mind, I wonder if I can ask Mr Lowcock to give you the answer on the textbook delivery timescale. I think we have that information.

Q134 Chairman: Anything you have now and anything you do not have now if you can think days rather than anything else.

Mr Lowcock: Could I preface the answer to Mr Stunell’s question by saying that of course we are not in complete control of this because we are a tiny part of the financing. We have to get all the other players into place as well. The answer to the question is that the contract will be let in the next few weeks and the first books will be delivered from about eight weeks from then, so about 12 weeks from now the first books will be delivered.

Q135 Chairman: The Committee will obviously watch with interest the developments which obviously go through convolutions almost daily. Perhaps the one positive thing Mark said was that whilst nobody knows where it might head, the feeling was that things had got to the point where going back to a situation where there was no space was perhaps unthinkable unless the situation deteriorated beyond all hope. If I may say so, there were comments and compliments about DFID’s role, and indeed the Foreign Office’s role because it is important to recognise this is a joint operation, in doing that. I think it was the Dutch development representative who said specifically that he wanted to put on record his appreciation of the leadership role that was being provided by DFID in Zimbabwe and how important it was, both politically and in terms of development. I am happy to put that on the record and say that we appreciate it and we appreciate that the team there are doing really good work in difficult and challenging situations, but at the moment not unrewarding because there is something coming back for it. Can I thank you very much indeed for your evidence. I genuinely hope that our report is something that will make a useful contribution to both your work and a wider understanding of what we are trying to do.

Mr Thomas: Thank you, Mr Bruce.

• Zanu-PF’s supreme decision making body, the Politburo, said there will be no more Global Political Agreement (GPA) compromises until targeted sanctions have been lifted. The sanctions question is not included in any conditions of the GPA.

• A leaked Zanu-PF working document reveals that the party wants “an all-powerful presidency” and has no intention of sharing power in the future.

• The MDC-T standing committee meeting has reportedly said that they want SADC to declare the GPA talks deadlocked.

• A delegation of eight British MPs arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday for a four-day visit to review the effectiveness of British aid to Zimbabwe. The delegation’s report could inform the outcome of the EU’s sanctions review process, which is currently underway.

• Meanwhile Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged the EU to maintain sanctions on Robert Mugabe and his inner circle until the GPA is fully implemented.

• The new Zimbabwe Media Commission which is tasked under the GPA with reforming the country’s draconian media laws, and is chaired by Zanu-PF apologist Godfrey Majonga, has yet to convene a meeting. Journalists denounced the body as being ‘very political and partisan’. Leading civic society groups said on Wednesday that repressive media laws would hamper free debate during the outreach programme to gather people’s views.

• Zimbabwe has been included in the African Union’s new Peace and Security Council for a three-year term. Malawian president Bingu Wa Mutharika replaces Libyan leader as chairman of the AU.

Governance

• The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is unable to feed suspects detained in holding cells owing to funding constraints. Operational activities such as transport for officers and crime scene attendance has also been affected. The organization received a budget allocation of US$30 million when it was hoping for US$230 million.

• Civil servants are holding make-or-break talks with government negotiators on Tuesday to demand a four-fold increase in their salaries after a 14-day strike ultimatum passed without any action. Education Minister David Coltart and his Public Service counterpart Eliphas Mukonoweshuro failed to take the civil servants’ grievances to cabinet because it has not been sitting.

• Tension between Zimbabwe and Botswana escalated after three armed officers from the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) were arrested for straying into Zimbabwe. The three scouts were picked up two weeks ago in Kazungula close to Victoria Falls after they allegedly crossed into Zimbabwe by accident while tracking lions that had killed two cows in Lesoma village along the border.

• Police in Masvingo have arrested MDC Masvingo provincial chairman Wilstaf Sitemere on allegations of fraud involving $4 000.

Business

• A new World Bank report reveals that Zimbabwe has very poor investment protection policies. The report, which compared 181 economies worldwide, said out of the total number surveyed Zimbabwe stood at 119. It came way behind such nations as South Africa, Botswana, Angola, and Namibia.

• Citing strong growth in its Zimbabwe operations, LonZim reported a return to profit for the year ended 31 August 2009. LonZim reported  a pretax profit of £1.08 million, compared with a £1.09 million loss in the preceding year. Shares were buoyed by the positive results, climbing nearly 9% following the announcement. The company’s subsidiaries have successfully  positioned themselves to be ‘first back to market’ in Zimbabwe.

• The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has proposed changes to the Labour Act that might see men taking paternity leave, on the grounds that present regulations are discriminatory and disadvantage women. The proposals have already been submitted to the Minister of Labour Paurina Mpariwa.

Economy

• Finance minister Tendai Biti is in Washington lobbying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restore the country’s voting rights and offer lines of credit. The IMF suspended Zimbabwe’s voting rights in June 2003 after the country’s economy collapsed and government fell behind on debt repayments. Zimbabwe owes the IMF US$139 million under the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility – Exogenous Shock Facility.

• Electrical power shortages in Zimbabwe will continue according to a Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) report. The report reveals that only one generator is working at Hwange and the other five have tripped due to ‘system failure’.

Constitution

• A compromise position has been reached on the issue of official rapporteurs on the constitutional outreach teams. Two members of each of the 70 outreach teams will be appointed by the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee.

• Prime Minister Tsvangirai, speaking at the World Economic Forum, said he expects the constitutional referendum to be conducted in October this year, allowing general elections to be held in 2011.

• Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has demanded $3 million in payment to release 1000 police officers to accompany outreach teams during the constitution making process. The committee is also expected to provide food and transport for the officers. Parliamentary Select Committee co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora said he did not understand why civil servants should be paid extra, and such large amounts, for what should be a national duty.

• The bunfight over allowances for the outreach teams continues: over 300 MP’s and Senators will earn between US$65 and US$300 per day in allowances for participating in the 65-day constitutional outreach programme. The number of legislators increased from 50 to 300, a move that nearly led donors to withdraw their funding.

• Zanu-PF soldiers, youth militia and war veterans are reportedly forcing villagers to attend political meetings where they are cowed into supporting the Kariba Draft. Zanu-PF has been pushing for the draft to be adopted as the new constitution, while the MDC wants a “people-driven” process. Youth militia bases in the Masvingo and Nyanga are reportedly being reactivated, with soldiers seen to be training the youths.

Agricultural Sector

• The government has signed a US$56.3 million fertiliser and seed deal with the African Investment Group (AIG) that will help ease the current shortage of the commodity, which was threatening the 2009-10 farming season.

• The continued farm invasions have resulted in more than 1500 farm workers losing their jobs in January alone, the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (Gapwuz) has said. Gapwuz secretary general Gertrude Hambira said farm disruptions had a devastating impact on workers. About one million farm workers have been evicted from farms across Zimbabwe  since the year 2000, according to the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

• Two Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) members were arrested on Thursday on dubious ‘contempt of court’ charges after coming to the assistance of four other farmers who were all convicted for refusing to leave their properties. Magistrate Samuel Zuze, who ordered the evictions and arrests, is a beneficiary of one of the properties in question.

• Zimbabwe Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa says the national army will be used to ensure the controversial land reform program is never reversed. CFU leader Deon Theron said the statement was “extremely worrying.”  He said he believed the statement was ZANU-PF policy.

• Hundreds of illegal settlers have invaded the western part of Burma Valley, one of the country’s leading banana producing areas and a once vibrant farming area, choking one of the sources of water in the area. Some of the settlers have invaded farms that are already under new black owners. Meanwhile the Zimbabwe ambassador to Tanzania Edzai Chimonyo continues to occupy Fangudu Farm in the valley, ownership of which is protected by a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA).

Law

• At least 4,000 churchgoers held an open-air protest service in Harare on Sunday to protest police harassment and the continued occupation of the Anglican cathedral by excommunicated bishop and Mugabe crony, Nolbert Kunonga.

• Police officers armed with batons this week drove out 60 children from a nursery school at Karoi Anglican church because their parents do not support Kunonga’s bid to seize control of the church.

• Police in the Midlands province have been instructed to monitor and arrest members of the MDC, civic organizations, and NGOs holding public meetings. According to a radioed message sent to all police stations in the Midlands province last week, police commanders were being directed to closely monitor all meetings to be held by the ‘opposition’, NGOs and the civic society.

• Three war veterans on Friday took Masvingo governor Titus Maluleke hostage for hours demanding money from him to bury bodies of former freedom fighters who did not get decent burials in the province. They were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct likely to disturb public peace.

• Attorney-General (AG) Johannes Tomana last week failed to extract a confession from key state witness Peter Hitschmann during Deputy Agriculture Minister (designate) Roy Bennett’s treason trial. Tomana was given the chance to cross-examine Hitschmann after High Court Judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu declared him a hostile witness.

Violence

• Aspiring ZANU PF MP Nathaniel Punish Mhiripiri told a ZANU PF meeting at Jani resettlement area in Makoni South that he had ‘authority and an open licence’ to eliminate opponents from the MDC, claiming he was allowed to kill in the name of ZANU PF. He also told the meeting he carried his guns in his vehicle and was always prepared to deal with ‘sell-outs.”It’s either you are ZANU PF or an enemy’, he said. Mhiripiri was once a Selous Scout in the Rhodesian army.

• Political violence has resurfaced in Tsvangirai’s home district Buhera, where ten families have been left homeless after their homes were burnt down. A local chief said there have been increased political tensions in the area.

• The South African government is being pressured to release a potentially explosive report by four retired generals sent to investigate post-election violence in Zimbabwe during 2008. The report has been kept hidden from the public for over a year. The South African History Archive and the Southern African Centre for the Survivors of Torture will ask the Pretoria High Court to force the government to release the report, which was commissioned by SA premier Thabo Mbeki.

• Evidence is emerging that individuals wanted for crimes of genocide in Rwanda are being employed by Zanu-PF for ‘dirty jobs’ in the youth militias that have terrorised MDC supporters since the 2008 election.

Health Crisis

• A malaria outbreak has hit Mashonaland province, with a number of people feared dead in farming communities.

• Japan on Tuesday donated US$1.4 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the Zimbabwean government to help buy vaccine to contain a measles outbreak that has killed more than 50 children countrywide. Most of them had not been vaccinated because their parents are members of an Apostolic Faith sect, which discourages medical treatment.

• Cholera still lurks in Zimbabwe and the same problems that helped drive the last cholera epidemic remained unresolved. According to a report by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the cholera fatality rate of 1.8 percent, although lower than last year, is still too high.

Education

• Zimbabwe may already have up to two million illiterate people and the number is rising. Last year 700 000 pupils in their mid-teens were scheduled to write the school-leaving Ordinary level examinations but three quarters of them were unable to. In 2003, the adult literacy level was estimated at 90.7 percent, one of the highest in Africa.

• Zimbabwe student leaders held a crisis meeting with Tsvangirai last week after it emerged that 28 percent of students had dropped out of the University of Zimbabwe because of a lack of foreign currency to settle tuition fees. The university opened last Monday but students have been struggling to raise fees of between US$300 and US$1500.

Diamonds

• A secret mile-long airstrip near Chiadzwa is under construction. Aerial photographs confirm the field will be capable of accommodating jets and cargo aircraft. Diplomatic sources speculate that such a facility would enable the shipment of arms, possibly from China, in direct exchange for newly-mined diamonds. Click here for more info >>

• Hundreds of illegal diamond panners and foreign dealers have besieged Chipinge, Chimanimani and unsecured parts of Chiadzwa. Investigations are currently underway. Most of the diamonds are believed to be finding their way to Mozambique’s Manica Province where a willing market is reportedly available.

• Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court has ordered the central bank to safeguard millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds from the Chiadzwa diamond fields amid an ownership battle over the mines. The chief justice said a neutral party should keep the diamonds pending a resolution of the dispute.

• The World Diamond Council (WDC) has called on international buyers to shun Zimbabwean diamonds until ‘human rights concerns’ have been dealt with and full compliance with the Kimberley Process has been achieved.

Wildlife

• National Parks rangers have shot five lions that killed four people in the northeastern district of Kanyemba. The lions were thought to have strayed from nearby hunting areas.

The Good News

• United States Ambassador Charles Ray said on Friday the U.S. would help Zimbabwe restore basic services in the health sector. He handed over 50,000 personal protective clothing kits for influenza preparedness donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

• The Australian government, instrumental in getting Zimbabwe kicked out of the Commonwealth, has agreed to now provide assistance to Zimbabwe. It will undertake projects to help with taxation laws as well as water and sanitation technical expertise.

• Two former Arundel school students have raised the country’s flag high when they were nominated for entry to Oxford University. The 2009 Rhodes scholars of the year, Mutsawashe Mutembwa and Sarah-Jane Littleford, will be part of  the 200 scholars nominated from 13 different countries.

Source:  Zimbabwe Democracy Now

www.zimbabwedemocracynow.com

IN RE: PROPOSED BILATERAL INVESTMENT PROMOTION AND PROTECTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN ZIMBABWE AND SOUTH AFRICA

OPINION
J.J. GAUNTLETT SC
F.B. PELSER
Chambers
Cape Town
21 November 2009

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Our Consultant is the Commercial Farmers Union.

2. We have been asked to consider urgently the proposed conclusion of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (”BIPPA”) between South Africa and Zimbabwe (both members of the South African Development Community (”SADC”))¹, and to advise on the relevant international and constitutional law obligations impacting thereon. Of significance is the fact that the BIPPA – which is aimed at providing security of tenure to South African investments in Zimbabwe – expressly excludes past claims arising from Zimbabwe’s post-2000 land seizure measures, despite the fact that such claims have been upheld by the relevant international court.

3. The question for consideration is whether entering into a bilateral treaty which purports to exclude liability arising (the SADC Tribunal has held, in its final award on 28 November 2008) in terms of an existing multilateral treaty constitutes a breach of South Africa’s legal obligations. For the reasons provided below, we answer the question in the affirmative.

B. BACKGROUND

4. It is necessary to provide the background to the question under consideration. As briefly outlined below, the background shows that the proposed exclusionary clause in the BIPPA impacts on legal proceedings concluded on international law level. The proceedings are also currently sub judice in Zimbabwe on the national law level, and are further subject to consideration by the SADC Summit on the international political level. (The Tribunal in a separate final ruling in June 2009 has held the Government of Zimbabwe to be in breach of its orders of 28 November 2008, and formally referred this defiance to the SADC Summit for consideration of consequential measures under the Treaty). The background further shows that the circumstances closely resemble the facts on which the High Court in South Africa has recently held against the Government of South Africa.

(a) SADC Tribunal proceedings

5. During 2007 various members of the Commercial Farmers Union instituted legal proceedings in the SADC Tribunal after exhausting existing remedies in Zimbabwe. The proceedings were based on the fact that they were either already expropriated or stood to be expropriated without compensation, as a result of Zimbabwe’s land seizure measures, purportedly (after they had commenced) authorised by amendment to the property clause in the Bill of Rights in Zimbabwe’s Constitution.

6. On 28 November 2008 the Tribunal upheld the farmers’ case. It held that Zimbabwe’s land reform exercise was in breach of international human rights norms and the rule of law as entrenched by the SADC Treaty. The Tribunal condemned the land reform exercise on all three bases contended. These were that (1) it constituted racial discrimination, because the measures did not relate to criteria of land-use or -need, but targeted only so-called white farmers and benefited designated cronies and a class of political chefs; (2) it amounted to expropriation on an arbitrary basis and without compensation; and (3) it ousted courts’ jurisdiction to adjudicate on human rights infringements. The Tribunal ordered the Government of Zimbabwe to take all necessary measures to protect the possession, occupation and ownership of farmers not yet expropriated and to pay compensation to those already expropriated.

(b) Aftermath of SADC Tribunal proceedings

7. It is a matter of public record that despite the order, farm invasions continued in Zimbabwe – not only with impunity, but with active State involvement. Therefore the farmers again approached the Tribunal, this time for an order declaring that the Government of Zimbabwe was in breach of the order of 28 November 2008 and that the matter be referred to the SADC Summit for it to consider appropriate measures. Also in the latter application the farmers succeeded, and the Tribunal made a punitive costs order against Government of Zimbabwe. Nevertheless farm invasions intensified, and instances of destruction of property, physical assaults and even murders of farmers, their families and farmworkers and their families increased.

(c) High Court proceedings

8. In order to ensure effective protection in Zimbabwe in terms of the relief grated by the SADC Tribunal, application was made to the High Court of Zimbabwe to register the Tribunal’s ruling as provided for under the Protocol to the Tribunal. That application is enrolled for hearing on 24 November 2009. It is likely to be still sub judice on 27 November, which is the date for the proposed signing of the BIPPA.

9. It is against this background – namely a ruling by the relevant international court, pending proceedings before the relevant national court and deliberation thereon by the SADC Summit – that the legal question posed is to be considered.

C. LEGAL PRINCIPLES

10. Both international law and national law imposes duties on South Africa which impact on it entering into the proposed BIPPA. We deal with the relevant international and national legal principles separately.

(a) International law

11. As stated, both South Africa and Zimbabwe are members of SADC. As such their international law obligations are governed by the SADC Treaty on sub-regional level in addition to other principles operating regionally and globally. We limit our discussion to South Africa’s obligations for purposes of this opinion.

(i) Sub-regional international law

12. In terms of the SADC Treaty, Member States are bound to honour human rights and to further the rule of law.² Member States are also obliged to co-operate with and assist the institutions of SADC, like its Tribunal.³ Further, Members States are obliged to refrain from taking any measures “likely to jeopardise the sustenance of SADC principles”, which include advancing the rule of law and human rights.⁴ The Treaty further requires that States take all steps necessary to ensure the uniform application of the Treaty⁵

13. In our view, entering into a bilateral treaty which excludes liability imposed by the SADC Tribunal constitutes a clear violation of these duties. The exclusionary clause subverts the Tribunal’s order and detracts from the Tribunal’s status. It also jeopardises the human rights culture prevailing in SADC and dilutes the rule of law and remedies for breaches of human rights. Moreover, exemptions of liability under SADC law granted by Member States inter se in terms of bilateral treaties impede a uniform implementation of the SADC principles. This is contrary to the Treaty, which constitutes the supreme law among its Member States.

(ii) Regional international law

14. The African Charter, which is the regional instrument binding on South Africa, imposes a duty on States to ensure that human rights violations are redressed effectively. The African Commission held that

“any person whose rights are violated [should] have an effective remedy as rights without remedies have little value. Article 1 of the African Charter requires States to ensure that effective and enforceable remedies are available to individuals”⁶

15. This the Constitutive Act of the African Union confirms. Its Preamble provides that members States are obliged to

“promote and protect human and peoples’ rights, consolidate democratic institutions and culture, and to ensure good governance and the rule of law”.

16. Article 4(m) of the Constitutive Act gives effect to this. It obliges signatories to respect democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance. Also article 4(o) further gives effect to this principle by imposing the duty on Member States to demonstrate

respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities”.

17. Thus human rights norms operating within the wider African region requires States to give effect to human rights and their protection, and obliges States not to compromise judicial remedies by exclusionary clauses which grant impunity to human rights violations.

(iii) Global international law

18. Also obligations under global international law proscribe exemption of liability for human rights infringements as envisaged under the BIPPA.

19. In terms of the United Nations Charter the promotion and encouragement of respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms are fundamental.⁷ Its preamble reflects adversely on State immunity and practices facilitating impunity. It records State parties’ commitment

“to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained”.

20. The Universal Declaration goes further, however. It expressly imposes the duty to provide an adequate remedy for the breach of human rights in article 8. It provides:

“Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law”.

21. To this the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides binding effect. Article 2(3) of the Covenant obliges State parties

“(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted”.

22. Article 5(1) of the Covenant provides that the above obligations may not be qualified through governmental acts, whether legislative or executive. It provides:

“Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present Covenant.”

23. Thus the position under regional international law is fortified by instruments of global international law.

(iv) Conclusion on international law

24. In the light of the above provisions, it is clear that international law recognises the obligation to make full reparation for any injury flowing from an international wrongful act⁸, and acknowledges the principle that victims of human rights infringements are entitled to an effective remedy.⁹ Exclusionary clauses clearly compromise this, contrary to the non-derogatory obligation imposed by international law.¹⁰ As such the BIPPA falls foul of international law on account of compromising the Tribunal’s order. It not only derogates from the Tribunal’s order, however, but also detracts from its status contrary to the duty of SADC Members to defer to SADC institutions. Detracting from the judicial arm of SADC also infringes the principle of separation of powers, which is not only of national constitutional importance.

25. Relatively recently the fundamental importance ascribed to the separation of powers was reaffirmed in the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Three Branches of Government, which has particular relevance from a South African perspective. The Latimer House Principles confirm that

“Parliaments, Executives and Judiciaries are the guarantors in their respective spheres of the rule of law, the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and the entrenchment of good governance based on the highest standards of honesty, probity and accountability”.

26. It further re-affirms the commitment to judicial independence and the effective administration of justice by courts, which is “important for maintaining the balance of power between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.” In doing so it gives effect to the Harare Commonwealth Declaration¹¹, which also stresses the importance of substantive human rights norms. The Harare Declaration emphasises the co-importance of economic development and the rule of law. Both of which are equally “essential to the security and prosperity of mankind”.

27. The Harare Declaration further guarantees equal rights for all citizens regardless of inter alia race and colour, and recognises “racial prejudice and intolerance as a dangerous sickness and a threat to healthy development, and racial discrimination as an unmitigated evil” which must be opposed in all its forms.¹² In the Declaration signatories further pledged to uphold

“the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary; fundamental human rights, including equal rights and opportunities for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief; [and to] extend the benefits of development within a framework of respect for human rights”.

28. The latter two instruments do no more than re-emphasise the binding norms of general international law as stated above. However, its re-emphasis assumes particular force as a bespoke articulation of the trite principles of international law as accepted by emerging democracies similar to South Africa. They therefore add considerable weight to the binding nature of the principles otherwise obligatory on South Africa.

(b) National law

29. From a national law perspective, the principles relating to diplomatic protection are of particular relevance. Before discussing those, it is important to note that various international law obligations referred to above also find resonance in South African domestic law.

(i) International law principles amplified by Constitution

30. One of the principles of international law amplified by the South African Constitution is the obligation to respect the independence and authority of the judiciary. It is deeply entrenched in the relevant constitutional provisions and caselaw in South African domestic law. Thus also in terms of national law the South African executive authority is bound to respect the judiciary and give effect to its judgments. So, for instance, in De Lange v Smuts NO the Constitutional Court held:

“In a constitutional democratic State, which ours now certainly is, and under the rule of law (to the extent that this principle is not entirely subsumed under the concept of the constitutional State) citizens as well as non-citizens are entitled to rely upon the State for the protection and enforcement of their rights. The State therefore assumes the obligation of assisting such persons to enforce their rights, including the enforcement of their civil claims against debtors.”¹³

31. This dictum was applied in Nyathi v MEC for Department of Health, Gauteng, where the Constitutional Court held

“Deliberate non-compliance with or disobedience of a court order by the State detracts from the ‘dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts’. Yet s 165(4) of the Constitution expressly imposes an obligation on organs of State ‘through legislative and other measures [to] assist and protect the courts to ensure the . . . dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts’.”
. . .
The constitutional right of access to courts would remain an illusion unless orders made by the courts are capable of being enforced by those in whose favour such orders were made. The process of adjudication and the resolution of disputes in courts of law is not an end in itself but only a means thereto; the end being the enforcement of rights or obligations defined in the court order.”¹⁴

32. Another fundamental principle that finds particular application in the current circumstances is the deep-seated rule that all exercises of public power are constrained by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.[14. President of the Republic of South Africa v Hugo 1997 (4) SA 1 (CC); President of the Republic of South Africa v South African Rugby Football Union (3) 2000 (1) SA 1 (CC); Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of SA: In re Ex parte President of the Republic of South Africa 2000 (2) SA 674 (CC).]

It is indeed this principle that forms the premise from which the Constitutional Court’s caselaw on diplomatic protection proceeds.

(ii) Diplomatic protection

33. The term “diplomatic protection” has a wide-ranging meaning. It includes not only all State action to prevent a threatened violation of international law, but also action aimed at remedying violations after the event.¹⁵ The importance of Constitutional constraints on the exercise of public power in the sphere of diplomatic protection was emphasised in Kaunda v President of the Republic of South Africa,¹⁶ which is the fons et origo of diplomatic protection in the South African constitutional dispensation. The principles espoused in the judgment therefore require particular attention in answering the question under consideration from a perspective of national law.

34. In Kaunda all three of the substantive judgements specifically recorded that the Executive had to exercise its power to engage in international relations lawfully and rationally, and that the exercise of such power was, despite its sensitive political nature, justiciable.¹⁷ So, for instance, the majority held that while it remained true that diplomatic protection remained the prerogative of the State to be exercised at its discretion,¹⁸ South African citizens were entitled to request protection from South Africa under international law against wrongful acts of a foreign State.¹⁹

35. Chaskalson CJ noted that when the request for diplomatic protection was directed at a material infringement of a human right protected by customary international law, the Executive had to be vigilant.²⁰ For the Constitution contemplated positive conduct by the State to protect South Africans against human rights abuses.²¹ Thus the Government had a duty to consider the request for protection and had to deal with it in a way consistent with the Constitution. Indeed, so strong was this obligation that in some instances Government would have to act at its own instance.²² The majority concluded that in a case of gross abuse of international human rights, a request to Government for assistance

“where the evidence is clear would be difficult, and in extreme cases possibly impossible to refuse. It is unlikely that such a request would ever be refused by government, but if it were, the decision would be justiciable, and a court could order the government to take appropriate action.”²³

36. In a separate judgment Ngcobo J, as he then was, held that the commitment to the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights, democracy, justice and international law had to underpin the State’s foreign relations policy.²⁴ He held that the State could not “remain silent when a member State commits the most egregious violations of any of the fundamental human rights enshrined in these instruments”.²⁵ Instead, Government had to act positively “when an egregious violation of the very fundamental human rights, enshrined in the document it has ratified, is being committed by a member State.²⁶

37. Contrary to the majority he held that the proposition that Government had no constitutional duty to extend diplomatic protection had to be rejected. That proposition, he noted, was in any event contrary to Gvernment’s own declared policy – the facts showed that Government in fact acknowledged its constitutional duty to protect its foreign nationals.²⁷ According to Ngcobo J the duty on Government required it to consider requests for diplomatic protection, and to apply its mind carefully to the request. It had to respond rationally and could not refuse requests arbitrarily.²⁸

38. In her dissent concurred in by Mokgoro J, O’Regan J held that the constitutional imperatives required Government to have regard to the plight of a citizen who was threatened with or had experienced an egregious violation of human rights norms at the hands of another State. Otherwise the achievement of human rights would be obstructed and international human rights norms undermined.²⁹

39. Like Ngcobo J, she noted that this finding accorded with Government’s demonstrated policy.³⁰ While it was clear that the consideration and assessment of another country’s justice system was a sensitive matter for our government, the demands of comity and sensitivity did not mean that Government could disregard violations of its citizens’ human rights by other States. Government had to be responsive to the developing global and regional commitment to the protection of human rights, she held.³¹

40. The Constitutional Court’s judgment in Kaunda was recently applied by the High Court in Von Abo v Government of the Republic of South Africa.³² The applicant in that matter was a South African citizen who had been expropriated without compensation of farming operations held in Zimbabwe. Despite his request for diplomatic protection, the South African government failed to assist him. The striking similarity with the position of the applicants in the Campbell matter clearly renders the judgment of considerable relevance.

41. In Von Abo the High Court was particularly critical of the lack of protection granted by Government. This was because the land seizures he was subjected to were clearly in breach of both South African and international law, the court held. It provided examples of steps the State could have taken in order to comply with its constitutional duty to its citizens.³³ All of these comprised positive action. Significantly the court specifically mentioned the protective measure of entering into a bilateral investment treaty or BIPPA. The court observed that such protective measure would constitute sufficient constitutional protection if it contained a clause providing for compensation by the errant State to the aggrieved party, and if that clause operated with retrospective effect. Failure to adopt any of the protective measures available to it constituted an inexplicable dereliction of duty by the State, the court concluded.³⁴

(iii) Conclusion on national law

42. In our view the High Court’s judgement in Von Abo constitutes clear authority for the proposition that entering into a BIPPA that contains a compensation clause which operation is restricted to prospective violations of human rights only, is contrary to the Constitution. It is to be noted that this judgment is final, and that its correctness has been accepted by Government in subsequent proceedings before the Constitutional Court.³⁵

43. Also the Constitutional Court’s judgment in Kaunda provides strong authority for the proposition that a categorical denial of diplomatic protection, as the exclusionary clause in the BIPPA entails, is unconstitutional. While the majority held that no constitutional entitlement to diplomatic protection existed, all three judgments confirmed that the State had a duty to consider a request therefor. By entering into the proposed BIPPA with the exemption clause, this constitutional duty will be breached. For by doing so the State would fatally fetter its own discretion to accede to a request for diplomatic discretion.

44. We further observe that all three judgments emphasised the importance of giving effect to national and international human rights when engaging in international relations. It needs to be borne in mind that an important basis for the majority’s decision was the strong public policy consideration, affirmed by international law obligations, applicable in that case. Those were the importance of international co-operation in law enforcement of international crimes.³⁶ In a context like the present, however, the international obligations are to co-operate with the SADC Tribunal and to give effect to its ruling, and to ensure that effective remedies are afforded to victims of human rights infringements. Clearly these considerations support granting diplomatic protection.

45. We note that in the circumstances under discussion – namely of a BIPPA purporting to provide amnesty for human rights infringements – none of the considerations justifying exemption of liability for human rights violations arises.³⁷ Therefore the exclusionary clause cannot be justified constitutionally on this basis.³⁸

46. Finally, as noted, the registration of the SADC Tribunal’s ruling is currently pending before the High Court of Zimbabwe. Similarly the referral of Zimbabwe’s failure to comply with it currently serves before the SADC Summit. In this light we consider that South Africa would act in violation of its international law obligations accruing on signature of the SADC Treaty and the making of its Protocol to enter into an essentially contradictory bilateral international law obligation with Zimbabwe which could pre-empt the issues for consideration. Doing so would, in our view, also breach the principle of comity which binds governments.

D. CONCLUSION

47. In our view, thus, if the Government of South African proceed to conclude the BIPPA and in terms thereof purports to immunise Zimbabwe from its international law liabilities, the South African government would act contrary to the principles of the SADC Treaty and other international instruments, and in violation of the South African Constitution, and may in law be interdicted against doing so. This is particularly so if, as must be inferred, it has negotiated the terms of the BIPPA without taking independent legal advice regarding its ability to do so in the light of the final SADC Tribunal award of November 2008, the Tribunal’s referral to the SADC Summit of June 2009, and the pending application next week in Harare to register the Tribunal’s award for enforcement under the domestic law of Zimbabwe.

We advise accordingly.

J.J. GAUNTLETT SC

F.B. PELSER

Chambers
Cape Town
21 November 2009

• The MDC has ended its cabinet boycott and has given President Robert Mugabe one month to implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in full. Prime Minister Tsvangirai made the announcement on Thursday at the end of a regional meeting of the South African Development Community (SADC) Troika on Defence, Security and Politics in Maputo. MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa said that his party is satisfied with the outcome, having gained two important points: President Zuma to be the South African facilitator in place of ex-President Mbeki, and Summit’s endorsement of the decisions of the SADC Summit of January 2009 as binding decisions. Tsvangirai told party supporters on Sunday at a rally in Chitungwiza outside Harare that the boycott had been a wake-up call for Mugabe to view the MDC as an equal partner. “We will not leave, our people told us that we should fight from inside. Why should we leave when we are the majority party?” said Tsvangirai.

• Zanu-PF is responsible for nearly 90 percent of power-sharing violations, according to a report from watchdog group Sokwanele. The report revealed that it had so far recorded 3,850 breaches of the GPA, and that Zanu-PF was responsible for 88.8 percent of all the breaches recorded up until the end of October. “October has been a month characterized by violence, lawlessness, corruption and the complete abuse of power for partisan and personal objectives,” said the report. Some of the violations included the continued violent assaults and the arrest of MDC activists on dubious charges, the shooting of farm workers and the re-emergence of Zanu-PF torture camps in the rural areas.

Business

• Zimbabwe on Thursday evaded a temporary suspension from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), a global scheme to prevent trade in blood diamonds, despite calls for the country to be banned over killings, rapes, slavery and smuggling activities in the Marange diamond fields. At a four-day KPCS meeting last week in Namibia, the diamond body gave Zimbabwe a June 2010 deadline to improve. The scheme agreed to send a monitor to Marange, which is located in the Chiadzwa district of Manicaland Province, but it is not yet confirmed who that will be. Groups campaigning to suspend trade in Zimbabwe diamonds have expressed dismay over the decision, and say they will begin lobbying its new chair. “Not for the first time the KPCS has failed to enforce its own minimum requirements. We know there is non-compliance inside Zimbabwe, our own report said so,” said Annie Dunnebacke, a Global Witness employee. Human Rights Watch says 200 people have died in Marange since the militarization of the fields last year.

• Despite the reported human right abuses, a South African company allegedly plans to form a partnership with Zimbabwe to mine diamonds in Marange. New Reclamation Group, a Johannesburg scrap metal part company, says it will begin mining for diamonds this month in a joint venture with state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC). ZMDC’s plans are in direct contempt of a High Court order barring the company from mining in the area.  African Consolidated Resources (ACR), a British company, has the mining rights to the area, having acquired the claims from De Beers in early 2006.

• South Africa is close to signing a bilateral investment treaty with Zimbabwe, a move that could help increase private sector investment in its struggling neighbour. The treaty would provide a means to help resolve disagreements and reduce the price of political risk insurance, which could assuage investors’ concerns over the country’s political instability.

• But in a move that could scare off these same investors, Zanu-PF led legislation was tabled which intends to transfer ownership of foreign-owned firms to locals, forcing foreigners to sell 51 percent of their shares within 60 days of the publication of new empowerment regulations. The proposed law would force foreign businesses that have a value above US$500.000 to give a majority ownership to Zimbabweans. The law is a repeat of the Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Bill the Zimbabwean government proposed in 2007 and signed into law in March 2008. Despite this, the Zimbabwean government did not actually nationalize foreign-owned businesses. Instead, the bill was used in early 2008 to try to win popular votes for Zanu-PF. This latest move is an attempt by Zanu-PF to gain support ahead of the party’s congress, due in December.

Economy

• Zimbabwe’s economy is set to rebound and may grow an average of 15 percent a year for the next five years, said Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma on Monday. “During the period (until 2015), the economy is expected to grow by an average growth rate of 15 percent from a level of 3.7 percent in 2009,” he said, after releasing a draft policy document. “This will be achieved through the restoration of productive capacity and creation of new capacities, aggressive infrastructure rehabilitation and development.

• But in a move that could jeopardise this growth, Mugabe said the Zimbabwean dollar, abandoned in March to curb massive inflation, would be back in use by the end of the year. He said the multiple foreign currencies now in use were unavailable to many Zimbabweans. “People are failing to board buses. Some are using goats to pay as bus fares,” Mugabe told villagers in Zhombe. “This needs to be redressed. I do not hope to face similar problems next year. We would have failed as leaders if that is allowed to happen.” MDC finance minister Tendai Biti, who is largely responsible for stabilizing the economy, said it is too early to bring back the local dollar. He has threatened to quit if forced to do so.

Legal

• A Zimbabwean High Court judge postponed the trial of MDC treasurer Roy Bennett on charges of terrorism until November 11.  Judge Chinembiri Bhunu took this decision so that he could consider conflicting submissions made by the state and defense attorneys when the trial opened on Monday. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the case against Bennett is politically motivated and is a “malicious prosecution.”

• Zimbabwean lawyers will next week boycott work in protest of alleged harassment and persecution by state security agents and the Attorney General’s (AG)’s office. The lawyers held a meeting under the auspices of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ), where they decided to take action following the arrest of the media and human rights lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu for writing a letter to AG Johannes Tomana, advising him that a key state witness in Roy Bennett’s trial would not be able to testify because he gave evidence after being subjected to torture.

• The United Kingdom Border Agency has suspended deportations of failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers following an outcry by the MDC-UK. An MDC delegation held a meeting in London with border agency officials on Thursday, where it was agreed to put a hold on the deportations. Britain announced two weeks ago the planned deportation of some 10 000 failed Zimbabwean asylum-seekers and refugees in the coming months, citing improved conditions in Zimbabwe. But the MDC-UK was part of a number of organizations protesting the deportations. They said the situation was still unstable in Zimbabwe and that the move would cause stress in the Zimbabwean community.

Commercial Farming Sector

• The Zimbabwe government has managed to raise a paltry US$5.7 million out of $48 million it hoped to use to fund the 2009/2010 farming season, confirming fears that the season would go to waste. Agriculture permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka also said the country had failed to acquire even half the amount of fertilizer required by farmers. “A total of 1 200 000 tonnes of fertiliser were required for the 2009/2010 season. To date only 44 percent has been mobilised through private sector partnerships and donor assistance, leaving a huge gap which will adversely impact on productivity,” he said.

• Zimbabwe’s Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said on Friday it needed to raise $1.2 million each month to look after its more than 4,000 members who had been left destitute after Mugabe’s controversial land seizures. The CFU said violence against the less than 400 remaining active farmers was increasing and that the coalition government was not protecting them.

Children

• Thousands of children have been sexually abused in Zimbabwe in a rising epidemic that has shocked human rights activists. A health clinic in Harare says it has treated nearly 30,000 children who were abused in the past four years – an average of 20 per day – in the capital alone. Experts say the economic collapse has led to family breakdown and left children vulnerable to abuse. Dr Robert-Grey Choto, a paediatrician and co-founder of the Family Support Trust Clinic, said the high numbers are alarming. “In the last four years we have seen over 29,000 cases, and in the last 10 years we have seen more than 70,000 at this clinic alone,” he told the BBC’s Network Africa programme. “It’s a tip of the iceberg. The problem is enormous. We need drugs and any assistance we can get.”

• Close to 100,000 students may not sit for the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) ‘O’ Level examinations after failing to register a minimum of five subjects in the upcoming November examinations. The council is charging US$10 and US$20 per subject for ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, a fee many families cannot afford. Failure to write the examinations limits a student’s chances of securing formal employment or furthering their education, which require at least five ‘O’ level subjects.

Source:  Zimbabwe Democracy Now
www.zimbabwedemocracynow.com

• The leaders of Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia meet on Thursday (5 November) in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, to discuss the current non-implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).  Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said that if the SADC Troika on Security, Defence and Politics did not produce results, he would insist on a full summit of the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) to resolve the crisis.

• President Robert Mugabe and Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila held critical talks yesterday on the country’s political stalemate. Kabila, SADC’s current chairman, held a five-hour meeting with Mugabe at State House in Harare. Kabila has been pushing for a resolution to the impasse, which he claimed is serious but “not out of control.”

• The African Union, on the other hand, insists on seeing the crisis in Zimbabwe as a domestic squabble about civil servants’ appointments, and thus not worthy of the AU’s involvement – unless SADC fails to resolve the matter.

• The Vice-Presidential nomination is to be thrown open to all provinces in Zimbabwe, the Politburo announced this week.  It has hitherto been an unwritten agreement that one of the two Vice-Presidents should come from the ranks of former PF Zapu officials, and represent Matabeleland.

• Mugabe may appoint acting ministers in place of MDC officials who are boycotting cabinet meetings, state media said last Wednesday. The MDC responded and accused Mugabe of trying to tear apart the unity government. “That is a laughable proposition,” MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa told AFP. “You cannot appoint an acting minister when there is a substantive minister. It will create a parallel government.” Political analysts say the appointment of acting ministers would further anger the MDC, according to Reuters.

Violence

• Amnesty International has warned that Zimbabwe is on the verge of sliding back into the post-election violence that dogged the country last year. The organisation said that key to addressing the crisis in Zimbabwe was the need to regulate the country’s security agencies and end the culture of impunity for human rights abuses.

• Twelve soldiers allegedly died last week after being tortured by military intelligence officials from the Presidential Guard. The torturers were “investigating” the disappearance of AK-47 rifles from Pomona barracks.  Reports said 236 soldiers and support staff were also arrested at the scene.

• In a seemingly related incident, the MDC’s transport manager was tortured at the hands of Zanu-PF.  Pascal Gwezere was abducted from his home on October 27 and underwent “severe torture” for four days.  His lawyer said Gwezere showed clear signs of severe assault. “His whole body is swollen.  His left leg is in a terrible state, he bled from it for two days,” he said.  “He cannot walk properly.  We’re trying to get him to be seen by a private doctor, but the state is preventing us.”  Gwezere is charged with the theft of weapons from a military barracks in Harare, as well as “undergoing terrorist training in Uganda.”  The MDC has called the charges “trumped-up”.  He is the first party official reported to have been tortured by authorities since the signing of the power-sharing agreement.

• These incidents of torture were happening while Manfred Nowak, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture, was being refused entry into Zimbabwe on Wednesday night (28 October).  The envoy was deported to Johannesburg the following morning. Nowak had been invited to the country by Tsvangirai to investigate abuses against Zanu-PF opponents. Nowak told reporters in Johannesburg that his expulsion showed that “the government, as a unity government, does not function”.

Diaspora

• Britain announced last week the planned deportation of some 10 000 failed Zimbabwean asylum-seekers and refugees in the coming months. UK Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said he was looking at “normalising” returns to Zimbabwe because the situation was “improving” after the signing of the power-sharing deal in February. Returns were put on hold three years ago when violence and instability gripped the country under Mugabe’s rule. But Zimbabwean Association, a charity group, said conditions had not returned to normal and that deportees faced the risk of persecution for supporting the MDC.

• A grouping of Zimbabwean organizations, including the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum, organized a spirited demonstration in Johannesburg on Sunday, waving placards demanding that “Mugabe Must Go”.

Business

• Pressure is mounting on the Kimberley Process to ban Zimbabwe from the global diamond trade over alleged human rights violations and rampant smuggling. Members of the KP Certification Scheme (KPCS), implemented in 2003 to prevent trade in blood diamonds, are gathering this week in Namibia for their annual meeting. Zimbabwe’s Marange diamonds are high on the agenda after a KP review mission in July called for a temporary suspension of six months for Zimbabwe to comply with KP standards. A suspension would stop the Zimbabwean government importing and exporting rough diamonds.  Meanwhile, Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) released their 2009 Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review, which states that the Kimberley Process is “failing” and the governments involved in its administration “refuse to get tough on blatant smuggling, human rights abuse and money laundering.”

The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s investigative programme, Special Assignment, screened a documentary titled: “Zimbabwe’s Blood Diamonds”.  The transcript can be read on the Zimbabwe Democracy Now website.

• ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd (ACL.JO), a branch of the world’s largest steelmaker, is one of two bidders short listed to buy a majority stake in the 89 percent state-owned Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Co., or Ziscosteel. Ziscosteel is the second largest integrated steelmaker in sub-Saharan Africa after ArcelorMittal South Africa, but is so heavily indebted it stopped operating last year.

• Supermarket wars: OK Zimbabwe Ltd. has indicated that negotiations with South Africa’s largest supermarket chain, Shoprite, which were reported to have collapsed two weeks ago, are still ongoing. The deal is said to be worth R167 million. South Africa’s Pick ‘n Pay meanwhile, is planning to invest in the TM chain, but the deal is awaiting a conclusion to the Meikles group saga.

Commercial Farming Sector

• The Commercial Farmer’s Union (CFU) on the weekend said that the majority of its members were unable to plant crops for the 2009/2010 season due to ongoing farm invasions, signaling a tough agricultural season ahead. “”Owing to the ongoing violations of commercial farmers and their workers, the prosecution threats and lack of security of tenure, the majority of commercial farmers will not be able to plant crops this season,” said CFU president Deon Theron. He said an increase in violence against the few remaining Zimbabwean commercial farmers and their workers was cause for great concern.

• A farm in the Chinhoyi district north of Harare was violently attacked on Friday, heightening tensions amidst a spate of violent incidents led by Zanu-PF.  On Friedawil farm, owned by Louis Fick, a South African citizen, five workers were shot and injured by a man believed to be an employee of the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Edward Mashiringwani.  Mashiringwani has for months led a campaign of intimidation against Fick.  Scores of workers were assaulted with barbed wire and several homes were torched.  Six farm workers were arrested by the police, who are under orders to never act against Zanu-PF invaders.  For almost a week the thugs have barred Fick and his staff from feeding and watering all of his livestock, an act of serious animal abuse and cruelty.  Fick is one of 79 farmers protected by the SADC Tribunal ruling of 28 November 2008.

Environment

• Dr. Morris Mutsambiwa, Director of National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said via The Zimbabwe Herald that nearly 200 rhino have been killed – and locals are among those cooperating with poaching syndicates operating in the region. “We have lost close to 200 rhinos in the last two to three years. From the intelligence we are gathering we strongly believe that there are syndicates which operate in the region involving locals, South African citizens and also people of Asian origin, which seem to be the main market for the rhino horns,” Dr Mutsambiwa stated. Elephant poaching is also on the increase, he said.

Currently there has been no confirmation of any police reaction to the latest violence. As a rule, police do not attend to incidents which they categorise as “political”.

The farm belongs to Louis Fick, a South African citizen, who is vice president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU). The property is one of the farms protected under the SADC Tribunal ruling in November 2008.

Fick’s cook was shot in the chest, a second female employee was shot in the head and is seriously injured. A third sustained leg injuries. The situation regarding the other two employees is still to be confirmed. The injured employees have been rushed to Chinhoyi and will be taken to Harare by ambulance.

In addition a number of homes belonging to the farm workers were burnt down – the exact number has not yet been confirmed.

As has been the case on previous occasions, workers are being prevented from feeding Fick’s cattle, pigs and crocodiles.

The person allegedly responsible for the shootings is Tichiona (surname unknown), an employee of Edward Mashiringwani, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, who has been threatening to violently take over the farm.

It is reported that after the shootings, the attacker, Tichiona was beaten up and is believed to have been taken to Chinhoyi hospital. There is no information on his condition.

Riot guns and rubber bullets were used – to which, as a rule, only the armed forces have access.

“Rubber” bullets, which are metal encased in rubber, are lethal at short range.

Military weapons instructors teach trainees that firing a special impact weapon (a rubber bullet) at certain body parts is considered lethal force. Those places are the head, groin, spine and stomach.

Intelligence reports indicate that violence against the remaining white commercial farmers is to be stepped up by Zanu-PF.

Mr. Fick has met with the South African ambassador in Harare on numerous occasions to seek assistance but has received no support from either the ambassador or from the South African government.

“We have been fearing a flare up of this type of violence as reports are being received countrywide of the upscaling of violence by Zanu-PF and the redeployment of the youth militia, especially in the rural areas,” said Deon Theron current president of the CFU in Zimbabwe.

“There is a complete breakdown of the rule of law and the situation is extremely volatile – the country is on a knife-edge,” Theron warned.  “SADC, the African Union and the international community need to understand that it will take just one small spark to ignite the violence countrywide.”

This latest incident comes the day after UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, was denied entry to Zimbabwe and was detained overnight at Harare airport.