News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

'Zimbabwe's war veterans dying of neglect'

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 11:51 PM PDT

Zimbabwe's former liberation war fighters are dying due to neglect by the state, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for War Veterans says.

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Harare - A huge number of Zimbabwe's former liberation war fighters are dying due to neglect by the state, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for War Veterans said on Monday.

Retired Brigadier General Walter Tapfumaneyi told a press conference in Harare that the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association had failed to adequately represent the former fighters. "They are dying fast and every week we are burying between 15 and 16 and the numbers are increasing because we are failing to provide them with the welfare that is provided for in our laws. They are dying in despair and abject poverty," he said.

He said that Treasury was failing to provide for the former fighters.

"As we die in our numbers, the remaining few must get what they deserve. The law provides for a comprehensive package but Treasury is not able to keep them. We are getting $30 per month and we are supposed to pay rentals and school fees," he said.

He said the Ministry had only managed to pay first term school fees for 22,000 children out of 34,000 and was yet to pay for the second and third terms.

"We have no money, it has not come. We don't pay until we get a grant from Treasury, we have no other source of income and we have not been receiving [our grants]. When the priorities are set, maybe we are not a top priority. That explains why we are not paying fees. It would have been good if we were able to pay the full fess for the first term."

He expressed fear that the ill treatment of war veterans could compromise the country's security.

"War veterans are a national security issue because they may resort to violence because of hunger and we have to ensure that they do not get extreme deprivation," he said.

Tapfumaneyi said his Ministry was working towards uniting the fractious association, saying they wanted to come up with a broader representative structure to lead them as the ZLWVA had failed. He said there were basis for dissolving the association as it had failed to submit a single report to the Ministry of Social Welfare as required by law and did not have a register of its members.

African News Agency

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#Tajamuka in bid to arrest Jonathan Moyo

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 10:44 PM PDT

A group of activists tried to arrest cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo over the $400,000 he allegedly embezzled from the Zimbabwe Development Fund.

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Harare - A group of #Tajamuka youths on Monday descended on the offices of Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo seeking to effect a citizen's arrest on him over the $400,000 he allegedly embezzled from the Zimbabwe Development Fund (Zimdef).

The youths sang anti-establishment songs and painted graffiti on the office walls, demanding that the minister come out of his offices. The arrest, however, could not happen because Moyo was attending a cabinet meeting, which was brought forward to Monday from the usual Tuesday as President Robert Mugabe would be flying out of the country on Tuesday.

Tajamuka member, Promise Mkwananzi, said they would not rest until they accomplished their mission. He said Moyo deserved to be arrested as he had publicly admitted to serious crimes of theft and diversion of public funds, adding that they had also filed an urgent chamber application demanding his immediate arrest.

Mkwananzi said they were not happy with the police's failure to take action. "So we as citizens have come here to publicly effect a citizen's arrest on Professor Jonathan Moyo and surrender him to the nearest police station so that the law can take its course," he said.

"We hear that he is not here he is in cabinet and as I speak we are moving to ensure that we locate him wherever he is so that we can effect a citizen's arrest on him and surrender him to the nearest police."

Mkwananzi said youths would not sit and watch while public officials abused public funds and that they would not end with Moyo but would ensue that every corrupt official was made accountable for their actions.

"This is just the start, it's not only Jonathan Moyo, all Zanu-PF officials are corrupt and we are going to ensure that they are accountable and those that have broken the law are brought to justice," he said.

Moyo is at the centre of a corruption storm and stands accused of conniving with his deputy, Godfrey Gandawa, to siphon money from Zimdef. Moyo also allegedly used part of the money to buy bicycles for chiefs in his Tsholotsho constituency.

Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko declared last week that no Zanu PF would be arrested for corruption as long it benefited the ruling party.

* The Tajamuka/Sesjikile campaign has the primary aim of forcing president Robert Mugabe to step down before the general elections to be held in 2018, according to their Facebook page.

African News Agency

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Mugabe declares critic a national hero

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 07:29 PM PDT

Cephas Msipa, 85, was one of the few people in Zimbabwe who could speak openly and frankly with President Robert Mugabe.

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Harare - Cephas Msipa was one of the few people in Zimbabwe who would speak openly with President Robert Mugabe, criticise him, and tell him that he should leave office. Msipa died at a private hospital in Harare early on Monday after a recent chest infection, according to his family.

Msipa, a former governor for Midlands province from 2001 to 2008, was 85 years old. Mugabe has since declared Msipa a national hero. Burial arrangements are yet to be announced.

On July 11, Msipa, who was a member of the late Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) during the struggle against white rule, went to see Mugabe at State House, and the two old comrades spoke frankly.

In an interview with African News Agency (ANA) in Harare last month, Msipa recalled his meeting a few weeks earlier with Mugabe.

“He wants to die in office. He said he is not retiring. He said people don’t retire in politics and that he was going to stay here (in office) until he is 100. So I said to him, ‘well in that case you will be a speaker at my funeral’. I suppose that was a joke, but that is his aim. I told Mugabe about the massive corruption of some of his ministers. I was frank. I told him there will be bloodshed in this country if he doesn’t change now, when there is time,” Msipa told ANA at the time.

“And that he shouldn’t be surprised if that happens. I told him that if either of us has a heart attack, no one will be surprised. I told him I was ready, but is he? He is a prisoner somehow. He just looked at me, and I felt sorry for him. He said no one talks to him so I did that. I talked with him. He respects me. I offered to help (over the succession issue) and said we shouldn’t still be fighting with young people.

“I told him he loves his party (Zanu-PF) more then he loves the people. That was a blunt statement to make. He didn’t react. He said nothing, and then he looked so frail. He became more active when I told him the churches and business wanted to talk to him. I will go back to him in a month or two and we will talk again.”

Msipa said Mugabe would not be worried that his expensive lifestyle would change if he retired.

“It’s not a question of money. He knows he will still be well paid and he will still travel as he does now, on the state,” he said.

“He is worried about his family. And people really hate her, (First Lady Grace Mugabe) Many people think all our problems are because of her. I suspect once he goes she will pack and leave in ten minutes.”

Msipa, who was briefly arrested during the crackdown on Zapu in the early 1980s, later joined Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, and was one of the mediators who helped forge a political unity agreement between Zapu and Zanu-PF after thousands of Nkomo’s supporters were massacred and detained after 1980 independence by a new, North Korean-trained brigade.

The massacres became known as Gukuruhundi in Mugabe’s Shona language, or “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains”.

“I reminded him that during Gukuruhundi I invited him to meet people who wanted to see him, and I asked people to talk to him freely, and that he should listen to the people and respond to them. So he asked me if I would be prepared to chair such meetings again, now, in the interests of the country, and I said I would do it.”

Msipa said he also planned to discuss that with Mugabe when he met him again. But it is unlikely Msipa did see Mugabe again. The interview with ANA was on September 8, and Msipa fell ill soon after.

Msipa said he had spoken out about tough issues directly to Mugabe before.

He recalled: “His wife, is saying, what will happen if you go? Well, she is saying he will rule from the grave. Well, I had told him in the (Zanu-PF) politburo we have a problem in this country, because your wife has been hijacked. I expected him to react, but he just looked at me.

“Perhaps it is possible that he sees remaining in power as some kind of protection, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But I also remember that once when we stayed together he was an extremely nice man. Somehow he respects me.”

Msipa said he loved his country, and that he suffered for it. And so he said to Mugabe in this unusual meeting in July: “If you had to travel in the streets with me we would be saying; “Is this what we believed Zimbabwe would be? Is this what we fought for?”

Msipa said several ministers in Mugabe’s cabinet did not agree with the way the country is governed. “They haven’t got the courage to say anything. So Mugabe believes those people are behind him.

“But he also has so many people who are corrupt behind him. When I come to Harare and I look at that house, for example, which belongs to so and so, and I say, where do they get the money to build that (enormous) house? I don’t know how they do it. And of course, when he goes, they will be exposed, they will be in trouble. So if you are in government and you are not clean you will do anything to remain in power.

“And I know this started a long time ago.”

Msipa recalled the days when Zapu was a formidable force in Zimbabwe’s politics.

But, “we knew even if the people voted for Zapu, it would not be allowed to take over. Think of what they have done to Dumiso, (Dabengwa) They would just cut our heads off,” he said.

Dabengwa was Zapu’s highly regarded intelligence chief who was accused of treason two years after independence in 1980, then acquitted but immediately re-detained for a further four years.

“People who have guilty consciences, have a problem, they don’t think they will be forgiven, so they must protect themselves by remaining there, around him.”

Msipa told ANA that the succession issue was worrying as people were not sure what would happen if Mugabe suddenly did decide to retire, or when he died.

Msipa said that Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 74, has problems within Zanu-PF with another faction in the party which is loosely known as G40.

“I think there are cracks within that G40,” he said.

“Despite differences with Mnangagwa, I believe in terms of ability he is the most able. If we want the country to prosper, then he would be the right man.”

Mnangagwa has been accused of playing a leading role in the crackdown on Zapu after independence, including the Gukuruhundi massacre.

AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY

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South Sudan wants Machar to stay in exile

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 02:17 AM PDT

South Sudan's controversially ousted opposition leader, Dr Riek Machar, is in South Africa receiving medical treatment.

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Johannesburg - South Sudan's controversially ousted opposition leader, Dr Riek Machar, who fled the world's newest country after fighting broke out in July, is currently in South Africa receiving medical treatment.

However, he won't be welcome home anytime soon.

The Sudan Tribune reported on Sunday that President Salva Kiir was working with foreign powers to find a country that will grant Machar asylum as long as he stays out of politics.

Michael Makuei Lueth, South Sudan's Information Minister, said the government had placed a political ban on Machar, following his call for armed resistance against Kiir.

"He is being exiled. He will not be coming back to South Sudan and he will never be allowed to talk politics again," Lueth told reporters.

Lueth's comments followed Kiir asserting that Machar would only be allowed to return if he denounced violence and came back to the country as a normal citizen without official assignment.

Kiir said that he had developed a good working relationship with Machar's controversial replacement, Taban Deng, who was appointed after the opposition leader fled South Sudan saying his life was in danger, following July's clashes between Machar's Sudanese People's Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) and government forces.

Machar has since declared war on South Sudan, despite the August 2015 peace agreement, in an alleged bid to topple Kiir's government, a move condemned by the international community.

During an interview with the African News Agency South Sudan's Ambassador to South Africa, Philip Jada Natana, accused Machar of attempting a coup and failing to take responsibility for his part in the civil war.

"This has always been Machar's tactic - to capitalise on popular sentiment when international criticism is levelled against Juba and then present that as his bargaining chip," Natana told ANA.

"This was his strategy even during the war in 2013 when there was strong criticism, particularly from the Americans, against corruption by the government. Machar used that as a whipping post to further his own agenda," said Natana.

"He also tried once again to overthrow Sudan's legitimate government in July just as he tried in 2013."

African News Agency

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Ghana politician runs on... fruit juice

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 01:18 AM PDT

An attempt by Ghana's ruling party to make fun of the main opposition candidate has backfired.

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Accra - An attempt by Ghana's ruling party to make fun of the main opposition candidate in the presidential election by posting a photograph of him sipping from a small carton of Kalyppo fruit juice has backfired, with his supporters adopting the brand to rally support.

The new craze for Kalyppo juice, a locally-produced drink marketed mainly for children, is giving Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party the sort of free publicity politicians crave.

As Akufo-Addo's convoy weaved through a densely-packed neighourhood of the capital last week, his supporters waved the boxes aloft and sipped the juice through straws.

One woman pinned Kalyppo to a selfie-stick. On Facebook and Twitter supporters pictured themselves drinking Kalyppo and even pretending to shower and fuel their cars with it.

The trend began when supporters of the ruling New Democratic Congress posted a photograph of Akufo-Addo drinking Kalyppo as a refreshment between campaign stops.

It was intended to gently mock Akufo-Addo, perhaps by making him look undignified, but NPP officials said they then adopted the drink as a sign of solidarity, in part to boost Akufo-Addo's credentials as a man of the people.

One campaign aide said the party welcomed the boost ahead of the December 7 vote, when Akufo-Addo faces President John Mahama, who is running for a second and final four-year term. The opposition leader has lost two previous presidential races.

Kalyppo is made by Aquafresh Limited which is based in Accra, according to its website. No one at the company was available to comment but the secretary general of the Ghana Federation of Labour, which represents Aquafresh workers, cautioned that the craze was not necessarily a good thing.

"Once the consumers are polarised (along party lines)... the regular sales would be negatively affected to the detriment of the employees," he told Reuters.

Ghana is one of Africa's most stable democracies and twice since 2000 voters have turfed the government out of power. Growth has slowed since Mahama took power, in part because of lower global prices for the country's commodity exports.

Reuters

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No posting about country on Facebook, says Ethiopia

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 01:07 AM PDT

The Ethiopian government has announced that posting the current situation in the country on Facebook is a crime.

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Addis Ababa - The Ethiopian government has announced that posting the current situation in the country on Facebook is a crime.

Also on the list of banned activities are listening to Voice of America and German radio, Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio (ESAT) and Oromo Media Network (OMN).

"The military command will take action on those watching and posting on these social media outlets," Siraj Fegessa, Ethiopia's minister of defence said.

ESAT and OMN, based in the US, are the two major media outlets from which diaspora opposition and various protesters get their information.

As broadcast late on Saturday on state TV, these regulations would be effective immediately for six months during the state of emergency which Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegne declared last week.

The state of emergency was declared to curb the violent protests in parts of the country against the marginalisation and unfair political treatment of the Oromia and Amhara, the two largest ethnic groups in the country. The protests started last November and over 700 people have been killed by Ethiopian security forces, according to Human Rights Watch.

The announcement included restricting the movement of diplomats to 40km out of Addis Ababa without official permission.

The state of emergency also prohibits anyone making contact with groups designated as terrorists and meeting foreigners to discuss issues that could incite violence.

According to the statement by Fegessa, those who break the terms of the emergency risk a jail term of three to five years.

"Rallies and public meetings without the permission from authorities is forbidden and gives the security forces the right to detain and search suspects and their houses or offices, phones or laptops without a court order," the minister said.

A red zone has been declared within 50km of the borders. The red zone also includes the country's major roads connecting to neighboring countries. The sides of the roads for 25km on either side are also classified as red zones.

During the six months no one can carry a firearm or any flammable material in the red zone.

A dusk to dawn curfew was also imposed on major projects, factories, farms, and government institutions. The announcement said that no one can enter these after 6pm and before 6am.

If anyone violates these rules, security forces are ordered to take the necessary measures.

All political parties are also banned from giving press statements inciting violence, and no one, including religious leaders, can make political statements at religious gatherings, national, and sporting activities.

The directive bans demonstrations in educational institutions.

Members of the security forces are also banned from asking for leave and cannot resign from their position.

Refugees cannot leave their camps without proper authorisation.

Meanwhile, there has been no internet connection in Addis Ababa for the past week. The state of emergency provides for communications to be cut and it is not known how long this cut will last.

African News Agency

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Botswana shoots 400 Zim stray cattle

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:35 AM PDT

Botswana says it is shooting Zimbabwe cattle which stray across its border to protect its beef exports to the European Union.

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Johannesburg - Botswana says it is shooting Zimbabwe cattle which stray across its border to protect its beef exports to the European Union (EU).

Zimbabwe farmers are furious and say that 400 healthy animals which crossed the unfenced border were shot by Botswana officials last month. But they're getting no sympathy from their own government.

Botswana says its exports to the EU are vitally important and it cannot risk any of its cattle contracting foot and mouth disease from Zimbabwe cattle.

The fencing around many of Zimbabwe's ranches and breeding herds has not been maintained, or has been stolen, over the past few years. Previously strict controls on movement of cattle have not been maintained in southern Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's livestock production department in the agriculture ministry says that more than 400 cattle were shot and carcasses burned, and the worst affected district was Beitbridge which borders both Botswana and South Africa.

Paddy Zhanda, deputy agriculture and mechanisation minister responsible for livestock, told Zimbabwe journalists that the shooting of the cattle was bad, but he insisted farmers living along the Botswana border should look after their livestock.

"It [the shooting] is not nice, people should look after their cattle to avoid losses. We might need to visit the affected areas soon to sensitise them," he said.

Provincial livestock specialist Simangaliphi Ngwabi told the Sunday News in Bulawayo that farmers had to ensure their cattle did not stray:

"We can't put the blame on Botswana for shooting our cattle because they issued a three-months warning before starting the shooting.

"They can't risk losing their EU export licence because our farmers have let their cattle cross their borders. Their economy is largely driven by trading in beef; business is business and as such we shouldn't play a part in them losing their EU quota.

"We therefore advise our farmers to adhere to proper livestock management which entails checking the movement of their animals from time to time," she said.

But cattlemen in the south say they don't have money to repair fences or put in new ones and they can't borrow money from any bank or the government to ensure their herds stay inside Zimbabwe.

"These guys don't have any cash and the grazing is very short on our side of the border so the animals are crossing into Botswana, that is true. But they can't do anything about it," said a businessman in Bulawayo who is familiar with the beef trade in this area.

"Zimbabwe lost its beef export contract to the EU a few years ago because we could not longer satisfy its demands re foot and mouth," he said.

African News Agency

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African nations hail 'historic' maritime deal

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:15 AM PDT

African leaders have signed a deal to boost security off the continent's economically crucial coasts.

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Lome, Togo - African leaders on Saturday signed a deal to boost security off the continent's economically crucial coasts, hoping to shore up development by tackling maritime crimes like piracy and smuggling.

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso hailed the African Union agreement as "historic", while Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said it showed Africa's ability to put together a continent-wide strategy.

Sassou Nguesso said 43 nations had adopted the binding agreement - which will see countries pay into a special fund for maritime security - at a summit in Togo's capital Lome.

The deal is designed to improve information-sharing between African nations, a weakness that pirates and smugglers have benefited from in the past, slipping between territorial waters with little trouble.

The talks drew 18 heads of state - an unusually high figure for an AU meeting of this kind, signalling the importance that governments have placed on the need to cut piracy and other crime in Africa's waters.

As he opened the summit, Chad's President Idriss Deby, the current AU chief, noted that some 90 percent of Africa's imports and exports are transported by sea, making maritime security key to the continent's economic future.

Of the AU's 54 member states, 38 have coastlines.

Deby said the charter would "allow the promotion of commerce and the exploitation of the huge potential of the maritime sector, as well as the creation of wealth and jobs in several industries".

It would also "mark a decisive new step in the push to preserve the maritime environment", he added.

The deal will create new national and regional institutions to improve security in African waters, while the signatories pledged a string of measures to protect the maritime environment and fight trafficking in drugs, arms and people.

But Timothy Walker, a maritime security researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the deal would allow countries to withhold information from each other if they judge this to be in the interests of national security.

"It's a big step but it can not be the final step. There is still a lot of work to do," Walker told AFP.

"African leaders have started to realise that the maritime domain is a source of economic opportunity for the future," Walker added.

Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told AFP ahead of the summit that there was a clear need for African countries to work together to combat an upsurge in piracy in order to make full use of the continent's maritime resources.

Piracy, smuggling and other crimes at sea have cost the African maritime sector hundreds of billions of dollars in recent decades, according to the AU.

Large-scale illegal fishing also helps drive piracy as it depletes stocks, reducing the legitimate economic activities of coastal communities.

In West Africa alone, the AU estimates that illicit fishing causes losses of 170 billion CFA francs ($285 million, 260 million euros) every year.

World piracy has been on the decline since 2012 after international naval patrols were launched off East Africa in response to violent attacks by mostly Somali-based pirates.

But the focus of concern has shifted to the Gulf of Guinea, where a new class of pirates - mostly offshoots of militant groups from the Niger Delta - have become active.

At least 27 attempted or successful hijackings and kidnappings at sea have been recorded off west Africa since April, according to the International Maritime Organization, compared to just two off east Africa.

The 17 countries lining the Gulf of Guinea have poor maritime surveillance capacities and have been trying for several years to boost cooperation to clamp down on piracy.

The deal will need to be ratified by at least 15 countries before it comes into force, and Barthelemy Blede, an ISS maritime researcher in Ivory Coast, said it remained to be seen whether there was "real will" to make the deal a reality.

"It's a historic act, but it's one thing to adopt a text and sign it, and another thing to ratify it," he told AFP.

AFP

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