Sokwanele is pleased to announce that we have launched a constitution resource on our website. We hope that this online information system will provide users in Zimbabwe and in the diaspora with an simple way to familiarise themselves with the details of the current constitution, and with forthcoming drafts towards a proposed future constitution.

Zimbabwe’s new constitution, when it is finally enacted into law, will shape all of our futures, define our fundamental human rights, provide limits on political powers, outline rules shaping the police, defence forces, prisons and public services … and more. The constitution-making process encompasses all Zimbabweans. We encourage all Zimbabweans, no matter where they are in the world, to take part in the critical task of interrogating and thinking about the laws that will define all of our futures and establish the rights of Zimbabweans everywhere. (more…)

November saw news on Zimbabwe dominated by the on-going political differences between the Zimbabwe’s three main parties. More than a year after it was signed, the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which was meant to address the many crises facing Zimbabwe, has yet to be fully implemented. In amongst the many media reports discussing the persistent tensions and debates between the parties, there were other reports reflecting the unavoidable reality that Zimbabwe is still a nation in turmoil. These news reports do not speak of failures to implement the process, but point instead to brazen breaches of sections in the agreement.

An overview of the November news items highlighting breaches of the GPA throws up repeated mentions of wide-ranging human rights abuses involving Zimbabwe’s soldiers.

At the start of the month, The Zimbabwean newspaper described a horrific incident at the Chiadzwa Diamond Fields, where army personnel took it upon themselves to ‘punish’ three men who had entered a secure area. The men were taken to the army base where they were severely beaten. The next day they were taken back to the mines where they were reported to have been forced to carry four corpses (the bodies of civilians allegedly killed by the army) from the mines and back to the bases. (more…)

Finance Minister Tendai Biti ‘s 2010 Budget theme is Reconstruction with Equitable Growth and Stability. He summed up the budget as “a pro-poor, broad based and inclusive development framework” with “a strong emphasis on the key issues of education, health and social services”.

No Early Reintroduction of Zimbabwe Currency

The budget is in US dollars, and the Minister made it clear that it was the unanimous Government position that a return to the local currency could not be seriously considered until there is evidence of a strong economy, with annual sustainable GDP growth rates of over 6%, high exports and high foreign exchange reserves, plus a balanced budget and institutional credibility. Government has, however, started consultations on an optimum currency regime, which will be followed by democratic debate and public discussions commencing next year.

Minister Biti said he had anchored the budget on the Three Year Macro-Economic Policy and Budget Framework: 2010-2012 [STERP II] which the inclusive government had come up with as the successor to the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme [STERP]. (more…)

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, at a press conference in Cape Town today (Thursday, December 3), said that he, together with number of senior representatives from parties that constitute the country’s Inclusive Government, is visiting South Africa to hold a series of meetings with leading figures from the Zimbabwean Diaspora to discuss ways to fast-track sustainable economic growth in that country.

Tsvangirai, leading a government delegation, is meeting with prominent figures in Zimbabwe’s Diaspora coming from 14 countries. The meeting entitled, “The challenges of Economic Reconstruction” began in Franschhoek earlier today.

The meeting is aimed at facilitating dialogue between the Inclusive Government and Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. (more…)

A Paper Presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Association  of Third World Studies, Cape Coast, Ghana, November 21-24, 2009

Author: John Hickman

Introduction

Are post-election intimidation and violence attributable to intense electoral competition? This paper presents answers to that question based on empirical findings from an analysis of the events immediately following balloting in the 2008 general election in Zimbabwe, a time period marked by thousands of incidents involving threats and physical attacks. The scholarly warrant for this research is that post-election intimidation and violence merit research as political phenomena that are important for reasons that involve both normative and practical policy-making interests and that have not been much studied. Indeed, while the published research about intimidation and violence before and during balloting comprises a small literature, the published research about post-election intimidation and violence hardly comprises a literature at all. (more…)

Our recent action alert (please click here to take action), asking everyone to demand for an end to the lawless activities affecting several farmers and their families in the Chugutu area, briefly mentioned the situation on Wakefield Farm (Selous neighbours the Chegutu area). Ken Bartholomew, the farmer, has detailed his family’s experiences since Friday last week. The following was circulated by JAG email.

FRIDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2009

12.30PM: Felix Pambukani and about 15 to 20 other men arrived at my house gate demanding to know from me why I was still on the farm and why was I planting tobacco and what was I doing? 2 Ministry of Lands men from Chegutu – one of them being a Mr. Tony Makoshoni – ID number: 70-010006 G 38 and a Mr Chikadayi was also amongst these men and Kunonga was waiting at the Selous Police station.. DESPITE being told by myself and shown a letter from the Governor and Provisional Lands office – clearly stating that I have been given permission to carry on farming for the 2009/2010 season they still demanded that I stop all farming at once. They then left and proceeded to the house that they have already evicted my manager from. (more…)