NewsHawks 24 December 2021

NewsHawks News Page 51

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

sion of health services con- St. Anne’s Hospital in Avondale, Harare. St Anne’s went on to get
sequential to fighting the PPEs from a politically ex-
pandemic. While UN staff in Zim- Health ministry,  had ap- diseases hospital under ventilation, oxygen tanks, posed person, angering its
babwe could only go to proached LCM requesting WHO guidelines involved spin dryers, ventilators and Sotzim partners who feared
“The framework, named Kenya, a regional hub, on the use of St Anne’s Hospital sealing off all non-Covid-19 closed-circuit television for reputational risk by associ-
‘first line of defence’, was evacuation and for treat- as a Covid-19 centre. The sections, including the 2nd security. ating with people accused of
designed to ensure that ment if the local facilities nuns agreed. floor, theatre, administra- corruption.
personnel deemed eligi- were incapacitated, as South tion and pharmacy.  At least US$46 000 had
ble by the UN and their Africa had banned foreign After that, the agreement been budgeted for personal Relations between LCM
dependents have access to patients, the internation- followed, with LCM and St A lot of things had to protective equipment (PPE) and Sotzim deteriorated as
high-quality, reliable health al body established its own Anne’s Hospital commit- done. These included spec- and other medical consum- the latter’s trustees said they
services in situations where medical centre in Nairobi. ting to donate for the use ifications for donning and ables. An approach had been did not want to receive dirty
healthcare systems may be The UN opened the UN- of the hospital building – doffing areas, showers, made to the Health ministry money.
overwhelmed or have col- TNH Treatment Facility for at 155 King George Road air conditioning, kitchen, to provide these PPEs, but
lapsed. It was also about mi- its staff on one side and the in Avondale, Harare – and On fund-raising, there
nimising the need for med- Main Hospital across the equipment, while Sotzim were parallel fund-raising
ical evacuations, considered road on the other side. Ken- sourced donations to con- structures and processes.
to be the ‘second line of de- yan President Uhuru Ken- vert the facility to an infec- That did not help the situ-
fence’. yatta opened the hospital on tious diseases hospital, ser- ation.
13 November 2020.  vice equipment and working
“So in Zimbabwe, since capital. Sotzim was expected Between April and the
South Africa had said it was A Kenyan national, Dr to deposit ZW$250 000 opening of the hospital in
not accepting foreign na- Ester Muia, United Nations commitment fee and US$51 September, a number of
tionals and Kenya is rather Population Fund representa- 000 for spare parts for ven- meetings were held to deal
far, the UN had to assist tive in Harare, was involved tilators and ICU monitors. with the renovation of the
in building that first line in the St Anne’s project. LCM would play a comple- hospital, its equipping,
of defence capacity. The St mentary role in fundraising fund-raising, financial man-
Anne’s and Sotzim project While LCM was having for the centre.     agement and accountability.
came up in that context to its own issues with the UN,
establish a state-of-the-art it was fighting a more in- Initially a technical team The partners even held
Covid-19 centre for the tense turf war with Sotzim was appointed, which paved what they termed a “trans-
public. The UN also wanted over the control of the proj- way for a management parency meeting” – which
to be accommodated. ect. board (MB) with three Sot- confirmed mutual suspi-
zim and three LCM mem- cions – to deal with various
“The problem for the The project was supposed bers, and a seventh person issues, but in the end mu-
UN was that it could not to be handed over to the as chair. Chanakira chaired tual suspicions and clashes
make St Anne’s Hospital total control and respon- MB meetings. collapsed the deal.
its Covid-19 facility or se- sibility of LCM only after
cure reserved beds as nuns the deal had ended. Sotzim The technical team was Maseve said she could not
refused, saying this was a was to continue to support appointed to prepare the comment as they released
community hospital. After the Covid-19 centre as a do- hospital for opening as soon a statement when the part-
some discussions on that nor. In that respect, it had as possible under the super- nership ended. “I can’t com-
and other issues like ac- secured funding required vision of an administrator, ment beyond what we said
countability, the UN agreed to pay professional and ad- doctor-in-charge, finance in the statement,” she said. 
to help without conditions. ministrative staff to run St manager, pharmacist, oper-
So it engaged LCM which Anne’s Hospital for an ini- ations manager and a few Chanakira, who is no lon-
was already refurbishing the tial period extending to 30 other skeleton staff.  The ger Sotzim chairman, said:
hospital. September 2020. Beyond St MB was advised at its first “The joint venture ended
Anne’s, Sotzim would pur- meeting on 15 May 2020 because it had a limited
A delegation from the sue a broader national man- that the hospital was ap- timeframe that had come to
World Health Organisation date, focusing particularly proximately 95% complete an end. It was not renewed
(WHO) and various oth- on Bulawayo, as well as vari- and minimal work was to be by mutual agreement be-
er partners went to inspect ous partnerships with health done to ensure the structure tween the parties”.
the facility and found it institutions outside major and equipment were 100%
suitable, although it needed cities.  Prior to the agree- ready for use.  The MB was Several other people in-
further investment, renova- ment in March 2020, the also told the conversion of volved refused to comment. 
tions and equipping.” government, through the St Anne’s to an infectious

The source said after ren-
ovating and equipping the
hospital, assisted by Sitzim
and donors, LCM found it-
self unable to pay its work-
ers.

“After all the renovations
by LCM and Sotzim, the
problem then became that
St Anne’s did not have mon-
ey to pay salaries. Sotzim
had refused to pay opera-
tional costs. So that’s where
the UN came in to pay the
staff costs for six months to
allow St Anne’s breathing
space to generate enough
money and capacity to pay
its wage bill on its own,” the
source said.

“The UN tried to also
provide administrative and
technical support to St
Anne’s, but the nuns reject-
ed that. So the UN ended
up just providing money for
salaries on the basis of in-
voices raised from the hos-
pital and reports on how the
money was distributed.”

There were suspicions
that St Anne’s doctors
were double-dipping: Get-
ting paid by the UN and
charging patients and med-
ical aid societies for their
services.

Page 52 News NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Treasury stalls US$2m red-flagged
payment to Mnangagwa family pal

OWEN GAGARE

ZIMBABWE’S Finance ministry and police are Drax Consult SAGL local representative Delish Nguwaya.
stalling unblocking of the red-flagged and frozen
US$2 million paid for medical supplies by Drax 6900, Lugano, Switzerland, as its address, while UNDER TENDER WITH REFERENCE ment on 2nd of March in respect of the contract
Consult SAGL, associated with President Em- Natpharm put its 14 Lobengula Road, Souther- NUMBER: INTERNATIONAL NAT DP under NAT DP 19/2019 and 20/2019. Our in-
merson Mnangagwa’s controversial family friend ton, Harare — headquarters — as its location. 19/2019 AND 20/2019,” Dedja’s letter says. structions are to request that the response to the
local business dealer Delish Nguwaya, The New- request be processed as the money paid to our
sHawks has established. The deal, which sailed through the Health “Reference is made to the current situation clients remains frozen for the last 15 months.”
ministry, Treasury and the Procurement Regu- of products to be supplied under contract with
A stash of previously unpublished documents latory Authority of Zimbabwe with ease due to Reference Number: International NAT DP On 17 June 2021, the police’s Criminal In-
with fresh details obtained this week shows political pressure despite lingering questions and 19/2019 and 20/2019 which we are summaris- vestigation Department (CID) in Harare re-
Nguwaya and his associates at Drax, also some- suspicions, was structured as a loan facility. ing as follows: sponded to Drax’s letter, saying “be advised that
times known as Drax International following l Total balance of the goods delivered to Nat- Interpol (NCB) Harare responded to all mes-
its Dubai registration, including its founder Ilir Suspicions were raised due to Nguwaya’s pharm until now is: USD$2 733480.00; sages from Interpol (NCB) Budapest, Hungary,
Dedja, have been frantically demanding that close association with the Mnangagwa family l According to our delivery schedule we pre- through the available Interpol communication
Treasury and police answer questions posed by and his numerous public appearances with the pared goods worth USD$4 000 000.00 which channel”.
the International Criminal Police Organisation President, his wife Auxillia and their twin sons, are ready for shipment from the manufacturers;
(Interpol), which is investigating the issue, to Colin and Sean. Nguwaya is particularly close to l We have goods worth USD$210 000.00 CID said Interpol is prohibited from shar-
unblock the transaction. Sean, a Captain in the Zimbabwe National Na- shipped since March 19th that are currently in ing information with third parties as it is a po-
tional Army, who is attached to the Presidential Dubai due to flights cancellation for Harare. lice-to-police working arrangement. Prior to
Zimbabwe’s Finance ministry and police have Guards, and works with him. Their ETA to Harare is May 1st 2020; and that, Drax had also written to Interpol Harare.
kept Drax at bay over the issue. l Considering the pandemic situation due to In a letter, dated 6 October 2020, addressed to
The deal followed an expression of interest by Covid-19, we are requesting to extend the de- Commissioner Grace Ndou, Hungwe made
Drax, through its lawyers Samukange Hun- Drax to government through Natpharm, which livery time of medicines with an additional similar demands in a bid to clear the US$2 mil-
gwe Attorneys, has since early last year been is a state-owned enterprise, in 2019. Through three-month period. We will restart the regular lion blocked funds.
writing a flurry of letters to police, Interpol the loan facility, Drax supplied goods in advance schedule as soon as the airlines will restart their
Zimbabwe, Treasury, Ministry of Health, Na- and was paid later at agreed prices and margins. normally operation.” Drax also wrote to Finance permanent secre-
tional Pharmaceutical Company of Zimbabwe tary George Guvamatanga on 28 August 2020,
(Natpharm) and the Office of the President and Documents obtained by The NewsHawks Ever since the US$2 million was paid inves- demanding the money. Guvamatanga paid the
Cabinet demanding the US$2 million — but show new details of the money trail. The funds tigations had been going on. However, progress US$2 million upon a request for the payment
to no avail. were paid by the Finance ministry located at has been stalled by authorities. In a letter, dated from the Health ministry, then under the subse-
the New Government Complex (now officially 2 June 2021, to police commissioner-general quently dismissed minister Obadiah Moyo.
The NewsHawks followed the money trail in known as Mgandane Dlodlo Building) at Cen- Godwin Matanga, Drax lawyers demanded that
a new investigation of the widely covered saga, tral Avenue or Samora Machel and 4th Street local cops answer questions posed by Interpol In response to Drax, Guvamatanga said Hun-
initially mainly reported by top local journalists (Simon Muzenda) in Harare through the RBZ, in April last year so that the funds can be un- gwe should go and get information about the
Mduduzi Mathuthu and Hopewell Chin’ono. into BancABC. blocked. Natpharm registration from the Registrar of
Companies, not him. On whether Drax had ac-
Latest information indicates the funds — The transaction was initiated in Harare on “We refer to the matter above and the meet- tually delivered the medicines and medical sun-
specifically stated in the transaction record as 2 March 2020 at 16:43pm. The money would ing of 2nd of June 2021 held at your esteemed dries it promised, he said only Natpharm would
payment for “medicines and medical supplies”, go through Germany bank Deutsche Bank offices. We act for and on behalf of Drax Con- have the proof of delivery documents.
Invoice N0. 26 — are still frozen at Drax’s Mag- Trust Company Americas’ New York subsid- sult SAGL,” Tafadzwa Charles Hungwe, Samu-
Net Bank account in Budapest, Hungry. iary, a leading provider of financial services in kange Hungwe managing partner, writes. Guvamatanga only answered one question.
the Americas. It then went to Erste Group Bank He said Treasury paid the US$2 million upon
The financial trail shows the money went AG, before landing into Drax’s MagNet Bank “The purpose of the meeting was to follow a request to do so by the Health ministry. He
from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), account, where it was frozen. up on the request made by Interpol on 29 April refused to play ball on the other issues.
government’s banker, to a local commercial 2020 with regards to the contract signed by our
bank BancABC, Deutsche Bank Trust Compa- Documents show Nguwaya and his business client and the National Pharmaceutical compa- Prior to this, Interpol had written a letter to
ny Americas in New York, United States, and partners have been piling pressure on govern- ny of Zimbabwe (Natpharm). The request has local police on 29 April 2020, as it initiated the
Erste Group Bank AG in Vienna, Austria, be- ment and police to complete the transaction, been availed to us and seeks clarification on the investigation.
fore landing into Drax’s Hungary account. and get the money. After the contract between following issues; —
Natpharm and Drax was signed on 11 Decem- 1. Whether Natpharm is a registered company. “These companies (Natpharm and Drax) may
But the funds will not be released until the ber 2019, the latter quickly moved to bring in 2. What it deals with (scope of activities). be linked to other companies that have been
Interpol investigation is finalised. supplies. In the first two months of last year, 3. Whether it has been investigated. subjects of a criminal investigation,” Interpol’s
Drax had delivered goods worth US$2 733 480. 4. What connection it has with Drax Consult Budapest office wrote in a letter to local police,
The money was paid by Zimbabwe’s Finance SAGL, especially between 2019 and 2020. beginning the probe into the US$2 million saga.
ministry on 2 March 2020 and it got into Drax’s This is contained in a letter dated 10 April
new account three days later — on 5 March. 2020, written by Dedja to Natpharm. The let- “The information referred to above is required Nguwaya refused to comment.
Drax had an office in Budapest before it hastily ter says Drax had prepared goods worth US$4 by Interpol in order to clarify the payment made “Talk to my lawyers about that,” he said. “I’m
retreated amid a subsequent Interpol investiga- million, which were ready for delivery and more by the Government of Zimbabwe through the not in a position to talk to the media as this is
tion. Drax, which also had offices in Switzer- payment. Ministry of Finance and Economic Develop- now being handled by my attorneys.”
land, opened the Hungary account to receive Efforts to get comment from the police, In-
the money to avoid scrutiny, particularly the “RE: UPDATE ON THE CURRENT SIT- terpol and government officials were unsuccess-
spectre of United States targeted sanctions on UATION OF PRODUCTS PURCHASED ful at the time of writing.
Zimbabwe.

Dedja is the only shareholder in the Swiss-reg-
istered Drax and another company called 3-DD
Swiss Trading. He registered Drax in the Ital-
ian-speaking town of Lugano on March 2017,
but the company has done little trading in Swit-
zerland. Documents show Dedja opened two
bank accounts for Drax with MagNet Bank in
Budapest on 6 December 2019. He registered
the Drax Hungary branch on 20 February 2020.

This was five days after Drax had signed a deal
— registered as International NAT DP 19/2019
and 20/2019 — with Natpharm for the sup-
ply of medicines and medical sundries worth
US$20 million.

Drax later signed a US$40 million deal with
Natpharm, bringing the total to US$60 million.

Within 10 days of registering its Hungary
branch, Drax was paid US$2 million by govern-
ment. However, the funds were red-flagged by
banks involved in the relevant financial integra-
tion system chain for suspected money launder-
ing. Then Interpol moved in.

In its contract with Natpharm, Drax gave N0.

NewsHawks News Page 53

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Mnangagwa’s chopper in hair-
raising emergency landing

President Emmerson Mnangagwa (with scarf )’s presidential helicopter was forced into an emergency landing on Sunday due to a technical failure.

BERNARD MPOFU “The incident happened in Sandringham. dollars, hundreds of soldiers and equipment grows several crops and rears livestock.
A probe into what happened to the President’s worth multi-millions. Earlier this month, he was forced to make
IN a hair-raising incident which might leave chopper is currently underway. Whenever the
heads rolling at the Air Force of Zimbabwe President is not flying the chopper, the heli- In a bid to replace the dilapidated equip- a last-minute flight postponement to Mutare,
(AFZ), President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s copter will be parked at Manyame Air Base in ment, Mnangagwa in April reportedly brought where he was expected to officially open an in-
presidential helicopter was dramatically forced Harare and it’s usually flown when he visits his a new helicopter despite Zimbabwe’s economic dustrial and medicinal oxygen plant — which
into an emergency landing over 60 kilometres Sherwood farm or when he wants to travel to deterioration and growing poverty. he eventually did last week — due to bad
south-west of Harare on Sunday afternoon due remote areas,” a source said. weather.
to a technical failure, The NewsHawks has es- A Russian Antonov AN-124 — the world’s
tablished. “From Manyame, it usually picks him up third heaviest gross weight production cargo “Strict protocols in maintaining the Presi-
from his state residence, but sometimes it lands aircraft — was said to have delivered the chop- dent’s chopper are expected to be enforced after
Security sources said the crash landing inci- at Morris Depot grounds where it would be per to Harare on 15 April which Mnangagwa the probe is concluded,” the source said.
dent happened on Sunday around 4pm in the under police guard. While many people think plans to use during his 2023 re-election bid.
Sandringham area, Matsvaire village, in Che- that he has bought a new chopper, it’s not true, In April this year, three Air Force officers
gutu district, about 65 kilometres south-west the helicopter which was forced to make an The Volga Dnepr-operated Antonov flew out died when their helicopter crashed in Arcturus
of the capital when Mnangagwa was coming emergency landing is an old one which was of Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport in south-eastern near Harare.
from his Kwekwe farm. Earlier information resprayed. Poland, 10km from the city of Rzeszów, and
had indicated it took place in the nearby Chin- landed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Interna- The horror crash of the Agusta Bell AB 412
gwere village in Mhondoro-Ngezi, also in “Initially it had been agreed after the inci- tional Airport carrying an Airbus Helicopters killed two pilots, Wing Commander Thomas
Mashonaland West province. dent that he should be picked up to complete H215, an upgraded version of the ageing Euro- Tinashe Manyowa, Flight Lieutenant Anita
the journey by road, but while the motorcade copter AS-532UL Cougar which Zimbabwe’s Mapiye, as well as aircraft technician Flight
The sources said Mnangagwa, who frequent- was on its way, a second helicopter was sent to military has been using for VIP transportation. Sergeant Tinodiwanashe Chikamhi. The acci-
ly flies out of Harare to his Precabe Farm in fly him back home.” dent also claimed the life of 18-month-old Jade
Sherwood, Kwekwe, was rattled and terrified However, security sources insisted that the Pfenyere, who was on the ground.
by the incident which forced him into a scary The Air Force, which maintains Mnan- helicopter Mnangagwawas flying is an old re-
emergency while on his way back to Harare. gagwa’s helicopter and military choppers that painted chopper. Flight Lieutenant Mapiye was the first fe-
escort the President when he flies within the male helicopter pilot in the AFZ and had be-
Upon the incident, Mnangagwa’s security borders of the country, has been blighted by Investigations underway on the incident, come part of the VIP transport aircrew when
details, including an aide-de-camp, marksman aviation accidents in recent years due to bad sources said, will involve the Air Force, intelli- she was killed in the accident.
from the Presidential Guard, a medic and in- weather, human error and use of ageing air- gence services, Presidential Guard and aviation
telligence officers, scrambled to cordon off the craft. experts. Air Marshal Elson Moyo, commander of the
scene, as the team also worked out an emer- Air Force, said a “dark cloud” had engulfed the
gency rescue plan to complete their 45-minute The AFZ’s capability was largely decimat- Mnangagwa, who has spoken several times military after the April crash.
journey. ed during the DRC War from 1998-2002, in about his passion for farming, including in his
which Zimbabwe lost hundreds of millions of recently published biography, A Life of Sacri- In November 2020, an instructor and stu-
fice, often leaves his state residence in Harare dent pilot died after an Air Force plane crashed
on Sunday mornings for the farm where he during a training session in the Midlands cap-
ital, Gweru.

Page 54 News NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE/ALEX MHANDU Bankers establish a new
Zim financial behemoth
GOVERNMENT, in collaboration with local
and international bankers, including buccaneer- CBZ chairman Marc Holtzman is expected to lead the merger and consolidation process.
ing business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei, is
working on an ambitious project to create the converged with that of the government, leading requires two licences that need US$50 million. However, send me your questions so that I di-
biggest financial services company in Zimbabwe, to misalignment with the country’s socio-eco- ZB also requires the same. Government as a rectly respond to them,” Vingirai said.
with an asset base of over US$2.5 billion, The nomic trajectory. To realign with government’s shareholder has to inject fresh capital in both
NewsHawks can exclusively reveal. nation development agenda and its 2030 vision, banks. However, if they merge, no fresh capital He, however, did not respond to  questions
we need to create a new institution which feeds is required.” sent to him. The ZB deal was a share swap
The core of the project will involve merging into and drives that process.” which saw Nssa getting CBZ shares then worth
leading financial institutions, including CBZ The new project will also create a bigger insur- ZW$640 million or US$7.8 million.  
Holdings, ZB Financial Holdings, First Mutu- Documents say to achieve this, a merger be- ance portfolio.
al Holdings Limited (FMHL)and First Mutual tween CBZ, ZB, FMHL and FMP is critical to Nssa earlier this year said it was reducing its
Properties (FMP). create a holding company specialising and in- “The larger insurance entity created would in- shareholding in FMHL and creating a strategic
vesting in entrepreneurial business that forms the crease risk retention and result in greater premi- alliance around its 100%-owned subsidiary, Na-
An investigation into the project already backbone of the economy. um retention by the combined entity – this will tional Building Society to unlock value.
taking shape shows that the new institution — increase risk cover for trade and project develop-
which will have a footprint on the local and “The size and scale of such an institution ment. The larger entity should be able to apply It said it would sell 31.22% of its 66.22%
region markets — will involve serious financial would also enable the country to increase the economies of scale to reduce their combined stake in FMHL and remain with 35%. The size
engineering and megabucks. ability to fund large-scale projects, for example cost base and thus result in higher profits and of Nssa’s shareholding, which it held since 2012,
in mining and agriculture,” another document dividends to shareholders. The synergies would violated the regulations of both the Zimbabwe
It will have five major divisions: banking, in- states. reduce the number of branches, combine man- Stock Exchange and those of the Insurance and
surance, investment, property and agriculture. agement teams and reduce costs of improving Pensions Commission, the sector’s regulator.
“Merging operations of CBZ, ZB, FML and technologies for banking and insurance.”
The merger and subsequent consolidation FMP will achieve the scale needed to compete That came after Nssa disposed of its share-
process will be led by CBZ chairperson Marc against the likes of Old Mutual in the Zimba- The post-consolidation strategy requires sig- holding in First Capital Bank and ZB.
Holtzman, an American international banker, bwean local market.  nificant investment in technology and digital
who was appointed on 1 September 2019 to pre- products and delivery. That will enhance gross In the initial phases, Nssa merged NicozDi-
side over the biggest bank in the country. He will “The combined total asset base, which will be margins, for instance better market pricing or amond into FMHL and disposed of its stake in
work with government and local bankers in the about US$2.5 billion, will allow the new group greater purchasing power from suppliers, the Fidelity Life and Zimre Property Investments in
financial institutions involved. to be the lead institution in funding large-scale documents say. a share swap deal with Zimre Holdings Limited.
national projects.”
Holtzman also is Bank of Kigali chairperson. “There will also be need to sell assets or non- “The new project in Zimbabwe will be similar
Previously, he was chairperson of Meridian Cap- Further, documents say the new institution core divisions to enable better focus or fund to those found in Nigeria, South Africa, Unit-
ital HK, a private equity firm with investments will have a higher single obligor limit — the growth,” it says. ed Arab Emirates and South East Asia spanning
in natural resources, real estate, food, agriculture maximum amount a bank is allowed to lend a banking, insurance, mining, agriculture and oth-
and transportation.  single borrower or an individual in relation to the The new institution aims to make inroads into er sectors of the economy,” one document says.
total shareholders’ fund of that bank –— from the unbanked segments of the market and into
Prior to joining Meridian, he had served as US$15 million to at least US$35 million. the region using FMHL’s operation in Botswa- CBZ group marketing and corporate affairs
vice-chairperson of Barclays Capital and at ABN na, Malawi and Mozambique. The new financial executive Matilda Nyathi did not respond to
Amro Bank in the same capacity. “The merger is likely to increase competitive- services institution project is already underway. questions. Similarly, FMHL group chief execu-
ness of the industry against our regional peers, tive Douglas Hoto did not respond to questions
Holtzman was once appointed by former Ka- directly impact loan pricing and enhance credit Nssa, which manages a more than US$1 bil- sent to him via WhatsApp, although he read
zakhstan prime minister Karim Massimov to the growth. It will also combine FMHL/ZB’s high lion fund, has been selling its equities in sever- them. But CBZ has issued a cautionary, saying it
board of Kazyna, the nation’s  sovereign wealth return on equity and low cost of funding in al banks, while keeping strategic shareholdings. was in negotiations to acquire shares in a finan-
fund. He was also chairperson and chief execu- CBZ. The resultant entity will further combine This has helped the new financial institution cial institution.
tive of Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s largest CBZ’s market-leading consumer banking busi- process to move.
bank.  ness, asset management and strong agriculture “Further to the cautionary statement issued
offerings with the robust insurance and property Nssa last year disposed of its 37.79% stake by the board on 30 May 2021, the directors
His orbit in the corporate sphere began at Bar- portfolios of FMHL and ZB.  in ZB Bank then worth more than ZW$755 of CBZ holdings Limited, advised shareholders
clays Capital and ABN Amro Bank where he was million (US$11.984 million) to Tagwirei who that CBZ Holdings limited (the company) is in
vice-chair in both entities. He was co-founder “This will create a well-balanced financial ser- already had a stake in CBZ, and could also have negotiations for a potential transaction involving
and president of MeesPierson Euramerica which vices entity that can support the development of equity in FMHL. the acquisition of shares in a complimentary
was later acquired by ABN Amro Bank. Further- Zimbabwe’s public and private sectors.” business, which if successfully concluded may
more, he was a senior adviser to Salomon Broth- The merger plan also includes Tagwirei buy- have a material effect on the price of the com-
ers, an American Investment Banking firm (now The documents add that the institution will be ing out ZB’s second largest shareholder Nicholas panies securities, the full impact of which is cur-
Salomon Inc).  a catalyst for individual, corporate and national Vingirai, although the latter says he has not been rently being determined,” the bank said.
projects in the process. approached.
Investigation shows that Tagwirei, who already Nssa spokesman Tendai Mutseyekwa said: “I
has an interest across the merging financial insti- “The current capital requirements for a Tier “I have not had any discussions on that (dis- acknowledge receipt of your email and will get
tutions, together with his vast business portfolio 1 bank is US$30 million and Tier 2 building posing of his ZB stake). You are aware that there back to you after checking with colleagues work-
which straddles mining, finance, agriculture, society US$20 million, which means that CBZ is a settlement that has been ongoing? ing on this.”
construction and other areas — making his Sotic
International conglomerate one of the biggest in
the country and region, will take a back seat as a
politically exposed person buffeted by allegations
of corruption.

Documents obtained from banks involved say
the new financial services institution will thrive
on economies of scale and fund large-scale pub-
lic, national and private sector projects, while
directly impacting on loan pricing and credit
growth in the market. 

It will also have a major impact on the eco-
nomic landscape, which is largely dominated
and driven by big companies such as Old Mutu-
al, Econet, Delta and Innscor.  Information gath-
ered shows that the project is now at an advanced
stage, with all the market research, concept and
necessary reports already done.

“Plans by government and bankers, as well as
associated businesspeople, are underway to form
a new financial services institution, which will be
the biggest in the market, by merging and con-
solidating CBZ, ZB, FMHL and its properties
subsidiary FMP,” one document says.

“The project will be driven by bankers and
government which has an interest in CBZ and
is also in the process of selling off or reducing its
interests in the relevant financial institutions held
through the National Social Security Authority
(Nssa) and other entities.

“Over the past 20 years, Zimbabwe’s nation-
al development agenda in the private sector has
been dominated and driven by a few companies,
namely Old Mutual, Econet and Innscor. These
entities have influence across critical sectors span-
ning financial services, telecommunications, ag-
riculture, property and mining.

“This type of private sector influence is not
unique to Zimbabwe. However, what is unique
is that their agenda has not necessarily and always

NewsHawks News Page 55

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Treasury loses ZW$112bn to
dodgy crony tax exemptions

DUMISANI NYONI ment goods for a certain period. Finance minister Mthuli Ncube tax to ensure that the richest pay a fairer share of
Zimra acting commissioner-general Rameck the resources required to ensure sustainable and
TREASURY, always in financial dire straits, lost get of ZW$180.45 billion, 8.16% above target. inclusive growth,” the civil society group says.
about ZW$112 billion in potential revenue last Masaire said in the tax collector’s 2020 annual For the second half of 2021, Zimra said it was
year (approximately US$1.3 billion on the of- report released last Thursday: confident of exceeding the remaining period’s “There is an urgent need for the government
ficial exchange rate) through tax expenditures targets, ultimately surpassing the 2021 annual of Zimbabwe and other African governments to
consisting of uncollected tax due to exemptions “Out of the ZW$76.76 billion revenue fore- net revenue target of ZW$387.4 billion. stop giving out harmful tax incentives to multi-
and incentives to corporates, including dodgy gone, which is 38% of potential for the year, national companies.”
companies, an official Zimbabwe Revenue Au- 69% was in respect of domestic taxes, while However, Zimcodd said in a report the gov-
thority (Zimra) report says. 31% was in respect of trade taxes.” ernment should stop granting tax incentives to Zimcodd said it is a huge contradiction that
multinational companies as this is not in the corporates get tax exemptions, while the general
When value-added tax (Vat) refunds are in- Masaire said the authority swiftly responded spirit of tax justice, constitutionalism and pro- citizenry is burdened by many taxes, further fu-
cluded, the figure rises to ZW$118 billion. This to the Covid-19 pandemic by increasing Vat re- gressive taxation in the country. elling inequality.
was a dramatic 555.79% increase in the loss from funds from an average of 19% between January
2019’s ZW$17.01 billion. The ZW$112 billion and March last year, to as much as 51% in April, It said due to such practices, global inequali- The move to offer tax incentives to foreign
loss could have built roads, dams, schools, hos- averaging 21% by end of year. ty has increased by 11% in the recent past. The companies was described by the then Zimra
pitals, repaired water systems and sewage retic- United Nations Development Programme indi- commissioner-general Gershem Pasi in 2015 as
ulation, while ensuring improved social service So far, Zimra has managed to surpass the net cates that the richest 10% have up to 40% of tantamount to surrendering the country’s tax-
delivery. It could have also been used to fix some revenue target for the first half of 2021 despite global income whereas the poorest 10% earn ing rights and would negatively impact on so-
ailing utilities. the constant interruptions to business brought only between 2% and 7%. cio-economic development.
by the Covid-19-induced lockdowns.
Tax expenditures, also consisting of trade “For there to be equality, we argue that there is Pasi then said tax incentives mostly resulted
agreements or concessions, are similarly known In the first half of this year, net revenue a need for just and equitable distribution of the in benefits accruing to the country of origin of
as revenue foregone. Annual foregone revenue amounted to ZW$195.18 billion against a tar- tax burden through the introduction of a wealth the concerned companies, not the host country.
for 2020 comprised ZW$76.76 billion and
ZW$34.79 billion from domestic taxes and Tax, in most countries, is the main source of
trade taxes respectively. government income.

This comes after Zimra, and by extension According to the Heritage Foundation Report
Treasury, lost ZW$6 483 624 570.48 in Vat (2012), tax in Zimbabwe contributes 49.3% of
refunds precipitated by Covid-19. The tax col- gross domestic product and in South Africa it
lector last year responded to the pandemic by contributes 26.9%. This shows in Zimbabwe tax
increasing Vat refunds from an average of 19% contributes a large chunk of income towards the
between January and March to as much as 51% fiscus.
in April, averaging 21% by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Zimra revealed that the out-
The total amount of foregone revenue and standing debt position as at 31 December 2020
Vat refunds becomes ZW$118 billion. Zimra’s closed at ZW$8.669 billion, which translates to
actual net revenue for 2020 was ZW$182 bil- a debt-to-revenue ratio of 3% against a target of
lion against a target of ZW$172 billion. 5%, a decrease from 21% in 2019.

The ZW$181.9 billion collected was 5.85% Despite the increase in debt from ZW$4.791
above target. This included US$791 million billion, the authority said the debt-to-revenue
in foreign currency collections. It represented ratio improved due to increased revenue collect-
74.93% growth over 2019 when year-on-year ed during the year.
inflation peaked at 785% in May last year before
going down to 50% in August this year. Masaire said the authority continued with its
drive of broadening the tax base through new
In a bid to attract investment, the govern- registrations. “Active taxpayer education and
ment has been offering tax incentives to some engagement programmes implemented result-
foreign companies, a move once described by ed in 21 643 new registrants who contributed
the economic and social justice watchdog, the ZW$558.234 million (19.48%).
Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Develop-
ment, as harmful and unfair. Management also enhanced the project on
integration of databases between government
For instance, last year the government ex- agencies to facilitate registration in sync with the
empted Chinese telecommunications giant government`s thrust of widening the tax base,”
Huawei Technologies from paying income tax he said.
dating back 11 years to December 2009.

In January this year, Great Dyke Investments
(GDI), which is developing a platinum min-
ing project in Darwendale, Mashonaland West
province, was granted five-year tax exemption by
the government. This was done by Finance min-
ister Mthuli Ncube through an Extraordinary
Government Gazette dated 27 January 2021.

GDI is a joint venture between Russia’s Vi
Holdings and Zimbabwe’s Landela Mining
Venture (Pvt) Limited. It is reportedly investing
US$3 billion into platinum mining. Exemp-
tions, to run until 2025, include income tax and
tax on dividends earned by shareholders.

Landela Mining Venture is owned by Zimba-
bwean business magnate Kudakwashe Tagwirei,
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s close ally.

The government has also said it will offer tax
incentives to companies operating in the spe-
cial economic zones in certain industries such
as manufacturing as a way of attracting foreign
direct investment.

Tax incentives, according to experts, refer to
a deduction, exclusion, or exemption from a tax
liability, offered as an enticement to engage in a
specified activity such as investment in equip-

Page 56 News NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

MATTHEW CHAPMAN/ ALON AVIRAM/ CIO boss entangled in
VICTORIA HOLLINGSWORTH/ MALCOM REES BAT bribery scandal

A CONTRACTOR hired by one of Britain’s CIO co-deputy Director-General retired Brigadier-General Walter Tapfumaneyi
biggest companies brokered a proposed corrupt
pay-off for Robert Mugabe shortly before his make a statement to that?” ernment. I would call it bribery, corruption and inal trade in tobacco products. In 2016 BAT
2013 re-election. The Bureau has not obtained any evidence hush money. He said that any donation of that made public that it was investigating allegations
kind would have been a “material issue because of misconduct and was liaising with the UK Se-
A joint investigation by the Bureau of Investi- that the proposed payment in return for the re- it would have helped Zanu PF to change the ca- rious Fraud Office (SFO). BAT fully cooperated
gative Journalism, BBC Panorama and the Uni- leases from prison was ever actually made. pacity of its electoral machinery. It would have with the SFO’s subsequent investigation, which
versity of Bath reveals British American Tobacco also influenced the outcome of the election.” included allegations relating to South Africa.”
(BAT) was linked to a conspiracy to pay a bribe Mugabe went on to win a crucial majority in
of between US$300 000 and US$500 000 to the elections in July 2013 and ruled for another BAT did not deny the proposed payment to The SFO concluded its official three-year
the notorious dictator to get certain people re- four years. Mugabe when asked. investigation into BAT’s activities in Africa in
leased from jail. January 2021, stating there was insufficient ev-
Dumisani Muleya, editor of Zimbabwean The company said: “Our efforts in combating idence for a prosecution. The investigation cost
Leaked documents suggest there were discus- investigative outlet The NewsHawks, said: “The illicit trade have been aimed at helping law en- the UK taxpayer more than £2.3m (US$3.1m).
sions about paying a bribe to Mugabe’s political context of this donation is the problem because forcement agencies in the fight against the crim-
party Zanu PF. BAT was seeking some favours from the gov-

At the time BAT was paying FSS, a South Af-
rican private security contractor, to conduct a se-
cret operation to hamper rival tobacco business-
es in Zimbabwe. FSS had fallen foul of Mugabe’s
regime after agents were accused of spying on
its behalf on Savanna Tobacco, which was run
by Adam Molai, the husband of Mugabe’s niece.

It was forced to rely on a local security com-
pany to do its dirty work. But in late 2012 three
directors of that company were arrested and
charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
The documents show that a plan was hatched
with BAT’s knowledge to get the directors off
the hook and protect BAT’s name.

The bribe was proposed by Brigadier-General
Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi, currently the depu-
ty director general of Zimbabwe’s feared Central
Intelligence Organisation spy network. At the
time he was director at the ministry of State of
Presidential Affairs.

The man who brokered the deal has told the
Bureau and BBC’s Panorama he had already
bribed Zimbabwean officials to get an initial
meeting with the brigadier.

“I had to make it clear that they’re going to
expect a nice thick envelope of notes,” he said. “I
would be given a lump sum of money as an op-
erational budget and out of that I would always
give a handshake and a nice wodge of cash to the
principles just to warm them to the idea.”

A leaked document claims that during that
meeting, between the FSS boss Stephen Botha
and Tapfumaneyi, the brigadier said that “with
the upcoming elections” a donation to Mugabe’s
political party “would pave the way for negotia-
tions to continue”. This would “open the doors
to continue this project in the near future”.

Tapfumaneyi told the Bureau: “I have ab-
solutely no knowledge or association with the
events, circumstances, persona which you claim
to have uncovered, except Zanu PF. The rest of
your story, I am hearing from you for the first
time”.

Three sources have confirmed that BAT was
aware of the deal on the table, and documents
show that company money paid for the initial
payment to secure the meeting. A paper trail
shows a BAT employee signed off on payments
for an FSS operation codenamed “SOS Zim”.

The arrested agents were released in early Jan-
uary 2013 immediately after Tapfumaneyi pro-
posed their release as a “goodwill gesture” prior
to any bribe being paid.

In mid-January 2013, emails reveal that a
BAT employee named Johann van Rensburg
sent urgent questions to FSS about Zimbabwe,
including “investigating the Pros and Cons of
Donation to the party and joint business ven-
ture as discussed”.

Charges were officially withdrawn against
the arrested directors on 13 March 2013. FSS’s
operations for BAT in Zimbabwe resumed that
same month.

The agent who had brokered the meeting
claims it would be “fantasy land” to suggest FSS
was able to continue its operations in Zimbabwe
without paying a bribe to Mugabe.

He told the Bureau and Panorama: “Robert
Mugabe killed 30 000 Zimbabweans in a geno-
cide. Absolutely beaten, destroyed, the soul of a
nation ripped from itself. How on earth would
you even consider doing business there and why
would you not rather, ethically, withdraw and

NewsHawks News Page 57

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Parliament
investigates
US$109m
tender scandal
Co-operation Co. Ltd, through a smash-and-
MARY MUNDEYA grab approach. Zinwa chief executive officer Taurai Maurikira. — Picture: Mary Mundeya

THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority Nanchang was taken to court in 2019 for Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri, secretary is on the upper reaches of the Nyagui River.
(Zinwa) executive is under investigation for muscling into the US$171 million Silver- Ringson Chitsiko, Zinwa, Nanchang, and the Its dam site is approximately four kilome-
awarding a dodgy US$109 million Kunzvi stroom Dam project in Mashonaland Central Pocurement Regulation Authority of Zimba-
Dam construction tender to China Nanchang province outside the tender process. bwe (Praz) as respondents. tres upstream at the confluence of Nyagui
Engineering, which has a shady past, ahead of River and the Nora River. The main purpose
other cheaper yet competitive bids. The company, now mired in a new scan- Justice Tawanda Chitapi heard the urgent of the reservoir is to supply water to Harare,
dal over the US$108 885 000 Kunzvi Dam application. which has serious water problems.
Corruption, including industrial-scale loot- proposal, fought to keep its ill-gotten Silver-
ing mainly at the top echelons of state power stroom project. Dzvetero argued that the tender reversal was The Kunzvi Dam project’s cost has been
and public enterprises, is rampant in the coun- illegal, as Jiangxi’s bid was held to be compet- speculative, with wide variations. The figures
try, having found a haven in parastatals. The Chinese companies, Nanchang and Ji- itive in all aspects and the most cost effective bandied about widely vary — ranging from
angxi, ended up resolving the tender robbery by the Praz. US$65 million to over US$800 million; for
It not only lowers the tax-to-Gross Domes- fight over Silverstroom through an out of the same project. Initial feasibility studies
tic Product ratio, but also causes long-term court settlement. Dzvetero told The NewsHawks in August have shown cost projections going up to about
damage to the economy by undermining in- that the matter was later resolved by consent US$865 million, creating room for rent-seek-
vestment, increases the size and scope of the The Kunzwi Dam tender was also awarded order. ing and corruption.
informal market, distorts tax structures and under dubious circumstances.
corrodes taxpayers’ tax morality and compli- “Basically, the parties decided to resolve the For example, the Infrastruture Develop-
ance. In the aftermath of the contentious tender, matter outside the court because they decided ment Bank of Zimbabwe on its website says
SinoHydro, which had submitted the lowest not to fight government. An out of court set- the project is estimated at US$865 million.
The Zinwa executive — including chief ex- and competitive bid (US$65 523 463.61) in tlement was reached and the project remained
ecutive Taurai Maurikira — on Wednesday partnership with a local company Marmfold with China Nanchang,” Dzvetero said. “The dam site is 67 kilometres north-east
came under fire from MPs on Parliament’s Engineers, raised the alarm over Nanchang’s of the capital, near Juru Growth Point on the
portfolio committee on Lands, Agriculture, US$108 885 000 controversial winning pro- Nanchang has another issue in its dodgy Nyanguvi River. The dam will have the capaci-
Rural Resources, Water Development and Re- posal. past record. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gov- ty to deliver 158.4 million cubic metres of wa-
settlement after failing to avail documents for ernor John Mangudya on 24 January 2020 ter daily. The estimated project cost is US$865
the Kunzvi Dam tendering process as per the Subsequently, it has bitterly complained issued a statement, saying an investigation by million and will be funded through Public-Pri-
request of the committee, prior to the appear- to the government, through the Office of the the central bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit vate Partnership initiatives,” the bank says.
ance. President and Cabinet and Agriculture min- (FIU) had found that Nanchang had used its
istry, about what it said was a shady process. bank account “to inject millions of dollars into “Project implementation is estimated at 60
The parastatal’s bosses were supposed to give SinoHydro believes that given its lowest bid, the parallel market in the last few days”. months. In addition to supplying water to Ha-
oral evidence on the Kunzvi Dam tendering capacity and experience, it should have won rare and its catchment areas, the dam project
process as well as on the controversial contract the tender, but the project was irregularly giv- “The FIU has ordered the freezing of the will provide surrounding communities with
for prepaid water meters they entered into en to Nanchang. identified account pending further analysis water for irrigation. Furthermore, the city will
with various companies. and is undertaking ongoing surveillance to save on treatment costs as the project is more
These revelations and details are contained identify more culprits involved in the parallel upstream than Lake Chivero which is down-
Zinwa ended up giving evidence on pre- in documents that were leaked to two local market transactions, particularly on the Eco- stream and heavily contaminated with effluent
paid water meters only after failing to furnish media organisations, including The News- Cash platform,” he said. from industries.”
the committee with required documents. The Hawks.
committee chairperson, Mayor Wadyajena, or- Mangudya said the RBZ would “identify Construction Review Online in January
dered Zinwa executives, who included Mau- Nanchang’s US$108 885 000 bid was and take appropriate action, in terms of the last year quoted Mashonaland East Provin-
rikira, to avail the documents by the end of ranked fifth, based on costs. The lowest bid law, against any culprits involved in illicit for- cial Affairs minister Aplonia Munzverengwi as
business on Wednesday. was from SinoHydro and Marmfold joint-ven- eign currency activities and manipulation of saying US$259 million had been allocated for
ture at US$65 523 463; followed by Jiangxi the foreign exchange rates”. the project, although the overall cost stood at
Wadyajena said it was unfair to expect legis- (US$78 130 826), JR Godart (US$83 971 US$680 million.
lators to discuss the Kunzvi tendering process 779) and RDAVIS Company (US$99 948 Kunzvi Dam is located 67 kilometres
without having had prior access to the relevant 883). north-east of Harare near Juru Growth Point The Infrastructure Consortium of Africa in
documents. in Goromonzi district in Mashonaland East 2011 reported that a group of private contrac-
This means Nanchang’s bid was province. tors had mobilised US$370 million needed to
“We can’t discuss the Kunzvi Dam build- US$43 361 536 more than SinoHydro’s low- fund the Kunzvi Dam project.
ing tender process when we have nothing in est proposal. Drawcard submitted a bid of The project, estimated to have capacity to
front of us. Its unfair to honourable members, US$109 432 004, Multi Force Construction produce 250 000 cubic metres of water daily,
including myself, so we would rather discuss (US$121 286 896), Masimba Construction
Kunzvi when you have submitted the required (US$140 191 249), Bitcon and Kuch Con-
relevant documents,” Wadyajena said. struction joint-venture (US$142 377 001)
and Nyagui Construction (US$149 447 353).
“We sent a letter to your office requesting
the submission of the Kunzvi Dam build- The highest bid of US$197 139 196, almost
ing tender process and we had assumed that three times that of the lowest quotation, was
by now you would have submitted the doc- from Exodus and Company. The tender pro-
uments. We want them submitted by end of cess raised eyebrows.
day.”
Barely two years ago, Nanchang was caught
China Nanchang Engineering was contro- up in a tender scandal. Jiangxi, which also bid
versially awarded the US$109 million tender for the Kunzvi Dam project, given to Nan-
for the construction of the dam — critical chang under murky circumstances, won a ten-
to alleviating Harare’s perennial water supply der for the construction of Silverstroom Dam
problems despite its shady past, hence the in- in 2019.
terest from the committee.
However, the government corruptly re-
The Sino company had its accounts frozen versed that and awarded the tender to Nan-
by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last chang, in violation of the bidding process and
year for illegal black market foreign currency the law. The intervention smacked of brazen
trading activities. irregularities and corruption.

In addition, it also seized a US$171 million In anger, Jiangxi approached the High
dam construction tender from a competitor, Court, through its lawyer Tapson Dzvetero, to
China Jiangxi International and Technical fight Nanchang’s robbery.

In its application, Jiangxi cited the late

Page 58 News NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

OWEN GAGARE Zanu PF bigwigs question
Mnangagwa’s legitimacy
ZIMBABWEAN President Emmerson Mnan-
gagwa, struggling to consolidate and maintain l How, where and when did he get his mandate?
power at the volatile helm amid renewed internal
Zanu PF infighting and disintegration of the co- 21 November Parliament moved to impeach son. President Emmerson Mnangagwa
alition which drove his ascendancy, is tenuously him, forcing him to resign, to wild scenes of At the time, Mugabe was not able to convene
hanging onto his faltering position by his finger- jubilation. The next day Mnangagwa returned successor.
nails despite an aura of invincibility, top party from South Africa. Two days later, 24 Novem- the meeting as he was under military siege ma- Contrary to the claims by Mnangagwa and his
officials say. ber, he was inaugurated as president, sealing rooned at his Blue Roof home in Borrowdale,
Mugabe’s fate. Harare; Mnangagwa was in self-imposed exile in faction, as well as their supporters, Mugabe did
An investigation by The NewsHawks shows South Africa after he was dismissed as vice-pres- not want to be succeeded by his wife Grace, al-
Mnangagwa’s biggest problem is that he is lead- In the interregnum, there were serious illegali- ident on 6 November 2017; and Phelekezela though she showed a growing appetite for power
ing a divided party, which has an unresolved ties in Mnangagwa’s rise to power. Mphoko was out of the country. There was no at the height on the succession battles.
leadership issue, without a mandate from con- chairperson as the position was vacant.
gress, the supreme decision-making body of the Without any sense of irony, Mnangagwa had In what effectively became his political wa-
party. on 15 December during the extraordinary con- Party officials now complain that Mnangagwa terloo, Mugabe had in May 2017 came up with
gress spoken about himself ascending by follow- came in through a series of illegalities — from the Mexico Declaration — which catalysed his
“Legally, Mnangagwa has no mandate from ing the constitution and legal processes when he the coup, through blocking Mphoko from brief- succession war — to facilitate his retirement and
congress to currently lead Zanu PF,” a senior had grabbed power through a coup, convened ly acting as president after Mugabe was removed, let Sekeramayi take over. The deal was reached
party official said. the central committee improperly as the presi- the central committee meeting right up to the while he was visiting Mexico with senior minis-
dent and his deputies, including himself, were extraordinary congress. ters and party officials.
“He basically avoided the 2019 congress, not there, and suspended members had unlaw-
when it was constitutionally due, and postponed fully attended the meeting chaired by then party “His presidency is a product of power seizure Zanu PF officials say besides the legitimacy
it to 2022. Currently he is running on empty: secretary for finance Obert Mpofu, who had no and illegalities,” another senior party official said. issue, Mnangagwa is facing a brewing internal
the mandate he got from the 2017 extraordinary legal mandate to do so. “But the real problem now is that he is leading revolt, with his close allies now either facing pres-
congress expired. It was for the interregnum only. without a constitutional mandate since he avoid- sure to quit, battling removal or restless.
Subsequently, there was no other extraordinary Mnangagwa later rewarded Mpofu with the ed the 2019 congress.”
congress to allow him and all those in the struc- position of secretary for administration, but re- The sources say Chiwenga is “really fed up”.
tures elected in the last regular congress in 2014 moved him as Home Affairs minister in a bit- Zanu PF last held a regular elective congress Senior officials at party headquarters, mostly
to continue. It was an arbitrary postponement, ter-sweet deal. in 2014, where Mnangagwa ascended to the po- former ministers, are angry. The war veterans are
hence illegal arrangement. So his mandate is ille- sition of Vice-President at the expense of Joice also grumbling.
gitimate in terms of the Zanu PF constitution.” In terms of section 38 of the Zanu PF con- Mujuru, with Mphoko who was replacing the
stitution, the central committee meeting which late John Nkomo. In the dungeons of the deep state, the rank-
Mnangagwa was installed Zanu PF leader by “appointed” Mnangagwa party leader was not and-file within the military which carried him to
the party’s central committee on 19 November properly convened and constituted. The next congress was due in 2019. Mnan- the top is disgruntled; they have not shared the
2017 at the height of the military coup and con- gagwa avoided it, delaying it to 2022. spoils of the power seizure.
firmed through an extraordinary congress on 15 Central committee sessions are presided over
December 2017, where he gave a lengthy ad- by the president and first secretary of the party However, Mugabe had in October 2017 Strategic players within the police and intelli-
dress, saying he had been “appointed” into the or, in his absence, one of the two vice-presidents called an extraordinary congress for December gence community, Central Intelligence Organi-
position after the late former president Robert and second secretaries, or the national chairper- that year, where he had planned to install his sation mainly, are harbouring resentments over
Mugabe was toppled. then Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi as his how they were treated during the coup. There
were serious purges in top police, intelligence
The Zanu PF constitution does not give pow- and army echelons after Mnangagwa took over.
er to the central committee to remove an elected
leader. If the position becomes vacant for what-
ever reason, an extraordinary congress is held to
fill it in.

In his long-winded extraordinary congress
speech — which had 3 167 words — Mnan-
gagwa said: “Comrades, today I address you as
a newly draped President and First Secretary of
Zanu PF, subject of course, to the ratification,
by this august gathering of the resolution of the
Extraordinary Session of the Central Committee
held on 19th November 2017, which appoint-
ed me to the helm of our Party. I feel the full
weight of this new role which is made lighter by
the wealth of experience and systems synthesised
into clear rules, procedures and traditions we
have built together as a Party over the years.”

This was in the aftermath of a dramatic series
of game-changing events which culminated in
Mugabe’s ouster and Mnangagwa’s ascendancy.

Following fierce clashes in the party spear-
headed by Grace Mugabe, the late authoritarian
Zanu PF leader escalated the fight and dismissed
Mnangagwa as vice-president on 6 November
2017.

Mnangagwa staged a great escape in the fol-
lowing 48 hours fearing arrest, detention and
murder by his mentor’s goons — that he direct-
ed for decades — ending up in Pretoria, South
Africa, at local businessman Justice Maphosa’s
home, via Beira, Mozambique.

Seething with rage, on 8 November Mnan-
gagwa issued a statement warning he would be
back in a fortnight to take over, which he did.

On 12 November, retired military command-
er General Constantino Chiwenga, fighting in
Mnangagwa’s corner, returned from China with
his adrenaline shooting up ready for combat. The
following day, 13 November, he threw down the
gauntlet at Mugabe.

On 14 November, the army moved in. By the
following morning, 15 November, it had taken
over. Sadc-brokered negotiations followed on 16
November, but immediately stalled.

Resultantly, demonstrations were organised to
force Mugabe’s hand on 18 November. The cen-
tral committee met to remove him a day after.
On that day, 19 November, Mugabe addressed
the nation, saying he was going nowhere. The
party then gave him an ultimatum to resign on
20 November, which he rejected. And then on

NewsHawks News Page 59

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Meanwhile, Mnangagwa and those close to President Emmerson Mnangagwa (right) and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga at Zanu PF conference in 2017.
him — his family, relatives and cronies — have
evidently become cash-rich through self-aggran- Lewis Matutu, while Godfrey Tsenengamu, over a month before the first post-2017 coup democracy.
disement deals and primitive accumulation. who has now formed a new party called Front general elections. “On the surface it appears Mnangagwa is
for Economic Emancipation in Zimbabwe, was
“They are not only making money, but flaunt- expelled. Mnangagwa, who escaped the attack which consolidating power; after all he seems to have
ing it with reckless abandon in a sea of poverty,” was an internal job by the skin of his teeth, went put Chiwenga into checkmate, Mohadi is down
a Mnangagwa ally said. “They are naïve. That is Zanu PF Politburo members Cleveria Chize- on to win the disputed presidential election by a and now on his side at the party headquarters,
political suicidal.” ma and the late Tendai Savanhu, Chiwenga’s al- wafer-thin margin. He won the July 30 election removed top army commanders who put him at
lies, were expelled for allegedly plotting the 31 with 50.8% of the vote, enough to meet the 50% the helm, liquidated the coup coalition, purged
Mnangagwa’s Midlands and Masvingo pow- July 2020 stayaway protest with the opposition. plus one vote threshold needed to avoid a run- police, intelligence and army bosses to coup-
er bases are in turmoil due to growing internal off against main opposition MDC Alliance lead- proof his regime and through political contingen-
strife. Provincial heavyweights are at war with Sources say Chiwenga is disgruntled over er Nelson Chamisa who garnered 44.3% of the cy key retired military figures, Perrance Shiri and
each other over positions and influence. Mnangagwa’s reneging over their coup gentle- ballots. Chamisa challenged the result in court, Sibusiso Moyo, king-makers of sorts, have died,”
man’s agreement that the President would serve but the Constitutional Court led by Chief Justice a top Zanu PF official told The NewsHawks.
In the Midlands, two factions within a faction one term and give him a chance in 2023; Mohadi Luke Malaba declared Mnangagwa the winner
have emerged and are slugging it out over who is upset he has been removed over sex scandals on 24 August 2018. “However, in reality there is no consolidation
should be the next chairperson. Incumbent Dan- when “everyone is doing it, in fact, others are to talk about. Mnangagwa is now surrounded by
iel Mckenzie Ncube is battling it out with State worse” and Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri is an un- Not only that, Malaba had prior to that ruled political upstarts and fortune-hunters. Most im-
Security minister Owen “Mudha” Ncube, in a happy figurehead at the party as chairperson and in court that Mugabe had resigned voluntarily, portantly and inevitably, he has lost control of the
wrangle that has sucked in the President’s closest Defence minister. thus Mnangagwa had gotten power legitimately. party. The evidence is there for all to see. Just look
allies now divided on either side. The then Judge President George Chiweshe had at what is happening in Midlands and Masvingo.
War veterans are also restless over welfare is- also claimed the coup was constitutional. Judges His strongholds are in turmoil and all he can do
There is also wrangling among Mnangagwa’s sues. Civil servants, especially teachers, have been are always an important player whenever there is is watch helplessly.”
allies over Kwekwe Central. fighting confrontationally for better pay and ben- a coup. Mnangagwa has since extended Malaba’s
efits. tenure by five years — changing the retirement This week, an extraordinary Zanu PF politbu-
Last October, Zanu PF primary polls to choose age from 70 to 75 years — through controversial ro meeting suspended provincial elections amid
a Kwekwe Central parliamentary candidate for The explosive leadership battle and resultant constitutional amendments that analysts say un- intensifying infighting, claiming it wanted to
a by-election turned bloody following intense political brinkmanship frequently explodes into dermine judicial independence, rule of law and pave way for structures to prepare for the annual
clashes between rival groups at Kwekwe district open deadly confrontation, as it did at White conference set to be held from 25-30 October.
offices. Police had to fire warning shots after be- City Stadium in Bulawayo on 23 June 2018, just
ing called to contain the situation which had spi-
ralled out of control as factions bludgeoned each Delegates attend Zanu PF conference in 2017.
other over the voters’ roll.

The primary election pitted Energy Ncube —
Mudha Ncube’s nephew — against Zanu PF’s
2018 losing candidate Kandross Mugabe.

The fight claimed the scalp of former Zanu PF
national commissar and deputy defence minister
Victor Matemadanda who was backing Mugabe.
Matemadanda, who had replaced retired Lieu-
tenant-General Engelbert Rugeje as commissar,
was removed and dispatched to Mozambique as
ambassador to defuse tensions in the region and
address complaints by Chiwenga’s faction that he
had failed.

Mnangagwa’s powerful allies in the Midlands,
including July Moyo and Mudha Ncube, and
elsewhere were swept aside in district coordinat-
ing committee (DCC) elections that left him
weaker. Chiwenga has gained ground of late.

DCCs had been unconstitutionally dissolved
by the central committee in 2012. However, as
amendments to the Zanu PF constitution by the
central committee are “subject to ratification by
congress”, DCCs should have continued to exist
de jure until such ratification.

The DCCs formed part of the congress and
should thus not have been excluded from the
congress prior to ratification of their disband-
ment. Similarly, DCCs should not have been
restored without ratification by congress.

Independent Norton MP Temba Mliswa
has publicly said that Mnangagwa’s close allies,
Moyo, Mudha Ncube and others, lost in the
DCC polls and no longer have political capital to
offer the President to ensure his and their survival
in 2023.

Mliswa is a Mnangagwa supporter.
In Masvingo, Provincial Affairs minister Ezra
Chadzamira is under fire over corruption charges
which have taken a factional dimension as the
Chiwenga camp now wants him out.
War veterans are leading the charge. Chiwenga
has previously been in Masvingo, where he chal-
lenged Chadzamira’s leadership and associated
decisions, especially on land distribution, which
The NewsHawks covered relentlessly.
Zanu PF officials say Chiwenga has been in-
tervening in Masvingo and nationally through
his key ally, Rugeje.
Since the watershed politburo meeting on 29
July 2020, where Rugeje challenged Mnangagwa
amid attempts by the President’s allies to round
on Chiwenga through sudden verbal attacks, re-
lations in the Zanu PF presidium have continued
to deteriorate.
Mnangagwa even brought CIO director-gen-
eral Isaac Moyo into the politburo to make an
indirect case against Chiwenga by attacking his
allies using an intelligence report presented by
Lovemore Matuke, party security head.
Factional clashes at the time led to the sus-
pension of youth leaders Pupurai Togarepi and

Page 60 News NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Munatsi was killed: Friends

OWEN GAGARE l Relatives cry murder most foul

IF he was not immobilised or held against his will, responded to a distress call from a neighbour, had phoned (the) fire brigade at the same time running Douglas Munatsi’s gutted penthouse bedroom.
prominent banker and Zimbabwe Investment De- put out the inferno. By the time the family arrived, down stairs to the ground floor. A report was made “Same indicated that he last saw the now de-
velopment Agency CEO Douglas Munatsi could his body was in a sleeping position and was covered at ZRP Harare Central. ceased on 28 November 2021 at about 1820 hours
have escaped the fire that engulfed his luxurious by a cloak. when he (deceased) told him that he was expecting
9th floor penthouse using various routes that were “. . . The remains of the deceased was found in a guest at the flat and he asked the informant to
available to him. He lived alone in the penthouse although he a sitting position just beside the tub in the main escort the guest to his flat when she arrived,” the
had other properties. His wife and 18-year-old son bedroom with some burns on the hands and legs, sitrep reads.
Multiple sources, including friends and rela- live in England, while his two other sons aged 30 he was putting on a red T-shirt and a black pair of “The guard further mentioned that the said
tives, say his death was murder and are anxiously and 25 live in South Africa. shorts which were not burnt . . . to suggest that the guest who was recorded on the security check
awaiting the results of a post-mortem which was deceased could have been burnt by the heat of the point book as Coleta NFPK arrived at about 1905
conducted at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare yes- The fire started around 2.50am following a fire and not direct flames.” and he escorted her to the now deceased’s flat. The
terday. loud explosion which also woke up his neighbour said guest left the flat at about 2118 hours on foot.”
Charles Gardner, chairperson of the Northfields The Fire Brigade arrived at the scene 3.11am, Zifunge also told the police he heard an explo-
A memorial service will be held for Munatsi on Owners Association. but had challenges in accessing the flat since it sion at around 3am.
Saturday at Celebration Centre in Borrowdale but was on the 9th floor. The fire was put off at about He said he saw Gardner running down the
his burial has been postponed pending further in- According to the police sitrep: “the informant 5.30am. stairs. Gardner also informed him of the fire in
vestigations into his mysterious death. saw smoke coming from the now deceased’s flat apartment C9.
which is directly below his flat and a voice that was A security guard Shupai Zifunge (47) told police
Part of the reasons why there has been a delay shouting ‘Fire please help’. (The) informant then he last saw Munatsi on Sunday at 6.20pm.
in burial, other than waiting for his wife and chil-
dren who live in South Africa and England, was
the need for investigations to establish the cause of
his death, amid strong suspicions of foul play. Fol-
lowing an initial investigation, pathologists have
recommended a toxicology examinaton to deter-
mine if Munatsi was not drugged or poisoned prior
to his death.

Those close to Munatsi say he could have easily
escaped the fire if he was fully conscious.

First, his colleagues say the easiest way he could
have escaped the fire was through the balcony from
where he could have accessed the dining room and
lounge, which were not affected by the fire.

The dining room and lounge — from where
one can see the Harare Sports Club, are next to
the kitchen.

“He could have also escaped through the main
entrance but suppose he was asleep and woke up
when the fire was intense, he could have easily gone
to the jacuzzi. The easiest route to escape though
was through the balcony and we wonder why he
did not escape if he was able to alert a neighbour
that there was fire,” Munatsi’s friend told The New-
sHawks.

“His body was very intact, suggesting that the
fire did not really burn him and the injuries he
sustained suggested that the heat affected him, but
not the direct fire. If he was fully conscious and
functioning properly, he could have surely utilised
one of the available options to escape.”

The fire was concentrated in the bedroom and
was so intense such that “the main bedroom was
extensively damaged by fire to the extent that all
windows and doors were broken, all the furniture
in the bedroom were extensively burnt that only
steel frames for the bed and built-in cupboards
were observed,” according to a police situation re-
port (sitrep).

Friends and relatives believe an accelerant could
have been used, given the intensity of the fire.

“Investigations are still taking place, but the fire
was so ferocious and we believe the intensity points
to the possibility of an accelerant being used. That’s
why the Fire Brigade battled for a long time to
control the fire and it's strange because it’s not like
there were many things in the bedroom, it was very
spacious.

“At this point, there are so many things that do
not add up. What caused the explosion when the
fire started? The explosion was heard by the guard
and the owner of the neighbouring penthouse.
Was it even him who called out for help when a
neighbour asked what was going on, and if it was
indeed him, was he fully conscious such that he
could escape?

“The shorts he was wearing and the T-shirt were
not burnt and his body was intact, which is evi-
dence that he was not exposed to the direct fire al-
though he had burns on his hands, legs and upper
lip. It makes no sense why he did not escape unless
he was immobilised, drugged or held against his
will, like we suspect.”

Munatsi’s family was informed of the tragedy by
his chef Saurosi Marichambo (53) who had report-
ed for duty, only to see the police and Fire Brigade
attending the scene.

Marichambo called Munatsi’s young broth-
er, Cardmelon who rushed to the house with the
banker’s two nephews.

Munatsi was found dead while in a sitting posi-
tion in his bathroom after the Fire Brigade, which

NewsHawks News Page 61

Issue 62, 24 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

Page 62 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 62, 24 December 2021

From one scary
year to another
AS the world trudges towards the third year of the
Covid-19 pandemic, Zimbabweans can expect tougher Another dark Xmas for Zim
days ahead in a country whose failed leadership has left WE are right in the midst of the season of ed economic crisis. It is not an old story as is stabilising and the situation is improving,
the population at the mercy of economic, social and po- celebration — but it is also a time of great apologists of the regime would like to say; it life for the majority is tough. It does not
litical vulnerabilities. concern, anxiety and anguish. is very much current. matter whether one has a formal job or an
informal one.
You do not have to be a prophet of doom to notice the In Zimbabwe, it is now 21 years of mis- Zimbabwe critically needs reforms more
ominous signs. ery in politics, economically and socially — than anything, but unfortunately President That is why under this government and
everywhere from cities to rural areas people Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is un- second pandemic year, many Zimbabwe-
The point of departure is that Zimbabwe is a country are suffering. able or unwilling to reform, or both. ans will be celebrating Christmas under the
in perpetual election mode. shadow of sadness, grief and uncertainty.
The nation is broken, ruined and the All these issues have come to the fore as For the past two decades, Christmas has al-
Even six months after a general election, the so-called majority are brutalised and reeling from we go through the festive season ahead of ways carried more than a hint of darkness
victors in this country are in the habit of focusing on the poverty. People are under siege at homes, the New Year. for Zimbabweans.
next election, instead of knuckling down to the serious workplaces, hospitals and schools. Basics
business of governing. like food, water, electricity and health are People are going through a dark festive The joyous celebration of the birth of
a struggle to get. It is a human tragedy in Christ has now become an occasion for
Inevitably, a needlessly tense and toxic political atmo- many ways. Hawk Eye gloom and nostalgia, particularly when
sphere is created. families spend Xmas separated by poverty
This is not an old broken song. It is en- Dumisani or other tragic events.
It does not provide an ideal environment for economic during reality and has refused to go away. Muleya
stability and development. It will not go away anytime soon unless the In the past, Zimbabweans used to look
nation’s problems are fixed — at root cause. season — Xmas and New Year holidays — forward to the festive season with anticipa-
If the political chaos spawned by Zanu PF in 2021 was So far Zimbabwe has been grappling with due to the failure of their leaders to govern tion, excitement and joy. It was a period of
very troubling— and the violent attacks on main oppo- symptoms of the problem. The problem be- properly and ensure a decent standard of family get-togethers; touching base with
sition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa’s entourage ing a catastrophic failure of governance. It living. family, relatives and friends.
in Masvingo and Manicaland vividly come to mind — all boils down to this.
2022 is bound to be a whole lot worse. Of course, the situation is far more com- The festive mood was usually set by mu-
From whatever perspective you look at plex and there is a lot more to it — in other sicians and radio presenters, workers excited
Zanu PF is a law unto itself. This can only get worse as the Zimbabwean situation, it comes down words there are internal and external factors by bonus and the rush from urban to rural
the country inches closer to election day. to this: governance failure. In fact, the to explain Zimbabwe’s failure, but these are areas mostly, or vice-versa and across towns
problem is broadly leadership, policy and the fundamental issues that lie at the heart and cities.
We can expect a marked deterioration in democracy. governance failures. Zimbabwe’s leadership, of the problem.
The doctrine of the separation of powers requires that the policies and institutions are weak and inef- Travel, Christmas lights, decorations,
three branches of government — the executive, legisla- fective, making them vulnerable in terms As Zimbabweans suffer yet another gifts and parties were not an exception as
ture and judiciary — must not stray beyond their respec- of capacity to deliver services to citizens, to gloomy festive season amid threats to dem- they now are, but the norm. There were
tive constitutional functions. curb corruption, or ensure accountability. ocratic values, human rights, property rights Xmas countdown routines in anticipation
and the rule of law, autocrats and kleptocrats of the great day of the festive season.
Civil liberties, human rights and the rule of law can Those who deny this, which is their right in charge are further taking advantage of a
only be upheld if each of these branches of government and they are right in their wrongness, are brutalised and cowed population and a na- Not anymore.
stick to their mandate. usually sympathisers or bootlickers of the re- tion made all the more weary by the global Now families cannot even travel to visit
gime. They are either ignorantly or wilfully Covid-19 pandemic. their families or relatives in rural areas or
In Zimbabwe, there is no legislature to talk about. blind to reality, dishonest or both. They are other towns or cities. People now prefer to
Working with compromised political guns for hire, the enjoying looting or the crumbs to a point of While government claims the economy stay at home. Mostly due to lack of money
Zanu PF government has subverted one of the consti- being in denial or folly. and poverty. And also Covid-19.
tution’s most sacred precepts: the citizens’ right to elect Despite all this, Zimbabweans should
their own representatives. Even those plundering the nation or- not lose hope and allow their tormentors
dinarily know what the problem is: The to spoil their festive seasons and steal their
Councillors and legislators who were elected in 2018 country is deep in the throes of a protract- future forever.
have been recalled in a well-calculated ploy to decimate
the opposition and strengthen the hand of a faltering
Zanu PF.

As a result, the electorate has lost confidence in the
electoral process. It is not surprising at all that only a
few people have actually bothered to register as voters in
2020 and this year. When the ballots of millions of citi-
zens are subverted through such brazen political chica-
nery, people have every right to question the entire point
of voting.

Another sure bet for 2022 is that corruption can only
continue spiralling out of control. Since Covid-19 first
broke out in earnest at the beginning of 2020, Zimba-
bweans have witnessed the alarming growth of cartels.

The state is now captured by shadowy forces who use
their proximity to power to extract super profits at the
expense of the national interest. Political leaders are at
the beck and call of these powerful cartels which are not
accountable to anyone.

The economy in 2022 is unlikely to deliver prosperity
to the poverty-stricken majority. It will fatten the pock-
ets of politically connected individuals and their crony
networks.

Zimbabwe is an unequal society. The gap between the
haves and the have nots can only widen.

In a normal country, a New Year should inspire op-
timism for better days. In Zimbabwe, it can only serve
to highlight the glut of squandered opportunities, failed
leadership and a ruinous refusal to reform.

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 [email protected] The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the
human rights and liberties in the con- No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue [email protected] 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: [email protected] 24Hr Complaints Line: 0772 125 659

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
WhatsApp: 0772 125 658, Twitter: @vmcz

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

NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 63

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

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

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE Chengetedzai in bid to
nullify SECZ directive
DEPOSITORY company Chengetedzai has ap-
proached the High Court seeking to nullify a ZSE (below) and Finance minister Mthuli Ncube are being cited as second and third respondents does not empower directors of a company to
directive by the Securities and Exchange Com- respectively in a High Court application by Chengetedzai. deal with shares issued to securities depositors/
mission of Zimbabwe (SECZ) to migrate regis- shareholders in the manner prescribed by the
ters between the central securities depositories, rities depository. The Directive takes away the provisions of the Act as read with section 71 directive.”
that is from Chengetedzai, to the Zimbabwe shareholder’s right to decide where their shares of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the pro-
Stock Exchange. should be kept or deposited and places that visions of the Companies and Other Business Chengetedzai lawyers Wintertons in a 1 De-
decision in the hands of the board of directors Entities Act Chapter 24:31). Section 218(1) of cember letter to Ncube said their client was be-
In the court application filled last week, of the issuer companies. That is ultra vires the the Companies and Other Business Entities Act ing intimidated by SECZ to transfer registers to
Chengetedzai said the October 2021 directive ZSE, failure of which Chengetedzai would face
by SECZ is illegal, as it is a breach of the con- sanctions.
stitution and had not been approved by Finance
minister Mthuli Ncube. “Following the decision of the court of the
11th of November 2021 SECZ has demanded
The first respondent in the matter is the reg- that client complies with the Directive failing
ulatory authority, SECZ, the second is the Zim- which severe sanctions will be visited upon it.
babwe Stock Exchange Limited (ZSE) and third The demand has been communicated in tele-
respondent is Minister of Finance and Econom- phone calls, meetings and in writing. We attach
ic Development, Ncube. hereto letters exchanged between our client and
SECZ dated 16th 18th and 25th November
Following the directive, Chengetedzai also 2021,” the letter read.
sought Ncube’s intervention, but to no avail.
The parties had also exchanged several letters “In issuing the directive, SECZ stated that it
with Chengetedzai expressing its disgruntle- was acting in terms of Section 4 as read with
ment, but no resolution was reached. paragraph 21 of the First Schedule of the Act.
We submit that subsection (2) of Section 4
Soon after the directive, some stakeholders which lists the functions of SECZ provides that
launched an urgent chamber application chal- these are exercised subject to (other provisions
lenging the legality of the directive. However, of ) the Act. Other provisions obviously include
the application was deemed not urgent and sub- Section 118 of the Act. We contend that SECZ
sequently thrown out. in exercise of its functions failed to comply with
all the provisions of the Act.”
Chengetedzai and the ZSE were once in dis-
cussions for the latter to take over control as it A depository, as explained by the company, is
was already a shareholder in the depository. a provider of facilities for holding and/or trans-
acting securities in, book entry form. Physical
The intention was to result in the ZSE be- securities can be converted to book entry form,
ing the sole shareholder of Chengetedzai. ZSE that is, electronic form by way of immobilisa-
would then run a depository to complement tion or dematerialisation (so that they exist only
its offering to capital market players and ser- as electronic records).
vice. Chengetedzai shareholders would become
shareholders in ZSE.

A valuation was done and Chengetedzai con-
trolling shareholders objected to the deal. The
ZSE walked away and set up its own, which
Chengetedzai contested once the former was
licensed by the SECZ.

ZSE has since gone on to recruit issuers of
shares (companies listed on the ZSE) offering
listing fee discounts, which has been another
bone of contention by Chengetedzai. Subse-
quently, a few companies have crossed over to
ZSE Depository and dragged shareholders on
their share register as they were not consulted
but notified, again another area of contention.

Chengetedzai is arguing that SECZ was not
supposed to approve the implementation of a
statutory Instrument prior to the approval by
Ncube. It is also arguing that SECZ was not
supposed to force the transfer of registers; but
should foster competition by allowing deposito-
ries to convince shareholders of issuers to move
their respective shares and not en masse.

“The applicant (Chengetedzai) and other
stakeholders are aggrieved with the directive.
The Applicant contends that the mandatory
and material procedure for the making of such
directives prescribed by Section 111 of the Act
was not followed and complied with by SECZ
in the issuance of the Directive,” the application
reads.

“Further, SECZ did not comply with the
procedural fairness requirement prescribed
by Section 3 of the Administrative Justice Act
(Chapter 10:28) in the issuance of the Direc-
tive, which directive has a direct a d actual im-
pact on the Applicant’s rights and interests.

“Applicant is also aggrieved by the substance
of the Directive in (that) it takes away the prop-
erty rights of securities depositors/shareholder
in respect of their shares deposited with a secu-

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 65

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

NHAU MANGIRAZI Domestic bookings surge a
relief to tourism operators
SOME regional and international tourists can-
celled their festive season bookings in the resort said. figures on daily basis, so we doubted that clients Covid-19 pandemic.
town of Kariba and Chirundu, but a surge in He could not immediately provide statistics of who had made pre-booking arrangements could ‘‘It is true that some hospitality players along
bookings from domestic tourists has brought a make it. However, I am happy to see that people
measure of relief to the tourism industry. the international cancellations. are still able to travel with great caution. If they the Zambezi River had last-minute cancellations
Kariba Publicity Association (KPA) chairper- were not allowed it was going to be the worst from potential local and regional visitors ahead
The cancellation followed the placing on a red blow in our tourism sector that has endured the of the festive season. Some indicated to me that
list of several countries in southern Africa, among son Mabhena Mutumwa said some lodges were previous national lockdowns that had a negative this affected their plans. I do not have statistics of
them Zimbabwe, because of the discovery of the fully booked. impact of reviving the sector,’’ added Mutumwa how many were affected, but I can confirm that
Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the region. the Covid-19 bug had a negative effect ahead of
He said the response from domestic tour- Chirundu Local Board secretary Wilson the festive season around Chirundu,’’ said Gunhe
Big tourism source markets in the region, ists was encouraging, given concerns around Gunhe also bemoaned cancellations due to the in a telephone interview.
including the United Kingdom and the United Covid-19.
States, placed Zimbabwe on the red list, result-
ing in some international flights temporarily sus- ‘‘The Covid-19 new wave came with rising
pending flights, thereby affecting tourism.

Some tourists either cancelled or postponed
their bookings as a result.

This has negatively affected the tourism sec-
tor that is battling for breathing space following
national lockdowns that forced many people to
remain indoors for the greater part of last year
and this year.

Kariba Tourism and Business Indaba boss
Cephas Shonhiwa said: ‘‘The red flag and the
travel ban by the European countries to some Af-
rican countries, including Zimbabwe caused a lot
of damage especially to the house boat industry.
There were a lot of cancellations on houseboat
bookings ahead of this festive season. We antic-
ipated capitalising during the festive season to
bring hope in the sector since we had been out
of business for too long. The red flag ban had a
lot of damage on tourism and we are feeling the
pinch locally,’’ Shonhiwa said.

He said regional travellers were also affected by
the closure of borders, further harming tourism.

‘‘We had hoped international tourists were go-
ing to market our town as an international tour-
ist destination but all was not to be as fate has
it,’’ he added.

‘‘Regional travellers from Zambia, South Afri-
ca and other nations were keen to travel to Kari-
ba this festive season but because of the closure
of borders for road transport they also had to
cancel their trips and this affected the players in
industry from lodgings, boat cruising game drive
as well as fishing on the lake shores. This was dev-
astating.

“Fortunately, some lodges in Kariba are fully
booked due to domestic tourists. We appreciate
our local people, we have seen increased numbers
of domestic travellers here in Kariba,’’ Shonhiwa

Curtis to step down as Caledonia Mining CEO

DUMISANI NYONI deep-level exploration which, if successful, will Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc chief executive officer Steve Curtis
extend Blanket Mine’s life.
CALEDONIA Mining Corporation Plc chief
executive officer Steve Curtis is set to resign “Completion of the Central Shaft and the
from his current position with effect from 30 anticipated increase in cash generation is an ex-
June 2022, having served the mining firm for cellent foundation for Caledonia’s growth. Un-
more than seven years, the company said in a der Steve’s stewardship, the strength and depth
statement. of Caledonia’s management team has increased
so that it has the capacity to take on new proj-
He will be succeeded as CEO by Mark Lear- ects,” he said.
month, Caledonia’s current chief finance officer.
“In recent years, under Steve’s leadership,
Curtis (65) will continue to serve as a direc- Caledonia has also improved its relevance to
tor of Caledonia, transitioning from an execu- international capital markets, which has result-
tive to a non-executive role by the end of 2022. ed in a substantial increase in Caledonia’s share
He will also act as a consultant to the company price since 2014 and a significant increase in
until the end of 2023. the liquidity of its shares which now trade on
AIM, NYSE American and the VFEX in Zim-
Caledonia operates Blanket Mine in Gwan- babwe.”
da, Matabeleland South province.
Wilson said the process of recruiting Steve’s
Leigh Wilson, chairperson, said under his successor was carried out independently by
calm and steady leadership since November Spencer Stuart, a leading global executive
2014, Caledonia’s production has almost dou- search and leadership consulting firm. He said
bled and its market capitalisation has increased they were pleased that Learmonth accepted the
over four-fold. position as CEO as the board believes him to be
the right leader to take the company forward to
Steve has also laid the foundations for the its next stage of development.
next phase of Caledonia’s growth.
Learmonth joined Caledonia in 2008, hav-
“The Central Shaft project at Blanket Mine ing spent over 17 years in corporate finance and
has been the defining feature of Steve’s tenure investment banking, mostly in Africa. He has
as Caledonia’s CEO. This project commenced been Caledonia’s CFO since November 2014
in February 2015 and the shaft was successfully and is therefore experienced in the complexities
commissioned in March 2021,” Wilson said. and opportunities that arise from operating in
Zimbabwe, Wilson said.
The new shaft is expected to result in pro-
duction increasing to 80 000 ounces of gold per “I am delighted that Steve will remain with
annum from 2022 onwards — almost double Caledonia in a non-executive role and look for-
the level of production we achieved in 2014. ward to his invaluable guidance in the future,
which I am certain will continue to be a major
The Central Shaft is also expected to result in asset to the company,” he said.
lower operating costs and capital expenditure,
thereby enhancing earnings and cash generation
respectively, as well as allowing a resumption of

Page 66 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

‘Zim salaries lowest in southern Africa’

LABOUR and Economic Research In- Workers in Zimbabwe earn salaries that are far below their regional counterparts.
stitute of Zimbabwe (Ledriz) statistics
have revealed that the salary thresholds
being paid across the board are faring
much lower than Southern African
Development Community (Sadc)
levels, amid calls for social partners to
urgently commit to resolving the low-
pay crisis.

Speaking to The NewsHawks this
week, Ledriz senior researcher Prosper
Chitambara said on average, workers
in the country are earning far below
their regional counterparts.

“The average salary in Zimbabwe is
about ZW$18 000 per month equiva-
lent to US$180 at the official rate. In
South Africa, according to the Quar-
terly Employment Survey for the sec-
ond quarter of 2021, the average salary
paid to employees in the formal sector
was up marginally by 1.7% quarter on
quarter from R23 127 in February
2021 to R23 526 (US$1 568) in May
2021.

“This is 9.7% higher compared to
the same period in 2020. In Zambia
the national average salary is K4 393
equivalent to US$258,” he said.

The top researcher said the aver-
age salary in Mozambique at 40 200
meticais per month is equivalent to
US$629.86, while in Eswatini the av-
erage income is US$3 580.

The top academic also bemoaned
that despite poor income levels, Zim-
babwe also faces the dilemma of exor-
bitant inflation which stood at 58.4 %
as at November 2021, and when com-
pared to the regional levels, in Zambia
the annual inflation rate for October
2021 was 21.1%.

In Botswana, the annual inflation
rate for October 2021 was 8.8%; in
South Africa the annual inflation rate
for October 2021 was 5%; in Malawi
the annual inflation rate for October
2021 was 9%; in Namibia the annu-
al inflation rate for October 2021 was
3.6%; and in Mozambique annual in-
flation for October 2021 was 6.24%.

“Such income levels are clear testi-
mony that as Zimbabwe, we are not
competitive enough and the aspira-
tions to grow the economy may be
in jeopardy due to limited aggregate
demand as consumers do not have the
required buying power to acquire the
required goods and services.

“Automatically, this means that we
are falling behind the attainment of
Sustainable Development Goal 8 pillar
which talks about the need to achieve
decent work which remains a pipe-
dream due to the poor salaries,” Chi-
tambara said.

He urged social partners to be im-
mersed in honest negotiations which
will result in the payment of better
salaries which can salvage citizens from
poverty. “Another challenge which ur-
gently needs to be addressed is to find
ways to address income inequalities
which have seen businesspeople amass-
ing more wealth without a mechanism
to share it fairly,” he added.

However, Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary-gen-
eral Japhet Moyo blamed the entire
problem on economic reforms gone
wrong.

“The policy measures from the
Transitional Stabilisation Plan (TSP)
to the current National Development
Strategy 1 (NDS 1) have had adverse
effects on the working class. Workers
are forced to use a currency which does
not reflect the current market realities.
These measures, coupled with other
policies, continue to push workers to
the brink of poverty,” he said. — STAFF

WRITER.

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 67

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Thursday, 23 December 2021

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price Traded Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
AFDIS Consumer Goods (cents) 12130.00 Volume Value ($) (cents) ($m)
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH Price 640.65 (%)
ART ASUN: ZH 12130.00 966.67 -
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 660.45 - 320.12 6,200 - - - 405.42 14,494.69
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 900.14 650.00 2695.28 39,720 -19.80 -3.00 276.85 9,122.42
BAT AXIA: ZH 350.46 900.00 900 66.53 7.39 102.52 4,224.13
CAFCA Consumer Goods 2700.02 320.25 266823.53 2,700 8,700 -30.34 -8.66 138.90 5,209.62
Cassava Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 2695.00 17000.00 213,200 8,643 -4.74 -0.18 194.24
CBZ CAFCA: ZH 266823.53 3618.37 5,746,335 385.13 14,882.00
CFI Industrials 17000.00 - 7000.01 - - - 89.10 55,055.08
Dairibord Technology CSZL: ZH 3704.66 17000.00 8195.96 100 - - - 456.67
Delta CBZ: ZH 7000.00 3400.00 3200.00 55,300 17,000 -86.29 -2.33 -18.09 1,484.97
Econet Banking CFI:ZH 8195.96 7000.00 14001.37 17,511,100 2,000,960 0.01 0.00 11484.40 93,736.67
Edgars Industrials DZL: ZH 3200.00 7417.14 1,225,778,000 - - 144.27 36,586.35
FBC Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 13343.73 - - - - 515.42
Fidelity Consumer Goods ECO: ZH 7280.60 3200.00 410.00 1,000 - 657.64 4.93 684.88 8,691.07
First Capital Telecommunications 14005.00 2901.18 133,300 32,000 136.54 1.88 241.67 11,456.03
FML Consumer Services EDGR: ZH 460.87 7550.00 1300.00 257,600 18,663,830 -50.87 -11.04 93.24 182,602.45
FMP FBC: ZH 3095.00 410.00 360.00 2,500 19,106,550 -193.82 -6.26 581.70 192,146.71
GBH Banking FIDL: ZH 1100.00 2900.00 2000.00 50,800 10,250 200.00 18.18 227.27
Getbucks Financial Services FCA: ZH 311.42 1300.00 762.22 1,600 1,473,800 48.58 15.60 90.48 2,477.42
Hippo 2197.17 360.00 207.96 20,800 -197.17 -8.97 135.25 19,494.48
Innscor Banking FMHL: ZH 762.22 2000.00 600.00 300 - - 766.50
Lafarge Financial Services FMP: ZH 194.59 25000.00 200 1,080 13.37 6.87 4700.00 1,416.00
Mash GBH: ZH 600.00 - 14449.00 4,000 - - 177.78 7,775.33
Masimba Real Estate 25000.00 200.00 8000.00 - - - 290.20 13,802.86
Medtech Industrials GBFS: ZH 14678.09 600.00 279.81 1,185,600 - -229.09 -1.56 733.33 9,437.48
Medtech Class B HIPO: ZH 8000.00 4941.18 2,465,516 - - 200.87 1,115.89
Meikles Financial Services 274.33 - 4160.00 600 5.48 2.00 341.18 6,978.71
Nampak Consumer Goods INN: ZH 4941.18 14500.00 2500.00 - 3,600 - - 110.54 48,255.14
NatFoods LACZ: ZH 5200.00 12500.00 - -1040.00 -20.00 38.89 82,341.45
NTS Industrials MASH: ZH 2266.67 - 1000.00 184,400 233.33 10.29 468.06 6,400.00
NMBZ Industrials MSHL: ZH 11500.90 300.00 135000.00 - 26,643,950 999.10 8.69 338.12 5,201.87
OK Zim Real Estate MMDZ: ZH 985.71 630.00 - 14.29 1.45 2146.26 11,940.54
Proplastics Industrials MMDZB: ZH 135000.00 - 1078.00 118,300 - - 2195.08
RTG Financial Services MEIK: ZH 630.00 4160.00 2040.56 - 331,021 - - 169.47 499.20
RioZim Financial Services NPKZ: ZH 1100.00 2500.00 2900.00 - -22.00 -2.00 126.73 33.55
SeedCo Industrials NTFD: ZH 2095.95 12500.00 748.11 100 -55.39 -2.64 236.83
Simbisa Industrials 2950.01 1000.00 3900.00 100 4,160 -50.01 -1.70 290.15 31,580.76
Star Africa Consumer Goods NTS: ZH 694.41 9907.68 1,400 2,500 53.70 7.73 160.84 7,556.48
Truworths Industrials NMB: ZH 3900.00 - 8241.24 7,300 175,000 - - 330.77
TSL OKZ: ZH 9918.90 - 118.49 73,000 -11.22 -0.11 585.75 92,340.15
Turnall Banking PROL: ZH 8019.48 1100.00 226.83 - 221.76 2.77 338.85 1,599.40
Unifreight Consumer Services RTG: ZH 116.28 2090.00 7495.09 - - 2.21 1.90 668.92 4,356.97
Willdale RIOZ: ZH 227.50 2900.00 390.25 500 - -0.67 -0.29 334.50
ZB Industrials SEED: ZH 7500.00 700.00 2955.00 263,400 5,390 -4.91 -0.07 319.62 26,239.24
Zeco Consumer Services SIM: ZH 380.00 - 294.97 113,000 5,374,825 10.25 2.70 15787.10 7,306.13
Zimpapers SACL: ZH 2760.00 9920.00 7700.00 5,300 3,277,000 195.00 7.07 821.78
Zimplow Basic Materials TRUW: ZH 293.35 8100.00 - 39,650 1.62 0.55 220.83 18,669.05
ZHL Consumer Goods TSL: ZH 7700.00 117.00 0.48 77,900 - - - 2300.00 4,759.15
TOTAL Consumer Goods TURN: ZH 225.00 300.00 356,500 7,718,080 - - 206.12
Consumer Goods UNIF: ZH 0.48 7495.00 2400.00 507,200 29,380,020 - - 380.00 24,492.05
Consumer Services WILD: ZH 300.00 390.25 340.06 300 600,965 - - 46,331.00
Consumer Goods ZBFH: ZH 2400.00 2955.00 90,500 681 -39.81 -10.48 8.48
ZECO: ZH 379.87 295.00 3,400 6,783,060 5,586.90
Industrials ZIMP: ZH - 100 13,269 871.18
Industrials ZIMPLOW: ZH - 8,700 2,955
Industrials ZHL: ZH - - 25,663 26,765.15
2400.00 - - 1,924.09
Banking 370.00 - - 3,146.31
Industrials 2,600 - 5,244.57
Consumer Services 15,700 62,400
Industrials 21,179,700 53,390 13,489.68
Financial Services 1,355,947,762 2.22

1,728.00
8,269.93
6,183.03
1,185,303.56

ETFs OMTT.zw 516.32 414.00 426.68 25,494 108,778 -89.64 -17.36 325.74 341.34
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF
8,301.17
FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 10000.00 - 10000.00 -- - 277.36
Old Mutual Zimbabwe US$m
70.00
VFEX (US cents) Mining BIND:VX 5.50 - 5.50 - -- -- 8.06
BNC Mining CMCL:VX 1300.00 - 1300.00 - -- - 2.85
Caledonia Consumer Goods - -- - -41.67 113.73
Padenga Consumer Goods PHL:VX 21.00 21.00 - -- - 55.83 107.00
SeedCo International SCIL:VX 28.05 28.05
YTD %
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % +581.70
ZSE All Share 9,822.91 -3.47 10,176.15 +273.58 Fidelity 1300.00c +200.00c +18.18 +227.27
Top 10 6,054.74 -4.01 +265.96 First Capital +48.58c +15.60 +38.89
Top 15 6,681.36 -4.32 6,307.76 +242.98 Medtech Class B 360.00c +233.33c +10.29 +468.06
Small Cap +0.89 6,983.14 +3113.14 Meikles 2500.00c +999.10c +8.69 +290.15
Medium Cap 381,597.49 -3.58 378,236.93 +244.52 RTG 12500.00c +53.70c +7.73
19,170.24 19,882.58 YTD %
748.11c +110.54
+241.67
Top 5 Fallers Price Change %
Medtech 4160.00c -1040.00c -20.00 +8.48
Edgars -50.87c -11.04 +90.48
ZHL 410.00c -39.81c -10.48 +138.90
FML 340.06c -197.17c -8.97
Ariston 2000.00c -30.34c -8.66
320.12c

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

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

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

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

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Page 68 News Analysis NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO/ NHAU MANGIRAZI Bleeding economy, Covid-19
eclipse Zim’s Christmas bliss
THE majority of Zimbabweans are enduring yet
another bleak Christmas as unrelenting econom- At Western Union, dozens of money seekers wait impatiently to withdraw forex sent by relatives abroad.
ic hardships continue to haunt millions of fam-
ilies while the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has With a smile on his face, Gladys Muite (30) “On Christmas Day, teachers will be sharing were more vulnerable.
unleashed a fourth wave dampening the festive emerges from a money transfer agent banking hall their unpleasant experiences under theme #For- ‘‘Our health delivery system is battling to re-
mood. holding crisp notes. getUsNot. We are completely excluded from the
pleasantries of the festive season. We are battling cover against the Covid-19 challenges. Nurses are
A drive around the major shopping areas in His mother, who is staying overseas, sent him with brutal poverty imposed by Mthuli Ncube's definitely not safe ahead of the festive season due
Harare showed low activity, at a time families nor- money for the festive season. austerity measures. Christmas Day is a day for to high Covid-19 infections as more people are
mally stampede to buy Christmas goodies before teachers to inspire each other on the urgent need complacent and getting infected daily. People are
they travel for holidays. He is looking forward to the festivities, which to rise and demand a dignified salary in the form relaxed and have thrown the adherence protocol
include a braai with friends. of the pre-October 2018 salaries,” Masaraure said. to the bin ahead of the festive season. Whenever
More traffic could be seen at downtown tuck- the ordinary citizens are infected, the health per-
shops which sell relatively cheaper commodities. “I queued here for about four hours, but I am While Zimbabweans grapple with economic sonnel as frontlines are worst affected. We call on
glad that I got the money. I was getting worried woes ahead of Christmas, the Omicron variant is people to be vaccinated and save the health deliv-
In major supermarkets, only a few affluent that the holidays may come without accessing the raging. ery system that is understaffed due to poor remu-
customers could be seen with trollies laden with cash,” he said with a smile. neration that has seen a massive exodus of many
Christmas groceries. Experts believe the fourth wave is already in in the sector,’’ Dongo said.
With over 90% unemployment, a few lucky Zimbabwe with Christmas gatherings expected to
To worsen an already dampened Christmas, workers enjoy annual bonuses, while the civil ser- see a spike in cases. Dongo said nurses are demanding better sala-
prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing. vants and other private sector workers continue to ries in view of a poor quality of life.
suffer. While some companies failed to pay work- Zimbabweans will be cautious ahead of Christ-
A snap survey by The NewsHawks of big super- ers’ salaries before the holidays, others compensat- mas holidays while healthcare workers continue ‘‘Government must provide adequate personal
markets like OK Zimbabwe showed that prices of ed their employees with grocery coupons. to remain exposed to the Omicron variant. protective equipment to nurses who are battling
basic commodities had increased, with sugar cost- without enough of these when they work in pub-
ing ZW$414.99 (US$2.40); 10kg mealie-meal Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zim- Zimbabwe National Nurses (Zina) president lic institutions,’’ Dongo said.
ZW$679.00 (US4); rice ZW$422.99 (US$2.50); babwe (Artuz) president Obert Masaraure said the Enock Dongo confirmed that health personnel
cooking oil ZW$699.99 while in TM PICK n working class will endure a Christmas of poverty.
PAY sugar costs ZW$399.99 (US$2.10); mea-
lie-meal 10kg ZW$769.99 (US$6.10); rice 2kg With inflation on the upward trend and incomes remaining stagnant, Zimbabweans will continue to sing the blues over the Christmas holidays.
ZW$499.99 (US$2.75); while cooking oil cost
ZW$719.99 (US$6.05).

At Edgars, children’s body tops cost ZW$1
530 (US$7.70); cheaper dresses ZW$7 200
(US$51.40); while ladies relatively cheaper blous-
ers cost ZW$2 700 (US$13.40).

With inflation on the upward trend and in-
comes remaining stagnant, Zimbabweans will
continue to sing the blues over the Christmas
holidays. While it is tradition for families to buy
Christmas clothing for their young ones, low
traffic in clothing stores was testimony that Zim-
babweans have less disposable income, following
a gruelling year worsened by the Covid-19 pan-
demic.

At Mbare Musika bus terminus, which is tradi-
tionally a hive of activity, as buses ferry thousands
of Zimbabweans to their rural homes, The News-
Hawks team witnessed low traffic of commuters.
These are the lucky ones who can afford bus fare
to their rural homes, while also carrying a few
goodies for the folks in the countryside.

Only a few buses recorded full passenger capac-
ity, as many urban dwellers decided to stay put in
town. The year 2021 was blighted by Covid-19.
Zimbabweans have in recent years complained of
stolen festive seasons, owing to gross mismanage-
ment by government and corruption which has
bled the country billions of dollars annually.

The Covid-19 pandemic has compounded the
misery.

Tanatswa Rego (45) said there is no Christmas
cheer in her home as she can only afford basic
foodstuffs.

“My children think I do not care because there
is no money to buy them Christmas clothes and
other goodies they like. I am already thinking of
their school fees because January is only a few
days away,” Rego, a mother of four told The New-
sHawks.

Rego, a tailor, said that 2021 was a year to for-
get as life remained unbearable in Zimbabwe.

“I survived through God’s grace. My daily in-
come was affected and surviving was difficult in
terms of basics and the travelling restrictions. Go-
ing forward I have learnt to adjust my daily needs
so that my income can last through the month,”
Rego, who is also a widow, said.

Gaylord Mazivisa (40) said: “Life is very tough
and Christmas is no longer the same. I am used to
spending Christmas at home so I have to go. All
I could afford is this small parcel for my mother,
the rest we will see when I get there.”

At Mbare Musika, Paurina Mazvitei (50)
trudges with a bag firmly set on her head as she
walks towards a bus.

A group of bus touts try to persuade her to
board the bus.

“I struggled to get money to visit my village. It
has been a long year, I just need to spend my holi-
day with her. But it has been a struggle,” Mazvitei,
who was headed for Mutare, said.

“Christmas is a time to enjoy with family, but it
is always hard when there is no money. My child
who is out of the country had to send me some
money.”

At Western Union, dozens of money seekers
wait impatiently to withdraw forex sent by rela-
tives abroad. For years, people living in the dias-
pora have rescued Christmas for their struggling
families in Zimbabwe.

NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 69

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

THE title of this paper comes Who will deliver Zim ically the opposition remains
from a conversation with an to the promised land? stuck on liberalism, religiosity,
anonymous 92-year-old woman democracy but more specifically
in Harare's Kuwadzana suburb. line along the following lines; think it is relevant in this case. President Emmerson Mnangagwa. a demand that Zanu PF should
“Prophet Pxxxx takes a one-week Has no one from the MDC ever expand the democratic space,
She lamented in Shona: “Dai break from social media”. The heard that proclamation? If they as a condition for voting might civil liberties and rule of law de-
pawana anotisvitsa kuZimba- fact that an attention-seeking have, why do they all seem to also not work because the MDC mands. This can be a very narrow
bwe nokuti hatisati tasvika”. self-appointed prophet allegedly believe Zanu PF would simply splinter group to which Nelson perspective. For example, they
This loosely translates to: “I wish took a break from social media yield to these demands? And for Chamisa belongs is no longer conceive the rule of law within
someone could deliver Zimba- became headline news! This mis- those who have not heard that considered as the official opposi- the liberal frame and, as I previ-
bwe to the promised land”. Her directed attention on the ephem- statement or disagree with it, tion, therefore elections can still ously argued elsewhere, this has
perceptive quote resonates with eral is equally an indictment on why would a party with over 60 go ahead with or without them. huge cracks because of the fail-
historical and contemporary po- the Zimbabwean leadership and years’ experience of perpetrating ure to acknowledge the fact that
litical events and my previous its lack of capacity to provide violence suddenly stop because It is less than two years before the bases of some aspects of the
article titled Crisis of Political moral guidance that could not the MDC demanded that they the next elections and the MDC “rule of law” which they want to
Leadership in Zimbabwe. only help the country overcome should?  is only just making a demand for uphold at all cost were debated
bipartisan politics but also pro- the diaspora vote which Zanu PF and enacted by a parliament in
In this article, I write a revised duce a population that is critical- Clearly the laundry list of has refused to agree to previous- which not a single black person
version of that paper to reiterate ly engaged with discourses that demands is neither a plan nor ly. Given the very likelihood that could sit in besides for purposes
how critical the crisis has be- matter. strategy. This is despite the fact they would not allow it, what has of making tea and cleaning up
come, especially as the country that some critics have consis- the opposition done as contin- after the white conquests who
approaches the 2023 elections.  My previous criticism that the tently pointed that the MDC gency? Have they raised funding plundered and looted and needed
MDC does not have a coherent has to prove to potential voters to allow movement of voters to to protect their loot by all means.
It is becoming more and more strategy and is made up of in- that the party deserves their vote, come in and vote, especially from Consequently, in some cases the
clearer that Zimbabwe is like tellectually lazy leaders remains and this is by way of a plan or neighbouring countries? The an- rights of conquests came at the
the proverbial sheep without starkly supported by contem- strategy which people can evalu- swer is no. Have they taken the expense of the conquered, this is
a shepherd. The opposition is porary events. I recently came ate and use as a basis to make a initiative to ask countries that a very important point that the
split into two groups which are across their campaign poster in voting decision. The expectation are hosting the largest number of law schools at Zimbabwean uni-
using exactly the same name, which they make 12 demands that people should make a voting Zimbabwe refugees to assist on versities together with the MDC
while the ruling party continues that Zanu PF must: Demilitarise decisions on the basis of charis- this matter? The answer is yet an- which is dominated by esteemed
to unashamedly make desperate and reform the Zimbabwe Elec- matic authority is deceptive. other no. Have they thought of lawyers have failed to grapple
attempts to hoodwink Zimba- toral Commission; stop political coming up with a legal test case with. As a result, both rural and
bweans and the international violence; allow the diaspora vote, Perhaps potential voters would to compel the government to al- urban supporters of land reform
community into believing they etc.  have considered it strategy if the low postal voting by Zimbabwe- and proponents of reparation of
are reformed. The main propo- MDC leadership set their laun- ans in the diaspora? Again, the other historical injustices view
nent of this duplicity is Emmer- A few years ago, Professor Jon- dry list as conditions for partic- answer is a huge no.  the MDC with suspicion.   
son Mnangagwa who continues athan Moyo eloquently articu- ipating in the next elections and
to stream his self-deception that lated an open secret that Zanu that is clearly not the case be- It is indisputable that the Since I penned the previous
"The voice of the people is the PF will never reform itself out cause they are already mobilising laundry list of demands is naive. version of this paper, nothing
voice of God". Fortunately, his of power. I am not certain of the people to register to vote. Inci- So where exactly is Nelson Cha- much has changed for Dr Nkosa-
intended victims of empty rhet- context of that statement but I dentally, setting political reforms misa’s MDC strategy or plan? na Moyo. He remains a neoliber-
oric and doublespeak can now alism fanatic, arguing that run-
clearly see his hand in the recent Aside from the above tactical ning a country is like running a
killings, abductions and sexual or strategic concerns, ideolog- private corporation. In a recent
violence towards innocent Zim- interview with Trevor Ncube, he
babweans who are desperately asserted that, in order to recov-
calling out for change. On the er, the Zimbabwean economy
other hand, the International requires military tactics. This is
Monetary Fund and World Bank commonly understood as a top-
are inside trading, dictating the down methodology which is very
country’s monetary policy via a common with engineers and
very complicit proxy, Finance their big engineering projects,
minister Professor Mthuli Ncu- for example the construction of
be, who has resorted to the trick- Kariba Dam which, despite its
ery of buying good money (US disastrous impact on Tonga live-
dollar) using bad money (the lihoods and culture, never led to
artificially overvalued and use- the distribution of electricity to
less Zimbabwe dollar). Lastly, Binga homes and schools even
instead of providing moral and though the ancestors of Ton-
spiritual guidance in times of ga people lay buried in the lake
crisis, religious leaders are be- and the widened Zambezi River
coming wealthier as the crisis where rich people like Dr Moyo
deepens.  occasionally visit for fishing and
boat cruises. Similarly, the IMF
The absence of leadership ex- and World Bank have also pop-
tends even to civil society and in- ularised the top-down approach
cludes celebrated journalists who through conditionalities that
are hogging the limelight while they exclusively impose on poor
reducing the Zimbabwe crisis to countries. In this method of
corruption and misgovernance. governance, powerful segments
Surely it cannot be that simple. of society arm themselves with
But in saying this, it is important theories and ideologies which
to pay homage to the brave jour- they draw on to impose their
nalists who are risking their lives pre-packaged remedies on the
in holding power to account. ordinary person in the streets be-
But to illustrate my point, I will cause they are presumed not to
give an account of my experience have solutions to the problems
when I approached several Zim- that they face on a daily basis. 
babwe online newspapers in an
attempt to start a conversation Dr Moyo’s fervent support
about an idea or initiative in for trickle-down economics
which I attempt to harness the and a belief that foreign inves-
voice of ordinary Zimbabweans tors have the best interest of the
through a proposed Zimbabwe long-suffering people of Zimba-
People’s Charter – www.zim- bwe should be interpreted with
charter.com. I approached sev- the scepticism that it deserves. In
eral newspapers, including one his world, efficiency, profit max-
of the largest online newspapers imisation and cost savings are of
owned by Zimbabweans in the paramount concern over all else.
diaspora, but they completely In my view, theory and corpora-
ignored my attempts to engage tions should serve human needs,
with them. Just a few days af- not the other way round. Failure
ter disregarding my overtures,
they put a bold front news head-

Page 70 The Big Debate NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

to appreciate this is the reason MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa. old child? These are existential MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora.
why no one is blinking an eye problems which are reported in
when local and foreign-owned might become clear as time goes is enduring the worst hardship in Zimbabwe on a regular basis but caster House agreement which
mining companies are blatantly but what is clear at this time is recent years. They acquire money academia and policymakers are not only upheld white settler
disregarding health and safety his desire for power at all cost.  and wealth by simply compelling turning a blind eye.  neo-colonialism, but also forced
regulations and failing to pro- black Zimbabweans to pay for
vide severance packages and Ngaruvhume and his support- their congregants to surrender In most countries, it takes the financial costs of Rhode-
pensions. Not only that, Zimba- ers’ main contention and basis of it to them, arguing that the do- close to a decade of university ed- sians’ disastrous experiment with
bwean insurance companies are their protest was “anti-corrup- nations or tithe will please God, ucation before one can be grant- Apartheid. They also imposed
refusing to pay pensioners even tion”. This protest objective is return blessings and end poverty ed the authority to take charge the Economic Structural Ad-
after decades of appropriating exactly similar to the street pro- and suffering. of anyone’s physical and emo- justment Programme (Esap) and
their monthly pension contri- tests that eventually contributed Zimbabwe and South Africa tional wellbeing. In Zimbabwe, several disastrous interventions
butions; mobile money compa- to the removal of Robert Mug- have robust evidence of religious anybody can manage vulnerable in and outside Zimbabwe. 
nies are deducting over 13% fees abe from power in November leaders, particularly self-appoint- people’s spiritual health by sim-
just for the privilege of making 2017. The wording might have ed prophets and traditional heal- ply consulting voodoo priests In part, these sad observa-
a payment; medical aid chief ex- been slightly different in that ers, dabbling in all sorts of ne- (aka "spiritual fathers") some- tions support my suspicion that
ecutives are remunerating them- the latter was at times referred to farious activities, such as ritual where in Africa and coming back Zimbabwe has failed to produce
selves half a million United States as a march against the (alleged) killings, sexual violence against a “man of God”. If that fails, one thought leaders capable of lay-
dollars per month while hospital criminal cabal in the so-called women and children, occultic can simply wake up one day and ing the foundations of a truly
bills of people suffering from G40 headed and or sponsored by practices, conspicuous consump- claim to be a spirit medium or post-independent nation. The
various sorts of chronic illnesses Grace Mugabe. The important tion, human trafficking, you traditional healer and appropri- foundations upon which we cur-
go unpaid. In all these examples, point to note is that a success- name it. These excessive prac- ate, as they wish, the authority rently depend on are not ours.
corporations and some of the ful protest does not always yield tices are clearly documented in that comes with that. 
values that Dr Moyo hold dearly, liberation because Zimbabweans reputable newspapers, state radio Given the incompetence and
in particular efficiency and prof- are now yoked to a more violent and social media broadcasts but The ruling party has no idea blatant self-interest of people
it maximisation, are privileged regime headed by Mnangagwa.  meaninglessly abstracted in aca- how to revive the Zimbabwean who should be providing leader-
over human beings.  economy and livelihoods. Equal- ship, who will deliver the nation
Ngaruvhume’s failed protest demia.  ly, the main opposition is headed to the promised land?
Another top-down mode of was as poorly planned and as Indeed, these dark areas of by a wannabe man of God who
governance is apartheid, its ori- shortsighted as the protest that religion are sanitised via theo- has spiritualised Zimbabwe’s I strongly believe the answer
gins are buried at a South Afri- removed Mugabe. If he success- retical concepts. I read a recent problems. On the whole, all op- to Zimbabwe’s problems lies in
can university which still stands fully managed to remove Mnan- PhD thesis on money and reli- position and ruling party leaders them; we just do not know yet
today. Once accepted by the gagwa, who would have been in gion in Zimbabwe, the findings are pre-occupied with their own the solutions that they might
academic community, apartheid power today? My guess is that it from that research never men- survival and fight for legitimacy. come up with. As we speak, they
was enthusiastically adopted and would have been someone just as tioned manipulation of vulnera- The inconsequential opposition are of interest to the ruling party,
promoted by powerful segments bad, if not worse, but I will ex- ble people, excessive wealth and leaders whom I never mentioned opposition and the church only
of Africana stock.  pand on this in the conclusion. conspicuous consumption by in this article have been co-opted as voting fodder and a source of
and silenced with luxurious cars excessive rent extraction.
The Zimbabwean government While Ngaruvhume was busy prophets right in the midst of and undisclosed financial pack-
recently imposed what they call mobilising the youth to protest poverty and misery was justified ages paid to them by Mnangag- If you are an ordinary card car-
command agriculture and from against “corruption” and possi- as deserved and earned, forced wa from state resources.   rying member of MDC, Zapu,
that, millions of US dollars end- bly to also remove Mnangagwa donations were conceived as vol- Zanu PF, other opposition par-
ed up in the pockets of politicians — but of cause without declar- untary, the abuse of excessive au- Civil society has been effec- ties and many who are apolitical,
and their sycophants. This is just ing it openly — the all-knowing thority was normalised, hypnotic tively decimated. The few that the future of Zimbabwe is safer
one of many examples which and all-seeing self-appointed episodes and other psychological remain pay attention only to only when it is firmly in your
suggest that Zimbabwe’s prob- prophets were busy instilling fear manipulations were embellished civil rights and governance issues hands.
lems originate right at the top, into the hearts and minds of the as godly experiences etc. In brief, and not much else. 
starting with the international fi- angry young Zimbabweans by it was completely unrelated with To ensure that this happens,
nancial institutions, in some cas- proclaiming that they see blood the above-mentioned empirical Religious leaders have failed please go to http://zimcharter.
es private corporations, educated in the streets. This suggests that realities which are readily com- to put their own houses in order com/nehanda-charter/ where you
elites and politicians who are far perhaps they had something to ing to light.  and in the process discredited re- can take part in drafting the
removed from the lives of peo- gain from the perpetuation of Scholars of religion will prob- ligion as a source of spiritual and Zimbabwe Charter, a practical
ple who are bearing the brunt of the political and economic crisis.    ably dismiss my criticisms as moral guidance in times of des- step towards defining the future
Zimbabwe’s economic hardships. perate need.  of the nation, for it is highly
The idea that answers to Zimba- Using similar tactics of ex- emotional and simplistic, but the improbable that the ones that
bwe’s problems are pre-packaged tracting undeserved authority by question remains: Why are theo- The IMF continues to med- live in 50- bedroom bulletproof
in Dr Moyo’s head, or in some self-ascribing a closeness to God, ries of dead white men privileged dle in the country’s financial af- mansions together with those
perfect theory or somewhere at for example calling themselves over the raw fact that a paedo- fairs even though they are part that charter private planes to at-
the top echelons of society is "men of God" etc. Zimbabwe phile (who also claims to be a of Zimbabwe’s financial crisis, tend medical check-ups abroad
unconvincing. In a recent tweet, prophets have become wealthy "man of God") has the nerve to starting with the racist Lan- at taxpayers’ expense are capable
Tendai Biti dismissed Dr Moyo’s just when the rest of the country rape and impregnate a 12-year- of defining the future of Zimba-
economic ideas as “command bwe on your behalf. 
economics”. Similarly, I am not
persuaded that the future of our
nation would be in safe hands if
he were to be allowed to unleash
his neoliberal ideals without re-
straint. 

Since I wrote the original arti-
cle critiquing poor leadership in
Zimbabwe, Jacob Ngaruvhume
and Douglas Mwonzora had not
come onto the scene. The former
mobilised Zimbabweans to par-
ticipate in the much anticipated
but failed 31 July 2020 protest
while the latter wrested power
from Chamisa, accusing him of
unconstitutionally ascending to
the MDC leadership. Legally
speaking, Zimbabwe had two
coups within a few months of
each other, the only difference is
that there are suspicions that the
Mnangagwa coup was bloody
while Chamisa’s was bloodless.
Besides successfully removing
Chamisa as the official opposi-
tion leader, I am not aware of
what Douglas Mwonzora stands
for or what he can offer the peo-
ple of Zimbabwe. Perhaps that

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 71

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Richest countries are vaccine hoarders.
Try them in the international court
ANTHONY COSTELLO

MILLIONS more people will People queue to receive a Covid vaccine in Narok, Kenya. Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters
die from Covid-19 in the com-
ing year, and most will be un- World  Health  Organisation, vaccine requires ultra-cold stor- have religious or moral prin- clear option: prosecution in the
vaccinated. to accelerate the development age that makes it difficult to dis- ciples that would make them international criminal court for
and manufacture of Covid-19 tribute in low-income settings, think again. But there is lit- crimes against humanity. In ar-
The vaccines that could save vaccines, as well as diagnostics predicts it will expand produc- tle historical precedent, when ticle 7 (1) of the Rome statute,
millions of lives are not reach- and treatments, and to guar- tion to four billion doses at best stocks are booming, for such a these are described as “a wide-
ing the poor majority of the antee rapid, fair and equitable by the end of 2022. display of altruism. spread or systematic attack di-
world’s population. The con- access to them for people in rected against any civilian pop-
trast is stark: the current share all countries. Donor countries What can the world do when A more effective line may be ulation” and “inhumane acts
of people fully vaccinated in would thereby fund guaranteed massive financial interests are to take action against states such … intentionally causing great
high, upper-middle income, volumes of vaccines from man- placed before the survival of as Germany, Canada, the UK suffering, or serious injury to
lower-middle income and low ufacturers to supply low- and millions of men, women and et al, over what is arguably an body or to mental or physical
income countries is 69%, 68%, middle-income countries. children? There are several op- infringement of human rights. health”. International lawyers
30% and 3.5% respectively. tions. One is a patent waiver. There is little doubt that their should consider this option and
The Covax scheme’s target A year ago India, South Afri- policies break the UN conven- act quickly.
The United Kingdom, Cana- was to deliver two billion doses ca, Kenya and Eswatini among tion on the rights of the child,
da, Germany and other Europe- by the end of this month. And others called for one, so that which requires states to “com- We cannot let this carnage
an Union states have supported yet, by 5 December, well over a emerging economy companies bat disease and malnutrition drag on. We could see another
a deliberate policy to withhold year since its launch, the Covax were not under threat of future … [through] the application of 12 million deaths in the next
vaccines from the poorest coun- scheme had shipped only 669m litigation. The United States readily available technology”, year. People across the world
tries in the world, and defended doses to 144 countries, with and France eventually support- with particular attention paid to want justice. They should have a
an immoral and unethical eco- just 250 million donated to the ed them. But Germany, Canada, the “needs of developing coun- right to vaccine access, especial-
nomic system which places big poorest 95 countries at time of Japan, South Korea and the UK tries”. Likewise, the UN guid- ly when many of the vaccines
pharma patents ahead of mil- writing. Not only is it way off blocked this move to protect ing principles on business and in question were researched
lions of lives. In this context, track, millions of vaccine dos- big pharma. Bill Gates, a major human rights, unanimously en- and developed largely by gov-
is the only option left to ask es donated to African countries donor to Covax, also defended dorsed by the UN human rights ernment scientists trained and
whether the states facilitating have passed their expiry dates patent rights. After months of council, calls for “business en- employed at taxpayers’ expense.
this might be prosecuted in the and have either been sent back wrangling, the WTO has failed terprises … to comply with all Anyone standing in the way of
international criminal court, on or destroyed. In April 2021 the to broker an agreement. applicable laws and to respect saving lives in the name of pri-
the grounds of a crime against WHO established a Covid-19 internationally recognised hu- vate profits should be held re-
humanity? mRNA vaccine technology Another option, put forward man rights”, and describes the sponsible.
transfer hub to try to speed up by Dr Peter Singer, senior advis- state duty to protect against hu-
First let us consider the im- global manufacturing. All three er to the WHO director-gener- man rights abuses by businesses —The Guardian.
pact so far. The official statistics mRNA vaccine manufacturers al, is to appeal to the moral and through policies, regulation and
of global Covid deaths (5.2 mil- have refused to take part. If we ethical values of the big pharma adjudication. *About the writer: Anthony
lion) greatly underestimate the want the world vaccinated with board members and investors. Costello is professor of glob-
real figures, which may already three doses, it will require the Many of these people have led Sadly, neither of these con- al health at the University of
be more than 20 million deaths. distribution of at least 20 billion institutions committed to glob- ventions have much teeth, and California in Los Angeles, and
In India, for example, analyses doses. Pfizer/BioNTech, whose al public goods and equity. One they are regularly broken with a former director at the World
suggest that the real death rates would think they might also impunity. This leaves the nu- Health Organisation.
are 10 times higher than the of-
ficial figure of 400 000. Mean-
while, another study has found
that more than 1.5 million chil-
dren have been orphaned by
the pandemic. The situation is
dire, and yet one year after the
discovery of multiple effective
vaccines, we still face a vaccine
apartheid. Patent-protected vac-
cines are sold at great profit to
wealthy countries by a few phar-
maceutical companies.

The global vaccine price rang-
es from US$2 (for AstraZeneca)
to US$37 per dose, with mRNA
vaccines such as Pfizer/BioN-
Tech and Moderna the most ex-
pensive. Between January 2020
and December 2021 the market
capitalisations of Moderna rose
from US$6.9bn to US$134bn;
Pfizer from US$206bn to
US$314bn; and BioNTech from
US$6.6bn to US$84bn.

It is clear that the existing
efforts to distribute vaccines
to poorer countries are not
working. The Covax Advanced
Market Commitment was set
up in September 2020 by the
Global Alliance Vaccine Ini-
tiative, in alliance with the

Page 72 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

2022 will be year of adjusting to new realities

STEPHEN FRIEDMAN profits. Now  China  has taken the
lead, lashing its tech firms in a bru-
THE Economist  has launched  The tal crackdown. President Xi Jinping
World Ahead 2022, a look at the im- wants them to focus on "deep tech"
portant themes, trends and events that provides geostrategic advantage,
that will shape the year ahead. Top 10 not frivolities like games and shop-
themes for next year have been out- ping. But will this boost Chinese
lined. The Economist says: "If 2021 innovation, or stifle the industry's
was the year the world turned the dynamism.
tide against the pandemic, 2022 will 7. Climate crunch
be dominated by the need to adjust to Even as wildfires, heatwaves and
new realities, both in areas reshaped floods increase in frequency, a strik-
by the pandemic and as deeper trends ing lack of urgency prevails among
reassert themselves". policymakers when it comes to
1. Democracy versus autocracy tackling climate change. Moreover,
America's mid-term elections decarbonisation requires the West
and  China's  Communist Party con- and China to co-operate, just as their
gress will vividly contrast their rival geopolitical rivalry is deepening. Keep
political systems. Which is better at an eye on a solar-engineering experi-
delivering stability, growth and inno- ment due to be carried out by  Har-
vation? This rivalry will play out in vard  researchers in 2022, releasing
everything from trade to tech regu- dust from a high-altitude balloon to
lation, vaccinations to space stations. dim sunlight—a technique that may,
As President  Joe Biden  tries to rally at this rate, be needed to buy the
the free world under the flag of de- world more time to decarbonise.
mocracy, his dysfunctional, divided 8. Travel trouble
country is a poor advertisement for   Activity is picking up as economies
its merits. reopen. But countries that pursued
2. Pandemic to endemic a zero covid "suppression" strategy,
  New antiviral pills, improved anti- such as  Australia  and  New Zealand,
body treatments and more vaccines face the tricky task of managing the
are coming. For vaccinated folks in transition to a world in which the vi-
the developed world, the virus will rus is endemic. Meanwhile, as much
no longer be life-threatening. But it as half of business travel is gone for
will still pose a deadly danger in the good. That is good for the planet,
developing world. Unless vaccina- but bad for tourists whose trips are
tions can be stepped up, Covid-19 subsidised by high-spending business
will have become just another of the travellers.
many endemic diseases that afflict the 9. Space races
poor but not the rich. 2022 will be the first year in which
3. Inflation worries more people go to space as paying
Supply-chain disruptions and a spike passengers than government employ-
in energy demand have pushed up ees, carried aloft by rival space-tour-
prices. Central bankers say it's tem- ism firms.  China  will finish its new
porary, but not everyone believes space station. Film-makers are vying
them.  Britain  is at particular risk of to make movies in zero-g. And nasa
stagflation, due to post-Brexit labour will crash a space probe into an aster-
shortages and its dependence on ex- oid, in a real-life mission that sounds
pensive natural gas. like a Hollywood film.

4. The future of work promotions. Debates also loom over to make a dent in their growth or innovation, or stifle the industry's 10. Political footballs
There is a broad consensus that the tax rules and monitoring of remote profits. Now  China  has taken the dynamism? The Winter Olympics in Beijing and
future is "hybrid", and that more workers. lead, lashing its tech firms in a bru- 6. The new techlash  the football World Cup in Qatar will
people will spend more days working 5. The new techlash tal crackdown. President Xi Jinping Regulators in America and  Eu- be reminders of how sport can bring
from home. But there is much scope Regulators in America and  Eu- wants them to focus on "deep tech" rope  have been trying to rein in the the world together—but also how big
for disagreement on the details. How rope  have been trying to rein in the that provides geostrategic advantage, tech giants for years, but have yet sporting events often end up being
many days, and which ones? And will tech giants for years, but have yet not frivolities like games and shop- to make a dent in their growth or political footballs. Expect protests di-
it be fair? Surveys show that women ping. But will this boost Chinese rected at both host countries, though
are less keen to return to the office, boycotts by national teams seem un-
so they may risk being passed over for likely. —The Economist.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 73

Issue 62, 24 December 2021 What could happen next in
Ethiopia’s war of attrition?
NICK WESTCOTT
The residents of the village of Teraf say children were among the victims they buried.
ALL wars end. It is just a question
of how long it takes and how many of the Tigrayans. Elsewhere such regional bloc IGAD between Ethio- rupt and vicious regime that massa- reluctant to impose US-style sanc-
people die in the process. rhetoric has been a precursor to pia, Eritrea and Somalia (or at least cred its own people into submission, tions on the grounds that it would
genocide. its federal government) on one side primarily in order to create a client diminish their influence with the
Ethiopia  is turning into Africa’s and the rest on the other, and Abiy’s state for their own geo-strategic ad- Ethiopian government. All are at
forgotten war, partly because so Both sides already see the con- deep-seated hostility to the UN, the vantage. For both powers, “defeating least firmly behind the AU peace
little reliable information is avail- flict as existential. Abiy fears being body with political legitimacy to act the West” was an additional motive. efforts.
able, with the authorities reluctant evicted from power, the Amhara fear is the African Union. In appointing
to allow independent reporting and once again being excluded from it, former Nigerian president Olusegun There are reports that both  Tur- But these will have little traction
propaganda rife on all sides, partly as they were after the fall of Haile Obasanjo as their envoy, they have key  and  the UAE  are helping arm until  both  sides see no chance of a
because efforts to resolve it seem to Selassie, and the Tigrayans fear ef- an elder statesman of weight and Ethiopian government forces, and military solution, and a united mes-
be getting nowhere with the inter- fective annihilation and exile, as ap- experience, but currently lacking an the recent visit to Addis Ababa sage from the international com-
national community held at arms’ peared to be happening before they office that can take forward detailed of  China’s Foreign Minister Wang munity that the fighting must stop.
length. Unless, of course, they are recovered military control of Tigray. analysis and continuous engage- Yi sent an explicit message of politi- No solution can be imposed on the
coming to sell arms or deliver sup- In these circumstances, neither side ment. President Kenyatta of Kenya cal support to Prime Minister Abiy. Ethiopians – that they must find.
port. And that is part of the prob- wants to cede the least advantage has also been active in trying to bro- The motives of each may vary: Chi- But now is not the time to add fuel
lem. through negotiation and sees mili- ker talks, and the two together rep- na has large economic interests that to their fire. So the road to peace
tary victory as the only route to sur- resent the best chance of persuading are being damaged by the war, but in Ethiopia runs through Beijing,
Though Africa’s oldest indepen- vival. So both will fight to the bitter both sides to talk rather than fight. sees Ethiopia as an important ally Ankara and Abu Dhabi as much as
dent state, Ethiopia has a long his- end, which could still be many years in their rivalry with the US. Tur- through New York and the AU. And
tory of civil wars. There has been a away. While Abiy may control the Institutionally, the AU tends to key wants to expand its arms sales until that road is run, the fighting
perpetually shifting balance between plains, the Tigrayans are almost im- have an “incumbency bias”. Many (though where Abiy will find the will continue, the Ethiopian people
the different peoples and “nations” possible to defeat in the mountains, of its members face secessionist money to pay for the arms is anoth- will suffer, and the region will be-
that make up the country, and be- and are seeking to build alliances movements or groups that seek their er matter), and sees Ethiopia as an come increasingly unstable.
tween the central authority (who- with those dissatisfied with Abiy in violent overthrow and there is there- ally against Egypt. For the UAE, a
ever has held it) and the regions. other regions, including Oromia – fore a default tendency to support weakened but pliant Ethiopia would Is the Horn, like Syria or the Ye-
Several of these past wars have been a number that will surely grow as the incumbent government. strengthen their own growing pres- men, to be another victim of the
bloody affairs, involving massacres economic conditions deteriorate. ence in Red Sea countries. new multipolar world? The origins
of combatants and civilians alike. As Alex Rondos recently pointed But Addis Ababa is not a com- of conflict may be in Ethiopia’s own
out in The World Today, the cost of fortable seat for it in a country riven The problem for all three, howev- divisions, but its resolution now de-
Ethiopia is scarcely unique in this: continued conflict in Ethiopia for by civil war, and many members are er, is that if the war continues and pends on international action.
most countries that now consider the wider Horn as a whole would be conscious of the high cost to the re- becomes ever more vicious, they
themselves stable have had their fair disastrous. gion and the continent of continued may be implicated in supporting ac- —African Arguments.
share of vicious domestic conflicts. It instability there. With encourage- tions which will not stand scrutiny
is true of Britain, Germany, France, The one factor that can change ment, they could exert significant in the court of international public *About the writer: Nick Westcott
the United States, and even China this situation is external. The inter- pressure for a negotiated solution. opinion. Russia bore that cost in is director of the Royal African So-
where the Communist victory in national community has both influ- Syria because it was geo-strategically ciety. He was formerly an African
1949 emerged not only from a pe- ence and agency which it could use Several other international play- crucial. But is Ethiopia that valuable historian and British diplomat,
riod of foreign occupation but from to increase pressure for a peaceful ers, however, seem less keen to sup- to its government’s backers? and latterly served as the Europe-
the era of warlords in the 1920s and settlement. But for now it seems di- port these efforts, and more inter- an Union’s managing director for
1930s when central control largely vided, and this itself could prolong ested in helping Abiy’s government The US and European Union Africa (2011-15). He is author of
disintegrated. Many African nations rather than shorten Ethiopia’s agony. achieve military victory. The spectre (EU) have taken tougher positions Imperialism and Development:
far younger than Ethiopia face sim- of Syria looms – where unscrupu- on both parties to the conflict, The East African Groundnut
ilar tensions and struggle hard to Given the divisions within the lous foreign powers supported a cor- though some EU member states are Scheme and Its Legacy.
find an acceptable balance between
the regions, interests and factions
within their borders.

In Ethiopia, military dominance
has always been crucial to effec-
tive central control. This has not
changed. Haile Selassie’s reign was
based on the military victory of
Segale in 1916 against his deposed
predecessor. The Derg’s rule was
based on their control of the army,
until overthrown by the Ethiopian
People’s Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF) in 1991. But mili-
tary control alone is never sufficient.

The state still needs to be seen as
legitimate in the eyes of the people
being ruled, or at least a sufficient
majority of them.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and
the Tigrayan People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF) leadership both mis-
calculated from the outset, over-es-
timating their own political and
military strength and under-esti-
mating that of their opponent. It is
this mutual miscalculation that runs
the risk, if prolonged, of leading to a
stalemate that will see Ethiopia join
South Sudan, Libya and the Yemen
in interminable conflict, devastating
to the economy and the people.

It is already becoming a war of
attrition. PM Abiy may believe
this works to his advantage: with
only 6 million Tigrayans and over
90 million people in the rest of the
country, ultimate victory may seem
inevitable. But this too may prove a
miscalculation if the cost of the war
undermines his own legitimacy and
puts his authority at risk. This may
be one reason the government are so
relentlessly, and recklessly, stirring
up the rhetoric of ethnic mistrust
and hatred in order to bolster his
political position by increasing fear

Page 74 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

The making – and then breaking – of
South Africa’s Robben Island Museum
NEO LEKGOTLA LAGA RAMOUPI/
ANDRE ODENDAAL

SOUTH Africa’s Robben Island Mu- Robben Island – for centuries a place of banishment, exile, imprisonment and pain. Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
seum is an institution limping through
a pandemic, and weighed down by its ple had little or no say in the depiction pain, with its centuries-old, multi-lay- been launched in tandem with local basic services in South Africa. As in
roller coaster history. of their history in textbooks, libraries, ered history. universities to prepare future heritage broader society, destructive behaviour
or research institutions… Our muse- leaders. And ex-political prisoners and interventions – and dual authority
In  our recently launched book, ums and the heritage sector as a whole No one who was present will forget had been respectfully engaged with systems – became part of the pattern
Robben Island Rainbow Dreams,  we are being restructured". those first seminal moments. When we through the Robben Island Memories of how things were run.
map out the making and breaking of unlocked and threw open the prison Project.
an institution, with hard lessons and The museum would forever remind doors on 1 January 1997, Day One. Compounding the problems at the
truths about the early years. We hope South Africans that "today’s unity is a Or when Nelson Mandela welcomed But could the dream continue in museum have been long delays in the
our insights can be some use to the fu- triumph over yesterday’s division and in the new millennium with a candle such a heady way? Almost inevitably appointment of councils and perma-
ture of the museum. conflict". in his cell. the answer was no. nent senior operational staff, resulting
in leadership vacuums.
And more broadly to the country. In short, Robben Island Museum In Rainbow Dreams, 22 of those Division and conflict set in. In
For almost the entire span of 342 aspired to be part of the reconstruction who helped set up the first heritage 2002 there was a major rupture at the The case of Robben Island Museum
years of colonial conquest in South and development of the national soul. institution after democracy convey museum. This led to the resignation has proved the validity of the saying
Africa, including the 46 years of for- something of what it meant to build a of the director and ushered in a peri- that it takes a generation to build an
mal apartheid, the island was a place of One of the purposes of this book new kind of museum. They tell of the od of organisational instability which institution and five minutes to break
banishment, exile, imprisonment and is to contribute to a poorly developed attempt to create an innovative learn- changed the direction and character of it down and that, once the damage has
pain. It became known for its institu- institutional memory of the Robben ing institution and environment. They the museum. been done, it takes more than a few
tional brutality. A hell hole, like other Island Museum, and to provide an used multiple voices, new kinds of organograms and some fresh faces to
notorious prison islands such as Sene- opportunity for black heritage workers programming, capacity building, ben- Shady office break-ins, home bur- rebuild what has been broken.
gal’s slave island of Gorée. and intellectuals to be published and eficial business models and a shared glaries, telephone tapping, the im-
At its height as a political prison in to have their diverse voices heard. vision of the triumph of the human proper use of information from stolen The unfulfilled mission of Robben
the 1980s Oliver Tambo, who guided The beginning spirit. computers all became part of suppos- Island Museum invites us to go back
the ANC through the 30 years of its There were no black managers in edly ‘high road’ attempts to save the to the visions that led to its formation,
exile, commented that South African museums when the Seeking to perpetuate the island’s island from corruption and misman- this time acknowledging the changed
"{t}he tragedy of Africa, in racial Robben Island Museum was being legacy of being “The University” of the agement. context, and engaging with a new gen-
and political terms, {was} concentrat- conceived. The role of the disenfran- struggle, the Robben Island Museum eration of imaginations, ideas, actions,
ed in the southern tip of the continent chised had been to be laboratory assis- encouraged reflective knowledge, ro- The institution became paralysed loyalties and languages.
– in South Africa, Namibia, and, in a tants, cleaners, security guard and the bust debates and contestations. One of by toxic politics and intrigues with
special sense, Robben Island". odd education officer. its four core essences was to be a place private commercial interests setting —The Conversation.
Great historical figures have been of critical debate and lifelong learning. out to change a management that re-
banished to the island through the The Robben Island Museum fused to do their bidding. The Robben *About the writer: Neo Lekgotla
centuries. They include  Autshuma- changed all that in terms of leadership, After five years the new museum Island Museum, we argue, became a laga Ramoupi is senior lecturer and
to  and  Krotoa, the first indigenous staff, operations, vision and partner- began to emerge as a distinct feature of pilot case for state capture. head of history in the School of Edu-
Africans to be banished to, and im- ships. the heritage and cultural landscape in a cation at the University of the Wit-
prisoned on, Robben Island. In a very country in transition. There had been In a chapter on “Curious Coinci- watersrand.
deep sense, Autshumato represents the It was a once in a lifetime experi- some major achievements that put it dences” connections are found with
first “symbol of the timelessness” of the ence. And a complex task. It involved on a platform for future growth. These the corruption and abuse of state in- Andre Odendaal is writer in resi-
banishment and imprisonment of the running a 575-hectare piece of land in included Unesco World Heritage Site stitutions that emerged a decade later. dence at the Centre for Humanities
African freedom fighter in the struggle the middle of Table Bay – an area larg- status and the transporting of one mil- Protecting institutions Research and honorary professor in
for freedom and liberation. er than the city centre of Cape Town lion visitors to the island. The Robben Island Museum’s current history and heritage studies at the
During British colonisation polit- – and attempting to open up and re- vulnerability is part of a bigger crisis University of the Western Cape, also
ical prisoners included a long list of imagine a place of banishment and In addition, the Robben Island facing institutions and the delivery of in South Africa.
notables such as Langalibalele, king of Heritage Training Programme had
the amaHlubi in KwaZulu-Natal.
Among the island’s more recent
eminent prisoners of the apart-
heid era were, to name a few,  Man-
galiso Robert Sobukwe,  Dikgang
Moseneke, Jacob Zuma, Nelson Man-
dela and Raymond Mhlaba. Namibian
political prisoners included Helao Shi-
tyuwete and Andimba Toivo ja Toivo.
The Robben Island Museum was
started in the early 1990s as South
Africa achieved political freedom
and was setting out to reinvent itself.
It was a highly symbolic part of the
once-in-generation process of national
rebirth.
The first democratic government
decided that the island should be de-
veloped as a place of memory, learning
and healing.
Capturing the spirit of the times, in
the words of Ahmed Kathrada, poli-
tician and anti-apartheid activist who
was imprisoned on the island, it was
meant to represent "the triumph of the
human spirit against the forces of evil;
a triumph of freedom and human dig-
nity over repression and humiliation;
a triumph of wisdom and largeness of
spirit against small minds and petti-
ness…"
Opening the museum in September
1997, Nelson Mandela said in the co-
lonial and apartheid past, "most peo-

NewsHawks World News Page 75

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

RUSSIA claims it has agreed to Russia claims it will begin
begin talks with the US early talks with US and Nato
next year to discuss Moscow’s
demands for “security guaran- From left: Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov at the US-Russia summit in Geneva in July. Photograph: Peter Klaunzer/EPA
tees” in Europe, including a ban
on Ukraine’s entrance into the tive progress can only occur in He also said similar talks would not stand by and “watch the alliance and Ukraine.
Nato military alliance. an environment of de-escalation would be held with Nato and idly”. Nato pointed to remarks made
rather than escalation.” with the Organization for Se-
If confirmed, the talks would curity and Co-operation in Eu- Last week, Russia released a by Stoltenberg in a press confer-
begin a contentious effort to Asked about the call, Jen Psa- rope. Details of those talks were draft of a potential treaty with ence with Romania’s prime min-
avert a Russian offensive in ki, the White House press sec- also not given. Nato that demanded the mili- ister on Tuesday in which he had
Ukraine this winter, as Kyiv and retary, told reporters: “That is tary alliance remove all troops said: “Any dialogue with Russia
eastern European governments consistent with our ongoing A Kremlin spokesperson also and infrastructure installed from needs to be based on the core
have demanded not to be left out outreach and engagement with welcomed the talks, telling re- European countries that joined principles of European security
of any deal with Moscow that af- the Russians, with the Ukrai- porters: “The very fact that such the alliance after 1997. That in- and to address Nato’s concerns
fects their interests as well. nians, with the Europeans as preparedness [for talks] has been cludes countries that were part about Russia’s actions. And it
well that happened through the reaffirmed is good as it is.” He of the Soviet Union or the War- needs to take place in consulta-
Moscow has moved tanks and course of last week.” warned that Russia was wary of saw pact, whose officials say the tion with Nato’s European part-
artillery towards the border with the discussions being dragged Russian proposals undermine ners, including with Ukraine.”
Ukraine in an apparent invasion Psaki added on Wednesday: out and was not interested in their sovereignty and security.
threat and issued a contentious “There is an open line of dis- participating in “a marathon”. A Nato official said talks
list of security guarantees in a cussion and engagement that is Nato officials said Jens Stol- would have to be conducted on
draft treaty with Nato that its happening and that we expect to Vladimir Putin had appeared tenberg, the organisation’s sec- the basis of reciprocity and must
leadership has called unaccept- continue, we hope to continue.” frustrated on Tuesday as he railed retary general, had signalled on address Nato concerns about the
able. against Nato expansion since the Tuesday that the military alli- Russian military buildup and
In his interview Lavrov said: fall of the Soviet Union, telling ance would call for a meeting other actions, in line with a joint
The Russian foreign minister, “We do not want war. We do his top military commanders of the Nato-Russia council ear- statement from the alliance’s
Sergei Lavrov, announced the not need conflicts and, hopeful- that growing western influence ly next year, and that any talks North Atlantic Council agreed
talks during an interview with ly, everyone else does not view in Ukraine left Russia “nowhere with Moscow would have to in- last week.
the RT television station on conflicts as a desirable course of further to retreat to” and that he volve all European members of
Wednesday, where he said nego- action.” —The Guardian.
tiations would start “at the very
beginning of next year”.

“The first round will be held
in the form of a bilateral con-
tact between our and US nego-
tiators, who have already been
named and are acceptable for
both sides,” Lavrov told the
broadcaster, which is backed by
the Russian state.

The exact agenda and scope
of the talks has not been made
public and the Kremlin may be
keen to exaggerate its diplomatic
efforts as it positions itself for a
potential attack against Ukraine.

The White House pointed to
a Monday statement from Em-
ily Horne, a spokesperson for
the national security council,
regarding a call between nation-
al security adviser Jake Sullivan
and Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy
adviser to Putin.

Sullivan “indicated US read-
iness to engage in diplomacy
through multiple channels, in-
cluding bilateral engagement,
the Nato-Russia Council, and
the OSCE,” Horne said. “He
made clear that any dialogue
must be based on reciprocity
and address our concerns about
Russia’s actions, and take place
in full coordination with our
European allies and partners.

“He also noted that substan-

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STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 76 Issue 62, 24 December 2021

Entertainment galore this Christmas

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Mbira DzeNharira

HARARE is never short of enter- Killer T Theatre in the Park is hosting the High Glen Shopping Mall
tainment! what is dubbed as: “Christmas where, again, those who love
in the park", a combination of braai can indulge.
Although this year’s Christmas music, comedy and Christmas
might have been stolen again, the carols featuring Patrick Zindo- The venue will be open begin-
party does not stop as show or- ga, Mwenje Mathole, Tanya and ning on Unity Day until Christ-
ganisers have lined up entertain- Alex. Doors open at 6pm with mas and New Year’s Eve.  
ment for those seeking a night the first show being comedy and
of fun beginning on Unity Day then later on music to make bells The Rainbow Towers will host
which falls on 22 December. jingle. an Amapiano Festival on Uni-
ty Day in the Heritage Gardens
Speaking of Unity Day, one Those who want some laugh- starting at 11am. On the turn-
of the most anticipated shows is out-loud moments should not tables are some of the finest DJs,
Madirirano, a get-together type miss the comedy section. including Chucknosis, RayDizz,
of reunion gig for music lovers. Langton B, Made her Believe,
At Mashwede, in Glen View, it Merciless and Smith.
This year’s edition of Madi- is music and partying all the way
rirano is scheduled for High- from Unity Day until Christmas, While Christmas is a time for
field. Some of the headline acts The BBQ hangout will have spe- merrymaking with friends and
are Killer T, Shashl, Alfred Nen- cial guests at the VIP section and relatives, it is also time to be
guwo, Eyetal Fyre, Mbale and music courtesy of DJs on rota- grateful for the gift of life.
Mbida Dee. tion.
For believers it is time to give
Also on the same bill are DJs And just a stone’s throw extend a hand to the need and,
that include Raydizz, the duo of away from Mashwede, there is above all, give thanks to the
Templeman and Garry B, Sim- Lord.
show, Tee Nyce, Blaze and also
Fydale Thee Don to mention but
some.

Madirirano which has been
held in the ghetto over the years
has grown in stature to attract
fans from plush suburbs, making
it one of the shows that draw a
diverse audience.

According to organisers, the
gig starts at noon until late and
there is the VVIP, VIP and rest
of the ground sections.

ZimCafe International hosts
DJ Chuman on Unity Day. Chu-
man, who is also a Classic263
presenter, will be jamming old
skool music.

The same venue will host Mbi-
ra DzeNharira on Thursday. The
mbira group is known for its
spiritually uplifting music and is
likely to give fans good cheer. 

Whenever Mbira DzeNhari-
ra performs fans are assured of
a riveting show, especially with
Tendayi Gahamadze on lead vo-
cals and on bass mbira.

The party continues with
rhumba group Bana Des As on
Friday for those who love to
shake it off. While fans enjoy
drinks and dance, the venue
has also introduced Portuguese
chicken, which quite popular
with diners.

Woods Pub and Grill locat-
ed at Long Cheng Plaza will be
open for Unity Day with several
DJs on rotation. The place has
been pulling crowds every week-
end for jam sessions.

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 77

Issue 62, 24 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.

Page 78 People & Places NewsHawks

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

AS Zimbabweans - those who Matopos Farmhouse Lodge: itage site where there the grave
can afford to travel around the The place to be for holidays of prominent -British colo-
country for holidays, there are nial empire builder Cecil John
many places to visit and spend Now known as the Farm- are served in the restaurant, cottages built on the fringe of a Rhodes and the historically fa-
part of the festive season with house, the lodge is located 48km where our chefs specialise in majestic granite outcrop. mous Ndebele King Mzilikazi
family, relatives or friends. Or from Bulawayo on the Matopos healthy, home-cooked meals are buried.
whoever. Road, right in the heart of the which can be catered to person- Each individual cottage has a
Matopos World Heritage site. al dietary needs and require- twin bedded, bedroom, en-suite Guests can participate in
Zimbabwe has a number ments. shower, toilet and wash-hand several activities offered at the
of main holiday destinations, The restaurant veranda over- basin, open plan lounge with lodge or arrange their own trips
some of which include major looks the indigenous garden Some days we offer a braai tea/coffee facilities and fridge. in the area.
tourist attractions such as Vic- and rock swimming pool where dinner where food cooked on an
toria Falls, Kariba, Bumi Hills, guests can relax and chill by the open fire while sitting outdoors The Farmhouse Lodge pro- It also has a conference fa-
Great Zimbabwe and Matopos, poolside or spend the evening on a warm evening under the vides the ideal location from cility offering an ideal getaway
among others. around an open campfire in the stars can be enjoyed. which visitors can discover the venue in the spectacular sur-
enclosed traditional boma. many natural features and won- roundings of Matopos only 30
In the Matopos, one of the Guests are accommodated in ders of the Matopos. minutes drive from Bulawayo.
places to stay is Farmhouse Breakfast, lunch, and dinner 12 thatched Cape Dutch style For a holiday in a natural wild
Lodge. It is located in the World Her- environment, Matopos is one
one of the best in the country.
The lodge was converted in
1996 from the original farm And the Farmhouse Lodge is
homestead into a restaurant, bar the place to stay.
and lodge reception.
— STAFF WRITER.

NewsHawks Sport Page 79

Issue 62, 24 December 2021

If you fancy a bit of theatre, the stage staged in 2026, Billiat will be 35 or 36, Zimbabwe ends the year rooted at before the final phase of World Cup Heath Streak.
is so well set for it. If the SRC indeed the same age now as his idol Cristiano the bottom of the newly-introduced qualifiers, a reality check handed by a the greatest two you could say, you
does not retreat, we are headed for a Ronaldo, whose famous goal-celebra- ICC team that has not only dominated Afri- could even say two of Zimbabwe’s fin-
showdown. tion he imitates.  ca’s sole qualifying spot since 1999, but est sportsmen in history, hogged global
World Cup Super League, a qualifi- has made it a habit to pummel Zim- headlines in the year in extreme oppos-
A Fifa ban will be of calamitous con- He would have been one of the se- cation pathway to the 2023 World Cup babwe into submission for two decades ing circumstances. 
sequences for football in this country. nior players providing inspiration to in India, as it will be for other tourna- now.
The lifeline of the game will be discon- the younger crop of Jordan Zemura, ments beyond.  The country’s best batsman and the
nected: no international competition Bill Antonio and Prince Dube – cer- It seems like a psychological thing country’s best bowler of all time – Andy
for all our teams, no funding, no grants, tainly worth the wait.  There is little cause for hope that the now that Zimbabwe has not found a Flower and Heath Streak – were both
no training courses for our coaches and situation will improve anytime soon. formula to beat the Namibians since in the spotlight in 2021.
referees.  Same for Brendan Taylor, the king- Talent is thin, the administration side the last time out in 2001. 
pin Zimbabwe cricketer who, like Kha- of the game has been a huge concern Former Zimbabwe captain Flower’s
It will be what being a Pariah State ma Billiat, retired rather prematurely, at for a while now, and structures coun- The manner of the 41-10 defeat last stock as a coach of repute keeps rising
of the game means – the naughty little the age of 35. trywide are in total shambles. month to Namibia in South Africa, in and in the year under review, he be-
boy next door not allowed to play with the final of a four-nation tournament came the first Zimbabwean to be in-
his contemporaries.  Just like Billiat, Taylor is a man with So, whilst there certainly will not be that also involved Kenya and Brazil, ducted into the International Cricket
unquestionable loyalty to his country, a World Cup for Zimbabwe in football, was a perennial cause of concern for the Council (ICC) Hall of Fame. Streak,
But despite these dire effects that still with two to three solid years of and likely so in cricket as things stand, Sables. another revered ex-Zimbabwe skipper,
await, I do sense an indifferent atti- good cricket left in him at the time of one national sporting code has been had a dramatic fall from grace in the
tude in Zimbabwean football now, a announcing his exit.  making commendable efforts to be It was an all-too-familiar sight for a same year after he was banned for eight
resigned shrug of the shoulders by foot- there at the biggest stage.  lot of us Sables fans: our team exhibit- years for breaching the ICC’s anti-cor-
ball lovers in the country. Perhaps the realisation that cricket in ing an exciting brand of running rugby ruption code. 
Zimbabwe has not been in a very good A first World Cup for Zimbabwe’s with ball in hand for first 60% of the
Being kicked out by Fifa will ef- space for a while, and that things do not rugby team since the 1991 edition is a game, then capitulate by conceding de- Oh well – the good, the bad and the
fectively throw Zimbabwe out of the look like normalising soon, finally took goal everyone associated with that sport cisive tries at key moments from rolling ugly. 
Nations Cup finals. I am however a toll on Taylor amid swirls of off-field has minds firmly fixed on. mauls and other dominant opposition
very happy to be corrected for saying distractions now commonly associated forwards’ play.  On a positive note, this is a year that
there is not much excitement anyway with the game in this country.  It is a very realistic target because this women in sports and different walks of
in this country at this stage, as it was country is blessed with top-class talent Thankfully, or let us say hopefully, life came in leaps and bounds, thanks
in 2019, when we took to Egypt what The devastating failure to qualify in this sport, even surplus to export to Zimbabwe is one of the countries that in no small part to noble and deliberate
was thought to be the best collection of for the 2019 World Cup was a finan- some of the planet’s best-rugby playing stand to benefit handsomely from new effort to put the fairer sex into rightful
players to represent Zimbabwe in this cial and morale disaster for the game nations. international eligibility rules that now positions of equality in society. 
tournament. in Zimbabwe and, oh dear, did we not permit players to represent a country
witness things go totally haywire in the After a coronavirus-affected delay of origin with which they have strong In light of this, let me sign off by
As I put together this year-end re- aftermath of that huge blow! in the qualification process for the historical connection. paying tribute to teenage ace Donata
view of major sports in this country, 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Katai, who granted me my best sports
Warriors coach Norman Mapeza has Having been to all previous 50-over Zimbabwe’s national team, the Sables, I look forward to some quality play- interview of the year a month before
just named his 23-man squad for the Cricket World Cup as an independent launched its campaign at home in July ers answering the Sables’ call because, making history as the first black swim-
Cameroon jamboree.  nation since the 1983 edition, by vir- against minnows Burkina Faso, who truthfully speaking, this is the only way mer to represent Zimbabwe in the
tue of automatic qualification under they hammered twice 103-3 and 95-5 to France 2023. Olympics.
With all due respect, and a big con- the old format that sent through all in Harare.
gratulations to the players picked, it Test-playing nations to the tourna- It has been quite another eventful Donata returned from Tokyo with
is probably the least exciting Warriors ment, drastic reforms in the game have Hardly the kind of results to blow year and I always say even at our lowest no medal, part of Zimbabwe’s small
squad, on paper, to go to the Afcon further complicated Zimbabwe’s situa- your own trumpet about.  ebb, it is pretty hard to keep Zimbabwe team of five athletes. She was not ex-
tournament for the country’s five-time tion and a quick return to the World out of global news headlines in world pected to go to the podium as yet, but is
participation there. Cup does not look like a realistic goal Four months after putting the poor sport. Take for example that two of this definitely one for the future, and a good
right now. West Africans to the sword, the Sables country’s greatest cricketers of all time, Zimbabwean story of 2021.
Knowledge Musona captains the were handed a reality check, a reality
side and for the first time in his Na- check so disturbing as it comes a year Cheers, folks, and see you next year.
tions Cup experience, he will not enjoy
the support if his very good friend and
fellow Warriors talisman Khama Billi-
at, who announced a shock retirement
from international football last month
at the age of 31.

If you needed a summary of the
state-of-affairs in Zimbabwean football
at the moment, look no further than
Billiat’s abrupt retirement from the
Warriors at that relatively young age.

Unless forced by age or otherwise,
people retire from their careers for dif-
ferent reasons. Others do to recharge
batteries and move on to the next chap-
ter, or greener pastures. Others do out
of disillusionment. No matter how
patriotic and committed one is, like
Billiat, when the feeling of drive and
fulfilment is no longer there – squashed
by the besuited ones in influential posi-
tions – there is no point in continuing
lest you short-change yourself and your
teammates.

Football is really a funny old game.
There is a great deal of lip service paid
to matters of integrity and good lead-
ership in this sport. Everything about
how this game is governed stinks to
high heaven – from the individual
member associations that make up the
structures of Fifa all the way up to the
headquarters in Zurich.

Zimbabwe could soon be banned
from international football for the sins
of officials whose backs the vast ma-
jority in this nation are happy to see.
It has happened before in several other
countries where the authorities have at-
tempted to correct wrongs in the foot-
ball federations. 

Odd.
When you have such hugely inept
leaders being allowed to thrive in key
institutions, people like Billiat – who
have options elsewhere – simply walk
away and do not come back.
Billiat is only still 31. After Zifa’s
shock coaching appointment, Zdravko
Logarušić made a mess of the Warriors’
2022 World Cup qualification cam-
paign, Billiat would have, if he saw
direction in the local game, perhaps
stayed on for one last hurrah. 
By the time the next World Cup is

Sports A crippling
poverty of
leadership
at Zifa

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

Friday 24 December 2021 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

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ENOCK MUCHINJO if world football governing body, Fifa, tions finals, set to begin on 9 January in board in November, thereby courting Khama Billiat in action.
makes good on its threat to expel the Cameroon. possible Fifa sanctions, maintains they of the game in this country. According
SO it could be a befitting end to a tu- country from all forms of international will not be cowed by threats in their to the SRC, the sacked football leaders
multuous year for Zimbabwean sport football, ahead of the Africa Cup of Na- The Sports and Recreation Commis- mission to forever change the landscape are history and will never occupy office
sion (SRC), which suspended the Zifa again. 

ALSO INSIDE Drama, scandal and agony rolled in one