Messages From Zimbabwe

Hyperinflation has destroyed savings and reduced the economy to subsistence levels, with bricks of banknotes needed for even basic transactions. The Zimbabwe dollar was worth more than the American greenback at independence in 1980, but Robert Mugabe’s misrule has seen it plunge to a point where one pound is worth around Z$200 billion, and accelerating downwards. Officially, inflation is now running at 2.2 million per cent a year, but independent economists estimate it is far higher. Last week a packet of locally manufactured biscuits cost Z$489 billion. A teacher at a private primary school earned Z$485 billion a month, illustrating the impact of the price rises on salaries paid in arrears. Bread – on the rare occasions it is available – was costing Z$200 billion a loaf, a can of Coca-Cola Z$600 billion, a plate of rice and scrawny chicken Z$800 billion, a beer Z$1.8 trillion and a local ride in a shared minibus Z$2 trillion – the same as a civil servant’s monthly wage.

The largest note is the newly-introduced 100 billion dollar bill, and most cash-handling machines, such as shop tills, are only designed to cope with a maximum of 14 digits, so even shopping is a challenge. “The Zimbabwe dollar will be redenominated by a factor of one to 10, which means we are removing 10 zeros from our monetary value. Ten billion dollars today will be reduced to one dollar with effective from August 1,” said Gideon Gono, the central bank governor. The largest new note will be worth 500 new Zimbabwe dollars, or five trillion current dollars. Coins, which have been obsolete for years, will also return, and existing notes will be valid until the end of the year. The German company supplying the paper for Zimbabwe‘s banknotes recently said that it would stop doing so, but it is understood the new currency was printed some time ago and has been held in storage in the meantime.

The revaluation comes two years after the last such exercise, when three zeros were taken off the currency in a move dubbed “Operation Sunrise”. But it proved to be a false dawn, and economists have warned that simply issuing new notes will be merely cosmetic without fundamental accompanying reforms, such as the government ceasing to print ever more bills simply to meet its own needs. “This is just to overcome the absurd difficulty of having to deal with all those zeros but it does not address the root cause of the problem,” said John Robertson, an economic consultant. “The problem is of scarcity of foreign earnings and investment inflows.” A Harare-based finance specialist added: “At least three zeros will be back by the end of August.” Immediately after the announcement, Mr Mugabe, who blames Western sanctions and profiteering businessmen for the economy’s travails, went on television to warn: “Entrepreneurs across the board: Don’t drive us further. If you drive us even more we will impose emergency measures.”

(Source)

South African President Thabo Mbeki is heading to Zimbabwe for talks with the country’s president and the head of an opposition faction, the South African government announced Wednesday.

The visit is part of Mbeki’s mediation role in Zimbabwe, the South African Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of a reported deadlock in power-sharing talks between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mbeki said Tuesday the negotiations were continuing,adjourning for a few days to consult with their respective officials in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare.

But Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party issued a statement on Wednesday blaming Mugabe’s supporters for continuing a campaign of violence despite the dialogue. It said two MDC activists were killed by Mugabe supporters last week.

“The deaths show that there is no sincerity on the part of ZANU PF,” the statement said, referring to the ruling party.

Mbeki plans to travel to Harare on Wednesday to meet separately with Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, the leader of an opposition faction, the statement said. Mbeki met with Tsvangirai on Tuesday in Pretoria, South Africa, where the talks are being held.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a memorandum of understanding last week that paved the way for the talks in Pretoria. The talks aim to end months of political chaos that followed the disputed March presidential election.

Mutambara, the leader of another MDC faction, has also been taking part in the talks.

A source close to the negotiations said Monday that the talks had deadlocked, but Mbeki said Tuesday they had only paused.

The source said negotiators for Mugabe had offered Tsvangirai a vice presidency position, which caused the talks to stall because Tsvangirai wanted a larger role.

Mugabe’s offer, the source said, would allow him to remain in power along with the two existing vice presidents. Tsvangirai would be given the position of third vice president, the source said.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change would not accept a junior partnership in a future Zimbabwe government, the source said.

Negotiators for the MDC will re-commence talks with Mugabe’s ZANU PF party on Saturday, the source said.

MDC officials have said they will not accept a Mugabe-led government because Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March 29 presidential election. Tsvangirai, however, failed to win enough votes to avoid a run-off with Mugabe, leading to a second round of voting June 27.

Mugabe won the run-off after Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote, saying Mugabe’s supporters had orchestrated a campaign of beatings, intimidation and murders against Tsvangirai supporters.

(Source)

A top official from Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was heading home from South Africa on Tuesday after she was exposed a day earlier as a media mole in the ongoing power sharing talks. The dramatic ouster of Theresa Makone, a controversial figure and MP-elect for the MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai, came after negotiators from ZANU PF and the two MDC factions took a decision to feed her false information after having suspected her of leaking details of the secretive talks to the international media. The chief negotiators from the main parties, sources say, entered into a pact to brief Makone that the talks had collapsed over ZANU PF’s inflexibility, and that ZANU PF negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche were flying back to Harare to consult with President Mugabe. The story was “a rope to let her hang herself, a complete dummy”, one diplomatic source said. Within minutes, the fake story had been “sold” to international news agencies, despite the parties signing up to a media blackout during the crunch talks being held under the facilitation of President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria.

New Zimbabwe.com understands the dramatic mole hunt was initiated at the behest of Tendai Biti, the MDC-Tsvangirai’s secretary general who was incensed with what appeared to be leaks coming from his own party. A diplomatic source said: “Biti showed strong leadership. As guests of a foreign government, the MDC must show it is ready to govern by swiftly moving to control unruly elements that can cause tremendous damage to the integrity of the party and its leadership.” Makone, the head of the MDC-T’s women’s wing and MP-elect for Harare North, is at the talks as one of two “support officers”, with MDC-T national chairman Lovemore Moyo. The party is represented by Biti and Elton Mangoma around the negotiating table, while Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi take part as representatives of the MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara. Their support officers are Miriam Mushayi and Moses Mzila Ndlovu. The Associated Press appeared to profit first from the leaking of the false information. The news agency’s story was soon picked up by the world media – including the BBC which had quotations on its website from its own MDC sources suggesting the talks had broken down over ZANU PF’s insistence (false) that Tsvangirai would be a third Vice President in an envisaged unity government. The Associated Press, again quoting MDC sources, said ZANU PF negotiators Chinamasa and Goche were on their way back to Harare “to consult with President Robert Mugabe”. The story was fake.

New Zimbabwe.com understands Makone was asked to leave the talks – a major blow to her reputation after she caused fissures within the party when she was thrust as chair of the women’s wing in place of Lucia Matibenga – a very unpopular move within the party and its trade union movement supporters where Matibenga has her political base. Teresa’s husband, Ian, is a key adviser to Morgan Tsvangirai who has stood by the couple as senior figures in the party warned him to act against the wealthy couple, also thought to be his one-time financiers. President Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara all signed a historic memorandum of understanding last week which prohibits the parties from talking to the media in any detail about the talks. The talks between Zimbabwe’s major political parties were initiated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over a year ago amid rising political tensions. The talks assumed greater meaning when Tsvangirai pulled out of a presidential election runoff on June 27, citing violence against his supporters. The African Union – while giving Mugabe guarded support after his one-man election – instructed him to form a unity government with the MDC, saying no one party could govern alone. The resolution has since received the backing of the African Union. The talks are scheduled to last two weeks, which means the first details could emerge on or around August 4. No reaction was immediately available from Makone, or the MDC-T last night. A South African government spokesman confirmed the talks were still on, and was unaware of any problems.

(Source)

Monday is podcast day. ZNU 131 is available to play using the multiplayers in the right hand sidebar of The Bearded Man blog.

In this programme I look at the hypocrisy of the current power sharing talks in South Africa. And the obvious failure of the three parties to live up to the agreement which they all signed.For some reason, Odeo has deemed my latest programme as ‘invalid’, but the programme is playable from here and can be downloaded here…

As usual, my thanks for your continued support of my broadcasts.

‘debvhu

Violence against Zimbabwean opposition members continued this week even as power-sharing talks got under way this week between the ruling ZANU PF party of President Robert Mugabe and the opposition MDC, MDC sources said Friday. Opposition sources said soldiers and suspected ZANU PF militia abducted two MDC drivers in the Buhera South constituency of eastern Manicaland province this week who had gone there to transport victims of earlier political violence to hospitals for medical care. Provincial MDC spokesman Pishai Muchauraya told VOA that local activists sought assistance from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, but police officers told them that their hands were tied in the matter. Meanwhile, Officials of the same MDC formation headed by Morgan Tsvangirai said they were trying to establish the identities of 60 individuals whose bodies remained unclaimed at Harare Hospital and who are believed to be opposition members slain in post-election violence. Zimbabwe was swept by a wave of allegedly state-sponsored political violence following the March 31 general and presidential elections which yielded an opposition majority in the lower house of parliament and in which Tsvangirai outpolled Mugabe. Tsvangirai dropped out of a June 27 run-off election against Mr. Mugabe over the escalating violence. Though Harare Hospital in normal times occasionally receives unidentified bodies, MDC officials said they fear some of the bodies now in the mortuary could be those of activists who went missing in the approach to and the aftermath of the June 27 run-off election. MDC Home Affairs Secretary Sam Sipepa Nkomo told VOA that it has not been easy to make identifications as some bodies have been mutilated or badly burned.

(Source)

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated seventeen entities, including several Zimbabwean parastatals, and one individual whose support for Robert Mugabe’s regime contributes to the undermining of democratic processes and institutions in Zimbabwe. “In light of the continued intransigence of the brutal Mugabe regime, the US is imposing further sanctions against this regime and its supporters,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. “These actions send a clear warning to those who would protect Mugabe and his assets at the expense of the Zimbabwean people.”

Today’s designations include a number of Zimbabwean parastatals and entities that are owned or controlled by the Government of Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe, his senior officials, and regime cronies have used these entities to illegally siphon revenue and foreign exchange from the Zimbabwean people. Treasury’s designations today include the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (a.k.a MMCZ), the sole marketing and export agent for all minerals, except gold and silver, mined in Zimbabwe; the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (a.k.a. ZMDC), involved in investment in the mining industry in Zimbabwe, and in planning, coordinating and implementing mining projects on behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe; the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (a.k.a. ZISCO), Zimbabwe’s largest steel works; the Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe (a.k.a Agribank), a commercial bank owned by the Government of Zimbabwe.

The Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe Ltd, a state-owned enterprise that owns a large number of companies operating in the industrial sector, including the chemical, clothing and textiles, mineral processing, and motor and transport sectors; the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe, a financing entity; Zimre Holdings Limited, an investment and reinsurance entity; ZB Financial Holdings Limited, a holding company for a group of companies involved in commercial and merchant banking; and 4 major subsidiaries of ZB Financial Holdings Limited: ZB Bank Limited (a.k.a Zimbank), ZB Holdings Limited, Intermarket Holdings Limited, and Scotfin Limited.

Also designated today are Thamer Bin Saeed Ahmed Al-Shanfari, an Omani national with close ties to Mugabe and his top officials, as well as his company, Oryx Natural Resources, which Al-Shanfari uses to enable Mugabe and his senior officials to maintain access to, and derive personal benefit from, various mining ventures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the “DRC”). OFAC has also designated OSLEG (a.k.a. Operation Sovereign Legitimacy), an enterprise that is a commercial arm of the Zimbabwean army representing its interests in the DRC and elsewhere, and which is controlled by various senior officials in Zimbabwe. The activities of OSLEG and Al-Shanfari’s Oryx Natural Resources, benefiting Robert Mugabe and his regime’s senior officials, have been widely documented by various non-governmental and human rights organizations.

Finally, OFAC is designating the following companies that are owned or controlled by a number of Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”): Divine Homes, a property company whose Chairman is SDN David Chapfika, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture; COMOIL (Pvt) Ltd., a petroleum importing company, owned by SDN Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation; and Famba Safaris, a registered Zimbabwean safari operator, whose Director and major shareholder is SDN Webster Shamu, Mugabe’s Minister of State for Policy Implementation. As a result of Treasury’s action, any assets of the individual and entities designated today that are within US jurisdiction must be frozen. Additionally, US persons are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the individual or entities.

(Source)

Top government officials are scrambling to loot state resources as uncertainty over their careers in the face of the possibility of the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) sends jitters among ZANU PF’s political elite, The Financial Gazette can reveal. Sources this week said in some government ministries and parastatals luxury vehicles were being offloaded to individuals at book value in an unprecedented asset stripping exercise. The phenomenon has spilled into the judiciary, where some judges last week received luxury vehicles with the option of purchasing those they received last year at way below market rates. The development comes amid allegations that senior ZANU PF officials in Mashonaland West province have been implicated in the looting of farm equipment as uncertainty grips the rank and file of the ruling party over a possible power sharing deal with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The Financial Gazette is reliably informed that nine suspected ruling party supporters and war veterans led by one Gilbert Moyo, and currently detained in Chegutu for looting farm equipment in the province, divulged out of court the involvement of ruling party MPs and management at parastatals in the case. “The looting is indicative of the realisation by a number of individuals that the game is up. They now know that they will have to look for other sources for sustenance,” a ruling party source said. Last week, The Financial Gazette reported on how former Mutare Commission chairperson Fungai Chayeruka had been awarded a lucrative package that includes a commercial stand and the purchase of 100 litres of fuel per month for three months at concessionary rates. Chayeruka, who chaired the commission for 14 months, will receive four months’ salary for every year served, a free cellphone and a line, a car at book value and sitting allowances for Pungwe Brewery meetings held between July last year and last month. He will be exempted from paying rates for eight months.

However, Chombo stated in a letter that the car to be sold to Chayeruka at book value should not be the official Mercedes Benz. Mutare City Council insiders claimed council would most likely sell Chayeruka a Nissan Hardbody (Wolf) he has been using during his one-year reign as chairperson of the city. The vehicle would be sold at a book value of $30 billion, which is not enough to buy a half-litre sachet of milk. Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC Manicaland spokesman, who is also the MP-elect for Makoni South, alleged that the government was bent on bankrupting the City of Mutare before the take-over of the local authority by his party. Ruling party sources said not everyone in ZANU PF welcomed the idea of a government of national unity as it meant loss of privileges, resulting from accommodation of MDC members.

Commercial farmers Union president Trevor Gifford yesterday said following the June 27 poll: “There has been a lot of looting. There has been a lot of stock theft on the farms.” Gifford said more and more people were coming up to occupy farms still remaining in white hands, apparently afraid that the opportunity to take over the properties might be lost with the coming in of a government of national unity (GNU). Ruling party sources yesterday said some party members were fearful that a GNU would result in them losing political leverage that has seen them accumulating wealth, while others were afraid of the possibility of being called to account for their misdeeds that have gone unpunished. “Some are not happy about the GNU, but President Mugabe has such a firm hand on his party, the rest will follow what he says even if they are reluctant. The same goes with the army, he has got such a firm hand,” a source said.

An analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tsvangirai’s climbdown over the talks is informed by the realisation that Zanu PF’s desperation to engage in talks presents him with the best opportunity to pull off a better deal for his party, but remains with the problem of alienating his traditional backers, thereby leaving him politically vulnerable to ZANU PF. “He now realises that he can win elections from the people but power has to be negotiated from those who presently hold it. That is encapsulated by Tsvangirai’s owns words at the signing ceremony on Monday. He described President Mugabe as the leader of the ruling party and himself as the leader of the winning party,” the analyst said.

(Source)

Yesterday I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr. Robert Mugabe and Prof. Arthur Mutambara. This document commits our three parties to a framework of negotiations that will take place over the next two weeks.

I know that in signing this Memorandum of Understanding, I represent the hopes and aspirations of millions of Zimbabweans to end this crisis as soon as possible. Honest, hardworking Zimbabweans who want nothing more than a life that offers peace, security, economic opportunity, democracy and social and personal development. This is a responsibility that the Movement for Democratic Change and I take with the utmost seriousness.

This Memorandum offers the most tangible opportunity in the past ten years to improve the lives of our fellow citizens. But, our signatures alone do not guarantee that we will be able to make the most of this opportunity. Our signatures on this document must be accompanied by acknowledging some very basic truths:

We are Zimbabweans who want only what is best for our country and our citizens. Our shared goal  is best achieved in a climate of tolerance and stability, not divisiveness and anger. We believe that wanting a more democratic future or expressing an alternate political opinion should be viewed as a right and not as a declaration of war. No one has a monopoly on patriotism.

We believe that the will of the people is the fundamental basis on which to ground our negotiations.

We acknowledge that these negotiations can only proceed and succeed if the rule of law is restored, if people are able to go about their business in safety, if the public media refrain from using hate speech to polarize the community, if the persecution of MDC MPs, members and supporters ceases, and if humanitarian organizations are allowed once again to provide aid to the millions of Zimbabweans in need of assistance.

For my part, I call on all Zimbabweans who believe in the ideals of democracy as espoused by the MDC, to continue to abide by the rule of law, to live in a spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness in the knowledge that if we work together in this spirit, a better future lies ahead and justice will prevail.

Yesterday, we committed ourselves to a process that presents the framework in which we can strive to find a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis. This is just the first step on a journey whose duration and success is dependent on the sincerity and good faith of all parties involved.

In the spirit of a shared vision to heal our nation, I call upon my fellow signatories to join me in putting aside our differences and acknowledging that we have a responsibility to the people of Zimbabwe to show true leadership and to find agreement that will bring an end to the violence, polarisation, poverty and fear in which we have all been living for too long. Our fellow countrymen and women look to us to find common ground that will allow us, as a nation, to chart a democratic path forward.

We must acknowledge that the outcome of these negotiations will not be acceptable until it has been endorsed by Zimbabwean civil society, the trade unions and the people themselves. We are not here to form an elitist pact, but rather to represent the hopes and aspirations of each citizen and every stakeholder. This is my commitment to our partners who have struggled with us for a more democratic form of government. 

To the people of Zimbabwe I say, have courage, be strong, better days lie ahead.

The heart of the entire world is broken by what has happened in our country, and your bravery is praised among all peoples everywhere.  The world stands ready to join us in rebuilding our nation and restoring what has been lost, once our peace and freedom are re-established.

May God bless Zimbabwe.

Morgan Tsvangirai

(Source: via email)

Leading members of President Robert Mugabe’s regime and their business allies are transferring tens of millions of US dollars out of Zimbabwe to safe havens to avoid the threat of tightening sanctions and the possibility of financial scrutiny by a power-sharing government.

Almost all of these transactions are illegal under Zimbabwe‘s foreign exchange laws and Africa Confidential has seen bank documents that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono has violated the monetary rules he claims to enforce.

This capital flight drives inflation ­ now officially reckoned at 2.2 million per cent ­ and is set to overtake the previous world inflation champions Brazil, Argentina and Peru within the next three months.

Draining the coffers

Most of the politicians and businesses taking out the money use established Western banks and insurance companies to make the transfers. They take advantage of the fact that several big financial institutions quote their shares on the Stock Exchange in Harare, as well as those in Johannesburg and London. The money is drained out of Zimbabwe to either Britain or South Africa with minimal institutional scrutiny, after which it is transferred to even safer, offshore jurisdictions or to financial centres in East Asia.

Within the region the favoured destinations are Namibia and South Africa, where the ruling elite have invested heavily in property, usually registered in the names of their spouses or children. As opinion on the legitimacy of President Mugabe’s regime changes in the Southern African Development Community (Botswana has called on the African Union to deny recognition), we hear that senior members of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front now prefer to move their money to financial institutions in Malaysia and China through large trading companies or multinational banks.

It is this outflow of capital that is more than anything else destroying Zimbabwe‘s economy. Zimbabwe‘s capital exporters have intensified their operations as political and economic conditions have deteriorated, promoting a cycle of decline. James Makamba, a ZANU PF Central Committee member, held accounts in Egypt, and former ZANU PF Guruve North member of parliament David Butau fled to Britain after externalising money into his HSBC Bank Channel Islands account.

Chris Kuruneri, a former Finance Minister forced out by Gono, was imprisoned for nearly two years on allegations of foreign currency externalisation in South Africa. But political uncertainty has seen a proliferation in overseas accounts as ZANU PF officials seek to secure their financial future ­ many in league with domestic companies.

Several companies have extended the government US dollar lines of credit, which the government has used to meet external debts and some current expenditure. In return, they are given shares for dual-listed companies that they can sell abroad for foreign exchange. These include Cargill Zimbabwe, a local subsidiary of the United States agriculture giant, African Banking Corporation (ABC) ­ chaired by top ZANU PF businessman Oliver Chidawu and in which the World Bank affiliate International Finance Corporation has a 10% shareholding; Mettalon Gold, owned by South Africa’s Mzi Khumalo and touted for a London listing; and Vulya Investments. All the companies were given Old Mutual shares as security, which they were allowed to sell outside Zimbabwe after the RBZ failed to pay back loans.

Approval for the disposal of Old Mutual shares by ABC was given last year for loans extended in 2006 and 2007, part of which was used to pay International Monetary Fund dues. The other three companies sold shares with RBZ permission between January and June this year. The disposal of Old Mutual shares in London and/or South Africa is usually done with the approval of Gideon Gono to raise foreign currency to redeem the loans.

Another company involved in externalisation is Remo Investment Brokers, owned by India‘s M.I. Mohammed. One RBZ official told AC that RIB has moved some 8 mn. Old Mutual shares to London on instruction from Gono this year alone.

Gono moves the foreign exchange into offshore accounts, using the proceeds to buy fuel. He has also purchased some of the state’s farm machinery under the farm mechanisation programme through the selling of Old Mutual shares.

New channels

As Britain pushes for tougher European Union sanctions, ZANU PF apparatchiks are setting up new routes through Malaysia. Central to this new arrangement is Mugabe business ally Enoch Kamushinda, who has been living in Malaysia since 2004. Kamushinda recently sold 60% of his shareholding in Metropolitan Bank to the wholly respectable Nairobi-based Loita Capital Partner International. This allowed Kamushinda to open his financial investment firm in Kuala Lumpur ­ where Mugabe holidayed earlier this year. He also which advises the President on his business portfolio.

There are several other companies involved. We hear, former Army Chief General Solomon Mujuru uses a British-registered company to move money through Parlovan Investments, a Harare-based money transfer agency he controls.

Some of these cash exporting businesses are led by high profile foreigners such Nicholas van Hoogstraten. In other cases, the foreigners take on a purely functional role as accountants, private bankers or lawyers. London-based barristers David Oliver QC and Benjamin Shaw ­ instructed by Reed Smith­ are working for a nominee-company representing President Mugabe’s government in Britain, but they are acting entirely within the British law.

Earlier this month, a judge granted AMG Global Nominees an appeal hearing for 3 November in its long-running fight to take control of the London-listed Africa Resources Limited (ARL) and its asbestos mines, owned by Zimbabwean businessman Mutumwa Mawere (AC Vol 49 No 12).

An article on 27 June in Zimbabwe‘s daily state mouthpiece The Herald let slip that AMG Global Nominees ‘represents Government [sic] interests’. AMG Administrator Afaras Gwaradzimba, appointed by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, said in an interview that AMG had received ‘US$2 million from the Reserve Bank’ in a bid to force Mawere to divest control in ARL. Charles Hewetson, a partner at Reed Smith, told AC that Gwaradzimba was independently appointed and the government’s relationship with AMG was as a creditor to the asbestos mines.

Comments

Author: greenbomber

Whoever wrote this article is clearly ill informed. He mentions people like David Butau, James Makamba and Chris Kuruneri who apparently has since been cleared of any wrongdoing,for being the ZANU PF bigwigs who are transferring money to offshore accounts. These are the same people that Britain has decided to give political asylum and yet the fist two are fugitives on the run and secondly have embezzled money from the state. Also it makes no sense to say that Britain is allowing these kind of transactions to go through their banks considering that they have clearly stated that they shall embark on an asset freeze on accounts and properties supposedly owned by the ZANU PF bigwigs. Also if these people are using other associates to carry out these transfers and you people have incriminating evidence why not just do it. Either all these are pathetic lies or clearly Britain and her sister states are displaying double standards/formulating a lie which does not exist.

Furthermore it also does not make sense for someone to move their monies to offshore accounts from Zimbabwe considering that the mighty Britain have been mulling for economic sanctions to freeze assets owned by ZANU PF guys. The only safe haven would be the one in Zimbabwe considering that they have their top man in GIDEON GONO. The writer should try critique is article and next time stop writing all this hogwash to feed the gullible.

Author: the west

Cleared of any wrong doing by whom? Ones that are paid off by the wrong doing people! Do not believe for a second that they stole the money and all is right because someone being paid 10000000 times more than most said it is fine. The Mugabe and regime have more corruption than just about anyone in the world whether private or public. Mugabe and regime has raped Zimbabwe of money and only the stupidest person would thin otherwise. Mugabe and regime has made the colonial raping of everything seem likes kids play. Mugabe uses colonialism to make what he and regime some how look like its ok to rape and plunder your own people.

It would take a very, very stupid person to think Mugabe and regime are doing anything but stealing from Zimbabwe and laughing at the real Zimbabwe people suffering in Zimbabwe!

As Mugabe is so old the ones that will pay for his crimes for eternity are his children. Like Zimbabwe he does not even care for his own children or children’s children or he will know they are the ones that will suffer big time in the future! Oh let me guess, he does not have children, so he is a waste of space in this world and does not do what we humans are born to do and have children to expand on our own knowledge and push the world forward to a greater good!

(Source)