Election a 'Huge Farce' - Tsvangirai

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai has dismissed Wednesday's elections as a "huge farce" saying he has since met with the AU Observer mission chair Olesugun Obasanjo to voice his concerns over the manner in which the poll was conducted.

Addressing journalists at his party offices in Harare Thursday, the MDC-T leader Tsvangirai said the election was "illegitimate" adding that the ball now rests squarely with the AU and SADC.

"The election has been a huge farce. Its credibility has been marred by administrative and legal violations which affect the legitimacy of its outcome," he said.

"I have met with the chair of the AU observer mission, former Nigerian President Olesugun Obasanjo, head of the SADC observer mission and I have given a diplomatic briefing. The message we have given is that this is not a credible election. It does not reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

"The election has been heavily manipulated. In our view, the outcome of this election is illegitimate. But more importantly, the shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis.

"We therefore call for SADC, and the AU audit teams to look into this process, in particular the voters roll, the ballots and the manner in which the whole process was conducted."

The MDC-T leader said the vote was a sham as it failed to meet the SADC guidelines on elections singling out the issue of the voters roll as well as the disenfranchisement of thousands of potential voters.

He said the voters roll was in a shambles adding that traditional chiefs were also intimidating rural people to vote. He also said some voters were also being bussed rendering the whole exercise a sham.

Visibly downcast, Tsvangirai did not wait for questions from Journalists after presenting his statement choosing, instead, to head straight to his vehicle escorted by his security details and driving off.

France Calls for Morsi's Release

France on Tuesday called for the release of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius described the situation on the country as "very critical".

"We condemn the violence ... We call for dialogue and for the release of president Morsi," Laurent Fabius told reporters in Paris. "The situation is very critical. We call for the rejection of violence and for the release of political prisoners including former president Morsi."

Fabius was due to talk to European Union policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is visiting Egypt, by phone later on Tuesday.

On Tuesday she became the first foreign dignitary to meet Morsi since he was detained by the military amid mass demonstrations against his government.

Morsi's supporters have since taken to the streets to demand his reinstatement and a number have been killed by the army.

Ashton called for an end to the violence and a political transition that would include the Muslim Brotherhood, the organisation that provides Morsi's base.

Security Sector Agents Take Over Election Process

Election day in Mbare, Harare. (file photo)

Harare — The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday claimed that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has been relegated to mere spectators by state security agents that the party says are now in charge of Wednesday's national elections.

Addressing a news conference at his party's Harvest House headquarters, MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said the electoral commission has already failed in its mandate to run the polls in a credible manner.

With only a few hours before the elections, Mr. Mwonzora said the prime minister was yet to get access to the voters roll.

ZEC announced Monday that the roll was now ready to be accessed through the Registrar General's Office. But the MDC-T says they are still to access the voters' register that critics say is littered with irregularities.

Mwonzora also claimed that his party has received information that inhabitants of Nketa and Nkulumane constituencies in Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, would be required to cast their ballots in both areas

He said this was being done deliberately to disenfranchise people, especially those living in urban areas.

Due to these and other irregularities, Mr. Mwonzora said it is now clear to the MDC-T that state security agents are now in charge of the running of Wednesday's elections.

ZEC chairperson Rita Makarau could not be reached for comment as she was said to be attending a meeting with representatives of political parties.

Meanwhile, Mwonzora claimed that Zanu PF is using chiefs and other traditional leaders to force villagers in the countryside to vote for the former revolutionary party.

VOA Studio 7 failed to get comment from the president of the Chiefs Council, Fortune Charumbira and Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo.

Mwonzora also accused the intelligentsia of interfering with mobile and internet communication systems ahead of the elections.

Several people failed to communicate for the better part of Tuesday as the mobile networks were congested.

Despite all these claims, Mwonzora said his party remains confident that it will romp to victory in the polls.

He urged his party's supporters to go out in large numbers to cast their ballots, asking them to be patient if they find themselves in long queues.

Police U-Turn Over PM Cross Over Rally

MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai addressing a rally.

IN a dramatic u-turn, police have now said Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's so-called 'Cross Over' Harare rally will now go ahead Monday, reversing an earlier decision to block the gathering.

"That rally is going to proceed," said national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba told a press briefing on Sunday.

"Come Monday, MDC is going to hold their rally."

On Friday Harare police boss, Chief Superintendent Titus Alex Chagwedera, had told the MDC-T that the ZRP was short-staffed and could not muster enough security deployments for the event.

Asked why Chief Superintendent Chagwedera had initially banned the rally, Charamba said she did not know.

"l haven't spoken to the Chief Superintendent himself and l am not privy to the reasons that he has given but what l can assure you is that the rally is going to go on and we have enough manpower to cover that rally. We have adequate police officers to ensure the rally is going on," she said.

"Whatever Chagwedera said, l think you can go and ask him but as far as l am concerned, as the chief police spokesperson who speaks on behalf of the Commissioner General, the Commissioner General from the onset has conceded that that rally will go on."

In a letter to Godfrey Koster, the MDC-T national coordinator, Chigwedera wrote: "Be advised that we have already deployed all our personnel to polling stations where they are securing election and government materials.

"We have no extra personnel to spare so that they cover your intended rally. Some of our personnel have been deployed to some other provinces to augment the strength of such provinces.

"In view of the foregoing, holding the intended Star Rally has not been sanctioned and should not be allowed to take place as the absence of Police officers from the rally may culminate in political violence."

The ban invited an angry response from the MDC-T which vowed to challenge the decision in the courts, insisting the police action was unlawful.

"We get shocked when some people say this country is having a free and fair election. What rubbish! This election is illegitimate, is illegal, is unfree, is immoral, is unfair," MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti said.

"We have already instructed our lawyers to go to court. We are also going to write to our observers."

Climate Change Teaches Some Lessons

Port Louis — Tourism, agriculture, fishing, the water supply - climate change threatens the very foundations of society and the economy in Mauritius. As the Indian Ocean island nation develops its adaptation strategies, it is working to ground the next generation of citizens firmly in principles of sustainable development.

Launched on Jul. 5, the country's National Climate Change Adaptation Policy Framework (NCCAPF) included familiar but worrying predictions for the future. Half of this tourist destination's beaches could disappear by 2050, swallowed by rising seas and increasingly violent and frequent storms. Fresh water resources could shrink by as much as 13 percent while demand will rise steadily.

"We are shocked to learn that our beautiful island - or part of it - may disappear because of a rise in sea levels," student Felicia Beniff told IPS as she emerged from a class on the environment and climate change with four friends. "We are afraid. We have many more years to live. Where will we go?"

The teenage students at MEDCO Cassis Secondary School in the Mauritian capital Port Louis are among a quarter of a million students across the island that will be exposed to principles of sustainable development.

Mauritius is working hard to correct unsustainable practices, notably through the Maurice Île Durable. Educating youth about sustainable development is part of this long-term vision to establish a new, ecologically sound economy.

At Rabindranath Tagore State Secondary School in Ilot, northern Mauritius, students put organic waste into a compost bin.

"We collect plastic bottles. We turn off the lights and the air-conditioners when we leave the classroom. We open the windows to aerate the classes. This reduces the school's expenses. We also plant trees," one of the students, Ashootosh Jogarah, told IPS.

His friend, Varounen Samy, told IPS that they have "now changed our attitude towards the environment."

Mahen Gangapersad, the school's rector, believes Mauritians have taken the environment for granted for too long without realising the harm they cause to natural resources. The new education programme aims to correct this. "Better late than never," he told IPS.

Tree planting, the installation of photovoltaic cells for renewable energy, endemic gardens, backyard gardening, waste segregation, compost-making, rain water harvesting and water control are now a reality at many schools. The plan is to expose the entire student population.

"So we are reaching out to 250,000 plus people," Veenace Koonjal, special adviser to the Minister of Education told IPS. He believes this training will have a great impact on awareness among the country's population of 1.2 million as students take what they learn home to their families and communities.

"Climate change is weakening the economic, social and environmental pillars of the island," said the Mauritian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Deva Virahsawmy, at the launch of the NCCAPF.

The launch of the newly-completed policy framework was accompanied by the opening of a Climate Change Information Centre in Port Louis, an initiative that will gather local and regional information on climate change and make it available to everyone - scientists, engineers, architects, as well as farmers and students.

Strengthening and broadening knowledge, awareness and information about climate change is a key part of this island nation's response to global warming. Mauritius, like other island states, can expect to bear the full brunt of climate change despite contributing very little to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause it.

Further, the policy framework acknowledges that the island's geography and topography limit what can be done to counter harmful impacts of global warming on fishing and the coastline, tourism, or agriculture.

Khalil Elahee, chairperson of the government's Energy Efficiency Management Office, believes the population has begun to realise the very serious impact that climate change is already having.

"People want sustainable development. So it is essential we start a new way of living and developing our island, climate change or not," he told IPS.

"Whatever we do may not be enough but the measures taken by Mauritius in its climate change education programme help to mitigate the impact of climate change on the island," Elahee said.

Virahsawmy said that climate change education would enable Mauritius to strengthen its resilience in key sectors of its economy and mitigate the risks and prevent losses of lives and property.

Mauritius has already received three million dollars from the Africa Adaptation Programme - funded by the Government of Japan's Cool Earth Partnership for Africa - to integrate and mainstream climate change adaptation into its institutional frameworks and core development policies.

An official from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development told IPS that a Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) project is also being implemented this year. It will receive technical support from the United Nations Environment Programme's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, and its Risoe Centre in Denmark. It is funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) to the tune of 120,000 dollars.

The key aim of the TNA is to bridge the gap between identifying appropriate technologies and the design of action plans. The aim is to allow Mauritius to implement technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support adaptation to climate change that is consistent with national development priorities.

The government hopes to secure more funding for adaptation and mitigation efforts from the Green Climate Fund, the U.N. Adaptation Fund and the GEF.

Beyond the classroom, several other programmes run by NGOs complement what young people are learning at school. The Youth be Aware programme of the Mauritius Red Cross, for example, engages 600 young people on the risks posed by climate change to the island.

Govt to rein in on cars with toxic emissions

Motorists have been urged to be more responsible with regard to their vehicles. Saturday Times/File.

Vehicles that emit high concentrates of dangerous gases will, in the near future, not be permitted on Rwandan roads as a measure against air pollution that may have adverse effects on people and the environment.

But this will be a gradual process, officials said this week.

“Much as we would love people to import only new cars with very low levels of gas emission, we know it is not cheap and, therefore, many people will always rely on second hand cars in Rwanda, just like in other developing economies,” the Minister for Natural Resources (Minirena), Stanislas Kamanzi, said on Thursday.

“However, what we are calling for is responsibility. Every car owner should be careful as to when their car is due for servicing because not doing this not only affects the vehicle, but also our environment,” he said.

Statistics from Minirena indicate that in 2005, vehicles contributed to 52 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Rwanda.

No single car has been impounded or stopped from accessing the transport system due to emitting worrying levels of gases by the Police eventhough the Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) set standards on air pollution for industries and cars.

This is because police has no equipment to monitor and measure car emissions on the road, according to the Police Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety, Felly Bahizi.

The budget

“We have impounded about 40 cars with terrible mechanical conditions but not on the grounds of emitting toxic gases. We are, however, working with Minirena and RBS on acquiring machines that our traffic officers can use; so soon, we shall be able to impound such cars,” Bahizi said.

According to Rose Mukankomeje, the Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), Rwf650 million is earmarked to protect the environment against pollution, including purchasing gas emission analysers this financial year.

“We are working with Police and RBS and are on course to introducing these mobile analysers that will facilitate traffic officers in carrying out roadside emission tests on cars and motorcycles,” Mukankomeje said

She was, however, quick to highlight that the state of the environment in Rwanda is “nothing to worry about” and that the development is aimed at protecting Rwandans against consequences of pollutions in the long run.

Latest statistics show that Rwanda’s traffic has over 60,000 vehicles and out of these, 80 per cent circulate inside Kigali.

Simphorien Kamanzi, the vice president of Iark Consessioner, a car importing company, said many investors in the trade are cautious about the cars they import.

“We look at the mechanical condition as well as the levels of emissions of the cars. May be the government should start looking at the age and model of the cars imported in the country and if they say they don’t want us to import a certain model, then we will adhere to the regulations,” Kamanzi said.

Police, Kigali earmark 700 parking stages for motocycles

Rwanda national Police, in partnership with the City of Kigali, have announced plans to set up 700 parking stations for commercial taxi-motorcycle operators in the capital.

According to SP Jean Marie Vianney Ndushabandi, the Traffic and Road Safety Spokesperson, this will help motorcyclists become more organised and reduce accidents in the city.

“This exercise will continue country wide. The budget for this project is still being mobilised and the space will be allocated in partnership with the local authorities, meaning there is no need to apply for it because they will be in public areas,” explains Ndushabandi.

Complaints

But a number of motorcyclists and users are not happy with the changes, arguing that some people who stay in residential areas will have problems accessing public transport.

“We have no taxis in our neighbourhoods and our only means are motorcycles, which may not work for us if they are grounded in one place.  Unless these stages are also extended to neighbourhoods,” Ronnie Twahirwa, a resident of Kanombe in Kicukiro District told Saturday Times.

It is not only Twahirwa complaining about transport difficulties in the city, but a number of people around town say that these motorcycles find them at convenient places and the moment they are stationed at parking stations it will be difficult to access them.

The taxi-moto operators are also not pleased with the news of parking stations saying that their clients are too lazy to move and a number of them just wait at their door steps.

They further noted that this will be limiting their options, saying that moving around looking for clients makes those who had not planned to take a motorcycle end up on one.