By Paul Nyathi|Fired up Gwanda Residents on Thursday morning dismissed a joint budget consultation meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance and the SDGs Committee in just under twenty minutes accusing parliament of wasting their time.

Led by firebrand Gwanda Residents Association Secretary General Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo, the residents told the high powered delegation of parliamentarians to pack up their bags and leave the town as government has never listened to any of the contributions they make to the national budget formulation.

“We have been raising the same issues to the government for years and none of these have ever been considered for the budget,” said Fuzwayo.

“We do not have confidence in your whole process and therefore move that you end this meeting and go back and check our contributions from all the years back.”

The only four speakers who contributed to the consultations demanded government to show commitment to their submissions by constructing the perennially flooding narrow Mtshabezi River Bridge in the town which was constructed in the fifties.

“How can you honestly expect us to continue making submissions on your budget every year when you fail to carry out a small project as construction of a bridge?” questioned Fuzwayo before seconding that the meeting ends at that juncture.

The residents demanded that as an alternative, government should prioritise the devolution of power implementation which would allow them to decide which projects to prioritise in the development of their areas.

According to the residents the current centralised government has always marginalised Matabeleland region while taking all the riches from the region to Harare.

After dismissing the meeting, the residents tried to force march the parliamentarians to visit the Mtshabezi River Bridge about a kilometre away from the venue, a move which the legislators declined to comply with.

Drama ensued after that as the residents blocked the parliamentarians bus from leaving unless they commit to passing through the site of the bridge.

The parliamentarians were locked inside the bus for over an hour as the Chairpersons of the two committees Honourable Mathew Nyashanu and Senator Mtshane Khumalo negotiated with the residents leader for the release of the parliamentarians.

It took an intervention by the Gwanda Central Member of Parliament Patrick Dube to calm the residents who eventually allowed the bus to leave.

Controversial preacher Talent Chiwenga — known for his uncanny prophecies about the country’s political situation — now fears for his life after Vice President Constantino Chiwenga issued a stern warning against him for attacking the national leadership.

In a video recording, the clergyman who claims to be cousin to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s second-in-command, prophesied recently that two senior government officials will lose their lives.

He went on to allege that the vice president, who is on sick leave after falling ill with an undisclosed ailment, was not fit for office.

In his latest recording, the man of cloth gave a narration of how he was forcibly interrogated and threatened by security officials in Hwedza, where Christians had gathered over the weekend to pray with the vice president at his rural homestead.

“… I now fear for the lives of my children, my wife and those that I work with. If I die today, people of the world I want you (to) know, this is the reason why I am going to die,” said the cleric.

“The vice president has got so many resources at his disposal, I may die through an accident, I may be shot dead, I may be poisoned, I may disappear, like Itai Dzamara disappeared. I am not saying the vice president is the one behind the disappearance of …Dzamara, I am simply mentioning the name of .. Dzamara because he also disappeared, because he also criticised a government that feels it is invincible, it is unquestionable to the people that it governs.

“I don’t believe that should be the case sir, this is a democratic country and you have also been on record, insulting other people, insulting other politicians and nobody has said anything about it, because maybe they were afraid of you,” Talent said.

Talent came to prominence after a series of pre-elections predictions where he claimed the election would be rigged and that a number of senior officials linked to the November 2017 coup would die in quick succession.

He said he did not fear Chiwenga but respected him and was not afraid of dying for speaking what God would have told him.

Last week, Chiwenga launched a scathing attack on Talent describing him as a fake prophet who is bent on criticising his elders using God’s name.

“There are others who are now calling themselves prophets,” said VP Chiwenga. “Aripo uyo anonzi ani, (there is someone called) Talent (Muzuva). That should come to an end today. Zvatoperera pano (It’s over from now). We don’t have that culture where one moves around attacking leaders under the guise of preaching the word of God. God does not say move around attacking other people,” Chiwenga said.

However, Talent said he loved the vice president as his brother, but was against some of the actions by government such as chartering former first lady Grace Mugabe a plane to travel to Zimbabwe from Singapore for her mother’s funeral and the killing of at least six people during the post-election violence.

He said he still maintained this was improper, considering that thousands of people are suffering.

“Now, when he said Talent Muzuva on Sunday, I knew he was talking about me, because Muzuva is my father’s name and Guvheya is his father’s name and our fathers are brothers, blood brothers, same father, Chiwenga is not his personal name, Chiwenga is a family name.

The one who was called Chiwenga is our grandfather. So, maybe he was not willing to use the name Chiwenga because he also uses it, but I know that so many people are confused, they do want to know what is happening and the reason why I am making this public statement, it is because I feel that my life is in danger, not only because of what he is doing, but most importantly because of what happened to me on Saturday,” he said.

Talent said he is ready to die for speaking the truth, however, he begged his cousin not to harm his wife and children, claiming this was a family issue that needed to be dealt with privately.

“If he says he doesn’t know me he would be lying; I have met with him more than twice, more than thrice. In my life, I have spoken to him even over the phone, even his wife… knows us, me and my wife. We have gone to see her at her offices because this is a family issue. But if I feel that my life is in danger and the life of my wife and children, I cannot keep silent while the vice president uses all the resources that are at his disposal,” he said.

Responding to the cleric, deputy Information minister Energy Mutodi said while government respects the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Section 61 of the Constitution, one needs not to infringe into other people’s rights and liberties when exercising his or her own right.

“There is also freedom of worship and freedom of association. However, one needs not to infringe into other people’s rights and liberties when exercising his or her own right,” said Mutodi.

“If you are preaching to your church and you are a pastor or religious leader, you certainly do not want to call names of political leaders and denigrate them as if you were a leader of a rival political party. That is wrong”.

Section 51 of the Constitution states that every person has inherent dignity in their private or public life, and the right to have that dignity respected and protected.

Section 57 (e) of the Constitution goes further to give citizens the right to privacy and forbids anyone from disclosing another person’s health condition.

“So when you call out the name of a whole vice president in the streets and purport to disclose his health condition, you really act outside the law. Such behaviour constitutes high levels of disrespect and may arouse public anger and disorder, considering that politicians have supporters who follow them.

“So our position as government is that the pastor needs to be called to order and desist from infringing into other people’s rights. He is free to form a political party or to join already existing ones and must not hide under the church to further his own political ambitions or beliefs,” Mutodi.

 

The Harare City Council has launched an operation to rid the central business district of pirate taxi operators, colloquially referred to as
mshika-shika.

This follows the City’s successful
removal of vendors from the CBD. Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba told the Daily News:”We are geared to cleaning up the city once and for all. At times we have seen that the police and our staff are not doing enough to reign in on illegal pirate taxis. We sometimes see municipal police parked opposite illegal pirate taxis with no action being taken.This will no longer be tolerated”-Daily News

 

Terrence Mawawa|MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Tendai Bit I has described the current Cabinet as the worst in independent Zimbabwe.

“This class of 2018 is easily the worst cabinet in the history of modern Zimbabwe.

The present day melt down and dislocation only happens when a country has gone through a war . It’s a man made tsunami . The regime’s
praise singers owe us an apology,” tweeted Biti.

Biti has also indicated that the

“illegitimate regime” cannot solve the economic crisis without solving the legitimate crisis.

 A local non-governmental organisation Tsungirirai Orphanage Centre has reportedly fired its programmes manager on grounds that he participated in the recently held harmonised elections.

The employee David Siyampondo was contesting for a House of Assembly seat in Gokwe on the MDC Alliance ticket.

Tsungirirai Orphan Centre is funded by USAID and Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe (HOSPAZ) and they allegedly dismissed Siyampondo citing possibility of funds being withheld as a result of his running for political office.

The institution’s board chair Wilson Ganyiwa has however denied the allegations arguing that Siyampondo’s contract had expired.

The denial is in contrast with contents in a letter (dated August 31) in our possession authored by HOSPAZ director Eunice Garanganga and addressed to Ganyiwa.

The letter clearly stated that Siyampondo’s participation in politics threatens the funding of the entire consortium.

“It has come to our attention that your program manager Mr David Siyampondo is allegedly actively seeking a political office. We are concerned that the current funding has some restrictions regarding participation of members, partners and employees in overt political participation.

“The implication is that it threatens funding, the project, beneficiaries, all employees of the consortium,” reads part of the letter.

In response to questions from this publication, Ganyiwa poured cold water on the allegations.

“We do not have such a story at our orphanage centre, all I know is that his (Siyampondo)’s contract was not renewed, we did not fire him.

“It is a non-event when he says we are partisan, when we are at an NGO no one comes with politics, no one speaks politics, we did not fire him there is a letter that came from HOSPAZ that we have, David has that letter as well.

“David was never dismissed from work. He has to show you his contract which expired end of September. After going through his contract which expired then we can discuss from an informed position.” he said.

Siyampondo insists that he was served with the HOSPAZ’s letter soon after elections.

“True, l was dismissed at work following my participation in politics. I am a member of the MDC Alliance and l represented the party as the member of parliament for Gokwe Kabuyuni. Soon after the elections l was served with a letter from one of our consortium partners addressed to the Board Chairperson of my organisation.

“The letter defined me as a danger to other employees and hence indirectly recommended my dismissal. My organisation went and heeded their call as they started to conduct secret meetings and agreed to not to renew my contract.

“However l appealed against non-renewal and some Members of the organisation sent in a petition wanting to understand my dismissal but some Board members are avoiding the General Meeting as there are a lot of issues that has happened from the day they dismissed me. One board member wanted to grab the opportunity to dispose some vehicles belonging to the organisation to his brother and benefit from an unfair deal,”lamented Siyampondo.

Former Tsungirirai Orphanage Centre board member Rev Ticharwa Nyamidzi alleged that the current board wanted to get him arrested on spruced up allegations that charges he misused $150 belonging to the organisation because he was standing for justice.

“As a member of Tsungirirai (Orphanage), we have petitioned the board so that we can have an urgent general meeting however the board is refusing to do the AGM. Furthermore they started to threaten members who are signatories to the petition.

“I am reliably informed that they are trying to get me arrested on allegations that I misused $150 which belongs to the organisation and the chairperson of the board refused to sign the letter,” narrated Nyamidzi.

He added:

“The charges were raised because I was against the decision to dismiss the programmes manager. I was called few minutes ago by a reliable source from the board, they are doing this to frustrate my efforts to stand for justice however I will not be intimidated. They are doing this so that we cannot hold an urgent general meeting.”

Tsungirirai Orphanage Centre is a registered Private Voluntary Organisation, it was registered in 1996.

HOSPAZ is a national membership body, registered in Zimbabwe in 1999 as a private voluntary organisation. It has over 120 members and affiliates.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (Private) Limited (Zamco), is reeling under pressure to find investors after absorbing multi-million dollar Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) from the banking sector.

This development comes at a time when the RBZ has suspended four senior officials on Monday over allegations of graft. The suspended officials are Mirirai Chiremba, Norman Mataruka, Gresham Muradzikwa and Azvinandawa Saburi.

The allegations were raised by controversial politician Acie Lumumba.

Zamco, an arm of the RBZ, was established in July 2014 as part of measures to deal with problem of rising NPLs in the banking sector. It has the specific mandate of resolving the NPLs of banking institutions through their acquirement, restructuring and disposal.

In a document seen by The Mail & Telegraphdated January 2018, Zamco listed various corporations as “available investment opportunities” as it attempts to attract investors through the purchase of company equity, provision of working capital or partake in “distressed debt investments.”

The NPLs stemmed from across all sectors of the economy.

According to the document in our possession, the agro-processing sector has eight private companies in need of investment. These include, major cotton producer Cottco, sugar refinery entity Star Africa, Border Timbers and food manufacturer Cairns.

Both the State-owned Cold Storage Company and the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority are two of at least 30 cases whereby investment was sought in all three forms.

In the manufacturing sectors, State-owned Chemplex Corporation and Willowvale Mazda Motors Industry, are also listed as seeking all three forms of investment along with private companies Siemssen Maunder, Superior Holdings, Spring Products, Craitin Chemicals, Henlow Distributors, Kenrose Filters and Manpac.

Turnall Holdings is the only private manufacturing company that did not require investment in the form of equity.

In the mining sector, seven companies are listed including Rio-Zim, Hwange Colliery, Lancashire Steel and the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.

In the textile industry all three companies listed, Munchville Investments, David Whitehead Textiles and Sikomwe Investments are in need of all forms of investment.

All three companies listed in the education sector are seeking debt relief, as are all five companies listed under construction and property development. These include, TLP Agencies, Bitumen Construction and the Lovemore Kurotwi owned Cornway College.

14 private companies in energy, transport, tourism and hospitality, poultry, distribution, retail and service industries are also listed, further highlighting how widespread economic challenges are in Zimbabwe.

In February this year it was reported NPLs dropped significantly to 7,08 percent at the end of 2017, compared to 20,5 percent in 2015.

Although Zamco has provided financial stability for the banking sector, it seems have contributed less to the country’s economy as a whole.

In an interview an economist who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the creation of Zamco had the unintended result of banks being weary to offer some loans to potential clients.

“Zamco did not take the unsecured debt it only took over the secured debt and that also created another problem in the sense that banks are no longer happy to take any unsecured debt in the event they need to sell to Zamco,” he said.

The economist also said Zamco would be hard pressed to find investors especially if they lacked the skill required to draw investors.

“Certainly Zamco will require investment banking experience, to look for equity partners, to look for loan partners, I doubt if they have got those skills.

“I also doubt if they have the credit assessment skills as I am not sure about how they did the taking over some of those [loans], some of them may not be credit worthy,” he said.

Referring to the companies listed as in need of investment, the economist said some business ventures were essentially incompatible to certain investment models.

“When it comes to the farms for example, how do you get an investor on someone’s farm? It is almost impossible because you would have to share a lot of things, like the infrastructure, you would be taking over outstanding [electricity] bills, water bills so that does not work,” he added.

He said Zamco had to prioritise the recovery of those companies over seeking short term gains in order to boost the Zimbabwe economy.

“They just missed the point because they are trying to maximise their profit instead of facilitating the re-opening of those businesses or even the resuscitation of those farms so as to create jobs [and] facilitate GDP growth,” he said.

Investors will only be harder to find especially with prospects being dampened by Lumumba’s accusations which have ostensibly kicked a hornet’s nest.

The fact that his allegations against the four senior RBZ official warranted action from the RBZ boss John Mangudya have highlighted the instability at the central bank.

Lumumba used the social media to attack the four and claiming they were part of a criminal “cartel” headed by an unnamed “Queen Bee.”

-Mail and Telegraph

Paul Nyathi|The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr. John Mangudya has released an update on the issue of the four senior directors who were suspended at the central bank after allegations of corruption and involvement in the foreign currency black market.

The allegations were made by former Finance Ministry Communications Taskforce Chairperson Acie Lumumba before he was fired.

We publish the statement in full below:

SUSPENSION OF SENIOR RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE OFFICIALS PENDING INVESTIGATIONS

Further to the Press Statement issued on 23 October 2015, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (the “Bank”) wishes to advise members of the public that the Bank’s Board of Directors is seized with the matter and has directed its Audit and Oversight Committee to urgently look into the issue.

The Committee has been tasked to immediately work in conjunction with internal auditors and other stakeholders to investigate the matter.

Upon conclusion of the investigation, the public will be apprised of the outcome in the interest of transparency and good governance.

John Panonetsa Mangudya
25 October 2018

VIDEO

Authorities have laid misconduct charges against a prison officer, who allegedly attended an opposition political party rally ahead of the country’s harmonised elections.

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) have summoned John Mahlabera, who is employed as a prison officer at Chiredzi Prison in Masvingo province, to appear before a disciplinary hearing on Thursday 01 November 2018 after charging him with contravening section 3 (46) of Prisons (Staff) (Disciplinary) Regulations 1984 that is being guilty of any other act, conduct, disorder or neglect of duty to the prejudice of good conduct or discipline as read with section (19) (a-g) of Staff General Regulations 1968.

According to a charge sheet served on Mahlabera, ZPCS authorities alleged that the 36 year-old prison officer unlawfully and intentionally participated in active politics when he attended an MDC Alliance party rally, which was held at Tshovani Stadium in Chiredzi
in Masvingo province on 10 June 2018, where he was invited to the podium by MDC-Alliance party leader Nelson Chamisa, who then introduced him to the opposition political party supporters.

ZPCS charged that Mahlabera was promised employment by Chamisa, where he would work as a security detail for the opposition political party leader in the event that he emerged the winner of the harmonised elections that were held on 30 July 2018.

ZPCS said Mahlabera had no right whatsoever to conduct himself in the manner he did.

Mahlabera will also answer to charges of undermining President Emmerson Mnangagwa through posting some political comments on social media.

According to ZPCS, Mahlabera unlawfully made some political comments on his Twitter account after an MDC-Alliance party rally held at Jerera Growth Point in Zaka in Masvingo province which was addressed by Chamisa, where he allegedly posted a message, which reads; “Come to Chiredzi my president”.

ZPCS said by posting such a message on Twitter, Mahlabera contravened section 3(1) of the Prisons (Staff) (Discipline) Regulations 1984 for using traitorous or disloyal words regarding the leader of government and had showed loyalty to Chamisa and disloyalty to President Mnangagwa.

Nine witnesses will testify against Mahlabera during the disciplinary hearing proceedings to be conducted on Thursday 01 November 2018 at Chiredzi Prison, where the prison officer will be represented by Collen Maboke and Blessing Nyamaropa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

Authorities in Zimbabwe say the country’s economic crisis has resulted in an acute shortage of essential medical drugs.

Officials say the shortage has pushed some people to turn to the black market for medicines, some of which are not certified by the drug control authority.

For nearly 10 years now, Lena Lukwani has been taking five different types of medication to ease her diabetes and hypertension.

The 77-year-old Lukwani said she used to pay about $50 for her medication, but says the situation has become dire in the past few months, with prices doubling. She says some drugs are in short supply.

“These days it is difficult,” Lukwani said. “Out of the five I only got two; it has been like that for two months. So I have been limiting my diet — especially starch. I am blessed because of the children I have, but that is not the same for my colleagues who are also diabetic and are hypertensive.”

Her seven children living around the globe managed to send her medication that was not readily available for three months.

Otherwise, Lukwani said, she would have continued on her controlled diet or turned to the black market for help.

Shingai Gwatidzo is the spokesperson of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe.

“A lot of people try and take advantage of the current situation,” Gwatidzo said. “You have a lot of unregulated markets that are coming up; those medicines are being smuggled into the country, we have not tested to see if they are safe. So one will be taking a risk in buying medicines on the streets.”

Portifa Mwendera, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe, acknowledges the health sector is failing to import enough antibiotics as well as drugs for ailments such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension.

“The drug situation is pretty dire currently,” Mwendera said. “Our main worry is that if the prevailing situation continues, we get more complications in our patients. And we might actually lose some patients. What is propped up — which is more worrying — is the parallel market for medicines. We are seeing a lot of people advertising that they can sell and send medication into Zimbabwe.”

On a number of occasions, police and vendors with medicines have engaged in street battles in Harare, only to see the vendors back on the streets the next day.

The vendors argue that they have no other source of income and if the market has demand, they will remain in business by importing the drugs from neighboring countries.

-VOA

Arts representatives have hailed the government crackdown on street vendors saying it is in a way helping in the fight against piracy as this action has chased away pirates off streets.

They have urged recording labels to take advantage of the crackdown on vendors, and set up record bars in the streets to enhance easy availability of CDs.

Of late, the government has been driving vendors away from the bustling streets of major towns and cities, a move that has created demand for CDs on the streets.

Festival director Chido Musasiwa-Gutu applauded government’s efforts on bringing sanity to the streets.

“It’s a necessary evil. The city was no longer what it used to be at all.

“Vendors were benefitting at the expense of people who were paying rentals, therefore causing chaos in the market.

“However, the blitz is not going to stop the CDs black market considering there are no record stores in cities to curb the demand for CDs.

“We need to formalise sales of CDs so that the artistes and record stores will all benefit,” Musasiwa-Gutu said.

The most visible official CD seller in town is Diamond Studios through their mobile store (van).

Playwright Sylvanos Mudzvova concurred with Musasiwa-Gutu on the issue of record stores.

“Removing vendors from the streets will create demand for CDs but unfortunately arts marketing companies are not strategically positioned to cover this gap,” Mudzvova said.

“Removing vendors from the streets without banning the duplication of the CDs will not change anything.

“The CD vendors are very mobile and they will do door to door marketing in townships.

“We need legislation that criminalises the duplication and sale of CDs. In Nigeria no individuals are allowed to import blank CDs which in turn protects both artistes and marketing companies.”

Jive Zimbabwe director Benjamin Nyandoro who also runs Padziva joint had this to say: “Anything unlawful must not be condoned. Excuses on what do we do then, we want to survive can be equated to a theft justified for livelihood.

“Piracy is daylight robbery of artistic hard work. I believe this will go a long way in reducing piracy but, more importantly, it is the attitude of the consumer that matters most.”

Zimbabwe Musicians Union chairperson Edith WeUtonga had this to say: “As long as we don’t have legislative approach to this, piracy will not be minimised and neither will it be finished.”

-Daily News

A British citizen paralysed from the neck down faces life in Scotland without his wife of 32 years after a Home Office ruling.

David Connolly’s wife Carin has been told she must return to her native Zimbabwe.

She is David’s full-time carer as well as his partner and he cannot imagine how he would cope without her.

But he now faces having to chose between staying in Scotland without Carin – or moving to Zimbabwe with her, where they have no home or access to medical care.

David, 57, said: “It is absolutely devastating. How can the Home Office be so cold and so cruel?”

Carin, 59, added: “After 32 years of marriage, this is what they do to us. It is cold. The Home Office are showing our life together means nothing.

“What’s the world coming to when this situation can be allowed to happen? I know if I go back there, I’m not coming back.”

David and Carin live with their son, an oil and gas worker, in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

Carin has been her husband’s carer since he was disabled in a car accident in 1984.

He relies on her to help him cope with day-to-day living and complex health needs.

In a heartbreaking letter, David wrote: “I have been unwell the past six months and confined to bed.

“I have been admitted to hospital several times – blood transfusion, colonoscopy, gastroscopy – and have had daily wound dressings at home by district nurses since January.

“If this were to happen to me in Zimbabwe, then it could have been extremely serious indeed. I cannot go back.

“My wife has been the bedrock of my life. I would be utterly devastated if she could not provide this.

“Spouses are not meant to be separated. To seek to separate us is cruel and inhumane.”

David’s dad Alexander was born in Cheltenham, Essex and served in the RAF. He moved to South Africa, married and put down roots. The family moved to what was then colonial Rhodesia and built up a vehicle repair business.

Paralysed David Connolly is faced with living alone or joining wife Carin in Zimbabwe with no medical care
David was born in Zimbabwe and qualifies for British citizenship through his dad.

He went to technical college and began a successful career in mining, meeting Carin in 1982.

They married in 19896 and moved to Botswana for work, while the collapsing economy of Zimbabwe wiped out their pensions and savings.

The couple settled in Scotland just over a year ago.

Neither David nor Carin, who takes medication for high blood pressure, have been in Zimbabwe for 10 years.

Their immigration lawyer believed the case for Carin to get a spousal visa to live in the UK was cast iron. But the couple fell victim to the Tories’ “hostile environment” for immigration.

David and Carin have now enlisted the support of their local SNP MSP, Gillian Martin to help fight their case.

The Aberdeenshire East MSP said: “I will do everything I can to support Mr and Mrs Connolly to overturn this frankly disgraceful and distressing decision made by the Home Office to rip a family apart.

David Connolly, who is paralysed from the neck down, pictured with wife Carin and son Marcus in 2011.

“Time and time again, the Home Office make these sort of rubber-stamp decisions rather than looking at the issue on a case-by-base basis.

“Mr Connolly is a British citizen and has been married to his partner for more than 30 years.

“Not only is Mrs Connolly his wife but she is his permanent carer looking after him day in and day out, providing him both physical and emotional support.

“I am calling for the Home Office to overturn this horrendous decision as soon as possible.”
Carin is due to appeal against the Home Office decision at a tribunal in Glasgow next month.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Mrs Connolly’s case is subject to an ongoing appeal and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment.”

– DailyReport

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared war on banks reportedly linked to a cartel behind illegal currency activities and the chaos in the economy, it has been learnt.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya on Monday suspended four senior officials on suspicion that they were behind the flooding of foreign currency and ordinarily cash on the black market.

Now Mnangagwa’s anti-corruption drive has been activated, with the special anti-corruption unit set by the President and operating under the National Prosecuting Authority reportedly being tasked to investigate institutions allegedly linked to the scam.

“The banks have some explaining to do.

These transactions were done through banks and it should be very easy to trace them.

The banks received money from the RBZ purportedly on behalf of their clients, now it’s time they prove how it was disbursed,” an official said.

Mangudya yesterday confirmed an investigation was underway at the RBZ, but would not be drawn into saying much amid claims there is a push for a forensic audit.

“We issued a statement and we stick to that. There is an investigation underway, maybe your sources are confusing that with a forensic audit. They are similar but different,” Mangudya said.

He said contrary to social media speculations, the RBZ board had been briefed about the suspension of the top central bank officials.

“I do not want to deal in fake news. It seems some people have more information than I have. But I can tell you that indeed the board was informed of the suspensions,” the RBZ chief said.

-Newsday

Own Correspondent|A PLUMTREE man collapsed and died at a shopping centre in Plumtree when he found out that a shop had run out of his favourite beer.

Ntumbu Ndlovu ( 90) of Hungwe Village in Ndolwane area under Chief Masendu collapsed a stones’ throw away from Zitha General Dealer after he allegedly found out that they did not have his favourite beer.

Sources said Ndlovu had left home at around 5pm, and gone to his niece’s homestead who stays in the same village to collect his groceries which he had left there.

A family member who identified herself as Ethel Tshuma said the deceased was a habitual drinker and loved Ingwebu opaque beer. She said he had no health problems except for the fact that he was advanced in age.

“Ndlovu got to Cingo Business Centre on his way to Sithandekile Tshuma’s homestead, his niece. He passed by the shops to buy beer but discovered that the shop keeper did not have it in stock. He left the shop in a rush but collapsed and died about 50 metres from the entrance,” said Tshuma.

“He was advanced in age but he was still physically fit and could do a number of household manly duties without much difficulty. He loved to walk to the shops, buy a beer and walk back home and drink it under a shade. On rare occasions, he would join other old men and drink at the shops,” she said.

The shopkeeper, whom sources only identified as MaMoyo, allegedly did not notice that Ndlovu had collapsed outside until he was seen by a passer-by.

The deceased was discovered by a local villager, MaNgwenya, who at that time assumed that he was just unconscious.

She looked for help at the shops and word was sent to the traditional leaders.

The headman allegedly came to the scene and a police report was made.

He was found lying face down with his hand still clutching his walking stick.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.

Jane Mlambo| Opposition MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa has congratulated Vapostori veAfrica founder, Bishop Paul Mwazha on his centenary birthday.

Posting on Twitter this morning, Chamisa said “Happy birthday to the Teacher, Bishop Paul Mwazha, a General in the FAITH who turns 100 years today having been born at Chirumanzu on the 25th of October 1918. God has used Bishop Mwazha mightily to bring many to salvation.God bless you Mudzidzisi!!

Mwazha was born on the 25th of October in 1918 and is sensationally referred by his followers as “Mutumwa” a title which can be equated to Apostle due to his type of message which is said to be teaching oriented.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has welcomed the amendment of SI122 saying it allows ordinary people to access affordable goods from neighbouring countries.

CCZ executive director, Ms Rosemary Siyachitema said they had advocated for the opening of the borders so that consumers could get goods that were in short supply.

“We advocated for the opening of the borders after the challenge of empty shelves and high prices for basics commodities.

People could no longer afford basics such as cooking oil. Through the opening of the borders, prices can go down because of competition,” said Ms Siyachitema.

“Christmas is around the corner so we hope this temporary measure will improve food supplies. People do not want to be stressed with high prices or food shortages during the festive season,” she said.

Ms Siyachitema said the reprieve will allow Government to look into the real causes of the current shortages.

-State Media

A BULAWAYO man dragged his wife to court demanding maintenance for their three children.

Mr Marlon Chipudla is claiming $75 for the upkeep of their three children whom Elodia Chipudla allegedly dumped after she found a temporary job at a local bar.

“My wife left me and I am taking care of the children. She is always at work but contributes nothing towards the upkeep of our children.

“I’m a security guard at Nokel security, my salary is not sufficient to cater for all the bills and also pay school fees for the kids,” said Mr Chipudla.

Mr Chipudla said his wife earns about $150.

“With all the money she earns, I wonder why she is finding it difficult to help me take care of the children,” he said.

Mrs Chipudla told the court that she earns $80 and can therefore not afford what her husband is demanding. “I cannot offer anything because the money Iam earning is little and again I am not permanently employed,” she said

The magistrate Ms Ulukile Mlea asked Mr Chipudla to bring his wife’s payslip to court.

The matter was postponed to today.

State Media

VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has finally given the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance the greenlight to hold its long-awaited 19th anniversary celebrations at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare this Saturday.

Police have twice stopped the celebrations last month, citing a cholera outbreak amid claims by the opposition party that the government was blocking the event fearing that it would be used to stage a mock inauguration for Chamisa who narrowly lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the July 30 presidential poll.

On Wednesday, Chamisa threatened to defy a police ban and go ahead with his anniversary where he promised fireworks.

He also alleged that Zanu PF was running scared and trying to put spanners into their anniversary celebrations.

In a letter dated October 23, Harare South district police boss a Superintendent Chiroodza gave a litany of conditions to the anniversary.

“Your notification to hold the meeting has been noted subject to the strict observation of the following instructions,” the letter read in part.

“You are expected to control the behaviour of your political party members before, during and after the celebrations.

“You should not alter the venue and time of your celebrations and should confine themselves to Gwanzura Stadium only and no other place.

Your political members shall not intimidate passers-by and those who have nothing to do with your celebrations.”

Chiroodza also said the MDC Alliance should not block the thoroughfares and roads around the venue of the celebrations.

“Your members shall not be involved in toyi-toying, convoying of motor vehicles of people chanting, singing and disseminating hateful and defaming speeches,” the police boss said.

Among other conditions, police asked the MDC Alliance marshals to dress in uniforms easier to identify and ensure there would be peace throughout.

Police also asked for co-operation with government agencies and that no dangerous weapons must be carried to the venue.

They also asked that there be no intruders at the venue and that in the event of violence, Rhino Mashaya, who was cited as the convener and party’s organising secretary Amos Chibaya will be held accountable.

-Newsday

Correspondent|Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (Galz) will bankroll a scholarship program that will take members of the lesbians, gays, bisexual transgender and intersex (LGBT) community enrolling for higher education.

The organisation has started receiving applications from potential students across the country for next year’s first semester.

In an interview the GALZ national Director Chasterfield Samba, said they want to help the under privileged members of the LGBT community.

“It will be a five year project that provides equal access to education within the LGBT community; we have noted that many of members who are financially incapable of paying for school fees are shunned by the community because of their sexuality. We will also add
those of transgender sexuality on the program.

Besides their sexuality, LGBT people do have capacity and can do the same or even better than those who are said to be ‘normal’. We have to give a helping hand to them, our first group’s number will be guided by the response we will get from applicants and as time goes on we will add the numbers” he said.

The scholarship programmes will cater for food, tuition, accommodation, stationery, transportation among other expenses that are incurred during their studies.

Students will enrol in local state universities from the beginning of the coming semester, next year.

Samba said they will closely look and vet the applicants so that they curb misrepresentation and chancers.

“We will develop a strict criterion to pick our students. There might be chancers who will misrepresent their sexuality because they want a scholarship, we will come up with measure to get the right people for the platform,” Samba said.

Galz regional co-ordinator Tadios Munyimani echoed the same sentiments with Samba.

“Education is for everyone and members of the LGBT should not be sidelined, those who are failing to advance with their studies should be helped to achieve their goals, and we expect them to come back and plough back into the LGBT community,” Munyimani said.

M&T

ZANU PF officials are plotting to take President Emmerson Mnangagwa head-on in today’s central committee meeting regarding the country’s worsening economic situation which has left them under pressure from their constituents who want answers to the crisis.

Mnangagwa will preside over politburo and central committee meetings amid a deepening economic crisis characterised by inflated prices of goods as well as shortages of fuel, cooking oil and other basic goods triggered by an acute shortage of foreign currency.

Coming soon after Mnangagwa’s narrow electoral victory over opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, the crisis has left Zanu PF and government at loggerheads on how to resolve the problems.

The economic crisis has also left the party under pressure from the opposition party which still insists Mnangagwa is being haunted by legitimacy crisis after the controversial July 30 polls, whose results were deemed “unverifiable” and “untraceable” by the European Union Election Observation Mission in its final report two weeks ago.

Some central committee members who spoke to NewsDay on condition of anonymity said they were under pressure from their constituencies seeking to know if there was a way out of the crisis.

“Seriously, we have come to the point where everyone is blaming us for what is happening. People are saying we are now degenerating into the 2008 chaos and I think they are justified to say that,” said a central committee member who refused to be named.

“What we need now is to provide answers. We need clear-cut assurances on how the government is planning to move us out of this crisis.

“We need to have answers for the people and if there was going to be an opportunity without being labelled as attacking leadership, the majority of the central committee members will take the leadership to task,” the member added. Wheels came off after new Finance minister Mthuli Ncube introduced the Transitional Stabilisation Programme on the same day the central bank issued a midterm monetary policy statement that introduced foreign currency nostro accounts and a 2% tax on electronic transactions that triggered a wave of price hikes.

Since then, the crisis has been deepening each day, raising fears that the country could be retracing its 2008 footsteps that saw it hit world inflation records.

The crisis has left the majority of Zanu PF officials exposed to pressure from the opposition and the general public who now doubt Mnangagwa’s ability to steer the country out of the quagmire.

Zanu PF s secretary for administration Obert Mpofu yesterday said those that want to raise the issue must freely do so and have the matter deliberated on.
“If they want answers, they can raise the issues at the meeting,” Mpofu said.

“That is the purpose of the meetings and that is where people are allowed to deliberate on issues of concern and if they have those issues, they are free to raise them. It may not necessarily be on the agenda, but if they mentioned that to you, we will listen to what they have to say,” he said.

Asked if there would not be any form of reprisals for openly challenging the leadership on the crisis, Mpofu said Mnangagwa was a listening President and the meeting was convened to have issues discussed.

“Zanu PF is a very democratic party and our President is a listening President and listens to everything that members raise and that they know. If there are issues that they want to raise to the attention of the party, I am sure this is the opportunity that they have,” he said.

Mpofu, however, refused to discuss the agenda of the meeting, saying it was the prerogative of Mnangagwa.
-Newsday

Jane Mlambo| The High Court has overturned an irrational decision by Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC), which had barred a 15 year-old teenager from sitting and writing her Ordinary Level examinations.

ZIMSEC had barred Shelter Chisiri, a minor aged 15 years, from sitting and writing her November 2018 Ordinary Level examinations after demanding that the minor should be in possession of an Identity Document, or Passport, or Driver’s licence bearing her picture (as per ZIMSEC requirements) if she was to write her November 2018 Ordinary
Level examinations. Shelter was unable to secure these documents in time for her examinations which were scheduled to begin on 15 October 2018.

This compelled her mother Winnifrida Chisiri to seek the services of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) as she feared that her child might not write her Ordinary Level examinations due to ZIMSEC’s stringent requirements.

ZLHR through its lawyer Denford Halimani petitioned the High Court on Thursday 11 October 2018 by filing an urgent chamber application seeking an order to suspend ZIMSEC’s decision, which was described as irrational.

In her application, Winnifrida argued that Shelter was not in possession of any identity document as she is a minor who hasn’t turned 16 years and as a matter of policy she could not be issued with such a document by the Registrar-General. Winnifrida also stated that
Shelter had applied for a passport in September 2018, which was not yet issued and therefore she could not produce a passport at the time of writing her examinations.

Winnifrida argued that ZIMSEC’s decision is discriminatory as it does not apply to other minors who are not attending private schools and violates the minor child’s rights to education and administrative justice.

She also submitted that barring Shelter from writing her examinations would be unjust and would seriously prejudice her prospects in life.

This resulted in High Court Judge Justice Davison Foroma granting the order sought by Winnifrida and suspended ZIMSEC’s decision to bar Shelter from sitting and writing her November 2018 Ordinary Level examinations and also ordered that Shelter is entitled to sit and write her Ordinary Level examinations for November 2018 at a local private college upon the mere production of her birth certificate.

By Paul Nyathi| Steward Bank gave Zimbabweans a light hearted moment when they posted on social microblogging site Twitter 1% of $10 is $1, while explaining a transactional error to one of its customers on twitter.

This came after one, Daniel Richards complained that the bank had robbed him of his dollar while he was doing a bank to wallet transfer to which the bank replied saying 1% of $10 is actually $1.

Richards tweeted that the bank had robbed him on a post below.

DANIEL RICHARDS‏ @PRIVATEDANIELS OCT 20
“NHAI AMANA NDIONEREIWO KUBIRWA KWANDIRIKUITWA NE STEWARD BANK SHUWA VANDIROVA $1 PA $10 BANK TO WALLET KWAHI ITS 1% OF $10.”

Steward Bank then replied saying 1% of $10 is $1, which made the twitter world to mock and criticise the banking sector in this age of said “disappearing savings.”

THE TWITTER COMMUNITY BUSTED UP AND CRITICISED STEWARD BANK’S EMPLOYEES SAYING THEY ARE MISFITS ON THE JOB.

CHANDIDAI‏ @WAIZWI OCT 20

REPLYING TO @WAMAGAISA @PRIVATEDANIELS AND 5 OTHERS

THIS IS EMBARRASSING FOR A BANK @STEWARDBANK RECTIFY THIS SOONEST, ZVINONYADZISA. WHO EMPLOYED THIS PERSON BEHIND THE HANDLE AT STEWARDBANK? HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE LOST THEIR MONEY THROUGH THIS GLARING MISCALCULATION BY THE BANK? SHAME ON YOU @STEWARDBANK

A twitter account belonging to someone named Last Mhizha also said one of his relatives once lost US$100 in his Steward Bank account.

LAST MHIZHA‏ @LLASTMHIZHA1LAS OCT 20

REPLYING TO @WAMAGAISA @PRIVATEDANIELS AND 5 OTHERS

BAMUNINI VANGU VAKASIYAUS$100 MUACCNT VAKAWANA MUSISINA KUSTEWART IKOKU BT UKANZWA RICHI ADVATISIWA SOO.

One Miss Vee said that the situation was not good because one will have to monitor and cross check his balance every time they make transactions.

MISS VEE‏ @VIMWANNITA OCT 20

MANJE SO , WE NEED TO BE VERIFYING EVERY TRANSACTION KANA ZVADAI, @STEWARDBANK MUSADARO

Steward Bank then later apologised and admitted that it was an error but it was rather too late as the news was all over social media platforms.

STEWARD BANK‏VERIFIED ACCOUNT @STEWARDBANK OCT 20

REPLYING TO @PRIVATEDANIELS @263CHAT AND 5 OTHERS

TINE UROMBO NE ERROR YATAITA. 1% OF 10 IS $0.10 . TINOKUMBIRA MUTITUMIRE ACCOUNT NUMBER YENYU TITARISE KUTI MABVISIRWA $1 RECHII. GM

But, they are not alone.

In 2017 Sibongile Mani, a South African student, received a staggering R14 million (£850 000) from National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

THE Labour Court has ordered the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavima, to immediately reinstate a Kezi school headmaster who was recently fired for resisting to be transferred.

Mr Ezekiel Hleza, who was a headmaster at Tshelanyemba High School in Matobo district, was fired in January this year after defying an order by the ministry to transfer him to Siyoka Secondary School in Beitbridge district.

The ruling by Bulawayo Labour Court judge Justice Mercy Moya-Matshanga follows an application for review by Mr Hleza through his lawyer, Mr Edson Matika of Munyaradzi Gwisai and Partners, challenging the decision by his superiors to transfer him.

In papers before the court, Prof Mavima and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) were cited as respondents.

Justice Moya-Matshanga ruled that the decision of the respondents was unlawful and unjustified. She set aside the transfer and ordered the respondents to immediately reinstate Mr Hleza to his post.

“It is hereby ordered that the application for review be and is hereby granted. The decision by the respondents to transfer the applicant to Siyoka Secondary School be and is hereby set aside. The notice of discharge of applicant from service by the respondents be and is hereby set aside,” ruled Justice Moya-Matshanga.

In his grounds of appeal, Mr Hleza argued that his transfer and subsequent discharge from the civil service was unlawful, unjustified and an act of victimisation by his superiors. He said his employers did not act in good faith when they discharged him from service, arguing that he was not furnished with reasons for the transfer, which was done at short notice.

The respondents, through the Attorney-General’s Office, argued that section 13 of the Public Service Commission Regulations, Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 states that a member may at any time be transferred by the commission or a delegated authority from the post which he occupies to any other post in the public service whether the post is inside or outside Zimbabwe.

However, sub-section 3 (a) of section 13 of the Public Service Commission Regulations states that the transfer should be planned to minimise discomfort on the part of the member concerned and his family and should be notified timeously to the member concerned who shall be provided with all necessary information relating to the transfer.

The acting provincial education director for Matabeleland South, Mr Lifias Masukume, argued that the transfer was in line with the Public Service Regulations.

The transfer was followed by a cessation of salary notice and subsequently a discharge letter.

The letter stated that the transfer was supposed to be with immediate effect and Mr Hleza was to assume duty at the new station the following day on January 23.

Justice Moya-Matshanga said in dismissing Mr Hleza, the respondents failed to comply with section 13 (3) of the Public Service Commission Regulations.

“The applicant was notified on 22 January to report to another school in another district the following day. The reason for the transfer is not disclosed.

“The discomfort he would suffer together with his family was not considered,” she said.

“In short the transfer was not planned at all and it would appear there was an element of urgency and secretiveness because first of all somebody was brought to replace the applicant unbeknown to him and he was given 24 hours to uproot himself, his family and property at his expense to a far flung district.”

The judge said section 13 (4) provides that no transfer shall be used as a punitive measure except pursuant to the disciplinary procedures.

Mr Hleza said he was shocked when a new headmaster, Mr Ngoneni Moyo, was deployed to his school on January 15, a few days before his transfer, to replace him.

“As if that was not enough, on 2 February 2018, our client was served with a notice of cessation of salary and threats of disciplinary action being taken against him. The cessation of salary was to take effect by February 5, 2018,” said Mr Matika.

State Media

Own Correspondent|Goddard Dunira, a land developer and a nephew of former Minister of State for Masvingo, Josiah Hungwe frothed, spluttered and contradicted himself as he tried to explain how his lifestyle dramatically changed four years after leaving teaching to become one of Masvingo’s wealthiest residents.

Dunira was giving evidence to the Commission of Enquiry into the matter of the sale of State land in and around urban areas since 2005.

“How did your lifestyle change from being an ordinary school teacher just four years ago to becoming one of the flashiest people in Masvingo? You own four state of the art cars; all fuel guzzlers and you buy a new car almost every year. Where are you getting the money from?

“You have also built a chain of commercial properties that include schools, beerhalls, business shops, lodges and several houses? Can you tell me where you are getting that money from,” asked Commissioner Chingono.
Dunira confirmed that he has a Mercedes Benz S300, a BMW 7 series, a Landcruiser and a commuter bus.

Dunira initially said that the cars were not his. He then said they were not in his name and later said he was still buying them. He changed yet again and said that he had bought them from a returning citizen.

Commissioner Chingono then asked him to provide the name of the returning citizen and for a while Dunira seemed to find it difficult to remember the person who sold him four cars. He then uttered a name but could not remember his first name. Commissioner then asked for the country in which the seller of the cars was domiciled and what year he came back.

Dunira got further lost and said he returned in 2015 and yet some of the cars were sold to him before that. He also said the person was domiciled in Japan but when Dr Chingono queried the country, Dunira again changed his statement and said it was the cars that came from Japan.

Commissioner Chingono then declared that Dunira had a worthy criminal case that the Police should look into. She immediately ordered the Commission’s Chief Investigator, Superintendent Godfrey Muza to take him and verify the case of the four cars.

“Mr Dunira, you are not telling the truth and the import of your four vehicles raises a lot of questions. This is something serious and we need the Police to look into this. Sup Muza can you take up this case,” said Dr Chingono as she handed over the matter to the Police.

A stunned Dunira walked out of the court room almost lost. He probably did not imagine that the matter could come to this

This week Acie Lumumba captured national attention after recording a Facebook LIVE video in which he named fuel and currency cartel kingpins. In the video Lumumba goes to great lengths to exonerate President Emmerson Mnangagwa claiming that he is the only one who is not corrupt.

However only thirteen months ago (in September) Lumumba recorded a video in which he was predicting that the then First Lady Grace Mugabe would be president by December. In the same video Lumumba called Mnangagwa, then Vice President, the King of State Capture.

Own Correspondent|Zimbabwe’s new finance minister is not a Zanu-PF man and he did not need the job — but he will need all his qualifications and the president’s backing to implement the measures needed to fix the economy.

Mthuli Ncube knows he is going to have a tough time as Zimbabwe’s new finance minister: he is taking over an economy that has been profoundly abused and looted.

Ncube’s appointment by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to his slightly smaller cabinet has been widely applauded. He is not part of the ruling Zanu-PF party and he once tried to raise funds for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who died in February.

Ncube has an impressive CV: chief economist and vice-president of the African Development Bank; a PhD in mathematical finance from Cambridge University. He is well known regionally and has superb international connections — which he will need as he looks for bailouts from international financial institutions.

But, importantly, Ncube doesn’t need the job. He was living in Switzerland when the call came asking him to return home to fix the economy.

Some would say he is taking on an impossible job, but perhaps the challenge is part of the attraction for him. He knows he has to reform the overvalued US dollar-based local currency and negotiate a way to manage the country’s $20bn debt.

So where to start? Well, he has to find $2bn to pay off arrears to the World Bank and his old employer, the African Development Bank, so he can restart talks for Zimbabwe to rejoin the International Monetary Fund. Many presume he will find this money at the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank, which has been bailing out Zimbabwe for the past few years.

He knows some reforms will not make him popular. Zimbabwe has 550,000 civil servants who eat up about 90% of revenue. Ahead of the election in July, Mnangagwa awarded them 17%-22% increases, something economist Tony Hawkins says will cost the country about $600m a year.

Vice-president Constantino Chiwenga, former head of the armed forces, also dipped into the public purse ahead of the polls by raising soldiers’ retirement age from 65 to 70. It was Chiwenga who saved Mnangagwa’s life a year ago, when he was allegedly poisoned at a rally for Robert Mugabe. He also organised the coup that brought Mnangagwa to power.

But recently, Mugabe reconciled with Mnangagwa after he sent a Gulfstream jet to pick up former first lady Grace Mugabe in Singapore, where she was having medical treatment, and bring her home for her mother’s funeral. So the police, parts of which have remained loyal to the former president, will almost certainly return to the streets from which they have been missing since the coup.

Mnangagwa was shocked when two soldiers shot dead six civilians at an opposition protest in Harare two days after the polls. He has appointed a commission of inquiry, to be chaired by former SA president Kgalema Motlanthe.

In short, Mnangagwa may be feeling more confident, and he is expected to do his best to accommodate Ncube as he implements policies that are going to hurt many.

Economists say Ncube will have to end Mnangagwa’s subsidies, such as “command” agriculture under which the government provides free inputs to farmers who are then obliged to sell their crops to the state. Last season Mnangagwa ensured farmers were paid $390 a ton for maize — far more than SA and Zambian farmers get.

Ncube will also have to end bonuses paid to exporters. And, of course, there is a serious shortage of foreign currency to buy essential imports.

“Devaluation is an urgent priority, since without it economy-wide distortions will constrain business efficiency in markets that have become a haven for politically well-connected rent-seekers,” according to Hawkins, writing in the Zimbabwe Independent.

Physical dollar bills are trading at about $1.85 against electronic cash, and about $1.45 for local cash known as bond notes.

But there are almost no cash notes in any supermarket tills or banks. Deals are done everywhere: outside hotels, in the streets, in hardware stores, with cement producers, for air tickets and in property transfers.

After he was sworn in, Ncube said: “[Currency reform] works with fiscal policy because the two are linked. Fiscal reforms, fiscal consolidation and currency reforms work together to create the stability … They are two legs of the same body. We will be looking at the issue of bond notes and … at other options beyond bond notes.”

He has also spoken of using the rand, as the dollar has made everything, including exports, extremely expensive.

– Financial Mail

Former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) news anchor Oscar Pambuka and former Zanu-PF Highfield West National Assembly representative Psychology Maziwisa have filed an application for discharge at the close of the State case.

In their application, the pair — through their lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange — argued that they did not commit an offence, adding that there was no misrepresentation proved by the State.

However in response, prosecutor Mr Michael Reza, maintained that the pair has a case to answer and should be put to their defence.

“The crime of fraud is a crime of intention. It also needs to be proved that the other person to whom the misrepresentation was made acted on the basis of the misrepresentation to his prejudice,” he said.

“We have the accused persons who misrepresented to ZPC that they would cause ZBC to publish news on radio and television propagating the name of ZPC. Even though they knew that they did not have such power over ZBC, they went ahead with their misrepresentation much to the prejudice of ZPC.

“The State believes and tenders before the court that it has made out a prima-facie case against the two accused persons and that their application be dismissed and that they be put to their defence.”

Harare magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube is set to rule on the application today.

It is alleged that sometime in 2016, Maziwisa and Pambuka took a letter to ZPC from former Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge directing the firm to work with Fruitful Communications at intervals of six months.

Undenge was jailed for an effective two-and-a-half years for abuse of office after he hand-picked Fruitful Communications to do work for ZPC. He is currently on bail pending appeal.

It is alleged that on February 12, Fruitful Communications hosted a Zim-Asset conference at Meikles Hotel, where Undenge was the guest of honour.

ZBC covered the event, but on March 8, Maziwisa and Pambuka, with the intention of defrauding the company, brought an invoice of $12 650 to ZPC.

They allegedly claimed that they had done a Press conference on power projects in Kariba, Hwange and Batoka.

They also claimed to have done stories for news bulletins aired on Power FM, Radio Zimbabwe and National FM and media watch programme on “Kariba water levels”.

Maziwisa and Pambuka alleged they had done Zim-Asset conference radio interviews on National FM and another Powertalk session on energy and infrastructural development before sending a bill to ZPC. -state media

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has acquired its own printing machine and will no longer be contracting other organisations, a move acting director Dr Lazarus Nembaware says will help combat examination paper leakages.

He revealed the development on Tuesday while presenting the ministry’s budget expectations for next year to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.

“With the help of the ministry, we have acquired a robust printer and Zimsec is now going to be able to print the question papers itself.

“We had been contracting other organisations to do that and it became a point of leakage. So this time we have more control when this printer is in use and we are hoping that in June 2019, we will be printing all our question papers ourselves,” he said.

Dr Nembaware said to avert examinations leakages the examination board had come up with the concept of having item writers who would develop items meant for the examinations.

“Item writers coming from different institutions are now developing items, not question papers at a venue which we will go where they will identify those items and we bank them as items,” he said.

“We are using a software called grade maker and this software will then allow a subject manager to identify the different skills which are needed in a particular question paper and a question paper is then developed — that is the method we are using at setting.”

This stage is then followed by the printing. On the distribution stage Dr Nembaware said: “Again we intervened to ensure that the question papers are secure. We are using a cluster-centre approach to distributing the question papers.

“What we are doing is that we take our question papers to three types of cluster centres. Where the schools are nucleated, it is much easier to use one cluster centre where a number of schools — at least six to 10 — will use the cluster centre to collect the examination papers in the morning of the exam. Where it is not possible, we give a school the status of keeping its own question papers.”

He said the morning examinations timetable had been changed from 8am to 9am to give enough time for logistical processes to take place. The afternoon time table remained unchanged (2pm).

Dr Nembaware said cluster centres were manned by four people — a police detail, a cluster centre manager, a Zimsec official and a deputy to the cluster centre manager.

“There are three different keys which allow access to a question paper where the question papers are being kept,” he added.

“No individual can access the storeroom as it will be manned by three people who have to go there together with a police detail.”

Dr Nembaware said he was happy the fuel shortages had not affected the sitting of examinations as prior arrangements to have fuel reserves had been made.

“We have also gone round to monitor the situation, no question paper has not been written because of the fuel crisis.

“Yes, there are challenges, but the challenges are being sorted out,” he said.

“The scripts which candidates are writing are also returned on a daily basis to our centres because we had experienced a challenge in that particular area.”

Dr Nembaware said there was need to re-look at the ZIMCHE Act which was a bit lenient to people who are flouting the regulations.

“We are hoping that it will come to Parliament as quickly as possible with the amendments which we are suggesting. We are finishing the last level of consultation and we are going to send it to the ministry after this,” he said.- state media

A Bulawayo police officer and his ex-girlfriend, who is also a cop, almost came to blows at the maintenance court following a heated exchange over the upkeep of their three-year old child.

Ms Nokuthula Madamba was demanding $239 from her ex-boyfriend Mr Wellington Masuna.

Ms Madamba told the court that Mr Masuna has never contributed anything towards the upkeep of their child since he was born.

“I have been struggling to fend for the child, pay the maid, buy clothes and pay his medical bills while his father is out there gallivanting,” she said.

The court heard that Mr Masuna is hardly available and turns violent when Ms Madamba asks him to take care of the child.

“I opened a docket of physical abuse at the Western Commonage Police Station when he assaulted me for asking him to take care of his child,” said Ms Madamba. Mr Masuna offered to pay $40 which Ms Madamba said was not enough. “The money he is offering is insufficient,” said Ms Madamba.

The two started exchanging harsh words and almost came to blows prompting the court orderly to intervene.

The magistrate Ms Ulukile Mlea ordered Masuna to pay $75 for the minor child with effect from October 31.- state media

Four armed robbers who killed a security guard at a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church-run primary school in Bulawayo’s Pelandaba suburb, were yesterday each sentenced to life imprisonment.

Tomson Phuthi (41) of Mabuthweni suburb, Ndabezinhle Mpofu (26) of Old Pumula suburb, Ownious Bhebhe (44) of Old Magwegwe suburb and Martin Dlamini (37) of New Magwegwe savagely attacked Mr Burton Sikalonga and Mr Vusumuzi Tshuma who were guarding the school’s premises. The two sustained serious injuries and Mr Sikalonga (65) later died on admission to Mpilo Central Hospital.

The four robbers who were armed with a gun, stole three laptops, five SDA t-shirts and money at the SDA School and church which are located in the same premises.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva convicted Mpofu and Bhebhe of murder with actual intent while Dlamini and Phuthi were convicted of murder with constructive intent. In passing the sentence, Justice Takuva said murder committed in aggravating circumstances is a very serious offence, which calls for a harsh sentence.

He condemned the quartet’s conduct saying their moral blameworthiness was very high.
“The accused persons’ moral blameworthiness is very high in that they allowed the love of money to transcend human life. The deceased had to be incapacitated in the most brutal manner and the injuries suggest that he was tortured before he died,” said the judge. “The deceased must have died a painful death because of the multiple fractures and injuries all over his body. The accused persons further humiliated the victims by ordering them to lie on their stomachs before tying them using a rope.”

Justice Takuva said the court has a duty to uphold the sanctity of human life. “Those who kill others in order to acquire ill-gotten property should not expect lenience. The courts have a duty to protect the sanctity of human life, which is a special commodity and in our view, a severe penalty is called for,” he said.

The judge said although the accused persons were proper candidates for death sentence, the court exercised its discretion following convincing submissions by their lawyers.
The four men struck Sikalonga with an iron bar on the head and all over his body before stabbing him with a hunter’s knife.

Prosecuting, Mr Trust Muduma said on January 17 at around 3AM, the deceased who was manning SDA premises left Mr Tshuma at their guardroom and went out to conduct routine security checks along the perimeter fence. After a few minutes Mr Tshuma heard the deceased screaming and shouting and he rushed out of the guardroom to investigate.

Mr Tshuma was confronted by Dlamini who pointed a pistol at him and ordered him to raise his hands. Dlamini searched Mr Tshuma and took his cellphone. Mpofu, Bhebhe and Phuthi stabbed and manhandled Mr Sikalonga and Mr Tshuma before ordering them to lie on their stomachs.

The gang thereafter tied Mr Sikalonga and Mr Tshuma with a school flag rope.
The trio then proceeded to the school administration block where they used a bolt cutter to open the door to gain entry.

“They entered the headmaster’s office and while inside they used a grinder to destroy a safe and stole $133 and an HP laptop. They then entered the school clerk’s office and stole two laptops, a Lenovo and a Toshiba, five navy blue SDA t-shirts,” said Mr Muduma.

At round 5AM, a motorist who was driving along Hyde Park road towards the city centre was stopped by someone who alerted him about the incident. The motorist rushed to the scene and untied Mr Tshuma and Mr Sikalonga. He drove to Nketa Fire Station in Iminyela and summoned an ambulance which rushed the two security guards to Mpilo Central Hospital where Mr Sikalonga died on admission.

A report was made to the police leading to the arrest of the four robbers and recovery of all the laptops, $40, two t-shirts and a pistol.

Mr Task Vhiki of Liberty Mcijo and Associates represented Bhebhe while Mr Modern Chimwanda of Nyawo Ruzive Legal Practice was Mpofu’s lawyer.

Mr Kholwani Ngwenya of TJ Mabhikwa and Partners represented Dlamini and Mr Tinashe Runganga of Tanaka Law Chambers represented Phuthi.

By Paul Nyathi|What really is happening at the struggling government owned Dairiboard,was a question which was asked by losing Independent Candidate for Warrenpark Constituency Engineer Jacob Mutisi (pictured.)

Instead of the dairy company responding to Mutisi’s concerns, the company Chief Executive Officer Antony Mandiwanzira took swipe at the engineer.

Below is a leaked exchange of emails between the two senior officials:

—–Original Message—–
From: Anthony Mandiwanza [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 11:36
To: [email protected]
Subject: what on earth is happening at Dairibord

Dear Jacob,

I read with keen interest your concern about what is happening at Dairibord. I admire your limited knowledge of what is happening in the economy in Zimbabwe and in particular the absence of informative insights on the dairy
sector.

Amazing that you insinuate that there is nothing amiss about the general economy but rather that Anthony Mandiwanza is the villain !!!

Anthony S Mandiwanza
I could have considered it an honor if you had had the decency to call me for a one on one candid expose of your concerns and allow us an opportunity to be heard. It’s absurd that you rather chose to take the yellow route
littered with cowardice and full of malice driven by capricious wishes of your benefactor whom you badly acted for. brave men and women of integrity don’t act that way.

I wish you good luck in the path you have clumsily chosen and trust that you get solace and relief you are wantonly thirst for.

Good luck young-man!

Anthony Mandiwanza

Sent from my iPadust =

Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi
Tue, 21 Jul 2015, 11:35

to Anthony, mandiwanzaa, jmutisi

Dear Anthony,

Thank you very much for your prompt response to my email. Before I go any further I want to remind you that Dairibord is a company listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and believe that shareholders and stakeholders
should be equipped with as much information as possible, hence the need to immediately respond to some of your comments, Sir.

Mr Mandiwanza to call me a coward is an insult of the highest level. Why would a coward use his email address and his name, Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi.

Furthermore Sir, you simply did not bother to defend the facts, YES facts Sir. This was a thorough analysis of the performance of management at Dairibord and I am sorry the facts simply pointed to you Sir, the CEO who
has failed to respond to the changes of the operating environment.

The emotional charge and venom in your response is quite understandable, considering that I seem to have touched a very raw nerve but I stand by every word that I wrote. You seem to see me as the guy who is threatening to grab your buns from your mouth – but that is not my point. You simply did not respond to the issues I raised. Nothing I wrote in that article is a lie or malicious. I am asking you to introspect.

You are more than 32 years at Dairibord, 20 of which you have been CEO. Laws of diminishing returns have clearly set in judging by how much the company has severely shrunk and you remain a constant.

We seem to have a perennial change of soiled diapers without a good old scrub and wash of the offending anatomy.

Sir, to suggest that I have limited knowledge of Zimbabwe and the economy obviously means that you have not accurately read my analysis which included a bit about my background, quote “the topic of my MBA dissertation, completed in 1998 was, “Attitude in Financial Reporting: Their Effects on the assessment of Company Performance and Management Credibility” focusing on “Management Performance””.

I have been following all companies and former parastatals, which have collapsed like Cottco, GMB, to name a few and do not want the same to happen to our much loved “DMB”.

Contrary to your argument, everyone is fully aware of what is happening in this Zimbabwean economy and me, given my background, am more fully aware of what is happening than the average Joe, which is precisely my point.

If you bother to read my article and understand it, you will realise that I acknowledge the economy is burdening a lot of companies and entities but these same companies and entities will perish if they think that by blaming their poor performance on the economy they will return black ink on their income statements. I quoted your own comments in your published results.

Revisiting your comment of not understanding the economy, with all due respect, I was an investment banker at a tender age of 28 years old and at that stage I was a holder of an MBA, Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics
Engineering and Management, Diploma in Information Technology amongst other minor qualifications that I should not care to mention.

This makes me an all rounder Sir. I believe this should answer your questions on my ability to analyse Dairibord.

This economy calls for bright young men and women who are capable of thinking outside their silos and who can come up with survival strategies.

In this same economy, some companies have started and prospered and taken market share from you. This economy is littered with CEOs and companies that did nothing, blamed the government and the economy and perished into
oblivion.

If you really care for Dairibord and are not interested in Dairibord being interred at the economic graveyard acre then be wise and take heed of my comments.

I did not call you for a one on one as you would have preferred because your response would have been predictable. I am not full of malice neither am I working for anyone.

Cowards hide behind non de plumes and use fake email addresses but I came out in the open and told you who I am. I also declared my education and qualifications so that you understand where I am coming from.

Mr Mandiwanza, to suggest that after being at the helm of the organization for over 20 years as the CEO you still have new bright ideas is a travesty.

It is impossible Sir. It has become easier to simply blame the MDs and everyone else around you than to look in the mirror and face reality.

However, I am available for a one on one, whenever it suits you and I will repeat the same to you, at an Analysts Briefing or at the AGM.

Regards

Eng. Jacob Mutisi

The article that triggered the heated exchange:

Another MD change yet the group CEO remain in place, who is to blame?

By Eng Jacob Mutisi

It has been to my attention that there is a new MD at Dairibord Zimbabwe, with a Mr Tatenda Nhapata replacing Mr Thompson Mabika. Being the fourth MD after the listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

As a former investment banker with extensive experience in investment analysis. My MBA dissertation, completed in 1998 was, “Attitude in Financial Reporting:Their Effects on the assessment of Company Performance and Management Credibility” focusing on “Management Performance” and this new management change made me
to question whether this change is another blame game from the a Group CEO, Mr Anthony Mandiwanza, who has been at the helm of the group for close to 20 years, yes 20 years. I have looked at the final results and the reasons for failure April 2015:-

Business environment remains difficult.
Declining disposable incomes culminating in negative inflation, down trading by consumers and growth of the informal sector.
Year on year inflation at end of April 2015 was 2.65% while foods and non-alcoholic beverages inflation was -2.93%
Weak commodity prices and poor agricultural season negatively impacting GDP growth -IMF revised 2015 GDP growth forecast from 3.2% to 2.8%.
National tax collections 6% below target for Q1 2015, which will weaken government expenditure
Continued appreciation of the US$ against major currencies impacting on competitiveness

For the CEO to continue to blame the Macro-Economic Environment is a sign that he is not responding to the changes of the is operating environment.

Or is it a case of blaming others? Hence, the change at MD level at Dairibord Zimbabwe. Is this a case of a CEO blaming others which is a poor strategy.

The time has come for the board to question the strategy of the group CEO and his method of implementation methodology.

For God’s sake where in world do you see a CEO being in that position for over 20 years? A CEO is bound to run out of ideas and reach a stage were Daribord is at where they now blame their Managing Directors without questioning the CEO. Further more, you will also have to question the credibility of the board.

I believe all potential investor are now asking the question, “Where is Dairibord heading to.”

A new study, based on 27 years of data from Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe, suggests that temperature increases over the last three decades have already caused major declines in local populations of tsetse flies.

This analysis, published in the journal PLOS Medicine this week, provides a first step in linking temperature to the risk of sleeping sickness in Africa.

Tsetse are blood-feeding insects that transmit trypanosome pathogens which cause sleeping sickness in humans across sub-Saharan Africa. Without treatment, the disease is fatal. Parasites of this genus also cause nagana, animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT), in livestock. The most recent global estimates indicate that AAT kills approximately one million cattle per year.

The study is based on prolonged laboratory and field measures of fly densities from the 1990s, and nearly continuous records of climatic data since 1975, recorded by researchers based at the Rekomitjie Research Station in the park. Since the 1990s, catches of tsetse flies from cattle in the park declined from more than 50 flies per animal per catching session in 1990, to less than 1 fly per 10 catching sessions in 2017. Since 1975, mean daily temperatures have risen by nearly 1° C and by around 2° C in the hottest month of November.

Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the South African Centre of Excellence for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) at Stellenbosch University, and the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, developed a mathematical model, which showed that recent increases in temperature could account for the simultaneous decline of tsetse. The results provided evidence that locations such as the Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe may soon be too hot to support tsetse populations.

“If the effect at Mana Pools extends across the whole of the Zambezi Valley, then transmission of trypanosomes is likely to have been greatly reduced in this warm low-lying region”, says Dr Jennifer Lord, lead author and postdoctoral fellow at LSTM.

While this would be good news for the disease situation in Zambezi Valley, rising temperatures may have made some higher, cooler parts of Zimbabwe, more suitable for the flies.

Professor John Hargrove, Senior Research Fellow at SACEMA, says the effect of recent and future climate change on the distribution of tsetse flies and other vectors, particularly mosquitoes, is poorly understood: “We don’t know, for example, whether the resurgence of malaria in the East African highlands in the 1990s was caused by rising temperatures or by increasing levels of drug resistance and decreasing control efforts.

“In general, the ways in which climate change will affect the spread of infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa is poorly understood because of sparse empirical evidence,” he adds.

However, work on tsetse and trypanosomiasis carried out at Rekomitjie over the past 59 years has produced long-term datasets for both vector abundance and climate change. The research station is located inside a protected area and has been free of agricultural activities since 1958. In 1984, the area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As not much has changed other than climate, the data from the site provided the ideal opportunity to develop a temperature-driven model for tsetse population dynamics.

Unlike mammals and birds, insects such as tsetse flies cannot regulate their own body temperatures, and their development and mortality rates are therefore strongly influenced by environmental temperatures. Pupae cannot survive at sustained temperatures below 16 or above 32° C. In addition, tsetse populations can become established in an area only if there are sufficient numbers of host animals and suitable vegetation to support tsetse, Prof. Hargrove explains.

He warns, however, that the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and Kruger National Park in South Africa are examples of areas where suitable hosts and habitat for tsetse are abundant. “Tsetse flies did occur in these areas in the 19th century, but they were always marginal because the winters there were rather too cold. With the massive rinderpest outbreak of the middle 1890s, when the vast majority of ungulates died, tsetse disappeared from these areas and have never established themselves again. But if temperatures continue to increase there is a danger that they may re-emerge.”

While tsetse-borne disease holds no danger for wildlife, as they have adapted to each other over millennia, control measures might have to be adopted in case tsetse re-occupy these parks and threaten cattle and humans nearby. According to Prof. Hargrove prophylactic drugs can protect livestock from the tsetse, but no such drugs are available for humans. The only sure way of protecting both livestock and humans is to attack the fly.

By Paul Nyathi|As it gets more certain by the day that Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya will be relieved of his position, speculations are now rife as to who will take over arguably one of the country’s most challenging jobs at the moment.

Critics have started peddling various names with current World Bank Zimbabwean employee Andrew Ndaamunhu Bvumbe emerging as favourite to land the job.

Bvumbe is currently serving as the Executive Director for Africa Group 1 Constituency (AFG1) at the World Bank. He was serving as Alternate Executive Director from November 2014 to October 2016.

Bvumbe’s professional background includes experience in macroeconomic management as a senior official in the Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and as Executive Director at the African Development Bank.

Prior to joining the WBG, he served as Head of the Aid and Debt Management Office at the Ministry of Finance. Before that he served as Permanent Secretary for Planning in the Ministry of Economic Planning; Director in the Privatization Agency of Zimbabwe; and as Principal Director in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

Earlier in his career he served as Chief Economist and Assistant Director for Economic Research and Policy at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Bvumbe was Executive Director at the Board of the African Development Bank from 2007 to 2010, and Alternate Executive Director from 2005 to 2007.

He holds MSc and BSc in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe.

Renowned writer and commentator Hopewell Chinono said in his Facebook page on the possibility of Bvume being appointed governor of the Reserve Bank;

“That man will bring sanity to our Central Bank if the authorities summon the courage to do the right thing, not all these Mickey Mouse bankers. Before you go to bed, pray that the President appoints Andrew Bvumbe as the next RBZ Governor.”

 

South African advocacy group Right2Know has called on former President Kgalema Motlanthe to
ensure that Zimbabwe’s Commission of Inquiry into the 1 August killings is not a whitewash.

Right2Know said it also shares the criticisms identified by the Zimbabwe Human Rights’ NGO
forum that the commission needs to do far more to ensure a credible, transparent process: providing open access to media, creating a space
for public participation (a room for 50 is totally unacceptable) and genuinely to examine the conduct of Zimbabwe’s soldiers.
The advocacy group calls on Motlanthe to ensure the following:
A full investigation into who gave the
command to send soldiers and for them to shoot to kill; Examine the use of military in other incidents
of post-election violence noted by various observer missions in the first two weeks of August; Publish the Commission’s timetable and process for the sake of transparency; Provide for another round of submissions and witnesses – as there are many witnesses who have not had an opportunity yet to testify; President Motlanthe to provide his own email
address or an alternative email address as people are concerned that the Secretariat are controlling what evidence gets to the Commission (Or to confirm that he personally has direct access to the COI email address provided so that he can confirm that he is receiving all submissions); Publish a transcript of the public hearings- Right2Know

MDC Alliance has fired Chegutu mayor Councillor Mr Henry Muchatibaya while six other councillors have been suspended from the party for defying a directive on the election of the mayor early last month.

Mr Muchatibaya has also lost the posts he held in the Alliance. Both actions are with immediate effect.

MDC Alliance provincial chairman Mr Ralph Magunje advised Mr Muchatibaya of his dismissal in a letter dated October 15, 2018.

The mayor was elected with seven votes against other candidates – Councillor Edward Dzeka (3) and Councillor Anywhere Mukutuma (2).

-State Media

Police have arrested more than 170 illegal foreign currency dealers countrywide since last week in what they say is a campaign to counter serious security and economic threats to the country.

National Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests today saying they were conducting the operation with other relevant stakeholders.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police, having noted that activities by illegal foreign currency dealers were posing a serious security and economic threat to the country, embarked on a countrywide operation meant to enforce Statutory Instrument 122A of 2017, Exchange Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 (No.5), which criminalises the illegal trading in foreign currency.

“This operation is being done in conjunction with relevant stakeholders,” he said.

-State Media

 

Transport fares have gone up again for the second time in just over two weeks with commuter omnibus/bus operators saying they need to hedge themselves against increases in prices of fuel and motor vehicle spares.

Short distances which used to cost 50 cents before going up 75 cents are now going for $1.

Long distances which initially used to go for $1 are now at $1.50 although the prices can go up to $2
at peak hours. Speaking to the Daily News, Simplisio Shamba, president of the Motor Industry Employees Association (MIEA) said Spare parts were being sold in hard currency and fuel was also being sold on the black market.

“High demand of goods has caused prices to increase, so businesses are looking at replacement value. There has been no allocation of foreign currency to the industry to bring in spare parts and the shortage of fuel has been spiked by porous border posts, so smuggled parts are now in the market. Government has done the best possible but demand for
products has also increased.” Daily News

 

Terrence Mawawa|The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has slammed the move made by the government
to lift all import restrictions to allow
businesses and individuals with access to forex to import goods.

The CZI argued the move by the
government will affect local industries negatively and could result in widespread closure of companies.

“We believe that this is not the
appropriate action because it will affect business adversely if goods were to come in and start taking away demand from local industry. I think as you are aware, as CZI, you have not heard us talking about company closures for the past two years or retrenchments, but you could actually find that it will start
again,” said a CZI official in an interview with NewsDay.

The government was forced to lift the ban on importation of goods as part of efforts to ease the shortage of basic goods in the country.

The top US diplomat for Africa on Tuesday voiced optimism over economic reforms by the new government in Zimbabwe, which remains under sanctions dating from Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign.

Tibor Nagy, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said that Zimbabwe’s level of education and infrastructure meant it stood to enjoy “dramatic economic progress” if the right policies were put in place.

“We are very much encouraged by some of the things they say; we are now looking for some concrete examples of moving forward,” Nagy said of the Zimbabwean leadership.

“I can tell you that Zimbabwe is another country that the American business community could be very excited by based on concrete achievements,” he told a press conference by telephone with African journalists.

He stopped short of saying whether the United States would lift sanctions, which target government officials and state-run businesses but do not include a blanket ban on US investment.

President Donald Trump in August renewed sanctions, saying more progress was needed, even after Zimbabwe on July 30 held its first elections since Mugabe stepped down last year.

The newly elected president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has vowed economic reforms and sought to woo foreign investors back to Zimbabwe, which under Mugabe saw hyperinflation so extreme that the country printed a 100-trillion-dollar note.

Nagy, a veteran US diplomat in Africa, was confirmed by the Senate in July after Trump nominated him for the post, which had been vacant for more than a year.

Nagy will head to the continent next week on a trip that will include a speech on US-Africa relations in Nigeria.

He will also visit Guinea, Mali and Togo as well as Britain and France, where he will meet his counterparts on Africa policy.

-AFP

Own Correspondent|Bwana Tambula, a supervisor with a large platinum mining company in Shurugwi has complained to a magistrate that he was thoroughly bashed by his wife’s boyfriend when he found the two walking together in town.

Tambula said this during a maintenance case brought up against him by his wife Primrose Mpofu on Thursday last week.

Tambula told Shurugwi Resident Magistrate Sangster Tavengwa that he did not understand how Mpofu runs her flea market at Patels Indoor in Shurugwi because she is always asking for capital.

He told the court that he was now considering divorce.

Bwana was ordered to pay $150 maintenance for his wife and child, until the child is 18 or is able to support himself/herself.

Former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s elder sister, Shuvai Junior Gumbochuma, who is facing three counts of fraudulently acquiring a vast piece of State land worth more than $2 million, was yesterday further remanded to November 22 pending finalisation of the investigations.

Gumbochuma (61) who is represented by Lovemore Madhuku appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa.

Allegations are that sometime in August 2014, stand number 139 and 140 Gullingham Estate, Dzivarasekwa, Harare, was available for sale to deserving and capable land developers who could develop the land into high-density residential stands.

It is alleged that Gumbochuma, in a bid to acquire the land, misrepresented to government that she had the capacity to develop high-density residential stands.

The State alleges on March 27, 2015, Gumbochuma was offered stand number 140 Gullingham as evidenced by the offer letter that originated from the Local Government ministry. She was then required to pay an intrinsic land value of $424 426 to the ministry.

It is alleged Gumbochuma, who had neither the capacity to pay the intrinsic land value nor to develop the land then created and registered a company, Scanlen (Pvt) Ltd as a vehicle to further her fraudulent transaction.

Gumbochuma allegedly resold the land for $2 060 000 without paying for the land. N-Frasys bought the land and then paid the intrinsic land value to the Local Government ministry before paying the balance to Gumbochuma.

It is alleged the conduct of Gumbochuma was prejudicial to the good administration of the ministry as she profiteered from State land, thereby distorting the market value of the land from a mere $424 426 to an inflated value of $2 060 000.

In February 2016, Gumbochuma, a former director of Rodonior and Bojunior Investments allegedly was allocated 150 hectares of land in Goodhope by the Local Government ministry.

The State alleges due to Gumbochuma’s actions, the ministry suffered prejudice to its good administration.

Sometime in August 2016, Gumbochuma again misrepresented facts that Rodonior was a registered company and she made an application for allocation of Chishawasha B Goromonzi and was allocated 20 hectares.

NewsDay

Zimbabwe’s gung-ho military will once again have to defend itself in court after being accused of running amok recently and “grabbing” more land for its use — this time from a group of farmers.

As a result, the High Court is set to hear how soldiers fired gunshots and teargas at the farmers — who are resisting eviction to make way for the establishment of an army base near Domboshawa, one of the country’s prime farming areas.

The aggrieved farmers want the court to declare the establishment of the military cantonment illegal and invalid.

This is the second time in as many weeks that the military is having to defend itself in court over allegations of “grabbing” land from its owners.

At the beginning of this month, listed major mining firm — RioZim Limited — also sued Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri in the High Court, after one of its mines was grabbed by two military-linked companies.

In this case, Muchinguri-Kashiri was said to have unilaterally declared a portion of RioZim’s mining concessions in the Darwendale area a military zone.

In the latest application, the affected farmers have accused the military of engaging in terror — arguing further that a 2006 government notice which placed their farms under a military zone was illegal.

Muchinguri-Kashiri and Zimbabwe National Army commander Edzai Chimonyo are among those cited as respondents.

“This is a court application in which we seek Section 6 of Statutory Instrument 93 of 2006 (Defence (Cantonments) Notice, 2006 (No. 44) declared invalid and unconstitutional.

“For the sake of brevity, I have taken up loans for irrigation infrastructure, including drilling boreholes and laying underground pipes, overhead irrigation systems and drip irrigation facilities.

“My fellow applicants in the various rights have also done the same and also fenced their farms and established paddocks as security over the farms.

“We have also built houses and other farm structures, prepared the land to enable tilling as most of the land was virgin land and have purchased farming implements and herd of cattle,” Samuel Harry Mandiri, one of the applicants, said.

“The (State’s) Statutory Instrument notified the public that six areas … have been declared an establishment of the Zimbabwe National Army and it is within these coordinates that our farms are situated.

“The operation has resulted in our leased farms being made military-controlled areas … the first respondent’s (Muchinguri-Kashiri’s) actions have been unlawful and unconstitutional and quite clearly that declaration in Section 6 to the instrument and activities of the respondents must be set aside,” Mandiri said further.

He also states that all the applicants were allocated farms in 2002, during the government’s fast-track land reform programme under the A2 phase, in which they got land in areas between Mazowe and Goromonzi.

Sometime in February 2016, the military had started issuing out notices against the new farmers to vacate their land — and the illegal tactics employed in this regard included the use of force.

“The third respondent through its personnel appeared and intensified their illegal activities intending to evict us from our land by employing unorthodox means to gain control and possession of the area, hence dehumanised us and our workers by assaulting and burning down all our grass-thatched structures on the farms.

“At one point the third respondent unleashed an individual called major Joe Ndomene who tear-gassed us in our sleep and fired shots at us for protesting against these illegal action.

“We however, managed to obtain an interdict against the third respondent,” court papers reveal.

Muchinguri-Kashiri, in her opposing papers, says the farmers’ application was not properly before the court because they failed to cite the Lands minister as one of the respondents, despite him being an interested party.

She said the Defence ministry was, however, in talks with the Lands ministry to get alternative land for the farmers.

“The ministry of Defence has no intention to displace the applicants outside the confines of this constitutional provision.

“The ministry is fully aware that there is that need for compensation in terms of the irrigation infrastructure and developments which were made by the applicants on the land,” she said — adding that the value of these improvements should be determined by the court.

She also said that once any land was declared a military zone, non-military personnel were no longer allowed around such an area, for national security reasons.

Muchinguri-Kashiri further denied accusations that the army was using dirty tactics to evict the farmers and called for the dismissal of the matter.

Early this month RioZim told the High Court that government’s decision  to grab one of its mines for the setting up of a military base was unlawful and “irrational”.

-Daily News

The Harare Central Hospital is facing a plethora of challenges owing to the unavailability of money and human resources to efficiently run one of the country’s biggest referral centres.

Speaking during a familiarisation tour by the Health Service Board (HBS), hospital chief executive Nyasha Masuka said the institution usually depended on locum nurses, but they were now reluctant to come due to non-payment of their services.

Masuka cited the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) which has one nurse serving four patients instead of a ratio of 1:1.

“This is a 1 000 (bed) hospital, we should be having 150 patients in ICU not the 15 we have at the moment. Some ICU patients are currently being taken care of in wards,” Masuka said.

Almost every port of call during the tour had the same concerns, shortage of staff, unavailability of drugs and other requisite equipment, a situation which Masuka said has been the norm for some time.

A casualty officer at the children’s wing said staff shortages have become unbearable as one officer has to manage a number of areas with high volumes alone, especially during the morning shift.

“We attend to an average of 50 patients each morning and this is a big load for the officer on duty as they also have to attend to the cholera patients, something which borders on infection control, rendering it poor,” a doctor at the children’s wing said.

The hospital has not been spared the current drug shortages with patients being forced to look for supplies on their own.

At the moment, there are no intravenous (IV) antibiotics, cannulas, painkillers as well as other necessary drugs, leaving the hospital with no option, but to turn away patients without proper treatment or to tell them to provide for themselves.

HSB chairperson Paulinus Sikhosana said the situation at the hospital was bad and demotivating to health personnel.

“One of the demotivating factors is the work environment, it affects the nurses more than the remuneration. We were in Mutare recently, the issues are similar, workers are frustrated that the tools of the trade are inadequate,” he said.

NewsDay

A ground-breaking ceremony for a Norton-based tile manufacturing company which was to be presided over by Vice President Kembo Mohadi last Friday had to be postponed indefinitely after it emerged that the Chinese-owned company had no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate.

Norton Constituency legislator Temba Mliswa was the first to raise the red flag, forcing the vice president to put the programme on ice until the tile-manufacturer — Sunny Yi Feng Zimbabwe — had complied with all the requirements.

Mliswa also told the Daily News the intended site for the factory was part of Norton’s prime agricultural land, adding that it was being suspected that senior military officials were linked to the project.

The Norton legislator also alleged that he was being pressured to sign forms relating to the acquisition of the EIA certificate.

In a letter of concern to Aaron Chigona, the director-general of the Environmental Management Agency (Ema), Mliswa requested for clarification regarding Sunny Yi Feng’s compliance with due processes, or if such compliance had not been met.

He also requested that the tile manufacturer’s ground-breaking ceremony be set aside pending compliance.

Mliswa’s query was copied to Mohadi and Environment and Tourism minister Prisca Mupfumira, among other officials.

“In my role of oversight as a legislator, it came to my notice that a certain Chinese company was planning to open a ceramic tile factory on a piece of prime agricultural land,” Mliswa said.

He took up the issue with Ema who blocked the Chinese-owned company from launching their factory.

Ema established that the ceramic tile manufacturer had not done an EIA which is a prerequisite for setting up a manufacturing plant anywhere in Zimbabwe.

EMA’s public relations manager, Steady Kangata said the application from the Chinese tile company was only received last week Thursday.

“The application was received on Thursday, 18 October. On the whole, the process is supposed to be balanced; while the investor is pushing for economic gain, the project should be socially acceptable and environmentally friendly.

“The process should be validated by various stakeholders, including the Constitution legislator, in this case Mliswa; he should be in the know of what is happening in his area.”

Mliswa argued that over the years many Chinese companies have embarked on business operations in the country without proper compliance with the environmental impact on their operations in the community; a situation that has resulted in extreme cases of degradation.

The consultant for the Chinese company, Ngana Chaima told the Daily News that construction has already begun and the project is expected to create about 1 700 jobs in Norton.

“We couldn’t go ahead with the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday because of the letter he (Mliswa) wrote to EMA. We had applied and paid a month ago but the certificate was not availed. We don’t know what pressure he is talking about, clearly politics is at play here. He is out of the country and we haven’t been able to talk to him,” said Chaima.

“There is no military involvement in this company, it is purely Chinese and we shall be selling in Zimbabwe and southern Africa. It is frustrating; the ceremony was cancelled on Thursday afternoon, a day before the official launch.”

Contacted for comment, Mupfumira said Ema only received the Chinese investor’s application last week and it had not been given any special treatment.

“I don’t know who is pressuring him (Mliswa), maybe he might help us. If it’s someone from Ema I need the name. I know the application was only received last week and it is due to go through the same processes as any other application.

“The application came late, yet the process involves recommendations by various stakeholders, including the legislator of the area,” she said.

“I did not know about Friday’s ceremony, I don’t know about the military involvement. I only got to know about this application when Mliswa brought the matter to my
attention.”

Minister of State in Mohadi’s office, Davis Marapira said it was unreasonable to frustrate investors in a context where Zimbabwe is in dire need of foreign investment.

“We are not aware of any pressure that has been exerted on Mliswa. If there is such a project that is going to create jobs for the people we have to embrace it; the project is set to provide the much-needed foreign direct investment. Why should we make matters difficult for investors who want to come aboard?” said Marapira.

“We are not aware of military elements within the firm, all I know is that we are looking for investors; this company wants to produce tiles which we can’t.

“Like any other company, it cannot start operations without satisfying Ema requirements. The bottom line, however, is that we are not supposed to be frustrating investors, especially when our unemployment rate is so high.”

Mliswa said the perception among ordinary Zimbabweans was that many businesses owned by the Chinese nationals do not comply with due process.

He said the Chinese tend to use their close proximity to top government officials as a cover to circumvent due processes and scrutiny.

The lawmaker noted that there were many Chinese-owned businesses that have ensured compliance with the country’s laws and procedures.

“Whilst many Chinese companies are genuine and comply with due procedure, the perception is that many don’t; as indeed was discovered with this particular tile company.

“Rumour has it the company has military involvement, (although) that’s yet to be proved but it’s no passport to non-compliance.

“Government shouldn’t be used to rubberstamp what’s not procedural,” he said.

-Daily News

Paul Nyathi|The ZBC has suspended without pay its head of news and current affairs, Tazzen Mandizvidza.

The ZBC said Mandizvidza had failed to honour an out of court settlement reached in 2015 in which the journalist, then on suspension, was to be re-instated and in return he would reimburse the state broadcaster over $1 million lost in bad financial transactions made under his watch.

In a letter dated October 23, the ZBC CEO Patrick Mavhura said the board had noted that the out-of-court settlement to recover $1,083,000 million had “yielded no results”.

“Given the gravity of the matter and the failure to make headway despite numerous endeavours to engage you by the board of directors, you are hereby placed on leave without pay and benefits with immediate effect pending determination of the issues that have arisen as a result of your acts of omission or commission which have prejudiced the corporation ,” Mavhura said in the letter.

Mandizvidza is barred from entering the ZBC premises except by prior arrangement. He was also ordered to hand in company property, including a vehicle.

Among other things, Mandizvidza reportedly owes ZBC money for irregular increment of his pay, double dipping on housing allowance, unauthorised accompanying of delegates on trips, irregular payment for a trip to India and irregular bereavement expenses.

The State-owned broadcaster, which has been drowning in debt for years, lost millions after several executives, including Mandizvidza, helped themselves to properties in Harare’s posh neighbourhoods on company-backed mortgages while continuing to collect housing allowances from ZBC.