Friday, July 03, 2009
Corporate Council on Africa remarks
Thursday, July 02, 2009
The Militias are Back
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us most militias have been deployed in areas where the MDC made major inroads in last year’s polls. He said ZANU PF fears if its supporters do not particpate in the reform exercise, the consequences could be dire for the party.
“Already there have been skirmishes involving these militias and officials from the MDC in Mutare, Masvingo and some parts of Mashonaland central. The militias are forcing people to attend local or provincial conferences and push for the Kariba draft to be used as a reference point in drawing up a new constitution,” Muchemwa said....
Since independence the country has followed the Lancaster House constitution, but since then the ZANU PF led government has added 18 subsequent amendments to the Constitution, strengthening presidential powers and turning Zimbabwe into an authoritarian country.
Makoni's new Party
...Former Finance Minister Dr Simba Makoni on Wednesday slammed political corruption and greed during the official transformation of his Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) movement into a political party.
A strong contingent of diplomats, media representatives and activists from MKD gathered for the official launch in Mbare, under the theme: ‘Real Change.’ The theme was decided as an ironic spin-off from the MDC’s campaign slogan - ‘Change you can trust,’ which the new MKD says is a promise that the MDC has not delivered on.
At Wednesday’s launch, Dr Makoni criticised the unity government for ushering in ‘fake change,’ while ‘bickering for vehicles’ and fighting internally for power and jobs. He accused the government of not taking the interests of the people to heart, but insisted that MKD was prepared to assist the government if it proves otherwise....
Ex ZANU-PF Finance minister Makoni is now starting his own breakaway party. He is slamming corruption, but has been accused of corruption in the past.
If you believe the Wikipedia post, the "corruption" was about a measley $25 000....which either means he was caught in some minor shennanigans (to small to count and so is incompetent), or he was so incompetent that he is only stealing small amounts of money, or that he is smart enough to steal without getting caught (competent and corrupt). Or maybe the guy is honest and the others lied about him.
the Wikipedia post also says Mutambara backs him...
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
China Gining Zim a loan
China is giving $950 million dollar loan to Zim...
this is in contrast to the West who worries that the loans will go into the pockets of the old government so they can continue to abuse human rights.
Again I'm having computer problems...go to link
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
MDC boycott cabinet meeting
...But Khupe said Mugabe continued to violate the political agreement, including failing to swear-in senior MDC official Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister, while the national security council had never met because "a few elite securocrats do not recognise the authority of the new order".
She said ZANU-PF was frustrating media reforms while MDC legislators and civil society members continued to be victimised and arrested.
The MDC has already asked the regional Southern African Development Community to mediate in a dispute over the appointment of the central bank governor and attorney general.
"For a long time we have remained the polite and subservient upholders of the GPA (global political agreement)," said Khupe.
"Whilst we remain fundamentally committed to the GPA in the interests of our people, it is our constitutional right to consider disengagement," she said, without elaborating.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Harare is the worst city to live in
Vancouver is the world's easiest city to live in, while Harare, Zimbabwe is the toughest, a new survey finds. While many European and North American cities placed near the top of the list, African and Asian locales typically finished closer to the bottom. (according to a survey in the Economist).
...Rounding out the bottom three are Algiers, Dhaka and Harare, as Zimbabwe struggles to emerge from an economic meltdown and President Robert Mugabe's iron grip over the country.
State abducted activist
A prosecutor admitted during a Supreme Court hearing on Thursday that state security agents illegally abducted and detained Jestina Mukoko, a human rights advocate, in December. Ms. Mukoko, who led a civic group that documented the murder and torture of opposition activists, is seeking to halt the state’s attempt to prosecute her on charges of aiding an effort to topple President Robert Mugabe from power.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
MInister denies diamond field killing
Deputy Mining Minister Murisi Zwizwai has denied there were any killings in the eastern Marange diamond fields last year, telling a meeting of the Kimberley Process in Namibia on Wednesday that claims were a result of 'unsubstantiated reports'.
There have been widespread accounts of killings in the Chiadzwa area, which has been the centre of controversy since last October when the army was called in to disperse thousands of illegal diamond hunters. But Zwizwai told Wednesday's meeting of the Kimberley Process, the international scheme to curb the sale of 'blood diamonds', that the situation in Marange had been brought under control.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Will the Green Revolution ever hit Africa?
go to link...I'll try to post excerpts when I go to the office computer later today
