President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to name and shame companies alleged to have externalised funds and assets has turned into a nightmare for local companies that are being snubbed by potential suitors and trading partners.

This came out during a breakfast meeting organised by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) yesterday, where representatives of a number of companies said they have been struggling to do business ever since the list was published by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

On March 19, the OPC released a long list of companies purported to have illegally taken money and assets outside the country.

Initially, Mnangagwa had given the culprits a 90-day window period within which they were to return the loot in exchange for their freedom.

The period stretched from December 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018.

After the expiry of the three-month moratorium, he further extended the deadline by another two weeks, to February 19. During that period, government neither asked questions nor preferred charges against those that repatriated the money or assets.

This included cases that were before the courts where judgments were yet to be passed.

A few individuals and companies came forward, but many opted to play hide-and-seek with the authorities.

On Monday last week, Mnangagwa lived up to his word by naming and shaming the alleged culprits who could not take advantage of his moratorium.

Government has said it would subsequently use legal instruments to those that have failed to comply, including triggering prosecutions.

The list, however, emerged as scandalous as it turned out that most of the companies appearing on it were actually legitimate importers and exporters whose transactions were not processed on time and were thus erroneously criminalised.

This has had the effect of compromising their standing since most foreign partners are reluctant to do business with firms that have criminal records.

ZNCC president Divine Ndlhukula said several member organisations are desperately trying to engage the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to clear their names and salvage their reputations.

“Their partners abroad are now a bit jittery and obviously that is affecting them. I think there is need for the list to be revised so that only people that externalised are the ones that would appear on it,” she said.

“Currently, there are a lot of people that are on the list who never externalised. It’s important that those companies are cleared because that affects their brands and their business and it’s important that something be done about it,” she said.

Ndlhukula advised the affected companies against suing government for wrongfully exposing them.

“I don’t think going the legal route is the best way. I think the powers-that-be, whoever and wherever that list was generated from; they should revise that list and say these were stated wrongly so that those people can go back to their partners and say we have been cleared.

“If it is the RBZ, obviously they have got to revise that list. I’m sure by now they have had over a 100 engagements by a number of people who feel that they were put on that list when they do not belong to that list. So they should really correct that,” she added.

Jeffrey Rugare, a local businessman who runs an alternative energy solutions concern, narrated how his business partners in Zambia spurned him after his company — Global Solar Company — was wrongly put on the list.

He said the RBZ mistook his $50 000 deal to import solar power equipment for externalised funds, adding that Global Solar Company was wrongly put on the list because of a malfunctioning Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) system, which missed its acquittals.

This was during the time when Zimra was processing transactions manually.

“Government is expecting my company to bring back the money when we imported goods which are already circulating on the market. We did not externalise, we are Zimbabweans. We have created employment in the country. We are the first company owned by young Zimbabweans to start manufacturing energy bulbs in the country and we are appearing on the list.

“So if they criminalise us, who is going to do business (with us)? We instead attracted money into the country from our foreign investors who made this business possible. We have a lot of questions to ask. I believe somebody lied to the president. We need a cure from that list because it is affecting our brand. For example, we also operate in Zambia and I sent a message to our partner there to say we wanted to come and start manufacturing there. But he said, ‘hope Mnangagwa will not say you externalised’. We are trying to do business for our country and a foreigner writes this.

“This list, people believe it but it’s a fake list. We want to build our country, it’s our home. But if you do this, you are killing us,” he pleaded.

ZNCC members also heaped the blame on local banks saying they were complicit in the production of the “fake list”.

Former ZNCC president Luxon Zembe opined that the list was replete with companies doing their best to stay afloat despite the difficult operating environment in Zimbabwe.

He pointed an accusing finger at the banks for misinforming the OPC.

But Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (Baz) president Charity Jinya refuted the blame saying it lay squarely with the companies that did not clear their transactions on time.

“I don’t believe it because if it’s more than 90 days, there was an opportunity for banks to write to clients asking for transactions to be cleared. This gives the opportunity for the company to say it should be off the list. No one is perfect, mistakes are common, but there is a process where banks communicate with clients and clients communicate with banks formally and on the back of formal communication, information is then passed through to the RBZ because this is the system which is also under the control of the RBZ,” Jinya said.

She also denied allegations that banks breached client confidentiality by divulging information about their clients to third parties, saying government had direct access to such information through the RBZ.

“The entire banking system is connected to the central bank, they know everything and the clients know it too,” she said.

Deputy Finance minister Terrence Mukupe admitted that government had erred and had now started the process of clearing those that were wrongly implicated.- Daily News

By Snodia Mawupeni |  The car belonging to former deputy minister of Higher Education Doctor Godfrey Gandawa left at the growth point when he was picked up yesterday is no longer around. It is alleged Gandawa was picked by police details in plain clothes.

An early morning visit at Magunje growth point situated about 35 kilometers west of Karol has revealed that the car is no longer at Mapaya business complex where it was left. Our sources revealed that Gandawa was picked up by four men who had a twin cab. “The men seemed to have followed him from Harare and its likely the case is connected to Zimbabwe Development Fund, (Zimdef) They took him and drove off to Harare, ” said ZimEye sources. The car was left at Mapaya business complex for safe keeping. However on Saturday morning it was nowhere to be found.

Go back to square one, members of MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s close circuit have been told.

Announcing on Friday, MDC senior founding member, Job Sikhala said, “I sometimes wonder whether some people are normal.

“Why do they want to be imposed and evade the mill of a democratic process of going through primary elections to represent people. Do such people have functional brains or are just ambitious useless people?

“Chamisa went through the mill of the National Council seeking endorsement. I moved the motion if there is anybody who feel that he or she needs to lead the party at the recent NE meeting. No one showed interest.

“Same should be the process to anyone who wish to hold any position in the party, whether being a Councillor or an MP you must be exposed to the people. If you are wanted people will speak. No one will be imposed on my face. Never. Seek the people’s mandate to represent them not hallucinating kuti you want to be imposed.”

The late Movement for Democratic Change had an overwhelming send-off but he has left splitting headaches in the two things that were close to his heart- his family and the party.

Both, the family and the party are split.

The family has been forced to get two executors of his real estate because his wife Elizabeth does not seem to agree with his first wife Susan’s children and Tsvangirai’s brothers.

Tsvangirai’s mother threatened to hang herself if Elizabeth and Nelson Chamisa attended her son’s funeral but they both attended with Chamisa being the key speaker at all functions.

Elizabeth was humiliated and the excuse was that she had married a polygamous man and could therefore not get special treatment.

Ironically, no other woman seems to be claiming Tsvangirai’s estate though reports say Elizabeth has two of Tsvangirai’s children by another woman on her side.

Now the High Court, according to Newsday has appointed two executors for Tsvangirai’s Estate, Innocent Chagonda representing Elizabeth and Jonathan Samkange representing the Tsvangirai family.

In the party Chamisa has taken over the reins but has fired Thokozani Khupe who says she is going it alone but will retain the MDC-T name.

The Chamisa led faction has threatened to recall Khupe and expelled organising secretary Abednigo from Parliament.

Newsday, however, reports that Khupe and two others expelled from the party-Bhebhe and Obert Gutu- have not yet received their expulsion papers.

Both dramas are continuing to unfold and there is no clear winner yet.

While Elizabeth seems to have an upper hand in the family dispute, she could face a torrid time from Susan’s children and Tsvangirai’s brothers.

Chamisa also seems to have an upper hand but Khupe and her colleagues could also give him a few headaches because they are claiming that he breached the party constitution to grab party leadership.

Sadly, both tragedies could spill into election time and disrupt Chamisa’s campaign while the family dispute could open a can of worms if previous divorces of prominent politicians like Chombo and Marian, Chiyangwa and Elizabeth are anything to go by.insider

Terrence Mawawa | A Shurugwi woman ran amok and bashed her husband before assaulting her mother-in-law.

The woman, Ruzvidzo Mdala was charged with domestic violence when she appeared before Shurugwi Magistrate Sangster Tavengwa last week.

Facts of the State case were that Ruzvidzo’ s husband, Chefundi Mdala arrived home around 8 pm and the latter accused him of being promiscuous.

She then began to assault her husband and the couple’ s daughter, Ayanda confronted her mother and blocked her from further attacking her dad.

An irate Ruzvidzo then spat into her mother-in-law’ s face and she also assaulted her.

Ruzvidzo was sentenced to six months in prison.

Terrence Mawawa | Zvishavane residents have described the donation of 250 000 broiler chicks to members of the local community by a Zanu PF official as a cheap political gimmick.

Last week Zanu PF national youth affairs deputy secretary Lewis Matutu donated 250 000 broiler chicks to Zvishavane residents.

Matutu is eyeing the Zvishavane- Ngezi Constituency.

In response to Matutu’ s manoeuvre, local residents lampooned the ruling party for attempting to hoodwink the desperate people of Zimbabwe.

Johnson Sayi, a Zvishavane vendor said:” We want jobs, not broiler chicks.

We are tired of the ruling party’ s old and useless tricks.”

Another vendor, Minah, said local residents would not be moved by Matutu’ s so called kind gesture.

Government is concerned with the arrest of Zimbabwean students in Northern Cyprus, who are not on government scholarships, a cabinet minister has said.

Eight Zimbabwean students were arrested last week for a series of armed robberies and break-ins.

Minister of State Responsible for Government Scholarships in the Office of the President, Christopher Mushohwe told H-Metro that they were concerned about the arrests and were finding ways to assist.

He said the students are not on government scholarships, but since they are Zimbabweans, the government was compelled to assist.

“We are concerned about the students’ plight as they are Zimbabwean citizens.

“The students arrested in Northern Cyprus are not on government scholarship, they went there on a private arrangement on the backdrop that they are getting full scholarships but later realised that they had been deceived,” said the Minister.

He also said that they had engaged Northern Cyprus representative and Turkish Ambassador on the way forward

“I spoke to the Turkish Ambassador to help us work with the Universities where those students were attending school. This can help us to locate the agents who sent them there, so that they can help in finding a solution,” said Minister Mushohwe.

Turkey controls the Northern part of Cyprus where most Zimbabweans are studying on private scholarships.

Dr Mushohwe said most students are left stranded in countries such as Australia, China, Russia and Canada after receiving fake scholarships, resulting in them engaging in criminal activities to survive and pay for their tuition.

The Minister appealed to parents and students to verify the authenticity of the scholarships before they leave for studies.

“I appeal to parents and students seeking private scholarships to verify with universities abroad if the scholarships are genuine and also to verify if they are offered on 100 percent basis.”

“The problem is that parents and students get too excited that they got scholarships and fail to verify their genuineness. Circumstances like these could have been avoided.” said Dr Mushohwe.

Many international university agents have sprouted in the country offering scholarships abroad which have turned out to be fake. The agents are taking advantage that Zimbabweans enjoys going to school.- H-Metro

I am worried about Mphoko.

No one is looking for him.
No one is talking about him.
No one is writing about him.
No one notices that no one is talking about him.

I am worried about Mphoko.

No one is looking for him.
No one is talking about him.
No one is writing about him.
No one notices that no one is talking about him.
???????? pic.twitter.com/MUAP2gry83

— G (@Ghost_zw) March 28, 2018

Police officer stationed in Victoria Falls has been fined $50 after he beat up a workmate who had rebuked him for urinating on the veranda at the Registrar General’s Office.
Constable Tendai Vhurande (34), who resides at Victoria Falls Camp and Const Nicholas Chatambarara (27) of 5003 Chinotimba suburb, were guarding Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) material at the Victoria Falls Registrar’s Office on January 2 this year when the offence was committed.

Const Vhurande slapped Const Chatambarara three times after the latter confronted him for urinating on the veranda at the Registrar General’s Office.

Const Vhurande was convicted on his own plea of guilty to assault when he appeared before Victoria Falls magistrate Ms Rangarirai Gakanje. He was fined $50 for the offence.

Prosecuting, Mr David Tivakudze told how Const Vhurande assaulted his workmate.
“On the 2nd of January 2018 and in the early hours, Const Chatambarara was taking over duty from Const Vhurande, who is the accused, at the Victoria Falls Registrar General’s Office. The accused went to the veranda and started urinating,” said Mr Tivakudze.
The court was told that Const Chatambarara advised his workmate that what he was doing was improper since the veranda is used by members of the public during the day. This did not go down well with the accused who charged at Const Chatambarara and slapped him thrice on the face before head-butting him. State Media

Row over the late MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured)’s estate continued this week, resulting in the Master of the High Court reportedly appointing two executors.

One of the executors will represent Tsvangirai’s family and the other Elizabeth Macheka after the two parties failed to settle for one.

Tsvangirai died in February and his family is divided on the way forward regarding the estate with his wife, the surviving spouse, dominating the inheritance.

A letter to one of the family members seen by NewsDay confirmed that a meeting took place at the Master of the High Court.

“This letter serves to inform you that at 9:30am on March 27, 2018, there will be an edict meeting (meeting for purposes of, among other things, choosing an executor in this estate) at the offices of the Master of High Court in Harare,” the letter read.
Elizabeth is claiming entitlement to the estate.

She reportedly has the support of Tsvangirai’s other two children, Miriro and Richard, from another union.

The rest of the children and other family members were up in arms with her, with others challenging the fact that she was the surviving spouse. They are accusing her of deserting Morgan in times of need.

After the meeting, two executors, lawyers Innocent Chagonda and Jonathan Samukange were appointed representing Elizabeth and Tsvangirai family in particular.
Chagonda confirmed that he was the executor, but was yet to be formally advised, as he left the proceedings early.

Samkange confirmed the development.
“There is an agreement that there will be two executors. I will be representing Tsvangirai family and the other one will be representing Elizabeth,” he said.
Samukange said it was permissible to have two executors if the parties fail to agree.

“If the parties fail to agree, the Master can appoint two executors. The next step is that the two will sit and compile an inventory which will be submitted to the Master.”

Samukange said they will be looking at the creditors and debtors of Tsvangirai and if there are debts, they will be offset by the estate before distribution.
Since the last days of Tsvangirai, there has been bad blood between Tsvangirai family and Elizabeth. At the airport when Tsvangirai’s body arrived from South Africa, his mother vowed that Elizabeth must not attend the funeral or else she will commit suicide in protest.

Elizabeth’s backers accused Tsvangirai’s family of trying to segregate her so that she will be sidelined from the proceedings and ultimately fail to get part of the late MDC-T leader’s estate.

Sources however, claim Tsvangirai was done off with his elderly children, accusing them of prioritising his estate during his last moments.

“Elderly children were trying to ring-fence their father and block anyone from seeing him. They also didn’t want his two other children to have something from his estate as they were widely seen to be friendly to Elizabeth,” the source said.

“The fights between Tsvangirai’s family and Elizabeth have been there, but they were worsened when Tsvangirai’s health deteriorated. Now the fights will go on because of benefits that are set to be released.

“If one analyses the way she was treated in South Africa and the funeral, it’s very easy to see there is a bigger untold story.”
Others claim there were confrontations between Elizabeth and Tsvangirai’s elderly daughter, Vimbai. Vimbai refused to discuss the matter with NewsDay yesterday.

However, others blamed Elizabeth of not failing to stand with her late husband. Given the hostility the two executors are expected to come up with the way forward. – Newsday

Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe chairman, Tafadzwa Musarara, has approached the court seeking former ZiFM Stereo’s programmes manager, Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa’s incarceration for allegedly defying a court order compelling her to apologise for defaming the businessman.

Musarara said he is seeking a 60-day incarceration for Parirenyatwa, after she deliberately refused to apologise on a social media platform she had used to defame him.
In 2016, Musarara filed a $200 000 defamation lawsuit against Parirenyatwa.

The respondent had claimed on social media that she had not invited Musarara to her programme where she interviewed #ThisFlag founder, Evan Mawarire. Parirenyatwa’s statement resulted in the public attacking Musarara instead.

However, when the parties appeared before High Court judge, Justice Helena Charewa last November, Parirenyatwa pleaded with Musarara not to pursue the litigation and offered to publicly apologise on the same social media platform, leading to a deed of settlement.

“I gave the respondent (Parirenyatwa) my ear and because of the heart rendering explanation, I agreed to the respondent’s proposal for an amicable resolution of the matter. On November 2, 2017 I entered into a deed of settlement with the respondent, which culminated in an order by consent of the parties,” Musarara said.

“In terms of the deed of settlement, the respondent was to issue an apology in the words specified therein within a period of seven days. The respondent has not issued out the apology. She has instead opened a new account on the Twitter platform with a viewership of 75 people on which she purportedly apologised. The Twitter account she had used to defame me had a 33 000 viewership or followers at the time of the delict complained of. The respondent has effectively refused to comply with an order of court which order she consented to.”

Musarara said on the day in question, Parirenyatwa sent him a message from her work designated mobile number, asking him to call her back and when he did, she invited him to be a guest on the programme called The Platform, which also featured Mawarire.

Musarara said after the interview, Parirenyatwa’s Twitter statement was “wrongful, false and malicious” and intentionally designed to make him be perceived by the general public as a bully, who budged into her studio uninvited.

The matter is yet to be set down for hearing.- Newsday

Statement | Attention to all travellers and Cross-Border Traders!!!

This serves to notify travellers that on the 16th and 17th of April 2018 all borders to and from Zimbabwe shall be disrupted by protests. The International Cross-Border Traders Association advises cross-border traders, truck drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers,clearing agents, travellers and cross-border traders to heed our call.
Our demands to the government of Zimbabwe are as follows:

(1)Buses and any other travellers using the border must be searched once at the border. No to research with intention of getting bribes from drivers by officials. (not to be searched by ZIMRA,Border Control and CIDs, one after the other). This process causes corruption.

(2) Zimra and Border Control at Mwenezi, 129km from Beitbridge border post should stop researching travellers who have documents showing that they have been searched already at Beitbridge border post. (This fuels corruption as well as failure by bus drivers to comply to timetable sheet issued by the government. In some cases leads to accidents as drivers will have to speed so as to compensate time lost to delays)

(3) Statutory Instrument Number 64 of 2016:
We demand the abolishment of the SI64 of 2016 which prohibits the importation of basic commodities that are even not on shelves in Zimbabwean shops. If Zimbabwe is open for business as said by the President, allow Zimbabweans to import any goods of their choice or groceries for personal consumption.

(4) Diaspora Vote: The government of Zimbabwe should allow all it’s citizens outside Zimbabwe to vote from the countries where they are residing as per 2013 constitution.

As the International Cross-Border Traders Association(ICTA) we advise all travellers to avoid Zimbabwean borders for their convenience.

Best regards
Denis Juru
ICTA President

WhatsApp: +27 623 966 158
Phone: +27 110 567 721
Email:[email protected]
www.ictacrossborder.com

Zanu-PF will hold primary elections on May 5 to elect council and National Assembly candidates who will represent it in the forthcoming harmonised polls expected in July, and has called for prospective candidates to start submitting their cirruculum vitae.

The party’s National Political Commissar Lieutenant General Engelbert Rugeje (Retired) yesterday announced a set of new measures that will guide the selection of ruling party candidates for the coming poll.
The measures are expected to ensure the selection process is fair and transparent, as Zanu-PF pulls all the stops to secure victory.

Addressing the Zanu-PF Masvingo Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting at Victoria Junior Primary School, Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) said the ruling party under the new dispensation wanted to entrench values of fairness and transparency in the candidate selection process.
He warned aspiring candidates against campaigning until the national party leadership has given the nod.

“We are going to hold our primary elections on May 5 and I have already written letters to the provinces to that effect,” said Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd). “Aspiring candidates should start submitting their CVs for vetting, but I want to make it clear that we have not yet said people should start campaigning.

“We will notify aspiring candidates on when they should start campaigning. The reason we are saying aspiring candidates should not start campaigning is because some may not make it during vetting after spending their resources on the ground.

“So, I am warning aspiring candidates against premature campaigning because some may waste their resources. Campaigning will only start after the vetting process.’’
Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) said campaigning by aspiring candidates would be done differently.
“No one will be allowed to campaign publicly alone unless maybe if the candidate embarks on private door to door campaigning,” he said. “We want all our candidates to campaign together, they will be moving and campaigning together.’’

Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) said in line with the party’s constitution, Zanu-PF set up an Elections Commission ahead of the party primaries.

The Elections Commission will be a nine-member body chaired by Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd), with President Mnangagwa expected to appoint the remaining members soon.
Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) said members of the Elections Commission would not contest in the primary elections.

“The Commission will act as the Ombudsman that will deal with complaints from aspiring candidates before, during and after the primaries,” he said. “The members should be individuals who are not eyeing positions in the primary elections and the fact that I chair the Commission automatically means I am out of the race (for a House of Assembly seat).”

Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) said the Zanu-PF National Elections Directorate would still continue with its job, working alongside the Elections Commission.

Appointment into the Elections Commission to fill the eight vacant positions would be done to make sure all the ruling party provinces were represented.

In a bid to avoid conflict of interest in the vetting of primary election candidates by the Provincial Elections Directorate, only provincial members not contesting primary elections would constitute the party’s provincial elections management body.

“We have also made some changes to the effect that only party provincial executive members who will not be contesting in the primary elections will be chosen into the PED (Provincial Elections Directorate),” said Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd).

“The most senior member of the provincial executive who will not be contesting the primary elections will chair the PED, this was done to promote fairness and avoid conflict of interest.”
Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) warned ruling party members against continued victimisation of alleged G40 cabal members, saying it was illegal.

“The only people who were kicked out from Zanu-PF were those whose expulsion was endorsed during last year’s Extraordinary Congress and their names were publicly announced,” he said.
“We do not tolerate continued harassment of fellow members on flimsy grounds that they were members of the cabal (G40) or aligned to Gamatox, that must stop.’’

Lt Gen Rugeje (Rtd) said the ruling party was going to embark on a restructuring exercise soon after the elections to make sure its structures were functional.

He said as part of Operation Restore Legacy, the revolutionary party leadership wanted more war veterans to be considered during the restructuring exercise.

Addressing the same meeting, Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs, Cde Paul Mangwana, said only members who had been in the party’s district structures for five years and above would be eligible to contest for a House of Assembly seat.

He said for one to contest primaries for council seats, they should have been a member of any party structure from the cell going upwards.

Candidates eyeing the Senate should have been members of the Zanu-PF Central Committee and above, said Cde Mangwana.

He said those in the civil service, unformed forces and other security services should first resign for them to be allowed to contest in the forthcoming party primary elections.

“If you are a civil servant or in the army, we are guided by the national constitution which says such people should be apolitical, therefore, for such people to be allowed to contest in the Zanu-PF primaries they must first produce a letter of resignation to the employer and a letter from the employer accepting the resignation,” he said.

Zanu-PF is expected to overwhelmingly win the elections following its internal renewal that resulted in the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe late last year. – state media

By Dorrothy Moyo| Political activists are fuming over the voters roll for the 2018 elections. This came as it emerged that there will be two successive electoral rolls, building after each other.

The latter was announced by the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Electoral Commission, Justice Priscilla Chigumba.

Activists from the Restoration for Human Rights NGO alleged to ZimEye.com, “Tatoitiswa, this voters roll should have been produced in February according to the promises. Why has everything been changed all of a sudden, ” said George Chitimaya.

Justice Chigumba, yesterday told the state media “the provisional voters’ roll will be out by the end of this month or the first week of April,” she said. “Once it’s published, it would be open for inspection for a period between 14 to 21 days.

“We will be inviting Zimbabweans to come and audit the voters’ roll and make any corrections if there are any. When the areas that need to be corrected have been identified, we will need a week to make the corrections and the final voters’ roll will be produced.”

She said the final voters’ roll will then be produced when the corrections have been made. “When the corrections have been made, we will then send the final voters’ roll for gazetting through the Ministry of Justice,  Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and thereafter the President will then proclaim the dates for the elections,” she said.

A man who was released from jail on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s special pardon program, went on to commit another crime less than a day later.

The state owned Chronicle reports how the man on Monday was arrested hours later for allegedly stealing property worth $670 in Tshabalala suburb.

He was his way home from jail at the time.

Roland Ncube (30) from Nkulumane suburb allegedly broke a toilet window and gained access into Mr Asiwet Munemo’s house in Tshabalala.

He allegedly stole $150 and property which includes a 42 inch television set, a mobile phone, blankets, clothes and some groceries.

Police officers who were on patrol saw him carrying the stolen property around 11PM and he pleaded guilty to unlawful entry charges when he appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Mr Lungile Ncube yesterday.

The Chronicle quotes him telling the court that he only stole the television set and mobile phone. “I broke into the house and stole the television and Nokia phone only but I never stole any money, clothes or blankets,” he said. Mr Ncube remanded him in custody to April 6 for trial.

War Veterans Thursday afternoon resolved to readmit former Zanu PF Secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa and War Veterans chairperson, Jabulani Sibanda into the ex-freedom fighters movement in bid aimed at bolstering President Emmerson Mnangagwa campaign ahead of this year’s watershed election.

Former Zanu PF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, who was also booted out of Zanu PF and the Association has also bounced back.

Addressing journalists following their National Executive meeting in the capital today, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) Secretary General, Victor Matemadanda said the resolution to re admit expelled members will be forwarded to the ruling ZANU PF for ratification.

“What came out most was the resolution of asking the party to readmit all expelled war veterans especially the likes of comrade Jabulani Sibanda, Didymus Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo and others back into the party because we feel the party becomes strong and strong when people are working together” said Matemadanda.

The trio was booted out of the party ahead of the 2014 Zanu PF congress for hobnobbing with the former Deputy President Mujuru who was accused of wanting to topple the former President Robert Mugabe.

War veterans further resolved to appoint Hoyini Samuel Bhila as the association acting provincial chairperson for Harare Province.

“I think this is going to revitalise the work of Harare province because we have a lot of challenges in Harare and war veterans instead of concentrating on trivial issues must work very hard to make sure that the party gains the support it that it had in the 1980s and 1980s” added Matemadanda.

The association also expressed gratitude to the party which has given war veterans a green light to contest in the 2018 general elections in all contested levels.

Matemadanda added that war veterans will descend with heavy fist on land barons and other unscrupulous elements in a bid to curtail corruption which continue to go unabated at most cropping in Harare alleged to include unnamed leaders.

Meanwhile the association raised concerns regarding their welfare which they said has been affected by the current economic challenges facing the country.

“War veterans, war collaborators and ex detainees are the poorest of the Zimbabwean society and under normal circumstances you would want their welfares improved and this is what we are working on,” noted Matemadanda.

The war veterans needs remain a subject of debate an issue that sparked furore with their former patron Mr Mugabe who they later dumped alleging that he had been captured by his wife Grace Mugabe and G40 aligned members who are now in exile.

The association also raised concern over social media which they said has become a weapon for expelled party members in their battle to discredit the new dispensation.- Zanu PF Patriots

One person died while 35 others were injured when a cross border bus overturned 8km out of Chinhoyi along the Chinhoyi – Chegutu road.

The South African bound Juldan Motors bus hit a commuter omnibus which was making a sudden u-turn, before it overturned.

The bus crew members said the driver of the omnibus, who was alone, attempted to make a u-turn without checking for vehicles following behind.

The deceased is a crew member of the bus, and the injured include 33 Zambians, one Zimbabwean and one Malawian.

They are all admitted at Chinhoyi Provincial hospital.- state media

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sworn in Supreme Court judge, Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza as the Deputy Chief Justice at brief ceremony at State House in Harare this afternoon.

Justice Gwaunza’s elevation to become the Deputy Chief Justice filled the gap left by the promotion of Chief Justice Luke Malaba last year.

Justice Gwaunza was appointed in terms of the new constitution following the gazetting of Constitutional Amendment number 1 last year which gives the President powers to appoint a Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice and the High Court Judge President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Her appointment also marks a departure from the system where the appointment required the candidate to be interviewed by the JSC.

Justice Gwaunza is a long serving member of JSC and was appointed as judge of the High Court in August 1998 and then Supreme Court judge in November 2008.

Speaking after taking the oath of office, Justice Ngwaunza said she is determined to continue working hard and help eradicate corruption from whatever quarter it rears its ugly head from.

Justice Gwaunza was the second woman to sit on the Supreme Court bench after Justice Vernanda Ziyambi and was a legal practitioner of the High Court in 1987.

She was the founding member and past president of Zimbabwe Women Judges and member of the International Association of Women Judges.

She also chaired the Wills and Inheritance Project, a joint venture of the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the British Department of International Development.

Scores of people and relatives including her husband, daughter, sisters and nieces were overjoyed to witness her swearing in ceremony, with some mobbing the president and his deputies for selfies.- state media

Terrence Mawawa

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rally in Kariba was a monumental flop, a political analyst has said.

Political analyst Antony Taruvinga wrote on Facebook: ” Emmerson
Mnangagwa’ s rally in Kariba yesterday was a
monumental flop.

School kids dominated the
gathering. Trust me, the guy is uninspiring and he
will definitely lose to Nelson Chamisa come
election time.”

The dodgy project involving Air Zimbabwe (AirZim) and new airline Zimbabwe Airways is getting murkier, amid allegations that some senior government officials are deliberately sabotaging the debt-ridden national flag carrier to pave way for the new private airline, which will also be emblazoned with national colours.

Aviation sources told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that Zim Airways planes, which were bought using public funds provided by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, will soon land in the country. The planes include four Boeing 777 bought in Malaysia and two Embraer ERJ145 bought from the United States.

Last year, the Independent reported that Transport minister Jorum Gumbo and former AirZim chief operating officer Simba Chikore, who is former president Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law, have been assisting in setting up the private airline at the expense of the flag carrier, AirZim, which fell under their purview and supervision, raising a serious conflict of interest on their part.

There were indications that following Mugabe’s ouster via a military coup in November last year, the deal had crumbled, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, were opposed to the arrangement. The involvement of their allies has, however, reportedly softened their stance.

Aviation sources say there was a well-calculated plan to destroy AirZim to the benefit of Zim Airways.

“The initial plan was simple; use money from RBZ to buy planes; register them under Zim Airways; get an air operator licence, then compete with AirZim, but because AirZim has one plane and they have six, AirZim would definitely lose out and eventually collapse,” said an aviation source.

“The plan has changed a bit and is now centred on ensuring that a partnership between AirZim and Zim Airways is reached along the way. Zim Airways will then bring in their planes and a bit of capital, thereby assuming control of the company, which will result in board and managerial changes.”

The plan, aviation sources say, also involves ensuring that AirZim does not get funding support to cripple its operations.

Gumbo this week, however, told the Independent that he had facilitated Zim Airways to purchase aircraft from Air Malaysia after AirZim failed to raise funds to buy the equipment.
Information gathered shows that Zimbabwe Airways is owned by a local firm, Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company (ZALC). An enquiry with the Deeds Office in Harare indicated ZALC was registered under file number 3015/12. The file was, however, missing from the office, meaning the directors could not be immediately ascertained. Aviation experts say although it is saddled with debt, AirZim can be revived if the company’s strategic turnaround plan is implemented.

AirZim immediately requires US$45 million to be operational, according to AirZim’s Strategic Turnaround Plan (2018-2020). The airline requires US$26 million to settle its foreign debt; US$6 million to buy three Embraer ERJ145; US$4,6 million for International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearing house joining fees, among other financial obligations. Official documents show that as at December 2017, AirZim had local debt totalling US$341 million.
Among some of its weaknesses, according to the plan, are a shaky balance sheet, debt overhang, antiquated equipment, thin route network, high litigation, low level of automation and an absence from the IATA clearing house.

Locally-based German aviation expert Jerry Haas, who has been posting accurate accounts on the Zim Airways project, recently posted on microblogging website Twitter saying the Zim Airways deal was reaching finality.

“#ZimbabweAirways back on track. Documentation on the final stage. Should be cleared to take-off soon,” Haas twitted on March 21.

Initially Haas had tweeted that government would wind down AirZim before allowing Zim Airways, which is emblazoned with national colours to take to the skies. This initial arrangement had created a possible conflict of interest between Gumbo and Zim Airways.
Gumbo, however, insisted he would not allow the airline to collapse, although it was failing to attract partners. He said negotiations between AirZim and Ethiopian Airlines collapsed after the latter wanted to set up a regional hub in Harare, that could relegate AirZim to local routes, adding talks between Air Malaysia and the national flag carrier also hit a snag due to AirZim’s weak balance sheet.

“I will not allow AirZim to collapse. I approached 10 airlines to partner us, but only had some discussions with Ethiopian Airlines and Air Malaysia,” Gumbo said in an interview.

“I have other plans which came after the new dispensation, which is making my life easier. I have some people contacting us to assist, partner or purchase some planes. AirZim as a business, should be viable, but for that to happen, staff culture and attitude should change. That is what will assist us.” –  Zimbabwe Independent

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo

Tension is escalating in the candidate selection process within the MDC Alliance, it has emerged.

Aspiring MDC Parliamentary candidates are unwilling to create space for aspirants from fellow alliance partners.

The bickering has rocked the MDC Alliance such that the coalition is likely to crumble before the elections, analysts have said.

“Look my brother, I am from PDP and I am an aspiring Parliamentary candidate but an MDC official has indicated that he will not allow me to stand as a candidate because he says it is his constituency.

This means the MDC officials are unwilling to accommodate their alliance partners,” fumed the PDP official.

Terrence Mawawa

A traditional leader who is closely related to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been appointed the substantive Headman Manhovo in Chirumhanzu.

Pedzisai Pasura, believed to be a Mnangagwa ally, used his political influence to land the post, according to disgruntled local villagers.

Chirumanzu District Administrator, Tapson Chivanga confirmed the appointment but would not comment on the political implications of the development.

Pasura, of Gudo Village, was handpicked by Mnangagwa according to local villagers.

“He(Pasura) was handpicked by President Mnangagwa.The who thing was carried out fraudulently,” claimed a local villager.

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo

Masvingo City Council(MCC) has dismissed claims that there are discussions between the local authority and a Zanu PF official regarding the payment of outstanding water bills.

Eddison Zvobgo Junior, an aspiring Zanu Parliamentary candidate for Masvingo Urban Constituency last week claimed he had approached the city council in a bid to resolve the standoff between the local authority and residents.The city council says it is owed millions of dollars in unpaid water bills by residents.

Zvobgo further indicated he implored the city council to consider the plight of the hard pressed residents, given the economic situation in the country.

However Masvingo City Council treasurer, Thandiwe Dube said she was unaware of the negotiations.

“I am not aware of the said negotiations. As a matter of fact we do not take orders from individuals who are outside the city council hierarchy,” said Dube.

A renewed ownership wrangle has erupted over the country’s third-largest mobile network operator, Telecel Zimbabwe, following the return of self-exiled businessman and co-founder James Makamba after 12 years in banishment, the Zimbabwe Independent has established. Makamba returned home immediately after former president Robert Mugabe was toppled in a military coup last November, paving way for President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Since his return, he has been trying to resuscitate his crumbling business empire by grabbing control of the telecoms company, now controlled by government and local lawyer Gerald Mlotshwa.

Mlotshwa last year emerged a significant Telecel shareholder after he secured Makamba’s 40% shareholding. This followed reports the controversial tycoon had sold his stake in Empowerment Corporation (EC) to a local consortium that included Mlotshwa and businessman George Manyere. Manyere later exited the deal, leaving Mlotshwa with the contested shareholding.

However, sources say Makamba is now alleging that Mlotshwa, who was his legal counsel, was acting as a proxy, as he could not conduct business in Zimbabwe during his stay in exile.

Besides fighting for the EC shares, Makamba and Mlotshwa are locked in a fierce battle to buy Telecel’s controlling 60% shareholding held by government, adding a new dimension to the messy saga.

Makamba, a former Zanu PF MP and central committee member, fled the country in 2005 after he was accused of allegedly externalising some funds, although it is widely believed the real problem was social, involving Mugabe’s family.

His business interests span the retail, telecommunications, mining, agricultural, property and professional consultancy sectors, as well as digital publishing, even if he has lost some of his assets over the years.

Sources told the Independent Makamba was now vigorously trying to bounce back and assume control of some of his business interests run by proxies.

Makamba, together with women’s empowerment lobbyist Jane Mutasa, owned the majority shareholding in the EC-held shares through Kestrel Corporation. He had 95% of the EC shares.
Information, Communication and Technology minister Supa Mandiwanzira this week confirmed the issue, but said government, Telecel’s majority shareholder, is distancing itself from the new fight.
Makamba said he would only comment if the Independent reveals its sources to him.

“I will certainly give you the story, but I would want to know who your source is first. Name your source and I will talk, otherwise it is like someone comes to you and says I hear that your father is not your father,” he said.

Mlotshwa’s personal assistant said he was out of the country. His mobile was constantly on voicemail. He did not respond to emailed questions.

Mandiwanzira said besides offers from Makamba and Mlotshwa, there were several other bidders for the government equity stake in the mobile telecoms operator.
“We have been approached by so many entities claiming shareholding in Empowerment Corporation and as government we have not sought to entangle ourselves in the disputes,” he said.

“What we have advised is that those who feel short changed must approach the courts for redress. As for a dispute between Makamba and Mlotshwa; Makamba came to my office and told me that he had not sold any of his shares and that Mlotshwa was only his legal counsel.

“The truth of the matter is that they are not the only ones interested in buying the Telecel stake. We have received interest from different people and several organisations who are interested in buying government’s 60% shareholding. I don’t think it would be fair to disclose their names to the media. We don’t conduct business that way.”

Mandiwanzira said he had no mandate to dispose the government’s stake; a position he said could change depending on whether bidders provide proof of funding as well as show capacity to pay outstanding obligations such as licence fees.

“I want to make it very clear that I’m merely a custodian of government assets as the minister of ICT. I don’t have an individual say on government assets. As far as I’m concerned, I have no mandate to sell government’s 60% shareholding in Telecel to Makamba, Mlotshwa or anybody.

“But that position may change should there be a serious offer backed by proof of payment, ability to pay off outstanding obligations that are due to shareholders of Telecel and that change does not come from me, but from my principal and cabinet.”

Mandiwanzira has not been spared the drama in Telecel’s endless saga as he has often been blamed for having a vested interest in the deal, an allegation he denies outright.

“My answer is very simple. I knew of Telecel shareholding being sold by Vimplecom. I’m also the one who went to government and said we can’t allow the shareholding to change hands without our involvement and it’s high time we bought this business, clean it up and sanitise it. If I was interested in buying Telecel I would have done so without involving government,” Mandiwanzira said.

“President Emmerson Mnangagwa is very clear when dealing with government assets, he is serious when it comes to issues of corruption, so if they are dreaming that it will happen they must stop dreaming.” – Zimbabwe Independent

Former Oxford University scholar and one of the country’s finest academics, Professor Arthur Mutambara, is accused of defrauding the Global Fund of US$191 000 after his Mutambara Science and Technology Foundation submitted a heavily plagiarised consultancy assignment.

Mutambara, who was the country’s deputy Prime Minister during the inclusive government era between 2009 and 2013, was awarded two contracts by the Global Fund, a non-profit organisation, whose headquarters are in Switzerland, for consultancy work.

In an investigation report titled Supplier Wrongdoing and Global Fund Non-Compliance with Procurement Regulations, The Mutambara Foundation and the Global Fund Sourcing Department, the Global Fund accuses the foundation and Mutambara of misrepresenting plagiarised work as its own original work product.

The report, dated December 16, 2016, reveals that for Contract 1, the Mutambara Foundation was paid US$115 000 in consultancy fees for four written documents.

The Office of the Inspector-General’s (OIG) review of these documents determined that a substantial portion of the written work was not the original work of the Mutambara Foundation and that the original sources of the work were not credited.

Contacted for a comment yesterday, Mutambara said the issues raised in the report were resolved internally.

“This is a three-year-old false and malicious report which was internally resolved with the Global Fund CEO Mark Dybul. I was not even involved in the performance of the work. The report is being brought up and circulated three years later by political opponents to tarnish my image, in this election year,” Mutambara said.

According to the report, the sourcing department of the Global Fund in December 2013, entered into Contract 1 with the Mutambara Foundation for a project entitled, “A Technology Solution to Tackle Thefts, Diversion and Counterfeit Health Products in Africa”.

A manager in the Global Fund Sourcing Department is accused of awarding the contract to the Mutambara Foundation without going through a competitive tender process. The total value of Contract 1 was US$155 000, which constituted consultancy fees of US$115 000 and US$40 000 in travel expenses.

Under Contract 1, Mutambara submitted four written documents for which he was paid for and they include: an interim report titled An Overview of Detection Technology Platforms, August 6, 2014; a PowerPoint interim report presentation titled An Overview of Detection Technology Platforms, August 7, 2014; a final project report, A Technology Solution to Tackle, [sic] Thefts, Diversions, and Counterfeit Health Products in Africa, December 10, 2014; and a PowerPoint document titled The Detection Technology, Deployment Algorithm, December 10, 2014 (Deployment Algorithm).

The investigation report states that a manager in the sourcing department had told the OIG that they questioned whether the Mutambara Foundation were authors of the submitted reports under the contract, after which the OIG ran both the interim and final report through plagiarism detection software.

“The software showed that 56% of the text in the interim report and 43% of the text in the final report had been plagiarised from sources publically available on the internet. In addition, the OIG checked both the interim report and the final report against sources publically available on the internet and the information that was provided by the sourcing department to the Director of the Mutambara Foundation as background for this project,” reads the investigations report.

“This additional manual check confirmed the findings of the plagiarism software. The same finding also applied to the Participant Slides and the Deployment Algorithm. The text, charts and images in 46 of the 80 substantive slides in the participant slides and 22 of the 75 slides in the Deployment Algorithm were copied directly from other sources without credit . . . The vast majority of the plagiarised material was taken wholesale from a 2013 copyright-protected book that covers issues related to the global problem of substandard and falsified medicines.
The book is available for free download on the internet.”
The Global Fund further says that although given the opportunity to respond, the Mutambara Foundation refused to cooperate with the OIG investigation. The Mutambara Foundation also did not respond to the OIG’s finding that the work product submitted under Contract 1 was plagiarised.

The investigation report also states that in June 2015, approximately six months after the completion of Contract 1, the sourcing department awarded Contract 2 without a competitive process to the director of the Mutambara Foundation personally rather than to the Mutambara Foundation.

The objective of the consultancy Contract 2 was to provide support services to the Global Steering Committee for Quality Assurance of Health Products, says the report.

Mutambara is said to have received a pre-payment of US$11 500 and a travel advance of US$40 000 for Contract 2. An additional US$50 000 was paid after the interim report in August 2014. The final installment of US$53 500 was paid after submission of the final report and the deployment algorithm in December 2014.

“The OIG also ran this report through plagiarism detection software and found that 25% of the report was copied from sources publically available on the internet. In addition, the OIG manually checked the final project report against sources available on the internet, which confirmed the findings of the plagiarism software,” reads the report.

The investigation noted that high consultancy rates were paid for the plagiarised work, meaning the Global Fund did not get value for money. – Zimbabwe Independent

By Dorrothy Moyo| The renegade expelled MDC Deputy President Thokozani Khupe has received a firm warning she will be sued for continuing to use the name MDC-T.

The warning was given by party spokesman Felix Sibanda who said,  “no one shall be allowed to abuse our brand and name; very soon she shall be called to order to stop that chicanery (sic).”

Sibanda continued saying, “She has to be reminded that MDC-T has a functional constitution which makes it clear that the national council (NC) is a de facto congress between the congresses.

“We get our mandate from section 18 (of the party constitution) that states that the NC is the highest organ in between the congress and its resolutions bind to the core of the party. To our knowledge, Khupe and her cabal have no legitimate NC to draw those mandates from.”

Khupe’s spokesperson, Witness Dube, rubbished the treat declaring that, “Khupe is the constitutionally mandated acting president of MDC-T, pending the extraordinary congress this April.”

Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| Zanu PF Provincial Chairperson, Ezra Chadzamira has launched a whirlwind campaign programme to drum up support for the ruling party ahead of the 2018 elections.

Chadzamira told Zanu PF members in Masvingo at the weekend the ruling party was ready to defeat Nelson Chamisa  – to annihilate the opposition in the coming elections.

Chadzamira who has a knack for pulling surprise victories, has vowed to lead the ruling party to victory.

In 2013, Chadzamira, dubbed an underdog in Masvingo West Constituency, stunned MDC’ s Takanayi Mureyi in the House of Assembly plebiscite.

“We will go down to the cells to launch our whirlwind campaign programme.

We are not afraid of the coming elections. In actual fact we will trounce the opposition (MDC Alliance),” said Chadzamira.

ZimSec bosses are under fire from parents who are demanding release of their children’s O-Level exam results.

The parents who number 47 and are from Mutare Boys High complained about the results which were withheld by Zimsec. The explanation given back then was that there was highly plausible cheating when they were sat for.

It is believed that the representatives of the affected parents have continued engaging the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to push for their cause.

In essence, they feel that given the precedence that was set by the High Court earlier this year when it nullified results for English Paper 2 only, Zimsec should only withhold results for the subject in contention — History Paper 2 — so that their children wouldn’t be grossly prejudiced.

However, Zimsec, which claims that the law makes it mandatory to withhold all the examination results, insists that its position will not change.

“We want our children to get their results the same way others got theirs. The information that we got was that more children accessed the paper. The school head, however, suspiciously came up with this list of 47 students.

“Be that as it may, we feel that they should only withhold results for the affected subject. If they do not release the results for the other subjects, are they saying all the papers leaked as well? This is very unfair. What will our children do? It means they will have to sit again for all the exams, which will come at an extra cost to us,” said one of the parents’ representatives, who elected to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Professor Paul Mavima, however, indicated that the parents had not yet engaged his ministry on the matter.

“As far as I am concerned, no parent has engaged my ministry. Issues that govern examination regulations fall under the purview of Zimsec,” he said.

But the parents have audio recordings of some of the meetings they had with Government officials, who promised to look into the matter.

Zimsec public relations manager Ms Nicky Dhlamini said in the case of the 47 students from Mutare Boys ‘High, Zimsec regulations and Act prescribe “the withholding of all examination results for the candidates implicated”.

“There are, indeed, examination results for 47 students from Mutare Boys’ High, which were withheld. This was a case of premature access to the examination question paper; that is to say, they had full sight of the examination paper before the date of the examination,” said Ms Dhlamini.

“The Zimsec Regulations and Act clearly states the different penalties and verdicts for the various malpractice cases. In this case, the penalty is the withholding of all examination results for the candidates implicated.

“Zimsec does not under any circumstances act upon hearsay. We have a team, which does thorough investigations and makes reports after which verdicts are made. In this case, evidence was produced
and this is how the verdict was made.”

Zimsec’s credibility has been taking a hit owing to widespread leakages and cheating.

Government says it is considering using technological solutions to eliminate exam leakages. – state media

Government has warned farmers who have not repaid their debts under the Command Agriculture programme that they will not be considered for future allocations.

Acting director in the office of the Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs Mr Douglas Chiwiro said Government was working with Agritex officers to compile the list of defaulting farmers.

He was addressing farmers attending a cotton field day in Sanyati last week, saying all defaulting farmers would not benefit from the programme. Mr Chiwiro said farmers needed to consider Command Agriculture as a loan. He also urged tobacco farmers to join the scheme.

“Vice President General Constatino Chiwenga (Retired) last week said Government had roped in tobacco under Command Agriculture,” said Mr Chiwiro. “We urge all tobacco farmers to register so as to benefit from the programme.

“Government is, however, working closely with extension officers to ensure that farmers, who failed to repay their loans under Command Agriculture, will not access inputs.”
Government, he said, had promulgated a law to deal with defaulters.

“Command Agriculture is a loan and it must be repaid so that next time you benefit again,” he said. “Paying back will also enable even new beneficiaries to have access to Government’s programmes.
“There are new programmes being offered by Government to enable farmers to access loans, but make sure you repay.”

Mr Chiwiro said Government was also deeply worried about farmers, who were selling Government inputs, especially from the Presidential Input Support Scheme and Command Agriculture programme, on the black market.

“We are deeply worried with people selling those inputs. It is a serious offence and some are already in jail over the matter,” he said. “Let us desist from that bad culture of sabotaging Government, which is striving by all means to support us as farmers.”

Mr Chiwiro said farmers also have an option to participate in Command Fisheries.
“l know in Sanyati some may say there are few dams here, but we will liaise with the responsible authorities to resolve the issue,” he said.

“There is also Command Livestock programme were extension officers would be of much assistance to farmers in explaining the programme.”
Mr Chiwiro urged farmers to be productive so as to contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic development agenda.

“Our rainfall patterns are now unpredictable and are changing almost every season. It’s high time farmers plant a variety of crops, including drought-resistant ones in case of disasters,” he said. – state media