Biti Fumes Over ZINARA Conduct Before Parly Committee

Jane Mlambo| Chairperson of the Public Accounts committee, Honorable Tendai Biti was yesterday left fuming after the Zimbabwe National Road Authority board refused to answer questions of abuse of funds as contained in the Auditor General’s report.

Biti described the ZINARA board’s conduct as unacceptable saying they are looking at possibilities of charging them with contempt of parliament.

“We find that conduct to be totally abominable, totally unacceptable, totally reprehensible. Parliament is an institution of the State which in terms of Section 119 of the Constitution has power of oversight over Government, over any institution in Zimbabwe,” he said

“This committee has a special power that it is given under Section 299 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and it is the power to determine how public funds are used and how revenue is collected. So we consider your refusal to answer our questions as serious obstruction of the powers and functions of Parliament where we are discussing matters where there is serious evidence of abuse of public funds by Zinara.”

Biti added that the committee felt that the conduct by Zinara management was a deliberate attempt to protect corruption but more unforgiving as an attempt to emasculate and muzzle the independence of Parliament.

He added that they would write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, for action to be taken.

“Subsection 4 of the Schedule to the Privileges and Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act states that it is a crime to refuse to answer any lawful and relevant question by Parliament or a committee.

“We are going therefore to write to Parliament through the Speaker of Parliament. We are going to make strong recommendations for sanctions and penalties against yourself (Mrs Mujokoro), against the finance director and the former director of administration and against Zinara,” he added.

The audit report highlighted rampant abuse of funds at the administration including awarding of contracts without going to tender, payments to companies that have not carried out any work while senior managers received allowances not provided for in their contracts.

Tobacco Sales Plummet

By Own Correspondent| Tobacco sales in the first 10 days of trading at the auction floors have declined sharply by 85%.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics show that $2.8 million worth of tobacco had been sold in the first days.

Last year $30.2 million worth of tobacco had been sold in the same period.

Other statistics also revealed that:

  • Only 1.6 million Kgs were delivered, compared to 10.9 million Kgs in the same period last year.
  • Average price of $1,73 per kg compared to last year’s average of $2,77 per kg

A tobacco company official spoke to a local publication said:

“Farmers are not in a hurry to sell. There is also inconsistent policy regarding access to and determination of 50% USD entitlement. Most contractors are yet to start receiving their tobacco. Many were waiting for the circular.”

Last week, government-controlled media claimed that sales were now up after an intervention by the finance minister Mthuli Ncube.-Newsday

Like A Joke, Zvakutoita Mufunge, Tinopona Katsande Brags About Her Gavakava Business

For Studio 263 actor, Tinopona Katsande has ventured into a new business of selling aloe or gavakava in shona.

Katsande said she found the herb at their farm in Mutoko and thought it was a good idea to export it to Harare for business.

“Kufarm kwedu neMutoko in general kwakazara all types of aloe’s that just grow wild. I decided to try my hand at ” horticultural activities ” and I’ve started supplying a couple of small nurseries with aloe plants. Like a joke zvakutoita mufunge. I’m very reasonably priced and I deliver to your doorstep. Hola if would like this hook up!,” said Katsande while posting on Facebook.

Corruption Accused ZINARA Board Faces Contempt Of Parly Charges

Executives from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) face contempt of Parliament charges after they refused to answer questions when they appeared before the Public Accounts Committee yesterday. The Zinara management team that appeared before the committee was comprised of acting chief executive Mrs Mathlene Mujokoro, finance director Mr Simon Taranhike and former human resources director Mr Precious Murove.

The questions arose from a forensic audit report produced by Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants after being commissioned by the Auditor-General, Mrs Mildred Chiri.

Mrs Mujokoro declined to answer the questions arguing they wanted to get a legal opinion on whether Parliament was empowered to deal with the report since Clause 6:1 of the audit report states that it (the report) was solely for the use by the AG and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.

Read the section: “This report has been produced solely for the use of the Auditor-General of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.

“It contains privileged information and should not be quoted in whole or in part without prior written consent. This report should therefore not be used for any other purposes.”

However, following deliberations, the chairperson of the committee, Mr Tendai Biti, said the conduct by the Zinara management was unacceptable.

“We find that conduct to be totally abominable, totally unacceptable, totally reprehensible. Parliament is an institution of the State which in terms of Section 119 of the Constitution has power of oversight over Government, over any institution in Zimbabwe,” he said

“This committee has a special power that it is given under Section 299 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and it is the power to determine how public funds are used and how revenue is collected. So we consider your refusal to answer our questions as serious obstruction of the powers and functions of Parliament where we are discussing matters where there is serious evidence of abuse of public funds by Zinara.”

-State Media

Khupe Has Succumbed To Tribalism Pressure: Linda Masarira

Former MDC-T Spokesperson Linda Masarira has ripped into Thokozani Khupe saying she feel betrayed after supporting the former deputy premier when he has labelled a Zanu PF project adding that her former boss succumbed to tribal pressure to dismiss her.

In a scathing attack on her former colleague, Masarira said Khupe will face the consequences of her action.

“I stood with Dr Thokozani Khupe when she was accused of being a Zanu PF project. Unfortunately, she decided to succumb to the pressure from my deputy Khaliphani Phungeni, a South African-based cabal and some tribalists based in Bulawayo who always seek to make the MDC-T a tribalist party. I gave them a long rope to tie themselves, which they have finally done. It is rather unfortunate that they don’t realise that for every action taken, there is a consequence,” Masarira said.

Norton Residents Fight Council Over Demolition Of Illegal Structures

RESIDENTS of Norton are up in arms with the town council for demolishing illegal structures, among them tuckshops, gas cages, outbuildings, and money transfer booths, in a development which has hit hard the informal sector.

The residents alleged that the local authority was destroying their structures without a court order and in violation of sections 68 and 78 of the Constitution.

Norton Development Association, through their lawyers Kadzere, Hungwe and Mandevere, wrote to the local authority on Monday to stop the demolitions, which began on Wednesday.

The association said council had not given them a reasonable notice to vacate the affected areas, and that informal traders were paying the local authority for using the land.

Norton Town Council secretay Kizito Muhomba confirmed the demolitions, which have largely affected the Katanga area.

“We are targeting illegal structures like EcoCash and TeleCash booths, containers, tuckshops and mushrooming garages,” Muhomba said.

“The law only says no person is allowed to be evicted or have their homes demolished. Hence, what we are doing is in order because we asked them to clean up everything which is not their homes.”

He said council had reserved an alternative place for affected informal traders, but emphasised that not all of them would be accommodated.

However, some of the affected vendors disputed that council had set aside a new area for their operations, and complained that they had been put out of business and were no longer able to fend for their families.

-Newsday

Linda Masarira Hits Back At ‘Anti-Women’ Khupe

Expelled MDC-T spokesperson Linda Masarira has warned that the Thokozani Khupe-led opposition party risks disintegrating, accusing the faction of favouring men ahead of their female counterparts.

Masarira also claimed a clique from Matabeleland was trying to make the MDC-T a tribal party.

She warned that Khupe risked destroying her political career the same way former Vice-President Joice Mujuru did when she failed to grow her party, ZimPF and then National People’s Party after leaving Zanu PF.

“I stood with Dr Thokozani Khupe when she was accused of being a Zanu PF project. Unfortunately, she decided to succumb to the pressure from my deputy Khaliphani Phungeni, a South African-based cabal and some tribalists based in Bulawayo who always seek to make the MDC-T a tribalist party. I gave them a long rope to tie themselves, which they have finally done. It is rather unfortunate that they don’t realise that for every action taken, there is a consequence,” Masarira said.

The MDC-T standing committee on Monday expelled Masarira after a picture of her donning Zanu PF regalia went viral on social media.

Sources said Masarira had been given an option to resign or face expulsion, but the Harare Central losing candidate opted to apply for a sabbatical leave, which was turned down by the party leadership.

MDC-T secretary-general Nixon Nyikadzino said Masarira’s allegations were misplaced, as she was dismissed on charges which she was aware of.

“Those are false allegations and she must understand that we dismissed her on clear charges which she knows. We will not be seen trying to be swayed by her claims when the basis of her ouster are clear,” Nyikadzino said.

The charge sheet included an “undisputed fact that on March 24, 2019, several photographs of you wearing Zanu PF regalia, commonly known as ‘zambia’ at some location located in rural Zimbabwe, were circulated by yourself on various social media platforms including, but not limited to WhatsApp”.

Khupe broke away from the MDC, claiming she was the legitimate leader of the opposition party when she was overlooked for the post of party president in favour of Nelson Chamisa following the death of founding president Morgan Tsvangirai in February, 2018.

The MDC-T has often been being accused of being an a Zanu PF project.

It is one of the parties involved in dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

-Newsday

Magaya Warns Mnangagwa, “Take Heed”

By Bishop Ancelimo Magaya|

Strong Warning

Given the govenments failure to resolve the socio-economoc crises ,i sense yet another cataclysmic phase which will see this “new dispensation ” out of power .

Previous episodes of protests of the 1st of August 2018 and 14th to 16th of January 2019 both of which resulted in the state’s show of brutal and excessive force should serve as strong warning’s to the ED led government .

The killings on the 1st of August 2018 were deliberately meant to scare people from further protests.The state thought that there would never be any more protests .Five months later ,there was one of the most impactful protests ,and again the state responded excessively .

I warn strongly that given the simmering discontent in people ,unless ED and his government resolve these crises , they will live to regret .Take note Mr President of the following prophetic stern warnings and /or charges :

1.Mr President in your current form you have no capacity and grace to take the nation forward .God assigns different annointings for different epochs.I have said this before and will always say this .All your “mantras “will remain empty rhetorics .You are an old wine skin trying to carry or contain new wine .This will not be possible nomatter how much effort and how much killings and arrests .
2.You are sadly allowing a precious opportunity to slip away from your fingers .If you genuinly repent ,God will forgive you .
3.Open up for genuine dialogue to allow a transition that will take this nation forward .Please note that you cannot be the convener of this dialogue because you have been at the centre of this mess.

I have tried few times to seek your audience so that i speak to you directly but your office has not made it easy .You can never successfully run away from your shadow .

POTRAZ Boss’ Matter Postponed For The Fourth Time

A hearing on an exception application by Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director-general Gift Machengete who is being charged for violating tender procedures, will have to wait after the State asked for a postponement yesterday. This is the fourth postponement of the matter.

Harare magistrate Hosiah Mujaya, quite miffed by the latest delay, said  if the State failed to respond to the exception application by April 9, he will proceed to make a ruling on the request. The magistrate said if the State felt it had no case against Machengete, it should simply own up.

Mr Mujaya said each time the court sits for the matter, the defence would go out of its way trying to call the prosecutor, a situation the magistrate described as “chaotic”.

However, Machengete successfully applied for relaxation of his bail conditions. He temporarily got his passport back to enable him to travel to Switzerland on Government business.

-State Media

Chamisa Tells Mwonzora To Stop Behaving Like A Peacock

Eyeball to eyeball, Nelson Chamisa with Douglas Mwonzora

MDC-Alliance president Nelson Chamisa has reportedly blasted his  own secretary Douglas Mwonzora for bringing the name of the party into disrepute.

Chamisa is reported to have chastised Mwonzora against his ‘peacock behaviour’ during the party’s standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

Senior officials who spoke to Newsday over the issue said:

“Mwonzora was told by the president that this is not a peacock contest, where one is trying to spread feathers and be seen to be more attractive than others.

“He was accused of trying to appropriate himself to Tsvangirai’s achievements and to claim all the landmarks into his name, such as the Constitution-making process.

He was accused of trying to personalise everything that the party achieved, thereby bringing the party’s name into disrepute.

He was asked why he was contesting the race that hasn’t been opened yet.

Two Die In Head On Collision

A Beitbridge motorist died on the spot after a head on collision between his vehicle and a truck while a Gokwe man died after a vehicle he was travelling in overturned in separate accidents that occurred in Matabeleland South Province.

Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the first accident which occurred at around 5AM near Jopembe area in Beitbridge along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road and the other which occurred at around 12 PM in Esigodini.

Both accidents occurred on Tuesday.

“The first incident occurred at around 5AM near Jopempe area at the 257 kilometre peg along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road. The now deceased Takura Mahembe was driving a Toyota Corolla vehicle towards Bulawayo when he came across an eight tonne truck that was coming from the opposite direction.

“The driver of the truck saw a donkey in his lane and swerved towards the right and encroached onto the lane of oncoming traffic. This resulted in a head collision between the truck and the Toyota Corolla and Mahembe died on the spot while the truck driver escaped unharmed,” he said.

Chief Inspector Ndebele said in the second incident Felix Taundi who works at Fortex Mine in Esigodini, was driving a company vehicle along Esikhoveni Road in Esigodini with three passengers on board. He said at the eight kilometre peg Taundi lost control of the vehicle which veered off the road and rolled once.

Chief Inspector Ndebele said Wellington Mlilo from Gokwe died on the spot while the other two passengers sustained injuries. He said the injured were referred to Esigodini District Hospital where they were treated and discharged.

“We urge motorists to exercise caution and to adhere to road regulations. It’s also important for drivers to travel at a safe speed so they are able to react on time if an accident seems imminent. In this case if the truck driver had been travelling at a safe speed he could have seen the donkey on time and applied his brakes instead of encroaching onto the lane of oncoming vehicles,” Chief Inspector Ndebele said.

-State Media

Mandiwanzira Acquittal: Prosecutor General Orders Investigation On Alleged Gross Misconduct

Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi has turned the sword on the prosecutor he assigned to deal with the criminal abuse case of former Minister Supa Mandwanzira and ordered investigations into his alleged misconduct. Mr Edmore Nyazamba is being accused of gross misconduct after he allegedly failed to obey instructions to file a response opposing Mr Mandiwanzira’s application for review.

Mr Mandiwanzira obtained a default judgment against the prosecution in the case in which he sought to quash the charges of corruption involving the $218 million consultancy deal signed between NetOne and South Africa-based Megawatt Energy.

Justice Mathonsi granted the application and acquitted Mr Mandiwanzira of the charge.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Hodzi said the State did not file a response to Mr Mandiwanzira’s application for review and has since ordered an investigation into his conduct.

He said Mr Nyazamba did not file a response within the stipulated time frame as duly instructed and that his office had activated internal disciplinary processes.

“I have ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, particularly the conduct of the prosecutor who was assigned to handle the matter,” he said.

“It is completely unacceptable for any prosecutor to fail to abide by court rules or court procedures. This constitutes gross misconduct and the prosecutor concerned has been ordered to stop all prosecutorial duties forthwith, until the investigations into his conduct have been finalised.

“We will leave no stone unturned as we interrogate the facts at hand, to see why procedures and due process were flouted by our own prosecutor. We have also reported the matter to the police.”

Mr Hodzi said when he perused the record of proceedings, he noted with dismay that the State did not file a response to the matter.

The matter, he said, was then heard as unopposed, which was not supposed to be the case, as the State was opposed to the matter.

“The matter was decided on the merits and this gives us room to appeal. We are preparing our notice of appeal which will be filed next week,” he said.

Mr Hodzi also said he and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) were not served with the notice of set-down in the review hearing of Mr Mandiwanzira’s case.

He reassured the public that his office and the NPA take all court appearances seriously, particularly in the superior courts, saying the prosecution of high-profile anti-corruption matters remains a top priority.

“In that regard, I have put in place stringent guidelines and measures to ensure that all high-profile anti-corruption matters are handled with speed and efficiency.

“These are handled by a minimum of three highly experienced public prosecutors, and of these three, one prosecutor is a member of the elite Specialised Anti-Corruption Unit.”

-Online

Govt Says It Has No Intention Of Increasing Fuel Price As Situation Worsens

Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo has allayed fears that fuel prices will go up next week, saying Government had no intention of adjusting current charges.

Gumbo said he has asked the Minister of Finance to allow mining companies with foreign currency to import their own fuel to ease the burden on the central bank.

“I have also asked the Minister of Finance to allow mining companies with forex to import their fuel so as to ease the burden on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,” Minister Gumbo.

“Cabinet has already taken a decision on that. The biggest problem is not about fuel per se, but provision of forex. We have facilities in place but those handling the finances have foreign currency challenges which were compounded by the cyclone disaster which happened recently.

“Resources and much fuel has also been going there. They are working on the allocation of finances, but they are a bit constrained, but things will normalise. I engaged the RBZ yesterday (Tuesday) and they have promised to pay for supplies to improve. We are also doing winter cropping and a lot of power is also needed and paid for to cater for that and this means the monetary authorities have to balance all this.”

He said pumping of fuel from Beira was going on smoothly and people should not panic as enough stocks were in the country.

“Our people should also not rely on social media,” Minister Gumbo said.

“Even after the cyclone, we resumed pumping on March 24 and fuel is coming into the country. Enough stocks are there in bond.

“We are negotiating with big companies like Trafigura and IPG with whom we have big facilities to understand our situation and give us a leeway as we mobilise funds to pay them. We have delayed and failed to meet our commitment because of the challenges we experienced recently.”

He said Government had no intentions of increasing the prices of fuel.

“Our people should also know that there is no consideration of increasing the prices at the moment,” he said.

-State Media

My Rapist is Graduating’ Students Stage Silent Protest At Ceremony

Message sent. Students silently demonstrate at the graduation ceremony.

A group of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) students staged silent anti-rape protests during the university’s graduation ceremony at the south campus’ indoor sports centre on Friday. 

The group, clad in black, took to the front of the hall with placards saying “My rapist is graduating. Congratulations?” “His sentence was suspended so he can graduate”, “We deserve a rape free campus”. 

According to reports by South African Media, the group was protesting about an alleged rapist graduating.

NMU spokesperson Zandile Mbabela told News24 that there had been no disruptions to the ceremony. She said the protesters simply went to the front of the hall and held up their placards.

In a statement, NMU Dean of Students Luthando Jack said that the University had not been immune to gender-based violence and that they had received reports of incidents involving students.

“During today’s graduation sessions, a group of students staged a silent protest against the university’s perceived failure in adequately dealing with reported cases of gender-based violence,” Jack said.

“Chancellor Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi acknowledged the protest immediately thereafter and committed to following up on the issues raised.”

According to Jack, members of university management had met with the protesting students between graduation sessions, with a view to engage on the issues raised.

“These engagements are set to continue in more detail, as the parties are finding each other on most of these issues.”

“The university therefore acknowledges the silent protest by the students and encourages democratic agency and activism in pursuits for social justice, as the institution understands the role of activism towards building a humane and just society.”

‘Graduation of convicted rapist’

Jack conceded that their investigation capacity was still good enough, but said that they were working on bolstering it.

“The university thus commits to expedite its response to protection mechanisms as raised by the protesting students, while pursuing long-term effort towards the eradication of gender-based violence on university campuses.”

Some of the placards they held up

View image on Twitter

The media also reported that a group, which called itself Activist ConneXtions, had written a letter to the university on Wednesday stating that 10 cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault had been reported on the campus since the beginning of 2019.

The paper reported that the group wrote: “To date, these cases have not been investigated and no dockets have been opened at [the university’s] legal services. Applications for no-contact orders and summary suspensions have been stalled at legal and protection services, forcing victims to share the same space as their abusers on a daily basis.

“Activist ConneXctions can also confirm that it received news of the graduation of convicted rapist [from 2018] during the autumn graduation taking place between April 5 and 13 2019…”

News 24

Mliswa Misses Maridadi In Parliament

Jane Mlambo| Norton MP Temba Mliswa has joined Jessie Majome in congratulating former Mabvuku-Tafara legislator James Maridadi saying he believes the former opposition MDC member has what it takes to represent Zimbabwe.

Mliswa said Maridadi’s “intelligent” presentations in Parliament will be missed.

“Maridadi, whose contributions are sorely missed in Parliament would be a perfect appointment as an Ambassador. He’s intelligent and articulate and would represent the country well.

“That’s what we need as Zimbabwe, the appointments of people who are capable of delivering,” Mliswa said.

Prison Services Ambassador Sulumani Chimbetu Assaults Journalist In Glen Norah

Jane Mlambo| Popular musician, Sulumani Chimbetu has been accused of assaulting a journalist during the clean-up exercise in Glen Norah.

The journalist, Keith Guvamombe said his crime was asking the Dendera musician who was clad in Zimbabwe Prison officer gear, a question for his story.

“I have been assaulted by Sulumani Chimbetu in Glen Norah after a clean up campaign at Spacemen shops. After I asked a question which he didn’t like to entertain he took away my phone from me, in that moment Sulu crew surrounded me,” Guvamombe said.

He added that Sulu punched him on his ribs threatening to kill him while attempting to destroy his mobile phone which he had used to record a video of the clean-up exercise.

“Sulu was in Prisons regalia with the other guy, they started to punch me on my ribs threatening to kill me. In that instant he tried to destroy my phone, as he forced me to delete the video interview which I had recorded. I have reported the matter at Harare Central Police Station.”

Sulu was Saturday morning telephoned for a comment. While efforts to obtain a direct comment from the singer to the allegation were fruitless at the time of writing, witnesses at the scene confirmed the development. Obviously it was a moment of anger but what can you do, said one man whose identity could not be obtained at time of printing. – More to follow

Mavhaire Convicted And Fined

Former Energy and power Development minister Dzikamai Mavhaire has been convicted and fined $20 or rot in prison for four days.

Regional Magistrate Hosea Mujaya ordered Mavhaire to $20 after he had ruled that Mavhaire was willingly in default.

Mavhaire was last week slapped with a warrant of arrest after he was warned to come to court as a state witness in the ZPC matter involving Stanely Kazhanje.

In his defense Mavhaire said that he thought Kazhanje wanted to drag his name into mud.

Mavhaire is to testify on the matter of Kazhanje who was arrested and brought to court on allegations that on October 23, 2015 and while he was still chairperson at  ZPC signed an Engineering Procurement and Construction contract of a 100 Megawatt Solar Project with Intratrek

It is alleged that during December 11 2015 to January 20 2016, ZPC paid Intratrek $1 263 154 in advance for the implementation of the project.

However, the State alleged that  Intratrek did not fulfill its obligation, resulting in the management suggesting termination of the contract.

It is further said that on 21 January 2016 and under unclear circumstances, Kazhanje allegedly received $10 000 into his personal Barclay’s Bank account from Intratrek’s CBZ bank account.

It is the state’s case that in his capacity as ZPC’s board chairperson, Kazhanje presided over a meeting where it was resolved that ZPC must pay services direct to Intratrek subcontractors instead of terminating the contract.

This resulted in ZPC paying $4 387 849 as advance payment despite the fact that Intratrek had not fulfilled its obligation.

It is the State’s case that the $10 000 deposited into Kazhanje and the subsequent resolution not to terminate Intratrek’s contract gave rise to reasonable suspicion that Kazhanje was influenced by this payment to decide in favour of Intratrek.

By so doing, the state alleged that Kazhanje failed to declare any interests upon his appointment as the ZPC chairperson.

Magistrate Mujaya ordered Mavhaire to however appear in court on 15 April to testify in the trial without fail.

-263Chat

LIVE: Soldiers And Border Gezi Youths Catch ZANU PF Chairman Stealing Food Aid At Ngangu

VIDEO LOADING BELOW

By Chimanimani Correspondent| Border Gezi youths briefly detained Zanu PF branch chair, Anthony Machingauta for allegedly looting relief aid from the Roman Catholic church premises. They were assisted by a group of soldiers who moved in to question Machingauta. After a brief discussion and having recovered the loot, they released him. ” The soldiers could not apprehend him as they have no arresting powers,” our source says. VIDEO:

UK LATEST- Today Zimbabweans Are Packing 500kg Of Blankets, Clothes For Cyclone Idai Victims

By A Correspondent| Consignments of over half a tonne of clothes and blankets are being packed for Zimbabwe today.

Below is a UK map for Zimbabweans to drop off their donations for dispatching to Zimbabwe. This follows a facility to ZimEye readers by the South African airliner, SAA this week. The donations are set to be sent off next week. On Saturday a van donated by Vuka Zimbabwe is travelling across Birmingham, London, Oxford before delivering at the storage area. To submit your donations, contact Laiza on 07950041826.
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From Being Highlanders Medic To A “Man Of God.”

Emmett Ndlovu

A YEAR after leaving Highlanders to concentrate on his pastoral duties, former Bosso secretary-general Emmett Ndlovu held a ground breaking ceremony for his new church in the Northend suburb of Bulawayo last Saturday

Ndlovu, who served the club for 21 years in various capacities, starting as team physiotherapist before being appointed manager, is the founding pastor of the Centre of Miracles Church of Christ (CMCC).

He told Chronicle Sport that he doesn’t harbour prospects of returning to ‘sports administration’ as he was enjoying his new clergy role.Ndlovu said he had to leave Highlanders to give “undivided” attention to his “new calling”, which he first pursued in 2013, two years before being voted Highlanders’ secretary-general, taking over from Andrew Tapela.“In pursuit of my calling in 2013, I went on a prayer fasting programme for three days and three nights. On the third day, from about 3PM to 6PM, I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit and I was given a commission; I was launched into the ministry fulltime. That is the reason I had to take a break from the sporting world to pursue this new calling.

However, more importantly is the mere fact that I didn’t sit down to think or plan it and say now I want to do this, it was a calling and I could not resist. Like Jonah who was sent to Nineveh and he went to Tarshish, so many times I tried to resist, but there came a point where I just couldn’t resist and had to do it,” Ndlovu said.

He is excited about his new found love.“When I was given this vision, I was also given the name of the ministry, Centre of Miracles Church of Christ (CMCC). Somebody may ask, is it about miracles or gospel of prosperity since we are seeing an upsurge of these new ministries that are preaching and teaching the gospel of prosperity. We’re not teaching the gospel of prosperity, so to speak, but we are talking about the gospel of purity.

“Prosperity may come it is well, because our God is a God who supplies according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. First and foremost, we must receive salvation and all else will follow, that’s the concept and the vision that I had. On the 5th of December 2015, this ministry was launched. We’ve celebrated our third year and have already acquired a piece of land and launched a ground breaking ceremony attended by Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni in North End,” said Ndlovu.

He said they had a membership of over 600 people and they have also opened their church branch in South Africa.

“The ministry is growing. It means the work in my hands is just too much. It won’t be fair to give half-heartedly to the sporting world, half-heartedly to the ministry. I believe that I can’t serve two masters. But at God’s appointed time I cannot rule anything out. But for now, I want to say for the unforeseeable future, I will concentrate on this calling because I have a passion for it. I’m doing it because God has spoken to me and things are happening according to his power, his will and authority and I’m happily involved in ministerial work.” —

Women’s Coalition Demands For Action On Mohadi

A local Women’s rights group, Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) is outraged by reports of violence allegedly perpetrated by Vice President Kembo Mohadi against Tambudzani Mohadi on the 30th of March 2019.

In a statement released on Friday, the organization said that every woman has the right to live a life free of violence and therefore strongly condemns any act of violence against women and girls, be it within the family, private or public spaces.

“Reports indicate that Vice President Kembo Mohadi threatened to kill Mrs Tambudzani and attacked her with a deformed steel bar.

“It has also been reported that such shocking acts were committed in the presence of members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). We believe that these are very serious allegations which require urgent investigations and due process of the law.

“It is in light of the many legal provisions against violence, that WCOZ believes that the alleged conduct of the Vice President is a lack of respect of the supreme law of the land and women. The battle against violence perpetrated on women and girls can never be won, when the perpetrators are men in whom the people have vested the authority and trust to lead the nation ” they said.

The women led organization added, the Vice President of a nation should always be above reproach when it comes to violence and women’s rights issues. The Vice President being a servant of the people therefore should answer to the nation the allegations that have been leveled against him.

WCOZ further registered its displeasure at the alleged conduct of the members of the ZRP in whose presence this act is alleged to have been committed. The failure by the ZRP to address the issue raises concern over the critical institutions to adequately provide redress to survivors of violence in terms of emergency.

“WCOZ calls upon the judiciary to treat all cases of violence against women and girls with high priority and ensure that justice is served at all times” they emphasized. — 263Chat

Linda Feels For Khupe, Says She Is Captured And Not Going Anywhere.

Linda Masarira

EXPELLED MDC-T spokesperson Linda Masarira has warned that the Thokozani Khupe-led opposition party risks disintegrating, accusing the faction of favouring men ahead of their female counterparts.

Masarira also claimed a clique from Matabeleland was trying to make the MDC-T a tribal party.

She warned that Khupe risked destroying her political career the same way former Vice-President Joice Mujuru did when she failed to grow her party, ZimPF and then National People’s Party after leaving Zanu PF.

“I stood with Dr Thokozani Khupe when she was accused of being a Zanu PF project. Unfortunately, she decided to succumb to the pressure from my deputy Khaliphani Phungeni, a South African-based cabal and some tribalists based in Bulawayo who always seek to make the MDC-T a tribalist party. I gave them a long rope to tie themselves, which they have finally done. It is rather unfortunate that they don’t realise that for every action taken, there is a consequence,” Masarira said.

The MDC-T standing committee on Monday expelled Masarira after a picture of her donning Zanu PF regalia went viral on social media.

Sources said Masarira had been given an option to resign or face expulsion, but the Harare Central losing candidate opted to apply for a sabbatical leave, which was turned down by the party leadership.

MDC-T secretary-general Nixon Nyikadzino said Masarira’s allegations were misplaced, as she was dismissed on charges which she was aware of.

“Those are false allegations and she must understand that we dismissed her on clear charges which she knows. We will not be seen trying to be swayed by her claims when the basis of her ouster are clear,” Nyikadzino said.

The charge sheet included an “undisputed fact that on March 24, 2019, several photographs of you wearing Zanu PF regalia, commonly known as ‘zambia’ at some location located in rural Zimbabwe, were circulated by yourself on various social media platforms including, but not limited to WhatsApp”.

Khupe broke away from the MDC, claiming she was the legitimate leader of the opposition party when she was overlooked for the post of party president in favour of Nelson Chamisa following the death of founding president Morgan Tsvangirai in February, 2018.

The MDC-T has often been being accused of being an a Zanu PF project.

It is one of the parties involved in dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“Forget It, No Province Will Nominate Mwonzora Or Mudzuri. Chamisa Chete Chete.”

Morgan Komichi

MDC co-vice president Morgen Komichi is confident party president Nelson Chamisa will be nominated by all the party’s 10 provinces as the presidential candidate at Congress.

Komichi said this as Mwonzora remains confident he will also secure nomination and proceed to defeat Chamisa at the Congress which is due in less than 50 days.

“The MDC people are going to nominate Nelson Chamisa with ease. He is going to be nominated by all the 10 provinces in the country and our three external ones. No one is going to be nominated except president Chamisa,” Komichi said.

While there are whispers that secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora and co-vice president Elias Muzduri will challenge Chamisa, neither of the two has openly thrown his hat in the ring.

Newsday sources revealed that Mwozora is not willing to throw in the towel yet, rather opting to play his cards close to his chest.

The independent daily quoted sources saying: “There are some who are saying he should pull out because the structures voting at congress appear to be in favour of Chamisa, but he is not willing to give up. He is going for the presidency, to win it.”

Mwonzora rejected accusations that he is working with ZANU PF.

He said: “I have been fighting Zanu PF. I have a history of fighting Zanu PF. I fought Zanu PF as a member of Copac, they did not want that Constitution. We brought it.

“I fought Zanu PF in the Supreme Court regarding political funding. Up to now, the MDC is receiving funding from the government.

“I have been fighting for electoral reforms, we have had success. I have been a member of almost every demonstration.

“Now the regrettable part is that when we are going for Congress, people start mudslinging.

“I have seen a few brickbats thrown at Nelson Chamisa, some of which are very unfair. For example, that bizarre rape case, we always go through this.”

The Congress is to be held from 24 to 26 May.

Meanwhile, the MDC congresses are moving to provincial level starting this coming weekend.

The district congresses have been marred by intra-party violence, with one incident in Chitungwiza having left the town’s deputy Mayor hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Jabulani Mtunzi was reportedly assaulted for preferring Mwonzora to Chamisa.

The case is pending at the courts. — 

Jessie Majome Congratulates Maridadi. Is She Being Genuine Or Bitter?

James Maridadi

FORMER MDC Harare West legislator Jessie Majome has congratulated former MDC Mabvuku-Tafara legislator James Maridadi for being appointed Zimbabwe’s Ambassador-designate to Senegal by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“Congratulations to His Excellency the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Senegal His Excellency James Maridadi! I’m proud of him and know that my nation Zimbabwe will be represented well and our flag will fly high and resplendent! Zimbabwe needs your brand of service with excellence,” Majome said.

Majome left the MDC after she felt she was muscled out of the party’s primary elections for Harare West constituency. She campaigned for the seat as an independent, but lost it to MDC Alliance Joana Mamombe.

Meanwhile, Norton MP Temba Mliswa (Independent) has also congratulated James Maridadi, saying he believes the former spokesperson for Morgan Tsvangirai has what it takes to represent Zimbabwe on foreign soil.

Mliswa however said Maridadi’s “intelligent” presentations in Parliament will be missed.

“Maridadi, whose contributions are sorely missed in Parliament would be a perfect appointment as an Ambassador. He’s intelligent and articulate and would represent the country well.

“That’s what we need as Zimbabwe, the appointments of people who are capable of delivering,” Mliswa said.

Maridadi is among 15 ambassador designates and 23 foreign affairs officials who started a month-long diplomatic training course, whose aim is to provide them with appropriate orientation before they set off on their new assignments.

Mnangagwa has been tolerant even before, allowing the late opposition member, Trudy Stevenson to continue serving the country as ambassador in Senegal way after the expiry of the Government of National Unity (GNU) under whose tenure she had been appointed.

There are fears within the opposition MDC that President Mnangagwa plans to appoint more opposition officials to key government positions notwithstanding his continuing brawl with MDC boss Nelson Chamisa – who has adamantly refused to recognize him as Zimbabwe’s legitimate leader.

The move is seen within the MDC family as a tactic to weaken the support around party leader Nelson Chamisa. 

Women Finally Confront Mohadi Over Violent Conduct

In a statement released yesterday, the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) urged responsible authorities to treat cases of violence with high priority.

The statement was in connection with allegations of violence allegedly committed by Vice President Kembo Mohadi against Tambudzani Mohadi on the 30th of March 2019 in Beitbridge.
The Women’s rights group called upon the judiciary to:
“…treat all cases of violence against women and girls with high priority and ensure that justice is served at all times.”

“WCOZ reiterated its call for ending violence against women noting that they also have a right to live a life free of violence. The group strongly condemned any form of violence at all levels.

In relation to the presence of members of the police force, WCOZ said:
“It has also been reported that such shocking acts were committed in the presence of members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). We believe that these are very serious allegations which require urgent investigations and due process of the law.” True Zim Patriots

Harare Central Hospital Boss Fired

By Own Correspondent| Harare Central Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nyasha Masuka has been fired.

Dr Masuka has been released of his duties with immediate effect despite that he still had about two years left on his three-year contract which was supposed to expire in 2021.

Dr Obediah Moyo, Health and Child Care Minister confirmed the development from South Africa where he is attending official business.

He, however, could not shed more light on the development referring journalists to the Health Services Board (HSB) which employs health services’ workers.

Ironically, the HSB chairman Dr Paulinas Sikosana said Dr Masuka was not fired but opted out to pursue matters of personal interests.-StateMedia

Lionel Messi’s Father In Terrible Accident

Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Messi was involved in a terrible accident in Argentina in the city of Rosario, according to the report.


The sad event happened around 8:00 pm local time on Thursday, Messi’s father collided with a young motorcyclist who was taken to the hospital after the collision.
Tests have been undertaken and TN has reported that the youngster has only suffered minor injuries.


An ambulance took the injured man to hospital while police drove Messi’s father to a nearby police station so they could check his vehicle documents.

BREATHTAKING VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Another Cyclone Idai Hit Zimbabwe In 1932, 96year Old Elder Reveals

By A Correspondent| A research paper suggests that Zimbabwe was warned of impending cyclone floods as far back as 1934.

The Rhodesian paper, follows indications by a 96 year old man interviewed by ZimEye.com who reveals that cyclone Idai is not the first to hit Zimbabwe. He during the week told ZimEye there was another cyclone which hit Chimanimani back in 1932.

The elder’s video footage was streamed last Sunday morning.

In the below research paper extract dated 1934, Rhodesian engineers are seen planning for another flood that will happen in less than 100 years. The extract reads as follows:

For the range of conditions under consideration the following formula gives values of C closely in accordance with the values derived from Mr. Creager’s equation, and it has been used to calculate the values of C presented in the last column of Table IV :- C = 6,00011 + 0.07( )] X run-off X 1,000 – A (gathering-speed)o’6 (length : max~-breadth)~’~’

This formula, although somewhat cumbersome, has the advantage of enabling the value of C for a given catchment to be estimated in a rational way, and not merely guessed at. The catchment area, A, and the ratio of length to mean breadth can both be taken direct from the map of the catchment-area, and there remain only two uncertain factors, the run-off and the gathering-speed, a fair estimation of which can be formed from a knowledge of the physical characteristics of the catchment. It will usually be more accurate to estimate these factors separately than to make allowance for the conflicting effect of a number of factors whose relationship is Unknown.

PROBABLE FREQUENCY OF FLOODS. Mr. Creager gives the formula :- where Q denotes the peak discharge of maximum flood probable in T years, C ,, co-efficient discussed above, e ,, base of the natural system of logarithms. A ,, catchment-area in square miles. The terms in the bracket represent the fraction of the probable maximum flood which may be expected to occur once in T years.

If 100 years is taken as a reasonable figure for works which are not of great importance, and whose failure would not entail loss of life, then it is found that the fraction varies between 0.586 and 0.629 for the catchments described in this Paper. It would therefore appear that floods equal to 67 per cent. of the probable maximum may be expected less than once in 100 years, and that to design for floods of 75 per cent;. of the maximum calculated discharges would allow a substantial margin of safety.

Priscilla Chigumba’s Boyfriend Named In Looting Of $115mln Hwange Colliery Mine Cash

Below is part of the Wankie Colliery Mine audit report which names the mines minister, Winston Chitando for allegedly presiding over the looting of over 115 million dollars in loan money. The development led to the company collapsing and failing to pay its employees’ salaries.

Our engagement to perform Forensic Audit Investigation is limited to confirming or dispelling any fears that the Board that engaged us to perform had, at the time of engaging us. Accordingly, those concerns cannot be extended nor replicated for adoption as the concerns of any other successor persons who may be appointed to replace the persons in the appointing Board.

We warned, as we warn again herein, that our report is not designed for Court action, suffice to confirm or dispel agreed Board concerns. Further work would have to be undertaken to bridge this report to meet any additional requirements of a successor Board or persons charged with governance, which may arise as a result of consummation of the contents set out in this report if it becomes desirable to meet the exacting standards of a court process. Additionally, other legal instruments may be required in order to enable the forensic investigation to cover certain areas of an investigation to gather corroborative evidence that can be produced in a court of law.

Our report is solely for your information and it is not to be used for any other purpose or to be distributed to any other parties without our prior written consent. We have included a point which is in this report, which we can on an anticipatory basis, authorize the Board that appointed us to circulate to shareholders without our further written consent.

This report relates only to the agreed upon terms of reference for the forensic investigation and it does not extend to other activities of Hwange Colliery Company Limited nor the Hwange Colliery Company Limited annual financial statements taken as a whole, which is the prerogative of the appointed statutory auditor of Hwange Colliery Company Limited. Because the work was performed on an agreed upon procedures basis, whilst every care was taken, the report cannot and does not stand as competent evidence in a court of law in Zimbabwe and we cannot stand as witnesses in any litigation process because of the foregoing limitations

  1. BACKGROUND

Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) which has experienced many years of governance and management shortcomings faced liquidation in 2015. The year 2015 closed with a loss after tax of USD115 million. Then, there was an acting Chair Person Mr Jimitias Chininga, after the chirman Mr Farai Mutamangira had resigned. The Jimitias Chininga-led Board sought “Quick Wins” ideas and a plan from Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds to avert the HCCL collapse. Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds provided the Board of Directors with the survival strategy to avert collapse. In December 2015 that Board starterd a process of placing the company on a recovery path. Management commenced the quick wins implementation from 1 January 2016. Management did not succeed in the roll out and it approached Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds once more to work with the Board and management to assist in the implementation of the prescribed roadmap and ideas. The former Minister of Mines and Mining Development Mr Walter Chidhakwa brought in a new Board and appointed Mr Winston Chitando to chair the new Board. Meanwhile, one of the key and second largest shareholders withdrew his appointed non executive directors from the Board leaving only Government appointed non-executive directors on the Board. The new Board embraced the working “Quick Wins” strategy initiated by the J Chininga Board. Consequently, the final implementation commenced July 2016. Immediately, success started registering in the books and the records of HCCL leading to a reduction in the loss for the year from USD115 million recorded for the 2015 year, down to USD89 million for the year ended 31 December 2016. For the purposes of loss tracking we have used 2015 as the base year. The loss for the year further went down to USD43 million for the year ended 31 December 2017 marking a significant improvement of 62.61% compared to the base year December 2015. Published results for the six month period ended 30 June 2018 showed that the loss came down to USD23 million. This manifests significant improvement of 80% when compared to the 2015 base year loss position when the company was at its worst ever. The idea is to plot a graph tracking the loss, and not just to show the loss position at half year compared to the previous half year.

The significant improvement in the economic fortunes of the company, however, appeared to have attracted a”Gold Rush” for quick pickings. Because of this, HCCL, went through a period of standoff between Board members appointed by the Government of Zimbabwe, within themselves, disagreeing on certain of the decision making processes. The Chairman and new management executive committee appeared to stand in one corner. Other Board members stood in the other corner raising issues of transparency against the Chairman. This led to months of standoff between some Board members and the Chairman which culminated into significant dispute around governance and pre award due diligence of certain contracts which in their opinion was not in the best interests of employees, creditors and shareholders.

The foregoing standoff continued after the Chairman was appointed Minister of Mines and Mining Development. In August 2018, the Board appointed Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds to perform a forensic investigation into the HCCL affairs and report to the Board. After attempts to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to fire the Board failed, the Minister placed the company under Administration on the grounds that the Company had failed to repay a loan to the Government, among other issues of insolvency.

The said loan was made by Government to the the Board led by him before he was appointed Minister of Mines and Mining Development. So, the substance on the ground is that Government gave the loan using its right hand and the left hand was managing the loan. Other shareholders were not involved in the Board at all and had no influence whatsoever, in how the loan was to be applied.

The terms of the loan were as follows:

a) An amount of USD111 500 000 was advanced by way of Treausry Bills which themselves are RTGS based (Not real USD).
b) The loan is a 15 year loan advanced in 2016,
c) It attracts interest at 7% rate per annum.
HCCL went through a long patch of transluscent governance over the years. Accordingly, there is no way HCCL could be expected to come out of the financial and operational bottlenecks in under two years, exacerbated by lack of foreign currency to procure critical logistics.
The loan was utilized to clear old pressing obligations/issues. No meaningful amount was set aside for use in current production. From the foregoing, no reasonable or informed person could expect an insolvent company to get up and go in such a short period of time, more so, without injecting capital into production or into capacitation of income generating functions, necessary for sustainable operations.
During the course of the forensic investigations the Acting Managing Director Mr Sheperd Manamike was suspended along with the Finance Executive Mr Tawanda Marapira, the Acting Human Resources Manager Mr Fortune Nyoni and Chief Accountant Mr Paradzai Makunde.
Dr Charles Zinyemba took over as Acting Managing Director.
We received transparent cooperation from Dr C Zinyemba, never mind he was not a player in the core activities of the mine. Annexure 44
In general senior management was on suspension during our work. We largely depended on documentary evidence in some repsects.

  1. TERMS OF REFERENCE

2.1. The Board requires comprehensive forensic audit to cover the following:

2.1.1. Revenue generating activities from production to the time money is received

2.1.2. Procurement of goods and services and anything in between

2.1.3. Review of HR matters

2.1.4. Corporate governance issues and audit

2.1.5. Review of the IT

2.1.6. Control environment in general – contract analysis, policies and procedures and recommend.

2.2. REQUIRED SCOPE OF THE FORENSIC SERVICES

2.2.1. Conduct objective and independent investigations of matters brought to HCCL attention involving possible financial misconduct, irregularities of a financial nature and HR matters or any commission of economic offences

2.2.2. Determine the total revenue and examine the authenticity of expenditure incurred for the years 2013 to 2018

2.2.3. Ascertain receivables and or payables related to the years in question

2.2.4. Assess allegations of theft, fraud and corruption if any

2.2.5. Completed proceedings and recommendations of the firm based on the evidence gathered should be submitted to the Board.

2.3. REPORTING TO SHAREHOLDERS

2.3.1. The matter of HCCL reached Parliament, accordingly, included in this report is a briefing document which we believe may suit the purpose in the event that the Shareholders demand it, points 2.3.2.

2.3.2. What caused the HCCL Finances to collapse?

2.3.2.1. Top most source of HCCL troubles is that the HCCL cannot properly account for every tonne mined/poor stocks management, that is the primary source of the money being lost, before discussing issues of housekeeping.
2.3.2.2. HCCL sold HPS coal at unviable prices to ZPC for a very long time, this is the second source of HCCL problems
2.3.2.3. Poor procurement policies and procedures regarding equipment and the subsequent failure to service the same equipment and the associated loans
2.3.2.4. Poor management of Mota Engil Contract Mining agreement resulting in start-stop operations, depriving the market of product and the HCCL of revenue
2.3.2.5. Insider trading – AVIM, Inductoserve, Philcool, etc.
2.3.2.6. Sub-contracting matters that could have been handled internally, e.g. haulage
2.3.2.7. Not installing and not judiciously using weigh bridges to determine quantities carried by contract haulage companies resulting in possibilities of overpayment
2.3.2.8. Not installing and maintaining the Conveyor Belt to reduce hiring of haulage companies
2.3.2.9. Poor decisions – such as buying dysfunctional Turbo business, buildings and equipment
2.3.2.10. Blotted and top-heavy management structure resulting in significant staff costs with no commensurate value for money
2.3.2.11. Other staff benefits liberally given and poorly managed such as school fees, medical aid funds, death benefits
2.3.2.12. High social responsibility costs – town, hospitals, roads, schools, payment of journalists with no performance measures or targets
2.3.2.13. Unethical management of the company such as paying money of a bribery nature to journalists.

2.3.3. What obligtions did HCCL have as at 30 September 2018?

2.3.3.1. Borrowings (Top 11) USD174 694 000
2.3.3.2. Payroll related obligations USD 88 795 420

2.3.4. The company had Barter deals as at 30 September 2018; USD16 675 663

Recommendations for Shareholders

Reduce political interference in HCCL for the company to run as a listed company business,

Appointed directors themselves should elect a chair person, not an imposed chair person.

There is need for a management overhaul, which the Board of Directors had already commenced on before its role was taken over by the Administrator. The whole organogram of HCCL and its staff benefits structure need to be overhauled too. New funding is required to procure functional equipment. In the medium term HCCL should replace all kinds of hired organisations involved in the value chain. In the long run this will save the Company substantial sums of money. Where contracts are necessary, there is need to perform judicious cost/benefit analyses and to ensure full compliance, and monitoring.

The finance function should be headed by a mature, ethical, experienced and courageous person who can defy management override of controls and external political interference and who should be a professional accountant registered by the Pubic Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB), the governing Statutory body in Zimbabwe.
The selling price of the HPS coal to ZPC is causing financial loss to HCCL. HCCL should perform a competent costing exercise and use it for an upward review of its HPS coal price to a viable level. In the alternative, commensurate subsidies should be given by ZPC on electricity tariffs to HCCL, or the Government should subsidise HCCL’s price since the ZPC energy is used nationally.

The Scheme of Arrangement suggested by our firm and adopted by HCCL needs to be followed closely as it had already registered success by bringing in willing creditors and willing management together without threats of court actions, to help the company to turn around. Specifically, reported losses had decreased from USD115 million for the year ended 31 December 2015 to USD23 million for the six months ended 30 June 2018. Accordingly, HCCL should adhere to scheme payments, and where it is critically not possible to honour any one instalment, advance warning must be given to the beneficiaries in order to continue to receive their cooperation and also allow the concerned parties to plan accordingly in time.

  1. CAVEAT TO DISCOVERY OF ACTUAL FRAUD

Modern developments in management fraud no longer manifest directors actually taking from the till of the company directly.

Modern fraud perpetration involves directors who are dictatorial or who exercise significant influence over management. Such directors manipulate tenders in favour of connected persons. It also includes bullying senior executives to become “yes men” in order for management to save their jobs. So, in the process, any instructions from the Board Chair Person sails without much discussion.

The said strongmen or unethical directors who exercise significant influence over unethical management earn their spoils from the personal accounts of the directors of the favoured companies. At times the favoured companies buy assets for the enjoyment of such directors. Nothing will ever be documented in such corrupt deals. Accordingly, no physical flow of money will be happening from the company to the bank accounts of the said directors.

A collegial clan of control structure (some call it “old school boys” relationship type) is usually put in place under the pretex of “head hunted experts” in order to facilitate illicit transactions out of an entity in a manner that would look pretty honest as reolutions are passed in the ordinary course of business, which officialises frauds and other forms of impropriety. Here, the Chairman simply informs Board members that the experts have carried out due diligence about a matter, who are we to dispute this, any dispute/dissenting opinions ladies and gentlemen? There being no dispute or dissenting opinions, shall we move to the next item? This is how illicit transactions pass in such boards.

When confronted with such sistuations, shareholders only need to identify collegial clan of control and certain patterns in the awards of contracts in order to fire Boards of Directors.

  1. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INVESTIGATION

4.1. Governance and transparency lacked as the Board did not seem to deliberate on issues properly – Numerous (more than 40) round robbin resolutions were passed, resulting in some Board members commissioning this investigation

4.2. Some apparent Illegal acts were committed by the Board under the 2016 to 2017 Board chairmanship

4.3. Accounting for mined coal as reported in financial accounting reports is not reliable, these are the figures the former CEO has announced to the press, and have never been achieved.

4.4. However, more reasonable figures for mined coal tonnages are those that are produced by the Quantity Surveyor

4.5. Accordingly, control over accounting for product volumes needs significant improvement

4.6. A Board Chairperson must be elected by the appointed Non Executive Directors to serve interests of all shareholders

4.7. Concerned with governance and transparency issues, the recent ex Chairperson Ms Juliana Muskwe ordered an investigation into the affairs of the Company including issues of governance by the past Board leadership

4.8. The New Board’s plan to investigate the Company’s governance met with significant resistence (Public ridicule at a rally in Hwange as was shown on ZTV, which was followed by a failed Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and finally, the subsequent placement of the company under an Administrator) which silenced the directors from further questioning mendacious activities in the Board.
4.9. A new executive structure implemented in 2017 placed the Finance Manager as the Executive Head responsible for Buying, IT Systems and Paying, significantly assuming unfettered ability to override controls over procurement/sourcing/buying, recording of transactions in the systems and payments.

4.10. It is difficult to believe that the integration of incompatible functions was through ignorance.

4.11. However the Finance Executive Mr T Marapira did not believe that there was anything wrong with the structure where he assumed the incompatible functions where he became in charge of buying, in charge of IT systems and in charge of paying.

4.12. A review of the Finance Executive’s qualifications on file and inquiry of the Public Accountants and Auditors Board showed that the Finance Executive was not a Registered Public Accountant, in terms of the Public Accountants and Auditors Act Chapter 27:12, accordingly he was in the job illegally, to the extent that HCCL is a public entity or a listed company.

4.13. A 15 year loan through Treasury Bills attracting 7% interest per annum was received in 2016.

4.14. There was reckless trading

4.15. There was Money laundering

4.16. In the year 2017 Bribery payments were made to journalists to potray the image of HCCL positively

4.17. There were cases of malfeasance

4.18. There were cases of misfeasance

4.19. Collegial clan of control, resulted from the new Executive Structure put in place on 2 May 2017

4.20. The 2016 to 2017 period HCCL Chairman Mr Winston Chitando was a serving executive chairman of MIMOSA, a mining company in Zimbabwe, any risks of using confidential information or protected strategies or information protected by “work product doctrine” of MIMOSA in HCCL, it would appear, rests with HCCL and Mr Winston Chitando if any (ie use of unathorised MIMOSA tactics in HCCL including importation of suppliers identified by MIMOSA into HCCL, for example Inductoserve (Private) Limited, a transport company)

4.21. Companies and persons who had something to do or some link with persons who had something to do with MIMOSA got lucrative contracts (haulage and insurance)

4.22. HCCL financial statements were prepared by an unregistered Accountant contrary to the law, (Public Accountants and Auditors Act Chapter 27:12), meaning no one had ethical obligation to produce credible accounts.

4.23. Life of the Mine requires extension, hence the need for procuring additional claims in the Western Areas coal fields

4.24. At times. connected companies performed incompatible functions, creating room for theft of coal.

4.25. Significant doubt about the ability of CELL Insurance Company to meet foreign currency based claims/ or it may not have the foreign currency to import and replace HCCL Plant and equipment

4.26. CELL Insurance retains 100% of premiums on Plant and equipment, which is imported equipment, meaning the company assumes full risk which gives rise to a question such as:
4.27. Does CELL Insurance Company have a strong balance sheet to carry any loss on plant and equipment given it has not placed the risk to any form of Fucultative reinsurance (ie spread risk with other direct insurers) nor did it place the risk with Treaty Reinsurance (ie specialist insurance companies that insure direct insurance companies)?

4.28. The Board policy on school fees is anathema to sound commercial practice

  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5.1. Our focus was checking completeness of production stocks by reviewing the reconciliation of production to sales in order to establish whether all production was being turned into sales and properly accounted for or not, and investigate any financial impropriety

5.2. The results of the exercise showed that the mine systems are incapable of accounting for all its production and which is why the mine has cash flow problems, and at times gave misleading information to newspapers about its production

5.3. Corporate governance was generally poor noting from the multiplicity of round robin Board resolutions passed

5.4. Recruitment of key personnel concentrated on people from Masvingo Province easily creating the risk associated with Collegial Clan of Control/Old School Boys/Mwana wo ku musha chawawana idhla ne hama mutogwa une hangamwa/M’fo wethu/Wachimwene, whereas it is very possible that Matabeleland which houses the School of Mines may equally have relevant personnel for the job, as well, Mashonaland, Manicaland also have skilled people for the tasks befitting a listed company

5.5. Shortages in accounting for stocks are hidden/thrown into a suspense account called “transfers”, which account does not show a listing of where exactly the transfers were eventually made to.

5.6. A review of the accounts did not show any write off of stocks or show minutes of meetings where at any point in time, management and Board discussed write off of stock yet stock shortfalls existed?

5.7. During the year 2016, the mine got a USD111.5 million 15 year loan from Ministry of Finance and Economic Development which attracts interest at 7% per annum in the form of Treasury Bills.

5.8. Treasury Bills although styled in United States Dollars, are not money that can be utilized to pay for foreign currency denominated logistics

5.9. There is no meaningful accounting for/reconciliation of Mine production figures to Survey figures, opening and closing stocks and sales

5.10. Under the J Chininga led Board, a corporate social responsibility and public relations fund was established, in year 2015.

5.11. Management, during the Chairmanship of Mr W Chitando embarked on extensive unethical practice of paying what I define as “bribes” to many journalists under the guise of Corporate Social Responsibility. Refer point 28.1

5.12. Audited accounts show that the company made a loss after tax of USD115 million for the year ended 31 December 2015, refer to point 13.1

5.13. The 2016 audited accounts show that after the implementation of Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds turnaround “Quick Wins” HCCL improved performance by 37.6% in under six months, as results showed that the loss for the year came down to USD89 million. Point 13.1

5.14. The 2017 audited results show that the loss for the year went down to USD43 million, a 62.61% cumulative improvement in under one and a half years of implementing the Ralph Bomment “Quick Wins” tactics. Point 13.1

  1. 15.The 2018 management accounts as at 30 September 2018 show that the loss for the nine months stood at USD32 million.

5.16. Graphically presented, the movement from the December 2015 position where the company was facing liquidation to 30 September 2018 shows a 72.17% improvement in loss after taxation.

5.17. The Company recorded a gross profit for the months June 2018, July 2018 and August 2018, refer point 14.

5.18. Board members, it appears, were not transparent to each other, leading to the demand for this investigation. The Board members represented that it would appear that some decisions were being taken outside the Board and were just run through the Board for completeness of compliance without independent/ethical due diligence. Refer to Annexure 1(a), 1(b), 1(c) and 1(d).

5.19. Some directors suspected that the Board leadership appeared like it was leading the Company in a manner described as being:

5.1.1. Reckless trading; deviated from “Quick Wins”, eg. The self administerd medical fund and funeral assurance at the expense of wages. Point 30.9
5.1.2. Trading with gross negligence: buying Turbo Mining equipment without due diligence and no valuation and money laundering involving Inductoserve a contracted foreign haulage company. Point 27.2

5.1.3. Trading with intent to defraud creditors and shareholders or workers or any other persons or for any fraudulent purpose. Points 24, 25 and 26.

5.20. Accordingly some Board members wanted to detect and manifest the causal factors for possible reckless trading resulting from possibly someone manipulating the Board for certain reasons.

5.21. Mr Manamie and Mr Marapir signed Inductoserve contract whose payments in the absence of Exchange Control of South Africa constitutes contravention of Exchange Control as proceeds due to a South Africa Inductorserve were retained in Zimbabwe at Standard Chartered Bank Newlands.

5.22. Networked companies performing incompatible functions by being responsible for loading coal into trucks and for movement of coal out of the mine to customers, never mind it was for a limited time. Points 44, 45, 46 and 47

5.23. Money Laundering through contracting Inductoserve a South African company and making payments to that company into a Zimbabwean bank account. Point 26. So we have a South African company that is invoicing under Inductoserve (Private) Limited of 9042 Industrial Site, Zambezi, Gweru, whose VAT number is 10053013. Refer Annexure 13(C).

5.24. There is also a company called Inductoserve whose registered office is Matsa Store P O Box 119 Gutu, Zimbabwe.

5.25. That company is used in the process of aiding a South African company Inductoserve to not pay proceeds from business conducted in Zimbabwe, to its South African banks where the company is domiciled

5.26. Exchange control issues through the use by a Midrand based company offering haulage services to HCCL, utilizing a bank account at Standard Chartered Bank located at Newlands in Harare. Annexure 13(b)

5.27. HCCL should stop payments to Inductoserve for breaking VAT Law by using another company’s Tax Clearance certificate to process payments due to a South African company until South Africa Revenue Services clears Inductorserve of South Africa about possible tax evasion.

5.28. The proximity of the bank where proceeds of crime are banked at Standard Chartered Bank at Newlands, Harare to the MIMOSA’s offices also in the Newlands environs, creates uncertainty about the Chairman’s independence to Inductoserve.

5.29. The fact that Inductoserve serves MIMOSA as well, further componds issues of independence

5.30. The fact that Inductoserve serves ZIMASCO exacerbates the transparency issue.

5.31. Further, this company called Inductoserve whose head office is in Gutu, Masvingo Province at Matsa Store, there could be issues of co-mingling business of the South African Inductoserve with the Gutu company.

5.32. The Inductoserve trucks that we saw at the mine are Zimbabwe registered trucks, not South African, meaning possibly the south African company sub contracts a Zimbabwean company or that the Board was cheated that an independent South African Haulage company was hired yet it is a GUTU company doing the haulage work.

5.33. Alternatively, there is a possibility that the South African Industroserve was presented to the Board in a tender process just as a cover up to mislead other Board members/directors in awarding the tender to what essentially would be a Gutu company.

5.34. Based on the foregoing, only an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act can prove or dispel any fears about lack of independence, which is why the Administrator or those charged with governance should cause this to happen and clear the air for the benefit of directors.

5.35. Presented with a clear case of coal diversion, the failure by the Board to not take substantive action against AVIM Investments, a Haulage truck company contracted to move coal to ZPC in Kwekwe which was diverting coal to own benefit may have compromised the Chairman’s credibility as an independent person to the issues of AVIM Investments, as some Board members thought that the Chairman would instruct the Managing Director to report the case to the Police.

5.36. The fact that management presented a seemingly routine criminal matter to the Board instead of reporting the criminal matter to the Police, persuasively indicates that someone in the Board had an interest in the matter which is why management feared taking action without clearance, which clearance never came in any case after reporting to the Board.

5.37. Subsequent review of comments made by the Finance Executive indicates that, instead management was instructed to give AVIM Investments more business in order to create capacity in the hands of AVIM to clear the obligation to HCCL.

5.38. Reckless trading is evidenced in the Turbo Mining purchase agreement, the company was purchased for USD2.02 million before a due diligence exercise and valuation were performed

5.39. Subsequent independent valuation of Turbo Mining showed that the equipment was worth about USD823 thousand.

5.40. Financial statements are prepared by an unregistered accountant Mr T Marapira, contrary to Public
Accountants and Auditors Act Chapter 27:12. PAAB confirmed, he is not registered Annexure 47

5.41. Board Chairman appeared to engage in reckless trading for the benefit of an individual supplier

5.42. The said supplier, masqueraded like an Official of the Office of the President and Cabinet, a matter now generally known in public therefore representing political suicide by any party that does not take corrective action in a timely manner.
5.43. The said supplier also may have misrepresented that he was an official of Hwange Colliery Mine

5.44. Major contracts were offered and awarded to companies with some links to MIMOSA and ZIMASCO.

5.45. The Company went against the self insurance policy aspect recommended in the “Quick Wins” and suffered loss whereas the self insurance is justified on the grounds that HCCL did not have ability to meet premiums as they fall due every time

5.46. When premiums are outstanding the Medical Aid policy does not provide cover and payments made would have gone to waste

5.47. Self insurance in medical Aid would have saved the company money, as compared to monthly subscriptions of around USD60 000. With the HCCL erratic payments, claims are not readily honoured as the Company has outstanding premiums.

5.48. Funeral assurance self insurance can save money (about 5 deaths of employees were registered in 2018 and about 13 dependants also died in 2018) when compared to paying +USD 24 000 per month. Point 29

5.49. A review of ghost workers showed that HCCL did not have ghost workers on the payroll

5.50. A review of fuel, travel and subsistence claims shows that the system needs to be improved through a review of conditions of service

5.51. Issues of bribing journalsits emanating from the governance level of HCCL hierarchy, are pernicious to efforts to attract investment into the mine or into Zimbabwe, as long as potential investors can Google who they will be discussing with about mining in Zimbabwe, only to find those persons are tarnished in bribery cases or other matters of financial impropriety. Point 28

5.52. Information Technology is not fully implemented and the IT Software licences are no longer valid

5.53. HCCL school fees policy which sets USD180 per term to USD380 per term for primary school and USD480 per term to USD2 525 per term for secondary school per permanent worker up to a limit of 3 children per employee is unheard of and can only disadvantage shareholders due to the heavy financial burden involved.

  1. CONCLUSION

6.1. Based on the work done, I am of the opinion that:

6.1.1. There was bad corporate governance, which led to some Board members calling for a forensic investigation into the management of the Company with the view to protecting shareholders’ interests. Refer Annexures 1(a): 1(b): 1(c): 1(d): 1(e) and points 24 to 40

6.1.2. There was reckless trading, racketeering, money laundering, violation of Exchange Control Act, violation of VAT Act and fraudulent misrepresentations to gain contracts. Refer to poimts 24; 25; 26; 27

6.1.3. In the year 2017, management under the Board Leadership of Mr W Chitando, was involved in the bribery of Journalists. Refer point 28

6.1.4. There was fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Refer points 29 and 30

6.1.5. There was collegeal clan of control which led to connected service providers largely taking over control over the movement of coal and provision of insurance services. Refer to points 12.3; 45; 46; 53 and pervasive throughout

6.1.6. There are significant weaknesses in the accounting for coal production leading to untraced tonnages of coal/losses being included in “transfers”. Points 42.1; 42.9; 42.10; 42.11; 42.12; 42.13; 42.14

6.1.7. Whereas production personnel worked with some dangerous assumptions that the filled trucks of varying design weights, carried an assumed weight. It is here where the problems of HCCL start leading to the issuance and pronouncements of production figures that cannot be realized through sales and have pervasive implications on cashflow forecasts and budgeting.

6.1.8. Much of the Board fights appear to come from stress of leading a Company that has cash flow problems and the Board’s own inability to identify the route cause of the cash flow problems which we identified as HCCL’s weak control over what it mines.

6.1.9. Fuel supplied to a transporter of coal is not linked to tonnage hauled by the transporter. Point 43

6.1.10. Advance payments made to some suppliers are not adequately supported by contractual terms

6.1.11. Preferential treatment of some contractors and other matters if not resolved properly are likely to have serious ramifications in the Company as employees are the people in the Company and know how much coal they are mining, who is taking the coal, who steals coal and so forth.

6.1.12. Salaries paid to some executives were approved by the managing director, however they are not in line with grading system an indication that the MD tried to incentivize senior personnel

6.1.13. Information technology is dysfunctional leading to excessive use of Excel in accounting

6.1.14. The Company is not solvent and it was operating under the protection of a scheme of arrangement sanctioned by the High Court

6.1.15. Some prepayments are not adequately substantiated

6.1.16. Notwithstanding all the foregoing, the turnaround plan which is the basis of the Scheme of Arrangement worked properly despite Board rivalry.

6.1.17. Because of failure to service its membership of the JSE for a number of years, HCCL is in fact not a member in good standing with JSE

  1. RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1. The appointed Board members should elect their chairperson to avoid dominance and manipulation of management processes by a parachuted chair person.

7.2. Immediate steps must be taken to properly account for all mined coal tonnages/close leakages as a way of revenue assurance.

7.3. HCCL should use the Quantity Surveyor production figures as the basis for recognizing tonnage produced and reconcile management accounts figures to those figures

7.4. HCCL should acquire more claims in the Western Areas

7.5. HCCL should look beyond Masvingo Province when recruiting key personnel in order to reflect the national outlook of the company and also manage creation of “Old school boys Club or connected persons”.

7.6. HCCL should terminate the contract of Inductoserve for misrepresentation, violation of Exchange Control Act, violation of Zimbabwe Income Tax Act/VAT Act through fraudulent use of a Tax Clearance Certificate and lack of transparency

7.7. For the engagement of companies with some link to MIMOSA and for looking the other way after management reported theft of coal/failing to order management to cause arrest of a company diverting HCCL Coal to own benefit leading to financial loss of business, the Administrator or those charged with governance should take necessary steps to cause specification and an investigation into the conduct of the former Chairman under the Prevention of Corrucption Act or its successor legislation if any.
7.8. Those charged with governance of HCCL should recover all the “fees of a bribery nature” or money paid to journalists for no apparent service

7.9. Some Board members should be investigated for aiding a South African company Inductoserve to divert money to a Zimbabwe Bank, Standard Chartered Bank at Newlands Shopping Centre, Harare, Account number 8700216586300, thereby likely constituting money laundering, instead of remitting the money to its country of incorporation, Halfway House Midrand, South Africa

7.10. For losses suffered in the period from 1 January 2016 when a proper turnaround plan was put in place, the shareholders should proceed in terms of Section 318 of the Companies Act, Chapter 24:03, and other related law, to sue the then Chairman of the Board and any selected directors, for reckless trading, acts of bribery of journalsits, money laundering, lack of transparency and for destabilizing the subsequent Board leading to financial loss of the business of HCCL which was on a recovery path.

7.11. Any new Chairpersons or Board of an underperforming company must exercise due care by investigating causes of under performance and causes of financial losses as part of takeover due diligence/ before taking over responsibility as Board.

7.12. Creditors should exercise their right and proceed to sue some Board members under Section 318 of the Companies Act in relation to reckless trading, money laundering leading to creditors losing value of their money

7.13. Employees in their capacity as creditors to the extent that they have suffered exasperation arising out of their long outstanding salaries and wages, should proceed to sue some Board members for worsening the insolvency of HCCL

7.14. HCCL should eliminate the misleading use of the term “Transfers” when preparing a product movement statement and show exactly where the product would have gone

7.15. Product accounting should be performed using a reliable cost effective ERP ensuring that production figures reconcile to SURVEY figures and to sales and avoid manipulation of stock figures.

7.16. Those charged with governance should proceed to reverse Funeral Policy which should be internalized. Claims are less than the +-USD400 000 which is payable as premiums annualy. HCCL has no ability to consistently service its premiums leading to claims not being honoured and financial loss to HCCL.

7.17. Those charged with governance should proceed to cancel outsourced Medical Aid Cover whose cover ceases when premiums are outstanding and should revert to internal Medical Aid Fund but which must be managed by independent trustees of the employees as per the recommendations put in place in 2016 to save the company from recklessly spending money. About one million dollars can be saved,which can be invested under Trusteeship of HR

7.18. Those charged with governance should cancel Insurance policy for Plant and Equipment placed with CELL Insurance because the equipment is all imported, CELL Insurance Company is unlikely or it is not feasible to guarantee availability of foreign currency for the replacement of imported equipment at short notice. Instead the +-USD253 000 premiums can be invested in production

7.19. Those charged with governance should reverse the Executive structure that was implemented on 2 May 2017 which made the Finance Executive in charge of procurement, IT and payments for goods and services (Incompatible functions).

7.20. The Executive management committee should be expanded to at least 6 in order to avoid performance of incompatible functions at executive level and to bring in critical mine planning function and medical function at executive level

7.21. Those charged with governance should purchase a minimum of two weighbridges to ensure that all stocks collected from contracted miners or from mining operations are properly weighed and reconcile to payments for contract mining, and reconcile to tonnage delivered to processing plants. The other weighing device should weigh all coal moved from Open Cast mine to Metallurgical Plant

7.22. Those charged with governance should purchase a Conveyor Belt to move coal from the Coal Plant to the Metallurgical Plant.

7.23. Those charged with governance should replace current dysfunctional ELIPSE Software and acquire low cost reliable ERP system to assist in real time online management of stocks, purchases, sales, debtors and financial reporting system that uses intelligence modules to limit human manipulation

7.24. Maintain the SURPAC Mining software for a while to assist in Mine Planning which was absent till about November 2018

7.25. Documentation for the loading of stocks should be serially numbered. Current loading instructions which are filled in manually on a form printed on bond paper lack audit trail because they are not serially numbered, registered and controlled.

7.26. Deployment of security companies needs to be monitored to avoid one company getting too familiar with coal truckers

7.27. Contracts with Security Companies should include a clause that compensates HCCL in the event of loss through stock thefts

7.28. CCTVs are currently not all monitored 24 hours as required, some may be out of order and the human effort required to continue monitoring on a twenty four hour basis may not be feasable. Consider Robotics in this area, as a cheaper and reliable compliment.

7.29. Fuel usage by haulage trucks requires increased controls and should be related to tonnage moved after taking into account issues of slack or low output periods

7.30. HCCL should invest more funds in the production of better paying coking coal

7.31. HCCL should retender for the purposes of replacing the following

7.31.1. Inductoserve Investments (Private) Limited
7.31.2. AVIM Investments (Private) Limited
7.31.3. Risk Management Services (Failed to assess risk properly by selecting CELL Insurance which has no capacity and for uncommon practice of demanding retainer fees thereby compelling HCCL to fork out undue fees)
7.31.4. Find a new insurance company by discussion with the new Broker, who should look for an insurance company with adequate capacity

7.32. Some board members allege that a number of important decisions did not get adequate consideration at board level or that adequate information surrounding certain transactions was withled from the board

7.33. This investigation is a culmination of these allegations

  1. CONTEXT OF THE FORENSIC ASSIGNMENT

8.1. The Board of HCCL is desirous of managing suspicion of a material irregularity in the finances of the mine, HR issues and more particularly the revenue and expenditure aspects surrounding contracts

8.2. The Board is desirous of an independent professional investigation into the affairs of the company

8.3. Some Board members are of the view that issues although approved by them, there were possibilities of manipulation of Board matters. Refer Annexures 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c).

8.4. The mine has suffered a plethora of governance problems over a number of years

8.5. HCCL is in an insolvent state, however it settled for a Scheme of Arrangement with creditors which was sanctioned by the High Court. Annexure 2

8.6. HCCL’s shareholders have not benefited from their investment for prolonged periods

8.7. HCCL is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and has secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE)

8.8. The Company is currently under a Scheme of Arrangement which is supported by a plan of action that we recommended to the Board to avoid Court cases, avoid liquidation and to minimise on borrowings and costs.

8.9. We are convinced that our recommendations leading to the Scheme of Arrangement are a success story.
8.10. HCCL Production matters

8.10.1.     The production processes for HCCL are pretty straightforward. 

8.10.2. The Open Cast is already operating but with some bottlenecks which are caused by inadequate working capital.
8.10.3. Droppings of some working capital did not yield desired results, in our view, as it was not targeted to specifics.
8.10.4. HCCL contracted a company called MOTA Engil which does contract mining.
8.10.5. Mota Engil is generating significant production for the mine, averaging 78.34%.
8.10.6. The Underground operations came down significantly due to equipment breakdown.
8.10.7. The Continuous Miner was refurbished and put into operation
8.10.8. The Continuous Miner mines higher grade quality coal called Coking Coal.
8.10.9. The new production equipment imported from India did not perform to expectation for a long time

  1. OUR APPROACH TO THE FORENSIC ASSIGNMENT

9.1. We prepared an investigation work programme covering the scope of work.

9.2. Held discussions with management and staff of HCCL to obtain information about HCCL.

9.3. Obtained and reviewed HCCL Strategic document and its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

9.4. Reviewed prior years audit reports.

9.5. Held meetings and discussions with various stakeholders including some Board members.

9.6. Reviewed previous years’ audited financial statements, records and systems of internal and accounting control.

9.7. Documented the revenue streams of HCCL

9.8. Reviewed HCCL budget

9.9. Reviewed minutes of meetings

9.10. Reviewed financial records for possible manipulation of records

9.11. Reviewed fixed assets register

9.12. Traced acquisitions of fixed assets to fixed assets register and performed physical existence checks.

9.13. Reviewed procurement records in detail, agreements supporting acquisitions and disposals of assets.

9.14. Performed cashbook scrutiny, reviewed bank statements and bank accounts held by banks for HCCL for completeness and reviewed movement of funds for the agreed period.

9.15. Reviewed loan agreements and loan facility letters and any encumbrances.

9.16. Confirmed loan agreement balances with the banks and selected creditors.

9.17. Reviewed payments to contractors

9.18. Conducted review of annual returns for some suppliers at Registrars’ offices and to establish their directors

9.19. Reviewed HCCL insurance cover

9.20. Documented misdemeanors

9.21. Prepared the Report

  1. WHAT WE PERCEIVE ARE SOME MANAGEMENT AND BOARD CONCERNS

10.1. Was there impropriety?

10.2. Where did the impropriety actually happen?

10.3. What was the contribution of poor company policies and procedures to this impropriety?

10.4. Level of collusion?

10.5. Was top management involved?

10.6. Was it a departmental issue or cross-functional?

10.7. Was it at middle management, supervisory or low level?

10.8. Were external third parties involved?

10.9. Materiality and frequency of misappropriations?

10.10. Level of monetary misappropriations vs revenues, asset values?

10.11. How many counts of misappropriation?

10.12. How often were they committed?

10.13. Committed by the same or different people?
10.14. Which months of the year, weeks/month, days of the week, and times of the day did the improprieties occur?

10.15. Nature of impropriety?

10.15.1. Document falsification: False orders, False suppliers, False receiving documents
10.15.2. False bank accounts or misdirecting customer payments
10.15.3. Transfer from genuine HCCL bank accounts to fictitious ones
10.15.4. Assets stolen under false pretences
10.15.5. Over-expenditure, un-authorised expenditure, theft
10.15.6. Any estimate of the financial prejudice so far?

10.16. Which sections of the company were affected?

10.17. Have formal allegations been made against any staff members?

10.18. Was this impropriety in its infancy or mature or even declining stage?

10.19. Was the Board ever alerted to this?

10.19.1. Yes and what did it do? Or No, and why not?

  1. OUR RESPONSE TO PERCEIVED BOARD CONCERNS

11.1. Some of what we examined/worked on:

11.1.1. Policies and procedures
11.1.2. Board resolutions
11.1.3. Contracts and their cut offs
11.1.4. Systems – ICT processes and reports
11.1.5. Journals
11.1.6. Online authorisation procedures in marketing and sales
11.1.7. Manual systems
11.1.8. Internal controls
11.1.9. Physical asset security measures
11.1.10. Physical movement security measures
11.1.11. Strategic plans
11.1.12. Procurement records
11.1.13. Creditors files
11.1.14. Debtors files
11.1.15. Payment procedures and vouchers
11.1.16. HCCL management accounts
11.1.17. Held discussions with management and other employees
11.1.18. Reviewed any formal and written allegations made
11.1.19. Reviewed any disciplinary procedures already taken
11.1.20. Reviewed Police reports already made
11.1.21. Circulated bank letters and obtain all particulars about the mine and all statements of the mine covering the period 1 January 2013 to 31 July 2018
11.1.22. Reconciled production to sales ensuring completeness and accuracy of sales
11.1.23. Reviewed take on balances of unrecorded creditors apparent from the BCA report
11.1.24. Reviewed contracts with suppliers in general and other contractual obligations
11.1.25. Reviewed the encashment of Treasury Bills
11.1.26. Reviewed the usage of the proceeds from the Treasury Bills
11.1.27. Reviewed the Motor Engil contract
11.1.28. Reviewed the production from Motor Engil Contract and its impact on overall sales of the mine
11.1.29. Reviewed Pearlhouse Contract and its efficacy and benefit to the mine
11.1.30. Reviewed the AVIM contract
11.1.31. Reviewed the Inductoserve contract
11.1.32. Reviewed the CLIDER Contract/Turbo Mining contract
11.1.33. Reviewed South Mining Contract
11.1.34. Reviewed construction of Harare Coal Depot
11.1.35. Reviewed prepayments and their justification
11.1.36. Reviewed fuel usage and claims of travel and subsistence in the context of possible duplication of claims and fuel coupons
11.1.37. Reviewed redundant stocks and justifications for their initial procurement
11.1.38. Reviewed possibilities that ex-employees are not suppliers to the mine
11.1.39. Reviewed contract with security company, who owns the company and fairness of the contract to the mine
11.1.40. Reviewed for dubious suppliers or non-existent creditors
11.1.41. Reviewed marketing costs against sales revenue
11.1.42. Reviewed management accounts of JKL analysing costs of production for JKL against revenues generated from mining at JKL
11.1.43. Reviewed management accounts of 3 Main analysing costs of production for 3 Main against revenues generated from 3 Main
11.1.44. Reviewed management accounts of other open cast mining other than the foregoing
11.1.45. Reviewed the assertion that HPS Coal is sold at below cost of production (can you mine the better coal without first taking out the HPS Coal level?)
11.1.46. Reviewed the ICT Systems
11.1.47. Reviewed HR issues, qualifications, HR Policies, recruitment procedures compliance to policy, school fees policy, executive cars

  1. REVIEW OF GOVERNANCE MATTERS

12.1. We reviewed minutes of meetings of the Directors as a board and as committees

12.1.1. Except for the absence of a registered public accountant, there was a Board of Directors that was varied in composition regarding its:

12.1.1.1. Number of members
12.1.1.2. Gender mix
12.1.1.3. Skills/background mix

12.1.2. The number of directors has fluctuated from 4 to 9 inclusive of the Managing Director.

12.1.3. At the time of the appointment of the Administrator in November 2018, the directors were 4, viz.

12.1.3.1. Mrs J Muskwe
12.1.3.2. Mrs N Masuku
12.1.3.3. Mr E N Tome
12.1.3.4. Mr V Vera (Who represented the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development)

12.1.4. The mix between executive and non-executive directors was poor as there was only one executive director – the Managing Director, who resigned during the first half of 2018. Best practice is 30% executive and 70% non-executive directors

12.1.5. The quorum for board meetings is 4, hence there was a sufficient number to form a quorum for board meetings.

12.1.6. A small number of four like this, however, leaves little room to achieve a quorum should any of the 4 directors travel, have commitments or fall ill at the time when a meeting is called. This might be one of the reasons why a number of issues were dealt with through circulating resolutions

12.1.6.1. Meetings were held at least quarterly for all the years under audit, i.e. from January 2013 to September 2018
12.1.6.2. At all board meetings, there was a quorum
12.1.6.3. Chairmen changed for various reasons over the period 2013 to 2018.
12.1.6.4. Minutes were taken and signed for each of the meetings of the Board

12.1.7. Resolutions made during board meetings were well structured, in general

12.1.8. There was a large number of circulating resolutions passed over the years, especially in 2017 and early 2018.

12.1.9. This behaviour seemed to indicate pressure and urgency to discharge decisions.

12.1.10. Its weakness is that directors would have no time to interchange views as would happen in meetings, hence they may well sign resolutions that they would have declined, had they received full presentation of facts from management in a board meeting and shared their views therein

12.1.11. In the implementation of resolutions, in some cases management did not update the board, e.g.

12.1.11.1. Regarding the fact that Fugro Earth Resources never did any exploration work at HCCL.
Annexure 4
12.1.11.2. That funds set aside for the exploration were now being used for numerous working capital requirements outside of the specific mandate, hence requiring ratification by the Board of Directors of management’s actions

12.1.12. There was no indication in the board minutes that there ever was any serious dissent of opinion from any one director that needed to be recorded. Accordingly we can safely assume that after deliberations, ultimately the board agreed and held one view or the same decisions as were recorded in the minutes or otherwise not adequate information was put on the table to make informed decisions

12.1.13. The consequential disputes in the Board indicate that there may have been manipulation of Board meetings

12.1.14. There are 4 committees, viz. Audit, Marketing, Human Resources and Technical

12.1.15. The committees met at least once per quarter, generally

12.1.16. Minutes of the committee meetings were taken and signed

12.1.17. Annual general meetings (AGMs) were held within the statutory parameters, i.e. within 6 months of the financial year end and within 18 months from the previous AGM

12.1.18. AGMs were properly called and attended, with adequate quorums in terms of the minutes that we reviewed.

12.1.19. The question is, why did other directors raise issues?

12.1.20. This we addressed by reviewing for collegial clan of control and review of use of common contracts from prior connections

12.2.   Review for possibility of manipulation of Board through a Collegial clan of control  

(Location of significant influence in HCCL)

12.3.   HCCL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE (WITH EFFECT FROM 2017) 


12.3.1.     Board 
12.3.2.     Managing director 
12.3.3.     Executive Managers, who at the time, were; 

12.3.3.1. Mr S Manamike (from Masvingo), who headed Mining Operations

12.3.3.2. Mr T Marapira- (from Masvingo), who headed Procurement, IT and Finance

12.3.3.3. Mr R Munengwa (from Masvingo/Mashava), who headed HR, Estates and Health

12.4. Review for significant influence of MIMOSA background and ZIMASCO background in HCCL matters was carried out.

12.4.1. The Minister of Mines and Mining Development exercises significant control over HCCL, through the appointment and dismissal of Board members who are Government appointees.

12.4.2. The Board Chairman and now Minister of Mines was the Executive Chairman of MIMOSA

12.4.3. The Mining Executive Mr S Manamike’s employment referee on CV is Mr A D Mushonhiwa, General Manager at MIMOSA. Annexure 49

12.4.4. The Finance Manager Mr T Marapira’s employment referee on CV is Mr B Daka an official at
MIMOSA. Annexure 50
12.4.5. Inductoserve (Private) Limited which is the most significant Transporter of Coal also offers transport services to MIMOSA. Refer to point 53

12.4.6. Risk Management Services (Private) Limited which offers Insurance services to HCCL also offers services to MIMOSA

12.4.7. The Chairman used to work for ZIMASCO

12.4.8. The Finance Manager used to work for ZIMASCO

12.4.9. The Mining Executive Mr S Manamike’s referee was Mr J Musekiwa the CEO of ZIMASCO

12.4.10. The foregoing relationships/linkages create a collegial clan of control

12.4.11. The Managing Director, sitting in the middle of a circle there per point 12.2, was surrounded by persons with some common string/or common history

  1. OVERALL PERFORMANCE OVER THE MATERIAL PERIOD 1 JANUARY 2013 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 13.1. Overall loss (USD) trajectory over the period 1 January 2013 to 30 September 2018
    Hwange Colliery Company ltd

13.2. Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds “Quick Wins” were provided in December 2015 when the loss position had shot to USD115 million dollars. HCCL, then faced liquidation. Quick Wins were implemented after mid year in 2016 with immediate impact reflected by the significant drop in losses.
Overall, the HCCL is on the right path to recovery. Performance improved by 72.17% comparing the loss position at 30 September 2018 to the loss position as at 31 December 2015.

13.3. The loss after tax for the year 2013 stood at USD32 million. There was a gentle increase in the loss for the year ended December 2014 havng moved from USD32 million in 2013 to USD38 million.

13.4. HCCL suffered very heavy losses in the year 2015 at USD115 million (2014-USD38m). The steep losses left the Company facing liquidation had it not been of the intervention with “Quick Wins”.

13.5. The Company has significant wages burden due to its business model and tradition. Point 49 and 49.3.14

13.6. The Labour Act compels the Company to retain staff because there is not enough cash flow to be able to retrench personnel.

13.7. The Quick Wins moved the loss from USD115 million in 2015 to USD89 million for the year ended 31 December 2016.

13.8. Had the Quick Wins been implemented earlier, the losses could have been even lower, in my view.

13.9. In 2016 , the loss after taxation was falling steeply to end the year 31 December 2017 at USD43 million, marking a 62.61% improvement in performance when compared to the most dreadful base year, 2015.

13.10. The overall performance improved by 72.17% when you compare the position for December 2015 to the position for the nine months ended 30 September 2018, where the loss was USD32 million.

  1. HWANGE COLLIERY COMPANY LIMITED PERFORMANCES OVER THE MATERIAL PERIOD 14.1. Five years financial results- Income statements

Year 2018
9 Mths 2017
Audited 2016
Audited 2015
Audited 2014
Audited 2013
Audited

Revenues 51 492 645 54 497 858 39 911 465 67 576 220 72 031 451 71 540 667
Cost of sales (54 895 743) (53 150 059) (77 742 700) (101 345 965) (82 320 263) (81 957 758)
Gross loss (3 403 097) 1 347 799 (37 831 235) (33 769 745) (10 288 812) (10 417 091)
Other income 692 037 795 358 545 008 470 858 694 761 936 849
Other gains & losses – (3 609) 790 000 (19 007) (5 425 101) (504 314)
Marketing costs (424 010) (1 232 479) (2473 101) (1 314 953) (1 486 861) (2 738 360)
Administrative costs (17 930 987) (25 098 636) (47 582 295) (60 628 370) (26 527 782) (27 652 799)
Redundancy costs – – – – (5 053909) –
Impairment costs – – – (4 465 881) (3 452 516) –
Profit/(Loss) on disposal of treasury bills 892 000 (6 521 040) – – – –
Operating loss before interest & tax (20 174 056) (30 712 608) (86 551 623) (99 727 098) (51 540 220) (40 375 715)
Finance costs (12 411 480) (13 062 019) (1 992 977) (5 548 984) (3 701 723) (3 432 092)
Share of loss- equity accounted investments – (63 113) (1 365 390) (413 134) (1 123 788) (915 000)
Loss before taxation (32 585 536) (43 837 740) (89 909 990) (105 689 216) (56 365 731) (44 722 807)
Income tax – – – (9 367 557) 18 499 846 13 108 780
Loss after taxation (32 585 536) (43 837 740) (89 909 990) (115 056 773) (37 865 885) (31 617 027)

14.1.1. Revenues declined since 2013, hitting rock bottom in 2016 before picking up as a result of the turnaround programme.
14.1.2. The above Loss to date is declining due to the revival strategy, but it is likely to rise due to continued fixed cost nature of the salaries bill and of course threats to MOTA Engil which reduces output/sales.
14.1.3. The loss position is exacerbated by the destabilization activities of a person called S Tundiya who was exercising undue influe in the running of the Company and who is not even an official of the mine, leading to reduced output.
14.1.4. HCCL has little contribution of its own from the Opencast Mine where reliance is on MOTA Engil, a mining contractor
14.1.5. Annexures 51 show production statistics per finance department

  1. MONTH BY MONTH GROSS LOSS OR GROSS PROFIT TRAJECTORY FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018
    Hwange Colliery Company Ltd

The red line is the loss border

15.1. The overall picture shows that the mine is just about to turn from gross loss to gross profit position.

15.2. Apparently. HCCL started registering a gross profit position in June 2018. In July, the Company made another gross profit. In August 2018, HCCL posted yet another gross profit.
15.3. In September 2018, it would appear that, some top level fights took energy out of the Board, management and personnel as all started fighting for survival and their rights, with little attention going to the business of HCCL. Accordingly, profitability dropped.

15.4. Below are graphs showing month by month sales for the years 2013 to 9 months ended 30 Septemebr 2018

15.5. Month to month year (USD) sales 2013

15.6. Month to month year (USD) sales 2014

15.7. Month to month year (USD) sales 2015

15.8.   Month to month year (USD) sales 2016 









15.9.   Month to month (USD) sales year 2017 

15.10. Month to month (USD) sales for 4 month period in year 2018

  1. OVERALL MINING PROCESS FLOWCHART
  2. REVIEW OF THE MINING PROCESSES – BY WALKTHROUGH 17.1. Mined coal movement to Run Off Mine (ROM) or Raw Coal Stockpile

The main reason why revenues can only fall when fuel consumption in mining operations is unrelated to tonnage, can mainly arise from lack of completeness of accounting for the output. We spent a considerable amount of time in understanding and following up production to plant and to sales.

17.1.1.     The team started at the Open Cast 
17.1.2.     Reported to Mr Rejoice Ndlovu 
17.1.3.     Referred to Data Capture Clerks 

17.1.4. The objective at the Data Capture Clerks was to extract records/statistics of Mine Coal from the Open Cast
17.1.5. We obtained Tally sheets from the Data Capture Clerks
17.1.6. Obtained schedule of Coal Movement factors
17.1.7. Using the Tally sheets and the Coal Movement factors we re-computed tonnages based on the factors provided
17.1.8. Coal Factors are determined by reference to results of samples of trucks submitted for weight verification at the weighbridge
17.1.9. Because of the foregoing, a factor determined for a truck is applied to all trucks
17.1.10. What this means is that if a truck is loaded using say ten buckets of a front-end loader and goes to the weighbridge, all subsequent trucks loaded with ten Front End loader buckets will be deemed to weigh the same amount of tonnage as the truck that went to the weighbridge first
17.1.11. But it is not possible that a bucket will always carry the same amount of tonnage at any given moment, even issues of moisture can affect tonnage for a given volume.
17.1.12. This causes variances in tonnages
17.1.13. Based on the computations made by HCCL management and our reperformance, there are differences between the results obtained when compared to those arrived at when using Survey figures
17.1.14. Survey figures are more likely reliable because they are not affected by issues of truck factors or bucket factors characteristic when estimates are made using the size of a bucket of a coal hauler or truck body of truck that ferries Raw Coal to processing plant.
17.1.15. Stockpile at Chaba 1 pit and Chaba 2 pit are moved by a combination of truckers, Colbro and Inductoserve
17.1.16. Some hired Front End loaders augment the loading of coal at the Chaba 1 and Chaba 2 pits
17.1.17. The equipment that ferries raw coal from the JKL/3 Main area, out to a stockpile or to Primary Tippler is owned by the mine. The equipment that would ordinarily operate at JKL/3Main is:

17.1.17.1.  B40D 
17.1.17.2.  B50D 
17.1.17.3.  SRT95  
17.1.17.4.  SRT55 
17.1.17.5.  ROCK DUMPER 
17.1.17.6.  COAL HAULER 

17.1.18. For the year 2014, the Open Cast did not have Tally Sheets, we relied on summaries produced by Data Capture Clerks
17.1.19. For the year 2013, there are no Tally Sheets and summaries.
17.1.20. The Technical Superintendent Mr Mulungisi Dube contacted the IT Personnel to retrieve information from a crushed computer at the Open Cast mine so that we could perform our procedues.

  1. DRAGLINE MINING TECHNOLOGY

18.1. The dragline is the cheapest form of open cast mining powered by electricity, but it is old technology.

18.2. It has a bucket size of 50m3 and 55m3 with consideration of the fill factor.

18.3. The equipment has the capacity to mine 1700 tonnes/ hour with an 85% plant availability and 100% utilization. The dragline’s main spares are rigging attachments which include the bucket and its accessories. Ropes are changed quarterly as per the manufacturer’s recommendations. However the Dragline is not working due to lack of cash to buy spares.

  1. MINE PROCESSING PLANTS

19.1. There are 4 Plants

19.1.1. Plant A-Chaba Mobile Screen. (This is processing some of the stockpile of MOTA Engil mined coal)

19.1.2.     Products from Chaba A Mobile Screen are: 

19.1.2.1. Daff
19.1.2.2. Peas
19.1.2.3. Nuts
19.1.2.4. Large Cobbles
19.1.2.5. Rounds
19.1.2.6. NPD
19.1.2.7. Coal Fines

19.1.3. Chaba Mobile Screen (B):

19.1.3.1. Products are HPS processed into:
19.1.3.2. NPD

19.1.4. JIG Plant

19.1.5.     The products from JIG Plant are: 

19.1.5.1.Coking Coal
19.1.5.2. Washed coal fines

19.1.6.     Wet Processing Plant 

19.1.6.1. Products from Wet Processing Plant are;

19.1.6.1.1. Duff
19.1.6.1.2. Peas
19.1.6.1.3. Nuts
19.1.6.1.4. Large Cobbles
19.1.6.1.5. Rounds
19.1.6.1.6. NPD (Nuts/peas and Daff comes HIC and HCC
19.1.6.1.7. Coal fines

19.1.7.     Front End loaders used at the mines are owned by the mine 

19.1.8.     Front End Loaders used at the Processing Plant are hired 

19.1.9.     At the Processing Plant, coal is processed into many products 







20.     ECONOMICAL MOVEMENT OF COAL FROM RUN OFF MINE (ROM) TO PROCESSING PLANTS 


20.1.   The Conveyor Belt and the need for its replacement 

20.1.1. The conveyor belt sits at the centre of raw coal movement, as being the cheapest mode of moving coal from the Coal Plant to the processing plants

20.1.2. The Coal Plant is the name given to the plant where coal to ZPC passes through and this is where a conveyor belt moves some of the HPS coal from Primary Tippler to ZPC Hwange.

20.1.3. HCCL’s main Conveyor Belt from the Coal Plant to Metallurgical Plant has not been functional for a long time.

20.1.4.     The mine is currently relying on hiring trucks in order to move coal 

20.1.5. The use of hired trucks is a bone of contention with workers who accuse the Board or management of spending money that could easily have been utilised in procurement of a conveyor belt.

20.1.6.     Associated with the requirement for refurbishing that Conveyor Belt is: 

20.1.6.1. Drive gearboxes,
20.1.6.2. Electrical switchgear,
20.1.6.3. Electrical motors,
20.1.6.4. Idlers (return and troughing),
20.1.6.5. Idler frames,
20.1.6.6. Obtaining of quotations for this conveyor belt and its infrastructure is important for mine planning purposes
20.1.6.7. It is noted that the WPC system running might require suppliers to visit the site for assessment before quoting.

20.2.   Weighbridges 

20.2.1.     The mine should procure weighbridges in order to stop estimation of tonnages 

20.2.2. Weighbridges provide reliable weights for planning purposes as opposed to working with estimates
20.2.3. The mine became notorious with creditors because management has always overestimated capabilities and output
20.2.4. The total estimated cost of weighbridges should include the cost of civil works necessary to install a weighbridge

20.3. Movement of coal by haulage transport

20.4. Movement of Raw Coal /Run Off Mine Coal from the Stockpile is done by Truckers for Chaba 1 and Chaba 2

20.4.1. Colbro Transport

20.4.1.1. Colbro Transport uses either double trailer or single trailer

20.4.1.2. Double trailer ferries between 38 tonnes and 40 tonnes

20.4.1.3. Single trailer can carry between 30 tonne and 35 tonnes
20.4.1.4. Colbro confirmed that they have adequate trucks to service HCCL in case of need. Annexure 5

20.4.1.5. Colbro is supplied with fuel only when HCCL is unable to make a monthly payment/when payment is in arrears

20.4.1.6. Colbro contract ran out, based on Engineering Services Department who limit it to five years. The company is still offering its services

20.4.1.7. A review of HCCL business with Colbro shows that Colbro offers honest and professional services to HCCL

20.4.2.     Inductoserve Transport  

20.4.2.1. Inductoserve Transport uses trucks with double trailers and some with single trailers

20.4.2.2. All movements of Inductoserve Trucks are deemed to be carrying 30 tonnes of coal from the mine to the processing plant.

20.4.2.3. Clearly, using guess work about tonnages hauled creates variances between Quantity Surveyor known tonnage and accounting tonnage.

20.4.2.4. The difference between this gueessed tonnage and the Quantity Surveyor scientifically measured tonnage is what the mine calls Truck factor, where a truck is in use.

20.4.2.5. There is persuasion for hired truckers to make more trips per day but carrying less than the assumed 30 tonnes.

20.4.2.6. Assuming the tonnage is deemed to be 30 tonnes per each load, a truck that makes ten loaded trips per day is deemed to have ferried 300 tonnes per day.

20.4.2.7. Because of the foregoing weakness, tonnages recorded in forecasting processing at the processing Plants can be overstated/misleading.

20.4.2.8. This is exacerbated by the fact that for a hired truck, it is in the best interests of drivers to carry lesser weight and save on tyres and fuel consumption

20.4.2.9. It is also in the interests of the trucking company to make more trips from a given stockpile as the trucking company is paid based on tonnage

20.4.2.10. It was noted that Inductoserve gets fuel and there is no evidence about whether that fuel is utilized for HCCL business alone or not.

20.4.2.11. Some of the Inductoserve Trucks are signaged “Zambezi Gas Zimbabwe”. Annexure 6

20.4.2.12. We are not sure about whether the Inductoserve company shareholders are also the owners of the much talked about Zambezi Gas Project which is portrayed in public more like a Government/ national project and whether Inductoserve is not using some of the HCCL fuel on the Zambesi Gas Zimbabwe, project?

  1. REVIEW OF HCCL MARKETING PLAN 21.1. Top customers’ needs per month
    Customer Product Forecast tonnage
    ZPC Hwange HPS 70 000
    ZPC Small Thermals Peas/NPD 35 000
    PPC Duff 10 000
    LaFarge Zimbabwe NPD/DUFF 5 000
    Tongaat Peas 3 000
    SINO Coal fines 4 000
    Inamo various 8 000
    ZSR Peas 2 000
    Willdale Fines 2 400
    Rockdrill various 4 000
    Hospitals Wet peas 1 000
    Manica Boards & Doors Wet peas 1 200
    McDonalds Nut/rounds 1 800
    South Mining Raw coal 13 000
    HCGC Coking coal 10 000

TOTAL 170 400

21.1.1.     Key HCCL customers are forecast to buy 170 400 tonnes per month 

21.1.2. The mine may not likely meet this demand unless MOTA ENGIL is provided the necessary tenure to produce for the mine

21.2. Sales forecasts November 2018 to December 2018

21.2.1.     The figures are not likely to be achievable due to the MOTA Engil production decline 

21.3. Forecast sales tonnages for November 2018 to December 2018

21.3.1. As at 1 December 2018, MOTA Engil, which is the backbone for any credible HCCL marketing plan, had cut down on production citing spares shortages

21.3.2. There are other pressures resulting from foreign currency availability to service equipment

21.3.3. Uncertainty with regards extension of contract may have affected MOTA Engil production, which affects the whole HCCL going concern

  1. SUSPECTED ACTS OF SABOTAGE WITH A VIEW TO UNORTHODOX TAKING OVER OF CONTROL OF HCCL

22.1. MOTA ENGIL contract was standing on soft ground in 2018.

22.2. It was not clear whether MOTA ENGIL will continue or not.

22.3. If MOTA Engil is removed from the mine, there is a likelihood that the mine can sink deeper or even close

22.4. MOTA Engil is contributing not less than 78% of current year (2018) tonnage. Refer to point 38

22.5. There is possibility that the significant drop in the MOTA ENGIL output in the months September 2018 to November 2018 was a result of preparing to pack and go due to possibilities of termination of contract.

22.6. MOTA Engil faces pressure from someone acting fraudulently, or scandalously trying to replace the company, a person known as S Tundiya sought to replace MOTA ENGIL, in a fraudulent manner

22.7. The following letter can have implications to an existing contract mining company which leads to reduced output.

22.8. S TUNDIYA: ALLEGEDLY MENDACIOUSLY PREPARED A CONTRACT BETWEEN HCCL AND J R GODDARD. HE ACTED AS A HWANGE BOSS WHO PREVIOUSLY WAS THE MAN IN CHARGE OF HCCL FROM THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
22.8.1. A synopsis of the contract is below. The full contract allegedly drafted by S Tundiya for J R Goddard to sign is Annexure 7

22.9. S TUNDIYA MAY HAVE MISREPRESENTED FACTS TO JR GODDARD WITH A VIEW TO TAKING OVER HCCL IN A DECEITFUL MANNER

22.10. S Tundiya: Destabilisation of mining operations

With such machinations, there is no reason why MOTA Engil cannot play it safe

MOTA ENGIL scaled down operations fom September 2018

  1. EMPLOYEES’ CONCERNS WHICH AFFECT PRODUCTION

23.1. Discussions were held with employee representative

23.2. Employees are concerned that the Company has numerous Payroll related obligations making it difficult for HCCL to meet their normal outstanding wages. Refer to payroll creditors figure Point 49.

23.3. Employees are also concerned about the contractors that they believe were ropped in by the former Chairman at the expense of buying a Conveyor Belt and normal servicing HCCL’S own equipment.

23.4. Employees are concerned about advance payments made to the contractors suspected to be connected persons. Work done confirmed that the contractors owe the mine in advance payments. Refer point
44.12 and 45.21 or 46.11, subject, of coure to dispute resolution as well.

23.5. Employees are concerned that Inductoserve trucking company is issued with fuel without regard to tonnage ferried. Refer to point number 43 showing fuel issues versus tonnage

23.6. Confidence needs to be restored in the employees

23.7. Employees do not believe that persons that failed at ZIMASCO which went into Judicial Management, would have the capabilities of managing HCCL properly to come out of the woods. Refer to the ZIMASCO linked persons on the collegial clan of control point 12.2.

23.8. Employees are concerned that the mine management does not care much about refurbishing the
Conveyor belt which they consider to be the cheapest means of moving coal because they express that
it pays better to some directors to not repair the conveyor belt which benefits suspected connected truckers or alternatively if a conveyor belt starts functioning truckers would go out of business

23.9. Employees are worried about HCCL not taking clear steps to acquire claims in the Western areas

23.10. These concerns do not auger well for the mine in a turnaround process

23.11. We established that the conveyor belt that feeds from the Coal Plant to Wet Plant has not been repaired nor refurbished and that it is not working.

  1. IDENTIFIED CASES OF POSSIBLE RECKLESS TRADING AND MISFEASANCE 24.1. TURBO Mining contract USD 2.02 million for the purchase of Turbo Mining

24.1.1. Turbo Mining which used to be called CLIDER sold old infrastructure to HCCL Annex 8

24.1.2. The historical financial activities of Turbo Mining in relation to HCCL is as follows:
24.1.2.1. Turbo Mining Transactions summary
Total Total Credit Rentals HCCL Bank Tresuary
Year Invoiced Notes for Coal Credited Transfers Bills Balance
2012 812 522.28 – – ( 300 000.00)
2013 8 642 976.75 (4 497 406.31) ( 32 860.00) ( 730 000.00)
2014 7 681 049.51 (9 131 771.70) ( 28 380.00) –
2015 798 399.52 (4 883 512.70) ( 30 000.00)
2016 130 370.00 (2 758 005.73) – ( 40 000.00) (2 667 635.73)
2017 39 700.00 ( 157 000.00) ( 37 381.31)
Accrued Amount Supported by Delivery Certificates/Invoices 210 892.78
Accrued Amount Without Delivery Certificates / Invoices 481.91

Balance –

Debtor Balance – Coal Account 713.03

Total 18 105 018.06 (21 427 696.44) ( 61 240.00) (1 137 381.31)

The debtor balance is for coal supplied. The historical accounts were settled save for coal account. Detailed
Turbo Mining transactions soft copy is available
24.1.3.Management did not carry out an inspection about whether the equipment which HCCL went on to buy functioned properly or whether it was serviceable or not before purchasing it.

24.1.4. HCCL engineering personnel carried the inspection after the purchase agreement had been signed already.

24.1.5. Board did not perform valuation of the Turbo Mining before purchasing the assets

24.1.6. Valuation was performed 80 days later as at 13 July 2015 and the report is dated 16 July 2015

24.1.7. Valuation by professional Valuers indicated that the value was only USD825 525. Annexure 9

24.1.7.1. Fair Value of Plant and Equipment                   807 725 
24.1.7.2. Fair value of buildings and improvements                  17 800 

24.1.7.3. Total fair value of purchase                            825 525  

24.1.8. HCCL may have lost USD1 199 975.

24.1.9. The Managing Director Mr Thomas Makore signed the contract of purchase on 24 April 2015. Annexure 10

24.1.10. Other Board members believe that the process was not clear, and needed an investigation of the matter

24.2.   Risk Management Services Contract 

24.2.1. Risk Management Services (RMS) is an insurance risk adviser who entered into an agreement with HCCL for Risk Advisory. Annexure 11

24.2.2. A contract for Risk Management Services entered into with Risk Manaegement Services (RMS) may not stand the test of careful decision making

24.2.3. RMS charged “retention fees”, instead of charging fees for work done. Annexure 11.

24.2.4. There is no evidence of other competitors in a proper Tender process

24.2.5. Broking companies which offer the same services do not charge “RETENTION FEES”

24.2.6. Accordingly a retention contract fee of USD354 000 charged to HCCL appears to be outrageous and not in the best interests of the Company, when compared to what the HCCL could have obtained from other registered Broking companies who generally advise clients and earn their income from the actual risk taker/insurance companies.

24.2.7. The Risk Management Services Official Mr Caleb Tapfuma called on 30 November 2018 confirming that he would submit responses to our questions the following Monday, 3 December 2018, but did not.

24.2.8. There is a possibility that this Mr Tapfuma is related to Mr Tapfuma at President’s Office who is implicated in HCCL?

24.2.9.At Parliament, the Mr Tapfuma of the President’s Office agreed to knowing Mr S Tundiya and he pointed out that they ceased to be friends when two factions in their political party surfaced, with Mr Tapfuma becoming Lacoste and the Mr S Tundiya working with the other faction.

24.2.10. This claim that links Mr S Tundiya to another camp may cause significant issues in their party and also cause significant doubt about the loyalty of those who may be identified as being connected persons to him

24.2.11. Accordingly, if the Risk Management Services’ Mr C Tapfuma is linked to MIMOSA, HCCL and other companies like CELL insurance, this can create issues of political risk to those viewed as being connected to him in this octopus relationship, as all by inference can be deemed to be in the other camp referred to by Mr Tapfuma of President’s Office under point 24.2.9.

24.2.12. These matters have not much to do with this assignment, suffice to know that there is a network

24.2.13. Mr Edwin Chidawa of RMS responded in due course on 4 December 2018.

24.2.14. Retention fees charged by RMS in the amount of USD354 000 do not appear to represent money well spent by HCCL given that other Brokers would not have charged retainer fees.

  1. IDENTIFIED ASPECTS OF RACKETEERING:

25.1. Matters about Inductoserve (Private) limited, a company which was awarded movement of coal contract:

25.1.1. For the purposes of seeking a coal haulage contract, Inductoserve presented itself as a South African company.

25.1.2. It is suspicious that the company uses a Zimbabwean company Tax Clearance certificate in its dealings with HCCL? Annexure 12.

25.1.3. Payments to this South African company are not made to South Africa

25.1.4. Payments to Inductoserve (Private) Limited are made to an account at Standard Chartered Bank at Newlands, Harare, within a few minutes walking distance from MIMOSA Mine Head Office. Refer to the contract. Annexure 13

25.1.5. There is a Zimbabwean company also called Inductoserve, whose Head Office is Matsa Store PO
Box 119 GUTU?. See extracts made at Registrar of Companies, returns Annexure 14

25.1.6. Some of the Inductoserve trucks are inscribed “Zambezi Gas Zimbabwe”?. Annexure 6

25.1.7. The question is who really owns Zambezi Gas Project in Zimbabwe? The matter is beyond our current mandate,

25.2. AVIM Investments (Private) Limited matters, which has a coal distribution contract. Annexure 29

25.2.1.A Board meeting of 24 March 2017 was informed about a key haulage services supplier having diverted HCCL Coal to personal business. HCCL diverted coal schedules. Annexure 15

25.2.2. Board Minutes of 24 March 2017 show that the case was formally presented to the Board (Annexure 16)

25.2.3. Based on subsequent actions, it is clear that the matter did not receive what a reasonable person would consider to be a reasonable discussion and course of action befitting a Board.

25.2.4. At the next Board meeting of 13th June 2017, the Board was steered in a manner equivalent to “Casting the eyes the other way” or turning the eyes the other way” in a matter involving criminal diversion of coal destined to a customer, Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) generally known as Munyati Power Station in Kwekwe.

25.2.5. Coal diversion is a critical matter that a Board can not just fly past or gloss over because that is the cornerstone of the business of HCCL for which shareholders expect a return.

25.2.6. As a consequence to this, other Board members did not consider the matter lightly and wanted an investigation

25.2.7. Findings revealed that AVIM Investments trucks:

25.2.7.1. Loaded the coal,
25.2.7.2. Drivers signed at the security guards check point and
25.2.7.3. Proceeded to pass through the Hwange Tollgate Annexure 17
25.2.7.4. Passed through the Umguza Tollgate Annexure 17
25.2.7.5. Even though subsequent to this and after disappearances of critical documentation,
25.2.7.6. A person who appeared at Parliament as an official of AVIM Investments denied claims that the AVIM trucks picked the coal and diverted it.

25.2.8. Our procedures were designed to verify whether the trucks ever came to HCCL on the given dates, then ask the question “so what were the trucks doing in the mine area on the material dates, evidenced by signing at security gates and also capture by Tollgate systems along the material road to and from HCCL?

25.2.9. Relevant AVIM Investments trucks movement. Annexures 17 and 18 are massive and are on separate file.

25.2.10. Dr Charles Zinyemba the Acting Managing Director formally suspended all business with AVIM Investments (Private) Limited. Annexure 19

  1. IDENTIFIED ASPECTS OF MALFEASANCE AND MONEY LAUNDERING

26.1. Inductoserve (Private) Limited contract

26.1.1. Under the Chairmanship of Mr W Chitando, Inductoserve which presented itself to the HCCL as Inductoserve (Private) Limited a South African company, was awarded a contract to move coal within the mine area.

26.1.2. However South African companies of equivalent incorporation status are not called by the style “(Private)” Limited, as set out on the contract agreement, such companies are generally called “(Proprietary)” Limited or “Pty Ltd”

26.1.3. Based on confession of one of the Inductoserve managers, that company also offers services to the following;

26.1.3.1. MIMOSA Mine
26.1.3.2. ZIMASCO Mine
26.1.3.3. ZPC

26.1.4. The Chairman Mr Winston Chitando’s career has taken him through the foregoing two mines, ZIMASCO and MIMOSA amongst others

26.1.5. He was the Executive Charman at MIMOSA

26.1.6. Mr T Marapira who also got a job at Hwange Colliery Company had a senior MIMOSA Mine official as his referee
26.1.7. Mr S Manamike who became the Acting Managing Director had one of his referees as being a MIMOSA senior official

26.1.8. The foregoing officials Mr Manamike and Mr Marapira signed a contract with Inductoserve. Annexure 20.

26.1.9. Instead of HCCL paying the money into a bank account in South Africa, for the Inductoserve services, the money for the haulage services was being paid into a local bank account at Newlands in Harare. Annexure 21

26.1.10. Inductoserve has an account at Standard Chartered Bank Highlands Branch, Harare

26.1.11. The branch is within five minutes walk from Mr W Chitando, the Ex Chairman of Hwange Colliery Company Limited’s work place

26.1.12. The first contract with Inductoserve was entered before the Chairman became Minister

26.2. An inquiry was made /Confirmations sought with independent Authorities to clarify the efficacy of the Inductoserve transactions

26.2.1. South Africa Reserve Bank did not confirm whether Inductoserve had exchange control authority to divert proceeds due to South Africa, to a Zimbabwean bank?

26.2.2. South Africa Revenue Services (Taxes Department) did not confirm whether Inductoserve was paying taxes on income earned on the contract with Hwange Colliery Company in Zimbabwe?

26.2.3. Inquiry has been made with Reserve Bank of South Africa whether Inductoserve has Exchange Control Authority approval to not remit money earned by a South Africa Company doing business in another country

26.2.4. Another email was submitted to the Chief of Staff of the South Africa Reserve Bank also to confirm whether the transaction is in accordance with South African Law that the contract income earned by a South African company can be banked externally without Exchange Control approval/ or whether that constitutes Money Laundering and violation of Exchange Control Regulations

26.2.5. Communication was also made to ZIMRA directed to Mr Rameck Masaire, a Commissioner at ZIMRA, to the extent that the Tax Clearance certificate which is being utilized by Inductoserve, a South African Company is not one issued by South African Revenue Authorities. ZIMRA makes its own follow ups on such matters and in a confidential manner, which is not disclosed to an inquirer. So we cannot confirm whether ZIMRA has taken any steps to verify. The necessary tax clearance was copied to ZIMRA for ease of their reference.

26.2.6. Inductoserve is using a Zimbabwean company Tax clearance certificate yet it is a South African company as shown under Annexure 12.

26.2.7. Accordingly, there is possible illegal use of a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority issued Tax Clearance Certificate by another company called Inductoserve whose Head Office is MATSA STORE Box 119, Gutu.

26.2.8. Preliminary email response from South Africa Financial Intelligence of SA Reserve Bank is below-Email;
From: [email protected] [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, 8 December 2018 9:13 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Thank you for submitting your query

South African Reserve Bank  
Dear Dr REYNOLDS MUZA 

Thank you for your interest in the South African Reserve Bank, your query with reference number 0004066SARB is being addressed and you will hear from us shortly

Kind Regards,
SARB

  1. MATTERS AFFECTING Mr STENJWA THOMAS MAKORE (Former Managing Director’s issues)

27.1. We must first acknowledge the significant general improvement in the ambiance of the mine under the management of Mr Thomas S Makore when compared to the position as at November 2015. Thomas was given very stringent milestones to achieve HCCL objetives. Annexure 20

Purchase of Turbo Mining

27.2. Mr. Thomas S Makore signed a contract for the purchase of Turbo Mining on 24 April 2015

27.3. The purchase of Turbo Mining equipment caused HCCL financial loss assessable at USD1 199 975

27.3.1.     The purchase price of the equipment was agreed at USD 2 025 500. Annexure 10. 

27.4. The cumulative financial affairs with Turbo as at 30 September 2018 are covered under the report on Turbo, point 24.1.2

27.5.   A listing of the infrastructure purchased from Turbo Mining, Annexure 8 

27.5.1. Dawn Properties performed Independednt Valuation of the assets as at 13 July 2015. Annexure

  1. 27.5.2. The valuation was performed 80 days (eighty days) after the agreement of sale was signed. Annexure 9.

27.5.2.1. Excess of purchase price over professional fair value, USD1 199 975. Refer point 24.1.8
27.5.3. Pre-inspection of the equipment was performed after the purchase

27.5.4. DAWN Properties performed Valuation of the assets after the sale agreement had already been concluded. Annexure 9.

27.5.5. Given the significance and gravity of the decision to acquire Turbo Mining equipment in the state it is and it was, and the foregoing process which was undertaken to acquire the assets, it is imperative that the photographs of the equipment be included in the main report as opposed to being presented as an annexure.

27.5.6. We leave it to the user of this Report to decide whether the decision to buy the equipment in that state and through the said processes constituted a reasonable buy or not, although we believe it was reckless trading.

27.5.7. Anyone is entitled to their own opinion depending on the circumstances, but it appears this was a highly desperate move by management and Board.

27.5.8. Some of the equipment purchased has not moved or operated since the date of purchase

27.5.9. The buildings are in a state of disrepair as the following photograph will show

27.5.10.    In the eyes of a simple person, the assets do not represent money well spent 

27.5.10.1. TURBO MINING KEY ASSETS/ EQUIPMENT PURCHASED USD2.02 MILLION

27.5.10.2. Below are the delapidated Turbo Mining Site offices which HCCL purchased and are built of ordinary bricks

Although the roofs and windows of the two mining site office buildings were subsequently taken away by unknown persons, this is in itself further indication and confirmation that the buildings were already dilapidated at the point of acquisition otherwise no one would have risked vandalizing the roofs and windows of an occupied building?

27.5.11. Below are some of what HCCL considered to be “key Turbo Mining equipment” which HCCL purchased

The front end loader below was idle as at the date of purchase and it has remained in that state as shown below

27.5.12. Another purchased antequated Front End Loader

27.5.13. TURBO MINING MOBILE Plant at Chaba 2

The above mining plant is in working order and positioned at Chaba

27.6.   Elements of double dipping in domestic workers wages allowances 


27.6.1.     Mr Thomas Makore received domestic workers wages allowance with his salary 

27.6.2.     The domestic workers also received wages on the normal HCCL payroll 

27.6.3. From the foregoing circumstance, Mr Thomas Makore double dipped, in the absence of further contractual evidential information on his personal file to the contrary

27.6.4. There was no evidence that Mr T S Makore paid the domestic workers from the allowances he received

27.6.5. The said domestic workers were being paid by the mine and form part of the outstanding mine wages

27.6.6. Any accurate prejudice cannot be assessed as the Estates person a Mr Moyo, in charge of such labour did not cooperate with us despite he being asked by Mrs Kamocha the Payroll Accountant to provide us with information about the persons who actually worked at Mr T Makore’s residence for confirmation about whether in addition to their mine salaries, Mr T Makore paid them extra money or not. Suffice to state that the matter ranks for misfeasance in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

27.6.7. The Acting Managing Director and Internal Audit or would have to follow this up. We considered the matter from a substantive point of view and concluded that whatever amounts involved in that would not rank as what killed the mine. However, the matter is significant from an ethical point of view hence mine management should follow it through.

  1. BRIBERY RELATED PAYMENTS TO JOURNALISTS (To look the other way on HCCL matters)

28.1. In 2017 the company paid bribery related money to some journalists as follows

Date Details of payment Bank name Account Number Amount USD
3/01/2017 B CHAWANDA Cash Cash 1,500.00
6/13/2017 T M MASAWI- CSR EFFORTS NMB 020254491 2,500.00
6/14/2017 C A MUFUNDA(CSR) Stanchart 8750505700301 2,000.00
6/21/2017 T M MASAWI- CSR EFFORTS NMB 020254491 1,800.00
6/22/2017 K MADONDO- CSR EFFORTS ZB 4151488245200 3,000.00
6/26/2017 T FARAWO- CSR EFFORTS CABS 1005732868 200.00
6/29/2017 K MADONDO- CSR EFFORTS ZB 4151488245200 3,000.00
7/13/2017 K MADONDO- CSR ZB 4151488245200 1,500.00
7/26/2017 K MADONDO- CSR ZB 4151488245200 2,000.00
7/27/2017 T M MASAWI- CSR NMB 020254491 2,000.00
8/7/2017 K MADONDO- CSR ZB 4151488245200 2,000.00
8/18/2017 T M MASAWI- CSR NMB 020254491 1,500.00
8/31/2017 T MASAWI NMB 020254491 1,800.00
9/29/2017 S MAGACHA STEWARD 1003705467 2,000.00
10/3/2017 E MASHINDI- CSR CABS 1003884164 3,000.00
10/5/2017 E MASHINDI CABS 1003884164 1,500.00
10/10/2017 E MASHINDI- CSR CABS 1003884164 3,000.00
10/11/2017 N SANIE NMB 240111144 1,500.00
10/20/2017 NYASHA SANIE NMB 240111144 1,500.00
12/19/2017 NYASHA SANIE- CSR NMB 240111144 5,000.00
12/20/2017 E MASHINDI CABS 1003884164 750.00

             44,050.00 
  1. IDENTIFIED FRUITLESS AND WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE

29.1. Funeral Assurance premiums- A Policy becomes invalid if premiums are not up to date. HCCL has no capacity to pay.
Month 2017 Date Ref # Amount

August 2017 8.2017 Eco17/101 22 370 70
Sept 17 9/2017 Eco17/137 22 181 90
Sept 17 0/2017 TNB17/5532 24 514 10
Sept 17 9/2017 STNB17/7094 45 000-00

Total paid-premiums not up to date though 114 066.70

SECOND YEAR
Month 2018 Date Ref# Amount

March 2018 3/2018 Eco18/040 75 000
June 2018 6/2018 STNB18/2519 50 000
August 2018 8/2018 STNB18/4175 20 000
October 2018 10/2018 STNB18/5054 20 000
December 2018 12/2018 STNB18/5913 8 000

Total paid- but premiums not up to date 173 000

29.2. As per the Quick Wins, HCCL is supposed to be self insured, since it does not have ability to meet all premiums in time
29.3. In the period January 2018 to 3 September 2018, a total of 5 employees and some 13 dependants deaths were recorded
29.4. HCCL in a precarious financial position, may not consistently meet premium due dates, policies are lapsed accordingly
29.5. Medical Aid does not cover when premiums are in arrears. The company does better with Internal Insurance Fund

  1. CELLMED MEDICAL AID COVER

30.1. The way MEDICAL AID cover works is that payments are made on a regular basis to a medical aid fund

30.2. Claims are made from time to time from the fund

30.3. The Medical Insurance company continuously monitors the claims levels against premium inflows

30.4. If the insured company, in this instance HCCL fails to pay its premiums, policy is lapsed

30.5. HCCL has been experiencing persistent cash flow problems to the extent that it cannot meet regular payments to the medical aid fund

30.6. It is against this background that a decision should have been taken to self insure through a fund administered, not by management, but by Trustees of employees

30.7. The Board either through favouratism or incompetence approved the engagement of CELLMED to provide medical aid cover to staff knowing very well that the company does not have stable revenues from which to meet premiums

30.8. Consequently, the following payments were made to CELLMED during the period 2017 to 2018 thereby losing money.

30.9. SCHEDULE OF PREMIUMS MADE TO CELLMED FOR THE PERIOD AUGUST 2017 TO OCTOBER 2018: USD1 022 188

Month Date Ref No Name Amount
Aug-17 8.2017 ECO17/94 Minerva/Celmed 63,682.07
Sep-17 9.2017 ECO17/138 Minerva/Celmed 30,000.00
Sep-17 9.2017 STNB17/4793 Minerva/Celmed 50,000.00
Oct-17 10.2017 ECO17/146 Minerva/Celmed 31,000.00
Oct-17 10.2017 STNB17/5531 Minerva/Celmed 47,386.00
Dec-17 12.2017 MET17/074 Minerva/Celmed 37,631.97
Dec-17 12.2017 ECO17/172 Minerva/Celmed 37,306.50
Dec-17 12.2017 STNB17/7040 Minerva/Celmed 37,631.97
Total for 2017 334 638-51

1.1. Payments made in 2018
Jan-18 1.2018 STNB18/507 Minerva/Celmed 73,243.00
Feb-18 2.2018 ABC18/012 Minerva/Celmed 15,000.00
Feb-18 2.2018 ECO18/016 Minerva/Celmed 37,306.50
Feb-18 2.2018 STNB18/508 Minerva/Celmed 11,000.00
Feb-18 2.2018 STNB18/9509 Minerva/Celmed 37,000.00
Feb-18 2.2018 STNB18/691 Minerva/Celmed 11,000.00
Mar-18 3.2018 ECO18/41 Minerva/Celmed 100,000.00
Mar-18 3.2018 ECO18/118 Minerva/Celmed 40,000.00
May-18 5.2018 STNB18/932 Minerva/Celmed 18,000.00
Jun-18 6.2018 STNB18/2023 Minerva/Celmed 115,000.00
Jul-18 7.2018 STNB18/2745 Minerva/Celmed 50,000.00
Sep-18 9.2018 STNB18/3743 Minerva/Celmed 85,000.00
Oct-18 10.2018 STNB18/4859 Minerva/Celmed 75,000.00
STNB18/5055 Minerva/Celmed 20,000.00
2018 payments 687 549-50
GROSS PAYMENTS 2017 & 2018 only 1,022,188.01

The funds do not seem to represent money well spent by HCCL as it is lost because Medical Aid claims are not being honoured.

  1. LOAN FROM TREASURY-GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE

During the year 2016 HCCL received Treasury Bills (TBs) in the amount of USD111 500 000., Accountant General letter (Annexure 22)
USD
Some of the Treasury Bills were discounted before maturity date. Refer to Lot 1, discounting raised 10 385 888
USD

31.1. Lot1 Treasury Bills discounting
31.1.1. Total value of Treasury bills issued was
111 500 000-00
31.1.2. Total face value of Treasury Bills whose maturity date was in 2018 59 200 000-00
31.1.3. Total face value of Treasury Bills whose maturity date was in 2019 17 433 333-34
31.1.4. Total face value of Treasury Bills whose maturity date was in 2020 17 433 333-34
31.1.5. Total face value of Treasury Bills whose maturity date was in 2021
17 433 333-34
31.1.5.1. Total face value of all TBs as at date of issue in 2016 (Round robin Annex 23)

31.1.6. Below is how the 1st lot of Treasury Bills sold before maturity date was applied 111 500 000-00
Discount Raised
31.1.7. Of the 59 200 000-00 bills maturing in 2018, face value USD1 982 032-87 8,75% 1 808 604-99
31.1.8. Of the USD17 433 333-34 bills maturing 2019, face value USD8 241 031-00 30% 5 76 8 721-70
31.1.9. Of the USD17 433 333-34 bills, maturing 2019, face value USD$3 744 748-00 25% 2 808 561- 00

31.1.10. Total face value of the Treasury Bills discounted/sold before maturity date: USD13 967 811 87

31.1.11.    Total actual proceeds collected from those discounted Treasury Bills above are:     10 385 888 

31.1.12.
Application of the proceeds from the sale of Lot1 Treasury Bills above
31.1.12.1.
MOTA Engil 3 000 000
31.1.12.2.
Working capital 3 735 888
31.1.12.3.
3 Main Undersground mine 2 500 000
31.1.12.4.
Pool vehicles 250 000
31.1.12.5.
CCTV 300 000
31.1.12.6.

 SANY  Equipment repairs                              600 000 
31.1.12.6.1. Total utilization of lot 1 Treasury Bills discounted       10 385 888 













31.1.13.    UTILISATION LOT 2  

Maturity value in year 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total face value Discount Net Received

Employees & Creditors>50k 2,864,273.23 2,864,273.23 17.00% 2,377,346.78
Employees & Creditors>50k 7,528,461.00 7,528,461.00 24.00% 5,721,630.36
Maintenance (Working Capital) 1,379,413.11 1,379,413.11 15.00% 1,172,501.14
Money raised at this stage of discounting bills 11,772,147.34 21.24% 9,271,478.28

Application/distribution of above proceeds
Employees 7% Deposit payment 5,827,977.14
Clearance of creditors below USD50 000 1,971,000.00
SANY equipment creditors 300,000.00
Resuscitation of equipment 1,172,501.14
Cash utilized to reduce dues to employees 9 271478.28

Stage 1&2 usage of cash @ face/discounted value 25 739 959.21 19 657 366.53

31.1.14.    TREASURY BILLS DISCOUNTING LOT 3 

Maturity value in year 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total face value Discount Net Received

Excavator Hire
773,147.54
773,147.54
17.00%
641,712.46
ZIMRA 4,262,638.54 4,262,638.54 20.00% 3,012,179.37
2017 Retrenchees 342,406.26
Dynamic Fund 55,525.20

TOTAL 5,035,786.08 5,035,786.08 4,051,823.29
31.1.15. DISCOUNTING LOT4

Maturity value in year 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total face value Discount Cash Received
TB PAYMENTS
Financial Institutions
Agribank 2,583,281.10 2,583,281.10
India Exim Bank 889,556.89 889,556.89
ZAMCO 819,551.34 819,551.34
Mota Engil 39,017,967.13 39,017,967.13
RBZ PTA Bank Loan 18,200,000.00 18,200.000.00

Production Critical
Colbro 1,323,941.81 1,323,941.81
Turbo & Total 1,955,105.81 1,955,105.81
Belaz 590,942.75 590,942.75
Bolt gas 141,933.16 141,933.16
Zuva 136,452.80 136,452.80
Dozer & Dumper 909,524.30 909,524.30
Engen 80,483.28 80,483.28
SRTC 516,422.67 516,422.67
Sany 379,820.62 379,820.62
Barzem 297,827.87 297,827.87
Barzem 321,792.59 321,792.59
Solar Explochem 353,153.45 353,153.45
Mmampilo 323,654.18 323,654.18
Bell 2,290,223.79 2,290,223.79
Petrotrade 144,856.86 144,856.83

TOTAL FOR THIS LOT 71 276 492,37

31.1.16.     

Maturity value in year 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total face value Discount Cash Received

Creditors>$50k
Chrome base 72,403.07 72,403.07
Fosbel Ceramic 252,072.37 252,072.37
Fosbel Zimbabwe 8,272.04 8,272.04
Consolidated African Ventures 15,700.30 15,700.30
ZIMDEF 62,484.27 62,484.27
Interest Research Bureau 6,432.34 6,432.34
BDO Tax & Advisory Services 6,238.91 6,238.91
Barloworld (Barzem) 8,272.04 8,272.04
MIPF 949,000.93 949,000.93
Otto Simon 215,000.00 215,000.00
December scheme payment 175,003.00 175,003.00
Net one 14,215.10 14,215.10
TBA -2.99 114,909.80 114,906.81
MMCZ 68,738.00 68,738.00
Telone 64,513.40 64,513.40

3 Main & Scheme Creditors 549,908.90 208,684.87 758,593.77
Scheme payment 1,651,000.00 371,000.00 2,022,000.00
Employee Scheme Creditors Feb Instalment 2,426,000.00 2,426,000.00 2,426,000.00
Cash-Collection Account 1,300,057.07 779,045.79 2,079,102.86

TOTAL FOR THIS LOT 9 31 8 949,21

  1. DETAILED MINING OPERATIONS ISSUES -HCCL MINING PROCESS AT A GLANCE

32.1. Mining starts with the removal of bushes by dozers, then suitable equipment moves in to remove overhead benches one and two generally known as supplementary stripping. This is followed by accessing the top of coal. The coal has three layers, HPS Coal, then
HIC Coal and lastly the HCC
COAL PRODCUTION PROCESS FLOWCHART BASED ON OUR OWN VIEW

32.2. HCC COAL PRODUCTION PROCESS

  1. HIC PRODUCTION PROCESS FLOWCHART BASED ON OUR OWN VIEW
  2. HPS PRODUCT BASED ON OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING
  3. DETAILED PERFORMANCE REPORTS

1.1.1. HCCL PERFORMANCE FOR THE NINE MONTHS TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 Profit and loss accounts January 2018 to September 2018
January February March April May June July August September

Coal- MT sold 99 018 79 302 105 171 79 965 142 663 148 995 153 972 163 834 118 357
Duff 246 209 60 10 356 7 053 8 199 7 192 5 686 3 460
Coke-MT Sold 516 261 235 378 145 – 1 – 99
USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD
Sales revenue 4 687 3 773 4 442 4 209 6 499 6 617 7 049 7 538 6 126
Cost of sales (4 962) (4 999) (5 428) (4 769) (6 815) (6 591) (6 693) (7 219) (6 858)
Gross (loss)/profit (275) (1 225) (987) (560) (316) 27 356 319 (732)

Interest cost (990) (1022) (517) 249 (871) (856) (786) (771) (820)
Interest on debenture – (529) (439) (1 266) (645) (838) (681) (681) (681)
TB discount reversal – – 892 – – – – – –

Operating expenses
Administration costs (706) (843) (1 100) (931) (1 245) (910) (1 087) (987) (793)
Labour-services (802) (879) (1 319) (1 010) (907) (978) (868) (777) (481)
Excess labour – – – – – – – – –
Care & maintenance (109) (103) (118) (153) (148) (120) (112) (107) (126)
Sales commission (23) (21) – (43) (43) – – – –
Extraordinary costs (2 905) (4 622) (3 588) (3 716) (4 176) (3 676) (3 178) (3 005) (3 632)

Other income 74 50 40 65 200 89 6 32 51
Loss before tax (2 831) (4 572) (3 547) (3 651) (3 976) (3 587) (3 172) (2 973) (3 581)

Cost USD/Tonne 66.73 93.37 67.77 78.24 63.76 57.22 55.96 55.79 68.96
Selling price /tonne 37.15 34.63 32.68 35.35 37.60 34.67 37.74 38.52 38.63
Margin /tonne (29.58) (58.73) (35.08) (42.89) (26.16) (22.55) (18.22) (17.28) (30.33)

  1. MINED COAL YEARS 2013 TO 9 MONTHS 2018 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
    Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes
    Production per production sheets 1 036 318 949 862 738 170 865334
    Production per Quantity Surveyor 1 797 395 1 567 990 969 153 1 273 710 1 525 746

Differences (761 077) (618 128) (230 983) (408 376)

36.1. The production sheets figures are per Annexures 24.

36.2. The Quantity Surveyor figures are per points 37.1 to 37.5.

36.3. Underground mining was inactive for a long time due to problems related to the Continuous Miner serviceability.

36.4.   Uderground mining equipment performance 





36.5.   Continous Miner last made meaningful production in year 2013 

36.6.   The equipment is back underground peforming the HCC mining.  

36.7. Auxiliary equipment working with the Continous Miner ferrying records show that Shuttle car number 5 is busier of the three shuttle cars operating underground.

  1. PER SURVEY FIGURES
    37.1. Year ended 31 December 2014
    XXXXXXXXXX

37.2. Mined coal for the year ended 31 December 2015

37.3. Mined coal for the year ended 31 December 2016- Per Surveyor

37.4. Mined coal for the year ended 31 December 2017-Per Surveyor

37.5. Mined coal for the 9 months ended 30 Se-ptember 2018

  1. MOTA ENGIL CONTRIBUTION TO MINING TONNAGE

MONTH YEAR
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
January 187 366 91 582 – –
February 213 144 151 563 – –
March 213 734 102 356 – –
April 23 032 90 167 52 799 100 066
May – 128 567 69 910 136 494
June – 11 493 132 559 238 605
July 82 841 – 199 485 205 550
August 20 083 105 325 – 205 686 180 985
September 111 570 – – 14 126 105 251
October 99 102 – – – 25 090
November 172 488 113 961 – – –
December 193 092 50 518 – – –
Mota Engil Total 596,335 989,921 575,728 674,565 992,041
Total Mine output per production sheets before Underground Tonnage
1 036 318
949 862
738 170
865 334

MOTA Engil % Contribution               57.54%      100%    78%         78% 


MOTA Engil average contribution to HCCL output  78.39% 






38.1.   MOTA ENGIL 


38.1.1.     HCCL has a contract mining agreement with MOTA Engil. Annexure 25 

38.1.2.     The directors of MOTA Engil and their addresses are as follows: 

COMPANY NAME DIRECTORS NAMES ID NUMBER NATIONALITY DIRECTORS ADDRESSES OFFICE ADDRESS
Mota Engil EngenHaria E.
Construcao S.A
PUBLIC LIMITED
(E/4/2010)

Principal Officer Carlos Alberto Grilo
Pascoal
(Resigned)

Blake Mhatiwa

Oliveira Dos Santos
Jorge Fernando

Tavares Guerreiro
Gomes Pedro Nuno

Chrispen Nyambo
Passport number:
345728 (8148601)

12-046-288-Q-12

Passport No:
78341

Passport No:
N501107 Portuguese

Zimbabwean

Portuguese

Portuguese

Zimbabwean Rua Mario Dionisio, No 2
Linda-A-Velha P.O.Box 990
100AZ, Amsterdam,
Switzerland

C7 Northfields Flats, 6th St
J/Tongogara Ave, Harare

7 Routledge St, Milton
Park, Harare

7 Routledge St, Milton
Park, Harare

Inyama Crescent,
Wilmington Park, Harare
7 Routledge St Milton
Park, Harare

38.1.3.     The Contractor contributes significantly at 78.39% to the tonnages mined by HCCL 

38.1.4.     Lack of weighing machines hampers the accuracy of the figures mined by Mota Engil 

38.1.5. The figures are largely based on estimates made by the Surveyor and effects of bucket sizes of mode of truck

38.1.6.     Payment to Mota Engil is based on Survey figures. 

38.1.7. Whereas estimates of production is based on estimated tonnages lifted by trucks and haulers which are largely overstated as a result of bucket factors and usage of truck factors

38.1.8. No fair conclusion can be arrived at with respect to fairness of payments made to Mota Engil, given the absence of a weighbridge between the Mota Engil mining pit and the Run Off Mine (ROM) or the Mota Engil Stock pile

38.1.9. Between the Mining Pit and the ROM or stockpile there is no other accurate means of measuring the quantities

38.1.10. Any realized differences are generally thrown into the figure for “Internal Transfers”

  1. COST OF PRODUCTION OF HPS COAL AS PER HCCL

HPS COAL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

PERIOD 2013 TO 2018 Price per tonne Vs Cost per tonne
2 013 2 014 2 015 2 016 2 017 YTD SEPT ’18 TOTAL
SALES TONNAGE (t) 924 659 996 200 887 273 544 025 669 349 575 825 4 597 331
SALES VALUE
VALUE (US $) 25 659 275 27 644 561 24 621 839 15 096 689 18 574 429 15 979 153 127 575 946
PRICE PER TONNE PPT (US$t) 28 28 28 28 28 28 28

COST OF SALES Cost (US $) 33 418 521 37 367 477 39 392 092 24 138 382 19 432 525 17 583 708 171 332 706
CPT (US$t) 36 38 44 44 29 31 37
Gross loss (9 722 916) (14 770 253) (9 041 693) ( 858 097) (1 604 555) (1 604 555) (43 756 760)
OVERHEADS Costs (US $) 9 819 610 9 009 068 16 320 739 4 195 858 22 390 108 13 004 414 74 739 797
CPT (US$t) 11 9 18 8 33 23 16

TOTAL Costs (US $) 43 238 131 46 376 546 55 712 831 28 334 240 41 822 634 30 588 122 246 072 504
CPT (US$t) 47 47 63 52 62 53 54

39.1. The foregoing is the basis used by the HCCL to assess cost of the product

39.2. There is real need to conduct a proper product costing exercise. The current approach is not quite analytical and cannot be relied upon for planning purposes, even though losses made are apparent.

  1. STOCKS

40.1. Difference between theoretical stocks per records and actual stocks as at year end.

40.1.1. There are differences between physical stock on hand and theoretical stock

40.1.2. Some of the causes of the differences arise from estimations

40.1.3. The quantity surveyor uses proven methodologies for recording production

40.1.4. Production staff uses more of guesses in the way they record stocks, for instance

40.1.5. When stock is loaded on to 30 tonne trucks using front end loaders, once the truck is full, the production staff considers the truck to have ferried 30 tonnes of coal, whereas the Surveyor carries more reasonable tonnage figures from a vacuum created as a result of mining operations.

40.1.6. This difference which arises as a result of assuming that a 30 tonne truck is full is called “Truck Factor”, once full it is considered to have loaded 30 tones when in actual fact it may not be 30 tonnes

40.1.7. There is also another difference called “Bucket factor”. Bucket factor refers to differences which arise as a result of estimates made when loading is done onto coal haulers. Some coal haulers carry 45 or 55 tonnes and some 95 tonnes. Once the bucket of a coal hauler is full, it is assumed that the designed tonnage is what is carried in the hauler or if a hauler has been sent for weighing, all subsequent filled haulers are deemed to be carrying the same tonnage.

40.2. SCHEDULE OF ANNUAL STOCK DIFFERENCES AS AT YEAR END, FOR THE YEARS ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2013 TO 9 MONTHS, 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

9/2018  2017    2016    2015    2014    2013 
 Tonnes      Tonnes      Tonnes      Tonnes      Tonnes      Tonnes 

Rounds 51 (786) (194) (435) (702) 403
L/Cobbles 6 954 7 260 715 4 610 (9 126) 1 044
Coal nuts 4 869 176 39 18 525 (23 824) (7 170)
Peas 1 871 61 1 602 (928) (117 308) 5 075
Dry NPD 76 688 82 320 41 266 116 645 362 783 323 961
Flint coal (189) – – – – –
Raw coal local (93 082) (40 701) (5 521) (13 310) (73 627) (7 015)
Coal fines (45 299) (137 731) (33 059) (289 445) (215 742) (148 693)
Coking coal 68 220 (55 685) (4 547) 43 605 45 591 28 107
Coke (671) (13 779) (4 950) (8 204) (19 913) (26 954)
Duff 258 232 19 008 117 213 148 951 98 232 165 904
HPS (12 523) 33 357 (49 995) 32 081 27 946 57 868

40.2.1. The above schedule shows the annual differences in stock figures by grade of coal at year end, based on point 40.3 less point 40.3.1, by grade.

40.2.2. The value cannot be determined as at 30 September 2018 because of the three tier price system prevailing as at that date, the reader of this report is free to apply a price based on their perception of the implied exchange rate

40.2.3. The schedule is computed from the tables of actual count figures and the theoretical stock figures below

40.3. STOCKS BALANCES AT ANNUAL COUNTS (THEORETICAL AND ACTUAL STOCKS BY GRADE AND BY YEAR BY PRODUCT)
Theoretical Stock 9/2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes
Rounds 238 (786) (194) (435) (702) 403
L/Cobbles 7,632 7,260 1,753 5,052 (9,126) 3,251
Coal nuts 6,352 176 39 18,803 (19,305) 4,712
Peas 3,347 729 1,782 (928) (116,760) 5,579
Dry NPD 93,951 94,771 42,408 123,224 385,633 324,634
Flint coal (189) 0 0 0 0 0
Raw coal local (65,469) (39,619) 4,715 10,434 7,015 0
Coal fines 159,504 67,319 127,685 (80,714) (215,629) (148,693)
Coking coal 68,220 (53,257) (2,119) 43,618 46,486 28,945
Coke (671) (8,626) 203 3,469 (13,736) (9,823)
Duff 285,421 155,707 253,912 277,820 140,613 191,420
HPS 85,861 91,086 7,734 50,747 95,198 82,333
40.3.1. Actual stocks on hand
Rounds 187 – – – – –
L/Cobbles 678 – 1,038 442 – 2,207
Coal nuts 1,483 – – 278 4,519 11,882
Peas 1,476 668 180 – 548 504
Dry NPD 17,263 12,451 1,142 6,579 22,850 673
Flint coal – – – – – –
Raw coal local 27,613 1,082 10,236 23,744 80,642 7,015
Coal fines 204,803 205,050 160,744 208,731 113 –
Coking coal – 2,428 2,428 13 895 838
Coke – 5,153 5,153 11,673 6,177 17,131
Duff 27,189 136,699 136,699 128,869 42,381 25,516
HPS 98,384 57,729 57,729 18,666 67,252 24,465

40.4.The Acting Managing Director informed us that he was not aware of any stock differences being reported in the figures presented by the Finance Manager or by the Accounts Department at monthly management meetings.

  1. ACCOUNTING FOR STOCKS AS PER THE MINE RECORDS

41.1. We tested for completeness of revenue of the mining operations, by:

41.1.1. Performing reconciliation of Mined Coal, tracing to the plant and reconciling plant production to sales

41.1.1.1. The work done showed that loopholes do exist in the system of accounting for completeness of production

41.1.1.2. The following was noted:

41.1.1.2.1. Motor Engil mines and moves to a coal stock pile. The Quantity Surveyor determines the void created during a month and computes tonnage mined.
41.1.1.2.2. Once the tonnage has been moved to a stock pile, trucks ferry the raw coal
41.1.1.2.3. There is no weightometer to measure the actual weight of the coal mined by MOTA ENGIL.
41.1.1.2.4. The coal is moved by trucks from the Stockpile to processing plant or to the sale target.
41.1.1.2.5. There are variances which manifest here which are generally known as a Truck factor.
41.1.1.2.5.1. Truck factor means that for example, a 30 tonne truck is loaded with coal using front end loaders and a sample may be taken to the weighbridge. The weight that is obtained at the weghbridge some kilometres away, is then applied to all subsequent loads without taking the loads to a weighbridge. The weight of the bucket of a Front End loader is unknown. Errors arising out of this unreliable process, is called truck factor. When a 30 tonne truck is loaded it does not necessarily mean that the load is 30 tonnes. Because this weight is only a deemed
weight of a loaded truck, there will generally be differences in weight than had the trucks actually been weighed scientifically. It is possible that a 30 tonne truck would move from the loading site probably with less than 30 tonnes. Accordingly from a Survey measured stock pile, more loads can be made than expected because of these factors.

41.1.1.2.6. Apparently, it is in the best interests of the Trucker to carry less weight for a given stock pile because that results in more trips and more revenue to the trucker along with savings in wear and tear or fuel usage.

41.1.1.2.7. An analogy below buttresses the practicalities of the foregoing truck factors/variances:

41.1.1.2.7.1. Dig a one cubic metre of earth and shovel it a metre away
41.1.1.2.7.2. After a few minutes, try to fill back the void created, using the same soil
41.1.1.2.7.3. The soil will invariably fill the void and a considerable quantity will not fit into the void which would overflow
41.1.1.2.7.4. The cubic metre void is what the Quantity Surveyor works with and its sample weight, hence its reliable
41.1.1.2.7.5. So when this loose soil gets loaded onto a 30 tonne truck and fills it, it does not necessarily mean that the truck is carrying 30 tonnes
41.1.1.2.7.6. Whereas production personnel work with filled trucks of varying design weights, it is here where the problems of HCCL start leading to issuance and pronouncements of production figures that cannot be realized through sales.

41.1.1.3. The overall effect of these weaknesses is the reporting of overstated coal production tonnages, because the tonnages are based on the number of trips made by the trucks and haulers which do not necessarily carry designed capacity tonnes
41.1.1.4. So, trying to trace these tonnages to sales gets distorted by the figures recorded as “transfers” when management accounts are being prepared.
41.1.1.5. We tested the actual mined coal production records at the Open Cast and Underground Mine and noted that there are differences in what is mined /produced and what is moved to the Processing Plant/Metallurgical Plant.
41.1.1.6. From an accounting point of view, there is a figure which is recorded as “transfers”, this figure is a suspense account.
41.1.1.7. The figure for the transfers is supposed to represent actual coal movements, but in there is included stock differences which renders the transfers figure less reliable for use in determining the quantity of mined stock and the tracing of that to the plant where it is finally crashed and to sales.
41.1.1.8. Issues of loss in cleaning raw coal and moistures also give rise to variances between raw coal and processed coal.
41.1.1.9. The transfers also includes coal utilized internally for mine needs
41.1.1.10. There is no proper listing supporting this figure called “transfers”, therefore giving rise to a very high risk area requiring significant attention for business survival.
41.1.1.11. The IT environment is dysfunctional, accordingly accounting for these stock movements is poor

  1. REVIEW FOR COMPLETENESS OF QUANTITIES SOLD AND REASONABLENESS OF MINING STOCKS

42.1. RECONCILIATION OF STOCK JANUARY 2018 TO AUGUST 2018
HWANGE COLLIERY

STOCK MOVEMENT – (TONNAGE)
AUGUST 2018

Description Opening Stock Production Transfers Sales Closing Stock

RAW COAL – ROM
HPS 30,324 490,463 (215,408) (139,023) 166,356
HIC 1,082 476,591 (322,274)
(61,609) 93,790
HCC 2,632 164,307 (69,760)

  • 97,179
    HPS – PRIMARY TIPPLER 8,832 396,885 (395,042) 10,675

    SALEABLE COAL – –
    HIC – 225,300 111,926 33,241) 3,985
    UNPROCESSED COAL FROM JIG & FLOATATION PLANT 3,473
    56,705 (60,135)
  • 43
    HCC (145) 41,200 (16,465) (21,186) 3,403
    Wet Screens – 98,953 (28,136)
    (62,781) 8,037
    Commentary (Extracted as is from HCCL records)

42.2. The opening stock is the actual stock as at the given date
42.3. The Production is the figure of production as per production records
42.4. Transfers should represent production of one section moved to another process or to sales
42.5. In the transfers is included coal used for HCCL own consumption
42.6. There are no records evidencing own consumption leaving the term transfers open to fraud and manipulation
42.7. The foregoing schedule just goes to demonstrate that tracing coal from mining to saleable stock is muddled by the transfers figures.
42.8. All stock shortages/deficiencies which the mine cannot account for are included in the figure of “transfers” as if its all tonnage that went to the plant for processing.

42.9. RECONCILIATION OF STOCK FOR THE YEAR JANUARY 2017 TO DECEMBER 2017

HWANGE COLLIERY                  
STOCK MOVEMENT - (TONNAGE)                   
12 months to 31 December-17                      

Description Actual
Opening Stock Production Transfers Actual tonnage Sold Actual
Closing Stock

RAW COAL – Run Off Mine
HPS 44,429 703,964
(616,948) (101,120) 30,324
HIC 3,362 559,742
(512,705) (49,316) 1,082
HCC – 17,541
(14,909) – 2,632
HPS – PRIMARY TIPPLER – –
576,837 (568,004) 8,832

SALEABLE COAL –
HIC exc duff 124,420 347,839
44,529 (513,809) 2,978
UNPROCESSED COAL JIG &
FLOATATION PLANT 308 56,209 (53,045) – 3,473
HCC (174) 18,904
37,361 (56,236) (145)

42.9.1. The reconciliation is performed in tonnage for the reason that, if it were performed in USD value, a true operational bottleneck can be missed

42.10. REVIEW OF THE RECONCILIATION OF STOCK FOR THE YEAR JANUARY 2016 TO DECEMBER 2016

 HWANGE COLLIERY                 
 STOCK MOVEMENT - (TONNAGE)                      
 12 months to 31 December-16                     

Description Opening Stock Production Transfers Sales Closing Stock

RAW COAL – ROM
HPS 15,089 551,786
21,578 (544,025) 44,429
HIC 32,938 335,183
(345,730) (19,029) 3,362
HCC –
83,683
(83,683) –
HPS – PRIMARY TIPPLER – –

  • – –

SALEABLE COAL
HIC 138,680 148,258
54,642 (217,161) 124,420
UNPROCESSED COAL JIG & FLOATATION PLANT –
37,574
689 (37,955) 308
HCC 780
54,445
34,259 (89,658) (174)
COKE 11,673 –
6,678 (13,800) 4,551

42.10.1. The aim here is not to try and trace where the stocks went to because the records are not capable of explaining this fully.
42.11. REVIEW OF THE RECONCILIATION OF STOCK FOR THE YEAR JANUARY 2015 TO DECEMBER 2015

 HWANGE COLLIERY                 
 STOCK MOVEMENT - (TONNAGE)                      
 12 months to 31 December-15                     

Description Opening Stock Production Transfers Sales Closing Stock

RAW COAL – ROM
HPS
67,252 733,190
101,921 (887,273) 15,089
HIC
31,455 507,804
(436,113)
(70,208) 32,938
HCC
3,117 316,573
(319,690) – –
HPS – PRIMARY TIPPLER – –

  • – –

SALEABLE COAL
HIC
58,497 205,262
167,989 (293,068) 138,680
UNPROCESSED COAL JIG &
FLOATATION PLANT – – – – –
HCC
954 236,321
(19,177) (217,319) 780
Coke
8,182
66,578
(30,030)
(33,056) 11,673

42.11.1. HCCL records do not permit drilling into the figures of the above annual reconciliation

42.12. REVIEW OF THE RECONCILIATION OF STOCK FOR THE YEAR JANUARY 2014 TO DECEMBER 2014

HWANGE COLLIERY                  
STOCK MOVEMENT - (TONNAGE)                   
December-14                      

Description Opening Stock Production Transfers Sales Closing Stock

RAW COAL – ROM
HPS
24,377 849,314
189,761
(996,200) 67,252
HIC
2,242 696,165
(666,952)

  • 31,455
    HCC
    3,117 256,883
    (256,883)
  • 3,117
    HPS – PRIMARY TIPPLER – –
  • – –

SALEABLE COAL
HIC
2,118 481,408
(47,873)
(377,156) 58,497
UNPROCESSED COAL JIG &
FLOATATION PLANT – – – – –
HCC
646 239,647
61,397
(300,736) 954
COKE
16,540
31,932
9,428
(49,717) 8,182

42.12.1. As set out for the other years, the HCCL records are not capable of providing better quality information about accounting for stocks
42.13. REVIEW OF THE RECONCILIATION OF STOCK FOR THE YEAR JANUARY 2013 TO DECEMBER 2013

 HWANGE COLLIERY                 
 STOCK MOVEMENT - (TONNAGE)                      
 December-13                     

Description Opening Stock Production Transfers Sales Closing Stock

RAW COAL – ROM
HPS
8,439 686,152
241,152 (911,365) 24,378
HIC 3,129 485,679
(484,537)

  • 4,271
    HCC – 296,735
    (296,735) – –
    HPS – PRIMARY TIPPLER – –
  • – –

SALEABLE COAL – –

  • – –
    HIC
    21,414 304,380
    (19,385) (304,380) 2,029
    UNPROCESSED COAL JIG &
    FLOATATION PLANT – – – – –
    HCC
    58,392 127,102
    45,700 (230,747) 447
    COKE
    24,076
    62,721
    (601)
    (69,656) 16,540

42.13.1. As set out for the other years, the HCCL records are not capable of providing better quality information about accounting for stocks

42.14. EXAMPLE OF UNEXPLAINED VARIANCES STOCK MANAGEMENT REQUIRING MD ATTENTION
42.14.1. A review of January 2018 stock shows the following differences
COAL TYPE HPS Tonnes

Opening stock 1 January 2018 16 015
Add
Mined coal during January 2018 48 905

Total stock assuming no HPS Coal movement occurred 64 920
Less closing stock at 31 January 2018 (23 438)

Therefore, theoretical stock moved to customer/to next value chain stop 41 482
But actual stock moved as per the transport means below 31 870

Variance in stock moved (9 612)

42.14.2. Actual movement of coal January 2018
TRUCKER OR MEANS OF TRANSPORT Tonnes

COLBRO 3 010
INDUCTOSERVE 21 860
SRT55 1 650
B30D 1 740
ROCK DUMPER 750
COAL HAULER 2 200
B50D 500
RMS 60

Total Coal tonnage actually transported from mining operations by type of transport or by hire transport company
31 870

42.14.3. Variance in stock movement for January 2018 as a % of actual moved = 30.16%. Such, is what management needs to know.

42.14.3.1.  Intepretation of the stock variance in the foregoing tables 

42.14.3.1.1. In January 2018 the total stock available of HPS Coal to be moved was 41 482 tonnes.
42.14.3.1.2. Truckers moved only 31 870 tonnes and that was it (all was reported moved), meaning 9 612 tonnes could not be properly accounted for, representing 30.16% of the month’s production.

42.14.3.1.3. A number of weaknesses are at the shop floor:

42.14.3.1.3.1. Lack of weighing equipment
42.14.3.1.3.2. Problems of continuously weighing loads, staff can use a sample from a hauler or a truck and say that the hauler or truck or bucket carries X amount of tonnage, therefore if the carrier makes X number of loads, it means the deemed tonnage multiplied by trip gives the carried tonnage. A sample truck or hauler can be sent for weighing. The whole day the staff will be making this assumption. This leads to over or under estimation of tonnages. If coal is loaded and it is less than 30 tonnes, what it means is that staff can count the number of trips made in a day by a 30 tonne truck to the plant and multiply by 30 tonnes. That leads to overstatement/understatement of tonnage produced but which may not be recoverable in sales
42.14.3.1.3.3. Loss is suffered by the mine because where the mine is supposed to pay for say three loads, it goes on to pay for more loads because the load is going not filled to capacity or the truck may be filled to capacity but density differs from that of undug coal
42.14.3.1.3.4. The mine can suffer loss through production bonuses for tonnage not produced and delivered (Bucket factors and Truck factors)

  1. REVIEW OF HAULAGE TRUCKS FUEL USAGE VS TONNAGES LIFTED (COLBRO AND INDUCTOSERVE) AT A GLANCE

43.1. Fuel usage to tonnage: Colbro Vs Inductoserve Investments

Year Colbro issued fuel Colbro hauled tonnage Inductoserve issued fuel Inductoserve hauled tonnage

2013 102 212 241 981 – –
2014 172 158 509 262 – –
2015 320 668 550 635 – –
2016 18 279 136 947 – –
2017 21 537 352 662 138 328 381 114
2018 16 216 151 819 213 560 513 238

43.1.1. Tonnes per litre Colbro-Yellow shading

43.1.2. Tonnes per litre Inductoserve- Pink shading

43.1.3. Note that COLBRO claims fuel only if its haulage invoices are not settled

43.2.   Pictorial presentation of Truckers’ usage of fuel and relational graph to tonnage moved  

43.2.1. This graph must be read with the statistics/numbers presented, under point 43.1.
43.2.2. The significant differences in fuel consumption depicted above are a result of the contract wording as below;
43.2.2.1. COLBRO is provided with fuel only when payments are far in arrears and that is deducted from subsequent payments
43.2.2.2. Inductoserve is supplied with fuel nothwithstanding payment position.

  1. PHILCOOL INVESTMENTS (PRIVATE) LIMITED COAL LOADING CONTRACT

44.1. A company called Philcool was contracted to do the loading of coal into trucks using front end loaders at the mine. Philcool Contract, Annexure 26

44.2. The directors of this company are:

44.2.1. Wilfred Tundiya whose ID number is 23-029067-T23

44.2.2. Talent Munyoro whose ID number is 58-265308-F27

44.2.3. Thethelesa Musarurwa ID number 58-265573-T15

44.2.4. Philcool Investments (Private) Limited office address is: 3623/17 Extension Mbizo, Kwekwe

44.3. Philcool Investments (Private) Limited entered into a contract whereby it took responsibility for the following mine wide functions at the Metallurgical Operations Department for clearing and loading:

44.3.1. Coal at Chaba Mine plants,

44.3.2. Coal at Coal Preparation Plant

44.3.3. Coal at Jig and Floatation Plant

44.3.4. Open Cast and

44.3.5. Any other works as assigned by the mine
44.3.6. The charge out rate per hour was fixed at USD103,65

44.4. The payment was at the agreed terms set out in the contract, on a monthly basis calculated using time sheets as compiled and agreed to by the Contractor and HCCL representatives

44.5. However not one of the directors of the company signed this contract between Philcool and HCCL

44.6. A person, S Tundiya who is not a director of Philcool signed this contract, on the 26th June 2017

44.7. Accordingly the company took control of the loading from the stage of the raw coal

44.8. A Mr C Munyamane a Sectional Engineer Electrical Services signed for HCCL

44.9. We did not find documentation that gave Mr C Munyamane authority to bind the mine

44.10. Given S Tundiya is not a director of Philcool Investments, we did not find documentation at the mine which would authorize a person from another company where he is not an official, to come and enter into a contract with HCCL.

44.11. Accordingly, two possibly unauthorized persons entered into an agreement that bound HCCL to a contract of Works.

44.12. Philcool owes HCCL in prepayments for works contrary to the agreement, USD170 852-67

44.13. Philcool payment profile is annexed. Annexure 27

44.14. There are payments to Philcool that are not supported by invoices. Annexure 28

  1. REPORT ON AVIM INVESTMENTS (PRIVATE) LIMITED-CONTRACT OF FERRYING COAL OFF THE MINE TO ZIMBABWE POWER COMPANY LIMITED (ZPC) MUNYATI, IN KWEKWE

45.1. AVIM Investments (Private) Limited has a haulage contract with HCCL. Annexure 29

45.2. AVIM is a Haulage company whose registered office is:

45.3. Number 2813 Edisan Street

45.4. Light Industrial Sites

45.5. Kwekwe, Zimbabwe

45.6. The directors of the company are:

45.6.1. A person called Shepherd Tundiya of 7 G 26 Westend Kwekwe
45.6.2. A person called Nyaradzai Charamba 7 G 26 Westend, Kwekwe

45.7. The contract was for the coal loading and hauling of coal peas from Hwange to Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) Munyati Power Station in Kwekwe

45.8. A person called Shepherd Tundiya signed the contract on 6th October 2014

45.9. On 6th November 2014 using Truck number ACZ5924 AVIM Investments was contracted to ferry 29.80 tonnes of coal peas.

45.10. On13th November 2014, using Truck number ACZ5924, AVIM Investments was contracted to ferry
30.16 tonnes of coal to ZPC Munyati in Kwekwe.

45.11. In these two trips there is no evidence that ZPC at Munyati Power Station received the coal

45.12. AVIM Investments had embarked on a mssion to divert coal entrusted with it to own use thereby causing financial loss to the mine. Annexure 30

45.13. An amount of 1 003. 48 tonnes was lost to AVIM Investments through this scheme of picking coal on the understanding that the loads of coal were being delivered to HCCL’s customer ZPC Munyati in Kwekwe

45.14. It took a while for HCCL to discover that coal was being diverted, and an exercise was carried out which confirmed the diverting of coal to own stock by the trucking company

45.15. The matter was reported to the Board at a board meeting of 24 March 2017, which was chaired by Mr W Chitando for guidance and action as follows:

45.15.1. That AVIM Investments had diverted HCCL coal, at the time, valued at USD17 000
45.15.2. That AVIM Investments had been paid by an HCCL’s customer, AFROCHINE an amount of USD45 000 which amount was for HCCL
45.15.3. That AVIM Investments had been overpaid for transport, an amount of USD21 000

45.16. Since an investigation had been carried out, surely, a reasonable Board decision would have been to order the arrest of the AVIM Investments director for theft

45.17. This was not done
45.18. Other Board members felt that the matter was not given reasonable room to discuss, which is why some Board members who did not agree with the omission by their Chairman continued to pressure for Forensic Investigation

45.19. As if that was not enough, AVIM Investments was given preferential treatment in payments and would be paid in advance, thereby exacerbating the already suspicion in the Board between the Board members and the Chairman

45.20. A review of AVIM statement at 30th September 2018, showed that the company owed it owed HCCL in prepayments USD271 953-88

45.21. As at the same date AVIM Investments owed HCCL for its own coal purchases USD209 271-32

45.22. Total amount owed by AVIM Investments to HCCL as at 30th September 2018 USD481 225-20

45.23. Engagement of a conflicted transporter who is both a buyer and transport contractor is not a reasonable decision

45.24. Board minutes of 13 June 2017:

45.24.1. At a Board meeting Chaired by Mr. W Chitando, held at Royal Harare Golf Club
45.24.2. AVIM Investments matter was discussed as follows:

45.24.2.1. “The Company engaged the debtor for a mutual reconciliation after which the debtor acknowledged owing the company a sum of USD234 000. To liquidate its indebtedness,
the debtor offered haulage services to move ZPC targeted deliveries and recovering its debt by withholding 50% of the amount due to the debtor. The debt was expected to be liquidated over a period of six (6) months. This matter shall be referred to the Audit Committee for monitoring and be removed from the matters arising”.

45.24.3. Some Board members contest this decision, which they view as being inconsistent with good conduct and was not in the best interests of shareholders
45.24.4. Subsequent to this meeting, Internal Audit recommended that the money be recovered in full and that the company stops being given additional business

45.24.5. Comment by Mr Tawanda Marapira the Finance Manager

45.24.6. The Finance Manager responded to the Internal Audit recommendation by saying:

45.24.6.1. “The Transporter has since acknowledged the claim by HCCL. An agreement was reached to allow the transporter to continue carrying product to ZPC to allow HCCL to recover money owed from ZPC transport payments”.

45.24.7. The Internal Auditor was Mr T Zvidzai

45.24.8. Based on the foregoing, it is clear that a person had agreed to diverting/stealing coal and instead of reporting to Police, the company was actually given opportunity for more business?

45.24.9. Subsequent to this, the following matters which have no documentary evidence transpired

45.24.9.1. The existing Internal Auditor Mr Mudenda claimed that he got death threats from the said
S Tundiya a matter which he claimed was taken to Hwange Police
45.24.9.2. The said S Tundiya abducted or attempted to abduct the current Internal Auditor Mr I. Mudenda using a double Cab with no number plates
45.24.9.3. On 12 November 2018 a gentleman called Mr S Tundiya appeared before a Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Mining Development
45.24.9.4. That man, S Tundiya, claimed that he had internal documents of Hwange Colliery Company and that he obtained them thorugh his sources
45.24.9.5. Board Chairperson, Mrs J Muskwe, claimed that S Tundiya would dish out instructions about which manager to engage back from suspension and the instructions were barked in front of the former Chairman who is now the Minister. See outgoing Chairlady written representations, Annexure 1(d)
45.24.9.6. This is likely an indication that S Tundiya had the approval of the Minister
45.24.9.7. The former Board Chairman Mr W Chitando who at the time of the investigations had become the minister of Mines and Mining Development did not cause the arrest of this person after it was discovered that AVIM Investments diverted coal for own benefit?
45.24.9.8. It is claimed by the HCCL Chairlady that the Minister stood by when S Tundiya was dishing out illegal instructions to her, the Board Chair person?
45.24.9.9. The good question, though, is if this S Tundiya had no links with someone of significant influence in the Board at the time, why would management not just cause his arrest without making it a Board matter?
45.24.9.10. The foregoing Acts or ommissions by the Minister can be deemed to be complicity in the S Tundiya affairs with HCCL

  1. REPORT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF INCOMPATIBLE FUNCTIONS: S TUNDIYA

46.1. Philcool Investments was engaged to perform coal loading functions at the mine.

46.2. A company called AVIM Investments was engaged in the ferrying of coal to ZPC Munyati Power Station in Kwekwe.

46.3. Philcool which prima facie is an independent company is actually not an independent company in relation to AVIM.

46.4. S Tundiya who is not a director in Philcool signed the Philcool/ HCCL contract thereby binding Philcool an indication he is possibly a beneficiary shareholder of Philcool Investments. Annexure 26

46.5. AVIM Investments whose director is S Tundiya does the ferrying of coal to ZPC Kwekwe

46.6. Accordingly, the loading of coal at the mine and its haulage to Kwekwe is done by related parties thereby eliminating the critical control of ensuring that all tonnages are properly accounted for by the mine from the point the coal is mined to the dispatch to customers.

46.7. The fact that S Tundiya signed the contracts of both companies, the loading company and the haulage company is persuasive enough evidence that he has significant influence in the loading of coal and ferrying it to customers.

46.8. Further the fact that AVIM Investments also buys coal from HCCL yet it is the very company that was also loading and transporting the coal to ZPC Munyati left HCCL exposed to serious internal control weaknesses, exacerbated by inadequacies of weigh bridges at the mine and demoralized security personnel

46.9. Mr S Tundiya has on a number of occasions instructed HCCL to pay amonuts that he considered to be due to Philcool

46.10. This buttresses the fact that the two companies must be related

46.11. As at 30 September 2018, the two companies owed HCCL an amount of USD652 077.77 from recorded transactions including overpayments and the value of diverted coal.

46.12. Given the risk that the two companies are performing incompatible functions the possibility of the existence of unrecorded transactions exists.(We mean two companies controlled by one person, one of them did the loading of coal and the other did haulage)

  1. REPORT ON POTENTIAL DISPUTE BETWEEN HCCL AND AVIM INVESTMENTS

47.1. Avim Investments was awarded a contract to ferry coal to Munyati Power Station

47.2. There is a dispute arising from allegations that AVIM Investments converted some of the coal loads to own use.

47.3. The dispute arose after the disappearance of signed dispatch documents evidencing that AVIM Trucks ferried the coal from the mine

47.4. The mine uses a combination of computerized records and manual records maintained in Excel

47.5. Prior to the disappearance of the dispatch tickets, reading comments of the Finance Executive, on the internal audit report, there was an arrangement whereby management was instructed to give more business to AVIM Investments in order to create capacity in the hands of AVIM Investments to pay for the diverted coal?

47.6. The foregoing nature of decision making gives rise to questions about the Board”s independence on the matters of AVIM Investments.

47.7. At Parliament, Mr Shepherd Tundiya a director of AVIM Investments, claimed that he did not owe anything to HCCL and also that he even had some records about the mine including bank statements.

47.8. Asked further how he obtained the HCCL records, he said he was not divulging, suffice to say that the mine did not have proof that he owed.
47.9. Such claims, extend the depth of the forensic investigation
47.10. Given this mendacious position, our approach was as follows:

47.10.1. We obtained a listing of the disputed truck loads of coal
47.10.2. Obtained the listing of the trucks that were alleged to be involved in the scam and their registration numbers
47.10.3. Obtained duplicate dispatch tickets from the system that generated the original dispatch tickets that were signed by the AVIM Investments drivers as evidence of collection but which tickets later on disappeared from the HCCL files either through collusion with the service provider or for whatever reason
47.10.4. Accessed Security guards archives
47.10.5. From the security guards archives, we obtained guardroom “sign on “sheets/gate traffic booking sheets
47.10.6. Sign on sheets are the records whereby any vehicle entering or leaving the designated area is recorded and the driver’s details are recorded
47.10.7. The sign on sheets include the details about the registration numbers of the trucks/motor vehicles entering or leaving premises/designated point
47.10.8. Drivers sign on the sign on sheets as evidence of entry or departure
47.10.9. We traced some concerned trucks to the archives noting that the registration numbers agreed with the AVIM Investments numbers on the HCCL claims
47.10.10. We also noted that it was not just AVIM Investments vehicles on those sign on sheets, but all
vehicles entering, therefore this appeared to be an honest record about vehicle movements through that point which AVIM Investments cannot deny
47.10.11. We sought ZINARA records about the movements of the said relevant AVIM Investments trucks. Annexure 31
47.10.12. ZINARA records showed the history about each and every one of the identified trucks for the period 2014 to the relevant date in 2018
47.10.13. The ZINARA records showed those movements for the whole country where the relevant trucks passed through a Tollgate wherever in Zimbabwe
47.10.14. From the ZINARA records, which we deemed very independent, we selected for each and every truck, evidence of movements past Umguza Tollgate
47.10.15. The reason why we selected movement past Umguza Tollgate from Bulawayo was to obtain persuasive evidence that the truck was coming to Hwange.
47.10.16. We traced the same trucks to the Hwange Tollgate, buttressing evidence that the relevant trucks entered Hwange area.
47.10.17. We further traced these trucks to the HCCL security guards sign on sheets as increased evidence that the trucks entered the mine technical area where coal is collected
47.10.18. Our search was performed in reverse
47.10.19. Here, we traced the trucks to ZINARA Hwange Tollgate as evidence that the trucks passed through the Tollgate on their way back.
47.10.20. We traced the same trucks to Umguza Tollgate as evidence that the trucks used Bulawayo Victoria Falls highway on their way back to base.
47.10.21. ZINARA transting records are filed in the AVIM File. Annexure 17 to 18

47.11. Conclusion on coal diversion by AVIM Investments

47.11.1. Based on the work performed in this claim, covering a review of the information set out on the dispatch tickets, having obtained evidence that the AVIM Investments driver and truck was registered at the security guards gate, having obtained evidence that AVIM Investments truck passed through ZINARA’s Umguza and Hwange Tollgates on the way from Bulawayo, having obtained evidence that the AVIM Investments trucks passed through ZINARA’s Hwange and UmguzaTollgates on way back to Bulawayo and along with the corroborative claims by HCCL, we are persuaded to conclude that AVIM Investments diverted the concerned coal and that HCCL has a legitimate claim against AVIM Investments, subject to certain alterations (mutatis mutandis) which may arise from any payments and setoffs that may not have become apparent during our investigations.

47.11.2. Annexures 17 to 18 show the listing of the AVIM Investments trucks involved in HCCL diversions of coal

47.11.3. Annexures 17 to 18 show the various trips that the AVIM Trucks made passing through tollgates in Zimbabwe during the material period

47.11.4. Annexures 17 to 18 show the summary by truck of the material dates the trucks passed through Umguza and the Hwange tollgates

  1. REVIEW OF TOP BARTER DEALS AGREEMENTS -SITTING IN DEBTORS AGED ANALYSIS

CODE CUSTOMER TOTAL CURREN
T 30 DAYS 60 DAYS 90 DAYS 120 DAYS >120 DAYS TOTAL

54 GENERAL
BELTINGS 84,740 4,528 2,194 2,252 – 2,229 73,535 84,740
109 NRZ 65,467 – – 10,326 6,977 – 48,163 65,467
112 NIMR & Chapman
P/L 74,308 – – – – – 74,308 74,308
275 HWANGE COAL &
GC 15,070,274 842,657 536,039 662,322 390,937 526,9777 12,111,338 15,070,274
123 Pepper Grinder Trdg 147,597 – – – – – 147,597 147,597
132 RAM QUIP P/L 4,975 – – – – – 4,975 4,975
135 Sable Chemical Ind 35,903 26,394 – – 9,509 – – 35,903
164 ZFC LIMITED 13,136 6,727 – – 6,409 – – 13,136
280 PALE HOUSE 123,765 – – – – – 123,765 123,765
1818 W & K Earth Movers 18,296 – – – – – 18,296 18,296
1977 Preedon P/L 351,670 – – – – – 351,670 351,670
1503 MRS.S. MAPFUWA 14,958 – – – – – 14,958 14,958
1540 TURBO MINING 60,713 – – – – – 60,713 60,713
1630 CHROMEBASE
MINING COMPANY 170,285 – – – – – 170,285 170,285
1644 RITE EDGE (PVT) LTD 228,889 – – – – – 228,889 228,889
496 Drill well 1,407 – – – – – 1,407 1,407
1712 AVIM
INVESTMENTS 209,271 – – – – – 209,271 209,271
TOTAL 16,675,663 880,307 538,234 674,902 413,834 529,206 13,639,177 16,675,663

48.1. We reviewed the list of the top barter trade entities and amounts due to HCCL as at 30 September 2018
48.2. HCCL staff could not provide us with formal written agreements entered into with these parties to effect barter trades.
48.3. The staff at the mine referred us to the Marketing Department at Coal House in Harare, who in turn referred us back to the mine.

48.4. It is possible that such written agreements never existed because notes made by the Credit Controller indicated that HCCL was actually asking the debtors to consent to set-off, as opposed to following up on agreed positions, accordingly we did not have to inquire of the concerned parties.

48.5. We noted the following:

48.5.1. Management made barter arrangements and instructed their subordinates to implement them
48.5.2. The total amount owed to HCCL by 17 entities at 30 September 2018 was $16 739 675
48.5.3. There were no reconciliations for these debtors
48.5.4. The largest amount of $15 147 617 was owed by Hwange Coal and Gas Company. Notes made by Mrs S M Chigumira indicated that this amount would be set-off against the coke oven battery take over.
48.5.5. We requested for the agreement and valuation of coke oven battery, but got none
48.5.6. The Credit Controller, Mrs Chigumira followed up the clients
48.5.7. The high number of barter arrangements made it difficult for HCCL to monitor, set-off or collect.
As a result, significant amount of the trading parties were sitting with amounts largely overdue, $14 208 266 (85%) over 120 days old.
48.5.8. In this record, Avim Investments which is commented on elsewhere in this Report owed HCCL $209 271
48.5.9. A significant amount of the barter debtors received coal from HCCL and failed to pay, and offered their goods or services in repayment

  1. REVIEW OF UNAUDITED HCCL PAYROLL RELATED CREDITORS

As at 30 September 2018

MIPF 25,813,409.00 1,209,802.00 27,023,211.00
ZIMRA (PAYE) 33,879,368.00 2,663,826.00 36,543,194.00
NSSA 2,690,851.00 902,701.00 3,593,552.00
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT COUNCIL 436,755.00 80,741.00 517,226.00
STANDARD DEVELOPMENT FUND 1,060,889.00 142,481.00 1,203,370.00
ZIMBABWE MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT FUND 1,164,527.00 366,928.00 1,531,455.00
HWANGE FUNERAL FUND 1,086,271.00 38,622.00 1,124,893.00
HWANGE MEDICAL FUND 10,973,875.00 486,479.00 11,460,354.00
FIDELITY FUND 3,034,097.00 913,541.00 3,947,638.00
HWANGE EMPLOYEES DYNAMIC FUND 1,388,130.00 4,101.00 1,392,231.00
COURT GARNISHEE MAINTENANCE ORDERS 127,664.00 14,342.00 142,006.00
NATIONAL UNION OF MINES QUARRY IRON & STEEL WORKERS OF ZIMBABWE 69,650.00 (5,598.00) 64,052.00
NATIONAL MINE WORKERS UNION OF ZIMBABWE 202,609.00 30,828.00 233,437.00
ASSOCIATED MINE WORKERS UNION OF ZIMBABWE – 18,801.00 18,801.00
NYARADZO FUNERAL FUND – 51,809.00 51,809.00

TOTAL 81,928,095.00 6,867,325.00 88,795,420.00

49.1. Payroll related creditors amounted to $88 795 420.

49.1.1.     Of this amount $36 543 194 million (41%) was owed to ZIMRA in respect of PAYE and  
49.1.2.     MIPF was owed $27 023 211(30%) of total, 
49.1.3.     The third largest payroll creditor was $11 460 354 (13%) due to Hwange Medical Fund 

49.2. The total amount is split into $81 928 095 (92%) absorbed into the scheme of arrangement and

49.3. Accumulated after the scheme is $6 867 325 , i.e. outside the scheme of arrangement (thus forming new arrears)

49.3.1. On the MIPF – $27 023 211 – the employer contributes 7,5% of basic salary up to 10% for senior managers.

49.3.2. The employee contributes 7,5% only.

49.3.3. Following upon an actuarial valuation done in the past, member companies were required to contribute a mandatory enhancement of 2,2% of basic salary with effect from 2008.

49.3.4. We did not see the communication, but the deductions are occurring. We recommend that HCCL takes this matter up with MIPF as the 2,2% should have been reviewed after the introduction of the multi-currency system

49.3.5. On NSSA – $3 593 552 – The contributions from both the employer and employee are 3,5% of basic pay up to a maximum monetary amount of $700. In addition, a 1,18% of basic pay is contributed towards workmen’s compensation insurance fund. This is paid by the employer only towards accident cover

49.3.6. National Employment Council (NEC) – $517 226 – The Company contributes a maximum of $1.20 per person

49.3.7. Regarding Standards Development Fund – $1 203 370 – HCCL pays 0,05% of basic salaries plus company contribution
49.3.8. ZIMDEF- Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund – $1 531 455 – The Company contributes 1% of gross earnings and company contribution. This excludes those covered directly by ZIMDEF training such as nurses

49.3.9. Hwange Funeral fund – $1 124 893 – This was an internal funeral fund where deductions of $6 per employee were effected. All employees were eligible. This stopped in August/September 2017, when the scheme was moved to Nyaradzo Funeral Services. There was no bank account set aside for this fund. All money was in the general company bank accounts, therefore exposed to risk of any bad management.

49.3.10. Hwange Medical Fund (Hospitalisation) – $11 460 354 – This was a compulsory in-house medical aid fund. It was discontinued when HCCL moved over to Cellmed Medical Fund

49.3.11. Fidelity Life – $3 947 638 – This provided group life cover. The Company was paying 4% of basic salaries and employees did not pay, i.e. it was a non-contributory life policy. HCCL fell into arrears in 2009 and is no longer covered. There is now a self-assurance fund but the ledger postings continue to go into the same account. There is no specific bank account

49.3.12. Hwange Employees Dynamic Fund – $1 392 231 – Employees set up a fund to purchase land and build houses. The Fund has a constitution, trustees and an executive committee. Deductions are voluntary. It has a bank account. Some employees have already built houses using this facility

49.3.13. A few smaller amounts were owed to unions, garnishee orders and funeral fund totalling $510

  1. These arrears occurred for the same reason of cash flow challenges

49.3.14. Other payroll payables

49.3.14.1. The following are the other payroll payables as at 30 September 2018 from the standpoint of Mrs E Kamocha the Payroll Accountant

Other- Scheme of Arrangement
45,599,193.31
Other payrolls arrears not on Scheme

Other payrolls Scheme arrears Aug and 8,163,616.90
Sep 2018
3,989,135.39

Executive Scheme
4,892,108.19
Executive arrears not on Scheme

Executive Scheme arrears Aug and Sep 1,654,544.56
2018

        369,241.75  
  1. REVIEW OF UNAUDITED HCCL BORROWINGS AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

NAME OPENING
BALANCE CAPITAL INTEREST ADJUSTMENT REPAYMENT CLOSING
BALANCE
$’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000

EXIM 13,703 – 342 – – 14,046
GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE 119,955 – 5,853 – – 125,809
ZAMCO 16,653 – 858 (1,044) – 16,467
ATLAS COPCO 367 – 12 (24) – 355
CHINA NORTH 4,906 – 103 – – 5,009
LEASE LIABILITY 596 – – – – 596
BELL SA LOAN
BANC ABC – 6,818 – – – –
ECOBANK – 3,700 198 – – 7,016
CABS FACILITY 271 2,000 252 – – 3,952
CBZ – – 35 (162) (738.94) 1,133
BELL LOINETTE – 35 – – 307

 156,454     12,518  7,692   (1,231)         174,694      

50.1. We reviewed the Company’s financial obligations as at 30 September 2018

50.1.1. Some of the borrowings were as follows: $

50.1.1.1. Term borrowings 174 694 410 50.1.1.2. Payroll related creditors 88 795 420

50.1.1.3. We could not find formal agreements or formal contracts in respect of the following borrowings:

50.1.1.1.1. Export-Import Bank of India – $14 046 260
50.1.1.1.2. Government of Zimbabwe for treasury bills funding of $125 809 160 used to part pay creditors under the Scheme of Arrangement
50.1.1.1.3. ZAMCO (Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation) – $16 467 140 for taking over the HCCL non-performing loan (NPL) from BANC ABC
50.1.1.1.4. Ecobank Ltd – $7 016 560

50.1.1.4. Of the $174,7 million term borrowings, $125 809 160 (72%) relates to Treasury Bills obtained from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to fund the Scheme of Arrangement; and $16 467 140 (9%) was funded by ZAMCO as an NPL from Banc ABC Ltd; and $14 046 260 (8%) in respect of Export-Import Bank of India, which amount originated from the funding of BML equipment
50.1.1.5. The term borrowings of $174 694 410 were contracted before 2013 with the exception of
$12.1 million contracted in 2016/2017 from commercial banks for working capital financing

50.1.1.6. The Export-Import Bank of India loan of $14 046 260 was obtained to fund the Belarus BML equipment. This equipment has had several challenges that are detailed elsewhere in this Report

50.1.1.7. The ZAMCO/Banc ABC loan was obtained to fund Bell equipment, some of which was not operating as at 30 September 2018

50.1.1.8. The China North loan with a balance of $5 009 620 was sourced to fund the Terex equipment, some of which was dysfunctional as at 30 September 2018

50.1.1.9. The Financial Accountant, Mr N Nkomo, promised us loan reconciliations which were eventually not made available

  1. REVIEW OF HPS COAL GRADE COST OF PRODUCTION AGAINST ITS SELLING PRICE

HPS Coal performance analysis for the period 2013 to 2018
Price per tonne Vs Cost per tonne
2 013 2 014 2 015 2 016 2 017 YTD SEPT
’18 TOTAL
Sales tonnage (t) 924 659 996 200 887 273 544 025 669 349 575 825 4 597 331
Sales value Value (US $) 25 659 275 27 644 561 24 621 839 15 096 689 18 574 429 15 979 153 127 575 946
Price/tonne PPT (US$t) 28 28 28 28 28 28 28

Cost of sales Cost (US $) 33 418 521 37 367 477 39 392 092 24 138 382 19 432 525 17 583 708 171 332 706
CPT (US$t) 36 38 44 44 29 31 37
Gross loss (9 722 916) (14 770 253) (9 041 693) ( 858 097) (1 604 555) (1 604 555) (43 756 760)
Overheads Costs (US $) 9 819 610 9 009 068 16 320 739 4 195 858 22 390 108 13 004 414 74 739 797
CPT (US$t) 11 9 18 8 33 23 16

TOTAL Costs (US $) 43 238 131 46 376 546 55 712 831 28 334 240 41 822 634 30 588 122 246 072 504
CPT (US$t) 47 47 63 52 62 53 54

PPT = Selling Price per tonne
CPT = Cost per tonne

We did not test the costing system as that would be a task for a different engagement

51.1. As part of our review, amongst other procedures, we anaylysed the official debtor’s statements sent to ZPC for the period 1 January 2013 to 30 September 2018 concerning the sale of the HPS coal.

51.2. We found the following:

51.2.1. A total of 4 771 519 tonnes of HPS coal was sold to HPC
51.2.2. The price remained the same at $27.75 per tonne from 2013 to 2018.
51.2.3. This amount was authorised in a memorandum of agreement
51.2.4. This price does not include VAT
51.2.5. HCCL asserted that all suppliers of this grade of coal to ZPC charged the same unit price to ZPC
51.2.6. Total income inclusive of VAT amounted to $151 022 247
51.2.7. HCCL is likely disadvantaged because it has a large capacity making its cost of production unprofitable when compared to smaller players
51.2.8. Adjustments put through the debtors account totalled $79 131 234, leaving a net amount of $71 891 013
51.2.9. These adjustments represented, inter alia:
51.2.9.1. Set-off in respect of electricity supplied to HCCL for company use, residential and domestic use, etc.
51.2.9.2. Payments made by ZPC to Turbo Mining in respect of services rendered by Turbo to HCCL totalling approximately $14 462 250
51.2.9.3. Corrections for over/under billings
51.2.9.4. ZPC Hwange started to prepay HCCL as from February 2018. As a result, at 30 September 2018, the account was in credit with HCCL owing ZPC Hwange a net $10 020 642 for electricity sales. Annexure 34
51.2.9.5. The lowest annual sales were recorded in 2016 amounting to $17 841 259 whilst the highest annual sales were recorded in 2013 reaching $25 583 398
51.2.10. HCCL asserted that this grade of coal has no other meaningful local open market price for comparison against what HPC pays. We have not been able to confirm this assertion
51.2.11. We reviewed the cost of production per tonne statistics compiled by HCCL and compared them to the selling price.
51.2.12. The cost of production varied from $47.00 to $62.00 per tonne. Accordingly there is a cost underrecovery ranging from USD19 to $34 per tonne, subject to an appropriate costing exercise.
51.2.13. This represents a loss to HCCL, in addition to which, there was no possibility of gross profit.
51.2.14. The estimated loss for the period, at the conservative cost of production per tonne less selling price totalled $163 424 526.
51.2.15. The aggregate loss per tonne on this coal grade, somewhat represents assistance given to the Government of Zimbabwe over the years for which shareholders who are not government may want to consider as a loan or subsidy to government to keep the price of electricity lower in the hands of the consumer but at the expense of private shareholders

  1. REVIEW OF HUMAN RESOURCES MATTERS

Our review of the Human Resources issues showed that there are areas that should be improved as follows

52.1. The Executive Committee that was put in place in 2017 is thin and includes performance of incompatible functions as set out in the preceding sections of this Report

52.2. The executive committee for an entity of HCCL’s size should have at least six (6) managers in it in order to gather relevant broad based business matters of the entity as opposed to only four.

52.2.1. Health should be involved in the executive committee because it caters not only for mine workers
52.2.2. Mine planning should be at executive level in order for the Managing Director to have planning at the highest level

52.3. The mine is riddled with debt due to Mining Associations. The mine should consider contributing towards the obligatory NSSA pension scheme only for all new employees

52.4. Medical aid cover is erratic due to shortfalls in contributions. The mine should revive the self funded medical aid fund but it must be administered by a committee of employees

52.5. The mine offers remuneration which has many allowances. The mine should introduce best practice of paying one basic salary and employees look after themselves for the rest of the expenses. This best practice should apply to all new staff

52.6. Education assistance is offered to all employees. The mine should scrap education assistance to all new employees. The mine should in the meantime consider limiting the assistance to mine schools and local universities or for the university education, the mine should pay a cash equivalent to standard university fees applicable to the nearest university to the mine.

52.6.1.     Current employment incentives/benefits 

52.6.1.1. Names and nature of incentives Access & Distribution
52.6.1.2. Accommodation 50% company and 50% all staff
52.6.1.3. Acting allowance NEC grade 1He and below
52.6.1.4. Additional responsibilities All employees at same level
52.6.1.5. Car allowance Not in policies but applied to some
52.6.1.6. Car loan purchase scheme SST Level 2 and above
52.6.1.7. Cell phone allowance Level 1 and above managers
52.6.1.8. Club membership Not in policies but applied to some
52.6.1.9. Company car SST Level 2 and above
52.6.1.10. Domestic workers Managing Director
52.6.1.11. DSTV subs Managing Director
52.6.1.12. Employee development Cadets at Zimbabwe School of Mines
52.6.1.13. Employee further education/development All employees
52.6.1.14. Fuel to work allowance Qualifying managerial employees
52.6.1.15. Holiday benefits Level 3
52.6.1.16. Housing allowance All employees – 50% of rentals
52.6.1.17. ISO Champ allowance Not in policies but applied to some
52.6.1.18. Life assurance (group) All employees below 65 years
52.6.1.19. Medical aid All permanent employees
52.6.1.20. Motor vehicle purchase scheme Managers in place of company car
52.6.1.21. Non-practice allowance Not in policies but applied to some
52.6.1.22. Overtime NEC 1Hd and 1He
52.6.1.23. Pension All permanent employees
52.6.1.24. Performance incentive bonus All departments
52.6.1.25. Personal loans Not in policies but in contracts
52.6.1.26. Personal vehicle mileage refund 1Hd & Executive
52.6.1.27. Professional subscription 1Hd and above
52.6.1.28. School fees assistance All employees
52.6.1.29. Security cover Managing Director and select few
52.6.1.30. Settling in Managerial staff
52.6.1.31. Share option All employees
52.6.1.32. Responsibility allowance Selected by line managers
52.6.1.33. Urban and housing allowance All permanent employees
52.6.1.34. Vehicle allowance Not in policies but applied to some
52.6.1.35. Wholesale purchase of goods on HCCL orders Managing Director
52.6.1.36. Worker of the month/year All employees
52.6.1.37. Working allowance Not in policies but applied to some

52.6.1.38.  The access by and distribution to employees 

52.6.1.38.1. The access by and distribution to employees is as stated above, but to varying degrees depending on seniority.

52.6.1.38.2. Some benefits are found in contracts whilst the general policies covering them could not be found

52.6.2.     The impact on employee performance and commitment; 

52.6.2.1. There may be need to conduct some form of survey to determine the impact. The danger in such a survey is that employee expectations may be raised erroneously

52.6.3.     N.B. 

52.6.3.1. Some people who received benefits that do not appear to be covered by HR Policies, but were above Board are as follows:

52.6.3.1.1. ISO Champ (Authorised but not as a condition of service)

52.6.3.1.1.1.   Collen Munyamana – Grade 2H – Oct 2017 $246.93 
52.6.3.1.1.2.   Butholezwe Dube – Grade 1HE – Oct 2017 $141.16 

52.6.3.1.2. Car allowance (Authorised but not as a condition of service)

52.6.3.1.2.1. Allen Masiya – Grade L3L – October 2017 $2 467.68
52.6.3.1.2.2. Stenjwa T Makore – Grade L5 – Oct 2017 $11 576.14 (He also got Vehicle allowance of $624.49 for 600 units)

52.6.3.1.3. Non-Practice allowance (Authorised, but not as a condition of service)

52.6.3.1.3.1.   Didymus Bernard Ngorora – Grade 2H – Oct 2017 $246.93 
52.6.3.1.3.2.   Dr Charles Zinyemba – Grade L3H – Oct 2017 $690.15 
52.6.3.1.3.3.   Chenesa Mbanje – Grade 2H – October 2017 $246.93 

52.6.3.1.4. Working allowance

52.6.3.1.4.1.   Judah Tsuro – Grade 2H – Oct 2017 $131.70 
52.6.3.1.4.2.   Beaven Jinga – Grade 2H – Oct 2017 $131.70 

52.7. HCCL school fees policy which sets USD180 per term to USD380 per term for primary school and USD480 per term to USD2 525 per term for secondary school per worker up to a maximum of three children in a company with plus or minus 2 700 employees, sounds like this is no longer normal best practice and can only disadvantage shareholders due to the very large cost involved. Refer Annexure 35

52.8. Overall Comments over the Senior Management payroll

52.8.1. Salaries were paid according to the contracts of employment
52.8.2. Certain managers obtained salary increments whose Board approval still needs t be confirmed
52.8.3. New managers were hired whose appointments need to be traced to Board meeting minutes
52.8.4. Certain managers were paid advances outside the payroll and whose repayments may be inadequate since the senior payroll was administered from outside HCCL and the Consultatnt who prepared the payroll had no reliable debtors ledger to trace the advance payments to and deductions therefrom
52.9. Senior management payroll is reviewed per Annexures 38”A”, 38”B”, 38”C”, 38”D”, 38”E”, 38”F”, 38”G”. 38”H” and 38”I”

  1. REPORT ON INDUCTOSERVE (PRIVATE) LIMITED

53.1. A South African company calling itself Inductoserve (Private) Limited was awarded a tender for the movement of coal within HCCL mining operations

53.2. Inductoserve (Private) Limited presented itself as a South African company.

53.3. Its South Africa address was provided as

53.3.1. 97 Modderfontein Road, President Park, P O Box 4436, Halfway House, Midrand, South Africa.
53.3.2. Mr Solomon Matsa represented the company in the contract with HCCL
53.3.3. Inductoserve supplied a Zimbabwean bank account number instead of a South African bank account number since it must be a South Africa Tax payer.
53.3.4. The bank details are;

53.3.4.1. Inductoserve (Pvt) Ltd.
53.3.4.2. Bank : Standard Chartered Bank
53.3.4.3. Branch Code: Highlands, Harare
53.3.4.4. Account number : 8700216586300 (USD)

53.4. Incidentally, there is another company in Zimbabwe called Inductoserve (Private) Limited 53.5. This company’s registered address is;

53.5.1. Inductoserve (Private) Limited
53.5.2. Matsa Store
53.5.3. P O Box 119, GUTU
53.6. This Zimbabwean company, prior to becoming Inductoserve (Private) Limited in Zimbabwe was called Nowax Enterprises (Private) Limited

53.7. Nowax Enterprises passed a resolution to change its name to Inductoserve on on 22 April 2005

53.8. On 18 May 2005 the Regitrar of Companies changed the name NOWAX to Inductoserve. Annexure 36

53.9. The Zimbabwean company Inductoserve (Private) Limited has no contract with HCCL

53.10. However, Inductoserve (Private) Limited of South Africa which has a contract with HCCL supplied Tax Clearance certificate belonging to another company called Inductoserve which is a GUTU based company

53.11. HCCL pays Inductoserve on the basis of what appears to be a fake or invalid Tax Clearance certificate

53.12. Annexure 12 shows the Tax clearance certificate issued by ZIMRA instead of South African papers, if indeed it is a South African company

53.13. South African companies of equivalent status with Inductoserve are termed (Proprietary) Limited as opposed to “Private Limited”

53.14. It appears that the company misled the Board that it is a South African Company or someone in management or in the Board cheated colleagues knowing fully well that Inductoserve was not a South African company

53.15. Management and Board did not ask for legal documentation allowing a South African company to hide revenues in a Zimbabwean bank account

53.16. The fact that a South African company has a bank account within five minutes walking distance from the HCCL former Board Chairman is likely to impair the former Chairman’s independence in as far as the nefarious transaction is concerned

53.17. Inductoserve is supplied with fuel to carry out its operations at HCCL

53.18. There is no evidence that the fuel issued to Inductoserve is related to tonnage carried

53.19. Some of the Inductoserve trucks are signaged “Zambezi Gas Zimbabwe”, in addition to the name Inductoserve. Annexure 6, as previously shown.

53.20. From the foregoing, one may be persuaded to assume that Inductoserve owns the Zambezi Gas Project

53.21. Fuel usage by Inductoserve is a bone of contention with some workers at the mine, who claim that the company uses the HCCL to do other business

53.22. A comparison of tonnage ferried by Inductoserve to fuels issued does not make busness sense, which is why mine personnel view Inductoserve with some suspicion.

53.23. For fuel issued refer to point 43.1.

53.24. Inductoserve is paid in advance

53.25. Total value of business carried out by Inductoserve for the twenty two and a half months from 1
January 2017 to 16 November 2018 amounted to USD 3 571 458-01. Annexure 37

53.26. As at 11 November 2018, Inductoserve owed the mine USD180 615-56 through advance payments

53.27. The total invoiced amounts as at 11 November 2018 amounted to USD 2 710 842-45

53.28. The total payments to date as at 11 November 2018 amounted to USD 2 891 458-01

53.29. But as of that date, Inductoserve had some work certified to date USD 860 127-27

53.30. Based on this, HCCL cannot claim disadvantage.

53.31. The real question HCCL can lay is about whether there is relationship between tonnage and payments?

53.32. Tax invoices raised by Inductoserve are not raised by the South African company

53.33. To the extent that HCCL is dealing with a company involved in translucent transactions, directors should cancel the contract, irrespective of the fact that its actually South Africa that is being swindled, the fact is that the Inductoserve related companies are also breaking the VAT laws in Zimbabwe by lending a Tax Clearance certificate to another a foreign company

  1. REVIEW OF SANY EQUIPMENT

54.1. Sany equipment

54.2. Most of the Sany equipment is not working. Table 54.8 below, shows the operational track record /stoppages of the Equipment.

54.3.   HCCL was not able to recover expected hours of utilisation of the equipment. 

54.4. There are plans to resuscitate the equipment, some of the repair costs incurred only in 2018 are shown in the table below. They are using local dealer Nashy Mining Component who takes the spares to South Africa for repairs whose costs are on the higher side compared to other dealers.

54.5. Two Sany Sy700C Hydraulic Crawler Excavators and Mobile 55T Crane have been locked due to the non-payment by HCCL to Sany International Development Limited. HCCL will only be able to use the equipment once it is unlocked. HCCL owes Sany $5 212 772.

54.6. A delegate was sent to China just to appreciate the equipment, people who went include Eng Moris, Llyod Madyegasva, Mbirikira and Milton Dube. When the team went to China the deal to purchase the equipment had already been sealed, that is according to Milton Dube. We were not able to get the full report of the team’s findings because the Engineering and Projects Office does not know the whereabouts of the Sany file.

54.7.   To be read with Annexure 40 

54.8.   Schedule of SANY Equipement repairs 
                                2018 Repairs and

fuels

Asset category fleet no Cost
(USD) Date commissioned Hours recovered Expected life (hours) Under recovery Status/ breakdown date Breakdown period fuels and oils materials used
Coal hauler 1682 1 147 826 01-11-13 1 098 15 000 (13,902) 05/04/14 4yrs 6 month s – 15 955
Coal hauler 1683 1 147 826 01-11-13 3 871 15 000 (11,129) Available – 29 210 124 890
Coal hauler 1684 1 147 826 01-11-13 3 417 15 000 (11,583) 11-12-14 3yrs 11month – 7 248
Coal hauler 1685 1 147 826 01-11-13 3 655 15 000 (11,345) 05-04-15 3years 6 mont – 10 955
Coal hauler 1686 1 147 826 01-11-13 1 996 15 000 (13,004) 30-05-14 4years 5 mont – 10 955
Dump Truck 1690 575 383 01-11-13 5 098 15 000 (9,902) 20-03-15 3years 7 mont – 58 035
Dump Truck 1691 575 383 01-11-13 8 041 15 000 (6,959) Available – 44 666 76 874
Dump Truck 1692 575 383 01-11-13 2 216 15 000 (12,784) 14-12-15 2years 11 mo n – 15 021
Dump Truck 1693 575 383 01-11-13 5 881 15 000 (9,119) 25-04-15 3 years 6 mo n – 3 131
Dump Truck 1694 575 383 01-11-13 7 661 15 000 (7,339) 30-05-15 3 years 5 mo n 2 879 –

The table was computed by Wellington Chitavati, Rebuilds Foreman, Open cast.

  1. REVIEW OF NASH MINING REPAIRS

55.1. NASH Mining is engaged from time to time to perform repairs to equipment

55.2. NASH Mining directors are:

55.2.1. Yanai Adnet Nyamukondiwa
55.2.2. Sydin Maviya
55.2.3. Obert Junior Nyasha Mavhiya
55.2.4. Emanuel Chikoo

55.2.4.1.   Annexure 43 

55.3. The frequency with which NASH Mining is coming to repair HCCL equipment indicates the inadequacies within the apprenticeship training of HCCL

55.4. The frequency also indicates the inadequacies in contracts with suppliers of equipment at the point of buying equipment

55.5. HCCL continues to hire NASH to carry out repairs of equipment.

55.6. At face value one would suspect that there is manipulation. Our procedures included visiting the equipment to see exactly where components would have been fitted

55.7. Based on the reviews of the components tracking, we are satisfied that HCCL itself should train its personnel to a level adequate to perform the repair work. Annexure 42

55.8. HCCL should also ensure that any purchase of equipment agreement includes training of technicians prior to taking delivery of equipment

56. REVIEW OF KEY EQUIPMENT PURCHASES 

56.1.   BELAZ Equipment 

56.1.1. Belaz equipment was bought from Ramon Invest Limited of Belarus. Included in the Belaz equipment were 5 Front End Loaders that were not fit for their purpose. The Front End Loaders are too small to load coal on to the Coal haulers. For them to use the Front End loaders, they have to put the Loaders onto a ramp or they can dig the ground surface and put the coal hauler in that trench so that the Front End Loader will be able to load reach the height for it to be able to load.

56.1.2. This is evidence that appropriate users are not involved in the procurement of equipment when management flies out of the country to select equipment, which it does not operate.

56.1.3.     Belaz Equipment track record of performance report 
                            2018 Repairs and

fuels

Asset category fleet no Price Date commisi Hours Recovered Expected
life Under Recovery Status/
Breakdown fuels and oils materials used
75131 Coal Hauler 1711 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 2 897 18 000 (15,103) 07-07-17 – –
75131 Coal Hauler 1712 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 7 342 18 000 (10,658) Available 140 803 18 077
75131 Coal Hauler 1713 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 8 070 18 000 (9,930) Available 151 197 23 498
75131 Coal Hauler 1714 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 9 078 18 000 (8,922) Available 143 833 15 024
75131 Haul Truck 1715 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 9 447 18 000 (8,553) Available 171 021 5 071
75131 Haul Truck 1716 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 9 112 18 000 (8,888) Available 144 818 4 747
75131 Haul Truck 1717 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 7 816 18 000 (10,184) 05-03-18 37 548 34 700
75131 Haul Truck 1718 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 7 803 18 000 (10,197) Available 94 864 18 918
75131 Haul Truck 1719 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 9 471 18 000 (8,529) Available 125 550 48 906
75131 Haul Truck 1720 1 385 000 19-Jun-15 2 129 18 000 (15,871) 07-05-17 – 49 036
Front end Loader 1721 634 000 19-Jun-15 5 661 15 000 (9,339) 15-01-18 4 425 18 802
Front end Loader 1722 634 000 19-Jun-15 7 161 15 000 (7,839) 01-10-18 122 001 43 610
Front end Loader 1723 634 000 19-Jun-15 568 15 000 (14,432) Burnt 27/8/15 – –
Front end Loader 1724 634 000 19-Jun-15 1 684 15 000 (13,316) 17-03-16 925 –
Front end Loader 1725 634 000 19-Jun-15 6 558 15 000 (8,442) Available 20 125 37 085
Wheel Dozer 1729 598 000 19-Jun-15 5 122 15 000 (9,878) 13-11-18 75 538 8 483
Wheel Dozer 1730 598 000 19-Jun-15 3 698 15 000 (11,302) Available – –

56.2.   BEML EQUIPMENT 

56.2.1. The Beml equipment was acquired from India. As indicated in the table below some of the equipment is no longer working yet it did not reach its expected useful life span. One of the excavators was burnt due to technical fault, it had lapsed its warranty period. A team from HCCL went to India to appreciate the equipment. We were not able to get the report for the fact finding by the team, the Engineering Services Manager said he never saw the report.

                            2018 Repairs and fuels

Asset category fleet no Price Date commisioned Hours worked Expecte d life (Under)/ over Status/ Breakdown date fuels and oils materials

Water Bowser 1733 350 000 01-06-15 9 063 15 000 (5,937) Available 71,622.49 63,215.85
Water Bowser 1734 350 000 01-06-15 2 991 15 000 (12,009) 20-05-16 – 30,953.92
Grader 1735 440 000 01-06-15 3 242 15 000 (11,758) Available 36,287.84 12,340.26
Tyre Handler 1736 312 000 01-06-15 1 135 15 000 (13,865) Available 3,570.19 1,280.01
Crawler Excavator 1737 2 180 000 01-06-15 5 309 15 000 (9,691) Burnt on 26/7/17 – –
Crawler Excavator 1738 2 180 000 01-06-15 5 169 15 000 (9,831) 06-04-17 – –
Bull Dozer 1743 590 000 01-06-15 6 229 15 000 (8,771) Available 106,088.00 105,018.45
Bull Dozer 1744 590 000 01-06-15 4 904 15 000 (10,096) 05-03-18 16,252.67 381.35
FRONT END LOADER 1726 1 333 500 01-06-15 7 796 15 000 (7,204) Available 14,361.33 4,456.16
FRONT END LOADER 1727 1 333 500 01-06-15 2 030 15 000 (12,970) 04-07-16 – –
FRONT END LOADER 1728 1 333 500 01-06-15 3 632 15 000 (11,368) Available 6,480.49 –
Bull Dozer 1742 590 000 01-06-15 2 223 15 000 (12,777) 14-08-16 – –
WHEEL DOZER 1731 478 000 01-06-15 1 951 15000 (13,049) 19-04-17 – –

  1. SEARCH FOR HIDDEN GIFTS/KICKBACKS OR PRACTICES OF A CORRUPT NATURE THROUGH THIRD PARTIES

Invariably, the new approach to receiving kickbacks involves officials of an entity receiving gifts which are paid through third parties or through companies owned by directors of favoured companies

57.1. We undertook some searches for corrupt related gifts which originated out of HCCL inwards through relatives of executives but for the ultimate consummation of the executives

57.2. The exercise could not be completed therefore Internal Audit deparment should make follow ups

57.3. As part of search for kickbacks/working from outside inwards we inquired of Central Vehicle Registry of new vehicle registrations in the names of HCCL executives or their wives. Annexure 38

57.4. Two Ranger cars were noted, one AEF5484 came from Botswana and the other one came from South
Africa. One was registered in the name of a wife of a suspended executive. Annexure 39

57.5. Internal Auditor needs to follow up on the Ford Ranger vehicles to a concusive level and

57.6. Establish the source of the funds in Botswana and the source in South Africa through official banking channels of those countries then confirm whether the Ranger Vehicles were not purchased by any one of the contracted companies for the personal benefit of some HCCL executives.

57.7. It was noted that the wife of the executive does not appear to have been in employment at the time of sourcing the car

57.8. We inquired of ZIMRA whether the wife of the executive had taxable income or not

57.9. ZIMRA keeps this information conficentially, in accordance with ethical rules of their profession

57.10. Due to the nature of this mandate, unlike an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act, we could not go deeper with that transaction to investigate the following;

57.10.1.    The name of the supplier of the vehicles 
57.10.2.    What was the price? 
57.10.3.    Where did the foreign currency to buy the Ranger cars come from? 
57.10.4.    What bank account in South Africa did the money come from? 
57.10.5.    Who are the owners or directors of that entity in South Africa if an entity? 
57.10.6.    Is the payer one of the suppliers to  or customers of HCCL? 
57.10.7.    What relationship is there between the wife of the executive and the payer? 
  1. LEGACY ISSUES

58.1. The following are legacy issues which arose prior to 2013, and reference is made to them from time to time in discussions pertaining bad management. We have not attempted to go into periods prior to
2013, where it relates to prior to 2013 as this was outside our mandate

58.1.1. HCGC matter
58.1.2. Some of of the Palehouse matters
58.1.3. Some of the Turbo Mining matters

58.1.3.1. The legacy matters should not preoccupy the Board as they are irreversible and irrelevant to the resuscitation of the mine viability and commenced prior to 2012
58.1.3.2. The legacy issues are spillovers into the period under current review and to be dealt with by management
58.1.3.3. What is relevant to resuscitation of HCCL viability among other things are;

58.1.3.3.1. Accounting for full production
58.1.3.3.2. Accounting for full sales

  1. REVIEW OF INSURANCE COVER

59.1. HCCL has insurance cover through CELL Insurance

59.2. CELL Insurance Company Limited is a short term insurance company in Zimbabwe

59.3. HCCL is covered as follows:

Maximum     Cell Insurance  Re-insurance cover 
Cover Limit     Retention   Surplus Treaty 
            USD         %           % 

59.3.1.     Assets all risks            6 673 248-00      44.96%            55.04% 
59.3.2.     Plant all risks             1 531 644-44    100%            Nil 
59.3.3.     Directors/officers liability       250 000-00   100%            Nil 
59.3.4.     Motor Fleet                180 000-00     55.56%            44.04% 
59.3.5.     Marine Cargo               624 190-00     80.10%            19.90% 

59.3.5.1.   Relevant Annexure 45 

59.3.6. A review of the insured Plant under the all risks cover relates to imported equipment for which HCCL pays a premium of USD153 048-03 per annum for the Plant all risks only, whereas the total premium for all risks is USD253 000.

59.3.7. The equipment has no spares available locally

59.3.8. The balance sheet of CELL Insurance per statistics held by IPEC does not seem to provide comfort nor demonstrate persuasive capacity to cover Plant All risks 100%, given that CELL
Insurance also covers other large mines and corporates in its portfolio, such as;

59.3.8.1. MIMOSA MINING
59.3.8.2. ZIMASCO
59.3.8.3. Bilboes Holdings

59.3.8.3.1. Refer Annexure 46

59.3.9. The equipment needs foreign currency to buy and there is no guarantee that CELL Insurance has foreign currency or will secure foreign currency, especially since it does not receive premiums in foreign currency.

  1. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HCCL BUSINESS AND ITS ENVIRONMENT (PESTEL MATTERS) POST INVESTIGATION

60.1. There are weaknesses in the value chain management / inadequate segregation of duties in key areas
i.e. Procurement function, IT & Finance where one person has overall responsibility

60.2. There are Senior management possibilities of conflict of interest in contracts

60.3. For years the finance function was managed by unregistered accountants/ unprofessional accountants (IFAC definition applies)

60.4. Inadequate working capital matters e.g. the Company struggles to pay ZIMRA

60.5. Coal is sold to ZPC at uneconomical prices, prima facie, reducing overall profitability

60.6. Deferred loss of employment costs are not currently recognised in financial reporting

60.7. There is an imbalance between non-executive directors and executive directors at board level

60.8. Prior to the Scheme of Arrangement, the Board and Management for a long time were seized with issues of very many matters before the courts

60.9. The mine can be a subject of liquidation given the precarious financial position

60.10. Inadequate planned maintenance at the mine

60.11. Unclear cut offs in contracts of supply, short term going into long term without documentation

60.12.  Challenges ahead 

60.12.1. Lack of goal congruence in shareholders
60.12.2. Possibilities of self interest in key management
60.12.3. The Board may not have enough information about the goings on in the company/ poor communication channels
60.12.4. Inadequate corporate governance
60.12.5. High overheads and inadequate working capital
60.12.6. Possibilities of inadequate skills
60.12.7. Shrunk domestic market and increased competition (eg. From Makomo Resources) 60.12.8. High level of debts
60.12.9. Possibilities of potentially corrupt and selfish officials/managers
60.12.10. Not well thought out projects causing fruitless and wasteful expenditure
60.12.11. Lack of commitment/lack of implementation will
60.12.12. Wrong business model/company model inappropriate (Hospital and Estates)
60.12.13. High cost of production, coupled with some old mining equipment (Dragline) and poor financial reporting technology
60.12.14. Mismatch between skills and experience (particularly engineering)
60.12.15. Accountability and poor performance management
60.12.16. High overheads and inadequate plan to allocation of resources
60.12.17. Threats of substitutes (Use of other forms of heating)
60.12.18. Culture change, low worker morale/disgruntled employees
60.12.19. Proliferation of low cost producers in the vicinity of HCCL

60.13.  HCCL some critical success factors for consideration 

60.13.1. Acquisition of additional coal reserves in Western areas
60.13.2. Use of low cost ERP
60.13.3. Recapitalisation of the business
60.13.4. Shift towards higher value product, Coking coal
60.13.5. Market consolidation and expansion
60.13.6. Reclaimation of lost market
60.13.7. New markets penetration strategies required – including exports
60.13.8. Review the business model
60.13.9. Skills review
60.13.10. Training and development
60.13.11. Retention of reliable personnel
60.13.12. Restructure the organization
60.13.13. Review corporate governance system
60.13.14. Improve planning and implementation
60.13.15. Resolution of disputes with disgruntled work force
60.13.16. Handling of employee relations

60.14. HCCL strengths

60.14.1. Loyal workforce
60.14.2. Expertise
60.14.3. Skills base
60.14.4. Still pays competitive remuneration levels
60.14.5. Sound training infrastructure
60.14.6. Currently using up to date underground mining technology (Continuous miner)
60.14.7. Some good quality coal
60.14.8. Good systems and procedures
60.14.9. ERP system needs improvement
60.14.10. ISO & QMS
60.14.11. Dragline, though old appears it is still an accepted mode of equipment?
60.14.12. Well established infrastructure
60.14.13. Health facilities

60.15. HCCL weaknesses

60.15.1. Unethical management who pay bribes
60.15.2. Cannot fix a good price for HPS Coal
60.15.3. Industrial disharmony resulting from the rotting of the fish’s head
60.15.4. Poor capital planning (Looking for more than is required)
60.15.5. Procurement from middlemen
60.15.6. Weak balance sheet
60.15.7. Not satisfying customers in terms of quality and volume
60.15.8. Low staff morale
60.15.9. Low coal reserves
60.15.10. High cost per tonne
60.15.11. Equipment mismatches/poor selection of equipment
60.15.12. High social overheads
60.15.13. Depleted resources
60.15.14. Using small pieces of opencast equipment
60.15.15. Weak bargaining power (HPS Coal)
60.15.16. Lack of capital
60.15.17. Subdued volumes
60.15.18. Small capacity equipment
60.15.19. Loss making

60.16. Opportunities

60.16.1. Coal-bed methane Gas
60.16.2. New ZIMSTEEL
60.16.3. Underground acid water purification
60.16.4. Demand for power coal exports (SA)
60.16.5. Power generation equipment resuscitation
60.16.6. Coking coal exports
60.16.7. Turning Coal to liquid fuel
60.16.8. Active shareholders/Shareholder intervention
60.16.9. Coke oven gas
60.16.10. Coal gasification
60.16.11. Shareholder loans
60.16.12. Significant shareholder is responsible for issuing out Coal reserves
60.16.13. Availability of ready market
60.16.14. Availability of right size opencast equipment on the market
60.16.15. Coke export to the northern markets
60.16.16. ZPC expansion

60.17. Threats

60.17.1. Newspaper articles which can threaten the Scheme of Arrangement
60.17.2. Hanging litigations (though under control per strategy)
60.17.3. Distance from market
60.17.4. Failure to meet statutory obligations
60.17.5. Market liquidity
60.17.6. High cost and unreliability of logistics
60.17.7. Liquidity crunch
60.17.8. Competition
60.17.9. Country risk
60.17.10. Cost of money
60.17.11. Corporate social responsibility
60.17.12. Negative publicity
60.17.13. Key shareholders not working in harmony

Mthuli Ncube Justifies Two Percent Tax

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube says the Government will continue doing the right thing even when it’s not popular, saying the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT), popularly referred to as 2 percent, has enabled Government to attend expeditiously to the Cyclone Idai disaster and critical infrastructural work without resorting to borrowing as was the case previously.


Writing in his weekly column Professor Ncube said that Government had managed to provide a 10th of the $1 billion required to cater for non-infrastructure supplies as well as quick infrastructure rehabilitation of roads and bridges, power, communication, irrigation, housing and water and the dualisation of Norton strip of the Harare-Bulawayo Highway.


The Norton strip is expected to be opened by President Mnangagwa soon after the completion of the construction of a road over rail bridge along the same stretch, which is underway.


“From a Governmental perspective, Cyclone Idai necessitated an urgent and immediate need for resource mobilisation to mitigate against its effects and support those affected. In the past, this would have meant further Government borrowing, leading to extra debt and long term economic ramifications,” he said.


“In the past, this would have meant further Government borrowing, leading to extra debt and long term economic ramifications. But fortunately, funds from the 2 percent tax that were put aside for exactly this eventuality, and became available exactly when they were most needed. We had initially earmarked $50 million to cover the emergency requirements for mitigating the impact of such a disaster, yet due to the increased performance of the fund, we were able to increase this allocation to a much needed $100 million.

These funds are being used to help those who are most in need of our help.”
Professor Ncube said while the 2 percent levy had been handy in assisting Government to attend to pressing needs, the magnitude of the Cyclone Idai disaster and the work that is still outstanding had raised the need for long term economic planning and sobriety, even if it is unpopular.State media

Matemadanda “Undressed” In Masvingo

Farai Dziva|Controversial war veterans leader Victor Matemadanda was last week humiliated by former freedom fighters in Masvingo Province.

The war veterans openly accused Matemadanda of presenting fake liberation credentials. Matemadanda was in Masvingo Province last week where he officiated at a farming project.

Matemadanda was forced to leave the event in a huff as the few war veterans who attended the event hurled insults at him.

“Angry war veterans threatened to beat up Matemadanda for dragging their association into the mud.The former freedom fighters openly accused Matemadanda of lying about his liberation war history,” a government source said on Wednesday.

Former Highlanders Boss Launches Ministry


A YEAR after leaving Highlanders to concentrate on his pastoral duties, former Bosso secretary-general Emmett Ndlovu held a ground breaking ceremony for his new church in the Northend suburb of Bulawayo last Saturday.


Ndlovu, who served the club for 21 years in various capacities, starting as team physiotherapist before being appointed manager, is the founding pastor of the Centre of Miracles Church of Christ (CMCC).


He told Chronicle Sport that he doesn’t harbour prospects of returning to ‘sports administration’ as he was enjoying his new clergy role.Ndlovu said he had to leave Highlanders to give “undivided” attention to his “new calling”, which he first pursued in 2013, two years before being voted Highlanders’ secretary-general, taking over from Andrew Tapela.

“In pursuit of my calling in 2013, I went on a prayer fasting programme for three days and three nights. On the third day, from about 3PM to 6PM, I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit and I was given a commission; I was launched into the ministry fulltime. That is the reason I had to take a break from the sporting world to pursue this new calling.


However, more importantly is the mere fact that I didn’t sit down to think or plan it and say now I want to do this, it was a calling and I could not resist. Like Jonah who was sent to Nineveh and he went to Tarshish, so many times I tried to resist, but there came a point where I just couldn’t resist and had to do it,” Ndlovu said.


He is excited about his new found love.“When I was given this vision, I was also given the name of the ministry, Centre of Miracles Church of Christ (CMCC). Somebody may ask, is it about miracles or gospel of prosperity since we are seeing an upsurge of these new ministries that are preaching and teaching the gospel of prosperity. We’re not teaching the gospel of prosperity, so to speak, but we are talking about the gospel of purity.State media

Bosso Ready To Take On Caps


HIGHLANDERS will go all out for goals when they go on a collision course with Caps United at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow in a clear declaration of their rules of engagement in this Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match.


With the encounter likely to be witnessed by a bumper crowd after the two teams’ sponsors, Netone, undertook to go ’50-50’ with the paying fans, Bosso might, come end of 90 minutes, be swimming in double delight – points and a fat bank balance – at least if it all goes according to the wishes of the technical team.


“We are going all out for goals on Sunday and hopefully that will help us win the match, even though we know that Caps United too want those three points,” said assistant coach Bekithemba “Super” Ndlovu.


He said they have been working hard at training to try and make sure the boys convert the numerous chances that they have been creating in the two major friendlies they had and the season opener against Black Rhinos in Harare last Saturday.


“We need to defend well too because we are playing against an experienced side with speedy forwards but we really hope that with the game plan we have put up, we will be able to score one, two or more goals,” said the former Bosso skipper, a veteran of many bruising battles during his illustrious career at both club and national team level.State media

Mnangagwa Praises Opposition Parties For Heeding Call For Unity

Zimbabwean political leaders yesterday rose above their political persuasions and showed the world that they can work together for the country’s common good after they toured the Cyclone Idai-ravaged districts of Chipinge and Chimanimani as a team to assess the damage.


At least 18 leaders of political parties that are taking part in the national dialogue visited almost all the areas that were affected by Cyclone Idai in the two areas and witnessed the work being undertaken by the Government to rebuild damaged infrastructure.


President Mnangagwa, who led the high-powered delegation, visited Nhedziwa and Machongwe areas before delivering a keynote address at Ngangu Township in Chimanimani.


In his address, the President hailed the unity showed by the political parties in face of the natural disaster which required all Zimbabweans to come together to assist the affected communities.


Said President Mnangagwa: “Zimbabwe is a unitary State. We are one people. We are a democracy. Our Constitution allows anybody to create a political movement of any sort in the country. This is why in the last election we had 123 parties. It’s a symbol of thriving democracy in our country. However, 23 of the political parties including my political party contested for the Office of the President so I have invited the 23, including myself.

I am happy that when our people are faced by this tragedy we put our politics aside and approach the issue as a humanitarian that has befallen our country. Together with 18 other presidents who are here the focus is that our people have been visited by this disaster.”State media

ZRP Declares War On Child Abuse


Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga yesterday said the force will continue to roll out robust awareness campaigns through the Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) to end all kinds of child abuse countrywide. He was speaking at the 14th edition of the ZRP Primary Schools Merit Awards ceremony at Morris Depot in Harare.


The ceremony was meant to recognise, appreciate and award the outstanding 2018 annual performers drawn from the ZRP’s seven primary schools.
“I am aware that 829 students sat for 2018 Grade Seven examinations from all our police schools. From the same integer, 52 students scored five units, which is a positive improvement from the previous year’s results of 42.


“Equally pleasing is the fact that 99 students obtained six units, compared to the 76 students who obtained the same units in the 2017 academic year,” Comm-Gen Matanga said.State media

Mohadi Orders Hoteliers To Slash Prices


THE Government has directed tourism and hospitality industry operators to reduce accommodation and fees for various activities that were increased without justification or risk losing business to neighbouring countries. Vice President Kembo Mohadi had an interface with tourism players after leading the National Clean-Up Day in Victoria Falls yesterday where he implored them to review their rates.


He made reference to recent rates increase by hotels ahead of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) due later this month where Bulawayo Holiday Inn hiked its rates by 5 percent due to prevailing economic challenges.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry also reversed an increase in entrance and parks fees effected by the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority following an outcry by the public.


VP Mohadi said the local tourism industry is performing positively as evidenced by accolades given to the country as the destination of choice for 2019 but risks pricing itself out of the market by making its products expensive.


“The awards given to Zimbabwe through international ratings are clear indicators of the good work by the Zimbabwe tourism industry and being resilient and working tirelessly in increasing the visibility of Brand Zimbabwe on the global arena.


“However, all these good intentions and efforts you have collectively achieved may come to nought if the issue of pricing is not corrected. As Government we view the recent price hikes for the 2019 ZITF as irresponsible and unjustified especially in Bulawayo. I therefore would want to urge you our captains of tourism and hospitality industry to review your costing structure so that you are not writing off all these accolades and pricing yourselves out of the regional competition and in the process affecting the development of domestic tourism,” said VP Mohadi.State media

50 Girls Raped In Mat-South In 3 Months

Police in Matabeleland South have released shocking rape statistics showing that 50 girls and women were sexually abused in Bulilima and Mangwe districts between January and March.

Officer Commanding Bulilima and Mangwe districts, Chief Superintendent Cde Kenneth Thebe, released the statistics during an anti-crime campaign held in Bhagani, Bulilima district.

“Between January and March we recorded 50 rape cases with some of the incidents involving minors. We had a case where a 29-year-old man raped a four-year-old girl who is his neighbour. In another incident a 30-year-old man raped a five-year-old child while another seven-year-old was raped by a 30-year-old man,” said Chief Supt Thebe during the campaign last week.

He said Bhagani area in Bulilima District recorded most of the rape cases with 15 incidents while Plumtree Town and Sikhathini area recorded 10 cases each.

Chief Supt Thebe said other cases were recorded in Dombodema, Matjinge and Zimnyama.

“Other cases of concern are domestic violence incidents as we also received 50 reported cases as well. Most of these cases were recorded in Plumtree Town where we received 30 cases and Bhagani where eight cases were reported. Other lower figures were reported in Dombodema, Sikhathini and Zimnyama areas,” said Chief Supt Thebe.

He said other crimes recorded include cases of people having sex with minors, indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault.

Speaking during the same event, Bulilima West MP Dingumuzi Phuthi said women have been on the receiving end.

“Crimes that include rape, assault, and domestic violence among others have been a thorn in the flesh not for us alone but the entire district. I must say studies have indicated that even men are victims of such crimes. Women, especially the girl child, has been on the receiving end,” said Cde Phuthi.

He said concerted efforts are needed if the country is to decisively deal with the crimes.

Cde Phuthi said he was disturbed when 15-year-old girl from Phumuza Village was filmed being attacked by two older men.

“There is a disturbing social media clip that went viral of our own child who was being brutally assaulted some few weeks back. One wonders what has come into the minds of our fellow citizens. These are some of the dreadful crimes of passion that we continue to record in our communities. I am pleased to say the local police reacted swiftly to the clip and arrested the perpetrators,” he said.

Community leaders, the business community and villagers were part of the gathering. – state media

MIRACLE ESCAPE: Woman, Baby Jump For 1st Floor Room

A woman from Sizinda suburb in Bulawayo threw her six-month-old baby and jumped together with her mother from their first floor room when it caught fire at Sizinda Flats yesterday morning.

The baby escaped without a scratch after a neighbour Ms Betty Phiri managed to catch her before she hit the ground but the two women fractured their legs.

The incident occurred at about 9AM. The woman and her mother were rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital where they are admitted. Ms Phiri said the woman did not warn anyone that she was throwing the child through the window.

“I can’t say I planned to catch the child because I was coming from the neighbourhood when I saw smoke coming from the window of their bedroom.When I was still trying to comprehend what was happening, I heard screams coming from their room as the baby’s mother shouted that they were being consumed by fire,” said Ms Phiri.

She said that when she looked up, she saw the mother dangling the infant by the window and then seconds later she released the child.

“I don’t know how I reacted but I just saw the child in my hands and up to now I don’t know how I did it. It was really a miracle that saved the child and Iam still shocked with what happened,” she said.

Ms Phiri said after dropping the child, the child’s mother and her own mother jumped through the same window and they both sustained fractured legs. She said the three were rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital while neighbours assisted the Bulawayo Fire Brigade to put out the fire.

A Chronicle news crew tracked the family members to Mpilo Central Hospital but they refused to speak about the issue saying it was a private matter. They also refused to give their names.

Bulawayo acting Chief Fire Officer Mr Edward Mpofu said the two women panicked after the fire broke out hence they jumped through the window instead of using the door to escape.

He said the fire was started by a boy who could be three years old who used a stick of matches to torch some clothes in the wardrobe- state media

ZINARA Bosses Refuse To Answer Parliament Questions

Executives from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration face contempt of Parliament charges after they refused to answer questions when they appeared before the Public Accounts Committee yesterday.

The Zinara management team that appeared before the committee comprised acting chief executive Mathlene Mujokoro, finance director Simon Taranhike and former human resources director, Mr Precious Murove.

The questions arose from forensic audit report produced by Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants after being commissioned by the Auditor-General Mrs Mildred Chiri.

Mrs Mujokoro declined to answer the questions arguing they wanted to get a legal opinion on whether parliament was empowered to deal with the report since clause 6:1 of the audit report states that it (the report) was solely for the use by the AG and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.

Read the section: “This report has been produced solely for the use of the Auditor General of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.

“It contains privileged information and should not be quoted in whole or in part without prior written consent. This report should therefore not be used for any other purposes.”

However, following deliberations, the chairperson of the committee Mr Tendai Biti said the conduct by the Zinara management was unacceptable. “We find that conduct to be totally abominable, totally unacceptable, totally reprehensible. Parliament is an institution of the State which in terms of section 119 of the Constitution has power of oversight over Government, over any institution in Zimbabwe,” he said.

“This Committee has a special power that it is given under section 299 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and it is the power to determine how public funds are used and how revenue is collected. So we consider your refusal to answer our questions as serious obstruction of the powers and functions of Parliament where we are discussing matters where there is serious evidence of abuse of public funds by Zinara.”

Mr Biti added that the committee felt that the conduct by Zinara management was a deliberate attempt to protect corruption but more unforgiving as an attempt to emasculate and muzzle the independence of Parliament.

He added that they would write to the Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda for action to be taken.

“Subsection 4 of the Schedule to the Privileges and Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act states that it is a crime to refuse to answer to any lawful and relevant question by Parliament or a Committee.

“We are therefore going to write to Parliament through the Speaker of Parliament. We are going to make strong recommendations for sanctions and penalties against yourself (Mrs Mujokoro), against the finance director and the former director of administration and against Zinara,” said Mr Biti.

The audit report revealed rampant abuse of funds at the road administration including awarding of contracts without going to tender, payments to companies that have not carried out any work while senior managers received allowances not provided for in their contracts. – state media

Armed Robbers Raid Chinese Firm, Steal $6K

Five armed robbers pounced on a Chinese- owned steel making company in Bulawayo and assaulted workers before robbing the company of more than US$6 000 and a safe with an undisclosed amount of money in different currencies.

The robbers who were armed with a pistol, knives and iron bars, stole the company’s Amarok car valued at US$45 000 and used it as a getaway car.

The robbery occurred on Thursday at about 5.15PM at Naisonale Investments situated in Kelvin West industrial site near Plus Five Pharmacies. Naisonale Investments is one of the city’s thriving steel companies.

The armed robbers allegedly threatened to shoot the workers if they dared resist orders as they rounded them up while assaulting them.

Bulawayo police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Precious Simango, confirmed the armed robbery yesterday.

“Police in Bulawayo are investigating a case of armed robbery which occurred in Kelvin West Bulawayo on April 4, 2019 at about 5.15PM. Five unknown accused persons pounced on the complainant’s premises armed with a pistol. The accused persons produced the pistol and ordered five employees into one office. The accused persons further demanded cash, cellphones, car keys and safe keys from the complainant,” said Chief Insp Simango.

She said after robbing the employees and managers of cash, cellphones, car keys and safe keys, the robbers also took away a safe which had cash whose value is unknown.

“They went away with cash US$6 529, R2 155, RTGS $1 484, five cellphones valued at RTGS $615 and an unknown amount which was in the safe. A report was made at Western Commonage Police Station and officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) homicide attended the scene and no recoveries or arrests were made,” she said.

Chief Insp Simango urged companies to avoid keeping large sums of money at their premises as doing so puts them at risk of being robbed.

The company was closed when the Chronicle news crew visited the premises yesterday.

One of the managers who identified himself as Mr Murairwa spoke to the news crew through a small opening at the gate.

He said his bosses had not cleared him to speak to the press but however said the raid happened so fast that it was difficult to explain the sequence of events.

“They were just too fast as they moved into our premises while others waited outside. I cannot say how many they were but what I know is that they assaulted our Chinese bosses demanding cash,” he said

Mr Murairwa said one of his bosses was hit with the butt of a pistol on the head while the other one was stabbed on the buttocks with a knife.

“They were both rushed to Mater Dei Hospital where they are receiving treatment. The armed robbers drove away in the Amarok car which they later abandoned in the city,” he said.

Mr Murairwa, who seemed to be in a hurry said he did not know how much was stolen.

“There are some CID homicide detectives who are investigating the robbery, I’m very busy,” said Mr Murairwa, as he left the news crew.

Violent Mohadi Resurfaces In Vic Falls

Kembo Mohadi

The Government has directed tourism and hospitality industry operators to reduce accommodation and fees for various activities that were increased without justification or risk losing business to neighbouring countries.

Vice President Kembo Mohadi who beat up his ex wife in Beitbridge last week had an interface with tourism players after leading the National Clean-Up Day in Victoria Falls yesterday where he implored them to review their rates.

He made reference to recent increase of rates by hotels ahead of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) due later this month where Bulawayo Holiday Inn hiked its rates by five percent citing prevailing economic challenges.

Early this week, the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry also reversed an increase in entrance and parks fees effected by the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority following an outcry from members of the public.

VP Mohadi said the local tourism industry is performing positively as evidenced by accolades given to the country as the destination of choice for 2019 but risks pricing itself out of the market by making its products expensive.

“The awards given to Zimbabwe through international ratings are clear indicators of the good work by the Zimbabwe tourism industry and they should continue to be resilient and working tirelessly to improve the visibility of brand Zimbabwe on the global arena.

“However, all these good intentions and efforts you have collectively achieved may come to naught if the issue of pricing is not corrected. As Government we view the recent price hikes for the 2019 ZITF as irresponsible and unjustified especially in Bulawayo. I therefore would want to urge you our captains of tourism and hospitality industry to review your costing structure so that you are not writing-off all these accolades and pricing yourselves out of the regional competition and in the process affecting development of domestic tourism,” said VP Mohadi.

He said Government is not ignorant of the challenges faced by each economic sector in the country as it is committed to taking the country towards the middle income economy by 2030.

He implored operators to partner Government in repositioning the economy.

“We’re in this together and we would want to have more accolades from international organisations that have something to do with tourism and attract more visitors. I would like to call upon you to be price sensitive and responsible when doing your pricing because we would not want our destination to continue being viewed as expensive hence we must work together to build a brand that we will all be proud of,” said VP Mohadi.

He commended the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry for reversing entrance fees into parks and Rainforest saying this was a demonstration of Government’s commitment to the Zimbabwe is open for business mantra.

Environment Minister Prisca Mupfumira and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority acting chief executive Mrs Rita Likukuma reiterated the same sentiments in their speeches.

Mrs Likukuma said exorbitant pricing in the tourism sector is a serious issue that needs urgent attention, especially at a time when some tourists now preferred visiting neighbouring countries where it is cheaper. Even for conferences, some delegates prefer to stay in Livingstone in Zambia and travel by road to attend the conference.

There are reports that some exhibitors for the upcoming ZTIF have opted to stay in Francistown, Botswana and drive close to 200 km to Bulawayo to avoid high accommodation rates.

Meanwhile, VP Mohadi said the country has managed to dispel negative publicity bent on tarnishing its image saying the influx of tourists was a sign that the country is on a positive trajectory.- state media

Another Xenophobia Scare As S.A Minister Says There Is No Need To Employ Foreign Truck Drivers, Country Has No Shortage

Transport minister Blade Nzimande and KZN transport MEC Mxolisi Kaunda ahead of their press briefing with the media in Durban on April 4, 2019.
Transport minister Blade Nzimande and KZN transport MEC Mxolisi Kaunda ahead of their press briefing with the media in Durban on April 4, 2019.

Transport minister Blade Nzimande has dismissed claims that there is a shortage of truck drivers in SA that require “rare skills” – a claim which has led to the trucking industry hiring foreign nationals.

Nzimande addressed the media in Durban on Thursday amid ongoing negotiations with truck owners and truck driver associations following a spate of volatile protests. Trucks were burnt on the N3 freeway in KwaZulu-Natal, affecting thousands of motorists, during the protest action.

The protests stemmed from the alleged hiring of foreign drivers in the transport industry.

Nzimande provided feedback to members of various truck driving associations following preliminary investigations conducted by a task team formed to deal with the matter. 

He emphasised that the dispute was solely between employers and employees of the trucking industry and was one that need to be addressed by the department of labour moving forward.

Nzimade listed some of the key recommendations that were compiled by the task team. 

“There must be an enhancement of existing law enforcement operations by the various departments. There must also be workshops and security plans on how to enforce what are essentially our laws which include labour laws as well as other laws that relate to employment of workers and in particular employment of foreign nationals.”

He added that the proper processes should be followed in terms of such laws.

“There must be proof that the skills we are importing are scarce and not to be found. We don’t believe that that is a shortage of skills as far as truck drivers are concerned. Let’s say there were for the sake of argument, it’s not rocket science to actually train truck drivers.

“It’s an issue that the department of transport is constantly looking into and that is why the minister of labour said they are not aware of any applications as per the law. If I need a particular kind of skill and it is not in South Africa I need to apply to the minister of labour and home affairs, but there has been no application for truck drivers,” he said. 

Some other key recommendations made by the government- led task team were:

• Unannounced regular visits and inspections to the premises’ of truck owners, operators and logistic companies. 

• The strengthening of the process of validation and verification of immigration and visa documentation – including work permits and foreign drivers’ licences.

• The department of labour and home affairs must provide feedback on their analysis and impact of foreign nationals living or working in SA. 

Siphesihle Muthwa of the National Truck Drivers Federation said he distanced himself from the fiery protests along the N3, saying that as an organistation they would never fuel such violence.

He said South African truck drivers had the skills and yet were sitting at home unemployed. 

“We are saying it is enough now, it is enough. We can’t carry on like this.”

Muthwa painted a grim picture of foreign national truck drivers, listing a number of fatal accidents that they were responsible for. 

“In Nottingham Road, N3, we had an accident there that was a foreign driver pulling a container – five people died on the scene. The foreign driver ran away. In Heidelberg the truck driver [sic] was driving to Ladysmith, he hit a taxi there, 12 people died on the scene, the foreign driver ran away.

“N11, Fort Mistake, foreign national driver collided head on with a taxi [sic], nine people died, foreign driver ran away. Tugela, next to Engen garage there was an accident there, 11 people died – foreign national was driving, he ran away.”

He concluded by reminding the media about the incident on Fields Hill in Pinetown, Durban, when 21 people were killed when Swazi national Sanele May ploughed into a number of vehicles, an incident which made international headlines and resulted in May receiving an eight-year prison sentence. 

Kwazulu-Natal MEC for transport, community safety and liaison Mxolisi Kaunda concluded by praising the ministers of police, home affairs and transport who all convened in Durban on Wednesday and Thursday to resolve the matter. 

Times Live

LIVE: UK Link With Details To Donate Clothes, Blankets To Cyclone Idai Victims

Below is a UK map for Zimbabweans to drop off their donations for dispatching to Zimbabwe. This follows a facility to ZimEye readers by the South African airliner, SAA this week. The donations are set to be sent off next week. On Saturday a van will travel across Birmingham, London, Oxford before delivering at the storage area. To donate, contact ZimEye
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Have You Ever Received An International Call Reflecting A Local Number? ITS SIMBOX FRAUD, Netone Cries Out.

Have you ever received an international call, whose quality was very poor, a lot of delays, and most importantly, the number calling you appeared as a local call instead of the international format? Well, some fraudster is fraudulently making that call possible using a Simbox. And Simbox fraud seem to be on the rise (or its happening) judging by messages Netone is sending its customers.

What’s Simbox fraud

A SIM box fraud is a setup in which fraudsters uses a device with several ports for SIM cards to connect international calls through it. In essence, the fraudster connects international calls through local phone numbers (of th country which they are operating) to make it appear as if the call is a local call. This way, fraudsters bypass all international interconnect charges.

You probably remember that in 2014 a certain Bulawayo guy was found operating a sim box that used 164 lines from all three Mobile Network Operators (MNO). The network operator whose SIM cards were used to connect the calls in Zimbabwe only get paid for a local call rate because the call was rerouted through a local SIM card. Then the fraudsters receive the international charges for rerouted calls.

So clearly the fraudsters deny MNOs from benefiting from international phone calls which bring them foreign currency that they desperately need in at this point of time in Zimbabwe.

However, this is not a problem that’s exclusive to Zimbabwe only. It is estimated that Africa loses over 150 million US dollars every year to interconnection frauds. And when we combine Africa and the rest of the world, the loss in revenue to MNOs is, not surprisingly, billions.

Causes of simbox fraud

More often than not, the problem is prevalent in countries where the incoming international traffic rates are high and controls are lax in terms of availability of SIMs. However, it’s not necessarily countries with high incoming traffic rates experience this fraud, but even those with competitevely low rates are hit with simbox fraud.

So I believe the availability of SIM cards at cheaper prices and the lack of law enforcement over the sale of prepaid SIM cards is the real issue that’s making Simbox fraud thrive in all countries, be it a country with cheap rates or high rates.

Is there any danger for the caller or receiver Simbox fraud call?

Apart from the poor quality of the call, there isn’t any clearly identified danger to the caller or receiver of a such a call connection.

Are MNOs detecting this fraud? And is it it on the rise?


To begin with, SIM boxes are programmed to mimic the activities of a normal call user. Couple that with the growing sophistication around SIM box technologies and the fraudsters getting smarter to outfox local operators, detecting Simbox fraud is getting way harder these days. Therefore its hard to really determine if Simbox fraud is on the rise because even the MNOs themselevs are failing to detect it. But rest assured the practice is happening in Zim.

Techzim

Chiwenga Brings In Chinese Army, Whats The Motive?

China is reportedly planning to station an elite special force from it’s red army in Zimbabwe, as Beijing moves to crystalize military cooperation with Harare, amid growing fears that the Asian powerhouse has formally approved plans to commence construction of an underground military base in the country, Spotlight Zimbabwe, can exclusively reveal.

The Telescope News, first broke the story about China’s planned secret state of the art underground base in the diamond rich Marange fields in eastern Zimbabwe in December 2014, which was going to be equipped with advanced radar systems, an operational control tower and other world class aviation technology facilities. Our disclosures resulted in a United States panel on Africa interrogating the matter during a hearing on Zimbabwe by the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations in 2015, thus raising alarm in Washington which was worried about China’s growing influence in Africa.

California Congresswoman, Karen Bass, went on to seek clarification on the issue from then U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Dr Shannon Smith, who had returned from a visit in Harare, but she was not provided with a direct answer.

The new mystrey of China’s red army’s special force stationing in Zimbabwe, also comes barely a year when Spotlight Zimbabwe, reported that China has reportedly deployed and installed a dreaded new generation of surface-to- air missiles (SAM) in the country. Experts say the SAM technology is similar to the one, which Beijing deployed to the South China Sea on Woody Island, comprising of her latest HQ-9 missiles.

It is thought that the special force, is primarily concerned with protecting China’s new military base in Zimbabwe, her huge diamond claims and gold mines across the country, where some of the SAM technology is believed to be installed.

According to a former minister with a security related portfolio in one of ex-leader President Robert Mugabe’s administrations, whose story has been corroborated by Asian diplomatic sources in South Africa, China has been working on sending her special military force to Zimbabwe since 2014 “to offer technical assistance and support” to the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), and an agreement was finally reached the following year between the two countries through their defence ministries and army leadership, but Mugabe called it off on the eleventh hour, after accusing the Chinese of corruption, and the plunder of diamonds in Marange.

Mugabe it is also now coming to light, had become suspicion of his then deputy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s relationship with China, and that he was courting their support to replace him under the guise of war games and military exchanges with the red army.

“They (China) have been itching to set a permanent military presence in this country, to protect their vast economic interests here but Mugabe was resisting the overtures,” said the former cabinet minister. “Although the cover argument was around offering technical assistance and support to our armed forces, it later became clear that Mnangagwa had his own agreement and arrangements with China. This infuriated Mugabe, and it was also during the same period Mnangagwa had first travelled to China as vice president, holding high level meetings which his boss had not fully been briefed on. The incident increased Mugabe’s political mistrust for Mnangagwa, whom he suspected was presenting himself to President Xi Jinping, as the best political actor to secure China’s investments in Zimbabwe after he steps down. The rest is history. Mnangagwa has since invited China back to mine diamonds in Marange, and their special force has received the greenlight from vice president Rtd General, Constatino Chiwenga, to find a station in the country. Now there is every reason to believe that Mugabe’s November 2017 ouster, could have been a result of China viewing his stay in power as a threat to their economic investments, especially after having stripped them of diamond mining rights.”

The Communist Party of China, invited Mnangagwa to visit Beijing from July 6 to 10 2015. During this stay, he met business leaders and senior ruling party and government officials including former Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao.

Zimbabwe is a hotbed of Chinese investments topping billions of dollars across key economic sectors of mining, agriculture, and telecommunications. Chinese businessmen are involved in farming formerly white-owned commercial farms, and Beijing has won a contract to construct the country’s new capital city in Mount Hampden, including a new parliament to be built at a cost of US$46million.

Diplomatic sources said VP Chiwenga was allegedly at the heart of consenting to China bringing in their elite force to set camp in Zimbabwe.

“The main protagonist is your vice president,” said one of the envoys based in Pretoria. “VP Chiwenga has remained in regular contact with top officials from the People’s Liberation Army. He met with Chinese defence minister in 2015, when he was the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander, where stronger cooperation was forged and an agreement signed to have the special force come to Zimbabwe. It also blends well with his ambitions to takeover power, when his time comes. The army unit headed for Zimbabwe comes from China’s special ground force called PLASF (People’s Liberation Army Special Operations Forces).”

Army public relations staffers yesterday could neither confirm nor deny that China was about to deploy a special force in the country.

spotlight zimbabwe

Women’s Organisations Breaks Silence On Kembo Mohadi Violence

By Own Correspondent| The Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) has urged responsible authorities to treat cases of violence with high priority.

The statement, was in connection with allegations of violence allegedly committed by Vice President Kembo Mohadi against his former wife Tambudzani Mohadi on the 30th of March 2019 in Beitbridge.

The Women’s rights group called upon the judiciary to:

“…treat all cases of violence against women and girls with high priority and ensure that justice is served at all times.”

WCOZ also reiterated its call for ending violence against women noting that they also have a right to live a life free of violence.

The group strongly condemned any form of violence at all levels.

In relation to the presence of members of the police force, WCOZ said:

“It has also been reported that such shocking acts were committed in the presence of members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). We believe that these are very serious allegations which require urgent investigations and due process of the law.”

Mnangagwa Set To Appoint More MDC Leaders Into Government

James Maridadi appointed as an Ambassador

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa plans to appoint more opposition officials to key government positions notwithstanding his continuing brawl with MDC boss Nelson Chamisa – who has adamantly refused to recognise him as Zimbabwe’s legitimate leader, the Daily News reported.

This comes after the 76-year-old Zanu-PF leader appointed prominent former MDC legislator and spokesperson of the MDC’s revered late founding father Morgan Tsvangirai, James Maridadi, as one of the country’s new ambassadors – in a move which has surprised many in the country, including in Zanu-PF.

Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba told the Daily News yesterday that his boss would follow up on Maridadi’s appointment by picking more opposition officials in important government positions.

“We are on a nation-building project. We are interested in national cohesion. We are no longer concerned about political affiliations.

“He (Maridadi) is Zimbabwean and he has the qualifications. He has the qualities of a diplomat. In fact, we are going to appoint more individuals from the opposition,” he said.

Maridadi was this week selected as part of a group of ambassadors-designate who are undergoing a special induction programme meant to acquaint them with the key role of envoys.

He joined a group that included retired lieutenant generals Anselem Sanyatwe, Martin Chedondo and Douglas Nyikayaramba, as well as former vice air marshal Sheba Shumbayawonda – who are all set to take up ambassadorial roles having been retired by Mnangagwa earlier this year.

Maridadi, a former popular disc jockey, began his political career with former Finance minister Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn in 2008, before he switched over to the MDC where he was appointed Tsvangirai’s spokesperson.

He later became an MDC MP and chief of protocol during the short-lived but stability-inducing government of national unity era.

Last year, he was defeated in the MDC primary elections ahead of the July 30 national polls and subsequently also lost his long-held Mabvuku-Tafara constituency to James Chidhakwa.

Yesterday, a stunned MDC described Maridadi’s appointment as “shocking, considering tense relations between the opposition and Mnangagwa”. “It’s shocking. It’s eyebrow-raising. One wonders what he (Maridadi) did to get rewarded at this stage. We understand that the struggle for democracy is hard and long. It’s difficult for many to last the distance.

“We know that the system deploys spies to infiltrate the party, but they are going to be outed and we will always have these people that always try to get to our principals,” MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News.

Chamisa has been brawling with Mnangagwa ever since he narrowly lost last year’s hotly-disputed July 30 presidential election – whose result he vigorously challenged at the Constitutional Court (Con-Court). The youthful opposition leader even went to the extent of accusing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of manipulating the poll results in favour of the Zanu-PF leader.

But Mnangagwa’s victory was upheld by the Con-Court, which ruled that Chamisa had failed to provide evidence that he had won the election. So far, there has been no meaningful engagement between Mnangagwa and Chamisa despite the Zanu-PF leader having invited his political rivals to several meetings which the MDC leader has consistently snubbed.

Political analysts said yesterday that while it was “normal in some countries” to appoint opposition figures into key government posts, it was surprising that Mnangagwa had picked Maridadi – given the strained relations between Zanu-PF and the MDC following last year’s disputed elections.

“While it is Maridadi’s right to take his career in any path that he so chooses, the appointment raises a lot of questions on how secure the opposition is from infiltration by people who do not believe in its struggle.

“It is normal in democracies for people to be appointed from across the floor and we had (former South African president Thabo) Mbeki appointing former DA leader Tony Leon as ambassador, but let’s remember that Zimbabwe is far from being a democracy nor a politically normal country.

“Having someone appointed by a party in government that shot what I believe to be Maridadi’s political mates on 1 August 2018 baffles the mind,” political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said. “This appointment also raises questions on how political leaders can easily and seemingly abandon struggles they once stood for.

“One can imagine that if Ian Smith was as lucky as Zanu-PF, then the liberation struggle could as well have been abandoned as people jostled to take positions and goodies that come with that.

“I don’t fault Maridadi for his decision. I only question how principled our politicians are,” Mukundu added. This is not the first time that a member of the opposition has been appointed to head a foreign mission.

Ousted former president Robert Mugabe appointed the late Trudy Stevenson, Hilda Mafudze, Hebson Makuvise and Jacqueline Zwambila as ambassadors during the GNU.

While Makuvise and Zwambila’s terms ended with the expiry of the GNU, Stevenson and Mafudze remained on tour of duty in Senegal and Sudan respectively well after the unity government.

Stevenson died last year in August, while Mafudze is now returning home to make way for a new appointee.

Veteran MDC Leader Convicted Sentenced To Four Days In Prison

Dzikamai Mavhaire

Correspondent|Former Energy and power Development minister who is now one of the country’s political veterans in the opposition MDC, Dzikamai Mavhaire has been convicted and fined $20 or rot in prison for four days.

Regional Magistrate Hosea Mujaya ordered Mavhaire to pay $20 after he had ruled that Mavhaire was willingly in default.

Mavhaire was last week slapped with a warrant of arrest after he was warned to come to court as a state witness in the ZPC matter involving Stanely Kazhanje.

In his defense the former ruling ZANU PF strongman said that he thought Kazhanje wanted to drag his name into mud.

Mavhaire is to testify on the matter of Kazhanje who was arrested and brought to court on allegations that on October 23, 2015 and while he was still chairperson at ZPC signed an Engineering Procurement and Construction contract of a 100 Megawatt Solar Project with Intratrek

It is alleged that during December 11 2015 to January 20 2016, ZPC paid Intratrek $1 263 154 in advance for the implementation of the project.

However, the State alleged that Intratrek did not fulfill its obligation, resulting in the management suggesting termination of the contract.

It is further said that on 21 January 2016 and under unclear circumstances, Kazhanje allegedly received $10 000 into his personal Barclay’s Bank account from Intratrek’s CBZ bank account.

It is the state’s case that in his capacity as ZPC’s board chairperson, Kazhanje presided over a meeting where it was resolved that ZPC must pay services direct to Intratrek subcontractors instead of terminating the contract.

This resulted in ZPC paying $4 387 849 as advance payment despite the fact that Intratrek had not fulfilled its obligation.

It is the State’s case that the $10 000 deposited into Kazhanje and the subsequent resolution not to terminate Intratrek’s contract gave rise to reasonable suspicion that Kazhanje was influenced by this payment to decide in favour of Intratrek.

By so doing, the state alleged that Kazhanje failed to declare any interests upon his appointment as the ZPC chairperson.

Magistrate Mujaya ordered Mavhaire to however appear in court on 15 April to testify in the trial without fail.

ZBC Boycotts Manicaland Minister’s Event

Jane Mlambo| State broadcaster ZBC yesterday boycotted an event in which the Minister of State for Manicaland Province Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba was expected to receive donated medicines and foodstuffs from Nedbank to the cyclone idai victims in Mutare.

According to one journalist in Mutare, Kenneth Matimaire, Gwaradzimba had to delay the handover event for about an hour just because the ZBC crew was not around.

“This is despite the fact that other journalists had pitched up to cover the donation.

“After she established that the ZBC crew was not insight, she advised Nedbank staff to accompany her to her offices and give her a brief of their donation as they wait for ZBC.

“The crew never came and she had to proceed with the donation.”

Ethopian Airlines Pilots Battled Hard For Six Minutes To Rescue The Jet From Crashing, All Safety Procedures Were Executed. Black Box Report Reveals

Captain of doomed Ethiopian Airlines Yared Mulugeta was just 29
Captain of doomed Ethiopian Airlines Yared Mulugeta was just 29

Chilling black-box recordings from inside the doomed Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max cockpit paint a chilling picture of chaos as the pilots were bombarded by alarms and failure warnings for six minutes.

Almost immediately after roaring down the runway in Addis Ababa, a device called a stick shaker began vibrating the captain’s control column, warning him that the plane might be about to stall and fall from the sky.

Just one minute into Flight 302 to Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya, Captain Yared Mulugeta Gatechew, 29, reported that they were having flight-control problems.

Then the anti-stall system kicked in and pushed the nose of the plane down for nine seconds.

At times the captain and his co-pilot Ahmednur Mohammed, 25, were desperately heaving back in unison on their controls as they tried to keep the colossal jet from plummeting down.

Ethiopian authorities issued a preliminary report on Thursday following the March 10 crash that killed all 157 people on board which includes a minute-by-minute narrative of a black-box recording. 

Ethiopian police officers walk past the debris of the Ethiopian Airlines after it crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa
Ethiopian police officers walk past the debris of the Ethiopian Airlines after it crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa
Engine parts are seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight near the town of Bishoftu not far from the airport
Engine parts are seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight near the town of Bishoftu not far from the airport

Instead of climbing, the plane descended slightly. Audible warnings – ‘Don’t Sink’ – sounded in the cockpit.

The pilots fought to turn the nose of the plane up, and briefly they were able to resume climbing.  

But the automatic anti-stall system pushed the nose down again, triggering more squawks of ‘Don’t Sink’ from the plane’s ground-proximity warning system.

Following a procedure that Boeing reiterated after the Lion Air crash, the Ethiopian pilots flipped two switches and disconnected the anti-stall system, then tried to regain control.

They asked to return to the Addis Ababa airport, but were continuing to struggle getting the plane to gain altitude.

Then they broke with Boeing procedure and returned power to controls including the anti-stall system, perhaps hoping to use power to adjust a tail surface that controls the pitch up or down of a plane, or maybe out of sheer desperation.

One final time, the automated system kicked in, pushing the plane into a nose dive, according to the report.

A half-minute later, the cockpit voice recording ended, the plane crashed, and all 157 people on board were killed. The plane’s impact left a crater ten meters deep.

The preliminary report found that a malfunctioning sensor sent faulty data to the Boeing 737 Max 8’s anti-stall system and triggered a chain of events that ended in a crash so violent it reduced the plane to shards and pieces.

Rescuers work at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Rescuers work at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Wreckage is piled at the crash scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, Ethiopia
Wreckage is piled at the crash scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, Ethiopia

The pilots’ struggle, and the tragic ending, mirrored an October 29 crash of a Lion Air Max 8 off the coast of Indonesia, which killed 189 people.

The anti-stall system, called MCAS, automatically lowers the plane’s nose under some circumstances to prevent an aerodynamic stall.

Boeing acknowledged that a sensor in the Ethiopian Airlines jet malfunctioned, triggering MCAS when it was not needed. The company repeated that it is working on a software upgrade to fix the problem in its best-selling plane.

‘It’s our responsibility to eliminate this risk,’ CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a video. ‘We own it, and we know how to do it.’

Jim Hall, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the preliminary findings add urgency to re-examine the way that the Federal Aviation Administration uses employees of aircraft manufacturers to conduct safety-related tasks, including tests and inspections – a decades-old policy that raises questions about the agency’s independence.

It is now under review by the U.S. Justice Department, the Transportation Department’s inspector general and congressional committees.

‘It is clear now that the process itself failed to produce a safe aircraft,’ Hall said. ‘The focus now is to see if there were steps that were skipped or tests that were not properly done.’

The 33-page preliminary report, which is subject to change in the coming months, is based on information from the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, the so-called black boxes. 

The Max is Boeing’s newest version of its workhorse single-aisle jetliner, the 737, which dates to the 1960s. Fewer than 400 Max jets have been sent to airlines around the world, but Boeing has taken orders for 4,600 more.

Boeing delivered this particular plane, tail number ET-AVJ, to Ethiopian Airlines in November. By the day of Flight 302, it had made nearly 400 flights and been in the air for 1,330 hours – still very new by airline standards.

The pilots had a scant 159 hours of flying time on the Max.

The captain, Getachew, had accumulated more than 8,000 hours of flying since completing work at the airline’s training academy in 2010.

He had flown more than 1,400 hours on Boeing 737s but just 103 hours on the Max. 

That may not be surprising, given that Ethiopian Airlines had just five of the planes, including ET-AVJ.

The co-pilot, Mohammed, was only 25 and was granted a license to fly the 737 and the Max on December 12 of last year.

He had logged just 361 flight hours – not enough to be hired as a pilot at a U.S. airline. Of those hours, 207 were on 737s, including 56 hours on Max jets.

A grieving relative who lost his wife in the crash is helped by a member of security forces and others at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff
A grieving relative who lost his wife in the crash is helped by a member of security forces and others at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 sits grounded at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 sits grounded at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Thursday’s preliminary report found that both pilots performed all the procedures recommended by Boeing on the March 10 flight but still could not control the jet.

While Boeing continues to work on its software update, Max jets remain grounded worldwide. The CEO said the company is taking ‘a comprehensive, disciplined approach’ to fixing the flight-control software.

But some critics, including Hall, the former NTSB chairman, question why the work has taken so long.

‘Don’t you think if Boeing knew what the fix was, we would have the fix by now?’ he said. ‘They said after the Lion Air accident there was going to be a fix, yet there was a second accident with no fix. Now, in response to the worldwide reaction, the plane is grounded and there is still not a fix.’

MSU Lecturer In Major International Breakthrough

Chairperson of the Midlands State University`s Chemical Technology Department, Dr. Gift Mehlana has been awarded a £300 000 grant by the African Academy of Sciences and Royal Society to establish an independent research that will address global challenges relevant to Zimbabwe.

The award was presented at Naivasha in Kenya where African scientists drawn from across the continent convened from the 4th to the 5th of April,2019 to celebrate the start of their two year Future Leaders-African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellowships.

Dr. Mehlana was among the 30 FLAIR fellowships and the only Zimbabwean representing a local institution who received the award out of a pool of 700 applicants.

-MSU website

No More Over Thirty Fives Will Hold Posts In ZANU PF Youth League

ZANU PF Youth League Leaders

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF has lowered the maximum age for political office in the youth league to 35 in a fresh campaign that seeks to promote a greater voice for young people.

Zimbabwe’s median age is just 19, according to the United Nations, and many youths see the youth league’s ageing leaders as out of touch. The move is seen as a dig at the ruling party’s youth league boss, Pupurai Togarepi, 54, just the latest old person at the helm of the youth league after Absalom Sikhosana, now 70, who was the head of the youth league before Togarepi in 2017.

Zanu-PF youth league deputy secretary Lewis Matutu, 31, said they will not allow anyone who is above 35 years of age to hold any position in the ruling party’s youth structures during their on-going Bulawayo and Harare province restructuring process.

President Mnangagwa announced the dissolution of the executives of the two provinces about a month ago to address factionalism which the Zanu-PF leadership blamed for its failure to win urban constituencies in the two metropolises.

Matutu said they were moving to modernise the youth league.

“In Harare and Bulawayo, we are not going to allow anyone who is over 35 years to be in youth league structures. 

“As youths, we want to move with the times and modernise our youth league.

“We want to do away with those old and corrupt land barons who want to abuse our youths,” Matutu told the Daily News.

Youths have been crying for space both in party politics and national issues. Since Independence, Zanu-PF has been blamed of choosing “old youth” leaders who are over 35. The current national youth executive is populated with cadres who are above 40.

Last year, ahead of the December conference, war veterans and the women’s league moved a motion to have the conference push for the ruling party to use its super majority in Parliament to raise the minimum age for presidential aspirants from the current 40 years to 52.

The proposal was widely seen as targeted at MDC Alliance presidential candidate in last year’s election, 41-year-old Nelson Chamisa. When the subject was broached by some in Zanu-PF – several members of the party’s youth league, including Matutu, staunchly rejected the proposal, saying it was retrogressive and a threat to the Constitution.

“Youths constitute the largest percentage of the population and this is also the largest age group of people who vote and you cannot tell them not to participate in the country’s politics,” Matutu said after last year’s proposal.

Source – dailynews

Cyclone Idai Death Toll Now 344

Cyclone idai death toll has hit 344 people with more people still not yet accounted for .

Below is the breakdown of the death toll;

CYCLONE IDAI UPDATE:
DEATHS OF ZIMBABWEANS
Mozambique 158
Chimanimani 169
Chipinge 6
Buhera 1
Makoni 1
Mutare Rural 4
Masvingo. 5
——————————
Total 344

Biti And Welshman Ncube Clash

A crowded field of fresh faces and bigwigs has lined up to seek the MDC’s vice-presidential nomination. The diverse group vying to land the three VP posts, includes MPs and senators. A record four women are running, who would make history if more than one of them become the VP.

Incumbent vice presidents Morgen Komichi and Welshman Ncube, deputy national chairperson Tendai Biti, secretary for elections Murisi Zwizwai, Women’s Assembly boss Lynette Karenyi-Kore, treasurer-general Theresa Makone, deputy secretary-general Paurina Mpariwa; Midlands North provincial secretary Lillian Timveos have all launched campaigns to pursue a vice presidential bid, with Felix Magalela Sibanda joining the fray at the last minute, the Daily News reported.

Magalela Sibanda, who is former Bulawayo deputy mayor and former provincial information secretary, has written to all the MDC provincial executives, requesting them to nominate him for the position of vice president.

In his letter to all the provinces seen by the Daily News, Magalela Sibanda said his decision to contest for the position of deputy president at the May elective congress was informed not only by his desire to lead but also the fact that his participation will ostensibly “legitimise the congress”

“As a formality to yourselves, the esteemed provincial executive, I hereby seek your indulgence and support,” Sibanda said, adding: “I implore you to nominate me as one of the MDC vice presidents in the forthcoming MDC elective congress.”

Sibanda said he believes he has what it takes to take the party to another level if elected owing to his “vast” experience in the MDC since its formation in 1999. “I’m of the conviction that, contesting a political post in a mass party like ours is not only my desire but it would also legitimise, legalise and democratise the internal electoral processes.

“Therefore, whoever shall win fairly will be representing me too in the standing committee,” he assured the regional honchos.

Sources said Magalela Sibanda hopes to land the post currently held by Ncube whom he thinks has no support in the party structures. A respected lawyer, Ncube returned to the MDC towards last year’s general elections at the behest of the party’s late founding president Morgan Tsvangirai, who died of colon cancer last year.

“Sibanda is trying his luck hoping to shake Welsh by portraying him as someone who once betrayed Tsvangirai and hence unelectable. He is however, failing to read the politics properly because the return of Ncube and Biti is an issue of the Tsvangirai legacy and anyone who fights them will be fighting against that inadvertently and chances of success range between zero and slim,” a national executive member from Bulawayo said on condition of anonymity.

Ncube and Biti broke ranks with Tsvangirai in 2005 and 2014 respectively and went on to form their own political outfits.

The two former secretary- generals of the MDC bounced back last year when Tsvangirai decided to reunite the party before his death to form the MDC Alliance as part of his legacy.

They stood by Chamisa who was chosen to succeed Tsvangirai amid fierce resistance from both Elias Mudzuri and former vice president Thokozani Khupe who felt they were entitled to take over.

Their loyalty to Chamisa, according to insiders, has earned them respect from party supporters across the country, notwithstanding the attempts to spite them by their rivals.

“For someone who is politically astute, it is easy to see that it is suicidal to try and fight Biti and Ncube at this point in time because whatever outcome of the congress must reflect the commitment made by Chamisa to Tsvangirai that he will keep his legacy and that includes keeping Biti and Ncube close.

That is why the two will be vice presidents come what may,” the source said.

Source – dailynews

Simba Chikore’s Application For Discharge Dismissed

Former president Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law Simba Chikore’s application for discharge at the close of the state case has been dismissed by a Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba for lack of merit while the state has been put on notice in the trial for Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) director general Dr Gift Machengete after repeatedly failing to respond to his application for exception to allegations of violation of tender procedures.

The former president Mugabe’s son-in-law and his co accused Simbarashe Mutimbe are jointly facing charges of unlawfully detaining Chikore’s former secretary at Air Zimbabwe, Bertha Zakeyo.

In her ruling, Magistrate Mashamba said the central issue in the matter involved freedom which is a fundamental right and based on the available evidence, it was necessary for the accused to be put to their defence so that justice may be served.

She added that the state had managed to prove on the surface that there was a case as the co-accused had admitted having been instructed to close the gate unless the complainant surrendered her phone.

The matter will proceed on the 14th of May.

In another matter at the Harare Magistrates Court, Harare regional magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya has put the state on notice after it has repeatedly failed to respond to POTRAZ director general Dr Machengete’s application for exception to charges of violating the state procurement procedures.

Mr Mujaya cancelled all bail reporting conditions for Dr Machengete and temporarily released his passport until the 17th of April as the accused intends to go to Switzerland on government business.

Machengete was initially charged for abuse of office before the state made an about turn amending the charges to violation of tender procedures.

Mr Mujaya expressed dismay at the conduct of the state and rebuked head of the anti corruption special task force Mr Thabani Mpofu for having failed to appear before the court to respond to Dr Machengete’s application.

At the next appearance if there is no response from the state, Dr Machengete’s application for exception will be upheld.

-State Media

ED Hoping To Maximize From US Donation Towards Victims Of Cyclone Idai

Jane Mlambo| In a desperate move that shows the Zimbabwe government is hard hit by the United States sanctions, President Emmerson Mnangagwa is hoping the donation by the western giant to the victims of cyclone idai will mark a change in relations between the two nations.

While addressing Chimanimani villagers yesterday, Mnangagwa said the US government made a donation of $2.5 million to Zimbabwe despite the unceremonious relationship existing between the two.

Posting on Twitter today, deputy minister of information Energy Mutodi expressed Mnangagwa’s hope that the donation will mark the end of hostile politics between Zimbabwe and the United States of America.

Check out @energymutodi’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/energymutodi/status/1114152154426691584?s=09

Zimbabwe Holding On To Uneducated Ministers, Kenyan Media

Zimbabwean Senators and Members of Parliament react after the resignation of Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe on November 21, 2017, during a general session of parliament and senate at the Rainbow Tower Conference Center in Harare.

Our relative in Harare, Brian Hungwe, has recently reported that the Speaker of Zimbabwe’s parliament, Jacob Mudenda, is so irked by the low educational levels of his parliamentarians that he is suggesting that there be a minimum level of education for anyone wishing to become a legislator.

That must come as a surprise to many of us. We have been made to understand that notwithstanding all the turbulence Zimbabwe has had to weather, education has remained the country’s forte, churning out wave after wave of erudite, articulate and self-confident individuals good enough to be world beaters.

To be told now that all one needs to be elected as an MP is to be registered as a voter is a shocking letdown.

Parliamentary work, needless to say, requires that one be able to comprehend what is being discussed; to read and understand the Bills; to navigate the rules of procedure; to make informed interventions on a wide range of topics etc.

It is hard to believe that the land of Uncle Bob Mugabe, he of the Seven Degrees, can allow into parliament people without even a school leaving certificate.

There is, of course, the danger of falling into elitism and thinking that leadership is the preserve and monopoly of those who have received a certain level of knowledge that allows them to actually lead, and that there is no better way of picking out such people than through their academic qualifications. Indeed, how else could they be identified?

Yet, even though I find it hard to support the idea that the totally illiterate can become leaders in today’s world, I still incline to think that one’s academic qualifications are not necessarily the ideal yardstick for leadership

Paper qualifications have given us professors who, to hear them talk, need to go back to at least high school to learn elementary disputation.

So, how does a polity deal with this problem? I think we should be pragmatic and practical. A basic level of literacy and numeracy would appear to me to be a necessary prerequisite, if not for anything else but to inculcate in the minds of our youngsters that school is important.

It has the added advantage that a basic instructional level introduces the recipient to the wonders of new worlds unreached except by those who read books.

That said, we should not overemphasise book knowledge, which must be taken as a prop to support a member of society who has been raised to become useful to self and to society.

A child who is raised ethically will find book knowledge a tool for the betterment of his/her human environment. In the absence of this, all the technical knowledge such a child receives can actually produce a sophisticated cheat or an adept mass murderer.

Education cannot be conferred by degrees, though they sometimes do help. Education is the product of nurturing, of bringing up a caring member of society who respects self and others.

When you witness PhDs and professors in some of our countries who resort to fist-fights, head-butts and flying chairs in parliamentary sessions, you know you are looking at a bunch of uneducated hooligans whose degrees are not worth the paper they are written on.

Brian Hungwe quotes one Member of Parliament in Zimbabwe who is proud of the fact that he is not “educated”—he quit after second grade—but is a successful businessman who uses assistants to help him with his parliamentary duties. If the people he represents think he is doing a good job, who is anyone else to say otherwise?

Our parliaments have greater things to worry about. First is that most of them have become appendages of the government of the day, which fact has blurred the lines between the pillars of state and eroded the function of checks and balances. This aberration does not need university papers to call out.

When the head of the executive usurps functions that belong to parliament and parliament keeps quiet, that is more serious than the issue of MPs without degrees, which I find to be a no-brainer.

Looking at our MPs, their academic qualifications and the way they behave in front of the executive, I have a feeling that maybe we should have fewer degree holders in parliament. Maybe then they will be able to hold our rulers accountable and refuse to be used the way they are used now, as rubber stamps.

Jenerali Ulimwengu is chairman of the board of the Raia Mwema newspaper and an advocate of the High Court in Dar es Salaam. E-mail: [email protected]

State Opposes Mandiwanzira Acquittal

The State is seeking to petition the High Court for a rescission of the judgment acquitting former minister Supa Mandiwanzira of criminal abuse of office charges that was delivered on Wednesday.

The decision was granted in default after all the listed respondents — trial magistrate Mr Elijah Makomo, Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi and the National Prosecuting Authority — failed to make representations on the matter.
Mandiwanzira was facing criminal abuse of office charges after he allegedly awarded a US$218 million auditing contract to South African-based Megawatt Energy.

The deal allegedly prejudiced NetOne of $5 million.
Anti-Corruption Special Unit director Mr Tabani Mpofu last night confirmed to The Herald they were in the process of filing an application for rescission of decision, which he claimed was erroneous.
“We are going to court to seek a rescission of the default judgment granted against us,” he said.

“It was erroneously granted because the Prosecutor-General’s Office was not served with the notice of set-down. ” State media

Supa Mandiwanzira

Zanu PF MP Assaulted For Seizing Tongaat Hullet Property

Farai Dziva|Zanu PF MP for Zaka East Robson Mavenyengwa was recently assaulted by angry Tongaat Hullet workers for seizing land belonging to the company.

The workers were left jobless and homeless following the seizure of productive land by Mavenyengwa and several Zanu PF bigwigs.

The former police officer had to run for dear life after being cornered by the angry workers.

The Tongaat Hullet workers who assaulted Mavenyengwa have since been arrested.

However, a member of the Tongaat Hullet workers’ committee has warned of more protests to come.

Just In: Father of Two Kids Who Recently Drowned In A Toilet Pit In Chikombedzi Arrested For Raping His Maid

Jane Mlambo|The father of two kids who recently drowned in a pit latrine following heavy rains that pounded early this year has been arrested for raping his 16-year-old maid.

Kudzai Mavesere, father of the late Keith (5) and Divine Mavesere (3) is alleged to have raped his maid at knife point.

The matter has since been reported to Chikombedzi Police Station who are handling the matter.

When his minor children drowned in a toilet, Mavesere had left them unattended while going for a beer drink at Mhlanguleni Business Centre.

His wife is a teacher at Mhlanguleni Primary School.

More to follow…

Darikwa Eyes EPL Promotion

Farai Dziva |Rock steady Nottingham Forest defender Tendayi Darikwa is still dreaming of promotion to the English Premier Soccer League.

The Reds are currently sitting on the 9th place and are pushing for a top six finish so that they can qualify for the Championship play-offs.

In an interview on Nottingham Post website, Darikwa said the team must believe they can still secure a positive end to the campaign – even amid a fiercely contested battle.

They have seven games left before the league ends.
“It is up there with the top leagues in Europe, in terms of how competitive it is,” said Darikwa.
“It is one of the few leagues where the majority of teams will feel like they have a chance of promotion or even of winning the league.
“It is a competitive league, and I wish we were higher in the table – but we still have a chance, and we have to take that belief into the final games.”

Mwonzora Secretly Signed A Top CIO And Created A Double Candidacy

Farai Dziva|Fiery social media analyst, Antony Taruvinga has described James Maridadi as a political turncoat.

Maridadi was recently offered a diplomatic post (CIO level) by Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Below was Taruvinga’s statement: James Maridadi, a friend to Mwonzora has been appointed ambassador by ED.

Rewinding to 2018 general elections, despite losing primary elections to James Chidhakwa, Mwonzora signed Maridadi’s papers as his preferred candidate and caused double candidature in Mabvuku Tafara just like what he did in Cowdry Park.

Mwonzora is actually aware of an embarrassing loss at Congress, what he is pushing for right now is an infliction of maximum damage to the party and president before he takes the Maridadi route.

James Maridadi

Chitembwe Remains Cautious Ahead Of Bosso Clash

Farai Dziva |CAPS United mentor Lloyd Chitembwe has remained cautious ahead of his team’s clash with Highlanders on Sunday.

Chitembwe has revealed he has not given any special instruction to Gabriel Nyoni and Newman Sianchali who will be facing their former team Highlanders for the first time in the green and white colours.

Nyoni and Sianchali joined the Harare giants at the beginning of the season alongside Valentine Ndaba who left Bosso after the 2015 campaign.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s encounter, Chitembwe said: “There are no special instructions which I am giving former Highlanders players like Gabriel Nyoni and Newman Sianchali. I believe they are professionals and know what it means to play in a big game.”

CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe

Angry War Veterans Snub Matemadanda

Farai Dziva|Controversial war veterans leader Victor Matemadanda was last week humiliated by former freedom fighters in Masvingo Province.

The war veterans openly accused Matemadanda of presenting fake liberation credentials. Matemadanda was in Masvingo Province last week where he officiated at a farming project.

Matemadanda was forced to leave the event in a huff as the few war veterans who attended the event hurled insults at him.

“Angry war veterans threatened to beat up Matemadanda for dragging their association into the mud.The former freedom fighters openly accused Matemadanda of lying about his liberation war history,” a government source said on Wednesday.

Schoolteacher Donates Portrait To Mnangagwa

Farai Dziva|A Masvingo based schoolteacher has donated a huge portrait to Zanu PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The teacher, by the name Tinos Ndirowei has been castigated for desperately trying to gain political favour from Mnangagwa.

Ndirowei is a teacher at Mafomoti Secondary School in Mwenezi.

Fellow teachers in the area have alleged that Ndirowei is a Zanu PF spy.

“He is on a mission – how can he make a portrait of Mnangagwa at a time teachera are suffering as a result of the Zanu PF regime’s bad policies.

It is clear that he is part of the system.He is untouchable and he is above the school rules and regulations.To be precise the man is a spy,” fumed a teacher at the school.

Mnangagwa Attacked For “Celebrating Tropical Cyclone Idai Dire Effects “

Farai Dziva|Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa has been castigated for “celebrating the Tropical Cyclone Idai calamity.

A Masvingo based pressure group, voice of Bikita, blasted Mnangagwa for being heartless when he said bad things can attract good things.

“What a shame. How could you seem to celebrate the death of some people when you said ” Kuipa kwezvimwe kunaka kwezvimwe (life brings both good and bad).”

You also now admit that these RTGS are not equal to a USD. Ooooh cry my beloved Zimbabwe,” said the pressure group in a statement.

“Maridadi Is A Sellout”

Farai Dziva|Fiery social media analyst, Antony Taruvinga has described James Maridadi as a political turncoat.

Maridadi was recently offered a diplomatic post by Emmerson Mnangagwa.

See Taruvinga’s statement:James Maridadi, a friend to Mwonzora has been appointed ambassador by ED.

Rewinding to 2018 general elections, despite losing primary elections to James Chidhakwa, Mwonzora signed Maridadi’s papers as his preferred candidate and caused double candidature in Mabvuku Tafara just like what he did in Cowdry Park.

Mwonzora is actually aware of an embarrassing loss at Congress, what he is pushing for right now is an infliction of maximum damage to the party and president before he takes the Maridadi route.

James Maridadi

Ian Smith Was Far Better Than Mugabe, Mnangagwa-How True Is This View?

Mustaf Mostivity Dube

I don’t believe that Mugabe, Mnangagwa and his ZANU PF liberated Rhodesia/Zimbabwe from the colonial government of Ian Smith.

I think Ian Smith was a better leader compared to Mugabe, EDiot and his ZANU supporters.

Ian Smith was a brave leader especially when he made his Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on November 11,1965. The Rhodesian Front declared independence from United Kingdom.

Rhodesia was able to feed its people – both blacks and whites.

I have never heard of Ian Smith’s opponents having their hands or mouths cut for opposing the regime.

Mugabe and EDiot Mnangagwa murdered hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans in both overt and covert operations.

Mugabe starved millions of Zimbabweans just like EDiot Mnangagwa and he is worse than Mugabe.

After the civil war I do not know why the Ndebele people were massacred by Mugabe nd EDiot?
When Smith was willing to give up power and why Mugabe didn’t want to give up power? He was afraid of the crimes against humanity he has committed. Much nauseas allegations will come against ZANU PF leaders. What we know now is just a tip of an iceberg. I must venture to say THAT Mugabe never brought freedom to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was far better under Ian Smith than under a black government. Black leadership in Africa is a tragic failure with the excerption of Botswana and Zambia and few others where governments are still civilized.
Zimbabwe needs counter revolution from ZANU PF. I don’t apologizing for stating that Ian Smith was far better than Mugabe. If ZANU PF had not taken control of Zimbabwe; millions of Zimbabweans will not be suffering poverty, want, and discrimination in foreign lands.
I’m not to please anyone but at times we need to be unorthodox for truth seek and true freedom. I hereby tell the world that Zimbabwe will be a better country with no ZANU PF regime. All the ZANU PF old guard must go. These people are evil and villains and they are using all kinds of dirty tricks to enslave the masses and to stay in power.
We need unity of purpose, courage and resources to remove ZANU PF from power which it is clinging on illegitimately.
Some may have different views let’s debate.

ED’s Anti-Corruption Drive Crashes As More Bigwigs Are Acquitted

Jane Mlambo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s drive to tame corruption is in turmoil with the so called criminals surrounding the former President Robert Mugabe being acquitted of criminal abuse of office by the courts.

Soon after his assumption of office, Mnangagwa said he was going to tackle corruption head-on but the latest acquittal of Supa Mandiwanzira has raised concerns over the sincerity of the former Justice minister to end the vice.

According to The Herald, the state is seeking to petition the High Court for a rescission of the judgment acquitting former minister Supa Mandiwanzira of criminal abuse of office charges that was delivered on Wednesday. The decision was granted in default after all the listed respondents — trial magistrate Mr Elijah Makomo, Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi and the National Prosecuting Authority — failed to make representations on the matter.

Mandiwanzira was facing criminal abuse of office charges after he allegedly awarded a US$218 million auditing contract to South African-based Megawatt Energy.

The deal allegedly prejudiced NetOne of $5 million.

Anti-Corruption Special Unit director Mr Tabani Mpofu last night confirmed to The Herald they were in the process of filing an application for rescission of decision, which he claimed was erroneous.

“We are going to court to seek a rescission of the default judgment granted against us,” he said.

“It was erroneously granted because the Prosecutor-General’s Office was not served with the notice of set-down. In fact, the notice was served on the Attorney-General’s Office.”

Mandiwanzira approached the higher court challenging the trial court’s decision dismissing his application excepting to the charges.

Justice Nicholas Mathonsi granted a default judgment against the respondents in the matter that had been brought to court on the basis that it was unopposed.

“The application for review is hereby granted. The judgment of the first respondent dated 15th February, 2019 be and is hereby set aside and substituted with an order that count one of the charges brought against the applicant on the 7th of December, 2018 is hereby quashed,” ruled Justice Mathonsi.

Documents seen by The Herald, showed that none of the respondents were served with papers to make submissions.

The court papers show that Mandiwanzira’s lawyers served the Attorney-General’s Office although he was not part of the proceedings. Mandiwanzira sued the trial magistrate after he threw out his application for exception of the criminal charges.

He ruled that the former minister has a case to answer and should be put to his defence. Commenting on Mandiwanzira second charge in which he is accused of appointing his personal assistant to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) board, Mr Mpofu insisted the prosecution has a strong case against him.

-State Media

Over 350 Citizens Convicted Over January Shutdown Protests

BULAWAYO had the highest number of convictions over public violence which occurred from January 14 to 16 this year, accounting for 225 of the 375 cases, according to the police.

The second highest cases were reported in Harare with 69, Mashonaland West 27, Manicaland 19, Mashonaland Central 14, Mashonaland East nine, Midlands six, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South three each, while Masvingo province had zero convictions.

The summary report for convictions on public violence cases covers from the day of the violence up to March 31.

According to the report, of the total number of the convicted people, eight were sentenced to seven years in jail each.

Of these, five were from Mashonaland East, two from Harare and one from the Midlands.

A total of six convicted persons were sentenced to six years imprisonment each, while 40 were slapped with a five-year jail term each, 29 were sentenced to four years each and 48 were given a three-year jail term each, followed by 65 who were give a two-year jail sentence each.

At least 92 were slapped with one year jail term each, 35 were sentenced to six months imprisonment each, four got five months each and 30 were slapped with three months’ imprisonment each.

Six of them were sentenced to strokes of the cane, which ranged from two to five each, while 12 others got suspended sentences.

The police indicated that 200 people from all provinces who were convicted were instructed to pay fines.

The violent demonstrations left 78 police officers injured in the line of duty, while one was killed.

Security services quelled the disturbances, arresting over a thousand participants, many of whom were caught looting and setting properties on fire.

-State Media

Author Revisits Grace Mugabe’s South African Hotel Drama

Jane Mlambo| A Zimbabwean born author now based in the United States of America has revisited the Grace Mugabe-Gabriella Engels incident which in his new book said could have been a trap by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction to soil the former first lady.

Breaking the news on Twitter, UK based constitutional lawyer Alex Magaisa said;

1. You recall when Grace Mugabe beat up Gabriella Engels? A new book suggests Grace fell into a carefully laid out trap by coup-conspirators pushing ED’s agenda. A reading from the book says Grace was lured into a trap, when called to the room, knowing she would snap & lose it.

2. I don’t know if it’s a case of coup conspirators trying to take credit after the event. The reading says the coup conspirators called each other in celebration once Grace had misused the cable on Ms Engels. If this is true and correct, who else was involved in this “trap”?

Jonathan Says ED’s Excitement Over US Donation Raises Fear The Money Will Be Stolen

Jane Mlambo| Self exiled former cabinet minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo has fired salvo at President Emmerson Mnangagwa saying his excitement over the United States dollars from the Donald Trump administration raises fears that the donation will be stolen.

Posting on Twitter, Moyo also attacked Mnangagwa for failing to correctly name the local RTGS dollars which he reportedly called RTG.

“Mnangagwa, calling the collapsing local RTGS$ currency “ma RTG”, excited like a toddler who’s had a lollipop for the first time, talking about receiving USD 2,5 million from the US Ambassador in Harare for Cyclone Idai victims. This has raised fears the money will just disappear!

‘USD Excites ED Like A Toddler Who’s Had A Lollipop For The First Time’

Jane Mlambo| Self exiled former cabinet minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo has fired salvo at President Emmerson Mnangagwa for appearing to celebrate receiving United States dollars while mocking the local RTGS while addressing cyclone idai victims in Chimanimani.

Posting on Twitter, Moyo said Mnangagwa’s excitement raises fear that the money will just disappear.

“Mnangagwa, calling the collapsing local RTGS$ currency “ma RTG”, excited like a toddler who’s had a lollipop for the first time, talking about receiving USD 2,5 million from the US Ambassador in Harare for Cyclone Idai victims. This has raised fears the money will just disappear!

US$ 60M Urgently Required For Relief Response To Tropical Cyclone Idai


Press Release

05 April 2019, Harare – The Government, United Nations, donors and Non-Governmental Organisations convened today to launch a revised Humanitarian Flash Appeal to include response to Cyclone Idai requesting for an additional USD 60 million, bringing the total amount to USD 294 million required by humanitarian partners to complement national response efforts to drought, economic challenges and Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe.

The launch of the revised humanitarian flash appeal convened by the UN Resident Coordinator was held at the UN offices in Harare bringing together senior representatives from Government, Ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps and heads of development cooperation, UN heads of agencies, and non-government organisations.

Launching the revised humanitarian flash appeal, UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Bishow Parajuli said, “The United Nations, in response to Government’s request, launched a Humanitarian Flash Appeal recently requesting for USD 234million to address the emergency needs of 2.2 million people as a result of economic challenges and drought in urban and rural areas of the country.

Cyclone Idai has left an additional 270,000 people extremely vulnerable, bringing the total number of people targeted for humanitarian assistance by the UN and humanitarian partners to 2.47 million people with USD 294 million resources required.”

Appreciating several contributions made including by the corporate, churches, schools and the public at large, Mr. Parajuli reiterated the commitment of the humanitarian community and called for an urgent response to the revised humanitarian flash appeal in order to meet various immediate needs, including food, water, shelter, health and nutrition, education, protection, and logistics as well as early recovery needs.

Noting the recent findings by the Zimbabwe Vulnerable Assessment Committee that over 5 million people will be food insecure in 2019, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Ms Constance Chigwamba said, “our focus should not only be on the response to Cyclone Idai but also to the drought affected population.”

The revised Humanitarian Flash Appeal aims to respond to the rising humanitarian needs of people in Zimbabwe due to a dry spell, challenging economic situation and compounded by the recent Cyclone Idai disaster in the eastern highlands part of the country.

According to the UN Financial Tracking System (FTS) the funding for the drought response stands at USD 25.5 million representing 11% of the total requirement.  For Cyclone Idai the total funding received so far amounts to USD 5.4 million. Several additional pledges have been made by humanitarian partners and the FTS will update the response level going forward.

The three main objectives of the Humanitarian Flash Appeal remain as follows:

  • To save lives and livelihoods by providing integrated humanitarian assistance and protection to people impacted by the economic crisis and severe food insecurity,
  • To provide life-saving humanitarian health assistance by responding to outbreaks and procuring essential medicines,
  • To build resilience of the most vulnerable communities to mitigate against the impact of the deteriorating economic situation.

Noting that the revised appeal complements the Government’s ongoing interventions and emphasising on the need to consistently adhere to humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence and humanity in relief distribution in which those in need of assistance receive, Mr. Parajuli, said, “The Flash Appeal will continue to target the Cyclone Idai victims, hardest-hit districts, which were prioritised based on information and data available while a humanitarian cluster needs assessment is underway.”

Commending the strong partnership in response to Cyclone Idai, Permanent Secretary Chigwamba reiterated that a comprehensive needs assessment to ascertain the immediate needs of the population and the post recovery needs, particularly infrastructure reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The Humanitarian Flash appeal contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and it 17 goals, by advancing the overarching principle of “leave no one behind” and adopting humanitarian-development and peace building nexus in support of Zimbabwe’s commitments to furthering its human rights and humanitarian obligations.

The United Nations System, through 2016-2020 Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework, works with various partners to advance democratic, social and economic governance for quality service delivery in the areas of food and nutrition, gender equality, HIV and AIDS, poverty reduction, social services and protection and governance and human rights. To date, the UN in Zimbabwe has delivered over USD 1.2 billion in various development projects under the 2016-2020 ZUNDAF as it works towards inclusive growth and sustainable development in the country.

For further information please contact:

Sirak Gebrehiwot, UN Communications Specialist, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office E-mail: [email protected]

Chamisa Fires Warning Shots At Mwonzora: Report

By Own Correspondent- MDC president Nelson Chamisa reportedly blasted party secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora for bringing the name of the party into disrepute.

Chamisa expressed his displeasure with his counterpart during the party’s standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

Senior officials who spoke to Newsday over the issue said:

Mwonzora was told by the president that this is not a peacock contest, where one is trying to spread feathers and be seen to be more attractive than others.

He was accused of trying to appropriate himself to Tsvangirai’s achievements and to claim all the landmarks into his name, such as the Constitution-making process.

He was accused of trying to personalise everything that the party achieved, thereby bringing the party’s name into disrepute.

He was asked why he was contesting the race that hasn’t been opened yet.

… As for Cowdray Park, the buck stops with Mwonzora and he must take responsibility.

He was reminded that instead of seeking media attention, he is supposed to put the house in order and effectively run the party.

Mwonzora is said to be ready to challenge Chamisa for the party presidency at the elective Congress to be held next month.

Moyo Scoffs At “Toddler” Mnangagwa

By Own Correspondent- Former G40 Kingpin and Zanu Pf politburo member, Professor Jonathan Moyo has scoffed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent utterances where he appreciated the value of the US$ against the local currency RTGs describing his actions as that of a “toddler”.

Moyo warned that the country’s recently introduced currency, the RTGs is on its way out following Mnangagwa’s statements.

Addressing victims of Tropical Cyclone Idai at Ngangu stadium on Thursday, Mnangagwa hailed the money donated by president Donald Trump’s administration towards supporting victims of the natural phenomena which ravaged Zimbabwe and Mozambique killing over 500 people and leaving hundreds others missing.

Said Mnangagwa:

“The one (donation) which pleases most is the one by Trump. It is Trump I am talking about. Do you really know Trump? The very same man who put sanctions.

Just yesterday he sent his ambassador over here, and he came with two and a half million dollars, heee! heee! (Loud Scream).

Two and a half million dollars from their own country not our RTGS [KWETE: SHONA STRONG PERJORATIVE, DISAPPROVAL], not the fake dollar you all know, but the one from their own country. Two and a half million dollars from their own country, and he said go and help yourselves.

And he said if you have any other needs, we have our station in South Africa, we are able to assist you, your only trouble is that of simply informing us, just tell us what you want and we will give you. This was all from from Trump.”

MDC-Alliance Upcoming Congress- A Generational War?

By Tamuka Chirimambowa| The MDC Alliance finally called for a congress to be held in May 2019 and this has already heated the country’s political temperatures. As the jostling for positions is already heating up, there are two names already appearing as front runners despite that no official nomination has yet taken place.

The incumbent, Nelson Chamisa and Secretary General, Douglass Mwonzora will likely lock horns for the Premiership of the opposition party which rekindles the 2014 rivalry when Chamisa lost the Secretary General’s position to Mwonzora.

Beyond the rivalry of these two protagonists, the May 2019 Congress has to be seen as an unresolved succession question and a battle for the soul of the party. I say so mainly for three reasons: Firstly, the defeat of the Thokozani Khupe Faction towards the July 2018 elections, did not result in total surrender but a tactical retreat as some of the sympathisers remained in the party to fight another day.

Secondly, It revives the failed succession plot, Project 2016 and a close read of characters in the MDC Alliance says it all. Thirdly, these two historical facts highlighted above are very important in understanding the current ructions within the opposition as they also morph into a generational transition happening within the national body politic. 

Could it be Generational? 

On my recent trip from Zambia, I overheard the bus crew discussing MDC Alliance politics. “These guys aren’t in the structures and they are in their late 30s and early 40s. They reasoned: MDC should leave Chamisa at the presidency. We want someone young like us and Mwonzora should know it’s not his generation.” I asked them what if Chamisa loses? They argued back and passionately saying “we will tell Chamisa to go and form another party and vote for him.” To my shock was the whole bus joining the debate in support of the bus crew.

Most of the passengers were cross-border traders, mainly young women and men in the ages between  20s and 40s. If this is representative of the nation, which I am tempted to believe so, then it seems some candidates are misreading history.

Beyond this anecdotal observation one has to read the 2018 elections results, ‘warts and all’; it is crystal clear that the MDC Alliance amassed more votes in the Presidential than Parliamentary contest. For the first time, the MDC breached the 2 million mark.

On the Presidential ballot, the MDC Alliance had a youthful and more appealing candidate. Also, when one reads the profile of the rallies, it was the young who dominated.

On the Parliamentary ballot, the MDC Alliance under-performed and interesting to note is that most of its candidates were older. ZANU PF had a much more youthful candidacy on the Parliamentary ballot among many other factors, it outperformed its Presidential ballot which was geriatric. What in interesting to note here, is that the Youth are demanding their seat on the governance table.

Love or hate him, with 70% of the population being 45yrs and below, Chamisa has no contest in the MDC or the country. It seems we have a new reality and the Ruling Party, ZANU PF will have to renew its party, a debate for another day. The Congress is going to be generational. It appears the Morgan generation time is over.

Remembering History: Project 2016

After the defeat of the MDC in the 2013 elections, there was an intense debate on the utility of continuing with Morgan Tsvangirai as the leader of the party. Overtures were made to him to retire and create a new role as an ambassador of democracy in Africa.

When those diplomatic manoeuvres failed and Morgan’s kitchen cabinet prevailed, a lot of young Turks in the opposition were disgruntled. The thinking that dominated then was that, Tendai Biti would take over from Morgan and Nelson would follow in line.

This group of young Turks were code-named project 2016 and later mutated into ‘MDC Renewal’. It had to take the Vanguard to extinguish Project 2016, after an alleged Judas Iscariot moment within its ranks.

Some would question about the 2014 split, but it is my contention that argument is moot as it focusses on the after-effects of a collapsed project.

This history is important to take note as it explains what appears a ‘newfound’ love relationship, yet it is one with deep historical roots. 

Come the 2019 elections, Project 2016 is back in the fold, although with variations in the leadership hierarchy to accommodate for the new realities. Project 2016 was largely an initiative of former student leaders, civil society activists and middle-class youth.

This group was very instrumental in the formation of the opposition but felt to have been left out of the processes in the party. It is not surprising that Generational Consensus emerged and became one of the vociferous groups in support of Nelson Chamisa’s ascendancy and as well reunion of the MDC.

The noisy and rag-tag fit character of Generational Consensus betrayed its student politics nature, but also proved effective in shaping a new narrative of ‘nothing for the young without the young’. But one cannot escape from the fact that convenience, opportunity and history also played a key role in the formation of the MDC Alliance. 

The coming back together of Tendai Biti, Jacob Mafume, Job Sikhala, Nelson Chamisa, Charlton Hwende, Settlement Chikwinya, Prosper Mutseyami, Lovemore Chinoputsa, Clifford Hlatshwayo, plus the new graduands Joanna Mamombe, Maureen Kademaunga, Gladys Hlatshwayo among many others cannot be read outside history, convenience and opportunity. This group has expanded beyond its student character to incorporate the middle class and ghetto youth, thus morphing into a potent political force that cannot be ignored. This is the challenge that “Mukoma Dougie” faces and the national demographics have made it worse. 

Die Another Day, Dougie Bond 007? In run up to 2018 elections the Khupe Faction won the battle for the name of the party but this became a symbolic or moot victory. One of the key backers of Thokozani Khupe then was said to be Douglass Mwonzora, although he later preferred to stay put and move on with his allies. It appears then, it was a tactical retreat to fight another day by the Khupe Faction.

The Chamisa Faction (read Project 2016) won the structures, the soul of the party. The 2018 elections results also proved further who won the heart and soul of the party and an almost repeat scenario of the year 2014 after the split. Two interesting things arise here: On, Mukoma Dougie was instrumental in the removal of the ‘Renewal Boys and Girls’ (read Project 2016) from parliament.

Two, the remnants of Project 2016 remained in the mainstream MDC and consequently, Nelson Chamisa was viewed suspiciously by Morgan’s Kitchen Cabinet. Going towards the 2014 Congress, Nelson Chamisa was poised for a landslide sweep and it had to take Morgan’s intervention to save Douglass Mwonzora’s political fortunes. Morgan felt threatened by Nelson’s meteoric rise and thus sought to trim his ambitions and keep him at bay. Morgan needed a checkmate for Nelson and he found it in Mukoma Dougie.

After Mwonzora’s failure to get a nomination from any province, Morgan had to overrule Manicaland and declare Mwonzora the winner despite him losing repeated votes. The election at the 2014 Congress was run by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), which was Morgan’s fort and it played significant role in tilting the fortunes towards Mwonzora.

This is not to say Mwonzora had no agency of his own, but what cannot be ignored is the Morgan factor in the 2014 Congress. Going into the 2019 May congress, the circumstances have largely changed. In the 2014 congress history, convenience and opportunity struck but in the favour of Mukoma Dougie. The question that begs: can Mukoma Dougie play a James Bond 007 and live to fight the May 2019 congress after initially losing the succession race? It seems this time, history, convenience and opportunity are stacked against him. 

It’s the Time for New Sprouts?

The reconfiguration of the MDC Alliance cannot be read outside the notion of time. There are those who have toyed with the idea that the structures are not in unison with the Tsar.

That’s a figment of imagination from those not wanting to acknowledge the reality. The horse has already bolted out and it is the time for new sprouts. The politically active population has become very youthful, and by their nature don’t subscribe to Old Edmund Burke’s ideas of order and rationality used by those opposed to Chamisa. The youth by nature are abrasive and daring and will continue to demand a position at the high table.

It is important for one to note that even the ZCTU that was Morgan’s power base has become a pale shadow of itself after the decimation of the working class by decades of economic decline. It is now the informal and unemployed classes that are on the ascendancy and also happens to be youthful. For this group, the lack of hope for a better Zimbabwe, educated or uneducated, unites them more as they toil together in Zimbabwe’s informal economy. This is the base that has taken over the MDC Alliance, hence the rise of Nelson cannot be read outside this group. The sprouts are green and new political season has come. Once again, it is history, convenience and opportunity at play.

Jonathan Moyo Scoffs At ED Over US$/ RTGs Narrative, Predicts RTGs Will Disappear

By Own Correspondent- Former cabinet minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has warned that the country’s recently introduced currency will soon phase out following President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s statements appreciating the value of the US$ ahead of the RTGs bond.

Addressing victims of Tropical Cyclone Idai at Ngangu stadium on Thursday, Mnangagwa hailed the money donated by president Donald Trump’s administration towards supporting victims of the natural phenomena which ravaged Zimbabwe and Mozambique killing over 500 people and leaving hundreds others missing.

Said Moyo:

Youth Poverty And Unemployment: Revisiting The January 14 Violent Protests

By Brightface Mutema: The violent disturbances that rocked Harare and other major cities in August 2018 and January 2019 saw an unprecedented numbers of youths participating.

To ignore the reasons why these young people took heed to the calls for demonstrations would be at our own peril. From a national security perspective, this should be a cause for concern.

In Zimbabwe we risk losing out on an entire generation due to sanctions induced economic comatose that has dented the future of the young boys and girls hence impoverishing them.

This is the reason why calls are growing louder for the removal of these economic embargoes as the innocent are suffering. The kind of a future society in the making is disheartening as there will be perpetuation of a poverty cycle when these youths will not be able to fend for their own kids.

But one should be wondering how this continued disgruntlement amongst our young generation can be a ticking time bomb. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop, and if these youths are left unoccupied and wallowing in poverty, they become easy targets to manipulation by political players who want to push forward their agendas. Because they don’t have an option at their disposal, they are forced into nefarious activities which most times end up in their incarceration.  

The unstable economic environment during this period of sanctions led to the proliferation of the informal sector and parallel (black) market which absorbed most young people as agents and dealers.

Most youths, especially from those families who are not able to adequately provide, have been subjected to street vending, begging, illicit deals, alcohol abuse, and even machinery for violent protests. It becomes very easy for protest organisers to organise the youths who are already in town doing different businesses. That was witnessed in January.

If young people are left with no alternative but unemployment and poverty, they are more likely to join a rebellion as an alternative way of generating an income. The rise of internal violence, like we witnessed in January, with the appearance of street gangs and other manifestations of juvenile violence is one of the most visible effects of poverty not in Zimbabwe alone but in most parts of Africa.

I am sure following the violent demonstrations, there were insinuations that the youths who participated been promised some pennies.

In times of social disturbances like violent protests, as witnessed on January 14, 2019, such youths were at the fore of burning tyres and putting barriers on major roads leading to cities.

They were the arsenal to the violent protests and succeeded probably due to their age which never raised any suspicions.

I am pretty sure that no-matter how loudly we cry about sanctions, America and her allies are not going to lift them until they see a regime change in Zimbabwe. Just this week, there was about US$5.5 million poured to our CSOs. What for? Your guess is as good as mine and not that lame reason of promoting democracy in Zimbabwe.

Youths who are disgruntled with their government become societal malcontents who can be ready to confront the government in violent protests. Some rogue CSOs are on standby with the greenback to promote insurrection by paying youths to participate.

If the youths, as future custodians of the country, fail to see any motivation to be patriotic, they become a national security threat as they are open to abuse by manipulative politicians.  

Poverty is a call to action, and until poverty amongst youths is handled and done away with, our young boys and girls will remain restive. Interesting the late great Mahatma Gandhi said poverty is the worst form of violence.  

Robert Mugabe’s True Legacy: A Nasty, Materialist and Populist Individualism

Takura Zhangazha| There have been a number of books written on Robert Mugabe in his many leadership roles. As a leader of a guerrilla movement/army, as a prime minister, as a president and even from a western perspective as a complicated/sophisticated dapper dictator.

And make no mistake, many more will be written about him. As an ousted or disgraced long-ruling repressive leader and also as a belatedly glorified Pan Africanist. And it is the assumptions of future published perspectives on Mugabe’s long rule that are of interest.

What I am however concerned with is the lived realities of Mugabe’s legacy. And by legacy here I am not inferring something to be celebrated but more something to be understood. 

In the aftermath of the coup that toppled him, Mugabe has largely been holed up in his Borrowdale mansion and giving the impression of a bitter self-righteousness. He emerged publicly at least twice.

The first time to endorse the mainstream opposition presidential candidate in a long drawn statement and questions and answer session with the press. The second time to vote for the latter in Highfields, Harare. 

I am sure he has had other interviews and publicized conversations with visiting leaders from African countries. Or his wife as his spokesperson has occasionally put out the same.

Together with his still many apologists and runners either in remnants of the G40 faction he spawned or on social media and in the mainstream opposition. 

Beyond the immediacy of his ouster from power, we are however reeling from the effects of his leadership of the state. And there is little that is positive that can be objectively discerned from it or assumed to be as a result of his own individual leadership effort.

Having ridden on the noble but painful cause and struggle that was the liberation struggle, Mugabe managed in his at least 37 years in power, to undermine the values and principles that the liberation struggle was motivated by. 

While conveniently embracing socialism as his then ruling party’s ideological foundation, he was to actively undermine it in practice. Foregoing the democratic values of socialism, he went on to attempt a violent clampdown on his then main opposition rivals in the form of Joshua Nkomo’s Pf Zapu under the pretext of preventing a civil war in the southern parts of the country.

An attempt that has come to be infamously called ‘Gukurahundi’. After co-opting the same opposition, Mugabe was to try to establish a ‘one party state’ which was eventually rejected via the activism of his former colleagues in the struggle but also due to the fact that it was no longer popular in Southern Africa after Nyerere had abandoned the same in Tanzania. 

What was to prove colossal in his intentions at retaining power with global western power endorsement, was his economic about turn to embrace neoliberalism/ capitalism as advised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Where he had previously had some sort of obligation to collective and people-centred economics he abandoned this to begin his worship at the altar of free market economics. Contrary to the values of the liberation struggle.

And this was the beginning of the unravelling of our national consciousness as had been established by the liberation struggle. It quite literally became about Mugabe and his hold on power while serving the interests of global capital. 

It was labour that was to try and rein in Mugabe’s neoliberalism by first of all recalling the values of the liberation struggle and using the same to challenge an elitist political economy.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and its allies in the students and women’s’ movements, as well as human rights, focused civil society organisations went on to establish what was then referred to as a working people’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Mugabe in populist turn decided to embark on what we officially know to be the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP.

All in a vainglorious and individualist attempt at retaining the loyalty of war veterans and the peasantry. While at the same time echoing long abandoned principles and values that had motivated the liberation struggle. It worked, albeit briefly.

Mugabe’s neo-liberal economy could not sustain the FTLRP and it expectedly reeled under not only sanctions but also the fact that its populism was never going to make it revolutionary. That it happened and has been said by Mnangagwa’s government to be irreversible does not make it any less violent or populist in serving Mugabe’s intention at retaining power.

Even by the time he was forced by SADC to form an inclusive government with the opposition, Mugabe’s particular version of individualism in politics would not allow him to even consider his own succession. In his own party nor for posterity. And where we fast forward to his ouster from power, his particular streak of individual political stubbornness eventually led him to be hoist by his own petard.

He quite literally fell on his own sword. Even if he didn’t see it coming. It is a combination of Mugabe’s inability to see into the future or beyond himself and his deliberate abandonment of liberation struggle socialist democratic values as accompanied by neoliberal/free market economics that led Zimbabwe to its current parlous state. The end effect of this on our own society has been catastrophic.

Not only just in relation to our one time critical national consciousness as informed by the liberation struggle but also to our own individual perceptions of what should be a progressive society. Mugabe’s long rule has the unenviable legacy of having created a highly individualized, materialistic and populist society.

One that perceives progress by the day and rarely considers collective posterity. And with a default admiration of neoliberalism and ideological austerity. Mugabe, via his ruling party Zanu Pf have taken us into the trap of ‘millennial capitalism’ where a combination of free-market economics, superstition (religion), gambling and individualism have stymied the collective national consciousness.

There are many ways to regain a critical collective national consciousness. The first step to doing so is to identify what caused its demise. Historically and in the contemporary, that begins at identifying Mugabe’s real legacy and role in getting us to where we are as a country. Where we are saddled with a nasty/violent, materialist and populist individualism.

Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity (takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com)

Govt Promises To Issue 10 Community Radio Licenses

Government is this year expected to issue community radio broadcasting licences to 10 private operators as part of its reform agenda to open the airwaves in the growing industry, with foreign players expected to share 20 percent of the market. The move, apart from creating a competitive environment for the broadcasting panorama, is in line with the country’s constitutional provisions for media variety.

In an interview with StarFM on Wednesday evening, Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana said his ministry has budgeted $98 000 to support the initiative.

“In our plan this year, we have already budgeted $98 000, this money is for community radio stations, which we used to support,” he said.

“Parliament has approved 10 community radio stations that will be issued this year. The money is there to support this. We are holding the money and it is losing value”

Mr Mangwana explained why it was necessary to speed up the alignment of the Broadcasting Services Act with the Constitution.

He said the Act is one of the many pieces of legislation that is not in sync with the Constitution and there are a lot of things that needed to be put in place.

“One of the major ones being that since the Act came in place in 2001 technology has moved on,” he said.

“There are things that have become obsolete. There are sections that are pretty much irrelevant and with the advent of this new technology it also means that we broadcast differently from the way we were broadcasting 18 years ago, when the Act came into place in 2001.”

Mr Mangwana said there was need to modernise the Act, which among other things to align it with treaties Zimbabwe is signatory to internationally and regionally.

He said in the Broadcasting Service Amendment Bill, Government seeks to underscore the distinction between licensing online platforms and normal broadcasting services, which uses the frequency spectrum.

“When it comes to current interpretation that we have is that there should be a call out made by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), which is a regulator for people to come and apply for licences, any one of those licences,” he said.

“Our interpretations could be different, but we need it to be very clear in the incoming Bill that only licences that require the use of the national resource, which is the frequency spectrum will need to have a public inquiry and would need the authority to call out for a particular genre.”

Mr Mangwana said Government has no problem when it comes to issuing licences that have no bearing on the frequency spectrum.

“Those ones should be applied for anytime, any day and they should be given anytime any day because they do not have any bearing on a depleting resource,” he said.

“So, if we can issue 3 000, or 10 000 of those licences, by all means let us do so, they are depriving nobody of anything. So we need that distinction to be made.”

Still on the issue of call out, Mr Mangwana said there is need to define how many terms a year that BAZ should call out for people to come and apply for the frequency spectrum.

“So, we propose that three terms per year at known frequencies and known time.

“There should be a call out. At the moment we do not have that. We can actually go for three years if people are abusing their positions without BAZ calling out for such licences.”

Mr Mangwana said the current Act, provides that licences for community radio stations should only be granted to corporate bodies, yet they are called community radio licences.

“In the currency BSA we say that licences should only be granted to corporate bodies, but we are calling these community radio licences, how does a community and corporate converge so we want to amend that to say communities can own these (community radio stations) they don’t have to be corporates they can be trusts and they should be able to own these and community radio stations. I think those are the key issues that stands out.”

Cabinet recently approved the repeal of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and reconstruction of media laws to align with the Constitution, in a major development for the media sector.

-State Media

Attack on 263Chat, A Blatant Attempt To Muzzle The Media: Amnesty International

A police raid on the offices of online news site 263 Chat after one of its journalists filmed the removal of street vendors in Harare is a blatant assault on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom, Amnesty International said today.

Police fired tear gas into the newsroom after chasing reporter Lovejoy Mtongwiza to the website’s offices. The journalist had been taking photos and videos of the police forcing out street vendors in the Zimbabwean capital.

“Today’s attack on the 263 Chat offices was designed to send a chilling message to journalists and shows the lengths the Zimbabwean police are prepared to go to muzzle media freedom,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Southern Africa.

“The authorities must end the attack on the media and launch a prompt, thorough and effective investigation into this attack and ensure that all suspected perpetrators are identified and brought to justice.”

263 Chat is an online news site which reports on political, economic and social issues in Zimbabwe.

Reporter Lovejoy Mtongwiza was deployed to the city centre to take pictures of a Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Harare City Council operation to remove street vendors.

When a group of police and council officers pursued Mtongwiza, he ran away to his employer’s office. The police followed him and fired tear gas into the 263 Chat newsroom, where 14 other journalists were working. Officers also seized a mobile phone from one of the reporters.

‘ED Likes White People More Than Nelson Chamisa’

Jane Mlambo| A Zanu PF aligned Twitter user has hit out at President Emmerson Mnangagwa for exposing his dislike for the local RTGS dollar when he visited Chimanimani where he addressed the affected villagers bragging about receiving US dollars for the cyclone idai relief.

Agaisnt Makuyana who has of late changed sides from Zanu PF to opposition accused Mnangagwa of celebrating the death of people when he appeared to suggest that bad things had brought with it good things (kushata kwezvimwe, kunaka kwezvimwe).

“Saka Team iri rinotofara kuti vanhu vakafa neCyclone, rikuwana maUSD mari kwayo Kwete maRTGS? Kunanzva varungu zvakadai, machinda anofarira varungu kupfuura @nelsonchamisa chaiye! Kubuda rute shuwa nekamari kasingatomboudzwe @realDonaldTrump kuti tapa ZW,” said Makuyana.

He accused Mnangagwa of preferring white people than his own countrymen Nelson Chamisa of the opposition MDC.

3-Metre-Long Cobra Slids Into Church, Ransacks Bulawayo Suburb

A THREE-METRE-LONG cobra caused a stir in Nkulumane 12 suburb in Bulawayo after it slithered into houses near a bushy area on the outskirts of the residential area.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) rangers came to the residents’ rescue after dispatching snake catcher, Ahmed Mohamed Esat, who took three hours to capture the venomous reptile, his fourth one in a week.

The snake was first noticed on Tuesday night when it slid into a house close to the Roman Catholic Church, which has a large vegetable patch.

However, it was driven away by dogs at the house.

On Wednesday morning, the snake found its way into another house, three houses from where it initially appeared.

It slipped into a heap of bricks and residents had to call the Zimparks after failing to lure the reptile out of its hiding place.

Esat told Southern Eye that this was the fourth snouted cobra he had captured in a week.

“It’s about three to four years old. This is the fourth snouted cobra I have captured within a week,” Esat said.

He said he had been working with Zimparks for a couple of years. “I have captured a lot of snakes. You can follow my works there (on Facebook). I have also plans to work with the media to conscientise residents about my work and snakes so that they stay out of danger,” he said.

Snouted cobra is a large specie and adult sizes range from 1,2 to 1,8 metres, but they can reach a length of 2,5 metres.

Mnangagwa Pours Heaps Of Praises On Trump’s US$, Trashing RTGs Bond, What Is The Lesson Here?

By Own Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa poured heaps of praises on US President Donald Trump’s US dollar donation trivialising the country’s national currency the RTGS.

He said this at Ngangu stadium on Thursday where he was on a tour with his dialogue partners from opposition political parties.

He said Trump’s donation was outstanding in that it is in genuine US dollars not the fake dollar, the RTGS.

Said Mnangagwa:

“The one (donation) which pleases most is the one by Trump. It is Trump I am talking about. Do you really know Trump? The very same man who put sanctions.

“Just yesterday he sent his ambassador over here, and he came with two and a half million dollars, heee! heee! (Loud Scream)

“Two and a half million dollars from their own country not our RTGS [KWETE: SHONA STRONG PERJORATIVE, DISAPPROVAL], not the fake dollar you all know, but the one from their own country. Two and a half million dollars from their own country, and he said go and help yourselves.

“And he said if you have any other needs, we have our station in South Africa, we are able to assist you, your only trouble is that of simply informing us, just tell us what you want and we will give you. This was all from from Trump. ”

VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

Mash East NGOs Audit Imminent

By Own Correspondent- Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs minister Apolonia Munzverengi said that there is a need to conduct an audit of all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the province.

Munzverengi said this while officially opening the Rosaria Memorial Trust Centre in Magaya village, Murewa on Tuesday.

She said:

After seeing the good work being done here, I asked my PA (personal assistant) that I need a complete list of all NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in this province.

We want NGOs that are here to change lives, to give a service to the people not to come and look for money; to establish an NGO to make money. We are saying no to that.

We are going to make an audit, we also want to go and witness what they are doing in our communities. We want to go and launch what they are doing in our communities, we want to know the benefits for the area in which they are working on.

A donation of US$89 839 for the construction of the Rosaria Memorial Trust Centre (RMTC) was done by Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects.-Newsday