NewsHawks 5 March 2021-min

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WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 5 March 2021 BUSINESS S‘WPOhRenTyou
have a weapon,
MNEoWhaSdi: Tale Dollarisation you win
of a brave man of local bank Test matches’
knocked down deposits rises
by ruinous sex Story on Page 35
Story on Page 14
Story on Page 4

Chiwenga
builds new
luxurious
mansion

ALSO INSIDE Matanga corruption investigation hits a snag Zacc investigates Chadzamira over land

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Chiwenga builds new luxurious mansion

PROUD MOYO

VICE-PRESIDENT Con- Chiwenga’s new mansion cost millions of dollars to build, but the source of his wealth remains a mystery.
stantino Chiwenga – whose
previous two divorce cases Since his return from Chi- cock Villa Hotel along King- Rosary Close in Greystone love his fine whiskies – par- treatment in South Africa
revealed that he is loaded na in November 2019 where smead Road in Borrowdale Park suburb, also in the Bor- ticularly Johnny Walker Blue and India, to no avail.
with money, property and he was saved from the jaws of in Harare owned by Anjin rowdale area. For the former Label and others – has quit
businesses — has complet- a critical illness after being — a joint venture between Zimbabwe Defence Forces drinking on health grounds He underwent two deli-
ed building a new luxurious in the intensive care unit for the ministry of Defence and commander’s convenience, after spending about five cate operations in Beijing to
mansion in Harare’s upmar- months and then immedi- a Chinese investor – after he his “White House” has an el- months in China in 2019, clear part of his oesophagus
ket Borrowdale suburb. He ately divorcing his wife Mar- abandoned the house he said evator to take him up to his receiving treatment for a which was blocked. He was
is expected to move into the ry, Chiwenga moved out of is of “sentimental value” to expansive bedroom upstairs. life-threatening ailment. admitted in an intensive care
jaw-dropping home soon, in- their matrimonial at No.614 him. Even though he man- unit of a state-of-the-art hos-
formed sources say. Nick Price Road in Zimba- aged to evict Marry from the Truckloads of proper- A sickly and emaciated pital for some time before
bwe’s prime housing estate, Brooke with the help of the ty, groceries and expensive Chiwenga was rushed to Bei- being moved into a private
The cost of the new house Borrowdale Brooke. The es- army, Chiwenga still moved whiskey, according to cred- jing in July 2019 at a time ward.
runs into millions of dollars. tate was developed by Zim- out. ible sources, were recently many government and family
The source of Chiwenga’s babwean golf legend Nick delivered to the mansion, members had lost hope that At the time he was airlift-
wealth remains a mystery. Price, who reached No.1 on Initially, Chiwenga left the an indication that the VP’s he would recover, prompting ed, Chiwenga was in terrible
the world rankings. Brooke house, where used relocation from the Golden a scramble for his position shape and severely eman-
The breathtaking proper- to live with his other former Peacock Villa Hotel is immi- among senior Zanu PF and cipated, weighing only 55
ty was constructed in recent Chiwenga is currently wife Jocelyn, in April 2010 nent. government officials. kilogrammes and could not
months by Chinese nationals staying at the Golden Pea- to stay with Marry on 11 eat. By November, he was
who fitted it with the latest Chiwenga, who used to He had earlier sought weighing about 90kgs, offi-
technology to bolster the se- cial sources said at the time.
curity-conscious vice-presi-
dent’s safety. Chiwenga and Marry’s
divorce matter is still pend-
Dubbed “the White ing in court, although the
House”, the awe-inspiring vice-president has unilat-
double-storey mansion has erally selected the property
a spectacular structure and he prefers giving to his wife
the finest finishings; tran- whom he got arrested and
scendental decorative texture detained for a long time.
and optics — all built by the Chiwenga has also seized
Chinese. their children from Marry.

In the popularity stakes The vice-president has
of Harare’s palatial homes, experienced successive ugly
Chiwenga’s new house could divorces, including with Joc-
overshadow businessman elyn and, in both instances,
Philip Chiyangwa’s “White he has used military might
House” along Crowhill Road to force out his bitter lovers
in Borrowdale, which now from the Borrowdale Brooke
looks relatively dilapidated. mansion. Jocelyn was hound-
There are now so many more ed out of the house which was
beautiful homes in the area. then inscribed C&J (Con-
stantino and Jocelyn), before
The “White House” ep- that was replaced by C&M
ithet is borrowed from the (Constantino and Marry).
United States president’s The inscriptions have since
neo-classical, palladian offi- been taken down.
cial residence and workplace
in Washington DC, located Jocelyn now lives close
at 600 Pennsylvania Ave- to the hilltop house in the
nue NW, built in 1792, but Brooke, while Marry is stay-
opened in 1800. ing with her parents in Glen
Lorne.
Chiwenga’s new property
is located along Manombe
Close in Carrick Creagh Es-
tate in Borrowdale and has
reportedly been lavishly fit-
ted with imported furnish-
ings. Carrick Creagh, which
overlooks the upmarket
Borrowdale Brooke neigh-
bourhood, is a prime suburb
where a 2 000-square-me-
tre stand can cost around
US$100 000, according to
independent realtors.

Chiwenga has not yet
moved into the mansion, but
has made several visits to the
property to monitor prog-
ress. Scenically manicured
landscaping has already
taken shape, while wildlife
trophies, including lions —
similar to those at the State
House entrance — have been
installed at the new property.

Under heavy military and
police guard, the house can
easily be mistaken for celebri-
ty mansions in Beverly Hills,
US. Monied Zimbabweans
are known for competing to
build the most spectacular
houses.

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE ...the VP is abusing man Rights Watch sees this.
state power: Marry He says that he is above the
VICE-PRESIDENT Constan- law, he says he’s the judge,
tino Chiwenga’s three minor Vice-President Chiwenga’s estranged wife Marry and children jury and executioner. One of
children are now in the care these days, his wings will be
of maids after he shut his es- Marry said Chiwenga’s ac- na for paternity tests, simply one from calling his children. her passport to get medical clipped.”
tranged wife Marry out of tions had affected her health. because he had been told by I didn’t even know what was attention in South Africa.
their lives, The NewsHawks other men or another man going on, but he already was Marry said she has not
has learnt. “Sometimes one’s health that those are not your chil- not talking to me. But he She said when she gets ill, been consulted on anything
deteriorates, not because they dren. Now, imagine a man didn’t call to say happy birth- she starts worrying that she to do with her children, in-
Marry revealed in an in- are sick, but because there is with the status that he has day to his children. might die without seeing her cluding health issues, since
terview with The NewsHawks something missing in their that needs somebody to tell kids. Her pleas to Mnangag- being shut out of their lives.
that she has tried reaching life. My children are the miss- him ‘those are not your kids’,” “Even when he got back wa have fallen on deaf ears
out to President Emmerson ing half of my heart. And how she said. here, a man that loves his chil- as he has kept mum despite “I don’t know whether they
Mnangagwa to assist her to am I supposed to breathe dren, even if he is not happy hearing Marry’s cries for help. will be vaccinated or not. And
access her children, but that with half a heart? How do I Marry also revealed Chi- with his wife, will come and really, for them to be vacci-
has not yielded results. breathe? How do I live, how wenga did not speak to her say ‘hello, can I spend time “The only reason I worry nated, it must be in consulta-
do I survive, how can I be or the children when he was with my children?’ Alterna- when I’m sick is my children tion with me as their mother.
The couple has three minor happy?” she asked. being treated in China, where tively, he can send someone because all I think about is Not for their father to just say
children, but Marry says the he underwent a delicate oper- to say I want to see them. what if I die without seeing they should be vaccinated,
vice-president has denied her Marry, who was arrested ation to clear the oesophagus. But the first week that he was my children? I have asked the making himself the mother
access to them for 17 months. in December 2019 on mon- here, nothing, not a single President (Emmerson Mnan- and the father, I’m alive, I’m
Chiwenga in December 2019 ey laundering and attempted Chiwenga was in China phone call to say how are the gagwa) that should I die not dead,” she said.
also caused Marry’s arrest af- murder charges, spent sever- from July to November 2019 children or whatever. without seeing my children?
ter accusing her of attempted al months in prison. She said for treatment. As sick as I am, the way I am Marry said even in happier
murder. the arrest was a tactic to get “We didn’t even know struggling, you let your dep- times, Chiwenga had no time
her out of her house so that “When he was in China he where he was staying. I didn’t uty continue to abuse me, to for his children, hence her
Marry said she was trou- she takes away her children. did not communicate. Two of know what was going on. I abuse authority, to abuse his worry about their welfare.
bled because her children my children are born in No- was just in the dark and ob- office, to abuse state machin- She said the children woukd
were living without parents “Mind you, when this man vember. One on the 4th and viously I was the last one to ery? You continue to watch sometimes trick him so that
as they were staying with a sent me to prison, he took my the other on the 15th. There know.” him and do nothing. But he could come home.
maid, Delight Munyoro, in children to China. Not for was not even a single phone sometimes you will be talking
Marondera. holiday like what he said. He call to say I am calling to say Marry, who has a chron- to yourself,” Marry said. “When my husband was
did not take them for holiday. happy birthday to my chil- ic condition, lymphoedema away sick in China, I was
Ironically last January, The children were trauma- dren,” Marry said. (swelling in the body’s tis- “My husband is infring- with my children every other
Munyoro filed a report tised. Traumatised by what? sues), which has worsened ing on my human rights and day and even before that…
against Marry accusing her He took my children to Chi- “Whether he was angry at her wounds, has been denied I don’t know whether Hu- My husband is a very busy
of assaulting her at Hellenic me or not, that does not stop man. So, he really has no
School in Borrowdale follow- time to look after children.
ing an altercation over the I’ll give you one example, one
custody of the children. very hurtful example, when
there was Operation Restore
This was after the High Legacy (military coup), my
Court had granted Mary cus- son, our second together,
tody of the children. Chiwen- Christian, went to my hus-
ga appealed to the Supreme band’s medic and said to him,
Court, which then ruled in Sibanda, ‘Please take pictures
his favour. Marry also said so that you can go and show
the children have been “put daddy, that we are not feeling
through a lot of stress”, in- well, maybe if he sees these
cluding paternity tests. pictures, he will come home’.
This was after they put Elas-
“It is very painful to know toplast on their hands, fore-
your kids are being looked head and nose. That is how
after by maids when you are much he was so out of touch
still alive,” Marry said. with his children.

“And the same maid you “So, I don’t know when he
are engaged in a court bat- became the doting father that
tle with, the same maid who he claims to be,” Marry said.
might be eying the father of
your children. How do you She said the vice-president
expect somebody like that wants to maintain a tight grip
to love your children, when on her so that he inflicts pain
she hates you so much? And, on her.
she is really willing to do
anything and everything to “He wants me to still be his
destroy you. It’s very, very wife, because if he didn’t want
painful; very, very painful. me to be his wife, he would
So now imagine, she’s the one have given me my children a
looking after my children, long time ago. He still refus-
she’s the one staying within es with some of my clothes.
them in Marondera while he He refuses with my person-
is doing whatever he is doing al property, my offices. It’s a
shacking up with different fe- very hurtful thing, me being
male entertainers. So really, without my children,” Marry
it’s very painful.” said.

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Magufuli’s Covid-19 denialism
costs Dr Gibson Mhlanga his job

NYASHA CHINGONO because it eventually became leader reluctantly advise citi- pandemic. Former acting Health secretary Gibson Mhlanga
a diplomatic issue which did zens to wear face masks. Mhlanga’s resignation fol-
TANZANIAN President not sit well with Mnangag-
John Magufuli, who has been wa,” a government official Magufuli has been accused lows the dismissal of several
in denial about the existence said. of underestimating the sever- directors, with the director
of Covid-19 in his country, ity of the virus. of epidemiology and disease
arm-twisted President Em- Contacted for comment, control, Portia Manangazi-
merson Mnangagwa into Mhlanga declined to com- The country has not pub- ra, also in hot soup over the
elbowing out former acting ment. lished Covid-19 statistics alleged misappropriation
Health secretary Gibson Mh- since May last year, with of funds and fuel meant for
langa after he insisted peo- Magufuli is under increas- social events like football training community health
ple travelling from Tanzania ing international pressure to matches attracting thousands workers involved in Covid-19
should undergo a Covid-19 take Covid-19 seriously fol- of fans without masks. awareness campaigns.
test at Zimbabwe’s ports of lowing the death of his dep-
entry. uty Finance minister Gregory Experts fear that Magu- Sources say ministry of
Teu because of the virus. fuli’s failure to acknowledge Health directors in charge
Health officials revealed the severity of the virus was of human resources, finance,
Mhlanga resigned in January He has often claimed that militating against the fight to laboratory services and family
after being subjected to im- prayer would save Tanzani- stop the spread of Covid-19. health have all been replaced
mense pressure from senior ans, disregarding all Covid-19 There are fears that Tanzania in an apparent clean-up by
government officials. protocols like social distanc- could be a source for new in- the authorities following alle-
ing and mask wearing. Only fections which would under- gations of corruption.
The resignation came after recently did the Tanzanian mine Africa’s fight against the
Magufuli personally com-
plained to Mnangagwa on Wash your hands for at least
the sidelines of a Sadc sum- 20 seconds or more.
mit in Gaborone in Novem-
ber last year. Use soap and water or a
hand sanitizer when you:
Health officials told The Ÿ Get home or into work.
NewsHawks that Mhlanga Ÿ Blow your nose, sneeze or
wrote a directive to heads of
immigration at the country’s cough.
ports of entry in October Ÿ Eat or handle food.
last year, ordering mandatory
testing for people travelling Mask up and maintain
from Tanzania in the wake social distancing.
of many false Covid-19 cer-
tificates emanating from that The NewsHawks @NewsHawksLive www.newshawks.com [email protected]
country, while many others
were visiting this country
without being tested.

After the Sadc meeting,
Mnangagwa asked Vice-Pres-
ident Constantino Chiwenga,
who is also the Health minis-
ter, but he was not aware of
Mhlanga’s directive, officials
said.

“The directive was given
sometime in November fol-
lowing several reports that
some Tanzanians and Zimba-
bwean traders were entering
the country either with fake
Covid-19 certificates or with-
out testing at all. This posed
a great threat on the country
which was already battling

Covid-19,” a source told
The NewsHawks.

“Mhlanga’s rationale was to
encourage testing at ports of
entry to reduce positive cas-
es from entering the country.
His decision was informed by
Tanzania’s failure to acknowl-
edge the existence of the vi-
rus in their country. Their
attitude toward Covid-19
was worrisome and import-
ing cases from that country
would be detrimental to our
own fight against the pan-
demic,” added the source.

Facing pressure from the
authorities, Mhlanga re-
signed in January, so that he
at least gets his terminal ben-
efits.

“He had no option but to
resign, which would come
with full benefits, but his case
caused a stir in the ministry

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Mugabe blocked son-in-law, daughter and
nephew over attempts to take over Telecel

OWEN GAGARE

WHILE the late for- The late former President Robert Mugabe shakes his son-in-law Simba Chikore’s hand during his wedding to his daughter Bona.
mer  president Robert Mug-
abe’s regime was corrupt and abe said own country, and corrup- later seized control of Tele- Nasdaq, the second-largest sortiums were jostling for the
incompetent — it allowed Leo’s cheques bounced on tion. cel after concluding a US$40 bourse in the world by mar- company, including invest-
ministers, top civil servants million deal to buy out in- ket capitalisation behind ment holding and advisory
and its busines cronies to his initial attempt to become Isabel got access to lucra- ternational telecommuni- only the New York Stock Ex- company Brainworks, a US-
loot public resources — a key player as part of the tive deals involving land, cations giant VimpelCom, change, is a global provider based group led by former
Mugabe himself was very empowerment consortium oil, diamonds and telecoms which ultimately held 60% of telecom services incorpo- Telecel chief executive Fran-
strict with family members in Telecel. He then told the when her father was presi- in the local company. rated in Bermuda and head- cis Mawindi, Shingi Mutasa’s
and relatives when it came minister that none of his dent of Angola, a southern quartered in Amsterdam London-listed Masawara and
to accessing money-spinning family members and relatives African country rich in natu- The government, through with 223 million customers a local partnership involv-
tenders and public assets. should be involved. ral resources, but poor. its wholly-owned dodgy en- in 14 countries. ing Old Mutual, CBZ and
tity Zarnet, concluded the the National Social Security
Records seen by The New- “Mugabe later went on At the height of her power, controversial and complicat- Its subsidiary, Global Authority (Nssa) which has
sHawks this week show that to tell his relatives that they Isabel wanted to extend her ed deal in which it acquired Telecom, is an international a US$1.2 billion balance
Mugabe refused to allow his should not be involved. Leo busines tentacles to Zimba- 60% of VimpelCom share- telecoms company operating sheet. Nssa generates surplus
family members and relatives actually called the minis- bwe. holding in Telecel Zimbabwe GSM networks in the Mid- contributions in excess of
to be involved in govern- ter to say ‘you have sold me and US$40 million of the dle East, Africa, Canada and US$10 million per month,
ment contracts and deals for out’, suggesting Mugabe had “Isabel flew to Harare to global investor’s sharehold- Asia. In addition to its indi- which it is authorised to in-
self-aggrandisement. talked to him to stay out of meet Grace Mugabe at her ers’ loan of about US$100 rect equity in Telecel Zim- vest.
Telecel.” farm in Mazowe over the million. After securing a babwe, it operates networks
Unlike President Em- Telecel deal. They discussed structured financial deal in Algeria, Pakistan, and The consortium compris-
merson Mnangagwa whose Back then, Isabel dos San- the issue, suggesting a part- from local banks and other Bangladesh. Telecel Zimba- ing Old Mutual, CBZ Bank
family members are deeply tos, at that time Africa’s rich- nership between them, Isabel funders, government, front- bwe was jointly owned by and Nssa vigorously pushed
involved in business with the est woman as the eldest child brought that up, but then ing Zarnet, was able to raise Telecel International, which to take over Telecel Zimba-
state, Mugabe only allowed of Angola’s former President Grace seemed uninterested a US$10 million deposit to has 60%, and Empowerment bwe until it was elbowed out
his family members to have José Eduardo dos Santos, and referred her to Mandi- pay VimpelCom, with the Corporation, a Zimbabwe- by the government.
farms, not tenders and pub- who ruled the country from wanzira. remainder expected to follow an consortium made up of a
lic assets, the records show. 1979 to 2017, also wanted in due course. number of local companies While various groups
The Mugabe family accumu- Telecel through her telecoms “However, while Isabel and investors who control were scrambling for the
lated 24 farms as reported in company Unitel. was on her way from Ma- Telecel Zimbabwe was 40% of the company. 60% shareholding in Telecel,
detail by The NewsHawks last zowe to the minister’s office owned 60% by Telecel In- there are other entities which
October. Isabel is now entangled in town, Grace called Mand- ternational which, in turn, is Zarnet was founded in were battling for the EC’s
in serious corruption alle- iwanzira to say she did not controlled 100% by Global 1997 and has been operating 40% stake. These included
Official records accessed gations which have ruined think it would be a good idea Telecom Holding, a Vimpel- as an internet service provid- Brainworks and Kingville
by The NewsHawks this her business empire. Leaked to sell the majority equity to Com subsidiary. er. According to a report on Investments, which expected
week show that Mugabe documents obtained by the the Angolan businesswom- parastatals by Auditor-Gen- to be financed by a New York
blocked his son-in-law Sim- Platform to Protect Whis- an. Grace in fact suggested to The government’s inten- eral Mildred Chiri for the investment bank.
ba Chikore and his wife tle-blowers in Africa, shared Mandiwanzira that Zanu PF tion was to eventually own financial year-ended 31 De-
Bona — the late president’s with the International Con- should buy the 60%. Mug- Telecel Zimbabwe 100% cember 2014, Zarnet was a Efforts to get a comment
favourite child — and neph- sortium of Investigative abe did not want his family even though it already owned broke entity. from Mandiwanzira were
ew Leo Mugabe from using Journalists in the United involved. He was only com- NetOne, the country’s sec- unsuccessful as he said he
their family and political States, reveal how Africa’s fortable with government ond-largest mobile operator. Prior to government tak- was travelling and could not
connections to seized control richest woman made her taking over Telecel.” ing over Telecel, various con- talk properly.
of Zimbabwe’s third-largest fortune through looting her VimpelCom, listed on the
mobile operator, Telecel. As a result, government

“Sometime in 2015/2016,
Mugabe’s son-in-law and his
wife, and also separately his
nephew wanted to use their
family and political connec-
tions to gain control of

Telecel,” one document
says.

“They approached the
then Minister of Informa-
tion Communication Tech-
nology (Supa Mandiwanzira)
to assist them to take over
Telecel. First, it was Simba
and Bona, and then later it
was Leo Mugabe. There was
a list of about five individu-
als, consortiums and compa-
nies of those who were inter-
ested in the 60% stake which
the Russians were disposing
of in Telecel. So the minister
went to see Mugabe to dis-
cuss the issue.

“When it came to Simba
and Bona, Mugabe said NO.
They mustn’t be on the list
and the minister should not
allow them to take over the
company. On Leo, President
Mugabe gave a BIG NO; re-
marking ‘he (Leo) failed to
pay for his shareholding in
the empowerment consor-
tium in the first place’. Mug-

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Matanga Issue 20, 5 March 2021
corruption
investigation
hits a snag

OWEN GAGARE lion, which involved an Indi- Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga
an company, PME.
THE high-profile corruption Independent Norton MP Temba Mliswa allegations, including flouting Commissioner-General G.T.
investigation against police He was arraigned alongside tender procedures through Matanga in cahoots with oth-
Commissioner-General God- former Zimbabwe Electrici- longer the Chief Executive der growing pressure internal- the purchase of luxury cars for er senior officers.
win Matanga, among other ty Transmission and Distri- Officer of Praz and as such, ly and externally to deal with senior officers.
cases, has been stalled by the bution Company managing can no longer access the said the corruption complaints “Some of the matters are as
failure of a key state witness, director Julian Chinembiri documents for compilation without fear or favour against Zacc commissioners last listed, but not limited to, the
former Procurement Regula- and former finance director of statements to Zacc, giving high-profile persons amid month told The News- official report I made to the
tory Authority of Zimbabwe Thokozani Dhliwayo. The oral evidence to parliament worries that selective investi- Hawksthat the Matanga case Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
(Praz) chief executive officer matter is pending in court. and giving witness-based ev- gations were denting its im- was moving, but complicated Commission of which you are
Nyasha Chizu, to access vital idence in courts.” age and credibility. by politics. in copy and had said corre-
information after he was re- Zacc believes Chizu is crit- spondence delivered to you.”
moved in January, documents ical in the Matanga investiga- The former Praz boss said Norton independent MP Mliswa recently escalated
reveal. tion, among others, while the he was “willing and ready” to Temba Mliswa, a self-styled his fight against Matanga by Mliswa said he was ready
National Prosecuting Author- assist in fighting the scourge corruption buster who has writing to the Auditor-Gener- to assist with evidence during
Chizu had been credited ity thinks he would be key in of corruption in public pro- for years been accused by al requesting an urgent foren- the forensic audit.
for professionalising the au- the prosecution of several cor- curement processes. British investor Paul West- sic audit of the law enforce-
thority, which had also part- ruption cases as the chief state wood of illegally grabbing ment agency’s financial affairs. “My assertions are not un-
nered Transparency Interna- witness. “Your urgent response shall his private enterprise and its founded, and I am willing
tional Zimbabwe, to fight be greatly appreciated so that assets, in November last year According to a letter seen and able to assist with any ev-
corruption in public procure- However, in a letter dated 9 I am not viewed as an object wrote to Zacc demanding by The NewsHawks, Mliswa idence and leads as and when
ment processes. December 2020, addressed to against the course of justice,” the anti-graft body investi- wants Auditor-General Mil- they may be requested. Some-
Nyemba and copied to Zacc Chizu wrote. gate Matanga on a series of dred Chiri to go through the time in December 2019, CG
He was sent on forced leave chairperson Justice Loyce police financial books to as- Matanga, in the company of
in July last year, a day after Matanda-Moyo, Prosecu- Zacc has been coming un- certain whether or not there his chief staff officer, transport
he told parliament’s com- tor-General Kumbirai Hodzi, have been irregular transac- and logistics, commissioner
mittee on Budget, Finance Chief Secretary to the Pres- tions. Hlabiso, is alleged to have
and Economic Development ident and Cabinet Misheck paid a visit to Croco Motors
that some entities had not Sibanda and Deputy Chief “In my mandated role of with the intent to purchase
complied with procurement Secretary to the President and legislation, representation and eighty (80) operations vehi-
guidelines issued by the au- Cabinet Martin Rushwaya, oversight and in the context cles without following due
thority in March when the Chizu said he was unable to of national interest, I hereby tender process and proce-
Covid-19 pandemic was de- assist in investigations and lodge an official request for a dure,” Mliswa wrote in a letter
clared a national disaster. prosecutions without access- widescale forensic audit to be dated 22 October.
ing vital documents at Praz. conducted at the Zimbabwe
Praz revealed it did not Republic Police for the period “In his personal capacity,
oversee all procurement of “I have received requests 2017 to present day,” wrote CG Matanga is then alleged
goods and services by govern- from Zimbabwe Anti-Cor- Mliswa in a letter dated 5 No- to have instructed Croco Mo-
ment departments to com- ruption Commission to vember 2020. tors to clear the eighty (80)
bat Covid-19.He said that complete the compilation of vehicles on customs clearance
non-compliant entities were a statement of procedure on “This request for inves- certificates under the Zimba-
yet to submit their monthly the procurement by Ministry tigation is premised on the bwe Republic Police. Matan-
procurement reports as re- of Home Affairs of an assort- overwhelming evidence as ga is further alleged to have
quired by law, while some had ment of 788 vehicles. Zacc received both orally and in instructed Croco Motors to
centralised their procurement also requires that I submit writing of numerous alleged brand the aforementioned
processes instead of decentral- statements on cases that were irregularities, cases of corrup- vehicles in the police colours
ising them. committed during my ten- tion and abuse of office said ready for collection.”
ure,” Chizu wrote. to have been perpetrated by
The Vimbai Nyemba-led
Praz board, however, sent “The National Prosecut-
Chizu on forced leave soon ing Authority has been issu-
after his appearance in par- ing notices for appearance as
liament, before extending the chief state witness on various
leave in August and finally cases, including the one be-
terminating his contract in tween the state and the Zesa
January. chief executive officer, which
was postponed because of
This has stalled the cor- the leave of absence on 26th
ruption investigation by Zacc July 2020.I have also heard
against Matanga as well as the from other quarters that par-
prosecution of former Zim- liament is intending to invite
babwe Electricity Supply Au- me to give evidence on public
thority chief executive officer procurement on issues that
Josh Chifamba. happened during my tenure.
My testimony on the state-
Matanga is facing allega- ments, evidence to Parlia-
tions of unprocedurally pur- ment Portfolio Committees
chasing vehicles meant for the and courts is heavily based on
police. various documentation and
records which are in the cus-
Chifamba was arrested tody of Praz.
in 2018 in connection with
alleged underhand dealings “As you are aware, I am no
amounting to US$35 mil-

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Top cop Makodza comes out guns blazing

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE “Our instructions are on the 15th of January ta Ipsum (blue in colour
that your officer, Cst registration number
Fortunate Dube is en- 2021 they transacted AEV 3002), Dube is
POLICE commissioner gaged in suspicious re- RTGS1 000.00. On driving was paid for
in charge of Matabele- lations with Felix Mun- the 15th of February by Munyaradzi. It has
land North province yaradzi which amount 2021, Munyaradzi sent also been established
Erasmus Makodza’s law- to corrupt practices,” RTGS500 to Dube. Cst that the house located
yers have written a letter the letter reads.“It has Dube uses cellphone on stand number 8224
of complaint to Com- been established that number 0776280820 Rusike Phase 3 in Ma-
missioner-General God- Cst Fortunate Dube is and Munyaradzai uses rondera registered in
win Matanga against al- involved in financial cellphone number Dube’s name was built
leged dodgy dealings by transactions with Fe- 0786139263. using funds from Mun-
a constable married to lix Munyaradzi, in that “It has also been es- yaradzi.”
a Zimbabwe Anti-Cor- tablished that the Toyo- The Marondera house and blue car which Makodza says were
corruptly bought for a Zacc investigating officer

ruption Commission
(Zacc) investigating of-
ficer probing him in his
criminal abuse of office
case.
This comes soon after
Makodza, who is out on
bail, recently reported
Zacc investigating offi-
cer Eric Chacha to the
Special Anti-Corruption
Unit (Sacu) in President
Emmerson Mnangag-
wa’s office led by for-
mer prosecutor Thabani
Mpofu for abuse of of-
fice.
In a letter to Sacu dat-
ed 10 February 2021,
the police boss says Cha-
cha is abusing his office
and acting out of per-
sonal interest and mal-
ice against him, which
he insists is criminal.
Makodza, who
has deal with many
high-profile corruption
cases himself, accused
Chacha of getting him
arrested in January
in a bid to rescue his
close friend Felix Mun-
yaradzi, a controversial
land baron who is Delat-
fin Properties director,
in a court battle with
him after he was swin-
dled US$40 000 cash
in a botched residential
stand deal in Sandton
Park, Mt Hampden, just
outside Harare.
In the latest letter
of complaint dated 4
March, Makodza’s law-
yer Tapiwa Makanza
says Constable Fortu-
nate Dube, stationed in
Marondera and married
to Chacha, has been
receiving financial and
material benefits from
Munyaradzi, who is in-
volved in the US$40
000 fraud court case in
which his client is the
complainant.

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Long Read Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Mohadi: Tale
of a brave man
knocked down
by ruinous sex

OWEN GAGARE However, Abigail’s dream Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga (left) pictured with President Emmerson Mnangagwa (centre) and former vice-president Kembo Mohadi
has now come down crush-
LIKE many of his contempo- ing around her after her sex Mohadi with his second ex-wife Juliet Mutavhatsindi Mohadi properly introduced
raries, Kembo Dugishi Camp- scandal with Mohadi that cost himself, saying: “I’m one of the
bell Mohadi – who hails from the vice-president his job and “Two of our cadres who had itbridge cooperative. They cation as he was arrested, de- new boys in parliament”.
Mtetengwe area 40 kilometres mostly likely his lover’s mar- been in urban centres were had sunk their demobilisation tained and tortured after the
west of Beitbridge border town riage. Abigail was now married Colonel Mandu and Colonel money into a supermarket and killing of Zanu PF Beitbridge “What!” Todd asked in utter
along the Bulawayo highway and worked for Mohadi as (now VP) Mohadi who went exhausted their funds before senator Moven Ndlovu on 9 disbelief. “Are you a Member
— belongs to a generation part of the intelligence service, to Bulawayo,” Sibona said. the building was even com- November 1984, allegedly by of Parliament for Beitbridge?,”
which went to the liberation hardly the sort of job Obama pleted. The cooperative later dissidents. she asked. “Yes,” he said as he
struggle. would have imagined for the During their urban opera- applied for ZW$10 000 from put his hand of his pocket to
bright and gritty young lady tions, Mohadi was caught by Standard Chartered Bank As a senior Zipra cadre in shake her hand: “Kembo Mo-
They were a generation ini- whose name has now been sul- the Rhodesians and detained in Beitbridge. The bank had the area, Mohadi’s name was hadi”.
tially admired by many for lied. in Khami Prison until Inde- agreed to stock the supermar- dragged into it in the subse-
their selfless sacrifice, courage pendence in 1980. ket if the building was com- quent political mudslinging Todd described Mohadi as
and determination to free their Ironically, Mohadi has a pleted. that led to an outbreak of seri- a “tall, thin and elegant man”
people and country from colo- daughter named Abigail (Mu- Like many other Zipra cad- ous violence in Beitbridge. with a “nondescript voice”
nial rule at personal risk before leya) who is older than his res, Mohadi spent the early Mohadi was then sent in during the time.
they came to power where they girlfriend Abigail Muleya. The years of independence, initially 1985 by the Beitbridge coop- In her gripping book,
lost their way, collectively be- Mohadis are Muleyas; one of as member of a cooperative in erative to Harare to see Judith Through the Darkness: A Life After the meeting, Mohadi
coming villains. the main autochthonous eth- Beitbridge before starting to Todd, the daughter of former in Zimbabwe, a chronicle of told Todd that he would be
nic clans in the Limpopo Val- dodge police and living on the Rhodesian federation prime the arrest of Zapu leaders, Zip- back in Harare in a fortnight to
The late former president ley. run from the security forces, minister Garfield Todd, who ra commanders and the Guku- confront Nkala over the killing
Robert Mugabe symbolises and the Gukurahundi killing ran Zimbabwe Project Trust, rahundi genocide, Todd says and suffering of people in his
how some nationalists, cor- His first wife whom he di- machine that later massacred a humanitarian organisation Mohadi was brave and humble constituency.
rupted by power and material vorced before getting into a over 20 000 civilians in the connected to the Roman Cath- in the face of adversity.
comfort, eventually fell from short-lived marriage to Ju- Midlands and south-western olic Church. The project had “Mohadi told me he hoped
grace to grass; ending their ca- liet Mutavhatsindi, in a nasty Zimbabwe. previously rejected their appli- When he met her to look to be back in Harare within a
reers in disgrace. fallout which left him on a cation for funds. for money for the cooperative, fortnight. I asked why, as par-
slippery slope to disgrace, was He was not part of Zimba- throughout the whole meet- liament had risen (in recess) for
Enjoying the trappings of Tambudzani Muleya whom he bwe’s first parliament. Mohadi had not seen the ing he did not even tell her he two months. He said there was
office, the new ruling elites wanted to crush with an axe in letters rejecting their appli- was then an MP. At the end of a lot of suffering in Beitbridge
became arrogant, corrupt and the heat of the moment during Mohadi was working with the meeting in August 1985, and he wanted to see Home
incompetent, running down the messy divorce. former Zipra cadres in a Be- Affairs minister senator (Enos)
the country to ruin and rubble Nkala on behalf of his constit-
amid rampant abuse of power Having been born in 1941 uents,” Todd says.
and self-aggrandisement. in Beitbridge, Thusi — as
Zapu and Zipra comrades “I was constantly amazed
But Mohadi’s dramatic story called Mohadi — joined the by the sheer, naked courage of
is not that simple and straight- struggle in Zambia in the early those who seemed most under
forward. It has interesting and 1970s when he was already in threat. I accompanied Mohadi
gripping twists and turns, a his late 20s. to the lift, and he mentioned
combination of heroics, tor- he might be in a bit of trouble
ture, endurance, controversy He received military train- when he returned to Bulawayo
and ignominy. ing in Zambia and intelligence en route Beitbridge.”
drills from the KGB in Russia.
Mohadi survived the perils Former vice-president Pheleke- Todd – who discloses she
of war, Rhodesian jails, tor- zela Mphoko, who was part was raped by retired Briga-
ture under Mugabe and even of the illustrious generation dier-General Agrippa Mu-
the deadly White City bomb- of Zipra wartime command- tambara when she went to
ing in 2018, only to lose his ers that included Dumiso complain to him and the then
moral compass and be brought Dabengwa, Akim Ndlovu and army commander, the late re-
down — after being caught Ambrose Mutunhiri, among tired General Solomon Muju-
pants down — by a harem of others, said in 2014 when he ru, about Gukurahundi – says
women, including a young was campaigning to replace the little did she know that 20
promising lady Abigail Muleya late vice-president John Nko- years later she would lose her
who received accolades for her mo they had trained Mohadi. Zimbabwean citizenship, pass-
ambition and fortitude from
former United States president “Out of the 15 freedom
Barrack Obama when she went fighters that formed Zipra
to America in 2014 under the only me and Brigadier-Gener-
coveted Young African Leaders al Mutinhiri survive (in Zanu
Initiative, now known as the PF). We trained Thusi (Cde
Mandela Washington Fellow- Kembo Mohadi) and he had
ship. an officer rank. Every military
man knows once you are a gen-
Obama made special men- eral you are always a general,”
tion of Abigail, when he ad- he said.
dressed the 300 fellows attend-
ing a summit in Washington Former Zipra commander
DC — a dream launchpad for Barbatone Irvine Sibona, in
any ambitious young person. an article last year he said was
meant to debunk the myth that
“One young woman from Zanla guerrillas had bombed
rural Zimbabwe took a five- the Salisbury fuel tanks in De-
hour bus ride, then another cember 1978, said Mohadi was
six-hour bus ride, then another one of Zipra’s urban warfare
seven-hour bus ride, a two-day intelligence operators in the
journey, just to get her inter- mid-1970s.
view,” Obama said.

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

port and the substance of her Mohadi’s girlfriend Abigail Muleya with her husband Jacob Mumpande at their wedding. Macmillan’s government.
life under Mohadi’s watch as Former United States presi-
Home Affairs minister. struct the course of justice. Home Affairs minister. Mohadi’s former first wife Tambudzani Muleya
By selecting Mbedzi, Mug- But Mohadi did not take his dent Bill Clinton was plagued
After their Harare meeting, ly Defence, War Veterans and of King David, Bathsheba, a by the Monica Lewinsky sex
as Todd feared, Mohadi was abe had drawn the battle lines arrest and torture lying down. Security in 2017 and then stunning beauty, and her hus- scandal during his reign.
arrested again when he got to for the elections: it was going He sued Nkala – a feared po- vice-president until 1 March band Uriah.
Bulawayo. Todd frantically to a brutal and cut-throat af- litical firebrand at the time 2021 when he resigned amid Famous boxer Mike Tyson
searched for Mohadi and oth- fair. For Mbedzi, like Enos – and three named Central a sleazy sex scandal involving Giving examples of Biblical and Hip Hop Hall of Fame
er arrested Zapu leaders, but Nkala and Mark Dube, were Intelligence Organisations several women. records of great men knocked superstar 2Pac, the greatest
in vain. She was to later meet the main agitators for Gukura- (CIO) officers and was award- down by sex scandals would rapper of all time to many and
him at her Bulawayo home hundi in Matabeleland South ed damages. Typically Mugabe, From Biblical times, sex not be intriguing and relevant actor, were convicted of rape.
after his release in December province. Mbedzi was infa- then prime minister and pow- scandals have brought down unless linked to contemporary The late US basketball star
1985 during a visit with Isaac mous for introducing plastic er drunk, publicly announced powerful men; from kings, events and examples. Kobe Bryant was entangled in
Nyathi, a Zapu MP for Buli- torture (lighting plastic and his government would dis- royals, generals, politicians to criminal assault charges, later
li-Mangwe. dripping it on the victim to regard the court order. “The celebrities. The long history On 5 June 1963, British dropped. Golf legend Tiger
burn them alive). state won’t pay damages (to of powerful men knocked to secretary of war John Profumo Woods also had his own sex
“Mohadi had been released Mohadi); it would be a waste the ground by women suggests resigned after confessing that shame.
on 20 December 1985. De- In his cruel exploits, Mbedzi of taxpayers’ money,” Mugabe that there is an inextricable he had lied to the House of
spite the fact that he was an was encouraged by Zanu PF said. link between power, money, Commons about sleeping with Former CIA director-gener-
MP for Beitbridge, he received extremist campaigners for influence, masculinity, and Christine Keeler, a prostitute. al David Petraeus is also part of
water treatment (waterboard- Gukurahundi like Maurice Mohadi continued to be infidelity. One such story re- The scandal did not affect him the list of powerful men who
ing – torture through water Nyagumbo, Nathan Shamu- hunted by security forces and corded in the scriptures is that alone, but threatened to bring have been brought down by
drowning techniques) at Stops yarira, Sydney Sekeramayi, his comrades say for months he down prime minister Harold very well-publicised sex scan-
Camps (a Bulawayo police tor- Frederick Shava and Emmer- actually lived in a train on the dals. Donald Trump, ex-presi-
ture chamber in the 1980s),” son Mnangagwa, now Presi- run. He would move between dent of the United States, was
Todd says. dent, and, of course, Mugabe Harare and Bulawayo on end- hit by sex sleaze.
himself, among others. less trips to evade arrest and
“He was handcuffed, naked torture. The Me Too movement,
on the floor, hands behind The core of the top Zanu PF with variations of related local
his back. Prisoners carried leadership at the time actively “Mohadi warned me that or international names, a social
pails of water, with which incited and supported Guku- Minister Nkala was very angry. movement against sexual abuse
they drenched the hood over rahundi, which was approved He had actually said to him and sexual harassment where
his head, partially drowning by the party’s central commit- that he knew who was behind people publicise allegations of
him. Eventually, he was taken tee meeting on 31 December the whole thing: Todd’s daugh- sex crimes, left a trail of casu-
to Beitbridge, from where, he 1982. ter… Nkala then said he was alties in the US where many
thought, he was released in er- going to fix me,” Todd writes. high-profile people and celeb-
ror. He was formally released Eddison Zvobgo, a senior rities fell.
by the police on 6 December Zanu PF maverick, told the After that, Todd wrote to
and signed out, but then put late Zapu stalwart Cephas Nkala, saying she was not in- This makes managing sex
in the witness area of the Be- Msipa after the critical meeting volved in the litigation as she abuse scandals a challenge for
itbridge police camp. He be- that the resolution was simple had been in the Netherlands many contemporary institu-
lieved he was meant to disap- and clear: “Let’s massacre the at the time, although she saw tions, including government,
pear at that stage, but someone Ndebeles!”. nothing wrong with having civil society, churches, schools
had seen him and alerted his driven Mohadi to the airport and youth groups.
wife, who found him and got Despite the overwhelming at one point.
lawyers to kick up a fuss. violence, Zapu won all seats Some religious bodies, how-
in Matabeleland provinces. When the 1987 Unity Ac- ever, already have considerable
“Mohadi told me this had Mohadi routed Mbedzi, Nkala cord between Zanu and Zapu experience in managing scan-
been quite a common proce- was overrun by Naison Ndlovu came to end the killings, Mo- dals – their sacred texts are full
dure. The prisoner was signed and Dube was also buried in hadi remained MP until he was of dramatic stories that have
out and subsequently taken the election. appointed deputy Education shocked and challenged them
away and killed, ‘disappeared’.” minister, over many centuries.
However, Mugabe res-
In the midst of the massa- cued Nkala through a Kariba Home Affairs minister, The story of David and
cres, this was easily possible. by-election and appointed him State Security minister, brief- Bathsheba, for example, com-
Zapu leaders and Zipra com- bines three themes central to
manders, including Dumi- the sex scandals: sexual ex-
so Dabengwa and Lookout ploitation, abuse of power and
Masuku, had been arrested. attempted cover-ups.
Nkomo had survived an as-
sassination plot at his Peland- In Zimbabwe, politicians,
aba (No.6) home in Bulawayo corporate executives and other
and fled the country. MPs were high-profile public figures have
not spared. Akim Ndlovu had been hit by sex scandals.
been expelled and outspoken
legislator Jini Ntuta shot dead One of the most well-pub-
at point blank range. licised sexual ignominies was
that of Bulawayo Roman
Zapu properties and ar- Catholic Archbishop Pius
chives had been seized. The Ncube – a trenchant Mugabe
government is still refusing to critic – who resigned in shame
return them up to this day. The on 11 September 2007 after
bloodbath was escalating. being silenced through a po-
litically motivated intelligence
So Mohadi had everything operation.
to fear. Before all that, Mohadi
had seen the political storm’s Mohadi is the latest casu-
dark clouds gathering on the alty. He was exposed through
horizon. an intelligence operation, also
politically motivated. The CIO
Ahead of the 1985 gen- was behind Mohadi’s downfall,
eral elections – Zimbabwe’s of course triggered by sex ad-
most violent poll in history ventures. Although he tried to
– Mugabe announced Zanu deny it, the evidence was over-
PF would be represented by a whelming.
militant and overzealous party
cadre, John Mbedzi, who had After surviving Rhodesian
defected from Zapu, while capture and jails, arrest and
Joshua Nkomo said Mohadi torture under Mugabe, living
would be the Zapu candidate. on a train for months being
A loud and violent candidate hounded by his political tor-
versus a quiet and gritty rival. mentors – who ironically in-
cluded Mnangagwa – and the
At the time, Mbedzi was out deadly White City bombing in
of jail on bail for violating the 2018, Mohadi, an otherwise
Law and Order (Maintenance) brave freedom fighter, was eas-
Act, kidnapping, illegal use of ily knocked down by women;
a firearm and conspiring to ob- reminding people of the Achil-
les’ heel of most powerful men:
sex.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO Mliswa praises Mohadi for babwean based in Australia.
On Tuesday, Mliswa said
INDEPENDENT Norton politicians were “vulnerable”.
legislator Temba Mliswa says “There has got to be a way
vice-president Kembo Mo- through the law, I think the
hadi’s decision to resign from quitting over sex scandal Minister of Justice is hearing
office over a sex scandal sets me and can at least come up
a good precedent for Zim- with a credible way of ensur-
babwean and other African ing that whatever is alleged is
leaders, who often cling onto true or not. As politicians we
positions and die in power soul-searching pilgrimage are very much vulnerable to
even in the face of abuse of and realised that I need the
office. space to deal with my prob- that,” he said.
Mliswa said Mohadi’s res-
Mliswa’s remarks in par- lem outside the governance ignation was admirable and
liament follow Mohadi’s res- chair.”
ignation on Monday after a He had earlier released a honourable.
string of sex scandals involv- “The decision he has made
ing several women revealed statement saying he would is a decision which he has
by muckraking online tab- not resign from office over
loid ZimLive. the sexual scandals. made to put the country
first. So, Mr. Speaker Sir,
In a rare move by a public According to the exposè, may he enjoy his retirement
official in Zimbabwe, Mo- Mohadi had improper sexual
hadi said he had taken the relations with married wom- and know that he served this
decision to step down “not as country well. He fought for
a matter of cowardice, but as en, including one of his sub- it and the precedence set is
a sign of demonstrating great ordinates.
respect to the office” of the The leaked phone calls, admirable, honourable. He
President. goes with dignity and integ-
which he denies, also provid- rity,” he said.
Mohadi had denied the ed explicit details of planned
allegations, claiming voice sex romps.
cloning, wire taping and fake Mohadi, (70), denied the
recordings. He also accused accusations last week, saying
his political foes of plotting they were part of a political
his downfall. plot against him. On Mon- 3 Ply
day, he continued to deny
Moving a motion in par- the accusations, saying he Disposable Masks
liament to thank Mohadi’s would seek legal recourse.
contribution to the coun- Despite the sex scandals
try, Mliswa said the former that have blighted Mohadi’s
vice-president had served the career, Mliswa said he was a
country well. victim of “vicious” social me-
dia attacks.
“I hope that he (Mohadi) “At the same time, Mr.
is leaving knowing that Speaker Sir, may we also be
the respect he has earned is aware of social media that it
something that is a legacy. is an animal that attacks. For
At times leaders do not re- as long as we do not give a Isolation Gowns
sign, especially African lead- fair trial to anybody impli-
ers, they like to stay and die cated, tomorrow it will be
in power, but he chose to put me, but for me, I am used
the country first and, as such, to it anyway - so it is not
he has earned the respect of much of a problem. For oth-
many,” Mliswa said. er members who are here, in-
cluding yourself Mr. Speaker
“His voice and stature will Sir, it just takes one person
be missed. It is a precedence to write something which is
which also has been set by all not true and that becomes a
of us as leaders that we must fact,” Mliswa said.
also take cognisance of many Mliswa recently threat-
factors and put the country ened to move a motion to
first.” punish journalists publish-
ing “falsehoods” following a
In his resignation state- nasty break-up with his girl-
ment, Mohadi said: “I friend Susan Mutami, a Zim- Cleansing Wipes
have been going through a

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Temba Mliswa

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

The race to succeed Kembo Mohadi is on

OWEN GAGARE sleave is that as Speaker of
Parliament played a promi-
FOLLOWING the resigna- nent role in forcing Mugabe
tion in shame on 1 March of to resign through impeach-
Vice-President Kembo Mo- ment, thereby facilitating
hadi over a sex scandal, a Mnangagwa’s rise to power.
political race to succeed him
has already started among The other problem with
former Zapu senior officials Mudenda is that he was in-
and Zipra commanders. volved in the Willowgate
Since Mohadi came from scandal.
Zapu, his replacement in
terms of the 1987 Unity Ac- Phillip Valerio Sibanda
cord between Zanu PF and Sibanda is being mentioned
FP Zapu signed by their and his major advantages is
leaders the late Robert Mug- that he has a military back-
abe and Joshua Nkomo re- ground and is related to
spectively must come from Mnangagwa and hails from
his former party. the Midlands. Mnangag-
During the Mugabe era, wa has surrounded himself
the top four Zanu PF posi- with people from his ethnic
tions were shared equally Tshinga Dube Sithembiso Nyoni Karanga clan as a means
between the two parties, of consolidating power, so
meaning Zanu had the Pres- Simon Khaya Moyo Obert Mpofu Sibanda fits the bill.
ident and one co-vice-pres-
ident and Zapu had the Sithembiso Nyoni Jacob Mudenda He also has strong Zipra
co-vice-president and Nyoni is certainly one of credentials. Sibanda also
chairperson. the front-runners for the his tenure as Mines minis- ran the military institution
However, after the 2018 vice-presidency, particular- ter. The corruption tag has and has international expo-
coup Mnangagwa changed ly on the gender card. Her stuck with him like a mon- sure through peace-keeping
things and appointed a Zanu major advantage is that she key on the back. missions, in countries such
person, Oppah Muchingu- is literally the only woman Jacob Mudenda as Angola. This makes him
ri-Kashiri, as the new chair. in the running. Masuku is Like Mpofu, Mudenda’s ma- strong on capacity to ad-
This did not go down well her senior, but old. If gen- jor stumbling block is that minister institutions.
with former Zapu leaders. der balancing is to become he defected from Zapu be-
Under Mugabe, when a a factor, Nyoni will come fore the 1987 Unity Accord His major weakness,
vacancy arose that need- up tops. Her major disad- which, strictly speaking, though, is that he does not
ed the appointment of a vantage is that she does not rules him out of the suc- have a political constituen-
co-vice-president from the have a political base in Ma- cession race. The ace up his cy. His appointment would
Zapu side, he asked former tabeleland; she is actually also be viewed as further
Zapu officials to caucus and from the Midlands. Some militarisation of Zimbabwe’s
forward names. say the other problem is politics. Besides, Mnangag-
Sources told The News- that she does not have deep wa might be uncomfortable
Hawks that senior surviving Zapu roots and pedigree as to be surrounded by two
Zapu leaders are set to cau- outside Midlands and Ma- she was once UANC. powerful military figures,
cus this weekend to choose tabeleland — he is from Obert Mpofu given Vice-President Con-
a candidate to replace Mo- Mashonaland East — he is As the Zanu PF secretary stantino Chiwenga is locked
hadi. also almost certainly out. for administration, Mpofu in power struggle with the
Being the most senior ranks highly in Zanu PF and President.
surviving Zapu leader, al- Masuku, although very naturally his name is being Tshinga Dube
though he was in the mil- senior, is also now old and mentioned among potential Tshinga Dube is the most
itary, Tshinga Dube is ex- practically out. successors. senior Zapu official alive,
pected to lead the process Simon Khaya Moyo but has been hamstrung by
assisted by colleagues such By all indications and all Mpofu played a key role illness. Besides he is too vo-
as Zanu PF spokesman Si- things considered Moyo is in Mnangagwa’s ascen- cal and independent-mind-
mon Khaya Moyo, Cain the front-runner to succeed dancy, having chaired the ed for Mnangagwa’s liking.
Mathema and Angeline Ma- Mohadi as the country’s central committee meeting He calls a spade a spade and
suku, among others. vice-president despite the which removed Mugabe is certainly not the boot-
If President Emmerson fact that Dube is the senior and installed him as party licking type. His chances
Mnangagwa follows that or- official. leader. are thus slim, although he
der, while replacing Mohadi, might actually be the king-
the likes of Obert Mpofu As the Zanu PF spokes- He has also managed maker.
and Jacob Mudenda are person and a former nation- to build political power in Angeline Masuku
likely to be ruled out as they al chairman, he is a senior She is seen as too old for the
defected from Zapu well be- member of the party and job, although she is very se-
fore the Unity Accord, while one of the most senior offi- nior.
Dube, Moyo and Sithembi- cials from Zapu. Ambrose Mutinhiri
so Nyoni could emerge as Coming from Mashonaland
front-runners. The fact that he was Josh- East, insiders say he can
Others like Mathema ua Nkomo’s right-hand man Matabeleland North and is not represent Matabeleland
have historical issues to puts him in good stead. Be- arguably the most powerful region even though he is a
overcome. Zimbabwe De- sides, he will bring a civilian Zanu PF politician in the well-respected Zipra cadre
fence Forces commander and sophisticated side to the province. and is liked by his comrades.
Phillip Valerio Sibanda is presidium which is associat- Former Zapu leaders say
seen as an outside in polit- ed with brawn — than brain His major problem is that that at the moment Mutin-
ical structures, although he — and brutality. he defected from Zapu be- hiri could have been suit-
could be a wild card. Zipra fore the 1987 Unity Accord able for the job but his
commanders want Sibanda. Moyo is an experienced which many Zapu officials main problem is that he
Former Zipra command- diplomat and generally re- say effectively rules him was against the coup led by
er Ambrose Mutinhiri is spected and represents the out of the race. Mpofu has Mnangagwa.
a factor, but coming from Zapu old order. In terms of also been associated with
competency, he is seen as a high-level corruption scan-
decent administrator. dals, particularly during

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO Growing outrage over formation despite widespread ev-
Chilonga land seizure idence to their detrimental effects
OUTRAGE is growing over gov- on the vulnerable people’s diverse
ernment’s plan to displace over livelihoods on the African conti-
12 500 villagers in the Chilonga nent,” he said.
area of Chiredzi to accommodate “This approach is problematic
President Emmerson Mnangag- because it is premised on a narrow
wa’s cronies at Dendairy. development transition pathway
that envisions big companies (like
Darren Coetzee, Dendairy Dendairy Pvt Ltd) led farming in
boss and a close Mnangagwa the countryside as the only viable
business ally from Kwekwe where ...Mnangagwa’s associates under fire from the public model or the real deal.”
the dairy company is headquar- Zamchiya added: “Second,
tered, was awarded controversial Zimbabwe’s land laws do not
rights to land to produce lucerne the three issues articulated below,” explicitly mention the right to
grass for his dairy. Zamchiya said. consent in line with the universal
principle of Free Prior Informed
Mnangagwa’s government last “The latest such unchallenged Consent and the national 2013
week moved to order evictions of trend is epitomised by the recent- constitution.
the farmers by gazetting the land ly gazetted Statutory Instrument “A moratorium would allow
through Statutory Instrument 50 of 2021. This Communal the government to entrench the
(SI) 50 of 2021. The SI designates Land (Setting aside of Land) universal right to self-determina-
12 940 hectares of communal (Chiredzi,) Notice, 2021) by tion in order to protect vulnerable
land for the grass project. Minister of Local Government, communities such as the people of
Urban and Rural Development Chilonga. The current land laws
The SI orders the eviction of orders about 12 000 people occu- give power to the President, local
locals who protested the move pying or using 12 940 hectares of authorities and traditional leaders
when Vice-President Constanti- customary land in Chilonga com- and responsible ministers toto act
no Chiwenga visited the area last munal area in Chiredzi to depart on behalf of men and women
year. immediately and permanently. who live on customary land. This
limits the power of the actual land
Dendairy was formed in 2004. “This is meant to pave way for rights holders to say Yes or No to
It is owned by the Coetzee family, lucerne grass farming by Den- development projects.
with Scandinavian private equi- dairy Private Limited. For em- “Third, even in the context of
ty firm Spear Capital holding a phasis, this is not an isolated case, the Zimbabwean state using its
minority stake in the company. as land rights holders - vulnerable expropriation powers, as happens
Spear bought 27% of Dendairy women and men - living on mar- elsewhere, the current compen-
in 2015. ginal customary land face similar sation model for customary land
President Emmerson Mnangagwa attending a memorial of the Coetzee family in 2016. types of evictions in marginal reinforces a pervasive neo-colonial
Dendairy is involved in merger places like Hwange and Chipinge
negotiations with local dairy giant humanitarian organisations, op- Dr Phillan Zamchiya, a senior ment must put a moratorium on districts.” policy line that casts land under
Dairibord Holdings Limited. position parties, communities and researcher at the Institute for Pov- communal land seizures. customary tenure as being of little
ordinary Zimbabweans. erty, Land and Agrarian Studies Zamchiya, who holds a PhD or no economic value.”
Although the company where he is currently the region- “There is need for a moratori- in International Development Main opposition MDC Alli-
pledged US$10 million as com- An online campaign, under al coordinator for its new project um on the continued rise of large- from the University of Oxford, ance secretary for local govern-
pensation for the displacement of the hashtag #BoycottDendairy on the privatisation of customary scale acquisitions of customary said government’s approach is ment and rural development
the villagers, the offer was strongly to boycott Dendairy products land and women’s land rights in land for private investments in the deeply flawed and undesirable. Sessel Zvidzai said cronyism was
rejected by community leaders. over the land seizure, has been Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South marginalised rural areas of Zim- central in the allocation of the
launched to express opposition to Africa and Zambia, said govern- babwe to allow for a post-colonial “First, the government is partly land to Dendairy.
Despite resistance from the vil- the deal. democratic national resolution of basing its decision on a narrow be- “We know that Dendairy is
lagers, Mnangagwa’s government lief that private big estates are the
is pushing to evict the Chilonga only vehicle for economic trans-
villagers.

The move has triggered wide-
spread outrage from civil society,

well-heeled and well connected.
As a result it will get unfair favour
from the powers-that-be. This is
why President Mnangagwa and
Zanu PF have told the villagers
that they have no choice, but to
move from the land of their an-
cestors to make way for Mr Cot-
zee’s Dendairy, notwithstanding
the irreparable damage this will
do to the ripped livelihoods,”
Zvidzai said.
Filmmaking journalist
Hopewell Chin’ono, who has
been in the forefront of the push
for a Dendairy boycott, said the
move was corrupt.
“What is happening to the
Shangani people of Chilonga is
unacceptable even by the stan-
dards of any corrupt society. It is
unacceptable that a company that
is directly linked to the President
of the country goes to take land
from black people,” Chin’ono
said.
“For how long are poor peo-
ple going to be abused like this?
For how long are we going to al-
low the President to use his state
power to enhance his own private
wealth? This is unacceptable.”
The Chilonga case spilled into
parliament this week, with inde-
pendent Norton legislator Temba
Mliswa asking whether the gov-
ernment was reversing the year
2000’s fast-track land redistribu-
tion programme and displacing
people from their ancestral lands.
“These are not illegal settlers;
they are legal settlers. They have
been there for a long time. They
are 12 000 plus those who live
off them, they maybe 50 000 but
over one person. The question is
have we now gotten to a point
where we have reversed the land
reform programme?” he asked.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Our Impact Zacc investigates Chadzamira over land

MORRIS BISHI Minister of State for Masvingo Ezra Chadzamira team from Zacc interviewed sanga Hill to Chiredzi River
me on Monday. They first where only a few local busi-
FOLLOWING a story carried Chiredzi,” said Makamure. but I can confirm that l re- said Chisema. came on Friday but l was not nessmen who allegedly paid
by The NewsHawks in January Chiredzi district develop- ceived a call from a Zacc offi- Chiredzi district lands of- around but they informed bribes benefitted, with the
exposing the corrupt distri- cial early this week informing me to appear before them on rest being outsiders.
bution of sugarcane plots by ment coordinator Lovemore me about their presence in ficer Honest Mapfumo told Monday, which l did. The is-
senior government officials in Chisema, who chairs the dis- Chiredzi. I told them that l The NewsHawks he was in- sue is about land but unfor- Investigations revealed that
Chiredzi, the Zimbabwe An- trict lands committee, con- was in Harare and they said terviewed by Zacc investiga- tunately l am not priviledged other beneficiaries are Man-
ti-Corruption Commission firmed the presence of Zacc they will meet me in Harare tors on Monday regarding to give you more details about gena C, Bonface N, Mavhu-
(Zacc) has despatched a team officials in Chiredzi. He said for interviews. I am yet to land distribution in Chiredzi. the interview,” said Mapfu- sa MK, Nature E, Matuke V,
to investigate the issue. he was not aware of their itin- know their mission but from However, he said he was not mo. believed to be related to Gutu
erary since he was in Harare what l heard they had inter- priviledged to divulge more senator Lovemore Matuke,
The minister of state for where he will separately meet views with quite a number of details about the investiga- A government official who Moyo OM, Tinago I and oth-
Masvingo, Ezra Chadzami- the investigators. people in Chiredzi district,” tions. was also interviewed by Zacc ers.
ra, reportedly disbanded the investigators said it seems the
Chiredzi district lands com- “Currently l am in Harare “I can only tell you that a investigations are targeting The NewsHawks is also
mittee last year in January. individuals, especially Chad- informed that since the ap-
As a result, land distribution zamira and provincial lands pointment of Chadzamira
in the lowveld district con- officer Tendai Mumera. He as minister of state after the
tinued without the input of said the investigators want- 2018 elections, more than 30
locals who later raised a red ed to know if procedure was sugarcane plots in Hippo Val-
flag, accusing the minister followed in allocating land to ley and Triangle Estates which
and provincial lands officials different individuals within were left vacant after some
of collecting bribes from land the district. He said they also beneficiaries of a scheme
beneficiaries. wanted to know about the spearheaded by the late min-
disregarding of local input in ister of state for Masvingo,
The team arrived in relation to the disbandment Shuvai Mahofa, failed to take
Chiredzi on Friday and held of the lands committee. up their offers due to various
several interviews with mem- reasons were allocated to new
bers of the district lands com- The secret distribution of people without the input of
mittee, war veterans and gov- land, mainly sugarcane plots the local leadership.
ernment officials to establish in Chiredzi, created a conflict
if procedure was being fol- between local Zanu PF struc- Chivi Rural District Coun-
lowed in the distribution of tures particularly war veterans cil chairperson Godfrey
land for the past three years. and youths and the provincial Mukungunugwa, who is re-
government leadership. sponsible in handing out offer
Zacc spokesperson John letters to beneficiaries, would
Makamure told The News- Locals occupied Lot 10 of neither confirm nor deny the
Hawks that he is not aware Triangle popularly know as ongoing allegations when The
that there is currently a team Chihungume in a bid to stop NewsHawks called him for a
from the corruption watch- Chadzamira and his team comment. He said discuss-
dog in Chiredzi. He said he from subdividing into plots ing the issue could tarnish his
is aware of a team in Gweru the more than 10 000 hect- image and pleaded for mer-
but will check if there are in- ares of land. The occupation cy.“I am not in a position to
vestigations taking place in of the disputed land by the lo- answer your question. l am
Chiredzi. cals is still ongoing. Eyebrows out of words, can you leave
were also recently raised when that issue since it can tarnish
“I am not aware of any team over 30 people were allocated my image and remember we
from the commission which 70-hectare plots of dry land at are brothers,” said Mukun-
is currently in Chiredzi. I will an area extending from Chit- gunugwa.
however check with all our
officers if there is anyone in

LIZWE SEBATA Contract workers petition Chiwenga tions Act, Health Services Act
and Public Service Act. Many
CONTRACT workers em- laws in this country and that Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga is also Health and Child Care minister benefits and conditions of ser-
ployed by the Health and all organisations that choose to vice are deliberately left out or
Child Care ministry are com- engage workers must adhere to others. since 2003, covering HIV and are not benefiting. altered to suite the employ-
plaining of unfair labour prac- set down laws of the country,” As of 2020, the Global Fund Aids, tuberculosis, malaria and “We are being denied ben- er while disadvantaging the
tice, saying they are being sub- the workers said. health system strengthening contract worker,” the workers
jected to abuse, discrimination had signed grants totalling but contract workers said they efits and working conditions complained.
and non-payment of salaries. The workers are employed US$1.67 billion in Zimbabwe stipulated in the Labour Rela-
by the Health and Child Care “We are not entitled to a
The contract workers, ministry on a renewable con- thirteenth cheque, certain
among them primary coun- tract basis financed under the leave days have been omitted
sellors, data entry clerks and Global Fund. from our contracts; we are not
microscopists, have raised entitled to medical assistance.
the complaints in a letter to Zimbabwe, like other We have no pension or termi-
Vice-President Constantino low-income and lower mid- nal benefits.
Chiwenga in his capacity as dle-income countries, benefits
Health and Child Care min- from the Global Financing “We are not entitled to
ister. Facility (GFF), an innovative benefit from any government
approach to financing that sees schemes to benefit its work-
The letter, copied to the countries significantly increase ers. We are excluded from all
Speaker of Parliament Jacob investment in the health of health sector employment
Mudenda, is dated 26 Febru- their own people. benefits such as risk allowanc-
ary. es, retention allowances etc,
The GFF is a multi-donor though we face the same haz-
In the letter, the contract trust fund whose vision is to ardous and dangerous working
workers claim to have last re- “support countries end pre- conditions. We are non-ben-
ceived their salaries on 23 De- ventable deaths of women, eficiaries of any civil service
cember last year, a situation children and adolescents and benefit schemes.”
they said showed that they make progress towards univer-
were not being treated like sal health coverage by 2030”. Health and Child Care
other health professionals. ministry spokesperson Donald
Its donors include Canada, Mujiri had not responded to
“We feel shortchanged, and Denmark, Japan, the Neth- emailed questions as promised
feel that our own government erlands, Norway, the United on Tuesday and early Wednes-
should at all instances protect Kingdom, the Bill and Me- day.
Zimbabwean workers from linda Gates Foundation, the The country’s health sector
unfair labour practices and Susan T Buffet Foundation, faces numerous challenges,
that our government should Laerdal Global Health among mostly linked to under-fund-
be in the forefront of uphold- ing and bad governance.
ing and safeguarding labour

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

US cites reform failure for sanctions renewal

NYASHA CHINGONO the automatic termination of nomic reforms. Emmerson
a national emergency unless, “President
UNITED States President Joe within 90 days prior to the Mnangagwa has not made
Biden has renewed sanctions anniversary date of its decla- the necessary political and
on Zimbabwe’s political elite ration, the president publish- economic reforms that would
for undermining democratic es in the federal register and warrant terminating the ex-
processes and failing to re- transmits to the Congress a isting targeted sanctions pro-
form. notice stating that the emer- gram,” Biden said.
gency is to continue in effect Biden also noted with con-
Biden cited the “absence beyond the anniversary date. cerned continued repression
of progress on the most fun- by state security forced who
damental reforms needed to Zimbabwe expected rela- last year drew international
ensure the rule of law, dem- tions between the two coun- criticism for several violations
ocratic governance, and the tries to thaw but Biden’s order on innocent citizens under the
protection of human rights”, comes as a slap in govern- cover of the Covid-19 lock-
as justification of maintaining ment’s face. down. Security forces have
sanctions on President Em- also been accused of torture
merson Mnangagwa’s admin- Newly appointed Foreign and abductions of human
istration. Affairs minister Frederick Sha- rights activists.
va has a mammoth task to re- “Throughout the last year,
Biden, who came to power start the re-engagement drive government security services
after a disputed victory over with the US government. routinely intimidated and
Donald Trump, extended the violently repressed citizens,
national emergency declared Shava was sworn in this including members of oppo-
in Executive Order 13288 of 6 week and restoring relations sition political parties, union
March 2003 in respect to vio- with erstwhile Western powers members, and journalists,”
lations by certain members of would be top of his agenda. Biden said.
the Zimbabwean government. Biden also accused Mnan-
While his predecessor, the gagwa’s regime of failing to
This is Biden’s first executive late former Foreign Affairs ensure basic reforms for the
order in relation to US foreign minister Sibusiso Moyo failed protection of human rights,
policy towards Zimbabwe, to make a breakthrough in his saying this left Zimbabweans
which has deteriorated over re-engagement agenda with vulnerable to a repressive re-
the years. the West, Shava will be look- gime.
ing to use his experience work- “The absence of progress on
The extension of the na- ing in the US to his advantage. the most fundamental reforms
tional emergency, effective 6 needed to ensure the rule of
March, comes after four top Notwithstanding his experi- United States President Joe Biden law, democratic governance,
security chiefs were slapped ence with US politics from his
with travel sanctions and asset stint as the country’s represen- international community that embroiled in the Willowgate relations with the UK which and the protection of human
freeze for their involvement in tative at the United Nations, Mnangagwa is a reformer as scandal, which could also un- renewed sanctions on Zimba- rights leaves Zimbabweans
the 1 August 2018 post-elec- the government’s tainted hu- he claimed during his inaugu- dermine his re-engagement bwe recently. vulnerable to ongoing repres-
tion shootings in central Hara- man rights record, among oth- ration in 2017. drive. sion and presents a continuing
re when six people were killed er violations, will undermine President Biden accused threat to peace and security in
by police and soldiers and the his bid to restore relations that Shava is however haunted Apart from the US, Shava President Emmerson of failing the region,” he added.
January 2019 shooting of 17 worsened at the turn of the by a dark past after he was is also seized with restoring to entrench political and eco-
people, torture and intimida- century.
tion.
The new foreign minister is
The four are minister of also seized with convincing the
State Security Owen Ncube,
Central Intelligence Organ- Conference
isation (CIO) director-gen- Room
eral Isaac Moyo, police com-
missioner-general Godwin Available
Matanga and former Presiden- For Hire
tial Guard commander An-
selem Sanyatwe. For more information visit us at #100 Nelson Mandela, 6th Floor, The NewsHawks.
or call 077 336 7638/073 566/6122
In his notice to the US con-
gress, Biden, who was also in- The NewsHawks @NewsHawksLive www.newshawks.com [email protected]
strumental in the crafting of
the 2001 Zimbabwe Democ-
racy and Economic Recovery
Act (Zidera) said it was neces-
sary to keep the national emer-
gency in place.

The initial national emer-
gency was declared in Execu-
tive Order 13288 of 6 March
2003, with respect to the ac-
tions and policies of certain
members of the government
of Zimbabwe and other per-
sons to undermine Zimba-
bwe’s democratic processes or
institutions.

“The actions and policies
of certain members of the
Government of Zimbabwe
and other persons to under-
mine Zimbabwe’s democratic
processes or institutions con-
tinue to pose an unusual and
extraordinary threat to the
foreign policy of the United
States,” Biden said.

“Therefore, I have deter-
mined that it is necessary to
continue the national emer-
gency declared in Executive
Order 13288, as amended,
with respect to Zimbabwe
and to maintain in force the
sanctions to respond to this
threat.”

Section 202(d) of the Na-
tional Emergencies Act (50
U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Family accuses police of murdering relative

STEPHEN CHADENGA “How could he die The five officers
within three hours of be- pounced on Pasinyore,
RELATIVES of a 28-year- ing arrested by police?” and handcuffed him be-
old Gweru man allegedly she asked. fore allegedly assaulting
fatally assaulted by five him. Police sources said
police officers on Sunday According to informa- deceased’s body had been
have demanded justice, tion gathered by this pub- transferred to Bulawayo
accusing law enforcement lication, police officers awaiting a postmortem.
agents of murder. received a distress call that
the deceased was at num- Pasinyore, who was
Tatenda Pasinyore, ber 32 in Mambo suburb single, was described by
known as Nyale by his where he was allegedly be- a friend as a “quiet and
friends, died on Sunday ing violent. humble person.”
morning at Mtapa Police
Station after the alleged
assault.

The family has sought
the assistance of Gwe-
ru-based Zimbabwe Law-
yers for Human Rights at-
torney Wellington Davira
in their quest for justice.

“We have instructions
from the family and we
are assisting them,” Davi-
ra confirmed to The New-
shawks.

“Obviously police are
still carrying their investi-
gations but we are just as-
sisting the family get jus-
tice in the matter because
the issue has attracted a
lot of public interest.

“We are waiting for re-
sults of the postmortem
and will take the issue
from there.”

The family says Pasin-
yore was at number 32
Mambo suburb when po-
lice officers responding
to a distress call allegedly
dragged him to the police
station where they “beat
him to death”.

Midlands provincial po-
lice spokesman Emmanuel
Mahoko refused to com-
ment, referring questions
to national spokesperson
Paul Nyathi.

Nyathi has been quot-
ed in the media as saying
Pasinyore succumbed to
other causes.

But a family spokesper-
son refused to be named,
saying lawyers were better
placed to provide more
detail, said Pasinyore “had
visible assault wounds on
his body.”

“We went to Gweru
Provincial Hospital where
we observed that his left
hand was broken.

“He had bruises and
wounds on the left side of
the body,” a cousin of the
deceased said.

“We demand justice for
Tatenda. He was a non-vi-
olent person who lived his
life. He had no problems
with people.”

The cousin said it was
surprising that Pasinyore
died within three hours of
being arrested by police.

She said the “visible
wounds and bruises on
Tatenda’s body demand
that answers be given.”

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

AS Zimbabwe registers a decline Covid-19 response can be economy that also affects the
in Covid-19 cases, healthcare improved in many ways treatment of patients who get
workers remain exposed to a Covid-19, especially when we
disease that has claimed near- whilst I was eating them, it felt symptoms in most cases. We a mild condition of Covid-19 Dr Misheck Ruwende are looking at the public; we still
ly 1 500 lives in the country. like I was eating rubber. There also know the people who are you don’t need all those things and we can have something that need to do more.
More than 300 health profes- was no taste at all and that is at risk of dying. We know that like antibodies; we are saying if is more objective, and we can
sionals have tested positive for when I discovered I had lost my if you are obese, overweight or you are breathing well, if your use it in future. Well, that can be LS: What lessons can be
Covid-19, with a senior resi- sense of taste and smell and that have a big tummy you are at risk temperature does not go above our treatment in Africa. That is drawn from Covid-19 insofar
dent medical officer at Mpilo happened for about five days. of dying; people who have oth- 38 degrees Celsius for at least my take but we know that some as addressing other challenges
Central Hospital, Dr Misheck On day 10, the symptoms re- er chronic diseases like hyper- three days, there is no need for people then boil water and then facing the health sector is con-
Ruwende (MR), being one of gressed but what was left was tension, diabetes, liver diseases, things like antibiotics. cover themselves with blankets. cerned?
them. Our correspondent Lizwe the sense of taste and smell but people who are not doing well People just have to be careful
Sebatha (LS) met Ruwende for I regained it on the 12th day, on their HIV medication are at LS: There is a lot of debate, not to burn themselves, and also MR: We need to be more
a one-on-one interview on his meaning I was on the road to risk of dying. It’s not everyone even among health experts to say that is not necessary in prepared in the sense that in
experiences as a Covid-19 survi- full recovery. who is HIV positive who is at and doctors, about traditional children because we know that terms of our infrastructure we
vor and to discuss, among other risk, no. But if you are not doing home remedies such as zum- children can fight off that infec- need more equipped hospitals.
issues, Zimbabwe’s response to LS: Did you tell people, well you are at risk. We need to bani (fever tea). What are your tion very well so we don’t want We need more staff in terms of
the pandemic and the efficacy of family, close friends when you make sure that those at risk are views on a traditional home to expose them to such things. the human resource. We need
traditional home remedies such tested for Covid-19? protected from us. And I think remedy like zumbani, consid- They are not necessary but for more of such things that will
as Zumbani. Ruwende is also even for vaccines, those are the ering it continues to generate adults, yes we can go ahead with help us when we face these
the chief executive officer and MR: I told them way later be- people who should run to get lots of debate? such. kinds of pandemics, even during
founder of Health and Longev- cause my friends insisted that I the vaccine. Of course, everyone the normal days. Also, we need
ity, a start-up initiative aimed at should tell people. In fact, some should, but I am saying we have MR: I don’t have a problem LS: You are here at Mpilo separate hospitals that deal with
providing evidence-based health of them got it from the newspa- a prioritised group and if we with such things as zumbani in Hospital and you have seen specific diseases. I know that
information for the betterment pers that I had Covid-19. The know that we will remove such whatever way they are adminis- first-hand the government’s we have a number of infectious
of people’s health. reason why I did not want to tell panic and also stigma. tered. We have always been us- Covid-19 response. What is hospitals but I think we need
people that I had Covid-19 is ing zumbani for decades if not your assessment of the gov- more of these infectious hospi-
LS: What was your initial because they panic. They think LS: What kind of medica- centuries in Africa and our fore- ernment’s Covid-19 response? tals. Number two, those exist-
reaction after you were told you are dying. I know people are tion were you taking to fight fathers have always been using it Where do you think has been ing hospitals, we need to equip
you had tested Covid-19 pos- dying but we also have a large off Covid-19? for conditions like the common lacking? them more so that patients get
tive? How did you feel, what number of people who are re- flu and we know that the com- the utmost care that they can.
came to your mind? covering, and I knew that in my MR: Like I said, I have been mon flu shares some things with MR: I think the minis- Also, we must put hands on and
case it was mild to moderate. covering the issues of Covid-19 Covid-19 and therefore obvi- try of Health has done fairly focus on development, scientific
MR: I had mixed feelings. It wasn’t much so I didn’t want since its inception. I have ously there is room for things well in terms of responding to development. For example, we
I got tested for positive on the to make them panic. However, known quite a lot of things like Zumbani to have a role to Covid-19. When compared to don’t have any vaccine that is de-
2 January 2021. The first few a good number of my friends about Covid-19 including its play in terms of treatment of other countries, of course there veloped in Africa so far. We are
minutes, obviously, I was afraid who are doctors gave me good treatment and what I only used Covid-19. I don’t have a prob- is an issue that our economy is just waiting for donations. We
because I started having flashes support, saying we have always is paracetamol because there was lem with people taking it, but not as vibrant and the health need to develop our own things;
of other patients who I saw dy- been exposed to Covid-19 for a time I was feeling feverish and what I would appreciate more system is not spared but oth- we need to develop our own
ing from Covid-19 but, minutes the past year. I didn’t really feel chills although my temperature though is that if we could invest erwise I feel the ministry did medicines; we need to develop
after, I then said to myself, I am that much stigmatisation maybe was quite normal but around in looking for the ingredients fairly well, only that around our own machinery; we need to
not really in the risk of people because my friends are health that time I took paracetamol which are active or necessary in Christmas time, we were very develop our own vaccines which
who can have severe disease. workers. and also for the headache. That Covid-19 in zumbani then we much reluctant, and it was a su- are tested on our own people
And also, since the first case of was the only medication that I take those ones and we make per spreader. People were going and when we do that we man-
Covid-19 in Africa, I have al- LS: You raise this issue of took for the fever and also for our own pills. to the rural areas and so forth age these pandemics and other
ways had an interest in follow- stigma. It seems to be a real the headache. Number two, and that is the main reason why diseases better.
ing cases of Covid-19 in Africa. issue. I was also taking lots of fluids We make our own medicines we had a sharp rise in cases of
I have been making various because when you are feeling fe- out of that zumbani because Covid-19. We could have done LS: Government has an-
videos and giving information MR: It is really an issue, even verish you are losing lots of flu- right now we are just taking it better there. And also, recently, nounced the school opening
to people, so I was quite aware a lot of health workers, partic- ids, of course remembering that haphazardly. We don’t know we have seen that in all hospitals, date. However, some unions
about Covid-19. That gave me ularly those who stay outside water is the healthiest beverage. how much of the dose in zum- I am not sure about district hos- are raising concerns that noth-
solace and peace, and I was a bit the hospital premises, they are And also, you need to rest; you bani is used for the treatment of pitals, everyone is now getting ing much has been done to
happy also that I knew exactly facing that a lot. I have heard a need to give your body time to Covid-19. We do not know the tested for Covid-19 before they ensure a safe learning environ-
what I had than to be in the good number of people, nurses, fight off that infection. I gave side effects. We are just taking it. get treatment. That is some- ment for learners and educa-
dark. So to me, it was really okay maybe they know that I am a myself good rest but with a bit We need more studies. Already, thing that is commendable. Of tors. How can the Education
to know that I had Covid-19, I Covid-19 survivor, they always of exercising, eating lots of fruit our forefathers have given us a course, we must improve in fu- ministry balance the need for
knew exactly how to handle my- come up with their stories. It’s and vegetables. That was what I hint that this thing works but ture in terms of preparation for learners to return to class vis-à-
self as a healthcare worker. very much a big issue because was taking until well because we what we need now are more these pandemics. vis concerns of public health?
when you test positive and you know that when you are having studies. We need more scientif-
LS: If you may take us back, are living among other people, ic information about Covid-19 We have done fairly well, MR: When we say that chil-
prior to testing for Covid-19, they don’t want to get around but also there is the issue of the dren fight these diseases very
had you developed any symp- your area, worse off when you easily, the problem now is that
toms, were you sick or it was are taken by an ambulance. it doesn’t mean that these kids
just a random test? What had Even up to now, there is that don’t get the disease but they can
happened? stigmatisation yet it’s because of give it to the adults, to the peo-
lack of information. Stigmati- ple who are at risk of getting the
MR: I developed symptoms. sation is real, now the problem severe disease. So that is our fear.
The first three days I felt like I with stigmatisation is that when Yes, we are saying the children
was developing flu, you know people test positive they don’t won’t develop symptoms but the
that common flu where you tell anyone. They would rather problem is that they will give it
feel sort of a sore throat. But keep quiet because they don’t to adults; they will give it to the
that common flu never got want that stigma and now the next person who is at risk of dy-
to fruition because I was not problem is that once someone ing. Even if we are going to re-
sneezing; there was no cough- does not disclose to friends, or open schools or any institutions
ing to talk about, and that was close family, it means that there or universities, I think it’s tricky
the first three days. And there- is not much protection. It’s giv- right now. Yes, we may say we
after, I started feeling weak and ing us more problems than solu- will space the desks but you can’t
the weakness got severe; I had tions. really control the kids. I under-
general body weakness, severe stand also at the same time that
general body pains, joint aches LS: Don’t you think misin- education is very key. If children
and that happened for the next formation and disinformation don’t go back to school for long,
three days and that was later as- are the causes of this stigma? we are also creating another
sociated with headaches. It was problem, but we have to strike
moderate though and feeling MR: The other reason why a balance.
feverish and then later I had a people panic about Covid-19
serious sore throat. is because they don’t really have For me as a healthcare per-
the information. The informa- son, I can say let’s wait and
I actually discovered that tion we always hear about is make sure that we save lives first
I had some throat ulcers and of people dying, so and so has and resume later. I think we can
those ulcers and severe sore died but we know that more compare this situation to a war
throat are what convinced me than 97% of people who get where school activities get dis-
to get tested. Those symptoms Covid-19 they survive. In fact, turbed, and that’s also where we
were there for about 10 days, more than 80% have mild are now. We need to give prior-
and on the 7th day I remember conditions and don’t have any ity to the health system. As for
that was the time when I was education, yes they have to go
cooking maguru (tripe) when back to school but at what ex-
my friends visited and said ma- pense? We might open schools
guru smells all over the place now and two months down the
yet I never sensed the smell. I line there is another wave. We
could not smell it but I was in have to wait and make sure that
the room the whole time. And people get vaccinated. We stop
this virus and start again.

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

My Covid-19 vaccination experience
Even though everyone burst jab and it did not take more
MICHAEL GWARISA Michael Gwarisa being vaccinated into laughter, this theory un- than two seconds. Trust me
settled everyone, including when I say the nasal swab
ABOUT a fortnight ago, Zim- a good idea at first. I did not tion drive. the table for discussion. Trust yours truly. from the antigen Covid-19
babwe received its first con- even tell my wife that I was Together with a few other me, I did not know journalists test is even more painful than
signment of 200 000 doses of contemplating getting vac- were also masters of conspir- Moments later, more jour- the needle.
the Sinopharm vaccine from cinated. I just told her I was journalists, we arrived at the acy theories until I heard one nalists arrived and discussions
China. going to Wilkins to cover the venue a bit earlier and it did say, “I heard the vaccine makes around the vaccines continued Side effects
launch of the national vaccina- not take time before the vac- your manhood shrink.” with some opting for other I have not developed any
A week later, the country cine topic was thrown onto vaccines such as single-dose serious side effects to date. On
commenced its nationwide jabs like the Johnson & John- the night I received my jab,
rollout of the vaccination son type, while some were for however, I felt some stiffness
drive. Four days before the Pfizer, among a host of others. and pain in my left arm, the
rollout on 18 February 2021, The vice-president’s entourage side which had received the in-
Vice-President Constantino later arrived and all eyes were jection. However, the pain did
Chiwenga launched the vac- now on him. not last more than a day.
cination campaign at a mini Vaccination It has been two weeks since
event at Wilkins Hospital in Soon after his briefing, Chi- I received my first shot and
Harare. wenga received his jab before everyday when I wake up, I
making an address. A few oth- just check if there is any un-
The vice-president also be- er dignitaries received their usual feeling or any pimple or
came the first Zimbabwean shots. After Vice-President growth that I should be wor-
to receive the Sinopharm jab Chiwenga’s departure, I to- ried about.
on home soil, in the presence gether with other journalists The future
of media and public officials. joined the queue. I waited in I will be receiving my second
It was also on this day that I the queue for at least 20 min- jab on 18 March 2021 and I
took the bold step of getting utes before my turn came. It cannot wait to get my second
vaccinated. appears the process has since shot. It is my hope that we will
changed but, on the day that I one day defeat this virus and
Having lost so many close received my jab, one had to go return our lives to normalcy.
friends and colleagues to the through an antigen Covid-19 The vaccine is not a magic
dreaded coronavirus, I saw the testing procedure before mov- bullet or treatment against
vaccine as useful in increasing ing to the blood draw stage. Covid-19, it is just an extra
my chances of fending off the The blood I am sure is meant layer of protection among the
virus should it attack me in the for future tests in the event many other prevention mea-
future. that one develops side effects sures we have been following
or reactions. all along.
Owing to numerous con-
spiracy theories around From there, I received my
Covid-19 vaccines, especially
the Chinese Sinopharm type, I
was very sceptical and not sure
whether getting the jab was

...No need for scepticism

Aaron Ufumeli being vaccinated for Covid-19 AARON UFUMELI ten on the move, chasing the There was no pain at all
news and, in the process, ex- after the vaccination and, to
AS a photojournalist, I went posing myself to infection. date, I have not had any re-
to Wilkins Hospital on Satur- action to the Sinopharm vac-
day 27 February with the sole The decision to be vacci- cine. I notice there has been
intention of taking pictures nated was my own choice. I lots of talk from many quar-
of people being vaccinated was not forced, influenced or ters regarding the Sinopharm
against Covid-19. coerced by anyone. I thought jab, and there has certainly
it was a good thing for me to been a lot of disinformation,
However, I ended up being do without being bothered by resulting in many people be-
on the other side of the cam- what other people would say. ing sceptical.
era being vaccinated myself,
although I must admit I did I sat in that chair willingly Some people vowed not to
this against my wife’s deci- and felt satisfied afterwards. be vaccinated, citing religious
sion. It was an impromptu Besides the minor pain as the beliefs but for me the deci-
decision after considering injection needle pierced my sion to be vaccinated was one
that as a journalist I am of- flesh, I did not feel any dis- I gladly made.
comfort.

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Brett Personal financial management:
Chulu Letter to my sister and daughter

THE odds of a woman in Zimbabwe they will tell you about the F1 and F2 mind of Christ who died 2 000 years before. It works. knowledge.
starting out are stacked heavily against education streams in Rhodesia. The F1 ago. My sister and daughter, consult me How do we reduce school fees?
them. stream was for the “bright” students. (a) Start with a pilot project with,
These did purely academic subjects, My sister and daughter, here is how for detailed knowledge on how to grow
How can a woman deal with the no practical subjects. Plato was you can successfully fight the war for these pawpaw trees. say, a few crops. This is a planned
following pressures? ruling from the grave. F2 was for the your minds and souls. school fees project. You are going in
• Earning below the poverty datum “not-so-academically gifted” — these One of these pawpaw trees can give there to learn, not to make a profit.
concentrated on practical subjects. The Bible teaches in Genesis you 80 fruits after every 8-10 months. For example, start with just 200 toma-
line or is dependent on other This is why technical colleges were 1:11,12 about seed and fruit. The Law You can sell these at US$1 to US$2 toes. Many break this point and start
family members or has no regular separated from universities and are still of the Seed is this: a single tiny seed per fruit, depending on the weight. with a large number of plants. Excep-
income? separated even today. My sister and can bring out a tree, an orchard and Do your math, my sister and daughter; tion: You can start with a large number
• No capacity to acquire land in daughter, you know very well, after In- even a plantation. God designed that how much will you likely get if you do of crops if there is a full-time hands-on
the foreseeable future due to low dependence, the “academically gifted” plenty can start from the tiny. My five such pawpaw trees in your tiny person who has extensive knowledge in
savings or no savings? were asked to drop practical subjects sister and daughter, from any income yard? These fruit trees will continue that particular crop and has done it at
• Not having had a priviledge to and were streamed into Sciences, Arts you get, be it pocket money, a gift or producing for you for up to four years. the scale you intend to do.
be trained at home about the im- and Commercials. Plato still rules from salary, no matter how small the salary Even when you are resting or sleeping,
portance of the dignity of manual the grave. is, there is seed in it -- do not chew they will be producing. Even when you It takes at least three years to begin
labour and vocational skills? this seed. Chewing the seed is a sure are studying, they will be producing. to master a crop. There are no short
• Facing time pressure, six days My sister and daughter, you know way to remain under the shackles of cuts. Do not expect a profit or consis-
of hard work where they are about the Dark Ages of Europe. When poverty and financial stress. My sister and daughter, you say you tent profit before your full fees for this
employed, study in the evenings the Reformation came, it was accom- have no capital to start something. You three-year course are completed.
and rest on just one day or get panied by the rise of the liberal univer- My sister and daughter, stop do. Let me show you how. You are a
no rest and no time to engage in sity and the ascendancy of the liberal measuring money in rands and dollar member of clubs where you contrib- (b) Look for a mentor. If you are
productive personal projects or arts movement. As Martin Luther terms. Measure money in terms of or- ute so that you buy groceries in bulk. into tomatoes, look for a tomato
manual labour? in Germany and others in the other chards, goats, cows, and so on, chewed Some of you play pool money through specialist who has paid his or tomato
• Sees non-manual labour as the territories of Europe were clamouring away by eating seed. “rounds” to buy pots and cutlery. You fees in full. Do not go to a successful
first step or only step for their for religious freedom, others were can form a club with other women to cabbage farmer but who has not paid
financial breakthrough? clamouring for intellectual freedom. My sister and daughter, you are do rounds to raise funds to do in full their tomato fees. The same
• Pressing domestic duties and under immense pressure to work for applies to a farm manager. If you are
looking after chidren? They wanted to break free from the six days from your employer and at multiplication projects such as the into tomatoes, get a manager who has
Here are some principles and their restrictions to think freely placed by night you have to study. My sister and pawpaw project I wrote about above, fully paid their tomato fees in the field
application that can assist a woman the religio-political system of the Dark daughter, this is the situation you find road runner chickens, goats, or flower proper. If he or she is good at cabbage,
struggling to start out in life due to dif- Ages that held the minds of Europeans yourself in. We need to work around nurseries, for example. You can form do not hire them for tomato — they
ficult circumstances. The applications in a vice-like grip. They clamoured also this to establish the correct position. birthday asset clubs where you team will pay their fees using your tomato.
of the principles put out below are not to be like the upper classes of the old You say you have no land, my sister up with others such as your friends
prescriptive but illustrative. Roman Empire, who did intellectual and daughter? or family members. You make small (c) A new method, new technique,
-------------------------------------- work only and no manual work. This monthly contributions and, when a new variety, etc, needs piloting first
Dear sister and daughter intellectual liberation is what birthed Let me say you do have the land. bithday comes, you give the person, before scaling up. For example, if you
My sister and daughter, I speak to you the liberal arts movement and the Where you are staying, you can create say, US$50 and tell them to buy an want to do organic cropping, start
from the heart of a brother and dad liberal university that has survived to space for 5 to 10 pawpaw trees, hybrid asset that multiplies such as goat, fruit with 10% of the crops organic (that
who wants you to succeed in life. the present. This is how academic work variety. One hybrid pawpaw tree costs trees, or road runner chickens, for is your organic farming school fees).
Allow me to share with you some that remotely resembles practicality US$5. This you can raise by exercising example. Once you pay my organic ECD fees,
ideas from the Bible. came about. My sister and daughter, the Law of the Seed. You can make you can increase to 30%, until I get
First, my sister and daughter, the practical subjects were shunned from compost, my sister and daughter. The My sister and daughter, in the Bible to 100%.
education system started by God in the universities because they were rains have caused thick vegetation a winepress was located in the vineyard
Eden shows that production is the associated with the oppressed classes to grow. You say there is no space at so that grape juice would be made My sister and daughter, last but not
early childhood development (ECD) of Rome. home to accommodate compost. Your from grapes. This is the idea which least, we need to talk about the Law of
level. This is a powerful plan from church has plenty of ground. Talk to today is given the fancy name val- Management.
God. Adam, God’s first human child, My sister and daughter, this poison the leaders of your local church to ue-addition. You can adapt this idea;
was trained in production before he came to us here through the educa- grant you space to do compost. groundnuts to peanut butter, tomato The Law of Management is derived
could advance academically. You ask tion system copied and pasted by the to tomato puree, pawpaw to pawpaw from Genesis 2:5. It says:
me how that is so. The naming of an- colonial regime. Dig using isimbo/mugwara, holes juice, milk to amasi, for example.
imals in Genesis 2:18-20 is advanced that are 45cm deep and 30cm wide. “before any plant of the field was
intellectual training. It came after God My sister and daughter, I do not The distance between two holes must My sister and daughter, you night in the earth and before any herb of
put His son Adam through production want you to be ruled by Plato who is be two metres. be inspired now and raring to go. the field had grown. For the LORD
training. This idea was distorted by lying in his grave in Europe. I want I need to tell you about the Law of God had not caused it to rain on the
the influential Greeks of ancient times. you to be ruled by the mind of God Fill each hole with compost. School Fees. earth, and there was no man to till the
Plato, one of their iconic philosophers, — He says productive practical work is My sister and daughter, sleep at Law of School Fees ground;”(Genesis 2:5, NKJV).
taught that manual work, which he your first taste of education. 9.30pm. Wake up at 3am, pray. After We have not shared this before here.
called “techne banausike”, was for the that, dig just one hole per day. It will I share it when I present on financial The word “till” can also be trans-
lowly in society who were intellectually My sister and daughter, I bring take you not more than 20 minutes management and wealth creation. lated to “manage”. God wanted the
challenged. He said technical skills hope and liberation of minds and souls to dig that hole. Do your studies after plants to be subdued (to be made
were not knowledge at all. He taught to you. You have to fight your own this. My sister and daughter, you will The Law of School Fees says: If productive to their best potential) by
that true knowledge was intellectual. liberation war to free yourself from do a lot of studying at an exponential you go into a project with little or the manager.
My sister and daughter, you are the shackles of a philosopher who died rate of understanding. My sister and below-average knowledge, you are
familiar with the image of Daniel 2 over 2 000 years ago. Be ruled by the daughter, a hormone released just assured of heavy losses. These losses The Law of Management is this:
that predicted the succession of world before midnight acts as glue that sticks are school fees one is paying to get When there is no manager, plants and
empires emanating from what is now to your mind what you have studied herbs will disappear. Nothing more,
the Middle East and from Europe. nothing less. God, at the planning
The Grecian empire was followed stage, first put a manager before He
by the Imperial Rome. The Romans brought plants of the fields and herbs
inherited the teachings of Plato on into existence. He only brought the
education. They went a step further plants of the field and the herb because
and structured their society according He had already made up His mind
to class. At the top of their society, that He would appoint a manager.
manual work and vocational skills
were looked down upon. Manual work The rate of disappearance of your
was for the slaves and the free men field is in proportion to the rate of
(emancipated slaves). My sister and absence of the manager. Absentee
daughter, you know from the Daniel management is no management.
2 image, Imperial Rome fragmented
into 10 divisions, with 3 of the nations My sister and daughter, the Bible
later uprooted circa 6th century (AD). says in Proverbs 24:27 “Prepare your
Seven remained. You know, my sister work outside; get everything ready for
and daughter, that one of the surviving yourself in the field, and after that
nations from the 10 are the Anglo-Sax- build your house.”
ons. The Anglo-Saxons in the form of
the British empire colonised our very My daughter and son, I am willing
country, Zimbabwe. The philosophy to mentor you on how you can man-
of education that was introduced by age your pawpaw project and what
the Greeks, applied by the Romans other paths of growth you can create
and inherited by the Anglo-Saxons from your pawpaw experience.
was introduced as colonial education.
My sister and daughter, if you ask Your loving brother and dad,
your grandfather and grandmother Brett Chulu
About the writer: Brett is a
management consultant and a
classic grounded theory researcher
who has published research in an
academic peer reviewed interna-
tional journal. He can be contacted
through email: brettchuluconsul-
[email protected]

NewsHawks Editorial & Opinion Page 19

Issue 20, 5 March 2021 CARTOON

Chiredzi villagers
deserve justice

We live in interesting times. Chilonga public outrage: Land,
Who would have ever imagined that a time development and social impacts

would come when Zanu PF, which never loses an GOVERNMENT’S ongoing plans to dlers and cronies for profit. indigenous peoples and local communi-
opportunity to posture as a “revolutionary” par- displace 12 500 people from Chilonga The fact Darren Coetzee, Dendairy ties around the world. So secure rights
ty, would find itself grabbing land from helpless communal lands in Chiredzi to accom- to land provide a foundation for pov-
villagers and handing it over to a white-owned modate a lucerne grass project by local boss and his team, are said to close to erty reduction, increased food security,
company? dairy company Dendairy has sparked a Mnangagwa is troubling. That makes gender equality, cultural survival and
storm of outrage and protest by various the whole issue a scandal in the first environmental sustainability.
The government has gazetted Statutory Instru- interest groups. place. It smacks of abuse of office and
ment 50 of 2021 designating 12 940 hectares of cronyism, which is why it must be However, especially under the con-
communal land in the Chilonga area of Chiredzi The issue has assumed greater signif- stopped. ditions of widespread tenure insecurity
for the production of lucerne grass for milk pro- icance and controversy as Dendairy is that exist in many developing countries,
ducer Dendairy. run by President Emmerson Mnangag- There is enough land in every prov- including Zimbabwe, development in-
wa’s associates. It has also become a big ince for investment and development terventions can inadvertently cause
It is a massive scandal by all measures, high- issue because throughout the country, without massively relocating rural com- serious disruptions and negative social
lighting the nexus between the naked cronyism vulnerable rural communities are being munities and disrupting their liveli- impacts.
of Zanu PF’s champagne revolutionaries and the dislocated without proper consultations hoods as well as their social and cultural
vested interests which feed the monster of in- and plans to balance the imperatives of fabric. Removing people from their an- Some of the downsides of such land
justice. There is no better exposition of an au- investment and development, with peo- cestral lands must be carefully consid- seizures and displacements as the ones
thoritarian dictatorship that lamely preaches ple’s land and cultural rights, as well as ered and not taken lightly. about to happen in Chilonga may in-
the gospel of “anti-imperialism” during the day the social impacts of such moves. clude loss of livelihoods, increased food
while supping with purveyors of capitalist greed Land defines people’s history, and insecurity and threats to cultural heri-
at night. The Chilonga case centres around their culture and heritage. And of tage and survival of indigenous peoples.
the recently gazetted Statutory In- There is also usually disproportionate
The grotesque irony of this unacceptable perse- strument 50 of 2021. This Com- Hawk Eye harm inflicted on vulnerable groups,
cution of citizens in Chiredzi is that it is happen- munal Land (Setting aside of Land) especially women and girls, and disrup-
ing at a time the Zanu PF government is trying (Chiredzi,) Notice, 2021) by Minister Dumisani tion of the ecosystem and its services.
to champion a so-called Patriotism Bill. We are of Local Government, Urban and Ru- Muleya
told this piece of legislation will punish traitors ral Development orders over 12 000 Secure land and resource tenure are
and mould super patriots. people occupying or using 12 940 course, their livelihoods. So it can’t just essential foundations for the well-being
hectares of customary land in Chilonga be seized at the whims and caprices of of rural peoples, and for their economic
The self-serving political zealots who formulat- communal area in Chiredzi to depart politicians and their business partners. and social development. So government
ed this harebrained legislation -- the product of immediately and permanently. There needs to be consultations and a must pay attention to local land and re-
unmitigated impunity -- are missing the point. delicate balance between various com- source tenure to achieve key goals relat-
They lack an understanding of the intricacies of This is meant to pave way for lucerne peting interests. ed to development, poverty reduction,
statecraft and nation-building. grass farming by Dendairy (Private) empowerment, ecosystem management
Limited. It is not an isolated case; sim- That is why struggles have been and climate change.
Genuine patriotism is not about cheap slo- ilar evictions in marginal places around fought over land and continue to be
ganeering; it is about about real devotion and the country, almost in every province, fought. Zimbabwe itself waged a libera- However, if tenure is insecure, devel-
service to the only country we call home. Patri- are happening. tion struggle defined by the need to re- opment interventions can inadvertently
otism comes from a shared vision, not from the claim land from colonial settlers. People cause negative social impacts. This, in
jackboot of oppressive rule. The problem is actually a national fought and died for land. turn, can undermine development.
issue and needs to be investigated and
It was Samuel Johnson who once remarked: addressed properly and sustainably. Land and natural resources are cen- Investment brings jobs, income and
“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” People should not always be sacrificed tral to the livelihoods and cultures of development, but it must not be at the
on the altar self-serving investment and expense of communities’ livelihoods,
In this country, we have seen how journalists, developments projects pushed by polit- cultural heritage and survival, and so-
pro-democracy campaigners and human rights ically well-connected people, their han- cial cohesion, as well as environmental
activists have been falsely labelled as “unpatri- sustainability.
otic”. Thier only crime is exposing high-level
corruption, highlighting bad governance and
holding leaders accountable for the multi-facet-
ed crisis which has reduced Zimbabwe to a sorry
state.

The people of Chiredzi deserve justice. They
are not second-class citizens.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa must uphold
the constitution, which stipulates in clear and
unequivocal terms the benchmarks of responsi-
ble leadership.

The supreme charter spells out the founding
values and principles of this republic. It also out-
lines the importance of transparency, account-
ability, justice and responsiveness.

What the government is doing to the people of
Chiredzi is anathema to all these constitutional
precepts.

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
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Business

MATTERSNewsHawks

MARKETS CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
USD/JPY
GBP/USD 105.53 -0.13 -0.123 *OIL 59.62 -0.9 -1.49
EUR/USD
USD/CAD 1.402 +0.005 +0.34 *GOLD 1,785.3 +10.3 +0.58
AUD/USD
1.214 +0.005 +0.41 *SILVER 27.535 +0.457 +1.69

1.26 -0.008 -0.631 *WHEAT 660.25 -5 -0.75

0.788 +0.011 +1.39 *COPPER 4.057 +0.156 +4

Dollarisation
of local bank
deposits rises

WHILE government is strug- charging slightly higher in
gling to maintain a delicate Zimbabwean dollars to force
balance between using the customers to pay in US dol-
United States dollar and the lars, which is the preferred
local currency as the main currency.
transacting units in the econo- Commercial banking
my to avoid veering off course sub-sector deposits amounted
in its five-year de-dollarisation to ZW$189.8 billion, which
plan — which is being de- accounted for 91.0% of the
railed by resurging re-dollari- total banking sector deposits
sation — bank deposits in US as at 31 December 2020. The
dollar terms are rising. average prudential liquidity
ratio for the banking sector
Figures in Reserve Bank of remained high at 73.1%, re-
Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor flecting in part, the cautious
John Mangudya’s recent Mon- approach to lending by most
etary Policy Statement show banking institutions, especial-
that large amounts of bank ly in foreign currency
deposits are now denominat- As at 31 December 2020,
ed in US dollars, not the local the banking sector average
currency. prudential ratio was above the
minimum regulatory require-
“Total banking sector de- ment of 30%, while banking
posits increased by 114.5%, sector total assets amounted
from ZW$97.40 billion re- to ZW$349.59 billion and
ported as at 30 June 2020, largely comprised loans and
to ZW$208.9 billion as at 31 advances, balances with the
December 2020. The deposits central bank and balances with
were made up of ZW$125.3 foreign institutions, which Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya
billion (60%) in foreign cur- constituted 20.4%, 16.9%
rency and ZW$83.5 billion and 14.4%, respectively. use foreign currency alongside
(40%) in local currency,” “Total banking sector loans or instead of the domestic cur-
Mangudya said. and advances increased 2.18 rency. It can occur unofficially,
times from ZW$37.8 bil- without formal legal approval,
“The increase in total depos- lion as at 30 June 2020 to or it can be official, as when a
its was mainly attributable to ZW$82.4 billion as at 31 De- country ceases to issue a do-
revaluation of foreign currency cember 2020, largely attribut- mestic currency and uses only
denominated deposits.” ed to the translation of foreign foreign currency. Dollarisation
currency denominated loans. has three main varieties: unof-
This trend is widely reflect- During the period under re- ficial, semi-official and official
ed across the economy as most view, banking sector financial manifestations.
people now prefer to transact intermediation remained sub-
– especially being paid – in US dued, as reflected by a loans Unofficial dollarisation oc-
dollars under the current high to deposits ratio of 39.5%, curs when people hold much
inflationary conditions. Sala- largely as a result of cautious of their financial wealth in for-
ries and prices are now mostly lending approach adopted by eign assets even though foreign
indexed in US dollars, signify- some banking institutions,” currency is not legal tender.
ing growing re-dollarisation. Mangudya said.
“Loans to productive sec- It can include holding any
The inflation rate for Feb- tors of the economy consti- of foreign bonds and other
ruary was 321.59%, compared tuted 84.8% of total banking we think will take five years,” larisation, Liberia is at 70%, nonmonetary assets, generally
to 362.63 in January. sector loans as at 31 December Mangudya previously said. Zambia 45%, Zimbabwe is at held abroad; foreign-currency
2020.” 32%, Uganda at 32%, Tanza- deposits abroad; foreign-cur-
Zimbabwe was forced to Government has been Mangudya said what is nia 30 %, Mozambique 28%, rency deposits in the domestic
dollarise in 2009 at the height working on a five-year de-dol- happening in the economy is Botswana 15 % and Kenya banking system; foreign notes
of its historic hyperinflation larisation framework. “As RBZ not peculiar as other countries 13%. The argument is how (paper money) in wallets and
that topped billions percentag- and government, we are com- have different levels of dollar- can we motivate people to uti- under mattresses.
es, but brought back the local ing up with a de-dollarisation isation and de-dollarisation lise local currency not saying
currency in 2019 – heralded by framework which will be over does not mean the country is how do we throw away the Official dollarisation entails
the introduction of bond notes five years. throwing away the use of for- USD,” he said. making the US official legal
in 2016 - after a period of low The de-dollarisation jour- eign currency. tender and other officialised
inflation due to exchange rate ney has just started which Dollarisation occurs when arrangements like using it as
and macro-economic stabilisa- “Most countries in the people in a country extensively the unit of accounting in bud-
tion, as well as the ending of world they have a level of dol- gets, accounts and monetary
unsustainable money printing. policy.

As the US dollar regains — STAFF WRITER
ground in the economy, some
shops and traders are now

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 21

Issue 20, 5 March 2021 Import
substitution
RBZ’s economic is key: CZI
projections a
big letdown: DUMISANI NYONI
Businesses
THE Confederation of Zim-
DUMISANI NYONI have to repay. growth under current condi- with the flourish and promise tion said. babwe Industries (CZI) says
“These are sovereign liabili- tions in just one year are fan- of preserving value and re- “In five of those 6 years, the country’s economy should
THE Zimbabwe Nation- tasy; that living standards are gaining price stability. At that embark on an aggressive im-
al Chamber of Commerce ties and should reflect the sov- falling, public services dete- time the ‘official’ exchange rate during the Economic Struc- port substitution drive in view
(ZNCC) says the policy mea- ereignty of parliament, where riorating, poverty and misery was one-to-one. Today in the tural Adjustment Programme, of Covid-19 as some coun-
sures and economic forecasts they should have been tabled mounting. marketplace it exceeds 120 to investment was substantially tries are now banning certain
of the central bank have been as required under the constitu- one,” the ZNCC said. funded by donors and lend- exports to supply their own
misleading, leaving businesses tion,” it said. “In all honesty, can the gov- ers. In other words, without local industries and domestic
who would have used them ernor (RBZ governor John The government’s growth international re-engagement markets.
counting losses. “Even after that court rul- Mangudya) and his senior projections in its national de- and debt relief/restructuring,
ing, there is no mention in colleagues still stand by the velopment strategy assume current macroeconomic policy “It is now imperative for the
“Over the last two to three the monetary policy statement promises in past MPS state- that an economy without do- is pie-in-the-sky,” the ZNCC Zimbabwe economy to em-
years, the policy measures and (MPS) of the central bank’s ments, the bulk of which have mestic savings can invest more said. bark on an aggressive import
economic forecasts of the cen- net foreign asset position, had to be abandoned with mo- than 20% of gross domestic substitution drive in view of
tral bank have been well wide which has changed radically notonous regularity? product each year, which it “It is obvious that the solu- Covid-19 as some countries
of the mark. Businesspeople over the past year. Surely this has managed to do in only six tions lie in the political sphere are banning certain exports to
and investors who took the merits some explanation and “It is just two years since years since 1980, the organisa- not in monetary or fiscal pol- supply their own local indus-
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe comment in the MPS?” the currency was devalued icy.” tries and domestic markets,
(RBZ)’s promises and projec- especially essential raw materi-
tions seriously lost out,” the Above all, the ZNCC said als and Covid-19 related prod-
business lobby group said in the MPS should demonstrate ucts,” the CZI said in a recent
its 2021 monetary policy anal- a sense of context. statement.
ysis (MPS).
“It is apparent to most – According to The Trade
“Recent inflation and ex- outside the ruling party and Dimensions of Covid-19 on
change rate forecasts have been its apologists – that Zimbabwe Zimbabwean Industry–Im-
catastrophically misleading will not return to sustained port Reliance of the Sub Sec-
and inaccurate. It is time for economic growth without in- tors & Opportunities for Local
the central bank to tell things ternational re-engagement and Production of Raw Materials
as they are – not how the gov- a resolution of the country’s survey jointly conducted by
ernment likes to think they foreign debt crisis. It is idle to the CZI and ZimTrade in May
are. It should seek to inform, pretend otherwise, as in both 2020, import substitution will
not mislead.” the budget and the MPS,” it ensure that products are made
said. locally through a value chain
The ZNCC said it is shame- approach, local content policy
ful that the courts have to force The ZNCC said both the implementation as well as in-
the RBZ and government government and its banker novation and embracing new
to release details of offshore need to acknowledge that the
loans, which the taxpayer will economy will not grow with- “technology.
out investment; that forecasts It is now imper-
of 18% formal employment ative for the Zim-
babwe economy
ZCTU demands scientific review of Covid-19 impact to embark on an
aggressive import
BERNARD MPOFU wave in early 2020, we had a have had cases where workers substitution drive
Tripartite Negotiating Forum were reporting that they are in view of Covid-19
ZIMBABWE currently does meeting with the minister of not well; they are suffering as some countries
not have credible statistics Labour, minister of Finance from mental illness. So that are banning certain
on the number of job losses and Economic Development is another area that the coun- exports to supply
resulting from the Covid-19 and other line ministries as try has not really looked at. their own local
pandemic after the govern- well as business and labour,” Because of loss of jobs, loss industries and do-
ment turned down an offer Mutasa said. of income and also the new mestic markets.
to conduct a comprehensive order where people were no
study on the impact of the “As labour, we proposed longer moving around, a lot of The survey results illustrate
pandemic on the labour mar- that we need to have clear, ver- people were affected mental- the need to achieve self-suffi-
ket, the country’s largest la- ifiable and reliable labour mar- ly. The other aspect where we ciency and self-reliance in the
bour union has said. ket information during this saw workers being affected was production of raw materials
Economic activity almost Covid-19 pandemic. So, we in terms of civic and political as well as finished products
came to a standstill last April even suggested and offered for rights. Workers were brutal- because globalisation is under
after President Emmerson the TNF to utilise our Labour ised in some cases by the po- threat. The survey found that
Mnangagwa announced and Economic Development lice and the military especially countries were moving away
strict regulations to contain Research Institute of Zimba- during the first lockdown.” from globalisation to region-
the respiratory ailment that bwe (Ledriz) for them to assist alisation and to greater extent
has killed more than a mil- the TNF to come up with a Just this week, the Restau- nationalism.
lion people across the globe. model of collecting informa- rant Operators Association of
Tourism sector was one of the tion. The research institute Zimbabwe raised the red flag “As Zimbabwe pursues its
hardest hit sectors as airlines even crafted the questionnaires on the state of the sector. The developmental aspirations,
were grounded to contain the that were supposed to be used. association said most business- there is a need for collabo-
spread of the disease. es are teetering on the brink of ration between industry and
Official figures show that as “Our approach was that we collapse due to Covid-19 regu- tertiary institutions to boost
at 1 March 2021, Zimbabwe’s are at an advantage because Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Peter Mutasa lations which stifled economic production and productivity,”
we have national employment activity. the CZI said.
cumulative Covid-19 cases councils around all sectors, so nomic sectors such as bank- ment and some workers lost
stood at 36 115, with 32 905 it was so simple to collect data ing and retail had remained income. You would recall that “But now as we open the “However, a friendly doing
recoveries and 1 463 deaths. per sector and it was going to somehow resilient to the ef- the government of Zimbabwe economy, the biggest issue business environment that
Zimbabwe National Con- be easy for us. Unfortunately fects of Covid-19, Zimbabwe’s was unlike other governments that is confronting the labour fosters investment is essential
gress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and, as expected, the govern- economic outlook remains like Namibia, Botswana and market as a whole is job losses. if the local economy is to suc-
president Peter Mutasa told ment did not take that seri- gloomy. The authorities in South Africa. Zimbabwe did Many companies are not go- cessfully promote local pro-
The NewsHawks the govern- ously. Our government does Harare are however optimistic not come up with policies ing to get out of this carnage duction of raw materials and
ment rejected a proposal by not depend on evidence-based that the economy will recover that ensured that there is job easily and many are going to finished goods for the domes-
the union to engage a local policymaking. So, they reject- from two successive years of protection and income protec- streamline, they are going to tic market as well as exports.”
think-tank in collecting data ed that and, up to now, we contraction. tion,” Mutasa said. reduce their headcount. So, in
on the impact of the pandem- don’t have information. Any almost all sectors, workers are CZI called for a credible
ic. statistics or information that “The impact is quite seri- “The other component is facing job losses including sec- and consistent policy frame-
“When we had the first we are getting is anecdotal.” ous. Firstly from the first lock- that workers also had no social tors that are doing well,” Mu- work which creates a stable
down, workers lost employ- or psychological support. We tasa added. macro-economic environment
Mutasa said while some eco- that encourages private invest-
ment.

Page 22 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

RBZ must issue financial paper with caution

RONALD MUCHENJE nance ministry through the “Locally, potential demand requirements. Already, avail- ity to buy back the instrument debtors still have the obliga-
Debt Management Office, might be very thin not only able foreign exchange on the remains compromised, in view tions on their books, and in
THE Reserve Bank of Zim- was putting in place a defini- on the basis of appetite but ca- auction system is falling short of the projected foreign cur- most cases as a foreign cur-
babwe (RBZ) has to tread tive programme for account- pacity. Reserve Bank of Zim- of the desired forex demand,” rency receipts for the short to rency debt obligation, which
cautiously on its decision to ing and expunging of foreign babwe by its own admission he said . medium term. tracks movements in the ex-
issue tradeable financial paper exchange obligations under through the Monetary Policy change rate.
to resolve foreign legacy debts, the blocked funds and foreign Statement alluded that 70% of Rukarwa added that as- By August last year, the cen-
given the prevailing econom- exchange legacy-debt frame- auction foreign currency sup- suming a favourable subscrip- tral bank said it had approved Financial markets ana-
ic headwinds, analysts have work. ply is coming from surrender tion rate on the instrument, US$1.2 billion of the legacy lyst George Nhepera said the
warned. the government’s future capac- debts. However, the respective country needed to embrace
He added that applications innovative instruments as in
While there is a need to em- for qualification under this the long run they do not neg-
brace innovative instruments, framework have been closed atively affect the central bank’s
in the long run measures and the bank and government liquidity and monetary posi-
should be taken to ensure they are at the stage of implement- tions.
do not negatively affect the ing a “resolution”.
central bank’s liquidity and “The outstanding foreign
monetary positions. “We are considering a fi- currency debt in my view
nancial instrument to ensure represents a debt on balance
In 2019, the RBZ commit- that audit requirements are sheets of both the central bank
ted to inherit the foreign leg- met… we have spoken to the and local firms which may be
acy debts to rescue companies Public Accountants and Audi- settled once and for all with
that could not settle the debts tors Board and they have made this tradable financial instru-
as foreign currency shortages recommendations, which ment. We need to embrace
soared, worsened by policy we are happy with… we will innovative instruments as in
changes around currency. also meet with the Institute the long run they do not neg-
of Chartered Accountants of atively affect the central bank
Last week, RBZ governor Zimbabwe (Icaz) over the same liquidity and monetary posi-
John Mangudya said the bank matter to hear their submis- tions. As the country improves
was considering issuing a trad- sions,” he told a post-Mone- on foreign currency receipts,
able financial instrument as tary Policy Statement webinar, especially from the mining of
part of solutions to settle out- adding that it was something gold, diamond and platinum,
standing foreign legacy debts, that was definitely going to be the central bank shall be able
which continue to weigh the put in place and needed to be to meet the maturity obliga-
books of most local firms. finalised it as soon as possible. tions of the tradable instru-
ments without facing a liquid-
A number of companies However, a research and ity crisis. In my view, receipts
have over the years received investment analyst, Enock are unlikely to be low both in
adverse audit opinions on their Rukarwa, said theoretically the short and long term period
results due to the delayed res- issuing financial paper to re- owing to government plans to
olution of the matter and the solve these foreign legacy debts support the sector as indicated
lack of a definitive accounting seems compelling, considering in the National Development
framework for the obligations. the prevailing economic head- Strategy plan,” he said.
winds.
Mangudya said the central
bank, together with the Fi-

Experts query CZI’s capacity Stanbic appoints new CFO
utilisation growth finding
STANBIC Bank has ap-
TWO leading economic experts have the economy but the established figures pointed seasoned banker Ta- Tafadzwa Mahachi – Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe’s recently appointed
questioned the validity of recent find- may not represent the actual situation on fadzwa Mahachi as the chief CFO
ings by the Confederation of Zimbabwe the ground. financial officer (CFO) with
Industry (CZI) which reported a 47% effect from 1 March 2021. seconded as head of finance derstanding of the wider fi-
growth in industrial capacity utilisation “At 47% rate we must be witnessing for Standard Bank Eswati- nancial services industry and
for the year 2020. an increase in more locally manufactured Mahachi, a chartered ni for almost a year, a move has become an integral player
goods and an increase in employment lev- accountant and holder of which can be said to signify in the banking sector at large.
The remarks come soon after the release els but that has not been the case. It is a Bachelor of Accounting the Standard Bank Group’s
of the 2020 CZI State of Manufacturing important to note that the findings may Science (Honours) degree confidence in his capabilities. Mahachi’s appointment
Sector Survey which revealed a significant be based on a targeted population, in a (BCompt) and a post-grad- comes two months after the
increase in capacity utilisation. way not reflecting the entire country’s sit- uate diploma in auditing, Stanbic’s recently appoint- appointment of Nyanhongo
uation,” he said. replaces Solomon Nyanhon- ed CE, Nyanhongo, con- as substantive CE following
“Capacity utilisation rose by 11% to go, who was appointed chief gratulated Mahachi on his the retirement of his prede-
47% in 2020 from 36.4% in 2019 on He added that many manufacturers in executive (CE) in January appointment and indicated cessor, Joshua Tapambgwa, in
the strength of improved foreign curren- the country are now operating in the sur- this year. In a statement, that he has an exceptional un- December last year.
cy availability, increased sales and retool- vivalist informal economy, which makes the bank’s board chairman,
ing,” the report said. it difficult to gather information since the Gregory Sebborn, said Ma-
CZI does not fully represent that sector. hachi will also join the board
Average capacity utilisation for food- of directors as executive
stuffs, clothing, textiles, wood and fur- Another economist, Godfrey Kanyenze, board member of the Stan-
niture, chemical sectors, among others, described the so-called growth in capaci- dard Bank Group subsidiary.
all ranged between 43% and 60% for the ty utilisation as “debatable”, arguing that
year 2020. the last two years were very tough and “I am pleased to announce
choking for economic expansion. the promotion of Tafadz-
This signified a leap from the lowest wa Mahachi to the role of
range of 17% to around a high of 48% “Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Growth Chief Financial Officer and
recorded in the year 2019. declined significantly in 2019 and 2020 Executive Board Member of
by -6 % and – 4% respectively. The dis- Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe, ef-
The report observes that the challenges covered growth rate is very intriguing in fective 1 March 2021,” said
experienced last year like electricity out- the context of successive droughts and Sebborn.
ages and foreign currency shortages had Covid-19 lockdowns which made the two
subsided, going down from 40% to 30%. years very tough,” he said. Mahachi, who has been
with Stanbic Bank since
The survey’s data collection was under- He argued that a lot of fundamentals 2008, was serving as the
taken by the CZI and the response rate are still not in place and have been fur- head of finance before his
was 35% in the period covering 2020. ther complicated by restrictive Covid-19 elevation. He brings with
lockdown measures. him a wealth of banking ex-
Analysing the figures, top economist perience which is envisaged
Prosper Chitambara acknowledged that — STAFF WRITER to drive the leading financial
there have been a number of positives in services institution forward.

In earlier years, he was

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 23

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Thursday, 04 March 2021

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
AFDIS Consumer Goods (cents) Traded Volume Value ($) (cents) ($m)
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH (%)
ART ASUN: ZH 5000.00 Price 200
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 189.93 129,600
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 698.06 5000.00 5000.00 709,100 10,000.00 - - 108.33 5,865.30
BNC 224.99 200.00 209.70 64,700 271,770.00 19.77 10.41 23.35 1,807.14
BAT Consumer Goods AXIA: ZH 1562.11 698.00 698.00 4,949,534.00 -0.06 -0.01 46.24 3,050.10
CAFCA Basic Materials BIND: ZH 644.45 9,800 147,550.00 3.06 1.36 70.19 3,711.28
Cassava BAT: ZH 86500.00 230.00 228.05 305,300 156,500.00 34.83 2.23 74.34 8,701.64
CBZ Consumer Goods CAFCA: ZH 11007.14 1570.00 1596.94 1,981,124.00 4.46 0.69 70.77 8,110.45
Dairibord Industrials CSZL: ZH 1451.93 600.00 648.91 - 57.27 17,847.99
Delta CBZ: ZH 8375.00 86500.00 300 - - - 23.10
Econet Technology DZL: ZH 1900.00 - 102,500 33,200.00 59.53 0.54 130.73 966.69
Edgars Banking DLTA: ZH 5015.47 38,300 1,537,235.00 47.81 3.29 -0.05 38,851.92
FBC ECO: ZH 1994.61 11000.00 11066.67 77,400 3,271,625.00 167.10 2.00 37.38 58,704.02
Fidelity Consumer Goods EDGR: ZH 399.97 1500.00 1499.74 351,000 1,392,950.00 -100.32 -5.28 118.33 6,442.87
First Capital Consumer Goods FBC: ZH 2800.00 9000.00 8542.10 2,173,500 17,434,810.00 -48.29 -0.96 111.65 63,801.50
FML Telecommunications FIDL: ZH 366.32 1800.00 1799.68 52,100 43,471,490.00 5.46 0.27 233.33 51,813.35
FMP Consumer Services FCA: ZH 181.60 4950.00 4967.18 21,100 208,400.00 0.03 0.01 86.56 1,307.96
GBH FMHL: ZH 2002.08 1995.00 2000.07 1,800 591,000.00 0.95 0.03 124.32 18,820.98
Getbucks Banking FMP: ZH 550.20 400.00 400.00 3,006,800 7,700.00 61.46 16.78 50.15
Hippo Financial Services GBH: ZH 51.04 2800.00 2800.95 4,000 4,966,423.00 -16.43 -9.05 89.83 465.95
Innscor GBFS: ZH 35.00 430.00 427.78 200 79,730.00 -8.83 -0.44 69.75 3,562.25
Lafarge Banking HIPO: ZH 12000.00 160.00 165.17 191,700 1,100.00 -0.20 -0.04 125.58 13,756.28
Mash Financial Services 6200.00 2000.00 1993.25 103,792.00 3.10 6.07 180.00 6,809.87
Masimba INN: ZH 3960.00 550.00 550.00 - 46.67
Medtech Real Estate LACZ: ZH 200.89 55.00 54.14 500 - - - 67.51 290.51
Meikles Industrials MASH: ZH 1700.00 35.00 243,100 66,000.00 1200.00 10.00 312.50 407.09
Nampak MSHL: ZH 7.69 - 13200.00 15,078,700.00 0.04 117.32 25,478.71
NatFoods Financial Services MMDZ: ZH 4500.00 12000.00 6202.67 - 2.67 42.86 35,031.22
NTS Consumer Goods MEIK: ZH 698.46 6200.00 3960.00 27,500 - - - -11.27 3,168.00
NMBZ NPKZ: ZH 31930.00 202.11 1,000 55,580.00 0.61 104.50 3,757.37
OK Zim Industrials NTFD: ZH 168.50 - 3,753,000 16,000.00 1.22 -5.88 261.14 3,866.46
Padenga Industrials 719.77 210.00 11,500 263,079.00 -100.00 -8.84 431.28 213.09
Proplastics Real Estate NTS: ZH 1665.98 4,600 517,500.00 -0.68 635.88 11,369.07
RTG Industrials NMB: ZH 4090.03 1600.00 1600.00 37,918.00 - 83.48 6,228.81
RioZim Healthcare OKZ: ZH 2300.00 7.20 7.01 - - 18.02 73.58 21,840.15
SeedCo Industrials PHL: ZH 164.80 10,000 - 125.84 93.16 512.82
Simbisa Industrials PROL: ZH 2399.61 4500.00 4500.00 20,200.00 - 132.29 2,966.62
Star Africa Consumer Goods RTG: ZH 2160.89 838.00 824.30 600 4,404.00 - 19.88 -0.91 19,477.46
Truworths Industrials RIOZ: ZH 2296.23 31930.00 371,000 5,795,685.00 33.50 1.98 60.49 21,984.63
TSL SEED: ZH 49.91 - 202.00 34,600 1,404,500.00 14.23 -6.23 -6.05 5,038.71
Turnall Banking SIM: ZH 83.27 202.00 734.00 18,000.00 -103.80 -0.75 100.11 4,741.44
Unifreight Consumer Services SACL: ZH 4300.00 748.00 1562.18 900 7,410.00 -30.78 -13.04 85.04 2,928.23
Willdale TRUW: ZH 214.94 1550.00 4059.25 3,900 -300.00 15.29 181.36 5,305.59
ZB Consumer Goods TSL: ZH 1030.80 4100.00 - 25.20 149.28 13,520.21
Zeco Industrials TURN: ZH 65.00 - - - 132.26 2,355.66
Zimpapers UNIF: ZH 3975.00 2000.00 2000.00 - 6,839,655.00 - - 5276.34 318.78
Zimplow Consumer Services WILD: ZH 0.02 190.00 190.00 284,400 92,631.00 - 4.73 103.25 15,355.41
ZHL Basic Materials ZBFH: ZH 134.00 2399.61 185,400 996.00 108.71 0.10 65.63 1,064.97
TOTAL ZECO: ZH 780.00 - 2160.89 1,200 - 0.05 -0.32 1,064.74
Consumer Goods ZIMP: ZH 205.00 - - 18,144.00 -0.27 - - 1,156.41
Consumer Goods ZIMPLOW: ZH 8,400 20,000.00 - 0.49 36.73 6,963.83
Consumer Goods ZHL: ZH 2500.00 2404.94 2,000 755,794.00 1.06 -2.99 56.00
Consumer Services 50.00 49.96 1,162,100 - -30.80 0.06 -35.29 0.09
Consumer Goods 83.00 83.00 - - 0.04 - 771.84
4300.00 - 32,964.00 - - 1,859.37
Industrials - 216.00 24,600 20,280.00 - - 3,110.68
Industrials 216.00 1000.00 2,600 82,975.00 - - 536,545.51
Industrials 1000.00 65.04 40,900 111,764,348.00 - -1.04
65.00 3975.00 13,413,200 -2.13
Banking 0.02
Industrials - 19,181
Consumer Services -
Industrials
Financial Services 134.00 134.00
780.00 780.00
200.00 202.87

ETFs OMTT.zw 179.84 180.00 179.26 34,383.80 -0.58 -0.32 78.87 143.41

Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF

VFEX Open (US cents) Close (US cents) Change (%) YTD (%) Mkt Cap (US$m) Top 5 Risers Price Change % YTD %
SCIL 18.00 NTS 202.00c +33.50c +19.88 +635.88
18.00 - 0.00 43.40 Nampak 824.30c +18.02 +261.14
FINSEC Open (cents) Fidelity 427.78c +125.84c +16.78 +124.32
OMZIL 2913.87 Close (cents) Change (%) YTD (%) Mkt Cap ($m) RTG 190.00c +61.46c +15.29
2913.87 - 9.96 2,418.85 African Sun 209.70c +25.20c +10.41 -0.91
Index +19.77c +23.35
ZSE All Share Top 5 Fallers
Top 10 Close Change (%) Open YTD % Proplastics Price Change % YTD %
Top 15 4,518.48 +0.75 4,484.78 +71.85 First Capital 2000.00c -300.00c -13.04 +132.29
Small Cap 2,716.72 +0.83 2,694.46 +64.20 Medtech -9.05 +50.15
Medium Cap 3,111.70 +0.93 3,083.02 +59.73 OK Zim 165.17c -16.43c -8.84 -11.27
+1.59 32,203.78 +175.48 Masimba 7.01c -0.68c -6.23 +73.58
32,717.04 +0.58 10,217.48 +84.69 -103.80c -5.88 +42.86
10,276.73 1562.18c -100.00c
1600.00c

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RESEARCH: Batanai Matsika: [email protected] | Precious Chagwedera: [email protected] | Tafara Mtutu: [email protected]

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Page 24 Executive Chat NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

CORPORATE governance Corporate governance starts 2008 to 2009 to what is hap-
failings have been closely with individual governance pening now. We have seen
linked to corruption in Zim- banks collapsing, seeking
babwe. This week, our report- through and much of it go- workshops trying to educate ernance in Zimbabwe? Canaan Dube bricks instead of monetary
er Ronald Muchenje (RM) ing into government coffers leaders of entities on the ben- CD: The issue of corruption, porate governance. transactions. Many people
spoke to corporate gover- without any progress being efits they reap by leading these which is one at the centre were involved in scandals, we
nance expert Canaan Dube achieved. companies in strict adherence stage of corporate governance. I’ve argued and continue to still have them. Thankful-
(CD), who says there is a need to corporate governance. Corruption is a choice which do so that it starts with you, ly for the financial sector,
for a paradigm shift from cor- Let me say this: from a his- I’ve learnt stems from individ- whether or not to be corrupt, things have improved. We no
porate governance to “personal torical perspective, investment Last year, I did no less than ual choices made by those that therefore corporate governance longer have banks collapsing
governance”. Below is the in- was driven away when the 150 workshops involving pub- exploit opportunities to gain is your personal choice that if we were to compare to in-
terview: land question became an issue. lic sector leaders and teaching advantage over weak systems. will determine how you lead stitutions back then. There
RM: Recently, United King- There was the need to create a them about principles annun- I’ve asked myself: Is it the rule the entities. has been an improvement, al-
dom minister for Africa balance between giving land ciated in the Public Entities book which will get people RM: What do you think is though things could have hap-
James Duddridge made to those who deserved it but Corporate Governance Act. to change? In other words, the way forward in embrac- pened at a better scale.
comments that pointed to at the same time doing it in a do you get people to change ing corporate governance? RM: What do you think has
the fact that investors were manner which was accommo- That gave me an insight through coercion or persua- CD: Preaching, persuading been contributing to this?
shunning investing in dating vested interests and in into the eagerness of the pub- sion? people to change their value CD: Abuse of political eco-
Zimbabwe due to poor a manner which continued to lic sector leaders to be taught systems. Do I believe in a per- nomic power and also just
corporate governance. How protect investments. what is good for this country, In both instances, in the sonal creed which speaks to the letting loose all the desires of
serious are corporate gover- for the revival of the public end government can legislate dos and don’ts? When we talk human beings. Once you have
nance failings in Zimbabwe? What did government do? sector’s contribution to GDP and corporate governance about how people must be- power, you want to abuse it,
CD: Since 2010 or there- If you go to the 2013 consti- which at its peak was sitting at practitioners can go into the have, let’s emphasise that peo- you want to excel in doing the
about, there have been some tution, it’s clear that the land 40% and a few years ago had whirlwinds of teaching indi- ple must be one foot forward wrong things to the prejudice
remarkable developments on issue was recognised as irreve- gone to 5% if not less than viduals, but the end decision in prescribing to their personal of those you lead. It comes
the corporate governance seable. that. lies with the individual. creeds. What is it they hold down to failure of personal
space. First was the bringing dear? governance as opposed to cor-
in of the national code on cor- But there was a commitment I also gained some insights So I’m urging a radial porate governance. The shift
porate governance which was to compensate those who lost on how the public sector is tak- mindset change to a paradigm I think if we have top leader- must happen and we must un-
launched on 9th April 2015. the land and you remember ing the corporate governance shift which is radical. Gone are ship in the cooperate entities -- derstand that corporate gov-
This was a milestone event that recently there have been reform efforts by government the days when we used to focus the listed companies -- leading ernance without an anchor of
which was embraced by both some efforts to compensate seriously and we have just fin- on enforcing the rule book to by example, showing that the good personal governance is a
public sector and private sec- some farmers. To me that is a ished as Zimbabwe Leadership coerce to change. That is not way they govern themselves sheer waste of time in my view.
tor participants in the leader- commendable approach and a Forum the putting together of giving us the outcomes we de- can be translated into how they RM: Lack of proper corpo-
ship space. On the part of gov- step in the right direction to four manuals which will aid serve to see. govern entities, much can be rate governance systems has
ernment, they realised that just ameliorating concerns and those that will participate in seen and a new trajectory in also played a key role in pro-
stating the rule book with all fears about property rights in the workshops in understand- Although government has the behaviours we all expect to moting corruption. What is
the dos and don’ts on how to Zimbabwe. ing the Corporate Governance done all it can to make the see can be achieved. your comment?
govern entities for corporate RM: Can you take us through Entities Act. code -- an extension of the le- RM: What is your comment CD: The link is clear. Corpo-
objectives was not enough. So the efforts you have made to gal system -- still people are on the pace at which cor- rate governance, put simply, is
on the 8th of june 2018, gov- instill and promote corpo- What I am saying is there is not changing from their cor- porate entities are embrac- a system by which entities are
ernment decided to turn the rate governance in Zimba- heightened awareness by those rupt ways. Recently, you saw ing corporate governance in governed, directed and con-
voluntary code into law. bwean companies? who govern and control public the city council scandals about practice? trolled in order to achieve their
CD: I’ve put together a code entities about the need to do the use of wetlands. Most of CD: I must again reiterate that objectives. The word control
If you go to the Public En- to guide behaviour by those what is good for the country. the leaders in that space have there has been some change is key. If any business has no
tities Corporate Governance who govern and control those RM: During the years you found their way into the courts and remarkable change since systems of managing risk
Act and its regulations, you who lead entities, both private handled corporate gover- for the wrong reasons. Our and ensuring that risks are not
will see that the first schedule and public sector. I’ve been at nance issues, what do you focus should be on personal taken willy nilly to achieve a
to the Act is the voluntary think have been the sticking governance as opposed to cor- purpose, then corporate scan-
code attached. In other words, issues around corporate gov- dals will continue to be the
government has seen it fit to order of the day. So if, as we
force compliance with cor- have seen in the City of Hara-
porate governance principles re space, people have clearly
in the public sector through been unmindful of corporate
turning the voluntary code governance and that has led to
into law. corruption and all the scandals
we have seen.
So for public commercial RM: What efforts are need-
entities, it is mandatory for ed on the regulatory side to
the leaders in that space to ensure good corporate gov-
comply with each and every ernance in practice?
corporate governance prin- CD: Like I’ve said, govern-
ciple in the voluntary code ment has enacted the volun-
launched on the 9th of April tary code into law. Although
in 2015. it’s mandatory, I think it is a
remarkable effort by govern-
I would say corporate gov- ment. This was demonstration
ernance challenges in Zimba- of political will to tackle cor-
bwe are not as deep as they ruption and ensure that cor-
were in 2009. So Doddridge’s porate governance is part of
comments may be far removed the culture of those who lead
from the developments I’ve entities, but still I come back
just indicated. to how individual governance
and corporate governance
Yes, there is still some work must combine to introduce
to be done to confront and the culture of leadership we
halt acts of corruption which need both in the public and
are bedeviling the public and private spaces for the econo-
private sector leadership of my of Zimbabwe.
entities. That is being tackled RM: Going forward, what is
but not at the space and pace your outlook for your quest
or speed at which we all desire for corporate governance in
and want to see. practice?
RM. The country has been CD: It looks good and govern-
struggling to attract invest- ment has created a platform
ment. How much has poor for hope. That at least shows
corporate governance con- there is political will to ensure
tributed to investor flight in that we turn the corner as a
Zimbabwe? country and introduce the
CD: In part, the poor cor- Zimbabwe we want and de-
porate governance outlook serve.
in Zimbabwe has portrayed a
very unfortunate picture of a
country which is corrupt, of
a country which takes time
to process investment appli-
cations, of a country which
can see investment coming

NewsHawks News Analysis Page 25

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO Mthuli Ncube otism, favouritism, and cor-
rupted procurement systems,”
THE Zimbabwean govern- Transparency badly lacking reads part of the policy paper.
ment should ensure transpar- in govt Covid-19 response
ency in the Covid-19 vacci- “These corruption risks
nation programme and rid trywide distribution of the nient cover of Covid-19 has ing disinformation, including gency. must be identified and miti-
the process of corruption to vaccines and whether these stopped. that the vaccine could not be “The rollout in Zimbabwe gated by public institutions to
restore confidence in state-led partners are volunteering their administered to people with help advance access to safe and
initiatives, analysts have said. services for free. Nguwaya was linked to underlying conditions. is problematic because, al- effective Covid-19 vaccines by
President Emmerson Mnan- though more will come, so the population, including the
While the government is al- While Finance minister gagwa’s sons Sean and Collins The vaccination of few vaccines have so far made most vulnerable and margin-
ready under a barrage of criti- Mthuli Ncube in January an- and evidence that they are Vice-President Chiwenga and it through. But, precisely be- alised groups. The United Na-
cisms for failing to ensure clear nounced that Zimbabwe had acquaintances is in the public other senior officials in the cause of this, the government tions Convention against Cor-
communication on the vac- budgeted US$100 million domain. Health ministry went a long should make a very public and ruption provides a solid global
cine itself, another corruption for Covid-19 vaccines; going way in calming people down, transparent show of it reach- framework for these efforts.”
scandal would inflict irrepara- forward it will be prudent Former health minister but the government was found ing the proper target groups
ble damage. for information to be shared Obadiah Moyo and Nguwaya wanting in its communica- -- and, indeed of sanctioning Governments’ tendency to
on how the money has been were arrested over the scandal tion. those who use political privi- inoculate politicians ahead of
The authorities should used. Information should also but Nguwaya was acquitted lege to abscond with a public frontline staff is strongly con-
make it a point to ensure that be readily available on other while the state has dragged its Political analyst Stephen good.” demned by UNODC.
information is readily available expenditure like transport, feet in prosecuting the former Chan said the government
on the number of daily inocu- accommodation, salaries and minister. should show transparency and The United Nations Office The UN agency urged gov-
lations by province or district, allowances. desist from allowing politically on Drugs and Crime (UNO- ernments to prioritise groups
to rid the process of secrecy Apart from basic account- connected persons to jump the DC) has warned of the dangers that are vulnerable to corrup-
and lack of transparency. In a country currently reel- ing issues, the government queue. of rampant corruption during tion risks.
ing from economic hardships should also be transparent the global vaccine rollout.
Although it is commendable and a crippling budget deficit, with information. Chan said the available vac- “Decision making related
that the government, through government should at least ac- cines should be administered In its recent policy paper to the allocation of vaccines to
the ministry of Health’s daily count for all the expenses in- At the onset of the pro- to priority groups. titled Covid-19 Vaccines and priority groups is also vulnera-
situation reports, has kept the curred under this process. gramme, frontline workers, Corruption Risks, UNODC ble to corruption risks, such as
public informed on the num- among them doctors and nurs- “While it is good that the warns of favouritism, nepo- conflicts of interest and nepo-
ber of Covid-19 cases since Still fresh from the es, were sceptical about the President and Vice-President tism and corrupted procure- tism. An estimated one billion
the start of the pandemic, the Covidgate scandal which saw programme and the efficacy of set the example of being vac- ment systems. people represent dispersed
same should be done for the the government awarding the Sinopharm vaccine. This cinated in public -- even (US) populations without formal
vaccination programme. a US$60 million tender to was largely because of the gov- President Biden did this -- it is “These risks include the identities, primarily living in
Drax International, fronted ernment’s failure to effectively very important that the vac- entry of sub-standard and fal- developing countries. Reach-
Finance min- by a convicted criminal Del- communicate with the public cine should be prioritised for sified vaccines into markets, ing these populations will be
ister Mthuli ish Nguwaya without going on why and how they chose medical people and older peo- theft of vaccines within the particularly challenging when
Ncube in Janu- to tender, it is important the the vaccine as well as share in- ple,” Chan said. distribution systems, leakages a Covid-19 vaccine becomes
ary announced government demonstrates formation about potential side in emergency funding desig- available,” reads the policy pa-
that Zimbabwe that looting under the conve- effects, among other issues. “Politicians should not nated for the development and per.
had budgeted jump the queue in the midst distribution of vaccines, nep-
US$100 million At the time there was swell- of a national medical emer- The government’s failure
for Covid-19 to ensure transparency since
vaccines; going Zimbabwe reported its first
forward it will case last year has often at-
be prudent for tracted criticism, with the
information to recent case of the Zimbabwe
be shared on Human Rights Association
how the money (ZimRights) issuing the gov-
has been used. ernment an ultimatum to re-
lease important information
Since the process began a on vaccines.
fortnight ago, the government
has failed to publish figures of The government’s rush to
those vaccinated. While claim- rollout the vaccine among
ing success, there are reports of frontline staff
apathy among frontline work-
ers who are unwilling to take without trials has also
the vaccine. caused mistrust among the-
public.
Apart from screaming
headlines in the public me- This was after acting health
dia, claiming that hundreds secretary Robert Mudyirandi-
of frontline workers had been ma told journalists the gov-
vaccinated, there has not been ernment was not sure of the
any traceable evidence. efficacy of the Sinopharm vac-
cine.
While the Sinopharm vac-
cine is being administered for “Government will be con-
free, the government is also yet ducting clinical trials to verify
to tell Zimbabweans if there whether the Sinopharm vac-
are any individuals or com- cine will work as when it was
panies being paid, either for manufactured it was not test-
distributing or facilitating the ed against the variant coming
process. out of South Africa. So, at the
moment no one knows wheth-
To date, Zimbabweans do er it works or does not work,”
not know who is partnering Mudyirandima said.
the government in the coun-
This prompted the Zim-
babwe Lawyers for Human
Rights to seek an interdict to
stop government from com-
mencing the vaccination pro-
gramme.

However, the lawyers’ as-
sociation backtracked on its
decision to sue after Vice-Pres-
ident Constantino Chiwen-
ga distanced the government
from controversial pronounce-
ments by the acting secretary
of Health.

The lawyers had argued that
government had not followed
quality control stipulations,
warning that going ahead with
the vaccine rollout programme
would pose health risks to
Zimbabweans.

Transparency, accountabil-
ity and effective communica-
tion are essential if mistrust
and confusion are to be extin-
guished.

Page 26 The Big Debate NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Govt must stop large-scale acquisition of
traditional land to avoid disempowerment

Phillan Thousands of villagers in the Chilonga area of Chiredzi are facing eviction from their ancestral land to pave way for a private dairy’s only is land undervalued, so too
Zamuchiya controversial lucerne grass project. is the value of agricultural and
other productive activities such
Critical reflections on the of the flawed modernisation I am inclined to apply De upholding the universal right to right, “… can only be disposed as hunting and gathering by the
Zimbabwe government’s or- narratives of the colonial era, Schutter (2011, p. 262)’s logic self-determination (Food and by a majority of the holders of affected people of Chilonga,
der to force out the people of 40 years after gaining Inde- in this case. That the people Agriculture Organisation 2014, such rights present or repre- in a context where neither the
Chilonga in Chiredzi for grass pendence from settler colonial of Chilonga can better be p.12). sented at a meeting convened market value nor cost of restor-
farming: Three Big Ideas why rule. However, from the rich helped by private investments for the purpose of considering ing diverse rural livelihoods is
a national moratorium for all empirical data on livelihoods upstream and downstream FPIC, at a policy imple- such disposal and of which clear. The current trend is one
rural evictions is necessary. gathered by the Masvingo Cen- of their production process mentation level, entails that they have been given sufficient of underplaying losses in the
IN this article, I argue for a tre for Research Advocacy and of small grains and livestock, the rights holders -- men and notice, and in which they have wider ecosystem.
moratorium on the continued Development (MACRAD) the focusing on the provision of women -- must make decisions had a reasonable opportunity
rise of large-scale acquisitions people of Chilonga are already public goods that can improve free from undue influence, to participate”. South Africa’s Equally important is the
of customary land for private involved in diverse crop farm- productivity and access to coercion, bribe and fear. “Prior” jurisprudence has strengthened understating of non-monetary
“investments” in the marginal- ing and livestock production. markets, and on institutional means that consent must be the right to give consent. losses in contemporary com-
ised rural areas of Zimbabwe to They are producing sorghum innovations that can strengthen sought before the project starts pensation models. Non-mate-
allow for a post-colonial demo- (xibedlani, xitishi and mutode), their position and allow them and that there should be suffi- In 2018, the North Gauteng rial losses are central to human
cratic national resolution of the millet (mahuvu and mpowo), to obtain better earnings in cient time to make a decision High Court ruled that the development such as cultural
three issues articulated below. some maize, sweet potatoes, ways that enable them to rein- before the commencement of Xolobeni community in the rights, identity and citizen-
cotton, pumpkins (mandung- vest for expanded reproduction, the investment project. In ad- Eastern Cape has a right to say ship, belonging, history and
The latest such unchallenged hu) and groundnuts (timanga). therefore contributing to wider dition, the rights bearers must no to a mining project, in line memory. In Chilonga, there are
trend is epitomised by the They also own cattle, sheep and economic development. be informed before making a with IPLRA and the interna- a number of sacred hills and
recently gazetted Statutory close to 100% of the house- decision. tional principle of FPIC. scared areas such as Chigwejiva
Instrument 50 of 2021. This holds own goats. Why then A moratorium would allow Sala for rainmaking ceremonies
Communal Land (Setting would the government choose the nation space to envision That means having accurate, Third, even in the context and cultural activities. All that
aside of Land) (Chiredzi,) to destroy and disrupt the local such alternative rural develop- understandable, accessible and of the Zimbabwean state using is not explicitly modelled in
Notice, 2021) by the minister livelihoods? One alternative ment models as viable options. complete information about its expropriation powers, as Zimbabwe’s current compensa-
of Local Government, Urban pathway to rural development the investment on an on-going happens elsewhere, the current tion models.
and Rural Development orders would also require an emphasis Second, Zimbabwe’s land basis. Finally, consent refers to compensation model for cus-
about 12 500 people occupying on development projects that laws do not explicitly mention the collective decision made by tomary land reinforces a per- I therefore emphasise the
or using 12 940 hectares of ensure that men and women the right to consent in line the rights holders (including vasive neo-colonial policy line need for the Zimbabwean
customary land in Chilonga living in rural areas do not lose with the universal principle of women, youths and people that casts land under customary government to put a moratori-
communal area in Chiredzi their customary land. Free Prior Informed Consent with disabilities) which can be tenure as being of little or no um on rural evictions until the
to depart immediately and (FPIC) and the national con- a “yes” or a “no” or a condi- economic value. nation can collectively revisit
permanently. For the avoidance of doubt, stitution. tional “yes” and can be revisited this narrow pathway to rural
this is not an argument to during the different stages of Or what De Soto (2002) development based on an envi-
This is meant to pave way for maintain the status quo, or to A moratorium would allow the investment project. None infamously termed “dead sioned teleological transition to
lucerne grass farming by Den- preserve low productivity in the government to entrench of those principles were applied capital”. A moratorium would big private investors acquiring
dairy (Private) Limited. This is Zimbabwe’s marginalised rural the universal right to self-de- to the vulnerable land rights allow the nation to revisit the huge tracts of customary land
a local company in Zimbabwe areas. For those who intend to termination in order to protect holders — men and women — compensation model. Where in the marginal areas as in the
which produces dairy products create a strawman, I am not vulnerable communities such of Chilonga. rural inhabitants have lost colonial era.
like ice-cream and yoghurt. saying private investments in as the people of Chilonga. The land held under customary
agriculture in the countryside current land laws give power to On comparative basis, South tenure such as in Chisum- A moratorium would:
For emphasis, this is not should be eschewed. Rather, I the President, local authorities Africa has an explicit (albeit banje for biofuel production (a) allow the nation to de-
an isolated case, as land rights am envisioning an alternative and traditional leaders and temporary) law that entrenches or for Tugwi-Mukosi Dam in bate and promote an alternative
holders -- vulnerable women pathway where investments will responsible ministers to act the FPIC principle that governs Masvingo, state officials have rural development model that
and men -- living on marginal be directed towards ends that on behalf of men and women the acquisition of customary routinely contended that in- protects customary land rights
customary land, face similar lead to people-centred and peo- who live on customary land. land. The Interim Protection vestors are only obliged to pay for vulnerable men and women
types of evictions in marginal ple-driven rural development in This limits the power of the of Informal Land Rights Act for improvements on the land, without taking away their land;
places like Hwange and Chi- line with their developmental actual land rights holders to say (IPILRA) of 1996 is meant to rather than the land itself. This (b) allow for the entrench-
pinge districts. needs. It is a scenario in which “yes” or “no” to development protect informal rights to land practice prevails despite the ment of the right to self-deter-
Now to the reasons. the ministry of Agriculture, projects. such as the right to use, gain ac- 2013 constitutional recognition mination in line with the uni-
First, the government is for example, channels massive cess to or to occupy land under of customary land rights. versal principle of FPIC and (c)
partly basing its decision on agricultural investment into the The outdated Communal customary law in the former provide space for an evaluation
a narrow belief that private support of diverse livelihoods, Lands Act does not explicitly homeland areas. Policymakers mistakenly fail of the current compensation
big estates are the only vehicle crop and livestock farming mention the need to seek to fully recognise customary models for loss of customary
for economic transformation activities by the people of consent from the communi- Consequently, IPILRA land rights because such rights land, land rights and wider
despite widespread evidence Chilonga. ties. FPIC is an international requires that the holder of in- are not formally registered, ulti- livelihoods and cultural rights.
to their detrimental effects on principle that gives people the formal land rights must consent mately depriving affected com- The three ideas suggested
the vulnerable people’s diverse right to say “yes” or “no” to de- to the disposal of such a right. munities of fair and adequate here are not exhaustive but are
livelihoods on the African velopmental projects, therefore Section 4 notes that the land compensation. However, not big propositions that can lead
continent. In line with this to securing customary land
narrow pathway, the minister of rights for vulnerable women
Local Government, July Moyo, and men in the marginal areas
romanticised such land acqui- (like the people of Chilon-
sition in Chilonga as a way to ga) and foster inclusive rural
ensure big livestock production development, particularly in
and generate foreign currency the context of a renewed rush
for the nation. Conversely, the for “cheap” customary land in
government portrays modes of Zimbabwe by local and foreign
production by the Shangaan investors.
people in Chilonga as pristine Dr Phillan Zamchiya is
and unable to drive economic a senior researchers at the
rural development. Institute for Poverty, Land
and Agrarian Studies. He
This approach is problematic holds a Doctor of Philosophy
because it is premised on a in International Develop-
narrow development transi- ment from the University of
tion pathway that envisions Oxford. His academic inter-
big-company-led farming (like ests are twofold. He studies
Dendairy) in the countryside contemporary trajectories
as the only viable model or the of land and agrarian change
real deal. in Southern Africa and the
politics of post-colonial states
The logic also reflects some in democratic transitions.
He is currently the regional
coordinator of PLAAS’s new
project on the privatisation of
customary land and women’s
land rights in Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, South Africa
and Zambia.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 27

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Zim crisis needs shift from false expectations
of reform to a conference to resolve the issues

Ibbo
Mandaza

The discussion on the crisis The Mnangagwa government deployed soldiers against protesters on 1 August 2018.
in Zimbabwe has over the
years been premised on or warmed up to the coup economic mismanagement to which targeted sanctions in its purported campaign ing process of political and
the false expectation that a three years ago, is that the by the Government.” have in effect impacted on for a better Zimbabwe? economic crises. In turn, the
state increasingly based and state in Zimbabwe has not the financial and econom- persistent denials, on the
surviving on the strength of only failed to institute polit- Citing the recent report ic spheres of Zimbabwe, Surely, it should be obvi- part of the state actors, that
a military-security machin- ical and economic reforms, by the Daily Maverick on Todd Moss made it clear ous by now that it is not that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe,
ery can reform itself out of but is also “responsible for the Cartels in Zimbabwe, that the US has effectively the regime in Harare does constitute almost an ideolo-
power. the worst human rights the minister said there put a brake on whatever not want to reform; quite gy, the surreal superstructure,
violations…, in 2018 and would be more pressure on such international financial the contrary, they cannot designed to conceal an edi-
What is required now is 2019, including the killing the country, in addition institutions as the World do so without reforming fice that is beyond redemp-
an acknowledgement, and of 23 innocent people” (UK to the sanctions already Bank and the International themselves out of power! To tion, hurtling inexorably to
a consensus at the national, Foreign secretary Dominic announced on 1 February Monetary Fund might wish quote former minister Jon- the precipice. Unless and un-
regional and global levels, Raab). Thus, the UK an- 2021. “These measures to lend to the country; and athan Moyo as he addressed til the requisite and co-ordi-
that the crisis, one almost nounced its first set of desig- (sanctions) will be main- would continue to do so the Bulawayo Press Club nated action, at the national,
similar to that which was nations under the country’s tained as long as the situa- given the prevailing political on 2 September 2016, and regional and international
resolved almost 40 years Zimbabwe sanctions regime, tion on the ground justifies and economic situation in reported in The Chronicle levels takes place. However,
ago through the Lancaster ahead of the EU (of which them … We will continue Zimbabwe. newspaper on 6 September this has to begin with a move
House Conference in 1979, it is no longer a member). to look at how all the tools Legacy of elusive reforms: under a headline, “Zanu PF away from an insistence on
has to be confronted and re- They subsequently, on 19 available to the UK, includ- why Harare regime is bereft will never reform itself out of reform as the condition for
solved through the agency of February 2021, renewed ing the full range of sanc- of capacity to reform power, Prof Moyo declares”: re-engagement towards an
consultations. Now, as was their arms embargo and tions regimes, can be used As the moderator on that acknowledgement that the
the case in 1979, Zimbabwe assets freeze against the to encourage accountability Policy Dialogue Forum, “Zanu PF has no inten- state in Zimbabwe is ex-
is a serious cause of regional Zimbabwe Defence Indus- and reform in Zimbabwe.” I raised the question of tion of creating an envi- tremely bereft of the capacity
instability. This process must tries (ZDI), citing “a lack whether there has been any ronment that will ensure it to change without undoing
be initiated at the national of substantial reforms and Across the Atlantic, the correlation between, on the loses elections … they want itself.
level, facilitated by South continued human rights new Biden administration one hand, the two decades to say put in place electoral
Africa and the Southern violations in the Southern is expected to up the ante of sanctions against Zimba- reforms that will ensure that At the political level, the
African Development African nation”, based “also against the regime in Harare. bwe and, on the other, the you lose and we win. And we factors should be obvious.
Community (Sadc) and the on the need to investigate Speaking at a virtual Sapes intended objectives of having are saying no … Because the For the state to fully imple-
African Union (AU), and the role of the security forces Trust Policy Dialogue the regime in Harare move, reforms they’re talking about ment the 2013 constitution
scaffolded by the United in human rights abuses.” Forum (on the topic “What even gradually and on the are clear codes to say come would mean effectively a
Kingdom (UK), European will the Biden Presidency basis of some benchmarks, with the reforms that will return to constitutional-
Union (EU), United States More recently, on 24 Feb- mean for US-Zimbabwe towards reform and respect ensure that you’re out …” ism, the rule of law, the
(US), Russia, China and the ruary 2021, the minister of Relations?”) on 21 January for human rights. If the restoration of national
Commonwealth, leading to state for the Foreign Com- 2021, former deputy assis- answer to that question is as A statement made in institutions, the separation
an international conference monwealth and Develop- tant secretary for African obvious as the situation has apparent jest at the occasion, of powers in the form of
on Zimbabwe. ment Office in the UK, Lord Affairs at the US State been over the two decades, but nevertheless a remark- an accountable executive, a
Limited utility of sanctions Ahmed, threatened new Department, Todd Moss, during which things have ably accurate reflection of vibrant legislature, a fiercely
premised on an expecta- measures against Zimbabwe. stated that, under Biden, increasingly deteriorated, the securocrat state that independent judiciary, and
tion of the impossible He stated that the former sanctions would remain. He does the sanctions regime Zimbabwe had increasingly the return of the military
It is now two decades since colonial power was “deeply also pointed out that it was not amount to a hollow become in the period since to the barracks. As all
the sanctions regime was worried about the state of a waste of time for Mnan- commitment to principle, an 2000. Therefore, the coup this would entail electoral
imposed by the US in 2001 the Zimbabwean economy, gagwa’s administration to end in itself, and therefore of November 2017 was an reforms ipso facto, free and
and by the EU in 2002. And which continues to face hire public relations firms to bordering on insincerity on affirmation of the Zanu PF/ fair elections would almost
in December 2003, Mugabe unprecedented challenges lobby on its behalf. the part of the global North state’s inherent incapacity to definitely spell the end of
quit the Commonwealth largely due to corruption, transition towards a demo- Zanu PF as a ruling party, a
at the decision of the latter and poor fiscal policies and More than that, in a state- cratic dispensation. Hence fate it has so far forestalled
body to extend sanctions for ment which inadvertently the legacy of a self-fulfilling
“undemocratic behaviour”. acknowledged the extent and, albeit, self-perpetuat-
All this, in the expectation
that the state in Zimbabwe
would reform, improve its
human rights record and
adhere to the standards re-
quired for free, fair and cred-
ible elections. The record so
far is that things have since
gotten worse, with little or
no hope for reform.

The (vain) expectations
that the November 2017
coup would redeem Zim-
babwe from international
isolation — under the “Zim-
babwe is Open for Business”
mantra — has all but gone
up in smoke. The resound-
ing consensus, even on the
part of those in the global
north who supported and/

Page 28 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

through the dominant role the political parties. The
of the military-security national consensus commit-
machinery. This machinery tee so composed would then
has, ever since 2000, turned engage and liaise with the
every subsequent election regional and international
into a war zone, including factors towards the estab-
the coup of 2008 when lishment of the mediation
Morgan Tsvangirai, and team that will convene and
the opposition MDC, were conduct the conference.
denied victory, and prevent- Such consultations would
ed from taking over power. also include a discussion
It is commonplace now that of the items that should be
2008 was a coup, publicly placed on the agenda of the
acknowledged by party and conference. Inevitably, these
state stalwarts since then. would include the following:
Return to constitutionalism
A state that survives (including the implementa-
only on the strength of the tion of the 2013 constitu-
military-security machinery tion), the rule of law and the
cannot afford a democratic return of the military to the
dispensation. barracks.
Restoration of the nation-
Invariably, the abuse of al institutions, including
human rights, such killings reform of the judiciary and
as happened on 1 August the public service.
2018 and January 2019, the Transitional justice, truth
abductions (118 such since and reconciliation, including
the coup in 2017), arbitrary amnesty arrangements atten-
arrests of political oppo- dant. Economic reform and
nents, decimation of the reconstruction programme,
formal opposition, recall of including the return of
legitimately elected parlia- looted resources, debt relief
mentarians, a compromised Jonathan Moyo (right) with Saviour Kasukuwere and Emmerson Mnangagwa (centre) before the November 2017 coup that brought the and the establishment of the
judiciary, etc, all become latter into power and sent Moyo and Kasukuwere into exile.
integral to the architecture
and paraphernalia of a secu- will assist in addressing the pandering, on the part of towards a viable national Zimbabwe Reconstruction
rocratic state. Zimbabwe over the decades, and Development Fund.
chronic leadership defi- some, to the whims and fan- dialogue, including the issue but it is important that the Establishment of a tran-
At the economic and cit across the society, and cies of the “national dialogue of a National Transitional Commonwealth – especially sitional authority through
social levels, the factors strengthen both civil society industry”. Authority (NTA) or some- Australia, India and Canada which to implement the
militating against reform and the economy into which With respect to the polit- thing similar, as the basis – resumes its historic role on above before any election is
are derived largely from the they are contributing, in ical parties, the issues have of resolving the crisis in Zimbabwe. It would be ideal held.
political pathology of a state official figures, more than been more complicated, not Zimbabwe. to have the international This is an incredibly
such as Zimbabwe’s. Overall, US$1 billion per annum in least by the unprecedented Regional Initiative: led conference on Zimbabwe delicate exercise and process,
it is difficult to imagine remittances. and ultimately senseless by South Africa but multi- chaired by an eminent per- requiring patience and
how Zimbabwe’s economy campaign by the Zanu lateral and involving Sadc son from one of the Com- selfless commitment on the
can be reformed effectively Towards a new strategy for PF-led state that appears and the AU; and in con- monwealth countries. part of the national con-
given both the nature of the resolution of the crisis to believe that dialogue junction with factors in the sensus committee, with the
such a state and the ram- in Zimbabwe (Polad) means compro- international sphere, the UK Conclusion facilitation of South Africa,
pant corruption fuelled So, here is to propose that mising, dividing and even and the EU, the US, China The process of consulta- Sadc and the AU, and the
by an insecure leadership we move away from the decimation of the (formal) and Russia, and the Com- tions that must necessarily requisite scaffolding by the
so uncertain of its own two-decade-old and futile opposition in Zimbabwe. monwealth. President Cyril precede and feed into an UK, EU, US, China, Russia
tomorrow. Therefore, with refrain of insisting on reform This has, in turn, polarised Ramaphosa should revive international conference on and the Commonwealth.
no tangible plan ensuring as a condition precedent the political environment, the initiative (on Zimba- Zimbabwe will have to begin Ibbo Mandaza is a
that the proceeds from the for re-engagement, to one between Zanu PF and the bwe) which appears to have at the national level, under Zimbabwean academic,
country’s rich extractive which acknowledges that MDC Alliance, within stalled mainly because of a representative group -- the author and publisher: he
sector are invested at home the state in Zimbabwe is the MDC as a whole, and the Covid-19 pandemic. national consensus com- is convenor of the SAPES
and not spirited abroad inherently and fundamental- even between the factions The next few weeks and mittee -- drawn from civil Trust Policy Dialogue
on the back of cartels that ly incapable of such a reform within the ruling party itself. months should witness a society (church, business, Forum; and co-convener
now dominate the towering agenda without undoing Meantime, the opposition more concerted effort at academia, labour, media, (with Tony Reeler) of the
heights of the economy. The itself. Therefore, there is a forces, constituting easily confronting the crisis in NGOs, the diaspora, etc.) Platform for Concerned
extent of the corruption in need for a new strategy that the largest proportion of the Zimbabwe, beginning with and the representatives of Citizens (PCC).
the extractive and all other confronts and addresses the country’s population, remain behind-the-scenes consul-
sectors is covered in detail in crisis head-on through the in suspense, rudderless and tations with both state and
the Cartels report. These are following: crying out for organised non-state actors in Zimba-
the very factors that inhibit National dialogue: based leadership. The spectre of a bwe, identifying a mediation
the engagement of the global on an honest acknowledge- securocratic state stares at team to lead the process, and
economy of which Zimba- ment of the issues raised us, bereft of a political and drawing a road map towards
bwe is an integral part, but above. If so, then the urgent social base, alienated from an international conference
without which involvement need to take stock of the var- the people, and hanging on on the crisis in Zimbabwe.
the country can neither ious attempts so far at a na- a thread. Hardly three years The process towards the
reform effectively nor reach tional dialogue, understand away from the next election formation of a mediation
its fullest potential. why they have not achieved in 2023, can this reality team, composed of eminent
their objective, and make an scare us from having history persons drawn from the re-
Engagement with the honest assessment on the ba- repeat itself? gion, the continent and the
global economy would sis of which to re-strategise. For obvious reasons al- international community,
include access to lines of But this requires consensus ready stated in the forgoing, should begin as soon as part
credit, possible debt relief, among civil society groups there will be no electoral of the preparation for the
investment to increase -- the Church, NGOs, reforms under this regime: international conference.
production, address un- academia, media, labour and none at all, as long as the International scaffolding
employment and grow the diaspora – in the first imperatives of the securo- of a national and regional
wealth. Such a reform and instance. To state the least, crat state remain alive. So initiative:
re-engagement programme the false start by the Nation- why are the merchants (and This has to begin with
would attract the inter- al Convergence Platform their funding agencies) consensus among the factors
est and resourcefulness of (NCP), launched with much of the “election industry” in the global sphere of
Zimbabwe’s diaspora — in fanfare in December 2019, getting all excited instead influence, that it is futile to
which 75% of all profession- was largely due to the lack of of confronting the reality so expect the regime in Harare
al and skilled Zimbabweans consensus about the nature well-known and exposed like to institute a viable reform
reside — without which the of the state in Zimbabwe, never before? These are some agenda on the political and
county’s recovery and recon- the goals and objectives of the questions and issues economic front. The UK,
struction programme would of the national dialogue to constitute a reasonable EU and US have been the
be incomplete. Besides, the process, not to mention the agenda for a new strategy main global interlocuters on South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa
necessary involvement of
the diaspora in this regard

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 29

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

We have not yet seen the revolution

Sabelo J.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni

THE colonial cognitive backed by what Gildea has on the one hand, and on the Fanon depicted as intellectu- other knowledges. alive since the last 500 years
empire which invaded the correctly termed as the ‘global other as a tactic of its own ally lazy and suffering from This is a fair argument in the face of numerous an-
mental universe of Africa financial republic’ constituted self-preservation and self-per- pitfalls of consciousness cas- ti-systemic forces and move-
– including Zimbabwe - by such multilateral insti- petuation. cading from their socio-gen- but it does not satisfactorily ments dating back to the Hai-
cannot be reformed. It needs tutions as the World Bank, esis (born of colonialism and bury its Eurocentrism. The tian Revolution (1791-1804).
an epistemic revolution. International Monetary Fund, The good example is the emerging directly from inside second argument is that what The first tactic is to condemn
The problem has been that the World Trade Organisation shift from the Westphalian or- the belly of the beast). At a has been termed Eurocentric and delegitimise the genuine
throughout modern human and many others. Even the der which granted sovereignty second level, by global colo- knowledge has been rocked by demands for revolution before
history “reform” initiatives United Nations became a to the few European powers nial matrices of power which internal critiques and haunted moving physical to liquidate
have often been deliberately major cog in the post-1945 to the post-1945 UN global always policed and disciplined by internal contestations the revolutionaries.
celebrated as “revolutions”. global order to accommodate order of granting self-determi- any anti-systemic force and through and through regard-
the de-revolutionised, disci- nation to the former colonies. movement. This takes us to ing its methodologies, episte- What is happening in
The decolonisation of plined, and powerless newly Even for this right to self-de- the knowledge domain where mologies, theoretical frame- France currently where some
the 20thcentury, the Zim- born “nation-states” into its termination for Africa it had the cognitive empire contin- works, and even horizons. So right-wing figures in gov-
babwe liberation struggle lowest echelons without veto to be fought for to the extent ues to wreak havoc in the sys- there no singular thing called ernment and in academia
for example, was quickly powers. that it was only in 1960 after tems, institutions and psyche Eurocentric epistemology. are on the offensive against
celebrated as an earth-shaking the adoption of UN General of both the former colonizers This is also a far argument. decolonial and postcolonial
moment in human history Both the emergent super- Assembly Resolution 1514 and (ex)colonised peoples. thought and its proponents,
and indeed a “wind of change powers namely the Soviet that it became a right rather The cognitive empire The limits of these two trying to link it to terrorism
sweeping across Africa” and Union and United States of than a privilege. I had to The Euro-North Ameri- argument is that their propo- is one good example. The
even named as “hurricane” America postured as an- give this background because can-centric modern world nents forget that all powerful second strategy is to infiltrate,
by Kwame Nkrumah. Yes, ti-colonial, while actively there are academics and system which Latin Ameri- systems and institutions al- seduce, dilute and divert the
indeed for the enslaved and laying-out a new form that is intellectuals who seem not to can decolonial theorists like ways reform themselves so as anti-systemic movements into
colonised people they longed best characterised as “Cold- understand that decoloniza- Ramon Grosfoguel have to give themselves a new lease reformist formations before
for a hurricane to sweep away War coloniality” through tion of the twentieth century correctly characterised as of life rather than to change. accommodation them into
colonialism. which they projected their was hijacked at two level. At modern/colonial/imperial/ The internal reform must not the modern world system they
ideologies across the post- the first level, by the native patriarchal/sexist/racist/heter- be taken for an epistemic rev- had initial sought to destroy.
This is why the leading 1945 world and even spon- petit-bourgeois whom Frantz onormative; is underpinned olution. The leading sociol-
African historian Paul Tiyam- sored proxy hot wars in Africa and enabled by a very strong ogist Immanuel Wallerstein Even the enthusiastic
be Zeleza celebrated de- in a new scramble for spheres cognitive empire propelled by warned longed ago about the embrace of epistemological
picted decolonisation as the of influence and economic a Eurocentric epistemology. It limits of what he correctly decolonisation and decolo-
“proudest moment in African exploitation. is very common these days to termed the “anti-Eurocentric niality in leading universities
history”. Indeed, Africans be easily criticized for using Eurocentrism”. in Europe and North Amer-
like other colonised people Thus, what has to be such terms as Eurocentric ica and its sponsorship by
sacrificed for a decolonial rev- clearly understood is that epistemology because there Ructions within Eurocen- such funders as the Mel-
olution but the Euro-North across epochs the Euro-North is a counter-argument which tric epistemology have not lon Foundation while it is
American-centric global American-centric modern says what today exist as Eu- resulted in rupturing Euro- welcomed might also be a
system of power did not rest world system born in the 15th rocentric knowledge is in fact centrism itself. This is why way of making not turning
on its laurels and allow such a century has been producing born out of appropriation of it would be instructive to decolonisation into metaphor
revolution to take place. global orders as a strategy of give the example of how the and a buzz word but perhaps
shielding itself from revolu- current Euro-North Amer- even to turn it into a neo-lib-
With specific reference to tionary anti-systemic forces ican-centric modern world eral concept and compromise
those African countries that system has been keeping itself
gained political independence
in the 1960s, the processes
were depicted as ‘transfer of
power’ from white foreigners
to local native elite produced
by colonialism itself. For
those countries like Kenya,
Zimbabwe, South Africa,
and Namibia where armed
anti-colonial struggles were
fought, outright military
defeat of colonial forces was
not allowed and what kicked
in were “negotiations”/”ne-
gotiated settlements” often
followed by “reconciliation”
policies, which delivered
them as neo-colonies.

While they were pulling
back the physical empires
after 1945 they were simul-
taneously rolling out what
the historian Robert Gildea
termed the “empires of the
mind” and what Kwame
Nkrumah called ‘neo-colo-
nialism.’ As it this was taking
place colonialism was con-
stantly faking its own death
so as to feed the colonized the
myths of decolonisation and
illusions of freedom.

The reality is that when
the physical empire was being
dismantled the cognitive em-
pire was intensifying its grip

Page 30 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

its revolutionary subversive Cheikh Anta Diop and others doing what colonialism and The notions/claims of having science and the rest of of those who were enslaved,
character. in the humanities produced coloniality has been doing universal, un-situated, truth- the world being reduced to colonised and racialised into
academic works that directly and is doing on the one hand, ful, objective, and singular abodes of culture and wisdom non-beings. The cognitive
This fear makes sense overturned colonial histo- and on the other, it is dedicat- rationality of Eurocentric is being destroyed as the de- empire is indeed pushed to
within a context where by riography and its ‘colonial ed to the painstaking process epistemology, coming from scendants of the enslaved and the defence by the epistemol-
the triumph of neoliberalism library’. They advanced the of unlearning for purposes of the European Enlighten- colonised proclaim for all to ogies of the Global South,
at the end of the Cold War, idea of ‘African factor’ (Afri- re-leaning as well as recon- ment time; are being directly know that they are in the first victory is certain as the decol-
resulted in the delegitimation can agency) in human history stitution of new knowledge challenged by decolonial ideas instance human born into val- onisation of the 21stcentury is
of the very idea of ‘revolu- and introduced oral and other predicated on new epistemol- of subjectivity/geo-/body-pol- id and legitimate knowledge assuming a planetary scale.
tions’ and the normativisation methodologies that enabled ogies and pedagogies. itics of knowledge, situated- systems and as such their lives
of the idea of ‘transitions.’ then to demonstrate empir- ness, and intersectionality. matter as is their knowledges. About the writer: Sabelo J
While revolutions are an- ically that Africa had a long This makes it revolutionary In the words of Nelson Mal- Ndlovu-Gatsheni is Profes-
ti-systemic, transitions are history which pre-dated the and it confronts the cognitive At another level, the tra- donado-Torres, the epistemic sor and Chair of Epistemol-
reformist and they tend to colonial encounter. empire directly in its struc- ditional concept of academic revolution is predicated on ogies of the Global South
deliver small changes within tural, institutional, epistemic, freedom is being deepened ‘a decolonial epistemic turn with Emphasis on Africa at
the same world system and its Works by African scholars relational and ontological/ through the concept of epis- whereby the damn emerges as the University of Bayreuth
global order. Transitions tend were included in the curric- personal dimensions. temic freedom so as to liber- a questioner, thinker, theorist, in Germany. He is a leading
to tinker with the margins of ulum and at the University ate it from neoliberal limits of writer and communicator. ‘ decolonial theorist with
an existing system rather than of Dar-es-salaam attempts Consistently, unjust ideas, rights decoupled from social over 100 publications in
destroying it. In neoliberal were made even to abolish notions, assumptions, and justice and cognitive justice. In a nutshell, the republic the fields of African history,
conceptions of change even disciplinary iron cages as they practices are daily unmasked, of letters/kingdom of knowl- African politics, African
decolonisation of the twen- established such new fields as while the iconography of the The concept of epistemic edge across the world has to development and decolonial
tieth century is seen as part ‘Development Studies.’ empire have been subjected freedom brings the demands open up for revolutionary theory.rn the fate of the
of transition from empires to the fires of the Rhodes for rights and justice together. questions emerging from lived continent.
to nation-states rather than a At the University of Must Fall and the Black Lives Consequently, the notions of experiences of the descendants
revolutionary rupture. Nairobi, Ngugi wa Thiong’o Matter Movements. Europe and North America
Decolonisation and Europe- a leading advocate of decol-
an game onisation, worked with his
The concept of the Europe- colleagues and called for the
an game was introduced by abolition of the English De-
Fanon and he warmed his partment in 1968, which was
comrades never to join the continuing to privilege teach-
game and urged them to ing of English literature in an
develop new concepts and independent state of Kenya.
to turn over a new leaf. He What became known as the
charged that Europe failed ‘Nairobi Memo’ of 1968
to set afoot new humanism suggested a clear reconfigura-
rather it bequeathed on the tion of the department so as
world a metaphysical catastro- to start with African literature
phe where a paradigm of before English literature as
difference and paradigm of part of re-centering Africa in
war became the order of life knowledge generation.
particularly in the colonies,
resulting in de-civilization While these changes were
and dehumanisation. commendable they did not
amount to the necessary
The decolonisation of the epistemic revolution and epis-
twentieth century was expect- temic freedom. More often
ed by the colonized peoples the changes led to what the
to deliver them from the colo- leading African scholar Cath-
nial metaphysical catastrophe. rine Odora-Hoppers termed
Indeed, efforts were made in the desire for inclusion in the
the 1960s and 1970s to Afri- European game rather than
canise universities, deracialise questioning and dismantling
the personnel, increase access it. Eurocentric epistemology
to the universities to African remained dominant though
students, and even establish tinkering with its margins
institutes of African Studies continued.
like at the University of Gha-
na in 1962. Nkrumah himself However, the fall of the Af-
as the head of state and rican public higher education
government of Ghana pushed under the weight of neolib-
for the establishment of the eral structural adjustment
Institute of African Stud- programmes halted the efforts
ies. The Institute of African at decolonisation that had
Studies was meant to advance emerged in the 1960s. African
knowledge of Africa in all its economies were in crisis and
dimensions and demonstrate under neoliberalism knowl-
the ‘African genius’ that had edge underwent commodifi-
been denied and suppressed cation rather than decolonisa-
by colonialism. tion as market forces and its
corporatist ideas invaded and
African nationalism of colonized institutions of high-
the 1960s also expanded the er education. This is partly
higher education in Africa why there is continuing need
making sure there was one for decolonisation of knowl-
state and one university at edge, including de-corporati-
lease across the continent. A sation of higher education.
majority of the first gener- Epistemic revolution and
ation of African academics freedom
and intellectuals rose to the Thanks to the students,
challenge of nationalist revo- youth, progressive intellectu-
lution and tried to introduce als and indigenous people’s
changes in knowledge. movements for not letting
the agenda of decolonising
The golden age of these knowledge disappear under
initiatives included the rise of the triumphalism of neolib-
the respected Ibadan School eralism and the technological
of History in Nigeria, the turn. The epistemological de-
Dakar School in Senegal colonisation of the 21stcentu-
and the Dar in Tanzania, ry also known as decoloniality
among others. Such scholars is not about inclusion in the
as Kenneth Dike, Jacob Ade European game rather it is
Ajayi, Walter Rodney, and about dismantling and un-

NewsHawks Opinion Page 31

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Environmentalism of the poor: The Chilonga Case

Taona T. dislocation from their ancestral arriviste corporate buccaneers. is not by accident but rather by Dairy and government would organisations and etc. Contin-
Denhere lands since time immemorial. Accordingly,this crony-capital- design. empower and provide equip- ue to use their organisational,
Thus, they were first uprooted ism has led Zanu PF gov- ment and agricultural materials mobilizational, human and
ROB Nixon in his ground- from their vernacular ecology ernment to give undeserved The section 74 of The Con- to the Chilongas. Thereby, en- financial power to lobby the
breaking, thought provoking in 1968. preferential treatment in the stitution of Zimbabwe 2013 able them to grow the lucerne progressive international com-
seminal work “Slow Violence form of corporate tax cuts to provides that: “No person may grass themselves and sell it to munity to boycott, disengage,
and The Environmentalism When the colonial govern- transnational neoliberal behe- be evicted from their home the DenDairy. That could be a divest and sanction apartheid
of the Poor “ scholarly with ment created Gonarezhou as a moths like the Chinese owned demolished without an order of proposition that could benefit Isreal. Therefore, they have
intellectually dexterity argued game park and nature reserve. Huawei, and the Russian court made after considering all both parties. been calls by certain sections of
that in global resources war, the Furthermore, between the owned Great Dyke Invest- the relevant circumstances”. the Zimbabwean community
environmentalism of the poor years 1928 to 1963, there was ments. Whilst on the extreme The proposed agriculturiza- that Zimbabweans need to
took place when the vernacular another internal displacement side, the Zanu PF government Coupled with the fact the tion of Chilonga subalternity have a BDS movement against
or the indigenous landscape is of Shangaan people in order to has been increasingly squeezing section 71 (3) provides that “no by Den Dairy in cahoots with the exploitative, parasitic and
forcibly dislocated, disrupted create the present day Triangle the blood out of the financially individual shall be compulso- the Zanu PF government is a vulturistic corporate behaviour
and subsequently colonized by sugar plantations. Suffice it malnourished and economically rily be deprived of his or her form of agro-despotism and and conduct of the DenDairy.
an official landscape. to say that, between the years emaciated ordinary Zimbabwe- property”.Therefore the SI. 50 agro-capitalism. Accordingly That is, Zimbabwe must vote
1956 to 1959 another round of an taxpayer, through arbitrary of 2021 is an unconstitutional agribusiness of agro-capitalism with their pockets against the
Thus a vernacular landscape state sanctioned eviction against tax increases. Which in the and arbitrary form of legal inevitably has a disastrous effect immoral behaviours and con-
is one informed and structured Chilonga people took place in common parlance are known as instrument. The insensitive and on the socioeconomic and duct of DenDairy.
by historical architecture of order to pave way for creation Mthuli Ncube 2%. Thus, the arbitrary nature of the Zanu cultural interests of the Chilon-
textured maps. of Mkwasine and Hippo Valley Zanu PF government provides PF government has also been ga peasantry as well as the Thus a consumer boycott of
estates. benevolent socialism for the demonstrated by the way the populace inhabiting those rural DenDairy products. That is,
Which the communities rich transational conglorements Chilonga peasants have been areas.Therefore, as we witnessed since the DenDairy are making
have organically developed and Therefore, these previous and on the other hand provides treated from the very begin- from the tragic experiences of the discounted casualties of
sustained over generations. dislocation coupled with next parasitic malevolent capitalism ning. According to some video the government and big busi- Chingola uncomfortable,
Thus, the map that is land- intended eviction and displace- to the ordinary poor Zimba- clips on social media, Chilonga ness supported dispossessions it’s also the higher time the
marked with names, routes ment, which the government bwean taxpayers. peasants confirm that they were and dislocations of Marange progressive citizenry makes
and important ecological and of Zimbabwe has legislated never consulted, engaged nor peasants during the diamond DenDairy uncomfortable.
surface geological features. through SI. 50 of 2021. Has Accordingly, the DenDairy their view solicited by both rush of 2010 as well as the
inevitably created intergener- who are the un-derseved the government and DenDairy displacement occasioned by Zimbabweans have experi-
Accordingly, the vernacular ational trauma, anxieties and beneficiary of the Statutory about the proposed lucerne construction of Tokwe Mukosi mented before with the domes-
landscape despite being neither insecurities among Chilonga Instrument 50. of 2021, whose farms in their communal lands. dam. That, neoliberal driven ticated version of BDS. When
monolithic nor undisputed, it people. founders and owners are the neoextractivism big moneyed the militant and radical Zimba-
however is an inalienable and Coetzee family. Have a hand in They said they were just “developmental trajectory” bwe National Student Associa-
essential socio-environmental Consequently, it has a dom- glove cronyist and an extractive ambushed by prospectors who spawn and produce develop- tion (Zinasu) spearheaded the
ecology of the community. ino effect of producing spatial relationship with Emmerson just started surveying and mental refugees. For instance, “Boycott Impala Car Rentals”
Therefore it cannot be out- amnesia. That is, the Chilonga Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa has dermacating their lands.. It is at Chigwizi camp where the campaign. After the Impala Car
sourced nor offshored or community under the guise been the bag carrier and the go abundantly clear that the Zanu disposable people from Tokwe Rental company was implicated
desecrated as nonrenewable re- and promise of socioeconomic between man for the Coetzee PF government by invoking Mukwosi are settled. in the abduction and torture of
sources. Conversely, an official development are periodically family. On 13th January 2016 the unconstitutional provisions 22 year old Tawanda Muchehi-
landscape be it be driven by the displaced and imaginatively dis- Mnangagwa presided over the of SI. 50 of 2021 is engaged in Nonetheless, they live in wa who was journalist student.
government, NGOs, big capital located and removed from place memorial service of Estelle both class lawfare and class war- squalor and abject poverty and There is no doubt a revolt
or a toxic combination of any and time . Thereby, disentangle Theresa Coetzee at Kwekwe fare against the deinstitution- their living conditions akin against corporate criminality of
of them. Nonetheless, it pays them from the notion of both Club. alized subalterns of Chilonga to 19th century concentra- DenDairy will have a tremen-
scant attention to the historic- national future and national area. The law is being instru- tion camps or 14th century dous impact on pushing back
ity of the maps that traversed memory. That is they are being Where he infamously expos- mentalized and weaponised to slave dungeons. Additionally, against the proposed inhumane
the socioeconomic ecologies dehistoricized and memoricide es his close guarded secret that, arbitrarily evict and dispossess the disposable subalterns of dispossessions and expropria-
and topologies of vernacular from their socioeconomic, po- through his proximity to higher the downtroddenized denziens Marange diamonds, they live tions of the ancestral lands of
landscapes. Thus, it callously litico and cultural subalternity. echelons of power. He has acted of Chingola their means of sub- in lonely islands of penury, Chilonga people. Business by
sought to redraw and demar- Crony buccaneering as a buffer zone and protected sistence, means of production destitution and poverty whilst their very nature operates on
cate the land in bureaucratic, The administration of Emmer- a lot of white farmers from get- and means of survivalism. surrounded by an ocean of rich profit making basis, therefore
externalizing and extractive son Mnangagwa socioeconomic ting their land reposses through diamond extractive minerals. the prospect of loss making
driven fashion. trajectory and its socioeconom- the fast track land reform. And Therefore, it is clear that Therefore,the intended dis- and bad imagery on DenDairy
ic value based system or lack that the Coetzee family are the both the Zanu PF government placements and dispossession is a powerful, nonviolent civil
The Zimbabwean govern- thereof, has been underpinned beneficiaries of his proximity to and DenDairy are engaging of Chilonga people in favour disobedience leverage tool that
ment dropped a bombshell and sustained by neoliberal power and benevolence. There- in a big capital vested interests of DenDairy will automatically progressive Zimbabweans can
when it issued a Statutory compradorism. That is, since fore, the fact that DenDairy has hegemonic expansionary ini- spawn impoverished develop- activate into action.
Instrument 50 of 2021. Which November 2017, there has been been granted the permission tiatives of winner eats it all and mental refugees in the similar
inter alia authorised the dis- an institutionalized inceostous to engage in neo-extractivism eats it now against the Chilonga fashion as those at Chigwizi Crucially, the deinstitution-
placement of 12500 Chilonga and extractive relationship through the recolonization of people. Rather than engaging camp or in Marange area. alized subalterns of Chilonga
people of Chiredzi from their between the neopatrimonial the vernacular landscape and in a win-win contractual rela- can also metamorphose into
ancestral and vernacular land. Zanu PF government and the ecosystem of Chilonga people tionship with Chilonga people. Bustop TV, an underground an organised, disciplined,
In order to pave the way for Whereby, through consultative organic citizen journalism militant, focused non violent
corporate dairy company Den- bottom up approach both Den- entity, has produced a bril- critical mass of what is known
Dairy to conduct agro-business liant ten minute documentary as resource rebels. Thus, they
of growing lucerne for its dairy chronicling the trials and can organically create their
cows. tribulations of the discounted grassroots civic movement that
casualties of Chilonga areas. In will be focused on defending
This arbitrary weaponization one of the interview clips one their birthrights, human rights
of law against the micro-mi- of the villagers clearly spelt out and constitutionally enshrined
norities of Chilonga people by how Chilonga community and rights against arbitrarily dis-
the big government in cahoots its agricultural land is a self possessions and dislocations of
with the big capital demands us sustaining, income generating their livelihoods and surviv-
to analyse these issues under the ecosystem. That is they have al-hoods by big capital and big
prism of environmentalism of built economic sustaining sup- government.
the poor. ply chains with Delta Beverages
and Ingwebu Breweries where They can employ advocacy,
Thus, this opinion piece will they sell their commercial peaceful protests, petitions and
attempt to spotlight and expose barley and sorghum on every litigious ways to push back
the inhuman, illegal and callous single harvest season. Surely, against DenDairy encroach-
nature of the government it beggars belief why the Zanu ments into their sources of
supported neo extractivism of PF government would want to means of production, means of
Chilonga ecology. It also made destroy such a self-sustaining subsistence and means of sur-
a case for the revolt from below socioeconomic and cultural vival-hood. We have seen how
by citizens against big govern- oasis in favour of corporate resources rebels and environ-
ment and big business plunder interests of DenDairy. mentally disenfranchised have
and desecration of the surviv- Citizen agency & pushback mobilized repeatedly against
al-hood of Chilonga peasantry. from below memory loss, refusing to
Vicious circle of spatial dis- Politics of Boycott, Divestment witness their long-term liveli-
placement and Sanctions (BDS) have their hoods pulverised into oblivion.
The Chilonga society consists historicity and foundations Whether through state sanc-
predominantly of Shangaan in Apartheid South Africa tioned violence,or multination-
people who are the micro-mi- and continues to be enforced al big business avarice. A good
norities and have suffered aganist the Isreali apatheid case study and example is how
an endemic circle of state occupation of Gaza Palestine. the venerable and militant Ken
sanctioned displacement and Thus, a disparate progressive Saro Wiwa organised, educated
coalition of businesses, citizens, and conscientize the disposable
politicians, civic organisa- subalterns and the micro-mi-
tions, religious organisations, norities of Niger Delta to
feminist groups, environmental stand up and push back against
corporate rapacity of Anglo
Dutch Shell.

Page 32 Feature NewsHawks

Gugulethu Issue 20, 5 March 2021
Moyo: In
pursuit when the paper prepared an
of justice eight-page edition for release,
riot police arrived to shut
ONE might question how the night sky.” person who is said to have laws that regulated media and everyone on the staff had down their printing press and
a girl that grew up in Zim- The family ran through the orchestrated the campaign is journalism in Zimbabwe were been arrested or imprisoned at blockade the building. Four
babwe, earned a law degree Zimbabwe’s President right intended to interfere with one point or another, herself top members of the Daily
from Oxford and married a city for about 10 kilometres now,” says Gugu. “And many freedom of the press. included. News staff were charged with
diplomat ended up in Tucson, until they reached the safety of the military leaders who illegal attempts to publish but
becoming the executive of a relative’s home. They were involved are still in the Journalists were often in- (Gugu walked into a were acquitted in September
director of the Jewish History went on to stay with various army.” timidated, harassed or charged nightmare when she attempt- 2004.
Museum and Holocaust His- relatives until the violence with crimes of falsehood. ed to secure the release of a Making a difference
tory Centre. paused and they could return The murders took place photographer that had been After Gugu left Associated
home. across a fairly large part of “It was a criminal offence arrested covering Zimbabwe’s Newspapers of Zimbabwe, she
But the answers unfold Zimbabwe, and since there is to publish false information,” two-day national strike. She worked in Namibia for a bit.
when you hear Gugulethu “When we went back no formal documentation on says Gugu. “Journalists make was repeatedly beaten and im- In 2004, she was recruited by
“Gugu” Moyo share her home, the walls were bul- who was killed and where, not mistakes all the time, but can prisoned for two nights, with the International Bar Associa-
incredible journey, and you let-ridden. Someone had gone all the victims’ bodies have you imagine operating in an no access to legal or medical tion’s Human Rights Institute
understand that she is right through the place and some been accounted for. There are environment in which you help. to do advocacy work on the
where she is meant to be. But valuables were gone,” says mass graves in many places, could go to jail because of rule of law in Zimbabwe and
it has not been an easy path. Gugu. and many have not been able your mistakes?” “I went into this environ- elsewhere in the region. With
She is a genocide survivor, to have proper funerals for ment, not knowing what was this position came a relocation
advocate for human rights, Gugu remembers that once their lost loved ones. The Zimbabwean gov- going to happen, but I be- to London.
defender of media freedom, they got back, having to be ernment would offer incen- came increasingly committed
writer, mother, proud Jew, quiet and hide within the “As a nation of Zimbabwe, tives to people to put out to Press freedom,” says Gugu. While in London, Gugu
and now the first Jew of home, sometimes under the we have not yet dealt with or false information to entrap “The reason they were doing was intrigued when she saw
colour to lead a major Jewish bed, because soldiers were addressed what happened,” journalists. They also required this is that we had so much that George Soros’ Open Soci-
museum in the United States. continually looking for people says Gugu. “It makes a lot newspaper publishers to ob- power as the Press. They ety Foundation was looking to
they referred to as “dissi- of sense that the people who tain a licence under the Access wanted to keep the truth away set up a legal aid organisation
Gugu does note that there dents.” are in power don’t want any to Information and Protection from people. What we were to protect Press freedom and
is a familiarity with the vast- proper investigation of this of Privacy Act. These licences doing to defend Press freedom respond to situations where
ness of Tucson’s landscape and “A few months later (after because there’s no real statute could be withheld or revoked was incredibly important to the law is used to intimidate
the African savanna of her we got home), we had to flee of limitation on murder, by the Zimbabwean govern- our democracy.” journalists.
homeland. She loves the des- because the shooting started right?” ment based on the editorial
ert and jokes that sometimes all over again. The fighting Pursuing justice stance of the publication. It The final straw came when “Obviously, I was particu-
she imagines it is what being that was happening in the Gugu earned her first Bach- was clear from the start that the paper challenged the larly experienced in ways in
on another planet might look urban areas of Bulawayo.” elor of Law degree from the this legislation had been creat- constitutionality of specific which legal pressure can be
like. University of Zimbabwe in ed to restrict media freedom. legislation. The Supreme applied to interfere with Press
The second time the family 1996. She also holds a Bach- Court of Zimbabwe (which freedom and also the needs of
“Every day I go out of the returned home, it was like elor of Civil Law degree from Gugu was always defending was the equivalent of the those defending against these
house, I experience awe, in déjà vu – bullet holes in the the University of Oxford in lawsuits against the paper. constitutional court) did not cases in difficult jurisdictions,”
the real sense of the word, walls and the home had once the United Kingdom. For her, “Politicians would sue the consider whether the law was says Gugu. “I understood a
the beauty of this landscape,” again been ransacked. going to law school was about newspaper, kind of routinely, in compliance with the Press great deal about that kind of
says Gugu. “I haven’t been the pursuit of justice. for defamation,” she says. freedom guaranteed in the operating environment. and
to many places that are more “I just remember the Fighting these continual law- constitution. Instead, it told what we could do.”
beautiful than this particular feeling and sense of helpless- “I had a very idealistic suits became a heavy financial the paper to comply with the
part of the world.” ness,” says Gugu. “There was impression of what lawyers burden on the paper. “They law first and come back to She applied for the position
Foundation of strength nothing ever done to address did and what the practice would sue the journalists or court afterward. and was hired as executive
When Gugu was six years old, any of this. It was just an of law was,” says Gugu. “I the publisher themselves for director for the Media Legal
she lived with her grand- experience that people in this went into law because I think ridiculous amounts of mon- “So we should have com- Defence Initiative in June
mother, a teacher, and two particular part of Zimbabwe lawyers working within the ey.” At that time, there were plied with the law before we 2009. The company was
aunts in a residential area had. In fact, many people legal system have a great deal very few limits on the damag- challenged it? That was an established as a non-profit
in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. deny that this happened.” of influence to how people are es someone could claim. unprecedented decision,” says company in June 2008 and
Political tensions were rising treated systematically. How Gugu. “The outcome was not registered as an independent
in the area in the months These “Entumbane clashes” rights are protected – or not.” There was so much legal what anybody had expected, charitable organisation in
following Zimbabwe’s inde- happened years before the and physical risk involved and it drew a lot of criticism 2009. It was rebranded to
pendence from the United Gukurahundi, a series of Gugu was hired to be with publishing in Zimbabwe. from the Zimbabwe legal Media Defence in 2020.
Kingdom. Two liberation massacres of Ndebele civilians in-house legal counsel at “Working for this publication community and legal com-
armies – Zimbabwe People’s carried out by the Zimba- Associated Newspapers of was really an act of courage,” munities and Press freedom Setting up a legal aid
Revolutionary Army and the bwe National Army, whose Zimbabwe, the publisher of says Gugu. activists around the world.” organisation was incredibly
Zimbabwe African National Fifth Brigade was trained by the Daily News, Zimbabwe’s ambitious work. The Open
Liberation Army – both had the North Korean military. largest daily newspaper that Independent newsstand After the decision came Society Foundation started it
set up camps in the suburb Although there are different had a readership of almost a vendors that carried the Daily out, the police shut down the off, but they were not going
of Entumbane in Bulawayo estimates, the consensus is million people. News would be attacked Daily News at gunpoint. That to support it financially for
as part of the demobilisation that more than 20 000 people on the street and have their was in September 2003. the long term.
exercise in the newly indepen- were killed from early 1983 The paper needed an in- newspapers stolen. The paper
dent republic. to late 1987. The Internation- house attorney because the also had their offices bombed A court order stated that Gugu worked to raise
al Association of Genocide – twice. Throughout the time the paper could re-open in funds from donors in both
Gugu’s home was located Scholars has classified these that Gugu worked there, December of that year, but America and Europe. Some
across the road from these massacres as genocide. of these donors include the
encampments. John S. and James L. Knight
“What did happen in the Foundation, the Adessium
In early 1981, a fight eighties was that there was a Foundation, Google and the
broke out between these two commission of inquiry by the MacArthur Foundation.
factions. When the gunfire government at the time,” says
began, the family fled their Gugu. “But that report was But Gugu’s work was not
home in fear. never made public, I don’t the only challenge in her life.
know who’s read it, but it was She and her Jewish partner,
“I remember being afraid never published.” Joshua Polacheck, a diplomat,
and having to sort of crouch were navigating a long-dis-
and move close to the ground. The Catholic Commis- tance relationship.
We had to run through a sion for Justice and Peace in
sports field because where we Zimbabwe and other human “I lived in London, and
lived was near a school,” says rights organisations have done he was posted in Lebanon
Gugu. “I remember the sound reports on the atrocities. Still, and then Pakistan during this
of gunfire, but also red lights there have been many road- period,” says Gugu. “We met
flying above you – bullets in blocks to obtaining the truth in Zimbabwe; it was his first
about the Zimbabwe National overseas assignment. I was
Army’s genocidal campaign working there at the time – I
against the Ndebele people. left Zimbabwe before he did.”

“The obstacle is that the The couple was married in
New York on Aug. 25, 2009.
But right before they entered
the courthouse to exchange
their vows, Gugu’s phone
rang.

“It was from somebody in
Rwanda who was defending
a journalist that had been
incarcerated, and they needed
funds to pay a lawyer. It was
an emergency,” says Gugu. “I
guess somebody else might
have ignored that phone call.
But I knew what that kind of
experience was like for people,

NewsHawks Feature Page 33

Issue 20, 5 March 2021 “The most important thing seum was currently looking is constant and immigrants telling these stories in more including school children that
for me is the requirement to for an operations director. escaping all kinds of situations expansive and richer ways,” make up the museum’s largest
having lived in an environ- act and how much atten- end up settling in Southern says Gugu. “What Jewish life audience.
ment like that.” tion Jewish people devote to They had only been in Arizona. The concept of is, and what it means to live
thinking about how we must Tucson for about a month diaspora is something that she a Jewish life in this particular Since the museum is also
She and Joshua did not act in the world, and the and Gugu applied for the job. is very familiar with and has part of the country.” a Holocaust history centre,
want to live apart as a married many ways that you can be a She got that position and then lived herself. Gugu says that they antici-
couple, and they were trying better Jewish person. That is officially became executive She shares that the mu- pated the upcoming mandate
to figure out who was going something that appeals to me director in January 2021, after “Because most of the col- seum has done a significant added to the state education
to move and quit their job. about Judaism.” Sol left to become the director lection at the museum is oral amount of work educating standards where teachers will
Finding a home in the desert at the Jewish Museum of history, I intend to just keep people about anti-Semitism, need to include lessons on the
“Eventually, I moved to In April of 2019, Gugu, Josh- Maryland. Holocaust and other geno-
Washington DC, and that’s ua and their young daughter cides.
how I came to be living in the decided to move to Tucson to No one was probably
United States of America,” be closer to her father-in-law, happier for Gugu’s appoint- They are working with the
says Gugu. Dr John Polacheck, z”l, who ment as director of opera- Holocaust Education Task
was ill. John had served with tions in July 2019 than her Force and also with a small
Journey towards Judaism Indian Health Services in father-in-law. John had been group of educators to create
When Gugu got to DC, she New Mexico, Alaska, Nevada a volunteer involved in the lesson plans, specifically for
formally started her path to and Arizona before settling in restoration of the museum students in Arizona, that will
conversion, but her connec- Tucson in 1992, when Joshua back when it was known as not only teach Holocaust
tion to Judaism began many was in middle school. the Stone Avenue Synagogue. history but the history of
years earlier. Built in 1910, it became the several other genocides. Gugu
She remembers dropping first Jewish house of worship also wants to include contem-
“Working with lawyers, their daughter off at pre- in the Arizona Territory. After porary human rights issues
particularly South African school one day and talking to John died in November 2019, and personal accounts from
lawyers, sparked my inter- parents since they were “shul his memorial service was held individual survivors.
est in Judaism,” says Gugu. shopping.” One of the people at the museum.
“These South African lawyers, they met was Bryan Solomon “When people can meet
who, in that country, would “Sol” Davis, the Jewish His- Aside from the building’s survivors and speak to them
have been classified as white, tory Museum and Holocaust rich history, the museum is about their experiences, it’s
and so one would have ex- History Center’s executive also Arizona’s only Holocaust a really powerful way of teach-
pected them to go along with director. history center. ing this difficult history,” says
the apartheid system as most Gugu. “The Holocaust was
white people did at the time. He mentioned that the mu- Gugu comments on the something that happened in
But it was striking to me that importance of the museum’s Europe, but some of the peo-
these Jewish lawyers were of- location, being so close to ple who were victims survived
ten activists against apartheid, the border where migration and ended up here.
and played significant roles.”
They have carried on their
When she set up the Media life and have carried those sto-
Legal Defence Initiative, she ries with them and into their
also met icons of the human lives here. That is also true of
rights movement, who also other genocides.”
were Jewish. One of these
individuals was Aryeh Neier. She continues, “The Jewish
Aryeh was president of the History Museum tells com-
Open Society Institute from plex stories in nuanced ways
1993 until 2012. He also to help inform all of us about
co-founded Human Rights history.
Watch and was the national
director of the American Civil History that we don’t un-
Liberties Union. derstand or don’t know. I also
think it’s a place to reflect,
She was curious about the share stories with others and
ethics behind the faith, and learn from that history – what
as she learned and read more we can do better and how we
about Judaism, she came to a can act in the future.”
realisation.
— azjewishlife
“This is pretty much my
tribe, you know? It was an Gugu is seen in 2003 holding a special edition of the newspaper where she worked, which was banned
organic sort of thing, a home- by Zimbabwe’s government.
coming in terms of finding
a community of people who
share the same values about
the world and ethics that I
subscribe to.”

Like most Zimbabweans,
she grew up in a Christian
environment, and attended a
private Catholic school.

“By the time I was explor-
ing Judaism, I wasn’t seeking
God because that’s not some-
thing I was in need of,” says
Gugu. “It was about having
a way of life that I thought
was one that I wanted to lead.
One of the things I particular-
ly like about Judaism is that
we examine and ask questions
in order to get to the truth, so
agreement isn’t a requirement
in Judaism.

Page 34 Feature NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Sustainable infrastructure can drive development

ZIMBABWE has long tive director of Unep.    integral part of green new Unep report offers The report also high- and purchasing land
struggled with crippling A source of emissions growth to deliver en- guiding principles for lighted the economic for conservation, one
power outages, some of Built infrastructure, ergy, water, and trans- governments to in- return on sustainable region has revived wa-
which can last up to 18 which includes every- portation solutions that tegrate sustainability infrastructure, which tersheds that support
hours a day. thing from office blocks will facilitate opportu- into their decision includes renewable en- more than 400 000
The cuts have been to highways to power nity, connection, and making on infrastruc- ergy plants, eco-friend- people.
especially hard on the plants, is responsible sustainable growth,” ture.  Among other ly public buildings and
country’s hospitals and for 70% of all green- said Ban Ki-moon, things, it recommends low-carbon transport. In Singapore, which
clinics, forcing nurses house gas emissions, former United Nations that states align their Investing in renewables is aiming to have 80
to deliver babies by mentions the report, secretary-general and infrastructure plan- and energy efficiency, it per cent of its build-
candlelight and doctors the International Good the President of the ning with the United said, creates five times ings certified as green
to postpone emergency Practice Principles for Global Green Growth Nations Sustainable more jobs than invest- by 2030, builders have
surgeries. Sustainable Infrastruc- Institute, a Unep part- Development Goals, ments in fossil fuels. used recycled materi-
ture. Poorly designed, ner.” humanity’s blueprint Similarly, investing in als to construct every-
But that is starting to infrastructure can also for a better future. It resilient infrastructure thing from schools to
change. displace communities, Ban said the new also urges them to min- in developing countries corporate offices. (The
endanger wildlife and report is a “very useful imise the environmen- can create a return of country was the first
Since 2017, Zimba- weigh, often for de- guiding framework tal footprint of con- US$4 for every US$1 to unveil a building
bwe has installed solar cades, on public financ- for governments to lay struction projects and invested, according constructed entirely of
panels atop more than es. the groundwork for a meaningfully engage to the World Bank. recycled concrete ag-
400 healthcare facili- future where sustainable local communities in Trend setters gregate and demolition
ties, steadying power “There is an urgent infrastructure is the infrastructure decision Alongside the report, waste.)
supplies and replacing need to include sustain- only kind of infrastruc- making. Unep released a series
expensive and polluting able and climate resil- ture we know.” Return on investment of case studies that With Covid-19
diesel-fired generators. ient infrastructure as an showed how many sparking a global wave
To help countries countries are finding of stimulus spending,
The “Solar for reach that goal, the innovative ways to Ambroise Fayolle,
Health” initiative is a develop sustainable vice-president of the
prime example of the infrastructure. European Investment
type of sustainable Bank said the publica-
infrastructure develop- In Ecuador, the tion of the principles
ment that will be vital government has turned “is timely, reminding
to combating climate to nature-based solu- us all of the impor-
change, improving pub- tions to bolster water tance of building back
lic services and driving supplies to several ma- better by tackling the
the economic recovery jor cities. By replanting long-term challenges
from Covid-19. trees, fencing off rivers we face.”

This is contained in —UN Environment
a new report from the Programme.
United Nations Envi-
ronment Programme
(Unep). It urges plan-
ners and policymakers
to take a more system-
atic approach to sus-
tainable infrastructure,
incorporating it into
their long-term de-
velopment plans and
ensuring human-made
systems work with nat-
ural ones.

“We can no longer
use the business-as-usu-
al approach to infra-
structure, which is
leading to ecological
destruction and mas-
sive carbon dioxide
emissions. Investments
in sustainable infra-
structure are not only
environmentally sound
but also bring econom-
ic and social benefits.
Low-carbon, na-
ture-positive infrastruc-
ture projects can help
minimize the sector’s
environmental foot-
print and offer a more
sustainable, cost-effec-
tive path to closing the
infrastructure gap,” said
Inger Andersen, execu-

NewsHawks Obituary Page 35

Issue 19, 26 Feb 2021

Remembering Professor HAVE
James Hakim: ‘A strong YOU
clinician and researcher’ SUBSCRIBED

A CARDIOLOGIST and HIV/ ing at the University of Nairobi and The late Professor James Hakim YET?
Aids researcher by profession and completed postgraduate studies in disease at the University of Colo- To receive
practice. Born in what is now South cardiology techniques at the Uni- rado School of Medicine in Auro- a free copy
Sudan on 14 May 1954, he died of versity of Aachen, Germany. ra, USA, who worked closely with send an
complications from Covid-19 on After a stint working in Saudi Hakim to help support UZ-CRC’s
25 January 2021 in Harare, Zimba- Arabia, he moved to Zimbabwe. development. email
bwe, aged 66. Initially a Lecturer at the University to
James Hakim, a professor of of Zimbabwe College of Health Sci- Beginning in 2004, Hakim was
medicine, had moved to Zimbabwe ences (UZ-CHS), he also served as a also the Zimbabwe principal inves- [email protected]
in 1992, intending to teach and do Consultant Physician at the Harare tigator for the HPTN 052 trial of
research in cardiology. Central Hospital and Parirenyat- antiretroviral therapy for the pre- The NewsHawks
But he arrived as the country’s wa Hospital, where he quickly de- vention of HIV transmission in se-
HIV epidemic was beginning to ex- veloped a reputation as “not just a rodiscordant couples. @NewsHawksLive
pand. Called on to bring his skills in good colleague, but as a good friend
clinical research to the HIV crisis, and a good mentor”, said Agnes “DART and HPTN were foun- www.newshawks.com
Hakim made the switch without Mahomva, now Zimbabwe’s Chief dational studies”, Reid said. “They
hesitation. “He said this is what Coordinator for the National Re- were cutting edge globally and [email protected]
needs to be done, so I’m going to do sponse to the COVID-19 Pandem- groundbreaking in terms of re-
it”, said Edward Havranek, the Di- ic, who worked closely with Hakim. search.” Mahomva adds that “He
rector of the Department of Med- Even as Hakim rose through was firm in terms of finding the ev-
icine at Denver Health and a Pro- the ranks at the UZ-CHS, as Se- idence and feeding it into national
fessor of Medicine at the University nior Lecturer, Associate Professor, programmes.”
of Colorado School of Medicine, and then Chair of the Department
who worked wijtohinH@akthimenoenwashpraow- ks.ocfoMmedicine in 2001, he was also Hakim did the same regionally
gramme to train cardiologists. tapped for a leadership role in the and globally, serving as an elected
Hakim oversaw the development Development of AntiRetroviral African representative on the IAS
of the University of Zimbabwe Therapy (DART) in Africa study, Governing Council from 2016 to
Clinical Research Centre (UZ- groundbreaking research that 2020, a member of a UNAIDS sci-
CRC) in Harare as its Director, a proved treatment could be provided entific expert panel, and as a board
pioneering clinical trial site, and without laboratory monitoring. For member of the Society for AIDS in
“led several major studies that con- this research, Hakim oversaw the es- Africa.
tributed substantively to knowledge tablishment of the UZ-CRC.
in the field”, said Mary Bassett, Di- “There was a lot of work to be “To the end of his life, he also
rector of the FXB Center for Health done in terms of training people continued to practise cardiology
and Human Rights at Harvard Uni- and getting all the infrastructure set and train young cardiologists”, said
versity. up”, said Andrew Reid, a research- Tsungai Chipato, a Professor of
Even as he emerged as a leader er who worked with Hakim at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UZ-
in HIV research, Hakim developed centre. CHS. “He was a pioneer not just in
cardiology programmes and train- “What he set up became a model doing research, but in developing
ing. for the nation. And he attracted a young researchers.”
“Not many people can combine lot of research and other grants to
being an outstanding clinician, re- Zimbabwe through what he had Hakim spearheaded UZ-CHS’s
searcher, teacher, and mentor”, said done with DART.” The US-based successful application for three
Adeeba Kamarulzaman, the Pres- AIDS Clinical Trials Group select- Medical Education Partnership Ini-
ident of the International AIDS ed UZ-CRC in 2003 as an interna- tiative grants from the US Govern-
Society (IAS). “He combined all of tional site for funding under its in- ment, using the funds to support
those things and did them all well.” ternational clinical research agenda. medical education, including cardi-
Hakim pursued his education “He established a site that could ology, and research capacity at the
there and in Uganda, graduating in conduct investigational, interven- institution. Colleagues said Hakim,
medicine from Makerere University tional trials at the highest level”, who was professor of medicine at
in Kampala in 1979. said Thomas Campbell, Professor of UZ-CHS when he died, had tire-
He continued his medical train- Medicine specialising in infectious lessly sustained clinical services and
research despite Zimbabwe’s politi-
cal and economic turbulence.

He is survived by his wife, Phoe-
be, and their sons, Colin, Eric,
Frank, and Neil.

- www.thelancet.com

Page 36 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

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NewsHawks World News Page 37

Issue 20, 5 March 2021 with the Gulf on human rights
should be realistic. These coun-
US Middle tries will not become modern
East policy democracies overnight. If the
is outdated, Gulf really wants to attract in-
dangerous ternational investment, how-
ever, it must address ongoing
A new approach to the Gulf brutal crackdowns on political
States needs a better foundation dissent and the lack of the rule
of law.
CHRIS MURPHY The US counterterrorism part- United States troops captured in action in Iraq.
nerships with GCC countries, Serious outside private in-
IN his 1980 State of the Union while frequently flawed, are Syria and Yemen are crystal trouble than it is worth. — meaningful pressure and vestment is unlikely as long as
address, which came in the still crucial, as these govern- clear. In both theatres, the US’s Finally, although the US a credible interlocutor — are these nations torture political
wake of the oil shocks of 1973 ments often have information tepid, halfway military involve- now moving into position as prisoners, maintain a draconi-
and 1979, United States Presi- on extremist networks that US ment was never substantial should continue to sell mili- the Biden administration ends an “guardian system” that re-
dent Jimmy Carter described in intelligence cannot glean on its enough to tip the balance and tary equipment to its partners, US support for offensive oper- stricts women’s ability to travel,
grave terms the risks of losing own. has served instead to extend the Washington should ensure ations and appoints a new spe- and constantly harass dissidents
access to Middle Eastern oil. conflicts. Washington suffers that it is selling truly defen- cial envoy to support the UN abroad. Frankly, Gulf leaders
And the US is broadening from a hubristic confidence in sive arms. Today, too many peace process. should see expanding political
“An attempt by any outside its people-to-people ties with its ability to accomplish polit- American weapons are used rights as an existential issue.
force to gain control of the the region: today, tens of thou- ical goals through military in- irresponsibly and in violation The US is the only nation
Persian Gulf region will be re- sands of students from the Gulf terventions. of international law. Others, that can move the ball forward. The US must help these re-
garded as an assault on the vital study at US colleges and uni- such as the recently announced If Washington can find a path gimes understand that their
interests of the United States versities. Accordingly, the US Instead, the most significant Reaper drone sale to the UAE, toward peace in Yemen, where long-standing social bargain of
of America,” he said. “Such an must make clear to Gulf allies effect of recent US Middle East fuel a regional arms race that an inclusive post-Hadi Yeme- “no taxation, but no represen-
assault will be repelled by any that its goal is not to pull away adventurism has been to fuel runs counter to US security ni government coexists with tation either” cannot last. As
means necessary, including from the region but instead to perpetual wars that embolden interests. As it pulls back on Houthi leaders as the country population growth outstrips
military force.” create a more substantive and extremist groups and allow an- systems with more offensive ca- rebuilds with international aid, oil revenues, royal families will
stable link between the US and ti-American sentiment to grow. pabilities, however, the United it could be proof of concept for soon no longer be able to afford
That pledge became known the GCC. States should still be willing to a broader dialogue. that payoff.
as the Carter Doctrine, and it It is past time to admit that provide more advanced defen-
has remained a defining feature But it is past time to admit there is a central design flaw in sive weapons, such as Terminal De-escalation should be Once subsidies atrophy
of US Middle East policy ever that there is a central design the United States’ current ap- High-Altitude Area Defence wildly appealing to the US but repression remains, a di-
since. flaw in the US current ap- proach to the Gulf. missile technology, that fit the Gulf partners. Declining oil sastrous storm of unrest will
proach to the Gulf: the top Gulf ’s real security threats. revenues mean these nations brew. Luckily, there are models
At the time of Carter’s pro- two GCC priorities for the Although the US should will soon need to make hard of limited reform in the Gulf
nouncement, the US relied relationship — sustaining US retain its security partnerships If Washington does these choices between investing in that can help the laggards inch
heavily on oil imports to pow- military assistance to fight re- with Gulf nations, the US foot- things, Saudi Arabia and the economic reforms and fighting along. Kuwaitis, for instance,
er its economy, and 29% of gional proxy wars and main- print should be smaller. Before UAE will inevitably complain wars in foreign countries. elect a parliament that main-
that oil came from the Persian taining US silence on domestic the Gulf War, the US was able that the US is abandoning tains some independence from
Gulf. Even two decades later, political repression — will, in to protect its interests in the them and empowering Iran. Given these persistent con- the crown. Although this is
little had changed: in 2001, the the long run, destroy the GCC region without massive mili- The Biden administration’s task flicts and the state control of far from modern participatory
US still imported 29% of its countries themselves. tary bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, will be to convince them that local economies, attracting democracy, it provides some
oil from the Gulf. But it’s not Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and there is an alternative to a nev- meaningful foreign investment guideposts to which more re-
1980 or 2001 anymore. The US objective must be to without billions in annual arms er-ending military contest with to the region is largely a fantasy. pressive regimes can look.
replace this broken foundation sales to these same nations. Tehran. For the US, another benefit to No cold war redux
Today, the US produces as with a new system that sup- decreased tensions between the In pursuing this new course,
much oil as it gets from abroad, ports a peaceful Gulf replete The foreign policy commu- A regional security dialogue Gulf and Iran is fewer incen- some sky-will-fall adherents to
and only 13% comes from with stable, diversified nation- nity in Washington acts as if that includes all parties can re- tives for Gulf interests to spread the status quo will argue that if
Gulf countries. The US now al economies and responsive this massive military presence place the arms race and proxy Wahhabi Islam throughout the the Biden administration drives
imports more oil from Mexico governments — the kind of is now mandatory to protect wars. This may sound like a Muslim world. This ultracon- too hard a bargain, Gulf leaders
than it does from Saudi Arabia. future that leaders such as Sau- US interests, even though it utopian fantasy, but it is far servative and intolerant brand will turn away from the US and
di Crown Prince Mohammed wasn’t prior to the creation of from it. The green shoots of of Islam often forms the build- toward China or Russia.
Yet even as the driving ra- bin Salman staunchly claim the post-9/11 security state. this dialogue have been show- ing blocks of extremist ideolo-
tionale for the so-called Carter the Gulf is seeking. A US-Gulf ing for years, and able US lead- gy, and the Gulf-Iran feud fuels This argument is a red-her-
Doctrine has become obsolete, relationship built on econom- US bases are costly, drawing ership, applying both vinegar its export (alongside its revolu- ring, one that plays on a mis-
it continues to shape the US ic, diplomatic, and governance focus away from increasingly and honey, can begin to create tionary Shiite counterpart). understanding of both the
approach to the Gulf — em- ties, rather than just brute se- important theatres such as Afri- a structure for détente. irreplaceability of military
blematic of a broader failure of curity partnerships, will accrue ca and Asia; they create pressure Biden has a chance to reset alignment with the US and the
US policy to catch up with the to the benefit of both US and on the US to ignore serious hu- And although the US should Washington’s partnerships with willingness of China and Rus-
broader changes to US interests Middle Eastern interests. man rights abuses lest criticism not give the Emiratis or Sau- Gulf nations. The US must sia to get their hands dirty in
in the region since the 1980s. Avoiding proxy wars puts the troop presence at risk; dis veto power over a bilateral also drive a harder bargain with Middle Eastern politics.
The first step is for the US to and they stand out as military nuclear agreement with Iran, a the Gulf states on questions
President Joe Biden should disengage from the GCC’s targets and propaganda fodder regional dialogue would tie the of human rights. In the wake This isn’t the Cold War:
acknowledge new realities and proxy wars with Iran. The Ira- for Iran, al Qaeda, and the Is- Gulf countries closer to the US of Donald Trump’s attacks on Russia has little to offer in the
reset the US relationships in nian government is a US ad- lamic State (or Isis). on Iran policy and likely give American democracy, it will be region, and as global oil usage
the Gulf in a way that pro- versary, but the festering series the GCC greater input on any even more important for Biden continues to fall, Moscow will
motes American values, keeps of hot and cold conflicts in the As US Defense Secretary future agreement Washington to match his talk of the rule of inevitably compete with Gulf
Washington out of unnecessary region — in Iraq, Lebanon, Lloyd Austin undertakes a makes. law and civil rights with actions countries for buyers. Although
foreign entanglements, and Syria, and Yemen — has sim- global review of the US military Testing de-escalation at home and abroad. The US China will continue to look for
prioritises regional peace and ply served to strengthen Iran’s posture, the Biden administra- The Biden administration is has difficult work ahead to re- economic opportunities in the
stability. influence and create cataclys- tion should seriously consider best positioned to test the re- build its global brand, but end- region, it will be unwilling to
mic levels of human suffering. reducing its military basing in gion’s readiness for this kind ing Washington’s hear-no-evil, play a real security role anytime
There are myriad reasons A pullback from US interven- the region. Reconsidering the of de-escalation in Yemen. The see-no-evil approach in the in the near future. The Chinese
for strong relations between tion in places such as Syria and costs and benefits of basing the pieces that have been missing Gulf will help. navy isn’t going to come to the
the US and the countries of Yemen will, no doubt, cause Fifth Fleet in Bahrain would be aid of a Gulf country under at-
the Gulf Cooperation Council immediate consternation in the a good start, as the US massive Still, the US conversation tack. If the Bahrainis, Emiratis,
— Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Gulf. footprint is becoming more or Saudis threaten to turn to
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the other powers, Washington can
United Arab Emirates (UAE). By now, however, the enor- afford to call their bluff.
mous costs of the false belief
The decisions by Bahrain that the United States can in- As a general matter, US for-
and the UAE to establish for- directly steer the outcomes in eign policy has become dan-
mal ties to Israel are a clear sign gerously anachronistic, an in-
of the positive influence these strument tuned to play a song
countries can exert. Kuwait that the orchestra no longer
and Oman play powerful roles performs. But US policy is,
in mediating regional conflicts. perhaps, most inconsonant in
the Gulf, where the US inter-
ests have changed but its policy
has not.

Biden has a chance to reset
Washington’s partnerships with
Gulf nations. It will be difficult,
painful, and arouse loud pro-
test. But the resulting order will
be mutually beneficial, advanc-
ing US interests while moving
Gulf states closer to the future
they claim to aspire to. As they
say, the most worthwhile en-
deavours are never easy.

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 38 Issue 19, 26 Feb 2021

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA I’m not a sangoma, says Diana “And it is my hope to build a cul-
Samkange on her transition tural centre where village elders will
AT the turn of the millennium impart knowledge on the youths.
around 2000s, there came a young United Kingdom while others went she said. ridzo, Mawungira eNhari- These elders will also give counselling
soulful voice possessing both the across the Limpopo to South Africa. Explaining her transition from ra and lately Winky D as on various issues, for instance love
looks and the stamina. heard on his Gombwe and relationships. The other aspect is
Hoping to continue with her mu- urban grooves to mbira music, to showcase Zimbabwean traditions
If her voice did not catch your at- sic career, Diana debuted her sin- she said: “I am now a herbal- album. and culture, mbira music and Zim-
tention, then you would still notice gle Chitsidzo featuring Ngonie and ist and all I do is prescribe Besides imparting babwean traditional dishes,” she said.
her looks, as Diana Samkange was Blush on a TBA-produced compila- herbs for different ail- knowledge about
difficult to ignore. tion album titled Chigutiro Phase I. ments but I am not Zimbabwean tradi- MaNgwenya said everything about
a n’anga (tradition- tions and culture, her was now traditional, from music
Having been scouted by one of The group would intermittently al healer). As an MaNgwenya said to food and wellness.
the best producers at the time, Sipho meet but distance dealt a blow, leav- advocate, I believe she encourages
Mkhuhlani aka TBA The Playboy, ing Samkange with no choice but to people should go back health and well- “I remember I spoke about zumba-
Diana was then signed to Chigutiro branch out as a solo artiste in 2008. to their roots and traditions. ness through pro- ni (fever tree) way before the corona-
record stable in 2004 before joining So I teach Zimbabwean tradi- viding traditional virus came and now we are using it.
one of the pioneering urban grooves She released her first album, My tions and how it’s supposed to dishes. I also spoke about mufandichimuka
outfit — 2BG — which stands for First Diary, in 2008 but the reception be done but handishopere (I “The thing is I and other herbs that have proper-
Two Boys and a Girl. was lukewarm. am not a traditional healer). If have moved to a ties to slow cancer. I am not saying I
there is a spirit which operates farm in Mash- know everything but I am grateful to
The group had Bloodshaw Chikosi The year 2010 saw Diana making a in me, it’s straight from God onaland West God for the gift,” she said.
aka Blush, Kevin Ashley and Sam- comeback, but this time she was on a through my practice of African at Trelawney
kange as its members. whole new level. tradition. This is me now and Estate where She said demand for herbs was
this is my final destination.” I do horticul- high, enabling her to make deliveries
Samkange fitted well on the bill The 32-year-old had begun her ture and dairy almost on a daily basis.
after Rutendo Muchirahondo left the transition from being an urban Perhaps MaNgwenya is not farming. That
group to pursue other interests. grooves artiste to a mbira player. the only musician who is guid- is where I spend MaNgwenya’s music resonates
ed by African traditions and most of time. well with her new career path as a
As 2BG, the group toured wide The makeover came as a huge sur- culture. I produce milk, mbira player. Her third album, re-
and far in Zimbabwe performing at prise to her fans as she bounced back leased in 2012, Kumazivandadzoka,
state-sponsored national galas and on the music scene with Kumagumo There is a host of other mu- honey and mush- 2016 release Kwayedza as well as Ku-
gigs, much do the delight of thou- Erudo, introducing herself as MaN- sicians who proudly follow tra- rooms. We do farm a variety manginde in 2019, all indicate where
sands of fans. gwenya, after her totem and, remark- ditions through their of vegetables that improve on our she is heading — proudly African.
ably, she was now advocating African music, including Jah diet.
For Samkange, she had hit the tradition and culture. Prayzah, Andy Mu- She is currently in the studio re-
big time but her romance with 2BG cording her forthcoming album due
would not last long. “I am an advocate for Zimbabwean out anytime this year.
tradition and culture and I proudly
Frankly speaking, most urban follow our traditions and customs,” Looking back, she is pushing her
groovers enjoyed fame without for- envelope further with the setting up
tune, with the music getting generous of her business brand — Ancient by
airplay but with no money coming MaNgwenya — that is proudly Afri-
their way. can.

So frustrating it was for 2BG that
they split, with some relocating to the

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 39

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Gospel muso Wenyasha

drops Ndodiwa naMwari Author: Obey Chiyangwa
Title: Lost souls of the back-water village
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Wenyasha Chingono
Then the long lost children finally came back home not walk-
Gospel muso Wenyasha Chin- ry to his name so as people we most quit music but something In 2018, he released a live ing tall
gono has bounced back with need to make time for God so inside me told me to never stop. DVD, Test Of Glory, which Dried mucus thin flaring nostrils dry cracked lips gnome-like sway-
yet another soulful single titled he is part of our lives,” he ex- For me it was about God’s call- again featured a host of other ing heads sagging spirits and all
Ndodiwa naMwari. plained. ing and that kept me going I popular musicians, including Tired looking eyes that burnt holes into the souls of their fathers’
knew God had a purpose for the likes of Janet Manyowa. scarecrow looking bodies that walked like ghostly wraiths and
On the single, which is al- Ndinokudai Mweya, which me,” he said. coughed blood-smeared phlegm thick with nothing including noth-
ready gaining traction on You- premiered last March, also Wenyasha says his major ing at all
Tube, Wenyasha superbly lays features the talents of Cana- Still in 2007, he joined the goal now is to diversify his dis- Little brittle limbs that tottered to hug the fraility of their haggared
out his vocals, engaging the lis- da-based bassist Enock Piroro, A Academy, a talent scouting cography. mothers whose hooded eyes stared at the brooding earth and dug
tener from start to finish. who once played for Oliver and singing competition which numerous graves to bury these haggared souls and put them out of
Mtukudzi’s Black Spirits band. was screened on ZBC TV and, “I want to release music in their long-endured misery once and for all
He does not try too much again, he was turned down. other languages like isiNdebele, Fragile minds that scampered around the forlorn homestead looking
to sound like any other artist “The reason is I enjoy Kate- KiSwahili, Lingala and others. for the leftovers of the cow that must have collapsed and died the
but he makes it clear that he kwe and Afro-jazz music and I His big break came in 2015 This is because music should week before that was not healthy at all
is comfortable with his own roped in people who I believed when he featured South Afri- speak to a wider audience,” he Fragile frames that clutched at the lapels of their emaciated mothers
voice. And the vocal range is understood the sound better can-based star Takesure Zamar said in an interview. in vain hope of suckling the last drops from the dried pouches that
on key. and I was happy with both on a track called Musadzokere once fed them amply during the long ago times of plenty and all
Enock and Trust. My music is Shure. A follow up came in In the not so distant future, Small voices that whispered fearfully and sighed like century old
The piano and strings bring for the mature although I am 2016 titled Mbiri Kuna Jesu he wants to continue releasing ancestors wondering why death is stalking the young and leaving
out his best in vocals and you young,” he said. and another single in 2017 ti- singles and videos since visuals their frail bodies and fading minds to hold on to the flimsy straws of
cannot help but sing along to tled Ziso Ramwari are more appealing on digital the dead-walking who have nothing to live for at all
the music. Wenyasha was raised in Rus- platforms. Small bony fingers pointing determinedly at the cattle rustler midst
ape where he lived with grand- the watching crowd who scowls a warning and walks away in a bor-
It is one of his best songs, mother Gogo Prisca Chingono. rowed swagger of pretended self-assurance whose arrogance stands
considering that he changed tall
the way he has performed some As a young boy, he used to And the mothers and fathers wondered wildly why their children
previous songs and that is a play drums at Anglican Church were emaciated so much as to crawl and stall
beauty. although his grandmother dis- And they conferenced among themselves as to what could have eaten
couraged him from focusing on their children’s bodies and swallowed their courage and hampered
A musician will often sound music. their speech and slaughtered their health and eroded their pride
uniform in his or her reper- and buried the foreskins of their once robust minds in the rumbling
toire, with successive songs Time and again, he would mountains yonder where only famine dwelt alongside nothing and
beginning to sound a bit mo- defy his grandmother’s calls the bleakness of nothing more to come nothing even in the fall
notonous. Wenyasha creatively and would sneak out to go and Even the scrawny mongrels sauntering the peripherals of the
avoids this. play music. ransacked compound looked at their own profiles marveling at the
pleasing fact that they were not the ghostly children staggering and
Of course, at times experi- While he was good in collapsing into the thin rickety arms of their mourning parents
ments are highly risky but on school, Wenyasha strongly be- The tall rangy cocks stopped chasing after the wobbling and shuffling
Ndodiwa naMwari, it is all the lieved in pursuing a career in hens to cast mournful glances at these long lost children finally com-
more interesting that the exper- music although that came with ing home tired and about to fall
iment was successful. discouragement from those he They stopped crowing and abandoned their ceaseless scratching of
sought advice. the barren and desolate earth for tiny particles of mangled and de-
The orchestra vibe gives the composed food and looked sternly at the procession of death-looking
song that timeless feel you get In 2007, Wenyasha recorded children walking past
from great songs. At times a his first single titled Raramo, And the head cock nonchalantly flapped his fragile wings once twice
good song is not complicated; which he took to Ngaavongwe thrice and yawned and stretched and trotted away on a jaunty jog
there us beauty in simplicity. Records, at the time one of the like a silly wind was eager to carry it away from a homestead that
biggest recording companies. reeked of poverty and emaciated children and marooned fathers and
Produced by Nigel Nyan- mourning mothers and an earth that yielded not the smallest morsel
gombe, who also produces for Sadly, Wenyasha was turned of food
the famed Mahendere Broth- down after he was told that his Finally the children drank gallons of water until their distended
ers, the song is wholly gospel. sound was not marketable. stomachs threatened to spill everything and then drag their sorry
selves towards the brooding cemetery on the boarders of this ravaged
“I do have a studio at home “I was heartbroken and I al- village engulfed in sadness and sorrow
where from time to time I go
and play the music or just cre- ******************
ate music. So on this particular
day I felt like creating a new Poet: Temba Munsaka
song and after some hours I got Title: Next
the melody and composed the
lyrics,” he said. They come to bury the dead;
treading on forgotten tombs.
Ndinodiwa naMwari fol- Mocking those that went ahead in time,
lows on the success of his pre- forgetting they are next in line!
vious hit single Ndinokudai As tombstones are raped anew,
Mweya featuring guitar virtuo- inscriptions reread like prescriptions!
so Trust Samende and his Houz Respectful of death granites remain mute!
of Gruv band. The mum who lay under observed from afar,
as her mound was defrauded unchecked!
The song has captured the The untamed generation don’t care,
imagination of gospel mu- trodding on the dead as if in a pub,
sic fans with its Katekwe beat leaving imprints for ghosts to track!
laced with Wenyasha’s natural Forgetting that they have nothing much,
and commanding voice. to do beyond the curtain!
Don’t cut out their work for them,
While the video is a joy to an eternity of resting is not a joke!
watch, the impression one gets Death is not anyone’s pal,
is that Wenyasha is aiming at soon it will be your pale self ’s turn.
the stars. This is a promising For the sullied to piss on your tomb!
artiste. It is little wonder then
that seasoned gospel artist
Takesure Zamar has embraced
Wenyasha’s sound and to a
greater extent becoming his
mentor.

And since the release of Ndi-
nokudai Mweya, many fans
have been following Wenya-
sha’s music with curiosity.

Interestingly, the 31-year-
old Wenyasha is a journalist by
profession and also a member
of Harvest House Church.

“Ndinokudai Mweya speaks
to you and me. It is a song that
urges people to have time with
God. A time with God is a time
when you give thanks and glo-

Page 40 People & Places NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Khulu Bush Camp: Luxury surrounded

by wildlife in unspoilt natural environs

SITUATED 258 kilometres north west of Hwange Game Reserve, Khulu has a in today’s parlance. years after they have departed from this his farm at the height of land invasions.
of Bulawayo and 180km from Victoria breathtaking amount of wildlife around The waterhole in the vlei attracts a wide little piece of paradise. Cedric’s talent and indeed passion lie
Falls, only 2km from the highway and its private conservancy of 6 000 acres.
8km from the Hwange Airport - Khulu variety of wildlife and birdlife in Hwange Khulu is a tribute to Cedric Wilde, one in the planning and creating of beautiful
Bush Camp is Hwange National Park’s Designed for those looking for a real National Park. of the directors of the Amalinda Collec- lodges and camps in wildlife and wilder-
quintessential luxury safari lodge. escape from busy and tumultuous lives, tion, who it is named after. ness areas.
it caters for no more than 12 guests at a There is a comfortable and elegant-
Only one thing beats its five-star rating time. Each tented chalet is slightly ele- ly styled main lounge which is the ideal As a word, Khulu, which means grand- Having built the flagship of the collec-
and luxurious comfort: the extraordinary vated and faces the waterhole, and with place to start your day with a hot cup of father in Ndebele, is the community and tion Camp Amalinda 23 years ago, it is
variety of wildlife roaming freely around an open vista of an old riverbed, tourists coffee, or relax with a refreshing cocktail staff’s affectionate name for Cedric. not since then that he has designed and
the private concession. can enjoy endless views of the plentiful in the evening, taking in the magnificent built a camp of Khulu’s calibre, a testa-
game that meander through the natural scenery surrounding you. Cedric is third generation Zimbabwean ment to his never-say-die spirit, hard work
Inspired by the breathtaking splendour untouched concession. who came to Hwange in 2002 when, due and enterprising mind. – STAFF WRITER
of Hwange National Park, Khulu reflects Family-style dinners are also served; at to turbulent politics in Zimbabwe, he lost
Africa’s timeless natural beauty and won- This camp comprises three bespoke meal times one can dine on their own or
der, providing the ultimate and unforget- thatched safari-style suites built onto plat- enjoy the company of other guests.
table safari experience. forms. The rooms are well-appointed and
each designed in a modern contemporary Khulu’s main area has a bar with a wide
Khulu is the smaller, more intimate sis- style. variety of local and imported beverages.
ter lodge to its neighbouring Ivory Lodge;
both part of the Amalinda Safari Collec- Each suite has an indoor and outdoor There is a plunge pool located on the
tion of Zimbabwe, a family-owned and shower, a balcony for game viewing and deck of the area, as well as a raised firepit
operated business born out of love for the individual coffee-making facilities. for stargazing and night caps.
country’s precious wildlife and unparal-
leled landscapes. There are twin beds which can be con- All the camps water is from a borehole
verted to a super king size bed for double and there is an on site laundry service.
The beauty of Khulu is that it com- occupancy.
bines luxurious and private accommo- During the warmer months one can
dation with conventional hospitality and Khulu is designed to have minimal take a dip in the pool located on the deck
service. impact on its surroundings and the envi- overlooking the pan or gather around the
ronment. firepit.
Positioned on the south eastern border
It overlooks an ancient riverbed, a vlei Many fond memories have been creat-
ed and peope find themselves reminiscing
about those nights around the campfire

Property
NewsHawks

Page 41 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Issue 19, 26 Feb 2021

The home of prime property: [email protected]

DUMISANI NYONI IDBZ student hostel model involves procurement of
project nears completion land by the IDBZ for this pur-
THE Infrastructure Develop- pose, as was the case in Bulawayo
ment Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ)’s nology (NUST) students. The complex will also offer a secure and affordable accommoda- and Lupane. On-campus facilities
US$14.8 million student accom- “Overally, the project is current- commercial centre comprising a tion facilities which are conducive will require the respective institu-
modation project in Bulawayo is food court and fast food outlets, for effective teaching and learning. tions to carve out land to facilitate
now 69% complete and expected ly 69% complete and is expected grocery shops, gym, bookshop, ring-fencing of the projects in or-
to be fully completed in Novem- to be fully completed in November bank, pharmacy, laundromat and For USSAP, the IDBZ plays a der to meet the requirements of
ber this year. 2021, with the operational date set a supermarket. The commercial fa- catalytic role through providing investors,” Zvobgo said.
to be the first semester of 2022,” cilities will be open to the general technical and financial support
In 2016, the state-owned IDBZ the IDBZ’s chief marketing and public, she said. towards project preparation and The university student accom-
initiated the University Students public relations officer Priscilla structuring, and then crowding in modation project is expected to
and Staff Accommodation Pro- Zvobgo told The NewsHawks. “Planning and land acquisition private sector investors to support ease accommodation challenges at
gramme (USSAP) which focuses for the flyover footbridge across project implementation through state universities such as NUST,
on the construction of accommo- “As with other construction the Bulawayo-Gwanda highway is joint venture arrangements. Bindura University of Science
dation facilities for students and projects, the project has been neg- in progress given that the facility Education (BUSE), Chinhoyi
staff at universities and colleges atively affected by disruptions in is being developed off campus. The USSAP involves the construc- University of Technology, Great
across the country. work and supply chains as a result bridge will provide for safe cross- tion of both on-campus and Zimbabwe University and Lupane
of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ing of students and members of off-campus accommodation and State University.
The Bulawayo Students’ Ac- resultant national lockdowns,” she the public across the busy Gwan- support facilities. In phase one of
commodation Project (BSAC), said. da-Bulawayo highway,” she said. the programme, focus is on Bula- Currently, only 15% of students
currently under construction at wayo, Lupane, Bindura and Chin- at state universities have accom-
an estimated cost of US$14.8 mil- When complete, the facility will Zvobgo said the USSAP pro- hoyi, with phase two broadening modation at the campus halls of
lion, is the first undertaking. cater for 1 023 students occupying gramme is a critical intervention the intervention to include Hara- residents while the rest rely on
a total of 512 double rooms, Zvob- in complementing government ef- re, Gweru, Masvingo, Mutare and lodgings in areas surrounding the
The project is a joint venture go said, adding it will offer accom- forts towards alleviating the plight Kadoma, she said. universities, according to the gov-
between the IDBZ and three in- modation to students at tertiary of students and staff by providing ernment.
stitutional investors, namely Old institutions in Bulawayo. “For off-campus facilities, the
Mutual, ZIMNAT and Motor In- The government has made a
dustry Pension Fund. clarion call to the private sector to
participate in the development of
It will ease accommodation infrastructure in the country.
challenges faced by the National
University of Science and Tech-

Page 42 Sport NewsHawks

Issue 20, 5 March 2021

Fifa favours Motsepe for Caf presidency

FIFA has asked three candidates to back South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Motsepe in the up-coming Confederation of Afri-
can Football (Caf ) presidential election, a source close to
one of the candidates told AFP news agency.

The previous incumbent, Ahmad Ahmad, was banned
for breaches of Fifa’s ethical code but has had the ban sus-
pended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

World body Fifa are keen for a fresh start in Africa, the
source said.

Motsepe is a South African mining billionaire and owner
of reigning domestic champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

According to the source, Augustin Senghor of Senegal
and Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania are open to the idea of
backing Motsepe and becoming vice-presidents themselves.

Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast would be offered a role
as adviser to Motsepe.

“Motsepe is Fifa’s preferred candidate, they want some-
one new and not implicated in the former presidency,” the
source said.

“They want a better image so they can attract investors
and sponsors.”

Fifa have yet to reply to AFP’s request for comments.
The Caf presidential election is scheduled to be held in
Rabat, Morocco, on 12 March.
Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Foot-
ball Federation (FRMF), is believed to have brokered the
accord uniting the contenders.
He recently invited the four candidates and encouraged
them to pledge unity instead of further widening divisions
triggered by the battle for votes.
Lekjaa himself is eyeing a position on the all-powerful
Fifa Council, whose elections will be held at the same Caf
general assembly in Morocco on 12 March.
This then appears like a well-planned electoral pact that
will clear the path for Lekjaa to the politburo of world
football’s global governing body, with Motsepe landing the
most powerful post in African sport. – AGENCIES/STAFF WRITER

ONE of the most punishing As All Blacks fortress marks 100yr all-round impressive perfor-
venues in world sport, Eden milestone, Zim also reminisces mance.
Park – home of the mighty
All Blacks – will later this year Arriving in New Zealand the Europeans. old Craig Brown Only 10 different countries
mark 100 years of staging Test as the only African country Of course, it was a team ef- who, after getting other than New Zealand have
rugby. at the inaugural Rugby World off to a nervy start ever played Test rugby at Eden
Cup in 1987 – and the least fort, but it is hard not to single to the match, man- HawkZone Park.
As sports fans have become fancied of the 16 teams in the out the cutting edge of the dy-
accustomed to, lowly Zim- historic tournament – fate namic 21-year-old Zimbabwe aged to calm the It is interesting to note that
babwe, not remotely close to dealt Zimbabwe a cruel blow outside-centre Richard Tsim- butterflies in his the clash between Romania
being a rugby power on the after European side Romania ba, scorer of a brace of tries stomach to control Enock and Zimbabwe at the Mecca
global stage, somehow con- stole a last-gasp 21-20 win in that match, one of them a the game admirably of rugby was, in fact, the first
tinue to sneak their way into in a Pool 4 opener that ev- scintillating solo effort that, if for the youthful Af- Muchinjo time a Test match had been
these international milestones erybody felt belonged to the you ask me, is one of the best played there without involv-
in arguably the second biggest Sables. ever seen at Eden Park. rican side. ing the All Blacks.
team sport on the planet. Then there was
There are not many places Another standout perform- the big eighthman 22-year-old picking up the The next time a player with
Only last year, two Zimba- in the sporting world with as er for me was the teenage fly- Mark Neill, scorer of Zimba- ball from the base of a ruck Zimbabwean roots would
bwean-born players, who first much history as Eden Park, half for Zimbabwe, 19-year- bwe’s only other try, the giant to cross the white-wash in an score at Eden Park was after
picked up the oval-shaped ball and there are not many small- South Africa’s transition to
in this country, the other be- er teams in the rugby world democracy and Gweru-born
ing a 2019 World Cup-win- that have gone there and dis- Gary Teichmann added his
ner, were included in a World played an enterprising brand name to the score-sheet as the
Rugby’s Team of the Decade of Test rugby as the new na- Springboks lost 55-35 to the
in recognition of their stellar tion of Zimbabwe did on 23 All Blacks in 1997 in what has
international careers for their May 1987. been recorded as one of the six
adopted homelands between most memorable Test matches
2009 and 2020. Perhaps not since 1949, in at Eden Park.
what is known to much older
It is such an amazing feat folk around the world as the As for those that pulled over
for a country that, despite Miracle of Bulawayo, when the green-and-white stripes of
its massive potential in this Rhodesia hosted and famous- Zimbabwe in 1987, the mem-
sport, has however under- ly defeated the All Blacks ories of Eden Park will always
achieved due to a myriad of 10-8 at Hartsfield, has the linger – not as much though
factors besieging it. world opened its eyes to the for the sadly departed Rich-
potential that this country has ard Tsimba. Tsimba, posthu-
But that notwithstanding, in this sport, all things being mously inducted into World
you cannot just keep this equal. Rugby’s Hall of Fame, lies
unique African country out of interred at Warren Hills Cem-
the global rugby spotlight. Fielding a pack that was etery in Harare after he was
much heavier than Romania’s killed in a road crash in the
The world-famous Eden at Eden Park in 1987, Zimba- Zimbabwean capital in 2000
Park in the New Zealand bwe dominated the forwards at the age of 34.
city of Auckland, where the exchanges for the greater part
world’s best rugby nation has of the game, giving the Sables’ Zimbabwe’s first black rug-
not lost a game in 43 outings exciting backs platform to by international would have
since a 23-20 defeat to France cause all sorts of problems for been turning 56 this year.
in 1994, fondly reminds some Had he lived, Tsimba would
24 determined young men probably be, in at least some
from Zimbabwe how they capacity, attempting to inspire
nearly snatched a famous vic- future and current genera-
tory on that hallowed turf 34 tions of Sables to also have a
years. run in at Eden Park.

Sports Fifa favours As All Blacks
fortress marks
Motsepe for 100yr milestone,
Zim also
Caf presidency reminisces

– Page 42

Thursday 1 October 2020

Friday 5 March 2021 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS CULTURE
‘When you have a weapon,$60Covid
tariff for
visitors &
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ENOCK MUCHINJO Story on Page 8

A TRUE captain’s innings “You know, young Wesley is
by centurion Sean Williams a good player, he will get runs,
no doubt about that, he’s got
quite a good technique,” com-
mented Weeks.
proved to be the cornerstone out to
for Zimbabwe’s thumping first Khupe“Victor (Nyauchi), the
Test win over Afghanistan on seamer who also took six
Wednesday. wickets, bowled really well, he
bowled a disciplined line. But
But for Winston Weeks – a the other thing you have to say
respected British cricket agent is the captain stood out. Sean
and lifelong supporter of the Williams was brilliant, because
game in Zimbabwe – his pre-
diction is also being proven true Unofficial president calls for emergethat innings was what set up
with each passing outing that the whole thing for the Zim-
fast bowler Blessing Muzara- babwe team to win. Him, and
Regis (Chakabva), the wick-
bani would return to the inter- etkeeper, that partnership was
national stage from an English excellent (Chakabva played a
County Championship stint as cameo innings of 44). So that
a genuine match-winner. laid the foundation for the win.
Speaking in November And then the boys came out in
2019, Weeks declared that the
6ft-6n pacer “will be 10 times the second innings and bowled
well again. They got wickets
a better bowler” when he re- at the right time, and that is
turned to the Zimbabwean good.”
side. The second and final Test be-
Muzarabani had put his tween the two teams will begin
international career on hold next Wednesday at the same
after signing for county side
Northamptonshire in Septem- venue, Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
“They (Zimbabwe) mustn’t
ber 2018 on a three-year Kol- rest on their laurels,” warned
pak contract. Weeks. “You have to remem-
The 24-year-old quick ber, you’re only as good as your
would however make an ear- last win, so they have to go up
ly comeback to international a gear, and do the same thing
cricket following the United Teammates join Blessing Muzarabani in celebrating his record first-ball Test wicket for Zimbabwe on Tuesday. again. Even better now, because
Kingdom’s withdrawal from
the European Union, a move Muzarabani finished with Zimbabwe cricket, the return you. The people of Northamp- fessional so it will be good for Afghanistan will come out
that nullified Kolpak deals, at figures of 4-48 and 2-14 in of Blessing, no doubt about it. tonshire loved him because he Blessing,” said Weeks. “Jar- hard. Because, you have to re-
the end of 2020. only his second Test match ap- He is the number one man, and was approachable. His bowling vis has done well in county member, they might have (star
pearance, drawing enormous they have to treat him well, look improved by watching his pro- cricket, he knows the game. It spinner) Rashid Khan back,
Upon his arrival from the praise from his Barbados-born after him, because he makes a fessional colleagues alongside is always good to learn from and that will make a very big
UK, Muzarabani was drafted him. He could go into the in- someone who is experienced. difference to their team. He is
into Zimbabwe’s squad for a mentor, Weeks, who took the big difference to the team.”
white-ball tour of Pakistan at towering pace bowler under his Weeks, a former club crick- door school everyday and work Bowlers work in partnerships, a top-class bowler, one of the
the end of 2020 and the right- wing when the young Zimba- eter, said Muzarabani learned on his bowling and his batting. and Blessing loves to learn.” best, so Zimbabwe are going
bwean was in England. a great deal from being in the His attitude changed because Weeks developed an affinity to have to be very careful. But
arm paceman immediately “The one thing Zimbabwe most professional domestic he is now a professional player, for Zimbabwe after he played anyway, it was a team perfor-
showed a glimpse of his quality have to say is it’s nice to have cricket set-up in the world. and he thinks like one. But the and coached club cricket in the mance in the first Test and it
on a trip that the African side Blessing back, because now “The professionals at the most important thing is to stay African country in the 1980s is good to see the Zimbabwe-
were particularly competitive in they have a weapon,” Weeks club (Northamptonshire) were humble.” and in much later years he has an team happy. The team is
the ODI series.
Then this week in their first told The NewsHawks from the established international play- While Muzarabani has facilitated contracts for local looking really good. I can see
officially recognised Test match UK on Wednesday. ers,” remarked Weeks. “You brought a new dimension to players in leagues across En- the delight on all the players,
against Afghanistan, Zimba- “When you have a weapon ecrasnhoonwlytloeaAbrneLhfSarvoOemaIntNhdeSsheIoDpwlaEtyo- oLFpainlicnhaeadnncdtheRatMajtphiunet’isrsettetyuamrwn, iWopfeetehskesoutgl$aTn3hd.e2. nBaitlulrioalinseddeEpngolisshitmoarns funttohdesesset.aTffh, aetv’sZewriymhbao'tsdIyl,laiktitee’stsogtosleoaedn, d c
bwe opening bowler Muzara- opening the bowling, it makes a happy camp. So, don’t forget
bani starred with the ball to some big difference, especially carry yourself. He (Muzaraba- experienced seamer Kyle Jarvis also reserved some praise for we have got another Test match
complement skipper Williams’ someone who can bowl fast, ni) was very disciplined living to the side, who was sidelined some members of Zimbabwe’s
workmanlike first-innings you know, someone who get in Northamptonshire. To be a by illness for the ongoing Af- first Test-winning team in Abu to come. But at this moment
century of 105 as the Africans to create bounce with the new good professional you have to ghanistan series, will give a Dhabi, including the 20-year- in time, get them a little praise
completed a 10-wicket annihi- ball. When you have a weap- know how to behave and how more rounded look to Zimba- old prodigy Wesley Madhevere and, remember, this is only one
lation of the Afghans inside two on, you win Test matches. This to treat people – have time for bwe’s fast bowling attack. who was dismissed for a duck Test match gone, so you have
days in Abu Dhabi. has put a different dynamic to people when they approach “Jarvis is a seasoned pro- on his debut Test. to step up to the plate again.”

ALSO INSIDE Fifa favours Motsepe for African football presidency