COMMENT - So the EU demands compensation be paid by the Zimbabwean government for improvements made to the land by the colonial landowners. However, the same agreement stipulated that the British government would pay these same colonial landowners compensation for the value of the land itself which they have steadfastly refused to do, since Clare Short's 1997 letter to them minister Kumbirai Kangai. This was
the Blair government's attitude towards compensation:
I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests.
In the words of
President Mugabe, at Harlem Mount Olivet Baptist Church:
President Mugabe: And here you still had the democrats in power under president carter. Then they undid the promise that America had also made, that they would alongside Britain would also fund the land reform. Carter was defeated, and in came President Reagan. President Reagan reneged on the undertaking by President carter, and said no, he was not going to continue the aid program which the Democrats had started. Then in Britain they also reneged and said they no longer had any money. And this at the time of Thatcher, but later we negotiated with the conservative government. A new deal in 1996. But before that new deal saw the light of day, the Conservative Party was defeated. And in came Blair, and his lot. And these said to us, very clearly, very blatantly, they were not in a position to inherit colonial responsibility. What the Conservatives had promised was a matter for the Conservatives, we are a Labour party with it's own policies. We said to them, we tried to reason with them. And said but at international law, surely, if you are a successor to a legitimate government of Britain, you don't only succeed to assets, you also succeed to liabilities. That is international law. And what were the promises and undertakings to us by the conservative party and conservative government, should certainly be respected by you. In broad daylight they said that they would not do that. They would therefore not fund the land reform program and pay compensation, or help us to pay compensation for land to be acquired by our government, for purposes of resettling our people.
They said to us, we were deadlocked on this matter at Lancaster House for ten days. The negotiations altogether took three months, from October to December 1979. If the principle we stood by and we affirmed in 1979 that when your ancestors seized our land, they did not pay compensation, and so, we did not have any duty or moral principle on the strength of which we could pay you compensation.
On to the sanctimonious attitude of the EU:
(NEWZIMBABWE) Zim debt clearance talks, EU adds land compensation to agenda
03/10/2015 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
Land compensation on the agenda ... EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Philippe Van Damme
THE European Union has put Zimbabwe's controversial land issue on the agenda of the 2015 annual meeting of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) taking place in Lima, Peru, next week.
The development creates a new headache for finance minister Patrick Chinamasa who is already under attack from hawks in government and the ruling Zanu PF party over his pro-IMF policies.
Zimbabwe owes foreign creditors about $7 billion and is in desperate need for new funding to revive its faltering economy.
Creditors have told the country to clear first clear $1.8 billion in arrears to the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank before financiers can resume lending to the country.
Chinamasa will present a strategy for clearing the arrears at the Lima meetings.
Although details of his plans have not been made public, the IMF’s Zimbabwe representative described what the minister would present was a “sensible strategy”.
But EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Philippe Van Damme, has said Zimbabwe should go to Lima with a comprehensive plan to compensate white farmers ousted under the government’s often violent and chaotic land reforms in the past 15 years.
The envoy said this in a speech read on his behalf last Friday Thomas Opperer, Head of the Agriculture and Food Security Section at the EU Delegation in Harare. He was speaking at the unveiling of an agriculture support fund by the EU.
“The Constitution is also very clear, stipulating in its section 72(3)(a) that all improvements effected have to be compensated, as also detailed as per the Land Acquisition Act and acknowledged in the ‘Strategies for Clearing External Debt Arrears and the Supportive Economic Reform Agenda’ that the government will present to the international community in Lima on 8 October ,”said the EU ambassador.
“In this regard, it is important to achieve a consensus based compensation mechanism that is workable and acceptable to all concerned, in line with the existing guidelines and procedures.
“Again, the EU does strongly emphasize the importance of carrying out this exercise in an inclusive manner, where all parties concerned (including the various farmers unions) are not only consulted but can contribute to reach a consensus about the key criteria and mechanism established.”
Chinamasa recently told the international community that Harare is committed to compensating the dispossessed farmers but “we have no money”.
Labels: EU, IMF, LANCASTER HOUSE AGREEMENT, LAND REFORM
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VJ asks EU not to bar Mugabe from summit
By Allan Mulenga
Fri 31 Jan. 2014, 14:01 CAT
VETERAN politician Vernon Mwaanga (left) has asked the European Union to rescind its decision to stop Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe from attending the European Union-Africa Summit, saying the resolution is tantamount to insulting African leaders.
The African Union has resolved to shun the European Union-Africa Summit if President Mugabe will be barred from attending the meeting.
But in an interview yesterday, Mwaanga argued that the European Union's decision to stop President Mugabe would be tantamount to questioning the integrity of African leaders.
"It will be an irresponsible act on the part of the European Union to block Mugabe from attending the European-Africa summit, because Robert Mugabe was elected in the elections which were declared largely free and fair by both the African Union and SADC," he said.
"If they don't respect the opinions of the African countries, which observe these elections, it will be tantamount to insulting African countries; it will be tantamount to saying that, we, Africans are not capable of observing our own elections."
Mwaanga accused the Western powers of imposing standards on African leaders.
"The AU and SADC prior to these elections had said that the elections which were held in Zimbabwe before were not free or even fair and the whole world said so. But this time around, after the adoption of the new constitution by a national referendum, and after observer missions from African Union led by eminent African statesmen like former president Olusegan Obasanjo of Nigeria and SADC declaring elections as largely free and fair," he said.
"The European Union has the duty to respect the views of African leaders. Because if they don't do that, it means that they are going to be imposing their own standards which are not consistent with African values, on Africa."
Mwaanga urged the European Union to rethink its decision to stop President Mugabe from attending the meeting.
"I do hope that the position is not irreversible and I do hope that the European Union will rethink its position, because if that is their position, then I am afraid, it is not a helpful decision and it is tantamount to questioning the integrity of African leaders through elections which were held in Zimbabwe," said Mwaanga.
On Tuesday, foreign affairs minister, Wybur Simuusa, disclosed that African Union had resolved to shun the European Union-Africa Summit if President Mugabe will be barred from attending the meeting.
Speaking in an interview after attending the agenda of the executive council of foreign affairs ministers in Addis Ababa ahead of the AU heads of state summit, Simuusa said the continental body had decided to adopt a common position on political, economic and cultural policies affecting the African Union.
Labels: EU, ROBERT MUGABE, VJ MWAANGA
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(HERALD ZW) EU can’t resist Zim tobacco
January 24, 2014 silence muchemwa Local News
Farai Rugeje Agricultural Reporter
European countries have continued to buy tobacco from Zimbabwe despite imposing illegal economic sanctions on the country. Latest statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board indicate that Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Netherlands are some of the traditional markets for Zimbabwe’s tobacco.
Belgium has imported 427 000kg of flue-cured tobacco worth US$1,2 million from Zimbabwe at an average price of US$2,77 per kg, while Netherlands has bought 58 000kg worth US$339 000 at an average price of US$5,89 per kg.
France and Germany have bought 45 000kg and 20 000kg worth US$13 300 and US$131 200, respectively.
TIMB statistics have also shown that China remains the top buyer of the Zimbabwean tobacco maintaining the position for consecutive four years.
China is offering US$9,39 per kg.
Zimbabwe exports its semi-processed tobacco to different countries. So far 20 countries including United Arab Emirates, Poland, Sudan, South Africa, Botswana, Montenegro and Russia.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union vice president Johnson Mapira said it was important for Zimbabwe to process tobacco instead of continuing to sell raw leaf.
“We should add value to our tobacco by processing it locally into finished products such as cigarettes. We are losing a lot of money in trading in unprocessed leaf,” he said.
He urged Government to continuously assist upcoming entrepreneurs to explore opportunities in the value addition process of tobacco.
“This will enable to create job opportunities for the youths,” he said.
Agriculture experts advised farmers to produce high quality tobacco that can fetch high prices on the market and attract many countries willing to import the crop.
Cumulative tobacco experts have raked in US$21,1 million from the sale of 4,2 million kg of flue cured tobacco.
Labels: EU, TOBACCO
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(STICKY) (HERALD ZW) EU sanctions suit: Britain in no show
June 17, 2014
Takunda Maodza and Fidelis Munyoro—
COMMENT - Upon close examination, the economic (in this case the EU's) sanctions fall apart. It was the British government under Tony Blair and Claire Short, which reneged on it's obligation to fund the Willing Buyer, Willing Seller land reform program (See the link to Swan's article, "The Spark", from November 1997, years before the Fast Track land reform program.
" I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised not colonisers. "
And...
" Again, I am told there were discussions in 1989 and 1996 to explore the possibility of further assistance. However that is all in the past. "
- MrK
BRITAIN failed to make its representation in the hearing of a case in which Zimbabwe is suing the European Union for the imposition of illegal economic sanctions when the matter opened in the General Court of the European Union last Tuesday in Luxembourg.
The case, which was not against Britain but the EU, was heard by three judges from Sweden, Bulgaria and Greece in an open court last week and it lasted the entire day.
Zimbabwe did not cite Britain in the lawsuit but the United Kingdom begged the court to be included when it successfully applied for an intervener in 2012 claiming it had a personal interest in the case.
Zimbabwe’s legal team led by David Vaughan and Maya Lester of Brick Court Chambers in London argued that, “it is only the Security Council of the United Nations that have the lawful power to impose sanctions on a member country while the rest of the member countries’ obligation was supportive only.”
The lawyers said since independence, Zimbabwe has never been the subject of any such sanctions.
“In fact there were attempts by the United Kingdom to present a draft resolution to the Security Council in 2008 “targeting” 14 persons in the Government of Zimbabwe. The resolution was not passed because the test was not satisfied, that is Zimbabwe’s conduct needed to amount to a threat to international peace and security to attract UN sanctions,” the lawyers said.
The UN Security Council refused to impose sanctions or even condemn the Government of Zimbabwe.
“There is, therefore, no legal basis upon which the EU can continue to target persons and entities associated with the Government of Zimbabwe and or Zanu-PF,” the lawyers argued.
The oral hearing remains open for a period of two weeks to allow for the filing of further documents by all parties and in the case of the United Kingdom, to allow it to make its oral submissions, if any.
A hearing would be handed down in the course of the year.
Instructing attorneys are Michael O’ Kane of Peters and Peters Solicitors from UK, Jacob Mutevedzi of Mutamangira and Associates, and Gerald Mlotshwa of Titan Law Chambers, both of Zimbabwe.
Legal experts yesterday described Britain’s no show as ample evidence that the erstwhile coloniser had no justifiable legal explanation for the ruinous embargo that has bogged down the economy costing the country over US$42billion in lost revenue since the turn of the millennium.
Britain advocated the imposition of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe after the Zanu-PF Government successfully embarked on the fast-track land reform programme in 2000 to correct historical land ownership imbalances in the wake of the British Labour government’s refusal to honour its colonial obligations.
A Zimbabwean delegation led by Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, comprising Prosecutor General Johannes Tomana and the Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Ray Ndhlukula, attended the hearing.
In a statement, the Zimbabwean delegation said: “The United Kingdom, which had intervened at its own initiative in the case, did not, however, attend the hearing. The reason for the United Kingdom’s absence is yet to be known.”
Zimbabwe’s lawsuit seeks to nullify the illegal sanctions imposed on 112 persons and 11 corporate entities associated with the Government and Zanu-PF.
Legal expert Mr Joseph Mandizha said the attitude of the British government in filing the intervener application, shallow and ill advised as it was, vindicates the position that Zimbabwe has always been communicating to the international community that the sanctions the sanctions were a bilateral issue.
“Harare’s position, which is on record, has always been that the real fact of the matter was that sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were a consequence of a bilateral dispute between it and its former colonial power and that it was profoundly unfortunate that the rest of Europe was allowing wool to be pulled over its eyes by the British government through the sanctions dispute,” he said.
“It must, therefore, be very embarrassing to the EU that Britain has disingenuously conducted itself in a manner that lends credence to Zimbabwe’s position. It is incumbent upon our Government, however, not to celebrate this court victory and allow the matter to be, but rather to continue to demonstrate to the rest of Europe that it is willing and able to engage with or without the British government.”
Another lawyer Mr Terence Hussein said the failure by Britain to appear in court was a deliberate ploy to delay proceedings.
“Britain is either using delaying tactics to avoid the finalisation of the matter or they are afraid to come to court to justify their case in a court of law,” said Mr Hussein.
He said it was clear that the sanctions were unlawful and motivated by spite.
“Britain should do the honorable thing and show leadership within the EU by conceding that the sanctions had no basis and convince its allies to unconditionally drop them,” said Mr Hussein.
Advocate Fred Gijima concurred adding that the UK’s application was malicious and frivolous, and meant to frustrate the proceedings initiated by Zimbabwe.
“It clear that they are bent on maintaining the sanctions through the back door and did not want to come out on to the play ground and defend their decision in court of law,” said Adv Gijima.
“It is also clear that they have no reason at all whether, legally, socially, economically or politically to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe and encourage the EU to do likewise. They should simply do the honorable thing and concede that the sanctions be removed unconditionally.”
Constitutional lawyer, Professor Lovemore Madhuku said by failing to appear for the hearing Britain was liable to pay “wastage costs”.
Zimbabwe wants the sanctions declared illegal on the grounds that there was no proper legal basis for imposing sanctions on the individuals and companies associated with Government and Zanu-PF.
The sanctions were based on reports from faceless dubious websites and internationally discredited NGOs.
Zimbabwe also argues that in imposing the sanctions the EU failed to give adequate or sufficient reasons for targeting the said individuals and entities.
It failed to provide particulars or evidence to the affected persons and entities to allow them to comment on the case against them.
The EU infringed, without justification or proportion, the applicants’ fundamental rights including their right to protection of their property, business, reputation and private and family life.
Labels: EMMERSON MNANGAGWA, EU, JOHANNES TOMANA, RAY NDHLUKULA, SANCTIONS, UK
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Zanu PF observes elections in Denmark
08/12/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
DESPITE its leader barring the European Union (EU) from observing local polls, Zanu PF joined a Zimbabwean delegation which observed Denmark’s municipal elections last month. The Royal Danish embassy in Harare confirmed Zanu PF’s participation in its electoral processes.
According the embassy, Zanu PF was represented by Brigadier Gen (Rtd) Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi and one Tangisayi Tapera. The delegation also included MDC leader Welshman Ncube and representatives of the MDC-T. Zanu PF deputy information director Psychology Maziwisa could neither deny nor confirm his party observed the Danish elections.
“This is something I would ordinarily comment by I am not commenting on this issue. However, we have a right to accept an invitation from anyone or decline including Denmark,” he said.
“It is also up to Denmark to invite who they want to let in or shut out. Similarly as a country we can decide who can come in or not.”
Opposition MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said the MDC-T was surprised that Zanu PF sent a delegation to observe a European election.
“We are surprised that Zanu PF sends a delegation despite having refused the Europeans to observe our elections and what happened showed the duplicity and hypocrisy in Zanu PF,” Mwonzora said.
A social, political and media commentator Ernest Mudzengi: “I think it simply shows that they (Zanu PF) are hypocritical and need to revise the way they conduct their business.
“The key question is why they would want certain democratic imperatives to apply to other people and not to them.”
Mwonzora said his party believed in universal democracy.
“The MDC is of the firm position that in the democracy we want to usher into Zimbabwe there is no separate democracy for Africa, Zimbabwe or Europe.
“We observe other countries so that we tap into their experience even though they are Europeans they are simply part of a global village and we have to learn from each other,” the former Nyanga North legislator said.
President Mugabe refused to allow the EU to observe the March constitutional referendum and his re-election in July in a vote dismissed as fraudulent by his rivals.
“The Europeans and the Americans have imposed sanctions on us and we keep them out in the same way they have kept us out,” President Mugabe said as he cast his vote during the March constitutional referendum.
The Zanu PF leader was however, made clear his anger at the refusal by the EU to endorse his re-election despite African observers giving the July vote the all-clear.
The development has seen the EU holding back on lifting sanctions which were suspended ahead of the vote with the promise that they would be completely lifted if the elections were credible.
Speaking during his inauguration Mugabe said: “Today we tell those dissenting nations that the days of colonialism and neo-colonialism have gone and gone forever. Today it is Britain and her dominions of Australia and Canada who dare tell us that our elections were not fair and credible.
“Today it is America and her illegal elections with all that past of enslaving us, it is America that dares raise a censorious voice over our affairs and says our elections were not fair, were not credible, yes today it is these Anglo-Saxon who dare contradict Africa’s verdict over elections in Zimbabwe, an African country. But who are they we ask? Whoever gave them the gift of seeing better than all of us?”
As an EU member, Denmark has supported Zimbabwe’s democratic transition processes and the establishment of governance institutions since the signing of the Global Political Agreement that culminated in the establishment of a coalition government.
Denmark and Zimbabwe have a long history of cooperation dating back to the days of the struggle for independence.
“Denmark was a strong supporter of a free and independent Zimbabwe and continued to provide extensive support for its development after independence.
“Denmark has since 2008 helped about two million of the most vulnerable people out of immediate food shortage and distress,” the embassy said.
Labels: DENMARK, DOUGLAS MWONZORA, ELECTIONS, EU, PSYCHOLOGY MAZIWISA, ZANU-PF
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(NEWZIMBABWE, 'THE SOURCE') Zimbabwe, EU set for Antwerp diamond talks
12/11/2013 00:00:00
by The Source
GOVERNMENT and diamond mining officials left the country on Monday for Antwerp, Belgium to tie up agreements on Zimbabwe exports, two months after the European Union lifted sanctions on the state-owned mine Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, the mines minister said.
The EU lifted sanctions on the ZMDC in September which allowed Zimbabwe to negotiate better prices after relying on middlemen to undercut the EU sanctions for several years.
“It is important for (Zimbabwe) to familiarise itself with the marketing systems, regulatory frameworks and logistical issues because, we want all systems to be in place ready to market our diamonds,” Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa told The Source.
He said diamonds exports should start soon after the delegation’s return.
Last month, officials from the Antwerp World Diamond Council (AWDC), the world’s leading diamond trading hub visited the country and toured diamond mines in Chiadzwa area in eastern Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe government has said it will use extra cash generated from diamond sales to finance its ambitious Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) which it says will grow the economy by up to 10 percent by 2018.
ZMDC is the primary holder of mining concessions in the country and owns diamond miner Marange Resources.
It also partners five other diamond mining companies - Mbada Diamonds, Diamond Mining Corporation, Anjin Investments, Gye Nyame Diamonds and Kusena Diamonds which are also exploiting the gems.
Labels: BELGIUM, DIAMONDS, EU, SANCTIONS
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(HERALD ZW) Zim-EU case now on court roll
October 22, 2013
Hebert Zharare Political Editor
THE case in which Zimbabwe is taking the European Union to court for imposing illegal sanctions has been placed on court roll and is likely to be heard soon in Brussels, Belgium, Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana has said.It will be heard before the General Court of the European Court of Justice.
“The case is now before the Eighth Chamber (of the General Court of European Court of Justice). The case has been allocated court and what is left is for us to be told of the set down date. That court will advise us of the date,” said Mr Tomana.
Sanctions, which were imposed on Zimbabwe at the behest of MDC formations 13 years ago, are estimated to have cost the country over US$42 billion in potential revenue.
The country continues to suffer from sanctions with reports saying some of the 15 Industrial Development Corporation subsidiaries, among them Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company and Chemplex Corporation, had US$20 million intercepted by the US Treasury Department’s Office for Foreign Assets Control.
“We are saying we will be advised of the dates soon and that can be anytime from now,” Mr Tomana said.
Zimbabwe has been reeling from the effects of illegal economic sanctions imposed by the United States, the EU and their allies after Britain internationalised its bilateral dispute with Zimbabwe.
This prompted Zimbabwe to institute legal proceedings against the EU for violating its own laws by imposing illegal sanctions on the country.
The court challenge is being led by a team of lawyers comprising Mr David Vaughan, Mr Maya Lester Robin Loof and Zimbabwean lawyers Mr Farai Mutamangira and Mr Gerald Mlotshwa.
The EU’s illegal sanctions regime was imposed in violation of the Cotonou Agreement which governs relations between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Besides disregarding its own regulations, the bloc also contravened international law when it imposed the illegal sanctions in 2002 and continued to extend them outside UN statutes.
Although the EU recently resolved to remove the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation from sanctions after facing pressure from Belgium whose diamond industry was feeling the effects of Marange diamonds that were finding their way to India and China, Zimbabwe wants the sanctions lifted in toto.
Zimbabweans are tired of the sanctions and over two million people signed the National Anti-Sanctions Petition which was launched by President Mugabe in April 2011 and Government used the petition in regional and international forums to lobby for the lifting of the decade-old Western embargo.
The inclusive Government was a major setback as it declined to fund the election petition lobby internationally, but with a Zanu-PF Government in office, that problem should be overcome.
Mr Tomana would not disclose funding mechanisms of the lawsuit, with previous reports indicating that US$5 million was needed for the case.
“What I have given in the meantime I think is enough,” said Mr Tomana.
Trinity Engineering founder and CEO Cde Aguy Georgias, was the first to challenge the EU sanctions in court and his case is still pending at the bloc’s General Court where he seeks damages against the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
Cde Georgias, who is represented by United Kingdom lawyers, said he would give details of the case today.
Labels: EU, SANCTIONS
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(NEWZIMBABWE, BLOOMBERG) Diamond exports can start immediately: EU
10/10/2013 00:00:00
by Bloomberg
THE European Union’s representative in Zimbabwe said the country can resume exports of diamonds mined in Marange to the 28-member bloc after sanctions were lifted last month.
“They can start immediately,” Aldo Dell’Ariccia, the head of the European Union delegation, said Wednesday on the side-lines of a Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries meeting in Bulawayo.
A Belgian delegation of diamond buyers, cutters and polishers is expected to arrive in the country before the end of this month, he said.
The EU last month ended sanctions against the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation which operates five mining companies on a 50:50 joint venture basis with private investors in the eastern Marange district.
Advocacy groups including Ontario-based Partnership Africa Canada, have accused Zimbabwe’s ruling party of looting about $2 billion from the Marange fields, partly to fund the nation’s military.
Lifting sanctions is expected to boost Zimbabwe’s tax revenue by $400 million a year, according to the EU.
The bloc wants to ensure that some polishing and cutting of the gems is done in Zimbabwe so that “more value-added remains in the country,” Dell’Ariccia said. “Now we don’t have restrictive measures anymore against ZMDC, European investors and specialists can see what can be done.”
Zimbabwe is expected to mine 16.9 million carats this year, according to Mines Ministry estimates. Last year, the country produced 8 million carats, generating $685 million of revenue.
Labels: ALDO DELL'ARICCIA, BELGIUM, DIAMONDS, EU, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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(HERALD ZW) EU lifts sanctions on ZMDC
September 18, 2013
Hebert Zharare Political Editor—-
THE European Union has agreed to lift the illegal sanctions it imposed on the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, the State-enterprise in joint venture partnerships with diamond mining companies at Chiadzwa, an EU diplomat told the international media on Tuesday.
The scrapping of the sanctions followed Belgium’s call for the removal of sanctions in the wake of the widely endorsed harmonised elections.
Reuters yesterday quoted an unnamed diplomat as saying the EU had “begun the process of delisting” the ZMDC after senior EU diplomats discussed the issue at a meeting in Brussels in February this year.
Cracks had emerged in the EU over the bloc’s illegal economic sanctions regime, with Belgium calling for the immediate lifting of the embargo.
President Mugabe and Zanu-PF romped to a crushing victory over the MDC-T in the harmonised elections.
While the US, Britain and its dominions, Australia and Canada, have refused to endorse the elections, the EU as a bloc finally pronounced yesterday that it was finalising modalities to scrap the embargo.
Speaking to The Herald yesterday, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Cde Walter Chidhakwa, said Zimbabwe welcomed the latest EU position on the Marangwe diamonds.
“This is good news not for the ZMDC only but for Zimbabwe as a whole. It is coming so clear that the basis these countries imposed the sanctions of Zimbabwe were not solid.
“We hope they are going to take this process to the end because at this stage it’s official they have made recommendations and are waiting for the ministers (foreign) to give a go-ahead,” he said.
Cde Chidhakwa said it was everyone’s hope that the ministers were going to meet very soon.
“Naturally, for the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and its partners, I am sure it was really difficult to operate,” he said.
Sadc has since endorsed the elections as free, peaceful, generally credible and a reflection of the will of Zimbabweans and it was the world’s hope that the EU foreign ministers were going to honour their pledge.
The divisions in the EU come at a time when the Government’s sanctions lawsuit against the European bloc is set for hearing in the Belgian capital by the end of this month or early October.
Brussels, the centre of the global diamond trade and home to Antwerp, the world’s leading diamond trading hub, was all along pushing for the removal of the illegal sanctions on the ZMDC as it angles to tap into the country’s vast reserves that are tipped to command 25 percent of the international market.
ZMDC is in partnerships with five diamond mining companies at Chiadzwa, whose operations have all been certified by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a development that flies in the face of claims by the EU bloc that the Chiadzwa gems fall in the ambit of conflict diamonds.
The joint-venture mines in the Marange diamond fields produced a combined eight million carats of the gems last year and generated US$684,5 million in exports.
Of the US$684,5 million, Mbada Diamonds contributed US$308,3 million, followed by Anjin with US$209,9 million, Diamond Mining Corporation US$100,8 million and Marange Resources US$236 317.
Labels: DIAMONDS, EU, SANCTIONS, ZMDC
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(HERALD ZW) EU lifts sanctions on ZMDC
September 18, 2013
Hebert Zharare Political Editor—-
THE European Union has agreed to lift the illegal sanctions it imposed on the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, the State-enterprise in joint venture partnerships with diamond mining companies at Chiadzwa, an EU diplomat told the international media on Tuesday.
The scrapping of the sanctions followed Belgium’s call for the removal of sanctions in the wake of the widely endorsed harmonised elections.
Reuters yesterday quoted an unnamed diplomat as saying the EU had “begun the process of delisting” the ZMDC after senior EU diplomats discussed the issue at a meeting in Brussels in February this year.
Cracks had emerged in the EU over the bloc’s illegal economic sanctions regime, with Belgium calling for the immediate lifting of the embargo.
President Mugabe and Zanu-PF romped to a crushing victory over the MDC-T in the harmonised elections.
While the US, Britain and its dominions, Australia and Canada, have refused to endorse the elections, the EU as a bloc finally pronounced yesterday that it was finalising modalities to scrap the embargo.
Speaking to The Herald yesterday, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Cde Walter Chidhakwa, said Zimbabwe welcomed the latest EU position on the Marangwe diamonds.
“This is good news not for the ZMDC only but for Zimbabwe as a whole. It is coming so clear that the basis these countries imposed the sanctions of Zimbabwe were not solid.
“We hope they are going to take this process to the end because at this stage it’s official they have made recommendations and are waiting for the ministers (foreign) to give a go-ahead,” he said.
Cde Chidhakwa said it was everyone’s hope that the ministers were going to meet very soon.
“Naturally, for the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and its partners, I am sure it was really difficult to operate,” he said.
Sadc has since endorsed the elections as free, peaceful, generally credible and a reflection of the will of Zimbabweans and it was the world’s hope that the EU foreign ministers were going to honour their pledge.
The divisions in the EU come at a time when the Government’s sanctions lawsuit against the European bloc is set for hearing in the Belgian capital by the end of this month or early October.
Brussels, the centre of the global diamond trade and home to Antwerp, the world’s leading diamond trading hub, was all along pushing for the removal of the illegal sanctions on the ZMDC as it angles to tap into the country’s vast reserves that are tipped to command 25 percent of the international market.
ZMDC is in partnerships with five diamond mining companies at Chiadzwa, whose operations have all been certified by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a development that flies in the face of claims by the EU bloc that the Chiadzwa gems fall in the ambit of conflict diamonds.
The joint-venture mines in the Marange diamond fields produced a combined eight million carats of the gems last year and generated US$684,5 million in exports.
Of the US$684,5 million, Mbada Diamonds contributed US$308,3 million, followed by Anjin with US$209,9 million, Diamond Mining Corporation US$100,8 million and Marange Resources US$236 317.
Labels: EU, SANCTIONS, ZMDC
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Zimbabwe reads riot act to EU envoy
10/09/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE European Union Head of Delegation to Zimbabwe Ambassador Aldo Dell’Ariccia has been forced to apologise after asking for a meeting with judges hearing the MDC-T’s election petitions. Dell’Ariccia was summoned by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday and warned about his future conduct.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ambassador Joey Bimha, said: “We explained to him that what he did was wrong and unacceptable, and he apologised. He made a commitment that next time he will observe the right procedures.
“The point of contact for all ambassadors is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and contacting arms of government without going through the ministry is interference in the affairs of the hosting State.”
Dell’Ariccia wrote to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court Walter Chikwana on August 29 saying: “I would hereby like to kindly request your support in facilitating the organisation of meetings with members of the Constitutional and Electoral Courts in order to exchange views on electoral petitions.
“The delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Zimbabwe would be available for such a meeting between 3, 4 and 6 September 2013.”
But the EU envoy has now admitted that his actions were without diplomatic precedence.
He blamed an “administrative oversight” for the gaffe and said he had written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apologise.
Chikwana had already rejected Dell’Ariccia’s request, telling him that “members of the Constitutional Court and Electoral Court do not hold meetings with anybody other than the litigants or their legal representatives regarding matters that are pending before the respective courts.”
As Dell’Ariccia was making a request to Chikwana, an EU delegation was meeting then Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. But the minister said he was unaware of the written request to meet judges at the time.
“They presented themselves to me as experts on electoral issues who had been mandated by the EU to make assessment of our electoral system. They said they make such assessments the world over and they wanted to interact with me over our electoral system, which is what happened in that meeting,” Chinamasa said.
“At the end of the meeting, they then asked, through Giles Entikap, their charge d’affaires who was accompanying them, if I could clear a meeting of this group with judges of the Electoral Court and judges of the Constitutional Court.
“I must say, I blew my top. It’s unheard of that you have people coming to meet with your judiciary over matters which are before them or even on any other matter. Judges do not decide policy, if issues to be discussed were about policy.
“I was very angry that they would have the temerity to ask for a meeting with judges before whom are election petitions. I told them off that this was unacceptable because they are seeking to influence the courts in their consideration of matters which are before them.
“I don’t even meet the judges even as minister and no-one else in Zimbabwe does that and yet you have these people from the European Union, which we all know has basically condemned our elections, coming and wanting to meet these judges when all of us know that there are election petitions pending.”
Labels: ALDO DELL'ARICCIA, EU, JOEY BIMHA
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(HERALD ZW) EU sanctions lawsuit hearing pending
September 5, 2013
Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S European Union sanctions lawsuit is likely to be heard in Brussels, Belgium, by the end of this month or early October amid reports that financial challenges are threatening to scuttle the court case.The Herald is also reliably informed that US$5 million is required for the case to be heard before the General Court of European Court of Justice.
The sanctions, which were imposed at the behest of the MDC, are estimated to have
cost Zimbabwe over US$42 billion in potential revenue over the past 13 years.
Said a source: “There are indications that the case is likely to be heard this autumn, but it is facing financial hurdles. An estimated US$5 million is required to mount the legal challenge, but there has been no zeal to mobilise the funds and time is fast running out.”
The challenge is being led by a team of lawyers comprising Mr David Vaughan, Mr Maya Lester Robin Loof and Zimbabwean lawyers Mr Farai Mutamangira and Mr Gerald Mlotshwa.
The bloc’s illegal sanctions regime was imposed in violation of the Cotonou Agreement that governs relations between the EU and African Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Besides disregarding its own regulations, the bloc also contravened international law when it imposed the sanctions in 2002 and continued to extend them outside the purview of the UN.
Over two million Zimbabweans signed the National Anti-Sanctions Petition which was launched by President Mugabe in April 2011 and Government used the petition in regional and international forums to lobby for the lifting of the decade-old Western embargo.
Outgoing Finance Minister Tendai Biti (MDC-T) was reluctant to fund the suit, but a Zanu-PF Government is expected to take the case head on once a new Cabinet has been sworn in.
President Mugabe is expected to swear in the new Cabinet anytime soon.
“The lack of practical support during the tenure of the inclusive Government was a major setback, but with a Zanu-PF Government in office, that problem should be a thing of the past,” added the source.
Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana yesterday said he was hopeful the new Government would source the required funds on time.
“I hope that this time around there is going to be more focused attention to actively pursue the legal sanction challenge both within the country and internationally,” he said.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo yesterday said there were greater chances of Government fully funding the case unlike before when the MDC-T frustrated every effort to have the case heard.
“The Attorney-General would know better about that case, but obviously now that we are going to have a Zanu – PF Government people responsible for finance will have to look into their coffers to see what can be done or to find ways to generate funds to finance the project,” he said.
Last month President Mugabe said Zimbabwe was fed up with ill – treatment by Western nations and will soon hit back by placing sanctions on Western companies operating in the country. Addressing mourners at the burial of national hero Retired Air Commodore Mike Tichafa Karakadzai at the National Heroes Acre, President Mugabe said the country was fast losing its patience.
“They should not continue to harass us – the British and Americans,” he said. “We are treating their people well here. There will come a time when we also lose our patience.
“We have not done anything to their companies here. The British have several companies in this country and we have not imposed any controls, any sanctions against them. Time will come when we will say, well, tit for tat. You hit me, I hit you. You impose this on me, I impose this on you.”
Trinity Engineering founder and CEO Senator Aguy Georgias was the first to challenge the EU sanctions in court and his case is still pending at the General Court of the European Union where he seeks damages against the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
Sen Georgias yesterday said there were no latest developments on his court case.
“There is nothing new; the case is still pending in the courts. We cannot amalgamate the cases with Government because we have different evidence.”
Cde Georgias, who is being represented by United Kingdom lawyers, said he had been funding himself for all along and refused to disclose how much he had spent.
“I have been funding myself all along. Government said it would help me but up to now nothing has happened,” he said.
Labels: EU, RUGARE GUMBO, SANCTIONS
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(NEWZIMBABWE) EU sanctions to remain suspended
21/08/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
A MEETING of European Union (EU) foreign ministers on Wednesday agreed that sanctions against Zimbabwe would remain suspended for another six months despite an appeal by SADC leaders for the measures to me removed.
In a statement after the meeting which was held in Brussels, the EU foreign affairs council said suspension of the sanctions would remain in force until February 20, 2014, adopting the recommendations of an earlier council meeting.
“The (suspension of the sanctions) is hereby extended until 20 February 2014. The appropriate measures shall be kept under constant review and shall be applied again if the situation in Zimbabwe is to seriously deteriorate,” the council said after its August 9 meeting.
The EU suspended its sanctions in the lead-up to the July 31 vote to reward the coalition government for reforms that included a new constitution as well as encourage the country to hold free and fair elections.
After they were barred from observing the elections for refusing to completely lift the sanctions, Western countries said they would be guided by the verdict of observers from the African Union and the regional SADC grouping.
Both organisations have since endorsed President Robert Mugabe’s landslide victory with regional leaders urging the West to lift the sanctions following a recent meeting in Malawi.
However, both the United States and the EU have backed allegations by the defeated MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai that the vote was not credible.
Said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton: “The EU is worried by the allegations of irregularities and information indicating voter registration may have been incomplete as well as by the...lack of transparency.”
She added that the EU "will continue to follow how the situation evolves and will work closely with its international partners in the coming weeks."
Washington has completely ruled out lifting its own sanctions, declaring that the election outcome “did not represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people due to serious flaws throughout the electoral process”.
“A change in U.S. sanctions policy will occur only in the context of credible, transparent and peaceful reforms that reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people," a spokesperson for the US State Department said this week.
The sanctions – blamed by Mugabe for the country’s economic problems - were imposed about a decade ago over allegations of vote fraud and human rights failings.
The veteran leader rejects the allegations and, instead, claims former colonial power Britain persuaded its allies to punish him for land reforms which saw farmland that was in the hands of whites redistributed to landless black Zimbabweans.
A spokesperson for the UK foreign and commonwealth office this week told NewZimbabwe.com that the sanctions were a decision of all EU member states.
“The EU’s Restrictive Measures are a decision for all member states, and not just the UK,” the official said when asked whether London recommend the removal of the sanctions after regional leaders as well as Zimbabwe’s top court ruled that the vote was free and fair.
“The UK alongside all EU Member States reviews the Restrictive Measures regularly to ensure that they continue to be legally robust, targeted and relevant to the situation on the ground. Our approach is grounded in the legal requirements of the Measures and guided by our aim of using the measures to best support the reform process in Zimbabwe.”
Labels: EU, SANCTIONS
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(NEWZIMBABWE, AFP) Sanctions will go if vote is fair: EU
14/07/2013 00:00:00
by AFP
THE European Union (EU) will lift sanctions against Zimbabwe if regional observers declare July 31 polls to be free and fair, the bloc's ambassador to South Africa said on Friday.
"If the process goes well we will go suspend (sanctions) and I am sure they will be removed," diplomat Roeland van de Geer said. "We don't have the right to continue with that if the elections are acceptable," he added.
The EU earlier this year retained an asset freeze and travel ban on President Robert Mugabe but eased most of its decade-old restrictions on Zimbabwe.
"We have suspended them, we haven't cancelled them, and we have done that with conviction because we see positive steps," said Van de Geer.
While some steps have been encouraging, the bloc wants greater reforms in the media and army.
Blocked by Mugabe, the EU will not have its own observers on the ground but will rely on the Southern African Development Community which mediated Zimbabwe's power-sharing government after chaotic 2008 polls.
'Blocked by Mugabe'? Talk about unprofessional journalism. - MrK
"If the outcome of the elections is clear, is accepted, who are we, all Europeans, to say... we continue with our sanctions, but it has to be clear, that's true," he said.
Only 10 individuals and two companies are now blacklisted -- whittled down from a list of 112 people and 11 firms or entities earlier this year.
A team of African Union observers will also monitor the vote to replace the compromise government set up between Mugabe and his arch rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The EU's targeted sanctions were first imposed in 2002, with the grouping citing political violence, human rights abuses and the failure to hold free and fair elections.
Targeted at the Zimbabwean people. - MrK
Labels: EU, ROBERT MUGABE, ROELAND VAN DE GEER, SANCTIONS
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(ALLAFRICA, THE HERALD ZW) Zimbabwe: EU Dumps Tsvangirai
By Caesar Zvayi, 26 June 2013
THE European Union should not pre-occupy itself with who is in power in Zimbabwe, but concentrate on improving the country's political culture and institutions as support for the MDC-T has waned over the years. The revelations, a virtual vote of no confidence in MDC-T's electoral chances, are contained in an EU Parliament policy document titled "Quick Policy Insight Zimbabwe's 2013 General Elections" that was published on May 28 ahead of the Constitutional Court ruling ordering elections by July 31.
"Government turnover does not guarantee democratic change in Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF lacks democratic roots; but the MDC has, for its part, done little to prove its trustworthiness. Rather than asking who is in power, international analysts might want to put a stronger focus on how to actually improve Zimbabwe's political culture and institutions," reads the document in part.
The EU's Damascene moment, that tallied with several recent surveys pointing to a Zanu-PF victory in the elections, dovetailed with recent statements by senior MDC-T officials who admitted that the majority of Zimbabweans had lost faith in MDC-T because of the party's failure to live up to its rhetoric.
Ex-journalist and MDC-T founding member Grace Kwinjeh laid into the party on her Facebook Wall after being elbowed out of the Makoni Central constituency primary elections which she claimed to have won before being dumped for one Patrick Sagandira.
"The bulk of Zimbabweans who have lost faith in us as a party have because of this kind of behaviour (failing to walk the talk), they judge us not by what we say, but we do. I hope you can bring this to the attention of the party leadership . . . for the record I am not accepting the charade that took place in Makoni Central," she charged.
In a telephone interview from her base in Belgium last night, Kwinjeh confirmed writing to the MDC-T leadership complaining over lack of intra-party democracy.
"I have presented my petition and I'm told the party is sitting and discussing this issue," she said. "So, I am waiting for the party's response."
MDC-T Manicaland provincial chairman Mr Julius Magaramombe, who won the party's primaries in Buhera North, also posted on his Facebook Wall his fear for his life after warning the MDC-T leadership not to be surprised if supporters voted for Zanu-PF.
"A Democratic Party without democracy will pay the ultimate price at the hands of the people . . . folks, I've just discovered that speaking the truth can get you killed, literally. And you know what? I'm ready to die!" he said.
MDC-T, the EU said, had tried to capitalise on public discontent, presenting itself as an alternative to an aged and corrupt Zanu-PF elite culminating in Mr Tsvangirai's lead in the first round of the presidential elections in 2008, but the party had since lost any goodwill it had as public opinion favours Zanu-PF.
"The MDC enjoys backing from many foreign actors in the region and from overseas. Yet the party also faces numerous problems.
"First, its reputation has suffered critical blows from a range of personal lapses by its leader: numerous sexual adventures of 61 year-old Tsvangirai, including the pregnancy of a 23-year old woman and his denial of paternity; reports of growing corruption and financial mismanagement within the MDC headquarters; and Tsvangirai's refusal to accept criticism of his increasingly centralised leadership style," reads the EU report.
" What is more, the MDC's participation in government for more than four years -- although in a weak position -- renders it increasingly difficult to argue that it could bring about a radical turn for the better. Disenchanted with the party's inability to trigger decisive change, many young urbanites -- previously the MDC's most devoted supporters -- have stopped attending the party's once-overcrowded rallies and have sought other arenas to voice their discontent. Pentecostal churches have seen their popularity skyrocket, and new political alternatives have emerged, including the recently revived Zimbabwe African People's Union."
Several recent surveys from the likes of Mass Public Opinion Institute, Freedom House and Afro barometer have pointed to a Zanu-PF victory in the harmonised elections with the latest opinion coming from the leading US think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations that described the prospect of a Zanu-PF loss at the polls as highly unlikely.
The EU report acknowledges this saying; "recent surveys suggest that Zanu-PF by now attracts more public support than the MDC, a total turnaround from 2008/2009. The MDC may yet regain control by forming a coalition with a third party. Yet Tsvangirai's chances of finding a suitable partner appear meagre, since he broke ties with a smaller MDC faction led by Welshman Ncube, and other promising parties are lacking."
The MDC-T attempt to form a grand coalition against Zanu-PF ahead of the elections recently hit a snag with several key allies; among them the NCA, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, MDC99, ZCTU Concerned Affiliates and MDC, distancing themselves from the party accusing it of losing direction.
Voting patterns in the Constitutional referendum held mid-March revealed that Zanu-PF strongholds drove the Yes Vote, a development affirmed by statistics released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that showed high voter registration in Zanu-PF strongholds coupled with low figures in urban and peri-urban areas from where the MDC-T drew support over the years.
The MDC-T acknowledged the voter apathy in its election strategy document titled 'Priority Activities ahead of 2013 Election'.
The EU document also lays into the MDC-T's campaign of violence which it said was costing the party support.
"Evidence that MDC youth groups have engaged in violent campaigns has further undermined the party's credibility. The political outlook, as a result, has changed drastically".
The MDC-T has unleashed a wave of intra- and inter-party political violence in a bid to not only trash the political environment to abet its call for poll postponement, but to also provide fodder for its Western allies to discredit the poll. Harmonised elections are scheduled for July 31, with nomination courts for contesting candidates sitting on Friday.
The terror campaign began last year, but was intensified from January, with over 45 cases being recorded countrywide since the beginning of the year.
In all the recorded cases, MDC-T supporters were at the forefront of attacking their colleagues or those from other political parties, especially Zanu-PF.
Labels: CAESAR ZVAYI, EU, MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
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(TALKZIMBABWE) EU Parliament critical of Tsvangirai
This article was written by Our reporter on 26 June, at 05 : 26 AM
The following are extracts from a policy document by the European Union Parliament’s Directorate-General for External Policies. The bloc is very critical of the MDC party led by Morgan Tsvangirai and says that it is willing to work with any government that wins the forthcoming elections.
“The MDC … has tried to capitalise on public discontent, presenting itself as the energetic alternative to … ZANU-PF elite. This has led Tsvangirai to emerge victorious from the first round of elections in 2008, although the subsequent crisis eventually forced him to withdraw his candidacy. The MDC enjoys backing from many foreign actors in the region and from overseas.
“Yet the party also faces numerous problems. First, its reputation has suffered critical blows from a range of personal lapses by its leader: numerous sexual adventures of 61 year-old Tsvangirai, including the pregnancy of a 23-year old woman and his denial of paternity; reports of growing corruption and financial mismanagement within the MDC headquarters; and Tsvangirai’s refusal to accept criticism of his increasingly centralised leadership style.
“What is more, the MDC’s participation in government for more than four years — although in a weak position — renders it increasingly difficult to argue that it could bring about a radical turn for the better. Disenchanted with the party’s inability to trigger decisive change, many young urbanites — previously the MDC’s most devoted supporters — have stopped attending the party’s once-overcrowded rallies and have sought other arenas to voice their discontent.
“Evidence that MDC youth groups have engaged in violent campaigns has further undermined the party’s credibility.
“The political outlook, as a result, has changed drastically. Recent surveys suggest that ZANU-PF by now attracts more public support than the MDC, a total turnaround from 2008/2009. The MDC may yet regain control by forming a coalition with a third party. Yet Tsvangirai’s chances of finding a suitable partner appear meagre, since he broke ties with a smaller MDC faction led by Welshman Ncube, and other promising parties are lacking.
International stakeholders: Proceeding with caution and altering political goals?
“… foreign actors need to be aware of the high degree of suspicion prevalent in Zimbabwe. The international community should act with great care to avoid unintentionally causing a counterproductive backlash.
Incoming search terms:
* European Union Parliament’s Directorate-General for External Policies zimbabwe
Labels: EU, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
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(STICKY) (ALLAFRICA, THE HERALD ZW) Zimbabwe: EU Dumps Tsvangirai
By Caesar Zvayi, 26 June 2013
THE European Union should not pre-occupy itself with who is in power in Zimbabwe, but concentrate on improving the country's political culture and institutions as support for the MDC-T has waned over the years. The revelations, a virtual vote of no confidence in MDC-T's electoral chances, are contained in an EU Parliament policy document titled
"Quick Policy Insight Zimbabwe's 2013 General Elections" that was published on May 28 ahead of the Constitutional Court ruling ordering elections by July 31.
"Government turnover does not guarantee democratic change in Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF lacks democratic roots; but the MDC has, for its part, done little to prove its trustworthiness. Rather than asking who is in power, international analysts might want to put a stronger focus on how to actually improve Zimbabwe's political culture and institutions," reads the document in part.
The EU's Damascene moment, that tallied with several recent surveys pointing to a Zanu-PF victory in the elections, dovetailed with recent statements by senior MDC-T officials who admitted that the majority of Zimbabweans had lost faith in MDC-T because of the party's failure to live up to its rhetoric.
Ex-journalist and MDC-T founding member Grace Kwinjeh laid into the party on her Facebook Wall after being elbowed out of the Makoni Central constituency primary elections which she claimed to have won before being dumped for one Patrick Sagandira.
"The bulk of Zimbabweans who have lost faith in us as a party have because of this kind of behaviour (failing to walk the talk), they judge us not by what we say, but we do. I hope you can bring this to the attention of the party leadership . . . for the record I am not accepting the charade that took place in Makoni Central," she charged.
In a telephone interview from her base in Belgium last night, Kwinjeh confirmed writing to the MDC-T leadership complaining over lack of intra-party democracy.
"I have presented my petition and I'm told the party is sitting and discussing this issue," she said. "So, I am waiting for the party's response."
MDC-T Manicaland provincial chairman Mr Julius Magaramombe, who won the party's primaries in Buhera North, also posted on his Facebook Wall his fear for his life after warning the MDC-T leadership not to be surprised if supporters voted for Zanu-PF.
"A Democratic Party without democracy will pay the ultimate price at the hands of the people . . . folks, I've just discovered that speaking the truth can get you killed, literally. And you know what? I'm ready to die!" he said.
MDC-T, the EU said, had tried to capitalise on public discontent, presenting itself as an alternative to an aged and corrupt Zanu-PF elite culminating in Mr Tsvangirai's lead in the first round of the presidential elections in 2008, but the party had since lost any goodwill it had as public opinion favours Zanu-PF.
"The MDC enjoys backing from many foreign actors in the region and from overseas. Yet the party also faces numerous problems.
"First, its reputation has suffered critical blows from a range of personal lapses by its leader: numerous sexual adventures of 61 year-old Tsvangirai, including the pregnancy of a 23-year old woman and his denial of paternity; reports of growing corruption and financial mismanagement within the MDC headquarters; and Tsvangirai's refusal to accept criticism of his increasingly centralised leadership style," reads the EU report.
" What is more, the MDC's participation in government for more than four years -- although in a weak position -- renders it increasingly difficult to argue that it could bring about a radical turn for the better. Disenchanted with the party's inability to trigger decisive change, many young urbanites -- previously the MDC's most devoted supporters -- have stopped attending the party's once-overcrowded rallies and have sought other arenas to voice their discontent. Pentecostal churches have seen their popularity skyrocket, and new political alternatives have emerged, including the recently revived Zimbabwe African People's Union."
Several recent surveys from the likes of Mass Public Opinion Institute, Freedom House and Afro barometer have pointed to a Zanu-PF victory in the harmonised elections with the latest opinion coming from the leading US think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations that described the prospect of a Zanu-PF loss at the polls as highly unlikely.
The EU report acknowledges this saying; "recent surveys suggest that Zanu-PF by now attracts more public support than the MDC, a total turnaround from 2008/2009. The MDC may yet regain control by forming a coalition with a third party. Yet Tsvangirai's chances of finding a suitable partner appear meagre, since he broke ties with a smaller MDC faction led by Welshman Ncube, and other promising parties are lacking."
The MDC-T attempt to form a grand coalition against Zanu-PF ahead of the elections recently hit a snag with several key allies; among them the NCA, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, MDC99, ZCTU Concerned Affiliates and MDC, distancing themselves from the party accusing it of losing direction.
Voting patterns in the Constitutional referendum held mid-March revealed that Zanu-PF strongholds drove the Yes Vote, a development affirmed by statistics released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that showed high voter registration in Zanu-PF strongholds coupled with low figures in urban and peri-urban areas from where the MDC-T drew support over the years.
The MDC-T acknowledged the voter apathy in its election strategy document titled 'Priority Activities ahead of 2013 Election'.
The EU document also lays into the MDC-T's campaign of violence which it said was costing the party support.
"Evidence that MDC youth groups have engaged in violent campaigns has further undermined the party's credibility. The political outlook, as a result, has changed drastically".
The MDC-T has unleashed a wave of intra- and inter-party political violence in a bid to not only trash the political environment to abet its call for poll postponement, but to also provide fodder for its Western allies to discredit the poll. Harmonised elections are scheduled for July 31, with nomination courts for contesting candidates sitting on Friday.
The terror campaign began last year, but was intensified from January, with over 45 cases being recorded countrywide since the beginning of the year.
In all the recorded cases, MDC-T supporters were at the forefront of attacking their colleagues or those from other political parties, especially Zanu-PF.
Labels: CAESAR ZVAYI, EU, MDC, MDC VIOLENCE, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
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Zambia also keeping a close eye on Germany - Chikwanda
By Henry Sinyangwe
Fri 24 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
FINANCE minister Alexander Chikwanda says the government is keeping a close eye on Germany just as that country is doing on Zambia following local opposition political parties' reports of infringement on their rights.
And Germany's federal minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebiel says the opposition and the ruling party need the same rights to address their political points to the people in the country.
Chikwanda was responding to a question from a German reporter, who said the delegation earlier met leaders of opposition parties who complained of government's infringement on their right and freedom.
But Chikwanda cautioned Germany that Zambia was also keeping an eye on them.
He said Zambia was one of the most civilised countries contrary to reports by the opposition political parties that the government was infringing on their rights.
"Much as you are keeping an eye on us, we also keep an eye on you and we don't take kindly when you begin beating foreigners on account of race, so we shall keep an eye on each other. You will never find xenophobia. If we carry a litmus test, you will find that we are more civilised," he said. "Go and tell the Germans that you went to the most civilised country, where you don't find xenophobia."
Chikwanda said the government was committed to upholding the rights of all citizens but stressed the need for all Zambians to act responsibly.
"This country is committed to maintaining the rights of all the citizens. The opposition parties can't function in a more agreeable environment. It's a question of both of us being responsible. It's their right to lobby, but in Zambia, there is a mechanism for freedom not because it's a move for us getting aid but we want to pass on this legacy to posterity. There is civilisation in Zambia, unlike in your region where colour is an issue. We are a much civilised country, and nobody is beaten here for being a foreigner like they are beaten in many countries including your own. We believe in freedom, not for purposes of getting aid but because we believe its right for ourselves and even those of us who are in government, one day we will be in the opposition," he said.
And Chikwanda said the country was targeting double-digit growth to enable it to lift Zambians out of poverty.
"At the moment, government has taken the decision to remove subsidies, which is a very risky decision politically, but we hope that responsible opposition parties will support government to try and get Zambia's economy streamlined and entrench fiscal responsibility. We are working hard to try and grow Zambia at higher rates than the six, seven per cent we have talked about to double digit, about 10, 11 per cent and make an impact on poverty reduction," said Chikwanda.
Niebel urged Zambia to put in place measures that would enable it to get better contracts to reap more benefits from the mining sector.
"Underlined principles of not only taking care of human rights, but also rights for minorities, opposition party rights…and it is very important to find a way to use the mining sector for financing your own budget than you can do at the moment and we could give a helpful hand to have better contracts in the future for more income, revenues for your country to invest in your country," said Niebel.
Labels: ALEXANDER CHIKWANDA, COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, EU, GERMANY
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SA MPs want Zimbabwe sanctions lifted
21/03/2013 00:00:00
by Xinhua
SOUTH African MPs on Wednesday called for a total removal of sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union (EU) against Zimbabwe. The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation (PCIRC) said it is of the firm view that these sanctions and restrictions "have a negative impact on Zimbabwe's economic and political situation."
"It is clear that, in spite of the gradual removal of restrictions and sanctions, their impact on improving the political situation is yet to be felt by the people of Zimbabwe, hence our call to lift all restrictions and sanctions," said Tisetso Magama, chairperson of the committee. An unconditional removal of the restrictions and sanctions will help a great deal in the development of Zimbabwe and its people, added Magama.
The committee's call came amid reports that the EU is planning to lift some sanctions against Zimbabwe after it held a credible referendum on the new draft constitution on March 16.
More than 100 Zimbabwean prominent individuals have been under the EU travel ban and assets freeze since 2002.
The sanctions were originally imposed a decade ago in response to alleged incidents of human rights abuses and political violence.
[They were installed to make land reform fail, and to create a negative example for the rest of Africa, that they should not overturn their colonial land ownership patterns. - MrK]
Ebrahim Ebrahim, Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), said the Zimbabwean referendum was credible, as all 78 SADC (Southern African Development Community) observers agreed that it was fair and transparent.
While congratulating the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission and Zimbabweans for holding a credible referendum, the PCIRC remained concerned about isolated incidents of torture and intimidation reported during the referendum period.
"We condemn these incidents. They should not be happening at all," said Magama.
The committee further commended the good work by SADC, the South African government and other stakeholders for the successful holding of the referendum, as part of the process towards holding of harmonised elections later this year.
Labels: EU, SANCTIONS, SOUTH AFRICA, TISETSO MAGAMA
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COMMENT - Why are sanctions on Zimbabwe manufactured and supported by a member of British Army Intelligence like Geoffrey van Orden? In collaboration with a former member fo the Rhodesian Special Forces (Selous Scouts) like Roy Bennett?
Read more about Geoffrey and Roy's antics here.
EU to lift sanctions on all but 10 Zimbabweans
22/03/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE European Union is set to lift sanctions on all but 10 Zimbabwe government officials in response to the “peaceful” referendum on the new constitution, officials said on Friday.
The EU eased sanctions on Zimbabwe last month by lifting asset freezes and travel bans on 27 people, including six ministers, as well as well as one company – Divine Home (PVT) Ltd – which is owned by Zanu PF official David Chapfika.
Geoffrey Van Orden, a British member of the European Parliament who has previously campaigned for the sanctions to remain, said Friday that there were “moves to lift the EU restrictive measures on most of the Mugabe supporters that had previously been banned from Europe and had their assets frozen”.
He added: “Only 10 individuals from the 91 previously banned and two companies will remain on the list.”
The 10 individuals to remain on the blacklist, it is believed, include President Robert Mugabe and security chiefs.
The state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) – involved in the mining of diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe – is also seen staying on the sanctions list.
The EU had indicated last month that a peaceful and credible referendum will be reciprocated through the easing of sanctions.
But the latest moves are unlikely to appease President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party which says the sanctions are unjust and illegal. The party wants all sanctions on the country lifted – and has received the backing of its MDC coalition partners.
Van Orden MEP, who chairs the European Parliament 'Friends of Zimbabwe' group, said: "We recognise that there has been some movement in the right direction and this needs to be reinforced. The referendum was just a first step. The really important event will be the elections later in the year.
"Our concern now is that all the processes connected with the elections should be carried out fairly and correctly and that campaigning is free from violence and intimidation.
"A reduction in the restrictive measures is just about acceptable provided they can be quickly reimposed if there is any sign of violence, intimidation or manipulation of the electoral process. My understanding is that this is exactly what has been agreed.
"The changes meet the wishes of other African countries and will signal to Zanu PF insiders and to army and police chiefs that they have nothing to fear from real democratic change.
"The ball is now in Mugabe’s court."
The EU first imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 following presidential elections which it said were flawed.
But Mugabe’s Zanu PF party has fingered former colonial power Britain as the instigator of the measures in response to its policy of seizing land from white farmers and redistributing it to landless blacks.
Labels: EU, GEOFFREY VAN ORDEN, SANCTIONS
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