THE DAILY AGENDA

18 March 2010

The Daily Agenda, published from Monday to Friday provides information on critical governance and developmental issues. It is our hope that the information provided will be useful to our constituency of readership, particularly the leaders at the local level and civil society practitioners, in informing and shaping their choice of developmental objectives and initiatives.

Bulawayo- Political parties have expressed various views on the extension of sanctions/restrictive measures that were extended by the United States of America and the European Union in the last couple of weeks.

At a public meeting organized by Bulawayo Agenda, Mr. Eddie Cross, the MDC-T representative, emphasized that Zimbabwe was not under sanctions but only 252 individuals comprising ZANU PF officials and their close associates were under travel restrictions that prevent them from traveling to the European Union and North America unless on United Nations business. He said the only legislative piece that was close to sanctions was the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) which stops US firms from extending guarantees on loans to Zimbabwe.

Mr. Edwin Ndlovu, of MDC, said that section 4.6 of the GPA clearly speaks of sanctions and not restrictive measures. MDC-T was a signatory of the agreement and it is hypocritical of them to say there are no sanctions. MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai had recently called for removal of sanctions and hence there was disharmony within their party on the issue.

Dr. Callistus Ndlovu, of ZANU PF, explained that drawing an analogy between the current sanctions regime and those borne by Rhodesia was misplaced as the circumstances are different. He said western nations have failed to see that in the morden world, applying sanctions on an individual is meaningless as there are so many alternatives and coping mechanisms. He said countries like China and the other Asian tigers provided alternative trading partners.

Advocate Steven Nkiwane, representing ZAPU, said that ZANU PF had brought about sanctions in the country because of the land-grab exercise. He said it was unfortunate because the same land reform program was the brainchild of ZAPU which would have immediately implemented it soon after independence if they had managed to win the majority vote.

Upcoming Events

Bulawayo Agenda is scheduled to hold a leadership forum on the implications of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act on the economy, at the Democracy Centre on the 19th of March from 1400-1630hrs.

Bulawayo Agenda, in partnership with Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) will be holding ward meetings as follows:

Pumula South (Ward 27) Consultative Meeting

Date and Time: Saturday 20 March 2010; 10am-1pm

Venue and Speakers: Pumula South Hall, ZESA, TelOne, Councillor, Patricia Tshabalala (BPRA)

Mpopoma (Ward 9)

Date and Time: 21 March 2010; 10am- 1pm

Venue and Speakers: Mpopoma Hall; ZESA, TelOne, Councillor, R Ngwenya (BPRA)

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