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New research from WorldRemit reveals that the Zimbabwean diaspora could be losing up to $9 every time they send money home this festive season due to the high cost of sending money through traditional remittance channels.*

Last year, Zimbabweans living abroad sent home over $1.8 billion and the run up to Christmas is always one of the busiest times to send money. New data from WorldRemit reveals that, by switching from traditional offline money transfer services to lower cost digital channels, thousands of Zimbabweans could receive an extra Christmas present this year.

The savings were highest when sending from New Zealand to Zimbabwe, with an average saving of nearly $9* – enough to buy a hamper of groceries for Christmas in Zimbabwe.

Transaction costs are only part of the story and a significant challenge at this time of year is travelling to an agent during opening hours. With approximately one quarter of the Zimbabwean diaspora population living in Europe, the United States and Canada, before the advent of app and web-based money transfer services, thousands would be facing near freezing temperatures to travel to an agent to pay in money.

Equally, WorldRemit data suggests that their customers sending to Zimbabwe send money several times a month. When it costs around $3 to travel from somewhere like Bindura to Harare and takes over 2 hours to travel there and back, Zimbabweans can easily waste half a day of time each month just travelling to pick up money. Savings on travel alone during the festive season could be enough to buy several litres of cooking oil and a couple of chocolate bars.

Pardon Mujakachi, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at WorldRemit, said:

“Spending money just to collect money wastes precious time and money for families across Zimbabwe and creates added stress – particularly if you don’t know if you’ll receive the full amount in dollars. So, we have partnered with over 15 payment services to create the widest network of over 200 cash pickup points across the country, where money is paid out in full.”

A recent poll by WorldRemit revealed that eight out of ten people found that switching to digital channels has made money transfer simpler not just for senders, but also for their recipients. However, the majority of global remittance flows are still going through informal channels.

Companies like WorldRemit are working hard to help more people to move to more cost-effective and convenient money transfer methods. The incentives on offer for existing customers who refer a friend to WorldRemit could be enough to buy a scarf or a pair of shoes.

Pardon Mujakachi said: “Sending money is an important way for many people spending Christmas away from home to connect with their loved ones and play a part in the festivities back home even when they can’t be there in person. Yet, taking time out of work to travel to agents to send and receive money, can make Christmas a time of stress rather than joy.”

 By enabling our customers to send money for collection as US dollars in a few taps from their phones and to track their transfers so they know when it’s ready for collection, we can take the stress out of sending money home at Christmas.”

Jane Mlambo| Deputy Information Minister, Energy Mutodi has added to ongoing rumors that a cabinet reshuffle could be coming soon, accusing fellow ministers of messing work forcing President Emmerson Mnangagwa to act.

In a Twitter post, Mutodi said those messing up work have their days numbered as a reshuffle is on its way. He wrote:
“CABINET RESHUFFLE: After all what has happened, it’s now clear that some ministries are being messed up and President Mnangagwa has to take action. A reshuffle is coming and those messing up your days are numbered.”

CABINET RESHUFFLE: After all what has happened, it’s now clear that some ministries are being messed up and President Mnangagwa has to take action. A reshuffle is coming and those messing up your days are numbered.

— Dr Energy Mutodi (@energymutodi) December 18, 2018

Former Mines Minister, Walter Chidhakwa has exposed the corrupt nature of the Presidents’ special prosecuting unit which he said is in the business of demanding bribes from accused people.

Through his lawyer, Advocate Sylvester Hashit, Chidhakwa also questioned the impartiality of Prosecutor Michael Chakandida whom he said is not fit to handle his case as there is a Constitutional Court ruling to the effect that he is not fit to prosecute as he reports to the President.

Adv Hashit accused the prosecutors from Mnangagwa’s unit of corruption and impartiality, exposing one Zivanai Macharaga, the lead prosecutor in Kasukuwere’s matter for demanding $20 000 from an unnamed accused person.

Hashit said he believes the money was to be shared among all the prosecutors also implicating the magistrates in the shenanigans.

“I have come to know that one of the prosecutors Zivanai Macharaga demanded money from an accused person whom I am not going to mention in court for security reasons. This shows that the courts are not partial and they can rule from directives,” he said.

“What I am not sure of is if you are also involved in this but once I find out I will come and tell you,” said Adv Hashit.

Magistrate Nyasha Vitorini dismissed the application saying there is no reason in recusing Prosecutor Chakandida.

He also trashed the application to have him recused from the case insisting that magistrates cannot be changed once a trial begins.

Hashit also accused the Magistrates court of lacking independence in prosecuting and making rulings in special cases, giving examples of opposition leader Tendai Biti case and controversial businessman Genius Kadungure who were denied bail that a High court had to be approached for guidance.

-263Chat

ZANU-PF has passed a resolution recommending a constitutional amendment to exclude MPs from Bulawayo and Harare from provincial councils so that they are constituted by elected councillors.

Government is in the process of devolving power to provinces and has allocated $310 million to fund the programme.

The ruling party also resolved that all Government departments be decentralised for effective devolution to take place in all provinces.

Reading the consolidated resolutions adopted at the Zanu-PF’s National People’s Conference on Saturday in Esigodini, Politburo member and Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda said the party had made a resolution that provincial councils be constituted only by elected councillors, their chairpersons and mayors of urban councils.

“It is proposed to amend the Constitution to exclude all Members of Parliament from being members of provincial councils. Bulawayo and Harare metropolitan provinces should have elected councillors and should exclude all MPs from being members. There is therefore a need to amend the Constitution in that regard,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said the party had resolved that the role of the Provincial Affairs Ministers, as provincial representatives of the President must be to provide overall coordination of development programmes.

“That the role of provincial councils be to provide legislative framework on provincial economic development through the production of economic development plans. Establishment of a provincial database on provincial economies should reside with the Minister of State but be legislated by provincial councils,” he said.

Adv Mudenda said provincial councils and Provincial Affairs Ministers must be capacitated to enable them to effectively engage business entities, development partners and investors.

In his closing address at the Zanu-PF conference on Saturday, President Mnangagwa said he was happy that Zimbabweans had welcomed the concept of devolution and creation of provincial economies saying the days of lop-sided development must be a thing of the past.

President Mnangagwa said there was an urgent need to close the development gap between urban and rural communities to achieve prosperity for all the people by 2030.

He said:
“I have been happily surprised by the reception and quick understanding of the concept of devolution and creation of provincial economies, by our communities. We must work hard, with a renewed sense of urgency, to close the development gap between the urban and rural communities.

“The prosperity we seek to achieve by 2030 must be for all our people in every corner of the country. Our desire for better and more modern roads, schools, health facilities must be realised across the entire country. As we are determined to modernise, build and industrialise our beloved country, no one should be left behind.”
President Mnangagwa said the resolutions at the conference will help the Government to be more focused guided by the will of the people.

Correspondent|A HARARE man, James Chamisa, who allegedly suffered a severe battering at the hands of the municipal police during an operation to rid the city of vendors and touts, has petitioned the High Court, seeking $32 000 compensation after suffering a fractured arm and broken ribs.

Chamisa recently issued summons against the City of Harare, demanding a $31 830 payment together with interest and costs of the suit.

The complainant claims that he was assaulted by municipal police on October 14 this year while walking along First Street.

“The plaintiff (Chamisa) was wrongfully and unlawfully assaulted by municipal police all over his body, inter alia with baton sticks, fists, booted feet and open palms.

Further, the municipal police insulted the plaintiff and called him a political prostitute in full view of members of the public,” Chamisa said in his court papers.

“At all material times, the municipal policemen were acting within the course and scope of their employment during an operation to rid Harare of vendors and touts.”

Chamisa said as a result of the battering, he suffered severe physical bodily harm and had to be hospitalised.

“As a result of the assault, the plaintiff suffered the following injuries: physical bodily injury, multiple abraded and bruised parts of the body that include the posterior and front torso, front of thigh, areas above the ankles, the face, as well as upper extremities, associated tenderness of the soft tissues over all the mentioned parts of the body,” he said.

Chamisa further said he also suffered “a fractured right hand, two fractured ribs on the right side of the rib cage, a laceration of the lower lip”, among other internal and external injuries, adding he further suffered psychological disorders.

The matter is pending.

FORMER Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni has approached the city council requesting to buy one of the pool vehicles he used before leaving office.

Mayor Herbert Gomba told council yesterday that he held a meeting with his predecessor to discuss Manyenyeni’s proposal to buy one of the vehicles he was using.

“I have referred the matter to the human resources committee to discuss this matter,” Gomba said.

When he was in office, Manyenyeni refused to buy a mayoral vehicle and relied on pool cars available, and now, the ex-mayor wants to buy one from the fleet.

In the build-up to the 2018 elections, government issued a circular instructing all outgoing mayors countrywide to engage their cities and buy vehicles they were using.

However, since Manyenyeni had not procured a car during his tenure, he now has to buy from the pool which includes vehicles that are normally used by visitors and stand-in mayors.

The sale is normally done at book value.

Manyenyeni’s request comes as councillors early this year pleaded with government to allow their cities to give them vehicles as part of their conditions of service.

Manyenyeni was Harare mayor from 2013 to 2018.

— NewsDay

JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has revealed that the Government is considering disposing some of the country’s prisons and farms like Harare Central Prison to land developers and use the proceeds to construct new prisons with better facilities.

“Admittedly, some of our prisons are very old. If you look at Harare Central Prison, when it was built it was on the outskirts of Harare but it is now almost in the centre.

“We are having negotiations. Perhaps if we can have land developers who want that prime land, we sell it and develop a better prison in Marondera, for example,” said Minister Ziyambi.

Ziyambi said this while appearing before a Senate thematic committee on human rights where he was briefing senators on how Government was dealing with refugees, and addressing their living conditions in prisons.

The committee, led by Senator Oliver Chidawu (ZANU-PF), had expressed concern over the living conditions of inmates, asking why refugees were being lumped together with serving prisoners.

“We do not have refugees in prison, but prohibited immigrants. They are fined and an order for deportation is given. Some of them stay for over two years. It is a challenge really,” said Minister Ziyambi.

Harare Central Prison is a medium-security prison for both men and women. It is operated by the Zimbabwe Prison Services, previously the Rhodesia Prison Service. It opened in 1910 during the days when the British South Africa Company ruled the then Rhodesia.

Many nationalists who were fighting colonial rule have passed through the grim walls of the gaol, as have scores of other activists after independence, who were incarcerated when the new rulers became uncomfortable with them.

The prison has also seen its share of dramatic jailbreaks. It was built as part of the state security matrix in the colonial age, situated just outside the city centre, to the east, where it shares fences with the Morris Depot police training grounds, the army’s KG6 cantonment area, the Presidential Guard compound and Police General Headquarters.

All these were strategically located as symbols of national security around State House and Zimbabwe House – both a stone’s throw away from a block of flats housing Central Intelligence Organisation employees and the Commissioner of Police.

Harare Central Prison is divided into three major sections—the remand holding cells, prison cells and a workshop. It accommodates both men and women, some together with their children.

By design, it caters for 1,470 inmates, but it currently holds over 1,700 prisoners and often houses 2,000.

Cells meant for one person are taking three inmates due to overpopulation while some of our ablution facilities are broken down.

In most cases prisoners who get 10 years and above serve their sentences at maximum prisons like Chikurubi and Khami. When they are left with seven years and below they are referred to Harare, Mutare and Whawha in Gweru, while those with 30 months and less are transferred to smaller prisons like Plumtree and Bindura.

Harare Central Prison boasts a two ward hospital that accommodates 13 beds. One ward acts as a Tuberculosis Unit while the other is Multi-Disease Ward.

On the ground floor are an Opportunistic Infection Clinic, Outpatient Department and a Modern Dental Unit furnished with state of the art equipment and manned by a dental therapist.

The workshop is where most of the rehabilitation of the inmates takes place. They learn various skills such as motor mechanics, welding, moulding, carpentry, television-radio repairs, panel beating and book binding so that they can seek employment when they re-join society.

Most of the equipment and machinery at the workshop are as old as the institution itself, and some have broken down. Government’s limited financial resources have limited any progress. There is also an education wing with 10 government teachers, catering for primary, secondary and tertiary level.

The huge kitchen uses electric-pots but most are malfunctioning. On paper they prepare three main meals per day but only a few of the electric pots are functioning and some food is cooked outside using firewood, which makes it very difficult.

Only a few of the electric pots are functioning and some food is cooked outside using firewood
On the issue of meat, Minister Ziyambi said they had gone a long way in addressing the challenge.

“I think we have an improvement in that regard. I have spoken to the Commissioner General (Paradzai Zimondi) and for the first time they have been giving them meat. It is something that we are progressively addressing, it was very bad,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“The Commissioner General said they had problems at some point because their cold room had broken down. So they could not keep the meat. They had resorted to keeping it at the butcheries where they bought the meat but were encountering when they went to the butcheries because either it would have been sold or they would be told to pay $5 more because the price has gone up. You know what is happening with price distortions. Butcheries can opt to give you back the $5 (you paid) because it is no longer attractive.”

The Prison has a chaplain who baptises inmates and teaches them the gospel. Many embrace religion and become God-fearing people who then shun their former evil doings.

Over the years, Harare Central Prison has been dogged by a high mortality rate, prevalent communicable diseases and a severe shortage of food, clothing and medical drugs.

— ZOOMZim

By Farai D Hove| War veterans stormed party leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Munhumutapa offices in Harare Tuesday morning in a mass demo to declare that they did not receive anything in 1997 when former president Robert Mugabe dished out $50,000 mass payments to each one of them in a development that instantly destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy.

One of their leaders screamed out to him: “shall we die without anything in our hands? You promised us in 1997 in a statutory instrument but up to now there is nothing you have released.”

Another made a veiled attack at Mnangagwa in person saying, “the top shefs are the ones who are eating well while we wail in poverty.”

By 11am, the protest had ended with no arrests as seen in others such as the teachers’ foot march from Mutare to Harare which saw the police harass the teachers at the weekend. – THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY….

Jane Mlambo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has set aside the first Friday of each calendar month as the National Clean Up day.

In a statement released today, Mnangagwa said the move has been necessitated by the need to create a clean, safe and healthy environment.

In the spirit of creating a clean, safe and healthy environment, it shall be the duty of every individual, corporate body, community and institution to clean up their surrounding areas, places of work, religion, education, recreational and residential premises, vending sites, car parks and road servitudes.

According to Mnangagwa, the clean-up exercise shall be undertaken from 0800hrs to 1000hrs on the first Friday of each month.

Jane Mlambo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to release the Commission of Inquiry into the 1st of August shootings after cabinet meeting today.

Last week, Mnangagwa told a Zanu PF Annual conference that he would release the report this week and unconfirmed reports have hinted that it could be today after cabinet meeting.

A local journalist, Clarkson Mambo has also confirmed that Mnangagwa will indeed release his much awaited report today.

A Source close to the commission confirmed that the report is likely to put the blame for the death of six civilians on the army and police while implicating the opposition MDC for inciting people and making inflammatory statements.

Unless there are last minute changes, the #August1Inquiry Report will be made public today after Cabinet meeting

— C.E Mambo ?? (@cemambo) December 18, 2018

THE late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s adopted son, Abdallha Moussa Mone Yousuf Mouammare Aboutminiyare Al Gaddafi, who is detained at Harare Remand Prison as an illegal immigrant, was at one time deported, but he refused to disembark from the connecting flight in Ethiopia to take him back to his country.

This was revealed by Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi when he appeared before the Parliamentary Thematic Committee on Human Rights chaired by Harare Metropolitan Senator Oliver Mandishona Chidawu (Zanu PF) to speak about prison conditions and refugees.

Gaddafi fled Libya in 2011 and sought refuge in Zimbabwe in April 2014, and since then he has been incarcerated in remand prison and wants asylum in Zimbabwe.

“In certain instances, refugees and illegal immigrants refuse to be deported, an example is that of Gaddafi who, when he came to Zimbabwe, was deported through Ethiopia.

But when he got there, he refused to go on a connecting flight to Libya and had to be brought back to Zimbabwe,” Ziyambi said.

Later, the minister told journalists: “He ran away from Libya because he says they were going to persecute him, but we could not offer him asylum instantly because his identity could not be verified since he says he is Gaddafi’s adopted son.

“He has made a court application challenging his continued detention in Zimbabwe’s prisons because he is a prohibited immigrant, but he wants to seek refugee status in Zimbabwe. We now await the court determination. Initially, his identity could not be ascertained and it was not prudent to grant an unidentified person asylum.”

Ziyambi said currently there were 190 prohibited immigrants in the country awaiting deportation. He said preferably they were not supposed to be housed in prisons, but Zimbabwe had no other safe facilities to house them as they awaited deportation.

“These are not refugees, they are prohibited immigrants awaiting deportation and we do not have anywhere to place them except in prisons. We have no budget for their upkeep. We even resorted to say that their relatives can pay for their flights back, but some of them do not even want to go back,” the minister said.

Harare Metropolitan Senator Kerina Gweshe (MDC Alliance) then asked the minister to explain plans to improve facilities at Chikurubi where she said there was only one cell with toilets, resulting in prisoners using empty plastic bags to relieve themselves. Gweshe claimed that there was hunger in prisons, resulting in prisoners eating rats because of lack of a meat diet.

Midlands Senator Tsitsi Muzenda (Zanu PF) also claimed that juvenile prisoners were mixed with older hardcore criminals.

Ziyambi said nowadays prison diet had improved such that prisoners were now eating meat. He said the problem was that prison cold rooms where meat should be stored were broken down, resulting in the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service buying meat in advance and storing it at butcheries, who later reneged and demanded more money as prices of meat increased.

He admitted that there was a serious problem of toilets since prison infrastructure was constructed during the colonial era in the 1940s, adding that government was considering selling prisons to land developers so that new open prisons are built in Marondera and Chikurubi.

“Before the old prisons are destroyed, we want new ones to be ready,” Ziyambi said.

-Newsday

UNITED States ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols yesterday insisted on implementation of political and economic reforms if the country is to come out of isolation.

Speaking during a courtesy call to Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, Nichols said the government had done well in coming up with proposals that would bring about reform, but it was time to take action and implement recommendations given by foreign observer missions during the July 30 polls.

“The proposals from this government have been wonderful, but we need to see concrete action and Parliament is where those actions take place: repeal of [Public Order and Security Act] Posa and [Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act] Aippa, electoral reforms, implementation of some of the recommendations of the observer missions and improving the environment for doing business. That is all parliamentary business,” Nichols said.

Mudenda said Parliament has a bigger role to play in ensuring reforms that bring about a new Zimbabwe are implemented.

“Any electoral reforms that need to take place will come through Parliament like Posa. The Constitutional Court has already ruled that section 27 of Posa seems to offend the free assembly of people, so Parliament has no choice, but to amend that section of the Constitution,” Mudenda said.

“We have indicated to the ambassador [Nichols] that we have started the process through the administration of the Parliament to ensure that the pieces of legislation that were proposed by his Excellency the President [Emmerson Mnangagwa] during the State of the Nation Address are pursued with vigour to ensure that the legislative process is consummated in the next few months.”

US President Donald Trump signed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018 (S 2779) soon after the August 1 shootings, as government failed to meet the human rights conditions the US has demanded.

-Newsday

ONE of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s anti-corruption special unit prosecutors, Zivanai Macharaga, has allegedly been accused of demanding a $20 000 bribe from a former Cabinet minister, who is facing charges of criminal abuse of office, to throw out the case.

The court heard this yesterday when former Mines minister Walter Chidakwa and ex-permanent secretary Francis Gudyanga appeared in court on a criminal abuse of office charge.

While applying for postponement of the matter due to a pending Constitutional Court (ConCourt) determination on the appointment of special prosecutors, Chidakwa’s lawyer Advocate Sylvester Hashiti told the court that his client was not comfortable being prosecuted by Mnangagwa’s special prosecutors as they receives orders from the Executive.

He said his client views the matter as political persecution.

Hashiti told the court that Macharaga allegedly demanded a $20 000 bribe from a former Cabinet minister, which he alleged he would share with the magistrate to facilitate acquittal of the case.

“Your worship, we seek a postponement of this case pending determination of a ConCourt application filed by Levi Nyagura challenging the appointment of the special prosecutors. Nyagura had successfully applied for a temporary stay of trial proceedings at the High Court pending the ConCourt determination of State prosecutor Michael Chakandida’s authority to prosecute him,” Hashiti said.

Chakandida is also prosecuting Nyagura. Hashiti said the court order which stopped Chakandida from prosecuting Nyagura applies to their case since he is the same person who was barred from prosecuting corruption cases.

“Your worship, there are allegations that Zivanai Macharaga, one of the special prosecutors, demanded $20 000 from a former Cabinet minister whom I will not name in this court. It was alleged the money would be shared with the presiding magistrate,” Hashiti further said.

Hashiti said Macharaga is also conflicted in that he once appeared for the State prosecuting one of his clients, Gudyanga, who is being represented by Tafadzwa Muvhami from his law firm, Mugiya and Macharaga.

He further alleged at one time that Macharaga applied for the release of Gudyanga’s passport despite him being a State prosecutor, saying such actions raised eyebrows.

Hashiti said the Executive was interfering with the administration of corruption cases, saying one of the magistrates dealing with businessman Genius Kadungure’s fraud and money-laundering cases had received instructions to deny him bail despite initially consenting to it.

He also cited the (Tendai) Biti versus the State case, saying the MDC deputy chairperson’s trial magistrate Gloria Takundwa wrote to the High Court seeking review of her decision due to pressure from the Executive.

Chidakwa, who appeared before another magistrate Nyasha Vhitorini said it was not provided in law to assign the trial matter to another magistrate.

“Your worship, in the mind of the accused person, all Harare magistrates and prosecutors appointed to deal with these cases are influenced to deny him his rights.

Initially, this case was referred to the trial magistrate Estere Chivasa by magistrate Josephine Sande and it is not provided in law to transfer the same matter to another magistrate during the trial. The transfer can only be done upon death or retirement of the presiding magistrate or else they will be a trial de novo,” Hashiti further said.

Hashiti submitted a “mysterious” text message which was only shown to the court and prosecutor, saying it was a security threat.

The text messages forced the court to retreat into the magistrate’s chambers on two occasions.

Chidakwa, who was seen shaking his head and seemed reluctant to hand over his mobile phone to the court for review of the text message, only relaxed after his lawyer asked the court not to record the said text message as evidence.

In his ruling dismissing recusal application, Vhitorini said he would deal with the matter impartially and said changing of the magistrates is only administrative.
Vhitorini then postponed the matter to January 4 pending the High Court review of his decision to refuse recusal.

-Newsday

Correspondent|Fuel in Zimbabwe is now the cheapest in the region and there are long queues because though nominally priced at $1.45 the fuel is now costing only 40 US cents, economist Eddie Cross says.

Cross, a former policy advisor of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change who now seems to have turned into a policy advisor for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, says President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has the right intentions but it must free the exchange rate now.

He says that by introducing exchange controls, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has created a system to sweep US$3 billion into Nostro accounts.

“If we were to announce that with immediate effect all retentions of export earnings by the Reserve Bank are suspended and exporters should retain 100 per cent of their sales in their own FCA accounts, the result would be to release US$3 billion into the open market for hard currency,” he writes on his personal blog.

“My own view is that total hard currency inflows to Zimbabwe from all sources probably approach US$8 billion at this time (Exports, Tourism, Transfers, Remittances etc.). However, the retention of earnings by the export sector and others affected by exchange control sweeping activities would immediately reduce open market rates for the RTGS dollar.

“Most business persons say they think it could go to 2 to 1 or slightly more – but the consensus is that it would strengthen rather than depreciate.”

The market exchange rate is currently at 3.5 to 1 but the central bank insists the US dollar and the bond note are at par.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube initially wanted to abolish the bond note by the end of this month but he later changed his mind to “preserve” the value of people’s savings and incomes.

The administration has, however, failed to control prices which rocketed in line with the parallel market exchange rate.

The government has vowed not to impose price controls as this could be disastrous but is instead banking on moral suasion.

There have been calls to allow some service stations to sell fuel in US dollars to solve the problem of queues.

Reports say some people, including Mnangagwa’s lieutenants, are cashing in on the fuel crisis and are resisting any measures to stabilise the sector.

Exchange Control is the Central Problem facing Zimbabwe at Present

By introducing Exchange Control via the Reserve Bank the State has done the following:

Created a system to ‘sweep’ some US$3 billion in direct foreign earnings into the Nostro accounts of the Bank. This amounts to about US$10 million every working day.
Centralised the allocation of foreign exchange for imports on a priority basis, leaving the rest of the economy to buy their needs on the open market, which it is now attempting to make illegal.
Adopted an artificial rate of 1 to 1 for all such funds and thereby creating additional, new balances in the market of ‘RTGS’ dollars when they pay the exporters for the balances swept into the RBZ accounts.
Because of the fiscal deficit over the past 5 years the country has built up a mountain of RTGS dollars which now amount to $22 billion ($10 billion in Bank accounts, $9 in TB’s and $2,5 billion in RBZ overdraft). These balances simply cannot be dollarized again and must inevitably be devalued.
The RTGS dollar has become delinked from the US dollar and is now trading at a steady 3,5 to 1 against the US dollar. Correcting the fiscal deficit has steadied the ship but the fundamental imbalances remain in the market. What everyone fails to see is that at this level the RTGS dollar is the strongest currency in the region and the market clears at this level every day.
As a consequence, the market has started reducing the real value of the RTGS dollar through inflation and this process will continue until the imbalances in the market are addressed.
Inflation is creating political pressures and these must be addressed as a matter of urgency – not by stopping the process of adjustment, but by accelerating the process of adjustment and dealing with the aftermath.
In addition to the above factors, the introduction of exchange control and the way it is being administered by the Reserve Bank is having the following effect on local markets and on the productive sector:

The use of the artificial exchange rate of 1:1 is taking real value from the foreign earnings of exporters and replacing it with RTGS dollars valued by markets at 3.5 to one. On average this is depreciating the overall earnings of the export sector by more than half. The result is that production levels of all export industries is in decline and gold production is again going back into the informal market where no exchange control influence exists. Official intake of gold has declined by 40 per cent, tobacco plantings are down and major exporters are considering shutting down until the situation corrects itself.
The transfer of these resources of hard currency to the consumptive sector at the artificial rate of 1:1 means that the demand for the goods benefiting from this mechanism (fuel, food) has increased sharply. Fuel, previously trading above regional levels at US$1.45 is now trading effectively at US$40 cents or less. Regional States are buying fuel in Zimbabwe, transit truck hauliers are also doing so and demand has doubled to over 8 million litres per day.
At this level the RBZ cannot meet demand the consequence is now long queues and the emergence of a huge market for fuel that is being trading at the real market price of US$1,50 per litre or $5 per litre in the open market, driving up inflation.
Companies and industries that depended on official allocations of hard currency at the artificial rate are now in deep trouble because they have to turn to the informal market for hard currency and this is holding up the rate. If they do not do so they will run out of essential imports and shut down. Delta has closed its soft drinks plants for this reason.
The artificial rates at which the Reserve Bank is trading currency is creating opportunities for rent seeking and corruption on a large scale and this can only be corrected by market forces.
We have the right intentions but are not moving fast enough on this crucial problem. The fundamentals are sound in Zimbabwe but these distortions in market prices must be addressed and addressed immediately. The chaos in all local markets has its root cause in this system and only its complete and immediate dissolution will restore order.

If we were to announce that with immediate effect all retentions of export earnings by the Reserve Bank are suspended and exporters should retain 100 per cent of their sales in their own FCA accounts, the result would be to release US$3 billion into the open market for hard currency. My own view is that total hard currency inflows to Zimbabwe from all sources probably approach US$8 billion at this time (Exports, Tourism, Transfers, Remittances etc.). However, the retention of earnings by the export sector and others affected by exchange control sweeping activities would immediately reduce open market rates for the RTGS dollar. Most business persons say they think it could go to 2 to 1 or slightly more – but the consensus is that it would strengthen rather than depreciate.

In addition, it would then require that everyone who wants to import or pay external expenses will have to rely on the open market and that the majority of such transactions would shift from the informal sector to the Banking system. This would not only strengthen the banks but will also boost the net income of all exporters and earners of hard currency. The impact on the productive sector would be immediate and substantial and in my view will lead to an immediate surge in overall foreign earnings in the formal economy. It will boost the profitability of the most competitive of our industries and boost tax collections.

The Banks would trade currencies on behalf of their clients and the market will clear each day at set exchange rates which would then be published and set the basis for market prices. This would remove from the market opportunities for rent seeking and arbitrage and supply and demand would balance themselves out in the open formal markets of the country.

One inevitable consequence of these changes will be a short term rise in inflation over six months before it settles down to a longer term rate based on the economic fundamentals. The result will have to be a process to adjust salaries to reflect the new realities. This gives us the opportunity to compensate for the rising prices but at the same time address anomalies in the salary structures of the private and the public sector. This also creates the opportunity to activate the Tripartite Negotiating Forum and reach consensus on the way forward which would stabilise our politics.

My own view would be to run with the RTGS and the Bond notes under these conditions for 6 months and then introduce a new local currency managed by the Monetary Policy Committee in the Reserve Bank. When this happens demonetize the Bond notes and replace them with the new currency at full supply to meet transactional demands.

National AIDS Council (NAC) is proposing mandatory HIV testing for couples before they could get a marriage certificate. Speaking during a meeting with Members of Parliament on HIV and AIDS in Kadoma, NAC monitoring and evaluation director Mr Amon Mpofu said there was need for couples getting married to know their HIV statuses first.

Mr Mpofu said it should be a prerequisite for couples intending to get married to go for HIV testing.

“We want pastors and magistrates or any other marriage officers to demand proof of HIV testing from couples intending to get married. We need to protect our children,” he said.

Mr Mpofu said at least 45 percent of female students in tertiary institutions were living with HIV that they contracted during the course of their studies.

He said approximately 45 percent of female students in tertiary institutions contract HIV during the course of their programs.

Mr Mpofu said there has been a surge in cases of new HIV infections among adolescent girls particularly those in tertiary institutions.

“If you look at the statistics we have, there are high cases of new HIV infections among adolescent girls between 15-24 years. We have also observed that about 45 percent of female students in tertiary institutions contract HIV during the course of their studies. Most of them graduate while HIV positive. There has been a 45 percent increase in new HIV infections among female students.

“We have engaged the vice chancellors in universities after observing that living conditions of our children in tertiary institutions are exposing them to the risk of contracting HIV. They have shown commitment to address the issue of accommodation,” he said.

Mr Mpofu said the disequilibrium between RTGS/Bond Notes on one hand and foreign currency is now affecting the Aids Levy which was used as guarantee to apply for Global Fund funding.

He said there was need for Government to prioritise procurement of ARV drugs to avoid drug interruption.

“As we are aware there are foreign currency shortages in the country and it has also affected us. Government has not been allocating us enough foreign currency.

‘‘We get about $50 000 and $200 000. This is not enough and Government should allocate more foreign currency towards the procurement of ARV drugs,” he said.

Mr Mpofu said there are about 1,3 million people living with HIV in the country and at least 1 166 000 are now on treatment.

“At least 86 percent are now on ARVs but if we fail to get foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe it will reverse the progress,” he said.

THE ruling Zanu PF party has given Finance minister Mthuli Ncube a fresh “headache” after its just-ended 17th annual conference resolved that government should reintroduce the national youth service programme.

Disparagingly known as Green Bombers, graduates from the programme were reportedly behind most cases of election violence, including the establishment of torture bases at which opposition activists were brutally tortured and murdered.

In his 2019 National Budget statement last month, Ncube did not provide for the introduction of the programme that could gobble millions and fly in the face of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s publicly declared wish to stem unnecessary State expenditure.

But Zanu PF, in one of its 2018 conference resolutions, said: “The national youth service programme be resumed in the first quarter of 2019.”

Party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday said it was up to Ncube to find the money or convince the party that the programme was untenable.

“Of course, we are aware that the programme will require financing. If there is no money, then it would not be implemented. It is up to the minister (Ncube) to come back and explain to the party that he does not have the resources or he should find a way of raising the required money,” Khaya Moyo said.

But the opposition immediately raised the red flag, describing the resuscitation of the programme as akin to reintroducing the 1980s crack military unit blamed for the post-independence atrocities known as Gukurahundi.

“It would look like the regime has nostalgia of its murderous past. Graduates from the youth service have been convicted by the courts of murder, maiming and rape of opposition activists as well as female recruits. It’s the same as trying to bring back the Fifth Brigade. The question that remains now is how much of (former President Robert) Mugabe’s murderous infrastructure is Mnangagwa going to retain. It scares us,” MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said.

Ncube was not available for comment yesterday, while Finance ministry secretary George Guvamatanga’s mobile went unanswered. The Finance minister attended the Zanu PF conference and at the end of it said he was happy with the deliberations and outcomes.

“I am very happy indeed that we have had that realignment with what government is trying to do. Absolutely, we are on the same path (government and party). We are on the same page and the resolutions are testimony to that,” Ncube told our sister paper The Standard in an interview at the close of the conference.

Khaya Moyo said the Green Bombers would not be used as political storm-troopers this time around and sought to pacify opposition fears.

“That was in the old dispensation and we are not talking about the past. If they did that [violence, torture and murder] in the old dispensation, we will not allow that.
This is a programme to give young people skills that will help them stand on their own or help in the economic development of our country,” the Zanu PF spokesperson said.

As if to admit the fact that it was raising issues that were counter to government’s short-term Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and the long-term Vision 2030 that seeks to make Zimbabwe a middle income country in the next dozen years, Zanu PF also resolved to shift the holding of the annual jamboree from December “to allow the party to make contributions to the National Budget statement”.

“That the party’s annual national people’s conference be held before the rainy season and budget presentation to Parliament in order to allow the party to have some input into the budget process,” one of the resolutions read.

More explicitly, Zanu PF also sought to cement its position vis-a-vis that of government in terms of policy crafting and co-ordination with the former liberation movement, now with a functional secretariat under Mnangagwa exercising authority over the executive arm of the State.

“The supremacy of the party over government is effectively practised whereby it directs government policies and programmes at central and provincial levels within the context of devolution,” the resolution read in part.

This would mean Ncube has no option, but to do as he is told and former Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, the Zanu PF purse-holder, is the Treasury chief’s boss.

The Zanu PF central committee has also been given the mandate to review and monitor the implementation of the conference resolutions at its quarterly meetings.

-Newsday

THE High Court has ordered a Harare family to pay damages amounting to $20 000 to a lawyer it got arrested on unfounded fraud allegations. Mr Tinashe Zenda Hungwe, who was appointed executor to the estate of the siblings’ late father, was arrested for allegedly selling properties without the beneficiaries’ knowledge.

It later turned out to be a false story and Mr Hungwe was found not guilty and acquitted. When he was arrested, the lawyer was humiliated and spent four days in police custody.

He even suffered negative media publicity as stories of his arrest and prosecution were picked by several media houses.

After his acquittal, Mr Hungwe sued the siblings — Veronica Duro, Kushinga Nedi, Tariro Nedi, Rebecca Rusere and Monica Mudavanhu — for malicious prosecution.

He claimed $139 000, broken down as follows: $25 000 for legal costs incurred, $100 000 for contumelia and $14 000 for loss of earnings. However, on November 23 this year, Justice Philda Muzofa ruled in favour of the lawyer, but reduced the total claim to $20 000.

“Accordingly, the following order is made that,

1 the defendants shall pay the plaintiff, jointly and severally, the one paying the other to be absolved, an amount of $20 000 for damages arising from malicious prosecution, together with interest at the rate of 5 percent per annum from February 28, 2014 to the date of final payment.

2 The defendants shall pay, jointly and severally, the one paying the other to be absolved, the costs of this suit on attorney-client scale.”

Justice Muzofa said Mr Hungwe’s image was tarnished as a result of the criminal proceedings. “There is no doubt that the incarceration and subsequent prosecution tarnished his image and professional standing. Whatever perception the public holds of a lawyer, affects their practice. In this case, the negative perception was built.

“The plaintiff was not only maliciously prosecuted, the matter was reported in the Herald titled ‘Lawyer accused of theft’,” said Justice Muzofa.

The judge said chances were high that Mr Hungwe lost clients as a result of the malicious arrest and prosecution.

“I would not be surprised if he lost clients during the period in question,” the judge said.

During the hearing, the court heard that the five lodged a fraud report at CID Fraud Squad against Mr Hungwe on May 25, 2013.

They wrongfully and maliciously set in motion criminal proceedings of fraud against Mr Hungwe by giving false information to the police that, the lawyer and one Lucia Nedi had connived to sell a house known as number 3 Bradfield, Hopley, to Morepad Investments Private Limited.

Allegations were that three more stands belonging to the beneficiaries to the estate, were also fraudulently sold, causing a financial prejudice to the tune of USD$190 000.

The prosecuting authority then, on two occasions, declined to prosecute the lawyer, but the family protested resulting in the weak case being referred to court.

The family members also maligned the lawyer in higher offices, including the office of the President when he had no case to answer at all.

State Media

The Zimpapers Group has announced senior editorial changes in its Digital and Publishing Division with immediate effect. Joram Nyathi has been appointed Editor of The Herald, while Victoria Ruzvidzo is the new Editor of The Sunday Mail.

Nyathi replaces Caesar Zvayi who has been appointed Editor-at-Large, while Ruzvidzo takes over from Mabasa Sasa, who is now the Head of Content Syndication.

The Herald Political Editor Tichaona Zindoga has been promoted to Deputy Editor of the same paper, while Lovemore Mataire, a senior writer at the Southern Times, is now Deputy Editor of The Sunday Mail. Gender Editor Ruth Butaumocho has been promoted to Managing Editor of The Herald.

As Editor-at-Large, Zvayi will be in charge of special projects, including overseeing the production of well-researched political and economic content as well as special revenue-generating supplements and journals around various sectors of the economy. The syndication unit headed by Sasa will be the news agency of the group that will distribute content across all titles and to external partners in support of the engagement process.

Nyathi has been Deputy Editor of The Herald for the past four years and previously worked as Deputy Editor of The Zimbabwe Independent.

He joined Zimpapers as Senior Assistant Editor in 2013. He later became Group Political Editor in 2014 and Deputy Editor in 2015. He is a mature journalist, with a deep understanding of the country’s history, politics and the economy.

Ruzvidzo has been with Zimpapers for 25 years, starting as a junior reporter. She was Business Editor of The Herald for 10 years and later Managing Editor for six years. She is an authority in telling the story of the Zimbabwean

Zindoga joined the Herald as a reporter in 2009. He left briefly to work in South Africa in 2013 and rejoined The Herald as a Senior Features Writer in the same year. He was promoted to Political Editor in 2014. He is the author of the book, “Death of the Commissar”.

Mataire started off as a junior reporter at The Herald in 2000 and rose to be the Chief Political Reporter.

He left Zimpapers after being appointed Editor of the People’s Voice in 2004 and served in that position for two years.

In 2013, he rejoined The Herald as a Senior Features Writer and was later seconded to Southern Times.

Butaumocho has been with Zimpapers for 18 years and occupied several desk editor positions, including being Features and Supplements Editor and Entertainment Editor. She pioneered the City.com, which later transformed into H-Metro.

-State Media

Property worth about $800 000 was lost when a fire gutted Bulawayo’s Kumalo Hotel in the early hours of Sunday.

The cause of the fire at the hotel located in Kumalo suburb could not be established immediately.

Bulawayo Fire Brigade Senior Divisional officer, Mr Edward Mpofu, said investigations to establish the cause of the fire were still underway but an electrical fault or arson could not be ruled out.

He said the Fire Brigade received the first call at 0125hours and they arrived at the scene after five minutes but the entire roof had collapsed and cooking gas cylinders were exploding.

About 80 guests, mostly delegates to Zanu-PF’s conference and hotel workers were evacuated from the hotel premises and no one was injured.

“There were a number of gas cylinders, refrigerators, stoves, dishes that were destroyed. The building was extensively damaged by fire to the extent that fire spread pointers were destroyed,” said Mr Mpofu.

He said property worth over $800 000 was destroyed while that worth only $200 000 was saved.

Mr Mpofu said workers tried to contact the owner of the hotel at approximately 0109hrs but could not reach him. He said they delayed alerting the Fire Brigade as they did not know the contact numbers and only phoned at about 0125hrs.

“Two neighbours to the hotel stated that they saw the fire at something to one o’clock in the morning and tried to alert the hotel staff to no avail,” said Mr Mpofu.

He said people waste a lot of time communicating among themselves and with their bosses instead of calling the Fire Brigade.

Mr Mpofu advised people to always keep their numbers: (0292) 71717 or when one is calling from a landline on toll free numbers 993 or 994 to save property and prevent loss of lives in case of fire.

He said those in charge of public buildings, residential care homes and business premises must ensure that routine checks are done before closing for the day or when sleeping.

Last Wednesday, a double storey residential house and a three-roomed cottage were gutted by fire in Bulawayo’s Matsheumhlope suburb after a woman left a candle in her bedroom on while she was cooking outside. Property worth $2 000 was destroyed.

-State Media

After spending over $2 million on food for its just ended Conference, ZANU-PF has donated left over groceries from the Conference held at Mzingwane High School to hospitals in Matabeleland South province.

Speaking at the handover of the groceries to Gwanda Provincial Hospital yesterday, Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs Minister, Abednico Ncube said the groceries will be distributed to all hospitals in the seven districts of the province as well as Gwanda Old People’s Home.

“I have been sent by Zanu-PF party to donate this food to Gwanda Provincial Hospital.

“As you all know the party held its annual National People’s Conference here and these groceries were left after the conference” he said.

Ncube said President Mnangagwa instructed the province to give the food to the people.

“We sat down as a province and decided to donate the groceries to health institutions in all our seven districts and as such all our hospitals are going to benefit,” said Ncube.

Gwanda Provincial Hospital received mealie meal, cooking oil, sugar and rice and other hospitals are going to receive a similar assortment of foodstuffs.

State Media

FORMER Luveve-Cowdray Park Member of Parliament, Ntandoyenkosi Mlilo, has approached the High Court seeking the dissolution of his marriage to his wife of 11 years for allegedly denying him conjugal rights for more than 12 months.

The former legislator and his wife, Miriam Mlilo (nee Nerwande) wedded on April 29, 2005 under Chapter 5:11 of the Marriages Act.

The couple has been on separation since 2007.

Mlilo wants the custody of their two children aged seven and 16 years to be granted to his wife on condition that he gets access to them.

Mlilo, who is a self actor, filed an application for a decree of divorce at the Bulawayo High Court on December 11 citing irreconcilable differences with his wife.

In papers before the court, the former MP said his marriage had irretrievably broken down such that there were no prospects of restoring it.

“The parties were legally married to each other in terms of the Marriages Act (5:11) in Bulawayo on April 29, 2005 and the marriage still subsists. The marriage relationship between the parties has irretrievably broken down to such an extent that there are no reasonable prospects of restoration, more particularly in that the parties have developed irreconcilable differences, which go to the very root of the matrimonial contract and their relationship ,” said Mlilo.

He said they have not shared conjugal rights for 12 months.

“The plaintiff and defendant have not lived as husband and wife since December 2007 being a continuous period in excess of 12 months. The parties have not shared conjugal rights for a period in excess of 12 months and as a result I have lost love and affection for the defendant and do not wish to remain married to her,” he stated in his summons.

“It shall be in the best interests of the two minor children if the court orders that their custody upon divorce be awarded to the defendant subject to my right of reasonable access to them.”

During the subsistence of the marriage, the couple did not acquire any property.

State Media

A COMMUTER omnibus driver based in Harare allegedly hit a pedestrian in the central business district and took away the body under the pretext that he was taking him to hospital before dumping it in the bush in Kambuzuma 2.

Tirivangani Madzokere (30) appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa on Saturday facing murder charges. He was remanded in custody to December 27 pending indictment to the High Court.

Allegations are that on November 17, Madzokere was driving along Chinhoyi Street and hit the now deceased Christopher Muzawazi at the intersection of Chinhoyi Street and Bute Street.

Madzokere, his conductor and a friend took the now deceased into their vehicle under the pretext that they were taking him to the hospital since he was still alive.

The State alleges instead of taking him to hospital, Madzokere drove to an open space between Kambuzuma 2 and Rugare suburbs where they dumped Muzawazi’s body.

Informant Maria Sunday, who was coming from her field in between Kambuzuma and Rugare suburbs, discovered the deceased’s body and made a police report.

A post-mortem was conducted and established that the death was due to skull bone fracture and head injuries. Investigations revealed that Muzawazi was hit by Madzokere’s kombi.

Idah Maromo appeared for the State.

NewsDay

President Emmerson Mnangagwa will meet with teachers representatives under the banner of
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) this Friday.
Mnangagwa is expected to hear teachers’ grievances ranging from poor salaries and demand to be paid is foreign currency. In a letter addressed to the PTUZ Secretary General, Raymond Majongwe, Permanent Secretary to the president Wilson Gwatiringa advised the union
that Mnangagwa had agreed to meet with the teachers. The letter reads:
Thank you for your letter of 5 December 2018 requesting Progressive Teacher’s Union of Zimbabwe to meet His Excellency, the President. Kindly be advised that His Excellency, the President has accepted to meet the Union at State House 21 December 2018 t 10: am.
Rural teachers under the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) are marching from Mutare to Harare. The teachers
are calling on government to immediately pay them in US dollars.state media

THERE was drama in Lower Gweru when relatives of an artisanal miner who was killed in suspected amakorokoza battles dumped the body at the alleged assailant’s
homestead demanding compensation.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening at Dimbamhiwa Business Centre.
Cephas Sifelani (37) of Phakama village allegedly killed Obert Tshuma (30) of Veto village under Chief Sogwala in Lower Gweru following a misunderstanding.
A police source said at around 4 PM, Obert was drinking beer at Dimbamhiwa Business Centre with his younger brother Admire and a friend, Godfrey Moyo.
“Sifelani and his friend Bhekimpilo Mlilo arrived at the business centre. Mlilo slapped Obert several times on the face for no apparent reason. A heated argument ensued between the two,” said the source.
The source said Tshuma’s brother, Admire, tried to restrain the two.
“Sifelani charged towards them and he stabbed Admire once on the back with an Okapi knife. Sensing danger, Obert ran away and Sifelani chased him until he slipped and fell on his back.
“Sifelani stabbed Obert once on the right chest and once on the right thigh with the same Okapi knife he used to stab Admire,” said the source.
Obert, said the source, bled profusely and was rushed to a nearby Nyama Clinic where he was pronounced dead on arrival.Chronicle

The union has since applauded Mnangagwa for affording them an opportunity to meet him.

Mnangagwa’s Office advised the union through a letter to PTUZ president Mr Ray Majongwe that he had agreed to meet them at State House in Harare.

The union requested for a meeting with President Mnangangwa early this month.

“Thank you for your letter of 5 December 2018 requesting Progressive Teacher’s Union of Zimbabwe to meet His Excellency the President. Kindly be advised that His Excellency, the President has accepted to meet the Union at State House on Friday December 21 at 10AM,” reads the letter.

In an interview yesterday, Mr Majongwe said they were impressed by Mnangagwa’s prompt response and were positive about the meeting.

“We wrote the first letter in July but we wrote another one just before schools closed on the 5th of December. We discovered that there were several issues so we went back and said we handed you a letter but we have these other issues from that letter we initially wrote,” he said.

“He has responded to us alone and we are more than happy, we would like to meet the President as PTUZ without being swallowed or drowned by other people with different agendas.

“So we are happy to meet the President as the PTUZ leadership, we are going to articulate our issues to the President and we hope our issues will be taken on board.”

Mr Majongwe said the meeting was meant to address teachers’ welfare issues.

“The issues that we are raising are the same ones, issues of our salary, issues of teacher-pupil ratio, infrastructure, issues of work load, condition of service and many others.

“We are going to meet the President to deliver the message from our members,” he said.

Mr Majongwe said they had in the past tried to meet former President Mugabe but failed.

“We have never met the President. We requested to meet President Mugabe a record 45 times and we were not given a single opportunity,” he said.

Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said they were not aware of the meeting.

Teachers constitute the highest number of civil servants in the country and have for years bemoaned poor salaries and working conditions.

The education sector received the highest allocation of $1,5 billion in the 2019 National Budget with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education receiving the lion’s share of $1,132 billion and it is hoped that some of the teachers’ challenges will be addressed.

Former Luveve-Cowdray Park Member of Parliament, Ntandoyenkosi Mlilo, has approached the High Court seeking the dissolution of his marriage to his wife of 11 years for allegedly denying him conjugal rights for more than 12 months.

The former legislator and his wife, Miriam Mlilo (nee Nerwande) wedded on April 29, 2005 under Chapter 5:11 of the Marriages Act.

The couple has been on separation since 2007.

Mlilo wants the custody of their two children aged seven and 16 years to be granted to his wife on condition that he gets access to them.

Mlilo, who is a self actor, filed an application for a decree of divorce at the Bulawayo High Court on December 11 citing irreconcilable differences with his wife.

In papers before the court, the former MP said his marriage had irretrievably broken down such that there were no prospects of restoring it.

“The parties were legally married to each other in terms of the Marriages Act (5:11) in Bulawayo on April 29, 2005 and the marriage still subsists. The marriage relationship between the parties has irretrievably broken down to such an extent that there are no reasonable prospects of restoration, more particularly in that the parties have developed irreconcilable differences, which go to the very root of the matrimonial contract and their relationship ,” said Mlilo.

He said they have not shared conjugal rights for 12 months.

“The plaintiff and defendant have not lived as husband and wife since December 2007 being a continuous period in excess of 12 months. The parties have not shared conjugal rights for a period in excess of 12 months and as a result I have lost love and affection for the defendant and do not wish to remain married to her,” he stated in his summons.

“It shall be in the best interests of the two minor children if the court orders that their custody upon divorce be awarded to the defendant subject to my right of reasonable access to them.”

During the subsistence of the marriage, the couple did not acquire any property.-state media

FORMER Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s son, Siqokoqela, has been freed from remand prison after successfully challenging the revocation of his bail by a Bulawayo magistrate at the High Court.

His lawyer, Professor Welshman Ncube successfully filed an appeal at the Bulawayo High Court challenging the revocation of bail pending trial.

Siqokoqela (40), who is facing 170 counts of fraud and theft, had his bail revoked by Ms Gladmore Mushove about two weeks ago for violating bail conditions by harassing State witnesses.

He had been locked up at Bulawayo Prisons for 10 days.

Mphoko had his $200 bail revoked last week for allegedly interfering with state witnesses in violation of his bail conditions.

Between July last year and June this year, Mphoko allegedly went to various Choppies supermarkets to demand varying amounts of cash, goods and services from employees without approval from the board.

He is accused of collecting cash, groceries and some building material and later ordering the chain store’s finance department to deduct the money from his salary.

Although he was not supposed to be directly involved in the day-to-day operations of Choppies, Mphoko allegedly masqueraded as the owner of the company in Zimbabwe and even allegedly threatened to either dismiss or deport employees of Indian origin for defying his orders.

Former VP Mphoko and his son on one hand are battling for control of the chain store after partners within the Botswana registered retail giant have insisted the family owned just seven percent shares in the company while the Mphokos claim they own the majority stake with 51% of the business.

The wrangle has spilled into the courts.

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has led “the most failed first 100 days of any president,” analysts have said, citing the worsening plight of the long-suffering majority of Zimbabweans.

Mnangagwa was installed president on August 26, after the Constitutional Court confirmed his disputed July 30 election victory, dismissing an opposition challenge that had held up his inauguration.

He was inaugurated president for the second time in nine months in a country recently jubilant over the fall of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in a soft coup.

Upon officially occupying the top job in August, the former long-time Mugabe ally promised to do things differently from his 94-year-old predecessor — blamed for ruining Zimbabwe’s once-prosperous economy during his 37-year long barren rule.

In an inauguration speech — punctuated with promises of facilitating investment and business growth, re-engaging the international community and job creation — Mnangagwa gave himself 100 days to start working his “magic” in fixing Zimbabwe’s broken economy.

The 100 days lapsed last month.

While Mnangagwa has rated his period in office as a huge success, political analysts canvassed by the Daily News on Sunday had different views.

They said his first 100 days has been marked by economic ruin that have marred his otherwise positive trajectory.

“His first 100 days, is a period of economic chaos stemming from experiments done mainly by his Finance minister and central bank governor. Their poorly phased monetary and fiscal policy statements took us more than 100 days backwards as they fuelled speculative behaviour that had boomerang effects on the volatile financial sector and wreaked havoc on supplies of basic commodities and fuel,” political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme said.

The country is facing serious inflation levels that have been pushed further up by a controversial tax regime on poor Zimbabweans. The recently announced 2019 National Budget by the Finance minister Mthuli Ncube was also not pro-poor.

Saungweme said: “We have also seen increased regime repression of dissenting voices and shrinking of civic space despite failed attempts to paint a picture of reform to the outside world. What we have seen in 100 days is a reversal of the little gains made after the coup in terms of freedoms and a confirmation that coups lead to more dictatorial administrations.”

Zimbabwe is currently facing serious economic challenges, which include shortages of foreign currency, fuel and a huge increase in the prices of basic commodities. Over the last few months, the country has been dogged with problems, ranging from a cholera epidemic to high levels of poverty, as prices have gone out of reach for many people.

Another political analyst Admire Mare, said there was need for the government to urgently address the currency issue, revive the manufacturing and productive sectors and arrest revenue leakages.

“Zimbabwe seems to be still caught up in a vicious cycle of currency woes, queues have resurfaced and the price inflation has shot up.

“Whilst the president has appointed a celebrity Finance minister whom most people see as capable of turning around the situation, the political and economics dynamics seem to be conniving against the governing party,” Mare said.

Another analyst Rashweat Mukundu, said Mnangagwa has generally struggled to put the country back on track economically and politically, as the society is hugely divided along political lines.

“There is no indication at all that the political leadership that is Mnangagwa and his team are prepared to engage the broad society on political reforms and especially on issues around the post-election crisis. We are seeing continued fuel crisis, long lines, we are seeing an increase in the prices of basic commodities, essentially Zimbabwe is far worse than it was in November when Mnangagwa took over, when the coup was initiated by the military.

“So, for me, this has been 100 days of failure, 100 days that have been wasted, much more on unnecessary economic and political grandstanding instead of focusing on the key issues that are affecting this society. So far, we may need the president to reflect more on his strategies. We need him to engage more with the broader civil society and political actors, we need his economic policies to be more realistic. Right now, the insistence that the bond note is at par with the US dollar, is to say the least not true and hence the unsustainable, unavailability of fuel because essentially the government is subsidising the purchase of fuel which in real terms is being bought for 40 cents per litre,” Mukundu said.

— DailyNews

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF party has rejected a proposal from its affiliate, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), to raise the age limit for presidential aspirants to 52 years.

War veterans, with support from the women’s league, wanted Zanu PF to use its two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the national Constitution in what critics have argued is a move to block 40-year-old opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa from contesting the 2023 presidential poll.

Chamisa came close to upsetting Mnangagwa in a bruising election battle early this year, only to lose the closely fought presidential poll after polling 44,3% against the Zanu PF leader’s 50,8%. The MDC leader, however, disputed the election result and brought a petition before the Constitutional Court in a bid to overturn Mnangagwa’s victory which was, however, thrown out for lack of evidence.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday said the ruling party had not received any official communication from war veterans on the issue. Resolutions passed at the end of the ruling party’s 17th annual conference held in Esigodini, Matabeleland South, last week did not include the contentious proposal.

“As far as I am aware, we have not received any communication regarding the proposed amendment to the Constitution. If it was discussed at the conference, it may have been at the committees’ stage, but it was never brought to the final list for adoption,” Khaya Moyo said.

Insiders said the proposal had found resistance from the youth league, in particular.

“Except for some within the leadership, the entire youth league was opposed to the amendment. It makes very little sense and flies in the face of our new found call to open up the democratic space. It’s like replaying the old record from which the President (Mnangagwa) is trying to walk away,” said a source.

Zanu PF secretary for youth Pupurai Togarepi could not be reached for comment after he was involved in an accident on his way to the conference, while his deputy, Lewis Matutu’s mobile phone went unanswered.

War veterans leader Victor Matemadanda, who has been the most vocal proponent of the resolution, was unwilling to discuss the issue yesterday.

“I am travelling. Can I talk to you later in the day,” he said.

When NewsDay told Matemadanda that the party’s spokesperson had essentially professed ignorance of the proposal, the war veterans secretary-general, who doubles as Deputy Minister for Defence, suggested there could have been an error.

“If he said that, then I would have to discuss with him first before I come back to you,” he said.

Khaya Moyo added that thematic committees bring “numerous resolutions” and most are rejected.

“We have many thematic committees at conference that bring as many as 20 resolutions each. The party cannot adopt everything that is brought before it. It’s impossible,” he said.

Douglas Mahiya, the ZNLWVA spokesperson, however, was more pragmatic and accepted the party’s decision to reject the proposal.

“There was a list of resolutions passed and adopted by conference at the end. It (proposal for age limit) was not there, because the party has a prerogative to fine tune issues as they are brought before it. Zanu PF produces political material to suit a particular environment, and what was communicated to everyone, is what the party adopted,” Mahiya said.

Asked what feedback the war veterans leadership would give to its membership regarding the proposed amendment, Mahiya said: “We will tell them that we put the proposal before the party, it was processed along with other issues and what has been communicated is the outcome of such discussions.”

He said it was up to the membership of the former fighters to seek other ways of presenting their argument.

“It is up to them. But we will not, as an association, seek to present a counter narrative to that of the party,” Mahiya said.

Khaya Moyo said the Zanu PF politburo and central committee were also yet to discuss the issue.

“The proposal has also not been brought before the party’s organs such as the politburo and central committee. But we are a democratic party and people can continue to discuss these issues until such time they have exhausted all channels,” he said.

After the war veterans, the women’s league as well as a number of provincial structures of Zanu PF jumped onto the bandwagon and supported the proposal. However, the party’s Mashonaland Central structure was the first to publicly reject it, following a provincial conference last week.

— NewsDay

South African police early today arrested the driver of an Intercape bus which killed nine Zimbabweans, among them a toddler, in a road accident near Polokwane on Friday last week.

The bus was travelling from Harare to Johannesburg. Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the man disappeared from a hospital in Polokwane at the weekend but was intercepted at Beitbridge border post by alert police officers.

He said the man had been charged with nine counts of culpable homicide and would appear before a Polokwane magistrate on Tuesday.

Col Ngoepe withheld the suspect’s name pending his court appearance and said they were still working on identifying the nine victims.

“The Police in Westenburg outside Polokwane have arrested the driver of the bus involved in this horrific accident. He tried to cross the border to Zimbabwe after he was taken to hospital with other 51 injured passengers for medical treatment,” he said.

“As the process of intensive investigations by the Police was unfolding, especially on the possible cause of that accident, he then disappeared following his discharge from hospital and fled towards the Beitbridge port of entry. Police were tipped-off, and swiftly responded and subsequently, the driver was caught hidding inside goods trailer of a truck trying to illegally cross the border into Zimbabwe,” he said.

-State Media

Zanu PF and MDC Alliance legislators will move a motion to introduce an electoral promises tracking system meant to ensure that they deliver on the pledges they make to the electorate during campaigning.

In a development that is likely to bring a smile on the faces of the electorate, if implemented through, legislators from the two major political parties in parliament say they will bring to parliament a motion to introduce an electoral promises tracking system.

ActionAid Zimbabwe Head of Programmes and Policy Toendepi Kamusewu said the major areas of concern where little has been done by politicians to fulfill their electoral promises is gender and health service delivery.

Head of the Zimbabwean delegation to the meeting with Zambian legislators in Livingstone, Zambia, Advocate Fortune Chasi said the legislators also agreed to stop squabbling which has cost a lot of valuable time for serious discussions in the parliament.

Politicians have a reputation for making unfulfilled promises to warm their way into positions of power and influence, often forgetting or ignoring those promises once they are elected into office.

-State Media

Zimbabwe’s annual rate of inflation increased by 10,16 percentage points to 31,01 percent in the month of November from 20.85 percent in October as speculative price increases took their toll on the economy.

The year on year inflation rate (annual percentage change) for the month of November 2018 as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 31.01 percent, gaining 10,16 percentage points on the October 2018 rate of 20,85 percent, highlighted latest figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimStats).

The year on year Food and Non Alcoholic beverages inflation, prone to transitory shocks, stood at 42,71 percent whilst the Non-food inflation rate was 25,40 percent.

And on a monthly basis, prices increased by 9,2 percent last month compared to 16,44 percent in October.

The month on month Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages inflation rate stood at 14,53 percent in November 2018, shedding 5,59 percentage points on the October 2018 rate of 20,12 percent. The month on month non-food inflation rate stood at 6,50 percent, shedding 8,16 percentage points on the October 2018 rate of 14,66 percent.

Speculative and profiteering tendencies in the past few months have continued to exert pressures on the country’s inflation.

Observers have also attributed the quickening inflation to the continuance of the parallel currency market.

More to follow…

The fate of MDC Alliance vice president Eng Elias Mudzuri will now be decided by opposition leader Mr Nelson Chamisa after the national council referred disciplinary issues against the former Harare mayor to the party’s presidium.

The MDC Alliance presidium consists of Chamisa (president), Professor Welshman Ncube, Eng Mudzuri, Morgen Komichi (vice presidents) and Thabitha Khumalo as chair, according to spokesman Jacob Mafume.

The MDC Alliance national council met on Saturday last week at the party’s headquarters in Harare.

Mr Mafume confirmed the latest developments on Eng Mudzuri in a statement yesterday.

“The meeting noted the allegations against vice president Mudzuri’s conduct and resolved that the matter be dealt with by the presidium,” said Mr Mafume.

Eng Mudzuri, who reportedly wants to challenge Mr Chamisa for the party presidency at next year’s congress, was recently taken to task by party officials for being part of a parliamentary delegation of presiding officers that paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House.

A video of him being quizzed by senior members of the party for his attendance went viral on various social media platforms.

The MDC Alliance has refused to acknowledge President Mnangagwa’s electoral victory in the July 30 harmonised elections although its electoral petition at the Constitutional Court was thrown out for lack of merit. The party doesn’t want its officials to acknowledge President Mnangagwa.

The MDC Alliance congress was initially scheduled for February next year but Mr Chamisa and his allies now want it in October to give him time to purge the party of potential challengers.

Eng Mudzuri and the party’s secretary-general, Mr Douglas Mwonzora, are expected to contest Mr Chamisa for the party’s presidency.

Eng Mudzuri has not been attending MDC Alliance meetings at Harvest House of late.

Party insiders say EngMudzuri is afraid those in Mr Chamisa’s camp might unleash violence on him if he visits the party headquarters.

A number of senior party officials have been assaulted at the MDC Alliance headquarters before, including Mr Elton Mangoma, for harbouring leadership ambitions.

Also at its meeting on Saturday, the MDC Alliance national council resolved to carry out a post-mortem of its parliamentary candidates selection criteria after it performed dismally in the July 30 elections.

“In respect of the party’s parliamentary campaign in the 2018 elections, the party resolved to set up an inquiry to review candidate selection and make recommendations for future elections.

“The meeting reviewed progress made in the integration process and resolved that the process be completed in the shortest possible time,” added Mr Mafume.

Zanu-PF won the parliamentary elections with a two-thirds majority.

-State Media

Zanu PF and MDC Alliance legislators will move a motion to introduce an electoral promises tracking system meant to ensure that they deliver on the pledges they make to the electorate during campaigning.

In a development that is likely to bring a smile on the faces of the electorate, if implemented through, legislators from the two major political parties in parliament say they will bring to parliament a motion to introduce an electoral promises tracking system.

ActionAid Zimbabwe Head of Programmes and Policy Toendepi Kamusewu said the major areas of concern where little has been done by politicians to fulfill their electoral promises is gender and health service delivery.

Head of the Zimbabwean delegation to the meeting with Zambian legislators in Livingstone, Zambia, Advocate Fortune Chasi said the legislators also agreed to stop squabbling which has cost a lot of valuable time for serious discussions in the parliament.

Politicians have a reputation for making unfulfilled promises to warm their way into positions of power and influence, often forgetting or ignoring those promises once they are elected into office.

-State Media

Terrence Mawawa|The MDC Alliance has urged the new ZIFA leadership to utilise the popularity of the ” beautiful game ” to unite the fragmented nation.

See the MDC A statement below:
The MDC has been following the ZIFA Elections with interest given that soccer is a national sport of
interest and significance.

We hope the new leadership will promote nationwide grassroots soccer development.Soccer can be a contributor to the entertainment
industry in Zimbabwe and has suffered through years of lack of leadership and manipulation by
those who used the game for personal aggrandizement.

If this industry is managed properly, it can generate significant employment and opportunities for capable young people who only need a chance to pursue the best in themselves.

The youths of this country need
a chance to use their skills to earn a living.Soccer can unite the nation and contribute to the broader Nation Building Agenda.

The MDC congratulates the new executive lead by Felton Kamambo as president and Gift Banda as
vice president. We expect both leaders- in particular, Gift Banda to restore the pride of Zimbabwe and restoration of our powerhouse status.
We wish them well in their quest to transform football. A lot needs to be done including grassroots and junior football development, infrastructure
attention and more importantly ensuring professionalism and transparency in order to have
corporate buy in and general endorsement of the sport.

The MDC smart councils have begun to move towards the building of state of the art stadiums that meet international standards, with Harare leading in that regard. We believe in sport, as much as we believe in
Zimbabwe’s capacity to be a powerhouse globally as long as those who lead the nation follow the will of the people.Behold the New. Change that Delivers!
Jacob Mafume

MDC National Spokesperson

THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) has urged minors to report anyone who sends explicit and abusive messages on their cellphones, to either the State regulator or the police.

Addressing thousands of Southlea Park residents who braved the rains to attend a road show in Harare yesterday, Potraz official George Manyaya said it was illegal for anyone to send abusive messages or pictures to anyone, more so children.

Manyaya said although the country should embrace technology, sending abusive and explicit messages is banned and anyone caught doing so is liable for prosecution.

“As parents, let us not ignore signs of bad behaviour that we would have noted in our children. To you children, if you see something that bothers you, discuss it with your parents or someone you trust,” Manyaya said.

Abuse of social media and the internet has been on the rise among youths, with the viewership of pornographic material said to be on the rise.

Potraz, in partnership with State broadcaster, Radio Zimbabwe, has been to Mutoko, Nyanga, Gokwe, Chiredzi and Lupane, among other areas, educating people on their rights and what they should do when they feel shortchanged by telecommunication companies.

Manyaya said children have been lured by pedophiles through the internet and parents should report such cases to the police.

“The internet is also used by people who do not always have good intentions, but who intend to harm, harass or bully other people,” he said.

Potraz said children have the right to make use of technologies to develop their personalities and increase capabilities. “Children have a right to protect their identity, a right to participate, have fun and access age-appropriate information,” Manyaya said.

Manyaya said Potraz would continue to ensure that subscribers access quality service and that their concerns are addressed by service providers.

In the past, consumers have complained about poor services with no recourse from service providers.

NewsDay

By Farai D Hove| While the Motlanthe Commission report remains undisclosed, ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa has promoted the military commander who lied under oath that 1 Aug soldiers shot at civilians at a 45 degree angle.

Mnangagwa has promoted two Brigadier Generals Sanyatwe and Thomas Moyo to the rank of Major General.

The two promoted are Major General Thomas Moyo and Major General Anselem Sanyatwe. The promotions are in terms of section 15(1)(b) Paragraph 2 of the Defence Act.

Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda conferred ranks to the newly promoted senior officers and encouraged them to continue working hard in their new responsibilities.

“You need to do more than you did before because rank comes with responsibilities,” said Sibanda while conferring the new ranks.

In his acceptance speech, Major General Moyo commended his superiors for showing confidence in their work.

The conferment of the ranks was witnessed by the Commander Zimbabwe National Army, Lieutenant General Edzayi Chimonyo and several senior officers.

SEE PICTURES BELOW…

President Mnangagwa has promoted two Brigadier Generals Sanyatwe and Thomas Moyo to the rank of Major General. Conferring the new ranks, #CDF Valerio Sibanda said "You need to do more than you did before because rank comes with responsibilities" #Zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/2OdiQ7xlBU

— Sharon (@sharontawuya1) December 17, 2018