SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

William Bango, a top advisor to MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai, died tragically on Tuesday following an accident in Dema on the outskirts of Chitungwiza. The 62 year old veteran journalist and author was involved in a head collision with another vehicle near the Dema growth point. He was travelling alone in his Isuzu truck. He sustained serious head injuries in the collision and died while he was being rushed to Chitungwiza hospital. The driver of the other vehicle, a Toyota Raum, died on the spot while a passenger died on the way to hospital. The third passenger in the Toyota escaped with minor injuries. Bango, a former spokesman for Tsvangirai and author of the MDC-T’s autobiography, ‘At the deep end’ was travelling to Harare to pick up his new daughter in law and drive her back to his rural Chikomba home to introduce her to the family. Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme told us that the veteran journalist, who was working as the party’s director for policy implementation, was due back in Harare on Sunday but his vehicle developed mechanical problems. It took him two days to have car fixed and he only left his rural home mid morning on Tuesday. Tsvangirai on Tuesday night extended his condolences to the Bango family when he visited the home of his late aide in Marlborough, Harare. Tsvangirai told the mourner that Bango’s death was a great loss for the party, the journalism profession and the country. Veteran journalist Sam Mawokomatanda, a former chief sub-editor of the Sunday Mail, who worked with Bango in the early 1980’s, said a lot of journalists in Zimbabwe looked up to him because of his proficiency. Mawokomatanda added that the country had lost one its most dedicated professionals, who will be remembered for upholding journalistic integrity and ethics during the many years he worked as a scribe and author. Bango is expected to be buried in his rural home in Chikomba on Friday.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The UK government has provided an extra $10 million to enable thousands of poor children across Zimbabwe to access basic education. The Social Welfare Ministry asked for help from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), after the Zimbabwe government failed to fund its own Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) scheme. BEAM is meant to offer social protection and pay primary school fees for one million orphans and vulnerable children. The $10 million DFID funding commences in March and is aimed at 250,000 children in primary and special schools. This will be in addition to the $27 million that the agency provided in 2012-2013. In all from 2011 to 2015, the UK expects to have invested $650 million in Zimbabwe’s education, health, water and sanitation sectors.“The UK is very pleased to be able to provide this additional support which will make a huge difference to the lives of the children who will benefit along with their families and wider communities,” DFID’s Jane Rintoul said in a statement. The development agency however said this was likely to be the UK’s final contribution to the education scheme, and urged Zimbabwe “to redouble its efforts to find additional funding sources”. MDC-T Shadow Minister for Basic Education Concilia Chinanzvavana said if DFID withdraws, thousands of disadvantaged children will lose out. “If DFID pulls out I don’t see any future for the disadvantaged children who have been depending on this scheme for elementary education.“Basic education is a right, not even a social welfare issue, but our government has failed to ensure this right for many poor children, including those with special needs,” the legislator for Mash West told SW Radio Africa Wednesday. She said ZANU PF should think of the children as the party’s officials loot and plunder national resources In the past, there have been concerns over the way BEAM is administered, with some reports suggesting that some eligible children were being sidelined. In response, DFID official Olympia Wereko-Brobby told this station in January that they had rigorous mechanisms in place to only ensure that only deserving children benefited. “DFID has an interest in making sure the most vulnerable benefit from the programme. Our implementing partners Crown agents undertakes verification visits jointly with the Government of Zimbabwe to around 500 schools every term to follow up on where our money goes. This includes a review of the selection process,” Wereko-Brobby said. At least $73 million is required to cover this school year, but Treasury allocated only $15 million. The country’s critical sectors are all severely under-funded as corruption and mismanagement continue to bleed the economy and starve Treasury of proceeds from the country’s vast mineral wealth. With the protracted economic crisis showing no signs of abating, hundreds of company have closed, rendering millions of Zimbabweans jobless and vulnerable. The threat of a humanitarian crisis has seen Western donors stepping forward with billions of dollars to deliver social services on behalf of the ZANU PF government. Last week, the US government announced a $100 million food relief programme to feed starving Zimbabweans over five years. Also last week, the European Union gave the Zimbabwe government over $4 million for small businesses. But even so, the hostile Mugabe administration won’t stop blaming its western funders for its self-inflicted ills.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Exiled victims of the Gukurahundi genocide have approached South African lawyers seeking help in their bid to compel the authorities there to investigate the 1980s massacres. Representatives from the Patriotic Alliance of Mthwakazi Union (PAMU) said 40 people gave evidence before human rights lawyers in Johannesburg last week. SW Radio Africa heard that some lawyers were moved to tears as the victims gave their testimonies. PAMU said more people will give testimonies in the next few weeks. Spokesman Cosmas Ncube told SW Radio Africa’s Cutting Edge programme that they want the South African government to investigate the episode which claimed lives of an estimated 20,000 people. Ncube said: ‘We will soon be approaching the authorities here with evidence and if they don’t act on it we will go to court.’ He added: ‘Gukurahundi is Mugabe’s worst crime since 1980 and he together with his goons must be tried.’ Ncube said it was ‘disappointing’ that Gukurahundi was not being given the prominence which he said it deserves. The Gukurahundi occurred in the mid 1980s and the victims were mainly supporters of Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU party. The North Korean trained Fifth Brigade, created outside the national army, led the atrocities under the pretext of flushing out dissidents in the Matabeleland and Midlands areas. Mugabe has since ‘regretted’ the episode which he said was ‘a moment of madness’ but he has never apologized. In 2010 Genocide Watch, a US-based human rights group, said the Guhurahundi was officially an act of genocide and the perpetrators must be brought before the International Criminal Court. Ncube said South African authorities must take advantage of this pronouncement and ‘move fast against the perpetrators before they die.’ PAMU is not the first group to try to get South Africa to take action against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. In 2008 the Southern African Litigation Center (SALC) and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) approached the South African government asking them to investigate cases of torture against MDC members. After the South African authorities failed to act, the human rights groups then approached the High Court which ruled that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the country’s police must investigate state terrorism in Zimbabwe. The NPA immediately appealed against the decision but in November last year the Supreme Court upheld the High Court decision. The Supreme Court said Pretoria had a duty to probe the allegations of human rights violations as required by the Rome Statute, which South Africa is a signatory to. The NPA has since appealed to the Constitutional Court as South Africa continues to resist taking any action against it’s neighbour. The Rome Statute is the founding law of the International Criminal Court.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The ZANU PF government is facing a major test over the fate of diamond sale profits, with millions of dollars being realised from recent sales. A second auction of diamonds from the controversial Chiadzwa alluvial fields that got underway this month in Antwerp, Belgium, saw almost a million carats of diamonds being sold for US$70 million. Six mining companies from the Marange mines contributed to the diamonds that were sold in Belgium over a 10 day period. In a statement ZANU PF Minister of Mines Walter Chidhakwa said US$10.5 million of this revenue goes to the Treasury from royalties. The auction follows the decision by the European Union (EU) to remove the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) from its list of targeted restrictive measures. This decision was made last year, soon after the disputed elections that saw ZANU PF resume power, and has received serious criticism for giving those polls credibility. The decision was followed shortly afterwards by an initial auction of Zim diamonds, which saw about US$10 million being earned. US$1.3 million of that sale was reportedly received by the Treasury. But there are no signs yet of where and how these diamond profits will be used. A lack of transparency is a key issue that civil society organisations have emphasised is preventing diamond sales from making a difference to the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans. Top ZANU PF officials have for years been the major beneficiaries of the murky nature of the Chiadzwa diamond fields, where millions of dollars in potential government revenue has been ‘lost’. Watchdog groups have estimated that as much as US$2 billion in diamond profits have gone ‘missing’ since 2008.The top mining firms in the area have also remitted little or nothing to the state coffers, despite the government being a major shareholder in the companies. Jeffrey Smith, the Africa advocacy officer at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, said diamonds could help turn Zimbabwe around, but there is a “lack of political will.”“It is a clear cut case of a tragic failure of leadership. There’s massive potential for the revenue from the diamond fields to do a lot of good. But a lack of transparency has compounded the massive corruption scandal that has already rocked the mining industry and speaks a lot of the wider corruption problem in Zimbabwe,” Smith told SW Radio Africa. Smith agreed that the ZANU PF government now faces a serious test over the fate of the diamond profits, especially now that the gems are being sold on the international market. He urged the government to embrace the World Bank’s principles on ‘best-practice’ in the extractive sector, which aims to improve transparency and accountability in natural resource governance.“The principles will allow the mining companies and the government to do a number of things, like disclose revenue, and also allow Zimbabweans to know how much the government is generating from the sector,” Smith said. Meanwhile, there continues to be condemnation of the European sales, with ongoing reports of abuses suffered by diamond panners at the Chiadzwa mines, and the poverty faced by Marange villages relocated as a result of the mining activities. A recent report by the Centre for Research and Development (CRD) details incidents of assaults, dog attacks and prolonged detentions by security officials working for the mining firms, against people accused of illegal diamond panning. 13 pages of the report details these attacks, which all happened over the last year, with accompanying pictures showing the extent of the injuries people have sustained.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) wants Europe to lift all targeted sanctions against the ZANU PF regime. The group says the restrictive measures have isolated Zimbabwe and lifting them will enable the country to fully its international human rights duties. “The total lifting of measures will enable both parties to engage on the developmental challenges in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe will not be able to fully implement her international human rights obligations while isolated from that same community,” NANGO said in a statement. NANGO executive officer Cephas Zinhumwe said the call was based on a survey they did last year which concluded that the restrictive measures had achieved little. “So we met the EU ambassadors here and during the discussions we considered who the real beneficiaries from these sanctions were,” Zinhumwe said.“Many people and political parties are hiding behind these sanctions. When the weather is too hot, someone will say it’s because of the measures so we felt it was time for dialogue between the ZANU PF government and the EU.” Zinhumwe said NANGO is fully aware that the restrictive measures were a consequence of the Zim government’s unwillingness to stem human rights abuses. However he said the suspension of the restrictions on all but two ZANU PF individuals – Mugabe and his wife – demonstrated the EU’s willingness to engage in dialogue.“The common person on the street has been asking for dialogue between the two groups and that is what NANGO is encouraging,” he added. Zinhumwe said NANGO’s call for the total lifting of the measures was not a show of solidarity with ZANU PF or anyone on the EU list.“We are older than all these political parties including ZANU PF and our position is based on our analyses. We are not influenced by anyone except the ordinary person on the street,” he added. In its statement, NANGO said the targeted measures made it difficult for ordinary Zimbabweans to conduct international transactions since some of the financial intermediaries were on the list of measures, having a multiplier effect on depositors and their business partners. Dewa Mavhinga, senior researcher with the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch, said Zimbabwean groups should be focusing on pertinent issues of how to deal decisively with corruption, “rather than the sterile debate about non-existent sanctions”.“As Human Rights Watch we do not believe that there is any basis at the moment for a shift in the EU position on the measures with regards to a fundamental improvement in the human rights environment in Zimbabwe.” The measures consist of an arms embargo as well as a travel and financial ban against President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace. In 2002, the EU applied the restrictive measures on 192 ZANU PF officials and 87 entities linked to the regime in response to human rights abuses. Mavhinga said it was impossible to see how restrictions targeting two individuals affected the generality of Zimbabweans. He said those lobbying for the lifting of restrictive measures, on the basis that Zimbabweans were failing to carry out financial transactions internationally, were missing the point. “People must distinguish between the EU targeted measures and the suspension of Zim by global lenders following its failure to meet its obligations and service its debts.“It will be politicking of the highest order to insist that the EU targeted measures have an impact on ordinary Zimbabweans. What has affected them is the endemic, cancerous corruption and the failure by government to provide citizens with clean water to drink, electricity as well as medicines,” the human rights campaigner said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Charges brought against the chairperson of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), for allegedly running an ‘unregistered’ organization, were dropped by a Harare magistrate on Wednesday.

Martha Tholanah was dragged to court by the state after charging her with running an ‘unregistered’ organisation in contravention of section 6 of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act.

But the magistrate ruled that GALZ is not obliged to register under the PVO Act after the High court late last year exempted the organization from registering.

The magistrate said the order from the High Court was still binding and he had no authority to tamper with a ruling from a higher court.

GALZ members have routinely been harassed by police and ahead of this case police had searched their offices and seized computers and fliers. The magistrate also ordered that these be returned to the organization.

GALZ was formed in 1989 to provide gay men and lesbians in Zimbabwe with a network to facilitate communication within the gay community.

Its objective is to increase awareness of gay rights and integrate these rights with other basic human rights.

With a President who says homosexuals are ‘worse than pigs and dogs’ this is an uphill task.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Residents in Bulawayo are complaining that unscheduled and prolonged power outages have disturbed their routine life. On Wednesday some areas of the city had no power for close to eleven hours, leaving residents and business owners and customers frustrated about the situation.

Lorraine Ncube, who runs a business from her home, said she has had her refrigerators and other appliances damaged by the blackouts. She said the long hours of power outages have taken a heavy toll on the residents, along with the added misery of water shortage, as some water pumps need electricity to work.

In the last week there was no power to most areas of the city for more than 10 hours a day, triggering anger among citizens who are fed up with the indifferent attitude of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).

The power utility company reported that its Hwange power station had stopped production following a fault to the power grid. The thermal station generates 500-600 megawatts of electricity each day, which represents just under half of the country’s total output. The country generates about 1,200 megawatts of electricity per day against a demand of 2,200 megawatts.

Meanwhile in Harare, a health crisis is looming amid reports several areas have been without running water for over two weeks. In some parts of Budiriro they last had water supplies in December last year.

On Thursday there were reports that the hardest hit areas included parts of Eastlea, Houghton Park, Waterfalls, Mbare, Kuwadzana, Dzivarasekwa, Mabvuku, Tafara, Ruwa, Chitungwiza and Norton.

A resident in Chitungwiza told us the water shortages were now part of their daily lives because the problem has been there for years and nothing has been done to fix it.

The water crisis in the capital comes at a time when the Harare city council is facing allegations of looting part of the $144 million loan advanced by China Eximbank, meant for refurbishing the city’s water and sanitation reticulation system.

‘I live in Mandara and we last got water months ago but we still pay monthly bills for water that we never get. I think the council needs to explain this because we know there is money that was given to them to fix the problem by the Chinese,’ a resident in Harare said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s police have been accused of deliberately targeting ‘innocent’ MDC-T activists with arrest, in the ongoing row involving party official Elton Mangoma. Mangoma, the MDC-T deputy treasurer general, has been bearing the brunt of anger from supporters of party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, after calling on the former Prime Minister to step aside. Last month Mangoma confronted Tsvangirai, detailing in a letter why the party President should step down. The aftermath of that letter has seen Tsvangirai supporters lashing out at Mangoma and, almost two weeks week ago, the official suffered a bloodied nose and bruises during an attack by party youths who were gathered at Harvest House. Over the weekend James Chidhakwa, the MDC-T Youth Assembly secretary for security and defence, was picked up by the police on allegations of assaulting Mangoma. He appeared in court on Monday and was denied bail. He will remain in custody until March 10th, his next court date. On Monday Harare central MP Murisi Zwizwai, and Dennis Murira, an aide to Tsvangirai, were also interrogated for hours by police before they were released without charge. Another four MDC-T activists, Francis Machimbidzofa, Enock Mukudu, Stefani Jahwi and Samson Nerwande, were then detained on Tuesday in connection with the attack. The four voluntarily went to the police after the authorities handed over a list of names of potential suspects they wanted to interrogate. But according to MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora, the arrested group is being targeted by the police, solely for their party affiliation. “Information from the police was that these people had been implicated by Honourable Mangoma as being the people who assaulted him. We insisted on seeing the statement written by Mangoma and he does not implicate them,” Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa. He added: “So the police are just picking (up) well known activists of the MDC-T because they have found an excuse. We are very worried that they are not really concerned about achieving justice or finding the real culprits.” The four activists were meant to appear in court Thursday for their bail hearing, but the prison authorities claimed they did not have the fuel to bring the four to court. The bail application is now set to be heard on Friday. Meanwhile, Mwonzora said he was “worried” about another letter that has reportedly been sent to Tsvangirai by Mangoma. The ‘confidential’ letter has been sent to the NewsDay newspaper, and according to the paper the letter again calls on Tsvangirai to step down. Mwonzora said it is “a cause of worry to us.” Calls for Tsvangirai to step down have been increasing, along with calls for the MDC-T to hold an early, democratic congress, to decide the fate of the party leadership. The latest calls came Thursday from the MDC Students Council, which said in a statement: “This is not to say we are undermining our incumbent president or we doubt his capacity, but it is just to say he played his role with utmost faith, it’s now time to rest. It is part of our resolution that the constitution be amended to create the office of founding president and to be occupied by Morgan Tsvangirai so as to continue guiding the party with wisdom. After that is done then the party must go on to hold an elective congress as soon as possible, if resources are to allow so as to give the membership a chance to re-elect a leadership of their own choice , because there is an urgent need for the leadership at every level to seek a fresh mandate from the membership.”

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

An estimated $50m worth of gold is smuggled out of Zimbabwe every month and the country is losing more through secret financial deals, tax evasion and other illegal activities, an official at Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) has said. A Radio Dialogue report said TIZ programme coordinator Sibonokuhle Ndhlovu-Ncube further revealed that an estimated $1.7m worth of gold is being smuggled out of Penhalonga alone every year. Speaking at a workshop on debt in Bulawayo this week Ncube said according to the Global Financial Integrity Report Zimbabwe has lost $12 billion in the last three decades. Ncube said tax evasion and money laundering were the most common financial crimes. Tax evasion is when individuals or organizations illegally avoid paying tax while money laundering is when proceeds of crime are transformed into legitimate money or assets. Ncube mentioned allegations of tax evasion by companies involved in the mining of gold, nickel and palladium rhodium, as well as reports of wildlife trafficking to Asia. She said these and other illegal activities were directly responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic decline. Ncube said there were laws in the country to deal with these crimes and urged financial institutions to enforce them. TIZ Chairman Loughty Dube told SW Radio Africa that the situation in the gold mining sector was ‘reflective of the state of the entire extractive industry.’ He said there were no effective mechanisms of accounting for anything mined in the country. He said: ‘As long as there are no proper and effective systems put in place to oversee the whole process from extraction to exporting, corrupt individuals and organizations will exploit the loop hole.’ Dube urged Zimbabwe to emulate Botswana, which he said has proper accounting and monitoring mechanisms governing the mining sector. Dube said if the mining industry was run transparently and efficiently Zimbabwe would not have problems with paying civil servants and financing essential sectors such as health and education. These comments come at a time when the government is struggling to pay civil servants and is failing to finance public services due to corruption and mismanagement.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Commissioners at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) have ironically been accused of being corrupt themselves, after it was revealed that their term of office expired in August last year but they were still receiving salaries and spending a fortune hiring government cars. According to the state-run Herald newspaper, only one of the nine commissioners, Chairperson Denford Chirindo, is still legally employed by the anti-graft body after their statutory two-year term expired on August 31st. This means commissioners have done no work for nearly six months, while collecting salaries. The Herald said almost $457,000 was owed to the CMED for vehicles hired by commissioners as of mid-December, 2013. The Salary Services Bureau (SSB) had actually stopped paying the commissioners when their term of office ended. But they were directed to continue payments by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Melusi Matshiya, who reportedly insisted the commissioners’ term had been extended. The Herald said Matshiya has even ignored letters from Chairperson Denford Chirindo, pleading with him to urgently make the legalities of the situation clear, to be careful not to waste public funds and “avoid financial misconduct as defined by the Public Finance Management Act”. Matshiya was also warned by Chirindo in writing about the growing bill for hired vehicles. In a letter dated 13th December 2013, Chirindo advised the Home Affairs secretary that the CMED had threatened to cut off hire services for commissioners unless bills were paid. “Please note that this happened at a time the commission had no fuel for operations or for staff to move from point A to point B and staff were working half a day because the commission had no money to purchase a borehole pump and commission toilets were dysfunctional,” Chirindo wrote. Casper Takura, former councillor for Mabvuku/Tafara, described the development as “ridiculous”, saying it is unfortunate that those who are supposed to monitor corruption are engaging in the same acts with impunity.“So the question becomes who is now going to police the police, especially when the police are engaging in bad behaviour. This greed has engulfed the whole country and it is a shame because it involves those at the top who should be monitoring what is happening,” Takura told SW Radio Africa. The former Councillor pointed to the recent exposure of exorbitant salaries that were being paid to senior staff at the Harare City Council, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Services (ZBC), the Premier Medical Aid Society (PMAS) and other parastatals that are in debt. “The major problem is that of accountability. There is no-one holding these people to account and only when the people demand that they account for their actions will this come to an end.”

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Diamond mining firms in the Marange region have turned to the government for help, with the alluvial deposits that caused a diamond rush in 2008 beginning to dry up. According to the Financial Gazette, the companies are “haemorrhaging owing to the decline in output,” and have asked the ZANU PF administration to “urgently consider making available additional claims to keep them viable.” The viability of the Chiadzwa diamond fields has been increasingly in doubt, with the alluvial deposits beginning to yield less and less in the way of profitable diamonds. The situation resulted last year in some firms retrenching workers, citing ‘viability’ challenges. A Bloomberg news report in November quoted an official from the Chinese run Anjin firm, which announced that 190 workers (almost a quarter of its workforce) were being dismissed. Director Munyaradzi Machacha was quoted as saying that a fall in diamond prices was the main reason, along with a move from alluvial to underground mining. That news followed the decision by another Chinese run firm in Marange, Jinan Mining, which retrenched over 30 contract workers. The seven firms in Marange have repeatedly warned that alluvial deposits are running low, and that extracting more diamonds would mean switching to the more expensive and more technical, hard-rock mining techniques. Their latest SOS to the government is the most recent sign of the problems there. Meanwhile Deputy President Joice Mujuru has said she is “concerned” by the lack of revenue being generated by the diamond sector, an issue that has clouded the sector since 2008. Billions of dollars are thought to have gone ‘missing’ as a result of illicit sales, smuggling and corruption. Observers have greeted Mujuru’s ‘concerns’ with scepticism. The very wealthy Mujuru family has been implicated several times in shady deals involving natural resources in Zimbabwe and other countries. Mujuru’s late husband Solomon, for example, was named in a damning report as being a key beneficiary of the corruption at Chiadzwa. SW Radio Africa also revealed how Mujuru’s daughter, Nyasha Del Campo, tried to set up a deal on behalf of her parents involving illegal gold from the DRC. She and her husband Pedro live in the Spanish capital Madrid and set up two companies there, allegedly with the help and financial support of the parents. The deal involved shipping about US$35 million worth of gold nuggets per month to Switzerland.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

In what could be yet another act of mere witch hunting and not a genuine fight against corruption, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is investigating ZBC bosses’ salaries to ascertain whether they paid their taxes in full. The move follows revelations that top management at the state broadcaster were earning ‘corrupt salaries’ with the CEO Happison Muchechetere earning as much as $40,000 a month. Muchechetere and other senior managers are now on forced leave, but Information Minister Jonathan Moyo sacked the entire ZBC board. The Daily News reported this week that Zimra, which is the national tax collecting body, sent a letter to ZBC demanding pay slips, employment contracts and payment schedules of its senior managers. According to the letter Zimra is demanding the payment schedules for the period February 2009 and December 2013. Although generally accepted as a positive step in the fight against corruption, the move against Muchechetere and his colleagues is also seen as part of ZANU PF political infighting. Observers have queried why other culprits in corporate corruption, such as Presidential spokesperson George Charamba and former information minister Webster Shamu remain, untouched. Charamba received as much as $100,000 for sitting on the Premier Medical Services Medical Aid Society Board in 2013 while Shamu, as information minister, was Muchechetere’s boss during the time he was earning a ‘corrupt salary.’ Charamba and Moyo are said to belong to a faction led by Emmerson Mnangagwa which is in competition with the one led by vice President Joice Mujuru in the succession battle. The two are believed to be behind the state media’s reports on corporate corruption with the aim of tarnishing members of the Mujuru faction.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The European Union (EU) has this week been further criticised for its decision to ease targeted restrictions against key members of the Robert Mugabe regime, with the bloc being slammed for ‘forsaking’ Zimbabweans. The EU earlier this month suspended its targeted measures against eight ZANU PF officials, but kept the restrictions on Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace. Among those targeted were army generals and senior intelligence officers, including the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and Zimbabwe’s Intelligence Chief and Chief of Police. The European bloc had previously said the restrictions would not be removed until there was real democratic change as a result of a free and fair election in Zimbabwe. But its latest move has come in the absence of this and the EU has since faced criticism for condoning not only the disputed elections last July, but also the culture of impunity, corruption and other issues that highlight ZANU PF’s brand of political control. Zimbabwean economist and commentator Vince Musewe said Friday that it was for this reason that he wrote a letter of protest to the EU this week. “The reasons why the sanctions were put into place was because there was no democracy, and the whole idea of the measures was to reform the system in Zimbabwe and move towards democracy. That hasn’t happened and now we see the EU coming to ease the sanctions, and for me there is no logic behind this,” Musewe told SW Radio Africa. Musewe wrote in his letter to the EU: “Your recent actions to effectively support and inadvertently strengthen those whom have caused much pain to millions of us and have forsaken the ideals of the liberation struggle. I pray that Zimbabwe will rise notwithstanding.” He said Friday that the EU’s decision was motivated by the commercial and economic interests that some EU members have in Zimbabwe, such as Belgium. Belgium, the diamond capital of Europe, spearheaded the initiative to remove restrictions against ZANU PF’s mining parastatal, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) last year. That has directly resulted in Zimbabwe’s controversial diamonds being sold in Belgium’s diamond hub, Antwerp. Musewe said these “vested interests” mean the targeted measures have been removed for the wrong reasons.“This will just allow army people and those others to travel to Europe. It won’t do the country any good. It is more about them (the EU) than about us,” Musewe said. He said that ZANU PF’s “emotional chorus” that the measures ‘hurt’ Zimbabwe have been part of the party’s propaganda campaign, with the party using the so-called ‘sanctions’ as the scapegoat for all the country’s problems.“ZANU PF is scared to accept the reality that they have failed, so they need to find scapegoats for everything. Even if you remove them (the targeted sanctions), they will find more excuses,” Musewe said. He continued that the EU, rather than removing the restrictions, should have stood by its own commitments to democracy and maintained the measures until there was real change in Zimbabwe. He then called on the European bloc, along with other international bodies and governments, to support democratic forces in the country, until such change is achieved. “The international community needs to be steadfast and needs to support the democratic movement in Zimbabwe. They need to do so until we see change,” Musewe said. Meanwhile an EU delegation in Zimbabwe earlier this month said the bloc’s move was taken as a step towards the ‘normalisation’ of relations with Zimbabwe. They insisted the targeted measures had not been removed, but had been suspended, meaning they could be re-imposed at any time.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Gweru City Council, which is owed more than $7m in rates and unpaid water bills, has embarked on an extensive water disconnection exercise across the city, sparking an outcry from the residents. Reports this week said assistant Town Clerk Tapiwa Marerwa confirmed the move which he said was meant to force the residents to clear their debts. According to a Monday Chronicle report Marerwa also confirmed the amount owed and added that the council had been ‘patient enough’ with the defaulting residents. Marerwa was quoted saying there was ‘now a trend among residents’ of not paying their charges, since the government directive to write off their bills last year. However Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association Chairperson, Cornelia Selipiwe, said people were not paying their charges because of ‘genuine poverty.’ Selipiwe told SW Radio Africa that Gweru’s industrial base has ‘totally collapsed’ over the years rendering thousands of people jobless and therefore unable to finance their living costs. He added: ‘The situation is so bad it is beyond your imagination. Nobody is deliberately defaulting on their payments. People are genuinely poor and the councillors know it.’ Selipiwe said his organization has called for an ‘ideas meeting’ with the local authority and business community to map the way forward. Selipiwe said they have also written a letter to the council proposing a ‘new, creative and sympathetic way of collecting revenue.’ According to the report Marerwa further said those who had their water supplies disconnected will have to pay a reconnection fee of $23 while those who illegally turn their taps on will be ‘fined heavily.’ However residents said the ‘harsh move’ stood to exacerbate the situation because many were now using water from unprotected sources where they could contract waterborne diseases. The Gweru council is not the first to bear the consequences of the government’s directive to write off the residents’ debts. SW Radio Africa reported last year how residents in Gwanda had resorted to not paying their bills, in what the council said was an effect of the government order. Around the same time the Bulawayo City Council also said the arbitrary order had carved a hole in its coffers leaving the local authority struggling to finance its core activities. According to the report Marerwa said the Gweru council is experiencing similar problems.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Long serving clerk of Parliament, Austin Zvoma is reportedly frustrating attempts by parliamentarians from both sides of the House from debating the ‘salarygate’ scandal, amid allegations he may be earning an obscene salary himself. MPs who spoke to SW Radio Africa on Friday are enraged that a motion debated on Thursday, on the high compensation for senior management at parastatals, was watered down by Zvoma. During the debate it was also disclosed by the MDC-T MP for Mbizo in KweKwe, Settlement Chikwinya, that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) commissioner-general Gershem Pasi earns $310,000 per month. Chikwinya said that several issues that were to be debated on the salarygate scandal were deleted by Zvoma, who has a final say on motions to be discussed in Parliament. One of the major issues removed from the order paper was a request that all parastatals present their salary schedules to Parliament by 30th March. The legislators also wanted Zvoma to present a salary structure of Parliament’s administrators, by the end of May. But these requests were omitted from Thursday’s order paper, igniting suspicions that he was trying to hide something.‘For all we know, Zvoma may be earning the same salary as the parastatal bosses. Whenever there is debate on the salarygate since it broke late last year, there seems to be suppression of debate or lack of will to provide evidence as requested by MP’s,’ another legislator said. The MPs suspicions about Zvoma stem from the fact that whenever a portfolio committee from Parliament travels outside Zimbabwe, the clerk always accompanies that group, travelling in first class, while MPs use the economy seats. When it comes to accommodation, Zvoma always uses executive suites and legislators standard rooms. This has not gone unnoticed and the MPs now want a probe into the finances of Parliament’s administration.‘Zvoma is just an appointed executive member of the House of Assembly and we are elected members of the House and he gets special treatment compared to us. It means something is terribly wrong with the system and this needs to be investigated as a matter of urgency,’ an MDC-T MP added. Meanwhile, MPs have demanded to know how Communication Technology Minister Webster Shamu acquired a top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruiser VX8 vehicle from suspended Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation boss Happison Muchechetere. The vehicle, meant for the ZBC and facilitated through a loan that provided funds for an outside broadcast van from China, ended up in the hands of Shamu. During his tenure as Information Minister Shamu, a close colleague of Muchechetere from their liberation war days, was in charge of the ZBC. It is believed several ministers benefitted, especially in procurement where they either received kickbacks or connived with CEOs to give them vehicles and buy them houses. Charlton Hwende, a businessman and MDC-T politician, said it has never been ZANU PF’s intention to stop or prosecute corrupt officials because the party itself is enmeshed in a web of corruption.‘With the amount of corruption that has so far been exposed, you wonder why nobody has been questioned let alone arrested for graft. It tells you they are not interested to probe further because it will expose the whole system, which is controlled by ZANU PF,’ Hwende said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

South African President Jacob Zuma will be one of several regional leaders attending Bona Mugabe’s wedding on Saturday, his office has confirmed. International relations spokesman Clayson Monyela said the SA leader will pay Zimbabwe a ‘working visit’ Saturday, and added that Zuma will attend President Robert Mugabe’s daughter’s wedding while in the country.“South Africa and Zimbabwe share common historical and geographical bonds as demonstrated by the strong economic co-operation between the two countries,” Monyela said in a statement on Friday. The wedding is expected to last 18 hours, and it remains to be seen how Zuma will divide his visit between work and play. President Robert Mugabe’s office has tasked the state-owned Central Mechanical Equipment Department to hire hundreds of luxury vehicles for use by dignitaries invited to his daughter’s wedding. The 24-year-old First Daughter is marrying pilot Simba Chikore in Harare, in what is expected to be one of the grandest affairs in recent times. The glitzy tone for Saturday’s nuptials was underlined Wednesday when the groom-to-be Chikore rolled up for his bachelor’s party in a state-of-the-art Rolls Royce, with a number plate reading VVIP. The party was held at the five-star Rainbow Towers Hotel, all courtesy of ZANU PF Cabinet ministers who were also in attendance. Although the guest list remains a top secret, media reports estimate that 5,000 people have been invited, with several foreign dignitaries also expected to attend. The venue has not been revealed but speculation is rife that the wedding will take place at Mugabe’s Borrowdale Brooke home. A Friday NewsDay report said guests started arriving Thursday on coaches hired from national passenger firm ZUPCO, which were dropping them off at a school located not far from the Mugabes. Shuttle buses will carry guests from Heritage Primary School to the plush residence, according to the Daily News. Presidential spokesman George Charamba refused to say who exactly is footing the bill when asked by the NewsDay, raising fears that this will be passed on to taxpayers. Harare residents are already unhappy after the government ordered the local authority to spend $1 million repairing the road leading to the Mugabe residence. Social commentator Ellen Shiriyedenga said while Bona’s wedding is a happy occasion for her family it is also a private event which shouldn’t strain the public purse.“Mugabe and his government should learn to tell the difference between party, government and private activities,” Shiriyedenga said.“I think as Zimbabweans we should also begin to demand to know the source of the funds, and whether he is paying the parastatals whose services he is using.“South Africans took their President Jacob Zuma to task over his opulent Nkandla home when they suspected that public funds were being abused, and that is what we should also be doing.” Bulawayo-based political commentator Dumisani Nkomo said it will be unfortunate for ZANU PF to use public resources to fund a private wedding, particularly at this time when Zimbabwe is on the brink of collapse. “But the problem is that it is hard to prove whether these are public or private funds. That is why we need a declaration of assets from public officials as intimated in the new constitution.“Without that it is difficult to pin these officials down to anything because they will always argue that they have their own private investments,” Nkomo said. Popular Congolese rhumba musician Koffi Olomide is set to be the star performer at the wedding. The controversial singer is wanted in France, where he faces rape charges and two years ago Olomide was found guilty of assaulting his producer. A staunch Joseph Kabila supporter, Olomide has already spoken of his admiration for Mugabe whom he calls ‘a true patriot’.“By asking someone with such a track record, one wonders what message the President and his wife are giving to their daughter. Perhaps that it is OK to abuse one’s position, abuse women and use violence? Olomide seems to fit right in the ZANU PF fold in this regard,” Ellen Shiriyedenga said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

There has been an outbreak of typhoid in the twin suburbs of Mabvuku and Tafara with nine cases confirmed so far, a leading pressure group in the capital city has said. The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) said the outbreak was confirmed to community leaders by officials at Mabvuku Polyclinic who admitted that they had treated typhoid patients. According to a CHRA statement, officials at the clinic said they suspected that more people could be infected. The pressure group said the community leaders made an enquiry at the clinic after noting an increase in diarrheal related disease. CHRA attributed the outbreak to lack of running water a problem which the pressure group said has persisted for four months. According to the pressure group residents have resorted to drinking water from unprotected wells. Moses Midzi confirmed to SW Radio Africa that he was treated for typhoid two weeks ago. He also confirmed that residents in Mabuku and Tafara are drinking untreated water because the boreholes have also broken down. Midzi who is unemployed said he had to sell his mobile phone to raise the $5 needed to pay for his treatment. He said he was due for a further checkup this Tuesday. In 2008 cholera and typhoid claimed about 4000 lives countrywide with Mabvuku and Tafara amongst the most affected areas in Harare. Both suburbs have experienced water shortages for years. CHRA spokesperson Simbarashe Moyo blasted the Harare City Council for ‘keeping a lid’ on the outbreak of typhoid. Moyo told SW Radio Africa that Town House was keen to keep the crisis unreported because it stood to ‘cast light on their corruption and dishonesty.’ He said: ‘The council knows that if it opens up on the issue it will be up for criticism. Last year the council promised to rectify the problem of water shortages but they have not done anything so far and hence this crisis.’ These developments follow reports that Town House officials may have swindled part of the $144 million loan meant for the rehabilitation of water and drainage systems. Reports said officials may have looted more than $100 million through inflating equipment prices for the loan obtained from China. Town House entered into a loan agreement with the Export and Import Bank of China for the refurbishment of water treatment and sewage plants. SW Radio Africa also reported in January how the council had fleeced medical aid subscriptions amounting to $6 million. The report said the council had gone for two years without remitting subscriptions to the Harare Municipality Medical Aid Society. As a result some of the workers were now being forced to pay cash upfront for treatment despite the fact that the council was deducting subscriptions from their salaries. Around the same time it was reported that top managers at Town House were earning mega-salaries with a single director taking home a salary that could pay as many as 227 low-earning council workers.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The bodies of at least 22 Zimbabweans who perished in a disused gold mine in Roodeport, South Africa, last week will start arriving in the country this week. A funeral parlour in Bulawayo is expected to receive the bodies from Wednesday while a mass prayer has been planned for the bereaved families. The 22 Zimbabweans were among dozens of illegal miners from across the region, among them Mozambicans, Malawians, Sothos from Lesotho, and South Africans. Although the cause of death has not been officially announced as post-mortem examinations are ongoing, indications point to carbon monoxide poisoning. A source close to the tragedy told SW Radio Africa that the physical symptoms on the deceased suggest that they could have died from inhaling the fatal gas. The South African authorities have refused to rescue the trapped miners or to retrieve the bodies citing safety concerns. Relatives and fellow illegal miners have been retrieving the bodies, with reports suggesting that at least 40 others are still trapped underground. The rescuers are said to be walking a distance of at least 15kilometres underground to retrieve the bodies. “Most of those involved in the operation are people from the Midlands areas of Kana Mission in Gokwe and Nkayi,” a source told this station Monday, preferring not to be named. One Gokwe family lost 7 members in the disaster, a situation that relatives were struggling to come to terms with, the State-run Chronicle newspaper said Monday. Themba Ncube, from Kana Mission, also in Gokwe, told the newspaper that two of the dead miners were from his family. “One of the people who died is my brother, Danisa and I am failing to come to terms with the tragedy. The second person is my nephew and as a family we are mourning two people,” Ncube is quoted as saying. The Zimbabwean government is said to be assisting with documentation to facilitate the repatriations, as most of the deceased were in South Africa illegally. A statement from the Zim government on Saturday saluted those who made efforts to rescue their trapped compatriots and to retrieve the bodies, but did not indicate whether there will be any practical help from the State. “Our government has not offered any other help so far beyond its clerical duty of providing documentation for the deceased bodies to be repatriated to Zimbabwe,” said SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme who spoke to some of the bereaved.“This government has failed not only the 22 Zimbabweans who have died but the four million others who are enduring various hardships and dicing with death on a daily basis in that country.“Given the magnitude of this tragedy the government should declare this a national disaster. If they declared the flooding at Tokwe-Mukosi which didn’t claim any lives what’s stopping them from doing so in this case?” Saungweme questioned. A Johannesburg-based Zim writer told SW Radio Africa that fellow Zimbabweans were contributing towards the repatriation expenses. Several individuals and groups are said to be coordinating the efforts to send the bodies home for burial. Two weeks ago two Zimbabweans died in another disused South African gold mine in Benoni, following clashes with a rival group who trapped them inside.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Poaching in Gonarezhou national park is threatening the existence of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a joint initiative between Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The park, created through an agreement signed in 2002 by the heads of State of the three countries, joins three national parks, South Africa’s Kruger National Park, Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou and Mozambique’s Limpopo national parks. This created the world’s largest protected open space, abundant in wildlife. Reports suggest it is home to more than 500 bird species, 147 mammal species, 116 reptile species, 34 frog species and 49 fish species. The Transfrontier Park, measuring 350, 000 km2 has since 2005 been facing problems of poaching, on the Zimbabwean side. Parts of Gonarezhou national park are also occupied by victims of Operation Murambatsvina, a clean out campaign that saw over 700,000 Zimbabweans lose their homes and livelihoods in the demolishing of houses. When the government failed to find land to relocate most of the victims, some ended up camping inside the Gonarezhou Park, and have lived there for the last nine years, against the rules of the Transfrontier agreement. Johnny Rodrigues, the director of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force told SW Radio Africa that poaching, on a massive scale, was taking place in Gonarezhou as the land invaders make a living through illegal hunting of animals. “Part of the deal signed by the three governments prohibits people living in the area designated for the Transfrontier Park. So the problem for Zimbabwe has dragged on for close to ten years now and I guess the delay to move the people is raising eyebrows in Mozambique and South Africa,” Rodrigues said. Meanwhile the seizure of Mazoe citrus estate, the prime land asset of Interfresh Holdings, by President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, has blocked external lines of credit to the firm. It has emerged that traditional financiers, including Industrial Development Corporation South Africa (IDCSA), now fear their investments are at risk as the company struggles for survival. The weekly Zimbabwe Independent paper reported that Grace’s land grabs left Interfresh on the brink of collapse, while investors are scurrying for cover fearing their money will sink in an increasingly unviable enterprise being destroyed by the unceasing land confiscations. Before Grace’s invaded part of the land, Interfresh had total land holdings of 3 800 hectares. The President’s wife took 870 hectares, leaving Interfresh with 2, 930.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

As Zimbabweans continue to discuss the lavish wedding of Bona Mugabe over the weekend, it has emerged that the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) raised questions about her new husband. Not much is known about 37 year old Simba Chikore, except that his mother is known as a “reverend” in a church group called the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa. It was also, until recently, claimed that he was a pilot. But speculation has been rife since media reports were released that discredited the claims of his pilot status. Other reports also quoted a CIO official as branding Robert Mugabe’s new son-in-law as ‘unsuitable’ for the First Daughter. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Chikore does not work for either Emirates or Qatar Airways as widely reported. The paper stated that people in the aviation industry in Southern Africa have never heard of him. Another report, this time by NewZimbabwe.com, quoted a junior CIO officer as saying that Chikore was a ‘playboy’ ill-suited to be Bona’s husband. The officer reportedly said Grace Mugabe’s “determination for the marriage to go ahead and her disdain for the country’s spy agency had prevented proper vetting of the First Son-in-Law.” The unnamed CIO official was quoted as saying: “He (Chikore) is a workout addict and also much into bike riding. He is known for womanising from his high school days and recently involved in a spate of affairs which were glossed over by the (CIO) team that prepared the final report. This man was deemed too old for the first daughter and too tainted to be involved with her.” The multi-million dollar ceremony lasted 18 hours and saw 4, 000 quests flying in from across Africa, including high level dignitaries and other friends of the Mugabe regime. This included Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Michael Sata of Zambia and Joseph Kabila of the DRC, whose daughter was allegedly Bona’s maid of honour. Kabila and Nguema’s links to the Mugabe regime are already well known, and both leaders financially supported ZANU PF’s election campaign last year. Also displaying his allegiance to the Mugabes was Arthur Mutambara, the former Deputy Prime Minister long accused of being a ZANU PF crony. He attended along with ZANU PF officials like Joice Mujuru. MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was not invited. The presence meanwhile of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has riled many observers, after Zuma snubbed a memorial service being held to honour the late Nelson Mandela in London claiming to be too busy. He did however find time to be a guest at the Mugabe wedding. Political commentator Clifford Mashiri said Zuma’s presence confirmed fears that he was not the neutral mediator Zimbabwe’s political crisis needed, during the tenure of the unity government.“This confirms our fears that we had while he was mediating that he was not objective and that he was pro ZANU PF,” Mashiri told SW Radio Africa. Mashiri went on to criticise the lack of indigenous business used for the wedding, with organisers from South Africa and caterers from Singapore called in for the event. Mugabe and his ZANU PF party have used ‘indigenisation’ as its main economic recovery theme, but Mashiri said the wedding has proven Mugabe to be a “hypocrite.”“It is sad and says everything about the rhetoric of indigenisation. It is not about empowerment, but about ownership of shares by select people. Clearly Mugabe doesn’t trust Zimbabweans,” Mashiri said.