LEADER of the MDC-T, Thokozani Khupe, has called for unity of purpose among opposition parties and other stakeholders as part of the initiative to restore the country’s struggling economy as the bread basket of Africa.

While her counterpart, Nelson Chamisa the leader of a break-away faction of the MDC Alliance has continued to make noise on the political front, describing President Emmerson Mnangagwa as an illegitimate and failed leader, Khupe – on the other hand – sang from a different hymn book as she spoke of unity.

Khupe – one of the losing presidential candidates in the July 30 elections, has been largely quiet on the developments on the economic and political front.

“I have MPs, which means I have a voice in Parliament, I have had discussions with them to say go and raise issues, issues which are going to move this country forward,” Khupe told Southern News.

“As a party, we are going to continue engaging government and telling them exactly ideas on how to move this country forward,” Khupe said.

This comes as the country has in the past few weeks witnessed a spate of unprecedented price increases for most goods and services after parallel markets rates soared and business reacted to the unpopular two percent tax introduction by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.

So bad has been the situation that the cost of living has suddenly shot up, leaving many wondering if the Mnangagwa government has what it takes to bring an end to Zimbabweans who have endured decades of suffering.

The former deputy prime minister in the inclusive government of 2009-13 said while there was need for opposition parties not to forget, their fight for electoral reforms, at the moment it was important to prioritise the bread and butter issues.

“But right now, let’s talk about moving the country forward at the same time let’s also talk about reforms. So that by the time we get to 2023, our electoral reforms will be in place.

“Like I said before, 2018 was a better election than all the elections we have had before. We are hoping that by 2023 there will be an improvement but our focus for now must be moving this country forward,” she said.

“People want food on their tables, jobs, hospitals that are functional. We want to get rid of all these negative things that are happening. We want a better Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe used to be the bread-basket of Africa. We want Zimbabwe to go back to where it was.”

She added: “Let us learn as Zimbabweans to put our interests aside and put the people first. Let us put the interest of Zimbabwe first.”

— Daily News

VIDEO LOADING BELOW

Party spokesperson Jacob Mafume fingered Zanu PF for setting up MDC leadership against each other by planting false narratives.

In an interview with Newsday, Mafume said;

“We are aware of efforts by Zanu PF to use our congress to put Trojan horses of instability using dirty money. We want to assure our supporters that we are capable of emptying the Trojan horses’ way before they enter our gates at congress,” he said.

Chamisa, through his spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda, insisted that congress would be held and party members would be allowed to make their choices as they elect officers of congress.

“Our constitution is very clear. Our congress is held after every five years. Our last one was in November and since the upcoming election is not about electing a new leader of the party, it’s not a special congress, but a congress that will elect all officers of congress. It will be held in October,” he said.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo distanced his party from the MDC internal fights, saying they were not concerned about their squabbles.

“We are not interested in the fights by those boys. Talk to the people who are allegedly getting funding from us. We are not going to be drawn into their agenda,” he said.

-Newsday

Jane Mlambo| Harare residents are living in fear following the murder of three women by unknown assailants in a space of one week in Harare.

The three women, one was an upcoming author Prudence Gold Madzadzavara, Zaleekhah Khan and another one only known as Samantha were killed under similar circumstances, something that points to targeted murders against women.

Posting on his Facebook page, renowned author and motivational speaker, Rabison Shumba appealed to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the police to assure the nation that people are safe from targeted murder cases against women.

“Zimbabwe Republic Police – ZRP – We need public statement on this. All within days. We are no longer feeling safe. If one of us dies that’s one too many. This is a call to action. This can’t continue. Who is next? Until when? Families grieving. Communities shaken and terrified. Life is being lost. All citizens are important. We need JUSTICE,” said Shumba.

Former Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) chairperson Stanley Nyasha Kazhanje has been arrested on allegations of receiving a $10 000 bribe from controversial businessperson, Wicknell Chivayo so he does not cancel the 100 megawatt Gwanda solar project which had been awarded to the latter’s firm Intratrek Zimbabwe in unclear circumstances.

Kazhanje (48) was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Elisha Singano, who remanded him to November 27 on $100 bail.

The former ZPC chairperson, who is also a director of Terminal Engineers, a consultancy, was ordered to surrender his passport with the clerk of court and to report once a month to the police.

The State alleges that on October 23, 2015, Kazhanje signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract of a 100 megawatt solar panel station project with Intratrek Zimbabwe, fronted by Chivayo.

It is alleged Kazhanje failed to declare his interests. ZPC paid Intratrek advance payments of $1 236 154 for the implementation of the project. However, Intratrek did not fulfil its obligation and this resulted in ZPC management suggesting termination of the contract.

The State alleges on January 21, 2016, under unclear circumstances, Kazhanje received $10 000 into his Barclays Bank personal account from Intratrek’s CBZ Bank account.

Kazhanje, in his capacity as the chairperson of ZPC board, presided over a meeting in which it was resolved that the power utility pay for services direct to Intratrek subcontractors instead of terminating the contract.

It is alleged this resulted in ZPC paying $4 387 849 as advance payment despite that Intratrek had not fulfilled its obligation.

The State alleges that Kazhanje was influenced by this payment to decide in favour of Intratrek.

According to the State, Kazhanje failed to declare any interest upon his appointment as the chairperson of ZPC. It is alleged he failed to recuse himself from ZPC meetings that held deliberations on Intratrek.

-Newsday

A Forensic auditor engaged by Hwange Colliery to investigate financial impropriety has fingered Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando, who he said was likely in cahoots with shady characters and was stealing coal from the struggling miner.

Reynolds Tendai Muza, a forensic auditor and investigator with Ralph Bomment Greenacre and Reynolds, on Monday asked Parliament to invoke the Prevention of Corruption Act in order to investigate Chitando and Shepherd Tundiya, who was allegedly masquerading as a State spy agent and using President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s name to kidnap and threaten Hwange Colliery board members.

The forensic auditor suspected that Chitando was linked to a company from his constituency in Gutu, which was transporting the bulk of the coal in Hwange.

“There is a company whose head office is in Gutu, and it is probably the largest haulage company ferrying coal to the mine,” Muza said.

“As an investigator, I found that this company, Inducto Save, is doing 68% of its work in Hwange and I wondered why it is based in Gutu. Its directors are named as Solomon Matsa, whose address is given as residing in South Africa, and another director, Shelter Madanhire. And Inducto Save headquarters is PO Box 119, Matsa Stores in Gutu. But further investigations show that these people are based in South Africa.”

Muza said it was shocking that at Hwange Colliery, several companies performed incompatible functions of loading coal instead of the company repairing conveyor belts, which will cost them $2 million and save money.

“Loading of coal is being done by a company called Feel Cool Investments, which is directed by Wilfred Tundiya (Shepherd Tundiya’s brother), and another company that loads this coal using front end loaders on contract called AVIM whose directors are Tundiya (Shepherd) and someone else,” he said.
Muza said Hwange Colliery received directives from Tundiya.

“Feel Cool and AVIM are linked and are doing the lifting of the coal into the trucks and delivering it to other places without using weighbridges. It creates room that while Hwange is mining, someone is eating their produce because the ICT systems at Hwange are not functioning properly, and there is no completeness of records,” he said.

Muza said documentary evidence showed that Tundiya’s companies were looting coal from Hwange.

“Tundiya’s companies are stealing coal. Some of the findings right now is that Tundiya owes Hwange Colliery $481 000 in advance payments for coal that was never delivered,” he said.

“When Tundiya was busy stealing coal at Hwange Colliery, Chitando was still the board chairperson of Hwange. He even passed a board decision that Tundiya must be given more business so that he is empowered to pay back the $481 000 he owes.”

The investigator told MPs that the relationship between Chitando and Tundiya now needed further investigation.

“There is need for a forensic investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act which will be focused on Chitando and Tundiya, because if the investigation is done under this Act, it can even be focused on their families, as well as the investigations on the death threats to the company secretary Allen Masiye and internal auditor Gilbert Mudenda,” he said.

He alleged Tundiya masqueraded as someone connected to Mnangagwa as well as a CIO to instil fear to Hwange Colliery bosses.

Muza said a lot of coal had been stolen from Hwange Colliery by so-called transporters due to weak ICT and security systems.

“On January 2018 the opening stock of coal was 16 015 tonnes, and then they also mined 48 905 tonnes of coal which means that the mine had not sold anything and they were supposed to have a stock pile of 64 920. However, when the surveyor went to do stocktaking he established that there was only 23 438 tonnes left,” he said.

“Of the coal which was ferried, Inducto Save ferried 68,59% of the coal. Hwange Colliery needs $2 million to repair conveyor belts and $2 million to repair the continuous miner, but it looks like someone was interested in seeing trucks ferrying the coal instead of conveyor belts.”

-Newsday

The government has set up a Road Accident Compensation Fund to relieve the burden on road accident victims and their families in settling medical bills and burial expenses.

This was resolved by Cabinet on Tuesday and it comes as a positive response to incessant calls by the Traffic Safety of Zimbabwe and other stakeholders for government to consider this.

Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa told the Mail and Telegraph on Tuesday night that the fund was vital especially in the face of increase in road carnage.

“The fund is important because it will cater for victims, survivors and reduce the burden on the families who will have lost their loved ones.The Ministry of Transport will implement the policy,” said Mutsvangwa.

Public transport drivers will also undergo tests at two year intervals after President Mnangagwa urged public transport drivers to respect human lives before profits.

Last week , government declared the Rusape bus accident a national disaster after more than forty lives perished.
According to statistics, an accident occurs every 15 minutes and five people are killed daily on the country’s roads.
A majority of the victims struggle to pay for treatment while their relatives face challenges in meeting funeral costs.

M&T

The gloves are off in the opposition MDC as hawks plotting the ouster of leader Nelson Chamisa are reportedly unhappy that the party’s elective congress will be held in October next year, when they would have preferred an early congress to have the leadership mess cleaned up as a matter of urgency.

Highly-placed sources said there was a clique in the opposition pushing for the ouster of Chamisa and replace him with party secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora.

“There are people within the party who are fronting Mwonzora as the next leader of the MDC. These are unhappy that congress has been moved and are now mooting to attack the party leader on social media and paint him as a dictator. We are acutely aware that this is the work of Zanu PF,” a source said.

The fight for the control of MDC appears to be at its peak, with Kuwadzana East legislator Charlton Hwende (MDC), claiming on Twitter at the weekend that MDC members opposed to the party’s elective congress October 2019 date were surrogate candidates sponsored by Zanu PF and war veterans.

“The MDC congress is due in October. This is determined by the date of our 2014 congress. Zanu PF and their surrogate candidate sponsored by the war veterans want an early congress to divert us from the agenda of marching to State House to defend the vote (for) @nelsonchamisa,” the legislator tweeted.

Last week, a letter purporting to have been authored by Mwonzora querying the October 2019 elective congress turned out to be a forgery.

In response, Mwonzora said: “Some political criminals have resorted to forging signatures of MDC officials. They have also been posting fake tweets, with the aim of creating tensions within party leadership and that will not succeed. I did not issue any statement regarding the party’s elective congress at all. The letter circulating on social media is fake.”

Soon after the contested July 30 general elections, Zanu PF showed its hand when war veterans secretary-general and Zanu PF central committee member Victor Matemadanda said the MDC would be in better hands if it was led by Mwonzora than Chamisa, whom they accused of being violent.

Mwonzora distanced himself from the statements, saying he did not need the endorsement of Zanu PF or war veterans, but his latest tiff with his bosses at the party over the expulsions of party members who stood in the polls as independents has set tempers flying.

-Newsday

A FORENSIC auditor engaged by Hwange Colliery to investigate financial impropriety has fingered Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando, who he said was likely in cahoots with shady characters and was stealing coal from the struggling miner.

Reynolds Tendai Muza, a forensic auditor and investigator with Ralph Bomment Greenacre and Reynolds, on Monday asked Parliament to invoke the Prevention of Corruption Act in order to investigate Chitando and Shepherd Tundiya, who was allegedly masquerading as a State spy agent and using President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s name to kidnap and threaten Hwange Colliery board members.

The forensic auditor suspected that Chitando was linked to a company from his constituency in Gutu, which was transporting the bulk of the coal in Hwange.

“There is a company whose head office is in Gutu, and it is probably the largest haulage company ferrying coal to the mine,” Muza said.

“As an investigator, I found that this company, Inducto Save, is doing 68% of its work in Hwange and I wondered why it is based in Gutu. Its directors are named as Solomon Matsa, whose address is given as residing in South Africa, and another director, Shelter Madanhire. And Inducto Save headquarters is PO Box 119, Matsa Stores in Gutu. But further investigations show that these people are based in South Africa.”

Muza said it was shocking that at Hwange Colliery, several companies performed incompatible functions of loading coal instead of the company repairing conveyor belts, which will cost them $2 million and save money.

“Loading of coal is being done by a company called Feel Cool Investments, which is directed by Wilfred Tundiya (Shepherd Tundiya’s brother), and another company that loads this coal using front end loaders on contract called AVIM whose directors are Tundiya (Shepherd) and someone else,” he said.

Muza said Hwange Colliery received directives from Tundiya.

“Feel Cool and AVIM are linked and are doing the lifting of the coal into the trucks and delivering it to other places without using weighbridges. It creates room that while Hwange is mining, someone is eating their produce because the ICT systems at Hwange are not functioning properly, and there is no completeness of records,” he said.

Muza said documentary evidence showed that Tundiya’s companies were looting coal from Hwange.

“Tundiya’s companies are stealing coal. Some of the findings right now is that Tundiya owes Hwange Colliery $481 000 in advance payments for coal that was never delivered,” he said.

“When Tundiya was busy stealing coal at Hwange Colliery, Chitando was still the board chairperson of Hwange. He even passed a board decision that Tundiya must be given more business so that he is empowered to pay back the $481 000 he owes.”

The investigator told MPs that the relationship between Chitando and Tundiya now needed further investigation.

“There is need for a forensic investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act which will be focused on Chitando and Tundiya, because if the investigation is done under this Act, it can even be focused on their families, as well as the investigations on the death threats to the company secretary Allen Masiye and internal auditor Gilbert Mudenda,” he said.

He alleged Tundiya masqueraded as someone connected to Mnangagwa as well as a CIO to instil fear to Hwange Colliery bosses.

Muza said a lot of coal had been stolen from Hwange Colliery by so-called transporters due to weak ICT and security systems.

“On January 2018 the opening stock of coal was 16 015 tonnes, and then they also mined 48 905 tonnes of coal which means that the mine had not sold anything and they were supposed to have a stock pile of 64 920. However, when the surveyor went to do stocktaking he established that there was only 23 438 tonnes left,” he said.

“Of the coal which was ferried, Inducto Save ferried 68,59% of the coal. Hwange Colliery needs $2 million to repair conveyor belts and $2 million to repair the continuous miner, but it looks like someone was interested in seeing trucks ferrying the coal instead of conveyor belts.”

NewsDay

THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s bid to revive corruption charges against five Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) bosses yesterday hit a snag after the Supreme Court threw out the State’s appeal against their acquittal.

Messrs Precious Murove (director administration and human resources), Simon Taranhike (finance director), Shadreck Matengabadza (finance manager), Stephen Matute (accountant) and Givemore Tendai Kufa (regional engineer) were last year cleared of criminal abuse of office. They were accused of fraudulently engaging third party companies to source foreign currency on the informal market on behalf of Zinara.

The prosecution sought leave to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court, but Justice Mary Anne Gowora yesterday struck the application off the roll.

The prosecution accused the executives of transferring $2 940 558 into the bank accounts of Access Finance (Private) Limited, Grayriver (Private) Limited and Caudless Trading without authorisation from the Zinara board of directors.
High Court judge Justice Amy Tsanga on April 24 this year cleared the five of any wrongdoing.

“All five accused persons are found not guilty of abuse of public office in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Code and are acquitted,” ruled Justice Tsanga then.
The court found that the five’s actions had the blessings of their bosses.

The boss, Ms Nancy Masiiwa, was blasted for lying to the court that she was not aware of the transactions.
“We are in no doubt that they acted with the full knowledge of their CEO, Mrs Nancy Masiiwa, whose responsibility it was to bring the issue to the full board,” said Justice Tsanga.

“We were satisfied that the finance director did report to the CEO both in her capacity as CEO of Zinara and her concomitant position in Ifralink about the payments that were made which she knew about.

“It was a simple lie that she was not aware of what was happening.”

Justice Tsanga said it was unfair for the State to prosecute the juniors when the superiors were aware of the transactions.

“There is no basis upon which the accused persons should be held to be the ones responsible when what they did was with the full blessings of their ultimate superior under the circumstances where they were acting in good faith.

“Targeting juniors as scapegoats in an alleged fight against corruption lends itself to selective justice and cannot be countenanced.”

The court heard that sometime in 2011, Zinara was granted a loan of $206 million by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for the construction and rehabilitation of the 823km-long Plumtree-Mutare Highway.

NMB Bank was nominated by DBSA to facilitate the loan repayment on a quarterly basis and all revenue in hard currency collected from Zinara’s operations was given to NMB Bank, which would remit it to DBSA.

In May last year, Matute, Kufa, Murove, Taranhike and Matengabadza allegedly sourced foreign currency from the parallel market through Access Finance (Pvt) Ltd and Grayriver (Pvt) Ltd directors, after paying them a total of $2,94 million stating that the payment was a reimbursement to DBSA on behalf of Zinara’s part payment of its loan obligation with DBSA.

State Media

FORMER Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) chairperson Stanley Nyasha Kazhanje has been arrested on allegations of receiving a $10 000 bribe from controversial businessperson, Wicknell Chivayo so he does not cancel the 100 megawatt Gwanda solar project which had been awarded to the latter’s firm Intratrek Zimbabwe in unclear circumstances.

Kazhanje (48) was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Elisha Singano, who remanded him to November 27 on $100 bail.

The former ZPC chairperson, who is also a director of Terminal Engineers, a consultancy, was ordered to surrender his passport with the clerk of court and to report once a month to the police.

The State alleges that on October 23, 2015, Kazhanje signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract of a 100 megawatt solar panel station project with Intratrek Zimbabwe, fronted by Chivayo.

It is alleged Kazhanje failed to declare his interests. ZPC paid Intratrek advance payments of $1 236 154 for the implementation of the project. However, Intratrek did not fulfil its obligation and this resulted in ZPC management suggesting termination of the contract.

The State alleges on January 21, 2016, under unclear circumstances, Kazhanje received $10 000 into his Barclays Bank personal account from Intratrek’s CBZ Bank account.

Kazhanje, in his capacity as the chairperson of ZPC board, presided over a meeting in which it was resolved that the power utility pay for services direct to Intratrek subcontractors instead of terminating the contract.

It is alleged this resulted in ZPC paying $4 387 849 as advance payment despite that Intratrek had not fulfilled its obligation.

The State alleges that Kazhanje was influenced by this payment to decide in favour of Intratrek.

According to the State, Kazhanje failed to declare any interest upon his appointment as the chairperson of ZPC. It is alleged he failed to recuse himself from ZPC meetings that held deliberations on Intratrek.

Sheperd Makonde appeared for the State.

NewsDay

FORMER Cabinet ministers Makhosini Hlongwane (Sport) and Supa Mandiwanzira (ICT) are both set to be summoned to appear before Parliament, where they will be quizzed over loans that were advanced to the country’s football governing body Zifa in 2016 and 2017, but were never repaid.

Hlongwane was Sports minister at the time, while Mandiwanzira was Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services minister, under which the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), which advanced the money to Zifa, fell.

The two will be asked to appear before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on ICT in a fortnight’s time.

Portfolio chairperson Charlton Hwende indicated that his committee would be pursuing the issue, which was first raised in the committee dealing with sport.

“The issue came from one of the sports committees and Potraz was mentioned. We have an official letter from the former chief executive officer of Zifa (Jonathan Mashingaidze) confirming that they had received $225 000, but the $1 million did not reach Zifa,” Hwende said.

“We intend to summon them (Mandiwanzira and Hlongwane) here because, obviously, these are public funds that must be recovered and we would want to find out the circumstances that led to this decision.”

Potraz advanced $225 000 to Zifa, which was used to charter a plane for the Warriors to fulfil their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying match against Guinea in Conakry in 2016.

Zifa had failed to raise money for air tickets and there was a possibility that the trip would be aborted.

The Warriors had already qualified for the 2017 Afcon finals in Gabon, but failure to fulfil that fixture would have seen them lose their place.

Just before the team departed for the finals, Potraz again advanced Zifa $1 000 000, which loan has raised a stink over the way it was processed.

It is also alleged that the money never reached Zifa coffers.

It is purported that the decision to advance Zifa the money was not made by the board, as the arrangement is said to have been made between the two former ministers.

Hlongwane is said to have written to Mandiwanzira requesting a bailout and the letter was copied to Potraz board chairperson.

Potraz director-general Kalisto Machengete indicated that the decision to release the money was not made by the board.

“The decision was not made by the board, but it was regularised by the board and the chairperson of the board was informed and copied with the letter,” Machengete said.

Early this year, Machengete told a media engagement workshop in Kadoma that his organisation had bailed out Zifa, but the football mother body had not paid back the loans.

“Let me make it clear here. Zifa, through the Ministry of Sport, approached us for help. We gave them from our own resources as Potraz, not from the Universal Service Fund (USF), but from our money as Potraz. The money is not a grant, but a loan and we entered into an agreement. We are pursuing it,” he said.

Potraz came to the rescue of Zifa after the Warriors had threatened to boycott their trip to Gabon over bonuses and allowances.

Zifa are hopeful that government would take over the debt as their coffers are empty.

Newsday

Own Correspondent|Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has proposed to rationalise Foreign Service missions in a move aimed at reducing Zimbabwe’s high wage bill which currently stands at over 90%.

Ncube made the submissions at the 2019 Pre-Budget Seminar held in Bulawayo recently.

Ncube’s proposal seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to a report tabled in Parliament recently that embassy employees at various missions were wallowing in poverty and compelled to do extra work (menial jobs) to survive due to late disbursement of salaries.

The finance minister said the country is currently sitting on a 92% wage bill and the government is utilising hefty amounts of its income on salary payment leaving no fiscal space for infrastructure development.

He said rationalisation of foreign service missions simply means cutting down of embassies like having one ambassador for three or four neighbouring countries with one office, a move which will ultimately results in the lowering of the wage bill.

This will mean that there is likelihood of only one ambassador for neighbouring countries like South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho who are in the same ‘geographical bloc’.

Zimbabwe has more than 20 missions abroad and some legislators have previously called for the shutting down of some arguing that Harare had no meaningful business with most countries.

However, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been preaching the gospel of re-engagement making foreign missions a necessity.

This might pose a ‘headache’ for the finance minister lest he decides to shut down some foreign missions.

M&T

Speaking to The Herald, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) corporate communications manager, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga, yesterday confirmed water levels for major dams were now on the downward trend.
She however assured the nation saying the water is sufficient for domestic and agricultural use.
Said Munyonga:
Despite this decline, Zinwa wishes to
assure the nation that the water in the dams is sufficient to meet the
country’s domestic and irrigation
requirements. As at November 9, 2018, the national dam level average was 70 percent. Manyame Catchment is at 86,1 percent, followed by Mazowe Catchment 84,3 percent, Sanyati Catchment 76,3 percent, Save Catchment 73,3 percent Mzingwane’s 71,3 percent, Runde Catchment 62,8 percent and Gwayi recording the lowest average of 55,4 percent.
Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union president, Mr Abdul Nyathi, yesterday said the livestock situation is deteriorating in the southern parts especially in
Beitbridge. He also said tere are no pastures and farmers are also facing difficulties feeding their

cattle.The Herald

In an interview with The Herald, Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) spokesperson Mr Shingai Gwatidzo said Walter Magaya has not applied for registration of a herbal supplement Aguma.
Gwatidzo said MCAZ is yet to receive an application from Magaya for Aguma which the cleric claims has medicinal properties against cancer, HIV and Aids. Said Gwatidzo:
There have been some engagements
between Prophet Walter Magaya and
Ministry of Health and Child Care,
however, MCAZ is yet to receive the
application for registration of the
product in question.
Gwatidzo said the process of registering medicines involved submission of technical information detailing development, production,
clinical trials and safety data. He said following the approvals, submission of samples for quality
control testing was required to confirm that quality and safety issues were met. Gwatidzo
said there was a component of inspection of the manufacturing process, whereby officers from the
MCAZ should physically visit the plant where manufacturing was taking place.The Herald

Hon Mutseyami claims in Parliament that Ed Lost the Presidential Elections @Mathuthu @ZANUPF_Official @nickmangwana @lilomatic @DrThoko_Khupe @GutuObert @PatsonDzamara @dudumo @newswireZW @MDCChgDAffaires @MKomichi @edmnangagwa @ZimEye @BitiTendai @SChikwinya @rtapfumaneyi pic.twitter.com/7GRdku8BWE

— SlyMediaTv (@SlymediaproTv) November 13, 2018

A National University of Science and Technology (NUST) student has committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a train.

Police were called to railway tracks in the New Stands area of Cowdray Park suburb in Bulawayo at around 8PM on Monday after reports of a body on the tracks.

Blessing Mangena, a first-year student, left a suicide note for her younger sister in which she spoke of her shame at cheating on her boyfriend.

The bright, sciences student who lived in Cowdray Park with her sister, was last seen leaving the university to go home late Monday afternoon.

A friend said: “She left a suicide note in which she said she had fallen pregnant by another man, whereas her family only knew her boyfriend Vita.

“She said she was sorry she had to take her own life but she could not bear the shame the revelation of the pregnancy would have brought on her boyfriend, whom she loved very much.”

Parents of the former Sizani High School pupil live in South Africa.

Th suicide comes hard on the heels of a similar case in which a fourth year Local Governance student at the Midlands State University committed suicide by hanging at the Gweru campus this week.

Walter Temera hanged himself after allegedly discovering that his girlfriend was being bedded by a lecturer at the university.

Correspondent|THE Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet has announced to Cabinet a list of eleven projects which have been approved by President for immediate implementation after processing by the One-Stop Investment Service Centre:

1) Joint Venture Partnership between Verify Engineering P/L and Magcor Consortium Group of Companies on Coal to Fertilizer Manufacturing – valued at US$750 million.

2) Joint Venture Partnership between Verify Engineering P/L and Magcor Consortium Group of Companies on the manufacture of medical and industrial gases – valued at US$5.3 million.

3) The Zimbabwe FINCOMECO on the establishment of a Warehouse Receipt System and Agriculture Commodity Exchange in Zimbabwe – valued at US$81.365 million.

4) Joint Venture Partnership between the Cold Storage Commission (CSC) and Boustead Beef (Pvt) Ltd on the Livestock Joint Farming Concession – valued at US$130 million.

5) Joint Venture Partnership between Mindlink Holdings and Government of Zimbabwe on establishment of a Bullion Bank – valued at US$2 billion.

6) Joint Venture Partnership between Hondius Capital Management, an Asset Management firm and the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe on Infrastructure development through establishing the Zimbabwe Infrastructure, Housing and Development Bank – valued at US$800 million.

7) SUREWIN (Pvt) Ltd, a Chinese Company on mining and processing of granite in a Special Economic Zone – valued at US$20 million.

8) Afrochine (Pvt) Ltd, a Chinese Company on ferrochrome mining and smelting in a Special Economic Zone – valued US$200 million.

9) Nkonyeni Agriculture Hub incorporation Bonded Warehouses, Inland Trading Port and Agro-Processing in a Special Economic Zone -valued at US$200 million.

10) Iron and Steel Company for manufacturing iron and steel in a Special Economic Zone – valued at US$1.1 billion.

11) Berhard Development Corporation (Pvt) Ltd on Diamond processing, Diamond Training School & Diamond Exchange Trading Special Economic Zone – valued at US$53 million.

Total Value of the approved Projects: US$5 339 665 000

Watch Minister Monica Mutsvangwa address a cabinet brief press conference where she announced that President Mnangagwa had approved 11 investment projects worth $5.3 billion.

The state says it is not ready to proceed to trial in a case in which a Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) activist, Wisdom Mkhwananzi, accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of murdering his parents during the Gukurahundi atrocities.

Mkhwananzi made the claim while testifying at the August commission of inquiry hearing into the post-election violence that left six people dead in Harare on August 1.

Bulawayo Magistrate, Rachel Mukanga said the docket was missing and the state does not have enough evidence and the state will proceed by way of summons.

Mkhwananzi faces charges of undermining the authority of the President as defined in section 33(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23, assault and lying under oath.

He is also accused of unlawfully and intentionally supplying a false name to the inquiry commission identifying himself as Siphamandla Mafu, which is different from the name on his national identification document.

In a brief interview with CITE, Mkwananzi said he is happy with the court ruling.

“The state does not have a case against me so they knew they have to set me free. I am happy,” said Mkhwananzi.

Also appearing before the same magistrate was Marshal Sibanda, Welcome Moyo and Venat Ncube facing charges of public violence as defined in section 36 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

“On October 26 at Rainbow Hotel, the accused acting in consent, unlawfully and forcibly disturbed peace, security or order of the public to a serious extent assaulting Derrick Nkomo with fists and throwing chairs at him,” reads part of the state outline.

They were remanded out of custody to 5 December 2018.

The Motlanthe Commission is currently in Harare were members of the army and police are giving their testimony on the August 1 events.

CITE

By E D MNANGAGWA|WHEN Margaret Thatcher was elected UK prime minister in 1979, she recognised that piecemeal change would not be sufficient to tackle the problems of labour unrest, rampant inflation and economic stagnation. A wholesale transformation and modernisation of the British economy was required. While there would inevitably be downsides to such rapid change, Thatcher was undeterred.

The challenges that Zimbabwe faces today are no less acute. But my government is committed to tackling them head on. Like Thatcher, we are not afraid of taking tough, and at times painful, decisions. As she used to put it, there is no alternative.

In order to reform, restructure and rebuild the Zimbabwean economy, the national budget must be balanced and spending reined in. The government wage bill is unsustainable.

A large and inefficient public sector cannot be allowed to hold back private enterprise. We have set about cutting unnecessary expenditure, therefore. We are reducing the number of ministries, limiting foreign travel and perks for officials, and retiring or redeploying senior officers.

Privatisation and the reform of state-owned enterprises are also key
components of this strategy. Organisations which have outlived their commercial viability or necessity will be dissolved.

Over the past two years, we have spent large sums to support struggling state-owned enterprises. But we cannot continue to prop them up. So we have earmarked under-performing bodies for sale and have given them strict deadlines to conclude privatisation deals.

Governments do not only cut. They must also collect. As part of an effort to broaden the tax base, we recently introduced a 2 per cent levy on electronic transfers, which make up around 96 per cent of all financial transactions. Collecting revenue effectively and efficiently, combined with cuts and privatisations, will enable us to cut the budget deficit.

These measures are being complemented by an anti-corruption drive that will save Zimbabwe hundreds of millions of dollars. Investigations are under way and arrests are already being made, including of ministers and senior executives. The era of zero tolerance for corruption is here.

The economy is already quietly showing signs of improvement, with growth forecasts revised upwards. Many sectors are thriving. The country’s gold mines have already surpassed the total output of 2017, for example, while a plant for the production of lithium carbonate project in Kweke is off to a promising start. Critically, agriculture is increasingly being funded by the private sector.

However, Zimbabwe cannot succeed alone. We are seeking new areas for co-operation and partnership. I was delighted, therefore, by the warm welcome our delegation received at the recent UN general assembly, where I urged the international community to support us as we revive our economy and build a better future.

Mthuli Ncube, the minister of finance, a former African Development Bank chief economist, delivered this message at the recent IMF and World Bank meetings in Bali. There, he met development partners and creditors who welcomed Zimbabwe’s debt-settlement and transitional stabilisation plans.

The process of change is not smooth. Some pain and discomfort along the way is inevitable. The arduousness of the path of reform can sometimes lead governments to stall or backtrack. But as a passionate reformer leading a reformist government, I know there is no other way. We cannot allow anything to slow us down.

As Thatcher once said: “Yes, the medicine is harsh, but the patient requires it in order to live.”

The writer is the President of Zimbabwe. This article first appeared in the Financial Times, 13 November 2018.

The Commission of Inquiry into the post election violence has requested for video footage of the August 1 violence from international media organisations.

In a letter directed to the Permanent Secretary of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana and seen by the ZBC News, the commission requested the Ministry to assist in obtaining the video footages from ITV, eNCA, Aljazeera and SABC.

The letter indicated that the Commission will be grateful if the video footages are availed by the 19th of November, 2018.

The 7-member Commission of Inquiry, which is chaired by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, is busy gathering evidence before presenting a report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.- state media

ZIMBABWE yesterday received a $3,6 million grant from Japan to help fight cybercrime.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said the grant for procurement of cyber security equipment, deepened the bilateral relations between the two countries.

“I am therefore grateful for the grant aid support from government of Japan amounting to 390 million Japanese Yen (about $3,6 million) towards the procurement of cybercrime equipment,” Ncube said.

He said the cyber security equipment to be procured under Japanese support will go a long way in protecting the nation against cybercrime, as well as counter acts of terrorism.

“The grant will provide for the procurement of services necessary for the procurement and transportation of the product and training and other necessary services for the operation and maintenance of equipment for enhancing the ability to counter terrorism and public security,” he said.

The equipment will be owned by the government of Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Republic Police and will be shared with the Interpol regional Bureau of Southern Africa which is headquartered in Harare.

Cybercrime such as card cloning has rapidly increased due to the use of electronic payment methods.

Information Communication Technology and Cyber Security minister Kazembe Kazembe said the funding comes at a time government was crafting a new Bill to deal with cyber-crime.

Japan’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Toshiyuki Iwado said his country will continue to support the southern African nation and also play a major role in the sustainable economic development in the region.

-Newsday

Own Correspondent|ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed miner RioZim has resumed operations at three of its gold mines after reaching an agreement with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) over foreign currency allocation.

RioZim temporarily closed Cam and Motor in Kadoma, Renco Mine in Masvingo and Dalny Mine in Chegutu last month citing shortage of foreign currency needed to import critical consumables and spare parts.

The mining giant required at least $20 million in foreign currency for the importation of the critical consumables and spare parts to enable it to resume production at the three of its gold mines, according to Rio Zim Chief Executive Beki Nkomo.

In an interview, Rio Zim head of corporate affairs, Mr Wilson Gwatiringa said the company was resuming operations this week after having engaged in fruitful negotiations with RBZ.

“Yes we are preparing to restart operations at all the three gold mines by end of this week,” said Mr Gwatiringa.

The company has sent a circular to workers notifying them about the new development.

MDC vice-chairperson Tendai Biti and State prosecutor Michael Reza nearly exchanged blows in court yesterday after Reza accused the former of playing a role in the post-election violence that saw seven civilians killed by members of the army on August 1 this year, while the presiding magistrate clashed with the opposition leader’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa over the use of mobile phones in court.

Biti, who appeared before magistrate Gloria Takundwa, is facing charges of violating the Electoral Act for allegedly announcing that MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa had won the presidential elections during the harmonised elections held in July this year. He is also facing another charge of border jumping.

“I am going to sue you for that! Did I shoot anyone? Why don’t you accuse the army?” Biti fumed.

Mtetwa asked the court for Reza to recuse himself from the matter, saying he was now conflicted after writing an affidavit accusing Biti of playing a hand in the killing of the people by the army.

“Your Worship, Reza, who in terms of the law, is supposed to be impartial, filed an affidavit and made averments that are a cause for concern and such averments cannot be made by an impartial prosecutor. Reza said Biti’s assassination attempt claim was only political grandstanding. He proceeded by saying the violence committed in the CBD [central business district], which claimed the lives of people, were carried out by MDC supporters. What independent prosecutor says that?”

But Reza told the court that Biti had raised political statements, which required a political response.

He further said Biti referred to a legitimate government as a “military junta government”, which is a derogatory expression.

Mtetwa urged Reza to recuse himself, accusing him of furthering the interests of his political masters and not of justice.

However, Takundwa postponed the matter to November 15 for ruling.

Takundwa then ordered everyone in the court gallery to stop using mobile phones during the proceedings, but Mtetwa objected, saying there was no law stopping people from using their phones in court.

“Surely, you cannot stop people from tweeting and sending messages unless you avail an Act that stops them from using their phones,” she said.

Takundwa then backed down and said the people in the gallery must not take pictures, to which Mtetwa concurred.

Biti, who is represented by Mtetwa, has filed an application at the High Court for a review challenging magistrate Francis Mapfumo’s jurisdiction and ruling after he alleged that he was abducted from Zambia, where (Biti) he had been seeking asylum after an “attempt” on his life.

But the State insisted on going to trial despite the pending High Court review.

Biti was denied asylum by the Zambian government after he tried to seek refuge in that country.

He claimed that he was abducted in Zambia by unidentified Zimbabwean men.

He said the abductors forced him to cross the border and arrested him. He told court that he was not running away from the police, but that his life was in danger.

-Newsday

Zanu PF’s notorious succession demons have resurfaced, with the party’s senior officials locking horns over who should take over from President Emmerson Mnangagwa — a few months after the 76-year-old strongman won a hotly-disputed five-year mandate to lead the country.

The fresh fissures in the former liberation movement come as Mnangagwa has recently called his restless lieutenants to order, insisting that they focus on unity and rebuilding the country’s wobbly economy — rather than be fixated on politics, as they tend to be.

The new party cracks also come as Zanu PF has experienced a number of ugly factional, tribal and succession wars over the past few years — including a mini-split following its acrimonious 2014 congress, as well as the chilling poisoning of Mnangagwa by his internal rivals during a youth interface rally in Gwanda last year.

During this difficult period, ousted former president Robert Mugabe had, until last November’s military intervention ended his ruinous rule, studiously refused to name his successor — amid claims that he was preparing his erratic wife Grace to succeed him.

Mugabe eventually fell from power when the country’s increasingly disaffected military launched Operation Restore Legacy, which saw him being put under house arrest — before the nonagenarian resigned dramatically moments before Parliament started damaging impeachment proceedings against him.

Party insiders told the Daily News yesterday that things were again looking “ominous” in Zanu PF, with a group that included some of Mnangagwa’s long-time loyalists “already heavily involved in the search for ED’s successor” — to the chagrin of other party leaders.

“This group at one time put forward the name of this well-loved general … (name given but withheld — because the top military officer could not be reached yesterday), but has since changed its mind after he fell sick.

“It now wants one of its own instead, among those who have been with Mnangagwa from his time as a minister until he became president.

“This group is also using some of the war veterans to push out Obert Mpofu in particular, because it also wants one of its own to replace him as the party’s secretary for administration.

“Once their preferred choice steps into Mpofu’s shoes, they think it will be easier for them to revamp the party’s structures and to align them with their wishes,” one of the well-placed sources said.

“Mpofu has now even indicated to those close to him that he is prepared to step down, rather than continue being embarrassed and being accused of things that he has not done.

“Among their reasons, this group is worried that Mnangagwa might not finish his current term due to the poisoning that he suffered last year and they are thus looking at having a successor in case that happens.

“This partly explains the current determined attacks on Mpofu and other senior party officials at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare,” the source added.

The old Zanu PF guard — which includes other former Cabinet ministers who were shunted to the party’s HQ after the July 30 elections —are under severe pressure to leave their positions. Mnangagwa re-assigned these “chefs” to the party’s headquarters — commonly referred to as Shake Shake Building in Harare street lingo — in a desperate bid to breathe new life in government and to strengthen the former liberation movement’s administration.

The Zanu PF leader’s idea was apparently to emulate the Chinese Communist Party’s model, which has also been adopted by South Africa’s African National Congress in South Africa.

Yesterday, war veterans and senior Zanu PF officials told the Daily News that they were aware of the plot to limit Mnangagwa to one term in office only.

“We are saying let the president serve his two terms. There are some people who are moving in their own direction, who are not supporting our president within the party.

“We also know that there are some people within the party who are causing price hikes in order to sabotage our president and we are not happy with this.

“Some of them rush to be party members, trying to cover up their ill-gotten wealth — and all these issues are going to be dealt with soon,” Mashonaland West provincial chairperson Ziyambi Ziyambi said.

War veterans’ secretary-general Victor Matemadanda also confirmed to the Daily News that some people within the party were aiming to dislodge Mnangagwa before the end of his current term.

“The country is not led by opinions of certain individuals but by the Constitution. We have a Constitution which says the president must serve two terms and … there is no need to talk about succession now because the president is still serving his first term.

“It is not about the opinion of certain drunken individuals, but the Constitution,” Matemadanda said without naming these supposed drunkards.

In September, Mnangagwa told foreign media that he would only serve the two terms permitted by the country’s Constitution, if Zimbabweans re-elect him into power in five years’ time.

Speaking to the American cable television network CNN, when he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, Mnangagwa said he would not cling on to power like Mugabe had done, but would still want to serve his permitted two terms if re-elected in 2023.

“We have now limited the terms of the president just to two terms … I will abide by that without any iota of resistance at all. Even if the people love me to be there, I will go because I believe in constitutionalism.

“You must give your people a chance to have other leaders. In my view, 10 years is not a short period,” he asserted.

Zimbabwe replaced its old Lancaster House constitution in 2013 — which had been in use since the country gained its independence from Britain in 1980, and which did not prescribe presidential terms.

The country’s Constitution limits the president’s tenure in office to two five-year terms — with the old constitution partly blamed for having helped to entrench Mugabe’s ruinous rule which saw him lead Zimbabwe for nearly four decades.

The 94-year-old did not only rule with an iron fist, he also resolutely refused to facilitate his succession, with ruling Zanu PF insiders saying he wanted to die in office as a life president. All this ultimately led to his dramatic exit from power late last year, when he was replaced by Mnangagwa on the back of a military intervention.

-Daily News

Government has invited bids for the troubled national airline, Air Zimbabwe, as it pushes ahead with privatisation of its loss-making parastatals.

The airline owes creditors $341 million and was last month put under administration.

“Tenders are, hereby, invited from interested parties to invest in Air Zimbabwe. Parties interested in investing in the group are required to register their interest with Air Zimbabwe Administrator at Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants,” the administrator, Reggie Saruchera of Grant Thornton, said in a notice published in the Press yesterday.

“This invitation is not a prospectus and does not constitute or form part of any solicitation or invitation or any offer to the public to purchase the company or to subscribe to any ordinary shares or any other shares in Air Zimbabwe.”

Grant Thornton had been chosen to manage the airline on a caretaker basis when former Transport minister Joram Gumbo fired Air Zimbabwe’s board and management in August.

Air Zimbabwe is among several parastatals that will be sold off completely or partially privatised as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks to reduce dependence on the fiscus.

Its accounts have been in shambles for a while.

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s 2017 report on the airline was for 2010 accounts because she was not able “to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion” for subsequent years.

However, according to an exit report from the former board chairperson Chipo Dyanda, government, which wholly owns the airline, was to blame for its troubles as it had failed to recapitalise it or deal with the legacy debt that crippled its operations.

Dyanda said morale has long been low among staffers as a result of government non-support despite a Strategic Turnaround Plan running from 2018 to 2020.

-Newsday

Correspondent|Flip-flopping ZANU PF activist Gabriel Chaibva, who is also the Executive Director of Free and Fair Foundation has made startling revelations of MDC Alliance’s violent history which he says dates back to 2002.

He further revealed that the party’s youths received military training sponsored by the late former treasurer Roy Bennett who died recently.

Chaibva, a former MDC member, on Tuesday told the commission of inquiry of the August 1 shootings that the MDC Alliance is to blame for the August 1st post- election violence.

He said the opposition party has been marshalling for violence from as far back as 2002.

In his testimony before the Mothlante led commission, Chaibva said MDC youths received military training sponsored by the late Bennet .

He was providing military training to the party’s “vanguard.”, he claimed.

“Subsequently, in the newspapers it was awash with white commercial farmers were making available their pieces of land on the farms training the MDC youths.

“This training programme was led by Roy Bennett,” he said.

Chaibva said youths were being recruited into “democratic resistance commitees” with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the then government of former President Robert Mugabe.

He said despite various acts of violence especially those carried out during what he called “the final push” of 2004, the party still received “unflinching” support from Britain, Europe and the United States.

He said the MDC was trying to instigate “some sort of Arab Spring” contrary to their statements purporting peace and democracy.

“Whilst the MDC talks about peace they do the exact opposite,” Chaibva said.

Chaibva claimed the MDC was pushing a foreign agenda which was exemplified by David Coltart, who despite the violence within the MDC was “a fanatical supporter” of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and had “crafted” The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA).

Chaibva claims he heard Tendai Biti’s “utterly provocative statements” regarding President Emmerson Mnangagwa on July 31st which fuelled the MDC Alliance youths to react violently on August 1st.

At one point he alleges Biti referred to Mnangagwa as “a murderer.”

Chaibva said during the course of investigations carried out by his foundation, informants had said said some MDC youths had a pistol and were taking turns firing it and two demonstrators may have died from ricochet bullets.

He claims an unnamed businessman may have killed two more demonstrators as a result of “reckless discharge” of a firearm, as he feared for his life during the MDC’s demonstration.

Chaibva also claimed he saw soldiers who were firing shots in the air along Jason Moyo Avenue and one soldier kneeling was aiming upward at a 45 degree angle.

He claimed at that angle only an individual within “two or three metres” could have been shot.

The commission of inquiry is a seven-member probe team which was appointed by Mnangagwa and chaired by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe. The commission’s mandate includes investigating events leading to the death of at least six people on August 1st and providing recommendations to prevent similar incidents.

In an earlier testimony, Detective Chief Inspector, Edmore Runganga who is also head of the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s investigative team into August 1st said a total of 48 shops had been vandalised and 41 arrests were made thus far.

Runganga who is also head of the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s investigative team into August 1st killings said they had been investigating for the past three months but had not found any firearm cartridges in the Central Business District except those recently acquired through the commission.

He said the report on the direction or angle of “projectiles” had not come back from the technical department.

Runganga said he would follow up on potential eyewitnesses mentioned by Molanthe, such as the late Sylvia Maphosa’s sister.

Maphosa is a victim of the August 1 melee.

The chief inspector said it was “unfortunate those people do not want to come to the police,” but he would “leave no stone unturned.”

M&T

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba has complained over the abuse she suffered at the hands of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leaders and supporters in the run up to the July 30 harmonised elections.

Making her submissions before the Commission of Inquiry into the 1st of August violence today, Chigumba narrated how she and other female ZEC commissioners became punching bags of both emotional and sexist abuse at the hands of the Nelson Chamisa led MDC Alliance party, before, during after the elections.

Chigumba said on three separate occasions, she and other commissioners, felt that their lives were at risk as MDC Alliance supporters and leaders continuously threatened them both on social media and in person.

“On two separate attempts, this other political party threatened to invade our offices and they wanted to confront us on their demands which they wanted to be addressed a few days before the election,” she said.

“We had our department receive the political party and attend to their demands which we had heard previously. We had about 10 or 17 demands but they still continued to persist on us to hear them further,” said Chigumba.

“The political party would picket our offices and would come back with the same demands. On our side, we felt that there was nothing to discuss because the demands they wanted, were not in the electoral act. The law was clear, and our position was very clear too, there was nothing we could do to assist them with,” she added.

The former High Court judge said her persona was vilified in public and in most demonstrations by the MDC-A, had her pictures torn and labeled with unprintable words.

“On the third occasion, through social media they let it known that they would picket our office, and that is when we sought the services if the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

“You could see that in the lead up to the elections, for about 10 days, there was a heavy presence of police at our offices as we feared for our lives. We were unable to carry out our duties at the office as we did not come in,” said Chigumba.

She further admitted that Zimbabweans had little faith in her commission due to the previous running of elections.

“Zimbabweans don’t trust ZEC because of what happened in the past and what happened in the 2018 elections,” she said.

She accused the MDC-A of being ignorant to the law despite the party housing lawyers.

“We held engagements with these political parties and there was no consensus because they could not understand what the law said.

“We ended up compromising so that everyone would be catered for. What I would urge political parties is that they must take this time while in Parliament to change the laws that they are not happy with so that we do not have the same situation again in 2023,” said Chigumba.

She bemoaned the continued abuse she still faces at the MDC-A rallies together with other commissioners.

-263Chat

Terrence Mawawa|MDC deputy national chairperson Tendai Biti has said Prosecutor Michael Reza does not meet the legal requirements for
prosecuting him.

Biti wants Reza to be recused from the case. Biti has indicated that Reza’s objectivity is questionable because he accused him of causing
the death of civilians in the capital city on August 1.

Biti’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has said Reza does not meet the constitutional requirements to
prosecute Biti.

Section 261 of the Constitution
requires that members of the National Prosecuting Authority must not act in a partisan manner or further the interests of any political
party or cause.

Speaking before magistrate Gloria
Takundwa yesterday, Mtetwa argued:”Your Worship, Reza, who in terms of the law, is supposed to be impartial, filed an affidavit and made averments that are a cause for concern and such averments cannot be made by an impartial prosecutor. Reza said Biti’s assassination attempt claim was only political grandstanding. He proceeded
to say the violence committed in
the CBD [central business district],
which claimed the lives of people, was perpetrated by MDC supporters.

Jane Mlambo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabweans to brace for tough times as his administration makes the necessary but painful changes towards building the economy.

Mnangagwa who published an opinion piece in the Financial Times borrowed from former United Kingdom Prime Minister on the need to take painful decisions in order to achieve long term successes.

“The process of change is not smooth. Some pain and discomfort along the way is inevitable. The arduousness of the path of reform can sometimes lead governments to stall or backtrack. But as a passionate reformer leading a reformist government, I know there is no other way. We cannot allow anything to slow us down,” said Mnangagwa.

Government has been battling to contain runaway inflation which has seen prices of basic commodities doubling in the process resulting in shortages.

Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube has also introduced new measures including the 2 percent tax on all electronic transactions which many ordinary Zimbabweans feel is painful, but the Zanu PF leader said the policy will bear fruits later.

Terrence Mawawa|Prominent social media analyst Antony Taruvinga has said the deplorable state of the country’s roads is the main cause of the high incidence of fatal road accidents.

“The major cause of these deadly accidents, generally, is the bad state of our roads.

The Chirundu-Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway is an eyesore and a death trap. The government has failed
to cope with technological advancement where we have fast moving cars still travelling on ancient
roads(the likes of the times of Cecil John Rhodes that were designed for less than 80km/hr cars).

They can’t even copy from South Africa(neatly tarred highways and spaghetti roads). Botswana, a desert,
has better roads than Zimbabwe. Where is the revenue going? It’s all being consumed by Zanu PF fat cats,” argued Taruvinga in a statement yesterday.

Government has invited bids for the troubled national airline, Air Zimbabwe, as it pushes ahead with privatisation of its loss-making parastatals.

The airline owes creditors $341 million and was last month put under administration.

“Tenders are, hereby, invited from interested parties to invest in Air Zimbabwe. Parties interested in investing in the group are required to register their interest with Air Zimbabwe Administrator at Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants,” the administrator, Reggie Saruchera of Grant Thornton, said in a notice published in the Press yesterday.

“This invitation is not a prospectus and does not constitute or form part of any solicitation or invitation or any offer to the public to purchase the company or to subscribe to any ordinary shares or any other shares in Air Zimbabwe.”

Grant Thornton had been chosen to manage the airline on a caretaker basis when former Transport minister Joram Gumbo fired Air Zimbabwe’s board and management in August.

Air Zimbabwe is among several parastatals that will be sold off completely or partially privatised as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks to reduce dependence on the fiscus.

Its accounts have been in shambles for a while.

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s 2017 report on the airline was for 2010 accounts because she was not able “to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion” for subsequent years.

However, according to an exit report from the former board chairperson Chipo Dyanda, government, which wholly owns the airline, was to blame for its troubles as it had failed to recapitalise it or deal with the legacy debt that crippled its operations.

Dyanda said morale has long been low among staffers as a result of government non-support despite a Strategic Turnaround Plan running from 2018 to 2020.

-Newsday

Zanu PF’s notorious succession demons have resurfaced, with the party’s senior officials locking horns over who should take over from President Emmerson Mnangagwa — a few months after the 76-year-old strongman won a hotly-disputed five-year mandate to lead the country.

The fresh fissures in the former liberation movement come as Mnangagwa has recently called his restless lieutenants to order, insisting that they focus on unity and rebuilding the country’s wobbly economy — rather than be fixated on politics, as they tend to be.

The new party cracks also come as Zanu PF has experienced a number of ugly factional, tribal and succession wars over the past few years — including a mini-split following its acrimonious 2014 congress, as well as the chilling poisoning of Mnangagwa by his internal rivals during a youth interface rally in Gwanda last year.

During this difficult period, ousted former president Robert Mugabe had, until last November’s military intervention ended his ruinous rule, studiously refused to name his successor — amid claims that he was preparing his erratic wife Grace to succeed him.

Mugabe eventually fell from power when the country’s increasingly disaffected military launched Operation Restore Legacy, which saw him being put under house arrest — before the nonagenarian resigned dramatically moments before Parliament started damaging impeachment proceedings against him.

Party insiders told the Daily News yesterday that things were again looking “ominous” in Zanu PF, with a group that included some of Mnangagwa’s long-time loyalists “already heavily involved in the search for ED’s successor” — to the chagrin of other party leaders.

“This group at one time put forward the name of this well-loved general … (name given but withheld — because the top military officer could not be reached yesterday), but has since changed its mind after he fell sick.

“It now wants one of its own instead, among those who have been with Mnangagwa from his time as a minister until he became president.

“This group is also using some of the war veterans to push out Obert Mpofu in particular, because it also wants one of its own to replace him as the party’s secretary for administration.

“Once their preferred choice steps into Mpofu’s shoes, they think it will be easier for them to revamp the party’s structures and to align them with their wishes,” one of the well-placed sources said.

“Mpofu has now even indicated to those close to him that he is prepared to step down, rather than continue being embarrassed and being accused of things that he has not done.

“Among their reasons, this group is worried that Mnangagwa might not finish his current term due to the poisoning that he suffered last year and they are thus looking at having a successor in case that happens.

“This partly explains the current determined attacks on Mpofu and other senior party officials at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare,” the source added.

The old Zanu PF guard — which includes other former Cabinet ministers who were shunted to the party’s HQ after the July 30 elections —are under severe pressure to leave their positions. Mnangagwa re-assigned these “chefs” to the party’s headquarters — commonly referred to as Shake Shake Building in Harare street lingo — in a desperate bid to breathe new life in government and to strengthen the former liberation movement’s administration.

The Zanu PF leader’s idea was apparently to emulate the Chinese Communist Party’s model, which has also been adopted by South Africa’s African National Congress in South Africa.

Yesterday, war veterans and senior Zanu PF officials told the Daily News that they were aware of the plot to limit Mnangagwa to one term in office only.

“We are saying let the president serve his two terms. There are some people who are moving in their own direction, who are not supporting our president within the party.

“We also know that there are some people within the party who are causing price hikes in order to sabotage our president and we are not happy with this.

“Some of them rush to be party members, trying to cover up their ill-gotten wealth — and all these issues are going to be dealt with soon,” Mashonaland West provincial chairperson Ziyambi Ziyambi said.

War veterans’ secretary-general Victor Matemadanda also confirmed to the Daily News that some people within the party were aiming to dislodge Mnangagwa before the end of his current term.

“The country is not led by opinions of certain individuals but by the Constitution. We have a Constitution which says the president must serve two terms and … there is no need to talk about succession now because the president is still serving his first term.

“It is not about the opinion of certain drunken individuals, but the Constitution,” Matemadanda said without naming these supposed drunkards.

In September, Mnangagwa told foreign media that he would only serve the two terms permitted by the country’s Constitution, if Zimbabweans re-elect him into power in five years’ time.

Speaking to the American cable television network CNN, when he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, Mnangagwa said he would not cling on to power like Mugabe had done, but would still want to serve his permitted two terms if re-elected in 2023.

“We have now limited the terms of the president just to two terms … I will abide by that without any iota of resistance at all. Even if the people love me to be there, I will go because I believe in constitutionalism.

“You must give your people a chance to have other leaders. In my view, 10 years is not a short period,” he asserted.

Zimbabwe replaced its old Lancaster House constitution in 2013 — which had been in use since the country gained its independence from Britain in 1980, and which did not prescribe presidential terms.

The country’s Constitution limits the president’s tenure in office to two five-year terms — with the old constitution partly blamed for having helped to entrench Mugabe’s ruinous rule which saw him lead Zimbabwe for nearly four decades.

The 94-year-old did not only rule with an iron fist, he also resolutely refused to facilitate his succession, with ruling Zanu PF insiders saying he wanted to die in office as a life president. All this ultimately led to his dramatic exit from power late last year, when he was replaced by Mnangagwa on the back of a military intervention.

-Daily News

By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission boss, Priscilla Chigumba who says she suffered emotional abuse at the hands of MDC activists today told the Commission of Inquiry into the August 1, 2018 Post-Election Violence political parties with legislators in parliament should use their tenure to change the laws which they feel impede on the electoral process.

Justice Chigumba said her vilification by the opposition MDC Alliance is well-documented, despite the electoral body discharging its duties in terms of the law, which was confirmed by various court orders.

The ZEC boss says the electoral body has done a postmortem of the elections and a draft report is ready containing recommendations on how to improve the conducting of polls in Zimbabwe in future.

She pledged to furnish the commission with the draft report.

Asked whether as ZEC they would be willing to recommend that presidential election results be announced as they come constituency by constituency or ward by ward, Justice Chigumba said the duty of ZEC is purely to administer the laws regarding elections.

Justice Chigumba said multi-liaison committees which ZEC tried to use in terms of the law to engage political parties were constantly disrupted and the electoral body ended up abandoning them.

“Attempts at dialogue with political parties were always hitting a brick wall…,” said Justice Chigumba.

Justice Chigumba said ZEC is also consulting the SADC Electoral Forum and other regional electoral bodies to see how they can deal with the lack of trust within elections’ stakeholders as well as to improve the conduct of elections in Zimbabwe.

She gave an example of how she has been in touch with the Zambian electoral commission, to share notes on how they run their polls.

Asked whether she thinks the army killed the civilians who died, Justice Chigumba said she only learnt of what was happening from the media.

“…I wasn’t there…yes the media said the army killed, people were shot from the back….,” she said.

The ZEC chair revealed that most of the results for Harare province came last, as there were a lot of verifications needed before their announcement.

Director Legal Services in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Never Katiyo was next to testify. He spoke about the need for the safeguarding of peace so as not to derail re-engagement efforts by the government, adding that the country’s economic revival efforts were dented following the August 1 violence which claimed 6 lives.

Correspondent|THE Commission of Inquiry into the August 1, 2018 Post-Election Violence continued today with Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba testifying before the commission.

Justice Chigumba said political parties with legislators in parliament should use their tenure to change the laws which they feel impede on the electoral process.

Justice Chigumba said her vilification by the opposition MDC Alliance is well-documented, despite the electoral body discharging its duties in terms of the law, which was confirmed by various court orders.

The ZEC boss says the electoral body has done a postmortem of the elections and a draft report is ready containing recommendations on how to improve the conducting of polls in Zimbabwe in future.

She pledged to furnish the commission with the draft report.

Asked whether as ZEC they would be willing to recommend that presidential election results be announced as they come constituency by constituency or ward by ward, Justice Chigumba said the duty of ZEC is purely to administer the laws regarding elections.

Justice Chigumba said multi-liaison committees which ZEC tried to use in terms of the law to engage political parties were constantly disrupted and the electoral body ended up abandoning them.

“Attempts at dialogue with political parties were always hitting a brick wall…,” said Justice Chigumba.

Justice Chigumba said ZEC is also consulting the SADC Electoral Forum and other regional electoral bodies to see how they can deal with the lack of trust within elections’ stakeholders as well as to improve the conduct of elections in Zimbabwe.

She gave an example of how she has been in touch with the Zambian electoral commission, to share notes on how they run their polls.

Asked whether she thinks the army killed the civilians who died, Justice Chigumba said she only learnt of what was happening from the media.

“…I wasn’t there…yes the media said the army killed, people were shot from the back….,” she said.

The ZEC chair revealed that most of the results for Harare province came last, as there were a lot of verifications needed before their announcement.

Director Legal Services in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Never Katiyo was next to testify. He spoke about the need for the safeguarding of peace so as not to derail re-engagement efforts by the government, adding that the country’s economic revival efforts were dented following the August 1 violence which claimed 6 lives.

Watch Video Below…

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Detective Edmore Runganga Acting Officer Commanding Crime in the ZRP Law and Order tells the August 1 Commission that 41 suspects were arrested for malicious damage to property but none has been arrested for the 6 deaths pic.twitter.com/HB4aCE6uXe

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) November 13, 2018

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Detective Edmore Runganga Acting Officer Commanding Crime in the ZRP Law and Order tells the August 1 Commission that 41 suspects were arrested for malicious damage to property but none has been arrested for the 6 deaths pic.twitter.com/HB4aCE6uXe

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) November 13, 2018

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Detective Edmore Runganga Acting Officer Commanding Crime in the ZRP Law and Order tells the August 1 Commission that 41 suspects were arrested for malicious damage to property but none has been arrested for the 6 deaths pic.twitter.com/HB4aCE6uXe

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) November 13, 2018

Watch video below….

Own Correspondent|Matabeleland’s oldest traditional leader, Chief Vezi Maduna has written to President Emmerson Mnangagwa demanding explaination and removal of the perceived Shona Grand Plan against the people of Matabeleland.

Matabeleland believes that there is a document which was written in 1979 by a collection of Shona speaking leaders prescribing the suppression of the Ndebele speaking people.

The document has been making rounds in Matabeleland since the period running up to the deployment of the Gukurahudi soldiers in 1983.

The people from the region believe that the Gukurahundi murders and the subsequent marginalization of the region are a direct result of the Grand Plan.

Below is the letter written by Chief Maduna.

Download File (3)

Jane Mlambo| MDC President Nelson Chamisa has dispelled the misconception that he caused the 1st of August violence that led to the death of six people when soldiers fired live bullets on innocent and unarmed civilians.

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In a response to a Twitter user who said the youthful politician was now afraid of facing the music as he is the one who incited people, Chamisa said he does not believe in the principle of violence and power at all costs.

Not afraid of anything https://t.co/bAaWPMJh5Y don’t incite.They give insight.Violence and power at all cost is not my type of politics.Before God and before men, I didn’t actually know about the August 1 demonstrators until I received a call alerting me about it!That is a fact!

— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) November 13, 2018

Chamisa had earlier hinted that he is aware state machinations to arrest and victimize the innocent while exonerating the guilty.

His post relates to shocking denial by Army commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda that he had gunshots well before the deployment of the army on the streets of Harare and that soldiers did not kill people.

ZRP Commissioner General Godwin Matanga says that police are ready to arrest opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa for allegedly inciting the August 1 post-election violence which left six peopled dead and several others injured.

Matanga said the only reason the police have not picked Chamisa up is because of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mooted plan to constitutionally formalise the position of Leader of the Opposition.

The ZRP chief was testifying before the Commission of Inquiry into the deadly August violence at a heading in Harare this Monday.

“I still feel that it would be very improper to arrest the leader of the opposition party in the name of Nelson Chamisa because this is a position that was formed by the President,” said Matanga.

Mnangagwa has since confirmed plans to establish the office of Leader of the Opposition in line, he said, with other Commonwealth countries.

Zimbabwe has applied to re-join the grouping which largely comprises former British colonies.

Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba clarified that the position was not necessarily intended for Chamisa after the opposition leader said he was not interested.

According to Matanga however, Mnangagwa intends to create the position for Chamisa.

“I still feel today that the President’s doors are open and (so) I cannot arrest Chamisa, but all the same I can say crime does not rot like meat and anytime he can be arrested,” said the ZRP chief.

Soldiers were deployed to help overwhelmed police quell violence during protests in central Harare against the results of the July 30 elections.

The opposition has blamed the military for the death of six people during the clashes.

Matanga however, told commissioners Monday that Chamisa had incited violence with the support of a Kenyan activist the ZRP boss identified as Silas Jakakimba.

“It is written in the Constitution that the Electoral Act does not allow people to incite violence,” said Matanga.

“It is on record that a lawyer of the main (Kenyan) opposition leader Raila Odinga by the name Silas Jakakimba was in the country to advise the leader of the opposition party on how to proceed with events which took place on 1 August.

“When I got that information, he (the Kenyan lawyer) had already left the country.”

Matanga denied opposition charges that police, and military units deployed to quell the violence shot dead the six protestors and also injured more than a dozen others.

He was backed by Zimbabwe Defence Forces chief General Philip Valerio Sibanda who was adamant that soldiers only fired warning shots into the air and never at what he described as “rioters”.

The commission is headed by former South Africa president Kgalema Motlanthe.

Jane Mlambo| Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chairperson, Priscilla Chigumba has blamed the gaps in the electoral law for the post election violence that resultantly led to the death of six people after soldiers opened fire on innocent civilians who were protesting over delays in the announcement of the Presidential results.

Chigumba said she has repeatedly advised political parties represented in parliament to change laws and the electoral field even.

Making her submissions before the Commission of Inquiry today, Chigumba said, “Political parties must take this time while in Parliament to change the laws that they are not happy with so that we do not have the same situation again in 2023.”

Chigumba said ZEC could not have announced presidential elections results earlier than it did because results transmission, as provided for in the law, was “slow” as it has to be done physically.

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has warned officials eyeing his position against working with Zanu-PF to grab power from him saying he is firmly in charge of the country’s opposition party and would not tolerate dissent.

Chamisa controversially rose to the MDC presidency following the party’s founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai’s death in February this year.

Tsvangirai’s death created an acrimonious power struggle between Chamisa, Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri – who used to deputise the party’s founding father.

In the end Chamisa and Khupe went separate ways – both claiming to be legitimate heirs to the throne. Mudzuri backed off from the tiff, and opted to work with Chamisa.

But with Chamisa’s party headed for its first elective congress after Tsvangirai’s demise, jostling for the top post has reached fever-pitch with MDC secretary general Douglas Mwonzora and Mudzuri, who is one of the party’s deputy presidents, emerging as potential challengers for the top post.

In an ominous warning to his rivals, Chamisa who narrowly told party supporters at Rudhaka Stadium in Marondera at the weekend that Zanu-PF was behind his rivals’ bid for power.

“It is surprising that Zanu-PF is more interested in our congress than in its own congress as they seek to determine who emerges as the leader of the MDC because they have their preferred candidates and there is dirty money changing hands hence you hear them say Chamisa must go and so and so should take over but we will not allow that,” he thundered.

The 40-year-old former ICT minister accused Zanu-PF of being behind Tsvangirai’s death purportedly in the hope that the MDC would die “but were surprised when I rose and proved to be even stronger hence their efforts at blocking me”.

“We are going to have our congress and elect our own leader, leaders that we want not those they want. We will put the one they fear most just to show them that they don’t determine what happens in the MDC. There are some in the leadership who think that because I took over from Tsvangirai I will allow them to do as they please in the party. No I am in charge until congress and will brook no nonsense, I want order and discipline,” he charged.

He insisted that congress was not his and the MDC’s priority at the moment as the party was focusing on “reclaiming our stolen victory”.

Several MDC officials have already taken turns to endorse him as the party’s president going into congress next year and beyond.

Leading the way was MDC secretary for elections, Murisi Zwizwai, organising secretary Amos Chibaya, youth secretary-general Lovemore Chinoputsa and national executive member Tracy Mutinhiri who all rephrased the party’s campaign slogan “2018 Chamisa chete chete to “2018, 2019, 2023 Chamisa chete chete”.

“We are going to congress soon and I want you to show by raising your hand if you believe Chamisa should continue until he says it’s enough. It’s not a crime to aspire to lead but we have made our choice that Chamisa will continue to lead beyond congress,” Zwizwai said.

On his part, Chinoputsa said “a vacancy only exists when someone has failed. Chamisa has won the elections so that means there can be no vacancy at the moment.

President, Mashonaland East has endorsed you so we are saying there is no vacancy,” Chinoputsa declared.

Chamisa has previously appealed to those seeking to challenge his position to eat the chill pill, saying it was too early for them to do so.

Addressing party supporters during MDC’s 19th anniversary celebrations at Gwanzura Stadium recently, Chamisa emphasised the need for unity in the party.

— Daily News

A FINAL year Local Government student at Midlands State University allegedly hanged himself from the roof truss at his lodgings in Nehosho area in Senga early yesterday morning for unknown reasons.

Speculation is, however, rife that Walter Temera killed himself in anger after allegedly finding one of his lecturers bedding his girlfriend. It is also said that he was in debt and possibly saw suicide as the only way out.

Midlands Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko said reasons why he allegedly took his life were unknown adding that police investigations were underway.

“Yes I can confirm that an MSU student was allegedly found hanging from the roof truss of the toilet at a house where he was staying with other school mates. There are a lot of theories being thrown around but police investigations are underway,” he said.

MSU director of information Mrs Mirirai Mawere also confirmed the sudden death.

“Yes I can confirm the death of one of our students. It’s now a police case and under investigation, “she said.

Students close to the matter said that Temera had travelled to Victoria Falls with other students on an educational tour arriving back in Gweru around 2AM.

“Word is that he tried to jump off a moving bus when they were returning from Victoria Falls but was restrained by other students. The reasons for wanting to commit suicide by jumping off a moving bus are unknown,” said a student on condition of anonymity.

He said when the bus arrived at the Gweru Main Campus – it was suggested that Temera should spend the rest of the night under the watch of his best friend at the Main Campus.

“He allegedly sneaked out of his best friend’s room and went to his lodgings in Nehosho. This morning, he started apologising to his friends for all the wrongs he had done to them telling them that he lived a ‘fake’ life. Then around 7:30AM he was found hanging from a truss in a toilet,” said the student.

However, the student said his neighbour told the police that Temera owed some students money which he was failing to pay back.

Insp Goko appealed to members of the public especially students to consult elders or their lecturers when they face problems.

“It is unfortunate that members of the society resort to such extreme measures in the face of challenges. As police we urge members of the public especially these students to value the sanctity of live. In the face of problems they must consult school authorities, elders in the community, their guardians or the police,” he said.

State Media

MDC vice-chairperson Tendai Biti and State prosecutor Michael Reza nearly exchanged blows in court yesterday after Reza accused the former of playing a role in the post-election violence that saw seven civilians killed by members of the army on August 1 this year, while the presiding magistrate clashed with the opposition leader’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa over the use of mobile phones in court.

Biti, who appeared before magistrate Gloria Takundwa, is facing charges of violating the Electoral Act for allegedly announcing that MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa had won the presidential elections during the harmonised elections held in July this year. He is also facing another charge of border jumping.

“I am going to sue you for that! Did I shoot anyone? Why don’t you accuse the army?” Biti fumed.

Mtetwa asked the court for Reza to recuse himself from the matter, saying he was now conflicted after writing an affidavit accusing Biti of playing a hand in the killing of the people by the army.

“Your Worship, Reza, who in terms of the law, is supposed to be impartial, filed an affidavit and made averments that are a cause for concern and such averments cannot be made by an impartial prosecutor. Reza said Biti’s assassination attempt claim was only political grandstanding. He proceeded by saying the violence committed in the CBD [central business district], which claimed the lives of people, were carried out by MDC supporters. What independent prosecutor says that?”

But Reza told the court that Biti had raised political statements, which required a political response.

He further said Biti referred to a legitimate government as a “military junta government”, which is a derogatory expression.

Mtetwa urged Reza to recuse himself, accusing him of furthering the interests of his political masters and not of justice.

However, Takundwa postponed the matter to November 15 for ruling.

Takundwa then ordered everyone in the court gallery to stop using mobile phones during the proceedings, but Mtetwa objected, saying there was no law stopping people from using their phones in court.

“Surely, you cannot stop people from tweeting and sending messages unless you avail an Act that stops them from using their phones,” she said.

Takundwa then backed down and said the people in the gallery must not take pictures, to which Mtetwa concurred.

Biti, who is represented by Mtetwa, has filed an application at the High Court for a review challenging magistrate Francis Mapfumo’s jurisdiction and ruling after he alleged that he was abducted from Zambia, where (Biti) he had been seeking asylum after an “attempt” on his life.

But the State insisted on going to trial despite the pending High Court review.

Biti was denied asylum by the Zambian government after he tried to seek refuge in that country.

He claimed that he was abducted in Zambia by unidentified Zimbabwean men.

He said the abductors forced him to cross the border and arrested him. He told court that he was not running away from the police, but that his life was in danger.

NewsDay

Correspondent|ACCORDING to new regulations gazetted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday, police officers can randomly search or nab those that they suspect to be dealing in foreign currency from public places such as streets, roads, passages, parks or recreation grounds.

Cash barons who have been accused of fuelling parallel market currency rates and a raft of other economic ills will now face up to two years in prison if they fail to explain the source of their wealth, while street dealers also face arrest if they fail to explain their business at street corners to police officers.

“If any authorised officer or police officer, acting to enforce section 4, finds any person frequenting, loitering in or lingering about any public place in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable suspicion that he or she is dealing in currency in contravention of section 4(1)(a), such a person may be required by the officer to give an explanation of his or her presence in or about the public place, and of his or her conduct thereat, and to produce to the law enforcement agent any identity document, and to show to the agent any currency or property in his or her immediate possession or under his or immediate control and to account to the agent of his or her possession or control of the same,” the regulations read in part.

The government published similar regulations last September, but there were no major arrests.

The new legislation says the High Court may grant an order in respect of any property with a value of over $10 000 that might be deemed ill-gotten.

According to the extraordinary gazette, the wealth must be explained only in terms of known sources of income.

The unexplained wealth can be frozen until a court determines otherwise.

“At the same time and before the same court that an application for an unexplained wealth order is made under section 37B, the applicant enforcement authority may apply for an interim freezing order in respect of all or part of the property that is the subject of the unexplained wealth order applied for,” the gazette reads.

The new law seeks to punish those who may give false information on the unexplained wealth by imposing a fine of $65 000 or imprisonment not exceeding two years.

However, there is room for compensation for those that are illegally affected by the freeze.

The government is battling to control ballooning foreign currency dealings that have seen the rise of cash barons exchanging mainly United States dollars at premiums outside those set by government.

MT PLEASANT legislator Samuel Banda (MDC Alliance) yesterday appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts charged with contravening the Electoral Act after he allegedly falsified his home address during registration to enable him to represent the constituency.

Banda (43) was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa, who remanded him out of custody to December 3, pending finalisation of the investigations.

The legislator, who resides in Mabvuku and is represented by Thoughts Deme, was ordered not to interfere with State witnesses and to reside at the given address as part of his bail conditions.

The State alleges that on December 28 last year, during the national biometric voter registration exercise, Banda misrepresented to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) that he resided at number 34 Waller Avenue, Mt Pleasant, Harare, in order for him to register as a voter in that constituency when, in actual fact, he did not reside there.

The State alleges Banda went on to depose an affidavit of residence for voter registration (Zec Form VR-9) to Zec commissioner of oath, purporting to be residing at that address.

It is alleged Banda was subsequently registered as a voter in Mt Pleasant constituency, where he contested for the House of Assembly seat and eventually won.

The State says Zec forms VR1 and VR9 will be produced in court as an exhibit.

Delight Mavuto appeared for the State.

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Correspondent|ZIMBABWE’S military and police have blamed each other for the August 1 shootings that killed at least six people during a protest in Harare.

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and police initially tried to avoid appearing before a commission of inquiry led by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe.

General Philip Valerio Sibanda, a ZDF commander, in a letter addressed to the commission, said: “The Zimbabwe Defence Forces will submit its views in writing.”

Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga also wrote that they wanted to testify in camera because “the evidence to be disclosed would be inimical or prejudicial to public interest or operations of the State”.

Both were later to appear live on state television.

The police were the first to take to the stand. Chief Superintendent Albert Ncube, officer commanding of the Harare Central District, said he only had 167 police details under his command on August 1 because most were assigned countrywide for policing duties associated with the general elections. Therefore, he told his seniors that he needed reinforcements from the Police Protection Unit.

Ncube said, legally, all army personnel were supposed to follow his command in executing policing duties – but that was never the case because at no point was he told that the military would be part of the team to quell the civil unrest under way at the time.

He added that as part of policing duties on the day “an order was given that no firearms were to be used to safeguard the credibility of the election result as the country was in an election period”.

When Matanga took to the stand, he said President Emmerson Mnangagwa “supported and authorised” the deployment of the army and Matanga directed his military counterpart to act. Therefore, it was done above Ncube’s pay grade.

Matanga told the commission that the army had acted in earnest.

“If ever the soldiers fired their weapons, if ever they did, they did so in good faith,” said Matanga.

I don’t believe that any soldier opened fire on civilians. If that had happened, the death toll would have been higher, General Philip Valerio Sibanda.

Brigadier-General Anselem Sanyatwe, the Presidential Guard commander, said that a picture of a soldier kneeling down to take aim while another soldier tried to stop him – a picture that went viral – was interpreted incorrectly.

Sanyatwe claimed that the soldier had knelt down to avoid stones from rioters and that the soldier had only fired warning shots into the air. He said that any deaths registered took place before the military was deployed.

“All those were shot before we deployed and this is true because we never came across a dead body,” he said.

Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Philip Valerio Sibanda, told the commission that he heard gun shots before soldiers were deployed.

Sibanda’s testimony attempted to dispel the widely held view that the army had shot civilians. He said the only order given was to “advance and not take a kneeling position” and if soldiers had fired their AK47 rifles, one round of ammunition could have taken at least six lives.

“I don’t believe that any soldier opened fire on civilians. If that had happened, the death toll would have been higher,” he said.

Both Sibanda and Sanyatwe suggested that the violence was likely a result of the MDC’s “militant” wing – The Vanguard – which Sanyatwe said consisted of army deserters, and which Sibanda said had arms caches.

An opposition legislator has been charged with undermining authority of or insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa after he allegedly accused the ZANU PF party leader of being devoid of solutions to fix Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.

Hon. Joel Gabbuza, the MDC-Alliance party legislator for Binga South constituency appeared in court on Monday 12 November 2018 facing charges of undermining the authority of or insulting the president as defined in section 33(2)(b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform).

Prosecutors claimed that Gabbuza, who was represented by Thulani Nkala of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, unlawfully and intentionally made an abusive, indecent or obscene statement about or concerning President Mnangagwa when he allegedly told mourners at a funeral on 23 October 2018 at John Bwansula’s homestead in Manzasiya village in Binga, Matabeleland North province that President Mnangagwa’s government is clueless in solving Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, which is marked by fuel and drug shortages.

Gabbuza, the prosecutors charged, told mourners that the fuel shortages in Zimbabwe had forced him to travel to neighbouring Zambia to source fuel for use during the funeral.