Relocated Marange villagers face unfolding humanitarian crisis

A Marange villager from the cover of the report by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
25 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Thousands of villagers who were forcibly removed from their homes to make way for diamond mining operations at Marange, now face an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

This is according to accountability group the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, which warned in a detailed report this week that the villagers “are sliding deeper into the abyss of abject poverty.”

In early 2009 the government announced that plans were underway to relocate almost 5,000 Marange families affected by the diamond mining operations there. The affected families were to be relocated to a farm formerly owned by the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) at Transau in Odzi, about 24 kilometres west of the city of Mutare.

But almost five years later the commitments made towards the humane resettlement of the families have not been honoured.

“Observed from afar the new Arda Transau settlement portrays an aura of sophistication and affluence as it looks like a small urban settlement in the middle of nowhere. But behind this façade of affluence lies a community weighed down by the bondage of poverty and hunger,” the Centre warns.

Only a fraction of the families have been moved to Arda Transau, where housing facilities and developments like clinics and schools have not been completed. The families have also never been compensated for the loss of their homes.

The population at Arda Transau is slightly above 5,200 people, and consists mainly of women and children. The relocated people have no source of livelihood, and they depend entirely on the diamond mining firms, who facilitated their forced removal, for food handouts. But these food handouts have not been consistent and hunger has been a serious concern for months. The Centre for Natural Resource Governance said all the diamond firms, except one, have completely stopped handing out food.

The villagers are also largely unable to grow their own crops, because of an absence of suitable land and no access to irrigation facilities or other necessities for successful agricultural production. The report this week states that malnutrition is widespread and some villagers go several days at a time without eating. One 92 year-old-man said his family survived on eating salt-spiced anthill soil and a cup of water. The old man’s wife was clearly undernourished and the children showed clinical signs of kwashiorkor.

“Without food hand-outs we are doomed, and as we are speaking now some people who were relocated here have not received any food handouts for the past 12 months,” another villager revealed.

The health situation in Arda Transau has been described by one community leader as a “time bomb”, and according to the report this week, the local clinics are so badly resourced that people are expected to supply their own candles if they stay overnight.

The Centre’s Director Farai Maguwu told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the situation is “appalling.”

“There is serious poverty stalking this area and there is a humanitarian crisis unfolding. There are a number of recommendations for the government, but in the short term, the villagers need humanitarian assistance,” Maguwu said.

He also said that a redistribution of arable farm land was necessary, saying there is enough land owned by government ministers to give to the desperate Marange families.

“The government should make available some farms. Most Cabinet ministers have multiple farms, and yet the government has created a squatter camp for these villagers. They have been reduced to squatters,” Maguwu said.

Meanwhile about 4,000 other Marange families are still to be relocated from the mining area. The Centre’s report said however that this is looking increasingly uncertain.

“There are indications that companies are now reluctant to continue with relocations in light of the reported dwindling alluvial diamonds in Marange in recent months,” the report said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Zim joins calls for civil society participation at US summit

Barack Obama on a visit to Ghana in 2009

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
23 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Zimbabwean civil society organisations have backed calls for the inclusion of such groups at the upcoming US-Africa Leaders summit in Washington, with pressure building on Barack Obama to honour his commitments to supporting human rights and democracy across Africa.

Obama is hosting the two-day meeting in early August, and it is expected that more than 40 African leaders will gather for discussions with US policy makers and high-level government officials. The summit will reportedly focus on US trade and investment in Africa, and highlight America’s commitment to the overall security of the continent.

Invites are only being exteded to those nations in ‘good standing’ with the US, or who are not currently suspended by the African Union (AU). This means Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, who remains targeted under the US government’s restrictive measures, has not been invited.

It is yet to be seen if this will change, given that Mugabe was nominated to a senior AU position that could see the 90 year old assume the chairmanship of the continental body next year. It was this nomination that saw the European Union (EU) bypass its own laws to invite him to the EU-Africa summit in Belgium earlier this month. The invite was extended despite him being targeted with European restrictions.

Mugabe ultimately boycotted that meeting because the EU failed to extend an invitation to his wife Grace, who also remains targeted with restrictive measures.

The Mugabe situation has since been described as a potential “diplomatic migraine” for the US, although ZANU PF has dismissed the snub as a non-event.

The US has insisted it wants to see more diplomatic reforms in Zimbabwe before it removes the measures from Mugabe and his inner circle, although last week the Obama administration did revise some of the measures, removing 11 names and adding four new ones.

Zimbabwean civic groups have now added their names to a list of signatories to a letter delivered to Obama last week, which calls on him to invite civil society to participate in the US-Africa meeting.

The letter submitted by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), together with Amnesty International, Open Society Foundations, and Freedom House, called on Obama to honour his public commitments to support civic groups and individuals on the frontlines of advancing human rights and democratic change in Africa. The letter received the full endorsement of more than 100 signatories from around the world.

Jeffrey Smith, Advocacy Officer for Africa at the RFK Center, said the aim is to have an all-encompassing meeting that “won’t necessarily just be heads of state talking in diplomatic terms and to addressing key issues underpinning concerns Africa.”

He said while there have been vocal commitments made towards the advancement of human rights and democracy in Africa, there has been more “rhetoric than action” from the US government.

“It is very evident that human rights concerns have not been prioritised by this administration. If you look across Africa, there have been increasing attacks on human rights defenders and civil society, a spate of repressive laws and this copy and paste mentality of NGO laws that restrict the independence of civil society groups,” Smith explained.

He said that the role for Zimbabwean civil society at the meeting, regardless of Mugabe’s presence, was important. He said it is unlikely the US with change its mind in inviting Mugabe.

“In terms of support from African civil society, we’ve had over100 signatures including many from Zimbabwe. They can give voice to the fact that crises, humanitarian crises, human rights crises, peace and security crises, do no erupt overnight. They are usually the result of years of repression, the denial of basic human rights and the targeting of those who dare to raise critical voices. And this has been seen again and again in Zimbabwe,” Smith said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Khama maintains SADC boycott over flawed Zim polls

Ian Khama was the only African leader to raise concerns about the Zimbabwean elections

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
16 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Botswana’s President Ian Khama has reiterated that his country will no longer take part in regional election observer teams, because of the flawed polls in Zimbabwe last year.

Khama, the only African leader to raise any concerns about the disputed elections in Zimbabwe, has called for an audit of the Zim polls that saw Mugabe re-elected as President.

The Botswana leader earlier this year told the national television station BTV that the Zim elections were neither free nor fair and that SADC had let Zimbabwe “off the hook” for the flawed process. Khama also said the rules that govern democratic elections in Southern African were not followed in Zimbabwe’s case, and announced that his country would no longer participate in any SADC election observer missions.

Khama reiterated this position this week, through a statement by his spokesperson Jeff Ramsay.

“In the interest of public understanding and in light of recent media speculation over Botswana’s participation in SADC election observer missions, the Government of Botswana wishes to re-affirm its position to not send official observers to participate in such missions,” Ramsay said.

Ramsay added that the move by Khama’s government was based on principle.

“Further to the above, Botswana’s position is based on a matter of principle and thus not targeted at any institution or state,” he said.

Khama’s comments about the lack of fairness in Zimbabwe’s polls fly in the face of SADC’s endorsement of the elections, which have also been disputed by the opposition MDCs in Zimbabwe, civil society groups and regional observer teams present during the polls.

Elias Bila, who was part of the Southern African Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) observer team, said on Wednesday that a sense of “comradeship” in Southern Africa’s political leadership was the reason for the endorsement of Zimbabwe’s polls. He told SW Radio Africa that the elections there “could not be said to be either free or fair.”

“SADC is represented by my members of countries and the challenge we have as observers is that the leaders are comrades (from liberation movements) who won’t stand against each other. So I think Khama is sending a message to African leaders to say ‘we need to change and to the right thing’,” Bila said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

SA opposition warns of ‘ZANU-fication’ of ANC

In a bitter indictment, Helen Zille of the DA party in South Africa accused the ANC of ZANU-fication

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
16 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

South Africa’s main political opposition has warned against what it calls the ‘ZANU-fication’ of the ANC government, saying Jacob Zuma’s party is increasingly reflecting the values of Robert Mugabe’s party.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille made the comments this week as her party is fighting against the national broadcaster’s decision to ban one of the party’s election campaign adverts.

The SABC refused to air the advert, which strongly critcises the Zuma led administration and the state of South Africa since Zuma came to power.

Zille said the saga over the banned advert showed that the ANC government was undermining institutions that should be independent, threatening to set South Africa on a course similar to that taken by Zimbabwe under ZANU PF.

“If people are not frightened, they are not following the news. The fight is not between the SABC and the DA. It is between the SABC and all South Africans who believe in freedom of speech, information and political contestation,” Zille said.

Joy Mabenge from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the negative connotations associated with ZANU PF have been created by the party’s anti-democratic values.

“Anything referred to as ZANU-ised is basically about a liberation political party that then turns against those it claims to have liberated,” Mabenge told SW Radio Africa.

He added: “The mark they (ZANU PF) are leaving on SADC and the rest of Africa is a mark associated with the lack of willingness to allow democracy to thrive. It is a legacy associated with the lack of willingness to open up spaces and allow competition and alternative views. I don’t think any political party would want to be associated with this legacy, but unfortunately it has happened.”

He echoed Zille’s warnings to the Zuma led ANC, saying the party should “be aware of the pitfalls of being ZANU-ised.”

“The legacy that liberation movements have of liberating their people is one they should strive to protect, unlike ZANU PF. The ANC should watch out against the pitfalls of the ZANU-fication of its legacy and struggles and history,” Mabenge said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Zim elephant protector steps aside over illegal Hwange land claim

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
15 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The fallout over an ‘illegal’ land claim in the Hwange National Park has seen one of the country’s top elephant protectors stepping aside and shutting down a key elephant conservation project.

The Zimbabwe ‘Presidential Elephant Conservation Project’ was founded and has been run by Sharon Pincott since 2001, with the aim of monitoring and protecting the Presidential Elephant Herd, a unique herd of wild elephants that are meant to be protected by Presidential decree. In 2011 Pincott successfully lobbied Robert Mugabe to re-pledge his support for the elephant herd. This was in the face of land invasions, poaching and other threats to Zimbabwe’s elephant population.

But 13 years since the Project was launched, the elephants now face being left without a caretaker after Pincott announced on Monday that she is stopping her work. The announcement has followed a worsening fight caused by the takeover of a piece of land in the Hwange National Park, which serves as the herd’s home range.

The land in the Kanondo area has been claimed by a woman who insists she has an inheritance claim to the land, despite a 2013 directive by Zimbabwe’s Cabinet that offer letters for the land be withdrawn. In what has been described as a case that “so reeks of incompetence and lack of care, of ignorance, of greed, of covering butts, of back-handers, and of the corruption that this country is supposedly, right now, trying to stamp out,” the Cabinet directive of 2013 has been ignored. Instead, the Kanondo land claimant has forged ahead with the building of a safari lodge.

The Kanondo area is now being referred to as the Gwango Elephant Lodge, which claims to be a conservancy opening for tourism business. The claimant, Elisabeth Pasalk/Freeman, is understood to be an American resident, but concern has been raised amid reports that she is the sister of a known Zimbabwean hunting safari operator named Rodger Madangure.

Pincott has since been fighting for support and intervention from the government, because of the threat the land claim has to the Presidential elephant herd’s future safety. But her efforts have been to no avail.

In a public letter announcing her withdrawal, Pincott listed the repeated failures of government officials to stand by the Decree mean to guarantee the elephants’ safety. She said that under the watch of former Environment Minister Francis Nhema, “land areas were snatched and underhanded hunting activities went on, and on. When further land claim problems resurfaced in early 2013, Minister Nhema was too busy electioneering to help with my pleas.”

She said that Nhema’s successor Saviour Kasukuwere has also proved a disappointment, after becoming “suspiciously quiet with regards to the Kanondo land grab, when it all clearly became too hard.”

“Under Minister Nhema’s watch we lost forever one area, and then another. But at least these were on an outer edge of the key area. Then it got much worse. Under Minister Kasukuwere’s watch, we have now lost yet another; the most critical of them all (Kanondo). What we have now is little plots of land, where questionable individuals are being allowed to do as they please, destroying past processes and efforts (that were particularly intense over the past 12 months). That this has been allowed to happen shows just how ‘important’ the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe are to the government,” Pincott said.

She added: “I cannot allow myself to be linked to such new depths of collusion and cluelessness. I cannot keep hitting my head against a brick wall, year after year after year after year, with lack of care and lack of respect and understanding of these elephants growing and growing – despite all the efforts – like an invasive weed over a pond, smothering everything.”

Johnny Rodrigues, the Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF), who has worked closely with Pincott over the past 13 years, said Tuesday that he was “disappointed and disgusted” by how the situation has developed.

“It’s uncalled for and shows the authorities here in Zimbabwe are not serious about what they say. They are doing nothing about protecting the areas for the elephants…. These greedy people are trying to fatten their wallets and they don’t care about wildlife,” Rodrigues said.

He added: “Once she’s removed from there, the Presidential elephants will be gone. I hope they move on, but I believe the people claiming this land are interlinked with hunting operations so I don’t see any future for these animals. They will all be shot and that will be the end of the Presidential herd.”

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

US man pleads guilty to illegal ZANU PF lobbying

Prince Asiel Ben Israel

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
14 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

An American businessman has admitted he illegally lobbied on behalf of ZANU PF for the removal of US targeted restrictive measures against the Robert Mugabe regime, and now faces a five year jail term.

72 year old Prince Asiel Ben Israel, a former cult leader now described as a “consultant” on American trade relations with Africa, pleaded guilty in a US Federal Court last week to one count of failing to register as an agent for a foreign government.

The Chicago based businessman admitted that he tried to persuade US government officials, including an Illinois state senator and two US representatives from Chicago, to push for the lifting of the targeted sanctions.

The charges against Ben Israel were brought last year by federal prosecutors, who also charged fellow Chicago businessman C. Gregory Turner, 71, in the case. Turner has pleaded not guilty and his trial is pending.

The pair has been accused of a making a financial arrangement with ZANU PF in 2008, to the tune of $3.4 million, in exchange for their US lobbying efforts.

The US Attorney’s Office in Chicago stated last year that the men met with Mugabe, then Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and other officials “multiple times” in the US and Africa, and allegedly agreed to lobby US officials on Zimbabwe’s behalf. In late 2008 the pair allegedly signed a “Consulting Agreement” that called for an initial payment of $90,000 which was paid out from a Zimbabwean official’s account in Botswana.

Political analyst Clifford Mashiri said Monday that the case has clearly exposed how money is driving calls for the removal of targeted measures against the Mugabe regime. He said such lobbying efforts, as demonstrated in the US case, indicate the likelihood of numerous “financial arrangements” being conducted on ZANU PF’s behalf.

“It is an interesting case and it is enlightening to understand what is happening behind the scenes in the lobby for the removal of these targeted measures,” Mashiri told SW Radio Africa.

The US measures against Mugabe and his inner circle remain in place since they were imposed in 2003. Unlike Europe, which has lifted almost all its targeted restrictions as part of re-engagement efforts with ZANU PF, the US has insisted that more reforms are needed in Zimbabwe before its measures are reevaluated.

Mashiri said the US case is unlikely to be an isolated one, and he questioned the motive behind the European Union (EU) decision to de-list most of the Mugabe regime. Mugabe himself and his wife Grace are the only people still targeted under the European measures.

“It is unlikely that the lifting of the EU measures was done with the best intentions. And you cannot rule out the possibility that a lot of money was spent in lobbying efforts,” Mashiri said.

The EU has been roundly criticised for its decision on the targeted sanctions, particularly after it was admitted by a top Belgian diamond official that there was active lobbying on ZANU PF’s behalf before the EU.

Antwerp World Diamond Council (AWDC) chief executive Ari Epstein told a recent Parliamentary meeting in Harare that he “made a commitment” to former Zim Mines Minister Obert Mpofu to lobby for the removal of the European restrictions, in exchange for the sale of Chiadzwa diamonds in Belgium.

“I made a commitment to the minister to help lift sanctions on Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and I worked extremely hard to keep these promises,” said Epstein.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Illegal allocation of hunting licenses linked to US ban on tusks

Wealthy hunters from the US come to Zimbabwe and like to take trophies back with them

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
9 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The unlawful allocation of hunting licenses in Zimbabwe in recent years has been pegged as a major factor in the decision by the United States to ban hunted elephant trophies.

The US wildlife department announced last week that it was suspending the import of sport-hunted elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, citing questionable management practices and a lack of effective law enforcement.

In a statement on its website, the US wildlife department said: “Given the current situation on the ground in both Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the Service is unable to make positive findings required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act to allow import of elephant trophies from these countries.”

It added: “Additional killing of elephants in these countries, even if legal, is not sustainable and is not currently supporting conservation efforts that contribute towards the recovery of the species.”

The ban comes of the back of the poaching crisis that hit Hwange National Park last year, where hundreds of elephants were killed by poachers using the deadly cyanide chemical. The ban also comes amid a fresh threat to Zimbabwe’s protected Presidential Elephant Herd, after the takeover of a piece of land in Hwange that serves as the herd’s home range.

That takeover defies a Cabinet directive from last year that the land was ‘state owned’ and all offer letters for it must be withdrawn. Conservation groups meanwhile have raised concern for the safety of the Presidential elephants, because the woman who has claimed the land is related to a local hunting operator.

Johnny Rodrigues, the Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) told SW Radio Africa that the ZANU PF government’s history of illegally handing out land claims and hunting permits to party officials and loyalists means the entire hunting business in Zimbabwe has fallen into disrepute. The ZCTF warned that in recent months hunting permits have been handed out along the lines of the country’s indigenisation laws. Rodrigues said this leads to untrained, unregulated hunting operators acting in an unsustainable manner.

“A lot of hunters do hunting in an ethical manner, and they plow a lot back into conservation. But the uncontrollable way in which a person who has no experience in hunting, suddenly gets issued permits to have hunting, is a real problem,” Rodrigues said.

National Parks in 2012 year issued hunting permits to 25 so-called indigenous ‘farmers’ who were given land in the wildlife-rich Save Valley Conservancy in the Lowveld. This was said to be part of the government’s ‘wildlife based land reform’ exercise, saying beneficiaries have been allocated 25-year land leases in conservancies throughout the Masvingo province.

Included in the list of beneficiaries were top ZANU PF officials and loyalists, including war vets leader Joseph Chinotimba, Major General Gibson Mashingaidze, Major General Engelbert Rugeje, Masvingo Governor Titus Maluleke, then ZANU PF Masvingo provincial chair Lovemore Matuke, then Deputy Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora, ZANU PF’s central committee member Enock Porusingazi, as well as ZANU PF MPs Alois Baloyi, Abraham Sithole, Samson Mukanduri and Noel Mandebvu.

ZANU PF’s Environment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has since likened the US ban on Zim elephant trophies to “sanctions on the elephants”.

Rodrigues said this position was hardly surprising, because top party officials are involved in the majority of hunting operations across the country.

“For years the very wealthy people in America have been coming to Zim to hunt, and then you have the top dogs in Zimbabwe who own most of the hunting concessions, and they’re going to feel the pinch now and they can’t be as greedy as they were,” Rodrigues said.

He meanwhile added that things like photographic tourism would be of more benefit to Zimbabwe in the long term.

“If we had the tourism coming into the country, it would generate ten times the amount that hunting generates,” Rodriques said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Mbada claims ‘high office’ in govt responsible for tax evasion

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
9 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The Mbada mining firm, which has been operating at the Chiadzwa diamond fields since 2008, has said it is not at fault for the non-payment of millions of dollars in tax.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has ordered the firm to pay a portion of its tax debt, issuing a garnishee order for $22.4 million. This is the second such order on Mbada accounts at BancABC in four months.

The company has allegedly been withholding tax it accrued during transactions with a contractor called Gecko. A previous garnishee order issued by Zimra last year, to the tune of over $5 million, was cancelled shortly after it was issued.

Mbada has not denied the tax liability, passing the buck instead to the ‘highest level’ of government. According to a report in the NewsDay newspaper, the diamond firm said that there was an agreement that the companies had paid their taxes in advance “after they chipped in with cash for civil servants’ salaries.”

According to a March letter from the national Treasury to Zimra, and published by NewsDay, “government, through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, directed that diamond mining houses where government has a shareholding should remit advance dividends in order to mitigate cashflow challenges.”

The letter, signed by Finance and Economic Development secretary Willard Manungo and addressed to Zimra commissioner-general Gershem Pasi, said that three mining companies, including Mbada, had directly paid over $197 million to the cash-strapped government last year towards civil servants’ salaries.

This is a complete contradiction of the claims made previously by government ministers that Chiadzwa diamonds were not benefitting the state in anyway. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said late last year that out of a targeted $40 million expected from diamond sales in 2013, nothing had been received by the Treasury.
Chinamasa’s predecessor, Tendai Biti, meanwhile repeatedly stated during his tenure that no money was forthcoming from the diamond mining firms.

Millions of dollars of diamond profits have gone ‘missing’ from the alluvial fields, amid accusations from international rights groups that the cash was being used to prop up the Mugabe regime.

Meanwhile news that the ‘highest level’ of government was involved in Mbada’s tax liability has come as little surprise to many, with the mining firm having strong links to Robert Mugabe.

Mbada chairman Robert Mhlanga is a long time Mugabe family ally and former pilot for Robert Mugabe. His company also made one of the largest cash donations at the wedding of Mugabe’s only daughter to Simba Chikore last month, giving the couple $100,000.

Minister Chinamasa meanwhile last month announced plans to reduce the number of diamond mining operations in Chiadzwa to just one, allegedly in an effort to improve transparency at the alluvial fields. And although the government has not yet announced how it will determine who gets to control the concessions, it appears likely that Mbada, with its strong connections, will be given control.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

EU policy under fire in ZANU PF led ‘test’ case

Businessman Aguy Georgias

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
8 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

A legal challenge filed against the European Union (EU) by a ZANU PF member has seen the targeted sanctions policy of the Brussels based body come under fire, with the outcome of the case set to have far reaching consequences.

Businessman Aguy Georgias, a former ZANU PF senator and deputy minister in government, has been fighting against his inclusion on the EU’s list of targeted restrictions in 2007. Despite being removed from that list in 2011, when the EU began a controversial re-engagement campaign with ZANU PF, Georgias is arguing that being targeted with restrictions for five years resulted in significant personal and business losses.

Georgias, the founder and CEO of the Trinity Engineering company, is seeking more than €6 million in damages from the EU. Asked previously if his removal from the EU’s list of measures would result in him dropping the lawsuit, Georgias said: “Dropping the case at this stage would not make any sense after spending such an amount of money (over $1.3million).’’

Oral hearing of his case began last week at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where Georgias’ lawyers questioned the European bloc’s policy of implementing targeted sanctions. UK based advocate High Mercer last week compared the ‘sanctions’ on the Mugabe regime to the US government’s policies at Guantanamo Bay.

Georgias’ lawyers are arguing that his inclusion on the ‘sanctions’ list was based solely on the fact that he was part of the Zimbabwe government. Mercer argued in court last week that the use of “absolute discretion” by the EU in deciding who in Zimbabwe was targeted with restrictions was akin to a breach of the EU’s own standards of justice and human rights law.

“What the EU is saying is that we will protect human rights and uphold the rule of law in Europe, but we will deny the same to the Government leaders in Zimbabwe where we will exercise absolute discretion to punish them,” he said.

Mercer told the court that Georgias had been wrongfully listed and judged “guilty by association” by the EU because he accepted his position in government.

Although Georgias is considered more of a ‘moderate’ than some of his ZANU PF fellows, the businessman has for years been a major party sponsor and vocal advocate for the removal of the targeted ‘sanctions’. Elected a non-constituent party senator in 2005, it was widely believed his rise to power was linked more to his financial benefit than his political prowess.

He also went on to lead calls for the ZANU PF government’s appeal against a landmark court ruling  in South Africa, which compelled the authorities there to arrest and prosecute Zimbabwean officials for alleged human rights abuses.

But his lawyers maintain that this ‘association’ with the Mugabe regime should not have warranted his inclusion on the sanctions list. Mercer questioned why the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was not listed when he became Prime Minister in 2009, if according to the EU only being a member of the government was the “necessary and sufficient” condition for inclusion on list.

EU Commission legal advisor Bart Driessen countered that Georgias had willfully accepted his appointment to the government with the full knowledge that he would be subject to EU restrictions and should therefore have declined. Minas Konstantinidis, appearing for the EU Council, argued along the same lines, stating that Georgias invited the EU action upon himself and should not cry foul.

UK based Zimbabwean journalist Makusha Mugabe told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the case “exposes the EU’s own policy failures.”

“The EU chose to continue to engage with ZANU PF, despite the fact that they never pulled back from dictatorial and repressive actions. They (the EU) still thought that by removing sanctions through a carrot and stick approach, they’d see some change. This never happened, and shows dictators don’t change,” the journalist said.

He called the Georgias matter a ‘test case’ that could set a difficult precedent for the EU if the ZANU PF official is successful.

“The argument is that the whole basis for sanctions is not legal. It would suggest that countries and organisations have no right to impose any form of sanctions. If he wins this case, it could open the door for more litigation,” Mugabe said.

The case comes as ZANU PF is still waiting for a hearing date of its ‘sanctions’ lawsuit against the EU. The case has been almost three years in the making, after former Attorney General Johannes Tomana in 2011 gave the European bloc a two week ultimatum to pledge a total removal of the targeted measures, or face litigation. The measures now only remain against Robert Mugabe and his wife, but there is no sign of the case against the EU being withdrawn.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

ZANU PF minister accused of ‘dishonesty’ in mining trust case

Former Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasakuwere signing documents with Dave Brown from Zimplats

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
07 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Former Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere is again facing accusations of dishonesty and lying, in the ongoing probe into the failed Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust.

The Ownership Trust was launched by Robert Mugabe in 2012, with a ‘pledge’ of US$50 million to be used for development projects in Marange. The multimillion dollar cash injection was allegedly the result of ‘contributions’ by the five mining firms operating at the Chiadzwa diamond mines.

Minister Kasukuwere was one of the architects of the deal, and during the Trust launch he presented Mugabe with a cheque for $50 million.

But two years later it has emerged that out of the ‘promised’ amount, only $400,000 was remitted, with officials from the mining firms distancing themselves from claims that they had pledged $10 million each. Some officials reportedly said they only pledged $1.5 million each, while others professed complete ignorance of the existence of the Trust.

Kasukuwere has since produced “evidence” and the agreements he made with the mining firms. These letters, according to the Minister, were written to then Mines Minister Obert Mpofu and the Mbada Diamonds boss, indicating that the companies in Marange were each to contribute $10 million.

But Kasukuwere’s successor Francis Nhema has since told a parliamentary committee that there is no proof of the letters.

“I have checked with all the files at the ministry. It seems I cannot locate them,” Nhema said last week.

He added: “I have even asked officials whether the letters are there. The problem is that there is no reference, no date stamp to authenticate the letters. I have checked with many files I don’t know if they are there.”

Minister Nhema also insisted last week that the Marange mining firms (and others who pledged to donate to the nationwide Community Share Trusts), violated a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with the government. He said that mining companies operating in Zimbabwe had made the pledge, as part of the ZANU PF ‘empowerment’ initiative.

Farai Maguwu, the Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, said on Monday that the Trust saga “vindicates what we have been saying that the mining sector has nothing to do with benefitting the real people on the ground.”

“I’m happy these companies did not pay money into those Trusts, because clearly the money was targeted for looting. The communities were not involved at all in the management of the Trust, and it is clear that the money was never going to reach them,” Maguwu told SW Radio Africa.

The board of the Marange-Zimunya Trust has already faced serious questions from legislators, particularly regarding the spending of $45,000 in the last seven months. Although whatever money given to the board is supposed to be spent on community development, the Trustees have admitted spending over US$17,000 on board fees, about US$14,500 on travelling and subsistence and about US$13,000 on training.

“This case has opened up a can of worms, the Pandora’s box, and gives us an insight into the nature of the extractive sector in Zimbabwe, which does not serve communities in any way,” Maguwu said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Nhema insists ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ violated in mining Trust case

Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Francis Nhema

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
04 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The new Indigenisation Minister has called on mining firms to pay up the $10 million they each promised to pay into Community Share Ownership Trusts, as part of a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’.

Minister Francis Nhema is under fire from the Parliamentary Committee on Youth and Indigenisation, over the failure of the Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust to pay out the millions allegedly pledged by mining firms.

The Ownership Trust was launched by Robert Mugabe in 2012, with a US$50 million kitty that was promised would be used for development projects in Marange. The multimillion dollar cash injection was allegedly the result of ‘contributions’ by the mining firms operating at the Chiadzwa diamond mines. The cash had allegedly been promised by five mining firms as part of efforts to ensure proceeds from the diamonds benefitted the local communities.

But two years later it has emerged that out of the ‘promised’ amount, only $400,000 was remitted, with officials from the mining firms distancing themselves from claims that they had pledged $10 million each. Nhema’s predecessor, Saviour Kasukuwere, was last month also accused of ‘lying’ to Robert Mugabe, when he presented a false multi-million dollar cheque to him in 2012 as part of the Trust’s launch.

Mining officials, who appeared before a parliamentary committee on Mines, refuted the claims that they agreed to give $10 million each to the Trust. Some officials reportedly said they only pledged $1.5 million each, while others professed complete ignorance of the existence of the Trust. Acting Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda has said if it is proved that the officials lied to the legislators they could be charged with perjury.

Minister Nhema has now been caught up in the fallout of the parliamentary probe, insisting that the Marange mining firms and others who pledged to donate to the nationwide Trusts, violated a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with the government. He said that mining companies operating in Zimbabwe had made the pledge, as part of the ZANU PF ‘empowerment’ initiative.

“The spirit of the agreement, the spirit of the discussion was that they would pay $10 million. We don’t have pledges written but we have minutes. I believe it’s a gentlemen’s agreement, they were in the meeting, they shook their hands, they should honour their obligation,” Nhema told the parliamentary committee this week.

Committee chairperson ZANU PF Mayor Wadyajena asked whether government worked on gentlemen’s agreements.

“The government operates on goodwill sir. That is why we still accepted the $10 million from Unki (mine) without any written agreement,” Nhema said, adding that the companies still had to ‘honour’ their promises.

According to Nhema, 13 mining companies have paid a total of $31 million to the different Community Ownership Share Trusts. Of the 13 companies only Unki Mine paid the full amount of $10 million. Zimplats reportedly paid $6 million; Blanket Mine $5 million; Mimosa $4 million; Freda $1 million; Rio Tinto owned Murowa Diamonds $300,000; Mbada $200,000 and Marange Resources $200,000.

James Mupfumi, the Acting Director of the Centre for Research and Development (CRD), told SW Radio Africa that the Trusts were never set up with the benefit of the affected villagers in mind. He called it “political grandstanding” with officials and government ministers trying to curry favour with Mugabe.

“I am not surprised that the money never materialised. In Marange even the diamond firms and their deals are shrouded in secrecy and the communities were just thrown (in) the dustbin. The ministers were only wanting to please Mugabe,” Mupfumi said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Food shortage fears as govt cancels import permits

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
03 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The immediate cancellation of food import permits have sparked fears of a looming shortage of fruit and vegetables, with no clarification yet of when imported fresh produce will be allowed back on shelves.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said in a statement this week that all current fruit and vegetable import and export permits, previously issued by the ministry, had been recalled with immediate effect. This followed a Government directive on Monday that there was a need to revise the rules and regulations governing the importation and exportation of agricultural produce.

The move means that all fresh produce brought into the country will not be permitted, until new import permits are issued. It is not yet clear who will now be given the permits and when. But in the short term it means grocery stores and other shops who sell imported goods will soon run short of stock.

The effect of the directive is likely to be far reaching, with Zimbabweans mostly reliant on imported fresh produce because of the destruction of the domestic agricultural sector. The import of fresh fruit and vegetables from South Africa, for example, is said to be worth an estimated $1 million a month.

At the same time, some commercial farming groups in Zimbabwe remain afloat because of international exports of their produce, with large supermarkets chains and others still sourcing Zim fruit and vegetables.

Economic analyst Masimba Kuchera said the directive has likely been motivated by pressure from local producers, who have argued that imports are killing the local markets.

“The idea is good, but the timing is really bad. This may induce a food shortage because the directive is coming with immediate effect. Local farmers are likely not prepared to chip in with the required food tonnage of produce for the markets,” Kuchera told SW Radio Africa.

He added: “So we may have a ripple affect with price increases in the short term, because we will have fewer goods with a lot of demand.”

Kuchera also warned that the impact on the export market will be serious, because Zimbabwe’s economy is still in desperate need of foreign currency.

“From an export perspective this is shooting yourself in the foot, because some of the foreign currency in the market is generated from this sector. So this (the directive) reduces the country’s ability to earn foreign currency which is required at the moment,” Kuchera explained.

He added that corruption, which has been rampant in different Zimbabwean sectors, is a source of concern moving forward, with the import/export industry worth millions of dollars.

“Corruption is something we have to be worried about generally, because it has pervaded every nook and cranny of Zimbabwean transaction. Clearly we have a situation where there is a culture of doing business where kickbacks and bribes are the order of the day,” Kuchera warned.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Mugabe accused of ‘diplomatic hiccup’ over EU summit snub

Delegates at the EU-Africa summit in Belgium. Mugabe is not among them.

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
03 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Robert Mugabe has been accused of making a diplomatic misstep by boycotting this week’s European Union (EU) – Africa summit in Belgium, over the refusal by the EU to grant Grace Mugabe a visa.

The summit, which has seen 30 African and European leaders come together to discuss trade and policy, comes to an end on Thursday.

Mugabe, who refused to join the meeting after Grace was denied a visa to join him, had tried to stimulate an African Union (AU) snub of the summit, but to no avail.

South Africa’s Jacob Zuma also did not attend, although spokespeople for the ANC leader would not link his non-attendance to Mugabe’s boycott threat.

EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’Ariccia said Mugabe ‘miscalculated’ his influence, saying the move to boycott the summit was a “diplomatic hiccup”.

“This comes as a major diplomatic setback for Zimbabwe. But for us, the process of re-engagement continues and we hope that we are going to have our relations normalized soon,” Dell’Ariccia was quoted by the NewsDay newspaper as saying.

Mugabe and his wife remain targeted with EU restrictive measures, which bar, among other things, European travel. The rules were bent to accommodate Mugabe’s invitation to the Brussels based summit. But the EU did not make the same exceptions for Grace, on the basis that she had no role to play during the meeting.

But the 90 year old ZANU PF leader was left angered by this decision, along with the EU’s failure to invite his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide. Mugabe, through his spokespeople, accused the EU of trying to dictate the makeup of African delegations.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Zimbabweans urged not to panic over changing SA permit laws

Zimbabweans in SA

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
01 April 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Zimbabweans in South Africa are being urged not to ‘panic’ over changes to work permit laws set to come into force later this year, with a leading refugee rights group saying it will engage the authorities on the way forward.

Concern has been high among many Zim nationals across the border, after South Africa’s Cabinet resolved that work permits granted under the Special Dispensation period will expire this November. Part of that resolution is a requirement that new permits can be applied for, but only back in Zimbabwe.

The Special Dispensation period was introduced in 2010 to give those Zimbabweans working illegally in South Arica at the time a chance to regularise their stay. An estimated two million Zimbabweans are thought to have fled the political crisis back home for the relative security of South Africa, choosing to live illegally across the border.

Under the dispensation period, over 250,000 Zim nationals were granted four year work and study permits. The authorities also suspended the mass deportations of Zim nationals, that they had been undertaking until the dispensation was announced.

The deportations of illegal Zimbabweans have since resumed, and the news of the authorities toughening up its permit laws has sparked real fears of a return to the chaos experienced before. One SW Radio Africa listener said by email that “it is not a good idea” to leave South Africa without a guarantee of being allowed back. He added: “You don’t even know whether you’re gonna get it (permits) or not or when. What about our jobs, accommodation, installments, credits or (do) you have to resign?”

Diana Zimbudzana from the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum told SW Radio Africa last week that the resolution will see Zim nationals choosing to work illegally in South Africa once again. She explained that permit holders will not risk returning to Zimbabwe with no guarantee of receiving the documentation that will allow them re-entry to South Africa.

“The resolution is a sad development because it forces people back into a situation that the permits lifted them out of, and that was being illegal. Zimbabweans went out of their way to get these permits, but they won’t forfeit their lives in South Africa if there are no guarantees they will get the permits again,” Zimbudzana said.

These fears have also intensified after Zimbabwe’s Home Affairs Minister said that South Africa’s permit plans had not been communicated to them. Minister Kembo Mohadi was quoted as saying that the ZANU PF government was not in a position to offer any permits for Zimbabweans based in South Africa.

“The government only issues permits for foreigners who want to work here in Zimbabwe, not the other way round. As far as I am concerned permits for Zimbabweans who want to work in South Africa are done in that country not in Zimbabwe,” he said.

But Braam Hanekom, the Director of the refugee rights group PASSOP, said Zimbabweans must stay positive.

“We are going to engage the government and find out the details and about the logistics and see if there is any possible way for people affected by the resolution to avoid returning to Zimbabwe,” Hanekom told SW Radio Africa.

He said that logistically and financially, forcing people to leave the country just to return at a later stage “is chaotic”. But he insisted it was not all bad news.

“We need to acknowledge that the government has given positive indications that Zimbabweans will be given another chance to get permits. When the Department of the Home Affairs proceeded with the dispensation project, they made it clear that it was a four year permit and made no undertaking that it would be renewable,” Hanekom explained.

He added: “So it’s good news that it looks like the government will allow Zimbabweans another chance to stay in South Africa.”

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter