All Africa.com|A losing candidate in a 2018 Bulawayo council election has turned his home into a drug rehabilitation centre in attempts to help local youth addicts deal with substance abuse.

Thulani Chauke lives in Gwabalanda high density suburb and was an election candidate in Ward 16.

He lost to an MDC candidate when he contested under Nkosana Moyo’s Alliance for People’s Agenda (APA).

Chauke has put his election loss behind and is now concentrating on helping his community deal with the scourge of drug addiction through his so-christened Hope Mental Trust.

“I formed this trust with only one thing in mind, things are tough nowadays. Things are changing too quick in this world which we are living in.

“There is high unemployment in our country and this leads to some educated but unemployed youths to end up involved in some anti-social behaviour of abusing drugs and alcohol,” Chauke said.

The Hope Mental Trust was formed three years ago.

“I am on a mission to expand this institution because I have come to discover that the drugs which the youth especially teenagers use, are so dangerous that they (youths) end up in hospital or even at Ingutsheni Mental Hospital,” he added.

The youth nowadays use various intoxications like BronCleer cough syrup, marijuana, Amethamine, Diazepam popularly known as mangemba, alcohol, among others.

Chauke pleaded with well-wishers in the corporate world and individuals to help him find a more suitable place for his rehabilitation centre so as to accommodate more drug addicts.

“Currently, I am operating at my house in Gwabalanda, which is not a safe place because they (drug addicts) may get back to those drugs as soon as leaving my place.

“So, I was calling for help to the general public to help in building a proper rehabilitation centre away from Gwabalanda that could even accommodate others who want help, a place where those that are rehabilitating can stay up to the end of their courses,” said Chauke.

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Farai Dziva|Zanu PF is denying Glen View South residents access to borehole if they do not have party cards.

See below a statement released by Glen View South residents:

Arlet :
GLENVIEW South, Ward 31 a borehole drilled during the recent by-election campaign is being politicised by Zanu PF youths.

Only those with party membership cards are allowed to fetch water There is a Zanu PF youth called Kulombo who is manning the borehole situated between 4th and 5th Crescent and makes sure that only Zanu PF members get water.

Once party members get water he removes the pump handle so that nobody else gets access to the precious liquid.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will give assistance to the country’s urban poor and food insecure households under its cash transfer programme to alleviate hunger.

This comes as the latest food situation assessment in urban areas observed that an estimated 2,2 million urbanites — haunted by poverty, unemployment and the spiralling costs of basic commodities — are food insecure just like the rural folk.

WFP country director Eddie Rowe said currently the cash transfer programme was having a dry run in Epworth where they are piloting it with 20 000 people.

“According to the urban assessment of food situation three weeks ago, an additional 2,2 million people are food insecure. It is coincidental that of the 2 million that we plan to assist, the US has provided us with resources to cover one million from now to April. Had it not been for the resources, we would be struggling. We would not have had the resources, we expect to be able to support the most vulnerable and chronic food insecure households across the country,” Rowe said.

“So yes, we are looking at providing the cash benefit in towns. Mobile money transfers are easy in urban areas and also the goods are available than in rural areas. What we will be careful about is the price fluctuations. We prefer cash transfer in urban areas.”

He said they are targeting to reach 200 000 urbanites by January next year.

“We will be doing the cash transfer program for the urban poor. Currently, we are carrying a pilot programme in Epworth for 20 000 people where each is getting US$13. We plan to reach 200 000 residents in eight urban areas by January next year,” he said.

Rowe said the government’s ban on the use of the United States dollars and disbanding the multi-currency regime had taken a toll on the WFP’s cash transfer programme.

“We are very much affected (by the ban on the use of the US dollars). In fact, one of the obvious impacts was our ability to continue with the cash transfer programme,” he said.

“In the interest of the beneficiaries to ensure that we maintain the same ration, we made the decision to switch to in-kind (giving them foodstuffs) because even if we give them cash, they could not get the same amount of goods they would get if given foodstuffs.”

— NewsDay

Farai Dziva|MDC vice president Lynette Karenyi has slammed Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government for undermining fundamental women’s rights.

See full statement below :
The recent Cabinet resolution to extend the Parliamentary Women’s Quota by 10 years was done in bad faith and must be condemned by all progressive forces in the struggle for women equality in Zimbabwe.

Indeed, why is our country now going backward from the SADC call of 50/50 gender representation in parliament? Added to that; there is the compelling need to respect our own national Constitution through its Section 17 and 56 calls for 50/50 gender representation

Alternatively; in an effort to achieve 50/50 representation, the Women Quota may stay, but on condition that we further reserve more constituencies for women representatives.

Furthermore, it is more essential that going forward, the implementation process of the 50/50 representation principle places more emphasis on promoting the rise of young women leaders.

Further, the current Women Quota only gives 60 parliamentary seats to women out of the total of 210 nationals seats. It is my strong view that this system has actually not helped the issue of promoting gender equality since all political parties no longer give aspiring women candidates the desirable constituencies.

Worse still, other Parliamentary candidates have started to label the women elected through the Parliamentary quota system as ‘Baccosi’.

This is a derogatory slang word used by some citizens when referring to things given for free.

In short, the Women Quota now seems to be disadvantaging women more.

So as a way forward, it is time we resort to the demands of our Constitution and and all fight towards 50/50 gender representation.

The government should now put in place a mechanism that will ensure that by 2023, Zimbabwe will have 50/50 parity in terms of gender representation in our Parliament.

It is common cause that a legislature full of women will help the nation in raising important motions affecting the women who are the majority in Zimbabwe

Indeed, the whole concept about 50/50 gender representation is meant to inspire women to start raising their voices, be it at work, on the streets, Goverment, Local Authorities or Civic Societies.

Women are suffering; women are still being discriminated; women are still being rated as second citizens.Yet we have a government that still wants to be congratulated for simply extending the Women’s Quota by 10 years.

It is my strong view that the Goverment of the day must now come up with a clear process that will totally enable a 50/50 gender representation in our Parliament. Indeed it is time that we as Zimbabwe went beyond mere rhetoric and start to fully resolve the issue of equal representation for women.

The time has now come for all of us to seriously start to work together towards total 50/50 gender representation in all aspects across Zimbabwe. In this regard, the Parliament of Zimbabwe must show true leadership by leading by example.

I further call upon the Zimbabwe Gender Commission to also intensify its leadership role in terms of the initiative to achieve full gender equality in the country.

I also call upon both male and female Parliamentarians to totally reject the recent Cabinet resolution to extend the Women’s Quota by 10 years.

Last but not least, l strongly call upon our Cabinet to start working on mechanisms that will ensure that Zimbabwe totally achieves 50/50 gender representation by 2023.

Lynette Karenyi
MDC Vice-President

A NYANGA family is suffering incessant torment from suspected goblins that have killed more than 10 family members, prompting some members to seek spiritual healing and protection.

Troubled family members last week approached a local prophet who allegedly exposed the culprit behind their torment.

The beleaguered Nzvenga family literally camped at Madzibaba Shepherd Nzira’s shrine in the Hobhouse.

The prophet, who leads the Zvakazarurwa Zvevapostori Church, allegedly retrieved suspected witchcraft paraphernalia comprising of a creepy-like goblin, lance, knobkerrie tied with hyena tail and clay pot filled with blood.

The paraphernalia allegedly belonged to one of the family members (name withheld).

Family members who spoke to The Manica Post after the cleansing rituals in Nyanga confessed being haunted with mysterious deaths among other unexplainable calamities.

“Family members have dying mysteriously until we established that there was witchcraft in the family. We could not figure out who exactly was behind the death of about 10 family members and then engaged Madzibaba Nzira, who exposed the culprit.

“I once confronted him before. I had weird dreams in which he would be trying to stab me. We are happy that Madzibaba Nzira got to the bottom of the mystery and fished out the culprit. He was exposed him. What shocked us most is that inside one of the clay pots was a paper with a list of people that had died mysteriously and earmarked to die. We hope the cleansing rituals will eradicate our problems,” said Mr Francis Nzvenga.

Madzibaba Nzira, who specialises in exorcising evil spirits and settling spiritual battles in families, said more deaths were on the family’s way had they delayed seeking his services.

“People who appeared on a list in the clay pot were bound to die in the near future. I prayed first, and summoned the goblins to expose themselves. The family will not be haunted again,” he said.

—State Media

By A Correspondent- Senior doctors at public hospitals have accused government of committing a silent genocide by refusing to accede to their junior counterparts’ salary demands which has culminated in a two-month-long strike.

In a letter dated October 24 and addressed to Health minister Obadiah Moyo, Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA) said the stand-off was likely to drag on as long as the government continues to persecute junior doctors and cast a blind eye to the current incapacitation at health institutions.

In their letter copied to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the doctors said there was no justification for government to refuse to pay them United States dollar-benchmarked salaries when the cost of most services and goods were pegged in the same currency.

“Goods and services are pegged in US dollars, making our demand reasonable in order to sustain service delivery,” the letter read.

“It is our view that the government is currently committing a silent genocide by casting a blind eye to the current incapacitation in hospitals. May we remind you of the constitutional mandate of the government as spelt out in section 29 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe of 2013.”

The two-month-long strike by members of the Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) has effectively forced hospitals to shut down.

“As doctors, we work as a team, we need junior and middle-level doctors to be able to function. We are against victimisation of our junior colleagues through hearings and threats of suspensions, yet they are finding it difficult to come to work because of poor earnings. Their incapacitation must be resolved,” the letter added.

Government has withheld salaries of all doctors who have been on strike, saying they will not be paid unless they return to work.

“The SHDA finds the withholding of the paltry salaries to be a joke. If there was a salary to talk about, we would have reason to worry. We hope you shall use the withheld cumulative amounts to capacitate hospitals,” SHDA said.

Nurses have been allowed to work flexible hours by coming to work at least two days a week to ensure that they avoid incapacitation, but SHDA said this arrangement was not good for the health delivery system.

“The flexi hours for nurses and other hospital staff system must be abolished with immediate effect as it is detrimental to patient care, causing avoidable morbidity and mortality. No hospital can function and be able to offer services under such arrangements. Senior doctors are not returning to work in flexi-hours system,” the letter read.

-Newsday

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By A Correspondent- The World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will give assistance to the country’s urban poor and food insecure households under its cash transfer programme to alleviate hunger.

This comes as the latest food situation assessment in urban areas observed that an estimated 2,2 million urbanites — haunted by poverty, unemployment and the spiralling costs of basic commodities — are food insecure just like the rural folk.

WFP country director Eddie Rowe said currently the cash transfer programme was having a dry run in Epworth where they are piloting it with 20 000 people.

“According to the urban assessment of food situation three weeks ago, an additional 2,2 million people are food insecure. It is coincidental that of the 2 million that we plan to assist, the US has provided us with resources to cover one million from now to April. Had it not been for the resources, we would be struggling. We would not have had the resources, we expect to be able to support the most vulnerable and chronic food insecure households across the country,” Rowe said.

“So yes, we are looking at providing the cash benefit in towns. Mobile money transfers are easy in urban areas and also the goods are available than in rural areas. What we will be careful about is the price fluctuations. We prefer cash transfer in urban areas.”

He said they are targeting to reach 200 000 urbanites by January next year.

“We will be doing the cash transfer program for the urban poor. Currently, we are carrying a pilot programme in Epworth for 20 000 people where each is getting US$13. We plan to reach 200 000 residents in eight urban areas by January next year,” he said.

Rowe said the government’s ban on the use of the United States dollars and disbanding the multi-currency regime had taken a toll on the WFP’s cash transfer programme.

“We are very much affected (by the ban on the use of the US dollars). In fact, one of the obvious impacts was our ability to continue with the cash transfer programme,” he said.

“In the interest of the beneficiaries to ensure that we maintain the same ration, we made the decision to switch to in-kind (giving them foodstuffs) because even if we give them cash, they could not get the same amount of goods they would get if given foodstuffs.”

— NewsDay

By A Correspondent- A 10 year old girl was buried yesterday while three of her siblings are battling for life at Mpilo Central Hospital after they were burnt following an alleged petrol explosion at their home in Bulawayo’s Gwabalanda suburb.

The mother of the four children, Mrs Lydia Mbadzi, told the state media that she ordered five litres of paraffin from a backyard dealer to make floor polish but was given petrol which caused the fatal explosion.

Mrs Mbadzi was also burnt in the explosion and was hospitalised only to leave Mpilo without being discharged after she heard that her daughter Nokuthaba Mbadzi, a Grade Five pupil at Mazwi Primary had died at the same hospital on Friday.

Mrs Mbadzi’s three other children, all girls aged 19, 17 and four years are in a critical condition at Mpilo following the explosion that occurred last week on Sunday, claiming Nokuthaba’s life.

Nokuthaba was buried yesterday at Luveve Cemetery.

The Chronicle yesterday visited the Mbadzi family home in Gwabalanda.

Mrs Mbadzi in the company of her relatives detailed how the petrol, she thought was paraffin exploded burning her and her four children.

She said she sent her children to buy paraffin which she uses to make floor polish but they were sold petrol.

The petrol triggered an explosion as she started making the polish at around 9PM last week on Sunday.

“It was on Sunday last week, there was no electricity so I decided that I should start making my floor polish. Earlier, in the day I had sent my daughters Nokuthaba and her younger sister who is four years old to buy five litres of paraffin worth $75. They brought it but little did we realise that they had been sold petrol as opposed to paraffin. As I started to make the floor polish, I realised that the flame was too intense, with one of my relatives warning that I should try to put out the fire as it was petrol instead of paraffin,” said Mrs Mbadzi, who had bandages on her right hand.

She said the flames jumped to Nokuthaba who rushed into the house, spreading the fire.

There was an explosion and Mrs Mbadzi and her other children were burnt.

“All of my children sustained serious burns as the whole house caught fire and we were taken to the hospital. Sadly, Nokuthaba passed away on Friday and this forced me to leave the hospital even without being discharged by authorities. But the other children are still at the hospital and in a critical condition. They are in pain, they need medication, they need to dress their wounds, we have tried our best but we still fall short,” she said.

“Each of them needs approximately US$150 every two days to dress their wounds. They each drink approximately 10 litres of water just to remain cool. It’s painful for us, it’s even harder when we visit them and see them in such pain. We can no longer do it on our own. We need help. We are asking for help. May well-wishers and Government chip in and help us, we are in desperate need of assistance to take care of them in hospital.”

Mrs Mbadzi said the children also lost all their property including clothes and blankets in the fire and they would need help in that respect.

She said those who are willing to assist the family can get in touch with her on cell number 0782065024 or visit their home at number 5160 Gwabalanda.

She said one of her daughters has even missed her Form Four public examinations due to the injuries she sustained.

Mrs Mbadzi said what pains her more is that the person who sold them the fuel has not paid them a visit even though he stays nearby.

“It could have been a mistake, we are humans. But he has not even said a word in the spirit of ubuntu. We expected that after the news broke about the disaster, they would have approached as a family but nothing has happened. We are not saying we want payment but in the spirit of ubuntu we expect that by now they should have even sent local leadership to come and explain how we ended up having the highly flammable petrol instead of paraffin as we had ordered,” said Mrs Mbadzi.

Mr Mbadzi was not at home during the time of the interview.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said investigations are in progress.

-StateMedia

A 10-YEAR-OLD was buried yesterday as three of her siblings were battling for life at Mpilo Central Hospital after they were burnt following an alleged petrol explosion at their home in Bulawayo’s Gwabalanda suburb.

The mother of the four children, Mrs Lydia Mbadzi, told The Chronicle that she ordered five litres of paraffin from a backyard dealer to make floor polish but was given petrol which caused the fatal explosion.

Mrs Mbadzi was also burnt in the explosion and was hospitalised only to leave Mpilo without being discharged after she heard that her daughter Nokuthaba Mbadzi, a Grade Five pupil at Mazwi Primary had died at the same hospital on Friday.

Mrs Mbadzi’s three other children, all girls aged 19, 17 and four years are in a critical condition at Mpilo following the explosion that occurred last week on Sunday, claiming Nokuthaba’s life.

Nokuthaba was buried yesterday at Luveve Cemetery.

The Chronicle yesterday visited the Mbadzi family home in Gwabalanda.

Mrs Mbadzi in the company of her relatives detailed how the petrol, she thought was paraffin exploded burning her and her four children.

She said she sent her children to buy paraffin which she uses to make floor polish but they were sold petrol.

The petrol triggered an explosion as she started making the polish at around 9PM last week on Sunday.

“It was on Sunday last week, there was no electricity so I decided that I should start making my floor polish. Earlier, in the day I had sent my daughters Nokuthaba and her younger sister who is four years old to buy five litres of paraffin worth $75. They brought it but little did we realise that they had been sold petrol as opposed to paraffin. As I started to make the floor polish, I realised that the flame was too intense, with one of my relatives warning that I should try to put out the fire as it was petrol instead of paraffin,” said Mrs Mbadzi, who had bandages on her right hand.

She said the flames jumped to Nokuthaba who rushed into the house, spreading the fire.

There was an explosion and Mrs Mbadzi and her other children were burnt.

“All of my children sustained serious burns as the whole house caught fire and we were taken to the hospital. Sadly, Nokuthaba passed away on Friday and this forced me to leave the hospital even without being discharged by authorities. But the other children are still at the hospital and in a critical condition. They are in pain, they need medication, they need to dress their wounds, we have tried our best but we still fall short,” she said.

“Each of them needs approximately US$150 every two days to dress their wounds. They each drink approximately 10 litres of water just to remain cool. It’s painful for us, it’s even harder when we visit them and see them in such pain. We can no longer do it on our own. We need help. We are asking for help. May well-wishers and Government chip in and help us, we are in desperate need of assistance to take care of them in hospital.”

-State Media

By A Correspondent- A Mbare man was yesterday knocked down by a car at the New Government Complex while trying to escape with a stolen iPhone 7.

The incident occurred at corner Simon Muzenda Street and Central Avenue, attracting the attention of passers-by.

Identified as Tatenda Bhirindewere, the man snatched the cellphone from an unidentified woman’s hand and tried to escape but was hit by an on coming car.

Tatenda was taken by the police but later escaped again when they arrived at New Government Complex and was chased by the mob again.

Efforts to get comments from the victim were fruitless as the woman was still in shock.

Onlookers said Tatenda was not alone as he had other gang members that were prepared to help him steal the cellphone.

“We noticed the boys from afar but did not think that they were going to steal at such an open place but little did we know that he had other plans.

“The woman was on her phone and Tatenda came from behind and snatched the phone from the woman,” said an onlooker only identified as Ben.

Another witness named BaMaka said Tatenda was not beaten by anyone but jumped on to an on coming car trying to escape.

“No one touched Tatenda, people only stopped him from escaping with the lady’s cellphone, the guy wanted an iPhone 7 that the woman had.

“Those blood stains on his shirt are a result of being hit by the car as he tried to escape.”

-StateMedia

HIGH Court judge Justice Edith Mushore has ruled in favour of the once exiled businessman James Makamba in a long-drawn Telecel Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd share ownership battle with a war veterans organisation, Magamba eChimurenga Housing Trust.

In the initial application, Magamba eChimurenga Housing Trust, was claiming 24% shareholding in Empowerment Corporation (Private) Limited, the indigenous group that owns shares in Telecel Zimbabwe.

However, in an order granted on October 18, Justice Mushore dismissed the trust’s application with costs.“Whereupon, after reading documents filed of record and hearing counsel, it is ordered that; the application be and is hereby dismissed with costs on an attorney client scale,” she ruled.

Makamba and his firm, Kestrel Corporation (Private) Limited, Empowerment Corporation (Private) Limited, Jane Mutasa, Indigenous Business Women’s Organisation, Selpon Investments (Private) Limited, Carlton Consultancy (Private) Limited, Harare lawyer Gerald Mlotshwa, Telecel and former Information Communication Technology and Cyber Security minister Supa Mandiwanzira were cited as respondents in the matter.

In its founding affidavit, the trust said the government fostered a thrust to empower its citizens through an indigenisation economic policy and the move allowed indigenous groups and entities to take part in the creation of a third cellular network, which resulted in the formation of Telecel.

“Thus, several indigenous groups and individuals, responded to the government clarion call and empowerment drive for the upliftment of the indigenous businesses in the telecommunications industry,” the trust said in its court papers. It added that the companies that formed part of the business included Kestrel Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association led by the late Chenjerai Hunzvi, Indigenous Business Women’s Organisation, Leo Mugabe’s Integrated Engineering Group and Philip Chiyangwa’s Affirmative Action Group, among other entities.

The Andrew Ndlovu-led Magamba eChimurenga had further submitted that the indigenous groups responded to the government quest for indigenisation of the economy in 1997 and that these acted as promoters for the birth of the Empowerment Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, an assertion dismissed by the court.

A LOCAL economist Prosper Chitambara has described Finance minister Mthuli Ncube as a scholar, who is not fit to be Finance minister, because he has an academic and theoretical approach to financial and economic matters.

Chitambara made the remarks in Mutare on Monday while addressing the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe-organised media workshop.

“I think our Finance minister Mthuli Ncube is a scholar. I believe when he came in as the Finance minister he believed that he knew everything and that was wrong. He has not done well as the Finance minister of this country,” Chitambara said.

“At the same time, it is also difficult to judge him because he might be running someone’s vision. If President Emmerson Mngangagwa said no to a policy, what would he say?” he pondered.
When Ncube was appointed to head the Finance ministry in 2018, he promised to turn around the country’s economic fortunes, but has not succeeded.

Chitambara also said the country needs at least US$12 billion for infrastructure development.“The government needs to scale up infrastructure development in the country, mainly targeting rural areas and we will be focusing on agriculture, building roads, irrigation and energy, which is key to any development in the country,” he said.

“We need about US$12 billion to develop our infrastructure into the modern era, but we have a lot of political divisions, we have not yet reached political maturity; leadership should not be feared,” he said

“Development should not divide us, but should unite us. Our resources have not benefited us Zimbabweans.”

Zimbabwe is losing billions of dollars to corruption and has been ranked 160 out of 180 countries in the 2018 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has claimed that the Finance ministry “passed a live snake” to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya after instructing him to issue more Treasury Bills (TBs) amounting to US$202 million to different companies without seeking legislators’ approval.

Mangudya last week appeared before Parliament where PAC, led by Tendai Biti, quizzed him over TBs that were unprocedurally issued as bailouts to different companies in 2017 and 2018.

PAC member Edwin Mushoriwa (MDC Alliance) asked Mangudya to explain some of the TBs that were issued for the Presidential Input Scheme with no supporting letters showing that the RBZ was given authority by the Finance ministry to issue them.

“There were US$202 million TBs with no proof or authorisation letters,” Mushoriwa said.

“For the FSG (Fertiliser Seed and Grain), there were six TBs of US$9,3 million, US$8,1m for Quton, US$8,8m for Windmill, US$132m for Sedco and another US$12m for Windmill, US4,3m for Sable Chemicals and US$8,9m for ZFC, and US$12,8m for Hwange Colliery, among others,” he added.

“The ministry spent money outside the blue book and they said it is not their problem and then they passed the live snake to you. US$2,1 billion was spent in 2017 and US$1,5 billion in 2018 and it means that the bulk of the money was spent outside Parliament approval and outside the Appropriation Act.”

On Monday, the PAC members said they were also keen to grill FSG managing director Steve Morland over US$400m his company allegedly got from Command Agriculture.

Mangudya confirmed that all TBs were authorised by the Finance ministry.

“I would like MPs to learn and understand the role of the central bank because sometimes I think it is blurred. The central bank is a banker to government through the Finance ministry and it is adviser to all banks. It is adviser and fiscal agent to the State and once you (MPs) know the definition it will be easy to understand who gives what.

“Section 6 (1) (g) of the RBZ Act defines our functions, which is the stability of the exchange rate. Section 8 of the RBZ Act says the bank shall act as vendor to the State and carry transactions in such a manner that the State may require and make necessary arrangements. So all the instructions were authorised by the Finance minister,” Mangudya said.

The committee has re-summoned the Finance ministry to appear again before it, as well as FSG, Sakunda and Croco Motors which benefitted from the funds.

Flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo, who is facing a charge of bribery after his company, Intratrek, transferred $10 000 to former Zimbabwe Power Company board chairperson Stanley Kazhanje’s personal bank account to try to influence the outcome of a tender process, is set to stand trial on November 18, 2019.

Chivayo and Kazhanje appeared before Harare provincial magistrate Francis Mapfumo, who remanded them to November 18 for trial.

Allegations are that in September 2013, ZPC invited bids for the construction of the Gwanda solar project and Chivayo, through Intratrek Zimbabwe, expressed interest.
In October 2015, the ZPC board held a meeting with Kazhanje as board chairperson.

During the meeting, Kazhanje allegedly directed that the ZPC management should award the tender to Intratrek.

It is averred that in the same month, the contract was signed between ZPC management and Intratrek without the latter providing a bank guarantee.

Chivayo then reportedly transferred $10 000 bribe money from an Intratrek bank account to Kazhanje’s account.

The prosecution alleged that Kazhanje received the money knowing fully well that it was bribe money to influence the ZPC board into picking Intratrek for the project.

Paul Nyathi|TWO people were on Monday 28 October 2019 set free after they were arrested and charged with undermining police authority and defeating or obstructing the course of justice for allegedly passing on some offensive comments about the anti-sanction march organised by government last week.

ZRP officers arrested Charles Ngwena, the Councillor for Ward 4 in Marondera Central constituency and Paul Chikuni, a municipal police officer employed by Marondera Municipality on Saturday 26 October 2019 and charged them with undermining police authority as defined in Section 177(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act or alternatively with defeating or obstructing the course of justice as defined in Section 184(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

Prosecutors told Marondera Magistrate Patience Chirimo that Ngwena and Chikuni, who were represented by Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, undermined police authority when he questioned why the ZRP officers were arresting some vendors who were struggling to make ends and yet they were not bothered about apprehending President Emmerson Mnangagwa whose government organised an anti-sanctions protest last week.

Ngwena reportedly uttered the following words; “Mapurisa munopenga munosunga vanhu vanotambura endai munosunga Emmerson ari busy kuita ma anti sanctions” which was translated to mean “Police you are mad. You are arresting poor people. Go and arrest Emmerson who is organising anti-sanctions”.

On the charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, prosecutors accused Ngwena and Chikuni of hindering three ZRP officers from executing their duties when they grabbed a pushcart containing some bananas and which belongs to Patrick Chabvata, a vendor and pushed it away.

The incident reportedly took place near Marondera Municipality offices as the ZRP officers were escorting Chabvata to Marondera Police Station after arresting him for illegal vending.

Prosecutors claimed that an altercation ensued between Ngwena, Chikuni and the three police officers and this attracted members of the public who gathered around the scene resulting in the law enforcements agents leaving the scene fearing for their safety.

Ngwena and Chikuni, prosecutors charged, had no right to act in the manner they did.

Magistrate Chirimo granted $100 bail each to Ngwena and Chikuni and ordered them to continue residing at their given residential addresses and not to interfere with State witnesses until the matter is finalised.

The duo returns to court on Monday 11 November 2019, where their trial is expected to commence.

Source; Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

www.zlhr.org.zw

IOL|Fuel prices and telecom tariffs in Zimbabwe have been hiked, with consumers in the economically country taking a further knock and prices as well as commuter fares expected to increase further.

Zimbabweans are currently grappling with austerity measures under Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s economic reform program. Petroleum pricing were liberalised earlier this year as the government removed subsidies.

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority said late last night that blended petrol will cost ZWL16.75 per liter, up from ZWL14.97 while the diesel price has also risen from ZWL15.64 to ZWL17.47.

“For the first time since the interbank was introduced, the fuel price has been aligned with the prevailing interbank rate of the day,” said economists at Market Watch Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

According to ZERA, the interbank exchange rate for petroleum imports is currently pegged at 1:15.57. However, accessing forex on the interbank market has been problematic, according to business executives inside Zimbabwe.

Moreover, exchange rates on the parallel markets have surpassed 1:20. Telecom companies have also been battling against the exchange fluctuations and have been adjusting data prices in line with the exchange rates movements.

Econet Wireless, the biggest telco in Zimbabwe, on Tuesday advised its subscribers “to take note of our new tariffs effective 29 0ctober 2019 via text message. The new tariff adjustments have affected both voice and data calling costs on the network

According to a schedule released by the company, it now costs ZWL0.96 to call for a minute on the Econet network. Data tariffs have now been pegged at 0.19 per Megabyte.

“Whilst Econet and NetOne have adjusted pricing around similar times, at the time of writing NetOne hasn’t adjusted their pricing and their bundles are much more competitive than what is being dangled by Econet. Where ZWL20 gets you 250MB with Econet, the same amount gets NetOne subscribers 1GB of data,” commented the Techzim blog.

There have been calls for data prices to fall but the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe has defended operators in the industry – which also include state owned NetOne and Telecel as well as fixed phone operator TelOne – saying they have foreign currency denominated components on their cost structures.

Zimbabweans can now expect a further rise in inflation as retailers and commuter operators will likely pass on the costs to consumers. 

President Emerson Mnangagwa cautioned against further increases of prices of goods and commodities by retailers and other businesses.

His administration has also resisted instituting price controls. United States based economist, Steve Hanke measures Zimbabwe’s “annual inflation at 754%” although Ncube says the country’s month on month inflation is slowing down after the government discontinued publication of year on year inflation data.

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) yesterday increased the price of fuel by 12 percent, after keeping the price unchanged for previous two consecutive weeks.

The temporary reprieve had come as a relief to motorists and consumers who had become used to weekly price hikes since the once-a-week reviews were introduced over two months ago.

The authority said the price of petrol, effective October 28, would be $16.75 per litre from $14.97, while diesel was up by $1.83 to $17.47 per litre.

“Operators may, however, sell at prices below the cap depending on their trading advantages,” Zera said.

The price increase was mainly influenced by exchange rate movements as the local currency continues to slide against major currencies. At the last price review, the floating inter-bank rate was US$1 to ZWL$13, but in the past two weeks it had depreciated to US$1 to $16.

From August, Zera had been increasing fuel prices weekly in tandem with the floating exchange rate and international price movements, much to the chagrin of motorists. This was after Government stopped subsidising the price of fuel, allowing sellers to buy foreign currency on the open market to import the commodity.

But inspite of the constant price increases, the commodity has remained scarce, with winding queues a common feature at most fuel stations. Government blames foreign currency shortages for the fuel shortages, which have persisted for years. — New Ziana

State Media|AT least 2 865 Zimbabweans have been arrested in South Africa for committing various criminal offences between 2016 and this year, a situation that left Zimbabwe with the highest number of arrested nationals in the neighbouring country.

According to statistics by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department posted over the weekend, Zimbabwe had the highest number of arrested nationals during the past three years.

The statistics were posted on Sunday by the outgoing Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba.
South Africa Police Services (SAPS) arrested 2 865 Zimbabweans in the period in question, while Nigerians were second with 765 arrests.

SAPS also arrested 420 Malawians, 334 Tanzanians and 91 Ugandans.
The highest number of Zimbabweans were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, while others were arrested for theft and possession of counterfeit goods.

At least 691 of the Zimbabweans were arrested for murder, while 37 were nabbed for bribing South African officers.
Meanwhile, more than 30 Zimbabwean women suspected to be victims of human trafficking were rescued by South African police from brothels in eMalahleni, formerly Witbank, in Mpumalanga Province where their captors used them as sex slaves.

According to reports, the Zimbabweans were part of a group of 50 victims, among them males from other countries which included the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and locals.

South African provincial police spokesperson for Mpumalanga Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the suspected victims of human trafficking were rescued in a pre-dawn raid on Friday last week targeting various houses in eMalahleni.

“As police, we acted on a tip-off and raided houses which were used as brothels in eMalahleni to rid the area of drugs and prostitution and rescued 50 foreign nationals,” he said.

“They were all undocumented, a majority of whom were from Zimbabwe.

“We also arrested more than 60 people for various offences, including prostitution, possession of drugs and human trafficking.”

Brig Hlathi said the area targeted was believed to be harbouring prostitutes, drug dealers and illegal foreign nationals.

“We raided that place informed by an incident that happened during the week in which a 39-year-old woman reported to the taxi people that she was subjected to severe rape and fed with drugs in a particular house in Witbank,” he said.

“The taxi rank people then went to torch three houses, as well as a business believed to belong to foreign nationals.”
During the operation, police barricaded the streets and raided the houses.
Brig Hlathi said similar operations would be conducted in other towns in the province.

State Media|FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube has the unenviable task of prescribing a set of policies and measures to breathe life into a sluggish economy beset by galloping inflation and currency volatility when he presents the 2020 National Budget tentatively set for next week. Treasury sources told The Herald Finance and Business that the finance minister will present his budget statement on November 4, 2019 amid high expectations and a myriad of economic issues to address in order to stabilise the economy and place it on sustainable and fast growth path.

The minister needs a coterie of measures and policies that stabilise unrelenting battering of the economy from galloping prices caused by constantly rising exchange rate, shortage of foreign currency needed for imports as well as acute power shortage.

Amid reform induced currency and economic instability, Zimbabwe’s inflation has raced from a lowly 5,39 percent in September 2018 to 175,5 percent by June this year, eroding purchasing power for the majority of people whose incomes have not grown in tandem with fast rising prices.

Further, the Treasury chief will announce measures to further drive the reform agenda under Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), as

well as interventions to grow the economy, which is projected to contract by up to 6 percent this year on account of drought and impact of Cyclone Idai.

Already, inflation has skyrocketed from a lowly 5,39 percent in September 2018 just before the onset of ongoing reforms and a series of policy changes aimed at putting in place sustainable economic growth policies and measures.

The interventions will also seek to entrench initiatives targeted at fiscal consolidation and cutting budget deficits.

Other challenges in the economy include low industrial and agricultural production, little investment inflows, high cost of business, ease of doing business constraints, multiplicity of taxes and poor infrastructure.

State Media|The High Court has ordered Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo to pay $306 793 to the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) for electricity supplied at his Mavesere Farm in Kwekwe.

High Court judge Justice Mary Zimba-Dube granted the order in favour of ZETDC on October 15 after the parties signed a deed of settlement.

“The defendant (Moyo) shall pay the sum of $306 793 to the plaintiff (ZETDC) together with interest thereon at the prescribed rate of interest calculated from May 13, 2019 to date of payment, both dates inclusive,” said Justice Dube.

“The amount shall be paid in terms of deed of settlement made and entered by and between the parties. The defendant shall pay the plaintiff’s cost of suit.”

ZETDC took Minister Moyo to the High Court over a US$414 775,79 debt, which he denied owing.

“The defendant has failed, neglected or refused to pay the above sum/amount despite demand,” said ZETDC.

“By reason of the said failure, neglect or refusal to pay the above sum/amount, the defendant is obliged to pay the same with interest thereon at the prescribed rate which is currently five percent per annum.

“Defendant specifically avers that the customer information printout does not correctly reflect the electricity consumed by defendant. Defendant denies utilising the electricity reflected in Annexure A. Plaintiff is accordingly put to the strict proof of the fact that they consumed the said electricity.

“Alternatively, defendant avers that plaintiff’s claim has prescribed. The alleged claim being for a debt or liquidated demand is now prescribed. More specifically, the claims from February 11, 2013 to May 11, 2017 are all prescribed.

“Defendant further avers that the figures inserted in Annexure A are fictitious, as evidenced by the claim of US$155 414,27 which appears on invoice number 356572323 dated July 23, 2014 and the claim for US$11 566,33 which appears on invoice number 536872434 dated November 14, 2017.”

In the plaintiff’s replication, ZETDC vowed to prove that it was owed the amount being claimed. The utility insists that the debt was acknowledged and periodic payments were made.

“The contract of supply of power is current and ongoing, plaintiff continues to supply while defendant continues to receive power, on the other hand,” read the papers.

State Media|Zimbabwe can expect a more stable exchange rate and prices going forward after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) froze bank accounts holding idle funds that were being used to speculate on currency. The frozen accounts held about $1 billion paid from Treasury Bill maturities and the money was being used to buy foreign currency on the market in a manner that caused exchange rate instability.

The accounts include but are not limited to those for Sakunda, Access Finance, Spartan Security, Croco Motors and related companies, which were frozen last month by the bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Authorities said yesterday that the funds had since been “sterilised”, meaning they can no longer be used for speculative currency buying, which caused the run on the exchange rate and stocked inflation.

A high exchange rate drove prices in the imports-dependent economy given the rate’s cost implications on imported products at a time Zimbabwe is facing industrial and agricultural production challenges.

The speculative currency buying, which was rife on both formal and informal markets inadvertently drove the domestic currency exchange rate run and exerted pressure on prices as well as inflation.

This had seen Zimbabwe’s annual inflation skyrocketing from 5,39 percent in September last year to about 175,5 percent when official yearly inflation figures were last announced for June this year.

Publication of annual inflation has been suspended until February next year, following currency changes in February and June, to allow like-for-like comparison of pricing trends based on domestic currency induces.

Inflation is projected to fall in the outlook, with the monthly rate dropping from 39,26 percent in June this year to 18,07 percent in August and 17,72 percent in September. The figure is seen at 10-12 percent by year-end.

RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya said at a briefing with media and bank executives in Harare after the bank’s first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this week that the idle funds had been sterilised.

“We have addressed the speculative tendencies that came with the increase in money supply; the reserve money. The money that increased due to increases in reserve money; we have sterilised it here at the bank.

“In other words, the money that caused the increase in the exchange rate and therefore inflation; we have sterilised it and that is some of the money that we are going to redeploy for the agricultural sector this year.

“That we have addressed, as the MPC, we deliberated on the matter extensively and came to the conclusion that we are satisfied with sterilisation of that money. Sterilisation is mopping of money from the market and putting it at the central bank to remove its effect of causing other havocs on the market.

“The foreign exchange generating capacity of this economy is still sufficient to support a stable exchange rate. This is also reflected in the projected narrowing of the current account deficit to 1,5 percent by year end,” he said.

Dr Mangudya also said only 50 corporates hold half the total banking sector deposits of $19 billion and were behind money market activities that were hurting the domestic currency introduced in February this year.

“So, 50 corporates account for 50 percent of the deposits in this country. Fifty percent of that $19 billion is in the hands of 50 corporates. It means we are predominantly poor because the rest of the people own the other 50 percent of the deposits.”

Dr Mangudya said the central bank and the MPC had taken note of the irregularities, adding it is “very easy for us to monitor the movements of money in those accounts because they are not too many”.

The central bank chief said measures had been put in place to contain money supply growth, which has already expanded by 80 percent since January, within the 50 percent band by the end of this year.

The exchange rate weakened to US$1 to $15,6 from US$1 to $2,5 when the exchange rate was liberalised and interbank market introduced in February, but the RBZ says it should be around US$1 to $5-$8.

Dr Mangudya said the economy, which has generated US$5,7 billion since the beginning of the year, and registered US$1,3 billion trades on the interbank market, had capacity to sustain a low exchange rate.

Economist and MPC member Mr Eddie Cross said the Government and central bank had frozen the accounts to hold the cash used to buy foreign currency, which will stop the run on the exchange rate and help stabilise prices.

“What happened was that certain Treasury Bills that were due, were paid out and this resulted in a massive injection of liquid currency into the market and the beneficiaries of that payment started buying foreign exchange on the market and that drove the (exchange) rate up,” Mr Cross said.

State Media|THREE Form Six pupils at Gebhuza Secondary School in Hwange were allegedly found with an Economics examination question paper before the exam.

The Economics A’ Level paper was written on Monday.

One of the three candidates (names provided) allegedly told school authorities that he got the soft copy of the question paper from a WhatsApp group where it was allegedly posted and he sold it to the other two.

Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) spokesperson Ms Nicky Dlamini confirmed the leakage and said an investigation into the matter had been opened.

“We received a report about the issue and our officers are on the ground carrying out investigations,” she said.

“We understand that police went to the school to talk to the head and have taken the students involved for questioning.

“We are still investigating circumstances around the alleged leakage as this becomes the first paper to leak this exam period.”

Acting Matabeleland North police spokesperson Sergeant Namatirai Mashona could not comment on the issue.

A source at the school told our Bulawayo Bureau that an Economics teacher, a Mr Mandira, exposed the three pupils.

“The pupils approached their teacher before the exam and asked to be helped to answer some questions,” he said. “He told them to focus on what he had taught them, but after seeing the paper he noticed that all the questions they asked him about were in the question paper.

“The teacher reported the matter to the headmistress who summoned the pupils upon which they said they got the question paper from a WhatsApp group where it had been posted.”

The source said some members of the alleged WhatsApp group started exiting after getting wind about the investigations.

State Media|New $5 notes and $2 coins will be in circulation within a fortnight to ease cash shortages that have resultedin cash barons charging premiums of up to 60 percent and the unscrupulous breaking of the law with two-tier pricing for digital money and cash.

This was announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mangudya yesterday.

The new notes and coins will not be inflationary as RTGS dollars will be removed from circulation as cash is issued.

Briefing the media after a two-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) yesterday, Dr Mangudya said the new notes and coins will circulate alongside bond coins and notes and have the same value.

The injection of additional cash into circulation will also see an upward review of daily withdrawal limits. These will be announced later.

Explaining why more cash will not fuel inflation, the governor said: “When you are substituting your cash for plastic money, you don’t increase inflation, but what it does, it will help the population . . . to the extent that people are going to use their money without being charged premiums.”

Zimbabwe has experienced cash shortages over the past few years despite the introduction of bond notes in 2016 to supplement the US dollars, a dominant currency under the multi-currency regime adopted in 2009, but ended in June this year.

But the supply of local dollars remained limited, with cash hoarders pulling enough out of circulation to cause the premiums.

Most Zimbabweans need cash for kombi fares and, if they can get cash without a premium, they can buy cheaper goods in the informal sector where two-tier pricing is rampant.

Mobile and digital money has largely replaced cash for most transactions, but these two areas still remain and raise effective prices for those forced to pay the premiums to commute to work or use nearby vendors and tuckshops rather than pay expensive fares to reach a shopping centre.

Dr Mangudya said the committee had noted that the level of physical cash in the economy was inadequate to meet transactional demand, considering that the current proportion of cash to broad money supply of four percent was lower compared to regional and international levels of 10 to 15 percent.

This low ratio had resulted in an undesirable cash premium which the “committee would like to see eliminated.”

“In this regard, the committee noted with satisfaction the fact that the domestic economy in 2019 achieved new heights in terms of the utilisation of electronic systems for market transactions,” said Dr Mangudya.

“However, the committee felt that there was a need to boost the domestic availability of cash for transactional purposes through a gradual increase in cash supply over the next six months.”

On why the MPC decided to issue smaller denominations given recent inflation, Dr Mangudya said: “We thought of being conservative and we will graduate with time.”

Monthly inflation is expected to drop to between 10 and 12 percent by year end.

Dr Mangudya said while the economy will contract by 6,5 percent this year due to the effects of drought and Cyclone Idai, basic economic fundamentals “remain sound” to meet the country’s stabilisation and development objectives.

The country’s foreign currency generation capacity is also sufficient to support a stable currency.

At US$780 million, funds in nostro accounts are at their highest level since 2009, while forex receipts are averaging US$500 million a month.

Economist Mr Brains Muchemwa said the immediate impact of increasing the supply of cash would be the disappearance of “unreasonable” premiums on cash.

“The reluctance to inject more cash (by RBZ) was so worrying because we can’t have poor citizens, already ravaged by inflation, to pay so huge premiums charged by mobile money agents and retailers when transacting using other form payments,” he said.

“This will definitely bring sanity.”

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the new notes and coins were “not a new currency”.

“We have that already,” he said. “What is happening is a cash injection to deal with the cash shortages and reduce arbitrage opportunities. The new currency was introduced on the 24th of June through Statutory Instrument 142.”

Prof Ncube could not divulge how much of the new notes and coins would be circulated, saying he was leaving the “technicalities to the RBZ”.

Consumers hope the introduction of more physical notes will not only eliminate premiums on cash, but also remove multi-tier pricing that was prejudicing citizens of the true value of their earnings.

“We hope this is not just mere talk and we expect the central bank to release enough cash to meet demand,” said Ms Judith Marizane, a Harare roadside fruit vendor.

“The general public has suffered for quite long. Their spending power is being eroded by huge premiums and we hope this will bring all this madness to an end.”

GOVERNMENT has appointed a seven-member commission to consider Zvishavane Town Council’s application to be accorded municipality status.

In a notice published in the
Government Gazette, the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, July Moyo, appointed the commission to make recommendations to him.

The Minister said the commission would be chaired by former Kwekwe City Council town clerk Mr Emmanuel Musara.

“Other members of the commission are chief director Urban Local Authorities, Ms Erica Jones; Engineer Edward Njoma; Spatial planner, Ms Abigail Chitika; Finance Advisor, Mr Thompson Marufu; Legal officer Ms Kudzai Murefu and administrative officer, Mr David Maurukira who will be the commission secretary,” said Minister Moyo in the Gazette.

In an interview yesterday, Zvishavane Town Council secretary Mr Tinoda Mukutu said the local authority is excited that the ministry is finally according them an opportunity to prove that they are ready to be a municipality.

He said they applied for municipality status last year.
“We applied sometime last year for municipal status and Government has responded positively and the commission is coming in to see if we deserve the big status but we feel we do,” said Mr Mukutu.

He said Zvishavane was growing and now has a Midlands State University (MSU) campus.

“We have the infrastructure from roads to sewer and treatment works. Our Central Business District (CBD) has shops such as OK Supermarket, Pote Holdings, Pick n Pay and financial services are also there. We have Mimosa Mine and other companies that are supporting the ever growing population,” said Mr Mukutu.State media

Watch video below. ..

CHIMURENGA guru Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo has announced that his days of live performances are numbered as he now wants to rest after a career that has spanned over six decades and over 25 music albums.

Mukanya, as he is affectionately known, is currently on a tour of South Africa and held his first show at Ekurhuleni Boksburg Hotel on Saturday night.

“There is a time for everything.
Izvi zve ma live performances very soon tirikumira. We will do one last world tour to say farewell.

We will only be performing here and there on special occasions asi toramba hedu tirimo mu music industry but zve stage we will not be doing so. This will happen very very soon, as soon as next year,” said Mapfumo, speaking alongside his manager Sam Mataure.
The Oregon-based Mapfumo is currently working on a new album which he says is going to be different from the usual Chimurenga beat.

“Music evolves and in our upcoming album we will fuse in new things never heard before. We are not completely dumping our beat but will enhance it. Just wait and see in the coming few months,” he added.

On who he thinks will succeed him he said Zimbabwe has a lot of talent that can take the baton from the older generation and run with it into the future.

“There are a number of young men and women who are doing well in Zimbabwe. They must remain original. Pane anonzi Andy Muridzo akatuma vamwe amai kuti vandifonere. Aiti anoda collaboration ndakatomumirira izvozvi . That way we can pass on what we know to the younger generation.H-Metro

Farai Dziva|
A Rio Tinto Agricultural College lecturer is being accused of s_xually exploiting female students.

He is also accused of victimising those who turn down his advances.

According to ZBC News, the lecturer identified as Nkululeko Lozane, denied the allegations and blamed “haters” for the rumours.

“There is politics here, I am aware of the allegations but I did not do anything wrong. I am a married person I have my family. These students are being sent by haters to destroy me. Can I call you later; can I call on this number? Please write a balanced story,” the lecturer told ZBC News.

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By Mfundo Mlilo- The SOCA is an important event in the calendar of any progressive city that seeks to engage its key constituents and build collective understanding of the successes made and challenges they are facing. Given that Mayor Herbert Gomba has hit the one-year mark of his 2018-2023 term, this is a critical time to take stock of the work already achieved and challenges ahead.

Mayors and cities have become important players in solving the ‘perilous challenges’ of local and global governance given that the nation-state is increasingly democratically and administratively dysfunctional. Benjamin Barber a prominent scholar of governance in his seminal work, “If Mayors Ruled the World”, cites the, “unique qualities cities worldwide share: pragmatism, civic trust, participation, indifference to borders and sovereignty, and a democratic penchant for networking, creativity, innovation, and cooperation”.

They have become political protagonists and important centres of global value chains. But is the City of Harare up to this task? The Mayor presented a long but detailed address signifying both the great work achieved and the challenges that lay ahead.

The title of the Mayors address is, “New Hope: Towards a Smart City” but What hope? and what smart City? is the question that the Mayor sought to unpack. Given the economic and political challenges facing Zimbabwe, it is notable that at the very least the Mayor and his team have kept the City afloat despite massive challenges facing local authorities.

His honest engagements and understanding of the problems at hand have been his key weapons. On assuming office the Mayor has been implementing the 100 day plan initiatives which have seen several projects being undertaken key among which have been, performance based contracts for senior management and the appointment of a substantive town clerk after nearly 3 years, audits into land sales and markets which have unearthed serious financial leakages, construction of the Glen Eagle/High Glen traffic circles, improvements in revenue collection to an 68% efficiency, replacement of the old billing system, clearing an 8 months’ salary backlog, City beautification program which is changing the outlook of Harare, completion of the Tariro Hopley Clinic and Kuwadzana library.

The Mayor announced much to the celebration by residents that the City will no longer fund its football team; Harare City Football club owing to unsustainable costs. This is a great move and allows the City to streamline its resources and focus on core service delivery issues. Listening to the litany of projects the City is engaged in. There is hope that- Indeed Mayor Gomba and is team are at work to deliver services.

The proposed comprehensive urban renewal program is set to change the City of Harare and already the response by the private sector has been pleasing. Econet Zimbabwe has adopted First street for an urban concept remake as part of the City strides to boost tourism and investment. This has been tied with enterprise reform of council business.

The creation and commercialization of City parking is bearing fruit as the entity has already remitted about RTGS 1.3 million in dividends. In its basic form a smart city is one that incorporates information and communication technologies to enhance the quality of its urban services. These technologies are applied in transportation, energy generation, healthcare, buildings, water and public safety.

The City is therefore smart when investments into human and social capital, together with ICT infrastructure, leads to sustainable growth and enhances quality of life. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this direction.

The city’s traffic management strategy, solar powered clinics and traffic lights fall into this category. However, the City of Harare could benefit its residents with quality service if they fully embrace technology (smart city) initiatives in its work. For starters, the City loses over 60% of treated water each day due to non-revenue water a problem technology could address.

A computerized lease management system will also go a long way in improving revenue collections. The Mayor must nudge council to adopt the full spectrum of technology and smart projects at its disposal to improve service delivery.

But it is not all rosy. There are massive problems facing Harare resulting both from poor policy making to internal organizational issues. The City of Harare faces serious water shortages largely due to high purification costs needed to clean sufficient amounts to cater for the City’s needs at its main source, lake Chivero.

The response by the Mayor has been pleasing. For the first time in years the City declared a state of emergency on the water crisis which allows it to mobilise local and international support. The Ministry of Finance responded to this call and allocated RTGS 37,4 million dollar financial bailout.

At least RTGS 6,1 million dollars in intergovernmental fiscal transfer has been received to date and being utilized for water projects. The City has procured 9 water bowsers, 5 delivered and 4 under production, to be utilized in areas that do not access water.

The short term solution in terms of Council is to procure a mobile modular water treatment as part of its 2020 budget year plans. In the long term, construction of Kunzvi dam is an urgent priority that the national government must invest in.

But there are big challenges that lay ahead. At a global scale these challenges emanate from the reality that the City is not spared by the challenges facing Zimbabwe. The shortage of foreign currency has meant that local authorities are unable to discharge their mandate and provide reliable services.

Water services have been hard hit and it seems the problem will continue to expand. In an era of diminished revenue collections and no foreign currency the City must devise new strategies for raising funds. Without these strategies Harare will ground to a halt.

The City must plug loses and avoid wasteful expenditure and dealing with corruption must be high on the agenda for the next annual cycle. Land is an important assert of the City. I am aware that the City currently does not have a credible land bank which it can use as part of land sales and leases.

This is unacceptable and as recommended by a special committee on land sales in August 2019 Harare, loses millions of dollars each because of illicit land deals. The City must follow up on its un-serviced debts and leases.

Currently, the city of Harare has nonperforming leases running into millions of dollars. This is the critical revenue it needs to function and boggles one’s mind why these have not been followed. Some of the challenges require central governmental intervention.

The City has proposed a 20% infrastructure development fund to support purchase and maintenance of public infrastructure. This proposal must be tied with the speedy implementation of devolution. Devolution provides several opportunities for local economic development and comprehensive City planning.

In the final analysis, the one year in office by Mayor Gomba and his team has been about laying the groundwork for a working City. There are clear successes as well as challenges. The Mayor is lucky to work with a sober and professional Town Clerk geared towards delivering a service. If City of Harare is to be a successful global city, it must certainly change path.

What has taken it here cannot certainly move the City forward. Key decisions in revenue collection, combating corruption and strategy planning and reform of its bureaucracy are needed. So far everything is work in progress.

Mfundo Mlilo is an Urban Planner based in Harare and works with the Zimbabwe Transition Initiatives.

By A Correspondent- The Combined Harare Residents Association has said that it will soon name and shame Harare City Council Officials who are approving illegal residential stands deals.

The remarks come when the local government authority has in the past been demolishing “illegal” structures leaving residents stranded.

The council has also been issuing statements alerting land seekers of fraudsters who would allocate them land at undesignated places.

The involvement of city officials makes it difficult for residents to distinguish between bogus and genuine land developers. 

Posting on Facebook, the association said:

CHRA has unearthed a massive housing stands scandal in Warren Park 1. The scandal involves senior council officials who are approving infill stands at undesignated areas and residents have been up in arms with the officials.

MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW AS WE NAME AND SHAME

Last Friday, ZOL announced new pricing for Wibroniks packages, they’ve followed that up with a new price list for fibre subscribers.

We’ve had a problem with ZOL’s communication before and it seems that doesn’t change much. In their official communication to customers, ZOL chose not to write down the actual data allocations for each of the capped packages instead of opting to fill the data column for these with “Pay as you go”. Pay as you go isn’t data but the duration of the packages – sometimes you just can’t shake your head enough as you see these official communications. Instead of filling the columns with Pay as you go, we put in the data that comes with these packages at the present moment. We’re not sure if that will remain the case come November 1 but you have ZOL to thank for the slight confusion.

Anyway, Office packages for Fibroniks users will similarly be getting price adjustments:

Finally, Wibroniks top-ups also got adjusted:

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