Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa, however, urged the former commercial farmers to come to Zimbabwe and claim compensation for the improvements made on farms through the proper channels instead of lodging appeals outside the country.

Pretoria High Court judge Justice Garth Rabbie last month upheld a 2008 Sadc Tribunal judgment saying Government should compensate the former commercial farmers and the ruling could be enforced in South Africa.

The farmers thought that this opened the way for them to attach Zimbabwe Government properties in South Africa.

On Monday they said they had identified 11 properties, including four houses in Cape Town, which they would attach to “recover” about R150 000 owed in legal costs incurred for the Pretoria case.

However, Minister Chinamasa said the litigation’s only purpose was political grandstanding.

“The Constitution of Zimbabwe is clear on the issue of compensation. The farmers must come to Zimbabwe and claim compensation for the improvements made on the land. “The litigation is meant to attract world attention. Can they really get enough money from attaching four houses in Cape Town?

“Any judgment cannot be enforced and it is a matter of what the South African government would do to protect our properties there.

“They cannot touch any of our properties because they are under diplomatic immunity,” he said. The farmers’ case, Minister Chinamasa said, was “wasteful and vindictive”.

“There is no real intention to recover anything from Government. The farmers have remained unrepentant and this case will not get them anywhere.

“If they think they can get anything through South African courts, they are just daydreaming,” he said. A senior South African government official yesterday challenged the farmers to prove that the targeted properties belonged to Zimbabwe.

Another official in Zimbabwe’s Embassy in Pretoria added that he did not know about the properties the farmers were claiming.

“If the properties they are talking about are not attached to our embassy, who owns the said houses?

“These could be properties that belonged to the Ian Smith regime and we never claimed them after independence,” he said.

Government has indicated any such properties are also protected by the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements between the two countries as signed in November last year.

Addressing journalists at the United States Embassy’s Public Affairs premises in Harare yesterday, the expert – a Colonel in the American army – said a peacekeeping force had never been deployed to monitor elections in Southern Africa and Zimbabwe would not break that trend.

Mr Tsvangirai, who is Prime Minister in the inclusive Government, at the weekend told his supporters in Chitungwiza that a Sadc and/or African Union peacekeeping force should regulate Zimbabwe’s next elections.

“The Prime Minister was wrong in suggesting the deployment of a peacekeeping force in Zimbabwe to monitor elections. I think he used wrong terminology,” said the official who cannot be named for diplomatic reasons.

“Sadc will not agree on the deployment of such forces here. There has to be consensus…there are rules of engagement.

“In as far as I understand Sadc, there will be no such agreement. The presidents in Sadc would not like this precedence to happen in the region,” he said.

The Colonel added that in suggesting the deployment of peacekeeping forces, Mr Tsvangirai had not put into perspective the complexity of such operations.

Such forces, he explained, were deployed in countries at war after the warring parties have peace talks that culminate in cessation of major hostilities.

He said: “The peacekeepers are then deployed in between them (the warring forces) to act as a buffer zone. They do not give instructions, they just report on what is happening.”

He gave examples of armed conflicts between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and in Sudan’s Darfur region among other hotspots where deployment of the peacekeeping forces was necessary.

He said it would be difficult to deploy such peacekeeping forces in Zimbabwe.

“If you try to deploy the peacekeeping force, it will not be successful. The rules of engagement do not allow them to fight the two forces.

“They are not there to shot, they are there to report. So the practicality will be difficult for elections,” he said.

Commenting on Zimbabwe’s military, the expert said the Zimbabwe Defence Forces continued to grow professionally.

In the past, MDC’s allies have called for military intervention in Zimbabwe.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti said this was in line with efforts to stimulate real economic growth after Government managed to stabilise the economy in 2009.

Major beneficiaries are productive sectors (US$19,5 million), dualisation of roads (with Harare-Norton and Harare- Skyline getting US$10,2 million), rehabilitation of the Harare International Airport taxiways and construction of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo (US$18,1 million).

Other significant beneficiaries are housing development (US$10 million), the Mtshabezi Water Augmentation Project (US$7 million), information communication technology infrastructure (US$6,2 million), Bulawayo water and sanitation (US$6,4 million) and the completion of the Central Registry building (US$3,5 million).

Marondera and Mutoko municipalities received US$2,9 million and US$180 000 respectively for rehabilitation of water systems, while US$800 000 has been earmarked for development of broadcast transmission network in Beitbridge.

Minister Biti yesterday signed contracts with the various ministries, parastatals and local authorities that benefited from the disbursement of the funds.

Speaking at the ceremony at his offices, Minister Biti said: “The beneficiary projects were selected on the basis of their ability to re-invigorate and hence the need for them to be completed within time and money.”

The Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe will administer funds set aside for infrastructure development, while money earmarked for productive sectors will be disbursed to other banks.

Minister Biti said the funds would be loaned out at a special rate of 5 percent per annum and would be repayable after 24 months.

“Given that this money is repaid at a later stage, it is critical that utilisation be targeted at projects that will generate economic activity and give returns to the country,” said Minister Biti.

The disbursement comes at a time it has become clear that donors will not extend finances to cover the projected US$810 million deficit in the 2010 National Budget, which was expected to be financed through votes of credit.

“If people think that there is anyone from outside who would give us money, that’s a dream. We are on our own, and all this money will have to come from Zimbabwe. We have to mobilise resources from our minerals such as from Chiadzwa,” he said.

He slammed local authorities that were paying senior staff salaries as high as US$13 000, saying Zimbabwe’s economy was not ready for such huge wages.

“Even the World Bank does not pay its staff that much,” he said.

Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche said construction work at the Harare and Joshua Nkomo airports as well as road work had already started.

“We need to complete what we started. If we complete the dualisation of Harare-Norton and Harare-Sklyline roads, the rest will belong to the public-private partnerships.

“If our roads, railways and our power systems remain as they are, I don’t think we will have any development in this country,” he said.

Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu added: “This first step means we must perform and deliver. This economy will turn around on the strength of our efforts.”

Other ministers in attendance were Dr Ignatius Chombo (Local Government), Mr Sam Sipepa Nkomo (Water Resources) and Engineer Elias Mudzuri (Energy).

Senior Government officials and heads of parastatals and local authorities also attended.

Speaking at a one-day workshop on practical strategies to turnaround parastatals, VP Nkomo said State enterprises must complement any foreign investment.

“For the economy to quickly stabilise, we need to attract foreign investment. I am quite convinced that there are plenty of opportunities where beneficial and productive partnerships can be entered into between State enterprises and parastatals and their regional and international counterparts.

“In this regard, Government is committed to promoting foreign investment and strategic partnerships with the aim of ensuring technology and capital transfer,” he said.

Foreign investment, VP Nkomo said, should be pursued in line with Government policy on economic empowerment where locals should have ownership opportunities. He said the inclusive Government was committed to the resuscitation of parastatals.

“There is political will on the part of the inclusive Government to implement policies aimed at revamping their operations,” he said.

VP Nkomo said Government had set up an inter-ministerial committee on commercialisation as a means of revitilising State enterprises.

He said the committee had come up with recommendations for Cabinet approval.

Speaking at the same occasion, House of Assembly Member for Goromonzi North Cde Paddy Zhanda said Government should craft policies that made parastatals economically viable.

He said most parastatals such as ZESA and Dairiboard collapsed as a result of some Government policies.

“Government should not allow these entities to operate on a loss. The issue of subsidies in this area should be discarded to allow these parastatals to operate profitably,” he said.

Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, Sibanda expressed his willingness to seek re-election at the association’s next congress.

“Nothing has changed in the association’s leadership. I want to tell you, Joseph Chinotimba and others are still holding their positions in the association until the elections at our national congress.

“There are no squabbles in the war veterans association but the media have overblown the little differences.

“What  Chinotimba said was only an expression of his feeling before the congress,” he said.

Sibanda said if asked to contest he was prepared to lead the association for another term.

“Only those who are prepared to serve members of the association would be elected at the forthcoming ZNLWVA congress.

“You can only ask those who are not standing now whether they will be seeking election at the congress because for me I am already standing,” he said.

Problems at the association arose when a faction of war vets led by retired Major Alex Mudavanhu and Chinotimba announced that  Sibanda had been fired.

The announcement was not accepted by five of the 10 provinces that have come out openly on Sibanda’s side.

Mugabe advised both camps to wait for a congress to decide who should lead the association.

At a symposium on public-private partnerships yesterday, PM Tsvangirai said the policies would result in greater Zimbabwean participation in the economy.

“I want to assure you that there is no intention on part of the Government to undermine investment, but to promote broad-based indigenisation and empowerment.

“Sometimes investors get alarmed when a policy is announced without clarification but I want to assure you that the policy is in the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe.

“The policy intends to enhance local participation and, of course, not the enrichment of a few people,” he said.

Key statutory regulations of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act were gazetted last month and became operational on March 1.

From this date up until May companies worth over US$500 000 should furnish Government with detailed plans on how they will conform with the legal requirement that Zimbabweans own 51 percent of the shareholding.
After that they have five years within which to implement those plans.

There have been attempts in some quarters to demonise the empowerment agenda and several MDC figures have come out castigating the law that seeks to ensure Zimbabweans control their own economy.
PM Tsvangirai, however, said Government was discussing how best to implement the law.

“We are negotiating, discussing and not with the intention of getting rid of the Indigenisation Act, but how we can create an environment that allow local participation.”

He said the idea was not to criminalise foreign investment.PM Tsvangirai decried the recent civil servants strike saying they must understand that Government had no money.

“We can’t squeeze blood out of a stone and at this stage of the inclusive Government we have started on polarisation and this is not healthy,” he said.

PM Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe should invest more in higher education to boost the economy and private sector participation was crucial.

“Government is not abandoning its mandate of supporting the higher education sector by seeking partnership with the private sector but we are just sharing the responsibility.

“Zimbabwe must continue to invest in human capital. It is that human capital that helps much to develop our economy but world over it proved that Governments could not achieve this alone,” he said.

The PM bemoaned the deterioration of standards at State universities. He said Government was supportive of the implementation of public-private partnerships that were properly instituted.

Tertiary and Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge said the private sector was the largest consumer of university graduates and it should assist in nurturing students.

He said Government would host an Intellectual Expo where they would ask institutions of higher learning to display what they are doing.

Minister Mudenge said this would also help the public understand how State institutions were using their money.

These provinces are the only ones not presently hosting State universities. Higher and Tertiary Education Permanent Secretary Dr Washington Mbizvo said this while giving oral evidence before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education.

“We have identified pieces of land in Matabeleland South, Mashonaland East (Marondera University of Technology) and Manicaland and our professionals on the ground are already co-ordinating activities,” Dr Mbizvo said.

On the issue of cadetship, Dr Mbizvo said it was meant to retain skilled labour in Zimbabwe. “At one point we had 200 pharmacists who left the country. Therefore, bonding students helps us retain those professionals,” he said.

Dr Mbizvo said Presidential scholarships had benefited the country considering that 32 000 Advanced level students completed their studies every year, yet the country’s local universities only accommodated 11 000 of them.

“We have students who have studied law at Fort Hare and they have helped in reducing a big shortage of lawyers at the Ministry of Justice,” Dr Mbizvo said.

He said universities were expected to sustain themselves by doing research work instead of relying on Government funding.

“When designing fee structures, universities are expected to consult students before sending their proposals to the ministry.

“Universities have also been given a mandate to produce 40 percent of their budget from research work and to utilise the farms they were given,” Dr Mbizvo said.

Meanwhile, the University of Zimbabwe has lowered the cut-off points required to study certain programmes due to low student take-up.

UZ director of information Mrs Rosemary Magosvongwe said the faculty of science, for example, was now admitting students with five points.

“We were saying as long as one has 3 A levels that person should be accepted,” she said. Mrs Magosvongwe, however, said this was not the case in all faculties as some departments, such as law, had not cut-off points.

“Students who applied last year responded slowly so we had to fill those places with others and that is the reason why we were now taking those with low points. “We were taking students either from the waiting list,” she said.

Among other challenges the UZ is retaining lecturers. It has been reported that the institution has slightly over half of the required 1 200 lecturers. This has seen enrollment in some programmes, such as metallurgy and mining engineering, being frozen.

Mr Ahmadinejad said the sanctions were aimed at forcing Zimbabwe to surrender, and lauded the nation for its resistance to the pressures.

Commenting on Tehran-Harare ties, President Ahmadinejad urged implementation of all the agreements signed by the two nations.

During the meeting, Minister Mutasa delivered a special message from President Mugabe to President Ahmadinejad and called on Iran to further invest in Zimbabwe and boost bilateral ties.

Zimbabwe and Iran’s ties are decades old and the two have various agreements in the fields of agricultural and cultural co-operation.

They have also co-operated on the international front at forums such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.

In a related development Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Xin Shunkang has said Zimbabwe — China relations are designed to enhance economic and political development of the two countries.

Addressing students attending the Junior Command Staff Course Number 23 at the Zimbabwe Staff College on Monday, Ambassador Xin said China attached great importance to engaging other countries as equals.
“China’s foreign policy promotes peaceful co-existence and development. We are in a win-win situation with Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe gets help from China because Chinese people are getting assistance from this country.
“Zimbabwe and China share the same belief of equality and respect of national independence and sovereignty.
“The Chinese government will continue to assist the people of Zimbabwe in realising their potential,” he said.
He dismissed international media reports that claim China was plundering Zimbabwe’s resources saying all economic ventures between the two countries were mutually beneficial.

“In fact China is seeking to help develop the continent’s resources so that they benefit the African people.
“China is a developing country and we have benefited economically from co-operation with other countries,” he said.

Ambassador Xin said China would continue to support Zimbabwe in its economic revival efforts in the face of Western hostility.

Sino-Zimbabwe ties date back to the liberation struggle when the Asian country provided financial, technical and moral support to nationalists.

Since then, the two have become strong trading partners. China has also defended Zimbabwe from a malicious Western-led plot to get United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed on the country.

This year, Zimbabwe and China will run a series of events to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Mr Bungu was fired on allegations of absconding from work for more than 10 days.

Town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi said anyone who participated in the demonstration without seeking time off duty would be dealt with.

“I hope they took days off. They got permission from the police not from management,” he said.

Among other grievances are delay in payment of February salaries, and alleged nepotism and corruption by senior managers and councillors.

They also protested operationalisation of Easipark, a joint venture with a South African company to manage city termini, parkades and parking lots.

Doors to Town House were sealed as management feared workers would manhandle them and damage property.

Councillors from the human resources committee were seen shuttling from office to office but insisted workers were in the wrong.

In a petition to Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, workers said Mr Bungu had served council for 23 years and his dismissal was victimisation for standing firm and steadfast on worker rights.

They also alleged that non-MDC-T workers were targeted for dismissal.

“(We) also complained to your office that the city administration was being made to ensure that workers who were not on the MDC-T membership roll were to be expelled from council in favour of MDC-T supporters which was and is illegal,” read part of the petition.

Some councillors are said to be siding with Mr Bungu but fear they will be labeled pro-Zanu-PF if they speak out.

Dr Mahachi said his management did not interfere in the operations of trade unions but would act decisively in the event that members disrupted operations.

“We come here to work,” he said.

Responding to allegations of fast-tracking Mr Bungu’s prosecution and dismissal when other disciplinary cases had been on hold for two years, Dr Mahachi said, “We have decided to fast track all cases and clear the roll.”

He said the city did not owe February salaries and the only only arrears pertained to a back-dated salary increment effected last November.

The workers maintained a vigil at Town House – singing and dancing – for nearly the whole day.

Some residents thought the baboon’s appearance was related to witchcraft. “The baboon emerged from one of the houses around 10am and the chaos started as residents started chasing it with the intention of killing it.

“The baboon went from house to house as it tried to escape the crowd.

“The chase lasted for about three hours. We phoned the police but they could not come to capture it.

“Another woman who was holding her baby was knocked down and they sustained minor injuries,” said one resident.

“An old woman threatened to deal with anyone who killed it,” another resident said. “We are not sure why she did that but we suspect the baboon was being used by someone for witchcraft purposes.

“Last year a leopard and a crocodile were discovered and we wonder where such animals are coming from,” she said.

The crowd eventually fatally stoned the baboon.