Top stories for November 26-30

People building houses in a cemetery- Local Government Deputy Minister Joel Biggie Matiza said the government exercise to demolish illegal structures was not a heartless exercise. It was meant to bring back some order as it Hatcliffe, Harare, for example, people were building houses in a cemetery. He said the United Nations Development Programme is willing to assist in the sanitisation programme in which his ministry is demolishing illegal structures in Chitungwiza and Seke. The exercise coming soon after the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front victory in July is reminiscent of the 2005 demolition codenamed Murambatsvina which also followed another resounding victory by ZANU-PF. Matiza said the exercise was not “a heartless exercise in which people will have their houses demolished with properties inside but it is a well planned programme in which those affected will be given ample time to move to land allocated to them”.

Who is fooling who?
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair put him under pressure to remove Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe even if this meant military intervention. But Blair denied putting Mbeki under any pressure saying that though he felt that Zimbabwe would be better off without Mugabe, he never asked anyone to plan or take part in a military intervention. Mbeki’s spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said the former President stood by his word.

Indigenisation law can be relaxed
Mines Minister Walter Chidakwa today said platinum mining companies can be allowed majority shareholding if they build a refinery in the country. Platinum is mined by two South African companies, Anglo Platinum and Impala Platinum, which are also the world’s biggest miners. Raw platinum is shipped from Zimbabwe for refining in South Africa. President Robert Mugabe threatened to stop these imports if the companies do not build a refinery, but they say it is not viable. “The government is simply saying that the guiding principle is 51/49 percent but if the investment does something to this country that can convince us to graduate or move away from the 51/49 percent, we will do so,” Chidhakwa said. “And I think that in so far as in establishing a platinum refinery in Zimbabwe is concerned, yes, I think there is that flexibility.”

Gono bids farewell
Central bank governor Gideon Gono today bid farewell to his colleagues in the banking sector after 120 months at the helm of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. He had to clear one thing though. He was not responsible for the entire central bank’s $1.3 billion debt. He inherited 55 percent. He also thanked the government for taking over the bank debt but hoped that people would not make irrational and populist policies to reverse the gains and stability that has been achieved so far.

$400 000 heist
Four robbers, three disguised as traffic police officers, are reported to have pounced on a cash-in-transit truck belonging to Fawcett Security today getting away with at least $400 000, The Herald reported. The robbers are reported to have staged an accident to get the CIT truck to stop. Pretending to be traffic police officers coming to assist, they are reported to have disarmed the security guards and forced them to open the back of the truck where the money was and got away with the cash.

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