Zambia to attend Cape Town Technology Summit
By Joseph Mwenda
Thu 26 July 2012, 12:30 CAT
Minister of Education Dr. John Phiri will be leading a delegation of Zambian officials to attend a summit in Cape Town, South Africa this coming October to deliver a keynote speech and meet with potential foreign investors in the technology and education sectors.
Dr. Phiri will be joining other African Ministers of Education and Technology from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Others will be from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, and Rwanda.
The Summit will represent an opportunity for Dr. Phiri to present his ministry's progress on policies and implementation after one year in office before an international audience.
"We're extraordinarily pleased to have the participation of Dr. Phiri, as Zambia is increasingly seen as a model for its stability, growth, and improvements in education," said John Glassey, the managing director of AfricanBrains, the organizer of the Innovation Africa Summit.
Glassey also noted that investors are eager to meet with the new Zambian minister, as some people felt that the previous MMD government was unresponsive to their interest.
"There is significant interest among foreign investors to become involved in Zambia's education sector. People are excited to begin working with the Patriotic Front government, which will hopefully be more successful than past experience," Glassey said.
The Innovation Africa Summit, scheduled for October 5-7 in Cape Town, is co-sponsored by the niversity of the Western Cape, and will also feature participation by representatives of global technology companies, such as Huawei, Samsung, Hewlett Packard, and others.
Labels: JOHN PHIRI, SUMMIT
Read more...
SADC summit: Sanctions remain MDC's burden
14/06/2011 00:00:00
by Lloyd Msipa
LAST weekend’s SADC summit to discuss the political impasse in Zimbabwe held in Sandton, South Africa, has come and gone. The three political parties in the Global Political Agreement went to the summit with different demands and expectations.
The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC-T, with the backing of a host of western-funded NGOs that included the Crisis Coalition, descended on Sandton to demand, firstly, the endorsement of the SADC Organ Troika resolutions held in Livingstone, Zambia, in March.
Secondly, they were demanding that the full SADC summit of heads of states and government include in its deliberations the issue of “security sector reforms” and, thirdly, a definitive timeline for elections in Zimbabwe beyond 2011.
On the issue of the security sector reform, we all know what happened to that. Besides it being not an issue not covered in the GPA agreement, it seemed overtly ambitious for the Tsvangirai outfit to think for a minute that the SADC summit would entertain such preposterous demands. The issue of the security sector is a national security matter way beyond the mandate of SADC. The matter is so sensitive that it raises sovereignty issues.
On the first issue, it is not a secret that the resolution of the SADC Organ Troika of March 2011 in Livingstone was based on the inaccuracies of a report presented to it by the Morgan Tsvangirai MDC-T, which among other things misled the organ to believe that Zimbabwe was under some kind of military rule and that the Zimbabwe government was no longer in charge. This of course resulted in a flawed communiqué from the Organ Troika.
Zanu PF also had its own set of demands. Notably, the party pointed out to the SADC leaders the ambit of the Global Political Agreement mandate when it came to issues that include the demands for security sector reforms. This was never part of the Global Political Agreement.
Secondly, Zanu PF was seeking guidance from SADC with regard to the issue of elections. This requirement for guidance was premised on the basis that the Global Political Agreement that was originally agreed to last for 24 months had since expired and hence according to the agreement, elections were now overdue.
And thirdly, and most importantly, the Livingstone troika summit resolution had deliberately written out the issue of the removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe. It was this resolution that did not mention sanctions as an outstanding issue to be fulfilled by the MDC-T outfit that Tsvangirai clamoured for adoption and endorsement.
Advertisement
It is in this context and background that the three principals of the GPA went to the summit. In the SADC Communiqué issued on June 12, 2011, the issue of the SADC Troika communiqué, how it was received by the full SADC summit of heads of state and governments, has received multiple interpretations. In particular, item 22 in the resolution has been subject to misinterpretation:
22. Summit noted the decisions of the Organ Troika Summit held in Livingstone, Zambia in March 2011.
In desperation, there are those from the Tsvangirai camp who got so frustrated by the failure of the full SADC summit of heads of States and governments to endorse the Livingstone summit resolutions that they have now resorted to redefining words to suit their own ends.
Listening to one online pirate radio station, some “political analysts” being interviewed were at pains trying to equate or run parallels between the word ‘noted’ with ‘endorsed’. Any Zimbabwe Junior Certificate student will easily tell you the difference between the words, noted and endorsed. A standard dictionary will tell you that when something is said to have been noted, it merely means something that is ‘worthy of notice, something worthy of attention, nothing substantive’.
When you endorse something it means you ‘support’ that thing. An endorsement is an act of approval. It is a qualifying comment. Often when something is endorsed, a signature is required. Now, for someone to say with no equivocation that the SADC summit endorsed the Livingstone resolutions by using the word ‘noted’ is not only foolish but thoroughly irresponsible.
The bottom line is that the SADC summit heads of state and governments saw through the shenanigans of the Tsvangirai outfit at Livingstone. In particular, President Jacob Zuma saw through the games played by the MDC-T outfit. The fact that he requested to meet President Robert Mugabe a day before the SADC summit is instructive.
Another issue that seems to have either escaped or has been ignored by the pirate radio stations is the issue of the sanctions. This had been written out of the Livingstone troika resolution of March 2011. The SADC summit of the head of states and government brought it back in under points 29-31.
29. Summit recalled its decision taken during the Extraordinary Summit in Windhoek, Namibia in August 2010, mandating the Chairperson of SADC, the Chairperson of the Organ, SADC Facilitator for the Zimbabwe Political Dialogue assisted by the Secretariat to undertake the mission to the United Kingdom, United States of America and the European Union.
30. Summit received a Report on the mission and noted its recommendations.
31. Summit committed to continue dialogue with the western powers on the removal of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
This alone is a major victory for Zanu PF in that the MDC-T has been asked, working together with SADC, to ensure that they fulfill their part under the GPA agreement.
Most importantly, to make sure that they engage with their western sponsors to have the sanctions lifted if Zimbabwe is to have free and fair elections. If the sanctions are lifted, the issue of the timeline for elections will no longer be of any significance.
So, however you look or read the June 12 SADC summit resolutions, the MDC-T party remains the beast of burden. The burden they have is to make sure the sanctions go before the next election, failure which they would have failed or neglected to discharge their responsibility towards the Global Political Agreement.
Lloyd Msipa writes from the United Kingdom. He can be contacted at lmsipalaw@gmail.com
Labels: MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, SADC, SANCTIONS, SUMMIT, ZDERA
Read more...
SADC summit: Zanu PF claims victory
by Staff Reporter
13/06/2011 00:00:00
ZANU PF claimed victory last night after Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders appeared to put the resolutions of a March summit of the regional body’s organ on politics and defence on the backburner.
A communiqué issued at the end of a full summit of the regional trade bloc in Johannesburg late Sunday said leaders had “noted” the Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security communiqué issued in Livingstone, Zambia, on March 31, but it did not endorse it.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, a senior member of President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party, said: “The summit went on very, very well. It only noted the outcome of Livingstone, they did not endorse, summit noted.
“And as you know in diplomatic parlance, you know what ‘noting' means? It was noted, it was not endorsed.”
But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by Prime Minister Morgan insisted the picture of what transpired in Sandton was not as rosy as painted by Zanu PF.
“It was a re-endorsement of the Livingstone Summit,” said the party’s secretary general Tendai Biti. “Three members of the Troika will work with the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee to ensure implementation of the resolutions.”
Mugabe, who reacted angrily at the tone of the communiqué issued by the presidents of Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia – apparently taking their cue from South Africa’s Jacob Zuma who is the region’s point man on Zimbabwe – also appeared pleased with the outcome over the weekend summit.
In April, he charged that Zuma’s report presented to the troika was based on “inaccuracies” which he had been fed by his main political rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
But having met Zuma on Friday, Mugabe appeared pleased to return from South Africa seemingly unscathed.
“It came out very well. There was a very good report by the facilitator (President Jacob Zuma) where he acknowledged the efforts that the parties in the unity government are making, in other words what our negotiators and the principals put together are making,” Mugabe told state media as he returned home.
Mugabe said SADC leaders had urged the parties to come up with timelines of achieving targets set down in a so-called election roadmap.
And he appeared to absolve Zuma of being the driver behind the Livingstone summit communiqué widely reported as critical of him, particularly over alleged violence by his supporters.
“It turns out that Zuma’s actual report is very innocent,” Mugabe said. “It is more what was discussed (during the summit) based on the document supplied by Tsvangirai, apparently, that emerged as the report of the facilitator, otherwise the facilitator made a very innocent report.”
Welshman Ncube, who leads another faction of the MDC which is in a coalition with Mugabe’s Zanu PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC-T, said media expectations of “fireworks” at the summit were misplaced.
“We always knew it would not be the fireworks anticipated by some because for most issues, we knew the parties had already agreed,” Ncube said.
“The task at hand has been for us about implementation of what has been already agreed not reinventing the wheel. Our hope is that there will be a clear focus on the implementation on what has been agreed. Overall we are satisfied with the results of the summit.”
In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, regional leaders endorsed a report by Zuma; a review conducted by the three parties on the two-year-old power sharing government as well as the election roadmap.
SADC leaders want the Zimbabwean parties to draw up timelines for implementing the roadmap before the next summit in August – which could be the first time a concrete date is revealed for the next elections which many expect to be held next year.
Labels: JACOB ZUMA, ROBERT MUGABE, SADC, SIMBARASHE MUMBENGEGWI, SUMMIT, TENDAI BITI, WELSHMAN NCUBE, ZANU-PF
Read more...
President, Zuma thrash out issues
Saturday, 11 June 2011 00:41
From Caesar Zvayi in JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday met his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma - who is also facilitator to Zimbabwe's inter-party dialogue - at his official Matsheamhlope residence here. The leaders met for three hours behind closed doors ahead of the extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe that begins at the Sandton Convention Centre today.
Though sources who attended the meeting were tight-lipped on what the leaders discussed, spokesperson for the SA facilitation team Lindiwe Zulu said the talks centred on the agenda of the summit. A diplomatic source said President Zuma wa-nted to meet President Mugabe to discuss issues of mutual concern.
‘‘As you could see from the body language, the two leaders held fruitful discussions about the political situation in Zimbabwe that should bury the media hype about Livingstone,'' the source said.
After the Livingstone Troika Summit that was fraught with procedural irregularities, some sections of the media sought to brew discord between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
President Mugabe arrived here yesterday afternoon for the Sadc summit on Zimbabwe and the Second Comesa-EAC-Sadc Tripartite Summit that begins at the Sandton Convention Centre tomorrow.
The President - who is accompanied by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and the two negotiators Cdes Patrick Chinamasa (Justice and Legal Affairs Minister) and Nicholas Goche (Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development Minister) - was welcomed at Waterkloof Airbase by Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Ambassador to South Africa Phelekezela Mphoko and South African government officials.
Today's Sadc extraordinary summit was necessitated by the deferment of Zimbabwe from the agenda of the summit held in Windhoek, Namibia, last month.
Zimbabwe, which was initially on the agenda along with Madagascar, was deferred after President Mugabe told the summit that he preferred to have issues discussed in the presence of all principals to the inclusive Government.
Leaders of the MDC formations - Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and Professor Arthur Mutambara - had not been invited to the summit since it was high-level, that is at the level of Heads of State and Government.
More so, Sadc facilitator to the inter-party talks President Jacob Zuma of South Africa was saddled with local government elections in his own country.
The agenda is expected to centre on issues agreed on by negotiators and facilitators when they met in Cape Town on May 5 and 6.
The minutes - which cover the review of the GPA Review Report, election roadmap and the Jomic report - are expected to be presented to the summit.
Sources close to developments said parties to GPA want common ground hence negotiators were scheduled to meet late last night to consolidate the report to be presented to summit.
South Africa wants to finalise the Zimbabwe issue before the August Summit where it will assume the chairmanship of the Troika because then it would be difficult to balance the roles of facilitator and Troika chair as it creates a conflict as SA will have to report to itself.
It is not known what would become of the ill-fated Livingstone communiqué, but the Troika Chair Zambian President Rupiah Banda is expected to present a report on what transpired.
There are disagreements among the three parties on various issues.
MDC-T is pushing for security sector reforms, but Zanu-PF has insisted that this was never part of the GPA and that the country's security sector was solid and did not need to be reformed.
MDC formations also want elections postponed to next year while Zanu-PF insists that if the timelines agreed in the roadmap fit into 2011, then elections should be held this year.
Labels: JACOB ZUMA, ROBERT MUGABE, SADC, SUMMIT
Read more...
Violence as Sadc summit opens in SA
Sunday, 12 June 2011 00:33 Top Stories
From Caesar Zvayi in JOHANNESBURG
THE MDC-T’s culture of violence took centre stage here yesterday morning ahead of the extraordinary Sadc Summit on Zimbabwe and Madagascar that began last night, severely embarrassing the MDC-T leadership that always accuses Zanu-PF of orchestrating violence.
Summit deliberations were adjourned at around 10pm last night with only Madagascar having been discussed. Zimbabwe will be discussed after the Tripartite Comesa-EAC-Sadc summit today.
Yesterday’s demonstration, which was meant to get Sadc leaders to press President Mugabe to postpone elections likely to be held later this year or early next year on account of alleged State-sanctioned violence, backfired spectacularly when the accusers turned villains.
The protest march, organised by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition under the banner of the Zimbabwe Civil Society Initiative, degenerated into chaos just a stone’s throw from the Sandton Convention Centre when the leaders of the disparate opposition groups disagreed on both the content and purpose of the demonstration culminating in fistfights that forced police here to move in to disperse them.
The demonstration, that lasted no more than 20 minutes, brought together the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, MDC-T activists, the flag-burning Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF), and Zapu.
Fights soon broke out between MDC-T activists and the civil society activists with MLF members tearing and burning of MDC-T T-shirts and flags.
Running battles ensued that forced the police to intervene.
In an interview soon after the abortive demo, Dhewa Mavhinga of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition tried to play down the chaotic scenes, saying their march had been affected by “violence exported (sic) from Zimbabwe”.
“I want to set the record straight that as Zimbabwe Civil Society Groups we had a successful march to push forward our message. After the march we had a short rally before two drunken youths came to disrupt proceedings. About a thousand people attended the march . . . The police intervened to stop the skirmishes.’’
The scores of demonstrators had alighted from four buses close to the Convention Centre.
Mavhinga said they had completed their protests but could not explain why demonstrations intended to put a message across to Sadc leaders had “ended” before the leaders even convened the summit.
“Our objective was to get a message to the leaders of Sadc. There were people there (at the demonstration) to receive our message plus we are talking to you guys in the media,’’ he quipped.
However, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, a member of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition who travelled from Harare said there was no love lost in the NGO ranks.
However, two white girls —Samantha Evans and Charlotte Stevenson who said they were from a Scottish NGO and had flown into South Africa for the protests — said the demonstrations broke down after fights erupted among the demonstrators.
“People just began fighting and the police broke up the demonstration, we are going to compile a report to forward to our bosses back home,” said Samantha who, like her colleague Charlotte, was holding a banner inscribed: “President Zuma is right to INSIST on free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.”
Early last week MDC-T activists viciously assaulted two senior Zanu-PF Johannesburg district officials at a Press conference organised by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.
Zanu-PF Johannesburg district chairperson Cde Ndabezinhle Nyoni and political commissar Cde Abednego Nyoni were beaten up by MDC-T activists at Devonshire Hotel.
A report was filed at Hillbrow Police Station while the pair is receiving medical attention after sustaining varying degrees of injuries.
Like other Zimbabweans living in Johannesburg, the Zanu-PF officials had attended the Press conference on political developments at home.
The theme of the conference was “Sadc: Set Out Clear, Time-Bound and Enforceable Zimbabwe Elections Roadmap” and meant to tell the world that conditions were not conducive for the holding of elections.
On realising the presence of Cdes Ndabezinhle and Abednego, the rowdy MDC-T activists became unsettled, as any false claims they would make on Zimbabwe would not go unchallenged.
They then pounced on the pair and chucked them out of the Press conference.
This was not the first time that MDC-T activists in Johannesburg had attacked Zanu-PF officials and supporters.
Last month, scores of Zanu-PF supporters sustained serious injuries after MDC-T activists assaulted them during an anti-sanctions march here.
Again the matter was reported to the police but no arrests have been made as yet. There is a culture of violence within the MDC-T, whose youths declared an open season against their Zanu-PF counterparts.
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition was demanding the deferment of elections when Zanu-PF and MDC negotiators have already agreed on a road- map.
The Secretary for Sadc Affairs, Advocate Eureka Ndhlovu, noted that the intra-party violence confirms the statement by the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) which apportions blame to political parties for the sporadic and isolated acts of violence in Zimbabwe.
Labels: CAESAR ZVAYI, MDC, MDC VIOLENCE, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, SADC, SUMMIT
Read more...
Americas summit has proved to be dismal - Fidel
Written by Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Monday, April 06, 2009 3:32:56 PM
FORMER Cuban president Fidel Castro has said the famous Summit of the Americas to which the island is excluded has proved to be dismal.
Following his two-hour long discussion with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega who visited Cuba late last week, Castro further wondered why Cuba remained banned from the Americas meetings.
“Cuba has always shown its willingness, in new circumstances, to provide maximum cooperation with the diplomatic activities of the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America,” he said.
“Those who ought to, know this well but we cannot be asked to keep silent in the face of unnecessary and inadmissible concessions. Even stones shall speak.”
Castro disclosed that he chatted with President Ortega at length about the “famous” Summit of the Americas due from April 17 to 19 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
“Those summit meetings have a history which has certainly been rather dismal,” he charged. “The first took place in Miami, capital of the counterrevolution, the blockade and the dirty war against Cuba. That summit was held on the 10th and 11th of December in 1994. It had been convened by Bill Clinton, elected president of the United States ion November of 1992.”
Castro said at the time of the first summit, the USSR had just collapsed and Cuba was in the midst of the special period [economic downturn].
He said the Cuban counterrevolutionaries were packing their bags for their victorious return to Cuba.
Castro said former US president, the senior, George Bush had lost elections for his warmongering venture in Iraq and the elected Clinton was preparing for the post-revolutionary Cuba era in Latin America.
He said the Washington Consensus was equally in full swing.
Castro said during the meeting President Ortega gave him a large number of paragraphs that were being debated about the final declaration of the upcoming Port of Spain Summit.
He said the Organisation of American States (OAS), to which Cuba is banned since the triumph of the revolution, as the permanent secretary for the Summit of the Americas was dictating guidelines.
Castro accused the OAS of carrying the role assigned to it by
immediate past US president George W Bush. “It contains 100 paragraphs; it seems that the institution likes round numbers to sweeten the pill and give more punch to the document,” he said.
“Surely there are a great number of inadmissible concepts. It will be a litmus test for the peoples of the Caribbean and Latin America.
Could it be a step backwards? Blockade and also exclusion after 50 years of resistance? Who will assume those responsibilities? Who now demands our extinction? Could it be that they do not understand that the days of treaties excluding our people are a thing of the past?
There will be important reservations in that declaration signed by heads of state so that it can be understood that in spite of the changes attained through tough talks, there are ideas which are unacceptable to them.”
Labels: FIDEL CASTRO, SUMMIT
Read more...
UPND refuses to participate in National Indaba
Thursday, April 2, 2009, 15:12
Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) says it would not participate in the national indaba this weekend.
Party leader Hakainde Hichilema said during a press briefing in Lusaka today that UPND wrote recommendations to government last year in December on how to deal with the global Financial crisis prior to the presentation of the 2009 budget.
Mr. Hichilema said UPND was proactive on the matter and tried to engage in consultation because it had projected the impact of the world economic recession on Zambia’s economy.
Mr. Hichilema said it was too late for the government to call for an Indaba when parliament had already approved the budget.
He said that the forum should have been called before the budget approval so that the recommendations that would have financial implications could be incorporated into the national budget.
He further said government had scrapped off wind fall tax which could have been retained with amendments alleging that government’s move was contrary to the consensus that the UPND and President Rupiah Banda had reached when they had a meeting on the 12th of March, 2009.
Mr. Hichilema also accused the government for making an amendment to the Mines and Mineral Development Act that barred the Zambians from owning mines with foreigners as partners.
He advised the government to consider the involvement of the local people in the country’s economic activities aimed at restoring the nation’s economy.
Meanwhile, the opposition party says the National Constitution Conference (NCC) deliberations should be concluded by the end of June 2009.
Mr. Hichilema that this will enable government to cut on excessive spending and channel the resources to paramount areas such as the health and education systems.
He also recommended that the ZESCO limited should not be allowed to increase the electricity tariffs by the proposed 66 per cent as more than 80 per cent of Zambians were unable to access electricity.
He noted that once the tariffs have been increased, the demand of charcoal would rise posing a threat to the environment as efforts to discourage environmental degradation would be affected.
ZANIS/MP/ENDS/MM
Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, SUMMIT, UPND, ZESCO
Read more...
Exert economic influence at G20 summit, Fidel tips China
Written by Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Wednesday, April 01, 2009 4:37:22 PM
FORMER Cuban president Fidel Castro has tipped China to exert enormous economic influence at the forthcoming G20 summit in London. And Fidel wondered how much Christianity remains in the political thinking of US Vice-President Joe Biden who has ruled out lifting the American embargo against Cuba.
In his regular column, Reflections by Comrade Fidel published on Monday, Fidel said China was the future great economic power.
"As one can see, the influence of the Peoples' Republic of China at the London meeting will be enormous from the economic point of view vis-à-vis the world crisis," Fidel stated. "That would have never happened earlier when the power of the United States used to prevail totally in this field. On the other hand, it is amusing to see the unrest at the entrails of the empire, full of insurmountable problems and contradictions with the peoples of Latin America which it intends to dominate forever and ever."
The G20 comprise Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the USA and the European Union.
The G-20 is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies, that is 19 of the world's largest national economies plus the European Union.
Last year in November, the G20 met at heads of government level in Washington DC, USA following the financial meltdown. The grouping of these countries that represent 85 per cent of the global national product, 80 per cent of world trade including EU intra-trade and two-thirds of the world population is a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters of international financial system.
The London meeting is expected to further come up with initiatives or measures to curb the ongoing global economic crisis whose epicentre is the US.
The agenda for the London G-20 leaders summit billed for tomorrow include; coordinated macro-economic actions to revive the global economy, stimulate growth and employment, reform international financial institutions [the International Monetary Fund, Work Bank and Financial Stability Forum], and reforming and improving financial sector and systems.
And Fidel stated that he was saddened by US Vice-President Biden's pronouncements.
He said Vice-President Biden while in Viña del Mar ruled out the lifting of the economic blockade against Cuba.
Fidel also noted that Vice-President Biden said he longed for an internal transition in Cuba.
He stated that what Vice-President Biden was wishing for amounted to counter-revolution.
"It is so sad to hear his plaintive laments especially when there is not a single Latin American and Caribbean government that does not perceive a millstone from the past in that antediluvian measure," stated Fidel. "What kind of ethic subsists in United States policy?
How much of Christianity remains in the political thinking of Vice-President Biden?"
Labels: FIDEL CASTRO, G20, SUMMIT
Read more...
Sadc backs US$10bill Zimbabwe plan
Floyd Nkomo
Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:54:00 +0000
Front row, from left: Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, King Mswati III of Swaziland and South African President Kgalema Motlanthe pose for a family photo in Mbabane, Swaziland, on March 30, 2009 during a summit of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit. Political unrest in Madagascar took center stage at a special regional summit in Swaziland where leaders were also set to finalize an economic recovery package for Zimbabwe. SOUTHERN African leaders agreed to lobby for and help
finance a plan costing between US$8 billion and US$10 billion to rebuild Zimbabwe’s economy and help it tackle the humanitarian crisis.
The plan comes exactly 24 months after the bloc met during an Extraordinary Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where an economic rescue package was proposed.
The plan, drawn up by Zimbabwe's inclusive Government, calls for US$2 billion in “short-term relief,” South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told reporters near Swaziland’s capital Mbabane today, where leaders of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a 15-nation regional grouping, are meeting.
"We were able to come up with an undertaking that in two weeks' time we should come back with concrete measures we would take,” Nhlanhla Nene, South Africa’s deputy finance minister, told reporters.
“In principle, all countries have undertaken to support in whatever way they could, in kind and also to assist in lobbying for support.”
South Africa immediately donated US$30 million to be disbursed in tranches of US$10 million over the next three months.
Speaking to reporters on arrival at Harare International Airport last night, President Mugabe described the Extraordinary Summit as the best summit held since the process towards the inclusive Government began.
"From our point of view, it was a very good meeting, the best we have had so far since all the discussions that took place on the inclusive Government," said President Mugabe.
"Collectively all of them (heads of state and/or government or heads of delegations) promised and agreed that they would wage a campaign in the donor world to raise funds for Zimbabwe, that’s one.
"Two to get sanctions lifted, that there would be a group that would go round to the countries that have imposed sanctions, to ask them in a vigorous way to lift those sanctions, and that group would comprise, among others a Zimbabwean minister or ministers.’’
Foreign Affairs Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said a committee of finance ministers that will be tasked with lobbying all the countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe to lift them and also to approach multilateral lending institutions to restore the country’s lines of credit was set up.
"An active campaign is going to be launched, where those who have imposed sanctions are going to be called upon to lift those sanctions. This is not going to be confined at the level of ministers alone, but all Sadc embassies are going to undertake this campaign to see that sanctions are lifted as speedily as possible. So that it is no longer a task of Zimbabwe’s missions abroad, but all the 14 Sadc countries have committed themselves to ensuring that their diplomats around the world are going to undertake this campaign to ensure that the sanctions are lifted as speedily as possible."
South Africa has been tasked with lobbying western countries to support the Zimbabwean package at the G20 Summit which opens in London on Thursday.
Western countries like Britain and the US have refused to lift sanctions and back the recovery plan saying they want to see that Zimbabwe’s new inclusive Government is functioning effectively before they are prepared to assist it.
The US State Department on March 20 rejected an appeal by President Mugabe for sanctions to be lifted. The US maintains sanctions against Zimbabwe with notorious pieces of legislation like the Zimbabwe Democracy Recovery Act (Zidera) passed in 2002 banning US companies from trading with Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe will need $8.5 billion in aid over the next two to three years and the inclusive Government has asked for US$1 billion in budget support and a US$1 billion line of credit in the “short- term,” Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube told reporters Monday.
On March 25, the International Monetary Fund said it would not release aid to Zimbabwe until the country has cleared its arrears of about US$130 million.
The IMF stopped lending to Zimbabwe in 1999. In 2003 the Washington-based lender suspended Zimbabwe’s voting rights.
IMF Measures
The African Development Bank said on Feb. 26 that Zimbabwe owes it $460 million, which must be repaid before it can resume lending.
Zimbabwe is taking measures to qualify for new loans from the IMF, Finance Minister Tendai Biti told reporters.
“We don’t want a lot from the IMF,” Biti said. “The IMF just gives you a seal of approval” which will enable the country to approach other donors for financing.
Sweden has given Zimbabwe about $15 million in aid recently, Biti added.
The Sadc comprises South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mauritius, Angola, Swaziland, Seychelles and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
While South Africa gave Zimbabwe 300 million rand (US$31 million) in aid in October last year and plans to donate 225 million rand more over the next three years, many other countries in the region are not in a position to give money.
“This has come at a time when all countries are going through a tough time,” Nene said. “It’s not going to be easy to find real financial support.”
[Just to add, the African Development Bank is one of the 'Multilateral Finance Institutions' which the Secretary of the Treasury has instructed it's US director to vote against the extention or rescheduling of any loan or credit, see section 4C of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001. The African Development Bank is one of the institutions listed in Section 3 - MrK]
Labels: HARARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, SADC, SANCTIONS, SUMMIT
Read more...
SADC acquitted itself well - MDC
By By Brighton Phiri and Chibaula Silwamba
Monday April 14, 2008 [04:00]
SOUTHERN Africa Development Community (SADC) has acquitted itself relatively well, Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) general secretary Tendai Biti said yesterday. Addressing journalists at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka at the break of dawn shortly after SADC executive secretary Dr Tomaz Solomao and Zambia’s foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande read a communiqué prepared by the heads of state and government at the end of their 12-hour deliberations on the Zimbabwean post-election stand-off, Biti acknowledged the SADC leaders’ courage to hold an emergency summit which he said was an acknowledgement that things were not right in Zimbabwe and that something had to be done.
“We thank them for that, we welcome what they have achieved but I think in many ways more than one, the statement SADC communiqué exposes the limitations of quiet diplomacy which others have equated to the past destructive policy of constructive engagement which other countries pursued against the apartheid regime in South Africa,” Biti said.
“But I want to emphasise that from where they are coming from, this is a major improvement and I think that SADC has acquitted itself relatively well. What is critical is to ensure that when President Mbeki executes his new found mandate as facilitator, there is more vigour, more openness and there is complete abandonment of policy of quiet diplomacy which so far has not achieved anything.”
Biti said MDC understood the communiqué to mean that within the context of African diplomacy and within the context of SADC itself, the SADC leaders were sending a message to President Mugabe’s regime.
“This message pertains in particular to (a) delaying in the results (b) the issue of the abuse of the rule of law around the results, (c) the issue of the absence of the rule of law in the context of the environment that is existing in Zimbabwe – the issue of the militarisation and the violence in the countryside,” Biti said.
“The fundamental questions are the following; was this free and fair election? We maintain that Zimbabwe is not capable of producing a free and fair election and the fact that there was relative peace and quiet on the 29th of March, 2008 different from, say, the position in 2002 does not detract from the fact that this was not free and fair environment.”
Biti said according to the wording in the communiqué, the SADC leaders tried to persuade MDC to participate in the runoff elections.
“What SADC is trying to do is seducing us to say ‘well, if there are guarantees of the rule of law and conditions and the results indicate a runoff then everyone should participate’,” Biti observed.
“It’s almost like begging us to participate if there are right conditions and of course they have to do that because of the consequences of us not participating to legitimise any person who would want to participate in that election. Of course, they will be concerned about legitimacy in the region because that is why there is a SADC charter to ensure that there is stability and legitimacy in the region.”
However, Biti said Zimbabweans were more concerned about democracy. He said the situation in Zimbabwe was militarised and polarised.
“It’s a very tense atmosphere,” said Biti. “Even some of us when we go back, we are not sure if whether parts of our bodies will not be dismantled. The regime is back in its natural default settings which is that of violence, intolerance and propaganda.”
According to the communiqué, the SADC member states, with exception of Zimbabwe, held informal consultations with Zimbabwe’s presidential candidates MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent candidate Simba Makoni.
“Both opposition leaders confirmed that the elections were held in a free, fair and peaceful environment. Whilst they do not have a problem with the election results of the senatorial, parliamentary and local authority elections, they expressed concerns on the delay in announcing the results as well as lack of their participation in the verification process of the presidential results currently being conducted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC),” read the communiqué in part.
According to Pande, the summit urged the electoral authorities in Zimbabwe to expeditiously conduct the verification and release the results in accordance with the law.
He said the summit also urged all the parties in the electoral process in Zimbabwe to accept the results when they are announced.
“The verification and counting must be done in the presence of candidates and/or their agents, if they so wish, who must all sign the authenticity of such verification and counting.
SADC offers to send its Election Observer Mission who would be present throughout such verification and counting,” read the communiqué. “If such verification and counting makes it necessary for the parties to go for a runoff, the government is urged to ensure that the runoff elections are held in a secure environment.
The summit appeals to ZEC to ensure strict compliance with the rule of law and SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.”
Earlier, a pocket of MDC supporters chanted their party slogans when Tsvangirai arrived around 15:00 hours to meet the SADC leaders.
Women of Zimbabwe Arise national co-ordinator Jane Williams and her few supporters picketed the SADC leaders as they drove into Mulungushi Conference Centre. “Beaten, jailed but still determined to free,” read the banner.
Tsvangirai left the summit around 00:40 hours yesterday amid tight security after his consultations with SADC leaders. While Tsvangirai was briefing SADC leaders, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila took a 10-minute stroll around Mulungushi International Conference Centre amid tight security.
As he walked around, President Kabila quietly talked to himself as he stretched his hands. When he returned to the new wing of the conference centre to join his colleagues, President Kabila’s entourage and that of Tsvangirai past each other without the two leaders talking to each other.
The summit was attended by Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos who is also chairperson of SADC’s organ on politics, defence ad security cooperation, Botswana’s new President Lt Gen Seretse Ian Khama, President Kabila, Mozambique’s President Armando Emilio Guebuza, Namibian President Hifikepunya Pohamba, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, Lesotho’s Deputy Prime Minister Lesao Lehohla, Mauritius local government minister James David, Swaziland’s public service and information minister Charles Magongo, Tanzania’s foreign affairs and international deputy minister Seif Iddi represented his President Jakaya Kikwete – who is also African Union (AU) chairperson, Zimbabwe’s rural housing and social amenities minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Madagascar’s Ambassador Dr Dennis Andriamandroso and the host - Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa who is also SADC chairperson.
Labels: MDC, SADC, SUMMIT, TOMAZ SALOMAO
Read more...
Mugabe in talks ahead of summit
By BBC
Saturday April 12, 2008 [08:16]
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is meeting his South African counterpart, amid indications he will not attend a summit on the post-election crisis. Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare, hours after state media reported Mr Mugabe would be represented by ministers at the Zambia SADC summit. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party claims it won presidential elections on 29 March.
Tensions are growing in Zimbabwe, with no official results yet released.
Members of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting on Saturday in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, to discuss Zimbabwe's post-election deadlock.
In an apparent snub to the SADC and Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, Zimbabwean state radio said President Mugabe would be represented by three ministers.
Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga had earlier said the summit had been "called without consultation with the Zimbabwean government".
Correspondents say that if Mr Mugabe does boycott the summit it will be his first public sign of weakness since the election two weeks ago.
They say his absence would make it easier for Mr Tsvangirai to repeat that he won the election fair and square.
Wearing thin
The summit comes amid growing pressure on Mr Mugabe to release the results of the presidential poll held two weeks ago.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown made his most scathing comments yet on Mr Mugabe, saying he was "appalled" at signs of violence and intimidation.
"I cannot understand why it is taking so long to announce the result of the Presidential elections," Mr Brown said in a statement released late on Friday.
"I am appalled by the signs that the regime is once again resorting to intimidation and violence."
He said: "the international community's patience with the Mugabe regime is wearing thin".
'Responsibility to act'
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the SADC for "their timely initiative" and for "mobilising and co-ordinating to help Zimbabwe overcome its post-electoral crisis through peaceful means".
"The secretary-general is concerned that the situation in Zimbabwe could deteriorate if there is no prompt action to resolve this impasse," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
Mr Ban's predecessor, Kofi Annan, also called for the SADC leaders to push for "a peaceful and just solution" to the "political crisis in Zimbabwe".
"They have a grave responsibility to act; act not only because of the negative spillover effects on the region, but also to ensure that democracy, human rights and the rule of law are respected."
He warned that Zimbabwe was standing "on the brink".
Strike call
Zimbabwean police have banned political rallies "with immediate effect", amid growing tension over the disputed presidential election.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called for a strike starting on Tuesday to pressure the authorities.
Its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been touring southern Africa, urging leaders to put pressure on Mr Mugabe to step down.
He says he won the vote outright and has refused to take part in any second, run-off presidential poll with Mr Mugabe.
In the parliamentary vote also held on 29 March, Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF lost its majority in the House of Assembly for the first time since independence.
Mr Tsvangirai has accused Mr Mugabe of mobilising Zimbabwean security forces and pro-Zanu-PF forces to intimidate MDC voters.
He also accuses Mr Mugabe of interfering with the work of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
Mr Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
Labels: MUGABE, SADC, SUMMIT
Read more...
Summit should have been on fair trade
EDITOR — I am at a loss trying to understand what the EU-Africa Summit was supposed to achieve besides coming up with the well-orchestrated declarations which have no substance but constitute a mere wish list. The objective of the EU-Africa Summit should have been how to develop Africa and stop Africans going to look for greener pastures in Europe. This can be achieved by ensuring that skilled Africans are employed in their own countries instead of being accepted with welcoming arms in Europe.
There are more African doctors, nurses and engineers in Europe than there are in Africa. European countries have set up agencies in African countries to actively recruit these professionals and yet they want us to believe that these recruits are refugees "fleeing bad governance and human rights abuses". France and other EU countries have set up a fund to send such migrants back to Africa because of the problems they are encountering from unemployed migrant youths born in Europe.
Some from West Africa are drowning trying to cross the high seas to Europe in rickety boats. Migrants from Zimbabwe actually afford to fly to Europe in comfort.
The real focus for any dialogue between Africa and Europe should be on fair trade and investment in manufacturing of goods from primary products produced in Africa. Europe must not see Africa as a threat in global trade. European companies are happy to set up manufacturing plants in Asia but not in Africa.
Africa cannot be just the supplier of labour and primary products to Europe. It should be treated in the same way Asian countries are being treated, if not better, in order to achieve equitable distribution of trade and development.
Albert Nhamoyebonde.
Harare.
Labels: SUMMIT
Read more...
Zambia is being denied an opportunity to earn a living, says Mwanawasa
By George Chellah in Lisbon, Portugal
Monday December 10, 2007 [03:00]
Zambia is being denied an opportunity to earn itself a living, President Levy Mwanawasa has said. And President Mwanawasa said Zambia could earn at least US$150 million per year on beef exports if the export rules were to be relaxed. Addressing the plenary session of the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, Portugal, President Mwanawasa said Africa's competitiveness would lie in agriculture for some time.
"Due to the limited domestic markets, Africans must depend on outside markets. It is known that this requires eliminating agricultural subsidies for farmers in the industrialised world. But where is the action?" President Mwanawasa asked.
He said Zambia was disappointed with the hygienic conditions imposed on its agricultural exports.
"It is the same agricultural goods that European tourists and officials enjoy so much in African hotels. In Zambia, many European officials living in the country carry our beef in cooler boxes to share with friends in their home countries when they go visiting," President Mwanawasa said.
"Unfortunately, in their official capacities, the officials deny their citizens at large the opportunity to eat this nice meat because they say it fails to meet European standards."
President Mwanawasa further said Zambia could earn at least US $150 million per year on beef exports if the export rules were to be relaxed.
"This amount is close to what the EU gives us in aid per year. You can therefore see that we are being denied an opportunity to earn ourselves a living," he said.
On trade, President Mwanawasa said a key recommendation on trade was for the European enterprises to gain courage and come to invest in Africa.
"They are the ones with the better technology, capital base and market connections to sell produce from Africa," President Mwanawasa said.
"By exporting goods and services from Africa, purchasing power in the host countries will gradually increase as they make payments for local inputs. In turn, this will boost local businesses through expanding domestic markets."
He said the challenge facing both continents was to eliminate the fears of the European investors most of which were based on ignorance about conditions in individual African countries.
"This is amazing given the long historical relationships between our continents. The experiences of the newly industrialising countries in eliminating such fears in Africa can act as a lesson to all of us," said President Mwanawasa.
The EU-Africa summit will officially closed yesterday.
President Mwanawasa is expected to leave the Portuguese city of Lisbon today and arrive in Lusaka tomorrow.
Labels: CATTLE, SUMMIT
Read more...
I exercise in the gym - Levy
By Noel Sichalwe
Sunday December 02, 2007 [03:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa yesterday said he is physically fit because he exercises in a gym at Chamba Valley. And President Mwanawasa has retired Zambia National Service (ZNS) commandant Major General Mike Mbao and replaced him with Zambia Army deputy commander Major General Raphael Chisheta.
President Mwanawasa has also dropped ZNS deputy commandant Brigadier General Moses Chipika whom he promised to relocate in foreign service in due course. President Mwanawasa congratulated Maj General Chisheta and Brig Gen Chipika on their appointment and wished them well.
"On behalf of the nation, I have no doubt that you will succeed in your appointments," he said.
And responding to questions from journalists at Lusaka International Airport before he left for a four-day state visit in Germany enroute to the European Union/African Union summit in Portugal, President Mwanawasa said he had been exercising in the gym for one hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
"You can see me, I am quite fit. Yes, I get sick like everybody else but I am fit," President Mwanawasa said. "I invite you to come to Chamba Valley gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
You will see what I do. I spend one hour in the gym. Come and see the sweat, then you will see how fit I am. You can see how I have reduced on my weight."
President Mwanawasa said he was running the country in partnership and that if he decided to delegate some responsibilities to Vice-President Rupiah Banda, he should not be faulted for that. He was answering a question on why he delegated Vice-President Banda to attend the Commonwealth meeting in Uganda last week.
There has been growing speculation that President Mwanawasa was not in good health, hence his delegating Vice-President Banda on a number of assignments in the recent past.
And on the EU/AU summit in Portugal, President Mwanawasa said the summit would focus on many challenges. He said his expectation was that the summit would find solutions to problems and make the burden lighter.
President Mwanawasa said it was unfortunate that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had decided not to attend the summit. He, however, said it was consoling enough that Prime Minister Brown had sent somebody to represent him.
President Mwanawasa noted that Britain had been pressuring the Zimbabwean government to improve their way of living.
"Now, I have said the nation faces a lot of challenges. UK is a leader, it is one of the powerful nations in the developed world and it is our colonial empire. Now, he shouldn't get tired of speaking and he must continue until the harvest.
I appeal to Gordon Brown and the entire British nation that they should continue with their efforts until the situation in Zimbabwe has been resolved," he said.
President Mwanawasa said leaders attending the summit were determined to ensure that the summit was a success and he was glad that most of the European leaders would attend.
He congratulated and thanked Portugal for having sent a letter of invitation to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to attend the summit. He said President Mugabe has confirmed receiving the invitation letter last Friday.
On former president Frederick Chiluba's expected press conference today,
President Mwanawasa said people should celebrate that Zambia was still around and that leaders should not concentrate on who did what project when in office.
He said although the environment had improved, he did not expect the poor people to be resuscitated immediately.
President Mwanawasa said the government was working towards efforts meant to create employment opportunities through agriculture and manufacturing, among other sectors.
"Job creation and wealth creation are means of improving the living standard of people. Everything we have done and are doing is intended to provide relief to the poorest of our people," said President Mwanawasa.
Labels: MWANAWASA, SUMMIT, ZIMBABWE
Read more...
Zimbabwe Not Excluded From EU-Africa Summit
Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2007
By Oupa Segalwe
BuaNews (Tshwane), Pretoria
April 15, 2007
Zimbabwe will not be excluded from the Europe Union (EU) - Africa Summit to be held in Lisbon despite the EU's sanctions on the troubled state. South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said Friday that Zimbabwe, as one of the 53 member states of the African Union (AU), will be part of the summit to be held in December.
She was responding to journalists following her meeting with Portuguese counterpart Luis Amado, in which they discussed bilateral political and economic issues. "If Europe is meeting us (AU) at that level, it cannot dismember us. It's not about insisting that, one attends, that the other does not. "We want to co-operate with the EU as it is known.
"We can't say we want to co-operate with the EU, but not quite with Portugal. That will not be the EU, it will be something else, Dr Dlamini-Zuma said.
In February, the EU renewed its sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government for another year due to the economic and human rights situation in that country.
The sanctions, which were first implemented three years ago, include a ban on Mr Mugabe and other government officials from traveling to EU countries.
The summit, which was supposed to have taken place in 2003 was indefinitely postponed due to opposition from some EU nations who did not want Mr Mugabe to attend the event as a result of the situation in his country.
Dr Dlamini-Zuma said the significance of the summit should not be reduced by differences between the EU and one country.
Dr Amado said the issue of sanctions on Zimbabwe should be separated from the summit.
"The issue of sanctions is one issue; the summit is one other issue ... we need to structure for the future a strategic partnership with the African Union to promote the interest of both continents.
"We should not compound strategic partnerships... because there is a problem with different countries, this is not compatible with what we have at stake," Dr Amado said.
Dr Dlamini-Zuma said South Africa was looking forward to the summit, which will take place in a period when Portugal would have assumed duties as the President of the EU.
"Europe and Africa are two neighbouring continents that have historic obligation to continue to work together. So, the summit will assist in working out a road map for our future cooperation," she said.
Other than discussing conditions and important points of the agenda for the summit, the meeting also touched:
- The South Africa - European strategic partnership;
- United Nations Reform and South Africa's tenure as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council; and
- Conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa.
Labels: EU, SUMMIT, ZIMBABWE
Read more...
