SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora replied to Roy Bennett on the question of Tsvangirai’s financial accountability

By Nomalanga Moyo SW Radio Africa 11 February 2014

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora has reacted angrily to suggestions that party President Morgan Tsvangirai abused funds.

Accusations of financial impropriety were carried in the privately-run NewsDay last week.

The paper quoted some senior party officials who said the raging infighting over Tsvangirai’s leadership stemmed from his misuse of funds.

Last month, deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma asked the MDC-T leader to step down, and raised questions about the lack of financial accountability within the party.

“How will we put closure to the question of misuse of funds, and ensure that our friends regain confidence that donations will be channelled to the people’s project going forward?” Mangoma asked in his letter to Tsvangirai.

The officials who spoke to NewsDay alleged that some donors had withdrawn their support for the MDC-T, citing a lack of accountability in the party finances.

A person purporting to be Roy Bennett wrote on the Newsday discussion forum, standing by the allegations that Tsvangirai “took liberties with party funds”. SW Radio Africa was not able to speak to Bennett as he was said to be travelling.

On Monday party spokesman Mwonzora furiously denied the allegations which he said were malicious, adding that Tsvangirai is not directly involved in the disbursement of funds.

“All major financial decisions of the party are made by the Finance and Administration Committee chaired by the Secretary General of the Party.

“It is therefore impossible for the President of the Party to allocate financial resources of the Party by himself without the Treasury Department or the Administration of the party’s involvement,” Mwonzora said in a statement.

In a separate response to the statements attributed to Bennett, Mwonzora said: “If indeed Mr Bennett genuinely wanted an audit into the MDC finances then he would have made his request to the Standing Committee, the National Executive or the National Council of the Party justifying his reasons for such a demand.

“Further he would not have waited for a Newsday article to make his statement. We therefore doubt very much the authenticity of the author of this letter.”

Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said the two MDC-T factions were being shortsighted and immature in failing to resolve their problems.

“But the current cracks are a sign of leadership fatigue and the best thing to do for Tsvangirai is to subject himself to peer review and fixing what needs to be fixed, even if it means admitting that he’s failed to deliver the mission without waiting for a structure to say it,” Ngwenya said.

He said while calls for a financial audit were legitimate, as allegations of financial misuse go to the heart of political accountability and transparency, this was not possible with a party such as the MDC-T which receives donor funding.

“It is illegal in Zimbabwe for political parties to receive external funding and the MDC-T and its financiers know that they can’t audit without revealing who has been funding the party.”

Ngwenya said it was up to the MDC-T leadership, if they see themselves as the government-in-waiting, to behave in a morally blameless manner because their behavior now has implications on how they will manage the public purse should they ever come into power.

To read Mwonzora’s statements, click here

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Cuthbert Dube issued the Herald with a one-day ultimatum

By Tichaona Sibanda SW Radio Africa 11 February 2014

Cuthbert Dube, the former boss of the Premier Service Medical Aid Society, on Monday issued the Herald with a one-day ultimatum to stop publishing exposes on his alleged abuse of public funds.

Dube, who is also the chairman of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), threatened court action against the newspaper if it fails to comply with his order. He wants to stop the daily paper from publishing details of his outrageous salaries and allowances which amounted to US$6.4 million per year.

His lawyers, Venturas and Samukange, told the paper that Dube had instructed them that unless the Herald desists from continuously publishing falsehoods, ‘he will be left with no option but to approach the High Court for an urgent interdict.’ Dube’s lawyers claim reports of abuse of funds at PSMAS were misleading.

However, Dube’s attempts to gag the newspaper have been condemned by political commentators and journalists. Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us that instead of engaging the media and explaining his side of the story, Dube was inflaming the situation by trying to silence the newspaper.

Government has directed the medical aid society to hold a special general meeting on Friday to dissolve the board.

Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr Paul Chimedza said two major issues to be discussed at the special general meeting are the dissolution of the board of directors and the appointment of an interim manager to run the affairs of the society for a stipulated period.

The Herald reported that the society’s operating licence was not renewed at the end of 2013 after they failed to submit audited financial statements. The order to new PSMAS chairman Luxon Zembe to hold a special general meeting on Friday comes after civil servants, who form the majority of contributors to the society, met in Harare last week to make a similar demand.

Meanwhile, Air Zimbabwe secretary Grace Pfumbidzayi has been found guilty of defrauding the airline of over $6 million in an aviation insurance scam. A disciplinary tribunal chaired by Harare lawyer Wellington Pasipanodya last Friday found that she facilitated payments of inflated premiums to an insurance company.

The tribunal also found her guilty of acting contrary to her contract of employment. The tribunal reserved the penalty, though there are indications that she now faces the sack.

It is reported that suspended airline’s acting chief executive Innocent Mavhunga stormed out of the disciplinary proceedings in protest, leaving the panel to conduct the hearing in his absence. Mavhunga is accused of theft and fraud involving over US$11 million.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Cape Peninsula University of Technology

By Nomalanga Moyo SW Radio Africa 11 February 2014

Dozens of Zimbabwean students enrolled at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology on a Robert Mugabe scholarship have been barred from lectures and thrown out of residential halls, because the government has not paid.

More than 100 Zim students, including those in their final year, have reportedly been affected, with most of them reduced to begging friends for their upkeep.

One of the affected students told SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme that students’ fees were already in arrears as the government failed to release last term’s grants to enable them to pay.

“The students have tried to contact Minister Christopher Mushowe, who is also the Presidential Fund director, but were told he was on holiday,” Saungweme said.

The student told Saungweme that they have not contacted the Zim Embassy in South Africa for fear of being victimised by the country’s dreaded central intelligence operatives.

“There is fear amongst the students that government officials may think they are complaining by approaching the embassy for help and victimise them as a result.

“But the plight of the students does not speak well of the government and President Mugabe should be ashamed to be associated with such a poorly-run scheme,” Saungweme added.

The Presidential Scholarship Fund is supposed to pay for tuition, accommodation and other needs of students from underprivileged backgrounds.

But over the years, students whose families have established links to ZANU PF, have tended to benefit at the expense of deserving cases.

Zimbabwe has an estimated 7,000 students enrolled at various South African universities under the presidential scheme.

Most of the students on Mugabe’s scheme have at some point been left stranded due to non-payment of grants, exposing them to abuse and risky behaviour such as prostitution and stealing.

Last year Fort Hare University was said to be owed more than R40 million in unpaid student fees by the broke Zimbabwe government.

President Mugabe and his party ZANU PF regularly portray the scheme as a success story and proof of their commitment to elevating educational standards.

Observers however say the country’s educational system will be better served if the government invested in its own collapsing institutions and paid for these students to study locally.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Is the Tokwe-Mukosi dam breaking apart? See video by clicking on image

By Tichaona Sibanda SW Radio Africa 11 February 2014

About 4,500 families are requesting compensation to be relocated from the Tokwe-Mukosi dam area in Masvingo, a field officer working with the villagers said on Tuesday.

Admire Mashenjere, from the Tokwe-Mukosi Rehabilitation and Resettlement Trust, said villagers had agreed that $5,000 in compensation would be enough to minimise their losses. But it is unlikely the government will agree with the villages, as $5,000 for each of the 4,500 families, totals over $22 million.

Mashenjere told our weekly Speak Out Padare program that villagers are being relocated to Chingwizi in Mwenezi, an area that falls under region 5 and is designated for cattle ranching. Although government had in the past year promised to construct an irrigation scheme in the area, nothing has been done, amid worries the villagers have been left to fend for themselves in an arid area.

‘Last year, government told us that by the time we relocate from the basin to Mwenezi there will be schools and clinics to cater for us, but there is nothing, just tents put up for the villagers with no running water,’ Mashenje said.

Government was forced to move the villagers in haste because of fears the dam will burst after torrential rains pounded the province and President Robert Mugabe declared the area a state disaster.

Following cracks to the dam wall there were fears it would breach, threatening to unleash a wall of water into neighbouring villages and sweep away thousands of people in its path.

However the government on Sunday urged the public not to panic as the issue can be resolved. Minister of Water Resources Saviour Kasukuwere said engineers were working flat out trying to reinforce the wall, although he admitted the situation was ‘challenging.’

Mashenjere said he visited the dam site on Monday and was assured by the engineers that the dam wall will hold, despite massive pressure from the rain water that has been falling countrywide. ‘The engineers told us they are drilling additional shafts to release water pressure from the dam before they can start reinforcing the dam wall,’ he said.

The saga of the Tokwe-Mukosi dam has been one of corruption and incompetence and, if not for that, the dam would have been finished a long time ago and this crisis would never have happened.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board Chief Executive Wilson Gwatiringa

By Mthulisi Mathuthu SW Radio Africa 11 February 2014

As calls for more corporate accountability intensify, Parliament has ordered the national indigenisation board to submit salary schedules of its top executives.

National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board Chief Executive, Wilson Gwatiringa, appeared before the parliamentary committee last Thursday where he was asked for these details.

According to a Daily News report Mashonaland West Senator Priscah Mupfumira demanded to know who determines the salaries of the indigenisation board’s executives. Mupfumira also demanded to know how much of the organization’s budget is spent on salaries.

Gwatiringa reportedly undertook to provide the requested details but insisted that what he and his team were earning was nowhere nearer the ‘corrupt salaries’ that have recently been reported at various parastatals.

The indigenisation board boss claimed that the organization is broke and needs urgent funding. He revealed that the board received a $2 million allocation from the Treasury out of a requested $10 million in the 2014 national budget.

Apart from government, the board is supposed to get shares from ‘indigenised’ foreign-owned companies. But Gwatiringa told Parliament they were facing ‘resistance and misunderstandings’ from some companies. Gwatiringa further lamented the lack of a legislation allowing them to collect levies, the report said.

In another related issue of public accountability, the Chitungwiza Progressive Residents Association (CHIPRA) says last Friday it sent a letter to the council demanding salary schedules of the top managers. CHIPRA executive member, Fortune Nyamande, told SW Radio Africa that if the council fails to provide the details the association will ask Parliament to summon them. Nyamande said residents were unhappy with the service delivery from the Chitungwiza Council and they suspected corruption.

Calls for public accountability have intensified recently following revelations of ‘corrupt salaries’ at public institutions such as the Harare City Council, ZBC and the Premier Service Medical Aid Society. CHIPRA confirmed that the move to confront the Chitungwiza council was necessitated by these revelations.

Public anger has heightened, especially after vice President Joice Mujuru publicly attacking the press for revealing these ‘obscene salaries.’ Mujuru’s outburst came soon after local government minister Ignatius Chombo ordered the reappointment of Harare Town Clerk over the salaries issue, soon after his suspension.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa

By Mthulisi Mathuthu SW Radio Africa 11 February 2014

Two women, whom Emmerson Mnangagwa wants to remain on death-row, will ‘soon’ be replying to the justice minister’s opposition to their court application seeking a change to their sentences.

Rosemary Khumalo and Shylet Sibanda are seeking a Constitutional Court order to have their sentences set aside and substituted with appropriate sentences, in line with the new constitution.

Zimbabwe’s new Constitution prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on all women, as well as on men under 21 at the time of the crime. Also spared are those over 70.

Sibanda and Khumalo were sentenced to death in two separate cases and both of them are awaiting execution at the Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.

But it emerged last week that Mnangagwa opposed a court application by the two death row inmates. Chiedza Simbo from the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, the representatives of the two women, told SW Radio Africa that they will be replying to Mnangagwa’s opposition ‘as soon as possible’.

Simbo said Mnangagwa is arguing that the two should seek presidential pardon while the government works on aligning other laws with the new Constitution. Simbo said her clients will argue that in terms of the Constitution, presidential pardon applies only to men and not to women.

Although the new constitution was adopted almost a year ago, the laws have yet to be aligned with it, which has led some observers to question whether the government is serious about bringing in the new constitution. This lack of alignment of laws is also routinely creating problems such as in the case of the two women.

Mnangagwa’s latest move will also come as a surprise to many. Only last year he threw his weight behind the abolition of the death penalty. He told activists at the Anti-Death penalty march that he would speak against the death penalty ‘no matter where I am’.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The picture of Khupe and Gonese that appeared in the Herald version of the story

By Nomalanga Moyo SW Radio Africa 12 February 2014

MDC-T legislators have written to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, demanding better and bigger perks.

If approved, the proposals will cost Treasury an extra $89 million, the Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe has one of the world’s biggest parliaments with 350 members for a relatively small population of 13 million people.

The MPs want a hike in their sitting allowances from $75 to $200 a day, which adds up to $600 per week per legislator.

The MPs also want executive vehicles such as the Land Rover Discovery or Jeep Grand Cherokees, (just one costs $100,000), and which they can buy at book value at the end of their terms.

Other demands include an option to buy, duty-free, an additional vehicle of their own choice; exemption from paying toll fees; 100 litres of fuel a week and further fuel for constituency or provincial work; and accommodation allowances for all legislators, including those who already reside in Harare.

MDC-T deputy President Thokozani Khupe who co-signed the letter with MDC-T Chief Whip Innocent Gonese, confirmed that her party’s parliamentary caucus is spearheading the demands.

Khupe said it was common knowledge that MP’s are poorly remunerated and don’t get paid their allowances most of the time.

“The issue is not about the letter, but the failure by this government to look after honourable MPs, who have to use public transport because they either have no vehicles or fuel.

“Everyone knows that some MPs are being evicted from their homes because they can’t afford to pay rent, some can’t pay fees for their children.

“So it’s not just about the letter but the welfare of MPs,” Khupe said.

The MDC-T deputy leader denied that their demands are ill-timed and unreasonable in a country where the majority of the population is living in poverty.

She said MPs are aware of the hardships being faced by Zimbabweans as a result of the gross corruption and economic mismanagement by ZANU PF.

“We know that a million children have failed to access primary education because the government has failed to pay, and that our hospitals have no medicines etc.

“The government cannot say there is no money even to pay civil servants the promised salary increment, where is the money from the sale of diamonds going?

“These are signs that ZANU PF have failed and people should not be asking us whether we wrote the letter or not but should be interrogating this government about these failures,” Khupe added.

Part of the letter by the MDC-T legislators called for an intra-party meeting to discuss the welfare of the MPs, but ZANU PF chief whip Jorum Gumbo told the Herald that he did not think the proposals were “feasible”. He also indicated that they may not join the discussions as they “do not want to be seen to have come to Parliament to give ourselves huge monies.”

But Gumbo’s comments have been regarded as being hypocritical as in September ZANU PF spent $20 million on luxury vehicles for its bloated single-party Cabinet, despite more than two million people urgently needing food.

The party is also at the centre of the current corruption storm where State-linked enterprises have been looted dry, with the blessing of top government officials.

For further reading:

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

ZEC chairperson Rita Makarau

By Tichaona Sibanda SW Radio Africa 12 February 2014

A civil rights campaigner, who lodged a formal demand for an electronic voters roll from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Rita Makarau, has said the register should be a public document and not a preserve for a select few.

Constitutional lawyer Justice Mavedzenge told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that if Zimbabwe is to be a functional democracy, such documents should be made available for inspection at any time. He gave Makarau a week to comply, after which he will approach the Constitutional Court if she fails to supply the document.

‘Under the new constitution, voter registration is an ongoing exercise, so I’m saying if they don’t have last year’s voters roll, surely they can avail the latest one compiled from July last year,’ Mavedzenge said.

The main opposition party, the MDC-T, accuses President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party of committing ‘monumental fraud’ in last year’s vote, in part through a massively flawed voters’ register that remains impossible to find.

Since the disputed polls ZEC, and the Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede, have failed to make public the electronic copy of the voters roll that was used, as is required in law. Late last year, when ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa demanded the copy of the roll, Makarau told him there would not be an electronic copy anytime soon.

Mavedzenge said it is for this reason that he’s prepared to go all way to the Constitutional Court if Justice Makarau fails to comply with his demand. In his letter that he sent to ZEC, Mavedzenge said he had every right to access the roll based on Section 62 of the Constitution.

‘I’m quite aware that previous applications on the voters roll and conduct of elections have been dismissed on a technicality, but with due respect to all those concerned, the merit of the issues brought before the court were never discussed,’ he said.

The electoral law in Zimbabwe is clear that all political parties should have access to the list of registered voters in good time before an election, and in both electronic and hard copy.

This is meant to ensure that parties can check the list in advance for any problems, but 7 months after the election ‘won’ by ZANU PF, nobody outside Mugabe’s inner circle has seen an electronic copy of the voters roll.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Mugabe has been invited to the EU-Africa Summit, slated for April in Brussels, which some observers say signals a softening attitude towards Zimbabwe.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is quoted as telling the European Parliament on Tuesday that, “it does seem a time to move forward and the sense is that Zimbabwe is moving … we need to respond.”

Speaking to SW Radio Africa on Wednesday the EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Aldo Dell’Arricia, said he was surprised about the reports detailing the impending EU decision.

“I am really surprised at this information and that the news agency is informed about something even before a decision on the matter has been reached by the European Council,” the diplomat said.

Dell’Arricia said statements by foreign policy chief Ashton are part of the EU Council assessments of the situation in Zimbabwe, and do not mean that a decision has been made.

“The decision of the Council hasn’t been taken and that’s why I am surprised that it’s being presented as the decision of the European Council.”

He said the EU decision will be guided by their assessments of all life in Zimbabwe, including the political element, the human rights situation, as well as the rule of law.

“We will also focus on the elements that provoked in the first instance the imposition of the measures and all this will be done taking into account the reports from the embassies of member states on the ground,” Dell’Arricia added.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

By Tichaona Sibanda SW Radio Africa 12 February 2014

Vice-President Joice Mujuru, facing a barrage of criticism for her comments on corruption, has backtracked claiming she was misquoted about wanting to gag the media for exposing the rot in parastatals.

Mujuru’s remarks have badly tainted her image and were uttered during an address to members of the ZANU PF Women’s League in Mashonaland West.

She warned the party to be wary of individuals who have infiltrated it with the aim of destabilizing it from within; accusing the media of being part of the plan. She said they should stop exposing the scandals.

The comments have sparked furious reaction from many Zimbabweans, both inside and outside the country and so she has backtracked and denied that she is against media revelations on corrupt activities. Then she blamed the media for allegedly misquoting her.

Analysts said while she may want to distance herself from the storm she created, they say it’s apparent the comments were directed towards individuals from the other faction led by party stalwart Emmerson Mnangagwa.

It is her insinuation that corruption should not be exposed in the media that has touched a raw nerve. Businessman and opposition politician Charlton Hwende said it is understandable why Mujuru is not comfortable reading about corruption in the media, because she belongs to a party that is corrupt to the bone.

‘If you look at Mujuru, the late husband was probably one of the most corrupt people to live in Zimbabwe and the whole ZANU PF machinery is oiled by corruption. From 1980 until now, you will see that ZANU PF has been sustained by corruption, so we are not surprised that Mujuru is defending the rot.

‘Even if you look at Mugabe, he’s now fighting for a $5 million mansion in Singapore, where did he get that money? asked Hwende.

The MDC-T national executive member said the furore caused by Mujuru was a result of factionalism pitting her against Mnangagwa. He said Mujuru was not wrong in pointing a finger of accusation at her rivals.

‘The exposés can be directly linked to Mnangagwa’s camp that is now hitting back after their provincial losses in the party elections to the Mujuru’s faction,’ Hwende said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

By Tichaona Sibanda SW Radio Africa 13 February 2014

Over 2,000 families still need urgent assistance to be evacuated from the flood basin of the Tokwe-Mukosi dam, the head of the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) said on Thursday.

CPU director Madzudzo Pawadyira told SW Radio Africa the situation, triggered by a breach in the dam wall last weekend, was still very serious and it was therefore critical to evacuate everyone downstream of the dam.

‘I’m currently preparing a report on the situation in the area, but my major concern now is the evacuation of over 2,000 families,’ said Pawadyira, brushing off suggestions the evacuation exercise was no longer as urgent, amid reports engineers are now confident the dam will not be breached.

‘I can never be confident with that, and I’m also not confident discussing whether or not the dam will burst,’ the CPU boss added.

Weeks of heavy rains in Masvingo’s Chivi district created flooding that breached the Tokwe-Mukosi dam and forced the government to declare it a disaster area. The dam wall has developed cracks due to rising water levels over the past few weeks and due to the fact that the project was still not completed, due to lack of financing from the government.

Engineers said until the construction of the dam is complete, the dam should only hold 460,000 cubic litres, but it’s currently holding double that amount. The dam is being built where the Tokwe and Mukosi rivers meet.

Admire Mashenjere, a field officer with the Tokwe-Mukosi Rehabilitation and Resettlement Trust, which represents families affected by the dam and advocates for their rights, said damage to the dam has not been repaired yet.

Mashenjere, who visited the site on Wednesday and spoke to the Italian engineers, said repairs to the damaged structure will only commence when they have finished drilling channels to release pressure on the dam wall.

‘The channels will allow the flood waters to funnel out of the dam quickly enough for the engineers to repair the breached areas. One engineer warned that it would be dangerous to start work on the damaged structure because any movement there, or additional materials on the wall, will put more pressure and increase chances of a major breach,’ said Mashenjere.

Meanwhile environment and water Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has dissolved the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) board, which was chaired by Beauty Basile. It is expected the new board will be appointed in a fortnight.

Kasukuwere told Parliament on Wednesday that his ministry will appoint a board of technically competent people, including engineers, to make sure repair work is done on Tokwe-Mukosi dam.

He has appointed a five- member team of independent dam engineers who left for Tokwe-Mukosi on Thursday to carry out an independent assessment of the situation and report back to him.

This is almost two weeks after the dam breach and five days after government declared it disaster area, leaving observers wondering what the minister was doing while the drama was unfolding in Masvingo and putting the lives of over 60,000 people in grave danger.

Find Tokwe-Mukosi dam on Google maps

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is lagging behind other regional countries in developing and promoting the use of radio as a medium and government needs to license independent players, media groups said as the world marked World Radio Day on Thursday.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) and legislators on the Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology, all agreed that private radio and community licenses should be issued by government.

February 13th is celebrated annually as World Radio Day, to highlight the use of radio as a medium that can be used to promote access to information and freedom of expression. The theme this year is “gender equality and women’s empowerment in radio”.

Patience Zirima, from the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe, said: “Zimbabwe is lagging behind. We have very few commercial radio stations and we have no community radio stations whatsoever. Like the rest of the region women are under-represented in radio just like any other medium.”

Zirima added that this is especially true when it comes to women in editorial and decision-making positions. The Media Alliance is also working with the Federation of African Media Women-Zimbabwe (Famwz) to promote gender diversity in radio.

“We have been working to increase the number of women in the news and also promoting issues around the safety of women journalists through campaigns targeting sexual harassment of women and how it is pervading newsrooms in Zimbabwe.

On Wednesday members of the Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology, visited BAZ, the broadcasting authority, to assess why there has been such a long delay in issuing commercial radio licenses to independent players.

MP James Maridadi, who is on the board of the Portfolio Committee, told SW Radio Africa that they criticized BAZ for the delay in issuing licenses and recommended that the authority move quickly to rectify this.

Maridadi said Zimbabwe is lagging behind countries like Zambia and Malawi, who have many independent radio stations, but admitted the Portfolio Committee has no real mandate and cannot pressure BAZ into making changes.

“We only have two licensed radio stations. One of them is owned by a deputy minister Supa Mandiwanzira and the other is owned by ZimPapers, which is a media house also controlled by government,” Maridadi said, referring to ZiFM and Star FM, which were both licensed controversially by BAZ.

He added: “It was the feeling of parliamentarians on the committee that the reasons we are behind have everything to do with politics. It is not licensing or legislation that is the problem. It is political. There are people who are worried as to what will be broadcast and Zimbabweans will listen to.”

The Media Institute of Southern African (MISA) marked World Radio Day with events in several countries. In a statement the regional director, Zoé Titus, said although women in Africa have made great strides in radio, a greater effort is still required to ensure equal opportunities for women in broadcasting.

Titus challenged female radio journalists in southern Africa to educate themselves and use radio to claim their power, saying they need to be “the difference that they wish to see in the radio sector”.

Statistics from the United Nations show that worldwide only about 25 percent of media board members are women, 22 percent of subject matter in radio news focuses on women and only 6 percent of the stories highlight issues of gender equality.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

By Mthulisi Mathuthu SW Radio Africa 13 February 2014

The government should not just sacrifice a few individuals but must arrest all the individuals who have been named in the ongoing exposes on corporate corruption, an MDC-T executive member has said.

MDC- T shadow minister for transport, Elias Mudzuri, said this in reaction to the arrest of Air Zimbabwe company secretary and acting managing director Grace Pfumbidzayi on Wednesday.

Pfumbidzayi was arrested the same day top managers at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) were reported to have looted the struggling parastatal. She was arrested on six charges of fraud involving $7 million, in relation to an alleged insurance scam at the national airline, a NewsDay report said Thursday.

Pfumbidzayi’s arrest follows an audit report which implicated senior managers at the national airline. It also came at a time when a local government ministry report showed how ZANU PF people have been illegally parceling out urban land.

Transport minister Obert Mpofu this week suspended boards of five parastatals which fall under his portfolio, including Air Zimbabwe. But as this was happening, some culprits, who include members of President Mugabe’s inner circle, remained free. Two weeks ago local government minister Ignatius Chombo reinstated Harare Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi, soon after he was suspended by the council for awarding ‘corrupt salaries’ to himself and his colleagues.

Mudzuri told SW Radio Africa that the government is not serious about tackling corruption. He said corruption at the national airline was much deeper than what has been exposed so far and a lot more people should be arrested.

He said: ‘Air Zimbabwe went into the red because of abuse. The real culprits are at the top and they don’t want to talk about corruption. It is in their blood and veins and so when you talk about it they think you want to kill them.’

Mudzuri also revealed that Parliament Thursday failed to discuss corruption, including the rot at the national airline, after the MPs were told to go home because the toilets were faulty. The MP for Warren Park said he believes the adjournment of Parliament was a ploy to prevent the discussion on corruption. He said when MPs regroup after a short break, which starts next week, people will have forgotten about corruption.

Mudzuri’s colleague, Gorden Moyo, onWednesday said he expected most of the exposed executives to go scot free because corporate corruption was a secret government programme to cushion strategic individuals, who include soldiers. The former minister of state enterprises revealed that four years ago he discovered that the GMB had 2,000 soldiers on its pay roll.

Going by Moyo’s revelation, reports that General Manager Albert Mandizha and his two colleagues looted GMB are just the tip of the iceberg. According to a Daily News report Mandizha and his colleagues converted luxury company cars into personal property, without paying the GMB.

Mugabe has remained mum on corruption reports which include revelations that he was patron at the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS). Reports have shown how the medical aid society was looted by senior people who include Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba, who earned $100, 000 last year for sitting on the board.

It is not clear if an extraordinary ZANU PF Politburo meeting, scheduled for Friday, will discuss corruption. But a statement from the party’s chairman said every politburo member must attend ‘without fail.’

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

By Nomalanga Moyo SW Radio Africa 13 February 2014

Police assaulted several members of the Women in Zimbabwe Arise pressure group as they left parliament after submitting a petition.

Police, clad in anti-riot gear, accused the peaceful marchers of demonstrating without permission, before beating them up with truncheons.

“We had gone to deliver our demands to parliament when the police said we had no permission to do so. I explained to them that the new constitution allows us,” Magodonga Mahlangu told SW Radio Africa on the Big Picture programme.

Mahlangu said the police went away, only to return with reinforcements and descended on the WOZA members as they were dispersing from parliament.

“That’s how cowardly the police are, they were beating us from behind because they couldn’t even face us,” said the human rights defender.

None of the members were arrested.

Thursday’s march, ahead of the traditional WOZA Valentine’s Day peaceful demos on Friday, was to protest the corruption and looting of public resources by public officials.

“This year we are calling for public officials to revisit the spirit of ubuntu or ‘I am because we are’, and realise that they represent people, and should respect their own and other people’s dignity.”

Mahlangu said WOZA members are shocked by revelations’ of obscene salaries being earned by office bearers in parastatals, which she said had led to the collapse of the economy.

“We are demanding the implementation of the constitution to promote accountability. The constitution can provide much needed dignity to citizens and empower them with ways to check theft of public finance and corruption.

“The new charter also provides for free primary education but right now millions of children from poor backgrounds have been excluded from school following the discontinuation of the Basic Education Assistance Model,” she said.

WOZA has given parliament until the end of this year to fully implement the constitution.

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SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Investigations into allegations of graft in parastatals have seen the police arrest the former CEO and acting CEO of Air Zimbabwe on corruption charges.

Peter Chikumba, the national airline boss from 2007 to 2010, and his successor Innocent Mavhunga, were picked up by police in Harare on Thursday. Company secretary Grace Pfumbidzai was nabbed on Wednesday.

The airline has been rocked by the scandal that resulted from its appointment of Navistar Insurance Brokers in 2009 to handle the insurance of its planes.

The insurance transactions are said to have violated the airline’s tender regulations. There are claims of premiums being ‘fraudulently’ overcharged by almost $10 million over a four-year period.

This week Transport Minister Obert Mpofu fired all the boards under his ministry for non-performance. This included the Air Zimbabwe board led by Ozias Bvute. Political observers have noted however that only the ‘small fish’ have been exposed and arrested in the scandals that have emerged, with the real culprits, like cabinet ministers, still enjoying protection from President Robert Mugabe.

Meanwhile there are reports that senior officers in the Zimbabwe National Army are earning as much $10,000 per month in basic salaries, in addition to a range of other perks. Rank and file soldiers earn a monthly average of $370. Sources in the ZNA Pay and Records Department revealed to The Zimbabwean newspaper that ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and above enjoy hefty perks, and most of them are war veterans.

The lowest paid private soldier earns an average $340 before transport and housing allowances, and the next nine ranks to that of major are separated from each other by a mere $20 a month. The salary difference widens with each senior rank. Generals enjoy salaries in the $5,000-$10,000 range, plus fleets of vehicles.

Giles Mutsekwa, the MDC-T’s secretary for intelligence and security, said while it is their wish to see all civil servants and members of the defence forces well remunerated, they were however concerned with ZANU PF’s selective handling of the issue by paying huge salaries to the military hierarchy.

As more reports of corruption in parastatals and government institutions are released, the board and management of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is embroiled in a $4 million scandal.

The Financial Gazette reported on Thursday that top management extended to themselves, and other connected private citizens, loans amounting to close to $4 million. Of that amount $2.5 million was given to individuals with political connections while $1.5 million was shared among board members, the agency’s managers and other REA staff, which they used to build houses.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Civil society groups this week registered their ‘sternest disapproval’ of the breakdown of public accountability and called on the government to urgently set up a commission of enquiry into corporate corruption.

The call was made Thursday by 66 civil society groups, through a joint statement. The commission should investigate ‘obscene salaries’ and other underhand dealings in the local government and public sector, the statement said.

The civil society groups also called on President Robert Mugabe to break his silence on corruption, in which his aides and close allies have been named. The statement, issued after what has been dubbed the biggest civil society gathering to discuss graft, called on Mugabe to deal with corrupt government officials.

Government was also called upon to replace corrupt officials with those whose profiles ‘reflect good corporate governance, professionalism and integrity.’

The statement also called on government to allow Parliament and the anti-corruption commission to ‘perform their role without hindrance.’ Those who participated at the Thursday meeting said public anger was apparent. Speakers expressed disquiet at government attempts to prevent action against corruption.

The call came as government is targeting only peripheral figures. So far only members of the suspended Air Zimbabwe board have been nabbed for corruption while Mugabe’s close allies, who include his spokesman George Charamba, have remained free.

Charamba has been named in the looting of the Premier Service Medical Aid Society where he was paid $100,000 last year for sitting on the board. His membership on that board is said to have been against a government policy on corporate governance, which prohibits permanent secretaries from boards of public entities.

But the government is also steadfastly determined to block free expression against corruption. Ahead of this week’s gathering the police refused civil society groups permission to march against corruption. Then on Thursday WOZA women activists were assaulted as they left Parliament after handing in a petition. On the same day, MPs who were geared-up to discuss graft, were told at the last minute to go home, because the toilets were faulty. Opposition MPs said they saw this as a flimsy excuse to prevent debate on corruption.

ZimRights director, Okay Machisa, said the fact that the police were blocking marches instead of arresting corrupt individuals was an indicator that the government was not serious about tackling graft. Machisa said: Government has so far failed to deal with corruption. There is absolutely no political will and so we need action as civil society and the police must allow us to express ourselves.’

The veteran human rights campaigner warned the public to be wary of ‘political games.’ He said the government is trying to hoodwink people into thinking that it was acting on corruption, when the real culprits remain untouched.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

About 200 police officers Friday blocked members of Women in Zimbabwe Arise from petitioning Bulawayo resident minister, Eunice Sandi Moyo.

Over 1,000 WOZA members marched through the streets to the Mhlahlandlela Government Complex, as part of the pressure group’s annual peaceful Valentine’s Day demos. A statement said WOZA is demanding free primary education for all vulnerable and under privileged children by the end of 2014.

SW Radio Africa heard that chanting WOZA members found the entrance to the government complex blocked by police details who were clad in full riot gear. WOZA spokesperson Magodonga Mahlangu said the police were all over the city center, where they watched vigilantly as members of the pressure group gathered and marched to Mhlahlandlela.

‘As early as 8am the police were all over the city center. They were in every street corner and we had to reduce our processions from 11 to only three,’ said Mahlangu.

She said WOZA members were forced to disperse after forty five minutes. She said although the police did not assault or arrest any of their members, they violated their right to petition Moyo.

This development comes after police in Harare assaulted WOZA members as they left Parliament after submitting a petition Thursday. The police accused the marchers of demonstrating without permission.

WOZA is demanding full implementation of the new constitution by year end, and in a statement said: ‘We were expecting that by now the new constitution would already be activated and fully implemented and new laws would be helping us to enjoy the fruits. This constitution is our nation’s harvest. Why can’t Parliament and The Senate activate it so we can enjoy it together?’