Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: ‘Protect minority groups against forced relocations’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY ARNOLD FANDISO

THE Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) has urged government to adopt human rights-based approaches and policies on development-induced relocations to protect minority groups who have often been displaced by national projects.

Citing the case of Chilonga villagers in Chiredzi, who were recently ordered to vacate their ancestral land to pave way for a lucerne production project, Zela said the programme was carried out haphazardly, hence the backlash.

In a statement reacting to the issuance of Statutory Instrument (SI) 50 of 2021 which was later repealed by SI 72A, Zela said the sudden change of land use plan in Chilonga also showed lack of proper planning by government.

“The government is urged to stop the reactionary approach to projects, but come up with projects that are people centred. The (Chilonga) case demonstrates that the rights of indigenous communities need to be protected and Zimbabwe needs to come up with a proper mechanism for that,” Zela said.

“The government was forced firstly to amend and ultimately to repeal Statutory Instrument (SI) 50/2021 in response to the legal arguments raised by Zela. This case has also shown the abuse of statutory instruments as a strategy to frustrate ongoing court cases, a tactic that should be frowned upon.”

The environmental lawyers said the repeal of SI 50 demonstrated the effect of the use of public interest litigation as a tool to hold the State accountable and overturn unjust laws.

“Most importantly, the response from Chiredzi Rural District Council shows the need to amend and come up with human rights-based approaches and policies on development-induced relocations,” Zela said.

The post ‘Protect minority groups against forced relocations’ appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: ‘Protect minority groups against forced relocations’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY ARNOLD FANDISO

THE Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) has urged government to adopt human rights-based approaches and policies on development-induced relocations to protect minority groups who have often been displaced by national projects.

Citing the case of Chilonga villagers in Chiredzi, who were recently ordered to vacate their ancestral land to pave way for a lucerne production project, Zela said the programme was carried out haphazardly, hence the backlash.

In a statement reacting to the issuance of Statutory Instrument (SI) 50 of 2021 which was later repealed by SI 72A, Zela said the sudden change of land use plan in Chilonga also showed lack of proper planning by government.

“The government is urged to stop the reactionary approach to projects, but come up with projects that are people centred. The (Chilonga) case demonstrates that the rights of indigenous communities need to be protected and Zimbabwe needs to come up with a proper mechanism for that,” Zela said.

“The government was forced firstly to amend and ultimately to repeal Statutory Instrument (SI) 50/2021 in response to the legal arguments raised by Zela. This case has also shown the abuse of statutory instruments as a strategy to frustrate ongoing court cases, a tactic that should be frowned upon.”

The environmental lawyers said the repeal of SI 50 demonstrated the effect of the use of public interest litigation as a tool to hold the State accountable and overturn unjust laws.

“Most importantly, the response from Chiredzi Rural District Council shows the need to amend and come up with human rights-based approaches and policies on development-induced relocations,” Zela said.

The post ‘Protect minority groups against forced relocations’ appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Zec rapped for arbitrarily suspending electoral activities – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY OWN CORRESPONDENT

INDEPENDENT elections watchdog, Election Resource Centre (ERC) yesterday blasted the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) over its use of Press statements to arbitrarily initiate or suspend electoral activities without following due process.

In a statement, ERC said Zec illegally suspended by-elections through a Press statement on January 7, 2021, thus perpetuating an illegal way of administering electoral processes.

This was after the electoral body on Tuesday issued a statement notifying the public of resumption of electoral registration activities following the relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

“The ERC maintains that while Zec has a constitutional mandate to administer elections, the law does not give the body discretion to arbitrarily start and stop processes without a court order. The resumption of electoral activities must be preceded by the implementation of administrative reforms by Zec.

“The commission also states that the conduct of by-elections remains suspended and this position will be reviewed in due course and stakeholders will be advised. The statement issued by Zec does not outline what has been done to institute reforms and any plans in place to implement administrative reforms that are key in restoring public trust and confidence of stakeholders in the management of elections” ERC said.

“The statement suggests a negative attitude towards inclusion of stakeholders, thereby, making Zec a law unto itself and unaccountable to citizens and stakeholders. No explanation is given why a selective approach has been taken in lifting the suspension of electoral activities.

“In addition, should the order be granted to suspend the by-elections, the ensuing suspension period should be effectively used to institute long-awaited reforms. By-elections without reforms pose a threat to credibility and acceptability of electoral outcomes.”

ERC recommended that Zec should submit itself to the Constitution and best practices in administering electoral processes in line with regional and international best practices.

Contacted for comment, Zec chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said: “Let me see the ERC statement first, check the issues raised and then I will respond to it tomorrow (today),” he said.

The post Zec rapped for arbitrarily suspending electoral activities appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Zec rapped for arbitrarily suspending electoral activities – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY OWN CORRESPONDENT

INDEPENDENT elections watchdog, Election Resource Centre (ERC) yesterday blasted the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) over its use of Press statements to arbitrarily initiate or suspend electoral activities without following due process.

In a statement, ERC said Zec illegally suspended by-elections through a Press statement on January 7, 2021, thus perpetuating an illegal way of administering electoral processes.

This was after the electoral body on Tuesday issued a statement notifying the public of resumption of electoral registration activities following the relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

“The ERC maintains that while Zec has a constitutional mandate to administer elections, the law does not give the body discretion to arbitrarily start and stop processes without a court order. The resumption of electoral activities must be preceded by the implementation of administrative reforms by Zec.

“The commission also states that the conduct of by-elections remains suspended and this position will be reviewed in due course and stakeholders will be advised. The statement issued by Zec does not outline what has been done to institute reforms and any plans in place to implement administrative reforms that are key in restoring public trust and confidence of stakeholders in the management of elections” ERC said.

“The statement suggests a negative attitude towards inclusion of stakeholders, thereby, making Zec a law unto itself and unaccountable to citizens and stakeholders. No explanation is given why a selective approach has been taken in lifting the suspension of electoral activities.

“In addition, should the order be granted to suspend the by-elections, the ensuing suspension period should be effectively used to institute long-awaited reforms. By-elections without reforms pose a threat to credibility and acceptability of electoral outcomes.”

ERC recommended that Zec should submit itself to the Constitution and best practices in administering electoral processes in line with regional and international best practices.

Contacted for comment, Zec chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said: “Let me see the ERC statement first, check the issues raised and then I will respond to it tomorrow (today),” he said.

The post Zec rapped for arbitrarily suspending electoral activities appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Zec rapped for arbitrarily suspending electoral activities – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY OWN CORRESPONDENT

INDEPENDENT elections watchdog, Election Resource Centre (ERC) yesterday blasted the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) over its use of Press statements to arbitrarily initiate or suspend electoral activities without following due process.

In a statement, ERC said Zec illegally suspended by-elections through a Press statement on January 7, 2021, thus perpetuating an illegal way of administering electoral processes.

This was after the electoral body on Tuesday issued a statement notifying the public of resumption of electoral registration activities following the relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

“The ERC maintains that while Zec has a constitutional mandate to administer elections, the law does not give the body discretion to arbitrarily start and stop processes without a court order. The resumption of electoral activities must be preceded by the implementation of administrative reforms by Zec.

“The commission also states that the conduct of by-elections remains suspended and this position will be reviewed in due course and stakeholders will be advised. The statement issued by Zec does not outline what has been done to institute reforms and any plans in place to implement administrative reforms that are key in restoring public trust and confidence of stakeholders in the management of elections” ERC said.

“The statement suggests a negative attitude towards inclusion of stakeholders, thereby, making Zec a law unto itself and unaccountable to citizens and stakeholders. No explanation is given why a selective approach has been taken in lifting the suspension of electoral activities.

“In addition, should the order be granted to suspend the by-elections, the ensuing suspension period should be effectively used to institute long-awaited reforms. By-elections without reforms pose a threat to credibility and acceptability of electoral outcomes.”

ERC recommended that Zec should submit itself to the Constitution and best practices in administering electoral processes in line with regional and international best practices.

Contacted for comment, Zec chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said: “Let me see the ERC statement first, check the issues raised and then I will respond to it tomorrow (today),” he said.

The post Zec rapped for arbitrarily suspending electoral activities appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.