Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: National land policy formulation process launched | The Herald February 25, 2019

Minister Shiri

Elita Chikwati and Ellen Chasokela
Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri last week launched the formulation process of a comprehensive land policy which is expected to enhance access to land, land use planning and management, productivity and sustainable utilisation of land.

The process would be guided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) and would be aligned with the African Union (AU) Framework Agenda 2063 and guidelines on land policy in Africa. The process is expected to take up to 18 months.

There will be two other launches in Bulawayo covering Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces and in Mutare covering Manicaland and Masvingo. Minister Shiri said a comprehensive gender sensitive land policy was critical for the achievement of Government’s vision 2030 which entails the nation becoming an upper middle income society.

He said the land policy should be home grown, with contributions from all stakeholders. Minister Shiri said the land reform had brought changes through addressing the land imbalances where 6 000 white farmers occupied 15,5 million hectares of agricultural land, while 8 500 indigenous farmers owned 1,4 million hectares.

“A gloomier situation prevailed in the communal areas where communal farmers remained squashed in drier areas of ecological regions, he said. The land reform was, therefore, unavoidable. A record 300 000 families have been resettled countrywide, drastically changing the country’s land ownership structure, increasing small holder participation in agriculture.”

Minister Shiri said the greater percentage of Zimbabwe’s population depended on agriculture and other land-based livelihoods.

“With land being a finite resource, it is impressive that a comprehensive and gender sensitive land policy be put in place, he said. I envisage the policy document will not only enhance equal access to land, productivity and sustainable utilisation of land, but will also take into cognisance various global discourse and benchmarks.

“In light of the significant changes to the land ownership structure and production patterns ensuing principally from the Fast Track Land Reform programme, the needs to mitigate the effects of climate change, technological advances, and international best practices among others, Government is compelled to adopt a comprehensive gender sensitive national land policy.”

Minister Shiri said the policy should integrate land administration in a holistic manner, with aspects that include land tenure, access to land, land use planning, land information management, land disputes resolution, environmental sustainability, management of wildlife, forestry and water.

He applauded FAO and other developmental partners for offering technical support in the review of the land policy.

“Over the years, my ministry has received support from other development partners on aspects related to the land policy review, said Minister Shiri.

UNDP, with the assistance of the European Union, has assisted my ministry in updating the land registry, developing a land audit methodology, while the World Bank through the Comprehensive Land and Agrarian Reform programme (CLARP) supported the preparation of technical papers on land tenure, valuation and compensation among others.”

FAO sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa, Dr Alain Onibon, said the country should now focus on putting land to optimum production and include women and the new generation.

“FAO will use its convening powers and play its role as honest broker for the land policy dialogue, as well as assist Government to bring together all interested stakeholders to ensure an evidence-based policy formulation process, he said.

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Source: Ginimbi case deffered to March 21 | The Herald 25 FEB, 2019

The post Ginimbi case deffered to March 21  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: NOIC to upgrade Feruka pipeline | The Herald 25 FEB, 2019

Kudakwashe Mhundwa Business Reporter
The National Oil and Infrastructure Company (NOIC) intends to start work on upgrading the Feruka Oil Pipeline in the second half of this year to increase fuel transportation capacity into the country.

This comes after demand for fuel in Zimbabwe nearly doubled last year on the back of increased business activity in the country, according to Minister of Energy and Power development Dr Joram Gumbo.

Recent data showed that Zimbabwe is now consuming about 4 million litres of diesel from 2,5 million litres per day and 3 million litres of petrol from an average of 1,5 million litres per day previously.

About 90 percent of the fuel consumed in Zimbabwe is transported using the Feruka oil pipeline while the balance is transported by road using tankers, which are often blamed for damaging roads.

This was said by NOIC chief executive officer Wilfred Matukeni said the upgrade is being done to ensure that the country receives efficient fuel supplies.

He was speaking on the side-lines of the NOIC international standards organisation (ISO) 9001:2015 quality systems management certification.

“We are looking at the ways to upgrade the Harare-Feruka pipeline, we are targeting the upgrades to be complete by the mid-term so that more fuel could be carried and the country continues to receive efficient fuel supply.

“In terms of usage we are using an average of 160 million/litres against its total carrying capacity of 180 million litres marking a heavy usage of the pipeline,” Mr Mutuke said in an interview on Friday.

Mr Matuke said the Feruka pipeline upgrade project will be done through NOIC and its development partners who are already working on the necessary budgets for the commencement of the project.

“The upgrade of the pipeline will not be done directly by NOIC, but it will be done through NOIC and its partners who are mainly  (Companhia do Pipeline Mocambique–Zimbabwe) and (Petrozim Line) PZL so the amounts (funding) required by the project are being worked out by the relevant authorities as we speak,” he said

The last upgrade of the pipeline was done three years ago when a drag reducing agent, which allows for quicker movement of fuels, was introduced.

This allowed the Feruka pipeline to pump a maximum of 6 million litres per day, which translates to 180 million litres a month.

The development follows assurance by Government that it was still actively pursuing the construction of a second oil pipeline to ensure fuel destined for the country and beyond is transported via the pipeline.

The planned pipeline was expected to run through Zimbabwe to Harare and Bulawayo. From Bulawayo, it was to run south-west to Botswana and north through Zambia to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A thorough assessment conducted by IHT Markit, a world leader in critical information analytics and financial expertise, on how to increase the capacity of the Feruka fuel pipeline and possibility of a second oil pipeline showed that there was room to lower the cost of moving fuel through  increasing pipeline from Beira to Harare.

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Source: Large scale mining companies culpable in the Battlefield disaster | The Herald 25 FEB, 2019

Columbus Mabika Herald Reporter
Large scale gold mining companies should be held accountable for the Battlefields mine disaster that left over 24 artisanal miners dead because they failed to obtain certificates of abandonment as required by the Minerals and Mines Act after they abandoned their unutilised claims.

Presenting a report titled “Gold Capitalism and Disaster Preparedness in Zimbabwe, A Preliminary Critical on the Battlefields Mines Disaster” in Harare on Friday, People and Earth Solidarity Law Network (PESLawyers) lawyer Mr Lenin Chisaira said the Battlefield accident exposes many hidden malpractices in the mining sector and in environmental integrity as many large scale miners are exploiting the nature of property rights in the gold mining sector.

PESLawyers is a non-profit making organisation of legal and policy researchers, lawyers and activists standing up for environmental, climate and economic justice in Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The role of large scale gold miners should be investigated for they are the ones who continue to retain these gold claims where many people have been killed,” he said.

“For instance RioZim owns over 200 claims in Mashonaland West which they cannot mine, at the end when they abandon these claims without applying for certificates of abandonment as required by the Mines and Minerals Act, artisanal miners and small scale minors take unauthorised entry,” he said.

Mr Chisaira called on the Government to provide adequate legal and environmental support systems to deal with the disasters and exploitation of artisanal miners and small scale miners by large scale mining entities. He called on Government to look into the nature of property rights in the gold mining sector and ensure that disaster response systems are evaluated and adequately funded.

The report, Mr Chasaira said, has been forwarded to Government and relevant institutions and stakeholders in the gold mining sector, calling for an inclusive, free and open inquiry into the Battlefields disaster.  He applauded the contribution of artisanal miners and small scale miners to the national gold output.

“Artisanal miners and small scale miners’ contribution to the national gold out should not be taken for granted, statistics show that three quarters of gold delivered to Fidelity is coming from them,”

Mr Chasaira said PESLawyers will continue to work with relevant authorities in making recommendations aimed at improving the welfare of artisanal miners and small scale miners.

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Source: Open letter to Ramaphosa | Daily News

HARARE – Greetings from Zimbabwe, Your Excellency.  I hope I find you in the best of health. Incidentally, this letter is all about health.

I, like so many others am grateful for the huge role that Zanu PF and Zapu played in the liberation of our country through Zanla and Zipra respectively, a liberation that also quickly facilitated the liberation of South Africa through the ANC’s Umkonto we Sizwe and Namibia’s freedom through Swapo’s armed wing, PLAN.

Our liberation movements will forever be one solid, united front against all forms of external aggression. Aluta continua.

Your Excellency, today I bring to you a special request on behalf of our leaders, the same leaders who liberated us almost 40 years ago.

As you are aware, our country has been going through a serious economic crisis caused by unjustified sanctions against our sovereign nation of Zimbabwe.

I am so happy that you at least are doing your best to have these sanctions removed as soon as possible. And when you pay your first official visit to our beloved country, we shall receive you with open arms.

My humble request is related to the recent incident where some misguided Zimbabweans, domiciled in South Africa, saw it fit to abuse your hospitality by making monkey noises outside Cape Town’s Groot Schuur Hospital ostensibly to force the hospital authorities to remove our ill vice president, Constantino Guveya Chiwenga, whom they thought was receiving attention there. But he was not.

Our leaders deserve the best care possible out there because of the demanding nature of their jobs.

We certainly cannot risk their lives with mediocre medical attention.

That is why they now fly out of the country to get specialist treatment, whatever it takes.

Our parlous hospitals are in such a sorry state that some medical staff have resorted to using condoms as gloves.

Medical staff is always on strike for better wages.

All the major hospitals are so under-equipped, patients are sometimes referred elsewhere.

Even the food leaves a lot to be desired.

Drugs are either in short supply or are expired.

Mortuaries are overcrowded as relatives cannot afford to claim bodies of loved ones.

As I write, those patients who don’t want to pay their medical bills after being discharged are detained in the hospitals by the hospital authorities.

They want to leave without even paying a cent, imagine!

Are these the medical facilities that our leaders should be treated in?

A resounding NO! What would the world think of us, a sovereign nation?

I beseech you, Your Excellency, to consider the following request.

Please build a hospital that will exclusively give the best medic treatment available to our leaders.

Instead of chartering expensive jets to be flown to places like India, they could be flown in these jets straight to this hospital.

If a new hospital cannot be built, at least consider setting aside one hospital with modern facilities exclusively for the benefit of our leaders, their immediate family members, and other close relatives.

This can be a government-to-government thing.

The patients currently being treated in that hospital can then be treated elsewhere.

If the need arises, the hospital can also accommodate other African leaders when they fall sick.

This is what African solidarity is all about. Pan Africanism, nay, Ubuntu, at its best.

Let’s shame our detractors once and for all! I pray that you will consider my humble request.

I remain yours sincerely in solidarity

A very humble and patriotic Zimbabwean.

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