Pupils in Zimbabwe study outside their classrooms at Courtney Selous Primary School, a government-run school in the capital Harare February 10, 2010. The country's civil servants are currently on a strike for better wages and benefits.
A Zimbabwean labourer polishes a classroom floor at Green Groove Primary School in the capital Harare February 10, 2010. Zimbabwe state workers went on strike on Friday to press for a five-fold wage hike, a move that could cripple public services and hamper the struggle by the fragile power-sharing government to fix the economy.
Zimbabwe pupils study outside their classrooms at Courtney Selous Primary School, a government-run school in the capital Harare February 10, 2010. The country's civil servants are currently on a strike for better wages and benefits.
Schoolchildren at Chitsere Primary school in Mbare, take time to play outside after teachers didn't turn up at the school due to the ongoing strike by civil servants in Harare, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. Zimbabwean civil servants are currently on a nationwide strike after they declined a government offer of a 10% increment.
Zimbabwe pupils study at the Budiriro suburb of the capital Harare, February 11, 2010, as the country's civil servants are currently on a strike for better wages and benefits.
Over 85% GPA tenets yet to be implemented, one year on
With elections around the corner, there are reports of ZANU-PF torture bases being re-opened, a sure sign that very little has changed in the country.
President Robert Mugabe's grip on power was pried open one year ago Thursday when he was forced into a unity government, but deep-seated mistrust and political bickering are hampering Zimbabwe's recovery, with over 85% of the GPA tenets yet to be implemented.
When opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai became prime minister on February 11, 2009, the once-vibrant nation had plunged into a seemingly endless freefall.
Political violence had engulfed the country after failed elections in 2008. More than half the population needed food aid. Ruptured sewers sparked a cholera epidemic that killed more than 4,000 people. Doctors and teachers fled their jobs, while unemployment hit 94 percent.
With Zimbabwe disintegrating, the government in January abandoned the local currency and legalised trade in US dollars.
Just weeks later, the power-sharing government took office, leaving 85-year-old Mugabe in control of security forces while handing Tsvangirai the purse strings.
More than any single action, dollarisation stabilised the economy, allowing once-bare supermarkets to restock at least basics like salt, sugar and cooking oil -- items that had become luxuries.
"We have done so much in so little time," Tsvangirai told AFP on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "However I would be the last to say that everything is rosy."
The economy last year grew by 4.7 percent, the first growth in a decade, but economic analyst Antony Hawkins said a full recovery to the peaks of the 1990s would take 10 to 15 years.
"The corner has been turned but it's going to be a long-haul," Hawkins said.
"We need a political settlement that gets recognition from the international community. We need political certainty to move faster. The economy is being held back by the politicians."
But Zimbabwe's political headaches have proved more difficult to fix.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe's ZANU-PF are still feuding over Mugabe's unilateral appointments of the attorney general and central bank governor.
Mugabe has refused to swear in Roy Bennett, Tsvangirai's pick for deputy agriculture minister, who is being prosecuted for treason.
"In terms of stopping the economic haemorrhage, we have succeeded," said MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa.
"The inclusive government has fallen victim to bickering and unnecessary politicking, particularly from our colleagues in ZANU-PF," he said.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, a top Mugabe advisor, hailed the fact that the government has lasted an entire year.
"There is commitment to continue co-operation in the inclusive government and meeting the challenges that lie ahead," he said.
He insisted that a western travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe and his inner circle were crippling Zimbabwe's recovery.
"The future is in the hands of the MDC and their allies who imposed sanctions on us. If the sanctions were lifted, Zimbabwe would not be recognisable today," Chinamasa said.
Amid the bickering, new investors have shied away. Security forces are still accused of torture and rights abuses. The United Nations predicts 1.9 million people, about 15 percent of the population, will still need food aid this year.
Zimbabwe's 230,000 civil servants, lured back to work one year ago with an offer of US dollar salaries, launched an open-ended strike Friday to demand an increase to their 150 dollar monthly pay.
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition of rights groups warned in a report on the government's performance that the risk remains of a return to "food shortages, runaway inflation, rampant violence and the general decay of social service."
"Zimbabwe still sits at the precipice," it said.
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Caledonia Mining Corporation ("Caledonia") (TSX: CAL)(OTCBB: CALVF)(AIM: CMCL) notes the recent gazetting of regulations pursuant to section 21 of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act of 2008, in terms of which all companies are required to submit an indigenisation plan by April 15, 2010 explaining how their Zimbabwean operations will achieve the required minimum level of 51% ownership by indigenous Zimbabweans within five years across all business sectors.
The regulations also provide for the gazetting within twelve months of further rules relating to each sector and subsector of the economy as to what lesser share than the minimum indigenisation and empowerment quota may apply to businesses operating in the sector or subsectors in question.
The regulations also provide that a level of indigenisation lower than 51% may be assigned to a foreign-owned company where there are "socially and economically desirable objectives" in favour of such lower level.
The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, on behalf of the mining sector currently, is in discussions with relevant authorities with respect to finalising the indigenisation and empowerment quota for the mining industry.
Caledonia's formal response will be guided by the conclusion of these ongoing discussions and the applicable legislation.
Shareholders will be kept updated on further indigenisation developments.
Further information regarding Caledonia's exploration activities and operations along with its latest financials may be found at www.caledoniamining.com.
Contacts:
Caledonia Mining
Mark Learmonth
+27 11 447 2499
BuckBias
Alex Buck
+44 7932 740 452
RBC Capital Markets
Martin Eales
+44 20 7029 7881
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