Farai Dziva|Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Victor Mademadanda has warned Zimbabweans against staging demonstrations.

This comes as tension increases in the country due to relentless economic challenges.

Matemadanda claimed malcontents were plotting to cause civil unrest in the country.

“Let me warn to warn anti-social forces such as opposition parties to desist from planning acts of violence and anarchy.”

Matemadanda has also postulated that opposition forces are planning to demonstrate against the banning of the Multi-currency system.

” Such actions will not be tolerated,” said Matemadanda.

https://twitter.com/MatutuLewis/status/1145399349360254977?s=19

By Own Correspondent| MDC Vice president, Tendai Biti has called for a national dialogue that will produce a National Transition Authority (NTA).

Biti called the NTA a soft landing that Zimbabwe needs as a measure to pump the brakes on the economy that has taken a nosedive.

He further said that if Zimbabwe fails to establish an NTA, the country is headed for an Implosion which he called an Armageddon

Speaking to the Daily News the Harare East MP said:

“We need to democratically coup-proof our country by finding a democratic solution to our problems and avoid a vaccum that makes military intervention inevitable.”

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF youth commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu has dispelled allegations that the youths were pushing a factional fight as false.

He also revealed that another list has been submitted to the Zanu PF leadership pending the investigations.

Below are excerpts from the interview with a local publication.

OM: Can you tell us about this anti-corruption drive that you are doing as the youth league? What is its basis and what do you want to achieve?

GT: What we are simply doing as the youth league is to make sure that we push for the fulfilment of the party’s manifesto from the 2018 elections.

It was one of the key issues that we pledged to deal with. Remember we had promised to fight corruption and as the youth league we said elections are gone and we need to be working towards the fulfilment of what we promised.

The motivation is that as you look at the current scenario, we have a crop of leadership both in the public and private sectors who have just become so greedy and selfish to the point of taking everything for themselves without taking into consideration that we have other generations to come after us.

It is on this basis that we said as the youth leadership we cannot continue to look aside and be bystanders when we have a few individuals destroying what Zimbabwe stands for and what the party stands for.

OM: You named just a few individuals from Zanu PF and others. Critics are saying those that you named cannot be the only ones driving corruption in the country. They allege that by naming very few individuals, you are just trying to settle scores with those that you named. Are you being pushed by anyone?

GT: It is not true. If you talk of a youth league, you are not talking of an individual, but it’s a structure.

We have structures from cell up to the top and this stance that we have taken is shared by the whole body of the youth league.

We are not pushing any agenda. If you look at the composition of the people who were accused of being corrupt, they are being drawn from the government, party, private sector and others, hence you cannot say there is a vendetta.

We have armchair critics who are bent on criticising what we have done, but remember this thing has to start from somewhere.

Yes, we have not named everyone, but at least we have named certain individuals whom we have concrete evidence against.

We are making a call to every Zimbabwean, not Zanu PF members alone, that they also have a right to expose these people.

It’s not only the duty of the youth league. If people feel that the youth league has not mentioned everyone who is corrupt, they must also come forward and play their part by taking up from where we have left it.-Standard

By Own Correspondent- The ZRP has reportedly started to look into the claims that PHD leader Walter Magaya slept and impregnated a 17-year-old girl Chenai Maenzanise Hassan back in 2013.

This follows a video by Chenai’s parents where they exposed how Magaya raped their minor girl and impregnated her at a show hosted by Enisia Mushusha dubbed The A List Show.

A local publication confirmed that the Police have started looking into the case.

Quoting the highest ranking police officer in Zimbabwe Commissioner General Matanga the publication wrote:

We are happy that the society is playing its part in helping in maintaining  order and making follow ups on cases of this nature. We are looking into this matter.

Watch the video below for this and more….

MDC Alliance legislator Joel Gabbuza, who was arrested last year on charges of insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been placed off remand by the Hwange Magistrate’s Court after the prosecutor-general failed to consent to the trial in reasonable time.

Prosecutor-general Kumbirai Hodzi was expected to give consent for the trial to go ahead since last year, but to no avail.

Last week the matter was in court before Hwange magistrate Barbara Phiri, who ruled that Gabbuza must be placed off remand following the failure by Hodzi to give his consent for the case to proceed.

Gabbuza’s lawyer Thulani Nkala confirmed that his client had been given a reprieve.

Gabbuza has been out of custody on $200 bail.

The Binga South MP is denying the charges of undermining the authority of or insulting the president as defined in section 33(2)(b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

His bail conditions were that he must not interfere with state witnesses and to reside at his given address until the finalisation of the case.

Prosecutor Vumizulu Mangena told the court that on October 23 last year, Gabbuza was at John Bwansula Mumpande’s home in Manzasiya village in Binga where villagers had gathered at a funeral for the burial of a family member.

Manangena said Gabbuza told mourners that: “You people are disabled, you have chosen a d*g who cannot manage to rule the country.

“There is no fuel, medication and I had to go to Zambia to buy fuel which we have used at this funeral.

“I have said so and if there is anyone who is angered about this, I do not have any problem.”

This did not go down well with one of the villagers, who on October 29 reported the matter at Binga Police Station, leading to Gabbuza’s arrest.

Heated exchanges flew in an explosive Zanu PF politburo meeting, where bigwigs publicly accused of corruption by party youths came out guns blazing as they defended themselves and accused the belligerent Young Turks of being sponsored by internal rivals to tarnish their images for political gain, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.

The youths accused Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu , secretary for education Joram Gumbo, secretary for Environment Prisca Mupfumira and politburo committee member Jacob Mudenda, among others, of corruption.

The youths said Mpofu must clear his name from allegations of corruption relating to how he managed the trade of diamonds during his time as Mines minister, while Mupfumira needed to answer corruption allegations arising from abuse of funds at the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) during the time she was Labour minister.

The youths also accused Gumbo of engaging in corrupt activities in relation to how finances were handled at the Zimbabwe National Road Administration Authority (Zinara) and his involvement in the Zimbabwe Airways (ZimAirways) saga.

The controversial airline was established in 2017 and has been subject to several corruption allegations

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo disclosed at a press conference soon after the politburo meeting that an agreement was reached to allow party leader, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations.

But fresh, intricate details of the explosive Wednesday meeting emerged yesterday, amid indications that the accused heavyweights passionately defended themselves before launching fierce counter-attacks on some of the youth league leaders, especially youth affairs secretary Pupurai Togarepi and his deputy Lewis Matutu.

Politburo sources say discussion on the issue lasted hours as irate party leaders took turns to berate the youths, accusing them of seeking relevance by dragging their names into the mud for political capital.

In his opening remarks, Mnangagwa reportedly said while he applauded the youths for joining his anti-corruption crusade, he was disappointed that they made the allegations without consulting him, in line with party protocol.

“The President said he was disappointed that the youths had decided to jump the gun and made announcements without first reaching out to him for guidance. He said that their decision to fight corruption was a noble idea, although they needed to first have approached his office,” a politburo member who attended the meeting said.

Gumbo, sources said, was the one who suggested that Mnangagwa should set-up the commission as he vigorously defended himself. “Gumbo said the youths were misplaced since their allegations were broad and lacked specificity.

He said the youths just made generalised allegations,” the politburo member said.

Gumbo is also said to have argued that all the things he did as Transport minister were above board. On Zinara, the source said, Gumbo said he actually noted anomalies which were happening and ordered a forensic audit to be undertaken on the parastatal.

The subsequent audit, by Grant Thornton, exposed serious cases of corruption and abuse of office by senior managers.

Gumbo is also said to have argued that he was ready to defend himself against allegations of graft at ZimAirways, stating that he was not responsible for handling finances which went towards the purchase of two wide-bodied Boeing 777 planes from Malaysia in 2017.

After Gumbo spoke, sources said a furious Mpofu — who sat at the top table in the absence of the ailing Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga — took a swipe at the “overzealous youths who were according themselves too much power”.

Mpofu reportedly told the meeting that on arrival at the Zanu PF headquarters, he was confronted by the party’s youth league commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu, who told him not to proceed to the meeting because some youths had gathered around the entrance leading into the party headquarters with the intention of denying him entry.

“Mpofu reported that the youths had become too big-headed, saying Tsenengamu had tried to block his entrance into the building, backed by a gang of Mbare-based youths,” a source said.

Mpofu told the politburo members that he informed Tsenengamu: “Let those youths try something silly, I will teach them a lesson. They are idiots.”

Mupfumira is also said to have expressed great disappointment with the behaviour of the youths, alleging that they were being sent by some big people in the party to soil her image for political mileage.

“I think she spoke for the longest time. She was clearly angry with Matutu and Togarepi, describing them as vana mambara (mischief makers) who went around spreading lies about her. She also said she felt greatly humiliated because her children and grandchildren were asking her about the corruption allegations. She also said the timing for the expose was wrong since it came when she was officiating at the African Wildlife Summit in Victoria Falls and that had greatly tarnished the image of the country globally,” another politburo member said.

Mupfumira told the meeting that she strongly believed there were some powerful political figures that were sending the youths to soil her image and affect her social and political standing for political reasons.

In his contribution, former Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, chastised the youths, particularly Matutu and Togarepi for failing to follow party structures.

“Chinamasa took aim at the two for jumping the gun. He said that he was surprised that they would do so, especially after the politburo recently came to their rescue after their fellow youths passed a vote-of-no-confidence on them without following proper procedures. He told them that what they were doing was not different from what those other youths had done to them and they should therefore have known better. He also said that he believed that Matutu and Togarepi were making noise to gain political relevance,” another senior Zanu PF official who sits in the politburo said.

Togarepi, who was absent from the name-and-shame Tuesday press conference, is said to have refrained from the debate, opting instead to let his deputy speak. Matutu is the one who presided over the press conference.

The youth league leader reportedly sought refuge by stating that he had only addressed the press conference on behalf of all the youths and apologised for failing to follow stipulated party structures.

“He (Matutu) did not say much. He simply said he addressed the press conference on behalf of the youths. He then apologised for jumping the gun and that was that,” a politburo source said.

Khaya Moyo declined to comment on the issues raised in an interview with the Independent yesterday, saying the press statement he gave on Wednesday was sufficient. “I have already given a statement on what transpired in the politburo meeting and that is sufficient. I am not going to add anything more,” he said.

ZBC|Religious leaders in Mashonaland Central have called for extensive consultations before passing the Marriage Bill into law.

The men of cloth condemned Section 40 of the proposed bill describing it as an attack on the marriage institution which will lead to domestic violence and an increase in sexually transmitted infections.

Pastors who converged in Bindura under the Auspices of Courtship and Marriage Foundation (COMAFO) welcomed the Marriage Bill for recognising property rights but expressed reservations over certain grey areas which they view as legalising adultery and threatening the stability of the family institution.

Section 40 of the proposed bill stipulates that one can enter into a civil partnership commonly referred to as “small house” with a person of the opposite sex who is above the age of 18 even if they are married under chapter 5:11

“Once we legalise having civil partners we are fueling STIs through multiple partnerships,” said one of the pastors.

“The loophole in this bill is that a person who does not indulge in an extra marital affair partnership will suffer from the actions of the one who does,” said another pastor.

“What will happen to the woman who has been wasted since we say we are all equal?,” asked another pastor.

COMAFO founding director, Reverend Herbert Mazonde challenged the legislators to consult extensively indicating that nations are founded on solid family institutions.

“The bill promotes promiscuity, gender based violence through raising unnecessary emotions… The whole section is immoral, promotes and validates adultery and does not protect property of the innocent party and children,” he said.

Calls were also made for adequate training to traditional leaders before certifying them as marriage officers to preserve the sacredness of the marriage institution.

Zanu PF National Political Commissar, who is also the Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Victor Matemadanda has warned people who are planning demonstrations against government’s decision to end the multi-currency regime saying such actions will not be tolerated as the policy move was not only popular, but seeks to end the suffering of many Zimbabweans.

Standard|STATE-owned Agribank says it is struggling to pay up to $30 million in loans secured from South Africa-based Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) due to foreign currency shortages.

Agribank CEO Sam Malaba said the bank had been exposed to more forex liabilities since the floating of the exchange rate in February this year, which removed the 1.1 peg between the bond notes and United States dollar.

“Since the floating of the exchange rate in February 2019, the bank is exposed to forex revaluation loss as it has more forex liabilities than forex assets.

“Threats will also come from an IDC SA legacy debt wherein repayments are lagging behind schedule due to shortage of foreign currency.

“As at 31 May 2019, US$20 290 319 due to IDC was in arrears,” Malaba told the annual general meeting last week.

IDC SA extended a US$60 million credit line facility in 2012 in two tranches of US$30 million and by 2016 Agribank had managed to repay US$17 million of the first tranche with the other US$30 million remaining.

Last year the bank secured another US$30 million credit line, which is yet to be drawn down from the same institution.

The bank, which was on the sanctions list before being removed in 2016, has been relying on regional financiers to access lines of credit to fund the agriculture sector-related value chains.

The financial institution has been entrusted to administer the distribution of mechanisation equipment from a government- mobilised US $100 million facility.

Authorities want the bank to assess farmers’ creditworthiness through the credit bureau so as to limit defaults and as well ensure transparency and efficiency.

Farmers will also access the equipment based on productivity history.

The bank recorded profit of RTGS$4,6 million for the five- month period of 2019 ending May 31 above the budgeted profit of RTGS$3,8 million driven by non-interest income and interest income, reflecting marked loan book growth during the year.

Growth in non-interest income was mainly due to increased transactions from the ICT delivery channels and electronic banking.

The bank said operating expenses had been growing rapidly due to the high inflation and exchange rate movements.

It was of the view that the operating environment would remain depressed due to inflation that would translate into increased pressures to raise staff salaries.

“There is pressure on staff and other expenses as inflation continues to rise,” Malaba said.

“Revenue growth is going to be difficult given that the tough operating environment will affect quality loan book growth as creditworthiness of customers declines.”

By Brighton Mutebuka| The bottom line is that he remains innocent until proven guilty. However, the allegations levelled against him are very serious & highly damaging.

They go to the very core of his level of probity and integrity. The expectation is that, as soon as they’re raised, he issues a statement clarifying his position.

In any normal, functioning society, you would also expect the authorities to take a keen interest and issue a press statement whilst also inviting the complainant to make a formal report.

It’s highly concerning that numerous such serious allegations have previously been levelled against him and there’s a pending criminal trial on this. It would have been better if he had recused himself during the relevant period. He’s clearly a controversial character who’s prone to embroiling himself in unsavoury matters.

I have had the privilege of representing very prominent religious leaders here & in Zimbabwe. What I would say is that, without any shadow of doubt, there is a stark contrast between their public and private personas. In the majority of cases, most are deeply flawed with elaborate and highly choreographed public personas to dupe unsuspecting congregants into believing that they’re highly pious when they’re not.

State Media|The introduction of Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 on Monday this week has caused a number of developments in the country. SI 142 of 2019 has removed the multiple currency system and reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar. However, the move has seen producers and retailers, raising prices for goods and services to stratospheric levels, despite the plunge in the parallel market rate for the US dollar against the local currency. State owned Herald Newspaper vDeputy News Editor Africa Moyo (AM), caught up with Industry and Commerce Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu (NN) on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) launch in Harare, to find out what is going on in industry. For more, read the excerpts . . .

AM: Give us an overview of industry since the coming in of the Second Republic.
NN: When we came in, I found an industry that was on its way up, through SI 64 (of 2016), I think we registered significant gains. We had a number of companies that were coming to invest; your Surface Wilmar, Willowton, your Pepsi; quite a number. Others also retooled because we had protected the industry from imports. But that also came with some problems, specifically to do with regional integration efforts, regional industrialisation efforts; we had diplomatic challenges. Initially, the instrument itself was not meant to last long, it needed to have complementing policies that would sustain industries post beyond the Statutory Instrument. So, yes we then saw in October (2018) what happened, where there was a significant spike in demand, panic buying, prices also going up and to protect the consumers, we had to open up the borders so that they had broader choices. Beyond that, we have seen drought affecting significantly our manufacturing sector particularly from the procurement of raw materials’ point of view, in the face of crippling foreign currency shortages. So we have had in the meantime to speedily conclude the process of coming up with policies that will support sustainable industrial growth, and the two policies — Industrial Policy launched today, as well as local content strategy, speak precisely to that. We believe that there is no country that does not promote their industries, but there are covert protection mechanisms which by and large in the mould of local content policy strategy. As a country we are going to robustly pursue a policy where companies that have a tendency to import that which we have capacity to produce locally, will be faced with high tariffs. Some might not even be able to sell or have those products listed in our shelves. We will have strict listing regulations coming from the local content committee that is going to be set up. So we have really staggered along, we have tried to hang in there.

AM: And as industries try to find their feet, we have recently seen high prices of goods, particularly this week, following the introduction of SI 142 of 2019. What is going on?
NN: The issue of price increases is one factor that is having a huge impact on the industries’ side because aggregate demand has gone down. And my concern is that predominant price increases are not justified. We discussed it here (during the ZNIDP launch), why are we seeing price increases? Should we as Government close borders when I can buy a product 10 times less just across the border because somebody here wants to profiteer? That cannot happen. And this is a clear warning to them that unless we work in partnership, unless we complement each other’s efforts, we will not achieve the goals we have set ourselves. Industry will not realise its potential, there will not grow with this attitude. I had to phone someone from Bakers Inn yesterday (Thursday) when I was in Victoria Falls, a (330ml) can of coke going for $10. And I asked them, how do you justify this? Of course, he found a way of referring me to someone, but the message was clear, we are penalising consumers whom we rely on for our own survival and growth, it doesn’t add up.

AM: Regards price increases, have you scheduled a meeting with retailers to find common ground?
NN: These are ongoing and at this point really they are at director level and they engage weekly, I did not expect what they are doing this week, it’s really misbehaviour if I may put it in that way. The interactions have culminated in what we have seen in the private sector, the millers, the retailers, have come up with monitoring mechanisms where they move around, they send monitors, they have guidelines in terms of pricing models . . . So the discussions are ongoing and I hope that private sector comes to their senses rather sooner.

AM: Give us the latest regards the National Competitiveness Commission, which can bring order in terms of prices.
NN: It’s an important institution and they work closely with the private sector, I am happy this really was an initiative of the private sector. So as Government we have given the green light to set up a secretariat that will spearhead the implementation for monitoring competitiveness and recommending actions to take to both Government and the private sector. As it stands, the process of recruiting the head of the institution is underway I am told the board has identified the people, they have seconded them for clearance. So we should be seeing the institution coming into effect in the next month or so.

AM: Tell us the extent to which SI 142 will impact on industry.
NN: The starting point is that we needed our own currency. In my view, it took too long to come back, but it has come, we are really grateful that we can transact in a local currency.

There is no economy that can withstand the pressure that we found ourselves facing. So firstly, we have seen the parallel market (forex rates) tumbling because it was on the back of speculative tendencies that were not backed by any fundamentals.

Secondly, I expect that our products going forward will be more competitive because the strong currency itself puts us in a disadvantage. What we did not probably realise and adequately plan for, was countering the strong US dollar over the years; not just the strong US dollar, but the attraction of the US dollar. We became a fishing pond of the currency, which is why everyone was dumping (goods).

People literally sold products at break-even point because of the attraction of the US dollar. And that was at the expense of our industry. That is why I am saying it took too long to get us here. Now that we have our own currency, I want to believe we are in a better position to produce products that we can sell.

Even the export market itself; I will tell you confessions from industry and from my ministry; that there was a time when they encouraged industry to export and they were told that I am getting the US dollar here, what do I want from outside? Beyond that, the product would be more expensive here so there was no motivation to export.

That did not grow our aggregate earnings as a nation. So this is correcting a lot of fundamentals that had gone wrong. Primarily we have to look at production, this will have a huge positive impact on our production capacity. So I believe going forward, we are better set.

AM: There are concerns over power outages in the country. What is the impact on industry?
NN: (It’s) quite negatively, severely because we have reduced our manufacturing hours to between eight and 15 (hours) a day and at times even less. So it’s affecting our production capacity, its affecting the cost structure itself because it means for the hours you are not producing, you still incur a cost and you spread it across the few products you are making. But the point I made is how do we move out of this? The starting point; the private sector, companies, mines, owe a cumulative $350 million, most of which really is US dollars to Zesa. How does Zesa pay imported electricity if we are not paying? So from the private sector point of view, I made a clarion call, let us pay bills. Beyond that, let’s look ahead, the power shortages are presenting business opportunities, these are businesspeople. If I were them I would be seeing numerous opportunities, first to cut on the electricity bill for my company, but possibilities of shedding part of it to my colleagues. So certain challenges create opportunities and we will continue with the discourse to explore and exploit the opportunities that are coming.

AM: Tell us if Government is putting up any facilities to support industrial growth.
NN: We will continue to source innovative funding sources. We have Afreximbank, they have hinted on a possibility of two, but it’s still too early to say, but there once was one which was targeting companies that had export potential because it cushions them in terms of getting back their money.

We are in the process of reviving that, but they have also proposed a syndicated funding where we can have a pool system to support numerous small to medium enterprises who will support these companies that are exporting and find a way in which they can repay the monies.

They have interesting ideas around funding. African development bank is another potential partner, UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) is another potential partner, but as Government, we have put aside $30 million for purposes of capacitating IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) whose mandate is being streamlined to that of a DFI (Development Finance Institution) specifically to target industries that have huge potential that require funding and they go there, they fund and assist those companies to grow.

So funding is essential in industrial growth and we will continuously explore ways of funding companies.

Business Day S.A.|Zimbabweans seeking travel documents to leave the country are enduring nightmares as the country has virtually stopped issuing passports to ordinary citizens as a result of foreign currency shortages.

Officials at the passport office in Harare told Business Day that the office is printing only five to 10 passports a day, with the documents reserved for diplomats or the few “special cases” approved by the minister of home affairs.

At the heart of the problem are shortages of foreign currency as the country has no adequate funds to import the ink, paper and other material to print the passports.

Ordinary citizens seeking to apply for the travel documents are being told that they need to return after 2021, when the office hopes to have cleared its backlog of more than 300,000 applications. 

With its economy experiencing its worst slide in 10 years, many Zimbabweans are keen to leave the country for greener pastures abroad as living conditions have become unbearable.

Last month Zimbabwe’s inflation rate reached almost 100%, the second highest in the world after Venezuela.

Rampant inflation has seen the cost of basic goods skyrocketing beyond the reach of many as commodities have gone up by close to 10 times since late last year, when the economy began to nosedive.

But any plans to leave the country are being met with a brick wall for those desperate to acquire travel documents.

The situation is particularly dire for those seeking to leave the country for medical attention. A good number of patients in Zimbabwe need to be treated abroad, as the country’s health sector has almost collapsed with state hospitals lacking medicines and medical equipment.

A wheelchair-bound patient in the queue at the passport office told Business Day that he now feared death after failing to get travel documents despite having a recommendation letter from his doctor explaining the urgency of his predicament.

 “I need to undergo emergency surgery in India. My passport has expired and I was supposed to be in India two weeks ago but I have failed to travel because I have no passport. I do not know what to do. Maybe they just want me to die here,” he said.

Human rights activists are concerned about the situation, which has degenerated into a humanitarian crisis.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has described the passport crisis as “one of the major human rights challenges affecting the country”.

“The commission will inquire into and determine the root causes and factors which prevent easy access to identity documents, particularly passports, and to assess the impact of documentation by individuals and groups on the enjoyment of human rights, guaranteed under the constitution, national laws and relevant international and regional treaties and instruments,” the ZHRC said in a statement.

The commission also said it had invited written and oral submissions from stakeholders and the public by not later than July 31 to record grievances against the passport-issuing office.

Many who spoke to Business Day expressed frustration with the registrar-general’s office, which is responsible for issuing passports.

“I have given up,” said Emelda Rukawo, who resides in Namibia and had returned home to renew her passport, which expired in May.

“I feel trapped. What is worse is that I cannot live in Zimbabwe because of the economic situation. My family depends on me to send money back home when I am at my job in Namibia but now I don’t know what to do next.”

Illegal exit

A 21-year-old man who asked not to be named said the only option available to him was to skip the border to SA.

Another woman who said she had camped at the passport office for two weeks pleaded with government to urgently intervene.

“We see Mnangagwa [President Emmerson Mnangagwa] flying out of the country all the time, gobbling millions of dollars but they don’t bother to provide funds for such a dire situation. Our country is a shame.”

Home affairs minister Cain Mathema did not pick up his mobile phone when Business Day phoned to seek a comment.

Mathema recently told state-owned daily newspaper The Herald that the situation would improve.

“Members of the public should not panic. We are working on it. Yes we have been facing some challenges, but I would want to assure passport applicants that we have managed to overcome some of these challenges.”

A senior official at the passport office, however, told Business Day that the situation was worsening. In May “we were printing 30 passports a day and we thought that it could not get worse than that. As we speak, we have reduced the number to just 10 a day. On some days we are forced to do just five and these are only for special cases.”

Many that are in need of the passports often sleep in queues for days or weeks just to submit their applications for the travel documents.

After submitting the documents hundreds of applicants cannot follow up to request urgent passports as they are told that they can only get the documents in 2021.

Jane Mlambo| Controversial opposition politician Linda Masarira has sensationally claimed that MDC officials stole donated funds meant for the 2013 elections and bought farms in Zambia.

Writing on Twitter today, Masarira who now leads her own political party LEAD said the unnamed officials stole $8 million from the $12 million donated which they used to buy cattle ranching farms in Zambia.

“Do you know that top MDC officials stole US$8million from the $12million donated for the 2013 election &bought farms on the Zambian maize belt from Monza, Mazabuka, Chome, Kabwe where they are doing cattle ranching? There is a lot of cleaning up to do in Zimbabwe,” said Masarira.

Masarira is no stranger to controversy and has always attacked MDC officials. Last year, she appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into the 1 August shootings where she claimed they had orchestrated a plot to destabilize the country.

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwe risks being plunged into total darkness.

The state owned power utility is struggling to pay a debt of more than US$40million – over R580m to Eskom.

It also owes millions to Mozambique.

This is for electricity borrowed in the past few years.

Zimbabwe is experiencing 19 hours of load shedding a day.

A situation that’s left most industries closed and people struggling with their daily lives.

Speaking to journalists in the capital Harare, the Zimbabwe energy minister, Fortune Chasi has said in addition to the debt to Eskom, millions are also owed to Mozambique’s power utility, HCB.

“As it is at the moment we owe HCB and Eskom US$83million, very huge amount of money,” said Chasi.

Chasi says the nation should itself brace for hard times as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority is in shambles due to domestic and foreign debt.

The minister admits the situation is critical and is asking for the nation’s support.

Zimbabwe last experienced such serious electricity blackouts in 2016 following a drought.

Water troubles have continued at Lake Kariba with water levels continuing to drop on a weekly basis.

According to information obtained from the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), the lake level continued receding, dropping by 10 centimeters in the course of the week, before closing at 479.48 meters on 27th June 2019 compared to last year on the same date when the lake level was at 486.84 meters.

According to Zambezi River Authority, the lake levels have not peaked after the rains subsided early April.

It takes about three months for waters to start collecting and building up in the lakes and other water reservoirs that feed from rivers.

Lake Kariba is designed to operate between levels 475.50 meters and 488.50 meters for hydropower generation.

The national Airline Air Zimbabwe has failed to account for 3 planes the Daily News on Sunday has reported.

The aircrafts which have disappeared are MA60.

The Auditor General Mildred Chari is quoted to have said there is no paper trail or explanation available to establish the fate that befell the planes.

The planes which were purchased in 2005/2006 cost US$12.5 million each.

Chari is reported to have said between 2009 to 2013 there was no appropriate audit and inventory in the company.

“The breakdown in internal controls continued in the current year and accordingly i was unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence that the financial statements are not materially misstated.”Chari said.

Zimbabweans took to social media to vent their displeasure at the grand theft at the national airline.

Air Zimbabwe is currently under an administrator under the Reconstruction Act.

Former Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa is the Board Chairperson of the national airline.

Prophetic, Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader Walter Magaya has remained mum in the face of damning allegations that he sexually abused a young congregant.

ZimEye.com has been running extremely damning live coverages of interviews of people around the young lady who Magaya has been accused of abusing with calls for the controversial church leader’s arrest growing every hour.

PHD spokesperson Admire Mango said he could not comment on the allegations because it was a private matter that had nothing to do with the church.

He said Magaya was out of the country. Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the law enforcement agency would only comment on the issue in due course.

Parents of the going girl claimed that Magaya raped their daughter on several occasions and impregnated her.

The mother of the alleged victim said she learnt of the rape while ushering at PHD Ministries.

“They were never in love, but he just manipulated her and had sex with her against her will in several places including inside the toilet and prayer room,” said the alleged victim’s mother.

On the other hand, the alleged victim accused unnamed people of embarking on a smear campaign. She said she was safe despite claims her life was in danger.

Today Magaya went on with his Sunday church service with a full congregation and not saying anything about the allegations.

Honorable P Shiri presents at the Leaders' Roundtable on Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) enhancement at the ongoing Abu Dhabi Climate Action Summit. #ClimateChange #Sustainability pic.twitter.com/9CbgAegjIv

— Min of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Zimbabwe (@MOTHI_ZIMBABWE) June 30, 2019

Warriors starting lineup against DRC
Chigova
Darikwa
Pfumbidzai
Hadebe
Mhlanga
Phiri
Munetsi
Karuru
Billiat
Chawapihwa
Musona

— Zimbabwe Football Association (@online_zifa) June 30, 2019

Please note that some of the pictures below are not for those of a nervous disposition.

Farai Dziva| There was commotion in Bikita yesterday as MDC members mobbed Zanu PF Youth League member Brian Mudumi.

The MDC members sang:Enda Undodzosera Scarf kwaNdunge”

In a statement Mudumi confirmed he met MDC members at Jakachaka Business Centre in Bikita.

“Yesterday I met some MDC comrades at Jakachaka Business Center in Bikita while having braai with my siblings.

There was a lot of bad verbal exchanges (as they chanted , ” enda unodzorera scava kwa ndunge……”

Later on we shared jokes, exchanged wisdom and we had one voice on ,”Unity of purpose “

I was inspired to learn that we need each other as brothers and sisters in this beautiful nation more than engaging in unnecessary fights.

We had our braai and later realised two of the collegues are my cousins.

Well the moral of the story, Unity is key,” said Mudumi.

#WhereIsTheBeef
What is the ideological and policy content of the so-called "Vision 2030" and what does "Vision 2030" offer to ZanuPF members and supporters or to ordinary Zimbabweans in the rural & urban areas today, leave alone tomorrow, but today?

Pasi nemhandu. Hezvoko bwaa! pic.twitter.com/9dsshuN1ol

— Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) June 30, 2019

Jane Mlambo| Controversial opposition politician Linda Masarira has sensationally claimed that MDC officials stole donated funds meant for the 2013 elections and bought farms in Zambia.

Writing on Twitter today, Masarira who now leads her own political party LEAD said the unnamed officials stole $8 million from the $12 million donated which they used to buy cattle ranching farms in Zambia.

“Do you know that top MDC officials stole US$8million from the $12million donated for the 2013 election &bought farms on the Zambian maize belt from Monza, Mazabuka, Chome, Kabwe where they are doing cattle ranching? There is a lot of cleaning up to do in Zimbabwe,” said Masarira.

Do you know that top MDC officials stole US$8million from the $12million donated for the 2013 election &bought farms on the Zambian maize belt from Monza, Mazabuka, Chome, Kabwe where they are doing cattle ranching? There is a lot of cleaning up to do in Zimbabwe. #StopCorruption

— Linda Tsungirirai Masarira (@lilomatic) June 30, 2019

Masarira is no stranger to controversy and has always attacked MDC officials. Last year, she appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into the 1 August shootings where she claimed they had orchestrated a plot to destabilize the country.

The government is reportedly considering scrapping off import duty on certain goods to allow individuals with free funds to access affordable goods across the country’s borders. This is said to have been necessitated by some businesses that are charging outrageous prices for their commodities.

Sunday News reports that the government also plans to revoke licences of businesses that have defied the government’s orders to charge normal prices.

The warnings come as the business sector, responding to the introduction of Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019, hiked their prices. SI 142 banned the use of all foreign currencies for domestic transactions and reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar. This resulted in the local currency gaining value against the US$ on the parallel market. Analysts, therefore, argue that hiking prices was pure sabotage.

A snap survey by Sunday News showed that some businesses had however started reducing their prices. For instance,

• 2 litres cooking oil = $16 & $18 from $20;
• 2kgs packet of flour = $11 & $12 from $15 to $30. 

Speaking to Sunday News on Friday, Industry and Commerce Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said that the government was considering measures to address the issue of the prices.

We are considering a number of options including reviewing the tariffs regime. I don’t know if we need to be charging duty for people who go and buy groceries outside the country for use when local businesses are killing the same people with high prices. If they continue with this we will remove duty and people can go and buy outside freely.

-State Media

The Harare City Council (HCC) has received $3 million from Government as part of the funds meant to bankroll devolution programmes within its jurisdiction.

The disbursement comes from the $310 million resource envelopment that has been set aside for devolution this year.

HCC town clerk, Engineer Hosiah Chisango said the local authority has already received its share of the cake.

The money, he said, would be used to rehabilitate the city’s water infrastructure.

“Government has disbursed $2,9 million as part of devolution funds to the City of Harare and this is being used in the rehabilitation of filters at Morton Jaffray.

“As such, the city has seen a gradual increase in infrastructure rehabilitation,” he said.

Devolution, which involves the ceding of a portion of central Government powers to provincial councils, became a constitutional requirement after enactment of a new Constitution in 2013.

Already, Government has released more than $31 million to Masvingo province, with Chiredzi and Mwenezi Rural District Councils (RDCs) getting the biggest chunk of the money.

Further, a total of $26 million has been allocated for devolution programmes in Mashonaland Central.

Meanwhile, City of Harare says it requires US$600 million to replace aged water pipes and an additional US$450 million for sewage facilities in the next five years.

City fathers are accused of pumping dirty water into people’s homes.

Water rationing has also affected both domestic and industrial users.

Eng Chisango said: “The city has also invested in the rehabilitation of sewage treatment works, with 60 percent of Firle Sewage works now restored.

“The city will be moving to control urban agriculture because the fertilisers and pesticides used in agriculture are eventually leached to the dams and these aid the growth of water weeds and algae, leading to continued pollution of the water sources.

“Remedial plans are in place and being implemented. Complete overhaul of the sewerage infrastructure, regulation of waste disposal from industries and regulation of urban agriculture will see renewal of our current water sources and reduction of water treatment expenditure, as well as guaranteed potable water quality.”

City of Harare, however, says it has enough water to last the city until the next rainy season.-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- The Auditor-General, Mrs Mildred Chiri, uncovered continued dereliction of duty and deep-seated wrongdoing, especially in accounting procedures and procurement processes by public officers withing government parastatals and various arms of government.

Local authorities were also  rapped for continued malpractices.

The audit was for the year ending December 31, 2018.

The new political administration, which is currently reforming SOEs, has already promised remedial action to stem continued malfeasance in public entities.

At a press briefing last week, Mrs Chiri ominously indicated that some of the discrepancies, particularly related to procuring goods and services, may have been occasioned by outright criminal activities and have since been referred to Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).

The Sunday Mail has established that Government will soon write letters to all parastatals and departments emphasising the need to act urgently on the recommendations, not only of the new audit report, but on legacy issues that have been raised in the past.

The acts of omission or commission are understood to be bleeding State coffers.

As of May 31 2019, 76 SOEs and parastatals out of a total of 179 entities had not yet submitted their financial statements for audit by Government.

Some of the shocking details uncovered by the Auditor-General’s Office include the case where the Zimbabwe Electrification Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) — a unit of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) — has not yet taken delivery of transformers nine years after making a US$4,9 million payment to Pito Investments.

“The same contractor was paid in advance an amount of US$561 935 by the Zimbabwe Power Company in 2016 and has not delivered,” said Mr Chiri.

“In addition, ZPC  paid R196 064 in 2016 to York International for gas that has not been received.”

ZETDC was previously advised to pursue the delivery of goods and services already paid for but did not implement the recommendations.

The case mirrors the rot in most public entities as they continue haemorrhaging millions of dollars from botched deals.

GMB was flagged for a similar deal, where it made an advance payment of $1 million in 2016 for goods and services that were never delivered.

Air Zimbabwe  could not escape the attention of auditors for murky accounting practices.

Expenses worth more than $14 million could not be accounted for.

“The company could not provide supporting documentation for operating expenses amounting to $13 million and petty cash expenditure amounting to $654 587,” said Mrs Chiri.

“The airline  had an unexplained suspense balance of $27 million. The company has not accounted for all aircraft,” read part of damning report.

Cash withdrawals amounting to $173 162 could not be traced to the books of accounts.

The Auditor-General flagged a curious case involving examination management body Zimsec, which continues to outsource printing services even after splashing US$3 million on its own printing press in 2016.

The parastatal notably spent US$2,1 million for printing the June and November examination papers the following year.

The money splurged on outsourcing the service is significantly more than the US$1,3 million that was needed to commission its own printing press.

“I noted that the printing press was installed in 2018 after a part payment of US$3 million, leaving a balance of US$1,3 million,” said Mrs Chiri.

“Due to the outstanding balance, the council (Zimsec) could not commission the printing press. As a result, the council had to outsource the printing of O Level June and November 2017 examination papers at a cost of $251 367 and $1 million, respectively.”

Another case involves Allied Timbers, which operated eight bank and EcoCash accounts that were, however, not registered in its name.

In fact, some of the accounts were opened under names of individuals.

NSSA’s questionable investments, some of which were made against financial advice, have come under scrutiny.

More than $80 million was reportedly put at risk after it was invested in troubled banks.

Added Mrs Chiri: “NSSA invested in Treasury Bills (TBs) amounting to $20 million with Metbank during the year despite the fact that the Authority’s risk and management department had recommended against this investment,” said Mrs Chiri.

“The bank had a nil trading limit due to the fact that its risk of default was high and was deemed to be financially weak.”

NSSA further placed $62,3 million worth of TBs with the same bank after reaching an agreement that NSSA’s board would advise Metbank on how the TBs would be used.

However, a NSSA officer subsequently instructed Metbank to use TBs with a face value of $37, 4 million without authorisation from the board.

Auditors indicated alleged malpractices at the Pig Industry Board, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe United Passengers Company.

Local authorities are similarly in the eye of a storm for lack of transparency and accountability.

As of May 2019, only three out of 92 local authorities had audited financial statements.

There are  multiple cases of alleged malpractices.

For example, the Auditor-General criticised the Harare City Council for wasting ratepayers money by hiring equipment for $222 950 instead of repairing its own at a cost of $159 969.

“The asphalt plant which mixes tar was not functional. It required $159 969 to bring it back into service. The council in turn sought services from private companies for tar mixing and in the process incurred $222 950. However, I could not comprehend the economic rationale of the council’s decision,” said Mrs Chiri.

Council management, however, conceded that they had made a wrong decision.

Auditors  questioned Harare City Council’s penchant for borrowing after it sourced US$32,5 million to pay salaries without approval from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.

“Service delivery might be compromised if council borrows for recurrent expenses such as salaries of employees,” added Mrs Chiri.

Local authorities in Gweru and Mutare were  rapped for the same practice.

Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in charge of Implementation and Monitoring Dr Joram Gumbo said Government would remind public officials on the need to action the recommendations from the reports.

“Normally, there is a procedure to be followed when implementing reports.

“There are various reports, not just the Auditor-General’s report, made for ministries and various State enterprises.

“But I would not want to point fingers and say such and such is to blame because most of the ministers we have now are new.

“Some of them may not be aware of the reports that were made before they came in.

“But what I am going to do through my office is to write to responsible ministries reminding them of any outstanding policy reports that may need to be implemented.

“It is something we will do in a respectful manner.”-StateMedia

ZimEye would like to notify our valued readers that we have nothing to do with a news article doing the rounds on social media attributed to us titled “Angry Zanu Pf top official threatens to expose how zanu pf and President Emerson Mnangagwa rigged elections.”

We have never published such an article.

Please note that all our stories have a direct link which when you click takes you directly to our site ZimEye.com.

Below is the fake news article being attributed to us.

Zimeye.news
28 June 2019
Angry Zanu Pf top official threatens to expose how zanu pf and President Emerson Mnangagwa rigged elections.

A Senior Zanu pf party official threatened to expose how his party stole elections last year.”Those elections were rigged in favour of the President,we all know the truth in our party.If they continue to harass and embarass me I will expose how the elections were rigged.I have the information and enough evidence for Zimbabweans and the whole world to prove how those elections were rigged”
Zimeye.news journalist held an interview with a senior Zanu pf official after the politibro meeting.The Nelson Chamisa Mdc Alliance refuses to accept that President Mnangagwa won the Presidential election last year accusing ZEC of rigging in favour of Zanu Pf and Mnangagwa.

By:Chipo Chitsa
Zimeye.news

ZIMBABWE is committed to entrenching constitutionalism and adhering to democratic tenets as critical pillars in achieving prosperity and contributing towards regional and international advancement, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.

In his speech after being conferred with a honorary doctorate in laws by the University of Zambia yesterday, the President said there was need for regional leaders to cooperate in order to unlock inherent opportunities in the region.

“In our quest to achieve sustainable economic development, it is imperative that we remain cognisant of the rule of law as a universal instrument of development. To this end, we must commit as countries and as a people to entrench within our respective jurisdictions constitutionalism and democratic tenets for the good of our people,” he said.

“We must, thus, strengthen legal frameworks and institutions which fight corruption as well as propel the modernisation and industrialisation of our economies to improve the livelihoods of our people. As African governments, we must never shy away from entrenching the rule of law for the people to benefit and protect them.”

President Mnangagwa, who is a lawyer by profession and is an alumni of the University of Zambia, said empowerment of ordinary people must be a governance priority that should be administered continually with increased focus on management of economies, political, cultural, scientific and social interests of the country through channels and institutions provided by law.-StateMedia

Gukurahundi should be discussed freely and openly by people in order to find lasting solutions and closure on the matter, Vice President Kembo Mohadi has said.

Speaking after a closed-door meeting with chiefs from Matabeleland South in Gwanda Town yesterday, V P Mohadi said he was happy that dialogue was starting to take root.

“I am happy that people are talking about it and that is the only way we can bring closure to this issue. We are going to get closure. Some suggestions were brought about during our meeting, including compensation for the victims, openly talking about the issue and other developmental issues such as why we lag behind other provinces,” he said.

He applauded chiefs for a fruitful meeting.

The parties pledged to continue dialoguing.

“We talked about devolution, we need to leverage on our locally available resources in order to generate employment and improve the standard of living for our people.

“We could not exhaust everything, but the chiefs will meet again and have a draft of resolutions and we will consider in order of importance their suggestions and work on them,” he said.

V P Mohadi said it was an established fact that African societies have always had institutional mechanisms to uphold peace, tolerance, solidarity and respect.

These structures, he added, were responsible for promoting peace, confidence-building, peace-making, peace-building, conflict management and conflict resolution.

“However, I have resolved to base my peace-building and conflict-resolution crusade on our tradition and culture cognisant that I have to engage other social groups, but using the traditional cultural approach as the platform for my engagement and dialogue with these other social groups.

“I am going to engage young people in their social spaces of schools, colleges and universities and take my message of peace-building and conflict resolution to them. I shall engage women groups, business and religious organisations on this peace-building conflict-resolution crusade.”

He said chiefs were the custodians of traditions and culture and that their status and role is recognised in the Constitution.

-State Media

Zimbabwe’s worsening electricity shortages mean power is often only available for a few hours in the middle of the night — forcing furniture maker Richard Benhura to start work at 11:00 pm.

It is just one aspect of the country’s dire economic difficulties as official inflation nears 100 percent and supplies of daily essentials such as bread and petrol regularly run short.

“If you want to work, you have to be here overnight and start when the electricity comes on until it goes off around 4:00 am,” Benhura, 32, said as he made some wooden backrests for chairs.

At the open-air Glen View furniture market in Harare, Benhura welds steel frames for chairs and grinds off rough edges in the darkness, and then returns to do his manual woodwork in the daylight.

Zimbabwe — where the economy has recently lurched into a fresh crisis — introduced rotational power cuts of up to 19 hours a day earlier this year, forcing many to do their ironing or cooking in the dead of night.

For Egenia Chiwashira, a resident of the poor Harare suburb of Mbare, the outages are a grim burden.

The mother of three in her 40s says she can barely afford to feed her family, let alone pay for a generator.

– ‘We are in darkness’ –

“To cook porridge for my children needs electricity, also for me to prepare myself something to eat,” Chiwashira said, while stoking a fire she had made outside her house to prepare supper.

“We are always in darkness. It’s not easy. Life in the city is tough without electricity. You have to buy firewood unlike in rural areas where you can fetch it in forests.

“I can’t afford to buy both wood and candles, so my children cannot do their schoolwork in the evening.”

Zimbabwe last month introduced rolling electricity power cuts known as “load-shedding” due to low water levels at the Kariba hydro-power station, as well as the country’s crumbling power infrastructure and lack of funds to pay for energy imports.

The ZESA power utility said cuts would be imposed between 5:00 am and 10:00 am and 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm, but they often last longer.

“Last week we had no electricity on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Chiwashira said. “We only got supplies back on Monday afternoon.”

Energy minister Fortune Chasi has pledged the outages would be reduced, and urged consumers to pay their bills to enable ZESA to buy more power from neighbouring countries.

“We will be turning the corner pretty soon,” Chasi told a post-Cabinet briefing this week, adding that ZESA had just paid a $20-million debt to neighbouring South Africa.

South Africa’s state-owned energy company Eskom on Friday denied the money had been paid.

– No post-Mugabe upturn –

One of few to see an improvement in business is Simba Vuremu, a stationery shop owner who has added solar lighting units to his stock.

“They are selling and selling fast,” he said.

After Robert Mugabe was ousted from power in 2017, many Zimbabweans hoped that their country’s long economic deline would be reversed under his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa promised to end the country’s international isolation, attract investors and create growth that could fund the country’s shattered public services.

But the economy has declined further, with shop prices rocketing at the fastest rate since hyperinflation wiped out savings and pensions ten years ago.

This week, Zimbabwe in theory ended the use of US dollars and other foreign currencies that have been the official legal tender since the Zimbabwe dollar was rendered worthless in 2009.

The government’s surprise decision fuelled further confusion and uncertainty.

For Caution Kasisi, 45, another furniture-maker in Glen View, the power cuts have only added to his worries.

“We have a small petrol-powered generator which cannot run for a long time,” he said.

“The price of food and other things like school fees are going up and we are not getting much money because we can’t deliver our goods. We have got a problem.”

-MSN

Robin Takunda Goremucheche: These young guys lack strategic planning.

1.A stay away needs to outline the goals/ aims to which the action is being taken. We need to be very clear about what we want to achieve.

2) You need to take into consideration the environment/ circumstances in which you intend achieve your objective. It will help you deduce the parameters/ limits to which u can push those that intend to participate.

3) Leadership has to be clear for the purposes of communication. During the liberation struggle leaders & a chain of command was known. Tajamuka shld be serious if they want to take/play this role.

Now with our economic environment were the majority live from hand to mouth it’s not strategic to have an indefinite stay away, it will fail & when it fails pple will lack interest. It’s wiser to organize 2 day stay aways with the masses being advised well in advance to stock up food and essentials.

1 day stay aways are not effective and neither is anything beyond 2 days. You will need to work with these, and be strategic as to how often pple stay away and which days of the week and month.

Just a piece of advice.

Teela Bruce Gopito: That’s a cowardly move “Stay home until Munangagwa resigns from a position he gained from a coup” THAT’S COWARDLY

Tafadzwa Emm: Ivo vanopihwa mari nema ma donors. Iwewe company yako inoti hauna kushanda haubhadarwe kana kuti inoto broker yovhara. Apa ED wacho wont resign and they know it ana Promise vacho

President Emmerson had a rude awakening after the Chiefs from Midlands and Matabeleland bluntly told him that their people need a national apology preceded by truth telling about what happened during the Gukurahundi genocide. The Chiefs who submitted a joint presentation said the state was to blame for the murder pf more than 20 000 Zimbabweans in Midlands and Matabeleland.

They told Mnangagwa that as the Head of State he must apologise on behalf of the state.

Read the summary below:

The state committed the atrocities and therefore the state should assume responsibility for the atrocities and issue an official apology and, in our constitutional architecture, the state is represented in the office of the Head of State. Your Excellency, it is important to distinguish between an official apology and a personal apology. Personal responsibility is irrelevant when considering an official apology. It is not you apologising for your personal acts or omissions but the state apologising for the actions of its agencies. It is irrelevant whether the Head of State is in any way personally responsible for the atrocities. It is irrelevant whether or not he was even there at the time of the commission of the atrocities. An apology is a moral obligation of the occupant of the office of the Head of State where atrocities or wrongs of one form or another are committed in the name of government or state and not necessarily an admission of personal responsibility on the part of the Head of State as a person.

Your Excellency, lest we be accused of making a bald and wild allegation on the responsibility of the State, it is important to say we have assumed that the state is culpable for Gukurahundi atrocities because the perpetrators were employees of the state, were paid and housed by the state, were funded by the state, were transported by the state, carried state-issued weapons and ammunition, flew the Zimbabwean flag in their bases and offices, were promoted after the atrocities, are earning retirement benefits from the state, and were not arrested or in anyway punished by the state for the crimes they committed, and, most importantly, the state did not at the time and since that time distance itself from the crimes. The state, as a unit, is therefore liable and should be held responsible for the actions of its employees unless it demonstrates on evidence that the crimes committed were solely the actions of specifically named individuals or unless a truly independent body has determined otherwise. As far as we know, at all material times, the government of the day had the right, ability and duty to control the actions of those who committed Gukurahundi atrocities on the ground because they were acting in its name and were accountable to it. It chose not to exercise this power.

The truth telling process, for example, enables victims and survivors to know about the circumstances of gross violations of their human rights, to know the fate of their disappeared loved ones or at least know the circumstances under which they disappeared or were killed. It also serves to inform the nation about what happened to their fellow citizens. Acknowledgment of the occurrence of the deaths, injuries, rape and related suffering that took place during Gukurahundi is therefore key to closure. When one reads Section 252 (c) of the Constitution, it is clear that truth telling is contemplated in pursuit of justice, healing and reconciliation. Truth telling is not important only for victims but also for perpetrators. They too need to be freed from the tremendous bondage of the burden of unacknowledged injurious conduct in respect of having killed, raped, tortured, starved and disappeared fellow citizens directly or through the agency of someone else.

By Own Correspondent| Opposition MDC’s Secretary for Education, advocate, Fadzayi Mahere has questioned the rationale behind president Mnangagwa’s purported plans to set up a Corruption Commission.

Mahere believes that the Auditor General, Mrs Mildred Chiri already did a splendid job in exposing corruption within government.

The advocate believes that the government should now be contemplating or instituting arrests.

She said:

Dear @edmnangagwa, With respect, why set up a commission of inquiry to address corruption yet the nation has a most competent Auditor-General who has brought to light deep-seated corruption, backed by evidence? Surely, we should be speaking of arrests & prosecution now?

Her remarks come after president Mnangagwa promised the ZANU PF youth league that he would set up a commission of enquiry to investigate individuals the league implicated in underhand dealings.

His pledge came after ZANU PF politburo had offered to investigate the matter. The youth league, however, rejected the offer saying that there would be a conflict of interest. Resultantly, Mnangagwa said an independent commission comprising individuals who are not linked to the party will be set.

The list contained names of people the ZANU PF youth league was accusing of choking president Mnangagwa’s efforts to revive the economy. The list which contained business and political bigwigs suggested that most of them were engaging in illegal foreign currency trading and corruption.

ALMOST all overpasses in Harare, commonly known as flyovers, have developed structural faults due to lack of maintenance, posing harm to the public if remedial action is not taken urgently.

Investigations have revealed that the overpasses, which are found along Simon Mazorodze, Rotten Row and Lyton roads, have been defective since 2006.

Some of the observed defects include dropping of concrete that has exposed rusted reinforcement steel bars in the beams, a sign experts say, indicates a weakened structure.

The state of affairs was revealed by the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers (ZIE) president, Engineer Bernard Musarurwa, in a letter to the Office of the President and Cabinet, also copied to Parliament.

Engineer Musarurwa notes that city authorities have been aware of the issue for over a decade, but no action has been taken to address it.

He said an inspection report, by an unnamed engineering firm, at the invitation of Harare City Council in 2006, proposed more detailed investigations to establish the exact nature and extent of the structural faults noted.

However, the recommendations were not implemented by the city, prompting Engineer Musarurwa to launch an appeal with the Office of the President and Cabinet.

“This is the case of the flyovers on Simon Mazorodze interchange with Rotten Row, which bridges were inspected in 2006, and serious structural defects were noted and reported upon, yet no action has been taken to date,” said Engineer Musarurwa.

“Unfortunately, this is not the only case needing urgent remedial action. Other bridges on the national highways have also been inspected and reported upon that remedial action was required.”

Pressed on why the Harare City Council has failed to act on the matter, spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme said the structural repairs for the overpasses were a responsibility of the Ministry Transport and Infrastructural Development.

He, however, acknowledged that the city was now working with the ministry to address the issue.

“We are aware of the issue, but the flyovers are the responsibility of the ministry of transport,” said Mr Chideme.

“That said, we have approached the ministry and we are working together. I can assure you that plans to address the issue are at an advanced stage.”

Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development director for road maintenance, Engineer Kudzanai Chinyanga told The Sunday Mail that the Government was aware of the issue and had already taken measures to begin remedial work.

“City of Harare drew our attention to the need to look at those bridges because they are highly trafficked,” he said.

“We had an internal inspection and agreed with the report that we had to do something.

“What we have done now, in terms of the action plan, we have had a discussion with Treasury that we would require funding, but Treasury then came back to us to say; ‘have the inspection done, the remedial proposals and cost’, so that they can finance the remedial work that needs to be done.”

Eng Chinyanga said the ministry has since approached the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) on the matter. The whole process of procurement and designing of remedial works is expected to take about eight weeks.

Engineer Chinyanga said after Harare, the Government plans to roll out the programme at national level.

“We intend to have a programme on bridge inspections so that we know which bridge needs inspection, which is still safe and the remedial work proposed so that on an annual basis we have targeted bridges for maintenance and we can bid for funding from Treasury,” he said.

Ordinarily, bridges are supposed to be inspected yearly, but there was a period when Government departments were only doing basic inspections to make sure roads were trafficable.

A government agency was used to siphon thousands of dollars to finance weddings and political rallies during former president Robert Mugabe’s reign, an audit has revealed.

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri exposed the rot at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), which she said happened between 2015 and 2016, in her latest audit report detailing abuse of funds and inefficiencies at state institutions.

ZTA made numerous “donations” as well as unauthorised contributions to political rallies believed to be for the ruling Zanu PF.

In 2014 ZTA “donated” $50 000 at weddings, 10 tonnes of maize seed and 50 Singer sewing machines.

Some expenditure is only categorised as “constituency rally sponsorship”.

During the period under review, former ZTA chief executive Karikoga Kaseke’s wife Betty, a former model, campaigned and secured a parliamentary seat as legislator for Kuwadzana on a Zanu PF ticket.

In the report, Chiri also makes note of an undisclosed amount referenced as a donation to an unnamed High Court judge.

In 2015 the authority spent some $4 000 on cellphone bills under the line item “ministry-related expenses”.

“The authority also spent $35 868 in 2013, $154 174 in 2014 and $189 880 in 2015 that was not budgeted for on ministry-related expenses.

“The expenditure is related to repair of (Tourism) ministry vehicles, fuel and traveling costs of ministry officials.”

Another $10 000 was spent on office furniture, but categorised as social responsibility.

The then Tourism deputy minister Anastasia Ndlovu also received $5 000 in holiday expenses.

A trip to Berlin, Germany, gobbled some $8 000 in travelling and subsistence expenses which was not budgeted for.

Several motor vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz S600 valued at $13 333 and a Mercedes Benz S350 with a carrying amount of $134 000, were acquired by the authority but were registered in the names of third parties.

The audit report also notes that the ZTA board led lavish lifestyles and awarded themselves outrageous fees and perks without ministerial authority.

This was all despite the authority’s poor financial capacity.

In 2015 the authority incurred a deficit of $796 000 from $969 000 in the previous year.

As a result, ZTA’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $2,3 million indicating a material risk to the authority’s ability to continue operating as a going concern.

For instance, executive directors awarded themselves a monthly fuel allocation of $2 000.

That is equivalent to 1 316 litres of fuel per month, which is enough to cover an average of 13 158km.

An interest-free loan of $20 000 was advanced to one of the board members without the minister’s approval, compromising the oversight role of the board.

The loan was repaid over three years.

“There were expenses incurred in 2013, 2014 and 2015 financial years,which did not appear to be in line with the authoririty’s business and they were also not budgeted for,” reads part of the report.

Meanwhile, Kaseke spent his 13-year stay at the institution without a valid contract of employment.

The audit report says Kaseke’s employment was only effected by a letter from the chief secretary to Cabinet Misheck Sibanda when he was reassigned from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe in 2006.

No other contract was entered into between Kaseke and the authority, posing a risk to the ZTA as there was no basis for legal recourse in case of disputes.

“There was no contract of employment for the chief executive. The reference point of the conditions of service for the chief executive was his contract of employment with his previous employer,” reads the report.

Throughout his “tenure”, Kaseke, a confrontational figure who was known for berating his staff in public, went on to become the face of the country’s tourism sector which served as a feeding trough for high-ranking officials.

Standard

President Emmerson had a rude awakening after the Chiefs from Midlands and Matabeleland bluntly told him that their people need a national apology preceded by truth telling about what happened during the Gukurahundi genocide. The Chiefs who submitted a joint presentation said the state was to blame for the murder pf more than 20 000 Zimbabweans in Midlands and Matabeleland.

They told Mnangagwa that as the Head of State he must apologise on behalf of the state.

Read the summary below:

The state committed the atrocities and therefore the state should assume responsibility for the atrocities and issue an official apology and, in our constitutional architecture, the state is represented in the office of the Head of State. Your Excellency, it is important to distinguish between an official apology and a personal apology. Personal responsibility is irrelevant when considering an official apology. It is not you apologising for your personal acts or omissions but the state apologising for the actions of its agencies. It is irrelevant whether the Head of State is in any way personally responsible for the atrocities. It is irrelevant whether or not he was even there at the time of the commission of the atrocities. An apology is a moral obligation of the occupant of the office of the Head of State where atrocities or wrongs of one form or another are committed in the name of government or state and not necessarily an admission of personal responsibility on the part of the Head of State as a person.

Your Excellency, lest we be accused of making a bald and wild allegation on the responsibility of the State, it is important to say we have assumed that the state is culpable for Gukurahundi atrocities because the perpetrators were employees of the state, were paid and housed by the state, were funded by the state, were transported by the state, carried state-issued weapons and ammunition, flew the Zimbabwean flag in their bases and offices, were promoted after the atrocities, are earning retirement benefits from the state, and were not arrested or in anyway punished by the state for the crimes they committed, and, most importantly, the state did not at the time and since that time distance itself from the crimes. The state, as a unit, is therefore liable and should be held responsible for the actions of its employees unless it demonstrates on evidence that the crimes committed were solely the actions of specifically named individuals or unless a truly independent body has determined otherwise. As far as we know, at all material times, the government of the day had the right, ability and duty to control the actions of those who committed Gukurahundi atrocities on the ground because they were acting in its name and were accountable to it. It chose not to exercise this power.

The truth telling process, for example, enables victims and survivors to know about the circumstances of gross violations of their human rights, to know the fate of their disappeared loved ones or at least know the circumstances under which they disappeared or were killed. It also serves to inform the nation about what happened to their fellow citizens. Acknowledgment of the occurrence of the deaths, injuries, rape and related suffering that took place during Gukurahundi is therefore key to closure. When one reads Section 252 (c) of the Constitution, it is clear that truth telling is contemplated in pursuit of justice, healing and reconciliation. Truth telling is not important only for victims but also for perpetrators. They too need to be freed from the tremendous bondage of the burden of unacknowledged injurious conduct in respect of having killed, raped, tortured, starved and disappeared fellow citizens directly or through the agency of someone else.

Standard|The government should channel its entire surplus towards cushioning workers in the face of rising costs and declining incomes, economist Ashok Chakravarti has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with Standardbusiness last Friday, Chakravarti, who is also an adviser to government, said the recent monetary measures were welcome, but need to be supported with further actions.

Following the promulgation of Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2019 last week, which ended the multicurrency regime and reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar as the sole currency, the black market forex rates have been depressed.

But because of the high uncertainty prevailing in the market, retail outlets drastically increased prices while some pharmacies have reportedly taken off high-value medicines from the shelves to preserve their worth.

The price hikes have piled pressure on employers to review salaries across the board.

“For wages, I do believe there has been a significant eroding on wages and, therefore, both the government and the private sector have no choice, but to increase wages significantly,” Chakravarti said.

“You have to cushion the working people and I am 100% in support of that and I will speak for it. In fact, as far as government is concerned, I know that discussions are going on.

“As you know, while we have to maintain some kind of fiscal balance, Hon (Finance) minister (Mthuli) Ncube has said he has got a fiscal surplus.

“So, I would then say to him let us take the entire fiscal surplus and give it to civil servants and police to cushion them and there is nothing wrong with that.

“To the private sector, I say very plainly — let me give you an example of an exporter.

“About 50% of his money was previously being taken by the RBZ (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) and still is. But, previously, he was getting 1:1 for that 50%, think of that.

“Today he is getting the market rate for that 50%. So let us say there was a man who is exporting gold and was getting $100 million in RTGS at one to one.

‘Today, at the interbank market rate, he is getting $650 million, the same guy.

“The same amount of US dollars, but is being converted into RTGS when they are converting at the interbank market rate.

“So, export companies have become super-profitable and there is no reason why they cannot share some of that with their workers and they should give them 100% salary increases.”

In order to maintain the value of wages, some analysts have over the years suggested that government must adopt the South African rand, but the market was more inclined to the US dollar, which is stronger and more stable.

However, Chakravarti was of the view that the Zimbabwean market preferred to trade in the US dollar during the multi-currency era.

“You will recall when we first started with the multicurrency in 2009, initially the rand was in primary circulation and it was mostly the rand that was being used,” he said.

“But the people decided otherwise. The US dollar is a very strong and stable currency whereas the rand is a weak and volatile currency.

“So, if I think about it, as the average market agent I will prefer to trade, deal and keep the US dollar rather than the rand.

“That is where all our problems started because a small and weak economy like ours cannot adopt a strong currency and expect that to be the basis for pricing, transactions and for economic growth.

“This electronic money that we have, our ZWL$10 billion, in reality, practical and theoretical terms was and is a local currency.

“People had this idea that somehow this was US dollars and it was not their fault because the government of that time (the one before the current) said this was US dollar so we all thought that, well government is saying it’s USD so it’s USD.

“But, at the time, I explicitly said this was not the USD dollar, this was a local currency created electronically.

“So we have had a local currency for a very long time.

“All that has happened now is that we have officially recognised that these RTGS balances plus this bond note, as the governor of the Reserve Bank (John Mangudya) said, are the family of local currency.”

Chakravarti said the only way to end the confidence deficit would be through concrete actions taken by government, which positively affect ordinary people.

Standard|Zanu PF youth commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu (GT) has told Standard Newspaper reporter Obey Manayiti (OM) that allegations that the youths were pushing a factional agenda in their corruption war were not true.

In an exclusive interview with the reporter Tsenengamu also revealed that another list has been submitted to the Zanu PF leadership pending the investigations.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

OM: Can you tell us about this anti-corruption drive that you are doing as the youth league? What is its basis and what do you want to achieve?

GT: What we are simply doing as the youth league is to make sure that we push for the fulfilment of the party’s manifesto from the 2018 elections.

It was one of the key issues that we pledged to deal with. Remember we had promised to fight corruption and as the youth league we said elections are gone and we need to be working towards the fulfilment of what we promised.

The motivation is that as you look at the current scenario, we have a crop of leadership both in the public and private sectors who have just become so greedy and selfish to the point of taking everything for themselves without taking into consideration that we have other generations to come after us.

It is on this basis that we said as the youth leadership we cannot continue to look aside and be bystanders when we have a few individuals destroying what Zimbabwe stands for and what the party stands for.

OM: You named just a few individuals from Zanu PF and others. Critics are saying those that you named cannot be the only ones driving corruption in the country. They allege that by naming very few individuals, you are just trying to settle scores with those that you named. Are you being pushed by anyone?

GT: It is not true. If you talk of a youth league, you are not talking of an individual, but it’s a structure.

We have structures from cell up to the top and this stance that we have taken is shared by the whole body of the youth league.

We are not pushing any agenda. If you look at the composition of the people who were accused of being corrupt, they are being drawn from the government, party, private sector and others, hence you cannot say there is a vendetta.

We have armchair critics who are bent on criticising what we have done, but remember this thing has to start from somewhere.

Yes, we have not named everyone, but at least we have named certain individuals whom we have concrete evidence against.

We are making a call to every Zimbabwean, not Zanu PF members alone, that they also have a right to expose these people.

It’s not only the duty of the youth league. If people feel that the youth league has not mentioned everyone who is corrupt, they must also come forward and play their part by taking up from where we have left it.

OM: From the time that you released that list, there are some who are saying you deliberately left out some names, including a business tycoon now known as Queen Bee, who have been accused of corruption by people linked to Zanu PF such as Acie Lumumba.

GT: People have to understand that our list was not exhaustive. We have to start from somewhere and if people think Queen Bee fits in the category of people who are corrupt, they are free to suggest that and even to go to the police or to name and shame as we did.

We haven’t exonerated anyone of wrongdoing.

It does not mean that those we didn’t mention are not corrupt, we had to start with people whom we have evidence of their corrupt activities.

If people have the evidence that can be used to nail that Queen Bee, they must come forward.

I don’t think it’s fair to blame the youth league. Let others come on board, either from the main body, women’s league or from opposition to private citizens.

They have a right to fight corruption too and not to blame the youth league. I don’t think it is fair to criticise us yet those critics haven’t done anything to fight corruption.

OM: There are allegations that you are doing Queen Bee’s bidding, especially in targeting Gokwe Nembudziya legislator Mayor Wadyajena of Zanu PF.

GT: It’s not true. We didn’t even exonerate anyone and neither did we even implicate Wadyajena.

Some people are even coming up with other names, but because we didn’t implicate any of them, it means we are not even involved in their fights.

We are trying to be objective and we will not allow ourselves to be swallowed in petty fights involving individuals.

OM: Others are saying this “exposé” is actually a manifestation of factionalism in Zanu PF. Critics say those that you named are from a rival faction, what is your comment on that?

GT: No, the youth league cannot be seen to be belonging to a faction or being a faction.

We belong to the party and I would want people to come forward and say Cde Obert Mpofu belongs to such and such faction or Cde Prisca Mupfumira belongs to this faction or whatever or Cde Joram Gumbo and Tino Machakaire belong to a faction, which the youth league is against.

As long as people don’t say we belong to X faction and the other guys belong to Y faction, then that argument doesn’t hold water.

Of course, you would expect that from people who would have been named and shamed because they will be fighting back and they will throw all sorts of accusations.

The truth of the matter is that we are fighting corruption.

As far as I know we don’t have factions in Zanu PF at the moment and there are no factional fights.

By the way, who is leading those factions? It’s simply not true.

OM: Does the list of the alleged corrupt people which is dominated by people linked to Zanu PF not vindicate those who argue that the ruling party is generally corrupt?

GT: No, it’s not. This simply shows that Zanu PF is serious about fighting corruption.

If we didn’t want to fight corruption we could have just gone quiet and pretended that everything was okay, but because the party doesn’t believe in corruption, we had to come out in the open and say what these members are doing is exactly the opposite of what we stand for.

If you can recall, after the politburo meeting the party spokesperson (Simon Khaya Moyo) said there was a unanimous decision and the agenda is a noble one and it cannot be ignored.

This is the presidium and through the president it has to constitute a commission of inquiry to look into the allegations that we raised against these comrades.

The party doesn’t condone corruption and if you check, the president said it on his inauguration of November 2017.

He was clear that we are going to fight corruption and the youth league has done its part.

However, it must be clear that we are not ending in Zanu PF and this is just the beginning.

Corruption doesn’t only exist in our comrades in Zanu PF, but also even in the opposition, urban councils, parastatals and many other institutions.

Even on our list, we had to pick some people from the private sector and some from the opposition.

OM: Does this mean there is another bigger list of corrupt people?

GT: Cde Simon Khaya Moyo was very clear after the politburo meeting that the youth league was going to raise more allegations.

We were asked by the leadership to provide the full list and like we said before, we are going to release more names.

We have since submitted the names of those people whom we think are corrupt.

OM: Where is that list? Is it also available?

GT: It’s not available for the media. We have submitted it to the leadership, so the findings will come out from the commission of inquiry.

We don’t want to pre-empt what we have submitted to the commission of inquiry.

OM: The opposition says you are trying to divert attention from the economic crisis. What is your reaction to that?

GT: It boggles the mind how the opposition thinks dealing with corruption is trying to divert attention because corruption is one of the biggest threats to the livelihoods of even coming generations.

Any serious political party will hail our efforts and come and join us in fighting this monster called corruption.

For them to say we are trying to divert attention from critical issues is simply out of order.

What other critical thing is there that surpasses corruption? This is justified for us to fight corruption.

We must come together as a generation in fighting corruption. It must not be seen to be a Zanu PF fight, but must be seen as a generational fight where we are fighting for our space and rescue our country from the jaws of corruption.

Everyone must embrace it.

OM: There are also threats of mass protests against the government due to its alleged failure to improve the economy. What is the youth league’s position on that?

GT: Peaceful protests are rights as enshrined in the constitution.

Everyone has a right to protest but peacefully, so we cannot take that away from the MDC and say they are not supposed to protest.

However, I am not sure if their protests are going to change the status of the economy or if it is going to improve the living conditions of our people.

I think the MDC is just being reactionary and not being progressive.

If they have other solutions they must come forward and proffer those solutions.

Those are just political games for them to continue to psyche their supporters ahead of the 2023 elections.

The major question is: What will be the result of those protests?

I mean after the protests, then what and is that going to change the economy?

Those that have alternative solutions must just come forward and share their policies bearing in mind that 2018-2023 is a Zanu PF term.

Even if they go to the streets, it will not change anything, Zanu PF is there and we will not pay attention.

However, in as much they have the right to protest, if they turn violent, Zanu PF will not fold hands as they destroy what (the president) is working hard to restore.

As a party and youth league, we will organise ourselves to protect our properties and investments that Zimbabwe stands for from hooligans that will be trying to destroy what we are working hard for.

OM: On that note, will this not lead to unnecessary confrontation?

GT: I think they are the ones who would have started with a confrontational approach.

For as long as they get to the streets and try to cause problems, then they are the ones who would have started and what will we be expected to do then?

Just to say okay look at these people they are trying to kill us and destroy everything, God come and help us?

No, we will not do that, we have to defend our properties and make sure that our people continue with their businesse

s without any disturbances.

MSN|Zimbabwe’s worsening electricity shortages mean power is often only available for a few hours in the middle of the night — forcing furniture maker Richard Benhura to start work at 11:00 pm.

It is just one aspect of the country’s dire economic difficulties as official inflation nears 100 percent and supplies of daily essentials such as bread and petrol regularly run short.

“If you want to work, you have to be here overnight and start when the electricity comes on until it goes off around 4:00 am,” Benhura, 32, said as he made some wooden backrests for chairs.

At the open-air Glen View furniture market in Harare, Benhura welds steel frames for chairs and grinds off rough edges in the darkness, and then returns to do his manual woodwork in the daylight.

Zimbabwe — where the economy has recently lurched into a fresh crisis — introduced rotational power cuts of up to 19 hours a day earlier this year, forcing many to do their ironing or cooking in the dead of night.

For Egenia Chiwashira, a resident of the poor Harare suburb of Mbare, the outages are a grim burden.

The mother of three in her 40s says she can barely afford to feed her family, let alone pay for a generator.

– ‘We are in darkness’ –

“To cook porridge for my children needs electricity, also for me to prepare myself something to eat,” Chiwashira said, while stoking a fire she had made outside her house to prepare supper.

“We are always in darkness. It’s not easy. Life in the city is tough without electricity. You have to buy firewood unlike in rural areas where you can fetch it in forests.

“I can’t afford to buy both wood and candles, so my children cannot do their schoolwork in the evening.”

Zimbabwe last month introduced rolling electricity power cuts known as “load-shedding” due to low water levels at the Kariba hydro-power station, as well as the country’s crumbling power infrastructure and lack of funds to pay for energy imports.

The ZESA power utility said cuts would be imposed between 5:00 am and 10:00 am and 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm, but they often last longer.

“Last week we had no electricity on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Chiwashira said. “We only got supplies back on Monday afternoon.”

Energy minister Fortune Chasi has pledged the outages would be reduced, and urged consumers to pay their bills to enable ZESA to buy more power from neighbouring countries.

“We will be turning the corner pretty soon,” Chasi told a post-Cabinet briefing this week, adding that ZESA had just paid a $20-million debt to neighbouring South Africa.

South Africa’s state-owned energy company Eskom on Friday denied the money had been paid.

– No post-Mugabe upturn –

One of few to see an improvement in business is Simba Vuremu, a stationery shop owner who has added solar lighting units to his stock.

“They are selling and selling fast,” he said.

After Robert Mugabe was ousted from power in 2017, many Zimbabweans hoped that their country’s long economic deline would be reversed under his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa promised to end the country’s international isolation, attract investors and create growth that could fund the country’s shattered public services.

But the economy has declined further, with shop prices rocketing at the fastest rate since hyperinflation wiped out savings and pensions ten years ago.

This week, Zimbabwe in theory ended the use of US dollars and other foreign currencies that have been the official legal tender since the Zimbabwe dollar was rendered worthless in 2009.

The government’s surprise decision fuelled further confusion and uncertainty.

For Caution Kasisi, 45, another furniture-maker in Glen View, the power cuts have only added to his worries.

“We have a small petrol-powered generator which cannot run for a long time,” he said.

“The price of food and other things like school fees are going up and we are not getting much money because we can’t deliver our goods. We have got a problem.”

Promise Mkwananzi the leader of Tajamuka has buttressed the call by #tajamuka movement for Zimbabweans to “shut down Zimbabwe,” on Monday July 1.

During an interview with online Gambakwe Media, Mkwananzi, said Zimbabweans should not report for work nor carry out any economic activities as from Monday until President Emmerson Mnangagwa resigns from the position he grabbed in a military coup from former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

Watch the video below:

By A Correspondent| Today marks over a year and a month after Zimbabwe’s founding president Robert Mugabe spoke out for the first time in a broad interview months after he was militarily removed from power.

Speaking at his Blue Roof residence, President Mugabe described his former aide Emmerson Mnangagwa as a lawless man. He said Zimbabwe “must undo this disgrace that we impose upon ourselves.” A year later, Mnangagwa’s tenure charaterised by soldiers shooting civilians in the open streets on state orders, has also seen for the first time the Reserve Bank twisting its banking rules in the space of a few hours. WAS MUGABE TELLING THE TRUTH?

VIDEO:

“We must undo this disgrace.”

Zimbabwe’s ousted former leader Robert Mugabe gives his first interview since he was removed from power in November. pic.twitter.com/HFCArrMtAq

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 16, 2018

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the 16 people who died on Friday morning in the Featherstone road accident which he has declared a national disaster.

He also wished the seven seriously injured people a speedy recovery saying the Government was going to provide support to the affected families and called on thorough investigations to be carried out to ascertain the cause of the accident to avoid a recurring loss of human capital in the country.

In a statement issued by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, the President said he received the message with sadness and distress.

“His Excellency, President ED Mnangagwa has received the news of the loss of 16 lives and injuries to others in the road accident that took place at Featherstone near Chivhu on the Harare-Masvingo road, with sadness and distress.

“On behalf of the nation, the Government of Zimbabwe and on his own behalf, he expresses his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and those affected. He wishes a quick recovery to those injured,” reads part of the statement.

President Mnangagwa declared the accident a national disaster and directed that resources be availed to assist the affected families in their moment of need and grief.
Meanwhile, National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said the death toll has since increased to 19 after three more people died from injuries sustained in the accident.State media

MORE than 200 residents including school children in Empumalanga’s DRC suburb in Hwange were on Thursday and Friday taken ill following a diarrhoea outbreak suspected to have been caused by a sewage leak into the water system.

Officials suspect that 3 000 more residents could be exposed to the water borne infection. An emergency Civil Protection Committee was hastily arranged on Friday to try and deal with the problem.

Speaking at the meeting, Hwange Local Board Environment Health technician, Mr Nqobile Mabhena said they suspected the outbreak was a result of cross contamination emanating from a suspected leak in the water pipeline that supplies the area.

“Although Zinwa and council have not pinpointed the source or exactly where this cross contamination took place there is suspicion that it’s at a river crossing where a sewage stream flows. In the suspected area there is a stream of raw sewage from burst pipes that flows over the pipes supplying water to residents in DRC so that could be our cross contamination point.

We suspect that sewage water which would have heavily accumulated in the water supply pipeline is pushed up when supplies are restored. The whole Phase Three has been affected by this and as on Thursday, 53 cases had been reported at our clinic today (Friday) the number had increased to 93. This number excludes the ones that went to seek treatment at other health institutions such as St Patrick’s and Hwange Colliery hospitals,” said Mr Mabhena.

Hwange District Medical Officer Dr Seleman Saidi, however, said they were yet to confirm if the outbreak was caused by diarrhoea.
“We are yet to ascertain if it’s a diarrhoea outbreak and as for the number that have been taken ill we are yet to get confirmation on that. However, for a Press statement contact the PMD,” he said.

Dr Saidi said the number of affected people could increase owing to delays in locating the point of cross contamination.State media