November 15, 2002
Amani Trust illegal
Herald Reporter
THE British-funded Amani Trust is operating illegally in Zimbabwe since it is
not registered under the Private Voluntary Organisations Act.
The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Cde July Moyo, told
Parliament yesterday that the organisation had only registered its constitution
with the Deeds Registry Office.
"Amani Trust is one of the NGOs to which my ministry gave notice in the Press
on 13 September 2002 to stop their operations until they have regularised their
registrations," said Cde Moyo.
"I would like to end by reminding these organisations that failure to adhere to
the law will result in arrests being made."
Cde Moyo was responding to a question by Makoni West MP, Cde Gibson
Munyoro(Zanu-PF) on why Amani Trust continued to operate when it was obvious
that it was more political than developmental.
Cde Moyo said the Government would deal strongly with NGOs that took advantage
of registering with the Deeds Registry Office to further political agendas.
Last month President Mugabe announced that the Government would scrutinise NGOs
and review the policy and laws governing them.
The Government has accused the British government of working with NGOs such as
Amani Trust in clandestine operations to unseat it and President Mugabe.
Amani Trust was originally established to provide
community-based care for the survivors of torture and violence.
In the run-up to the March presidential poll, the organisation funded safe
houses set up by the opposition MDC as hideouts for its members on the
police wanted list for political violence.
The trust established the safe houses under the guise of providing shelter to
victims of political violence.
But investigations revealed that the occupants were being used to carry out
special assignments for the MDC and the National Constitutional Assembly
such as participating in anti-Government demonstrations and opposition rallies
and meetings.
The occupants were also being used to catalogue cases of political violence as
part of a dossier that was being compiled by the MDC to justify the intervention
of Britain, the United States and the European
Union in Zimbabwe's politics.
Amani Trust and other anti-Government NGOs have also been on a crusade to
demonise Zimbabwe at major summits by presenting false reports on political
violence.
In August its director, Dr Frances Lovemore, was arrested for releasing a false
report alleging that national youth service graduates, war veterans
and some policemen were wantonly gang-raping young girls.
Last month, the British High Commission gave about $3,6 million to the trust.
Dr Lovemore confirmed to a group of New York City councillors on a fact-finding
mission to Zimbabwe that her organisation was indeed being funded by Britain.
She also confirmed that her organisation received a cheque of $3,6 million from
the British High Commission.
In a related issue, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Cde
Patrick Chinamasa, yesterday released a list of NGOs threatening peace and
security in Zimbabwe.
Cde Chinamasa was responding to Mutare North MP, Mr Giles Mutsekwa (MDC) who
wanted to know the organisations involved in such activities.
Cde Chinamasa made the response on behalf of the Minister of State for National
Security, Cde Nicholas Goche.
The organisations named were Westminister Foundation for Democracy of Britain,
the Zimbabwe Liberators' Platform, Amani Trust, Help, the Zimbabwe Democracy
Trust and the Southern African Media Development
Fund.
"These NGOs come under the guise of strengthening civil
society," said Cde Chinamasa.
"We have a plethora of both foreign and local NGOs that
disguise their activities in semantics such as human rights, democracy and
promoting civil society."
Cde Chinamasa said most of these organisations were
foreign-funded and their aim was to destabilise the nation.
He said the Westminister Foundation had received about $6 million from the
British Government, while representatives from the three major political
parties in Britain sat on its board.
"It has been involved in over 80 projects for the MDC and helped plan its
election strategy," said Cde Chinamasa.
"Against this background, it will be na�ve to believe that these organisations
are impartial. But not all NGOs are involved in subversive actions. We would
like to see all NGOs keeping out of politics."
Cde Chinamasa dismissed a recent report by the United Nations linking some
Zimbabwean officials to the plunder of wealth in the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
He said the contents of the report were not factual since enemies of Zimbabwe
seeking to demonise the country drafted it.
"The so-called UN report is a lot of rubbish and is
propaganda directed at Zimbabwe," said Cde Chinamasa.
"Our conduct in the DRC was above board and right-thinking people are happy that
we prevented genocide."
"We have no time to waste clearing malicious reports. The allegations are
unfounded and we know the source. It is the British and the United States who
were trying to chase us from the DRC so that they can
continue to plunder the country as they did under the rule of Mobutu."
Cde Chinamasa was responding to a question by Mr Mutsekwa on the response of the
Government to the report.
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"Ivinicus factus sum veritabem diceus." ( I have become an enemy for speaking the truth ) St Paul!
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Mitayo Potosi
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