Mugabe, Tsvangirai must reveal cash sources
There are mounting calls in Zimbabwe for both President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to say where they have received their money. Mugabe recently launched a $20 million agricultural input scheme for farmers, while Tsvangirai handed over up to $300,000 as a maintenance settlement to his ex-partner Locardia Tembo. It is not clear in either of the cases where the funds came from. What is certain is that the money did not come from Treasury or from the salaries of the two heads of state. The Zimbabwean Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture – David Coltart – on Sunday said all leaders had a duty to be transparent. Mugabe should reveal the source of the inputs he donated on Saturday, Coltart said through his Twitter account. Seeds, fertiliser and dipping chemicals worth around $20 million will be given to 800,000 farmers. The money apparently came from “well-wishers”. Coltart’s urge for transparency was echoed by former Independent MP Margaret Dongo, who said Tsvangirai should say whether donors handed him the money he allegedly gave his former wife. – Eyewitness News, Johannesburg

Public toilets a thing of the past in Chitungwiza
Residents in Chitungwiza have raised alarm on the state of public toilets around the town which is now life threatening. Most public toilets are located at shopping centres but the municipality appears to have given up on maintaining these essential facilities since most of them are no longer functional and have been completely neglected. A recent tour around the town exposed a health time bomb that is just waiting to explode at almost all shopping centres around the town. Retailers who operate flea markets and shops at most of these shopping centres feel that the municipality is short changing them since they pay rates every month yet they have no access to such vital services. In an interview with the reporter Mrs Matore (30) who operates a flea market at Huruyadzo expressed dissatisfaction with the council authorities. “I pay a monthly licence fee to council and their municipal police are very strict in making sure that you pay the money but we are not able to access such an important service. The toilet is no longer in use and we have to find alternatives and sometimes we are forced to go into bars so that we can relieve ourselves and these bars are filled with drunk men who mistake you for a prostitute.” said Mrs Matore. – Chitungwiza Bulletin

CCZ Concerned About Quality of Bulk Water
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has raised concern over the quality and price of bulk water being sold by many companies in and outside Harare. A recent survey carried out by the consumer watchdog said some of the companies were drawing their water from dams, rivers and boreholes. “Asking the water suppliers, they all indicated that they sourced their water from boreholes, sadly no one can vouch for that and that leaves consumers vulnerable to drinking unsafe, untreated water sourced from potentially unhygienic conditions,” CCZ said in a statement. The CCZ added there were suspicions that companies were taking water from the Harare City Council taps, which many residents no longer drink because of numerous safety concerns. “There are concerns as to the cleanliness of the water, the tanks used to move the water and the cleanliness of the processes the water undergoes before its final destination — the consumer,” CCZ said. The organisation said the shortages of clean, safe water have reached “seismic” levels and urged municipalities to honour their duty of ensuring that consumers have sufficient water. The fact that local authorities were failing to supply clean water to residents has given rise to an illegal water sector where some unscrupulous individuals are starting companies to trade in the precious liquid. “It appears to us, there is a free-for-all situation in the water market where certain individuals and or companies are profiting from the water situation to make a quick buck at the expense of desperate and unsuspecting consumers,” said CCZ. “It concerns us from whose permission the companies are selling water and why at such high prices! Whose companies are they?” CCZ found that the companies were charging between US$60 and US$120 for 5 000 cubic metres of water both within and outside Harare. “The charges by the water suppliers are not only ridiculously high, but morally reprehensible in an environment where the vulnerable have a right to protection through low cost tariffs.” – The Standard

Action: Please email the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe and ask them what actual pressure they are putting on the relevant authorities to investigate and make accountable the supply and sale of water in Zimbabwe. Email them on: ccz1 [at] mweb [dot] co [dot] zw or ccz2 [at] mweb [dot] co [dot] zw

Traffic woes mount in Harare
For the past months, Harare Central Business District (CBD) has been experiencing an increase in traffic jams to the extent that a motorist now needs to spend 30minutes to an hour just to cover a stretch of 2 kilometres. With authorities remaining mum on the way forward to end this driving nightmare in Harare, some economists have bemoaned how the country could be losing money as people now have to spend more of their time trapped in traffic webs. ‘If you look around the city now, you find many traffic lights are not working and this is contributing to the traffic chaos in the city and also the designing of our bus termini system adds to the crisis as commuter omnibuses have had to transverse through the city centre just to drop passengers and this causes problems,’ says the Harare Residents Trust. – Community Radio Harare

Chiredzi man in trouble for striking Mugabe portrait over employment woes as Magistrate refers case to Supreme Court
Zimbabwean police have charged a Chiredzi man for undermining the authority of or insulting President Robert Mugabe after he allegedly struck the octogenarian leader’s portrait in a bar in frustration over failing to secure employment. Regis Kandawasvika aged 35 years was arrested on Tuesday 30 October 2012 and charged with contravening Section 33 (2) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act after he allegedly held President Mugabe accountable for failing to secure employment despite having obtained six Ordinary Level subjects during his educational pursuits. Kandawasvika reportedly uttered the following words; “Ndiri kutambura nokuda kwehutongi hwezimudhara iri Robert Mugabe. Ndine masabhujekiti six pa’O’ Level kasi handina basa rekuita. Handidi kana kumboriona zimudhara irori. Ikozvino gwendo runo riri kuenda kamwe chete”, which the police translated to mean, “I am suffering because of the ruling of this old man Cde Robert Mugabe. I have six ‘O’ level subjects but I have no job. I don’t want to see this old man. This time he is going one way”. Kandawasvika, who was represented by Blessing Nyamaropa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) was granted $20 bail by a Chiredzi Magistrate on 31 October 2012 with conditions not to interfere with State witnesses and to continue residing at the given residential address until the matter is finalised. – Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Heads of Civil Society Coalitions will address a Press Conference at 12.00 noon today in Harare at the ZimRights offices.  The leaders will speak on the arrest and continued detention of Counselling Services Unit Senior Programmes Officers, the behaviour of the police in this and other cases and the disruption of CSU’s critical and lawful activities.

Contact details for further information are as follows:

Irene Petras: Chair: Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum / Executive Director:
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Tel: +263 4044 213

Abel Chikomo: Executive Director: Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Tel: + 263 7722 60664

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: Landline:  +263 (4) 250 5111
Contact: Abel Chikomo or Programmes Co-ordinator Blessing Gorejena

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights: Landline +263 (4) 76085/
251468/705370/705641
Contact: Irene Petras or Kumbirai Mafunda

This statement from the Counselling Services Unit (CSU) draws attention to and requests solidarity to protest police abuse of power and harassment:

Fidelis Mudimu, Zachariah Godi and Tafadzwa Geza have just spent their third night in the police cells, two in Harare Central and last night in Bulawayo Central Police Station, after an unwarranted transfer to Bulawayo. They were transported on the back of an open pick up truck, registration ACD 6377, with no protection from the sun, despite the temperature reaching 33 degrees in Harare. They were then moved to Bulawayo from Kwekwe in a twin cab ABI 3608 and arrived at 18h00. They were not interviewed by the police, but immediately detained in the police cells on a detention order which had been prepared in Harare.

The following facts of the arbitrary raid and arrest and detention need highlighting.

Counselling Services Unit is a lawfully registered medical clinic providing non-partisan counselling and referral to all victims of trauma.

On Monday 5 November, the clinic was threatened with violence and normal services were disrupted by the invasion of the clinic by 12 uniformed and non-uniformed police officers, including members of the Bomb Disposal Squad and an Information Technology expert. The clinic was surrounded by armed riot police who threatened to fire tear gas into the building, which is also occupied by other tenants. Patients awaiting services were left unattended for 4 hours while the police demanded and forcibly accessed confidential medical records. They removed a computer which contains confidential client information and client records. No further booked patients were able to enter the building to receive treatment.

Counselling Services Unit adheres to the Environmental Compliance requirements for health facilities, following the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. The guidelines require separation of cleaning materials for areas of ablution and areas of food storage and preparation. The cleaning utensils are clearly marked using spray paint, and the paint is stored on the premises in the work area of the janitor. It is not hidden or stored secretively and was purchased in July 2012. CSU have handed the receipts of purchase of three 250ml cans of spray paint from the local hardware store to the police. The police fixated on the finding of this paint and refused to listen to any explanation. With no further investigations, 5 staff members were arbitrarily arrested and transported to Harare Central Police station for further questioning. 2 staff members were released 2 hours later, and 3 have been detained since then with no warned and cautioned statement and no indication of charges. The removal of the 3 staff to Bulawayo after the required time for a court appearance and the further detention order with no defined charges or substantive evidence of illegal activities constitutes serious and illegal harassment.

Counselling Services Unit is deeply concerned about the protracted course of this situation and the non-adherence to the law by the arresting officers. CSU is concerned about the safety of Fidelis Mudimu, Zachariah Godi and Tafadzwa Geza.

We would request solidarity and protest on the following fundamental issues of this series of events:

1. Disruption of medical services to victims of trauma, and the unwarranted terrorisation of patients awaiting services
2. The illegal access to confidential patient medical records
3. The unwarranted deployment of armed riot police to the offices creating alarm and fear to the other tenants of the building and surrounds
4. The illegal removal of a computer, which is not covered in the search warrant which stated a “search for material likely to deface any house, building, wall, fence, lamp post, gate or elevator without the consent of the owner or occupier thereof”.
5. The removal of confidential medical and legal records without permission of the patients to whom they pertain.
6. The arbitrary selection of staff for arrest with no concrete evidence of any crime having been committed, particularly in Bulawayo where CSU has no clinic.
7. The illegal detention and transfer of senior staff to Bulawayo without formal charges, and exceeding the time limit for appearance before a magistrate with formal charges.

Unlike in some countries where political rivalry ends in the loss of lives and election results take ages to be released, Americans got to know what the future holds for them quickly as a closely fought contest ended in a nail biting finish with the current President of the United States of America retaining his post for four more years.

Running with the background of a weak economy and high unemployment in America, President Obama made successes by providing health care insurance to ordinary citizens in America, ending war in Iraq and going after the world’s most dangerous terrorist Osama Bin Laden. As people were casting their votes Obama sent a message on Tweeter to his supporters, “We’re all in this together. That’s how we campaigned, and that’s who we are. Thank you. – Barack Obama.” The rich favoured Mitt Romney but women voters propelled Obama back into the White House. Obama stole women’s hearts in America through advocating for reproductive rights, access to health care and fair pay. The next four years in office will be a challenging task for Obama – he will have to work hard to fulfill the promises, and build on the gains, made in the last four years.

Zanu PF has helped Tsvangirai gorge on the perks of power to get him fat like a pimple ready to be squeezed. Motorcades, mansions, women, trips abroad. The Savoy Hotel, one of the most prestigious hotels in London is his most recent accommodation of choice. Tsvangirai may well, at this time, be a better choice than Mugabe. But he’s showing some serious signs that he’s learning some really bad habits, really quickly.

{Note to customs at Harare International Airport: please search Morgan and Elizabeth like you do all of us ordinary folk and make sure to charge them duty on their UK shopping}

When I asked a colleague why Tsvangirai is in the UK, she said, gone shopping? Such faith we have in our politicians.