VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
06 September
2006
Zimbabwe's National Bakers Association has asked for a
75% increase in the
official price of bread to Z$385, or about US$1.50, from
Z$220 at present.
It also urged that authorities review bread prices weekly
so bakers can keep
pace with rising costs.
The bakers association may
have trouble getting approval for a bread price
rise - the increasingly
powerful central bank chief, Gideon Gono, told
parliament this week that he
wants the government to freeze prices for six
months to brake
inflation.
In a related development, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
said Wednesday
that the cost of living for a family of six rose nearly 28%
in August from
its July level.
The U.S.-based Famine Early Warning
System, or FEWSNET, has projected that
the country will produce some 135,000
metric tonnes of wheat this year, 13%
higher than the 2005 production level
of around 120,000 metric tonnes. But
this year's crop will nonetheless fall
far short of the national requirement
of 400,000 tonnes.
For an
industry perspective on the proposed bread price increase, reporter
Blessing
Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe spoke with executive Luckymore
Zinyama
of Harambe Holdings, owner of Mitchell's, a large Zimbabwean baking
company.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
06 September
2006
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an umbrella for
nongovernmental
organizations in the Southern African country, has launched
a new initiative
to mobilize civic groups in nearby countries to support the
Zimbabwean
opposition's drive for reform.
Leaders of the group have
just returned from Tanzania and in recent weeks
traveled to Botswana and
South Africa. They soon will visit Malawi and
Zambia.
Crisis
Coalition Advocacy Officer Itayi Zimunya told reporter Patience
Rusere that
his group hopes non-governmental organizations around the
Southern AFrican
region will lobby their own governments to take a firmer
stance on the
Zimbabwe crisis.
The Herald
(Harare)
September 6, 2006
Posted to the web September 6,
2006
Harare
THE Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture has
directed that the inflation
rule for school fees and levies be backdated to
the third term of last year
when calculating the fees for this
term.
This could see a significant reduction in fees and levies charged
this term
at most schools.
In effect, the directive states that fees
for the term that started
yesterday must be those for the third term of last
year, adjusted for
inflation.
Most non-Government schools -- mission
and trust schools in the main -- were
caught flat-footed by the unexpected
surge in inflation in the last half of
last year and had to push fees up
significantly in the first term this year
in order to maintain
services.
Government schools raised their levies significantly at the
beginning of the
year as well.
In both sectors, fees and levies
tended to be at an historic low once
adjusted for inflation.
Trust
and mission schools generally used the expected inflation for the
first term
to calculate second term fees, acting in the spirit of an
agreement they
reached with the Government although this was not yet law.
For this term,
non-Government schools had been calculating fees, and
Government schools had
been calculating levies, based on last term's
figures, adjusted for
inflation during that term.
Parents had been warned that the fees for
this term under this inflation
rule were likely to be a little over double
last term's fees once the August
figure for the consumer price index (CPI)
was issued, probably next week.
The amendments to the Education Act that
establish the inflation rule were
gazetted, and so became law, only after
the start of last term.
Under these amendments, non-Government schools
must apply for permission to
raise fees or levies, but the permission must
also be granted automatically
so long as the increases do not exceed the
percentage increase in the cost
of living index over the preceding
term.
Because the figures for the cost of living at the end of August are
not yet
out, most schools had set a provisional fee, pending approval, based
on the
CPI for June or July and had warned of a top-up fee when the final
increase
in the CPI for last term was known.
The Central Statistical
Office normally publishes the CPI index for the end
of a month in the second
week of the next month.
The new directive was issued by the Secretary for
Education, Sport and
Culture, Dr Stephen Mahere, in a Press statement on
Monday.
He warned that school authorities who increase fees and levies in
violation
of the law risk being prosecuted in terms of the provisions of the
Education
and the Anti-Corruption Acts.
While Dr Mahere, as
Secretary, has to consider all applications and approve
or disprove them, he
has directed that the applications for fee increases
must be submitted
through provincial education directors.
He reminded schools of the
provision in the amended Act that fees or levies
paid by day pupils should
not exceed 30 percent of those paid by those in
boarding, or 40 percent if
day pupils are provided with meals at the school,
unless special approval
was obtained.
It is understood that this provision might well see the
abolition of
boarding places at non-Government schools that are largely day
schools and
the abolition of day places at schools that largely cater for
boarders.
Justifying his directives, Dr Mahere said: "Zimbabwe has always
subscribed
to the principle of education as a basic human right. In
pursuance of this
goal, the ministry believes that education should continue
to be accessible
and affordable to the majority of the people," said Dr
Mahere.
Schools have already been complaining that there has been a huge
delay in
consideration of increases. Some applied five weeks ago and have
heard
nothing.
Prince Edward school headmaster Mr Kevin Atkinson said
schools faced
problems when the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture
takes time to
approve proposed fees or levies.
"When the ministry
takes long to approve fees or levies, creditors are not
patient so it's a
big problem for schools," he said.
Mr Atkinson said sometimes by the time
the proposed fees and levies were
approved, prices would have gone up
several times.
An official at Girls High School said authorities need to
approve proposed
fees and levies in a reasonable period of time for schools
to make proper
financial decisions.
"If the fees or levies are
approved after a longtime, prices would have gone
up and at times, the
proposed increases would be meaningless," said the
official who requested
anonymity.
Schools in Zimbabwe opened for the third term yesterday.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Two decades
of a campaign to de-mine Zimbabwe's border areas has
invented fresh problems
for villagers living along the Zambezi Valley and
those along the Mozambican
border.
Border areas were heavily mined to slow down the progress of guerilla
fighters crossing the Zambezi River on the country's northern border onto
the battlefront during Zimbabwe's 16-year guerilla war for independence that
ended in 1979.
But the mine clearance exercise has open new avenues for
cross-border cattle
rustling creating insecurity among the villagers in the
area.
During the Defence Forces Day celebrations on August 15, President
Mugabe
commended the work to de-mine border areas done by the Zimbabwe
National
Army.
So pleased with the success of such hazardous work was
Mugabe that he
promoted military men involved in the exercise and awarded
them medals as
Commander-in Chief of the Defence Forces.
Government says
more than 276 square kilometres of mine-infested land
between the Victoria
Falls and Mlibizi Fishing resort bordering Zambia would
soon be handed over
to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and
Urban Development and
the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for productive
use.
Clearing
thousands of anti-personnel landmines laid during the independence
war
opened corridors for armed cross-border cattle rustlers into the Zambezi
Valley areas of Kazungula, Victoria Falls, Hwange and Binga as well as along
the border with Mozambique, local chiefs say.
"People from across the
river have intensified their cattle rustling
activities stealing goats,
sheep, donkeys and cattle. The villagers are
helpless against armed cattle
rustlers," says traditional Chief Zondani Joan
Shana of rural Hwange.
He
says when Zambians realised that the landmines had been cleared they
started
crossing the Zambezi to poach villagers' livestock.
The minefields had acted
as a deterrent but posed grave danger to both
humans and livestock. Chief
Shana estimates that more than 420 beasts have
been stolen from January to
March this year.
A frightening aspect of the problem is that the cattle
rustlers arm
themselves with firearms retrieved from caches that have
remained a
hazardous legacy after the end of independence war.
"The
Zambians seem to know places where arms were cached during the
cease-fire
period. They know how to negotiate their way to get these
firearms that they
use to intimidate the villagers," Chief Shana says.
"They know too a lot
about landmines and they can find their way to the
firearms without
danger."
Mugabe, said the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) had de-mined the
Gona-reZhou
National Park in south eastern Zimbabwe and that de-mining the
area would
spur efforts to put in place the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park
- a
multi-billion dollar tripartite tourist project involving Zimbabwe,
South
Africa and Mozambique.
Along the eastern border in areas such as
Chikombedzi, Malipati, Gezani and
Mkakani in the rural Sengwe, cattle
rustling has proved a headache to local
chiefs who believe that rustlers
drive stolen herds into Mozambique where
they fetch hard currency.
While
local villagers, some of whom own up to 200 head of cattle welcome the
de-mining plan, others fear it might open a safer corridor for cattle
rustlers from neighbouring Mozambique.
"It is now a problem we have
learnt to live with. The minefields had
somewhat slowed rustlers," says
Chief Lisimati Sengwe.
Another chief in the area said some of the villagers
had armed themselves
with bow and arrows and tracked the rustlers into
Mozambique. The rustlers,
he said slaughtered some of the beasts and dried
the meat on their way back
home where there is a ready market. He said
villagers hoped the government
would react swiftly to the people's
plight.
Cattle rustling appears to have replaced rhino poaching mainly
undertaken
for its horn which has subsided due to protracted joint efforts
by the
Zambian and Zimbabwean government.
A senior game ranger in Gona re
Zhou, who spent 15 years in Hwange National
Park and the Zambezi Valley but
now operates from Chiredzi district in south
eastern Zimbabwe, says poaching
for rare species remained prevalent in the
Zambezi area.
Luke Njiva says
poachers operating in the Zambezi Valley came mainly from
Zambia and
Angola. "Poaching in the Gona reZhou is not so damaging because
it is
mainly for subsistence purposes unlike the poaching in the Zambezi
Valley
which is for commercial purposes. For instance cattle rustlers last
year
shot and killed a Chiredzi village head, his wife and two children
after
accusing them of reporting their criminal activity to the police."
According
to the police the suspects, who were working as a syndicate with
Mozambicans, had been responsible for rampant stock theft activities in
Chikombedzi and taking the loot to Mozambique for sale. Police had recovered
six AK 47 rifle cartridges and a Mozambican matchbox at the scene.
The
headman had teamed up with the police and recovered seven of his stolen
cattle in Mozambique.
Police Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri last month
announced, during a police
graduation ceremony, that the force had
established a crack anti-stocktheft
unit to curb cattle
rustling.
Rustlers had taken advantage of a breakdown in law and order on
commercial
farms following the relocation and resettlement of new families
on land
forcibly acquired from white commercial farmers. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The Combined Harare Residents
Association (CHRA) has resolved to
carry on with street protests until
sanity returns to Town House.
"Our latest action will be held before 13
September, 2006 when the City of
Harare closes doors to objections to the
intended sale of a council house to
Sekesai Makwavarara, the chairperson of
the commission running the affairs
of the capital," said Precious Shumba,
the information officer.
Shumba said Makwavarara had already made a down
payment of Z$1, 4 million
towards the purchase, yet the process of
objections was still ongoing.
"This is corruption which CHRA condemns in the
strongest terms," said
Shumba.
Chinamasa acquitted
HARARE - Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister, Patrick
Chinamasa was this week
acquitted of trying to defeat the course of justice.
The court found evidence
given by a key state witness, James Kaunye,
inconsistent.
Chinamasa is
accused of putting pressure on James Kaunye to withdraw charges
against
National Security minister Didymus Mutasa's supporters, in the
second case
of alleged attempt to defeat the course of justice levelled
against him in
his career as Justice Minister. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
People are deeply attached to the
place where they were born. And yet they
dream of faraway places. We love
Zimbabwe and hate Britain, but given a
chance we leave our home and go to
stay with the enemy.
Peoples and nations have always been on the move. The
Vandals "vandalized"
the Roman Empire, the Bantu peoples moved from north to
south and pushed the
San people ("bushmen") into the desert. Europeans moved
to America, Africa
and Australia. Now Africans seek their fortune in Europe:
ironically, there
are now more Zimbabweans in Britain than there ever were
Britons in
Zimbabwe.
Often enough it is precisely the love of home and
family which drives people
to distant parts. The Migrant Labour System in
Southern Africa has created
much wealth for this region, first for the
immigrants from overseas, to a
much lesser extent for the migrants from
within the region. Now AIDS thrives
where marital fidelity has been
undermined.
Thriving economies suck in labour from stagnant economies: in the
past
Rhodesia from Nyassaland, now South Africa from Zimbabwe, Western
Europe
from the East, the USA from Mexico, Europe from Africa.
Some
families benefit from remittances sent home. Others fall apart after
years
of separation. The human cost is often not counted.
People are forced to
adapt to the economy, not the economy to the people.
Employers want labour.
They ignore that labour means people, husbands and
wives with
families.
Europe is putting up walls with razor wires to keep economic
refugees out of
their "fortress " and chasing their fragile nutshells with
speed boats. But
only if companies move factories to Africa will workers
stay at home.
The Church knows no frontiers. She must accompany the migrants
and receive
them everywhere. Jesus was a refugee once and had "nowhere to
lay his head".
Companions of Jesus know that "it is their vocation to travel
to many
parts". Ignatius was known as "pilgrim". His friend Francis Xavier
reached
then unknown Japan and died on the doorsteps of China. Another
companion,
Peter Faber, travelled all over Europe and stayed nowhere
permanently.
The "Jesuit Refugee Service" tries to assist people on the move
in many
parts of the world.
The new bishop of Chinhoyi, a former director
of JRS, has the refugee logo
in his coat of arms. Many with roots in the
Church are part of the moving
people of the world. Hopefully their shepherds
too. - Comment - In Touch
Jesuit Communications
The Zimbabwean
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE -While Zimbabwe-related online news agencies are
important in filling
the information gap created by the regime's repressive
media laws, the
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) has slammed one
agency,
Zimdaily.com, for plagiarism.
MMPZ said that in the week August
21-27, Zimdaily.com lifted some five
stories from other publications and
simply presented them as its own. On
August 21, the agency lifted verbatim
two stories on the currency change
over that had appeared the previous week
in the Mail and Guardian and
Zimbabwe Independent.
On the same day the
website also stole from the Cape Argus a story about
civic groups' concern
over the failure of a SADC summit in Maseru to censure
Robert Mugabe. Later
in the week, Zimdaily.com ran word-for-word a
substantial part of a
ZimObserver report on Zimbabwe buying Chinese fighter
planes. Similarly,
said MMPZ, a story on a rally by the Arthur Mutambara MDC
faction was
largely lifted from a report by Peta Thornycroft which appeared
on
VOANEWS.COM.
Plagiarism -giving the impression that somebody else's work is
your
own -violates journalistic ethics.
"Such unprofessional conduct
gives the authorities an excuse to retain their
tyrannical media laws, which
they have used to either silence the private
media or stifle the
establishment of alternative sources of information,"
said the media
watchdog.
Elsewhere, the state-run media's efforts to avoid reporting on, let
alone
investigating, anything that portrays the regime in a bad light led to
fresh
distortions and contradictions.
Despite reporting symptoms of the
chaos in the currency changeover, such as
businesses refusing to accept old
notes on the eve of the changeover or the
critical shortage of small
denominations in the new currency, the state
mouthpieces continued more or
less celebrating the changeover.
Thus The Herald reported on its front-page
that in some cases armed police
were called in to maintain order, while
claiming in commentary a that the
exercise went "remarkably smoothly." Just
a few local problems which were,
as ever, the fault of someone else, anyone
else. In this case, The Herald
cited "laziness by some bank managers in some
branches and the desperate
desire of Zimbabweans to keep large sums of cash
at home."
Even when Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono acknowledged that all
was not
well, the state media shied away. The Herald and The Chronicle saw
the
extension of the currency changeover deadline in rural areas not as
reflection of the chaos, but passively quoted Gono as seeing himself as
magnanimous.
MMPZ noted the state media also made no attempt to square
Gono's claim that
the changeover was a success with his revelation that $10
trillion (about
22% of the total cash in circulation) was still unaccounted
for after the
August deadline.
The private media, however, highlighted
the inconveniences and the gloomy
outlook. The Daily Mirror said that the
authorities had already printed more
new bank notes dated March 2006 which
Gono threatened to introduce at 24
hours' notice.
However, only Studio 7,
SW Radio Africa and ZimDaily reported the arrests in
Bulawayo of 200 women
from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) for demonstrating
against the economic
mess.
Commented MMPZ: "None of the mainstream media appeared to consider this
effort to prevent the women from exercising their right to express
themselves a newsworthy event."
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Zimbabwe's main labour
movement has called for a national strike on
September 13 over poor salaries
and the inadequate provision of
antiretroviral drugs to workers, warning the
stoppage could last
indefinitely if the government did not accede to the
demands.
Lovemore Matombo, president of Zimbabwe's Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU),
said the ZCTU's general council that met in Norton on Sunday
unanimously
decided to roll out mass protests to press for a minimum wage of
Z$90,000, a
review of the tax-free threshold from 35 percent to 30percent
and the
free-provision of ARV drugs to combat HIV/AIDS which is killing at
least
3,000 people every week in Zimbabwe.
There was no immediate
reaction from the government on the strike threat.
But Labour minister
Nicholas Goche was quoted by State television saying the
government was
working on urgent measures to cushion workers and consumers
from high
inflation.
The MDC called on "all progressive Zimbabweans" to support the
strike,
saying it was time to protest President Mugabe's legendary economic
mismanagement.
"There is no doubt that workers are all the more poorer
because of bad
governance," MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - President Robert
Mugabe's cornered regime last week pleaded with
some obscure representatives
of nine European countries who came to
apologize for the sins of their
ancestors, to ask their governments to lift
sanctions imposed on
Zimbabwe.
Addressing the European-African Reconciliation Process Prayer
Network
conference in Harare last week, Chris Seaton, leader of the nine
representatives from Britain, France, Germany, America, Austria,
Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Belgium said they were in Zimbabwe to
apologise on behalf of their ancestors who had "pillaged the continent,
leading to Africa's current underdevelopment". Presented with such a rare
occasion to push its anti-west propaganda which of late has had no takers,
President Mugabe's regime immediately seized the opportunity to flog its
rhetoric that sanctions were hurting ordinary Zimbabweans.
The president
of the Chiefs Council Fortune Charumbira said: "I am stunned
by what I saw
and I didn't expect it to come from the arrogant whites,
kneeling before us
in typical African culture, asking for forgiveness for
the sins committed by
their ancestors to us."
Charumbira said the European Christian
representatives should call on their
governments to remove "sanctions"
imposed on the Zanu (PF) government
because they were "hurting people." An
EU travel ban applies personally to
government ministers and a few other
individuals complicit in the abuse of
human rights but is willfully
misrepresented by the Mugabe regime as
sanctions against Zimbabwe as a
nation.
Former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano, who also attended the
conference, said the reconciliatory initiatives being pursued were symbolic
for Zimbabwe, "currently suffering the effects of unjust international
relations." President Mugabe, who was supposed to address the conference,
did not turn up in as yet unclear circumstances. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE
- As the day of nationwide mass protest draws near, the government
has gone
into panic mode. Faced with the prospect of a crippling civil
disobedience
campaign following opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's
landmark march
on Parliament last Friday, the Mugabe regime has been
desperately beefing up
security in the capital and at government
institutions.
Tsvangirai's
march was joined by several senior officials from the MDC and
more than 500
afternoon shoppers. The police were caught flat-footed and
failed to respond
as the large group marched from the party's Harvest House
headquarters in
central Harare to Parliament Building and back, brandishing
placards
demanding Mugabe's exit.
With tensions rising throughout the country and many
civic groups such as
WOZA, the Combined Harare Residents Association, the
National Constitutional
Assembly and the labour movement all planning mass
protests, the Joint
Operations Command is in a flap.
Highly placed
defence sources told The Zimbabwean that all strategic
national areas such
as government offices and fuel stations catering for
state security vehicles
would be heavily guarded because of fears that
opposition party activists
could tamper with them to immobilise the security
forces.
They said the
provincial JOC heads had been given strict orders to ensure
that the
protests did not turn violent, as any violence could be used by the
MDC and
foreign countries to justify international intervention.
"The provincial JOCs
have been told that we should make no show of force
because the MDC wants to
use the 'Sharpeville massacres trick' to get
international sympathy and
possibly foreign intervention," a senior police
officer in Harare said. The
CIO, according to well-placed sources here, is
frantically trying to
manufacture evidence pointing to a foreign hand in the
organization of the
planned mass action, whose timing and duration the MDC
has still to
announce.
The government has specifically accused Britain of being involved
in the
threatened strike, but London has rejected the charge as
absurd.
State Security minister Didymus Mutasa alleged that the MDC was
paying
people to engage in the strike. He said adequate measures had been
taken to
prevent anarchy but could neither deny nor confirm that the army
was also
involved in the exercise.
The MDC has denied state media reports
that it is funding youths to
spearhead the strike.
The Zimbabwean
BY KJW
Zimbabwe is a "time bomb
ticking which could all too easily explode into
deadly violence that would
not only ravage Zimbabwe but would also
destabilise South Africa and other
states in the region," according to a
recent report by the International
Crisis Group (ICG). Unless the opposition
movements and civil society groups
co-ordinate a mass action plan, the ICG
warns that there might be "an
explosion that could cost thousands of lives".
At present the opposition is
fragmented. The MDC is split and while the
majority Tsvangirai-led faction
has been in consultation with the people
since last year, to decide upon the
next step, no concrete plans have been
put forward. According to the report,
a sense of "paralysis hangs over the
country" and the stalemate is only
likely to be broken by some sort of
"domestic resistance". The report calls
upon the MDC and civil society to
manage the resistance by working together
in a loose coalition to "speak to
the government with one voice."
In a
recent discussion programme, SW Radio's Violet Gonda interviewed women
activists and opposition leaders. WOZA co-ordinator Jenni Williams said that
in her experience, in order for mass action to be successful "you have to
have confidence-building activities". She added: "We don't have a lot of
confidence in the fact that mass action is definitely on the agenda and
being planned, when we do not see these confidence-building
measures."
She said the MDC's claim that they were consulting the masses on a
way
forward, was still seen as rhetoric. WOZA did not see a real
consultative
process at the grassroots level because they, as a grassroots
movement, had
not been consulted by any of the political parties. She said
that she was
"very surprised" that they had not been approached. However,
Sekai Holland
from the Tsvangirai MDC said that the consultation process
was, as far as
she could see, "on course".
According to ICG, public
discontent is at an "all time high" due to
Operation Murambatsvina and the
economic crisis. However the "MDC may not be
ready to take advantage" as it
"gives the impression of scrambling to catch
up to scenarios that
continually take it by surprise."
In order for the MDC to get the country
back on the road to democracy, the
ICG says that it must first overcome its
"serious internal divisions" and
mount an "effective non violent resistance
campaign". The report does
indicate some hope of co-operation between the
two factions of the MDC and
civil society as both Tsvangirai and Mutambara
attended a Christian Alliance
meeting in June 2006 to discuss greater
unity.
Speaking on SW Radio, Thoko Matshe from the Mutambara-led MDC, said:
"I
think we have allowed ourselves to be divided and ruled," adding, "What I
am
getting to hear from my colleagues is that we should have more
co-ordination". However she felt that many Zimbabweans were sitting on the
sidelines rather than getting involved in the struggle. "People are
expecting other people to do, there are too few people n the frontline being
hit over and over again," she said.
The ICG report indicated that fear of
retribution from the government
prevents many people from participating in
mass protests, although it does
point out that if large numbers of
Zimbabweans take to the streets in
peaceful protests, the army "might prefer
to stand aside".
The report says that the MDC and civil society organisations
need to engage
the people's support for mass action by appealing to their
discontent about
the economic situation rather than the democratic one. In a
country where a
majority of the population lives on or below the poverty
line, protests
regarding bread and butter issues are more likely to goad
people into
action.
Despite Holland's assertion that "it's very insulting
and abusive" for the
media to keep saying Zimbabweans are spectators when
every Zimbabwean here
in Zimbabwe is "struggling to survive and is
struggling for change", Matshe
concedes that Zimbabweans "are in survival
mode. We are not really in a mode
of change for democracy and building that
democracy."
The Zimbabwean
What it takes to
produce a blueprint for our future
'The clash between two groups of utterly
selfish, greedy and power-hungry
people is not likely to create a just and
compassionate society'
By Fr Oskar Wermter SJ
When people concerned about
good governance discuss a new constitution for
Zimbabwe they immediately go
into details: should we have an executive
president or a prime minister?
Should we have a lower and an upper house,
two chambers, or just one?
But
before we go into these details we need to look at something much more
fundamental.
What are the preconditions for a new constitution? With
what kind of mental
attitude must we approach the making of a new
constitution?
After all, Africa is littered with ineffective constitutions
that were not
worth the paper they were written on.
If a constitution is
framed mainly for the purpose of keeping the ruling
party in power it is not
a proper constitution at all, and there is no
constitutional
government.
The essence of a constitution is that it creates permanent
structures for
non-permanent, changing governments. A written constitution
is taming power;
it says: power is temporary and limited, relative, not
absolute. Politicians
operating under constitutional law accept that
politics is a game: one time
you win, another time you lose. That makes them
statesmen. Which "ruling
party" politicians are not.
Democracy has been
likened to a boxing ring. The opponents hit each other
hard, but they do not
destroy each other. The battle for power does not
become destructive
violence. A certain balance of power is established.
That is already quite
an achievement. But it is not good enough.
Marx thought that the class
struggle would produce the ideal society,
destruction would lead to
construction, conflict to universal harmony. But
we know: the destruction
of the present regime does not necessarily lead to
a better, more acceptable
form of government. The clash between two groups
of utterly selfish, greedy
and power-hungry people is not likely to create a
just and compassionate
society. It may just exchange one autocrat for
another.
Those who pursue
mere sectional interests do not improve the country as a
whole.
We need
to work as a nation for the common good even if we disagree about
how to
achieve this. We may disagree about the means, but not about the end.
People
need to have a sense of ownership and citizenship. They must identify
with
the whole country and accept all inhabitants all fellow citizens. As
citizens they must feel responsible for the whole country. If they submit
out of fear to the notion that only the current leaders own the country then
they are not citizens but slaves and unable to frame a constitution. That is
the fundamental defect of the ruling class that they see themselves who
share a common revolutionary past as the sole owners of the country and
therefore fail to build a house (=constitutional state) for all to live in,
even for those not of their class and background.
They must have a sense
of the worth and dignity of all citizens individually
and of the citizenry
as a whole. If only a minority see themselves as owners
and full citizens
they cannot frame a constitution for all. Only free men
and women who
recognize the claim to freedom of all can express their common
vision and
their common values in a constitution. If they have no common
values and do
not respect each other as equal citizens, they will not be
able to build a
constitutional state, but will continue as feudal serfs
under chiefs and
crave favours from autocrats.
The bill of rights, which is contained in the
preamble of most
constitutions, must live in the hearts of citizens long
before it is
formulated in a written text. Respect for the rights of
others, acceptance
of one's own duties towards them, as well as a common
desire for justice
must drive people when framing a constitution. If these
moral and spiritual
convictions and habits are not there any constitution
written in such a
vacuum will be mere paper.
Employment offered
Australia
- R 120 p/h Boilermaker, Scaffolder, Rigger, Welder - Required
urgently.
Must have passport, be qualified. 4yrs exp., heavy industry, visa
arranged.
email - junec@telkomsa.net
Australia
- Stonemason - Closing date 2006/11/29, Job ID 1718. Company name
Maxim
Marble P/L. Stonemason, to cut and carve granite and marble for
kitchen and
bathroom applications.
Key Duties: cutting carving, matching and installation
of kitchen stone
bench tops. No specific qualifications required but
experience in the stone
kitchen trade is essential. Experienced with the use
of angle grinders is
necessary. Some training will be provided. Salary AUD$
$ 40,000 + gross per
year. Melbourne. 10 vacancies.
Contact: maree_natalrecruit@msn.com.
Applicants must be prepared to complete
Australian overseas trade
recognition which is $300aus. Minimum 6 years
work experience on the
resume. Not necessary to have trade papers. Open to
all Zimbabweans,
include UK/SA Asylum seekers.
Waiter & Bar Tender's course + job
placement. Call 011 331 9758
Find a job now in
Johannesburg!
Employment wanted
Fully Experienced Zimbabwean Motor Mech,
esp extra heavy duty, seeks work
for hire/full time. Based in Cape
Town.Cell:+27 73 038 0955
Lovemore Tafirenyika Makunike - Young man aged
20 B.M.A Diploma looking for
anything suitable. One and half years as in
supervisory level. Email:
mutsakw@yahoo.co.zw Or call Wison on
26311765762
Events
Amicus and ACTSA Fringe Meeting, "Trade and its
impact on Africa ", Speakers
to include: Peter Mandelson, EU Commissioner
for Trade, Rt. Hon. Ian
McCartney MP, Ibrahim Patel - General Secretary
Textile Workers Union, South
Africa, Sunday 24th September 1700 - 1830;
Richter Room, Radisson Edwardian
Hotel. Refreshments provided. All
Welcome
*BCUK* in association with *The Book Cafe* Harare presents*Paw
Paw Jam* - A
showcase of Zimbabwean music and culture. Art, Poetry, Jazz,
Drama, Punk,
Comedy, Film and Dance. Wednesday, *20th September* 7pm-11pm
Bethnal Green
Workingmen's Club42-46 Pollards Row, Bethnal Green, E2 6NB
*Entry £5* All
profits towards supporting music and culture in Zimbabwe
through Pamberi
Trust. For more info email tomas.brickhill@gmail.com There is
still space
for a couple more performers. If you would be interested in
performing at
this or future BCUK events email bookcafeuk@gmail.com
Open Forum
2006 hosted by the Britain Zimbabwe Society, University of London
Union,
Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY. This is very close to
SOAS, at the junction
of Malet Street and Torrington Place (not more than 5
minutes walk from the
Brunei). The entrance is right opposite the side of
Waterstones Bookshop, on
Saturday 16 September. This year's programme will
focus on the skills and
experience available in the diaspora and Zimbabwe's
need for change and
transformation. The forum will be held from 2:00pm to
5:30pm. Attendance is
free although it is advisable to register in advance
by emailing zimforum2006@yahoo.co.uk. There is a
travel fund available for
those who are unable to attend for financial
reasons. Those applying for
this should email the Zimbabwe Association zimbabweassociation@yahoo.co.uk
with their name, contact details, how much their travel will cost and why
they want to attend the forum.
Miscellaneous Ruwona - MDC UK Women's
Chair Suzeet Kwenda-Ruwona would like
to thank members of the MDC, family
and friends for the support they gave at
the sad lose of her father in-law
Mr D. Ruwona who passed away so suddenly
here in the U.K. Thank you all so
much for the support given to my husband
Paul T.J. Ruwona and my mother
in-law Mrs J. Ruwona. Special thanks go to
the Ruwona families, Matara
families and the Kada families here in the U.K.
and in Zimbabwe for the
financial and emotional support.May his soul rest in
peace and may God bless
you all abundantly.
Zimbabwe National Human Resources Skills Survey.
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora
are requested to participate in this survey to
enable us to present a
correct picture of the brain drain problem in
Zimbabwe and hence propose
effective mechanisms to address the problem. The
survey will take you about
15 minutes to complete:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=144167417E94315
Miscellaneous
for sale
Books by Cathy Buckle - "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are
available
from: orders@africabookcentre.com; http://africantears.netfirms.com
Quality
coffins & caskets. Don't be 'ripped-off' at this sad time! Buy
direct
from the top manufacturer.25 Lobengula Rd Southerton Tel
263-4-665791/2
Property
Bulawayo - Zimbabwe 4 Bedroom large
executive House for Sale, with many
extra's, 2 1/4 acres, swimming pool,
borehole, Price GBP 55000 or HCO
negotiable. Please contact Laurie Bond
Mobile: + 267 72333377 Home: + 267
392 6787. email: bla@botsnet.bw
Country Home for Sale:
Four bedroom thatched home, set in 10.5 acres of bush
and garden, 14km from
Bulawayo. 15 minute drive from good private schools.
Spacious open plan
living and dining area, with jetmaster fireplace opening
on to large
veranda. Fitted pine kitchen onto dining area Large, airy, North
facing loft
master bedroom with ensuite bathroom and balcony. Downstairs, 3
bedrooms
with built in cupboards, bathroom with shower, added toilet.
Extensive
gardens, 2 equipped boreholes with good water. Fenced paddock,
fruit trees
and cultivated market garden area. Swimming pool converted from
reservoir.
Stables, 2 double garages, workshops and 2 offices, car
maintenance pit,
cold room and various outbuildings. 3 domestic workers
quarters. For further
information please contact:
andrewc@novoshorisontes.net;
Phone: + 258 825 156060 OR djc@mweb.co.zw.
Phone:+ 263 9 91 233189/+ 263 9 251145/232136
We can facilitate your
divorce, phone 791685/6, and visit
www.divorcematters.co.zw