COMMENT - My comments didn't quite make it through the moderation process at M&G, so I have posted them here in full, below this article. Anything to puncture the lovely little DA bubble at Mail & Guardian and Thoughtleader.
So read more below. Thought Leader
The perfect way to celebrate Mugabe’s birthday
Posted by: Sarah Britten
Posted on: February 22, 2012
This week, there was a significant birthday. Possibly the most significant birthday in the world judging by the amount of coverage it got. The English might have a public holiday for the birthday of the Queen, but no octogenarian’s longevity continues to fascinate the world quite like that of Robert Mugabe.
The spectre of Zimbabwe continues to hover in the background, just out of focus. Here’s the one big difference between us and our troubled neighbour: our Constitution. Under our Constitution, the rule of law is paramount. A Mugabe isn’t possible.
Which makes our Constitution quite important. All those rights in there make a very real difference to you every single day. Even if there’s a lot to complain about, even if you’re angry and frustrated by this country, life without our Constitution wouldn’t be very pleasant for anyone except those at the top.
This means that it’s in our interests to support the Constitution, even if we don’t like everything in it.
Why does this matter? If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you might have noticed a trend developing. The POIB, invasions of privacy, talk of how the Constitutional Court has too much power. All those talk show callers who say the Constitution is too gay, or too liberal, too this or that. The Constitutional Court interferes with the running of the country, according to an SMS to Redi Tlhabi this morning.
This is dangerous, because it all adds up to the slow and steady erosion of the document that is the cornerstone of our democracy. Remember what it was like to live under a regime with no regard for dignity and equality?
Our Constitution shares a birthday month with Robert Mugabe, and because we want to celebrate 15 years since it came into effect, we’d like you to make a public statement about why you love our Constitution here, on Facebook or on Twitter.
We’re asking you to make a public statement because it’s only when we do things for others to see – and we see others doing the same – that they are meaningful. It’s important that people are seen to support something. Without public support across the board – not just the desktop activists – the Constitution is vulnerable. If people don’t understand something, they won’t care about it, and if they don’t care about it, they won’t fight for it if it ever comes under threat.
That’s why it matters that you tell the world why you love our Constitution. Caring about it isn’t enough. You need to show that you care.
Two minutes to write a short message isn’t asking a lot (we’ve even made it easy for you by giving reasons to love our Constitution here). If we can vote for Idols, if we can rustle up no less than 3.6 million votes for Table Mountain, surely we can express our support for something that makes a massive difference in our lives every day.
Ignorance and apathy are our enemies.
It’s time that we, the people did something about it.
PS From the Daily Sun to Gareth Cliff, we’d like to thank everyone who has supported this campaign to date. To those that haven’t, even though they routinely talk about threats to the supremacy of the Constitution, what can we say? We’re surprised. This campaign will not work unless there is hype around it, and we can’t do it on our own.
********
MY COMMENTS
Zimbabwe, the country that owns 20% of the world’s known diamond reserves, has a lot to celebrate, and a lot to have put right.
” The spectre of Zimbabwe continues to hover in the background, just out of focus. Here’s the one big difference between us and our troubled neighbour: our Constitution. Under our Constitution, the rule of law is paramount. A Mugabe isn’t possible. ”
The problem is that South Africa has maintained it’s apartheid economy, where Zimbabwe has not. South Africa’s land reform is yet to come. As is the nationalisation of the gold and diamond mines.
” Ignorance and apathy are our enemies. It’s time that we, the people did something about it. ”
Agreed, but we’ll have to disagree on what that is.
President Mugabe is an African hero. He has a spine of steel, and an IQ that is probably in the high hundreds. He didn’t receive a knighthood (Knight Commander in the Order of Bath) for nothing.
Compare that with the modern politicians, who live in fear of the markets, and as a result do not respond to the wishes of their own people. There is more to democracy than regular elections, although Zimbabwe has not missed an election since independence, 32 years ago.
Whether it is a dimwitted stooge like Morgan Tsvangirai, or a highly intelligent but sociopathic snake like Tony Blair, they don’t measure up.
The real measure of leadership is: how many children are in school; does the money generated by industry remain in the country or is it shipped straight out to pad the accounts of trillionairs in Zurich or some other tax shelter; what is the level of economic equality among citizens.
On landreform – to compare, this is the situation before land reform in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the EU – average size per commercial farm:
EU – 90 hectares
South Africa: 1350 hectares
Zimbabwe: 2500 hectares
The Fast Track land reform program redivided the land into 50 and 250 hectare plots (slightly more in low rainfall areas).
Was it extremely violent? No. In total, 6 white farmers were killed out of 4500, in a period of 10 years. How does that compare to South Africa, without land reform?
Farmers
SA 40,000
killed: 600 (1.5%)
ZW 4,500
killed: 6 (0.13%)
In other words, it is 11.25 x safer to be a white farmer in Zimbabwe, than in South Africa. Including during land reform.
Think about that, and compare it to the official impression created by the media.
Especially consider the fraudulent hitpiece called Mugabe And The White African (to see a review of both the book and the ‘documentary’ on my blog, google: mugabe white african maravi). According to Judy Woodruff on PBS, this hitpiece was financed by The Economist Magazine.
Well guess who is on the board of The Economist, the same individuals who are the largest shareholders in Anglo-American De Beers, the world’s largest diamond miner. Zimbabwe owns 20% of the world’s diamonds. I will take financial interests and greedy people being greedy over any official version of events any time.
Remember the myth of 3 million Zimbabweans living in South Africa – for which the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Witwatersrand University could not find an actual source, and then ask the question – if they and the reporters can’t produce a source, what is the claim based on? Answer: nothing.
(Source: Special Report: Fact or Fiction? Examining Zimbabwean Cross-Border Migration into South Africa, by the Forced Migration Studies Programme & Musina Legal Advice Office) (For the entire report, google: “Fact or Fiction Examining Zimbabwean”)
After a decade of well financed propaganda against Zimbabwe, President Mugabe, land reform, and African self rule, the people of Zimbabwe are taking over agriculture, and are producing, without the return of the white farmers to ‘show them what to do’.
MAIZE (metric tonnes)
2008 400,000
2011 1,500,000
TOBACCO (kg)
2008 34mn
2011 174mn
(Source: New farmers doing well: Biti; google: new farmers doing well biti maravi)
That turnaround is the result of the stabilisation of the currency and a relenting of drought, which gives a clue to the real issues at hand.
1) The destruction of the Zimbabwe Dollar by ZDERA
2) (Small scale) irrigation is the future of agriculture
The Zimbabwe Dollar was destroyed by a piece of legislation called the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, sponsored by Bill Frist, co-sponsored by Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Russ Feingold and Jesse Helms. Which is a story in itself.
In the wording of Section 4C, Multilateral Financing Restriction, which put a credit freeze on the Zimbabwean government in the year 2002, which caused the collapse of trade *in the year 2002* (not in 2000, when there were ‘farm invasions’):
” … the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against–
(1) any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or
(2) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution. ”
(Google: s494 107th govtrack)
Clearly, these are not the ‘targeted sanctions’ (targeted at hundreds of indivduals and companies) that the media talks about and pretends are the only sanctions against Zimbabwe. They are aimed at the entire government of Zimbabwe, and have been for 10 years now.
Economic sanctions are aimed at the entire government of Zimbabwe, and have been for 10 years now. And we know from history what the effect of economic sanctions are – they are like a medieval siege, intended to wear down the general population until they turn against their leadership. Economic sanctions killed an estimated 500,000 women and children in Iraq. Why would they have a more positive effect on Zimbabwe?
The sudden absence of credit caused a shortage of foreign currency, which led to printing of the national currency (collusion by Gideon Gono – I don’t know), and of course billboard inflation (economic sabotage) and hoarding completed the financial attack.
The message was clear – this is what happens when you go up to the likes of the owners of Anglo-American, which also control the IMF, World Bank, etc. – the trillionaires.
What happened to Zimbabwe is the real face of globalisation, and like the Ethiopian emperor’s address to the League Of Nations in 1936, should serve as a warning to all.
Welcome to globalisation, trillionaire style.
Labels: APARTHEID, LAND REFORM, NEOCOLONIALISM, ROBERT MUGABE, SOUTH AFRICA
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Kruger Park to meet union about strike, salaries
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Feb 25 2012 15:57
The Kruger National Park has said it would meet with union representatives in a bid to end the
nearly month-old strike by field rangers. Spokesperson Gabrielle Venter said a meeting would take place in the coming week.
"A joint task team meeting will take place on [February 29] in order to consider the extent of salary disparities, where identified, and recommend measures to be implemented to ensure salary parity," she said in a statement.
Workers have demanded equal salaries across the board. They believe employees in similar positions should earn equal salaries regardless of varying years of experience or training. The park has hired retired rangers and has been assisted by the South African Police Service and the SA National Defence Force during the strike.
A meeting was held on February 22 between South African National Parks (Sanparks) and the Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa), one of the main unions operating within Sanparks.
'Concerns being addressed'
Discussions centred around finding an amicable resolution to salary disparity concerns raised by a group of non-unionised employees, currently on strike.
The parties have also agreed to review the Subsistence and Travel Policy before April 1, to benchmark Sanparks' salaries against those of similar organisations.
Venter said discussions so far had given positive results and that salaries had been increased by 26% over the past two years and an average of 35% for employees in the Paterson A and B Bands respectively.
"The parties further resolved to call upon all striking employees to return to work as their concerns are being addressed," said Venter.
--Sapa
Labels: UNIONS, WILDLIFE
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Mealie meal prices in Mwansabombwe reduced by 35%
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, February 25, 2012, 4:44 pm
Mealie meal prices in Mwansabombwe palace of Mwata Kazembe and surrounding areas in Kawambwa district have been reduced by K25, 000.
A check by Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Mwansabombwe yesterday discovered that a 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast meal from APG milling company which was previously selling at K70, 000 is now selling at K45,000
The check also revealed that a 25 kilogramme bag of roller meal is now costing K35, 000 from the previous K65, 000.
And Thomas Chingele who was found selling the commodity also told ZANIS a five kilogramme of breakfast and roller meal is selling at K6, 000.00 and K5, 000.00 respectively.
Mr Chingele said people in the area are happy at the drastic reduction of mealie meal prices attributing this to good governance of the Patriotic Front (PF) government.
He thanked the PF government for facilitating in the reduction of mealie meal prices saying this has enabled many people in the area afford thecommodity.
Mr Chingele said people in the area had suffered enough and the reduction in price could not come at a better time than now.
Mr Chingele however, could not give other reasons for the immediate reduction in price of the staple food but said the source also had a similar reduction hence the chain reaction to the benefit of consumers.
Efforts to get a comment from APG milling company failed as the contact phone number was not going through at press time.
ZANIS
Labels: INFLATION, KAWAMBWA DISTRICT, MEALIE-MEAL, MWANSABOMBE, MWATA KAZAMBE
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Tsvangirai ‘fraud’ sucks in Biti, Makuvise
Posted by By Our reporter at 23 February, at 00 : 17 AM
FINANCE Minister, Mr Tendai Biti and Zimbabwe Ambassador to Germany, Mr Hebson Mukuvise have come under the spotlight as documents show them as involved in a US$1.5 million investigation involving Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The documents show that Minister Biti (left) held a number of meetings with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) top officials and the Prime Minister over the purchase of the Mr Tsvangirai’s official residence.
As reflected in minutes of the meetings and several letters of the discussions on the urgent need to release funds to purchase the Prime Minister’s official house in 2009, Minister Biti wrote to RBZ Governor advising that he had concurred with Prime Minister that RBZ can release US$1.5 million the PM’s official residence.
According to the letter written by Mr Biti to Dr Gono, the US$1.5 million was released on condition that the finance minister would pay RBZ an equivalent amount.
But Mr Biti released another US$1.5 million to buy the same house that RBZ had paid for.
Dr Gono wrote a letter directing the transfer of US$1.5 million into Tony West Real Estate’s account at ZB Bank without going to tender.
Asked to comment, Minister Biti, who is outside the country, admitted to ZBC News that he gave an assurance to Dr Gono that treasury would pay back the amount.
Mr Biti, however, said the RBZ Governor did not give him feedback on whether he had released the US$1.5 million or not.
The finance minister said he would clarify the issue on Monday.
In separate documents obtained by ZBC News, Arthstone and Cook allegedly connived with Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Germany, Mr Makuvise (right) to use the legal firm’s account to stash US$1.250 million which was ‘fraudulently’ deducted from the US$1.5 million released by RBZ for the Prime Minister’s house.
In another development, Mr Makuvise wrote six letters instructing Interfin Bank to transfer US$120,000 in batches of US$10,000 and US$20,000 to buy his personal stand in Shawasha Hills.
Speaking from Germany, the Ambassador scoffed at reports and documents implicating him in the scandal, saying they are just ‘petty issues’ which he cannot discuss.
However, the last transaction history shows that out of the US$1.5 million released by the RBZ, only US$570,000 was left in the account by July last year and how the bulk of the cash was used remains a mystery.
PM Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change, issued a statement denying the charges, saying that a Zanu-PF faction was behind a negative publicity against Mr Tsvangirai.
President Mugabe, however, warned against rushing to conclusions regarding the issue.
“What we don’t want is people getting arrested on the basis of evidence which is not clear and on the basis of inadequate evidence,” he said.
MDC spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said the “so-called double-dipping scandal is nothing but part of a sting operation to collapse the GNU [Government of National Unity] and rush for elections without agreeing on key reforms”.
Labels: MDC CORRUPTION, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, TENDAI BITI
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Kasukuwere threatens to seize mines
24/02/2012 00:00:00
by Business Reporter
EMPOWERMENT Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has warned that the government will seize mining companies resisting the country’s empowerment programme adding those still to comply have two weeks to submit acceptable proposals.
Kasukuwere told a parliamentary committee Thursday that
between 20 to 30 mining companies were dragging their feet over the indigenization programme under which requires foreign companies sell a 51 percent stake to local Zimbabweans.
“We have had challenges that some companies were dilly dallying and we are no longer going to negotiate with them. We have closed all negotiations with mining firms and what we want is to see compliance with the law,” he said.
“We have now indicated to them, about 20 to 30 companies that were dillydallying, that the time for negotiations is over. We have given them two weeks to lodge their plans on transfer of shares.”
“The companies that refuse to comply will leave us no option but to take them over, the law is clear on that one.”
Kasukuwere said some 200 companies have submitted proposals for complying with the legislation adding 54 have been accepted while the rest are still being assessed.
“There is a law and I am not going to negotiate with anyone in its implementation. If anyone wants to change the indigenisation law they must bring it to Parliament,” he said.
“None of them (the three principals) said they do not want the law. We sit together in Cabinet and they have never said they do not want the law.”
The MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has however demanded a new “genuine” empowerment policy, blasting the current programme as “asset stripping and self aggrandizement” by members of an already wealthy black elite.
“The party restates that Zanu PF’s programme … is based on a narrow model of transferring shares to a few black elite that can afford them and does not amount to genuine wealth creation and distribution,” the party said following a meeting of its national council in December.
“The (MDC-T) therefore calls for the starting afresh of the whole programme and the development of a genuine broad-based upliftment programme which balances the need to attract investment, grow the economy and create jobs.”
Economic commentators have also warned that the programme could undermine much-needed foreign investment in an economy struggling to recover from a decade-long recession.
Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), NATIONALISATION, SAVIOUR KASUKUWERE
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Tsvangirai vows to block Mugabe election push
24/02/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowed Friday to block a push by President Robert Mugabe to hold new elections this year insisting political reforms must be completed to ensure the poll outcome is not disputed. "Only after the necessary reforms have been implemented with the president and I agree on the date of elections," Tsvangirai told a press conference in Harare.
“I agree with the President that we have cowards who are afraid of a poll. Cowards refuse to implement reforms that will result in a free election.
“Cowards beat up people to coerce them into supporting them.
“Cowards are afraid of facing me in an election. Their best bet is to field a tired candidate because they believe he is the only one who can stand against Morgan Tsvangirai.
The MDC-T leader’s remarks came after Mugabe insisted in interviews marking his 88th birthday this week that he would call new elections this year.
Mugabe claims the coalition administration is no longer workable and has expressed frustration with delays in the writing of a new constitution, one of the key reforms parties to the coalition deal agreed must be completed before new elections can be held.
But Tsvangirai accused Zanu PF cabinet ministers of stalling the reforms but said he would not be pushed out of the shaky power-sharing government.
"I want to assure everyone, yes we have had to bear with frustrations but thank goodness we are made of sterner stuff. No one is going to push us out," he said.
Tsvangirai also accused Mugabe of breaching the country’s constitution by unilaterally reappointing police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri.
The Zanu PF leader recently defied his coalition partners and extended Chihuri’s contract arguing that as commander in chief of the security services he did not need to consult anyone.
"I don't know why the appointment of security chiefs was being discussed. How were they appointed in the first place? They continue to be appointed by those who appointed them in the first place,” Mugabe said in an interview with state media.
"This is an important issue to do with national security. It is an issue that rests with the President only. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.”
However, Tsvangirai said Friday his party would not recognise Chihuri’s reappointment.
“The Police Service Commission which according to the Police Act, must be consulted in the process of the appointment of the Commissioner General has not been re-constituted,” he said.
“The President’s re-appointment of Augustine Chihuri is therefore contrary to the unambiguous dictates of the Constitution.
“I have made it clear to the President that he is in breach of the Constitution and that I and the party I lead will not recognise Chihuri’s appointment as legitimate.
“He is a party appointee. This is nothing personal, but it has everything to do with abiding by the laws of the land.
“Let me put it this way. We have a President who indicates left and turns right.”
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS (ZIMBABWE), MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
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Top MDC-T official denies plotting to kill rivals
23/02/2012 00:00:00
by Violet Gonda I VOA
A SENIOR MDC-T official has dismissed as ridiculous and malicious allegations he plotted to kidnap and kill top officials of his own party. Toendeipi Shonhe, the party’s director general, was arrested Monday but released on the same day after signing a warned and cautioned statement. Police investigations are continuing.
He is
accused of ordering party youths to kill party leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s aide Dennis Murira, director of security Denson ‘Okolo’ Muchineuta and Smart Mesa, another security aide. Shonhe has previously been at the centre of power struggles within the MDC-T.
In 2010 he was assaulted by party youths when clashes broke out at the party's Harare headquarters in what was described as factional violence.
Party insiders blamed Shonhe’s arrest on power struggles between a faction loyal to Tsvangirai and another said to be backing Secretary General Tendai Biti. Shonhe is said to be in the Biti camp while Murira allegedly backs Tsvangirai.
But both Shonhe and Murira denied the party was rocked by in-fighting, in separate interviews with VOA.
Still, Shonhe’s lawyer Harrison Nkomo said the police charge sheet showed that Murira was one of the individuals who filed a complaint with the police.
But the Prime Minister's aide told Violet Gonda that although he received death threats he was not the one who went to the police.
“I never went to the police, but some guys who also felt that their lives were in danger did," Murira said.
"All I know is that they had received threats just like me.”
However, Shonhe dismissed the allegations as 'totally false' adding there were ‘misguided elements’ being used by Zanu PF to divide the MDC-T.
“I find the allegations to be very malicious because the people I am accused of threatening are all juniors to me and there is no competition. In any case I work very well with all those people.”
Labels: ARRESTS, MDC, MDC VIOLENCE, TENDAI BITI, TOENDEPI SHONHE
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See land issue for what it really is
EDITORIAL Feb 24 2012 00:00
For the past 100 years the land question has been at the centre of the bitter struggles waged by blacks against white minority rule following the Land Act of 1913 and later the Group Areas Act.
The land question is, therefore, a sensitive issue and should be handled with the utmost care because it has the potential to cause civil war and racial polarisation. Our immediate neighbours are a case in point.
The liberation of Zimbabwe from British rule was negotiated at Lancaster House in 1979 under the British foreign secretary, Lord Carrington. During the talks, Zimbabwean freedom fighters made several concessions to the British, which included the land question. The parties agreed to follow a gradual approach to the issue of land redistribution rather than a
radical approach of land seizures.
But, more than 10 years later, little had happened and for many years the land question remained a dream deferred in Zimbabwe. When his rule came under threat, President Robert Mugabe, therefore, used land to unleash terror and violence against his own people and political opponents demanding change;
[Actually, that is the MDC propaganda line. Over 200,000 families have been resettled under the Fast Track (post-2000) land reform program alone. That can hardly be done by 'unleashing terror and violence against his own people', now can it? 10 years after the fact, can we finally cut through the propaganda? - MrK]
many of those have since crossed the border to South Africa in search of better living conditions.
[Which has everything to do with the destruction of the Zimbabwe Dollar by ZDERA in 2002. Maybe something the Mail & Guardian would like to start reporting on? - MrK]
It is against this background that we find the statement by Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Pieter Mulder that Africans have no claim to 40% of South Africa as grossly inappropriate and ill-considered. Mulder’s nonsense will resonate with the ultra-right-wing groups who believe that they are under siege under the black-led government.
Although they are a minority, our feature story on pages 24 and 25 is illustrative that there are people still trying to cause racial strife and, preparing militarily for such an eventuality. If he is not careful, Mulder could reinforce the fears and insecurity of these right-wing militants.
Former president Nelson Mandela’s enduring legacy is one of reaching out to Afrikaners to the extent that, at some point, it even antagonised his ANC supporters. He worked hard to accommodate Afrikaners and embrace them.
Mulder is a member of the executive not on merit, but in yet another effort to represent the interest of Afrikaners who do not truly feel part of the Rainbow Nation. Mulder should, in representing them, articulate their concerns, but he must also remember the pain and hurt of the “Bantu-speaking people”. He must remember this is 2012.
However, it would be a shame if we were to waste our Mulder moment. We should use it to reflect on why the issue of land has again been raised and why it evokes such emotion among all of us. The land reform process as driven by the government has been slow in South Africa and has even led some in the ANC and society at large to argue for the expropriation of land without compensation, because the willing-buyer and willing-seller option has not been the best way to address land redistribution.
Mulder’s diatribe deflects from the real issue. We should be asking why land restitution is happening at such a slow pace and also why those who have been resettled are battling to use the land beneficially. This is not the time to entertain fire starters such as Mulder and his ilk. If the ANC fails to take the correct decisions about land reform and redistribution at its policy conference in June, we will all suffer inevitably.
Labels: ANC, LAND REFORM
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Share price of an Aussie listed company up 45% after announcing the discovery of high grade copper in Mumbwa
TIME PUBLISHED - Thursday, February 23, 2012, 6:08 pm
An Australian-based resources company called Blackthorn Resources caught investors’ attention in Australia when it announced that it had discovered high grade copper from its Mumba project exploration. The Company reported that it had intersected the best copper intersections recorded to date at the Company’s 100% held Mumbwa Project.
Included in this intersection were the high grade lengths of; 17 metres at 14.88% copper from 211 metres; 10 metres at 10.06% copper from 265 metres; and 10 metres at 9.11% copper from 283 metres.
Blackthorn is exploring the area for Iron Oxide Copper-Gold style of mineralisation.
Drilling is ongoing at the project, with the phase five program to include 19 holes for around 9700 metres, and will wrap up in about a months’ time – with assays to follow thereafter.
By the close, Blackthorn’s shares had added $0.315 or 44% on the day to $1.025, with more than five million shares changing hands.
[Proactive Investors news]
Labels: COPPER
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COMMENT - The efficiency of circumcision in preventing HIV infection is entirely based on 3 surveys, 2 of which were 'stopped short for effect', which is stastitical jargon for saying that the researchers stopped the survey, as soon as they had the data they wanted. In other words, there is no scientific evidence that circumcision prevents HIV infection. There are billions of dollars in grants and aid (i.e., debt) available. UNAID$ is continuously involved in medical fraud. They are the ones who fought tooth and nail to maintain the Antenatal Clinic Surveys as a basis for estimating national HIV prevalence rates, even when it was clear ANC's massively overstate HIV prevalence among the general population in Africa. For detail on why these studies are unscientific,
see comments added below the article. Impact of male circumcision on HIV doubted
22/02/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
MALE circumcision is
a dangerous distraction in the fight against HIV/AIDS, researchers have warned insisting that contrary to widespread claims the procedure only reduces transmission rates by no more than 1.3 percent.
Zimbabwe is among several countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have launched mass male circumcision campaigns after the World Health Organisation (WHO) and
UNAIDS recommended the procedure in 2007 as an effective HIVAIDS preventive measure.
The WHO/UNAIDS recommendation was based on clinical trials carried out in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda which suggested that circumcision could reduce female-to-male HIV transmission by up to 60 percent.
Thousands of men have undergone the surgical nip and tuck since Zimbabwe launched the campaign in 2009 with promoters enthusiastically claiming that if at least 80 percent of the adult male population was circumcised about 750 000 cases of HIV infections could be prevented.
But new research has cast doubt on the supposed efficacy of the procedure with an article in the December Australian Journal of Law and Medicine citing numerous flaws in the Kenya, South Africa and Uganda studies.
Researchers Gregory J. Boyle and Gregory Hill claimed the 60 percent reduction in transmission was only relative with the absolute reduction rate actually no more than 1.3 percent.
Boyle and Hill said: “What does the frequently claimed ‘60 percent relative reduction’ in HIV infections actually mean?
“Across all the three female-to-male trials, of the 5,411 men subjected to male circumcision, 64 (1.18 percent) became HIV positive while among the 5,497 controls 137 (2.49 percent) became HIV positive.
“So the absolute decrease in HIV infection was only 1.31 percent, which is statistically not significant.”
The authors of the article insisted that the WHO/UNAIDS recommendation “uncritically accepted” the findings of the Kenya, South Africa and Uganda trials, in the process ignoring a vast body of contradictory evidence.
“Examination of epidemiological data shows that male circumcision does not provide protection against HIV transmission in several sub-Saharan African countries including Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania all of which have higher prevalence of HIV infection among circumcised men,” they said.
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“In Malawi, the HIV prevalence rate is 13.2 percent among circumcised men and 9.5 percent among those who are intact. (Again) in Cameroon prevalence among those circumcised is 5.1 percent compare to 1.5 percent for those who are intact.
“If male circumcision reduces HIV transmission as the trials claim then why is HIV prevalence much higher in the United States (where most men are circumcised) than in developed countries where most men are intact (such as Europe, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia)?”
The article warns that relying on male circumcision in the fight against HIV/AIDS is especially dangerous for sub-Saharan Africa women because circumcised men could still acquire and transmit the virus to their sexual partners.
“Evidence suggests that mass circumcision programs may exacerbate the HIV epidemic among women (and) under these circumstances it would be irresponsible and unethical to advocate mass circumcision programmes in southern Africa,” the article concludes.
“Male circumcision is a dangerous distraction and a waste of scarce resources that should be used for known preventive measures (such as condoms which are 80 percent effective.”
******************************************************************************
Comments:
The evidence that circumcision stops HIV infection in men is extremely thin. The policy is based on three studies, all carried out around the same time, in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.
In all cases the number of seroconverting men was very small compared to the study size, and in two cases studies were stopped early, increasing the risk of documenting bias. In their review of randomized clinical trials that have been stopped early, VM Montori et al concluded:
"RCTs stopped early for benefit are becoming more common, often fail to adequately report relevant information about the decision to stop early, and show implausibly large treatment effects, particularly when the number of events is small. These findings suggest clinicians should view the results of such trials with skepticism."
Randomized trials stopped early for benefit: a systematic review.
It is alarming that such a drastic policy as mass circumcision would be based on such thin evidence.
(South Africa, 2006) Randomized, Controlled Intervention Trial of Male Circumcision for Reduction of HIV Infection Risk: The ANRS 1265 Trial
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16231970
(Kenya, 2007) Male circumcision for HIV prevention in young men in Kisumu, Kenya: a randomised controlled trial.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17321310
(Uganda, 2007) Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17321311
CONCLUSIONS: RCTs stopped early for benefit are becoming more common, often fail to adequately report relevant information about the decision to stop early, and show implausibly large treatment effects, particularly when the number of events is small. These findings suggest clinicians should view the results of such trials with skepticism.
JAMA. 2005 Nov 2;294(17):2203-9.
Randomized trials stopped early for benefit: a systematic review.
^ Mills, J.; N. Siegfried (October 2006). "Cautious optimism for new HIV/AIDS prevention strategies.". Lancet 368 (9543): 1236.
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69513-5. PMID 17027724.
""The inferences drawn from the only completed randomised controlled trial (RCT) of circumcision could be weak because the trial stopped early.
In a systematic review of RCTs stopped early for benefit, such RCTs were found to overestimate treatment effects. When trials with events fewer than the median number (n=66) were compared with those with event numbers above the median, the odds ratio for a magnitude of effect greater than the median was 28 (95% CI 11--73).
The circumcision trial recorded 69 events, and is therefore at risk of serious effect overestimation. We therefore advocate an impartial meta-analysis of individual patients' data from this and other trials underway before further feasibility studies are done.".
Labels: CIRCUMCISION, FRAUD, HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS
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COMMENT - A rightwinger and son of white supremacist is part of the ANC government? That is a little too much 'inclusiveness'. The writer of the article is a coward, who is covering his behind throughout with editorializing and name calling. However, the land of redistribution of land to the 45 million South Africans who were robbed durign apartheid must be addressed. Hopefully by more courageous writers in the future.
Mulder makes case for Mugabe heroism
23/02/2012 00:00:00
by Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya
WHEN Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as president in 2009, the loudest cheer from the elite of the new South Africa inauguration went out for his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe who attended.
Mugabe had a year earlier unleashed a
frightening spectre of violence that forced Morgan Tsvangirai to quit the race, allowing Mugabe to be the only horse on course and therefore the “winner” of the election. Many could not understand why such a man would be regarded as a hero. This week, they hopefully got the answer to why so many South Africans held Mugabe in high regard.
For all of Zanu PF and Mugabe’s faults, a Zimbabwean equivalent of a Pieter Mulder would never as much as imagined pitting the indigenous people against the descendants of colonialists to contest Africans' claim to African land. Mulder said this week “Bantu-speaking” people had no historical claim to up to 40% of South Africa.
Mugabe is a megalomaniac and a dictator who does not know when to call it a day.
[Hyperbole, editorializing and a lot of cya. Keep it on topic. - MrK]
But he and his government have been better than South Africa’s in helping address the formerly oppressed’s psychological scars of living under white racism and the unwillingness to accept that they have visited untold harm on black people by denying them their political and human rights.
A lot is said and written about how the likes of Julius Malema are a threat to racial peace and harmony. Truth is, it is the Mulders of this world who are a greater threat to national cohesion.
Mulder best personifies why many black people believe that their white compatriots have spat on the hand they extended in the name of building a non-racial society.
Mulder – son of Corne Mulder, the co-founder of the white supremacist Conservative Party – is a junior minister in a government popularly elected by those his father’s party had decreed were defective human beings and therefore fair game because they were not white.
Every opportunity Mulder gets, he uses to carp at the state or, as he has now done, venture an ahistoric statement he can live with rather than accept the truth he cannot handle: that African people’s claims to Africa is unquestionable.
For as long as there are arrogant denialists like Mulder in our midst a Robert Mugabe – or even worse, an Idi Amin –
[Coward. Also, Idi Amin worked for the British all of his career. - MrK]
who has the gumption to “put the oppressors or exploiters in their place” will be appealing to some.
If Deputy Minister Mulder cannot appreciate the governing party’s efforts, often at the risk of alienating its own constituency, to show it harbours no ill-intentions, then South Africa has more problems than it is ready to admit.
With the willing-buyer-willing seller having failed to deliver a fair land restitution regime; employment equity figures showing that it will take 126 years before there will be a fair reflection of all of South Africa’s talent in the workplace; and up to 98% of the poorest being black, Mulder and his type test the patience of black South Africans. They bring to question whether the Nelson Mandela-Desmond Tutu approach to nationhood is worth the indignity visited upon them.
Failure to appreciate the role of land dispossession in the material and psychological subjugation of black people makes the Mulders a real threat to the nationhood the likes of Tutu and Mandela were willing to stake their legacies on.
They are the incubators of the Idi Amin or Hitlers, indifferent to the niceties of nation-building and only interested in their narrow understanding of how a historic wrong is corrected.
Fascists and strongmen tend to materialise when a people who have endured degradation and oppression decide they’d rather live in dignity than in a democracy that perpetuates their dehumanisation.
The dispossesed have stomached more than their fair share. Mulder should not try their patience. If he does he should be prepared for “war veterans” who ignore the rules of engagement.
Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya is a columnist for South Africa's City Press newspaper
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COMMENTS
RG_M
Silly article.......how dare you call our Great President a dictator and megalomaniac! What is the point of you article as you seem to contract yourself throughout......Mugabe has done what South Africans will never do, and that is reclaim their property back from thieves and making it into law that their property will never be stolen again. In SA you demonise Malema for what? Silly people! Leave our Great President alone!
Kavhu
Another neo-liberal apologist for the pale devils,how this sick type drives me mad.Instead of talking of the problems South Africa is beset with in the like of the blattant rejection of the hand pro-offered by the African in reconciliation,the idiot would rather point north as his focal point from which those problems are supposed to emanate.Bullsh!t.
Instead of galvanizing the African brotherhood (point of correction,and sisterhood) down south to confront these racist Mulders head-on and reclaim that which is God given to them, no to this pathetic type (Vincent Gwaradzimba below is the typical Zimbabwean specimen of it) would rather apologise for the white racist.
In their view white previlage must be approached softly-softly as is the thread throughout this nausiating piece of rubbish of an article.To them,no it cannot be the white baas who is wrong, therefore it must be Julias Malema. No,they say in their stupid logic,that sees reason where there is none,if we equate President Mugabe to Hitler and Idi Amin we will placate the Mulders of this world by showing ourselves as being the good Africans who will not upset the whiteman's stolen apple-cart.SH!T !!!!!!
Any wonder our sister Letta Mbuli,in true African Sisterhood,sang the song,"Not Yet Uhuru".By the way that was in 1994 and the song is today banned with no air-play on SABC in a South Africa supposedly ruled by the ANC. While black South Africans are very free to accept their miserable lot,it is very wrong for them to wish Zimbabwe failure as vindication for their lack of courage. Perhaps he, Fikile Nstikelelo Moya will still be around 126 years from now when Uhuru finally visits South Africa per the learned projection.
Labels: ANC, APARTHEID, LAND REFORM, ROBERT MUGABE
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Mangoma orders mass ZESA disconnections
22/02/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THOUSANDS of homes face electricity disconnections as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) moves to recover unpaid bills of over US$450 million, the Energy Minister warned on Wednesday.
Elton Mangoma said he wanted to “thank and applaud” those who paid their bills on time, but added that he was “disheartened to note that there are still customers who have not paid at all since the advent of dollarisation in 2009”.
He told a news conference: “This culture of non-payment of bills will not be allowed to continue.
“There is a need for electricity consumers to pay for what they have consumed so that ZESA has capacity to increase electricity availability to all consumers.”
Zimbabweans have become accustomed to power outages over the last decade as the state-owned power utility struggles to meet demand, made worse by collapsing power generation infrastructure and massive debts to foreign suppliers.
Mozambican power supplier Hydro Cahora Basa last week threatened to cut supplies to Zimbabwe over an US$80 million debt, down from about US$100 million at the end of last year.
Mangoma said ZESA aimed to make a further US$40 million payment “in the near future”, while urgently seeking to implement plans to draw power from the Batoka Gorge on the Zambezi – a joint project between the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Batoka Gorge will produce 1,600 to 2,000 MW of power - 50 percent of which will be for Zimbabwe.
But Mangoma insists that ZESA could boost current supply through more rigorous maintenance, increased imports and installation of new capacity if defaulting customers settled their bills.
He said: “Payment of bills is very important as we take measures to build new power stations. We cannot raise funds to build new power stations when the current of non-payment prevails.
“ZESA has availed to customers a facility to propose workable (payment) plans, and regrettably some customers have chosen either to ignore this or not to honour their payment plans, leaving ZESA with no option except to withdraw supplies.
“All customers currently in arrears run the risk of disconnections."
The Energy Minister said defaulters would be given a notice of five days. To avoid disconnection, or to be reconnected where power supply has been suspended, defaulters would be required to pay a minimum of 25 percent of the total bill, with the balance to be paid off “in an approved payment plan with ZESA for a period not exceeding six months”.
Labels: ELTON MANGOMA, ENERGY, ZESA
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MMD threatens to expel pro-PF MPs
By Bright Mukwasa
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 12:00 CAT
THE MMD has threatened some of its members of parliament with expulsion from the party for voting with PF over the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini and for supporting the ratification of Director of Public Prosecutions Mutembo Nchito.
According to an internal memo dated 22 December, 2011 obtained yesterday addressed to all members of parliament and signed by MMD national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe, the party had observed with disbelief the treacherous conduct of some of its members of parliament against the very principles of the party that sponsored them.
"It has now been decided forthwith that failing to adhere to an agreed party position with the leader of the opposition and the MMD Whip shall constitute a serious offence under our party disciplinary regulations and may result in expulsion from the party, "read the letter in part.
"You are therefore to take heed of this timely warning."
According to inside sources, the memo was prompted by the voting pattern exhibited by most new MMD parliamentarians who were being perceived as pro-PF.
The source said the party got incensed after it failed to marshal the numbers during the voting for Speaker of National Assembly despite the scrutiny that it subjected members of the opposition to.
"Most new members were upset and very disappointed with the memo. You know NEC wants to control our voting by threats but most members have refused to bend. We have said we shall support all progressive policies of the PF," one MMD member of parliament said.
"And those that have been voting for PF in the House have suffered isolation, that is why even when they go for their petitions, no senior member of the party turns up to support them. We pay K1million as contribution to the running of the secretariat and this is what we get. Some of us have been paying petition legal fees out of our pockets."
The source said they were told that the manner they debated in parliament was like they did not represent an opposition political party.
Labels: MMD, MPs, PF
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Mazabuka realignment Demonstrations
By The Post
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 12:00 CAT
IT is not right, and there is no need, for the police to stop demonstrations in Mazabuka against the removal of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi districts from Southern Province. And one doesn't need to belong to a registered organisation to enjoy freedom of expression, the right to protest government decisions or actions.
There is no need to cancel these demonstrations. Let them demonstrate and say all that they want to say. What the police need to do is simply police or manage the process so that it is peaceful and arrest those, and only those, who become violent and destructive. Cancelling demonstrations is not something that will lead to peace, law and order.
It is something that will lead to lawlessness and breakdown in order because those whose fundamental rights of freedom of expression have been violated should not be expected to react politely. You are taking away their fundamental rights, their humanity and you expect them to react politely.
When they explode, you want them to explode politely! Why? We can only say this is not the right way to deal with the Zambian of today - you are dealing with a wrong Zambian at the wrong time in the wrong way.
We maintain that freedom of expression is the mark of humanity. Freedom of expression is a precious thing, and the inalienable birthright of all who travel this earth. And freedom of expression doesn't exist so that we can freely praise and agree with our public officials, with our President. It exists so that we can freely criticise them, disagree with their decisions and actions.
Freedom of expression is about tolerance - to believe, speak, congregate and lobby as you see fit, while allowing others to do likewise, even people whose expressions you find abhorrent.
Tolerance for demonstrations, protests is the touchstone for democratic societies. Liberty of expression benefits more than the protestor, the demonstrator. We all suffer the violation of our liberties if they are denied the right to express themselves, to protest the President's realignment of some districts in Southern Province.
It seems our politicians and our police officers never learn that suppressing expression can be worse than the underlying conduct. In our popular discussions, unwise ideas must have a hearing as well as wise ones, dangerous ideas as well as safe, unpatriotic as well as patriotic. The need to protect what we detest is the reason freedom of the mind both exists and remains under siege. Liberty is one thing no person can have unless he grants it to others.
And we don't believe any tyrant, any totalitarian regime ever succeeded in imposing a moratorium on thought, on expression.
And men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely. It is easy to embrace freedom of expression for ideas we accept. But the essence of freedom of expression is that we must protect the ideas we hate, we disagree with.
The freedom of expression must be fought for and won over and over again. The first step in this battle is to understand the threats we face. It is the fervent of ideas, the clash of disagreeing judgments, the privilege of the individual to develop his own thought and shape his own character that makes progress possible.
We all know that the impulse to restrict individual rights is as ancient as the very history of mankind. We are better than that impulse. What we have to do is to find ways to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.
In a democracy, the freedom of discussion and the freedom of expression are of the highest value. Without them, democracy turns into a caricature.
It may be argued by the police and their political masters that it's necessary to stop these protests. But we have heard this before. This was the argument in the Mongu protests that led to the deaths and maiming of so many innocent people. Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants.
We think the greatest thing about freedom of expression is that it extends to everyone, the wise and the foolish. Some of the arguments coming out of those opposed to Michael Sata's realignment of districts are really foolish. But they have the right to be foolish and say whatever they want to say.
Every person should have an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he or she pleases before the public; to forbid this, to stop this, is to destroy the freedom of expression. Of course, appreciating the fact that the right to express oneself in any form does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
You cannot have a democracy and you cannot have a community if you do not have a way to share ideas. Only a strong and secure democracy can guarantee the fullest and freest exchange of ideas, no matter how much those ideas hurt or incite.
It is not right to stop people from protesting the decisions and actions of their president. The decision by the police to stop protests in Mazabuka is wrong and should be opposed. We have to stand for what is right and not worry about what is politically feasible. Freedom is never given; it is won. And all freedom springs from necessity.
We can disagree or agree with the realignment of districts. There is nothing wrong with that. But we cannot afford to disagree in defending freedom of expression. We should all defend the rights of those people in Mazabuka who want to protest the realignment of districts. In our view, our sincere view, they are wrong in their opposition to the realignment of districts. They are opposing something that is right, just and legal. Their arguments are very poor and jaundiced in many aspects.
But they are right in protesting these realignments. It is within their constitutional rights to do so. And let's all come together - whether we agree or don't agree with them on realignment of districts - and defend their rights to freedom of expression, their rights to protest government decisions and actions. On this we should all agree to disagree with our government's decision to stop their protest.
Some people erroneously believe that having freedom of expression is a natural phenomenon. It is not. It is the result of intense care and vigilance. And if there is any principle of our Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment more than any other, it is the principle of free thought and expression - not free for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought we hate.
We must suppress our emotions on this issue. The idea of diversity becomes our strength, sacred to us - the range broadening, the potential becoming a way and a song. Many have fought this reality. We know the wounds. To hear one voice clearly, we must have the freedom to hear them all.
The right of peaceable assembly and of protest is the constitutional substitute for a revolution. To silence criticism is to silence freedom. And while enjoying your freedom of expression, it is wise to remember that the toes you step on today may be connected to the rump that you must kiss tomorrow.
We shouldn't forget that the suppression of any individual or group of people for opinion's sake has rarely had any other effect than to fix those opinions deeper and render them more important than they should be. And freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, protest and debate.
The arguments of those opposed to the realignment of districts have little, or no, merit. But there is merit in their right to protest what is being done by their government.
And those in government have a duty to explain what they are doing and why they are doing it; and they should never get tired of explaining and of seeking support for their decisions and actions. But there is laziness and arrogance on the part of those in government.
They think they can do as they please since they are the government and no one has the right to question what they are doing as long as they are acting within their constitutional authority. Life is not like that. To govern is to continually communicate with the people.
And instead of trying to suppress their protests, allow them to do so and after they have do so, go there and hold your own meeting and explain what you are doing to the people.
If you fail to convince them, think twice about what you are doing and probably go back to the drawing board.
Labels: DEMONSTRATION, DISTRICTS, MAZABUKA DISTRICT, PROVINCES, SOUTHERN PROVINCE
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Anti-realignment activists flood Mazabuka with fliers
By Henry Chibulu in Mazabuka and Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 11:59 CAT
A youth group calling itself "Mazabuka Youth Entrepreneurs" opposed to President Michael Sata's realignment of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi districts yesterday distributed over 3,000 fliers in strategic places in readiness for today's demonstration which has been cancelled by police.
Mazabuka Police has cancelled the demonstration on grounds that the organisation the youths are purported to be representing is fake and not registered.
Mazabuka district officer commanding Lizzy Machina warned the demonstrators against breaking the law but instead follow procedure to avoid prosecution.
But youth coordinator, Grovies Mushibwe and his group distributed the fliers carrying messages which stated: "Say no to dictatorship" and "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmarks".
The youths through the fliers have also warned that not even an inch of the land belonging to Southern Province would be removed by the head of state.
And Mushibwe said police yesterday summoned him to explain why the permit was not granted, but was however quick to point out that his group was advised to re-apply and a fresh application was re-submitted the same day (yesterday).
Mushibwe, who is also MMD Mazabuka constituency youth chairman, is organising the demonstration with his UPND counterpart Mwendabai Pelekelo and nine others, some believed to be Tonga fundamentalists.
Citizens Forum Mazabuka chairperson, Mussolini Buumba, who is the elder brother of Mazabuka Mayor Lloyd Buumba is among the organisers.
The youths had invited MMD presidential aspirant, Nevers Mumba and UPND Mazabuka member of parliament, Garry Nkombo to take part in the demonstrations and according to organisers, the two leaders were just waiting for confirmation with regards to police granting the youths a permit.
According to the organisers of the demonstrations, youths from other districts would join the other demonstrations set for February 29.
But Mazabuka District Commissioner Eugine Munyama warned the demonstrators not to test the wrath of the law.
He said the demonstration was illegal because Mazabuka was not Chirundu or Itezhi-tezhi.
"Yes, I can confirm receipt of the letter from the youths informing me of the demonstration to be held today. However, I will not involve myself in illegal activities aimed at frustrating government efforts," said Munyama.
Munyama wondered why the MMD and UPND were inciting youths to demonstrate when people in the affected districts were quiet and happy with the realignment of the districts by the head of state.
He wondered why politicians found pleasure in creating disturbances in Mazabuka when people in other districts were going about their economic activities despite the pronouncements.
And Southern Province members of parliament, chiefs, councillors, women and youth groupings will meet in Choma on March 12 to come up with a common resolve over Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi.
In an interview yesterday, Chief Mukuni said the Choma meetings would be held at three different venues with each group meeting separately so that no group influences the other.
"We have resolved as chiefs that we hold a meeting on March 12 at Mahogany while the other stakeholders such as the area members of parliament in the province, councilors, women and youth groupings will hold theirs at separate venues. However, we shall all gather later at the Central Sports Club to have the resolutions of all the groups integrated into one," he said.
Chief Mukuni said the meetings had been organised as a reaction to the government request through Southern Province minister Miles Sampa who on February 17 wrote to chief Mukuni requesting that stakeholders meetings be held and resolutions be given to him for onward transformation to President Sata.
Chief Mukuni, who is also chairperson of the Southern Royal Foundation, said he was opposed to the realigning of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi because it takes away human cultural identity of the people of the two districts.
Chief Mukuni said he was opposed to the realigning on grounds that the move would now entail the teaching of Nyanja and Bemba to school children as is the case in Central and Lusaka provinces.
"The best way to destroy a human being is to destroy his identity, make him feel ashamed of his new identity," he said.
Chief Mukuni said Southern Province chiefs felt short changed over the creation of Muchinga Province when they had also proposed to State House under former president Rupiah Banda to have Southern Province divided into two provinces namely Southern and Zambezi Valley.
"We feel it is difficult for us to believe that the alienation of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi is based on developmental issues as the office of district commissioners have gone back to politicians," he said.
Chief Mukuni accused the PF government of taking away Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi in light of decentralisation so as to take away the high revenues being earned and the anticipated revenue from the Kafue Hydro Power Station in Itezhi-tezhi.
Labels: CHIEF MUKUNI, MAZABUKA DISTRICT
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Government shouldn't engage in panic politics - Saccord
By Moses Kuwema
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT
THE Patriotic Front government should not engage in panic politics, says Saccord. And Saccord has challenged PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba to tell the nation when jobs for district commissioners were advertised by the Public Service Commission.
Commenting on Kabimba's statement that the current district commissioners were being appointed by the Public Service Commission and not the President, Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes information officer Obby Chibuluma said as far as his organisation was concerned, the jobs were never advertised.
"We have never seen these jobs being advertised. The Public Service Commission should show us when these people applied for these jobs because they have the responsibility to ensure that Zambian people know how cadres are being employed," he said.
Chibuluma said there was no need for the PF government to engage in panic politics of using public resources to strengthen party structures through the appointment of cadres as district commissioners.
He said the PF was still enjoying public support and there was no need for them to engage in panic politics.
"Let them just work as per a party because what won them power was that they were going to be doing things differently from the MMD. They should not engage in panic politics because if they are not careful, they are likely to fall in the same trap that the MMD fell in," Chibuluma said.
He said there was no justification for the appointment of cadres into the civil service because it was clear that the party led the appointments.
Chibuluma said his organisation had no problems with the Public Service Commission appointing PF supporters who were qualified for the jobs.
"Much as this might be the time for cadres, but this is a strange way. There are so many ways of appreciating cadres," he said.
Chibuluma said at the rate things were going, the country was likely to see government contracts being given to those who were politically correct.
In several places, including Lusaka and Kawambwa, PF cadres have been appointed district commissioners.
Labels: DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS, OBBY CHIBULUMA, SACCORD, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Continued donor support shows faith in PF government, says Dr Scott
By Lovely Kayombo
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT
VICE-President Guy Scott says the continued support by donors shows that they have faith in the Patriotic Front government.
Speaking on Tuesday when the Danish government handed over a water reticulation and purification plant valued at K800 million to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, Vice-President Scott said donors were initially suspicious of the PF government thinking they were going to wreck the country.
"They donors were very suspicious initially especially the times they thought we were going to wreck the country. Now they are giving us fancy 'katundu' (goods) to maintain and operate; it means they are coming to believe that we know what we are doing, that we know how to rule the country and that we can be relied upon," he said.
Vice-President Scott called on the DMMU to utilise the machine efficiently so that it saves lives and wanes out diseases like typhoid.
He directed the DMMU management to give a report within six month of its utilisation and urged them not to station the plant permanently in some towns to treat water.
Vice-President Scott emphasised that the machine was for emergency supply of clean water only.
"We expect lives to be saved, we expect diseases like typhoid to be on the wane when we get this machine. It might have been very useful in Mufurila if we got it earlier, but please let's use it to show that we know what we are doing and that we are responsible and serious so that he (Danish Ambassador Thomas Schjerbeck) can go back to his government and say Zambia is worth caring for..." said Vice-President Scott.
So beware. There will be political pressures from these donor countries to lessen money on the Third World countries if we don't take care of the things we are given; if we look after things properly, they will feel like giving us more."
And Ambassador Schjerbeck said when disaster strikes in different ways, there was need for quick and efficient help to make sure basic things like pure drinking water was made available to people who are suffering.
Labels: DONORS, GUY SCOTT, PF
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COMMENT - Vienna Conference of 1885, anyone?
Somalia's future is discussed at London conference
By BBC News
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 14:30 CAT
World leaders are attending a major conference on the future of Somalia in London to focus on finding peace and ending threats of terrorism and piracy. As it opened, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the process would generate "new momentum". Somalia has endured more than two decades of civil war and famine.
Representatives from many Somali factions are also attending, but not the Islamist group which controls much of the centre and south of the country. The UK has described Somalia as the "world's worst failed state" but said it needs a "second chance".
Mr Cameron told the gathered leaders, who included US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, that the world would pay a high price if it ignored the plight of Somalia.
During his speech, Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed called for an end to the arms embargo.
Yoweri Museveni, the leader of Uganda - which has provided the bulk of troops for African Union (AU) forces in Somalia - told the gathering African solutions to African problems worked best.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution increasing the number of AU troops in Somalia by 5,000 to more than 17,000. Council members also agreed to extra funding for the mission and to extend its mandate.
'Realistic'
At the same time, Ethiopian and Somali troops took the strategic stronghold of Baidoa in the south-west of the country held by militant group al-Shabab, which recently merged with al-Qaeda.
On Wednesday evening, officials said a bomb planted by the militants exploded in the centre of Baidoa causing minor injuries.
Islamist insurgents who have been fighting the internationally recognised government since 2007 have said the London conference was "another attempt" to colonise Somalia.
"They want us under trusteeship and we will not allow that. God willing we will face the outcome with full force and stop it," a spokesman for al-Shabab, Ali Mohamud Rage, said.
"A stronger America failed and all these Africans failed and we say you should not waste your time, you will lose. We also tell them not to waste their resources."
The UK says its increased focus on the country is justified as the activities of militant groups and pirates operating off the coast of Somalia pose a direct threat to British interests in the region and to both regional and global security.
Naval ships from the UK and other countries around the world have been sent to patrol the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast to deter pirate attacks.
They have foiled a number of kidnapping attempts in recent months but attacks continue - and have been staged further from the shore.
The UK has also said it cannot rule out sending more military advisers to boost its small team currently assisting Ugandan forces part of the AU mission.
Kenya has also sent troops into Somalia to tackle al-Shabab, blaming the group for a number of kidnappings on its territory last year. Its forces will now be absorbed into the AU force following the UN resolution.
Mr Cameron told the UK Parliament on Wednesday that a more co-ordinated approach was needed by the international community to tackle the multiple challenges facing the country.
"This is about trying to put in place the building blocks among the international community but, above all, among the Somalis themselves for a stronger and safer Somalia," he said.
"That means taking action on piracy, on hostages, to support the African Union's mission in the country, it means... working with all parts of Somalia to try and give that country a second chance."
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who visited Somalia earlier this month, says he is "realistic" about what can be achieved in a single day but a more stable Somalia would benefit the region as well as the UK.
Somali leaders have said its challenges cannot be solved by military means alone and a parallel focus is needed on boosting humanitarian aid, education and law and order.
Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the BBC that his country was at a "crossroads" and needed a massive injection of money.
"It is at a very critical juncture in its history," Mr Ali said. "We are moving from an era of warlordism, terrorism, extremism and piracy and we are moving into an era of peace, stability and normalcy.
"Twenty years of lawlessness, violence and chaos is enough. Somalis are ready to move on."
Despite being forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, last year, al-Shabab has continue to stage suicide attacks in the city.
The BBC's Mohammed Dhore in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, says security is extremely tight in the city because of the conference, with more than 50 roadblocks compared to the usual five.
Union Jacks are also flying at major road junctions and government buildings, he says.
Labels: SOMALIA
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Government intention to register London judgment pleases British envoy
By Lovely Kayombo and Ernest Chanda
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 11:59 CAT
BRITISH High Commissioner to Zambia James Thornton says his government is pleased with Zambia's intention to register the London High Court judgment which ruled against late president Fredrick Chiluba and others.
Speaking during the launch of the Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) networking with civil society programme at New Government complex yesterday, High Commissioner Thornton said supporting Zambia in the fight against corruption was a top priority for the UK.
"The situation is that we have seen the press reports about the government looking at the possibility of registering the London High Court judgment here in Zambia and we are pleased of that possibility because it is sending a positive signal. If it (government) is able to do that, then it will be a significant move. We are pleased that government has made fighting corruption a priority because corruption affects everyone in society. Corruption diverts money away from public services and those that need it most, mothers needing health services, children needing education or all men and women needing their pension to be paid," he said.
High Commissioner Thornton said the establishment of offices in all districts by ACC had brought the fight against corruption closer to the people and urged the civil society to be fearless and prove debate on the fight against corruption.
"Zambia of today is a fertile ground for the fight against corruption because it has entered a new phase...it is time for civil society to show leadership and bring about change," he said.
And Transparency Iinternational Zambia president Goodwell Lungu has urged the government not to backtrack on its decision to register the London High Court judgment.
"As TIZ, we have consistently indicated that even the previous government should have registered the London judgment so we feel that the current government should go ahead in registering that judgment. Even the previous Attorney General indicated that the judgment was still active so we hope the PF government will not backtrack on that particular note," said Lungu in an interview.
On Tuesday, justice minister Sebastian Zulu said the government was in the process of preparing a Cabinet memorandum which would decide whether or not to register the London High Court judgment passed in 2007 against Chiluba and others.
Responding to a question from Kabompo West UPND member of parliament Ambrose Lufuma on when the government would register the case in the High Court of Zambia, Zulu said since the issue was started by the MMD government, it was necessary for the PF government to look at it.
Asked by Monze UPND member of parliament Jack Mwiimbu if the procedure would be that Cabinet decided on whether or not to appeal cases instead of the Attorney General's office, Zulu answered in the negative.
"Of course this case was taken to court by the previous government. And it is necessary now to look at it. Of course, procedurally, government has to decide now and has already prepared a memo," Zulu told Parliament.
"It is the intention of the Attorney General to enforce this judgment and they want government input."
In 2007, the London High Court found Chiluba, Faustine Kabwe and Aaron Chungu liable to defrauding Zambians of over US$47 million.
Meanwhile ACC director general Rosewin Wandi said integrity among civil society organisations should be secondary and appealed to all organisations that would be selected to utilise the funds in a transparent manner.
Labels: COURTS, FREDERICK CHILUBA
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Anti-realignment activists flood Mazabuka with fliers
By Henry Chibulu in Mazabuka and Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 11:59 CAT
A youth group calling itself "Mazabuka Youth Entrepreneurs" opposed to President Michael Sata's realignment of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi districts yesterday distributed over 3,000 fliers in strategic places in readiness for today's demonstration which has been cancelled by police. Mazabuka Police has cancelled the demonstration on grounds that the organisation the youths are purported to be representing is fake and not registered.
Mazabuka district officer commanding Lizzy Machina warned the demonstrators against breaking the law but instead follow procedure to avoid prosecution. But youth coordinator, Grovies Mushibwe and his group distributed the fliers carrying messages which stated: "Say no to dictatorship" and "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmarks".
The youths through the fliers have also warned that not even an inch of the land belonging to Southern Province would be removed by the head of state.
And Mushibwe said police yesterday summoned him to explain why the permit was not granted, but was however quick to point out that his group was advised to re-apply and a fresh application was re-submitted the same day (yesterday).
Mushibwe, who is also MMD Mazabuka constituency youth chairman, is organising the demonstration with his UPND counterpart Mwendabai Pelekelo and nine others, some believed to be Tonga fundamentalists.
Citizens Forum Mazabuka chairperson, Mussolini Buumba, who is the elder brother of Mazabuka Mayor Lloyd Buumba is among the organisers.
The youths had invited MMD presidential aspirant, Nevers Mumba and UPND Mazabuka member of parliament, Garry Nkombo to take part in the demonstrations and according to organisers, the two leaders were just waiting for confirmation with regards to police granting the youths a permit.
According to the organisers of the demonstrations, youths from other districts would join the other demonstrations set for February 29.
But Mazabuka District Commissioner Eugine Munyama warned the demonstrators not to test the wrath of the law.
He said the demonstration was illegal because Mazabuka was not Chirundu or Itezhi-tezhi.
"Yes, I can confirm receipt of the letter from the youths informing me of the demonstration to be held today. However, I will not involve myself in illegal activities aimed at frustrating government efforts," said Munyama.
Munyama wondered why the MMD and UPND were inciting youths to demonstrate when people in the affected districts were quiet and happy with the realignment of the districts by the head of state.
He wondered why politicians found pleasure in creating disturbances in Mazabuka when people in other districts were going about their economic activities despite the pronouncements.
And Southern Province members of parliament, chiefs, councillors, women and youth groupings will meet in Choma on March 12 to come up with a common resolve over Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi.
In an interview yesterday, Chief Mukuni said the Choma meetings would be held at three different venues with each group meeting separately so that no group influences the other.
"We have resolved as chiefs that we hold a meeting on March 12 at Mahogany while the other stakeholders such as the area members of parliament in the province, councilors, women and youth groupings will hold theirs at separate venues. However, we shall all gather later at the Central Sports Club to have the resolutions of all the groups integrated into one," he said.
Chief Mukuni said the meetings had been organised as a reaction to the government request through Southern Province minister Miles Sampa who on February 17 wrote to chief Mukuni requesting that stakeholders meetings be held and resolutions be given to him for onward transformation to President Sata.
Chief Mukuni, who is also chairperson of the Southern Royal Foundation, said he was opposed to the realigning of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi because it takes away human cultural identity of the people of the two districts.
Chief Mukuni said he was opposed to the realigning on grounds that the move would now entail the teaching of Nyanja and Bemba to school children as is the case in Central and Lusaka provinces.
"The best way to destroy a human being is to destroy his identity, make him feel ashamed of his new identity," he said.
Chief Mukuni said Southern Province chiefs felt short changed over the creation of Muchinga Province when they had also proposed to State House under former president Rupiah Banda to have Southern Province divided into two provinces namely Southern and Zambezi Valley.
"We feel it is difficult for us to believe that the alienation of Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi is based on developmental issues as the office of district commissioners have gone back to politicians," he said.
Chief Mukuni accused the PF government of taking away Chirundu and Itezhi-tezhi in light of decentralisation so as to take away the high revenues being earned and the anticipated revenue from the Kafue Hydro Power Station in Itezhi-tezhi.
Labels: DISTRICTS, MICHAEL SATA, PROVINCES, SOUTHERN PROVINCE
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Icelandic Anger Brings Debt Forgiveness in Best Recovery Story
By Omar R. Valdimarsson - Feb 20, 2012 1:01 AM GMT+0100
Icelanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger.
Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population, according to a report published this month by the Icelandic Financial Services Association.
“You could safely say that Iceland holds the world record in household debt relief,” said Lars Christensen, chief emerging markets economist at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “Iceland followed the textbook example of what is required in a crisis. Any economist would agree with that.”
The island’s steps to resurrect itself since 2008, when its banks defaulted on $85 billion, are proving effective. Iceland’s economy will this year outgrow the euro area and the developed world on average, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates. It costs about the same to insure against an Icelandic default as it does to guard against a credit event in Belgium. Most polls now show Icelanders don’t want to join the European Union, where the debt crisis is in its third year.
The island’s households were helped by an agreement between the government and the banks, which are still partly controlled by the state, to forgive debt exceeding 110 percent of home values. On top of that, a Supreme Court ruling in June 2010 found loans indexed to foreign currencies were illegal, meaning households no longer need to cover krona losses.
Crisis Lessons
“The lesson to be learned from Iceland’s crisis is that if other countries think it’s necessary to write down debts, they should look at how successful the 110 percent agreement was here,” said Thorolfur Matthiasson, an economics professor at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, in an interview. “It’s the broadest agreement that’s been undertaken.”
Without the relief, homeowners would have buckled under the weight of their loans after the ratio of debt to incomes surged to 240 percent in 2008, Matthiasson said.
Iceland’s $13 billion economy, which shrank 6.7 percent in 2009, grew 2.9 percent last year and will expand 2.4 percent this year and next, the Paris-based OECD estimates. The euro area will grow 0.2 percent this year and the OECD area will expand 1.6 percent, according to November estimates.
Housing, measured as a subcomponent in the consumer price index, is now only about 3 percent below values in September 2008, just before the collapse. Fitch Ratings last week raised Iceland to investment grade, with a stable outlook, and said the island’s “unorthodox crisis policy response has succeeded.”
People Vs Markets
Iceland’s approach to dealing with the meltdown has put the needs of its population ahead of the markets at every turn.
Once it became clear back in October 2008 that the island’s banks were beyond saving, the government stepped in, ring-fenced the domestic accounts, and left international creditors in the lurch. The central bank imposed capital controls to halt the ensuing sell-off of the krona and new state-controlled banks were created from the remnants of the lenders that failed.
Activists say the banks should go even further in their debt relief. Andrea J. Olafsdottir, chairman of the Icelandic Homes Coalition, said she doubts the numbers provided by the banks are reliable.
“There are indications that some of the financial institutions in question haven’t lost a penny with the measures that they’ve undertaken,” she said.
Fresh Demands
According to Kristjan Kristjansson, a spokesman for Landsbankinn hf, the amount written off by the banks is probably larger than the 196.4 billion kronur ($1.6 billion) that the Financial Services Association estimates, since that figure only includes debt relief required by the courts or the government.
“There are still a lot of people facing difficulties; at the same time there are a lot of people doing fine,” Kristjansson said. “It’s nearly impossible to say when enough is enough; alongside every measure that is taken, there are fresh demands for further action.”
As a precursor to the global Occupy Wall Street movement and austerity protests across Europe, Icelanders took to the streets after the economic collapse in 2008. Protests escalated in early 2009, forcing police to use teargas to disperse crowds throwing rocks at parliament and the offices of then Prime Minister Geir Haarde. Parliament is still deciding whether to press ahead with an indictment that was brought against him in September 2009 for his role in the crisis.
A new coalition, led by Social Democrat Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, was voted into office in early 2009. The authorities are now investigating most of the main protagonists of the banking meltdown.
Legal Aftermath
Iceland’s special prosecutor has said it may indict as many as 90 people, while more than 200, including the former chief executives at the three biggest banks, face criminal charges.
Larus Welding, the former CEO of Glitnir Bank hf, once Iceland’s second biggest, was indicted in December for granting illegal loans and is now waiting to stand trial. The former CEO of Landsbanki Islands hf, Sigurjon Arnason, has endured stints of solitary confinement as his criminal investigation continues.
That compares with the U.S., where no top bank executives have faced criminal prosecution for their roles in the subprime mortgage meltdown. The Securities and Exchange Commission said last year it had sanctioned 39 senior officers for conduct related to the housing market meltdown.
The U.S. subprime crisis sent home prices plunging 33 percent from a 2006 peak. While households there don’t face the same degree of debt relief as that pushed through in Iceland, President Barack Obama this month proposed plans to expand loan modifications, including some principal reductions.
According to Christensen at Danske Bank, “the bottom line is that if households are insolvent, then the banks just have to go along with it, regardless of the interests of the banks.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Omar R. Valdimarsson in Reykjavik valdimarsson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net
Labels: IMF, NEOLIBERALISM, World Bank
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How Greece Could Take Down Wall Street
by Ellen Brown
Global Research, February 21, 2012
In an article titled “Still No End to ‘Too Big to Fail,’” William Greider wrote in The Nation on February 15th:
Financial market cynics have assumed all along that Dodd-Frank did not end "too big to fail" but instead created a charmed circle of protected banks labeled "systemically important" that will not be allowed to fail, no matter how badly they behave.
That may be, but there is one bit of bad behavior that Uncle Sam himself does not have the funds to underwrite: the $32 trillion market in credit default swaps (CDS). Thirty-two trillion dollars is more than twice the U.S. GDP and more than twice the national debt.
CDS are a form of derivative taken out by investors as insurance against default. According to the Comptroller of the Currency, nearly 95% of the banking industry’s total exposure to derivatives contracts is held by the nation’s five largest banks: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs. The CDS market is unregulated, and there is no requirement that the “insurer” actually have the funds to pay up. CDS are more like bets, and a massive loss at the casino could bring the house down.
It could, at least, unless the casino is rigged. Whether a “credit event” is a “default” triggering a payout is determined by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), and it seems that the ISDA is owned by the world’s largest banks and hedge funds. That means the house determines whether the house has to pay.
The Houses of Morgan, Goldman and the other Big Five are justifiably worried right now, because an “event of default” declared on European sovereign debt could jeopardize their $32 trillion derivatives scheme. According to Rudy Avizius in an article on The Market Oracle (UK) on February 15th, that explains what happened at MF Global, and why the 50% Greek bond write-down was not declared an event of default.
If you paid only 50% of your mortgage every month, these same banks would quickly declare you in default. But the rules are quite different when the banks are the insurers underwriting the deal.
MF Global: Canary in the Coal Mine?
MF Global was a major global financial derivatives broker until it met its unseemly demise on October 30, 2011, when it filed the eighth-largest U.S. bankruptcy after reporting a “material shortfall” of hundreds of millions of dollars in segregated customer funds. The brokerage used a large number of complex and controversial repurchase agreements, or "repos," for funding and for leveraging profit. Among its losing bets was something described as a wrong-way $6.3 billion trade the brokerage made on its own behalf on bonds of some of Europe’s most indebted nations.
Avizius writes:
[A]n agreement was reached in Europe that investors would have to take a write-down of 50% on Greek Bond debt. Now MF Global was leveraged anywhere from 40 to 1, to 80 to 1 depending on whose figures you believe. Let’s assume that MF Global was leveraged 40 to 1, this means that they could not even absorb a small 3% loss, so when the “haircut” of 50% was agreed to, MF Global was finished. It tried to stem its losses by criminally dipping into segregated client accounts, and we all know how that ended with clients losing their money. . . .
However, MF Global thought that they had risk-free speculation because they had bought these CDS from these big banks to protect themselves in case their bets on European Debt went bad. MF Global should have been protected by its CDS, but since the ISDA would not declare the Greek “credit event” to be a default, MF Global could not cover its losses, causing its collapse.
The house won because it was able to define what “ winning” was. But what happens when Greece or another country simply walks away and refuses to pay? That is hardly a “haircut.” It is a decapitation. The asset is in rigor mortis. By no dictionary definition could it not qualify as a “default.”
That sort of definitive Greek default is thought by some analysts to be quite likely, and to be coming soon. Dr. Irwin Stelzer, a senior fellow and director of Hudson Institute’s economic policy studies group, was quoted in Saturday’s Yorkshire Post (UK) as saying:
It’s only a matter of time before they go bankrupt. They are bankrupt now, it’s only a question of how you recognise it and what you call it.
Certainly they will default . . . maybe as early as March. If I were them I’d get out [of the euro].
The Midas Touch Gone Bad
In an article in The Observer (UK) on February 11th titled “The Mathematical Equation That Caused the Banks to Crash,” Ian Stewart wrote of the Black-Scholes equation that opened up the world of derivatives:
The financial sector called it the Midas Formula and saw it as a recipe for making everything turn to gold. But the markets forgot how the story of King Midas ended.
As Aristotle told this ancient Greek tale, Midas died of hunger as a result of his vain prayer for the golden touch. Today, the Greek people are going hungry to protect a rigged $32 trillion Wall Street casino. Avizius writes:
The money made by selling these derivatives is directly responsible for the huge profits and bonuses we now see on Wall Street. The money masters have reaped obscene profits from this scheme, but now they live in fear that it will all unravel and the gravy train will end. What these banks have done is to leverage the system to such an extreme, that the entire house of cards is threatened by a small country of only 11 million people. Greece could bring the entire world economy down. If a default was declared, the resulting payouts would start a chain reaction that would cause widespread worldwide bank failures, making the Lehman collapse look small by comparison.
Some observers question whether a Greek default would be that bad. According to a comment on Forbes on October 10, 2011:
[T]he gross notional value of Greek CDS contracts as of last week was €54.34 billion, according to the latest report from data repository Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). DTCC is able to undertake internal netting analysis due to having data on essentially all of the CDS market. And it reported that the net losses would be an order of magnitude lower, with the maximum amount of funds that would move from one bank to another in connection with the settlement of CDS claims in a default being just €2.68 billion, total. If DTCC’s analysis is correct, the CDS market for Greek debt would not much magnify the consequences of a Greek default—unless it stimulated contagion that affected other European countries.
It is the “contagion,” however, that seems to be the concern. Players who have hedged their bets by betting both ways cannot collect on their winning bets; and that means they cannot afford to pay their losing bets, causing other players to also default on their bets. The dominos go down in a cascade of cross-defaults that infects the whole banking industry and jeopardizes the global pyramid scheme. The potential for this sort of nuclear reaction was what prompted billionaire investor Warren Buffett to call derivatives “weapons of financial mass destruction.” It is also why the banking system cannot let a major derivatives player—such as Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers—go down. What is in jeopardy is the derivatives scheme itself. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal on January 20th:
Hanging in the balance is the reputation of CDS as an instrument for hedgers and speculators—a $32.4 trillion market as of June last year; the value that may be assigned to sovereign debt, and $2.9 trillion of sovereign CDS, if the protection isn't seen as reliable in eliciting payouts; as well as the impact a messy Greek default could have on the global banking system.
Players in the future may simply refuse to play. When the house is so obviously rigged, the legitimacy of the whole CDS scheme is called into question. As MF Global found out the hard way, there is no such thing as “risk-free speculation” protected with derivatives.
Ellen Brown is an attorney and president of the Public Banking Institute, http://PublicBankingInstitute.org. In Web of Debt, her latest of eleven books, she shows how a private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves, and how we the people can get it back. Her websites are http://WebofDebt.com and http://EllenBrown.com.
Ellen Brown is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Ellen Brown
Labels: GLOBALISATION
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