A personal statement by the Honourable Tendai Biti
Zimbabwe is at a crossroads. The weight of a stolen election, unprecedented corruption and the looting of public assets sits heavy on the shoulders of Zimbabweans who want and deserve better.
The environment in the world right now is toxic. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have pushed Zimbabwe to the bottom of the World’s attention calendar. This has allowed the vampire state here to carry out brazen election fraud. Not satisfied, the regime is now engaged in a malicious push to weaken our struggle, the progressive movement, through the illegal recall of elected public representatives.
It is therefore shocking to hear, and read, a daily stream of abusive, malicious and defamatory claims that Professor Welshman Ncube and I, are colluding with the regime and its proxies to append a struggle that have occupied and consumed all our adult lives. I do not speak for Prof Ncube, an honest and decent comrade who buried his dear mother on Friday, but as someone who has been in this struggle for as long as I have, one who has endured Zanu PF’s jails and physical attacks by the same, it is heartbreaking, if not tragic, that many Cdes that have been with us on this journey are now given false labels and badges, Zanu PF wish they had coined first.
I don’t believe in recalls. I have never been part of recalls. I will never be part of recalls. In my life, I have been recalled twice in 2015 and in 2021 through the pernicious use of section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. I know the pain of a recall. My family knows the pain of a recall. The people of Harare East know the pain a recall. With other MPs, such as Temba Mliswa, we unsuccessfully fought for the removal and repeal of section 129(1)(k).
Like most Zimbabweans, I only get to read about the patently illegal recalls by Mr. Tshabangu in the newspapers. Given what I and my family have given to this struggle, it saddens me that I have to state publicly that I will never be part of a project to weaken the democratic struggle in Zimbabwe. I have been imprisoned and tortured for the change we all seek, and I have stood firm. I have never worked for Zanu PF, and I will die before I lend my hand to the illegitimate Zanu PF regime.
I had hoped to be a Member of Parliament. I have my reservations about the process that prevented this happening. I have my challenges and reservations about our identity, structural, strategic and procedural polity. I am a democrat who believes in constitutionalism, the rule of law, transparency, openness and collective leadership. I can never compromise on these core values. However, no dispute nor differences is ever sufficient to place one at the service of Zanu PF.
I have a daily job at my law practice and that’s where I have retreated to fight for Zimbabweans in that sphere of my influence. Additionally, I have progressive international engagements that require my full attention.
Fellow Zimbabweans, all this chatter and actions by the illegitimate regime and its proxies are an engineered distraction from the main prize: to free ourselves from this rapacious dictatorship. It has been a long and tortuous road; and victory is closer than the distance back to where we started.
Tendai Biti
11 November 2023
When you have a budget this big {in a small Country like Zimbabwe}, you can get what you want. In the UK at the London Stock Exchange Zanu PF {still masquerading as a government – after 43 years} set about with a slick and professional ‘Indaba’. It was impressive, all singing, all dancing performance.
They had enlisted Tom Attenborough, Head of International Business Development – Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange – to, in effect green-light their Victoria Falls Exchange {VFX} and listen to a lot of talk about changing the regulatory framework etc etc.
The Finance Minister {Mthuli Ncube} was supposed to give the “Keynote Speech” but we suspect he was arrested at Heathrow – something to do with money laundering and gold smuggling {possibly} as #GoldMafia would indicate. Maybe he had too much Gold Bullion in his luggage, thinking he could get that back to Switzerland where he lives!
Having said all that, the event was well scripted, well-rehearsed, with a carefully vetted audience with plenty of MBA style word-speak. {some might say “waffle”}.
Both Ambassador Colonel K Katsande {ex Military!}, and Mthuli’s “stand-in” both ironically used the word “TRANSPARENCY” in their talks – with a record of 43 years in power, and done so, with a fist of iron {in an iron glove!} aided by staggering resources built around the propaganda to 'hide' their crimes – transparency {even in terms of Investor Risk} is completely misleading!
Still with $240m to burn on the 2023 election anything is possible. Studies, data to reinforce your claims and your agenda {easily bought these days}.
Marketed under the banner of “”Financial Markets Indaba {their words} has the aim of mobilising investment through convening diaspora, leading global institutional investors, corporate leaders, industry experts and our team of analysts to explore sector and market trends and identify significant investment opportunities. Through thought leadership, productive exchange of ideas and sharing practices, the conference delegates and participants discuss how to integrate and align regulatory framework with new strategies, business models, financial measures, and investment decisions. FMI is a unit of Emergent Capital Management (ECM) www.ecminvest.com which is licensed and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe.””
Contents
The 6 key takeaways from the Al Jazeera Investigations the USA imposition of KYC {Know Your Customer} for their AML {Anti-Money Laundering} Legislation regarding the ‘sanctity’ of the US Dollar and its usage overseas. |
14th April 2023
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Here are six key takeaways from #GoldMafia
No matter where you buy your gold and regardless of the country’s stamp on it, the very nature of the gold trade makes it extremely difficult to guarantee where it originated from.
The investigation showed how gold smuggled from Zimbabwe makes its way to Dubai and, according to experts in money laundering and illicit trade, is then exported to other major gold hubs like Switzerland and London.
These transfers are possible because gold is melted and refined repeatedly, a process that obfuscates all traces of its origin, making it particularly difficult for law enforcement agencies to build evidence against suspected smugglers.
This also means it is hard to be certain if gold purchased on the open market is ethically and legally clean or whether it is free of laundering and crime. A watch might have been made with gold from a conflict region, or a bar of gold may have been mixed with smuggled gold.
Amjad Rihan, a former partner at the consulting firm Ernst & Young, was responsible for auditing Dubai-based Kaloti a decade ago when it was one of the largest gold refineries in the world. He was blunt in his assessment. “Gold that comes to refiners, once it’s refined, it’s practically brand new gold,” he told Al Jazeera.
As ZHRO/Zexit/Take2Zimbabwe/ZEMeta and CCC-Diaspora, we have added all four parts of this damning exposition regarding money laundering to the extent of USD $1 billion and Gold Smuggling by the creation of a link to the ZHRO YouTube Platform called "ZHRO - Crime Report" CLICK HERE
We are now planning demonstrations, further petitions and other campaigns to bring the crimes of the Zanu PF 'regime' in Zimbabwe to the greater public attention, for the express benefit of the Nation and Citizens of Zimbabwe and UK, SA, USA, EU and UAE who have been implicated
Background: It mainly started in 2021, however endemic corruption and ruthless exploitation of the wealth of the natural resources of Zimbabwe has been going on for DECADES! Probably back to the {So Called} Independence on 18th April 1980!
However in 2021 the new President {after a military coup to replace Mugabe in 2017 and a rigged election in 2018 and European Union Assessment of the 2018 Elections}, was slated to visit the United Kingdom {under the auspices of the United Nations} for the Climate conference COP26 - Oct-Nov 2021. As ZHRO, ZAPU, ROHR and the then MDC(A) {now re-branded as CCC} we took our demonstration, firstly to the door of 10 Downing Street with a petition to {Boris Johnson} and also to the COP26 conference itself in Glasgow on the 1st and 2nd November 2021.
Even then we {ZHRO and VUKA} had created the banner stating "ZANU PF MUST GO" and ROHR had created "The Face Behind- Corruption etc" We all knew that Zimbabwe was being {and had been} plundered for her natural resources - for the exclusive benefit to the Zanu PF "elite" - including the arch criminal President Mnangagwa himself READ OUR OCTOBER 2021 PETITION HERE - we did not want Mnangagwa to enter the United Kingdom under any circumstances.
We had reminded the UK Government, that Mnangagwa was head of security under the 1983-87 Gukhurundi genocide {petition in July 2018 for that issue} and as the "Chief Strategist" as named by the Untied Nations in their 2002 report regarding the wholesale looting of diamonds from the DR Congo! It's not as if this was all news to the British Government.
This is an interesting perspective that could possibly benefit most Zimbabweans, PROVIDED that Zanu PF acted like a proper Government {a big ask indeed, their past performance would suggest all they are seeking is new methods to continue with "DEM LOOT"} However, given the emerging banking crisis in the USA, the weakening USD - this would tie Zimbabwe's currency with the SA Rand and the Chinese Renimbi - attractive ideas {with due regard to the debts to the Chinese! BUT -- IF CARRIED OUT WITH THE NATION'S and CITIZEN'S BEST INTERESTS!! |
18th March 2023: Comments by John Burke, ZHRO with his Economist hat on! |
The central banks of Russia and Zimbabwe should establish settlements in local currencies and look at opportunities for securing trade in gold reserves, the speaker of the Zimbabwean ruling party ZANU-PF,
Christopher Mutsvangwa, told RIA Novosti on Wednesday {15th March 2023}.
The southern African country has been under Western sanctions for 22 years, the official noted, adding that curbs imposed on Russia should not handicap trade between the two countries. Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia and countries in Africa were developing a cooperation strategy to replace the US dollar and the euro in settlements, adding that the parties were preparing documents on rearranging the mechanism of cooperation under Western sanctions.
“Our banks should find a way to make the Russian ruble and the Zimbabwean dollar freely convertible. {Only if their valuations are compatable JB ZHRO} Also, our countries both have rich gold reserves.{again, let them do this for the Nation not the elite within Zanu PF JB ZHRO} We are among the top seven countries in terms of gold mining, and production volumes are growing. We are now mining 35 tons per year, but we could mine all 50. So we could think about securing our trade in gold reserves,” {to be fair that is a good idea - but contingent on previous comments JB ZHRO}
Mutsvangwa suggested. Russia wants to trade with African countries in local currencies – Lavrov
The official went on to say that “nothing could derail” trade between Moscow and Harare, noting that China, India, and Middle Eastern nations were also moving towards abandoning the dollar in settlements.
The politician also proposed establishing more banks that use alternative payment systems to replace the West’s SWIFT messaging system. He noted that trade in dollars was “a limiting factor” adding that Russia and African nations should set up “more banks outside of the US-run global SWIFT banking system.”
Moscow has been steadily pursuing a policy of de-dollarization in foreign trade. In recent years, Russia and some of its trade partners, including India and China, have been ramping up the use of domestic currencies in mutual settlements in an effort to move away from the dollar and euro.