Former Zimpapers journalist Clemence Marijeni and his wife conned £450,000 in maternity payments in the United Kingdom and bulding themselves a mansion back home in Zimbabwe.

Clemence Marijeni, 44, was at the centre of a 12-person fraud ring who claimed taxpayers’ cash meant for mothers of young babies.

They claimed £720,000 in maternity allowance payments over more than four years – but got their hands on less than half a million pounds worth after DWP officials became suspicious.

Pictures of the building:

PARALLEL market rates have finally hit 100% when using EcoCash or bank transfers to buy the greenback, the first time they have reached such a rate since dollarisation and the main question now is how and why we got here.

On Friday last week, a snap survey done by NewsDay at all the major cash dealing points in the central business district found that at 10am the previous day, the parallel market rates increased to 100% from between 70% and 80% earlier that same day.

Tinashe (name changed), one of the cash dealers whom the paper spoke to on Friday, who is in his early 20’s said the reason was due to talk of seizing disbursements of cash to depositors.

“Rates have increased my brother. It started yesterday (Thursday last week) around 10am. What I know is if you want to do a transfer its now 100%. This is because Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya said that individuals can no longer get United States dollars from the banks” Tinashe said.

Not only do these new rates represent massive erosion in the trust and confidence of government, but they also signify just how bad the liquidity situation in the country has reached to as one banker put it.

“It is a demand and supply thing at a basic level, where you got a set of economic agents who require foreign currency and another set that have it and through a mutually beneficial market mechanism are able to exchange that value. At the second level, it becomes a policy issue to say are we pursuing the correct policy in terms of the relationship between the real monetary sectors because one is a representation of the other,” a banker who wished to remain anonymous said.

“I do not see it is as a problem, because it is the market responding to the policy framework that is there and markets really have a life of their own. You cannot legislate a price, it does not work, so what markets simply do is that they will find their own mechanism to function, so I do not see it as a problem, but as a response to a policy environment.”

With 25% or more of forex used by manufacturers coming from the parallel market, it is important to examine how this new rate of 100% was an eventuality and not a hypothetical.

Basically, it is due to more business leaders turning to the parallel market to service their forex need to import raw materials, individuals seeking to have more value for their cash and the forthcoming elections.

Back in May this year, when the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) released its composite Business Confidence Index wherein it stood at minus 14,4 for a quarter-on-quarter basis, CZI explained business leaders were losing trust and confidence in government.

Explaining these results, CZI said that most of the lack of trust and confidence was due to growing pessimism in how government was handling the foreign currency situation, as producers were getting below their forex requirements.

By business losing confidence over the forex issue, this forced them to hold onto any cash they get and at the same time increasingly turn to the parallel market for any shortfalls they required.

The result was cash barons instructing their dealers to hike rates due to the increased demand.

Compounding the situation further was the central bank and banking sector.

Over the past few months, the central bank and banking sector have been making statements deliberating on whether to continue disbursing cash to depositors considering the money was not coming back.

These talks have eroded further trust in these institutions from depositors who already did not trust them due to the menial disbursements they were getting.

As such, many depositors withdrawing cash have chosen to keep it rather than circulate it. Instead yhey take the cash to the parallel market to get a higher value in terms of RTGS or EcoCash funds.

This has also contributed to demand, as more people are visiting cash dealers on a daily basis.

As such, due to more companies and individuals sourcing cash from the parallel market demand went for forex rose.

Finally, as it is an election month and there has been a lot of uncertainty in terms of freeness and fairness of the vote, as experts and opposition parties have raised many irregularities in the election processes.

Cash barons have seized on this uncertainty to further hike rates to ensure that after the election they have made huge profits.

Cash barons with access to top banks in the community are fueling the parallel market, followed by diaspora remittances from individuals and retailers involved in cash businesses.

Africa Round Table chief executive officer and economist, Kipson Gundani said it was inevitable that the parallel market rates would hit 100%.

“If government continues the way it is going with its fiscal deficits, all these rates are going to continue to go up, because the parallel market has the forex,” he said.

He, however, added that elections was also a factor, saying “in simple terms, it is and that speculative behaviour is associated with the holding of elections where those with United States dollars hold on to it, which creates a demand and supply problem on the black market”.

Responding to these increases on Friday last week, Mangudya said that the cash barons behind the dealers would soon lose out, since the central bank had increased forex into the market.

“We have released and are going to continue releasing foreign cash into the market in order to stabilise the foreign currency market…I was out myself, as you know and I just arrived yesterday (Thursday last week) and we have received a good boost from our financiers, including as usual the Afreximbank and we are putting that money into the market,” he said.

He said fuel operators, cooking oil producers and wheat producers were allocated their foreign currency requirements.

“…over and above that, we are putting a substantial amount of cash in the market. We started this week and will continue next week, so people should not confuse the monetary side and political side, I think we would prefer that people do not confuse these two. On the monetary side we are clear with what we want to do,” Mangudya said.

“You are also aware that we are giving 100% cash to the diaspora, continue to give 70% of foreign payments to our artisanal gold producers, and monthly we do $100 million and we have now increased starting from next week (this week).”

His advice to “those who are selling foreign currency at ridiculous rates, they are going to regret, because people are just making money out of them, its just arbitrage.”

The central bank will now be injecting $150 million a month into the economy, up from a previous of $100 million.

Newsday

It appears that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] has printed presidential ballot papers with the presidential candidates listed in alphabetical order in two columns. The President’s name, which would be towards the middle of a single column, heads the second column.

What the Electoral Act and Regulations say about the Form of Ballot Papers

Section 57(a)(i) of the Electoral Act states that on all ballot papers, including papers for the presidential election, the names of the candidates must be printed in type of equal size, “in alphabetical order of surnames”. It can be inferred from this that the names should be printed one below the other.

The Electoral Regulations, 2005, elaborate on section 57 by stating that ballot papers for the presidential election must be in form V.10, which is as follows:

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: FORM OF BALLOT PAPER FRONT

Name of Candidate NAME OF PARTY SYMBOL PHOTOGRAPH MARKING SPACE

Clearly, the form envisages the names of the candidates being listed vertically, one below the other.

Section 3(11) of the regulations confirms this by saying that in form V.10 “the number of horizontal segments shall equate to the number of candidates nominated for election … to the office of President …” To make it even plainer, the section goes on to specify what each of the “vertical segments” must contain: the “first of the vertical segments” must contain the names of the candidates, the “second vertical segment” must contain the name or abbreviation of each candidate’s political party, and so on.

In terms of the regulations, therefore, the names of the candidates must be listed one below the other in alphabetical order of surnames. This is important because in Zimbabwe as elsewhere people read lists from top to bottom, and the candidate whose name heads the list has a slight advantage over those whose names appear lower down. Under the Act and the regulations that advantage goes to the candidate who, by chance of birth, has a surname that begins with a letter towards the beginning of the alphabet.

What Happens when there are Many Candidates?

What is to be done if the number of presidential candidates becomes so large that, if listed vertically, they will not fit on to a normal sheet of paper? Neither the Act nor the regulations seem to have envisaged this – understandably perhaps, because until last November wise people thought twice before standing in opposition to the incumbent President.

There are two options: either to split the list of candidates into two columns, as ZEC has apparently done or to list the candidates in one long column on a long thin ballot paper, as the South Africans did in 2014.

Of the two, the second option accords more with what is implied in the Act and the regulations. If the ballot paper has two columns, the names of the candidates in the second column are not contained in “the first of the vertical segments” as required by section 3(11) of the regulations: their names are contained in the sixth vertical segment, i.e. the first segment of the second column.

One can say, therefore, that by listing the candidates in two columns ZEC’s presidential ballot paper does not comply with the Electoral Act and the regulations. It does not comply with it in another respect, too: ZEC has added an extra column numbering the candidates.

Must ZEC Comply with the Electoral Act?

Does ZEC have the power to ignore what is laid down, if only by implication, in the Act and the regulations? The chairperson of ZEC has suggested that her Commission can do so because section 236(g) of the Constitution states that one of its functions is:

“(g) to design, print and distribute ballot papers …”

The constitutional power to design ballot papers, she argues, can be exercised regardless of any restrictions imposed by an Act of Parliament such as the Electoral Act and regulations made under it.

The chairperson’s argument does not hold water.

Section 157 of the Constitution gives Parliament the duty to enact an electoral law providing for the “conduct of elections”, and though the section does not specifically mention ballot papers they are an important part of the conduct of any election. So section 57 of the Electoral Act, which states that ballot papers must list candidates in alphabetical order, is probably valid and binding on ZEC. Furthermore, the regulations, which go into specific detail about the design of ballot papers, were not enacted by Parliament but by ZEC itself under section 192 of the Electoral Act. ZEC chose to make regulations for the design of ballot papers and those regulations are binding as law. ZEC is not above the law, even laws which it itself has made. If it wants to change the form of ballot papers it must amend the regulations – and it cannot do so at this stage of the electoral cycle because of section 157(5) of the Constitution.

If ZEC had free rein to design ballot papers in whatever way it chose, disregarding the Act and the regulations, why should it stop there? It could disregard statutory time-limits; prepare voters rolls in any form that suited it, put polling stations wherever it wanted, and so on. Obviously, ZEC must obey the law, and the law lays down the form of ballot papers.

Has ZEC Been Impartial?

One further point needs to be made strongly. Even if ZEC did have the power to design ballot papers as it chose, it would have to do so fairly and impartially. If there are compelling reasons for listing the presidential candidates in two columns, then the two columns must be of equal length, or as nearly equal as the numbers allow, so that the candidates who head each column get that advantage solely by virtue of the alphabetical order of their surnames.

In the present case, where there are 23 candidates if the list had to be split the ballot paper should have had two columns, one with 11 names and the other with 12. Instead, ZEC’s columns, one with 14 names and one with nine, are artfully designed to ensure that the President has the advantage of heading the second column. There can be no legitimate reason for this.

A final point is that when ZEC’s officials have been asked why they cannot use their broad constitutional powers to fill in gaps in the electoral law, they have answered that they must stick to the letter of the law as contained in the Electoral Act and its regulations. It is strange, to say the least, that in this instance they have chosen to ignore the clear provisions of the Act and regulations, and instead purported to rely on the Constitution.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot be tried for any misdemeanour committed in his personal capacity while he is still in office, the High Court has ruled.

The Chamisa-led MDC had sought to impugn the conduct of President Mnangagwa for alleged interference with the independence of traditional leaders ahead of harmonised election on July 30.

President Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF denied ever encouraging candidates to bribe traditional leaders.

In her ruling yesterday, Justice Mary Dube said section 98 (1) of the Constitution created presidential immunity, hence the court has no jurisdiction to try President Mnangagwa. “I decline to exercise my jurisdiction over the President of Zimbabwe,” she said, adding, “the President of Zimbabwe is improperly before the court. The relief sought against him cannot be granted.”

The MDC was accusing President Mnangagwa of inciting Zanu-PF candidates to offer trinkets to chiefs and traditional leaders to get their support in the harmonised elections.

The opposition party argued that President Mnangagwa’s utterances, which were made on June 9, 2018 to Zanu-PF party supporters in Mutoko in Mashonaland East province, motivated some ruling party members to engage in corrupt practices for the purposes of vote buying ahead of the elections.

But President Mnangagwa’s lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri of the Temple Bar (Inns of Court) argued that the application was political grandstanding.

The application, he said, was meant to make a political statement for external forces thought to have an impact in the conduct of international relations, bearing in mind that international relations are based primarily on the principle of recognition.

Adv Uriri argued that the intention of the MDC application was to find basis to undermine the recognition of the Government of the people that would be elected on July 30.

Justice Dube declined to deal with the matter on papers, saying the utterances at the centre of the dispute could only be ventilated through leading oral evidence. “I am satisfied that a material dispute of fact exists on the papers between the parties which cannot be resolved on the papers,” she said. “There is a need for oral evidence to be led to establish the authenticity of the audio recordings.”

Justice Dube said MDC had not requested the court to refer the matter to oral evidence in which the case has discretion either to dismiss the application or direct that evidence be led in the application to ventilate the dispute or that the matter goes to trial.

The court, noted Justice Dube, was not asked to either refer the dispute to trial or lead evidence in the application on the utterances in dispute.

“The applicant chose to insist that there was no material dispute of fact exhibiting itself on the papers,” she said.

“I find it undesirable for me to mero motu (voluntarily and without prompting or request) refer the dispute to trial. It is for this reason that I will dismiss the application.”

President Mnangagwa, who was cited in the matter along with Zanu-PF party, Chief Fortune Charumbira and Chief Alfred Tome, also argued that the law did not allow a sitting President to be sued in his personal capacity in matters of that nature and that the court should simply refuse to hear the matter.

They argued that the MDC-T leadership wrangle was still pending before the High Court and that Mr Chamisa and his faction cannot be allowed to hold themselves out as the legitimate MDC before determination of the matter.

Justice Dube disagreed with the respondents that the Chamisa-led MDC had no legal footing to bring such an application.

She ruled that MDC was contesting the elections under the umbrella of the MDC Alliance.

“What is clear is that the MDC is not contesting in the current elections under the MDC name for reasons which are not before the court,” she said.

“The court is able to identify the party or faction of the MDC before it. The question regarding the legitimacy of the applicant should not detain the court.”

Justice Dube noted that the Chamisa-led MDC, being a party contesting in the elections and having fielded candidates for the elections, it naturally has an interest in issues that have a bearing on the fairness of the campaigning process and the actual elections themselves.

“The MDC is directly affected by the campaigning process and as such has a direct and substantial interest in the conduct of the election and campaigning process,” she said.

“The applicant qualifies as an aggrieved party and therefore has the locus standi to ring these proceedings.”

Adv Uriri was instructed by Mr Aston Musunga of Musunga and Associates.

Mr Alec Muchadehama and Mr Jeremiah Bhamu acted for the MDC, while Adv Thembinkosi Magwaliba instructed by the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s Office appeared for Chief Charumbira and Chief Tome.

State Media

Chief Musarurwa allegedly tried to bribe other traditional leaders with blankets ahead of yesterday’s elections for the posts of president and deputy president of the Chiefs Council.

It is understood that Chief Musarurwa, who wanted to contest Chief Charumbira for the presidency, made a last-minute withdrawal on Tuesday night after most traditional leaders rejected his manoeuvres and exposed him.

This saw Chief Charumbira winning the elections uncontested.

Chief Charumbira’s deputy, Chief Mtshane Khumalo from Matabeleland North, was also nominated without any contest to retain the post.

Chief Musarurwa was reportedly working with businessman Mr Stanley Kasukuwere, who was trying to influence traditional leaders from his home province, Mashonaland Central.

Several traditional leaders interviewed by state media confirmed Chief Musarurwa wanted to bribe them.

Chief Chiwara said Chief Musarurwa had approached him.

“I met him when I was coming out of my room to have food (at Rainbow Towers),” he said. “He told me that we had to finish the job as we could not continue to be ruled by the current president of the Chiefs Council.

“He then said he has my parcel downstairs. I later learnt they were blankets which had been bought for me after he went downstairs with Chief Mazungunye’s son. I categorically told them that I don’t even want to see the blankets as I have blankets at home.

“I told them that if it was about voting, that was my right and I would exercise that secretly without being influenced.”

Chief Mazungunye of Bikita also confirmed Chief Musarurwa’s shenanigans.

“He personally phoned me while I was on my way to Harare,” he said. “He phoned again after I had checked in into the hotel. He came and knocked at my door before telling me to vote for him saying he was my son.

“He then said he had gifts which he was giving people and he wanted me to benefit. I then instructed my driver to go with him while I told Chief Charumbira and my provincial chairperson Chief Chitanga. We wanted the blankets to come and use them as exhibit. When they came, pictures of the blankets were taken.”

Chief Musarurwa and Mr Kasukuwere yesterday denied the allegations.

“I don’t know about that,” said Chief Musarurwa. “If there is a chief who came with the blankets, he bought them for himself. But does it mean we don’t have to associate? In elections, everyone uses various means to succeed, but I don’t know about the allegations.”

Mr Kasukuwere said: “I am young and have nothing to do with chiefs. Chief Chiweshe is from my area, but I don’t even know what chiefs were doing. I just read about it in the press. I don’t get anything from that.”

Mr Kasukuwere is said to have spent the better part of Tuesday with Chief Musarurwa and Chief Chiweshe, having meetings at Rainbow Towers Hotel and Harare Showgrounds.

He is alleged to have offered Chief Chiweshe four beasts to back Chief Musarurwa.

Chief Chiweshe responded: “That’s not the story. I don’t want to talk to you.”

Chief Charumbira and Chief Mtshane retain their positions as leaders of the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs, positions that automatically make them Senators.

The election was conducted by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) officials at Mkwati Building in Harare ahead of the July 30 harmonised elections.

Chief Charumbira comes from Masvingo province, while Chief Mtshane is from Matabeleland North.

State Media

Build Zimbabwe Alliance leader, Dr Noah Manyika has said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba must resign if she can’t address candidates’ concerns. He said Chigumba and her officers at the ZEC must resign if they fail to address the oppositions’ concerns.

In his press statement, Manyika says ZEC has little interest in transparency and a fair and level electoral playing field.

Below is the full statement:

PRESS STATEMENT FROM THE BUILD ZIMBABWE ALLIANCE REGARDING THE IMPARTIALITY OF THE ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

It is with grave concern that we note the continuing impasse between the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and many in the opposition regarding the perceived fairness of the election process. We have made statements regarding our own concerns in the past. However the matter is of such gravity now, and the issues so numerous that we believe a further statement of our position is required.

Over the past weeks, Zimbabwe’s opposition has raised concerns about the printing of the ballot paper, the integrity of the voters roll, the location of polling stations and the questionable process of postal votes amongst others. The basis of the objections is in the public domain, as are the inadequate responses from the ZEC, and we will not go into these matters further: they are merely the symptoms of a profound lack of trust in a body that is supposed to be impartial.

It has reached such a point that we in the Build Zimbabwe Alliance believe that there is no reasonable doubt that ZEC has little interest in transparency and the pursuit of a fair and level electoral playing field.

In consequence of the above, the Build Zimbabwe Alliance calls for the ZEC to immediately address all key opposition concerns, failing which we call for the resignation of the Chairperson and commissioners of the ZEC to be followed by an impartial reconstitution of this body. There is no other way to restore the trust so urgently required.

We thank the international community for their observation missions and call on them to note our deep reservations. We wish for our country that which you expect from yours: free and fair elections. It is not acceptable that this election be simply a small improvement on the wholly deficient elections of the past.

DR. NOAH MANYIKA

PRESIDENT

A 38-year-old Domboshava man appeared in court yesterday after he allegedly tried to kill his three children by poisoning them.

He appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Milton Serima charged with three counts of attempted murder. He was denied bail and remanded to July 31.

Prosecuting, Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa alleged that on July 11 in Dzavara Village under Chief Chinamora, the man had a domestic dispute with his father and brother.

As a result, on July 12, he allegedly took his three children aged 14, 9 and 5 to the shops. While there, he allegedly bought two 300mls bottles of Coca Cola and termic poison. The man proceeded to mix the poison with the drink and drank it after instructing his three children to drink as well.

The offence was discovered when at night the children and the man became ill and were rushed to Makumbe Hospital where they were treated and discharged.

The children sustained internal injuries as a result of the poison. The matter was reported to police, leading to the man’s arrest.

Chief Fortune Charumbira has been re-elected unopposed as the President of the chiefs council while Chief Lucas Mtshane Khumalo of Bubi District has also been retained as the vice president.

The election was held on Wednesday morning.

A TOTAL of 35 chiefs have been elected into the National Council of Chiefs.

The election for the full council was conducted on July 11 in terms of Section 37 of the Traditional Leaders Act [Chapter2:13], the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has announced.

On August 1, the Chiefs will meet again to elect two Senator Chiefs for each of the eight non-metropolitan provinces.

“The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will preside over those elections,’’ said Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba in a statement.

The Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs (ZCC) is an assembly of traditional leaders throughout Zimbabwe .The president and deputy president of the ZCC are both members of the Senate since 2007 and ZCC appoints 10 chiefs to the Senate under the constitution.

Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013 which, among other things, recognises the role of the institution of traditional leadership which operates alongside modern State structures.

Chiefs play important roles including judicial, developmental and co-ordinative roles, land and traditional matters.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the launch of Pathways, a five-year $35 million program that will offer services to 250,000 HIV-affected orphans and vulnerable children, 59,500 households, and 15,000 vulnerable youth.

Operating in nine districts in Zimbabwe with high HIV burden, Pathways will put communities on a path to self-reliance by building capacity in local institutions to provide a comprehensive set of services that improve health, nutrition, and psychosocial wellbeing of HIV-affected and infected children.

Funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through USAID, Pathways will be implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in collaboration with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Child Protection Services, communities, and others.

Although much progress has been made in the past decade, HIV remains one of the top health threats facing the people of Zimbabwe. Since 2000, over 1.2 million adults have died from AIDS, leaving 16 percent of Zimbabwean children orphaned by one or both of their parents. The United States Government, through PEPFAR, supports lifesaving treatment for nearly 1 million Zimbabweans living with HIV.

###

For more than 30 years, the American people, through USAID, have contributed over $3 billion in assistance to Zimbabwe. Current projects include initiatives to increase food security, support economic resilience, improve health systems and services, and promote democratic governance.

MDC Alliance’s council candidate for ward 3 in Gwanda has been named in a scandal involving the illegal sale of repossessed housing stands in the Matabeleland South capital.

The alleged scam was unearthed during a council internal audit.

The municipality has since placed Tyson Moyo, the aspiring Gwanda ward 3 councillor under investigation over the illegal sale of three stands in the Hlalani Kuhle area.

Moyo was allegedly working in cahoots with a municipality employee, Nomathamsanqa Sibanda, a secretary in the council’s housing department, according to the audit report.

According to the report, Moyo and Sibanda illegally sold three repossessed stands on May 3 and pocketed the proceeds. The illegal sale was done before the date set by a council for the stands to be put on sale.

“Audit questions: Why were the three stands sold before the official date? Was their sale urgent? What documents were used for verification? What role did Tyson Moyo and Mugadziri Shoko play in the sale of the above stands?” the audit report read in part.

One of the stands was sold to one Sithengisiwe Sibanda.

The report says the aspiring councillor showed Sibanda the stand before a down payment of $2 400 was made through a mobile money transfer.

Sitshengisiwe argued in the audit report that she met the council secretary in the housing department in West Nicholson in May, where she had visited a friend, a male nurse by the name Mugadziri Shoko who brokered the deal.

“Sitshengisiwe Sibanda said the purchase of the stand had a claim of agents as follows, Mugadziri Shoko, Thembinkosi, Nicol Vudzi and Tyson Moyo. She said she didn’t get in touch with Ms Nomathamsanqa Sibanda but only got information that she was the lady who had access to the municipality stands. Sitshengisiwe claims she was shown the stand by Tyson Moyo,” the report said.

The matter has already claimed the scalp of deputy director of housing, Kenneth Khumalo who was last week dismissed from his post.

Khumalo has since approached the High Court challenging his dismissal.

Newsday

Former US President Barack Obama mounted a passionate defense of democracy and warned against the rise of “strongman politics,” in a speech in South Africa a day after his successor, Donald Trump, was heavily criticized for a humiliating news conference with Vladimir Putin.

In an address Tuesday in honor of the late Nelson Mandela ahead of the 100th anniversary of his birth, Obama criticized populist movements toward authoritarianism around the world and ridiculed the “utter loss of shame among political leaders” who lie.

Obama has made an art of criticizing the current President’s values without explicitly naming Trump, peppering his speech Tuesday with warnings against some of Trump’s key policies, including protectionism, climate change denial and closed borders.

“The politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear. And that kind of politics is now on the move. It’s on the move at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago,” he told the crowd of around 15,000 people in Johannesburg.

“I am not being alarmist, I’m simply stating the facts. Look around — strongman politics are ascendant, suddenly, whereby elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained, the form of it, where those in powers seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning.”

Obama’s remarks come a day after Trump’s news conference in Helsinki, Finland, in which the US leader sided with Putin over his own country’s intelligence agencies on whether Russia interfered in the 2016 US election.

Trump had been expected by some observers to confront Putin over the issue after the US Department of Justice indicted 12 Russians, accused of hacking the Democrat’s emails and computer networks to target Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

The President flip-flopped on his stance on the matter, having said last year he believed Russia was behind the interference, but back-pedaling Monday to claim he believed Putin’s account that Russia was not involved.

Obama mocked the way politicians lie and reminded his audience of the importance of facts.

“You have to believe in facts. Without facts there’s no basis for cooperation. If I say this is a podium and you say this is an elephant, it’s going to be hard for us to cooperate,” he said.

“I can’t find common ground if somebody says that climate change just isn’t happening, when almost all the world’s scientists tell us it is. I don’t know where to start talking to you about this. If you say it’s an elaborate hoax, where do we start?”

He added that politics today often rejected the concept of objective truth.

“People just make stuff up. They just make stuff up. We see it in the growth of state sponsored propaganda. We see it in internet fabrications. We see it in the blurring of lines between news and entertainment. We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they’re caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie some more. It used to be that if you caught them lying, they’d be like, oh man — now they just keep on lying,” he said, to laughter in the crowd.

Obama had opened his speech reflecting on the recent chaos of the world that gave him the opportunity to seek perspective.

“But in the strange and uncertain times that we are in — and they are strange, and they are uncertain, with each day’s news cycles bringing more head-spinning and disturbing headlines — I thought maybe it would be useful to step back for a moment and try to get some perspective, so I hope you’ll indulge me,” he said.

He warned that the press was under attack, that censorship and state control of media is on the rise and that social media was being used to promote hate, propaganda and conspiracy theories.

“So, on Madiba’s 100 birthday, we now stand at a crossroads,” he said, using a clan name of affection for Mandela.

He said that there was a choice between two visions of humanity’s future that the world must choose between.

“How should we respond? Should we see that wave of hope that we felt with Madiba’s release from prison? From the Berlin Wall coming down? Should we see that hope that we had as naïve and misguided?” he asked.

“Let me tell you what I believe. I believe in Nelson Mandela’s vision, I believe in a vision shared by Gandhi and King, and Abraham Lincoln, I believe in a vision of equality and justice and freedom and multi-racial democracy built on the premise that all people are created equal and are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights.”

His lecture, titled “Renewing the Mandela legacy and promoting active citizenship in a changing world,” tracked the transformation of the world, particularly in terms of race relations and human rights, over the past 100 years.

“It is a plain fact that racial discrimination still exists in both the United States and South Africa,” he said.

Obama’s speech followed remarks by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Mandela’s widow, Graça Machel, formerly a freedom fighter and minister in Mozambique’s government.

Machel drew several parallels between Mandela and Obama, portraying them both as modest men as “symbols of victory over adversity.”

“From the humblest of beginnings, they are representatives of the masses and reached to the pinnacle of power and influence. But in doing so they were able to elevate the rights and ambitions of the disenfranchised and the weak. Of young and old, of both men and women, of black and white,” she said of both leaders.

Ramaphosa said South Africans celebrated Obama because he shared similar leadership qualities as Mandela and had the same ability to inspire hope and action.

Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95. He helped South Africa break the practice of racial segregation and do away with white minority rule.

Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against state-sanctioned racial segregation, he was freed in 1990 and quickly set about working to unite the nation through forgiveness and reconciliation, becoming South Africa’s first black president. Obama, who became the US’ first black president in 2009, has referred to Mandela as a mentor.

CNN

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has effectively shut the door on opposition MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa, declaring that the printing of the ballot papers was non-negotiable and now “water under the bridge.”

Speaking during a radio interview on Monday evening, Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba said Zec had completed printing of ballot papers for both the presidential and National Assembly elections and would not bow down to pressure to restart the process.

“It’s water under the bridge. The difficulty is I must balance being nice and being liked and simply just telling the truth,” she said.

“The danger in misleading the people in saying something can be done about the design, about observing the printing of the ballot is that I will be accused of being dishonest and I will be dishonest. Let us just put a little bit of perspective, this is 15 days before the elections. It is dishonest to mislead Zimbabwe saying 15 days before the day of the election we have not printed that ballot or we are likely to abandon the ballot paper that we printed and start afresh. We simply don’t have the time.”

Her remarks came as Chamisa has vowed to block the elections until their grievances have been addressed.

Chigumba added that Zec had given all political parties a copy of the ballot paper, showed them security features and asked them to test the papers, hence could not find the basis of Chamisa’s demands.

“All political parties actually received a copy of the ballot paper. They were given a copy of the ballot paper. They were shown the ballot paper, they were shown the security features, the water mark and were actually told to take the ballot paper put your X on it and if after 12 hours the X migrates, bring it back to Zec,” she said.

But Chamisa yesterday dismissed Chigumba’s utterances saying: “It can’t be water under the bridge, because there is neither water nor bridge as regards ballot papers.”

Newsday

By Farai D Hove| In unexplained circumstances, a male worker has been found dead at Robert Mugabe’s former business partner, Billy Rautenbach’s farm property. (The excessive farm lands taken from demolished ancestral properties, were handed Rautenbach by government when he in 2011 lied that he was going to electrify the whole of Manicaland year in year out.)

Although investigations were on-going,  Mr Lovemore Mthombeni was at the time of writing said to have been crushed alive by a Cane Harvester while at work.

The man, aged 38 Years who is from the Chinyamukwakwa Village, Chief Garahwa, was employed by Rautenbach’s Macdom Green-fuel company as a harvesting clerk.

His duties were to record the number of loaded trucks and issuing receipts to the drivers at the sugarcane fields.

It is suspected that the deceased fell asleep in the sugarcane fields and was crushed together with the sugar canes and loaded into the trucks conveyed to the mill where his remains were processed together with the sugarcane.

Sources as ZimEye reveals, told police that on the 13th day of July 2018 at around 1700hrs, Lovemore Mthombeni commenced his shift G15A block Green-fuel sugarcane fields, Chisumbanje and his shift was supposed to end at 0500 hours the following morning. He was working with Cane Harvester operator, Warren Musiwaro.

At around 0300hrs, the same day the now deceased could not be located at work by Warren Musiwaro. Warren Musiwaro stopped the cane harvester and as he was looking about for Lovemore Mthombeni he discovered some blood stains on the harvester conveyor belt. He then made a report to his superiors who teamed up in search of the now deceased and failed to locate him.

A report was made to the police on 14 July 2018 at around 0900hrs.

POLICE INVESTIGATION:
 Scene was attended by police and upon checks about 80 grams of suspected crushed human flesh was discovered on the cane harvester belt.
 The suspected crushed human remains were taken to St Peters Hospital Mortuary pending further investigations.
 Next of kin of deceased has been advised
 Investigations are still in progress under Chisumbanje RRB 3511883.

Police told ZimEye, considering the heavy machinery that is involved in the operations it was very difficult to obtain much evidence in terms of human remains. – MORE TO FOLLOW…

President Mnangagwa has acknowledged that his government took the country backwards by twenty years in terms of development compared to other countries.

Addressing a bumper crowd at Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) Sports Grounds on Tuesday, President Mnangagwa said it was Government’s goal to restore the country’s lost economic glory.

“The 20 years that we lost while other nations were developing, we would want to leapfrog and jump to catch up with other nations in the region and other African countries and beyond.

“Zimbabwe must leapfrog and catch up with the rest of the developing countries and to do so we agreed as Government we shall engage and re-engage.”

President Mnangagwa said the re-engagement policy would see Zimbabwe work to restore relationships with its erstwhile friends across the world.

“Those who had severed relationships with us are being asked to restore these, but those who are not interested will not be forced to review these relations,” he said.

He said Zimbabwe had opened its doors to the outside world.

“Zimbabwe is open for business, for you friends to come, all of you to come. Those who do not want, we cannot force friendship upon those who do not want.

“But we are happy that across the board, across the entire world, Zimbabwe is being received, Zimbabwe is being respected, Zimbabwe is being accepted with the policies that we have; that let us relate, let us re-engage, let us be a member of the international community.”

President Mnangagwa said the business community had acknowledged that there could be no development without agriculture, mining and infrastructure development.

“For the months that we have been in the new dispensation, you can see that the situation has changed. The roads are being maintained and constructed.

“Even in Harare where there were potholes, everywhere you go you will see workers maintaining the roads while in the rural areas the DDF and council are working on the roads and building bridges,” he said.

A married couple was killed while on their way to Mnangagwa prophet Mudzidzi Wimbo.

Emmanuel Mavazhe (50) and his wife Monica (48) from Nkulumane suburb in Bulawayo died on the spot in a car crash near Shangani on their way from the burial of Johane Masowe eChishanu Vadzidzi VaJesu Church founder Aaron Mhukuta Gomo. (Mudzidzi Wimbo)

The couple was buried at West Park Cemetery.

They were passengers in a Toyota Ace alongside four other people when the accident occurred on Sunday evening.

The driver of the vehicle, who declined to be named told the state media that some suspected robbers could have deliberately driven the cattle onto the road to cause the accident and later rob the victims. The driver said: “That is what the haulage truck driver said. He said he saw some people trying to drive a herd of cattle into the road. So in trying to evade the truck, I failed to control the vehicle.”

They were both accountants with the husband employed by Bulawayo Polytechnic while his wife was the chief auditor in the Ministry of Local Government.- state media

MDC Alliance spokesperson, Welshman Ncube on Friday last week insinuated that some politicians in the country were suffering from cannabis effects.

Ncube was speaking in reference to Alliance for People’s Agenda leader Nkosana Moyo whom he said was contesting for the presidency without a single aspiring House of Assembly candidate.

Ncube made the remarks while addressing supporters in Hwange.

“To give you examples so that you see that in Zimbabwe we have a problem of mbanje, there is Nkosana. He wants to be a president. He is alone. He has no other candidate,” he said.

“Where will he appoint ministers from? In Parliament, who will vote for your laws? If you go to Parliament without MPs they will chase you away.”

He said it would be a waste of votes for the electorate to vote for such people and they should be wary of them.

Addressing guests at his party manifesto launch recently, Moyo said if he gets the presidency he will hold interviews for ministers based on their qualifications and will not make appointments.

“Zimbabwe has a lot of skilled people who can take up ministerial posts, but the problem is that it is impossible to identify them and know where all of them are,” he said.

“I will not appoint ministers, but our requirements will be that one needs to apply in order to get a ministerial post so that ministers are chosen on merit and not through appointments because what stops a President from appointing his relatives.”

Government has announced a 17,5 percent Special Civil Service Allowance to all its workers just two weeks before the landmark elections.

It will also meet other demands by the workers, including cash-in-lieu-of leave (CIL).

This was confirmed by Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes Simbarashe Mumbengegwi in a statement to state media on Tuesday.

“Government has received correspondence from the Civil Service Apex Council with respect to the general conditions of service of all public service employees. Government takes the concerns therein seriously.

“The correspondence captures the shared commitment between the Government of Zimbabwe and the Apex Council to enhance the conditions of service of all employees in the public service.

“Negotiations through the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) resulted in a signed agreement whose contents are being implemented with effect from July 2018 as follows:

“Payment of the 17.5 percent Special Civil Service allowance; cash-in-lieu of leave (CIL) for teachers who have accrued more than 123 days of vacation leave. Treasury will be releasing funds to clear these leave days over the next six months and; reduction and alignment of rentals at institutional accommodation to housing allowances paid to various grades of civil servants,” he said.

Minister Mumbengegwi said Government would also consider reviewing civil servants’ conditions of service.

“In addition, the signed memorandum of agreement did not close room for continuous negotiations to explore and consider other additional non-monetary benefits to enhance the conditions of service of civil servants.

“In this regard, the Public Service Commission in partnership with the National Social Security (NSSA) has structured a $60 million Public Service Housing Facility for civil servants managed through the National Building Society (NBS),” he said.

Minister Mumbengegwi said Government was cognisant that the conditions of service for all its workers had been constrained by the state of the economy and the limited fiscal space.

He said Government remained committed to improving conditions of service for its workforce.

“Government therefore will urgently engage and work with its partners under the National Joint Negotiating Council to formulate an integrated, holistic and equitable remuneration framework for all its employees,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.

“This framework would address any discrepancies in the conditions of service of workers in the various sectors of Government,” he added.

Minister Mumbengegwi said a body meant to address workers’ issues was being set up.

“In addition, Government is currently working on the establishment of a Public Service Collective Bargaining Council that will deal with workers’ issues in a holistic manner.

“May I once gain re-iterate Government’s commitment to improving its workers’ conditions of service in a manner that does not create discrepancies and disharmony,” he said.

THREE members of a Tribunal recently appointed to inquire into the question of removal of Prosecutor General Advocate Ray Goba from office, yesterday took oaths of office before President Mnangagwa.

The Tribunal chairperson, Retired High Court judge Justice November Mtshiya and two other members — Advocate Takawira Nzombe and Mrs Wendy Mangeya-Mandizira — vowed to faithfully and impartially execute their duties at a ceremony held at State House in Harare.

Speaking after the ceremony, permanent secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza said the Tribunal was expected to complete its investigations and make the necessary findings in the next four months.

“The Tribunal is supposed to deliver within four months from the date of appointment, which is today.

“In the next four months, we should be able to know whether the PG will retain his office or will be removed from office,” she said.

Mrs Mabiza said the secretariat, which provides the necessary support to the Tribunal, will be headed by a director from her ministry.

“The secretariat will be headed by a director from the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

“Our duty as the secretariat is to make provisions for the Tribunal to operate efficiently. We also provide evidence and see to it that the matter is presented well before the commission,” said Mrs Mabiza.

Mrs Mabiza said the President was yet to appoint the Acting PG.

“Acting PG will be announced in due course, not later than Friday,” she said.

The three members of the Tribunal are renowned lawyers who have excelled in different areas of the practice of law.

“The chairperson is a veteran judge who retired last year after serving at the High Court bench for years. Mrs Chingeya-Mandizira is a lawyer of repute who was part of the secretary during another Tribunal set years back to decide on former Attorney-General Mr Sobuza Gula-Ndebele.

“Adv Nzombe is a seasoned lawyer and a retired senior police officer. He served as head of legal services in the police force for many years and he has the necessary experience for the task,” said Mrs Mabiza.

Mrs Mabiza said Government was determined to fight corruption and that whoever is appointed to take over from Adv Goba as Acting PG must prioritise prosecution of high profile graft cases.

“Adv Goba was suspended on allegations of failing to prosecute high profile cases, among other charges.

“Whoever will take over the reins, must prioritise the fight against corruption, especially prosecution of high-profile cases,” said Mrs Mabiza.

Last week, President Mnangagwa suspended Adv Goba from office, to pave way for an investigation into his suitability to continue holding office.

The Tribunal will investigate the PG on the charges of failing to prosecute high profile graft cases, travelling without Cabinet approval, using abusive language, general abuse of office among others.

The suspension followed recommendations by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to embark on a process leading to the removal of the PG from office in terms of Section 187 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Adv Goba was sworn in as the country’s substantive head of prosecutions in December last year.

His appointment was firstly revoked by former head of State Mr Robert Mugabe last year but the new dispensation reinstated him.

Adv Goba replaced former PG Mr Johannes Tomana, who was fired for incompetence and misconduct. A disciplinary tribunal chaired by Retired High Court judge Justice Moses Chinhengo found him guilty of a host of charges and recommended his removal from office.

State Media

Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa leaves Harare on Wednesday for Lusaka, Zambia where he will attend the 20th Summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

Heads of State and Government from the regional bloc’s 19 member states are expected to attend the summit, which ends on Thursday and the much talked about Zimbabwean elections to be held in a fortnight are not on the agenda.

Zimbabwean opposition parties particularly the lead opposition, the MDC Alliance have been calling on the international community and African states to intervene in what they claim to be a flowed process in the run up to the elections.

The summit will be held under the theme “Comesa: Towards Digital Economic Integration.”

The theme rallies member states towards the full adoption of digital technologies to establish seamless processes across the Comesa region to enable the ease of doing business and to enhance regional integration using information and communication technologies.

The programme of the summit at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in the Zambian capital started on Monday last week with meetings of the grouping’s policy organs. The Council of Ministers met on Saturday and Sunday.

They welcomed the peace deal reached between Ethiopia and Eritrea that ended a 20-year conflict between the two Comesa member states.

Ethiopia and Eritrea were involved in a border dispute between 1998 and 2000 but the neighbours only recently agreed to restore the diplomatic, trade and transportation links that had been cut during that war.

Key issues on the summit agenda include the consideration of membership to Comesa by Tunisia and Somalia. Negotiations for their admission were concluded a few months ago.

The only highlight involving Zimbabwe will be the appointment of a new Comesa secretary general to replace Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, a Zimbabwean who has held that position since May 2008.

Zambia’s Vice President, Mrs Inonge Wina, speaking at the opening of the 16th meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs praised Mr Ngwenya for steering the regional body over the past decade.

“When he was appointed as Secretary General our programme on peace and security was operating with three programmes and a relatively small budget,” she said.

“Through his tenure, he has overseen an increase in cooperating partners and programmes. He oversaw the development and implementation of the Comesa conflict early warning system, as well as a programme on democracy including the professional observation of over 20 elections.”

It’s no longer business as usual said Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Permanent Secretary, Mrs Sibusisiwe Zembe as employment and empowerment opportunities brought about by the new dispensation have resulted in more work for their officers who now have more projects to monitor.

“The new dispensation has brought a lot of opportunities for women as a result our officers are now always busy on the ground monitoring the projects,” she said.

As part of ensuring the officers are mobile, the ministry handed over motor bikes to them at Jamaica National Training Centre for Rural Women in Goromonzi.

“These motorbikes we have disbursed today (Tuesday) are meant to improve our officers’ mobility as they monitor the projects in communities,” Mrs Zembe said.

As part of empowering rural women, the ministry is also conducting a garment making training course for women from Matabeleland North Province.

The women thanked the ministry for giving them the opportunity to train resulting in them being empowered.

“I would like to thank the ministry for having initiated this training programme which has given me the opportunity to train in garment making,” said some of the beneficiaries.

The ministry has also funded a number of projects countrywide which include eight community gardens, eight mining projects and registered 50 savings and credit cooperatives.- state media

By Own Correspondent| Former MDC T legislator for Harare West has unveiled a document dubbed “Report Of My 2013-2018 Parliament of Zimbabwe Term in National Assembly for Harare West” where she details her contributions as member of parliament for the past two terms.

Majome, who is standing as an independent in the forthcoming polls set to be held in 15 days, appealed to the electorate to give her a fresh mandate saying she “will work her hardest” to deliver as a representative of Harare westerners in the National House of Assembly.

Below is the full text of Majome’s report.

I hope I find you well. It is my pleasure to present to you the attached report which is my account to you as your Member of Parliament in the National Assembly for Harare West in the 2013-2018 term which will end on midnight of 29 July to pave way for the elections. The picture is from last year’s Parliamentof Zimbabwe opening.

It has always been important to me to, despite the absence of constituency offices, meeting venues and an administrative budget, constantly endeavour to account to you for my work for and in your name. As such I constantly communicate with you through my social media platforms, telephones and meetings at my law chambers, and in our communities, using contact details are at the end of this letter, and which I invite you to use.

From the outset I wish to thank you most sincerely for the honour of holding your mandate in the august House, and for interacting with me as that helps to make my representation authentic.

My report has a parliamentary part and a constituency part, and due to the volume of work done, represents only highlights of my representation of you. I invite those who can to see the Hansard on www.parlzim.gov.zw for my full Parliamentary contributions.

Among the accomplishments you and I should be proud of are that it is our constituency, through questions to ministers by me, which brought the constitutional State of The Nation Address, independent committee annual reports, and through my ZINARA motion, caused government to rethink the collection of car licence road maintenance revenue by ZINARA and restore it to councils which has in the meantime seen Treasury allocating money to reconstruct the following 13 roads in our constituency and others nationwide in the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme :
1.Elizabeth Windsor Road
2. Harare Drive (Kirkman Rd to Lomagundi Rd)
3. Good Hope Road
4. Belfast Road
5. Marlborough Drive
6. Gilchrist Road
7. Quendon Road
8. Bingley Drive
9. Ashdown Drive
10. Avonlea Drive
11. Tynwald North Road
12. Lorraine Drive
13. Suffolk Road.

In addition history will record that we in Harare West contributed to the removal from office of the former President Robert Mugabe by having its MP, namely myself, having the distinction of being one of the five MPs chosen from both houses, debate the motion to impeach him in terms of section 97 of the Constitution that ultimately pressurized him to resign.

It has been an honour to serve you. I will end by borrowing the meaning of a quotation by Julia Gillard Australian Prime Minister I hope that by this sample of my work it will show that “Can I say to the (Harare West) people there will be days I delight you, there may be days I disappoint you. On every day I will be working my absolute hardest for you’’

It has been an absolute honour to serve you, for which I thank you, and which I will be humbly seeking again, as an independent candidate at the end of my term.

PICTURE- WHAT’S GOING ON NOW? – Mnangagwa Face In Didymus Style – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, IF ANYTHING?

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) July 17, 2018

By Farai D Hove| The MDC Alliance spokesperson Welshman Ncube has claimed that the leader of the Alliance for the People’s Agenda (APA) Nkosana Moyo is an example of mbanje-taking.

Prof Ncubescoffed at Nkosana-Moyo’s single handed candidature saying he seems to be suffering from mbanje symptoms by thinking he will lead the country without a single candidate for the house of assembly or local government elections. Ncube said, “to give you examples so that you see that in Zimbabwe we have a problem of mbanje, there is Nkosana. He wants to be a president. He is alone. He has no other candidate. Where will he appoint ministers from? In Parliament, who will vote for your laws? If you go to Parliament without MPs they will chase you away.”

Prof Ncube was speaking in Hwange.

By Own Correspondent| Former president Robert Mugabe’s son Robert Junior was reportedly rushed to hospital over an undisclosed ailment.

Robert Junior revealed in an instagram post that he was much better.

“I have never felt so ill in my life but I am much better now,” he wrote.

While bloggers wrote claiming he was taken to Parirenyatwa hospital, it was not confirmed at the time of writing which hospital it is he was rushed to. MORE TO FOLLOW…