Uladi Mussa, a senior aide to Malawi President Peter Mutharika, and his wife Cecilia have been banned from entry into the United States due to allegations of "significant corruption", the U.S. Embassy said on Wednesday. Is this a good or bad move by the US?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) July 3, 2019

By Own Correspondent- Uladi Mussa, a senior aide to Malawi President Peter Mutharika, and his wife Cecilia have been banned from entry into the United States due to allegations of “significant corruption”, the U.S. Embassy said on Wednesday.

“In cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States,” the embassy said in a statement.

It said Mussa had engaged in and benefited from public corruption in relation to his official duties while minister of home affairs from 2012-2014 when he served in former president Joyce Banda’s administration.

Mussa was arrested in March last year and charged with abuse of office by the southern African country’s anti-corruption bureau relating to the issuance of Malawian passports to foreigners during his term as minister.

Mussa has denied the charges. He told Reuters he was surprised by the U.S. decision as his case was still ongoing.

Mutharika vowed in May that he would not spare anyone found abusing their official positions, in an apparent response to allegations of corruption that marked his first term.-Reuters

ZimEye will be going live shortly amid revelations that the woman allegedly impregnated by PHD leader Walter Magaya, Chenai Hassan Maenzanise while she was 17 years old has raised the flag that all is not well, requesting her mother to quickly come to her home.

Chenai’s mother, who last week appeared in a video interview dubbed the A show by Enisia Mashusha, narrating how her 17 year old daughter was impregnated by the preacher, is on record telling ZimEye that her daughter’s latest video where she appeared saying all was well and she was not raped by Magaya was stage managed.

“I know my daughter. She has shut us out but something is going on and i am sure that all is not well,” said Mrs Maenzanise last night.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for latest updates.

By Own Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has accused some businesses of hiking prices of goods and services and keeping them high even though the rate of the US dollar has fallen on the black market.

He advised members of the public to boycott the businesses while warning such businesses that the government will soon descend hard on them.

Addressing a crowd in Manicaland on Monday during the commissioning of the Tanganda-Ngundu road,

President Mnangagwa said:

Kana kuna vaya vaya anamuzvina bhizinisi varikuramba vakakwidza mitengo, aiwa varegei vakadaro.

Pindai muma shop evadzikisa mitengo, anenge achidhurisa kwete. Tiri kuvarongera. Yavo shamu irikugadzirwa zvakanaka naka, yaiswa pamushana … mumvura mune munyu.

(If there are businesses that are still charging high prices, ignore them and buy from shops that have lowered their prices.

We have a plan for those that are charging these high prices … we are putting in place measures that will see those businesses being punished accordingly).

Government officials have in the past spoken against price increases but recently, there has been the talk of establishing “Silo Shops” which will be selling goods at low prices.-DailyNews

By Own Correspondent- Government officials have wasted millions of dollars released by Treasury for programmes meant to benefit vulnerable people and the education sector, the Auditor General, Mrs Mildred Chiri, has said.

In her report for 2018, the AG said only one percent of the total expenditure incurred by most ministries was spent on implementing Government programmes leading to failure to achieve service delivery mandates.

Some ministries and departments left monies lying idle until they were recalled by Treasury while others diverted funds for important programmes to pay themselves allowances.

Mrs Chiri said the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare received $9 759 722 for vulnerable households in 2018 but failed to pay the intended beneficiaries until Treasury recalled the funds on December 31 last year. 

“The Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) is an unconditional transfer of cash entitlements to vulnerable households in order to reduce household poverty, protect and enhance the livelihoods of all vulnerable children so that they refrain from risky coping strategies like child labour and early marriages,” she said. 

“However, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare did not initiate appropriate measures to ensure that beneficiaries received their pay outs. The funds were later recalled by Treasury on December 31, 2018 after realising that no disbursements were effected by the Ministry.” 

Mrs Chiri said the non-disbursement of funds deprived beneficiaries of a reasonable standard of life.

She said the Ministry also used some funds meant for Old People’s Homes to pay travel and subsistence allowances.

“In 2017 Treasury released a grant amounting to $100 000 for the development and promotion of the welfare and protection of older persons. The fund administrators disbursed only $38 586 (39 percent) to Old People’s Homes to cater for the welfare of older persons and used the remainder towards administration expenses such as institutional provisions, hospitality and travelling and subsistence allowances,” Mrs Chiri said. 

#InPictures: The National Standing Committee meets at #MorganTsvangiraiHouse@molokele @luke_tambo pic.twitter.com/rTjC6EAwwu

— Citizens' Coalition for Change (@CCCZimbabwe) July 3, 2019

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said that it has arrested more than 4 000 touts (mahwindi) and impounded over 3 000 unregistered vehicles in Harare since January.

A statement posted on the ZRP Twitter handle also revealed that the operation is being conducted nationally.

It said:

The ZRP’s operations aimed at bringing sanity in CBDs throughout the country are continuing.

In Harare police has accounted for 4463 mushikashika vehicles during the period Jan – 30th June 2019, 4093 touts have been arrested while 3132 unregistered vehicles were impounded.

Meanwhile, in Bulawayo, the ZRP has arrested 2112 suspects for obstructing the free passage of traffic in the CBD and 98 for exchange control dealings since January 2019.

Police urge the public to engage in lawful business activities which do not make them susceptible to arrests.

Someone said 2 me: Kudzi, Lobels is closing its bakery

I said: Let it close. All the big bakeries can close. It's now time for Community bakeries. No need for long distance bread deliveries!

Pic below: Zanu Pf Members at their bakery. We will work on the quality, but we started pic.twitter.com/MKm3qf67A3

— ?????? ?????? (@KMutisi) July 3, 2019

Following the meeting ZINA had with the Presidium on 21st June 2019 from which a commitment to review cost of living by July 1st 2019, the National Executive followed up with the responsible line Ministery this morning and below is the latest information availed.

i) An announcement will be done this week as directed by Cabinet resolution of 2nd July 2019.

ii) Treasury is finalising the framework to adjust remuneration with an ultimate goal of restoring purchasing power.

However, the said adjustments and implementation dates are not in the public domain.

As of today, we do not know the Government’s offer raising fears on certainty regarding fulfilment of the commitment made by the Government to review the cost of living by 1st July 2019.

The National Executive stand guided by your contribution regarding this matter.

Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya has lost the presidency of the small-scale miners’ body after her appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Ms Rushwaya had earlier been stripped of the ZMF presidency by the High Court, but filed an appeal on April 4, 2019. The Supreme Court dismissed Ms Rushwaya’s appeal on June 25.

Said the Supreme Court: “Reference is made to the notice of appeal you filed on April 4, 2019. It is noted that you did not comply with Rule 17(11) for the inspection of record with the stipulated time in terms of the Supreme Court Rules, 2018. In terms of sub rule 17 (12) of the aforementioned Rules the appeal is deemed to have been abandoned and therefore dismissed.”

ZMF acting president Mr Ishmael Kaguru told state media on Monday that indeed the Ms Rushwaya-led executive had its appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court.

“The Rushwaya-led executive lost in the High Court and appealed to the Supreme Court. So their appeal was dismissed on June 25 by the Supreme Court. What the Supreme Court ruling means is that the court order from the High Court is now in force and the old executive is now back in charge,” said Mr Kaguru.

He said they had come to Harare on Monday to brief the Minister (of Mines and Mining Development Winston Chitando), about the Supreme Court outcome. Minister Chitando had wanted the two groups — the one led by him and the other by Ms Rushwaya — to meet and talk but “it’s already too late now after this judgment”.

“All we are saying is that the constitution had been violated left, right and centre. It was not a question of our struggle. It was just a case of ‘can we respect our constitution’. Now that we are back in the office, it means we need to work on organising elections. No one is clinging on to a position, no; it was a question of the violation of the constitution,” explained Mr Kaguru.

Ms Rushwaya could not be reached for comment yesterday as her mobile phone was not going through.

The case between the ZMF versus the Zvishavane-Mberengwa Miners’ Association (ZMMA) started after reports of alleged manipulation of elections, which ushered in Ms Rushwaya.

The High Court invalidated the results and proceedings of the polls.

Ms Rushwaya had been elected ZMF president in June last year but the ZMMA challenged her election at the High Court in Bulawayo under case number 1652/18. Then High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, granted a provisional order suspending the holding of elections on June 14, 2018.

But ZMF pressed ahead with the plebiscite, which Ms Rushwaya won.

The old ZMF executive led by Mr Kaguru boycotted the elections.

By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has arrived in Rwanda ahead of Thursday’s Liberation Day Celebrations in the country’s capital, Kigali.

President Mnangagwa was welcomed at the Kagame International Airport by the Rwanda Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Richard Sezibera.

The commemorations to be held tomorrow are in remembrance of the end of the 1994 genocide in which extremist Hutus rose up against and massacred more than a million of the minority Tutsis.

Heads of State and Government from several African countries are expected to attend.

Zbc|The Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda has dismissed as fake a bogus letter circulating on social media, purportedly authored by him on behalf of Parliament, to President Emmerson Mnangagwa expressing condolences on the alleged passing on of Vice President Retired General Dr Constantino Chiwenga.

In a statement, the Clerk of Parliament said the letter did not originate from him or the institution of Parliament adding that the signature on the said letter is a poor attempt at forging his signature and is certainly not his.

Mr Chokuda said the logo used on the letter is not the logo that Parliament uses for external communication, especially not to an esteemed office such as the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) saying Parliament has an approved letterhead that is used in all official communication.

He reiterated that Parliament, as an institution, is guided by strict protocol and procedure in communicating with the OPC and it is outside his remit as Clerk of Parliament to write directly the President, particularly on such matters.

Mr Chokuda said the letter is a debasement of our morality and how low some people are willing to go to achieve their selfish ends and create unnecessary alarm and despondency.

The Clerk of Parliament, however, apologises to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice President Chiwenga and his family and the nation at large or the unwarranted attention that this bogus letter might have generated.

Eskom said that it would now work towards a mutually beneficial solution regarding money still owed by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa).

JOHANNESBURG – Eskom said that it would now work towards a mutually beneficial solution regarding money still owed by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa).

The power utility finally confirmed receiving payment from ZESA on a Tuesday after a number of promises were made to pay about R140 million.

Eskom finally gave the thumbs up on Tuesday, saying its account reflected the payment from the Zimbabwe electricity supply authority.

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube had assured Eskom last Friday that a payment had been made.

But Eskom then denied receiving any money.

The Zimbabwean government then made another undertaking on Monday to make sure the money was there by close of business.

Zimbabwe’s Energy Minister Fortune Chasi then turned to Twitter to show proof of payment.

Eskom said it would now enter talks with Zesa to recover the rest of the money still owed to it.

Reports said that Zimbabwe still owed Eskom and Mozambique’s HCB Power about R980 million.

Five armed robbers have been arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for stealing about 300 litres of diesel and two 12 volt batteries from Telecel and Econet booster towers situated at Banganyemba Mountain in Norton.

The suspects, Fungai Matsengarwodzi (29), Leon Bhasikiti (27), Moreblessing Chimunhu (18), Patrick Moyo (24) and Alfred Manenji (38) from Harare, who were driving a white Toyota Hiace Commuter Omnibus, under the registration number AEG 0430, proceeded to the telecommunication boosters armed with a knobkerrie, pliers, spanner, screwdriver and a crow bar on 25 June 2019 at around 01:00AM.

They approached the Telecel booster, which was manned by a security guard, tied him to a tree, robbed him of his cell phone and proceeded to break keys that were securing the generator diesel tank and drained about 150 litres of diesel.

During the process, the suspects also stole a 12-volt battery from the generator. They took the loot into their getaway car and advanced to the Econet booster where they also drained another 150 litres of diesel which they filled in their 20 litre containers and stole another battery.

After finding a way out, the roped complainants quickly alerted detectives from CID Norton, who swiftly reacted to the information and were able to identify the suspects who were driving away towards Harare and intercepted them.

The suspects were intercepted, disarmed and subsequently arrested, allowing the detectives to recover a Samsung cell phone belonging to one of the complainants, fuel and the two batteries.

The suspects were taken to Norton Magistrate Courts where they were remanded in custody.

“The police would like to warn criminals against vandalism of essential services infrastructure,” Provincial Community Relations and Liaison Officer, Detective Inspector Portia Chinho said.

-State Media

Police in Buhera say they are receiving at least five reports of rape involving minors as young as six months old in suspected cases of rituals and religious practices.

It is a life of untold anxiety for most mothers in Buhera as they live with tales of their girl children, some as young as six months old, being raped mostly by their own fathers, brothers, grandfathers and uncles.

Now, where their little bundles of joy are concerned, they no longer trust anyone anymore, not even their husbands, with some of them having become monsters that devour their own, all in the name of the church or money.

With a worrisome five reported cases per month, police indicated that the current statistics actually show a decline and they attribute this to their engagement of communities to stop the practice.

Some identified churches are said to be perpetrating the practice, while other men are said to hold the belief that raping a minor provides a boon to their businesses.

As if raping children were not enough, marriage of minors is so common that it is not spoken about in hushed tones. Perhaps it is high time the law comes hard on perpetrators of the twin evils of rape and child marriages.

-State Media

While Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is busy curbing government expenditure to the ire of ruling ZANU PF heavyweights, President Emmerson Mnangagwa will this week yet again charter the Dubai based luxury jet to fly him to Rwanda for an official visit.

The Ministry of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services has announced that, “His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be attending celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Rwanda’s liberation on 4 July 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda.”

Mnangagwa and ailing Vice President Constantino Chiwenga have been heavily criticised for using luxury jets to travel for business and medical pilgrimage while the nation is suffering.

Since coming to power through a bloody coup in November 2017, Mnangagwa has been on more than 30 foreign trips.

In February, Presidnetial Spokesperson George Charamba said Mnangagwa was determined to ensure Zimbabwe re-engaged with the world after two decades of isolation under Mugabe’s autocratic rule. “Diplomacy doesn’t come cheap,” he was quoted as saying by the state-owned Herald.

Rwanda’s holiday celebrates the overthrow, in 1994, of the genocidal regime that massacred somewhere between half a million and a million people in only a matter of months.

Meanwhile Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, who has been in office since 2000, on Tuesday said that he had asked his supporters to keep thinking differently about his candidature for the next presidential election.

Kagame, who is also the chairman of the ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), was re-elected in 2017 by winning 98.79 percent of the vote.

“My view was not to continue. Honestly, it’s an open secret whether it was in my party or who I interacted with, and I told them my view of what should happen,” Kagame said at a press conference, referring to the 2017 election.

“Their view was completely on one side and my view was on the other side. We reconciled that and I agreed to listen to them,” he said, adding that he had asked them to keep thinking differently and not to come up with the same argument next time.

A suspected murderer was yesterday hauled to court facing murder charges that arose over a cellphone sim card.

Alice Jarison was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare magistrate Barbra Mateko, who advised the suspect to approach the High Court for bail application.

Allegations are that Jarison was a friend to the now deceased Charity Diamond Wiseman and on June 30 towards daybreak, the two were having drinks at a local bar in Mabvuku.

It is further alleged that a misunderstanding arose between the two over a sim card which caused Jarison to assault and push her friend to the ground who lost consciousness.H-Metro

https://twitter.com/NyamiNyamiFM/status/1146407230226554880

Farai Dziva|MDC president Nelson Chamisa has bemoaned the deteriorating standards of the people of Zimbabwe.

Chamisa described the living conditions of the people of Zimbabwe as sad and disheartening.

Chamisa visited Budiriro and Highfields Suburbs in Harare yesterday.

“My task and the task of all progressive forces in this country is to provide leadership. I will obviously continue to engage and call for dialogue with Mr Mnangagwa hoping that reason and sanity will visit him and that he will realise that there is more that unites us than that which may separate us. That is the cause.

That is the call we want to make sure that we bring a solution to the lives of our people.”

Chamisa went into supermarkets where bread shelves were empty – with prices of basics such as cooking oil having jumped up since the introduction of the Zimdollar.

A 2kg packet of rice fetching as much as $65, while a kilogramme of beef was as high as $35.

“I have seen the living conditions of our people. There is no water, they rely on boreholes. There is absolutely no electricity. In fact, I get reports of what is happening across the whole country that people have electricity between 10pm and 4am,”said Chamisa.

By Own Correspondent| MDC President Nelson Chamisa reportedly shocked his aides on Tuesday when he ate food in public against his own security arrangements.

Chamisa was on a tour of several high-density suburbs in Harare to familiarise himself with the tough living conditions faced by citizens when he grabbed a plate of sadza with beans and vegetables in Budiriro.

By Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Republic Police has warned businesses that are overpricing consumers that they face arrest.

Said the ZRP in a statement:

“In the same vein, supermarkets and shops are implored to display commodity prices in order to allow members of the public to access goods and services in an environment which gives them room to plan, coordinate and buy the items freely without any form of manipulation by unscrupulous dealers.

The ZRP warns all those who are charging commodities in United States dollars that they risk being arrested as the law will be applied without fear or favour.

Members of the public should report such people to any nearest police station or the National Complaints Desk on telephone numbers 0242-703631 or WhatsApp number 0712800197.”

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has dismissed claims that his party is responsible for the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe.

Chamisa made the remarks in the capital yesterday.

“We don’t cause problems. We solve problems. There are two issues here. The one who is causing problems is in office and the one who is providing solutions is out of office and is knocking to say please respect the mandate of the people so that we resolve these issues.

We have the answers, but we don’t have power. They have the power, but they don’t have the answers. That is the tragedy of this country. The one who was not elected is the one who is in the office. The one who was elected has been locked out of office,” said Chamisa

Chamisa said the move by government to introduce a new currency would not solve the underlying problems until there was dialogue to settle the political problems facing the country.

Air Zimbabwe has denied that three MA60s  acquired from China in 2005, had disappeared.

The airline says the planes are there and not working but what the Auditor General’s office found amiss was the documentation regarding the purchase and ownership  of the planes and all paper trail regarding how they were used.

Air Zimbabwe has in the past months been operating using one plane before it added some planes to its fleet recently.

The company is under an Administrator according to the Reconstruction of State Indebted Companies Act.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed ZANU PF Politiburo member Patrick Chinamasa as the sole Board member and Chairperson of the enterprise.

According to an investigate website ZimFact Air Zimbabwe spokesperson Tafadzwa Mazonde said,  “For state enterprises, government comes in from time to time to offer shareholder support.  In this case, the assets were bought in the name of the Government of Zimbabwe, not Air Zimbabwe. So, when the auditors came, they queried this, they wanted the paperwork, which is with the government. Remember Air Zimbabwe is a separate entity from government, and, from accounting best practice, the auditors want to know the link. There should at least be a lease agreement showing the arrangement, which isn’t there. The planes are there, you can come and see for yourself.”

The Auditor General says in her report that she could not find documentary evidence of the purchase or leasing of the three planes, which the airline was using and deriving economic benefits from.

“The company was using and deriving economic benefits from three MA60 aircraft, which were not accounted for in the company’s financial statements. There was neither a lease agreement nor agreement of sale for the assets hence I could not determine the correct accounting treatment for same.” She said.

By Own Correspondent- Justice minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi, has said that the government will never withdraw Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2019 which bans the use of foreign currencies as legal tender. The SI also makes the Zimbabwe dollar the country’s sole legal tender.

This comes at a time when civil society groups including a labour union, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union and, and opposition parties are threatening to take it to the streets to force president Mnangagwa’s government to withdraw the SI. ZCTU, however, has since engaged the government over the issue.

Speaking to the Daily News, Ziyambi said:

On the issue of SI 142, we are not going to reverse anything, it’s now a done deal, we are moving forward. Even after those six months, there is nothing going to change on the SI 142.

Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 was made under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act, which gives the president powers to make regulations. His or her regulations, however, only last for six months, by which time they can be tabled before the House.

Meanwhile, a Harare man, Godfrey Mupanga has submitted his draft order at the High court seeking the nullification of the SI saying that it violates the parent or primary legislation where the RBZ should get powers to create secondary legislation or by-laws.

-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Government is tightening the belt in public finances management and has devised measures to govern expenditure and debt.

A key feature of the new regulations — contained in Statutory Instrument SI 144 of 2019, also known as Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions) 2019 gazetted last Friday — is the barring of expenses related to Government officials travelling with spouses or family while on duty.

Additionally, the regulations set out conditions for payment for trips.

The new regulations seek to supervise the consolidated revenue fund, charges upon consolidated revenue fund, appropriations from the fund, limits of State borrowing, public debt and State guarantees, safeguards of public funds and properties, among 10 of the key deliverables.

SI 144 takes into account the macro-economic framework, Government’s future borrowing requirements as well as domestic and international economic and financial conditions.

On costs incurred by Government officials’ families, the new regulations read: “Government shall not be responsible for costs incurred when officers on official duty travel with spouses, children or dependants.”

The new regulations set up a framework for the management of Government debt which stood at US$16,6 billion as at December 31 last year, of which US$$8,16 billion was external debt.

The bulk of the debt is historical, incurred during the First Republic era, which was notable for its profligacy.

Read the new regulations in part: “Treasury shall formulate a medium-term debt management strategy for managing GoZ (Government of Zimbabwe) debt.

“It is the responsibility of the PDMO (Public Debt Management Office) to prepare and publish the medium-term debt management strategy . . .”

SI 144 of 2019 notes that the strategy shall take into account “the existing public debt portfolio especially (but not exclusively) the Government component of the public debt portfolio.”

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube approved the Treasury instruments in terms of section 78 of the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19).

They shall henceforth replace and supersede all previous instruments.

The new measures are a departure from the previous regime’s practices, and are seen as a huge step towards cutting Government expenditure in line with the 2019 national Budget, which was presented under the theme: “Austerity for prosperity”.

Under the TSP – a national short-term economic blueprint that runs from October 2018 to December 2020 – Government commits to strengthening public finance management systems, and the move to formulate a medium-term debt management strategy is part of the process.

The TSP prioritises strengthening the Public Finance Management System, building on work already being conducted under the World Bank managed Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund, to roll-out the system to cover all districts.

But analysts say for the TSP to be a success and ‘Vision 2030’ to be attained, there was need for transparency and accountability to stop rent-seeking and corrupt behaviours by ordinary citizens in general and public office bearers in particular.

In the TSP’s preface, President Mnangagwa notes the importance of transparency and accountability when conducting Government business.

“Most importantly, the need for transparency and accountability by all stakeholders and citizens will be key for the transformation of the economy and realising the aspirations of Vision 2030,” notes the President.-StateMedia

The Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda has disowned as fake a letter circulating on social media platforms purportedly written by him on behalf of Parliament, in which he expressed his condolences on the alleged death of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

Chokuda said that the letter did not originate from him or Parliament. He said that the signature on the letter was certainly not his.

A ZBC News Online report further said that Chokuda dismissed the letterhead used on the fake letter. It said:Mr Chokuda said the logo used on the letter is not the logo that Parliament uses for external communication, especially not to an esteemed office such as the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) saying Parliament has an approved letterhead that is used in all official communication.

He reiterated that Parliament, as an institution, is guided by strict protocol and procedure in communicating with the OPC and it is outside his remit as Clerk of Parliament to write directly the President, particularly on such matters.

Mr Chokuda said the letter is a debasement of our morality and how low some people are willing to go to achieve their selfish ends and create unnecessary alarm and despondency.

-State Media

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa says President Emmerson Mnangagwa needs the opposition’s contribution to successfully address the economic challenges facing the country.

Chamisa yesterday toured the high-density suburbs of Budiriro, Glenview, Glen Norah and surrounding areas to acquaint himself with the daily challenges facing the urbanites.

“Mr Mnangagwa’s hand is too weak to help this country. He needs another hand, which is the MDC hand, and we have that strong hand that will provide confidence, trust and permanent solutions to this country,” Chamisa said.

“We don’t cause problems. We solve problems. There are two issues here. The one who is causing problems is in office and the one who is providing solutions is out of office and is knocking to say please respect the mandate of the people so that we resolve these issues. We have the answers, but we don’t have power. They have the power, but they don’t have the answers. That is the tragedy of this country. The one who was not elected is the one who is in the office. The one who was elected has been locked out of office.”

He added that the recent move by government to introduce a new currency would not solve the underlying problems until there was dialogue to settle the political problems facing the country.

In an direct message to Mnangagwa, Chamisa said he must humble himself and engage the MDC in talks that are mutual and convened by an independent interlocutor.

“Please come down your high horse of arrogance. Come down from your high horse of living in cloud cuckoo land. This country is suffering, our people are suffering. We must be able to find a permanent solution to reforms. Without reforms, this country can’t go forward. This whole thing of changing currency is not going to change our fundamentals,” he said.

“We must be able to deal with the politics of the land. We must deal with the reforms that are needed. We must make sure that we put the country on the path to legitimacy, to what the people voted for. People voted overwhelmingly for change, that is the route we are pursuing. If he doesn’t want to dialogue, we will then persuade him softy to make sure that he sees reason and sanity …”

After coming face-to-face with unemployed youths, mothers struggling to get potable water from boreholes, teachers and nurses, whose salaries can no longer afford basics, Chamisa said he was going to do whatever was necessary to bring desired solutions.

“This situation cannot continue and we must make sure that we put a full stop to this. We will provide leadership. Whatever it takes, we will have to pay the ultimate price in peace, constitutionally, legally. We will bring an end to our suffering,” he said.

The MDC has said it will push for peaceful demonstrations to drive Mnangagwa out of power or alternatively, to come to the table for dialogue.

Chamisa revealed that his party was still consulting and would not be rushed to take action.

Promising that the opposition party would act when it is ready and well before 2023, Chamisa declared: “We are very clear in terms of our direction. We are not going to be stampeded into doing things, but we will definitely define our destiny as a people. We have a duty to unite, to change our situation, and bring a difference in our lives.

“My task and the task of all progressive forces in this country is to provide leadership. I will obviously continue to engage and call for dialogue with Mr Mnangagwa hoping that reason and sanity will visit him and that he will realise that there is more that unites us than that which may separate us. That is the cause. That is the call we want to make sure that we bring a solution to the lives of our people.”

During his tour, Chamisa went into supermarkets where bread shelves were empty and with prices of basics such as cooking oil having jumped up since the introduction of the Zimdollar.

A 2kg packet of rice fetching as much as $65, while a kilogramme of beef was as high as $35.

“I have seen the type of life our people are living. There is no water, they rely on boreholes. There is absolutely no electricity. In fact, I get reports of what is happening across the whole country that people have electricity between 10pm and 4am,” the MDC leader said.

-NewsDay

The official (interbank) exchange rate is slowly climbing up of late, with some banks paying more than the black market for USD to RTGS transactions. This is what the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had in February predicted would happen by mid year.

Find below the updated exchange rates for both markets as at Wednesday, 3 July.

USD = ZWL$8.3927
ZWL$ = RAND1.6826

Source: Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe

Meanwhile on the parallel market, USD is trading at between USD100/ZWL$850 and ZWL$890

A BINDURA woman struck a fellow reveller with a bottle on the eye resulting in it being removed.

Melody Chironga (27) of House Number 2517, Aerodrome, Bindura who is facing assault charges, pleaded guilty to the offence.

She had been remanded out of custody on her own cognisant to June 26, but has since absconded.

In remanding her out of the custody, the court had taken into consideration that Chironga is pregnant and that the complainant’s medical report was still to be availed since he was still admitted in hospital.

Bindura magistrate, Mrs Ethel Chichera presided over the case, while Ms Tariro Janhi prosecuted.

Ms Janhi told the court that on June 15 and at Piki Shopping Centre in Bindura, Lloyd Khama (44) of House Number 1362, Chiwaridzo Township had a misunderstanding with Fortune Gumbonzwanda.

Chironga, who is Gumbonzwanda’s friend then charged towards Khama and struck him on the right eye with a bottle.

Khama sustained injuries on the eye, resulting in it being removed.

-State Media

By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that the country needs to import 800 000 tonnes of maize so as to ease famine following last season’s poor rains which led to a severe drought.

The country is already in negotiations with potential suppliers, including Tanzania which has promised to help.

Mnangagwa was addressing villagers on Monday after officially opening the US$20 million rehabilitated Ngundu-Tanganda Highway in Chipinge. He said that most parts of the country fave imminent starvation due to hunger:

I want to assure you that this drought did not affect Chipinge alone.

There were not enough rains throughout the country.

Some provinces had a good harvest and their surplus should be moved to the affected provinces.

Overall, we need to import around 800 000 tonnes because our principle is that no one should die of hunger.

President Mnangagwa also urged the local authorities to relay information on families and areas which needed assistance to the government. He also indicated that there shall be no discrimination in the distribution of food assistance.

He added:

So, we are not discriminating against those from MDC or any other political party, we give everyone food because they are Zimbabweans.

You are a Zimbabwean, you will be given the food. The Zanu-PF Government does not discriminate, we do not want any Zimbabwean to die of hunger.

International organisations including the United Nations project severe starvation due to hunger. They have since called upon partners to assist Zimbabwe in evading that hunger.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- The demonstration came about after the school head, Blessing Jitimana, addressed the general workers explaining why they won’t be getting paid AGAIN this month.

Students from Allan Wilson high school yesterday continued with their demonstration calling for the headmaster to step down, this time joined by ancillary staff.

Speaking to this publication one of the workers (name withheld) said they had not been getting full salaries for the past two years and could no longer sustain the situation. “The country is already suffering from economic hardships, imagine how it is working for two years and not getting paid.

“He is always using the country’s economic situation as an escape plan but we can’t survive on that because something has to be done. 

“We were once against these demonstrations but we have decided to join in with the students, maybe the ministry will help us and take action,” said the source.

Students from the school said lessons have since stopped since the previous demonstration which occurred last Thursday. The school headboy said the pupils have decided that they were not going to attend lessons until their plights are heard by the ministry,

“As students we have decided that no lessons will take place till the headmaster has stepped down. “No change has been done ever since the demonstrations started and it shows that our cries have not yet been heard.

“Yesterday we ate a small piece of chimodho and one cup of tea for breakfast and we had sadza and half cooked beans for lunch and supper as usual yet our parents are paying $1 586 for school fees.

“Our toilets are not clean because the general hands have also stepped down because they have not been getting salaries for the past years.

“The Ministry has to act and help us before it’s too late. Examinations are on the way and we need to start lessons before it’s too late,” he said.-StateMedia

Several patients suffering from diarrhoea in Harare’s Glen View high-density suburb, have tested positive for typhoid, a local non-governmental organisation has revealed.

The Community Water Alliance (CWA) said the patients, who were treated on June 24, 2019, were all confirmed to have contracted typhoid.

However, one of the patients had still not been treated because she did not have money.

CWA said the affected residents used a deep well as their source of water due to the water rationing in the capital, where most suburbs are going for five days a week without supplies.

The organisation said there was need for typhoid patients to be treated at clinics for free.

“CWA is calling upon stakeholders to help residents by providing alternative safe and quality water sources in Glen View and Budiriro, testing of the deep well and taking corrective action and ensuring that patients get free treatment at local clinics and hospitals,” the organisation said in a statement.

City of Harare head of epidemiology and disease control, Kudzai Masunda, told NewsDay that there was no increase in cases of diarrhoea and typhoid.

“The people who had contracted typhoid were treated. We are monitoring the situation,” he said.

“Our team has been doing door-to-door campaigns to raise awareness. We believe that preventing is better than cure. We have partnered Higher Life Foundation to conduct health promotions. We want to have the area free of typhoid and diarrhoea. Our team is on the ground working flat out.”

Masunda said council clinics were treating patients with typhoid and diarrhoea for free.

“We are appealing to the general public that if they feel that they have any diarrhoea or typhoid symptoms, they should report to their nearest clinics, where they can get treatment for free,” he said.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Government is tightening the belt in public finances management and has devised measures to govern expenditure and debt.

A key feature of the new regulations — contained in Statutory Instrument SI 144 of 2019, also known as Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions) 2019 gazetted last Friday — is the barring of expenses related to Government officials travelling with spouses or family while on duty.

Additionally, the regulations set out conditions for payment for trips.

The new regulations seek to supervise the consolidated revenue fund, charges upon consolidated revenue fund, appropriations from the fund, limits of State borrowing, public debt and State guarantees, safeguards of public funds and properties, among 10 of the key deliverables.

SI 144 takes into account the macro-economic framework, Government’s future borrowing requirements as well as domestic and international economic and financial conditions.

On costs incurred by Government officials’ families, the new regulations read: “Government shall not be responsible for costs incurred when officers on official duty travel with spouses, children or dependants.”

The new regulations set up a framework for the management of Government debt which stood at US$16,6 billion as at December 31 last year, of which US$$8,16 billion was external debt.

The bulk of the debt is historical, incurred during the First Republic era, which was notable for its profligacy.

Read the new regulations in part: “Treasury shall formulate a medium-term debt management strategy for managing GoZ (Government of Zimbabwe) debt.

“It is the responsibility of the PDMO (Public Debt Management Office) to prepare and publish the medium-term debt management strategy . . .”

SI 144 of 2019 notes that the strategy shall take into account “the existing public debt portfolio especially (but not exclusively) the Government component of the public debt portfolio.”

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube approved the Treasury instruments in terms of section 78 of the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19).

They shall henceforth replace and supersede all previous instruments.

The new measures are a departure from the previous regime’s practices, and are seen as a huge step towards cutting Government expenditure in line with the 2019 national Budget, which was presented under the theme: “Austerity for prosperity”.

Under the TSP – a national short-term economic blueprint that runs from October 2018 to December 2020 – Government commits to strengthening public finance management systems, and the move to formulate a medium-term debt management strategy is part of the process.

The TSP prioritises strengthening the Public Finance Management System, building on work already being conducted under the World Bank managed Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund, to roll-out the system to cover all districts.

But analysts say for the TSP to be a success and ‘Vision 2030’ to be attained, there was need for transparency and accountability to stop rent-seeking and corrupt behaviours by ordinary citizens in general and public office bearers in particular.

In the TSP’s preface, President Mnangagwa notes the importance of transparency and accountability when conducting Government business.

“Most importantly, the need for transparency and accountability by all stakeholders and citizens will be key for the transformation of the economy and realising the aspirations of Vision 2030,” notes the President.-StateMedia

By Promise Mkwananzi| Tajamuka was created as a coalition of several organizations to carry out peaceful but radical and action-oriented protests and activities. The main rationale was to create an amorphous movement that is less bureaucratic de-institutionalised and thus rapid in its responsiveness to the issues and events on the ground than most highly institutionalised and hierarchical organisations would ordinarily be.

Secondly, it was supposed to compliment both civic society organisations and democratic political parties by being a purely citizen based social movement that could mobilise all people regardless of the political belongings. This mobilisation would be done on the basis of the pursuit of political justice, social cohesion and economic freedom. These would obviously contribute to the broader democratic struggle.

Tajamuka therefore became a natural ally of the broader democratic movement from its inception and many activists and democratic organisations not only identified with it but also actively took part in its spontaneous, instantaneous and radical programs of action.

One of the mischiefs Tajamuka was created to cure was the fact that bigger and bureaucratic organisations could take ages to respond to a pertinent national until the political moment was lost and/or overtaken by events. Thus Tajamuka became the vehicle for rapid response to economic and political events in Zimbabwe and became a household name among the young and the old alike.

This has never changed and is not likely to change in the hearts and minds of the people of Zimbabwe, both in and outside the country, rich and poor, young and old, men and women. It will remain so for the foreseeable future and for as long as Tajamuka remains that social movement it was founded to be.

Towards the end of June 2019, political events began to gather momentum in Zimbabwe. By the 20th of June, events had reached the tipping point and the agitation among the masses was near boiling point. On the 25th of June 2019, true to its form Tajamuka began a rapid response process. A petition was submitted to President Mnangagwa and the Clerk of Parliament giving them a five-day ultimatum to address the issues that were raised, many of them centred on or arising from the constitution of Zimbabwe from the right to peaceful protests to the President and his government.

For Tajamuka, this is not a new phenomenon.

In 2016, we sued Mugabe on more or less the same basis. We also participated in several other campaigns and shutdowns including the final march that abdicated President Mugabe. We also participated in the August 2018 protests demanding the timely release of election results, we participated in the January 2019 national shutdown and many others. We did this regardless of who called the action and we will continue to participate and support actions from the broader democratic movement whether called by individuals, organisations, opposition parties or otherwise as long as we are sure that these actions further the broader democratic objectives of the people of Zimbabwe and as long as such actions and activities are democratic, lawful, peaceful and non-violent.

That is why when we called for the national shutdown on Monday the 1st of July 2019, it barely registered in our minds that there was going to be any issues of who had called the action. We acted in the true spirit of Tajamuka which is to seize the political moment and use the flexibility of the movement to kick-start a series of events and activities that we started and had hoped other progressive organisations would support.

Since its formation, Tajamuka has never harboured any other mandate besides that which it has which is to be a citizen based pressure group that mobilises citizens to respond rapidly, radically, but peacefully to the economic and political events on the ground.

On the 1st of July, it was in the same spirit that we called the for the national shutdown. It is evident that the moment and timing were perfect. It didn’t and still doesn’t matter much who had called it, democratic organisations and movements were and are still supposed and expected to seize the moment and provide the leadership that the people of Zimbabwe expect of them.

Surely, we can’t lose a golden political opportunity just to spite Tajamuka or show the world that Tajamuka cannot do it alone. It is common cause that we cannot do it alone and that nobody can do it alone. To borrows from President Barack Obama “The challenges we are facing are greater than the smallness of our politics”.

The time for action and leadership is now. Our groundwork and even the traction and momentum generated towards the 1st of July prove that the political momentum is ripe for such action from both activists and general citizens. This is also evident in the social media were people are clamouring for action. This action ought to come from a collective and selfless effort of all actors and stakeholders.

It doesn’t matter who called it what matters is that it is done and done decisively.

In conclusion, it is our considered view that the political moment still exists for democratic forces to make both an impact and a difference. The call by the ZCTU for action after the expiry of their ultimatum to government is no less an opportunity than the 1st of July and deserves the support of all and sundry who still believe in the struggle for the democratisation of Zimbabwe.

The MDC is and remains the biggest and most formidable political formation in Zimbabwe-arguably even more formidable than ZANU PF itself (barring party-state conflation). It therefore does not make any strategic sense for the MDC to seem to be threatened or in competition with formations that are way smaller than it and that are meant to cushion and complement the MDC in situations and circumstances where the MDC cannot be seen to be on the lead.

This also applies to the ZCTU, a formidable workers union that ought to be working with Tajamuka and other outfits that are better placed to embrace the informal sector to augment the ZCTU owing the depletion of the labour base we knew in the past that passed on due to unemployment and ZANU PF`s economic mismanagement.

We remain committed to a collaborative approach with other pro-democratic forces in Zimbabwe. Founded by more than 43 organisations, collaboration is in the DNA of Tajamuka. As we collectively look to escalate the action against the malpractices of the ZANU PF, we plead the case of unity and collaboration, tolerance and complementarity among the democratic forces. The moment for collective, selfless and decisive action is now. The people of Zimbabwe expect no less from us.

By Own Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that the country needs to import 800 000 tonnes of maize so as to ease famine following last season’s poor rains which led to a severe drought.

The country is already in negotiations with potential suppliers, including Tanzania which has promised to help.

Mnangagwa was addressing villagers on Monday after officially opening the US$20 million rehabilitated Ngundu-Tanganda Highway in Chipinge. He said that most parts of the country fave imminent starvation due to hunger:

I want to assure you that this drought did not affect Chipinge alone.

There were not enough rains throughout the country.

Some provinces had a good harvest and their surplus should be moved to the affected provinces.

Overall, we need to import around 800 000 tonnes because our principle is that no one should die of hunger.

President Mnangagwa also urged the local authorities to relay information on families and areas which needed assistance to the government. He also indicated that there shall be no discrimination in the distribution of food assistance.

He added:

So, we are not discriminating against those from MDC or any other political party, we give everyone food because they are Zimbabweans.

You are a Zimbabwean, you will be given the food. The Zanu-PF Government does not discriminate, we do not want any Zimbabwean to die of hunger.

International organisations including the United Nations project severe starvation due to hunger. They have since called upon partners to assist Zimbabwe in evading that hunger.-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) — for long rapped for being a toothless bulldog — now has arresting powers as Government takes a major stride in its quest to tackle the scourge of corruption.

The changes were announced in an Extraordinary Government Gazette published last Friday through Statutory Instrument 143 of 2019.

The new regulations modified the previous legal instrument that deals with peace officers.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has — in terms of Section 2 (paragraph h) of the definition of “peace officer” under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07) — included ZACC officers.

In terms of the law, a peace officer refers to any worker of the State, county, or a municipality, a Sheriff or other public law enforcement agency, whose duties include arrests, searches and seizures, execution of criminal and civil warrants, and is responsible for the prevention or detection of crime or for the enforcement of law or orders among other duties.

The new regulations cited as Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Designation of Peace Officers) (Amendment) Notice, 2019 (No. 3) modified Statutory Instrument 227 promulgated in 1997.

Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza confirmed the promulgation of the SI 143 and explained its effect.

“The statutory instrument gives powers of arrest to officers of Zacc,” she said. “This means that in addition to their special powers to fight corruption they can now arrest any person on reasonable suspicion of any other crime having been committed.”

Mrs Mabhiza added: “Peace officers hand over those under their arrest to the police to continue with investigations. Before the instrument, ZACC would simply make recommendations for the police to arrest in terms of the Constitution.”

The Commission is mandated to investigate and expose criminal cases before handing them to the police as outlined in the country’s Constitution.

It also had authority to direct police to investigate criminal cases as spelt out in the Commission’s roles.

Further, the Commission has power to direct the Commissioner-General of police to investigate cases of suspected corruption, to refer to the Prosecutor-General matters for prosecution, as well as to require assistance from members of the police.

ZACC, however, does not have prosecution functions as their function ends with handing any potential corruption cases over to the police for further management.

The Prosecutor-General working in conjunction with Special Anti-Corruption Unit prosecutors have prosecutorial discretion to initiate criminal proceedings.-StateMedia

By Own Correspondent- Government has tightened the belt in public finances management and has devised new measures to govern expenditure and debt.

A key feature of the new regulations — contained in Statutory Instrument SI 144 of 2019, also known as Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions) 2019 gazetted last Friday — is the barring of expenses related to Government officials travelling with spouses or family while on duty.

Additionally, the regulations set out conditions for payment for trips.

The new regulations seek to supervise the consolidated revenue fund, charges upon consolidated revenue fund, appropriations from the fund, limits of State borrowing, public debt and State guarantees, safeguards of public funds and properties, among 10 of the key deliverables.

SI 144 takes into account the macro-economic framework, Government’s future borrowing requirements as well as domestic and international economic and financial conditions.

On costs incurred by Government officials’ families, the new regulations read: “Government shall not be responsible for costs incurred when officers on official duty travel with spouses, children or dependants.”

The new regulations set up a framework for the management of Government debt which stood at US$16,6 billion as at December 31 last year, of which US$$8,16 billion was external debt.

The bulk of the debt is historical, incurred during the First Republic era, which was notable for its profligacy.

Read the new regulations in part: “Treasury shall formulate a medium-term debt management strategy for managing GoZ (Government of Zimbabwe) debt.

“It is the responsibility of the PDMO (Public Debt Management Office) to prepare and publish the medium-term debt management strategy . . .”

SI 144 of 2019 notes that the strategy shall take into account “the existing

public debt portfolio especially (but not exclusively) the Government component of the public debt portfolio.”

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube approved the Treasury instruments in terms of section 78 of the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19).

They shall henceforth replace and supersede all previous instruments.

The new measures are a departure from the previous regime’s practices, and are seen as a huge step towards cutting Government expenditure in line with the 2019 national Budget, which was presented under the theme: “Austerity for prosperity”.

Under the TSP – a national short-term economic blueprint that runs from October 2018 to December 2020 – Government commits to strengthening public finance management systems, and the move to formulate a medium-term debt management strategy is part of the process.

The TSP prioritises strengthening the Public Finance Management System, building on work already being conducted under the World Bank managed Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund, to roll-out the system to cover all districts.

But analysts say for the TSP to be a success and ‘Vision 2030’ to be attained, there was need for transparency and accountability to stop rent-seeking and corrupt behaviours by ordinary citizens in general and public office bearers in particular.

In the TSP’s preface, President Mnangagwa notes the importance of transparency and accountability when conducting Government business.

“Most importantly, the need for transparency and accountability by all stakeholders and citizens will be key for the transformation of the economy and realising the aspirations of Vision 2030,” notes the President.-StateMedia

Air Zimbabwe has denied that three MA60s  acquired from China in 2005, had disappeared.

The airline says the planes are there and not working but what the Auditor General’s office found amiss was the documentation regarding the purchase and ownership  of the planes and all paper trail regarding how they were used.

Air Zimbabwe has in the past months been operating using one plane before it added some planes to its fleet recently.

The company is under an Administrator according to the Reconstruction of State Indebted Companies Act.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed ZANU PF Politiburo member Patrick Chinamasa as the sole Board member and Chairperson of the enterprise.

According to an investigate website ZimFact Air Zimbabwe spokesperson Tafadzwa Mazonde said,  “For state enterprises, government comes in from time to time to offer shareholder support.  In this case, the assets were bought in the name of the Government of Zimbabwe, not Air Zimbabwe. So, when the auditors came, they queried this, they wanted the paperwork, which is with the government. Remember Air Zimbabwe is a separate entity from government, and, from accounting best practice, the auditors want to know the link. There should at least be a lease agreement showing the arrangement, which isn’t there. The planes are there, you can come and see for yourself.”

The Auditor General says in her report that she could not find documentary evidence of the purchase or leasing of the three planes, which the airline was using and deriving economic benefits from.

“The company was using and deriving economic benefits from three MA60 aircraft, which were not accounted for in the company’s financial statements. There was neither a lease agreement nor agreement of sale for the assets hence I could not determine the correct accounting treatment for same.” She said.

OUTSPOKEN traditional leader, Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni – who has in recent months courted the ire of Zanu-PF apparatchiks with his stinging criticism of the government – has praised President Emmerson Mnangagwa for holding dialogue with chiefs from the Matabeleland region.

This comes as the government is working harder to bring closure to the highly-emotive Gukurahundi issue, which was on the agenda when Mnangagwa met chiefs from the region in Bulawayo on Friday.

Ndiweni, who recently attended and addressed the MDC’s elective congress in Gweru, told the Daily News yesterday that Mnangagwa’s meeting with Matabeleland chiefs was “a positive development” in efforts meant to address numerous problems in the region, including the Gukurahundi issue.

“It was a step in the right direction … towards addressing our various grievances in the region, which has been marginalised for years.

“The engagement was sincere. I didn’t see any problem … considering that I was part of the chiefs who put the document together that we submitted to the president.

“We have the issue of Gukurahundi … it can only be addressed through open discussions like these,” Ndiweni said.
The chiefs and other interest groups, who attended Friday’s meeting, submitted a 22-page document to Mnangagwa in which Gukurahundi atrocities topped the agenda.

Among other things, the chiefs demanded in the document that Mnangagwa apologises over the killings, declares a day of public mourning for victims, and also facilitates the exhumation and reburial of victims.

The traditional leaders further demanded the immediate release of Gukurahundi reports such as the Chihambakwe and Dumbutshena commissions of inquiry into the atrocities.

In April, Mnangagwa announced that his government would okay the exhumation and reburial of thousands of people who died during the Gukurahundi massacres of the 1980s.

Apart from reburying the victims of those atrocities, the government also committed itself to providing birth and death certificates to the children and relatives of the victims who – for decades now – have been facing insurmountable hurdles at the Registrar General’s offices.
The process of exhuming bodies kicked off in the same month, with the first ceremony being held at Sipepa Village in Tsholotsho – where villagers witnessed the interring of Justin Tshuma and his wife Thembi’s remains.

Ndiweni has consistently attacked the government over the past few months, particularly over the unresolved Gukurahundi issue.
Last year, he even wrote an emotive letter to the United Nations, calling for an independent commission of inquiry to be set up to investigate the atrocities.

“We write requesting an independent commission of inquiry be set up to investigate atrocities which occurred in Matabeleland and Midlands in Zimbabwe … between 1981 and 1987 … after the country gained independence from Britain.

“The atrocities escalated into genocide occasioned by an ethnic cleansing agenda targeting the Ndebele people in the western and central parts of the country,” Ndiweni said in a letter he co-authored with Chief Maduna of Filabusi and which was addressed to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.

The letter was also copied to Amnesty International, the African Union, Sadc and the European Union (EU) Parliament, among others.

An estimated 20 000 people are said to have been killed mainly in Matabeleland and Midlands when the government deployed the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade to the two regions, to fight an insurrection.

Unity Day was subsequently set up to commemorate the Unity Accord which was later signed between Zapu and Zanu on December 22, 1987, which ended hostilities between the two parties.

• dailynews

By A Correspondent- Four people died and 12 others were injured in an accident which happened at Eiffel Blue turn-off in Kadoma.

The accident claimed the lives of Castasia Charamba (aged 53) of Mafunga Street, Nescar Diza of (47) of Rimuka Infill , Peter Nasho (37) and of Mangwanya Street and Virginia Shonai (age and address not given ).

The deceased were coming from Chinhoyi when the right rear tyre of the Toyota Hiace minibus they were travelling in burst, prompting the driver Ephraim Gusini to lose control of the vehicle which then landed on its roof.

Of the 12 injured, 4 are still recovering at Kadoma General Hospital.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for latest details.

Despite the Zimbabwe National Army trying to make light the matter of officers pictured standing on late former Vice President Joshua Mqabuko’s grave at the National Heroes Acre, the National Museum and Monuments have declared that they are taking the matter seriously and will be making investigations on it.

National Museum and Monuments Director Dr Godfrey Mahachi emphasised that the National Heroes’ Acre is a very important national shrine and should be treated with respect.

He said his department will investigate the matter and engage authorities at the shrine and the army.

“It’s a shrine where we bury important people who have made tremendous contributions towards the independence of the country. Everybody should respect that,” said Dr Mahachi.

The picture showing two uniformed soldiers and a civilian at the grave of the late former Vice President at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare went viral on Tuesday attracting huge criticism from all sectors in the country.

In its defence, the army claimed that the picture was photoshopped.

ZNA spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore said that the soldiers on the picture were not in the uniform used by those guarding the shrine making him believe that it was manipulated.

“That picture was photoshopped. The National Heroes’ Acre is guarded by troops from the Presidential Guard and soldiers in the picture are not in the official colours of the Presidential Guard. It’s a doctored picture,” said Lt Col Makotore.

Closer looks at the picture however do not justify the army’s claims which they have to work very hard to prove to the investigators from the National Museums and Monuments.

The late Dr Nkomo, a renowned nationalist and politician, died on January 1 in 1999 and was buried at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) — for long rapped for being a toothless bulldog — now has arresting powers as Government takes a major stride in its quest to tackle the scourge of corruption.

The changes were announced in an Extraordinary Government Gazette published last Friday through Statutory Instrument 143 of 2019.

The new regulations modified the previous legal instrument that deals with peace officers.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has — in terms of Section 2 (paragraph h) of the definition of “peace officer” under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07) — included ZACC officers.

In terms of the law, a peace officer refers to any worker of the State, county, or a municipality, a Sheriff or other public law enforcement agency, whose duties include arrests, searches and seizures, execution of criminal and civil warrants, and is responsible for the prevention or detection of crime or for the enforcement of law or orders among other duties.

The new regulations cited as Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Designation of Peace Officers) (Amendment) Notice, 2019 (No. 3) modified Statutory Instrument 227 promulgated in 1997.

Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza confirmed the promulgation of the SI 143 and explained its effect.

“The statutory instrument gives powers of arrest to officers of Zacc,” she said. “This means that in addition to their special powers to fight corruption they can now arrest any person on reasonable suspicion of any other crime having been committed.”

Mrs Mabhiza added: “Peace officers hand over those under their arrest to the police to continue with investigations. Before the instrument, ZACC would simply make recommendations for the police to arrest in terms of the Constitution.”

The Commission is mandated to investigate and expose criminal cases before handing them to the police as outlined in the country’s Constitution.

It also had authority to direct police to investigate criminal cases as spelt out in the Commission’s roles.

Further, the Commission has power to direct the Commissioner-General of police to investigate cases of suspected corruption, to refer to the Prosecutor-General matters for prosecution, as well as to require assistance from members of the police.

ZACC, however, does not have prosecution functions as their function ends with handing any potential corruption cases over to the police for further management.

The Prosecutor-General working in conjunction with Special Anti-Corruption Unit prosecutors have prosecutorial discretion to initiate criminal proceedings.

State Media|Government is tightening the belt in public finances management and has devised measures to govern expenditure and debt.

A key feature of the new regulations — contained in Statutory Instrument SI 144 of 2019, also known as Public Finance Management (Treasury Instructions) 2019 gazetted last Friday — is the barring of expenses related to Government officials travelling with spouses or family while on duty.

Additionally, the regulations set out conditions for payment for trips.

The new regulations seek to supervise the consolidated revenue fund, charges upon consolidated revenue fund, appropriations from the fund, limits of State borrowing, public debt and State guarantees, safeguards of public funds and properties, among 10 of the key deliverables.

SI 144 takes into account the macro-economic framework, Government’s future borrowing requirements as well as domestic and international economic and financial conditions.

On costs incurred by Government officials’ families, the new regulations read: “Government shall not be responsible for costs incurred when officers on official duty travel with spouses, children or dependants.”

The new regulations set up a framework for the management of Government debt which stood at US$16,6 billion as at December 31 last year, of which US$$8,16 billion was external debt.

The bulk of the debt is historical, incurred during the First Republic era, which was notable for its profligacy.

Read the new regulations in part: “Treasury shall formulate a medium-term debt management strategy for managing GoZ (Government of Zimbabwe) debt.

“It is the responsibility of the PDMO (Public Debt Management Office) to prepare and publish the medium-term debt management strategy . . .”

SI 144 of 2019 notes that the strategy shall take into account “the existing public debt portfolio especially (but not exclusively) the Government component of the public debt portfolio.”

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube approved the Treasury instruments in terms of section 78 of the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19).

They shall henceforth replace and supersede all previous instruments.

The new measures are a departure from the previous regime’s practices, and are seen as a huge step towards cutting Government expenditure in line with the 2019 national Budget, which was presented under the theme: “Austerity for prosperity”.

Under the TSP – a national short-term economic blueprint that runs from October 2018 to December 2020 – Government commits to strengthening public finance management systems, and the move to formulate a medium-term debt management strategy is part of the process.

The TSP prioritises strengthening the Public Finance Management System, building on work already being conducted under the World Bank managed Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund, to roll-out the system to cover all districts.

But analysts say for the TSP to be a success and ‘Vision 2030’ to be attained, there was need for transparency and accountability to stop rent-seeking and corrupt behaviours by ordinary citizens in general and public office bearers in particular.

In the TSP’s preface, President Mnangagwa notes the importance of transparency and accountability when conducting Government business.

“Most importantly, the need for transparency and accountability by all stakeholders and citizens will be key for the transformation of the economy and realising the aspirations of Vision 2030,” notes the President.

Jazz musician Bob Nyabinde recently presented an AK47-shaped guitar to Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Marshal Perance Shiri who was the guest of honour during the Mazowe Rural District Council investment conference at Mazowe Hotel.

Nyabinde said the guitar symbolises peace.
He also sang the song “Zvinoita Hope,” in honour of the minister.

“Zimbabwe is now yearning for peace and we are turning our guns into guitars, instead of releasing bullets we are releasing musical beats,” said Nyabinde. This will bring smiles on many faces in the nation.

“My relationship with (Cde)Shiri is coincidental. People from the Air Force of Zimbabwe approached me about two years ago asking for a unique present for him in the form of guitar resembling an AK47.

“I then designed the gun and asked for a real gun magazine to put on the guitar.

Today I took advantage of the investment conference to show people that these can be made locally and that is why I presented it to the guest of honour, Minister Shiri.”State media

Farai Dziva| Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday used the liberation war maxim “pasi navo” to denounce those plotting to stage mass protests.

However political analysts feel the maxim should not be used in the so called new dispensation.

Addressing hundreds of villagers who converged at Kondo Primary School to witness him officially opening the rehabilitated Tanganda-Ngundu Highway, Mnangagwa said demonstrations and stay aways “do not bring any benefit.”

He said focus by all must be on developing the country as demonstrated by the commissioning of the Tanganda-Ngundu Highway, instead of wasting energy on negativity.

“For those with mobile phones, they were saying today (yesterday) you should stay away, stay away.

Stay away yokudii? Muchigara kuitira ani? Anozotambura ndiani kana mukasasevenza?,” said Mnangagwa.

“Anozotambura marega ndiani nekuti shoko raJehovha rinoti iro nokutadza kwamaita kudya muchero uyu muchararama necheziya. Zvino umwe woti iye aiwa ngatiregei kushanda.

Ko tozodyei kana tisingashande? Saka musaterera mhesva mukono idzi dzinopihwa mari nevanhu varikunze, dzinopihwa mari nevanhu vagere ku South Africa uko vatinoziva vamwe ma criminals akatiza muno varikutsvaga mari kuti kuve nemhirizhonga mukati menyika ivo vagere vachiplanner varimumahotera. Pasi navo! Saka hakuna stay away,” added Mnangagwa.

Farai Dziva|Government sources who claim to be close to ailing Constantino Chiwenga say the former army general was poisoned through water.

Chiwenga is said to be battling for his life at a South African hospital.

Government sources say Chiwenga who is now unrecognisable is critically ill.

Government sources further revealed Chiwenga was poisoned using radioactive Polonium-210.

“Chiwenga was poisoned through water that was delivered to his luxurious mansion in Borrowdale.

Due to the difficulty of drilling boreholes at the mansion’s hilltop location, the VP’s house was previously serviced by water bowsers and bottled water.

He (Chiwenga) is in a major fight for his life.

He has told those close to him that he believes he was poisoned through water delivered to his home.”