ZIMBABWE is on the verge of a major man-made famine characterised by partisan food distribution, repeated droughts and years of economic and financial decay that have left nearly eight million people, half of the population, food insecure, a United Nations official said yesterday.

United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, yesterday said most households in the country were now unable to obtain enough food to meet their basic needs, with the situation set to deteriorate in the coming months.

Elver was presenting her preliminary assessment on the current situation in Zimbabwe after spending 11 days in the country.

The final report will be released in March next year.

At least 60% of the population was now “food-insecure” Elver said, noting that even though shops stocked food items, many people could not afford them.

She said the situation demanded urgent attention from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to “put an end to this spiralling crisis before it morphs into a full-blown conflict”.

“I cannot stress enough the urgency of the situation in Zimbabwe,” Elver said.

“Currently, 60% of Zimbabwe’s population of 14 million is considered food-insecure, living in a household that is unable to obtain enough food to meet basic needs. By the end of this year, in only a few weeks, the food security situation is expected to worsen, with an estimated eight million people requiring urgent action to reduce food consumptions gaps and save lives.”

She added: “Widespread poverty, limited employment opportunities, liquidity challenges, pervasive corruption, economic instability, mismanagement of funds, natural disasters, recurrent droughts, and economic sanctions and conditionalities by the US and the EU, all contribute to Zimbabwe’s current crisis.”

Elver said in rural areas, 5,5 million people were currently facing food insecurity, as poor rains and erratic weather patterns were impacting harvests and livelihoods, while in urban areas, an estimated 2,2 million people were food-insecure and lack access to minimum public services, including health and safe water.

“The currency crisis, a heavy tax system due to the imposition of austerity measures, unpredictable inflation rates, high levels of unemployment and low wages all contribute to the food crisis affecting urban households,” she said.

The UN special rapporteur also said the situation was made worse by allegations of partisan distribution of food by Mnangagwa’s administration.

“Throughout my visit, I received allegations about partisan distribution of food aid, favouring those who support the ruling (Zanu PF) party. Individuals or communities, perceived to belong to the opposition or deemed insufficiently loyal to the ruling party, are reportedly deprived of their right to food in the regions most affected by the food crisis,” part of Elver’s report read.

On women and children, the special rapporteur said they were bearing the brunt of the crisis.

She said the majority of children she had met were malnourished, giving rise to child deaths, with 90% of Zimbabwean children aged between six months and two years exposed to minimum acceptable diet.

“I saw the ravaging effects of malnutrition on infants deprived of breast feeding because of their own mothers’ lack of access to adequate food,” she noted.

The situation, Elver said, has forced many girls to drop out of school, into early marriages, prostitution, and sexual exploitation.

She said the effects of the economic meltdown were visible in both rural and urban areas including the capital Harare.

The report comes three days after Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) also said millions of people in Zimbabwe were on the brink of starvation as the country struggles with relentless droughts and the impact of cyclones, against a backdrop of years of economic decline.

“Within weeks, the country may run out of maize, the staple food,” said Verity Johnson of CAFOD.

“At best, there will be further massive hikes in food prices for an already desperate population, who have seen the price of maize meal increase five-fold since the beginning of the year.

“There are severe bread shortages across the country. Where it can be found, a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe now costs up to 15 times more than it did a year ago. In the struggle to feed their children, parents are going without themselves.”

-Newsday

Independent|THE Joint Operations Command (Joc), which brings together the army, police and intelligence service chiefs, convened an urgent meeting after the country’s aviation traffic control system broke down on Monday, disrupting flights, after Zimbabwean airspace was temporarily closed.

The latest breakdown of the radar and aviation traffic control system, while confirming that the country has become a dangerous flying zone, was also seen as a great security risk, considering that undesirable elements could have flown in and out of the country undetected.

Given Zimbabwe’s strategic position in the Southern African Development Community, the breakdown of the control system was also seen as a threat to the region’s security, in view of the number of flights in and out of the region which pass through Zimbabwe’s airspace.

Aviation and security sources this week told the Zimbabwe Independent that a Joc meeting was urgently convened on Monday to deliberate on the matter which rattled security chiefs, prompting them to task Air Force of Zimbabwe commander Elson Moyo to send technicians to the airport to repair the radar and air traffic control system.

Joc is the supreme organ for the coordination of state security in Zimbabwe.“After the aviation radar system broke down at the Robert Mugabe International Airport on Monday, the Air Force commander was asked to send staff from the Air Force to fix the problem. The situation was made worse because air traffic control staff were practically on strike and were not helping the situation,” a security official said.

“A meeting was called where a decision was made to procure a new radar and traffic control system by mid-December. While this breakdown was only for a few hours, on some occasions the system has

been down for almost 24 hours, meaning air traffic can pass through or land undetected.“This also means mercenaries can fly in and out without being detected. It’s a serious security matter, not just an aviation matter, hence the intervention of Joc. There was also concern that smuggling syndicates were also taking advantage of the constant breakdown of the radar system to fly some minerals, particularly diamonds and gold, out of the country.”

The Air Traffic Controllers Association of Zimbabwe has been urging the government to upgrade the communication system in the country for the past two years, but to no avail. They wrote a letter to Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza last month expressing concern over the shambolic “Air Traffic Control VHF Communications Systems”.

“Our air safety letter issued in September 2017 and May 2019 refers. We note with concern the continued deterioration in air navigation communication performance. There have been several cases in which there was total loss of Air Traffic Services (ATS) Air Ground communications in the upper airspace. Worst case scenarios include the 25th of September, 2019, 29th September 2019 and 16 October 2019, where there was communication blackout lasting a whole day,” the letter reads.

“This chaotic and dangerous situation persisted on October 18 and continues to be experienced now and then. The Air Traffic Controllers Association of Zimbabwe (ATCAZ) has on several occasions called for the urgent replacement of the obsolete communication system. Air Ground Communications is a fundamental and mandatory requirement for a functional ATS unit without which Air Traffic Controllers are incapacitated to actively prevent collisions.”

On numerous occasions, Zimbabwe has relied on neighbouring South Africa for radar assistance information relating to gauging the altitude of planes flying over Zimbabwean airspace.

The letter, seen by the Independent, was copied to Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) acting director-general Margret Mantiziba and director of air navigation and technical services Blessing Ngwarai.

The correspondence also casts light on the dangers that could arise from running an obsolete aviation radar system, including the risks of aircraft collision, failure to promptly identify distressed aircraft, delays and increased operating costs of airlines.

Other risks associated with running a shambolic aviation radar system include “losses of revenue as aircraft avoid the space and portrayal of the country in bad light”.

Importantly, Zimbabwe risked being blacklisted by International Civil Aviation Organisation “due to failure to meet a basic mandatory requirement” the documents warn.

Running and maintaining the aviation radar technology has been a theatre of fierce contestation between Caaz and the country’s security apparatus.As reported by the Independent on December 21, 2018, the country has struggled to find a new radar system after Matiza and Caaz general manager David Chawota allegedly facilitated the awarding of a US$33,3 million tender to Indrastemas & Homt Espana of South Africa for air traffic control equipment without following public procurement procedure.

Although Indrastemas & Homt were initially awarded the tender in 2016, the deal was set aside after a competing Italian firm, Selex ES, won a Supreme Court case challenging the decision on the grounds that the tender did not go through procedures specified by law.

In addition, Indrastemas & Homt did not pass a critical security vetting process by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and the Air Force of Zimbabwe, as well as other security agencies.

Official documents seen by the Independent last year in December show that Chawota played a pivotal role in ensuring Indra was irregularly awarded the deal, while Caaz officials told this newspaper that the minister authorised it after intense lobbying.

In a letter dated May 2, 2018 and seen by the Independent, Chawota wrote to the Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) advising the body to cancel yet another deal with South African company AME Aviation, which Caaz had engaged to supply an air traffic communication system and instead award it to Indra.

However, he emphasised that the urgent need to replace the dilapidated aviation control system.In the letter, Chawota argued that a formal tender would cause further delays in implementing the project, adding that this would result in it being completed by the end of this year.

“The authority (Caaz) needs to proceed without further delay and procure a replacement air traffic management system to ensure safety of air traffic control within Zimbabwe. The Indra implementation schedule will result in project completion by the end of 2018,” Chawota wrote.

“There is dire need to address the communications deficiency in the Zimbabwe airspace in order to comply with international standards and stem out the concerns already raised by major airlines such as South African Airways. Praz is requested to approve the authority to cancel the contract with AME and engage Indra Sistemas for the supply of the required equipment.”

The military has now taken over the procurement of the radar and aviation communication system.

ZIMBABWE National Army (ZNA) commander Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo last week convened an emergency staff meeting where he read the riot act over rampant indiscipline, theft of rations and criminal activities involving soldiers as disquiet within the rank and file of the military sparks concern.

The meeting, attended by about 500 soldiers from the rank of corporal upwards, was held at the ZNA Staff College house at the Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks (formerly KGVI) on Friday last week.

Chimonyo — the only speaker at the meeting — was accompanied by two of his top subordinates: ZNA Chief of Staff (Quartermaster Staff), Major-General Hlanganani Dube and Chief of Staff (General Staff), Major-General David Sigauke.

High-ranking ZNA members said Chimonyo began his two-hour long address to the soldiers by stating that he had called the meeting after receiving incessant reports of rampant indiscipline among the soldiers and sought to put his foot down.

According to sources, the move was also occasioned by the high rate of soldiers, who are being hauled before military tribunals, also known as courts martial.

Sources said there was general concern among ZNA commanders that the level of indiscipline may spiral out of control.

Chimonyo also told the soldiers that being the man in charge, he was not going to tolerate indiscipline in the army and indicated that so rampant has indiscipline become among soldiers that the army’s internal prisons, known as detention barracks, are being overwhelmed.

The developments come at a time the Zimbabwe Independent has documented widespread unease among middle and low-ranking soldiers over the rising cost of living, poor salaries and difficult working conditions since the start of the year.

The generals are worried that during this period of a deteriorating economic situation in the country, underpinned by skyrocketing prices, high cost of living and hyperinflation, which has rendered salaries worthless, the soldiers are in a desperate condition: ill-disciplined, disorganised, poorly fed and poverty stricken, according to insiders.

-Zimbabwe Independent

Jane Mlambo| Former government consultant and renowned lawyer Petina Gappah has disapproved the new parliament building in Mt Hampden saying its size is another ploy by politicians to continue enjoying at the expense of the ordinary people.

Government with the assistance of China is building a 900 seater parliament building in Mt Hampden despite the fact that the current size of both the national assembly and Senate is 350 members.

The current 350 size is still considered bloated by some people who feel it is too big for a country with a population of around 14 million people.

With the new 900 seater, Gappah said politicians will find a way to fill it this increasing the number of legislators, in the process bleeding the economy.

Am a bit worried about the size of the new parly building. Just as with a house – you soon gain enough possessions to fill it, whatever the size – a parliament building bigger than the AU headquarters will mean more MPs. The only winners here will be politicians. Of all stripes. https://t.co/gfdGBocmeG

— Petina Gappah (@VascoDaGappah) November 27, 2019

Own Correspondent | Popular comedian Samantha Kureya aka Gonyeti has just won a top award in South Africa.

BUSTOP TV made an announcement on social media, saying it was “In recognition of her sterling contribution to the cause of Human Rights at great personal risk ,The Southern Africa Human Rights Network has awarded Gonyeti the grand honour of Human Rights Defender of the year.”

Gonyeti made headlines last August, after she was allegedly taken from her home, beaten and forced to drink sewage before being dumped, her colleagues narrated at the time.

She was found three hours later.

Her colleague Lucky Aaron told the BBC, at the time, that she was dumped in “the bush” in the suburbs of Harare.

He said he picked her up and took her to the hospital for scans which confirmed no bones had been broken.

But he was still concerned for her health because she was forced to drink sewage, he added. We could not establish a police report at the time of writing.

Correspondent|Zimbabwe Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife, Marry has made a stunning revelation that her hubby banned her from social media.

When asked during an interview with Daily News  whether she uses social media she said ” I don’t go on social media, I’m not on Facebook, I used to be on Instagram my husband told me to close it and I did. I’m not on Twitter, I’m not on anything, my husband said to me “If you want to be happy, stay away from searching yourself on the Internet, don’t go on social media you will live a happy life.” So I am living a happy life with none of those things”

State Media|Doctors being dismissed from public health service violated multiple labour provisions, leaving the Government with no option but to institute disciplinary action, the Health Services Board (HSB) has said. The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) withdrew their labour starting on September 3, 2019 citing incapacitation.

Chronicling events that led to the current disciplinary action, board chairman Dr Paulinus Sikosana said on August 27, 2019, the Government through the Bipartite Negotiating Panel offered to review all health workers’ basic salaries by 50 to 76 percent on a sliding scale, effective August 1, 2019.

All health workers, junior doctors included, agreed to this by signing the collective bargaining agreement on the understanding that negotiations centred on reviewing allowances, those that were health specific, plus those for transport and housing, would continue.

Government also committed to look into the provision of buses for health workers and further review the cost of living adjustment in the fourth quarter of the year.

However, the ZHDA later backtracked and disowned the agreement. The doctors then pulled out of the Health Apex Council, which represented not only them, but the rest of health workers in the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel.

The panel’s establishment and composition is clearly spelt out in Statutory Instrument 111 of 2006 and is a replica of the Public Service Tripartite Negotiating Forum. It only recognises talks with workers through the Health Apex Council.

Dr Sikosana said on September 2, 2019, they met with the ZHDA in an effort to dissuade them from withdrawing their labour as well as advising them that since they had not registered any dissent to the collective barganining agreement, they were automatically bound by its provisions.

“The board reminded the ZHDA that failure to report for duty without official leave or authorisation gives the employer no choice but to invoke the provisions of the Labour Act,” said Dr Sikosana.

However, he said the doctors stuck to their position of incapacitation and refused to report for work.

According to the board, by September 20, 2019, 62 percent of all junior doctors had withdrawn their labour, forcing the board to stop paying their salaries, a standard procedure laid down in the Labour Act.

He said through the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel, Government made another offer of a 30 percent increase on all health sector specific allowances, which the workers rejected, before offering on 4 October to double the allowances.

“Unfortunately, ZHDA did not attend the meeting, having stated that they had lost faith in the Apex Council, demanding that Government must create a separate negotiating platform for doctors only,” said Dr Sikosana.

On October 18, 2019, a meeting with just the junior doctors was held again where Government repeated its offer to double all health sector allowances.

“ZHDA attended the meeting but walked out before it ended. The other health workers signed a collective bargaining agreement, having reluctantly accepted the offer, on condition that the reviewed allowances would be paid in October 2019,” said Dr Sikosana.

The HSB then approached the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare seeking a show cause order against the doctors, which was granted on October 2, 2019.

He said in terms of Section 107 of the Labour Act, the board proceeded to apply for disposal of the order against the doctors at the Labour Court.

“The disposal order hearing was heard before the Labour Court on October 9, 2019 and the Labour Court subsequently issued the disposal order on October 11, 2019, which declared the collective job action unlawful and gave the ZHDA members a 48-hour ultimatum to report for duty and that the dispute be referred for arbitration in terms of Arbitration Act,” said Dr Sikosana.

He said, most of the doctors however defied the 48-hour ultimatum, nullifying the provision for arbitration and thereby forcing the employer to institute disciplinary action for absence from work for 5 or more days after the expiry of the ultimatum.

“Disciplinary proceedings started on October 21, 2019, which led to the dismissal of those found guilty and were still absent from duty by the date of the hearing.

“Those found guilty but had returned to work by the date of the hearing were given written warnings,” said Dr Sikosana.

Most of the doctors also boycotted the disciplinary hearings resulting in dismissals in absentia.

In total, 516 of the 1 601 doctors who work in the public health sector are expected to appear before the hearings.

Although Government has called on all those wishing to continue serving in the public health sector to reapply, the doctors said they will not do so arguing that they were never on strike but “simply incapacitated”.

Some members of the Zimbabwe Senior Doctors’ Association (ZSDA) have since withdrawn their services demanding reinstatement of the fired defiant junior doctors.

In a statement released yesterday, the ZSDA maintained that they were forced to act as the situation in hospitals had deteriorated to the point where there were no bandages, gloves and syringes. It said the action of its members was meant to highlight the dire situation publicly.

“The Ministry of Health and Child Care assured us that the situation was due to shortcomings at hospital management level. The matter also caught the attention of His Excellency, who generously availed hard-earned taxpayers’ money to buy drugs and equipment,” the association said.

The association argued that the intervention was, however, not enough and since then the situation had not changed.

“We are not greedy mercenaries. We deserve proper tools of the trade, a living wage and a safe working environment. The citizens of Zimbabwe deserve a health system they can trust,” read the statement.

State Media|Fired doctors have 48 hours to return to work without reapplying or being asked many questions, President Mnangagwa has said in response to a request by Catholic bishops. The doctors were dismissed after being found guilty of absenteeism following a court ruling declaring their strike illegal.

Disciplinary hearings were then instituted by the Health Services Board (HSB) against those doctors who failed to report for duty after the ruling, leading to the dismissal of 448 doctors as of November 26.

Government yesterday gave the doctors a reprieve following a meeting between President Mnangagwa and Catholic bishops at State House.

The President told journalists after the meeting that they had a fruitful engagement with the bishops and agreed to their request regarding the sacked doctors.

“The bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet us as leadership. We acceded to their request and we have discussed these issues,” he said.

“I think the major issue that we have covered is the health sector and national health delivery, economic situation and social conditions of the people in the country, (the) political situation and the role and relations of political parties and national dialogue and last, Government, churches and civil society interaction.

“We covered all those areas. We found it very fruitful, the contribution by the bishops who came to meet us. Then, they requested for a moratorium on the question of doctors for two days.”

They asked that the doctors come back and rejoin without application.

Archbishop Robert Ndlovu echoed, President Mnangagwa’s sentiments saying their discussions covered a wide range of issues.

“We discussed a lot about the issue of striking doctors,” he said.

“What we managed to extract from Government was that they agreed to give (dismissed doctors) a moratorium for two days to report to work without having to reapply. They don’t need to apply as it had been decided by Cabinet. That one, Government has committed to that.

“The second thing is that we are happy to hear the Government say they are going to help us to equip our mission hospitals also provide drugs.

“We discussed, of course, the economic situation, Government explaining the difficulties that are there and the efforts that they are also making and I think that is the main thing.”

On political dialogue, Archbishop Ndlovu said: “I don’t think there is any change.

“The President is still committed to dialogue, and of course he says what is important is that they all come together.

“It is not a question of Zanu-PF and MDC, but all the political players and he is open to that. That is what he said. He said he is still open to anyone including the leader of the MDC-A (Mr Nelson Chamisa).”

All the fired doctors have 48-hours to return to work without re-applying or being asked many questions, President Mnangagwa has promised after this was requested by the Catholic bishops.

The doctors were dismissed after they were found guilty of absenteeism following a court ruling declaring their strike illegal.

Disciplinary hearings were then instituted by the Health Service Board against those doctors who failed to report for duty after the ruling, leading to the dismissal of 448 doctors as of November 26.

Government yesterday gave the doctors a reprieve following a long meeting between President Mnangagwa and his deputies Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi, and the Catholic bishops led by the head of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop of Harare, Robert Ndlovu at State House.

President Mnangagwa told journalists after the meeting that they had a fruitful engagement with the bishops and agreed to their request regarding the sacked doctors.

“The bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet us as leadership. We acceded to their request and we have discussed these issues,” he said.State media

Cyber criminals have reportedly hacked two accounts belonging to Rusununguko and Anderson high schools on the Electronic Ministry Application Platform (eMAP) and are now taking advantage of desperate parents looking for Form 1 places for their children for next year.

The fraudsters are reportedly sending messages to parents asking them to deposit money into two almost similar ZB Bank account numbers 4112-340606-081 and 4112-340606-080.

Rusununguko High School is in Bromley in Mashonaland East, while Anderson High School is in Gweru, Midlands province.

One of the messages circulating on social media reads: “Congratulations, your child is being offered a Form 1 2020 place. You confirm by paying $9 660 into ZB First Street Acc. No. 4112-340606-081 and $1 645 into ZB First Street Acc No. 4112-340606-080.
“Bring proof of payment and child to school for registration. The offer is valid until Friday 29 November 2019.

Failure to meet the deadline, the offer will be withdrawn and given other learners on Monday 2 December 2019. Rusununguko High School.”

The other one reads: “Congratulations, your child is being offered a Form 1 2020 place. You confirm by paying $19 660 into ZB First Street Acc. No.
4112-340606-081 and $11 645 into ZB First Street Acc 4112-340606-080.

“Bring proof of payment and child to school for registration. The offer is valid until Friday 29 November 2019.

Failure to meet the deadline the offer will be withdrawn and given other learners on Monday 2 December 2019. Anderson High School.”

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they were still checking if any reports had been made over the issues.
“We would want to find out if any report has been made to police.

Secondly, we urge parents to physically approach the schools so that they verify some of the information in order to deter these criminals who are using messages and the social media to dupe unsuspecting people.

“School authorities should also put in place measures to safeguard their systems so that they are not hacked by criminals,” he said.

Recently, several people lost their cash after receiving a call from a cellphone number—+263864479973—with the caller claiming to be their bank’s employee.

Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC says time for action has arrived.

Harare province MDC chairman Wellington Chikombo has said party leader Nelson Chamisa is rallying his troops to push for change.

Chamisa reportedly told party members to be visible and take control of the streets, a statement viewed as pushing for more action on the ground.

The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) said that the Total Consumption Poverty Line, commonly referred to as the Poverty Datum Line (PDL), for an average of five persons increased by 44.2 in October.

The TCPL for the month of October stood at $3 160, from $2 192 for the same family in September.

Zimstat said:
The TCPL (Total Consumption Poverty Line)for an average of five persons stood at $3, 159.52 in October 2019.

This means that an average household required that much to purchase both food and non-food items for them not to be deemed poor.

This represents an increase of 44.2 per cent when compared to the September 2019 figure of $2, 191.62.

Zimstat also revealed that the PDL varied by province, with the lowest being $2 904 in
Mashonaland Central and
Matabeleland North being the highest at $3 359.

Runaway inflation has driven the majority of Zimbabweans below the PDL as many of those formally employed are earning less than $1 000 per month.

Farai Dziva|Former ZBC presenter Ezra Thisa Sibanda has accused doctors of “abandoning” desperate patients.

See Sibanda’s argument :
It breaks my heart to see all Doctors going on strike and abandoning desperate patients.

I understand Econet Boss Strive Masiyiwa has offered to pay doctors salaries for 3 months, paying them $5000 each, that will be greatly appreciated.

I hope they can return to work immediately and continue the talks with government while working. I know the impact on health care staff is real when poorly remunerated.

Doctors are under pressure in their work & most of them are fatigued by working longer hours.

Unless these stresses are recognised and dealt with, doctors & other health care staff are at risk of burnout and can become disengaged from their patients.

This does not excuse the failings by staff working in Zim hospitals, but this burnout, disengagement and poor pay is undoubtedly a factor we need to consider where the quality and compassion that patients need is lacking. Lets feel for the sick, lets have compassion and return to work to save lives, dear brothers and sisters!

A picture of Bakers Inn bread has circulated on social media suggesting that the company is now selling bread at $18.10. This means that the price is likely higher in locations and parallel markets since they get supplied by the company.

Bread was scarce in the country this year after wheat reserves got depleted. The situation is likely to be prolonged considering that the Winter Wheat production registered a poor harvest due to power cuts and drought.

Prices of other commodities have also been going up thereby eroding salaries of workers which have remained unchanged.

See the picture below.

Pindula

Man-made starvation is “slowly making its way into Zimbabwe” and most households in the country are unable to obtain enough food to meet their basic needs, Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, declared on Thursday.

The independent UN human rights expert was presenting her assessment on the current situation in Zimbabwe, concerning all aspects related to the right to food, following a 11-day visit to the country.

Because of hyperinflation, which, said Ms. Elver, has reached some 490 per cent, more than 60 per cent of the population is now “food-insecure”, in a country once seen as the breadbasket of Africa: “In rural areas, a staggering 5.5 million people are currently facing food insecurity, as poor rains and erratic weather patterns are impacting harvests and livelihoods”, she said. “In urban areas, an estimated 2.2 million people are food-insecure and lack access to minimum public services, including health and safe water”.

Ms. Elver described the figures as “shocking”, and warned that, due to factors such as poverty and high unemployment, widespread corruption, severe price instabilities, and unilateral economic sanctions, the crisis is getting worse.

Women and children ‘bearing the brunt’
Women and children are bearing the brunt of the crisis, said the Special Rapporteur, adding that the majority of children she had met were stunted and underweight. According to Ms. Elver, child deaths from severe malnutrition have been rising in recent months, and 90 % of Zimbabwean children aged six months to two years are not consuming the minimum acceptable diet: “I saw the ravaging effects of malnutrition on infants deprived of breast feeding because of their own mothers’ lack of access to adequate food”.

The situation for women, as described by the human rights expert, is equally stark, with women (and children) increasingly forced to drop out of school, being forced into early marriage, domestic violence, prostitution, and sexual exploitation.

I saw the ravaging effects of malnutrition on infants deprived of breast feeding because of their own mothers’ lack of access to adequate food Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food

Urgent reform is needed
Immediate reforms of the agricultural and food system were recommended by Ms. Elver, such as reducing the country’s dependence on imported food, and supporting alternative wheats to diversify the diet. The Government, she continued, should create the conditions for the production of traditional seeds to ensure the country’s self-sufficiency and preparedness for the climate shocks that hit the country.

The effects of the economic crisis are noticeable, said the Special Rapporteur, in both rural areas, and cities, including Harare. She recounted seeing people waiting for hours, in long lines, in front of gas stations, banks, and water dispensaries, and receiving information that public hospitals have been reaching out to humanitarian organizations after their own medicine and food stocks were exhausted.

Ms. Elver called on the Zimbabwean Government, political parties, and the international community to come together to “put an end to this spiralling crisis before it morphs into a full-blown conflict”.

State Media|Scores of students continue to benefit from the Presidential and National Scholarships Programme annually with 83 more leaving for Russia and Algeria to study sciences.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira, who was representing President Mnangagwa, yesterday officiated at a send-off event for 68 Algeria-bound students and 15 headed for Russia.

The students will be pursuing different science programs including engineering, pharmacy, matter sciences and mathematics.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Murwira said the country was in dire need for transformation as it sought increased capacity to produce its own goods and services.

“Our national strategic intent is what the nation wants to become and that is to be an upper middle economy by 2030.To achieve that we have to develop a capability and it comes from learning from other nations.

“The education they get should not just be on certificates but it must be able to meet basic human needs which are water, food, health, communication and innovation, among others. Education must have purpose and benefits,” he said.

Skills, knowledge and consciousness would grow capacity for increased production especially in mining and manufacturing.

“These are the builders of our nation, hence it is our duty to support them,’’ he said.

The sending off of students to other nations showed that there was a warm and productive friendship with Russia and Algeria

Executive director of Presidential and National Scholarships Department in the office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Christopher Mushohwe said: “The focus is no longer on academic excellency but skills and manpower development.

“This is why we are sending off students to deal with issues like energy and engineering because we want Zimbabwe to be an upper middle income class by 2030.

“These are the people we are moulding to take up Zimbabwe on that journey. The exposure of sending off students is very important. The infusion of technologies that we do not have here yet is critical.”

Dr Mushohwe said the focus now was not to produce workers and employees but employers and producers, making it critical for students to be sent abroad to acquire knowledge, expertise and technology.

Algerian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Nacedine Sai said every year, Algiers provides over 1 000 scholarships to Africa.

“This year, Zimbabwe had 10 percent of those scholarships, indicating the strength of the two countries’ relations,” said Ambassador Sai.

A female student, Tanaka Muradzikwa hailed the Presidential Scholarship program saying it gave them a chance to study abroad.

By A Correspondent| The Econet Wireless Shop where a Guard Alert security guard committed suicide after he shot himself in the head over stolen cell phones has temporarily closed, as investigations into the case continue.

The shooting incident occurred at around 5pm yesterday at the shop which is at the intersection of First Street and George Silundika Avenue.

When the state media visited the shop in the morning, the doors to the shop had been closed while they were also written notices informing the public to use their other branches.

Heavy police deployments were also outside the shop conducting a crackdown on vendors that also operate near the area. There were no vendors at the scene and reporters witnessed more than six of them being arrested and taken away. On Tuesday, sources said the security guard was questioned by Econet officials over some cell phones that recently went missing.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident.

“We confirm that a security guard manning at an Econet shop shot himself in the toilet yesterday afternoon. Allegations on the issue are that when the deceased reported for work in the morning, he was alone in the building and he stole some cell phones and hid them.

“At the end of the day, the management decided to make a review on the recorded footage captured by CCTV, that is when they discovered the deceased had stolen the gadgets.”

He said the management confronted the security guard, who during the questioning excused himself saying he wanted to visit the toilet.

“During the questioning, it is alleged that he excused himself saying he wanted to go to relieve himself, he went upstairs and shot himself in the head inside the toilet,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.

He said it was unfortunate that a life has been lost in such circumstances and appealed to members of the public to desist from engaging into criminal activities which only result in unfortunate incidences.

-StateMedia

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has suspended six investigators pending disciplinary hearings over various allegations of corruption and obstructing the course of justice, Business Times has learnt.

The anti-graft body was re-constituted last year following concerns that some of its members were conflicted in carrying out its mandate. Information gathered by Business Times shows that the suspended investigators had become compromised and no longer able to carry out their mandate diligently, hence the institution of a suspension pending dismissal.

The latest development is part of ZACC chairperson Loice Matanda-Moyo’s efforts to weed out corruption within the anti-graft body, which has also become vulnerable to manipulation due to the lack of resources and funding from the Treasury.

ZACC spokesperson John Makamure declined to comment. Information gathered points to the fact that complaints had since been made to ZACC by various corners over the conduct of some of its investigators. Business Times is informed that some investigators had become so powerful to an extent of frustrating investigations.

The current ZACC team of investigators comprise various members of law enforcement agencies seconded to the antigraft body. Business Times is informed that there are now efforts to come up with a completely new team who are professionally trained. The current team of investigators was inherited from the Goodson Nguni-led anti-graft body whose members, including Nguni, were made to resign en bloc last year following suspicions of corruption within its ranks.

According to Transparency International, the global anticorruption watchdog, Zimbabwe is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and the canker apparently affects even anti-corruption groups, such as ZACC. The issue of ZACC being under-resourced is seen as the biggest challenge affecting the anti-graft body.

At the moment, ZACC needs close to ZWL100m for its 2020 activities, which include recruiting highly qualified staff and decentralisation of its work. The amount will enable the Commission to recover about $300m worth of assets suspected to have been acquired fraudulently and corruptly by various individuals.

ZACC is critically under-resourced with 90 investigators sharing less than five vehicles, while the docket management system is said to be in shambles. A well-placed source told Business Times that fighting corruption remains difficult especially when the investigators are under resourced.

“The current situation at ZACC is tricky because it has invited a lot of sharks who are now manipulating investigators due to the lack of resources,” said a source who wants to remain anonymous. “Once you have an anti-corruption body that is continuously raising a resources issue, that means even their course of duty will be compromised,” the source added.

As a way of adding some teeth to the anti-graft body, the government accorded ZACC arresting powers as it intensified its fight against corruption.

The changes were announced in an Extraordinary Government Gazette published last Friday through Statutory Instrument 143 of 2019. The new regulations modified the previous legal instrument that deals with peace officers.

Ziyambi Ziyambi, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs has – in terms of Section 2 (Paragraph H) of the definition of “peace officer” under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07) – included ZACC officers.

Own Correspondent | A timely intervention by Catholic Bishops led by Archbishop Robert Ndlovu, in a meeting with ZANU PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa earlier today, could result in the much needed reprieve, as over 500 fired doctors have been given 48 hours to return to work.

Reports indicate that the Bishops pleaded the doctors plight, during a meeting with Mnangagwa, at the State House, which could ease the anxiety among Zimbabweans, who have lamented the slow Genocide in the country’s hospitals.

There was no response yet by the doctors at the time of writing.

This comes against a background of an increasing health catastrophe, in the country, after Senior doctors working at state-owned hospitals, yesterday downed their tools demanding the immediate reinstatement of 435 junior doctors, who were fired by the government for going on a nationwide strike that has paralyzed hospitals.

In a statement, members of the Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA) conveyed their worry over the dismissal of the junior doctors who went on strike on September 3rd this year demanding salaries equivalent to interbank rates.
“We have noted with grave concern the wanton dismissal of over 435 doctors, the continued summoning of doctors for disciplinary hearing and the withholding of the paltry salaries for the doctors. The SHDA had continued to engage the employer in dialogue whilst the hostilities on its members was continuing unabated. Of note is these actions have not capacitated either the hospitals or the human resource base,”reads the statement.

ZANU PF politicians and business persons are falling over each other to make contributions to a celebration bash being prepared for Vice President Constantino Chiwenga following his long layoff while undergoing treatment for an undisclosed treatment in China since August.

Sources say the “welcome party” has been slated for Saturday at Chiwenga’s rural home of Wedza.

“The party is in honour of his great escape,” said an impeccable insider.

Observers say the party is also an opportunity for Chiwenga’s loyalists to prove themselves to the Vice President as internal power jostling reaches another level.

Chiwenga arrived home Saturday morning last week, having spent four months in China receiving medical treatment.

The former Army General – who was born in 1956 in the Wedza district of Mashonaland East and completed his ‘O’ Level at St Mary’s Mission in Wedza together with retired Air Marshal Perrance Shiri – said he was now fit and “raring to go and join the team to build our country”.

 “As I come back, my single message is for our people to have a singleness of purposes, to be united (and) to work together,” Chiwenga told ZBC.

“Gone are the days where manna would drop from heaven. One has to work hard and (not for) people to wait (and say) that they will be donors to come and dish out goodies. That time has gone. As you are aware, there is no donor who has contributed anything.”

Speaking on his health, the 63-year-old former soldier paid tribute to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for playing a facilitatory role and thanked ordinary Zimbabweans for wishing him a speedy recovery.

“I feel very good, and I would want to thank all the Zimbabweans for their prayers while I was away. Everybody made their prayers and they prayed for me, and I really appreciate it (sic),” Chiwenga said.

Turning to government business, Chiwenga said it was imperative that all stakeholders put hands on deck and rebuild Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwenewslive

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elver who was in the country for an observation mission on the Right to Food in Zimbabwe says the country’s food crisis is man-made.

Elver was presenting her preliminary observations following her 11-day field visits and meetings with Government, Independent Institutions, and Representatives from the UN System, International Donor Community, Civil Society Organizations and local communities.

She said the food situation in the country was in an emergency state due to government’s failures and rampant partisan distribution of food with opposition supporters being sidelined.

“The reason why I said the crisis is man-made is because this is not a natural occurrence to the country because the contra has a vast amount of natural resources. Once upon a time, the country was an important productive nation for Africa where it used to be the breadbasket of Africa.

“This means something happened, but not from nature but from mismanagement, political and conflict of issues which led to people starving.”

She said it is surprising that Zimbabwe is ranked amongst the countries with the worst food crisis despite being a non-conflict nation.

It is ranked with Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia, countries which have war tone for decades.

“Zimbabwe is the only country that is on the list but does not have a conflict to such a dangerous level. This crisis comes from dysfunctional systems,” Elver said.

She noted that even if the blame was to be pushed on the recent drought which has been ravaging the country, most nations have survived the natural disaster, Zimbabwe included but lately, the political and economic systems have worsened the situation.

Elver said the government needs to act to change the current systems and implement those that necessitate growth and food security.

A Bulawayo woman was Tuesday taken to court by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), on allegations of fleecing a new company of US$700 000 after misrepresenting she could facilitate offshore payments for it.

Delny Davies, who was in 2017 dragged before the courts for externalising some US$7 million, appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Tinashe Tashaya who granted her $5 000 bail and ordered her not to interfere with witnesses.

She was also ordered to report at Bulawayo Central police station twice a week until the case is heard on 11 December.

According to ZACC spokesperson, John Makamure, Davies misrepresented to Prince Abraham of South African company, Nedlac and used his funds to pay off a debt she owed to Zakanya Patel, a manager at Toppers in Bulawayo.

“She prejudiced a company that set up base in Bulawayo in response to the ‘Zimbabwe is Open for business’ mantra of US$700 000 after claiming that she could facilitate offshore payments through FMC Finance.

“Sometime in November 2018, the accused person hatched a plan to defraud the complainant of his US$700 000 so as to settle her loan with Zakanya Patel.

“Pursuant to her plan, the accused person approached the complainant and misrepresented facts to him that she had some free funds in South Africa. She claimed that if the complainant had any payments to settle in South Africa, she had the capacity to settle them. In return, the complainant would then transfer US$700 000 to the accused person,” reads the charge sheet.

“The complainant told the accused that his company had two major invoices which had to be settled to Nedlac Automation South Africa totalling R3 500 000.

“The invoices were to be settled as follows; R3 070 000 to Maggotteax South Africa for goods bought and delivered to PPC Bulawayo, R430 000 to Toyota Nelspruit for Nedlac Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd company vehicle.”

Davies is alleged to have instructed the complainant to deposit US$700 000 into FMC Finance Company Ecobank account number 00147600849601.

Acting on the misrepresenting, it is further alleged, on 26 November 2018, the complainant made two internal transfers of US$200 000 and US$500 000 into FMC Financial Services Company Ecobank account 00147600849601 through Interbank banking using his Ecobank account number 005103760992101.

Adds the sheet: “When all this was happening, the accused person knew very well that she had no free funds in South Africa but she had a pre-conceived plan to swindle the complainant of his money so that she uses the money to settle her loan with Zakanya Patel.

“Investigations established that when the money was transferred into FMC Financial Services Ecobank Account, US$72 000 financed an overdraft for FMC Financial Services and US$628 000 was transferred to a Steward Bank account, on instructions from Zakanya Patel.”

Investigations also established that on 29 November 2018, a total of R450 000 was paid to Nedlac Automation South Africa FNB account number 62716180807 by the accused person and she converted a balance of R3 050 000 to her own use.

ZACC noted the accused made another deposit of R110 000 into Nedlac Automation FNB account.

Davies is accused of having claimed she also had capacity to facilitate the repatriation of profits from Zimbabwe to South Africa under the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” policy enunciated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

allafrica.com

 By Own Correspondent| A dispute over land turned fatal at Ariston Holdings’ Roscommon Estate in Chimanimani on Monday after a security guard gunned down a villager leaving another one battling for life.

Police and Ariston Holdings confirmed the incident yesterday.

Roscommon Estate produces world acclaimed niche red tea Wanganella. It is also into macadamia, coffee and potato production. 

The company runs four other estates across the country, namely Claremount, Kent, Clearwater and Southdown.

The company has been at loggerheads with villagers since 2002 after part of its estate was gazetted by Government.

This paved way for its allocation to the landless.

“They (Ariston Holdings) asked for a grace period saying they wanted to harvest their crop but they continued on the farm to date creating friction with new farmers who had been allocated the land,” a source told the state media.

Relations between the company and the villagers broke down after it allegedly destroyed their crops and banana plantations recently. Villagers’ homes were also destroyed.

This was after the company obtained a court order granting it permission to evict the settlers.

“On November 19 the Messenger of Court came to evict the settlers. When they came, the district lands committee was engaging the company to try and find an amicable solution. They started destroying some structures.

On Monday morning the company sent its employees to destroy the people’s banana plantations and other crops,” added the source.

Some homes were also destroyed.

“Last night those who had their homes destroyed decided to go to the estate to safeguard their belongings. A security guard identified as Nicholas Bere fired at the villagers, killing Mr Beware Tsarai. He injured Mr Shingai Mafake.

Mr Mafake was rushed to Mutambara Hospital where he is admitted. Mr Tsarai’s body was taken to a mortuary in Chipinge. Bere was arrested and faces a murder charge,” said the source.

Manicaland deputy police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Luxon Chananda confirmed the incident yesterday.

“There is a conflict over a boundary and on the day in question there was a meeting that was addressed by the district administrator.

There was an altercation between the settlers and Roscommon employees. The issue was resolved in the morning. In the evening the settlers armed themselves and approached the company’s premises.

They attacked a security guard on duty. The guard tried to defend himself by firing into the mob. Beware Tsarai was shot and he died while another person was injured and rushed to hospital,” he said.

Ariston Holdings human resources head Mr Brian Kangondo also confirmed the incident.

He said they were evicting the settlers in terms of a court order granted in their favour.

“They had encroached into our estate. We evicted them in 2012 through the court processes and they came back in 2016. We again got court assistance and they were ordered to leave.

“They had planted some crops during the 2017-18 season. We allowed them to harvest but thereafter they did not leave. We approached the courts and they were ruled to be in contempt of court,” he said.

Mr Kangondo said the Messenger of Court evicted the settlers on Tuesday last week.

“Sometime in October we started a process of putting a boundary fence to demarcate the area to protect our estate,” he said.

The company blames the settlers for the disharmony.

“On Monday in the afternoon at around 7pm a group of between 30 and 60 people advanced into our fields. They were armed with machetes, stones and catapults.

They headed for the sub-office in our macadamia area and started destroying property. Our security guard fired warning shots but they were undeterred. In the end he fired into the crowd.

“One person was injured and passed on. Another one was rushed to hospital,” said Mr Kangondo.

The security guard was arrested.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba used his son’s school prize giving day to confirm that he is the one behind the @Jamwanda2 twitter handle that has been dishing information on government business, some of it exclusive.

Charamba posted two certificates awarded to his son Mukudzei at Alexandra Park Primary School in Harare which he said served to confirm his identity after so much speculation.

“For those who have always wondered, speculated, no prize for guessing. Herewith Mukudzei’s certificates. And he is every inch my SON!! Work it out, trace it back to Jamwanda2, your lovely, doughty discussant!!! Bingo!!,” posted Charamba.

Mukudzei was awarded a certificate for coming first in his class and another for being the most dedicated soccer player.

Earlier, Charamba, a widower, thanked friends and relatives for helping him  raise his children.

“My tribute to the maids who ensure my kids are daily ready for school, even when I am not around; to their big Sister Komborero who ensures she plays surrogate parent in my routine absence; to Kundai Gombe, muzukuru wangu who stands by me all the time.

“Mr and Mrs Quarter, tuzukuru who hover around when I am away; my PA, Mai Kapembeza whose husband has allowed her to go beyond call of duty; my colleagues in OPC, Nyamutowa and Mukurazhizha, who shunt the kids to school daily. To Shingi, who plays game with them. Mukoma wavo George (Junior) who routinely takes the boys to University stadium for weekend practices.

He will feel proud to hear Mukudzei has got a prize for football. Above all, to mufana wangu Phelex naamainini who watch over my doubly orphaned family when I am away,” posted Charamba.  

“In a very special way to Mai naBaba Chris Chinaka, Mai Chinaka especially, who never misses the kids’ birthdays even when their father does!!! Mbuya Chengu, ambhuya vangu, I hope this brightens your day. She left us bright gifts; she smiles down on us!!”

By A Correspondent- Government has urged school authorities to insure schools against natural disasters that are on the increase as a result of climate change.

Several schools countrywide have been destroyed by hailstorms since the beginning of the rainy season.

In his closing remarks at the end of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s three-day strategic planning review workshop in Bulawayo yesterday, the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Cde Edgar Moyo said those who run schools must take action to mitigate the effects of disasters.

“We are in a season of disasters and for the last few years we have been experiencing increased disasters in our schools and communities. We therefore need to work on our disaster preparedness including skills development in our personnel so that we mitigate the effects of these disasters. One of the important things that we need to look at and that I have been discussing with our Provincial Education Directors is the issue of insurance for our schools,” said Cde Moyo.

He said there was a need to engage responsible authorities so that schools are insured against disasters.

“The concept of insurance for schools is there but I think our schools and SDCs are not taking that very seriously. In view of what is happening you need to change your mind-set and take seriously the issue of insuring buildings so that in the event of a disaster you are able to rebuild the school,” said Deputy Minister Moyo.

He said in future the issue of insuring schools should be made compulsory so that pupils and teachers are not disadvantaged in the event of a disaster.

The Deputy Minister said disasters strike when people were least prepared hence the convenience of an insurance.

He said there is also need to change construction policies for schools so that they meet current demands.

“We also need to upgrade our construction standards to counter the impact disasters. I’m looking at the whole issue of material to be used when one is building a public building like a classroom. Are we going to continue using substandard material or low quality donated material which is not strong and is perforated by a few minutes of hailstorm? We need to address all those issues so that we do not put our pupils and teachers in danger. We need to have standards,” said Cde Moyo.

He said there must be stringent inspections when schools are being constructed to make sure that proper processes are followed.

“It is important also to look at the inspection of our buildings and certifications at every stage of building. I know it’s happening with Government buildings but I’m not sure if that is happening to schools constructed by SDCs, councils and churches. We need supervision in that area,” he said.

Education Ministry Permanent Secretary, Mrs Tumisang Thabela, said schools need to adapt to climate change.

-StateMedia

By Own Correspondent| The government of Zimbabwe has invited its only Pelvis Ortho surgeon Dr Mageza Chiwamba to attend  a hearing over his failure to report to work from the 16th of September to date.

In  letter written to Chiwamba the Health Service Board said Parirenyatwa hospital has reason to believe that he committed an act of misconduct as defined under section 4 of the National Employment Code.

The Hospital said Dr Chiwamba participated in a collective job action while doctors are not allowed to participate in such activities.

The Health Services Board has been in a spirited effort to fire doctors who have pledged incapacitation and are not going to work.

By A Correspondent- Vocal Zanu PF political Commissar, Victor Matemadanda has been hauled to court by a fellow war veteran, Amos Sigauke over defamation allegations.

Sigauke is demanding $400 000 from Matemadanda claiming that Matemadanda’s remarks damaged his reputation and that of his pressure group, War Veterans Pressure Group (WVPG).

Sigauke’s court papers read:

The statements were made with the intention to defame plaintiffs and to injure their respective reputations. As a result of the defamation, plaintiffs have jointly and severally the one being injured the other to suffer, been damaged in their reputation and they have suffered damages in the sum of $400 000.

The Deputy Minister of Defence is accused of having remarked in July this year that SSigauke and his pressure group were being sponsored to destabilise President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

Conspiracy theories are popular in Zimbabwe with a number of opposition members and leaders of civic society organisations arrested for subverting a constitutionally established government.

By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance legislator for Dzivarasekwa Edwin Mushoriwa has accused finance minister Mthuli Ncube of tabling incorrect information to the august house and the nation.

He said this Wednesday alleging that the figures presented by the Finance minister in the Blue Book, Budget Statement and Infrastructure statement were not coherent.

Mushoriwa implored the speaker of parliament Jacob Mudenda to bring the man in charge of the national purse to “order”.

He said:

“The budget papers that have been laid before Parliament by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, namely the Blue Book, the Budget Statement and the Infrastructure Statement. 

…..for probably the third or second year in this session, in this Parliament, the figures that are contained in those three books do not talk to each other.  

The Blue Book for instance carries a lot of mistakes and it is very difficult, Mr. Speaker Sir, for Members of Parliament to actually understand which is correct because you will find that the Blue Book is different from the Budget Statement and it is also different from what is contained in the Infrastructure Statement. 

To that extent, Mr. Speaker Sir, we would request the Chair to order the relevant Minister to bring accurate information to this House to enable us to debate those issues.”

Mushoriwa’s statement comes a few days after China issued a statement disputing the figure of aid reported by Ncube during the budget presentation a fortnight ago.

In a budget statement on Thursday last week, Ncube revealed that Zimbabwe received $194 million from bilateral donors between January and September, the bulk of the money from Western countries.

He said China provided $3.6 million, a figure that was disputed by the Chinese Embassy in Harare saying in a statement:

“This is very different from the situation on the ground. The embassy wishes that the relevant departments of the Zimbabwean government will make comprehensive assessments on the statistics of bilateral supports and accurately reflect its actual situation when formulating budget statement,” the embassy said in a terse statement.”

The embassy revealed that its records showed that bilateral financial support to Zimbabwe was far greater, at $136.8 million between January and September, and the figure excluded donations to vulnerable groups.

By A Correspondent- Government has expressed commitment towards improving the conditions of service for all health care workers.

Said the Health minister Obediah Moyo while issuing a ministerial statement to parliament Wednesday:

“Over the past few years, Government has made various attempts to cushion all civil servants with general and sector specific allowances such as specific allowances.

However, the current harsh economic environment has presented a major challenge to sustaining the cushion effect of these allowance increments.

Government is committed to continuously undertaking review and evaluation of various incentives in line with its ability to meet commitments.

–Bipartite negotiation forums

–Other discussions and engagements

–Health Institution engaging with their workers.

·       Outcome of the Bipartite Negotiations (Monetary incentives):

–COLA (30%; 60% increases)

–Health specific allowances increased by 100%

–Bonus reinstated

Outcome of the Bipartite and Other Negotiations (non-Monetary):

–Car loan scheme with duty free component

–Housing loan scheme

–Fuel provision of Health Institutions

–Meals and refreshments at work place

–ZUPCO/Public Service bus service – Transport to work

Provision of Tools of Trade:

-Improved availability of medicines and sundries

–New Board with a strong Board Chair

–Medicines availability stable

–Sourcing of new equipment and putting in place maintenance contracts for existing equipment is in progress.

–Private Public Partnerships being vigorously pursued.”

By A Correspondent- Olwethu Sipuka an author and activist based in Centurion, Pretoria has written an open letter to South Africa President, Cyril Ramaphosa urging him to take necessary action to rectify the socio-economic and political crises bedevilling neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Below is the full text of Sipuka’s letter:

Dear Mr President, ordinarily I would have sent this matter for your attention to your office; but as things stand north of Limpopo, the situation is dire and warrants urgent attention. This is why I elected to write to you this open letter.

Mr President, we have witnessed in recent months a socio-economic and political crisis unfold in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Maybe to put things into context, food prices have more than tripled; going beyond the reach of many.

The latest statistics from the World Bank show that close to 4 million Zimbabweans are food insecure. This number will probably rise.

Medical doctors and other critical health personnel have been on strike for over two months, while hundreds have been summarily dismissed for demanding a fair working wage.

This has crippled the health sector, effectively turning the country’s hospitals and clinics into death traps. It is unreasonable for anyone to deny the horrendous state of affairs currently underway in Zimbabwe.

Earlier today, the police descended heavily on opposition members in the capital of Harare, who had gathered to be addressed by their leader Nelson Chamisa. In recent weeks, the opposition has been denied a space to articulate itself, with virtually all its rallies banned. This, Mr President, is a direct infringement on and violation of freedom of association guaranteed not only by the Zimbabwean constitution but also by international instruments such as the AU Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

There is no denying, Mr President, that the situation in the country has continued to deteriorate since the hotly disputed election of August 2018.

This is in spite of the hope and international goodwill that carried Zimbabwe following the resignation of President Robert Mugabe in 2017.

I write to you, Mr President because I believe it is in the interest of South Africa and the African continent to have a well-functioning Zimbabwe.

No one wants to see a repeat of 2008, although, in the absence of genuine solutions, all preliminary signs point to that. Mr President, South Africa will assume the chairmanship of the AU in 2020 and we cannot expect to be taken seriously by our African brothers and sisters on the continent if we have continuously failed to provide leadership in Zimbabwe.

In this regard, I humbly propose that we establish a multi-party forum to look into the crisis in Zimbabwe, with a view of providing sustainable solutions that will enable Zimbabwe to stand on its feet and regain its status as an equal partner. I understand and partially agree with Minister Naledi Pandor that South Africa cannot intervene unless we have been “invited”, but is the illegal influx of Zimbabwean immigrants and the dire economic situation not an “invitation on its own”?

History will judge us harshly if we become indifferent bystanders while millions of people continue to suffer.

It is my hypothesis that South Africa’s and the region’s economic growth will never reach our desired expectations when Zimbabwe further collapses. When all is said and done, ordinary Zimbabweans will remember not the words of their “enemies” but the silence of their friends.

By A Correspondent- A local non government organisation has petitioned government over the current indigenisation laws calling on parliament to review the current laws in order to ensure that local communities benefit from the exploitation of mineral resources.

This was revealed by the speaker of parliament Jacob Mudenda Wednesday.

He said:

“I also have to inform the House that on Monday, 18th November 2019, Parliament of Zimbabwe received a petition from Mr. K. Zireva co-ordinator of the Mhondongori Resources Community Development Trust, beseeching Parliament to reinstate and review the indigenisation laws of Zimbabwe in order to ensure that local communities benefit from the exploitation of mineral resources as envisaged by Section 13(4) of the Constitution.

The petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce and the Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment.”

By A Correspondent- The newly appointed Zesa Holdings board chairman, Sydney Gata, has admitted that his task and that of fellow appointees of reviving the local power utility was difficult given the challenges bedeviling parastatal.

Gata observed that the parastatal was grounded due to brain drain and corruption hence the need for fellow appointees to start working hard towards the attainment of set goals and objectives.

Speaking during a familiarisation meeting with Energy and Power Development Minister, Fortune Chasi on Wednesday, Chasi said:

It’s no secret that the parastatal is depleted, a number of engineers migrated to neighbouring countries where they are believed to be contributing to successful power generation projects.

Our task ahead is a difficult one and I am asking each member of the board to be presently minded. I am urging my team to be hands on and obviously fight corruption since the rot is known to be existing in parastatals and always begins from the top.

Gata, who is the brother-in-law of the late former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was fired from the local power utility in 2006 for alleged incompetence and was only rehired this month.

Chasi has since defended his re-appointment saying that the state of ZESA needed an experienced individual and Gata’s profile was a perfect match for the job.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance legislator for Dzivarasekwa Edwin Mushoriwa has accused finance minister Mthuli Ncube of tabling incorrect information to the august house and the nation.

He said this Wednesday alleging that the figures presented by the Finance minister in the Blue Book, Budget Statement and Infrastructure statement were not coherent.

Mushoriwa implored the speaker of parliament Jacob Mudenda to bring the man in charge of the national purse to “order”.

He said:

“The budget papers that have been laid before Parliament by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, namely the Blue Book, the Budget Statement and the Infrastructure Statement. 

…..for probably the third or second year in this session, in this Parliament, the figures that are contained in those three books do not talk to each other.  

The Blue Book for instance carries a lot of mistakes and it is very difficult, Mr. Speaker Sir, for Members of Parliament to actually understand which is correct because you will find that the Blue Book is different from the Budget Statement and it is also different from what is contained in the Infrastructure Statement. 

To that extent, Mr. Speaker Sir, we would request the Chair to order the relevant Minister to bring accurate information to this House to enable us to debate those issues.”

Mushoriwa’s statement comes a few days after China issued a statement disputing the figure of aid reported by Ncube during the budget presentation a fortnight ago.

In a budget statement on Thursday last week, Ncube revealed that Zimbabwe received $194 million from bilateral donors between January and September, the bulk of the money from Western countries.

He said China provided $3.6 million, a figure that was disputed by the Chinese Embassy in Harare saying in a statement:

“This is very different from the situation on the ground. The embassy wishes that the relevant departments of the Zimbabwean government will make comprehensive assessments on the statistics of bilateral supports and accurately reflect its actual situation when formulating budget statement,” the embassy said in a terse statement.”

The embassy revealed that its records showed that bilateral financial support to Zimbabwe was far greater, at $136.8 million between January and September, and the figure excluded donations to vulnerable groups.

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF political Commissar, Victor Matemadanda has been taken to court by a fellow war veteran, Amos Sigauke over defamation allegations.

Sigauke is demanding $400 000 from Matemadanda claiming that Matemadanda’s remarks damaged his reputation and that of his pressure group, War Veterans Pressure Group (WVPG).

Sigauke’s court papers read:

The statements were made with the intention to defame plaintiffs and to injure their respective reputations. As a result of the defamation, plaintiffs have jointly and severally the one being injured the other to suffer, been damaged in their reputation and they have suffered damages in the sum of $400 000.

The Deputy Minister of Defence is accused of having remarked in July this year that Sigauke and his pressure group were being sponsored to destabilise President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

Conspiracy theories are popular in Zimbabwe with a number of opposition members and leaders of civic society organisations arrested for subverting a constitutionally established government.

-Newsday

Own Correspondent | In a new twist to the previously frosty relations between former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and the government of Zimbabwe, the former African statesman is in the country seeking investment opportunities from President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Obasanjo was instrumental in the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth in 2002, over the controversial Presidential elections which were marred by violence and vote rigging.

The move led to the late former President Robert Mugabe in a knee jerk reaction, immediately pulling Zimbabwe out of the body.

Obasanjo defied protests from Mugabe’s allies in Africa and the Caribbean insisting that Zimbabwe would remain suspended to protect the Commonwealth’s core principles.

He has also been aligned to opposition politics in the country, recently co-authoring a book with MDC Alliance, Vice President Tendai Biti, titled, ‘Democracy Works: Re-Wiring Politics to Africa’s Advantage,’ which they have been promoting on a world wide tour.

The state media reports that Obasanjo, who is also the chairman of the Johannesburg-based think tank Brenthurst Foundation, South Africa met with Mnangagwa at State House today seeking to scout for investment opportunities in the country.

He was accompanied by Brenthurst Foundation executive members, Mr Nicholas Oppenheimer and Dr Gregory John Barrington Mills.

Speaking soon after the meeting Mnangagwa, Obasanjo said they are in the country to seek investment opportunities.

“I have along with me some people who have interests in investing here in Zimbabwe, that is what we have come here for.

“We cannot talk of development without investment, domestic investment, foreign investment and regional investment. The meeting went on very well,” said Obasanjo.

By Farai D Hove| Econet boss, Strive Masiyiwa has been humiliated by bank workers over his $100 million donation to doctors.

Yesterday Masiyiwa’s foundation announced a $100 million to incapacitated doctors, amounting to $5,000 per doctor for the next 5 months.

But the Zimbabwe Bankers And Allied workers union has announced that his own workers from Steward Bank are incapacitated. It was not clear at the time of writing how much they are being paid.

ZIBAWU said: It is called hypocrisy.

His workers @stewardbank are incapacitated & he has not offered anything. He is trying to use doctors’ struggle & suffering for his egoistic PR drive. Doctors are workers and if he feels for workers let him show that @stewardbank & @econetzimbabwe.

Meanwhile, it was revealed his donation is of Zim Dollars not USD.

At the time of writing, a comment from both Econet and Steward Bank was fruitless.

Opposition MDC Secretary-General, Chalton Hwende who posted on Twitter reporting on his visit to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Germany, Paul Chikawa has come under fire from social media users but today, he got a rare backing from the self exiled government critic Professor Jonathan Moyo.

Hwende posted:“Yesterday I passed through our Zimbabwe Embassy in Germany and was well received by Ambassador Paul Chikawa and his team very fruitful engagement. Many Zimbabweans are based in Germany studying and working. During the GNU our very own MDC Ambassador Makuvise was based here.”

This attracted a response from exiled former Cabinet Minister, Dr Walter Mzembi who viewed the stunt as hypocritical since the MDC does not recognise President Emmerson Mnangagwa who appointed the Ambassadors.

“Can’t reconcile this. An Ambassador is literally “the President outside the country”. This is why they are addressed as “His Excellency” You can’t choose to recognise the President outside the country and unrecognise him in the country. Strange.”

Professor Jonathan Moyo did not agree with Mzembi saying that Ambassadors represent the state, not the president who appointed them.

“No @hwendec don’t be misled by ediots. The Ambassador represents the State, the Republic of Zimbabwe and not any individual or office in Zimbabwe. The Embassy is Zimbabwe and not Mnangagwa. So when you’re at any Embassy of Zimbabwe, you’re on Zimbabwean soil outside Zimbabwe!”

Jane Mlambo| Opposition MDC Secretary General Charlton Hwende has come under fire over his visit to the Zimbabwe Embassy in Germany with the latest criticism coming from former Tourism minister Walter Mzembi who said the Kuwadzana East legislator’s move was ‘strange’.

Responding to Hwende’s tweet, Mzembi said the visit cannot be reconciled as an Ambassador is “the President outside the country, charging that the MDC cannot choose to recognise Mnangagwa outside the country and recognise him in the country.”

“cant reconcile this . An Ambassador is literally ” the President outside the country ” . This is why they are adressed as “His Excellency ” You cant choose to recognise the President outside the country and unrecognise him in the country . Strange,” said Mzembi.

The MDC has refused to recognize Mnangagwa citing the 2018 general elections which they claim were rigged.

Online | Benin has ordered the European Union’s ambassador to leave the country over alleged political interference, diplomatic sources said Wednesday (27 November).

“He has interfered too much in domestic affairs,” a senior Beninese diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

“He constantly calls on civil society to protest against the government.”

The source said Benin’s foreign minister had repeatedly warned the envoy, German diplomat Oliver Nette, over his “excesses” and he now had until December 1 to quit the West African nation.

A spokeswoman for the EU in Brussels confirmed the order to leave and said the bloc had been informed of the decision by the Benin authorities on November 20.

“For the EU, nothing can justify such a measure in the generally good relations that have existed up until now between the EU and Benin,” the spokeswoman said.

“We have demanded as a matter of urgency from our partners in Benin some clarification on the specific reasons for their decision, but we have not received them yet.”

Former French colony Benin has typically been seen as among West Africa’s most stable democracies.

But it has been facing a political crisis since controversial parliamentary elections in April sparked mass protests.

President Patrice Talon, a former business magnate who came to power in 2016, has been accused of carrying out a concerted crackdown on his opponents that has driven key rivals into exile.

Parties allied to Talon won all the seats at the disputed polls after opposition groups were effectively banned from standing.

Talon, who made his fortune in cotton, hosted a political “dialogue” last month to try to calm the tensions but several main opposition groups were not invited to the event.

The country subsequently tweaked its constitution and electoral law but the opposition complained that the changes fell well short of their expectations.

he EU is a major financial donor to Benin and has given hundreds of million of euros to help develop good governance, agriculture and access to electricity.

The decision to expel the ambassador comes as the country faces economic pain after its giant eastern neighbour Nigeria halted imports and exports across their shared border in a bid to halt smuggling.

Source Euroctive

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo this morning met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, details of their meeting are still to be established.

More to follow…

Own Correspondent| The MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa is planning fresh protests to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the negotiating table, as it also pins its hopes on SADC intervention.

The fresh call to protest was made by Organising Secretary, Amos Chibaya, “The rogue regime is taking us down the garden path by promises of a better Zimbabwe. On November 17, 2017, we jumped from a frying pan into the fire after the coup. It is now time to pour into the streets and send a clear message to the dictator that enough is enough.”

Chibaya made the call as party Secretary for International Relations, Gladys Hlatshwayo, told the local daily Newsday, that the opposition party had reached consensus with the regional body SADC, at two levels, the first being that Zimbabwe is in a crisis, the second that political dialogue is the only way forward.

Hlatshwayo explains that the party has had fruitful engagements with SADC executive secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax and her team, “We are glad because we were able to share our views with Tax and we shall continue to do so. We shall be intensifying our regional offensive and selling our narrative. We are also encouraged by the voices that are emerging from within Sadc, including the recent remarks by South Africa Foreign Affairs minister Naledi Pandor that there is need to deal with economic and political angles of the Zimbabwean crisis simultaneously.”

She goes further to explain how the SADC region is awakening to the real plight of Zimbabweans, as she dismissed internal processes to facilitate dialogue with Mnangagwa, “The credibility and integrity of the political dialogue hinges on the integrity of the mediator and the extent to which he/she is seen as a neutral broker. We are all aware of how our institutions in Zimbabwe are captured by the Executive and, therefore, defeating the idea of a neutral facilitator and a credible dialogue.”

On SADC intervention, Hlatshwayo says, “The Sadc Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security article 11b allows Sadc to intervene in intra-conflicts of member States in cases of gross human rights violations and violence, as well as conflicts that threaten peace and security in the region. Sadc should utilise its early warning system to be proactive on Zimbabwe as opposed to wait for the situation to further deteriorate.”

Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (ZIBAWU) on Wednesday 27 November 2019 filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking an order to overturn the ban of the labour union’s demonstration by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

ZRP through Chief Superintendent Oscar Mugomeri, the Officer Commanding ZRP Regulating Authority in Harare Central District, on Tuesday 26 November 2019 banned ZIBAWU from staging its demonstration in Harare scheduled for Thursday 28 November 2019 from 12:30 PM to 14:30 PM, where the labour union sought to protest and hand over a petition to Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube’s unfavourable policies and austerity measures which have brought immeasurable suffering to workers in the banking sector and the generality of workers in Zimbabwe.

ZIBAWU said workers can no longer afford to pay transport cost, decent meals, medication, rentals, school fees and other basic necessities.

But Chief Superintendent Mugomeri on Tuesday 26 November 2019 banned ZIBAWU from proceeding with its demonstration saying he could not sanction the protest because of the current “volatile” situation in Harare’s Central Business District (CBD) and that the demonstration would be hijacked by some unnamed vendors, political parties and pressure groups.

Chief Superintendent Mugomeri claimed that the volume of both human and vehicle traffic in the CBD has “tremendously increased as we are already in the festive season, hence the chances that your intended demonstration will be taken advantage of by some malcontents and rogue elements are very high”.

After the ZRP ban, ZIBAWU through its lawyer Alec Muchadehama of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking an order to interdict ZRP or anyone acting through them or on their behalf from interfering with the bank workers’ demonstration.

In the application, ZIBAWU argued that Chief Superintendent Mugomeri has no right to ban the labour union’s demonstration as ZIBAWU is allowed to demonstrate and petition under the provisions of the Constitution particularly Section 58, which provides for freedom of assembly and association, Section 59, which guarantees freedom to demonstration and petition, Section 61, which provides for freedom of expression and Section 65 which provides for labour rights.

The labour union argued that the enjoyment of its members’ fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be prevented by the unlawful, whimsical, arbitrary and capricious actions of Chief Superintendent Mugomeri and those acting under his instructions or on his behalf.

The matter is yet to be set down for hearing.

The current bank exchange rates for the ZWL$ today are as follows:

• USD to ZWL$: 16.2249
• ZWL$ to RAND: 0.9099

Data according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Black Market Rates:

• USD to ZWL$ zimrates.com 23
• USD to ZWL$  zwl365.com 22.20 [27/11/19]
• USD to ZWL$ bluemari.info 22.40 [27/11/19]
• USD to BOND: Zimrates.com 16.80

More: marketwatch.co.zw

By Grace Kwinjeh | The opposition movement in its different shades and stripes must never be a laundromat, a cleansing ground for former Zanu PF politicians with a track record of leading violent campaigns against innocent civilians, with impunity.

Savior Kasukuwere’s call to fame in Zanu PF and why there are nostalgic feelings for his ‘heroic’ return, sends chills down my spine, because that call only reminds me of his role in the project to totally annihilate the opposition, it is about a past characterised by violence, torture and killings.

After the mistake of supporting the 2017 coup, one would assume, we have learnt a bitter lesson, we are wiser, are more strategic in our thinking, towards a new narrative, that defines a Zimbabwe led by men and women who have a clean past.

Men and women who will unite the nation, facilitate a process of healing, reconciliation and accountability. Not one person in Zanu PF in its present form or out of it can do that, because Zanu PF by its nature has the DNA of violence, kleptomaniacs who care for no-one else.

I remember during the 2000 elections I was working at Harvest House, when Zanu PF unleashed one of its most violent campaigns in the Mashonaland Central Province.

It was a horror scene only replica of a country at war, with two armed sides, not an attack on innocent civilians. Our support group at the time one evening, brought in truckloads of women, men, children, mutilated, scarred, bloody bodies, open deep wounds, some burnt with open blisters, it was a terrible site. With reports of rape too. We cleared the boardroom for them to find rest and be secure, while we looked for medical help.

Mashonaland Central the Headquarters of the Border Gezi Training Centre, named after the late politician, Border Gezi, became notorious for violence, ‘no go area’ the MDC did not win any of the ten seats in the whole province, in the 2000 Parliamentary elections.

Torture camps had been set up where identified opposition members were targeted, sent there and could only thank their maker if they lived to tell their story.

Not to mention extra-judicial killings, we all remember Trymore Midzi, Pfebve and the well over two hundred well documented cases of our supporters who were mercilessly slaughtered during the violent campaigns.

Kasukuwere must account for the Chaona massacre in 2008, well documented evidence on how on the on the 5th May 2008, he “organized and ferried a group of over 300 youths to Chaona, Mazowe where a lot of people were seriously injured and six people were killed. The youths were wearing Kasukuwere’s campaign T- shirts.”

This pattern would repeat itself in the next elections, over years, in the sealed no go areas, that were closed for opposition campaigns, as Zanu PF sought to totally annihilate the opposition MDC party. The party survived and may Morgan Tsvangirai’s soul rest in peace, the memory of what he stood for not die because of political expediency.

Calling Kasukuwere out in his role in the violence over the years a must, he has to redeem himself, earn the confidence and trust of Zimbabweans.

The pain of witnessing scenes of attacks, hearing testimonies of victims and burying the dead, brings a notch in my stomach, the trauma in these communities is yet to heal, for them to have the source of their grief unleashed on them as their ‘savior’.

It is demonstrably foolhardy that Kasukuwere’s current call to fame is violent, thuggish behavior, which is attracting those supporting him, as the only viable possibility of meeting Zanu PF , ‘fire with fire’ in its bloody onslaught against citizens.

It is desperate and warped thinking, to assume that the very people who tormented and caused untold suffering to us over the past decades, are the ones who should be entrusted with leading us to a democratic Zimbabwe.

As we languish under the new dispensation birthed by a coup many supported under the false illusion we had arrived, two years later nothing has changed, Zanu PF under Emmerson Mnangagwa remains arrogant and intransigent. It’s DNA of violence and looting remains the same.

A slow genocide describes the situation in our country, people are dying not because of life threatening illnesses, but a selfish leadership that simply refuses to take responsibility, be accountable to citizens by appropriating resources to important sectors such as health.

Furthermore, this conversation around Kasukuwere’s Presidential ambitions gives Zanu PF a false sense of comfort, that there is life after killing and torturing innocent civilians, only if one joins the opposition.

Kasukuwere is said to be exiled in South-Africa home to hundreds of victims of violence, home mai Tandare who lost her husband Gift on March 10 2007, after he was shot, point blank in cold blood.

Let future generations judge us correctly, recycling expired Zanu PF politicians would be a serious indictment against us. Not Yet Uhuru.

Own Correspondent | President Donald Trump’s administration has piled pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to end corruption and “work with the people not against them.”

The United States’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement on Twitter:“The economic crisis in #Zimbabwe is causing its citizens great hardship. It’s time for the #Mnangagwa government to work with, not against, its people to end corruption and implement reforms to restore the economy and end the suffering of its people.”

The impasse between the US and Zimbabwe continues, one of the sticky points being the demand by the US that land be returned to its ‘rightful owners.’ A symposium in held Pretoria, last week, to chart the way for South Africa’s intervention in the lifting of sanctions heard that Zimbabwe is not going to accede to this condition.

‘They want us to return the land to those who used to own it, but as the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) has said, there is no reversal of the land reform,’ Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to SA David Hamadziripi told the meeting.

During Zanu PF’s anti-sanctions march last month the US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols dismissed the government’s claims that Western-imposed sanctions were the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic implosion.
Following an unspecified threat on Nichols by Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, the US Senate committee chaired by Senator Jim Risch (Republican-Idaho) said:

“The US is deeply committed to the people of Zimbabwe. Ambassador Nichols set the record straight that culpability for Zimbabwe’s dire economic situation rests with its leaders, provided the truth about sanctions, and reiterated our strong and lasting commitment to a free and open Zimbabwe.”

LAWYERS representing political activist Josphat Mzaca Ngulube have challenged the incarceration of the aspiring Bulawayo legislator who was last week jailed six years for public violence.

Ngulube was convicted on charges of burning three cars and property at a house belonging to Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial women’s league chairperson Eva Bitu during the violent January protests.

He was convicted alongside Fortune Masuku, Melusi Moyo and Otilia Sibanda by Bulawayo magistrate Tinashe Tashaya.

Ngulube contested last year’s parliamentary elections as an independent candidate in Bulawayo South constituency before joining the MDC early this year.

His lawyer Nqobani Sithole said Ngulube was in “high spirits” despite his six-year conviction.

“He is in high spirits. We knew that regardless of his defence the probability of his conviction was high…he was prepared and not taken by surprise by the unfair conviction…otherwise, we are filing an appeal at the High Court against his unfair conviction,” Sithole told Southern Eye before visiting his client at Khami Maximum Prison.

The State’s case, as presented by Jetro Mada, is that on January 14 at about 7am, Ngulube, acting in connivance with 100 others, unlawfully blocked the free movement of traffic at the intersection of Sizinda Road and Nketa Drive.

Mada said the crew accused Bitu of solely benefiting from taxpayers’ money and pushed her Ford Ranger out of the yard and set it alight.

“Accused persons went back into the yard where they had left a Nissan NP300 and a Toyota Vitz. They set alight the Nissan whose flames destroyed part of the Vitz. The Ford Ranger and Nissan NP300 were burnt beyond repair,” Mada said.

Mada said the cars had a total value of US$95 000.

Daily News|STRIPPED of their aura of omnipotence  first, via the stunning military coup that ousted their patriarch Robert Mugabe from power in November 2017, and then more recently through his death  ever more skeletons are tumbling out of his family’s closet.

It has now been confirmed that Mugabe and his family grabbed a staggering 23 farms in the rich farming areas of Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West  from both their black and white owners  and all in the short space of two years in the mid 2000s, the Daily News can reveal authoritatively.

This, Mugabe and his voracious family managed to do while hypocritically preaching socialism, egalitarianism and equitable land re-distribution — entailing the official government policy of one person one farm — to hungry, landless Zimbabweans.

But the Mugabes were not alone in this decadence. Many Zanu PF bigwigs were also active and enthusiastic participants in this corrupt “lootocracy”, as a senior government official put it yesterday.

These details come after President Emmerson Mnangagwa also revealed earlier this year that Mugabe’s erratic widow Grace was a multiple farm owner — with Zanu PF party youths threatening to strip her of the land at the time.

Mnangagwa said then that High Court judge, Justice Tendai Uchena’s Land Commission had exposed the former first lady as owning more than 15 farms — although he did not disclose more details, including where the farms are located and their names.

The Daily News now has in its possession the full list of farms and their sizes that the Mugabes grabbed in Mazowe, Banket and around Harare between 2004 and 2006. And it makes for staggering reading.

All the farms were registered in the names of their children Bona, Robert Junior and Chatunga — who were minors at the time the land was grabbed — as well as in the names of the family’s companies and their proxies.

The Mugabes also often grabbed farms adjacent to each other, before consolidating them into one — to mask their greed and multiple land ownership.

For example, the present-day Smithfield Farm in Mazowe is in fact a combination of five farms — namely the initial Smithfield Farm, Willow Plot, Lemon Pool, Lot 5 of Yarrowdale and Mazowe Junction.

“Total hectarage is around 1 300 hectares. They are not farming on this consolidated farm. They have subcontracted and leased it to . . .  (two white businessmen) … and the offer letter for this farm is in the name of the Grace Mugabe Foundation.

“The letter they use to purport ownership is a farm handover letter which is not a standard offer of land and also makes it clear that it is State land which might be required for resettlement,” reads one official document that lays bare how the Mugabes grabbed and sought to hide details of their 23 farms.

Similarly, Iron Mask Farm was consolidated from three farms — namely B of Greater B, Remainder of Iron Mask and a portion of Irene Estate.

“The handover letter is in the name of Grace Mugabe’s Children Home. It also does not have a standard offer letter in terms of the Land Reform Act, but a handover of farm letter which can be legally challenged. This combined farm has a total of 1 399.6 hectares,” another document shows. 

Shockingly, Mugabe did not just use his political muscle to grab the farms, he also sublet many of the farms despite regularly speaking against that practise at Zanu PF meetings and rallies. But his fall from power and recent death has blown the lid on his shady dealings, in addition to triggering a flood of land lawsuits against his widow Grace.

For example, the former first lady is currently locked in a legal tussle for the control of Teviotdale Farm in Pomona, in Harare, which measures a total of 310 hectares.

Among the claimants for that farm are three bona fide land beneficiaries — Adonia Makombe, Sahungwe Hungwe and Nyika Chifamba.

“The Mugabes have a handover letter for the farm which is in the name of their company called Kaseplan Grand Industries.

“The families who had settled on the farm were evicted by the Mugabes who managed to obtain this handover letter in 2011.

“They used police, the military and State security to chase away these people and dump them in Mbare, to enable them to take occupation of the farm,” another document reveals.

“They have also taken 100 hectares of State land next to the farm that was initially meant for a botanical garden.

“The botanical garden project was shelved by the State because of lack of underground water. They call this place Zunde,” the document says further.

The Mugabes’ famous Gushungo Dairy in Mazowe also came into being after former Agriculture minister Joseph Made apparently caused the eviction of the former white owner.

“It was called Folye Farm. Made, the then minister of Agriculture, took it away from the former white owner, and (temporarily) passed it on to Arda.

“It became known as Arda Foyle Farm for about two seasons, before it was handed over to the then president.

“All the infrastructure that was mobilised by Arda was taken over (by the Mugabes) and the farm became known as Gushungo Dairy Estate,” yet another document reveals.

While, admirably, Mugabe used his own resources in 1980 to acquire Highfield Farm just outside Norton, and close to his Zvimba rural home, investigations have revealed that he later kicked out his neighbours and forcefully took over four adjacent farms — Tankatara, Cressydale, John O Groats and Clifford.

“Through the office of the then Agriculture minister, Made, they mobilised State resources and installed 19 centre pivots in all these farms where they had chased away people.

“They never got any paperwork for these farms. Literally, they (the Mugabes) are illegal occupants of those farms. The total hectarage of the farms combined is 4 800 hectares,” yet another document reveals.

Just outside Harare, near Westgate, the Mugabes have another farm known as Mwenewazvo, ostensibly named after Grace’s totem.

“The original farm name is Sigaro. Again, Arda took over briefly, preparing to hand it over to the Mugabes. Arda named it Arda Sigaro.

“They mobilised equipment and handed it over to the Mugabes. It has about 1 300 hectares. There is no meaningful activity taking place on the farm,” an official document reads.

Apart from the land in Westgate, the Mugabes also have two farms in Banket, as well as in Hatcliffe.

In Mazowe, where the government chased away poor villagers to pave way for the Mugabes, the former first family owns Manzou Farm, Surtic Ranch, Arnolds Farm, Maggiesdale Farm and Glenbervile — an expanse of land measuring more than 16 000 hectares.

Own Correspondent|Reverend Lucy Natasha of the Prophetic Latter Glory Ministries International, appears to have committed a cardinal sin after visiting Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnagangwa at State House.

This is at least according to her fans on Twitter, most of whom expressed their anger following her post, especially considering recent events at his country.

Rev Natasha posted pictures of herself together with the Zimbabwean president .

She also shared her divine revelations on Mr Mnagangwa’s presidency, saying that he will soon be ushered into a new realm of favour and influence.

“Great moments with His Excellency Emmerson Mnangagwa, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe in State House earlier today. I prophesy that God will usher you into a new realm of favor, dominion and influence,” tweeted Reverend Lucy Natasha.

I prophesy that God will usher you into a new realm of favor, dominion and influence.#OracleInZimbabwe#OracleWithThePresident

Her last statement is what appears to have irked some online users led by Zimbabweans on Twitter.

Many of them bashed Rev Natasha arguing that her prayers and concerns should have been directed to the hundreds of people who were hurt during the recent police riots.

On November 20, police in Harare used force to disperse supporters of the main opposition party who had gathered to listen to a speech by their leader.

“Why are women so heartless? Why is your prophecy so deceitful? This is very wrong. There is no prophecy that endorses wrong. Why has your prophecy not touched lives of bereaved families killed by the army? Why does your church not see blood dripping on these people? Unethical,” wrote @MuzvareBetty.

“New realm of what???? Go back to sender,” said @bee_maqq.

“One of the 400 prophets of Baal or Elijah? May the God, in whose name you claim to prophesy deal with you accordingly!” stated @tmachigidi.

“Can she prophesy him out of office?” asked @Shonamoyo4.

“I was actually contemplating joining your church, thanks God I dodged a bullet,” said @Williamo3391041.