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SUSPECTED livestock rustlers have invaded Umguza district, stealing cattle and donkeys from their pens and slaughtering them, with the meat allegedly sold in Bulawayo. The rustlers are targeting newly-resettled villagers in Maraposa, Redwood, Stella and Makondo. They are reportedly operating at night, driving livestock a few metres from their pens before slaughtering them. At one […]

Source: ‘Poll & riot deaths ruined ED efforts’. . . European Union says, but won’t give up on Zim – DailyNews Live

Tendai Kamhungira      27 March 2019

THE European Union (EU) says the post July 30, 2018 poll killings and this
year’s deadly fuel riots had harmed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts
to win the powerful bloc’s support, as well as his quest to mend
Zimbabwe’s broken relationship of the past two decades with the West, the
Daily News can report.

However, the EU adds, it will continue to engage in dialogue with
Mnangagwa and his government – with the hope of helping Zimbabwe and its
people to overcome the country’s escalating political and economic crises.

In an address to journalists in Harare on Monday, EU ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Timo Olkkonen, said the bloc had been appalled by the human
rights violations in the country which had been attributed to security
forces after the July 30, 2018 national elections and the fuel riots of
early this year.

“It has to be said that those were setbacks and in our perception … of
respecting human rights and the rule of law … you can’t shy away from
that. These are issues that we need to discuss indeed with the government.
So, they have an influence … to an extent that while many hoped we could
have engaged … perhaps concentrate our energy … on other issues such
as economic co-operation, trade and investment … it shows that these
issues about human rights … need to be addressed and discussed,” he
said.

This comes after the EU recently gave Mnangagwa and his colleagues in Zanu
PF a stay of execution, when it decided against slapping them with further
sanctions in the aftermath of the August 2018 killings and January’s
deadly riots, which were sparked by fuel price hikes.

In this year’s riots, police and soldiers engaged in running battles with
protesters who flooded the streets of Harare, Bulawayo and other towns –
to demonstrate against the steep fuel price hikes which had been announced
by Mnangagwa ahead of his tour of Eastern Europe.

The Zanu PF leader, who was feted like a king when he replaced ousted
former president Robert Mugabe in November 2017, initially lifted the mood
of crisis-weary Zimbabweans who were hopeful at the time that he would
turn around the country’s sunken fortunes.

However, the post-July 30, 2018 election shootings – which left at least
six civilians dead when the military used live ammunition to quell an ugly
demonstration in Harare’s central business district (CBD), and the dozens
of deaths which occurred during this year’s fuel riots, as well as the
subsequent vicious clampdown of dissenting voices – have dampened
expectations that Mnangagwa will lift Zimbabwe’s lot anytime soon.

Political analysts have also said human rights breaches blamed on security
forces have dented the president’s international image significantly, in
addition to harming his chances of getting financial support from Western
countries.

During the January protests, property worth millions of dollars was also
destroyed and looted in the mayhem, after tens of thousands of workers
heeded the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ three-day strike call.

At the same time, security forces unleashed a brutal crackdown against the
protesters, the opposition and civil society leaders – in a move which
received wide condemnation in the country and around the world.

Rights groups also reported other allegations of human rights abuses by
security forces – including galling reports that soldiers had raped women
and girls during their much-condemned crackdown against innocent
civilians.

Olkkonen said after the January mayhem, he had reached out to various
interlocutors in the government, to convey the EU’s concerns about the
need to stop the “violations”.

He said despite these “setbacks” in their relationship with Mnangagwa and
his government, the EU was still committed to the re-engagement efforts
aimed at unlocking aid and financial support for Harare.

Last month, Mnangagwa and his under pressure administration were spared
more pain by the EU which decided against extending sanctions despite a
proposal by its Parliament which wanted punitive measures against the 76
year-old Zanu PF leader and many of his key lieutenants.

However, the EU also warned then that although it had not taken its
Parliament’s recommendations, for now, it would not hesitate to slap him
and his key allies with sanctions if there were further human rights
breaches in the country.

“This decision was taken in light of our objective to encourage the rule
of law as set out in Zimbabwe’s Constitution. We have seen a crackdown
against demonstrators in January and the disproportionate use of force by
the authorities, that called into question this commitment.

“The key question is to understand whether the old system has been
dismantled … or it remains in place under a different leadership.

“All decisions on listings, including new listings, can be swiftly adopted
if the situation requires it. We are monitoring the situation very closely
and stand ready to adjust our decision,” EU spokesperson Federica
Mogherini, said then.
Zimbabwe is in the middle of a huge economic crisis which sparked the
January riots.

A severe drought and the recent horrendous destruction of key
infrastructure and homes by Cyclone Idai – mostly in Manicaland – have
left Mnangagwa and his government with even more social, political and
financial stress.

Mnangagwa has said that he remains committed to ending Zimbabwe’s decades
of isolation by Western governments, by pushing ahead with his
re-engagements efforts despite the alleged excesses by security forces.

His government has since hired a top American reputation management firm –
to spruce up Zimbabwe’s international image and to lobby President Donald
Trump’s government in a bid to improve frosty relations between Harare and
Washington.

This comes after a disappointed Trump renewed America’s targeted sanctions
against Zimbabwe for another year earlier this month – accusing Mnangagwa
and his government of not doing enough to improve Harare’s democratic
credentials since Mugabe fell from power in November 2017.

The public relations company which has been contracted by Zimbabwe,
Ballard Partners, is headed by prominent Washington lobbyist Brian Ballard
– who is also said to be a top fundraiser for Trump’s political campaigns.

According to the details of the contract between Harare and Ballard
Partners, which was signed last month by Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso
Moyo, the government will pay the American firm a whopping US$500 000 a
year for its services.

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Source: Govt pleads with Chamisa | Daily News

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is wary of mass protests and is working around the clock to create the much-needed jobs for the youths.

This comes after the opposition led by Nelson Chamisa warned that the country could slide into total anarchy unless the thorny issue of youth unemployment is addressed. An estimated 10 percent of the country’s population is formally employed.

In an interview with the Daily News,  government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said they are laying the foundation for employment creation and pleaded with the opposition not to take the demonstrations path.

“From the government side we are doing all that is in our power to ensure that Zimbabweans work. We are reforming in order to create an enabling environment for capital to feel comfortable. We are easing our way of doing business so as to bring efficiencies and cut out unnecessary bureaucratic delays. Regarding unrest and jobs it is very clear that the anarchy avenue is self-defeating in as far as job creation is concerned.

“The last incitement to unrest we had in January left behind infrastructural ruins and a battered image of the country as a destination to foreign capital. So going down that road will surely not help anyone get a job or put anyone in power for that matter,” said Mangwana.

On Monday Chamisa, who leads the MDC warned that Mnangagwa’s never ending foreign travels and his failure to create jobs is likely to create unrest in the country that is faced with drought and emerging from the ruins caused by a cyclone.
“I am getting worried with his trips, it seems he is not appreciating the problems that Zimbabwe has, especially the young people.

The plight of young people is a threat to the national stability, youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb that has to be resolved in the context of national dialogue and engagement,” said Chamisa.

Mnangagwa, however, has since moved on, slamming the door on his opposition counterpart who has steadfastly refused to accept his legitimacy.

Speaking at the just-ended Bi-National Commission Mnangagwa said: “We will not be swayed by negative forces because even the Lord upstairs was not able to keep his house in order — he had Satan. So, these things happen but He still remains there as the Creator” as he responded to questions from journalists on the progress of talks with the opposition that have been snubbed by Chamisa.

However, in recent days Mnangagwa has come under fire for his penchant for travel and luxury as he charters a plane for his many foreign trips even in a sea of poverty.

Chamisa is on record saying he will soon mobilise his legion of supporters to peacefully demonstrate against the Mnangagwa government that has failed to deliver on its electoral promises.
Speaking of the January demonstrations that were only quelled by the intervention of the military, Chamisa has often indicated that the time will come when the opposition will organise crippling demonstrations to achieve its goals.

“The ZCTU is the one that organised the very successful shutdown, but then the authorities thought it was us the children who had organised that mistaking a child for the mother but I can tell you when we organise it will be bigger, it is true there were some people who became violent but that does not take away the people’s right to demonstrate, unions world over are there to represent the people and the ZCTU did the right thing,” said Chamisa.

Apparently, in preparation for possible demonstrations Mnangagwa recently revealed that his government will acquire anti-riot gear for the police.

The Zanu PF leader who only a fortnight ago confessed to having deployed the army that killed civilians on August 1 last year and in mid-January this year said he only deployed the feared military because the police were ill-equipped to contain the demonstrations, “the only people we can call in is the army to stop the destruction and bring law and order”.

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Source: Zapu fights for seized properties | Daily News

THE Dumiso Dabengwa-led Zapu has reacted angrily to claims that its properties which were seized by the government during the early 1980s now officially belong to the ruling Zanu PF.

This comes as a former stalwart in the military wing of Zapu, the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) — retired colonel Tshinga Dube — has said that the unity accord which ended hostilities between PF Zapu and Zanu PF meant that the former could no longer make any claims about the disputed properties.

But Zapu maintains that the properties were grabbed as part of a wider campaign to weaken the then vibrant opposition party, which was led by the revered late Father Zimbabwe, Joshua Nkomo.

Then, the party was accused of fomenting violence and leading an insurrection in Matabeleland and Midlands, soon after the country’s independence from Britain in 1980.
“Zapu went into the Unity Accord via a special congress resolution. The Zapu hierarchy remained intact in Zanu PF during the duration of the Accord from 1987 to 2009.

“When Zapu could no longer stay in there, the hierarchy sought a special congress resolution to pull out of the unity.
“The congress was held in May 2009. Zanu PF was notified of that resolution,” a defiant Zapu spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa told the Daily News yesterday.

He added that the Unity Accord document did not mention the amalgamation of the two parties’ assets, save for “only speaking of the presidency of Robert Mugabe.”

Zapu has consistently argued that the government grabbed more than 20 properties that the party had countrywide before it signed the Unity Accord in December 1987.

Among the properties is Magnet House in Bulawayo which now shelters operatives from the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

An estimated 20 000 people are said to have been killed in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the early to mid-1980s when the government deployed the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade to the two regions, to fight an insurrection.

Unity Day was subsequently set up to commemorate the accord which was later signed between Zapu and Zanu, and which ended hostilities between the two parties.

Yesterday, former Cabinet minister and one of the few surviving ex-Zapu heavyweights, Dube, said the issue of the properties “had long been settled by” the Unity Accord.

“As for Zapu properties, I don’t have any problem with that because there was a Unity Accord which was signed between two parties … it means that those properties now belong to Zanu PF.

“However, I have a problem with Zipra properties which were taken by the government. Those were individual properties.
“It was individuals who came together and formed a company called Nitram, where they contributed $50 each and acquired various properties which included farms.

“So, taking away such properties is equivalent to grabbing someone’s property,” Dube told the Daily News.

When President Emmerson Mnangagwa assumed the reins of the ruling party in 2017, following the fall of the country’s former leader Robert Mugabe, Zapu had moved to petition the new Zanu PF leader on the matter.

“President, following your inaugural speech at the National Sports Stadium, in which you spoke so glowingly of a new dispensation and a new era, where rights of every citizen are respected and promoted, we write to remind you of a major violation of our rights as Zapu and Zipra by the government … which you now lead.

“The actions by government on Zapu and Zipra, especially around the above matter, infringes on equality and belonging to the country as bona fide and equal citizens.

“We have been making calls for this overdue process, albeit on deaf ears. In anticipation and trust that you will walk the talk on your promise to respect and promote people’s rights, we hope to receive from your government what duly belongs to us,” Zapu said in its petition to Mnangagwa.

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Source: ZimRights launches  1 million brick campaign | Daily News

ZIMBABWE Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has started a brick campaign to help Cyclone Idai victims rebuild their homes after they were swept away by floods recently.

This comes as the country is reeling from the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Idai which left over 300 people dead.

The cyclone has destroyed infrastructure including bridges, schools, roads and homes leaving over 200 000 people in parts of Manicaland and Masvingo provinces homeless.

ZimRights executive director Okay Machisa, pictured, said while the organisation has donated clothes and food towards Cyclone Idai victims, they have also realised that these people need roofs over their heads.

Machisa said they are targeting to raise one million bricks through donations as they aim to assist one thousand families.
“We’ve taken to fulfil one of our core values which is sympathy. We have an obligation to fill the gap and help those affected by the cyclone. We want to assist them in building structures through our #1millionbricks4life campaign.

“We want to mobilise our members to donate common bricks towards assisting victims build homes. Huts in rural areas are built using
1 000 bricks so we are hoping to assist 1 000 families,” Machisa said.

The ZimRights executive director said they will also be partnering with other organisations and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) in this initiative and are also calling upon citizens to donate as well.

Meanwhile, the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) has pledged to construct temporary infrastructure for accessibility to areas affected by Cyclone Idai.
In a statement, the bank said it will also rehabilitate medical facilities, restore power and water and sanitation infrastructure as well as roads and bridge construction.

The IDBZ management team has reportedly requested its board to approve an allocation of RTGS$2,50 million from the bank’s capital to assist Cyclone Idai victims.

The IDBZ support is expected to complement on-going efforts such as rehabilitation and reconstruction of institutional facilities and accommodation for example Charles Luwanga Secondary School, Dzingire Primary School etc.

“The bank will actively monitor the disbursement of funds and implementation to ensure teams already are channelled to the identified projects for the intended purpose,” IDBZ said.
Government has also channelled $50 million towards assisting the victims to restore infrastructure destroyed by the disaster.

On the other hand, Switzerland through the Swiss Humanitarian Aid has released $2 million to help victims of Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.

The funding will be used to restore safe drinking water and provide Swiss experts to UN agencies in the three affected countries. Out of the aid package, $ 1 million will be used for Swiss Humanitarian Aid’s actions and the other half will be disbursed to various UN agencies responding to the effects of the disaster.

So far, 12 tonnes of relief goods have already been shipped to the affected areas with the first team that responded to the disaster. The supplies consisted mainly of materials and tools for building shelter. A new consignment to the region will primarily consist of materials and equipment for restoring drinking water supplies, e.g. for cleaning wells.

Ambassador of Switzerland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, NiculinJaeger said: “In the aftermath of the cyclone, we have come to terms with the scope and complexity of the challenges facing the governments and peoples of Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.

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