RBZ has announced that RTGS, bond notes and coins will be immediately denominated as ‘RTGS Dollars’.

The legal instrument giving effect to this has been prepared and will be gazetted soon.

RBZ Governor John Mangudya says the continued use of the USD has had serious negative consequences on the economy including speculative pricing and negative investor confidence, which need to be corrected.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mangudya has admitted that the economy has largely deteriorated since last monetary policy statement in October 2018,we now in an (highly) inflationary environment and parallel market rate has more than doubled .

WATCH VIDEO BELOW…

By Farai D Hove | President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s deputy Constantino Chiwenga currently hospitalized in Asia is now unable to speak, it has emerged.

Insider reports reaching ZimEye say that the general who removed former president Robert Mugabe is now struggling to speak following his struggle with an undisclosed ailment.

Chiwenga was flown to India early February after his health deteriorated. 4 days later it got to the level of failing to eat.

However speaking is now difficult, a Harare based source told ZimEye.

Last night ZimEye telephoned the man and his cellphone reported a voice message in the Indian Hindi language. (ZimEye could not at the time of writing establish exactly where the man is.

ZimEye will reproduce the full transcript off the voicemail message.

Meanwhile the South African government yesterday sent well wishes to Chiwenga.

“On Zimbabwe, we must start by wishing Vice President Chiwenga a speedy recovery. We all know that he has not been well. I am informed by our High Commissioner, that he [Chiwenga] has travelled to India for further treatment that will help his condition,” South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu told journalists in Pretoria.
“We wish him a speedy recovery there.”

One of the lawyers who represented President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s in his Constitutional Court election defence, Tinomuda Chinyoka was arrested on Monday after a human rights lawyer who is representing several individuals detained during last month’s fuel protests accused him of assault.

Brian Dube, who has also filed a complaint with the Law Society of Zimbabwe, said Tinomuda Chinyoka approached him from behind whilst he was in a court building in Gweru and “assaulted me by pressing me hard on my right collarbone with force and I felt pain.”

Chinyoka went on to issue several unspecified threats, boasting that he was connected to powerful people, Dube alleged.

The reported attack on the lawyer, who is also the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP for Gweru Urban, follows threats made by Mnangagwa at a rally in Mwenezi last Saturday where he vowed to “go after” lawyers representing hundreds of citizens detained over the January 14 nationwide protests.

Chinyoka was part of Mnangagwa’s legal team that successfully got the Constitutional Court to declare him winner of last year’s presidential election. He denied assaulting Dube, but confirmed that he had been arrested.

“Brian Dube and Jeremiah Bamu concocted a false assault charge against me to secure my arrest and removal from court. Instead of representing their client, they are busy lying and consorting with mobs to assault lawyers and witnesses,” Chinyoka said on Twitter, indicating that he would likely appear in court on Friday.

Dube said he was inside the Gweru Magistrates Court awaiting the arrival of his client, the MDC’s Chiwundura MP Livingstone Chimina, when he had a nasty encounter with Chinyoka.

The lawyer told Gweru Provincial Magistrate Charity Maphosa: “There was a gentleman that was seated right behind me on the bench there about 15 minutes ago, who stood up, charged towards me and pressed me on my right shoulder and indicated that I had ‘pissed him off’ with the defence outline and he was going to deal with me.

“He was standing right behind me in this courtroom. I asked him who he was because I have been seeing him a lot around these courts for the past three weeks and that’s when he refused to introduce himself saying I was not supposed to know him.”

He said he later learnt from one of his colleagues that the individual was Chinyoka.

“Your Worship, I stand before you threatened with unspecified action by a stranger, a person I don’t know. Lawyers should not be harassed in court, no matter how powerful some people are. Our independence as professionals is being tampered with.

“I make this submission on record because my fear is twofold: the first is that I don’t know what he is capable of and as a professional I’m frightened and therefore can’t exercise my rights to freely and independently represent my client.

“My second fear is that I am also a public official apart from being Honourable Chimina’s defence lawyer. I represent thousands of people who he might fail to control once they hear that I have been threatened.”

He said Chinyoka should not, in the first place, have had access to the defence outline which is only served to the prosecutors, accusing the state lawyers dealing with the case of working with Chinyoka.

Chinyoka was a losing candidate in the 2018 Gweru Urban Zanu PF primary elections. Had he won, he would have faced Dube in last July’s general elections. Late last year, he applied for the post of Prosecutor General but failed in interviews.

-Gweru Times

Jane Mlambo| Former Zimbabwe Republic Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri and Central Intelligence Organisation boss Happyton Bonyongwe were on Monday removed from the sanctions list which retained former President Robert Mugabe and Wife Grace.

On Monday, the EU head of policy, Federica Mogherini said the bloc’s Foreign Affairs ministers decided not to add fresh names to the sanctions list, but kept Mugabe and his wife, Grace on the list as well as the Zimbabwe Defence Industries.

“On Zimbabwe, there was a council decision today to uphold the embargo and restrictive measures against the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, to uphold individual restive measures against Robert Mugabe and Grace, to uphold suspended individual measures against the Vice-President (Constantino Chiwenga) the commander of Zimbabwe Defence Forces (Philip Vallerio Sibanda), the Minister of Lands and Agriculture (Perrance Shiri) and to lift two individual measures (Augustine Chihuri and Happyton Bonyongwe),” Mogherini said.

Jane Mlambo| The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has urged Zanu PF to comply and address the various concerns that forced the European Union and United States of America to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Commenting in the Newsday, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said Zanu PF should abrogate blame on the opposition for the imposition of sanctions.

“The issue of sanctions is a bilateral issue between the affected members and the EU. They know what they did to get those measures and they need to adjust their behaviour accordingly,” he said.

Yesterday the EU renewed sanctions on Zimbabwe but did not include any new people.

Correspondent|Grain Millers Association (GMAZ) has revealed that the country could run out of bread in a few days following the dwindling of flour stocks as a result of the country’s failure to pay for imported wheat.

GMAZ general manager Lynette Veremu sent a letter to the National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (NBAZ) and stated that Zimbabwe cannot pay for 55,000 tonnes of imported wheat in bonded warehouses in Mozambique.

“We regret to advise that the current stocks for foreign wheat for bread flour have depleted to 5,800 tonnes and … we are left with less than eight days of national bread flour supplies.” read part of the letter.

GMAZ spokesperson Garikai Chaunza confirmed that the country is facing serious shortages of wheat.

“True, foreign wheat stocks have seriously depleted and we have been raising a red flag about this situation since August to authorities,” said Chaunza

The country, currently producing less than a third of its national wheat requirements estimated at 350 000 to 400 000 tonnes per annum, relies largely on imports for the staple cereal

Efforts to speak to Ngoni Mazango who is the president of NBAZ proved fruitless as he did not pick his phone on Wednesday.

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and his top lieutenants in the military have been left out of the European Union (EU)’s latest sanctions list despite widespread calls for their censure over the army’s recent brutal crackdown on civilian protesters.

The EU imposed sanctions against former President Robert Mugabe’s government in 2000 and has since then maintained the restrictive measures, although gradually relaxing them to allow for implementation of political and economic reforms by the Zanu PF regime.

On Monday, the EU head of policy, Federica Mogherini said the bloc’s Foreign Affairs ministers decided not to add fresh names to the sanctions list, but kept Mugabe and his wife, Grace on the list as well as the Zimbabwe Defence Industries.

THE Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has banned the use of State security agents as public prosecutors at civilian courts, saying their secondment to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was a serious violation of the Constitution.

The ruling came following an application filed by the Zimbabwe Law Officers’ Association and former public prosecutor Derek Charamba, where the parties were seeking an order compelling Prosecutor-General (PG) Kumbirai Hodzi and Justice Ziyambi Ziyambi to stop engaging police and army personnel as public prosecutors.

Sometime in January 2015, the late former Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, who headed the nine-member ConCourt bench, reserved judgment in the matter after submissions were made by the PG’s representative Sharon Fero and applicants’ lawyer, Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara.

But yesterday, ConCourt judge Justice Antoinette Guvava delivered the unanimous judgment and read out the operative part which ordered the PG to disengage the services of security officers from the NPA over the next two years.

“The engagement by the first respondent (NPA) of the serving members of the security services to prosecutorial duties is in contravention of Section 208 (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe… It is, hereby, ordered that: the first respondent (NPA) is directed to disengage all members of the security services within 24 months from the date of this order,” Justice Guvava said.

During the hearing, the late Justice Chidyausiku took the PG’s Office to task, demanding an explanation on why the NPA wanted its job to be done by police officers and soldiers still in service.

“Why do you want the police to do your job? We in the Judiciary do not want to have police officers as magistrates,” Justice Chidyausiku said then.

“Give us one good reason why we should have police prosecutors as opposed to civilian prosecutors…. In principle, I do not see the reason why the PG would want his job done by police.”

In response, Fero said the practice of engaging security forces as public prosecutors had been in existence since time immemorial, adding that the main reason was unattractive condition of service offered by the NPA.

Fero further said there were no provisions in the Constitution that precluded security forces to be engaged as prosecutors.

But in his submissions on behalf of the applicants, Zhuwarara said the use of security forces to perform prosecutorial duties in civilian courts was in violation of section 208(4) of the Constitution.

He added that the engagement of police and army officers to prosecute in civilian courts was a misnomer adding that the practice could not be condoned, tolerated or excused in a democratic society.

“The mechanics of birthing a public prosecutor are different from those put in place to bring about a police officer or an army officer….they (police and army prosecutors) are part of the security system and cannot be engaged in civilian institutions since they are bound by specific rules of discipline,” he said. — NewsDay

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has fired senior Masvingo magistrate Mr Peter Madhibha for gross incompetence, among other reasons.

JSC secretary Mr Walter Chikwana confirmed Mr Madhibha’s sacking.

He said Mr Madhibha was sacked after he appeared before a JSC disciplinary committee and was found guilty of contravening the Commission’s Regulations of 2015 that demands high levels of competence on the part of court officials.

Mr Madhibha, who was served with his letter of dismissal last week, was found guilty of passing non-custodial and lenient sentences for some offences that would under normal circumstances warrant stiffer penalties.

He had served as magistrate for 17 years.

“Yes, l can confirm that Mr Madhibha appeared before the JSC disciplinary committee. He was fired after the committee recommended his dismissal on February 12, 2019. His conduct violated the Judicial Services Commission Regulations (2015) which stipulate that all court officials have to exercise a high level of competence in the manner they execute their duties,” he said.

Others reasons for firing Mr Madhibha were his failure to satisfactorily respond to queries raised by Masvingo resident High Court Judges, Justices Garainesu Mawadze and Joseph Mafusire during their review of a case he had handled.

The case involved the State versus one Ernest Chifumuro (Case: MSVP 549/18) where Mr Madhibha ordered the latter to just pay a fine of $1 000 after convicting him of culpable homicide.

Chifumuro was convicted after a bus he was driving caused the death of six people along the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway.

It was felt that a custodial sentence would have sufficed considering the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash. Masvingo Provincial Magistrate Mr Langton Ndokera said Masvingo now has 18 magistrates following the departure of Mr Madhibha

“Masvingo used to have 19 magistrates, excluding two regional magistrates (at Masvingo and Chiredzi magistrates courts).

‘‘Today (Friday), JSC has issued Mr Madhibha with a letter of dismissal. Our establishment now comprises of 18 magistrates,” said Mr Ndokera.

He said the JSC will continue to deal with cases of incompetence and corruption within the judiciary.

“We have it in good authority that there are syndicates of court officials engaging in corruptions. Some deliberately deny offenders bail so that they get kickbacks while others arrive at questionably lighter sentences after allegedly getting bribes from accused persons. We will deal decisively with this rot,” Mr Ndokera said.

State Media

WATCH VIDEO BELOW…

The legitimacy of President Mnangagwa will not form part of the agenda for inter-party national dialogue as he was duly elected as Head of State and Government before his election was confirmed by the Constitutional Court (Concourt), a senior Zanu-PF official has said.

In an interview with Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN), Zanu-PF secretary for Legal Affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said the ruling party will not entertain attempts by MDC-Alliance to put President Mnangagwa’s election as the President of the country on the agenda when the dialogue begins.

He said every Zimbabwean had an obligation to recognise the result of an election, which was pronounced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) before endorsement by the Concourt.

“It is an obligation upon every political player in the country to recognise the pronouncement by the Constitutional Court. So the issue of the election of the President is not on the table and will not be on the table because a decision has been made by the highest courts on that particular issue. We are not entertaining any discussion on that,” said Mangwana.

“We are saying we have a Government in place led by President Mnangagwa, but there are areas which require improvement from a social, political and economic perspective, let us discuss those issues with full recognition that there is a President who was elected by the people of Zimbabwe that is the context under which we are discussing. We are not discussing the legitimacy or otherwise of the election of the President. It is not an item on the agenda.”

He reiterated that the dialogue being prepared had nothing to do with power sharing saying Zanu-PF got a full mandate from the people to run the country for the next five years.

Mangwana said the national dialogue being driven by President Mnangagwa was running together with another one comprising political parties represented in Parliament to discuss legislative and budgetary issues.

He said the four political parties represented in Parliament held their inaugural meeting last weekend in Bulawayo. He said the inter-party dialogue of political parties represented in Parliament had been in place since the inclusive Government culminating in the writing of a new Constitution.

“After the constitutional programmes the dialogue continued looking at legislative reforms, we have participated in the interparty dialogue all along but after the election which led to President Mnangagwa being elected as the leader of this country, the MDC Alliance said it will not recognise the outcome of the presidential election and we said, ‘look if you cannot recognise our principal as leader we have difficulties in engaging you’,” said Mangwana.

“Efforts were ofcourse made to mediate on that particular issue and it continued until last week we decided to meet if we could find common ground. This did not only include MDC Alliance but two other political parties in Parliament because our framework of negotiation is premised on political parties represented in Parliament. “

He said the last meeting in Bulawayo was to look at the framework under which parties should engage and it was also meant to orient new political parties like National Patriotic Front which is being represented by Masango (Blackman) Matambanadzo.

A technical committee to come up with items to be placed on the agenda was constituted and another meeting will be held in two weeks.

“We are discussing critical issues to take our economy forward, how do we ensure that the youths in our party live in peace, that they sing from the same hymn book, as political parties how do we reduce tension, what should be the approach to the budget in Parliament,” he said.

State Media

Cabinet yesterday approved the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, which seeks to repeal the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), Protection of Personal Information Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill whose thrust is to repeal the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

Addressing a post-Cabinet meeting media briefing in Harare last night, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said she presented the principles of the Freedom of Information Bill that would create legal framework outlining parameters for the exercise of the right to access to information as envisaged by the Constitution.

“Cabinet approved the principles and directed that instructions be issued for the drafting of the actual Bill, which is one of the three Bills envisaged to arise from the repeal of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Chapter 10:27),” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Responding to what entailed the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the proposed law was not only meant to comply with the Constitution, but to be consistent with previous judgments that were made by courts of law.

“One issue we wanted to amend is where a convenor of a public meeting, in the current Act there was no requirement for the regulator to give a specific period where they can respond if you had applied for a public meeting,” he said.

“In the new Bill, we are saying once there are no issues within three days, the regulator must inform the conveners of that particular meeting that they can go ahead.

“Also, we needed to deal with Section 27 which spoke about a regulator being allowed in advance, in anticipation of a demonstration, to designate a certain area that demonstrations cannot be done for a month or so, this we have banned, we have removed that provision.

“There was also within the Act the provision that if you do not have an identity card you can be detained, in the new law, if there is a security roadblock and if you do not have an identity card, the officer can now require you to present yourself to a police station within seven days and if you do not have an identity card within that period you are liable to a fine.

“There is also a provision in POSA where the armed forces can be called to assist the police. The 2013 Constitution says that once the armed forces is called to assist the police, the President must cause Parliament to be informed. So, we are going to insert that provision so that within the maintenance of peace, that provision is captured where the President will be called upon to inform Parliament within seven days of its next sitting after deploying soldiers to assist the police.”

Turning to other deliberations, Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet was briefed by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo on several programmes undertaken to improve availability of medicines.

They include procurement of $2 million worth of medicine from Denmark, securing $25 million of medicines from Gemcorp, which is already underway, a donation of $2 million worth of drugs secured by China Polaris, and procurement of medicines under a commodity exchange programme involving Russian Federation National Security, which is already under discussion.

“To address the prevailing situation where patients in need of specialist services are forced to seek treatment outside the country, often at costs beyond the reach of many of our citizens, Government is now working towards establishment of a speciality hospital wing under the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Land for building industrial parks had been identified at the University of Zimbabwe farm, Chivhu council, Masvingo and Marondera.

On the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Road project, Minister Mutsvangwa said rehabilitation of the Beatrice to Chivhu section was set to start tomorrow, while rehabilitation of the Chivhu town section was due to commence on March 1 2019, with tenders for the remaining section having been submitted to the Procurement Regulatory Authority.

Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet expressed its condolence on the death of artisanal miners at Battlefields Mine disaster owing to flooding of mine shafts.

Government, said Minister Mutsvangwa, had approved a Fund known as Business Emergency Relief Fund to assist affected businesses by the violent disturbances that rocked the country on January 14 to 16 2019.

The money would be disbursed directly to suppliers and retailers who would draw down goods and re-payment would be made for a period of three to six months at an interest rate of four percent per annum.

Cabinet was also briefed on the partial privatisation of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation where it was agreed that tendering process with respect to Glvington Gold Mine, Jena, Lynx Graphite, Sandawana mines, Mbungu CBM and Gwayi CBM be abandoned.

Cabinet also approved Bilateral Air Services Agreements between Zimbabwe and the Sultanate of Oman and Democratic Socialist of Sri-Lanka providing framework of air transport services as part of Government’s efforts to engage and re-engage with the international community, thereby fulfilling the mantra that Zimbabwe is Open for Business.

South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa will be coming to Zimbabwe next month to meet his counterpart President Emmerson Mnangagwa to discuss a various number of bilateral issues between the two countries.

This was revealed by South Africa International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu during a briefing with journalists on Tuesday.

“We are preparing for a bi-national with Zimbabwe, on March 12th. Our President (Ramaphosa) will lead the delegation to Harare. I think sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe will be top of our agenda and we are putting them across in the world because we believe that for as long as Zimbabwe has sanctions imposed on it, the possibility of recovering from its economic woes will remain very glim and dim,” said Sisulu.

President Ramaphosa is a champion of the removal of sanctions against Zimbabwe.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland recent he said Zimbabwe faces “serious, serious, economic challenges and they can be assisted by the world if those sanctions are lifted.”

The United States has sanctions on Zimbabwean officials including President Mnangagwa and says certain human rights reforms are needed to lift them.

America also has a list of companies that are not supposed to do business with the super power. An Act of Parliament called the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act was amended last year to include conditions which will result in America removing sanctions.

On Monday European Union renews sanctions against former President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace and the Zimbabwe Defense Industries.byo24

Billionaire Strive Masiyiwa is not coming back to Twitter it seems based on a post he made on Tuesday.

Responding to news that there had been a massive transaction in which a huge number of Econet shares had been bought he said:

Econet Global which I own, decided to move shares into another company, which I also own. I own both companies 100%. It has nothing to do with the listed companies! Our accountants were simply doing some house keeping.

There was no deal!

Then Masiyiwa who a few months ago along with his wife Tsitsi exited the platform said:

This is one of the reasons why I don’t use Twitter, because a lot of people rush to say things on it, without checking the facts. It is a place of “conspiracy theorists”, who are thrown from pillar to post.

So there you have it folks…

Correspondent|There was anxiety among Zimbabweans on Tuesday, with speculation rife that the central bank governor, Dr John Mangudya, would on Wednesday present the monetary policy statement (MPS), which would clearly define the path of the ill-fated bond note currency.

Officially, the bond note is trading on par with the American dollar – but market forces show otherwise. By close of business on Monday, US$100 was fetching an average of $400 in bond notes on the black market. This exchange rate also reflects on basic commodities such as milk, rice, toiletries and other household items, while fuel is now cheaper in bond notes than in hard currencies.

Last week, former finance minister in the inclusive government of 2008 to 2013 Tendai Biti sensationally claimed that the central clearing house intended to introduce a new currency within a week.

The week passed and current finance minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said: “We will do the needful (introduction of currency) when the conditions are right.”

Part of the conditions, according to Ncube, are substantial forex reserves. The deputy director for economic research at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Dr Nebson Mupunga, said Zimbabwe is currently sitting on US$600m in forex reserves, up from an estimated US$130m. The increase is due to the separation of US dollar accounts and the bond notes. This means the introduction of a new currency is fast approaching.

“In the same account, we were depositing RTGS (real-time gross settlement) and US dollars, there was pressure in terms of the actual US dollar. That is why as the central bank we took the decision to separate the accounts so as to preserve value and so as to attract those with actual hard cash to deposit in the banking sector and this has actually started paying dividends as you see.

“Now, nostro FCA deposits are on an increase to around US$600m from maybe around $130m,” he told delegates at the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) breakfast meeting.

The country’s top forex earner, the mining industry has long called for the abandonment of the bond note because it stifles the industry’s growth. Artisanal miners who sell their gold to the government are paid 30 percent of their money in bond notes/RTGs.

“In other terms, my profit and part of my operation costs are paid to me in bond notes. This is not right, that’s why gold smuggling has gone up. We would rather smuggle to South Africa than donate to government,” said one miner.

Early this month, mines minister Winston Chitando said he was hopeful that the RBZ in the MPS will come up with a solution to the situation faced by the miners.

“One of the current challenges which the industry is facing relates to foreign currency retention… The governor will over the next week or two come up with monetary policy intervention which would address that issue,” he said.

The only success story is agriculture, mainly tobacco farming, which last year raked in nearly US$1 billion dollars in foreign currency is also feeling the bond note pinch. Farmers rejected the policy through which RBZ retains up to 70% of foreign currency export earnings from the crop while giving them only 20% in hard currency. The farmers want to retain as much as 80% of their sales in foreign currency.

Zambian flamboyant prophet who is known for accurate prophecies and instant healing,  and who was recently with the prime minister of India has warned two presidents in Africa to step down .

Prophet Shepherd M Mesala who had a private meeting with the president of Zimbabwe this month just after his return from India has told Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down.

The fearless prophet told the Zimbabwean president that the problem of African leaders is that they force themselves on power even when you have failed. He also said that just as Edgar Lungu of  Zambia  has failed and needs to step down .

He stated,” I saw  bloodshed in Zimbabwe and Zambia.  For Zimbabwe I see military fighting another military.  This is a warning, it’s simply saying that the civilians will not fight with the military but the Zimbabwean military will fight  another military to restore peace in Zimbabwe.

For Zambia I saw massive bloodshed in 2021 and this is going to pass,  a lot of people will die it will be an election of bloodshed and it shall be remembered in the history of Zambia.

Zambian media

Correspondent|EXILED Former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has predicted that ZANU PF will become extinct by 2028 because of the characters who are the helm of the party.

“Zanu PF will be dead by 2028. Dead as in dodo,” Moyo said. “Look at the Zanu PF presidium, I know there’s nothing much to see there, but take a closer look at its politburo and central committee, who are the 2028 Zanu PF reformers and what’s their ideology? ZanuPF is going down like a dodo.”

A dodo is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Prof. Moyo is who is credited for uttering a statement that to reform ZANU PF one has to be inside of it on Monday said, “It’s now split or replace (read destroy). Reform is impossible!

“Actually my earlier take was that PF-Zapu shouldn’t have united with Zanu-PF to form an old new party called Zanu(PF). Zimbabwe would have been a better country with the then two liberation movements regularly competing for power at the polls. We know what killed that prospect.”

For years Prof. Moyo was accused of saying he wanted to destroy ZANU PF from within but in 2015 he took it upon himself to correct the misconception.

“It will be absolutely nonsensical for a person like me to say the best way of destroying Zanu-PF is from within,” he said.

“That’s a drunkard’s statement, it’s nonsense. It’s a statement that can be said by some village pumpkin that has never come close to a classroom.

“I don’t need you to tell me the dangers of such a statement. I have never said that and will never, ever, no one will ever find anything like that from records, we speak from records, we criticise from records and we never run away from what we have said that is on record because it’s contextual. But for the benefit of you, what I said was that the best way to reform Zanu-PF is from within.

“Now, if your uneducated mind translates reform as destruction, to hell with you. That is not my problem and I want to repeat that very statement that the best way to reform Zanu-PF is from within, come and join us,” he said.

THE MDC Bulawayo Province has announced that it is supporting the leadership of Nelson Chamisa as President of the party beyond the impending October elective congress.

The endorsement comes after the Deputy Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet George Charamba said as the government they will make sure that Chamisa is contested during the Congress.

“As MDC Bulawayo province we want to make it clear that we support and stand with our president Advocate Nelson Chamisa and shall support him beyond October Congress.” Edwin Ndlovu the Provincial Deputy Spokesperson said.

“It is worrying that ZANU PF wants to educate us on our own internal processes. This is very clear that the regime is afraid of our president hence their shenanigans. Our national council which is the supreme decision-making body between congresses appointed Advocate Nelson Chamisa to lead the party until our next Congress in October 2019.”

On Tuesday Chamisa revealed that the National Council sitting on Friday after which the roadmap towards the Congress shall be announced to the membership and the public.

Ndlovu further called upon the government of Emmerson Mnangagwa to release political prisoners and to focus on internal ZANU PF fights.

“ZANU PF military regime instead of dealing with its own factional wars and fixing the economy is busy trying to tell us when and how we should choose our leaders. As a party and Bulawayo province we know what we want, we know that when ZANU PF complains we are in the right direction.

“We finally call upon Emmerson Mnangagwa to release all political prisoners in his jails and initiate a genuine dialogue to help solve the illegitimacy of his government and rescue the suffering people of Zimbabwe.” — Byo24News

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has purged top military commanders suspected to be aligned to his ailing deputy Constantino Chiwenga in a move seen as consolidating his hold on power and scuttling another possible coup.

Mnangagwa himself took over power after a coup toppled former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

Yesterday, Mnangagwa retired three Major-Generals and an Air Vice-Marshal from the military and said they would be reassigned to the diplomatic service, taking them off active military service and command.

Former head of the presidential guard, Anselem Sanyatwe, who was recently promoted from Brigadier-General to Major-General after he commanded a standby force that quelled last August’s post-election violence, resulting in the death of six people, was retired.

Also discharged from the military were Major-Generals Douglas Nyikayaramba, Martin Chedondo and Air Vice-Marshal Shebba Shumbayaonda, who are now set to join the less influential foreign mission posts.

“The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr M J M Sibanda today (Monday) announced the decision by His Excellency the President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa to retire and reassign senior military officers to the diplomatic services in line with government’s critical global engagement and re-engagement strategy,” a government statement said yesterday.

Sanyatwe, who is seen as a close ally to Chiwenga, is reportedly earmarked for a diplomatic posting to Tanzania, where he will replace Absolom Chimonyo, who is now Zimbabwe National Army commander, while Chedondo was bound for China to replace Paul Chikawa, who is heading home for reassignment.

Nyikayaramba is expected to be reassigned to a diplomatic post in Mozambique, taking over from a fellow Major-General, Nicholas Mahuhuba Dube.

Shumbayaonda is reportedly set to be deployed to Sudan to replace Hilda Suka-Mafudze, who was appointed during the inclusive government as an MDC representative seconded by the now late Morgan Tsvangirai.

She remained in diplomatic service after the expiry of the coalition government in 2013, with indications that she had deserted the opposition for Zanu PF.

“The generals were feared by some close allies of the President. Some even suspect that what happened last month could have been engineered by some members of the army and some of these guys are being suspected,” a source said.

Unconfirmed reports have persisted of a second base of power within government allegedly led by Chiwenga.

Mnangagwa himself has denied a possible rift with his deputy at both government and party level, despite being forced to abandon his European tour to return home at the height of protests last month, amid talk of a possible coup.

Another source said the top commanders were seen as too loyal to Chiwenga, their former boss before the 2017 coup, and were seen as a threat to Mnangagwa’s hold on power.

“A lot of backbiting has been happening within the system. Sanyatwe was seen as too powerful and popular within the rank and file of the military because of his close association with the junior officers. While he was commander PG, he would interact with junior officers and knows how a military takeover could be executed,” a senior government official said.

Since taking over in 2017, Mnangagwa has been on a drive to appease the military bosses through promotions, although purging senior police and Central Intelligence Organisation officers, as they were seen as being anti-establishment.

At the height of their careers, some of the retired commanders courted controversy mainly through their statements in support of the ruling Zanu PF.

Just recently, Sanyatwe invited scorn on himself after he disputed video evidence of soldiers shooting at civilians on August 1.

He claimed that the soldiers were not targeting civilians, but were shooting at a 45 degrees angle.

Days later, he was promoted to Major-General.

Nyikayaramba, who had a brief stay at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and Copac, was widely accused of openly supporting and defending Zanu PF against the constitutional demands for serving army officers.

Although army commanders serve at Mnangagwa’s mercy, reports say he sacked the four for easy control of the military in the increasingly unstable political environment.

-Newsday

Own Correspondent|Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has blasted President Emmerson Mnangagwa saying he is the chief culprit in causing violence against innocent Zimbabweans.

While addressing Zanu-PF supporters in Mwenezi on Saturday last week, Mnangagwa blamed the opposition for the violent demonstrations that resulted in the death of over a dozen people and ominously warned that he would deploy the army to crush any dissent.

“They (the MDC) are planning violence but we would like to say to everyone in the country that if you are against peace, be part of them those who want peace, stay at home, so that we deal with those that want violence. We will deal with them. If you are invited to the demonstrations don’t join them,” said Mnangagwa.

Last month, disgruntled workers downed tools in protest over fuel price hikes and the ever-increasing cost of living that has rendered many people’s salaries worthless.

To quell the protests, Mnangagwa dispatched the military in a clampdown that was condemned by the world due to its heavy-handedness as well as reports of rape and torture of unarmed civilians.

In a chilling response to Mnangagwa’s warning, Chamisa said the sentiments proved that the ruling party leader is the one causing violence.

“If anyone ever doubted the source of the orgy of violence against Zimbabweans, this video (in which Mnangagwa is warning opposition) is your answer. How can a party leader in a country take such sadistic pleasure in the beating up of his fellow countrymen that he is supposed to be protecting? Is this the new dispensation?”

He added that the country needs urgent reforms to end violence.

“Zimbabwe needs urgent reforms. We must build this great country, unite the nation, grow the economy and prosper all through a political solution that unleashes citizens’ creative energies for prosperity. Stand ready to usher the nation into virtual cycles of happiness, glitter and glory.

“ED shocks me all the time. He forgets that life belongs to the Maker and he was also made and therefore he is not the Maker. I pray for him to realise that Jesus is coming soon and we shall all answer for our acts, deeds and words on this soon to come day. Jesus is Lord!”

Other political observers said Mnangagwa does not know how to differentiate between legal and illegal protests.

“Criminalising dissent! ED demonstrates inability to distinguish between legal and illegal protest. Perhaps fitting in a country where the law is so elastic. We must condemn violent protest, but most protests in Zim were not violent,” Piers Pigou, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group said.

The Thokozani Khupe-led MDC vice president Obert Gutu said Zimbabwe is still suffering ugly scars from the ravages of colonial exploitation as well as the emotional experiences of the armed liberation struggle and since independence, the country has never experienced peace.

“Our leaders, or is it rulers, have always emphasised the power of might over right. We are, indeed, a very angry and tormented nation. Brother is rising up against brother, sister against sister, uncle against aunt and so on and so forth. We need genuine and holistic national healing.

“As politicians, we should desist from using the inflammatory language of violence and intolerance in both our private and public spaces. Violence is like a Frankenstein monster, it devours both the victim and the perpetrator.”

Gutu said Mnangagwa must stop using the soldiers to quell protests.

“The army belongs to the barracks; it’s as simple as that. They should only be deployed in exceptional circumstances to defend and uphold our territorial integrity as well as to maintain and protect national security.

“Protests should always be peaceful as is envisaged in Section 59 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and in similar measure; the government should resist the temptation to use disproportionate force to quell civil disobedience. Put simply, the government shouldn’t use a sledge hammer to kill a fly.”

Former Information minister Jonathan Moyo said the comments were divisive.

“Many who do not understand chiShona have asked for an English translation of this video clip with utterly shocking, emotive and divisive remarks made by Mnangagwa in Mwenezi, Masvingo, yesterday.”

Former Primary and Secondary Education minister David Coltart said Mnangagwa is out of order.

“Mnangagwa’s comments on Saturday threatening doctors and lawyers who have provided assistance to victims of #Crimesagainsthumanity committed by Zimbabwean State agents mark a new low in #Zimbabwe. When human rights defenders are attacked like this the world needs to act.”

VICE President Constantino Chiwenga is in the Indian capital of New Delhi, where he is receiving treatment for an abdominal ailment, a government official revealed yesterday.

Information deputy minister Energy Mutodi posted on his Twitter account that the 61-year-old politician had successfully undergone surgery and was on the mend at an Indian hospital.

“The Hon. Vice President CDN Chiwenga is recovering well from some minor abdominal ailment in Delhi, India,” Mutodi wrote on Twitter.

His tweet was ridiculed by citizens in a country where government officials routinely seek medical help abroad while the public health system has collapsed with hospitals struggling to provide medicines to patients.

Chiwenga was last seen in public on Tuesday last week when he appeared on national television while attending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Tuesday Cabinet meeting.

On the same day, he pooh-poohed reports that he had been airlifted to neighbouring South Africa for treatment, blaming the social media for wishing him ill.

“There are determined to hear that I am sick, they want me dead, but that cannot be, I am very fine and well, I am actually doing my job as a politician,” he was quoted saying.

While Mutodi did not reveal when the former commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) travelled to India, the Daily News is reliably informed that Chiwenga was flown to New Delhi on Thursday night.

The same sources said Chiwenga is suffering from gastro-intestinal infection, a condition caused by “viral, bacterial or parasitic infections”.

According to the Medical Journal, the condition is also known as stomach flu.

Sources said the vice president has been suffering from the ailment for some time now, prompting him to seek surgery in India.

“We expect him back this week because his condition is not serious,” said the government official who asked not to be named.

Chiwenga joins the list of foreigners trooping to India for private health care.

India has become popular because of its advanced healthcare system, drawing foreigners from Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, for complex paediatric cardiac surgery or liver transplants – caprocedures that are not done in their home countries.

They also come from the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America for quick, efficient, and cheap coronary bypasses or orthopaedic procedures.

India ranks among the top 20 of the world’s countries in its private spending, at 4,2 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

In October last year, deputy chief secretary to the President and Cabinet George Charamba disclosed that Chiwenga was on special diet because of the delicacy of his intestines which had been affected by acids.

“Apparently, you have to give it time to allow internal body tissues to heal both large and small intestines were attacked. But he must also remain calm and rested to ensure that there is no relapse into excessive secretion of acids in the body. He is on a special diet because of the delicacy in his stomach,” Charamba was quoted as saying.

Since leading the coup that toppled former president Robert Mugabe in November 2018, Chiwenga has become a larger-than-life character the country’s politics.

Despite his domineering political profile which is loved and hated in equal measure, his health has been a source of bother.

The former ZDF commander early last year traced his health woes to the days when he orchestrated Mugabe’s fall.

He claimed that he was suffering from “nhuta,” something he claimed caused his skin to lighten and triggered speculation that he was bleaching his skin.

“It was during that time that I fell ill. I had this skin sickness (nhuta) that affected my whole body from beneath my feet to my back and the journalists started saying I was using skin lightening creams, but that was not the case.

“I was sick. I have decided to talk about it because that is what you see, but you should know that everything that happens comes with a price. We then sent everything to South Africa to find out what was causing the sickness, but they failed to treat it.

“It was then that my (late) sister Margaret approached Sister Redemptor (Roman Catholic nun) and was given herbs that I began taking until I was healed. But before I took the medication they also prayed for me,” Chiwenga said at the burial of his sister Margaret.

The 61 year-old ex-soldier has appeared in public with swollen hands and in some instances with a cannula on his hand, and has also shown signs of irritation in public, further fanning speculation that he is not fit for office. — DailyNews

By Own Correspondent|A Gweru Provincial magistrate today acquitted opposition National Youth Chairman, Happymore Chidziva on charges of inciting public violence.

Chidziva was arrested during the police and army crackdown in the aftermaths of the January 14 2019 fuel protests.

Said the MDC Information Department:

National Youth Chairperson Happymore Chidziva was today acquitted by a Gweru magistrate over charges of inciting public violence in relation to the 1st of August murder of 7 civilians by men in army uniform.

Meanwhile, in the case of the MDC Deputy Chief of Staff, Zvavamwe David Shambare and 37 others who were being charged for causing public violence in the 1st of August attack on civilians by men in army uniforms, all bail conditions have been relaxed. Shambare and 37 others will appear before the magistrate on the 27th of March for routine remand.

In the case of the ZCTU stay away, ward 16 Councillor Denford Ngadziore’s bail application will be heard on Wednesday at the magistrate’s court.

ZIMBABWE could run out of bread in a week after flour stocks dwindled due to the country’s failure to pay for imported wheat, according to a confidential letter written to bakers by the country’s grain millers’ group on Monday.

The southern African nation is in the grip of a severe shortage of U.S. dollars that has sapped supplies of fuel and drugs, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa struggles to live up to pre-election promises to quickly revive the troubled economy.

Zimbabwe imports wheat, which it blends with its local crop to make flour for bread, the country’s second major staple after maize meal.

The Grain Millers Association (GMAZ) general manager Lynette Veremu wrote to the National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe (NBAZ) to tell them the country not pay for 55,000 tonnes of wheat in bonded warehouses in Mozambique and Harare.

“We regret to advise that the current stocks for foreign wheat for bread flour have depleted to 5,800 tonnes and … we are left with less than eight days of national bread flour supplies,” the letter said.

GMAZ spokesman Garikai Chaunza confirmed the letter, saying “this is the situation we are faced with”.

Ngoni Mazango, the president of the bakers’ group, was not immediately available to comment.

The central bank lists wheat among priority imports like fuel and drugs, but has struggled to pay suppliers in the past.

GMAZ said in December it owed foreign suppliers $80 million for past wheat imports.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya did not answer calls to his mobile phone. — Reuters

Latest reports indicate that the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe General Manager David Chawota has been arrested on suspected corruption charges.

A source with the National Prosecution Authority confirmed that Chawota is facing a number of corruption allegations from radar, labour abuses to resurrecting contracts from 20 years ago that cost the Authority $ 450 000.

ZimEye.com is also told that the other case involves the the awarding of a 28 million euro (US$33,3 million) tender to Indra Sistemas and Homt Espana SA for the finance, supply and installation of an airspace management system without going to tender.

More to follow:

A Harare Magistrate’s Court took time to visit Zimbabwe Airways offices in-loco to verify testimony issued by state witness against former Zim Airways boss Simba Chikore.

Chikore who is son in law to former President Robert Mugabe, is facing kidnap charges after a former employee of the airways, Bertha Zakeyo, alleged that he locked her up in the offices against her will after the two quarrelled over termination of her employment contract.

Witness Simon Masakasa who at the court’s last hearing provided uncoordinated evidence forced Chikore’s lawyer Jonathan Samukange to ask the court to visit the offices in-loco to prove that Masakasa was an unreliable witness.

Masakasa also a former employee at the airways had alleged that he had seen what transpired when Zakeyo was being detained from his compartment at the building.

After the visit to the offices, it turned out that Musaka had lied in his testimony as the arrangement in the office and the distances he mentioned would not tie up.

The distance that he had described and the setup was incorrect and hence he could not have given his testimony as an eye witness as is required by law.

After an intense cross-examination by Samukange, Masakasa admitted that he had made stories against Chikore out of bitterness for his impromptu termination of contract with the airline. He further told the court that he was angry for being fired from his position.

Chikore is jointly charged with Safeguard security guard Simbarashe Mutimbe. The two are out on $30 bail each.

Correspondent|The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya will on Wednesday announce the Monetary Policy Statement and one of the major focal point will be introduction of a new exchange rate of the United States Dollar and Bond note.

The rate is likely to be pegged at 1:3.

Sources within the Central Bank said that the fuel price hike was pegged at a 1:3 rate.

“Everyone knows that 1:1 exchange rate is not viable, do you remember when the President announced the prices of fuel it was a well calculated move and it is paying dividends,” said the source.

Bond notes were introduced in 2016 and there were pegged at one is to one with US Dollars.

When Finance minister Mthuli Ncube presented the National budget in December 2018, he insisted that the bond note was equivalent to US dollars but created separate accounts with some only meant for bond notes and RTGS while others were Foreign Currency Accounts (FCA).

 Defiant Matabeleland chiefs Vezi Maduna and Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni have escalated their row with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government — this time demanding the appointment of an independent probe into the Gukurahundi atrocities of the early 1980s, the Daily News can report.

This is despite the fact that Mnangagwa has since operationalised the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), to lead consultations with chiefs from the Matabeleland region about the emotive matter.

This comes after the outspoken traditional leaders paid a courtesy call on opposition leader Nelson Chamisa in Harare last week, days after Maduna had raised fears over his safety following his claims of being trailed by suspected State security agents.

In a letter addressed to Zanu PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Maduna and Ndiweni have now, not only taken aim at Mnangagwa again, but also demand the appointment of an independent commission to probe all Gukurahundi deaths.

“The letter serves to inform you as the national chairperson of the ruling party Zanu PF that on behalf of the … genocide victims of 1981-87, we the Ndebele chiefs have written to the United Nations (UN) secretary- general to set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate this genocide and to bring perpetrators of it to book.

“As you are aware, the genocide was well planned and implemented by government, so we cannot expect the same government to investigate itself,” Maduna and Ndiweni said in their letter.

“There is still a window of opportunity to this issue. However, silence and inaction by the government and your Zanu PF will not stop the actions that have been initiated in the international arena,” the chiefs added.

Maduna recently threw the cat among the pigeons when he wrote an earlier letter to the UN, appealing for the powerful global body to get involved in the emotive Gukurahundi issue.

The outspoken chief later got support from his counterpart Ndiweni, who has also consistently attacked the government over the unresolved Gukurahundi issue.

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

“The atrocities escalated into genocide occasioned by an ethnic cleansing agenda targeting the Ndebele people in the western and central parts of the country,” Maduna said in his earlier letter to UN secretary- general Antonio Guterres.

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

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

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

Mnangagwa, who served as ousted former president Robert Mugabe’s right-hand man for nearly 54 years, last year operationalised the NPRC as part of his efforts to address unresolved national issues such as the Gukurahundi atrocities.

During his maiden appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last year, Mnangagwa said the government was keen to address the atrocities.

“What can we do about the past? We have put up a commission (NPRC) to deal with that issue (Gukurahundi), that should not stop us from having a better future where all the communities should be united, should co-operate, should love each other, should work together.

“This is the message which we have. We are more worried now about how in the future we should have a united Zimbabwe.

“Let me assure you that just recently I had a meeting with chiefs from Matabeleland, discussing with them, because I feel there is that bad patch in our history and we would want to correct it.

“We would want to say whatever wrong was committed we must say, the government of the day must apologise,” Mnangagwa said.

-Daily News

Paul Nyathi|The city of Bulawayo is relatively quite with no signs that a person declared a national hero passed on in the city.

ZANU PF Bulawayo Province chairman Callistus Ndlovu passed on in South Africa last week and was declared a national hero.

Social Media critics in the city have come hard on the ZANU PF leader accusing him of selling out on the people of the region during the dreadful Gukurahundi atrocities of the mid eighties.

Ndlovu is very notorious in the city and the region for his statement that the Joshua Nkomo led PF ZAPU was a dead donkey at the peak of the Gukurahundi era.

He had unceremoniously dumped PF ZAPU at the time and joined the Gukurahundi attributed ZANU under Robert Mugabe leadership.

Since that time, the people of Matabeleland who supported ZAPU and Nkomo religiously never forgave him for his utterances.

Critics have actually accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa for rewarding Ndlovu on his selling out on the people of the region by giving him a national hero status.

Meanwhile, body of the late national hero Ndlovu who passed away in South Africa arrived in Bulawayo on Tuesday afternoon aboard a South African Airlink jet.

Prof Ndlovu’s body arrived at 12 noon at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo airport and was welcomed by Bulawayo provincial Minister Cde Judith Ncube, Government officials and some cheering ZANU-PF members.

The date of his burial has not yet been confirmed.

Farai Dziva|MDC A leader Nelson Chamisa, who is also an ordained pastor has appealed to the people of Zimbabwe to have faith in God as he will soon deliver the nation from political captivity.

Chamisa said the MDC A was chosen by God to lead the people to the promised land.

“CANAAN IS ON THE HORIZON!We’re at Rephidim and the Amalekites are here. So Moses must go up the mountain with the staff of the Lord to pray with the aid of Aaron and Hur.Joshua goes into the battlefront to fight the opponent.History books being written as we plant new memorials,Ex 17,” wrote Chamisa on Twitter.

“Oh yes the signs are there and the evidence is upon us.We are almost there. All the sorrows of today we shall forget.
See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp with many teeth..You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff!

There is a plan.God has a plan.We are that plan!”

By Own Correspondent- The recently appointed Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) members reportedly clashed with Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba when they met for the first time last week Friday, a report by a local publication has claimed.

Charamba apparently wanted the PAC to focus only on international re-engagement, which the PAC disagreed with.

Revealed Patriotic Front Spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire:

“The Presidential Advisory Council met and its members were unhappy with George Charamba trying to lecture them on what they were supposed to do, limiting their terms of reference to international re-engagement. Apparently, UNDP is funding the group.

The PAC members who attended the meeting resisted Charamba’s bossy attempts to confine them to international reengagement and instead organised themselves in clusters according to areas of expertise, e. g health, and insisted they would only advise in areas of expertise.

Members of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) met for the first time yesterday (Friday) afternoon for a briefing session with Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet. The session was a prelude to an inaugural meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa soon.”

PAC members are non-partisan professionals with distinguished achievements in the private sector, public sector and international organisations. PAC members receive no remuneration or perks from the government. They volunteer their time for the benefit of the nation.

Zimbabwe’s tourism receipts have breached the US$1 billion mark as the sector continues to register strong growth with expectations that the country will achieve its goal of generating at least US$7 billion in earnings by 2030.

Buoyed by the renewed confidence in the destination and positive image, the country’s tourism industry is not showing any signs of slowing down with earnings and arrivals continuing on the upward trajectory.

After closing 2017 at US$917 million in earnings, the sector managed to rack in a total of US$1.050 billion in 2018.

Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Cde Priscah Mupfumira said the sector can still do more and challenged the industry players to double efforts as the country seeks to achieve the US$7 billion earning target under the Transitional Stabilisation Programme.

“We are excited as an industry for having breached the US$1 billion mark and I must congratulate you all for your efforts,” said Cde Mupfumira.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Acting Chief Executive Mrs Rita Likukuma stressed the need for players to invest in sprucing up their facilities as the sector seeks to increase its contribution to the economy.

“We need to invest more in sprucing up our facilities if we are to meet our revenue and arrivals targets,” Mrs Likukuma said.

The growth of the local tourism industry comes at a time the global travel and tourism sector continues to enjoy record numbers with global international tourist arrivals surging by a remarkable 6 percent in 2018 to reach a total of 1.4 billion.

-State Media

Correspondent|POLITICAL parties represented in Parliament met in Bulawayo over the weekend to set the tone for the proposed national dialogue, despite their party principals’ hardline stance on talks seen as critical to stop Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis.

MPs drawn from Zanu-PF, MDC Alliance, MDC-T and the National Patriotic Front NPF held a two-day conference in Bulawayo, which they hope would set a base for further dialogue.

Although some of the members were unwilling to disclose details of the meeting, Zanu-PF secretary for legal affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said the event was meant to enable parties to draw up ways to solve the country’s problems.

“We agreed to meet as political parties and try to resolve whatever challenges that the country is facing,” Mangwana said.

“This is a forum only for political parties represented in Parliament and that is Zanu-PF, MDC Alliance, MDC-T and NPF. We actually held a workshop on how we should engage.
Basically, there were some experts who had been recruited by the Zimbabwe Institute (a political think-tank), who are co-ordinating this inter-party dialogue process, who took us through on how we should handle the dialogue.”

A fortnight ago, Mnangagwa invited presidential candidates in last year’s elections to State House to lay the framework for dialogue following nationwide protests over fuel price hikes and the deteriorating economic situation, which resulted in 17 deaths and destruction of property worth millions of dollars.

MDC Alliance presidential candidate, and Mnangagwa’s main contender, Nelson Chamisa, snubbed the meeting, describing it as a farce.

Chamisa said he would not attend a negotiation platform chaired by an interested party.

Mnangagwa is, however, insisting that Chamisa should recognise him as President first, before the two can dialogue, creating a stalemate.

Mangwana said the weekend’s inter-party dialogue was different from the national dialogue because it only accommodated parties represented in Parliament, adding the training was necessary because there were new players who had just come on board.

The Zanu-PF legal affairs secretary said nothing had been agreed on yet because they focused more on training.

He also said there was no conflict between the two processes as discussions come at different levels.

“We are talking at the level of political parties represented in Parliament and we set our different agenda which might be different to the other agenda,” he said.

Other members from Zanu-PF included Transport deputy minister Fortune Chasi and Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs minister Appolonia Munzverengi.

The MDC, which was previously represented by its secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, had a five-member team led by Senator Gideon Shoko.

Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese, Phyllis Ndlovu and Kucaca Pulu also represented the opposition party.

Shoko said the meeting was meant to train members on how to handle the dialogue.

“We talked about a lot of things. One thing that I remember that came out openly is that if we are to dialogue, we need only parties with representation in Parliament,” he said.

MDC-T representative Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga refused to entertain questions.

“The position is this: We can’t talk to the Press. I can confirm that there was a meeting, but there was an agreed position that we are not talking to the Press,” she said.

By Own Correspondent- Two anti-Gukurahundi chiefs from Matabeleland South province, chiefs Vezi Maduna and Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni have demanded the creation of an independent probe into the atrocities of the early 1980s including Gukurahundi.

The two chiefs wrote a letter to the ZANU PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, demanding that the United Nations (UN) should be involved in the Gukurahundi probe.

The letter reads in part:

The letter serves to inform you as the national chairperson of the ruling party Zanu PF that on behalf of the … genocide victims of 1981-87, we the Ndebele chiefs have written to the United Nations (UN) secretary- general to set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate this genocide and to bring perpetrators of it to book.

As you are aware, the genocide was well planned and implemented by the government, so we cannot expect the same government to investigate itself.

There is still a window of opportunity for this issue. However, silence and inaction by the government and your Zanu PF will not stop the actions that have been initiated in the international arena.-DailyNews

By Own Correspondent- Opposition MDC Alliance national organising secretary Amos Chibaya has warned party stalwarts with presidential ambitions and wishing to challenge Nelson Chamisa that they risk plunging themselves into the political dustbin.

Chibaya said this while addressing a feedback meeting in his Mkoba constituency in Gweru on Saturday. He also dismissed In Defense of Morgan Tsvangirai Legacy (DTML)’s claim that Chamisa’s term as interim president had expired and that a new leader must be appointed.

He said:

“We saw on ZBC-TV someone saying MDC must now immediately go for congress and sensationally claiming that Chamisa’s term has expired. That is cheap propaganda and dirty political grandstanding. I am the owner of all party structures as the organiser. The party president’s term is still on. Chamisa was born in 1978. That is the same year that Morgan Tsvangirai’s first born, Edwin, was born. So, in short, Chamisa is Tsvangirai’s first born left to lead the family of the MDC. In short, once you begin to think that Chamisa must be removed from the helm at the congress, you should realise that your ancestors have forsaken you and you have lost your senses. Chamisa is the man of the moment from the grassroots going up and anyone wishing to challenge him will just be throwing themselves in the political dustbin.”

By Own Correspondent- The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) Chairperson, Chris Mutsvangwa has implored opposition leader leader Nelson Chamisa “to come of age and join the dialogue initiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa”.

Mutsvangwa urged Chamisa to emulate the war veterans who sacrificed themselves for the love of the country.

He said:

“We also urge Chamisa and his MDC-Alliance to finally come of age and join the National Dialogue process in an honest and constructive manner. He should take a leaf from our generation of supreme sacrifice which never slight personalised power and self-enrichment beyond the love of the motherland.”-StateMedia

The government has released 24 names of the miners who died in Battlefields on Tuesday last week following the flooding of two mines.

The state media reported that the names of the deceased are as follows:

Thulani Sibanda (18) of Mbizo, Kwekwe, John Mufakose (29) of Gore village, Gokwe, Norman Billion (39) of Kadoma, Andrew Mharadze (26) of Mharadze village, Gokwe, Tinashe Shanda (22) of Mashinyira village, Gokwe, Givemore Munyengeri (42) of Plot 22 Silvermoon, Battlefields.

Trynos Zindonye (31) of Hamandishe village, Gokwe, Clever Takaendesa (47) of Shurugwi, Tafadzwa Mubaiwa (22) Gonde village, Gokwe, Tinei Tembo (31) Plot 47 Silvermoon, Battlefields, Charles Jacob (25) of Jacopo village, Murehwa and David Martin (38) of Kadoma.

Jabulani Moyo of Village 12A Donnain, Battlefields, Josias Muzadzi (45) of village, Zhombe, Liberty Koke (26) of Village 9A, Gokwe, Augustine Chindoza (39) Chizembo Village, Bikita, Wellington Kwari of Whaley Range Etina Mine, Kadoma, Takanda Mushore (27), Kwekwe.

Tobias Takaendesa, Kadoma, Winston Muziribo (22) of Makombe Village, Gokwe, Mayana Bvunzawabaya (27) Gore Village, Gokwe, Misheck Ncube (30) Kapoto Village, Mudzi, Keith Muderedzi (31) Village 10, Kadoma and Eborn Kaseke (24) Matarutse of Marondera.

ZUPCO buses reportedly disappeared from the road in Bulawayo and some parts of Harare on Tuesday rendering commuters stranded.

ZUPCO buses were introduced by government under  a special facility to subsidize citixzens who were complaining of the escalating prices charged by kombis.

Journalist Zenzele Ndebele said, “There is a fuel problem in Bulawayo today. Many people are stranded in the western suburbs and there are no kombis because they have no fuel.”

A huge crowd was reportedly gathered at Cowdray Park Signpost waiting for kombis to ferry them to town and kombis were charging $1.50 and some $2 to town while buses were nowhere to be seen.

One Princess from Harare also said there are facing the same problem in Harare South.

“We have the same problem in Ushewekunze and ours is worse no kombi’s in the roads. Our Member of Parliament Tongai Mathuthu  does not even care how people from his constituency are doing.”

The crisis resurfaces after government assured the nation that the ZUPCO facility has been going smoothly and there are 2300 more buses from local and foreign players who have showed interest in joining the scheme.

However, some bus operators who spoke to the media said the scheme is not working for them as the government is reneging on its part and they have not been paying them the agreed amount. The players indicated that they will be pulling out their services on Monday if the issue is not corrected.

Correspondent|MDC Youth Assembly National Chairperson Happymore Chidziva says Nelson Chamisa is not the Acting President of MDC but a substantive President who was elected by the National Council at the directive of the district chairpersons after the passing away of veteran opposition leader Dr. Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.Chidziva was reacting to statements by an MDC pressure group which has threatened to file an urgent high court application barring Chamisa from acting as MDC President claiming that his tenure expired on February 14 according to Party constitution.

Find the full statement below:

I am forced to tell the nation how it all happened.

B4 the death of our founding President Dr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai the MDC-T party called for a national council that was to decide who shall be the acting President as our dear President was seriously ill. The night before the meeting the President passed away. We were left with no option but to continue with the meeting in that meeting Advocate Nelson Chamisa was unanimously elected acting President. After the burial of the Founding President, we meet with District chairpersons of all wings to consult on way forward who then directed national Council to go and elect a President to replace President Dr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.

The council was called and President Advocate Nelson Chamisa was elected as the President of the party that’s why He is not acting President but The actual President of the MDC. We went into an election under MDC alliance as the electoral identity. Khupe participated under MDC-T with a few members who have lost in party primary elections like Chinyadza.

After the elections, we then fulfilled the dream of Baba Morgan Tsvangirai of forming one formidable force to fight the ZANU PF regime and we are MDC as led by advocate Nelson Chamisa. Which will then renew re organise modernise the party as per Constitution and in line with the direction of the party organs at the end of the 4th Congress term.

The MDC will not be directed by ZANU PF factions to do internal processes. We will define our own ways and have already defined. I explained this such that people don’t get lost Advocate Nelson Chamisa is not an acting President he is substantive President of the movement. we are not obsessed with elections at this Congress but to shape the politics of the country by defining correct politics and giving the alternative idea.

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa on Monday said President Emmerson Mnangagwa is “more rabid than Robert Mugabe at his worst.”

Chamisa spoke outside the Harare Magistrates Court where the MDC’s Harare East MP had had just avoided jail after a magistrate fined him $200 for “unofficial and false declaration of results” in July last year.

Biti had told a news conference on July 31, a day after voting, that the MDC had received results of the 2018 election and “the results show beyond reasonable doubt that we have won this election and that the next President of Zimbabwe is Advocate Nelson Chamisa.”

The MDC says Biti, who is appealing the conviction, is being persecuted by Mnangagwa’s government which the party maintains is illegitimate, claiming the last elections were rigged.

Chamisa said threats made by Mnangagwa at a rally in Mwenezi last Saturday, where he vowed to pursue lawyers who represented victims of an army crackdown that followed fuel protests last month showed the government’s disdain for justice.

“We’re excited to have here our pillar in the movement who is being targeted, persecuted on the simple account that he’s telling the truth about what happened on July 30,” Chamisa told reporters.

“We are also aware of the targeting of many of our leaders across the country, of lawyers and doctors which is quite disturbing because. Even Mugabe at his worst was not this rabid. We never saw attacks and persecution of lawyers and doctors.”

Biti, who will speak at a news conference on Thursday after a ban imposed at the start of his trial lapsed with the end of his trial, said he was “a symptom of a bigger challenges affecting the country.”
“It’s critical for president Chamisa and everyone in leadership to protect the people against Mnangagwa,” he said.

Chamisa said politics was “contaminating Zimbabwe’s justice system in a manner which is not consistent with a democratic society.”

The MDC leader called on SADC leaders to speak up against a breakdown of the rule of law in Zimbabwe. He said power was slipping from Mnangagwa, who took over from Mugabe in a November 2017 military coup, and the Zanu PF strongman had resorted to brutalising citizens.

“What you are seeing are telltale signs of the end. This is the end and centre can no longer hold. Mr Mnangagwa’s constellation is crumbling like a deck of cards. That’s why you see in their desperation they want to be at war with the citizens and with everyone including lawyers, vendors and doctors. They’re literally at war with every section of the society. That tells you the end is nigh,” Chamisa said.

He maintained that the MDC would not enter any dialogue with Zanu PF and Mnangagwa “that is conditional upon macho tactics, terror tactics and Stone Age tactics.”

“We don’t go into dialogue out of force. We go into dialogue out of conviction that we need to have peace in this country, progress and prosperity in this country. We have answers, they have the problems and we have said please let’s come together as a people to provide answers,” Chamisa said.

“People are suffering, they are jobless; the economy is not performing, prices are sky rocketing and challenges are rising by the day. We don’t want politics, we want answers to the people’s problems.”

The MDC snubbed an invitation extended by Mnangagwa on February 6 to attend talks at State House with all the other political parties and presidential candidates. The party wants the army withdrawn from the streets; its supporters held following last month’s fuel protests released and the talks mediated by an impartial third party.

Chamisa will address a rally in Gweru this weekend.

Zimlive

A Beitbridge family is living in fear after discovering a deep mine shaft under their house.

Stand number 3943 in Beitbridge is the house that the Mujuru family built in 2008.

Six years later, the ground started to give in, compelling an adventurous young Justin Chadzima to explore the hole that opened up under the concrete precast wall and garage.

Justin went underground and discovered a huge mining tunnel with three shafts going horizontally in different directions.

“It is very deep. There are three tunnels going in different directions,” he said.

The family sought an explanation from council only to hear that the house was built on a disused mine.

The tunnels belong to a former copper mine known as Pub and was discontinued many years ago.

However, help has not been forthcoming despite many years since its discovery and the Mujuru family and their neighbours are living in fear.

As the family complains of slow response from council and the red tape at the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development’s Gwanda offices, answers from the local authority are also not convincing.

The reply from the municipality only went as far as ‘We are aware of that issue.’

One wonders whether local authority waits for disaster to strike for them to take action.

Zbc News online

By A Correspondent| In a case of disturbing levels, one of President Emmmerson Mnangagwa’s ConCourt lawyers, caused a stir yesterday when he was reported for assaulting a human rights solicitor right inside the magistrates court precinct in Gweru.

The accused, Tinomuda Chinyoka, used to practice law in the UK before he was banned from practicing on British soil.

The development comes within 48 hours of Mnangagwa announcing that he is now violently pursuing doctors and human rights lawyers. 

Writing soon after the incident, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka said,

“I was arrested today. Brian Dube and Jeremiah Bamu concocted a false assault charge against me to secure my arrest and removal from Court.

“Instead of representing their client, they are busy lying and consorting with mobs to assault lawyers and witnesses. Hearing Friday maybe.”

Meanwhile, below was the report submitted to the Law Society in Zimbabwe yesterday:

To The Law Society Of Zimbabwe.

My name is Dube Brian a legal Practitioner with Gundu, Dube and Pamacheche Legal Practitioners in Gweru.

Today on the 18th February 2019 and at Gweru Magistrates Court and in Court number 3, whilst at the bar awaiting to represent a client in a trial, I was attacked by a person who I eventually got to know as Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, in the following manner:
1)He charged towards me from the back and assaulted me by pressing me hard on my right collar borne with force and I felt pain.
2)He proceed to threaten that he will deal with me with unspecified action for allegedly pissing him off.
3)When the court adjourned, the same Tinomudaishe Chinyoka approached me and continued with same threats bragging that he was powerful and connected and was going to deal with me.
4)The threats were reported to the Magistrate as well as a formal report at Gweru Central Police Station.
5)Through my investigations I have gathered that he is a Legal Practitioner and currently deployed to monitor on behalf of the Party to which he belongs the lawyers who are dealing with cases of the alleged National Shutdown.
6)The same person is cited in my client’s defence as the one coordinating and coaching witnesses in Midlands against opposition members.

I feel violated, and professionally interfered with. I am now working under fear and this seriously affects my independence in doing my professional work.

Regards

• THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY – REFRESH THIS PAGE FOR THE DEVELOPMENTS –

Government has released the names of the 24 miners who perished in the Battlefields disaster as search efforts continue to account for at least four others reportedly trapped in another shaft.

This comes as search teams have indicated that there may not be any more miners than the 32 already accounted for in the remaining shaft at Jongwe Cooperative Mine contrary to earlier estimates that put the number at over 50.

Police released the names of the deceased as Thulani Sibanda (18) of Mbizo, Kwekwe, John Mufakose (29) of Gore village, Gokwe, Norman Billion (39) of Kadoma, Andrew Mharadze (26) of Mharadze village, Gokwe, Tinashe Shanda (22) of Mashinyira village, Gokwe, Givemore Munyengeri (42) of Plot 22 Silvermoon, Battlefields, Trynos Zindonye (31) of Hamandishe village, Gokwe, Clever Takaendesa (47) of Shurugwi, Tafadzwa Mubaiwa (22) Gonde village, Gokwe, Tinei Tembo (31) Plot 47 Silvermoon, Battlefields, Charles Jacob (25) of Jacopo village, Murehwa and David Martin (38) of Kadoma.

Others include Jabulani Moyo of Village 12A Donnain, Battlefields, Josias Muzadzi (45) of village, Zhombe, Liberty Koke (26) of Village 9A, Gokwe, Augustine Chindoza (39) Chizembo Village, Bikita, Wellington Kwari of Whaley Range Etina Mine, Kadoma, Takanda Mushore (27), Kwekwe, Tobias Takaendesa, Kadoma, Winston Muziribo (22) of Makombe Village, Gokwe, Mayana Bvunzawabaya (27) Gore Village, Gokwe, Misheck Ncube (30) Kapoto Village, Mudzi, Keith Muderedzi (31) Village 10, Kadoma and Eborn Kaseke (24) Matarutse of Marondera.

The 24 were trapped when the shafts they were working were flooded by water following a heavy storm on Tuesday last week.

This comes as Government has indicated that it was winding up search operations at Jongwe Cooperative Mine in Battlefields where eight miners were found alive and 24 bodies were recovered.

Operations have been shifted to Cricket Number 3 Mine where water levels are still high and the shaft is reportedly deeper.

At least four miners are reportedly trapped underground in the shaft which was the first to be flooded before the seven other shafts.

Government has managed to match the names of 32 miners on the register and those rescued alive and bodies retrieved.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo toured Jongwe and Cricket Number 3 Cooperative mines where he gave Government’s assurance to relatives that effort would continue until every missing person has been accounted for.

“We are here to say to the relatives of the victims that do not lose hope because Government has committed itself through the declaration by President Mnangagwa of a State of Disaster and we will support the search effort to the end,” said Minister Moyo.

“We will continue to visit you. Tomorrow (today) we are going to brief the President at Cabinet and we want to do it from an informed position.”

Indications are that search teams have combed all work stations underground in the last shaft and have concluded that chances of finding more bodies were slim.

Minister Moyo dispelled claims that Government reacted slowly to manage the disaster saying such claims emanated from failure to understand the structure of Government.

“Whenever there is a disaster of this magnitude the President calls for a state of emergence or state of disaster.

“The arms of Government’s Civil Protection Unit led by the district administrator including the police at local level are activated. Government’s involvement does not start when the minister arrives at the scene,” said Minister Moyo.

“There are four bodies said to be trapped underground and we want to assure everyone that all Government departments will not leave until all bodies have been rescued or retrieved.”

He said Government’s disaster preparedness was high but they always came in different forms.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando said an assessment of the mine would be made before operations could resume.

State Media

Government will review the Battlefields mining disaster with a view to effect a shift in mining policy and the implementation of a raft of measures to engender safety and the formalisation of artisanal mining operations, a Cabinet minister has said.

This comes as rescue efforts have led to eight people being rescued alive while 24 bodies have so far been retrieved from shafts.

In an interview during his visit to Cricket No. 3 and Jongwe Mining Cooperative mines in Mhondoro-Ngezi, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando said the review process will begin after scrutinising findings from the Battlefields disaster.

“We are going to review mining practices and unfortunately about two weeks back the Environmental Management Agency visited the site and made certain recommendations and observations which unfortunately were not enforced,” he said.

“Obviously it is a learning point and we will as Government have a serious review of this incident and come up with a policy position.”

Observations by EMA recommended upgrading of safety aspects of the shaft which had not been implemented when the shafts were flooded by water.

Among measures to be considered is the formalisation of artisanal mining activities.

“Formalisation will assist in the sense that it will enable Government to focus on formalised activities rather than haphazard operations.

“This is one of the issues that when we have the review will be one of the action points,” he said.

There are about 500 000 informal miners across the country and there have been growing incidents of injuries and deaths owing to failure to observe safety issues.

Minister Chitando said Government will wait for the review process as provided for by legislation before taking a position.

This also includes reviewing the role of those who failed to implement the EMA recommendations.

“We need to come up with a clear position on the way forward including a proper brief. When we have an incident of this nature there is a process which is provided for by legislation to review what has happened and make people accountable,” he said.

This comes as Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Priscah Mupfumira announced a donation of $10 000 from EMA to assist the bereaved families.

At least 23 bodies have been positively identified and the relatives have since collected them for burial with the Government and funeral service providers such as Doves, FCG and Nyaradzo providing assitance.