Sunday, 28th February 2010

Howzit

Well, believe it or not, this page has been in existence for five years today. (My huge thanks to MDT who first coaxed me into blogging...)

Not everything I write on this page meets with agreement of my readers, but we must all remember that it is nothing more than my opinion as a commentator, living some 6000 miles from the focus of my attention.

But I am encouraged by the support that I do receive, be it in friendship or page visits. (I have noted a huge surge in visits in the last fortnight or so - and I'm not exactly sure why...)

And for that reason, and the love that I have for Zimbabwe, I see no reason to stop my endeavours on the internet.

May I say a huge THANK YOU you to all of my readers, be they regular or chance visitors. Without you all, I wouldn't have lasted this long already.

1826 days... 1960 posts... over ¾ million hits... it can't be all bad!

(I s'pose it would be foolhardy to say, "Here's to the next five years!" - I sincerely hope that the news that I would be commenting on would have a distinctly optimistic feel to that of the last five...)

-o00o-

Everything that Mugabe and his minions do is designed to either allow them to pocket money, take further control over whatever is their focus, or to strip some part of Zimbabwean life of the benefits that they have worked so hard for. In this case, Kasukuwere has decided - without consultation with anyone (bar Mugabe himself) that foreign owned companies will pay a levy based upon their alacrity in seeking local ownership.

"Zimbabwe will impose a punitive levy on foreign firms to compel them to cede controlling stake to locals, Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said on Friday.

The controversial indigenisation laws come into force on Monday and foreign-controlled firms have up to March 2015 to sell at least 51 percent stake to local Zimbabweans with those that fail to do so to pay the levy, according to Kasukuwere.

"We are setting up a national levy system so as (for companies) to comply. The less you want to be indigenised the more you pay the levies," Kasukuwere told business leaders attending a conference to discuss the indigenisation laws in the south-western city of Bulawayo.

"Under the regulations those companies that are in mergers or de-mergers should immediately comply with the 51 percent requirement," he said, adding; "You have instances when you have some companies importing tissues from as far as South Africa, the time has come to give locals an opportunity."

The regulations were gazetted on February 5 in line with an Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Bill passed in Parliament by President Robert Mugabe’s then sole ruling ZANU PF party in 2007. Mugabe signed the regulations into law by in March 2008."

That the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai is not impressed would be somewhat of an understatement. Whilst I fully understand the need to empower local shareholders and for foreign companies to allow a local foothold in their businesses, I do believe, rather like the land grab, that the firm grab will deteriorate into a ZANU PF grab-it-all.

And this will lead to a total and utter collapse of the already weakened economy.

-o00o-

Mugabe is not a popular person in Bulawayo and Matabeleland. There is a lot of ill-feeling with Mugabe failing to address the problems caused by the Gukurahundi in the early to mid-1980s. I am not so sure that ZANU PF did themselves any favours by deciding to hold a birthday party in Bulawayo - but Mugabe and his party will do what they want, where they want...

"President Robert Mugabe defended his controversial local ownership laws at his 86th birthday celebrations on Saturday, saying they were designed to broaden Zimbabwean participation in the economy.

Mugabe's government passed an "indigenisation" law in 2007 to localise control of foreign firms. On Monday companies will have to provide information on shareholders and plans on how they intend to conform to the new law, which seeks to ensure locals own at least 51 percent.

"This law will enable us to examine every large company in the country and determine whether the ownership principle has been observed," Mugabe told a crowd in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city.

"If not, then 51 percent must come to our people."

And this is the lie. 51 percent will not come to the people - it will be hand, lock, stock and barrel to ZANU PF officials, members, supporters and apologists. And as the firm grab continues, you will see that the 'indigenous' people who are hand the shareholding will have had no experience in running companies, but will have history within Mugabe's party.

"Mugabe maintained the intention was not to nationalise firms but his proposal has split the fragile unity government.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who leads the Movement for Democratic Change, said the law was "null and void" as it was not debated by the new cabinet.

Analysts said that if instituted it would damage the already ailing economy and jeopardise foreign investment."

Mugabe cares not for the overwhelming damage that this law will cause - he is in a situatiojn where he has to offer his party new feeding trough as the land grab has just about run its course and his loyalists are still clamouring for more.

-o00o-

Did we really expect Morgan Tsvangirai to attend Mugabe's birthday party? How would it have looked had he gone there and ate his fill, rubbed shoulders with the rich Mugabe-ites, whilst the country starves?

"Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his two deputies yesterday stayed away from President Robert Mugabe’s lavish 86th birthday party where the organisers splashed thousands of dollars on exotic food.

Mugabe’s actual birthday was last Sunday but ZANU PF’s communist styled 21st February Movement organised an all-night music gala on Friday and the feast yesterday.

Organisers estimated the budget at around US$500000, which was spent on, among other things, bringing top Jamaican reggae artist, Sizzla and South Africa’s Soul Brothers as well as other goodies for the annual party.

The more than 5000 guests who thronged the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Grounds were treated to expensive cuisine at Bulawayo’s hotels.

Sources at Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office said invitations for the celebrations held amid concerns over looming starvation in Matabeleland arrived at his office on Friday.

But it appears there were no takers as it was only ministers from ZANU PF who turned up."

I have a photograph on my computer of the 85kg cake that was baked for Mugabe last year, and I see a photograph on the internet today of the Mugabe family filling their faces. Theirs are not the faces of concerned leaders - these are gluttons that have no care for the people that allegedly put him in office - the Zimbabwean people.

Mugabe's party spent half a million American dollars on feeding and entertaining 5000 people - whilst something approaching eleven million people struggle to survive on less that one greenback a day.

Do the maths - and see who is interested in bettering the Zimbabwean way of life...

"MDC-T spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa said they did not attend because it was a “ZANU PF event, not a national event".

"We only converge with ZANU PF at national events," he said. "We should spend our energy on more useful things."

-o00o-
-o00o-

We read so much about the terrible life that normal Zimbabweans live. But then there are those that live their lives in even worse conditions. The people held in the various prisons and remand centres throughout the country have nothing. Absolutely nothing.

This is the story of one man who has had his life torn apart by his experience within Zimbabwean prisons.

"Liberty Mudyiwa sits miserably throughout the day watching his ailing parents going about their daily chores. In pain, he also watches his siblings loitering around at a time when their peers are at school.

Mudyiwa, who is now confined to Witchhood Bulk M Farm in Mutorashanga, wishes he could help.

The 22-year-old, who recently returned from Hwahwa Young Offenders’ Prison near Gweru, has been "imprisoned" forever.

Amid intermittent sobs, he tells the sad story of how his time in jail changed his life for the worst.

His is a story of how prisoners are abused in Zimbabwe’s jails by officers who are never punished for their crimes against prisoners.

"I left home on my two feet, hoping that after serving my sentence, I would come back to assist my parents in caring for my siblings," Mudyiwa says.

"I never thought I would be punished beyond the sentence given to me by the court."

In 2004 a Bindura magistrate convicted Mudyiwa, then 17, for rape and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The then Grade VII pupil at Caesar Mine Primary School in Mutorashanga was relieved when the sentence was reduced to eight years.

But the relief was short-lived. While serving at Hwahwa, Mudyiwa was allegedly forced to carry a heavy log which led to his paralysis.

"We had just finished working in the garden when the Principal Prison Officer told us to go and clean tanks used for preserving the officers’ beer," he recalls.

He alleges that the officer he identified then forced him and another inmate to carry a heavy log.

"I told him that the log was too heavy for me but he threatened to beat me so I carried it," he said. “As we walked, I felt sharp pain from the shoulder down to the back."

The officer ignored him when Mudyiwa complained to him about the pain. "On dropping the log, I also fell down and my whole body went numb. I later learnt that I had been paralysed and my joints had dislocated."

And there is no punishment for the prison officer, nor for the prison service. despite promising to look after Mudyiwa, this has not been done.

"From May 2009 up to his release on February 6, 2010, Mudyiwa was confined to a small cell.

Now confined to a wheelchair at home, he is battling a lot of problems.

His mother suffered a stroke while his father broke his rib in an accident.

The only assistance he got was a wheelchair from St George’s College in Harare. Last week the wheelchair broke down.

The Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender is aware of Mudyiwa’s plight.

When Mudyiwa was released from prison, the organisation wanted to take him home but they were blocked by the prison officers who attempted to keep everything under wraps.

The prison officers took him home instead, raising suspicions.

ZPS acting spokesperson Priscilla Mutembu last month confirmed Mudyiwa was injured in their custody.

Last week she asked questions to be faxed to her, but she had not responded by the time of going to press.

Zacro chief executive Edson Chihota said: "The ZPS must honour its promise to help him. He does not have anyone to assist him."

The sooner we all realise that promises made by Mugabe apologists are never kept, the better. But it doesn't help people like Midyiwa...

He has served his sentence for the crime he committed - and now is obliged to spend the rest of his life serving another.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Saturday, 27th February 2010

Howzit

My apologies if this posting has more than its fair share of spelling mistakes - the spell checker within Blogger has joined the Zimbabwean civil servants and gone on strike!

-o00o-

"The Zimbabwe Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has compiled with a Supreme Court order instructing him to return contested diamonds from the Marange field to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, from which he removed the stones early this month, sources said.

The court had ordered the 300000 carats of diamonds worth millions of dollars to be held by the central bank pending resolution of a suit against the government by London-based African Consolidated Resources over revocation of its Marange mining rights."

So the diamonds may have been returned, but I still believe that Mpofu has a case to answer.

When Mpofu forcibly removed the diamonds, he had produced a letter that was supposedly giving him the authority to carry out the removal. Surely this is forgery and uttering?

Mpofu removed the diamonds when he never had the necessary authority to do so. Surely this, at the very least, is theft by conversion.

But the wheels of justice turn ponderously slowly in Zimbabwe and in the event that the person who has committed a crime is connected to Mugabe, the chances of justice being carried out are distinctly remote.

Mugabe & Company will be quite angry that the court ordered the diamonds returned, and will be even angrier that the supposed resolution has had to be done quite publicly. And Mugabe does have a habit of holding a grudge.

"Deputy Mines Minister Murisi Zwizwai confirmed to VOA reporter Sandra Nyaira that Mpofu heeded Chidyasiku's ruling and returned the diamonds."

Somehow, I don't think that this has played itself out fully yet.

-o00o-

"Newman Chiadzwa, who was embroiled in a controversy after claiming to be "Chief Chaidzwa", was yesterday convicted of illegally possessing 8kg of diamonds.

Mutare provincial magistrate Mr Billiard Masakwa remanded Chiadzwa (54) in custody to Monday for sentencing."

It will be very interesting to see just what sentence Chiadzwa will receive, bearing in mind that mines minister Obert Mpofu had 29 kilograms of diamonds illegally in his possession. And we have to remember that Mpofu had even gone as far as to have a letter drawn up to attempt to make the removal of the diamonds appear authorised.

"Chiadzwa was found in possession of 43028,20 carats of diamonds and was arrested on October 14, 2006."

This case is almost 4 years old. This highlights how long ZANU PF has been dabbling in diamonds, and yet they still have nothing to show for that time.

"Chiadzwa admitted physical control of the diamonds and that he was dealing in diamonds after the Government ordered all the illegal panners to sell the diamonds to the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe.

"He also confirmed that he had a digital scale, which he was using to weigh diamonds. I have no slightest doubt that the State has proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt and therefore I find him guilty as charged," Mr Musakwa ruled.

In mitigation, Mr Ndlovu said the court should consider the long time the case took to conclude."

-o00o-

Mugabe riles me - especially when he comes out with the most amazing 'logic' in his various arguments. If ZANU PF, the former ruling party, had control of the diamond fields, then why is it that the country is broke - but that his party can afford a birthday bash valued at about half a million American dollars?

Which has the priority?

And then he says that the targeted sanctions against him and members of his party are obstructing the efforts to kick-start the economy. I would love to know how preventing Mugabe travelling to the UK or America has 'hobbled' efforts to improve the economy.

"Mr Mugabe told participants at the launch of the so-called Kadoma Declaration on labour relations that Harare is doing the best it can to improve wages and conditions for workers. He asked civil servants to be patient while government stabilized the economy.

Mr Mugabe again called for Western targeted travel and financial sanctions against him and his inner circle to be lifted, saying they were hobbling government efforts to revive the troubled economy.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti said this week that the government is bringing in US$100 million a month of which US$65 million goes to salaries. The strike by civil servants is now entering its fourth week. Workers have been sitting in at their workplaces."

Yesterday I read how Amos Midzi alleged that restrictive measures by the West had led to the collapse of the education and health ministries 'amongst others' - and now we have Mugabe claiming that the targeted sanctions have hampered the coalition government.

I don't think so!

How can targeted sanctions have caused the collapse of ministries? I have written about how medical staff have refused delivery of much-needed drugs - because they had been sourced by the MDC...

Mugabe and his mad bunch of senior loyalists have spent every cent that they could have, borrowed from everybody they could have, and have mortgaged the national resources to more than their total value.

The failure of the coalition to pay salaries is a hangover from the Mugabe regime.

"Labour Minister Paurina Mpariwa told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that the government wants to raise wages but is strapped at the moment.

Representatives of the striking workers were quick to dismiss the president's comments, saying government officials have not even bothered to meet with them to discuss demands.

Tendayi Chikowore, chairwoman of the Apex council that negotiates for civil servants, said the fact that public service employee representatives were not invited to the Kadoma Declaration launch showed the insincerity of the government.

Chikowore dismissed Biti’s statement on revenues, telling VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that Harare has given the armed forces and government ministers substantial pay increases."

And while the civil servants and their families have to contend with living on less money than some of the poorest countries in the world, Mugabe-ites prepare for a birthday bash which will leave many with a feeling of anger and frustration.

"ZANU PF officials meanwhile, were putting final touches on a party starting Friday night in Bulawayo to mark President Mugabe’s 86th birthday. Critics said the extravaganza with international musical artists was inappropriate when so many Zimbabweans are struggling and state workers are on strike.

Political analyst John Makumbe of the University of Zimbabwe told VOA Studio 7 reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye that public outrage is justified.

Elsewhere, Indigenization and Empowerment minister Savior Kasukuwere, a member of Mr. Mugabe's ZANU PF, told a business conference in Bulawayo that government was pressing ahead with plans to transfer control of foreign firms to local ownership despite objections from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change party.

"The debate around indigenisation is dead," Reuters quoted Kasukuwere as saying. "We are not about to reopen the debate. We are not about to destroy the economy; far from it."

So - on Monday the 'firm grab' is set to begin. Perhaps this is the real birthday present for Mugabe.

With reference to the birthday bash, according to an article the internet, the entire pathetic expression of undying love and support for their geriatric leader will be screened live by the ZTV... (Why anyone would want to watch the 'festivities' of television, is beyond me.)

-o00o-

Oh dear... it would appear that Mugabe's financial lapdog, Gideon Gono, the unilaterally appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank, doesn't agree with the planned 'firm grab'.

"Robert Mugabe and his top economic advisor, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono have reportedly differed on the controversial Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act with Gono arguing that the act scares away potential investors.

Gono also believes that the act is a conduit by top ZANU PF officials to invade companies which will lead to a total destruction of industry.

Despite fierce resistance, Mugabe together with top ZANU PF officials has successfully pushed through the indigenization act, which gives 51 percent shareholding of all companies to Zimbabweans."

Mugabe is intent on destroying what little is left of the Zimbabwean economy, contrary to the claims of Savior Kasukuwere. He says that there is no debate on the planned takeovers.

You have to question just why the intended law change was not something that the MDC was involved in. If the MDC and ZANU PF are supposed to be in a 'unity' government, how is it that Mugabe is permitted to make such sweeping changes with apparent impunity - and his party didn't even win the election! And he didn't even win the Presidential election!

How is it that the party that does not have the parliamentary majority, nor is able to field a candidate for President that could win without using violence, threats and political tinkering, is able to make such huge governmental policy changes and have no resistance to the changes?

"The act has already created a storm within the inclusive government with Zanu PF opposing it while the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is opposing the largely discredited law.

Although Gono has been uncharacteristically quiet since late last year, informed sources at the RBZ said he has been trying over the past few years to discourage the government from proceeding with the controversial law.

Gono is said to maintain that the law is being created by greedy ZANU PF officials who want to grab companies for free the same they invaded and destroyed farms.

In his monetary policy statement of October 2007, Gono attacked the proponents of the indigenization law and even went on to say that it was being crafted by drunken people."

Drunk with the desire for power, prestige and position... The whole thing is just plain ludicrous.

"Gono said his attack on the act was because he had already received reports that senior and well connected personalities had already positioned themselves to muscle into certain mining, manufacturing, financial and other entities.

He added that nearly three decades after independence the political heavyweights should forget about getting business for free."

-o00o

In all the years that I lived in Zimbabwe, I never voted - probably something determined by my service in the ZRP, during which I was trained to be apolitical.

"Millions of Zimbabweans living in exile could still be denied their voting rights under the proposed ZANU PF nationality programme.

The former ruling party’s position paper on the new constitution proposes that on issues of citizenship and the bill of rights only children born in the Diaspora would be allowed duel citizenship. This paper is being distributed to party supporters in readiness for the constitutional outreach programme.

Analysts view this is a tactical maneuver by ZANU PF as millions of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora would potentially be disqualified from taking part in the next general election under a new constitution.

At least three million Zimbabweans are said to be living outside the country, the majority of them in South Africa, having fled political repression and poverty after a decade-long economic crisis blamed on Robert Mugabe’s controversial policies, including his farm seizure programme.

Following the 2000 parliamentary elections, in which ZANU PF beat the MDC with the narrowest of margins (six seats) the government in 2001 enacted a law that stripped citizenship status and rights of close to 1.5 million Zimbabwean mine and commercial farm workers born of parents from Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. This exercise resulted in statelessness for all these individuals who were also denied the right to vote in the 2002 Presidential elections."

Mugabe is not a full Zimbabwean. His father was Malawian, which means that his candidature for President of the country is forfeit. And under the law enacted nine years ago, his voting powers should have been stripped as well.

But because Mugabe is the President, he does, by virtue of his lofty office, ignore this law - and many others.

"Zimbabwe bars dual citizenship, and a 2003 amendment to the Citizenship Act tightened the law by requiring Zimbabweans who were once citizens of other countries or whose parents were once foreigners to formally renounce that ‘foreign citizenship’ in order to qualify for Zimbabwean citizenship."

I joined the ZRP in early in 1981 and I was informed early in my service that it was a legal requirement that I renounced my British nationality. I checked with the British High Commission and was told that the laws in Zimbabwe and their enactment would not affect my future claim to my birthright.

I then acceded to Mugabe's demands and renounced my English claim.

Why Mugabe himself is not in the self same position, I don't know...

"So they (ZANU PF) will try by hook or crook to stop people in the Diaspora from voting in Zimbabwe. But since this is a proposal by ZANU PF, it is not guaranteed that this will sail through Parliament under the current legislative set up. I regard this as election posturing,” Mhlanga said.

Josh Chigwangwa, another exiled Zimbabwean living in the UK said the proposal by ZANU PF was 'very dangerous' in that it sought to separate children from their parents.

"Instead of embracing the national healing concept they still want to alienate the millions of Zimbabweans living in exile. This is why we are urging the inclusive government to make changes to the law where necessary to enable thousands of Zimbabweans who lost their citizenship, or who have acquired citizenship of other countries to participate in national affairs,” Chigwangwa said."

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Friday, 26th February 2010

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated.

-o00o-

Yesterday, you may recall the article about the 'IT expert' who appeared for the State in the Roy Bennett trial who turned out to be a cable layer - and you may also recall that he was rather rude to the judge on his departure, but got away with it.

I see this morning that the AG, Johannes Tomana, wants to call a second 'IT expert' to give evidence. Surely the fact that Tomana attempted to hoodwink the court negates any second attempt?

I would have thought so - but when it comes to 'justice' in Zimbabwe, we can never be sure.

"Lawyers representing Roy Bennett is his ongoing terrorism trial have accused state prosecutors of trying to persecute the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) top official.

Bennett, treasurer general in the mainstream MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, faces charges of seeking the overthrow of President Robert Mugabe through alleged acts of banditry and terrorism.

"The is no longer prosecution but persecution," lead defence counsel Beatrice Mtetwa told the court Thursday."

I am a little taken aback that the judge chose not to take action against the original 'IT expert' who was obviously committing perjury with his claims to be a computer guru, when, in actual fact he was just a cable layer. And this perjury could not have taken place without the complicity of the AG - so his actions should also be considered for punishment.

But, because the AG is a pro-Mugabe appointment (against the Global Political Agreement), the courts finds itself unable to take disciplinary action, and the 'witness' will probably find himself rewarded for his testimony, albeit false...

"This was after Attorney General Johannes Tomana, who is prosecuting in the high profile trial, had advised the court that the state will bring yet another expert in Information Technology to come and testify against Bennett."

The judge should have closed down that angle of prosecution as Tomana has had his chance and had blown it. Why should he have a second go - and why, if the court is to allow the second 'expert' is the crass attempt to lead information from a clearly false testimony allowed to go without punishment?

"Apparently unprepared to stomach the increasing reality of a crumbling state vase before them, the prosecutors are now trying to bring in another IT expert who would hopefully plug the holes that were created by Mutsetse during his testimony."

Judgement on a number of motions has been reserved until Monday - and I am concerned that the judge should need any time to rule on something that is so obviously biased and prejudicial.

-o00o-

As I suggested yesterday, threatening the person of the Prime Minister is illegal - just as threatening any person is illegal.

But, because the youths that marched against sanctions are ZANU apologists, the police failed to arrest even one of them. But is the people that were marching were WOZA women and they were marching for education or employment, we would be reading of arrests, arraignments and assaults.

The law in Zimbabwe is an ass...

"The MDC has called upon the police to arrest ZANU PF youths who, during a street march they organized Wednesday against western imposed sanctions, threatened to deal with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

"The ZANU PF threat on party President and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is a blatant attack not only on his person and office, but a reprehensible criminal act that threatens the inclusive government and the Global Political Agreement (GPA)," said the MDC in a statement posted on its official website Thursday.

"The MDC takes these threats seriously as several attempts have been made on the life of the Prime Minister."

But the pro-Mugabe police, the pro-Mugabe AG's office will decide that no crime has been committed and therefore will ignore the call. Even if the MDC were to make an official request in writing, the various offices that could do something about it will do nothing.

Not a thing.

And then compare that the the degrees to which the same offices will take inordinate action to 'protect' the office and the person of Mugabe.

He called himself, "Hitler - tenfold" and then his police force arrested and charged a woman for calling Mugabe a "Hitler". It beggars belief that the powers that be should prosecute and convict a person for agreeing with the President!

"The MDC further called on SADC and the African Union to intervene in what it said was an apparent attempt by ZANU PF to torpedo the country’s unity agreement brokered in 2008 by the two organisations.

"We call upon SADC and the African Union, the guarantors of the GPA, to intervene and resolve this blatant criminal act which may well be the beginning of deliberate efforts to scuttle and kill a regional initiative which had brought hope to the people of Zimbabwe," said the MDC."

But SADC will do their normal - nothing.

-o000-

"Hundreds of ZANU PF youths were bussed in from militia training camps in Mashonaland Central to demonstrate against targeted sanctions in Harare after being ‘drugged with mbanje (marijuana) and hot stuff’ a youth group has claimed. On Wednesday ZANU PF youths marched through the streets of Harare waving placards denouncing the targeted measures imposed on nearly 200 officials linked to the Mugabe regime and about 31 companies accused of aiding and abetting the repression under the party.

On Thursday the Youth Alliance for Democracy accused ZANU PF of having deliberately drugged the youths at a meeting point near Marlborough Police Station on the outskirts of Harare. With the youths high on the intoxicants they were then unleashed onto the streets 'with only 4 police officers on bicycles,’ something which put ‘peaceful citizens at risk from thuggish behaviour'. The group said ZANU PF Youth Affairs Secretary Absolom Sikhosana and Rugare Gumbo addressed the youths to 'sensitize' them on what to say and do during the demonstration."

I do note that when Mugabe talks about sanctions, he claims 'full economic sanctions' are in place against Zimbabwe, but when the youth march against the sanctions, they suddenly become 'targeted measures imposed' - proof that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.

"The Youth Alliance Communications Officer Thulani Mswelanto said the demonstration, 'only shows the extent to which the inclusive government is polarised and dominated by mistrust and political meddling'. He said the demonstration by the youths was 'a deliberate ploy by ZANU PF to divert the people’s attention from the real issues bedeviling the inclusive government.' Mswelanto also accused Mugabe of continuing his tradition of manipulating youths to be the mouth piece of his political rhetoric.

"The use of abusive language, and rekindling the memories of the June 27 'election' shows that these are people who are not prepared to repent, that ZANU PF youths including their leaders view murder, torture, rape, mutilation as highly normal and to them human rights, respect for the rule of law are non existent and unnecessary," a Youth Alliance for Democracy statement read."

You know and I know that Mugabe has deliberately ratcheted up the sanctions question. He makes spurious claims as to what sanctions are are in force, and how they have allegedly been put in place illegally by the international community at the specific request of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

"The European Union recently ratified its decision to extend targeted sanctions by another year citing the lack of progress in the unity government. Only slight amendments were made to the list as 9 companies were de-listed and 6 names of mainly deceased people removed."

When it comes to Mugabe, it is any port in a storm, and his penchant for involving the youths in things that they don't understand - especially under the influence of drugs and alcohol - is almost biblical.

Mugabe somehow managed to appeal to the wrong people, who then express his desires by design or default.

-o00o-

As regular reader will know, I have been keeping a very close eye on the actions and activities of the mines minister, Obert Mpofu - and it would appear that his removing the 29 kilograms of diamonds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in defiance of a Supreme Court order is now viewed as just about breaking the law.

I disagree. Defying a court order is breaking the law. End of story.

"President Robert Mugabe is caught in a sticky situation over the raging diamonds conflict, facing an explosive confrontation with the Reserve Bank and the Supreme Court.

Official sources said Mugabe is sailing close to the wind on the volatile diamonds dispute after he went along with Mines minister Obert Mpofu’s 'unlawful' explanation that gemstones extracted from the contested Chiadzwa diamonds fields must be kept at the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), not the Reserve Bank. The sources said Mpofu and officials at his ministry informed the president that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requires that diamonds be kept at the MMCZ as opposed to the central bank. Mugabe seems to have bought into this line which the Reserve Bank considers illegal in view of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the matter.

The owners of the contested diamonds, Africa Consolidated Resources (ACR) plc, also say keeping the diamonds at MMCZ is 'illegal' as it brazenly defies the Supreme Court ruling.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku on January 25 ruled that the 129400 carats of diamonds initially seized from ACR in January 2007 by MMCZ must be kept at the Reserve Bank until the finalisation of the appeal on the issue. ACR is fighting in the courts over the seizure of its diamond claims and gemstones and the issue is on appeal.

The battle over the diamonds dramatically escalated last week after Mugabe, in an interview with ZBC on the eve of his birthday, entered the fray, defending Mpofu’s actions considered 'unlawful' by the Reserve Bank, ACR and the Supreme Court."

Mugabe is a law unto himself. He defended Gideoan Gono's blatant theft of foreign currency from RBZ accounts, saying that the money was taken with the 'national interest' in mind. He stated that Gono was 'not a thief' - and, at the time of writing, the money has yet be repaid.

Now he defends Mpofu's actions.

Mind you, he defends the actions of the war veterans who invaded farms - and murdered farmers and their workers. Have we seen anyone dragged before the courts for these actions?

"Mugabe came out publicly suggesting Mpofu’s position to keep the diamonds at the MMCZ is correct even though the Supreme Court has ruled that the diamonds must be surrendered to the central bank for safekeeping.

Sources said this has angered Reserve Bank officials who are mostly Mugabe loyalists. It is also said the Supreme Court is anxious about the issue which has rule-of-law and contempt-of-court implications.

Mugabe in his birthday interview last week revealed that a significant number of diamonds were stocked at the MMCZ, an act which the Supreme Court and Reserve Bank consider unlawful.

"I understand we have quite a number of diamonds piled up in the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe offices. They are the ones approved by the Kimberley Process, not the Reserve Bank," Mugabe said."

I believe that this revelation was deliberate and seeks to drag attention away from the real activity going on in other areas.

Diamond theft is a serious matter. Defying a Supreme Court ruling is also serious. But do we see the courts issuing a warrant of arrest for Mpofu?

"It said Mpofu has been claiming that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requires that the diamonds must be kept at MMCZ and that keeping them anywhere else, including at the Reserve Bank, would be a breach of the Kimberley Process.

"This is completely false," ACR charges in its letter to the Reserve Bank. "It is only documentation from the MMCZ that is required."

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Deputy Sheriff attached diamonds from MMCZ and took them to the Reserve Bank. According to the Notice of Seizure and Attachment, the deputy sheriff delivered the diamonds to the Reserve Bank for safekeeping in line with the court ruling, but Assistant Commissioner Freedom Gumbo, accompanied by armed police officers, went to the central bank earlier this month and 'illegally' seized the diamonds."

Isn't it amazing that suddenly Mugabe & Company want to obey the Kimberley Process... a process which Mugabe regularly ignores.

"The Supreme Court said last week said the seizure of diamonds was illegal and in contempt of court. "If anyone has removed the diamonds from the Reserve Bank, he has done so unlawfully and in contempt of court," it said. "The diamonds must be returned to the Reserve Bank immediately in order to purge the contempt. Failure to do so should attract serious consequences."

When the President of a country himself is now in contempt of the highest court in the land, it will be most interesting to see what the court does.

-o00o-

"Zimbabwe Cabinet ministers in the previous regime have been fingered in a damning report that accuses them of looting state assets ahead of the formation of the unity government last year.

The special report, compiled by the parliamentary committee on public accounts, has unearthed "shocking abuse of public funds and state assets".

The committee recently completed its audit of state assets, an investigation prompted by assertions last year by the auditor-general that certain ministers had looted their ministries.

Among the anomalies unearthed was that 10000 youths were on the government's payroll for no other reason than that they belonged to President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party.

Evidence shows that all the youths were born on the same day - April 18 1980, the day Zimbabwe attained its independence from Britain."

Given that the standard of life in Zimbabwe has seriously impinged on the longevity of lifespans in that country, could it be possible that 10000 youths that were born on the same day (!) are still alive and that their brains have all be bent towards the ZANU PF psyche?

-o00o-

Mugabe sold the land grab to the Zimbabwean people and the free world as a return of the land to the landless blacks, the land allegedly having been stolen by the colonials in the days of yore.

We know that this is a load of rubbish as the land has been given to Mugabe's close and faithful loyalists - the majority of which have no intention of working the land...

"Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Stan Mudenge is embroiled in a farm ownership wrangle with war veterans, amid reports that he has now resorted to the hire of ZANU PF youths to forcibly evict the former freedom fighters from Chikore Farm. Mudenge grabbed Chikore Farm from a commercial farmer identified only as a Mr Buchan at the height of farm invasions with the assistance of the war veterans.

After a decade of co-existence with the former freedom fighters on the property, the minister now seeks to have them immediately evicted from the farm.

Situated about 20 kilometres south of Masvingo city Chikore Farm used to produce flowers for export.

The horticultural project featuring green houses has since been abandoned and Mudenge now struggles to produce mainly tomatoes and cabbages on the once thriving property.

It emerged yesterday that after failing to evict the war veterans through the courts the minister has now recruited ZANU PF youths to evict nearly 200 families settled on the property."

As we have become accustomed to, Mugabe uses the war veterans to do his dirty work, and then, once they have achieved his objectives, he takes away whatever they have taken for themselves en route.

You would have thought that after thirty years of this, the war veterans would have learned.

"We were surprised to see our youths from the party (ZANU PF) coming to terrorise us and ordering all the occupants to vacate the property," said Willias Mutumba, a war veteran who lives on the farm.

"We are having sleepless nights over this issue and we are soon going to declare a fully blown war with these youths who are being used by Minister Mudenge."

Tension was very high on the farm Thursday as the ZANU PF youths monitored activity on the property.

The youths said they had been sent by Minister Mudenge to evict anyone living on the farm and to make sure that no one else moves onto the property."

I don't mind ZANU PF fighting amongst themselves...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Thursday, 25th February 2010

Howzit

I have been trawling the various internet news sites with regards to the court order which instructed mines minister Obert Mpofu to return the 29 kilograms of diamonds removed in contravention of a court order of the diamonds being held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. And I can find nothing that would indicate that the diamonds have been returned.

Do ZANU PF place themselves above the law? Do court orders not apply to ZANU PF?

We cannot allow Mpofu and ZANU PF to ignore and defy the second court order, and, even if and when the diamonds are returned, Mpofu should be considered for criminal prosecution.

-o00o-

So Tomana's key State witness, supposedly an IT expert, has been shown to be nothing more that a cable layer. Or should that really read 'liar'?

"A key state witness - supposed to be an information technology (IT) expert - turned out to be just a cable layer after he was unmasked by defence lawyers of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's top aide Roy Bennett, who is facing terrorism charges.

Denshard Mutsetse, who the state had line up as its computer expect from Africom to buttress its case that a bunch of emails allegedly printed from the computer of gun dealer Peter Michael Hitschmann that implicate Bennett in treason were authentic, shocked the court when he claimed that there are no internet hackers.

During cross examination by defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, Mutsetse who did not look composed as he spent more time throwing questions to Mtetwa instead of answering them.

"You are only employed by Africom, currently your job title is a technician LAN," Mtetwa said. "That position is the lowest rank in your entire structure just like a madhaka boy at a construction site. The structure (at Africom) does not have a position of a provincial engineer."

Oh dear. Hopefully the court will take Tomana to task for this pathetic attempt to pull the wool over the court's eyes. Perjury is a serious crimes, and not only is Mutsetse guilty of giving false evidence under oath, but Tomana and his staff must also be complicit in this attempt, and therefore are also guilty of a crime.

"Mutsetse had been introduced by Attorney General Johaness Tomana as the provincial engineer for the cable firm, but according to the company's profile there is no such position in the firm.

Mutsetse had refused to outline his company profile citing confidentiality and also told the court that "it was not possible to create fake emails".

Asked if he knew that there were computer hackers and computer forensic experts, Mutsetse said it was the first time he was hearing of such terms and asked Mtetwa to clarify where the hackers are from and who trained them.

"I don't know them. It's my first time to hear that (hacker and forensic experts). Where are the hackers trained?"

The 'expert' was rather lucky to not be held in contempt of court when he told the judge, "Ndinokutendai nekutambisa nguva yangu (Thank you for wasting my time)."

This attempt by Tomana to manufacture and fabricate evidence against Bennett shows just how desperate Mugabe & Co are to rid him from their midst.

But the comment by the witness also goes a very long way in displaying the utter contempt that Tomana holds for the court. This was his witness. Surely he should have explained to the witness the gravity of the occasion and the respect that he should have for the bench.

Obviously not.

-o000-

It is obvious, as well, that ZANU PF listens to an entirely different drum beat when operating in Zimbabwe.

"A diamond smuggler, a fraudster and a former mercenary are reported to be on the board of a South African-backed firm involved in mining Zimbabwe's Chiadzwa diamond fields.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) published some of the names of those on the board of Canadile miners which was controversially picked to mine the world's richest diamond fields."

ZANU PF will climb into bed with anyone who will assist them to realising the fruits of their endeavours - even if those fruits are, in actual fact, national resources that are for the entire country and not just Mugabe's small enclave.

On their various boards and panels languish some of the most evil men on the planet. These are men that have ordered atrocities against their own people, killed in the name of ZANU PF, and have allied themselves with the devil himself to enjoy riches beyond their wildest dreams.

"The party gave names. They include an Israeli diamond smuggler who spent time in jail in Angola on smuggling charges, a white former mercenary in Sierra Leone and a man on the police wanted list in Thailand for massive diamond fraud.

The MDC is asking how these people were entrusted with Zimbabwe's vast mineral wealth and whether Zimbabweans themselves would ever get a cent of diamond money."

When you consider that for the past three decades the country's finances and mineral wealth has been mismanaged by ZANU PF, I doubt whether the country will ever recover unless ZANU PF are no longer in the driving seat.

The country is broke - but if it has the mineral resources that Mugabe claims it has, then why have they been rendered penniless? Simple really. The national resources have been illegally siphoned by Mugabe and their cronies into their private coffers - and now they have taken to just taking the resources in broad daylight, defying court orders.

"Only last week the Supreme Court issued a second order for Mpofu to return 29 kilograms of diamonds he, along with a senior police officer, took from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The court had initially ordered the gems valued at US$18 million to be kept at the central bank for safekeeping pending the resolution of a court case involving African Consolidated Resources (ACR( and the government."

It is time that the courts in Zimbabwe actually did something constructive to prevent the national resource from being disposed of illegally by the Mugabe administration.

What floors me is that this theft can take place in broad daylight - and nobody has done anything to stop this wilful theft.

-o000-

"The inclusive government is failing to pay civil servants yet the Zimbabwe Minig Development Corporation (ZMDC) is raking in big bucks from 66000 hectares of land bristling with mineral in Marange, and declaring only a lowly 10 percent of sales.

The stunning revelations emerged as oral evidence was being presented to the Mines and Energy Committee last week, as striking civil servants marched through the capital on Friday, saying they were intensifying an industrial action against low salaries. The Changing Times heard that Prime Minister Tsvangirai was seized with the matter, and was moving to mobilise resources from the rich diamond fields to pay striking civil servants.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said civil service pay takes up at least 60 percent of revenues, and limited resources make it difficult for the state to increase wages significantly. Details that emerged during Parliamentary hearings revealed that government could easily bankroll the government’s wage bill if proceeds from diamond sales from Marange were channelled into State coffers and not looted by a few individuals linked to ZANU PF."

It is apparent that ZANU PF views the Marange fields as their own domain and will dispose of the diamonds any way they wish - be it legal or illegal. In fact, just last week Mugabe threatened to dispose of diamonds outside of the Kimberley Process. It may sound like a lukewarm threat, but it is what Mugabe does with the proceeds that concerns me most.

He takes some commission for his administration, and some for himself, and the rest is wasted by Mugabe in entering into trade agreements with fanciful partners - or used to re-arm his armed forces.

"The Changing Times can reveal that over the past 20 years, the ZMDC has declared only small amounts of cash to government as a dividend from its mining operations, the chief executive of the ZMDC, Dominic Mubaiwa admitted to the committee. And since taking over the lucrative Marange diamond fields in 2006, the ZMDC has also given the inclusive government a paltry US$800000 only from the diamond mining operations amid reports the gems are being creamed off by well-heeled top officials, which Mubaiwa staunchly refused to name.

Concealing information from a Parliamentary Committee constitutes a grave offence under Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities Act, meaning the people involved in the looting of diamonds must be powerful individuals who the ZMDC chief executive deemed fit to protect from the parliamentary committee at any cost.The committee, headed by Edward Chindori-Chininga, also grilled Mubaiwa on the aborted sale of 300000 carats of diamonds by ZMDC last month, with the ZMDC boss squirming under their tough probe. Mubaiwa gave an incoherent explanation, blaming the media for misquoting Mbada Holdings chairman Robert Mhlanga on the planned auction."

Mugabe and his partners in crime believe that their existence is threat enough to stop publication of their misdemeanours as they have the clout (I use the word very deliberately) to exercise their own will, whenever and wherever they chose.

"There is bush, jungle management at Chiadzwa," one MP said. "We are poor as a country because we have ZMDC which has no capacity to control its resources." Mubaiwa was grilled by MDC MP Ian Kay on the illegal removal of diamonds kept at the RBZ for safekeeping by the police.

Mubaiwa replied: "I do not have full details of that."

Chindori-Chininga further quizzed: "Are Chiadzwa diamonds meant to benefit a few people or the country? The country is starving, civil servants are on strike, we can’t afford to play around," he charged.

"Botswana has diamonds that have helped to run the country, South Africa has diamonds that have helped to run the country. The unlocking of value (of Chiadzwa diamonds) is it for Zimbabwe or it’s for personal benefit? You will be jailed, sometimes you have to be real to a point to say you have control of what is going on."

-o00o-

Mpofu, the mines minister who personally oversaw the illegal removal of the 29 kilograms of diamonds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in direct contravention of a Supreme Court order, has astonished buyers at a local company in Zimbabwe by buying a serious amount of garden equipment.

"Mines Minister Obert Mpofu brought business to a standstill at Halsted Brothers in Bulawayo last Friday when he splashed out US$40000 in cash to buy 'gardening equipment and other hardware'. Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme reports that everyone inside the shop was shocked to see the Minister bring out such huge sums of money. Shop attendants had to focus on serving Mpofu’s huge order while other customers could only look on and wait. Newsreel was not able to establish where he was taking the equipment to.

Only last week the Supreme Court issued a second order for Mpofu to return 29 kilograms of diamonds he, along with a senior police officer, took from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The court had initially ordered the gems valued at US$18 million to be kept at the central bank for safekeeping pending the resolution of a court case involving African Consolidated Resources (ACR) and the government. The army forced ACR to leave its Marange diamond claim at gunpoint in 2006 but the courts have since ruled the ejection illegal.

Mpofu assisted by a senior police officer went to the central bank and produced a document which he claimed was from the Supreme Court Registrar setting aside the order to keep the diamonds there. ACR’s lawyer Jonathan Samkange charged that the police had basically ‘robbed the central bank'. It’s thought the ZANU PF factions led by retired general Solomon Mujuru and Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa are fighting each other for control of the diamonds. Mpofu belongs to the Mujuru faction which is seen as enjoying the support of the army."

So, instead of rushing to obey the second order issued by the highest court in the land and organise to have the diamonds returned, Mpofu prefers to shock other customers by spending inordinate amounts of money to buy luxuries...

It is obvious that he works with a certain protection - otherwise he would have been arrested before today for his actions.

ZANU PF have no intention of returning the US$19 million worth of precious stone - which has probably already been sold on.

"Last week it was reported that state security agents from the Central Intelligence Organisation (seen as loyal to the Mnangagwa faction) broke into Mpofu’s office at ZIMRE Centre in Harare trying to establish his role in shady deals involving diamonds. The CIO operatives who broke into the 7th floor office allegedly found important documents implicating the Minister, and also took his computer hard drive. Mpofu confirmed as much saying, 'there were four break-ins by unknown persons into my office when I was on holiday'."

Does Mpofu expect the ZRP to investigate a case which was allegedly committed by Charlie Ten - and while the diamonds are still outstanding?

-o00o-

I served in the Zimbabwe Republic Police for a shade over 4 years from early 1981 until early 1985. For me, it was the realisation of a dream I had had for many years. I always wanted to be a policeman and had always wanted to serve in Africa.

Even then, the racist tendencies of the new hierarchy made life within the force and very difficult time. Especially since I also had the pleasure of prosecuting in court - something I was rather good at - as I was often accused of being racist as the majority of people that I prosecuted were black.

I did prosecute whites - and they experienced the same punishment as the black people.

From my book, "Without Honour":

"As a writer’s aside, I was always pleasantly surprised at the number of ostensibly 'uneducated' black peasants from the middle of nowhere who opted to give their evidence in English, and would put a lot of whites I know to shame.

Their clarity of the situation was always sound, their logic unimpaired.

And a black Zimbabwean is a far more honest person than a large number of white people that I know.

When caught doing the unacceptable, the black person accepts their guilt and their sentence with much more aplomb than many whites, and then work hard not to do the wrong thing again.

For many whites, some of whom I have prosecuted, their biggest crime was that they got caught, so their next challenge would be how to perfect their crime. They never had the intention to reform themselves.

In Zimbabwe, ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law and arrogance is not given much quarter either…

In my years prosecuting in Zimbabwean courts, I only ever dealt with less than a handful of cases that involved the prosecution of whites."

I find it quite sad that Augustine Chihuri insists on perpetuating a racist policy when it comes to recruitment for the force. There would be nothing wrong with employing whites for the police force. I'm sure that there are those who would happily do the job - not from lofty office, but be a constable in the rank and file.

"Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has still not lifted the ban on the inclusion of white into the ZRP's crime fighting initiatives, which he imposed about a decade ago.

Although not interested in fulltime employment with the ZRP due to its poor working conditions and very low salaries, whites had, prior to the politicisation of the force by Chihuri, been very active in crime-fighting initiatives like the Neighbourhood Watch Committees."

Which soundly puts paid to the claim of an individual that I know who claims to be a 'serving' member of the A Reserve - even though he is not in Zimbabwe, and hasn't been for quite a few years. And then consider that he joined the force after me, and left before I did - his claim is knocked into a cocked hat...

"We are still not allowed to involve whites in the NWC because they are considered to be MDC," said a police officer who is stationed within one of the ZRP's recruitment sections in Harare.

"The Commissioner still believes that whites are agents of regime change and that their involvement in the NWC might feopardise the force, as they might be MDC spies coming in just to get internal information and relay it to the MDC."

It is very sad when politics infiltrates the police force - an institution that, under the Police Act, maintains that policemen in Zimbabwe be apolitical.

-o00o-

"Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been told to call for the removal of the illegal economic sanctions by March 24 or "risk action from the youths of Zimbabwe".

In a petition to the PM yesterday, ZANU PF Harare Provincial Youth League members said the sanctions were illegal according to the United Nations Charter and ultra vires the principles of customary international law.

"We thereby call upon the Prime Minister RM Tsvangi-rai following the inevitable evidence given to us by British Foreign Secretary D Miliband to call for the immediate removal of sanctions.

"We ask for your immediate response within a period of a month," the petition stated."

The youths, spurred on by Mugabe's quiet urging, cannot threaten the office of the Prime Minister - or even the person of Morgan Tsvangirai...

Why is it acceptable or representatives of Mugabe - and, let's face it, the youths are exactly that - to threaten the people, the offices of government and the individuals in office with violence - but if the same were to be done by MDC youth, there would be arrests galore.

"Addressing hundreds of youths who gathered outside ZANU PF Headquarters in Harare yesterday, ZANU PF secretary for information Cde Rugare Gumbo said the MDC-T leader called for the sanctions and must call for their removal.

"The sanctions were called on to facilitate regime change in Zimbabwe, but we will fight them until they are removed," Cde Gumbo said.

Youth Affairs secretary Cde Absolom Sikhosana said they had been quiet for 10 years while the sanctions destroyed the nation.

"It is the youths’ duty to show their outrage at the extension of the illegal sanctions so that the one who called for them will call for their withdrawal," he said.

ZANU PF Harare provincial chairman Cde Amos Midzi said sanctions were destroying the health and education sectors, among others."

I would like Midzi to explain exactly how the targeted travel sanctions have destroyed the health and education sectors. I would bet that he can't - not without more ZANU PF fabrications.

To see the real destroyers of these sectors, Midzi should look at the actions of his 'comrades' in government.

An example of the warped thinking is borne out in a story not that long ago when a district hospital refused delivery of drugs - because the drugs had been sourced by the MDC!

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu