News Briefs

LONDON – On July 2 an oral hearing will take place at the Court of Appeal, Royal Courts of Justice, requesting permission to appeal the HS (Zimbabwe) ruling from Lord Justice Buxton and Lord Justice Keene that some asylum seekers could safely be returned to Zimbabwe.

There are three possible outcomes of the oral hearing: that the appeal is granted; that the appeal is refused and enforced removals may begin again; that the case is adjourned.

The situation in Zimbabwe following the murderous presidential election run-off is volatile and dangerous.  This is NOT an appropriate time for enforced returns of asylum seekers to Zimbabwe. Victims of Zimbabwe election violence in 2000, 2002 and 2005 are still waiting in the UK for their cases to be resolved. People are not allowed to work to support themselves and are losing their skills. The Zimbabwe Association (ZA) believes they should be given the right to work until their cases are finally concluded.  

Mediation meeting postponed

HARARE – On July 30 negotiators from the two MDC formations met with the negotiators from ZANU (PF) informally to explore the possibility of the resumption of the negotiations in order to resolve the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

It was agreed that the negotiators should go back to their political parties and the negotiators should meet again on July 2 to report back whether or not they have agreed on the said mandate.

The MDC Management Committee and ZANU (PF) negotiators reported that they had been mandated by their party to proceed with the negotiations.

On July 4 the facilitator advised that Mugabe, Mbeki and Tsvangirai had since agreed to a meeting on July 5 at 3pm at Zimbabwe House. Mutambara, Secretary General Professor Ncube and Deputy Secretary General Priscilla Misihairabwi- Mushonga presented themselves at Zimbabwe House as requested by the mediator. They were advised that Tsvangirai was no longer coming. He had reached an agreement with Ping of the AU Head Quarters, that the meeting should be cancelled until the AU had appointed a special envoy to Zimbabwe to assist Mbeki with mediation.  

Schools fail to open after elections

HARARE – Most schools have failed to start lessons after the presidential run-off elections, due to the unavailability of school teachers.

The Ministry of Education regional and district offices in Harare were inundated with applications for transfers to areas where teachers do not require to board buses when going to work.

“There is no way I can report for duty when I don’t have enough money to take me to and from work. I was paid Z$120 billion on June 18 and by then my rental had gone up to Z$100 billion per room,” a teacher said.

Parents complained to the school heads about the poor services the schools are now offering but Headmasters were powerless to assist.

Political violence also worsened the plight of the teachers since most of them were polling officers in the March elections and were later targeted by the Zanu (PF) youth militia. Those who remained at their schools spent most of time attending political meetings as they were being convened in their school yards.

Urban residents dig wells

HARARE – Urban dwellers in major cities of Zimbabwe are resorting to sinking backyard water wells in a bid to alleviate a severe water crisis which has gripped most parts of the country. Piped water from municipal reservoirs have gone dry in most areas forcing residents to source water from a few remaining functional water sources. It is common to see women and children carrying buckets in search of water in urban areas.

Mlauzi, a resident in Kadoma, lamented that some residents without wells or alternative water supply were now being charged a fee to fetch a bucket of water by those who have. Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) which has taken over the welfare of water issues in many towns has moved in to levy households with wells.

Reports abound of worsening sanitary and hygienic conditions in many cities. People with expertise in sinking wells are making big business in both rural and urban areas.

David Love, Research Co-ordinator of Integrated Water Resources Management and Rural Livelihoods for Waternet, an NGO working on building capacity for water resources management in Southern Africa says that there is nothing wrong with shallow wells and in some places they are a much safer source of water than water from rivers.