Junior doctors have mocked Health Minister Obadiah Moyo’s remarks that the government will avail ZUPCO buses for doctors to alleviate their incapacitation.
In a post on microblogging site Twitter, Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Association (ZHDA) secretary-general, Mthabisi Anele Bhebhe expressed down on whether Minister Moyo knows what a doctor does. He wrote:
“The Minister of Health will expect a doctor to use a Zupco bus to see patients. Does he know what exactly doctors do, the work schedule of a doctor and the essence of time? Akusi kujairirwa here uku?”
Junior and middle-level doctors have been on strike since the 3rd of September over poor remuneration and working conditions.
The government responded to the job action by firing hundreds of doctors, leaving public hospitals bereft of both doctor and patients.
By A Correspondent- Two people died this afternoon when a tree fell on top of a kombi following a violent storm which swept across the capital and its neighbouring suburbs.
Paul Nyathi|Zimbabwe’s government is set to increase the price of passports in an endeavour to raise enough foreign currency to produce the documents as it tries to clear a backlog of over 300 000 applications by next March.
Registrar-General Clemence Masango told journalists that the Treasury would have the final say on the adjustments, Pindula News reported on Monday.
The plan to deal with the backlog includes increasing production to 4 000 passports a day as the daily shift which normally produces 2 000 per day has been doubled.
Last week, Zimbabweans finally got access to new low-denomination currency that authorities hope will end chronic cash shortages, but banks maintained an existing weekly withdrawal limit of $20, frustrating many customers.
The new 2 and 5 Zimbabwe dollar notes and coins were scheduled to start circulating last week Monday but failed to appear on time, causing confusion at banks.
Shortages of cash, foreign currency, fuel and power are the most visible signs of the southern African nation’s worst economic crisis since 2008, when hyperinflation forced the government to ditch its currency.
By A Correspondent- Exiled former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo says Zimbabweans must deal with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces if they want a solution to be implanted in dealing with the challenges affecting the country.
Moyo was responding to one Brighton Chiwola who had said:
“The so called Young Turks or G40. The team that dared to dream and take over the levers of power from Veterans. The only vital cog missing from your matrix was Chiwenga’s ZDF which you alienated. Had you (Moyo) had that, you surely would’ve destroyed Lacoste, taken over.”
Professor Moyo said the challenge with the army was that it was pursuing a Mgagao declaration that preceded the gun over politics.
“But ZDF was the problem, as it still is, with its Mgagao nonsense about the gun dictating politics. It’s ZDF that’s been stealing elections all these years and stole the 2018 election in the most brazen way. There’ll will never be reforms or change in Zimbabwe without dealing with ZDF!”
A grouping called G40 which was alleged led by Professor Moyo and other leaders including Savior Kasukuwere was vanquished by the military during the November 2017 bloody coup that claimed the life of CIO Boss Peter Munetsi and other unaccounted for citizens.
The coup ushered in a new dispensation that is led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
One person was killed while several others were injured by thunderstorms that hit different parts of the country.
Houses, Government buildings, schools and roads were damaged in the past week.
Government has since assured the nation of warnings of impending disaster and assistance to those affected.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said Government was responding to challenges caused by the rains.
“We dispatched some teams countrywide to monitor the damage that might be caused,” he said.
“We have some officers who are on high alert at district and provincial level to assist those who have been affected.
“Those affected should immediately report any damage caused by heavy rains and strong winds to get assistance.”
Minister Moyo said the Ministry was in the process of conducting awareness campaigns countrywide to educate people on dangers caused by weather patterns.
In Matabeleland North Province, a storm damaged Komba Primary School in Lupane on Friday, leaving a 7-year-old boy dead and his mother and siblings injured, and wrecked 21 homesteads in Gudubu Village.
The District Civil Protection Unit, which visited the school, is mobilising resources to resuscitate it.
In Hwange, in the Mashala area, about 20 homesteads were damaged.
Thunderstorms are often accompanied by strong winds, a result of rotating winds from the cloud to the earth, especially at the beginning of the season.
In Beitbridge last Thursday, strong winds, which lasted for seven minutes, damaged roofs at shops, a clinic, teachers’ cottages, churches and nine homesteads in the Shashe area.
In Zezani, in Ward 10, authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage by the time of going to press yesterday.
Two people were injured in the Shashe area in Ward 8, with one senior citizen (64) breaking his leg while attempting to flee a house whose walls were falling in.
An 11-year old girl sustained a deep cut below her right knee when she fell on broken glass as she sought to avoid a falling roof at their family house.
At Shashe Business Centre, five shops with stock worth over $250 000, had their roofs blown off.
“My grocery store that was opened
in the 1960s was damaged with stock value of $5 000,” said businessman and farmer Mr Musa Dube.
“As it stands, I will move what I can to safety, including my livestock.”
Additionally, the Maramani community, including the Shashe area, has lost electricity supplies after pylons were uprooted.
The damage to Shashe Clinic, which has a catchment of 4 000 people, has left people having to travel for 50 kilometres to either Swereki or Nottingham to access health facilities.
Authorities at Shashe Secondary School have temporarily suspended classes for 231 pupils until the damage is repaired.
Acting Beitbridge district civil protection committee chairman Mr Jahson Mugodzwa said they were assessing damage in wards 7, 8 and 10.
In Masvingo, heavy rains coupled with strong winds, damaged over 50 homes and buildings including Government offices near Nyika Growth Point in Bikita.
District civil protection chairperson Mr Bernard Hadzirambwi, who is also the District Development Coordinator, said the civil protection team was on the ground assessing the storm’s impact.
“Fortunately, there has not been any casualty reported, but more than 50 houses were affected,” he said.
Mr Hadzirambwi said some of the affected buildings included Beardmore Primary, Nyika Clinic and Bikita District Hospital whose roofs were blown off by the strong winds.
In Manicaland, a hailstorm that hit part of the province from Thursday left a trail of destruction on houses and schools in Chimanimani.
Chimanimani district development coordinator Mr John Misi said 10 classroom blocks were affected at Manase Primary School.
Five classroom blocks, two teachers’ houses and a tent housing 70 ECD pupils were not spared at Kwirire Primary school.
At Nyambeya Primary School, seven classroom blocks and a teacher’s house were destroyed, leaving four grades stranded.
Mr Misi stressed the urgent need to relocate Cyclone Idai survivors to permanent structures.
Chimanimani District was hit by Cyclone Idai in March this year which displaced over 4 000 people.
Most roads and bridges were destroyed and the rehabilitation process is still underway.
A girl from Kazangarare in Hurungwe has been hospitalised after coming into contact with an electric cable that had fallen during a storm.
The primary school girl was hurt after touching live Zesa cables after poles fell during the storm in the Nyamakate area of Hurungwe on Tuesday.
She is now at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital, amid fears she could be referred to Harare for her hand to be amputated.
Some houses had their roofs blown off by strong winds in the Negande area of Kariba district.
Gweshe village headman Takemore Siampongo had the roof to his toilet blown off, while roofing sheets at Karomo Siampongo and Wellington Matambudza’s houses were also blown away.
There was flooding on Ume River in Kariba due to heavy rains last week, amid calls on people to avoid crossing flooded rivers.
At least 110 families in wards 2 and 19 of Chegutu District had their homesteads destroyed by strong winds, while Neuso and Danangwe primary schools had their roofs blown off on Friday.
Danangwe Clinic and a mother’s shelter at Neuso Clinic also had their roofs damaged, while shops at Neuso Shopping Centre were destroyed.
By A Correspondent- Former MDC Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora offered legal advice to Vice President Retired General Constantino Chiwenga during the November 2017 coup that ended 37 years of President Robert Mugabe’s rule.
This was revealed by National Patriotic Front Spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire on Monday
Said Mawarire,
“Paul Mangwana and Mwonzora were invited to KGVI to look at ways, within the context of the constitution, to legitimise the coup and for two days both Mangwana and Mwonzora moved around in convoys guarded by the army.”
Mawarire said he want not sure whether MDC had sanctioned Mwonzora to render the services.
“I don’t know but the fact of the matter is that Sen Mwonzora worked with his buddy Munyaradzi Mangwana, from KGVI, to look for ‘constitutional’ ways of legitimizing the coup. Ever wondered why Chiwenga was happy to be photographed waving the constitution during coup meetings?”
Another human rights lawyer who offered services to the military during the coup was South African based Gabriel Shumba.
The book “Two weeks in November” by Douglas Rogers details how Shumba worked with dreaded spies and Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa to sanitise the coup.
State Media|THE Sports Commission made a huge step in solving the problems that have been rocking netball when it handed down a decision that the Zimbabwe Netball Association conduct their elections within the next three months.
The country’s supreme sport body also resolved that a splinter league, Rainbow Amateur Netball League (RANL), whose formation left the local netball fraternity divided, should be duly registered by ZINA and allowed to run.
ZINA have been resisting the move to amend their constitution and accomodate other leagues.
But it has since emerged that ZINA’s constitution, which was lodged with the Sports Commission in 2007, has a section which allowed other leagues to operate.
RANL were seeking to affiliate to ZINA so that they run their own league separately from the Super League which is being run by the national association.
But the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the way forward as ZINA questioned the motive behind the formation of the new structure since they already had the Super League running.
But following complaints raised by the netball stakeholders, who submitted a petition to the Sports Commission a month ago expressing concern over how ZINA were running the game in the country, the commission yesterday gave their verdict on key matters which has been threatening to hamper netball development in this country.
“The Sports and Recreation Commission has directed that ZINA, as the sole authority responsible for netball in Zimbabwe, register the Rainbow Amateur Netball League, subject to ZINA’s constitution lodged and registered with the Sports and Recreation Commission in 2007.
“Additionally, the Sports and Recreation Commission has directed that ZINA convene an extraordinary general meeting to elect an executive. The extraordinary general meeting should be concluded no later than January 31, 2020,” read the statement which was released by the Sports Commission yesterday.More in Sport
Currently, the RANL league has been running while the Super League was not functional after the majority of the clubs once affiliated to the Super League defected to RANL which is sponsored by Glow Petroleum.
The move by the Sports Commission is expected to bring to an end the squabbling and make sure that the sport which reached dizzy heights when the senior national team, the Gems, qualified and performed well at the the Vitality World Cup this year, will ride on that success and maintain the momentum through a vibrant league.
Yesterday, ZINA president Leticia Chipandu said they were surprised by the move.
“We are surprised by the instruction from the SRC. They are better positioned to comment and justify why they have taken that action. But all we know is that according to our 2013 constitution we are not due for elections,” said Chipandu.
RANL secretary Moses Gukurume welcomed the development.
“Although we haven’t sat down as a league but I think it’s a noble development, something which is exciting and common sense has prevailed. We are happy that we will be able to operate professionally.
“As for the elections, they were long overdue and new brooms will help in the development of netball in this country,” Gukurume said.
ZINA has been under fire from all corners and stand accused of maladministration and incompetence after failing to secure sponsorship to run a national league, the Netball Super League.
A group calling itself “concerned netball administrators” from local clubs petitioned the Sports Commission over “gross irregularities” in netball governance, violation of ZINA’s constitution as well as the failure of requirements of the SRC Act throwing the game into further abyss.
Among the allegations were that ZINA had clashed with players during the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England, in July over allowances.
Another allegation emanating from an audit report compiled by Robert Kambarami alleged ZINA officials paid themselves hefty allowances at the expense of the players almost six times more than the players.
The governance issues, it is alleged came to light when ZINA were allegedly forced to engage an independent auditor in line with the Sports Commission’s demands for good corporate governance practices by national sport associations.
By A Correspondent- Exiled former cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has for the first time posted pictures of his journey after crossing Ruya river to Mozambique fleeing the armed soldiers of the then Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces General Constantino Chiwenga.
Posting on Twitter Moyo said:
“Sight after crossing Ruya River into Mozambique. At this time Trevor Ncube was lying on Twitter and to readers of his newspapers that we were under arrest at KGVI barracks. The other gentleman is a Mozambican. Details are in a coup story, yet to be told!”
Moyo and Kasukuwere fled the country after the late Robert Mugabe took custody of their families and protected them from the armed soldiers.
Own Correspondent|THE Football Association of Zambia has warned fans that are planning to cause confusion at National Heroes Stadium on Tuesday evening when Zambia take on Zimbabwe in 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Fans throw missiles to the national team players leading to the team using a dummy tunnel to head to the dressing room in last game that ended 2-2 against eSwatini during the CHAN qualifier.
FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala said the association has put in measures that will not allow fans to misbehave during and after the match.
“We saw what what happened in the last game. We have put up a plan to identify and take care who will cause trouble. We have information on who could have caused that behaviour, we will be watchful and it was a learning curve for us and will handle it different this time,” he said. “We cannot tell you what we have put in place but we want to warn our soccer fans that, that was not a best behaviour that we could portray at an international game. It has repercussions.”
Kashala is urging soccer fans to come in numbers because “we have a best team at the moment”.
And Zambia Sports Fans Association patron Peter Makembo said fans should draw near the Chipolopolo because the team needs them more.
“We want to urge the fans that they should come in numbers and support the team. When the team loses fans need to draw closer to the team, not push or throw missiles at them – those are not fans. And when a team wins as fans we celebrate with them,” said Makembo. “So we want to urge fans to come in numbers and stand with the pressure the team will have. We will be there to lead the fans because the team is our baby and it needs us as fans. When things are not going your way, you don’t need to throw missiles at the team. Those are misguided fans, not even soccer fans because they don’t know the repercussions.”
Warriors coach Joey Antipas says they will approach the game against Zambia with caution knowing their opponents will be playing attacking football.
Zimbabwe face their northern neighbours in the Afcon Qualifiers at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Tuesday evening.
Kick-off is at 6 pm Zimbabwean time.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Antipas said: “We have to go into the match with a well-calculated and cautious approach.
“Zambia are wounded, so there is nowhere we will attack leaving our defence open.
“We need a calculated approach and keep things tight.”
Chipolopolo lost their opening match of the campaign 5-0 in Algeria while Zimbabwe played to a goalless draw against Botswana.
The Warriors gaffer, however, does not think Zambia’s defeat proves them to be a weak side.
He said: “That result (against Algeria) counts for nothing.
“The Zambia national team has quality, it’s not going to easy (for us). The match is always a closely contested affair, it has all the ingredients of a thriller.”
CAPS United coach Darlington Dodo says he is embarrassed by the way his side gave away a two-goal advantage and settled for a draw against a relegation-threatened Yadah side.
The Green Machine had a chance to stretch their lead at the top, but the 2-2 stalemate saw them keeping a 2-point gap ahead of Chicken Inn and FC Platinum.
They looked set to control the match with the early dominance after John Zhuwawu and Ronald Chitiyo struck home inside the opening half hour.
The Stars, however, came back into the game through Nkosi Mhlanga and Paddington Nyamakura in the late stages of the first half.
Speaking after the match, Dodo said: “It’s very embarrassing how we conceded the goals and gave away the game.
“We took the lead, but we blew it. I can’t find a word to describe it, we gave away those goals. It’s sad because it is two points lost, but we will regroup and map the way forward.”
CAPS United are now on 55 points after Match-day 31 and will face city rivals Dynamos in their next match.Soccer 24
CAPS United blew a two-goal advantage and settled for a draw against relegation-threatened Yadah on Sunday.
The Green Machine had a chance to stretch their lead at the top but the 2-2 stalemate saw them keeping a 2-point gap ahead of Chicken Inn and FC Platinum.
John Zhuwawu opened the scoring eight minutes into the game before Ronald Chitiyo doubled the lead in the 22nd-minute mark.
CAPS looked set to win the match with the early dominance, but the Stars pulled one back just after the half-hour mark through Nkosi Mhlanga.
Paddington Nyamakura completed the come back on the stroke of the half time as the two teams went to the break on level terms.
The second period had little drama until the 85th minute when Yadah scored a goal, but it was ruled out for an offside.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw as the Stars extend their three-game unbeaten run.
Across the City at Rufaro Stadium, Black Rhinos held Dynamos to a goalless stalemate.
The game produced little goalmouth action with both sides struggling to keep the ball flowing due to a water-logged pitch.
Elsewhere, Manica Diamonds edged Bulawayo Chiefs 1-0 while ZPC Kariba and Harare City played to a 2-2 draw.Soccer 24
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed 2 new Permanent Secretaries as the size of the government continues to increase.
In a statement, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda announced the appointment of Permanent Secretaries Dr John Bhasera and Silibaziso Chizwina.
Below is the full statement from Sibanda:
PRESS STATEMENT BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET ON THE APPOINTMENT OF PERMANENT SECRETARIES
1 The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet is pleased to announce that His Excellency the President has, in terms of Section 205 [1] of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment [No. 20] Act 2013, appointed Dr John Basera as the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement and Engineer Silibaziso Chizwina as the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities.
2. Dr John Basera is a holder of a degree in agronomy, an MBA and a PhD in agribusiness. He has extensive experience in agriculture with a focus on agronomy, agricultural extension services, agricultural value chain management, agricultural strategy, finance and marketing in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Namibia. Dr Basera joins the Ministry at a time when Government is focusing on revitalizing agriculture as a critical component of national efforts to realize Vision 2030. Dr Basera has worked in the private sector including Seed-Co and is currently the Technical Director in charge of the agricultural portfolio at CBZ. The appointment of Dr Basera is with effect from 1st January 2020.
3. Engineer Silibaziso Chizwina holds degree qualifications in civil and water engineering; project management and business administration. She brings a wealth of experience in real estate planning, investment and development, which she gained at NOCZIM, NSSA and the Ministry of Education and at UDCORP. She joins the housing sector to give impetus to national efforts to energize the housing delivery value chain. Her leadership will be critical in delivering housing and integrated social amenities, particularly in peri-urban, rural and resettlement areas where challenges abound. She will also be responsible for addressing the urgent issues of integrating resilient design into the development of national housing and social amenities, in the context of the emerging challenges wrought by climate change-related phenomenon. The appointment of Engineer Chizwina is with immediate effect.
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET 18 NOV 2019 Dr Misheck J M Sibanda
For Zimbabwe to achieve stability, there was to be a return to constitutionality. Sanity had escaped the political landscape. The operation restore legacy was not to be complete without order and a conclusion of presidential elections. So 2018 completed the legacy legitimises the government beyond any doubt.
On 15th November 2017 the people of Zimbabwe and the international community were surprised by a military intervention Otherwise known as an operation restore legacy. There has been a coup since the country fired the Vice president Joyce Mujuru. The only difference was that the coup was military less. No single short was fired. It was a strategy used by a cabal to capture the then head of state and his government.
A group known as the G40 led by the clever but not wise professor had taken over the party and the country. To make their coup legitimate they had to make the then president Mugabe believe that he was still in power. They realised his popularity and indeed exploited it. They have to put the first lady in their bag and they have to use her to achieve their goals. The idea was well strategised such that when people in each and every province protest agains the G40 the voices of the people were ignored. The protests against Kasukuwere were poured cold water at one rally. How could the nation protest against the kingpin.
Ten provinces called for NPC to Be fired but the first lady overturned the majority vote. All those who took part in the push for restoring order in the party were fired. They were all labelled Lacoste. The fight for succession was brutal but very political and only those near it would understand the dynamics. Even the then President did not understand what was going on around him. In reality the centre was not holding. Mugabe was captured but the ones who captured him made a fatal mistake of allowing the first lady to believe that she was above the law. She got a false sense of security. Every ZANU PF member including the majority in the to offices today literally worshipped the first lady. What destroyed Mugabe was those people who got to him through his wife. They created the office of the first lady to be at par with the presidium. Even in the politburo the sitting arrangement had changed.
This bottom power rule should be shunned by any president no matter how the first lady pretend to be nice, only Mugabe can tell you that if not controlled the first laddies will pull you down very fast.
There was indeed a coup with no soldier involved. The biggest problem was that this went beyond party politics. The first lady became the judge, the police, the court, the mother, all in one. While ZANU PF has become accustomed to violence and tragic events this one led by the first lady was the lowest point of all. Unfortunately the first lady was being used and too much power she got was used to elbow out the perceived enemies. It came to an extent where the nation was told that vice presidents took notes from the first lady. You would see big bosses in the party kneeling down before her Grace the Grace. Do not be fooled all those acting brave now went on their knees and elbows before the first lady and indeed the land scape of the politics in ZANU PF took a sharp dimension.
The country was turned to a personal property and every one was an employee of the husband of the first lady. and the firing of another vice president and other high state officials, including several chiefs of staff of the armed forces) no one was prepared for this event. The country was a few months away from the presidential elections set for 2018.
Among diverse explanations, It should be good to distinguish between those given by the instigators of the coup, and those advanced by those couped. Among the latter, there is consensus that there are multiple causes, some with deep historical roots. From a holistic perspective concerned with the deeper causes of a political unrest prevalent in society, The army had to come in firstly having been concerned with the immediate motivations, while the second refers to older and more structural causes. Although they are of different nature, function, and range, the factors that explain the coup cannot be understood separately, as they are different links on the same chain.
In terms of the immediate causes, it is important to recognize the deterioration of relations between the executive and the military elite. The deterioration can be traced to public castigation of the military at rallies. Accusing the army of wanting to bomb the Gushungo dairy. With all their ammunition the soldiers were accused of wanting to use petrol bombs to bomb the dairy. The first lady was made to believe that her life was in danger and the CIO was ordered to beef up her security. She now had security as strong as that of the president. In actual fact she was the president. This signified the take over of the state.
The first lady got unconstitutional powers to fire executive. You cross her path you are gone. The country was put where the Those controlling the first lady wanted it.
Great enmity between the army and other security services was made very wide. Security officers were now reporting to the minister of Higher Education and to the first lady. The governance system was a big joke. The president’s age was not helping and the country resembled a dogs dinner table.
The mission to restore order was instigated.
This mission was created aiming at stabilization, peace, and support for reforms in security and defense sectors. The hotly discussed ‘special’ relationship between the party and the army. the principle of making a peacekeeping and stabilization force in the country became forcing power which led the international community to consider this as a stabilisation process. Zimbabwe’s situation was becoming embarrassing. It needed some strong willed Zimbabweans to restore political sanity. Zimbabwe was becoming a laughing stalk. Therefore the establishment the restore legacy was rooted in the will of the international states and in the best interest of the nation.
Though these forces were established legally, given the hesitation expressed by some leaders as to the adequacy, correctness, and opportunity of this decision, many have denounced Mugabe and those surrounding him for mismanagement. Along with allegations that the country was now under the few none combatant egoistic thugs. They have taken full advantage of first lady’s mental instability.
The country has been plunged in a unprecedented chaos. .
There were allegations that The G40 has committed (or allowed others to commit) crimes such as the beatings and disappearances of prominent political and military figures, expulsions from the party became the norm. The party constitution was trampled and the national constitution was thrown out through the window.
Still others allege rampant clientalism and nepotism in public administration, and party politics. Together these allegations have fanned the flames of discontentment, not only within the military but also among the political class– even among personalities from the same political establishment. The decline in relations between the government and military elite reached its lowest point when certain sectors of the same elite began to feel uncomfortable with the presence of the then first lady and her influence she has over elected members. The heart of discord appeared to be the fact that such a presence voted to fail, ‘a priori’, any attempt to change the constitutional order or advance any acts contrary to the normal functioning of institutions. To add to the tension, the center of certain political and military circles has developed a certain paranoia – a mental process highly influenced by anxiety and fear, with practical consequences resulting in efforts to prevent ED from acceding to the presidency. The same anxiety has allowed the military elite to believe there has been a conspiracy on the part of the President against military leaders and all war veterans. This saw a spirited fight against the first lady and her cabal by the war veterans. In a bid to silence the descending voices war vets like Mahiya Matemadanda and the team were arrested. While these were being persecuted a number of high ranking ZANU PF cadres remained in the skirts of the first Lady Amai as she was affectionately known.
This process deteriorated in part because of the reasons analyzed above, but also because of the deliberate effort to instrumentalize ethnic identity in favor of the petty interests of one group, which can only lead to nonsensical accusations and irrational situations. The strong statements of the of The first lady not only reflects this way of thinking, but also reveals a desire to create a big gap between the military elite and a part of the political elite. This has fuelled tensions and all trust between each other was eroded. Zimbabwe was divided into Zezurus and Karangas
Beyond this, there are three other reasons that may explain the coup as the culmination of a situation of instability and the deterioration of the conditions under which state power is exercised. The first arose in the mismanagement of the resources from the national liberation struggle to the construction of a modern state. The polices and measures implemented by the powers was not likely to ensure a clear separation between civil and military affairs or permit the military contingent from the national liberation struggle to be transformed into a truly republican armed force. At the same time, for many years political life and the management of public services were dominated by the paradigm of the single-party state existing in a multiparty democracy.
The take over of state apparatus by the G40 was opposed by elements that one belonged to the military wing of the liberation struggle but have been loyal to the first lady. After liberation, the party continued to be seen as a kind of a guide with ability to act widely despite emancipation. On their side, the armed forces were more committed to the ideology and interests of the party than to the norms and rules that politics must rule the gun. To them the gun was to be respected together with its handlers. This resulted in a somewhat incestuous relationship between the political and military elite – a tendency that was reinforced during the mandate of Mugabe. It has since become one of the cornerstones in the relationship between civilian and military leaders.
Some analysts have focused more specifically on the breakdown of the hierarchical order and the political turmoil caused by the state of the party. This poisoned legacy is certainly not unfamiliar to the politico-military situation that preceded the 2017 coup. Who does not remember something funny about the rallies. Every person would know that rallies became battle grounds. The only problem was one person suffered the sharp edge of the other.
The behaviour was un African and it turned the hearts of many against the first lady. Some even doubted her sanity. Her handlers missed the point.
Indeed, the strong presence of the state party has constricted the space that could be filled by a civil society (which could serve as a counterweight to the excesses of a state party that became hegemonic.)
The second structural reason has to do with the mismanagement of crises and conflicts (violent or not) that have periodically developed in the political scene involving on one side politicians properly speaking, and on the other, politicians who were aligned with the military and not allowed to talk.
This eventually undermined the foundations of leadership at the height of the challenges facing ZANU PF. The heart of the crisis was the deposition of ED. under the pretext that the first had acted in a ‘deviant’ and ‘reprehensible’ manner. Whether or not these allegations are true, we should ask why it is permissible for a Party to fire without following procedure. in a state of law that is guided by the regular functioning of institutions, and in which military power is subordinated to a civil power, the lawlessness demanded the army to stand up and restore order.
With this act, a dangerous and irreparable precedent was set; in the very center of the armed forces, scrupulous respect for hierarchy was abandoned, along with the knowledge that the military is subordinated to political stakeholders. Acts like this certainly serve to explain the behavior of soldiers that subvert not only the military hierarchy but also undermine the rule of law.
Another explanation for the army involvement has to do with the degeneration of the state apparatus, and the state itself. It is common knowledge that the embryo of the modern state, initially forged in the first years following independence, has suffered weakness without precedent in the last few years, especially under the first lady being handled by Jonathan Moyo. The situation resembles that of a country in which neither the law or hierarchies are respected – the combination that puts things near, if not identical to that of failed state.
That is why many voices claiming to reestablish the state are premised on strengthening national unity, on reinventing the political system, and on building a functional and independent justice.
For this coup to happen exactly when the country was preparing for the presidential elections is, at least, an ‘unhappy’ coincidence. It was clear from the beginning that the electoral process itself would be disrupted.
For the country to find the path to stability again, the exit from the crisis must include a return to constitutional order.
Everything has been done both nationally and internationally to bring the military to reason. The process of building lasting peace, democracy, and the rule of law is incompatible with any compromise to those that would usurp power through a coup. It is essential that the international community does not turn its back on Zimbabwe. The operation was an opportunity to ensure that Zimbabwe returns to stability and a civil peace that is sustainable. This opportunity was well taken.
The elections came and for the first time they were so peaceful and any legitimacy lost was restored. It is the Zimbabweans doing the same.
Zimbabwe was captured already before the army took over and the same Zimbabwe was returned back to the people by the people. The army wrestled the power from those who had taken it from the constitutional system which was in place.
As to whom did they give after the restoration of order is a question which is already known. The majority party had the mandate to finish their term. So they appointed an interim president who was later confirmed at congress.
That president became the president of the country. He was then voted in during the general elections. There was no need to create a power vacuum. So Mnangagwa was duly sworn in as the president of the country.
Saying now that the ascendance was unlawful is in itself mischievous.
The army has a constitutional right to maintain peace and order in the country. Their duty is to the country and indeed they stood their constitutional ground.
Even though they targeted the criminals surrounding the president it was not the duty of the army to replace Mugabe with ED.
If the truth be said Mugabe resigned when the MDC populace in towns led by Chamisa marched in to state House. It was the army who stopped and addressed them. The rural populace did not take part. So for MDC to say the current government is illegitimate it is cheap politicking.
Mnangagwa is not in the office by force. The procedure was constitutional and very lawful.
The former president had been removed by those he believed he was working with. People took advantage of him and things fell apart.
Now it is not correct to say that the country was taken by force. The decision to make Chiwenga a Vice president soon after the operation was not a wrong move. It is indeed an unwise move but very legal. By the time of his appointment Chiwenga was not a soldier he had retired. So his appointment was not a military one.
We need to come together as a nation and work towards oneness and success of the nation.
Declaring that elections were not be free and fair is wrong and obviously not in the spirit of progress.
Now the country needs unity of purpose. The economic problems we are facing are birth pains they will go away soon and we will enjoy the fruits of our resilience.
◦ Those who stand aside and wait to see the country fall are not Zimbabweans at heart. You can not celebrate at the suffering of the nation. It is a highly irresponsible stunt to try and portray the country in a bad name.
◦ Zimbabwe now needs the support of each and every Zimbabwean. Iwe neni tine basa. We can go through these short lived economic problems if we unite beyond and above party politics. Even if you hate ZANU PF your co-operation is highly needed. Zimbabwe needs you.
◦ It is important to ask yourself one question. What am I doing for my country and my people. You can make a difference.
One person was killed while several others were injured by thunderstorms that hit different parts of the country.
Houses, Government buildings, schools and roads were damaged in the past week.
Government has since assured the nation of warnings of impending disaster and assistance to those affected.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said Government was responding to challenges caused by the rains.
“We dispatched some teams countrywide to monitor the damage that might be caused,” he said.
“We have some officers who are on high alert at district and provincial level to assist those who have been affected.
“Those affected should immediately report any damage caused by heavy rains and strong winds to get assistance.”
Minister Moyo said the Ministry was in the process of conducting awareness campaigns countrywide to educate people on dangers caused by weather patterns.
In Matabeleland North Province, a storm damaged Komba Primary School in Lupane on Friday, leaving a 7-year-old boy dead and his mother and siblings injured, and wrecked 21 homesteads in Gudubu Village.
The District Civil Protection Unit, which visited the school, is mobilising resources to resuscitate it.
In Hwange, in the Mashala area, about 20 homesteads were damaged.
Thunderstorms are often accompanied by strong winds, a result of rotating winds from the cloud to the earth, especially at the beginning of the season.
In Beitbridge last Thursday, strong winds, which lasted for seven minutes, damaged roofs at shops, a clinic, teachers’ cottages, churches and nine homesteads in the Shashe area.
In Zezani, in Ward 10, authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage by the time of going to press yesterday.
Two people were injured in the Shashe area in Ward 8, with one senior citizen (64) breaking his leg while attempting to flee a house whose walls were falling in.
An 11-year old girl sustained a deep cut below her right knee when she fell on broken glass as she sought to avoid a falling roof at their family house.
At Shashe Business Centre, five shops with stock worth over $250 000, had their roofs blown off.
“My grocery store that was opened
in the 1960s was damaged with stock value of $5 000,” said businessman and farmer Mr Musa Dube.
“As it stands, I will move what I can to safety, including my livestock.”
Additionally, the Maramani community, including the Shashe area, has lost electricity supplies after pylons were uprooted.
The damage to Shashe Clinic, which has a catchment of 4 000 people, has left people having to travel for 50 kilometres to either Swereki or Nottingham to access health facilities.
Authorities at Shashe Secondary School have temporarily suspended classes for 231 pupils until the damage is repaired.
Acting Beitbridge district civil protection committee chairman Mr Jahson Mugodzwa said they were assessing damage in wards 7, 8 and 10.
In Masvingo, heavy rains coupled with strong winds, damaged over 50 homes and buildings including Government offices near Nyika Growth Point in Bikita.The Herald
One person was killed while several others were injured by thunderstorms that hit different parts of the country.
Houses, Government buildings, schools and roads were damaged in the past week.
Government has since assured the nation of warnings of impending disaster and assistance to those affected.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said Government was responding to challenges caused by the rains.
“We dispatched some teams countrywide to monitor the damage that might be caused,” he said.
“We have some officers who are on high alert at district and provincial level to assist those who have been affected.
“Those affected should immediately report any damage caused by heavy rains and strong winds to get assistance.”
Minister Moyo said the Ministry was in the process of conducting awareness campaigns countrywide to educate people on dangers caused by weather patterns.
In Matabeleland North Province, a storm damaged Komba Primary School in Lupane on Friday, leaving a 7-year-old boy dead and his mother and siblings injured, and wrecked 21 homesteads in Gudubu Village.
The District Civil Protection Unit, which visited the school, is mobilising resources to resuscitate it.
In Hwange, in the Mashala area, about 20 homesteads were damaged.
Thunderstorms are often accompanied by strong winds, a result of rotating winds from the cloud to the earth, especially at the beginning of the season.
In Beitbridge last Thursday, strong winds, which lasted for seven minutes, damaged roofs at shops, a clinic, teachers’ cottages, churches and nine homesteads in the Shashe area.
In Zezani, in Ward 10, authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage by the time of going to press yesterday.
Two people were injured in the Shashe area in Ward 8, with one senior citizen (64) breaking his leg while attempting to flee a house whose walls were falling in.
An 11-year old girl sustained a deep cut below her right knee when she fell on broken glass as she sought to avoid a falling roof at their family house.
At Shashe Business Centre, five shops with stock worth over $250 000, had their roofs blown off.
“My grocery store that was opened
in the 1960s was damaged with stock value of $5 000,” said businessman and farmer Mr Musa Dube.
“As it stands, I will move what I can to safety, including my livestock.”
Additionally, the Maramani community, including the Shashe area, has lost electricity supplies after pylons were uprooted.
The damage to Shashe Clinic, which has a catchment of 4 000 people, has left people having to travel for 50 kilometres to either Swereki or Nottingham to access health facilities.
Authorities at Shashe Secondary School have temporarily suspended classes for 231 pupils until the damage is repaired.
Acting Beitbridge district civil protection committee chairman Mr Jahson Mugodzwa said they were assessing damage in wards 7, 8 and 10.
In Masvingo, heavy rains coupled with strong winds, damaged over 50 homes and buildings including Government offices near Nyika Growth Point in Bikita.The Herald
Warriors coach Joey Antipas says they will approach the game against Zambia with caution knowing their opponents will be playing attacking football.
Zimbabwe face their northern neighbours in the Afcon Qualifiers at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Tuesday evening.
Kick-off is at 6 pm Zimbabwean time.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Antipas said: “We have to go into the match with a well-calculated and cautious approach.
“Zambia are wounded, so there is nowhere we will attack leaving our defence open.
“We need a calculated approach and keep things tight.”
Chipolopolo lost their opening match of the campaign 5-0 in Algeria while Zimbabwe played to a goalless draw against Botswana.
The Warriors gaffer, however, does not think Zambia’s defeat proves them to be a weak side.
He said: “That result (against Algeria) counts for nothing.
“The Zambia national team has quality, it’s not going to easy (for us). The match is always a closely contested affair, it has all the ingredients of a thriller.”Soccer 24
For Zimbabwe to achieve stability, there was to be a return to constitutionality.
Sanity had escaped the political landscape. The operation restore legacy was not to be complete without order and a conclusion of presidential elections. So 2018 completed the legacy legitimises the government beyond any doubt. On 15th November 2017 the people of Zimbabwe and the international community were surprised by a military intervention Otherwise known as an operation restore legacy. There has been a coup since the country fired the Vice president Joyce Mujuru. The only difference was that the coup was military less. No single short was fired. It was a strategy used by a cabal to capture the then head of state and his government.
A group known as the G40 led by the clever but not wise professor had taken over the party and the country. To make their coup legitimate they had to make the then president Mugabe believe that he was still in power. They realised his popularity and indeed exploited it. They have to put the first lady in their bag and they have to use her to achieve their goals. The idea was well strategised such that when people in each and every province protest agains the G40 the voices of the people were ignored. The protests against Kasukuwere were poured cold water at one rally. How could the nation protest against the kingpin.
Ten provinces called for NPC to Be fired but the first lady overturned the majority vote. All those who took part in the push for restoring order in the party were fired. They were all labelled Lacoste. The fight for succession was brutal but very political and only those near it would understand the dynamics. Even the then President did not understand what was going on around him. In reality the centre was not holding. Mugabe was captured but the ones who captured him made a fatal mistake of allowing the first lady to believe that she was above the law. She got a false sense of security. Every ZANU PF member including the majority in the to offices today literally worshipped the first lady. What destroyed Mugabe was those people who got to him through his wife. They created the office of the first lady to be at par with the presidium. Even in the politburo the sitting arrangement had changed.
This bottom power rule should be shunned by any president no matter how the first lady pretend to be nice, only Mugabe can tell you that if not controlled the first laddies will pull you down very fast.
There was indeed a coup with no soldier involved. The biggest problem was that this went beyond party politics. The first lady became the judge, the police, the court, the mother, all in one. While ZANU PF has become accustomed to violence and tragic events this one led by the first lady was the lowest point of all. Unfortunately the first lady was being used and too much power she got was used to elbow out the perceived enemies. It came to an extent where the nation was told that vice presidents took notes from the first lady. You would see big bosses in the party kneeling down before her Grace the Grace. Do not be fooled all those acting brave now went on their knees and elbows before the first lady and indeed the land scape of the politics in ZANU PF took a sharp dimension.
The country was turned to a personal property and every one was an employee of the husband of the first lady. and the firing of another vice president and other high state officials, including several chiefs of staff of the armed forces) no one was prepared for this event. The country was a few months away from the presidential elections set for 2018.
Among diverse explanations, It should be good to distinguish between those given by the instigators of the coup, and those advanced by those couped. Among the latter, there is consensus that there are multiple causes, some with deep historical roots. From a holistic perspective concerned with the deeper causes of a political unrest prevalent in society, The army had to come in firstly having been concerned with the immediate motivations, while the second refers to older and more structural causes. Although they are of different nature, function, and range, the factors that explain the coup cannot be understood separately, as they are different links on the same chain.
In terms of the immediate causes, it is important to recognize the deterioration of relations between the executive and the military elite. The deterioration can be traced to public castigation of the military at rallies. Accusing the army of wanting to bomb the Gushungo dairy. With all their ammunition the soldiers were accused of wanting to use petrol bombs to bomb the dairy. The first lady was made to believe that her life was in danger and the CIO was ordered to beef up her security. She now had security as strong as that of the president. In actual fact she was the president. This signified the take over of the state.
The first lady got unconstitutional powers to fire executive. You cross her path you are gone. The country was put where the Those controlling the first lady wanted it.
Great enmity between the army and other security services was made very wide. Security officers were now reporting to the minister of Higher Education and to the first lady. The governance system was a big joke. The president’s age was not helping and the country resembled a dogs dinner table.
The mission to restore order was instigated.
This mission was created aiming at stabilization, peace, and support for reforms in security and defense sectors. The hotly discussed ‘special’ relationship between the party and the army. the principle of making a peacekeeping and stabilization force in the country became forcing power which led the international community to consider this as a stabilisation process. Zimbabwe’s situation was becoming embarrassing. It needed some strong willed Zimbabweans to restore political sanity. Zimbabwe was becoming a laughing stalk. Therefore the establishment the restore legacy was rooted in the will of the international states and in the best interest of the nation.
Though these forces were established legally, given the hesitation expressed by some leaders as to the adequacy, correctness, and opportunity of this decision, many have denounced Mugabe and those surrounding him for mismanagement. Along with allegations that the country was now under the few none combatant egoistic thugs. They have taken full advantage of first lady’s mental instability.
The country has been plunged in a unprecedented chaos. .
There were allegations that The G40 has committed (or allowed others to commit) crimes such as the beatings and disappearances of prominent political and military figures, expulsions from the party became the norm. The party constitution was trampled and the national constitution was thrown out through the window.
Still others allege rampant clientalism and nepotism in public administration, and party politics. Together these allegations have fanned the flames of discontentment, not only within the military but also among the political class– even among personalities from the same political establishment. The decline in relations between the government and military elite reached its lowest point when certain sectors of the same elite began to feel uncomfortable with the presence of the then first lady and her influence she has over elected members. The heart of discord appeared to be the fact that such a presence voted to fail, ‘a priori’, any attempt to change the constitutional order or advance any acts contrary to the normal functioning of institutions. To add to the tension, the center of certain political and military circles has developed a certain paranoia – a mental process highly influenced by anxiety and fear, with practical consequences resulting in efforts to prevent ED from acceding to the presidency. The same anxiety has allowed the military elite to believe there has been a conspiracy on the part of the President against military leaders and all war veterans. This saw a spirited fight against the first lady and her cabal by the war veterans. In a bid to silence the descending voices war vets like Mahiya Matemadanda and the team were arrested. While these were being persecuted a number of high ranking ZANU PF cadres remained in the skirts of the first Lady Amai as she was affectionately known.
This process deteriorated in part because of the reasons analyzed above, but also because of the deliberate effort to instrumentalize ethnic identity in favor of the petty interests of one group, which can only lead to nonsensical accusations and irrational situations. The strong statements of the of The first lady not only reflects this way of thinking, but also reveals a desire to create a big gap between the military elite and a part of the political elite. This has fuelled tensions and all trust between each other was eroded. Zimbabwe was divided into Zezurus and Karangas
Beyond this, there are three other reasons that may explain the coup as the culmination of a situation of instability and the deterioration of the conditions under which state power is exercised. The first arose in the mismanagement of the resources from the national liberation struggle to the construction of a modern state. The polices and measures implemented by the powers was not likely to ensure a clear separation between civil and military affairs or permit the military contingent from the national liberation struggle to be transformed into a truly republican armed force. At the same time, for many years political life and the management of public services were dominated by the paradigm of the single-party state existing in a multiparty democracy.
The take over of state apparatus by the G40 was opposed by elements that one belonged to the military wing of the liberation struggle but have been loyal to the first lady. After liberation, the party continued to be seen as a kind of a guide with ability to act widely despite emancipation. On their side, the armed forces were more committed to the ideology and interests of the party than to the norms and rules that politics must rule the gun. To them the gun was to be respected together with its handlers. This resulted in a somewhat incestuous relationship between the political and military elite – a tendency that was reinforced during the mandate of Mugabe. It has since become one of the cornerstones in the relationship between civilian and military leaders.
Some analysts have focused more specifically on the breakdown of the hierarchical order and the political turmoil caused by the state of the party. This poisoned legacy is certainly not unfamiliar to the politico-military situation that preceded the 2017 coup. Who does not remember something funny about the rallies. Every person would know that rallies became battle grounds. The only problem was one person suffered the sharp edge of the other.
The behaviour was un African and it turned the hearts of many against the first lady. Some even doubted her sanity. Her handlers missed the point.
Indeed, the strong presence of the state party has constricted the space that could be filled by a civil society (which could serve as a counterweight to the excesses of a state party that became hegemonic.)
The second structural reason has to do with the mismanagement of crises and conflicts (violent or not) that have periodically developed in the political scene involving on one side politicians properly speaking, and on the other, politicians who were aligned with the military and not allowed to talk.
This eventually undermined the foundations of leadership at the height of the challenges facing ZANU PF. The heart of the crisis was the deposition of ED. under the pretext that the first had acted in a ‘deviant’ and ‘reprehensible’ manner. Whether or not these allegations are true, we should ask why it is permissible for a Party to fire without following procedure. in a state of law that is guided by the regular functioning of institutions, and in which military power is subordinated to a civil power, the lawlessness demanded the army to stand up and restore order.
With this act, a dangerous and irreparable precedent was set; in the very center of the armed forces, scrupulous respect for hierarchy was abandoned, along with the knowledge that the military is subordinated to political stakeholders. Acts like this certainly serve to explain the behavior of soldiers that subvert not only the military hierarchy but also undermine the rule of law.
Another explanation for the army involvement has to do with the degeneration of the state apparatus, and the state itself. It is common knowledge that the embryo of the modern state, initially forged in the first years following independence, has suffered weakness without precedent in the last few years, especially under the first lady being handled by Jonathan Moyo. The situation resembles that of a country in which neither the law or hierarchies are respected – the combination that puts things near, if not identical to that of failed state.
That is why many voices claiming to reestablish the state are premised on strengthening national unity, on reinventing the political system, and on building a functional and independent justice.
For this coup to happen exactly when the country was preparing for the presidential elections is, at least, an ‘unhappy’ coincidence. It was clear from the beginning that the electoral process itself would be disrupted.
For the country to find the path to stability again, the exit from the crisis must include a return to constitutional order.
Everything has been done both nationally and internationally to bring the military to reason. The process of building lasting peace, democracy, and the rule of law is incompatible with any compromise to those that would usurp power through a coup. It is essential that the international community does not turn its back on Zimbabwe. The operation was an opportunity to ensure that Zimbabwe returns to stability and a civil peace that is sustainable. This opportunity was well taken.
The elections came and for the first time they were so peaceful and any legitimacy lost was restored. It is the Zimbabweans doing the same.
Zimbabwe was captured already before the army took over and the same Zimbabwe was returned back to the people by the people. The army wrestled the power from those who had taken it from the constitutional system which was in place.
As to whom did they give after the restoration of order is a question which is already known. The majority party had the mandate to finish their term. So they appointed an interim president who was later confirmed at congress.
That president became the president of the country. He was then voted in during the general elections. There was no need to create a power vacuum. So Mnangagwa was duly sworn in as the president of the country.
Saying now that the ascendance was unlawful is in itself mischievous.
The army has a constitutional right to maintain peace and order in the country. Their duty is to the country and indeed they stood their constitutional ground.
Even though they targeted the criminals surrounding the president it was not the duty of the army to replace Mugabe with ED.
If the truth be said Mugabe resigned when the MDC populace in towns led by Chamisa marched in to state House. It was the army who stopped and addressed them. The rural populace did not take part. So for MDC to say the current government is illegitimate it is cheap politicking.
Mnangagwa is not in the office by force. The procedure was constitutional and very lawful.
The former president had been removed by those he believed he was working with. People took advantage of him and things fell apart.
Now it is not correct to say that the country was taken by force. The decision to make Chiwenga a Vice president soon after the operation was not a wrong move. It is indeed an unwise move but very legal. By the time of his appointment Chiwenga was not a soldier he had retired. So his appointment was not a military one.
We need to come together as a nation and work towards oneness and success of the nation.
Declaring that elections were not be free and fair is wrong and obviously not in the spirit of progress.
Now the country needs unity of purpose. The economic problems we are facing are birth pains they will go away soon and we will enjoy the fruits of our resilience.
◦ Those who stand aside and wait to see the country fall are not Zimbabweans at heart. You can not celebrate at the suffering of the nation. It is a highly irresponsible stunt to try and portray the country in a bad name.
◦ Zimbabwe now needs the support of each and every Zimbabwean. Iwe neni tine basa. We can go through these short lived economic problems if we unite beyond and above party politics. Even if you hate ZANU PF your co-operation is highly needed. Zimbabwe needs you.
◦ It is important to ask yourself one question. What am I doing for my country and my people. You can make a difference.
By A Correspondent- Outspoken Ntabazinduna Chief Ndiweni says he will file a court application today challenging his suspension as the traditional leader of the area at the weekend.
He was suspended by the Matebeleland North Chiefs council on grounds that his appointment was not in line with the Traditional Leaders Act.
A Matabeleland North Traditional Leaders provincial assembly on Saturday suspended Ntabazinduna chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni on grounds that his chieftainship is being contested.
Fellow traditional leaders argued that Ndiweni was illegally acting as a substantive chief in violation of Nguni customs, which recognise the eldest son in his family; Joram, as the rightful heir to the throne
By A Correspondent- Exiled former Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has distanced himself from allegations that he profited from the Community Share ownership Scheme that was launched when Kasukuwere was Minister of Indigenisation.
The communities never benefitted from the said shares that were supposedly given to the community trusts.
Said Kasukuwere,
“The companies reneged on their obligations and only paid $5m after the coup. Those who controlled the companies then released the payments after taking over power. I guess it was politics.”
In 2013 MDC issued a statement saying the scheme was a ZANU PF plot to fleece the businesses of their hard earned cash.
“The Community Share Ownership Scheme in its current form is tantamount to theft by Zanu PF where companies are arm-twisted into supporting an illegal scheme that has no credence in a normal country. Zanu PF is on a crusade to fleece companies in order to fund its election war chest.” MDC said then.
The Emmerson Mnangagwa government has removed the indiginisation law.
Under the policy, all foreign companies were to cede a majority stake to local Zimbabweans.
The 51-percent stake wias divided between a National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund, a community share ownership scheme and a programme for employees.
Speaking to the media in 2013 at the launch of one of the ownership schemes by Implats Kasukuwere said Implats would be paid from future dividends.
“We can’t ask poor Zimbabweans to fork out their money to buy ore which is in their land,” he said, adding that: “This policy is meant to reverse the colonial imbalances.”
By A Correspondent- A 17-year-old girl from Tipedze Village under Headman Mawungwa in Gutu dropped her panty at a traditional court and struck her cousin’s face with it countless times to prove that the two had a se_xual relationship.
Tinashe Sibanda and the girl who cannot be named because of her age are cousins and they were brought before Headman Mawungwa’s court because they had an incestuous relationship.
Sibanda’s mother and the girl’s father are siblings. The court was held two weeks ago.
At the traditional court, the girl told the court that she had se_xual interc0urse with Sibanda several times.
The girl alleged that she was in a relationship with Sibanda and they had se_x behind a cattle pen many times. Headman Mawungwa then asked the girl to confirm her allegation by pulling down her panty in front of the court and striking Sibanda in the face with it.
She continued striking Sibanda until Headman Mawungwa said that it was enough.
As punishment for the crime, Headman Mawungwa ordered Sibanda to pay a beast which was to be slaughtered and the meat was to be given to the family of the girl.
Some of the meat was fed on the people gathered at the court except Sibanda’s immediate family that was barred from the feast.
The court heard that sometime in August the girl’s grandfather only identified as Muwani saw the girl and Sibanda at night at the kraal and he did not ask what they were doing, he saw them again in September at night at the kraal.
Sometime last month he checked the girl in her room and he couldn’t find her at around 7pm.
Muwani waited until the girl came back at 10pm and she confessed that she was with Sibanda whom she was dating.
Angry Muwani chased the girl from home and ordered her to go to Tipedze’s place. Tipedze and Muwani are brothers using different surnames.
Tipedze then reported the matter to Headman Mawungwa to have the case resolved.
By Wilbert Mukori| There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
“The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health,” commented Professor Richard Beeman.
If Benjamin Franklin was alive today, he would be the first one to admit that his fellow Americans have done very well indeed in keeping the republic. And he would, no doubt, agree with Professor Beeman that the secrete of their success is in “the active and informed involvement of the people”.
Zimbabwe “is unitary, democratic and sovereign republic” according to our Constitution. If the truth be told we lost all that before we ever got it!
It is no secrete that the 1980 elections to elect the country’s post independence black majority rule government were not free, fair and credible. Robert Mugabe and his fellow Zanu PF leaders did not withdraw all his freedom fighters into assembly points as agreed. These cadres were deployed for one purpose and one purpose only – to remind the electorate that if Zanu PF did not win the elections the civil war would continue.
Such was the prevalent influence of the Zanu PF cadres, vast swathes of the country were no-go areas for Zanu PF’s political rivals. The people of Zimbabwe voted to end the civil war; the very antithesis of what a democratic election should be.
Some people have argued that the threat by Zanu PF cadres in 1980 was just a bluff with very little or no effect on the populous. Zanu PF launched the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre; there was no doubt then of the party’s murderous intent.
The primary purpose of Gukurahundi was to crash PF Zapu, Zanu PF’s main political rival, and impose the one-party state. PF Zapu was forced to sign the unity accord and, Walla, Mugabe got the de facto one-party state he was after.
As soon as Zanu PF got into power in April 1980, the party has worked tireless to undermine the country’s democratic constitution, institutions and usurped the people’s freedoms and rights to establish and retain the de facto one party dictatorship.
When Emmerson Mnangagwa removed Zimbabwe’s last dictator, Robert Mugabe in the November 2017 military coup; he promised the nation “a new dispensation, a Second Republic, free, fair and credible elections, etc.” Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s right hand man and chief enforcer throughout the failed first Republic; no one expected him to keep any of his promises. He did not! The Second Republic was a still-birth.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs. Forty years of corrupt and tyrannical rule have reduced the country into one of the poorest nation with soaring unemployment rates and basic services such as health care all but collapsed.
Zimbabwe is not a peaceful and prosperous republic because the nation’s founding fathers never intended it to be anything other than a dictatorship masquerading as a republic.
If we are serious about ending the Zanu PF dictatorship then we must force the regime to step down so we can implement the democratic reforms necessary to ensure free, fair and credible elections. Nothing of any substance will ever be accomplished in Zimbabwe until we cure ourselves of the curse of rigged elections.
By A Correspondent- During the day, he looks like any other inmate at his new home — Harare Central Prison, but when the lights go out, he knows no peace.
Joram Siwela, a former Chaplin High School student and professional football player, was jailed for murder 21 years ago.
That was after he got into a fight over a girl, resulting in him brutally stabbing and killing his schoolmate.
Memories of the day he butchered his friend before handing himself over to the police are still fresh in his mind.
Serving a life sentence with hard labour is excruciating, but for Siwela it is worse as he claims to be tormented by an avenging spirit.
He says almost every night for the past 21 years, he has had to be woken up by his cellmates who say he throws punches, screams and argues with unseen forces in his sleep.
Siwela says he constantly has violent nightmares, and images of the murder he committed back in 1998 also flash in his sleep.
Since his incarceration, Siwela feels that something needs to be done spiritually. He says his family and that of the victim need to perform some ritual.
“When my father visited me sometime in 1999, I tried to raise the issue with him but he said ‘you are still too young, you will not understand this’. I had just turned 20 then,” recalls Siwela.
However, according to Siwela’s father Sahluko, that door has since been closed. This is because another tragedy hit the family of Siwela’s victim a few months after his incarceration.
“Barely three months after Joram’s incident, a lot happened in the victim’s family, thereby complicating everything. The victim’s father and sibling were also murdered.
“Another uncle, whom they lived with, vanished without a trace. Since then, we have failed to locate any other relatives.
“I feel that knowing all this will be too much of a burden for Joram, which is why I have never been able to tell him,” said Sahluko.
He said he still hopes to see his son free one day.
Now 21 years later, Siwela’s parents are old and frail — unable to visit him. Siwela now fears that his parents will die before helping him out of his situation.
“They are both old now and cannot visit, especially using public transport. I wish there was a way.
“I need to talk to them. There is so much they need to help me understand,” said Siwela with tears rolling down his face.
He says he feels that his parents have not fully forgiven him. His hope is that one day he will be able to do something for them.
Siwela still has fresh memories of his last court session. He vividly remembers the disappointment he saw on his parents’ faces when he was convicted.
“It was a Wednesday afternoon. I felt dizzy and asked the judge to allow me to sit down as my sentence was being read. I feared a death penalty.
“I was sweating profusely, my knees shaking and as they announced my sentence, I felt the world crumbling around me.”
The words of a police officer, instructing him to bid farewell to his parents, still ring in his ears.
He remembers too, his father’s last words that day: “. . . prison is now your life but I will come and visit you, I cannot talk right now.”
In a world where mysteries abound, will Siwela ever get disentangled from the spiritual prison that has haunted his sleep for over 20 years?
Fuel price has gone up again with a litre of diesel now selling for ZWL$17.74 while petrol is now ZWL$17.04 according to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA).
By A Correspondent- Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has warned EFF leader Julius Malema to stay clear of the country’s courts and let the law take its course on G40 remnants who are currently in hiding regionally and internationally.
Mliswa said this last Thursday during the 2020 Budget presentation in parliament.
He said:
“Let me lastly say that I was a bit worried when I read that my colleague. Julius Malema had mentioned that he wanted to mediate in the G40. Let me say this to Hon. Malema, that there is a law in this country.
As much as he fights against corruption in South Africa, we equally fight against corruption. The best that he can do to mediate is talk to his fellow friends to come and face the laws of this country.
They committed a crime and as such, there is no political matter which is stopping them from being here other than that they committed crimes which are well known and they must face the courts of this country because we are a law abiding country.
He is misinformed by thinking that there is any political motive on that. It is purely a law issue which can only be addressed by the courts, so the mediator is already, there being the courts.
We do not need him to mediate in matters which are before the courts in this country. May he stick to his principles of being an Hon. Member of Parliament who fights corruption in his country and allow us to fight corruption in this country.
If he has decided to be an external affairs officer for the G40 then he must come out in the clean.”
By A Correspondent- A GTel shop situated close to Mutare Central Police Station lost high-end cellphones valued at more than $70 000 following a movie-style smash-and-grab robbery that was executed at the upmarket outlet recently.
The heist, which was carried out under a minute and 28 seconds, was captured live on camera.
Two security guards who were manning the premises bolted for dear life after the cunning four armed robbers threatened them with death.
The suspects, who were driving a silver Toyota Runx, pounced at the shop at exactly 12.55am.
Videos captured on the CCTV system, which were availed to this publication, showed that the criminals parked their vehicle with its lights switched off on the pavement near the shop.
Two of the suspects, who were wearing headgear, got out of the car. One of the robbers smashed the window panes of the entrance door with an iron bar. He got inside while his accomplice, who was holding a blue sack, followed.
While inside they smashed the glass displays and took a total of 16 cellphones that were on exhibition.
They stashed the loot in the blue sack. The other two robbers patrolled outside the shop, ready to attack anyone who dared to interfere with their criminal enterprise.
After emptying the displays, the robbers jumped into the vehicle and drove off.
GTel Zimbabwe security officer Mr Kudakwashe Memory Munyonho said the break-in was done in a flash.
“All our shops countrywide have CCTV systems that are able to capture both video and audio. They are manned 24/7 at the head office in Harare and we were able to capture this break-in. As you can see in the footage we managed to capture the faces of some of the robbers as well as recording what they were saying.
“All this information is useful in ongoing investigations.
“The matter is now being handled by detectives at CID Mutare, but we are also carrying out our own investigations so that we speedily bring these culprits to book,” he said.
Mr Munyonho said GTel was offering a hefty reward to anyone who provides useful information that will result in the arrest of the suspects.
“You can report to the nearest police station or phone me directly on 0714 595912,” he said.
The stolen cellphones included MX6, X7 Pro and X7 Plus.
The government is set to raise passport fees in a bid to raise enough forex to produce the much-needed passports DailyNews reports. This was revealed by the registrar general Clemence Masango who spoke to the media and said:
“The matter (of increasing fees) is now with Treasury. They have the final say on the adjustments after we have advised them.
“The process is underway…If there is a change in fees or anything to do with policy that will be properly communicated.”
The RG’s remarks are coming amidst a passport crisis that has seen the passport office having a backlog of over 300 000. However, Mr Masango said he is optimistic that, by March 2020 they will have cleared the passports backlog as they have increased production to 2 000 a day and can work 2 shifts and bump up their production to 4 000 per day.
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe held the “freest and fairest elections in the country’s history” last year.
In a statement where he reflected on his achievements since attaining power following a disputed 2018 election, Mnangagwa acknowledged that the country’s electoral process was flawed adding that his administration had however made vast improvements to better the electoral environment and process.
He said:
“On July 30th 2018, eight months after coming to office, we held the freest and fairest elections in the country’s history.
While no electoral process is perfect, all international monitors noted the new and free environment of the campaigns, and the vast improvement in the electoral process.”
Below is the full text by Mnangagwa:
Coming into office a few days later, we committed to saying goodbye to the ways of the past, and to doing things differently.
I immediately moved to give the people their voices back, opening new channels of communication between the people and their representatives.
Criticism of the government and the presidency would no longer be taboo, but welcomed, even encouraged. I answered tough questions on my Facebook page, as I promised to be a listening president.
We immediately went into an election, in which opposition parties were free to campaign wherever, whenever and however they liked. Even when I narrowly survived the Bulawayo bombing attack weeks before the election, nothing changed. The campaign continued unimpeded.
On July 30th 2018, eight months after coming to office, we held the freest and fairest elections in the country’s history. While no electoral process is perfect, all international monitors noted the new and free environment of the campaigns, and the vast improvement in the electoral process.
And we will continue to work closely with our partners in the international community to improve and refine our democracy. To build a resolute and open society, a free and fair country for all its citizens.
Part of this is reforming antiquated legislation and opening up the political space. We are repealing AIPPA, replacing it with three new laws, consistent with the ethos of the new Zimbabwe: The Freedom of Information bill, the Protection of Personal Information bill and the Zimbabwe Media Commission bill.
Developed in consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders, these laws meet international media freedom standards and ensure the right to freedom of expression and freedom of media.
Just last week we removed the much maligned POSA, a remnant of the old Zimbabwe that limited the right to protest, and replaced it with a new Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, devised with input from civil society and our friends around the world.
These have been key demands of the international community, and should be interpreted as a sign of our commitment to reform. Yet the impetus for change and reform comes from within. We are not reforming to appease the nations of the world, but because reform is necessary to build the future our people desire. Of course, there is still much work to do, but we are heading in the right direction.
In November 2017, we also found ourselves mired in an economic mess. A dark and dangerous fiscal tunnel, with no apparent light at the end of it.
Today, we have a balanced budget for the first time in living memory, and we have restored our own currency, enabling us to take control of both our fiscal and monetary policy.
Of course, too many Zimbabweans still suffer, but austerity is a painful but necessary part of the recovery process. Led by our internationally recognised Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube, we will continue to restructure, revamp and rebuild our economy. We cannot and will not hold up our hands. We must reform or perish.
The people of Zimbabwe know perseverance. Just because the process is tough, we will never take our eyes off the prize. We must never give up until we have achieved our goals: A middle income economy by 2030.
We are investing in this process like never before. A process of wholesale economic, political and social reforms.
I call on the nations of the world to help us speed up this process, to support the people of Zimbabwe as we undertake these painful but necessary reforms.
If the goal of sanctions is to stimulate the reform process, their effect is the opposite. They slow down our progress, inhibit our economic recovery and empower those who do not wish to see Zimbabwe change.
Their removal will therefore be an important step on the road to a better future for all the people of this country.
We as leaders have a duty to set a new course for our people. A course where not only is our fate in our own hands, but where no one is left behind. A course with a balanced budget, an open political space, and a thriving economy providing the jobs and opportunities our people deserve.
I shall never stop working towards these goals and will never waver in my determination to realise the dreams of all those who took to the streets two years ago. I am confident that with patience, perseverance and our unbending commitment to reform, we will get there.
By Own Correspondent| Did senator Douglas Mwonzora conspire against his boss Nelson Chamisa as a hot selfie picture suggests?
In the pic, Dougie is pictured smiling together with party colleagues who however include the recently expelled Chegutu mayor who is taking Chamisa to court.
The timing for the allegation could not be more perfect especially during the cold suspensive period in which the country awaits the supreme court judgement that could declare Dougie the most powerful person over the MDC party.
Latest revelations show that the picture was taken at a funeral.
But party member Catherine Gono has written to Chamisa asking him to use the whip on Mwonzora over the matter.
ZimEye however asks the following questions:
When was this picture taken and where?
What were the exact circumstances in other words what was happening when the picture was taken?
What is the agenda for the picture?
In order to prove an inferrence, the complainant is going to need more than just a still image to prove allegations against Mwonzora. A still image is a frozen frame, just 1/25 frames per sec in a motion video. She will thus need something like a 3 min video (32×60×3= 5760 frames). This means 5760 pictures arranged in order of motion in order for something to be obtained. DID DOUGIE CONSPIRE AGAINST CHAMISA?
MDC President Nelson Chamisa please take Douglas Mwonzora ‘s shenanigans seriously he is pictured here with the Chegutu expelled mayor who is now taking you to court. He is behind that lawsuit, he did the Gokwe one also
The 2020 National Budget marks the transition from austerity to a growth stimulation and employment generation era.
Strong emphasis is now on reviving key sectors of the economy through promotion of production oriented investment and productivity, without losing focus on fiscal responsibility.
21. The growth thrust is being prompted by glaring supply side deficiencies which have undermined stabilisation efforts.
Currently, average industry capacity utilisation stands at around 35%, while industrial output is below 60% of 1980 levels.
This position reflects through high import dependence (40% of GDP), high unemployment and informalisation levels in the economy.
22. Therefore, the 2020 Budget prioritises the following areas:
• Growth and productivity;
• Job creation;
• Competitiveness; and
• Strong, Sustainable and Shared Development.
23. The proposed supply side interventions combined with continued and strengthened stabilisation reforms, coupled with progressing of the reengagement process with the international community, will constitute integral pillars of the 2020 Budget.
24. To contextualise the 2020 National Budget, it will be helpful to highlight both global and domestic economic developments and outlook to 2020.
By Farai D Hove| The most popular politician Zimbabwe has ever had since 1980, Nelson Chamisa will this week unveil his much awaited HONA – Hope Of The Nation Address.
The people’s president will deliver his speech on Wednesday the 20th November.
The address is set to reveal his plans for Zimbabwe’s future. 2 weeks ago Chamisa said his party has not been idle at all contrary to claims by the state media.
He has since promised to drop the bombshell revelation on Wednesday. VIDEO BELOW
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has increased the price of fuel with effect from today (Monday).
ZERA said the new prices were premised on the interbank market rate and will see a litre of blend petrol (E20) retailing at $17,07 while diesel will sell at $17,74 per litre.
Last week, the price of petrol was pegged at $16,77 while diesel was at $17,53 per litre. The price changes are due to the FOB (Free on Board) price movement and the revised duty regime.
“It takes an active and informed people to keep a republic” – Zimbabweans were never given a chance.
indepth…Wilbert Mukori
By Wilbert Mukori| There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
“The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health,” commented Professor Richard Beeman.
If Benjamin Franklin was alive today, he would be the first one to admit that his fellow Americans have done very well indeed in keeping the republic. And he would, no doubt, agree with Professor Beeman that the secrete of their success is in “the active and informed involvement of the people”.
Zimbabwe “is unitary, democratic and sovereign republic” according to our Constitution. If the truth be told we lost all that before we ever got it!
It is no secrete that the 1980 elections to elect the country’s post independence black majority rule government were not free, fair and credible. Robert Mugabe and his fellow Zanu PF leaders did not withdraw all his freedom fighters into assembly points as agreed. These cadres were deployed for one purpose and one purpose only – to remind the electorate that if Zanu PF did not win the elections the civil war would continue.
Such was the prevalent influence of the Zanu PF cadres, vast swathes of the country were no-go areas for Zanu PF’s political rivals. The people of Zimbabwe voted to end the civil war; the very antithesis of what a democratic election should be.
Some people have argued that the threat by Zanu PF cadres in 1980 was just a bluff with very little or no effect on the populous. Zanu PF launched the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre; there was no doubt then of the party’s murderous intent.
The primary purpose of Gukurahundi was to crash PF Zapu, Zanu PF’s main political rival, and impose the one-party state. PF Zapu was forced to sign the unity accord and, Walla, Mugabe got the de facto one-party state he was after.
As soon as Zanu PF got into power in April 1980, the party has worked tireless to undermine the country’s democratic constitution, institutions and usurped the people’s freedoms and rights to establish and retain the de facto one party dictatorship.
When Emmerson Mnangagwa removed Zimbabwe’s last dictator, Robert Mugabe in the November 2017 military coup; he promised the nation “a new dispensation, a Second Republic, free, fair and credible elections, etc.” Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s right hand man and chief enforcer throughout the failed first Republic; no one expected him to keep any of his promises. He did not! The Second Republic was a still-birth.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs. Forty years of corrupt and tyrannical rule have reduced the country into one of the poorest nation with soaring unemployment rates and basic services such as health care all but collapsed.
Zimbabwe is not a peaceful and prosperous republic because the nation’s founding fathers never intended it to be anything other than a dictatorship masquerading as a republic.
If we are serious about ending the Zanu PF dictatorship then we must force the regime to step down so we can implement the democratic reforms necessary to ensure free, fair and credible elections. Nothing of any substance will ever be accomplished in Zimbabwe until we cure ourselves of the curse of rigged elections. –
Coming into office a few days later, we committed to saying goodbye to the ways of the past, and to doing things differently.
I immediately moved to give the people their voices back, opening new channels of communication between the people and their representatives.
Criticism of the government and the presidency would no longer be taboo, but welcomed, even encouraged. I answered tough questions on my Facebook page, as I promised to be a listening president.
We immediately went into an election, in which opposition parties were free to campaign wherever, whenever and however they liked. Even when I narrowly survived the Bulawayo bombing attack weeks before the election, nothing changed. The campaign continued unimpeded.
On July 30th 2018, eight months after coming to office, we held the freest and fairest elections in the country’s history. While no electoral process is perfect, all international monitors noted the new and free environment of the campaigns, and the vast improvement in the electoral process.
And we will continue to work closely with our partners in the international community to improve and refine our democracy. To build a resolute and open society, a free and fair country for all its citizens.
Part of this is reforming antiquated legislation and opening up the political space. We are repealing AIPPA, replacing it with three new laws, consistent with the ethos of the new Zimbabwe: The Freedom of Information bill, the Protection of Personal Information bill and the Zimbabwe Media Commission bill.
Developed in consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders, these laws meet international media freedom standards and ensure the right to freedom of expression and freedom of media.
Just last week we removed the much maligned POSA, a remnant of the old Zimbabwe that limited the right to protest, and replaced it with a new Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, devised with input from civil society and our friends around the world.
These have been key demands of the international community, and should be interpreted as a sign of our commitment to reform. Yet the impetus for change and reform comes from within. We are not reforming to appease the nations of the world, but because reform is necessary to build the future our people desire. Of course, there is still much work to do, but we are heading in the right direction.
In November 2017, we also found ourselves mired in an economic mess. A dark and dangerous fiscal tunnel, with no apparent light at the end of it.
Today, we have a balanced budget for the first time in living memory, and we have restored our own currency, enabling us to take control of both our fiscal and monetary policy.
Of course, too many Zimbabweans still suffer, but austerity is a painful but necessary part of the recovery process. Led by our internationally recognised Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube, we will continue to restructure, revamp and rebuild our economy. We cannot and will not hold up our hands. We must reform or perish.
The people of Zimbabwe know perseverance. Just because the process is tough, we will never take our eyes off the prize. We must never give up until we have achieved our goals: A middle income economy by 2030.
We are investing in this process like never before. A process of wholesale economic, political and social reforms.
I call on the nations of the world to help us speed up this process, to support the people of Zimbabwe as we undertake these painful but necessary reforms.
If the goal of sanctions is to stimulate the reform process, their effect is the opposite. They slow down our progress, inhibit our economic recovery and empower those who do not wish to see Zimbabwe change.
Their removal will therefore be an important step on the road to a better future for all the people of this country.
We as leaders have a duty to set a new course for our people. A course where not only is our fate in our own hands, but where no one is left behind. A course with a balanced budget, an open political space, and a thriving economy providing the jobs and opportunities our people deserve.
I shall never stop working towards these goals and will never waver in my determination to realise the dreams of all those who took to the streets two years ago. I am confident that with patience, perseverance and our unbending commitment to reform, we will get there.
Former Minister of Labor, Dr Sekai Nzenza has been accused of failing to pay back US$8 000 out of US$13 715. 83 she borrowed from the National Social Security Authority earlier this year.
The Standard reports that Nzenza borrowed the money saying that it was for work purposes but her former Ministry which has paid back US$5 715.83 advised NSSA that the minister should pay back the remainder because it was not used for government business.
Meanwhile, the minister is saying that there was no underhand dealing in the matter as the money was transparently sent when she was stranded during her New York and Morocco government-sanctioned trips. She added:
NSSA came to the rescue and sent money so we could get home safe. I wrote to the chairman Dr (Cuthbert) Chidoori on the 25th of February to let him know that the ministry owes money to NSSA.
I made him aware that this was a serious corporate governance matter and now that there was a board, any such situations should be managed through the correct channels.
Nzenza who was recently accused of ordering NSSA to pay $1,8 million to a group of local experts she handpicked to unpack the NSSA forensic audit report at a cost of US$120 000, is of the view that the purported scandal is only meant to tarnish her image.
CHIREDZI – President Mnangagwa has given a stern warning to his Minister of Transport Biggie Matiza to either perform or face the chop particularly in respect of Chilonga River Bridge that cuts off Chiredzi South from the rest of the country during floods.
Addressing a rally at Tshovani Stadium in Chiredzi on Saturday, Mnangagwa summoned Matiza who is the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development to the podium and told him of the crisis that the people of Chiredzi face as a result of the absence of a bridge on the river.
Tens of lives are lost almost every year because of the low bridge which is across Runde River. A whole constituency is cut off from the rest of the country during floods creating transport, health and food crisis in Chiredzi South. The bridge is also critical for linking Sango Border Post and Chiredzi thereby shortening the distance from Beira to Mutare and Harare.
Mnangagwa told the rally that he got a briefing on the bridge and said it was urgent that Matiza mobilises US$20 million required for the construction of the bridge which will be more than 100m.
Mnangagwa said his Cabinet reshuffle last week was based on performance where those who were not getting the results were given the boot. He said the reshuffle was not the end of the story as more would come and non-performers would be kicked out.
He instructed Matiza to deal with the issue of the bridge as soon as possible. He said Matiza would be fired if he did not construct the bridge in the shortest possible time.
“I was appraised of the need to construct Chilonga Bridge. Pano ndauya naminister Matiza karume kapfupi asi kakomana kangu, kakararama pakachinja cabinet but nguva yake ichakwana. Wanzwa nyaya yandataura yeChilonga Bridge ndinoda kuti rigadzirwe ndiko kuti mazuva ako awedzerwe kana zvikasaitika mazuva anoita mashoma (I have Minister Matiza with me here. He survived the recent Cabinet reshuffle but his time will come if he doesn’t give attention and prioritise this project. He must deliver on the Chilonga Bridge in order for him to stay long in Cabinet)”, said Mnangagwa.
This year the bridge was allocated $8million but the money was eroded by inflation.
By Mthwakazi Liberation Front- The removing of chief Nhlanhla Ndiweni from the Nhlambabaloyi chieftaincy does not do ZANU any good than bad.
The move exposes not only how much ZANU fidgets on Mthwakazi cultural matters but how much it is determined to see chief Ndiweni dead.
In his time as Chief, Nhlanhla Ndiweni served Mthwakazi with his breath and soul, refusing the illegal occupation of Ntabazinduna by the Shona settlers.
Seeing that he is serving none of its interests, ZANU has decided to recall him from the post.
It must be noted ZANU installed Nhlanhla ahead of Jarom knowing how the chieftaincy should be resumed. Courts were engaged and all under the influence of it (ZANU) they ruled in favour of Nhlanhla.
Not even the advice of the custodian of the chieftaincy of Nhlambabaloyi, the Elder Thokoza Manyathela was given attention to because ZANU thought in Nhlanhla, it had found its helper who would help suffocate Mthwakazi to the dead end.
Much to its disgust, Ndiweni had taken an oath that he would serve Mthwakazi people and not the interests of ZANU.
He was forceful behind the installation of the Mthwakazi King which pitted him more with it. It can be seen as if justice has finally prevailed for Jarom Ndiweni, the eldest of Chief Khayisa Ndiweni’sons but we bet Zanu won’t laugh last still.
It must be further noted that Jarom was overlooked by it (ZANU) because he had spent many years of his life in the United Kingdom which raised so much fears that he would not buy into ZANU’s ways of suppressing people and furthermore he was married to a white lady, the race that ZANU had after the Ndebele people, identified as its enemy.
Now that ZANU says it is determined to do the things correctly, we are all ears to hear what ZANU will give as an excuse for initially locking him out of the chieftaincy.
We are all eyes to see if it will still lock him out and ordain another of the Ndiweni’ sons, or it will install him and succeed in manipulating a man independent enough to feed and buy himself a luxury car, like that Binga chief who is solely dependant on it for day to day meals.
By Wilbert Mukori- There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
“The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health,” commented Professor Richard Beeman.
If Benjamin Franklin was alive today, he would be the first one to admit that his fellow Americans have done very well indeed in keeping the republic. And he would, no doubt, agree with Professor Beeman that the secrete of their success is in “the active and informed involvement of the people”.
Zimbabwe “is unitary, democratic and sovereign republic” according to our Constitution. If the truth be told we lost all that before we ever got it!
It is no secrete that the 1980 elections to elect the country’s post independence black majority rule government were not free, fair and credible. Robert Mugabe and his fellow Zanu PF leaders did not withdraw all his freedom fighters into assembly points as agreed. These cadres were deployed for one purpose and one purpose only – to remind the electorate that if Zanu PF did not win the elections the civil war would continue.
Such was the prevalent influence of the Zanu PF cadres, vast swathes of the country were no-go areas for Zanu PF’s political rivals. The people of Zimbabwe voted to end the civil war; the very antithesis of what a democratic election should be.
Some people have argued that the threat by Zanu PF cadres in 1980 was just a bluff with very little or no effect on the populous. Zanu PF launched the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre; there was no doubt then of the party’s murderous intent.
The primary purpose of Gukurahundi was to crash PF Zapu, Zanu PF’s main political rival, and impose the one-party state. PF Zapu was forced to sign the unity accord and, Walla, Mugabe got the de facto one-party state he was after.
As soon as Zanu PF got into power in April 1980, the party has worked tireless to undermine the country’s democratic constitution, institutions and usurped the people’s freedoms and rights to establish and retain the de facto one party dictatorship.
When Emmerson Mnangagwa removed Zimbabwe’s last dictator, Robert Mugabe in the November 2017 military coup; he promised the nation “a new dispensation, a Second Republic, free, fair and credible elections, etc.” Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s right hand man and chief enforcer throughout the failed first Republic; no one expected him to keep any of his promises. He did not! The Second Republic was a still-birth.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs. Forty years of corrupt and tyrannical rule have reduced the country into one of the poorest nation with soaring unemployment rates and basic services such as health care all but collapsed.
Zimbabwe is not a peaceful and prosperous republic because the nation’s founding fathers never intended it to be anything other than a dictatorship masquerading as a republic.
If we are serious about ending the Zanu PF dictatorship then we must force the regime to step down so we can implement the democratic reforms necessary to ensure free, fair and credible elections. Nothing of any substance will ever be accomplished in Zimbabwe until we cure ourselves of the curse of rigged elections.
By A Correspondent- MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa has revealed that he met with ED’s confidant and godfather Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi.
Chamisa reportedly spoke his mind and told the Bishop what needs to be done by who for the country to move forward.
Speaking to the publication the advocate said:
“I told Bishop Mutendi that Mnangagwa must stop seeing the MDC as an enemy. The MDC is not a fly-by-night party . . . it’s a party of the infrastructure of politics in the country and must be respected in that regard. Mnangagwa is not helping anything by disfiguring the MDC. That doesn’t help at all. We are saying . . . we are open to frank and open discussions with Mnangagwa. We have said this openly, but they can’t prescribe the parameters of dialogue.
“I told Bishop Mutendi that we are willing to talk to Mnangagwa anytime. I impressed upon him that he (Mutendi) should give Mnangagwa sound advice. This country lacks a nation builder because Mnangagwa is acting like a party leader. The nation needs a father, but we have none. I also told the bishop that churches must continue to pray for the country so that we get out of the current crisis.”
Dialogue calls between the 2 parties have been made by various stakeholders however the 2 men in question are yet to make efforts to meet for what Chamisa calls a “genuine dialogue”.
The MDC has announced that Harare ward 44 councillor Resias Masunda has died. Cllr Masunda died at a Harare hospital in the capital yesterday after a long illness.
By Farai D Hove| The dark side of the spiritist preacher Talent Chiwenga was revealed at the weekend in a build up over 14 months running to date during which the preacher has announced that his contemporary Evan Mawarire is “a foolish fool,” that he (Talent) is better than MDC leader Nelson Chamisa who he labelled a deceiver stealing money from church members; he declared that Emmerson Mnangagwa did not send soldiers to kill people on 1 August 2018; he further declared that the latter is what God The Creator told him, and in the latest incident, he has said builders and truck drivers are lazy.
The latter is chronicled in the following narration –
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW …..
AUDIO LOADING BELOW….
Talent Chiwenga
By Dorrothy Moyo| The eloquent spiritist preacher, Talent Chiwenga who once attacked MDC leader Nelson Chamisa alleging that he is making money from church work, has this time opened fire on truck drivers and construction workers.
Truck drivers are the pillar of the World's Largest economies: 1. UK is in limbo because of the Truck Driving profession which will suffocate billions of pounds upon Article 50 expiry. 2. Ian Smith's govt was ended not by gunfire, but by Truck Drivers blocked at Mesina. – FACT pic.twitter.com/m3qbfESLiE
Addressing his congregation, Chiwenga offloaded a large cluster of 343 words describing the noble profession which sustains the world’s largest economies, as lazy. He literally said the profession is no profession a sane person could do.
Below was his full speech dedicated to attacking truck drivers. Said Chiwenga:
“Greeting the person and then you’ll see that their hands are in such a terrible shape, hardened like a tortoise’s backside, and you ask yourself: are these real human hands?
“And the person literally thinks that they have a career, handling bricks. They will not be able to reach 40 years, the bricks destroy your back; it is just the same thing as driving a truck from DRC to Zimbabwe. This is hard labour, when you see a person reaching 10 years while doing such a job as a truck driver; they are a lazy, nyope.
“They don’t want to think. That (truck driving) is not a profession, a person could confidently say that they are a truck driver. For a person to do this job for over 10 years, travelling 5000 km, 5000 km 5000 km, sitting behind a big steering wheel like this, driving a mere gonyimbi(haulage truck).
“People are lazy but that laziness manifests itself in three dimensions: there are some people who are lazy because they do not have energy to work, they are weak people. I personally saw such people while growing up. To hold a simple plough, they are hit by a plough like this, while failing to bring it down. They end up nearly killing someone’s child and you tell them to stand up and go and sit somewhere else. If you tell them to lead the cows, the whip hits them from behind, it goes the other way.
“They do not have ability to see the thing; they don’t have the excellency that some of us have. We used to finish everything using one hand; The other hand doing the driving, while my father would be saying, hurry up there is more field work tomorrow. We used to do it better than the person who is pulling.
“So now, you can end up being lazy, you are at loss of physical power. Or you can have physical power and you are at loss of mental power; now that one (the latter) is a serious disaster.”
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Dear Editor
Please tell pastor Chiwenga I'm proud of my job; for him to have power to preach it's because he eats the food delivered by a truck driver. – pic.twitter.com/NQGTbPKl1t
So, last year when the MDC members of Parliament did not rise from their seats to respect Zanu Pf’s “dear” President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, you unleashed police officers to eject them from the august house.
And then when they decided not to attend fearing they could be ejected again, you are angry with them for bringing Parliament into disrepute.
But be honest, Mr. Speaker Sir. Would you not have got them ejected again if they had not stood up to respect President Mnangagwa?
So are you angry because you missed an opportunity to eject them again as you did last year?
You may say what you want, Mr. Speaker Sir, but you need to tell the public what regulations bind the MPs to stand up when the President enters the august house? And what regulations criminalizes MPs to miss a Parliamentary session?
Parliamentary business should be run on rules, and if current rules are no longer applicable, those that make the rules should develop a new set of rules that suit the situation, and rules should never be applied in retrospect. Use of double standards to resolve issues is a no go area
By Dorrothy Moyo| Today marks 5 months and 5 days since the spiritist Talent Chiwenga had an accident that killed his wife and two aides. The man has accused the government for causing the mishap and yet in his own words (full text, full video), he was overspeeding for no valid reason.
The below is a full compilation of Talent Chiwenga’s own words between June and November 2019 speaking on LIVE camera giving details on his allegations.
In his own video, recorded inside hospital less than a day after the accident, the preacher loudly says that he was speeding (in a 60km speed limit zone) at 120 kmeters per hour and he even wanted to accelerate beyond 120km for no other reason other than to rush to Harare and purchase a new fan belt for his car. No one was chasing him. He then collided with an oncoming haulage truck and three people died as a result of the collision (accident video below).
Speaking during a church service, Talent Chiwenga said, ” I had a friend in Eugene Kanyuchi. I am sure many of you you know him. He served me in the work of Christ in the protocol department. And I had Mai Vhurumuko, and I think you all know her, you all knew her. VIDEO ( The story continues below)…
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“I faced death with those 2 people for as long as they were in the ministry. A week before we drove to South Africa I sat down with both of them and I said to them- you are following me everywhere I am going, I am in danger because in those three weeks before the accident we had a lot of incidents where death threats continued to come.
“I am sure you still remember at First Street when there was a message that came: run away they are going to come to kill you. And I said I am not going to run. Because I cannot run away from death death is something that nobody can run away from. So I sat with her husband and Mai Vhurumuku, and Baba Vhurumuku is not here, he works outside the country, and I told them there is death that is imminent; we knew about it it, we wrote a letter to president Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“And I told them that I was going to deliver that letter. The two of them, they volunteered to go with me, and I said if I don’t come back what happens to you?
“They said we will then not come back all of us. Vari vaviri, Baba Kanyuchi naMai Vhurumuku, ndaiti ndakavaudza kuti Vhangeri iyi ine vavengi vakawanda, ichasvika panguva yekuti tichafanirwa kuifira, vaiti, ” we are ready to die for the gospel.”
“Hapana anga aine rwendo rwekuenda kuSouth Africa pahu two hwavo. They volunteered to go with me. Three times in South Africa Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I saw a vision somebody was pointing a gun at me and I was being shot. And I was dying in that vision and then I was seeing myself dying when I was standing on the other side, and I told Baba Kanyuchi, I told Mai Chiwenga, this is what is going to happen, I am not comfortable something is about to happen. And they said let the will of the lord prevail.
“Our greatest challenge is when that time comes in our lives are we going to be holding our faith like they did? That is why we cannot count their departure, as a loss, it is not them that lost, it is us who lost. We lost an opportunity to go in good time, murikundinzwa here vadikani? Takashaiwa mukana wekuenda, zvichakanaka. So I just want to remind you that the people that do not believe do not understand their level, their carnal level, their corruptible level, their crooked level, we know what you are aiming for, we know the Lord, we know the Lord is coming. We know we shall be vindicated. We know we shall be justified. We know the gospel is going to go on. We know nobody is going to stop the gospel. We know nothing is going to stop the gospel.
“Not even the murderers, not even the politicians. Not even the CIO, not even the army, they will not stop this gospel. They can kill me today but they can’t kill the gospel.
“Tell your neighbour: they can kill me today but they can’t kill the gospel. The gospel cannot be killed because not even a bullet can reach close to the gospel. It is spiritual it is not physical.
“The AK47 kana CZ Pistol, inogona kuuraya nyama, asi mweya haigone kuuraya. So we just want to observe a moment of silence, but I want us us to first of all read this whole passage, in Phillipians chapter 1, let me read it up to verse 30. And then we observed a moment of silence to remind ourselves that there is a burden that lies squarely on our shoulders, to uphold the faith and to the very end, like our comrades did. They are our comrades, they are our heroes. They are heroes of faith, they stood firm for the gospel, and we have got to do the same. If we walk away from the faith, we are disappointing them. Hallelujah, Jesus is counting on us to stand firm unto the very end. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
State Media|A Harare-bound bus was yesterday reduced to a shell after it caught fire near Tree Tops Tollgate, about 20 kilometres from Gweru along the Gweru-Bulawayo Highway.
No one was injured as more than 40 passengers managed to disembark, but they lost some property.
The losses could have been huge were it not for some members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) who stopped and helped offload goods in the trailer.
The City Bus that was on its way from Gaborone, Botswana, caught fire at around 12.30pm after the driver made an emergency stop following a mechanical fault.
The bus company said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
The fire is said to have emanated from the right rear wheels and quickly spread.
One of the passengers, Ms Gloria Mwale, a cross border trader from Kwekwe, told our Bulawayo Bureau at the scene that they all safely disembarked.
She said the fire was threatening to spread to the trailer where 90 percent of the goods belonging to the passengers were loaded.
The goods included electrical gadgets, blankets, smartphones, chargers and clothes.
“Fortunately, an army truck came from nowhere and the brave soldiers disembarked and rescued our goods which were in the trailer,” said Ms Mwale.
“I had orders for my clients and if the goods had been burnt, I don’t know what I was going to do.”
Another passenger, Mr Admire Chebundo from Harare, said they left Gaborone at around 8Ppm on Saturday and the bus developed mechanical problems when it was leaving Bulawayo.
“At one time, the driver and other crew members tried to fix the problem,” he said. “Then we heard that the brakes were binding. We are lucky that the fire started when we had all disembarked from the bus.”
City Bus operations manager Ms Juliet Bokosha said: “I can confirm that the bus caught fire in Gweru and the majority of the goods were saved. Investigations are ongoing.”
Gweru deputy chief fire officer Lyndon Hove said the bus was completely gutted when his crew arrived at the scene.
Paul Nyathi|Zimbabwe national team has arrived in Zambia ahead of Tuesday’s Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Copper Bullets.
The Warriors arrived at the Kenneth Kaunda international airport on Sunday afternoon aboard Ethiopian Airlines at 15:45 hours and are accommodated at Golf View Hotel.
Star player Khama Billiat says the team is in Zambia for three points following their draw against Botswana at home.
“We were way below standard [against Botswana] We are going all out [against Zambia], we need the three points,” he said.
Zambia and Zimbabwe will square off on Tuesday at 18:00hrs at the National Heroes Stadium.
Warriors in Lusaka On Tuesday we play Zambia in match number 2 of the 2021 AFCON qualifiers.
Paul Nyathi|Aston Villa brought the Zimbabwe international to Villa Park this summer and he has become a firm fan favourite for both club and country.
Aston Villa ace Marvelous Nakamba has spoken of his pride in representing Zimbabwe on the international stage, in conversation with the Villa Park media team, and a number of supporters – of club and country – praised the fan favourite’s comments.
The newly-promoted Premier League side signed the 25-year-old for a reported £11million in the summer (Sky Sports News) on a contract until the summer of 2024, and to date he has made eight Premier League appearances for Dean Smith’s side.
A fan favourite in Zimbabwe, Nakamba has also quickly won over many of the Villa faithful following his switch from Club Brugge, thanks to his tenacious performances, great work ethic and affable personality.
On Friday, the Villa media team published a YouTube interview with Nakamba, with a snippet shared on their Twitter channel where he talks of just how much it means to him to represent his nation:
Paul Nyathi|Following are the Africa Cup of Nations standings in 2021 qualifying after matchday one (tabulated under games played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against and points):
Group A
Namibia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Guinea 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Mali 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Chad 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Group B
Malawi 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
B. Faso 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Uganda 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
S. Sudan 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Group C
Sudan 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
Ghana 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
S. Africa 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
S. Tome 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
Group D
Gambia 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
DR Congo 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Gabon 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Angola 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
Group E
C.A.R. 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Mauritania 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Morocco 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Burundi 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Group F
Mozambique 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Cameroon 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
C. Verde 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Rwanda 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Group G
Comoros 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Egypt 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Kenya 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Togo 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Group H
Algeria 1 1 0 0 5 0 3
Botswana 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Zimbabwe 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Zambia 1 0 0 1 0 5 0
Group I
G. Bissau 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Senegal 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Congo 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
eSwatini 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
Group J
Tunisia 1 1 0 0 4 1 3
Tanzania 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
E. Guinea 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Libya 1 0 0 1 1 4 0
Group K
Cote d’Ivoire 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Madagascar 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Ethiopia 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Niger 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Group L
Nigeria 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Lesotho 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
S. Leone 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Benin 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Note: Group winners and runners-up qualify except for Group F, where Cameroon are guaranteed a place as 2021 Cup of Nations hosts and will be joined by the highest placed of the other three nations. Enditem
State Media|THE accreditation of delegates expected to attend the 18th Zanu-PF Annual People’s Conference to be held at Goromonzi High School in Mashonaland East Province will start this week, secretary for Information and Publicity Simon Khaya Moyo has said.
The announcement comes as preparations for the conference are in their final stages, with the theme having been announced by the Politburo on Wednesday last week.
The annual conference will be held under the theme “Modernise, Mechanise and Grow the Economy Towards Vision 2030”.
According to the party’s website, the conference will run from December 10 to 15.
In a statement, Khaya Moyo said only bona fide delegates will be accredited according to laid-down party regulations.
“In preparation for the forthcoming Zanu-PF 18th National People’s Conference to be held at Goromonzi High School, Mashonaland East Province, in December 2019, the security and accreditation team will be accrediting delegates as reflected per the attached,” he said.
“Only bona fide delegates will be accredited according to laid-down party regulations.”
Delegates set to attend the conference will be accredited at their respective provinces except Politburo members, the Central Committee, local and foreign guests, local and foreign media, ushers and drivers, and officials and security personnel who will be accredited at the party’s head-quarters.
Harare province has been divided into technical committees and tasked to contribute $500 000, five beasts, fruits and vegetables towards ensuring the conference is a success.
The party has also set health requirements for delegates attending the conference, with pregnant women being advised not to attend, as well as breastfeeding mothers as children are susceptible to infections among large crowds.
Over 7 000 delegates are expected to attend the annual conference, with at least 2 000 foreign delegates having confirmed their participation.
The conference is expected to consolidate national efforts towards reviving the country’s economy, with President Mnangagwa aggressively pursuing economic recovery through the implementation of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (2018–2020).
The TSP is premised on fiscal consolidation, economic stabilisation, and stimulation of growth and creation of employment.
At the 2018 annual conference, the party came up with a number of resolutions which included the endorsement of President Mnangagwa as the party’s sole presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
DCCs
Meanwhile, Zanu-PF is working on the amendment of its constitution to include District Coordinating Committees (DCCs) after the Politburo last week okayed their inclusion, legal affairs secretary Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana has said.
The Politburo endorsed the Harare DCC elections held recently, with Bulawayo province now preparing for its elections.
Mangwana said the amendment process will be ratified at the Zanu-PF conference in Goromonzi.
“The amendment procedure has already started and the Politburo had endorsed it and that is why we saw DCC elections being held in Harare and Bulawayo,” he said. “The procedure will be ratified at the forthcoming conference.”
The Politburo endorsed newly-elected Harare’s DCC executive members as part of a restructuring exercise to strengthen the party ahead of the 2023 national elections.
DCCs were reintroduced after the party dissolved the Harare and Bulawayo provincial party structures.
The DCCs are the building blocks of the party structures in the two metropolitan provinces.
DCCs were disbanded in 2012 after it was felt that they had been hijacked by elements that sought to manipulate party structures to foment factionalism and disharmony in the party.
By Own Correspondent| There was drama at the weekend when video footage emerged of the same preacher jailed for insurance theft in the United Kingdom, Bishop Charles Motondo, administering “anointed” prophecies on comedian Mai Titi.
It is not even 2 months gone since being released from prison and Charles Motondo is back in his trade of claiming he has supernatural powers to make people rich, and to create success for other people.
Motondo’s own life is one of failure and deception, and yet he managed to “dupe” the sharp comedian Mai Titi into a televised prayer session. When he was convicted earlier this year, it was revealed to his victims, the insurance company owners (see video below) that he utilised the identities of church members to claim financial compensation for car accidents that never happened.
He was tried and sentenced at Leeds Crown Court earlier this year afterwhich he spent 8 months in prison.
This is not his first time he has performed “wonders” – in 2017 he made the ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa believe that he is the source of his military coup success.
This time in a pre-recorded video session with the comedian he tells her that he knows everything about her life. He even tells her that he goes where she cannot go.
While appearing as if he does not know the popular felebrity, the preacher tells the comedian she must be careful about people who are jealous of her success.
She replies saying “And for the people that you were talking about who are very close to me who try to destroy me they are there and we are very close and I actually discovered that a couple of days ago, I even wrote a status that no more fake friends but those people are very close to me in the industry… they are very very dear to me people that somebody will never suspect,” she says.
To this, Motondo then screams saying, “not to worry, I’ll bring you into my office I’ll give you names, yeah they call me God’s prophet, major prophet I go where you dont go. I know what I’m talking about!”
It is believed Mai Titi is silent about Motondo’s criminal life as she was paid rhe same way she was remunerated by Emmanuel Makandiwa when she lied of being healed of cancer in 2017. ZimEye approached Mai Titi for a comment on Saturday evening and she had not responded at the time of writing. We do this investigative in the public interest in order to protect victims from future harm.
State Media|AMID the nerve-shredding tension in the stands on Friday night, a bizarre ritual was playing out on the Warriors bench in what represents a leap into the darkness for the senior national football team.
A team official brought a plastic container, filled with an unknown liquid, which he would open, every time the team was attacking, and then close the lid, on the occasions Botswana would venture forward.
By opening the container, the official said, or bizarrely believed, his magical powers would boost the Warriors chances of scoring.
And by closing it, when the Zebras powered forward, he believed the same magical powers would cast a spell on the visitors and prevent them from scoring.
Of course, Botswana didn’t score — despite carving out one or two good chances — so, even though it sounds laughable, he will give himself credit his magical powers worked.
But, then, the Warriors didn’t score either, after producing one of their worst performances at home in living memory, and this then exposes the charade of this weird act.
“It was like we were watching a Nigerian movie,” a source told The Herald.
“I don’t think anyone on that bench, and there were many professionals, has ever seen anything like that.
“It might sound like fiction but that’s exactly what was happening all the time and watching it, again and again, gave this impression that we have really sunk low as a team.
“If we have now believe that such Stone Age antics are what can make the difference between winning and losing then surely we have lost the plot.
“Of course, every African team has its rituals but this was the first time where I saw it being practiced on the bench in full view of all the players and the other technical staff members.
“I kept thinking, just as well the bulk of what you guys call the British Brigade didn’t come for this match because I kept wondering what impression they would have taken back about our team if they had watched all that.
“People have argued over this for years now — if all this belief in magic works, why is it an African team has never come even close to winning the World Cup?”
Maybe, it also explains the deep belief in the supernatural at the National Sports Stadium that night, there appeared to be a conviction something would just give in and the team would score.
And that probably explains the late changes, to try and inject life into a side that was playing below its usual standards, because there was a weird belief the bizarre magical powers would deliver.
Of course, they didn’t and the Warriors limped to a goalless draw against Botswana that represented a step back into a past when they were a very ordinary side which, for close to a decade between 2007 and 2016, failed to feature at the AFCON finals.
Admittedly, there is something different about derbies in football which just complicates matters and make them difficult games to win.
But, there is no question this was as bad a performance as the Warriors have displayed in recent years — lifeless, spiritless, powerless, direction-less.
It was so bad that Kuda Mahachi, introduced late in the match amid bedlam in the stands as the restless crowd cried out for changes after Plan A had horribly misfired, was the man-of-the-match.
For large parts of the game, coach Joey Antipas cast a lonely figure close to the touchline while his Botswana counterpart regularly chatted with his backroom staff as they tried to find solutions to their challenges.
A huge crowd poured into the giant stadium expecting to see their team start its latest AFCON qualifying campaign with a routine victory at the place their call home.
You can’t fault their expectations because, since this generation of players came of age about five years ago, it’s something they have been seeing with regularity.
In the previous qualifiers for a place in Egypt, Liberia were thrashed 0-3, Congo-Brazzaville lost 0-2 and only an own goal by central defender prevented the Warriors from a clean sweep at home as they settled for a 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the 2017 AFCON qualifiers, Malawi were handed a 3-0 defeat at the giant stadium, Eswatini crashed to a 0-4 thrashing and only Guinea escaped with a draw in a 1-1 stalemate.
On both occasions the Warriors topped their group and easily qualified for the AFCON finals.
Not since Cape Verde came to Harare and forced a goalless draw on October 10, 2010 — amid the chaos brought in by the Tom Saintfiet saga — had the Warriors failed to score at home in an AFCON qualifier.
Even in their darkest moments, like in that 2015 preliminary round qualifier against Tanzania where a 2-2 draw ended their campaign, the Warriors still found a way to score — twice, in fact.
And, even when they were humbled at home, like in that 2014 World Cup qualifier against Egypt where Mohamed Salah scored a hat trick at the National Sports Stadium, the Warriors still found a way to score —twice, in fact, in a 2-4 defeat.
Which, then explains why this goalless draw against Botswana represented a new low for the team, a huge step backwards.
And it was worsened by a performance devoid of life they would have struggled to even beat Mushowani Stars on the night.
Something wasn’t done right.
This comical arrangement, where all its three coaches dumped camp on Wednesday, just two days before the match, to concentrate on their clubs’ domestic fixtures was suicidal.
And, that it was allowed to happen again on Saturday, when the team was supposed to be reviewing their shocking performance against Botswana, the areas that can be improved, is a graphic illustration that we are not taking this AFCON campaign seriously.
Maybe, we still believe the plastic container will wave its magic and everything will be well again — beginning with tomorrow’s match against Zambia in Lusaka.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has increased the price of fuel with effect from today (Monday).
ZERA said the new prices were premised on the interbank market rate and will see a litre of blend petrol (E20) retailing at $17,07 while diesel will sell at $17,74 per litre.
Last week, the price of petrol was pegged at $16,77 while diesel was at $17,53 per litre.
The price changes are due to the FOB (Free on Board) price movement and the revised duty regime.
“Operators may however sell at prices below the cap depending on their trading advantages.
“All stakeholders are advised that the petroleum, price releases by ZERA can be verified on the official ZERA website, Facebook or twitter,” ZERA said in a statement.
Zimbabwe’s economy will rebound next year, as Government has set a solid foundation for growth despite being plagued by the worst drought in four decades in the 2018/2019 season, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
He warned cash barons who were abusing the newly introduced $2 and $5 notes, adding that authorities have since identified some of the culprits, who will soon face justice.
Government’s bold decision to reintroduce a new currency, he said, will help to industrialise the economy and create jobs.
Speaking at an anti-sanctions rally after commissioning a state-of-the-art hospital in Mahusekwa, Mashonaland East, President Mnangagwa said the country’s economic progress was unique since it was being undertaken without support from international financial institutions.
“We are happy that when we instituted austerity measures, yes, the economy went down by minus 6,5 (percent) in terms of growth. But when everything has stabilised, through what we call fiscal consolidation of expenditure and revenue, next year, which is just the month after next, our economy will start to rebound from minus 6,5 (percent) in 2019 to plus 3 percent in 2020,” he said.
“There are other countries that are undergoing economic and political reforms, like we are doing ourselves. Egypt got US$12 billion, Argentina got US$100 billion, Greece several billions to resuscitate their economy, but not a single cent has been given to Zimbabwe in the process of reforming our economy.”
Notwithstanding the teething challenges experienced in transitioning from a multi-currency system to a mono-currency, he added, a local currency was a prerequisite for development.
“Firstly, there is no single country which has developed its economy, which has industrialised its economy, without its own currency.
“You go to SA, they have the rand; Botswana they have the pula. In Zambia, they have the kwacha. All these countries suffer good and bad times with their currencies and they forge ahead.
Should we continue with other people’s currencies? No! We should have our own. That is why we said let us take the brave route.”State media
Correspondent|Former opposition MDC legislator for Bulawayo South, Eddie Cross has said that the government’s decision to dismiss striking doctors was ill-thought.
Mr Cross said that it took the government of Zimbabwe thousands of dollars and over a decade of investment in the human capital and other countries will gladly jump at the opportunity to hire them. He said:
Our medical training has always been world-class. Why? I do not know, but our doctors and nurses find ready acceptance outside the country.
Just yesterday (Wednesday), I saw a BBC programme on that country’s National Health Service, where the commentator was saying they have 100 000 vacancies which they cannot fill and arguing for a priority immigration policy — made for Zimbabwe!
Cross added that the doctors did nothing wrong by asking for a sustainable salary and better working conditions saying that everyone would do the same under the prevailing circumstances.
His remarks come when health caregivers in public health institutions are on industrial action that was initiated on the 3rd of September this year by junior and middle-level doctors who are saying that they are incapacitated to report for duty.
State Media|Banks continued to dispense limited amounts of money to their clients, while some money changers continued to hold on to large sums of the new notes and coins, either obtained legally by accumulating through the informal sector or through questionable allocations by banks.
The money changers who were earlier last week happy to openly display the notes were now a bit cautious and had stashed the money in cars and were only showing it to clients who showed interest in transacting.
While some money changers were sitting on bundles of the new notes and coins, depositors had to stand for hours on end in long winding queues at most banks in the CBD as banks limited withdrawals to between $80 and $300 per person.
CABS and POSB were dispensing $80 on Friday, while CBZ and FBC were dispensing $100.
ZB Bank, Steward Bank, Stanbic Bank, Nedbank, Ecobank and Standard bank were disbursing $300, the maximum that an individual is allowed to withdraw per week.
Bank officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were having to limit the amount they were dispensing to ensure they served as many clients as possible.
Depositors who spoke to The Herald said they were delighted that they were able to access cash, although it was coming in small amounts.
Mr Anesu Mandeya, who arrived at his bank early in the morning, said he was happy that he managed to withdraw his money, although he had to queue for several hours.
“When I got here this (Friday) morning at around 5am there was already a very long queue and I did not expect to get any money because I was number 120,” he said.
“To my surprise, the queue was moving very fast and we all got our money before lunch.”
A security guard at one commercial bank, who did not want to be named, said the queues were longer than usual, but most customers were being served.
“The bank is giving out $80 per person and has been serving about 100 customers daily, but today more than 300 people managed to withdraw cash,” he said.
While some of the queues were orderly, there was chaos at other banks where some people were jumping the queues.
“We arrived at the bank around 5.30am and I was at number 86 but to my surprise some people who came after us and were behind us managed to withdraw money ahead of us because they connived with the security guards or bought numbers from people that were ahead of us,” said one of the depositors.
The RBZ recently announced that it would inject an extra $1 billion into the economy over the next six months to satisfy legitimate demand for cash.
The release of the new $2 and $5 banknotes and $2 coins started on Monday last week.
By Dorrothy Moyo| MDC President Nelson Chamisa’s absence did not discourage supporters at the weekend and in Mabvuku alone a terrible crowd converged for a rally. Below were some of the scenes
State Media|Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has praised the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for swiftly acting against two banks alleged to have allowed their depositors to make withdrawals above the stipulated limit.
CBZ Bank and Ecobank are in the eye of a storm after two of their depositors got $44 180 and $15 000, respectively, at a time when other depositors were being allowed a maximum of $100 per day.
The RBZ reported the two banks to the police on Thursday last week and the two institutions are reportedly assisting with investigations.
Responding to questions during a post-Budget breakfast meeting in Harare last Friday, Prof Ncube said it was important for RBZ to ensure such behaviour was nipped in the bud.
“In terms of the cash that you have seen floating in places where it should not be, clearly the Governor (of the RBZ Dr John Mangudya) has acted swiftly on the couple of banks whose staff were involved,” he said.
“So it was a strong message coming from the Reserve Bank.”
The RBZ has threatened to fine any banks caught on the wrong side of the law.
CBZ Bank on Friday sought to exonerate itself from any wrongdoing, saying its investigations regarding the $44 180 circulating on social media established that the transaction was “authorised”.
“The results confirm that a withdrawal of $1 and $0,25 bond coins took place at one of our branches. The withdrawal, by a corporate customer, in the gaming business, was an authorised transaction that fulfilled regulatory requirements,” said CBZ.
“The funds in the container were a display of a subsequent pay-out to a punter at the aforementioned corporate customer’s premises.”
There were indications last night that Ecobank would issue a statement on the matter.
ZRP national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said that investigations were continuing.
“We are conducting joint investigations with the RBZ,” he said. “Once we feel that we have anything that we want to advise the public, we will communicate appropriately.”
Prof Ncube called on banks to reduce charges and also pay interest on bank balances.
“On bank charges, we also feel as Government that they are on the high side,” he said. “We will continue to engage them to bring down the charges.
“Instead, I will add my own comment which is around interest on deposits. We want a decent interest on domestic deposits, and a decent interest rate on FCAs (foreign currency accounts).”
Paul Nyathi|Chiefs from Matabeleland North led by Speaker Of Parliament Jacob Mudenda’s home area chief, have recommended Minister July Moyo to remove Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni from his post, since his elder brother, Mr Joram Ndiweni, who is based in the UK is allegedly still contesting the chieftaincy.
According to the Chiefs, on the advice of ZANU PF Secretary of Administration Obert Mpofu as it has since emerged, in Ndebele custom, chieftainships pass from father to the eldest son, which is a deliberate incorrect interpretation of the Ndebele culture.
The Ndebele culture, which the Chiefs are custodian to, has never stated that the eldest of the outgoing chief’s sons is an automatic successor but states that the new chief is chosen from amongst the sons where in the family elders consider varied advantages amongst the sons to come up with an heir.
That the norm amongst most cases has seen the eldest son taking over the Chieftainship has never changed the culture.
As was the case with the Ndiweni Chieftainship when Chief Khayisa Ndiweni died in 2010, Chief Ndiweni’s widow, Agnes, advised government that the family had gathered and agreed to install her last born son, Nhlanhla ahead of his two brothers Jotum and Douglas.
According to the Chiefs Jorum was meant to be the heir on virtue of him being the eldest of the sons causing an unnecessary furore.
In an affidavit presented to government at the time of appointing Nhlanhla, the Ndiweni family said that Jorum “would never make a respectable chief that the people of Ntabazinduna deserve” because of “various other deeper stuff that make him not to be the chief.”
The family also disqualified the other son Douglas as he “cannot be trusted, he is dishonest (and) a rabble-rouser.”
After the appointment of Nhlanhla, Jorum tried to contest the appointment but was advised of the futility of his contestation by the family and appeared to have dropped the case and backed his younger brother until recent when Nhlanhla clashed with Obert Mpofu who sources within the saga accuse of trying to incite Jorum to revive the appeal.
The sources further accuse Mpofu of trying to use the Matabeleland Chiefs to get rid of Nhlanhla who has been fighting Mpofu over cattle belonging to the Ntabazinduna royal family which Mpofu illegally took over from a farm during the land resettlement programme.
Chiefs from the province convened in Bulawayo on Saturday and recommended that Chief Ndiweni be removed from the position allegedly pending finalisation of the dispute.
Chief Mtshane Khumalo of Bubi, who is Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs’ deputy president, said the provincial assembly only got to know that the battle was raging on recently and were shocked that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works had not told them.
This followed a directive from the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs that the provincial assembly should address the issue, said Chief Mtshane.
“The issue was discussed because of the challenge by the elder brother who is saying he is ready to take over the chieftaincy,” he said.
“When he (Chief Ndiweni) was appointed, we sent a delegation of chiefs to the family and they gave us Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Kayisa’s name.
“No one mentioned the issue of the court challenge by the elder brother until recently when we were given the documents from the ministry that prompted us to meet as the provincial assembly.”
Chief Mtshane said the provincial assembly, chaired by Chief Shana of Jambezi, Jacob Mudenda’s home area, used its powers and recommended the national chiefs’ council to rescind the appointment.
“As traditional leaders, we resolved that the matter must go back to the family so they resolve the issue and if they agree or fail to agree, they will then come back to us,” he said.
“The family decides and we only help as the assembly.”
Chief Mtshane said in Ndebele culture, the first born son assumes chieftaincy unless he declines and even then has to justify his refusal to assume office a highly incorrect interpretation of the Ndebele culture.
Chief Ndiweni, who could not be reached for comment, reportedly approached the Ministry of Local Government recently enquiring why he had not been sworn in since his appointment in 2014.
He is said to have written to the President’s Office noting his displeasure, resulting in the Minister of Local Government being ordered to address the issue.
The minister forwarded the matter to Chief Charumbira who referred it to the provincial assembly, hence the Saturday meeting.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo, under whose ministry the traditional leaders fall, referred questions to the Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Richard Moyo.
Chief Ndiweni was appointed by former President Robert Mugabe, resulting in his traditional anointment by the family in 2014.
No Government official, and none of Chief Ndiweni’s brothers — Joram, now aged 75, Douglas and Ian — attended the ceremony which was presided over by some family members and members of the community.
Chief Ndiweni had not been sworn in as the case is pending at the High Court.
By Farai D Hove| A minister previously given a British visa has been exposed in leaked chats that show how she is denying MDC supporters Presidential inputs.
Yeukai Simbanegavi who served as Deputy Sports Minister throughout the Netball WorldCup, has communicated that MDC supporters must not be given agricultural input support. She said this is hecause they do not recognise her party leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s legitimacy. The comminications independently confirmed for authenticity, have her replying a complainant saying, “how do you expect to receive seed from the president the same person you say is illegitimate?”
The development is further exposed in a video of a party supporter acting on the minister’s instructions; The male is heard in the below video saying that the inputs are for the party not the nation. “Ndeye party,” the man says.
By Dorrothy Moyo| The Deputy Chief Of the Chiefs Council has said the prolific Chief Ndiweni can be removed by ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa.
…Mtshana Khumalo
Speaking at the weekend, Mtshana Khumalo said:
“The appointment, removal and suspension of chiefs must be done by the President on the recommendation of the provincial assembly of chiefs through the National Council of Chiefs and the Minister responsible for traditional leaders and in accordance with the traditional practices and traditions of the communities concerned.
“Disputes concerning the appointment, suspension and removal of traditional leaders must be resolved by the President on the recommendation of the provincial assembly of chiefs through the minister responsible for traditional affairs.”
He also said Ndiweni remains chief until a resolution is reached. He said:
“We recommended that the process must be redone after Chief Ndiweni’s brother Joram who is in London objected to his appointment. He wrote a letter to the district administrator in Umguza saying the process had not been procedural and there is a court case,” he said.
“We sat this Saturday and made a recommendation to the family that the process must be redone. It’s a process that must first be ratified by the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs and the Chiefs Council will make a resolution. He is still the chief, we made a recommendation and the National Chiefs Council may amend it, add or subtract.”
State Media|National Social Security Authority (NSSA) pensioners have not only suffered from questionable investments, as uncovered by a forensic audit, but also from a 15-month moratorium on new investments.
The moratorium resulted in the value of US$150 million in cash holdings seriously eroded by inflation in the later part of the moratorium.
The ban on new investments was imposed by then Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Priscah Mupfumira in February last year, around the same time that a full forensic audit of NSSA was started.
The rationale for the moratorium was to prevent further investments that could be regarded as suspicious, criminal or just incompetent.
On assuming office in September last year, the new minister Dr Sekai Nzenza, maintained the moratorium as the forensic audit was still in progress.
Sources at NSSA allege that after the introduction of the interbank market in February, the 1:1 rate collapsed, leading to the erosion in value.
There are concerns that the money lost value at a time when pensioners are earning a pittance, which can barely buy a 10kg bag of maize-meal.
Reads part of a dossier availed by sources within NSSA; “Since late 2018, NSSA board was instructed by the minister not to carry out commercial and trading activities of its investable funds. As a result, an amount of US$150 million then remained in NSSA bank accounts earning no interest and no financial gain.”
The Herald has established that Minister Nzenza lifted the moratorium in April this year, a month after the forensic audit was concluded and two months after the present board took office.
The moratorium was lifted on condition that the board would follow through on all the findings and recommendations of the forensic audit report.
Responding to the allegations, NSSA board chairman Dr Cuthbert Chidoori said: “At the time the current board came into office (February 2019), it found out that in February 2018, the then Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare (MPSLSW), had called for a forensic audit on NSSA activities covering the period 1st January 2015 to 28 February 2018.
“The minister had also put a moratorium on all investment activities pending the conclusion of the forensic audit. This all happened during the tenure of the previous board whose tenure expired on 12th October 2018.
“The authority was, therefore, unable to carry out normal investment activities since then, resulting in accumulation of large cash balances.”
Dr Chidoori said when Minister Nzenza came into office, she only “reaffirmed the moratorium” since the forensic audit was not yet complete.
He said Minister Nzenza directed that the moratorium should remain in force until there was a new board.
“The minister explained to the current board during their induction that the reinforcement of the moratorium was indeed necessary after noting the lack of due diligence and the losses incurred on some investments in NSSA,” said Mr Chidoori.
“The minister was also waiting for the outcome of the forensic report on investment and suspected massive irregularities and some of them which have turned out to be criminal.”
The forensic audit was completed in March this year and the moratorium was lifted the following month after the board gave assurances it would follow through on all the findings and recommendations in the forensic report.
Last week, Minister Nzenza described as “hogwash”, claims that she made unilateral and unprocedural decisions in the selection and remuneration of the ICT specialist and lawyers tasked with unpacking the forensic audit report.
Dr Chidoori said procedures in the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act were followed to clean up NSSA.
Explaining the process of the board’s clean-up programme he said: “To follow through on all the recommendations detailed in the forensic report, the board identified the five key areas where there were serious irregularities namely, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Properties, Investments, Human Resources and Corporate Governance.
“There was also a concern on NSSA
policies and practices which required research to bring them into line with best practices as far as social security provisioning is concerned,” he said.
“With the concurrence of the minister, a team of six expert lawyers was appointed in full compliance with the procurement laws and regulations of Zimbabwe for a period of 30 days. They were required to comb through the detailed forensic audit report, together with the massive boxes of the annexures and to identify organisations and individuals within and without NSSA, who were to blame for the plunder of NSSA resources identified in the report.
“Notwithstanding the delays suffered in preparing and obtaining approval of the contracts, the expert lawyers produced a comprehensible report for the board and the ministry for their adoption on the way forward.”
Dr Chidoori said the forensic report unearthed scams in NSSA, where huge sums of money which runs into hundreds of millions of US dollars had been lost through the shenanigans of some individuals at NSSA.
Twenty-four workers have been sent on forced leave to pave way for investigations, and those absolved will return to work.
The audit found most of the 24 were irregularly appointed without being the first in their interviews, where these were held.
The NSSA board will seek to regularise these appointments.
“The forensic report has uncovered huge amounts of money which were given to staff as loans in breach of the conditions of service,” said Mr Chidoori.
“There are allegations of lavish lifestyles by NSSA staff, while pensioners wallow in poverty, possibly necessitating a lifestyle audit. The board will seek to recover all monies, including monies which may have been given to staff who are no longer with NSSA.”
NSSA last week announced significant increases in pensions, with the minimum general pension rising to $200 a month from $80, and those who were getting above the new minimum having a 65 percent rise.
RT- Please help me and my family find my little brother who has been missing since the 11th of November 2019. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Please Retweet to raise awareness!! https://t.co/WBBAe7g9x8
Zimbabwe’s economy will rebound next year, as Government has set a solid foundation for growth despite being plagued by the worst drought in four decades in the 2018/2019 season, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
He warned cash barons who were abusing the newly introduced $2 and $5 notes, adding that authorities have since identified some of the culprits, who will soon face justice.
Government’s bold decision to reintroduce a new currency, he said, will help to industrialise the economy and create jobs.
Speaking at an anti-sanctions rally after commissioning a state-of-the-art hospital in Mahusekwa, Mashonaland East, President Mnangagwa said the country’s economic progress was unique since it was being undertaken without support from international financial institutions.
“We are happy that when we instituted austerity measures, yes, the economy went down by minus 6,5 (percent) in terms of growth. But when everything has stabilised, through what we call fiscal consolidation of expenditure and revenue, next year, which is just the month after next, our economy will start to rebound from minus 6,5 (percent) in 2019 to plus 3 percent in 2020,” he said.
“There are other countries that are undergoing economic and political reforms, like we are doing ourselves. Egypt got US$12 billion, Argentina got US$100 billion, Greece several billions to resuscitate their economy, but not a single cent has been given to Zimbabwe in the process of reforming our economy.”
Notwithstanding the teething challenges experienced in transitioning from a multi-currency system to a mono-currency, he added, a local currency was a prerequisite for development.
“Firstly, there is no single country which has developed its economy, which has industrialised its economy, without its own currency.
“You go to SA, they have the rand; Botswana they have the pula. In Zambia, they have the kwacha. All these countries suffer good and bad times with their currencies and they forge ahead.
Should we continue with other people’s currencies? No! We should have our own. That is why we said let us take the brave route.”State media
By A Correspondent- Junior doctors have mocked Health Minister Obadiah Moyo’s remarks that the government will avail ZUPCO buses for doctors to alleviate their incapacitation.
In a post on microblogging site Twitter, Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Association (ZHDA) secretary-general, Mthabisi Anele Bhebhe expressed shock and queried whether Minister Moyo knows what a doctor does.
He wrote:
“The Minister of Health will expect a doctor to use a Zupco bus to see patients. Does he know what exactly doctors do, the work schedule of a doctor and the essence of time? Akusi kujairirwa here uku?”
Junior and middle-level doctors have been on strike since the 3rd of September over poor remuneration and working conditions.
The government responded to the job action by firing hundreds of doctors, leaving public hospitals bereft of both doctor and patients.
Zimbabwe’s economy will rebound next year, as Government has set a solid foundation for growth despite being plagued by the worst drought in four decades in the 2018/2019 season, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
He warned cash barons who were abusing the newly introduced $2 and $5 notes, adding that authorities have since identified some of the culprits, who will soon face justice.
Government’s bold decision to reintroduce a new currency, he said, will help to industrialise the economy and create jobs.
Speaking at an anti-sanctions rally after commissioning a state-of-the-art hospital in Mahusekwa, Mashonaland East, President Mnangagwa said the country’s economic progress was unique since it was being undertaken without support from international financial institutions.
“We are happy that when we instituted austerity measures, yes, the economy went down by minus 6,5 (percent) in terms of growth. But when everything has stabilised, through what we call fiscal consolidation of expenditure and revenue, next year, which is just the month after next, our economy will start to rebound from minus 6,5 (percent) in 2019 to plus 3 percent in 2020,” he said.
“There are other countries that are undergoing economic and political reforms, like we are doing ourselves. Egypt got US$12 billion, Argentina got US$100 billion, Greece several billions to resuscitate their economy, but not a single cent has been given to Zimbabwe in the process of reforming our economy.”
Notwithstanding the teething challenges experienced in transitioning from a multi-currency system to a mono-currency, he added, a local currency was a prerequisite for development.
“Firstly, there is no single country which has developed its economy, which has industrialised its economy, without its own currency.
“You go to SA, they have the rand; Botswana they have the pula. In Zambia, they have the kwacha. All these countries suffer good and bad times with their currencies and they forge ahead.
Should we continue with other people’s currencies? No! We should have our own. That is why we said let us take the brave route.”State media
During the day, he looks like any other inmate at his new home — Harare Central Prison, but when the lights go out, he knows no peace.
Joram Siwela, a former Chaplin High School student and professional football player, was jailed for murder 21 years ago.
That was after he got into a fight over a girl, resulting in him brutally stabbing and killing his schoolmate.
Memories of the day he butchered his friend before handing himself over to the police are still fresh in his mind.
Serving a life sentence with hard labour is excruciating, but for Siwela it is worse as he claims to be tormented by an avenging spirit.
He says almost every night for the past 21 years, he has had to be woken up by his cellmates who say he throws punches, screams and argues with unseen forces in his sleep.
Siwela says he constantly has violent nightmares, and images of the murder he committed back in 1998 also flash in his sleep.
Since his incarceration, Siwela feels that something needs to be done spiritually. He says his family and that of the victim needs to perform some ritual.
“When my father visited me sometime in 1999, I tried to raise the issue with him but he said ‘you are still too young, you will not understand this’. I had just turned 20 then,” recalls Siwela.
However, according to Siwela’s father Sahluko, that door has since been closed. This is because another tragedy hit the family of Siwela’s victim a few months after his incarceration.
“Barely three months after Joram’s incident, a lot happened in the victim’s family, thereby complicating everything. The victim’s father and sibling were also murdered.
“Another uncle, whom they lived with, vanished without a trace. Since then, we have failed to locate any other relatives.
“I feel that knowing all this will be too much of a burden for Joram, which is why I have never been able to tell him,” said Sahluko.
He said he still hopes to see his son free one day.
Now 21 years later, Siwela’s parents are old and frail — unable to visit him. Siwela now fears that his parents will die before helping him out of his situation.
“They are both old now and cannot visit, especially using public transport. I wish there was a way.
“I need to talk to them. There is so much they need to help me understand,” said Siwela with tears rolling down his face.State media
The MDC Women’s Assembly notes with great concern the deterioration of our country’s health delivery system due to the strike by the doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe.
The doctors, nurses and other health professionals went on strike about two months ago citing incapacitation due to the economy that is collapsing on a daily basis.
The food basket for a family of five was pegged by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) at 4000 RTGS; yet most workers including doctors are earning less than 2000 RTGS.
The situation is so dire with many workers and the general populace such that they are failing to make ends meet. Most people are failing to access national services as they are either closed or dilapidated due to the uncaring illegitimate regime and its misplaced priorities.
The recently announced budget by Mthuli Ncube falls far short of the people’s expectations. The budget is not pro-poor thereby leaving about 75% of the Zimbabweans’ needs unaddressed. It is a budget for the few and not for the many.
Indeed, the budget is clearly a continuation of ZANU PF legacy of plunder and blunder for the past 40 years.
Whilst we applaud the Mbare woman Mrs Gwena, who has taken upon herself the duty of being a midwife in her community, we blame the illegitimate regime for having failed to take good care of the expecting mothers as it is its responsibility to so.
The illegitimate regime cannot surrender its responsibility of health maternity delivery to a rum shack practice of the 15th century. This is a reversal of the UN SDG 3, Good Health and Wellbeing; to which Zimbabwe has affixed its signature.
Auxillia Munangagwa was supposed to convince her husband to pay the doctors and nurses well than go and donate foodstaffs to the old woman.
We do not expect our mothers, sisters and children to give birth in such unhealthy conditions where they are exposed to so many risks related to child bearing.
This practice is uncalled for and we condemn it in the most strongest terms.
We are not living in the stone age era where women used to give birth in their homes exposing them to so many health risks.
The illegitimate regime has now fully backtracked on its commitment of health for all.
Auxillia Munangagwa really needs to reflect on whether her daughter would use such facilities in the same manner desperate women are using Mrs Gwena.
Indeed, what Auxillia did is not only deplorable but a desperate bid to cover up for the failings of her husband’s illegitimate regime.
Zimbabweans deserve a better government that cares for its citizens’ health and wellbeing.
The self-imposed “health ambassador” of Zimbabwe has failed dismally in executing her duties and this is a classic case of a PR exercise that has gone dismally wrong.
This is why in the MDC we have made it clear in our SMART policy document on how we intend to address fundamental issues that safeguard citizens’ rights to world-class health facilities.
The MDC in its SMART policy document offers an alternative to all this chaos that has been created by the illegitimate regime.
Indeed, a good and sound health delivery system is key priority area in every developmental state.
We demand that the Ministry of Health and Childcare take this issue of Mbare very seriously by providing the expecting mothers with a clean and proper facility for delivery as per WHO standards.
Zimbabweans deserves a better government that will put its priority on citizens’ health and not on superfluous leadership life style.
In an MDC led government, the citizen rights and health priorities will be supreme.
The MDC led government will pursue social liberation policies aimed at completing the unfinished business of national liberation struggle and shall strive for democratic structural economic liberation, rehabilitation and transformation of Zimbabwe.
The MDC is a people mandate driven party that seeks to work for the establishment of a dynamic and participatory democracy in which the Government is accountable and subordinate to the its citizens; guaranteeing provision of first class health and all essential services.
Indeed, under an MDC led government, never again shall our top leaders seek health services abroad while destroying our national health services.
By Dorrothy Moyo| The eloquent spiritist preacher, Talent Chiwenga who once attacked MDC leader Nelson Chamisa alleging that he is making money from church work, has this time opened fire on truck drivers and construction workers.
Truck drivers are the pillar of the World's Largest economies: 1. UK is in limbo because of the Truck Driving profession which will suffocate billions of pounds upon Article 50 expiry. 2. Ian Smith's govt was ended not by gunfire, but by Truck Drivers blocked at Mesina. – FACT pic.twitter.com/m3qbfESLiE
Addressing his congregation, Chiwenga offloaded a large cluster of 343 words describing the noble profession which sustains the world’s largest economies, as lazy. He literally said the profession is no profession a sane person could do.
Below was his full speech dedicated to attacking truck drivers. Said Chiwenga:
“Greeting the person and then you’ll see that their hands are in such a terrible shape, hardened like a tortoise’s backside, and you ask yourself: are these real human hands?
“And the person literally thinks that they have a career, handling bricks. They will not be able to reach 40 years, the bricks destroy your back; it is just the same thing as driving a truck from DRC to Zimbabwe. This is hard labour, when you see a person reaching 10 years while doing such a job as a truck driver; they are a lazy, nyope.
“They don’t want to think. That (truck driving) is not a profession, a person could confidently say that they are a truck driver. For a person to do this job for over 10 years, travelling 5000 km, 5000 km 5000 km, sitting behind a big steering wheel like this, driving a mere gonyimbi(haulage truck).
“People are lazy but that laziness manifests itself in three dimensions: there are some people who are lazy because they do not have energy to work, they are weak people. I personally saw such people while growing up. To hold a simple plough, they are hit by a plough like this, while failing to bring it down. They end up nearly killing someone’s child and you tell them to stand up and go and sit somewhere else. If you tell them to lead the cows, the whip hits them from behind, it goes the other way.
“They do not have ability to see the thing; they don’t have the excellency that some of us have. We used to finish everything using one hand; The other hand doing the driving, while my father would be saying, hurry up there is more field work tomorrow. We used to do it better than the person who is pulling.
“So now, you can end up being lazy, you are at loss of physical power. Or you can have physical power and you are at loss of mental power; now that one (the latter) is a serious disaster.”
AUDIO LOADING BELOW
Dear Editor
Please tell pastor Chiwenga I'm proud of my job; for him to have power to preach it's because he eats the food delivered by a truck driver. – pic.twitter.com/NQGTbPKl1t
By Showbiz Reporter| Exactly a week ago, drama erupted on stage as Afro Jazz dissident Nox Guni was touched by two women during his show in Leeds.
In the video below, Nox’s wife speaks after her husband was touched repeatedly by two women while on stage in the early hours of Sunday morning. Tallyn speaks to ZimEye outside the venue in West Yorks
The MDC Women’s Assembly notes with great concern the deterioration of our country’s health delivery system due to the strike by the doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe.
The doctors, nurses and other health professionals went on strike about two months ago citing incapacitation due to the economy that is collapsing on a daily basis.
The food basket for a family of five was pegged by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) at 4000 RTGS; yet most workers including doctors are earning less than 2000 RTGS.
The situation is so dire with many workers and the general populace such that they are failing to make ends meet. Most people are failing to access national services as they are either closed or dilapidated due to the uncaring illegitimate regime and its misplaced priorities.
The recently announced budget by Mthuli Ncube falls far short of the people’s expectations. The budget is not pro-poor thereby leaving about 75% of the Zimbabweans’ needs unaddressed. It is a budget for the few and not for the many.
Indeed, the budget is clearly a continuation of ZANU PF legacy of plunder and blunder for the past 40 years.
Whilst we applaud the Mbare woman Mrs Gwena, who has taken upon herself the duty of being a midwife in her community, we blame the illegitimate regime for having failed to take good care of the expecting mothers as it is its responsibility to so.
The illegitimate regime cannot surrender its responsibility of health maternity delivery to a rum shack practice of the 15th century. This is a reversal of the UN SDG 3, Good Health and Wellbeing; to which Zimbabwe has affixed its signature.
Auxillia Munangagwa was supposed to convince her husband to pay the doctors and nurses well than go and donate foodstaffs to the old woman.
We do not expect our mothers, sisters and children to give birth in such unhealthy conditions where they are exposed to so many risks related to child bearing.
This practice is uncalled for and we condemn it in the most strongest terms.
We are not living in the stone age era where women used to give birth in their homes exposing them to so many health risks.
The illegitimate regime has now fully backtracked on its commitment of health for all.
Auxillia Munangagwa really needs to reflect on whether her daughter would use such facilities in the same manner desperate women are using Mrs Gwena.
Indeed, what Auxillia did is not only deplorable but a desperate bid to cover up for the failings of her husband’s illegitimate regime.
Zimbabweans deserve a better government that cares for its citizens’ health and wellbeing.
The self-imposed “health ambassador” of Zimbabwe has failed dismally in executing her duties and this is a classic case of a PR exercise that has gone dismally wrong.
This is why in the MDC we have made it clear in our SMART policy document on how we intend to address fundamental issues that safeguard citizens’ rights to world-class health facilities.
The MDC in its SMART policy document offers an alternative to all this chaos that has been created by the illegitimate regime.
Indeed, a good and sound health delivery system is key priority area in every developmental state.
We demand that the Ministry of Health and Childcare take this issue of Mbare very seriously by providing the expecting mothers with a clean and proper facility for delivery as per WHO standards.
Zimbabweans deserves a better government that will put its priority on citizens’ health and not on superfluous leadership life style.
In an MDC led government, the citizen rights and health priorities will be supreme.
The MDC led government will pursue social liberation policies aimed at completing the unfinished business of national liberation struggle and shall strive for democratic structural economic liberation, rehabilitation and transformation of Zimbabwe.
The MDC is a people mandate driven party that seeks to work for the establishment of a dynamic and participatory democracy in which the Government is accountable and subordinate to the its citizens; guaranteeing provision of first class health and all essential services.
Indeed, under an MDC led government, never again shall our top leaders seek health services abroad while destroying our national health services.
By Farai D Hove| The Finance Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube has said MDC members of Parliament contributed in the making of the national budget that includes the funding of a satellite station.
Speaking at a post budget session covered by ZBC TV, Ncube criticised the MDC saying they have betrayed democratic consultations conducted in Vic Falls 2 weeks before.
He said the greater part of contributions had come from the opposition camp.
“I must admit that I was disappointed by the failure by the MDC-A members of parliament to turn up for the presentation in Parliament,” said Ncube.
He continued saying:
“When we held the pre-budget consultations, the members of Parliament from the MDC-A were present and they made very important contributions on the budget and I was expecting to see them when I was making the presentation.”
Meanwhile, the Zanu-PF National Spokesperson, Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo issued a statement on the boycott by the MDC Alliance members of Parliament, saying it was self-defeating.
“The MDC-A members of Parliament boycott of the Budget speech by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, is self-defeating and an embarrassment to those who elected them to Parliament,” read the statement.
“Instead of being members of Parliament they are indeed Missing Persons. The minister’s budget speech was generally well-received by all patriotic Zimbabweans given the economic challenges the country is facing.”
The MDC Women’s Assembly notes with great concern the deterioration of our country’s health delivery system due to the strike by the doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe.
The doctors, nurses and other health professionals went on strike about two months ago citing incapacitation due to the economy that is collapsing on a daily basis.
The food basket for a family of five was pegged by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) at 4000 RTGS; yet most workers including doctors are earning less than 2000 RTGS.
The situation is so dire with many workers and the general populace such that they are failing to make ends meet. Most people are failing to access national services as they are either closed or dilapidated due to the uncaring illegitimate regime and its misplaced priorities.
The recently announced budget by Mthuli Ncube falls far short of the people’s expectations. The budget is not pro-poor thereby leaving about 75% of the Zimbabweans’ needs unaddressed. It is a budget for the few and not for the many.
Indeed, the budget is clearly a continuation of ZANU PF legacy of plunder and blunder for the past 40 years.
Whilst we applaud the Mbare woman Mrs Gwena, who has taken upon herself the duty of being a midwife in her community, we blame the illegitimate regime for having failed to take good care of the expecting mothers as it is its responsibility to so.
The illegitimate regime cannot surrender its responsibility of health maternity delivery to a rum shack practice of the 15th century. This is a reversal of the UN SDG 3, Good Health and Wellbeing; to which Zimbabwe has affixed its signature.
Auxillia Munangagwa was supposed to convince her husband to pay the doctors and nurses well than go and donate foodstaffs to the old woman.
We do not expect our mothers, sisters and children to give birth in such unhealthy conditions where they are exposed to so many risks related to child bearing.
This practice is uncalled for and we condemn it in the most strongest terms.
We are not living in the stone age era where women used to give birth in their homes exposing them to so many health risks.
The illegitimate regime has now fully backtracked on its commitment of health for all.
Auxillia Munangagwa really needs to reflect on whether her daughter would use such facilities in the same manner desperate women are using Mrs Gwena.
Indeed, what Auxillia did is not only deplorable but a desperate bid to cover up for the failings of her husband’s illegitimate regime.
Zimbabweans deserve a better government that cares for its citizens’ health and wellbeing.
The self-imposed “health ambassador” of Zimbabwe has failed dismally in executing her duties and this is a classic case of a PR exercise that has gone dismally wrong.
This is why in the MDC we have made it clear in our SMART policy document on how we intend to address fundamental issues that safeguard citizens’ rights to world-class health facilities.
The MDC in its SMART policy document offers an alternative to all this chaos that has been created by the illegitimate regime.
Indeed, a good and sound health delivery system is key priority area in every developmental state.
We demand that the Ministry of Health and Childcare take this issue of Mbare very seriously by providing the expecting mothers with a clean and proper facility for delivery as per WHO standards.
Zimbabweans deserves a better government that will put its priority on citizens’ health and not on superfluous leadership life style.
In an MDC led government, the citizen rights and health priorities will be supreme.
The MDC led government will pursue social liberation policies aimed at completing the unfinished business of national liberation struggle and shall strive for democratic structural economic liberation, rehabilitation and transformation of Zimbabwe.
The MDC is a people mandate driven party that seeks to work for the establishment of a dynamic and participatory democracy in which the Government is accountable and subordinate to the its citizens; guaranteeing provision of first class health and all essential services.
Indeed, under an MDC led government, never again shall our top leaders seek health services abroad while destroying our national health services.
THE government will miss its audacious target of clearing the passport backlog by year end after it emerged that a combination of delays in shipping material and foreign currency was standing in its way.
This comes as the registrar-general’s office is facing an unenviable task of clearing a backlog of 386 000 passports due to debilitating shortages of foreign currency and a hardening of stance towards the government by international suppliers.
Registrar-General Clemence Masango, however, was optimistic that his department would have cleared the backlog by the end of first quarter of 2020 — barring a degeneration of the current situation — which he said had improved from the August position where his office was only processing 60 passports a day against a target of 3 000 passports.
Normally, passport applications should be processed within three months, but since 2016 the registrar-general’s office had been struggling to import essential supplies such as paper due to lack of foreign currency.
Zimbabwe is currently in the grip of a huge economic crisis — the worst in more than a decade — which has triggered shortages of power, foreign currency, water and critical medicines at State hospitals.
AmaXhosa King Mpendulo Zwelonke Sigcawu, 51, who died on Thursday morning, waited nearly six hours before being taken to hospital.
His wife wanted him to be airlifted and not be taken by an ambulance, fearing the 2km gravel road from his home at Nqadu Great Place to the tar road would be too bumpy for him because he had two fractured ribs from a recent car accident.
However, health officials told her that the helicopter could not fly in such poor weather.
Yesterday, Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Judy Mpetsheni confirmed the king could not be airlifted due to bad weather conditions.
Sources within the Eastern Cape health department and the royal house told the Sunday Times that the king’s wife, Queen Simanye, called emergency services at about 10am on Wednesday but was concerned about allowing him to be transported by road.
Mpetsheni said the health department sent a doctor and two nurses from nearby Willowvale to assess the king’s condition.
“This is the first step the department took even before an ambulance was dispatched … When they were done they called for immediate emergency vehicles,” she said.
The king was eventually taken to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, about 120km away, in an ambulance that picked him up just before 4pm.
He was received at the hospital by two senior specialists and three medical officers, who placed him on a drip and admitted him to a private ward. He died less than 12 hours later.
The Sunday Times has learnt that when he arrived at the hospital, Sigcawu was severely dehydrated and was suffering from kidney failure.
The king had a history of kidney problems and had previously been in and out of a number of hospitals around SA.
His uncle and family spokesperson Xhanti Sigcawu confirmed his nephew had been sick for some time and that he had experienced vomiting and diarrhoea before his hospitalisation.
The Sunday Times has also learnt that the traffic accident in which he was involved, three weeks before his death, is not believed to have precipitated his death.
Sigcawu allegedly drove through a red traffic light in Mthatha and was involved in a collision with another car.
He did not go to hospital at the time but later, during a business trip to Cape Town, he complained of chest pain and was admitted to hospital there.
He was discharged and travelled back to the Eastern Cape, where he was admitted to St Dominic’s Hospital in East London.
Doctors there found he had two fractured
ribs, probably as a result of the collision.
The vomiting and diarrhoea he experienced in the days leading up to hospitalisation on Wednesday are said to have left him severely dehydrated.
“Everything he was taking in was coming back up in a matter of minutes,” a source close to the family said.
Ntshinga Magafela, 62, who lives in the Nqadu area, remembers Sigcawu as an 11year-old boy who was whisked away to Cofimvaba to be protected from potential enemies.
“You will remember, a person who has been identified to be a future king is kept away from his home village for his own safety,” Magafela said.
“So his father Xolilizwe took him to Cofimvaba. He only came back when his father’s illness took a turn for the worse and he was getting ready to take over.
“Even when he went for circumcision, no-one in the area knew … They only learnt that he was an initiate when his father started preparing for his homecoming.”
Magafela said Sigcawu had been a community-builder and a king who loved his nation. Sigcawu’s sister Sheila told the Sunday Times of his love for education. “He had adopted four schools in the area and renamed all of them after his grandparents and his father.”
Subjects of the late king paid tribute to him. One of them, Thembela Libela, a building worker, said it was thanks to Sigcawu that young people in the area had received training that enabled them to get jobs.
“Currently I am working and being trained in bricklaying, plastering and painting because of our king,” Libela said.
Nosebenzile Majo, 72, remembered Sigcawu for his love of agriculture.
“He ensured that my entire fields were planted. He made sure that mealie fields were fenced and protected.
“Two weeks ago he gave me his own tractor and didn’t charge me a cent. All he wanted was for me to plough my fields. He always preached that we need to be self-sufficient,” Majo said.
Sigcawu’s path to the throne was not plain sailing — in May 2010, amid preparations for his coronation, his aunt, princess Nomaxhosa Sigcawu, claimed that she was the rightful successor and should be crowned instead.
She claimed she had been bypassed because she was a woman, and that she had been ignored and sidelined over the years by clan elders.
Her claim to the throne led to a five-year delay before Sigcawu was finally crowned.
The spokesperson for the department of co-operative governance & traditional affairs (Cogta), Lungi Mtshali, said no decision had yet been taken as to what category of state funeral Sigcawu would get.
“We are still in the process to develop a handbook for kings and traditional leaders in general. That process has not been finalised as yet. We now are waiting for President Cyril Ramaphosa to make announcement,” Mtshali said.
Cogta deputy minister Obed Bapela said during a visit to Nqadu Great Place that the government did not have a policy determining what type of funeral kings and traditional leaders should get.
“That policy is still being developed and when it is ready will be presented to cabinet. However, this funeral will lay a foundation for government to have policy,” Bapela said.
Xhanti Sigcawu told the Sunday Times that the family had asked Ramaphosa to accord the highest possible status to Sigcawu’s funeral, which would take place at Nqadu Great Place on November 29.
He said there would be an announcement tomorrow on who would act as king or regent until a permanent successor was named.
Sigcawu is survived by four wives and eight children.
Mwelo Nokonyane, chair of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, said there should be no question about the status of the funeral. “All kings must be afforded the same funeral category bestowed on presidents and former presidents.”
By Own Correspondent- MDC Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Prince Dubeko Sibanda says the opposition party is not reading much into its poor performance in local government by-elections in Tsholotsho, saying it was a good start to its strategy to penetrate rural areas.
Sibanda said MDC fielded a candidate for the first time in Ward 20, which consists of mainly resettled villagers who are predominantly Zanu-PF supporters.
“There are a number of factors that contributed to our loss,” he said.
“For starters in Ward 20, Tsholotsho South, it was the first time ever that we fielded a candidate in the ward against Zanu-PF.
“Zanu-PF won uncontested previously.
“That we got 21 votes in a purely resettlement area for me is a good start.
“We all know that Zanu-PF threatens to take away the land from the people if they do not vote it.
“In Ward 16 despite Zanu-PF’s vote-buying tactics, we increased our vote tally from what we got in 2018.
“Even in Lupane East constituency we increased our vote tally.”
The two by-elections in Tsholotsho were held on November 9 and were won by Tshoni Mnkandla (Ward 20) and Isaac Moyo (Ward 16), both from Zanu-PF.
In August, Zanu-PF’s Mbongeni Dube won the Lupane East constituency by-election where he beat MDC’s Dalumuzi Khumalo.
Zanu-PF also retained Ward 22 in Bubi and Nkayi’s Ward 23.
This was the reaction of University of SA (Unisa) students on social media after the university sent out an email on Friday afternoon to students announcing that exam question papers for the second semester – October and November – had been leaked.
The outrage was swift on social media after the university sent the email to its 400 000 students about the compromised exams. Unisa also informed the students that an investigation was underway to establish what had happened.
Some students panicked online, speculating which modules were affected. Others speculated that it could have been the Taxation and Business Activities and Economics papers and the Foundations in English Literacy Studies exam.
One jokingly asked: “Can Financial Accounting Principles, Concepts and Procedures be part of those leaked exam papers?”
Another student wrote: “I wish [the] Economics [paper] was on the list so that I can rewrite.”
But for second-year law student Xoliswa Thuzo* this was not a laughing matter.
Thuzo told City Press that she had sacrificed her savings to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer. She chose to enrol at Unisa because of its long-distance learning programme which suited her as she worked full time.
“I’m disappointed because one always has the potential to be embroiled in scams that one was never party to,” Thuzo said. “Again, this phenomenon of exam leaks casts aspersions on the quality of graduates of a particular university. Of course, there’s always the risk of rewriting the same paper if culprits are not found and that’s emotionally stressful. It’s a reputational damage to the university and I don’t know how they are failing to clamp down on this,” she said.
Thuzo said there was a concern among students over how tutors used students’ contact details.
Some tutors, she said, invite students to tutoria ls to get “exam scope” for various modules. She said it was common knowledge among students that tutors would always send the text “come and get the EXACT scope” during exam time.
“I accept that an A-tutor can make his students pass with flying colours. Revision is part of studying and preparing for any exam. The minute a tutor says ‘scope’ it means he or she had access to the question paper.
“How can they be so brazen without being caught by the police or crime intelligence or Unisa?” Thuzo said.
She said she had deleted an SMS she received from a tutor.
“Almost on a daily basis students doing a particular module are invited to enrol for revision tutorials. For me that’s fine. But specifically stating that the ‘exact scope’ will be given should raise eyebrows,” she said.
Questions were emailed to Martin Ramotshela, the university spokesperson, and to Professor Mandla Makhanya, Unisa’s principal and vice-chancellor, on Friday afternoon.
Ramotshela said yesterday he would only be able to respond tomorrow when he had seen a file relating to the leaks investigation.
According to Unisa’s email sent to students on Friday, which City Press has seen, the university said the matter was being investigated and the probe was at an advanced stage.
However, it would not say which modules were affected, how many staff members and students had been identified in the scam and what action would be taken against them. The university would also not say what processes had been put in place to deal with similar incidents in future.
The email only said Unisa had identified individuals who had compromised the integrity of exams and the necessary measures to address the situation would be implemented soon.
“It is important to note that the university has also identified several students who have been communicating on WhatsApp/telegram groups regarding the availability and purchasing of examination question papers. These cases are being followed up by police,” read the email.
Students were warned that anyone participating in such online groups, or involved in any other actions which may compromise the integrity of the examination process, would be disciplined and may also be criminally charged.
“In addition, students found to have participated in compromising the integrity of the exams or any of the university’s assessment processes, will be sanctioned. Such sanctions may include permanent expulsion from Unisa and from all other South African universities,” the email said.
Unisa appealed to anyone with knowledge of individuals involved to report this by using whistleblowing contact details 0860 00 5050 or to email the information to [email protected]
This is not the first time Unisa was hit by a leak this year. In May, the university released a similar statement announcing that a leak had occurred during first semester exams.
A student asked on social media: “Are these people investigated? What are the consequences? Why do they always do the same thing?”
Added another student: “How can papers be leaked every semester unless they [university] are also at fault? Unisa is starting to annoy us now.” *Not her real name
I accept that an Atutor can make his students pass with flying colours. Revision is part of studying and preparing for any exam. The minute a tutor says ‘scope’ it means he or she had access to the question paper
President Mnangagwa departs Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, Nov 17, 2019 for the Fifth Global Business Summit for Africa in Dubai
State Media|President Mnangagwa left Harare for Dubai this morning where he will attend the Global Business Forum on Africa 2019.
The GBF Africa, which runs from tomorrow to Tuesday in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, encourages international revenue flows into Africa by engaging leading decision makers on the global investment scene.
President Mnangagwa was accompanied by several captains of industry and some senior Government officials.
He was seen off at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice President Kembo Mohadi, Minister of State for Harare Province Oliver Chidawu, Minister of State Security Owen Ncube, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana and service chiefs, among others.
Didier Drogba says he turned down a coaching job at Chelsea because he wanted to work on football development in his home country.
According to Metro, Didier Drogba turned down the opportunity to become part of the coaching team at Stamford Bridge in order to run for the position of president of the Ivory Coast Football Federation.
The 41-year-old Chelsea legend, who retired as a player late last year, has been canvassing support for his bid to take charge of the federation and admitted in a meeting in Abidjan that he opted to go for the job instead of returning to west London.
‘I had an offer to stay at Chelsea where everything would be perfect and conditions are met, but I want to help Ivorian football because I love it!’ said the former Ivory Coast captain.
‘I am a leader, and my vision is bigger than just the simple role of being a coach.
‘A coach has an impact on a club – but I want to have an impact on an entire nation. I want us to re-think football, with a nationwide vision, so we can develop the game here.
‘The Ivory Coast has a glorious footballing past. The funds are in place, together with talent and potential, but they are under-exploited.
‘There are some very competent people in the Ivory Coast who can work with me on this project.’
This December, controversial entertainer Zodwa Wabantu will be launching Touchable Day and Touchable Night eau de parfum.
At first, the 34-year-old wanted to come up with an alcohol brand but opted for a fragrance instead. “I thought of many business ideas and alcohol was at the top of my list, but I changed my mind because I wanted something that wasn’t so predictable and would end up killing people,” she told DRUM.
“People know I drink but I wanted something that would make a difference in women’s lives, and a fragrance came to mind.”
She has taken almost a year working on the fragrance.“This is not your downtown Jozi or KZN fragrance. This is proper, and people will see another classy side to me,” she says.
Zodwa’s favourite scents are Chanel No. 5 and Dior Poison.
“I took my favourite scents and worked with something similar to get the perfect Touchable, and partnered with London-based perfume company W1C.
“The perfume was manufactured in China, taken to New York and then brought back home for Mzansi ladies,” she says.
“Get this straight: I am not the ambassador of any brand, this is my product. I went 50/50 with the company and black girl is doing magic. I want every woman to smell like me.”
The entertainer says women go through a lot daily and often need something to keep them motivated. “Many women look up to me and they aspire to have the same kind of carefree attitude as me. Some have been abused, others cheated on and others just want to boost their confidence. So if they use the fragrance they will think of me and be inspired,” she adds.
The opposition MDC led by Nelson Chamisa has said that participating in elections presided over by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which they accuse of being biased in favour of the ruling ZANU PF was strategic.
Speaking in an interview with Daily News reporter, Blessing Mashaya, MDC Secretary for Elections, Jacob Mafume said:
We continue to participate to expose the chaos and bias in Zec, its incapacity to run a credible election and its unwillingness to implement recommendations of the 2018 observer missions.
To date, they have not released the 2018 election report as required by law, neither have they done so for subsequent by-elections.
Earlier this year, Chamisa announced that the party would no longer be participating in the ZEC-run elections if the commission was not dissolved.
The party accuses ZEC of having connived with the ruling ZANU PF to manipulate the 2018 presidential elections in favour of the ZANU PF’s candidate President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Former Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo says suggestions that he was the brains behind former First Lady Grace Mugabe are preposterous because that would have meant coming between President Robert Mugabe and his wife.
In an interview with Alex Magaisa, Moyo said: “It’s news to me that you say many saw me as the brains behind Mrs Mugabe. But the presumption that anyone, especially a person like me could become the brains behind Mrs Mugabe is preposterous and can only come from people who know nothing useful about Mrs Mugabe and especially about President Mugabe.
“Becoming the brains behind Mrs Mugabe would have meant coming between the President and his spouse. That would have been reckless and suicidal.
“This equally applies to the notion that I should have restrained Mrs Mugabe. As who? Surely, only her husband and family members could do that.
“In any event, my respect for President Mugabe would never have allowed me to poke my nose into his family. Never.”
Below is an excerpt from the interview:
BSR: Mrs Mugabe took centre stage in the firing of both vice presidents, Joice Mujuru in 2014 and Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2017. It worked in the case of Mujuru but backfired spectacularly in the case of Mnangagwa as the tables were turned against Mugabe. Many people thought Mrs Mugabe took it too far in both cases. You went along to most of her rallies and many saw you as the brains behind the instrument that she was. Were her actions part of the plan or she was a loose cannon? Did you have any misgivings about her approach? Did you ever try to restrain her?
ANSWER: I am aware of the view that Mrs Mugabe took centre stage in the firing of both Joice Mujuru in 2014 and Mnangagwa in 2017 but I think the view is not entirely correct. The movers and shakers and the brains behind the firing of Joice Mujuru in 2014 were Chiwenga and Mnangagwa. They did this as part of their 2008 succession handshake. Mrs Mugabe was their recruit in 2014 but she was not the main player. It’s important to understand that in 2014, Chiwenga, Mnangagwa, and President Mugabe acted in and with a common purpose against Joice Mujuru in 2014. While Mrs Mugabe did hold rallies and said some tough and even nasty things against Joice Mujuru, she did not take centre stage in Mujuru’s firing. The three men did the job with a supporting cast that had others, including me as then information minister. This too is a story yet to be properly told.
The 2017 scenario was different, and indeed Mrs Mugabe took centre stage in the firing of Mnangagwa on 6 November last year. It’s news to me that you say many saw me as the brains behind Mrs Mugabe. But the presumption that anyone, especially a person like me could become the brains behind Mrs Mugabe is preposterous and can only come from people who know nothing useful about Mrs Mugabe and especially about President Mugabe. Becoming the brains behind Mrs Mugabe would have meant coming between the President and his spouse. That would have been reckless and suicidal.This equally applies to the notion that I should have restrained Mrs Mugabe. As who? Surely, only her husband and family members could do that. In any event, my respect for President Mugabe would never have allowed me to poke my nose into his family. Never. People who say the nonsense that I was the brains behind Mrs Mugabe or that I should have been the one to restrain her must know that I did not go to school only to come out as naïve as suggested by their nonsense.
Otherwise, clearly many things went wrong last year. Many. A lot that was said and done at those interface rallies was unwise and most unfortunate, not least because it gave hostage to fortune.
BSR: During the offensive against Mujuru and her faction in 2014, you all seemed to be united, including Mrs Mugabe, Chris Mutsvangwa and Mnangagwa. However, no sooner had Mnangagwa settled into office as the new Vice President than factions began to emerge, and the fights started again. What was the cause of the quick fallout? Did you not know that the fall of Mujuru would open the way for Mnangagwa which would place him in pole position to succeed Mugabe?
ANSWER: As I have already indicated, it is not correct to say factions began to emerge no sooner had Mnangagwa settled into office as one of the two vice presidents. Factions preceded Mnangagwa’s elevation to the vice presidency. But I think the important question you ask is whether we knew that the fall of Joice Mujuru would open the way for Mnangagwa and place him in pole position to succeed Mugabe. Frankly, we did not know that. More accurately, I should say I did not know. And here is why.
It is important to understand that the Joice Mujuru saga in 2014 directly pitted her against President Mugabe. The proverbial system presented her as using her position as vice president to fight President Mugabe to force him out of office. Throughout the Mujuru saga in 2014, there was never an indication that Mujuru’s ouster would open a door for Mnangagwa. This is because it was always clear that Mujuru’s replacement, in the event she was removed from office as vice president, would be Oppah Muchinguri. This was the deal. The idea that a man would replace a woman was a no, no. We all understood that.
More significantly, I drafted the amendments to the party’s constitution ahead of the Zanu PF December 2014 Congress. I did the drafts for Mnangagwa and Chiwenga who would comb through them and cause me to redraft 70 by 70 times. I used to have endless meetings with Mnangagwa at his office, many more with one of his assistants but most of the meetings were between Mnangagwa, Chiwenga and myself at Chiwenga’s house or at some house used by Mnangagwa on Churchill Avenue, just after Second Street towards Avondale. During the drafting, the only position that was contemplated for Mnangagwa was that of Prime Minister in government and National Chairman in the party. But the Vice Presidency was always going to Oppah Muchinguri, for her to replace Joice Mujuru.
Closer to the December 2014 Congress, about two or so weeks, inexplicable concerns started mushrooming about Oppah Muchinguri’s suitability as a replacement for Joice Mujuru. Mnangagwa asked me to remove from the amendments we were working on, the provision that “one of the two vice presidents shall be a woman”. He said this was a directive from President Mugabe. This was the bombshell that caused the fallout. I could not believe my ears. I did as I was directed and from then on, the draft amendments were not sent back to me as had become the approach but were finalised between Mnangagwa and Patrick Chinamasa with Mnangagwa saying he was working directly with President Mugabe.
BSR: Many people were concerned that Mrs Mugabe was on a relentless drive to succeed her husband. When we wrote the story of Mamvura driving the bus, it was because there was a clear possibility that she could take control of the bus and yet she seemed ill-equipped and ill-experienced for the job. Did you understand people’s concern that she could actually end up on the wheel? Do you think she was ready to drive the bus?
ANSWER: I think every rational person understood the various permutations and possibilities but none of them justified a military coup. The proposition that the coup was done to stop Mrs Mugabe from succeeding her husband is uncivilised and undemocratic. But on whether I understood people’s concerns that Mrs Mugabe could have ended up on the wheel, the answer is yes, of course I did. How could I not? I however think that people should have been equally concerned about Mnangagwa ending up on the wheel. The fact of the matter is that Mamvura is now driving the bus.
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa, otherwise known as “the crocodile” took over the helm of impoverished Zimbabwe, most Zimbabweans thought theirs was set to be a different story especially after close to three decades under strongman Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa was the vice president of Zimbabwe before he fell out of favor with his boss and using the army to oust the man he had served for more than 20 years. To some of the Zimbabweans, and to the rest of the world, the crocodile was no different from Mugabe. He was a branch of the same tree.
For years, Uncle Bob was not a darling of the West. To the West, he an enemy, a tyrant and butcher of Western policies. Uncle Bob always turned East whenever heeded financial support. He found darling in China and Cemented what came to be known as Zimbabwe’s “Look East” Policy.
Zimbabwe has always looked up to China for years. The Chinese presence in Zimbabwe cannot be disputed with China taking part in almost every infrastructural project. China is also constructing the main parliament of Zimbabwe, and taking part in the printing of the currency.
It is said that Zimbabwe has taken so many loans from China that it will take centuries for the country to pay back in full. Apparently, even if China took over all the sectors in Zimbabwe, the debt cannot be cleared even for years.
In recent months, President Emmerson Mnangagwa seems to have angered his creditor, President Xi Jinping of China, after for the first time he broke the “Look East” Policy and looked West. Mnangagwa has been engaging Western nations in salvaging his nation’s economy which is now ailing with inflation ballooning by more than 200 percent.
According to Spotlight Zimbabwe, China wants the crocodile to either resign or retire from office and hand over power to his Vice President Rtd General Constantino Chimwenga. The paper says, if Mnangagwa will fail to do what China wants, he will have to deal with “unspecified political action from Beijing.”
Is China Debt Trap Policy working?
If the contents of the paper are something to move along with, Zimbabwe is likely to witness yet another political drama that will see Mnangagwa and his Vice President face-off with Chimwenga having the support of Beijing. It is alleged that Beijing made the announcement while Chimwenga was in China for “official duties.”
It is said that China was behind Mnangagwa’s promotion to the office of Vice President in 2014 after Xi Jingping lobbied Mugabe to promote him. In other words, Beijing was preparing Mnangagwa to take over from Mugabe for they believed that he was better placed to sustain the “Look East” Policy.
Beijing believed that Mnangagwa was better placed to protect China’s enormous economic and investment interests in Zimbabwe. But the man seems to have let them down by ”cunningly turning to the West” during the night and “East” during the day.
The Swahili say lisemwalo lipo na kama halipo basi laja (what’s bound to happen will definitely happen) and other African countries should prepare if what is set to happen in Zimbabwe will turn out to be true. There were rumors that China was planning to take over the Port of Mombasa (Kenya) after Nairobi failed to honor the payment schedule for a loan that the country took from China.
President Kenyatta (Kenya) with President Xi Jinping (China)
Kenya’s public debt now stands at 6.5 trillion shillings with a huge percentage of it coming from China. The terms of the loans taken from China have never been made public and there are fears that a time is coming when China will claim to have the whole of Kenya to pay itself back.
Issue yaChief Ndiweni…how do the Binga chiefs come in paCulture yemaNguni ?
Ummmm….vakapuhwa mariiko vakomana veBinga? Khanyisa Ndiweni akashanda nababa vangu. I met him kumba kwedu. …Sooo…issue ya Chief Nhlanhla is a bit personal.kwandiri- TheSource
In this file picture Mrs Emma Muronzi shows grade one pupils how to write while the Headmaster Mr Charles Chisekochevana assesses at Borrowdale Primary School in Harare. T
State Media|At least 5 000 teachers will be recruited in 2020 following concurrency from Treasury, Primary and Secondary Education Secretary Mrs Tumisang Thabela has said.
In a statement, Mrs Thabela said recruitment will be done in two batches. She said the Ministry will soon start registration of all unemployed but qualified teachers to fill in the vacant positions.
“The Government approved and authorised the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to recruit 5 000 teachers in 2020. These teachers shall be recruited in two batches. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will be carrying out a registration exercise for prospective teachers who will possibly fill in vacancies for the 2020 financial year,” said Mrs Thabela.
She said all interested unemployed and qualified teachers should approach nearest district education offices for registration starting tomorrow. For the registration process, Mrs Thabela said the teachers are expected to bring original teacher qualification certificates, birth certificates and identity documents.
She said prospective teachers already registered should approach the same district offices to check if their names are still appearing on the database.
GUKURAHUNDI could have been avoided if the late vice-president Joshua Nkomo had accepted the post of ceremonial president at independence, former War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube has said.
Instead, the veteran nationalist opted for a ministerial post, only to be fired two years later by then prime minister Robert Mugabe on charges of plotting to overthrow his government.
Mugabe claimed arms meant to overthrow his government had been uncovered on farms owned by Zapu and its military wing, Zipra — a development that marked the beginning of Gukurahundi.
Dube, in his book Quiet Flows The Zambezi published by Pathisa Nyathi’s Amagugu Publishers set to be officially launched this week, argues it was political miscalculation on the part of Nkomo to turn down the ceremonial presidential post.
“He (Mugabe) perceived Nkomo to be a threat to his rule. In line with that perception, Mugabe proposed that Nkomo assume a post of ceremonial president,” Dube wrote.
“He knew very well that the Lancaster House constitution was entrenched for only a period of 10 years, after which amendments could be made.or him to be ceremonial president and thus turned down the offer opting for the ministerial post of Home Affairs.
“Nkomo was afraid the ceremonial post was going to undermine his dignity and he was going to be thrown away when the time came.
“I am, however, of the view that if Nkomo had become ceremonial president, the Gukurahundi would have been avoided. Things would have been avoided.
“Things would not have gone that bad if he appreciated what a man Mugabe was — one who would not countenance opposition. Signing the Unity Accord on 22 December, 1987 was too late…”
As a result, over 20 000 people are said to have been killed in Matabeleland and Midlands in the internationally condemned crackdown that Mugabe defended as necessary to fight dissidents bent on toppling his government. Mugabe never apologised for the mass killings, only describing them as a “moment of madness”.
Dube wrote that Mugabe had an over-inflated ego, believing that no one but him could rule Zimbabwe, a belief he argues triggered his ouster.
By Own Correspondent| A 16 year old boy has been brutally assaulted at the Marange Diamond fields.
The development comes against the backdrop of denials by the government that there are no more human rights abuses there.
The assaulted lad
But the 16 year old lad (name withheld) was assaulted up to blood gushing levels.
The Marange Diamond Trust leader Moses Mukwada said,
” We have one young man aged 16yrs. Akarorwa me ZCDC guards zvakaipisisa mushu mekunge abatwa achitsvara kunze kwe fireguard ye ZCDC.”
– THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY
Zimbabwe’s month-on-month inflation rate quickened to 38,75% in October from 17,7% the previous month as analysts warned that Finance minister Mthuli Ncube’s 2020 budget will be rendered useless by soaring prices.
On Friday, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) said the inflation rate had hit a four month high in October, a day after Ncube said the monthly inflation rate would fall to single digits in the first quarter of 2020.
According to Zimstat figures, a surge in the prices of food and alcoholic beverages was behind the resurgence in the inflation rate.
Ncube unveiled a $63,6 billion budget for next year where he said the economy was expected to grow by 3% after a 6,5% contraction in 2019, but analysts and industrialists described the figures as too ambitious.
“I think it has to be appreciated that this budget is coming against a background of a slowing economy,” Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce CEO Chris Mugaga said.
“Projections of a fiscal deficit on the gross domestic product (GDP) of 1,5% are not realistic.
“We also look at the issue of expenditure pattern. I don’t think we can have an expenditure of below $80 billion for 2020 given the inflationary trends we are having.
“So generally if we look at the numbers, I think I will agree to say a supplementary budget will certainly be on the way.
“I don’t think I will be surprised with a supplementary budget of a minimum of about 30% of the $63,6 billion.”
Ncube said the budget deficit in 2020 was projected at 1,5% of the GDP from 4% this year. He said economic growth would be driven by better agriculture output and improved electricity supplies.
“Balancing books will be a tall order in 2020 and with the realities of inflation, they are way off the mark,” Mugaga added.
“We can’t have inflation below three digits.”
Former Finance minister Tendai Biti said Ncube’s projected revenues of $58,6 billion next year were “an illusion.”
“A budget of $63 billion is an illusion and unachievable but also reflects the extent of hyperinflation,” Biti said on Twitter.
“Without sorting currency issues, power shortages, corruption and productivity constraints, Zimbabwe is now in recession and decisive measures are required.”
Mugaga said the cut in corporate tax to 24% from 25% was not likely to incentivise the private sector as the taxes remained too high amid the economic meltdown and power cuts.
Ncube also announced that value added tax would be reduced to 14,5% from 15% next year.
But Sekai Kuvarika, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries CEO, was upbeat, saying some of the incentives contained in the budget were steps in the right direction.
“What is important for industry is an enabling environment,” she said.
“When we have a stable currency, a stable macroeconomic environment and competitive business environment, we are able to generate that growth.
“I don’t want to comment on whether this is the right quantity of incentives, but what I can clearly say is that when you have your income tax reduced by 1%, it has been reduced.
“So it’s a step in the right direction and I think it will be incremental.
“Our expectation is that this direction will continue over the next few years.”
Nigel Chanakira, a former banker and prominent businessman, said Zimbabwe’s economic recovery depended on improved international relations.
Chanakira said the country’s biggest challenge was lack of foreign currency.
“The exchange rate is running away and that triggers hyperinflation and the expectation becomes very bad.”
Chanakira said Zimbabwe needed to sort out its politics first if it expected economic relief.
A stalemate between President Emmerson Mnanagagwa and the opposition following a disputed election last year has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Zimbabwe, which is struggling to recover from almost two decades of economic stagnation.
By Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora|Recently, the government of Zimbabwe, through the Minister of Home Affairs, introduced the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill to Parliament (MOPA). This Bill, that has since replaced the reviled Public Order and Security Act (POSA), inter alia seeks to govern public demonstrations and gatherings. It is therefore a very important factor in Zimbabwe’s march towards democracy.
What is striking is that out of the 23 in POSA the new Act retains a whopping 20 Clauses as they are word for word. It makes minor amendments to 2 Clauses and repeals only a single provision of POSA. Further key provisions of this Act are duplicated word for word from the Regulation of Public Gatherings Act No. 205 of 1993 of South Africa enacted before that country attained its independence. This Act is therefore simply POSA by another name and appears not to have been made with any democratic design in mind.
The Act completely repeals section 27 of POSA which gave the police power to temporarily ban demonstrations in certain geographical districts.This provision had already been successfully challenged in the Constitutional Court anyway. The other change is that whereas under POSA, the Minister of Defense had the power to authorise the deployment of the army to assist the police during public demonstrations, this power is now vested with the President. The third change is that while under POSA the police had the power to detain any person who failed to produce identity documents, the Act now allows those persons seven days to produce same without the need to detain them.
The Act still contains a provision for the police to ban possession of certain items which could be used as weapons for a period of three months in any police district. These items include knives, machetes, axes and any “traditional weapon whatsoever”. Anybody who is found in possession of these items during the ban is liable to up to six months imprisonment. What the government failed to realise is that some of these items are tools of trade in poorer communities. The bans therefore effectively interferes with the livelihoods of these communities.
The Act enjoins organisations who want to embark on public processions, demonstrations and public meetings to appoint conveners and deputy conveners for these events. These people are supposed to write and sign all correspondence regarding these events as well as hold necessary consultative meetings with the police. In their notice to the police they are supposed provide their names and addresses. The law does not place an obligation on the part of the police to protect these conveners from anyone who may want to harm them in the performance of their duties as conveners. However, what is fundamentally important is that conveners are made criminally and personally liable for acts done in violation of the law during the events that they would have convened.
Although our law recognises that organisations can be liable to criminal prosecutions this law places criminal liability on the part of the convener personally. Further conveners are personallyliable for civil damages brought at the instance of third parties for deaths, injuries or destructions to property that can occur during the demonstrations even if these are not caused directly by them.
To add to their lot these conveners, once convicted in a court of law, can be ordered to personally pay compensation for loss of life, injury or property even in the absence of a civil suit by any affected person. What the law is effectively seeking to do here is to completely indemnify organisations while creating full and sometimes strict liability on the part of conveners who are mostly relatively junior officers in their political parties or organisations. The result is that because of these civil and criminal liabilities to conveners no person may be keen to convene public demonstrations or meetings irrespective of the justice of the cause for these demonstrations or public meetings. Effectively therefore this law bans demonstrations.
The Act gives the police wide powers to interfere with the demonstrations. Among other things they have the power to change the routes of demonstrations, place conditions as well as halt any demonstration at any time. Further this Act outlaws demonstrations in the vicinity of the Parliament, courts as well as other protected areas.
However, in the case of Parliament, the Act allows demonstrations within the precincts of Parliament only where there is written authority of the Speaker of Parliament. It is clear that if the target of the demonstration is the Parliament itself then this consent may never be given. Similarly demonstrations in the vicinity of courts can only be allowed where there is written consent of the Judge President or the Chief Justice. Otherwise no demonstration is allowed within 100 meters of any courtroom!
Apart from their power to halt demonstrations and disperse the participants therein even in the case of a lawful demonstration, the police are given the right to use both lethal and non-lethal force. If a person who is participating in a demonstration or who is interfering with a lawful demonstration kills or injures, attempts to kill or injure or shows manifest intention to injure or kill anybody the police are allowed to use the lethal force of firearms.
Similarly where a participant or non-participant in a demonstration destroys or attempts to destroy property, the police can use lethal force. Unfortunately the law does not specify as to who the lethal force will be used against. Thus for lethal force to be attracted, all what the opponents of an otherwise lawful demonstration need to do is initiate violence. This provision is dangerously prone to abuse by police officers who may side with any of the parties in the clash.
While the law now provides that a person who cannot produce an identity document when called by the police to do so has up to seven days to produce same, it nevertheless makes it a criminal offence for anyone to fail to produce the documents after the period. This completely ignores the fact that failure to produce these document may not be due to the fault of the accused person. For example one may fail to produce the documents because of administrative inefficiencies of the government, or because they are orphaned or because they may be offspring of victims of Gukurahundi who may not have the papers. The law just creates strict liability for them.
The police are given power to cordon certain areas in order to contain or forestall pubic violence and disorder. Once they have established the cordon they can search anyone without warrant. Anyone who leaves or enters a cordoned area is criminally liable and may be jailed for up to six months imprisonment.
MOPA also allows the police to search without warrant any person, vehicle or vessel entering or leaving Zimbabwe. In that search they are allowed by this law to “seize anything”. Unfortunately, this law allows stops and searches in respect of any persons and vehicles within Zimbabwe. This is an unnecessary violation of other people’s rights.
Perhaps the most controversial part of this Act is the power given to the President to deploy the army to assist the police during public demonstrations. The question is whether it is even necessary to deploy the army against its own people at all. Firstly, the army is not trained in law enforcement. Secondly, the recent history of Zimbabwe has shown that deployment of the army leads to unnecessary loss of life. After all, the police are well trained in law enforcement including the suppression of violence. They do have and can use firearms if necessary. In the case of Zimbabwe relevant police units which can deal with violence do exist. Further even under the Regulation of Public Gatherings Act of apartheid South Africa, after which the Bill borrows so much, the suppression of violent demonstrations remained the duty of the police and not the army.
Section 59 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe allows people the right to peaceably demonstrate. Although this right is not absolute there is no reason to unduly interfere with it as this Bill does. Therefore this Act unnecessarily abrogates the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Zimbabwean people. It is a bad law.
Douglas T Mwonzora is an opposition MDC Senator for Manicaland and a practicing constitutional lawyer
This article is extracted from a contribution to The Standard when the Act was still a Bill.
