The Harare City Council (HCC) has said it will apologise to Zimbabwe’s largest mobile telephone company Econet Wireless after municipal officials attempted to steal humanitarian aid meant to stem Zimbabwe’s deadliest cholera outbreak in a decade.

Econet founder and executive chairperson Strive Masiyiwa blew the whistle on the attempted fraud after the telecommunications giant had pumped $10 million to contain the outbreak of cholera that has so far killed 32 people, mostly in the capital, Harare.

Masiyiwa — who overcame protracted government opposition to launch mobile phone network Econet Wireless in 1998 — had responded to a crowd funding campaign launched by new Finance minister Mthuli Ncube on microblogging site Twitter to contain the rampaging outbreak, being fuelled by contaminated water and collapsing infrastructure.

The disgusted billionaire took to social media to express disappointment on the attempted fraud of humanitarian aid.

“One of the saddest things that happened last week when Econet announced that it had set aside $10 million to help with support to buy medicines and materials, was the number of suppliers and even officials in some of the affected municipalities who tried to defraud our company by offering things at highly inflated prices. Gloves worth $3 were suddenly worth $65. That is just pathetic.

“I have told my people to prepare lists of anyone who wilfully tries to exploit the situation. After this crisis is over, we will go after them on this platform, naming and shaming them,” he tweeted.

After the 57-year-old businessman expressed outrage, HCC quickly posted on its Twitter page that it had suspended four of its officials suspected of inflating prices for goods and services to be used in the fight against cholera.

The Zimbabwean businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist’s post went viral, attracting unprecedented public opprobrium.

Econet — one of the largest companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalisation — is the largest provider of telecommunications services, providing solutions in mobile and fixed wireless telephony, public payphones, Internet access and payment solutions.

Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba told the Daily News that council takes full responsibility for the regrettable attempted fraud of a company with a Christian-based vision and mission and a broad strategy for social and community investment, run under the “Econet in the Community” banner.

“We intend to write to Masiyiwa,” a remorseful Gomba said.

“Collectively council is responsible but individually those suspended are responsible. So, as the mayor, I have considered writing to him, apologising and stating what
happened.”

Gomba said council “intends to set up a special committee to look into what happened, what is currently happening, the pricing, the quality, the supply of the goods bought and whether it all conforms to the procedures of council and the procedures of the State procurement regulatory authority of Zimbabwe.”

He said there are still ongoing investigations on the four suspended officials.

“We suspended four officials from the Harare Water department procurement division and these are Philimon Rwafa a procurement and stores officer, Smart Mhuka a buyer, Tawanda Marange a cadex clerk and Tafadzwa Reza a buyer.

“Allegations are that they inflated the prices for the materials that were supposed to be bought for cholera.

“Investigations are ongoing and we will look at what they did and what items they had inflated,” he said.

It is not immediately clear if criminal charges will be preferred against the fraud-accused officials.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing minister July Moyo said donors should not be discouraged by the conduct of the four but continue to come through.

Government has declared a state of emergency that has seen the ban of public gatherings, closure of some schools around the epicentre of Glen View, and also banned the sale of meat and fish by vendors in affected areas, said the new Health minister, Obadiah Moyo.

Police are enforcing the ban to the hilt.

Moyo slammed the fraud and vowed to halt the theft of humanitarian aid by corrupt municipal officials.

“Immediate action was taken, and fortunately we know them. We are glad that the system caught those who were trying to be mischievous,” a tough-talking Moyo said.

“We are now alert that there are some people who have wrong intentions on the cholera funds.”

This is not the first-time officials have taken advantage of the cholera fund. When cholera struck Zimbabwe in 2008- 2009, the international community cried foul over their resources being abused as their monies were not accounted for and fatalities increased among those infected. At least 4 000 were killed during that era.

The incubation period for cholera, which spreads through ingestion of faecal matter and causes acute watery diarrhoea, is a matter of hours. Once symptoms start, it can kill within hours unless the patient receives treatment.

The World Health Organisation has rolled out an emergency treatment programme, based on the vestiges of Zimbabwe’s shattered health system, to try to catch new cases early and stop the explosive spread of the disease.

DailyNews

Most service stations in Harare have run dry with long queues emerging as the fuel crisis continues, despite Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya saying the sector is fully-funded.

Mangudya told the media yesterday that logistical challenges that were faced by the sector, coupled with high demand, had resulted in intermittent supplies of fuel.

“We have made arrangements to ensure that there is fuel in Zimbabwe. There is an increase in the number of vehicles in the country and that the demand for fuel has also increased, we have also increased the facilities of fuel that we have been arranging, to ensure that you and me keep on driving our vehicles and therefore what you are seeing is an increase in the demand for fuel. What you are seeing are efforts that we are putting in place to ensure that at least people continue driving their vehicles.

“What you also need to know is that there are logistical issues that are in fuel, that fuel is not produced in Zimbabwe, it comes from offshore through ship, and transported by pipeline to Harare at Msasa, so sometimes what you see are intermittent logistical issues that will be there, otherwise the fuel companies are fully funded,” Mangudya said.

Zimbabwe has, over the last few months, been experiencing intermittent fuel supplies, which has been previously blamed on foreign currency shortages.

But Mangudya yesterday said the sector was adequately funded.

“We do allocate $20 million per week, which is $80 million a month and that’s a lot of money, because you are also aware we are also allocating foreign currency to import wheat, which is basically to supplement local production. In fact, the local production is supplementing imports, because, if we produce 120 tonnes, it means it’s only good for three months, we spent about 40 000 metric tonnes, that’s about $16 million per month, over and above that you guys need cooking oil, which is about $20 million per month, so it means that you need to export more.

“So what we are talking about is that we need to generate more foreign currency in Zimbabwe, so that at least there will be no shortage at all in the country as that needs foreign currency and foreign currency does not come cheap. We need to work very hard, that’s why we need to export more minerals, more platinum, more chrome … we need to ensure that everyone works hard to ensure increased production in this country, so that we improve on import substitution. Produce more soya beans, produce more wheat, so that we don’t import wheat, produce more importable goods so that we increase on the foreign exchange, so as I have said, the permanent solution to Zimbabwe is to increase production,” he said.

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) chief executive officer Gloria Magombo told the Daily News on Sunday during the weekend that the shortages were attributed to logistical challenges, adding efforts had been made to normalise the situation.

“Some logistical challenges were experienced in some areas resulting in erratic supply of fuel. Stakeholders in the energy sector are seized with the matter and the logistical challenges have been addressed.

“Relevant stakeholders in the energy sector are being appraised of the situation on the ground and so far indications are that normal supplies have resumed across the country,” Magombo said.

Petrol in Zimbabwe is going for $1,39 per litre, while diesel is sold for $1,32, and is one of the most expensive in the region.

Fuel operators also attributed the obtaining intermittent fuel crisis to the shortage of foreign currency, as the country is grappling with a serious cash crisis, a devaluing bond note and inflated exchange rates on the black market.

Retailers buy their products outside the country through the RBZ which pays directly to the suppliers.

In terms of the arrangement that was created by the RBZ, oil companies, which are top on the priority list, approach their banks and request that payment of a certain amount be made to a company that they will be dealing with on the basis of their nostro accounts. Nostro accounts are accounts that a bank holds in foreign currency in another bank.

Following the request, the bank would accept the request, with approval from RBZ. Most fuel suppliers get the commodity outside the country, where they pay cash upfront in United States dollars, but have been having some challenges.

DailyNews

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has ordered Victoria Falls mayor Somvelo Dhlamini to step down and make way for Margaret Varley whose nomination had been rejected by both councillors and residents, MDC Alliance Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Joel Gabuza said yesterday.

Dhlamini and his 10 fellow councillors appeared before Chamisa at Richard Morgan Tsvangirai House in Harare yesterday.

“Yes, he has been asked to do that because he has to comply with the party’s directive and that directive is that, the president (Nelson Chamisa) appointed mayors in terms of the (party) constitution, so he should simply do that.

“He is supposed to do what the president directed. He is not paving a way for anyone. He is simply going to where he was put [deputy mayor] and where each one of them was put,” Gabuza said.

“The meeting was simply to explain that and for them to explain to us what exactly transpired.

In their explanation, they indicated that they had misfired and erred by not following the party directive.”

Gabuza said Varley was likely to assume the mayoral post after dismally losing to Dlamini who garnered eight votes while she got only three.

“Most probably she will attain her original position because the onus is on them. We are finalising discussions with them confirming the position because they sold out.”

Asked if Dhlamini would comply, Gabuza said: “If he is a member of our party, he has to just comply.

The president is empowered to choose (people for) those positions.

We can’t have [President Emmerson] Mnangagwa appointing a minister then another minister comes in, it doesn’t work that way.”

“So, firstly, let’s see what happens to that directive.

Once he complies, then the other things will just fall in place,” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from Dhlamini were fruitless.

Meanwhile, the Victoria Falls Municipality has postponed the 2019 budget consultative meetings after all councillors were summoned to Harare, town clerk Ronnie Dube had said.

“We were left without choice after all the 11 councillors were called to report to Morgan Tsvangirai House in Harare,” he said.

“We will likely resume from Friday [tomorrow] into the weekend, hoping they will be back by then. These issues disturb council operations.

“We will also seek guidance from the Ministry of Local Government on how we should proceed under such circumstances, because we have failed to execute our mandate as council.

The postponement was uncalled for because the budget meetings were scheduled and these councillors should have politely informed their party then travel after that,” he said.

NewsDay

Jane Mlambo| Former South African President, Kgalema Motlanthe, who chairs Zimbabwe’s Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 violence in which six civilians were shot dead by the army, has assured Zimbabweans his team shall come up with a credible report after the hearing.

He was addressing journalists soon after the commission’s swearing in by President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House Wednesday afternoon.

Motlanthe urged locals to allow his probe team some time to do its work before passing negative comment over both its composition and impartiality.

“So far allow us to do that assignment. The members in the commission are honourable people so it gives the commission a bit of credibility,” he said.

Some Zimbabweans are anxious the appointment of the team was a cover-up attempt by Mnangagwa whose government came under fire for unleashing the army to gun down unarmed civilians.

Citizens have also questioned the inclusion of University of Zimbabwe professors Charity Manyeruke and Lovemore Madhuku who are seen as interested parties in the matter.

Manyeruke is a known Zanu PF apologist whom many say was incapable of producing an impartial report while Madhuku, leader of the National Constitutional Assembly, was a presidential candidate in the just ended election.

Madhuku has angered opposition supporters through public denials the July 30 elections were rigged by the incumbent.

In his comments, Motlanthe dismissed the assertions some of his colleagues were not suited for the job.
“We did not select ourselves, the authorities, the powers that be, the person of the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe was satisfied that these commissioners are fit and proper for this job.

“This does not worry us at all because we want to hear from the people. We will consider that as a commission,” he said.
Motlanthe also said the outcome of the investigation shall be made public, adding, “You cannot have public hearings and thereafter have a secret report. It must be a public report of course.”

Angry protests rocked Harare’s CBD August 1 when there were clear signs the MDC Alliance was headed for defeat following the July 30 elections.

The opposition supporters were also angered by the erratic announcement of the results by ZEC with fears the Zanu PF led administration was buying time to tamper with the outcome.

Other members of the probe team assembled by Mnangagwa include renowned British attorney Rodney Dixon, former Commonwealth secretary general Chief Emeka Anyouko, ex-Tanzanian military boss General Davis Mwamunyange and Vimbai Nyemba, former President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

-Newzimbabwe.com

By Jane Mlambo| Police have intensified crackdown on vendors operating in the central business district of Harare.

In the pictures below, more than five police trucks were seen roaming around the CBD arresting and confiscating vendors wares, in an operation that is aimed at containing the deadly cholera outbreak currently ravaging Harare.

Jane Mlambo| Government has urged people to change their habits when greeting each other and do away with handshakes to avoid the spread of cholera.

Addressing the media in the capital yesterday, deputy minister of Health and Child Care Dr John Mangwiro said people should try other means of greeting each other so as to avoid cholera epidemic.

“Personal hygiene remains something that we need to continue doing because it is the main form of transmission of cholera, cleaning up our dump areas needs to be done very urgently and we should continuously do it as a nation not only because there is an outbreak of cholera.

“For us, cholera and typhoid are diseases of the past, when people didn’t know how to go about it. These are just diseases of cleanliness so we must be always clean.
“We need to change our habits, l know it’s very rude when someone extends a hand and you do not greet them, it might be very unfair so we have to change the way we greet so that we don’t really clasp each other’s hand hence we have to do it other way round,” he said.

Mangwiro confirmed that government was now in control of the outbreak, thanks to the intervention of various corporate companies.
“We have managed to contain the outbreak for now through interventions from different people.

“We still have cases people report but the curve is now going down which shows that our interventions are working and this is something we need to continue doing.

“The numbers arriving at our camps are now reduced so it shows that things are much better because as the disease the emergency was declared, a lot of people are conscious they rushed to the centers and people have been treated and we hope to continue like that as a nation,” added Mangwiro.

-263Chat

Jane Mlambo| Deputy Minister of Information, Energy Mutodi has tweeted that   Sibusiso Moyo, the minister of Foreign Affairs is recovering well from ‘minor illness’ at Avenues Clinic.

Mutodi who visited SB Moyo this morning said;

I have visited Minister SB Moyo at the Avenues clinic this morning. I can confirm that he is recovering well from a minor illness.

— Dr Energy Mutodi (@energymutodi) September 20, 2018

SB Moyo is reportedly suffering from renal complication and was expected to join President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his trip to the United Nations General Council but could not make it as he is admitted in hospital.

A 28-year-old kombi driver from Gweru committed suicide by downing poison in an attempt to evade arrest after impregnating a 14-year-old form two pupil.

Acting Midlands police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the incident which occurred on 14 September in Mkoba 9 when Godknows Zambezi of Mkoba 10 took a pesticide in a bushy area near Mkoba 9.

“I can confirm that we are investigating a case of sudden death where a male adult committed suicide by drinking a pesticide. It is suspected that the now deceased Godknows Zambezi committed suicide by drinking a pesticide in a bushy area near Mkoba 9 high density suburb. He was rescued by his brother who called an ambulance and was taken to Gweru Provincial Hospital. He later died on 14 September around 5 PM.

We suspect that he must have had personal problems,” she said.‎

Asst Insp Mukwende could neither deny nor confirm that Zambezi had impregnated a form two pupil.

She said it is suspected that Zambezi had personal issues.

Asst Insp Mukwende appeared to the public to seek counselling whenever they have challenges and avoid committing suicide.

A source however alleged that Zambezi had allegedly impregnated a form two pupil.‎

“What happened is that Zambezi had impregnated a form two school pupil who he used to offer lift going to school. When the girl informed him that she was pregnant he panicked and decided to commit suicide. He took a pesticide and went to a bushy area near Mkoba 9 and committed suicide. He was spotted by his brother who immediately followed him and managed to rescue him. This incident occurred on September 13 but he later died on September 14,” said the source.

State Media ‎

Flamboyant former Finance deputy minister Terrence Mukupe yesterday successfully overturned two default judgments entered against him, and which compelled him to pay a combined debt of $58 000 to a private school and Chinese-owned construction company.

In July this year, Mukupe was slapped with a $30 000 default judgment after the school, which cannot be named to protect the identity of his three minor children, petitioned the High Court demanding that the former Zanu PF legislator settle his children’s outstanding tuition fees. It later turned out that the school sought and won a default judgment after Mukupe had already paid the claimed amount directly into the school’s account.

During the same month, Mukupe was slapped with another default judgment for $28 000 in a matter involving a Chinese company, China Industrial International Group (Pvt) Ltd.

But, in his court applications filed on August 28, 2018, through his lawyers IEG Musimbe and Partners, Mukupe said he was asking the court to rescind the judgments because he had settled the debts well before the default judgments were entered.

High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi yesterday ruled in Mukupe’s favour and allowed the rescission of the two default judgments, effectively sparing the former Finance minister a civil imprisonment.

“It is my (Mukupe) averment that although summons were served upon me, I did not file an appearance to defend because I had already paid the amount claimed by the respondent (school) in June 2018, direct into respondent’s bank account when I saw a newspaper article about the respondent’s claim,” Mukupe said.

“It is my averment that I paid the respondent $30 000 in June 2018…, therefore, I had extinguished the amount being claimed by the respondent and there was, therefore, no reason to proceed with claim under case number HC5641/18.

In response to the Chinese-owned construction firm’s debt, Mukupe said he had equally settled the debt, and there was no need for the firm to secure a default judgment.

“I submit that I was unable to make payment due to some financial constraints earlier on in the year, however, when I was advised by my legal practitioners of the balance being claimed, I made a transfer of $14 000 through my legal practitioners of record to the respondent’s legal practitioners. Therefore, I submit that I have always been willing to pay as evidenced by the fact that I had already paid part of the balance and I intend to clear the balance as soon as possible,” he said.

HARARE mayor Herbert Gomba yesterday launched his 100-day plan in which he is seeking to change the face of the once sunshine city by attending to the deteriorating infrastructure that has, in some cases, turned into death traps.

These include roads, lighting, water and sewer reticulation, among others.

In a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Enock Mupamawonde, Gomba said the onus was now on various council executives to start delivering on his 100-day plan.

“This council is using this initiative to articulate the right strategic priorities,” he said.

“Thematic working groups, which will be implementing the goals, have been set up. The goals are covering roads, water, capturing of Hopley properties and general beautification of the city. A plan for measuring goals and tracking success has been put in place.

“The teams will be reporting weekly to a monitoring and evaluation committee.”

Gomba said council believed that when there was a policy direction, it must be followed religiously so that all activities were in sync and moving in the same direction towards the development of the city.

The mayor said as the capital, Harare must lead by example to allow other local authorities to follow suit.

“Harare, as the capital city, should show the strategic leadership so that other local authorities can also tap into the knowledge and vast experience of our teams, which have been implementing the rapid results initiative,” he said.

Various team leaders drawn from senior managers at Town House also outlined their targets and how they would be implemented.

Some of the targets include resealing, overlaying and road markings, repairing of traffic lights and improvements on solid waste management, among others.

Newsday

SCORES of Zanu PF supporters in Manicaland yesterday stormed the provincial party headquarters in Mutare, demanding the election of a new executive to replace the current one led by Mike Madiro.

Placard-wielding demonstrators accused Madiro’s provincial executive of fanning divisions by suspending perceived rivals.

Some of the placards read: “We don’t want imposition of candidates,” “No to imposition of party leadership”, “We want the current leadership to be dissolved. Why sacrificing party members?”

Several party members, including former provincial vice-chairperson Joseph Mujati and Prosper Sithole, who is political commissar in Chipinge, were recently slapped with prohibition orders.

The duo, alongside several others, yesterday underwent disciplinary hearings led by Zanu PF provincial vice-chairperson, Dorothy Mabika.

Mabika, who was also reportedly imposed by Madiro, was humiliated as party supporters stormed the hearings and started singing protest songs.

The visibly shaken Mabika watched in despair as the supporters openly told her that she was imposed by Madiro and, therefore, illegitimate.

One of the demonstrators, Aphia Ingresi, who is the Zanu PF Headlands constituency youth chairperson, said they were being victimised by Madiro, claiming that he was responsible for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s poor showing in the province in the July 30 poll.

Despite Zanu PF winning 19 parliamentary seats out of the 26 available in the province, Mnangagwa lost in the presidential elections to MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa.

“We are worried that Madiro is no longer popular in the province. He imposed himself and he later imposed his deputy, Dorothy Mabika,” he said.

“He was responsible for the loss of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the province, and if this is not addressed, things are going to get worse.”

Sithole’s prohibition order alleged that the activist booed the party leadership, including Madiro, during an inter-district meeting at Tanganda Primary School in Chipinge.

“You shouted obscenities at the provincial leadership, fanning factionalism even after a verbal warning by the provincial disciplinary committee,” said the prohibition order.

Sithole yesterday accused Madiro of witch-hunting members not supportive of Mabika in the recent party’s primary elections for the Chipinge Central seat.

Newsday

Jane Mlambo| Chipinge is on high alert following a suspected cholera case reported at one of the district clinics with the District Administrator, Mr William Mashava urging villagers to stop all community gatherings until further notice.

In a communication seen by Zimeye, Mashava said the suspected case was highlighted likely going to test turn positive following the outbreak being reported just six kilometers outside the district.

“Please be advised that Cholera is real and we must remain vigilant at any time and at any place.

“We must stop all gatherings especially to do with communities.

“There’s a suspected case in the district at Mutandahwe Clinic and chances are high that this might turn out positive as cases have been confirmed positive just 6km away from Mutandahwe across Jack Quinton Bridge at Rupangwana,” said Mashava.

He added that the Ministry of Health and Child Care is currently carrying tests to determine the status of the suspected case.

Cholera has been reported in other parts of the country besides Harare where it has claimed more than 30 lives.

Government has since declared the outbreak a national disaster to allow the corporate and well wishers to help towards containing the epidemic that has so far recorded more than 5000 cases.

ZIMBABWE Revenue Authority (Zimra) and its employees have clashed over loss control lifestyle audits after the board approved a policy which permits use of the audit findings as a basis for contract renewal.

The body which represents employees of the revenue authority has begun mobilising its members not to comply with the policy and asked them to refer the issue to the union.

A Zimra board communique dated August 26 2018 and signed by chairperson Willia Bonyongwe authorised loss control officers to conduct comprehensive lifestyle audits on employees and report any “unusual and unethical conduct” to the commissioner-general.

“Lifestyle audits findings may be used as part of the contract renewal screening process,” reads an excerpt from the board communique.

Efforts to obtain a comment from Bonyongwe were fruitless at the time of going to print.

The lifestyle audit policy, developed and adopted as an anti-corruption measure, gives the loss control division powers to effect audits on spouses and children of Zimra employees in terms of section 44 (1) of the Income Tax Act.

The scope of the loss control appraisals includes identifying the existence or the potential of integrity failures and breaches by Zimra employees that may result in actual or potential losses to the organisation or impairment of its objectives.

Employees are expected to provide loss control documented responses and all the necessary attachments within three working days.

In cases where one fails to provide such documents or attachments within the stipulated timeframe, loss control officers are authorised to make an opinion it deems appropriate without further reference to the subject concerned.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and Allied Workers Trade Union (Zimtratu), in a letter dated September 1 2018, has demanded a withdrawal of the policy, labelling it as “illegal”.

“Our considered view after analysing the policy is that the loss control policy is illegal and that Zimra must withdraw it as it is a legal nullity,” Zimratu said in the letter.

“We have noted that this policy violates the Constitution of Zimbabwe on privacy and the Labour Act on fair labour practices.”

“The employees are required to give relevant documents requested by loss control as documentary evidence. In the event of a staff member refusing to give documented responses and attachments, this shall result in the employee being disciplined in terms of the Zimra code of conduct.”

Newsday

By A Correspondent|Prominent Harare preacher, Apostle Thomas Chiwenga, who usually predicts major events in the country has revealed that he sees two important people dying in quick succession in Zimbabwe, which will have an impact on the future.

“I see two coffins, coffins that will bring this country to a standstill. People right now have people they have in mind that they think are dying, but I see people surprised, saying ‘we thought this one was in good health, what happened?’

“One person is being buried and preparations are being made to go and pick up the second body for burial,”

Chiwenga, who leads Jesus Revelation Ministries, said this in his latest prophecy delivered during a Sunday service on September 16 and posted on YouTube on September 18.

Apostle Chiwenga, previously foretold the death of former MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and former President Robert Mugabe’s ouster.

In the same prophecy on Mugabe’s exit, he said his successor would be an interim leader and would rule for a “very short time”.

LOCAL financial institution, CBZ Limited, has petitioned the High Court seeking an order to compel former Home Affairs minister, Obert Mpofu, his wife Sikhanyisiwe, and the couple’s business, Trebo and Kays, to settle an outstanding $76 000 bank loan.

Through its lawyers, GN Mlotshwa and Company, the bank issued summons in August after which Mpofu, his wife and business — through their lawyers Mataka, Chambati and Makonese — entered appearance to defend but later requested for further particulars from the bank.

In its declaration, the financial institution said sometime in December 2009, it entered into a written loan facility agreement with the former minister’s business which the latter allegedly reneged on, prompting the current litigation.

“The material terms of the said loan facility where plaintiff (CBZ) would allow the first defendant [Trebo and Kays] to access an amount not exceeding $1 000 000, the loan will be payable on demand but until such demand had been made; the facility would expire on October 31, 2010,” the bank said.

According to the court papers, Mpofu and his wife stood as surety and co-principal debtors to the bank for the payments of all amounts due to the bank by their company.

“The plaintiff has complied with all material terms of the contract by performing all its obligations. In breach of the contract and despite demand, the defendants have failed, neglected and or refused to pay the outstanding amount of $75 763,38,” the bank said.

“Wherefore plaintiff claims $75 763,38, interest at the prescribed rate from the date of summons to date of full and final payment, collection commission as prescribed by the Law Society of Zimbabwe and cost of suit on a legal practitioner and client scale.”

However, in their response to the claim, Mpofu and his co-defendants filed a request for further particulars on September 14, 2018 in which they requested for a copy of the claimed written loan facility agreement.

They also said they would want the bank to explain that of the claimed amount “what was the actual draw down by [Trebo and Kays] as a principal debtor”, adding they also want “evidence of the draw down in the form of withdrawal payment instruction vouchers”.

Lastly, they said the bank should explain “why was the demand not done on expiration of the facility on October 31, 2010” and how the claimed amount has been computed.

The matter is still pending.

Newsday

MDC Alliance senior member who wanted to contest the Insiza South Parliamentary candidate Honest Mafu is on the run from the police who are pursuing him for three counts of stock theft.

Mafu (34) of Mthabisi Village in Filabusi allegedly fled from the police who had set a trap for him at Mbokodo Abattoir on the outskirts of Bulawayo on August 28.

He left behind his two accomplices who were arrested and are assisting police with investigations.

The three were intercepted as Mafu was driving his Mitsubishi Pajero registration number AAP 0472 behind a truck carrying five cattle.

Earlier in May, Mafu was arrested for allegedly stealing nine head of cattle with the assistance of two accomplices. He was supposed to appear in court on August 25. The allegations led to the MDC Alliance coalition disqualifying him from contesting the Insiza South seat which was eventually lost by Angilacala Ncube to ZANU PF.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele yesterday said Mafu faces three counts of stock theft, with his latest crime having been committed three weeks ago.

“Police are appealing to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of a serial stock thief who fled from the scene about a week ago, abandoning his truck with five head of cattle and his two accomplices. If anyone has information on his whereabouts, may they contact their nearest police station or our operations number 0284-20139,” he said.

Sources said villagers tipped-off the police on Mafu’s alleged case of stock theft and they set up a trap at Mbokodo Abattoir where he intended to sell the beasts.

However, upon seeing the police, Mafu reportedly sped off but along the way crashed the vehicle and abandoned it. The vehicle is under police guard at Donnington Police Station.

The sources said Mafu was recently spotted in Johannesburg, South Africa where he reportedly fled to escape prosecution.

“Some of our home boys in neighbouring South Africa have claimed to have seen the serial stock thief. We pray that he is arrested so that he goes to jail where he rightfully belongs,” said the source.

In May, Mafu was not asked to plead when he appeared briefly before Gwanda magistrate, Mr Obedience Matare, facing stock theft charges. He was granted bail.

The allegations against Mafu were that he connived with two other people and stole nine beasts from Riverbrock Farm in Colleen Bawn.

The offence came to light after his two accomplices, who are on the run, were seen loading the cattle onto a truck at Jessie Mine.

The two accused persons, upon seeing that they had been spotted, fled.

A follow up was made with the assistance of the truck driver which led to Mafu’s arrest after a trap.

Mafu was found with a sim card that was used for communication during the commission of the offence.

An EcoCash transaction incriminating Mafu was also found.

State Media

The seven-member Commission of Inquiry into the post-election violence that took place on August 1 in Harare, was sworn in at State House yesterday.

The commission has been tasked to investigate the violence that resulted in the death of six people after MDC-Alliance supporters stormed the capital’s central business district resulting in the destruction of property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Members of the commission, chaired by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, took their oath before President Mnangagwa.

Members of the commission from outside Zimbabwe are international law expert Mr Rodney Dixon QC from the United Kingdom, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku from Nigeria and former Chief of Defence Forces of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces General (Retired) Davis Mwamunyange.

Local members of the team are University of Zimbabwe (UZ) lecturers Professors Charity Manyeruke and Lovemore Madhuku and former president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) Mrs Vimbai Nyemba.

Speaking to the media, former President Motlanthe said they would listen to all views from any Zimbabwean.

“It won’t be a private thing, we will meet everybody and the Zimbabweans,” he said.

“We will be issuing a statement on Saturday inviting all Zimbabweans (to give their views) and giving them all the phone numbers (to contact us). We want to hear all the versions (of what transpired).”

He added that as the chairperson, he was happy with the latitude they had been given to do their job.

“So far they have allowed us to that work so I think its fine,” he said.

On concerns raised in some quarters on some of the local commissioners, the former South African President said they were honourable people.

“Well these are honourable people and it gives the commission some kind of credibility. If people have that kind of worry (on the commissioners’ credibility) they will tell us and we will consider that as a commission,” he said.

“We didn’t select ourselves and the person of the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe satisfied themselves that these commissioners are fit and proper for the task so we will work with them.”

He said their findings would be made public once they complete their work in three months as is envisaged.

Prof Madhuku said there was no room for bias in their investigations.

“The terms of reference are very wide they allow the commission to investigate anything that Zimbabweans want to investigate,” he said.

“I am aware that people have raised that (alleged bias). They should understand that what is happening is an inquiry based on evidence so it’s our capacity and my capacity to understand what has happened so there is no room for partiality and bias because it is based on evidence.”

Also present at the ceremony were the two Vice Presidents —Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi — Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Attorney-General Prince Machaya, Acting Prosecutor General Kumbirai Hodzi and other senior Government officials.

State Media

By Paul Nyathi|Minister of Foreign Affairs Sibusiso Moyo has been hospitalised at the Avenues clinic with a renal infection, sources have revealed to ZimEye.com.

Moyo was meant to be part of the rather huge Zimbabwean entourage that accompanied President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday evening but could not make the trip as his health deteriorated.

The sources revealed that Moyo might be going for theatre at the hospital on Thursday.

Moyo, who is a darling of many is referred to as the “People’s Soldier” after the famous television appearance as army spokesperson announcing the removal of former President Robert Mugabe in a “smart” coup in November last year.

Zimbabweans travelling to Zambia through Chirundu Border Post have described as inhumane the cholera screening process introduced by Zambian authorities at the one-stop-border post that involves making people take laxatives.

Passengers travelling by bus are reportedly being given laxatives to induce bowel movement to produce stool that is then tested for cholera.

Ministry of Health and Child Care officials in Mashonaland West yesterday indicated that the matter had been reported to the highest offices.

The Zambian government yesterday announced that the capital city — Lusaka — had recorded 21 cases of cholera without any fatalities. The testing programme using laxatives has also reportedly caused congestion at the border.

Mashonaland West provincial medical director Dr Wenceslaus Nyamayaro confirmed receiving similar reports from officials at Chirundu Border Post.

“We have received the reports of travellers being screened at the border post and we have engaged our permanent secretary (Dr Gerald Gwinji) on the matter,” Dr Nyamayaro said.

“The issue of people being given tablets to trigger bowel movement is a bit disturbing because we know that we cannot control cholera by shutting down the border, but to encourage hygiene among our people.”

He said Zambia had a cholera outbreak whose epicentre was in Lusaka that claimed more than 100 lives and affected over 5 000 people, but travellers from that country were not subjected to that treatment.

According to sources at Chirundu, the screening involved people being asked to take the laxative, a doxycycline preventive tablet while being asked to wash their hands.

“The situation was particularly pathetic on Monday morning when members of an apostolic sect were asked to take the tablet that caused them to visit the toilet.

“People lined up intending to relieve themselves at the same time. This is inhuman.”

No sample tested positive for the disease.

Health and Child Care provincial health promotion officer Mr George Kambondo said Government had since activated a hotline that can be used to report any health matters and complaints.

“We are appealing to all the people who may have any health complaints to call on PMD Mashonaland West Hotline 0771489415,” he said.

Mr Kambondo said there was no reason for Zambian immigration officials to react in the manner they did as rapid response teams were on high cholera alert.

“All the health workers at village level and stakeholders have been sensitised on the cholera outbreak in the province.

“The teams composed of provincial health executives from the ministry are conducting routine inspections at food outlets while illegal cooking stations have been closed,” he said.

Mr Kambondo said the Chirundu Local Board had been engaged to attend to potential hazards that may trigger an outbreak.

Further, he said, Government was reviewing water rationing programmes in some areas where water was only available at midnight.

Police details are also confiscating fish from vendors coming from Harare to Chinhoyi and other areas in the province at roadblocks.

A multi-stakeholder taskforce has been set up in Chirundu to collaborate with Zambian authorities to spearhead cholera prevention initiatives.

The taskforce comprises Government departments, Chirundu Local Board and non-governmental organisations operating in the border town.

Local board secretary Mr Wilson Gunhe said clean-up campaigns were being conducted in the border town among other efforts to eliminate chances of an outbreak.

“We meet regularly with our Zambian counterparts because of the high volumes of people that come to the border town.

“We have people coming from as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo where there is an Ebola outbreak, Tanzania and other countries in the region. We are always on alert,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Government of Zambia yesterday issued a statement indicating that Lusaka district had recorded 21 new cases of cholera.

“There are no cholera deaths recorded. All patients are currently under treatment. Several measures will be undertaken in an effort to help safeguard lives and prevent further spread of this deadly disease.” – state media

ZANU PF leader Emmerson nangagwa last night left for the 73rd Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he will join other world leaders in discussing how best to create equitable and peaceful societies.

The 73rd General Assembly Ordinary Session will mark Mnangagwa’s maiden address to the world’s largest inter-state organisation, following his victory in the July 30 Presidential election.

Mnangagwa was seen off at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by senior Government officials.

Kembo Mohadi is the Acting President. Zimbabwe’s Head of State and Government has made engagement and re-engagement with the international community one of the pillars of his transformation agenda that seeks to make Zimbabwe a middle-income society by 2030.

Mnangagwa is expected to hold bilateral talks with fellow leaders, as well as have engagements with business interest groups as part of an investment drive that has secured commitments worth more than $20 billion in less than a year.

Further, the theme for this year’s General Assembly debate dovetails well with Mnangagwa’s crusade to foster sustainable peace and economic equity at home.

World leaders’ discussions this year have been themed: “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”.

The 73rd Session of the General Assembly started on September 18, 2018, while the Grand Debate proper — led by Heads of State and Government and/or their representatives — opens on September 25.

Prior to the Grand Debate, there will be a high-level plenary on global peace to mark the centenary of the birth of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela (The Nelson Mandela Peace Summit).

On September 26, leaders will discuss the global fight against tuberculosis, as a follow up to discussions in February this year.

The following day will focus largely on the review of progress made in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

This will be the third time that the UN General Assembly has set aside a day for discussion of this emerging global health concern.- state media

A popular Bulawayo DJ and car salesman sustained injuries on his belly and hands after his landlady allegedly poured hot cooking oil on him following a hot chips row, police confirmed yesterday.

Mrs Cecelia Sibanda (60) allegedly accused Mr Ngqabutho Mpofu (34) popularly known as DJ Vulcan who also runs Vulcan Car Sales, of trying to burn down her Nkulumane house after he forgot a pan containing cooking oil on a lit stove.

Mr Mpofu yesterday told Chronicle that he was frying hot chips on Saturday when Mrs Sibanda attacked him.

“I was frying potato chips but unfortunately l went to do something in my bedroom and the chips over burnt. She (Sibanda) panicked when she saw the smoke and advanced into my bedroom holding the pan of oil. She poured it on me shouting that l had plotted to destroy the house and l was wasting electricity,’’ he said.

Mr Mpofu said he was rushed to United Bulawayo Hospitals where he was treated and discharged. He has a swathe of bandages around his arms and torso.

Mr Mpofu said he wants police to arrest Mrs Sibanda. “She has no right to burn me even though l’m her tenant. The police should make her account for this. She cannot claim that l wanted to burn the house, those are false allegations,’’ he said.

Mr Mpofu said the incident has affected his business because he has not been able to go to work. “I am a car sales person and a public icon so imagine moving around with such wounds. How will customers and the public react?’’ said Mr Mpofu.

Contacted for comment, Mrs Sibanda said Mr Mpofu burnt himself. “I was awakened by thick smoke in the house and went on to knock at his door. He appeared to be fast asleep. I did not burn him, he burnt himself,’’ said Mrs Sibanda.

Bulawayo Province Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said police were investigating the incident.

“I confirm a case between Ngqabutho Mpofu and Cecelia Sibanda. The tenant accuses the landlady of burning him with cooking oil,’’ she said.

She said members of the public should desist from using violent and life threatening measures when a dispute arises.

“Being humane calls for people to involve a third party when there is a misunderstanding, rather than using violence,’’ she said.

State Media -Both Emmerson Mnangagwa and new Finance minister Mthuli Ncube have ruled out the immediate return of the decommissioned Zimbabwe dollar — saying the country will for now continue to use bond notes and the multiple currency system until the local economy stabilises.

This comes as there has been growing anxiety among both business and ordinary Zimbabweans, following the dramatic spike in foreign currency rates on the parallel market over the past few weeks.

The forex black market rates ran amok last week following the suggestion by Ncube that the government would be phasing out bond notes before the end of the year — a position that authorities have since moved to dampen.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday during his inaugural State of the Nation Address (Sona), Mnangagwa said bond notes and the multiple currency regime would remain in place, at least until the economy had stabilised.

Similarly, Ncube also said yesterday that the bond notes and the multiple currency system — in which the much-coveted United States dollar is effectively the country’s anchor currency — would continue to power all monetary transactions until the government had finalised its planned currency reforms.

He revealed that a committee to deal with both the currency and fiscal reforms would be appointed next month — although he didn’t give the time lines for the completion of this work.

“People should accept the bond note because as of today we have not changed the currency. They should accept it … until we have come up with a package which will then be a lasting solution to the currency and fiscal issues.

“The direction on currency reforms is also linked with the direction on fiscal reforms. What we are considering is a package that will be a foundation for a strong currency going forward.
“As I often say, monetary reforms and fiscal reforms are two necks of the same body,” Ncube told the media.

The highly-regarded new Finance minister had sent the markets into a tailspin last week after he outlined his vision, soon after his inauguration, where he suggested that bond notes would be gone before the end of this year.

“I am very clear that there have to be currency reforms and the (current) currency approach is not working.

“In doing so, there are three choices that I will explore and pursue with urgency. One, adopt the US dollar only and remove the bond notes from circulation through a demonetisation process and also liberalise exchange controls.

“Two, adopt the Rand by negotiating to join the Rand Monetary Area, and this will close the gap with regards to the loss of competitiveness against our largest trading partner, South Africa.

“Three, adopt a new Zim dollar, and here one needs to be clear that it has to be backed by adequate foreign reserves and macroeconomic conditions for its stability.

“Foreign currency accounts will also be introduced. For sure, currency reforms will be implemented,” Ncube said in remarks which were later seen as contributing to the current upheaval on the parallel market.

Zimbabwe introduced the bond notes towards the end of 2016 as part of its desperate bid to address the country’s severe cash and liquid crisis — all this under a special arrangement with Afrexim Bank.
However, the country has remained in the grip of a ginormous economic crisis characterised by endless cash queues and the acute foreign currency shortages.

Despite Zimbabwe having a decent tobacco season, as well as having significantly improved its gold sales, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has not been able to allocate adequate foreign currency to key sectors of the economy.

Ncube also said yesterday that the government was not only working on broader economic reforms aimed at addressing the currency problems, but also the government’s excessive spending which has been fingered as being behind many of the country’s macro-economic problems.

“The fiscal side is also an albatross on the monetary side. So, if we are going to have monetary sector reforms, we also need reforms on the fiscal side and these include reducing the budget deficit to a single digit as quickly as we can and adopting a budgeting approach that always take a medium-term approach.

“So, it’s a package that we are working on rather than something as narrow as the currency that is being used on the street … that’s the foundation for a strong currency going forward,” Ncube said.
Mnangagwa and his Cabinet are under pressure to stop the economy from sliding back into the throes of an economic crisis similar to the 2008 hyperinflation era.

Over the past few weeks, the prices of basic commodities shot up sharply, while some goods have disappeared completely from supermarket shelves due to the country’s acute foreign currency shortages.

This has come at the same time that industry has warned that the deepening foreign currency crisis is making it difficult for manufacturers to import critical raw materials on time.

Industry, as a result, has also warned of further price hikes and shortages of basic consumer goods.

Already the country is experiencing shortages of basic goods, hospital drugs and construction materials such as cement.

Last week, millers also confirmed that a bread crisis was looming as wheat stocks in the country had now reached critical levels.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe yesterday received a huge boost from Britain which said it would be supporting the country’s plan to clear its debt arrears with the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

Zimbabwe owes the two institutions a combined $1,8 billion.

Clearing the arrears would help the country to be considered for borrowing fresh money, and thereby help to resuscitate the ailing economy. – state media

Tonight ZimEye interviews the brave female journalist from Gambia, Fatou Camara, who took on the then President Yahya Jammeh, the latter who vowed to rule the country for a billion years.

President Jammeh is now a “border jumper” – he fled to Equitoria Guinea. WATCH Fatou Camara’s struggles below –

By Paul Nyathi|New Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has revealed that his Ministry has suspended the purchase of new vehicles for Members of Parliament and Ministers to allow resources to be directed towards the fight against cholera

Ncube made the revelation in a press conference held in Harare on Wednesday.

Ncube said this calling upon Zimbabweans to embrace crowd funding towards the cholera outbreak.

“With the 15.7 million that the government has pledged towards the out break of cholera,we suspended things like purchase of vehicles for Ministers and Members of Parliament to make sure that we deal with this out break immediately.

Parliamentarians are geared to receive from government high profile vehicles soon. The cost of the vehicles has been worked out to be over $20 million.

The government committee on cholera chairperson July Moyo early this week indicated that government needed $57 million to bring a permanent end to the cholera epidemic.

Ncube invited citizens to be part of the process to eradicate cholera by donating into the crowd funds.

“Of cause there is still a gap,its a long term gap in the sense that we still need further investments within the sector so that there will be further resources from the public.

“Crowd funding is not new,l just brought it to Zimbabwe remember after September 11 this was done of cause l am not trying to compare our selves with other governments but politicians in the United States use crowd funding to raise money from as little as a dollar to finance whatever they are doing.

“This is normal in developed countries and this is what we are trying to do in Zimbabwe so that we match what the corporates are doing so this will be used going forward and its voluntary whereby no-one is being forced to do so,”said Ncube.

Jane Mlambo| Zimbabwean authorities have intensified their crackdown on perceived opposition political party supporters after arresting a Harare man and charged him with committing public violence for allegedly participating in protests staged in the capital city last month over delays in announcing the results of harmonised elections.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers arrested Wellington Mariga on Tuesday 18 September 2018 in central Harare and charged him with public violence as defined in section 36 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

ZRP officers alleged that Mariga, who is represented by Gift Mtisi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, engaged in acts of violence in Harare’s Central Business District on Wednesday 01 August 2018 together with some MDC Alliance party supporters during a
demonstration held on Wednesday 01 August 2018 in the capital city to protest against the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s management of the harmonised elections held on Monday 30 July 2018, which reportedly resulted in the destruction of property and left six people dead after they were shot by some members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

Mariga was granted $100 bail on Wednesday 19 September 2018 by Harare Magistrate Ruramai Chitumbura and ordered to report once a week on Fridays at the CID Law and Order Section at Harare Central Police Station.

He becomes the latest person to be charged with committing public violence during the elections protest following the arrest of more than 30 people including Tendai Biti, one of the MDC Alliance party leaders.

Jane Mlambo| A Harare resident, Alice Kasinamunda will today approach police to lodge a complaint against City of Harare officials who abused cholera funds donated by Econet Zimbabwe.

According to Community Water Alliance (CWA), Kasinamunda will make the report at Harare Central Police Station against Philemon Rwafa who is City of Harare, Procurement and Stores Officer, Smart Mhuka and Tafadzwa Reza who are both Buyers as well as Tawanda Marange, a Cadex Clerk.

Early this week, Econet Founder, Strive Masiyiwa fumed about City officials who inflated the price of gloves from $3 to $65 on the back of a $10 million donation from the leading telecommunication company.
Econet’s donation follows government declaration of a state of emergency and a call for support from corporates and well wishers to help address the outbreak.

Acting Town Clerk, Hosiah Chisango has since suspended the four from work to pave way for full investigations into the matter.
Harare is battling to contain the deadly cholera outbreak that has so far claimed 37 lives from the more than 5000 reported cases.

Staff Reporter|What started off as a normal annual praise and worship gospel music concert for Gwanda three years ago will this year be a full fledged two day President Emmerson Mnangagwa victory celebration gathering on the 5th and 6th October.

Bank rolled by Zimbabwean but South African based billionaire businessman Justice Maphosa who rescued President Mnangagwa from the jaws of death at the hands of former President Robert Mugabe, the highly funded musical concert enters its fourth year but this year with a difference.

ZimEye.com sources from Gwanda indicated that this year’s show which will be graced by Mnangagwa has been dedicated to celebrate his victory in the presidential elections held on July 30.

According to the sources, the ZANU PF provincial structures in Matabeleland South are working flat out mobilising party members to attend the concert which brings in several high profile South African musicians on a state of the art stage and equipment brought into the country from S.A.

Asked if the concert will go ahead besides the cholera epidemic ravaging the country, the sources said nothing will stop the celebration concert from going ahead as planned.

Mnangagwa revealed Maphosa as the man who picked him up from the Mozambique bushes last year in October when he fled possible assassination by Mugabe state security agents.

Maphosa is reported to have chartered a small plane to pick up Mnangagwa and kept him at a safe place until his return to Zimbabwe when he was installed as the President after a successful military coup on Mugabe.

Jane Mlambo| The Supreme Court has ordered the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) to pay its former general manager (radio programming), Allan Chiweshe, over $1, 2 million in unpaid salaries and benefits after dismissing the public broadcaster’s appeal.

Labour Court judge Justice Lawrence Murasi in June last year gave the ZBC a 30-day ultimatum to pay Chiweshe his dues after upholding an arbitral award in his favour and also ordered the national broadcaster to reinstate him.

This followed an application by arbitrator Letwin Sigauke, who had approached the High Court seeking confirmation of a draft ruling after making a determination that the national broadcaster had unlawfully dismissed Chiweshe and ought to have paid him compensation.

However, ZBC, through its lawyers, then opposed the application, saying the confirmation of the arbitral award should be stayed pending the resolution of a civil dispute pitting the broadcaster and its other ex-employees at the High Court. But Justice Murasi declined to grant a stay of the proceedings, saying the two matters were clearly unrelated.

ZBC then petitioned the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the arbitral award, but failed to prosecute its appeal. The appeal was dismissed on September 7, 2018.
“I refer to my letter dated July 10, 2018 in which you were called upon to file heads of argument. To date, no heads of argument have been received. The appeal is, therefore, deemed to have been abandoned and is accordingly dismissed,” Supreme Court registrar said.

“By copy of this letter, the records of appeal are being returned to court of origin to enable the respondent (Chiweshe) to execute judgment appealed against.”
According to court papers, Chiweshe was dismissed sometime in November 2014 on allegations of misconduct. But in a subsequent hearing, the hearing officer determined that the procedure which the ZBC had adopted in dismissing him was incorrect and ordered proceedings to start afresh.

Following the hearing officer’s determination, ZBC reinstated and again suspended Chiweshe on the same day, being March 10, 2015.

Chiweshe is now set to register the arbitral award with the High Court.
-Gweru Times

Haddon and Sly workers protest over outstanding salaries as the supermarket along Fife Street closed doors on Friday
Kudzai Chikiwa, Chronicle Reporter
DISGRUNTLED workers at Haddon and Sly Supermarket in Bulawayo have been sleeping at the premises for three days in protest over outstanding salaries as they suspect the retail outlet has been closed without their knowledge.

The supermarket last opened its doors for business on Thursday last week.

Management at the supermarket had in July threatened to shut down permanently, citing operational challenges.

Workers said they were last paid in July and alleged the supermarket, one of oldest in the city, owes its suppliers a fortune in arrears.

“We now work two weeks in and two weeks out and we are still owed our dues for previous months and they are not even promising when they will pay us. This is terrible because we are getting paid for just the two weeks each month,” said one of the workers during a protest on Sunday.

The management reportedly failed to address the matter, forcing workers to protest and sleep at the premises.

“This is uncalled for, instead of coming to address us and settle our dispute, the management is ignoring us. Rather they decided not even to show up at work but closed their shop and disappeared,’’ said one of the workers.

Another employee said the management initially closed the shop on grounds of stock taking.

“Normally stock taking does not take more than a day but this time we were sent home and when we came back we were surprised to find the shop closed. The situation continued for days and this is the third day. These people are duping us and we suspect it’s their way of dismissing us from work,’’ said a worker on Sunday.

Contacted for comment on Sunday, Haddon and Sly manager Mr Onias Ncube said it was true that they had not settled debts with workers and they (workers) were losing trust in their employer.

However, later in the day he said workers had been paid their outstanding amount.

Asked if the supermarket has closed down permanently, Mr Ncube said Haddon and Sly is not closing but he would update the news crew on the developments after a meeting with the company’s directors.

Meanwhile, the disgruntled workers said they no longer trust their employer because threats of shutting down the shop have gone viral on social media.

They said they still wait for the management to officially announce whether the company is closing or not.

“Since July the management has threatened to close and this may be a sign of shutting down the shop. As you can see that there is no stock in the shop, how then can we trust a continuation of this business when it is clear that restocking is a challenge?’’ one of the workers asked.

State Media

President Emmerson Mnangagwa opened the First Session of the Ninth Parliament and delivered the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Tuesday 18th September. (Sections 140(1) and 140(4) of the Constitution respectively).

Legislative Agenda

During his address, the President highlighted about 30 Bills his Government expects to send to Parliament for consideration during the session.

Although Section 147 of the Constitution provides that “On the dissolution of Parliament, all proceedings pending at the time are terminated and every Bill, motion, petition and other business lapses”, the unfinished work of the Eighth Parliament in terms of Bills (since effectively all Bills emanate from the Executive) gave us insight into the tone the President to set. A number of the Bills he mentioned [the Bills with asterisks below] were either awaiting gazetting or were already before the Eighth Parliament when it was dissolved.

The President set out an ambitious legislative agenda on Bills relating on the ease of doing business, Bills to continue the alignment process and international legal instruments that will be tabled before Parliament for ratification.

Economic Agenda Bills

1. Companies and Other Business Entities Bill* – to overhaul the Companies Act
2. Regional Town and Country Planning Bill – to reduce the time and procedures for processing construction permits.
3. Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Bill – to consolidate various pieces of legislation on investment, which are presently spread under various Acts and to provide for the establishment of a one-stop investment centre, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency.
4. Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill
5. Immigration Amendment Bill
6. Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill* – to be re-tabled to address some inadequacies therein and further provide for online registration of mining rights and title.
7. Gold Trade Bill – to curb leakages of precious minerals.
Precious Stones Trade Bill – to curb leakages of precious minerals.
9. A Bill to establish the Institute of Education Research, Innovation and Development to align with the programme on value addition and import substitution strategies.
10. Consumer Protection Bill* – to protect consumers from unfair trade practices and abuse by suppliers of sub-standard goods.
11. Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill – to further open up our media space.
12. Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill – to further open up our media space.
13. Cyber Crime and Security Bill* – to mitigate the security risks and cybercrime related threats.
14. Data Protection Bill*
15. Electronic Transactions and Electronic Commerce Bill*
16. Labour Amendment Bill – in line with the ease and cost of doing business reforms; and equally seek an intricate balance between labour productivity and workplace harmony.
17. Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill – to strengthen the regulation of cooperatives in the country
18. Tripartite negotiating forum Bill* – to facilitate participatory development by fostering greater collaboration between all social partners

Alignment Bills

1. Coroner’s Office Bill* – to provide for the establishment of the Coroner’s Office.
2. Constitutional Court Bill – to, inter alia, confer additional responsibilities to the Constitutional Court.
3. Customary Law and Local Courts Bill – to provide for the exclusion of harmful cultural practices from Customary Law.
4. High Court Amendment Bill – to provide for clear appeals and referral procedures from the High Court to the Constitutional Court and establish their jurisdictional matters.
5. Rural District Councils Bill – to give Rural Councils greater autonomy, as enshrined in the Constitution.
6. Traditional Leaders Amendment Bill – to bring it into line with the Constitution and more particularly, to provide for the establishment of Provincial Assemblies.
7. Provincial and Metropolitan Councils Bill – to facilitate the devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities to Provincial and Local Authorities. Through the Bill, Provincial and Metropolitan Councils will be reconfigured in accordance with Chapter 14 of the Constitution. The Bill will further seek to facilitate enhanced coordination between Central Government, Provincial Councils and Local Authorities, within the context of the decentralisation and devolution programme.
8. Public Finance Management Amendment Bill – to facilitate the allocation of sufficient resources for basic social services and economic development at the local level.
9. Forest Amendment Bill* – to provide for measures to effectively foster the sustainable management of the country’s forestry resource.

Other Bills

1. Child Justice Bill – to provide a child justice system.
2. Marriage Amendment Bill – to outlaw child marriages.
3. Mandatory Sentencing for Rape and Sexual Abuse Bill

International Instruments

The Government intends to bring the following six international legal instruments for ratification
1. The Kigali Amendment to the Nogoya – Kualar Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Stability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-Safety.
2. The Accession to the Additional Protocol to the Agreements between States and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards.
3. The Accession to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.
4. The Accession to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.
5. The Accession to the Convention on Assistance in the case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiology Emergency and,
6. The Accession to the Convention on the Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident.

SONA Highlights

Opposition MPs walked out of the National Assembly just as the President had begun his address to the joint sitting of Parliament. The MPs only returned after the President had left the National Assembly.

During his address the President,
– highlighted that Government will work out a plan to pay off the country’s external debt.
– indicated that Government is committed towards stabilising the macro economic environment, reduce budget deficit and grow all sectors of the economy.
– said the multi-currency system will continue until economic fundamentals are met. Government has negotiated various facilities to meet forex requirements for businesses and some of them will be disbursed this week.
– challenged the private sector to be honest in their dealings.
– underscored that State owned enterprises should not be a drain on the fiscus, but should operate profitably.
– challenged the public sector to change their work ethic and improve service delivery.
– highlighted Government’s happiness with the contribution of gold, platinum and chrome to the economy.
– said there is need to scale up value addition in the manufacturing sector.
– indicated agriculture remains a strategic sector to the economy adding that revival of various value chain industries in the agriculture sector is also key.
– called for the widening of contributions of other minerals such as lithium and coal-bed methane.
– reiterated that devolution will be implemented, but should result in increased economic growth in various areas.
– said there is need for modern education and health provision especially targeting vulnerable groups.
– spoke strongly against corruption adding that no one is above the law and anyone found guilty will be dealt with.

Adjournment of both Houses

Following the President’s address to the joint sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly and his declaration that the first session was now open, both Houses then sat briefly to adjourn and set dates for resumption of business. [Note: Section 146 of the Constitution allows each House to determine its own sitting dates, other than the first sitting, and periods of recess.] The National Assembly and the Senate were both adjourned until the 25th of September. The adjournments give parliamentarians time to digest and prepare for debates on the President’s address.

Source: Southern African Parliametary Support Trust (SAPST)

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting and Presidential spokesperson George Charamba has described the boycott of President Emmerson Mnangagwa speech by opposition supporters as an exercise of futility.

Charamba said that the boycott failed and highlighted that parliament can work well without opposition members of parliament and senators.

“The boycott backfired spectacularly. If anything, it underlines that MDC parliamentary presence does not matter numerically because Zanu PF filled the empty space and what is more is we read clear differences within their ranks, which will shape their politics as we move into the future.

“With or without them, the issue is the President has tabled matters for debate and their non-attendance does not excuse them from dealing with matters he has put before Parliament. It’s an act in futility.”

OPPOSITION MDC-T leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday gave his three deputies — Elias Mudzuri, Morgen Komichi and Welshman Ncube — specific roles to play as he moves to strengthen the party following its electoral defeat in the July 30 polls.

Chamisa’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda, told NewsDay that Mudzuri, Komichi and Ncube were tasked to lead local government; policy and international relations and administration and finance, respectively.

Chamisa recently elevated Komichi from being chairperson to VP while also integrating Ncube into the mainstream MDC-T.

“VP Mudzuri is in charge of local government, Komichi in charge of party policy and international relations and Ncube is in charge of administration and finance,” Sibanda said.

“VP Ncube will be in charge of all departments that help the institution in terms of administration. He has vast experience on this one and at one point he was the secretary-general of the party. VP Mudzuri has a lot of experience in his portfolio and he is an engineer.”

Sibanda expressed confidence that the appointments would yield the desired results and exhibit more organisational strength.

“Those appointed in different portfolios in Zanu PF are ancient brains and are fossils in terms of thinking. You can appoint as many of them as possible, but we cannot be bothered by fossils. Those that we have appointed are modern, futuristic and academics.

“One of them is a professor and they are appointed into different portfolios that go with their experiences. All what Zanu PF has is experience in failure and they cannot match our team. Their brains are ancient. When we are looking at them, we are looking at fossils.”

Sibanda was referring to Zanu PF’s recent redeployments of former Cabinet ministers, among them Obert Mpofu, Simon Khaya Moyo and Patrick Chinamasa to take up full-time jobs at the Zanu PF headquarters.

Newsday

GOVERNMENT has established five new tollgates on major highways with effect from today as part of efforts to generate more revenue for roads infrastructure development.

In an e-mailed response to questions from The Chronicle, Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) Public Relations Officer, Mr Augustine Moyo, said:

“The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) wishes to advice the motoring public that with effect from tomorrow (today), five new tollgates will be operationalised in terms of the Toll Road Act of 2015.

“These are located at Colleen Bawn along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road, Lothian (37 km before Masvingo) along Mutare-Masvingo Road, 17.5 km from Chivhu along the Chivhu-Nyazura Road, Triangle along Ngundu-Tanganda Road and Mufudzi along the Harare-Bindura-Mt Darwin Road”.

The five are part of 10 new tollgates approved by Government in 2015.

The five outstanding tollgates will be erected at Honeyspruit along the Harare-Masvingo Road, outside Karoi along the Harare-Chirundu Highway, at Dewure along the Mutare-Masvingo Road, in Mwenezi on the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road and in Kazungula along the Victoria Falls-Kazungula Road.

Zinara said tolling fees remain unchanged.

Light vehicle motorists pay $2 while minibuses and buses pay $3 and $4 respectively. Drivers of haulage trucks are required to pay $10 to pass through tollgates.

Zimbabwe already has 26 tollgates along major highways, situated between 15 to 20km from major cities and towns.

Government introduced tollgates in 2009 and has to date collected about $360 million from them.

In another development, Zinara has offered motorists a 100 percent discount on all penalties for outstanding licence fees, valid until September 31 this year.

“The motoring public are advised to visit any Zinara office countrywide and take advantage of this promotion to regularise their vehicle licences before the end of the promotion,” Mr Moyo said.

He said the discount is aimed at achieving compliance with regards to vehicle licensing.

“A number of vehicles are unlicensed and it is illegal to drive an uninsured and unlicensed vehicle on Zimbabwe’s roads. All vehicles that are off the road for whatsoever reason must be exempted by Zinara,” Mr Moyo said.

State Media

Jane Mlambo| THE officer who revealed the existence of a government passport blacklist could be at risk after Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede made clear he is keen to uncover the identity of what he described as a “worm” that must be “eradicated”.

Veteran journalist Violet Gonda was recently stunned to discover that she was on the secret list of Zimbabweans banned from getting passports .

After completing the formalities and paying the required fees, an officer at the Registrar General’s department told her that the system had red-flagged her name because she was on a ‘Stop List’.

Gonda promptly challenged the decision at the High Court through the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

On Monday Mudede summoned Gonda and her attorney to his Harare offices and indicated he would issue the passport within days.

‘Worm must be eradicated’

He however, demanded the name of the officer who revealed the existence of the ‘Stop List’, NewZimbabwe.com heard.

Accompanied by six senior aides including the department lawyer, Mudede reportedly described the officer as a “worm” that must be “eradicated”.

“The worm I’m talking about … is not a different worm,” said Mudede.

“I’m talking about a particular individual who might be mischievous … who will tell people what we don’t practice here.”

Gonda and human rights attorney Denford Halimani refused to reveal identity of the officer.

CHICKEN Inn FC striker Obidiah Tarumbwa has been sentenced to eight months in prison for failing to pay maintenance arrears of about $6 000 for the upkeep of his two minor children.

He started serving his sentence on Monday at Bulawayo Prison.

Bulawayo magistrate Ms Rachel Mukanga slapped Tarumbwa with a custodial sentence after the striker persistently defaulted on paying maintenance for the children he had with ex-wife Patience Tarumbwa.

He has, however, applied to the High Court for the sentence to be set aside and is begging the court for an extension to pay his arrears.

The matter has been set for ruling on Friday.

The court heard Tarumbwa once applied for a downward variation, saying he was maintaining a child he had with another woman, but it was not granted.

Prosecuting, Mr Mehluli Ndlovu said last month, Tarumbwa was due in court for a hearing on his long running case but instead he appeared as an 81st minute substitute in Chicken Inn’s 3-2 win over Highlanders in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Barbourfields Stadium.

The veteran striker has been in and out of court for failure to pay maintenance. In 2016, he was sentenced to five months imprisonment, which was wholly suspended on condition that he cleared his arrears. In February this year, Tarumbwa only contributed $200 towards his arrears.

Tarumbwa was sentenced to 12 months in prison for defaulting on more than $6 000 towards his children in June this year.

The magistrate told Tarumbwa that the court had seen that he had the means to pay maintenance, so he had to comply.

He had pleaded guilty to failure to pay maintenance when he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

Tarumbwa once told the court that he could not afford to pay $316 monthly maintenance as he has another child with another woman whom he was taking care of. “Your Worship, $316 is too much for me to pay. I know they are my children and I have to look after them but it’s hard for me to raise the money especially now that I only get paid after playing a game and we win,” he said. “I tried negotiating at the maintenance court but they didn’t understand because people think soccer players have money yet we don’t”.

In April 2016 media exposed the Chicken Inn striker for failing to take care of his child with a Kenyan woman who revealed that she was giving up the their child to an orphanage due his failure to take care of his offspring.

Staff Reporter|President Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to hold a rally in cholera stricken area in Glenview despite the police having issued a ban in public gatherings last week in the wake of the spread of the disease.

To date, cholera has claimed 32 lives while more than 3000 people have been affected by the waterborne disease.

Last week, an MDC Alliance rally which was scheduled for Gwanzura Stadii8had to be canceled while the University of Zimbabwe graduation had to b noe shelved indefinitely.

The show promoters in the country have had to cancel their shows the latest being the highly anticipated return of South African Hip Hop artists, Casper Nyovest and Prince Kaybee whose shows were canceled until the outbreak has been contained.

FOOD insecure households in Zimbabwe now stand at nearly 600 000, triggering fears that the number will continue to swell in light of projections that the country will experience acute drought this year and in 2019.

The development is occurring at a time the country is battling to meet its fertiliser needs due to limited foreign currency required to import key raw materials to manufacture the commodity.

Zimbabwe is also grappling with waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea.

Last year, about 40% of families, mostly in rural areas, were in dire need of food.

According to minutes of last month’s third-quarter National Food and Nutrition Security Committee (NFNSC) meeting, the southern African country faces severe hunger, with nearly 29 000 metric tonnes of grain required to feed millions of people, particularly in rural areas.

Climatologists have forecast the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is usually associated with acute drought spells, will ravage eastern and southern African nations including Zimbabwe this year and in 2019.

“The Social Services department in their update informed the NFNSC that the number of food insecure households now stands at 579 865 requiring 28 993.25 metric tonnes of grain per month,” read excerpts of the August 28 meeting’s minutes.

“To date 6 866.36 MT (metric tonnes) of grain was delivered to vulnerable households during the week ending 22 August 2018 and this brings the cumulative total to 191,507.65 metric tonnes.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) projects that Zimbabwe, with a population of 15,6 million, will battle to feed 1,1 million of its people “at the peak of the lean season, as poor rains and erratic weather patterns have a negative impact on crop harvests and livelihood prospects.”

According to the United Nations (UN) agency, an estimated 63% of Zimbabwe’s people live below the poverty datum line.

Last year, the Zimbabwe was ranked 108 out of 109 countries on the Global Hunger Index.

Zimbabwe is also battling to meet its fertiliser needs due to limited foreign currency shortages.

Local fertiliser manufacturing companies require US$135 million in nostro funding to import raw materials to manufacture 600 000 tonnes of the commodity required this forthcoming summer cropping season, amid revelations that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is availing only 30% of needed funds.

Sable Chemical Industries, one of the major fertiliser manufacturers in Zimbabwe, has since indicated that it will only be able to satisfy 38% of national demand.

Several other companies are also reeling under viability challenges, casting fears that the success of Zimbabwe’s summer cropping season will be derailed by a fertiliser shortage.

Independent

Disciplining a peeping Tom backfired for a machete-wielding Glendale man after he was arrested for assault.

Cleopas Chimuriwo (27) was fined $100 by Concession resident magistrate, Ruth Moyo yesterday and faces 30 days imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine by the end of the month.

Prosecutor Gossy Mudambu told the court that on September 15 this year, Chimuriwo met Andrew Erismos at Tsungubvi bar in Glendale. Chimuriwo accused Erismos of shooting a pornographic video of him and his girlfriend and posting it on social media.

Chimuriwo who was carrying a machete, struck Erismos four times on the right leg before running away.

Erismos reported the matter to the police, leading to Chimuriwo’s arrest, but a medical report was not produced in court.

In mitigation, Chimuriwo said he was angered by the complainant’s behaviour as he had invaded his privacy with his girlfriend.

“Your worship, l am kindly asking for your mercy. l acted in that manner out of rage. The complainant took a video whilst l was having afternoon sex with my girlfriend and he posted it on social media and it went viral,” he said.

“I am a family man. If l go to jail my family will suffer, so please give me another chance by sparing me a jail term.”

FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube will next month unveil a transitional economic stabilisation programme that will address fiscal and monetary reforms as well as an arrears clearance programme.

Zimbabwe is saddled with fiscal pressures as the public sector spending is chewing above 90% of the country’s revenue, leaving little for social and infrastructure development.

Ncube yesterday met outgoing British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Catriona Laing, and outlined how the United Kingdom would assist in arrears clearance.

“I also did share with Ambassador Laing that we are working on a transitional economic stabilisation programme that is likely to be operationalised in line with vision 2030,” Ncube said.

“In terms of that vision, we have to undertake certain reforms in terms of fiscal consolidation, (and) arrears clearance. The UK has been a big partner in terms of arrears clearance, supporting us all the way on how to think about it and convening important international meetings here and there, supporting the arrears clearance.”

Zimbabwe is burdened by a debt overhang of over $18 billion accrued from both public and private sector borrowing, resulting in the country sinking deeper into a fiscal quagmire since 2013.

Domestic debt has risen to $10 billion, while external debt stands at $8,5 billion.

Government has been issuing quasi-currency instruments in the form of Treasury Bills currently standing at about $2 billion to fund its domestic requirements.

“The direction on currency reforms is linked with the direction of fiscal reforms,” Ncube said.

“What we are considering is a package. In a sense, the fiscal side is an albatross to the monetary side. So if we are going to have monetary reforms, we are going to have fiscal reforms.

“That is reducing the budget deficit (and) getting it down to a single digit as quickly as we can and adopt a budgeting approach that always take a medium term approach. We must be clear on where we want to go in three years’ time.”

Ncube said he would have to further discuss the issue of arrears at the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Bali Nusa Dua, Indonesia, taking place between October 12 and 14.

“We don’t have timelines yet, but it’s about options, then steps once the options have been chosen. So there are various options, so we are looking at those options and see what’s workable. But we are on top of this,” he said.

Laing said the spring meetings would be a good opportunity to set out a clear vision on how the country seeks to clear its arrears.

“The IMF and World Bank meetings in Bali will be a very good opportunity to set out the vision on a fiscal and monetary side with the creditors and to see what the timelines will be on clearing the arrears,” she said.

“We recognise that you need support and we are here to provide that support to try and encourage the process on being back to the IMF programme perhaps on an interim staff-monitored programme as soon as possible.

“So we have to start a serious dialogue with the IMF which will unlock what you really need from the international community, that is lines of credit.”

Newsday

It’s said there is a proposition for Harare that will see commuters travel via Cable Car from Harare Show Grounds to 4th Street for just 50c. Project requires no govt funding.

State Media – President Emmerson Mnangagwa is today expected to swear-in the seven-member commission set up to probe the post-election violence that occurred in Harare on August 1 that led to the deaths of six people.

The team is chaired by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe.

Other members of the commission from outside the country are international law expert Mr Rodney Dixon QC from the United Kingdom, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku from Nigeria and former Chief of Defence Forces of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces General (Retired) Davis Mwamunyange.

University of Zimbabwe (UZ) lecturers Professors Charity Manyeruke and Lovemore Madhuku and former president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) Mrs Vimbai Nyemba complete the commission.

President Mnangagwa indicated this on Tuesday while delivering his inaugural State of the Nation Address and officially opening the First Session of the Ninth Parliament to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate.

“The isolated, regrettable and unacceptable incident of violence, which occurred on the 1st August 2018 should not deter us from the bold course of peace we have begun,” he said.

“I have announced a seven-member Commission of Inquiry, consisting of eminent persons, whom I will be swearing-in tomorrow, Wednesday 19 September 2018. I am confident that their ultimate report and recommendations will help put closure and finality to the matter.”

State Media

The Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association has called on Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube to investigate the source of bond notes and other currencies that have flooded the black market in border towns.

In an interview yesterday, the organisation’s president Dr Killer Zivhu said the liquidity crisis in the country had hit hard on cross border traders and ordinary Zimbabweans.

He said it boggles the mind that border towns were flooded with millions of bond notes and other currencies, which were not circulating in the formal system.

Dr Zivhu said the Finance minister and officials at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) should implement urgent reforms to deal with the economic situation.

“We are concerned with the situation where ordinary Zimbabweans countrywide are affected by the liquidity crisis and the fact that there is no money in the banking system yet the black market in border towns is well supplied,” said Dr Zivhu. “It is common cause that money changers have been in existence for a very long time and these need to be incorporated into the fiscus.

“Government should encourage these people to form consortiums and open bureau de changes.

“Under such a set-up it (Government) can be able to regulate exchange rates, rather than the current scenario where those with dip pockets are determining the rates willy-nilly.

“We are willing to work with central Government and the Minister of Finance in addressing the cash crisis,” he said.

Dr Zivhu said most economic activities were cross border-related and that these have been strongly affected by the cash shortages.

He said in some cases children of cross-border traders were dropping out of school as a result of the financial strain.

Dr Zivhu said it was important for Government to review the duty regime and introduce incentives to entice people to pay tax.

“There should be an incentive for people to pay duty at affordable rates especially for those importing the products we don’t manufacture,” he said.

“Indications are that smuggling activities are rampant across our border as people try to avoid paying excess duty or they cannot acquire the requisite permits to import basics due to red tape.”

State Media

THE value of unclaimed pension benefits has risen to $30 million with about 48 000 pensionable claims on the books of insurance companies lying unclaimed, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has said.

The continued rise in the figure has jolted the insurance regulatory board to take corrective measures and is now planning to publicise the names of policy holders whose benefits have not been claimed with the hope of reaching out to the beneficiaries.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of this year’s commemorations of the World Pensions Awareness Day on Saturday in Mutare IPEC Public Relations Officer Mr Lloyd Gumbo said it was disheartening that would-be beneficiaries could be living in poverty while their monies lay idle.

He said the majority of the people who have not claimed their money were those that used to work in the clothing and mining industries and these include standalone funds, self-administered funds and insured funds.

IPEC said the failure to claim could be attributed to lack of knowledge on the part of pension scheme members or could be a result of poor record-keeping by the pension funds, which makes it difficult for the pension funds to trace the members.

“As IPEC we have requested a list of all pension fund beneficiaries who have not been claiming their money and we have since been given some of the names, but they are still compiling,” said Mr Gumbo.

“So what we intend to do is to make it easy for those beneficiaries to be able to access or know that they have not claimed. We intend to publicise the names of all the people who have not claimed their money which is now almost 48 000 people which amounts to about $30million.

“Our interest is to make sure that people enjoy their benefits so we want them to know they have benefits which are lying idle which they can come and claim,” he said.

Mr Gumbo said in other jurisdictions like South Africa, policy holders can have access to their benefits by entering their particulars through the regulator’s website and view what is due to them and IPEC is working to develop the same concept locally.

In cases where the pension beneficiary has passed on, their spouses can also claim the same benefits or if there is no spouse children under the age of 18 years can also claim.

“We are also working on a system that will make it possible for someone to check on our website, they just log in their particulars like National ID which will take them directly (to view) their benefits.

“(In the event of a beneficiary passing on) a (surviving) spouse is the first priority when it comes to claiming pension benefits, the children can also claim the money as long as they have not turned 18 years old,” said Mr Gumbo.

Unclaimed pension benefits, Mr Gumbo said, were kept in a “Guardian Fund” awaiting for an eventual claim from the policy holder or any authorised person.

In the event that they remain unclaimed for five years in the guardian fund, the funds are then forfeited to the state for use in national development projects.

State Media

Jane Mlambo| A 28-YEAR-OLD Mazowe traffic cop was arraigned before Concession resident magistrate Ruth Moyo yesterday for duping a motorbike rider of his $5 at a police roadblock for ridding without a driver’s licence.

Public prosecutor Gossy Mudambu alleged that on 15 September 2018 Onesimas Nyakurwa was deployed along the 40 kilometre peg Harare-Bindura highway on road block duties together with eight other police officers and one member of the Zimbabwe National Army.

The complainant Kudakwashe Rwambiwa (44) a farm worker at Mupamhanga farm in Bindura was riding a motor bike when he was stopped at a roadblock by one of the policeman and Nyakurwa approached him asking for a driver’s licence which he failed to produce.

Nyakurwa then explained to Rwambiwa that he was under arrest and a $40 spot fine was required for his offence.

The complaint told the accused that he did not have such money and had only $10 which he intended to use on fuel.

The accused asked the complainant to produce the money and he produced $10 inform of $1,00 bond coins.

The accused then took $5-00 in the same denominations and told the complainant to use the other $5-00 to buy fuel and the accused persoperson went away towards Mazowe Police station while the complaint proceeded to Mazowe service station.

The matter came to light when Rwambiwa advised his employer who filed a police report and an identification parade was conducted resulting in the arrest of the cop. The matter continues on 28 September 2018.

-Byo24

Jane Mlambo| According to Zimbabwe’s new president, conditions are not yet right for foreign currencies to be replaced by the Zimbabwean dollar.

Zimbabwe’s new president on Tuesday ruled out an early return of the Zimbabwean dollar, toning down remarks by his finance minister that backed reintroducing the currency.

In an inaugural address in parliament marked by an opposition walkout, President Emmerson Mnangagwa pledged a raft of economic measures, including currency reforms and better forex availability.

But, he said, conditions had to be right before foreign currencies were replaced once more by the Zimbabwean dollar.

“My government shall continue with the use of the multicurrency system up until the current negative economic fundamentals have been addressed to give credence to the introduction of the local currency,” Mnangagwa said.

In 2009, wracked by hyper-inflation, Zimbabwe dumped the local dollar and adopted the US greenback and other foreign currencies, including the South African rand.
But the economy remains deep in the mire, crippled by policies adopted under Mnangagwa’s predecessor, Robert Mugabe.

On September 10, new Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said he backed a return of the Zimbabwe dollar, “the sovereign currency,” to help economic revival.

But, he said, this had to be done in conjunction with “fiscal policy”.

Lawmakers from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) boycotted Mnangagwa’s inaugural state-of-the-nation address.

“MDC members of parliament have just defied the illegitimate president and ZANU-PF leader ED Mnangagwa by walking out during his uninspiring reading of a speech,” Sibanda tweeted.

Mnangagwa was declared winner after Zimbabwe’s top court threw out the MDC’s bid to overturn the results of the July 30 presidential elections.

-AFP

Jane Mlambo| Government has set up an inter-ministerial committee to come up with a lasting solution to the cholera outbreak in Harare and other parts of the country.

The committee is chaired by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo.

Other members of the committee are ministers Obadiah Moyo (Health and Child Care), Mthuli Ncube (Finance and Economic Development), Joram Gumbo (Energy and Power Development), Prisca Mupfumira (Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry), Perrance Shiri (Lands, Agriculture, Land, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement) and Monica Mutsvangwa (Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services).

Minister Mutsvangwa announced the committee during her first Cabinet briefing to the media at Munhumutapa Government Offices yesterday.

The briefing is in line with the new policy introduced by President Mnangagwa that in the Second Republic the citizenry should be kept abreast of key Cabinet decisions to promote transparency and accountability.

As such, after every weekly Cabinet meeting, Minister Mutsvangwa will brief the media on key decisions made.

The briefings are attended by the implementing ministers and the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet.

“Cabinet also established an inter-ministerial committee, which will spearhead short- and long-term measures to address cholera outbreaks in the country,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

“This committee comprises ministers of the following ministries: Local Government, Public Works and National Housing and he will be chair, Health and Child Care; Finance and Economic Development; Energy and Power Development; Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry; Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement; and Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.

“As part of the long-term preventive measures, Cabinet directed that all municipal authorities should procure and install the critical infrastructure surveillance systems detecting all the pipes, which are breaking down. It has also been seen that a central authority be established to coordinate the designing and construction of water and sewer infrastructure in our metropolitan provinces where several local authorities co-exist with central Government playing a pivotal role.

“Finally, in order to facilitate close supervision and monitoring of progress in addressing the current cholera outbreak, Cabinet directed that the inter-ministerial committee, which I have just talked about, will be providing regular briefs to the Presidency on the programme.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said Government was determined to ensure that the outbreak of cholera was dealt with once and for all.

“I want to assure you that this is the last time ever this mediaeval disease will stalk this beautiful country of Zimbabwe and the Sunshine City,” she said.

“Following receipt of a report of the current cholera outbreak epidemic and measures being implemented to stamp out this outbreak, Cabinet greatly appreciated the overwhelming response to Government calls for assistance by the private corporate sector. Social partners also did come in, individuals including Zimbabweans in the Diaspora.”

-State media

 

Jane Mlambo| President Mnangagwa has reassured the nation that the United States dollar will remain the bedrock of Government plans for accelerated reforms to address the multiplicity of challenges besetting the economy, chief among them cash and foreign currency shortages, as his administration moves to stabilise the economy.

Officially opening the First Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe in Harare yesterday, following his election victory on July 30 this year, President Mnangagwa said the Government will double current efforts towards stabilising the volatile macro-economic environment.

This, the President said, will be done through measures to enhance foreign currency availability, improve liquidity, enhance Zimbabwe’s investment attractiveness, instituting currency reforms, reducing National Budget deficit and ensuring gradual growth of all sectors of the economy.

The ultimate goal, President Mnangagwa said, was to restore macro-economic order, create jobs, end corruption, improve social service delivery, provide requisite modern and efficient infrastructure, clean water, sanitation, good education, health care and sustainable environmental practices.

-State media

Newly appointed Finance and Economic Development minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has changed his song on the abolishment of bond notes urging the business community to accept notes as they are still a legal tender saying the currency will only change after broader economic reforms have been put in place.

Exchange rates on Zimbabwe’s parallel market have skyrocketed to an average 100% for real time gross settlement (RTGS) transfers on the back of Professor Ncube’s remarks that bond notes will be phased out.

Addressing the media in the capital today, Ncube said government is working towards fiscal and monetary reforms with the aim of reducing budget deficit to a single digit.

“The direction on currency reforms really was also with linked with the direction of fiscal reforms, what we are considering is a package where we are looking both on the fiscal and monetary reforms since they work together.

“What l mean is that we should reduce budget deficit to a single digit as quickly as we can and also adopting a budget approach whereby we must be clear on where we want to be in years time in terms of fiscal balances,” he said.

He added that they are working on controlling expenditure and broadening the tax base.

“We also want to control expenditure and making sure that on the revenue side we broaden the tax base.

“That should be clear getting fiscal balances into some equilibrium and simultaneously deal with the monetary section such that monetary sector reforms become formalized and then currency issues are then dealt with within that.

“So its a package that we are working on rather than something as narrow as whats being said in the street and that is the formulation of a strong currency that we are looking for,” added Ncube.

Speaking during the State of the National Address (SONA) and the official opening of the first session of the Ninth Parliament today, President Mnangagwa also said the multi-currency system will continue until economic fundamentals are met adding that the government has negotiated various facilities to meet foreign currency requirements for businesses and that some of them will be disbursed starting this week.

An Air Zimbabwe plane aborted take-off from OR Tambo International Airport – apparently because of a battery problem and under-fueling.

Time stood still for dozens of passengers on the Boeing 767-200 aircraft on September 14 after the plane sped down a runway and just before lift-off the captain applied the brakes.

Among the passengers on flight UM462 to Harare was former Minister of State for Masvingo Province Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, who was returning home from graduating with a PhD from the University of KwaZulu Natal.

The flight was due to take-off at 1855hrs, landing in Harare at 2040hrs.

Bhasikiti told ZimLive that passengers immediately knew there was a problem when the captain fired up the engines.

“We boarded at about 1830hrs. When they started the engines, there was a very strange sound, the kind of sound that you get when you start the engine of a ramshackle car and it is failing,” Bashikiti said.

“It was so bad people were looking at each other laughing. Someone remarked that we should get down and push the plane.”

The former Mwenezi East MP said the pilot proceeded with take-off procedures and soon, the plane had left its bay and lined-up on the runway.

“He did about 400 or 500 meters at full throttle, and then suddenly the captain applied the brakes and brought the plane to a crawl. By now we were all terrified. He pulled off from the runway and we all desperately wanted to know what was going on.

“The captain’s voice came on the intercom to tell us that we couldn’t take-off because our aircraft needed to be attended to by engineers. He said there could be a problem with our battery or fuel.

“I couldn’t believe that they wanted to get us in the air with a faulty plane with deficient fuel.”

Bhasikiti said the aircraft was parked in a temporary bay and refuelled. Engineers attended to the other problems.

The plane was finally cleared for take-off at 2029hrs and landed in Harare without incident at 2214hrs.

Bhasikiti said he was a “hopeless optimist” for Zimbabwe’s future which is why he still flies Air Zimbabwe despite safety concerns, but he is still furious they came close to a disaster.

“Why should someone experiment with our lives? Planes must be able to show technical readings when they are still on the ground, including fuel levels. There was the give-away noise when the engines were started and surely that can’t be the normal sound of the plane’s engines, somebody should have intervened earlier,” he said.

Air Zimbabwe had a largely unblemished flight history, but warned that the crisis at the airline which is down to two aircrafts “makes it possible for the unexpected to happen.”

Air Zimbabwe had not responded to our written enquiries.

— ZimLive