NewsHawks 17 December 2021

Price

US$1

Friday 17 December 2021

WHAT’S INSIDE ONEuWtraSgeous EBUcoSnINomESisSt ISsPiOt aRlTl over
passport laments for Felton
fees rile Ipec’s inaction Kamambo
citizens on pensioners and Co?

Story on Page 3 Story on Page 18 Story on Page 40

Dodgy
company
behind
corrupt
passports

deal

ALSO INSIDE Marry Mubaiwa comes face to face with tormentor

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

OWEN GAGARE Dodgy company behind
corrupt passports deal
LITHUANIAN company Garsu Pasaulis —
which was controversially awarded a contract to President Emmerson Mnangagwa (with scarf) launched Zimbabwe’s e-passport at the registry offices at Chiwashira Building in Harare on Tuesday.
produce e-passports by the Zimbabwean govern-
ment under a murky deal — is a dodgy entity could have been business-related. ered passports over the five-year period was under Reuters reported that the Semlex head office was
previously implicated in bribery allegations and Five foreign companies had applied for the two million. searched in January 2018 after the news agency
corruption in Asia and several African countries. published two reports examining the company’s
passport booklets tender, which was announced in The report says to rise above the minimum activities in Africa involving a controversial con-
It has also emerged that CBZ Bank, which will October 2018. requirement, the company included documents tract in the Congo.
collect passport fees, will reap huge benefits in yet showing deliveries that took place over an addi-
another unclear associated-party arrangement. “Three were rejected by the tender commis- tional eight-month period, an irregularity that “About a third of the money from the
sion for failing to meet bid requirements. Of the appeared to have gone unremarked by the tender Congo contract is alleged to have gone to an
The shady passport deal has immediately raised remaining two — Garsu Pasaulis and a French commission. offshore company owned by a close relative of Jo-
a stink, choking transparency and accountability competitor, IDEMIAFrance — the Lithuanian seph Kabila, the country’s president at the time. A
in public affairs. company won because it had submitted a lower German company Mühlbauer and IDEMI- separate inquiry by a parliamentary commission
bid,” the report reads. AFrance complained to a separate review commis- in the Comoros investigated the role of Semlex in
The company owner, a Belgian national, has sion about the tender process, after Garsu Pasaulis illegally selling Comoros identification documents
also been investigated in Belgium and the Co- “But an analysis by reporters shows that the was awarded the tender, although none of the ap- to foreigners who are suspected to be security
moros Islands for corruption. same criteria were applied differently to different peals were succesful. threats by various countries,” the report reads.
bidders. In particular, Garsu Pasaulis appears to Reuters also said the company had received
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday have sailed through requirements that the others “In their own complaint, IDEMIAFrance had other contracts without tenders and sometimes
launched the country’s e-passport at the registry were disqualified for not meeting. attempted to draw the review commission’s atten- through political connections.
offices at Chiwashira Building in Harare. tion to the legal problems Garsu Pasaulis was “In 2006, for example, Semlex reportedly won a
“One key criterion, meant to evaluate a com- passport, visa, ID card, and foreign residency card
This immediately raised suspicions as the late pany’s experience with large passport orders, was experiencing in Belgium. Though it submitted contract in Guinea-Bissau after making payments
former president Robert Mugabe also launched a for bidders to have completed at least two projects links to news articles about the Belgian investiga- to the country’s defence minister,” the article says.
similar e-passport project in April 2016. and delivered at least 2 million booklets over the tion, the commission rejected their complaint,” Janauskiene, Garsu Pasaulis’s director, however,
previous five years. To substantiate their claims, the report says. dismissed the allegations against Semlex, its parent
Nikuv International, which rigged the 2013 they were asked to provide copies of contracts, company. “Those were absolutely groundless arti-
general elections in Zimbabwe, was producing the proofs of delivery containing exact figures, and The report further says since 2014 the company cles ordered by competitors,” she said.
electronic passports that most Zimbabweans cur- reference letters.” has been owned by Albert Karaziwan, a Belgian
rently hold. citizen, and Semlex Europe, a company operated
Although Garsu Pasaulis provided all the re- by him and owned at least in part by him and his
In a bid to justify the stinking deal, Mnangag- quired documentation, its total number of deliv- family.
wa said the e-passport would enhance security by
preventing identity theft and forgery. CBZ Bank is set to reap huge benefits in passport fees.

But the current e-passports already have those
features. Mnangagwa added that the move was in
line with the government’s vision to modernise the
economy through the application of advanced in-
formation communication technology systems.

Under the new deal, an ordinary passport will
cost US$100, while an application fee of US$20,
processed through CBZ Bank, will also be re-
quired, bringing the total cost of acquiring the
travel document to US$120.

The government gave current passport holders
two years in which to acquire e-passports — after
announcing that current passports will cease being
acceptable on 31 December 2023, in a move seen
by the majority of Zimbabweans as a rent-seeking
manoeuvre aimed at fleecing the public.

It has, however, emerged that the company
awarded the controversial contract has been em-
broiled in controvesy in Kyrgyzstan — a land-
locked country in Central Asia bordering Kazakh-
stan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — where it
was accused of corruption, including bribery.

Its parent company and owners have been in-
volved in controversy in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Guinea Bissau and the Comoros.

In Kyrgyzstan, the company in 2019 won a
940 million soms (US$13.4 million) tender for
the production of e-passports, but the country’s
state security agency, GKNB, implicated govern-
ment officials in the deal for accepting bribes in
the form of payment for international travel.

Some officials from the State Registry Service,
the agency that issues passports to citizens and put
out the tender, were detained as a result.

Just like in Zimbabwe, the prices of passports
shot up dramatically when the company took over
production. They have risen from US$53 for the
normal passport to US$100, although passport
seekers will effectively pay US$120, given the
US$20 application fee.

An investigation by Kyrgyzstan web outlet
Kloop and the Organised Crime and Corruption
Reporting Project (OCCRP), which scrutinised the
tender procedure and analysed several documents,
showed that Garsu Pasaulis, “appears to have been
treated extremely leniently by the commission in
charge of evaluating it, which consisted largely of
State Registry Service officials”.

“Not only did the commission overlook Garsu
Pasaulis’s failure to meet certain requirements —
while disqualifying its main competitor on similar
grounds — it also failed to evaluate the company’s
bid on an important metric on which it would
have fallen even further short,” the report reads in
part.

“The documents further show that Garsu Pas-
aulis’s offer would result in higher passport prices
for citizens. Reporters also looked into the owner-
ship of Garsu Pasaulis, finding a Belgian company
and Belgian citizen behind it. Both are reportedly
under investigation in Belgium and the Comoros
Islands for corruption involving passport contracts
in the Congo and the illegal sale of identification
documents.”

The company’s director, Ana Janauskiene, de-
nied paying any bribes to Kyrgyzstani officials,
at the time, although she admitted the company
paid for some of their travel, speculating that it

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Murky passport deal raises eyebrows

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE Late former president Robert Mugabe (second from right) commissions an electronic passport centre at Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks in 2016.

IN April 2016, the late former president Robert of Parliament being the Citizenship of Zimba- obligation on current passport holders to apply which contains biometric information that can
Mugabe commissioned an electronic passport bwe Act, does not give you powers to promulgate for an e-passport by December 2023 even when be used to authenticate the identity of the pass-
centre at the then King George VI now Josiah regulations regulating the issuance, phasing out their current passports still have many years run- port holder.
Magama Tongogara Barracks. Five years later, his of passports and stipulation of passport fees,” the ning before their expiration date. In our view,
successor Emmerson Mnagagwa launches a new ZLHR wrote in the letter. this is a violation of the right administrative con- According to online information, it uses con-
project before the first one has been put to use. duct which is substantially fair and reasonable tactless smart card technology, including a mi-
“Nowhere in section 22 of the Act are you and hence is a breach of section 68 of the con- croprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna
It was described in the state media as a state- empowered to promulgate regulations dealing stitution.” (for both power to the chip and communication)
of-the-art passport production centre, with Mug- with the issuance of passports. Consequently, it embedded in the front or back cover, or centre
abe expressing much elation that Zimbabwe was is our respectful view that by promulgating the The organisation went further to request infor- page, of the passport.
among the countries to pioneer e-passport pro- Citizenship (passport fees) regulations you acted mation on how CBZ Bank got the passport deal.
duction. ultra vires the powers conferred on yourself by The passport’s critical information is printed
the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act. “In terms of the aforesaid regulations, we note on the data page of the passport, repeated on the
Mnangagwa was present at the event. that CBZ Bank is charged with the processing of machine readable lines and stored in the chip.
Without explaining what happened to the “It is also our respectful view that the decision all passport applications at an additional cost of
previous project, President Mnangagwa has again to make the current passport non-operational a US$20 fee, in the interest of public account- Public key infrastructure (PKI) is used to au-
launched a new e-passport deal with controver- and non-functional by the 31st of December ability and transparency, we kindly request to be thenticate the data stored electronically in the
sial Lithuanian company Garsu Pasaulis. 2013 is grossly unreasonable. You are aware that provided with the procedures and criterion used passport chip, making it expensive and difficult
The move has become a legal minefield, with many citizens had obtained or renewed their cur- to designate CBZ Bank as the entity to be pro- to forge when all security mechanisms are fully
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights issu- rent passports and had parted with hefty sums of cessing e-passports.” and correctly implemented. And the current-
ing Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe a money in paying the prescribed passport fees. It ly standardised biometrics used for this type of
48-hour ultimatum to set aside the regulations is grossly unreasonable and unfair to impose an An e-passport is a traditional passport that identification system are facial recognition, fin-
published in a statutory instrument this week. has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip gerprint recognition and iris recognition.
The previous project launched in 2016 was es-
tablished with technologies from Japanese com-
panies Marubeni Corporation, Marpless, Uno
Sesakusho and Toppan Instatsu Printing in part-
nership with GET.
Zimbabweans have criticised the latest deal
as a manifestation of rent-seeking behaviour. A
US$20 application fee, which will go to CBZ,
and another US$100 payment are exorbitant
compared to regional passport fees.
Added to that, the deals between the gov-
ernment and both CBZ and Gasu Pasaulis are
shrouded in mystery as it is not clear why the
bank and the company were selected to partner
the government in this project.
Moreover, the government has expired all
passports in December 2023, including the ones
produced in December 2021. This means CBZ
will collect US$20 from over five million Zimba-
bwean passport holders plus all new applicants.
In a letter to Home Affairs minister Kazembe
yesterday, ZLHR said the passport fee regulations
do not meet the administrative justice require-
ment or standard of rationality and reasonable-
ness.
“It is our humble view therefore ought to be
set aside on the grounds that: (a) The regulations
were promulgated in terms of the Citizenship of
Zimbabwe Act, Chapter 4:01. The enabling Act

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Outrageous passport fees rile citizens

ZIMBABWE’S passport fees are almost 400% 100% cost recovery or profit-making, there is a have not significantly enabled the Registrar-Gen- Costs like salaries for processing and printing
higher than those of other Sadc countries, making social responsibility element that goes into public eral’s Office to clear huge backlogs. staff are paid in local currency.
them the most expensive travel documents in the service fees.
region. Even on a switch to full cost recovery, not all Only the actual special security paper, covers
The Passport Office provides a public service costs are in foreign currency and dependent on and fraud-resistant inks are imported.
This follows a dodgy deal by the government and should not be a profit-making undertaking. the exchange rate since there are significant costs
awarding Garsu Pasaulis a tender to process the in local currency. Interestingly, Zimbabwe’s passports have al-
new e-passports. Worse still, previous increases of passport fees ways taken longer than usual even when the fees
are being paid in foreign currency.
Access to a passport is a basic human right as
it enables people to exercise their constitutional While the constitution clearly guarantees a
right to free movement. passport as an entitlement, the right cannot be
easily enforced.
The government is now holding the nation to
ransom by decreeing that all the traditional pass- Sadder still, as one critic put it, “a passport is a
ports will expire within two years during which privilege in Zimbabwe”.
time applications will be required for the new
e-passports. The processes are slow and every day there are
long queues of people outside the Registrar-Gen-
Previously, the ordinary passport cost US$53, eral’s Office.
while an urgent passport (three working days to
process) would cost US$253. The new fees come with the introduction of the
new e-passport where according to government.
The e-passport project is being implemented by Upon expiry of the traditional non-electronic
the government in partnership with Garsu Pasau- passports, everyone will be required to get e-pass-
lis on a build-own-operate-transfer arrangement. ports on renewal of their travel documents in line
with international guidelines.
It costs US$120 to get an ordinary Zimbabwe-
an passport and of that amount US$20 is paid to According to HID, an American manufacturer
CBZ Bank as an application fee. of secure identity products, an e-passport is essen-
tially an enhanced version of the traditional pass-
South Africa charges R400, equivalent to port. The main difference with a classic Machine
US$25, while Botswana charges P260 (US$25). Readable Travel Document/Passport (MRTD/
MRP) is the inclusion of a chip or integrated cir-
Namibia’s passport goes for R400 (or US$25), cuit (IC).
and Mozambique charges 2500 metcais (about
US$40). The Home Affairs ministry said the e-passport
will protect the privacy of citizens, given the em-
Oddly enough, Zimbabwe’s new passport fees bedded security features.
do not necessarily translate to the exact cost of
production, since not all materials used to make
the passports are imported.

While the government is not in the business of

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO Mnangagwa’s penchant for
dodgy deals ruins economy
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pen-
chant for dodgy deals from businesspersons and President Emmerson Mnangagwa (right) with controversial businessman Zunaid Moti and his other questionable associate Lucas Pouroulis (below).
shady companies was once again brought into
the spotlight this week after the government ly held by Zimplats along the Great Dyke. the major shareholder in Vectol, while Nkosik- The government had announced that the
awarded Lithunian printing company Garsu The US$4.2 billion cost had been plucked hona and Verify will not have significant roles. firm would assume control over the moribund
Pasaulis (GP) a lucrative partnership with an CSC for 25 years in a multi-million-dollar deal.
ally-owned bank, CBZ, to produce electronic out of thin air, raising questions over the value There were questions over the technical ca-
passports. of the investment. The Pouroulis family holds a pacity, track record, financial ability and suit- Further checks revealed the government had
42% stake in Tharisa Plc, which has managed to ability of Nkosikhona and Verify to implement misled the public on the CSC deal. Boustead
The Lithuanian company, which was in July mobilise only US$8 million for the implemen- the project, considering that none of the com- (Pvt) Ltd is not a UK company.
given a tender to produce identification docu- tation of the platinum project. panies have undertaken major infrastructure
ments, has a dodgy history of opaque deals. projects of a similar nature. Boustead (Pvt) Ltd is actually a local start-
In 2005, Pouroulis made a fortune after ac- up owned by Nick Havercroft and only com-
In 2019, the company was embroiled in a quiring South Africa’s Impala Platinum subsid- There were also questions over whether the menced operations in 2013.
bribery storm involving US$13.4 million in iary Elandsfontein Platinum Project for US$15 government had thoroughly assessed the techni-
Kyrgyzstan. This was unravelled through an million, before selling it two years later for cal suitability of Nkosikhona, a company which The local firm operates under registration
investigation in the country’s State Registry US$1.1 billion to Xstrata in a speculative deal. was only registered in 2013 under registration number 4852/2013 as recorded by the Compa-
Service, the agency that issues passports in that number K2013/011831/07. nies Registry.
country. Karo Resources is a company registered in
Cyprus and Guernsey, a tax haven blacklisted Its directors are Immink and Caroline Mak- In the UK, there is Boustead Agriculture, reg-
An investigation by Kyrgyzstani web outlet by the European Union. horo, who was once swindled R120 000 in a istered under number 08154075 and is domi-
Kloop and Organised Crime and Corruption Re- botched transport deal in South Africa. ciled at 78-80 St John Street, London, England,
porting Project, which involved a rigorous check Again, that year, an obscure South African EC1M 4JN. It was only set up by Boustead
of documents showed that the company fell company, Nkosikhona Holdings, signed a mas- The credibility and reputation of Immink (Pvt) Ltd founders to raise money for the CSC
short of the qualifications and was treated with sive US$5.2 billion deal with the government and Makhoro were also under scrutiny. deal.
leniency by the commission in charge of evalu- to transform coal into fuel, before cashing in on
ating tenders. the mineral resource after roping in Canadian Mnangagwa’s flirtation with controversial According to details filed at the Companies
consortium Magcor International to implement businessmen and companies also continued in House, Boustead (Pvt) Ltd, whose interest is
Further investigations into the ownership of the project. 2019, with the government misleading the na- “growing of vegetables and melons, roots and
the company showed it was owned by a Belgian tion that a “British beef giant” Boustead (Pvt) tubers and mixed farming”, had a paltry £10
national. The South African company, which was reg- Ltd would inject US$130 million towards the 000 in its books of accounts at the time the
istered in 2013 and has a questionable track revival of the Cold Storage Company (CSC). deal was announced, raising doubt around its
Both were under investigation in Belgium record, signed the deal with the government capacity to mobilise millions of dollars required
and the Comoros Islands for corruption involv- through Verify Engineering (Private) Limited It however emerged that the purported beef to resuscitate the debt-ridden state-owned meat
ing passport contracts in the Congo and the il- — an agent of the Higher Education ministry giant was, in fact, an agricultural start-up com- processing enterprise.
legal sale of identification documents. — in May. pany with a small balance sheet.

The reporters also found out the deal would At that time, the deal raised questions over
lead to an unprecedented spike in passport pric- Nkosikhona’s technical and financial suitability
es, a situation similar to what is obtaining in to execute the project.
Harare.
The company had not undertaken any major
The company had paid bribes to officials to infrastructural projects.
swoop on the tender and indefinitely extend the
deadline. The obscure company later cashed in on the
Lusulu coal deposits in Hwange, Matabele-
Despite the company’s chequered past, land North province, after roping in Canadian
Mnangagwa awarded it a tender to produce consortium Magcor to implement the project
e-passports, with help from CBZ, without fol- modelled along the lines of South Africa’s Sasol
lowing public procurement law. Limited.

This week, the government caught the ire of Nkosikhona cashed in by bringing on board
struggling Zimbabweans when it announced Magcor to fund the project in a capital-for-eq-
that old passports would be valid until the end uity deal, which has seen the Canadian consor-
of 2023. tium taking over. The deal meant that Nkosik-
hona basically played the role of facilitator
The regime’s penchant for opaque deals dates between Verify and Magcor before reaping huge
back to when Mnangagwa took over the reins of rewards.
government from veteran leader Robert Mug-
abe. As a result, a new entity, Vectol Zimbabwe,
was created to implement the project. Magcor is
In August, Mnangagwa unilaterally award-
ed British-registered Coven Energy Limited a
US$1.3 billion deal to build Zimbabwe’s second
fuel pipeline.

Notwistanding revelations that the company
was incorporated on 25 August last year, with
assets amounting to £100, the government went
ahead to announce Coven as the winning bid
for a tender that was not announced.

There is growing belief that the company was
formed specifically to be awarded the deal.

Coven Energy’s name has been added to the
list of foreign companies awarded massive proj-
ects with no traceable track record.

Since Mnangagwa took over power in a coup
that toppled the late former president Robert
Mugabe in 2017, many of the companies that
have signed mega deals have either been con-
nected to the President, his family or cronies in
government.

Nothing much has come out of the deals
partly because of the questionable track record
of investors involved.

During the start of his tenure, Mnangagwa
claimed he had clinched US$11 billion worth
of business commitments, the bulk of which
were murky deals, spearheaded by dodgy char-
acters.

Some of the deals Mnangagwa clinched in
the “New Dispensation” involve controversial
business characters, including Zunaid Moti,
Lucas Pouroulis and Jacco Immink.

In 2018, Moti reportedly invested US$300
million to set up a chrome extraction and pro-
cessing plant in Zimbabwe along the miner-
al-rich Great Dyke.

During that time, Moti was arrested in Ger-
many on charges that he defrauded his former
business partner Alibek Issaev an estimated
US$35 million in a sham mining deal in Leba-
non in 2013.

In June that year, Mnangagwa’s crony Pou-
roulis signed a controversial US$4.2 billion deal
with the government, paving way for his invest-
ment vehicle, Karo Resources, to grab mineral
claims stretching over 23 903 hectares previous-

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

OWEN GAGARE Judge faces fresh corruption
charges amid investigations
IT never rains but pours for controversial Zim-
babwean High Court Justice Webster Chin- High Court Justice Webster Chinamora was recently reported to the Judicial Service Commission Sheriff’s office.
amora. The judge is in deep trouble once again, (below) for judicial misconduct. “A few minutes later our Mr J Maonjeka re-
this time facing a series of new accusations
ranging from conflict of interest, judicial mis- requested Mr Tapfuma, the assistant to the High Court of which Mr Tapfuma insisted he ceived a call from the same judge, Justice Chin-
conduct, bribery to different forms of corrup- sheriff, to attend to a mobile call from the rela- cannot entertain him over the phone as he is amora, using cell number 0719 885831. It was
tion. tive’s mobile phone. aware any imposter may impersonate him and exactly 1920 hours. The judge ordered him to
interfere with the normal course of justice. Mr offload the attached goods, unlock the secured
The fresh allegations come at a time when “It so happens the person over the phone Tapfuma had to refer him to Mrs Siwardi at the doors and leave the keys with occupants avail-
he is in the eye of a storm after he was reported identified himself as Justice Chinamora of the able there. Our Mr Maonjeka refused to accept
to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the order and referred the Honourable judge
Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) for judicial to call Mrs Siwardi the head of Sheriff services.
misconduct over a corporate dispute and arbi- Execution was then suspended with the reasons
tration processes. beyond our control.”

This is the third or so complaint, within a In another letter dated 3 November, Ad-
few months, against Chinamora, including his vocate Taona Nyamakura lodged a complaint
recusal from a case allocated to him. against Chinamora for alleged conflict of inter-
est in a legal dispute between Zimbabwe’s Delta
Recently, on 21 October, Chinamora had to Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd
recuse himself in the Kika v Malaba & Ors HC and Blakey Plastics (Pty) Ltd, a South African
2513/21 contempt of court proceedings. company.

The allegations against Chinamora are grow- Advocate Thabani Mpofu also reported Chi-
ing and serious. namora to the JSC over that.

In one case he is accused of releasing armed The corporate dispute was heard by Chinam-
robbers. hora who ruled in favour of Blakely.

In a letter dated 13 November, a group of Delta appealed Chinamora’s decision, which
concerned citizens wrote to Chief Justice Luke came at a time when a parallel arbitration pro-
Malaba raising the issue of Chinamora releas- cess was ongoing in South Africa.
ing armed robbers in suspicious circumstances.
When Nyamakura, Blakely’s lawyer, was
“We are employees of the JSC and con- working on legal advice — writing an opinion
cerned citizens, and will not disclose our names for Blakely — he was given two large cases con-
for fear of being victimised by the Honourable taining box files and documents that relate to
Chinamora who is running a parallel bail court the dispute in the Blakely matter.
at the High Court of Zimbabwe in Harare. The
information which we are giving you can be However, as Nyamakura was going through
checked in the files,” the letter says. the documents, he came across numerous per-
sonal papers belonging to Chinamora. This
“Justice Chinamora is working with Brenda raised alarm and he reported the matter to his
who gives him files to grant bail in chambers. senior, Mpofu, who, in turn, reported the mat-
He is also reinstating appeals deemed aban- ter to the JSC. Nyamakura reported the issue to
doned by the registrar.” the LSZ. The matter is currently under investi-
gation. There are also several other complaints
The letter says Chinamora granted bail to — including one about bribery — against Chi-
Norman Karenga — case B640/21 — and namora.
Robert Mhandu — B659/21 who were facing
many charges of armed robbery. In an internal JSC memo dated 28 October,
it emerges Chinamora is also facing allegations
“The cases were joined in the bail court. The of bribery. Prior to that in August and Septem-
accused were charged with many counts of rob- ber there had been other complaints as well.
bery committed with dangerous weapons and
at odd hours. The victims were harassed. There Chinamora, however, denies any wrongdo-
is a lot of evidence. The first bail application ing.
was dismissed by Judge Pisirayi Kwenda in
July 2021. He wrote a judgment, saying that
the evidence is a lot and the accused had failed
to show that it is in the interests of justice for
them to be granted bail,” the letter says.

“After three months, in October later Justice
Chinamora granted the same accused persons
bail based on changed circumstances despite
spirited and strong opposition by prosecutor
Mr (Albert) Masamha who said in court the
trial had started. Judge Chinamora overturned
the earlier judgment by Justice Kwenda, but
did not write reasons for allowing the appeal.

“Judge Chinamora granted robbers bail on
12 July 2021 after keeping the court file for
eight months, but he is not the bail judge. They
committed robbery using a pistol and other
weapons. He did not give any reasons for pro-
viding bail, although the appeal was opposed
by the prosecutor.”

The other complaint against Chinamora
involves a Harare company, Sweatland Enter-
prises (Pvt) Ltd trading as Genius Locksmith,
which levelled a corruption complaint against
him.

In a letter dated 3 November, titled “Com-
plaint Against High Court Judge Justice Chi-
namora”, the company says it was exposing
the judge’s interference in a case which did not
concern him.

“We write to show our displeasure in Hon-
ourable Justice Chinamora’s conduct in inter-
fering with one of the cases entertained by the
High Court Harare recently,” the letter says.

“In a matter between plaintiff Elisha Gabara
Vs Saphire Investments (Pvt) Ltd case No. HC
5593/21 and Sheriff reference SWH 217/21,
the Sheriff of the High Court Zimbabwe was
engaged to enforce a court order and writ of
ejectment and execution against the defen-
dant’s property in Marlborough, Harare.

“On Friday 29 October 2021, in pursuit
of writ of execution, the assistant sheriff Mr
Tapfuma in the company of our staff, the lock-
smith Mr J Maonjeka, visited the defendant’s
residence for purposes of enforcing of writ of
ejection.

“Whilst in execution of their duties, one of
the defendant’s relatives present on execution

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Mubaiwa comes face to face with tormentor

THIS week has been dramatic and emotional as Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga leaves the Harare magistrates’ court on Thursday. ed on the importance of the right to a public trial
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga came face- and ruled that witnesses whose evidence is open
to-face with his estranged wife Marry Mubaiwa the event. “The state will submit that in our system of law to the public are more meticulous due to criticism
for the first time since they parted ways in 2019. He said he do not know who actually ordered the main issue is that the interests of justice must they will face.
prevail. Each party should hear evidence from the
The main highlight is how the feared former them but was told to prepare the wedding rings other party and, where they so wish, challenge “All persons are equal before the law, there is no
military general rushed to court to nail the moth- by his father-in-law who is known as Bro Mike. that evidence. Whether this is done in a public need to give the VP preferential treatment when
er of his three children whom he accuses of forg- forum or restricted forum does not affect how it’s it is clear that rule of law forms part of the law.
ing his signature on a marriage certificate in order The state had on Wednesday asked that Chi- done,” he said. For this application which seeks to elevate the VP
to upgrade their customary marriage. wenga give his testimony in camera, a request above all other persons ought to fail.”
granted by the magistrate. But Mubaiwa’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa at-
Chiwenga did not waste time following Harare tacked the application, arguing that if it is upheld, Publicity is the soul of the rule of law, she said,
magistrate Lazini Ncube’s ruling that he would The National Prosecuting Authority, represent- it will show that the court thrives on preferential while the state insisted that the same constitution
give his testimony in camera considering the ed by Tafara Chirambira, said: “The matter before treatment. says rights can be limited.
nature of his office. He was at the courts a few the court is a private matter involving the VP of
minutes after the ruling was handed down, as if this country. I cannot overemphasise the impor- “The application lacks merit and should be The magistrate, in his ruling, said Mtetwa had
he had been on standby. Chiwenga also tried to tance of the office he holds in that vein, the state dismissed because considering that the accused failed to show the court what prejudice will be
dodge the same media that had been barred from makes the application bearing in mind the nature enjoys the right to a fair trial in terms of section suffered before he granted the hearing to be heard
hearing his evidence against Mubaiwa. of the private matter before this court. 69( I) of the constitution which guarantees her to in camera.
a fair and public trial.
The VP arrived at the Harare magistrates' court “We do not know what the witness will say. However, Mtetwa said Chiwenga did not say
without his usual escort team. We can’t predict that but at the same time we do “Still on that, it must be noted that this right to anything warranting in-camera proceedings.
know the office he occupies and the need to pro- a fair trial which the accused enjoys is absolute in
He arrived silently in a three-vehicle entourage tect the same, it is on that backdrop that the state terms of section 86 (iii). On that basis alone the “There was nothing privately said which is not
and used the backdoor used by magistrates to en- submits that no prejudice will be suffered by ei- application must fail." in the public domain,” she said.
ter the court building. ther party, state and defence if privacy is involved
for that particular witness. Mtetwa said the Supreme Court has comment- “If it is about privacy rights, surely he is also a
The matter had to continue despite the fact person who needs privacy and the court allowed
that Mubaiwa is seriously ill, having fallen down the case to go on with her there in public if there
on the stairs on Wednesday while coming out of is privacy . . . I mean there can be no question that
court. Mubaiwa wailed as she fell, drawing the at- there is class justice. Privacy only relates to a cer-
tention of those who were close to the exit. tain class of people because if it is about privacy,
every case like this should be private and each one
She sustained head injuries before she was of us should be entitled to that privacy even if we
helped up by her mom who has always been by are nobodys.”
her side since the day she was first hauled before
the courts. Besides the criminal alleagations, Mubaiwa and
Chiwenga are going through divorce.
She grimaced in pain as she made her way from
her vehicle to court 14, a special anti-corruption At the same time, Mubaiwa is also being
court in which her trial is being conducted. charged for attempting to kill the former military
general while he was critically ill in South Africa
In the courtroom, she sat with a minder beside back in 2019. It is alleged that she unplugged his
her as she sipped some juice and water, sometimes life supporting equipment in hospital.
dozing off.
The former model is also accused of assaulting
“Your worship, please allow me to come to her children’s minder Delight Munyoro.
court at 10am tomorrow because I want to pass
through my doctor’s chambers,” she had asked the She also faces money laundering charges.
court Wednesday in a frail voice. Her request was The former model says she desperately misses
granted. her minor children, whom she has not seen for
close to three years.
However, how she reacted upon setting her Meanwhile, all witnesses who have testified
eyes on Chiwenga, a man she accuses of trying said she never put any signature on the marriage
to kill her, remains unknown as it all happened certificate.
behind closed doors. The marriage officer, Justice Munamato
Mutevedzi, who was the chief magistrate at the
This week, four more witnesses testified after time but is now a High Court judge, said the
Supreme Court judge Justice George Chiweshe wedding never took place.
and Munamato Mutevedzi who was supposed to He said he cancelled the certificate four days af-
solemnise the wedding of the couple. ter he visited Chiwenga’s residence, which he had
even failed to enter.
Chiwenga was the fifth witness to testify this All other witnesses under cross examination
week. said Mubaiwa never signed and that they never
interacted with her directly.
The state said it will call two more witnesses The case continues on 17 January.
who will testify of January 17 next year. It is not — STAFF WRITER.
yet known who the witnesses are.
Marry Mubaiwa (bandaged) fell at the entrance of the Harare magistrates’ court on Wednesday.
On Tuesday four other witnesses testified.
They include magistrate Linda Dzvene, who was
Mutevedzi’s secretary.

Dzvene said she is the one who filled the mar-
riage documents for Mubaiwa that included a sec-
tion where she claimed to be a divorcee.

Mubaiwa’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa asked if
she was given a divorce certificate when she com-
pleted the forms and she said she did not consult
anyone.

Dzvene said she only used documents provided
by Mutevedzi.

She said she became a marriage officer and
magistrate in February 2020 after completing her
law degree in December 2019.

Dzvene also exonerated Mubaiwa, saying she
did not apply for a marriage certificate because
she neither filled the forms nor signed them.

Colonel Gesham Muradzi, who is Vice-Presi-
dent Chiwenga’s aid, also said he was phoned by
Mubaiwa who gave him US$15 000 for the wed-
ding rings.

Muradzi said he was asked to handover the
money to one Bra Mike who is a friend to Chi-
wenga and a jewellery dealer.

He said he then collected the rings from one
Devon Peter Steward.

Muradzi said under cross examination that he
do not know if Chiwenga asked for a wedding
from the Mubaiwa family because he was not
there.

Another witness, Carrington Kazingizi, who
was Mubaiwa’s driver and a presidential security
agent, said.

Mubaiwa was already preparing for a wedding
as preparations were at an advanced stage.

Steward also told the court that he gave Mu-
radzi wedding rings which had been ordered for

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Nust lecturer
risks jail over
farm invasion

NATIONAL University of Science and Tech- and are hereby sentenced to 12 months impris- The dispute over the ownership of Esidakeni Farm is currently before the High Court.
nology (Nust) lecturer Dumisani Madzivanyati, onment. Nust lecturer Dumisani Madzivanyati
who in July invaded Esidakeni Farm in Umguza,
Matabeleland North, claiming the Lands minis- “The sentence for contempt of court be and
try had allocated him a portion of the 555-hect- is hereby suspended subject to the respondent
are property, risks being jailed for a year for con- and all those claiming occupation through him
tempt of court for violating a court order that he not violating the order of this Honourable Court
vacate the farm pending finalisation of an ongo- granted under HC 1315/21.”
ing court case .
If he intends to confirm or oppose the provi-
Esidakeni is owned by Kershelmar Farms sional order, Madzivanyati was told to file a no-
(Pvt) Ltd, a company whose shareholders are tice of opposition in form 24, together with one
the human rights advocate Siphosami Malunga, or more opposing affidavits, with the Registrar of
Nust scientist Zephaniah Dhlamini and gold the High Court within 10 days
miner Charles Moyo.
“If you do not file an opposing affidavit with-
A notice addressed to Madzivanyati from the in the period specified above, this matter will be
Registrar of the High Court dated 13 December set down for hearing in the High Court at Bula-
2021 indicates that Justice Ndlovu on 7 Decem- wayo without further notice to either of you and
ber issued a Provisional Order directing that the will be dealt with as an unopposed application
Nust lecturer vacate the farm. for confirmation of the Provisional Order,” the
notice read.
The interim relief granted ordered the Dep-
uty Sheriff of the High Court and the Offi- “If you wish to have the Provisional Order
cer-In-Charge of Nyamandlovu Police Sta- changed or set aside sooner than the Rules of
tion to evict Madzivanyati and those claiming Court normally allow and can show good cause
through him. for this, you should approach the Applicant’s
legal practitioners to agree in consultation with
“In the event that the 1st respondent the Registrar, on a suitable hearing date. If this
(Madzivanyati) and all those claiming occu- cannot be agreed or there is great urgency, you
pation through him return to Esidakeni Farm make a chamber application, on notice to the
(described above) the 3rd Respondent is hereby Applicant for directions from a Judge as to when
directed to effect their arrest and to detain them the matter can be argued.”
pending the final determination of this matter,”
the notice reads. The dispute over the ownership of the farm
is currently before the High Court. Kershelmar
This followed an application by Kershelmar Farms’ owners are challenging Esidakeni’s com-
Farms (1st applicant), Dhlamini (2nd appli- pulsory acquisition by the Lands minister on 18
cant), Malunga (3rd applicant) and Moyo (4th December 2020.
applicant) seeking Madzivanyati’s incarceration
for contempt of court. Madzivanyati said he had been offered a por-
tion of the farm by virtue of an offer letter.
The registrar asked Madzivanyati to show
cause why a final order should not be made con- The directors of Kershelmar Farms have been
firming the provisional order. in possession of Esidakeni Farm since its pur-
chase in 2017.
“That 1st respondent and all those claiming
occupation through him be and are hereby held They have carried out various farming activ-
in content of court; that the 1st respondent and ities, installed equipment including boreholes
all those claiming occupation through him be and a booster irrigation pump, the High Court
heard. — STAFF WRITER

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Mpofu mired in Issue 61, 17 December 2021
farm grab storm

ZANU PF secretary for administration Obert him as we believed he had taken no benefit from “As regards the ninth respondent, Obert Moses Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu
Mpofu and a company he controls, Mswelangubo the illegalities”. Mpofu, a multiple farm owner and senior official Mpofu’s actions are at variance with the ethos of
Farm (Private) Limited, have agreed to be joined of the ruling Zanu PF party, it is important that the political party to which he belongs and which
to High Court application 1054/21 in which the Dhlamini said they had however discovered he defends his conduct in the context of illegali- he leads.”
owners of Esidakeni Farm in Nyamandlovu, Ma- that the first respondent in the matter, Lands ties that he perpetrated for selfish reasons. For all
tabeleland North, are seeking an order declaring minister Anxious Masuka, had issued an offer let- intents and purposes, he is the direct beneficiary Mpofu’s lawyers, Ndove and Associates, wrote
that the notice of acquisition of their farm is null ter to a company controlled by Mpofu, despite of the portion of the farm allocated to eighth re- to the Deputy Registrar of the High Court indi-
and void as it violates the constitution. The appli- his being a multiple farm owner, hence the appli- spondent. cating that their clients “shall without necessarily
cants are also seeking an order declaring that “any cation for a joinder. agreeing to the averments by the applicants in
offer letter issued on the basis of the purported “It is vital that this court pronounces itself in their founding affidavits, not oppose the order
acquisition is null and void”. The applicants provided the court Mswelan- the main matter on the conduct of senior politi- sought . . . subject to there being no order as to
gubo (Pvt) Ltd’s memorandum of association cians who, contrary to government policy and for costs against them”.
Esidakeni is owned by Kershelmar Farms (Pvt) showing that Mpofu and his wife Sikhanyisiwe self-aggrandisement, abuse power given to them
Ltd, a company whose shareholders are interna- were the only shareholders. They also provided a by way of public trust. I have been advised that They said the concession was made to focus on
tional human rights lawyer Siphosami Malunga, CR6 form showing that Mpofu is a director in the ruling Zanu PF party has taken a position the dispute under case number HC1054/21, to
National University of Science and Technology the company, as well as the company’s certificate against multiple farm ownership. Obert Moses avoid being unnecessarily litigious, thereby wast-
(Nust) scientist Zephaniah Dhlamini and gold of incorporation. ing the court’s time and to save on legal costs.
miner Charles Moyo. They are all applicants in
the matter. “There is no doubt that Obert Moses Mpofu — STAFF WRITER.
being a controlling shareholder, (albeit exercising
The applicants sought to join Mpofu to the in theory only negative control), and a portion
application after discovering that part of Esidak- of the farm now having been parceled out to the
eni Farm had been parceled out to his company. company that he controls, his involvement re-
Mswelangubo (Pvt) Ltd was cited as the eighth ferred to in the main application was designed to
respondent with Mpofu being the ninth respon- secure personal interest. It must therefore for that
dent. reason be stigmatised as abuse of power,” Dhlami-
ni said.
In his founding affidavit, which was support-
ed by Malunga and Moyo, Dhlamini said despite Dhlamini argued that there was a strong case
featuring prominently in the farm’s affairs, includ- for joinder.
ing visiting in March and enquiring whether it
had been subdivided, Mpofu had previously not “Insofar as the eight respondent is concerned,
been joined to proceedings because “we had tak- the validity of its offer letter is in issue and it is vi-
en the view that no relief could be sought against tally important that it be given an opportunity to
defend its ill-gotten gains before equity. The rules
of natural justice demand no less,” Dhlamini said.

Blind councillor proves disability is not inability

MARY MUNDEYA where I live, have been greatly affected by cli- Rushinga Rural District Council ward 13 councillor Joseph Chiputura
mate change-related erratic rainfall patterns.
WHEN he completely lost his sight in 2014 and For years, communities have been facing a lot
hit rock bottom due to depression and anxiety, of water challenges, which has resulted in them
Joseph Chiputura never dreamt he would one drinking from unsafe water sources like mifuku
day wake up and be chosen to lead his people as and livestock dying at an alarming rate. Together
a councillor. After all, he did not aspire to polit- with my community, we came up with an initia-
ical office. tive to build way dams that trap water whenever
it rains. We use that water to water our gardens,
In 2018, he heeded the call of his people to feed our livestock, among other domestic uses,”
become councillor for ward 13 in Rushinga Ru- he said.
ral District Council and has been a champion
for community development ever since. “I’m happy to let you know that our ward has
the highest number of way dams compared to
His story is that of a man whose community any other ward in Rushinga and our water ta-
saw beyond his visual impairment and lobbied ble has arisen from past years, where boreholes
that he be part of the three candidates who would would be drilled for up to 50 or 60 metres with
battle it out in primary elections for a ticket to no drop of water. Now most of the boreholes
represent Zanu PF as a local government candi- that have been drilled are pumping out water
date in the 2018 harmonised elections. and solving our water crisis.”

“For years, people from my community had Apart from working with his community on
been challenging me to take up a leadership climate change adaptation methods, Chiputura
role, saying they liked how I made meaningful has also been championing the rights of persons
contributions whenever we would have feedback living with disability in his community as well
meetings with our councillors and MPs, a sug- as lobbying for improved living conditions of
gestion I thought was far fetched at first until workers from different government departments
I realised that my disability was nothing but a who serve in his community.
condition that does not hinder me from per-
forming my duties if I’m to become a leader,” “We founded an organisation that offers dif-
Chiputura told The NewsHawks. ferent skills to persons who live with disability in
our district called the
“The support that my community continued
to give me during and after the primary elec- Chimhanda Disability Organisation, which
tions was overwhelming. Of course, the people I has equipped more that 50 people with bak-
was competing against encouraged people not to ing skills that has led to them opening a bakery
vote for me because I’m visually impaired, which which supplies the local community with bread
they equated to being useless, but my communi- on a daily basis,” he said.
ty who had persuaded me to run for councillor
in the first place stood with me and it’s been like “We are also building a staff block at Chim-
that up to today.” handa Health Clinic which will see our nurses
living in better houses, the ones they have now
Determined to help his community adapt and I’m hoping that the better living conditions
better to climate change as manifested in the er- they will have will motivate them to serve this
ratic rainfall that his area has been receiving, re- community wholeheartedly like they have al-
sulting in the loss of livestock and crops, Chipu- ways done.”
tura with the help of community members built
three-way dams. Asked about his political plans, Chiputura
chuckled and said he became a councillor be-
The small dams have been a game changer cause of his community and whatever their de-
and have positively contributed to food security mands are going to be in the future, as long as
at a local level. they are linked to developing their way of life as
a community, he is willing to be their servant.
“It’s so unfortunate that areas like Rushinga

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

AYESHA CHIDEMBO Electoral reforms vital for
credible polls — Mandaza
POLITICAL analyst Ibbo Mandaza says Zimba-
bwe will only hold free and fair elections when the that had more voters than indicated by the census. rigging the 2008 and 2018 elections. Zimbabwe has a history of disputed elections
country addresses deep-seated electoral concerns In 2018, 64% of rural constituencies had male/ The ruling party’s stranglehold on power has al observation, with observers placed within Zec,
that have hampered plebiscites since 1980. female ratios greater than the national average, the ZHR, civil society to ensure accountability of
probably a mixture of party affiliation, enthusi- been necessitated by the use of force, intimida- all processes, and to investigate all allegations of
Mandaza said while the Zimbabwean op- asm for participation and coercion,” Mandaza tion and vote manipulation, a situation that has violence, intimidation, treating, etc. This was very
position has been rejuvenated by the Zambian added. heightened concerns of another disputed election useful in the 1994 electoral process in South Afri-
elections, where President Hakainde Hichilema ahead of 2023. The failure by political parties ca,” Mandaza said.
replaced Edgar Lungu in a smooth transfer of To achieve a free and fair election, Mandaza to observe the printing of ballots and assess the
power, there must be a strategy to curb electoral proposed that the presidential poll should not be voters’ roll has also affected the credibility of polls The publication of results at polling stations
theft. He was speaking at a conference organised held as a separate poll. since 2000 when the MDC presented itself as an has also been problematic with opposition poll
by the Zimbabwe Democratic Institute in Harare alternative to Zanu PF. observers often failing to gain access to primary
this week. “Removal of the presidential poll as a separate residue that proves electoral rigging.
poll, make election of the president a party nom- “All registered political parties must be able to
“Facing elections in 2023 is not a trivial task inee as in South Africa. This means that the party directly observe printing of ballots, accompany “Recording and publicising results, when it
for Zimbabweans, no matter how encouraging puts forward their candidates for president and ballots to the secure place where they will be kept, comes to the vote, any citizen should be able to
the results from elections in Malawi and Zambia. vice-president, and an elected president remains and observe the allocation of ballots to constit- record the final result at a polling station in any
Thus, we must be able to see where the problems subject to the party who can recall if needed. uencies as per the roll, and including the 10% manner seen fit and to be able to publish the re-
are in detail and have a strategy to overcome these, Again, the South African experience is advisory. needed in case of errors, losses, etc. This would sult. If the result is final and published outside the
or at least be able to describe them in sufficient be even more transparent if accredited observers, polling station, then it is public and there can be
detail to foster strong international pressure for These two changes would almost certainly re- local, regional and international were able to par- no restriction in distributing it. Any interference
the needed reforms. Failing this, the exposure duce the problems about registration: all parties ticipate. The final tallies per constituency should with someone recording a result should be a crim-
must be sufficient to call the election unfree and would want as many people registered as possi- be made public,” he said. inal offence. This is the “protect your vote” com-
unfair prior to the poll, and pose an alternative to ble in order to maximise their presence in Parlia- ponent of the campaign, and should allow radio
accepting another illegitimate election in Zimba- ment,” Mandaza added. “Long-term independent observers in the stations and the Press to publish results as they
bwe,” Mandaza said. pre-election period, and not just the 90 days, come in. This is highly abused by requiring only
Zimbabwe has a history of disputed elections, there must be credible regional and internation- Zec to release results,” he said.
Electoral theft has become a cancerous prac- with the opposition MDC accusing Zanu PF of
tice that negates the will of the people, he noted.
He said lethargy in the Southern African Devel-
opment Community (Sadc) with regards to re-
versing this anomaly continues to affect electoral
outcomes.

“It is doubtful that there has ever been a fully
democratic election in Zimbabwe since (and in-
cluding) 1980. However, it is abundantly clear
that every single election since 2000 has been dis-
puted on good grounds, never tested adequately
in the courts, resulted in international opprobri-
um, and has resulted in Zimbabwe being the most
politically polarised country in Africa,” Mandaza
added.

“It is also evident that virtually every form of
electoral irregularity that can be described has
been present in Zimbabwean elections since 2000
and, even when the opposition wins an election,
as in 2008, there is little appetite in the region to
compel Zanu PF to cede political power, this in
spite of the fact that Sadc and the AU were in full
knowledge that Zanu PF has not won any of the
elections since 2000.”

He also said the census that will be conduct-
ed before the 2023 elections should be carefully
managed to deal with disputes of delimitation
and the number of voters in a constituency.

“The census, which should be completed be-
fore the election, must be carefully analysed for
the likely distribution of voters per constituency.
The numbers will guide delimitation and allow
a challenge when voter registration exceeds the
number of probable voters in a constituency. For
example, in 2013 there were 63 constituencies

Party constitution key, Kasukuwere tells Mnangagwa

LIZWE SEBATHA “There are processes that have to be carried three years districts must be renewed, and every tional (district and provincial elections). You have
out every year, two years, three years, four years four years it’s the provinces and every five years a to respect and uphold the law as it is. The rank
EXILED former minister Saviour Kasukuwere and five years. Every year, cells must be renewed, congress must be held. and file are very disillusioned because of this ille-
(pictured) says President Emmerson Mnangagwa every two years branches must be renewed, every gality. Just get back the party to its legal founda-
has no option but to return Zanu PF to constitu- “You cannot postpone that which is constitu- tion; otherwise everything else remains an illegali-
tionalism to douse factional flames in the ruling ty, hence the chaos in Zanu PF.”
party.
Kasukuwere is now based in neighbouring
Mnangagwa admitted at an extra-ordinary ses- South Africa. “That is what and how the party
sion of the Zanu PF politburo on 20 October must function so that there is clarity, and that is
that factionalism was tearing the party apart. how it functioned from 1980. It’s only now that
there has been a departure from the legal frame-
Infighting, which has sometimes resulted in work to a completely individual-driven process
violent running battles, has been laid bare during where there is no respect for party structures, pro-
campaigning for the district and provincial elec- cesses,” he added.
tions. Zanu PF now has two main factions, one
supporting Mnangagwa and the other behind “Individuals are just running riot. It destroys
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga. the party because the party is run on certain fun-
damentals. It is not run on the whims of individ-
Mnangagwa is also having headaches after par- uals. That is not how the party is run. The leader-
ty member Sybeth Musengezi dragged him to the ship must provide, and should provide direction
High Court challenging the constitutionality of at national level.
processes that saw him assuming the leadership of
the party after the November 2017 coup. “If we can’t respect the law, at party level, how
do we respect the law at national level? Charity
But Kasukuwere, who is also Zanu PF’s former begins at home. I am not criticising anybody, or
political commissar, said all this was expected. looking for favours. The law is the law.”

“The party must return to constitutionalism. War veterans have also been dragged into the
It’s simple. If any leader wants to prevail and work Zanu PF fights with a faction reportedly linked to
for the party, with the support of everyone, he has Mnangagwa now pushing for the removal of his
to respect the law. It is very simple. He has to fol- deputy Chiwenga.
low the law. The party has a constitution and that
constitution requires adherence to constitutional- Chiwenga allegedly has his camp of war veter-
ism,” Kasukuwere said in an interview. ans pushing for Mnangagwa’s ouster.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO President Emmerson Mnangagwa continues to tread the old ruinous path of blaming sanctions for Zimbabwe’s economic collapse.

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-en- Clinging to Mugabeism dents
gagement effort went off the rails in 2021, as he Zim’s re-engagement agenda
failed to end Zimbabwe’s isolation from the in-
ternational community, with Western countries relations scholar, who traded the military fatigue Following the House of Lords debate, Mnan- mocracy summit, which included Angola, Bo-
maintaining sanctions on his regime. for designer suits, but faced a mammoth task of gagwa came out guns blazing, denouncing the tswana, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of
turning the fortunes of Zimbabwe’s foreign rela- UK for meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mau-
The re-engagement drive, launched after tions. as his previous promises to cultivate cordial rela- ritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and
Mnangagwa took over power in a coup that top- tions with Britain unravelled. Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa and
pled veteran leader Robert Mugabe in 2017, has Moyo’s successor, Frederick Shava, an experi- Zambia.
failed to gain momentum in the past four years. enced diplomat with the United Nations, is yet to It is now gloves off between the erstwhile part-
show his pedigree in foreign relations. ners. “Only last week, our country Zimbabwe Biden’s exclusion of Mnangagwa from his de-
The government’s unwillingness to implement became a subject of unmerited focus and debate mocracy summit amounted to a huge vote of no
far-reaching political and security sector reforms Under his stewardship, Western relations were in the British House of Lords,” Mnangagwa said confidence in him despite Mnangagwa trying to
have kept the country in isolation as Western maintained, with the United Kingdom and the recently. portray a picture of a reformed leader.
powers continue to demand change. US also slapping sanctions on top security chiefs
upon the UK’s exit from the European Union in The Zimbabwean government has since With the West keeping the Zimbabwean gov-
Cosmetic economic reforms have also failed to February. Mnangagwa’s ascendancy to power in 2017 made ernment on its toes by demanding reforms be-
charm international funders, further plunging the no secret of its desire for readmission back into fore any meaningful re-engagement can happen,
economy into the dolldrums. Since the coup that toppled longtime-leader the Commonwealth, but the UK parliamentari- Mnangagwa’s international re-engagement drive
Mugabe, behind the scenes, the UK had been ans have made it clear they do not support uncon- is all but dead in the water.
Mnangagwa, previously viewed by some as a campaigning for Zimbabwe’s debt clearance plan ditional readmission.
pragmatic leader willing to steer the country away and mediating with international financial insti- The government’s anti-sanctions charade con-
from Mugabe’s ruinous policies, has reverted to tutions to support a bailout for Zimbabwe. The lack of political reforms was cited as the tinues this year, with state communications spew-
his mentor’s bad foreign policy. major reason Zimbabwe should not rejoin the ing vitriol on the West over the economic restric-
This is testimony to the frosty relations be- group of mostly former British colonies. tions placed on the country since 2000.
The inward-looking policies and vain rhetoric tween the two countries, tied by history.
have continued to harm Zimbabwe’s foreign re- Getting back to the Commonwealth would be Mnangagwa’s anti-sanctions charade was de-
lations. Several debates in the UK House of Lords and beneficial for a government which has been strug- scribed as senseless escapism from what the gov-
the Commons chiding Zimbabwe for human gling to access debt financing from multilateral ernment ought to do to convince the West to re-
Blaming economic sanctions for economic rights abuses inflicted more damage on Mnan- funders. move restrictive measures.
collapse at every turn and going all out attacking gagwa’s re-engagement drive.
erstwhile partners at various fora, Mnangagwa The UK had remained Zimbabwe’s major Four years ago, Mnangagwa ironically said
continued to tread Mugabe’s ruinous path. Last month’s declarations that the UK did not cheerleader until January 2019 when the mask Zimbabweans must not cry over sanctions. Now
support Zimbabwe’s return to the Common- fell off the “New Dispensation”. three years running, the anti-sanctions day has
In 2021, Zimbabwe failed to realise any mean- wealth also showed that more need to be done to become a hollow ceremony at which Mnangagwa
ingful results from its four-year re-engagement convince the international community. Mnangagwa’s Glasgow’s trip was a major diplo- reads long speeches denouncing the West in front
drive, which included hiring expensive Western matic journey which he failed to utilise. of placard-wielding supporters and gyrating Zanu
public relations firms, bleeding the country mil- Last month’s heated British House of Lords PF members.
lions of dollars in the process. debate on Zimbabwe, in which UK parliamen- While neighbouring South Africa bagged
tarians said the southern African country should multi-billion-dollar energy funding for migration A music gala was also hosted, where ac-
The public relations firms have failed to nor- not be readmitted into the Commonwealth until from coal to more sustainable energy, Zimbabwe tion-starved artistes belted out songs in a concert
malise relations with the West. it implements political reforms is a slap in the face came back with empty rhetoric that the govern- beamed live by the national broadcaster, while
of Mnangagwa’s regime. ment had “scored big” on the international forum. top government officials took to the dance floor
The year began on a sad note when Zimba- to presumably jive the sanctions away.
bwe’s chief re-engagement agent, former Foreign Mnangagwa recently boasted of a normal- Glasgow was reduced to photo opportunities
Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, died of Covid-19. isation of relations. Mnangagwa travelled to with world leaders like Johnson, while Mnan- Online, a Twitter war played out between gov-
Glasgow, returning under pomp and fanfare, with gagwa also claimed he had a brief talk with US ernment apologists and Western embassies, in-
Moyo had become the face of the re-engage- claims that the UK had received him with open President Joe Biden. The government claimed cluding the US, UK and EU embassies.
ment drive, but failed to achieve the mammoth arms. cocktail talk had translated into major diplomatic
task during his tenure as Foreign minister. engagements. But Mnangagwa and his cohorts are aware that
Government communications teams had al- sanctions are a foreign policy tool that cannot be
He was mandated with selling a product with a ready made a meal of Mnangagwa’s invite to Mnangagwa returned home blowing his own removed merely through meaningless solidarity
damaged reputation, as the government went for Scotland, the first time a Zimbabwean leader had trumpet about his purported diplomatic victory with like-minded African countries.
broke, vuciously clamping down on human rights stepped on UK soil in two decades. in Glasgow, but the reality that he made very little
and killing citizens between 1 August 2018 and headway has immediately dawned on him. It is apparent that Mnangagwa has reverted to
January 2019. Revelations from the UK House of Lords prove Mugabe’s ruinous thinking anchored on unhelp-
that no meaningful engagement happened be- A week after Glasgow, Mnangagwa was ex- ful slogans about national sovereignty.
Abductions, torture and arbitrary arrests under tween British Prime minister Boris Johnson and cluded from the Democracy Summit, exposing
the full glare of international media did not make Mnangagwa. Harare’s diplomatic naivety. It is a familiar path but the results are inevita-
Moyo’s job any easier as he was reminded at every ble; more isolation beckons.
turn of Mnangagwa’s misdeeds. The facade has come off in dramatic fashion. A hundred countries were invited for the de-

Moyo had also failed to establish open lines of
communication with foreign ministries, especial-
ly the United States Senate which is seized with
the implementation of the Zidera sanctions law.

His death was, however, a blow to Mnangag-
wa’s regime, as Moyo was an astute international

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

STEPHEN CHADENGA Investor demolishes houses, leaves
former CMine workers homeless
“I am currently living in a makeshift shelter
with my family and we have lost property and Destroyed CMine compound houses in Mberengwa
food after houses at the mine were destroyed
last week,” Jerifanos Mhofu told The News- after the houses went down.Three months ago But on Wednesday Zhou told The News- But to Mhofu despite all the disputes be-
Hawks this week. the workers’ spokesperson Vincent Dube said Hawks that the number of peopke affected tween the new investor and former CMine
the over 300 employees were owed US$3.5 mil- could be higher as they had dependants. workers, the survival of his family remains a key
With teary eyes, Mhofu said he never imag- lion by former employer Patrick Dawn through issue, given the heavy rains that hit most parts
ined that one day he would be destitute after his company Maple Leaf. “This is the number when the mine ended of the Midlands this week.
staying for more than a decade at CMine com- operations, many of them died while others
pound in Mberengwa North’s ward 36. But one local shareholder is said to have told have relocated elsewhere. All the same, such “Mberengwa is one area associated with tor-
the workers that they were owed nothing and workers still have descendants or relatives that rential rains usually accompanied by hailstorms
According to outspoken MDC Alliance ac- were free to go to the courts if they had griev- were still living in the destroyed houses,” he and you can imagine a family crowded in a tem-
tivist and Mberengwa North parliamentary ances. said. porary home,” he lamented.
hopeful, Takavafira Zhou, the once lucrative
gold mine closed in the 1990s after the own-
ers abandoned workers without paying their
terminal benefits. Since then, the employees
and their dependants have been living in the
compound, eking out a living through various
means.

But early this year a new investor, Sutton In-
ternational Investments, composed of local and
foreign investors, took over the mine and has
in successive months been at loggerheads with
the ex-workers who are demanding their dues
before any takeover of the company is effected.

In September, the workers had to demon-
strate against the new investor’s intention to
resume operations without a clear position in
settling their outstanding payments.

Only last Thursday, the new firm reportedly
came with bulldozers and razed down houses at
the compound as well as nearby shops.

“The 9th of December 2021 was a dark day
for the residents of CMine, darker than the
darkest night,” Zhou, who is also a firebrand
trade unionist, lamented in a statement last Fri-
day.

“The new CMine investor who has been en-
gaged in a wrangle with former CMine workers
for the past two years brought bulldozers to de-
stroy the former workers’ houses and shops in
a manner reminiscent of the brutal Rhodesian
homesteads in Gairezi area in the 1970s.”

Zhou alleged that the new company officials
were accompanied by law enforcement agents
in the “destruction of people’s houses and prop-
erty at this critical juncture of the rainy season
and allegedly without a court ”.

He called upon the government to intervene
on behalf of the displaced workers. He also said
examination students staying at the compound
were affected after they were not only left shel-
terless but had their reading material destroyed

Reforms elusive as human rights violations worsen

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE remain a pipe dream, as the British House of tion of pro-democracy campaigner and prisoner reported that the ruling Zanu PF’s human rights
Lords has expressed disgust over the Mnangagwa of conscience Makomborero Haruzivishe, who violations had become more pronounced.
ZIMBABWE has been performing dismally on administration’s stance on human rights. has been in jail for over 220 days, despite being
the human rights front for decades now and there granted bail by the High Court in July. The civil society organisation said the party
is no sign that citizens will witness reform anytine Of major criticism by the British Lords last contributed to 31.87% human rights violations
soon under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s month was the Patriotic Bill, which they said Haruzivishe is being accused of inciting public in May.
“New Dispensation.” would contribute to infringement on free expres- violence when he whistled at Harare’s busy Copa
sion. Cabana bus terminus. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) contrib-
There were high hopes that the new govern- uted about 38% of all violations in May compared
ment would bring about positive changes, but “My Lords, is the minister aware that last week “I am grateful to the minister for his reply, yet to 50% in April, according to ZPP.
things have gotten worse than they were under the the Zimbabwe cabinet signed off on the Patriot despite the government’s efforts, MDC youth
late president Robert Mugabe. Bill, which would make it a criminal offence for leader Mako Haruzivishe remains incarcerated “For example, on 22 May 2021 MDC Alliance
anyone to criticise President Mnangagwa and for and the political and human rights situation in officials intending to conduct their clean-up exer-
According to the Freedom House 2021 Free- any member of the opposition to speak to any Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate. In the light of cise in Mutare were confronted by police officers
dom in the World rankings: “Zimbabwe’s status foreign government in a negative way about Zim- this, do the government agree that regional leaders from the Police Internal Security and Investiga-
declined from Partly Free to Not Free due to the babwe? At a time when Zimbabwe is considering have a critical role to play in encouraging the Zim- tion Department who ordered the meeting to end
authorities’ intensifying persecution of opposition re-joining the Commonwealth, can the minister babwean government to respect human rights and while in Harare, police arrested opposition politi-
figures and civic activists”. make it clear that our government will support the rule of law? Can the minister tell the House cian Jacob Ngarivhume as he conducted a clean-
this only when the rule of law is restored, and free- what discussions the government have had at min- up exercise in Mbare,” a ZPP report read.
Zimbabwe scored an overall 28 out of 100, a dom of speech and political freedoms are protect- isterial level with the government of South Africa
lower mark from last year’s score of 29 out of 100. ed?” Lord St John of Bletso asked during a session and the newly elected Zambian government in “The police’s reluctance to arrest Zanu PF-af-
On political rights, the country scored 11 out of in the United Kingdom Parliament last month. this regard?” Lord Oates said in contribution to filiated perpetrators of crime and human rights
40 and on civil liberties it scored 17 out of 60. the debate. violations continued with one of the major cases
The minister of the Commonwealth at the being that of the assault of an MDC Alliance sup-
The year 2012 saw the persecution of opposi- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Opposition MDC activists, the party’s top porter by Zanu PF activists at Jairos Jiri Shopping
tion activists, human rights advocates and journal- Tariq Ahmad, responded by assuring Parliament leadership, youth leaders and journalist Hopewell Centre in Rimuka, Kadoma.”
ists. And in a development that has disheartened that the UK government would not be supporting Chin’ono have continued being prosecuted,
many, Marry Chiwenga, the estranged wife of the country’s readmission if the human rights sit- spending time in the courts. “Zanu PF activists assaulted the victim because
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, continues uation remains the same. he had allegedly commented about the country’s
to be denied much-needed medical attention in The MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa has economic meltdown. The victim, who suffered a
South Africa. “My Lords, we continue to engage with Com- also accused Zanu PF of infringing on their po- damaged ear drum during the assault, made a re-
monwealth partners on a range of issues concern- litical rights by blocking the party from accessing port to the police, but no arrests were made.”
She has not seen her minor children for almost ing human rights. On the specific question of certain no-go areas and convening meetings. Cha-
three years now. While her health continues to Zimbabwe rejoining the Commonwealth, we are misa’s convoy has been violently attacked several In another incident, nine human rights de-
deteriorate — to the extent of collapsing at the clear that we would only support readmission to times, to deter him from reaching his supporters. fenders and members of Masvingo Residents Fo-
courts — the state has insisted that she was fit to the Commonwealth if Zimbabwe met the admis- rum were acquitted by the Masvingo magistrate
stand trial. Marry has in the past couple of months sion requirements. We continue to articulate that Zimbabwe has become a problem child in the Mbonisi Ndlovu on 24 September 2021. The
and weeks cried out for help, saying the people in relation to fundamental human rights to our region with South Africa being burdened with the defenders were being pursued under section 37 of
persecuting her want her dead. Commonwealth partners as well,” he said. responsibility of taking care of citizens who are the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act
fleeing the country. for “participating in an unlawful gathering with
It seems the Zimbabwean government’s quest Also of concern was the continued incarcera- intent to promote public violence”. They had
to be readmitted into the Commonwealth could In June, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) been arrested in July.

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Nambya community ekes out tough
livelihood on treacherous Zambezi

Punish
Mwembe (in red
woolen hat) with

his friend in an
old boat.

NYASHA CHINGONO Mwembe to 12 months, enables commercial fishers to eke family could die of hunger.
holds a sample out a living on the Zambezi River. The permits “As you can see, it is dry here and not much
A FLICKERING light shines in thick darkness of their harvest were introduced in 1990 in a bid to regulate the
as fish-mongers sail through the perilous Zam- after a fishing number of fishers, thus preventing overfishing farming happens here. Fishing is our only source
bezi waters. and aiding conservation. of life and the current trend where we are not
expedition. catching much is threatening pockets,” Mupase-
Some are holding small torches, while others vourite tiger fish is now elusive.” A permit costs US$1 200 per year, an amount ka said.
are working with floodlights to attract kapen- beyond the reach of the majority of fishermen
ta. The fishermen along the Zambezi River in Due to high demand for fish, fishermen, in- here, making most of the fishing here illegal. Fishermen here work with fish mangers in
Hwange take turns to pedal through the treach- cluding dealers, have invaded the river over the Hwange and surrounding areas.
erous waters. years. This has depleted the fish population, ac- Martin Mupaseka (38) said without fishing his
cording to Mwembe. While fishing is a relatively less capital inten-
As they drift towards deeper waters, where sive trade, the authorities have been demanding
they will cast their nets, some unwanted visitors Authorities also say there is a risk of overfish- fishing permits and trade permits for middlemen.
are lurking in the dark. The boat ride in the croc- ing in the country’s water bodies as ZimParks has
odile-infested waters is one to forget once the issued thousands of fishing permits across Zim- This has worsened the difficult task of survival
sailors reach the shore. babwe. A fishing permit, renewable every three for most poverty-stricken families.

In the dead of night, fishermen cast their nets “The reason why we fish at night is because
in the hope of landing a big catch. But some of the authorities in charge of Parks do not allow us
these men not make it to the shore as the old to fish. Everyday someone is arrested. It is a cat-
boats and canoes capsize in the deep waters of and-mouse game but we have to stay close to the
Africa’s fourth-longest river. Here old boats often waters,” Mupaseka said.
capsize due to rough winds or, in some cases due
to hippo attacks. As wealthy visitors trickle in for the holidays
to enjoy recreational fishing along the Zambezi
“It is a dangerous affair, but we need the mon- River, for the Nambya people of Musuna, fishing
ey,” Punish Mwembe (23) tells The NewsHawks. is a means of survival.

Every night Mwembe braves the deadly waters Cladine Nyoni (40) is one of the community’s
for the elusive catch. best females in fishing. She has caught all types of
fish, from mulamba (catfish), tiger fish to electric
Mwembe has had near-brushes with hippos in eels, known for discharging an electric shock.
the Zambezi. Now he knows how to avoid the
bloat of hippos bobbing in the shallow waters. “I enjoy fishing and, besides making money
from it, I can feed my children. We grew up on
“Hippos are always problematic whenever they fish, it is part of our lives. Because of my fishing
have new calves. Last year, a hippo capsized my prowess, tourists ask me to fish for them,” Nyoni
boat and I had to swim to the shores,” Mwembe said as she prepared a fishing rod.
said.
Through fishing, Nyoni provides for her fami-
Fishermen have also mastered the areas where ly. “I am glad that with this business I am able to
crocodiles and hippos, live to minimise danger- make sure that none of my children goes to bed
ous encounters with the deadly animals. on an empty stomach,” Nyoni said.

Mwembe said fishing is his sole means of live- Women
lihood. With little in their granaries from the fishing along
previous yields due to poor rains, the Msuna the Zambezi.
community, 50km from central Hwange, Mata-
beleland North, relies on fishing for their liveli-
hood.

“Poverty drives me here everyday,” Mwembe
says as he displays some bream.

For a kilogramme of fish, he gets US$2.50.
Fishing has been a part of the Msuna commu-
nity situated on the banks Zambezi, downstream
of the Deka River confluence.
Mwembe’s forefathers have fished along the
Zambezi River for generations. Fishing is an im-
portant profession for the Nambya community
who are known for their fish cuisine.
Young men in Msuna have honed their fish-
ing skills for years and now it is time to face the
treacherous river which has claimed many.
Life is tough for Mwembe who shoulders the
responsibility of fending for his sick mother, wife
and two children.
“The fish are tired,” he chuckles as he explains
how fishing has become difficult along the Zam-
bezi. There is not much for us here. Even our fa-

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Special Covid-19
PANDEMIC coverage

Covid-19 hits Godfrey
Huggins Primary Sch

AT least 23 pupils and seven staff in isolation, on medication and in good
members at Godfrey Huggins Primary spirit,” he said on Monday.
School in Marondera tested positive for
Covid-19 this week and will remain de- “Those pupils who tested positive
tained when their peers go on holiday. are all boarders and their parents were
contacted.
Marondera district medical officer
Dr Delight Madoro confirmed the out- “According to ministry of Health
break and said all those who tested pos- and Child Care protocols, boarders can
itive are now in isolation. only be collected after 10 days of isola-
tion,” Dr Madoro said.
“Today 23 children and seven staff
members at Godfrey Huggins Primary Meanwhile, 232 positive cases were
School have tested positive and all are also identified from 755 sample tested
in Mashonaland East province.

Chiredzi residents demand doctor’s removal

MORRIS BISHI CHIRRA claims a doctor at Chiredzi Hospital issues vaccination cards to people without administering jabs.

THE Health and Child Care ministry has been what you are talking is news to me,” Dube said. surgery which is against his role as a medical The two recommendations are to transfer Dr
forced into investigating a Zanu PF-associated Part of the residents’ petition reads: “CHIR- practitioner.” Dube to another district as well as terminating
government medical doctor based in Chiredzi the licence of his surgery to avoid further harm
for issuing Covid-19 vaccination cards at his RA is kindly writing to you and your office this “Please sir, with the above said allegations we to the community.
private surgery without administering the jab, letter of petition against Dr Adroph Dube on are requesting you and your esteemed office to
dispensing expired drugs and other alleged mis- the following allegations levelled against him. investigate and any other legal office and rectify Dube is not new to controversy as in 2015 he
demeanours. He is issuing vaccination cards without inject- the problems and protect the community.” was once suspended without pay for negligence.
ing the vaccine at his surgery, costing the gov- Dube, who was on call back then, failed to re-
The investigations against Dr Adroph Dube, ernment a lot of resources and effort to combat The petition was signed by CHIRRA chair- port for duty despite several calls to attend to an
who also works at Chiredzi Hospital, were Covid-19. He is administering expired drugs person Jonathan Muusha. expecting mother who had been transferred to
launched after the Chiredzi Residents and to patients who visit his surgery in Chiredzi Chiredzi from Chikombedzi Hospital.
Ratepayers Association (CHIRRA) petitioned putting the lives of the community at risk and Muusha told The NewsHawks that his associ-
the Masvingo provincial medical director on 7 danger, he is operating an unregistered X-ray ation is still waiting for a response from the pro- The patient, who had a bad obstetric histo-
December requesting his office to intervene in machine at his surgery and is also terminating vincial medical director’s office but as residents ry, lost her baby on his watch and ruptured her
the matter which the civic body said is affecting pregnancies illegally on women who visit his they are determined to see the matter addressed uterus. He preferred to sleep and gave orders
hundreds of people in the lowveld town. through the two recommendations they gave by phone.
Dr Shamhu.
The NewsHawks in conjunction with Trans-
parency International Zimbabwe is focusing on
issues to do with transparency and accountabil-
ity in the use of Covid-19 funds and resources
as well as the counry’s vaccination drive.

Dube, who operates a private surgery at Pari-
chi Complex in Chiredzi’s Light Industry area,
is facing other charges of terminating pregnan-
cies, as well as operating an unregistered X-ray
machine, which forced concerned residents to
report the cases to the police several times but
no meaningful action was taken, because of his
Zanu PF links.

Several sources in Chiredzi told The New-
sHawks that Dube was in the habit of telling
people that nothing would happen to him since
he was a former secretary for health in Zanu
PF’s ward 2 structures in the same town.

Masvingo provincial medical director Dr
Amadeus Shamhu confirmed his office received
complaints from Chiredzi residents over Dube’s
conduct at his private surgery. Shamhu in-
structed health officials in Chiredzi to conduct
a full investigation. He said action against the
medical practitioner would only be taken after
the completion of the investigations.

“I am aware of the allegations against that
doctor. After receiving a petition from Chiredzi,
we instructed officials from that district to fully
investigate the allegations and submit a full re-
port. Our actions will be guided by their find-
ings and, as we speak, the investigations are still
ongoing,” Shamhu said.

Dube told The NewsHawks that he is yet to
receive the petition from residents and will only
comment after reading it.

“I am not aware of the petition you are
talking of. I am sure it is on its way and l will
only comment after reading it. At the moment

Page 14 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Land invasions
destroy economy

THE growing incidence of illegal farm invasions by greedy Human rights defenders are
well-connected individuals is yet another indication that Pres- cornerstones of democracy
ident Emmerson Mnangagwa’s so-called “New Dispensation”
remains utterly clueless on the intricacies of investor confi- PROMINENT Zimbabwean human tinue from where Mavhinga left; intensify a human rights activist Zimbabwe needs
dence, property rights and the rule of law. rights activist and defender Dewa Mavhinga the struggle. now. The Mavhinga type. Not opportunists
is expected to be buried at his rural home in and paid activists. We must stand against a
Mnangagwa must be told in no uncertain terms that the Hwirisha in Chikomba. Zimbabwe has a long history of human culture of paid activism. It is a disservice to
lawlessness is spooking investors, tarnishing the image of the rights violations, violence and brutality, dat- communities and society.
country and harming the economy. We have been down this Mavhinga grew up in Majumba, a small- ing back to pre-colonial, colonial settlerism,
road before. scale farming community in Chikomba liberation struggle and post-colonial eras. Human rights defenders must play a key
District in Mashonaland East Province. That is why it needs to draw a line and stop role in upholding people’s basic and funda-
In one week alone, Zimbabweans have witnessed shocking Majumba is in Hwirisha (which is derived the record and trend of abuses that have mental constitutional rights without neces-
incidents. from Wiltshire, a rural county in Southwest left the nation convulsed into a scarred and sarily being paid for it.
England). traumatised into despair.
In Mvurwi, the chief executive of the Cotton Company of They must be watchdogs over the author-
Zimbabwe, Pious Manamike, was ordered by the High Court A memorial service for Mavhinga who Those in power and their supporters will ities to ensure their policies, measures and
to immediately vacate a farm belonging to 70-year-old widow died recently was held at Nyaradzo Funer- not stop human rights abuses of their own actions do not unduly infringe on human
Rose Chinyanda. al Parlour, Randburg, Johannesburg, South volition, they have got to be stopped. rights, for instance freedom of expression,
Africa yesterday. association and movement, to privacy and
She has been on the farm since 2001 and has a summer A new value system, democratic frame- rights on education, health, housing and so-
crop, as well as 100 cattle on the land. The widow was obvi- Not even Mavhinga himself would have work and national consciousness are needed cial services.
ously viewed as a soft target by the Cottco boss, who invaded imagined when he was still alive that upon to guide the nation forward. The current
last month and set up makeshift structures and a borehole. his death he would be mourned so widely, national, community and societal toxicity Mavhinga played a huge role in this field.
Cottco is majority-owned by the government and Manamike so far and so fondly. That his legacy was must be uprooted and replaced with new He promoted and defended human rights
is a man who enjoys considerable clout. What kind of society going to be so hyped, reflected upon and spirit of nation-building, diversity and tol- on regional and international platforms, not
have we become? Widows and orphans need protection, not treasured. For there have been many other erance. least at home where he would go into the
victimisation. equally passionate, committed and fearless field, at serious personal risk, to meet, talk to
human rights defenders, people or activists Zimbabwe is a broken and toxic nation. and record stories and testimonies of ordi-
In Nyamandlovu, near Bulawayo, the Esidakeni Farm in- who individually or collectively act to pro- If one wants to see that just monitor social nary people; victims of human rights abus-
vasion saga continues, despite court orders directing the un- mote or protect human rights in a peaceful es. Mavhinga investigated human rights
authorised settlers to vacate the property. manner, before him. Hawk Eye issues to speak from a position of factual,
verified and truth information.
Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu is However, what set Mavhinga apart from Dumisani
mired in the ugly fight. It beggars belief how a politician of his others was not just his commitment and de- Muleya What he did in Marange or after the 1
stature can involve himself in such despicable undertakings. termination to human rights, but his coura- August 2018 killings or better still after the
geous effort to serve ordinary people in their media and witness the level of intolerance January 2019 murders and violence was
Mpofu, clearly emboldened by his credentials as a political hour of need in a way that would create and divisions along political, class and eth- remarkable, for example.
heavyweight, has vowed to grab the land. He needs to come ripple-effects for generations to come, his nic lines.
clean and tell the nation how many farms he holds. Mpofu patience and humility in the face of danger. He also lobbied civil society, the author-
is one of the most prominent business operators in Matabele- Political and ethnic hostilities being the ities and state institutions to implement
land North province, owning vast property in Victoria Falls, Mavhinga did not engage in activism for most toxic. The amount of hate is scary. their constitutional and international hu-
Hwange and Bulawayo. What message is he sending to the money and fame, but to make a difference man rights obligations.
investor community when he spearheads land invasions? in communities and society. People are even willing to celebrate hurt,
injury and the killing of each other to feed Like many of his colleagues, Mavhinga
Mpofu’s misadventure is not the only example of outra- Of course, like everyone else he needed and serve their sadistic mindsets and in- worked professionally and in a non-partisan
geous behaviour actively supported by Zanu PF. money to pay his bills, but that was not his stincts — a sign of a broken society. way to secure accountability for respect for
main motivation and drive. He wanted to human rights, while also ending impunity.
Just this week, Garry Hobbs, a leading farmer in Karoi, was serve the ordinary people and help them If political violence, kidnapping, enforced
evicted from his farm by ruling party officials. Hobbs wrongly defend their rights and stand up against disappearances and all sorts of human rights Given what Zimbabwe is now, especially
assumed he was safe, having surrendered a large section of his authoritarianism, repression, inequality and violations do not directly affect one's family, in this global Covid-19 pandemic era, we
farm in 2000. But sure enough, the greedy lot returned to evil. Hence he was involved in people's so- relatives or friends, tribe or region, then it is need more and not less human rights ac-
boot him off the rest of the land. cial struggles, covering human rights abuses not an issue. That is how depraved — mor- tivists to raise the alarm and demand action
in politics, natural resources exploitation ally bankrupt, corrupt and wicked — some when marginalised groups or individuals are
All these farms that are being targeted for invasion by Zanu humanitarian causes and third generation Zimbabweans have now become. being disproportionately affected or forgot-
PF are productive business entities. Nobody can argue that rights, for instance. ten by policy and new Covid-19 measures.
this is under-utilised land. But Mavhinga rose above that. He saw
No one knows precisely what sort of so- people as people and human beings as hu- This includes those historically or usually
It is clear why they are targeting productive farms; they are cial struggles are going to happen in Zim- man beings — he had ubuntu — in the discriminated against, people in the infor-
intent on harvesting where they did not sow — literally. In babwe in years ahead, but we can be certain line of duty. That is the sort and quality of mal economy, people vulnerable to state vi-
some instances, the orchestrators are driven by political ven- that what Mavhinga was fighting for — a olence or those being hounded by the state,
dettas. culture of human rights respect and obser- for example.
vation — remains yet to be accomplished.
We have seen how some of these rapacious invaders have We need more Mavhingas to keep a
conveniently used land reform as a vehicle for primitive ac- With that in mind, people should con- check on abuse of power by state and non-
cumulation. state actors.

After grabbing the land, they quickly register for state-fund-
ed equipment and farming inputs worth millions of dollars.
They then default on the repayments; in fact, there is never an
attempt to pay back a cent in the first place.

What happens next is the stuff of a mafia state: the default-
ing farmer’s debt is offloaded onto the shoulders of taxpayers.
Through diabolical “debt assumption” law — itself a euphe-
mism for naked looting — the politically connected elements
amass ill-gotten riches at the expense of the poverty-stricken
masses.

The government already faces a hefty compensation bill for
allowing the invasion of farmland under the Bilateral Invest-
ment Protection and Promotion Agreements. There is a price
to pay for institutionalised lawlessness.

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
tance of freedom of expression and me- content platforms by the NewsHawks Digital Managing Editor: Dumisani Muleya Charmaine Phiri Council of Zimbabwe
dia freedom as the cornerstone of de- Media which is owned by Centre for Public Cell: +263 735666122
mocracy and as a means of upholding Interest Journalism Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba cphiri@thenewshawks.com The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the
human rights and liberties in the con- No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue marketing@thenewshawks.com Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate,
stitution; our mission is to hold power Beverly Court, 6th floor News Editor: Owen Gagare
in its various forms and manifestations Harare, Zimbabwe Subscriptions & Distribution: fair and balanced news reporting. If we do not
to account by exposing abuse of power Digital Editor: Bernard Mpofu +263 735666122 meet these standards, register your complaint
and office, betrayals of public trust and Trustees/Directors: with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe
corruption to ensure good governance Beatrice Mtetwa, Raphael Khumalo, Reporters: at No.: 34, Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare.
and accountability in the public inter- Professor Wallace Chuma, Teldah Mawarire, Bridget Mananavire, Nyasha Chingono, Enoch Muchinjo
est. Doug Coltart Telephone: 024-2778096 or 024-2778006,
Email: newsdesk@thenewshawks.com 24Hr Complaints Line: 0772 125 659

Email: director@vmcz.co.zw or info@vmcz.co.zw
WhatsApp: 0772 125 658, Twitter: @vmcz

Website: www.vmcz.co.zw, Facebook: vmcz Zimbabwe

NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 15

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

The economics of Christmas in Zim
"CHRISTMAS is typically the
largest economic stimulus for Petrol prices went up by an average 10% between 1 December 2021 and 17 December 2021.
many nations around the world
as sales increase dramatically in too. Innscor's retail shops, par- free-spending culture during Extreme weather can be one of areas. Of concern, however, is
almost all retail areas." Is this ticularly its TV Sales and Home this period.  the most costly natural events, the increased spending and eco-
true?   franchise, this year offered huge However, there is lessened as multiple industries can be nomic disruption caused by this
discounts on its products to productivity, which is a major affected. The hardest hit are one day, Christmas Day. People
Basically, when one thinks of mark the day.  economic concern. Those who construction and transport, but exchange gifts which the recipi-
Christmas, they probably think work in an office job will likely retail, entertainment, food and ent neither likes nor requested.
of presents, family and food. It Despite the increase in con- recognise the slowing down of drink can take a hit, too. Af-
is probably quite unlikely that sumer spending, there is also a productivity as Christmas ap- ter all, if you cannot get to the Post Christmas, the vast ma-
economics comes to the fore- surge in temporary work among proaches. The jority of people experience a
front of the mind. But perhaps many retailers. Many retailers abundance of bit of metaphorical belt tight-
it should. One of the biggest and food and drink establish- events and par- Econometrics ening. The excesses of Christ-
business implications of Christ- ments require more staff to deal ties, alongside mas are over, and pretty much
mas is economic; put more spe- with the busier period in the the increase HawksView everyone has overstretched
cifically, the massive increase in lead up to Christmas. This is in distractions themselves. January is one of
spending and even in prices of predominantly true for larger and decrease the lowest periods in terms of
goods and services. Generally, companies, which need to take in motivation spending, as everyone begins
Christmas is thought of as very on an abundance of staff to deal can mean that Tinashe Kaduwo reining themselves in following
beneficial to the country’s econ- with the temporary increase in the Christmas hysteria. It is also
omy. But is this true for Zim- demand. This leads to an eco- non-consum- associated with the beginning of
babwe?  nomic boost, with businesses er-based businesses can find shops, you are much less likely the school calendar's first term.
increasing their profits and tem- December a bit of a struggle. to be spending. During this period, most indi-
In the run up to Christmas, porary workers finding them- It is true for most non-con- But what of the actual Christ- viduals experience a strain both
the economy has experienced a selves with a little extra cash to sumer-based businesses in Zim- mas Day? The actual day of financially and socially. 
sharp increase in prices with, for spend. babwe which normally take a Christmas is one of the least
instance, petrol prices rising by break during the festive season.  economically important days Christmas Day does, indeed,
an average 10% between 1 De- What is uniquely interesting Then there is the rainy weath- of the year. Most people do not provide an economic stimulus,
cember 2021 and 17 December about the Christmas period is er which is normally experi- shop at all on this day. In fact, but can also inflict losses on the
2021. A rise in prices of all ba- that spending increases in pret- enced during the Christmas pe- the majority of big businesses economy. Merry Christmas! 
sics has also been experienced in ty much every industry. Food riod in Zimbabwe. One of the are not even permitted by law
the run up to the festive season and drink, consumer goods and economic effects of the Christ- to open on Christmas Day. It is *About the writer: Tinashe
with month-on-month inflation homeware, plus entertainment mas period which many do not a public holiday and most busi- Kaduwo is a researcher and
back above the 5% mark in the all get a Christmas boost. Even even consider is the impact of nesses are closed except for se- economist. He writes in his
months of October and Novem- sectors like cinemas and pubs rainy weather on the economy. lected retail and entertainment personal capacity. Contact
ber as the economy geared for can reap the benefits of the kaduwot@gmail.com whatsapp
the festive season. The period +263773376128
also coincides with the bonus
payments for salaried employees
which generally results in a tem-
porary boost in spending and
demand. 

Christmas has quickly be-
come the time of year that can
make or break the retail indus-
try as consumers gear up for
spending splurges. But what are
the true economics of Christ-
mas and who wins and loses?

Firstly,  there is a boost in
production in the months lead-
ing up to Christmas. Basical-
ly, there is a huge increase in
the need for manufacturing.
This is particularly prevalent in
those industries that manufac-
ture gift-related products such
as toys. In fact, a lot of the toy
industry’s product development
and timing is based around the
Christmas period in order to
maximise profits. The same can
be said of the food and beverage
industries. During the festive
season, that is when the coun-
try's largest beverages manufac-
turer, Delta, enjoys the highest
sales. 

Furthermore, once purely an
American tradition, Black Fri-
day has been gaining traction
even in Zimbabwe in recent
years. Black Friday is now one of
the biggest shopping occasions
on the calendar. Not only do
people spend a lot at this time
in the lead up to Christmas,
but it is essentially the biggest
weekend for discounts in retail,

Business

MATTERSNewsHawks

MARKETS CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
EUR/USD 1.168 +0.001 +0.05 -1.402
USD/JPY 109.75 +0.03 +0.03 *OIL 62.61 -0.89 +0.123
GBP/USD 1.362 -0.002 -0.154 -0.39
USD/CAD 1.29 +0.007 +0.55 *GOLD 1,785.3 +2.2 +0.44
AUD/USD 0.713 -0.001 -0.098 +1.14
*SILVER 23.14 -0.09

*PLATINUM 975.5 +4.3

*COPPER 4.087 +0.046

Zim banks profitable despite Covid-19

An RBZ banking sector report says for the quarter ended 30 September 2021, 18 out of 19 banking institutions reported profits.

DUMISANI NYONI During the period under review, interest currency-denominated loans. Foreign currency “In a number of institutions, net income
income from loans and advances contributed loans accounted for 32% of total banking sec- largely emanated from an increase in non-in-
ZIMBABWE’S banking sector remained prof- 41.16% of the total income, an improvement tor loans, the report says. terest income arising from fees and commis-
itable during the nine months ended 30 Sep- from 16.29% of total income reported in 2020. sions, translation gains on foreign exchange
tember 2021, registering a profit of ZW$25.39 The RBZ said the level of banking sector denominated assets and revaluation gains on
billion, up 9% compared to the corresponding This, the report notes, indicates that the financial intermediation has remained moder- investment properties,” RBZ said.
period last year. sector is shifting towards traditional sources of ate, as reflected by the loans-to-deposits ratio of
revenue such as income from financial inter- 46.87%, which registered a marginal increase Banking sector assets amounted to
According to a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe mediation activities, which are considered sta- from 45.84% reported as at 30 June 2021. ZW$569.99 billion and largely consisted of
(RBZ) banking sector report for the quarter ble and less vulnerable to changes in economic loans and advances, balances with foreign insti-
ended 30 September 2021, 18 out of 19 bank- conditions and exchange rate movements. The central bank said the sector continued to tutions and securities and investments.
ing institutions reported profits. support the productive sectors of the economy,
Total banking sector deposits increased by as loans to productive sectors in the period un- The securities were largely government secu-
“Income growth during the nine months 20.27% to ZW$374.64 billion, mainly driven der review constituted 80.89% of total banking rities, the report notes.
ended 30 September 2021 was largely attribut- by translation of foreign currency-denominat- sector loans.
able to non-interest income which accounted ed deposits. For the outlook, RBZ said the increasing
for 54.35% of total income,” the report reads In the review period, the banking sector economic activity on the back of vaccine roll-
in part. The banking sector loan portfolio quality was adequately capitalised, as reflected by the out, slowdown in inflation, expected good rains
remained strong, with the non-performing average capital adequacy and tier-1 ratios of in the 2021/2022 farming season, and stability
“Non-interest income was driven by fees loans-to-total loans ratio standing at 0.61%, 35.34% and 26.78%, which were above the of the local currency are expected to provide a
and commissions due to increased transaction- against the generally acceptable international regulatory minimal of 12% and 8%, respec- stable environment for the banking sector.
al volumes on digital platforms in the wake of threshold of 5%. tively.
Covid-19, as well as initiatives by banking in- The financial sector will continue to play an
stitutions to promote the use of plastic money,” Total banking sector loans and advances Aggregate core capital increased to important role in supporting the funding re-
it said. increased by 22.98% to ZW$175.6 billion, ZW$63.39 billion, driven by capitalisation of quirements of the economy as recovery gains
largely attributed to the translation of foreign retained earnings. traction, the apex bank said.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 17

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Tale of Zimdollar: Optimism to uncertainty

BERNARD MPOFU mobile telecommunication services for the same RBZ governor John Mangudya businesses.
reasons” on 28 September. accounts operated by the identified individuals Since then, 14 suspected illegal foreign cur-
THE Zimbabwe dollar began 2021 trading at and bar them from accessing financial services for
about ZW$82 to the US dollar and this gave Fi- When the RBZ blacklisted the 30 individuals, a period of two years. rency dealers have been arrested; including four
nance minister Mthuli Ncube and Reserve Bank the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) instructed company directors, on charges of money laun-
of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya all the banks, mobile money operators and other finan- The FIU had also requested the Postal and dering under a hair-raising operation codenamed
bragging rights that the economy was on a path cial service providers to identify and freeze any Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Operation Octopus.
to recovery. Zimbabwe to bar them from operating mobile
This operation evoked yesteryear memories
However, the local unit has been on the back when several business executives, including then
foot ever since and is currently trading at rough- OK Zimbabwe CEO Willard Zireva, were locked
ly ZW$109:US$1. On the parallel market, one up for allegedly manipulating the exchange rate.
needs at least ZW$185 to a dollar. Business organisations raised the red flag and
warned the government against such a move. The
The story remains the same: low confidence executives were released and, as they say, the rest
in the currency undermines its value. Moreover, in history.
the pace of depreciation has quickened in recent
months, and experts say it is unlikely to let up Another detour: A digital future?
anytime soon. As the year came to a close and the domestic
currency continued facing headwinds, Mangudya
As the local unit continued to lose value, the said the apex bank is now exploring the use of a
authorities moved from a tone of moral suasion digital currency rather than allowing cryptocur-
to that of command economics. rencies as legal tender.
“As a central bank we don’t believe in crypto-
And the authorities are now looking beyond currencies,” Mangudya said in an interview with
the Zimdollar in what could be a sign that the publisher Trevor Ncube broadcast earlier this
war to defend the value of the local currency is month.
not an easy one. “We believe in central bank digital currency,
which is basically trying to say ‘how do we have
Confidence an e-Zimbabwe dollar as opposed to cryptocur-
Let us rewind. In 2016, Zimbabwe introduced rency’.”
a fiat currency which was subtly introduced as Zimbabwe, Mangudya said, plans to send a
an export incentive. The introduction of bond team to Nigeria to learn from their experiences
notes, which the authorities said would trade in launching the first digital currency in Africa
at par with the United States dollar, triggered a in October.
chain of economic events. “We have got our fintech group and they are
The greenback became elusive in what econo- working very hard,” he said.
mists said was a classic example of Gresham’s Law “Most central banks in the world are work-
of bad money chasing good money. In one fell ing on this CBDC and we are definitely almost
swoop, the greenback reclaimed its throne as the there.”
currency of choice. Mangudya also said the government had de-
Three years after the collapse of the bond notes cided to pay annual bonuses to civil servants in
project, the government re-introduced the Zim- US dollars instead of the local currency, as using
dollar and last year the domestic currency was the Zimbabwe dollar could have added to its re-
floated albeit managed. For long there was little cent depreciation.
or no movement of the official foreign exchange It’s the politics stupid!
market. That was the case at the start of the year. As Zimbabwe gears for local authority and par-
After all, there was little economic activity due to liamentary by-elections, business organisations
Covid-19 regulations. are already fretting. They say the economy, par-
Despite showing signs of stability, early signs ticularly the Zimbabwe dollar, may take a knock
of weakening currency were seen by mid-year as political actors sacrifice rational economics on
when the central bank introduced the ZW$50 the altar of expediency.
bank note and promised to inject an additional Time will tell.
ZW$360 million into the market.
In September, Mangudya said at least US$2
billion is circulating outside the country’s formal
banking system as yesteryear memories of hy-
perinflation continue to haunt depositors, more
than a decade after the central bank raided for-
eign currency accounts at the height of economic
implosion.
Admittedly, the central bank chief said confi-
dence was the missing link.
In 2008, Zimbabwe recorded the highest in-
flation rate in the world for a country outside
a war zone. Officially at 231 million percent,
the runaway inflation led to the collapse of the
Zimbabwe dollar, prompting the authorities to
grudgingly adopt a basket of foreign currencies,
mainly dominated by the US dollar, as a desper-
ate measure to rescue the economy.
South African-based research firm Oxford
Economics Africa said arbitrage behaviour is un-
dermining Zimbabwe’s currency auction system
as confidence in the local unit remains extremely
low.
“The gap between the official and unofficial
rate has widened notably in the latter part of this
year, despite the former having remained fairly
stable initially,” a research note done by the firm
reads.
We have been dubious about the local curren-
cy’s apparent stability demonstrated throughout
the first three quarters of the year, and repeatedly
cautioned against the local dollar’s inherent weak-
ness.

Cracking the whip The introduction of bond notes triggered a chain of economic events.
In what appeared to be a case of déjà vu,
Zimbabwe’s central bank in October this year
blacklisted 47 more individuals for allegedly ad-
vertising and facilitating illegal foreign exchange
transactions and money laundering through so-
cial media.
This came after 30 individuals were “black-
listed and barred from accessing financial and

Page 18 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

ALEX MHANDU Zimdollar Sadc’s ‘strongest
currency’ claim backfires
IN June 2019, President Emmerson Mnangag-
wa shocked many when he said the Zimbabwe The Zimbabwe dollar has tumbled by nearly 30% against the US dollar in 2021.
dollar, in its various forms, was the “strongest”
currency in the region. goods and services continue to increase mainly nomic growth projection of 7% in 2021, sup- ready witnessed a turnaround from a hyperin-
driven by increasing parallel market exchange ported by a good harvest, coupled with forecasts flated operating environment characterised by a
But as the year wore on, Mnangagwa’s provoc- rates. In typical deficit-producing areas, house- of good rains, international support, supportive depreciating currency, forex shortages and harsh
ative statement appeared to melt as inflation holds’ own-produced food stocks are depleting policies, and the expected full re-opening of the weather.
started to run above the Reserve Bank of Zimba- with some poor households having already ex- economy on the back of a successful Covid-19
bwe’s (RBZ) targets — humbling the local cur- hausted their stocks,” IH said. vaccine rollout programme. Increased liquidity Although experts anticipate this relative sta-
rency as arguably the worst in Sadc. is also seen stimulating economic activity with bility to spill over into 2022, the script is also
In terms of economic growth projections, the M2 money supply increasing by an average of expected to remain the same for the ordinary
The slide has continued unabated. International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted a 6% per month since January 2021. consumer who has suffered from the ravages of
The Zimbabwe dollar has tumbled by near- conservative rate of 3.9% for 2021 and 5.1% for low disposable incomes due to currency volatili-
ly 30% against the greenback in 2021, when 2022. Treasury, however, set an ambitious eco- In the past 12 months, the economy has al- ty. — STAFF WRITER.
measured using the so-called official exchange
rate, depreciating from ZW$81 in January to
ZW$105 as of last week.
On the free market — the government pre-
fers to call this the “parallel market” — the val-
ue of the local unit has collapsed, as one needs
ZW$210 to buy just US$1.
A few years ago, the RBZ claimed each Zim-
babwe dollar was at par with the US dollar —
rhetoric later repeatedky rehashed by President
Mnangagwa.
“This region in Sadc, the RTG (ZW$), our
RTG currency (ZW$) is the strongest in the re-
gion, some people think it’s too weak, no, it is
actually the strongest currency in the region if
you compare with others,” he claimed during an
interview with CapiTalk radio station.
There is no indication that Mnangagwa and
his central bank intended to mislead, but confu-
sion was achieved regardless, as inflation contin-
ued to heat up and the exchange rate declined.
Experts say the RBZ lost control of inflation
in 2021.
“The cost of living continues to increase and
is significantly above poor households’ income
in urban and rural areas,” stockbrokers IH Secu-
rities said in a review.
Inflation is the rate at which the purchasing
power of fiat money devalues when compared
to other assets, including consumer goods and
services.
Since the beginning of the year, the cost of
living has continued to increase, as evidenced by
a spike in prices of goods and services
According to the IH Securities report, the
cost of food and the total cost of living increased
by 3.1% and 3.7%, respectively, between July
and August.
“Prices in ZWL for staple foods and most

Economist laments Ipec’s inaction on pensioners

ECONOMIST Prosper Chitambara has raised companies should also have commenced a process Ipec commissioner Grace Muradzikwa
concern over the continued delay in implement- of their own to correct their “misdeeds” as a show
ing the recommendations of the Justice Leslie of acknowledgement.
Smith commission of inquiry into pension losses
during the hyperinflationary era. “The more time this matter takes to be resolved,
it will dent the country’s insurance sector and may
This follows the report’s findings that the choke meaningful investments,” he added.
majority of insurance companies in Zimbabwe
duped millions of citizens who had invested their Contacted for comment, Insurance and Pen-
hard-earned money during the hyperinflationary sions Commission (Ipec) commissioner Grace
era after failing to access their proceeds. Muradzikwa said progress in implementing the
report has been achieved in a number of areas,
Insurance companies reportedly hid behind covering aspects such as legal, institutional and
the explanation that the hyperinflationary era had governance, among others.
eroded their investments, leaving them incapaci-
tated to own up. “The commission of inquiry came up with a
number of recommendations, whose implemen-
Among other measures, the inquiry recom- tation is at various stages. The commission of
mended the need to put in place mechanisms to inquiry recommended implementation of a com-
make sure that pensioners who had endured losses pensation framework for the loss of value suffered
are compensated accordingly. by policyholders and pension scheme members
before, during and after conversion in 2009,” she
Speaking exclusively to The NewsHawks, Chi- said.
tambara decried the absence of visible incorpora-
tion of the report’s recommendations. She said the recommended compensation
framework was premised on the need to ensure an
“What we see is synonymous with the lax im- equitable allocation of assets that survived the hy-
plementation of several important reports and perinflation among members in a pension fund,
studies which have been undertaken before. The and between shareholders of insurance companies
Justice Smith report was in fact much more im- and policyholders.
portant because it addressed the manner in which
pensioners were prejudiced at critical phases in “By virtue of Ipec being the sector supervisor,
their lives. which enforces applicable laws and supervisory
requirements, Ipec was mandated with providing
“This is an area in which the government needs guidance and ensuring fairness of the processes
to expedite the recommendations. The changes leading to compensation.
in administrations from the previous government
to the current one may have disrupted the mo- “The commission is working closely with the
mentum which had gathered; it would appear as government and other stakeholders to bring clo-
though responsible authorities are not treating the sure to the compensation issue. All things being
matter as a priority,” he said. equal, it is envisaged that compensation will com-
mence in the first quarter of 2022,” she added.
The labour economist said apart from waiting
on the government alone, morally, the insurance — STAFF WRITER.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 19

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Battling to salvage the Zimdollar

DUMISANI NDLELA banking and public financial management to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube acknowledged the domestic currency is facing a confidence crisis.
nurture that confidence. But, it can be done To give the bond notes an edge, the RBZ banned the use of US dollars and other foreign currencies.
A LITTLE more than two years since the Zimba- and that is what Zimbabwe leaderships across all
bwe dollar was re-introduced in November 2019, sectors must work on,” said Mthimkhulu, a re-
the currency has lost significant value against the searcher with Kulm Research based in Botswana.
US dollar. At the official foreign currency auc-
tion in the capital, it hit ZW$108 to the green- “Much against the widely held view, Zimba-
back, and was trading at between ZW$170 and bwe has had a local currency since the introduc-
ZW$200 to the US dollar on the thriving black tion of the bond notes. I suppose the question
market. is: Will Zimbabwe get to a stage where local cur-
rency is sole tender as Statutory Instrument 142
Yet the central bank believes it has been able intended in 2019? My answer is yes, but that will
to salvage the beleaguered currency from precip- take time because investors’ confidence is very
itous decline. In a statement issued this week on low.”
behalf of the Monetary Policy Committee after
its meeting last week, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe He argued that Treasury had been more pru-
governor John Mangudya said the committee dent than typical, despite appearances of failure.
was satisfied its policies had “helped to stabilise “But at currency management level things have
the exchange rate and domestic prices”. been mixed. The introduction of the interbank
forex market was a bold step. But why was it
But evidence suggests an increasing flight from quickly abandoned? That abandonment turned
the domestic currency, ravaged by inflation and the odds against the local currency for investors,
lack of public confidence in the unit. At a sem- local and foreign. Unfortunately, there is nothing
inar preparing for his national budget unveiled banks can do to build confidence in the currency.
a fortnight ago, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube The problem is way above them,” he said.
acknowledged the domestic currency was facing
a confidence crisis. The interbank forex market was introduced
in February 2019, only to be abandoned after a
The Zimbabwe dollar, he told Parliamentari- sharp, sustained decline of the local unit against
ans at the seminar, had become a “transactional the US currency. The auction system was to re-
currency”, a clear indication no one wanted it for place the abandoned interbank market regime.
keeping because of its vulnerability.
The real danger now to the domestic curren-
“We are trying to stabilise the Zimbabwe dol- cy are elections scheduled for 2023. Spending
lar and we have done well to ensure salaries are is likely to become increasingly generous, as the
not eroded. The United States dollar is perform- ruling party seeks re-election. Although Mthim-
ing the role of a savings and investment currency kulu does not see the prospect of abandoning the
while the Zimbabwe dollar is performing the role local unit for the greenback, he acknowledges
of a transactional currency,” Ncube said. that politics has always prevailed against profes-
sional advice for restrain.
That government had protected salaries from
an inflation-induced erosion was however not Already, civil servants this month received
true; inflation has this year alone led to an un- their annual bonuses in US dollars, a clear testa-
imaginable spike in costs, and a collapse of the ment that the government admits the Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe dollar on the black market which dollar's waning acceptance. Slowly, as the elec-
triggered a clampdown on company executives tions draw nearer, many economic stakeholders,
and black-market currency dealers. like tobacco farmers, will be given greenbacks for
their crops to seek their favour in the upcoming
The government only increased civils servants’ polls.
salaries by between 45% and 50%. Their salaries,
however, still lag behind the poverty datum line A new bourse has been created in Victoria
by far. Falls to allow companies with US dollar earnings
to escape Zimbabwe dollar trading.
Alfred Mthimkhulu, a former senior lecturer
at the National University of Science and Tech- But those without official options to trade ex-
nology graduate school of business, reckons that clusively in US dollars will continue to take the
“real confidence or de facto confidence in the lo- Zimdollar spitefully due to “the force of law”.
cal currency is zero at present”.
But the law will not give stability to the strug-
The domestic currency, he said, survives gling currency.
thanks to “the force of law”.

Indeed, the Zimbabwe dollar is still transact-
ing due to threats against those who decline it
from customers. Ncube said businesses that re-
fuse to accept the Zimbabwe dollar risked arrest.

When the currency was re-introduced several
years after being abandoned in 2009 in favour
of a hard currency economy due to a hyperin-
flationary crisis, many warned the move would
trigger renewed inflationary crisis. At the time
of the currency’s re-introduction to replace bond
notes introduced in 2016, the government had
imposed a blackout of inflation statistics, but
inflation, according to International Monetary
Fund data then, was at over 300%.

The Reserve Bank dismissed fears the new cur-
rency would cause inflation, insisting it would
hold its ground.

Apparently, when bond notes were introduced
as an export incentive but essentially as a de facto
currency, its value was officially at par with the
US dollar. But it suffered a drubbing on the par-
allel market, forcing the central bank to resort
to increased use of the RTGS dollar, a virtual
currency printed in large numbers at the central
bank using the Real Time Gross Settlement sys-
tem. Initially this was done to replace US dollars
the government had mopped up from depositors
but could not raise to pay back.

To give the new Zimbabwe dollar an edge, the
RBZ banned the use of US dollars and other for-
eign currencies, insisting the new dollars were the
only legal tender in the country.

That battle was lost. With resurgent inflation-
ary pressures, and loss of ground by the bond
notes, use of US dollars increased, despite a
clampdown on traders and black-market curren-
cy dealers.

“It requires much more than excellence in

Page 20 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

MSME policy too Issue 61, 17 December 2021
slow to catalyse Zim
formalisation agenda Economist Godfrey Kanyenze

KEY stakeholders have described the government’s Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Elijah
Micro Small to Medium Enterprises (MSME) Mutemeri, castigated the policy for having been
policy (2020-2024) as too slow to address the ur- crafted without due consultation.
gency with which Zimbabwe needs to implement
the formalisation agenda. “I have worked in the informal sector from the
turn of the millennium when the economy expe-
The reviewed policy paper is premised on 12 rienced massive company closures, but I am not
strategic pillars to support the development and aware of when and who crafted the MSME policy.
growth of MSMEs, which cover areas such as: As workers' representatives, we just got to know
Information dissemination of regulatory, registra- about it through the media.
tion and licensing procedures, while recognising
that the informal sector associations play in the “All the same, the policy will not achieve much
formalisation agenda. because it is being crafted to fulfill certain political
agendas for the government which are not broadly
Under the policy directive, the government, reflecting the urgent national needs of this coun-
with cooperation from other stakeholders, sup- try,” he said.
ports the formation and capacitation associations
at local, district, provincial and national levels Responding to claims that Zimbabwe is mov-
through training in areas such as leadership, man- ing slowly with the formalisation agenda, Wom-
agement skills, governance and financial manage- en’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium En-
ment. terprises Development deputy minister Jennifer
Mhlanga begged to differ.
“Government is availing funding through
SMEDCO, Zimbabwe Women Micro Finance “Contrary to what you have said, the govern-
Bank, Community and Women Development ment of Zimbabwe has made strides in terms
Fund, Empower Bank and Microfinance Institu- of moving the informal into the formal. As the
tions targeting women youth and other categories ministry responsible, we have created the 12 pil-
of MSMEs,” the policy document says. lars and, if you look at those, they are pointing to
regularisation and formalisation of the informal
But speaking to The NewsHawks this week economy,” she said.
on the sidelines of the Bulawayo SMEs Centre
launch, economist Godfrey Kanyenze said the Mhlanga also said that over and above, the gov-
existing policy frameworks will not achieve much ernment had certainly created the aspects of finan-
if the government remains inconsistent on the di- cial inclusion and was also in the process to make
rection to be taken. sure that the impact being generated by SMEs is
measured in terms of employment creation and
“The major barrier towards transforming the their direct contribution.
informal sector has had more to do with ambiv-
alence. Currently, some parts of the government “Yes we may have glitches, yes the speed may
support formalisation of the informal economy not be what we desire, but let us also look at the
while others may not necessarily do so as they environment that we are operating in terms of the
view it in a negative way as a security threat, a ba- impediments of Covid-19,” she added.
sis of ill health,” he said .
But Mutemeri dismissed the explanation, in-
Kanyenze recalled that when Operation Mur- sisting on the need for transparency and commit-
ambatsvina came through, allegations presented ment.
by the government to justify the demolitions were
that criminals were hiding in the informal sector “It all depends on what we call formalisation.
and their workspaces were associated with the tag Do we mean the same? To me formalisation in-
of being unhygienic. cludes registration, infrastructure, allocation of
space to do your work, allocation of resources
“So, basically the idea is to come up with a from the national budget and also banks to avail
common understanding of what informality is loans to this sector.
so that the government operates as one in order
to avoid this ambivalence where one arm of gov- “After formalisation, we stop criminalisation of
ernment supports the agenda while the other does their work. Government must not be involved in
not,” he said. allocating space to those in the informal econo-
my. This must be the local authority’s duty. De-
The head of the informal sector desk at the politicise both rural and urban councils,” he said.

— STAFF WRITER.

The reviewed policy seeks to recognise the informal sector associations’ role play in the formalisation Small and Medium Enterprises Development deputy minister Jennifer Mhlanga
agenda.

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 21

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Thursday, 16 December 2021

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price Traded Traded
AFDIS Consumer Goods (cents) 12130.00 Volume Traded Change Change (%) Cap
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH Price 699.71
ART ASUN: ZH 12130.00 900.94 - Value ($) (cents) (%) ($m)
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 613.77 - 355.47 10,500
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 950.00 700.00 2620.25 5,300 - - - 405.42 14,494.69
BAT AXIA: ZH 375.00 950.00 266823.53 12,800 73,470 85.94 14.00 311.59 9,963.39
CAFCA Consumer Goods 2800.00 350.00 17000.00 44,200 47,750 -49.06 -5.16 88.75 3,936.90
Cassava Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 266823.53 2700.00 3825.88 45,500 -19.53 -5.21 165.28 5,784.90
CBZ CAFCA: ZH 17000.00 7385.71 - 1,158,150 -179.75 -6.42 186.05 14,467.72
CFI Industrials 3889.09 - 8000.00 - 385.13 55,055.08
Dairibord Technology CSZL: ZH 7799.50 - 4000.00 3,400 - - - 89.10 1,484.97
Delta CBZ: ZH 8000.00 3795.00 13888.52 52,500 - - - 488.60 99,112.38
Econet Banking 4600.00 7500.00 7420.13 - 130,080 -63.21 -1.63 -13.58 38,602.26
Edgars Industrials CFI:ZH 13962.75 - 500.00 1,200 3,877,500 -413.79 -5.31 11207.42 8,483.27
FBC Consumer Goods DZL: ZH 7426.36 3900.00 3300.00 313,700 - - - 205.34 14,320.03
Fidelity Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 500.00 13865.00 1100.00 112,600 48,000 -600.00 -13.04 510.46 181,130.69
First Capital Telecommunications ECO: ZH 3300.00 7300.00 300.00 1,300 43,568,300 -74.23 -0.53 685.20 192,224.17
FML Consumer Services EDGR: ZH 1100.00 500.00 2200.00 - 8,355,070 -6.23 -0.08 316.67 3,021.24
FMP FBC: ZH 309.12 - 755.24 - 6,500 - - 119.80 22,174.35
GBH Banking FIDL: ZH 2200.00 - 239.61 10,600 - - - 476.82 1,198.16
Getbucks Financial Services FCA: ZH 755.24 300.00 700.00 - - - - 172.73 6,479.44
Hippo FMHL: ZH 239.61 - 28463.22 - 31,800 -9.12 -2.95 109.52 15,183.15
Innscor Banking FMP: ZH 700.00 - 15411.42 - - - - 133.10 9,351.06
Lafarge Financial Services GBH: ZH 28463.22 - 8000.00 100 - - - 898.38 1,285.72
Mash GBFS: ZH 15435.96 700.00 320.00 - - - - 5500.00 8,141.83
Masimba Real Estate HIPO: ZH 8000.00 - 4808.18 192,000 700 - - 216.26 54,939.87
Medtech Industrials INN: ZH 380.00 15390.00 5900.00 - - - - 316.20 87,826.05
Medtech Class B LACZ: ZH 4808.18 - 2266.67 118,200 29,589,930 -24.54 -0.16 733.33 6,400.00
Meikles Financial Services MASH: ZH 5900.00 320.00 10514.37 - - - - 244.09 5,949.04
Nampak Consumer Goods MSHL: ZH 2266.67 - 1100.00 - 378,240 -60.00 -15.79 329.30 11,619.15
NatFoods MMDZ: ZH 12705.00 - 139284.57 - - - - 198.61
NTS Industrials MMDZB: ZH 1100.00 - 630.00 31,500 - - - 25.93 708.00
NMBZ Industrials MEIK: ZH 139284.57 10500.00 1100.00 - - - - 377.82 30.42
OK Zim Real Estate NPKZ: ZH 630.00 - 2250.00 - 3,312,025 -2190.64 -17.24 381.93 26,564.14
Proplastics Industrials NTFD: ZH 1002.16 - 2950.00 - - - - 2217.55 8,312.13
RTG Financial Services NTS: ZH 2301.51 - 598.04 1,900 - - - 2195.08 95,270.80
RioZim Financial Services NMB: ZH 2974.09 1100.00 3800.00 1,400 - - - 174.97 1,599.40
SeedCo Industrials OKZ: ZH 598.04 2200.00 10000.00 133,300 20,900 97.84 9.76 150.00 4,445.89
Simbisa Industrials PROL: ZH 3800.00 2950.00 8625.46 - 31,500 -51.51 -2.24 242.63 28,932.40
Star Africa Consumer Goods RTG: ZH 10000.00 - 114.42 - 3,932,350 -24.09 -0.81 211.89 7,432.10
Truworths Industrials RIOZ: ZH 8623.18 - 230.00 300 - - - 154.15 14,924.06
TSL SEED: ZH 114.40 10000.00 7500.00 16,200 - - - 334.78 4,637.12
Turnall Banking SIM: ZH 232.00 8620.00 399.61 25,100 30,000 - - 617.72 24,720.26
Unifreight Consumer Services SACL: ZH 7500.00 116.00 3300.00 100 1,397,325 2.28 0.03 323.78 48,491.02
Willdale TRUW: ZH 399.61 230.00 280.05 1,200 28,721 0.02 0.02 679.66 5,395.00
ZB Industrials TSL: ZH 3300.00 7500.00 7700.00 - 230 -2.00 -0.86 334.78 883.36
Zeco Consumer Services TURN: ZH 261.23 - 0.24 - 90,000 - - 329.69 26,782.68
Zimpapers UNIF: ZH 7700.00 - 300.00 10,800 - - - 17641.94 1,970.24
Zimplow Basic Materials WILD: ZH 0.24 280.00 2141.67 - - - - 775.16 3,513.65
ZHL Consumer Goods ZBFH: ZH 299.91 - 389.40 - 30,245 18.82 7.20 220.83 4,979.29
TOTAL Consumer Goods ZECO: ZH 2150.00 - 600 - - - 1100.00 13,489.68
Consumer Goods ZIMP: ZH 389.15 300.00 4,200 - - - 206.12 1.11
Consumer Services ZIMPLOW: ZH 2150.00 12,900 1,800 0.09 0.03 328.33 1,728.00
Consumer Goods ZHL: ZH 385.00 1,117,900 89,950 -8.33 -0.39 24.21 7,379.78
50,232 0.25 0.06 7,080.14
Industrials 96,326,268 1,211,900.17
Industrials
Industrials

Banking
Industrials
Consumer Services
Industrials
Financial Services

ETFs OMTT.zw 500.00 495.00 499.42 5,615 28,043 -0.58 -0.12 398.32 399.54
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF
8,301.17
FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 10000.00 - 10000.00 -- - 277.36
Old Mutual Zimbabwe US$m
5.14
VFEX (US cents) Mining CMCL:VX 1300.00 - 1300.00 - -- - 2.85
Caledonia Consumer Goods PHL:VX 21.00 21.00 - -- - -41.67 113.73
Padenga Consumer Goods SCIL:VX 28.05 28.05 - -- - 55.83 107.00
SeedCo International
YTD %
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % +311.59
ZSE All Share 10,052.48 -1.22 10,176.15 +282.32 African Sun 699.71c +85.94c +14.00 +174.97
Top 10 6,226.37 -1.29 +276.33 NMBZ +97.84c +9.76 +775.16
Top 15 6,897.92 -1.22 6,307.76 +254.09 Willdale 1100.00c +18.82c +7.20 +24.21
Small Cap -0.13 6,983.14 +3080.79 ZHL 280.05c +0.25c +0.06 +206.12
Medium Cap 377,755.75 -1.17 378,236.93 +253.15 Zimpapers 389.40c +0.09c +0.03
19,650.28 19,882.58 300.00c YTD %
+377.82
Top 5 Fallers Price Change % +244.09
Meikles 10514.37c -2190.64c -17.24 +205.34
Mash -60.00c -15.79 +186.05
Dairibord 320.00c -600.00c -13.04 -13.58
Axia 4000.00c -179.75c -6.42
CBZ 2620.25c -413.79c -5.31
7385.71c

SALES & TRADING: Davide Muchengi: davide@morganzim.com | Lungani Nyamazana: lungani@morganzim.com | Tatenda Jasi: tatenda@morganzim.com

RESEARCH: Batanai Matsika: batanai@morganzim.com | Precious Chagwedera: precious@morganzim.com | Tafara Mtutu: tafara@morganzim.com

Tel: (+263) 08677008101-2 | Email: research@morganzim.com | 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 22 News Analysis NewsHawks

NYASHA CHINGONO Issue 61, 17 December 2021

THE recent spate of robber- Rogue military elements
ies involving security forces is resort to armed robbery
a worrisome development in
Zimbabwe and the authorities Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe in April made an embarrassing admission that most robberies were being committed by police officers and soldiers.
should act swiftly to weed out
rogue elements from society, serving security personnel.  2017 coup that toppled long- does not intervene.  ing the streets with dangerous
analysts have said.  Their knowledge of the use of time dictator Robert Mugabe, “These people could be used weapons?
some sections of the military
The integrity of the security firearms and security protocols are generally disgruntled over by other elements who want to It is also worrying that those
forces has come under the spot- places them right at the centre worsening livelihoods. They feel dispose of other people,” Man- who pledged to protect the law
light after several elements were of the growing problem. They President Emmerson Mnangag- daza added.  can violate it at will. 
involved in robberies this year.  also have easy access to weap- wa sold them a dummy. 
ons. Political analyst Stephen “Let me say when people are
While some of the foiled rob- But the deteriorating econo- Chan said the involvement of being enrolled in the police
beries turned fatal, it remains Working in cahoots with dar- my and poor salaries are not an the police and army in robber- force, they take oaths that they
worrisome that the security ing civilians and informants, excuse for lawlessness. No one ies was common but could cul- will discharge their duties. We
forces who have pledged to pro- businesspeople have become is above the law and the secu- minate in a security risk if not do not expect them to complain
tect citizens have become part sitting ducks for robbers.  rity forces should stick to their nipped in the bud.  when they are in the system.
of a racket of lawlessness.  pledge to serve the nation.  Even if we are to give them 50-
Preying on the rampant pub- “In almost every country fold salaries, will they abide by
In February, four suspected lic mistrust in the financial sys- “One cannot rule out eco- in Africa, Latin America, and the rules and regulations gov-
robbers, including a police of- tem which has seen business- nomics, but there are rogue el- South Asia, when security and erning the police force?” Ka-
ficer, were involved in a fatal people, families and individuals ements,” political analyst Ibbo police forces are frequently in- zembe said in April. 
shootout in central Harare. keep large sums of money in Mandaza said. volved with crime, especially
homes, armed raids have risen robberies, this is an indication Although the long arm of the
Again in July, a member of over the past few years.  He said the government both of a culture of impunity, law is expected to catch up with
the Presidential Guard was shot should be worried by the unho- but also of poor conditions of such elements, the terror and
by and fled with a bullet lodged Coupled with the growing ly alliance between robbers and service,” Chan said.  trauma inflicted on unsuspect-
in his rib cage after robbing a economic hardships, with se- security forces. ing families like what happened
Chitungwiza service station of curity forces reeling from poor He however said the rise in to Nemaisa's family shows a
cash, a firearm and other valu- salaries and deteriorating stan- “It is frightening and the the robbery cases would threat- cancerous behaviour bedevil-
ables. dards of living, some desperate powers that be should be wor- en the present government in ling our society. 
elements think robberies are the ried. They should be stamped the future. 
Home Affairs minister Ka- easy way out.  out because the line between There is a need to rid the se-
zembe Kazembe in April made criminality and security is very “But these are also warning curity sector of rogue elements
an embarrassing admission that Once decently paid, police thin,” he said  signs. In many cases, the next who are terrorising families and
most robberies were being com- and army officers have become step is for these forces to turn preying on innocent citizens. 
mitted by police officers and paupers in Zimbabwe, taking Mandaza added that the rob- against the government,” Chan
soldiers. home paltry salaries insufficient bers could be used to mete out said.  An urgent inquiry into why
to cater for their families. Hav- politically motivated violence more security personnel are in-
“It is, indeed, true that most ing played a major role in the and murders if the government Who will protect the citizens volved in robberies is required.
of these cases of armed robber- if rogue elements are roam-
ies are being done by armed
men and women from the po-
lice force as well as the army.
I would like to emphasise and
indicate that government is,
indeed, working on that, but I
would also like to indicate that
such cases have decreased,” Ka-
zembe said then. 

Kazembe failed to proffer a
lasting solution to the cancer-
ous behaviour of the security
forces. 

The recent robbery case in-
volving former police constable
Francis Takura (33), and Zim-
babwe National Army (ZNA)
private Virimai Nyandoro (37),
who have since been arrested, is
a tip of the iceberg highlighting
that some trained security per-
sonnel have turned rogue. 

Three robbers identified as
Brian Koga Tendere (38) of
Chikupo village in Murewa,
soldier Charles Chirara (30) of
Ushewokunze suburb in Hara-
re, and Tariro Gora (21) of 1
Commando Barracks, were shot
dead by former detective Joseph
Nemaisa in movie style.

Although the foiled robbery
was a case of mistaken identity,
it is clear the rot in the securi-
ty services needs to be stamped
out in a haste. 

Nemasai was hailed as the
hero of the shootout, proving
his prowess as a top marksman,
but it is worrying how low the
security services have sunk un-
der the “New Dispensation”

With robbery cases increasing
in Zimbabwe, the common de-
nominator remains former and

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 23

Issue 61, 17 December 2021 UK must radically reform to
cease being haven for kleptocrats
LONDON think-tank Chatham
House says that professional en- sitions of prominence in the UK which was established after a servative Party after becoming a servative Party had not been
ablers exploit weaknesses in the while retaining influence in their multimillion-dollar endowment British citizen. “tainted by Kremlin or any other
country’s anti-money laundering home countries — including fig- from an undisclosed donor. The influence.” Chernukhin’s lawyers
regulations to prop up corrup- ures that have featured in recent report identifies such positions Reporting by the Guardian said she was a British citizen and
tion and authoritarian interests. investigations by the Interna- as a form of “reputation launder- and the BBC into the trove of was entitled to do as she wished
tional Consortium of Investiga- ing” — the process of helping leaked documents uncovered off- with her money.
Flawed and unpoliced an- tive Journalists. alleged kleptocrats obscure evi- shore structures which they said
ti-corruption measures have al- dence of corruption and rebrand raised questions about whether The report also notes that the
lowed the United Kingdom to The relatives of Azerbaija- themselves as “engaged global Vladimir is the ultimate source UK's status as a hub for post-So-
become a “comfortable home ni President Ilham Aliyev have citizens.” of some of the Tory donations. viet kleptocrats can bring “au-
for dirty money” and prime des- spent  hundreds of millions of Chatham House described this thoritarian agendas and rivalries
tination for kleptocrats looking dollars on UK real estate  via Chatham House also high- as a “prominent issue in the UK, to UK settings,” citing the 2006
to hide their assets, according to offshore companies since 2006, lights how “golden visa” schemes especially in light of Russia’s at- killing of Alexander Litvinenko
a new report. according to Pandora Papers re- have allowed a number of klep- tempts to interfere in elections and the 2018 attempted assassi-
cords. Aliyev’s regime has been tocrats to obtain UK residency abroad.” nation of Sergei Skripal — both
Urging a total anti-mon- marked by huge increases in the with little oversight of the as- former Russian intelligence offi-
ey-laundering overhaul, the country’s energy income, but sociated risks. For example,ob- FinCEN Files reporting had cers who provided information
report by London-based think- also by a brutal human rights re- taining UK citizenship can clear previously shown that  Vladimir about links between the Rus-
tank Chatham House highlights cord that includes the imprison- a path for foreign-born elites to Chernukhin had received US$8 sian government and organised
weaknesses in British regula- ment and torture of journalists influence British politics. million  from a Russian politi- crime to European intelligence
tions, noting that while the UK and dissidents. cian, Suleyman Kerimov, who services — as examples of polit-
requires enhanced due diligence The report’s authors cite Pan- was later  sanctioned by the US ical violence that Russian-linked
on clients from the European Aliyev’s sister-in-law, Nargiz dora Papers reporting on former lawyers for the Chernukhins kleptocracies have brought to
Commission’s list of high-risk Pashayeva, also holds a seat on Russian deputy finance minis- denied that Lubov had received British soil.
countries, that list does not in- the board of a center for the ter Vladmir Chernukhin and any money that Kerimov or any
clude any of Eurasia’s top klep- study of Azerbaijan and Central his wife Lubov, who donated company tied to him, and said — International Consortium
tocracies or other countries Asia at the University of Oxford, millions of dollars to the Con- that her donations to the Con- of Investigative Journalists.
where the money laundering
laws are strong on paper, but en-
forced weakly.

What it calls a near-army of
“professional enablers” exploit
those weaknesses in the service
of kleptocrats and their associ-
ates, the research finds, in some
cases even lobbying for regulato-
ry changes that make it harder
to enforce existing anti-corrup-
tion measures or implement new
ones.

The  report  notes that rapid
growth and deregulation of fi-
nancial and professional services
in London since the 1980s dove-
tailed with the end of the Soviet
Union. This opened the door for
kleptocrats — politically-con-
nected elites who profit per-
sonally from the privatization
of formerly public assets like
natural resources and industrial
holdings — from former Soviet
republics to launder those prof-
its through London.

“It is not simply a matter of
demand from Eurasia which will
be met elsewhere if not here,”
the report says. “UK-based en-
ablers and their overseas part-
ners provide an unrivalled set of
hiding and laundering services
which generates demand from
kleptocrats.”

The study points to several
case studies of elites from other
countries that have taken advan-
tage of the weaknesses in the UK
regulatory system to occupy po-

Page 24 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Digitalisation implications on macro-economic
stability: Moving from cliché to govt action — Part 1

JANET ZHOU/ ZVIKOMBORERO SIBANDA 10% per annum is considered as the
benchmark.  Also, the exchange rate
WHILE digitalisation and automa- In assessing the efficacy of both public of the pandemic.  from the education curriculum.  Re- must be stable, characterised by par-
tion are not new, they have acceler- and private sector pronouncements Human Capital source channelling to the education allel market premiums -- the percent-
ated in recent years, and the wave of or commitments to digitalisation, Human capital refers to the econom- sector of at least 20% of the country’s age difference between parallel and
innovation has reshaped the whole citizens must be able to see resources ic value of the skills, knowledge, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can official exchange rates -- not exceed-
global economy. put in developing the digital infra- experience that a person or group meet the required needs.  This has to ing 25%.  As for the national output
structure across sectors and how this possesses. Because of increasing glo- be targeted at all educational levels, (GDP), the government should tar-
Many governments, public institu- infrastructure will build cross-link- balisation, technological changes, and all forms of education -- formal and get stable, inclusive, and sustainable
tions and private players speak to the ages and inter-dependence to reduce economic liberalisation, governments informal, hedging the human capital GDP growth. This will be key in mi-
need to digitalise with the view that sector-specific vulnerabilities. This are forced to prioritise the develop- towards competitiveness in the digital nimising unemployment, stabilising
it is the panacea to stunted or lack of infrastructure includes hardware and ment of human skills as a strategy to economy.  the balance of payments, equitable
growth.  Vast opportunities could be software infrastructure for production amass competitive advantage. Also, Institutional Quality  distribution of income, care for the
unlocked in Zimbabwe and Africa enhancement, communications net- a well-developed human capital base It is Douglas. C North who says, “In- environment, increasing productivity
at large by embracing digitalisation works, payment services, market link- tends to be more innovative. It is stitutions are the rules of the game in and the realisation of sound structure
both in the public and private sector, ages, detection of risks, transparent through innovation that new ideas, a society, or more formally devised of public finances.
causing a leap in growth and develop- and accountable operations among methods, and processes of production constraints that shape human inter-
ment.  others.  that accelerate economic growth can action. In consequence, they struc- Digitalisation could enable the
be realised. As such, human capital ture incentives in human exchange government to meet its economic
Among the major triggers of the However, Zimbabwe like many development and innovation are crit- whether political, social or economic. ambitions as set out in the National
Fourth Industrial Revolution, also other African countries lacks invest- ical in complementing other public Institutional change shapes the way Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1)
known as the “Digital Revolution”, is ment in digital infrastructure due to investments. societies evolve through time…..” In- (2021-2025) and help in the realisa-
definitely artificial intelligence (AI), the debate around who should meet vestment in institutions for the leap tion of Vision 2030. Below is a list
robotics, computing power, cryptog- the costs, the huge infrastructural While the success of the 1st Indus- in digitalisation is imperative. Insti- of examples of some key areas where
raphy, cloud computing and big data.  funding gap and the lack of politi- trial Revolution was hinged on the tutions that can deliver efficiently, positive implications could be im-
These technological advances are mul- cal will to roll out digitalisation pro- availability of unskilled labour to work reduce the diversion of resources and mediately felt and cascade to societal
tiple and overlapping, creating syner- grammes for public institutions.  An in factories, the 4th Industrial Rev- become accountable by enhancing levels.
gies, accelerating outcomes and at the example is an allocation of ZW$3.3 olution is hinged on the availability openness will foster macro-economic
same time multiplying the challenges billion for information communi- of skilled labour. Knowledge of ICTs stability, which is a top priority in the 1. Modernisation of Agriculture
that have to be tackled through an cation technologies in the 2022 Na- and the internet has become a basic 2022 National Budget.  and Agro-Industries
“all- players” approach.  tional Budget. Given the huge need to requirement in most jobs. This means
develop the digital infrastructure ex- that the government has to come up Turning to the meaning of mac- According to the Food and Agri-
This digital revolution we have be- acerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with a funded human capital devel- ro-economic stability from the gov- culture Organisation (FAO), the ag-
gun to experience has effects on all this is a meagre allocation as it has to opment programme geared towards ernment priorities, this entails the sta- ricultural sector is a vital sector of the
sectors, with far-reaching social and be divided across sectors for a digitally the required skills sets and this begins bility of prices: Low inflation of under Zimbabwean economy. Currently, it
economic impacts. There is huge po- facilitated rebound from the impacts is providing employment and income
tential to transform the economy for for 60-70% of the population, supply-
a country like Zimbabwe, boost pro- ing 60% of the raw materials required
ductivity and fundamentally alter the by the industrial sector, contributing
way we live and work. Left to chance, about 30% to export earnings and
without policy, regulations, law and approximately 20% to GDP. In the
budget support, these technologies entire sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the
may also cause substantial disruptions food system is projected to add more
and dislocations.  jobs than the rest of the economy be-
tween 2010 and 2025.
Acknowledging the role of digital-
isation in accelerating growth and de- Farm labour and income are im-
velopment means that resources have portant, especially in Zimbabwe
to be allocated for that transition to where on-farm activities represent al-
allow every sector to leverage on the most 70% of all rural income. Hence,
advantages of building a digital econ- harnessing new farming technologies
omy, enhance returns, mitigate the will transform this sector for the good
negative impacts that can leave others of the economy.
behind and, in turn, transform live-
lihoods. This can be tracked through For instance, there are now mobile
the national budget allocations to and web technologies for agriculture
show the steps being taken by the where farmers can get advice, weather
government to propel a leap in dig- information and financial tips at tge
ital-based economic development. click of a button.
Without resources, policies, and insti-
tutions to support the process, it only Technology is used in soil data
remains what it has become for many analysis to help farmers in applying
— just a cliché. an optimum amount of fertilizer or
irrigation water. Further, information
In the 2022 National Budget, Fi- on competitive pricing, monitored
nance minister Mthuli Ncube high- crop information, disease prevention
lighted that the government seeks tips and disaster mitigation support
to strengthen macro-fiscal stability, can transform agriculture to improve
advance the policy on value chains incomes, production and demand. 
and value addition for purposes of
sustainable jobs creation and growth, In the new world of changing cli-
enhance public services delivery, and matic conditions, farmers can utilise
strengthen governance and anti-cor- data-driven precision farming tech-
ruption measures among other goals. nologies for productivity optimisa-
All these could get a leap in the right tion and waste reduction. Zimbabwe
direction with a focus on digitalisa- is struggling with frequent El-Niño-
tion as one of the key enablers of these induced droughts which are affecting
transformative endeavours.  crop yield, leading to food insecurity.
For instance, in 2019 and 2020, the
Tracking of the actions towards country harvested less than half of its
digitalisation can be done through as- annual maize staple requirement of
sessing priorities given to three main two million tonnes. The country’s ag-
pillars of the Digital Revolution in the riculture is heavily dependent on rains
national budget: as it has only 10% of irrigable land. It
Digital Infrastructure is high time now the country, through
the fiscal budgets, embraced the Dig-
ital Revolution, including cloud seed-
ing and hydroponics.  While the agri-

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 25

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

culture sector has been receiving one All these results in new cost-ef- nomic justice. Artificial Intelligence, adoption of technology in healthcare operationalise cadastre system as this
of the highest budget votes over the fective ways of production that will blockchain technologies, and the In- in Zimbabwe is a cause for concern. will reduce conflicts which are ema-
years, little has been spent in revitalis- transform the Zimbabwe industry ternet of Things can enhance oppor- The health budget of 14.9% of the nating from the double allocation of
ing agricultural technologies. As such, which still relies on old technologies. tunities for data gathering and analysis total 2022 National Budget is largely mining claims and will allow the gov-
the persistent food insecurity piles This is causing the industrial produc- for more targeted and effective pover- consumed by recurrent expenditures ernment to effectively implement its
pressure on the fiscus as the country tion costs to be too high, thereby ren- ty reduction strategies. Already, we are such as wages and salaries. Most pub- "use it or lose it" policy.
will be forced to borrow to import dering domestic firms uncompetitive seeing the transformational power of lic hospitals are facing acute shortages
food and this has destabilising effects regionally. Also, citizens are being formal financial services through mo- of medical equipment to treat chron- 7. E-commerce
on the economy. affected by the high prices of goods bile phones. Mobile money wallets ic illnesses like cancer while manual E-commerce is beneficial for both
and services. However, at an average like Econet’s EcoCash and NetOne’s systems are still in place in the dis- consumers and companies. As for
2. Employment, Skills and Pro- of 0.2% of total 2022 budget, govern- One Money reach underserved com- tribution of medical drugs. This was consumers, it results in improved
duction ment spending on the youth remains munities including women. These fi- evidenced by the Auditor-General's access to a variety of products and
too low. The rising inflation is making nancial services allow citizens to save 2019 report on the failure by officials services being charged at lower pric-
According to the International La- technology expensive for the unem- in secure instruments to enlarge their to dispose of expired drugs.  es. This ultimately boosts consumer
bour Organisation (ILO), about 60% ployed youths. asset base. This is critical in the fight spending in particular and aggregate
of youth in sub-Saharan Africa are against rising poverty and inequalities 6. Improved Public Finance demand (GDP) in general. For com-
unemployed. Statistics also show that 3. Financial Services and Invest- especially between the rural dwellers Management panies, e-commerce provides business
the youth have the highest unemploy- ment and their urban counterparts. For this opportunities as well as access to new
ment rate among the age groups in the reason, we are calling for the abolish- Digitalisation presents opportu- markets, domestic and external. Em-
labour force in Zimbabwe notwith- Increased financial services from ment of regressive taxes like the pro- nities for improving public finance pirical evidence indicates that those
standing that the youth constitutes the Digital Revolution impact eco- posed US$50 cellular tax being pro- management. As the government companies that engage in e-com-
about 67% of the total population. nomic growth through inclusive fi- posed in the 2022 National Budget as depends on taxes for revenue, the merce export 50% more than those
The youths are considered as one of nancing for women, youth, rural, it will decimate the gains the country adoption of digitalisation can, by that do not, relying on their skilled
the most critical resources a country urban populations and other vulner- has made to date. improving reporting of transactions labour and capacity to innovate. This
can have to elevate its socio-economic able groups no matter where they and collection of taxes, increase the translates to more exports, more forex
development. However, due to high are located. This is enabling the un- 5. Improve Healthcare  revenue base.  This will also bring ef- to support struggling local currency
unemployment, the youth are now banked populations to enter formal- Zimbabwe faces severe health chal- ficiency in public spending through and improve service delivery, hence
indulging in regressive activities like ity through retail electronic payment lenges worsened by the pandemic, targeted social assistance, which re- benefiting the majority of citizens. 
substance abuse, early marriage and platforms. Elsewhere the digital revo- limited physical infrastructure and a duces inclusion and exclusion errors.
participation in political violence.  lution is enabling entrepreneurs and lack of qualified and motivated pro- The use of digital technologies can *About the writers: Janet Zhou is
businesses to rethink business models fessionals. However, some of these improve public debt management as the executive director of the Zimba-
To harness the potential of the that are more impactful, sustainable, challenges may be easily resolved the government will be able to track bwe Coalition On Debt and Devel-
youth, there is a need for the gov- and connected to the other sectors of through increased digitalisation as it the performance as well as the maturi- opment (Zimcodd), a socio-econom-
ernment to facilitate technology the economy. This transforms prod- can improve medical data and service ty of all borrowed funds. Consequent- ic justice movement. She writes in
penetration and use since the youths uct designs and business models, in- delivery. For example, using technol- ly, this will avert scenarios where debt her own capacity, her views do not
are generally considered as the most cluding the government migrating ogy to report medicine stocks, track- becomes high and unsustainable as represent those of the organisation
technologically fascinated group. In- to online platforms to efficiently and ing and monitoring stocks can reduce is the case with Zimbabwe. The lat- she works for. Twitter handle: @
vesting in critical digital infrastructure effectively provide desperately needed leakages and provide services efficient- est statistics show total public debt at JanetZhou_Mago, Website: jznotes.
and skills for innovation and technol- public services to all corners of the ly. Rwanda has become the first coun- US$13.7 billion (over 90% of GDP) com
ogy use will become a catalyst for em- country as it eliminates the barriers try on the continent to use drones in with external arrears taking the larger
ployment creation and an engine for being caused by physical distance. the healthcare sector to deliver blood share of US$13.2 billion.  Zvikomborero Sibanda, an econ-
economic growth. For instance, the transfusions to remote areas. Digital- omist, is a research associate with
Digital Revolution is creating new 4. Fighting Inequality isation also improves disaster response The same digital technologies can Zimcodd. He is a staunch advo-
roles like search engine optimisation Spreading access to technology as it facilitates the quick sharing of in- be used to curb the massive illicit fi- cate for inclusive and sustainable
managers. It is also resulting in the can empower the poor with access to formation, checking of symptoms and nancial flows, particularly in the ex- development and he writes in his
creation of new types of organisations information, job opportunities and communicating under quarantine tractive sector which is estimated at own capacity. You can contact him
like cloud computing providers as services that improve their living stan- conditions. Nevertheless, the slow over US$1.5 billion per annum. on email: zvikomborero@zimcodd.
well as new sectors of the economy dards. Digitalisation can enhance eco- co.zw
like digital security and data science.   It is commendable that the 2022
budget set aside ZW$146 million to

Page 26 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

One virus, two countries: How the misuse
of science compounded SA Covid-19 crisis
terested only in the loud pain of trav-
STEPHEN FRIEDMAN A Soweto resident walks past a graffiti art wall educating locals about the dangers of COVID-19 in South Africa. Kim Ludbrook/EFE-EPA el agents and restaurant owners.

NOW, and in the past, “following South Korea’s population is similar South Africa’s publicly quoted sci- implied that many would have to die ‘First world’ bias
the science” on Covid-19 has landed to South Africa’s but it has lost only entists were in this last camp, which is but was a consensus view in South The scientists did not advocate sur-
South Africa in trouble. This is not an around 4 000 people  to Covid-19, why most denounced the lockdown. Africa’s debate. render because they were not up on
indictment of science, but of the way less than one twenty-fifth of South Remarkably, while scientists else- the latest debates. They did it because
it is understood in South Africa. Africa’s official death toll. where hotly debated this highly con- The media agreed. During 2020, South Africa remains divided be-
tentious view, South Africa’s publicly not one scientist was asked a single tween “insiders” and “outsiders” and
My new book  One Virus, Two What the scientists said was quoted scientists all endorsed it. critical question although much of they, like the media which fawned
Countries, which examines South not  “the science”  but  “a science”, a what they said was disputed by sci- over them and the lobbies which be-
Africa’s response to Covid-19’s arrival particular view rejected by many sci- The government, while differing entists elsewhere and some of their gan mobilising against health restric-
in 2020, points out that South Af- entists around the world. with some scientists on lockdowns, claims were clearly wrong. tions weeks into the pandemic, see
rica fared  far worse than the rest of The big divide agreed that much disease and death the world through “insider” lenses.
Africa  – its case and death numbers Medical scientists were divided be- was inevitable. Zweli Mkhize, the I argue in the book that Covid-19
were equal to those of the rest of Af- tween those who believed every effort then minister of health, echoing is among the media’s most shame- Internationally, the pandemic dis-
rica combined. While it is common- should be made to fight the virus and scientists, declared that  60% of ful moments — it treated scientists turbed the view which divides the
ly claimed that this is because South those who argued only for manag- the country would be touched by much as media in totalitarian coun- planet into first and third worlds,
Africa tests more, its own scientists ing it. The group that argued for just Covid-19. This was the figure cited tries treat government leaders. the first an island of competence and
have acknowledged that this is not. managing it – some of whom influ- by scientists who peddled the  now health in a sea of third world sickness
The book argues that this happened enced Donald Trump and the United discredited theory  that the virus Business first supported the lock- and savagery. The countries which
because the minority which takes part Kingdom government – were against should be allowed  to spread until it down, then lobbied against restric- did least to protect people were in the
in South African public life is fixated restrictions. ran out of hosts — which was greet- tions. The media elped it — while first, not the third.
on Europe and North America. ed with horror elsewhere because it other countries’ television channels
showed pain and death in hospitals The planet’s divide is also South
Repeated claims that the country and cemeteries, South Africa’s was in- Africa’s. The minority which is heard
was  “following the science”  really in the national debate lives and thinks
meant it was following a particular like the first world. It is fixated on
science  followed by some Western Western countries whether it praises
scientists  – one which ensured high or criticises them. And it sees the rest
case and death rates because it meant of South Africa as a third world of
not taking enough of the protective poverty and incapacity.
measures needed to prevent the vi-
rus’s spread, not only restrictions When the scientists said no coun-
when they were needed but also test- try had avoided a severe epidemic,
ing and tracing the contacts of infect- they meant no country they noticed
ed people. — no first world country. When they
said South Africa was doomed to suf-
Only weeks after the virus began fer, they assumed that the third world
circulating,  Salim Abdool Karim, majority would be too ignorant to
who was then in effect the govern- protect themselves – and that only
ment’s chief scientific advisor, de- first world medicine would work but
clared that a  “severe epidemic” was that the country did not have enough
inevitable  because no country had of it. The rest of the first world see
avoided one – he urged authorities to South Africa in the same way.
prepare for bereavements.
It was  the biases of its first world
It soon became clear that he was which prevented South Africa from
expressing a consensus among South mobilising the energies and talents
African scientists, or at least those of most of its people (many of whom
quoted in the media. were far less ignorant of the virus
than their first world betters) to re-
Daily headlines showed it was not duce cases and deaths to levels else-
true that no country had avoided a where in Africa.
severe epidemic. Many had done just
that including South Korea, which Those biases may also now ensure
faced rapid spread of the virus but that most people are not vaccinated
avoided a severe outbreak, showing because vaccine arrangements are tai-
that it was possible to keep cases and lored to the first world.
deaths down even after the virus be-
gan spreading. *About the writer: Steven Fried-
man is professor of political studies
Although successive waves of at the University of Johannesburg in
Covid-19 did drive up cases and South Africa.
deaths in these countries, they have
still avoided severe epidemics:

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 27

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Africa’s quest for food security must
be premised on continent’s realities
PETER KAMALINGIN

While there’s an urgent need to im- high-tech, highly mechanised agri- true security and sustainability come cannot be left in the hands of a few the pervasive lack of action by leaders
prove productivity, emphasis should culture. Patriarchy and unfair cultur- with a more open and participatory elites and multinationals who benefit on such commitments. The second
be laid on ridding the food systems al practices have further exacerbated food system where both the small- from their heavy investment in tech- biennial review of the Comprehen-
of inequality. the terrible experiences of women, and large-scale farmers have an equal nology and economies of scale, and sive Africa Agriculture Development
who produce 70% of Africa’s food, opportunity to flourish. often control prices. For those living Programme (CAADP) which tracks
Lately, there have been quite a few and the youth in this lopsided ar- Increased production should not along the borders, support should the progress of the commitments in
proposals, discussions and even de- rangement.  be the only priority  also include making it easy to pursue the Malabo Declaration, published
bates, some in high places, focused Another fact is that the roots of Afri- markets in neighbouring countries in February last year, showed that
on developing the technological ca- Policies pursued in the sector must ca’s food insecurity go beyond inade- through measures such as accelerat- only four out of 49 countries were
pacity of the agricultural sector in therefore not disenfranchise the vul- quate production. There are millions ing the lifting of all the barriers that on track to achieving the laid-out
Africa to address food insecurity on nerable groups further. The state of people living in countries or local- stand in the way of full implemen- goals by 2025. It is unlikely that the
the continent.  must protect women’s rights to land ities with enough supplies, but they tation of the Africa Continental Free statistics will look any better in the
and property, and we must redouble still go to bed hungry due to low pur- Trade Area (AfCTA). next review due soon, owing to the
The discourse has seen a spectacu- our efforts in socializing men and chasing power and limitations of the pandemic’s effect on the economy.
lar showcase of big numbers, some of women to confront patriarchy.  food market systems. While the rise Confronting inequalities perpetu-
that depressing, others quite reassur- and fall of food prices in rural and ated in the agricultural value chains Forums that seek to accelerate the
ing, at least from the outset.  Research and financing should urban areas is significantly informed is critical since it easily spills over to quest for food security must, more
prioritize the needs of smallholder by the performance in the farms, other sectors such as health and trade than coming up with novel or grand
Dissecting Africa’s food insecurity farmers, especially now that many are people living in poverty perpetual- with which have strong linkages with ideas, implore leaders to prioritize
and imagining solutions lends itself struggling to bounce back from the ly lack enough to eat, especially in the food systems.  investing in agriculture even during
to the use of data. It is impossible to devastating impacts of COVID-19 the cities where the cost of living is An equitable, secure food system these lean times and emphasise the
avoid reference to the big numbers, pandemic. This is the time for gov- a lot higher. So even as governments must begin now  centrality of government leadership
for example the report by the Food ernment research institutions to take desperately search for resources to re- Whether or not Africa will achieve in growing the sector and most im-
and Agriculture Organisation notes the lead in research and innovation suscitate their economies which have the goal of eliminating hunger and portantly adopting a justice lens to
that 282 million people in Africa ex- and develop simple and appropriate borne the brunt of the COVID-19 food insecurity in the next four de- our food systems. Direct investment
perienced hunger in 2020. There is solutions that incorporate indige- pandemic, they must prioritize social cades, as is laid out in Agenda 2063, in the food systems must also be ac-
also the alarm raised by the Interna- nous knowledge and experiences safety nets for the most vulnerable depends on the actions or inactions companied by active steps to con-
tional Federation of the Red Cross, in of smallholder farmers.  This is too and implement broad and specific of today. And it helps that the ideas front conflict and climate change,
April, that at least 100 million peo- important a role to be left under the budget policies that reduce poverty are already out there. For example, the other two big threats to food se-
ple in Africa were facing catastrophic control of the private sector and mar- and inequality. the  African Union member states curity, alongside COVID-19.
levels of hunger. All these help build ket forces. adopting the Malabo Declaration in
a strong case for urgent intervention. In the villages, smallholder farmers 2014 demonstrates that Africa knows — African Arguments.
That a continent which accounts for If the continent’s food security struggle to produce more than they the specific steps needed to fix its
60% of the world’s arable land,  im- were to be conceived as simply pro- can eat so they can sell the surplus food insecurity problem. But anoth- *About the writer: Peter Kama-
ported 85% of its food  worth $35 ducing enough volumes, without and buy other foodstuff to diversify er sad African reality – and this tran- lingin is the Oxfam International
billion between 2016 and 2018 de- minding who is engaging, then just their sources of nutrition. Their fate scends the quest for food security – is Pan Africa Programme director
picts the sector’s low capacity. More- a handful of big investors would be and representative to the African
over, this is projected to reach an up to the task! Union.
even more mind-boggling figure of
$110 billion a year by 2025. But it’s more complex than that –

And then there is a different set
of data capturing a spate of huge
investments at different levels of
the sector’s value chain, mainly by
donor agencies and the private sec-
tor. A significant share of this has
gone into improving efficiency by
leveraging technology and using
high-quality inputs. Agri-tech start-
ups alone raised $60 million in 2020,
according to Disrupt, a website that
provides data on start-up funding. 

Technology has been rightfully
hailed for improving productivi-
ty and increasing farmers’ access to
markets for their products. However,
though tech has a significant role to
play in the continent’s quest for food
security, it ought to be embraced
while paying attention to Africa’s
peculiar socio-economic and cultur-
al context and realities. Technology
and other strategies such as research
and financing must be employed
in ways that promote real and last-
ing transformation, and not exclude
smallholder farmers and perpetuate
inequality in the food systems. 
A participatory food system, not
just a proficient one. 
One reality is that whereas the con-
tinent is rapidly urbanising, many
people – about a half of the popu-
lation – live in the villages, thus put-
ting pressure on land. Access to land
is still limited, despite the continent’s
much-touted abundance of arable
land. Smallholder farmers labour in
tiny plots of land as the elites and
multinationals control massive tracts
of land from where they can practice

Page 28 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Xi Jinping’s new world order

XI Jinping savoured the moment. Can China remake the international system?
Speaking before China’s annual
gathering of nearly 3 000 represen- Soldiers watching Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. city that effectively ended its auton-
tatives to the National People’s Con- omy under the “one country, two
gress in Beijing in March 2021, the derpinned the international system intervention in the political and of a leader convinced that the world systems” governance model that was
Chinese president took a post-pan- for more than 70 years is dissolving social lives of their citizens. Multi- is there for China’s taking.  put in place in 1997 at the time of
demic victory lap, proclaiming that in favour of a proposed Chinese lateral institutions and international Hong Kong’s handoff from London
his country had been the first to framework of dialogue, negotiation, law were designed to advance these But his own certainty may be a li- to Beijing. 
tame Covid-19, the first to resume and cooperation. China’s influence values and norms, and technolo- ability, preventing him from recog-
work, and the first to regain positive also radiates through the world via gy was often used to bolster them. nizing the resistance Beijing is stok- In a matter of months, Beijing
economic growth.  infrastructure ranging from ports, Yet Xi seeks to flip a switch and re- ing through its actions abroad. Xi’s undermined the city’s long-standing
railways, and bases to fibre-optic place those values with the primacy success depends on whether he can commitment to basic human rights
It was the result, he argued, cables, e-payment systems, and sat- of the state. Institutions, laws, and adjust and reckon with the blow- and the rule of law and transformed
of “self-confidence in our path, ellites. In the same way that US, technology in this new order rein- back. Failing to do so could lead Hong Kong into just another main-
self-confidence in our theories, European, and Japanese companies force state control, limit individual to further miscalculations that may land Chinese city.
self-confidence in our system, led the development of the world’s freedoms, and constrain open mar- end up reshaping the global order—
self-confidence in our culture.”  twentieth-century infrastructure, kets. It is a world in which the state just not in the way Xi imagines. Xi has also made progress in as-
Chinese companies compete to lead controls the flow of information and Reunifying the motherland serting Chinese sovereignty in the
And he further shared his pride in the twenty-first century. Xi ably capital both within its own borders Xi’s path to a reordered world be- South China Sea. He has created
that “now, when our young people uses China’s economic power to in- and across international boundaries, gins by redrawing the map of Chi- and militarieed seven artificial fea-
go abroad, they can stand tall and duce and coerce compliance with and there is no independent check na. In an October 2021 speech, Xi tures in the sea and laid claim to
feel proud — unlike us when we his vision. on its power. asserted, “the historical task of the scores of other islands and stretch-
were young.” For Xi, China’s suc- complete reunification of the moth- es of maritime territory. He in-
cess in controlling the spread of the This shift in the geostrategic land- Chinese officials and scholars erland must be fulfilled and will creasingly deploys China’s power-
novel coronavirus was yet more evi- scape reflects and reinforces an even appear assured that the rest of the definitely be fulfilled.” Asserting ful navy, newly armed coast guard,
dence that he was on the right track: more profound transformation: the world is onboard with Xi’s vision, sovereignty over long-contested ter- and vast fishing fleet to intimidate
China was reclaiming its historic rise of a China-centric order with as they trumpet, “The East is rising, ritories — particularly those Beijing the five other nations with overlap-
position of leadership and centrality its own norms and values. Howev- and the West is declining!” Yet many terms its core interests: Hong Kong, ping claims —Brunei, Malaysia, the
on the global stage.  er imperfectly, the post–World War countries increasingly seem less en- the South China Sea, and Taiwan — Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
II international order was shaped amoured of Xi’s bold initiatives, as is Xi’s number one priority. — and to assert control in disputed
The brief official history of the primarily by liberal democracies the full political and economic costs waters. 
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that were committed in principle to of embracing the Chinese model Beijing has already dealt with
that was published the following universal human rights, the rule of become clear. At the People’s Con- Hong Kong. In 2020, China im- Throughout the pandemic, Xi has
month reinforced his assessment. It law, free markets, and limited state gress, Xi exuded the self-confidence posed a national security law on the also taken advantage of other coun-
claimed that Xi had brought China tries’ distraction to press additional
“closer to the centre of the world territorial claims: for more than 100
stage than it has ever been. The na- days in a row, Chinese vessels sailed
tion has never been closer to its own into waters off Japan and around a
rebirth.” number of contested islands there
that China calls the Diaoyu Islands
China already occupies a position and Japan calls the Senkaku Islands;
of centrality in the international sys- a Chinese coast guard vessel rammed
tem. It is the world’s largest trading and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat;
power and greatest source of global Chinese military aircraft flew over
lending, it boasts the world’s larg- disputed waters claimed by both
est population and military, and it China and Malaysia; and China and
has become a global centre of inno- India engaged in their first deadly
vation. Most analysts predict that border conflict in four decades.
China’s real GDP will surpass that
of the United States by 2030 to Xi’s path to a reordered world be-
make it the largest economy in the gins by redrawing the map of China. 
world. Moreover, as the evolution of
the pandemic has illustrated, Chi- No map of China would be ac-
na’s response to global challenges ceptable to Xi, however, if it did not
has profound implications for the reflect mainland Chinese control
rest of the world. over Taiwan.

Yet even as Xi’s ambition and Chi- At the 19th Party Congress, in
na’s global prominence have become October 2017, Xi declared that uni-
indisputable, many observers con- fication with Taiwan was one of 14
tinue to question whether Beijing must-do items necessary to achieve
wants to shape a new international the “great rejuvenation of the Chi-
order or merely force some adjust- nese nation.” He has further under-
ments to the current one, advancing scored the importance of unification
discrete interests and preferences with his vivid imagery: “People on
without fundamentally transform- both sides of the strait are one fam-
ing the global system.  ily, with shared blood. . . . No one
can ever cut the veins that connect
They argue that Beijing’s orien- us.”
tation is overwhelmingly defensive
and designed only to protect itself Xi speaks about unification with
from criticism of its political system Taiwan with increasing frequency
and to realize a limited set of sov- and urgency. He remains convinced
ereignty claims. That view misses that Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-
the scope of Xi’s vision. His under- wen is advancing an independence
standing of the centrality of China agenda, claiming that the island
signifies something more than en- nation’s “independence separatism”
suring that the relative weight of the remains the “most serious hidden
country’s voice or influence within danger to national rejuvenation.”
the existing international system is Since Tsai came to power, in 2016,
adequately represented. It connotes Xi has cut off the long-established
a radically transformed internation- cross-strait dialogue; dramatically
al order. reduced the number of mainland
tourists permitted to travel to Tai-
In Xi’s vision, a unified and resur- wan, from 4.2 million in 2015 to
gent China would be on par with 2.7 million in 2017, contributing to
or would surpass the United States. a drop in the island’s annual tour-
China is the preeminent power in ism revenue from US$44.5 billion
Asia, and its maritime domain has to US$24.4 billion; convinced sev-
expanded to include control over en of the 22 remaining states that
contested areas in the East China formally recognise Taiwan as the
and South China Seas. The United Republic of China to abandon Tai-
States has retreated back across the pei for Beijing; and prevented Tai-
Pacific to assume its rightful place as wan from participating in the World
an Atlantic power.  Health Assembly briefings in the
early months of the pandemic. 
Moreover, the formidable net-
work of US alliances that has un-

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 29

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

During Tsai’s 2020 re-election Yet  Beijing’s military assertive- In Greece, for example, Chinese in- found that 270 out of the 1 814 BRI unattractive Chinese governance
campaign, CCP hackers also al- ness  in the region has directly un- vestment in the port of Piraeus has projects undertaken since 2013 have practices, but much of Beijing’s ef-
legedly spread disinformation de- dermined its push for leadership. A contributed to making it one of the encountered governance difficulties; fort to advance Chinese centrality
signed to undermine her. Beijing’s survey of Southeast Asian experts top ports in Europe and among the these troubled cases accounted for relies explicitly on coercion. China’s
increasingly threatening military ex- and businesspeople found that less top 50 in the world. Brazilian offi- 32% of the total value of the proj- pandemic diplomacy, for example,
ercises along Taiwan’s coast provoke than two percent believed that Chi- cials and scholars are excited about ects. highlighted for many people the
frequent talk of a possible Chinese na was a benign and benevolent the possibility of the BRI not only coercive nature of Chinese efforts
military attack. power, and less than 20% were con- developing infrastructure projects in Beijing itself may be reconsider- to shape the world around them.
fident or very confident that China their country but also advancing in- ing its BRI commitments. Invest- China’s “Wolf Warrior” diplomats
Xi’s efforts to intimidate Taiwan would “do the right thing.”  novation and sustainability efforts. ment levels have declined steadily weaponised the production of per-
have failed to convince the island since 2016, and some of the pre- sonal protective equipment (PPE)
nation to embrace unification. In- Nearly half of those polled be- The Belt and Road Initiative has sumed political benefits have not by threatening to cut off supplies to
stead, they have produced a backlash lieved that China was a “revisionist placed China at the centre of the in- materialised. A review of the top countries that criticised China. They
both within Taiwan and abroad.  power” that intended to transform ternational system. ten recipients of BRI investments, also went on the offensive to spread
the region into its sphere of influ- for example, reveals no direct cor- disinformation about the origins of
A greater percentage of Taiwanese ence. (In contrast, over two-thirds Xi has also conceived of the BRI relation between the levels of in- the virus to deflect attention from
than ever before — 64% — favour of the interviewees were confident as a conduit through which China vestment and the countries’ support Chinese culpability. When Australia
independence, and few Taiwanese or very confident that Japan would can transmit its political and cul- for China on critical issues, such as called for an investigation into the
retain faith that a “one country, “do the right thing” by contributing tural values. In a major address in Hong Kong, the South China Sea, origins of the virus, Beijing slapped
two systems” framework could ever to global peace, security, prosperity, October 2017, Xi advanced China’s and Chinese actions in Xinjiang.  restrictions and tariffs on some of
work, particularly in the wake of the and governance.)  development model as one worth Australia’s most popular exports.
crackdown in Hong Kong.  emulating, and Beijing now offers As with China’s assertiveness on
China’s behaviour has also re-en- an extensive array of political train- its borders, the BRI has also stoked China’s use of economic leverage
A growing number of countries ergised the Quad partnership, which ing programs.  a backlash. It has sparked compet- to coerce international actors is long
have also stepped up to offer support includes Australia, India, Japan, and itive initiatives by Japan and other standing and well known. Beijing
to Taiwan. In an unprecedented pol- the United States; spurred the estab- Tanzania, which is a BRI pilot countries to offer infrastructure fi- threatened the international airline,
icy shift, Japan asserted in 2021 that lishment of a new trilateral security country for Chinese political capac- nancing and support with higher retail, film, and hotel industries
it had a direct stake in ensuring Tai- pact among Australia, the United ity building, has modelled its cyber- standards and more benefits for lo- with serious financial repercussions,
wan’s status as a democracy. Several Kingdom, and the United States; security law after that of China and cal workforces. for example, if they did not rec-
small European countries have also and prompted several European worked with Beijing to constrain ognise Chinese sovereignty claims
rallied to Taiwan’s diplomatic de- countries, including France, Ger- social media and the flow of infor- Other efforts to enhance Chinese regarding Hong Kong, the South
fence: the Czech Republic, Lithua- many, and the Netherlands, along mation on the internet. The govern- cultural influence are also encoun- China Sea, and Taiwan in their pub-
nia, and Slovakia have all welcomed with Nato, to deepen their securi- ments of other countries, such as tering difficulties. For example, Xi lished material. In the wake of the
the Taiwanese foreign minister for a ty engagement in the Asia-Pacific. Uganda, have been eager recipients has championed the adoption of now famous tweet by Daryl Morey,
visit. For its part, the United States Even Philippine President Rodrigo of Chinese technology and training Chinese-language and Chinese cul- then the Houston Rockets’ general
has supported a wide array of new Duterte, who earlier threatened to to help them monitor and track po- tural offerings through the estab- manager, in support of Hong Kong’s
legislation and diplomatic activity end his country’s alliance with the litical opposition figures.  lishment of Confucius Institutes in pro-democracy protests, Chinese
designed to strengthen the bilateral United States and called China “a overseas universities and classrooms.  stores pulled Rockets-branded prod-
relationship and embed Taiwan in good friend,” is now upgrading the And political parties in Ethiopia, ucts from their shelves, and China
regional and international organi- Philippines’ defence relationship South Africa, and Sudan have par- For many educational institu- Central Television stopped broad-
sations. with Washington as he prepares to ticipated in CCP training on the tions, Beijing’s financial support for casting NBA games. 
Bye-bye, miss American pie leave office. structure of the CCP, CCP-grass- these institutes was essential to their
China is also busy trying to lay the The dragon’s bite roots relations, and the Chinese ability to offer Chinese-language CCTV announced, “We believe
foundation for the country to su- Xi’s ambition for Chinese centrali- propaganda system. China’s Dig- training. As a result, they proliferat- that any remarks that challenge na-
persede the United States as the ty on the global stage is exquisite- ital Silk Road, which includes un- ed rapidly. Over time, however, the tional sovereignty and social stabili-
dominant force in the Asia-Pacif- ly captured by his Belt and Road dersea cables, e-payment systems, more coercive undertone of the ini- ty are not within the scope of free-
ic. Describing the Asia-Pacific as a Initiative. Launched in 2013, the surveillance technologies, and 5G tiative undermined its early success.  dom of speech.” Beijing effectively
“big family” and claiming that “the initiative not only offers a physical networks, among other digital con- signalled that it believed it had the
region cannot prosper without Chi- manifestation of Chinese centrality nectivity technologies, is particular- In 2011, Li Changchun, then a right to control the speech of any
na” and “China cannot develop in through three overland and three ly valuable as a means of transmit- member of the Politburo Standing individual anywhere in the world.
isolation from the region,” China’s maritime corridors that will connect ting Chinese political and cultural Committee, stated, “The Confucius Shortly thereafter, Beijing expelled
leaders portray the Asia-Pacific as China to Asia, Europe, the Middle values.  Institute is an appealing brand for several  Wall Street Journal  report-
seamlessly integrated through Chi- East, and Africa but also evokes his- expanding our culture abroad. It has ers in response to an opinion piece
nese-powered trade, technology, torical memories of the Silk Road In Kenya, for example, Beijing made an important contribution to- the newspaper published with a title
infrastructure and shared cultural and of Chinese centrality during provided not only satellite television ward improving our soft power. The describing China as the “Sick Man
and civilizational ties. Xi has been imperial times.  for more than 10 000 people, but ‘Confucius’ brand has a natural at- of Asia.” And perhaps as a sign of
particularly successful in cement- also tens of thousands of hours of tractiveness.  how such policies might evolve, a
ing China’s position as the regional In its original conception, the Chinese programming. Kenya’s air- government office in Beijing pro-
economic leader. China is the larg- BRI was a vehicle for Chinese-led waves, as well as those in other parts Using the excuse of teaching Chi- posed in 2020 that any criticism of
est trading partner of virtually all hard infrastructure development of Africa, are now filled with martial nese language, everything looks rea- traditional Chinese medicine —one
the countries in Asia, and in 2021, along the six corridors. Today, BRI arts films, dramas about life in Chi- sonable.” Per Beijing’s requirements, of Xi’s special interests — should be
the members of the Association of offshoots include so-called digital, na, and documentaries that promote contracts between local academic made illegal.
Southeast Asian Nations together health, and polar Silk Roads, and a CCP political narrative — such as institutions and the Confucius In-
ranked as China’s top trading part- all countries are welcome to partic- one focusing on Japanese atrocities stitutes remained sealed, and the Chinese coercion is most effective
ner. At the end of 2020, Xi con- ipate. in World War II — that have been teachers and the curricula were de- in shaping the behaviour of indi-
cluded the negotiations over the dubbed into local languages. termined by Beijing — a concession vidual actors. Many multinational
Chinese-led Regional Comprehen- Unlike traditional infrastructure most universities would make for no corporations eventually succumb
sive Economic Partnership, which investment supported by multilat- Yet the BRI has become increas- other outside partnership.  to Chinese pressure and adjust the
includes China, ten Southeast Asian eral institutions, such as the World ingly bumpy. Although it can bring way they conduct business. Some,
countries, and Australia, Japan, Bank and the Asian Development the benefits of China’s infrastruc- In addition, a few of the insti- however, quietly attempt to main-
New Zealand, and South Korea.  Bank,  China is a one-stop shop. It ture-heavy development model, it tutes tried to shape broader univer- tain their principles, even while
provides the financing and the la- also carries with it all the externali- sity policies around issues related appearing to acquiesce to Chinese
In a bold gambit, Xi has also ad- bour and materials for its projects; ties: high levels of debt, corruption, to China, warning against hosting demands. In the airline industry, for
vanced China for membership in in many instances, it also skips environmental pollution and degra- the Dalai Lama, for example. As example, some airlines have dropped
the Comprehensive and Progressive time-consuming evaluations of fi- dation, and poor labour practices. scholars and politicians in Canada, Taiwan from their websites but still
Agreement for Trans-Pacific Part- nancial risk, processes of transparent Popular protests have proliferated Sweden, the United States, and else- identify it separately from mainland
nership, the Japanese-led free-trade and open bidding, and assessments throughout host countries.  where began to question the integri- China and quote ticket prices in Tai-
agreement. This would make China of environmental and social im- ty of the enterprise, the allure of the wan’s currency instead of in yuan.
the dominant economic player in pacts. It is China’s own development In Kazakhstan, citizens have institutes dimmed. Also important, China has over-
the two most important regional model gone global. demonstrated repeatedly against whelmingly failed in its attempts to
trade agreements in the most eco- Chinese mining projects and fac- By 2020, China had put in place use its economic leverage to compel
nomically dynamic region of the The BRI has positioned China tories that pollute the environment only slightly more than half the countries such as the Philippines
world; the United States would re- at the centre of the international and use Chinese rather than local la- 1000 Confucius Institutes it had and South Korea, among others, to
main sidelined. system, with its physical, financial, bour. Similar protests have erupted hoped to establish. And their impact change their policies on issues such
cultural, technological, and political in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, as a source of soft power appears to as competition in the South China
China has been less successful in influence flowing to the rest of the and Zambia. Still other countries, be limited. In Africa, where China Sea and the deployment of the U.S.-
its efforts to position itself as the world. It is redrawing the fine details including Cameroon, Indonesia, has established 61 Confucius Insti- made Terminal High Altitude Area
region’s preeminent security actor, of the world’s map, with new rail- Kenya, and Pakistan, have reported tutes, a survey revealed that 71% of Defence, or THAAD, missile sys-
a role long played by the United roads and bridges, fibre-optic cables problems with corruption in their citizens believe that English is the tem. Beijing also failed in its effort
States. In 2014, Beijing proposed a and 5G networks, and ports with BRI projects. And some countries, most important language for the to short-circuit Canada’s judicial
new Asian security order managed the potential for housing Chinese such as Azerbaijan and Mongolia, next generation to learn; 14 percent process concerning the detention of
by Asian countries. military bases. By one assessment, no longer expect that the gains from selected French, and only two per- Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial
the BRI now touches more than 60 their BRI projects will ever exceed cent chose Chinese.  officer of the Chinese telecommuni-
China’s defence minister has criss- countries and has exceeded US$200 the costs. Many countries have put cations firm Huawei, by imprison-
crossed the Asia-Pacific region with billion in Chinese investment. Some projects on hold or cancelled them And in Kazakhstan, where the ing two Canadian citizens as politi-
the message that countries there countries, such as Pakistan, are be- outright: of the 52 coal-fired pow- daughter of the former prime minis- cal leverage. Ultimately, Meng spent
“should adhere to the principle that ing transformed by the BRI, with er plants planned for development ter has been an outspoken champi- almost three years under house ar-
regional issues should be solved by energy projects, new roads, and a through the BRI between 2014 and on of China and Chinese-language rest before her case was settled.
the regional countries through con- massive upgrade of both its Gwadar 2020, 25 were shelved and eight study, a public opinion survey con-
sultation.” Chinese officials have port and its digital infrastructure.  cancelled.  ducted by the Eurasian Develop- – Foreign Affairs.
also tried hard to paint US alliances ment Bank revealed that only one in To be continued
as anachronistic relics of the Cold Others have more limited but (China’s September 2021 com- six Kazakhs view China as a “friend-
War and as hostile to China. overwhelmingly positive exposure. mitment not to build new coal-fired ly country.”
power projects abroad suggests that
many of the shelved projects will ul- Initiatives such as the BRI and the
timately be cancelled.) A 2018 study Confucius Institutes offer an attrac-
tive vision of Chinese centrality that
has been somewhat undermined by

Page 30 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

South Africa’s political risk profile has gone
up few notches: But it’s not yet a failed state
IN July, South Africa suffered the
worst violence since the 1990s. Looters rampage through a shopping centre in the city of Durban during lawlessness triggered by the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. EFE-EPA/Stringer
Highways were blocked and busi-
nesses, warehouses and other prop- The country witnessed increas- at municipal level. Added to this is citizens, their property and public ably still in the medium-risk catego-
erty looted and set alight. More ingly high levels of violence and or the need to tackle the never-ending property against the looters, is most ry of political risk.
than 300 people died. dissatisfaction associated with la- institutional challenges facing Es- concerning.
bour unrest. Violent protests have kom, the power utility, resulting in Countries like Syria, Afghanistan,
In mid-October, people were become a common phenomenon. erratic electricity supply to the det- In view of the above, the broad Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, the Demo-
again shocked when a group of In fact, risk in the form of violent riment of the economy. macro-political risk profile of the cratic Republic of Congo, Central
men, said to be Somali nationals, service delivery protests and other country has changed fundamental- African Republic, Chad, Sudan and
openly brandished high calibre unrest has increased markedly. Underlying the protests and re- ly and worsened substantially from South Sudan, which are either in a
weapons during a fight between lated frustrations are several years 2006 to 2021. In this context, the state of armed conflict or recovering
Somali shop owners and local taxi Other forms of socio-economic of low economic growth and poor country’s political risk profile must from armed conflict, are indicated
drivers in public view in Gqeberha, frustrations also increased as well as governance. be considered a matter of serious as far more ‘fragile’ on the Fragile
Eastern Cape. xenophobia. concern. State Index, and find themselves in
Unemployment is extremely the alert category. These countries
Not long after 56 people, said Importantly, the cost of violence high, amid low levels of education So, is the country now a failed are all showing high levels of insti-
to be disgruntled military veter- to the economy is among the high- and skills. Youth unemployment, state or about to become one? tutional and social fragility, based
ans, were arrested after allegedly est in the world. The 2021 Global especially, remains one of South Af- on publicly available indicators that
holding two government ministers Peace Index recently placed the rica’s most pressing challenges. Where South Africa stands measure the quality of policy and
and a deputy minister hostage in national cost of violence in South The annual Fund for Peace’s Frag- institutions and manifestations of
Pretoria. They allegedly demanded Africa is a staggering 19% of the Another problem area is inca- ile State Index can be taken as an fragility. South Africa, on the other
compensation for their role in the country’s GDP. This is the 16th pacitated law enforcement institu- authoritative indicator of interna- hand, is also miles away from expe-
liberation struggle against minority highest rate in the world. tions. Recently, parliamentarians tional state fragility and political riences in these countries.
white rule. expressed concern that the country’s risk. The index maps states across
Overall the country ranked 128th law enforcement agencies did not the globe and ranks them in terms This implies that state failure is of
These violent incidents led to a out of 161 countries in the most re- have the capacity to handle situa- of 12 categories – from sustainable much more relevance to these coun-
question being asked: has South Af- cent Global Peace Index, which is tions like civil unrest, if it was more (shades of blue) to stable (shades of tries than South Africa.
rica become a failed state? The issue an index measuring the peaceful- widespread than the recent unrest green) to warning (shades of yellow)
has come up and warnings sounded ness of countries on the basis of 23 in July 2021. In fact, the Human to alert (shades of red). Still, the evidence shows that
before this year’s events. quantitative and qualitative indica- Rights Commission recently heard South Africa’s standing in the political risk in the country has in-
tors. that the South African Police Ser- index is cause for concern. It has creased markedly in certain areas
I teach political risk analysis – in vice was not “equal to the task” moved from stable in 2006 to warn- over the past two decades. It is clear
essence the study of potential harms A number of other factors also when riots and looting broke out ing in 2021. This clearly indicates a that South Africa has been moving
to a country’s stability and future. pose high degrees of political risk. in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in much higher level of political risk from "medium risk" into "high-me-
The work entails providing new, These pertain to a need for solid and July. For the Police Commissioner in the country. Interestingly, the dium risk" or even "high risk" in
comprehensive current-day polit- visionary political leadership at all to admit before a commission of opposite happened to Botswana, recent years.
ical risk analyses of South Africa levels of government to deal with a inquiry that a country’s police force which moved from the warning to
each year. This has to be based on range of governance problems, high was outmanned, outgunned and the stable category. Nevertheless, to call South Africa
a variety of variables, ranging from levels of corruption, inefficient gov- outrun when called upon to protect In my view South Africa is prob- a failed state would be an exaggera-
‘legitimacy of government’ to ‘safe- ernment administration, especially tion. —The Conversation.
ty and security’ to ‘socio-economic
conditions’ and many more.

The concept of a failed state is
contested. But, in general, it applies
to states where the administrative,
political, and economic systems
have become so weak that key gov-
ernmental functions become inop-
erable or even disintegrate.

This, in turn, affects the ability
of a government to support or im-
prove the conditions of life for most
of the citizenry.

Looking at South Africa, it can
be argued that some things in the
country are still the same since 1994
in terms of the broad macro-politi-
cal risk profile of the country. Yet,
serious political risks – such as war,
revolution, a coup d’état, hostile
neighbours, military involvement
in politics – remain relatively low.

Even violent racial or ethnic con-
flict do not seem to be of major con-
cern as they have never threatened
the post-1994 democratic project in
any substantial manner.
Risk factors
Political risk relating to several vari-
ables in the socio-economic domain
are increasingly of considerable
concern. For example, government
shortcomings in providing or facili-
tating enough housing, water, elec-
tricity and jobs to millions of peo-
ple is a huge source of frustration.

As much as South Africa has
changed for the better in certain
areas in the sense that it has, for ex-
ample, become a more racially just
society several new red flags have
begun to appear in the past two de-
cades.

NewsHawks World News Page 31

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

BORIS Johnson said on Friday Party's over? Johnson given a
he took personal responsibility 'kicking' in British local vote
for the loss of a Conservative ment of his flat, and a surge in
stronghold in an election defeat that verdict," he told reporters. Party would lose the by-election, UK Prime minister Boris Johnson. Covid-19 cases.
that showed public dismay over The Conservatives had won but many were surprised by the
a litany of scandals and stepped extent of the loss. son was still an asset and would "This has to be seen as a refer-
up pressure on the British prime every previous election for the lead the Conservatives at the endum on the prime minister's
minister from mutinous law- mostly rural area of central En- "Voters in North Shropshire next election, due in 2024. performance," Conservative law-
makers. gland since the constituency was were fed up and they gave us a maker Roger Gale, a long-stand-
created in its current form in kicking and I think they wanted Opinion polls show Conser- ing critic of Johnson, told the
The defeat was described as 1983. Conservative lawmakers to send us a message," Conser- vatives, who still have a large BBC. "The Conservative Party
"a kicking" for his Conserva- have been dominant in the re- vative chairman Oliver Dowden majority in parliament, fall- has a reputation for not taking
tive Party, substantiating fears gion for nearly 200 years. told Sky News. "We've heard ing behind their main rivals, prisoners. If the prime minister
among some that its reputation that loud and clear." the Labour Party, following an fails, the prime minister goes."
and electoral prospects are now Several lawmakers in the party outcry over lawmakers' second
suffering under Johnson. had predicted the Conservative However, Dowden said John- jobs, criticism of the way John- Another Conservative law-
son funded the lavish refurbish- maker, who asked not be named,
The centrist Liberal Democrat said: "Serious questions now
candidate, Helen Morgan, won need to be asked on how the PM
the North Shropshire seat by is going to get his house in order
nearly 6 000 votes, overturning before we do it for him."
a 23 000-vote Conservative ma-
jority from 2019. The North Shropshire vote
was called because the incum-
"Tonight, the people of North bent Conservative resigned after
Shropshire have spoken on be- he was found to have broken
half of the British people. They rules on paid lobbying.
have said loudly and clearly, 'Bo-
ris Johnson, the party is over'," The government tried to pre-
Morgan said in her victory vent that resignation by chang-
speech. ing rules designed to stop cor-
ruption in parliament. It was
"Your government, run on forced to backtrack after a back-
lies and bluster, will be held ac- lash over integrity and trust un-
countable. It will be scrutinised, der Johnson's leadership.
it will be challenged and it can
and will be defeated." British voters often use such
by-elections to punish the gov-
Johnson, responding to the erning party, but the scale of the
loss of a parliamentary seat his Liberal Democrat victory sug-
party had dominated for nearly gests deep public dissatisfaction
200 years, said he understood with Johnson's government.
the frustration felt by voters over
what he described as "a constant Opposition politicians accuse
litany of stuff about politics and Johnson of being a serial liar and
politicians". incompetent leader, and some
have demanded that he resign.
He did not refer directly to
the criticism he faces on sever- But despite growing discon-
al fronts, including over reports tent in the party, Conservative
his staff held parties last Christ- insiders say there is not yet
mas when the country was in a enough of a groundswell against
Covid-19 lockdown, but said Johnson to dislodge him now,
people were fed up with hear- although they hope the vote will
ing about "stuff that isn't about be a "wake-up call" for the prime
... the things that we can do to minister to reset his agenda.
make life better".
Any leadership challenge
"Clearly the vote in North would require 54 of the party's
Shropshire is a very disappoint- elected lawmakers to formally
ing result and I totally under- register their lack of confidence.
stand people's frustrations. I
hear what the voters are saying "He needs to change now," a
in North Shropshire and in all senior Conservative lawmaker
humility I have got to accept said on condition of anonymity.
that verdict," he told reporters. "He needs to listen to the views
of his party."
"Clearly the vote in North
Shropshire is a very disappoint- —BBC.
ing result and I totally under-
stand people's frustrations. I
hear what the voters are saying
in North Shropshire and in all
humility I have got to accept

ADVERT SPACE

The NewsHawks For more information visit-; To place your booking contact
Charmaine on 0735 666 122
@NewsHawksLive www.newshawks.com join@thenewshawks.com Email- marketing@thenewshawks.com
Land line- (0242) 721 144/5

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 38 Issue 61, 17 December 2021

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA

THEATRE practitioner Daves Gu- MisRed
zha has summed up the year 2021
as annus horribilis, a Latin term 2021 annus horribilis for artists
which means a year of disaster or Acclaimed sculptor Dominic test result was revealed after a post- friend, confidante, my love and involved in a huge bust-up after a
misfortune. Benhura reiterated the challenges mortem, Wilson's friend and confi- mother of our only daughter. I joke that went sour! The radio per-
that faced many an artist. dant Eddie Kebab Zvinonzwa said. want to grow old with you, till sonality joked on Twitter, saying
“From the business side of things Lazarus Takawira death separates us, it’s been a great she did not think Beverly Sibanda
it has been annus horribilis. That “2021 was not easy since I Zimbabwean and international 26 years of growth, learning and was her real name, much to the
the creative and cultural industries couldn’t travel to my intended sculptor Lazarus Takawira, whose joy. God has been great to us, for dismay of the pole dancer. Appar-
still exist (in whatever form) is a shows. Covid-19 affected liveli- appreciation and respect for women that I’m truly grateful. I love you ently, Bev’s full name as it appears
miracle. hood of artists. (We) hope for bet- was well documented, dies aged 69. always and forever,” he wrote. on her national ID is Beverly Lizzie
ter 2022,” he said. Takawira succumbed to Covid-19. Sibanda. In a video post on Twitter,
“Lockdowns meant an assault Looking at his sculptures, it was And unbeknown to him, his Bev threw tantrums at ZiFM Ste-
on our creative process and free As artists look back on 2021, easy to see that Takawira appreci- daughter Nomsa allegedly replied reo presenter MisRed, calling her
thought and ultimately led to a some of the highlights are: ated the female form. So passionate the message saying that: “You rath- names.
zombied nation,” he said.  January was Takawira about his subject that er remove this post because you do February
Arnold Kamudyariwa, popular- every stone, though different, por- not cheat on a wife you love that is Zimdancehall star Soul Jah Love
“Spaces for creation, which by ly known as DJ Fantan, Chillspot trayed women in highest regard. called being evil.” died aged 31 after a long battle with
nature are composites of dreams, Records co-founder, Levels aka Pastor Shingi Munyeza diabetes. Soul Jah Love, whose real
meant to edify and feed an ecosys- Tafadzwa Kadzimwe, and Tinashe The cheating scandal of Pastor In another post Nomsa alleged- name was Soul Musaka, collapsed
tem, were wantonly disrupted with Chanachimwe popularly known as Shingi Munyeza of Faith Ministries ly wrote: “Happy anniversary to a before he was taken to Mbuya Dor-
very little consultation. There’s a Dhama were found guilty of organ- rocked social media. The famed wife you cheat on and a daughter cus
saying which goes; 'if you want to ising an unsanctioned and super businessman with interests in the you have left fatherless, you fake
know a people, listen to the stories spreader musical concert on New hospitality industry took to Face- evil . . .” Hospital in Harare where he was
from their storytellers'. Would we Year’s Eve, in breach of Covid-19 book and posted a picture with his pronounced dead. He was credited
say currently we as a nation are regulations were jailed for six wife to mark their 26th anniversa- What followed was a string of for being one of the talented chant-
happy with the stories coming from months. ry. comments from social media us- ers in Zimdancehall, a genre which
our storytellers?” he asked Dennis Wilson ers who accused Pastor Munyeza borrows heavily from Jamaican reg-
Zimbabwe’s top reggae DJ Dennis “Happy anniversary to my best of several sexcapades with several gae-dancehall. He was conferred
“Stories of strife, decay, struggle Wilson succumbed to Covid-19 in women. with provincial hero status by the
and malfeasance as projected by Harare. He was 66. The positive Bev, MisRed 
our media?”  Beverly Sibanda and MisRed were

Guzha said while “we have seen
a re-alignment of language which is
historic in the sense that we are no
longer poor/secondary cousins to
other sectors such as industry, min-
ing, infrastructure, tourism etc, the
popularisation of this radical shift
in language and ethos hasn’t been
pushed so that it cascades down-
stream and we the players and citi-
zens finally acknowledge the sector
as a contributor to the GDP.”

However, he noted that the
formulation and adoption of the
Creative and Cultural Industries
Strategy from Arts minister Kirsty
Coventry’s office, including the
Cultural Policy launch in the previ-
ous year, and a deliberate push to-
wards the revival of the Arts Devel-
opment Fund by the government
was the right approach.

“However, 2022 should be an
accelerator which must be deliber-
ate in its influence of hope, dreams
and aspirations. Let creative and
cultural industries lead the way as
we re-awaken our shrunken spir-
its!”

Fimmaker Joe Njagu also con-
curred with Guzha, saying 2021
had its ups and downs amid
Covid-19 which made life difficult. 

“Personally, I had to adjust things
to survive. Adapt or die... Even
workwise the world was forced to
get new ways of working.

“We got a chance to work on a
lot of international shoots as crews
were forced to work within their
environment because travel was re-
stricted, so that was good for some
of us as we got a lot of work cover-
ing for what usually would be done
by foreign crews flying in,” he said.

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 33

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

government. portray intangible heritage through spade a spade, the granny did not with Roki tiled Patati Patata under would not have imagined that four
February photography.  mince her words in discouraging Passion Java Records. The collabo- years on, the same political regime
Zimbabwe’s gwenyambira (mbi- April her grandson Abhero from impreg- ration was history in the making as that feted him like a "prophet",
ra player) Stella Chiweshe’s 1980s NashTV, an online entertainment nating girls. The audio spawned Koffi Olomide had never collabo- would be baying for his downfall,
classic album titled Ambuya was channel, admitted to fleecing ar- memes around Abhero. rated with Zimbabwean artistes. sabotaging the very basis of his ca-
re-issued for posterity. tistes through lopsided contracts. June August reer and livelihood: live shows. He
This followed an uproar on social The City of Kings burst with Born at the Bulawayo Arts Festi- was caught in between Zanu PF
Originally released in 1987, the media by users over a leaked con- Zimbabwean pride as perform- val 2021, the musical production factions after he performed at
album that features the hit song tract from NashTV where artistes ing artistes from all corners of the Songs of Lozikeyi — a collabora- businessman Adam Molai’s birth-
Chaachimurenga was re-mastered literally surrendered their copy- country converged for the sec- tive effort featuring highly rated day party before he was dropped
from analogue tapes and is now rights to the channel.  ond edition of the Bulawayo Arts artists of Bulawayo — stole the from performing at Finance secre-
available on vinyl, compact disc May Festival. The arts and cultural show at the annual festival in the tary George Guvamatanga’s birth-
and online. BancABC Zimbabwe, the local fete, themed “We Own Winter”, City of Kings, was recorded. An day party where South Africans
Mark Ngwazi banking subsidiary of pan-African brought the much-needed wow initiative of Nhimbe Trust, Songs Makhadzi and Mafikizolo as well as
Musician Mark Ngwazi --- who banking group Atlas  Mara, offi- factor during winter in and outside of Lozikeyi celebrates the power- Louis Mhlanga performed.
dared to sing sungura in English cially made local dancehall artiste the venues where it was happening. ful Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo, senior Gukurahundi
albeit pidgin English — hit the Rodney Mashandure, popular- Leonard Mapfumo  wife of the great King Lobengu- The Centre for Innovation and
spotlight with his song  Taurai ly known  as Jah Master, a brand Rapper Leonard Mapfumo ties the la, and later Queen Regent of the Technology (Cite) held its Annual
Madzoka, off his chart-topping ambassador for its popular local knot with his sweetheart Suba Dak- Ndebele people. Healing and Reconciliation Film
album Chamugwedugwedu Cham- remittance service — City  Hop- shina at a private ceremony held Tin Tin Festival, Asakhe Film Festival,
atindike. per. City Hopper allows customers in London. Namapfumo, as he is Tinopona Katsande aka Tin Tin from 25 to 30 October 2021. The
March to instantly send US dollars and popularly known in music circles, starts her egg business which grew Theme was The Power of Memory. 
Diana Samkange clears the air that rand between cities in Zimbabwe had filmmaker Rufaro Kaseke as his almost overnight although it ignit- ZIFF 
she was not a sangoma but rather through BancABC’s wide branch best man. ed Twitter wars between the oppo- The 21st edition of the Zimba-
a herbalist. The singer/songwriter network and selected TM Pickn- Tamy Moyo  sition MDC Alliance and Zanu PF. bwe International Film Festival ran
and vocalist who signed to the Chi- Pay outlets countrywide. Music diva Tamy Moyo landed one Restaurants re-opening from  8 to 11 December in Harare
gutiro record stable in 2004 before Rutendo Chigudu  of the most lucrative deals with The Restaurant Operators’ As- under the theme Owning Our Sto-
joining one of the pioneering Ur- Renowned thespian Rutendo Tapi- car dealer Zimoco. The gorgeous sociation of Zimbabwe warmly ry after  a two-year sabbatical ow-
ban Grooves outfits 2BG — which wa Chigudu died in South Africa 23-year-old singer/actress with a welcomes the decision by the au- ing to Covid-19 and dissolution of
stands for Two Boys and a Girl — aged 37. The stage and screen ac- reputable brand built over 14 years thorities to allow sit-down dining the main sponsor amid prospects of
is now into mbira music. tress popularly known on social was announced as brand ambassa- at restaurants from today. This continued success.
Rashid Jogee  media as R Tendo reportedly col- dor of the country’s leading mo- will provide much-needed relief November
The National Arts Council of Zim- lapsed and died. toring company. On top of being to restaurateurs, who have been in South African media personality
babwe confirmed the sad loss of Winky D Zimoco’s brand ambassador, the various states of closure or partial Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung found
Rashid Jogee who had been active Zimdancehall artiste Winky D Kuteeera singer became the first operation for the past 17 months. himself on the wrong side of Zim-
in the arts for over three decades —  real name Wallace Chirumiko person in Zimbabwe to drive the Moana’s young sister Tatenda  babwean law after his visit to Ha-
and was considered one of the — become the first Zimbabwe- stunning Haval Jolion, which she Moana’s young sister, the socialite rare was cut short. The Zimbabwe-
godfathers of contemporary art in an artiste to win the International was presented with at a well-at- popularly known as Tatts on so- an constitution does not recognise
Zimbabwe.  Jogee was born in Bu- Reggae & World Music Awards at tended event at Zimoco’s immacu- cial media, has taken to the bottle homosexuality and Somizi could
lawayo and started painting at the a virtual ceremony held recently in late Sam Levy’s Village showroom. and intermittently slips into drug not make it to Harare based on his
age of 19. He studied at Mzilikazi Jamaica. ExQ and Nutty O  abuse. sexuality. While there was heavy lob-
Arts Centre and later at Bulawayo Musicians EX-Q (Enock Munhen- bying from Zanu PF youths and a
Polytechnic. The Ragga Musambo singer took ga) and Nutty O (Carrington Sim- Some people attributed her re- church group to have South African
Anne Nhira to his official Facebook account barashe Chiwadzwa) appeared in lapse to the loss of her loved ones, reality star Somizi blocked from vis-
The Zimbabwean film industry and saluted his fans, also known as court for allegedly tendering fake firstly, her boyfriend Delroy Scara iting Zimbabwe where he has been
was plunged into mourning fol- Gafas, for the support. Covid-19 certificates at Robert Ga- Maripakwenda in September 2020 billed to grace the re-opening of
lowing the death of screen actress MisRed  briel Mugabe International Airport and when she lost her sister Mi- Garwe Restaurant, the Immigration
Anne Nhira at the age of 38. Anne Zimbabwe’s dynamic radio and upon their return into the coun- chelle Amuli, better known to Act is clear on which persons should
died from injuries sustained during television personality Samantha try from South Africa. They were many as Moana, in November the be allowed to visit the country.
a mugging in South Africa, ac- Musa’s first book, titled Be Faith- granted ZW$5 000 bail. same year. Real Magic
cording to her brother Juan Nhira. ful to Your Happiness, is out. The July September The Coca-Cola system in Zimbabwe
Anne rose to fame after her lead- 32-year-old describes the book as The National Arts Council of Zim- Zimbabwe’s longest-running festi- unveiled a new global brand philoso-
ing role in Zimbabwe’s first-ever a “beautiful journey of discovery, babwe confirmed the passing on of val of urban culture Shoko Festival phy and platform called Real Magic,
soap opera Studio 263, produced honesty and vulnerability.” She Ephraim Sithole (47) of Victoria is held virtually on Facebook and which invites everyone to celebrate
by Godwin Mawuru, in which she bares it all from her upbringing to Falls-based imbube outfit AmaZu- YouTube for the 11th edition un- the real magic of humanity.
played Vimbai Jari.  being a single mother of two beau- lu Cultural Ensemble. Sithole was der the theme Shoko Universe.  November
Nama Legends@40 list  tiful daughters.  one of the founding members of Enzo Ishall Zimdancehall star Silent Killer was
The National Arts Merit Awards Takudzwa Matinenga the group in 1990 as its lead vo- Musician Enzo Ishall dropped a arrested by Mbare police in Harare.
(Nama) stirred a hornet's nest af- The film fraternity was once again calist. bombshell, announcing he was
ter they released the Nama Leg- plunged into mourning following Mukanya  hanging his boots. What, quit- The Mulundukwa singer was fac-
ends@40 list with some prominent the death of actor Takudzwa Mat- Dr Thomas Mapfumo shelves ting music? Most of his fans asked ing assault charges following a brawl
names missing, such as the likes of inenga aged 28. Takudzwa, who birthday festivities to mourn lost what could have gone wrong with with Tinashe Kamudyariwa, who is
Manuel Bagorro, founder and ex- starred in one of Zimbabwe’s suc- friends. Enzo Ishall, a musician with such young brother to DJ Fantan of Chill-
ecutive director of the Harare In- cessful films — Cook Off — died a promising and illustrious career. Spot Records. Reports said Silent
ternational Festival of the Arts and after he was involved in accident. On the occasion of his 76th Bob Nyabinde Killer (real name Jimmy Mudereri)
theatre practitioner Ben Sibenke, Michael Lannas birthday on 3 July, the Chimuren- Music legend Bob Nyabinde suf- and Kamudyariwa were involved in a
among others. Talking Drum lead singer Michael ga music icon surprised many when fers a stroke while battling diabe- scuffle which left Kamudyariwa with
Lannas returns home from his he took time to remember his fallen tes which caused him blindness. serious injuries. 
April United Kingdom base. friends and heroes. Nyabinde, fondly known as The December
Jazz fraternity mourns legendary Zexie Manatsa Helen Leiros  Headmaster, had been unwell for a A mixed-media three-dimensional
Friday Mbirimi who died of can- Legendary musician Zexie Manatsa  One of Zimbabwe’s finest painters while. sculpture comprising dolomite and
cer. Mbirimi had been battling can- (78) battles with arthritis as old age belonging to a special group of the October  springstone by acclaimed sculptor
cer for long. He was 77. Mbirimi takes a toll on him largely induced most enthusiastic teachers of art Zimdancehall musician George Dominic Benhura will be among
fronted the group Mbare Trio. by injuries from his 1987 car acci- the nation has ever seen has died. Tanjani, who was popularly known 600 masterpieces from around the
March dent which nearly claimed his life. Helen was a visual artist par excel- as Jiggaz Di Antidot, has dies aged world at the 9th Beijing Biennale
Zimbabwe’s Tamary Kudita (26) He suffered back and leg injuries lence, with several artworks on the 39. The versatile Jiggaz Di Antidot 2022. The latest technique by Ben-
was the toast after winning a Sony and now he is limping.  permanent collection at the Na- died from an unnamed ailment in hura charmed the jury at the Beijing
World Photography Award for June tional Gallery of Zimbabwe.  Harare, according to colleagues. Biennale scheduled to run from 18
her imaginative portrait of Africa Jah Prayzah  January 2022 to 1 March 2022.
Victorian II submitted to the Cre- An audio of a granny telling Abhe- Koffi Olomide Jah Prayzah, Zimbabwe's huge- Apart from the legendary Benhu-
ative Category in the Africa Photo ro not to go around sleeping with Democratic Republic of Congo ly popular contemporary singer, ra (53), there are also paintings by
Awards. When she created the im- girls goes viral. In typical Zimba- musician Koffi Olomide landed in Nomzamo Precious Ndebele and
age she thought about how best to bwean culture where elders call a Harare to record a collaboration David Ngwerume’s sculpture.

Page 34 Life & Style NewsHawks

IT’S been a great year for African Issue 61, 17 December 2021
writing, with Tanzania’s Abdulrazak
Gurnah winning the 2021 Nobel Holiday reading: Five picks from
Prize for Literature. South Africa’s a great year for African writing
Damon Galgut lifted the Man Book- reasons that merit attention,
er Prize for his novel, The Promise, like the pathbreaking biogra-
and exciting prose continued to phy by BBC journalist Zuhura
sprout. Peter Kimani, leading Ken- Yunus.
yan author, journalist and academic,
lists his top 5 picks. Biubwa Amour Zahor: Mwa-
namke Mwanamapinduzi (Bi-
Chronicles from the Land of ubwa Amour Zahor: The Rev-
the Happiest People on Earth olutionary Woman), written in
Wole Soyinka Kiswahili, retrieves from the
Wole Soyinka, the great Nige- Tanzanian archives a colourful
rian poet, playwright, activist character whose exploits in the
and intellectual, released his 1960s revolution have largely
first novel in nearly 50 years. gone unnoticed. This act of re-
He chuckled at CNN’s precise covery, hopefully, will draw at-
figure of 48 years. The the title tention to other forgotten her-
of his latest novel is inspired by oines and introduce them to a
a 2011 Gallup poll that listed younger generation of readers.
Nigerians at the top of its an-
nual happiness index, setting Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist Wole Soyinka in 2018. Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images Pioneers, Rebels and a Few
Soyinka off in search of utopia Villains: 150 years of Journal-
in his land of birth. broken lives. By offering inti- turns a familiar narrative trope with a generous $12,000 ad- ism in Eastern Africa
mate portraits of his characters, into an invigorating journey vance. It’s easy to appreciate Charles Onyango-Obbo
What he finds is a dystopian foregrounded by large, histori- of discovery. The main protag- why the panel, led by the Ni- The adage that “journalism is
world inhabited by charlatans cal epochs, Gurnah asserts the onist sets out to look for her gerian author A. Igoni Barrett, the first draft of history” af-
masquerading as Christians; place of indigenous narratives fisherman father, who is lost at settled on The House of Rust. firms the important work done
young, skilled professionals in a whitewashed, limiting sea. Her voyage is on a unique Biubwa Amour Zahor: Mwa- by journalists in shaping what
lured home to perform nefar- view of European colonisation contraption made of a skele- namke Mwanamapinduzi people know of the past.
ious acts; others reinventing of Africa. ton, which morphs into other Zuhura Yunus
themselves to survive the vicis- The House of Rust forms as she journeys deep into Tanzania might be in the news Yet seldom do we read the
situdes of politics. A sweeping Khadija Abdalla Bajaber the unknown. for producing East Africa’s first stories of those chroniclers of
satire of a land that Soyinka In an enchanting new sto- Nobel laureate for Literature, history.
began to write about over 60 ry from a new voice, Bajaber Bajaber is the winner of the but there are other compelling
years ago, this is an important inaugural Graywolf Press Afri- That’s exactly what Charles
addition to his impressive oeu- can Fiction Prize, which came Onyango-Obbo, the doyen of
vre. East African journalism, Ugan-
Afterlives dan by birth and pan-African
Abdulrazak Gurnah by work — his footprints are
In this multigenerational his- to be found everywhere, from
torical fiction of Tanganyika in Nairobi to Johannesburg —
the shadow of German occu- seeks to redress.
pation at the turn of the 20th
century, the new Nobel laure- The result: a compelling read
ate for literature presents the that should enrich our under-
stories of individuals caught on standing of journalism pio-
both sides of the racial divide. neers in the region. Written in
sprightly diction, the book is
There are the locals lured as entertaining as it is informa-
into the service of the German tive.
empire; yet others are invest-
ed in pursuit of love and their
optimism that it can suture

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 35

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Title: The Blindfold Title: Time's dust pan Title: Once as a child
Poet: Tawanda Chigavazira Poet: Tafadzwa Chiwanza Poet: Gift Sakirai

Take up your Swords and Daggers ladies and at 60 years, Once as a child, I sat on my
gentlemen! Search the dark alleys and the the thing in the mirror resembles a mop; mother’s lap and time was overly fluid,
dim isles, Peer even, in the crevices of dreary wrinkled, haggard and tired. flowing in the valleys of a childhood that
caves, Don't forget the mausoleums for the trembling hands try to reach into its head was yet to come.
long dead. Spare not, the expansive mansions to reap the fear that screams in the eye, My voice, overly divine, cackled in the
and expensive palaces, Hunt for the daring all the days of its life- dappled light; of a warm September sun.
rapist. Who corrupted and deflowered our a hazy dream a few centuries old. My thoughts, diverse and amorphous,
Lady Justice, Defiling her sacredness! the sun sets more often now- pointed to a future; that would be punctu-
Go out there in numbers and sniff out, its fears become realer, reality grows uncertain ated with dreams.
The thief who stole the blindfold of Lady Jus- the possibility of multiple timelines, Like leaves off a tree, days fell off in their
tice. Exposing her to the immorals of humanity, lines branching into wrinkles numbers and in no time,
To evil winks of wicked men's eyes. tracing the multiple versions of itself they signaled my adolescence where my
Tilting the scales of justice blushing, eyes on a bloody stretcher existence was defined by sliced time: time
Succumbing to the irresistible charm of the stretches towards certain endless blindness for Math, English, History, dismissal....
elite. Yet, the filthiness of the poor man, but of these possible versions I grew old but I never grew up
Nauseate her to look away. of its being, clearly can see; and the convoluted faces of nothingness
Her once sharp, double-edged sword, could have been a madman and be free! were my ever-present companions.
Is now fist-blunt. Its mind begins to crumble Within the dreary vista of time emerged
Punishing only, the persecuted poor man. brick by brick, brought to the brink my vengeful demons.
For she now administers justice, but not blind- of mental exhaustion and non-existence; Firmly steeped in adulthood, I now subsist
ly! Disaster is looming comrades, disaster! dirt in the end the thing in the mirror becomes, in this time-defined dispensation
Lady Justice has clearly abandoned her call. the Sweeper's broom sweeps and where a second loss is squalor reinforced.
Weights on her scales have little significance. heaps fragments of it at the corner of the uni- A grown man with children to mind,
When the worse comes to the worst, verse, I fervently pray that their lives will be
She adds weights to a side of her choice. It knows the song has been sung worlds apart from mine.
She now reads the Law to her liking. Soon time will walk through the door with the
Lady Justice is no longer blind brethren’s, dustpan. ***********************************************
Her sanctity has been blown by the wind, Poem: Poverty
Only when justice seems to be done on her *********************************************** Poet: Tanaka Mutadzakupa
rapist. Would Lady Justice restore her true Title: Dark Deliverance
character and being? Poet: Farai C Mlambo A burning fire on my gray dusted, dry
As an honorable lady who is not spiteful, cor- cracked dark skin
ruptible, partial or partisan! Darkness rounded us like vagrants A thief snatching my hard to find scattered
and shepherded us to the slaughter opportunities; Serial killer mercilessly mur-
*********************************************** like a silent flock lost. It took stock of every- dering my only beloved future, Plowing
Title: Going Home thing; about us; our destinies acres of land, alone with my hoe
Poet: Samuel Chuma their color and proximity Cutting cords of firewood alone with a
and the thickness of the chains heavy metal axe; Sweat dripping down my
On that anthill yonder that held them from us; forehead; Like showers of rain
They buried my umbilical cord our nakedness, the number of holes on our On a Ramada sunny day
And returned me to dust maids' lingerie, its tortured, lingering fragrance Whilst they enjoy the shelter from thick
The day I was born and our libido, including our fertility scugs; Hardly breathing with pot bellies full
Before I could comprehend and sterility; the streets we dwelled Tummies peeping through T-Shirt hems
Termites had already feasted and the volume of tears which welled like those of little boys playing soccer on
on my dumbfounded being and dropped from our eyes open old fields; What is it that l get in re-
And excreted the remnants like wasted raindrops; turn? They pay me an ugly rotten dry slice
Into the latrine of oblivion the last mile we traveled - of bread, Calling it a day poverty harshly
I roam this earth now its breadth and span forces me to feel satisfied and proud,
A bodied ghost inextricably drawn and the bridges we crossed, Yet l'm vomiting air
To that dusty anthill the means; and the terrain Straining my intestines
Where impatient termites and our affinity to light; as we took flight. I don't have anything to claim my own
Await the main course We lost ourselves in the melee Even a broken little old rusted metal
To the starter they tasted and lapsed with glee spoon, I don't have anything to call my
in deliverance's outstretched arms 'thing'; Time is rushing to the end
but alas, the comfort was cold; How am l going to flatten the curve?
so great was the cost! I'm failing to restore my identity,
Ohh poverty grinds me into smelly useless
chunks,
Poverty binds me tightly.

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 36

The home of prime property: property@newshawks.com

Zimra builds US$42m property portfolio

ALEX MHANDU Since its formation, Zimra has created a residential property portfolio worth US$11.8 million for its employees.

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has post with new terminal buildings and commer- product of government reform and modernisa- The intermediated money transfer tax
grown its property portfolio to US$42 million cial facilities, construction of a fire station, up- tion processes, which saw the merger of the then (IMTT), also known as the 2% tax, rose to
for both residential and office blocks since the grading of sewer and water reticulation for Be- Department of Taxes and the Department of ZW$28.9 billion for the period from January
authority was formed 20 years ago. itbridge town, including a water reservoir, plant Customs and Excise into one revenue adminis- to September 2021 against a target of ZW$22.7
and animal quarantine facility and construction tration. billion. The 2% tax was introduced to capture
Speaking at the commemoration of Zimra’s of staff housing for border agencies. the informal sector that ordinarily did not pay
20th anniversary and awards dinner held in Meanwhile, Zimra overall revenue collection any taxes despite accounting for a huge chunk
Harare recently, Finance minister Mthuli Ncu- Construction works commenced in March for the nine months to 30 September 2021 of local transactions, but has now grown to ac-
be said the authority had made sterling efforts, 2019 using equity funding, with the contractor, stood at ZW$317.4 billion against expenditures count for nearly half the contribution of corpo-
especially in the provision of decent housing Raubex Group Ltd, having undertaken con- of ZW$351.7 billion, translating to a ZW$34.3 rate tax —Zimbabwe’s second biggest revenue
accommodation for its employees dotted across struction of the maintenance building, road for billion deficit. According to Treasury, corporate head, after value added tax. It is now part of oth-
the country, particularly in border towns. light commercial vehicles, civil works on the ac- tax totalled ZW$59.8 billion against a target of er indirect taxes that contributed 11.1% to total
cess routes and freight warehouse platform. ZW$54.2 billion during the nine-month period collections.
Since its formation two decades ago, the au- accounting for 19% of total collections.
thority has created a residential property port- Formed on 1 September 2001, Zimra was a
folio worth US$11.8 million for its employees
in the border areas such as Beitbridge, Plumtree,
Victoria Falls, Kazungula, Nyamapanda and Mt
Selinda, among other centres.

“I am reliably informed that Zimra is doing
extremely well in catalysing development across
the country. The authority has housing projects
for its members of staff that continue to be ex-
panded in border areas.

“To date, the value of all the accommodation
infrastructure owned by Zimra is about US$11.8
million while the value of office infrastructure
development projects is about US$23.9 mil-
lion,” he said.

He said the US$23.9 million office infra-
structure excludes the Beitbridge Border Post
upgrade, whose modernisation and upgrade was
signed between the government and Zimborders
Consortium on 28 June 2018 under a build-op-
erate-transfer arrangement.

According to the 2021 Zimbabwe Infrastruc-
ture Investment Programme, the scope of the
project includes the upgrading of the border

NewsHawks People & Places Page 37

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

South African medical practitioner Vhutshilo Malakia Vele.

EVERY community needs and has its South African community leader tence people to poverty? Haai man.
own leaders. Community leaders repre- who loved his people, immigrants "It doesn’t matter what you are fac-
sent people; they are influencers as well as tor who, as a medical practitioner, helped na, a small border town on the Limpopo are all Africans, brothers and sisters, who
actors who work for the welfare of people not just his patients, but also friends, fam- River  between Zimbabwe and South Af- share a common bond of humanity and ing now, what matters is what tomorrow
by solving problems, raising important is- ilies and communities -- mostly for free. rica, there are a lot of immigrants, foreign decency, far stronger than the artificial dif- will bring, no condition is permanent. If
sues to highlight the sort of change that nationals from around the region, mainly ferences that divide us. you find yourself in a situation of pain,
is required. The guy would pressure us to go and Zimbabwe, living in some refugee tents or anguish and suffering like Zimbabweans
park in front of people's gates while he at- houses, but this guy was a sociable, kind "I was born and bred 10km from the now, don’t blame yourself or anybody.
They usually focus on keeping their tended the indisposed, sick and ill, which and pleasant South African who always Zimbabwean border, but I have never
people together to work towards a com- we frankly did not always like. defended refugees and helped feed them been to Zimbabwe in my life (his first trip I’ve lived on the frontline of immigra-
mon goal in their community. through desperation, pain and anguish. to Beitbridge 10km across the Limpopo tion, including nasty situations, all my life,
Although he was based in Johannes- River and then Bulawayo didn't happen so I know what I'm talking about guys".
Musina community in South Africa, burg, he always remembered to go back to On xenophobia, his paraphrased views due to Covid-19), a country I can see from
which has many Zimbabweans, had its his home -- Nancefield in Musina -- to see and narrative went like this: the top of hills around here, especially that What people said at your funeral was
own community leaders. his people and help communities, particu- beautiful lodge up there (from here let's testimony to what you stood for.
larly during the Covid-19 period. "Cdes I entirely agree illegal immigra- go to that bar and drink by the swimming
One of them was a well-known youth- tion is definitely a crisis in our country, a pool, gazebo area), but as Africans we are I thought we would soon do our fes-
ful medical practitioner, Vhutshilo Mala- As a frontline worker, he stepped up to big social, economic and political prob- brothers and sisters even though our cdes tive invasions of kasi bars and braai plac-
kia Vele. Sometimes truth and reality in help the vulnerable during the Covid-19 lem. It opens doors for drugs, criminals, must stand and fight their dictators to fix es, even under Covid-19 conditions,
life are hard to accept, especially involving pandemic's most virulent waves. and all sorts of dodgy characters; yes it is their own situations in the long run. away from the big crowded metropoles
the death of loved ones, particularly good a strain on our economy, adding costs to of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape
friends. The guy even turned down a highly re- our criminal justice, healthcare, and edu- "How can one guy, Mugabe or whoev- Town  and others, but some brutal scoun-
munerative job offer in the United States cation systems, stretching social services, er, with that sort of a struggling regime, drels killed you just like -- for a TV set!
After all, they say friends are family that just to remain in the trenches with the but look at the end of the day guys we imprison a whole nation or society, sen- Cruel and evil. Yes, we are all mere mor-
we choose rather than we are born into; people to battle the pandemic. tals, and we will all certainly die, including
we share a common humanity, decency foolish guys in power who think they are
and affinity. For those who know the place, Musi- immortal, but then again great friendships
transcend death.
The whole week, I was so saddened and
deeply troubled by the tragic death of a Go well buddy, Vhutshilo Malakia
great friend, I did not even know what to Vele, the people's doctor from Musina.
say or write. He was a community gladia- Rest in Eternal Peace. — STAFF WRITER.

Page 38 Sport NewsHawks

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Zimbabwe pose a rare challenge for Fifa

WHEN you are a keen follower of the in- sion, Fifa has not acted – as yet.  They can in the game globally. 
tricacies of huge organisations like Fifa — well do before the Africa Cup of Nations Such cases have been reported from far
like I am — you will soon discover that which begins early in January in Camer- and wide, from all corners of the world,
lingering issues like fraud, money laun- oon.  which constitute Fifa’s membership. 
dering and bribery are not always han- What seems to have stalled Fifa’s ac- Zimbabwe’s will certainly be one of
dled with the seriousness they deserve. tion in this case seems to be the sensi- the case studies of such incidences in the
tive sexual harassment charges brought world, given some of the graphic details
Often, errant officials are mentioned against some close of reports filed
in the public domain by Fifa, charge- associates of the by female ref-
sheets laid out and, in the worst-case sce- suspended Zifa erees in this
nario, suspensions or bans imposed. board. country on the
In these times HawkZone advances of a
But that is just about all, really.  when football has sexual nature
In many instances, though, other than become more in- that they were
a few slaps on the wrist, cases of miscon- clusive, Fifa has exposed to. 
duct have gone unpunished at Fifa so over the past few Enock It is a deli-
much that errant behaviour becomes part years come under cate situation.
of the organisation’s DNA. stern criticism over Muchinjo As Zim-
It a rarity that Fifa comes under sus- its handling of sex- babwe awaits
tained pressure on matters of ethics, as ual assault cases in Fifa’s interven-
seems to be the case now, from the un- the game.  tion — with
likeliest of sources, Zimbabwe.  The very influential international football fans in the country hoping to see
The suspension of Zimbabwe’s nation- players’ union, Fifpro, has been one of the Warriors at the Nations Cup finals
al football association, Zifa, by the coun- matters of what it deems interference in promptly, only lifted upon reinstatement the fiercest critics of the world govern- in Cameroon — it remains to be seen if
try’s Sports and Recreation Commission the affairs of its member associations. A of the suspended football executives.  ing body’s attitude and stance towards conscience can be a factor for once in the
(SRC), appears to have put the suits in Fifa ban of that country usually follows, reports of sexual harassment by women Zurich corridors.
Zurich between a rock and a hard place. More than a month after Zifa’s suspen-
Fifa is known to take swift action in

NewsHawks Sport Page 39

Issue 61, 17 December 2021

Rugby debate: ‘Playing dirty vs being too soft’

ENOCK MUCHINJO

“FOOTBALL is a gentlemen’s game Kudzai Mashawi.
played by ruffians, and rugby is a ruf-
fians' game played by gentlemen.” maybe boxing.” “Zimbabwe Rugby Union, you country last qualified for the World to the game, adding that Ndoro was
The Zimbabwe Rugby Union would like Kudzi to leave rugby and Cup in 1991.  “clutching at straws” in his criticism
So goes the old British adage, go for boxing, really? The kid made of the former Churchill School mae-
which embodies part of the ethos of (ZRU) reacted swiftly to Ndoro’s mistakes and he must be disciplined “The outcry people are having here stro.  
the game proudly associated with the post, saying the matter was being in- for his bad behaviour but for you to shows that they don't know rugby, or
rest of the rugby-playing world for vestigated.  call him out of rugby is wrong,” Ma- they are just watchers of the game, “Rugby is a game of men and
centuries.  kotose waded into the debate. “How commentators to say,” wrote Zvait- tempers always flare up, it's not a
“The Union is seized with the mat- do you not know the names of the wa.  game of scrabble,” he said. “Do you
Rugby communities are very close- ter. Let us allow the internal process- referees officiating that game, yet know how many people bite and
ly-knit, small and proud, conserva- es to be completed and a decision or they also come out on video...? Only “Such people (like Mashawi) are punch each other with great tact in
tive to a large degree – regardless of judgement is made,” the ZRU said in Kudzi is wrong in your eyes sadly.” needed in the team to frustrate the ruck and maul situations? His issue
where you find them on the planet.  a short response.  opposition always, the fact that he is that he was caught. The second
ZRU immediately answered Ma- wasn't caught is a win. That's how and third clips were very docile, you
The philosophy of rugby – team- Tinashe Rusike, who works for kotose, who the national association the All Blacks win, even how Namib- were clutching at straws really. Had
work, respect, enjoyment and sports- a local sports agency, Kyros Sports, has seldom had a rosy relationship ia get to win against us (Zimbabwe).  you been seeing the shoulder barges,
manship – are desirable qualities of urged the ZRU to get to the bottom with over governance issues since the We're too soft and we don't have any punches and late challenges in the
this sport. Well, so they say. of the matter.  ex-captain’s playing days.  dirty players to try frustrate the op- European games played last month.
position. We have Biselele (Tshamala; It should be a two or three-game sus-
Truthfully speaking, this is a bi- “Zimbabwe Rugby Union this Said the ZRU: “Cleopas Mako- veteran Sables players), he tries but pension at the most, but acting like
ased take on things by purists of the is very clear violent conduct from tose, our position has always been to it's not enough. We need more to do he (Mashawi) crucified Jesus when
game because a lot has changed over Kudzai Mashawi,” he commented. allow due process and then advise of that and try hide from the referee. It's it was a moment of ill-judgement
the years. The notion that rugby is “Violent conduct can badly hurt the the outcome.” a skill.  That's frustrating the opposi- shown, shows your pettiness. It's no
an innocent old game, in spite of its reputation of any sport and it’s not tion. Watch how (ex-All Blacks cap- cause for you to vilify a person that
brute nature, is not entirely the spirit good if you want to grow a game. Brian Gonda, a keen rugby fol- tain and global legend) Richie Mc- has put years of time and effort into
in which this sport has been played French Rugby League up until the lower, agreed with Makotose over the Caw used to do it game after game. the local game without pay. He is a
in the post-amateur era of where win- early 80s was a very vibrant game action that ought to be taken against That laaitie (young player from the tough tackler and player, one to be
ning is not only everything, but the with so much popularity but the vi- Mashawi.  Mashawi incident) was playing well. feared and he should be spoken to,
only thing.  olence from that sport particularly Sadly, after that incident, he was no- as opposed to be treated in such a
from a single incident was enough to “Just give him a caution, those sort where to be seen. I'm sure he learnt way that you want him to quit the
Far too much undesirable stuff and almost bring down an entire sport. of things are unacceptable in rugby to toughen up and get back into the sport. Shingai Rukwata Ndoro your
overt aggression take place in this We cannot have our sponsors seeing but do happen in almost every game game. All I'm saying is why don't we tone should focus on rehabilitating
game today, much to the disgust of such things.” played. It's the ref and the two touch try to get at least something positive the young Kudzai and not to incite
a certain clique of parents who then judges that need a refresher course.” out of this. We need to teach our ill-will against him as though you pay
react by pulling their children out of Mashawi, however, found support players to be smart when doing the any rugby player. Facebook is not a
the sport, fearing serious harm. from no less a decorated Zimbabwe Yanesu Zvaitwa, another Zimba- dirty play, it's necessary in rugby.” formal channel now, is it or you want
rugby international than Cleopas bwean rugby fan, took a more radical donations and adulation from vana
Take for instance, this week, when Makotose, a former captain of the stance in support of Mashawi. Zvait- Farai Otis Kieran Herbert, a regu- (the likes of ) Unicef.”
a well-known community leader, country’s foremost national team, the wa argued that the whole debate over lar contributor on the platform, also
Shingai Rukwata Ndoro, who says Sables, who was also a key member in the incident provides ample proof chose to defend Mashawi’s approach
he is a “rugby parent”, took to social one of Zimbabwe’s best Sevens sides that Zimbabwe has become “soft”
media to lodge a protest against Ha- of modern times.  as a rugby nation, a reason why the
rare Sports Club star player Kudzai
Mashawi for displaying off-the-ball
aggression against a young opponent
during a match last week. 

Ndoro posted a short video clip in
which Mashawi, in an apparent fit of
rage, appears to be thrusting his foot
into the face of an opposition player,
who had gone to the ground after a
late tackle when the Sports Club man
had already scored a try.

This happened during a domestic
Sevens tournament won by Harare
Sports Club last weekend.

“Below is a video clip where
Kudzai stepped on the face of a
young player of High-Performance
Club (HPC) which consists of U19
players, just coming out of school,”
posted Ndoro.

“There is a noticeable complaint
from the HPC captain and also dis-
pleasure from the players that were
ignored. What kind of playing would
be tolerated like this? What kind of
officiating would make such player
conduct go unnoticed?”

Ndoro said he found Mashawi’s
fiery competitive streak quite deplor-
able since the 28-year-old livewire is a
senior player on the domestic circuit,
and also captain of Zimbabwe’s na-
tional Sevens team.

“Kudzai can’t remain the captain of
a national team with such aggression
and ill temper. He needs to be pun-
ished for what he did,” wrote Ndoro.

“If you watch the rest of the game,
you will notice before Mashawi did
his dirty play, an HPC player called
Zuze went out after a bloody nose
after he was hit on the head. There
is another moment when an HPC
player Tanaka went down with a
shoulder injury.  He (Mashawi) is too
aggressive and ill-tempered for rugby.
He needs to go to some other sport,

Sports A crippling
poverty of
leadership
at Zifa

‘Humiliated, intimidated,
degraded’ ref reports
Thursday 1 October 2020 sexual advances

Friday 17 December 2021 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS CULTURE
Is it all over for Felton$60Covid
tariff for
visitors &
tourists
Community
radio
regulations
under review

Story on Page 3 Story on Page 8
KamamCbhoaamndisCaor?eacENOCKMUCHINJO
…SRC slams door on suspended board. …Appoints committee to ‘rebrand’ Zim football

THE country’s sports regulatory out to Khupe
body has dug in its heels on the sus-
pension of the Zimbabwe Football Unofficial president calls for emerge
Association (Zifa) by setting up a
restructuring committee on Friday The SRC is confident the Warriors will rise from the ground and allowed to play in January's Afcon finals.
morning to “implement reforms” in
the game, a drastic step that could Sithole, a former International former ZOC chief executive Anna “Roles of the restructuring com- ing that the restructuring committee
signify the end of the expelled offi- Olympic Committee (IOC) Direc- Mguni as well as banker and grass- mittee shall be to review, recommend has the mandate to “undertake a
cials. tor of International Co-operation roots football development stalwart and implement reforms in the ad- comprehensive rebranding exercise,
and Development, was at once the ALDSeOsmuINndSAIDli.E Finance Ministymwiniipsterastioonuto$f 3fo.2otBbaillllioinnZdimepbao-sitoinrvsoflvuinngdsall stakZeihmol'dselras teinst tlhaend c
Zifa’s suspended board has been
fighting its ban by the Sports and highest ranked African in the pow- Lawyer Blessing Rugara, business bwe,” said the SRC in a statement. game by a newly-elected Zifa board.”
Recreation Commission (SRC) on erful executive of the IOC, one of executive Joel Gombera, football ad- “Control of Zifa operations shall The committee will oversee sweep-
all fronts, including a local court ap- the world’s biggest sporting organisa- ministrator Brian Moyo, ex-footbal- remain under the control of its sec- ing reforms in Zimbabwean football
peal and several petitions to world tions. He is also a past president of ler Charles Sibanda, human rights retariat.” across the board – from the board-
football governing body Fifa to in- the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee expert Rudo Mugandani and former It the statement, the SRC has ef- room, the national teams, down to
tervene. (CEO). CAPS United official Joyce Kapota fectively slammed the door shut on the grassroots structures of the game
Other prominent appointees are complete the committee. Felton Kamambo’s sacked board, say- in the country.
The SRC’s legal team has dis-
missed the appeal before the Admin-
istration Court as “dead in the wa-
ter.” Meanwhile, Fifa, which outlaws
interference in the running of any
of its member associations, has re-
mained conspicuously silent over the
matter amid reports that the global
ruling body has been confidentially
engaging the SRC over the impasse
in Zimbabwe with progress being
registered.

With three weeks left before the
Africa Cup of Nations begins in
Cameroon kick off, and uncertainty
hanging over Zimbabwe’s participa-
tion amidst the on-going saga in the
country, the SRC has put the Zifa
secretariat in charge of preparations
for that tournament as well as other
day-to-day affairs of the association.

This week, the SRC announced
it will bankroll the Warriors’ Afcon
campaign with a budget of US$800
000 and ZWL21 000 000. The Con-
federation of African Football (Caf )
was set to release over half-a-million
dollars to Zimbabwe, disbursed to
qualified teams, but with the Zifa
board currently suspended, this al-
location may not be released timely.
Meanwhile, the restructuring com-
mittee is headlined by veteran sports
administrator and ex-journalist Tom-
my Sithole.

ALSO INSIDE Rugby debate: ‘Playing dirty vs being too soft’