Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the Zimbabwe Transition to Democracy and Economic Recovery Act with Senator Isakson and Senator Kerry. This legislation aims to update U.S. policy and to provide the necessary direction and flexibility for the United States to proactively push for democracy and economic recovery in Zimbabwe. In September 2008, the parties in Zimbabwe signed the Global Political Agreement, the GPA, and committed to work together to chart a new political direction for the country. Unfortunately, that commitment has not yet been fulfilled and political and human rights abuses continue at a disturbing rate. Nonetheless, the GPA and the formation of the transitional government have created new political realities and realignment in Zimbabwe, and subsequently, new opportunities to push for a genuine transition to democracy and for economic recovery. The United States and other international stakeholders can seize those opportunities by supporting reformers, while renewing and ramping up pressure on those who obstruct implementation of the GPA. Our bill aims to promote such a dynamic approach.

 

Zimbabwe's controversial Reserve Bank governor, Gideon Gono, has kept the top post in a new central bank board named Tuesday in a bid to restore the institution's credibility after a currency collapse. "We have appointed a board that in our view is second to none," said finance minister Tendai Biti at a news conference in the capital, Harare. "This board is expected to restore viability, buoyancy, credibility, legitimacy and accountability at the bank. There is a huge task that has to be done at the bank." Gono's continued presence at the helm of the top bank has been a divisive issue in the power-sharing government of long-time rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. In 2008 Gono presided over the collapse of the local dollar and hyperinflation that saw prices doubling daily. In March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the top bank needed a new board to strengthen governance and adopt a budget that would downsize its operations.

 

The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) on Tuesday started distributing accreditation forms to journalists and media houses wishing to operate in the country. The Commission also distributed guidelines of establishing a newspaper or magazine to prospective media houses. Prospective media operators are among other things expected to provide a code of ethics, projected balance sheet, editorial charter, code of conduct for employees, market analysis, attach a dummy, mission statement, house style book and projected three-year cashflow statement. Local media houses will pay an application fee of US$500, registration fee of US$1 500 and a renewal fee of US$1 000.

ZMC officials said there had been huge interest in application forms following the gazetting of the law on last Friday. According to the gazette published on Friday application and registration for news agencies will be US$1 300 per year and the renewal of registration will be US$500.

 

For free media campaigners, Reporters Without Borders, adjectives to describe leaders’ intolerant to free expression are almost exhausted in the English language and for the group’s report this year they are called “predators.” The African continent has eight predators identified on the list including Presidents, chiefs of police and rebel groups. “Whether presidents, ministers, chiefs of staff, religious leaders or the heads of armed groups, these predators of press freedom have the power to censor, imprison, kidnap, torture and, in the worst cases, murder journalists,” reads a report by Reporters Without Borders. Entitled “Predators of Press Freedom 2010”, the report leads the African list with Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki followed by Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema and Inspector General of Police of Nigeria Ogbonna Onovo comes third and fourth respectively, while Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is in fifth position.

 

 

Zimbabwe has signed a $400 million agreement with China's Sinohydro to expand its Kariba hydro electricity plant at a time when rolling power cuts are threatening to dim the country's economic recovery prospects. Noah Gwariro, the managing director of the Zimbabwe Power Company -- the generation arm of state utility ZESA -- said on Monday Sinohydro would add two 150 megawatt units at Kariba. "China's Eximbank will fund the project to the tune of $400 million. Sinohydro is already working on a similar project on the Zambian side of Kariba," he told Reuters. Gwariro earlier told parliament Zimbabwe was generating a total of 940 MW -- less than half its national power requirements -- from its Hwange thermal plant and Kariba, against the country's peak demand of 2,500 MW. Zimbabwe has previously signed hundreds of millions of dollars worth in cooperation agreements with foreign governments to boost its electricity generation capacity, but has not made progress in getting any of the projects off the ground.