Compliments of the Season!

Compliments of the season to you all!

Here is to wishing you a merry Christmas and a very happy new year!

SA Based Zimbabwean Youths Call for Mugabe's Arrest

JOHANNESBURG - A South African-based human rights organization is calling for the arrest of the Zimbabwean President and his cronies. 

The Zimbabwe Youth Wing on Monday handed over a petition to the United Nations Security Council Office in Pretoria. In their demands the Zimbabwe Youth Wing calls for the arrest of Zimbabwe’s JOC (Joint Military Command). This comprises of the high ranking officials from the army, the police, the air force, the prison and the Central Intelligence Organization. The organization further calls for the arrest of the President Robert Mugabe, some war veterans and the Zanu (PF) militia for human rights abuses. 

The group’s president, Ishmael Kauzai, said: “The Zanu (PF) regime perpetuates the abduction, torture and killing of Zimbabwe's citizens to this very day. Those responsible remain unaccountable. We want these people to be arrested and tried in the International Curt of Justice. They have been doing this for a long time. They committed human rights abuses during the Gukurahundi era, land invasion, operation Murambatsvina and when the Movement for the Democratic Change was formed. They continue to do so. This will increase next year as we approach the elections.”

The organization accuses Mugabe of militarizing the parastatals.  Former military personnel aligned to the president have been appointed to head parastatals like the Grain Marketing Board, National Railways of Zimbabwe, Air Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. 

Ishmael said the youth had lost faith in the regional organizations like Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union (AU). He accused SADC and AU of inactivity when the Zimbabwean government was butchering their citizens and called on the UN Security Council to intervene in the Zimbabwean crisis.


* The Zimbabwean

Zimbabwean Leaders Differ on Cause of Foreign Direct Investment Drought

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai officiated Monday at the opening of a so-called one-stop investment center meant to encourage foreign capital inflows, Mr. Mugabe blaming Western sanctions for the scarcity of such investment while Mr. Tsvangirai blamed political volatility in the country. VOA Studio 7 correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported from Harare that Mr Mugabe called for an end to sanctions saying this would encourage potential investors. He and about 200 of his closest associates are the target of travel and financial sanctions. Economist Eric Bloch said that while the opening of a center to simplify red tape should ease the pathway for foreign capital through the bureaucracy, foreign direct investment decisions are largely driven by political and economic factors, not paperwork. Bloch dismissed remarks by President Mugabe that potential foreign investors have been discouraged by Western sanctions. He said targeted sanctions imposed by the West and the European Union are only affecting President Mugabe and his inner circle. Like Prime Minister Tsvangirai, Bloch said Zimbabwe will only attract meaningful new investment if the political environment significantly improves. The Zimbabwean economy has mended considerably since the current government of national unity was put in place in 2009, but it remains fragile and there remains a lot of uncertainty as to how the government's ongoing indigenization initiative intended to put control of large enterprises into black hands will affect new investment.

* Studio 7

The Arsenalisation of Daniel Molokele

Soccer like politics runs in my family blood. In as much as I was born into a family thriving with political zeal, it was also one that was so passionate about football. And so it happened when I was born in early 1975, it was out of a family in which both my parents were well known activists and an integral part of the local town political leadership under the auspices of the Joshua Nkomo led Zimbabwe African People’s Union party. (ZAPU)

I remember vividly that when I was growing up as a boy in the coal mining town of Hwange in south western Zimbabwe, both soccer and politics completely dominated my daily life.

Take the walls of the family lounge as a good example. They were filled with several picture frames all around that did not have family photos. Instead most of them contained pictures of either Joshua Nkomo or group portraits of Zulu Royals football club.

The team was led by my father who at one stage was also active player and captain, before retiring into the role of coach and eventually becoming the chairman of the committee that managed the club.

I clearly remember that by the time I was slightly over five years old, I was already attending the team’s half time discussions during its league matches. I also had the enviable privilege of travelling with the team for its away games in the neighbouring townships such as Madumabisa (Number Two Colliery) and Makwika (Number Three Colliery). The team was based in the original and biggest township of Lwendulu (Number One Colliery).

In fact, my father’s team was one of the leading teams in the local amateur football league that was known as the Wankie Football Association. (WAFA)  The team used to fight for the local leadership mettle with the likes of Kabwe Warriors, Giant Killers, Raylton and Rufaro Rovers.

 The league was part of the sustainable sports and recreation strategy of the local Wankie Colliery Company (WCC) and very professionally administered. It also had the dual role of being the breeding ground for potential future players of the more famous Wankie Football Club (Chipangano) that was also one of the leading clubs of the elite national soccer league of Zimbabwe.

It was thus inevitable that my siblings and I grew up playing lots of soccer. And almost inevitable we played so much of the beautiful game in the hours after school and during weekends. In those days, each section of the township used to have its own team and local dusty playing field. I remember that most of these fields had such fancy names as Japan, Swaziland, China, and Brazil to mention but a few.

By the time I was reaching the end of my primary school years, I was a very active footballer. I normal used to play the role of a central defender in a libero role that was made famous by the legendary Italian Franco Barresi.

I used to play for my Saint Ignatius primary school class team in those years. But even more crucially at home, we eventually built a team of fearsome repute that derived most of its players from our local M section. And so it happened that between the 1980s and the early 1990s, I could be found regularly featuring for my home team.

It was also during those years that a local junior league for our township was set up. The league was known as the Lwendulu Football Association. (LIFA) My young brother Lovemore Mguni showed his immense leadership pedigree by forming a glorious team that played in that league. The team was known as Skyline Football Club. It was very successful so much that even attracted excellent players from other neighbouring sections.

After my primary school years, I continued to play the beautiful game at John Tallach secondary school. I used to play as a right back for my house team called Radasi but I never really made it into the main school team. A similar trend also occurred when I went to Fletcher High school in Gweru. I continued to play soccer but mostly for my house team and never really broke into the school’s main team.

Unfortunately it so happened that when I was admitted to the law faculty of the University of Zimbabwe in Harare my soccer playing days ended prematurely. Instead it was politics, my other dual passion that completely took over the centre stage from soccer.

The fact that I was elected as the students union Secretary General in my first year at law school meant that I was never really able to continue as a soccer player. This was in spite of the fact that the university had its own highly competitive social soccer league and also a semi professional team that played in the second division of the national league.

The only serious soccer match I played in at university was a special friendly match between the leaders of the students union and the lecturers union in my last year at the college. I remember that I had to borrow some soccer boots from one of the players from the main university team who later became a famous international soccer star. His name was Benjani Mwaruwari!

Be that as it may, I may need to add that I was nominally involved in one of the most successful soccer teams to ever come from the university in the late 1990s. This happened in the years when the former President of Zimbabwe, Professor Canaan Banana was heavily involved n supporting the team. He is the one who approached me and persuaded me to be the chairperson of the university soccer team’s disciplinary committee.

And so it happened that during those years at the university I devolved from being an active soccer player to a very passionate soccer fan. In my primary school years, I had dual loyalty to my local team Wankie FC together with the legendary Bulawayo based team, Highlanders Football Club (Bosso)

I had also been an avid fan of Liverpool Football Club in England largely due the influence of its famous Zimbabwean goalkeeper, Bruce Grobbelaar. It was during those successful years in which the mighty Reds boasted with such talents as Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley, Ray Houghton, Ian Rush, John Barnes, among an array of skilful soccer stars.

But as fate would have it, by the late 1990s, Liverpool had lost its stranglehold on the English soccer league to the Sir Alex Ferguson led Red Devils, Manchester United Football Club. Naturally, I developed a very strong dislike to the league upstarts that has unsurprisingly lasted up to this day.

It was during those years of despair for Liverpool when a new challenger emerged in the English soccer league, Arsenal Football Club.

Until then, the Gunners had remained in relative obscurity but it was the arrival of the legendary Arsene Wenger in September 1996 that galvanised the team to be a force to be reckoned with. It was during those early years of Wenger that I began to slowly but surely, gravitate from Anfield to Highbury, the famous old home of the Gunners in north London.

And when Wenger led his team to his first league title in the 1997-98 season; everyone including myself, was forced to recognise his team’s competitive edge.

But it was Wenger’s signing of the most famous footballer to ever don the Gunners red and white shirt, Thierry Henry in 1999 that proved to be a decisive turning point for me. It was Henry, who I now highly regard as my favourite footballer of all time, who completely swayed me to become an Arsenal fan.

From that time onwards I continued to grow from strength to strength in my passionate support of the Gunners. My evolution into a life-long Arsenal soccer fanatic reached its full cycle during the 2003-4 season. That was the year of the legendary Invincibles.

Inspired by a Henry who was now on the peak of his English soccer career, the Gunners managed to start and end that season without a single defeat. This was a very rare achievement that may never be repeated in the history of professional football not just in England but also anywhere in the world for that matter!

By 2005, I was then fully transformed into a fully fledged Gooner and have been actively supporting Wenger as he led the modernisation of the Arsenal. This is a process that among its highlights included the move to a new 60 000 seater stadium at Ashburton Grove, still in north London.

So for many years I have continued to support the Gunners passionately and followed their games on television. However, I always felt that my initiation as a lifelong Arsenal fan would never be fully completed unless and until I had got the privileged opportunity to watch the Gunners play in person.

It was always my wish that a chance like that would come my way, sooner than later!

And then it happened by chance in July 2010. Wenger normally prefers to take his team for a pre-season training camp in Austria. And so it happened that this time around, I had also travelled to Vienna to attend the 18^th International AIDS conference that was hosted by the International AIDS Society.

When I learnt that the first friendly game that the Gunners would play would be around the same time as the AIDS conference, I was so excited. While in Vienna I inquired about the distance of the capital city from Graz, the venue of the Arsenal game against the local team. I was told that Graz was about 200km away from where I was.

I inquired about the price of the air tickets first and when I realised that I could not afford them, I then turned to the railways as a more pragmatic option. And so it happened that on Wednesday 21^st July 2010, I travelled by train to Graz. The train had some problems and so we had a delayed arrival.

But I managed to take my seat at the UPC Arena slightly over five minutes before half time. The score at that time was tied at nil-nil. Tears flowed from eyes when for the very first time in my life; I saw the great Wenger and his talented team in person!

As if to celebrate that awesome moment with me, Samir Nasri scored a beautiful goal from a free kick that sent all the Arsenal fanatics, including myself into some frenetic delight.

I will never forget that game for the rest of life because it was on that very same day, that I really felt that I was a full fan of Arsenal football club at last. And now the Emirates stadium experience beckons for me. It just a matter of time.

Come on you Gunners! Victory through harmony! Victoria Concordia Crescit!

GZF to be Represented at the Victoria Falls Conference

The Global Zimbabwe Forum is set to attend the first ever diaspora conference to be held within Zimbabwe. The conference will be hosted by the Development Foundation for Zimbabwe (DFZ)

The conference will be held between 16 and 19th December at the Elephant Hills hotel in Victoria Falls.

The GZF International Co-ordinator, Daniel Molokele, GZF Europe Co-ordinator, Promise Mkwananzi and the GZF Patron, Prof Ken Mufuka are among those expected to attend the conference.

For more details, please kindly visit dfzim.com 

Mugabe Expects Positive Growth for the Zimbabwean Economy

Zimbabwe’s economy will expand by about 8 percent this year and growth may accelerate to more than 10 percent for the next five years, President Robert Mugabe has said.

The government’s economic program that started last year reversed a decade of contraction and the recovery is continuing, Mugabe said in a speech at an opening ceremony for an investment promotion agency today in the capital, Harare.

“At this rate, we should achieve double-digit growth between 2011 and 2015,” he said.

The southern African nation scrapped its dollar in 2009 and adopted the use of multiple currencies, resulting in inflation plummeting from 500 billion percent and for shops to start restocking shelves with products. Annual inflation was 3.6 percent in October, according to the state statistics agency.

While a new unity government between Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change helped end the recession, foreign donors haven’t committed money and investors have been slow to return. The European Union and the U.S. have maintained asset freezes and travel bans against Mugabe and some of his party’s officials, demanding more proof of their commitment to democracy and human rights.

More reforms are needed to attract investment and keep the recovery going, Tsvangirai said today. Differing opinions within the government undermined investor confidence, he said.

The expanded Zimbabwe Investment Authority will now link the investment promotion, immigration, tax, exchange control and company registration departments to cut the period it takes to register a business from about three months to five days, the government said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nelson Banya in Harare via Johannesburg atngbanya@bloomberg.net

Zimbabwe PM Says No Election Without Referendum

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Monday that elections could not take place in his country without reforms and a constitutional review, despite President Robert Mugabe's threat to call one next year.

Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing government with Mugabe after disputed 2008 elections, and both promised to work together to reform the constitution and organise a referendum to approve it before new elections.

The power-sharing deal ended months of crisis in the southern African country which had been on the brink of collapse, but it has since been plagued by rifts following Mugabe's refusal to consult Tsvangirai over key appointments and policy decisions.

Mugabe has said there is no need to extend the life of the coalition, which is up for review in February, and looks likely to call elections in mid-2011 without the new constitution that Zimbabwe's Western donors are asking for.

"It is not possible to have elections in June next year because we need to have a referendum first," Tsvangirai told Reuters in an interview in Brussels.

"I don't think at the moment you can conduct an election," he said, adding that the country could slide back into the crisis and violence seen in 2008.

Analysts say a rushed election without political reforms, including a new constitution guaranteeing basic rights, would unfairly favour Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, who have held power since independence from Britain in 1980.

"One of the fundamental issues we need to handle is the issue of violence. All elections so far have been conducted in a manner that is very violent ... this is violence that is state-sponsored," Tsvangirai said.

"When the police, army, militia, war veterans are used to intimidate, coerce, and cause torture and death to the people, that is the kind of violence we need to contain," he added.

Tsvangirai said before any elections are held, the parties must accept a roadmap, agree on a constitution, organise a referendum and set up a functioning electoral commission.

"Once the roadmap is there, it will define the end of the coalition. The sooner we have one party in power with a clear mandate from the people, the better," he said.

Zimbabwe Says It Will Sell Its Marange Diamonds

Zimbabwe will sell diamonds from the Marange diamond fields because it can’t be stopped by “hostile nations,” the state-controlled Herald, said, citing Mines Secretary Thankful Musukutwa.

The Kimberly Process, an international body that rules on conflict diamonds, “cannot go political in its dealings,” the Harare-based newspaper cited Musukutwa as saying. Zimbabwean authorities are surprised about allegations of human rights abuses at Marange, Musukutwa was cited by the Herald as telling a visiting delegation from the Norwegian government.

The government denies allegations of human rights violations and says it has complied with all Kimberley Process demands, the Herald reported on its website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net.

Zimbabwe to Host Diaspora Coference at Victoria Falls

Business leaders, civic society, politicians and Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora, meet in Victoria Falls for the first ever multi-stakeholder Diaspora conference to take place within Zimbabwe’s borders.

The conference is the first in a series of high profile meetings which will consider ways in which the Diaspora and key players within Zimbabwe can work together to promote development. An estimated 4.5 million Zimbabweans live outside the country the majority of them in South Africa.

Delegates to the conference, have been drawn from Australia, Botswana, Ethiopia, The Netherlands, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. They also include representatives of the country’s labour movement, opinion leaders from the key political formations, religious leaders and Zimbabwean professionals some whom are considering investing in Zimbabwe or returning home.

The theme of the conference which takes place from the 16 to 18 December is “Engaging the Diaspora toward Zimbabwe’s Economic Reconstruction”. The conference will chart a process of engaging the inclusive government and stakeholders in selected key sectors, to explore ways in which the skills of the Diaspora can be harnessed.

Conference organisers, Development Foundation for Zimbabwe (DFZ) said the huge developmental potential of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora remained largely untapped. DFZ is a non-political, non-profit organisation set up by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora.

DFZ Executive Director, Nokwazi Moyo said a conscious decision had been made to hold the conference in Zimbabwe to allow for broader participation by key actors within the inclusive government.

“There are several individuals that may feel afraid, threatened or otherwise constrained to return home for this conference, the restrictions on sections of the government to travel to certain countries, the sheer expense of doing so, justifies that the conversation forming the basis of this evolving partnership should take place on home soil closer to both the problems and opportunities,” Moyo said in a statement.

He said the inclusion of Zimbabwe’s Diaspora community in any national dialogue was critical to the promotion of national cohesion and the success of any national projects.

He stressed that DFZ was not advocating a mass return to Zimbabwe adding “It is vital to underscore the point that in an age of technological advancement ‘returning home’ can take various forms beyond the physical movement of persons. ‘Returning home’ can be through the Diaspora deploying their financial investments in the home market. The DFZ is opening up dialogue between all key stakeholders to devise ways and means of capitalising on this important resource represented by the Diaspora.”

He said one of the objectives of the conference is to ensure that the Zimbabwe government and other stakeholders' engagement with the Zimbabwean Diaspora is institutionalised within a coherent policy framework.

“We hope to be able to strengthen Zimbabwe Diaspora networks and increase their ability to contribute towards comprehensive national recovery and development. We are also keen to engage co-operating partners, all stakeholders and relevant institutions on supporting Zimbabweans recovery and development,” said Moyo.

During the conference there will be special sessions on economic development and investment, social services, reconstruction and other key areas such as citizenship, property rights and migration.

* radio VoP

PASSOP to Launch IDP Report in Cape Town

OFFICIAL REPORT LAUNCH AND PANEL DISCUSSION:

LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IDP SAFETY SITES IN THE SOUTH AFRICA

DECEMBER 9TH, 2 – 4:00 PM

(IDASA) Democracy Centre 6 Spin Street Cape Town



Dear Colleagues,

On Thursday, December 9th from 2 – 4:00 pm PASSOP would like to invite you to the official report launch and panel discussion on the lessons learned from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Safety Sites established in the Western Cape over the last two and a half years as a result of the outbreak of xenophobic violence. 

The recently-completed monitoring reports that will be launched concern both the Blue Waters and De Doorns IDP Safety Sites. (Please see the attached document for a short summary and recommendations of each report.)

The event will be structured around a panel discussion including Shari Eppel (Director, Solidarity Peace Trust), Miranda Madikane (Director, Scalabrini Centre), Charlene May (Attorney- Blue Waters Case, Legal Resource Centre), Mike Moyo (former De Doorns Camp Committee Chair) and Braam Hanekom (Director, PASSOP). The following is the provisional program of the event:



Program and Topics

14:00 - 14:15: Braam Hanekom -- Opening and Introductions

14:15 - 14:30: Mike Moyo – Reflections on life in an IDP Safety Site.

14:30 - 14:45: Miranda Madikane – Responding to xenophobic violence: Lessons from De Doorns.

14:45 - 15:00: Shari Eppel -- Displaced over and over again, how to deal with human suffering.

15:00 - 15:15: Charlene May – The Blue Waters Case: Lessons moving forward.

15:15 - 15:45: Questions to Panel and Closure



We hope to see many of you in attendance. For any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the PASSOP office at 021 762 4638 or David on 0766142743.

European Union Rebuffs EU-African Summit Pressure on Zimbabwe Sanctions

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and fellow Southern African leaders attending an African Union-European Union summit in Libya urged the European Union on Tuesday to end targeted sanctions imposed on Mr. Mugabe and his inner circle.

Presidents Jacob Zuma of South Africa,  Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia and Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, currently holding the African Union chairmanship, spearheaded the latest bid to pressure the European Movement to lift travel and financial sanctions.

Sources privy to developments the summit, which concluded Tuesday, saide EU leaders repeated that Mr. Mugabe and his closest associates must take reform seriously.

The British-based All-Africa Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe meanwhile lobbied EU leaders not to adopt what it termed a policy of "appeasement" in Zimbabwe.

The group issued a statement saying it was wrong for the European Union even to invite President Mugabe to the summit, saying that “he and his ruthless military will revel in this opportunity to strut the international stage with EU leaders."

David Banks, coordinator of the British parliamentary group, told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that European leaders must force reform in Harare.

Reuters reported that Mr. Mugabe called on the International Criminal Court Tuesday to indict former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for war crimes instead of prosecuting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Mr. Mugabe accused the ICC of double standards. "Why does this court not do the same with Tony Blair and George W. Bush, both of whom occupied Iraq and killed hundreds of thousands of Iraq people," Reuters quoted the Zimbabwean president as saying.

Sudan boycotted the summit after the EU pressured Bashir not to attend.

* VoA

Zimbabwe Police Arrest Newspaper Editor

Zimbabwean police arrested Nevanji Madanhire, editor of the Sunday Standard newspaper, the paper’s owner said today, the second journalist from the weekly to be detained this month.

“Nevanji Madanhire is in police custody in Harare," Trevor Ncube said by phone from Sun City in South Africa.

The arrest follows the detention of Standard reporter Nqobani Ndlovu on Nov. 17. Ndlovu was released 10 days later on orders from Zimbabwe’s High Court on $100 bail. Both arrests were made over a story, written by Ndlovu, alleging irregularities in police recruitment, Ncube said.

“The police haven’t disputed the veracity of the Standard story and last week a High Court judge said the police’s action was a waste of the court’s time,” Ncube said. “We are concerned about this continued harassment of journalists.”

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said he was “not yet aware” of the arrest of any journalists when Bloomberg News called seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net.