in4 zimbabwe

Review on visas for Zimbabwean migrants

2009-06-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

South Africa's HOME Affairs Minister Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma has referred back to the drawing board the proposed special dispensation giving undocumented Zimbabwean migrants already in SA the right to live and work for up to a year.
Her department is also reviewing the recently introduced visa-free entry facility that allows Zimbabwean passport holders the right to work in SA for 90 days .

Home affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said yesterday Dlamini- Zuma was reviewing all processes in the department.

The proposed special dispensation for Zimbabweans was among the measures sent back for discussion on the “nature, scope and implication of the decision”.

Government insiders said that in some quarters it was believed there had not been enough consultation before announcing the measures.
Other concerns were that neighbouring countries did not have renewable visa-free entry for Zimbabweans, and visitors to SA from countries such as Mozambique qualified only for a limited period during the year, and had no right to work.
Set to be rolled out from the department’s new refugee reception centre in Pretoria, the facility was aimed at addressing the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, where many now live off foreign remittances.
Registration of border jumpers was also meant to improve the security situation. In addition, the special permit for undocumented Zimbabwean immigrants would have saved money spent on deporting people who almost always returned to SA.

Loren Landau, head of the Forced Migration Studies Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, suspects that any change of plans by home affairs was for the sake of short- term domestic interests.

During an “economic downturn and job losses, there will always be sentiments against immigration”, he said yesterday.

Shortly before the elections, then Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced that the department would introduce a special permit meant for undocumented Zimbabwean migrants in SA.

Valid for 12 months, the proposed document would have given the holder access to services such as health and education.

In April, home affairs suspended deportations while granting Zimbabwean passport holders reciprocal visa- free entry into the country with the option to work. Such a provision was unusual in the region. While Mozambican, Lesotho and Swazi nationals enjoy visa-free access into SA, they do not have an automatic right to work.
The government was keen on implementing a uniform policy for all neighbouring countries but it was under pressure from local and international rights groups to accommodate Zimbabweans fleeing the crisis.
Last week Medecins Sans Frontieres called on the government and United Nations agencies to urgently address the humanitarian needs of Zimbabweans refugees.
“Every day, despite claims that Zimbabwe is ‘normalising’, thousands of Zimbabweans continue to cross the border into SA, fleeing economic meltdown, food insecurity, political turmoil and the total collapse of their health system,” said the medical group’s SA head, Rachel Cohen.

Harare ranked the least liveability city in the world

2009-06-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

Zimbabwe has once again broken another another world record with Harare ranked the worst liveable city in the world

ROBERT MUGABE
The latest Economist Intelligence Unit global liveability survey places London (51st) and Manchester (46th) in the top tier of places to live, although their positions in the global ranking reflects the challenges faced by many large urban centres. Vancouver remains top of the league table, benefiting from strong Canadian infrastructure and Harare sits at the bottom thanks to the unfolding crisis in Zimbabwe.

Mswati strikes business deals with Mugabe

2009-06-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

Mswati who jetted into Harare with one of his several wives-Inkosikhati Lagija, a princess, a prince and a traditional minister Induna Shende Tsabedze in the company of Zimbabwe’s 85 years old leader Robert Mugabe went on a tour of Gideon Gono’s farm - Donnington Farm. The Zimbabwe Tribune has learnt.

The King's wife spent Friday with First Lady Grace Mugabe touring the fruits of the first familiy's loot. She was takento Gwina farm in Banket, a farm the first lady forcibly grabbed from High Court Judge Ben Hlatswayo.

Mswati was greeted with a 21-gun salute the highest honour that can be bestowed on a visiting head of state.

On Thursday morning Mswati commissioned some grain silo’s at the controversial Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono’s Donnington Farm, in Norton about 60km southwest of Harare.

Sources today said Gono whose farm produces chickens and other perishable goods is looking for export markets in Swaziland.

“Remember Gono can not export to European countries, he is now short of ready market for his produce, so Swaziland could be a good market for him,” said a source.

Donnington Farm has been under Gono’s ownership for close to 4 years. The visit by the polygamist Swazi King was a laid down plan by Mugabe as he tries to get his protégé connected in the political system.

Gideon Gono is by far the most successful farmer in Zimbabwe. His yields are largely credited to his unfair advantage of access to state resources. His maize yields have in the past been used to feed starving army officers.

Gideon Gono has been the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor for close to six years.

MDC dismisses COMESA snub story

2009-06-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

ZIMBABWE-HARARE -The MDC dismisses the malicious fabrications in today’s issue of The Herald that ministers of excellence snubbed the COMESA summit which kicked off in the resort town of Victoria Falls at the weekend.

MDC

For the record, several ministers attended the COMESA summit. Hosting COMESA is neither a Zanu PF nor an MDC role. It is a national responsibility and the attempt to balkanise the government in terms of Zanu PF or MDC ministers is regrettable.

The allegation that MDC ministers snubbed the Comesa summit is unbridled mischief which is part of a well-orchestrated plot to malign and soil the image of the MDC and its leadership in government. In any case, there is no such as an MDC minister as alleged by The Herald. They are ministers of government who are serving the people of Zimbabwe

The malicious fabrications betray the reality that there are some people in certain political parties who continue to abuse the state media to mislead the nation that the MDC is pulling some strings to derail government efforts.

Zimbabweans know that if anything, it is the MDC which is working hard to make sure that the economy recovers and that food is brought back on the people’s table. The people of Zimbabwe are aware of the real culprits who are scuttling the work of the inclusive government.

The MDC’s commitment to the inclusive government has never been half-hearted. The half-hearted are refusing to implement the Global Political Agreement to which they appended their signature.

The half-hearted are delaying to swear in Senator Roy Bennett as deputy minister of Agriculture. The half-hearted are refusing to iron out the issue of provincial governors, ambassadors and permanent secretaries.

The half-hearted are skirting the contentious issues of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana. The half-hearted are standing in the way of a clear High Court order which has ruled that the Media and Information Committee is an illegal body that cannot continue to extort money from journalists.

And Zimbabweans know that the half-hearted and the evil-minded are firmly located in Zanu PF. They are waylaying the efforts of the inclusive government by continuing to disrupt farming and arresting innocent people on trumped-up charges. This is a coterie bent on a matrix of planning to fail when the rest of the country planning to succeed.

The MDC has clear ideas and programmes while others have assumed an oppositional role, scuttling the work of the Prime Ministers and his hard-working team of ministers who want to bring the economy back on its rails.

They continue to resist the work of the inclusive government by abusing The Herald and the ZBC to propagate the views of one political party in a tripartite inclusive government.

The MDC is a party of excellence. We believe in honesty, hard work and commitment to agreements that we have signed. We believe in accountability, freedom and social justice. No amount of propaganda will blur our vision of a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning.

Together to the end, marching to a new Zimbabwe.

Mugabe Continues to Haunt Zimbabwe's Quest for Aid

2009-06-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

JOHANNESBURG -- Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is on his first
official visit in Washington this week with a decidedly difficult sales
pitch. He is expected to request funding for a nation that he recently said
remains so unfree and unstable that it is "not a country where I can be
confident about the future of all our children."

The former opposition leader joined forces in February with his nemesis,
autocratic President Robert Mugabe, in a marriage of convenience that
Tsvangirai's party hopes will help build its control and rescue Zimbabwe's
shattered economy. But progress has been hampered by disagreements and
continued human rights abuses by Mugabe allies -- and, most observers agree,
because Zimbabwe is broke.

The arrangement has put Tsvangirai and his party, the Movement for
Democratic Change, in the difficult position of assuring investors and
donors that coffers long looted by Mugabe are safe despite the rocky
coalition. It has also posed a predicament for wary donors, including the
United States, which are so far unwilling to offer economic aid even though
officials in Tsvangirai's party insist money is vital to help redirect the
collapsed nation toward a democratic future.

"The international community has a duty to invest in Zimbabwe," said Finance
Minister Tendai Biti, an MDC member who has won praise for keeping tight
reins on a small state budget that barely manages to pay civil servants. "We
truly want this transitional government to work. There will be catastrophe
if it fails."

Tsvangirai is scheduled to meet President Obama on Friday, the White House
announced Monday. Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the two leaders "will
discuss the difficult road ahead in Zimbabwe" during their Oval Office
meeting.

Tsvangirai's trip carries echoes of one made 29 years ago by Mugabe, then
the new leader of a recently liberated Zimbabwe. The Carter administration
greeted him with a warm welcome and pledged millions in economic assistance.
But relations soured over decades, as Mugabe ruined Zimbabwe's economy,
violently repressed its people and refused to give up power.

In recent months, Zimbabwe's pleas have won it more than $1 billion in
credit lines from African nations, boosts in humanitarian aid from Western
donors and warmer relations with the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund, which cut ties with Zimbabwe years ago because of $1.24
billion in unpaid debts.

The nation has also received delegations from Western nations, including the
United States. U.S. Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.), who met Mugabe and
Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe last month, said an in interview that the United
States should expand aid to reach more Zimbabweans, noting that "we have
more relations with Sudan," a country whose leader is accused of overseeing
genocide.

But Zimbabwe is far from raising the $8.5 billion it says it needs. The
United States, like other Western donors, channels humanitarian aid to
Zimbabwe through charities but withholds developmental aid. Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a recent television interview that she
thought it "would be in the best interests of everyone" for Mugabe to step
down. She said the United States, which last year gave $260 million in
humanitarian assistance, is reviewing but "not yet ready to change" its
policy.

"Is doing so rewarding ZANU?" asked a Western diplomat in Harare, the
capital, referring to Mugabe's party, the Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front. "We're looking for real, true, irreversible change.
We're not rewarding a ploy by ZANU to look good for six months."

MDC officials insist they have made progress. Now in control of the Finance
Ministry, the party has stabilized the previously astronomical inflation
rate. Store shelves are stocked, gas stations have fuel and public teachers
and health workers are back on duty, thanks to new a $100 monthly stipend.

But much remains unchanged. The media cannot report freely, though
Tsvangirai has said restrictions would be scrapped. The attorney general and
the central bank governor are still in their jobs even though Mugabe
appointed them in violation of the power-sharing agreement and MDC leaders
have called for their ouster.

At least 170 farmers have been taken to court recently for "illegally"
occupying their land in a continuation of a decade-long campaign by Mugabe
to reclaim white-owned land despite a regional tribunal's order that it
stop.

MDC officials say human rights abuses have declined, but many observers
disagree. In recent months, opposition and civil society activists have been
dragged in and out of courts and prison cells on charges -- widely
considered fabricated -- that they plotted to overthrow Mugabe.

Critics say the detentions point to a central flaw in the power-sharing
government: Though Mugabe's party co-chairs the ministry that oversees
police, it retained key control of other security forces and influence over
the legal system.

"I am a co-minister of home affairs and should be in charge of the police.
But just recently, the attorney general . . . gave an order to the police to
arrest journalists," said Giles Mutsekwa, the MDC's home affairs minister.
"When something like that happens, it becomes difficult to convince the
international community that we are in charge."

Some civil society activists complain that the MDC has waffled when it comes
to continued abuses. Tsvangirai regularly voices somewhat diplomatic
criticism of "forces" within ZANU-PF, but he has also drawn fire for
comments such as those he made to a South African newspaper last month that
the renewed arrests of prominent activists was a "mishap" and that the
seizures of "one or two farms" had been "blown out of proportion."

"They're remaining absolutely bloody silent," said John Worsely-Worswick of
Justice for Agriculture, a farmer's group that has long opposed Mugabe.
"I've had a number of farmers recently say, 'Listen, we were better off
before this inclusive government.' . . . That's an alarming thing to have
farmers say."

But, he added, "it's much easier being in the opposition than being inside
the government."

Special correspondent Farai Mutsaka in Harare, Zimbabwe, contributed to this
report.

Mugabe launches trade pact

2009-06-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

ROBERT Mugabe on Sunday launched a new pact aimed at tearing down trade barriers across 19 African nations with appeals for external investors and an end to domestic conflicts.

The veteran leader took over as chairman of the continent's largest trade bloc -- home to 400 million people stretching from the southern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean -- and opened the customs union within their borders.

"Our message to investors worldwide and to those of our region is clear: we have a regional market for you, come to COMESA," said the 85-year-old Zimbabwe president, referring to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

"To the whole world, we want to say. . . that we are serious as a region. "

With a combined gross domestic product of 360 billion dollars (255 billion euros), COMESA's members range from oil or tourist hotspots to some of the world's poorest and most conflict-torn nations.

The bloc comprises: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Most have lifted visa restrictions on travel within the bloc.

Speaking as once-prosperous Zimbabwe seeks to emerge from economic meltdown and political turmoil, Mugabe earlier urged leaders to stamp out violence and "make Africa a continent of opportunity for all its people. "

"You certainly agree with me that conflict is a serious cancer in our region and indeed many parts of Africa," Mugabe told a summit of members in a Zimbabwe resort.

"Strife has made us lose valuable manpower through death and displacement of people. It has also adversely affected our economies in regard to productivity and prosperity. "

Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes in Darfur, was among the audience..

Church briefs PM on chaos besetting Harare diocese

2009-05-05T03:41:00.000-07:00

HARARE – The Anglican Church on Monday briefed Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the chaos currently besetting the church in Zimbabwe in which ex-communicated Bishop Nolbert Kunonga is allegedly clinging to the church’s financial books and properties.

The regional synod, officially known as the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) and comprising Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe dioceses, told Tsvangirai that Kunonga was no longer a bishop or member of the Anglican Church as he had been ex-communicated after deciding to withdraw from the church together with Manicaland Bishop Elson Jakazi, a former army chaplain.

Albert Chama, a Zambian bishop who led the delegation that held discussions with Tsvangirai, told journalists at a press conference that the meeting with the Prime Minister was also meant to convey the church’s condolence message in the wake of the death of Susan Tsvangirai and nephew Shaun Tsvangirai.

“We came here to pay our condolences to the Prime Minister after the two tragic deaths in his family,” said Chama.

“We also used the opportunity for the Prime Minister to hear from the horse’s mouth what is happening in the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe where Kunonga and Jakazi are clinging to church property.”

The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has been embroiled in controversy over the control of the church’s properties and finances, amid allegations that Kunonga was illegally occupying the properties as well as having access to the church’s funds.

“It was a good opportunity to brief him especially on our two friends that have left the church,” he said.

Tsvangirai spokesman, James Maridadi, confirmed the meting with the Anglican bishops.

“They came to pay their condolences and discussed other issues to do with that church in Zimbabwe,” said Maridadi.

Meanwhile Bishop Sebastian Bakare who has been running the rift-ridden church diocese is resigning from the group, and will be replaced by Chad Gandiya.

An assembly of the Anglican Church on Saturday elected Right Reverend Gandiya to replace retired Bishop Bakare.

Gandiya who is currently in England would be ordained the substantive bishop of the Harare diocese on July 25.

Bakare, who has been at the helm of the Harare diocese over the past two years, was appointed following the decision by Kunonga to pull out of the church claiming that the CPCA condoned homosexuality.

"As a bishop I am passing on the responsibility," Bakare said at a press conference.

"I was here on a caretaker basis, I was here because of Kunonga's behaviour. I was a shepherd looking after its sheep."

During his tenure, Bakare administered a divided congregation, which critics blamed on political interference in support of Kunonga who always had police protection, although he had no meaningful support.

"Kunonga doesn’t even exist in these churches, he claims to have people. Riot police at times threw teargas at several of our churches such St Faith, Budiririo and others. It was so serious that they got to the extent of trying to use live ammunition," Bakare said.

Last month, Bakare and Kunonga were summoned to a meeting by Home Affairs co-Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutseyekwa in a futile bid to find a solution to the problems.

'Zim must get aid only after ending rights abuses'

2009-05-05T03:40:00.000-07:00

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday said donors should not resume development aid to Zimbabwe until the power-sharing government ends ongoing human rights abuses and carries out genuine reforms.

"Humanitarian aid that focuses on the needs of Zimbabwe's most vulnerable should continue . . . But donor governments such as the UK should not release development aid until there are irreversible changes on human rights, the rule of law, and accountability," HRW Africa director Georgette Gagnon said in a report.

The United States-based rights group spoke as Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti is visiting Washington and London to seek direct financial assistance to the government, while the International Monetary Fund prepares to discuss Zimbabwe next week.

“We called on the power-sharing government to disclose the whereabouts of the seven "disappeared" persons; end harassment of civil society activists, student leaders, and MDC activists; and free those who have been illegally abducted; investigate allegations of torture and hold fully to account those found to be responsible, whatever their positions or ranks; halt farm invasions, remove immediately those who have invaded properties since the global political agreement was signed, and respect private property rights.”, Gagnon said.

The international rights group has been calling for Zimbabwe’s inclusive government to carry out comprehensive justice reforms without delay to ensure accountability for past abuses.

In the aftermath of last year’s general elections, President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party carried out a campaign of violence against the then opposition MDC party in which almost 200 supporters of the opposition were reportedly killed, some 5 000 tortured and more than 10 000 required medical treatment for injuries.

The HRW said since the signing of the power-sharing agreement on September 15 last year between Mugabe and the leaders of the two MDC formations – Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara – Zimbabwe's leaders have not demonstrated the political will to carry out necessary human rights reforms and restore the rule of law in the country.

In a report titled: “Donors Should Focus First on Reforms. Critical Changes Needed Before Resuming Development Assistance”, Gagnon challenged ZANU PF and the two formations of the MDC to end human right abuses in the country.

“All three have made clear commitments to end abuses, but pro-ZANU PF police and prosecuting authorities continue to conduct politically motivated prosecutions of political opponents and have failed to investigate allegations of torture.

“Police intimidation and arrests of activists are ongoing, and supporters of ZANU-PF – the longtime ruling party and member of the new power-sharing government – continue to violently invade commercial farms,” reads part of the report

Despite the formation of a unity government in February, Mugabe supporters and ZANU PF officials have continued violent attacks on white-owned farms.

Groups of people allegedly acting on behalf of senior ZANU PF officials are invading farms belonging to white farmers who took their case against Mugabe’s land reform programme to a regional court for arbitration.

“Since January, ZANU PF supporters and militia have violently invaded commercial farms and harassed commercial farmers, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of farm workers,” Gagnon said

According to the report last week police shot and wounded two farm workers from Stockdale Farm in Chegutu, about 100 kilometers west of Harare.

Mugabe has openly refused to abide by a November 2008 ruling by a SADC tribunal barring his supporters from grabbing the less than 400 commercial farms that still remain in the hands of white citizens.

"Until the new government takes bold, irreversible steps to end human rights abuses and carry out major legislative reforms, the international community should continue to withhold longer-term development aid and maintain its targeted sanctions," Gagnon said.

He added: “The state authorities continue to do nothing concrete to prevent these attacks or to offer meaningful redress to the victims.”

The Western governments want Zimbabwe’s unity government to make meaningful progress on its pledges as prescribed in a power sharing deal between ZANU-PF and the two MDC parties last September.

"Until the new government takes bold, irreversible steps to end human rights abuses and carry out major legislative reforms, the international community should continue to withhold longer-term development aid and maintain its targeted sanctions," Gagnon said.

Zimbabwe is desperately seeking nearly 10 billion dollars in aid and investment to revive industry, rebuild the civil service such and provide basic services such as education and health.

Western nations led by the US and Britain – Zimbabwe’s two biggest donors – have said they want the new government in Harare to implement genuine and comprehensive political and economic reforms before they provide financial support and lift visa and financial sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle.

Tsvangirai wants unity govt’s outstanding issues resolved

2009-05-05T03:39:00.000-07:00

HARARE – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday called on Zimbabwe’s political leaders to conclude discussions on implementation of the country’s power-sharing agreement, in a sign he may be losing patience with talks that have dragged on for days with little progress.

Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara – the three principals to Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement – are expected to meet today to try to resolve several outstanding issues and alleged unilateralism by Mugabe that is threatening the smooth running of the nascent unity government.

Today’s meeting will be the third time inside two weeks that the three leaders will be meeting to try to find a lasting solution to the outstanding issues and other differences that emerged after the formation of the inclusive government on February 13 and that have hindered full implementation of the power-sharing agreement.

"They will be addressed and we are in the process of addressing them. We cannot go on for ever and ever, we have to address those issues," Tsvangirai told journalists after officiating at an International Labour Organisation function in Harare.

"We have no specific date but we cannot go on with outstanding issues always hanging over our heads," he said.

Among the outstanding issues of the power sharing agreement the leaders will discuss are the appointment of provincial governors, permanent secretaries and diplomats, the rehiring of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and the appointment of Johannes Tomana as Attorney General by Mugabe in January.

Tsvangirai and Mutambara want the appointments of Gono, Tomana and provincial governors rescinded and the recruitment of new ambassadors and permanent secretaries – moves Mugabe and hardliners from his ZANU PF party have adamantly opposed.

Mugabe has also raised the ire of his coalition partners with a unilateral decision to transfer a major portfolio from MDC-T minister Nelson Chamisa to one of his ZANU PF hardliners, Nicholas Goche.

Another bone of contention between Mugabe on the one hand and Tsvangirai and Mutambara on the other is the refusal by the 85-year-old President to swear in MDC-T Senator Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister.

Meanwhile Tsvangirai’s spokesman, James Maridadi, discounted reports that Zimbabwean political leaders had called for former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who mediated in the power sharing talks, to return to oversee dialogue on the outstanding issues.

Maridadi said there had been no stalemate in the talks yet and therefore there was no need to call in outside helpers.

“The Principals only resort to mediation in the event of a stalemate and in this case no stalemate was declared," he said.

The coalition government is seen as offering Zimbabwe the best opportunity in a decade to restore stability and end a devastating economic crisis.

But international political think-tank, the International Crisis Group, said in report released on Monday that the unity government was at risk of being toppled while Tsvangirai himself could be assassinated by military generals unhappy that the unfolding political transition could leave them powerless and vulnerable to prosecution for past crimes

Teachers threaten fresh round of strikes

2009-03-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Minister David Coltart
TEACHERS threatened a fresh job boycott this week after the government said it was unable to improve on the US$100 allowances they received last month.
Teachers will boycott classes indefinitely from the beginning of May unless the government offers them improved pay, Zimbabwe’s biggest teachers’ union warned.
A Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) circular to members dated March 10 says: “ZIMTA has learnt that government will be unable to improve on the foreign currency allowance levels paid in February, citing lack of scope and capacity at present.”
ZIMTA said it could not reconcile the US$100 payments with the current school fees structure of up to US$150 per term at state schools -- well above their pay. The teachers are also demanding that school fees for their children be waived.
“Failure to achieve issues… by April 2009, teachers will not go back to class in May 2009,” the circular added.
Education Minister David Coltart and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met union members last month and convinced them to end their year-long work boycott after the government undertook to pay them in United States dollars because the local currency had lost value.
With teachers back at work and schools countrywide fully open, unions say they are “losing hope” on the promises made by Tsvangirai and Coltart.
“Major deliverables on the promises made have not been addressed, no salary was negotiated in March, and no school fees issue for teachers’ children remains unresolved,” the union added.
The teachers’ union also said the government’s policy that no student must be sent home for failure to pay fees is “not implementable, policeable and enforceable.”
Meanwhile reports say at least 50 exiled Zimbabwean teachers and nurses have been returning home from South Africa every week since the formation of a unity government on February 13.
Dennis Chitsaka, the chief immigration officer at Beitbridge border post said scores of exiled teachers and nurses were making enquiries at the Zimbabwean embassy in South Africa on the repatriation process.
Chitsaka said immigration officials have since February cleared an average of 50 to 60 nurses and teachers issued with repatriation certificates from South Africa every week.
“Since the formation of the inclusive government, we have recorded a sharp increase in arrivals from South Africa, with the majority of them being teachers and nurses. We believe the number will increase in the next few weeks since the majority of Zimbabweans are still making inquiries on the repatriation process with our embassy in that country,” Chitsaka said.

Zim to feature in talks between Motlanthe, UN chief

2009-02-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

Zimbabwe will feature prominently during discussions on Wednesday between South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Pretoria.
South Africa, the region’s biggest economy, mediated in negotiations that saw President Robert Mugabe and longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai agree to form a government of national unity sworn into office two weeks ago.
The unity government has appealed for help from neighbours and from UN agencies to tackle Zimbabwe’s unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis.
South Africa’s Foreign Affairs Department said Motlanthe would also discuss with Ban, who is on his first visit to southern Africa, other crises on the continent including strife-torn Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“During his visit to Union Buildings Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President Motlanthe are expected to discuss among others African developments including developments in Zimbabwe, DRC, Sudan, Somalia, Madagascar and DRC,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said.
Ban’s visit to the region comes days after he dispatched a team of aid experts on a five-day mission to Zimbabwe to assess the country’s humanitarian needs.
The UN team that arrived in Harare at the weekend includes representatives from the World Health Organisation, World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund. It is expected to meet Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai during its stay in the country.
Once a model African economy Zimbabwe is grappling with one of the worst economic and humanitarian catastrophes outside a war zone, seen in the world’s highest inflation of more than 200 million percent, acute food shortages and a cholera epidemic that has infected more than 80 000 people and killed nearly 4 000 others.
A unity government between Tsvangirai and Mugabe has raised hopes that Zimbabwe could finally emerge from its crisis but analysts say the international community would have to provide substantial aid if the southern African country is to recover from nearly a decade of acute recession.
Tsvangirai, who last week visited South Africa la Friday to discuss a possible rescue package for his country, said long-term recovery would require at least US$5 billion – money Zimbabwe or its neighbours do not have.
The United States, Britain and other Western powers with the resources to bankroll Zimbabwe’s recovery have said they want to see evidence the unity government is committed to implementing genuine political and economic reform before they can provide aid.

Bennett to be moved from police station to prison: MDC

2009-02-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party said on Tuesday that it expected its detained treasurer Roy Bennett to be moved from a police station in Mutare to a prison in the eastern border city.
Bennett, who is the MDC’s nominee for deputy agriculture minister in the unity government, will appear in court on Wednesday for a hearing on whether he should be placed on remand.
“Roy Bennett will be moved from Mutare police station to Mutare prison,” the MDC said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon.
ZimOnline was not able to verify with police and prison authorities whether Bennett – who the MDC said was in good spirits – had indeed been moved from police holding cells to prison.
A hugely popular figure among MDC supporters Bennett appeared in court in Mutare as Zimbabwe’s new unity Cabinet met for the first time in Harare yesterday.
The 52-year-old Bennett, who is white and a former farmer, faces charges of possessing weapons for the purposes of insurgency and banditry arising from the discovery in 2006 of arms of war near Mutare.
He is also accused of violating the Immigration Act by allegedly leaving and entering the country illegally – charges which the MDC says are trumped up.
The arrest of Bennett, who was seized by state agents from a Harare airport on the same day Mugabe was swearing in the new Cabinet, has intensified doubts on whether the unity government between the MDC and Mugabe’s ZANU PF party will last.

Zimbabwe will take time to rebuild: UK

2009-02-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Britain does not expect quick recovery in Zimbabwe despite the southern African country’s political leaders forming a unity government two weeks ago, local government minister John Healey said on Monday.
Addressing the British Parliament, Healey said Zimbabwe’s economic crisis had paralysed the country "and we cannot expect this to be put right overnight".
The collapse of the infrastructure had exposed British nationals living there to severe difficulties of getting food and medical care, making it necessary for the UK to intervene and assist them, said Healey, explaining London’s decision to evacuate elderly Britons from Zimbabwe.
Once a model African economy Zimbabwe is in the grip of an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis marked by the world’s highest inflation of 231 million percent as of last July, acute shortages of food and deepening poverty amid a cholera epidemic that has infected about 80 000 people and killed more than 4 000 others.
Critics blame Zimbabwe's troubles on repression and wrong polices by President Robert Mugabe such as his land reforms that displaced established white commercial farmers and replaced them with either incompetent or inadequately funded black farmers, leading to a massive drop in farm production.
But Mugabe blames Western sanctions he says are meant to push him out of power.
Mugabe and his long time rival and now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a new government two weeks ago after agreeing to share power last year, raising hopes among Zimbabweans of an end to widespread hardship.
But skepticism remains high whether the unity government that under a September power-sharing agreement should last for about two years would survive the deep-seated acrimony between the political rivals and rescue the country from complete economic collapse.
Healey said Britain would repatriate “older and vulnerable British people who may be increasingly unable to support themselves in Zimbabwe and who are unable to return to the UK without assistance."
The programme will target British nationals aged 70 or over in need of care or medical treatment and up to 750 elderly Britons are expected to take up the offer over the next 18 months, the British minister said.
Healey stressed that Britain was not advising the 12 500 British nationals registered with the British Embassy in Zimbabwe to leave the country.
Meanwhile New Zealand said on Monday it might stop the country's cricket team touring Zimbabwe later this year because of security risks.
Prime Minister John Key told Television New Zealand: "I'm pretty reluctant for the Black Caps to travel," adding; "There are very real, genuine security risks for our players."

No reopening for Zimbabwe schools

2009-01-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

The reopening of schools in Zimbabwe after the Christmas break has been delayed by two weeks.
Education Minister Stephen Mahere said teachers needed to mark last year's exams before the new term can begin.
But many teachers are refusing to return to work until they are assured of being paid in foreign currency as local currency is almost worthless.
Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe has replaced some acting ministers who lost seats in last March's elections.
According to state media, Mr Mugabe intends to form a new government next month after he returns from a four-week-long holiday.
He has agreed to share power with the opposition but this has not happened.
Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been unable to agree on how to divide cabinet posts.
Zimbabwe has been crippled by the stalled power-sharing negotiations, as well as a cholera epidemic which has spread quickly amid the country's economic meltdown, so far killing 1,732 people.
Fees
Mr Mahere said schools would open on 27 January, Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper reports.
He also urged schools which want to increase their fees to submit their requests as soon as possible.
Schools are unable to put up fees without the government's consent.
But inflation in Zimbabwe stands at more than 200m% and most teachers cannot afford to go to work.
Students are often required to make payments in kind, including food.
In November, the UN said the number of children going to school regularly in Zimbabwe had fallen dramatically from 90% to 20%.
Zimbabwe used to have one of the best education systems in Africa.

Housing Crisis in Zimbabwe

2009-01-06T04:15:00.000-08:00

The Zimbabwean government has built only 3,300 houses for the estimated 700,000 people made homeless by its forced housing demolitions over a year ago, an Amnesty International report said today. It adds to criticism from Zimbabwean groups, which say the demolitions were an abuse of human rights.President Robert Mugabe's government bulldozed dwellings in Harare, Bulawayo and other cities. Mr Mugabe claimed the destruction was an urban clean-up programme and said his government would be providing new homes for those forced to sleep rough. But Amnesty dismissed the homes constructed as "a wholly inadequate response". It said many were of such poor quality that they were uninhabitable. "Hundreds of thousands of people evicted ... have been left to find their own solutions to their homelessness," said Amnesty's Africa programme director, Kolawole Olaniyan. "The Zimbabwean government has attempted to cover up mass human rights violations with a public relations exercise."

Acting President Msika

2009-01-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

The President is very busy reflecting on new structures
Vice President Cde Joseph Msika is Acting President for the duration of President Mugabe’s traditional annual month-long leave, part of which will be spent outside Zimbabwe. Presidential spokesman and Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde George Charamba announced that Cde Msika would be Acting President during President Mugabe’s absence. Cde Charamba told our sister paper, The Sunday Mail: “This is more of a retreat than an actual leave. The President is very busy reflecting on new structures that are needed to deal with the economic sanctions against Zimbabwe as well as working on structures of an inclusive Government which must come too soon.”

Zimbabwe treason suspects to make fresh bid for freedom Monday

2009-01-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

posted on this site:Mon 5-Jan-2009
Refused access to medical care
Harare - Jailed Zimbabwean opposition and civic society activists, will launch another bid for freedom when they appear in court Monday in the ongoing case in which they are accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe. Defence lawyers for human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and 15 other political activists said they would take another go at bail application at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts following unsuccessful bids to secure their clients’ release last week. The state has previously opposed bail for the activists, citing the serious nature of the charges faced by the accused, but their lawyers say the continued incarceration of the suspects without a formal trial was a violation of their constitutional rights. The suspects have been refused access to medical care even after the High Court ruled that they were illegally detained and ordered their release on December 24. The 16, who include a two-year-old child, are accused of recruiting people for military training in Botswana for purposes of toppling Mugabe’s government and replacing it with one led by Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition MDC. The MDC and Botswana have both denied the allegations and have instead accused Mugabe’s Zanu PF party of using trumped-up charges to wriggle out of a power-sharing agreement with the opposition. The MDC has demanded equitable sharing of key ministerial positions in a proposed Zimbabwe unity government, including control of the powerful home affairs ministry that runs the police force and immigration department.

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An end to Mugabe's madness

2009-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

Monday, 05 January 2009
Begin with a coalition of 'a league of democracies'Nat Hentoff
While the world stands still, hearing of the terrors and deaths inflicted on Zimbabweans by their inhuman president, Robert Mugabe, a December 7 lead editorial in this newspaper got to the insatiable evil of his rule as the United Nations customarily just mutters away its useless concerns. "People are starving and compete in the countryside with baboons, jackals and goats for roots and wild fruits; health care has imploded and cholera is on the march as water and sewer systems collapse; and refugees by the millions have left the country." Some of those refugees bring cholera with them to neighboring states.
South Africa keeps shaming itself by continuing only to "mediate" this virulent crisis as if it's possible to mediate relations with a plague. And the 15-nation Southern African Development Community also continues its minuet with the deadly Mr. Mugabe. Only Botswana and Kenya face the naked truth and call for his removal. Said Mugabe (Associated Press, Dec. 19): "Zimbabwe is mine." On Dec. 18, I heard Mr. Mugabe himself on the BBC actually saying that the ravages of cholera among his people are "a disease planted by former colonial masters to foment war." Those Western masters, he implies, must have also caused hospitals to shut down, water taps to go dry and food supplies to vanish. But what of the continuing kidnappings of Zimbabweans opposing Mugabe as well as the kidnappings of humanitarian workers? The kidnappers must be agents of former colonial masters disguised as Mugabe's police and soldiers.There are many anxious commentaries on how to pressure the United Nations to break the political deadlock unmovingly maintained by Mugabe as he refuses to give the opposition any means to rein in the official thugs who savagely beat and have murdered many of the Zimbabweans who do not revere their "Liberator." And even if there were a U.N. Security Council resolution to at least threaten action - armed action - against this oppressor, Security Council members China and Russia would automatically veto even an intimation of real force against the ruler of this utterly broken sovereign state.The headline of the Dec. 7 Washington Times editorial, rare among voices on this international treadmill of protest, was: "Forced action for Zimbabwe?" And the editorial ends: "Alas, at some times in some places diplomacy just doesn't work because one side's ... values are so averse to civilized society that words, hopes, logic and reason are pointless ... there seems to us, at least no debate going on in Zimbabwe under Mr. Mugabe. Has anyone in that part of the world thought of the 'f' word, force?" Some have thought of that word in this part of the world. George W. Bush had been thinking of force against the genocidal tyrant, Gen. Omar al-Bashir, in Sudan, and was dissuaded by advisers. I expect the destructions of families, including so many children, in Zimbabwe also affects him deeply, but he will soon be leaving.The new vice president-elect, Joe Biden, has recommended force so that we can actually say "never again" in Darfur. And Republican Sen. John McCain, acutely aware of United Nations' impotence, not only in Sudan and Zimbabwe, has been strongly advocating a "league of democracies" - nations whose fundamental values would impel them to intervene when sovereign states are exercising that sovereignty to dismember their people.Enter President-elect Barack Obama. Whatever other goals he achieves in his presidency, despite the unprecedentedly enormous domestic and international obstacles confronting him, he could eventually leave office having helped make possible a stunningly historic coalition of nations that would be ready to use force to stop genocide and such other atrocities now wholly uncontrolled in Sudan and in Zimbabwe. At least, Mr. Bush now states there can be no government power- sharing with Mugabe still in office.Members of that coalition, which could save untold numbers of lives, could include, among others, England, France, Canada, Germany, India, Australia and Japan. Since delay means more deaths, Mr. Obama and his foreign-relations team could soon begin initial contacts with prospective members of "the league of democracies" to start planning for crucially necessary interventions.Meanwhile, to spark interest in this desperately humanitarian intervention, there is a report by Lydia Polgreen from yet another massacre in the Belgian Congo (New York Times, Dec. 11): "As the killings took place, a contingent of about 100 United Nations peacekeepers was less than a mile away, struggling to understand what was happening outside the gates of its base. The peacekeepers... short of equipment and men [were] already overwhelmed, [U.N.] officials said, and they had no intelligence capabilities or even an interpreter who could speak the necessary languages." If Mr. Obama were to become an inspirer and facilitator of the league of liberators, what a global legacy of exceptionally audacious hope he would leave in the name of the United States!Listen, Mr. President-elect, to Samuel Adams: "Our contest is not only whether we ourselves should be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty." And now, real-time asylums beyond borders.Nat Hentoff's column for The Washington Times appears on Mondays

Few children expected to go to school in Zimbabwe

2009-01-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Attendance has declined from more than 85 percent in 2007 to just 20 percent by the third term of 2008
Geneva - The UN Children's Fund says school attendance in Zimbabwe has been dropping at an alarming rate because of the collapse of the country's socio-economic system, which is affecting students and teachers alike. UNICEF says it is afraid few children in Zimbabwe will be returning to class when schools are scheduled to re-open in a couple of weeks. The UN Children's Fund reports school attendance in Zimbabwe has rapidly declined from more than 85 percent in 2007 to just 20 percent by the third term of 2008. The UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe, Roeland Monasch, says the cholera epidemic and the collapse of basic services are adversely affecting the population. He says children are staying away from school because they have to help their parents look for food or find ways to earn money to help support their families.He says many schools closed about three months early last year because teachers were no longer coming to work. He says he is afraid they will not show up when school reopens in mid-January. He says the majority of teachers are not attending work due to low salaries and bad working conditions. "What we need to do is we need to make sure that teachers are motivated and are able to come back to school. And, that really all depends on the support we can provide those teachers," he said. "It basically means we are working at the moment with the Ministry of Education in public service to see if there is a possibility to set up an incentive scheme so that teachers are willing to come back to school. For that, of course, we need some donor support."Monasch says the current situation is further complicated by the HIV/AIDS crisis in Zimbabwe. He says nearly one in four Zimbabwean children are orphaned by the disease. And, the ability of support groups to provide care and treatment to those infected with HIV has decreased. "So, for example, when I talk about schools are being closed, it also means that we have over 1.3 million orphans, children who have lost their mother, father or both parents. Those children need to have a very protective and stable environment and a stable life. And, schools provide a stable environment for those children," said Monasch. "And so, we are also working very closely with the authorities to make sure that the schools open in January again because we will have a major problem on our hands if the schools do not open." Monasch says urgent action is needed to get the school system functioning again. He says UNICEF is trying to bring more than 100,000 teachers back to work by raising their salaries and by providing them with food aid. He says the schools are in a dire state. They must be provided with more learning and recreational materials. And, he says, the sanitary facilities must be improved.

Zimbabwe: Public Hospitals to Charge in Forex

2009-01-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

Harare — PUBLIC hospitals have been given the green light to charge for all medical services in foreign currency; a development many hope will improve service delivery.
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The Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, earlier this week confirmed that the Government had allowed public health care facilities to give patients the option to pay in foreign currency if they so wished.
He said this did not mean the hospitals would no longer accept the Zimbabwe dollar.
"What we have said is that our patients should continue paying in local currency, but in the event that they opt to pay in foreign currency, we are to go by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe regulations," Dr Parirenyatwa said.
He emphasised that no one was going to be forced to pay in hard currency.
"The idea is meant to facilitate a smooth flow of services while the patient receives treatment from the health care provider," he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said of late, a number of patients had started voluntarily opting to pay in foreign currency instead of Zimbabwe dollars, which have been hard to come by.
He said the important thing was to ensure that Government institutions continued to function and offer the full range of services expected by the public.
Observations by The Herald at several public health institutions showed that patients were being charged at least US$70 per night on admission.
In many cases, they entered into arrangements with the doctors treating them and would be attended to as private patients for varying charges depending on the treatment sought.
Women scheduled for Caesarean operations were being asked to pay a flat fee of US$150.In the event that a woman gave birth to a pre-term baby who needed to be put in a nursery, she would be required to part with anything above US$5 each time she intended to visit her baby.
For a computerised tomography (CT) scan, patients are charged US$80.
Medical aid has become redundant as the recent partial dollarisation of the economy has seen virtually all service providers demanding payment in foreign currency.

Top Zimbabwean rights activist poisoned in custody: media

2009-01-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Zimbabwean rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko, who is to appear in court Monday on charges of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, is being poisoned and tortured in custody, the Sunday Independet reported.
According to the paper, Mukoko, who is in solitary confinement at the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security prison, is being force fed drugs by prison personnel.
It said her lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa has called for a toxicology report to support the allegations.
"Mukoko is psychologically traumatised, it is not certain that she has told the full story because, every time she speaks to a doctor or a lawyer, a state official is present," said Mtetwa.
Mukoko was seized from her home on December 3 by armed men who identified themselves as police.
Last week she made a first court appearence after being detained at an unknown location for weeks.
A high court on Friday refused an application by her lawyers that she be taken to hospital for treatment after alleged torture.
She is accused together with 28 members of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party of recruiting or goading other people to undergo military training in neighbouring Botswana aimed at toppling Mugabe's government.
Mukoko's detention raised particular alarm among international rights groups and western nations which have accused Mugabe's government of intimidation and harassment.
The rampant human rights abuse cases in Zimbabwe highlight the country's deepening political crisis more than three months after Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with Tsvangirai

Zimbabwe judge rules activist must see doctor

2009-01-05T08:50:00.001-08:00

Mon, Jan 5, 2009 (4:15 a.m.)
A Zimbabwean judge has ordered that a prominent peace activist accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe must receive medical attention before the case proceeds.
Judge Gloria Takunda says police must comply with an earlier court order that Jestina Mukoko be taken to a hospital so allegations of torture can be investigated.
Mukoko and 31 other activists appeared in the Harare magistrate on Monday. The case has been postponed to Tuesday.
Mukoko had been missing for three weeks before she appeared in court in late December. She and the other activists claim they have been tortured while in police custody.
The opposition has dismissed the plot as fabricated amid an increasing clampdown on dissent

Tsvangirai not backtracking from threat to quit talks - party

2009-01-05T08:37:00.001-08:00

By Staff ReporterPosted to the web: 02/01/2009 15:22:11THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)’s national council will meet soon to decide the fate of a power sharing agreement signed between President Robert Mugabe and his opposition rivals, but which now teeters on the brink of collapse, a party spokesman said Friday.
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main faction of the MDC, had given Mugabe’s government an ultimatum to release 42 activists said abducted by security forces by January 1 or face the threat of an MDC pull-out from talks to formulate a unity government.
The deadline passed with most of the activists having been brought to court, but still held in prison, their lawyers say in defiance of court orders.
Nelson Chamisa said Tsvangirai was “not backtracking” from his threat.
Chamisa said: “There appears to be a deliberate distortion of Mr Tsvangirai’s position on this. Having been concerned by the abductions of our members, Mr Tsvangirai indicated that if these activists were not brought to court or released, the national council would convene under the circumstances and deliberate on what’s going to be done.
“We now have a new development in the form of Zanu PF’s defiance of court orders and their general stubbornness. What Mr Tsvangirai was saying therefore is that these issues will be handed over to our decision making body to give the leadership direction… the national council will make a helicopter assessment of the state of affairs.”
Of the 42 activists that Tsvangirai wanted released, Chamisa said only 34 had been accounted for or been brought to court.
“Quite clearly, there is a substantial number not accounted for and Tsvangirai will soon make a specific recommendation to the national council which may lead to a resolution on where we go from here.”
Chamisa said the MDC was still committed to the power sharing agreement signed between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and his MDC rival Arthur Mutambara, but accused Zanu PF of lacking in “sincerity” to implement the pact.
“We have given a lot to the process,” he said. “The Bible says blessed is the hand that giveth than receiveth, but the hand that’s receiveth is getting away with murder. Our sincerity is not being reciprocated by Zanu PF.”
At the centre of the stand-off between Mugabe’s Zanu PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC is how the parties will share ministries in the envisaged unity government to run the country for a five-year period. The MDC says Zanu PF wants to hang on to all the “key” posts.
Tsvangirai has rejected a compromise solution proffered by regional leaders and has faced Zanu PF accusations that he is stalling on the instructions of powerful Western nations, particularly Britain and America, who have said they don’t support the unity government.
Tsvangirai has been out of the country since November 9 when he attended a regional summit in South Africa. New Zimbabwe.com understands the MDC leader, who is currently in South Africa, will be returning to Zimbabwe “in a matter of days”.
Chamisa, when pressed on the matter, said: “His coming will not be Nicodemus. You will know.

New Zimbabwe government by end of February - paper

2009-01-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

Posted to the web: 05/01/2009 01:34:11PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has started a month-long annual leave, which could delay the formation of a government which a spokesman said was being prepared by the veteran leader.
Mugabe has fired nine ministers and three deputy ministers from his Zanu PF party who lost their seats in the March parliamentary elections.
It was the clearest sign yet that he may act on his threat to form a new government without the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions.
But by going on leave for the next four weeks, Mugabe may only be ready to form the new government from early February.
“This is more of a retreat than actual leave. The President is very busy ... working on structures of an inclusive government which must come too soon,” George Charamba, Mugabe’s spokesman, told the state-owned Sunday Mail.
In its online edition on Monday, the state-run daily Herald newspaper said “a government was most likely to be in place by the end of February by which time it is expected that the three parliamentary political parties would have passed Constitutional Amendment Number 19 Bill and President Mugabe would have signed it into law.”
Mugabe traditionally spends his annual leave in the Far East but Charamba said the 84-year-old leader would only spend a small part of his leave outside Zimbabwe.
Mugabe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a MDC splinter faction, signed a power-sharing pact on September 15 but it has been held up by a row over cabinet posts.
Under the deal, Mugabe would remain president and Tsvangirai would become prime minister. But Tsvangirai’s MDC says a new government cannot be formed because Mugabe allocated powerful ministries to his Zanu PF and relegated the MDC to a junior partner.
Rejecting an invitation from Mugabe to join government last week, Tsvangirai demanded a meeting with South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and Mugabe to “iron out these (outstanding) matters to the satisfaction of all parties.”
Tsvangirai, who left Zimbabwe on November 9, was in South Africa this week on a “diplomatic mission”, according to party officials. MDC sources say he is expected in Zimbabwe later this week.

Rains could worsen Zim cholera epidemic

2009-01-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

by Jameson Mombe
JOHANNESBURG – The summer rains that have started falling in Zimbabwe could aggravate a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 1 600 people since August, the international Red Cross said on Friday.
The world relief agency said it was preparing for the worst in Zimbabwe, warning there was also a risk of floods that could prevent relief workers accessing affected areas in addition to destroying crops in a country facing acute food shortages.
"We are just preparing for the worst," said Francoise Le Goff, the head of southern African operations of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (ICRC).
"The worst could be heavy rains causing not only this cholera to spread, but floods," added the IRCRC official who had just returned from a trip to Zimbabwe to assess the country’s humanitarian situation.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) cholera has killed 1 608 people out of 30 365 reported cases since the outbreak began in August. The (WHO) estimates that up to 60 000 people could be infected with cholera before the disease is brought under control.
The cholera epidemic, coupled with acute food shortages, has highlighted Zimbabwe’s worsening economic and humanitarian crisis that critics blame on mismanagement by President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the country since its 1980 independence from Britain.
Western leaders and some African leaders alarmed by rising deaths due to cholera have in recent weeks stepped up calls for Mugabe’s resignation, while prominent African figures such as Kenyan Premier Raila Odinga have said the Zimbabwean leader should be forced out through military means if he will not quit voluntarily.
However the African Union led by the continent’s economic powerhouse, South Africa, has rejected calls to oust Mugabe and insists a power-sharing government between the veteran ruler and the opposition is the best way to end Zimbabwe’s political, economic and humanitarian crises.
Mugabe, opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara signed agreement to form a power-sharing government about four months ago.
But the agreement brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki has failed to take off as Mugabe and his main rival Tsvangirai wrangle over who should control key ministries and other top government posts. – ZimOnline

Zim High Court orders release of activists

2009-01-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s High Court ordered the release on Wednesday of prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and eight opposition members charged with attempting to recruit people for military training to overthrow President Robert Mugabe’s government.
Justice Yunus Omarjee ruled late on Wednesday night that Mukoko and her co-accused be released to the Avenues Clinic in Harare under police guard until they appear in the magistrates’ court on December 29 for a ruling on their application for refusal of remand.
The judge did no say why the accused should be send to hospital but defence lawyers said there were allegations the activists had been tortured.
Omarjee ruled: “Jestina Mukoko and others be released to Avenues Clinic under police guard where they should be accorded full access to their legal practitioners, relatives and where they shall remain until December 29 when they will be taken directly to the magistrates’ court.”
The judge also directed police to release all missing opposition and civic rights activists numbering 32. The police – who had denied holding Mukoko until they brought her to court on Wednesday -- deny holding 11 of the 32 activists in their custody.
"Their continued detention by whosoever is holding them be and is hereby declared unlawful, and they should be released forthwith," Omarjee said.
Mukoko, a former staffer at the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and now director of human rights organization Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), was kidnapped about three weeks ago from her home in Norton town, 40 km west of Harare.
The state has not provided specific details of the charges against Mukoko and her co-accused. But if convicted she and her co-accused face the death penalty, in a case that has potential to scuttle a power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and main opposition MDC party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mukoko’s ZPP has played a crucial role in monitoring and documenting politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe, building an archive of crimes that could be crucial in prosecuting perpetrators of human rights abuses in the future.
In a report earlier on Wednesday the state-owned Herald newspaper said Mukoko and the MDC activists were accused of recruiting or attempting to recruit people for military training to topple Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party.
Quoting a police statement the paper said some of the accused had recruited people for training in Botswana, including a police constable, in a plan it said was to meant “to forcibly depose the government and replace it with one led by Morgan Tsvangirai.”
But the MDC and human rights groups say the abductions of Mukoko and others are part of a well-orchestrated scheme by state agents to persecute human rights defenders and government critics in a bid to scare them from highlighting deepening crisis in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai has threatened to suspend power-sharing talks with Mugabe unless the government acted to stop abductions and arrests of his supporters.
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and another opposition leader Arthur Mutambara signed agreed to form a power-sharing government three months ago, in a pact that sparked hope that Zimbabwe could finally emerge from its crisis.
But the agreement brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki looks increasingly in danger of unravelling as Tsvangirai and Mugabe wrangle over distribution of who should control key ministries and other top government posts.
Analysts see little hope of recovery in Zimbabwe without a unity government.
Once one of the most vibrant economies in Africa, Zimbabwe is in the grip of an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis marked by acute shortages of food and basic commodities, amid outbreaks of killer diseases such as cholera and anthrax

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Mugabe to appoint new govt in February

2009-01-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

by Own Correspondent
Monday 05 January 2009

HARARE – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is moving ahead to form a new government by end of next month with or without the opposition MDC party, state media reported on Monday.
Presidential press secretary George Charamba told the government-owned Herald newspaper that Mugabe was keeping the Southern African Development Community (SADC) -- which brokered a power-sharing agreement between his ruling ZANU PF party and the MDC -- briefed about his plans to appoint a new government.
"The President is very clear that he should carry SADC with him in putting together his Government. Equally, he is keeping the facilitator abreast of developments," the paper quoted Charamba as saying.
Mugabe is on his annual vacation until the end of January, while constitutional changes required to pave way for a new unity government means such an administration can only be in place either at the end of February or in the first weeks of March.
Meanwhile prominent human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and 15 MDC activists are due to appear in court later on Monday to answer to charges of plotting to overthrow the government, in a case that has potential to scuttle the power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a breakaway faction of the MDC, signed an agreement last September to form a government of national unity, in a pact that sparked hope that Zimbabwe could finally emerge from its crisis.
But the agreement brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki looks increasingly in danger of unravelling as Tsvangirai and Mugabe wrangle over who should control key ministries and other top government posts.
Tsvangirai, slated to become prime minister in the unity government, has already declined an invitation by Mugabe to join the government until all outstanding issues regarding power sharing have been resolved.
The opposition leader, who is in self-imposed exile in neighbouring Botswana, has threatened to suspend talks with Mugabe unless the government acted to stop harassment and arrests of MDC and civic society activists.
Any move by Mugabe to unilaterally appoint a government could see Tsvangirai pull out of the power-sharing agreement without which analysts say there is very little hope of Zimbabwe recovering from its multi-faceted crisis.
Tsvangirai’s MDC holds the most seats in Parliament and has threatened to block passage of a constitutional amendment Bill to establish the unity government.
Once one of the most vibrant economies in Africa, Zimbabwe is in the grip of an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis marked by acute shortages of food and basic commodities, amid outbreaks of killer diseases such as cholera and anthrax. – ZimOnline