Own Correspondent|FOUNDING member of the opposition MDC, David Coltart, has ruled out rigging in yesterday’s defeat of the MDC by ZANU-PF in ward 28 Cowdray Park by-elections.

Coltart bemoaned the fact that the MDC has moved away from its founding values of 1999 where it was grounded on principles of social democracy. He said ZANU-PF will continue winning as long the opposition party remained at sixes-and-sevens when it comes to ideology.

“You can’t tell us that Zanu-PF has rigged the Cowdray Park by-election. Try another excuse,” seasoned journalist Brezhnev Malaba said, to which Coltart concurred.

“This is correct. As flawed as our electoral system is this loss can not be blamed on rigging. Until everyone in the MDC rekindles the original vision of the party established on 11/9/99 we will allow ZANU-PF to rule in places where they are actually detested by the majority.”

Earlier on, former ZANU-PF propagandist Jonathan Moyo, who since last year has been a strong supporter of Nelson Chamisa, said the MDC had disconnected from the people who actually vote.

“The MDC Alliance has disconnected with Bulawayo voters. Time was when for every three registered voters in Bulawayo, two were MDC. The writing is on the wall: if the MDC-Alliance leadership does not introspect on this & reconnect with Bulawayo voters, trouble lies ahead!”

The MDC led by Nelson Chamisa fielded Collet Ndhlovu and Nomagugu Mloyi after failing to reach a consensus on who to represent the part. ZESN (2019) reports that  ZANU PF decided to field Mujuru who lost the 2018 elections.

The MDC Alliance held primary elections which were won by a former Councilor, Collet Ndhlovu.

The disputed outcome of the primary elections resulted in more than one candidate from MDC Alliance filing their nomination papers with the Nomination Court. Collet Ndhlovu and Nomagugu Mloyi represented the party in the by-elections and both of them polled 1450 votes combined, aaginst 1899 by the ruling party candidate.

THE ruling Zanu PF party’s Kidwell Mujuru has won the Cowdray Park by-election in Bulawayo which was had been won by the MDC Alliance in July 2018.

The election had 18 candidates vying for the ward seat, with the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC fielding two candidates. However, ZANU-PF still got more votes than the two MDC-Chamisa candidates combined.

The councilor position for Bulawayo Ward 28 (Cowdray Park) fell vacant in December 2018 following the death of MDC Alliance councilor Hapson Nyasha Ncube.

Cowdray Park by-election results of the top 3 candidates:

• Kidwell Mujuru (Zanu-PF) 1899
• Nomagugu Mloyi (MDC Alliance) 1229
• Collet Ndlovu (MDC-Alliance) 221

It is the first time ZANU-PF wins in Cowdray Park since 2000. 

RESPECTED MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora says the main opposition party’s revered late founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is probably turning in his grave because of the toxic politics obtaining in the party that he had lived and sacrificed so much for.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily News on Sunday last week, Mwonzora also said were Tsvangirai still around, he would be “terribly disappointed” by the petty agendas, the ill-discipline and the chaos that was consuming the party ahead of its elective congress in May.

This comes as there are growing reports of turmoil, thuggery, intimidation and manipulation of party structures within the country’s main opposition, as MDC bigwigs jostle for positions ahead of the fast approaching key internal elections.

The party will hold its eagerly-anticipated congress from May 24 to 26, where a new party leadership will be chosen — including the substantive successor to Tsvangirai — who died on Valentine’s Day last year after losing his brave battle against cancer of the colon.

The party’s charismatic interim leader, Nelson Chamisa, who narrowly lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in last year’s historic elections, is likely to face competition from Elias Mudzuri and Mwonzora at the congress.

Mwonzora said there was no doubt that if Tsvangirai was still alive, he would not countenance the present state of the MDC, where narrow agendas were marring the run-up to the congress.
“I know Tsvangirai hated the vitriol which some party members direct at each other.

“He won’t be too pleased to learn, even where he is, that there are party members who are using hate language against other party members. Tsvangirai wanted a united, democratic party that always looks to and pays attention to its glorious founding values,” Mwonzora said.

He said preparations for the MDC’s congress, which he said had initially taken off “to a good start”, were now being marred by allegations of violence and “other barbaric acts” by some party members.

“The preparations for congress were going on well. However, we have now received reports of violence, intimidation and discrimination on the basis of people who supported me in 2014.

We have had to deal with congress-related suspensions and expulsions at lower structures. If all these things are true, then it is wrong, unfair, anachronistic to the party and therefore totally unacceptable. I hope the organising, elections and chairpersons’ departments bring the reports on these issues to our next Standing Committee meeting,” Mwonzora added of the current restructuring exercise which has caused serious divisions in the party.

Last week, disgruntled party members claimed that some senior MDC officials were imposing dodgy structures in the party along factional lines, to further their personal interests. They said this had created serious problems, to the extent that MDC organising secretary Amos Chibaya was “agonising” over which lists to accept from party structures, because of the chaos currently consuming the restructuring exercise.
“There is big trouble in the making because he (Chibaya) has to determine which lists to accept based on who was involved in the process.

“Parallel structures have been created in areas such as Dzivaresekwa, Kuwadzana, Zengeza East and Zengeza West.
“The main danger is that those whose lists will be rejected will be crying foul, and thus, there could be chaos at congress because these people will still come claiming to be the bona fide structures and cause chaos and fights,” a worried national executive member told our sister publication, the Daily News a fortnight ago.

Another insider confirmed to the newspaper that the restructuring of the party, particularly at the level of branches and wards, had seen supporters of Chamisa, Mudzuri and Mwonzora coming up with different lists of what they were all claiming to be bona fide members.

Claims were also increasingly being made that Chamisa, Mudzuri and Mwonzora were separately seeking to influence the outcome of the restructuring exercise since elected officials would form the electoral college at the coming congress.
“This is what is causing the chaos in several provinces such as Mashonaland East, Chitungwiza, Harare and Masvingo, where there is serious infighting.

“The divisions are also emanating from claims that there are attempts to push out some members who are allegedly not loyal to Chamisa. Because of all this, disgruntled members are now also threatening to derail the restructuring exercise in protest,” the insider said.

Mwonzora told the Daily News on Sunday that it was his wish to see the country’s largest opposition party by far re-admitting disgruntled members such as former MDC deputy leader Thokozani Khupe — who quit the party in a huff last year ahead of the July 30 national elections.

“The MDC family must come together without conditions. Thokozani Khupe was … Tsvangirai’s longest-serving deputy, who possesses an internal party memory that we cannot just ignore.
“In terms of the transgressions of all the people who split from the main MDC at one time or the other, one cannot argue that Thokozani transgressed more than the others. I think all the MDC members must come back and prosecute the struggle together as Tsvangirai had fought to achieve in his life,” Mwonzora said.

The MDC was hit by power struggles shortly after the death of Tsvangirai, when Chamisa assumed the reins of the party ahead of his rivals — albeit, under controversial circumstances.
The 41-year-old was accused of having allegedly used his then assumed closeness to Tsvangirai’s widow, Elizabeth, to torpedo the ambitions of the likes of Mudzuri and Khupe.

A titanic leadership battle subsequently ensued in the party, which eventually led to Khupe forming a breakaway faction — which went on to perform dismally in last year’s elections.

Chamisa ultimately prevailed over his party competitors after a consultative meeting of the MDC, which was held at its Harare headquarters — and which was attended by 639 delegates from 210 party districts — endorsed him as Tsvangirai’s interim successor and the party’s presidential candidate in the 2018 polls.

Daily News

VICE-PRESIDENT Kembo Mohadi yesterday allegedly attacked his estranged former wife using an axe to break doors and threatened to shoot her in a dispute over property.

The enraged VP raided senator Tambudzani Mohadi’s Beitbridge home and grabbed three vehicles in full view of about 25 local police officers and his aides.

Mohadi allegedly poked senator Mohadi with a deformed steel bar and threatened to kill her. However, later after fatigue apparently set in, retired to as chair after the hive of activity sapped his energy, according to some police officers who witnessed the incident.

The officer commanding Beitbridge police district chief superintendent Tichaona Nyongo said he was not aware of the alleged attack since he was away in Chivhu.

“I am off, I don’t know anything, I am in Chivhu,” Nyongo said when contacted for a comment.

The officer-in-charge of Beitbridge police Chief Inspector Kenneth Mushongahande did not respond to calls on his mobile phone.

But, a weary-looking Senator Mohadi confirmed the incident and said she did not know where to report. She did not know how to get to the police station after the VP left her grounded without a single vehicle.

Vice-President Kembo Mohadi sitting under a tree after the violent incident in Beitbridge yesterday

“I have just spoken to the Dispol [Nyongo] and he expects me to walk to Beitbridge police. My dignity has been heavily battered,” she said.

“The police said I must go and report, but they were witnesses to what happened. They saw him commit this crime.

“He said he is a law unto himself. He was doing this on my defenceless person. I did not react. Police did not stop him.

“He went on accusing me of refusing with keys and he broke the doors. He did that while police stood and watched.”

Mohadi allegedly seized all the three cars at his former wife’s home.

“All the cars he took were awarded to me by the court at his instance,” Senator Mohadi said.

“I resigned myself to fate and told him he could kill me if he wanted.

“He was restrained by his aide when he tried to get a gun from his car.

“He came here unprovoked and demanded to collect his clothes before breaking the doors at the cottage where he collected nothing.

“He axed three doors and then turned on me. Police numbering more than 25 just watched him.

“The officer in charge of Beitbridge urban one Mushongahande was here with him and many other police officers who filled the yard.

“He said he was 120% the law unto himself. I just stood by and saw him committing this act.”

A police source said Mohadi, who was not restrained by his aides, personally axed the three doors.

“After his performance, which took a long time and seeing he was receiving no resistance from his wife he went to the patio where he pulled a bar stool and sat as he watched the vehicles being towed away,” said the source.

The rod used to poke at Tambudzani Mohadi

“A woman who was identified as his daughter continuously followed Mohadi during his fit of rage asking him why he was being childish to which he responded saying she was being disrespectful.”

Some of Mohadi’s nephews were present as he went on the rampage while police looked on helplessly.

Mohadi divorced his wife early this year after he sought a High Court relief. Senator Mohadi initially contested, but later let go.

He moved out of their matrimonial home — 108 Impala Drive in Beitbridge — where his ex-wife lives and was the scene of the drama witnessed by many residents of Beitbridge’s low-density suburb from morning when it started.

“We first saw many policemen arrive, then the VP’s fleet arrived,” said a resident who said they watched what was happening from outside the house.
“Some cars towed away vehicles from the home.”

Earlier Mohadi forcibly closed Malins Transit he jointly operated with some businessmen and directed that all vehicles arriving from South Africa be taken to the old border post where he plans to operate another bonded warehouse.

The businessmen he operates with were not reachable, but sources said he arrived and ordered them to move to his new site.

— Standard

RESPECTED MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora says the main opposition party’s revered late founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is probably turning in his grave because of the toxic politics obtaining in the party that he had lived and sacrificed so much for.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily News on Sunday last week, Mwonzora also said were Tsvangirai still around, he would be “terribly disappointed” by the petty agendas, the ill-discipline and the chaos that was consuming the party ahead of its elective congress in May.

This comes as there are growing reports of turmoil, thuggery, intimidation and manipulation of party structures within the country’s main opposition, as MDC bigwigs jostle for positions ahead of the fast approaching key internal elections.

The party will hold its eagerly-anticipated congress from May 24 to 26, where a new party leadership will be chosen — including the substantive successor to Tsvangirai — who died on Valentine’s Day last year after losing his brave battle against cancer of the colon.

The party’s charismatic interim leader, Nelson Chamisa, who narrowly lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in last year’s historic elections, is likely to face competition from Elias Mudzuri and Mwonzora at the congress.

Mwonzora said there was no doubt that if Tsvangirai was still alive, he would not countenance the present state of the MDC, where narrow agendas were marring the run-up to the congress.
“I know Tsvangirai hated the vitriol which some party members direct at each other.

“He won’t be too pleased to learn, even where he is, that there are party members who are using hate language against other party members. Tsvangirai wanted a united, democratic party that always looks to and pays attention to its glorious founding values,” Mwonzora said.

He said preparations for the MDC’s congress, which he said had initially taken off “to a good start”, were now being marred by allegations of violence and “other barbaric acts” by some party members.

“The preparations for congress were going on well. However, we have now received reports of violence, intimidation and discrimination on the basis of people who supported me in 2014.

We have had to deal with congress-related suspensions and expulsions at lower structures. If all these things are true, then it is wrong, unfair, anachronistic to the party and therefore totally unacceptable. I hope the organising, elections and chairpersons’ departments bring the reports on these issues to our next Standing Committee meeting,” Mwonzora added of the current restructuring exercise which has caused serious divisions in the party.

Last week, disgruntled party members claimed that some senior MDC officials were imposing dodgy structures in the party along factional lines, to further their personal interests. They said this had created serious problems, to the extent that MDC organising secretary Amos Chibaya was “agonising” over which lists to accept from party structures, because of the chaos currently consuming the restructuring exercise.
“There is big trouble in the making because he (Chibaya) has to determine which lists to accept based on who was involved in the process.

“Parallel structures have been created in areas such as Dzivaresekwa, Kuwadzana, Zengeza East and Zengeza West.
“The main danger is that those whose lists will be rejected will be crying foul, and thus, there could be chaos at congress because these people will still come claiming to be the bona fide structures and cause chaos and fights,” a worried national executive member told our sister publication, the Daily News a fortnight ago.

Another insider confirmed to the newspaper that the restructuring of the party, particularly at the level of branches and wards, had seen supporters of Chamisa, Mudzuri and Mwonzora coming up with different lists of what they were all claiming to be bona fide members.

Claims were also increasingly being made that Chamisa, Mudzuri and Mwonzora were separately seeking to influence the outcome of the restructuring exercise since elected officials would form the electoral college at the coming congress.
“This is what is causing the chaos in several provinces such as Mashonaland East, Chitungwiza, Harare and Masvingo, where there is serious infighting.

“The divisions are also emanating from claims that there are attempts to push out some members who are allegedly not loyal to Chamisa. Because of all this, disgruntled members are now also threatening to derail the restructuring exercise in protest,” the insider said.

Mwonzora told the Daily News on Sunday that it was his wish to see the country’s largest opposition party by far re-admitting disgruntled members such as former MDC deputy leader Thokozani Khupe — who quit the party in a huff last year ahead of the July 30 national elections.

“The MDC family must come together without conditions. Thokozani Khupe was … Tsvangirai’s longest-serving deputy, who possesses an internal party memory that we cannot just ignore.
“In terms of the transgressions of all the people who split from the main MDC at one time or the other, one cannot argue that Thokozani transgressed more than the others. I think all the MDC members must come back and prosecute the struggle together as Tsvangirai had fought to achieve in his life,” Mwonzora said.

The MDC was hit by power struggles shortly after the death of Tsvangirai, when Chamisa assumed the reins of the party ahead of his rivals — albeit, under controversial circumstances.
The 41-year-old was accused of having allegedly used his then assumed closeness to Tsvangirai’s widow, Elizabeth, to torpedo the ambitions of the likes of Mudzuri and Khupe.

A titanic leadership battle subsequently ensued in the party, which eventually led to Khupe forming a breakaway faction — which went on to perform dismally in last year’s elections.

Chamisa ultimately prevailed over his party competitors after a consultative meeting of the MDC, which was held at its Harare headquarters — and which was attended by 639 delegates from 210 party districts — endorsed him as Tsvangirai’s interim successor and the party’s presidential candidate in the 2018 polls.

-Daily News

Water bodies in and around Harare hold enough supplies to meet demand from the capital’s 2,1-million residents, including dormitory towns such as Ruwa and Norton, for the next 18 months — until the next rainy season — but shortages of water treatment chemicals are leading to intermittent supplies to both domestic and industrial users.

There were growing fears that the patchy rains received in the 2018/2019 summer cropping season, which were spawned by the El Nino weather phenomenon, would cripple supplies to ratepayers.

Harare City Council (HCC) draws water from Harava and Seke Dams, which supply Prince Edward (Seke) Treatment Works, while Lake Chivero and Manyame Dam feed into Morton Jaffray (Manyame) Treatment Works.

As of last week, Lake Chivero — Harare’s major water reservoir — was 86,2 percent full, which is, however, a drop from 100,5 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to statistics from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa).

Similarly, Manyame Dam is 94,4 percent full, down from 100,2 percent in the year-ago period.

But Harava and Seke Dams, which were full at this time last year, only hold 3, 2 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Meteorological Service Department (MSD) head of weather forecasting Mr Tich Zinyemba said while the rainy season has not yet come to an end, any future rains are unlikely to change water levels.

“We might get some showers, but they are unlikely to pose any change to dam levels,” he said.

Overall, the average national dam level stands at 70,5 percent.

Enough Water

Zinwa’s corporate communications and marketing manager Ms Marjorie Munyonga said last week the available water is enough for both winter crops and domestic use.

“Most parts of the country were affected by the drought, but it must, however, be noted that a good number of dams still have sufficient water to meet the upcoming winter cropping requirements and domestic needs,” said Munyonga.

“Although a number of dams still have sufficient water to carry communities to the next rainy season, this does not discount the fact that water is a finite resource which needs to be efficiently and sparingly managed,” she said.

HCC is also singing the same hymn.

Mayor Hebert Gomba told The Sunday Mail that the current water stocks would “last the city until the next rainfall season”.

“We have enough water supply for the city despite low rainfall that we experienced this year, and it is enough and can last for 15- to 18 months,” he said.

“We have embarked on rationing water since we now have the required chemicals to ensure that water is distributed equitably.”

Water Chemicals

But City of Harare has been throttling water supplies to residents — the majority of who have to resort to unsafe sources such as boreholes and wells — owing to difficulties in accessing chemicals needed to convert raw water to potable water.

The quality of raw water in most of the city’s reservoirs has been progressively declining due to pollution in catchment areas such as Harare, Chitungwiza, Norton and Ruwa.

Dysfunctional sewage systems, which at times have led to seepage of effluent into water supply channels and ground water sources, are making the situation worse.

HCC corporate communication manager Mr Michael Chideme said the local authority spends between US$2,5 million and US$3 million per month on chemicals.

However, Mayor Gomba says they have since applied to the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) to get supplies from the local market.

“We have appealed to Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, but they have not yet responded.

“Because of the shortage of chemicals, we are introducing another chemical called chloride dioxide. It has been tested and tried and it will be replacing aluminium sulphate and other chemicals so as to improve the quality of water,” he said.

Praz chief executive Mr Nyasha Chizu said the application hasn’t been brought to their attention yet.

Hope

The spectre of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, which have recently plagued the city, is unnerving for most residents, who have queue for hours on end to get the precious liquid as shortages persist.

However, it is believed that a $225 million tie-up between city fathers and the Higher Life Foundation — a social-focussed organisation founded by billionaire telecommunications investor Mr Strive Masiyiwa and his wife, Tsitsi — will be able to address most, if not all, of Harare’s infrastructure challenges in the next six years.

Through the deal, council will get 40 ambulances and mobile water treatment plants, while the entire water distribution system will be revamped.

“The proposed Cholera Strategic Plan (2019-2025) will see us rehabilitating the water treatment plant, distribution network, supplying pumping networks in the distribution, do some sewer and water pipe-replacement programmes,” explained Mayor Gomba.

-State Media

Reforms being implemented by the President Emmerson Mnangagwa-led Government are positive and a reflection of great urgency to transform the country economically and politically, United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols has said.

In an interview on the sidelines of the US’ Women’s History Month commemoration film screening in Harare last week, Ambassador Nichols said Harare was on the right path.

“This Government has been working towards reform. I have been impressed and I have always said so . . . I know that the Cabinet has approved the principles for the repeal of POSA (Public Order and Security Act) and has been discussing repeal of AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act) and those are all very positive things,” he said.

“I think that there is great urgency both politically and economically to continue down the road of reform as this administration has laid out, and we encourage them to pursue those reforms as well as to address the outstanding recommendations… All of this is very positive and I believe that if this Government pursues them, the international community will respond.”

Government is currently working on sweeping political and economic reforms, some of which are feeding off from recommendations made by the various election observer missions during last year’s harmonised elections, the Motlanthe post-election violence report and input that will be generated from the ongoing inter-party dialogue.

A lot of American investors, Ambassador Nichols said, are interested in doing business with Zimbabwe.

He said: “I think there is a lot of interest. I was in South Africa a couple of weeks ago and met with a number of US companies interested in doing business in Zimbabwe. One of the key challenges (they cited) was with the exchange rate.

“I encourage the Government to continue the process of liberalising the exchange rate and allow the allocation of forex-based market principles. I think that will deepen the ability of companies to do business here.”

Washington was particularly interested in the rule of law and economic transparency.

“The (ease) of doing business legislation that Government has put forward is a positive step and should be adopted rapidly,” he said.

Government was also commended for its determined efforts to promote women empowerment.

The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, has provided more than US$100 000 to respond to emergency needs following the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai.

It is believed that the money will be used to support interventions to deliver safe water, shelter, sanitation and hygiene in some of the worst-affected areas in Manicaland province.

-State Media

Jane Mlambo| Former ZANU PF kingpin Jonathan Moyo has warned the opposition MDC to guard against complacency following the Bulawayo council by-election in which a ruling party candidate emerged the winner.

Writing on Twitter today, Moyo said the electoral loss for MDC is a wake up call.

Jane Mlambo| Opposition MDC Deputy President Morgan Komichi has told party leaders who are plotting to contest Nelson Chamisa that they are being moved by personal interest as the youthful politician is popular within and outside the party.

Komichi told The Standard in an interview that anyone who wish to contest Chamisa should have good reasons to do so as it could be suicidal to their future participation in the democratic movement.

“My preferred candidate is Nelson Chamisa. I am happy with his leadership style. 

“He has managed to galvanise people around him and is very popular within the party and outside. 

“He managed to garner more than 2,6 million votes in last year’s elections, which were, however, heavily rigged. 

“With this, what more would you want. In politics you need a leader who people will voluntarily follow to win the elections. 

“The big question is to anyone who wants to lead will he or she be able to win the votes. 

“A person must have a good reason on why he/she wants to contest. They must not be pushed by personal ambitions. 

“A person must be able to lead.What will he bring when they are elected. They must not be selfish. 

“Those who are interested must ask themselves if they are able to produce an outcome that will benefit the people, the party and anything new that will make the party grow. 

“I will advise some of the leaders not to focus on their personal interests but on national interests.”

It is increasingly becoming clear that Nelson Chamisa will face a challenge from veteran politician Douglas Mwonzora in his bid to succeed the late Morgan Tsvangirai as leader of the country’s biggest opposition party, the MDC.

Chamisa, who seized control of the party a year ago following the death of Tsvangirai, has seen his stock rise after giving President Emmerson Mnangagwa a good run for his money in the July 31 elections. 

However, this has not stopped some senior people in the party from plotting to dislodge him at the MDC congress slated for May.

One of Chamisa’s three deputies Morgen Komichi (MK) told our senior reporter Obey Manayiti (OM) in an exclusive interview that those planning to challenge the former student leader are wasting their time. 

Komichi believes Chamisa’s performance in last year’s elections made him the clear choice to succeed Tsvangirai. Below are excerpts from the interview. 

OM: What is the state of the party ahead of the May congress?

MK: The party is very stable and respective organs of the party are forming up structures, branches, wards and we are now going into the third phase of districts. 

This weekend we will be forming districts and the congress is taking shape. 

After that we will go to the provinces and after that people will then campaign in an orderly manner.

OM: There are reports of violence and the employment of dirty tricks to win over the structures. What is your reaction to those claims?

MK: The national organising committee is in charge of that and they are on top of the situation. 

Problems will be there but the leadership, which is in charge of the whole operation, is trying to resolve those problems in certain areas where we have challenges.

You will expect these small problems where people meet but they are small. Largely the whole process is going on well.

OM: How many positions will be contested a the May congress and are vice-presidents going to be hand-picked by the winning presidential candidate?

MK: The final decision will be taken by the national council very soon, but the VPs will be contested. All the three positions will be contested.

OM: Have you made up your mind on which position you want to contest?

MK: I am very much content with where I am. I am going to influence and canvas people to vote me for the VP position.

OM: Do you support calls that one of the VPs must be a woman?

MK: This is a very good principle but at the end of the day the people have the final say.

OM: Do you have a preferred candidate for the president’s position?

MK: Yes. My preferred candidate is Nelson Chamisa. I am happy with his leadership style.

He has managed to galvanise people around him and is very popular within the party and outside.

He managed to garner more than 2,6 million votes in last year’s elections, which were, however, heavily rigged.

With this, what more would you want. In politics you need a leader who people will voluntarily follow to win the elections.

The big question is to anyone who wants to lead will he or she be able to win the votes.

A person must have a good reason on why he/she wants to contest. They must not be pushed by personal ambitions.

A person must be able to lead.What will he bring when they are elected. They must not be selfish.

Those who are interested must ask themselves if they are able to produce an outcome that will benefit the people, the party and anything new that will make the party grow.

I will advise some of the leaders not to focus on their personal interests but on national interests.

OM: So are you advising those leaders not to contest against Chamisa?

MK: I will not say they must not, but I will advise them to consider whether it is really necessary. At the end of the day, a person will do as he/she pleases but I don’t see any reason (in contesting Chamisa).

OM: Do you think there are any prospects of anyone winning against Chamisa given your position on his track record?

MK: 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.

OM: Why are you so sure about that?

MK: You must know the people. I am telling you no one is going to be nominated except Chamisa.

OM: There is growing factionalism and internal violence as the congress approaches. Do you think the party has what it takes to emerge stronger from these contestations?

MK: Nobody is going to walk away from the party. What is happening now is a situation to deal with competition and under the circumstances there will be high stakes and high pressure.

However, I want to assure you that after May 26 there will be harmony and unity in the party because competition is allowed.

MDC people know that after the congress they will come together and be one happy family again under one leader. 

We also encourage unity, reconciliation and we will also go for integration so that we don’t lose on the objectives of the congress. 

The congress is there to reconstruct the party, rebuild the party and discuss issues that will enhance the capabilities and capacity of the party.

We are going to be dealing with institutional reforms, organisational reforms so that we manage to put the party on a new level. 

We want to modernise the party hence we are urging the members not to focus more on positions but propositions of liberating the people.

OM: Do you believe there are leaders within the party that are being sponsored by Zanu PF at this congress as has been alleged?

MK: I might not know them by name but I am quite sure that Zanu PF is doing that because one of the key tasks for Zanu PF is to divide our party at congress.

Do you know that Zanu PF puts aside a budget to make sure that they divide the MDC and if you look at the previous splits in the party you will realise that Zanu PF was involved. 

They try to cause confusion and with the poverty currently prevailing in the country, the people are easily tempted. 

Zanu PF is assisted by state agents and their role is to cause divisions and confusion within our party but we have been so strong that we managed to survive for almost 20 years.

Other small parties like the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) were crushed by state agents and definitely there is that attempt to do that now but they will not succeed.

MDC has survived their shenanigans for a long time.

OM: Are these reports of Zanu PF interfering in the MDC not causing friction in the party?

MK: We just have to remain vigilant. MDC leadership is so far united and they are aware of the shenanigans.

I don’t think there will be anyone who will fall into that trap. This is from experience on how the system wants to destroy us, therefore, we will not give them any chance.

OM: What is your take on criticism that you are focussing too much internally and forgetting the real struggle? Is the MDC still committed to its founding values?

MK: Congress is a constitutional requirement and we cannot run away from the dictates of the constitution. 

We have to fulfil that requirement because we have to reorganise, seek a new mandate and reinvigorate our party. 

We need to bring in new ideas and we will actually come stronger from the congress and we will take on the issues that are affecting our country like economy, electoral reforms, legitimacy etc head-on.

OM: Are there any prospects that you will join the national dialogue being spearheaded by Mnangagwa?

MK: I think as a concept the national dialogue is a good idea, but the question is on how it is structured. 

The current set up is just like that of Ian Douglas Smith where he was taking the lead, taking on his side people like (Abel) Muzorewa and (Chief) Chirau. 

He didn’t survive because genuine parties who were fighting for the people, Zanu and Zapu didn’t join as they wanted an arbitrator who would be considered neutral. 

This is not only about negotiating but the bigger part or the delicate area is the implementation of that agreement. 

The facilitator should have the leverage to make sure that agreement is followed through. 

People can dialogue and such but the question is will they be able to stand on top of the mountain and say their agreement will be implemented.

Their agreement will have the international stature, whether the agreement will benefit the people of Zimbabwe or it is just a game to fool the world. 

We need serious dialogue and we need a person who will mediate in an honest manner, which we will all agree on because that person will be impartial. 

I don’t know why the Zanu PF president is shy to meet the MDC president for a genuine negotiation. 

He must be brave enough to meet the MDC president and chart the way forward on where the nation must go.

OM: On Friday two convenors were appointed and they are the chairpersons of the Gender Commission and that of National Peace and Reconciliation Commission. Does this motivate you to join the dialogue?

MK: Let’s see what they are going to bring, let’s see. The principle is very clear. 

We need someone who is impartial and mutually acceptable. If that person meets that criteria, then the game will start.

-The Standard

The Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education will hold public consultations on the Education Amendment Bill (H. B. 1, 2019) from 1 to 5 April 2019 and from 15 to 17 April 2019. The Committee will cover various areas as follows:

All those who will be putting on military uniforms, signs of ranks, flags or badges and political party regalia will not have access to the public hearing.

The public, interested groups and organisations are invited to attend these consultations. Written submissions and correspondences are welcome and should be addressed to:

The Clerk of Parliament
Attention: Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education
P.O. Box CY 298
Causeway
Harare

Submissions can also be made by email through email address [email protected]

Jane Mlambo| A Zanu PF Aligned Twitter mole by the name Kudzai Mutisi has likened MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to United Kingdom’s Boris Johnson saying both men are demagogues who mislead people.

Mutisi accused Johnson of misleading the British people when he fiercely campaigned for Brexit which continues to haunt the United Kingdom people as they have not agreed on a plan of action leading to their exit from the European bloc.

By Own Correspondent| Kidwell Mujuru, who has won the Cowdray Park by-election in Bulawayo is a local businessman who defected from MDC in 2014, ZimEye can reveal.

Mujuru once contested MDC primaries for Luveve constituency but claimed he was cheated before he changed ship and joined Zanu Pf.

He beat close contender from the MDC Alliance, Nomagugu Mloyi by 670 votes.

By Own Correspondent| Zengeza East legislator Goodrich Chimbaira on Saturday led a gang of youths who went on a violence spree attacking deputy mayor Jabulani Mtunzi leaving him seriously injured.

Chimbaira, who according to witnesses was in a fit of rage nearly ran over Mtunzi who had to be rescued by community members in Unit J who witnessed the legislator’s hired mob metting out justice on the deputy mayor.

While the cause of the violence was reportedly said to be emanating from the need to ensure that a faction affiliated to Vice president Elias Mudzuri won the district elections, it was also revealed that the legislator is on record threatening Mtunzi with unspecified action for expressing his interest to challenge him in the party’s primary elections come 2023.

The usually quiet neighbourhood in Unit J became battle ground for the MDC members as they engaged in stone throwing which left several injured.

According to a source who witnessed the raging battle, Chimbaira wanted to run over Mtunzi and he ended up taking aim at ordinary civilians and children who were nearby.

“His car skidded and only stopped a few centimetres away from where the children were playing. He almost ploughed into a vegetable stall because Mtunzi had escaped their beatings but because he could not walk, he fell and was lying close to the vegetable stall.

The challenge is that there were children playing close by and they did not know what was happening. He almost ran over Mtunzi and the children. We were all shocked,” said a witness.

Efforts to get a comment from Chimbaira were futile as his mobile phone was not available.

Mtunzi was taken to Chitungwiza hospital where he is admitted and nursing internal injuries.

By Own Correspondent| Zanu Pf has romped to victory in the recently held council by election in Cowdray Park Bulawayo.

The party’s candidate Kidwell Mujuru beat closest contender Nomagugu Mloyi of MDC Alliance by 670 votes after polling 1 899 votes.

Collet Ndlovu who also contested under the same MDC Alliance ticket polled a paltry 221 votes.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

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 will be streamed on 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.

By Own Correspondent| There was violence in Unit J, Zengeza East constituency this afternoon which left the town’s deputy mayor Jabulani Mtunzi injured.

Mtunzi is currently at Chitungwiza hospital following the violence by a faction allegedly linked to MDC Vice President Elias Mudzuri.

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

We publish below a message sent by Econet to its subscribers in Masvingo.

Dear Customer. Please be advised of a System upgrade on 31 March, from 0000hrs to 0500hrs. Any inconvenience this may cause on service quality is sincerely regretted.

Mnangagwa misses the point on external facilitator

The MDC is concerned by the mischievous statements of Dambudzo Mnangagwa pertaining to conducting dialogue in Zimbabwe.

For dialogue to take place,the convenor must be neutral and must be seen to be neutral.

What is at stake is a conflict mainly between Mnangagwa and President Adv Nelson Chamisa. As a consequence, conflict transcends to the supporters of the MDC and Zanu PF.

None of the two actors can therefore dictate the terms of convening dialogue.

Neither can the MDC accept Mnangagwa being the convenor of dialogue through proxy.

As a matter of fact, the MDC does not recognize the Presidency of Mnangagwa.

It was clear from the ZEC processes that the numbers kept changing.

Observer missions made the point that results were unverifiable and untraceable.

For Mnangagwa to claim that there is more than 60% of the vote represented at the dialogue he is convening through proxy is dishonesty and ignorant of the above facts.

What concerns the MDC is that illegitimacy issues around Mnangagwa are holding the country back.

The people of Zimbabwe are suffering, the wheels are coming off on the economy, social service delivery is abandoned and lives of citizens are being unnecessarily lost in hospitals that have been turned into death traps.

This is part of the reason why legitimacy issues must be resolved to give Zimbabweans a break and set the nation on a path of recovery.

Mnangagwa stands to benefit from genuine dialogue. Sadly, he has chosen to be the sole impediment to its convening.

He has no right or authority to declare how dialogue should happen, pretending to be conducting dialogue to save face.

The MDC has put across the following five point plan. We challenge actors to bring to the table a better alternative to the following areas of focus.

Firstly discussion and adoption of a roadmap to legitimacy following events of November 2017 and a subsequent shameless election in July 2018

Secondly, the resolution of the economic and humanitarian crisis arresting Zimbabwe, part of which largely resulted in mass protests and stay aways called by several citizen movements in Zimbabwe led by the ZCTU.

Thirdly a comprehensive reform agenda and platform with a view to construct both a sustainable state with a culture which serves the interests of the masses as opposed to serving a few presiding elites and those connected to them.

Reform would also focus on ensuring instruments of repression are liquidated and the idea of rule by fear jettisoned.

More importantly, rethinking the fiscal approach to improve efficacy, increasing transparency and accountability.

The forth area of focus is nation building, healing and attending to the social contract.

Allowing the people of Zimbabwe the opportunity to negotiate with those in power and with power itself, fostering unity while eroding hate speech, intolerance and tribalism.

More importantly couching a common and shared National Vision giving an unambiguous identity to Zimbabweans.

There is however the need to look into the past violence with dark ages of Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina and several episodes of violent elections dating back to the year 2000.

Providing remedy and redress to the aggrieved while ensuring Justice to the victim and the perpetrator alike, this in our view is an inevitable step to Nation building and it’s sustainability.

Finally, the plan would look at ways to re-engage the international community.

Taking the pain of committing to live by the rules, respect the rule of law, practice Constitutionalism and abiding by international standards, at least those contained in the several conventions which Zimbabwe is signatory.

Zimbabweans are tired of of political banter and politics of patronage, they deserve their dignity, freedom and justice.

MDC: Defining a New Course for Zimbabwe!

Jacob Mafume
MDC National Spokesperson

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has picked Foreign Affairs & International Trade Minister Rtd Lt-General Sibusiso Busi Moyo’s wife as the new chairperson of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

Mnangagwa has since written to the Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) of parliament informing it of his decision to appoint Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo as Zacc chairperson.

Zanu PF and MDC chief whips Pupurai Togarepi and Prosper Mutseyami are part of the 26-member SROC.

The development comes as the Parliamnet’s committee is in the middle of selecting eight other members of the commission from a large pool of 130 applicants vying for the posts.

-Zimbabwe Independent

Wrote Wicknell Chivayo:

GOOD MORNING ZIMBABWE…Please help me welcome my daughter ATARAH MINANA CHIVAYO to this world…Born yesterday on (hallo)FRIDAY (chishanu zuva reropa) 29 MARCH 2019….GOD IS THE GREATEST…..???

MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, says he has the capacity to lead the country’s biggest opposition political party if the structures nominate him to contest for that position at the MDC congress to run from May 24 to 26.

It will be the first congress since the death of the MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai who died of colon cancer on February 14, last year.

Tsvangirai’s death saw one of his three deputies, Nelson Chamisa emerge as MDC leader, albeit under controversial circumstances.

Going into the elective congress, Chamisa is touted as the front runner. He faces competition from one of his three deputies, Mwonzora.

In an interview with the Daily News yesterday, Mwonzora threw down the gauntlet, saying he has previously scored more wins than losses — a feat he said makes him more than suitable for any position within the party.

Asked if he has what it takes to be the party’s president, Mwonzora said: “I have been a leader in the MDC at various levels. Having started as the treasurer for Nyanga District, I was elevated to secretary for Local Government for Manicaland Province. In 2008, I was elected to represent Members of Parliament in the national council of the party. In 2011, I was elected as the national spokesman of the party at congress. In 2014, I was elected as the secretary-general of the party. I think I served well in my positions”.

He went on further to give a detailed account of how he joined politics as early as 1989, while he was still a law student.

Mwonzora was instrumental in the formation of the National Constitutional Assembly, which fought for a new democratic people-driven constitution.

He also said among other major roles he was involved in the drafting of the current Constitution.

-Daily News

Jane Mlambo| State media claims that opposition legislator, Tendai Biti tried to smuggle his book Democracy Works without paying import duties.

This runs contrary to reports that the book was twice confiscated at the Robert Mugabe International Airport for unspecified reasons.

Below is the Herald report;

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) yesterday foiled an attempt by MDC-Alliance deputy chairman Mr Tendai Biti to smuggle copies of his book, Democracy Works, without paying import duties.

The book was co-authored with former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, Greg Mills of the Brenthurst Foundation and Jeffrey Herbst, the president of the American Jewish University.

The incident happened at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport ahead of the book’s official launch at Sapes Trust resulting in delays of the proceedings.

It was later launched at Sapes Trust at an event attended by MDC-A president Mr Nelson Chamisa, US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Brian Nichols and several of the party’s allies in the non-governmental organisation sector.

By Own Correspondent| Voting has commenced in Cowdray Park By Election for the election of a new Ward Councillor.

Said the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) in a statement:

“ZESN is on the ground tracking the process and the political environment outside the polling stations.

Midday Situational Statement for the Cowdray Park Ward 28 by-election

As part of its comprehensive efforts to observe the Cowdray Park local authority by-election in Ward 28 of Bulawayo, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has deployed 37 polling station based and ward collation centre observers. In addition, ZESN has two mobile teams assessing the political environment outside the polling stations.

Political environment

Despite the large number of electoral contestants and the high stakes in this by-election, the political environment in Cowdray Park Ward 28 was reported to be largely peaceful and calm.

However isolated incidents of intimidation and defacing of campaign and civic and voter education posters was observed during the campaign period.

Redirected voters

ZESN has observed significant numbers of redirected voters in Cowdray Park. This can be attributed to the fact that there are voting centres that have more than one polling station leading to voters presenting themselves at the wrong polling stations. For instance, at Cowdray Primary AB 34 people had been redirected as at 09:40 AM while 19 people had been redirected to other polling stations at Mkhithika Thebe Primary B.

Presence of polling agents

ZESN commends the investment made by some of the contesting political parties to deploy polling agents at most of the polling stations in Cowdray Park Ward 28. From observer reports the following political parties deployed the most numbers of polling agents; ZANU PF, MDC Alliance, MDC-T, ZEFF, ZAPU and MRP.

Set up and opening of polling stations

At 100 percent of the polling stations, ZESN observers have reported that set up procedures were duly followed in line with the requirements of the law. The polling stations were set up to ensure that voters mark their ballots in secrecy. Essential voting materials such as ballot boxes, ballot papers, ZEC stamp, indelible marker ink, biometric voters’ roll with pictures were reported to be present at all polling stations. All the polling stations opened on time and had started processing voters by 7:30 AM. There is an average of 7 polling officials at the polling stations of which 5 are female.

Conclusion

ZESN notes that polling stations are still open and encourages all registered voters in Cowdray Park Ward 28 Local Authority to go out and exercise their right to vote peacefully.

ZESN is still observing the voting process and will observe counting and results management at the end of the day.

By Own Correspondent| Henrietta Rushwaya has lost the presidency of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) after the High Court declared the results and proceedings of the elections which brought her to the helm null and void.

The former ZIFA CEO was elected ZMF president on June 14 last year, but her election was challenged by a group of miners under the banner Zvishavane-Mberengwa Miners’ Association (ZMMA).

The group filed a lawsuit seeking an order to order barring the holding of the elections and to have them indefinitely postponed, arguing that Rushwaya wanted to take the leadership by unconstitutional means.

The elections went ahead and Rushwaya won.

However, in her ruling, Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo on March 26 said:

The problem with authority is that nowhere in the constitution is a chief executive given authority to institute or defend legal process on behalf of the organisation.

This court can’t encourage organisations to breach their own constitutions and do as they please. That’s unlawful and this court can’t lend a hand to or allow unlawfulness to prevail.

It’s for these reasons that I hold the notice of opposition and the opposing affidavit as not properly before the court, as they have been brought through the back door and not in accordance with respondents’ own constitution.

As a result, I will proceed to confirm the provisional order which, in my view, stands unopposed.-Newsday

By Own Correspondent|Commercial wheat farmers are failing to access forex from the interbank market in order to adequately prepare for the upcoming winter season.

Wheat farmers urgently require US$12 million for the 2019 season.

Wheat growers’ coordinator Graham Murdoch said most farmers were failing to access foreign currency in order to buy the capital requirements for the upcoming farming season.

He said this while addressing delegates at the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) extraordinary meeting on Friday.

Said Murdoch:

Although we have secured the majority of the inputs required for the winter planting season which begins early next week, it is important to highlight that at this point in time we have not been able to secure foreign currency through the interbank system.

… We have also approached the relevant authorities on the matter and they have given us assurances that they are working on it.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday told his party’s central committee that United Arab Emirates prince had offered a plane for his globetrotting, refuting claims that he is hiring luxury jets for his trips.

Mnangagwa said;

“I was invited by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed. He hosted us well. You hear people saying I flew with a luxury jet. Those are lies, they sent us a plane,” he said.

“We did not pay anything for that plane. The crown prince sent the aeroplane to pick us up and we went and it dropped us. I told him we had a problem with availability of planes, and he said whenever I want to travel, all I need to do is call.”

But while UAE could have offered this support, it remains to be seen what Zimbabwe will offer the Arab country considering that Mnangagwa’s trips have been all about opening up business opportunities to the world.

By Own Correspondent| Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri said the country has sufficient grain to cover the next seven months.

In a statement read on his behalf by, his secretary Ringson Chitsiko yesterday, Shiri said  stocks of maize and small grains at GMB stood at 832 156 tonnes.

This was revealed at a Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) meeting on drought assessment recently.

He said:

At the current monthly drawdown rate of 120 000 tonnes, the available grain is sufficient to last about seven months.

The Second Round Crop and Livestock Assessment Report will soon be presented to Cabinet and the nation will thereafter be officially informed of the results of the assessment.

With the projected below average production, grain imports are inevitable and the magnitude will be determined after the assessment.

Shiri indicated that Government has proposed drought alleviation measures.

Shiri’s statement comes in the qake of revelations that an estimated 2 million people in the rural areas are projected to be in dire need of food assistance this year.

He said: .

This effort bears testimony to the fact that the grain industry has put interests of the nation at heart. As Government we support these private sector interventions, as they complement the national policy of ensuring food security at household and national levels.

FORMER Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya has been dethroned as president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation after the High Court declared the results and proceedings of the elections which brought her to the helm null and void.

Rushwaya was elected ZMF president on June 14 last year, but her election was challenged by a group of miners under the banner Zvishavane-Mberengwa Miners’ Association (ZMMA) through their lawyers Mutuso, Taruvinga and Mhiribidi Attorneys.

The group wanted an order barring the holding of the elections and to have them indefinitely postponed, arguing that Rushwaya wanted to take the leadership by unorthodox means.

On June 18 last year, ZMMA won a provisional order barring the holding of the elections, but ZMF chief executive officer Wellington Takavarasha opposed the matter on behalf of the organisation.

The elections went ahead and Rushwaya won.

However, in her judgment, Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo on March 26 noted that Takavarasha, who defended the application on ZMF’s behalf, was not empowered to do so by the federation’s constitution and rendered the application duly unopposed.

“The problem with authority is that, nowhere in the constitution is a chief executive given authority to institute or defend legal process on behalf of the organisation. This court can’t then encourage organisations to breach their own constitutions and do as they please. That’s unlawful and this court can’t lend a hand to or allow unlawfulness to prevail,” she ruled.

“It’s for these reasons that I hold the notice of opposition and the opposing affidavit as not properly before the court, as they have been brought through the back door and not in accordance with respondents’ own constitution. As a result, I will proceed to confirm the provisional order which, in my view, stands unopposed.”

ZMF was formed in 2003, mainly to champion the interests of small-scale and artisanal miners.

In his founding affidavit, ZMMA chairperson Thembinkosi Sibanda said ZMF unprocedurally admitted 13 new associations to join the federation.

He queried Rushwaya’s running for the ZMF presidency yet she was not affiliated to the organisation.

Sibanda said Rushwaya paid $6 500 affiliation fees for the 13 new associations whose admission was irregular and in violation of the ZMF constitution.

-Newsday

GOVERNMENT is mulling new laws to crush demonstrations before they turn violent, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday.

Addressing the 111th Zanu PF central committee meeting in Harare yesterday, Mnangagwa said his government was gearing to ensure that protests which rocked the country in mid-January would never happen again.

“I am assuring the party that government is putting in place measures to ensure that the illegal, criminal and divisive elements of January 14 to 16 disguised as protesters will never happen again,” he declared.

“Government will take stern measures against any violence in this country. We will not tolerate any violence at all. Those who want to demonstrate must do it peacefully and that is allowed by the Constitution.”

Mnangagwa’s chilling statement comes just a month after he warned the opposition, labour movements and civil society that his government would not hesitate to send in soldiers to thwart any future demonstrations against his government. He told the meeting that his team was efficient in dealing with dissenting voices.

“Those who become violent and destructive, destroying property and the lives of our people, government says no and it is no and we know how to implement no,” Mnangagwa said.

The European Union, Britain and the United States, among other countries, have condemned Mnangagwa’s regime for deploying the military, which killed 17 unarmed protesters in cold blood, according to human rights groups.

The West decried the violence and said Mnangagwa’s efforts to promote investment and to deepen international partnerships could only be successful if his administration pursued reforms that included “freedom of assembly, association and expression”.

The EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Timo Olkkonen, on Monday said the bloc would not ignore the human rights violations and warned that further violations were destroying goodwill and a setback to the country’s recovery efforts. Early this month, the United States extended sanctions against Zimbabwe by a year.

A defiant Mnangagwa said his actions were in line with the law, which provides for the protection of property and rights of Zimbabweans.

“My government remains committed to guaranteeing the safety of all its citizens and ensuring that any democratic rights are enjoyed within the strict confines of the law. That’s why there is a government in the country. That’s why there are laws in the country,” he said.

“Laws must be enforced. Law and order must be enforced so that our government will not fall short in making sure the country lives in peace. Individuals should enjoy their democratic rights of association, of movement and of information.”

Mnangagwa noted that his party members could have unleashed chaos and massive damage if they had reacted to the violence.

“I commend the party members for showing sober restraint against immense provocation and attack during that unfortunate incident,” he said.

“We showed maturity as Zanu PF because had we reacted violently, because we are the majority, we could have wreaked havoc in the entire country. But we said no, if other people have chosen to be terrorists and vandals, we cannot imitate them. We should remain civilised and in peace and peaceful and ask them to emulate us.”

-Newsday

By Own Correspondent| A 20 year old Gweru man was fined $84 after he stole a knife and a teaspoon from a local supermarket.

Obert Sibanda (20) from Mkoba 6 pleaded guilty to one count for shoplifting before the magistrate, Beaulity Dube.

In mitigation, Sibanda told the court that he wanted to spread peanut butter on his slices of bread, and did not have the utensils.

“I stole the kitchen knife and teaspoon because I wanted to cut the bread I had bought and use the teaspoon to spread peanut butter on the bread.”

Magistrate Dube fined him $84 failure to which he will be imprisoned for one month.

By Own Correspondent| Merck Foundation is set to train Zimbabwean doctors in key specialist areas, First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa has revealed.

Mnangagwa said she is optimistic the trainings will help improve health care services in the country.

She said:

“I was delighted to meet Dr Rasha Kalej, CEO of the Merck Foundation, and to come to an agreement whereby Merck will help to train Zimbabwean doctors in key specialist areas.

I am confident that this will be a long and fruitful partnership, through which we will help to train and support our doctors, improve healthcare provision and empower women and girls in Zimbabwe.”

By Own Correspondent| South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to clarify his remarks about foreigners who set businesses in that country illegally.

Ramaphosa’s statement during a pre-election rally a few days ago was interpreted as an incitement of the xenophobic attacks currently being experienced in Durban.

He said:

Everybody just arrives in our townships and rural areas and set up businesses without licences and permits, we are going to bring this to an end. And those who are operating illegally wherever they come from must now know….

While addressing an African National Congress fundraising dinner held at the Coastlands Hotel in Durban on Friday night, Ramaphosa said the attacks on foreigners were wrong. Said Ramaphosa:The attacks on foreign nationals for whatever reason is a form of intolerance which the people of this country have rejected many times before, and we must do so again and again and again.

As South Africans, we’re not an intolerant people, and we can’t be defined as being intolerant. We can’t be defined as not wanting to live side by side with people from other nations.

These attacks that have been levelled against people from other countries are wrong and they violate everything that our people fought for over many decades. As for me, I condemn them in the strongest terms because this is not us.

By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has warned protestors revealing that government is set to come up with measures to outlaw violent demonstrations in the country.

Addressing the 111th Zanu PF central committee meeting in Harare on Friday, Mnangagwa said government will not fold its hands as demonstrators destroy property and kill civilians.

Said Mnangagwa:

“I am assuring the party that government is putting in place measures to ensure that the illegal, criminal and divisive elements of January 14 to 16 disguised as protesters will never happen again.

The government will take stern measures against any violence in this country. We will not tolerate any violence at all. Those who want to demonstrate must do it peacefully and that is allowed by the Constitution.

Those who become violent and destructive, destroying property and the lives of our people, the government says no and it is no and we know how to implement no.”

By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said dialogue without main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa is justified because the majority of Zimbabweans are represented by those coming forward to dialogue.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF and the other political parties that are part of the dialogue process he initiated constitute the majority of Zimbabweans.

Mnangagwa said the dialogue participants make up over 60% of the Zimbabwean vote.

Mnangagwa won the election with 50.8 percent of the vote;  just enough to meet the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a run-off against Chamisa, who scored 44.3 percent.

That percentage was eventually reduced to 50.6 percent by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission before the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Mnangagwa.

Said Mnangagwa:

“So we are happy that we are moving together with the rest of the political parties, except one or two who have not, but we and other political parties constitute the majority of the people in this country.

If you put our vote Zanu PF and that of the others the six percent, two percent, one percent we are over 60 percent.”

BFINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube yesterday told the Senate that the official exchange rate will soon match parallel market levels and hopefully destroy completely the black market after the RTGS dollar’s value fell to 1:3 on the interbank market during the week.

Ncube was responding to a question by Mashonaland Central Senator Angeline Tongogara, who had asked to inform the House on government policy and measures being taken to curb the foreign currency black market, which she said was currently destabilising the economy.

“What we have done so far is to complete the monetary policy reforms announced on February 22 and the introduction of the market-based exchange rate and designation of the RTGS dollar as local currency,” Ncube said.

“In the last few days the exchange rate has gone up to 1:3 to the US$ and we have made sure that there is a market-based exchange rate whose behaviour approaches the black market, hoping that with time the black market will be eliminated,” he said.

Ncube said the black market was currently also showing signs that there was a shortage of foreign currency in the country.

“I am sure as we trade in tobacco that the black market will diminish. We want to see a Zimbabwe which does not have a black market,” he said.

Mashonaland Central MP Alice Chimbudzi asked the Finance minister to explain the measures being taken to deal with businesses which are demanding payments for goods and services in foreign currency.

Ncube said businesses were entitled to ask for payment in foreign currency as the country was still a multi-currency regime, but said they must rate the prices using the obtaining official exchange rates.

“We are still in a multi-currency regime and so businesses are entitled to demand payment in foreign currency. The RTGS dollar is a unit for accounting purposes, but we cannot say that other currencies are disallowed. Maybe what businesses have to do is to be fair and to convert to the official rate of 1:3, but they are allowed to quote in foreign currency,” he said.

Bulawayo Metropolitan Senator Gideon Shoko also asked Ncube to state measures being taken by government to prevent high price increases as witnessed before and after the increase in fuel prices in January 2019.

“We are trying everything we can to deal with inflation, but I must hasten to say that year-on-year inflation has changed. Our prices will remain high up to October this year and after October, the year-on-year inflation will drop down because the difference will narrow. However, month to month inflation will keep falling. In February it was 1,7% and in March you will see that the figure will drop and I will not be surprised to see prices falling.

“For example, the price of top quality beef used to be $19 per kilogramme, but yesterday the price had dropped to $12. We are doing everything to curb the growth of inflation because we also need to preserve the value of our currency,” Ncube said.

NewsDay

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that the luxury jet he used recently on trips to Bulawayo and South Africa did not cost the State a penny.

Addressing a Zanu PF central committee meeting yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the plane hire was funded by the Crown Prince of the UAE, who had also pledged to keep a jet on standby for him as and when he wanted to travel.

“I was invited by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed. He hosted us well. You hear people saying I flew with a luxury jet. Those are lies, they sent us a plane,” he said.

“We did not pay anything for that plane. The crown prince sent the aeroplane to pick us up and we went and it dropped us. I told him we had a problem with availability of planes, and he said whenever I want to travel, all I need to do is call.”

Mnangagwa said he laughs every time he reads or hears people comment over his travel using expensive and luxurious jets.

“Those who don’t know will just be pushing lies and saying we are spending money from the national budget. Then I just laugh,” he said.

Mnangagwa’s statements appeared to contradict what his spokesperson George Charamba said recently.

Charamba told The Standard last week that Mnangagwa had hired the jet because it was cheaper and convenient for his entourage.

“Then coming to the Bulawayo issue, the aircraft you are talking about came in on Thursday and has been here preparing to take the President to South Africa for the Sadc Solidarity Conference on Western Sahara, scheduled for March 25 to 26, 2019 in Pretoria,” Charamba said last week.

“We booked the aircraft to be here until it brings back the President from the summit on Tuesday. If you were going to check, the aircraft is currently at the tarmac of the domestic flights and it is cheaper to hire the aircraft for days than to hire it on the day when the President wants to fly out.”

Zanu PF youth league deputy secretary Lewis Matutu challenged those who are saying government hired the plane to provide proof of payment.

“President Mnangagwa was invited to UAE and was provided with all the travel arrangements, including a private jet to and from UAE. He was also offered the same jet to South Africa before it went back to UAE. Those saying it was hired must provide proof of payment,” he said.

The Gambia’s former president Yahya Jammeh stole at least $362m from the state during his 22-year rule, the West African country’s justice minister has said following a nearly two-year investigation.

Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, fled The Gambia in 2017 for exile in Equatorial Guinea as an African regional force closed in on the capital Banjul to enforce his election loss to President Adama Barrow.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou provided a summary of a report compiled by a commission of inquiry. The report, which has not yet been made public, was based on interviews with 253 witnesses.

“This is a staggering amount of money that could have had significant impact on the lives of the ordinary people of this country,” said Tambadou.

“Instead, it was money used to satisfy the pretentious and delusional lifestyle of an egotistic megalomaniac, acts that were both unconscionable and criminal.” 

Jammeh has not commented on the accusations from his base in Equatorial Guinea, but his supporters in The Gambia have dismissed investigations of him as a witch-hunt.

The probe established that Jammeh claimed titles on 281 landed properties in the country, as well as assets abroad, including a residence in the United States, according to Tambadou. It also found the former leader’s assets in his home village of Kanilai alone were worth $28.2m. 

The Gambia’s new authorities believe Jammeh took many of his cars and valuable items with him, after a period of rule characterised by extrajudicial killings, torture and forced disappearances, as well as the pilfering of state assets. 

They previously said that money was stolen by creating fake accounts at the central bank and skimming money from the national telecommunications agency and other state institutions. 

Tambadou said the new government was working to recover the stolen money. 

Barrow, the new president, has promised to “stand firm” in implementing the report’s recommendations “without fear or favour”.

So far, Barrow’s government has sold off some of the possessions Jammeh left behind, including planes and Rolls-Royces with his name embroidered into the headrests. 

A report earlier this week by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a non-profit investigative reporting outlet, said that Jammeh and his associates “looted or misappropriated” at least $975m. 

The project said that bank statements, contracts, government correspondence and internal reports show “a web of fraud that far exceeds the figure offered” by Gambian authorities.

The money that was not funnelled to presidential controlled bank accounts went to businesses that received lucrative contracts from the former leader, the investigative group said.

He got away with it because The Gambia is small, with a population of some two million people, and remained relatively obscure, the group said.

The Gambia, meanwhile, faces a debt burden that reached 130 percent of gross domestic product last year, leading the IMF to warn the country against any new borrowing. — AlJazeera

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s visibly hopeless gathering of political parties that dismally lost the July 2018 harmonised elections met yesterday and appointed chairman of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) Justice Selo Nare and chairperson of the Gender Commission, Margaret Sangarwe Mkahanana, as co-chairs of the did called National Dialogue.

At least 18 parties including ZANU PF attended the meeting at State House in Harare.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, Mnangagwa said he had serious and focused discussions with the leaders of the parties some of whom polled no more than one percent of the votes in the elections.

Main opposition party, the MDC led by Nelson Chamisa which was declared to have lost by less than five percent of the votes, boycotted the talks citing several irregularities in the formulation of the dialogue.

“We had very serious and focused discussions this morning with the heads of political parties. All together we were 18. We have resolved that the question of moderator or convenor shall be two; the chairperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Justice Selo Nare and the chairperson of the Gender Commission, Margaret Sangarwe Mkahanana, will be the other co-chair of the dialogue,” said Mnangagwa.

“We have agreed on the programmes that the three committees have recommended.

“We have adopted the recommendations they have made between now and the launch which is going to happen during the first week of May. These committees are going to put content into the launch for the actual dialogue on issues that we have identified.

“So we are happy that we are moving together with the rest of the political parties, except one or two who have not, but we and other political parties constitute the majority of the people in this country. If you put our vote Zanu PF and that of the others the six percent, two percent, one percent we are over 60 percent.”

President Mnangagwa said he was happy that the parties agreed as Zimbabweans that they should sit together to interrogate the challenges the country is facing.

“We have agreed that in the course of next week all the political parties participating in dialogue shall all be brought together to visit affected areas in Chimanimani and Chipinge. I think this is a very good idea.”

Justice Nare said political parties would be required to submit two names, a male and a female, of their representatives to the dialogue coordinating committee by Tuesday next week.

Emmerson Mnangagwa has scoffed at MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s attempts to rope in a foreign interlocutor to mediate in talks between them, according to Daily News.

Chamisa wants an internationally-backed mediator to break the country’s political logjam.

This came after Mnangagwa initiated talks involving all the candidates that participated in the July 30 presidential polls in an attempt to end the political discord that many believe could be contributing to the crisis ravaging the Zimbabwean economy.

Yesterday, presidential spokesperson George Charamba dismissed Chamisa’s effort, saying the MDC leader should see the light and join those who are already in talks.

“The solution is within the country and not outside. The problem is that he (Chamisa) is not part of the national dialogue. No solution will be found outside the country,” said Charamba, who is also the deputy chief secretary to the president.

While Mnangagwa been persistent with his version of national dialogue, the initiative has struggled to gain traction.

THE Bulawayo woman who was recently mauled by her landlady’s five dogs yesterday relived the horrific attack saying she could hear the sound of her flesh being torn off by the vicious canines.

They tore off flesh from Ms Cherish Muchegwa’s arms, legs and behind on March 10 at a house in West Somerton suburb. She now needs about US$25 000 for a series of operations.

In an interview at the United Bulawayo Hospitals, Ms Muchegwa (25) described how the decision to go back home after dropping her son at her parents’ home before following her husband, Mr Joseph Masaiti, to church nearly turned fatal.

Ms Muchegwa had just entered the gate to her lodgings when the dogs ran to her. She did not sense danger as the dogs had never attacked her since she had moved in two years ago. However, on the fateful day the hounds had other ideas…

“When they reached me one of them went for my arm and pulled me down and the others pounced on me and they started ravaging me. I think they were hungry because they clearly wanted to kill me. They tore off my clothes and I was completely naked as they bit me.

“I could feel and hear my flesh being torn off and teeth crunching my bones as they ravaged me. I tried to fight them off with all my strength but I was no match for them. I somehow had the instinct to use my hands to protect my neck because they wanted to go for my throat to end my resistance. The pain I felt as they ate me alive is indescribable. I am alive by the grace of God, “said Ms Muchegwa.

She said she is grateful to her neighbours as they came to her rescue after hearing her cry for help.

“I screamed as the dogs were attacking me. No one came to save me at first but I kept fighting and screaming and as I was passing out I saw one of my neighbours rushing towards me. In the end I think two of my neighbours managed to beat the dogs with sticks and stones. I think one was bitten on the arm and the other on the leg. I am forever thankful to them, they saved my life by putting their lives at risk.

After the dogs were driven away, women from the neighborhood came and covered me because I was completely naked as the dogs had torn off my clothes. I am not bitter about what happened and I don’t blame anyone. All I want is to recover and I am grateful that people are helping me. Others want to help can EcoCash my husband on 0773 960 966 or make a bank transfer using the church’s ZB bank account, Abundant Life Revival Mission International, account number 4304413264080 Jason Moyo, or Nostro Account Abundant Life Revival Mission International ZB Belmont Branch 4304-413264-405” she said

The Chronicle tracked down one of the brave rescuers, Mr Godfrey Mpofu, who revealed that he is haunted by the sight of the dogs tearing his neighbour apart.

“I am the first person who responded to the screams from the young lady. I was in my fowl run when I heard her screams and shouts for help. The strange thing is that I always go to the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, but on that day I didn’t go.

“I told my wife and daughter to go without me and now when I think about it I think it was God’s doing. I breed free range chickens so on that day I was feeding my chickens when I suddenly heard my neighbour’s dogs barking and growling and then my dog and dogs from other houses started barking.

“Then I heard a scream and someone crying for help, saying she was being killed by dogs.

“I then knew that my neighbour’s dogs were attacking someone. I had to move quickly as I knew they were killing her because her screams were subsiding.

“As I was jumping the wall I was shouting that she should climb a tree to save herself. One of the dogs came after me and I had to jump back to my side. I then ran out the gate, calling out the neighbours to come and help me rescue her. But I could not wait for them to come out of their homes because if I had waited the dogs could have killed her. I went through the gate and saw the dogs dragging her and tearing her clothes while others were chewing off her flesh and eating it and going back for more. She was half naked at that point.

“I threw stones at the dogs but they were not relenting. Two came for me and I tried to use a tree branch to fight them off but one of them managed to sink its teeth into the branch and the other one bit me on the leg. My plan was to fight off the dogs and carry her out the yard but someone closed the gate and I was shouting and asking why you closing the gate, you want us to die caged in here!

“Eventually one person, another neighbour called Banda came and we managed to fight them off her. By the time we fought them off she was completely naked, her clothes were torn to shreds, even the tight and underwear she had on were gone. Those dogs were not biting; they were eating her, they wanted to devour her. That girl is lucky to be alive,” said Mr Mpofu.

He refused to confirm reports that the five dogs, which have been put down by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, had a history of terrorising not only the people who live with the owner — a Mrs Rhoda Mlalazi – but also neighbours.

“I don’t want to talk about the history of the dogs, let sleeping dogs lie. What I can tell you is that they were cross breeds. My dog is a cross breed but after what happened I fear cross breeds and I had to give it away to SPCA. Since that day my dog was acting strangely, I think it was disturbed by the incident. I don’t know but maybe it was the smell of human blood,” he said.

Neighbours who spoke on condition of anonymity said the dogs had in the past bitten over five people, eaten 25 of Mr Mpofu’s free range chickens and 32 rabbits belonging to another neighbour who was not available for comment.

Mr Danacious Mlalazi, the son of Mrs Mlalazi said:

“If the dogs did all that then the neighbours should have reported that to the police, the council and SPCA.

“They cannot say that now because the dogs attacked Ms Muchegwa. The only time the dogs attacked anyone was when a stranger entered our yard at night. People are now being influenced by social media to lie.”

Government has facilitated free local treatment for Ms Muchegwa.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care came in after Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Judith Ncube made an appeal for Ms Muchegwa to get assistance.

She is being treated at the United Bulawayo Hospitals.

Ms Muchegwa needs $25 000 to undergo a series of operations in South Africa or India.

In an interview yesterday, Minister Ncube said the Ministry of Health and Child Care had seen it fit for Ms Muchegwa to get free treatment while funds are being mobilised for her to travel to South Africa for surgery.

“I have spoken to the perm sec and we are looking into other ways of assisting. We are trying to help mobilise funds for her treatment because what befell her is really unfortunate and was a traumatic experience for her. It is a miracle that she survived,’ said Minister Ncube.

Family spokesperson Pastor Itai Ukama yesterday said Ms Muchegwa had started receiving free treatment at the United Bulawayo Hospitals.

“The minister has asked the hospital for a waiver of fees on the patient. We are encouraged by the fact that she’s still reaching out to the corporate world as well as the government for more assistance both locally and in Harare. Truly the Minister has been of great help and comfort to us in this difficult time,” said Pastor Ukama.

Chronicle is in possession of Ms Muchegwa’s pictures, but cannot publish most of them as they may be distressing to those of a nervous disposition.

Pastor Ukama said the church has so far raised $11 000 but it was only enough for pre-operative care.

Pre-operative care refers to healthcare provided before a surgical operation.

State Media

Emmerson Mnangagwa has scoffed at MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s attempts to rope in a foreign interlocutor to mediate in talks between them, according to Daily News.

Chamisa wants an internationally-backed mediator to break the country’s political logjam.

This came after Mnangagwa initiated talks involving all the candidates that participated in the July 30 presidential polls in an attempt to end the political discord that many believe could be contributing to the crisis ravaging the Zimbabwean economy.

Yesterday, presidential spokesperson George Charamba dismissed Chamisa’s effort, saying the MDC leader should see the light and join those who are already in talks.

“The solution is within the country and not outside. The problem is that he (Chamisa) is not part of the national dialogue. No solution will be found outside the country,” said Charamba, who is also the deputy chief secretary to the president.

While Mnangagwa
been persistent with his version of national dialogue, the initiative has struggled to gain traction.

MDC has cried foul over ZANU PF’s alleged vote-buying ahead of the Cowdray Park local government by-election slated for this Saturday.

This comes when Vice President Kembo Mohadi donated 60 tonnes of maize and 30 tonnes of rice to Cowdray Park residents at a rally last week.

MDC Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Felix Mafa aksed why the donation was only made to Cowdray Park.

Said Mafa:
“How can a party just want to give the people of Cowdray Park all that food because there is an election?… We strongly condemn this kind of behaviour by Zanu PF; its clear President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa has not broken with Mugabe’s past.”

ZANU PF is being represented by local businessman Kidwell Mujuru while the MDC has fielded two candidates Collet Ndlovu and Nomagugu Mloyi.Daily News

A Mpoengs police officer allegedly sexually molested 21 pupils while conducting an investigation into sexual abuse at a local primary school.

The cop who was only identified as a Constable Muzulu stationed at Mpoengs Police station is accused of inserting his fingers into 21 pupils’ private parts and fondling their breasts on Monday.

National Police Spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed receiving a report about the incident yesterday.
“I can confirm that a preliminary report was made against the said member of the police force. We are investigating the matter so that we get to the bottom of it and find out the facts,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
He said Constable Muzulu had since been moved to a different police station pending investigations.

“For professional reasons, we have temporarily transferred the officer to a different police station pending finalisation of our investigations. He will be working at the new station until we conclude our investigations,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

Bulu Primary school parents who spoke to The Chronicleexpressed anger and distaste at the alleged acts by the police officer who had been tasked to investigate some sexual assault reports at the school.

“We cannot be having a protector doing this to children. He cannot come and investigate sexual abuse and then do worse. Children cannot lie like that. We want him very far away from our children and we want justice to be served,” said a parent who cannot be named to protect the minor.

Constable Muzulu is accused of having conducted one-on-one sessions with female pupils interviewing them about cases of sexual assault at the school. He is accused of having denied a female teacher the permission to be part of the meetings and said he only wanted to be with the pupils alone.

Mphoengs Police Station is said to have received anonymous tip offs from members of the public about alleged cases of sexual assault on pupils at the school. Constable Muzulu was tasked to get to the bottom of the matter.State media

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has picked Foreign Affairs & International Trade Minister Sibusiso Busi Moyo’s wife as the new chairperson of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

Mnangagwa has since written to the Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) of parliament informing it of his decision to appoint Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo (pictured) as Zacc chairperson.

Zanu PF and MDC chief whips Pupurai Togarepi and Prosper Mutseyami are part of the 26-member SROC.

The development comes as the Parliamnet’s committee is in the middle of selecting eight other members of the commission from a large pool of 130 applicants vying for the posts.

These include former newspaper editors Geoffrey Nyarota and Tommy Sithole; former clerk of parliament Austin Zvoma and ex-MDC MPs Jessie Majome, Gabriel Chaibva and Blessing Chebundo.

Mnangagwa dissolved the previous anti-graft body chaired by Job Whabira in January this year following claims of ineffectiveness and corruption by the very commissioners.

Mnangagwa has pledged to deal with rampant corruption in the country, although critics dismiss it as lip service.

Of the 130 names, the SROC will shortlist 12 for interviews.

Mnangagwa’s decision has, however, left the committee sharply divided after some of the members argued that she was not the most suitable candidate because she is married to the Foreign Affairs minister.

The MPs expressed their reservations at a meeting at parliament on Tuesday last week.

According to sources who attended the meeting, MDC members of the SROC argued that Matanda-Moyo’s appointment would raise serious questions about her impartiality since her husband was a cabinet minister.

An MP who sits in the SROC said: “Mudenda read the letter to us and afterwards there was a heated debate over the issue and when Mudenda realised that he was losing the debate amid fierce resistance from MDC MPs who felt that the appointment would be inappropriate, he decided to put the matter to vote.

“MDC legislators then requested for more time to research on Matanda-Moyo, but Mudenda stuck to his guns and ordered the vote to proceed. The reason for his stance was that he had been given the instruction to ensure that she is approved immediately. MDC MPs abstained from the vote, but Zanu PF MPs went ahead and unanimously approved of her.”

Matanda-Moyo has been a High Court judge since 2013

Before her appointment as a High Court judge, Matanda-Moyo was the president of the Labour Court and at one stage, she was director of public prosecutions in the Attorney-General’s Office.

Independent

FORMER Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who led Nigeria via a military coup in 1976 and then via democratic elections in 1999, has urged young and upcoming African politicians to get their act together if they are to unseat old African leaders — many of them septuagenarians and octogenarians who have been holding on to power for decades — through elections.

“If the youth think that they will get into power on a platter, they are not getting it right,” he said in the interview. “They will have to snatch it, those (ageing leaders) will not go,” said Obasanjo.

On his part, Obassanjo said democracy is taking root in Africa, but warned that rising political stars would struggle to unseat old leaders unless they join forces during elections.

He was speaking in Harare at the SAPES Trust in Harare where a launch ceremony for a democracy book he co-authored was being hosted. The event was also attended by MDC leader Nelson Chamisa.

The 82-year old Obasanjo, who was a military ruler for three years from 1976 and then a civilian leader from 1999 to 2007, said African countries were making progress towards democracy, but much more remains to be done.

“Yes we are (making progress)” towards democracy. “Africa will get to where it needs to be,” he predicted.

“Democracy Works: Re-Wiring Politics to Africa’s Advantage” book which the Nigerian co-authored with Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) deputy chairperson Tendai Biti.

Other co-authors are Jeffrey Herbst and Greg Mills.

The book explores ways in which people can learn to nurture, deepen and consolidate democracy in Africa. The book further addresses political, economic and extreme demographic challenges that Africa faces.

Some people who have read the book believe that it addresses some of the fundamental issues facing African nations.

One of the reviewers said it identifies a ‘democratic playbook’ to meet the threats to free and fair elections.

“But substantive democracy demands more than simply regular polls. Democracy is fundamentally about the inner working of institutions, the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, and leadership in government and civil society, as much as it is about values and the welfare and well-being of its citizens. It also demands that local leadership has a plan for the country beyond simply winning the popular vote.”

Democracy Works is directed toward leaders and citizens who want to address the extreme demographic and other challenges that Africa faces

Author Mills directs the Brenthurst Foundation, Obasanjo was president of Nigeria (1999-2007) and chairperson of the African Union (2004-2006), Biti is a constitutional lawyer, human rights activist, and former Zimbabwe finance minister and Herbst is president of the American Jewish University, Los Angeles.

Professor Herbst, who is a political scientist, taught at Princeton University for 18 years and is the author of ‘States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Control’ and many other books and articles. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Board of Freedom House and has served on the advisory board of The Brenthurst Foundation since 2005.

In a pretexted bid to bring an end to the nation’s perennial nightmarish currency woes, government is allegedly working on a secret plan to introduce a digital Zimbabwe dollar, as soon as a new currency it has already printed and said to be hiding, is rolled out by around September this year, Spotlight Zimbabwe, has been told.

High level officials in the ministry of finance and at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), this week said the mooted Zimbabwe digital dollar is reportedly the brainchild of finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, who is thought to be having the backing of numerous financial technology firms from abroad for the massive project, which will inevitably compel all citizens to use digital wallets, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, slowly but surely pushes for the use of cryptocurrencies and virtual cash in the economy.

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security, while digital wallets are a software-based system for making e-commerce transactions through computers, tablets or smartphones. In general, bank accounts of individual users are linked with their digital wallet, which can store complete user information including credentials, transaction history and personal details.

As first revealed by this publication on 14 December 2018, Mnangagwa’s regime is warehousing a new Zimbabwe currency at a classified location, which was reportedly printed by the Chinese government in return for allowing Beijing unperturbed access to the country’s diamonds and oil drilling rights. China has also been contracted to construct a new opulent capital city in Mount Hampden, under the same deal. We reported that the new money was expected to be launched in early 2020, to repeal and replace the then surrogate currency of bond notes, before they were renamed to RTGS dollars together with all forms of electronic money by the central bank last month. The RTGS dollar, derives its name from the country’s interbank online platform, Real Time Gross Settlement.

Former finance minister, Tendai Biti, blew the whistle about the imminent launch of the new currency days before RBZ chief, John Panonetsa Mangudya, announced his monetary policy statement in February, but the authorities denied the story and existence of the new local currency, only to make a tacit admission through Ncube that a local currency was only six months away, and in the meantime merging bond notes and mobile money into the current RTGS regime.

Spotlight Zimbabwe, has it on good authority that there had been a policy warfare in recent times in government between the finance ministry and RBZ over whether or not to introduce a new currency, and the idea of RTGS dollars, which ended up roping in Mnangagwa’s office for final policy direction. Ncube desired to lay the ground for the country’s own cryptocurrency through the experiment of RTGS dollars, while Mangudya allegedly planned to announce a new currency during his monetary policy pronouncement, we have gathered.

Within a fortnight of his appointment as minister in September 2018, Ncube started hinting about the digital Zimbabwe dollar, when he openly called for the country to invest in cryptocurrencies, as a measure to assist in solving the economy’s cash crunch.

More in Home

“The RTGS dollars are actually a trail run for the digital Zimbabwe dollar,” said a senior official with the finance ministry. “I can confirm to you that our country is going to launch a digital dollar, that will operate concurrently with a new currency expected to circulate in September. It’s all being done in secret and two fintech companies (names supplied) from abroad are ready to render their services. FM (finance minister Ncube) wants the central bank to establish a cryptocurrency division for this purpose, and plans are at an advanced stage.”

Another long serving civil servant in the same ministry said government has been advised not to completely remove bank notes from the system to avoid resistance and public protest, if they want the digital dollar to be a success, that is why a new local currency is coming in a few months from now, as a precursor to the digital Zimbabwe dollar.

“It’s a delicate matter. People are not fools and they prefer physical notes to virtual money. Even in Europe and America there is resistance for digital currencies from the general public. In our case, they have decided to first bring in the new currency of bank notes, then immediately after that bring in the digital Zimbabwe dollar. Noone will be forced into accepting it, but people will eventually fall for it due to convenience. We shall all be using it, and before you know it the bank notes will be gone without much notice. That’s how it’s done.”

RBZ sources said a team of experts from the central bank and ministry of finance has been tasked with coming up with a legal framework for the digital dollar, likely to be called E-Zollar.

“The new Zimbawe digital dollar or E-Zollar it’s likely name, will seek to emulate the E-Ora in South Africa, which was tested in 2018 but unlike E-Ora, which is for a small community ours will be national,” the sources said. “A legal framework for the provision of the digital dollar is being worked out, such that it is adopted as legal tender and the RBZ can have regulatory powers over it.”

The E-Ora is from South Africa’s predominantly white community of Orania, located along the Orange River in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province. Pegged to the South African rand, the digital currency is issued by the Oranian Chamber of Commerce, and is meant for exclusive use in Orania, a town of around 1600 people.

The Canadian city of Calgary has also followed suit, and launched it’s own digital currency known as the Calgary Digital Dollar, which will be used exclusively in the City of Calgary located in Alberta Province alongside the federal currency, the Canadian dollar.

According to RBZ digital transactions, underpinned by mobile money, accounted for over 90% of the US$97.5 billion in total value transactions for Zimbabwe in 2017 alone.

— SpotlightZimbabwe

The legal secretary in the ministry of transport and infrastructural development Angeline Karonga has been arrested. This follows a crackdown on top officials in the ministry’s various arms which saw the arrest and subsequent suspension of Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) general manager David Chawota this week.

She was picked by police on Thursday night for questioning regarding corrupt activities in the ministry.

This comes as startling information has revealed that Zinara apparently paid $868 832 to a company headed by National Railways of Zimbabwe Board member and Transport ministry legal director Angeline Karonga.

A snap survey shows that bitumen lands in Zimbabwe for between $18 000 and $24 000 per truck-load but Akodal was selling it for over $45 000 per load.

According to the Registrar of Companies records, Karonga co-owns the company with Civil Aviation of Zimbabwe (Caaz) general manager David Chawota, who himself is under probe at the parastatal he heads.

Karonga and Chawota are named as directors of Akodal Consultancy Services (Akodal), which received payments from Zinara between March 2012 and September 2013 for bitumen that it supplied to the parastatal.

This comes as Government this week suspended Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr David Chawota (59) who is before the courts facing charges of criminal abuse of office after he allegedly awarded a tender amounting to 27 900 000 euros to a Spanish company for the procurement of the country’s airspace management systems.

More to follow…

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The Harare Residents Trust (HRT) has demanded the sacking and arrest of top Harare City Council (HCC) officials implicated in a massive point of sale machine (POS) fraud exposed in an  internal audit report released recently.

The  internal audit revealed that some top officials supplied HCC with 19 unregistered POS machines without following due procedure.

According to the audit report, the unregistered POS machines have been in use for over two years and all the transactions were not reflected in the HCC’s electronic accounting system implying that there were leakages of ratepayers funds.

HRT director Precious Shumba said heads must roll and all corrupt officials must be shipped out.

“The only remedy is to  rid the council of corrupt people, getting your account credited for services not rendered is not a sustainable solution because it would be like we are tolerating that.

“Criminals must be removed from the system of council, we cannot have the capital city being run by corrupt people and they are left to do what they please without being punished,” he said.

Shumba said the unregistered POS machines were a reflection of a corrupt institution operating with a “high level of impunity.”

“The Harare City Council is being run by very corrupt people from the management to the majority of the councillors, they are thieves that have connived to deprive the rate payers of deserved services because their interest is not  in serving the people but accumulating wealth [and] building mansions,” he said.

He also noted that such issues had been raised by the Auditor General, Mildred Chiri in her report in 2014, where the City of Harare was “found to be creating dubious accounts.”

Shumba bemoaned the lack of criminal investigations being opened regarding such financial irregularities, where instead many HCC directors were “handsomely rewarded” for corruption.

“In the worst case scenarios we see people being suspended but we want these cases to be brought to court instead of giving them huge labour awards in settlement.

“We realise there is connivance, the councillors do not want these matters to be taken to the police or to the courts they want to internally handle the cases so they can negotiate for their own payouts,” Shumba said.

Despite his criticism of the HCC, Shumba said the current mayor,  Herbert Gomba had been “proactive” in his approach to corruption.

HCC spokesperson Michael Chideme said he could not qualified to respond to the matter without consultation with the Finance department.

“I have sent the questions to finance so they can give me the responses, so I am waiting for their responses,” he said.

Efforts to contact the Acting Finance director Stanley Ndemera drew a blank and his mobile phone went unanswered by the time of going to publication on Thursday morning.

— Zim Morning Post

Own Correspondent|Two people died on the spot and several others were injured after a bus belonging to Shumba logistics rammed into the back of a truck just after the last tollgate towards Pretoria. The bus was traveling from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg in the early hours of Friday (today).

Shumba Logistics Public Relations Officer Mr Marshall Ndlela issued the following statement:

“Shumba Logistics Bus Company is saddened by the tragic loss of life that occurred when one of our buses got involved in an accident early this morning ( around 4am). This tragic accident happened at the last tollgate towards Pretoria.

We sadly lost our driver Bruce Mapfumo and a lady passenger whose name will be released in due course after her next of kin have been notified, we would like to pass our deepest heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

Bruce Mapfumo a highly experienced driver and as a company we are deeply pained by his death he was a dedicated worker and he loved his job he cared for passengers and we would also want to express our condolences to his family as a company we mourn with his family and we will endeavour to do the best we can to help the family in the difficult time.

From what we have been able to ascertain thus far with regards the accident it is said that a truck that was driving in front of the bus applied emergency brakes resulting in the bus driver ramming onto it from the back leading to the bus driver’s subsequent death on the spot. We have also ascertained that the lady passenger also died on the spot.

All the other passengers who were injured were quickly ferried to Tshwane and Steve Biko hospitals respectively where they were most them were treated and discharged. However, the co-driver and his assistant are still receiving treatment. Shumba Logistic would like to wish all those injured and traumatised by this unfortunate accident a speedy recovery.

As a transporting bus company we remain committed to offering the best service to our customers and we will do our utmost best to see to it that our staff remain best trained on all health and safety regulations on the road and alert at all times. Sadly we can not always mitigate for unfortunate accidents.

We condole with those who grieve as a result of the accident and we pray for peace and comfort. We also express our prayers and our message of speedy recovery to all those injured physically and emotionally. May God lead, thank you.”

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, HH Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, offered him the Airbus A318-100 jet for use at any time of need without any payment.

He said this while giving his opening remarks at the ZANU-PF’s 119th Central Committee meeting which is currently underway at the party’s headquarters in Harare.

The meeting began with the President leading the session in observing a moment of silence in honour and rememberance of those who perished as a result of Cyclone Idai which ravaged the Chimanimani District of Manicaland on 15 March.

In his initial remarks, President Mnangagwa explained that his trip to Abhu Dhabi was fully funded by the Crown Prince who sent a whole aircraft for his round-trip.

“The government never incurred any expenses for that trip. In fact, the Crown Prince went further to offer us a jet plane for use at anytime of need without any payment,” he said.

The President’s revelation contradicts that of his spokesperson George Charamba.

In an interview with a weekly paper last week, Charamba said: ” You ask me who is footing the bill for the president? Well, who is flying in this case? The president right, so who do you want to foot the bill? It is the government because he is not travelling for his personal business.

“This is what international engagements come with. We would want to be part of the global village and we have to carry the cost. I often hear people say this and that, but if we want that global presence, the state has to meet the cost that this comes along with.

“If I was to talk about the recent trip to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and you look at the benefits of that trip, the opportunities alone that came with that trip, surely the costs are way less than the results we reaped from the trip.

If you were to look at the business opportunities for the country created thereof, indeed you could see that this was a necessary expenditure by the state. The assistance coming from there, the energy business deals and so on and so forth, you will appreciate that it was a necessary cost.”

At the ongoing ruling party’s central committee meeting, the President went on to thank the UAE for their support for Zimbabwe in its time of need when the powerful cyclone hit the eastern highlands.

He further announced that the Crown Prince of Abhu Dhabi has already sent three cargo planes of which two were loaded with relief supplies for Cyclone Idai victims while the third carried hospital supplies.

He said that early this morning he met an envoy from the Abhu Dhabi Crown Prince who offered more support to the Zimbabwean health sector.

“As we speak the envoy is touring our main hospitals assessing the needs of our people,” he said.

Since assuming power in a military coup in 2017, President Mnangagwa has made over 30 international flights – all mostly undertaken in luxury jets hired from various companies around the world. The same luxury has been extended to his deputies Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, who have made several medical flights for treatment in South Africa and India.

ZANU PF Central Committee is the Party’s supreme decision making organ in between Congresses and the Politiburo is the Secretariat and implementing arm of the Central Committee decisions

The meeting is ongoing.