Can Gono now be trusted with the nation's jewels?

Marange's diamonds saga continues to be intriguing. Last September the High Court ruled that the diamond claims that were being mined by the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation belonged to African Consolidated Resources. The government ignored the ruling and instead invited new players to join the ZMDC. Full story

George Smith responds to ACR case

Former High Court judge George Smith who has written several letters to The Insider as the legal adviser for River Ranch says there is no conflict of interest in his giving advice to both River Ranch and African Consolidated Resources. Full story

Zuma no different from Mbeki

There was a lot of joy in Zimbabwe when Jacob Zuma was elected President of the African National Congress. There was even more joy when South African President Thabo Mbeki was forced to step down, just before his term had expired. Mbeki was accused of being too soft on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabweans believed that Zuma would be tougher on Mugabe than Mbeki because of his strong backing from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) - one of the three partners in the ANC. Cosatu is more sympathetic to Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, a former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. Full story

Zimbabwe 2010 forecast: Economy key for survival of inclusive government

The economy will be key to the survival of Zimbabwe's inclusive government this year. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said the government should now move from economic stabilisation to growth. Zimbabweans had already demonstrated that they were more interested in economic growth than democratisation or the elections according to Tsvangirai's own official website. Full story

Who does George Smith really work for?

Retired judge George Smith says he is the legal advisor for River Ranch Limited, owners of the diamond mine of the same name near Beitbridge. Even his email address uses the River ranch domain name. But African Consolidated Resources chief executive Andrew Cranswick says the former judge is a freelance consultant. Full story

Security issues pushed to the backburner

Security issues have been pushed to the backburner with most Zimbabweans saying the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front is most responsible for blocking implementation of the Global Political Agreement which ushered in the inclusive government that has been steering the country since February last year. Full story

Zimbabwe 2010 forecast: Who will be the key players?

Zimbabwe had a promising start to 2010 with the country's principal leaders showing on Christmas Eve that they are committed to seeing that the inclusive government will not collapse. President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Font (ZANU-PF), Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara of the smaller faction of the MDC, held a joint press conference on December 23 at which they admitted that though they still had minor differences, the inclusive government that was formed in February was not going to collapse. Full story

Zimbabwe's indigenisation policy - nothing to worry about!

Zimbabwe's indigenisation policy under which it says 51 percent of all investments into the country must be in the hands of locals is nothing to worry about because "there is no investment in any country that is secure if it does not involve locals. It is as simple as that," says Supa Mandiwanzira president of the Affirmative Action Group. Full story

Bloch defends Gono

Central bank governor Gideon Gono, who has been under a lot of flack, has finally got someone backing him. Economist and business consultant, Eric Bloch, director of some 80 companies, says Gono is being used as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong in Zimbabwe. Full story

ACR responds to Marange story

African Consolidated Resources has finally responded to inquiries from The Insider following the publication of its story that the company might be more to blame for the chaos in Marange. In the interest of fair play we have agreed to publish their response in full. This is not in any way meant to suggest that any of the facts that we raised in our story are incorrect. We are merely giving ACR a voice. It is up to the reader to decide who is telling the truth. Full story

ACR may have sparked the chaos at Marange

In the movie, Godfather III, Mafia don Michael Corleone tells his protégé Vincent Mancini why it is dangerous to hate someone. Vincent wants to kill Joey Zasa because Joey persistently makes derogatory remarks about his godfather. Michael tells Vincent that Joey is nothing. “He’s a small-time enforcer. He bluffs, threats, but nothing.” Vincent insists he must kill Joey but Michael tells him: “No! Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.” This is the dilemma confronting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The world’s hatred for Mugabe and equally his virulent attacks on the West have totally clouded issues in this Southern African state, especially its diamonds. Full story

Mugabe versus Obama!

Ever wondered how much Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe earns? And how this compares with United States President Barack Obama, or South African President Jacob Zuma? The Insider now provides this information at the click of a button. Full story

Court allows disputed email evidence

High Court judge Chinembiri Bhunu today said he would admit disputed email evidence implicating opposition politician Roy Bennett in a plot against President Robert Mugabe's government. The court threw out confessions by key state witness Peter Hitschmann linking Bennett to the crime, on the grounds that the statements had been extracted under torture. Judge Bhunu ruled that the emails were created before Hitschmann's alleged assault. "The emails cannot be tainted by the alleged abuse suffered by Hitschmann. They are relevant and vital to the fair resolution of the case and are hereby admitted as evidence," Judge Bhunu said. - 3 February 2010

Benjani off to Sunderland

Zimbabwean international soccer star Benjani Mwaruwari is to move to Sunderland after getting the go-ahead from the Premier League today. The deal was initially held up after emails and faxes from Sunderland to the Football Association did not go through. - 2 February 2010

Biti blasts ZANU-PF

Movement for Democratic Change secretary and Finance Minister Tendai Biti today accused ZANU-PF of using the inclusive government to wage war against the MDC, its supporters and the people of Zimbabwe. "Despite the sincerity we have displayed (some would say naivety) and the legitimacy we bring to the government as a result of the overwhelming support we have from the people of this great country, ZANU-PF has refused to acknowledge that their failed policies of the past have been soundly rejected by the masses and that process of change is irreversible. Instead, they have continued to use the inclusive government to wage war against the MDC, our supporters and the people at large. ZANU- PF continues to use the public media, the constitutional process, the commercial farms, the diamond mines and the civil service as the battlefields for its destructive agenda aimed at perpetuating their selfish grip on power,"Biti said. - 2 February 2010

Grain deficit

The Commercial Farmers Union, which represents Zimbabwe's embattled white farmers, today said the country may have to import more than half the maize it needs this year to cover a deficit after drought destroyed crops. "All indications are that this season will be a total disaster. We will be very lucky if we get more than 500 000 tonnes," Deon Theron, president of the CFU said. "We need about 1.8-million tonnes of maize, so over a million tonnes will have to be made up by imports." - 1 February 2010

Secret airstrip

Zimbabwe was today reported to be building a secret airstrip at Chiadzwa to enable it to clandestinely buy weapons from China in exchange for diamonds. - 31 January 2010

$3 million for police protection

Parliamentary Select Committee co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora today said police commissioner Augustine Chihuri had demanded $3 million to release police officers to accompany outreach teams during the constitution making process. "We wrote to Chihuri requesting police officers to provide security at our outreach meetings but he said the police will only be able to provide 1000 officers at a cost of U$3 million. On top of that the committee is also expected to provide food and transport for the officers, " Mwonzora said. - 30 Jasnuary 2010

Mutambara lambasts Milliband

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara today lambasted Britain's Foreign Minister David Milliband for what he called his "very patronising" remarks on sanctions. Milliband told the British parliament earlier this month that sanctions should continue against Zimbabwe until Morgan Tsvangirai, the country's prime minister, personally advocated for them to be lifted. "With friends like those, who needs enemies?" Mutambara asked. "What he has done is completely unstrategic, is very ignorant and very patronising. Why? Because he is completely undermining Mr. Tsvangirai's power in the negotiations right now." - 29 January 2010

Tsvangirai asks investors, donors to return

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai today told foreign investors and donors to return to the country saying the process that led to creation of a unity government last February is irreversible. "Certainly the country is moving forward, and this is a time to look at the country in a more positive light," he said in Davos, Switzerland. - 28 January 2010

ZANU-PF won't budge

ZANU-PF today said it will not make concessions in talks with its partners in the unity government until sanctions imposed by Western nations are lifted. The party's politburo instructed its negotiators on the global political agreement to desist from making concessions in the negotiations until the sanctions are removed. - 27 January 2010

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