ePaper Final

WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 6 November 2020 BMUinSIisNteErSS Price
entangled
NEWS in six US$1
tenders row
President appoints SPORT
Mubako to Story on Page 10
lead Ndewere Muzarabani
probe brings ‘fear
factor’ to
Story on Page 3 Zim team

Story on Page 24

Cornered
Rushwaya
frantically
called the
First Lady

ALSO INSIDE BCC squanders US$150m opportunity Rtd Judge Mubako leads Ndewere probe

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Cornered
Rushwaya
frantically
called the
First Lady

NYASHA CHINGONO “What happened was Henrietta Rushwaya appearing in court for bail hearing this week.
that after airport security
FRETTING like a cat on a and police had intercepted Mudha (Owen Ncube), who ed Auxillia and Collins as evening, last week on Mon- Henrietta Rushwaya of any
hot tin roof as law enforce- the gold, Rushwaya started is close to Mnangagwa, was name-dropping in a bid to day, he was told that Mnan- illegal kind. I am challeng-
ment agencies closed in on fretting and moving up and also anxious about the situ- help Rushwaya wriggle out gagwa and Moyo don’t want ing the police through their
her in a dramatic public down making calls. Among ation.” or he was simply telling the to see him anywhere near relevant office to issue a
spectacle now a monkey on several people she called, truth. But his statement was the President. He was told to statement,” she said.
President Emmerson Mnan- she dialled the First Lady, At that stage, the clumsy all the same initially record- go away. There was no due
gagwa’s back, suspended but she didn’t answer,” a attempt – to be followed by ed by police. It was supposed process followed,” a top se- Police sources said this
Zimbabwe Miners’ Federa- source close to Rushwaya a series of sequenced and to form part of the docket curity source said. was almost certainly politi-
tion (ZMF) boss Henrietta said. related actions playing out from which the suspects are cal interference and an ob-
Rushwaya frantically tried behind the scenes and in facing smuggling, criminal “The following day, he struction of the course of
to call First Lady Auxillia “Apparently at that time the public domain to cover abuse of office and attempt- was arrested, out of fury and justice.
Mnangagwa in vain. President Mnangagwa and up the smuggling scandal ing to defeat the course of to create plausible deniabil-
the First Lady were not yet which had gone horribly justice charges. ity. When his phone went Yet police obliged.
Witnesses and other aware of what was happen- wrong – had started. offline around midday on But Chibaya said police
well-placed sources told ing. CIO Director-General However, after realising Tuesday last week, we knew had not even interviewed
The NewsHawks that as po- Isaac Moyo and his agents Rushwaya called the First that they had created an he was gone.” Auxillia and Collins due to
lice moved in to strike and were already in the picture, Lady and Karanda, one of even bigger crisis by bring- protocol hurdles.
bust the smuggling racket trying to manage the situ- the arrested suspects, as she ing Auxillia and her son’s As these events were un- When The NewsHawks
involving 6kg of gold – with ation. They tried to reach is close to them. She is relat- names into the racket, they folding, The NewsHawks yesterday asked Nyathi to
99.99% purity levels – Rush- Mnangagwa, but it took a ed to the Mnangagwa fam- retreated and made frantic was in action. It was the first explain how the First Lady
waya anxiously made sev- while for them to find him. ily, despite official attempts efforts to delete the record. media platform to post on and her son’s names disap-
eral calls, watching with Rushwaya never found Aux- to distance the President But it was too late. Twitter Rushwaya’s arrest af- peared from the dockets, he
horror her illicit bid to salt illia. So those delays changed from her now. ter a source close to Mnan- said: “With all due respect,
away bullion worth at least the course of events.” Sources said political gagwa’s family had sent in a that case is now before the
US$330 000 collapse. That is one way in which pressure was at that point tip, and later details. courts, so it is now sub judi-
The source said events officials and Mnangagwa’s irresistibly mounting to pro- ce for the police to comment
Zimbabwe is loosing moved too fast for Mnan- supporters are trying to tect them. Soon after getting a tip, on it.”  
US$100 million worth of gagwa’s people to stop the create a buffer between the The NewsHawks swung into The brazen cover-up con-
gold every month. drama. President and Rushwaya to However, CID and mili- action and called police tinued with statements from
avoid him becoming collat- tary intelligence agents who to verify. Police asked for the ruling Zanu PF and In-
As a result of the quality “By the time Moyo spoke eral damage. were involved were working time to check, but instead formation permanent secre-
of the gold, a new problem to Mnangagwa, they were behind the scenes to ensure of coming back with an tary issued to protect Mnan-
has now arisen in court as to already behind the situation But the digital footprint that the suspects did not answer, they posted their gagwa’s family.
where it came from. Inves- as events were moving too of their printed remarks in wriggle out and tamper with statement on Twitter, con- “Following the arrests,
tigators say the gold could fast, even if they still had the public record is betray- the record. In the end, they firming Rishwaya’s arrest. At government has been made
only have been taken from a fighting chance to act to ing them. managed to delete names. that point The NewsHawks aware that there are some
the state-run Fidelity Print- protect the President. Auxil- broke the story. Other me- individuals and groups, in-
ers and Refiners (Pvt) Ltd, lia never got an opportunity When Gogo Mary Rush- Chief Inspector Michael dia platforms immediately cluding one of the suspects
a bullion buying company to return Rushwaya’s call. waya, mother to Martin Chibaya from Harare CID followed. The NewsHawks in the case, who are abus-
owned by the Reserve Bank Rushwaya who is currently Law and Order told mag- then went on to report Tser- ing the First Family’s name
of Zimbabwe. “There was a hive of ac- deputy chief secretary for istrate Ngoni Nduna this ayi’s quick removal on Tues- in their illegal activities,”
tivity to contain the situa- administration and finance week during a bail hearing day and a day later, Wednes- Mangwana said.
Fidelity Printers has ca- tion. The CIO bosses were in the Office of the President that Tserayi and his accom- day, his arrest. Mnangagwa’s spokes-
pacity to refine gold to pu- sweating on how to protect and Cabinet, died last year, plices had demanded that man George Charamba has
rity levels of 99.5% or more. the President from the fall- Mnangagwa attended the Auxillia and Collins’ names After their names has also weighed in, a peddling
Rushwaya’s gold was of the out of the well-coordinated funeral at Number 4 Glen be deleted. been deleted from the re- conspiracy theory that The
highest quality – 99.99% – bust involving police, CID Lorne Drive in Glen Lorne cord, Auxillia moved to NewsHawks were investi-
purity pointing to a wider and military intelligence. suburb, Harare. While that was happen- distance herself and Collins gating his boss in a bid to
network involving Fidelity, ing, Moyo, after talking to from the smuggling case.   link him to some dealers,
ZMF and security agents, as “Intelligence needed to It was publicly said there Mnangagwa, moved swiftly especially David Crosby
well as their political han- do that for two reasons: they that the families are related. to boot out Tserayi to create “I do not engage in ille- who is said to be one of the
dlers. had immediately picked that a safe distance between the gal narrow-minded pursuits biggest gold traders in Zim-
Auxillia and her son Collins Gogo Rushwaya was President and the scandal. like gold smuggling,” she babwe. Crosby was recently
Fidelity Printers public were implicated by Karanda Henrietta’s aunt, making the said on social media. arrested for trying to defeat
relations officer Chelesani upon arriving at the airport arrested gold dealer a cousin “Tserayi was at the airport the ends of justice over a
Moyo declined to comment after an urgent call from to Martin, former Ministry and after the gold smuggling Auxillia then publicly gold case.
over the phone. Rushwaya and there was of Defence permanent sec- drama he returned to work challenged police to issue a
also Stephen Tserayi, a CIO retary. in town and, as you know, he statement on the matter.
In a well-calculated at- operative, involved. worked with the President’s
tempt to hide the gold heist, Sources said it was ini- close security unit. But that “I have no dealings nor
Rushwaya, with the help of “So it was an emergen- tially not clear to the police involvement with Miss
state and airport security, cy and it was thus critical whether Karanda implicat-
was given safe passage after for Moyo and his team to
the closed-circuit television act swiftly to protect their
system (CCTV) had already ultimate boss: Mnangag-
been switched off. wa. State Security Minister

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

DUMISANI NYONI Bulawayo City squanders
US$150m loan opportunity
BULAWAYO City Council —
which is desperate for funding Bulawayo City Hall
amid a crippling water crisis and
infrastructure collapse — is drag- tiating table,” the fund manager The effective date or start date term sheet and any associated interests granted by the BCC by
ging its feet in entering into se- said. of the loan shall be the date on documents become null and void calling on the issued bank guar-
rious negotiations for a US$150 which the first payment is re- in the event that the client pro- antees.
million loan proposal from Unit- “The deal was brokered by a ceived by city as per the draw- vides any false or fraudulent in-
ed Kingdom-headquartered firm Zimbabwean mining executive down schedule which is yet to formation to the facilitator at any Any outstanding balances that
Elite Capital & Co. Limited for the who loves his country and Bula- be determined, but will be based time during the process of obtain- remain unpaid at the end of each
rehabilitation of water and sanita- wayo, so he is mainly doing it to on the cashflow forecast for each ing the loan, and the facilitator month shall be subject to 3.75%
tion facilities, it has emerged. help the people. He used his con- project. has the right to claim on the RCI penalty interest being levied by
tacts and reputation to reach and Insurance policy in full.” Elite.
The loan opportunity comes at structure the loan deal, and for- Sovereign guarantee, which
a time the city’s water and sani- warded the term sheets to Dube is critical, will secure the loan, BCC would have defaulted if Sources said Bulawayo seems
tation infrastructure need urgent and the finance department, but while, on fees, Elite shall charge it fails to pay any money due to afraid of committing because
fixing. there is no progress at all.” 3% to be deducted from the loan Elite beyond the thirtieth day af- these obligations could be diffi-
amount, or each disbursement of ter receipt of notice that payment cult to meet, given the city’s poor
Bulawayo is battling serious According to the term sheet, the loan. is due; if it commits any act of finances and the parlous state of
water shortages, leading to an the interest shall be charged on bankruptcy, or it or a creditor files the economy.
outbreak of diarrhoea in the the last day of each month, for any “The facilitator (Elite) shall a petition for reorganisation or
high-density suburb of Mzilikazi and all amounts that have been appoint an international class liquidation under the bankruptcy The rejection of the deal comes
and surrounding areas. The city transferred to the project account, auditor (such as Ernst & Young, code; if it enters into a compro- at a time the Zimbabwe Anti-Cor-
also has dilapidated water and less any settled amounts. KPMG, PwC, etc) to oversee all mise with its creditors, including, ruption Commission (Zaac) is
sewer reticulation systems. disbursements made to the proj- but not limited to, making an as- investigating cases of corruption
“When payments have been ect, and to assess any/all aspects signment or attempted assign- involving senior council officials
In June, a diarrhoea outbreak made part way through the of the Facilitator’s involvement in ment of the whole or a substantial and councillors over the unproce-
was recorded in Luveve suburb month, the interest rate shall be the project, to ensure compliance portion of its assets for the benefit dural allocation of stands.
and nearby areas, killing 13 and charged pro-rata for the number with UK Money Laundering Laws of its creditors.
infecting nearly 2 000 people. of days that the project has had and Regulations,” it says. Early this month, Zacc arrested
use of the funds,” the term sheet It would have defaulted also if Bulawayo City Council director of
Another outbreak has hit the document reads in part. The city should appoint its own it makes any significant departure housing and community services
city, with the first case in the lat- auditor for the project, indepen- from the intended business ven- Dictor Khumalo on allegations of
est outbreak being recorded on “The standard loan terms from dent of Elite. ture without Elite’s agreement, or criminal abuse of duty as a public
26 September. The diarrhoea has Chinese banks are based on a 5 to uses the loan proceeds otherwise officer as defined in the Criminal
been linked to the ongoing water 7 years repayment period. Howev- All exchanged draft contracts than for the designated project in Law (Codification and Reform)
crisis. er, this can be increased up to 10 and/or term sheets between Elite accordance with the objectives of Act.
years, subject to a robust business and BCC are considered discus- the loan as outlined in the term
The acute water shortage has model and application documents sion for negotiation purposes and sheet. Zacc descended on the local au-
resulted in the city council pro- being submitted to the bank.” not an agreement or part thereof. thority in September after a whis-
viding water to only a few suburbs In the event of default, the bal- tleblower alleged corruption and
for 12 hours per day in a week. Lending interest rates in Zim- “Client (BCC) is responsible ance of the loan outstanding at malpractices in the municipality,
babwe’s banks are ranging be- for paying the fee of the insurance that time, together with all ac- particularly issues to do with al-
However, the city is about to tween 15% to 22% per annum, policy which will be issued via crued unpaid interest from the ef- location and sales of council land.
squander a major loan lifeline which is worlds apart from the Royal Chartered Insurance, Lim- fective date shall be immediately
opportunity from the UK-based Elite & Co. deal. ited Liability Company to the fa- due and payable. One of the cited cases in-
funder, Elite & Co mainly due vour of the facilitator to cover the volves Bulawayo mayor Solomon
to sluggish decision-making and The term sheet indicates the en- involvement of all or any (1) law- On non-repayment of the loan Mguni who was allocated a plot
dysfunctionality within council. gineering, procurement and con- yers, (2) bankers, (3) accountants and interest by the city within 30 in Rangemore for a meagre rent-
struction contractor will be nom- and the process of (4) blocking days following the happening of al, much to the disgruntlement of
A term sheet seen by The New- inated by Elite and agreed with funds in the bank, etc,” the docu- an event of default, Elite shall be residents. The lease was for an ini-
sHawks indicates Bulawayo has a BCC in advance. The contractors ment reads. entitled to enforce the security tial 25-year period, while month-
chance to secure US$150 million, the company uses are all from the ly rentals were pegged at ZW$165
which could significantly ease the Top 50 Chinese companies. “The parties agree that this (US$1.65), subject to review.
city’s crisis. The money is readily
available.

The deal was proposed and
brokered by a Zimbabwean min-
ing executive based in the UK. He
went to school at Mpopoma High
School in Bulawayo. The interest
rate on the proposed loan is yet to
be determined, as it is up to nego-
tiation, but could be in the region
of 2% per annum, flat rate.

The NewsHawks understand
that city council officials had all
but rejected the lifeline, claiming
the 2% interest rate is usurious.

Zimbabwe’s interest rates range
between 15% and 20% per an-
num.

Town clerk Christopher Dube
confirmed meeting Elite Capital
representatives, but declined to
shed more light on the deal.

“Yes, we have met them, but
we don’t negotiate in public. We
haven’t yet signed the deal with
them. Discussion is still ongoing,”
he said.

However, a UK-based fund
manager said Bulawayo officials
lack urgency and may squander
a huge opportunity organised by
someone with the city’s interests
at heart.

“My understanding is that
those who brokered the deal are
having difficulties in bringing Bu-
lawayo City Fathers to the nego-

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Retired judge Mubako leads Ndewere probe

Retired Justice Simbi Mubako Justice Erica Ndewere President Emmerson Mnangagwa

OWEN GAGARE legedly plotting the 31 July pro- than 24 months and that all the out salary and benefits until the recommendation to the Presi-
tests. property stolen was recovered. final determination of the mat- dent” and “investigate any other
PRESIDENT Emmerson ter.” matter which the tribunal may
Mnangagwa has appointed a However, documents gleaned However, the record shows deem appropriate and relevant to
three-member tribunal chaired by The NewsHawks show that that, contrary to Ndewere’s In his proclamation, Mnan- the inquiry”.
by retired Justice Simbi Muba- the charges she is facing preceded claims in her judgment, Majecha gagwa said the tribunal would
ko to investigate allegations of the Sikhala case by almost a year. was not a first offender, having last five months from the date of The Mubako-led tribunal will
gross incompetence against High been convicted three times be- swearing-in. It is expected to pro- recommend whether Ndewere
Court Justice Erica Ndewere In a report titled Complaint fore and sentenced for assault, duce a report within a month of “is fit to hold office in the light of
which may lead to her dismissal. against Honourable Justice illegal entry and robbery for peri- concluding the inquiry. the foregoing”.
Ndewere has also been sus- Ndewere: Judge of the High ods varying between two months
pended without salary or bene- Court of Zimbabwe, the judge and two years and six months. The terms of reference of the The inquiry will be held both
fits pending the outcome of the is accused of freeing a convict, tribunal include “to investigate in public and in private, as deter-
inquiry. Other members of the Kenneth Majecha, due to gross In a letter yesterday, Chief Sec- into the matter of the removal mined by the tribunal.  
tribunal are Yvonne Masvora and incompetence. retary to the President and Cab- from office of Honourable Jus-
Charles Warara. inet Misheck Sibanda informed tice Erica Fungai Ndewere”.   Documents show the JSC has
Ndewere is challenging Mnan- Reasons which Ndewere had Ndewere that Mnangagwa had levelled complaints against three
gagwa and the Judicial Service given in her judgment to set appointed a tribunal  “to inquire It will also investigate Ndew- judges: Ndewere, Owen Tagu
Commission’s decision to in- aside imprisonment included into the question of removing ere’s conduct and determine and Thompson Mabhikwa.
vestigate her on constitution- that the convicted person was you from the office of judge of “whether it can be deemed to
al grounds.  She also says she is a youthful first offender, hence the High Court.” have been tantamount to gross Last month, the JSC wrote to
being investigated for granting young people are more likely to indiscipline” as well as investi- Tagu bringing to his attention
MDC-Alliance deputy chair- make ill-conceived and unwise “Accordingly, you are suspend- gate whether she “interfered with a complaint that was raised on
person Job Sikhala bail on 22 decisions; they lack stability and ed from the office with immedi- the course of deliberations of how he handed down a ruling in
September. Sikhala was released self-restraint compared to a fully ate effect in terms of section 187 the Judicial Service Commission the Doves Funeral Assurance vs
from Chikurubi Maximum Se- mature adult. (10) of the Constitution until concerning allegations that were Bluestar Logistics and Another
curity Prison where he had been the President, on the recommen- being levelled against her.” case. Tagu has since been cleared.
detained for over a month for al- The judge further reasoned the dation of the tribunal, either re-
sentence was thus too harsh. She vokes the suspension or removes The tribunal will “consider all Last month, Mnangagwa
also said the magistrate should you from office,” Sibanda wrote. information submitted by the fired Supreme Court Judge Jus-
have considered community ser- Judicial Service Commission in tice Francis Bere after a tribunal
vice since the sentence was less “Your suspension will be with- order to arrive at an appropriate found him guilty of gross mis-
conduct.

Mzembi alleges political victimisation

MOSES NGWERE total, official sources say. the name of Conventions Africa, us- Goodson Nguni, formerly Zacc di- account, not a trustee. Where and
Mzembi, currently exiled in South ing documents for Stess Investments rector of investigations. why was I ever charged if there was
FORMER Tourism and Hospitality (Private) Limited where Makombe any suspicion, and who is the com-
Industry minister Walter Mzembi Africa, is being accused of sequester- Kuhudzayi was a director, and made “Karikoga Kaseke with Goodson plainant?”
says he is being politically victim- ing government vehicles to personal themselves signatories to the account. Nguni framed these charges against
ised and dragged through corruption use alongside senior officials and However, in an interview from his what they caricatured as a G40 min- He added that he was never in-
mud by President Emmerson Mnan- fund-raising consultants. South African base this week, Mzem- ister, leading to my incarceration,” volved in Zanu PF factional fights,
gagwa as he views him rival. bi said everything related to the issue Mzembi said. saying even in the final months lead-
According to the NPA court appli- was done above board and authorised ing to the coup, he had been on leave.
This follows a court application by cation, Mzembi went around solic- by cabinet. He also provided the cab- He also claimed the vehicle he is
the National Prosecuting Authority iting donations ahead of the United inet authorisations for his actions. accused of converting to personal use “I wasn’t even in factional politics,
(NPA) to forfeit his assets, alleging Nations World Tourism Organisa- is with his former ministry and is not having come from the campaign on
they were corruptly acquired. The tion general assembly co-hosted by Mzembi was a member of the G40 registered in his name. the 27th September and, a few days
NPA, in collaboration with the Zim- Zimbabwe and Zambia in August faction in Zanu PF which, chaper- later, I was transferred basically on
babwe Anti-Corruption Commis- 2013. However, the funds were de- oned by former first lady Grace Mug- “This is a farce of a petition,” he promotion to Foreign Affairs and by
sion (Zacc), is processing up to 40 posited into a bank account belong- abe, went on a trailblazing political said, referring to the NPA applica- November 2017 was taken out to-
applications at the High Court for ing to Conventions Africa, a consul- blitz in the final months in power tion. gether with the rest.
the forfeiture of corruptly acquired tancy firm formed for that specific of the late former president Robert
assets owned by several high-profile purpose and which was not registered Mugabe, only to be suddenly halted “How do you petition to repossess “I had been out on a cabinet leave
figures that include former cabinet with the Registrar of Companies and by a military coup which toppled the a vehicle in the custody of the minis- of absence for nearly two years and
ministers, government officials and was disbanded soon after the event. strongman in November 2017. try since September 2018? Secondly, you ask yourself why did ED (Mnan-
parastatal bosses. it is not registered in my name but gagwa’s initials) lump me together
The consultants, identified in Mzembi said allegations against that of the UNWTO trust hosted at with G40 when it was clearly out of
The assets, some of which were the docket as Susanna Makombe him were first framed by former the Ministry of Tourism headquar- my depth with local politics, having
squirreled out of the country, are Kuhudzayi and Aaron Dzingira Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) ters. Isn’t this just a very clear case of been away on a campaign: because he
worth an estimated US$7 billion in Mushoriwa, opened a ZB Bank ac- chief executive Karikoga Kaseke and smearing someone’s good name by an considers me a potential threat to of-
count number 4168720497080 in incompetent PG?” he said. fice to this day,” Mzembi said.

“I was never a signatory to the

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

BERNARD MPOFU How coup plotters knew as far back as November
caught Mugabe napping that a plan by their commanders
A GROUP of handpicked soldiers to topple Mugabe was afoot and
from different army units led by bwe Defence Forces commander “Preparations had not gone to ities. they remained on high alert.
commanders from the Mech- Constantino Chiwenga, former plan from a logistics point of view “All the diplomatic work, which
anised Brigade based just outside ZNA commander Phillip Valerio following a payment dispute with The tension was heightened on
Harare spearheaded the military Sibanda and Major Generals Si- Boomslang and the new contrac- includes apprising military chiefs November 14 when the Zanu PF
coup that toppled long-time lead- busiso Moyo and Englbert Rugeje, tor,” a source familiar with the in the region had been done few youth leader Kudzanayi Chipanga
er Robert Mugabe three years ago, among other commanders who plot told The NewsHawks. weeks before the intervention, dared the army to topple Mugabe.
fresh information about the plot were stationed at King George VI but logistically the operation was
that took Zimbabweans by sur- Barracks (now Josiah Magama “While the plotters had put all fraught with risks.” “The guns will follow the poli-
prise shows. Barracks). ducks in a row in terms of pre- tics and not the politics following
paredness, there were vulnerabil- When the coup was already in the guns,” Chipanga told journal-
Investigations by The News- motion Mnangagwa’s allies were ists at a press conference in Hara-
Hawks meant to shed light into The late former president Robert Mugabe meeting aides of then South Afri- re.
the military operation that end- can president Jacob Zuma in Cape
ed Mugabe’s 40 years in power in Town to inform them of the Zim- Within an hour after his state-
dramatic fashion, revealed that babwean military’s plan. ment was broadcast on ZBC’s
the military took several months lunch time news, soldiers from
to prepare for the putsch, includ- The positioning of armoured the Mechanised Brigade set out to
ing contracting a South African personnel carriers was said to be prove him wrong.
firm to refurbish its old tanks. a symbolic statement to Mugabe,
who l stepped down on November Dozens of T69 and T72 tanks
According to documents, the 21 as Parliament was on the verge and armoured vehicles, which in-
refurbishment of the Zimbabwe of impeaching him. cluded the Cascavels rumbled out
National Army armoured per- of the barracks and headed to Ha-
sonnel vehicles was halted after Mugabe was caught by sur- rare, the seat of power.
a contractual disagreement with prise as he later remarked that
South Africa-based military con- he did not know that Zimbabwe Halfway to the capital, on a
tractor, Boomslang Logistics, be- had functional armoured cars as road flanked by train tracks and
fore a local company was roped in he had last seen them soon after fields, the tanks halted, apparently
to complete the project. independence. The military had awaiting orders from command-
acquired arms for the operation ers.
To set plans for the coup in behind Mugabe’s back.
motion, the Ministry of Defence Pictures of the rolling tanks
(MoD) signed a US$20 million “There is no paper trail show- went viral on social media while
deal with Boomslang Logistics ing how orders were flowing,” an- Mugabe was chairing a Cabi-
(Pty) Ltd to give the tanks that other source said. net meeting, a few days after he
were used to take over govern- fired his then deputy Emmerson
ment installations during the “That highlighted how precari- Mnangagwa.
coup a facelift. ous the operat7ion was.”
Unbeknown to Mugabe, the
At the time of the coup, only Sources, however, said soldiers presidential guards at State House
three out of the intended 72 from the Mechanised Brigade and Zimbabwe House were al-
Brazilian designed Cascavel ar- ready collaborating with the coup
moured vehicles had been up- plotters.
graded but they still managed to
do the job as Mugabe’s loyalists in The guards welcomed the oc-
the security forces did not put up togenarian’s motorcade through
any meaningful resistance. the checkpoint, then sealed it and
waited for reinforcements.
During the coup one of the ar-
moured personnel carriers was When he arrived at his Blue
station at Munhumhutapa Build- Roof mansion in Harare’s Bor-
ing, which housed Mugabe’s of- rowdale, Mugabe went to bed
fice, another one was at the Chi- promptly. At around 9:30 PM,
kurubi Support Unit Armoury soldiers received orders to deploy
while the third one was patrolling into the Harare city centre and
several locations in Harare, im- arrest top members of first lady
peccable sources said. Grace Mugabe’s faction, which
was known as the G40.
The Mechanised Brigade, which
was under the command of Brig- Some of the armoured vehicles
adier General Steven Gwekerere from Inkomo Barracks and head-
worked closely with then Zimba- ed to 2 Presidential Guards Bar-
racks in Dzivaresekwa where they
awaited orders. The following
morning Mugabe woke up to sol-
diers that had switched their alle-
giances surrounding his mansion.

His head of security, Albert
Nguluve did not show up for the
usual morning briefing.

Nguluve had been captured and
heavily assaulted by soldiers while
on his way from Mugabe’s home
on Tuesday evening, sources said.

Sources said at this stage it be-
came apparent that Mugabe was
under house arrest.

What followed was a week of
drama and uncertainty that in-
cluded mass demonstrations that
were meant to force the then
93-year-old ruler out of power,

The announcement by Jacob
Mudenda, the speaker of Parlia-
ment, that Mugabe had thrown
in the towel nearly a week after
army trucks were rolled onto the
streets sent cheering crowds into
the streets of the capital and cities
across the country.

Mugabe’s era had ended.

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Dyck’s new Mozambican wild adventure

MOSES NGWERE Who is Zim’s retired Colonel Lionel Dyck?

A BAND of hired combatants — Dyck second from right with his anti-poaching team in South Africa and a journalist next to him. for the Robert Mugabe government,
some say  mercenaries — working destroyed Zpra personal armoured
for a former commander of Zim- WHILE Western powers and Af- of the most fascinating books to be and he was subsequently forced to carriers which were moving in from
babwean military paratroopers, rican countries, especially in the re- published on military adventures. leave the army. Before that, he had Essexvale (Esigodini) to take over
Colonel Lionel Dyck, are holding gion, are still hand-wringing over joined internal affairs with, I believe, Bulawayo.
fort, trying to suppress a grow- how to contain the Islamist insurgen- Initially, Mozambican President tsetse fly control, before eventually
ing   Islamist insurrection sweep- cy in Mozambique, which has had Filipe Nyusi had considered various leaving for South Africa to further his For helping contain Zpra during
ing through the northernmost devastating human life and economic private military options — soldiers education.” the Entumbane battle from 8-12
Mozambican region of Cabo Del- consequences, as well as far-reaching of fortune or mercenaries — to quell February 1981, Dyck was ironically
gado. geo-political ramifications, one man the jihadist uprising. The first option In South Africa, he went to school, given an award by Mugabe — one of
has stood up to fight — in a mon- was to engage shadowy Russian para- abandoned drinking to become a tee- the leaders of forces he had fought,
This has been going on for the ey-spinning guns-for-hire deal: re- military organisation Wagner Group totaller and turned his life around. together with other former Rhode-
past three years as the internation- tired Colonel Lionel Dyck. to fight the insurgents. Wagner, as a Then he returned to Rhodesia to re- sian soldiers, both black and white.
al community increasingly gets private military outfit, has close ties join the army in the 1960s, just in
concerned by the fragile security Dyck, a former Rhodesian and with the Kremlin. time for the beginning of a protract- Mugabe was now in alliance with
situation — which is a threat to Zimbabwe National Army com- ed Zimbabwean liberation war which them to fight a new enemy: Zpra.
neighbouring countries including mander, has a colourful personal and Founded by a former Russian mil- ended in 1980. Dyck distinguished
Zimbabwe — in the country. military history; bloody works and itary intelligence officer, the paramil- himself as a soldier and won several Over the years, Dyck became
good deeds all rolled in one. itary group debuted on the interna- awards. After Independence in 1980, friends with Mnangagwa and senior
Unprepared and ill-equipped, tional stage in Ukraine in 2014. when Rhodesia transitioned into Mugabe regime members.
desperate Mozambican authorities Dyck’s James Bond-like biography Zimbabwe, Dyck took command of
have been soliciting support from spans conscription in Rhodesia; dis- Composed of former military the Zimbabwe parachute battalion, a Mnangagwa’s relationship with
various parts of the world, but so missal from the army  for a drunken personnel, Wagner provides combat mix of former RAR (Rhodesian Afri- Dyck is captured in a 2008 Wikileaks
far only the Dyck Advisory Group accident; going to South Africa for advice, foreign internal defence — can Rifles), Selous Scouts and other cable in which they are described as
(DAC) has heeded the call — for school and becoming a teetotaller; training of local forces — and direct former adversaries from the Zanla business partners.
business and money. returning to Rhodesia and fighting action services. It often works with and Zpra guerrilla armies, which
in the liberation struggle; the En- Russian intelligence services and spe- were integrated to form the Zimba- “Colonel Dyck started a lucrative
Last month, Mozambique wrote tumbane battles featuring Rhodesian cial operations units. bwe National Army. Dyck lived on mine-clearing company called Mine-
to the European Union begging forces; Zpra and Zanla; the military the edge — as he still does — and was Tech, which today is owned by Ex-
for military assistance as it tries to lockdown in Matabeleland in the run After Wagner’s disastrous Mozam- to never shied away from controversy, ploration Logistics whose chairman
quell the growing and increasing- up to Gukurahundi; then the 5th bican campaign sustained casualties, as events were to later show. is Alastair Morrison, thus cementing
ly brutal uprising that is wreaking Brigade massacres; and now combat- the Russians withdrew. Insurgents the ties between big business in Zim-
havoc in Cabo Delgado province. ing jihadists in Mozambique where had beaten them to the game by In the book The end of an era? babwe, British Intelligence and Or-
he had previously been to fight rebel applying guerrilla tactics — attack, Robert Mugabe and a Conflicting ganised Crime as the core value that
Maputo has also notified the group Renamo. retreat, attack, retreat, attack — cre- Legacy, Dyck is described as a shrewd the CIO rendered the Government of
Southern African Development ating the surprise element. And the commander of the Zimbabwean Britain, (Ian) Smith and Zimbabwe
Community (Sadc) of its prob- The irony is Renamo was formed Russians were caught unawares and paratroopers.  He played  a key role was shadowy business deals, sanc-
lems, and regional leaders — at by Rhodesians to destabilise Mozam- surprised by the level of sophistica- in the Gukurahundi genocide in the tions busting and gun-running,” the
their last  heads of state and gov- bique during Zimbabwe’s liberation tion and weapons used. 1980s where he befriended current cable said.
ernment summit in August — war. In 1980, it was handed over to Zimbabwean President Emmer-
pledged to “support” Mozambique apartheid South Africa for the same However, Dyck, through his son Mnangagwa, who at that time “This created a world class intelli-
without specifying how.Just before mission. In-between the years, Dyck company the Dyck Advisory Group was State Security minister. Initial- gence outfit with the sole aim of do-
the summit, the United States was involved in a global de-mining (Dag), came in at the height of the ly after the war, he was close also to ing illegal deals and today Mnangag-
Special Operations Command business and anti-poaching activities insurgency in March; typical of Mnangagwa’s deputy, Constantino wa is the Minister of Defence, the de
(Africa) commander, Major-Gen- in South Africa in which he made Dyck, in the middle of a crisis. Chiwenga, who at the time was com- facto chief of the CIO and the only
eral Dagvin Anderson, was beating millions of dollars. Dyck has more mander of One Brigade Infantry Bat- contender to run for President and he
the drums for a multi-nation mili- than 30 years’ experience leading spe- Research, including information talion in Bulawayo. has made no secret of his ambitions.”
tary intervention. cial forces in Zimbabwe, dealing with corroborated by military sources,
explosive disposal, security issues shows Dyck joined the Rhodesian Dyck’s paratroopers played a de- Dyck’s last years in the Zimbabwe-
South Africa, on its part as the and animal conservation, as well as Light Infantry, a division in the Rho- cisive role in containing the 1981 an army saw him leading paratroop-
region’s economic powerhouse, has involvement in private military com- desian army, when he became eligible Entumbane battle between Zpra and ers in a hard-fought campaign against
said it can only offer intelligence panies or private securities companies for compulsory conscription in the Zanla which resulted in over 300 Renamo rebels in Mozambique,
support — the same support Zim- business. late 1950s. However, he did not last deaths. His troops stopped Zpra at which earned him the respect and
babwe has offered. South Africa’s long after he was expelled for gross Milton High School as it marched trust of the Frelimo administration.
Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor Research by The NewsHawks re- indiscipline. into Bulawayo after a series of fights Tragically, two of his fighters, Col-
said: “If it is more intelligence veals a dramatic and exhilarating in the camps with Zanla that threat- onel Derek Flint Magama, who was
support, if it is the South African story behind the 76-year-old military “The story, as we know it, is that ened to plunge the country into civil Chiwenga’s deputy in Bulawayo, and
navy patrolling the coast, if it is veteran — a dog of war of note — Lionel Dyck was an officer with RLI war. Dyck, as an RAR commander, a Major Judgemoire Cheuka, died in a
assistance from our defence force, a description he may surely not like. and one day he got drunk; rolled a white-dominated unit then fighting helicopter crash in Mozambique. Re-
we as South Africa stand ready, His life story can be written into one Unimog (an all-wheel drive military namo claimed it down the chopper,
but we must have that indication truck) and killed a troopie,” a mili- although official explanations were
from the government of Mozam- tary source said. that it crashed due to engine failure.
bique. Mozambique is a sovereign Magama was notorious for torture
country, if it needs assistance from “This got him court marshalled and killings during Gukurahundi
any of us it would ask for it.” when he was based in Bulawayo. Has
was responsible for the gruesome kill-
This effectively leaves Dyck and ing of vocal Zapu MP Njini Ntuta.
the Mozambican security forces at
the frontline. By his own admis- Thus it came as no surprise when
sion, the insurgents are organised the Nyusi administration turned to
and using quite sophisticated Dyck for help at a time of need.
equipment and are organised.
Dyck made his fortune in the
This puts Zimbabwe at risk as de-mining business, getting lucrative
the uprising spreads down south state contracts in Zimbabwe, Ango-
to the central port city of Beira, la, Kosovo, Mozambique and Kenya
which is critical for regional trade. with MineTech. He also got similar
contracts in Bosnia, Iraq, Somalia
It is an ocean terminus for rail- and Lebanon. On anti-poaching
ways and cargo from South Africa, missions, Dag was hired in South
Zambia, Malawi, Democratic Re- Africa and Mozambique to tackle the
public of Congo and Zimbabwe. problem. The company used a mix
of experienced game-scouts and for-
Beira is Zimbabwe’s nearest mer special forces personnel drawn
and most reliable gateway to the from various countries. Working in
ocean. Most of the fuel — 90% many cases with tracker dogs and air
— to Zimbabwe comes through support, Dyck and his men proved
the 408-kilometre Beira-Feruka highly successful — routing poachers
pipeline, which connects from — while cementing his credentials
near Mutare to Harare. It is vital and record as a military and security
for Zimbabwe’s national survival. animal.
Dyck is clear about the stakes in-
volved. cation, Africa Unauthorised, in a Zimbabwe most vulnerable. But two fixed-wing aircraft. “I just don’t trust them; they
recent interview. “This enemy is Dyck is operating on a shoe-string With a total compliment of less never tell you the whole story and
“The stakes are extremely high,” organised, motivated and well- budget. The extremists brought there is always another agenda in
Dyck told a South African publi- equipped. If we don’t get on top of down one of his helicopters and he than 30 men, he has no ground play with them. I feel we must go
this, it’s going to spread south fast has had to rely on two Gazelle he- forces and his intelligence-gather- it alone at this stage with the little
and that will be a catastrophe for licopter gunships, two Bat Hawk ing capability is very limited. we have and turn this around. It’s
the entire region.” microlights with front-guns, an going to be hard, but we have to
old Alouette helicopter armed Dyck says he has been ap- win this,” he told Africa Unautho-
The Mozambican conflict has with 20-millimetre canon, and proached by influential figures in rised.
serious regional implications, with Britain offering assistance, but is
wary.

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Zim dilemma on Moza conflict:
To intervene or not to intervene?
MOSES NGWERE
and Zimbabwe, Harare cannot bwe National Army specialist mil- babwe, the country shares a 1 would be bogged down in deadly
ZIMBABWE is facing a dilemma continued to take a laid back posi- itary instructors to help train the 231 kilometres border with Mo- conflict which could spill over into
over whether or not to intervene in tion,” a security expert said. Armed Forces for the Defence of zambique; the longest common the country. So they (authorities)
the Mozambican conflict after the Mozambique troops who are fight- boundary among its neighbours are trying to leverage on the US
United States government asked “Beira is Zimbabwe’s gateway ing the insurgents that have killed after Botswana, Zambia and then interests and want Washington to
President Emmerson Mnangag- to the coastline – the Beira-Feru- more than 1 000 people in the last South Africa. first remove sanctions before any
wa’s administration to help quell ka oil pipeline supplies 90% of the three years. commitment can be made and to
an Islamist insurgency which has country’s fuel needs. It is vital for Renamo has also been causing assure them of material support.
destabilised the gas-rich neigh- Zimbabwe’s national interest and This is in addition to the elite problems. The ragtag army, which They see in this an opportunity to
bouring country. survival. During the Mozambican troops Zimbabwe deployed in May was led by the late Afonso Dhlaka- modernise Zimbabwe’s military,”
civil war in the 1980s, Zimbabwe to assist the Mozambican army ma till his death in 2018, have since an official said.
Given Mozambique’s geo-eco- sent troops to protect the pipeline with strategies and tracking down the beginning of the year carried
nomic and strategic position fol- – its lifeline. rebels, while also conducting re- out attacks on civilians in central “The real issue is that the US
lowing the discovery of liquified connaissance, which includes and eastern Mozambique, disrupt- wants to fight terrorists and pro-
natural Gas on the eastern sea- “Under different circumstanc- studying the terrain and assessing ing freight on the Mutare-Beira tect Western investments, but they
board of the Indian Ocean in the es, countries in the region should enemy strength. trade corridor. don’t want to go to the frontline.
northmost parts around Cabo have by now intervened to nip the Even if they have diplomatic prob-
Delgado, the stakes are now in the insurgency in the bud, but they are Armed Islamist insurgents have Sources also said Harare is pon- lems with Zimbabwe, they do not
conflict. hesitating and Mozambique itself wreaked havoc in Mozambique’s dering the political and economic have problems working with Zim-
is careful about who to invite. The northern province since 2017, al- consequences of participating in a babwe, true to their doctrine that
Even before the United Sates problem is some of the countries, though fighting has escalated over costly war, while closely monitor- there are no permanent friends,
overtures in a recent telephone especially Western ones, compa- the past six months. ing the situation. only permanent interests,” the se-
conversation between Foreign Af- nies and security networks they curity expert said.
fairs minister Sibusiso Moyo and don’t disclose enough information Fighters from an Islamic State “If we intervene, it means we
US Assistant Secretary for African about their interests, hence their (Isis)-affiliated extremist group must commit a lot of resources and “Americans want to intervene
Affairs Tibor Nagy last month, au- interventions are problematic. known as Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah and provide resources, but as we
thorities in Harare were already are seeking to establish a caliphate learnt from the DRC war years
pondering what to do following a “They may come as if they want in the region which, despite being back, you cannot plunge into a
request for assistance by Mozam- to help, but then might not disclose rich in natural resources, is under- costly conflict with foreign re-
bique and Zimbabwe’s own na- all the information and a complex developed. sources and also you risk inviting
tional interests and vulnerabilities. matrix of intertwined interests in- militants.
volved which may make the situa- The Mozambican government
Official sources said the US has tion even more volatile.” in July asked Harare for full-scale “But there is also another dilem-
been looking at how the security military assistance at a time reb- ma here. In military terms, they
situation in Mozambique could Analysts in the region say the els were gaining ground in the re- say it is wiser to strategise on how
stabilised and if Zimbabwe could problem is worsened by the real- source-rich Cabo Delgado where to keep trouble at bay than wait for
intervene in a national and region- isation that Mozambique is shap- American, Chinese and European it to come. It’s a very big dilemma,
al context. ing up to become the world’s next conglomerates are jostling to in- but somehow, a decision will have
great energy superpower. vest. to be made.”
US ambassador to Harare Brian
Nichols told The NewHawks in a Investment in oil and gas proj- About US$60 billion in invest- Mozambican president Filipe
recent interview that Washington ects now scale US$60 billion. ment in natural gas has been ear- Nyusi in July asked President
is looking at the Mozambican issue marked by global companies, in- Emmerson Mnangagwa, who at
from a regional context, not advo- So all eyes are on the oil and cluding Total SE and Exxon Mobil the time chaired the Sadc organ
cating for a particular position. gas industry in Mozambique. Ini- Corp. on politics, defence and security,
tial exploratory drilling in 2007 to intervene in the crisis, but the
“With regard to regional issues, revealed economy-changing vol- Official sources said the US Zimbabwean leader said he would
Zimbabwe has been a part of the umes of natural gas offshore and nudging puts Zimbabwe in a tricky rather bring the matter to the Sadc
Sadc troika. And in that context, since then the promise of vast nat- situation: if it intervenes it may not security organ’s attention.
we have enquired what Zimbabwe ural riches has grown steadily to have the resources to sustain that
and the Sadc troika’s view of the the point that Mozambique could as shown by the DRC War, yet if it However, Zimbabwean govern-
regional situation, including the soon be the world’s fourth largest does not go in, the conflict might ment officials say Mozambique
situation in Mozambique,” he said. natural gas exporter on the planet. end up posing a national security prefers a bilateral arrangement
risk. with Zimbabwe as it does not trust
“We’re not advocating for any Zimbabwe has not been totally some Sadc countries, particularly
particular course of action. We re- aloof. Apart from economic and stra- Tanzania, which it suspects could
ally are just trying to share views tegic interests involved for Zim- be assisting the rebels.
as to what the situation in South- Harare has deployed the Zimba-
ern Africa is.There are a number ZNA spokesman Alphios Ma-
of issues, economic development, kotore refused to comment on the
food security, national security matter, saying: “We don’t discuss
and counterterrorism issues that those issues with the press.”
are natural to discuss. Basically, if
you look at the conversations that
go on every year around the UN
General Assembly, and that was
the context of Secretary Nagy’s
conversation. You know, those
are the kinds of conversations you
have with any nation that you are
talking to…Those are normal con-
versations.”

However, sources said the situ-
ation in Mozambique regionally
and internationally is being viewed
seriously.

With the militants gaining
ground against Mozambican forc-
es and hired force commandeered
by a former Rhodesian and Zim-
babwe National Army commander
retired Colonel Lionel Dyck, Zim-
babwe face a dilemma.

“If the conflict spreads down
south it would affect the port city
of Beira in the central parts of the
country which is a terminus for
railway lines in the region from
South Africa, Zambia, Malawi,
Democratic Republic of Congo

Editorial & OpinionPage 8 NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

CARTOON

Without reform Zim
will remain in crisis

WITH each passing day, it has become increasingly clear Mnangagwa’s family must be accountable
that the Zimbabwean government is hellbent on perpetuat-
ing unworkable and ruinous policies that run counter to the ONE of the fundamental tenets in a con- After news of Rushwaya’s arrest – bro- persist. Only yesterday a story emerged al-
letter and spirit of genuine reform. stitutional democracy is that everyone is ken byThe NewsHawksforcing police to leging his family runs a gold milling plant
equal before the law. hastily issue a Twitter statement to set the inside its Precabe Farm in Sherwood just
How else would you explain the stark refusal to stop hu- agenda – details started filtering out. outside Kwekwe.
man rights violations, victimisation of political and civic In terms of formal equality - as op-
activists, media and civil servants amid rampant looting of posed to proportional equality which re- Ordinarily, it could have been just an- Although government spokesman
national resources by Zanu PF elites and their cronies? lates to affirmative action - the law treats other smuggling case out there, but this Nick Mangwana denied the story, this
everyone equal. It does not favour or dis- was different. narrative, which is gaining traction amid
The Government is not interested in investigating the ab- criminate on the basis of position or sta- frantic fight back efforts by Mnangagwa’s
duction and torture of citizens by state security agents. One tus; indeed other qualities. Hawk Eye family and supporters, raises suspicions
example is the Tawanda Muchehiwa case. Despite being and concerns on governance, account-
presented with incontrovertible evidence showing that the This is also applies to equal protec- Dumisani ability and corruption.
university student and nephew to ZimLive editor Mduduzi tion under the law; equal treatment in Muleya
Mathuthu was abducted and brutally tortured by state se- similar circumstances as it were. These issues are important, especially
curity agents, the authorities are clearly unwilling to probe First, Rushwaya is well-known public when authorities themselves say Zimba-
the matter. These issues have come to forefront figure. Second, people have always known bwe is losing US$100 million worth of
of public debate in the aftermath of the she is politically connected and associat- gold a month through smuggling.
Instead they remain at war with the people. arrest and detention last week of Zim- ed with the ruling Zanu PF; in 2008 she
The war on journalists continues unabated. This week, babwe Mining Federation suspended contested and lost Zanu PF primaries in They may very well be innocent, but
when the world was commemorating the International Day president Henrietta Rushwaya on alle- Gutu South.Third, she is scandal-ridden. the fact that their names keep being men-
to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists — a United gations of trying to smuggle from Ha- Fourth, her social life has also been equal- tioned is disturbing.
Nations-recognised occasion observed annually on 2 No- rare to Dubai 6kg of gold, 99.99% purity ly controversial. Fifth, and most import-
vember — authorities in Harare were arresting journalist levels, worth at least US$330 000. ant, Zimbabwe is losing billions through It is unedifying for a president and his
Hopewell Chin’ono, yet again, perpetuating harassment and minerals smuggling. family to be linked to such dodgy un-
impunity. This implies the gold was taken from derworld activities and corrupt tender-
Some high-ranking officials in President Emmerson the state-owned Fidelity Printers and Re- In addition to the arrested suspects, preneurship. It doesn’t inspire confidence
Mnangagwa’s regime continue threatening journalists. A finers (Pvt) Ltd, a bullion buying compa- there is First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and trust.
not-so-subtle message is being communicated: the ruling ny. Who took the gold from Fidelity? and her son Collins who were implicated
elites are untouchable and cannot be held accountable for by Karanda. In fact, it erodes their credibility; dam-
their actions. It’s clear they don’t learn from history. Fidelity Printers has a capacity to refine ages his image and reputation, or what’s
We must always remember that free media is a crucial gold to purity levels of 99.5% or more. President Emmerson Mnangagwa left of it. This is all the more problematic
component of democratic governance. himself has previously been linked to given Mnangagwa’s legitimacy troubles
When not attacking political opponents and journalists, Rushwaya’s gold was of the highest murky gold deals. Reports to this effect and leadership failures.
it’s civil servants under the jackboot of repression. quality – 99.99% purity.
This week, the government kickstarted so-called disci- The President’s wife and son must be
plinary proceedings against nurses who failed to report Apart from Rushwaya, who has a re- investigated on the Rushwaya case. They
for duty after the authorities unilaterally introduced longer cord of fraud, extortion and corruption can’t just wriggle out without due process.
working hours. The existing arrangement has been such that cases, there were also other suspects. Police must do their job without fear or
the medical personnel report for duty on only two days per These included Ali Mohamad, Gift favour. Not succumb to political pressure
week. Karanda, Stephen Tserayi, Raphios Mu- or intimidation. Who deleted their names
The two-day-week was a tacit admission by the authorities fandauya, Superintendent Douglas Shoko from the docket and why? Let them clear
that medical staff are being grossly underpaid. Now the em- and detective chief inspector Paul Chim- their names legally if they are innocent.
ployer has told them to work for five days. The “disciplinary hungu who are in charge of the Minerals, Everyone is equal before the law.
hearings”, in these circumstances, amount to victimisation. Flora and Fauna unit.
Public servants deserve a living wage. The crisis of decimat-
ed livelihoods cannot be solved through the thoughtless fir-
ing of medical professionals.
Mnangagwa’s government promised Zimbabweans and
the world a new governance dispensation. When will he de-
liver?
Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo was featured in an in-
terview on Deutsche Welletelevision, a German channel,
during the Covid-19 lockdown. The programme was re-
played this week.
His remarks sparked heated discussion in this country,
particularly on social media where citizens digested the im-
plications of the government’s stance on various issues rang-
ing from foreign relations to economic policy.
Sarah Kelly, the presenter of the programme titled Con-
flict Zone, asked tough questions, making important fol-
low-ups and clearly showing she had done her homework
by conducting the necessary research.
The interview brought into sharp focus Zimbabwe’s fal-
tering international re-engagement effort. Moyo is the gov-
ernment’s top diplomat, but he increasingly comes across as
unconvincing because the regime he represents is failing. It
can’t reform.
Without reform, it will become more difficult for the gov-
ernment to ensure political stability and recovery. There are
no shortcuts to democratic progress and socio-economic
prosperity.

Reaffirming the fundamental importance The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
of freedom of expression and media free- content platforms by the NewsHawks Digital Managing Editor: Dumisani Muleya Spencer Mandaza Council of Zimbabwe
dom as the cornerstone of democracy and Media which is owned by Centre for Public Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba Cell: +263 775387638
as a means of upholding human rights Interest Journalism News Editor: Owen Gagare The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the Code
and liberties in the constitution; our mis- No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue Digital Editor: Bernard Mpofu Subscriptions & Distribution: of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate, fair and
sion is to hold power in its various forms Beverly Court, 6th floor Reporters: +263 772293486
and manifestations to account by expos- Harare, Zimbabwe Bridget Mananavire, Nyasha Chingono, Enoch Muchinjo balanced news reporting. If we do not meet these
ing abuse of power and office, betrayals standards, register your complaint with the Voluntary
of public trust and corruption to ensure Trustees/Directors: Email: [email protected] Media Council of Zimbabwe at No.: 34, Colenbrander
good governance and accountability in Beatrice Mtetwa, Raphael Khumalo, Rd, Milton Park, Harare. Telephone: 024-2778096 or
the public interest. Professor Wallace Chuma, Teldah Mawarire,
Doug Coltart 024-2778006,
24Hr Complaints Line: 0772 125 659
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
WhatsApp: 0772 125 658, Twitter: @vmcz
Website: www.vmcz.co.zw, Facebook: vmcz Zimbabwe

NewsHawks Perspectives & Reviews Page 9

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Minerals must be harnessed in the national interest

Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya (in navy blue attire) was arrested on Monday last week at the Robert Mugabe International Airport while she allegedly
attempted to smuggle six kilogrammes of processed gold to Dubai.

Brett The enablers for growing the not be honoured if the lack of because the issue of legitimacy a sovereign wealth fund, the
Chulu mining sector are well-known commitment to uphold these remains heavily contested by the proceeds from the mining sector
and documented: these include pillars is systemic. Even the call main political opposition. can assist thousands or millions
GOVERNMENT is implement- stable and predictable policies, for extracting more value from of entrepreneurs to create more
ing an ambitious plan in the curbing corruption, stable and our mineral resources via value Dynamics of internal party wealth. This sovereign wealth
quest to attain a mining sector free-floating currency, liber- addition, as noble and logical as politics are clouded by uncer- fund will have to be grown
that generates US$12 billion by alised markets, a growing econ- it is, will result in growth that tainty. Political uncertainty is a through strategic investments
2023. omy (attractive to investors), accretes around only a privileged big driver of extractive tenden- that will help diversify our econ-
normalisation of international few. cies. Extractive practices, under omy, support value-addition and
This represents a 344% in- relations, security of proper- political uncertainty, are used as open up new economic sectors.
crease from the US$2,7 billion ty rights, upholding of basic This leads us to another a vehicle to accumulate resourc-
which was raked in by mining freedoms, as well as independent question: How can we move es to safeguard political power The private sector should have
in 2017. Currently, mining is and strong institutions. our nation from an extractive and prepare a post-political life. access to the funds in order to
contributing 18% to our Gross governance culture? Some have upgrade machinery and to im-
Domestic Product (GDP). It is These fundamentals will sup- argued that we need to re-estab- It is clear that we need polit- prove the competitiveness of our
also our biggest foreign currency port the growth of our mining lish democratic norms so that ical stability in order to reduce products and services. This pro-
earner. sector through laying the foun- our institutions become inclu- extractive tendencies. Only posal is based on the assumption
dation for secure investments. sive. It is difficult to see how a under political stability can that extractive tendencies will
Clearly, the current and future systemic extractive culture can we expect a transition towards be minimised in a stable polit-
importance of mining in con- There is no debate on the ne- be expunged when the benefac- inclusive economics. ical environment. Without that
tributing towards the growth of cessity of these enablers. Here is tors of extraction stand to lose change, the sovereign wealth
our economy cannot be over- the conundrum: Is there willing- out by allowing wider inclusion. Under a politically stable fund will simply become another
stated. ness to implement viable action environment we can expect our opportunity for corruption and
towards giving practical effect to Some societies with relatively governance system to make systemic extraction.
This article is not disputing these enablers? closed democratic spaces have commitments towards distribut-
the practicality of the US$12 achieved economic prosperity ing the benefits of our mineral Here is an extract from Saudi
billion target. The question is: The overarching context is for their citizens by sharing the economy widely to improve Arabia’s Vision 2030 document:
How can the mining economy be that of extractive political and wealth generated. Some wealthy living standards. “We shall have zero tolerance for
made to lift millions of Zimba- economic institutions that seem oil-rich Gulf states have impres- all levels of corruption, whether
bweans out of poverty? to have become the DNA of our sive per capita GDP rates and One way of ensuring our administrative or financial. We
governance culture, in both the high standards of living. One mineral wealth is harnessed in will adopt leading international
Of late, evidence of leakages public and private sectors. Ex- such Gulf state charges no tax the national interest is by way of standards and administrative
in the mineral sector, especially tractive governance systems, by on individuals. South Korea supporting a sovereign wealth practices, helping us reach the
the gold sub-sector, has spawned design, are exclusionary in terms transitioned from being an eco- fund. With a US$12 billion highest levels of transparency
a hypothesis that significant of decision making. nomic backwater on the back of mining economy, government and governance in all sectors.
amounts of money are being a leadership that came to power can target that 1% of the annual We will set and uphold high
salted away from the economy. And distributing economic through a coup, closing demo- revenue be put in a sovereign standards of accountability. Our
It is a pattern carried over from benefits. The key issue that un- cratic space but establishing wealth fund. That will create goals, plans and performance
the diamond revenues saga derpins any successful steering an inclusive economic system. US$120 million capital every indicators will be published so
where Treasury got a measly of our mining economy towards Democratic space was gradually year that can be harnessed by that progress and delivery can be
contribution from the gemstones poverty alleviation, improved opened in South Korea. corporate private sector and publicly monitored.”
with potentially billions of US national standards of living and small businesses (the key driver
dollars’ worth diamond revenues shared prosperity is commit- In all these examples of so- of economies in advanced coun- This neatly sums up what is
unaccounted for. ment to good governance. Com- cieties with extractive politics tries, contributing about 70% to needed to harness Zimbabwe’s
mitment to good governance is but with inclusive economics, GDP). mineral revenues in the nation-
the only assurance that wealth the political security of the al interest. Political stability
from our minerals is de-concen- incumbent provides fascinating Mining, being a terminal is needed to reduce extractive
trated from privileged elites. insights. industry, needs to be leveraged tendencies so that our gover-
on by government to build and nance moves towards supporting
The key pillars of good In Zimbabwe, we have no sustain other sectors for sustain- economic inclusion.
governance, such as transpar- political certainty at the moment able economic growth. By sup-
ency and accountability, will porting small business through

Business

MATTERSNewsHawks

MARKETS CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
JPY/USD
USD/JPY 0.954 -0.002 -0.23 *OIL 40.63 +0.6 +1.5
EUR/USD
USD/CAD 104.81 +0.25 +0.24 *NAT GAS 3.012 -0.011 -0.36
AUD/USD
1.182 -0.004 -0.354 *GOLD 1,906.2 -23.3 -1.208

1.313 -0.002 -0.129 *SILVER 24.78 -0.461 -1.83

0.712 +0 +0.03 *WHEAT 623 -6.75 -1.07

Minister
entangled
in six
tenders row

BERNARD MPOFU sharp rise in imports overwhelmed Industry and Commerce Minister Sekesai Nzenza
French-based company that had
THE controversial awarding of been awarded the tender, prompt- Complaints of of 15% of CIF value of the con- exercise.
six tenders for the handling of ing the authorities to invite more conflict of interest signment, imposed on importer The informal couriers, referred
pre-import inspection has stirred tenders for the carrying out of the and self-interest for any shipment arriving without
tensions between Industry and exercise. have been raised the required certificate and desti- to as Omalayitsha (the couriers)
Commerce Minister Sekai Nzen- in the corridors of nation inspection. use undesignated entry points or
za and senior officials within the Nzenza, sources said, was un- under-declare goods where they
ministry amid suspicion that the happy over the process and want- her ministry. The CBCA certificate is re- misrepresent the quantity of goods
process was fraught with irregular- ed it to be reviewed. quired for all products listed in they are bringing into the country
ities, The NewsHawks have learnt. the initial regulation SI 132 of to avoid paying the correct taxes.
“Six companies which had no 2015 and the products added with The runners often charge between
Information at hand shows proven record were appointed and the amendment SI 124. 20% and 25% of the value of the
that the Zimbabwe Anti-Cor- cabinet reshuffles that saw chang- goods as their fee for transporting
ruption Commission (Zacc) has es in the minister heading the Official figures show that more goods mainly between Zimbabwe
now launched an investigation Industry and Commerce portfo- than 70% of goods imported are and neighbouring South Africa.
into the awarding of the Con- lio resulted in the scrutiny of the being smuggled into the country
signment-Based Conformity As- tender process,” a source familiar by the “runners” to evade “pu- Nzenza’s phone went unan-
sessment (CBCA) Programme with the developments told this nitive” pre-inspection costs and swered and a text message sent to
to companies that are reportedly publication. paying correct taxes as corruption her had not been responded to at
linked to senior officials in the takes its toll. the time of going to print.
ministry. “Nzenza then ordered a due
diligence exercise on the com- Business organisations such the Zacc spokesperson John
Complaints of conflict of in- panies and this did not go down Zimbabwe National Chamber of Makamure said: “I am not aware
terest and self-interest have been well with some senior officials. She Commerce have in the past raised of the investigation, but I will
raised in the corridors of the min- faced resistance from senior min- concerns over the high overheads check with my colleagues from the
istry as officials seek to expose istry official who then approached resulting from the pre-inspection investigation department.”
each other for manipulation of the Chief Secretary to the President
tenders and self-seeking actions. and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda
claiming that the minister wanted
On 27 July 2015, government to fire them.”
resolved that all products regu-
lated by the Ministry of Industry This, the sources added, pitted
and Commerce, imported into incumbent Nzenza with senior
the country, should be accompa- bureaucrats within the ministry
nied by a CBCA (pre-inspection) who, according to sources, had
certificate. been influential in the tender pro-
cess.
Following the implementation
of the CBCA programme, which As pressure volumes increased,
was meant to reduce hazardous struggling local firms began push-
and substandard imported prod- ing for the removal of the pre-in-
ucts and improve customs duty spection programme on imports
collection, the ministry appoint- being undertaken by Bureau Veri-
ed French-headquartered Bureau tas amid revelations companies are
Veritas after it won the tender to using informal means to import
carry out the programme. to escape the more than US$20
million they pay monthly to the
Bureau Veritas’ four-year con- French firm.
tract expired in 2019 and was ex-
tended by one year. In July, government gazetted
Statutory Instrument (SI) 124 of
Sources said an extension on 2020 extending the list of prod-
the categories subjected to the ucts related to the CBCA.
pre-inspection programme and a
The SI also introduced a penalty

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 11

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Govt officials
plunder CSC
public assets

10 000 head of cattle stolen

DUMISANI NYONI other bottlenecks. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa addressing a post-cabinet media briefing in Harare on 14 May 2019, flanked by Justice
Masuka said creditors, includ- minister Ziyambi Ziymbi and Finance minister Mthuli Ncube. At the briefing Mutsvangwa announced the joint venture between
THE Cold Storage Company Cold Storage Commission and Boulstead Beef (Pvt) Ltd, which she claimed was United Kingdom-based.
(CSC) has been stripped of assets ing the Zimbabwe Electricity
by some members of its executive Supply Authority, National So- transfer terms. stroyed most of the records,” he hance breeding targeting breeds
and board as well as government cial Security Authority and urban Mutsvangwa claimed Boustead added. such as Tuli, Limozin, Angus and
officials, leaving it under corpo- councils (Bulawayo, Harare and Brahman.
rate proceedings to rescue the Chinhoyi), had laid a siege on would “raise and invest a min- In light of this, Masuka said it
State enterprise and avoid liquida- the CSC, demanding immediate imum of US$130 million into was clear that unless something is Currently, there is a herd of cat-
tion, The NewsHawks can report. settlement of debts, while discon- CSC over five years” for capital done, the “noble intentions of the tle of over 5 000 and the target is
necting water and electricity over expenditures and working capital. government” to revive the compa- 13 000 in the next five years.
This comes amid revelations payment. ny would fail. In the circumstanc-
that more than 10 000 of the firm’s The CSC has debt exceeding es, he said, the parastatal should “The investor is in the process
cattle have been stolen through “It also came to light that there US$42.5 million. It was expected be placed under corporate res- of finalising various contracts to
the government’s heifer breed continues to be rampant corrup- to pay rentals of US$100 000 per cue proceedings under Kudenga. supply 50 000 tonnes of beef to
schemes. This dramatises plunder tion and unlawful dissipation of annum during the first five years Thus all pending legal action will Angola, 2 000 tonnes per month
at the parastatal, which was one of assets by certain executive mem- of the agreement. be stayed. to Hong Kong, 22 000 tonnes to
the major State-owned companies bers, board members, govern- Malta, finalising export permits to
at Independence in 1980. ment officials and the respond- But checks revealed Boust- Kudenga will be empowered to China and other potential orders
ent’s (CSC) officials. More than ead is not a UK company, but terminate or vary any questiona- for various other markets includ-
Board members 10 000 head of cattle have been a local start-up owned by Nick ble leases of the CSC’s properties ing the United Arab Emirates,
and executives are misappropriated in the govern- Havercroft. It only commenced in both agricultural and commer- Russia, United Kingdom, Malay-
alleged to have cor- ment heifer breed schemes,” the operations in 2013. The local cial areas and also collect all rent- sia and South Africa,” he said.
ruptly allocated minister said. firm operates under registration als.
themselves, family number 4852/2013 as recorded A copy of the LJFC agreement
and other individu- “At the moment, the respond- by the Companies Registry. In Masuka said Boustead, de- seen by The NewsHawks says
als various ranches ent (CSC) is only in control of the UK, there is Boustead Agri- spite its questionable capacity, Boustead would assume control
and homesteads, approximately 25% of its assets. culture, registered under number had managed to get the services of the ranches and meat pro-
denying the investor Former board members and ex- 08154075 and domiciled at 78-80 of an engineering audit report cessing facilities run by the CSC
access to these assets ecutives are alleged to have cor- St John Street, London, England, from Soft Energy Supply Chain spread across the country.
to refurbish, devel- ruptly allocated themselves, fam- EC1M 4JN. It was only set up by Management Co. Ltd at a cost of
ily and other individuals various Boustead founders to raise money US$3 million; engage cold chain The company will also take
op and restock ranches and homesteads, denying for the CSC deal. room management companies to over and manage the CSC’s dis-
the investor access to these assets refurbish, operate and manage the tribution centres and residential
Documents seen by this inves- to refurbish, develop and restock.” Masuka said after Boustead cold room chain systems across properties in Harare, Gweru and
tigative centre show the company, agreed with the CSC, the para- the facilities as and when they are Mutare for the same period.
which used to be a major play- The CSC is now in a state of statal’s management failed to co- brought back into production.
er in   the beef market, has been collapse due to extended peri- operate. Ranches include Maphaneni
pillaged by its executive, board ods of mismanagement, incom- Production at the tannery re- Ranch, Dubane Ranch, Umguza
members and government offi- petence and corruption, just like “Also that former employees sumed in January 2020 with the Chomfukwe Dubane Umzing-
cials with impunity. According to many other State enterprises. deleted company information refurbishment of tanning drums, wane-Railway Block Gwanda
court papers seen by The News- from hard drives of the company waste management systems, water Ranch, Chivumburu, Mushandike
Hawks, Lands, Agriculture, Water Ngoni Kudenga of BDO Zim- computers and destroyed impor- circulation systems, splitting ma- Ranch (Meyers Rust), Zeederberg
and Rural Resettlement Minister babwe Chartered Accountants has tant documents such as employee chinery and electrical systems. Belwigwe, Willsgrove Feedlot and
Anxious Masuka has successfully now been appointed interim cor- records, cattle loan schemes and Darwendale Ranch.
applied on behalf of government porate rescue practitioner, taking bank account details, hence the Boustead, which will continue
for placement of the CSC under control of   the CSC’s assets and investor is failing to make head or under new circumstances, had The CSC’s Bulawayo complex
corporate rescue proceedings. The business. tail of the agreement and the im- also negotiated and concluded is the largest meat slaughtering
court case number is HC1779/20. plementation,” he said. a partnership agreement to re- facility in Africa and only trails
The latest development comes furbish, operate and supply beef Botswana Meat Commission in
In his founding affidavit ac- 18 months after the government Masuka said the Zimbabwe As- to the government’s processing terms of the latest technologies.
companying the court applica- misled the nation that a “Brit- set Management Company also company through a lease agree-
tion, Masuka said the Livestock ish beef giant”, Boustead, would threatened to sell the CSC’s Bul- ment with Fabwell Farming in re- At Independence in 1980, CSC
Joint Farming Concession agree- pump US$130 million to revive awayo abattoir and the canning spect of Dubane and Maphabane was one of Zimbabwe’s major
ment signed by the government the company. Investigations by the factory to settle a ZW$3,71 mil- Ranches in Matabeleland South. foreign currency earners, as it
and Boustead Beef (Pvt) Ltd last media, however, showed the pur- lion debt. exported thousands of tonnes of
year was now difficult to imple- ported beef processing behemoth At these ranches, Masuka said beef to the European Union (EU).
ment as creditors were threaten- was only an agricultural start-up The CSC was also under siege fence lines have been rebuilt,
ing to attach CSC assets, while with a small balance sheet. from numerous pending court roads rebuilt, dips refurbished, At its peak, the beef processor
former employees had destroyed cases and orders. new cattle handling facilities built, and marketer used to handle up to
important documents, among Records showed Boustead only solar-powered water pumps and 150 000 tonnes of beef and asso-
had net capital of US$12 674 “More former employees or lighting installed, with modern ciated by-products annually and
between 2013 to 2016. Nicho- their relatives are coming forward technology being applied to en- exported to the EU, where it had
las Havecroft, Gavin Havecroft, with various claims which cannot an annual quota of 9 100 tonnes
Nicholas Lee and Harald Torb- be verified as management de- of beef.
jorn Gabriel Jakob Kinde were its
directors.

Yet Finance Minister Mthu-
li Ncube had informed Cabinet
and Information Minister Monica
Mutsvangwa then announced that
the CSC would be resuscitated
through a concession agreement
under rehabilitate, operate and

Page 12 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

CSC workers attack govt over failed deal

LIZWE SEBATHA Agriculture plication for judicial man- a letter by CSC concerned among others we were sub-
minister claimed agement. workers dated 28 October jected to and agreed upon
GOVERNMENT should that workers had 2020 reads. as we waited for an investor.
take the blame for the failed “We as non-managerial Now we do not see where
deal with a United King- sabotaged the workers are disturbed with “We were more than hap- we went wrong. We are al-
dom-based company to re- deal claiming that the application made by py to have an investor even ways on the receiving end of
capitalise the Cold Storage the Minister. The founding before we knew when an in- it. It is not fair to put blame
Company (CSC), the meat they destroyed affidavit implied that work- vestor was coming. We were on workers. I suggest an in-
processor’s workers said as important files ers sabotaged the govern- told we could not bargain vestigation on these allega-
they rejected claims they ment efforts to revive CSC. our salaries as it would scare tions.”
sabotaged the investor. The truth needs to be told. any investor coming due to
Workers cannot be used to a huge wage bill and out- The CSC employees said
The workers also claimed cover up for a failed inves- standing salaries. the government slept on
Boustead Beef (Pvt) Ltd, tor and government mistake duty even after they raised
which in March last year to carry out due diligence,” “These are some of the questions on the capacity of
signed a US$400 million to cost cutting measures Boustead Beef to resuscitate
deal with the government the company.
to resuscitate the company,
had no capacity to do so “On the night of Sat-
and was, in fact, stripping urday 27 June 2020 from
the CSC of assets. 2030hours to 0500hrs on
Sunday 28th June 2020, a
Under the deal, the UK 30-tonne truck was load-
investor was to inject a to- ed under darkness, raising
tal of US$400 million over suspicion on the legality of
the next five years to revive these activities which are
the company that had been tantamount to sabotage and
dormant for the last two de- looting. The truck, with a
cades. Boustead Beef (Pvt) trailer AEU 4539, was said
was also to finance the re- to be headed to South Af-
habilitation of some CSC rica,” the workers cited an
farms where cattle fattening example.
used to take place.
The CSC’s Bulawayo
Lands and Agriculture complex is the largest
minister Anxious Masuka meat-slaughtering facili-
recently approached the ty in Africa and only trails
High Court, seeking an or- Botswana Meat Commis-
der to place the CSC under sion in terms of the latest
judicial management. He technology. At its peak, the
also claimed that workers beef processor and market-
had sabotaged the deal by, er used to handle up to 150
among other actions, de- 000 tonnes of beef and asso-
stroying files and not coop- ciated by-products annually
erating with the investor. and exported to the Euro-
pean Union, where it had
However, CSC employ- an annual quota of 9 100
ees rejected the allegations tonnes of beef.
raised by Masuka in his ap-

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 13

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Zim spends US$333 million. Electric-
US$257m ity imports increased from
on maize US$56 million to US$116
imports million.

Command agric nine months from January to In the period under re-
fails to stem food September this year. view, the exports were dom-
deficit inated by minerals like gold,
Last year in the same pe- diamond, nickel mattes,
DUMISANI NYONI riod, maize imports stood at 2018-2019 agricultural sea- ported agricultural products US$549 million after im- ferro-chromium, nickel ores
US$6,64 million. son. worth more than US$1 bil- ports amounted to US$3.5 and concentrates, among
ZIMBABWE imported lion, despite investing more billion, while exports trailed others.
maize worth US$257 million Currently, the United In a bid to ensure food se- than US$3 billion in com- at US$2.9 billion.
during the first nine months Nations says more than 7.5 curity and reduce dependen- mand agriculture, according Gold, for instance, fetched
of this year - up 3 772% million Zimbabweans in ur- cy on imports, government in to a quantitative study titled During the same period US$714 million, nickel
compared to the same peri- ban and rural communities 2016 unveiled the command Zimbabwe Agricultural Sur- last year, the country’s im- mattes (US$688 million),
od last year - as government require food aid. agriculture programme, but vey Report. ports were US$3.6 billion ferro-chromium (US$101
struggles to feed its popula- due to corruption, the funds against exports of US$2.8 million), nickel ores and con-
tion despite having vast ag- Zimbabwe’s total cereal were funnelled to political- Data from ZimStat in- billion, giving a trade deficit centrates (US$409 million)
ricultural land and spending production this year is ex- ly connected individuals for dicates that during the first of US$745 million. and diamonds (US$85 mil-
billions on the controversial pected to decline to 1.06 self-enrichment, leaving the nine months of this year, lion). From these, only nickel
command agriculture pro- million metric tonnes (mt), nation grappling with food the country also imported Imports of petrol and die- mattes registered a growth.
gramme. against a national demand of shortages. durum wheat worth US$57 sel, which usually gobble up
Data from the Zimbabwe 2.23 million mt, according to million, rice worth US$71.4 millions of dollars, recorded In his mid-term bud-
National Statistics Agency the second-round crop and Auditor-General Mildred million and sorghum worth a significant decline in the get and economic review,
(ZimStat) shows that the livestock assessment report Chiri’s 2018 report said US$2.5 million. period under review. Finance minister Mthuli
country imported maize for the 2019/2020 season. US$3,2 billion meant for the Ncube said on account of
worth US$257 million in This leaves the nation with programme were unaccount- In total, Zimbabwe’s trade For instance, petrol nose- the pandemic and climatic
a grain deficit of 1.2 million ed for. deficit in the period under dived to US$156 million shocks, output losses in min-
metric tonnes. review narrowed by 26% to from US$305 million while ing, manufacturing and agri-
Last year, the country im- diesel declined by 52% to culture were weighing down
The government, howev- on export performance.
er, blames food shortages on
drought experienced in the He said prices of most
minerals (nickel, copper,
chrome, coal and cotton)
except for gold and rhodium
have weakened since the pan-
demic was first reported amid
weaker global demand.

Gold has, however, ben-
efitted from safe haven de-
mand.

“Food and electricity im-
ports are rising, given the
drought since 2019 and de-
mand for imports of chemi-
cals, medicaments and other
finished goods required in the
fight against the Covid-19
pandemic,” he said.

Power output drops as Kariba dries up

NOKUTHABA DLAMINI Munyaradzi Munodawafa, ue to monitor the hydrolog- dam. During the same period The Zimbabwe Electricity Ikhupuleng Dube, Zimba-
ZRA chief executive, said the ical situation in the Kariba last year, water levels at the Supply Authority (Zesa) was bwe Electricity Transmission
ZIMBABWE has been decision to reduce water allo- catchment in order to further giant lake fell to 477 metres, forced to introduce daily 19- and Distribution Company
forced to cut electricity gen- cations for power generation inform decision-making pro- forcing ZRA to cut alloca- hour cuts as it struggled to systems development man-
eration at its major source of was taken to ensure that it cesses for the sustainable and tions for electricity genera- pay for imports to cover the ager, however, said the re-
hydropower to 350 mega- lasts to the next rainy season. beneficial operation of the tion to the bare minimum. deficit. duction of water allocation at
watts (MW) after the water Kariba Dam will not result in
level at Kariba Dam dropped “The lake level continues serious power cuts this time
significantly. to decrease due to energy around.
generation closing the period
The hydroelectric plant under review at 479.18 me- “This year has been better
currently generates most of tres usable storage,” Muno- for us because we are man-
Zimbabwe’s power after the dawafa said. dated to stop the generation
completion of a US$253 mil- when water levels are at 475
lion upgrade two years ago, “With the end of the metres,” Dube said.
which ramped up capacity 2019/20 rainfall season, the
to 1 050 MW, from about rivers in the catchment are “We are currently left with
750MW. now in recession to a point four metres to reach that
where lake inflows are lower mandate compared to last
The Zambezi River Au- than outflows from what is year at the exact time when
thority (ZRA) says it has being utilised at Kariba sta- we were left with one metre.
decided to limit both Zim- tion, hence the net effect of
babwe and Zambia’s water the lake level lowering. “So even though we are
allocation for electricity gen- generating little power from
eration at Kariba to 350MW “The Authority took a pre- the dam, we are not going to
each as a precautionary mea- cautionary approach in the have any challenges until the
sure. water allocation for power next rainfall season.”
generation at Kariba, allocat-
According to the ZRA’s ing 27 billion cubic metres, Munodawafa said they
October update, water levels which was shared equally expected inflows into Kariba
conducive for electricity gen- between the two power sta- Dam to improve during the
eration at the dam, which is tions at Kariba, effectively 2020/21 rainy season, with
shared by the two countries, limiting the combined power projections of at least 40 bil-
now stood at 27% of capac- generation output to an aver- lion cubic metres.
ity. The ZRA said the water age 700MW (or 350MW for
level at Kariba Dam stood at each of the two power plants According to forecasts,
479.18 metres as at the end at Kariba).” Southern Africa will receive
of October. normal to above normal
He said ZRA will contin- rainfall in the forthcoming
season.

Page 14 Executive Chat NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Property sector struggles in economic quicksand

THE Insurance and Pension Com- because of the nature of the income Gibson Mapfidza Bio: GM: Interesting issues you raise. In-
mission (Ipec) half-year 2020 pen- flows. Unlike dividends and coupons, deed the Minister of Finance issued
sions industry report revealed that rental income is contractual and it ● Mapfidza is a chartered surveyor with more than 15 years of professional Statutory Instrument 240 of 2019,
property investments have surpassed can be varied through upward rent working experience; which paves way for the establishment
both listed and unlisted equity com- reviews in hyperinflationary environ- ● He commenced his career at CBRE International Property Consultants of Real Estate Investment Trusts (RE-
bined as the major investment vehicle ments. The embedded assumption is before joining the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as head of corporate real ITs). Essentially, REITs are publicly
for insurance and pension industry in that tenants’ revenues will increase at estate services; traded investment companies which
Zimbabwe. the same level with inflation and sup- ● Later joined Old Mutual Properties as property portfolio manager; own real estate assets. The distin-
port the tenants’ rent-paying capacity. ● At Old Mutual he later was appointed head of property before he was guishing benefit of these property in-
Our Business Reporter, Merlin This was the case in 2008, but not now posted to Old Mutual Malawi for three years; vestment derivatives is that qualifying
Garwe (MG), spoke to Mashona- as the country has been experiencing ● Also briefly worked for Fidelity Life Assurance of Zimbabwe as general REITs pass through income untaxed
land Holdings MD Gibson Mapfidza cost-push inflation mainly triggered manager for property investments in 2018; to their shareholders. The distin-
(GM) about the dynamics between by exchange-rate depreciation. This, ● Mapfidza is an active and qualified member of the Estate Agency Council guishing benefit of these property in-
property, the insurance and pension as a result, compressed consumption of Zimbabwe, Real Estate Institute of Zimbabwe and the Royal Institute of vestment derivatives is that qualifying
sectors in Zimbabwe. The interview and business revenues. Chartered Surveyors; and REITs pass through income untaxed
also sought to review how the proper- ● He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Planning (University of to their shareholders.
ty sector is contributing towards en- While capital and rental values Zimbabwe), Master of Science degree in Construction Management
suring not only storage of value, but have been nominally going up, they (National University of Science and Technology) and Master of Science The distribution of a substantial
also generating returns for the insur- have failed to fully compensate for degree in Real Estate Investment (University of Reading, United Kingdom). portion of earnings is desirable for
ance and pension industry. inflation. We know that our exchange most cash-hungry investors. Howev-
MG: Ipec revealed in its half-year rate movement-induced inflation has sewer and solar plants, etc. between the quality of value estimates er, it also means a low level of plough
2020 pension industry report that gone to as much as 837% (July 2020). MG: Have real estate investments and the efficiency and openness of the back and thus a low propensity for
institutional property investments, However, property rentals have not lived up to the expectations of the market. Our property market is very growth in future earnings. It is im-
at 42,09% of the total investments grown by the same margin within a insurance and pension industry? opaque. portant to appreciate that the perfor-
held by the insurance and pensions 12-month period. When one looks at GM: To a larger extent and given the mance of derivatives largely depends
industry, had surpassed quoted and the major investment classes, perhaps prevailing economic environment, The official currency inconsisten- on the performance of the underlying
unquoted equities. What does this real estate was the best in terms of try- real estate investments have provided cies, hyperinflation, dearth of transac- asset.
mean for the property sector? ing to catch up with inflation. the insurance and pension fund in- tions and the general property market
GM: This comes as a vote of confi- MG: Would you say the real growth dustry with an asset that can store and distortions have created what is tech- There is therefore a need to cor-
dence to the real estate investments portion in real estate investment guarantee capital values. nically known as abnormal valuation rectly position what REITs can and
sector, among other investment bou- by the insurance and pension fund uncertainty in Zimbabwe. Despite the cannot achieve. The tax framework is
tiques. However, we are aware that industry is a positive thing for the In addition, real estate continues country boasting of some of the best also very important as it is the biggest
while there have been some notable economy? to offer relatively compelling risk-ad- property professionals with global attraction, especially for small pen-
new stock investments in commer- GM: At the risk of being labelled a justed returns that are less correlated accreditations, the obtaining mar- sion funds, those that may not afford
cial property by industry members, traitor by my fellow market profes- to other asset classes. As such, real es- ket conditions create unprecedented direct brick and mortar exposure. But
the growth is mainly attributed to the sionals, I would say no! If you look at tate is a great tool for diversification in challenges for valuers to diligently allow me to talk about property com-
periodic fair value adjustments per- the structure of our economy, using multi-asset portfolios. price assets. The traditional proper- pany shares, another form of proper-
formed by the property investment share of GDP by sectors using the MG: There has been general market ty valuation methodologies, which ty investment derivatives. Generally,
companies. 2018 International Monetary Fund unrest over property valuation with are based on the same principles of property company share price is re-
figures: we have 8% agriculture, 21% claims that properties are overval- valuing shares and bonds, that of dis- lated to the net asset value (NAV) of
This is in line with the require- manufacturing and a whopping 71% ued. What is your view on this? Is counting estimated future cashflows, the properties. While the discounts
ments of International Financial Re- in services. there something wrong with the remain very robust. we have seen for the Zimbabwe Stock
porting Standards. Because of the professionals or the valuation meth- Exchange-listed property companies
hyperinflationary environment, the The nature of commercial real es- odologies being applied, it’s the To enhance the clients’ deci- are a bit steeper, property companies
property values in Zimbabwean dol- tate in Zimbabwe is that it is mainly market conditions? sion-making with the assessed values, globally generally trade at a discount
lars have been going up, nominally, within the services sector. We cannot GM: Indeed property valuation has professional valuers are encouraged to NAV.
due to the regular upward rent re- achieve sustained growth as a country been very topical. It should be appre- to disclose abnormal uncertainties.
views by property owners. through services, but manufacturing ciated that valuation is a process of The valuer needs to lay bare their This is so as the share price takes
and, to some extent, mechanised ag- estimating the likely selling price of a thinking process and, depending on into account the contingent capital
However, in real terms, investment riculture. Unlike services, invariably property on a given date. The estima- the purpose of valuation, the valuer gains liability, adjustment for illiquid-
portfolios have shed on average be- buying and selling, manufacturing tion process relies heavily on market may be required to supply clients with ity in the underlying market and the
tween 10% and 20% from 2018 to the has huge backward and forward link- transaction data, which have been multiple values based on given per- fact that the amount realisable from a
current period. The value loss reflects ages, and trickle-down effects across very scarce lately. mutations. forced sale of properties would be less
the GDP trend for this period and the entire production value chain. than the open market value and, last-
the deteriorating investment market, The valuation challenges are to a As opposed to single-point valu- ly, adjustments for illiquidity.
further confirming the strong correla- Besides, it is far easier to convert larger extent as a result of policy in- ations, this helps clients with deci-
tion between economic performance a farm worker into a factory worker consistencies, which invariably leads sion-making. Property investors like Of course, the discounts in Zim-
and property investment returns. than into a software engineer. Iron- to market distortions. The general the insurance and pension funds are babwe are too steep, pointing to the
ically, most of property investments lack of transactions in our property also encouraged to review frequency embedded risk in the property mar-
Having said this, we are aware that we have seen are directed towards market makes it difficult for valuers of valuations to timely incorporate ket. Whilst the illiquid nature of real
in a hyperinflationary environment services, the retail developments and to, with a high level of confidence, ac- any new information into asset values. estate is generally accepted, the costs
investors move away from monetary offices. Buildings are, if you want, a curately assess the value of properties. MG: Given that of late property and taxes incurred when selling prop-
to real assets to hedge against loss of form of dead capital notwithstand- There is a strong positive correlation companies have been trading at a erty in Zimbabwe are too exorbitant.
value. The property market has also ing their leverage potential. If you discount, do you think the recom- For instance, depending on tax status,
benefited from this flight to safety, as look around, you see a lot of these mended vehicles in relation to the one may incur upwards of 15% of the
this partly accounts for the growth. idle assets that, for years, have not introduction of property unit trusts total selling price in costs. The taxes
MG: Real estate has been touted as a been delivering any sensible returns will help performance? involved being agency fees, valuation
hedge against inflation. Is this true to their owners. We need to see more fees, conveyancing, stamp duty, cap-
for Zimbabwe at the moment? investments from the largest savings ital gains tax, etc. In other property
industry being directed towards man- markets like South Africa and Lon-
GM: The inflation-hedging at- ufacturing, agriculture and real estate don, these costs average between 6%
tribute of real estate investments is infrastructure like roads, bulky water, and 8%.
MG: Finally, what is your forecast of
Source: Ipec report—June 30 2020 the market going into the future?
GM: Notwithstanding the early signs
of green shoots in the broader market,
the property market is going through
an extended trough. Property yields
remain relatively low in a capital
market where we do not have reli-
able benchmark indices. Generally,
property income returns average 4%
with negative capital returns. Capital
values remain significantly lower than
construction costs.

The currency inconsistencies and
the hyperinflation environment have
significantly affected freehold sales as
sellers hold on to their inflation-hedg-
ing assets. We are, however, expectant
that the recent market stability will be
sustainable going into the future, ush-
ering a friendlier investment climate.

NewsHawks Taking Stock Page 15

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Price Sheet

Thursday, 05 November 2020 A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price (cents) Traded Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
AFDIS Consumer Goods 1900.01 Volume Value ($) (cents) (%) ($m)
African Sun Consumer Services Price 156.93
ART AFDIS: ZH 1700.00 229.33 812,300 15,433,800.00 200.01 11.77 495.61 2,228.83
Ariston Industrials ASUN: ZH 156.93 1900.00 128.00 - - - - 527.72 1,352.38
Axia Consumer Services ARTD: ZH 230.00 - 384.85 1664.08 1,002.12
BNC ARISTON: ZH 130.00 346.13 300 688.00 -0.67 -0.29 575.46 2,083.07
BAT Consumer Goods AXIA: ZH 394.78 229.00 21754.48 200 256.00 -2.00 -1.54 539.29 2,097.03
CAFCA Basic Materials BIND: ZH 380.00 128.00 6087.50 69,700 268,240.00 -9.93 -2.52 2039.25 4,326.13
Cassava 21754.48 385.00 387.75 3,100 10,730.00 -33.87 -8.91 355.59 4,488.71
CBZ Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 6087.50 345.00 4390.00 3319.56
Dairibord Industrials CAFCA: ZH 387.00 800.57 - - - - 176.96 531.75
Dawn 4445.10 - 70.00 - - - - 6197.52 10,044.96
Delta Technology CSZL: ZH 800.17 - 1475.00 800 3,102.00 0.75 0.19 1772.68 30,169.47
Econet Banking CBZ: ZH 70.00 387.00 399.89 30,000 1,317,000.00 -55.10 -1.24 858.90
Edgars DZL: ZH 1475.03 4390.00 94.00 217,200 1,738,841.00 0.40 0.05 332.87 2,866.05
FBC Consumer Goods 400.00 800.00 1375.00 8,500 5,950.00 - - 167.59 1,720.02
Fidelity Real Estate DAWN: ZH 90.00 70.00 145.00 2,898,200 42,748,320.00 -0.03 -0.00 347.62 18,945.80
First Capital DLTA: ZH 1375.00 1475.00 52.16 3,001,400 12,002,390.00 -0.11 -0.03 2007.28 10,359.46
FML Consumer Goods ECO: ZH 145.00 400.00 408.00 1,000 940.00 4.00 4.44 1486.43
FMP Telecommunications EDGR: ZH 52.04 94.00 219.75 - - - - 484.10 307.37
GBH Consumer Services FBC: ZH 407.78 - 17.00 900 1,305.00 - - 1136.36 9,239.31
Getbucks FIDL: ZH 219.75 145.00 12.50 129,600 67,598.00 0.12 0.23 1192.65
Hippo Banking FCA: ZH 17.00 52.00 1400.00 300 1,224.00 0.22 0.05 608.33 157.94
Innscor Financial Services FMHL: ZH 12.50 408.00 2096.41 - - - - 1,124.95
Lafarge FMP: ZH 1402.78 - 610.00 29,700 5,049.00 - - 4.17 2,815.78
Mash Banking GBH: ZH 1953.50 17.00 50.50 - - - - 617.95 2,720.85
Masimba Financial Services GBFS: ZH 610.00 - 255.00 700 9,800.00 -2.78 -0.20 491.80
Medtech HIPO: ZH 50.50 1400.00 199,400 4,180,250.00 142.91 7.32 238.89 91.22
Meikles Real Estate 260.00 2100.00 8.00 - - - - 547.44 145.39
Nampak Industrials INN: ZH - 1550.00 - - - - 1312.74 2,702.29
NatFoods LACZ: ZH 8.04 - 900 2,295.00 -5.00 -1.92 426.32 11,840.03
NTS Financial Services MASH: ZH 1536.10 255.00 74.18 9,800 784.00 -0.04 -0.50 510.24 488.00
NMBZ Consumer Goods MSHL: ZH 8.00 5020.00 406,000 6,293,000.00 13.90 0.90 938.83
OK Zim MMDZ: ZH 74.75 1550.00 1,100 816.00 -0.57 -0.76 3.03 616.22
Padenga Industrials MEIK: ZH 5020.00 74.00 22.90 - - - - 457.16 243.18
Powerspeed Industrials NPKZ: ZH - 270.00 - - - - 965.12 3,916.01
Proplastics Real Estate NTFD: ZH 22.90 - 479.22 400 1,080.00 -14.44 -5.08 558.54 560.54
RTG Industrials 284.44 270.00 1306.48 8,600 41,212.75 29.23 6.50 767.52 3,433.69
RioZim Healthcare NTS: ZH 449.99 479.75 190.00 68,900 900,165.00 -0.97 -0.07 415.89
SeedCo Industrials NMB: ZH 1307.45 1315.00 570.03 - - - - 850.00 58.14
Simbisa Industrials OKZ: ZH 190.00 - 190.00 - - - - 595.16 1,091.26
Star Africa Consumer Goods PHL: ZH 570.03 - 850.00 1,200 2,280.00 - - 1210.34 5,974.98
Truworths Industrials PWS: ZH 190.00 190.00 1700.00 - - - - 262.32 7,075.81
TSL PROL: ZH 850.00 - 622.93 3,000 51,000.00 - - 962.50
Turnall Banking RTG: ZH 1700.00 1700.00 20.00 7,400 46,097.00 0.50 0.08 395.88 711.06
Unifreight Consumer Services RIOZ: ZH 622.43 623.00 16.97 75,800 15,160.00 1.00 5.26 463.38 1,436.11
Willdale SEED: ZH 19.00 20.00 530.41 - - - - 793.16 4,741.44
ZB Consumer Goods SIM: ZH 16.97 - 57.00 - - - - 600.21 1,037.25
Zeco Industrials SACL: ZH 530.41 - 12.95 - - - - 418.18 4,173.98
Zimpapers Industrials TRUW: ZH 57.00 - 23.80 - - - - 43.89 3,502.02
Zimplow TSL: ZH 12.95 - 1711.27 5,500 1,309.00 -0.20 -0.83 580.00
ZHL Consumer Services TURN: ZH 24.00 24.00 285,000 4,877,130.00 61.27 3.71 2276.76 943.02
TOTAL Basic Materials UNIF: ZH 1650.00 1720.00 0.02 - - - - 65.18
WILD: ZH - 68.00 - - - - -
Consumer Goods ZBFH: ZH 0.02 - 490.00 - - - - 407.46 1,894.11
Consumer Goods ZECO: ZH 68.00 - 290.00 - - - - 709.92 281.03
Consumer Goods ZIMP: ZH 490.00 - 8,276,900 90,027,811.75 1833.33 13.79
Consumer Services ZIMPLOW: ZH 290.00 423.16
Consumer Goods ZHL: ZH
2,997.98
Industrials 0.09
Industrials
Industrials 391.68
1,168.07
Banking 4,446.68
Industrials 175,984.21
Consumer Services
Industrials
Financial Services

FINSEC Open (cents) Close (cents) Change (%) YTD (%) Mkt Cap ($m) Top 5 Risers Price Change % YTD %
OMZIL
3550.00 3550.00 - 195.83 2,946.92 AFDIS 1900.01c +200.01c +11.77 +495.61
Innscor 2096.41c +142.91c +7.32 +491.80
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % OK Zim 479.22c +29.23c +6.50 +767.52
Star Africa +5.26 +463.38
ZSE All Share 1,502.72 +0.38 1,496.97 +553.10 Edgars 20.00c +1.00c +4.44 +347.62
Top 10 973.67 +0.75 966.45 +378.09 94.00c +4.00c
Top 15 +0.32 +463.12
Small Cap 1,155.70 +0.23 1,151.96 +857.77 Top 5 Fallers Price Change % YTD %
Medium Cap 6,103.40 -0.24 6,089.20 +965.37
3,031.51 3,038.79 BNC 346.13c -33.87c -8.91 +2039.25
NMBZ 270.00c -14.44c -5.08 +558.54
Axia 384.85c -9.93c -2.52 +539.29
Masimba 255.00c -5.00c -1.92 +1312.74
Ariston 128.00c -2.00c -1.54 +575.46

SALES & TRADING: Davide Muchengi: [email protected] | Lungani Nyamazana: [email protected] | Tatenda Jasi: [email protected]

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

Tel: (+263) 08677008101-2 | Email: [email protected] | Address: 1st Floor, Block D, Smatsatsa Office Park, Borrowdale, Harare

MORGAN & COMPANY has issued this document for distribution to its clients. It may not be reproduced or further distributed in whole or in part for any purpose. This document is not and should not be construed as an
offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe to any investment. MORGAN & COMPANY has based this document on information obtained from sources it believes to be reliable but which it has not

independently verified; MORGAN & COMPANY makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to the accuracy or completeness of its content.

Page 16 News Analysis NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Scandals mar Mnangagwa’s anti-graft crusade

NYASHA CHINGONO mentioned among the alleged the president’s legacy, citing cases Emmerson Mnangagwa gering, they should set up this
masterminds. of leaders in the region that were commission.”
REPEATED allegations of humiliated after leaving office them to escape to countries such
corruption around President Early this year Collins was because of crimes committed by as South Africa and Kenya. Piers Pigou, a political analyst,
Emmerson Mnangagwa and his linked to a US$60 million scandal their families while they were still said Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption
family are eroding the credibility involving an obscure company in power. Mnangagwa made fighting fight has been soiled by politics,
of his anti-corruption campaign that tried to supply the govern- corruption one of his major leading to the selective applica-
and further tearing apart the ment with Covid-19 medical Chan said the president has to assignments when he took over tion of the law.
integrity and legitimacy - or what equipment at inflated prices. learn from his predecessor Rob- from Mugabe, but critics say it
is left of it - of his government, ert Mugabe’s last days in office has now become clear that the “The government continues to
analysts say. Mnangagwa was forced to fire where his family was drawn into anti-graft crusade is targetted at claim that there is no tolerance
his close ally Obadiah Moyo as multiple corruption scandals, his political foes while the presi- to corruption, but there are very
Mnangagwa’s wife Auxillia Health and Child Care minis- leading to his embarrasing fall. dent’s inner circle enjoyed a free strong perceptions that it is a
and son Collins are reeling from ter after it was revealed that he rein to loot. selective game and there are pro-
corruption allegations after they played a key role in facilitating “The high profile cases of cesses of catch-and-release,”Pigou
were named in the Henrietta the doggy Drax Internation- corruption surrounding a neigh- Ibbo Mandaza, the head of said.
Rushwaya case in which the for- al deal. Collins’ alleged close bouring president occurred in think tank Sapes Trust, said
mer Zimbabwe Football Associ- associate Delish Nguwaya, who is Angola,” Chan said. Mnangagwa must appoint an in- “The anti-corruption efforts
ation CEO tried to smuggle six the Zimbabwe represantative for depent commission to investigate are not designed to go after the
kilogrammes of gold from Harare Drax International, was arrested “Cases have been brought high profile cases if he wanted big fish.
to Dubai a week ago. over the scandal. against the former first family by his anti-corruption crusade to be
a new president from the very taken serioulsly. “I think the challenge is the
The case is now in the courts Nguwaya has been pictured at same party. absence of a credible investigative
and has sucked in state security different places with members of “One way that the leader- body that can go after the highest
agents, who were allegedly be- Mnangagwa’s family on the back “In the fullness of time, no one ship of this country can absolve offices in the land and that in-
hind the unprecedented security of claims that they have close remains immune forever.” themselves and allay fears and cludes elements in the presiden-
breach at the Robert Gabriel ties. Collins has denied that he rumours that are circulating, is to cy, the (Office of the President
Mugabe International Airport is friends with the controversial One of the reasons given by set up an internationally ac- and Cabinet).”
that included the switching businessman. the military to justify a coup claimed commission of inquiry,”
off of CCTV cameras to allow against Mugabe in 2017 was that Mandaza said. About 20 civil society groups
Rushwaya’s contraband to pass Stephen Chan, a professor of a number of his top allies were this week issued a statement
undetected. world politics at the University of plundering the country’s resourc- “This commission would also decrying the government’s failure
London, said the corruption al- es through corrupt schemes. investigate everything from (the to deal with organised criminal
Auxillia has denied involve- legations against the Mnangagwa looting of) diamonds to present syndicates in the wake of Rush-
ment in the smuggling attempt family had the potential to soil A number of Mugabe loyal- (day scandals). waya’s arrest.
and this week pushed police to ists were hunted down by the
issue a statement clearing her and military during the coup, forcing “ If they are serious and they “We are deeply concerned that
Collins’names. want to stop the rumour mon- criminal syndicates have spread
their tentacles to major minerals
The Mnangagwa family, police like gold, diamonds and black
and Zanu PF, as well as their sup- granite,” the groups said.
porters, have launched a hysteri-
cal campaign of denial in a bid to “We are equally concerned
deflect attention away from the about the culture of impunity
president’s family. that characterises cases of grand
corruption or those involving
Mnangagwa’s spokesperson the illegal exploitation of mineral
George Charamba on Thursday wealth by political elites.
took to Twitter to threaten inde-
pendent news platforms, includ- The Zimbabwe Anti-Corrup-
ing The NewsHawks, that are tion Commission (Zacc) has
reporting on the criminal syndi- been accused of only targetting
cates implicated in the smuggling Mnangagwa’s opponents when
of precious minerals. pursuing graft cases.

Charamba claimed there was One of the controversial
a plot to link Mnangagwa to an cases handled by Zacc involved
alleged Mutare precious minerals former Transport minister Jorum
dealer David Crosby, who was Gumbo, who was arrested late
recently arrested by the Special last year for alleged criminal
Anti-Corruption Unit, over a abuse of office after he alleged-
different case. ly authorised renovations of a
relative’s house to the tune of $1
“The latest efforts led by agents million before the property was
of hostile foreign interests is turned into the headquarters of
seeking to enlist the services of at Zimabwe Airways.
least three online news interests,
among them foreign funded The Gumbo, a staunch Mnangagwa
NewsHawks and ZimLive led by ally, was released on the same day
Dumisani Muleya and Mduduzi he was arrested and the case went
Mathathu respectively,” said Cha- cold. There are also several top
ramba, who uses the pseudonym Zanu PF officials and ruling party
Jamwanda on Twitter. financiers, who have been impli-
cated in corruption scandals, but
“We keep watchful,” he have never been charged by Zacc.
warned.
Zanu PF early this year fired
The Rushwaya gold smug- its youth commissar Godfrey
gling case became the second Tsenengamu after he released a
major scandal where members list of senior party officials and
of Mnangagwa’s family were financiers whom he said were be-
hind organised crimes that were
weighing down on the economy.

NewsHawks Opinion Page 17

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

What are the opportunities available
for addressing Gukurahundi?

Keith
Silika

RECENT overtures and statements Collective, which President Mnan- processes as well. turned a blind eye to bohemian The Act also has limited investi-
by President Emmerson Mnangag- gagwa seems to be cosying up to, A combination of these groups exhumations by the Fallen Heroes gative powers, has restricted power
wa on Gukurahundi have invited is not in my view representative of Trust. for the commission and section 8
scorn, owing to the manner in victim groups. What Mnangagwa and other interested parties in (13) gives protection to all individ-
which the state has handled the has basically done is to reduce this law and sociology will contribute Exhumations in my view should uals called and those under inves-
atrocities in the last 33 years. to the equivalent of the Political towards a more holistic approach to be at national level, with consider- tigation. Considering the weakness
Actors Dialogue (Polad). the process of truth telling, history, ation to forensic evidence, histo- of this legislation, there is a need
There are political, legal, human- accountability and closure for some ry, culture and law. As it stands, for either amendments or new leg-
itarian, economic, as well as truth It is also useful to have an organ- victims. Zimbabwe does not have a missing islation altogether. There is a white
and reconciliation processes that isation that is not regionally based; person database, or collected an- paper available by this author with
need addressing when it comes to victims of Gukurahundi are not The new statement issued with te-mortem data. There is a need for regards that.
Gukurahundi. buried in Matabeleland only but regards the push to put traditional training around forensic anthro-
can also be found in Mashonaland chiefs in charge of overseeing exhu- pology and archaeology to facilitate The sum total of the issues raised
The main exigent concern is the provinces as well—the Zpra  court mation and other peace processes is holistic exhumation processes. above is brought into sharper
role of the perpetrators in trying to case against the Fallen Heroes Trust also problematic. While chiefs play perspective when assessing how
solve the issue. The current Presi- on the exhumation in Chibondo an important role in Zimbabwean As matters stand, surviving dismally the NPRC has fared. What
dent and other senior members of being one such example. culture, they do not have experi- Gukurahundi victims are facing is therefore required is national dia-
the government, security services ence with regards the exhumation cultural, economic, and legal prob- logue that can give birth to an in-
and Zanu PF politburo feature As the human rights lawyer Si- of human remains. The chiefs can lems. In local cultures, both Shona dependent commission which will
heavily in the offender matrix. A phosami Malunga  and traditional be useful at community level and and Ndebele, there are ceremonies address these issues and formulate
sizeable number of these individ- leader Chief Ndiweni said recently, can work alongside the National such as umbuyiso/kurova guva or a plan that will meet the needs of
uals were directing operations in Gukurahundi is a national issue. Peace and Reconciliation Commis- appeasing the spirits. These have victims. We can always have a look
Matabeleland during the atrocities. sion (NPRC) in an advisory role. not been performed on certain at how Zimbabwe’s neighbour,
This is through being members of There is also a need to involve deceased individuals who were South Africa, has managed its truth
the 5th Brigade, Zimbabwe Nation- organisations that have carried A significant issue with regards killed. This has a negative effect on and reconciliation processes.
al Army, Police Support Unit or out research and exhumations in Gukurahundi is the issue of human the well-being of survivors.
Central Intelligence Organisation Zimbabwe such as Amani Trust, remains. There must be transparency,
(CIO). Ukuthula Trust, Fallen Heroes Studies by Shari Eppel have accountability and professional-
Trust and the National Transitional There are human remains demonstrated that. There are mass ism.  I hope also that this opinion
This is well-documented in the Working Group. around the country found at mis- graves in certain locations which piece also serves as a clarion call to
Catholic Commission for Justice sion schools, hospitals, mineshafts need attention such as Cowdray the vast number of Zimbabwean
and Peace (CCJP) Report of 1997, On a broader scale, the Inter- and other government institutions. Park, at schools which children still academics both within the country
various journal articles, books, national Commission for Missing attend and in mineshafts which and outside to converge and
documentaries and news reports. Persons, ICMP, the global agency There have been sporadic might be of immense interest. contribute meaningfully towards
In addition, the state has over the with mandate on the missing, mass exhumations since 1999 and the Therefore, some exhumations Gukurahundi using their various
years refused to release the two graves, as well as truth and recon- government often halts or intimi- are of humanitarian interest in fields of expertise.
reports pertaining to Gukurahundi: ciliation can be an asset to those dates individuals involved in those addition to some which are of
the Chihambakwe and Dumbut- exercises. However, the State has forensic interest. And, lastly, the To this end, President Mnangag-
shena reports. previous programme of issuing wa should release the Chihambak-
death certificates without inves- we and Dumbutshena commission
There also periods over the years tigation is suspicious and creates reports and consider amendments
when the state denied the killings. another layer designed to obfuscate to the NPRC of 2018. He can facil-
Former vice-president Phelekezela Gukurahundi. In legal contexts, the itate the formation of an indepen-
Mphoko at one time called Guku- National Peace and Reconciliation dent body to look forensically into
rahundi a Portuguese conspiracy. Act (NPRA) of 2018 is inadequate the killings, not to interfere with
The late president Robert Mug- in terms of reference and scope. the processes, and halt the political-
abe called Gukurahundi a closed The Act gives too much power to isation of Gukurahundi.
chapter. President Mnangagwa and the President and Home Affairs
Vice-President Constantino Chi- minister with regards calling wit- Consideration should also be
wenga have not apologised for their nesses, for example. given to decentralising the process
roles in the mass killings. These and putting a distance between the
political contexts therefore make This makes it even more relevant NPRC and government.
their participation suspicious and as the current President is an
their recent proposals insincere. interested party in the atrocities. The NPRC should be given
The NPRA does not cater for issues power to investigate issues inde-
 It is therefore pertinent that around what various victim groups pendently and the scope of the in-
there be an independent commis- have been campaigning for when vestigation should be expanded. It
sion for Gukurahundi as advocated the NPRC conducted its consulta- will be useful to include the social,
by Heal Zimbabwe and the Na- tions. economic and community impact
tional Transitional Justice Working of Gukurahundi over the years.
Group (NTJWG). At the core of
such a commission will be what
victim groups want. There are over
half a dozen victim groups linked
to Gukurahundi. These include
Ibhetshu Likazulu, Gukurahundi
Genocide Survivors for Justice
(GGS4J), Zimbabwe Victims of Or-
ganized Violence Trust (ZIVOVT),
Post-Independence Survivors’
Trust, Zimbabwe Victims of Polit-
ical Violence, Save Matabeleland
Coalition, Matabeleland Gukura-
hundi Victims, Matabeleland Col-
lective, Heal Zimbabwe Trust, and
Mahlabezulu Residents’ Associa-
tion, among others. It will be useful
to have one group that can then
liaise with the State or other civil
society groups. The Matabeleland

Page 18 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Citizens must
define the
Zimbabwe
they want:
Dangarembga

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE able to use storytelling as her tool Zimbabwe Author and Film Maker Tsitsi Dangarembga
of engagement.
AUTHOR and filmmaker Tsitsi know, a bee will find plants some- I would like to in that context be- ulate what we wanted, so we had
Dangarembga, one of the citizens “I’m not a politician, and I never where, and will go back with the cause I think it’s extremely import- no means of knowing whether the
at the forefront of the fight on so- will be a politician and I don’t want story to say, you know, over there, ant.” things we were doing were going to
cial injustices, human rights abus- to be a politician and I thank God this distance this direction from get us there.
es and Zanu PF misrule, says she that I don’t have a political bone in here there’s really wonderful honey She said deficiencies in citizens’
does not have political ambitions my body. I do not want to stand up so let’s go. articulation of the type of gover- “It’s just, oh yeah, these people
but is in support of a worthy cause there and be responsible for peo- nance they want is what led to the are going to do what we said we
that gives Zimbabweans a platform ple. What I want to do is to create “Telling stories to each other “Mugabe must go mantra”, culmi- want to get rid of those people, yay
to evolve. spaces where people can begin to is another way that we grow and nating in the rise to office of the fabulous! And now we are doing it
evolve,” Dangarembga said in an define the directions that we want incumbent leadership which has together with ‘Zanu PF must go’.
She however challenged Zimba- interview with The NewsHawks. to go in. And that’s the level that failed to deliver. Again, no articulation of the actual
bweans to define the country they I feel I operate at and it’s been a utopia that we would like to create
want rather than just demanding “And so these are the kinds of matter of distress today to me that “We were just concentrating on and what it actually means,” Dan-
Zanu PF’s exit from power. platforms that I mentioned, the I haven’t been able to function as getting rid of something that we garembga said.
film festival, that is really what I don’t like. But we did not artic-
The Booker Prize nominee, who would like to do, and I really be-
was arrested on 31 July this year lieve that telling stories is part of
while protesting for a better Zim- that process of evolution. There is
babwe, said she became actively no community that has not told
involved in protests after being un- stories, even insects tell stories, you

Bobi Wine, the popular Ugandan Bobi arrested after nomination stupid things to disrupt the [elec-
reggae singer and opposition pres- as election candidate tion] process. The ones who want
idential hopeful, was temporarily to disturb our peace, don’t try
blinded by police when he was Bobi Wine has captured the imagination of many Ugandans with his persistent calls for the 76-year-old because we shall deal with you.
arrested in Kampala on Tuesday, president, Yoweri Museveni, to retire. Whoever tries will regret. Nobody
moments after being successful- should be intimidated by these
ly certified as a candidate in next him to the police vehicle. He was Critics say President, Museveni, as a candidate on Monday, said crooks,” the 76-year-old politician
year’s election. eventually safely delivered to his in power since 1986, increasingly afterwards that his government said.
home in Magere [a neighbour- depends on the armed forces to as- would not tolerate the activities of
Heavily armed police and army hood of Kampala],” the spokes- sert his authority. enemies plotting chaos. “I am already president and
officers blocked Wine’s vehicle as person said. want to come back … The [rul-
he was leaving the Kyambogo Uni- Museveni, who was nominated “They are planning all sorts of ing party] fought to bring peace
versity cricket grounds on the out- in this country. Nobody has more
skirts of the capital. They smashed guns than us. But we don’t scare
the vehicle’s windows with a crow- people.”
bar and bundled the 38-year-old
into a waiting police van. The electoral commission has
not fixed a date for the polls.
Wine, who is hoping to unseat
Uganda’s long-time leader Yoweri Wine is one of a new generation
Museveni, said police had directed of politicians  across Africa who
pepper spray into his face amid vi- are challenging long-time leaders,
olent scuffles with his supporters. hoping to harness deep dissatis-
faction among younger, more ed-
“We were abducted by the po- ucated and often urban voters.
lice and military … They were the
ones that smashed my car,” the “We now enter the most critical
singer, whose real name is Robert phase of our liberation struggle!”
Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, told sup- Wine tweeted after having his
porters. candidacy certified.

“They sprayed pepper spray in He broke into formal politics
our eyes. I still can’t see properly. in 2017 when he won a seat in
Very many people are in hospital Uganda’s national assembly, and
in critical condition. This elec- has been since been badly assault-
tion is no election as usual – this ed and detained many times.
is a revolutionary election. If it’s a
boxing fight, it has begun.” Those actions have reinforced a
view among some Ugandans that
Authorities frequently accuse the police serve at the behest of
Wine of planning rallies that Museveni, who has rebuffed re-
could disrupt public order, which peated calls to retire peacefully.
he denies.
Museveni is eligible to seek an-
A police spokesperson said other term next year after lawmak-
Wine had been planning an ille- ers removed constitutional age
gal procession that was broken up limits on the presidency. The for-
to preserve the flow of traffic and mer rebel leader’s party insists he
public order. remains its most popular member.

“He was forcefully removed This east African country has
from his vehicle, and a fracas en- never witnessed a peaceful transfer
sued in the process of transferring of power since independence in
1962. – Guardian/BBC

NewsHawks World News Page 19

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

‘Count every vote’: protesters take to
streets across US as ballots tallied

Protesters marched and rallied uses AP elections data, and accord- wing, anti-lockdown group crowd- Donald Trump, left and Joe Biden challenges will alter the election re-
across the US on Wednesday as ingly has declared Biden the win- ed outside a ballot-counting site in ots, arrested 11 people and seized sult.
the presidential election remained ner in Arizona.) Demonstrators Detroit. The small cluster of Trump fireworks, hammers and a rifle, as
too close to call. Most demonstra- chanted: “Shame on Fox.” supporters descended on the center Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown ac- Trump has repeatedly, falsely in-
tions were large, peaceful events amid chants of “Stop the count!”. tivated the national guard. “All of sisted without evidence that there
organised by progressive groups   Protesters gather outside elec- (In Phoenix, where Biden’s lead the gatherings that were declared are major problems with the vote
calling on officials to “count every tion centre in Phoenix as Biden’s was shrinking, Trump supporters riots were downtown,” a Portland count – and demanded that states
vote”. But in some cities, includ- Arizona ‘win’ challenged – vid- shouted the opposite.) police spokesman told Reuters in that he is in danger of losing stop
ing Phoenix and Detroit, Donald eo Despite reports that counting an emailed statement. “There have counting ballots.
Trump supporters converged on would be halted as a result of the Police made some arrests at the been 11 arrests tonight and we have
vote-counting centers. demonstration, county officials various demonstrations, including not received any reports of inju- Earlier, the Republican cam-
confirmed that ballots would con- 50 in New York. Dozens of protest- ries.” paign filed suit in a bid to halt the
In New York City, thousands tinue to be tallied into the night. ers were also arrested in Minneap- count in Michigan, demanding the
marched past boarded-up luxury Reporters, however, were asked to olis after demanding action on a The demonstrations came as Democratic secretary of state allow
stores on Manhattan’s Fifth Ave- leave as the pro-Trump protesters range of issues including policing, Donald Trump  threatened to sue in more inspectors.
nue, as ballots were still being tal- crowded outside. climate change and immigration, his way to the presidency, launch-
lied in key battleground states. according to local media reports. ing lawsuits on Wednesday to The secretary of state, Jocelyn
The incident echoed an earlier halt vote-counting in three battle- Benson, said the “stop the count”
Similar protests took place in event in Michigan, when a right- In Portland police declared ri- ground states. It is not clear that the protesters outside the counting
at least a half-dozen cities, includ- center in Detroit were a distraction
ing Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, and warned that people would need
Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and San to “push back against the misinfor-
Diego. Demonstrators gathered mation that we believe will escalate
outside Dallas City Hall in Texas, potentially in the days ahead”.
and in Chicago, protesters demand-
ing a complete count marched “As for the folks who showed up
through downtown and along a in the late hours outside to cause
street across the river from Trump a lot of distraction and make a lot
Tower. Many of these events were of noise, if they thought they were
organized by local groups affiliated going to intimidate or stop anyone
with Protect the Results, a coalition from doing their job inside the
of grassroots organizations and la- TCF Center, they don’t know De-
bor unions. troit,” Benson said.

In Phoenix a group of pro- Benson defended the bal-
Trump protesters, some of them lot-counting as “transparent” and
armed, gathered outside the Mar- said the Trump campaign’s lawsuit
icopa county election center, where against Michigan, alleging that the
sheriff ’s deputies were guarding campaign had “not been provid-
both the outside of the building ed with meaningful access to nu-
and the counting inside. merous counting locations”, was
“frivolous”. The prolonged task of
Many wore “Make America counting this year’s deluge of mail-
great again” hats and some carried in votes had raised fears of wide-
signs baselessly alleging fraud. The spread civil unrest, but so far that
Associated Press and other news scenario has not come to pass.
organizations, including the con-
servative network Fox News, de- On Tuesday night, scattered pro-
clared Biden the victor in Arizona tests broke out after voting ended,
yesterday, but decision desks for stretching from Washington DC to
other media outlets say the state is Seattle, but there was no significant
still too close to call. (The Guardian violence.

– Guardian/BBC

When  Donald Trump  supporters Fox News a surprise focus of Trump ten providing commentary on his
gathered outside a vote-counting supporters’ anger after Arizona call Twitter feed about its audience rat-
centre in Phoenix,  Arizona, on ings when he objects to its coverage
Wednesday night, they had a sim- this involved  Jared Kushner  con- for decades, had made clear that he pulling back the call”. and phoning in to dispute specific
ple and perhaps unexpected chant: tacting Fox’s owner,  Rupert Mur- would not be swayed by internal Dismissing claims from Trump’s issues.
Sucks!” doch, while in Vanity Fair’s report- pressure in making calls for states.
Although the channel has become ing it was the president himself who FULL DATA HERE team that they could still edge ahead On the day of the election he
synonymous with Mr Trump’s rise called the media mogul. Regardless in the ultra-close race as more votes complained on air about the chan-
to power, in the last two days Fox of who was placing the calls, Fox has As a result, Mr Mishkin has been were counted, a visibly exasperated nel’s coverage not being sufficiently
News has become the focus of the stuck by its decision – much to the portrayed as a defender of the truth, Mishkin pushed back and said the supportive: “Somebody said what’s
Trump campaign’s anger after it anger of many of its viewers who representing the uneasy balance that objections were like talking about the difference between this and four
made an early call on Tuesday night have bombarded the channel with exists between Fox’s straight news what would happen “if a frog had years ago, and I say Fox … In the old
that the state of Arizona was going complaints. division and the highly opinionated wings”. days you wouldn’t put ‘Sleepy Joe’
to  Joe Biden. In the process, the rightwing hosts who shape the ex- on every time he opens his mouth.
channel switched the media’s atten- The decision to call the ultra-close ternal perception of the channel. “We’re confident that the data You had Democrats on more than
tion away from Mr Trump’s sub- Arizona race for Biden – a call that will basically look like the data you had Republicans. I’m not com-
stantial success in Florida and un- was later copied by the Associated On Thursday, Mr Mishkin, we’ve noticed throughout the count plaining. I’m just telling people.”
dermined the president’s attempts Press – was made by Fox’s Arnon who has become a target for angry in Arizona,” he said.
to focus attention on the vote Mishkin, who runs the broadcaster’s Trump supporters, told the chan- One of the bigger questions in
counting in Pennsylvania. decision desk. Before the election, nel’s viewers that he would not be Mr Trump and his team have an US right-wing media is what hap-
Mr Mishkin, a registered Demo- changing his mind on the basis that increasingly complicated relation- pens if Mr Trump loses the election,
Such was the level of fury with- crat who has worked for Fox News “we strongly believe that our call ship with Fox News. Throughout with longstanding speculation that
in the Trump campaign at the call will stand, and that’s why we’re not his presidency he has been an ob- he could be tempted to start his own
that his team reportedly attempted sessive watcher of the channel, of- media outlet in a bid to communi-
to have the decision overturned. cate directly with his supporters.
According to the New York Times,
– Guardian

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 20 Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

Zimbabwean musicians
trailblazing in South Africa

WHILE many musicians of Above: Shasha second from right with friends. Bottom left: Berita and right Nadia Nakai Denise Bidot dumps
Zimbabwean origins have Lil Wayne over Trump
made it big in South Afri- on Instagram. tional Act at the 2020 BET of Amapiano who have taken
ca - from Dorothy Masuka, Some of her best songs Awards, a massive feat. South Africa by storm, have Lil Wayne is single once again - his girlfriend model
the jazz maestro of the Hugh include Naaa Mean, more been simply irresistible. Denise Bidot, is moving on ... and it appears like his en-
Masekela and Miriam Make- drugs, 40 bars, amai and Shasha was born in 1994 dorsement of President Donald Trump was the last straw.
ba golden generation in the amantombazane. in Mutare, move to Bula- Some of her best songs - TMZ
days of Sophiatown to the wayo, Botswana and the that dominated the air-
likes of Oskido, a Kwaito leg- And then there is the South Africa. waves include akulaleki, love
end - a new generation has Amapiano queen, Shasha. you tonight and abondaba,
now emerged. Charmaine “Shasha” Her productions with the among others.
Mapimbiro has hit the big Scorpion Kings, DJ Maphori-
Three young ladies stand time in South Africa, win- sa, who actually gave her the Zimbabwe has got talent
out: Berita, Nadia Nakai and ning the Best New Interna- break into the big time, and and the three young ladies
Shasha. Kabza De Small, the real king are a living testimony of that.

The trailblazing ladies
have been riding on the
crest of a wave of publicity
in South Africa due to their
scintillating performances in
different genres.

Multi-award winning Ber-
ita, born in Bulawayo as Gu-
gulethu Khumalo in 1991,
has been churning sizzling
tracks such as uyandazi, si-
yathandana, jikizinto and
the hit ndicel’ikiss which
cemented her credentials
as one of the best Afro pop
queens in Mzansi which
has quality especially in that
genre.

Berita lived in her home
country, New Zealand and
then South Africa where she
went to Walter Sisuku Uni-
versity in the Eastern Cape.

Besides Berita, there is
also the South African rap-
per wirj Zimbabwean heri-
tage Nadia Nakai.

Although she has Zimba-
bwean connections, she was
born and raised in South Af-
rica, her father’s country. Her
mother is Zimbabwean.

Most of hwr life she was
known as Nadia Dlamini,
but when she was 16 she
changed her surname to her
mom’s.

She attended high school
in Fourways for a year, then
relocated to Kenya to finish
her studies where she com-
pleted a double major in
marketing, communications
& media studies and worked
for an advertising agency for
some work experience.

Usually compared to Nik-
ki Minaj and regarded as the
“baddest” female rapper in
Africa, she is very popular
with over a million followers

NewsHawks People & Places Page 21

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE Unheralded adventure rows that direct you on den Culture, an event
around the corner the winding path until concepts business, last
AFFORDABLE adven- you reach the summit Saturday hosted a silent
ture a stone’s throw from of the rock. Along the sunset disco on top of
Harare – just 35 kilome- way there are flowing the hill.
tres away. streams and pools as
well as scenic views. Before or after the
If you are looking for climb, you can learn
adventure, a tranquil It is a great outing all about the history of
environment, a place to for the whole family, Domboshava at the base
party, a trip down his- including pets. Pho- of the granite rock where
tory memory lane, then tographers who have there are exhibitions you
Domboshava Caves is fallen in love with the can learn a lot from.
your place. natural landscape, rec-
ommend the place for There are also curios,
The caves are found off engagement-party pho- arts and crafts sold at the
the Borrowdale-Dom- toshoots. base, for art lovers and
boshava Road, about 35 collectors.
kilometres north-east of And if you are won-
Harare. dering how parties are Sometimes you don’t
held on the hill, Hid- have to spend a fortune
The cultural and her- to have real fun.
itage site is run by the
National Museums and food and drinks are a lovers and fitness enthu- rock art and paintings.
Monuments of Zimba- must. siasts as it offers steep The trail to the top
bwe, which collects an mountain climbs and a
entrance fee which var- The hill is an ideal chance to explore San of the rock is well sign
ies according to nation- hiking place for nature posted with white ar-
ality and age.

The best time to visit
is late afternoon when
you can follow the ad-
venture trail and watch
the beautiful sunset.

If you want to go
there, just remember to
carry something warm,
as it can get chilly at the
top of the hill. A picnic
blanket and your own

Property
NewsHawks

Page 22 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

The home of prime property: [email protected]

CORRESPONDENT Zipra veterans in big failing to do the same for fel-
battle for seized assets low black liberators who lost
THE battle between govern- their properties — which
ment and Zimbabwe Peo- Tshilis Mdada, he agreed to gagwa’s promises have so far person, we know he has the they bought using personal
ple’s Revolutionary Army revoke Caveat 15 of 1982 to remained pie in the sky. power to reverse the caveat savings — to the same gov-
(Zipra) cadres over a num- allow for the return of the within 48 hours,” Gazi said. ernment.
ber of properties seized by properties. The properties “It’s over a year since our
the state when the late Pres- have however not been re- seven-member delegation Gazi said it was shocking “It’s sad that our former
ident Robert Mugabe went turned to date. went to meet His Excel- that the Zanu PF govern- colonisers are now more im-
for broke in a bid to crush lency in Harare. We never ment had the courage to portant than us. We thought
his main political rival, John Gazi, Nitran prop- thought it would take this compensate former white the Unity Accord could have
Zapu, continues unabated. erty committee head under long for him to put a proc- commercial farmers evicted guided government in this
the Zipra Veterans’ Associa- lamation for us to regain our from their properties during regard. After all, the consol-
According to a Zapu in- tion, confirmed that Mnan- properties. He being the top the 2000 land reform, while idation of that unity, hon-
ventory, seized party prop- estly we find no reason not
erty includes farms and to honour the promise to
hotels, among them Castle return our properties,” Gazi
Arms in Bulawayo, Green said.
Haven — an entertainment
facility along Victoria Falls The NewsHawks are in
Road — and several residen- possession of the two fol-
tial properties. low-up letters which were
written to Mnangagwa but
They also include a build- received no response.
ing in Bulawayo central
business district — Magnet On 20 July 2020, Gazi
House — which is being wrote to Mnangagwa com-
used by the Central Intelli- plaining that the Zipra
gence Organisation, Zimba- properties had not been
bwe’s secret police. returned. He also protest-
ed   that some people were
Zipra — which was a mil- being settled on five farms.
itary wing of Zapu during
the armed struggle — had “In 48 hours it will be
several properties under its exactly one year since the
holding company Nitram, meeting which inspired
seized by the government hope in former Zipra com-
under the Unlawful Organ- batants that the new dispen-
isation Act (Caveat number sation was going to return
15 of 1982), after accusing our properties…,” Gazi
Zapu of stashing  arms cach- wrote.
es, precipitating the Guku-
rahundi genocide. “Our greatest concern
since our historic meeting
The battle for the return with you your Excellency is
of the properties has been that there have been nega-
raging on since the late for- tive developments in some
mer president Mugabe’s era of our properties, namely
and is now continuing un- Nijo Farm and Snake Park
der President Emmerson in Harare. If it is true that
Mnangagwa. both properties are being
parcelled out to non-Nitram
While Mugabe flatly re- members it is a very retro-
fused to give audience to the gressive step indeed.”
disgruntled ex-liberators,
Mnangagwa has convened However, as the former
meetings to listen to their liberators increasingly get
grievances, although the au- desperate, they appear to
thorities have done nothing have shifted their focus to
to hand back the properties. Vice-President Kembo Mo-
hadi, seeking audience over
On two occasions, Mnan- the issue and to request him
gagwa invited the Zipra Vet- to engage Mnangagwa on
erans’ Association, first at the matter.
State House in Harare on 23
July 2019 and at Bulawayo “We are appealing to him
State House on 14 February since we have sent several
2020 in a bid to reach com- messages and they are not
mon ground. responding. We are appeal-
ing to him to open his door
During the Harare meet- and call for us to come and
ing, where Mnangagwa met resolve the issue of proper-
a seven-member Zipra del- ties,” said Zipra Veterans’
egation headed by former Association spokesperson
central Intelligence officer Buster Magwizi.

NewsHawks Sport Page 23

Issue 4, 6 Nov 2020

FARAI Mudariki and Cleop- Zim stars Mudariki, Kundiona
as Kundiona, both Zimbabwe out to prove themselves again
international props, must res-
urrect their careers following babwe, is likely to stay in tition in the Sharks squad in another prop, had also arrived for Sables star Kundiona, who Farai Mudariki
separate developments that Europe, although a move to South Africa after the Durban at Sharks from Western Prov- joined Sharks last year from
have left them in some kind South Africa is also a possibil- outfit signed highly-rated Ox ince. Pretoria-born Kumbirai Zimbabwe. which replaced the South
of limbo. ity. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Nche from Cheetahs for the has Zimbabwean roots. African component of the in-
Kundiona, also a tighthead 2020 Super Rugby season. Kundiona is however in the complete 2020 Super Rugby
The pair’s arrival onto the prop, will face stern compe- The signing of these gifted Sharks squad for the ongo- season that was shut down in
scene was greeted with much Earlier, Michael Kumbirai, props increases competition ing Super Rugby Unlocked, March due to the Covid-19
excitement back home in pandemic. – STAFF WRITER
Zimbabwe, where they were
hailed as the finest young
talent to emerge out of the
Southern African county in
recent times.

Injury-ravaged Mudariki
this week left English Pre-
miership club Warriors at the
end of his contract.

The 25-year-old tighthead
arrived at Sixways in the sum-
mer of 2018 from French club
Tarbes on the recommenda-
tion of former Warriors lock
James Percival. Mudariki had
previously spent two years on
the academy of Top 14 club
Castres. Mudari only made
three appearances for War-
riors, with a nagging ankle in-
jury getting in the way of his
Premiership career.

“Farai now takes leave of
us here at Sixways,” said War-
riors Director of Rugby Alan
Solomons.

“Sadly, injuries prevented
him from making his mark
at the club. He is though tal-
ented and we wish him all the
very best in his future endeav-
ours.”

Mudariki, who has been
capped 10 times by Zim-

Everything is reflection of a nation’s psyche

A COUNTRY’S retrogres- both at national and club what the highest-earning everyone looks at you dif-
sion quickly impacts essen- level—regularly squared up footballer would be paid in ferently.
tially every facet of life. against sides from Tanzania. Dube’s native Zimbabwe.
As it was then, people in Earlier this year, Tanza-
The same applies with an Zimbabwe did not make Dube is not, of course, the nia striker Mbwana Samatta
economic boom. much of Tanzanian football. only big-name continental became the first footballer
The standards on the field star strutting his stuff in from his country to sign for
For out-goers, a growth of play aside, the East Afri- Tanzania. Other star players an English Premier League
period in a country means cans were terribly hopeless from different parts of Afri- club after he joined Aston
more wining and dining, in everything you can think ca have gone there in con- Villa in January from Bel-
obviously due to the dis- of in this sport. Facilities siderable numbers. gian side Genk on an £8.5m
posable income that comes were rudimentary, and the deal.
with an upswing in eco- game there was, without a All this is due in large part
nomic activity. shred of doubt, languishing to substantial economic Quite a pity, Samatta has
in misty backwaters of am- growth in Tanzania over the since been loaned out to
Thanks to the travel op- ateurism. past few years, something Turkish club Fenerbahçe.
portunities offered by this A Zimbabwean football that has resulted in recre- All the same, it is a mile-
job, I have been a privileged player searching for greener ational activities like sport stone worth noting for Tan-
witness of the two con- pastures in, of all countries, cashing in. zania.
trasting scenarios: a beaten Tanzania?
down citizenry struggling Back then, it simply Suddenly, the substan- It is definitely a purple
to find anything worthwhile would have been laughable dard facilities I mentioned patch in Tanzanian football,
to live for, and an upbeat to believe that such could have disappeared, replaced and many such positive de-
populace enjoying the fruits ever happen in our lifetime. Prince Dube by modern-looking stadi- velopments in sport have
of an upturn in their coun- pening to the ums that match some of the been witnessed elsewhere
try. world’s number Azam and indeed across the best Africa has to offer. across the globe where the
one sport in East African nation. administrations of coun-
For us in Zimbabwe, HawkZone Tanzania. Watching footages of tries have taken some kind
economic turnaround is Prince Dube, The gifted 23-year-old Tanzanian top-flight games of progressive path in map-
something we have mostly Z imb abwe’s former Highlanders strik- recently, I have been left ping the nation’s future.
observed happening to oth- Enock brightest young er reportedly pocketed in marvelling at the well-man-
ers, the envy of seeing our prospect these the region of US$40 000 icured grass fields and, With the abundance
regional and continental Muchinjo days, plies his from sign-on fees, on top of more importantly for me, of sporting talents exist-
counterparts turning a cor- trade in Tanza- earning a monthly salary of the happy faces of cheering ing in Zimbabwe, and the
ner in their nations’ history. nia, where he around US$3 000. fans in the stands. world-renowned technical
Today, I look on in amaze- has transformed into an in- expertise we possess, it nev-
As economies grow, all ment at what has been hap- stant hero at top-flight club That is a pretty cool pay- It looks like a real football er sounds like a broken re-
sectors of public life tend to cheque, by African domes- revolution is taking place cord to pour out frustration
benefit from the spill-overs, tic football standards, quite over there, and they are all at the official anarchy that
sport included. a windfall in comparison to excited about it. hinders us from claiming
our rightful place.
A few decades ago, Zim- And when good fortune
babwean football teams— is on your side, it appears

Sports Zim rugby Everything is
stars out reflection of a
nation’s psyche
to prove
– Page 23

themselves

– Page 23

Thursday 1 October 2020

Friday 6 November 2020 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com new

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS CULTURE SPO
$60 Covid Community Zim
tariff for radio laun
visitors & regulations Prem
tourists under review Leag

Story on Page 3 Story on Page 8 Story o

Chamisa reach
MuzaraboaunitbtriongKs h‘feuapr eUnofficial president calls for emergency

factor’ to Zim team

Blessing Muzarabani celebrates with Zimbabwe team mates after dismissing Babar Azam in the first ODI in Rawalpindi.

ENOCK MUCHINJO Asians giants won by 26 runs last et’s finest players of all time. a line outside the off-stump, he “He loves his country,” re-
week. “The most important thing (Shah) got the edge and it went to marked Weeks. “Zimbabwe is
A MENTOR of Blessing Mu- “He (Babar Azam) is one of the for Blessing was to learn how to the wicketkeeper. The same thing number one priority to him, Zim
zarabani says the Zimbabwe fast top batsmen in the world,” Brit- be a professional, how to handle with the Pakistan captain (Babar comes first to him. He is happy
bowler has returned to interna- ish coach and former club player himself as a professional,” Weeks Azam), he bowled outside the right now. God works in mysteri-
tional cricket a more lethal weap- Winston Weeks told The News- said. “This goes back into history. line of the off-stump and, guess ous ways. If he (Muzarabani) had
on following his two-year stint Hawks from the UK. “To get him All the greats started in county what, he nicked it to the ’keep- completed the third year of his
on the English county circuit. twice is brilliant. That tells you cricket. Malcolm Marshall, Mi- er. So that disciplined line is the contract with Northamptonshire,
a lot about how far Blessing has chael Holding, Viv Richards, Da- most important thing outside of he would not have been in Paki-
Muzarabani starred with the come.” vid Hussey—they all learned in the off-stump. Don’t bowl on the stan right now, playing well as he
ball as Zimbabwe beat Pakistan Barbados-born Weeks, who county cricket.” Pakistan batsmen’s pads, because is doing.”
in a Super-Over thriller on Tues- played and coached league crick- Muzarabani finished with nine they are very good at flicking Weeks also commented on the
day to avoid a whitewash defeat et in Zimbabwe in the 1980s, was wickets in the three ODI series, the ball with their wrists. So you positive impact that Muzarabani
in the three-match ODI series in a central figure in Muzarabani’s which Pakistan won 2-1, but his must bowl a disciplined line out- has had on his Zimbabwe team-
Rawalpindi. move to county cricket in 2018 man-of-the-match performance side the off-stump to them. That’s mates since his return to the in-
after the tall speedster from Ha- in the last match particularly left where you are in the game, a dis- ternational fold.
The 24-year-old right-armer, rare had dazzled in his early in- his mentor in awe. ciplined line outside off-stump. “The lads love to have him
who is playing for Zimbabwe for ternational career. “I thought he bowled well, es- Make them play.” back, that’s the most important
the first time since putting his Although he had a hand in pecially upfront,” said Weeks. Muzarabani left the UK with thing,” Weeks said. “He’s a good
international career on hold in briefly depriving Zimbabwe of its “He put pressure on the top bats- a year still left on his original boy, everyone loves him. He’s
2018 after striking a deal with brightest cricketing prospect at men. He is someone who can Northamptonshire contract af- come back a better product for
Northamptonshire, bowled with that time, Weeks—who profess- bowl at pace, putting the fear ter Britain’s exit from the Euro- Zimbabwe, and everybody ap-
admirable control and pace to es an undying affection for the factor into the opposition. In pean Union, a development that preciates that. You can see how
take 5-49 in the regular match. Southern African nation—vowed any team, you need firepower, rendered Kolpak players like the happy (wicketkeeper Brendan)
two years ago that Muzarabani ruffling up a few feathers. That’s Zimbabwean paceman ineligible Taylor is when he takes a catch
Muzarabani then bagged two would return to the coAunLtSryOanINSIwfIDhBaEtleBslseinssgFininbgaobwnrilcnsegasMtodiintshciseipttlyainbweledi.peotsonosshtuaipyt $odn3ue.i2ntoBthiclehliacononguenddtyerpuchloeassmiutpnoi--rs fcouaffnnndhositm.buTyh. aZtB’ismecsa'osumsleaettheTiasnytglolarynoidus
Super-Over wickets to guide the even better player. controv
African tourists to victory with
three balls to spare. Going by early indications, line outside the off-stump, he will der Brexit. important, and so is (Sean) Wil-
he has been proven correct, and get good players out. If you look Weeks, though, says Muzara- liams. They stand up in the big
In the third and last ODI on Weeks believes Muzarabani has at yesterday (Tuesday), when he bani is delighted to be back in games. So with Blessing back and
Tuesday, Muzarabani accounted been afforded the same sort of bowled at the left-handed bats- Zimbabwe colours despite the playing well, everyone is glad to
for Pakistan star batsman and grooming as some of world crick- man (Khushdil Shah), he bowled premature county exit. have him back.”
captain Babar Azam, the hosts’
dangerman who he had also dis-
missed in the first ODI which the

ALSO INSIDE Zim rugby stars out to prove themselves Everything is reflection of nation’s psyche