The 'Smoking lounge'

There has been much hype in the Zim government press over the coming 2010 world cup, with Ministers and their lackeys drivelling on about the (highly unrealistic) expected influx of tourists. Of course there will be some spill over from the soccer frenzy, but sadly most of it will take the form of tourists flying directly into Victoria Falls or crossing over from Livingstone, for a day or two on their way to better facilities in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. One would think that the great Maosi Tunya was actually a South African destination as it is very often included in their domestic tour packages. Having visited the tourist town recently it is a sad, faded, shabby remnant of its previous glorious self. Indeed Unesco is currently threatening to downgrade it as a world heritage site.

Zimbabwe was once a tourist mecca, with all ages and budgets flocking to visit our rich and diverse range of destinations, from the Matobo hills to Hwange game reserve, the Victoria Falls to Kariba dam, Nyanga to Gonarezhou. Today over 80% of the luxury lodges, backpacker inns and small establishments have closed. I visited the Hwange Safari Lodge (owned mainly by ZPF) last year and we were the only tourists there rattling around in a vast hotel and being followed by a herd of staff, all bemoaning the state of affairs and longing for the old days when they were run off their feet.

But even when the holiday makers do trickle in, they face a multitude of obstacles that would challenge even the hardiest of their kind. The border posts are a nightmare, in particular Beit Bridge, which ranks amongst the foulest and filthiest of cess pits on the planet, a place where tourists are treated with hostility and suspicion.

Once the tourist vehicle has managed to traverse the bridge across “the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo”, which could take hours as it only has two lanes, one into and one out of South Africa, and is often clogged with massive trucks bringing in goods to Zimbabwe (but often empty on the outward journey). Fortunately the World Cup is taking place in mid winter so if you are stuck on this recently and inadequately built bridge, you won’t perish in 42degree heat whilst suspended over the river!

The visitor has arrived on Zimbabwean territory. He will first have to beat a path through the thronging mass of touts, offering to clear the way through the bureaucracy for outrageous fees, of course not including the cost of the bribes (that the tout will sort out for you), to pay for an expedited run through the lengthy border process with the open-to-negotiation border officials.

If the wary tourist is savvy and does not fall prey to the tout, then he has to brave the pushing and shoving in the first of many lines; the bridge toll $10, then into the line to pay the extortionate $100 road tax (for the pleasure of using the pockmarked and treacherous roads). To get clearance through customs you have to find a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) official to search your car to ensure you are not evading the payment of any duties. A word of advice, remember to declare your laptop, as if you do not you will be forced to pay a large deposit which in theory will be reimbursed on your outward journey. Zimra are known to base their employment policy on finding the most unpleasant and unhelpful individuals as possible, each one trying to outdo the other in the degree of hostility to travellers. Finally you can start your exploration of Zimbabwe.

But for the traveller who is jetting into the country and expects to depend on domestic flights to get around, BEWARE!

Last week I had the pleasure of flying to Bulawayo from Harare. I arrived at the airport in good time, only to be told the flight was delayed and held up in Vic Falls. When I enquired as to the problem I was dutifully informed by the very polite Air Zimbabwe official, “It is broken”! I waited some hours only to be advised I should return at 6am the next morning. I discovered the previous evening’s flight also had not taken off, as the landing lights at Harare airport were out of commission. So for two nights in a row Air Zimbabwe had to fork out for accommodation for the passengers who had flown into Harare, for the day only, from Bulawayo.

Both flights were put up at the Monomatapa Hotel, which charges a hefty $110 per night, no wonder Scair Zimbabwe is floundering and no wonder the hotel is rubbing its hands in glee. This week I also heard that the plane could not land in Bulawayo as the landing gear was malfunctioning and there is no emergency equipment to land in the second city. Fortunately the landing gear emerged en route to Harare, but once again, another night for passengers at the Monomatapa.

Once again, early in the morning, I made my way to the airport. Please remember that Air Zimbabwe is down to one small plane for domestic and some regional flights as the second is still out of commission from the warthog accident some time ago. So, this overburdened little Chinese-made plane, usually flies Bulawayo – Harare – Bulawayo – Johannesburg or Vic Falls depending on the day – Bulawayo – Harare –Bulawayo. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

My flight still had not arrived from Vic Falls by 6.30am so I decided to hang out in the Air Zimbabwe lounge which runs off the main lounge. There is a sign over the door which reads “Air Zimbabwe Lounge”, not business class lounge, nor VIP lounge, just plain old lounge. So in I went, ensconced myself on the tatty, but comfy, sofa to read the only paper available, the horrible Herald.

After an hour or so the passengers scheduled to leave on the morning flight (who would now have to wait for us evening flight passengers to go to Bulawayo and the plane to then return) started to saunter in. The newcomers into my quiet lounge looked rather officious and I was sussing them out when an Air Zim official asked for my boarding pass and off he went. When he returned he smugly informed me I was not a business class passenger, how could I be I retorted, there is no business class on domestic flights! But rather than fight with this minor official I decided to vacate my seat and returned to the masses, where I belong.

By 10am I was starting to get desperate for a caffeine fix, but the bar in the domestic lounge had no hot water. Finally I begged the barman to go over to the international terminal to get the needed liquid and I was rewarded with the sighs of relief from the passengers who applauded my dogged insistence for service. I glugged the glorious black liquid down, but needed my next fix, a hit of nicotine. I asked the barman where I could smoke and he came out from behind his bar cage, kicked open the grey door next to the men’s loos and welcomed me into what he gleefully informed me was the “Smoking Lounge”. It is a filthy little cage bordering on the runway. I shared the space with the only other smoker, a worker in his green bib.

Finally, at noon, the plane took off to Bulawayo.

How is Zimbabwe going to fare with an increase of tourism? This remains to be seen, but I for one look forward to the day when we once again can rebuild this vibrant industry and welcome back all and sundry to enjoy our rich and diverse land.

Conference Flyer

(Via circulated email) Human Resources (Pvt) Ltd has obtained a commitment from the Minister and the Permanent Secretary to address a follow-up conference on Friday, March 26.

A good line-up of lawyers and experienced business speakers have also been asked to address the conference and will  make a useful contribution too.

If you can make it to the conference and if you can help the government officials gain a better understanding of the requirements of genuinely helpful indigenisation promotion policies, or even if you want to gain a better understanding of the issues involved, this could be a very important event for you to attend.

Details on how to enrol in the flyer available for download at the end of this post. Fees and speaker details provided below.

Speakers:

• Hon. Minister S. Kasukuwere – Min. of Youth Dev., Ind. & Empowerment
• The Permanent Secretary – Min. of Youth Dev., Ind. & Empowerment (Panel)
• Mr T. Musarara – Secretary General, AAG
• Prof. E. Masunungure – Director, MPOI
• Adv. E. Morris – LLB(Hons), (Lond), Barrister
• Mr J. Robertson – Economic Consultant, REIS
• Adv. Jeremy Lewis – Optima Services
• Mr P. Cawood – Independent Consultant
• Dr E. Bloch – Partner, H & E Bloch & Co
• Mr D Harrison – Industrial Psychologist, Human Resources (Pvt) Ltd

This Conference will go ahead, especially if the Act/Regs are repealed/withdrawn, in the interests of national economic development

FEE: $120-00 (includes lunches, refreshments, e-mail or hard copies of all papers, and attendance at all sessions). Enter early to avoid disappointment. Fee may be tax allowable. Group discounts negotiable. Cancellations will not be refunded, but substitutes may be nominated. (Space limited, only one Jacaranda Room)
Bank Details: Stanbic Bank, Park Lane Branch, Acc. No.0222023094401 or cash to
11 Lawson Avenue, cnr Blakiston Street, Milton Park, Harare.

Click here to download a copy of the flyer and enrolment form: in PDF format and in Word format. Click the image above to enlarge and preview.

Please circulate widely.

Gwaai River Hotel as it was in its glory days

Gwaai River Hotel today, after ten years of chaotic 'land reform'

A friend today gave me images of the Gwaai River Hotel taken in recent years, and it hurled me back to my childhood. The hotel is a fixture of my very early youth, inextricably locked into my earliest memories of Zimbabwe. A year or so ago I was with my father when we drove past the turning off to the hotel, and I asked him to take me back so I could see it again: “There’s nothing there anymore; I don’t think you should see it”. My father, who once introduced me to a friend of his as his ‘bush baby’, knows how much I loved the place.

I understood from the pictures I saw today why he didn’t want me to see it. It is gone. Totally destroyed, and all this senseless destruction has taken place in the last ten years in the wake of Zanu PF’s chaotic land reform programme. My memories, however, are not destroyed.

Then...

... and now.

The hotel was a hub of the local community, attracting miners, safari operators, hunters, conservationists, farmers and passing tourists. My memories are those of a child: of the gloriously blue swimming pool, with a paddling pool as warm as wee at one end. A trampoline that was less boing-boing-boing and more ker-booyooing – ker-boyooing – ker-boyooing (if most trampolines aspired to be being a tightly-pulled drum, this one longed for retirement days as a deep feather-bed). It was wonderful though – especially when an adult hopped on: I remember my father bouncing me while I sat at his feet,  so high that he literally sent me flying off the trampoline, fortunately caught by someone standing near-by.

I remember the putt-putt course, crafted out of concrete in impossible humps and tunnels. And the tennis-courts near the trampoline, children shrieking and bouncing while adults – all wearing crisp whites – played tennis. I remember taking a turn at pulling the dining room’s punkah wallah – I was hopelessly bad at it. And in later years when I was bit older, the horses: two in particular, a smallish brown horse and a larger grey that had an attitude and was my nemisis, both very efficient at flicking their ears at Gwaai flies.

People who were ‘grown-ups’ at the time will now fondly talk about the money collection – currencies from everywhere in the world – framed in the bar. And the huge parties, especially at New Year. My memories of those evenings are of hurtling around the gardens at night, in my pyjamas when I should have been in bed, with a whole group of other kids while our parents partied.

In many respects these memories are predictable, but there are always three thoughts that I have which precede these.

The first is of the short drive towards the hotel, the car hot and stuffy from a long journey turning onto a road that dipped down to a narrow concrete bridge with a stomach-pulling lurch as the car rose on the other side and then cocked to the right – the hotel facing us just before we turned.

My second memory (which surprises me given I was so young) is of the birdlife: walking through the narrow gate in the wall into a sanctuary of shady trees around the front of the hotel, and into a prism of dappled light and bird-song.

My third memory is of the proprietors, Harold and Sylvia Broomberg, who ran the hotel for decades, including the horror times of the war and the Gukuruhundi. It is only after my adult mind has arrived and been welcomed by them that I turn to the ’sweetie’ memories of childish fun listed above.

As I’ve grown up I’ve developed a deep reluctance to look back to those times. For a start, much of the content on the web where people celebrate ‘looking back’ is dominated by ex-Rhodesian die-hards,  their memories offered to the world in the context of ‘…see… things were better then than they are now‘. This mind-set denies the reality of the experiences of the majority at the time, and in sharing my memories, I in no way want anyone to think I endorse the historical and social context they exist within. However, nor do I want to qualify the sheer joy and innocence of childhood memories with political caveats.

I know full well that had I experienced those days from the perspective of the person I have grown up to become today, I would look at pre-Independence experiences with a very different set of eyes. As a child though, I was unaware of the context I grew up in: I didn’t know until I was much older, for example, that behind his back some people referred to my father as a ‘communist’, because his views of the current context angered many around him (the word used less to accurately describe his political views, and hurled more as an expletive at a man who believed the Smith government trying to maintain the status-quo was profoundly wrong).

I think one of the most overwhelming reasons to not want to look back though is the nostalgic pain it invokes. I looked at the photos my friend gave me with deep sadness, and then found myself gripped by a desire to see pictures of what it looked like when I was child. In my search to do so I found this Facebook group, and it was when I saw pictures of Harold and Sylvia that I started crying as I recognised the deeply familiar faces of two people that I have such fond memories of.

Harold and Sylvia Broomberg

Only then did it dawn on me that the beauty and warmth of the place and my most treasured memories had everything to do with these two people.

I remember both of them exuding an incredible gentleness, softly spoken and extremely kind. They knew me by name even though I must have been one of hundreds of children passing through their hotel, whining before we reached the front door that I didn’t want to use the loo first, I wanted to go straight to the trampoline! I know that my parents were probably aware that they were arriving at an establishment owned and run as a formal business by a couple, but as a child I had no appreciation of formalities: for me, visiting the Gwaai River Hotel was like arriving at a relative’s home and settling in as quickly as possible, and moaning like hell when I had to leave. Harold and Sylvia made it feel that way.

In the discussion section of the Facebook group, Harold and Sylvia’s daughter writes in 2008:

Harold has a prayer that has been in his heart almost all his life. It goes like this:

All through this day
let me touch as many
lives as possible,
and every life I touch
do You, dear Lord, quicken,
whether through the words I say,
the things I do
or the life I live.
So be it.

Harold carried this prayer in his heart, but he showed it in his actions and speech too.

When I first saw the photos my friend gave me today, I felt deeply depressed and I said “I’m never going to go back there. My dad was right, I’ll bawl”.

Her response was one word: “Rebuild”.

There is something very forward-thinking and positive about that: just because it’s over doesn’t mean it’s OVER. And as I realised towards the end of my self-indulgent trip down memory-lane, the real gift wasn’t the stuff – the fan, the trampoline, the putt-putt course etc. What made it so special to so many – even if they don’t properly realise it yet – was that it was run with love and deep affection for the people who visited the place. Harold’s prayer says it all: if only his prayer was the philosophy in the hearts of everyone and all the political parties involved our country, we would be rich and happy beyond our wildest dreams.

Harold died last year, peacefully in his sleep. I can only imagine how Sylvia and their family may feel when they see these images: but I hope they take away from this a perception that the most important part of Gwaai River Hotel, the heart and soul of the place, can never be destroyed by the hate and ugly destructiveness of Mugabe and his thugs. And that’s the postive attitude and warm spirit embodied by Harold and his wife:  a special thing to keep in mind and hand down to generations to come as we all move forwards to rebuild, repair and nurture our beloved country.

If we treasure this spirit instead, and stop weeping about what once was, then what a gift they’ve given us.

(Via Veritas) The Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion will be holding public hearings on the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (General) Regulations [SI 21/2010] in Bulawayo and Harare. Venues and times are as follows:

Bulawayo

Friday 12th March, Small City Hall, 9 am

Harare

Monday 15th March, Harare International Conference Centre, 10 am

The Portfolio Committee Chairperson is Hon Zhanda, the Committee Clerk is Mr Ratsakatika.

Public Welcome to Attend Hearings

Interested stakeholders and members of public are invited to attend these hearings at which they will be given the opportunity to give evidence and make representations on the regulations. If you are making a written submission, it is advisable to take as many copies as possible for circulation at the meeting. If you are able to take a copy to Parliament before the meeting and give it to the Committee Clerk [see above] and he will duplicate copies for the members of the Committee.

If you want to make an oral submission, signify this to the Committee Clerk so that he can notify the chairperson to call on you. An oral submission is more effective if it is followed up in writing.

Written submissions

If you are unable to attend a hearing, written submissions and correspondence may be addressed to:

The Clerk of Parliament

Attention: Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion

P.O. Box CY298

Causeway, Harare

I think what ruffles my feathers more than anything about Zanu PF’s indigenisation policy is the duplicity shrouding the  sanctimonious speech around it. It also bugs me that the few people supporting it fail to see the wood for the trees, and  that they foolishly turn a blind eye to Zimbabwean history as recent as five years ago.

For a start, there’s a world of difference between an empowerment policy that is based on the notion that one group of people ‘has too much and should be punished for it‘, and one that argues ‘I want the entire country  to have the ability to be equally as successful as that group of people‘.

Second, there is an absurd contradiction in any policy that claims to be economically ‘empowering’ when its means of enforcement requires the calculated disempowerment of a group of people.

But these contradictions are small details when viewed alongside Zanu PF’s hypocrisy.

You can divide the Zimbabwean economy of the last ten years into roughly three broad categories:

Group 1: The Zanu PF elite, profiteering out of shady business deals and preferential treatment for Zanu PF; for example, access to fuel and preferential exchange rates (all lucratively sold on the black—market).

Group 2: The formal business community, fighting to survive in the context of hyperinflation, currency shortages, corruption, and a skills deficit and, most impressively, doing so amidst Zanu PF meddling with issues like price-controls, wages, and pilfering of money held in foreign currency accounts.

Group 3: The ‘wheeler-dealer’ informal market: these being the people who pushed their imaginations to the furthest boundaries, spotted opportunities when they arose and adapted speedily to changing conditions, all the while ducking and diving to avoid police crackdowns.

It is Group 3 that has always given me the most hope for our country’s future: their imagination, their ability to adapt to changing conditions, and a willingness to take risks seeming to me to be a fantastic basis for future training and entrepreneurship.

Group 2 is undoubtedly the most skilled in formal business skills – surely, they must be among the best in the world! We saw numerous businesses dying month by month through the mess that Zanu PF made of our economy, meaning that those businesses that hobbled through to the other side – regardless of the colour of their skins – must be exceptionally gifted at keeping a business afloat. In any other country awards would be handed out:  in ours, scarce and rare skills will be rewarded with a punitive policy which will only set the economy reeling backwards again.

It would be seductive to think that the people from the wheeler-dealer Group 3 will join forces with Group 2 and put their cheeky ingenuity to work in a formal business sector instead. I’m sure romantics will think that this is what indigenisation and economic empowerment are all about…? But anyone who hopes for this only has to cast their minds back to 2005, when Zanu PF set about trashing the livelihoods of those in the informal sector through yet another self-serving policy called Murambatsvina.

Far from empowering Zimbabweans, Zanu PF brutally destroyed them – deliberately, calculatedly, with violence. People died. Children starved. Thousands and thousands lost their homes. In winter. When it is freezing cold. It’s worth pointing out that those affected by Murambatsvina were all indigenous and also disempowered, but Zanu PF wasn’t as puffed up with self-righteousness in those days… were they?

Why now float a policy that is ostensibly about economic empowerment, when barely five years ago Zanu PF was stripping indigenous Zimbabweans of the very little they had? Why should anyone on the receiving end of Zanu PF’s thuggery five years ago ever believe that suddenly they will be empowered by the same party now? It’s all absurd.

The bottom-line is, Zanu PF wouldn’t know real economic empowerment if it smacked them in the face and stank of dead-fish.

After all we’ve been subjected too, Zanu PF now swaggering around masquerading as a champion of empowerment, literally makes me feel ill. My nausea reached high levels yesterday when it was reported that Saviour Kasukuwere apparently declared to journalists

“There is no going backwards,” he said, “There are those who think the regulations would be changed. Forget it. Forward ever, backward never.”

The Zimbabwe Times write that Kasukuwere then went on to castigate

journalists whom he accused of have developed the habit of opposing every policy that comes from Zanu-PF without giving themselves the opportunity to study its intensions.

He said clever journalists should seize the opportunity to also empower themselves through the vehicle. (My emphasis).

We all know what that means, but Eyewitness News spelled it out for the hopeless romantics amongst us with a story titled “Write nice on BEE & we’ll empower you”. They wrote:

Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation Minister told reporters on Monday that if they write good stories about black empowerment he would make sure they were “empowered” too. (My emphasis).

Kasukuwere appeared not to say what would happen if reporters instead continued to write the truth, but one can assume they are unlikely to find themselves on the receiving ends of ZanuPF bestowed ‘gifts’ – i.e. rewards for being good to the monster and writing lies.  One can also assume that it would be irrelevant whether they were indigenous or not, what matters is how much they appeased the Zanu PF machine.

And there it is in a nutshell: ‘empowerment’ in the Zanu PF lexicon could be loosely defined as “you scratch my back, we’ll scratch yours”. In any other lexicon the word defined in this way would be referred to as ‘corruption’.

But bowing to Zanu PF largesse is the fastest way to board the gravy train, and catapult oneself into Economic Group 1, the fastest growing pool of multi-millionaires in the country. A group that somewhow managed to become disgustingly wealthy while the majority literally starved or were forced to become economic migrants.  A group that castigates the West, whites, asians and foreign investors from ostentatious homes with fridges packed with luxury food items and garages housing mercedes benzes and fancy four-wheel drive vehicles.

It is grotesque. Is this the type of ‘economic empowerment’ we want for Zimbabwe?

Unfortunately, the skills required to reach this group are not skills conducive to running a successful business, or skills that lend themselves to the betterment of our nation: this is aptly demonstrated by Zanu PF’s catastrophic efforts to run a successful country (yet another reason why Zanu PF has no authority to talk about the meaning of ‘economic empowerment’).

Their incompetence is beautifully demonstrated by the impact the indigenisation policy has had on the economy today: trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exhange has plummeted from a daily average of US$2 million to US$500 000 since news of the regulations broke (SWRA).

Credit where credit is due: when it comes to destroying an economy, Zanu PF are world class leaders.

What an amazing tribute to Prudence and all the wonderful members of Liyana. The full acceptance speech is posted below and can be read on the official Oscar’s page here.

I was expecting the usual Oscar-style thank-you speeches that we all have yawned through, but the producer, Elinor Burkett – who lives in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe – was on a mission! She cut in to the director’s speech with an intense sense of purpose. I was already emotional, blown-away by the fact the film had actually won an Oscar, but tears literally poured down my face when Burkett, who looked emotional herself, said

In a world in which most of us are told and tell ourselves that we can’t. Liyana, the band behind this film, teaches us that we’re wrong. Against all odds they did, so we can.

I can’t hear the words “Against all odds they did, so we can” without thinking of Zimbabwe because we are a nation daring to hope for a future without fear and tyranny, and we are a people who feel that all our hopes are fragile  and flimsy when stacked up ‘against the odds’  hurled at us by a tyrannical Zanu PF.

“We can’t”  is a daily struggle for me, and I know its a daily struggle for lots of Zimbabweans; in fact, I’d say that “we can’t” is probably one of the biggest obstacles confronting us.

It’s hard to square up to the enormity of the obstacles facing us and think, ‘we can do it’; it becomes even harder to do this when just as you think  that maybe we’ve taken a small positive step forward, Zanu PF comes along and blindsides us with yet another ill-conceived policy that disrespects the nation and her people.

The film is all about an astonishing young woman named Prudence, and the Liyana band members, but the words “Against all odds they did, so we can” grabs what is an unashamedly ostentatious and glitzy American moment by its throat, and roots it strongly back in the brutal and bloody context the film emerges from: a country still struggling to recover, a nation still hurting from decades of human rights abuses, citizens still too afraid to hope that maybe we can pull ourselves through to the other side, families still divided across different countries and continents. Ours is a world where despair and hopelessness thrive.  How do we dare to hope, and how do we dare to find the strength to believe that there might be a better future?

I hope that the individual band members who have overcome so much, and then came together to achieve so much, are enjoying every moment of pride that they are entitled to in this moment.  An Oscar is … like… wow, wow, WOW!!.

But the most spectacular gifts that this band can potentially offer Zimbabweans are gifts of courage and self-belief – qualities that we desperately need to save and heal our wonderful country and to unite our communities. When the headiness if the red-carpet moment fades, it should be these inspirational gifts to Zimbabweans that Prudence and the band members should feel the most proud of, because these are the qualities that may save our country and quite literally save lives.

“Against all odds they did, so we can” – Amen to that! Congratulations! More about Liyana here.

Full acceptance speech:

Roger Ross Williams:

Oh my god. This is amazing. Two years ago when I got on an airplane and went to Zimbabwe, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d end up here. This is so exciting. This is so exciting. So exciting.

Elinor Burkett:

…Let the woman talk. Isn’t that the classic thing? In a world in which most of us are told and tell ourselves that we can’t. Liyana, the band behind this film, teaches us that we’re wrong. Against all odds they did, so we can. So the bottom line is, to me, my role models and my heroes, Marvelous and Energy, Tapiwa, Goodwell, the whole rest of the band and especially Prudence.

Roger Ross Williams:

And Prudence who is here. Who is back there. Prudence is here tonight. This is for Prudence.

Today I was talking to a friend about women’s rights in the constitution. She told me this story about how she recently met a young girl from a very impoverished school in a high density area – the kind of school where there are hardly any text books and you expect the kids to battle their way through to exams, and then probably do badly despite their very best efforts and despite the huge lengths their parents go to to try and get them an education. This bright young woman is apparently dreaming of a trail-blazing career and my friend asked her what she thought was standing in her way.

The young woman replied: “Please tell me how we address this patriarchal society and how we can reach a point where women are superior?”

“In those very words…?!” I asked, thinking it took University and many textbooks to ram that kind of language into my head.

My friend replied: “Ja! … eish, I wanted to stand on a chair and yell ‘Hallelujah!’”

I know what she means, because I also smiled at the young woman’s aspirations to not be equal – forget that! -  but to be superior. I smiled because she’s going to need that kind of bull-headed feistiness to move herself forward in her life, especially if she stays in our country.

Truth is, I’ve been stunned by some of the comments left along the theme of women’s rights on our constitution resource so I was ready to hear something about someone standing up to it. Some of the comments have left me with a very heavy heart, thinking that for all the language about oppression, and now all the talk of affirmative action, there is a certain element in male society in Zimbabwe that just doesn’t get it. It’s depressing to think the constitution offers so much potential for such good things, but backward-thinking people who want to hang onto thier personal power-positions can’t see the light. I went back to the resource to remind myself (torture myself?) of the things that had been said – I wanted to read them thinking about this unknown bright young women my friend had just told me about.

I’m so glad I did, because today I found a comment left by a male visitor. His words were a response to someone else who was clearly not comfortable with women having certain rights and had argued that western norms and standards should not be imposed on Zimbabweans. The reply he left that struck a chord with me was this one:

It is true that we should preserve our norms. The fact is that we are greedy. When we find that western norms benefit us we go there, and we also take African norms when they benefit us. In this developing world we cannot live only on our cultures. We must interact with other people and copy from them what is right. If you look at yourself you are far much improved than your people of previous generations. We expect our children to develop better that us. I wouldn’t happy to be better than my offspring.

His words “The fact is that we are greedy” really chimed with me; I’ve been stewing for some time now about how “culture” and “tradition” are words that seem to be invoked by some more out of a desire to protect a position of privilege, or to justify oppression.

Many, many years ago I encountered another amazing young woman from a high density area where most of the people had zero prospects of a positive future: I’d been invited to attend a workshop in South Africa (this was a little while before the ‘new’ South Africa was born). The workshop was on addressing violence in the area. I remember being very tired and disengaged from the discussion, until, that is, the talk moved to the issue of violence against women in particular.

My friend, who had asked me to come along to keep her company, was talking to the group about how language used by some men in relation to women was not cool and could lead to violence. Before she could fully finish, a young man at the back of the group stood up and almost exploded with rage: his face was twisted with anger and he was pointing at her while leaning forward aggressively shouting. His rage boiled down to this very simple premise: “Don’t tell us how we should behave towards women, it’s not your culture and in our culture we do things differently”.

I was fully alert at this point: the whole group had been stunned into silence and my friend, I could tell, was struggling to find the right appropriate words to say – words that effectively did the right thing in the context of the workshop, but also respected this man’s culture. I was alive with interest, wondering how on earth she was going to navigate this  minefield of fundamental human rights colliding with right-on political correctness. She couldn’t find a thing to say; the guy’s argument had led her into a cul-de-sac: if she insisted his culture should change to respect the rights of others, she would in theory be proving his thesis that she didn’t respect his culture.  And that’s why that argument seems to carry weight, not because its valid or true, but because it carries with it wheelbarrow-loads of emotional manipulation.

The heavy silence that ensued was eventually rescued by a black woman in the group who quietly stood up – with an air of drama – and walked slowly over to the still-angry man. She started talking very quietly, but loud enough for us all to hear:

“I’m wondering which culture you are talking about?” she asked rather ominously and slowly. Then she raised her voice: “… because in MY culture, everything you have just said is rubbish!”

It was an incredible moment: the women in the group started to smile, and the whole room descended into chaos as men shouted at women and women shouted at men. It was not exactly what was meant to happen at a workshop about anger and violence – and my friend felt she had failed – but I left that room a changed person and I think that many other women did too. I have never ever forgotten that women and what she did that day.

As for the young Zimbabwean girl who had my friend nearly standing on a chair shrieking ‘hallelujah’ … I’m struck  today by my sense of time shifting forwards. Here we are, many decades down the line – and there she stands, yet another amazing young women, fighting the same fight in a different country also on the brink of change.

I hope in my bones that she will be just as inspirational as that person I encountered in South Africa so many years ago. I hope she will change lives too. And I hope there are more men like the guy who left the comment on our resource who think just like him. I hope they will voice their thoughts and silence the few who are ‘greedy’ and seeking to preserve the status quo by denying rights to others.

ZLHR Press Release – 24 Feb: Some ZANU PF youths on Wednesday 24 February 2010 detained freelance photo-journalist Andrison Manyere for filming a demonstration held in the capital, Harare.

Manyere was seized at the corner of Fourth Street and Jason Moyo Avenue whilst covering the demonstration organized by the ZANU PF youths to protest against the imposition and maintenance of targeted travel sanctions on the party’s leaders.

Manyere was detained at the ZANU PF provincial offices near the Fourth Street bus terminus for about 15 minutes and accused of taking video footage on behalf of some western media organisations. The ZANU PF supporters reprimanded him for not seeking their permission before taking pictures of the demonstration.

Manyere, who was handed over to some Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) officials, who were at the party’s offices by the ZANU PF youths, was forced to delete his film footage, which he had taken earlier on before being released.

Human rights lawyers from ZLHR had already launched an organised search for Manyere before they located him. Manyere’s lawyer Tawanda Zhuwarara of ZLHR is working on filing a complaint of kidnapping to the police.

The ZANU PF youths, who marched from their provincial offices to the party’s national headquarters also picketed outside the compound of the US Embassy.

The youths were addressed at the ZANU PF national headquarters by ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo, the party’s Secretary for Youth Affairs and his deputy Edison Chakanyuka and Amos Midzi, the Zanu PF chairman for Harare Province.

Comment by John Robertson: The International Monetary Fund Executive Board has agreed to restore Zimbabwe’s voting rights after a seven-year suspension and has agreed that if Zimbabwe settles its arrears to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, the country will be permitted access to the IMF’s General Resource Account.

In other words, the arrangements permit Zimbabwe to apply for new IMF loan facilities, but IMF regulations will not permit it to actually release loan funding until Zimbabwe qualifies for the assistance by settling its debts.

The outstanding amount owed to the IMF is about US$136 million, but more precisely, it is 89,4 million Special Drawing Rights. The exchange rate at the end of last week was SDR1=US$1,52464. However, the IMF has also reminded Zimbabwe of two critical issues:

Firstly, the country’s eligibility for new loans will not be fully restored until it has paid off a total of US$1,3 billion, the combined debts to the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

And secondly, access to IMF resources is also subject to IMF policies on the use of such resources and to the country achieving a track record of sound policies. In this regard, the IMF and other organisations are keen to see evidence that Zimbabwe will accept policy changes that will help restore the country’s ability to earn foreign exchange.

Before Land Reform caused a massive shrinkage in foreign earnings, Zimbabwe had achieved an excellent credit rating and it benefited from extensive credit lines as well as investor support because its prospects of meeting debt settlement obligations were considered excellent. If tobacco production alone had continued at the 1999/2000 levels through to 2009, the amount earned would have considerably exceeded the total debt of almost US$6 billion now outstanding.

To the dismay of many development institutions, Zimbabwe’s authorities have so far done nothing to revise the policy decisions that caused these and many consequential declines in economic activity in Zimbabwe. Also, Zanu PF politicians’ efforts to divert attention from their errors of judgement by claiming that the economic collapse was caused by sanctions have not persuaded the same institutions, so evidence of actual change remains a prerequisite for more meaningful assistance.

For the present, as a result of the Voting Rights decision, Zimbabwe can now participate in the procedures for appointing Governors to the IMF and in the election of Executive Directors for the IMF’s Board. Zimbabwe can now also cast its vote in decisions on IMF policies or matters concerning other member countries.

Zimbabwe came close to losing its membership status at the end of 2003, when the country’s failure to either adopt acceptable policies, or to meet its financial obligations, led to the initiation compulsory withdrawal procedures. However, time was offered to permit Zimbabwe to achieve the levels of “co-operation” called for, and in 2006, the country achieved a degree of success by fully setting its GRA arrears to the IMF.

This led to the procedures for the country’s compulsory withdrawal being cancelled, but much to the disappointment of the Reserve Bank, the amounts still owed to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust meant that the payments made were not enough to restore Zimbabwe’s access to IMF financial resources.

The IMF Executive Board did debate Zimbabwe’s position at meetings in 2006 and 2007, but the continuing difficulties forced them to agree to return to the issues at a later date, but as soaring inflation became hyperinflation, the Reserve Bank was obliged to legalise the use of foreign currency notes when it could no longer keep up with the production volume requirements of inflation that reached 100 percent per day. The Zimbabwe dollar collapsed completely early in February 2009 and decisions had to be made to rely almost completely on the limited quantities of US dollars and South African rand available in the country.

As the Reserve Bank could no longer sustain the subsidies and other expenditures that had caused most of the financial distortions, discipline was imposed on the Reserve Bank, as a result of which, by May 2009, its conduct could be described as having significantly improved, so Zimbabwe’s improved co-operation on economic policies was said to have been achieved.

This generous recognition by the IMF led to the Executive Board approving the reinstatement of technical assistance in some targeted areas. Now, another step back up the ladder has been agreed to and Zimbabwe’s voting rights and direct participation in IMF meetings and decision-making have been reinstated.

According to the IMF announcement, the move recognises the country’s efforts to repair its economy and improve relations with donors. However, it would be helpful to know which of the efforts the IMF believes has actually made a difference. On the ground, the facts are that the Government of National Unity is barely functional, property rights are no closer to being restored, civil rights abuses are still taking place and now government is proposing to enforce legislation that will dispossess every non-indigenous business owner of their controlling interests in their companies.

Far from amounting to efforts to repair the economy, these latest moves appear to have been designed to destroy the businesses that somehow survived the earlier moves.

Of some interest is the fact that the IMF decision was reached a few days after the European Union decided to renewed sanctions against identified Zimbabwean individuals for another 12 months. This was done because of their assessment that the new inclusive Government was making no actual progress. That assessment is much closer to the mark.

Introduction

These regulations, which were gazetted on 29th January, have caused consternation in many quarters. Economists and business commentators fear they will discourage foreign investment at a time when Zimbabwe desperately needs it, and some foreigners who were intending to invest in the country have indicated that the regulations are a significant obstacle to their plans.

The Prime Minister claimed that neither he nor the Cabinet had seen the regulations before they were published; they were therefore null and void. He assured business executives that they would not be punished if they failed to comply with the law. The Minister responsible for the regulations, on the other hand, said he had consulted widely before preparing the regulations and that they had indeed been considered by the Cabinet. In any event, he said, the regulations merely implemented the indigenisation programme set out in the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which had already been passed by Parliament.

Last week Acting Prime Minister Khupe told an investment conference that the responsible Minister and the Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion had agreed “to return to the drawing board” on the regulations. But public statements of this sort, even by the Prime Minister or Acting Prime Minister, do not unmake the regulations. The latest statements by the President that they are “irreversible” and the responsible Minister that there is “no going back” make it clear that at best there may be amendments to the regulations to take account of concerns.

Legally, these regulations will remain on the statute book until they are properly repealed by another statutory instrument gazetted by the Minister of Youth Development and Economic Empowerment.

Were the regulations validly promulgated?

The regulations were made in terms of section 21 of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which allows the Minister to make regulations providing for “all matters … which, in his or her opinion, are necessary or convenient to be provided for in order to carry out or give effect to [the] Act.” There is nothing in section 21 of the Act obliging the Minister to consult the Prime Minister or the President before making the regulations; all he has to do is consult an advisory board called the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board. While it is the general practice for all regulations which are likely to have a significant impact on society to be submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation before being promulgated, and for really important regulations to be considered by the Cabinet, this is merely a practice and not a legal obligation. The Inter-party Political Agreement, as embodied in Schedule 8 to the Constitution, states that the Prime Minister must “ensure that … Ministers develop appropriate implementation plans to give effect to the policies decided by Cabinet”, and obliges Ministers to “report to the Prime Minister on all issues relating to the implementation of such policies and plans” [Article 20.1.4(e)]. But the Agreement does not make the Prime Minister’s consent a prerequisite for the publication of regulations [although in the spirit of the GPA, the Minister should have brought the regulations to the PM]. If a Minister publishes regulations in accordance with an Act of Parliament, therefore, but fails to keep the Prime Minister properly briefed, the failure does not invalidate the regulations. The Prime Minister’s assurance that people will not be punished if they disobey the regulations is legally invalid, because he has no power to exempt anyone from compliance with the law.

The problem is that the Act, passed when ZANU-PF had a majority in Parliament, gives the Minister inordinately broad powers to make regulations, and he has exercised them to the full, at a time that is most unpropitious for the recovery of the economy and damaging to the inclusive government. This is a political issue which must be resolved politically. Meanwhile, the regulations will remain in force.

What do the regulations say?

Application of Regulations, and Definitions: The regulations apply to all businesses in Zimbabwe with an asset value of or above US $500 000 [sections 3 & 4]. The term “business” is defined in the Act as meaning companies, associations, syndicates and partnerships whose object is the acquisition of gain; effectively this covers everything other than literary and charitable associations. The term “asset value” is not defined, however, and is not at all clear: does it mean net assets, share capital [issued or nominal] or what?

The term “indigenous Zimbabwean”, as defined in the Act, is also unclear. It means anyone who, before Independence, was subjected to unfair discrimination [presumably in Zimbabwe] on the ground of their race, and includes a descendant of such a person. So more people are covered than would ordinarily be regarded as indigenous Zimbabweans: Indians and Chinese suffered discrimination before Independence, so they and their descendants must be regarded as indigenous Zimbabweans for the purpose of the Act and the regulations.

Businesses Must Submit Forms to Minister by 15th April: Under section 4 of the regulations, all businesses with an asset value of more than US $500 000 must send the Minister a form [which is set out in the regulations] showing the extent to which they are indigenised and, if they are not majority-owned by indigenous Zimbabweans, their plans for indigenisation; these plans must conform with guidelines provided in the form [though in fact there aren’t any such guidelines]. Existing businesses must submit the form to the Minister by the 15th April but it is not a criminal offence to fail to submit the form — if a business fails to do so, the Minister can send it a form and order the business to complete it; only if the business fails to comply with the Minister’s order will it commit an offence [section 4(4)].

Minister’s Response to Forms: Having received a form from a business, the Minister has 45 days within which either to approve the business’s indigenisation plans or to make his approval dependent on the plans’ conformity with a notice which the Minister is supposed to publish in the Gazette before the 1st March 2011 [see section 5(1) & (4)]. Since the Minister has not published such a notice, and since there are no guidelines in the form indicating how indigenisation plans are to be prepared, the effect of the regulations is that the Minister must approve all plans submitted to him. That may not be what was intended, but it is certainly the effect of section 5. And if the Minister makes no “positive response” [whatever that means] to a plan that has been submitted to him, the plan is deemed to have been approved [section 5(5)].

Indigenisation when Businesses Merged or Split Up: Section 6 deals with the indigenisation of businesses that are merged, where the merger falls within the purview of the Competition Commission under the Competition Act. In such cases the merger is subject to the Minister’s approval, which will be granted if he considers that it conforms to targets set out in an approved indigenisation plan.

Section 7, similarly, deals with the splitting up of businesses whose asset value exceeds US $500 000. The resultant businesses will have to conform to indigenisation targets set out in a plan approved by the Minister.

Indigenisation when Controlling Interest Relinquished: If a person or company that controls a business whose asset value exceeds US $500 000 relinquishes control over the business, the transaction will have to be approved by the Minister, and the approval will be conditional on the transaction conforming with indigenisation targets set out in an approved indigenisation plan [section 8].

Effect on Investment Licence Applications: Under section 9, anyone who “projects or proposes an investment for which an investment licence is required in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act” will have to obtain the Minister’s approval before obtaining such a licence, and “any investor requiring a licence in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act” will have to obtain the Minister’s approval before investing in sectors of the economy which are listed in the Third Schedule [these sectors include agriculture, transport, “wholesale or retail trade”, barber shops, advertising agencies and milk processing — it is a rather disparate list]. Although the section does not say so, one must assume that the Minister’s approval will be conditional upon satisfactory provision for indigenisation. The problem with this section is that it presupposes that investors need a licence from the Investment Authority before they can invest in Zimbabwe. That is not so: there is no such requirement. As a result, people can invest in any sector in Zimbabwe without complying with the regulations, so long as they avoid obtaining a licence from the Investment Authority. If, however, their investment creates a business worth more than US $500 000, they will have to prepare an indigenisation plan in accordance with section 4 of the regulations.

Procurement Contracts: Much the same anomaly occurs in section 12, which deals with the sub-contracting of procurement contracts. Under the section, if goods or services are obtained from a supplier under the Procurement Act and the supplier is not controlled by indigenous Zimbabweans, the supplier must subcontract to competent indigenous businesses — but only if the supplier “is required by the Act [i.e. the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act ] to subcontract to businesses whose controlling interests are held by indigenous Zimbabweans.” The problem is that the Act itself does not require anyone to subcontract to indigenous Zimbabweans; it merely allows regulations to impose such a requirement [see section 3(1)(g) and (4) of the Act]. Hence there is no situation in which section 12 can operate, and parties to procurement contracts can subcontract freely to indigenous or non-indigenous contractors.

Regular Reports to Minister: Under section 13, businesses will have to satisfy the Minister annually that they are indigenising in accordance with the law.

Official Database of Would-be Indigenous Partners: Under section 15 the Minister will establish a database of people who want indigenous Zimbabweans to acquire an interest in their businesses, and of indigenous Zimbabweans who wish to “partner” those people. There is no provision allowing the Minister to compel businesses to take on particular indigenous Zimbabweans, and there is no such provision in the Act. It is not correct, therefore, to say that the Minister will be able to foist politically-acceptable “partners” upon reluctant businesses.

Can the Regulations be Legally Challenged?

Constitutional Validity: Are the regulations constitutionally valid? They are certainly discriminatory, in that they favour indigenous over non-indigenous Zimbabweans and the discrimination is based on race. On the other hand, they are intended to implement an affirmative action programme for the advancement of people who were previously disadvantaged by unfair discrimination, and as such they are authorised by section 23(3)(g) of the Constitution.

It might be argued that the regulations contravene section 21 of the Constitution, which protects freedom of association. That freedom extends to commercial activities such as the right to form companies and partnerships. Partners have a fiduciary relationship with one another and it is obviously important that they should have the greatest freedom to choose their fellow-partners. Much the same applies to company directors. A law which compels partners and directors to take someone into their partnership or company on the ground of that person’s race, or on the ground that that person had previously suffered unfair discrimination, undoubtedly limits their freedom of association. This argument has some merit, but it is unlikely that a Zimbabwean court would adopt it in order to declare the regulations unconstitutional.

Unreasonable penalties? There is one further ground on which the regulations could be challenged: the penalties prescribed in them are out of all proportion to the conduct sought to be penalised. In every case, whether the prohibited conduct consists in the making of a false statement or merely failing to submit a form to the Minister, the penalty is the same: a fine of US $2 000 or five years’ imprisonment, or both. That is the maximum penalty the Minister is allowed to prescribe in the regulations, and by prescribing it in all cases he has laid himself open to this challenge.

Update: SW Radio Africa are reporting on the “mixed messages over the status of the indigenisation regulation”. The article quotes Arthur Mutambara, the Deputy Prime Minister, as saying:

No one else, Prime Minister or Ministers, no one else is mandated to speak on this matter as per our council decision. So any communications from anyone after Thursday last week you must disregard. The only person speaking on behalf of the government of Zimbabwe in terms of this matter of indigenisation is Minister Kasukuwere.

Zimbabwe’s Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister, Savior Kasukuwere has backed down from implementing his controversial indigenisation regulations gazetted two weeks ago as pressure mounted on Zimbabwe to review the legislation which was widely feared it would scare away investors (Radio VOP).

SW Radio’s Hot Seat programme recently explored the controversial policy with a panel of people including among them Supa Mandiwanzira the President of the Affirmative Action Group, businessman Mutumwa Mawere, economist Daniel Ndlela and journalist Peta Thornycroft.

Supa Mandiwanzira defended the legislation to the end, as one would expect from a Zanu PF loyalist. But I have yet to come into contact with a single person who can find anything to defend in this legislation.

Zimbabweans have gone through hell – most Zimbabweans literally going without food as a result  of Zanu PF’s ill-considered economic policies; millions being forced to leave Zimbabwe to try and find survival.   We are not blind to the consequences of legislation rooted in political patronage. Most ordinary Zimbabweans know full-well that Zanu PF’s claims to empower the poor are more directly linked with Zanu PF’s desire to further enrich the Zanu elite, with devastating  consequences for the majority of Zimbabweans.

The comments from the other three people  on the Hot Seat panel give a snapshot of opinion being expressed by most Zimbabweans. Most of us see this legislation as the final nail in Zimbabwe’s coffin from a party that has destroyed the economy and appears hell-bent on more destruction. The extracts below highlight just a few of the thought-provoking comments made – all good reasons to abandon this legislation. Listen to the Hot Seat programme here.

Mutumwa Mawere : Who would be included, who would not be included? If I am white, I came in to Zimbabwe when the flag was raised in 1980 and I invested, I made my money, how can you distinguish me with somebody who was born in the country, maybe on the same day that I was born and then you build a foundation on that basis.

[...]

Peta Thornycroft: Well I think there are so few white people left in Zimbabwe that it really makes little difference, any issue about race [...] It’s not about white people per se, it’s about reaping where you have not sown. [...] What worries me with these regulations is that they are in the hands of Saviour Kasukuwere, a ZANU PF MP, a ZANU PF person, who might say ‘OK we’re actually going collecting for the February 21 st Movement at the moment and if we don’t get a donation from you I’m afraid that’s your 51%’. And it’s no good saying people don’t behave like that, we all know ahead of ZANU PF congresses over many years, businessmen have been forced to invest in the ZANU PF congress for fear of their business, they’ve done it to protect themselves. And I could give you a string of names if I had permission in advance to demonstrate this. These regulations give far too much power to the Minister, his discretion is absolutely enormous.

[...]

Daniel Ndlela: The point here is, let me go back a little bit and say who in fact are these ‘indigenous Zimbabweans’ that will benefit from this law? The letter of the law simply says that the people who registered their names with the Minister and there will be an allocation procedure. Definitely this is patronage, it is a continuation of patronage as we have seen it in Zimbabwe and that those who will benefit are people in the gravy train in the patronage system. This letter of the law is quite clear that if you don’t comply, five years in prison, if you don’t do this, five years in prison. The issue here from an economist’s point of view is if you want investments from your own country, existing investments or/and new investments out there, you are not going to threaten people that come here, invest but if you don’t comply you are going into prison for five years. From an economist’s point of view, you’ll not have any investors coming into this country.

[...]

Daniel Ndlela: I want to ask Supa himself that if he has a million dollars will he go to a country where he will actually end up in five years with a share value of $49,000. He would be very benevolent indeed [...] because I’ll not do that, I’ll not actually go to a country where they want my 100 dollars and then tell me at the end of the day, you are going to remain with 49, the 51 will go to the locals, so I will stay in my own place.

[...]

Peta Thornycroft: I can’t understand why anyone wants to tamper with companies that maybe running successfully already, why not start a new one? Why not expand it rather than messing up what, if any business has survived the last ten years, particularly say the last five years in this country, my goodness they should get a business Oscar for having survived the chaos of hyperinflation and money printing. If they’ve survived, leave them alone, we’ve got so few industries left. Start new ones. Why don’t previously disadvantaged people of whatever colour start a new business? Shouldn’t government be looking to assist new business establishment rather than tampering with what is already there – because it wouldn’t matter how you wrote the story about those Regulations, the percentage is there and in 400 words when you write that story, that is what the world reads and I’m afraid that is the impression that has been created and it’s not going to go away.

[...]

Mutumwa Mawere: DRC has minerals, 100% are indigenous but there’s no activity taking place in some of those minerals. You can equally convert Zimbabwe into 100% title and nothing takes place. What is good for Zimbabwe? Is it for people to sit to play God and say I own 100% of Zimbabwe but I don’t have the means, or I own 100% of the car but I don’t have fuel? Their car may be worth 100,000 US dollars but if you don’t have one litre of fuel, the car won’t move. So we can end up with cars that provide no motion to it. And equally somebody who has turned 30 years now who was born in 1980 who is white, how are we going to face that person? Born in Zimbabwe 1980, was not part of the previous story, now does it mean that that business ought to carry three passengers or four passengers for it to pass through a toll gate where Supa or the Minister is a Toll Gate Inspector?

Listen to the full Hot Seat programme here.

This is more from the Radio VOP article – commenting on the MDC-T response to the legislation:

Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, James Maridadi, said: “What Zimbabweans want is a real economy, with jobs, growth and food security. Instead, these regulations would have plunged us back into the sort of economic decline and wide-scale job losses we saw as a result of the corrupt farm acquisition programme. And all for the sake of further enriching the political eliteini who have already acquired millions through so-called land reform, at the expense of the rest of the population.”

In the past weeks there had been an outcry from trade unions, employers, and economists.

Kasukuwere on Tuesday agreed to shelve the regulations and consult with other Government Ministers, particularly with Elton Mangoma, Minister of Economic Planning and Investment.

“It’s back to the drawing board to devise a true empowerment policy that will meet the needs of the people, and drive economic growth and job creation,” government sources said last night.

“The Prime Minister has always been a strong advocate of policies that empower the poor and marginalised,” said Maridadi. “That is why empowerment was a central platform of the MDC manifesto in the last elections. But to the Prime Minister, empowerment means creating opportunities for people, jobs, education, and hope. The proposed regulations would have achieved the exact opposite. That is why the Prime Minister opposed them in the strongest terms.”

The regulations were gazetted without any prior consultation within the Cabinet Committees or the Council of Ministers, in clear breach of Cabinet Rules and the Constitution.

Update: Sibongile and Rose have been released. A full update on the WOZA site.

WOZA are still needing support from the public to speed up the relase of two women, Sibongile Matupe and Rose Rukwewo, who were arrested in Mutare yesterday:

Two women, Sibongile Matupe and Rose Rukwewo, an elderly woman, have been arrested in Mutare today following the peaceful protest in that city yesterday. The two women are currently at Mutare Central Police Station and look set to spend the night in custody. It is unclear why they were targeted for arrest or what charge, if any, will be laid against them.  Lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) are in attendance but have not been given access to the women. Law and Order officers are insisting that they finish ‘interviewing’ them before they will allow the lawyer access to his clients.

Police went door-to-door in Sakubva, a suburb of Mutare, searching for people who took part in yesterday’s peaceful protest action.  The two women were taken from their homes.

The arrest of these two women is a blatant violation of civil rights, as is the fact that they are being denied access to their lawyer. (vioa WOZA)

The two women are still in custody today. One of them suffers from high blood pressure and lawyers are struggling to get her released as quickly as possible. There are no witnesses to say that these two women were at the peaceful protest in Mutare yesterday: the police detained them on hearsay and kept them in custody overnight. It is believed that the police are intending to warn and caution them, with an accompanying fine of US$20. They should not have been arrested in the first place, and they should be released immediately.

We are told that the police are still going door to door looking for WOZA participants in the peaceful protest.

Preamble

On 11th February 2009, a Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed between the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU PF) and the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) with the swearing in of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara. Its birth filled us with hope. The promises of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed on 15th September 2008 that led to the formation of the new government gave Zimbabweans an opportunity to shine:

• “Concerned about the recent challenges that we have faced as a country and the multiple threats to the well-being of our people;
• Dedicating ourselves to putting an end to the polarization, divisions, conflict and intolerance that have characterized our country’s politics;
• Determined to build a society free of violence, fear, intimidation, hate, patronage, corruption and founded on justice, fairness, openness, transparency, dignity and equality;”

Talking Democracy

A month later, in March 2009, WOZA started discussions on what we think the building blocks of democracy are with over 11,000 members, urban and rural, through workshops and a booklet – Building democracy with WOZA. The objective was to build an appreciation within the hearts and minds of our members that Zimbabwe needs a democratic form of government committed to making sure that all the building blocks of democracy are in place for all citizens to enjoy social justice. We identified the eight building blocks of basic democracy as:

1. Elections – people vote to choose representatives to govern them
2. Opposition – many political parties are welcome, expressing different ideas, views and policies
3. Civil rights – people have rights which protect them from abuse of powers by government
4. Rule of law – everyone must obey the law or be punished
5. Separation of powers – different roles of government are held by different people who act independently
6. Equality – everyone has the same rights and the same protection of the law
7. Transparency and accountability – government’s actions are made public and they accept responsibility for any mistakes
8. Participation of the people – the people are able to make their views known and influence decisions of government

As 2009 closed, a further consultation of the state of our democracy was conducted through the lens of the power-sharing government. 4,016 people from Harare and Bulawayo gave their views in answer to the following questions:

• Did the power-sharing government bring more democracy or less?
• Since the only independent MP Jonathan Moyo has rejoined ZANU PF, who is the opposition in Zimbabwe?
• If an election is called before any electoral reform is conducted, will you feel confident that your vote will count?
• Do you feel that the parliament-led constitutional consultation process can bring a people-driven constitution?
• Has government spending become more transparent?
• Are civil rights more respected under this government?
• Has the rule of law improved or become worse?
• Has the power-sharing government made your personal life better, worse or nothing has changed?

In this report we hope to provide a snapshot of our community activists’ views on the state of democracy in Zimbabwe one year after the GNU was formed.

A synopsis of the findings

Did the power sharing government bring more democracy or less?

Members felt that the power-sharing arrangement has decreased democratic space for the following reasons:

• There is not a genuine sharing of power amongst all three principals (Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara) and that too much legal and actual state power is still in the hands of one person – Robert Mugabe.
• The other two principals are not active enough at wrestling power away from ZANU PF or in holding them accountable to fully implement the 15 September 2008 agreement. The agreement was not negotiated on the basis of mutual respect and so it has continued on in a disrespectful manner.
• No clear steps have been taken to restore the rule of law and respect of human rights.
• People’s participation in decision-making has not been encouraged nor has it expanded.
• There has been no concrete opening up of the media. Hate speech against MDC supporters, human rights defenders and international actors remains and media coverage is still biased towards ZANU PF
• People are still being forced to join ZANU PF or attend rallies against their will.
• There is now no opposition in parliament to exercise their role in being a check on the government’s behaviour.

The general feeling amongst those polled was that the power-sharing government may have stabilised the economy but it has not brought democracy. Some people even stated that ‘democracy’ and the names ‘Robert Mugabe’ and ‘ZANU PF’ cannot be used in the same sentence. Members also expressed sadness that despite MDC’s holding cabinet positions, they have not managed to reduce the harassment of their own members or to increase their member’s freedoms of expression and assembly as well as their free movement. How therefore can they be expected to deliver more freedom for the people of Zimbabwe?

Since the only independent MP, Jonathan Moyo, has rejoined ZANU PF, who is the opposition in Zimbabwe?

Members were clear that there is currently no meaningful opposition in the country that can criticise the power-sharing government. The Simba Makoni-led Mavambo party has no seats in parliament and the ZAPU revival is currently confined to the distribution of t-shirts. Many people testified that people are forced to attend ZANU PF meetings and rallies under threat of violence or control of food aid or other support so support for that party is not truly in people hearts.

If an election is called before any electoral reform is conducted, will you feel confident that your vote will count?

• Many members felt that their votes will not count in any election whilst ZANU PF controls appointments to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). People will only feel confident to vote if there is a reformed and transparent process of appointing new commissioners.
• People expressed concern that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is biased. There was a demand that other countries also monitor the election so that people’s voices will not be undermined. In addition to SADC, monitors and observers from other countries, like the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), should also monitor the elections.
• Many expressed no confidence in an election before the constitutional process is complete, as we need a new system of checks and balances if our votes are to be respected and counted.
• Some argued that voting is a risk worth taking as it could be the only way to choose the leaders we want. Additionally people will take the risk because they want to have a government made from one party that will rule and concentrate on the constitution-making process.
• Concern was expressed that as soon as dates are announced there will be a lot of violence and intimidation from the militia who are being regularly paid from the Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti’s sweat.
• There cannot be a free and fair election until there is a free and fair voters’ roll prepared by an independent commission and not ZANU PF civil servants.
• Many felt that until the President’s powers are reduced, no one’s vote will count properly.

Do you feel that the parliament-led constitutional consultation process can bring a people-driven constitution?

• People want to give their views and write their own constitution but worry that the current consultation process has too many loopholes that can be manipulated to change their views into those wanted by politicians.
• Because of the public bickering over resources, people are losing confidence in the select committee who seem to be working for their own benefit. There is a belief that the delays are a sign of foul play so that time is lost and people are forced to settle for the ‘Kariba Draft’ of the constitution (drafted and initialled by the three negotiators of the three main political parties).
• There needs to be debate about how the referendum will be organised so that people are confident that their vote will be fully exercised and respected.
• There is concern that the President may change or alter the draft if it includes clauses that he does not like.
• People in rural areas are already being told to vote for the ‘Kariba Draft’ by their Chiefs in Mashonaland. This already distorts the consultation process.
• There is sense that there is less democratic debate about the constitutional reform process because both formations of the MDC are discredited because they signed the ‘Kariba Draft’.

Has government spending become more transparent?

• There is not yet any spirit of transparency. People are not told exactly how much money is being sourced and earned through revenue, for example the AIDS levy and the Chiyadzwa diamond fields, and what it is being spent on. Until there is transparency we will be concern that embezzlement and corruption are still the order of the day and that funds are still being diverted for personal use of politicians. It will take time for Zimbabwe to build a structure of honest people.
• Most agree that they believe that public funds should go through the Ministry of Finance but the Minister must also be transparent about what he does with it. Mr Biti – where are the road repairs you promised when you introduced the tollgates?
• There is concern about how the youth militia are formally employed as civil servants and receive money through the Salary Service Bureau when their work is to beat and maim people in the name of the politics of ZANU PF.
• Mr Biti – as long as civil servants underpaid by government there will be corruption and demand for bribes from ordinary people.

Are civil rights more respected under this government?

• Civil rights are not respected under this power-sharing government. People are not able to exercise their rights freely and are still beaten and arrested for peacefully exercising their rights. They are also not encouraged to participate in civil life.
• The personal security situation for ordinary people is still very insecure – anyone can be arrested for anything and end up forced to pay a bribe or a fine without any clear wrongdoing.
• In many rural areas there is an increased presence of youth militia who have been deployed to threaten people and put pressure on them to vote for the ‘Kariba Draft’ and not participate in the constitutional outreach meetings. People are forced to attend ZANU PF meetings.
• Civic rights are still being violated because it is still difficult to get a birth certificate, identity card or a passport in the country.
• As long as state media and radio continue to spear hate messages people will not feel freedom of expression is respected. Bring back banned newspapers for a clear signal of open media space.Let us see a public transparent process of appointing commissioners for the human rights commission and less appointment of military men to these positions.

Has the rule of law improved or become worse?

Most people polled believe that the rule of law in the country has worsened for the following reasons:

• People are living in fear that the violence experienced in 2008 is resurfacing. People are reporting that in some parts of the country, militia bases were not closed.
• Police officers are not working professionally to reduce crime, which continues to increase. Police also apply the law selectively, openly solicit bribes from people and ignore violence from youth militia.
• Many government officials are known to be looting at the Chiyadzwa diamond fields, but no action is taken against them. In Zimbabwe, the rich can easily get away with crime because they can afford bribes.
• Court orders are ignored and law officers still follow political orders when making judgements. We want to see a judiciary operating professionally without political interference.
• The president is still above the law.
• Vendors are criminalized and are always on the run despite the need to revive the economy.
• Illegal land grabs from ZANU officials are continuing.

Has the power-sharing government made your personal life better, worse, or nothing has changed?

• There has been some change for those who are rich but for the poor nothing has changed. It has remained survival of the fittest. The dollarisation of the economy stabilised prices and the economy in general but the gap between rich and poor widened. The reason is simple – there was no increase in employment opportunities and genuine encouragement of informal trade. The few who are employed are paid too little to survive or to put back into the economy as disposable income.
• Some people are happy that there is food in shops. Unfortunately many people cannot afford to eat three meals a day or to pay high rents or service charges for unstable supply.
• Service delivery remains hijacked by too much political interference in local councils and so people continue to suffer flowing sewages, increased electricity and water cuts, and many homes going without services for weeks at a time.
• It is better because the hospitals may have some medication although it is not always affordable but we desperately need more professional and motivated staff in hospitals. There is still not dignity in death as mortuaries are still in a bad state.
• The education sector has collapsed and most parents cannot afford to pay teachers and all the school demands so drops-outs continue.
• The youth cannot dream of a better future for themselves because of unemployment and lack of education.

Conclusions

As mentioned earlier, the power-sharing government turns one year old as we finalise this report. The ‘baby’ is taking steps – learning how to walk. It has taken the first step – the economy is a bit more stable and food is on the shelves, with a quiet promise of jobs. WOZA, the mothers of the nation, would like to see steps toward a full democratisation of Zimbabwean systems as follows:

1. Elections – Before the referendum, we need to have confidence that a voter’s roll will be transparently prepared and displayed for viewing. We need a truly independent electoral commission.
2. Opposition – we need to see democracy in action – a genuine welcoming of different political voices.
3. Civil rights – we are citizens with rights and must be allowed to enjoy all our rights without fear or harassment. We look forward to the passing of the bill amending POSA. We need to see the promised security sector reform with special attention on police reform because it is police who abuse our rights on a daily basis.
4. Rule of law – start to prosecute perpetrators of politically motivated violence urgently – everyone must obey the law or be punished.
5. Separation of powers – The presidential appointment of Tomana and Gono has resulted in a further mixing up of the functions of government. For judicial reform, Tomana and other political appointees in the Attorney General’s office must go and be replaced by professional people who will balance the scales of our justice system.
6. Equality – we are writing this into our new constitution. Please Parliamentary Select Committee do not betray this ideal by cheating us when we give you our views.
7. Transparency and accountability – As long as we have a politically partisan Reserve Bank governor, there will be no investor confidence, jobs will not be available and workers receive a living wage – therefore Gono must go. Minister Tendai Biti, we need more transparency and accountability from you. Studying your strategy from the trenches, it looks like you want to squeeze money out of poor people’s pockets to fund the recovery. You need to do better to cushion the poor! You must stop the police from criminalizing informal traders. Please don’t forget about the children’s education, they are our future.
8. Participation of the people – our report is called hearts starve as well as bodies – give us bread but give us roses too! We want our ‘rose’, which is our own constitution! Allow a genuine people-driven process for the constitutional consultation for our full participation. Disband militia camps and let our children come home. The police must stop arresting people without good reason; police officers are crucial to allowing people to feel free. To the three principals, you promised us a “society free of violence, fear, intimidation, hate, patronage, corruption and founded on justice, fairness, openness, transparency, dignity and equality.” Now it is time to deliver on what you promised.

ZIMBABWEANS lets us ALL participate in democratizing our country: people must participate and politicians must practice it – this is our opportunity to shine!

Download the WOZA report in PDF format from their website here, and read about their Valentine’s Day march in Bulawayo.

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act 14, 2007  was passed by parliament towards the end of 2007, gazetted on March 7, 2008, and was signed into law on April 17 2008. This provided for all companies operating in Zimbabwe to arrange for 51% of their shares or interests therein to be owned by indigenous Zimbabweans.

Download PDF of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act 14, 2007 (230KB).

On January 29, 2010, the Zimbabwe Government published regulations with respect to the Act that include the requirement for companies operating in Zimbabwe to provide specified information to the Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, including an indigenisation implementation plan, by April 15, 2010. That information, together with responses from all sectors of the Zimbabwe economy, will be used as a basis for determining what amount less than 51% shall apply to any sector or subsector and the maximum period for achieving indigenization.

Download a PDF of Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010 (2,3MB).

This invitation circulated by email: Readers in Australia and Singapore, please make a note of these meeting dates and locations in your diaries (in table at the end of this post):

ZANE (ZIMBABWE A NATIONAL EMERGENCY), a registered charity in the UK, is embarking on a tour to Australia via Singapore in February/March 2010. The purpose of the tour is twofold: we aim to raise the profile of ZANE in that part of the world and to raise funds. If you are not familiar with the magnificent work done by ZANE over the last eight years the best source of information about its structure and the work it does can be found on ZANE’s website – donations can be made at this link.

About 3000 Zimbabwean OAP’s (Old Age Pensioners) are helped by various organizations. Some of these people are helped by more than one organization:

• Homes in Zimbabwe provides food support for the old age homes and for SOAP in both Harare and Bulawayo;
• SOAP Harare and SOAP Bulawayo focus on the delivery of food parcels to private homes;
• Senior Citizens Service Bulawayo focuses on medical needs and particularly drugs;
• The Pensioners Fund helps cover drugs and emergency medical costs in Harare and outlying districts and also gives financial support to SOAP Bulawayo and Harare

ZANE, the largest charity, focuses on individual rental payments in Old Age Homes as well as rates and utility payments for people living in private homes. It has raised over £5 million since its foundation in 2002 and provided £800,000 to fund its work in 2008/ 2009. It has distributed some 22,000 charitable grants of fuel, medicines, food and financial support to the needy in 2008/ 2009 – up from 7,000 grants the previous year. Between 2005 and 2009 ZANE distributed £1,077,667 on behalf of Services’ Charities to WW2 veterans and their widows in Zimbabwe.

ZANE has lost no money through corruption since it was founded in 2002 and is the only charity operating in Zimbabwe that gives substantial aid to both the white and the black communities. It relies on private donors.

Meeting dates for your diaries:

Please click on the contact link to make enquiries about specific meetings – note, each meeting has a different contact name.

For Local Australian deposits and depositors your donation is tax deductible.

Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) details:

Bank BSB (Bank Sort Code): 802397
Bank: Australian Defence Credit Union
A/c Name: RSL Community Care Ltd
A/c Number: 100187431
Reference: ZANE

Jewish businesses marked with a Star of David in Nazi Germany

“What do we do when the farms run out?”: this is a big question for Zanu PF and one can understand what a dilemma it is for a party that has few reasonable policies and is forced to buy loyalty and support by apportioning state assets. Legitimising theft has become Zanu PF’s key survival strategy. The orgy of greed has reached utterly disgraceful proportions.

Yesterday, Zanu-PF’s mouthpiece (yes, still speaking for Zanu PF even though there is a power-sharing government) The Herald announced that

Government has gazetted the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (General) Regulations 2010, which spell out the country’s indigenisation policy and take effect on March 1 this year.

The regulations’ main objective is to achieve 51 percent indigenous shareholding in existing businesses with the owners given a five-year period to comply. [...]

The regulations require that all existing businesses with a threshold of US$500 000 should within 45 days from March 1 2010, declare their shareholding status to the responsible minister through a prescribed form. New businesses will also be required to comply within 60 days. [...]

The article goes on to elaborate on exclusions. According to Saviour Kasukuwere this is not going to scare away investors in Zimbabwe:

Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has repeatedly told stakeholders that the law was not against foreign investment and neither was it designed to scare away investors.

It had widely been misinterpreted as a way of chasing away foreign investors from Zimbabwe with others saying that it was nationalisation or expropriation of foreign-owned businesses.

Perhaps not appropriation of foreign owned business, but it does look like “appropriation” of white-Zimbabwean owned businesses.

I should say that the word ‘white’ was not been explicitly stated in The Horrid’s article. The only specific reference has been to ‘indigenous groups’ – black Zimbabweans – suggesting that all minority groups in the country are going to be compelled to give up the controlling share of their businesses. Most will assume this policy is mostly geared towards white business though, because we know what Zanu PF’s attitude is towards white minority rights: it doesn’t support them at all.

Our country is turning into a nation where we have ‘Zimbabweans’ and we have ‘White Zimbabweans’. This second category of Zimbabwean citizenship does not have wholesale access to human rights – look at Zanu PF’s recent look at their constitution strategy: caveats and limitations abound. A white Zimbabwean in a Zanu-world will never be allowed to farm in Zimbabwe and now it seems that a white Zimbabwean will never be allowed to have 100% ownership of their own business.

I assume that a black Zimbabwean will not be expected to hand over a controlling share of his or her business to other people? That, you see, would not be politically popular! Besides, is Saviour Kasukuwere likely to support any policy that would strip him of the controlling interest in his personal business empire; note, one specialising in the kind of areas that you do very well in if you have two feet firmly planted on the Zanu gravy train: transport, fuel supplies and banking.

I didn’t sleep last night I was so angry about the blatant racism in this. In the course of an outraged conversation I had today, I asked my non-Zimbabwean friend: “What happens when the businesses run out?”

He very quietly said: “When that happens, they’re going to want to take white-owened houses”. The quietness of his tone made me want to weep.

No matter what Saviour’s public rhetoric is to justify this policy, Zimbabweans know how it works in practice at a grassroots level.

The farm invasions were elaborately draped with language about historical injustices etc and this seduced many good people around the world into believing the Zanu government had a moral agenda. But the reality is that land reform is actually extremely immoral – it turned into a glut-fest among Zanu-elite loyalists: ‘Roll up, roll up: Multiple farms for the big wigs. Come grab yours now!’

Zimbabwe’s experience has been that the people who line up for the Zanu PF brand of so-called empowerment do not expect to pay or contribute or even work for their enrichment.

I imagine the same model will be applied to business-grabbing, and that fills me with horror. In practice, what I imagine and what I fear will happen is the following: a big wig/policeman/judge loyal to Zanu PF will be walking down the pavement and think, ‘Nice business – I want some of that’.

What will follow will be unspeakable harassment: possible violence with Zanu PF youth militia being bussed in to bray and chant on the pavement; violence and destruction of property chucked in for good measure; threats of jail sentences; fear that you and your family will be targeted with reprisals if you resist; court cases that go nowhere; and a loss of everything (after all, why settle for 49% when the Zanu-controlled judiciary and police turn a blind eye to the niceties of the detail of the legislation)?

I spent most of last night thinking about the impact of Zanu policies on minority groups and their human rights, and how our nation is really starting to stink of nasty racism. I also started wondering how the business-grabbers were going to distinguish between the ‘good whites’ – the foreign investors who may also have white skins; and the ‘bad whites’ – the ones who are Zimbabwean.

Maybe, I thought, they’ll need to stick signs on the windows so the business-grabbers know who they can target and who they can’t; after all, its not good for foreign investment if the ‘good whites’ get harrassed by a baying mob, is it? With that thought, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I remembered Nazi Germany – the Nazi’s also had a little problem with publically distinguishing between the ‘good Germans’ and the ‘bad Germans’ – the bad Germans, by Nazi logic, being  the Jews.

But Saviour Kasukuwere has already thought of this:

The Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment will keep a database of persons wishing to identify any indigenous Zimbabwean to acquire a controlling interest or lesser interest in his or her business and indigenous Zimbabweans wishing to partner a non-indigenous investor.

Let’s be clear: this is not a database to show who is willing to yield 51% of their business. It’s not optional: failure to comply means jail. This is a database to publically show the grabbers who to target.

“Yes”, I thought to myself, “if the Nazi’s had had computers, they’d probably have done this too!”

On 25 March, Edward from Pfura Location in Mount Darwin was assaulted. He said he was one of the first victims in his area to be attacked and that over 200 Zanu (PF) youths and war veterans, led by Jacob Juma, were responsible. According to Edward, the attackers had been “grouped at Madondo” by Saviour Kasukuwere, the Zanu (PF) candidate for Mount Darwin. He said: “they had the house numbers of the MDC people” and two others were attacked that day. Edward sustained bruises on the face, whip lashes on the back among other injuries according to his medical report.

He was a member of the feared CIO, and apparently made no effort to conceal that fact. At one point he was vice-president of the Affirmative Action Group (AAG):

In its early years the AAG was widely accused of arm-twisting bank managers to fund the businesses of some of its leadership and a few others, whose repayment records were matters of grievous concern to the cowed banking sector.

In July last year, Saviour Kasukuwere was a ringleader involved in leading a revolt against a constitutional conference:

Our witness reported that when Lovemore Moyo started his speech it was none other than Saviour Kasukuwere (see a profile on Kasukuwere here) along with another MP, who started the riotous singing that drowned out the Speaker’s address. ZimOnline have a report corroborating involvement of youths loyal to Kasukuwere and also to Patrick Zhuwawo, Robert Mugabe’s nephew.

In Shona they started singing Zanu PF songs and slogans which include inflammatory words like,

“We are doing what we did in June, winning”
“We are doing away with the Prime Minister”
“Zimbabwe is liberated with blood”

Minister Moyo’s attempts to calm the crowd resulted in him being showered with water, beer and alcohol.

And in December last year, what we all knew already was formally noted when the fact that Saviour Kasukuwere was involved in illegal payments to youth militia in the run up to the 2008 elections was revealed to parliament’s public accounts committee (the militia essentially function as Zanu PF’s version of the ‘Hitler youth’). What were the youth doing then? Torturing, beating and murdering Zimbabwean civilians.

Crisis Coalition Press Release – 13 Feb: Dark clouds hover over constitution-making process as arrests and intimidation of MDC supporters continue.

While the Parliament Select Committee, which is spearheading the constitution making process, is set to deploy teams for the outreach meetings, a dark cloud hovers over the success of the process owing to the arrests and intimidation of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters in mostly peri-urban and rural areas. According to a member of COPAC, the committee is expected to gazette names of teams carrying out the outreach program today, 3 February 2010. A total of 630 people are carrying out the outreach over a period of 65 days countrywide.

Although the process is witnessing significant progress following almost two weeks of uncertainty owing to disagreements between the political parties, arrests of MDC supporters on trumped up charges and terror campaigns by suspected state agents, members of the uniformed forces and ZANU PF supporters in mostly peri-urban and rural areas continue. According to reports received by The Coalition, the terror campaigns are aimed at ensuring the adoption of the Kariba Draft constitution or maintenance of the current constitution, amended 19 times over a period of 23 years. These reports could ultimately result in a skewed outcome.

On Saturday 30 January 2010, 62 members of the MDC were arrested under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) for allegedly holding an unsanctioned meeting at the party’s district office in Mount Darwin. This was despite the fact that the meeting was internal and thus, did not require a clearance. Although 50 of the 62 supporters were released on the same day, 12 remain in police custody at Bindura Police Station and were scheduled to appear in court yesterday, 2 February 2010. In Binga, on Tuesday 26 January 2010, eight members of the Morgan Tsvangirai led party were arrested and later released for convening a meeting without police clearance. As in the Mount Darwin case, the meeting was an internal gathering where members of the political party in the area were discussing constitutional matters.

An independent constitution monitoring project, ZZZICOMP comprised of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) released a report which stated that there are at least eight documented and confirmed cases of assault, torture and other forms of intimidation perpetrated against MDC supporters by suspected State agents and ZANU PF supporters in Mudzi, Kuwadzana, Domboshawa, Chimbondora, Harare, Cheramwiwa and Mashonaland Central. The report also mentions that there are some politicians holding meetings suggesting answers to what they say are the talking points which the Parliament Select Committee will use during the outreach phase and demanding that people adopt the Kariba Draft constitution. This is allegedly happening in areas such as Matabeleland North, Chitungwiza, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Midlands and Masvingo.

[Sokwanele note: For more on the concerns expressed above, please read our previous post titled Zanu PF’s dirty tactics in Zimbabwe’s constitution making process. The post looks closely at a document drafted by Zanu PF for the sole purpose of enabling “Zanu PF political mobilisation teams to concentrate on the issues that are likely to be contested in the constitution-making process”.]

According to a source in the Eastern border town of Mutare, reports of intimidation and threats of violence against MDC supporters are escalating in the Manicaland province particularly in Chimanimani East (from Cashel valley and Nedziwa) and Buhera North. ZANU PF supporters and some members of the uniformed forces are allegedly hosting meetings telling people not to participate in the constitution making process unless they are advocating for either the Kariba draft constitution or the continued use of the current constitution. At the meetings, participants are allegedly receiving information that the MDC is advocating for ‘inhumane’ rights such as abortion and homosexuality regardless of the fact that both rights hinge on the respect of Freedom of Choice and thus should not be classified as ‘inhumane’ rights. The leaders of these groups are also threatening villagers with assault and ex-communication from their areas if they take part in the constitution making process.

These developments in the political arena are an indication of ZANU PF’s determination to ensure that the envisaged constitution suffers a still birth. The former ruling party continues to use uniformed forces and the police to intimidate the people of Zimbabwe giving credence to the argument presented by The Coalition during a discussion on Thursday 28 January 2010 that although ZANU PF lost the 2008 election to the MDC, the political party retains significant power over MDC as they are in control of the security forces.

There is thus need for civil society and Zimbabweans at large to advocate for institutional and legislative reforms during the constitution making process for a democratic constitution to come out. As long as repressive laws such as POSA still exist and security forces remain under ZANU PF control, the outcome of the constitution could be pre-determined by President Mugabe’s party.

Prudence Mabhena - lead singer for Liyana

So incredibly exciting! A film about a Zimbabwean band has made it onto this year’s Oscar nomination list, in the  ‘Best Documentary Short Subject’ category.

‘Music by Prudence’ tells the story of Prudence Mabhena, the lead singer of Bulawayo band Liyana.

Zimbabwean singer songwriter Prudence Mabhena, age twenty-one, was born severely disabled into a society where disabilities carry the taint of witchcraft; she is more likely to spend her life hidden away in a tiny hut than on a stage in the center of a city. Her story is the story of many of the disabled kids of Africa, a story of abandonment and abuse. But Prudence and her seven young band members, all disabled, have managed to overcome stereotypes and inspire the same people that once saw them as a curse (taken from the documentary website)

These are all the incredible Liyana band members:

Prudence Mabhena is Liyana’s lead singer. She also composes in a wide range of styles and many topics. While challenges with Arthrogryphosis have placed her in a wheel chair, she is an independent, assertive woman, whose voice has been likened to the great South African liberation singer, Miriam Makeba.

Tapiwa Nyengera sings back-up, plays keyboard, and is the front man. He is a passionate and eloquent voice for the contribution the disabled can make to Africa and the world. He has spina bifida.

Energy Maburutse is first marimba player and back-up vocalist and the band’s resident jokester. He has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, brittle bone syndrome.

Honest Mupatse plays tenor marimba. He has hemophilia.

Marvelous Mbulo is a back-up singer and has muscular dystrophy.

Vusani Vuma, the bass marimba player, is hearing-impaired and has spent much of his life in silence.

Goodwell Nzou, plays traditional drums and percussion and sings back-up. A snake bit him when he was 11, requiring amputation of his leg.

Farai Mabhande, lead keyboardist, is an orphan from Bulawayo, who suffers from arthogryphisis.

Liyana (the name means ‘it’s raining’ in Ndebele) grew out of an arts project at King George VI, a school and centre for children with physical disabilities, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

One of the amazing success stories the school has achieved is its band, Liyana. This year the group of eight students, five in wheelchairs, two on crutches and one deaf, took second prize in an all Africa music competition. They were the only group in the competition who were disabled. The amazing thing about this band is its ability to get the audience to forget the disability and see only the entertainment. In 2006 Liyana toured Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands as their prize for the competition and in 2009 they spent a month in America wowing and inspiring audiences in California and New York (KGVI website).

Listen to them sing!

More on their YouTube channel. Become a fan of the film on Facebook.

These are all the films nominated for an Oscar in the ‘Best Documentary Short Subject’ category:

Best documentary short subject Oscars 2010 Nominees:

• “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
  A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
• “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
  A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
  A Community Media Production Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• “Music by Prudence”
  An iThemba Production Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
• “Rabbit à la Berlin” (Deckert Distribution)
  An MS Films Production Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

We have just included content from the National Constitutional Assembly Draft Constitution (2001) in our online constitution resource page.

The NCA’s Draft constitution emerged from public inputs which the NCA, working through its own structures and those of its member institutions, received between May 1997 and December 2001 (a period of four and a half years). The final draft of the NCA constitution was published in September 2001, and public debate encouraged through October and November 2001. The draft, included here in our constitution resource, was agreed and finalised at an all stakeholders conference held in December 2001.

A full copy of the draft constitution, in PDF format, is available for download from the ‘Constitution Documents’ tab on our resource page.

The NCA provide the following summary of the key features of its 2001 draft constitution.

Key Features of this Draft

This draft seeks to address the key issues of governance in Zimbabwe and has taken into account the NCA’s major concerns about the Draft of the Constitutional Commission. Its main focus is on having an accountable government through various checks and balances. Here are the main features:

Non Executive President and an Executive Prime Minister

The executive presidency was overwhelmingly rejected. This draft proposes a ceremonial President and an executive Prime Minister. The latter is a member of the National Assembly and is responsible and accountable to it. A unique feature demanded by the people of Zimbabwe is that the Prime Minister be directly elected by voters, not by Parliament.

Parliamentary System of Government

The Prime Minister, as head of government, is required to appoint most of his or her ministers from Parliament. Parliament has been given power to pass a vote of no confidence in the government, in which case, the Prime Minister will be required to resign. Parliament is also empowered to pass a vote of no confidence in a Minister, in which case that Minister must be removed. Although the Prime minister is directly elected by voters, Parliament may, by a 60% majority, remove him or her from office and this emphasises a fundamental departure from the executive President who has powers to dissolve Parliament should it pass a vote of no confidence in him or her.

Two Chamber Parliament

Parliament is composed of two chambers; a National Assembly and a Senate. There are adequate provisions to make Parliament really powerful. For example, most appointments by the executive require the approval of either the National Assembly or the Senate.

Representation of Interest Groups in the Senate

The Draft proposes the representation of interest groups in the Senate. The groups include women, youths, the disabled, trade unions, ex-combatants, farmers and business. These representatives will replace presidential appointees and will be elected by the National Assembly from a shortlist submitted by members of the public.

Mixed Electoral System

It is proposed that for the National Assembly, half the MPs be elected to represent constituencies under the “winner-take-all” system and the other half under a system of proportional representation.

Recall of Members of Parliament

There is a proposed provision for the electorate to be able to recall an incompetent or underperforming Member of Parliament.

Meaningful Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights proposed in this Draft is broad and meaningful. In addition to the well known civil and political rights, some of the rights included are: right to education, right to health, right to a clean environment, right to strike, rights of disabled persons and so on. Minority rights have also been protected.

Death Penalty

As part of the Bill of Rights, this Draft proposes that the death penalty be abolished in Zimbabwe in respect of all other offences except serious cases of murder.

Free and Fair Elections

The Draft guarantees a multi-party system based on regular, free and fair elections. To achieve this ideal, the Bill of Rights provides a set of political rights and the Draft creates a truly Independent Electoral Commission to manage the whole electoral process.

Independent Commissions to enhance democracy

A number of independent bodies are created to enhance democracy. These include a Human Rights Commission, an Anti-Corruption Commission and a strong Auditor-General.

Devolution

The Draft answers the call by many Zimbabweans for the devolution of governmental powers to people in provinces and other levels. To this extent, it provides for a system of provincial governments with a provincial assembly and an executive council headed by an elected Governor.

Land Question

This Draft recognises the critical importance of land. It therefore allows government to compulsorily acquire land for equitable redistribution but requires fair compensation to be paid.

ZLHR Press Release – 1 Feb: Attorney General (AG) Johannes Tomana on Monday 1 February 2010 conceded that his law officers and prosecutors had at times misjudged when they unnecessarily invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) to effectively reverse the granting of bail to accused persons.

Prosecutors and law officers from the AG’s Office have on numerous occasions abused a controversial provision of the CPEA by invoking section 121 to keep accused persons in custody despite them being granted bail by the courts. This practice has had the effect of keeping individuals in custody for a further seven days to allow the State time to appeal the granting of bail. In almost all cases the appeals were either never filed, or were dismissed by the superior courts.

Because of this practice Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) had, in recent months, protested that the section was being used selectively and unlawfully by the AG’s office against human rights defenders and legitimate political activists in order to persecute these individuals, even where courts have found no evidence that they would pose a threat to the interests of justice, society or the State, if they were to be released on bail.

Tomana told the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Masvingo Urban legislator Hon. Tongai Matutu, when he appeared before it today, that he could not rule out malice, corruption, misjudgment and human error on the part of his law officers in invoking section 121.

Tomana is the first and highest ranking State legal officer to admit the abuse of section 121 which ZLHR contends has been invoked on numerous occasions merely to punish or further harass human rights defenders and continue the incarceration of such individuals in appalling conditions of detention, and not because an appeal would have prospects of success.

Already prominent human rights lawyer and ZLHR member Alec Muchadehama is awaiting a determination from the Supreme Court on his application challenging the constitutionality of section 121 of the CPEA.

Evidence compiled by ZLHR makes it clear that, in the majority of the cases recorded, the State had not filed an appeal after the expiry of the statutory seven days. In the isolated cases in which an appeal was pursued, not one appeal filed by the AG’s office has succeeded.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) feels that there is an urgent need for intervention in order for such repressive and unconstitutional practices to be brought to an end and for accused persons to be afforded their basic rights and freedoms. The exposure of such practices in public hearings is the first step in this process, but requires that further corrective measures to be taken, together with a change of attitude on the part of the AG and his subordinates, including the Director of Public Prosecutions, if it is to have any real meaning for those who have fallen, or may fall, victim to such abuse.