Messages From Zimbabwe

British tabloid newspaper The Sun reports that a married Zimbabwean nurse Rhoda Elizabeth Makambaire has been arrested over claims she had a 4 month fling with a violent rapist in Broadmoor.

Makambaire is said to have had several sex sessions with 29 year old brutal rapist Kelly Edney. They allegedly romped on the mental hospital’s Epsom Ward – for patients who are deemed incurable or show no signs of remorse.

It has been revealed that Makambaire popularly known as Mai Sibanda is a prominent member of the ZAOGA (Foward in Faith) church based in Slough. She is the lead singer in the choir and the revelations will horrify fellow parishioners.

Another nurse was also arrested. She is accused of keeping watch as Edney and the mum of one had sex. The nurses, in their 30s, were quizzed by cops under the Sexual Offences Act. They were suspended along with a third nurse who allegedly knew about the affair.

Edney was yesterday moved from Broadmoor to top-security Rampton hospital, Notts. His room was sealed off while officers removed sheets and clothing for forensic checks.

The rapist, who also has convictions for arson, assault and hoax bomb calls, allegedly told cops he had full and oral sex with a nurse. Broadmoor in Berkshire was last month slammed for high suicide rates and failure to protect patients. Bosses are horrified by the latest scandal.

An insider said: “It doesn’t get much worse than this.” Edney, of Bridgwater, Somerset, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Makambaire, of Bracknell, Berks, earns £30,000 a year as a nurse working on the dangerous and severe personality disorder unit.

Police and Broadmoor confirmed the investigation but refused to comment further.

(Source)

A 16-year-old Zimbabwean student has scored a record of 17 A stars in her GCSEs making her one of the best O’Level students in Britain this year, i has been revealed.

Chiedza Munyengeterwa, originally from Harare was a student at Wright Robinson school in Manchester.

She scored 17 distinctions plus out of 18 subjects she set. One subject was a straight A.

In an interview last night, Chiedza said she was pleased with her results.

“I am very happy with my achievement because this is a product of my hard work,” she said.

“I have been studying hard and I hope to do a course in acturial science or some kind of writing. It will now depend on the advice I will get from my school,” she said.

Her proud mother Ms Hilda Mutodi who is a nurse by profession was last night ecstatic with the news.

“This has not come as a surprise as you would know that Zimbabwean exiles in UK are some of the highly educated people. This should set an example to young Zimbabweans in UK to emulate Chiedza and desist from gangs, drugs and crime,” she said.

Ms Mudoti who is a single mother said she was proud of her daughter because she has proved “single mothers” cynics wrong.

“Chiedza’s father who is in Zimbabwe has not contributed at all in the bringing up of her. All I have done is to respect my daughter and have restrained myself from showing her my bad side,” she said.

Chiedza set for Maths, Statistics, English Language, English Litreaturem, Core science, Additional science, History, Geography, Media, ICT, BETC, Sport.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which published the national GCSE results for England, Wales and Northen Ireland, said there was a sharp fall of 16-year-olds as far as this kind of achievement is concerned.

(Source)

Recent rumours about Kariba being overfull and in danger of collapse are nonsense

Terry began his talk by announcing that recent rumours about Lake Kariba being 110% full and in danger of collapse are nonsense.  The Lake is currently 82% full (its highest this year being 83%in July 2009).  Up to date information about levels and flows at Lake Kariba and elsewhere on the Zambezi River can be found on the Zambezi River Authority’s website at www.zaraho.org.zm – specifically on these links:

Lake Levels:   http://www.zaraho.org.zm/lakelavel.html

River flows: http://www.zaraho.org.zm/flows.html

He affirmed that the dam is in no danger of imminent collapse.  His presentation, based on a variety of sources include the Zimbabwean and Zambian power authorities, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) and a number of highly respected experts worldwide, was, he said, to dispel rumours and to assure people that Kariba Dam, throughout its 50 year history, has been regularly inspected for safety and thoroughly monitored both locally and by international consultants, who have found it to be in a very sound state.

Safety inspections & maintenance

Twice yearly inspections and surveys are carried out on Kariba Dam and every 5 years a special safety inspection is undertaken with experts from French and UK engineering companies who were involved in the original design. Other ad hoc inspections are carried out from time to time for specific reasons when required (e.g. the “plunge pool” which has been scoured out of the rock by the water flowing out of the floodgates). Records and archives for the dam dating back to its construction have been rigorously kept by these companies and there is no cause whatsoever for alarm.

Continuous annual maintenance is carried out on the dam, especially on mechanical parts such as the spill gates and stop locks. 

There are literally hundreds of instruments in the wall which measure stress, any changes or movement in the wall, water pressure, drainage etc. These are continually inspected, have survived the past 50 years remarkably intact and are still functioning well. (For example, of the 263 original strain meters buried in the concrete of the dam to measure stress in three dimensions, 214 are still operating perfectly).

In 1997, the World Bank commissioned a special investigation of Kariba Dam prior to giving the go-ahead for the construction of the North Bank (Zambian) power station. A very thorough and extremely sophisticated computer-based analysis was carried out by international experts and Kariba was given a clean bill of health and declared quite safe!

Lake storage levels

The total catchment area of Lake Kariba covers some 663 000 sq kms. The biggest inflows of water occur during March/April/May at the end of the rainy season.  Flows from the upper catchment in Angola/Zambia usually reach the lake later than those from the lower catchment area in Zambia/Zimbabwe because of the “sponge” effect of the Barotseland Floodplains in western Zambia which hold rainwater and release it slowly over a period of weeks. The greatest danger of massive floods is if both catchment area flows arrive in the lake at the same time.

The dam’s usual spill rate per floodgate is 1500 cubic metres per second (cumecs).  At capacity each gate spills 9000 cumecs. However, the dam was constructed to withstand much greater flows than this… indeed at the height of the 1956 great flood, 16 000 cumecs were recorded! Overtopping of the dam itself, although catastrophic for downstream communities and damaging to the electrics inside the wall, would not necessarily result in collapse of the dam.

The Zambezi River Authority prefers to control the water-level to a maximum operating level of 1 metre below the roadway on top of the wall - to prevent overtopping and electrical damage. Although the dam has 6 floodgates, they prefer, for various reasons to do with stress levels and potential undercutting, to restrict the spill to 3 open floodgates. Lake levels are carefully calculated with the potential for rainy-season floods in mind, and water is deliberately drawn down from the lake from October each year in order to make sure there is enough storage capacity to cope with a big flood. Telemetry stations in the upper Zambezi catchment areas provide ZRA staff with prior warnings of a potential flood situation. However, nowadays, there is less need for dam spillage than there used to be because of increasing power generation requirements.

An operational mistake in 1997/8 resulted in a potentially dangerous situation because ZRA did not lower the lake level from October as usual. Fortunately the floods that rainy season were not huge and they were able to get away with it.

Challenges

1. The south bank of the Kariba Gorge downstream of the dam has been a problem from the time the dam was built. Although the wall is deeply imbedded into the deep-down solid natural rock of the hillside and has been heavily reinforced by buttresses, the top 30 metres of the hillside is composed of a rock which is weak and has tended to slip - a factor which was exacerbated when the hillside was saturated by rain or spray from the open floodgates. This was a potentially dangerous situation as land slippage could have blocked the dam’s underground tunnels. Various measures have been taken since 1978 to stabilize the bank and prevent slip, including the construction of drainage channels. These have been successful. Careful monitoring continues, but it appears that the bank is no longer a danger.

2. Spillway and stop beams - there is mechanical and electrical equipment involved with these, which can give trouble if not properly maintained. The dam was originally designed with just 4 spillway gates each approx. 9 sq m in size. Two more were added after the big floods of 1956 during construction of the dam.  Regular testing is carried out on the gates and the hoist mechanism which lifts and closes them. Many people do not realize that the dam wall is sealed only on the downstream side, with the interior being water-filled. The presence of water can cause problems with mechanical and electrical parts and deposits on the concrete surrounding the gates sometimes needs to be removed in order for the mechanism to slide correctly. There is also a recent issue of concrete swelling (see below) which requires attention if it threatens to impede the gate mechanisms. In 1998 a complete refurbishment of the dam’s electrics was undertaken, with wire cables being replaced and a stand-by generator provided in case of power failure. 

3. Concrete swelling - In the 1980s it was discovered that a chemical interaction between concrete and cement in wet conditions can result in slow, but irreversible “swelling” of the concrete used in dam building. Tests were carried out on samples of concrete from Kariba and it was discovered that the dam was indeed swelling at a small, but noticeable rate. 

Extra instrumentation was installed and it has been discovered that the crest of the dam is 80mm higher today than when it was first built!  Arch dams like Kariba are naturally a little flexible, and it has been noticed that when the lake levels are low, the dam moves up to 50mm upstream and then back downstream again when it fills! Furthermore, the dam now tilts slightly (about 10mm) off the vertical in an upstream direction.

One of the problems associated with this is that it can affect the spillgates, stoplocks and moveable parts. These have to be checked regularly and maintenance carried out (e.g. chipping away of concrete) to ensure that they move freely.

4. Seismic Activity (earthquakes) - A branch of Africa’s famous Rift pattern falls diagonally across the Kariba zone - so the area has some susceptibility to seismic activity. Since Lake Kariba began filling behind the dam in 1958, many seismic events have been recorded (no less than 1700 between 1959 and 1999). The biggest ones were early on, as 200 billion tons of extra load was pressed down onto the Earth by the filling waters of the lake. However, most have been very small. Since 1999 there appears to have been much less action

In 2001, a study of the Kariba area to check seismicity was undertaken by experts. Four separate seismograph stations were erected at a distance of some 20 kms away from the dam to map seismic activity, which appears to have been decreasing in recent years. No damage due to seismic activity was seen, even on the problematic South Bank. 

5. The “plunge pool” (below the floodgates) - This big hole scoured into the rock downstream of the dam wall by water released from the floodgates was foreseen by the designers of the wall. Indeed, the floodgates were designed in such as way as to throw the jet of water out so that the resulting “scour” hole would not endanger the foundations of the dam.

In the first 20 years of the dam’s history, there was considerable spillage through the floodgates, which which led to the creation of the pool. Between 1982 and 2000, the floodgates were not used, due to low lake levels. Since 2000, the gates have been used very little because of power generation on both the Zimbabwean and Zambian sides of the river.

Currently, engineers are concerned that the plunge pool should not be allowed to scour any deeper and that any cut-back or erosion upstream should be avoided, as this would undermine the foundations of the dam. The pool has been the subject of number inspections (some with divers) and surveys (the latest in 2001) and the profile of the pool has been fully mapped. Repairs to soft spots have been undertaken using underwater concrete. If the dam is allowed to spill in the next year, the subsequent effects on the plunge pool will be checked and restoration work will be undertaken.

6. Concrete apron at the foot of the dam - In the last 5-yearly inspection of the dam (in 2005), the concrete apron at the foot of the dam wall was raised as a point for investigation. This apron was designed to protect the dam from undercutting by any small spillage or dribbling (as opposed to full flood jets emanating from the spill gates). It is now underwater because of tailwater coming from the power generating turbines. Divers investigating its condition had previously reported that it was breaking up and some repairs with underwater concrete had been undertaken. However, these had not bonded well with the original concrete, and it was decided to undertake an investigation by drying it out and inspecting. In April 2007, over the Easter weekend, both power stations were shut down for 8 hours and the water from the bottom of the dam was removed to reveal the concrete apron. Most of the secondary concrete repairs had broken and washed away, but the original concrete, laid in 1956 was found to be in good condition after 50 years! (What the divers had seen had been the broken up remnants of the original coffer dam - nothing to do with the original apron itself!).

7. Reinforcing steel within the dam - A further concern raised by the 2005 inspection was the condition of the steel plates imbedded in the wall. Although the dam looks like solid concrete, the area around the floodgates is in fact largely solid steel plates covered over with a layer of concrete. Because of the wet conditions prevailing within the wall, there was a chance of corrosion which needed to be investigated. Inspection windows were cut into the concrete to expose the steel plates and reinforcing bars. In all cases, the steel was found to be in perfect condition! The only problem that faced the investigating teams was to ensure that the concrete used to close up the inspection windows was made to a similar strength as that used originally in 1956!

The examples above were given to show the extent to which the authorities ensure that maintenance and corrective measures are undertaken to protect the dam and ensure its safety.

Summary of possible threats

- Ageing and corrosion. There are many examples of dams which have existed for hundreds of years. The evidence from inspections so far indicate that Kariba dam is remarkably free of corrosion and is ageing extremely well

- Overtopping. If this were to occur, it would cause damage and chaos downstream, but it would not necessarily cause the dam to collapse

- Undermining of the foundations. This is a real threat, but, as outlined above, regular inspections and protective measures and maintenance ensure that the likelihood of this happening is reduced.

- Swelling of concrete. This is being carefully monitored and corrective measures taken.

- Earthquake. A very big earthquake could affect the dam. But it has been designed to withstand such an event. Most of the seismic events recorded have been small and the indications are that activity has decreased in recent years.

Funding and personnel

The costs of maintaining the dam wall are born by the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia through the Zambezi River Authority. There are challenges. But some 5 years ago, because of the declining economic situation in Zimbabwe, the Authority was authorized to generate its own funds by charging the National power authorities in foreign currency for use of the water passing through their turbines for the production of electricity. This has enabled the costs of maintenance to be covered without being adversely affected by the decline of the Zimbabwe dollar.

The safety of Kariba dam ultimately depends on people. In the 2005 report on Kariba Dam, the expert consultants wrote this paragraph about the numerous staff responsible for the dam: 

“In the consultants’ very wide experience of other dams in many countries, it is rare to find such an experienced, stable, dedicated, friendly and unified team”.

The Zambezi Society has compiled this summary for wide dissemination so that such interesting and reassuring information can be in the public domain. We would like to thank Terry Kabell and salute him and the dedicated staff who work to keep Kariba dam safe and generating our power! 

(Source: via email)

An 11-year-old boy from Tengwe in Mashonaland West died after getting caught in a veld fire as he walked along a footpath while his brother and sister escaped with serious and light injuries respectively.

In a separate incident, a man from Goromonzi in Mashonaland East was burnt to death while trying to put out a veld fire that had engulfed his hut. In the Tengwe incident, Ishmael Ndlovu was travelling to Shargazane Farm with his brother Loveit and sister Abigail when they were caught in a fast-moving veld fire.

They tried to evade the fire but on realising they could not outpace the blaze, they climbed a tree to seek refuge. However, the fire engulfed the trees around them prompting Abigail to jump down and run through the burning grass with Loveit and Ishmael soon following her lead. The panic-stricken siblings then fled in different directions.

Abigail sustained mild burns on the right eye, leg and hand while Loveit had severe burns all over the body. Ishmael sustained severe burns on the head. The two brothers went to Tengwe Clinic, from where they were immediately transferred to Karoi General Hospital owing to the severity of their burns.

Unfortunately, Ishmael died on the way to Karoi hospital. In the Goromonzi incident, England Kwaramba (53) of Gwaze village Chikwaka Communal Lands, died after his clothes caught fire as he and his two wives Shingirai Bandera and Lydia Snake tried to extinguish a veld fire that had engulfed their hut.

Police confirmed the two incidents.

(Source)

Four notorious, but now out-of-favour ZANU PF District Coordination Committee members in Nyanga, Manicaland, on Friday publicly claimed that they were ditching President Robert Mugabe’s party, to join the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is being led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

In a move likely meant to pick up their careers, the quartet of William Kondo, Agrippa Terera, Zanga Bariri and Takesure Mahadzva, a war veteran, made the public announcement of their decision during a victory party organised by William Chimbetete, the MDC-T legislator for Nyanga South.

The party was held at Nyatate Growth Point.

The four were apparently riled by a vote of no confidence that they received during a ZANU PF provincial meeting that was held early this month, but on Friday claimed that they had grown tired of ZANU PF politics and were joining a party that had “the masses at heart”.

“We decided to do this way back, but were waiting for such an opportunity like this, where we would show our kith and kin that we have come a party that has the masses at heart,” said Mahadzva, who spoke on behalf of the group.

He accused ZANU PF of having lost all qualities of a political party to become a militia organisation bent on terrorising Zimbabweans with opposing views.

“When we went to fight the liberation struggle, we were fighting for the freedom of this country, which was not the freedom to butcher, rape and torture innocent people like we were made to do in ZANU PF.

“Last year we had the full backing of the army to terrorise villagers and together with them we committed murders that continue to haunt us daily. We are tired of that and now want to move forward for a new start”

Chimbetete welcomed the four, whom he described as previously lost children who had since realised their mistake.

“I welcome the four members to our party and I wish them a happy life in the movement,” said the legislator.

When contacted for comment this week, Paul Kadzima, the ZANU PF DCC chairman for Nyanga, who is also the party’s losing candidate in last year’s parliamentary elections, professed ignorance on the matter.

“I am not aware of that, but I will investigate,” said Kadzima.

“Even if something like that has happened, it is not a crime because no one can stop anyone from joining a party of their choice.”

However, some MDC supporters are still sceptical about the four’s defection, which the suspect to be one of ZANU PF political tricks of infiltrating the MDC.

The four are well known for their brutality against MDC supporters, looting and an insatiable appetite for spilling innocent blood, which they have exuded in the past.

Kondo, for instance, was at one time arrested on allegations that he had butchered a white farmer in the Troutbeck area in 2001.

He mysteriously escaped jail and still roams around free.

(Source)

Zimbabwe has recorded dozens of fresh cholera cases in outlying areas areas after the government started firing dozens of striking junior doctors.

In an alert, aid agencies said 12 cases of cholera were recorded in the eastern parts of the country where Zimbabwe’s first five confirmed cases of swine flu or influenza A (HINI) were detected last week.

No fatalities from cholera have been recorded so far but NGOs that dispatched relief workers on Friday said they feared the outbreak could escalate because of the strike by doctors.

“The outbreak of cholera has caused panic among community members and health personnel. Nurses in charge fear that there is likely to be more cholera cases in the area,” read the alert.

Last year, 4,288 Zimbabweans succumbed to a devastating cholera epidemic that left 98,592 people infected.

The epidemic also coincided with a long drawn out strike by health workers protesting against poor pay and deteriorating conditions at health centres.

United Nations officials last week said Zimbabwe’s humanitarian situation remained precarious despite the formation of the unity government seven months ago.

The causes of last year‘s cholera epidemic – poor sanitation and lack of access to clean water – still remain unresolved.

The unity government formed between President Robert Mugabe and his long time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has failed to attract support from donors because the agreement that led to the formation of the coalition has not been fully implemented.

Despite managing to re-open schools and hospitals the government argues that it does not have money to pay its workers adequately.

Dozens of junior doctors downed tools a fortnight ago saying the government was now able to find resources elsewhere including using fees paid by patients to boost health staff allowances.

The doctors’ salaries average US$170 a month. In a shock move, the union representing the striking doctors said hospital authorities started dismissing its members on Friday.

Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association president Dr Brighton Chizhanje said they had been barred from attending to patients and advised to re-apply for re-engagement.

“We expect our members at the hospitals to also get similar letters soon,” Dr Chizhanje told an online news website.

“The authorities are using an organised strategy to threaten doctors….cowering them into submission.”

Dr Chizhanje said: “I’m not sure if these people are really in their minds, telling doctors they no longer want their services. It will take longer for patients to be seen … there will be chaos.”

He said the action against the doctors was a “big blow” to efforts being done by the inclusive government to re-attract health personnel who left the country for better paying jobs abroad.

Health and Child Welfare minister, Dr Henry Madzorera said he was not aware that the doctors were being dismissed but he admitted the outbreak of swine flu and cholera highlighted a looming health and humanitarian crisis in the southern African country.

(Source)

A Zimbabwean nurse who worked at Worthing hospital has been jailed for one year for illegally claiming almost £45,000 in benefits.

Mother-of-two Dana Afrokomah Owusu, 28, from Kithurst Crescent, Goring, worked as a staff nurse at the hospital from May, 2005, until December, 2008, while claiming she was unemployed.

Owusu, also known as Banyard, admitted five offences of benefit fraud when she appeared at Chichester Crown Court on Monday, August 17.

The court heard she was overpaid £23,268.35 of income support, £18,551.93 of housing benefit and council tax benefit of £2,916.49; a grand total of £44,736.76.

The deception came to light when Owusu - who is originally from Zimbabwe - changed her name three or four times by deed poll, alerting the suspicions of Worthing Hospital counter-fraud officers concerned about her legal identity.

Their investigations with Worthing Council revealed she was wrongly claiming benefits and the council took over the case with the help of the Department of Work and Pensions.

Judge Charles Byers told Owusu: “Those who defraud public revenue steal from every honest citizen in the country.

“The money could have gone to those who needed it. Your conduct was persistent over a long period of time.”

(Source)

Self-proclaimed new leader of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC formation, Job Sikhala says Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should have seized power from President Robert Mugabe soon after last year’s elections.

Sikhala, who himself claims he has toppled his own party president, Mutambara, says Tsvangirai should have declared himself President without opting for a unity arrangement that has subordinated him to Mugabe, whom he says is “a legitimate election thief”.

“If I were Morgan Tsvangirai, I was going to do exactly what I have done to Mutambara today,” Sikhala said Tuesday evening.

He was addressing journalists at the Quill Club, Harare’s press club.

“I was going to declare myself President and was going to ask everyone including international diplomats to come and pay homage to me, ” he said. ” I was also going to ask the entire international community to recognise my government to say that I have won the elections, I am now the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.”

Tsvangirai won the inconclusive March 29 elections but withdrew his candidature a week before the run-off election marred with massive State sponsored volence which claimed the lives of an estimated 200 MDC supporters.

He is now part of the transitional government that has left Mugabe as Head of State while he became Prime Minister with executive powers.

The former St Mary’s legislator said he has ousted Mutambara, now Deputy Prime Minister, whom he accuses of joining hands with Tsvangirai to surrender power to Mugabe through the unity arrangement.

“The verdict of the election was supposed to be respected. When we formed the MDC we did not form it because we wanted to one day go and share power with Robert Mugabe. We wanted total power,” said Sikhala, who moves around with dozens of followers who accompany most of his comments with bursts of applause.

Sikhala said he was on 13 January, 2003, tortured by the police CID Law and Order division for challenging Mugabe’s rule.

“I was not fighting for him to sit on table and enjoy chocolates with Mugabe,” he said.

 He said his assumed status as leader of the smaller MDC is anchored on the support of 90 percent of the beleaguered party’s national executive council members and provinces.

“The revolution has been betrayed,” said Sikhala. “I have taken over the reigns of power in the MDC. I am going to continue with the struggle alongside the majority of the members in my party. Arthur Mutambara is no longer the proper commander-in-chief of my party. He is no longer fighting for the cause of the people. He is now enjoying the crumbs that are falling from the table of King Robert Mugabe.”

Sikhala said those who doubt his actions should do so at their own peril.

“I am a man who says something and follows up on it. I am prepared to die for it and mean it that I have overthrown Mutambara. The total control of power is now in my hands.”

Sikhala said he will call for an extra ordinary congress at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex in April next year that will bring in 6000 delegates to choose a new MDC leadership.

In between, he says, he would organise for “massive demonstrations” both as “a show of strength” and to denounce the leadership of Mutambara and his secretary general Welshman Ncube, whom he says were being assisted by the state machinery cling to power.

Sikhala claims the two MDC formations have connived to abandon the founding values of the MDC at the formation of the inclusive government and joined Mugabe’s way of thinking.

He said Mugabe has stuck to his guns by remained uncompromising on his position on land, his one party state ideology, and his strong condemnation of the West and their sanctions.

He said the two MDC formations have taken Mugabe’s positions of forgiving all perpetrators of political violence without any justice and have also taken Mugabe’s position of having government dominating the current constitution making process.

“To some of us who have suffered so severely under Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship for the past 10 years, we say this is not the solution,” said Sikhala. “There must be truth and justice where those who tortured and killed must confess to the people of Zimbabwe and if they are given clemency, it must be on the basis of their repentance. We are moving away from the act of Mugabe who who thinks that Zanu PF should be the beginning and end of politics in Zimbabwe.”

He said he has written to Lovemore Moyo, the Speaker of Parliament and the Clerk of Parliament ask them to ignore the expulsion of three rebel MPs from the MDC.

They are Nkayi South MP, Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni (Lupane East) and Norman Mpofu (Bulilima East).

Sikhala says the three were being victimed by Mutambara and Ncube as they were among the three quarters of the MDC national executive council members who have passed a vote of no confidence in the two.

“The revolution is now being betrayed by political pretenders. So we saw it that it was better for us to snatch.”

(Source)

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono has proposed the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar anchored on gold valued by an independent body comprising all stakeholders.

He said the reintroduction of the local currency would help in addressing a number of bottlenecks the country was facing.

Dr Gono said the reintroduction of the local unit in the manner he was proposing would go a long way in addressing unavailability of change of small denominations and coins, among other constraints.

The RBZ chief said this yesterday while giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Natural Resources, Hospitality and Tourism.

The committee, chaired by Nkayi South Member of the House of Assembly Mr Abednico Bhebhe (MDC), wanted to know the financial sector’s preparedness in terms of introducing plastic money ahead of 2010 World Soccer Cup Finals to be held in South Africa.

The committee invited the central bank and the Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe, led by its president Dr John Mangundya, to update it on progress.

During yesterday’s deliberations, bankers said they had gone a long way with preparations and international credit and debt cards would be ready by end of September this year.

The committee, however, expressed concern at the unavailability of change, especially coins.

In response, Dr Gono proffered an array of advice that included the need for political stability, addressing infrastructural issues like availability of electricity, water, transport network, and the health delivery service system, among others.

“The financial sector might do its homework, but if other players don’t play their part, the country might not benefit anything from the world soccer showcase,” said Dr Gono.

He said there was need to reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar that would be pegged against gold available.

He said those who had criticised his idea were doing so out of ignorance, as they did not understand the gist of his advice.

“Nobody can move me from that conviction. We anchor our Zim dollar to the gold available. It will not only be RBZ, but all stakeholders. A certificate will then be issued to the RBZ on the amount of Zim dollar to be printed after the committee has satisfied itself on the value of the gold,” said Dr Gono.

“You can also redeem your Zim dollar in return for an ounce of gold. Say, if you want to keep gold not cash, you can go to your bank and get an equivalent of ounces of gold to the Zim dollar you have, so we will be backing our money with reality on the ground. Such an approach is not inflationary because you are anchoring your money on productivity.”

The central bank chief urged Zimbabweans to be pragmatic by “thinking outside the box”.

“We can even print gold coins. The Zim dollar can then gain as it is anchored on gold. We need to think outside the box,” he said.

Asked why the country had not formally dollarised or randified, Dr Gono said that would involve a number of legal and economic issues.

He said it was not possible to officially dollarise because the United States had imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe while it would be cumbersome for Zimbabwe to officially use the rand as its currency.

“If we are to randify, we will have to be members of the Common Union with Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland whose economies are anchored with South Africa. All our policy and monetary statements would have to be submitted to South Africa for concurrence before we finally pronounce them,” said Dr Gono. Initially, Dr Mangundya had said it was more expensive to import coins because transport costs were determined by weight.

“We will have to pay, say, US$100000 to import US$10000 worth of coins,” said Dr Mangundya.

(Source)

Zimbabwean Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara’s MDC formation said on Thursday it intends to lay corruption charges against Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo if he does not formalise the suspension from Parliament of expelled members of the party by next Tuesday.

“The national council has endorsed the letter written by the standing committee to the Speaker advising him of the provisions of Section 4 of the Anti Corruption Act which criminalises any act by a public officer which shows favour to a particular person on the basis of that public officer’s interests,” MDC-M secretary general Welshaman Ncube told journalists after the party’s national council meeting in Harare.

“We have drawn the Speaker’s attention to this section of our law and given him until Tuesday next week to rectify the situation. If he does not do so we will lay a formal complaint to the police that he is acting corruptly in violation of Section 4 of the prevention of corruption Act.”

Ncube accused the Speaker of acting in bad faith by protecting and perpetuating the tenure of the MDC-M‘s expelled members in Parliament.

He said the main faction of the MDC that is led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is persuading expelled MDC-M members to join it and leave Mutambara’s party.

“He has an interest. They are the ones recruiting our Members of Parliament (MPs). We noted that the failure by the Speaker to implement their expulsion is in fact because he is an interested party,” said Ncube.

The MDC-M last month expelled Nkayi South MP, Abednico Bhebhe, Lupane East MP Njabuliso Mguni and Bulilima East’s Norman Mpofu over charges of indiscipline and disrespecting the party leadership.

After their dismissal, Ncube advised the Speaker of Parliament of the vacant seats to pave way for by-elections.

According to the country’s Electoral Act, a presidential proclamation should be gazetted within 14 days after Parliament has notified the President of a vacant seat to pave way for the by-elections.

The three lawmakers have petitioned the High Court to set aside the decision of the disciplinary committee, arguing that it was improperly constituted and that the hearing was flawed.

All three legislators have continued to attend Parliament sessions, including chairing portfolio committees and acquired vehicles under the parliamentary car scheme.

MDC-M leader Mutambara said the MPs are now no longer members of his party.

“Those members are no longer members of our party and the party is busy preparing for by-elections,” said Mutambara.

But Bhebhe dismissed the announcement made by the party leadership, accusing them of being ZANU PF conduits.

“I don’t attend ZANU PF meetings because Mutambara and Ncube are ZANU PF employees who should go out of the party. We are going back to the structures of the party who now have to decide on the way forward at a special congress where they will come face to face with the people,” said Bhebhe.

(Source)