SW Radio Africa News stories for Friday 5 February

Botswana recalls diplomats from Zimbabwe
Botswana is to recall two diplomats from Harare in protest against what it considers a ‘rebuff’ by Zimbabwe to engage them and find a ‘diplomatic’ solution to the continued detention of three wildlife officials. The wildlife officials were picked up two weeks ago after ‘inadvertently’ straying into Zimbabwe as they were tracking lions that had killed some cattle in Lesoma village in Botswana.

Civil servants back strike action during Harare rally
Angry civil servants in the capital on Friday used a rally in the Harare Gardens to give their backing to industrial action meant to force the government to improve their wages. Union leaders announced the breakdown of talks with the government on Tuesday and said they would use rallies in Harare and Bulawayo to gauge their members on what action to take.

ZINASU students arrested at Harare Polytechnic
Two student activists were arrested by police in Harare on Thursday for addressing their colleagues at the crisis ridden Harare Polytechnic. The Zimbabwe National Students Union spokesperson Kudakwashe Chakabva issued a statement on Friday saying the two had been assigned a fact-finding mission to collect data on the grievances and challenges facing students.

Farmer accused of contempt over shock land ruling
A commercial farmer, who has been campaigning for the implementation of a regional land ruling that declared the land ‘reform’ programme unlawful, has now been accused of contempt of court, after he criticised a High Court judge’s decision to dismiss the same ruling in Zimbabwe.

 

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SW Radio Africa News Headlines for Friday 5 February

 

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Sanctions: Should they be lifted? In this week’s Hot Seat Programme, Violet Gonda asks a number of Zimbabweans from various walks of life, what they think about this issue. ZANU PF has warned there will be no more GPA concessions until the sanctions imposed by Western countries are removed. Parliament has seen heated discussions on this topic with ZANU PF insisting that the MDC should demand the removal of the restrictive measures. Some say the time has come for sanctions to be removed others claim the sanctions are targeted on particular individuals who are guilty of serious human rights abuses and have still not admitted wrong doing. In the next two weeks the European Union will be reviewing their measures, but what are Zimbabweans saying? Find out in Hot Seat.

 

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Cathy Buckle has her Letter from Zimbabwe where this week she writes, “Zimbabwe’s pensioners, like so many others in our population are in a diabolical state which has nothing whatever to do with sanctions and everything to do with a decade of mis-governance.”

 

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On Callback, Kureva says people in Jerera are confused about the different draft constitutions being presented to them by ZANU PF and the MDC. Jibha fears that ‘things have come to a grinding halt,’ and politicians are busy jostling for positions while the needs of the people have been forgotten. Wasu says civic society has been frustrated by the constitution-making process because they have been sidelined by government.

 

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