Zimbabwe Weekly update – Week ending Thursday 15 July 2010 Posted by ZDN on July 16, 2010 Zimbabwe Democracy Now apologises for being unable to produce the Zimbabwe Weekly Bulletin during the past four weeks. Politics •
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is reported to be increasingly frustrated by Zimbabwe’s inability to implement the 2008 power-sharing agreement. At the end of June he wrote a letter to Harare’s feuding leaders in which he firmly set out the limits of Pretoria’s mediation role in the long-running political wrangle.
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Another Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit scheduled for August might be forced to put Zimbabwe on the agenda if President Zuma fails to persuade the wrangling principals to fully implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Governance •
Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) boss Paradzai Zimondi, one of the country’s top security commanders, has told his subordinates he will remain in charge of the country’s jails for as long as President Robert Mugabe is in power.
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Police stood by as scores of rowdy Zanu PF youth militia disturbed the opening of parliament in Harare on July 13. Clad in party regalia, clutching bottles of soft drinks and empty alcohol bottles, the youths denounced Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his party, the MDC, as President Robert Mugabe inspected a presidential guard of honour nearby.
Economy •
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the economy would grow by 5.4 percent this year. The new figure is lower than the 7.7 percent the government had initially predicted, although it remains higher than the 2.2 percent expansion predicted by the IMF. Biti said inflation showed signs of resurgence, reaching 6.1 percent on an annualised basis in May, up from 4.8 percent the previous month, but was projected to drop to 4.5 percent by year-end.
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Zimbabwe’s entire rail network faces collapse because of neglect, dealing a blow to the country’s economic recovery efforts, Mike Karakadzai, general manager of the state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe, said last week.
Mining / Diamonds •
Zimbabwe cannot account for US$30 million earned from exports of its controversial Marange diamonds, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said last month. He noted that future alluvial diamond mining would have to be done by or through the government to curb leakages.
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After two days of discussions in Moscow, the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) decided it would uphold the Kimberley Process (KP) compliance report on Zimbabwe authored by Abbey Chikane, a South African national. Chikane said the country had met the minimum conditions set by the regulator and could start gem exports.
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IDMA’s president, Moti Ganz, called on the industry to allow Zimbabwe to export Marange diamonds to help Harare raise money for economic recovery. However, he said it must be made clear to the trade that non-KP certified rough diamonds remain – and must remain – strictly prohibited.
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During early July, the European parliament passed a highly critical resolution regarding the Mugabe regime’s plundering of diamonds for financial benefit.
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Willie Nagel, founding father of the Kimberley Process, warned that Zimbabwe was not adhering to the “clean trade” system but said that unless the country was swiftly bought back into the international fold, it would destabilise the market by saturating the world with non-approved diamonds.
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KP chairman Boaz Hirsch said delegates at the Tel-Aviv meeting on June 30 had not been able to reach a consensus on Zimbabwe and were continuing to meet. The United States, Australia and the European Union reiterated concerns that Zimbabwe had not met the minimum requirements of the KP.
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Human rights groups have confirmed that abuses continue to take place in the Marange diamond fields. They cite the massacre of hundreds of illegal diggers and say soldiers are still engaging in forced labour, torture and harassment.
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There are growing fears that profits from the industry could be used to fund President Mugabe’s cash-strapped Zanu PF party at the expense of the country’s rival-in-government, the Movement for Democratic Change.
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On July 4 it was reported that President Mugabe and his ministers were preparing to sell Marange diamonds despite the ban of the sale of the “stolen goods” by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
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According to Minister of Mines Obert Mpofu there are more than six million carats “waiting to get into the market” from Zimbabwe.
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Centre for Research and Development director and activist, Farai Maguwu, arrested early June for allegedly publishing false reports about human rights violations in the country’s eastern Marange diamond field, was released this week on US$1,500 bail on a High Court order. Maguwu, who became very ill, spent five weeks in police custody in Mutare and Harare.
Agriculture •
At the International Trade Union Federation Confederation in early July, Gertrude Hambira, secretary-general of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), criticised the land reform
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programme. She said it had triggered countless barbaric acts and left hundreds of thousands of workers jobless. •
Citing continued human rights violations and the persecution of trade unionists, she called for a genuine land reform programme that would bring greater social justice without violating human rights.
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Zanu PF stalwart and controversial Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in the President’s Office, Didymus Mutasa, has allegedly threatened to cause the arrest and detention of police officers who dare to assist besieged white commercial farmers in reclaiming their properties.
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In a twist of events, two war veteran association leaders appeared in court Friday on charges of facilitating the return of evicted white commercial farmers to their farms in the Umguza district of Matabeleland. They are alleged to have instructed Zanu PF supporters who invaded one of the farms in 2000 to move out. Bail was granted and their trial was set for July 19.
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A white South African farmer, Mike Odendaal, was wrongfully arrested earlier this month on charges that he refused to vacate his farm despite holding a court order barring Zimbabwean land invaders from moving onto his property. Diplomatic intervention by South Africa’s ambassador in Zimbabwe, Prof Mlungisi Makalima, finally helped to secure his release.
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Police charged a Zanu PF politician, Temba Mliswa, with defrauding two white farmers of more than US$20 million worth of property including tractors, vehicles, cows and bulls in a case that gave a rare glimpse into how members of President Mugabe’s party looted white farms. This case appeared to be a result of Mliswa’s public clash with powerful Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri.
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Botswana has placed its health and border personnel on high alert amid fears of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in southern Zimbabwe.
New Constitution •
Zanu PF plans to block any draft constitution that does not reflect the views and values of the party, a top official has said, signalling more problems ahead for Zimbabwe’s troubled constitutional reforms. Zanu PF now controls enough parliamentary seats to block the passage of a new constitution.
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Three top local pro-democracy and human rights groups dispatched 420 people around the country during the first week of July to monitor the government-led constitution making process.
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The monitors from the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Zimbabwe Election Support Network and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights reported administrative chaos dogging the constitutional outreach exercise and widespread intimidation, with President Mugabe’s Zanu PF party instructing villagers what to say during meetings to gather the public’s views.
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Five of the monitors were arrested by police in Midlands province, barely 48 hours after the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) leading Zimbabwe’s constitution reforms assured civil society groups that they were welcome to monitor the reforms.
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Amnesty International warned early in July of a surge in political violence in Zimbabwe as President Robert Mugabe’s supporters intensified their campaign to silence opponents during the outreach exercise.
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The MDC-T launched an audacious rescue mission on July 8 to free a 16-yearold activist who was abducted by Zanu PF elements in Concession, Mashonaland Central province. The activist was abducted from Msengezi farm when he was delivering party material for the outreach to a ward chairman in Zanu PF territory. He spent almost 12 hours in captivity.
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Zanu PF last week bussed 60 people from Quill farm in Marondera to participate at an outreach meeting held at a primary school in Mashonaland East, while civil servants from the school were excluded from the programme.
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Speaking on condition of anonymity, a teacher said: “At the moment there is no freedom of expression, people cannot risk death so they would rather keep quiet, even it is something as important as the constitution.”
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Silas Gweshe, the MDC-T Secretary for Mashonaland East Province who has been following the constitution outreach programme closely, said this week there were increasing doubts that the draft constitution would truly reflect the views of Zimbabweans, especially in Mashonaland East where turnout is largely low and views are expressed on a party position basis. “If civil servants are barred from participating in such an important national event then we have to rethink the whole outreach process,” he said.
Elections •
Planned new voters’ rolls that list voters according to polling stations could worsen electoral violence by making it easier for perpetrators to identify and target perceived political opponents, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has said.
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The current, and highly controversial roll maintained by the Registrar General’s Office, includes 82 456 people aged between 90 and 100.
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Information and Publicity Minister and Zanu PF political commissar Webster Shamu has ordered DJs at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s four radio stations and the two television channels to play Zanu PF propaganda jingles he produced at least twice an hour per shift. The launch of the jingles is believed to be in preparation for a possible election next year.
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Legal •
President Mugabe has invoked the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act to stop any legal action against the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) after the central bank was slapped with several lawsuits for failing to pay its creditors.
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Seven alleged coup plotters implicated in then Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to oust President Mugabe in 2007, have been finally cleared of the charges by the High Court. However, they were not released as they face another charge of attempting to escape from lawful custody.
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Zanu PF presidential affairs minister, Didymus Mutasa has slammed the police and made pointed remarks against Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri, accusing him of abusing the penal system to settle personal scores. Mutasa said the police were harassing his son, Martin Mutasa, and his nephew, Temba Mliswa, a notorious Zanu PF activist, who are both behind bars for alleged fraud committed in the acquisition of a vehicle repair company – Noshio Motors.
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Eight University of Zimbabwe student activists appeared before a Harare magistrate on July 8 on charges of participating in an illegal gathering after a ZINASU demonstration in March. The students have been on remand since March when they were arrested at Parliament Building for demonstrating against the abuse of human rights in the country.
Health •
More than a third of Zimbabwe’s children aged below five are malnourished, according to new data released last week by the government and the United Nations Food and Nutrition Council (FNC).
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Cases of malaria recorded in Zimbabwe between February and May this year are more than three times the number of cases recorded during the same period last year
Education •
Zimbabwe’s once vaunted public education sector remains in a “catastrophic state” and is short of cash to revamp dilapidated schools or lure back experienced teaching staff, Education Minister David Coltart said Wednesday.
Media •
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe chapter said Thursday it was concerned that President Mugabe did not mention the Freedom of Information Bill among the Bills to be discussed in Parliament.
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He referred only to the Media Practitioners Bill which seeks to repeal the part of the Access to Information and the Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which deals with the registration of journalists and privacy issues.
Xenophobia •
Many Zimbabweans living in Gauteng province in South Africa have fled their homes as sporadic incidents of violence have broken out after the country’s successful staging of the Soccer World Cup.
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Reports from the Johannesburg area indicate that gangs are moving door-todoor robbing terrified foreigners of household goods like televisions and refrigerators, and of cash.
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Refugee aid groups warned recently of a possible new wave of xenophobic attacks after the World Cup.
Tourism •
Tourism group Tourvest’s newest venture, a luxury tented camp in its concession in the Victoria Falls National Park costing “just over $1 million (R7.6m)” to develop, has already been fully occupied on several days since its opening on July 6.
The Good News •
The deal to export wildlife to North Korea has been called off in a move described as good news for Zimbabwe by wild life conservationists. Efforts are now underway to urgently raise £18 000 for funding the immediate release of most of the captured wild animals and care for the two young elephants.
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The International Co-ordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme has declared Zimbabwe’s Middle Zambezi Valley a Biosphere Reserve. The only other Biosphere Reserves in the Southern African region are in South Africa and Malawi.
Source: Zimbabwe Democracy Now Click here for back copies of the Zimbabwe Weekly Update
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