Top stories for December 1-5

Union demands $800 a month for diamond mine workers- The Associated Mineworkers Union of Zimbabwe is demanding a minimum wage of $800 a month for diamond mining workers, $700 for those in platinum mining and $573 for those in gold mining and other mine workers, according to a report published today. The present minimum wage is $227 a month. The Chamber of Mines wants an inflation-linked adjustment. Inflation is currently 0.59 percent.

Banks say no money was shipped out
Zimbabwe’s banking sector today refuted reports that about $700 million was shipped out just before the 31 July elections. The country is currently experiencing a liquidity crisis and this has been attributed to capital flight by those who were worried about what would happen after the elections. Bankers Association of Zimbabwe president George Guvamatanga said today: “There is no $700 million that left the market. We don’t know where the media is getting such information from.” He said banking deposits stood at $3.5 billion in May, $3.4 billion in June, $3.5 billion in July, $3.4 billion in August and $3.5 billion in September. “We are spending more than what we are producing. That is the problem and to solve it we need to improve our exports and bring in global players into our market,” he said.

Blair pushed military towards Mugabe
Zimbabwe academic and writer Blessing-Miles Tendi today said the threat by Britain to topple Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, whether real or not, pushed the military to support the Zimbabwean president. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki said that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had contemplated military intervention in Zimbabwe just before the country’s economic crisis. Blair denied that there was any threat to intervene militarily in Zimbabwe but Mbeki said he stood by his story which was aired on Al Jazeera. Tendi said: “It … matters less which one is telling the truth, although it bears mentioning that this is not the first time Mbeki has spoken about this alleged British invasion plot…..Whether Blair actually considered military intervention or not is beside the point. What is significant is who in Zimbabwe believed that he considered it, why and with what consequences for Zimbabwean civil-military relations.”

Britain’s big boob
Britain is incensed that its aid money was used by the Zimbabwean government although investigations have revealed that the money was properly used and for the intended project. Britain had a policy that its money should not be channelled through the Zimbabwean government but £80 000 out of a total of £100 million found its way to Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Agriculture. Aid Minister Justine Greening said in a statement to the British Parliament today that although investigations showed that this money was used appropriately and as intended for a fruit fly eradication project to promote trade and reduce poverty, this payment was in contravention of UK government policy.

Charamba says ZBC is overstaffed
Information secretary George Charamba today said the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is overstaffed and might have to retrench 500 workers. “Each time I look at ZBC, I am struck by the fact that out of a thousand plus workers at the ZBC, the workers who are really minding the core business of ZBC, which is to broadcast, hardly go beyond 500. If you work out the equation, it tells you that for every reporter there are 50 or so support workers around him — meanwhile the reporter goes without services, which means ZBC has taken flesh in non-core areas. That means we have to restructure in a thoroughgoing way and when we restructure, it means we are incurring retrenchment costs. It is then another spending item we have pleaded with Government to take,” he said. The board of the ZBC was dissolved last month and the chief executive sent on leave after failing to come up with a turn-around strategy. The ZBC has a debt of $44.3 million and owes employees $8.3 million. It only makes $275 000 against a budget of $2.3 million a month.

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