Siliya mute as she appears before commission of inquiry
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, October 29, 2011, 11:59 am
Former Communications and Transport minister Dora Siliya and
her lawyer Sakwiba Sikota make submissions to the commission of inquiry on the sale of Zamtel in Lusaka
EMBATTLED former Minister of Transport and Communications Dora Siliya yesterday appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into the sale of Zamtel and Finance Bank but opted not to say anything on all allegations levelled against her during the submissions.
Ms Siliya, 41, of 411 Independence Avenue and clad in a red suit arrived at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in the company of her lawyer Sakwiba Sikota and informed the tribunal led by Commission chairperson, Sebastian Zulu that there were no irregularity in the sale of Zamtel.
Ms Siliya who spoke through her lawyer said she would not commit herself to any statement because the said allegations especially by Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) would be subjudice.
“ Everything she has to say is already on record so there is nothing more to add except to refer this commission to all the court proceedings.
“Since these allegations by TIZ persist notwithstanding the fact that courts of competent jurisdiction have adjudicated over the same, our client will not commit herself to any statement as these matters are subjudice,” said Mr Sikota.
He said Ms Siliya appeared before the tribunal where the same allegations by TIZ were tested after considering together with the evidence and made its findings which were contained in a detailed report submitted to the former Republican Rupiah Banda on April 16 in 2009.
Mr Sikota said her client had elected to refer the commission to visit the records of all the aforesaid matters which were public documents and were available at the courts, Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and the Ministry of Justice.
He said after Ms Siliya was cleared by the High Court, TIZ appealed to the Supreme Court addressing the same allegations and in turn the Supreme Court also cleared his client and wondered why TIZ decided to raise the same allegations.
A Mr Francis Chilumba who referred to himself a ‘Patriotic Zambian’ claimed Ms Siliya had been mislead by her lawyer not to personally defend herself because she was the one who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RP Capital to evaluate the sale of Zamtel.
Mr Chilumba claimed that Ms Siliya allowed the under evaluation of Zamtel which was supposed to be sold at over US$1 billion and not the actual price which was US$257 and urged the commission to ensure that they see RP Capital evaluation report before coming up with a final report.
And the commission earlier advised Ms Siliya not to feel intimidated to represent herself because the commission was set to get more information on the sale of Zamtel and not for people to feel as if they were being tried in the court of law but to allow them to defend themselves once mentioned.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DORA SILIYA, SAKWIBA SIKOTA, ULP, ZAMTEL
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I'm happy one of my boys is President - KK
By Bright Mukwasa and Roy Habaalu
Sat 29 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT
DR KENNETH Kaunda says he is happy that one of his ‘boys', President Michael Sata, is now his President. Dr Kaunda said he was grateful to God for giving him the time to witness President Sata ascend to the presidency.
He also recounted how the 73 local tribes, including people of different origins, got united to defeat colonial powers during the struggle for independence using the famous ‘One Zambia, One Nation' slogan.
"Mr Ambassador American Ambassador Mark Storella, we're still shouting that and we're still trying to keep ourselves together and it was wonderful to see that young man called Michael Chilufya Sata come up. He was one of my boys you know laughter and applause... he was one of my boys here in Lusaka. He was my district governor here and now he is my President and when I see him and greet him as my President, I thank God for that. I thank God and praise God for what he is able to do for us," Dr Kaunda said during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps held at the American Embassy in Lusaka on Thursday night.
He called for unity and love among Zambians despite their different Affiliations: political or religious.
"Even in faith we human beings fight and kill each other. So in Zambia we thought you know with this situation 84 tribes how do we go about this? We began to see sense in the teaching of the Lord. Love God your creator with all your soul, with all your mind with all your strength and the one who He made like you whether he is white or black, blue for there was one like that laughter...made in His image you have no choice at all," he said. "During our struggle for independence, 73 different tribes individually exploited by colonial powers.
Then coming in new nationalities: the English, the Scottish, the French, the Indians, Pakistanis and eight others so we were about 84 tribes together. And we knew that if we did not find a way out of this so many colours, so many faiths and we could see what was happening in colonial power homes where the Catholics pointing a finger at the Protestant 'you Protestants if you don't worship God properly we will fix you' and the Protestants replied 'if you Catholics if you don't worship Christian God we will fix you, they begun fighting they stopped fighting only a few weeks ago.
"Then look at Islam. The Sunnis point figures at the Shiites ' you Shi'ites if you don't worship Islamic god properly we will fix you, then Sunnis reply ‘you Shi'ites if don't worship Islamic God properly we will fix you, they begun fighting they are killing each other even today."
He said he could not find anything greater in this life and elsewhere than God's commandment for people to love Him and one another.
Dr Kaunda praised the American government's efforts through its various initiatives to promote brotherhood across the colour bar.
Earlier, Ambassador Storella said Zambia's transition of political power was one of the historic moments he had witnessed in his career.
"In a 27-year career I have served the American people overseas, I have had many great experiences, but one of them that will live with me forever was the opportunity to be present at an inauguration when one Zambian president handed the instruments of power to new Zambian president under the watchful gaze of the first Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda,"Ambassador Storella said before inviting Dr Kaunda to the podium.
The event was attended by senior government officials, diplomats and PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba.
Labels: KENNETH KAUNDA, MARK STORELLA, MICHAEL SATA
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The MMD faces an uncertain future
By The Post
Tue 25 Oct. 2011, 16:30 CAT
The MMD must begin by recognizing the scale of their defeat and of their problem. And the line Katele Kalumba is suggesting appears to be the most sensible and most viable approach. Katele, among other things, suggests: "The history that has evolved over the years of MMD, as a corrupt party needs to be confronted by the MMD leadership by going to the Zambian people and talk about this history capably and where necessary, where mistakes have been made, to apologise to the Zambian people. What is needed is truthfulness as to how this scourge emerged within the ranks of the party.
There is nothing more healing than truth. I believe that MMD cannot present itself as a viable candidate to secure electoral mandate from the Zambian people if this perception continues, that it is a corrupt party that is into rigging and to some extent violent acts. I think this perception must be addressed and it cannot be cleaned up unless it is truthfully conceded that a wrong has been done."
It is true that the MMD became associated increasingly with the most disagreeable messages and thoughts. It was seen as a corrupt party, a party of corrupt elements. Sleaze disgraced the MMD in the eyes of the public. Their perception was of corruption and unfitness for public service. Such distasteful perceptions can endure and do them damage for a long time.
They should face these issues head-on and deal with them. The last three years of the MMD profoundly disappointed their supporters and disgusted many others due to the unbridled corruption of the Rupiah Banda regime. They removed laws that were enacted to prevent corruption in a way that was clearly seen to be encouraging impunity.
They were not ready to listen to anyone over issues of corruption. It became clear to all that the MMD had even corrupted the judiciary and magistrates and judges were delivering judgments, especially on corruption, in accordance with their will. And those who were in Parliament as MMD members and those who were in government, must bear a particular responsibility for all this.
People need a rest from the MMD, and they need time to reflect and listen and come to understand themselves and their problems better than they have done of late. They certainly need to do a lot about themselves. They need better and different organisation. They need to spread their appeal and attract different sorts of people.
They need to sort out the confusion and bad signals that arose while they were in government. They need to take a fresh look in the new circumstances. But, as Katele has correctly observed, all these things should not be done secretly but openly to ensure truthfulness and transparency. And to borrow from Lenin, the attitude - that is to say, the seriousness of purpose - of a political party is measured, basically, by the attitude it takes towards its own errors and problems.
And in the same way, the seriousness of purpose of the leadership and members of MMD will be measured by the attitude they take towards their own errors, problems. Of course, dealing with their problems openly, and not secretly, will attract the attention of their political competitors who will always be alert to know what errors they have committed and what problems they are facing. When errors are made and are not subjected to open and truthful criticism, political opponents take advantage of them. When those errors are made and are subjected to open self-criticism, they may be used by political competitors, but in a very different way.
This is because in the former case, the errors will not be corrected and in the latter, they would be. That's why we think the political line being suggested by Katele for the MMD to take a forthright and serious attitude towards their errors and problems deserves the support of all party members and leaders.
There is also something very important in the suggestion that Katele is making for the MMD to see a reversal of political fortunes. The MMD should go back to the founding spirit of patriotism. And that spirit of patriotism would force them to wish to see their country succeed with or without them in power. It will make them not gloat over political reverses nor want to pull down the work of PF in government. They would wish to see the economy strengthened and not look to bouncing back in power on the back of national failure.
MMD should not also underestimate Michael Sata and his achievements. Before the last elections, Michael skillfully laid bare the areas of life and policy where the public felt dissatisfied and angry with the MMD. Michael did not merely win by default, but because of his talent for capturing the public mood. The MMD of today should learn from that.
What the MMD needs to do to survive is to do the right thing. The wheel of fortune turns and that which once appeared fresh, with the passing of time goes to seed. What the MMD needs to do is to go back to its founding principles, values and political morality. Opportunities will be there if they are willing to make the necessary changes and make themselves relevant to the Zambian politics of today and of tomorrow. If they do all the necessary right things, their time will come again.
Losing an election after being in power for 20 years is not an easy thing to deal with. One may start to think that all is ended. This may not be true because this may just be the beginning of a new start. It is said that the greatness comes not when things go always good for you, but the greatness comes and you are really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, some defeats, when sadness comes, because only if you have been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.
There are still some good people in the MMD. These also might have made serious mistakes, errors; they might have done wrong things. But not for personal gain. They did what they believed in. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong. The MMD needs to find such members and leaders and push them to the fore. We say this because this is where the future of MMD truly lies. Those who were involved in corruption and defended corruption like Rupiah can never be part of the future of a viable MMD.
The MMD needs to make themselves better understood by the people and show the people that they are a changed party. They also have to realise that they did not lose last month's elections because Michael and the PF despised them, but because Michael and the PF were better understood, supported and trusted. There is also need for the MMD to realise that there is no choice between being principled and unelectable; and electable and unprincipled.
They should win because of what they believe. If they continue to believe and to think that money is everything and is all what one needs to win an election, then they will continue losing elections until the party goes into extinction. They had all the money in the last election; they had bought all the campaign materials one could think of, but still lost last month's elections. Now they will never have such money again because the sources from which they obtained it corruptly will never be open to them again. They will go into future elections without the money they displayed and abused in last month's elections.
But the task of renewing the MMD is not one for the faint-hearted, or the weary or cynical. It is not a task for those afraid of hard choices, or those seeking a comfortable life. They have to change the style, character and identity of MMD. And change is an important part of that. As we have stated before, political parties that do not change die and if the MMD does not change, it will soon be turned into a historical monument. The MMD has to change to keep its relevance. And it also needs to change its ways, its attitude, its character to gain the nation's trust.
And Katele is right when he says that the MMD needs to be cleansed before it could be presented to the Zambian people as a viable political party. And indeed, tackling the corruption perception is very critical to the MMD future political prospects. The MMD needs to address the issue of corruption which has been associated with the party for the last 15 years or so. It has no sensible or meaningful alternative to this. Without these necessary changes, the MMD faces an uncertain future.
Labels: CORRUPTION, MMD, POLITICS
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MMD driving into extinction - Kabimba
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 28 Oct. 2011, 13:00 CAT
The MMD party cannot survive after its defeat from power because it thrived on corruption, says Wynter Kabimba.
Reacting to MMD national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe's statement that the MMD were failing to operate freely because of continued harassment of its members by the new PF government, Kabimba, who is the ruling PF party's secretary general said the opposition MMD must just admit that it was driving into extinction.
"We are not harassing MMD officials, member or leader in any way. What Major Kachingwe should accept is that MMD is driving into extinction that is the truth of the matter," Kabimba, who is also the PF spokesperson, said.
Major Kachingwe yesterday stated that the MMD members and party were failing to operate freely due to continued intimidation by various government agencies.
"The party has no leader. The party is being auctioned to the highest bidder on the market politically. The party members are demotivated, the members are leaving to join PF. Those that can't see any hope in that so called MMD-UPND pact and that is the truth of the matter," Kabimba said.
Kabimba said that the PF had nothing to do with the self-created problems of MMD that have seen the party's property being confiscated and auctioned on various grounds.
Kabimba said the MMD must take responsibility for all their deeds while they served in government.
"MMD under Rupiah Banda had never been a political party. It was just a marriage of convenience for those chaps that were engaged in corruption. What was common among them was corruption and not party mobilisation and we are as PF are not responsible for that. They were sharing public resources, now cannot hold because they have nothing to share in a corrupt manner. They have nothing to share," Kabimba said.
"Now they have nothing to share, nachipwa."
Kabimba said the PF would not reverse its decision to probe how various systems of government were being run by the previews regime, saying that ensuring a transparent and prudent management of government systems was why Zambians had voted for it.
"How can a probe into the various system of government to see how they were run be harassment? We have a duty to tell the people of Zambia, how MMD ran this country. That is not harassment. That is our duty. We are not interested in harassing anybody. So they should just accept that it is bye-bye for MMD from the political landscape of Zambia. Kwamana!," Kabimba stressed.
"Even in Chongwe, nobody is intimidating them. They are just used to campaigning using state resources, which they do not have now. They are used to bribing people. They have no money now to bribe people and they are embarrassed to contest that seat."
And Kabimba said the working pact between the MMD and UPND, which have since resolved to support each other in the Magoye and Nakonde by-elections slated for November 20, was a waste of time, as it would not go anywhere.
"Even in the past election, held on 20th of September, they were in an alliance we still beat them to the game. Hakainde was campaigning for Rupiah Banda, we still beat them. So what will that alliance do or help them win the by-elections?" he said.
"You remember at that time when we were telling them that they were working together with MMD, what was UPND saying? They were refusing, and said ‘it is just propaganda against UPND'. So this is a political party that you can not rely on."
Kabimba also disclosed that the party secretariat had received 27 applications of individuals wishing to be adopted on the PF ticket in the Nakonde by-election.
He said a total of 10 applications were received from those wishing to vie for the Magoye seat
"We (PF) are fielding in all the three constituencies and in all the local government elections of the country. We have a central committee meeting on Saturday to pick the candidates. During 2011 elections, we only had one candidate who had applied to stand in Magoye. This time around we have more than 10 candidates. That just shows you the goodwill of the party," Kabimba said.
He said that no application for Chongwe had been received other than that of former member of parliament of the area, Sylvia Masebo.
Labels: MMD, POLITICS, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Zamtel sale ridiculous, says Kavindele
By Ndinawe Simpelwe
Sat 29 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT
ENOCH Kavindele says Zamtel was sold at a ridiculous low price. And Zesco officials have revealed that the MMD government forced management to sign an agreement with Zamtel for the use of the optic fibre to benefit new owners of the telecommunications company.
Making a submission to the inquiry set up to investigate the controversial sale of Zamtel's 75 per cent shares to LapGreen of Libya by Rupiah Banda's regime, Kavindele described the sale of 75 per cent shares of Zamtel to Lapgreen as ridiculous. Kavindele said the US$257 million paid for Zamtel was a giveaway price.
He said independent evaluations showed that the company was supposed to be sold for at least US$3 billion.
"US$257 million is what MTN paid to get a licence in Nigeria and how can you compare a licence to a whole company?" Kavindele asked.
He said the government broke four acts of parliament in the process of selling the telecommunications company.
Kavindele said the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC), the Information and Communication Technology and the competition and fair trading Acts were breached in the process by a statutory instrument number 111 of 2009.
The statutory instrument states that from November 11, 2009, there shall be no entry allowed in the provision of public telecommunications services including mobile services for five years.
"A statutory instrument cannot override laws that are made by parliament. But however for purposes of protecting it would only benefit Zamtel.
Mubembe said the Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) contract was only set up to ensure that Zamtel derived full benefits from Zesco's resources.
He was making a submission to the inquiry set up by President Michael Sata to investigate the controversial sell of Zamtel to Lapgreen of Libya.
"The IRU contract was imposed on Zesco by Zamtel, some officials from ZDA and the government of Zambia and it was done under extreme pressure. There was an impression created that Zesco signed this agreement willingly. We did not sign this agreement willingly for various reasons," Mubembe said.
He said the terms of the IRU contract were very unfair to Zesco because it gave Zamtel all the advantages.
Mubembe said the contract allowed Zamtel to use Zesco's fiber without putting the latter into consideration.
"Zesco would be compelled under the contract to hand over all commercial customers to Zamtel. We currently have over 20 commercial customers and we are not allowed to carry out any commercial ventures on the optic fiber. The contract also allows Zamtel to keep 80 per cent of the earnings from the fibre and Zesco would only get 20 per cent," he said.
Mubembe further disclosed that the contract had no time frame but was in perpetuity.
He said Zesco was obligated to fund all future expansions of the fibre optic while Zamtel would not contribute anything.
Mubembe said the whole idea of the Zesco/Zamtel agreement was to empower the buyer.
"In one way they (Zamtel) are using taxpayers money from Zesco to run a private owned company. We feel that the agreement we were made to sign has been disadvantageous to Zesco and the Zambian people," he said.
Asked whether the agreement meant that Zesco was subsidizing a privately owned company, Mubembe said that was essentially the whole point.
Mubembe said Zesco signed the agreement under extreme duress.
And Zesco senior manager for legal services Mbile Wina Vukovic said the only solution was to walk away from the contract because it was not mutually beneficial.
Mbile said Zesco had a raw deal and was ready to terminate the contract.
Labels: CORRUPTION, ENOCH KAVINDELE, LAP GREEN, ZAMTEL
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Banda not worried about his immunity
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 29 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT
RUPIAH Banda says he is not worried with the removal of his immunity by Parliament. Responding to questions from journalists after he signed a book of condolences on Thursday at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Lusaka, Banda said it was not part of the Constitution that when a president loses an election, their immunity must be removed.
Former president Banda said this in response of a question that was asked to him if he was pushing for a pact with the UPND so as to escape the removal of his immunity.
"Why? Is it that part of the constitution that when a president losses election, you must take his immunity? Is that part of our Constitution? I am not worried about any immunity, about anything and in any case when the PF and UPND had a pact was there a question of immunity? Pacts come and go in politics. You remember my words that my pact is with the Zambian people. Anyone who wants to work with me if I was still an active politician I would welcome you," said Banda.
Banda denied being in a pact with the UPND, saying that was not an issue.
Asked how he was settling after losing the elections to PF leader Michael Sata, Banda responded: "No as you can see they put me in a lodge where... I am still staying there until Sunday when I move to the house which the government is renting for me and I really should not be complaining publicly. If there is anything I can talk to him straight. I know what you mean, you have been reading in the papers but that may be just politics I think I am quite happy to be in my country and to be seeing you."
On the gold scam, Banda said he was not even aware that there was such a thing.
"...I didn't even know there was a scam because it happened in my time, there was no such a thing. I only heard afterwards from the DEC Drug Enforcement Commission that they had sold the gold as they should have done. What would we have done with the gold, keeping it?
So as far as I am concerned there is no scam," Banda said.
And Banda said President Sata should not look over his shoulders as to what his Banda feelings would be with the decision of removing some government officials that were appointed by him.
"I told President Sata when we met immediately after I lost the elections, that everything I did it was my right, it was my duty as president to do and now he is president and he is free to do everything that is good for the Zambian people. He should not look over his shoulder as to what my feelings are. I support him, he is the president and I am sure that what he is doing is for the good of the country. I also found some people, I also removed some people although I kept the majority but we were the same party. Don't forget that I took over from the MMD so for him this is a complete change so I do not feel anything," Banda said.
Meanwhile, Banda said the death of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud was a great loss to Zambia, Africa and the world.
"...I felt very sad to hear that our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia and the King have lost a prominent son. I was honoured to have met him in Southern Sudan I think those of you who were there... he was leading a delegation from the Saudi so it is a great loss to our country, it is a great loss to Africa, a great loss to the world so I am happy to be able to sign the book," he said.
Labels: LEGAL IMMUNITY, RUPIAH BANDA, UPND
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Rupiah's govt caused riot, killings - Mulonda
By Mwala Kalaluka in Mongu
Sat 29 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT
THE Commission of Inquiry into January's Mongu fracas says President Michael Sata pardoned convicted Barotse activists because only free people can negotiate on any political issue like the Barotseland Agreement.
During the presentation of evidence to the Rodger Chongwe-chaired commission on Thursday, a 55-year-old Mongu resident, Frank Mulonda, asked what game successive governments and the current one were playing over the Barotseland Agreement issue.
In his submission, Mulonda said when the MMD came into power after 1991, the people had hope that the issue would be settled under the multi-party democratic dispensation.
"During the reign of Bwezani Rupiah Banda, who has just left...we saw the worst in Barotseland where blood was shed on the 14th of January 2011 over the same Barotseland Agreement," said Mulonda amid applause.
He said former president Banda's government caused the killings and the riot in Mongu because the people were not fighting despite the state sending armed forces to confront them.
Mulonda said the conduct of the security wings on the day in question was unprofessional and inhuman in that they opted to use live ammunition on unarmed civilians.
"We must also pursue the issue of who authorised the use of live ammunition by the security wings. Was it the Commanding Officer of Western Province? Was it the Inspector General of Police? Was it the Minister of Home Affairs at the time, Mr Mkhondo Lungu, or was it the then president Rupiah Bwezani Banda?" Mulonda asked.
He said the person who gave the order to shoot should be brought before the Commission of Inquiry.
Mulonda also said the detention of the Barotse accused in Mumbwa and Lusaka where the alleged offence was not committed from was unnecessary and unreasonable.
"It meant that the state punished the whole families of all the people who were detained," Mulonda said.
He said not only those who were detained but even those injured, killed and whose properties were damaged should be compensated.
"Barotseland is the least developed province in the whole country yet after independence it was number four," Mulonda said. "Successive governments have failed to address these issues yet the people of Barotseland have been considering themselves part and parcel of the Zambian people."
Mulonda asked what had changed today that President Sata who was in the Chiluba government, which described the Barotseland Agreement as stale, had said during his campaigns that he wanted to recognise it.
In responding to Mulonda, Chongwe said the people should have faith in President Sata because it was the first time he was becoming President despite serving in previous governments.
"This is why our new President in order to pave way for the appointment of this Commission he took the step to release from jail all those that had been convicted arising from the incident of the 14th of January," Chongwe said. "He went on to wipe out the sentences so that none of those people who were actually convicted will have a previous record because the President pardoned them."
Chongwe said President Sata did this on the basis that only free people could sit down and discuss important national matters.
"People were killed in this place, tensions rose, there was frustration and that frustration continues and neither you nor the government wishes to do nothing because doing nothing might bring back a repeat of that dark day," Chongwe said. "What we are having today is the process of full reconciliation to a conflict which has festered since 1964, acknowledging that along the way mistakes have been made, injustices have been perpetrated, lies have been told."
He said President Sata wants the above issue to be an issue of the past.
"So let us give him an opportunity," said Chongwe. "We Commission of Inquiry are merely an instrument for the implementation of your desires and the desires of the new government."
Labels: BAROTSE FREEDOM MOVEMENT, MONGU, RUPIAH BANDA
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No apologies for Buzaianu, says Sata
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sat 29 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says he has no apologies to make to Switzerland-based businessman Nicolae Buzaianu over the gold scam and urged him to come to Zambia and help with investigations.
In a media statement issued in Lusaka yesterday through his spokesperson George Chellah, President Sata stated that he found Buzaianu's demands unfortunate. "Dr Buzaianu's demand for an apology and compensation is completely groundless and is utterly unacceptable for Zambia," President Sata stated.
He stated that Buzaianu was at liberty to exhaust all legal avenues available to him.
"In fact, we need Dr Buzaianu to come to Zambia and help with investigations. More details that require his clarification are coming out hence the need to have him in person," President Sata stated.
On October 15, 2011, President Sata, who was elected on September 20, revoked the appointment of Buzaianu as Zambia's permanent representative to UNESCO in Paris, France, according to Chellah.
Chellah stated that this was after President Sata had disclosed to the nation that Buzaianu, an individual who is on the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) watch-list in connection with the gold scam, flew into Zambia from Geneva aboard a private jet.
"Whilst in the country, Dr Buzaianu met former president Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, his son Mr James Banda and former State House press aide Mr Dickson Jere," stated Chellah.
Buzaianu's lawyer Sakwiba Sikota of Central Chambers told a media briefing in Lusaka on Wednesday that Buzaianu would sue the Zambian government for defamation and would demand US$100 million for the injury to his reputation.
Sikota said Buzaianu had no direct or indirect links to the two companies that bought the gold in question.
"We are instructed to sue for defamation and claim for damages. Our client has also instructed us to sue the Zambian government for the false and defamatory statements imputing that our client is a fugitive from the law and is on the Drug Enforcement Commission and Zambia Police wanted or watch-lists," said Sikota, one of Banda's main campaigners in the run-up to the September 20 elections. "Our client will be seeking $100 million in damages for the injury to his reputation. Our client will be seeking these damages not in order to enrich himself or profit from the same but as vindication that he did nothing wrong."
Sikota said Buzaianu felt confident that President Sata would take firm action against his officials that misinformed him on the gold issue.
The DEC seized the gold, estimated to be about 100 kg or 118 kgs in 2007, from two Zimbabweans and was forfeited to the state.
Highly-placed sources said the gold was allegedly sold for about K19 billion around July this year.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DEC, MICHAEL SATA
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Milupi urges Barotse inquiry commission to call Rupiah
By Mwala Kalaluka in Mongu
Fri 28 Oct. 2011, 13:50 CAT
Charles Milupi has urged the Commission of Inquiry into the Mongu riots to summon former president Rupiah Banda to appear before it. And the Commission of Inquiry says suggestions that it was established to look into the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 are not correct because the Agreement exists despite being abrogated in 1969.
The hearing held at the Provincial Minister's Conference Hall in Mongu, was yesterday characterised by wild applause following demands that former president Banda be subponaed to testify in the matter.
During the commencement of the well-attended sittings of the Rodger Chongwe-chaired Commission of Inquiry into the January 14, 2011 Mongu riots, Chongwe subponaed the local police command, being key players in the issue, to appear before the body today.
Chongwe said the commission did not want to leave any stone unturned in dealing with the root cause of the Mongu riots.
But opposition Alliance for Democracy and Development ADD president Milupi raised preliminary issues over the people to be subponaed.
"I have no doubt at all that you will do justice on this issue, because you are a prominent lawyer and human rights activist and I am also aware that you have been involved with this particular issue of Barotseland Agreement for a long time," Milupi told Chongwe.
Milupi said the Mongu riots had an impact on the whole nation and that the people of Western Province were injured.
"One of the issues that need to be dealt with was the conduct of the police," Milupi said.
He said the police in Mongu on January 14, 2011 was under the control of the headquarters in Lusaka.
"I want to ask you Mr Chairman, why you have not seen it necessary, recognising the national importance of this matter, to subpoena the national leadership of the police, including the IG who was there at the time, Inspector General Francis Kabonde," Milupi said.
"The order to shoot the citizens of this country using live ammunition procured by public resources can only come from a very high level."
Milupi also asked why the then Minister of Home Affairs, Mkhondo Lungu, who is now National Assembly Deputy Speaker, had not been subponaed before the commission.
"What happened does border on genocide. Why has it not been necessary to subpoaena the then president of this country?" Milupi asked as those following the proceeding inside and outside the hall broke into applause.
More applause followed after Milupi demanded that the Barotse Royal Establishment BRE leaders be subponaed to give their position before the commission.
Chongwe said in response that Milupi had exhibited political maturity in most of his statements and therefore his suggestions could not be easily dismissed.
Chongwe said the commission addressed a letter to Police Inspector General Dr Martin Malama.
"I also took your point that the former president had said that Barotse detainees will remain in detention until when he as president decides to release them. These were reported in our newspapers at the time. So I understand your concerns," Chongwe said. "Also there was a report in Parliament from the vice-president George Kunda supporting the conduct of the police on the 14th of January. So we will take up the matter with higher authority and ask them to send someone senior to come and testify."
Chongwe assured the people that they should be free to present their feelings before the commission because they would be protected.
This followed a question from a Mongu resident, Mukeya Liwena, who wanted to know how protected they were to delve into areas deemed sensitive during their submissions.
"If there is anytime when you can stand on the highest point overlooking the Barotse Plain and shout your lungs out so that your lungs bulge out without let or hindrance, this commission is the place where you can express your opinion, your views, your dislikes, your likes openly without leaving them in your chest to collect anger and frustration," Chongwe said, "Only to exhibit them later, not in a forum like this, but in violent activities."
Chongwe warned that anybody who would interfere with the submitters over what they presented to the commission would be dealt with strenously because such people are preventing others from speaking their minds freely.
Chongwe said the Commission was not discussing the existence of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, as a document but that it would receive evidence relating to the anger and frustration following the non-restoration of the above Agreement.
Chongwe said President Michael Sata had indicated that he would give the people of Zambia, with their consent, a new constitution that would address all the outstanding issues, including the implementation of the Barotseland Agreement.
And in correcting the title of the advertisements relating to the commission, Chongwe said the commission was not set up to discuss the Barotseland Agreement but what caused the Mongu riots.
"The Commission does not have such mandate," Chongwe said. "The Barotseland Agreement exists and was only abrogated by Parliament in 1969. So there can be no inquiry into an agreement that was signed," Chongwe said.
However, responding to one Anthony Matomola's concerns over when the Barotseland Agreement issue would be discussed, Chongwe said people were not restricted to state that the abrogation of the Agreement was the cause of the anger and frustration in the province.
"This commission is very much alive to the issues, you trust us," Chongwe said.
Chongwe said the commission decided to get views from provinces such as Lusaka, Central and Southern for solidarity purposes because issues to do with the Barotseland Agreement were national in nature.
"This Barotseland Agreement issue, is a human rights issue and human rights issues cross borders because they are universal," Chongwe said. "It's not only my friends from Western Province who feel angry and annoyed that an agreement was abrogated."
Chongwe said the commission was aware that there were more than two deaths that occured during the Mongu riots and it was therefore, important that people submit on issues that occured before, during and after the riots.
"We don't want to leave any stone unturned. We don't want a repeat of what happened on 14th January," said Chongwe. "So don't give an excuse for not giving evidence."
Labels: BAROTSE FREEDOM MOVEMENT, CHARLES MILUPI
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ANCYL demands change to SA’s Constitution
Saturday, 29 October 2011 00:00
Pretoria - The ANC Youth League yesterday called on government to amend the Constitution to allow land claims without compensation. ANCYL deputy president Ronald Lamola read out a memorandum of demands at the Union Buildings in Pretoria at the culmination of the league's "economic freedom" march.
The league demanded the amendment of section 25 of the Constitution which protects private property against arbitrary expropriation and allows for compensation. The memorandum was received by newly-appointed Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi. He is a former secretary-general of the SA Democratic Teachers Union.
The league's memorandum said all productive land should be nationalised and leased, and neighbourhoods electrified. Labour brokers must be banned and all vacant government posts be filled.
A state bank must be established and foreign policy must be changed to isolate countries that threaten South Africa's sovereignty.
A fund must be established to send 10 000 students to the best universities.
ANCYL president Julius Malema was pleased that Nxesi was the one who accepted the memorandum.
"We have a minister. We always get what we want. We are not a Mickey Mouse organisation. We are a serious organisation," Malema said.
"The minister knows these demands very well. He used to be one on the street fighting this.
"He will take this to the executive and will explain it better because he is from a working class background," he said.
Earlier, Malema demanded that only a member of the Cabinet accept their memorandum on ‘economic freedom'. On Thursday, the league handed memorandums of demand to the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg's city centre and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton. - SAPA.
Labels: ANC YOUTH LEAGUE, CONSTITUTION, JULIUS MALEMA
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Tobacco export to rake in US$500m
Saturday, 29 October 2011 00:00
Agriculture Reporter
ZIMBABWE is expected to earn US$500 million from the export of tobacco produced during the 2010/11 cropping season. The country had initially raked in US$361 direct earnings from the crop during the selling season.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Permanent Secretary Mr Ngoni Masoka at the official closing of the tobacco season in Harare yesterday, Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made, said tobacco had become the single largest foreign currency earner for the economy.
"Agriculture is a major contributor to the country's GDP as in 2009 and in 2010 it contributed 14,9 percent and 19 percent respectively.
"The sector provides employment and income for about 70 percent of the population, supplies 60 percent of raw materials required by the industrial sector and contributes 40 percent of total export earnings," he said.
Minister Made applauded the tobacco sector for working hard during the tobacco production and selling seasons.
There has been an increase in production by seven percent from 123,5 million kilogrammes of tobacco produced last season to 132,4 million kilogrammes this season.
The continued increase has been attributed to increased production from small scale farmers.
"With this achievement, the country is continuing its march towards consolidating its global position as an important international player in global tobacco production and trade," he said.
Tobacco production has been on the increase over the last decade.
"The number of tobacco growers has increased dramatically over the last decade from a register of 8 500 (growing an average of 10 hectares each) to over 66 000 growers (growing an average of 1,3 hectares each) of whom 80 percent are small scale in the A1 and communal sector," he said.
Speaking at the same function, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson, Mrs Monica Chinamasa, noted that the just ended tobacco-selling season was characterised by inadequate funding from the financial institutions.
"This has become a perennial problem that militates against rapid recovery of production.
"The A2 sector is the most affected by this lack of funding. This sector only accounted for 12 percent of total production, compared to 28 percent for A1, 18 percent communal, 11 percent small scale and 31 percent large scale producers," she said.
Mrs Chinamasa said there was need for a concerted effort to train growers to reduce handling losses, which were as high as 21 percent during the just ended season.
Production was also affected by continuous power cuts that increased the cost of production and reduce viability.
She bemoaned the current sales floor facilities and all marketing systems, which were overwhelmed and congested resulting in farmers enduring delays in sales, loss of bales and inadequate catering.
Some of the challenges included pay- ment delays, inadequate catering, poor security and other necessary support services.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, JOSEPH MADE, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE MECHANISATION AND IRRIGATION (ZIMBABWE), TOBACCO
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PAP blasts AU over Libya
Saturday, 29 October 2011 00:00
Herald Reporter
THE African Union has come under fire from Pan African Parliament for failure to stamp its authority in stopping Nato from bombarding Libya.
PAP members met in South Africa early this month and expressed displeasure over AU's silence on the events in Libya, which led to the capture and murder of that country's leader Muammar Gaddafi last week.
Cde Joram Gumbo, who is PAP vice president, said PAP members had also raised concerns about Libya's dual membership.
"Members criticised the AU because it didn't take a firm position against Nato. The general feeling was that Africa had shown a great weakness by allowing people from outside to manage our issues here.
"The members said the AU should have sent an army to Libya to stop it falling apart like we have done in other African countries. PAP was very much against Nato intervention," he said.
PAP members, Cde Gumbo said, raised concern with African countries, which have dual membership of the AU and Arab League.
He said this conflict of interests would make it difficult for the AU to act in such cases.
Cde Gumbo, however, said PAP had resolved to send a goodwill and solidarity mission to Libya with a view to meet with the interim leadership on the evolution of the situation in Libya.
He said PAP has also resolved to be involved in the national reconstruction mechanisms to reinforce national unity and to preserve the integrity of Libyan citizens.
In line with the current AU policy of empowering the youths in Africa, Cde Gumbo said PAP had invited youth representatives from all the regions to explain how they would want to be empowered.
"African National Congress youth league deputy president Ranold Lamola told delegates that the only living leader in Africa was President Mugabe because he wants to empower his people.
"He said President Mugabe's lead in making sure black Zimbabweans got back their land for no cent is the best form of empowerment because it had been stolen from them," Cde Gumbo said.
He said Cde Lamola had also told the delegates that the AU predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity had liberated the continent politically and now was the time for the AU to liberate it economically.
Labels: AU, LIBYA, PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT, PANAFRICANISM
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Gaddafi did not choose his friends wisely
Sunday, 23 October 2011 01:50
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s heroic last stand against Nato hegemony is a defining moment in this era of UN-backed imperialism.
He could have fled Libya, but he did not. Col Gaddafi chose to fight alongside the people of Libya, to his last breath. He stood his ground until the end, refusing to flee, choosing to be martyred on Libyan soil.
Gaddafi, despite his faults (and there are many), is a martyr. History will vindicate him. The barbaric murder of Gaddafi is not the end of the story. Libya is in a state of perpetual revolution. By stoking the fires of militancy in that part of the world, the Western governments will reap a fiery whirlwind.
In Egypt, a civilian government was toppled and replaced with a military junta. Where is the democracy in that? In Libya, the Western powers could be in for a rude awakening. Tribal fault-lines in that country, widened by eight months of fighting and worsened by the number of unlicensed guns in private hands, will pose serious challenges.
But how did Libya get to this situation? If Africans think that imperialism ended with the fall of apartheid, then they are in for a rude awakening. The great wars of the future will be fought over natural resources. These wars have already begun.
Gaddafi’s greatest crime was to nationalise Libyan oil. He used petro-dollars to develop a nation with the highest standards of living in Africa. More importantly, Gaddafi angered the West by demonstrating — in pragmatic ways — that it is possible to build an impressive economy on African soil without the involvement of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He would pay dearly for such audacity.
Even as they celebrate the barbaric assassination of Gaddafi, there is one topic the Western pundits will not be comfortable discussing: how Libya became the best economy in Africa.
Here are the impressive statistics, compiled by Western researchers and the UN.
Gaddafi’s legacy speaks for itself. He guaranteed the right to free education for everyone from elementary school right up to university and post-graduate studies, at home or abroad; free health care; 1:673 doctor-patient ratio, free electricity for all citizens; interest-free housing loans; and free land for farmers.
If a Libyan buys a car, the government subsidises 50 percent of the price. The price of petrol in Libya is US 14 cents per litre. Libya has no external debt and its reserves amount to US$150 billion — now frozen globally.
A mother who gives birth to a child receives US$5 000. Forty loaves of bread in Libya cost US 15 cents. Twenty-five percent of Libyans have a university degree. All newlyweds in Libya receive US$50 000 from the government to buy their first apartment so as to help them start a family.
Prior to international sanctions on Gaddafi and Libya in the 1980s, the country was one of the richest in the world in terms of GDP per capita —with a living standard higher than in Japan. It was the richest in Africa. This is Gaddafi’s legacy. Just sit and watch what happens to a “free” Libya from now onwards. A lot of the national wealth which some Libyans are taking for granted will be siphoned off by Western corporations.
Calls by the United Nations for an investigation into the extra-judicial killing of Col Gaddafi are hollow and insincere.
Is this not the same UN which facilitated Nato’s invasion of Libya? Thanks to Col Gaddafi, Libya had the highest ranking on the UN’s Human Development Index. Vital infrastructure has been bombed back to the Stone Age, thousands of innocent lives have been lost and the seeds of violent lawlessness have been planted in Libyan society. The UN has discredited itself beyond measure.
Col Gaddafi was captured alive. Wounded, drenched in blood and unarmed, he was later assassinated by his Nato-sponsored captors. He was murdered in cold blood. No amount of cheap Western propaganda will cover up this barbaric crime.
The imperialists are culpable, but Gaddafi himself contributed to the problem. With the benefit of hindsight, we can all see how Col Gaddafi badly miscalculated. This precipitated his bloody downfall.
Described as “the mad dog of the Middle East” by President Ronald Reagan, Gaddafi has been the much-vilified bogeyman for decades. The West accused him of sponsoring terrorism, alleging that he was behind the bombing of a Pan-American World Airways passenger jet and a nightclub in Germany full of US citizens.
These accusations did not wash with much of the world. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, Gaddafi’s credentials were rock solid. From Algeria to South Africa and from Senegal to Somalia, he had trained and supported liberation movements.
From the moment he deposed the Western-backed King Idris in a bloodless coup in 1969, up until the mid-1990s, Gaddafi’s liberation record was impeccable. For most Africans, Gaddafi began losing the plot when he started cavorting with Western leaders. Those cheesy handshakes with British premier Tony Blair left everyone astounded. Were these Gaddafi’s new friends? It had all the hallmarks of a choreographed charade.
As a highly sceptical Africa looked on in disbelief, Gaddafi appeared to antagonise many of the countries that had backed him all along. It was as if this was the colonel’s way of consummating his new-found affair with the West.
It was during that time when Gaddafi was wining and dining with the Blairs of this world when the Libyan leader badly miscalculated. Although he continued funding African Union programmes, he chose not to invest the bulk of his petro-billions in Africa. A man who had been described as the devil incarnate by Western politicians was suddenly investing billions of dollars in London, Rome and New York. He failed to realise that Western warmongers have neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies; they have permanent interests. Gaddafi’s strategic blunder would cost him dearly. On Thursday, he paid with his life.
-The Sunday Mail
Labels: LIBYA, MUAMMAR AL-GADDAFI, NATO
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President Mugabe on Gaddafi
Sunday, 23 October 2011 01:56 Top Stories
By Tafadzwa Chiremba
PRESIDENT Mugabe and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had sharp differences founded on principles, but it was up to the people of Libya, and not Nato, to change the political system in their country, Presidential spokesman Cde George Charamba has said.
Cde Charamba yesterday said the President disagreed with Col Gaddafi after he opened up Libyan systems to the West as part of reconciliation efforts.
He also said the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces did not support the creation of a single African government under the banner of the “United States of Africa” because the concept was “too idealistic”.
“There were serious differences, founded on principle, between President Mugabe and Col Gaddafi,” said Cde Charamba, who is also Secretary for Media, Information and Publicity.
“President Mugabe did not agree with Gaddafi when he opened his system to the West; from the military to the economy, in the name of rapprochement.”
Cde Charamba said creating a centralised continental governance system was difficult given the political dispensation in Africa.
He said while Libya experienced difficulties regarding democratic processes, only its people could bring about transformation. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation does not have the same mandate, he said, adding that the US and Europe lacked the moral right to choose friends for Africans.
“Relationships must come from our own experiences; through history and contemporary relationships. The relationship between Zimbabwe and Libya dates back to and is rooted in the days of the liberation\strugglewhen thousands of (Zimbabwean liberation war) fighters went to the North African country for military training.
“Even the integration of the army at independence in 1980 was aided by Libya. We have very senior officers in Government who went to that country for further military training.”
The Presidential spokesman said Africa should be allowed to build relationships globally without undue influence. He said Col Gaddafi was among the African leaders who supported the historic land reform programme and openly castigated the illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe.
In 2002, he drove from Zambia to Harare in a show of solidarity with the Southern African state. Zimbabwe also turned to Libya for fuel at the height of economic difficulties.
“Africa must build relationships with the rest of the world independently. It should never receive friends or foes from Europe and America.
“During the days of the land reform exercise, Gaddafi was one of the few African leaders who unambiguously lent support to the programme and proceeded to declare it in public. He understood that it was the continuation of the liberation of Africans. He even sent some tillage units as a symbolic act to defy sanctions, which were meant to undermine the land reform. When Libya was under sanctions, our President took the same stance against its sanctions.
“Our President defiantly flew into Libya soon after the sanctions were removed.
“How many billions did Gaddafi commit to Italy, Europe or France? Yet, these are the same countries that attacked Libya.”
Col Gaddafi was killed by rebel fighters last Thursday following an eight-month war between his loyalists and Nato-backed rebels. The United Nations has ordered an investigation into his killing.
Labels: ASSASSINATION, AU, GEORGE CHARAMBA, LIBYA, MUAMMAR AL-GADDAFI, PANAFRICANISM, ROBERT MUGABE
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US eyes blackout of ‘rogue websites’
Saturday, 29 October 2011 00:00
WASHINGTON. - New anti-piracy legislation placed before the US House of Representatives would allow copyright law to be used to close down websites.
Sites such as WikiLeaks would be vulnerable, sparking fears that the bill could be used to stifle free speech. The bill, submitted on Wednesday, is called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and will be reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee on November 16.
If approved, SOPA will enable individuals or organisations claiming copyright to effectively block any website they suspect of infringing their rights.
They would simply send complaints to advertisers, payment services, search engines and even Internet service providers operating in the US, who would stop doing business with the site in question.
No court decision would be necessary, and third parties would be granted immunity from any reprisals resulting from their voluntary action against the alleged offenders.
Not-for-profit websites would not be spared.
The lawmakers behind the "rogue websites" bill say it would deal a blow to online pirates and producers of counterfeit brand products like designer fashion items or medicines, reports AFP.
"The bill prevents online thieves from selling counterfeit goods in the US, expands international protection for intellectual property, and protects American consumers from dangerous counterfeit products,"
House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, said in a statement.
Howard Berman, a Democrat from California who co-sponsored the legislation, said it is "an important next step in the fight against digital theft and sends a strong message that the United States will not waiver in our battle to protect America's creators and innovators."
This stance is not shared by some human rights groups, however. The Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) says the House bill "raises serious red flags."
"It includes the most controversial parts of the Senate's Protect Internet Protocol Act, but radically expands its scope," the CDT said in a statement.
"Any website that features user-generated content or that enables cloud-based data storage could end up in its crosshairs."
There are fears that the legislation could be exploited to gag political rivals.
Recently, the controversial whistleblower website WikiLeaks had to stop publishing new leaks due to what they called an unlawful financial blockade by payment services and banks. The move leaves open the possibility of the US State Department copyrighting cables to give them protection under SOPA.
- RT.
Labels: CENSORSHIP, INTERNET
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Top executives arrested for spying
28/10/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
TWO top Harare executives have been arrested for allegedly spying for the United States, Canada and Afghanistan.
Bankers Simba Mangwende and Farai Rwodzi – both co-founders of Interfin Merchant Bank and current executives at telecoms company Africom Holdings -- were arrested Friday along with businessman Oliver Chiku for allegedly leaking confidential security information.
According to the state-run Herald newspaper the three were picked up on Friday and remanded in custody ahead of a preliminary hearing over the weekend.
The state alleges that the businessman connived to install communications equipment at an undisclosed location and linked it to the Africom network without the authority of the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.
The equipment – said to have been installed in July this year -- has allegedly been used since to send messages to the US, Canada and Afghanistan about confidential data from government ministries.
Prosecutors told a magistrate’s court on Friday that Chiku facilitated meetings between Canadian company, Juch Tech and Rwodzi leading to the firm providing communications equipment capable of transmitting Internet voice over the Internet protocol.
The equipment was then illegally connected to the Africom network and used, between July and Thursday, to transmit top government communications to the US and Canada.
Prosecutors claimed Juch Tech is hostile to Zimbabwe.
Under the Official Secrets Act, espionage is a serious offence and, if convicted, one could face a jail term of up to 25 years.
Labels: INTERFIN BANK
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COMMENT - Finance Minister Tendai Biti (MDC) is holding the payment of farmers for goods delivered to the Grain Marketing Board hostage to his political demand for a 'land audit'. Sound familiar? Typical 'TEA party' tactics. In the process, he is putting next year's harvest in jeopardy.
Biti: Cabinet ministers among failed farmers
29/10/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti has defended his agriculture funding record insisting criticism of his policies was only coming from failed farmers, among them ministers in the country’s coalition government.
Bit has come under fire from cabinet colleagues accusing him of undermining the country’s land reforms by “refusing” to adequately fund the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and help farmers procure inputs. Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa recently said the GMB was failing to pay farmers for grain supplies after being refused funding by Biti.
“We are worried that farmers struggle to get agricultural inputs due to lack of funds when they are owed huge sums of money by the GMB,” Mnangagwa told farmers at a meeting in Chiredzi.
“We put the blame squarely on Finance Minister Biti of the MDC-T who does not release funds to the GMB on time,” he said.
But Biti dismissed the criticism claiming more than US$2 billion dollars has been put into agriculture since the formation of the coalition government in 2009.
“The people who criticise our work at the ministry, especially what we have done for the agricultural sector, do so from the viewpoint of malice and total ignorance,” Biti said in an interview with The Herald.
“This is so particularly with failed farmers, some of whom masquerade as Cabinet ministers who continue to be called new farmers even after 11 years of the land reform programme.”
He said agriculture accounted for up to 40 percent of total government expenditure since 2009 adding the sector had only started recovering after the formation of the coalition government.
“In 2008, we could not find a bag of maize meal … wheat production was zero and coffee and tea plantations had become sites of tourism. But in a very short period, agricultural output has massively grown because of the interventions of the inclusive Government,” he said.
Biti claimed some of his critics were actually responsible for the collapse of agriculture in the last decade adding they were further holding back recovery of the sector by blocking a much-needed land audit.
“Unfortunately, the non-genuine farmer in powerful political positions is afraid of the (land) audit, which will expose that they are multiple farm owners.
“It will further expose the vicious malpractices taking place on the land. There is land that is not being productively used and that is what the audit will expose.”
Biti said the government did not have the resources to fully fund agriculture and warned that a full turn-around in the sector would not be achieved unless farmers were given “securitised long land leases”.
“There is no Government in the world that can ever finance agriculture in full. To expect the Government of the day, particularly the present GNU, to be able to finance agriculture is fiction,” he said.
“We can talk about financing agriculture until the cows come home but as long as the farmers do not have securitised long land leases, then let us forget about agriculture beyond subsistence farming.
“As long as the land does not have title, it is dead capital, it has no useful and exchange value. More importantly, without security of tenure, farmers cannot borrow money from the banks to finance their operations.”
COMMENTS
Mafira_Kureva Moderator 14 minutes ago
This is what happens when people don't report properly. This report has failed to properly articulate the purpose of the GMB and because of that Biti sounds clever. The issue with the GMB is that it is supposed to support the farming of our staple food stuffs rain or shine. It is not the purpose of the GMB to make a profit only... but for the maize farmers to have a ready market regardless of the demand for maize in that year. This helps with food security otherwise all farmers will rationally produce tobacco or cotton because they fetch more on the market than maize. Besides it is the law of the land that all maize crops should be sold directly to the GMB for the purpose of food security.
Now this minister is chasing his own party's agenda of squeezing maize producers and making the land reform look stupid so that ZANU PF can no longer use it to get votes. Now Biti claims that he has supported the land reform better than Gono and company which cannot be true by all means and then goes on to say that the land reform started doing better only after the GNU ...pppuuleeeeaaasse... Biti is a lawyer and therefore should be listened to with caution, all lawyers want to do is win the arguement regardless of the fact that they may lose the cause in the process. It is for good cause that the GMB should continue to be funded and the fact that employees of this company are corrupt has never been government policy and therefore should be addressed through the proper channels where evidence exists and not for the minister to withold funding to a strategic institution.. unless if my earlier assertion runs true that the misinister is puting party strategy of making Zimbabweans suffer first... but what do I know...
Labels: AGRICULTURE, GRAIN MARKETING BOARD ZIMBABWE, MDC, NEOCOLONIALISM, SABOTAGE, TENDAI BITI
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The Butchering of Gaddafi Is America’s Crime
Wed, 10/26/2011 - 12:33 — Glen Ford
by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
Moammar Gaddafi’s last minutes gave clarity to NATO’s war in Libya. It is a mission of mass murder and theft of sovereignty through the arming of savages. “The saner sections of America’s psychological operations machinery were doubtless as horrified as anyone at the Libyan jihadis’ insistence on revealing so graphically to the entire planet the barbaric character of the ‘revolution.’” Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s “hands and gums ooze blood – a lasting impression on decent world opinion.”
The Butchering of Gaddafi Is America’s Crime
by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
“Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appeared like ghoulish despots at a Roman Coliseum, reveling in their Libyan gladiators’ butchery.”
Last week the whole world saw, and every decent soul recoiled, at the true face of NATO’s answer to the Arab Spring. An elderly, helpless prisoner struggled to maintain his dignity in a screaming swirl of savages, one of whom thrusts a knife up his rectum. These are Europe and America’s jihadis in the flesh. In a few minutes of joyously recorded bestiality, the rabid pack undid every carefully packaged image of NATO’s “humanitarian” project in North Africa – a horror and revelation indelibly imprinted on the global consciousness by the brutes’ own cell phones.
Nearly eight months of incessant bombing by the air forces of nations that account for 70 percent of the world’s weapons spending, all culminating in the gang-bang slaughter of Moammar Gaddafi, his son Mutassim and his military chief of staff, outside Sirte. The NATO-armed bands then displayed the battered corpses for days in Misurata – the city that had earlier made good on its vow to “purge Black skin” through the massacre and dispersal of 30,000 darker residents of nearby Tawurgha – before disposing of the bodies in an unknown location.
The saner sections of America’s psychological operations machinery – including their collaborators in the corporate media – were doubtless as horrified as anyone at the Libyan jihadis’ insistence on revealing so graphically to the entire planet the barbaric character of the “revolution.” The months of gushing, ad nauseam press reports of near-universal jubilation in Tripoli and elsewhere at rebel “victories” – always under cover of NATO bombs – now made great sense. Who but those in search of instant martyrdom would voice displeasure at the NATO-jihadi triumph, with murderous fiends such as this roaming the streets?
“In a few minutes of joyously recorded bestiality, the rabid pack undid every carefully packaged image of NATO’s ’humanitarian’ project in North Africa.”
The United Nations Human Rights Office and Amnesty International found themselves compelled to ask for investigations into Gaddafi’s death – as if the immediate circumstances were not excruciatingly apparent to anyone with eyes and ears. Although the same U.S. domination of the UN that enabled NATO’s regime-change operation will ensure that the neocolonial powers escape legal liability for the results, the world still sees the executioners, correctly, as monsters in league with Washington, Paris, London and Riyadh. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who gave a snarling thumbs down to Gaddafi just days before his death, appeared like ghoulish despots at a Roman Coliseum, reveling in their Libyan gladiators’ butchery. Their hands and gums ooze blood – a lasting impression on decent world opinion.
The assault on Libya began as a desperate bid by the West and Persian Gulf royalty to bludgeon their way into the dangerous (for them) dynamic of the Arab Spring. The “rebels” (now, ludicrously, the “revolutionary” government) are their guys, just as the Afghan “mujahidin” were the foot soldiers of the Saudis and Washington from 1979 through the Eighties and (for the Saudis) beyond. Here lies the certainty of catastrophic “blowback.” As Trinity College political scientist Vijay Prashad points out, Tripoli may soon resemble 1996 Kabul, a place of mass carnage between rival warlords.
“The world still sees the executioners, correctly, as monsters in league with Washington, Paris, London and Riyadh.”
The Libyan jihadis are far more Saudi Arabia’s and Qatar’s brethren, than the West’s. The Arab Spring has both emboldened and frightened the wealthy Persian Gulf despots, who have their own agendas in the Arab world that are not necessarily consonant with the U.S. and Europe (the same applies in Pakistan and elsewhere in the region). All reactionaries are not alike. The oil-rich monarchs are fighting to preserve legitimacy in their own, Muslim milieu, not for Western-based corporate hegemony, and will cause at least as much problems for Washington as the accommodating Gaddafi they set out to depose at the beginning of the Arab Spring.
But that is secondary. As always, U.S. imperialists cannot resist the temptation to overreach. John Pilger writes, “With Libya secured, an American invasion of the African continent is under way.” It is by no means certain that Libya will remain “secure” or under American sway. And President Obama’s all-out offensive to the south – now centered in East and Central Africa, but soon to become generalized – takes place with the cell phone imagery of Gaddafi’s demise fresh in the minds of tens of millions of Africans. Obama may believe the pictures send the message that resistance is futile, but it is likely to have the opposite effect. As Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said, of the Americans, “The most lamentable thing is that in their determination to dominate the world…they are setting it alight.”
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
Labels: ASSASSINATION, BARACK OBAMA, GENOCIDE, HILLARY CLINTON, LIBYA, MUAMMAR AL-GADDAFI, RACISM, WAR CRIMES
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COMMENT - There are elections coming up, and this writer is one of the MDC operators who are paid to give Zimbabwe a bad image, so when the MDC lose, they can say that 'the elections were stolen'. Charlton Hwende works for ZINASU, which was built up through grants from the US State Department. I quote from Stephen Gowans website (a truly interesting article that everyone should read),
US Government Report Undermines Zimbabwe Opposition’s Claim of Independence:
According to the State Department,
“youth organizations like the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU) and Youth Initiatives for Democracy in Zimbabwe (YIDEZ) are two good examples of…(civil society organizations that were) nurtured through US (State Department) funding from an idea to a level where they are able to stand on their own and attract other funders.”
I would say - this, US funding of 'civil society organisations' is not democracy in any shape or form. The writer even tries to exploit the events in the 1980s for political gain, using the new
buzzword of
'impunity'. If they want to retry events that happed some 26 years ago, why not examine what happened 5 years before that, and earlier. Let's have it all out. Let's have a proper accounting of the war and human rights crimes committed from 1965 to 1980.
Despite impunity, MDC destined to govern
28/10/2011 00:00:00
by Charlton Hwende
THE ongoing disruptions of the public hearing meetings on the Electoral Amendment Bill conducted by a special parliamentary committee by Zanu PF supporters should act as clear warning that impunity has been engraved in Zanu PF’s political culture, and we should prepare for the worst excesses of this culture in future elections.
Zanu PF and its war machinery are better advised to change their tactics because the people of Zimbabwe are ready and prepared to be governed by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by President Morgan Tsvangirai.
Zimbabweans are ready to complete the change that was temporarily disrupted by the intervention of the military after President Robert Mugabe was thumped by Tsvangirai in the 2008 March elections.
I want to remind all political players, civic society and the democratic forces in Zimbabwe that the ghost of June 2008 is slowly returning to our political and electoral processes because of the failure of our judicial authorities to deal with impunity.
But irrespective of this organised violence, the people of Zimbabwe like any other people tired of years of impunity and oppression, will wither the storm and all adversity and be victorious against this evil.
The war veterans and members of their militias are encouraged to believe that they are immune from legal responsibility for their actions. They are fortified in this belief by amnesties granted to them by the government, in particular an amnesty granted in October 2000 which pardoned all politically-motivated crimes committed in the run-up to that year’s elections, except crimes of murder, rape and fraud.
And perpetrators of even those crimes enjoyed de facto immunity from prosecution since more often than not the police turned a blind eye to their activities. This is what happened after the violent June 2008 presidential election run-off where more than 200 opposition supporters were murdered while hundreds were abducted, tortured, assaulted and abused in various forms.
Zanu PF’s impunity goes back to the Gukurahundi era in the 1980s when thousands were murdered for supporting PF ZAPU, a legitimate and bona fide liberation party.
The Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri, is a self-proclaimed Zanu PF supporter, who has been in collusion with the Attorney General Johannes Tomana, an equally partisan public officer. Despite clear evidence of the ongoing violence and disruptions which are continuing unabated, the police and the prosecuting authorities are encouraging this lawlessness by failing to arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators.
[Both Augustine Chihuri and Johannes Tomana are excellent guys, who have never betrayed Zimbabwe. - MrK]
The culprits include law enforcement agents who were implicated in the abductions, kidnappings and torture of human rights defenders, journalists and opposition supporters beginning September 2008 on allegations of insurgency and banditry. They are working in the grand political scheme of Zanu PF to intimidate their opponents into submission.
Prior to the formation of the unity government, police officers who sought to carry out their duties professionally and on a non-partisan basis were forced to resign or were transferred. Large numbers of war veterans were recruited into the police force and many of them actually or effectively commanded (and still command) rural police stations.
The Commissioner of Police is an avowed supporter of the ruling party, hence the reluctance by the police to act against Zanu PF militants responsible for attacking MDC supporters and their swiftness to arrest MDC supporters who engaged in retaliatory violence following the looting of their livestock and property during the violent June 2008 presidential election run-off.
The parties to the unity government have no clear programme to address these issues and this benefits Zanu PF which was responsible for human rights violations following Mugabe’s defeat in the first round of the presidential election in March 2008.
[A 'defeat' which, through the Zimbabwe Electoral Act of 2004, 110 (3), followed by a run-off election, because no candidate achieved "a majority of the vote". There was no stolen election in 2008, which the MDC/US State Department writer implies. - MrK]
The perpetrators’ belief in their immunity is encouraged and re-enforced by leading members of Zanu PF who repeatedly proclaim that the MDC will never be allowed to come to power in Zimbabwe and that a war would be waged against it.
[That is because when the MDC would try and steal the land from the 350,000 families who received it, there will be a civil war. - MrK]
Thus in December 2000, Mugabe told a Zanu PF congress that the commercial farmers had “declared war” on the people of Zimbabwe, that the white man was “not indigenous” to Africa and was part of an “evil alliance.” He urged supporters: “We must continue to strike fear into the heart of the white man, our real enemy. We must make them tremble.”
These sentiments were echoed by other prominent members of the ruling party. This is the legacy of impunity that the GNU must address in order to foster justice and equity in the application of justice in the country. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to show a shift from this lawless premise under which the former ruling party operates from.
[Is the writer saying that the MDC is part of this 'lawlessness', considering that they are part of the government now? - MrK]
Having been elected the national executive member responsible for Mashonaland West Province of the MDC –T at its Congress in Bulawayo in May, I have had the opportunity to work with the grassroots people in that province.
In Mashonaland West province, all the towns, Norton, Chegutu, Chinhoyi, Kariba and some rural district councils were won by the MDC in the 2008 general elections. That was historical in that for the first time since independence in 1980, Zanu PF does not control a single urban municipality in the province. In fact, that is the national situation. All urban municipalities are controlled by the MDC-T.
[And their trackrecord of corruption will speak loudly at the coming elections. - MrK]
From Mubaira growth point to Magunje in Mashonalnd West province, the people who support the MDC say they cannot wait to have Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as the President of Zimbabwe and his team of ministers to completely administer national affairs.
People have repeatedly told party leaders that the MDC side of government has brought economic stability in the country. They have also spoken very highly of the Prime Minister for facilitating the provision of textbooks to primary schools. Clinics and hospitals that were closed down because of lack of manpower, medicines and electricity are slowly serving the public and a lot of lives have been saved.
[The MDC created this mess through the targeted assassination of the Zimbabwe Dollar, through ZDERA. It is only the switch to dollarisation that has brought stability to the currency. Which would have been completely unnecessary without ZDERA. So the MDC creates a problem, and then present the solution. Meanwhile, the people are made to suffer. - MrK]
The recoveries in the social services ministries under the leadership of MDC ministers have given hope that an MDC government can restore both economic and social stability to our country ruined by 30 years of corruption, political violence and maladministration by the Zanu PF regime.
[Maladministration? The writer would not be able to READ, without the ZANU-PF instituting universal education for all Zimbabweans, which has resulted in the highest literacy levels on the African continent. In contrast, the neoliberal MDC wants to make education available to the lucky few again. - MrK]
For the past three years since the formation of the GPA, we have led the budgeting process in this country and through the tireless effort of our president’s wise deployments, the country has seen inflation drop to single digits. Economic growth is averaging 7%.
[See dollarisation, which again would not have been necessary without ZDERA. - MrK]
In the ministry of health, we have ensured that all hospitals and clinics are functional and better resourced. The days of our medical facilities dispensing panadols only are long gone.
In the energy sector, we have managed to eliminate the fuel crisis that once brought this country and the local industry to its knees, electricity generation is on the increase and there has been a marked improvement in the reduction of load shedding.
As for the other part of government, ZanuPF has registered limited success for instance in the tourism sector. The country has indeed witnessed an increase in the number of tourists visiting our country and average hotel occupancy is on the increase. Zimbabweans don’t need to be reminded that Minister Muzembi is possibly the least popular minister in Zanu PF because of his perceived closeness to the MDC.
Minister Nicholas Goche has failed in the Ministry of Transport. One needs to look at collapsing parastals such as Air Zimbabwe and NRZ to appreciate the extent of his failure. The same applies to the ministries of Mines, Agriculture, and Defence.
Since 2008, the MDC has been responsible for the legislature the quality of debates has greatly improved and the credibility of parliament restored.
[I remember their first sojourn into parliament, and accurately describing them as a rent-a-mob. I also remember the incident of Roy Bennett trying to strangle a fellow MP on the floor of parliament. - MrK]
There is an overwhelming mood among Zimbabweans that the time to change is now and should elections happen under free, fair and democratic rules, the MDC will be elected into power based on its ability shown so far through our ministers.
[There is absolutely no 'overwhelming mood' among Zimbabweans to see a return to austerity like ESAP, which is what the MDC stands for. They are neoliberals of the privatisation, deregulation and 'free trade' variety, as they have proven over and over again. Not only are they foreign funded like the writer and his organisation, they are there to sell the country's mines to Anglo-American De Beers, the global diamond monopolist. So you keep talking about 'failing parastatals', but at least they are Zimbabwean, and will remain Zimbabwean as long as the ZANU-PF is in power. - MrK]
Party leader Tsvangirai has led the Government Works Programme and is currently chairing the Council of Ministers which gives direction and supervises and hence the successes in the social service ministries including one ministry led by Minister Mzembi from Zanu PF. Our team of planners in government despite three years of frustration and sabotage by the Zanu PF team of plotters have provided leadership and gained a lot of experience and are certainly ready to govern this country.
Impunity, violence and the use of the military in the country’s political and electoral affairs will not last forever. Our national institutions such as the police and the military should realise that the majority of toiling Zimbabweans expect them to respect and abide by the law that creates these institutions. They expect to be protected and not violated by members of these institutions.
One of the MDC’s fundamental roles like any legitimate political player is to protect its citizens against any form of abuse, threats and violence. The culture of impunity is definitely not part of our values as a party.
[Well then the writer can address the slew of MDC councils that are cited for corruption, even in the Wikileaks cables. - MrK]
Chalton Hwende is a former Secretary General of Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), Secretary for Africa International Union of Students and currently the national representative of Mashonaland West province in the MDC-T national executive
Labels: MDC, PROPAGANDA, ZINASU
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COMMENT - There are elections coming up, and this writer is one of the MDC operators who are paid to give Zimbabwe a bad image, so when the MDC lose, they can say that 'the elections were stolen'. Charlton Hwende works for ZINASU, which was built up through grants from the US State Department. I quote from Stephen Gowans website,
US Government Report Undermines Zimbabwe Opposition’s Claim of Independence:
According to the State Department,
“youth organizations like the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU) and Youth Initiatives for Democracy in Zimbabwe (YIDEZ) are two good examples of…(civil society organizations that were) nurtured through US (State Department) funding from an idea to a level where they are able to stand on their own and attract other funders.”
I would say - this, US funding of 'civil society organisations' is not democracy in any shape or form. The writer even tries to exploit the events in the 1980s for political gain, using the new buzzword of 'impunity'.
Despite impunity, MDC destined to govern
28/10/2011 00:00:00
by Charlton Hwende
THE ongoing disruptions of the public hearing meetings on the Electoral Amendment Bill conducted by a special parliamentary committee by Zanu PF supporters should act as clear warning that impunity has been engraved in Zanu PF’s political culture, and we should prepare for the worst excesses of this culture in future elections.
Zanu PF and its war machinery are better advised to change their tactics because the people of Zimbabwe are ready and prepared to be governed by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by President Morgan Tsvangirai.
Zimbabweans are ready to complete the change that was temporarily disrupted by the intervention of the military after President Robert Mugabe was thumped by Tsvangirai in the 2008 March elections.
I want to remind all political players, civic society and the democratic forces in Zimbabwe that the ghost of June 2008 is slowly returning to our political and electoral processes because of the failure of our judicial authorities to deal with impunity.
But irrespective of this organised violence, the people of Zimbabwe like any other people tired of years of impunity and oppression, will wither the storm and all adversity and be victorious against this evil.
The war veterans and members of their militias are encouraged to believe that they are immune from legal responsibility for their actions. They are fortified in this belief by amnesties granted to them by the government, in particular an amnesty granted in October 2000 which pardoned all politically-motivated crimes committed in the run-up to that year’s elections, except crimes of murder, rape and fraud.
And perpetrators of even those crimes enjoyed de facto immunity from prosecution since more often than not the police turned a blind eye to their activities. This is what happened after the violent June 2008 presidential election run-off where more than 200 opposition supporters were murdered while hundreds were abducted, tortured, assaulted and abused in various forms.
Zanu PF’s impunity goes back to the Gukurahundi era in the 1980s when thousands were murdered for supporting PF ZAPU, a legitimate and bona fide liberation party.
The Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri, is a self-proclaimed Zanu PF supporter, who has been in collusion with the Attorney General Johannes Tomana, an equally partisan public officer. Despite clear evidence of the ongoing violence and disruptions which are continuing unabated, the police and the prosecuting authorities are encouraging this lawlessness by failing to arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators.
[Both Augustine Chihuri and Johannes Tomana are excellent guys, who have never betrayed Zimbabwe. - MrK]
The culprits include law enforcement agents who were implicated in the abductions, kidnappings and torture of human rights defenders, journalists and opposition supporters beginning September 2008 on allegations of insurgency and banditry. They are working in the grand political scheme of Zanu PF to intimidate their opponents into submission.
Prior to the formation of the unity government, police officers who sought to carry out their duties professionally and on a non-partisan basis were forced to resign or were transferred. Large numbers of war veterans were recruited into the police force and many of them actually or effectively commanded (and still command) rural police stations.
The Commissioner of Police is an avowed supporter of the ruling party, hence the reluctance by the police to act against Zanu PF militants responsible for attacking MDC supporters and their swiftness to arrest MDC supporters who engaged in retaliatory violence following the looting of their livestock and property during the violent June 2008 presidential election run-off.
The parties to the unity government have no clear programme to address these issues and this benefits Zanu PF which was responsible for human rights violations following Mugabe’s defeat in the first round of the presidential election in March 2008.
[A 'defeat' which, through the Zimbabwe Electoral Act of 2004, 110 (3), followed by a run-off election, because no candidate achieved "a majority of the vote". There was no stolen election in 2008, which the MDC/US State Department writer implies. - MrK]
The perpetrators’ belief in their immunity is encouraged and re-enforced by leading members of Zanu PF who repeatedly proclaim that the MDC will never be allowed to come to power in Zimbabwe and that a war would be waged against it.
[That is because when the MDC would try and steal the land from the 350,000 families who received it, there will be a civil war. - MrK]
Thus in December 2000, Mugabe told a Zanu PF congress that the commercial farmers had “declared war” on the people of Zimbabwe, that the white man was “not indigenous” to Africa and was part of an “evil alliance.” He urged supporters: “We must continue to strike fear into the heart of the white man, our real enemy. We must make them tremble.”
These sentiments were echoed by other prominent members of the ruling party. This is the legacy of impunity that the GNU must address in order to foster justice and equity in the application of justice in the country. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to show a shift from this lawless premise under which the former ruling party operates from.
[Is the writer saying that the MDC is part of this 'lawlessness', considering that they are part of the government now? - MrK]
Having been elected the national executive member responsible for Mashonaland West Province of the MDC –T at its Congress in Bulawayo in May, I have had the opportunity to work with the grassroots people in that province.
In Mashonaland West province, all the towns, Norton, Chegutu, Chinhoyi, Kariba and some rural district councils were won by the MDC in the 2008 general elections. That was historical in that for the first time since independence in 1980, Zanu PF does not control a single urban municipality in the province. In fact, that is the national situation. All urban municipalities are controlled by the MDC-T.
[And their trackrecord of corruption will speak loudly at the coming elections. - MrK]
From Mubaira growth point to Magunje in Mashonalnd West province, the people who support the MDC say they cannot wait to have Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as the President of Zimbabwe and his team of ministers to completely administer national affairs.
People have repeatedly told party leaders that the MDC side of government has brought economic stability in the country. They have also spoken very highly of the Prime Minister for facilitating the provision of textbooks to primary schools. Clinics and hospitals that were closed down because of lack of manpower, medicines and electricity are slowly serving the public and a lot of lives have been saved.
[The MDC created this mess through the targeted assassination of the Zimbabwe Dollar, through ZDERA. It is only the switch to dollarisation that has brought stability to the currency. Which would have been completely unnecessary without ZDERA. So the MDC creates a problem, and then present the solution. Meanwhile, the people are made to suffer. - MrK]
The recoveries in the social services ministries under the leadership of MDC ministers have given hope that an MDC government can restore both economic and social stability to our country ruined by 30 years of corruption, political violence and maladministration by the Zanu PF regime.
[Maladministration? The writer would not be able to READ, without the ZANU-PF instituting universal education for all Zimbabweans, which has resulted in the highest literacy levels on the African continent. In contrast, the neoliberal MDC wants to make education available to the lucky few again. - MrK]
For the past three years since the formation of the GPA, we have led the budgeting process in this country and through the tireless effort of our president’s wise deployments, the country has seen inflation drop to single digits. Economic growth is averaging 7%.
[See dollarisation, which again would not have been necessary without ZDERA. - MrK]
In the ministry of health, we have ensured that all hospitals and clinics are functional and better resourced. The days of our medical facilities dispensing panadols only are long gone.
In the energy sector, we have managed to eliminate the fuel crisis that once brought this country and the local industry to its knees, electricity generation is on the increase and there has been a marked improvement in the reduction of load shedding.
As for the other part of government, ZanuPF has registered limited success for instance in the tourism sector. The country has indeed witnessed an increase in the number of tourists visiting our country and average hotel occupancy is on the increase. Zimbabweans don’t need to be reminded that Minister Muzembi is possibly the least popular minister in Zanu PF because of his perceived closeness to the MDC.
Minister Nicholas Goche has failed in the Ministry of Transport. One needs to look at collapsing parastals such as Air Zimbabwe and NRZ to appreciate the extent of his failure. The same applies to the ministries of Mines, Agriculture, and Defence.
Since 2008, the MDC has been responsible for the legislature the quality of debates has greatly improved and the credibility of parliament restored.
[I remember their first sojourn into parliament, and accurately describing them as a rent-a-mob. I also remember the incident of Roy Bennett trying to strangle a fellow MP on the floor of parliament. - MrK]
There is an overwhelming mood among Zimbabweans that the time to change is now and should elections happen under free, fair and democratic rules, the MDC will be elected into power based on its ability shown so far through our ministers.
[There is absolutely no 'overwhelming mood' among Zimbabweans to see a return to austerity like ESAP, which is what the MDC stands for. They are neoliberals of the privatisation, deregulation and 'free trade' variety, as they have proven over and over again. Not only are they foreign funded like the writer and his organisation, they are there to sell the country's mines to Anglo-American De Beers, the global diamond monopolist. So you keep talking about 'failing parastatals', but at least they are Zimbabwean, and will remain Zimbabwean as long as the ZANU-PF is in power. - MrK]
Party leader Tsvangirai has led the Government Works Programme and is currently chairing the Council of Ministers which gives direction and supervises and hence the successes in the social service ministries including one ministry led by Minister Mzembi from Zanu PF. Our team of planners in government despite three years of frustration and sabotage by the Zanu PF team of plotters have provided leadership and gained a lot of experience and are certainly ready to govern this country.
Impunity, violence and the use of the military in the country’s political and electoral affairs will not last forever. Our national institutions such as the police and the military should realise that the majority of toiling Zimbabweans expect them to respect and abide by the law that creates these institutions. They expect to be protected and not violated by members of these institutions.
One of the MDC’s fundamental roles like any legitimate political player is to protect its citizens against any form of abuse, threats and violence. The culture of impunity is definitely not part of our values as a party.
[Well then the writer can address the slew of MDC councils that are cited for corruption, even in the Wikileaks cables. - MrK]
Chalton Hwende is a former Secretary General of Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), Secretary for Africa International Union of Students and currently the national representative of Mashonaland West province in the MDC-T national executive
Labels: MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, PROPAGANDA
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