SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Civil servants’ will finally get their much awaited salary increments this April, a senior government official has promised.

Finance ministry permanent secretary Willard Manungo told the Parliamentary committee on finance that the government is working hard to fulfill its pledge to increase the civil servants salaries.

According to a deal struck with the government in January, civil servants agreed to a $54 salary rise which will see the lowest paid person getting around $375 a month. Manungo told Parliament that the April salaries will be backdated to January. It is estimated that government will need about $50 million dollars to fulfill its pledge to civil servants.

But economic analysts said they see the government struggling to make good on its promises, especially as Manungo himself revealed that revenue targets set in the 2014 National Budget have not been met. He said revenue collected in the last three months is lower than envisaged and the treasury is running six percent below target.

Economist and finance committee member Eddie Cross, said despite Manungo’s ‘firm undertaking’ that government will be able to fulfill its promise he made no indication as to how that would be achieved.

Cross said: ‘The ministry of finance is in a very difficult situation. Not only has revenue declined but capital also continues to flee the country and the situation is serious. That’s why Manungo was vague and evasive and I didn’t blame him for that. He had to do his job and as a civil servant he cannot contradict government.’

The government has repeatedly promised to increase salaries but has so far failed to do this due to lack of funds. SW Radio Africa reported in February that finance and public service ministers Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche admitted to civil servants leaders that government was broke.

Ahead of the July 31st election President Mugabe and his ZANU PF party publicly promised to improve the salaries of civil servants once elected back into power. But since then the economy has been in serious decline, indicating a complete lack of trust in the government. This has also not been helped by the many reports that some senior executives in parastatals, including Mugabe’s aides, are looting public institutions. Some individual executives have been shown to be earning a monthly salary that could pay over 1,000 lower paid civil servants.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s belated efforts to visit the Tokwe-Mukosi flood victims show how strategically exposed he is, a political analyst has said.

On Friday Tsvangirai’s spin doctor Luke Tamborinyoka said the ex-Prime Minister had wanted to travel to Chingwizi, where the displaced villagers are camped, to donate clothing and foodstuffs.

However Provincial Affairs Minister Kudakwashe Bhasikiti reportedly foiled Tsvangirai’s trip, and told him to leave his gifts at government offices in Masvingo.

Tsvangirai subsequently abandoned the trip, which would have come three months after floods at the Tokwe-Mukosi river basin left thousands of families homeless.

Prominent political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said the MDC-T leader should have been one of the first people to visit the flood victims and this would have given Tsvangirai a chance to expose the government’s slow response to the disaster.

Ngwenya said while it is to be expected that ZANU PF will seek to gain political mileage, even from disasters, Tsvangirai also failed to rise to the occasion when he had the opportunity.

The outspoken political analyst said Tsvangirai should not have treated his alleged refusal to visit Chingwizi camp as the be-all and end-all of assisting the needy.

“Tsvangirai knows that in Tsholotsho in Mat South, where his party won, there are other flood victims who are also in need. Why not go there if barred in Masvingo?”

Ngwenya said if the trips are about political mileage, either way Tsvangirai’s profile would have benefited from a confrontation with ZANU PF.

“From the start both Tsvangirai and his team failed to play any role as the disaster unfolded and this again shows how strategically exposed the man is as a leader,” he added.

Some critics questioned Tsvangirai’s wisdom in seeking permission from a ZANU PF functionary in the first place.

UK-based Ndaba Nhuku said by seeking a nod from Bhasikiti, Tsvangirai had  deferred and subordinated himself to ZANU PF.

“Suffering MDC-T supporters at Chingwizi will be wondering why their leader hasn’t visited in three months and for them to hear him say he is waiting for Bhasikiti’s permission will not be very reassuring,” Nhuku said.

Commenting on the ZimEye website, Suitable Kajau asked why an aspiring national leader would only acknowledge the existence of a national calamity three months down the line.

“He realizes criticality of issues too late. This militates against his efficiency and effectiveness in dealing with matters,” Kajau.

Political analyst Ngwenya however said it is important for well-wishers to keep donating to the disaster victims because “help is help even if it is delayed.”

But from a moral perspective, visiting the victims now might also mean that he is trying to gain political capital out of it. This puts him exactly in the same category of hypocrisy as ZANU PF,” Ngwenya added.

Bonfirst Dzikira said the MDC-T leader placed himself in an awkward position by seeking Bhasikiti’s permission.

“He should have gone there directly with a couple of journalists and made the donations,” Dzikiti wrote in response to the NewsDay story.

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told this station last week that there is no legal requirement for Tsvangirai to inform the State of his plans but that they had done so out of courtesy.

On Monday, Bhasikiti refuted the MDC-T’s version of events and “dared” Tsvangirai to deliver his gift to Chingwizi on Tuesday.

The MDC-T however turned down the offer, and said they are in no rush to tour the camp, and will go when they are ready, the NewsDay reported Tuesday.

Harare-based reporter Simon Muchemwa said any national leader would want to speak through actions rather than statements, and urged Tsvangirai to stop being a “cry baby”.

“He should be telling us that he was blocked upon arrival in Masvingo instead of issuing a statement from an office in Harare. So far he hasn’t made any real effort to visit the affected area.

“In any case as Mwonzora said, he did not need to seek clearance and by doing it anyway it’s as if he wanted the government to bar him.

“This was a shortsighted decision and a blunder. If ZANU PF had followed him and barred him when he was already in Masvingo, he would have earned his stripes as a leader and if it is political mileage they want, that would have got it,” Muchemwa added.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The United States has suspended imports of sport-hunted elephant trophies from Zimbabwe citing questionable management practices and a lack of effective law enforcement.

The ban follows a massive ecological disaster at Hwange National Park last year which saw hundreds of elephants being killed through cyanide poisoning by poachers.

In a statement on its website, the US wildlife department said: “Given the current situation on the ground in both Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the Service is unable to make positive findings required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act to allow import of elephant trophies from these countries.

“Additional killing of elephants in these countries, even if legal, is not sustainable and is not currently supporting conservation efforts that contribute towards the recovery of the species.”

The ban, announced last week, is set to be welcomed by conservationists in Zimbabwe who have been campaigning for stringent measures to protect the country’s elephant herd.

Americans make up the majority of trophy hunters in Zimbabwe, exporting an average of 160 elephants per year.

The government has already responded by attacking the suspension, which Environment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere likened to “sanctions on the elephants”.

Environmental journalist Wisdom Mudzungairi said safari tour operators will be the biggest losers.

“From a business perspective, the ban is bad news for local operators as each trophy hunter can pay more than $100,000 per visit and this is a lot of money.

“The ban, announced so close to the start of the hunting season in May, means there will be very little revenue for those in the business,” Mudzungairi said.

Charles Jonga, a director at the Community Areas Management Programme for indigenous Resources (Campfire), told the NewsDay newspaper that this will be devastating for the communities that benefited from elephant conservation efforts.

However, Mudzungairi said this was an opportunity for the Zim government to strengthen mechanisms governing trophy hunting.

“And this should apply to all game species including lions. I think the opportunity was missed following the Hwange disaster where a few of those who were involved were arrested and even then, there were few prosecuting. This could have then forced the US government to act,” he added.

For many years there has been concern about the lack of transparency around the allocation of hunting licences. Land and hunting concessions have frequently been given to well connected political individuals, who have no experience in wildlife management. A 2012 report said that the ZANU PF controlled wildlife ministry had handed out a number of hunting licences to party cronies.

The US wildlife department said it will reevaluate the suspension next year or upon receipt of new information that demonstrates an improved situation for elephants in Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

A legal challenge filed against the European Union (EU) by a ZANU PF member has seen the targeted sanctions policy of the Brussels based body come under fire, with the outcome of the case set to have far reaching consequences.

Businessman Aguy Georgias, a former ZANU PF senator and deputy minister in government, has been fighting against his inclusion on the EU’s list of targeted restrictions in 2007. Despite being removed from that list in 2011, when the EU began a controversial re-engagement campaign with ZANU PF, Georgias is arguing that being targeted with restrictions for five years resulted in significant personal and business losses.

Georgias, the founder and CEO of the Trinity Engineering company, is seeking more than €6 million in damages from the EU. Asked previously if his removal from the EU’s list of measures would result in him dropping the lawsuit, Georgias said: “Dropping the case at this stage would not make any sense after spending such an amount of money (over $1.3million).’’

Oral hearing of his case began last week at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where Georgias’ lawyers questioned the European bloc’s policy of implementing targeted sanctions. UK based advocate High Mercer last week compared the ‘sanctions’ on the Mugabe regime to the US government’s policies at Guantanamo Bay.

Georgias’ lawyers are arguing that his inclusion on the ‘sanctions’ list was based solely on the fact that he was part of the Zimbabwe government. Mercer argued in court last week that the use of “absolute discretion” by the EU in deciding who in Zimbabwe was targeted with restrictions was akin to a breach of the EU’s own standards of justice and human rights law.

“What the EU is saying is that we will protect human rights and uphold the rule of law in Europe, but we will deny the same to the Government leaders in Zimbabwe where we will exercise absolute discretion to punish them,” he said.

Mercer told the court that Georgias had been wrongfully listed and judged “guilty by association” by the EU because he accepted his position in government.

Although Georgias is considered more of a ‘moderate’ than some of his ZANU PF fellows, the businessman has for years been a major party sponsor and vocal advocate for the removal of the targeted ‘sanctions’. Elected a non-constituent party senator in 2005, it was widely believed his rise to power was linked more to his financial benefit than his political prowess.

He also went on to lead calls for the ZANU PF government’s appeal against a landmark court ruling  in South Africa, which compelled the authorities there to arrest and prosecute Zimbabwean officials for alleged human rights abuses.

But his lawyers maintain that this ‘association’ with the Mugabe regime should not have warranted his inclusion on the sanctions list. Mercer questioned why the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was not listed when he became Prime Minister in 2009, if according to the EU only being a member of the government was the “necessary and sufficient” condition for inclusion on list.

EU Commission legal advisor Bart Driessen countered that Georgias had willfully accepted his appointment to the government with the full knowledge that he would be subject to EU restrictions and should therefore have declined. Minas Konstantinidis, appearing for the EU Council, argued along the same lines, stating that Georgias invited the EU action upon himself and should not cry foul.

UK based Zimbabwean journalist Makusha Mugabe told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the case “exposes the EU’s own policy failures.”

“The EU chose to continue to engage with ZANU PF, despite the fact that they never pulled back from dictatorial and repressive actions. They (the EU) still thought that by removing sanctions through a carrot and stick approach, they’d see some change. This never happened, and shows dictators don’t change,” the journalist said.

He called the Georgias matter a ‘test case’ that could set a difficult precedent for the EU if the ZANU PF official is successful.

“The argument is that the whole basis for sanctions is not legal. It would suggest that countries and organisations have no right to impose any form of sanctions. If he wins this case, it could open the door for more litigation,” Mugabe said.

The case comes as ZANU PF is still waiting for a hearing date of its ‘sanctions’ lawsuit against the EU. The case has been almost three years in the making, after former Attorney General Johannes Tomana in 2011 gave the European bloc a two week ultimatum to pledge a total removal of the targeted measures, or face litigation. The measures now only remain against Robert Mugabe and his wife, but there is no sign of the case against the EU being withdrawn.

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SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The next two days will define if the MDC-T will remain united or split again, if warring parties fail to resolve their differences in meetings called for Wednesday and Thursday.

The party will first convene a Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday to be followed by two more crucial meetings of the National Executive Council and National Council on Thursday.

The meetings come at a time when there is renewed conflict in the party, two weeks after party leader Morgan Tsvangirai said there was renewed unity within the party following talks aimed at bringing an end to months of infighting.

However rebels in the party, calling for the ouster of Tsvangirai, on Saturday dismissed reports of unity saying all is not rosy in the labour backed movement.

Several of the members linked to the renewal team said the meetings will be used to lift Elton Mangoma’ suspension and offer a truce.

‘The bottom line is that they need everyone back in the tent now,’ said one of the MPs linked to Mangoma’s plot to oust Tsvangirai.

Another member of the renewal team concurred that there was a possibility Mangoma’s suspension might be withdrawn, as it was one of their demands to re-convene a National Council meeting and deliberate over the suspension.

Two months ago a National Council meeting endorsed Mangoma’s suspension, but his close colleagues and Secretary General Tendai Biti said the meeting was improperly constituted and thus the suspension was null and void.

One of those close to Mangoma observed that if Tsvangirai brings sanity back into the party, he will effectively kill off the renewal team and any attempts to dislodge him.

Jacob Mafume, Mangoma’s lawyer, said he was not aware of what is going to be discussed but implored the party to talk about the current problems in a sober manner.

‘We need people to discuss the good of the party and not engage in divisive and personal issues that have seen the party regress disastrously in the last few months,’ Mafume.

Party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora, while confirming the party will discuss disciplinary issues, said he was not sure Mangoma will come up for discussion as there was a tribunal set to hear his case.

‘Lately we have individuals that have put the name of the party into disrepute and as such we are obligated as a party to take action against them,’ Mwonzora said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Daily News editor Stanley Gama and his senior reporter Fungi Kwaramba were on Monday charged by the police for allegedly criminally defaming businessman Kamal Khalfan.

Both Gama and Kwaramba were summoned to Highlands Police Station where they were made to sign warned and cautioned statements, reports said.

Charges against the two come after Khalfan recently filed a $10 million suit against the Daily News. Kwaramba has published many stories on Khalfan, suggesting that the tycoon was using his political connections to link dubious businessmen to President Robert Mugabe.

According to the Daily News, one of the people introduced to Mugabe by Khalfan was Stamen Stanchev. The Bulgarian reportedly travelled to Zimbabwe trying to promote trade relations between the two countries. In December 2013 Stanchev was jailed in Romania for 11 years for economic espionage.

The Daily News has reportedly responded to the lawsuit from Khalfan with its own notice to defend its claim that it has emails that prove Khalfan’s involvement in various scandals. In one such email Khalfan is said to have offered to assist a German national to corruptly acquire diamonds from top government officials.

According to reports Khalfan does not deny being the writer of these emails. Rather, he argues that the Daily News sought to portray him as a ‘well connected’ swindler who ‘manipulates such connections to conduct illegal and corrupt deals in Zimbabwe.’ Khalfan is patron of the Zimbabwe National Army Charity. He also owns Catercraft, a company in which ZANU PF has shares.

The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists has condemned the arrest of Gama and Kwaramba as intimidation of the media by the elite.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Parents and guardians of children born with cleft palates and other facial disfigurements have been urged to seek treatment for their afflicted dear ones.

Jennifer Trubenbach, the president of Operation of Hope, a team of international experts on facial surgery, said people should not be ashamed of relatives and family members born with facial disfigurements. She said people are born with such conditions not because of evil spirits but because of natural complications. Trubenbach said surgery was the only way so far to fight such conditions.

The Operation of Hope team is currently in Zimbabwe to perform surgeries and about 60 patients are expected to have been treated by the end of the week.

According to Trubenbach, the exercise which is conducted in conjunction with Avondale and Borrowdale Brooke Rotary Clubs has been well received. About 100 patients attended the screening stage on Sunday. However, only 60 people were selected for treatment and the remainder will be attended to in the follow-up exercise which is expected mid-2014.

Trubenbach said they have seen people dancing and with some totally consumed by emotions after the treatment of their loved ones. She said: ‘If you ask any member of our team the most touching moment is when the parents receive and hold their child after operation. I don’t have words to describe the experience.’

Operation of Hope has been undertaking such missions in the country since 2006. So far more than 720 people have benefitted from 13 pervious missions. Last year more than 40 people, mainly children, received new appearances.

Organisers have said there are plans to expand the exercise and undertake research to determine the extent of facial disfigurements in the country. There are fears that some potential beneficiaries are missing out because relatives could be hiding afflicted family members due to shame.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The MDC-T will on Thursday deal with the indiscipline that had crept into the party once and for all, the party spokesman said on Wednesday.

Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa that two crucial meetings of the National Executive Council and National Council set for Thursday will be decisive in dealing with the internal strife.

The standing committee of the MDC-T met on Wednesday, amid reports that several top leaders registered their displeasure at the way the movement is treating individuals who are destroying the party with ‘kid gloves.’

Mwonzora declined to reveal the agenda of Thursday’s meetings, but a well placed-source within the party said heads will certainly roll as the leadership is under pressure from grassroots structures to do something about the rebels.

‘Our only tools for survival in the last 15 years have been discipline and unity. As a party, we would rather have disciplined and dedicated cadres than a handful who are not sure where they stand,’ an MP loyal to party leader Morgan Tsvangirai said.

The fight between Tsvangirai, his loyalists and the renewal team, led by Elton Mangoma and his lawyer Jacob Mafume, is already giving party members cause for concern.

Party members said it is their belief that if nothing is done by the leadership to urgently resolve the lingering political tussle between the two camps, the crisis might spell doom for the movement in the next election.

All has not been well in the MDC-T since January, when Mangoma wrote a letter to Tsvangirai asking him to step down and blaming him for the electoral loss to ZANU PF.

In his four page letter Mangoma wrote that there was no denying that Morgan Tsvangirai had embossed his name into the history books, or that he has played a pivotal role in Zimbabwe’s quest for democracy and socio-economic transformation. But he said: ‘However, it is my humble submission that at this juncture it is time you consider leaving the office of the president of the movement.’

‘2014 marks 15 years of Morgan Tsvangirai as president of the party. You have done the best that you could and continuing will result in diminishing returns and eating into your legacy. The party is in dire need for new ideas, new thinking, a new trajectory and new stimulus,’ said Mangoma.

The contents of the letter triggered an upheaval in the party, which led to the suspended deputy treasurer-general and other senior leaders like Tendai Biti being manhandled by some party youths.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Justice Rita Makarau, the woman who presided over the July 31st elections last year, has found herself coming under much criticism.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson came under attack on multiple fronts after she testified in court Monday that her commission is still unable to provide electronic copies of the voters roll because of a broken down computer server.

Testifying in the election petition brought to the Electoral Court by Jameson Timba, the losing MDC-T MP for Mt Pleasant, Justice Makarau said reports from Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede’s office indicate that the servers were broken down last year and to date nothing has been done to repair the equipment because of financial challenges.

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said these were blatant lies by Makarau as computers always have a backup system. He accused the ZEC chair for working with Mudede in trying to hide the truth about the voters roll.

Ezra Sibanda, the losing parliamentary candidate for the MDC-T in Vungo, Midlands South, told SW Radio Africa’s Hidden Story program that only a fool would believe that a computer does not have a back up system.

Sibanda said for a learned lady like Makarau to stand up and tell the world that the server is still down, nine months after the elections, is just a sick joke.

‘She lying, she’s been lying a lot and she continues to lie. That’s a very silly excuse from her,’ fumed Sibanda.

The broadcaster turned politician said if Mudede had the resources to pay Nikuv millions of dollars to help rig the elections, how is failing to get a few hundred dollars to fix the problem.

‘Mudede and ZEC had an agenda to be part of the rigging machinery and they will never produce the electronic copies of the voters roll, even if they manage to fix the server,’ he said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The unlawful allocation of hunting licenses in Zimbabwe in recent years has been pegged as a major factor in the decision by the United States to ban hunted elephant trophies.

The US wildlife department announced last week that it was suspending the import of sport-hunted elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, citing questionable management practices and a lack of effective law enforcement.

In a statement on its website, the US wildlife department said: “Given the current situation on the ground in both Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the Service is unable to make positive findings required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act to allow import of elephant trophies from these countries.”

It added: “Additional killing of elephants in these countries, even if legal, is not sustainable and is not currently supporting conservation efforts that contribute towards the recovery of the species.”

The ban comes of the back of the poaching crisis that hit Hwange National Park last year, where hundreds of elephants were killed by poachers using the deadly cyanide chemical. The ban also comes amid a fresh threat to Zimbabwe’s protected Presidential Elephant Herd, after the takeover of a piece of land in Hwange that serves as the herd’s home range.

That takeover defies a Cabinet directive from last year that the land was ‘state owned’ and all offer letters for it must be withdrawn. Conservation groups meanwhile have raised concern for the safety of the Presidential elephants, because the woman who has claimed the land is related to a local hunting operator.

Johnny Rodrigues, the Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) told SW Radio Africa that the ZANU PF government’s history of illegally handing out land claims and hunting permits to party officials and loyalists means the entire hunting business in Zimbabwe has fallen into disrepute. The ZCTF warned that in recent months hunting permits have been handed out along the lines of the country’s indigenisation laws. Rodrigues said this leads to untrained, unregulated hunting operators acting in an unsustainable manner.

“A lot of hunters do hunting in an ethical manner, and they plow a lot back into conservation. But the uncontrollable way in which a person who has no experience in hunting, suddenly gets issued permits to have hunting, is a real problem,” Rodrigues said.

National Parks in 2012 year issued hunting permits to 25 so-called indigenous ‘farmers’ who were given land in the wildlife-rich Save Valley Conservancy in the Lowveld. This was said to be part of the government’s ‘wildlife based land reform’ exercise, saying beneficiaries have been allocated 25-year land leases in conservancies throughout the Masvingo province.

Included in the list of beneficiaries were top ZANU PF officials and loyalists, including war vets leader Joseph Chinotimba, Major General Gibson Mashingaidze, Major General Engelbert Rugeje, Masvingo Governor Titus Maluleke, then ZANU PF Masvingo provincial chair Lovemore Matuke, then Deputy Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora, ZANU PF’s central committee member Enock Porusingazi, as well as ZANU PF MPs Alois Baloyi, Abraham Sithole, Samson Mukanduri and Noel Mandebvu.

ZANU PF’s Environment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has since likened the US ban on Zim elephant trophies to “sanctions on the elephants”.

Rodrigues said this position was hardly surprising, because top party officials are involved in the majority of hunting operations across the country.

“For years the very wealthy people in America have been coming to Zim to hunt, and then you have the top dogs in Zimbabwe who own most of the hunting concessions, and they’re going to feel the pinch now and they can’t be as greedy as they were,” Rodrigues said.

He meanwhile added that things like photographic tourism would be of more benefit to Zimbabwe in the long term.

“If we had the tourism coming into the country, it would generate ten times the amount that hunting generates,” Rodriques said.

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SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Three civil society groups have filed a petition expressing their dismay at the speed with which the Electoral Bill is progressing through parliament, as well as the lack of public consultation during the law-making process.

The groups argue that the Electoral Amendment Bill is being rushed through parliament without giving interested Zimbabweans a chance to have their say on this legislation, in “flagrant breach of the constitution”.

The three groups are the poll monitors The Election Resource Centre (ERC), empowerment activists Women in Parliament Support Unit (WiPSU), and lobby group Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights).

The Bill has already passed through the Senate where opposition MDC law-makers at one point walked out after their proposals were excluded from the document.

Last week an MDC-T Senator described the Bill as “ugly and undemocratic” while the Election Resource Centre slammed it as an “unconstitutional”, “weak” and “deficient” document which will not improve the country’s electoral processes.

One of the sticking points is that the proposed law denies Zimbabweans based abroad, or those in hospital and prison, voting rights as spelt out in the new charter.

The groups also want the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to be an independent body with overall authority over the voters roll.

Many Zimbabweans believe ZANU PF used these institutions to commit electoral fraud during last year’s polls.

WiPSU director Sakhile Sifelani-Ngoma told this station that the electoral bill is also silent on gender issues, which could threaten the participation of women in electoral processes.

Sifelani-Ngoma said they had hoped that the Bill would empower women’s assemblies in various parties to facilitate women’s bids for political office.

“For example we feel that due to the patriarchal nature of our society women can find it challenging to get enough signatures when seeking nomination to contest in party electoral processes.

“Our proposal is that the electoral bill should articulate, clearly, that chairpersons of women’s assemblies can sign nomination forms for women wishing to participate in politics,” she said.

The WiPSU director said there was still time for parliament to conduct public hearings on the Electoral Bill.

“The public should be able to feed into the debate on such crucial legislation, and parliament has a role to play in enabling this inclusion. We also hope that the government will take on board proposals coming from citizens so that the final product is democratic,” Sifelani-Ngoma added.

Election Resource Centre director Tawanda Chimhini said they filed the petition following strong indications that the Electoral Bill will be fast-tracked to a Second Reading state at the National Assembly, where it was referred to from Senate.

“We saw how the Bill sailed through Senate and we are concerned that the same speed may be replicated in the Lower House which also has powers to suspend standing rules and orders for purposes of fast-tracking bills.

Chimhini said should parliament refuse to allow Zimbabweans to participate in the law-making process they will take their case to the courts.

“Denying people their right to debate laws and make their submissions is unconstitutional, and we are prepared to challenge this at the Constitutional Court.”

“We see this electoral bill as a piece-meal attempt at electoral reform. We ask parliamentarians to suspend their political affiliation when dealing with this Bill so that we don’t end up with an electoral law that will have to be amended going into the next general election,” Chimhini added.

The Electoral Bill is one of several other pieces of legislation that have to be aligned with the country’s new constitution which was adopted last year.

On Thursday, civil society groups and representatives from ZANU PF and the MDC-T will address the public on the Electoral Bill at a meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. The meeting is set for the Ambassador Hotel, in Harare, at 5-7pm.

Further reading

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The Mbada mining firm, which has been operating at the Chiadzwa diamond fields since 2008, has said it is not at fault for the non-payment of millions of dollars in tax.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has ordered the firm to pay a portion of its tax debt, issuing a garnishee order for $22.4 million. This is the second such order on Mbada accounts at BancABC in four months.

The company has allegedly been withholding tax it accrued during transactions with a contractor called Gecko. A previous garnishee order issued by Zimra last year, to the tune of over $5 million, was cancelled shortly after it was issued.

Mbada has not denied the tax liability, passing the buck instead to the ‘highest level’ of government. According to a report in the NewsDay newspaper, the diamond firm said that there was an agreement that the companies had paid their taxes in advance “after they chipped in with cash for civil servants’ salaries.”

According to a March letter from the national Treasury to Zimra, and published by NewsDay, “government, through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, directed that diamond mining houses where government has a shareholding should remit advance dividends in order to mitigate cashflow challenges.”

The letter, signed by Finance and Economic Development secretary Willard Manungo and addressed to Zimra commissioner-general Gershem Pasi, said that three mining companies, including Mbada, had directly paid over $197 million to the cash-strapped government last year towards civil servants’ salaries.

This is a complete contradiction of the claims made previously by government ministers that Chiadzwa diamonds were not benefitting the state in anyway. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said late last year that out of a targeted $40 million expected from diamond sales in 2013, nothing had been received by the Treasury. Chinamasa’s predecessor, Tendai Biti, meanwhile repeatedly stated during his tenure that no money was forthcoming from the diamond mining firms.

Millions of dollars of diamond profits have gone ‘missing’ from the alluvial fields, amid accusations from international rights groups that the cash was being used to prop up the Mugabe regime.

Meanwhile news that the ‘highest level’ of government was involved in Mbada’s tax liability has come as little surprise to many, with the mining firm having strong links to Robert Mugabe.

Mbada chairman Robert Mhlanga is a long time Mugabe family ally and former pilot for Robert Mugabe. His company also made one of the largest cash donations at the wedding of Mugabe’s only daughter to Simba Chikore last month, giving the couple $100,000.

Minister Chinamasa meanwhile last month announced plans to reduce the number of diamond mining operations in Chiadzwa to just one, allegedly in an effort to improve transparency at the alluvial fields. And although the government has not yet announced how it will determine who gets to control the concessions, it appears likely that Mbada, with its strong connections, will be given control.

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SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Minister for Provincial Affairs Christopher Mushowe is the latest member of ZANU PF to be caught flat-footed during the ongoing parliament probes into the Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust saga.

Mushowe appeared before the parliamentary portfolio committee on indigenisation on Thursday when he sought to corroborate Minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s story that diamond mining firms at Chiadzwa had pledged $10 million each to the community scheme.

The firms say they pledged only $1.5 million each.

Kasukuwere’s successor in the indigenisation ministry, Francis Nhema, cast doubt on the authenticity of Kasukuwe’s documentary evidence when he was quizzed by the same committee recently.

During the hearing, Mushowe told legislators that he had received a letter from Kasukuwere to follow up on the miners pledge in August 2012, but MPs queried why the letter had a stamp dated April 4th this year.

The minister also denied that he had given the diamond firms an account number into which to deposit the funds, forcing the MPs to show him a copy of a letter signed by him with that instruction.

In Mushowe’s denial, which is captured in a video posted on the Herald newspaper website, he says: “I have never written to them. If they have a letter from me giving them an account number which is not an account number of the Trust, I would be very happy to be availed that communication.”

Mushowe was summoned by the committee after an official from diamond firm Anjin Investments told the MPs recently that the minister had given them an account number to deposit money into.

Mushowe is viewed in political circles as belonging to the ZANU PF faction led by vice president Joice Mujuru. Members of this faction have recently come under attack from those in the Emmerson Mnangagwa-led group who are also driving the corruption exposes which are currently hogging the media.

Observers have dismissed these exposes as mere rhetoric meant to give the Mnangagwa faction an advantage in the fight to succeed Mugabe.

In the meantime Patience Khumalo, the chief executive officer of Mbada Diamonds, has resigned from the company. According to the State media, Khumalo will “be going abroad to pursue personal interests”.

Khumalo is said to be daughter of President Mugabe’s right-hand man Robert Mhlanga, who is also the chairman of Mbada.

Mugabe has already hinted that only one firm will be left to mine diamonds in Chiadzwa and although the company has not been named, it is believed that the mining rights will be given to Mbada, in which his family has a stake.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa this week defended the arrest of journalists under the criminal defamation laws.

This was after Parliamentarians condemned the arrest of the Daily News Editor Stanley Gama and his senior reporter Fungi Kwaramba on Monday. The two were charged by the police for allegedly criminally defaming businessman Kamal Khalfan.

Parliamentarians said the ZANU PF government was trying to curtail free speech in the wake of reports on corruption in high places. They argued that the Criminal Law Act, under which Gama and Kwaramba were charged, is now outdated and must be done away with.

The MDC-T shadow minister for communications and Kuwadzana MP, Nelson Chamisa, set the ball rolling in parliament by asking Mnangagwa why the law was still being used and why it was used selectively against independent journalists. To loud cheers Chamisa said: ‘This must be stopped,’ a report in the Daily News said.

However, Mnangagwa said the government will continue to use the criminal defamation law because ‘it is part of our law.’ He said: ‘Journalists must be ‘responsible and accountable for their actions and must be answerable.’ He said for as long as they don’t approach the Constitutional Court to repeal the law the government will continue to use it.

Chamisa told SW Radio Africa that all he had sought was clarification on why the government was using a law which is unconstitutional. Chamisa said: ‘The minister just went ballistic. Instead of responding to the issues he was just trying to find side shows and to shadow box unnecessarily. He was clearly unhappy with being told the truth about corruption in the country.’

Mnangagwa’s views contradict those of his close ally and information minister Jonathan Moyo. Moyo said the arrest of Gama and his reporter was ‘unnecessary’ adding that the defamation law should be done away with.

Chamisa said this contradiction points to the confusion that is prevalent within the ZANU PF government.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The ZANU PF administration has climbed down and adjourned the Second Reading of the disputed Electoral Amendment Bill, to allow for more consultations.

The planned legislation was put on hold Thursday and will now be superseded by a consultative exercise after democracy activists kicked up a storm last week.

According to ZANU PF Justice Minister Emmerson Mngangagwa, this has been done so that new ideas from the MDC-T and interested groups can be considered.

ZANU PF authorities succeeded in rushing the Electoral Bill through the Upper House last week despite strong protests from MDC-T Senators and civil society groups over the exclusion of Zimbabweans from the law-making process.

The protesters accused the ZANU PF government of trying to conduct cosmetic electoral reforms which will not improve the management of future elections.

The opposition and civil society groups also say if allowed to become law, the proposed law will be as undemocratic as the legislation it seeks to supplant.

Major areas of concern include the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which would remain under the ZANU PF-run justice ministry.

The Bill also doesn’t give eligible Zimbabweans based abroad, or those in hospital and prison, their constitutional right to vote.

In addition, the protesters want electoral management body ZEC to have overall authority and control of the voters roll, which ZANU PF has been controlling through another partisan institution, the Registrar-General’s Office.

Women’s groups also say they want the Bill to make it easy for their members to participate in politics, by providing for leaders of women’s wings within political parties to sign nomination papers for female candidates.

Poll monitors the Election Resource Centre, one of three civil society groups which petitioned parliament over the Bill, hailed the State’s retreat as a victory.

In an interview with this station the group’s director Tawanda Chimhini thanked opposition legislators who pushed Mnangagwa for the postponement.

“We applaud parliament, the chairperson of the justice portfolio committee and the justice minister for giving Zimbabweans their constitutional space to participate in the law-making process.”

Chimhini said civil society groups will now start mobilising Zimbabweans to take part in the public hearings, whose dates are yet to be announced.

“We would like to urge particularly the young people, who tend to be unconcerned about such processes, to see this as a crucial step in the fight for democracy.”

On government’s sincerity Chimhini said the justice minister has another fight coming if he is using the adjournment to divert public attention in the hope of re-introducing the Bill without changes.

“We will gauge their motives from the manner in which the public hearings will be conducted and whether the views expressed by Zimbabweans at these hearings will be reflected in the final document,” Chimnhini added.

Democracy activist Pedzisai Ruhanya urged caution, and said it was unlikely that ZANU PF had agreed to delay the Bill because they wanted to do the right thing by Zimbabweans.

He said the changes that civic groups want to see reflected in the proposed law go to the core of ZANU PF’s rigging mechanisms.

“I think the adjournment is just to allow the furore that the unconstitutional Electoral Bill had caused, to die down,” Ruhanya told SW Radio Africa Friday.

“The delay will also sit well with ZANU PF’s re-engagement of the international community as they want to maintain their rising status especially within the Southern African Development Community.

“ZANU PF’s image has been improving since last year’s election owing to the semblance of credibility lent to them by SADC who endorsed the flawed poll.

“They want to cling on to this semblance of credibility and exploit it, to re-engage with the international community. They can’t therefore risk being seen as reverting to their authoritarian pre-election ways by ignoring protests on electoral matters.

Ruhanya said any lapse by civil society and the opposition would see those aspects of the Bill, that are crucial to ZANU PF’s control of the elections, being retained.

“The regime has realised that overt violence does not do its image any favours and as we saw in 2013 they are now investing their energies in institutions that will help them to rig without spilling blood, and these include ZEC and electoral laws.”

Ruhanya quoted a Zimbabwe Democracy Institute report, which showed how the ZANU PF regime manipulated the voters roll to tilt voting numbers in their favour.

Another independent think-tank, the Research and Advocacy Unit, make a similar conclusion in their recent report titled ‘Numbers out of Tune’.

In their analysis the researchers question the source of an extra one million voters in the 2013 poll who helped give President Robert Mugabe an unassailable ‘victory’ over the MDC-T’s Morgan Tsvangirai.

The researchers concludee that “contrary to the assertions of the new government, the results are not beyond contest. Such contest may not affect the de facto right to govern, but may certainly challenge its de jure status.”

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Nigeria this week summoned Zimbabwean envoy Stanley Kunjeku, to formally lodge a complaint over President Mugabe’s remarks which depicted Nigeria as a corrupt nation.

Mugabe made the comment at his 90th birthday bash, organized by the service chiefs last month. Condemning the rampant corruption in Zimbabwe Mugabe said: ‘Are we now in Nigeria where you have to reach your pocket to get anything done?’ He added: ‘We used to go to Nigeria and every time we went there we had to carry extra cash to corruptly pay for everything. You get into a plane in Nigeria and the crew keeps dilly dallying without taking off as they wait for you to pay them to take off.’

But the permanent secretary in the Nigerian ministry of foreign affairs, Martin Uhomoibhi, said Mugabe’s comment was ‘vitriolic and denigrating’ and ‘un-statesmanly on Nigeria and Nigerians in general.’

According to a report in the Nigerian Premium Times newspaper, Uhomoibhi said it was very unkind and dishonorable’ for a ‘sitting president of a brotherly country’ to make such a remark. He said the comment was ‘unfortunate’ considering that Nigeria has stood ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Zimbabwe since independence.

Mugabe’s comments on Nigeria came just months after the government rescinded an ultimatum for foreign small businesses operators, many of whom are Nigerians, to shut up shop and hand over their entities to locals. Abuja has previously complained to Harare over the arrests of Nigerian nationals resident in Zimbabwe.

Media lecturer Dr Admore Tshuma said Nigeria was right to complain about Mugabe’s comment which he said was ‘irresponsible.’ Dr Tshuma said the remark indicates that it was time for Mugabe to retire from politics. He said: ‘These are signs and symptoms that are our President should take a rest. He is known to be irresponsible but he is now creating further problems for the country and future leaders. He is getting worse with age.’

Hate speech is Mugabe’s custom, as he routinely offends all and sundry. This week he said Europe has an ‘evil heart’ after the EU refused his wife Grace a visa to attend the recent EU-Africa Summit held in Brussels.

In 2012 Mugabe infuriated Jamaicans by saying Jamaican men were ‘drunkards who are perennially hooked on Marijuana.’ As such, Mugabe said, Zimbabweans must not go there. In 2001 he urged ZANU PF members to ‘strike fear into the heart of the white man our real enemy, make him tremble.’

A year earlier, angry with losing the urban electorate to the opposition, Mugabe had insulted urban dwellers as ‘totem less people.’ Around the same time he lashed out at the British government saying it was led by ‘gay gangsters.’

In 1995 Mugabe stunned the world when, during a speech at the Zimbabwe Book Fair, he said the gay community was ‘lower than dogs and pigs’. In 1992 Mugabe said the white commercial farmers were so ‘hard hearted you would think they were Jews.’

In hate speech Mugabe has few matches amongst his fellow African compatriots.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The bodies of at least 17 suspected border jumpers, believed to have drowned in the Limpopo River, were discovered by Zimbabwe and South Africa police this week.

15 bodies were found on Wednesday by officials patrolling the river near Beitbridge. It is reported that the bodies, some of which had missing limbs, had been hidden in a cave by crocodiles.

The victims have been taken to a mortuary in the Musina border town. It has been reported that 14 of the victims have been positively identified as Zimbabwean citizens.

The latest discovery brings to 17 the confirmed number of deaths of suspected border jumpers this week alone. Two other bodies were found at different points along the river after attempting the crossing over the weekend. One of the victims reportedly lost both legs to crocodiles in the river.

The Limpopo region has been the site of serious flooding in recent weeks and last month the dangerous levels of the flooded river resulted in the temporary closure of South Africa’s border with Botswana.

Local officials near Beitbridge however were quoted by the Herald newspaper as saying the section where the bodies were found was not flooded.

The high number of drowned victims in one week has raised serious concerns of a new influx of Zimbabweans crossing illegally into South Africa.

The border crossing has for years been a site of tragedy for Zimbabweans, hundreds of thousands of whom have chosen to risk illegal entry into South Africa, rather than remaining at home. The crocodile infested river is just one of numerous dangers the border jumpers face. Untold numbers of men, women and children have fallen victim to criminal gangs who patrol the crossing points.

A Musina refugee shelter has previously said that at least three out of every 10 Zimbabwean women crossing into South Africa were gang raped in the process. Another relief group, Doctors Without Borders, meanwhile stated in 2012 that an average of 16 border jumpers were being raped and robbed every month.

Daniel Muzenda, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Migrants Association, said the documents required for a legal crossing into South Africa are far out of reach of the majority of Zimbabweans.

“The reasons why people are trying to cross illegally is because the documents to cross into South Africa legally are very expensive. A passport for a month is $53 and an emergency passport is over $300. So it’s very expensive,” Muzenda told SW Radio Africa.

He added: “But people can’t stay. There are serious economic hardships (in Zimbabwe), there are no jobs, so they want to go to South Africa because they assume there is economic stability and a high job market.”

He explained that there are better job opportunities for Zimbabweans in South Africa, which is a far cry from the reality they face back home. He said most Zimbabweans are “caught between a rock and a hard place,” because they need paying jobs to afford the documents to cross into South Africa, but there are no jobs back home.

In South Africa meanwhile, authorities have announced that work and study permit granted to Zimbabweans under the special dispensation period in 2010, will expire in November this year. The dispensation period was implemented specifically to give Zimbabwe nationals a chance to regularise their stay in South Africa, because so many were working in the country illegally. Although the numbers of Zimbabweans in South Africa is pegged at about two million people, only about 250,000 people were approved for four year work and study permits.

Muzenda explained that the new permit laws are a cause for real concern, because the authorities in South Africa have stated that new permits can only be applied for back in Zimbabwe. He said many people are concerned about returning to Zimbabwe, without a guarantee that they will get documents allowing them back into South Africa.

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SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The deputy treasurer-general of the MDC-T, Elton Mangoma, does not recognize his expulsion from the party for alleged gross indiscipline, his lawyer said on Friday.

Jacob Mafume told journalists in Harare that the expulsion of Mangoma is unconstitutional, as the clause cited by party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora in announcing his expulsion does not exist in the party constitution.

He also attacked party leader Morgan Tsvangirai for allegedly running the party as his own company, saying they will seek guidance from the party structures on the way forward.

When briefing journalists on the national council’s resolutions to expel Mangoma on Thursday, Mwonzora said the highest decision making body of the party had used clause 5.11 of the constitution to arrive at its decision.

He said Mangoma had been expelled not for challenging party leader Morgan Tsvangirai but for his continued transgressions of holding rallies and his relentless attacks on the party and its leaders.

Contacted for comment on Friday following Mafume’s statement that the clause does not exist in the constitution Mwonzora laughed and and challenged this writer to get a copy of their constitution.

‘You are a journalist why don’t you get a copy and read it yourself. Surely do you think more than 135 people can sit down and deliberate on a non-existent clause in our party constitution,’ added Mwonzora.

SW Radio Africa did check the MDC-T constitution and clause 5.11 reads: ‘A member may be expelled if: a) the national council (by a two thirds majority of all its members) is of the opinion that his or her continued membership would be seriously detrimental to the interests of the party.

The decision to expel Mangoma was unanimous after 131 members voted in favour to expel him while three abstained and one voted against. The voting exceeded the two thirds majority required.

Mafume is also expelled from the party along with youth assembly secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi and national executive member Last Maengahama.

Journalist and political commentator Itai Dzamara told us Mangoma’s expulsion puts to rest the renewal team’s push to oust Tsvangirai. ‘His (Mangoma) expulsion and that of the three others effectively puts this whole saga to an end. There will be no split from this…at least it gives them a chance to form their own party if they wish,’ Dzamara said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s 355 MPs could each soon receive $30,000 car loans in a development that will cost the taxpayer close to $15 million, a weekly newspaper has reported.

The Zimbabwe Independent quoted an MP saying: ‘It is increasingly clear that each legislator will be given a US$30,000 car loan to purchase vehicles locally.’ The unnamed MP said the legislators held ‘a series of meetings which also discussed allowances and salaries’ with government.

The news comes at a time when the government is struggling to pay civil servants salaries and to improve service delivery across the board. The MPs have not received their allowances in full since last year while the country’s infrastructure lies desolate and dilapidated.

But while the government has struggled with its wage bill it has been spending on luxury vehicles without restraint. In September last year the government spent almost $20 million on luxury cars, including Mercedes Benz for the cabinet ministers.

Two months later the State Procurement Board invited bids for the supply of Isuzu trucks and Toyota Prados for the MPs and government ministers. Prior to that government had floated yet another tender for 100 Ford Ranger double cab vehicles.

At the time the tenders were floated, the government was criticized for purchasing vehicles from outside the country instead of buying from the local manufactures. The parliamentary committee for industry and commerce lobbied for the ‘Ford deal’ to go to the struggling Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The ZANU PF government has been urged to restore full ownership of once productive agricultural farms in Manicaland, which were targeted for takeover under the party’s land grab campaign.

The Deputy President of the Confederations of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Henry Nemaire said in an interview with NewZimbabwe.com last week that the land should be returned to its more productive former owners.

Nemaire said the government should consider ‘delisting’ major commercial properties, resulting in the return of title deeds to the original land owners. He said this would allow the firms to access funds and return to production.

Successful commercial farms across the country were all but destroyed in the process of the land seizure campaign, which was done under the guise of ‘reform’. The removal of title deed, and the subsequent destruction of future property rights, means there is little reinvestment opportunities in the agricultural sector.

“Land for companies such as Border Timbers, Wattle Company, Makandi, Tongaat Hullet should be delisted so that they get the title deeds, which they can use to borrow huge sums for recapitalisation and re-tooling,” said Nemaire.

He was also quoted as saying that ‘re-tooling’ of local companies with state of the art machinery was key, as it would give them leverage to compete with other manufacturers in countries in regions such as Southern Africa, Europe and Asia.

“There is need for urgent re-tooling and acquiring of world class standard machinery. If you get modern technology that produce high quality products then you can compete with foreign markets,” said the CZI vice president.

Companies such as Karina, Border Timbers, Cairns Holdings, Quest Motors, Tanganda, Wattle, which used to employ thousands of people, have either closed down or are now operating below capacity.

A return to successful agricultural production, with a constitutionally protected right to property and title deed, has for years been touted as the key to turning around Zimbabwe’s economic failures. But ZANU PF, which insists the land grab was a success, has not budged since the campaign launched over a decade ago.

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