Fire Patrick Chinamasa, Paradzai Zimondi and Dr Gideon Gono over Prisoner Genocide

Right:Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and left the appalling sight of prisoners in his prisons

Writing in the New Zimbabwe blogs under the header “Of Biti and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,” Zimbabwe Independent Deputy Editor and Zanu PF apologist par excellence Jorum Nyathi declared; Joram Nyathi

“The difference between the two is that while Gono looked to our politicians to work out a rioritise the begging bowl, apparently oblivious of the “global” financial crunch or too confident of the bounty of the MDC’s “friends” despite their setting conditions which would be too embarrassing to accept.”

The import of that statement is that the Zimbabwe government has some modicum of credibility to safeguard and will not be expected to publicly humiliate itself by submitting to lending conditions that do not respect its credibility.

To say Nyathi is disconnected with reality in making that statement is an understatement.

If the Zimbabwe government has any modicum of credibility it should not allow its deviant citizenry to suffer the genocide deaths unfolding from Zimbabwe prisons.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Prisons Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi have been deliberately mum about what is happening to the inmates of Zimbabwe prisons until now when they vindictively imprisoned Deputy Agriculture Minister Designate Roy Bennett who raised the alarm over what is taking place in the Zimbabwe Prisons.
Dinner time for Zimbabwe Prisoner left

Instead they have been at the forefront of barring anyone other than Zanu PF access to what is happening in the Prisons.

South Africa followed up the alarm and has now released footage of horrendous pictures of malnourished prisoners dying from hunger and disease.

The two key personnel are an epitome of Zanu PF pride and arrogance.

They must be forced to resign or be fired if Zimbabwe has to move forward in a new era of transparency.

Any government that condones the human degradation and abuse extended to Zimbabwe prisoners is not worth supporting in its arrogance of setting conditions for aid.
Zimbabwe Ministerial car perk

Anyone who joins Chinamasa and Zimondi in the genocide in Zimbabwe prisons without acting on the officials in charge of Prisoners is guilty of genocide by association.

In many countries Ministers and Senior Public servants have been forced out of jobs over scandals of lesser gravity than the case in Zimbabwe Prisons.


Zimbabwe Prison morgue filled with corpses of prisoners

President Mugabe says RBZ Governor Gideon Gono has dispatched his responsibility efficiently and effectively.

This is the Governor who bought the most expensive lifestyles for Judges, Ministers, Top Civil Servants and Zanu PF acolytes costing billions in forex but failed to ensure basic feeding and heath care for all Zimbabweans let alone those under State deprivation of liberty to fend for themselves.

Zimbabwe Prisons Commissioner Paradzayi Zimondi kept the morgue out of sight

There is no worse form of torture that a responsible authority holding anyone prisoner can exert than denial of food and medication for whatever reason.

Sadly even though those imprisoned are social misfits whom society can do without starving them for their deviancy is State sponsored murder that is totally unjustified.


Forgotten Zimbabwe Prisoner hungry and desolate

The upkeep of prisoners takes by the State takes precedence over the upkeep expected of the State towards the free law abiding citizens.
This is so because it is the State that on behalf of the law abiding citizens has agreed to rid society of the menace of criminals provided the law abiding pay taxes for criminal’s protective custody.

Controversial Reserve Bank Governor Dr gideon Gon financed everything else through printingmoney but the Prisoner's food and healthcare

When the State collects the taxes and appropriates them to finance stupendous lifestyles that see a state official driving a vehicle whose cost is enough to feed the entire prison population for half a year the officials must be reprimanded and relieved of responsibilities to supervise our protection from the criminals.
in Zimbabwe’s prisons and must be relieved of the responsibilities currently assigned them to preside over the welfare of Prisoners.

When the State collects the taxes and appropriates them to finance stupendous lifestyles that see a state official driving a vehicle whose cost is enough to feed the entire prison population for half a year the officials must be reprimanded and relieved of responsibilities to supervise our protection from the criminals.

Chinamasa Zimondi and Gono cannot be absolved of the human suffering they are presiding over in Zimbabwe’s prisons and must be relieved of the responsibilities currently assigned them to preside over the welfare of Prisoners.

SADC endorses Zimbabwe’s STERP suspends Madagascar

President Mugabe can scuttle SADC efforts to refinance Zimbabwe with his predictable political public posturing

The SADC Extraordinary meeting held in Swaziland on 30 March 2009 has ended with a resolution supporting the Zimbabwe Short Term Economic Recovery Programme (STERP) and suspending Madagascar from the regional political bloc.

Sadc has expressed satisfaction with progress so far recorded by the coalition government and commended the Zimbabwe political leadership and urged them to address outstanding Global Political Agreement issues that are causing apprehension and staining the magnificent progress recorded so far.
The gullible Zimbabwe media starved of positives to report about the country is awash with headlines declaring SADC has approved close to US$10.5 billion short term recovery assistance for Zimbabwe up from the initial estimate of US$5 billion it was thought would be required to turn around the country’s economic fortunes.

The reality is that all SADC has done is endorse the Zimbabwe coalition government’s estimated pressing short term financial need.

This is an important key step in efforts to source external funding in that the figures sought are agreed as being legitimate and properly established.

SADC has not by any means approved and committed US$10 billion to the Zimbabwe turn around initiative.

What they have simply done is to agree that the required short term funding to halt the malaise in Zimbabwe is US$10 billion.

The regional leaders have said as neighbours of Zimbabwe they are not in any position to fork out that kind of money and spare it for Zimbabwe.

They will thus retire to their respective countries an after internal consultations will pledge whatever sum they can spare for Zimbabwe to the SADC chair.

South Africa has taken the lead by announcing its immediate pledge of US$80 million.
At that rate there will be massive deficit on the require US$10 billion aid and SADC have pledged support to help Zimbabwe raise the funds to cover the deficit internationally.

The main stumbling block in this regard is that America will in terms of ZIDERA veto any extension of credit to Zimbabwe by defined multilateral financial institutions.
There are specific conditions set in ZIDERA that Zimbabwe must meet before it can be extended multilateral international financing.

SADC have thus pledged to help Zimbabwe secure such funding and will thus testify on behalf of Zimbabwe, we suppose, that the conditions have been met and the USA must relax the embargo.

This good neighbourly gesture will only work in the country’s favour if somehow SADC manages to push President Mugabe’s vitriolic ranting and open disregard of the rule of law to the backroom.

But that is no mean task given President Mugabe’ penchant for publicity. It appears that SADC will have to focus on another face to project Zimbabwe positively in international circles and that is not a good political sign for President Mugabe and his Zanu PF acolytes.

But with the MDC now on board the coalition government it is much easier for SADC to push through the reforms necessary to give their support for aid to Zimbabwe through this group of political leaders.

President Mugabe will obviously do all in his power to remain politically relevant but since policy formulation of the country is now the preserve of the Premier and his National Council of Ministers it is inevitable President Mugabe will be sidelined on many of the contentious issues being used to deny Zimbabwe access to the international aid.

He will not take that lying but he will not make much difference and will be forced to tow the line by circumstances in the new political dispensation in the country.

Most of his erstwhile supporters of yesteryears are also in deep trouble with the economic malaise and would like a respectable channel to turn a new leaf in Zimbabwe and SADC presents such an escape route that may spare them embarrassing labelling.

In Madagascar things are not looking bright as SADC has suspended the country over Andry Rajoelina’s unprocedural ascendancy to the country’s Presidency.

The stage is set for Madagascar’s isolation from the international community and Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation is likely to find a new home in Madagascar as the new regime is unlikely to be persuaded to relinquish its newly found power and SADC has nothing short of military intervention to remedy that.

SADC on Zimbabwe and Madagascar

Communiqué From Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government meeting at the Lozitha Royal Palace, Swaziland, on Monday, March 30, 2009:

1. The Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government met in Lozitha Royal Palace, Swaziland on 30 March 2009 to consider the political, economic and security situation in the Region, with special focus on the political situation in Madagascar and the economic recovery of Zimbabwe.
2. The meeting was chaired by His Majesty, King Mswati III, the Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
3. The extraordinary Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and of Government:
DRC: H.E. President Joseph Kabila
Lesotho: Right Honourable Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili
Malawi: H.E. President Bingu wa Mutharika
Mauritius: Dr the Honourable Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister
Mozambique: H.E. President Armando Emilio Guebuza
South Africa:H.E. President Kgalema Motlanthe
Swaziland: His Majesty, King Mswati III
United Republic of Tanzania: H.E President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
Zambia: H.E President Rupiah Bwezani Banda
Zimbabwe: H.E President Robert G. Mugabe
Angola: Hon. Assunção A. dos Anjos, Minister of External Relations
Botswana: Hon. Phandu T.C. Skelemani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Namibia: Honourable Marco M. Hausiku, M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs
Seychelles: H.E. Noellie Alexander, High Commissioner to South Africa

4. The Extraordinary Summit noted with satisfaction the progress made in the implementation of the Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement (GPA) in particular the formation of the National inclusive Government.

5. The Extraordinary Summit commend the parties involved in the implementation of the GPA on progress made and urged them to stand by the provisions of Agreement and to continue with their commitment to the process in the best interest of the people of Zimbabwe.

6. The Extraordinary Summit noted the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP) developed by the Government of Zimbabwe to guide the country’s actions and efforts towards economic and social recovery of the country, estimated at US $10 billion

7. The Extraordinary Summit urged Member States to support Zimbabwe to implement STERP, in the form of budget support, lines of credit, joint ventures and toll manufacturing.

8. The Extraordinary Summit also urged Member States to inform the Executive Secretary on the respective pledges to support Zimbabwe’s recovery programme, within two weeks from the date of the meeting.

9. The Extraordinary Summit further urged the developed countries to lift all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe as these sanctions will undermine the country’s and SADC efforts to normalise the situation in that Member State.

10. The Extraordinary Summit urged the donor, the international financial institutions and the international community in general to support Zimbabwe and provide it with the necessary financial support for its timely economic recovery.

11. The Extraordinary Summit established a Committee of Ministers of Finance comprising South Africa, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Botswana, Zimbabwe as well as the Executive Secretary of SADC to coordinate SADC support to the Zimbabwe recovery process.

12. The Extraordinary Summit mandated the Coordination Committee to visit major capitals in Europe, Asia, and America as well as the major financial institutions to mobilise support for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery programme.

13. The Extraordinary Summit mandated all SADC Diplomatic Missions to stage a deliberate diplomatic campaign to lift the sanctions against Zimbabwe and mobilise resources to support for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery programme.

14. On the political situation in Madagascar, the Extraordinary Summit condemned in the strongest terms, the unconstitutional actions that have led to the illegal ousting of the democratically elected Government of Madagascar and called for an immediate restoration of constitutional order in the country.

15. The Extraordinary Summit decided not to recognise Mr Andry Rajoelina as President of Madagascar as his appointment did not only violate the Constitution of Madagascar and democratic principles, but also violated the core principles and values of the SADC Treaty, the African Union Constitutive Act and the United Nations Charter.

16. The Extraordinary Summit suspended Madagascar from all the Community’s institutions and organs until the return of the Country to constitutional normalcy with immediate effect.

17. The Extraordinary Summit urged the former Mayor of Antananarivo, Mr Andry Rajoelina to vacate the office of the President as matter of urgency paving way for unconditional reinstatement of President Marc Ravalomanana.

18. The Extraordinary Summit underscored that, in the event of non-compliance with the above decision, SADC shall, in collaboration with African Union and United nations, consider other options to restore constitutional normalcy.

19. The Extraordinary Summit calls on the International Community not to recognise the appointment of Mr Rajoelina and put pressure on the de facto authorities in Madagascar to restore the constitutional normalcy in the shortest time possible.

20. The Extraordinary Summit called on all stakeholders to refrain from taking any actions that are unconstitutional and inconsistent with the democratic values of our Region and the continent or lead to further loss of lives, injury or destruction of property.

21. The Extraordinary Summit noted that, in accordance with Article 5 (b) and (c) of the Treaty of SADC, SADC shall continue to promote common political values, systems and other shared valued which are transmitted through institutional which are democratic, legitimate and effective. SADC will continue to engage all concerned parties in Madagascar with a view to facilitate the efforts to peacefully resolve the correct political crisis in the country.

22. The Extraordinary Summit urged SADC to stand united and firm against the illegal removal of the democratically elected Government of Madagascar by the Military and their allies.

23. The Extraordinary Summit supported Mauritius’s offer to host the next Assembly of the African union in July 2009.

24. The Extraordinary Summit expressed its gratitude to His Majesty the King, His government and the people of Swaziland for the warm hospitality and the excellent conditions they provided the delegates.

Done at Lozitha Royal Palace, Kingdom of Swaziland

Where were they Dr Murerwa?

Premier Tsvangirai-We are aware that there are people using fraudulent allocation letters to invade farms and disrupt farming operations



Minister of Lands Dr Hebert Murerwa-There are no fresh Farm inversions in the country.Jomic can investigate veracity of such claims


The State owned Sunday Mail reports that Minister of Lands, Dr Herbert Murerwa, on Friday said JOMIC had been mandated to immediately look into the allegations of invasions and come up with evidence of such invasions, if there are any.
That is great news coming as it does from a minister who recently categorically denied that there were new incidences of fresh farm invasions across the country

“Dr Murerwa said he held a meeting with all the Provincial Governors on Thursday in Harare to find out if there were any invasions.

We met with Governors, who revealed that they had not received any new cases of farm invasions in their respective provinces although there have been some disturbances,’ the Sunday Mail disclosed.

“Dr Murerwa said most of the disturbances now being perceived as new farm invasions were taking place on those farms once owned by the 77 farmers who had refused to leave the farms pending the Sadc Tribunal ruling.

These farms were acquired long back and were now State land. The State had issued offer letters to beneficiaries who had also failed to occupy the farms until the recent developments.

‘These beneficiaries are holders of valid offer letters. Government is now, through JOMIC, looking at the evidence of these reported invasions if there are any in any area,’ he is reported as having said.

If the beneficiaries were allocated the lend in 2005 and did not for whatever reason take up the offers are there no grounds for spoliation when they just pitch up at the farms in midsummer to claim ownership of the farms and crops planted by the people who were resisting eviction?

In any event how serious are these beneficiaries at farming if they allowed their land to be derelict for 4 years before deciding it was time to move onto the land?

We smell a rat given the reported meeting between the self confessed Zanu PF Attorney General and Zanu PF political leadership in Mashonaland West Province wherein it was resolved that Magistrates should ignore the SADC Tribunal ruling in favour of the farmers occupying the land and those with offer letters take occupancy of the farms forthwith before the coalition government takes root.

Minister Murerwa did not address that aspect which appears to have triggered the current rush to occupy the farms nationwide.

More pertinently where is the logic behind forcing out sitting productive farmers and replacing them with unproductive potential farmers who were content to sit back while their lands were put to unknown uses by illegitimate State tenants?

Is Zimbabwe a partial member of SADC to the extent that it does not accept rulings by SADC Courts in so far as Land ownership is concerned but is quite happy to accept a coalition government recommended by the same regional bloc ?

Why was it acceptable for Zanu PF to implement a SADC order to co-Minister the Home Affairs Ministry and in the process materially alter the GPA Ministerial contingent agreement clause yet unacceptable to implement the SADC Tribunal recommendation not to discriminate land allocation on racial grounds?

What does the Zimbabwe Constitution say about discrimination on racial grounds that are at variance with the SADC tribunal ruling in question?

Dr Murerwa said he had consulted with all Provincial Governors and they had indicated that there were no new cases of farm invasions in their provinces.

Are these the same Zanu PF Governors that were irregularly appointed by President Mugabe and whom JOMIC has recommended must be terminated and replaced by Governors from Parties in the coalition government that won majority support respectively in each of the 10 Provinces of the country?

How reliable and impartial are these so called Governors? In any event if JOMIC is to investigate and establish that indeed there are fraudulent occupations of farms what guarantees are there that the coalition government will act on their findings given the current hesitancy to move on the unresolved yet agreed upon GPA clauses?
“Mashonaland West Governor and Resident Minister Faber Chidarikire said he had no information on new invasions in his province.

He said the problem in Chegutu District was being caused by former owners whose farms were acquired and allocated to beneficiaries, but are resisting occupation by new owners.

‘These former owners have been resisting basing their argument on the Sadc Tribunal. But the laws of this country are very clear on that — land acquired becomes State land. The beneficiaries who have been holding for too long on their offer letters have become impatient and they are moving in, but not as new invaders,’’ he is reported to have informed Minister by the Sunday Mail.

“ Chidarikire said investigations had revealed that some of the farmers in the Chegutu District were actually left as caretakers when the owners left for other countries after the acquisition of their farms by Government.”

But that is at variance with the Ministerial contention that land was acquired by the State and the State alone can allocate it to anyone. Which absentee owners is the so called Governor alluding to if the farms are State land as the minister says they are?

The current rush to occupy the farms is a Zanu PF political project to derail coalition government efforts to carryout land audits and establish multiple land owners from the Party.

If the allotted beneficiaries could wait for whatever reason to take occupancy for 4 years there is nothing compelling them to wait another two years for the government to establish who legitimately owns what land and settle them in a planned manner that is not disruptive to agricultural productivity?

Where were they to be in a rush to occupy the farms only now?

"People must not be under any illusion at all that because there is a new Government, there will be a stoppage of the land reform programme. Government will continue to settle the landless under the laws of this country,’’ the Sunday Mail quoted Advocate Dinha the Mashonaland Central Zanu PF imposed Governor.

Indeed but which government is he referring to when the leader of Government and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is livid that the upsurge in current farm invasions is not in sync with government planning? To that extent he has instructed Home Affairs Co-Ministers to investigate the unwelcome development.

We hope that being appointed governor irregularly has not got into Advocate Dinha’s Zanunised brain that he is the defacto government.

“Mashonaland East Governor Aeneas Chigwedere said he had no information on new farm invasions. He warned Zimbabweans to be wary of some elements that were not happy with the formation of the inclusive Government and were out to derail it.

‘As stated in the Global Political Agreement, the land reform programme is irreversible,’ disclosed the Sunday Mail said.

First Chigwedere’s tenure of office at the Ministry of Education is not aspiring at all for him to be taken seriously in whatever leadership role he will be assigned by Zanu PF.

Secondly a reversal can only be possible on an event that has already occurred and not one that occurs after a prescribed period.

Indeed the Parties agreed in the GPA that they will not reverse the chaotic land reforms carried out by previous regimes but committed themselves to audit who owns what land out of the chaos with a view of enforcing the underpinning one man one farm concept .

Those moving onto the farms after that decision are creating a new dimension that was not addressed by the GPA declaration that the land reform programme is irreversible as they were not considered part of the problem or challenge when the agreement was thrashed.

Fortunately there is provision that when the agreed land Audit is carried out and it is determined that they are entitled to defined land allotments they will be resettled in a planned manner while those that may have prevented their resettlement are legally removed by the State which owns the land and has agreed to lease it to the current claimants invading the farms.

By moving onto the farms and causing the State to commit resources to investigating whether or not they are entitled to the lands they are not helping the planned audit and resettlement programme agreed by the coalition government and they deserve to be arrested and removed from the farms regardless of the legitimacy or otherwise of their offer letters.

They will be resettled when the land audit is complete and in a transparent and orderly manner not through invasions that have contributed to the collapse of our agricultural industries and economy.

JOMIC can start with interviewing Chinotimba and his ZFTU subordinates who are reportedly extorting vast sums of money from the under siege farmers.

ZFTU Disowns Chinotimba

Notorious Zanu PF Commander of Farm Invasions Joseph Chinotimba
BY KHOLWANI NYATHI
The Zimbabwe Standard
THE Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) has distanced itself from controversial war veterans’ leader Joseph Chinotimba who is reportedly leading a fresh wave of farm invasions that are threatening the viability of the inclusive government.

Chinotimba and a group of militants claiming to be ZFTU officials are allegedly... extorting money especially from commercial farmers in Chegutu who have been forced off their land on the pretext that it is compensation for the thousands of farm workers being rendered jobless throughout the country.

Farmers’ unions say Zanu PF loyalists and top civil servants have occupied at least 100 farms since President Robert Mugabe entered into a unity government with the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations last month.

Last week, Chinotimba who was also in the forefront of the 2000 land invasions that ruined the country’s agriculture-based economy, said he had only moved in to ensure that the long suffering farm workers were not abandoned by their former employers.

But the Zanu PF-aligned ZFTU has come out fighting accusing Chinotimba of being an imposter out to tarnish the union’s image.

“ZFTU has nothing against or neither are we involved with the so-called fresh farm invasions as this is two worlds apart from our core-business as a labour centre in Zimbabwe,” said Kennias Shamuyarira, the union’s secretary general.

“The so-called officials masquerading and purporting to be coming from ZFTU are not at all our officials neither are they from any of our affiliate unions.”

Shamuyarira claimed that Chinotimba was expelled from the ZFTU in 2006.

He said the fact that the losing Zanu PF candidate for Buhera South had also left his job as a security guard disqualified him from being a union member or official.

“Joseph Chinotimba is the leader of the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association where he is the vice chairman,” Shamuyarira said.

“He is also an established employer and businessman who cannot by any means lead a trade union or labour center in terms of the Labour Act.”

The union advised farmers who had fallen victim to Chinotimba and his group to approach its headquarters for assistance.

An angry Chinotimba immediately hit back charging that he was still a bona-fide ZFTU official and was doing his job to assist union members.

“That is total madness,” he said. “I am still the vice president and if they are saying I was dismissed then they should serve me with a dismissal letter.

“Of course there were attempts to oust me but the issue was resolved almost two years back so that person is talking rubbish.”

Donors have warned that the inclusive government might fail to get the financial assistance it desperately needs if the invasions do not stop.

No Respite in Political Violence

Victim of Zanu PF violence in run up to 27 June Presidential electoralrunoff fiasco

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
The ZimbabweStandard

VICTIMS of the unrelenting political violence in remote parts of the country are increasingly becoming desperate with many considering relocating to neighbouring countries, investigations revealed last week.

Some still sleep in the bush for fear of arson attacks while others are contemplating moving to safer areas.

The victims, mostly supporters of the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations, accuse the police of turning a blind eye as Zanu PF militia and war veterans continue to terrorise them.They feel let down by the government of national unity (GNU), saying it is a marriage of convenience between President Robert Mugabe and the two MDC leaders — Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara.

The violence and intimidation is reportedly prevalent in remote parts of Mashonaland, which was once considered Mugabe’s undisputed stronghold.

Scores of MDC supporters in Muzarabani said they were contemplating moving to Mozambique in order to flee political victimisation by Zanu PF militia and war veterans who were spurning the hand of reconciliation.

Victims who spoke to The Standard last week said they had been left with no choice but to relocate to neighbouring Mozambique.

Many have already made contacts with their friends, relatives and traditional chiefs across the border, who they said had shown sympathy and willingness to accommodate them.

Wellington Gweru, who was the MDC-T candidate for Ward 18 in Muzarabani during last year’s harmonised elections, is one such forlorn victim.

“I have seen many of my friends dying,” Gweru said. “I can’t wait to be the next victim. The police and traditional leaders here appear to be powerless.”

Suspected Zanu PF militia, war veterans and state security agents reportedly murdered over 200 MDC supporters in the most violent campaign since the country’s Independence in 1980.

Over 200 000 others were internally displaced.

Earlier this month, Zanu PF officials confiscated agricultural implements that MDC supporters received under the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s mechanisation programme claiming the recipients belonged to the “wrong” party.

Implements they seized included ox-drawn ploughs, knapsack sprayers, cultivators, scotch carts as well as fertiliser and seeds.

The aggressors are reportedly threatening to burn down all houses belonging to MDC supporters that had been rebuilt after they were torched last year.

“What they want is for us to flee the area so that we will not reclaim the implements and our livestock they are looting,” Gweru said.

Gweru accused Zanu PF district party chairman Avozhi Chibhedebhede and councillor Godfrey Katsiru - who were also named as aggressors during last year’s elections - of spearheading the current wave of violence and intimidation in Muzarabani.

Neither Chibhedebhede nor Katsiru were immediately contactable to comment on the allegations.

In Mutoko in Mashonaland East Zanu PF militias are still refusing to extend the hand of reconciliation, tolerance and co-existence after years of political violence.

MDC supporters in Mutoko said they were being threatened for demanding back property confiscated by war veterans and Zanu PF supporters.

During last year’s election MDC supporters were ordered to surrender their livestock and other possessions to traditional chiefs and Zanu PF militia as punishment for supporting an opposition party.

“Life in Mutoko has become as nightmarish as it was it June 2008,” said one MDC supporter, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

The police, he said, appear to be still getting instructions from the local Zanu PF leadership.

Out of desperation MDC supporters have also started retaliating.

Several MDC activists were arrested recently after they allegedly burnt down homes of Zanu PF supporters in retaliation.

Zanu PF was quick in assisting those whose homes were burnt. They were given packs of food, blankets and other household goods.

In another act of violence, thousands of rural teachers were at the beginning of the school term chased away from their schools by war veterans who accused them of supporting the MDC.

Political analysts attribute the continued violence to ideological hardliners in Zanu PF who are determined to stop the “dilution of the revolution” through the unity government.

“There are those who are totally against the GNU and are doing everything they can to discredit it,” said University of Zimbabwe political analyst Eldred Masunungure.

“It’s residual resistance. It’s like telling a drug addict to stop taking drugs. It won’t be instant.”
Masunungure also believes the message of peaceful co-existence has not reached some remote parts of the country.

“The message has not percolated into the periphery of the country,” he said. “It takes time to get there and be accepted as an authentic message from their leaders.”

It is feared that the message by Zanu PF to its supporters that they should prepare for the next election could stoke violence.

Masunungure said politicians should preach the message of national healing before talking about elections.

Commenting on the resurgence of political violence the co-Minister of Home Affairs Giles Mutsekwa warned that perpetrators risked being arrested regardless of their political affiliation.

“I know for sure that there are still some pockets of violence being perpetrated by either side of the divide, but I want to assure you that the offenders will be arrested regardless of political affiliation,” said Mutsekwa, who co-chairs the ministry with Kembo Mohadi. of Zanu PF.

Opening remarks at the Stakeholders’ Conference, Harare International Conference Centre, Friday March 27 2009

Zimbabwe Premier Morgan Tsvangirai

By: Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, the Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai
27th March 2009

Thank you for meeting with us today at this, our largest and most representative stakeholder summit. The aim of this summit is to create space for open and honest dialogue between government and the people we represent and to whom we are responsible.

As your government, we are here to listen to you - to listen to the issues and problems you face and to work with you to identify sustainable solutions so that we can work together to rebuild our country.

This is one is a series of summits where we are engaging with key stakeholders on a variety of issues. We are pleased that we have already hosted summits on Health, Water and Tourism and that we have summits scheduled on the Media, Education and Science and Technology.

This government does not view these summits as an end in themselves, but rather as a means through which we will develop a comprehensive work plan for each Ministry, with defined deliverables to which the Ministers and your government can be held accountable.

This work plan will be the primary product of our ministerial retreat which we will be holding next week and whose other objectives are to reinforce the growing sense of team work within this inclusive government; to understand the problems and issues our nation faces; and get agreement on the solutions to enable us to develop a detailed action plan to implement these solutions.

I would encourage each of the sectors represented here today, to develop your own work plans to compliment our efforts, for the challenges that face us as a nation are not ones which your Government can tackle on its own.

Your government is committed to ensuring that this consultative process continues for the life of this administration so that the policies developed and implemented are targeted specifically to the needs and aspirations of our people.

I would also like to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the past and continued role of the international community, in both addressing the humanitarian crisis facing our nation and in supporting our economic and political efforts to rebuild our country.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as Prime Minister, I am responsible for overseeing the formulation of government policy by cabinet and the implementation of said policy by the entirety of Government and I am encouraged by the overwhelming turnout we have here today and that we have had at our previous summits.

At the tourism summit which concluded yesterday, the organisers had planned for 100 participants and over 500 turned up. This overwhelming enthusiasm has been the hallmark of the efforts made by this new government to date, and was particularly noticeable in the way that our Short Term Economic Recovery Programme was received by the business community.

It is envisaged that through this consultative process a social contract between Government, labour, civil society and business will be developed which in turn will result in the creation of the National Economic Council as detailed in the Global Political Agreement.

It is the Global Political Agreement that guides us in this process. For in that agreement the political parties made firm, definable and irreversible commitments to address the economic, social and political ills that plague our nation.

In agreeing to this negotiated settlement to our country’s problems, your political leaders had to make painful compromises for the sake of the people. It is now important that those compromises serve as an investment in our united future and that we see an end to the previous political culture of insults and threats.

In order to bridge the gap between the divisive politics of old and a new, inclusive future, Zanu PF and the MDC need to transform from former ruling and opposition parties respectively, to inclusive governing parties who put the best interests of our nation first.

As leaders, it is essential that we set this example for our people to follow because the GPA binds us to both political and economic objectives, recognising that without political stability there can be no economic growth.

We must acknowledge that we are initiating our programme of economic development from a negative starting point and as such it is important that we manage expectations of what we will be able to achieve and when we will be able to achieve it.

While it is commendable that the government is committed to paying allowances to all civil servants, such is the state of our economy that we must recognise that it will be some time before we are able to define and pay sustainable salaries.

We need your assistance in informing the people about the steps we are taking to address their concerns and to assure them that we are doing everything in our power to move our development agenda forward as fast as possible.

However, there are many things that we can do to advance this agenda that cost no money. To enforce the rule of law is free; to work with former opponents for the betterment of our country is free; to pass reforming legislation to promote investor confidence is free.

Thus our development agenda must not be held hostage by our significant fiscal restraints. Indeed, implementing these steps that cost nothing will pave the way for our economic growth.

Of particular importance is restoring the rule of law, without which we will not make progress on any front. I have tasked the Ministers of Home Affairs to ensure that all crimes are acted upon and the perpetrators arrested and charged. For too long a culture of entitlement and impunity has stained our society, but after the signing of the GPA no crime will go unpunished.

Indeed, this government is aware that most of the ongoing disruptions of agricultural production, which are being done in the name of the land reform process, are actually acts of theft using fraudulent offer letters. Those continuing to undertake these activities will be arrested and face justice in the courts.

Ladies and Gentlemen, while the task ahead of us all is immense, it is one that we can achieve through open and honest dialogue and cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we all have a role to play in ensuring that the benchmarks contained in the Global Political Agreement, particularly in relation to economic development and democratisation, are implemented and adhered to.

In this regard, today’s summit is of particularly importance as represented here are all the sectors whose work, cooperation and vigilance are essential to the success of the political agreement. For there can be no economic growth without the rule of law, and without economic growth this government will not be able to fully address the humanitarian crisis our country faces.

Therefore, although you represent different sectors, together with us your government, you also represent the whole that is Zimbabwe. By working together today, we will provide the example that cooperation, irrespective of political or sectoral goals, is not only possible but essential if we are to move forward and develop our nation.

This spirit of cooperation has already seen results. To name but a few, our hospitals and schools have started functioning, basic commodities are more available at lower prices and the spectre of hyper inflation has been eradicated.

Thus we know that we can achieve what the people demand and deserve and those that embrace this new vision of governance, as outlined in the GPA, have nothing to fear from it. The international community has already pledged to match our progress with greater financial and technical support, and with a review of restrictive measures against individuals tied to the progress we make on restoring the rule of law.

In this I am encouraged by the favourable reports I have received from both Zimbabweans and members of the international community. We have a long way to go but there is now tangible evidence that we have started the journey, that we are working together and that we are prepared to put the needs and interests of our great country first.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is thus with great hope, expectation and belief in the people of Zimbabwe, in our leaders in all sectors and in the commitment of our international brothers and sisters that I declare this stakeholder summit officially open.

I thank you.

Understanding and Embracing the New Dispensation in Zimbabwe

Full Text Of Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara Maiden Speech
By: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ARTHUR MUTAMBARA
ZIMBABWE — Harare - Mr. Speaker, Sir, Cabinet Ministers, Honorable members of Parliament I rise to make my maiden speech in this august house.

We have come together; we must stay together, work together and deliver on the promise of our revolution. This is national interest time.

We have embarked on an irreversible process of inclusiveness with the clear understanding that the GPA of 15th September 2008 is the only workable arrangement in our country.

There is unprecedented unanimity among our citizens on this position. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this was clearly amplified by the vote in this august house for Constitutional Amendment no. 19, where 184 out 184 members endorsed it, and the 72 out of 72 Senators did the same.
As I present my views, let me emphasize that my intention is to build, and not to destroy; unify, and not disunite.

However, I will seek to challenge us as Zimbabweans by speaking frankly on the matters we are facing.

Is it not that they say a problem realized is half solved? Moreover this august house is the distinguished arena of both rational disputation and robust democratic dialogue.

Consequently, I will be remiss in the discharge of my duties if I did not deliver a no-holds-barred maiden speech. There will be no prisoners taken today.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government that I am part of, this inclusive institution, is a creature of abnormal circumstances. We are a product of the SADC dialogue process.
But why did we have to negotiate? Honorable Members, lest we forget, we were forced to talk to each other in this manner because we had some problems with our elections, to put it politely.

If we are to be candid and brazen about it, we have to accept that we had fraudulent elections on March 29th 2008. What is worse is that the run-off Presidential election on June 27th 2008 was a complete farce, a nullity.

Understanding this background allows us to clearly articulate the agenda of our inclusive government. The sum total of our mandate is to ensure that at the next elections Zimbabweans can vote freely and fairly. This means that creating conditions for free and fair polls is the overarching duty and obligation of this inclusive government.

The question is then how do you achieve this? This is done by carrying out radical political and economic reforms underpinned by five key activities; healing the nation, adopting a new constitution, resolving the humanitarian crisis, recovering and stabilizing the economy, and transforming our economy.

Our people and country went through trauma and brutality in the June 27th 2008 elections. The national healing process must achieve a never again framework. Never again should Zimbabweans slaughter each other over political differences.

Never again should Zimbabweans question each other’s patriotism because of political affiliation. Most of the challenges that confront us as a nation are due to a dysfunctional, ineffective and undemocratic constitution. In adopting a new constitution, it is important that the process of developing it is as important as the final contents.

Hence, this inclusive government seeks to facilitate the development of a truly people driven, democratic constitution, with total buy in, and ownership by the entirety of civic society, in particular the NCA, ZCTU, the student movement, the churches, the business community, and other political parties not involved in the GPA.

By definition a constitution is a consensus document, and not a contested piece of paper produced by three political parties. In addition to the constitutional reforms, there must be other political reforms including the removal of AIPPA and POSA from our statutes and drastic media reforms. Our local media should be sufficiently empowered to report freely without bias.

The international media, such as BBC and CNN must be immediately allowed back into the country. On economic recovery and stabilization we are stepping in the right direction with STERP.

Beyond recovery and stabilization we must seek to transform our economy through establishing a long term economic vision and strategy. Let us lay the foundation for this ambition during the tenure of this government.

Mr. Speaker Sir, there are three themes that we must grasp in order to deliver on the agenda that I have outlined. The first one is that; “Change has come to Zimbabwe and we cannot behave as if it is business as usual.”

All of us, Zimbabweans and those external players interested in the matters of our nation, need a paradigm shift in the way we think, and operate.

The days of a unitary government driven by one party are gone. We now have an inclusive government with three political parties in cabinet. There used to be, for all intents and purposes, one center of executive authority in our constitution, the Presidency.

The Cabinet was essentially a compliant rubber stamp institution. In the new dispensation, executive authority now clearly resides in three locations; the Presidency, Premiership, and Cabinet. Masamba asiyana.

There are only three things that the President can constitutionally do without consulting the other two centers of power, that is; declare war, declare martial law, and appoint his two deputies. On any other decisions there has to be discussions with the Premiership and Cabinet.

Any behavior outside this framework is illegal, and will be challenged, institutionally, political and in the courts.

Honorable members, even your work here in Parliament has to change. You need a paradigm shift as well. There are no longer any opposition benches, or ruling party ones.

You can no longer operate on a partisan basis, as we are all now in one government together. So how are you going to do your work? When a Cabinet Minister brings a position or policy to parliament, it will be after the inclusive Cabinet has agreed by consensus.

When Minister Biti or Minister Mumbengegwi comes to Parliament with issues they will be having the backing of the leadership of the three political parties. How are you going to respond? Obviously, you cannot do it as you used to do it, on partisan basis. You have to argue each issue on its merit. Honorable Members, now you have to put your thinking caps on all the time. Masamba asiyana.

The new dispensation also means we cannot continue with the destructive behavior of politicizing national institutions and activities. For example you cannot have the organ of one political party determine and declare national heroes. When you do so two things happen, you undervalue and cheapen the heroism of the recipient of the status; and more importantly you leave out other deserving heroes.

The deaths of two distinguished Zimbabweans two weeks ago serve to illustrate this matter. No one in this august house doubts or questions the heroism of General Vitalis Musungwa Gava Zvinavashe. He was a soldier of soldiers, a commander of commanders. However, when you have him declared a hero by the ZANU-PF politburo, you devalue his heroism. You make him half a hero.

On the other had let us consider the death of Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai. If one considers her role in our nation, and the number of people who mourned her in the country, region, continent and the world, she deserves to be accorded heroic status. Yet, she was not even considered for such recognition. This is a travesty of justice in our country.

By any measure and judgment of heroism Mrs. Tsvangirai is a heroine of heroes, the mother of our struggle, and the mother of our nation. Going forward, we want Cabinet to develop a policy on the determination and declaration of national heroes, and set up a Cabinet Committee that will consider potential recipients of such honors.

With the inclusive government in place it is important that all behaviours associated with a unitary government be challenged in our public and private organizations; government institutions, media houses, educational institutions, local authorities, universities, and business entities. We need a paradigm shift and a new way of doing things across the breadth and length of our country. What informs and drives our polity must change. A new value system rooted in inclusiveness is imperative.

The second theme we have to embrace is that in whatever we do, “Zimbabweans must take charge of their lives. We must be masters of our destiny.” This should be the clarion call. As we develop our economic recovery plans, and address matters affecting our nation, we must be driven by the Kennedy-Gandhi doctrine.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we must paraphrase Kennedy and say “Ask not what other nations can do to salvage Zimbabwe, but rather what we can do as citizens to drive our country.” The primary financing of STERP, our recovery plan must come from us through improving exports, increasing capacity utilization, economic growth, revenue generation, increased trade and then collection of taxes and tariffs.

Domestic investment, including Diaspora efforts, should lead and drive foreign direct investment. Yes we need humanitarian assistance, budget support, and balance of payment support; but these external inputs should only come in to buttress our own efforts.

In any case, in the long run, it is investment driven economic development that will sustain our radical transformation into a globally competitive, prosperous and democratic nation. Only us working together as Zimbabweans can achieve this. Let us listen to Gandhi as he encourages us “to be the change we seek to see in Zimbabwe.”

Mr Speaker, Sir, this brings me to the thorny issue of sanctions.

It is my considered view there are two types of sanctions. There are sanctions we impose on ourselves and those imposed on us by others.

For the past 10 years Zimbabweans have been imposing sanctions on themselves through corruption, poor governance, incompetence, mismanagement, fraudulent elections, political violence, and the breakdown of the rule of law.

Before we even begin to ask others to remove whatever measures they have imposed on us, we must remove these sanctions we have imposed on ourselves. Charity begins at home, Mr Speaker, Sir. If these destructive activities and transgressions we have been inflicting on ourselves, were all in the past, I could say we are making progress.

No, No, No, it is getting worse!! As I am speaking right now, there are fresh farm invasions, abductions, illegal arrests, disregard of court orders, wanton violation of the rule of law, violence among our supporters, the language of hate and division, and general disregard of the rule of law.

To add insult to injury, there are unresolved outstanding issues in the implementation of the GPA. The matters involving provincial governors, permanent secretaries, ambassadors, and the appointments of the RBZ governor and the attorney general have not been resolved nearly two months after SADC communiqué of the 27th of January 2009, which consummated the GPA. This is disgraceful.

All these nefarious activities mean that the current inclusive government is actually imposing new sanctions on the people of Zimbabwe. Let me make this very clear and unequivocal. I am the Deputy Prime of the State of Zimbabwe. My government is guilty as charged. We are behaving as an irresponsible and rogue regime.

We must address these matters urgently. We have an obligation to build credibility of, and confidence in this inclusive government. If we do not, we will then not have any moral authority to ask any nation to remove any measures imposed on us.

Even if the allegation that there are fresh farm invasions is false, the perception is very damaging. In any case, perception becomes reality. We must deal with whatever is leading to any such perceptions.

Mr. Speaker Sir, if we do not address these current sanctions we are imposing on ourselves there will be no humanitarian assistance, budget support, revival of tourism, and investment coming our way. We will be doomed and this government will definitely collapse.

Having taken a clear position on what we need to do as Zimbabweans, I now turn to the second type of sanctions. We are saying to the international community we understand why you imposed sanctions on us, and why you have not removed them. We understand your skepticism. However, we are also saying we are clear on the challenges we are facing and the transgressions that we are committing.

We are determined to solve these matters. As they say a problem realized is half solved. We believe these challenges are not insurmountable, they are teething problems. We are determined to overcome them. We are working day and night. As we do this, please help us help ourselves.

Here is our message to the US, the British, and the Europeans; you must remove all sanctions, any type of measures, call it what you may, that you have imposed on our country. You cannot adopt a wait and see attitude.

You cannot give us conditions, such as signs of progress, inclusiveness and entrenchment of democracy and the rule of law. While these are also our targets, to achieve them we need financial resources and assistance. It is not possible for us to achieve these milestones while sanctions are in place. It becomes a chicken and an egg situation. I wish it was possible, to get half a chicken and half an egg.

What all this means is that when the West gives conditions before reengagement, they are setting us up for failure.

It will simply lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Let me emphasize that the continuation of sanctions on Zimbabwe is both illogical and irrational. By imposing or maintaining sanctions on the inclusive government it means you are applying those measures on Cde Tsvangirai, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, who among other things is in charge of supervising policy implementation. Even the so-called targeted measures do not make sense.

For example, Chinamasa and Mumbengegwi are now a critical part of the PM’s team, how do you apply restrictions on them without undermining the PM. We must take note that, if the government fails because of lack of support, it is the people of Zimbabwe who are the biggest losers. More, importantly, it will not be Mugabe who would have failed.

He has failed dismally many times, and he cannot fail any more than he has already done. It is Tsvangirai and his team, including all of us who came in from the opposition, who will be disgraced. Furthermore, a collapse of this government will drive this country into dire crisis that will make Somalia look like child play.

Is this what you want, America, Britain and Europe? Whose interests are you serving?
It is in this context that we denounce in the strongest of terms the extension by one year of sanctions on Zimbabwe by President Barrack Obama.

It is my view that this unfortunate decision was based on ignorance and arrogance. How can you say “The actions and policies of the government of Zimbabwe pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the US?” Is that even the correct way of phrasing your concerns?

We all thought of paramount importance were the people of Zimbabwe and their aspirations, and not US foreign policy. Yes, we have challenges in implementing the GPA, but grant us the common sense and intelligence that we know what we want as a nation.

There is unprecedented unanimity among our citizens that this government must succeed. Why is a US President with African roots making irresponsible decisions without consulting Zimbabweans, Africans and African institutions? We take particular exception to this unmitigated ignorance and arrogance.

Mr. Speaker Sir, there was one long term solution, the effective medicine, to both types of sanctions that I have discussed, in this house. This takes the form of rebranding our country. We need to work on the image of our nation and be known for different things.

We must seek to be known for the following; effective unity and inclusiveness, political stability, a hardworking population, outstanding human capital, adherence to laws, observance of the rule of law, respect for property rights, business confidence, a safe destination for investment, high technology hub, a transportation and services hub, a broad industrial base, and a strong exploitable resource base.

We must also make sure that our personal and corporate brands are aligned with the aspired national image. This country branding initiative is a twenty year journey that should start today. Once we embark on this national imaging task we will effectively shake away both types of sanctions.

The third and last theme I will discuss is the case for; “Institutional creativity and innovation rooted in imaginative thought leadership.” There is need to think outside the box. There is need to exercise our minds as if there is actually no box.

We need to rethink our understanding of leadership, institutions, governance and their respective roles. We need to embrace transformational and servant leadership styles. Leadership is about making others leaders. It is about creating leaders, and not followers. Leaders should seek to serve, and not to be served.

The ultimate test of leadership is whether you can effectively make yourself irrelevant, by empowering others. If you are a CEO of a company for 20 years and you have not produced a number of CEOs you are not a leader.

If you are a director on the board of 8-10 companies, and you have not produced or enabled others to become directors, you are not an effective director, and neither are you a leader.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you are Speaker of this house for 20 years and you have not produced a single Speaker, you are not a Speaker! Honorable Chamisa, if you are a President of a country for 29 years and you a have not produced a single President, you are not a leader. You are not even an effective manager.

We need also to appreciate and leverage the difference between performance based and learning organizations. This is the new institutional thinking that should guide our work. We must rethink the role of the state and the market. The primary role of government should be that of an enabler, a facilitator in the economy.

We leave business to business, and let the market forces play their part. We must move away from command and control. We must allow the market to determine prices, salaries and exchange rates. The State must play its role using smart and effective regulations and not unimaginative and prohibitive controls.

We must attract and facilitate private capital into aspects of the economy traditionally the purview of the State, such as infrastructure. Let us allow private sector investment into roads, water and power. This can be achieved through public-private partnership (PPP) or built operate transfer (BOT) models.

For example, if we make pricing and tariffs competitive in the energy sector, draw up power purchase arrangements; a private investor can invest in power generation, sell 40% to the national grid and export the balance 60%. Let us be creative and imaginative.

We also need to engage the global climate change agenda, and embrace the notion of green jobs and green technology. In all our endeavors in the affairs of our nation, we must understand that it is not enough to have a vision, mission or strategy.

It is not enough to have strategic correctness, policy correctness or directional correctness. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We must spend time doing implementation planning. There is need for timelines, milestones, targets, ownership of work streams, incentives and penalties, measures and metrics of success, and a feedback mechanism.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thereafter the mantra is execution, execution, execution. In all we do, we need to reject the “it cannot be done syndrome.”

We must become possibility thinkers, we must exercise possibility thinking. On this one, we are together with Obama, “Yes we can!!” should be the slogan.

In conclusion, Honorable members, Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is important that we understand the historic nature of what is expected of this particular Parliament.

Let us premise our thinking by looking at Maslow hierarchy of needs.

Maslow was a psychologist, who postulated that human beings at the basic needs level start by seeking food, shelter, and other essentials as they move up the hierarchy of needs. What is the highest stage in this framework, honorable members?

Yes, he defined it as self-actualization. But I have news, and education for you honorable members, Mr Speaker, Sir. We have since officially disagreed with Maslow and improved on his work.

There is a higher stage, the ultimate aspiration, which we call self-transcend, go beyond self, and leave a legacy. I challenge this august house to go beyond self-interest, transcend partisan ambitions, and deliver a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe.

Honorable members must become players, who are also winners in the agenda of accomplishing a globally competitive nation. This will be our cross-party generational result, our collective legacy.

Mr Speaker, Sir; Honorable Members,

I thank you.

Deputy Prime Minister Hon Khupe’s mother dies

Heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to DPM Thoko Khupe on the death of her mother from the ZimSentinel
26th March 2009
By: MDC Pressroom
MDC Pressroom - Ms Catherine Mabhiza, the mother of the Deputy Prime Minister and MDC Vice President, Hon. Thokozani Khupe has died.

She died this morning at Arcadia Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa where she had gone for treatment following a fatal car accident along the Harare-Bulawayo Road on 10 February, 2009, which killed the Vice President’s aide, Timond Dube.

Ms Mabhiza sustained head injuries in the accident.

Burial arrangements have not been finalised but Ms Mabhiza will be buried in Bulawayo on Sunday.

The death of the mother of the MDC Vice President comes barely a month after the death of Amai Susan Tsvangirai, the wife of Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister’s and MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai.

Amai Tsvangirai died in a car crash on 6 March 2009 along the Harare-Masvingo Road.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai, who arrived on Tuesday from a compassionate leave in South Africa, sustained head and neck injuries in the same accident.
Here is the beginning of my post.

Civil servants invade Biti's Office over salaries

Bank chaos created by the Junta returns to haunt coalition government as civil servants fail to redeem their forex stipends
By: Denford Magora/Zimbabwe Observer
Army personnel in uniform engaged in a fist-fight with policemen in uniform in Africa Unity Square in Harare today. Africa Unity Square is right in front of parliament in the capital.

The fight apparently started outside CABS in First Street, where the uniformed forces were waiting for the arrival of their foreign currency salary allowances. It is still not clear at this stage what exactly triggered it.

But the last time the police and soldiers clashed in Harare it was over money and payment of salaries.

Witnesses saw a bleeding policeman being loaded into a police van and driven away as the fight drew to an end. The fight ended when .. a huge lorry, covered with canvas at the back, arrived at the Square with military police on board
When the truck arrived, some of soldiers quickly disappeared, some going towards First Street and others, crossing the park towards Meikles Hotel.

This incident also saw some civil servants invading Tendai Biti's office in Harare. Biti is also the MDC Secretary-General and Zimbabwe's Minister of Finance. The civil servants had gone to a local bank (Agribank) to withdraw their US$100 salaries using the vouchers given to them by the government. Agribank was refusing to honour these vouchers, claiming that they had not received any money from the government to disburse.
The civil servants who invaded Biti's office included teachers. They refused to leave until the matter was resolved. Biti went with them to Agribank on Park Street in Harare. He went into a meeting with the management of the bank. The meeting was closed to the public, including the civil servants who had gone to complain.

It appears the meeting did not bear much fruit because even later today, the civil servants were still waiting outside CABS and Agribank. (Local banks)

Sources within government from ZANU PF said it was Biti's idea to have the vouchers exchanged for cash. The original idea was to get the civil servants to use the vouchers to purchase goods directly from shops.

The Reserve Bank had warned Biti that there was not enough cash to meet the demand that would ensue. Mugabe himself, in his birthday interview, also said that he did not think the move was sustainable "because we don't have the money."

MDC sources say the problem being experienced by the current inclusive government is a result of the massive 'looting' that was undertaken by the "caretaker cabinet" of President Mugabe, which was in place awaiting the appointment of Tsvangirai as Prime Minister.

They basically cleaned the government out, externalising huge sums of money as a result of a loophole the Reserve Bank worked into its last Monetary Policy Statement, basically dumping all forms of Exchange Control regulation.

Auditing of the Reserve Bank has been blocked by President Mugabe and the MDC have given in, for now. In retaliation, Biti has since announced that all government revenue from now on will be kept at Treasury, meaning the Ministry and not the Reserve Bank.

His revised Budget statement last week also removed every single levy and source of income for the Reserve Bank. Which means the RBZ now has no income generating opportunities at all.


Biti has told the MDC leadership that, through this strategy, he fully expects that Gono will be asking for money to run the Reserve Bank within about six months. It is at that time that the Minister of Finance intends to revive the issue of the firing of the Central Bank Governor, which has, in the meantime, been ruled out flat by President Mugabe.

Sources say the handling of the civil servants salary dispute is a powder keg waiting to explode. Previous rebellions had been directed at the reserve bank governor. The last rebellion by soldiers who had failed to access their money due to the withdrawal limit placed by the reserve Governor resulted in some of them going to his farm and impounding a lot of chickens saying they were hungry.
To this day, the soldiers who took all those chickens have not been apprehended.

Zimbabweans close to events believe that unless the MDC can get some form of funding from outside, they do not really do not expect this coalition to last till the end of the year. The problem is compounded by the MDC's failure to come up with proper policies for driving the economy. At the moment, they are focusing on simply keeping Zimbabwe limping

Professor Jonathan Moyo out of STERP

Prof Jonathan Moyo out of STERP
Egghead Professor Jonathan Moyo and former Zimbabwe information and Publicity Minister credited with formulation of the repressive media laws in the country is miffed by the Short Term Economic Recovery Programme (STERP) crafted by finance Minister Tendai Biti.

That was to be expected after he came out firing on all cylinders against the assignment of Hon Biti to head the coalition government’s Finance ministry which he said was an inappropriate assignment in tandem with similar past appointments of Zanu PF failures like Enos Nkala and Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.

Not surprising it is only.. only him of all people in Zimbabwe who believes Hon Biti has lost his radar in crafting STERP.

His history speaks volumes about how out of touch with reality and disconnected to the people he purports to lead he has been, is and will be in future.

Speaking to his favourite PR cleanup publication the NewZimbabwe.com publication where he is a valued source of news about on goings in Zimbabwe, Professor Moyo declared

“It is a shame, that in this globalised age of high-tech imagination Zimbabwe has a Minister of Finance whose language, and therefore thinking, is steeped in the primitive Stone Age metaphors of hunter-gatherers.

What the hell, does the minister mean that ‘we should gather what we eat or eat what we kill’? Is this an economic principle or is it just primitive mambo jumbo whose ‘kiya-kiya’ logic is to subvert the essence of good economics, namely savings?

Minister Biti needs to understand that an economy that eats what it gathers or kills is just a primitive economy that cannot grow. The only consolation from this is that we at least now know that Biti’s ‘kiya-kiya’ approach which he has also labelled as creative fundraising is a hunter-gatherer concept.”

Sifting through his mouthful of criticism of STERP reveals that Prof Moyo is irked that the minister of Finance has in the past used slang “kiya-kiya” to evade a question that sought clarification from him over where the coalition government had sourced foreign currency to pay Civil Servants stipends at a short notice period of two weeks and now has plunged the country into “cash budgeting.”

Professor Moyo is not by any stretch of imagination a reputed Economist nor is he renowned as the most incisive political scientist in the country a title he seems eager to be bestowed on him by virtue of his qualifications in that field of study.

It is his “I know everything” superiority complex that has more often than not landed him in trouble as he cannot resist temptation to make his presence felt by speaking whatever comes to his mind before giving serious consideration of the implications of what he is about to say.

“Kukiya-kiya” is a trendy slang used by the Zimbabwean youth to explain unplanned, uncoordinated and varied interventions employed to overcome hopelessly sticky situations facing an individual.

There can be no better evidence of a hopeless economic state of affairs than that obtaining in Zimbabwe at the time Hon Biti was appointed Finance Minister.

In an interview with Zimnet Radio just before the coalition government was consummated Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro described the Zimbabwe situation in the following terms;

“Virtually everything that can go wrong in a country’s economic management has gone wrong in the country and there is no economy to talk about.”
When the coalition government then undertook to pay Public servants in foreign currency from the ashes of such an economy and within a fortnight manages the feat and the Finance Minister is taken to task to explain where the foreign currency was sourced from and answered ‘takiya-kiya’ he captured the national sentiment much to the chagrin of Professor Moyo.

Nobody other than the erudite Professor Moyo must coin phrases that are likely to become national slogans. That is the gripe Prof Moyo has with the ‘takiya-kiya’ phrase in scientific economic sense.

The way it was used by a respected political leader on whom the nation is focussed for economic salvation was too powerful for Prof Moyo’s liking.

He was jolted back to the heady days when as Information Minister he was the national slogan composer with themes like ‘Rambai makashinga’ (be steadfast), ‘Zimbabwe will never be a colony again’ and ‘The Go Warriors’ soccer song.

Then he was a household name and boy did he go over the top. He introduced retrogressive media laws, claimed false anthrax attacks at his offices, hosted numerous galas, wined and danced with Zimbabwe beauties at pageants in the most expensive hotels at taxpayer’s expense and banished or bombed media houses that sought to expose his extravagance.

He was living on borrowed luxury and it got into his head and he plotted Zanu PF succession Coups that backfired when he suffered the ignominy of being fired by President Mugabe reputed for protecting the most corrupt officials in Zanu PF leadership.

Oblivious of all his past misdemeanours he has the nerve to utter the drivel that it is primitive to live within the country’s means through cash budgets which retard national growth.

What did his extravagance with borrowings lead us to?

Basic finance management will teach Professor Moyo that governments like organisations that do not project cash flow may operate for limited periods but cash constraints will always emerge to their detriment.

He is definitely out of STERP and he knows it.

Meanwhile Professor Mutambara needs to move in STERP with the fast moving political environment he has gate crashed into as Deputy Prime Minister.

It was always going to be hard for him to sell ideas that were rejected by a constituency to a Nation.

There is no middle of the road route to economic turnaround of Zimbabwe. Either he drives it the Pan Africanist route or the Global route.

Sanctions will not be removed because he and coalition government colleagues are determined to make a flawed process work. No.

Sanctions will fall away if he and colleagues in the coalition shows committed intelligence or ignorance to uphold the rule of law, respect property rights, accept electoral outcomes, remove discredited officials from fronting the government and generally respect international conventions on human rights.

The coalition government is not one and the same thing as Premier Morgan Tsvangirai. There are too many square pegs in it to fit into the round holes that the sanctions have dug.

Uproot the square pegs and the sanctions will be a no issue.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai returns after one-week break

Zimbabwe Premier Morgan Tsvangirai

By: MDC Pressroom
24th March 2009

Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister and MDC President Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai arrived in Harare today from South Africa where he had gone to recuperate following the death of his wife, Amai Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai, early this month.

President Tsvangirai will resume work tomorrow when he officially opens the inaugural National Tourism Stakeholders’ Conference in Harare.

On Thursday, he will chair a meeting of the Council of Ministers.

He was met at the airport by government ministers, deputy ministers, Members of Parliament and party supporters.

Early this month, the MDC President was involved in fatal car accident along the Harare – Masvingo Highway resulting in the death of his wife.

They were on their way to Buhera, their rural home.

Following the death of Amai Tsvangirai, Hon. Tsvangirai and his six children were invited by the South African government for a one week break.

Abductees relate their ordeal in custody

Ghandi Mudzingwa still langushing in police custody at a Harare clinic

By: MDC Pressroom
24th March 2009
MDC Pressroom--Three MDC activists who were part of over 40 MDC activists abducted last October were released from custody last week after spending more than four months in illegal detention.

Fani Tembo, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Mrs Terry Musona were abducted in pre dawn raids from their homes between 30 and 31 October 2008 in Banket, Mashonaland West province.

The three are part of over 40 MDC and civil society activists who were abducted on trumped up charges of banditry and recruiting MDC youths for terrorism training in neighbouring Botswana in an effort to topple the Zanu PF government.

According to Tembo, Tarumbwa and Musona they were severely tortured and subjected to inhumane treatment by State security agents during their illegal detention in a bid to force them to confess to the false charges.

Tembo is a Councillor for Ward 22, Zvimba South and MDC district organising secretary while Tarumbwa is a co-ordinator for Ward 22 and Musona is the Mashonaland West provinces’ vice secretary.

“We were tortured, denied food and medical attention during our entire period of illegal detention,” said Musona who is now receiving medical attention following the gruesome torture.

Although they could not positively identify the perpetrators, all the three managed to implicate one Chief Superintendent Magwenzi as the leader of the torturers.

“Most of the days we were forced to sleep on a cold floor, hungry and blind folded,” she said.

“We had one meal a day, which consisted handful of sadza and a very tiny piece of meat,” said Tembo.

The abductees said they were constantly moved from house to house in order for them not to detect where they were being kept during their four-month isolation.

“The windows were always shut and curtains drawn. However, we knew that it was in Harare and the only place we managed to identify was the Police Golf Club as we were taken there for regular interrogations and we had our blinds taken off,” said Tarumbwa.

The three would plead on several occasions for them to be brought to court so that if they had committed any crimes they would be charged but this never happened.

“In fact when we told the persecutors that we wanted access to a lawyer or to be brought before the courts we were severely beaten, threatened with death and denied food for up to two days,” said Tarumbwa.

They were released last week without any charges pressed against them but were only forced again to sign affidavits. They were taken away quietly at night and dumped some kilometres outside Banket. They had to complete the rest of the journey on foot.

However, despite the severe ill-treatment that they went through, the three vowed to The Changing Times Online that they would remain true cadres of the democratic struggle.

At least 30 of the detainees including Zimbabwe Peace Projects (ZPP) director Jestina Mukoko and Concilia Chinanzvavana, the MDC Women’s Assembly Mashonaland West provincial chairperson were brought before the courts and remanded in custody at Chikurubi Maximum and Harare Remand Prisons.

Among the abducted MDC activists was a two year old boy Nigel Mutemagawo who was abducted with his parents Violet Mupfuranhehwe and Collen Mutemagawo.

However, despite repeated denials by the MDC, the Botswana government and South African President Kgalema Motlanthe that these were flimsy charges, the Zanu PF government continued to illegally detain and torture the abductees.

Zanu PF also refused to comply with numerous court orders for the accused to be released or to receive proper treatment from hospitals following reports of excessive torture at the hands of State security agents.

The MDC is also worried about the whereabouts of seven other MDC activities who were abducted last year and are still missing.

These are Gwenzi Kahiya – abducted 29 October 2008 in Zvimba, Ephraim Mabeka – abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe, Lovemore Machokoto – abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe, Charles Muza – abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe, Edmore Vangirayi – abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe, Graham Matehwa – abducted 17 December in Makoni South and Peter Munyanyi – abducted 13 December 2008 in Gutu South.

Other three political detainees, MDC head of security, Chris Dhlamini, former personal aide to MDC President and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Gandi Mudzingwa and photo journalist Andreson Manyere are still in detention.