Zimbabwe's main opposition party said on Tuesday that President Robert Mugabe's ruling party was not sincerely committed to entering into a genuine cooperative government under a power-sharing deal.

The MDC opposition's Secretary-General Tendai Biti said the allocation of ministries was still being discussed in talks on forming a cabinet. He said the opposition party was committed to reaching an agreement but would not accept a bad deal.

"The core of our differences with (the ruling) ZANU-PF is the pure lack of sincerity on the part of ZANU-PF," Biti told a news conference.

Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi was on Saturday heckled by angry depositors who accused him of running down the country's economy with his ruinous policies.
Mumbengegwi, who had withdrawn an unlimited amount of cash at Kingdom Bank, which he stuffed into his briefcase, found himself at the receiving end of ridicule by depositors who had lined up to withdraw their hard earned cash.
The depositors hurled insults at Mumbengegwi, accusing him of failing to develop Masvingo and the country's financial sector. They also accused him of being Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono's puppet.
"Get away from here, you are taking all the cash you want, yet we are spending sleepless nights to get just enough to take us home. No wonder why you are being controlled by Gono, yet you are the Finance Minster," barked one depositor.
Another civil servant said the Finance Minister was of little use to the province and the country as a whole.
"You are useless...a toothless bulldog that neither barks nor bites. You have not brought any change to Masvingo and the country," said another depositor.
Others implored him to resign, saying his days would be over soon if the inter-party talks between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and ZANU PF succeed in bringing a new political configuration.
The docile Mumbengegwi however, tried to justify his actions, saying he needed the money to conduct government business, hence the need for him to withdraw large amounts of money.
"I can not stand in the queue when i have national business to attend to. I am also an ordinary citizen but i have to rush somewhere," he stammered, before his bodyguards whisked him away and drove at getaway speed.
 
RadioVOP

Zimbabwe is set to benefit from the sale of ivory to China and Japan in auctions which opened on Tuesday in Namibia.

The auctions will move every three days through Botswana, Zimbabwe and finally South Africa from October 28 and 30 and November 3 and 6 respectively.

The United Nations' Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) has allowed the country to sell elephant ivory in a one-off trade, skirting a ban on dealing in the product until 2016.

China was approved in July this year as a buyer of legally stockpiled Zimbabwean elephant ivory. The transaction will be carried under strict conditions.

To gain approval, China had to convince Cites it had put in place adequate measures to tackle any illegal domestic ivory trade and to regulate legal trade effectively.

For almost six months now, John Mberi*, 14, from the high-density suburb of Mufakose in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, has been taking care of his sick mother, Fortunate, who returned home from neighbouring South Africa very ill.

The community attributed Fortunate's condition to food poisoning while awaiting deportation in the infamous Lindela repatriation camp in South Africa, but close family members knew that Fortunate was HIV positive.

Taking care of his ailing mother has been very difficult for John, and he often misses school when her condition is worse. On days like this he has to wash, cook, clean and bathe his mother in bed using a bucket of water.

 
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) on Tuesday condemned the Zimbabwean security details’ harassment of journalists covering Monday’s stalled talks to end the country’s political crisis, and called for the urgent repeal of Zimbabwe’s tough media laws that restrict media workers from freely exercising their right to work.

The Zimbabwe chapter of MISA reported that several journalists were barred from covering the meeting organised by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) security troika held in Harare on Monday.