People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President, Tendai Biti

President Biti made the call while addressing the Mashonaland East party structures at Murewa Centre on Sunday during the provincial assembly meeting.

“In 2016, let us not tolerate Zanu PF’s nonsense.  As the PDP, we do not believe in the use of violence and arms of war but let us use the country’s Constitution to say no to bad governance,” President Biti said.

“Next year, we are putting an end to this nonsense.  We will bring down the walls of Jericho. As Zimbabweans we should not admire and tolerate this Zanu PF madness.  Let us say no and use the people’s Constitution to free ourselves.  Let us say no to insanity,” he said.

He said Zimbabwe needed a new beginning as the old ideas of Zanu PF politicians cannot solve the current problems.

“Problems are not solved by the mindset that created them.  Zimbabwe used to be a breadbasket of Africa producing over four million tonnes of maize in the rural areas alone but now a communal farmer is now producing only 66kg per hectare as the Zanu PF government is not assisting the farmers and we end up importing maize from Zambia.

“Zimbabweans are working hard but are poor due to the corruption in government.  Robert Mugabe was recently in Tanzania witnessing the inauguration ceremony of that country’s fifth president, yet he is not even ashamed that such a succession process fails to take place in Zimbabwe.

“Despite clinging on to power for the past 35 years, Mugabe doesn’t have any single signature of progress.  The Harare-Nyamapanda highway remains in the same state as during the Smith regime when it was constructed.  There are no new power stations in Hwange or elsewhere that were constructed after independence and that is why we no longer have electricity,” President Biti said.

He said that is why the PDP had produced to policy documents, HOPE and
ARREST that will shape how Zimbabwe gets out of its current economic,
social and political crises.

“As PDP, we will also work with other political parties who believe in achieving a better life for all.  We will create a coalition of cheetahs.  As PDP, we were formed to bring change to the long suffering people of Zimbabwe,” President Biti who was accompanied by national members of the party said.

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Women as young as 14 year olds have dropped school and are being seen in popular places like Birchenough Bridge, Checheche and Dzonzai in Chipinge selling sex for the purposes of eking a living.

Criminal activities that include burglary and stealing where the offenders are targeting food items are now common at the police stations. A random survey has also revealed that adultery, bribery and corruption carried out for the purposes of survival are on the increase as the vulnerable members of the society sell their birthright to survive

If pronouncements from the meteorological department that the 2015/16 season will receive the lowest rainfall ever are true, then we will have more challenges in the country side. Judging by the desperate situation in most households, there may be a vicious cycle of hunger, should there be no immediate intervention by government. We are already in the farming season which started end of October and it appears most farmers are incapacitated to buy seed and farming inputs pointing to a gloom Agricultural season.

Young people in Birchenough Bridge just like those in Tanganda and Checheche have resorted to selling sand from save river. These young people who secure permission by paying unknown amounts to their traditional leaders’ labor to take out sand from the river which they then sell in loads. Territories have already been created and selling river sand is making business in areas like Maunganidze and Checheche due to the construction associated with the upgrades of these areas to growth point and town status. The sight of women and children making up loads of sand has been common as they support the newly found ways of survival “Village life has become very difficult to manage, many people are starving. The idea of selling river sand at the river bank as well as molding bricks has suddenly become popular and everyone is rushing there, it is big business and paying more than selling beans and tomatoes because there is currently no market” said Munyaradzi Mazunze

What is interesting in these cases is the role of traditional leadership. Traditional leadership is now alleged to be money mongers who can accept any activity to take place as long as they are given a stipend or bribe. The conduct of some traditional leadership has wiped them of the much deserved respect where they formally stand in to protect the cultural values of the community. Because of young age, some of the traditional leadership has become vulnerable because they need to survive the biting hunger. In Maunganidze area, the local traditional leadership allegedly receives money to allow those in brick molding to cut trees for the purposes of firewood, despite these activities having been condemned by EMA as the cause for land degradation.

Because of the hard times no one is standing up to defend the cultural mores of the community as summarized by Giveness Remember Sithole who said,

“our traditional leadership are now too weak to speak strongly against the cutting down of the sacred indigenous trees like Mucha, Mukamba and Mubvumira that are becoming extinct. On the other hand no one is taking full responsibility to adhere to the advice from EMA who have condemned the digging of dongas without filling them, activities going on unimpeded along Save river by those molding bricks”

Market of beans and Bananas continue to be a big worry for most of those farmers in Mutema and Chibuwe areas. Local market is dwindling since beans and bananas are not staple foods. However there have been a lot of stories with people being cheated in the name of looking for market. There was recently a case in Chibuwe where villagers were conned to hand over their beans reserves to a prospective buyer. The buyer who claimed to be coming from Mutare just disappeared and left villagers stranded, hopeless and desperate. Some villagers lost all their harvests. The privilege associated with owning an acre of irrigated land has been transformed to anguish and pain since there is no return for effort made. The situation in Chibuwe has been made even more anxious due to elephants that have come to vandalize the irrigation plots.

Platform for Youth Development (PYD) is aware and has been following on President Robert Mugabe and his two vice Presidents Hon Phekezela Mphoko and Hon Emerson Mnangagwa, who have repeatedly been quoted in the media declaring that no one will starve. PYD just wish to raise a distressed voice for the government to intervene.ZANU PF has always been accused of taking advantage during such stressful periods to then buy votes by only providing food relief to those who attends and subscribe to their political programs. According to the United Nations and other sources more than 1.5 million people are already in dire need of food relief in Zimbabwe.

“we challenge the government of Zimbabwe to go beyond political slogans and come to the rescue on the people of Chipinge and any other communities in Zimbabwe who have provided alert that they are in need of food relief “ Claris Madhuku who is the director of the Platform for Youth Development said.

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Sifiso Dabengwa

CEO Sifiso Dabengwa tendered his resignation with immediate effect, saying it was “in the interest of the company and its shareholders”.

The fine, which amounts to double MTN’s profit last year, was for failing to cut off unregistered mobile users.

The firm was given until 16 November, just two weeks, to pay the penalty

The company is in talks to reduce the fine.

“Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria, I, in the interest of the company and its shareholders, have tendered my resignation with immediate effect,” said Dabengwa in a statement.

Non-executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko has been appointed executive chairman for a maximum of six months while the company looks for a successor.

It is thought that the Nigerian government imposed the fine after the kidnapping of a former finance minister, Chief Olu Falae.

The kidnappers used an unregistered Sim card from MTN to demand a ransom.

Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with 28.5 million subscribers, followed by Iran and South Africa.

The resignation of Dabengwa has not come as a surprise to analysts and market watchers.

His job was on the line ever since the authorities in Nigeria slapped MTN with a $5.2bn fine for failing to cut off mobile phone users who were using unregistered Sim cards.

Dabengwa had been in the top post at MTN for four years, but had served as the company’s chief operating office and as head of its Nigerian operations before that.

The ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch lowered MTN’s credit rating last month because of the Nigeria fine.

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The spokesperson for the Maputo City Police Command, Orlando Mudumane, told reporters that the Vietnamese, whose name was not revealed, was also carrying 59 lion claws and 49 teethm believed to be lion teeth,

“Currently investigations are under way to find out where these items came from”, said Mudumane, in his weekly press briefing. “It means that animals have been slaughtered”.

Data provided by the government spokesperson, Deputy Health Minister Mouzinho Saide, after last week’s session of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) showed that the police arrested 434 poachers in 2014-15, and seized 75 kilos of rhino horn.

There has been a dramatic increase in the poaching of rhinoceros in southern Africa since 2008, driven by a demand for rhino horn from Asia, and particularly from Vietnam, were it is regarded as a cure for all manner of ailments, including cancer. This has driven the price of rhino horn up to about 60,000 US dollars a kilo – making it more expensive than gold or cocaine.

Since both African species of rhinoceros, the black and the white, are believed to be extinct in Mozambique, the rhino horn seized at the airport almost certainly came from animals killed in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

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Vince Musewe

The innovator has the enmity of all who profit by the preservation of the old system and only lukewarm defenders by those who would gain by the new system” Niccolo Machiavelli November 1469 –October 1527).

Last week it was reported that the ZANU (PF) fundraiser dinner was oversubscribed by businesses and state enterprises where a platinum table fetched as much as $100,000. Now to put that into context, that is equivalent to ten years salary for an employee who earns $500 per month, or an annual salary for 10 employees. In addition, apparently gold was going for $50,000, silver for $30,000 and bronze for 10,000.

Now one can imagine what this means. All this money will be used for flights, accommodation, food and entertainment at the congress. It is a sheer waste of money in an economy that is at its knees and from companies that are struggling to survive under ZANU (PF) economic policies.

We have a very backward and weak business sector that is full of patronage and continues to mimic the culture of ZANU (PF). Predatory regimes survive through the support of a predatory coalition. A predatory coalition is made up of cronies, parasites and boot lickers who prop up and support a dictatorship in the hope of personal benefit at the expense of national interest.

The challenge we face in Zimbabwe is the uprooting of patronage and corruption. We have seen in the past how business people can be marginalised and destroyed because they support the opposition. As a result of fear, we now have men dressed up in suits and driving expensive cars on pot holed roads who have to pretend all is well and must at the call by ZANU (PF) demonstrate their loyalty to a dictator lest they be purged. They have to do it to keep their jobs and become immoral through supporting the very system which is oppressing them.

Because our society has become selfish their choice is clear, they would rather protect their jobs and perks than sacrifice for the greater good.

This of course is also happening with the new churches that are now conduits for supporting the dictatorship. Those who go and pray there are going solely for their personal material well-being and aggrandisement. However, their donations are soon found in the purses of the system that has created the very conditions which are making them desperate and poor. The churches dare not upset this religious gravy train, for if they condemn the immoral and evil acts of the dictator, they shall soon be out of business.

So we now have an inherently evil system that feeds on the fear of citizens and survives not because it is doing any good, but because it has managed to nurture the culture of greed, selfishness, non-accountability and entitlement which has now permeated the whole society.

I always imagine where we would be as a country had this been the spirit during the armed struggle. Imagine where we would be if we had all chosen to rather continue to support Ian Smith than fight colonialism because he provided the false comforts.

It fact the dictator continues to do all he can to provide the false comforts to his minions. Motor vehicles are given, contracts awarded and favours done to our business leaders that they too have become part of the problem. How wretched they are!

That is the sorry state of men in Zimbabwe who can really do nothing for us to change Zimbabwe and create the Zimbabwe we imagine. We therefore must never look up to them nor expect anything from them. They are weak compromised pretenders.

No doubt when change comes and we create economic freedom and free enterprise, they will be the first in the queue as beneficiaries and yet today they remain lukewarm to the very thought of change itself. The change we seek will not come from there and the sooner we appreciate that fact the better.

I want to end with another quote which I use often to remind is where we are. It was David Bloom who once said that “The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, which makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside”.

Mugabe has been successful by removing the idea in most of our people and our business leaders that there is an outside much better and more fruitful than his rule. The sad reality is that this monumental lie has become the truth for many but only a few amongst us refuse to believe it.

God help us!

Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com

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Plans are also at an advanced stage to include Western Union as a partner.

“Zimbabwe has a huge diaspora community which looks after family and friends locally and this new international remittance licence will have a huge impact on the convenience our Telecash subscribers experience while receiving money from outside our borders,” said Telecel’s Head of Mobile Financial Services, Arthur Matsaudza.

“The licence to receive incoming international remittances has been granted to us following Telecel’s compliance with the strict regulations and requirements that are in place to ensure the security of depositors’ funds and to prevent financial crimes like money laundering,” Mr Matsaudza said.

Already, Telecel and Mukuru have integrated their systems so that diaspora funds can be accessed instantly when they are deposited by the sender. The integration of Telecash and Mukuru systems means that people sending money from across the border can initiate payment from outside Zimbabwe by simply providing a Telecel subscriber’s telecash registered mobile number and the money will be deposited instantly and directly into the receiver’s mobile wallet.

“We urge people to register their Telecel numbers on the Telecash platform to be able to enjoy this instant service,” Arthur Matsaudza said.

Telecel CEO, Mrs Angeline Vere, has confirmed that the mobile operator as part of its long term strategy is looking into using partnerships to increase the convenience of its customers.

“Our vision as Telecel is to leverage on strategic partnerships that help us improve our mobile financial services and products so that our customers can experience innovation and convenience at world class levels. Already we are currently in talks with various international remittance partners with key corridors in SA, Botswana, UK, Australia and the US amongst other potential countries. We are very confident these partnerships will change the overall mobile financial service experience our customers will have on our Telecash platform,” said Mrs Vere.

Mukuru is currently available in South Africa and the UK. Telecel is working on increasing the availability of money transfer services from countries like US, Australia, Canada and Botswana through partnerships with money transfer agents.

“The Telecash community is growing rapidly and we are proud to announce that we have now reached 1 million users. This growth means that our subscribers appreciate the convenience and the affordability that Telecash brings to them. The growth we have experienced, in recent months, is also a result of our continued effort to add new services to the Telecash menu for the added convenience of our customers,” Mr Matsaudza added.

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BY DANIEL NHAKANISO

Bekker, who was named Zimbabwe’s Female Junior Golfer of the Year for 2015, carded rounds of 80 and 79 at the PGA National Resort and Spa to cap off a solid perfomance in her debut appearance at the prestigious tournament.

The 12-year-old rising star finished 14 shots behind second-placed world number two, American Alexa Pano, who shot rounds of 69 and 76.

Yae Eun Kim, from Dominican Republic, who is ranked number one in the world in the girls’ 11-13 age group category, successfully defended her title after shooting identical rounds of 71 over the two rounds.

Playing a three-ball against the two best players in the world in the final round, Bekker started well as she managed to birdies against three bogeys on the front nine before she was slightly derailed by four bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine.

Bekker has been enjoying a successful year, which saw her representing the senior national ladies golf team in the Regional All Africa Challenge Golf Trophy held in Namibia five months ago and the Gilberson and Page Trophy Tournament which Zimbabwe hosted in August.

The Chapman Golf Club-based junior was also the country’s best performer at the Africa Junior Girls Golf Championships held in Kenya two months ago, finishing a creditable sixth position.

She returned a month later to win the Lion of Africa Junior Africa Challenge played at Zebula Golf Estate and Spa in Polokwane, South Africa, from September 1 to 3.

The opportunity to play at the Optimist International Junior Golf Championship should help develop her game, as she had the opportunity to compete against the world’s top players in her age group.

The Optimist International Junior Golf Championship is one of the most prestigious junior tournaments in the world, attracting over 600 junior golfers from ages of 11 to 18.

Former winners of the Optimist International Junior Golf Championship include current world number one player Jason Day from Australia and top female American professional golfer Lexi Thompson.

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Concerned that the life span of the commission is pegged at ten years from the ‘effective date’ of the 2013 Constitution. And realising it is almost three years since the 2013 Constitution ‘effective date’. As a commission that is mandated to bring closure to an era of human rights abuses and violations.

Worried that the country is currently witnessing abductions, cases of politically motivated intra-party and inter-party violence and also realising that political actors have already started preparing for 2018 elections and cases of harassment, intimidation and organised violence and torture continue to be recorded.

Cognizant of the fact that Zimbabwe has endured a legacy of violence resulting in loss of life, displacements, enforced disappearances and torture just to mention a few. These have resulted in bitterness, hatred, revengefulness and lack of cohesion in Zimbabwe’s communities. It is, therefore, imperative to break the cycle of violence and establish a strong foundation for peace and justice thereby inculcating a culture of respect for human rights in Zimbabwe.

Mindful of the fact that failure to operationalise the NPRC within a reasonable time is a violation of Section 324 of the Constitution which states that “ all constitutional obligations must be performed diligently and without delay.”

We, therefore, call for:

1. The Executive to finalise the appointment of Commissioners and urge the responsible ministry to put expeditiously in place an enabling law that will ensure that the NPRC becomes operational.
2. The Government of Zimbabwe to demonstrate strong political will and commitment to national healing, peace and reconciliation by ensuring that the NPRC is operationalised without delay.
3. The government to prioritise the NPRC in its 2016 Budget by clearly dedicating resources to funding the NPRC.

In light of the above, as a consortium of organisations involved in peacebuilding efforts in Zimbabwe, we commit ourselves to assisting the government to achieve this as we have done in the past.

Statement endorsed by:

Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) ……………………………….

Heal Zimbabwe Trust                                                 (HZT)   …………………………….

Zimbabwe Human rights NGO Forum                                                ……………………………..

Zimbabwe Centre for Civic Education Trust           (Zimcet)            ……………………………..

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For a quarter of a century the country was suppressed by the military rule which dictated the direction the country was taking. We have seen mountains of persecutions and the deep decay of human rights in Burma.

The current episodes of events in Burma is highly welcome especially to people like me who are human rights activists. We are enthused by the positive change and the movement towards democracy though slower than anticipated. I was born in Zimbabwe where all the four recent elections were rigged and people were denied their fundamental rights to vote.

I know and understand the pain and injury that incredible elections inflict on the electorate. Myanmar has demonstrated the beauty of free and fair elections and other countries such as Zimbabwe should learn from that example and change the gears.

If credible elections can happen to Myanmar why not in Zimbabwe? The Mugabe regime need to know that they are not immune to the wave of change taking place elsewhere and therefore they should wake up and liberate people from chains of dictatorship. It is better to change to democratic rule now rather than waiting for the wave of change to dictate to them.

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Jacob Mafume

The new social media platforms are meant to help the party officials, supporters and the people of Zimbabwe, Africa and the international to be able to engage in interactive dialogue on various topical and relevant issues. The new website and Twitter comes after the PDP was successfully launched as a political party at the Harare City Sports Centre on 10 September this year.

The new platforms also increases the party’s interactive platforms, which include the PDP’s Facebook page, Face to Face campaigns, rallies and meetings.

The new website will among other issues have various regular updated sections such as the latest news, photos, videos, upcoming events, party structures, YouTube and the Twitter handle.

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Those who know how ZANU PF has systematically looted parastatals and private companies for as long as we can remember, will not find it strange that the same mafia has managed to have what they called an “oversubscribed dinner” where the cheapest table went for USD30, 000 while the top end was pegged at USD100, 000, with Jonathan Moyo’s “Lizard” presiding.

There are three scenarios that quickly come to mind when one is confronted with such figures; the first is that there is lots of money in Zimbabwe, the second one is that our priorities are misplaced and the third one is that we have some people in Zimbabwean who don’t know or appreciate the value of money especially that of the American dollar. I’m more inclined to believe that it is a matter of warped priorities coupled with dangerous politics of patronage.

For years, especially in the last decade, Mpilo Hospital, Harare Hospital and lately even Parirenyatwa Hospital, have all been reduced to institutions of dying rather than treatment and recovery. Talking about district and provincial hospitals, in this context, is a waste of time. They are all ghosts and shadows of what they used to be in the early 1980s when Zimbabwe appeared to be on the right path. As a result, several of our poor and desperate people have been left with no option except to resort to miraculous healing where they are fleeced daily by unscrupulous men and women who pretend to have supernatural powers including those of the cloth. This can be a subject for another day.

If our captains of industry had any semblance of dignity, they wouldn’t scramble for a seat at Lucifer’s table and pay a whopping USD100, 000 just to listen to someone narrating fairy tales about how great ZANU PF is when it has destroyed every dream we used to have.

Why would anybody with working senses part with a Dime only to seat next to those that have destroyed Africa’s once most promising economy? Are they saying “thank you for destroying Zimbabwe?” Wouldn’t it make sense to put that money, or just a fraction of it, into our hospitals, clinics and schools? In a country where clean running water is now a luxury, wouldn’t it be better to invest that kind of money into our waterworks or even fix a few potholes on some of our roads?

Can those executives stand in front of a mirror, feel good and say to themselves, “I’ve made a great contribution to this country?” by making disgusting donations to ZANU PF? How do those who run struggling parastatals such as ZINWA, ZESA, NRZ, ZBC, GMB etc. feel when they make exorbitant sponsorship to Lucifer’s dinner while Zimbabweans have no running water, electricity, trains and can’t get paid for their produce at GMB?

How do employees who work hard for peanuts which they hardly get on time, feel when their employer is in the newspapers for writing a blank cheque at a ZANU PF dinner? Why doesn’t ZANU PF use what they have looted over the years to fund their operations? Why didn’t they just sell a few carats from Marange that they are certainly hiding somewhere? Why does Zimbabwe need Dangote when it can afford to burn millions of American dollars in one night to finance a useless shindig called people’s annual conference? And those who think they are paying protection fees to ZANU PF, why would they go to such an extent to protect a business that is not making any reasonable profits?

Not long ago, Dzikamai Mavhaire was in the news for having made an inappropriate donation to Joice Mujuru while he was Minister for Energy and Power Development where he reportedly siphoned $40,000 from ZESA. Why is it appropriate now for the same organisations to make hefty donations to ZANU PF at a dinner? Isn’t it clear to anybody that the result of the two actions is the same; a bleeding economy?

We were also told that Mugabe’s portraits were auctioned during the function. While nobody would give a hoot about the auctioning of a dinosaur’s portrait at a private function for thugs without conscience, the organisers would probably have made more money if they had sold more portraits of Zimbabwe’s most entertaining clown at the moment, Queen Jezebel, who reduces comedians like Mukadota, Paraffin, Gringo, mai Sorobhi, even Chinos to kindergarten levels once she gets access to the microphone.

Those who continue abusing state resources to appease their political masters, must be made to account one day. The encouraging story of Myanmar must teach us that everything comes to an end no matter how long it takes, including political madness.

Moses Chamboko is a pro-democracy activist and interim Secretary General for ZUNDE. He writes in his private capacity.

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This year was very interesting because it was dominated by the elements in Zanu PF who support essential changes to the way in which we are being governed. The background to this meeting was the continued deterioration in revenues to the State and the recent meeting held in Lima where the Zimbabwe delegation met with our international creditors to discuss our arrears and future financing.

The Minister of Finance made his position clear, he outlined how he saw the macroeconomic fundamentals and the essential changes needed to put the country back onto a growth path.

The main difficulty he had was the fact that he continued to argue that the economy was expanding – his figure for 2015 is a modest 1,5 per cent. However he put a graph on the screen behind him showing the decline in revenue from all sources. This showed that the revenues to the State were declining and that the rate of decline was accelerating.

It has long been my own view that the economy is actually contracting – all indicators point towards a decline in economic activity of between 5 and 10 per cent. The other fact that the raw data suggests is that the rate of decline is actually accelerating.

I do not think he could be seriously challenged on the rest of what he had to say because he was brutally honest. We must stop complaining about “sanctions” because that was not our problem; our problem was how to expand the productive base of the economy.

His statement was well received but it was clear to all in the conference that he had little real support in the ruling Party. So long as rogue elements in the Party continue with political suppression in the countryside and make radical statements which violate basic principles of human and political rights and propose destructive economic policies that are totally hostile to the private sector. So long as this discord exists between hostile elements in the ruling Party, no one in their sound mind is going to invest in Zimbabwe.

When Zanu PF won an overwhelming victory in July 2013 they were shocked, first by the subdued reaction of the whole country which simply went into mourning and then as the days went by, by the harsh judgment of the markets. The stock market crashed by 30 per cent in two weeks as investors sold their shares and took their money back. Customers of local commercial banks simply withdrew what money they had in the banks, targeting the new local banks and in the next year 10 banks closed their doors, unable to pay their depositors back their money and another billion dollars was lost.

The recovery in the economy which had seen revenues to the State rise from $280 million in 2008 to $4,3 billion in 2013, simply ran into a brick wall – revenues fell to $3,8 billion in 2014 a decline of 12 per cent and this deterioration in economic activity and in State revenues has continued. The stock market continues to decline steadily – every month and all of us wonder how low can the market go?

The main problem is one of political legitimacy and stability. Despite every effort made by the international community at large and some elements in the Zanu PF Party, the basic position of Zimbabwe as a pariah state has not changed. Indeed there has been no reason why it should change – human and political rights continue to be abused on a daily basis, political freedoms are violated at will, the implementation of the new Constitution has been slow and erratic and the rule of law is not being observed in any consistent and reliable way. Indeed new farm invasions and the State inspired theft of private property continues without respite.

Despite the rhetoric in the state controlled media and the efforts by line ministries, investors remain stubbornly reticent to increase their exposure in Zimbabwe. While FDI inflows to our neighbors run to many billions of dollars a year, new investment in Zimbabwe, despite the abundance of opportunities, remains miniscule. The only major source of inflows are remittances from the Diaspora at the rate of about $3 billion a year as they struggle to maintain their families still trying to survive at “home”.

The devil is in the detail – what we need today is close, specific attention to all aspects of our national life and the way we are doing things. As the Chinese say, “if you are not catching fish, it is not because there are no fish in the water, it is because your bait is wrong”.

Clearly we are at the end of the Mugabe era – this is obvious to all and we need a succession plan – one which will identify a successor who has the support and the capacity to run our affairs. The plan must keep the country peaceful and stable while the plan is implemented and must be acceptable to all Zimbabweans. MDC would like that plan to be democratic in character but that is clearly not in the minds of either the Zanu PF or the Military Junta in the form of the JOC who actually control the country.

Clearly therefore, this issue is in the hands of a few powerful people whose motivation is hardly the wider welfare of the people or the interests of the investing public. If the Mnangagwa faction wins the present struggle for power then one set of circumstances will prevail – probably accelerated reform and attempts to engage with the West. If the Grace Mugabe group comes out on top, I fear for the stability of the State and accelerated economic collapse.

Even if the outcome is reasonable – then we have a long road to walk to get back to where we ought to be. The West will require massive reforms in how we run our affairs – politically and from an economic stand point. They will require that we implement the new Constitution and adhere to its principles. They will demand a road map to free and fair elections just as has been concluded in Burma and probably with the same outcome. Tough.

Then we have to win the beauty contest that is the competition to entice investors to back our efforts to grow the economy – fast, so that we can meet the needs for jobs and a decent standard of living for everyone. They are not going to respond to pretty adverts on CNN – it will take firm commitment to the rule of law, protection for property rights, respect for contracts of all kinds, competitive conditions for new major investors and the recovery of our road, rail and power systems.

Even then we are going to have to have a leadership that shows consistency and does not change its mind every few days or makes arbitrary decisions. They must know up front what conditions will apply to their business ventures and they must be able to make a decent return.

Can we do it? Yes we can but only if we really work together on a new deal – the old one simply is not working.

The post The Devil is in the Detail appeared first on The Zimbabwean.

Ivan Simonovic

Mandela’s personal involvement in this outcome has been significant: Five years earlier, freshly out of prison, he had successfully pressed his predecessor – then President FW De Klerk – to announce a moratorium on executions. At the inauguration of the court four months before the ruling, President Mandela had opened his speech with telling words, referring to the 1963-64 trial in which he and his comrades had feared for their lives: “The last time I appeared in court was to hear whether I would be sentenced to death,” he had said.

For decades, South Africa had executed thousands of its citizens, overwhelmingly among its Black population, earning a top ranking among countries with the highest rates of capital punishment in the world.

Announcing the court’s decision, Arthur Chaskalson, its president, noted: “Everyone, including the most abominable of human beings, has a right to life, and capital punishment is therefore unconstitutional.” Remarkably, each of the court’s 11 judges issued a written opinion backing the ruling.

With that ruling, the new South Africa stood at a turning point of what was to follow across the continent. It heralded a momentous shift in the use of the death penalty in Africa, as more countries joined the global trend away from it. Once common, the practice was now being abandoned. By 1999, 21 African countries were abolitionists in law or practice. Of those, 10 had abolished capital punishment and 11 had de-facto moratoriums.

Today, twenty years since South Africa’s ruling, 37 out of 54 countries on the continent are abolitionists in law or practice, according to the International Federation for Human Rights. Among them, 18 have abolished the death penalty, 19 have de-facto moratoriums.

Last December, at the United Nations General Assembly, 27 African countries joined 90 others from around the world in voting in favour of a resolution calling for a progressive end to the use of the death penalty. Five months earlier, in July 2014 in Cotonou, Benin’s capital, the continent had adopted a declaration urging countries still imposing it to “consider abolishing the death penalty.” The African Union is now considering an additional protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the abolition of the death penalty, a major development that will further put the continent on the footsteps of Mandela, one of its most illustrious sons.

Yet, as Africa makes major strides away from the death penalty, worrying developments cloud the horizon. Among them, the continued imposition of mandatory death sentences for some crimes in a handful of countries such as Kenya and Nigeria. Uganda, thankfully, has recently taken steps to repel similar provisions from its criminal code.

Another persisting problem is the lack of fair trial guarantees. In March 2014, The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns that the hasty judicial process in Somalia, in which there were only nine days between the alleged killings and the executions, deprived the suspects of their rights to legal representation and appeal.

More visible in recent months is the resurgence of the death penalty in contexts marked by a significant deterioration of the security climate. Faced with the mounting threat of violent extremism by Boko Haram, Nigeria has joined the list of countries prescribing the death penalty for vaguely defined “terrorist” activities. More strikingly, Egypt has resorted to mass trial. In 2013, a court imposed death sentences on more than 1,000 people in two such trials for the alleged killing of a police officer and other violent activities.

All these developments point to the need for a stronger advocacy against the use of the death penalty. Across Africa, much like on the global stage, the direction is now clear, but the mobilisation must continue. Leaders should be part of the debate. Civil society actors and academic institutions must join in too. And everyone should know the facts, starting with those that are no longer in dispute.

First, there is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty deters crime, as researchers in various countries have shown. Countries where the death penalty has been abandoned did not, in general, record a rise in crimes. Second, and most unfortunately, the death penalty is a most final punishment. Even the best justice systems have sentenced innocent people to die. In the United States 20 persons on death row have been exonerated through DNA testing, according to the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organisation based in New York. Third those who end up executed are almost always and everywhere vulnerable because of poverty, minority status or mental disability.

These are just some of the many reasons why, at the United Nations, we strongly believe that, as the Secretary-General puts it, “the death penalty has no place in the 21st century.” Or, in the simple words of the great Madiba himself: “The death sentence is a barbaric act.” It is time to let it go!

*The author is the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for human rights

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Walter Munyarari

Walter Munyarari (25) confirmed to The Zimbabwean on Tuesday that he was shot in the face by security guards when he was caught
panning the diamonds illegally.

He is set to have  surgery to remove two bullets on his face.
“I had gone to pan for the diamonds illegally and I was shot by the security guards on my face twice. I managed to run away and went home. I am here now to seek medication and I am in great pain.”

“I have no regrets for my actions because I cannot access
employment in Zimbabwe and I did this out of desperation. I needed
financial support for my mother, wife and two children,” said Munyarari in an interview with The Zimbabwean.
He also alleged that laxity in security in the diamond fields is also
contributing to the increase in panners taking their chances.

“We have become a reliable source of income for security guards and
mining officials who demand money from us to pan in the red zones.
Mine workers especially at Mbada Diamonds work for nothing and on average 40 panners per day pay their security guards to access the mining fields. The only problem comes when you are caught by the reaction team on patrol like in my case,” said Munyarari.

Manicaland Police Spokesperson Luxson Chananda said he could not
provide a comment as he continuously said he would look into the
matter and later make comment.

Further efforts to get a comment from Chananda proved fruitless as he said he would make a comment later.

Meanwhile, the Centre For Research and Development (CRD) has said the biting economic hardships have seen an increase in the number of panners illegally entering the diamond fields of Marange to pan for diamonds.

The Acting Director of CRD JamesMupfumi told The Zimbabweanyesterday that the situation has been exacerbated by government’s failure to expeditiously institute reforms in the diamond sector in order to force mining companies to account for their mining practices.

“The security situation in Marange has deteriorated. The CRD is on
record for calling upon government to halt mining operations in the
diamond fields in order to allow due diligence processes. The
government has not considered such options in spite of admitting to
loss of revenue and human rights violations of communities by these
companies,” he said.

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Severe drought and floods are causing malnutrition and increasing children’s vulnerability to killer diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, cholera, and dengue fever, Unicef said on Tuesday.

“The consequences could ripple through generations unless affected communities receive support,” it said in a statement.

El Nino, caused by Pacific Ocean warming, has caused debilitating drought in several parts of Africa, including Malawi and Zimbabwe.

The worst affected country is Ethiopia, which has the second-largest population in Africa and is suffering through its worst drought in 30 years. More than eight million Ethiopians need food aid, and the number could rise to 15 million by early 2016, the United Nations said.

At least 350 000 Ethiopian children have severe acute malnutrition, Unicef said, meaning they are likely to die without therapeutic feeding.

In Somalia, flash floods have destroyed thousands of makeshift homes and crops, with further rains expected to increase the number of people in need of life-saving aid above the current 3.2 million.

El Nino is forecast to continue strengthening into early 2016, causing more floods and droughts and fuelling Pacific typhoons and cyclones. El Nino is not caused by climate change, but scientists believe they are becoming more intense as a result of it.

Unicef’s executive director, Anthony Lake, said he hoped the humanitarian crisis caused by El Nino would focus minds at UN talks in France starting on November 30 to secure a new global deal to slow climate change.

“Its intensity and potential destructiveness should be a wake-up call as world leaders gather in Paris,” Lake said in a statement.

“As they [world leaders] debate an agreement on limiting global warming, they should recall that the future of today’s children – and of the planet they will inherit – is at stake.”

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Brian and Precious Kandare

Daily Mail

Brian Kandare (29) and Precious Kandare (37) have been jailed after admitting the manslaughter of eight-month-old Rebecca, who died from pneumonia in January last year.

She stopped breathing at her parents’ Apostolic Church of God, where a 20-strong congregation held prayers in a converted garage in the back garden of a house.

At the time of her death, Rebecca weighed just 5,24kg.

There was no trace of food or milk in her stomach and she was suffering from the worst case of rickets an expert has seen in his 33-year career, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

Her parents had inadequately fed her for months, leaving Rebecca “morbidly thin” as she “wasted away”.

In the weeks and months leading up to her death, the couple repeatedly eschewed the help available to them from the National Health Service in favour of “faith healing, ritual and the power of prayer”, the court was told.

Three days before their daughter died, they then handed over responsibility of her care to a church midwife under the belief that she had “supernatural healing powers”.

Justice Edis jailed Brian for nine-and-a-half years and Precious for eight years.

Prosecuting, Jonas Hankin QC said Rebecca was “significantly underweight and severely malnourished” and that she weighed as much as a three-month-old when she died at the New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton.

He said: “Her illness was treatable and her death was preventable.

“It is highly unlikely that Rebecca would have died if she had been presented for medical care more than 24 hours before she collapsed.”

Their church, the Apostolic Church of God in Wolverhampton, had strict views on modern healthcare with members of the congregation encouraged to speak to the church’s “midwife”, who had no formal qualifications, before seeking further help for medical problems.

Members could also be excluded from certain church activities if they went to a doctor without permission, the court heard.

The Kandares became members of the Apostolic Church of God, based in a house in Nine Elms Lane, Wolverhampton, in 2010, a year after they met at a different church in the West Midlands.

Their church — a form of Pentecostal Protestant Christianity — adheres to a strict interpretation of certain rules, including not allowing modern medicine, instead entrusting followers’ well-being to God.

The court heard the church had a congregation of around 20, with prayers taking place in a converted garage.
Prosecutor Hankin said both male and female members were required to shave their heads, and to attend wearing white clothing.

Women also had to cover their heads with white headscarves.

Hankin said the Kandares’ particular church had become “increasingly strict in the interpretation of religious teachings”, with some members leaving, citing a “hardening of attitudes in the leadership of the church as the main reason”.

“Members of the congregation were undoubtedly encouraged to speak to Constance Machangara, known as the midwife, before seeking medical help, but the choice whether or not to seek medical assistance, ultimately, was theirs and theirs alone.

“If a member of the church seeks any sort of medical treatment or help then they would have to be ‘cleansed’ by the pastors with prayer before being accepted back into the church.”

Hankin said until a member had been “cleansed”, they would not be allowed to start their own songs in the church, and there were extreme examples of people being expelled.

The court heard that in 2011, Brian became a pastor at the church and undertook his role “with gusto”, becoming a “rigourous adherent of its practices and teachings”.

Precious had arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe at the age of 24 and claimed political asylum after opposing President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.

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Dr Sylvester Nyatsuro

Dr Sylvester Nyatsuro, a British citizen, claims that the Mugabe regime has told him he can have the farm although he has been resident in England for more than 10 years.

He and his wife Veronica, who is related to Grace Mugabe, are trying to kick out the owner Philip Rankin, who bought the farm with the approval of the Mugabe authorities. He has been besieged in his home by hired thugs unable to care for his tobacco crop worth up to £240,000.

The demonstration is organized by the Zimbabwe Vigil, which has been protestingoutside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London every Saturday since October 2002 insupport of human rights in Zimbabwe.

Vigil Co-ordinator Fungayi Mabhunu said: ‘All we require from the Nyatsuros to stop our protests outside their clinic is that they drop their greedy and hypocritical claim on a farm in Zimbabwe with which they have no connection. They are obviously prospering here so what need do they have to take over someone’s home and livelihood in Zimbabwe?’

The Nyatsuros have made legal threats to try to stop press coverage of their outrageous behaviour. The Daily Telegraph here in the UK dropped a report it had carried in their print edition from their website. The Times was braver: it still carries its report on the Times website but with the disclaimer: ‘This article is the subject of a legal complaint from Mrs Veronica Nyatsuro’.

Date and time: Friday 13^th November from 12 noon – 3 pm.

Venue: The Willows Medical Centre, Church Street, Carlton, Nottingham NG4 1BJ.

For directions, check: http://www.nhs.uk/Services/GP/MapsAndDirections/DefaultView.aspx?id=38275

Contact: Chamunorwa Chisuko 07832920609, Enniah Dube 07403439707, Fungayi Mabhunu 07907089899.

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The winner in the last two contests was William Masvinu, a market porter whose face has now become something of a brand.

Less than two months ago, it was reported that just 13 people had registered to take part in the competition to crown Zimbabwe’s most aesthetically-challenged man.

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The escalation of violence leaves a lot to desire as it reflects high political intolerance and the extent to which freedom of association has been disregarded under certain circumstances.

On Tuesday 10 November 2015, a group of ZANU-PF youths in Highfield West high density suburb were involved in an intra-party  fight due to some differences regarding party restructuring processes. This followed skirmishes that had started on Monday 9 November in the same area.

Another incident of inter-party violence also occurred on Tuesday 10 November in Mbare where MDC-T youths were attacked by ZANU-PF supporters resulting in 3 people sustaining serious injuries. The inter party clashes took place after scores of MDC T youths attended a court hearing at Mbare magistrate’s court in solidarity with their fellow supporters who had been arrested on allegations of holding an illegal gathering in Hopley farm on Sunday the 8^th of November.

In view of this background, Heal Zimbabwe Trust is greatly concerned about this new wave of violence emanating from the main political parties in Zimbabwe. The situation  reflects a gloomy picture of what to expect during the impending 2018 election period. Heal Zimbabwe Trust is encouraging communities and political party leaders to openly castigate political violence and take punitive measures against instigators and perpetrators of violence. The police should also take action to combat violence without prejudice.

It is vital for all parties and concerned state authorities to respect human dignity because “…Peace begins with you; peace begins with me; Peace begins with us all…”

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