MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has said he has the solutions to the country’s deepening economic crisis that has seen the shortages of fuel emerging and prices of commodities skyrocket since last week.

Addressing mourners at the burial of Casper Tsvangirai, younger brother of the late MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, in Buhera yesterday, Chamisa said President Emmerson Mnangagwa was unable to resolve the country’s economic challenges because of the curse of illegitimacy stalking his government after rigging the July 30 polls.

MDC officials who attended the funeral told NewsDay that Chamisa said Mnangagwa’s refusal to hand over power to him was the reason why the economy was in a tailspin.

“Our president (Chamisa) was clear that he has the solutions to solve the economic crisis in the country. He said Zanu PF can rig the elections, but it cannot rig the economy,” MDC chairperson for Manicaland David Chimhini said.

“The president is happy with the support he got during elections, but we know that it was massively rigged.”

Chamisa reportedly skirted the issue of Mnangagwa’s offer to make him an official leader of the opposition, insisting he beat his political nemesis and deserved a chance at State House.

“The president said he did not want to turn the funeral wake into a rally, but wanted to show support to the Tsvangirai family which was well-attended,” explained Chimhini.

The burial was attended by the MDC Alliance officials who included Douglas Mwonzora, youth chairperson Happymore Chidziva and national organising secretary Amos Chibaya, among others.

-Newsday

Self-exiled and former Cabinet Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo has thrown a jibe at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Dr John Mangudya over his claims that price hike of commodities which have this week doubled coupled with fuel and drug shortages are all caused by panic buying with the former saying the problem with the Southern African country’s economy is governance.

Professor Moyo sped off from the country during the November 2017 military inspired protest that saw Robert Mugabe tendering his resignation.

Writing on his micro blog twitter late yesterday, Moyo, who has remained a sharp critic of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, mocked at the new financial measures and Mangudya’s response on wild price hikes as unreasonable.

“A message doing rounds asks: If as claimed by RBZ Governor Mangudya, shortages of basic commodities such as fuel are caused by panic buying; what is causing shortages of medicines in hospitals and pharmacies? Panic illness? Panic cholera or panic diarrhea? It’s governance, stupid!

“If you have 1USD you can’t buy one loaf of bread. But if you sell that 1USD for RTGS FCA, you can buy two and a half loaves. Distortions thanks to the painful so-called monetary measures widely rejected by industry, commerce, workers, students, peasants, consumers & investors!” said Moyo.

Moyo further jumped into the state newspaper, alleging that the printing machine is now running light work at the largest daily state publication as number of copies used to be printed out has decreased.

-263Chat

Terrence Mawawa|The government has blamed defaulting patients for poor service delivery in major hospitals.

Masvingo Provincial Medical Director, Amadeus Shamu told a daily paper the government was battling to upgrade medical equipment due to failure by patients to settle hospital bills.

“We are struggling to upgrade and update our equipment because there are so many patients who are failing to settle their hospital bills.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care is losing a lot of money as result of defaulting patients,” said Shamu.

Jane Mlambo| Zanu PF Youth League has called on the government to begin a process of currency reform as a way of containing wanton price increases witnessed in the past two weeks.

In a statement today, Zanu PF youths also called on government to lift duty on all raw materials imported by manufacturers.

”Our investigations with different manufacturers has revealed that the bulk of manufacturers did not change the prices of any of their products,

However, some manufacturers highlighted that they are not receiving adequate supply of foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to import the required raw materials.

Min the interim, it is also important that duty on raw material used by manufacturers be lifted,

Further, monetary and fiscal authorities should clearly explain on how they intend to deal with illegal forex trading,” said Zanu PF youths.

Correspondent|THREE people were killed while several others were seriously injured in a nasty road accident blamed on the actions of a said “soldier” who snatched the steering wheel from a commuter omnibus (kombi) driver at high speed.The accident happened in Zimunya, just outside Mutare, at the 19km peg along the Mutare-Masvingo Highway on Monday morning.

As the bogus agent, who later died at Mutare Provincial Hospital after his legs were broken in the crush, attempted to arrest the kombi crew on allegations of flouting traffic regulations, the driver refused to stop.

The deceased then grabbed the steering wheel in the ensuing commotion resulting in the kombi veering off the road, overturned several times before landing in a ditch.

Passengers and luggage were strewn all over. Two of the passengers died on the spot.
Witnesses revealed that since the bogus agent was acting alone, the kombi crew became suspicious of his actions.

“The guy was wearing a blue work suit. He boarded the commuter omnibus like a genuine passenger at an undesignated bus terminus near the Sakubva Swimming Pool. The kombi was going to Masvingo. While on board he suddenly told the driver that he was under arrest for loading at an undesignated point.

“The driver did not stop. He drove the vehicle at high speed towards Zimunya and upon realising that the kombi crew was fleeing with him the deceased agent then snatched the steering wheel resulting in the accident,” said a witness.

Hundreds of residents from the nearby Zimunya Township thronged the scene of the accident.

Some of the passengers who survived the crash teamed up with passersby and vented their anger on the agent for causing the mishap.

Deputy Manicaland police spokesman Assistant Inspector Luxon Chananda said traffic cops were investigating the accident.

He said those injured were receiving treatment at Mutare Provincial Hospital.

Jane Mlambo| Police have banned the planned demonstration by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) to demand the abolition of new tax regime introduced by government.

In a press statement released this afternoon, police said the directive by ministry of health against public gatherings in central business district still stands.

”Therefore, the organizers of the intended demonstrations by ZCTU and its affiliates should take note of the government’s directive particularly the movement of large numbers of people from one point to another which includes cholera epicenters,” said Police.

Police warned members of the public that if anything turns nasty, ZCTU will be held responsible.

Meanwhile, the University of Zimbabwe graduation ceremony which was earlier postponed is now set to take place this Friday and unconfirmed reports indicate that Emmerson Mnangagwa will be conferred with an honorary degree.

Correspondent|National airline Air Zimbabwe has dismissed reports that it has stopped accepting Bond Notes and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) transfers in favour of United States Dollars only. Speaking to 263Chat, Air Zimbabwe Public Relations Officer, Milcah Chikarakate,

The message circulating on social media is not true, l think when you look at the bottom of the message it’s actually written that it’s from Air Zimbabwe board and management and as you are aware we don’t have a board at the moment so the message is not from us. The message is fake we don’t know where it came from, we are accepting all forms of payment including Eco Cash and prices are still the same.

The message comes at a time when rates for foreign currency have been skyrocketing on the parallel market. British Airways has announced that it will only be accepting Credit Cards as a means of payment.

Air Zimbabwe later released a statement saying,

Air Zimbabwe would like to advise that it has not published the statement currently in circulation on social media platforms regarding exclusive foreign currency transactions.

The Airline continues to trade in accordance with approved regulations in line with the multi-currency regime. However, we are in continuous engagement with Shareholder and RBZ as regards current economic situation with a view to establish a sustainable position for our operations.

Likewise, any further developments or changes will be communicated accordingly. We remain committed to serve you.

Police in Bulawayo have arrested seven suspects all under the age of 20 who attacked and attempted to stab a police officer to evade arrest
for allegedly robbing a city woman.

Nkanyiso Derick Nyoni (20), Thabiso Dube (18), Sipho Moyo (18) and four other minors aged between 16 and 17 years allegedly tried to rob a
woman near a night club in the city centre on Saturday night.
Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said alert police officers who were conducting patrols spotted them and they were arrested.
“Our members of the Crime Prevention Unit who were on patrol on Saturday night witnessed a gang
of seven robbing a woman of her purse. The officers moved in to arrest the culprits who produced knives intending to stab the officers on duty resulting in a scuffle but seven of them were subsequently arrested,” said Insp Ncube.
He said police officers recovered two knives from the gang as well as two cellphones that the woman had lost.
Insp Ncube said it was saddening that youths were involved in violent crimes.
He warned members of the public against attempting to defeat the course of justice by attacking cops.
“It’s also worrying to learn that these youthful offenders were even determined to attack and stab law enforcement agents. We want to warn the public that as the police we will also defend ourselves when being attacked by rogue elements
in society,” Insp Ncube said.
On Saturday, an 18-year-old boy from Pumula East allegedly killed his friend over a cellphone.
Evans aka Vado allegedly stabbed and killed Bekithemba Mlalazi over a cellphone and nonchalantly led the victim’s family to the body before vanishing.He is still on the run. The Chronicle

 

Harare residents are up in arms with council after it increased water cuts in their suburbs, saying the move exposed them to water-borne diseases like cholera. Harare City
Council has, without notice, been
disconnecting water supplies to suburbs like Sunridge, Marlborough and Goodhope.
Some residents in Budiriro rely on wells as council is yet to provide piped water. They are however, still made to pay a fixed water charge by council.
The failure by council to supply water in many suburbs has forced residents to resort to unsafe sources like wells at a time when Harare is battling a cholera outbreak.
Harare Residents’ Trust director Mr Precious Shumba told The Herald yesterday that it was disheartening that council was failing to supply all its residents with water at such a
critical time -The Herald.

By Paul Nyathi|Former MDC Bulilima Member of Parliament Norman Mpofu has blasted President Emmerson Mnangagwa describing him as too docile to be the President of a country as troubled as Zimbabwe.

Mpofu who has since ditched the opposition party and contested the last election as an independent candidate said that the ruling party will soon find itself out of power of it continues under the leadership of Mnangagwa.

Wrote Mpofu on his Facebook page:

Mnangagwa has to be proactive. Saying Zimbabwe is open for business alone is not enough.

Wheels are coming off. Slogans alone can not run a country.

He has to ensure that the nation is not
fed lies and propaganda. Is it true that the country has adequate supply of fuel as Magundya says. Is it true that basic commodities will be back on the shelves.

The man is just too docile for a President of a country in a crisis like Zimbabwe.

Black market fuel dealers are abusing a Petro Trade noble scheme for prepaying for fuel . I am made to understand, by my informers, that they deposit large sums of money in the Petro Trade account to secure fuel. Then that fuel is sold in the black market under the president’s nose.

If the fuel does not come as per Mangudya statement the man will be in trouble soon.

Zanupf has groomed its supporters to exploit their connectivity with the authorities to steal. Zanupf will sabotage itself out of power soon especially if their President remains docile as he is.

Government has given under-performing State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and parastatals it has earmarked for disposal — among them NetOne, TelOne and People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) — between six and nine months to conclude privatisation deals, a Cabinet minister has said.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told delegates at Chatham House in London where he gave a presentation on the ongoing reforms in Zimbabwe yesterday that Government was serious about privatisation of SOEs.

Minister Ncube said the Government spent half a billion dollars supporting struggling SOEs and parastatals over the last two years, as the perennial loss-making entities continued to drain public funds.

“Think, last year we spent $500 million supporting enterprises that are struggling,” Minister Ncube told the delegates.

The entities used to contribute 40 percent to the economy, but poor management, corruption and weak governance systems have seen them run down with contribution to the economy plummeting to just two percent.

Last year, 38 out of 93 State-owned enterprises audited in 2016 incurred a combined loss of $270 million as weak corporate governance practices and ineffective control mechanisms took their toll.

“We need to move fast, we want to privatise 11 enterprises quickly, I have given some of them six months just to get on with it and six subsidiaries of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC); also those should be privatised, we are merging 11 (state owned) entities,” said Minister Ncube.

“Between the next six to nine months, I want to see progress and conclusion of some privatisation deals.”

Minister Ncube said those that need to be liquidated will go under the hummer, with already three targeted for dissolution, while a further seven State-owned entities will be departmentalised into line ministries.

-State Media

THE Health ministry has come hard on pharmacists that deny adolescent girls access to Emergency Contraception (EC), known as the morning-after pill, as teenage pregnancies were on the rise.

Pharmacy logistics and research officer in the Health ministry, Witness Hussain, on Friday said the ministry recently conducted a cross-sectional study of more than 6 000 adolescent girls, which concluded that among other contributing factors, rendering of contraception was a challenge.

Speaking at the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe annual pharmacists’ indaba (API) in Victoria Falls, Hussain said the 15 to 19-year age group was the most affected.

“We need to change the current attitudes of pharmacists on EC because we established that 50% would not give the pill to that child. Eighty percent of the pharmacists whose views were sought told us that awareness and easy rendering can lead to increased uptake and irresponsibility, but we say, do not punish the buyer, let them purchase the EC and I should repeat, there should not be special treatment,” he said.

“All women are equal. Some view people who take morning-after [pill] as being loose. If you deny them, the consequences may be too hard on them as many revealed that they got chased away from home, face abandonment by the impregnator, sometimes leading to suicide or abortion.

“Maternal child mortality is at 10%, which are still births and premature births, because that child’s pelvic area wouldn’t have developed fully to carry a child, so give the girls an EC. It has no harm and also refer that girl child to other healthcare providers for continuing family planning and sexually transmitted infections management and HIV.”

Hussain spoke at length on how pharmacists could contribute to protecting the girl child by maintaining adequate stocks, creating a welcoming environment and offering counselling services.

“We can only change the behaviour by engaging, not shunning them,” he said

The logistics and research officer said child pregnancies were still high, mainly in rural areas such as Binga due to religious and traditional beliefs, stigmatisation, lack of harmonisation of law, that is, age of consent.

Lack of knowledge, poverty, peer pressure, sexual abuse, family background and death of both parents were other contributing factors they found during the research.

Early this year, deputy director for reproductive health in the Health ministry, Margret Nyandoro, urged women not to use the morning-after pill for birth control because continued use of the drug had devastating side effects, which she said could cause complications in pregnancy. The remarks were necessitated by a spike in the demand for EC.

Pharmacists at the conference, which ended on Saturday, said they were faced with acute drug shortages for chronic diseases such as diabetes as lack of foreign currency aggravated the situation.

NewsDay

MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa is not a “Messiah” or the answer to the current economic challenges since the role to fix the economy is the responsibility of all Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliation, Government has said.

Mr Chamisa has been of late eulogised in the private media as the one holding keys to the current problems affecting the country.

His spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda has also been all over the show, telling anyone who cares to listen that Government had failed and should engage his boss.

Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), who is also the Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba, said yesterday that implementation of good economic principles by all Zimbabweans was the only solution to the economic challenges facing the nation.

“I pity Chamisa because he is being vested with Messianic powers which he doesn’t wield,” said Mr Charamba.

“At one level, he is supposed to be conferring legitimacy to the winner of 2018 elections, now I notice he is supposed to be the panacea to spurring the economy.

“This one young politician with a mortal life being vested with all these powers – God help us. He is a mere man and an erring man like all mortals. The economy of this country will be turned around by the hands of the citizens of this nation.

“There is no magic wand, there is no Messiah, only principles of good economics and these are what are being followed by the Government. There is a very clear strategy enunciated in the Monetary Policy, buttressed by the Fiscal Policy and both expressing themselves in the context of a Transitional Plan. Those are the instruments for spurring the economy forward, not a mere individual.”

Mr Charamba said opposition members should not celebrate the economic hardships because they were also citizens first before they become opposition politicians.

He said it was also unfortunate that some were still in the election mode at a time when focus should have shifted towards economic recovery. “In any case, in the recovery of this economy, the opposition are citizens before they even oppose,” said Mr Charamba.

“They are also consumers of goods and services and suppliers of goods and services in spite of the fact that they are in opposition.

“So, if they have a role to play in the economy, it is alongside many other citizens, but not because they are in opposition and its taking too long for some commentators in this economy to realise that we have long moved from the ballot to the market place where rules are different.”

-State Media

AT least 11 State-owned enterprises will be privatised under the Government’s public enterprises reform framework for 2018-2020 while some will be liquidated, merged or departmentalised.

The measures are contained in the new Government blue-print, the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) that was presented by Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, on Friday. The Minister said reforming the State-owned enterprise sector was part of the short to medium term reform framework whose implementation is already underway.

“Government will expedite the implementation of the Cabinet decision on restructuring, partial or full privatisation of entities. The reform measures for immediate implementation over the period 2018-2020 target the privatisation of 11 State-owned enterprises, six IDC subsidiaries, and 17 ZMDC subsidiaries,” said Prof Ncube.

Without providing names, he said two State-owned enterprises and three IDC subsidiaries will be liquidated while 11 entities will be merged and seven departmentalised into line ministries. The minister also announced a dissolution of all subsidiary boards for Zesa Holdings. Going forward, he said, the Zimbabwe Power Company would be allowed to engage strategic partners for its power generation projects.

Other measures include de-merging the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) into a commercial business unit and the Strategic Grain Reserve, promulgation of the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill to provide for the unbundling of the authority into a regulator and an airports authority.

Minister Ncube said the reform framework was aimed at gaining quick wins from parastatals in line with long-standing objectives of bringing orderliness in their operations, restoring discipline and rationality, turning around their performances and improving on general service-delivery to contribute towards revival of Zimbabwe’s economic fortunes.

The tough decisions come on the back of reports that 70 percent of State-owned enterprises are technically insolvent after most of them incurred a combined $270 million losses, according to the Auditor General’s 2017 report.

Professor Ncube, however, said an institutional support for parastatal reform framework was being put in place to ensure deserving entities get funding under the $3,2 million grant from the African Development Bank.

He said the performance reviews will assess in detail the concerned State-owned enterprises’ governance system, financial, operational, legal environment, processes and procedures affecting them.

These entities include Agribank, Allied Timbers, SMEDCO, Zinara, SIRDC, and IDBZ. Minister Ncube said the European Union has also availed funding for the performance review of an additional three state-owned enterprises under the natural resource programme. These include the Forestry Commission, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). Government has identified a further set for the performance reviews, namely CMED, ARDA, Printflow and Natpharm.

State Media

Paul Nyathi|While police were busy chasing after vendors and money dealers outside Tredgold Building on the instructions of Chief Justice Luke Malaba, personnel operating in Government departments housed there scurried for cover following a fire outbreak at one of the offices due to an electrical fault.

The incident, attracted the attention of members of the public who starred in amusement and did not bother rushing in to help, occurred shortly after 1PM.

Property worth $2 000 was destroyed at one of the oldest trademark buildings in the city located which houses the Bulawayo Labour Court, Provincial and Regional courts, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Surveyor-General’s Office, Deeds Registry, Department of Social Welfare, Umguza District Administrator’s Office, the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI) and Umguza District Development Fund (DDF).

Chief Justice Luke Malaba last week ordered vendors to be moved away from operating around the building which he described as a special place. He claimed the vendors compromised the importance of the building and were disrupting court proceedings with their noises.

A court interpreter who declined to be named said: “I was busy having lunch in my office with my colleague when I saw billows of smoke pouring out of one of the offices. In a split second, I picked my handbag and stormed out of the building.”

Another court official said fear and panic gripped him when he noticed a cloud of smoke in the corridor.

“I was on my way out of the building to buy lunch when I saw smoke all over the building and I panicked as I thought the entire building was on fire,” he said.

Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer, Mr Richard Peterson, said the fire emanated from a water heater.

“The fire was caused by a water heater, which was being used to boil water in a plastic container. The water boiled until it all evaporated resulting in the water heater igniting the container and subsequently causing fire,” he said.

Mr Peterson said property worth $2 000 which included a photocopier was destroyed and property worth $10 million was at risk.

He said no deaths or injuries were recorded.

By Paul Nyathi|One of the country’s biggest banks the Central Africa Building Society (CABS) has started feeling the crunch economic time the country is experiencing forcing the big bank to start shutting down some of its branches.

The long serving bank on Monday announced that it is closing down the Malbereign and Mabvuku branches and merging them into Westgate and Greendale branches respectively.

The merger will be effective from December 29, 2019.

The notice by the bank which claims that the shut down of the branches is due to its digitalisation programme reads as follows:

NOTICE: Merger of CABS Branches in Harare.

Please be advised that in line with our drive towards digitalisation, we are merging the following branches with effect from 29 December 2018.

Merging Mabelreign Branch into Westgate Branch and
Merging Mabvuku Branch into Greendale Branch.
All services will be available at the merged branch and the CABS branches nationwide. We encourage you to make use of our digital channels via mobile or internet banking.

If you require any further information please call us on (024) 2 883822/3.

We thank you for your continued support and valued banking relationship with CABS.

HIGH Court judge Justice Edith Mushore yesterday suspended Chitungwiza mayor Gift Tsverere and his deputy Jabulani Mtunzi until the determination of a matter in which a losing mayoral candidate is challenging the results of the election.

Kiven Mutimbanyoka, a Zanu PF councillor for ward 13, approached the High Court seeking nullification of the mayoral election results of September 4, describing the electoral process as irregular and illegal.

He claimed no appropriate time was given for the elections, hence the meeting where elections were conducted was not properly constituted.

He argued that the inadequacy of time was prejudicial to the councillors, including himself, as he wanted to lobby for the post.

In his draft order, Mutimbanyoka wanted the suspension of the elections, declaration and appointment of the mayor and his deputy pending the finalisation of the matter.

The pair was stopped form carrying out any duties as mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

NewsDay

MDC Alliance has slapped six top leaders in the party’s Chiwundura district structures with five-year suspensions over their alleged support for independent parliamentary and council candidates in the July 30 harmonised elections.

The opposition party suspended district youth organising secretary Simbarashe Zimwara, ward 5 organising secretary for youths, Partson Banda, and Tichaona Jumai, the ward 5 defence and security secretary.

Also suspended were elections secretary Moses Marecha, main wing district organiser Aaron Mumvana and his wife Tendai Bungure.

The suspensions were announced at a party meeting held in Senga, Gweru, on Saturday.

The members were accused of supporting losing parliamentary candidate for Chiwundura, Blessing Murondiwa, who stood as an independent after losing to Livingstone Chimina in the party’s primary elections.

Chimina won the parliamentary seat.

Mumvana stood as an independent candidate for council’s ward 5 seat in Chiwundura and was supported by his wife Bungure.

The Nelson Chamisa-led coalition fielded double candidates in some wards and constituencies, with some disgruntled members also contesting as independent candidates.

MDC Alliance Midlands South acting chairperson Cleopas Shiri confirmed the development and said it was in line with a resolution made by the party’s national council in August to deal with members, who either participated as independents or supported an independent candidate in this year’s polls.

“Yes, I can confirm the development and add that there was overwhelming evidence that those suspended had lost the vision of the party ahead of the July 30 elections by supporting independent candidates. Some of them were actually agents of independent candidate Murondiwa,” Shiri said.

Smoke-induced deaths engulf rural areas
He also highlighted that suspended party members were free to contest the suspensions.

“MDC Alliance is a very fair party. Those that have been suspended are free to appeal and seek recourse in their situations if they think the decisions were misguided. However, a thorough look into their cases was done before arrival at the decisions to discipline them,” Shiri said.

Cosmas Chipope, the ward 5 MDC Alliance chairperson, however, challenged suspensions of members from his structure, saying they were not done above board.

“The meeting to announce suspension of the guys was done in my ward, but I was not aware of it. I feel the process was done unconstitutionally because, as a ward with our leadership, we should have been involved in the decision. But from what I gather, the suspensions were motivated by factional agendas, in which some leaders at the top and in the provincial structures, in particular, are purging potential threats to their positions. We will challenge the suspensions,” he said.

Chipope said he had chaired a ward assembly meeting last Wednesday, but no such issue was discussed.

“Our organising secretary Amos Chibaya and chairperson Thabitha Khumalo had assured us that no one will be suspended because a lot of disturbances had happened ahead of the polls, even at national level, but I am shocked with what has happened here,” he said.

NewsDay

FORMER Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, a stalwart of the liberation struggle, is ready to walk away from politics and will not apply for re-admission into the party, but would consider a return if the party makes such a resolution.

His comments came in the wake of Zanu PF’s announcement that former secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa and ex-Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association national chairperson Jabulani Sibanda had been re-admitted after their applications were approved by the politburo last week.

“They know my position. If they want me to return to the party, they can re-admit me. I do not have to apply to re-join a party that I formed. It does not make sense,” Gumbo said.

“There were problems that I would not want to encounter again. I have been quiet and have not commented on anything. I am busy with personal stuff and that is what I want to concentrate on.”

Asked if he was contemplating retiring from politics, Gumbo suggested the time might have come.

“I have been in politics for a long time. I would not want to keep being pushed around. I want to rest,” the former Agriculture minister, who had a number of run-ins with former President Robert Mugabe, said.

A week after Mnangagwa’s sacking as Vice-President by Mugabe in November last year, Mutasa said he would never “shed tears for Mnangagwa” and that he deserved “everything coming at him”.

But Mutasa said he was not going to keep grudges forever.

“The fact that you heard the party announce my return means I have had a change of heart. We should not focus on the negatives always, I want to contribute constructively for the benefit of the nation,” he said.

“I know I said things in anger, but if I was angry in 2014 when I was expelled, it does not mean I must continue to hold the grudge to this day.”

The former Intelligence minister was expelled from the ruling party as part of an internal purge that swept away then Vice-President Joice Mujuru along with other leading stalwarts in Zanu PF.

Mujuru’s expulsion did nothing to stem the fighting in Zanu PF, but it was Mnangagwa’s sacking that triggered a military intervention that forced Mugabe’s resignation last November and Mnangagwa’s eventual rise to the top.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo last week announced the party’s politburo had resolved to re-admit Mutasa and Sibanda.

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has said he has the solutions to the country’s deepening economic crisis that has seen the shortages of fuel emerging and prices of commodities skyrocket since last week.

Addressing mourners at the burial of Casper Tsvangirai, younger brother of the late MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, in Buhera yesterday, Chamisa said President Emmerson Mnangagwa was unable to resolve the country’s economic challenges because of the curse of illegitimacy stalking his government after rigging the July 30 polls.

MDC officials who attended the funeral told NewsDay that Chamisa said Mnangagwa’s refusal to hand over power to him was the reason why the economy was in a tailspin.

“Our president (Chamisa) was clear that he has the solutions to solve the economic crisis in the country. He said Zanu PF can rig the elections, but it cannot rig the economy,” MDC chairperson for Manicaland David Chimhini said.

“The president is happy with the support he got during elections, but we know that it was massively rigged.”

Chamisa reportedly skirted the issue of Mnangagwa’s offer to make him an official leader of the opposition, insisting he beat his political nemesis and deserved a chance at State House.

“The president said he did not want to turn the funeral wake into a rally, but wanted to show support to the Tsvangirai family which was well-attended,” explained Chimhini.

The burial was attended by the MDC Alliance officials who included Douglas Mwonzora, youth chairperson Happymore Chidziva and national organising secretary Amos Chibaya, among others.

NewsDay

Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana says there are no shortages.

Mnangagwa adds saying the current shortages are artificial shortages created by panic buying.

Mangwana also criticised retailers for hiking their prices because of a “mere announcement” of a 2% transfer tax. He said, “Circulation of fake news on social media that incite people to engage in bulk buying has resulted in some artificial shortages. It is based on profiteering, which is greed.

“There is also an element that this could be political. Surely, what is the connection between a mere announcement of the 2 percent mobile transfer tax and the hiking of prices from $3 to $11?

 

“I urge the people of Zimbabwe to stop panic buying. Remain calm and engage with the Government where necessary. There is enough fuel. There is, at anytime, over 300 million litres of fuel at Msasa depot. The foreign currency that was needed to release the fuel from the Msasa depot where it was bonded, was availed. People are only queuing because there is fuel at the stations.

 

“People are surging, going in numbers to fuel up. People are going with their drums to fill up after fake news that there will be a shortage. Such long queues are expected. Right now, when it comes to other supplies, there are good stocks. Obviously things are running off the shelves, but people cannot pack the shelves fast enough. That is where the actual problem is.”

Police in Bulawayo have arrested seven suspects all under the age of 20 who attacked and attempted to stab a police officer to evade arrest for allegedly robbing a city woman.

Nkanyiso Derick Nyoni (20), Thabiso Dube (18), Sipho Moyo (18) and four other minors aged between 16 and 17 years allegedly tried to rob a woman near a night club in the city centre on Saturday night.

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said alert police officers who were conducting patrols spotted them and they were arrested.

“Our members of the Crime Prevention Unit who were on patrol on Saturday night witnessed a gang of seven robbing a woman of her purse. The officers moved in to arrest the culprits who produced knives intending to stab the officers on duty resulting in a scuffle but seven of them were subsequently arrested,” said Insp Ncube.

He said police officers recovered two knives from the gang as well as two cellphones that the woman had lost.

Insp Ncube said it was saddening that youths were involved in violent crimes.
He warned members of the public against attempting to defeat the course of justice by attacking cops.

“It’s also worrying to learn that these youthful offenders were even determined to attack and stab law enforcement agents. We want to warn the public that as the police we will also defend ourselves when being attacked by rogue elements in society,” Insp Ncube said.

On Saturday, an 18-year-old boy from Pumula East allegedly killed his friend over a cellphone.

Evans aka Vado allegedly stabbed and killed Bekithemba Mlalazi over a cellphone and nonchalantly led the victim’s family to the body before vanishing.

He is still on the run.

State Media- MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa is not a “Messiah” or the answer to the current economic challenges since the role to fix the economy is the responsibility of all Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliation, Government has said.

Mr Chamisa has been of late eulogised in the private media as the one holding keys to the current problems affecting the country.

His spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda has also been all over the show, telling anyone who cares to listen that Government had failed and should engage his boss.

Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), who is also the Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba, said yesterday that implementation of good economic principles by all Zimbabweans was the only solution to the economic challenges facing the nation.

“I pity Chamisa because he is being vested with Messianic powers which he doesn’t wield,” said Mr Charamba. “At one level, he is supposed to be conferring legitimacy to the winner of 2018 elections, now I notice he is supposed to be the panacea to spurring the economy.

“This one young politician with a mortal life being vested with all these powers – God help us. He is a mere man and an erring man like all mortals. The economy of this country will be turned around by the hands of the citizens of this nation.

“There is no magic wand, there is no Messiah, only principles of good economics and these are what are being followed by the Government. There is a very clear strategy enunciated in the Monetary Policy, buttressed by the Fiscal Policy and both expressing themselves in the context of a Transitional Plan. Those are the instruments for spurring the economy forward, not a mere individual.”

Mr Charamba said opposition members should not celebrate the economic hardships because they were also citizens first before they become opposition politicians.

He said it was also unfortunate that some were still in the election mode at a time when focus should have shifted towards economic recovery. “In any case, in the recovery of this economy, the opposition are citizens before they even oppose,” said Mr Charamba. “They are also consumers of goods and services and suppliers of goods and services in spite of the fact that they are in opposition.

“So, if they have a role to play in the economy, it is alongside many other citizens, but not because they are in opposition and its taking too long for some commentators in this economy to realise that we have long moved from the ballot to the market place where rules are different.”

By ED Mnangagwa| Last week, Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube, drawing on his vast experience as chief economist and vice president at the African Development Bank (AfDB), announced a series of measures to reform and revive our economy, and put us on the path to steady economic growth. Cognisant of the scale and urgency of the challenges facing us, our plan is bold and far reaching, and will have the desired effect.

I have read your comments and understand the difficulties many face, and Government will do all in its power to minimise them. We are already taking the lead by cutting back on unnecessary spending. The only way to a stronger economy is to restructure, rebuild and reform.

We must all be realistic. Whatever some may claim, there are no silver bullets or quick fixes. There is no need to panic, and Government is guaranteeing the availability of all essential commodities, including fuel.

We are on a shared journey to a better and more secure future. The road is long, winding and at times bumpy, but there is no other way. This is the road to a middle-income economy, and if we travel it together, with patience and purpose, we will realise our vision.

Jane Mlambo| In what appears like a desperate attempt to discourage Zimbabweans from panic buying as anticipation of further increase of prices and shortages, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has continued with his usual rants that the country is moving towards a middle income economy by 2030.

In a statement this afternoon, Mnangagwa said the new monetary measures announced by Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube will yield desired results and the country on a path to steady economic growth.

“Last week, Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube, drawing on his vast experience as chief economist and vice President at the African Development Bank, announced a series of measures to reform and revive our economy, and put us on the path to steady economic growth.

“Cognisant of the scale and urgency of the challenges facing us, our plan is bold and far reaching and will have the desired effect.

“I have read your comments and understand the difficulties many face, and government will do all in its power to minimize them. We are already taking the lead by cutting back on unnecessary spending. The only way to a stronger economy is to restructure, rebuild and reform,” said Mnangagwa.

He added that Zimbabweans need to be realistic that the economy will be sorted easily as there are no silver bullets.

“We must all be realistic. Whatever some may claim, there are no silver bullets or quick fixes. There is no need to panic, and government is guaranteeing the availability of all essential commodities, including fuel.
We are on a shared journey to a better and more secure future.

“The road is long, winding and at times bumpy, but there is no other way. This is the road to a middle income economy, and if we travel it together, with patience and purpose, we will realize our vision,” he added.

The MDC President, Nelson Chamisa has refuted claims in the state media that he is angling for Prime Minister post saying his call for dialogue should not be misconstrued.

In an interview with 263Chat this morning, Chamisa spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda denied Chamisa’s interest taking up the Prime Minister post saying his boss is not interested in positions as his worry is on over 90 percent jobless Zimbabweans, economic mismatch and crisis in governance.

“No, the President is not interested in positions,” said Sibanda.

“What is certainly true is that the President is concerned about the plight of the 95 percent unemployed Zimbabweans not in anything else and he has developed a five point plan to deal with that.

“Firstly the President is of the view that the economic situation and unemployment will improve if we consider a national dialogue and ultimately be sure that we will never ever have another election whose outcome is disputed because if we do not put a mechanism to safeguard the election it is the economy that pays the price,” Sibanda.

-263Chat

The MDC President, Nelson Chamisa has refuted claims in the state media that he is angling for Prime Minister post saying his call for dialogue should not be misconstrued.

In an interview with 263Chat this morning, Chamisa spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda denied Chamisa’s interest taking up the Prime Minister post saying his boss is not interested in positions as his worry is on over 90 percent jobless Zimbabweans, economic mismatch and crisis in governance.

“No, the President is not interested in positions,” said Sibanda.

“What is certainly true is that the President is concerned about the plight of the 95 percent unemployed Zimbabweans not in anything else and he has developed a five point plan to deal with that.

“Firstly the President is of the view that the economic situation and unemployment will improve if we consider a national dialogue and ultimately be sure that we will never ever have another election whose outcome is disputed because if we do not put a mechanism to safeguard the election it is the economy that pays the price,” Sibanda.

-263Chat

 

Terrence Mawawa|An MDC Alliance official has been attacked by Zanu PF thugs in Harare.

“MDC-Alliance Councillor for ward 1 has been attacked by Zanu PF youths in Hopley today.

The old dispensation claiming to be new…” said the MDC Alliance in a brief statement.

The High Court has, with immediate effect, suspended Chitungwiza Mayor Gift Tsverere and his deputy Jabulani Mtunzi pending determination of the legality of their election.

More details to follow…

Jane Mlambo|President Emmerson Mnangagwa has dashed to the defence of under fire Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube’s new monetary measures saying there is no need to panic as his government is guaranteeing continued availability of basic commodities including fuel.

In a statement released today, Mnangagwa said the announced measures will lead Zimbabwe on a path to steady economic growth and will have far reaching effects.

Read Mnangagwa’s statement below;

Last week, Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube, drawing on his vast experience as chief economist and vice President at the African Development Bank, announced a series of measures to reform and revive our economy, and put us on the path to steady economic growth. Cognisant of the scale and urgency of the challenges facing us, our plan is bold and far reaching and will have the desired effect.

I have read your comments and understand the difficulties many face, and government will do all in its power to minimize them. We are already taking the lead by cutting back on unnecessary spending. The only way to a stronger economy is to restructure, rebuild and reform.

We must all be realistic. Whatever some may claim, there are no silver bullets or quick fixes. There is no need to panic, and government is guaranteeing the availability of all essential commodities, including fuel.
We are on a shared journey to a better and more secure future. The road is long, winding and at times bumpy, but there is no other way.

This is the road to a middle income economy, and if we travel it together, with patience and purpose, we will realize our vision.

Jane Mlambo| Self exiled former Zanu PF politiburo member, Professor Jonathan Moyo has launched a scathing attack at the Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration over its lies that fuel shortages are being caused by panic buying, questioning if medicine shortages are also a result of panic illness.

Moyo who took to Twitter to expose the new government’s failure to contain the Economic meltdown said the widely rejected monetary measures are responsible for the current mess that Zimbabwe is finding itself in right now.

2/3 While @Zimpapers is busy with propaganda to support the inherently unworkable & painful so-called monetary measures, the one dollar paid in RTGS FCA for a #Herald copy is 0.37 cents in real money. Herald is running at a loss & has cut down its daily print run from 26K to 11K!

— Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) October 8, 2018

Jane Mlambo| Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Professor Mthuli Ncube has rubbished as “fake news” reports that government is planning to tax diasporans.

“There is no diaspora tax,” finance minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told a local news organisation.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information also took to Twitter to dismiss the diaspora tax plan saying government is not thinking along those lines.

“Having received many messages from the good Zimbabwean people living in the Diaspora asking about some alleged “Diaspora Tax”, I spoke to my bro Perm Secretary for Finance Mr George Guvamatanga who confirmed there is no such a tax and no thinking along those lines,” said Mangwana.

The MDC President, Nelson Chamisa has refuted claims in the state media that he is angling for Prime Minister post saying his call for dialogue should not be misconstrued.

In an interview with 263Chat this morning, Chamisa spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda denied Chamisa’s interest taking up the Prime Minister post saying his boss is not interested in positions as his worry is on over 90 percent jobless Zimbabweans, economic mismatch and crisis in governance.

“No, the President is not interested in positions,” said Sibanda.

“What is certainly true is that the President is concerned about the plight of the 95 percent unemployed Zimbabweans not in anything else and he has developed a five point plan to deal with that.

“Firstly the President is of the view that the economic situation and unemployment will improve if we consider a national dialogue and ultimately be sure that we will never ever have another election whose outcome is disputed because if we do not put a mechanism to safeguard the election it is the economy that pays the price,” Sibanda.

-263Chat

By Paul Nyathi|At least twenty informal gold miners have been brutally injured with three others reported dead in a fierce gold mine war in Gwanda.

ZimEye.com sources from the town indicated that a group of miners reportedly from Kwekwe attacked local miners with machetes and axes after they refused them to mine at the rich Vhovha disused Mine outside Gwanda town.

The sources indicated that the local Ndebele speaking miners who were over powered by the new miners from Kwekwe were thoroughly beaten for claiming that Shona speaking people are not allowed to mine in the area.

“A small group of Shona speaking miners came to the mine a week ago and were turned away by local miners claiming that they could not mine because they are Shona,” said the sources.

“The group went away only to return with reinforcements over the weekend with over thirty heavily armed collegues from Kwekwe who thoroughly assaulted and killed some of the local people,” added the sources.

The terror group is reported to have moved into Gwanda town where they harassed and attacked local people at drinking outlets before eventually disappearing from the town.

Reports are that a group of police officers on patrol at Pakamani high density suburb business centre were sent fleeing from the area by the brutal thugs when the police tried to intervene in their unruly behaviour.

A Police officer in Gwanda confirmed the incident but would not give further details indicating that investigations are still ongoing.

The injured persons are all admitted at Gwanda Provincial Hospital.

Police in Bulawayo on Monday launched a blitz targeting illegal foreign currency dealers popularly known as Osiphatheleni after Chief Justice Luke Malaba ordered their removal from the streets.

Chief Justice Malaba, while officiating at the opening of three additional court rooms at the Bulawayo High Court on Friday, expressed concern at the presence of the illegal money traders outside Tredgold Building which houses the Bulawayo Magistrates` courts.

He tasked the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) in conjunction with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to take osiphatheleni off the streets.

On Monday afternoon, police swooped in on the unsuspecting forex traders and arrested some of them while others managed to evade arrest.

One forex trader who spoke to CITE, said they are used to such operations and they will soon be back in business.

“They sometimes come and cause chaos but then go away after some time, next week it will be business as usual,” she said.

Illegal money changers have been accused of manipulating the parallel market forcing prices of basic goods to spiral.

The operation also left some people who wanted to change their money stranded.

“l need to send Rands to South Africa and it is urgent. We usually change our money here as there is nowhere else we can get good rates,” said one lady.

The country is facing an economic meltdown evidenced by the bond and RTGS dismally losing value against the US$.

On Monday, US$100 was trading at $250 bond notes.

Cite report

A tour of Bindura, Pednor and Chawagona prison cells in the Mashonaland Central provincial capital, has revealed that the incarceration facilities are in dire straits and need attention.

At the Chawagona and Bindura Prison, poor sanitation was noted at a time when there is a cholera outbreak.

Prisoners at Pednor farm cells have improvised as tyres have been converted to washing dishes.

However, this is the least of their worries as the prisoners explained the challenges they are facing.

The provincial prisons and correctional services do not have their own offices and have to do with renting space from the GMB.

There is also only one vehicle to transport prisoners which has led to the prison authorities hiring vehicles from CMED.

Some of prison facilities are a security risk due to poor building materials used but commitment to ensure maximum safety remains their priority said ZPCS Senior Assistant Commissioner Kenny Ndebele.

He added that the staffing currently is too low at 510 members whereas the establishment strength is 1 171 officers.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Mashonaland Central Senator Monica Mavhunga assured inmates of government’s commitment to safe rehabilitation and challenged them to become shining beacons to society after release.

The Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services have been working with churches to improve living conditions in the rehabilitation facilities.

Land has been allocated for the construction of the provincial headquarters and other cells but logistical challenges still remain. – state media

Zimbabwe has taken a huge step towards greater co-operation with the United States after Harare agreed to a pact for extradition of criminals between the two countries.

The development comes as President Emmerson Mnangagwa spearheads a policy shift to close holes that have been a drain on Zimbabwe-US relations.

Robert Mugabe’s regime had sat on the treaty for about 21 years.

Last Friday, Government issued Statutory Instrument 199 that paves way for smooth transfer of offenders between Zimbabwe and United States.

According to the Extradition (Designated Country) United States of America Order 2018, the treaty is bound by the mutual desire to “provide for more effective co-operation between the two states in the suppression of crime”.

The agreement comes after a High Court ruling in March blocking the extradition to the US of Chris and Julius Marimbire and Andrew Tashanduka Bere for tax fraud involving $7 million.

In 2015, Zimbabwe failed to secure the extradition of American dentist Walter James Palmer, who was at the centre of killing Cecil the Lion.

Palmer’s allegedly illegal hunt was masterminded by Theodore Christian Bronkhorst, who was fined $2 300 or three years imprisonment.

The High Court last week set aside Bronkhorst’s conviction and sentence, but Palmer remains a wanted man.

Home affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Cain Mathema said extraditable offences were those punishable under laws in both countries, carried sentences above one year, or any other severe penalty.

Minister Mathema said the regulations allowed for extradition even in cases where the person sought was a national of the requested country.

No extradition will be enforced for political charges.

Said the minister in the notice, “For the purpose of this treaty, the following offences shall not be considered to be political offences; a murder or other wilful crimes against the person of a Head of State of one of the contracting states, or of a member of the Head of State’s family;

“An offence for which both contracting states have the obligation pursuant to a multilateral international agreement to extradite the person sought or to submit the case to their competent authorities for a decision as to prosecution.

“The executive authority of the requested state may refuse extradition for offences under military law which are not offences under ordinary criminal law.”

Minister Mathema said extradition procedures and required documentation would be done through diplomatic channels.

The documentation includes detailed information on the person sought, their alleged offences and the law describing their punishment.

International relations, peace and governance academic Dr Darlington Mahuku told The Sunday Mail yesterday that the treaty was a milestone in Zimbabwe-US relations.

He said, “… United States policy since the late 1990s was very acrimonious as it partnered opposition political parties in Zimbabwe.

“So if then there is that willpower to co-operate in the extradition of criminals, it shows there is a thawing of relations and this is a positive for the New Dispensation in Zimbabwe.

“It is also tied to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in that if a person has committed a crime and runs away, for example, from Zimbabwe to the US to seek asylum, that person can be brought back to face the law.”

Dr Mahuku the previous Govenrment had sat on the agreement for around two decades, and President Mnangagwa’s speedy resolution of the matter boded well for bilateral ties.

State Media

Media Statement|Electronic communications and transactions have been a convenient source of revenue for African governments looking to expand their tax base. In that context Zimbabwe becomes the latest African country to hike tax rates on electronic transactions. This comes after the Zimbabwean Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube hiked the tax on electronic transactions from 5 cents per transaction to 2 cents per every dollar transacted electronically.

He made the announcement on 1 October 2018. In the past year alone Uganda, Zambia, Benin, Kenya and now Zimbabwe , have introduced or increased taxes on either Internet-based communications or on electronic transactions. In the past, taxation was purely an economic issue, but this has since evolved to also include the issue of digital rights.

Electronic transactions refer to most popular forms of alternative payment such as Point of Sale transactions, Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transfers, and mobile money transfers on platforms such as Ecocash and OneMoney.

Electronic transactions have proved to be a robust solution to Zimbabwe’s perennial cash shortages. In other countries, consumers utilise electronic payment methods out of convenience. However, this is not the case in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean banks have since mid-2016 been struggling to meet cash demands leaving consumers with no choice but to rely on electronic payment methods. It is estimated that Zimbabweans conducted transactions worth $65 billion electronically in the first six months of 2018 alone.

On paper, taxing electronic communications and transactions makes business sense for governments because of the popularity of these electronic communications and payment methods in African countries such as Zimbabwe. In reality, though these taxes indirectly infringe the right to free expression, access to information, and socio-economic rights.

Electronic transactions as enablers of socio-economic rights

It is an undisputed fact that most Zimbabweans now rely on various forms of electronic transactions to access or pay for basic goods and services such as food, education, and health care among others.

Under the new tax arrangement, government will now take 2% of every amount deposited or transferred into an electronic account; government will then take a further 2% from every amount transferred from that electronic account.

This will undoubtedly push up the costs of conducting electronic transactions. This increase is likely to limit the number of people who can afford to transact electronically meaning that the electronic transactions tax will take away the main method consumers currently rely on to pay for goods and services.

It becomes a violation of those people’s socio-economic rights when they do not have any other alternative than to transact electronically in order to access goods and services.

Taxation is not a solution

To help ease the costs of transacting electronically, government through the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), reduced the costs of transacting on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform from 12 cents per transaction to 5 cents per transaction.

The hike in electronic transaction tax directly reverses any previous government efforts to make electronic transactions more affordable for the consumer. An increase in electronic transactions is actually counter-productive because it pushes transaction costs beyond the reach of most Zimbabweans who were already finding it hard to get by under the previous tax regime.

In Uganda for example, the increase in mobile money transfer tax led to a decrease in the number of transactions completed over mobile money payments. The Ugandan government acknowledged this and eventually reduced the tax imposed on mobile money transfers.

MISA Zimbabwe urges the responsible authorities to reconsider this extreme increase in electronic transactions tax because it will restrict people’s access to basic goods and services. Government must come up with alternative ways to raise revenue in ways that will not adversely affect people’s quality of life.

Source: MISA Zimbabwe

By VeritasZim|Two recent actions by the Government – the declaration of a military cantonment area on which there are mining claims and the imposition of an increased tax on electronic money transfers – have raised questions about the Government’s respect for property rights and, more broadly, its commitment to the rule of law.

What is the Rule of Law?

In our Constitution Watch 4/2010 entitled The Constitution and the Rule of Law we discussed the rule of law and pointed out that although it was an elastic concept it basically meant that people’s rights and obligations must be determined and protected by laws rather than by individuals or groups of individuals exercising an arbitrary discretion. We noted that from this basic concept several principles are derived, including the following which have a bearing on property rights:

– Principle of Legality: People must not be deprived of their rights or freedoms through the exercise of wide discretionary powers by the Executive. Rights and freedoms should be curtailed only by the ordinary courts applying the law.

– Laws must be Certain: It must be possible for people to establish relatively easily the content of the law and the extent of their rights and duties under it.

– Laws must not be Retroactive: Laws should apply only to the future and should not attempt to change rights and duties retrospectively. It is futile for anyone to find out what his or her rights and duties are under the law if a future law can nullify those rights.

Property rights are protected under the rule of law: like other rights they must not be taken away arbitrarily or retroactively, and disputes over property rights must be resolved by independent and impartial courts according to the law.

Where property rights are not respected, the rule of law is absent.

Property Rights and the Constitution

Property rights are also specifically protected by our Constitution.

Section 71(2) states:

“Subject to section 72 [which deals with agricultural land], every person has the right, in any part of Zimbabwe, to acquire, hold, occupy, use, transfer, hypothecate, lease or dispose of all forms of property, either individually or in association with others.”

The section goes on to say that no one may be compulsorily deprived of their property unless stringent conditions are met, including the payment of fair and adequate compensation and the right to contest in court both the legality of the deprivation and the amount of compensation payable.

Section 3 of the Constitution states that one of the principles of good governance, which bind the State and all its institutions, is “due respect for vested rights”, i.e. for rights that belong to a person completely and unconditionally. Government cannot ride roughshod over vested rights.

For obvious reasons the Constitution recognises that the Government can impose taxes which oblige people to pay or hand over part of their property to the State, but the Constitution limits even that power:

– Section 298(1)(b)(i) states that the burden of taxation must be shared fairly.

– Section 298(2) states that no taxes may be levied except under the specific authority of the Constitution or an Act of Parliament.

So not only should property rights be protected out of respect for the rule of law, but the Government must also respect them by virtue of the Constitution.

As stated at the beginning of this bulletin, however, two recent incidents have cast doubt on the Government’s commitment to property rights, the rule of law and the Constitution.

1. Contested Appropriation of Mining Claims

SI 145/2018 gazetted the Defence (Cantonments) Notice, 2018 (No. 51) on the 3rd August, 2018.

This notice, by the former Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs [Vice-President Retired General Chiwenga doubling as a Minister], declared the area of Darwendale North Farm to be a cantonment (i.e. a military camp) for the purposes of section 89 of the Defence Act. The notice means that access to the area by anyone other than Defence Force personnel requires special authorisation from the officer in command of the cantonment.

The validity of the Minister’s declaration has been challenged in a High Court application brought by RioZim Limited, a company with international connections which is the registered holder of chrome mining claims within the new cantonment area. RioZim alleges that two companies with connections to the Defence Forces and the Ministry of Defence started mining operations on its claims before the 3rd August, that these operations are continuing, and that the declaration of the cantonment followed RioZim’s refusal to enter into a tribute agreement under which one of the companies could mine the claims subject to payment of a royalty to RioZim.

The argument, in effect, is that the declaration of the cantonment is an improper attempt to exclude RioZim from the mining claims so that the two Government / Military -connected companies can exploit them. Even if that was not its purpose, the declaration resulted in the nullifying of mining claims without notice and without compensation, in violation of the Constitution and the rule of law.

2. Tax on Electronic Money Transfers

On Monday the 1st October the Minister of Finance and Economic Development delivered a statement on new fiscal measures in which he announced:

“I hereby review the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax from 5 cents per transaction to 2 cents per dollar transacted, effective 1 October 2018. I am therefore directing financial institutions, banks and ZIMRA, working together with telecommunication companies to extend the collection to all electronic transactions.”

So the tax increase was to have immediate effect even though no Act of Parliament or other law had been enacted to provide for it. Neither the Minister nor his advisers seem to have realised that the Constitution does not allow taxes to be imposed or altered by ministerial decree, or that such a decree, unsupported by any Act or statutory instrument, violates the rule of law.

Effect on Foreign Investment and Assistance

It is generally accepted that the economy is in crisis, caused by unsustainable levels of foreign and domestic debt, and that the only way out of the crisis is to attract investment and increase the Government’s tax revenues.

It is also generally accepted, by development economists if not by the Government of Zimbabwe, that good governance is the key to economic development. Good governance in this context entails respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and property rights, as well as certainty in the tax régime. Foreign and domestic investors have to know that their property rights will be respected by the Government and protected by the courts, and they must be confident, when planning their investments, that taxes will not be imposed or changed arbitrarily or without warning.

The two incidents outlined in this Bill Watch show that the Government has some way to go before it reaches the necessary standards to attract the investment we need so urgently.

Source: Veritas

FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube’s nightmarish start at the helm of Treasury worsened at the weekend, with the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) accusing him of violating provisions of the Finance Act by introducing the new 2% tax for each dollar on electronic transactions without seeking the necessary amendment to the Act.

This came amid reports that the new tax regime was not sanctioned by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, as required at law.

The LSZ, in a statement, urged Ncube to rescind the decision and follow proper procedures.

“In light of the serious financial and practical implications of the announcement to all enterprise and common persons, there has been a public outcry and calls for the minister to rescind the announcement.

The Law Society of Zimbabwe and its members support the call that the two cents per dollar tax on all transactions be rescinded because, among other reasons, its imposition is unlawful,” LSZ said.

Ncube is accused of violating sections 22G of the Finance Act, which fixes a five cents tax for each transaction exceeding $10 on which the tax is payable and this, could only be changed through an Act of Parliament and not a Government Gazette.

“As the law stands, the minister’s directive to all financial institutions, banks and Zimra (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) working together with telecommunication companies to collect $0,02 per every dollar transacted is unlawful because it violates section 22G of the Finance Act.

The proper procedure for the amendment of a law (in this instance Section 22G of the Finance Act) is through Parliament as required by the Constitution, and not through a policy statement,” LSZ said.

LSZ said Ncube could not take a “short-cut” on this matter because the current increase in tax was a compulsory acquisition of property rights which, at law, should be conducted in strict compliance with the Constitution.

“Property rights enshrined in section 71 of the Constitution are jealously guarded.

To that end, an acquiring authority must comply with the requirements of the law to the letter.

Among those requirements is section 71(3)(c)(i) of the Constitution, which calls upon an acquiring authority to give reasonable notice before acquisition is effected,” the statement read.

It is understood that RBZ governor John Mangudya was opposed to Ncube’s new tax measures, which, instead of bringing stability to the market, triggered price hikes while putting a huge dent on financial inclusion by the central bank.

“The RBZ was not consulted on the new tax measures which it views as a major dent on its drive for financial inclusion, acceptance of plastic money and has massive impact on attracting local and foreign investors,” a highly-placed source in the financial services sector told NewsDay.

In 2016, Mangudya capped bank and money transfer charges as part of efforts to bring down costs on plastic money transactions, before Ncube last week introduced a raft of measures including the two cents per dollar for every electronic transaction.

Ncube later reviewed the new tax following a public outcry and exempted other transactions, but left middle-income earners and ordinary people heavily exposed.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) at the weekend described the new tax regime as “retrogressive” and threatened to mobilise for mass demonstrations on Thursday to force Ncube to rescind the decision.

“This extension of the collection of the intermediated money transfer tax to all financial transactions is regressive in that it negates the very essence of such platforms that were established to promote financial inclusion,” ZCTU said in a statement.

“Taxing the formerly financially excluded poor people, especially in rural and urban communities, is highly retrogressive and regressive.”

Ncube, however, insisted that the poor were covered by exempting transactions below $10.

“We have covered that bit by revising the tax regime and saying all transactions of $10 or less are exempted from the tax, we have covered the poor,” Ncube said.

NewsDay